GLUTTONY.

Now beginneth Gluttoun for to go to shrifte,
And carries him to-kirk-ward his coupe1 to showe;
But Beton, the brewster,2 bade him good morrow,
And axed of him, with that, whitherward he wolde?
"To holy church," quoth he, "for to hear masse,
And sithen3 I will be shriven and sin no more."

"I have good ale, gossip," quoth she; "Gluttoun, wilt thou assay?

"Hast thou in thy purse any hot spices?"

"I have pepper and pæonies," quoth she, "and a pound of garlicke,

A farthing's-worth of fennel-seed for fasting-dayes."

Then goeth Gluttoun in, and great oaths after.

Cess the souteress" sat on the benche;

Wat the warner,6 and his wife bothe;

Tim the tinker, and twain of his prentis ;7

8

Hick the hackney-man, and Hugh the needler;
Clarice of Cocks-lane, and the Clerk of the churche;
Daw the dyker, and a dozen other;

Sir Piers of Pridie, and Peronell of Flanders;

15

11

14

16

A ribibour, a ratoner,10 a raker of Chepe; 13
A roper, a redinking,12 and Rose the disheress;
Godfrey of Garlickhithe, and Griffin the Welshe,1
And upholders an heap, early by the morrow;
Given Gluttoun with glad cheer good ale to hansel.17
There was laughing and louring, and "let go the cuppe;"
And seten so till evensong and songen umwhile,18

Till Gluttoun had y-globbèd a gallon and a gill.

He might neither step ne. stond ere he his staff hadde;
And then gan he go like a gleeman's bitch,

Some time aside and some time areare,

As who-so layeth lines for to latch19 fowles.

And when he drew to the doore then dimmed his eyen;
He stumbled on the threshold and threw to the earthe;
Clement the cobbler caught him by the middle,
For to lift him aloft, and laid him on his knees;
But Gluttoun was a great churl, and grim in the lifting.
With all the woe of this world his wife and his wench20

2 Woman-brewer.

8 Maker of needles.

3 After that.

4 Bag..

1 Fault. 5 Woman-shoemaker. 6 Keeper of a warren. 7 Two of his apprentices. 9 Player on the ribibe or rebeck, a kind of fiddle. 10 Rat-catcher. 11 A street-sweeper of Cheapside. 12 A horse-soldier. 13 Maker or retailer of metal dishes.

15 Old clothes, or second-hand goods, man. 17 In gift or on trial. 18 For a while.

14 Griffith the Welshman.

16 Morning.

20 Daughter.

19 Catch birds.

Baren him home to his bed, and brought him therein.
And after all this excess he had an accidie,1

That he slept Saturday and Sunday till sun gede2 to reste:
Then waked he of his winking, and wiped his eyen;
The first word that he warpe3 was, "Where is the bowl?"

Passus V.

PIERS AND HIS LABOURERS.

Now is Perkin and his pilgrims to the plough faren ; 5 To erie this half-acre holpen? him many.

Dikers and delvers digged up the balkes ;9

Therewith was Perkin apayed 10 and praised them faste.
Other workmen there were that wroughten full yearne ;11
Each man in his manner made himself to done;12
And some, to please Perkyn, picked up the weedes.
At high prime Piers let the plough stonde,

To overseen them himself; and whoso best wroughte,
He should be hired thereafter when harvest-time come.
And then seten13 some and songen atten ale,14

And holpen erie his half-acre with "how! trolli-lolli !"

66

Now, by the peril of my soul!" quoth Piers, all in pure
15
teene,

"But16 ye arise the rather17 and rape18 you to worke,

Shall no grain that groweth glad you at neede;
And, though ye die for dole,19 the devil have that recketh!"
Then were faitoures20 afeared,21 and feigned them blinde:
Some laid their legs aliri,22 as such loseles23 conneth,24
And made their moan to Piers and prayed him for grace.
"For we have no limbs to labour with, Lord y-graced be ye!
But we pray for you, Piers, and for your plough bothe,
That God of his grace your grain multiply,

And yield you of your almesse that ye give us here;

For we may nought swink ne sweat, such sickness us aileth." "If it be soth,"25 quoth Piers, "that ye sayn, I shall it

soon aspye!

Ye been wasters, I wot well, and Truth wot the sothe!
And then gan a waster to wrath him, and wold have y-fought,
And to Piers the Plowman he proffered his glove;

A Britoner,26 a bragger, a-bosted27 Piers also.

1 A fit of drowsiness.
5 Gone.
6 Plough.

9 Ridges separating ploughed
12 Set himself to work.

16 Except.

17 Earlier.

2 Went.
7 Help.
lands.

3 Uttered.
8 Ditchers and
10 Pleased.

13 Sat. 14 Sang at the ale.
18 Hasten. 19 Grief.

21 Frightened. 22 Crooked. 23 Rascals.

26 A native of Brittany, a Frenchman.

20 Lying beggars. 24 Know how. 25 True. 27 Defied.

"Wilt thou or nilt thou, we will have our wille Of thy flour, and of thy flesh fetch1 when us liketh, And make us merry there-with, maugre thy cheekes!"? Then Piers the Plowman plained3 him to the Knighte, To keep him, as covenant was, from cursed shrewes,1 And fro these wasters, wolves kin, that maketh the world dere :5

"For they waste and winnen nought; and that ilke while Worth? never plenty among the people, therewhile my plough lieth."

Courteously the Knighte then, as his kind3 wolde, Warned Wastour and wissed him better,

"Or thou shalt aby10 by the law, by the order that I bear!" "I was not wont to work," quoth Wastour, "and now will I not beginne!"—

And let light 11 of the law and less of the Knighte,

And set Piers at a pease12 and his plough bothe,

And menaced Piers and his men gif they met eft-soone.13 "Now, by the peril of my soul!" quoth Piers, "I shall appaire 14 you alle!"

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And whooped after Hunger, that heard him atte firste; Awreak16 me of these wasters," quoth he, "that this world shendeth!"16

Hunger in haste then hent17 Wastour by the maw,

And wrung him so by the womb18 that both his eyen watered;
He buffeted the Britoner aboute the cheekes,
That he looked like a lantern all his life after.

Passus VI.

DO-WELL, DO-BET, AND DO-BEST.

A much19 man, as me thought, and like to myself, Come and called me by my kind 20 name.

"What art thou," quoth I then, "that thou my name knowest?" "That thou wotst well" quoth he, "and no wight better."

“ Wot I what thou art?" "Thought," said he then :

66

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I have sued thee this seven year; sey thou me no rather?" 21 "Art thou Thought?" quoth I then ; thou couldest me wiss22 Where that Do-well dwelleth, and do me that to know."

"Do-well and Do-bet and Do-best the third," quoth he, "Are three fair virtues and be not far to find.

Whoso is true of his tongue and of his two handes,

And through his labour or through his land his lifelode1 winneth,

And is trusty of his taling, taketh but his owne,

And is not drunkenlew ne dedeignous, Do-well him followeth.
Do-bet doth right thus, but he doth much more;
He is as low as a lamb, and lovely of speech,
And helpeth all men after that2 them needeth. . . .
Do-best is above both, and beareth a bishop's cross,
Is hooked on that one end, to hale men fro helle."

I thanked Thought then, that he me thus taught: "But yet savoureth me nought thy saying; I covet to learn How Do-well, Do-bet, and Do-best done amongst the people." "But3 Wit can wiss thee," quoth Thought, “where tho three dwell;

Else wot I none that can that now is alive."

Thought and I thus three days we geden5
Disputing upon Do-well day after other ;6

And, ere we were aware, with Wit gan we meet.
He was long and lean, like to none other;
Was no pride on his apparel, ne poverty neither;
Sad of his semblaunt and of soft cheere.7

I durst move no matter to make him to jangle,
But as I bade Thought then be mean betweene,
And put forth some purpose to proven his wittes...
Then Thought in that time saide these wordes :-
"Where Do-well, Do-bet, and Do-best been in londe,'9
Here is Will10 would y-wit," if Wit couthe teach him;
And whether he be man or no man, this man fain would

aspye,

12

And worken as they three would; this is his intent."

JEWS ARE MORE CHARITABLE TO ONE ANOTHER THAN

CHRISTIANS.

Should no Christian creature crien at the gate,

Ne fail pain1 ne potage, and prelates did as they shoulden. A Jew would not see a Jew go jangling for defaute2

For all the meubles on this mould, and he amend it mighte.
Alas, that a Christian creature shall be unkind till another,
Sithen Jews, that we judge Judas' fellows,

Either of them helpeth other of that that him needeth.
Why ne will we Christian of Christ's good be as kind
As Jews that been our lores-men! Shame to us alle!
The commune for their unkindness, I dread3 me, shall abye ;9
Bishops shall be blamed for beggars' sake.

He is worse than Judas that giveth a japer10 silver,
And biddeth the beggar go for his broke clothes.

Passus IX.

THE TRUEST CHARITY IS FOUND AMONG THE POOR.

But mirth and minstrelsy amongst men is noughte: Lecherie, losengerie, and loseles tales,11

Gluttony and great oathes, this mirth they loveth;

And, if they carpen of Christ, these clerks12 and these lewed,13 Atte meat in their mirthes when minstrels been stille,

Then telleth they of the Trinity a tale other 14 twain,

And bringeth forth a bald reason and taken Bernard 15 to witness,

And putten forth a presumption to prove the sothe. 16
Thus they drivel at their dais the Deity to know,
And gnawen God with the gorge when their gut is full.
And the careful 17 may cry and carpen at the gate,
Both a-hungred and a-thirst, and for chill quake.

Is

18 none to nimmen 19 him near, his annoy to amend ; But howlen on him as an hound and hoten him go hence. Little loveth he that Lord that lent him all that bliss

22

That thus parteth 20 with the poor a parcel 21 when him needeth. Ne were mercy in mean men more than in riche, Mendicants meatless might go to bed.