 | A Book of a Ghostly Father |  |
Of Couetyse.
The thyrde synne without myseIs the synne of Couetyse
Haste thou man in ony wyse.
By wronge and couetyse
Of his house good or londe.
And by strength & extorcyō kepest possessyō
And makest therof no maner restytucyon
O mortall man remebre this chaunce
Before god it asketh vengeaunce
Et non deletur peccatum
Nisi restituatur oblatum.
Thus in scrypture I haue it founde.
And in englysshe I wyll it expounde
A man of his synne can haue no remyssyon.
Unto suche tyme he haue made restytucyō.
Haste thou lyen by waye or by strete
There thy neyghboure for to mete.
And thyne entencyon suche it was
To robbe hym of his good more and las
Or hast broken his house by daye or nyght
And caryed his good out of his syght
Doynge so thou wylte be shente.
It is agaynst goddes commaundemente.
Hast thou borne out of chyrche or chyrchay.
Ony thynge ye or naye
As golde and syluer or ony other wede
Thou standest accursed in the dede.
Usury or okur bothe be none.
Doste thou vse ony of those or none
This is a synne full greuous
Before our sauyoure Ihesus.
God taketh moche on greffe
To sell a man in his myscheffe
Well I knowe vsury it is
And to lende .xii. pens and to haue thyrtene
This is vsury as I wene
At syses sessyons haste thou ben thare.
To put thy neyghboure to trouble and care.
So by thy couetyse mynde extorcyon and strength
Some wynnynge thou hast had therof at lengthe
Hast thou vsed wt mesures or weyghtes to by & sell
And thou haue I charge the to tell.
And as trewe as I am a man
I wyll helpe the and I can.
Haste thou coueted ony mannes doughter or wyfe.
With them to lyue a synfull lyfe
His hors his catell or other good lo
Of the whiche thou hast had no ryght therto.
By cursed couetyse and vngracyous wyght
Not carynge howe thou haddest come by hit
Hast thou on thy good thy mynde set in ordynatly
And not sayd to god for it gramercy
Remembre the story in holy wrytynge
Of Dyues the ryche man and of his lyuynge
Whose soule is nowe in hell full lowe
And wherfore was it as you trowe
As sure and as trewe as I wrote this verse
It was for the cause I dyde reherse
He wolde not for the loue of swete Ihesus.
Helpe nor socoure the poore man Lazarus.
With his goodes lesse nor more
Nor no poore man at his dore.
And curseth the tyme that borne he was.
Alas/alas be ware by me.
Quante sunt tenebre
The derkenes of hell as trewe as is the crede.
Men maye fele it as I rede.
Haste thou ben couetyse/or ben tysynge
Withdrawynge thy duety as offrynge or tythynge
The whiche thou knowest is thy dewe
Of euery thynge that dothe renewe
Bothe of small and of greate
Of shepe of swyne or of neate.
Outher of goodes in thy possessyon hauynge
Haste thou spended them in myslyuynge
I se not but before god as moche synne is
To myspende thy good as to wynne it amys.
Beynge in ony of these daungers shewe it oute
I wyll helpe the without doute
So that thou wylte be ruled and do well
Somwhat after my counsell.
| A Book of a Ghostly Father | |