De Superbia.
And thogh so be that no man kan outrely telle the
nombre of the twigges and of the harmes that cometh of Pride, yet
wol I shewe a partie of hem, as ye shul understonde.
Ther is
inobedience, avauntynge, ypocrisie, despit, arrogance, inpudence,
swellynge of herte, insolence, elacioun, inpacience, strif,
contumacie, presumpcioun, irreverence, pertinacie, veyneglorie,
and many another twig that I kan nat declare.
Inobedient is
he that disobeyeth for despit to the comandementz of God, and to
his sovereyns, and to his goostly fader.
Avauntour is he that
bosteth of the harm or of the bountee that he hath doon.
Ypocrite is he that hideth to shewe hym swich as he is and
sheweth hym swich as he noght is.
Despitous is he
that hath desdeyn of his neighebor—that is to seyn, of his
evene-Cristene—or hath despit to doon that hym oghte to do.
Arrogant is he that thynketh that he hath thilke bountees in
hym that he hath noght, or weneth that he sholde have hem by his
desertes, or elles he demeth that he be that he nys nat.
Inpudent is he that for his pride hath no shame of his
synnes.
Swellynge of herte is whan a man rejoyseth
hym of harm that he hath doon.
Insolent is he that despiseth
in his juggement alle othere folk, as to regard of his value, and
of his konnyng, and of his spekyng, and of his beryng.
Elacioun is whan he ne may neither suffre to have maister
ne felawe.
Inpacient is he that wol nat been ytaught ne
undernome of his vice, and by strif werreieth trouthe wityngly,
and deffendeth his folye.
Contumax is he
that thurgh his indignacioun is agayns everich auctoritee or
power of hem that been his sovereyns.
Presumpcioun is whan
a man undertaketh an emprise that hym oghte nat do, or elles that
he may nat do; and this is called surquidrie. Irreverence is whan
men do nat honour there as hem oghte to doon, and waiten to be
reverenced.
Pertinacie is whan man deffendeth his folie and
trusteth to muchel to his owene wit.
Veyneglorie is
for to have pompe and delit in his temporeel hynesse, and
glorifie hym in this worldly estaat.
Janglynge is whan a man
speketh to muche biforn folk, and clappeth as a mille, and taketh
no keep what he seith.
And yet is ther a privee spece of Pride that waiteth first
to be salewed er he wole salewe, al be he lasse worth than that
oother is, peraventure; and eek he waiteth or desireth to sitte,
or elles to goon above hym in the wey, or kisse pax, or been
encensed, or goon to offryng biforn his neighebor,
and swiche
semblable thynges, agayns his duetee, peraventure, but that he
hath his herte and his entente in swich a proud desir to be
magnified and honoured biforn the peple.
Now been ther two maneres of Pride: that oon of hem is
withinne the herte of man, and that oother is withoute.
Of whiche, soothly, thise forseyde thynges, and mo than
I have seyd, apertenen to Pride that is in the herte of man; and
that othere speces of Pride been withoute.
But natheles that
oon of thise speces of Pride is signe of that oother, right as
the gaye leefsel atte taverne is signe of the wyn that is in the
celer.
And this is in manye thynges: as in speche and
contenaunce, and in outrageous array of clothyng.
For certes,
if ther ne hadde be no synne in clothyng, Crist wolde nat so
soone have noted and spoken of the clothyng of thilke riche man
in the gospel.
And, as seith Seint Gregorie, that
"precious clothyng is cowpable for the derthe of it, and for
his softenesse, and for his strangenesse and degisynesse, and for
the superfluitee, or for the inordinat scantnesse of it."
Allas, may man nat seen, as in oure dayes, the synful
costlewe array of clothynge, and namely in to muche superfluite,
or elles in to desordinat scantnesse?
As to the first synne, that is in superfluitee of
clothynge, which that maketh it so deere, to harm of the peple;
nat oonly the cost of embrowdynge, the degise endentynge or
barrynge, owndynge, palynge, wyndynge or bendynge, and semblable
wast of clooth in vanitee,
but ther is also costlewe furrynge
in hir gownes, so muche pownsonynge of chisels to maken holes,
so muche daggynge of sheres;
forthwith the superfluitee in
lengthe of the forseide gownes, trailynge in the dong and in the
mire, on horse and eek on foote, as wel of man as of womman, that
al thilke trailyng is verraily as in effect wasted, consumed,
thredbare, and roten with donge, rather than it is yeven to the
povre, to greet damage of the forseyde povre folk.
And that in sondry wise; this is to seyn that the moore
that clooth is wasted, the moore moot it coste to the peple for
the scarsnesse.
And forther over, if so be that they wolde
yeven swich pownsoned and dagged clothyng to the povre folk, it
is nat convenient to were for hire estaat, ne suffisant to beete
hire necessitee, to kepe hem fro the distemperance of the
firmament.
Upon that oother side, to speken of the horrible
disordinat scantnesse of clothyng, as been thise kutted sloppes,
or haynselyns, that thurgh hire shortnesse ne covere nat the
shameful
membres of man, to wikked entente.
Allas, somme
of hem shewen the boce of hir shap, and the horrible swollen
membres, that semeth lik the maladie of hirnia, in the wrappynge
of hir hoses;
and eek the buttokes of hem faren as it were
the hyndre part of a she-ape in the fulle of the moone.
And mooreover, the wrecched swollen membres that they
shewe thurgh disgisynge, in departynge of hire hoses in whit and
reed, semeth that half hir shameful privee membres weren flayne.
And if so be that they departen hire hoses in othere colours,
as is whit and blak, or whit and blew, or blak and reed, and so
forth,
thanne semeth it, as by variaunce of colour, that half
the partie of hire privee membres were corrupt by the fir of
Seint Antony, or by cancre, or by oother swich meschaunce.
Of
the hyndre part of hir buttokes, it is ful horrible for to see.
For certes, in that partie of hir body ther as they purgen hir
stynkynge ordure,
that foule partie shewe they to the peple
prowdly in despit of honestitee, which honestitee that Jhesu
Crist and his freendes observede to shewen in hir lyve.
Now, as of the outrageous array of wommen, God woot that
though the visages of somme of hem seme ful chaast and debonaire,
yet notifie they in hire array of atyr likerousnesse and pride.
I sey nat that honestitee in clothynge of man or womman is
uncovenable, but certes the superfluitee or disordinat scantitee
of clothynge is reprevable.
Also the synne of aornement or
of apparaille is in thynges that apertenen to ridynge, as in to
manye delicat horses that been hoolden for delit, that been so
faire, fatte, and costlewe;
and also in many a vicious knave
that is sustened by cause of hem; and in to curious harneys, as
in sadeles, in crouperes, peytrels, and bridles covered with
precious clothyng, and riche barres and plates of gold and of
silver.
For which God seith by Zakarie the prophete, "I
wol confounde the rideres of swiche horses."
This
folk taken litel reward of the ridynge of Goddes sone of hevene,
and of his harneys whan he rood upon the asse, and ne hadde noon
oother harneys but the povre clothes of his disciples; ne we ne
rede nat that evere he rood on oother beest.
I speke this for
the synne of superfluitee, and nat for resonable honestitee,
whan reson it requireth.
And forther over, certes, pride is
greetly notified in holdynge of greet meynee, whan they be of
litel profit or of right no profit,
and namely whan that
meynee is felonous and damageous to the peple by hardynesse of
heigh lordshipe or by wey of offices.
For certes, swiche
lordes sellen thanne hir lordshipe to the devel of helle, whanne
they sustenen the wikkednesse of hir meynee.
Or
elles, whan this folk of lowe degree, as thilke that holden
hostelries, sustenen the thefte of hire hostilers, and that is
in many manere of deceites.
Thilke manere of folk been the
flyes that folwen the hony, or elles the houndes that folwen the
careyne. Swich forseyde folk stranglen spiritually hir
lordshipes;
for which thus seith David the prophete:
"Wikked deeth moote come upon thilke lordshipes, and God yeve
that they moote descenden into helle al doun, for in hire houses
been iniquitees and shrewednesses and nat God of hevene."
And certes, but if they doon amendement, right as God yaf his
benysoun to [Laban] by the service of Jacob, and to [Pharao] by
the service of Joseph, right so God wol yeve his malisoun to
swiche lordshipes as sustenen the wikkednesse of hir servauntz,
but they come to amendement.
Pride of the table appeereth eek
ful ofte; for certes, riche men been cleped to festes, and povre
folk been put awey and rebuked.
Also in excesse of
diverse metes and drynkes, and namely swich manere bake-metes and
dissh-metes, brennynge of wilde fir and peynted and castelled
with papir, and semblable wast, so that it is abusioun for to
thynke.
And eek in to greet preciousnesse of vessel and
curiositee of mynstralcie, by whiche a man is stired the moore
to delices of luxurie,
if so be that he sette his herte
the lasse upon oure Lord Jhesu Crist, certeyn it is a
synne; and certeinly the delices myghte been so grete in this
caas that man myghte lightly falle by hem into deedly synne.
The especes that sourden of Pride, soothly whan they sourden
of malice ymagined, avised, and forncast, or elles of usage, been
deedly synnes, it is no doute.
And whan they sourden by
freletee unavysed, and sodeynly withdrawen ayeyn, al been they
grevouse synnes, I gesse that they ne been nat deedly.
Now myghte men axe wherof that Pride sourdeth and
spryngeth, and I seye, somtyme it spryngeth of the goodes of
nature, and somtyme of the goodes of fortune, and somtyme of the
goodes of grace.
Certes, the goodes of nature stonden outher
in goodes of body or in goodes of soule.
Certes, goodes of
body been heele of body, strengthe, delivernesse, beautee,
gentrice, franchise.
Goodes of nature of the soule been good
wit, sharp understondynge, subtil engyn, vertu natureel, good
memorie.
Goodes of fortune been richesse, hyghe degrees of
lordshipes, preisynges of the peple.
Goodes of grace
been science, power to suffre spiritueel travaille, benignitee,
vertuous contemplacioun, withstondynge of temptacioun, and
semblable thynges.
Of whiche forseyde goodes, certes it is
a ful greet folye a man to priden hym in any of hem alle.
Now
as for to speken of goodes of nature, God woot that somtyme we
han hem in nature as muche to oure damage as to oure profit.
As for to speken of heele of body, certes it passeth ful
lightly, and eek it is ful ofte enchesoun of the siknesse of oure
soule. For, God woot, the flessh is a ful greet enemy to the
soule, and therfore, the moore that the body is hool, the moore
be we in peril to falle.
Eke for to pride hym in his
strengthe of body, it is an heigh folye. For certes, the flessh
coveiteth agayn the spirit, and ay the moore strong that the
flessh is, the sorier may the soule be.
And over al
this, strengthe of body and worldly hardynesse causeth ful ofte
many a man to peril and meschaunce.
Eek for to pride hym of
his gentrie is ful greet folie; for ofte tyme the gentrie of the
body binymeth the gentrie of the soule; and eek we ben alle of
o fader and of o mooder; and alle we been of o nature, roten and
corrupt, bothe riche and povre.
For sothe, o manere gentrie
is for to preise, that apparailleth mannes corage with vertues
and moralitees, and maketh hym Cristes child.
For truste wel
that over what man that synne hath maistrie, he is a verray cherl
to synne.
Now been ther generale signes of gentillesse, as
eschewynge of vice and ribaudye and servage of synne, in word,
in werk, and contenaunce,
and usynge vertu,
curteisye, and clennesse, and to be liberal—that is to seyn,
large by mesure, for thilke that passeth mesure is folie and
synne.
Another is to remembre hym of bountee that he of
oother folk hath receyved.
Another is to be benigne to his
goode subgetis; wherfore seith Senek, "Ther is no thing moore
covenable to a man of heigh estaat than debonairetee and pitee.
And therfore thise flyes that men clepen bees, whan they
maken hir kyng, they chesen oon that hath no prikke wherwith he
may stynge."
Another is, a man to have a noble herte and
a diligent to attayne to heighe vertuouse thynges.
Now certes, a man to pride hym in the goodes of grace is
eek an outrageous folie, for thilke yifte of grace that sholde
have turned hym to goodnesse and to medicine, turneth hym to
venym and to confusioun, as seith Seint Gregorie.
Certes
also, whoso prideth hym in the goodes of fortune, he is a ful
greet fool; for somtyme is a man a greet lord by the morwe, that
is a caytyf and a wrecche er it be nyght;
and somtyme the
richesse of a man is cause of his deth; somtyme the delices of
a man ben cause of the grevous maladye thurgh which he dyeth.
Certes, the commendacioun of the peple is somtyme ful fals
and ful brotel for to triste; this day they preyse, tomorwe they
blame.
God woot, desir to have commendacioun eek of the peple
hath caused deeth to many a bisy man.
