He is ay angry as is a piffemire.

7410

Though that he have all that he can defire;'
Though I him wrie a-night, and make him warm,
And over him lay my leg and eke min arm,
He groneth as our bore lith in our stie :
Other difport of him right non have I;
I may not plese him in no maner cas.

O Thomas, je vous die, Thomas, Thomas!
This maketh the fend, this muste ben amended. 7415
Ire is a thing that high God hath defended,

And therof wol I fpeke a word or two.

Now mainter, quod the wif, er that I go,

What wol ye dine? I wol go theraboute.

Now Dame, quod he, jeo vous die fanz doute, 7420

Have I not of a capon but the liver,

And of your white bred nat but a fhiver,
And after that a rofted pigges hed,

(But I ne wolde for me no beeft were ded)
Than had I with you homly fuffifance;
I am a man of little fuftenance :
My fpirit hath his foftring in the Bible:
My body is ay fo ready and so penible
To waken that my stomak is deftroied.

7425

pray you, Dame, that ye be nought annoied 7430 Though I fo frendly you my confeil fhewe; By God I n'old have told it but a fewe Now Sire, quod fhe, but o word er I go. My child is ded within thise wekes two,

Sone after that ye went out of this toun.

His deth faw I by revelatioun,
Sayde this frere, at home in our dortour.*
I dare wel fain that er than half an hour
After his deth I faw him borne to blisse
In min avifion, fo God me wiffe;
So did our fextein and our fermerere,
That han ben trewe freres fifty yere;

They may now, God be thanked of his lone,
Maken hir jubilee, and walke alone.
And up I arofe, and all our covent eke,
With many a tere trilling on our cheke,
Withouten noise or clatering of belles,
Te deum was our fong, and nothing elles,
Save that to Crift I bade an orifon,

7435

1

7440

7445

Thanking him of my revelation.

7450

For, Sire and Dame, trusteth me right wel

Our orifons ben more effectuel,

And more we feen of Criftes fecree thinges,

Than borel folk, although that they be kinges.

We live in poverte and in abstinence,

7455

And borel folk in richeffe and difpence

Of mete and drinke, and in hir foule delit:
We han this worldes luft all in despit.

V. 7442. fifty yere] See Du Cange, in v. Sempecæ. Peculiar honours and immunities were granted by the rule of St. Benedict to thofe monks " qui quinquaginta annos in ordine exe. 64 gerant, quos annum jubilæum exegiffe vulgo dicimus." It is probable that fome fimilar regulation obtained in the other orders.

Lazar and Dives lividen diversely,

And divers guerdon hadden they therby.

Who fo wol pray he must fast and be clene,
And fat his foule and make his body lene.
We fare as fayth the apostle; cloth and food
Sufficeth us though they be not ful good.
The cleneneffe and the fasting of us freres
Maketh that Crift accepteth our praieres.

Lo, Moifes forty daies and forty night
Fafted er that the high God ful of might
Spake with him in the mountagne of Sinay:
With empty wombe of fasting many a day
Received he the lawe that was writen
With Goddes finger: and Eli, wel ye witen,
In Mount Oreb, er he had any speche
With highe God, that is our lives leche,
He fafted long, and was in contemplance.

Aaron, that had the temple in governance,
And eke the other preeftes everich on,
Into the temple whan they fhulden gon

7460

7465

7470

7475

To praien for the peple, and do fervise,

They n'olden drinken in no maner wife

7480

No drinke which that might hem dronken make, But ther in abftinence pray and wake

Left that they deiden. Take heed what I fay-
But they be fobre that for the peple pray—
Ware that I say-No more; for it fufficeth.
Our Lord Jefu, as holy writ devifeth,

7485

Yave us enfample of fasting and praieres;
Therfore we mendiants, we fely freres,
Ben wedded to poverte and continence,
To charitee, humbleffe, and abftinence,
To perfecution for rightwifneffe,

To weping, mifericorde, and to clenenesse;
And therfore may ye fee that our praieres

7490

(1 fpeke of us, we mendiants, we freres) ... Ben to the highe God more acceptable

7495

Than youres, with your feftes at your table.

Fro Paradis firft, if I fhal not lie,

Was man out chased for his glotonie;

And chaft was man in Paradis certain..

But herken now, Thomas, what I fhal fain:

7500

I have no text of it as I fuppofe,

But I fhal find it in a maner glofe;

That specially our fwete Lord Jefus

Spake this by freres whan he fayde thus,
Bleffed be they that poure in fpirit ben;
And fo forth all the gofepl may ye fen
Whether it be liker our profeffion
Or hirs that swimmen in poffeflion.
Fic on hir pompe, and on hir glotonie,
And on hir lewedneffe! I hem defie.

7505

7510

v. 7488. mendiants] In mf. A. it is mendinants, both here and below, ver 7494, which reading, though not agreeable to analogy, is perhaps the true one, as I find the word conftantly fo spelled in the ftat. 12 R. II. c. 7, 8, 9, 10.

Me thinketh they ben like Jovinian,

Fat as a whale, and walken as a fwan ;
Al vinolent as botel in the spence;
Hir praier is of ful gret reverence:

Whan they for foules say the Pfalm of Davit, 7515 Lo, buf they say, Gor meum eructavit.

Who foloweth Criftes gospel and his lore

But we, that humble ben, and chast and pore,
Workers of Goddes word, not auditours?

Therfore right as an hauke upon a fours

7520

Up fpringeth into the aire, right fo praieres

Of charitable and chaft besy freres

Maken hir fours to Goddes eres two.
Thomas, Thomas! fo mote I ride or go,
And by that lord that cleped is Seint Ive,

7525

N'ere thou our broder fhuldeft thou not thrive.

In our chapitre pray we day and night

To Crist that he thee fende hele and might

.7511. Jovinian] Against whom St. Jerome wrote, or perhaps the fuppofed emperour of that name in the Gefta Romanorum, c. lix, whofe ftory was worked up into a morality, under the title of L'orgueil et préfomption de l'Empereur Fovinian--à 19 perfonages. It was printed at Lions 1581, 8vo, fur une vieille copie. Du Verdier, in v. Fovinien.The fame story is told of a Robert King of Sicily, in an old English poem, mf. Harl. 1701. Mr. Warton has given large extracts from an Oxford mf. as I fuppofe, of the fame poem, Hift. of Eng. Po. p. 184. .7514. of jul gret reverence] The editt. have changed this to ful litel; but the reading of the mff. may ftand, if it be understood ironically.

Volume III.

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