No More Learning

C'est cele qui fait l'autrui prendre, 180
Rober, tolir et bareter,
Et bescochier et mesconter;
C'est cele qui les tricheors
Fait tous et les faus pledeors,
Qui maintes fois par lor faveles
Ont as vales et as puceles
Lor droites herites tolues.
Recorbillies et crocues
Avoit les mains icele ymage;
Ce fu drois: car toz jors esrage 190
Coveitise de l'autrui prendre.

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To grypen other folkes good.
Coveityse, for hir winning, 205
Ful leef hath other mennes thing.
Another image set saugh I AVARICE.
Next Coveityse faste by,
And she was cleped AVARICE.
Ful foul in peynting was that vice; 210
Ful sad and caytif was she eek,
And al-so grene as any leek.
So yvel hewed was hir colour,
Hir semed have lived in langour.
She was lyk thing for hungre deed, 215
That ladde hir lyf only by breed
Kneden with eisel strong and egre;
And therto she was lene and megre.
And she was clad ful povrely,
Al in an old torn courtepy, 220
As she were al with dogges torn;
And bothe bihinde and eek biforn
Clouted was she beggarly.
A mantel heng hir faste by,
Upon a perche, weyke and smalle; 225
A burnet cote heng therwithalle,
Furred with no menivere,

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Coveitise ne set entendre
A riens qu'a l'autrui acrochier;
Coveitise a l'autrui trop chier.
Une autre ymage y ot assise AVARICE.
Coste a coste de Coveitise,
AVARICE estoit apelee:
Lede estoit et sale et foulee
Cele ymage, et megre et chetive,
Et aussi vert cum une cive. 200
Tant par estoit descoloree
Qu'el sembloit estre enlangoree;
Chose sembloit morte de fain,
Qui ne vesquit fors que de pain
Petri a lessu fort et aigre;
Et avec ce qu'ele iere maigre,
Iert-ele povrement vestue,
Cote avoit vies et desrumpue,
Comme s'el fust as chiens remese;
Povre iert moult la cote et esrese, 210
Et plaine de vies palestiaus.
Delez li pendoit ung mantiaus
A une perche moult greslete,
Et une cote de brunete;
Ou mantiau n'ot pas penne vaire,

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But with a furre rough of here,
Of lambe-skinnes hevy and blake;
It was ful old, I undertake.
230
For Avarice to clothe hir wel
Ne hasteth hir, never a del;
For certeynly it were hir loth
To weren ofte that ilke cloth;
And if it were forwered, she 235
Wolde have ful greet necessitee
Of clothing, er she boughte hir newe,
Al were it bad of wolle and hewe.
This Avarice held in hir hande
A purs, that heng [doun] by a bande; 240
And that she hidde and bond so stronge,
Men must abyde wonder longe
Out of that purs er ther come ought,
For that ne cometh not in hir thought;
It was not, certein, hir entente 245
That fro that purs a peny wente.
And by that image, nygh y-nough, ENVYE.
Was peynt ENVYE, that never lough,
Nor never wel in herte ferde
But-if she outher saugh or herde 250

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Mes moult vies et de povre afaire,
D'agniaus noirs velus et pesans.
Bien avoit la robe vingt ans;
Mes Avarice du vestir
Se sot moult a tart aatir: 220
Car sachies que moult li pesast
Se cele robe point usast;
Car s'el fust usee et mauvese,
Avarice eust grant mesese
De noeve robe et grant disete,
Avant qu'ele eust autre fete.
Avarice en sa main tenoit
Une borse qu'el reponnoit,
Et la nooit si durement,
Que demorast moult longuement 230
Aincois qu'el en peust riens traire,
Mes el n'avoit de ce que faire.
El n'aloit pas a ce beant
Que de la borse ostat neant.
Apres refu portrete ENVIE, ENVIE.
Qui ne rist oncques en sa vie,
N'oncques de riens ne s'esjoi,
S'ele ne vit, ou s'el n'oi

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Som greet mischaunce, or greet disese.
No-thing may so moch hir plese
As mischef and misaventure;
Or whan she seeth discomfiture
Upon any worthy man falle, 255
Than lyketh hir [ful] wel withalle.
She is ful glad in hir corage,
If she see any greet linage
Be brought to nought in shamful wyse.
And if a man in honour ryse, 260
Or by his witte, or by prowesse,
Of that hath she gret hevinesse;
For, trusteth wel, she goth nigh wood
Whan any chaunce happeth good.
Envye is of swich crueltee, 265
That feith ne trouthe holdeth she
To freend ne felawe, bad or good.
Ne she hath kin noon of hir blood,
That she nis ful hir enemy;
She nolde, I dar seyn hardely, 270
Hir owne fader ferde wel.
And sore abyeth she everydel
Hir malice, and hir maltalent:

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Aucun grant domage retrere.
Nule riens ne li puet tant plere 240
Cum mefet et mesaventure;
Quant el voit grant desconfiture
Sor aucun prodomme cheoir,
Ice li plest moult a veoir.