No More Learning

A senestre vi delez lui;
Son non desus sa teste lui;
Apellee estoit FELONNIE.
Une ymage qui VILONIE VILENNIE.
Avoit non, revi devers destre,
Qui estoit auques d'autel estre
Cum ces deus et d'autel feture;
Bien sembloit male creature, 160
Et despiteuse et orguilleuse,
Et mesdisant et ramponeuse.
Moult sot bien paindre et bien portraire
Cil qui tiex ymages sot faire:
Car bien sembloit chose vilaine,
De dolor et de despit plaine;
Et fame qui petit seust
D'honorer ceus qu'ele deust.

<<
And next was peynted COVEITYSE, COVEITYSE.
That eggeth folk, in many gyse,
To take and yeve right nought ageyn,
And grete tresours up to leyn.
And that is she that for usure 185
Leneth to many a creature
The lasse for the more winning,
So coveitous is her brenning.
And that is she, for penyes fele,
That techeth for to robbe and stele 190
These theves, and these smale harlotes;
And that is routhe, for by hir throtes
Ful many oon hangeth at the laste.
She maketh folk compasse and caste
To taken other folkes thing, 195
Through robberie, or miscounting.
And that is she that maketh trechoures;
And she [that] maketh false pledoures,
That with hir termes and hir domes
Doon maydens, children, and eek gromes 200
Hir heritage to forgo.
Ful croked were hir hondes two;
For Coveityse is ever wood

>>
Apres fu painte COVEITISE: COUVOITISE.
C'est cele qui les gens atise 170
De prendre et de noient donner,
Et les grans avoirs auner.
C'est cele qui fait a usure
Prester mains por la grant ardure
D'avoir conquerre et assembler.
C'est cele qui semont d'embler
Les larrons et les ribaudiaus;
Si est grans pechies et grans diaus
Qu'en la fin en estuet mains pendre.
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,

>>
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.