by Homer
The King of Parthes, as the book saith us,
Sent him a pair of dice of gold in scorn,
For he had used hazard therebeforn:
For which he held his glory and renown
At no value or reputatioun.
Lordes may finden other manner play
Honest enough to drive the day away.
Now will I speak of oathes false and great
A word or two, as olde bookes treat.
Great swearing is a thing abominable,
And false swearing is more reprovable.
The highe God forbade swearing at all;
Witness on Matthew: but in special
Of swearing saith the holy Jeremie,
Thou thalt swear sooth thine oathes, and not lie:
And swear in doom1 and eke in righteousness; 1judgement
But idle swearing is a cursedness.1 1wickedness
Behold and see, there in the firste table
Of highe Godde’s hestes1 honourable, 1commandments
How that the second best of him is this,
Take not my name in idle1 or amiss. 1in vain
Lo, rather1 he forbiddeth such swearing, 1sooner
Than homicide, or many a cursed thing;
I say that as by order thus it standeth;
This knoweth he that his hests1 understandeth, 1commandments
How that the second hest of God is that.
And farthermore, I will thee tell all plat,1 1flatly, plainly
That vengeance shall not parte from his house,
That of his oathes is outrageous.
“By Godde’s precious heart, and by his nails,
And by the blood of Christ, that is in Hailes,
Seven is my chance, and thine is cinque and trey:
By Godde’s armes, if thou falsely play,
This dagger shall throughout thine hearte go.”
This fruit comes of the 1bicched bones two,1 1two cursed bones (dice)1
Forswearing, ire, falseness, and homicide.
Now, for the love of Christ that for us died,
Leave your oathes, bothe great and smale.
But, Sirs, now will I ell you forth my tale.
These riotoures three, of which I tell,
Long 1erst than1 prime rang of any bell, 1before
Were set them in a tavern for to drink;
And as they sat, they heard a belle clink
Before a corpse, was carried to the grave.
That one of them gan calle to his knave,1 1servant
“Go bet,” quoth he, “and aske readily
What corpse is this, that passeth here forth by;
And look that thou report his name well.”
“Sir,” quoth the boy, “it needeth never a deal;1 1whit
It was me told ere ye came here two hours;
He was, pardie, an old fellow of yours,
And suddenly he was y-slain to-night;
Fordrunk1 as he sat on his bench upright, 1completely drunk
There came a privy thief, men clepe Death,
That in this country all the people slay’th,
And with his spear he smote his heart in two,
And went his way withoute wordes mo’.
He hath a thousand slain this pestilence;
And, master, ere you come in his presence,
Me thinketh that it were full necessary
For to beware of such an adversary;
Be ready for to meet him evermore.
Thus taughte me my dame; I say no more.”
“By Sainte Mary,” said the tavernere,
“The child saith sooth, for he hath slain this year,
Hence ov’r a mile, within a great village,
Both man and woman, child, and hind, and page;
I trow his habitation be there;
To be advised1 great wisdom it were, 1watchful, on one’s guard
Ere1 that he did a man a dishonour.” 1lest
“Yea, Godde’s armes,” quoth this riotour,
“Is it such peril with him for to meet?
I shall him seek, by stile and eke by street.
I make a vow, by Godde’s digne1 bones.” 1worthy
Hearken, fellows, we three be alle ones:1 1at one
Let each of us hold up his hand to other,
And each of us become the other’s brother,
And we will slay this false traitor Death;
He shall be slain, he that so many slay’th,
By Godde’s dignity, ere it be night.”
Together have these three their trothe plight
To live and die each one of them for other
As though he were his owen sworen brother.
And up they start, all drunken, in this rage,
And forth they go towardes that village
Of which the taverner had spoke beforn,
And many a grisly1 oathe have they sworn, 1dreadful
And Christe’s blessed body they to-rent;1 1tore to pieces
“Death shall be dead, if that we may him hent.”1 1catch
When they had gone not fully half a mile,
Right as they would have trodden o’er a stile,
An old man and a poore with them met.
This olde man full meekely them gret,1 1greeted
And saide thus; “Now, lordes, God you see!”1 1look on graciously
The proudest of these riotoures three
Answer’d again; “What? churl, with sorry grace,
Why art thou all forwrapped1 save thy face? 1closely wrapt up
Why livest thou so long in so great age?”
This olde man gan look on his visage,
And saide thus; “For that I cannot find
A man, though that I walked unto Ind,
Neither in city, nor in no village go,
That woulde change his youthe for mine age;
And therefore must I have mine age still
As longe time as it is Godde’s will.
And Death, alas! he will not have my life.
Thus walk I like a resteless caitife,1 1miserable wretch
And on the ground, which is my mother’s gate,
I knocke with my staff, early and late,
And say to her, ‘Leve1 mother, let me in. 1dear
Lo, how I wane, flesh, and blood, and skin;
Alas! when shall my bones be at rest?
Mother, with you I woulde change my chest,
That in my chamber longe time hath be,
Yea, for an hairy clout to 1wrap in me.’1 1wrap myself in1
But yet to me she will not do that grace,
For which fall pale and welked1 is my face. 1withered
But, Sirs, to you it is no courtesy
To speak unto an old man villainy,
But1 he trespass in word or else in deed. 1except
In Holy Writ ye may yourselves read;
‘Against1 an old man, hoar upon his head, 1to meet
Ye should arise:’ therefore I you rede,1 1advise
Ne do unto an old man no harm now,
No more than ye would a man did you
In age, if that ye may so long abide.
And God be with you, whether ye go or ride
I must go thither as I have to go.”
“Nay, olde churl, by God thou shalt not so,”
Saide this other hazardor anon;
“Thou partest not so lightly, by Saint John.
Thou spakest right now of that traitor Death,
That in this country all our friendes slay’th;
Have here my troth, as thou art his espy;1 1spy
Tell where he is, or thou shalt it abie,1 1suffer for
By God and by the holy sacrament;
For soothly thou art one of his assent
To slay us younge folk, thou false thief.”
“Now, Sirs,” quoth he, “if it be you so lief1 1desire
To finde Death, turn up this crooked way,
For in that grove I left him, by my fay,
Under a tree, and there he will abide;
Nor for your boast he will him nothing hide.
See ye that oak? right there ye shall him find.
God save you, that bought again mankind,
And you amend!” Thus said this olde man;
And evereach of these riotoures ran,
Till they came to the tree, and there they found
Of florins fine, of gold y-coined round,
Well nigh a seven bushels, as them thought.
No longer as then after Death they sought;
But each of them so glad was of the sight,
For that the florins were so fair and bright,
That down they sat them by the precious hoard.
The youngest of them spake the firste word:
“Brethren,” quoth he, “1take keep1 what I shall say; 1heed1
My wit is great, though that I bourde1 and play 1joke, frolic
This treasure hath Fortune unto us given
In mirth and jollity our life to liven;
And lightly as it comes, so will we spend.
Hey! Godde’s precious dignity! who wend1 1weened, thought
Today that we should have so fair a grace?
But might this gold he carried from this place
Home to my house, or elles unto yours
(For well I wot that all this gold is ours),
Then were we in high felicity.
But truely by day it may not be;
Men woulde say that we were thieves strong,
And for our owen treasure do us hong.1 1have us hanged
This treasure muste carried be by night,
As wisely and as slily as it might.
Wherefore I rede,1 that cut2 among us all 1advise 2lots
We draw, and let see where the cut will fall:
And he that hath the cut, with hearte blithe
Shall run unto the town, and that full swithe,1 1quickly
And bring us bread and wine full privily:
And two of us shall keepe subtilly
This treasure well: and if he will not tarry,
When it is night, we will this treasure carry,
By one assent, where as us thinketh best.”
Then one of them the cut brought in his fist,
And bade them draw, and look where it would fall;
And it fell on the youngest of them all;
And forth toward the town he went anon.
And all so soon as that he was y-gone,
The one of them spake thus unto the other;
“Thou knowest well that thou art my sworn brother,
1Thy profit1 will I tell thee right anon. 1what is for thine
Thou knowest well that our fellow is gone, advantage1
And here is gold, and that full great plenty,
That shall departed1 he among us three. 1divided
But natheless, if I could shape1 it so 1contrive
That it departed were among us two,
Had I not done a friende’s turn to thee?”
Th’ other answer’d, “I n’ot1 how that may be; 1know not
He knows well that the gold is with us tway.
What shall we do? what shall we to him say?”
“Shall it be counsel?”1 said the firste shrew;2 1secret 2wretch
“And I shall tell to thee in wordes few
What we shall do, and bring it well about.”
“I grante,” quoth the other, “out of doubt,
That by my truth I will thee not bewray.”1 1betray
“Now,” quoth the first, “thou know’st well we be tway,
And two of us shall stronger be than one.
Look; when that he is set,1 thou right anon 1sat down
Arise, as though thou wouldest with him play;
And I shall rive1 him through the sides tway, 1stab
While that thou strugglest with him as in game;
And with thy dagger look thou do the same.
And then shall all this gold departed1 be, 1divided
My deare friend, betwixte thee and me:
Then may we both our lustes1 all fulfil, 1pleasures
And play at dice right at our owen will.”
And thus accorded1 be these shrewes2 tway 1agreed 2wretches
To slay the third, as ye have heard me say.
The youngest, which that wente to the town,
Full oft in heart he rolled up and down
The beauty of these florins new and bright.
“O Lord!” quoth he, “if so were that I might
Have all this treasure to myself alone,
There is no man that lives under the throne
Of God, that shoulde have so merry as I.”
And at the last the fiend our enemy
Put in his thought, that he should poison buy,
With which he mighte slay his fellows twy.1 1two
For why, the fiend found him 1in such living,1 1leading such a
That he had leave to sorrow him to bring. (bad) life1
For this was utterly his full intent
To slay them both, and never to repent.
And forth he went, no longer would he tarry,
Into the town to an apothecary,
And prayed him that he him woulde sell
Some poison, that he might 1his rattes quell,1 1kill his rats1
And eke there was a polecat in his haw,1 1farm-yard, hedge
That, as he said, his eapons had y-slaw:1 1slain
And fain he would him wreak,1 if that he might, 1revenge
Of vermin that destroyed him by night.
Th’apothecary answer’d, “Thou shalt have
A thing, as wisly1 God my soule save, 1surely
In all this world there is no creature
That eat or drank hath of this confecture,
Not but the mountance1 of a corn of wheat, 1amount
That he shall not his life 1anon forlete;1 1immediately lay down1
Yea, sterve1 he shall, and that in lesse while 1die
Than thou wilt go 1apace1 nought but a mile: 1quickly1
This poison is so strong and violent.”
This cursed man hath in his hand y-hent1 1taken
This poison in a box, and swift he ran
Into the nexte street, unto a man,
And borrow’d of him large bottles three;
And in the two the poison poured he;
The third he kepte clean for his own drink,
For all the night he shope him1 for to swink2 1purposed 2labour
In carrying off the gold out of that place.
And when this riotour, with sorry grace,
Had fill’d with wine his greate bottles three,
To his fellows again repaired he.
What needeth it thereof to sermon1 more? 1talk, discourse
For, right as they had cast1 his death before, 1plotted
Right so they have him slain, and that anon.
And when that this was done, thus spake the one;
“Now let us sit and drink, and make us merry,
And afterward we will his body bury.”
And with that word it happen’d him 1par cas1 1by chance
To take the bottle where the poison was,
And drank, and gave his fellow drink also,
For which anon they sterved1 both the two. 1died
But certes I suppose that Avicen
Wrote never in no canon, nor no fen,
More wondrous signes of empoisoning,
Than had these wretches two ere their ending.
Thus ended be these homicides two,
And eke the false empoisoner also.
O cursed sin, full of all cursedness!
O trait’rous homicide! O wickedness!
O glutt’ny, luxury, and hazardry!
Thou blasphemer of Christ with villany,1 1outrage, impiety
And oathes great, of usage and of pride!
Alas! mankinde, how may it betide,
That to
thy Creator, which that thee wrought,
And with his precious hearte-blood thee bought,
Thou art so false and so unkind,1 alas! 1unnatural
Now, good men, God forgive you your trespass,
And ware1 you from the sin of avarice. 1keep
Mine holy pardon may you all warice,1 1heal
So that ye offer 1nobles or sterlings,1 1gold or silver coins1
Or elles silver brooches, spoons, or rings.
Bowe your head under this holy bull.
Come up, ye wives, and offer of your will;
Your names I enter in my roll anon;
Into the bliss of heaven shall ye gon;
I you assoil1 by mine high powere, 1absolve
You that will offer, as clean and eke as clear
As ye were born. Lo, Sires, thus I preach;
And Jesus Christ, that is our soules’ leech,1 1healer
So grante you his pardon to receive;
For that is best, I will not deceive.
But, Sirs, one word forgot I in my tale;
I have relics and pardon in my mail,
As fair as any man in Engleland,
Which were me given by the Pope’s hand.
If any of you will of devotion
Offer, and have mine absolution,
Come forth anon, and kneele here adown
And meekely receive my pardoun.
Or elles take pardon, as ye wend,1 1go
All new and fresh at every towne’s end,
So that ye offer, always new and new,
Nobles or pence which that be good and true.
’Tis an honour to evereach1 that is here, 1each one
That ye have a suffisant1 pardonere 1suitable
T’assoile1 you in country as ye ride, 1absolve
For aventures which that may betide.
Paraventure there may fall one or two
Down of his horse, and break his neck in two.
Look, what a surety is it to you all,
That I am in your fellowship y-fall,
That may assoil1 you bothe 1more and lass,1 1absolve
When that the soul shall from the body pass. 1great and small1
I rede1 that our Hoste shall begin, 1advise
For he is most enveloped in sin.
Come forth, Sir Host, and offer first anon,
And thou shalt kiss; the relics every one,
Yea, for a groat; unbuckle anon thy purse.
“Nay, nay,” quoth he, “then have I Christe’s curse!
Let be,” quoth he, “it shall not be, 1so the’ch.1 1so may I thrive1
Thou wouldest make me kiss thine olde breech,
And swear it were a relic of a saint,
Though it were with thy 1fundament depaint’.1 1stained by your bottom1