# Romance of the Rose (Ellis)/Chapter 35

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XXXV
Herein the needy man doth stand Before his friend, and at his hand5010 Requires that of his goods he give Fair share, that he in ease may live.
True friends open-handed For one whose heart is strong and brave, A bitter thing it is to crave For alms: O many a cruel thought Is his before his lips are brought To ask a boon. Fear ties his tongue, Lest in his anxious face are flung His tremulous words. But hath he found A friend with whom his life is bound5020 In long-tried friendship, then he may (Casting base fear and shame away) Pour forth to him the grief that bites And wears his heart, for that unites True friends the closer; who need fear Reproach from such an one to hear? And when his loving friend hath heard His secret, he need fear no third It passeth to; nor yet afraid Need be lest he should be a-paid5030 With scornful words. To keep his tongue A wise man knows, while oft is rung A zany’s bell. A generous man To give his aid is readier than His friend to ask. And if so be He lacketh opportunity Or means to help, he grieveth more Than he who needs assistance, for ​Love worketh aye in earnest wise, Though found in many a differing guise. If love run strong betwixt the two, Each hath his part in turn to do, For this one suffereth that one’s pain, And that one’s joy is this one’s gain.
Cicero on friendship By friendship’s law, great Tully saith, That when two men repose full faith In one another, and request Is made betwixt them, ’tis a test Of mutual love; and asking made With right and reason, to evade5050 Fulfilment were a thing unjust, Save in two cases, which men must Keep aye in mind. The first is this: If it attaint man’s life, ywis, Refuse to have concern therein; Or secondly, if one would pin Disgrace on some well-honoured name, Scorn thou to aid an act of shame And baseness. In each case, I trow, Stern duty cries: Thou shalt not bow5060 Thy will to his, whose heart perverse Injustice ’gainst his foe doth nurse. Such love it is that thou shouldst give Thine heart to, if thou fain wouldst live In honour, but flee thou that blind, False love that but obscures thy mind; The one is virtue’s very breath, The other draws men on to death.
Another Love will I describe, An adverse love, whereat may gibe5070 ​Love for gain’s sake All worthy men—a forgery Of villain hearts, that foolis hly Torment themselves for base-earned gain. Of such sort is this love, that vain It finds its life so soon as e’er It loses hope of profit where It looked to find it, and away ’Tis gone and vanished in a day. The true friend loveth not the pelf His friend possesses, but himself; And little true love moves that heart Which of its friend but makes a mart For chaffer. This vile love doth wane Or wax with Fortune, which amain Suffers eclipse, as doth the moon Whose brightness dims and fades so soon As o’er it goes the gloomy shade Of earth, but ere long is arrayed More brightly as the sun ’gins cast His beams again on her. So, fast5090 This fickle love doth ever range From man to man as fortunes change, Sometimes obscure, and sometimes bright.
But when by Poverty ’tis dight In wretched gaberdine, or when Fair Richesse’ beauty fails, O then This sordid love doth disappear, But once again ’twill shine forth clear As Richesse gaineth strength and health; Cupidity adoreth wealth;5100 When Richesse dies, it sinks to earth, She rises, and it hath new birth. ​Of this base love that I declare A wealthy carle gets ample share, And the vile miser more than all, Who ne’er hath wisdom to let fall From out his soul the wretched vice Of hard-eyed, grasping avarice. Churls win no friends More simple than a wild deer is A miser, who believes for this5110 He winneth love. Nay, proves it not He’s nought above a doltish sot? How shall a man who never gave Love to his fellow hope to have Return of love? O is not he Counted a fool most worthily? The branch-horned stag is not so poor Of sense as this dull, drivelling boor. Pardie! whoso will draw around His hearth true friends must needs abound5120 In kindly words and deeds, but nought A miser loves, in deed or thought. Nay! if he wots his neighbour poor, He draws his purse-strings tight, and door Shuts in his face. Yea! still his gold, With fist fast gripped, he strives to hold Till death’s sharp sickle clears the field, For liefer than a scrap he’ll yield Of pelf from out his darling hoard Would he prefer to be by sword5130 Cleft limb from limb. But little part Hath he with love, for how in heart ​So hard could friendship find fit place? The miser knows how void of grace He lives, and loving none, must die, Unloved of all men, shamefully.
Friends in fortune Dame Fortune next beneath our ken Appears; and how she deals with men Shall be set forth. My tongue shall tell Strange tales of her, past parallel.5140 Thou doubt’st my word? I marvel not, Yet thou in my discourse no blot Of falsity shalt find. We see That Fortune falleth, so that she Oft-times brings richer blessings down On men who live beneath her frown, Than those on whom she smiles. And though This seems a paradox, yet so It many a time hath proved, that when Fortune doth sweetly smile on men5150 She lies, and gives good cause to weep, Yet lulls them into gentle sleep, As nursing mother lulls her child, And oft hath she man’s heart beguiled With favours, honours, and richesse, And dignity, and prosperousness, And promise given these things shall last For aye, though soon all overpast Is worldly might. When Fortune’s wheel Men mount upon, exalt they feel,516O Assured of safety, and are raised So high, their better wit is dazed. And when she setteth them on high She will provide them royally ​With pleasant friends, who all about Their steps still keep them, in and out, Whereso they wend, and well-nigh break Their backs for your great honour’s sake As lord and seignior; loudly they Declare them prone to cast away5170 Their lives in your defence, like dirt. Vowing, each one, his very shirt Is yours if so you will, and they Will fight for you whate’er the way False friends depart with wealth Your arm shall lead them. Far too oft Men swell with pride to hear these soft But treacherous fawners, and believe Their flattering words as they receive The gospel’s holy truths, though not More worth than those Iscariot5180 Used to betray his Lord, and this They prove when riches fleet, ywis, Past hope of bettering. Though five-score Of friends they lately had, if more Than one remain, they well may raise Their vows to God in humble praise For boon so great. When Fortune makes Her home with men, she lightly wakes Their worser selves. Contrarily When from their proud estate they be,5190 By turn of Fortune’s wheel, cast down, From lordly seat to stool of clown, Then she, as step-dame, doth apply (Smarting sore hearts most recklessly) No plaister mixed of eager wine, But poverty that stings like brine. ​She then makes plain, with rugged truth, That no man, or in age or youth. Who habiteth this changeful earth.5200 Should count prosperity of worth Beyond the slippery hour. Whene’er A man, once wealthy, finds him bare Of worldly garnishment, he then Shall learn how many or few of men Remain his friends. For those who came In flocks around when wealth and fame Smiled sweetly in his face, are shocked, And sharply startled, when bemocked By Fortune’s hand they see him; none Remain to cheer, not half a one5210 Alas! is left; nor do they fly In silence, but loud-voiced deny Knowledge of him ’fore whom of late They fell, with fawning voice, prostrate. Nor stay they there, but loud proclaim His thousand faults, and sharply blame His folly, though scarce yet is cold The breath with which his manifold But true friends abide Good deeds they chaunted. Still remain Some few whose love no hope of gain5220 Or place inspired; they still defend The man they once called ‘well-loved friend,’ For on his honoured self they set Their hearts, devoid of hope to get Advantage. Goes not by the board His love whose wilful hand the sword Would draw against his friend? ​The test of adversity There are Two points where friendship forms no bar To quarrel: bitter wrath or pride May end its term ; and woe betide5230 Old friendship if a man reveal A secret given beneath the seal Of confidence; or poisonous spite Of base detraction puts to flight Kind thought of olden days. If one True friend be found, ere life be done, Among a thousand, happy he Who proves him; for a man may be Wealthy, and held in high repute, But yet, forsooth, be destitute5240 Of one friend’s love. It well was said, A traveller on his road is sped Better by friend than purse well lined. When changeful Fortune proves unkind To wealthy wights, by dole it is She opes their eyes to see, ywis, How they true faithful friends may know From those who did but boast them so In Fortune’s hour, and proves how vain To win true friends is wealth mundane,5250 Showing adversity to be More profit than prosperity; Through one in ignorance we stay, The other clears the mist away.
And whensoe’er it haps that poor A man becomes, he may with sure ​Unfailing test discover who Among his friends are false or true. O then he finds how base and mean Are those whom he but late hath seen5260 Bowing before him, offering all That they of worldly good could call Their own, to serve him. Prithee say What sum think you ’twere worth to pay Hereof to be forewarned? Much less, Perchance, had been the readiness Wherewith he was deceived if he Had known the wit you learn from me. Suffisance better than plenty The stroke of poverty had been5270 To this man better far, I ween. Than riches, for he then had turned His back on vanity, and learned Wisdom. That man is never rich
Who sets his heart on treasure which Leaves void within his soul; enough
Of simple goods and household stuff Doth far more happiness confer Than wealth unbounded; joy doth stir More freely hearts of peasants fed On hard-earned crusts of barley bread,5280 Than of rich men whose barns contain A hundred moddes of golden grain.
Hearken, while I essay to paint The tribulations that attaint Rich merchants, who but live to gain More wealth: what miseries are they fain To undergo with will to pile Riches on riches; avarice vile ​Hath seized their hearts; and fierce desire To have, which nought can stay or tire,5290 Corrupts their every thought; they want The more, the more they get, and pant For increase still, though when ’tis got Small joy it gives their hearts, I wot.
Poverty hath advantages But happy lives the man who ne’er Suffers the thought of carking care To rack his heart, while day by day With hardy hand he holds at bay The wolf of hunger, and provides Whatso he needs, yet never chides5300 The stroke of Fortune. Well content He rests with what kind Heaven hath sent, So long as fails he not to gain Raiment and food. If racked with pain And sickness lieth he abed, And loatheth in his wearihead His meat, he wisely looks around To seek what issue may be found Therefrom, and Nature saith that good And prudent ’tis that he all food5310 Foregoes the while. If so it fall He passeth to the hospital, There shall his sorrows comfort find. But oft it haps the poor man’s mind Cares little for the morrow’s need, And all the woes hard want doth breed. But if he thinks thereon, declares There’s time enough for that, nor spares ​One denier from his daily gain To ward the risk of future pain5320 By timely foresight; cold and heat Alike with constant heart he’ll meet; And if gaunt famine face him, he Welcomes his end right manfully. For all the sooner that he knows The stroke of death, the sooner goes His soul to paradise, where God Grants heaven in change for earth’s dull sod.
Pythagoras and Boethius Pythagoras hath said the same Within that noble book men name5330 ‘The Golden Verses,’ fair and bright They shine throughout the ages’ night. ‘When of thy body thou art quit. Forthwith to heaven thy soul shall flit, And freed from human grossness be Absorbed within the Deity.’ Wretched the fool who dreams that this Poor earth our only city is. Let one demand of some wise clerk, Well versed in that most noble work5340 ‘Of Consolation,’ ’foretime writ By great Boethius, for in it Are stored and hidden most profound
And learned lessons: ’twould redound
Greatly to that man’s praise who should Translate that book with masterhood. Thrice happy he who knows to live On that which kindly Heaven doth give To feed his wants, nor strives for more In hope to gather needless store;5350 ​For, saith our master, none need be Caitiff, whatever his degree, except he deem him so; the king, Proud knight, or beggar, in this thing Fare all alike. Poverty lighthearted Light-heart and gay Goes many a beggar by the way, But little heeding though his back Be bent beneath a charcoal sack. They labour patiently, and sing, And dance, and laugh at whatso thing5360 Befalls; for havings care they nought, But feed on scraps and chitlings bought Beside St. Marcel’s, and dispend Their gains for wassail, then, straight wend Once more to work, not grumblingly, But light of heart as bird on tree Winning their bread without desire To fleece their neighbours. Nought they tire Of this their round, but week by week In mirth and work contentment seek;5370 Returning when their work is done Once more to swill the jovial tun. And he who that he holds esteems Enough, is rich beyond the dreams Of many a dreary usurer, And lives his life-days happier far; For nought it signifies what gains The wretched usurer makes, the pains Of poverty afflict him yet Who having, struggleth still to get.5380
’Tis truth (though some ’twill little please To hear the trader knows no ease; ​The misery of avarice For ever is his soul a prey To anxious care of how he may Amass more wealth: this mad desire Doth all his thought and actions fire, Devising means whereby to stuff His barns and coffers, for ‘enough’ He ne’er can have, but hungereth yet His neighbours’ goods and gold to get.5390 It is as though for thirst he fain Would quaff the volume of the Seine At one full draught, and yet should fail To find its waters of avail To quench his longing. What distress, What anguish, wrath, and bitterness Devour the wretch! fell rage and spite Possess his spirit day and night, And tear his heart; the fear of want Pursues him like a spectre gaunt.5400 The more he hath, a wider mouth He opes, no draught can quench his drouth.
The lawyer likewise, and the leech, One brush hath tarred them both, for each Will eagerly for lucre sell His soul, and both deserve right well The gibbet. Such foul greed for gain The one devoureth, that he fain For one sick man would have two-score, And t’other longs that thirty more5410 Were tacked to every cause he pleads; Nay, multiplied by tens, their needs Were yet unsatisfied, so bold Their lust and hunger is for gold. ​Of evil priests And then divines who all the earth O’errun that they may gather worth Of worldly goods, and power and place, Foremost in vice, and last in grace: Most evil lives these preachers lead. Treading in their unholy greed5420 Vainglory’s treacherous path, and eke Thereby their souls’ damnation seek. Their very selves do they deceive, For through their preaching they receive No vantage, though perchance their word By others be with profit heard, For if their sermonising be Attaint with culpability, Nought shall the preachers gain, but they, Preaching, themselves are cast away,5430 And though the hearers virtue learn, The teachers God’s damnation earn.
But let us leave the priests awhile, And turn again unto the vile Gold grubbers. Reverence, love, or fear Of God they know not, but hold dear Their pence alone: the trembling poor They leave to starve beside their door, Till God stretch forth His arm and show How crime doth unto judgment grow.5440
Three cruel vengeances pursue These miserable wretches who Hoard up their worthless wealth: great toil Is theirs to win it; then their spoil ​They fear to lose; and lastly, grieve Most bitterly that they must leave Their hoards behind them. Cursed they die Who living, lived but wretchedly; For no man, if he lack of love, Hath peace below or joy above.5450 True use of wealth If those who heap up wealth would show Fair love to others, they would go Through life beloved, and thus would reign Sweet happy days. If they were fain. Who hold much good, to shower around Their bounty unto those they found In need thereof, and nobly lent Their money, free from measurement Of usury (yet gave it not To idle gangrel men), I wot5460 That then throughout the land were seen No pauper carl or starveling quean. But lust of wealth doth so abase Man’s heart, that even love’s sweet grace Bows down before it; men but love Their neighbours that their love may prove A profit, and both bought and sold Are friendships at the price of gold. Nay, shameless women set to hire Their bodies, heedless of hell-fire!5470
Thus fraud and baratry have spoiled The pleasant earth, which all who toiled Once owned with all her foison, now Her fruits are held in fee, I trow, By few, who are themselves not free, But bound by their cupidity ​Hoarders are slaves To work as hoppled slaves of gold, Which they in iron-bound coffers hold Imprisoned; nay! by it are held In bondage, all their joyance quelled;5480 Wretchedly live they as a toad That writhes beneath the harrow’s goad. What else should be the aim and end Of gathering than the pelf to spend? Alas! to this clear truth are blind These graspers, though they needs behind Must leave their riches when they’re dead, To be once more out-scattered By heirs and kindred, and small good Will have of their vile niggardhood.5490 Moreover, ’tis in nowise sure That through their own short day will dure Their much-loved hoard, for who can say What chance may snatch their wealth away?
Those men to Riches do great wrong Who kill the uses that belong To them by Nature’s gift. Distress ’Tis theirs to aid; their usefulness Should not lie dead, for God hath sent Earth’s wealth for mankind’s betterment.5500
But Riches do not love to be Diverted from their destiny, And signal vengeance take on those Whose folly holds them hard and close. They follow surely on their track As sleuth-hounds, nor their vengeance slack ​Till they have pierced their hearts with three Sharp swords of dire malignity: The first, hard labour is, to gain; The second, fear to lose amain5510 The pelf amassed with carking care. Long dolorous days, and scanty fare; The third sword is the drivelling fear Of death as old age draws anear, When, as aforesaid, graspers see Their self-inflicted misery.
Pecunia punishes her gaolers Pecunia, queen-like, hath the wit To scourge the fools who benefit Nought of her favours, but would keep Her prisoned fast. She lies asleep In peace the while these dotards wake, Swink hard and ’neath her ruling quake Whate’er may hap; in honour she Doth live, while they but shamefully Bow them before her vengeful rod, And writhe beneath her foot steel shod. But small and scant her thanks will be To him who curbs her liberty, Seeing he must, or soon or late, Forego her when he meets his fate, Though while he lived he did not dare To harness her or let her fare. But bold courageous men attack This dame, and mounting on her back, With spur and rein entreat her so As quickly gives her cause to know Her lords for men of valiant heart; For e’en as Daedalus by art ​Most rare and wondrous, fashioned wings For Icarus, as Ovid sings,5540 To pass the sea, so merrily Do free hearts make Pecunia fly. And they would kill themselves, God wot! Unless through her some joy they got. Great souls know not the hideous vice Of sordid, grasping avarice. But ever love, with largess grand And free, to sound from land to land Their noble deeds, their proud success, Their valour, might, and gentleness;5550 God hates niggards For unto God a generous heart Is grateful, but nor lot nor part Hath Avarice with him; like to a foul Rank stench he hates a niggard soul; For when he made the world, with wealth He plenished it for joy and health Of man, and therefore loveth he Freehanded generosity. But pinching, stinting, griping curs God damns with vile idolaters,5560 Poor caitiff hounds, insatiable, Extortionate and miserable, Who rove the world with whining cry. That riches only set they by That they may have, when cometh age, Sufficing food and harbourage.
But say, sweet Riches, are ye then So soft of heart ye love the men ​With gentle tenderness who cast Ye into bondage, hard and fast? Terrors of rich men Nay! nay! The more of you they keep Imprisoned, all the less sweet sleep Enjoy they, terror and affright Pursue them, and in wretched plight Are they whose hearts are aye oppressed With anxious care, unsoothed by rest. Perchance a many may be stirred To hastily condemn my word Hereof, reciting how great kings Have shown that riches are the springs5580 Of glory, when, as saith the crowd, To strengthen and maintain their proud And noble state they hire of men Five hundred or five thousand: then The commons cry: ‘Doth not then this Show forth their glorious life, ywis?’ But God knows well that ’tis not so, For all this valiance doth but show They live their lives in mortal fear. Far more of happiness doth cheer5590 The very beggar of the street. Who feels no terror lest he meet Thieves in his daily round; but kings, In furred robes set with jewellings And gold, atremble live, lest they To wandering robbers fall a prey, Who would no scruple feel to kill Their king moreover, lest he spill Their blood in vengeance of the crime; For he alive, they know their time5600 ​Would wax but short ere on the tree He’d surely hang them; nay, not he, But those who serve him; wondrous weak A king would find him should he seek To match him ’gainst a caitiff wretch Who standeth begging, palm astretch For alms! The men who serve him? Nay! Kings are but slaves Base lie it were if I should say ‘They serve him,’ for by Heaven, I trow. Though to his seigniory they bow,5610 ’Tis he serves them; though he defends Their liberties, his power depends Upon his servants’ will; if they Deny their aid to him, away Goes all his kingly might, and left Is he, of all he had, bereft: For not to him belongs of right The people’s valour, wit, or might, Their bodies, work, or property; No single thing of theirs can be5620 His, for great Nature gave them not To him, and Fortune’s self no jot Can give to any man unless Dame Nature in her bounteousness Saw fit his life with wealth to leaven.”
The Lover.
“Ah! Madam, by the Lord of heaven! I beg you teach me then what can Solely belong to any man. Can you not show me what may be One’s own in its entirety?”5630
Reason.
Happiness is in oneself “Right well,” quoth she, “but understand, I mean not lordly house or land, Nor costly robes or garnishment, Or jewels, or incoming rent, Nor household goods and furniture, But something better and more sure. A thing ’tis, hid in each man’s soul, More precious to him than the whole Of worldly wealth, for ’twill endure When things are gone you deemed for sure,5640 And ne’er from thee can it be ta’en, Another’s heart to ease and fain, Nor ever can be reft from thee Henceforward through eternity. External goods have no more worth Than some poor horse’s outworn girth, And neither thou nor any man Can own throughout a long life’s span The value of a garden leek. Only within us must we seek5650 That which we dare to call our own, All else that in the world is known Belongs to Fortune, and her breath Hither and thither scattereth All worldly wealth, and then again Recalls it, whensoever fain She is thereto, which makes fools cry And laugh by turns; but utterly Wise men Dame Fortune’s gifts despise. And when to move their hearts she tries5660 ​By moving round her wheel, no sigh Or laugh from them evokes thereby. Fortune to be disdained For all her gifts one well may dread, Seeing how they are chequerèd With good and ill, and ne’er should stir A wise man’s heart for love of her, One moment bright, and then again Eclipsed, to nought she falls amain.
List patiently the word I say, And forthwith tear thine heart away5670 From such a love as this; ’twould foul, Sully, and stain thy very soul.
If thou hereafter shouldst herein Toward others in such fashion sin That, having called thyself their friend, Didst yet, by chicane, in the end Seek thine advantage, thou wouldst be By good men held disdainfully. This love, whereof I have rehearsed The nature, flee as thing accursed.5680 Put thou unholy love away. List thou my speech nor make delay. But many a thing thou need’st as yet To learn, since thou believ’st I set Thee on to hatred: prithee show Thy meaning, that I fain would know.”
The Lover.
“You have not ceased to urge on me To cast my Lord off utterly For some strange wilding love you dight. Though one should travel day and night5690 ​To Carthage, then from East to West Should journey round, until oppressed With age he’d lost his every tooth, Yet still with all the zest of youth Press Pressed onward vigorously, his skirt For speed around his waistband girt, And brimmed with ardour still stride forth From sultry south to freezing north, Till all the earth he’d scoured around, Much doubt I if he yet had found5700 This wondrous love that you recite. The gods fled the earth The world, meseems, thereof was quite Delivered when the old Gods fled By giants overmastered, And Chastity, Good-Faith, and Law Alarmed, did also hence withdraw, For then, I trow, this love was tost Aside, and earth the treasure lost. E’en ponderous Justice, who was cast In stronger mould, retired at last.5710 All left this world, outworn with war, And sought beyond the skies afar A fairer home, and since have shown Themselves by miracles alone To those on earth. ’Twas Fraud that sent Them hence, who since that time hath bent Earth ’neath her yoke. E’en Tully’s wit, Which searched through all that e’er was writ, Could never find throughout the store Of ages more than three or four5720 ​Examples, since the world was made, That this most perfect love betrayed; Nay fewer e’en than this I trow, Who did by word of mouth avow Themselves such friends. And am I then Wiser than Tully? Surely men Would call me fool if I should try To find such love as certainly Dwells not on earth? Where should one go For love that lives not here below?5730 Deem you that I dare soar as high As cranes, or seek to pierce the sky Of thought with Plato? Nay, I tire Of speaking, and have small desire The Gods should think of me as one Who’d storm their heaven, and cast adown Dread thunder on me as on those Old giants of whom the story goes. You’d scarce desire such fate should be For self-same cause dealt out to me,5740 Thereof have I no shade of doubt.”
Reason.
No love perfect “Fair friend,” quoth Reason, “hear me out. To fly aloft would suit thee not, But flight of thought and will, I wot, May all men compass. Set delay Aside, and list me when I say, If thou esteemest all too high The love I tell of, possibly The fault is thine. Thou yet shalt know From me another love—but no—5750 ​’Tis not another, but the same, Though paler mayst thou deem the flame, And less intense. Of fairer hope Thou’lt find this love, and wider scope, For, leaving special loves, thy mind Shall clasp the whole of human-kind In large embrace. No one apart Should claim the fulness of thy heart, Love of one’s fellows But every living man should be Joined in one vast fraternity,5760 Loving the human race as one, Yet giving special love to none. Mete out such measure as ye fain From others would receive again: Pursue thy fellow in such guise Alone, as thou in equal wise Wouldst be pursued, and freely give Quittance of debt, if thou wouldst live By all beloved—such love should sway The lives of men from day to day.5770
It is because unrighteous folk Refuse to bear the gentle yoke Of this fair love that it hath been Needful to set the judge as screen To shield the weak against the strong, Uphold the right and quell the wrong, To reprimand and punish those Who rob their neighbours and dispose Their hands to evil, and so shame This love I tell of, and defame5780 Good men with foul detracting speech, And (founts of ill example) teach ​Foul sins to others, whether it be Or secretwise or openly. Such people needs must be chastised.”
The Lover.
“Pardee! I fain would be advised Concerning this famed Justice, who Is held in such esteem by you. Wilt thou then kindly indicate Her nature, manners, and estate?”5790
Reason.
“Say how.”
The Lover.
Love and Justice “Most willingly. Show forth, I prithee, which hath more of worth. Or Love or Justice? Pray declare Which of the twain you judge most fair.”
Reason.
“What love then speak’st thou of?”
The Lover.
“Why this Whereof thou told’st but now, ywis, For that sweet love which fills my soul No judgment needs, ’tis pure and whole.”
Reason.
The best form of love “Poor fool! Believe so if ye will,” But if ye ask my sentence, still5800 Broad love is better.”
The Lover.
“Show me proof.”
Reason.
“Right willingly. For one’s behoof, If two things are agreed to be Needful and fair, it seems to me, That needed most, must be the better.”
The Lover.
“I own that true unto the letter.”
Reason.
“Incline thine ear, while I pursue The differing nature of the two: Each one is good within its sphere, And both great benefits confer.”5810
The Lover.
“’Tis true.”
Reason.
“And you will not contest But things which profit most are best.”
The Lover.
“Well, well, that freely I concede.”
Reason.
Love higher than justice “Then that between us is agreed. Now Love, that springs of Charity, More needful is, it seems to me, Than Justice.”
The Lover.
“ Make that clear, I pray. Ere from the point you go astray.”
Reason.
“With right good will. I this maintain: The thing that’s good in every vein5820 Must be of worthier metal made Than that which needs extraneous aid. Tills point beyond all question is, I doubt not thou wilt grant me this.”
The Lover.
“The matter make more plain to me. Who knows but what some catch may be? I fain would some example hear, Perhaps thereby ’twere made more clear.”
Reason.
The proof thereof “I’faith, when thou example askest For proof, my power thou sorely taskest,5830 Natheless, some instance will I find To soothe and satisfy thy mind. The man who should a vessel guide Unaided o’er a trackless tide (A thing thou scarce couldst do, I trow), Were he not better skilled than thou?”
The Lover.
“Why clearly, he would know each rope.”
Reason.
“List then, and thou shalt see the scope Of mine intent. If Justice sped From off the earth, or lay stark dead,5840 Love only would be still enough (That Love whereat ye rashly scoff) By which a perfect life to lead, For Justice’ help Love nought would need. But Justice reft of Love? ah no! Therefore doth Love more virtue show.”
The Lover.
“Give proof thereof.”
Reason.
Justice once supreme “With pleasure, but Prithee, thy lips meanwhile keep shut. Justic held undivided sway O’er all the earth in Saturn’s day.5850 Saturn, whose son, as Ovid sings, Cut off, as they were chitterlings, His father’s cullions, and the sea Consigned them to most cruelly, And thence was fair Queen Venus born (Unless old histories be forsworn). If Justice came again on earth, And mankind recognised her worth Once more as in the age of gold, Sweet brotherhood should then infold5860 All sons of men, ’neath Justice’ eye, Dwelling together peaceably; For Love once dead or fled away, Ruthless would be stern Justice’ sway. But if mankind were joined in one Great brotherhood of love, then none
Would wrong his fellow, and vice sped
Were not all call for Justice dead?”
The Lover.
“Past doubt it then were needed nought.”
Reason.
“Well say’st thou, for in Love’s school taught5870 All men would live in peaceful rest, Neither by kings nor lords oppressed. ​No provostship or bailiehood Would people need if all were good; No judge would then be set above His fellow-man, and therefore Love Should before Justice be preferred, Although ’tis true her voice is heard Restraining evil, which hath been Wellspring of all earth’s lords, I ween.5880 In whom is freedom lost. For ne’er Except for Crime and Sin, vile pair, Had kings been known in any land, Nor Justice shown her iron hand. For judges, even from the first, Bewray themselves as men accurst, But they their own souls should discern, In hope the world’s respect to earn As men, fair, careful, and upright, Not giving sentence in despite5890 Of truth; not false, with palms that itch For bribes, alike from poor and rich.
Corrupt judges But judgment set they at a price, And ancient usage in a trice Upset to serve their turn; they clip And gather, grasp and pare and snip; And poor and helpless men beguile Of land or chattels; many a while The judge who hangs the thief is he Who ought to deck the gallows tree, If only he were doomed aright For all the crimes his hands have dight.”
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