The Man Who Couldn’t Abide Greed
I stonde lyk a clerk in my pulpet,*
And whan the lewed* peple is doun y-set,
I preche, so as ye han herd bifore,
And telle an hundred false Iapes more.
Than peyne I me to strecche forth the nekke,
And est and west upon the peple I bekke,
As doth a dowve sitting on a berne.
Myn hondes and my tonge goon so yerne,
That it is Ioye to see my bisinesse.
Of avaryce and of swich cursednesse
Is al my preching, for to make hem free
To yeve her pens, and namely un-to me.
For my entente is nat but for to winne,
And no-thing for correccioun of sinne.
I rekke never, whan that they ben beried,
Though that her soules goon a-blakeberied!*
[...]
But shortly myn entente I wol devyse;
I preche of no-thing but for coveityse.
Therfor my theme is yet, and ever was —
“Radix malorum est cupiditas.”
Abridged, original Middle English.
From ‘The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, Edited, From Numerous Manuscripts’ Vol. 4 (1900) edited by the Revd Walter W. Skeat.
* I stand like a clerk [a church official] in my pulpit,
And when the common people are sitting down,
I preach, just as you heard before,
And tell a hundred false japes more.
Then I take pains to stretch forth the neck,
And nod [cf. beckon] east and west upon the people
Like a dove sitting on a barn.
My hands and tongue go together so well
That it is Joy to see [me at] my business.
Of avarice and such cursedness
Is all my preaching, for to make them free [liberal]
To yield up their pennies [pence], and namely, to me.
For my intent is naught but for to gain,
And not for the correction of sin.
I never reckon on [the time] when they have been buried,
Though their souls go a-blackberried!
But I will put my purpose briefly:
I preach of nothing but covetousness.
Therefore my theme is yet, and ever was:
‘The root of evils is greed’.
* ‘Lewd’ today means coarse and vulgar, but in Middle English the lewd people simply meant the common folk, non-clergy.
* That is, “they [the souls of the dead] could go blackberrying for all I care!”.