fals othes. And ye shul undirstonde that these ben grete synnes, and expressly agains the comaundementz of God, as I have sayd. Fals witnesse is in word and eek in dede; in word as for to bireve thin neighebor his good name by thy false witnessinge, or bireve him his catel or his heritage by thy false witnesse, whan thou for ire, or for meede, or for envie, berest fals witnes, or accusist him, or excusist him by thy false witnes, or ellis excusist thiself falsly. Ware you, questemongers and notaries. Certis, for fals witnessynge was Susanna in ful gret sorwe and peyne, and many another mo. The synne of thefte is eek expresse agayns Goddes hestis, and that in tuo maners, coporel and spirituel; cor-porel, and as for to take thy neighebours catel agayns his wille, be it by force or by sleight; be it by mette or by mesure; by stelynge eek of fals enditements upon him; and in borwyng of thin neighebores catelle in entent never to pay, and in semblable thinges. Spirituel thefte is sacrilege, that is to sayn, hurtynge of holy thinges, or of thing sacred to Crist. Sacrilege is in tuo maneres; that oon is by resoun of holy place, as chirches or chircheyards; for whiche every vileins synne that men doon in suche places may be clepid sacrilege, or every violence in semblance place; that other maner is as those that withdrawen falsly the rentes and rightes that longen to holy chirche; and generally, sacrilege is to reve holy thing fro holy place, or unholy thing out of holy place, or holy thing out of unholy place.

Remedium Contra Avariciam

Now shul ye understonde that the relevynge of avarice is misericorde and pité largely taken. And men might axen, why that misericord and pité is relievyng of avarice; certes, the avaricious man shewith no pité nor misericorde to the needeful man. For he delitith him in the kepyng of his tresor, and nought in the rescuing nor relivyng of his even-cristen. And therfore speke I first of misericord. Thanne is misericord, as saith the philosopher, a vertu, by which the corrage of a man is stired by the myseise of him that is myseysed. Upon which misericorde folwith pytie, in parformynge of chariteable werkis of mercie, helping and comfortinge him that is miseased. And certes, these moven men to the misericord of Jhesu Crist, that gaf himself for oure gilt, and suffrede deth for misericord, and forgaf us oure original synne, and therby relessid us fro peyne of helle, and lessened the peynes of purgatorie by penitence, and geveth grace wel to do, and at the laste the joye of heven. The species of misericorde ben for to love, and for to give, and eek for to forgive and for to relesse, and for to have pité in herte, and compassioun of the meschief of his even cristen, and eek chastize ther as neede is. Another maner of remedye agayns avarice, is resonable largesse; but sothely here bihovith the consideracioun of the grace of Jhesu Crist, and of the temporel goodes, and eek of the goodes durable that Crist gaf us, and eek to have remembraunce of the deth that he shal resceyve, he knoweth not whanne, wher ne how; and eke he shal forgo al that he hath, save oonly that he hath dispendid in goode werkes.

But for moche as some folk ben unresonable, men oughte to eschiewe fole-largesse, that men clepen wast. Certes, he that is fool-large, he giveth nought his catel, but he loseth his catel. Sothely, what thing that he giveth for vaynglorie, as to mynstrals, and to folk for to bere his renoun in the world, he hath synne therof, and noon almes; certes, he losith foule his goodes, that sekith with the gift of his goode no thing but synne. He is like to an hors that sekith rather to drynke drovy watir, and trouble, than for to drinke watir of the welle that is cleer. And for as moche as thay give where thay shulde not give, to them appendith thilke mali-soun that Crist shal give at the day of doom to them that shal be damned.

De Gula

After avarice cometh glotenye, which is expresse eke agayns the comaundement of God. Glotenye is unresonable and desordeyned coveytise to ete and to drynke or elles to done ynouhe to the unmesurable or disordeyn covetyse to ete and to drinke. This synne corruptid al this world, as is wel shewed in the synne of Adam and of Eva. Loke eek what saith seint Poul of glotouns; many folk so, saith he, gon, of whiche I have ofte said to you, and now I say it wepyng, that thei be thenemyes of the cros of Crist, of whiche thende is deth, and of whiche there wombe is there God and there glorie; in confusioun of them that so saveren erthely thinges. He that is accustomed to this sinne of glotoyne, he may no sinne withstande, he moste be in servage of alle vices, for it is the develes horde, where he hideth him inne and resteth. This synne hath many species. The firste is dronkenes, that is thorrible sepulture of mannes