Page:Romance of the Rose (Ellis), volume 1.pdf/205

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.