Page:Romance of the Rose (Ellis), volume 1.pdf/211

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