Page:Romance of the Rose (Ellis), volume 2.pdf/174

Than are the poor, and so much more
Their souls have need of watching o’er.
Yet true it is dire poverty
Draws men to sin as much, pardee,11920
As too great wealth; they both man’s soul
Distain, and hinder from its goal.
The praise of sufficiency For Poverty and Riches are
The two extremes, and better far
Is plain sufficiency; between
The two is most of virtue seen.
And hath not wise King Solomon
This matter well discoursed upon
Within his book of Proverbs? it
We find in chapter thirty writ:11930
God in thy mercy give to me
Nor riches nor yet poverty!
For whensoe’er a man doth wrap
His soul in wealth, ’twill surely sap
His virtue, till at last the debt
He owes his Maker he’ll forget.
And who with Poverty doth fight,
How shall he keep his soul aright?
Alas! perforce he comes to be
Befouled with theft and perjury,11940
Or God doth lie, for he hath said,
By Solomon, they both are wed
To Poverty. And dare I swear,
Free of reproach, that no man e’er
Hath found in any sacred book
(At least ’twere vain in ours to look)
That Christ and his apostles dear
The while on earth they wandered here,