and ye, that ben lyke to god, seken encrese of suffisaunce from so excellent a kynde of so lowe thinges; ye do greet wrong to him that you made lordes over al erthly thinges; and ye putte your worthinesse under the nombre of the fete of lower thinges and foule. Whan ye juge thilke riches to be your worthinesse, than 95 putte ye your-selfe, by estimacion, under thilke foule thinges; and than leve ye the knowing of your-selfe; so be ye viler than any dombe beest; that cometh of shrewde vice. Right so thilke persons that loven non yvel for dereworthinesse of the persone, but for straunge goodes, and saith, the adornement in the knot 100 lyth in such thing; his errour is perilous and shrewd, and he wryeth moche venim with moche welth; and that knot may nat be good whan he hath it getten. Certes, thus hath riches with flickering sight anoyed many; and often, whan there is a throw-out shrewe, he coyneth al the 105 gold, al the precious stones that mowen be founden, to have in his bandon; he weneth no wight be worthy to have suche thinges but he alone. How many hast thou knowe, now in late tyme, that in their richesse supposed suffisance have folowed, and now it is al fayled!' 110 'Ye, lady,' quod I, 'that is for mis medling; and otherwyse governed [they] thilke richesse than they shulde.' 'Ye,' quod she tho, 'had not the flood greetly areysed, and throwe to-hemward both gravel and sand, he had mad no medlinge. And right as see yeveth flood, so draweth see ebbe, and 115 pulleth ayen under wawe al the firste out-throwe, but-if good pyles of noble governaunce in love, in wel-meninge maner, ben sadly grounded; +the whiche holde thilke gravel as for a tyme, that ayen lightly mowe not it turne; and if the pyles ben trewe, the gravel and sand wol abyde. And certes, ful warning in love shalt 120 thou never thorow hem get ne cover, that lightly with an ebbe, er thou be ware, it [ne] wol ayen meve. In richesse many men have had tenes and diseses, whiche they shulde not have had, if therof they had fayled. Thorow whiche, now declared, partly it is shewed, that for richesse shulde the knotte in herte neither ben 125 caused in one ne in other; trewly, knotte may ben knit, and I trowe more stedfast, in love, though richesse fayled; and els, in richesse is the knotte, and not in herte. And than suche a knotte is fals; whan the see ebbeth and withdraweth the gravel, that such richesse voydeth, thilke knotte wol unknitte. 130 Wherfore no trust, no way, no cause, no parfit being is in richesse, of no suche knotte. Therfore another way muste we have. CH. V. 1. thynge. 2. -throughe. 3. causen; _read_ causeth. arne; _read_ is. 7. arne. 8, 9. thynge (_twice_). moste.