"Of rentes nor of richesse Ne rekketh he nevere; For a frend that fyndeth hym, Failed hym nevere at neede. _Fiat voluntas tua_ Fynt hym evere moore; 9980 {306} And if he soupeth, eteth but a sop Of _spera in Deo_. He kan portreye wel the paternoster, And peynte it with aves; And outher while he is woned To wenden on pilgrymages, Ther poore men and prisons liggeth, Hir pardon to have. Though he bere hem no breed, He bereth hem swetter liflode, 9990 Loveth hem as oure Lord biddeth, And loketh how thei fare. "And whan he is wery of that werk, Than wole he som tyme Labouren in lavendrye Wel the lengthe of a mile, And yerne into youthe, And yepeliche speke Pride with al the appurtenaunces, And pakken hem togideres, 10000 And bouken hem at his brest, And beten hem clene, And leggen on longe, With _laboravi in gemitu meo_; And with warm water at hise eighen Wasshen hem after. And thanne he syngeth whan he doth so, And som tyme seith wepynge, _Cor contritum et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies_." 10010 "By Crist! I wolde that I knewe hym," quod I, "No creature levere!" "Withouten help of Piers Plowman," quod he, {307} "His persone sestow nevere." "Wheither clerkes knowen hym," quod I, "That kepen holi kirke?" "Clerkes have no knowyng," quod he, "But by werkes and by wordes. Ac Piers the Plowman Parceyveth moore depper 10020 What is the wille and wherfore That many wight suffreth. _Et vidit Deus cogitationes eorum._ For ther are ful proude herted men, Pacient of tonge, And buxome as of berynge To burgeises and to lordes, And to poore peple Han pepir in the nose, And as a lyoun he loketh, 10030 Ther men lakken hise werkes. "For ther are beggeris and bidderis, Bedemen as it were, Loken as lambren, And semen ful holy; Ac it is moore to have hir mete With swich an esy manere, Than for penaunce and perfitnesse, The poverte that swiche taketh.