The Ellesmere ms of Chaucer's Canterbury tales / edited by Frederick J. Furnivall.

¶ Sequitur de Accidia .

[677]

After the synne of Enuye and of Ire. now wol I speken of the synne of Accidie. for Enuye / blyndeth the herte of man and Ire troubleth a man. and Accidie maketh hym heuy thoghtful and wrawful [678] Enuye and Ire maken bitternesse in herte. which bitternesse is mooder of Accidie and bynymeth hym the loue of alle goodnesse. thanne is Accidie / the Angwissh of troubled herte And seint Augustyn seith. / [¶ sanctus Augustinus] it is anoy of goodnesse and ioye of harm [679] ¶ Certes this is a dampnable synne. for it dooth wrong to Ihesu crist. in as muche as it bynymeth the seruice / that men oghte doon to crist with alle diligence / as seith Salomon. / [¶ Salomon] [680] but Accidie / dooth no swich diligence. He dooth alle thyng with anoy / and with wrawnesse / slaknesse / and excusacion / and with ydelnesse / and vnlust. ffor which the book seith ‖. Acursed be he that dooth the seruice of god necligently [681] ¶ Thanne is Accidie / [¶ Nota & caue] enemy / to euerich estaat of man. for certes / the estaat of man / is in .iij. maneres [682] ¶ Outher it is / thestaat of [¶ Of .iij. maneres of estates of man] Innocence. as was thestaat of Adam / biforn that he fil into [¶ Of thestaat/ of Innocence] synne. in which estaat he was holden to wirche / as in heriynge and adowrynge of god [683] ¶ Another estaat. [¶ Of thestaat/ of synful men] is estaat of synful men. in which estaat men been holden

[6-text p 646] to laboure in preiynge to god. for amendement of hire synnes. and that he wole graunte hem to arysen out of hir synnes / [684] ¶ Another estaat is thestaat of grace. in [¶ Of thestaat of grace] which estaat he is holden to werkes of penitence. and certes / to alle thise thynges is Accidie enemy and con|trarie. ffor he loueth no bisynesse at al [685] ¶ Now certes this foule swyn Accidie. is eek a ful greet enemy to the liflode of the body. for it ne hath no purueaunce agayn temporeel necessitee. for it forsleweth and for|sluggeth. and destroyeth alle goodes temporeles / by [folio 226a] reccheleesnesse

[686] The fourthe thyng is. that Accidie is lyk to hem [¶ How Accidie is lyk to hem that been in the peyne of helle] that been in the peyne of helle. by cause of hir slouthe and of hire heuynesse for they that been dampned / been so bounde. that they ne may neither wel do / ne wel thynke [687] ¶ Of Accidie comth first that a man is anoyed and encombred for to doon any goodnesse. and maketh / that god hath abhomynacion of swich Accidie

[688] NOw comth slouthe. that wol nat suffre noon [¶ Of the synne of slouthe] hardnesse ne no penaunce. ffor soothly / Slouthe is so tendre. and so delicaat as seith Salomon / that he wol nat [¶ Salomon] suffre / noon hardnesse ne penaunce. and therfore / he shendeth / al that he dooth [689] ¶ Agayns this roten [¶ Remedie agayn slouthe] herted synne of Accidie and slouthe / sholde men exercise hem self to doon goode werkes. and manly and vertuously cacchen corage wel to doon. thynk|ynge that oure lord Ihesu crist. quiteth euery good dede / be it neuer so lite. / [690] vsage of labour / is a greet thyng. for it maketh as seith seint Bernard the [¶ Nota secun|dum Bernardum] laborer/ to haue stronge armes / and harde synwes. and slouthe maketh hem feble and tendre [691] Thanne comth [¶ Of drede / to bigynnen anye goode werkes] drede to bigynne to werke anye goode werkes. for certes / he that is enclyned to synne. hym thynketh / it is so greet an emprise / for to vndertake to doon werkes of goodnesse. [692] and casteth in his herte / that the

[6-text p 647] circumstances of goodnesse been so greuouse and so chargeant for to suffre. that he dar nat vndertake / to do werkes of goodnesse / as seith seint Gregorie [¶ Gregorius]

[693] NOw comth wanhope. that is despeir of the [¶ Of the synne of wanhope] mercy of god. þat comth somtyme / of to muche out|rageous sorwe. and somtyme / of to muche drede. ymagin|ynge that he hath doon so muche synne / that it wol nat auaillen hym. though he wolde repenten hym and forsake synne /. [694] thurgh which despeir/ or drede / he abaundoneth al his herte to euery maner synne as seith seint Augustin. [695] Which dampnable synne / if that [¶ Sanctus Augustinus] it continue vn-to his ende / it is cleped synnyng in the hooly goost [696] ¶ This horrible synne is so perilous. that he þat is despeired ther nys no felonye / ne no synne that he douteth for to do. as sheweth wel by Iudas [697] ¶ Certes abouen alle synnes / thanne is this synne moost displesant to Crist and moost Aduersarie [698] ¶ Soothly. he that despeireth hym / is lyke the coward champion recreant . . . . . [no gap in the MS.] and nedelees despeired ‖. [699] Certes / the mercy of god / is euere redy to euery penitent. and is abouen alle hise werkes [700] ¶ Allas / kan a man nat bithynke hym / on the gospel of seint Luc .15. where as Crist seith /. that as wel shal [¶ Luca in Euaungelio] ther be Ioye in heuene vpon a synful man that dooth penitence. than vp on 90 and .19. rightful men / that . . . . . [no gap in the MS.] neden no penitence [701] ¶ Looke forther in the same gospel. the ioye / and the [¶ In eodem Euaungelio] feeste of the goode man that hadde lost his sone. whan his sone with repentance. was retourned to his fader [702] ¶ kan they nat remembren hem eek/. that as seith seint Luc .23. how that the theef that was hanged [¶ Nota secundum Lucam de latrone / sus|penso cum christo] bisyde Ihesu crist. seyde. Lord remembre of me. whan thow comest in to thy regne [703] ¶ ffor sothe. [seyde] Crist. I seye to thee. to day shaltow been with me in Paradys [704] ¶ Certes ther is noon so horrible synne of [¶ Nota]

[6-text p 648] man / that it ne may in his lyf be destroyed by penitence. thurgh vertu of the passion / and of the deeth of Crist ‖. [705] Allas / what nedeth man thanne to been despeired. sith þat his. mercy / so redy is and large. / Axe and haue [706] Thanne cometh Sompnolence / that is sloggy [¶ Of Sompno|lence] slombrynge. which maketh a man be [folio 226b] heuy and dul / in body and in soule. And this synne comth of Slouthe [707] And certes / the tyme that by wey of reson men sholde nat slepe. that is by [the morwe] but if ther were cause resonable. / [708] ffor soothly / the morwe tyde is moost couenable a man to seye hise preyeres / and for to thynken on god / and for to honoure god. and to yeuen Almesse to the poure. that first cometh in the name of Crist. [709] Lo what seith Salomon ¶ Who so wolde [¶ Salomon] by the morwe awaken and seke me / he shal fynde [710] Thanne cometh Necligence / or reccheleesnesse / [¶ Of Necligence / or reccheleesnesse] that rekketh of no thyng/. And how that Ignorance be mooder of alle harm. / certes Necligence is the norice [711] ¶ Necligence ne dooth no fors / whan he shal doon a thyng. Wheither he do it weel or baddely . . . . .

[712] Of the remedie of thise two synnes. as seith [¶ Of the remedie ayens Necligence and recchelees|nesse. secundum Sapientem] the wise man /. that he that dredeth god / he spareth nat to doon that him oghte doon /. [713] and he that loueth god / he wol doon diligence to plese god by hise werkes / and abaundone hym self with al his myght wel for to doon [714] Thanne comth ydelnesse. that is the yate of alle [¶ Of ydelnesse] harmes / ¶ An ydel man / is lyk to a place that hath no walles. the deueles may entre on euery syde and sheten at hym at discouert by temptacion on euery syde [715] ¶ This ydelnesse is the thurrok of alle wikked and vileyns thoghtes / and of alle Iangles / trufles / and of alle ordure [716] ¶ Certes / the heuene is yeuen to hem that wol labouren and nat to ydel folk ¶ Eek Dauid seith / [¶ Dauid] that they ne been nat in the labour of men ne they shul nat been whipped with men / that is to seyn in purgatorie /

[6-text p 649] [717] certes thanne semeth it. they shul be tormented with the deuel in helle but if they doon penitence

[718] Thanne comth the synne that men clepen [¶ Of the synne þat men clepen Tarditas] Tarditas. as whan a man is to laterede / or tariynge er he wole turne to god /. and certes / that is a greet folie. He is lyk/ to hym that falleth in the dych. and wol nat arise ./ [719] And this vice / comth of a fals hope. that he thynketh / that he shal lyue longe. but that hope / faileþ ful ofte /

[720] Thanne comth lachesse. that is he / that whan he [¶ Of the synne of lachesse] biginneth any good werk/. anon he shal forleten it and stynten / as doon they / that han any wight to gouerne / and ne taken of hym namoore kepe anon as they fynden any contrarie or any anoy [721] ¶ Thise been the newe sheepherdes / that leten hir sheepe wityngly go renne to the wolf / that is in the breres / or do no fors of hir owene gouernance [722] of this / comth pouerte and destruccion. bothe of spiritueel / and temporeel thynges Thanne comth a manere cooldnesse / that freseth al the herte of a man / [¶ Of cooldnesse of a mannes herte] [723] Thanne comth vndeuocion thurgh which a man is [¶ Of vndeuocioun] blent as seith Seint Bernard. and hath swich langour in [¶ Sanctus Bernardus] soule. that he may neither rede ne singe in hooly chirche / ne heere / ne thynke of no deuocion / ne trauaille with hise handes in no good werk. that it nys hym vnsauory and al apalled [724] ¶ thanne wexeth he slough and slombry and soone wol be wrooth / and soone is enclyned to hate and to enuye [725] Thanne comth the synne of [¶ Of worldly sorwe] worldly sorwe. / which as is cleped tristicia. that sleeth man / as seint Paul seith / [726] ffor certes swich sorwe / [¶ Sanctus Paulus] werketh to the deeth of the soule and of the body also / for ther-of comth þat a man is anoyed of his owene lif. [727] wherfore swich sorwe shorteth ful ofte the lif of man. er þat his tyme be come by wey of kynde .