The Corpus ms (Corpus Christi coll., Oxford) of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall.

De accidia.

[677]

Affter the synnes of Envie & Ire / now wol I speke of the synne of accidie / for envie blyndeth the herte of a man / And Ire troubleth a man / And accide maketh him hevie / thoughtful / & wrawe / [678] Envie & Ire maken bitternesse in herte / whiche bitternesse is moder of accidie / & bynemeth him the loue of al goodnesse / than is accidie the anguysshe of a troubled herte / And seint Austyne seith / [¶ Austyne.] It is anoye of goodnesse / & anoye of harme / [679] certis this is a dampnable synne / for it doth wronge to Ihesu criste / in-asmeche as hit bynemeth the seruice that men don to criste with al diligence / as seith Salomon / [¶ Salomon.] [680] But accide doth no suche diligence / he doth al thing with anoy / & wrawnesse / slaknesse & excusacion / & with ydulnesse & vnlust / ffor whiche the booke seith / Acursed be he that doth the seruice of god necligently / [681] than is accidie Enemy to euery estate of man / ffor certis thestate of man is in .iij. maners / [682] The first estate is the estate of Innocencie as was thestate of Adam bifore or he fel in-to synne / in whiche estate he was holden to werche / as in heriyng & honouryng of god / [683] Another estate is the estate of synful men / in whiche estate men ben holden

[6-text p 646] to laboure / in praiyng to god for amendement of here synnes / & that he wol graunte hem to arise out of here [MS Arch. Seld. B. 14 folio 291b] synnes / [684] Another estate is thestate of grace / in whiche estate he is holde to do workes of penaunce / & certis to alle these thinges is accidie enemy & con|trarie / for he loueth no besynesse at al / [685] Now certis this foule synne accidie is eke a ful grete enemy to the liflode of the body / for it hath no purviaunce ayeines temporel necessite / for hit is for slouthed / for slougged & distroyed alle goodes temporelles bi rechelesnesse /

[686] The fourthe thing is / that accide is like hem that ben in the peyne of helle / bicause of here slouthe / & of here hevynesse / ffor thei that ben dampned ben so bounde / that thei ne mow nat wel do / ne wel thenke / [687] Off accide cometh first / that a man is anoyed / & encombred to do any goodnesse / & maketh that god hath abhomynacion of suche accide as seith seint Iohn /

[688] Now cometh slouth that wol nat suffre noon [¶ Slouthe.] hardenesse / ne no penaunce / ffor soth slouth is so tender & so delicate / as seith Salomon that he wol suffre noon hardnesse ne penaunce / And therfore he shendith al that he doth [689] ayeines his roten herted synne of accide / And slouth sholde men excersise & vse hem selff to don good workes & manly / & vertuously cacchen corage wel to don / thenk|yng that oure lord ihesu criste quiteth euery goode dede / be it neuere so lite / [690] vsage of labour is a grete thing / ffor hit maketh as seith seint Bernarde / the [¶ Bernard] laborer to haue stronge armes / & harde senowes / & slouth maketh a man feble & tendre / [691] Than cometh drede to bigynne any goode workes / ffor certes he that is enclyned to synne him thenketh it is so grete an emprise / for to vndertake to do workes of goodnesse / [692] and casteth in his herte that the

[6-text p 647] circunstaunces of goodnesse ben so grevous & so chargeable for to suffre / that he dar nat vndertake to don workes of goodnesse / as seith seint Gregorie /

[693] Now cometh wanhope / that is dispeire of the [¶ Wanhope.] mercy of god / that cometh somtyme of to meche out|ragious sorow / And somtyme of to meche drede / ymagen|ynge [MS Arch. Seld. B. 14 folio 292a] that he hath don so meche synne / that hit wold nat availe him / though he wolde repent him / & for sake synne & do good / [694] thorugh whiche dispeire or drede / he habundith his herte to euery manere synne / as seith seint Austyne / [695] whiche dampnable synne if it contenue vn-to his ende / hit is cleped synnynge in the holy gost / [696] this orrible synne is so perilous / that he that is dispeired ther is no felonye ne no synne that he douteth for to do / as shewed wel bi Iudas / [697] Certes abouen alle synnes / than is this synne most displesaunce to crist / & most aduersarie [698] to god / sothly he that dispeirith him / is like the cowarde Champion recreant / & seith creant withouten nede / Allas allas nedeles is he recreant / & nedeles dispeired / [699] ffor certes the mercy of god is euere redy to the penitente / & is above alle his workes / [700] Allas can nat a man bi-thinke him on the gospel of seint Luke. xv^mo. where as criste seith / That as wel shal [¶ luce .xv^mo.] ther be Ioye in heuen vppon a sinful man / that doth penaunce / than vppon nynety & nyne. that. . . . [no gap in the MS.] nedith no penaunce / [701] loke ferthermore in the gospel / the Ioye & the feste of the goodman that had lost his sone / whan his sone with repentaunce was retourned to his fader / [702] Can thei nought remembre hem that as seith seint luke. xiij^o. Capitulo / how that the theff seide that was [¶ luce .xiij^o. c^o.] honged bi-side ihesu cristes side / lord remembre on me whan thow comest vn-to thi kingdome / [703] ffor sothe seide criste / to day thow shalt be with me in Paradise [704] Certes ther is noon so orrible synne of

[6-text p 648] man / that it ne may in his liff be distroyed bi penaunce / thorugh vertu of the passion & the dethe of criste / [705] Allas what nedith a man than to be dispeired / sithen that his mercy so redy is / & so large / Aske & haue / [706] Than cometh sompnolence that is sloggy [¶ sompnolencia] slombrynge / whiche maketh a man hevy & dul in body / & in soule / & this synne cometh of slouthe / [707] And certes the tyme that [MS Arch. Seld. B. 14 folio 292b] bi wey of reson men sholde nought slepe bi the morowe but if ther were cause resonable / [708] ffor sothely on the morowe tide is most couenable a man to seie his prayeres / & for to thenke on god / & for to honoure god / & to yeve almes to the pore that first comen in the name of criste / [709] Lo whath seith Salomon who so wol bi the morowe awake & seke me / he shal fynde me / [710] Than cometh necligence or rechelesnesse / [¶ necligence] that recketh of nothinge / And how that ignoraunce is the moder of al thing/that toucheth harme/Certes necligence is the norice / [711] necligence doth no force whan he shal do a thinge / whether he do it wel or badly /

[712] Off remedy of these two synnes / as seith the wise man / That he that dredith god / spareth not to don / that him oughte to don / [713] & he that loueth god / he wol do diligence to please god / bi his workes / and habunden him selff with al his myghte wel for to don / [714] Than cometh ydelnesse / that is the yate of al [¶ ydelnesse.] harme / An ydel man is like to a place that hath no walles / there As deuels may entren bi euery side / or shete at him at discouert bi temptacion on euery side / [715] this ydelnes is the Thorroke of alle wikked & vileynes thoughtes / & of alle Ianglis / triflis / & of al ordure / [716] Certes the heuen is yeven to hem that wol laboure & nought to ydel folke / Eke Dauid seith / [¶ Dauid] thei ne be nat in the laboure of men / ne thei ne shal nat be whippede with men / that is to seie in purgarie /

[6-text p 649] [717] Certes than semeth hit that thei shul be turmented / with the deuel in helle / but if thei don penitence /

[718] Than cometh the synne that men clepen tarditas / as whan a man is to latrede or to tariyng / or [¶ tarditas] he wol turne to god / & certis that is a grete folye / he is like him that fallith in the diche & wol nought arise / [719] as this vice cometh of fals hope that he thenketh that he shal leve longe / bu[t] that hope failith ful offte /

[720] Than cometh laches that is he / that whan he [¶ Laches.] bigynneth any goode werke / a-non he wol forlete it & stynte / as don thei that haue any wight [MS Arch. Seld. B. 14 folio 293a] to gouerne / & ne taken of him no more kepe / anoon as thei fynde any contrarie or any anoye / [721] these ben the newe shepperdes that laten here shepe renne weti[n]gly to the wolff that is in the breres / or don no force of here owne gouernaunce / [722] Of this cometh pouerte / and distruccion bothe of spirituel & of temporel thinges / Than cometh a manere of coldnesse / that fresith at the herte of man / [¶ coldenesse.] [723] Than cometh vndevocion / thorugh the whiche a man is [¶ vndevocion.] blente / as seith seint Bernarde and suche langour in [¶ Bernard.] soule / that he ne may neither rede ne synge / in holy chirche / ne hire ne thenke of no deuocion / ne travaile with his hondes in no goode workes/that hit nys to him vnsaverie/ & al appalled / [724] than wexeth he sore & slowe & slombri & soone wol be wrothe / & soone is he enclyned to hate & to envie [725] Than cometh the synne of wordly sorowe / whiche that is cleped tristicia / that sleth [¶ Sorow.] a man as seint Poule / [726] ffor certis suche sorowe [¶ Poule] wercheth to the dethe of the soule & of the bodie also / fforther ouere than cometh that a man is anoyed of his owne liff/ [727] wherfore suche sorowe shorteth ful offte the liff of men / or that here tyme come bi wey of kynde /