The pricke of conscience (stimulus conscientiæ): a Northumbrian poem / by Richard Rolle de Hampole ; ed. Richard Morris.

                                
                                  Whiles a man lyves he is lyke a man;
                                
                                  When he es dede what es he lyke þan?
                                
                                  Þan may men his liknes se
                                  Line 832 
                                
                                  Chaunged, als it had never bene he;
                                
                                  And when his lyf es broght to þe ende,
                                
                                  Þan sal he on þe same wys hethen wende,
                                
                                  Pure and naked, right als he cam
                                  Line 836 
                                
                                  Þe first day fra his moder wam.
                                
                                  For he broght with him nathyng þat day,
                                
                                  And noght sal he bere with him away,
                                
                                  Bot it be a wyndyng clathe anely,
                                  Line 840 
                                
                                  Þat sal be lapped obout his body;
                                
                                  Þus wrechedly endes þe lyf of man.
                                
                                  And if we behalde what he es þan,
                                
                                  When þe lyfe of hym passes oway,
                                  Line 844 
                                
                                  Þan es he noght bot erthe and clay
                                
                                  Þat turnes til mare corrupcion,
                                
                                  Þan ever had stynkand carion.
                                
                                  For þe corrupcion of his body,
                                  Line 848 
                                
                                  Yf it suld lang oboven erthe ly,
                                
                                  It myght þe ayr swa corrumpud mak,
                                
                                  Þat men þarof þe dede suld take,
                                
                                  Swa vile it es and violent;
                                  Line 852 
                                
                                  Þarfor þe gret clerk says, Innocent:
                                
                                    Quid enim fetidius humano cadavere,
                                  
                                    quid horibilius homine mortuo.
                                  
                                  He says, "What-kyn thyng may fouler be
                                  Line 856 
                                
                                  Þan a mans carion es to se:
                                
                                  And what es mar horibel in stede
                                
                                  Þan a man es when he es dede?"
                                
                                  Alswa [I] say, nathyng es swa ugly,
                                  Line 860 
                                
                                  Als here es a mans dede body;
                                
                                  And when it es in erth layd lawe, ['And whan it es in erthe bywounde,Wormes wol him gnawe on every stounde'. MS. Addit 11305.
] 
                                
                                  Wormes þan sal it al to-gnaw,
                                
                                  Til þe flesshe be gnawen oway and byten;
                                  Line 864 
                                
                                  For-why we fynde þos in buk writen:

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Title: The pricke of conscience (stimulus conscientiæ): a Northumbrian poem / by Richard Rolle de Hampole ; ed. Richard Morris.
Canvas: Page 24
Publication: Berlin :: Published for the Philological Society by A. Asher,; 1863.

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Collection: Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse
Link to this Item: https://name.umdl.umich.edu/bau1376.0001.001
Link to this scan: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/bau1376.0001.001/68:4

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Full citation: "The pricke of conscience (stimulus conscientiæ): a Northumbrian poem / by Richard Rolle de Hampole ; ed. Richard Morris." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/bau1376.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 23, 2025.

The pricke of conscience (stimulus conscientiæ): a Northumbrian poem / by Richard Rolle de Hampole ; ed. Richard Morris.

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