Whar-to þan es man here swa myry,
Line 904
And swa tendre of his vile body,
Þat sal rote and with wormes be gnawen,
And swa ugly to syght may be knawen?
Loverd wha-so of him þan had syght,
Line 908
Aftir þat wormes him swa had dight,
And gnawen his flesshe un to þe bane,
Swa grysly a sight saw he never nane,
Als he myght se of þat vile carcays:
Line 912
For Saynt Bernard þos in metre says:
Post hominem vermis, post vermem, fetor et horror,
Et sic, in non hominem vertitur omnis homo.
"Aftir man", he says, "vermyn es,
Line 916
And aftir vermyn stynkand uglynes;
And swa sal ilk man turned be þan
Fra a man intil na man."
Þos may ilk man in þis parte se,
Line 920
What he was, and what he sal be,
And what he es ay whils he here lyfes,
And whatkyn fruyt his kynd here gyves.
Here may men se, als writen es,
Line 924
Mikel of mans wrechednes,
And mykel mare yhit may men telle,
Bot here-on wille I na langer duelle.
Ga we now forther-mar and luke,
Line 928
To þe secund part of þis buke,
In whilk men may haf understandyng
Of þe world, and of worldysshe lyfyng.
Here bygynnes þe secunde part þat es of þe world.
Alle þe world so wyde and brade,
Our Lord speciali for man made,
And al other thynge, als clerkes can profe,
Line 936
He made anly to mans by-hove.
Sen he al þe world and alle thynge wroght
Til mans by-hove, þan man aght noght
Lufe nowther worldisshe thyng ne bodily,
Line 940
Mare þan our Lord God almyghty,
