world hath wrought, Saith, that the workman worthy is his hire. Thomas, nought of your treasure I desire As for myself, but that all our convént To pray for you is aye so diligent: And for to buildë Christë’s owen church. Thomas, if ye will learnë for to wirch, Of building up of churches may ye find If it be good, in Thomas’ life of Ind. Ye lie here full of anger and of ire, With which the devil sets your heart on fire, And chidë here this holy innocent Your wife, that is so meek and patiént. And therefore trow me, Thomas, if thee lest, Ne strive not with thy wife, as for the best. And bear this word away now, by thy faith, Touching such thing, lo, what the wise man saith: ‘Within thy housë be thou no lión; To thy subjécts do none oppressión; Nor make thou thine acquaintance for to flee.’ And yet, Thomas, eftsoonës charge I thee, Beware from ire that in thy bosom sleeps, Ware from the serpent, that so slily creeps Under the grass, and stingeth subtilly. Beware, my son, and hearken patiently, That twenty thousand men have lost their lives For striving with their lemans and their wives. Now since ye have so holy and meek a wife, What needeth you, Thomas, to makë strife? There is, y-wis, no serpent so cruél, When men tread on his tail nor half so fell, As woman is, when she hath caught an ire; Very vengeánce is then all her desire. Ire is a sin, one of the greatë seven, Abominable to the God of heaven, And to himself it is destructión. This every lewëd vicar and parsón Can say, how ire engenders homicide; Ire is in sooth th’ executor of pride. I could of ire you say so muchë sorrow, My tale shouldë last until to-morrow. And therefore pray I God both day and night, An irous man God send him little might. It is great harm, and certes great pitý To set an irous man in high degree.
“Whilom there was an irous potestatë, As saith Senec, that during his estate Upon a day out rodë knightës two; And, as fortunë would that it were so, The one of them came home, the other not. Anon the knight before the judge is brought, That saidë thus; ‘Thou hast thy fellow slain, For which I doom thee to the death certáin.’ And to another knight commanded he; ‘Go, lead him to the death, I chargë thee.’ And