THE SEVENTH BOUGH OF AVARICE.
The seventh bough of avarice is wickedness. I call wickedness, when the man is so wicked and such a devil, that he dreads not to do a great sin, deadly and horrible, or great harm to others, for a little gain or for advantage to himself. This bough has many twigs. The first is when any for dread of poverty or for covetousness, in order to make gain, forsakes (denies) God and the Christian belief, and becomes a Bulgar, or Jew, or Saracen. To this sin belongs the sin of them that for pence have the devil summoned, and make enchantments, and cause to look into a sword or into the nail of the thumb, in order to overtake thieves or for other things. And of them also that cause or obtain by charms or by witchcraft or by evil, whatever it be, that folk that are in wedlock together hate one another, or cannot have fellowship the one with the other in wedlock; or that folk, that are not in wedlock, love one another foolishly and in sin. The second is the sin of grudging and of treason (fraud), when the man for gain or for reward doth thing(s) whereby they lead others to death, either by sword, or by poison, or in other way, whatever it may be. The third is the sin of them that for gain burn houses, towns, castles, cities, or churches, or destroy the vines, or corn, or do other harm for reward. The fourth is the sin of them that sow discord, and obtain strife and wars in cities, or in capitals, or between the nobles, because they think to gain more with strife in war than in peace. The fifth is the sin of reeves, of provosts, of beadles, of servants, that accuse and challenge poor folk, and cause them to be charged, and use them ill, for a little gain that they have besides.
To this sin belongs the sin of false judges, and of false advocates, and of false witnesses, of whom we have spoken above. In many other ways the sin of wickedness is done. But it were a long business to tell, and better may each man read the same sin and the others in the book of his conscience, than in any sheepskin.