The fifth bough of avarice is sacrilege. Sacrilege is when one breaks or injures, or takes away foully, the holy things, or the men of holy Church, or the hallowed places that are appropriated to God’s service, and that often cause covetousness in many ways. First, when one takes away foully the body of our Lord, as do the heretics and the witches and the wicked priests, in order to make gain. Also I speak of the other sacraments. Afterwards, when one breaks, or steals, or takes away foully, the hallowed things, the crosses, the chalices, the chrism, the fine linen, the consecrated vestments, and other consecrated things. Afterwards, when one burns or breaks churches, or holy places, church-towns, or religious houses, or when one takes those out that flee to holy Church, or into church-towns, in order to be protected. Afterwards, when one makes quarrels in church so that there is blood shed, or when one commits sin of lechery. Afterwards when one lays hands wickedly on clerk, or on man or on woman of religion. Afterwards, when one steals, or carries out of the holy place for an evil cause consecrated things or unconsecrated, whatever it may be. Of these sins those are not quit that spend the goods of holy Church, the patrimony of Jesu Christ, for an evil purpose, nor those any the more that steal, or withhold by wrong or by force, or hide the things that are appropriated to holy Church, or pay them badly, as the rents, the offerings, the tithes, and the other rights of holy Church. Of this same sin those are not quit that break Sundays, and the feasts that are to be observed. For the holy day has its freedom, as have the holy places. These are the small boughs that grow from the bough of sacrilege.
THE SIXTH BOUGH OF AVARICE.
The sixth bough of avarice is simony, which is so named because of a wizard, that was called Simon, who wished to buy of St. Peter the Apostle the grace to do miracles, and offered great wealth, and therefore all those are called Simoniacs, that will sell or buy spiritual things, which is, among all the deadly sins, one of the greatest. And this bough has many twigs. The first is in them that sell or buy the holy orders, or the body of our Lord, or the other sacraments of holy Church. The second is in them that sell God’s Word, and preach principally for pence. The third is in them that by gifts, or by promises, or by entreaties dreadful or carnal, prevail so far that they or others are chosen to dignities of holy Church, such as bishoprics, abbeys, or deaneries, or other dignities that one fills by election. The fourth is in them that through gifts, or through promises, or through terrible entreaties, or through unclean service, give the prebends and the parishes, or other benefices of holy Church. The fifth is in them that by bargain-making let or change their benefices. The sixth is in them that by bargain-making go into religion, and in them that in such manner receive them.
Many other sins there are, and of divers cases, in simony. But they belong more to clerks than to laymen. And this book is made more for laymen than for clerks who have books. But always it is necessary for laymen that they should keep themselves from this sin in three cases. One is when they will help their kin or their friends to rise in dignities of holy Church. The second when they give prebends or benefices that are in their gift. The third when they yield their children to religion. In these three points, if they give or receive gifts or evil entreaties or evil services, they might soon fall into this sin of simony. For, as say the holy writings, there are three kinds of gifts that make simony: gift of land, gift of mouth, as entreaties, gift of uncleanly service. I call uncleanly when the services are done for an uncleanly cause, or principally for a spiritual matter.
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.
THE EIGHTH BOUGH OF AVARICE.
The eighth bough of avarice is unfair dealing, wherein one sins in many ways for temporal gain, and especially in seven ways. The first is to sell things as dear as one can, and to buy as cheap as one can. The second is lying, swearing, and forswearing, the dearer to sell their chaffer. The third way is what one does in weights and measures, and that may be in three ways. The first when one has diverse weights or diverse measures, and buys by the greatest weights or by the greatest measures, and sells by the least. The second way is when one has just weights and just measures, and sells dishonestly, as do these tavern-keepers that fill the measure with scum. The third way is when those that sell by weight so procure and cause that the thing that one shall weigh shows more heavy. The fourth way to sin in unfair dealing is to sell to time; of this we have spoken above. The fifth way is to sell another thing than one is shown before, as do these scriveners that show a good letter at the beginning and afterwards make a bad one. The sixth is to hide the truth about the thing that one will sell, as do the fraudulent dealers. The seventh is to cause (to procure) that the thing that one sells seems to have a better appearance than it has, as do these sellers of cloth that choose dark places, where they sell their cloth. In many other ways one may sin in unfair dealings, but it would be a long matter to tell.