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and requyred of hym a peny/ And he answerd to hym that hit was no yefte
couenable for a kynge and so he was allway redy to fynde a cause nought
to gyue For he myght haue gyuen to hym a besa[=u]t as a kynge to his
frende/ And the peny as to a poure man And ther is no thynge so lytyll/
but that the humanyte of a kynge may gyue hit Auarice full of couetyse
is a maner of alle vices of luxurye And Josephus reherceth in the book
of auncyent histories/ that ther was in rome a ryght noble lady named
Paulyne/ And was of the most noble of rome/ right honeste for the
noblesse of chastete/ whiche was maryed in the tyme that the women
gloryfied them in theyr chastete vnto a yonge man fayr. noble. and riche
aboue alle other/ and was lyke and semblable to his wyf in alle caasis/
And this paulyne was belouyd of a knight named emmerancian And was so
ardautly esprysed in her loue that he sente to her many right riche
yeftes/ And made to her many grete promissis/ but he might neuer torne
the herte of her whiche was on her side also colde and harde as marbill
But had leuer to reffuse his yeftes and his promisses. Than to entende
to couetise & to lose her chastete/ and we rede also in the historyes of
rome that ther was a noble lady of rome/ whiche lyuyd a solitarye lyf
and was chaste & honeste/ And had gadrid to gyder a grete some of gold/
And had hid hit in the erthe in a pytte wyth in her hous/ And whan she
was ded/ the bisshop dyde do burye her in the churche well and honestly/
And anone after this gold was founden & born to the bisshop/ And the
bisshop had to caste hit in to the pytte wher she was buryed. And .iii.
dayes men herd her crye & make grete noyse/ and saye that she brennyd in
grete payne/ and they herd her ofte tymes thus tormentid in y'e chirche/
the neighbours wente to the bisshop & told hym therof/ and y'e bisshop
gaf hem leue to open the sepulcre/ and whan they had opend hit/ they
fonde all the gold molten with fyre full of sulphre/ And was poured and
put in her mouth/ and they herd one saye/ thou desiredest this gold by
couetyse take hit and drynke hit/ And than they toke the body out of the
tombe And hit was cast oute in a preuy place Seneque reherceth in the
book of the cryes of women that auarice is foundement of alle vices/ And
valerian reherceth that auarice is a ferdfull garde or kepar of
rychessis for he that hath on hym or in his kepynge moche money or other
rychessis/ is allway a ferd to lose hit or to