6.—Hampole's Pricke of Conscience[1]
The miseries of old age.—1. 766.
Bot als tyte as a man waxes aide,
Þan waxes his kynde wayke and calde,
Þan chaunges his complexcion
And his maners and his condioion;
Þan waxes his hert hard and hevy,
And his heved1 feble and dysy;1 head.
Þan waxes his gaste seke and sare,
And his face rouncles, ay mare and mare;
His mynde es shorte whan he oght thynkes,
His nese ofte droppes his and2 stynkes,2 breath.
His sight waxes dym pat he has,
His bak waxes croked, stoupand he gas.
Fyngers and taes, fote and hande,
Alle his touches er tremblande:
His werkes forworthes bat he bygynnes,
His hairo moutes, his eghen3 rynnes:3 eyen, eyes.
His eres waxes deef, and hard to here,
His tung fayles, his speche is noght clere,
His mouthe slavers, his tethe rotes,
His wyttes fayles, and he ofte dotes;
He es lyghtly wrath, and waxes fraward,
Bot to turne hym fra wrethe, it es hard;
He souches and trowes sone a thyng,
Bot ful late he turnes fra þat trowyng;
He es covatous, and hard-haldand,
His chere es drery and his sembland;
He es swyft to spek on his manere,
And latsom and slaw for to here;
He prayses aid men and haldes bam wyse,
And yhung men list him oft despyse;
He loves men þat in aid tyme has bene,
He lakes þe men þat now er sene;
He es ofte seke and ay granand,
And ofte angerd, and ay pleynand;
All þir, thurgh kynd, to an aid man falles,
Þat clerkes propertes of eld calles.
Þe last ende of mans lyfe es harde
Þat es, when he drawes to ded-warde;
When he es seke, and bedreden lys,
And swa feble þat he may noght rys.
- ↑ The Pricke of Conscience: A Northumbrian Poem, by Richard Rolle de Hampole. Edited by Richard Morris (from MS. Cotton-Galba E. ix.), published by A. Asher and Co., Berlin, 1863.
