The Multitext Edition > Aberystwyth, National Library of Wales MS. Peniarth 392 D
The Parson's Tale
Folio 250v
30 of 30 folios
anon he wole coōmunely fynde hym matere of wraththe / in word or in
dede / agayns hym / to whom he hath enuye /
460
and as wel / comth Ire of pide /
as of enuye / for soothly / he þt is proud or enuyous / is lightly wroth
¶ This synne of Ire / after the discryuyng of Seint Augustyn / is
wikked wil to ben auenged / by word / or by dede
¶ Ire after the
philosophre / is the feruent blood of man / yquyked in his herte /
thurgh which / he wole harm / to hym þt he hateth /
for certes the
herte of man / by eschawfynge & moeuynge of his blood / wexeth
so trouble / þt he is out of alle Iugement of resoū //
But ye shal
vnderstonde
/ þt Ire is in two maneres
that oon of hem is good
& that oother is wikke
465
the goode Ire is
/ by Ialowsie of goodnesse
thurgh which
/ a man is wrooth w
t wikkednesse
& agayns wikked
-nesse
/ and therfore seith a wys
/ that Ire is bet than pley
this Ire
is wt debonairetee / & it is wroth wt oute bitternesse / nat wroth
agayns the man / but wroth / wt the mysdede of the man / as seith
the prophete Dauid ¶ Irascimini et nolite peccare
¶ Now vnderston
-deth
/ þt wikked Ire
/ is in .ij. maneres
that is to seyn
/ sodeyn Ire
or hastif Ire with oute auysement
& consentynge of his reson
/
the Menyng
& the sens of this is
/ þt the reson of a man ne
consente nat
to thilke sodeyn Ire
/ and thanne is it venyal
A-
nother Ire / is ful wikked / þt comth of felonye of herte auysed /
& cast bifore wt wikked wil to do vengeaūce / & ther to his resoū
consenteth / and soothly this is dedly synne
470
¶ this Ire / is so dis-
plesant to god / þt it troubleth his hous / & chaceth the holy goost
out of mannes soule / and wasteth & destroyeth the liknesse of
god / that is to seyn / the vertu / þt is in mannes soule /
& put in
hym
/ the liknesse of the deuel
/ & bynymeth the man fro god
/ þt is his rightful lord
this Ire / is a ful gret plesaūce to the
deuel / for it is the deueles forneys þt is eschawfed wt the
fyr of helle /
for c
ertes
/ right so as fyr is moore myghty to
destroye erthely thynges
/ than another Element ; right so Ire
is myghty
/ to destroye alle spirituel thynges
Looke / how þt
fyr of smale gleedes þt ben almoost dede vnder the Asshen
wolen quyke agayn / whan they ben touched wt brym ston ~ ~
right so / Ire wole euere mo quyke agayn / whan it is touched
by the pryde þt is couered in mannes herte /
475
for certes / fyr ne may
nat come out of no thyng but if it were first in the same
thyng naturelly / as fyr is drawen out of flyntes with
Steel /
and right so / as pryde is ofte tyme matere of Ire right
so is rancour norice & kepere of Ire
¶ Ther is a manere tree
as seith Seint ysidre