Hou a man schal knowe hou mochel coveytise is hid in hys herte.

Lifte up this image and loke wel al aboughte, and thou schalt mowe see covetise and love of erthely thynge occupie a greet partie of this ymage, though it seme litil. Thou haste forsaken the richesse and moche avere of this world, and art sperid in a dongoun; but hast thou forsaken the love of al this? I hope not yit; it is lasse maistrie for to forsake goodis of the world thanne for to forsake the love of hem. Peraventure thou hast not forsake coveitise, thou haste chaunged fro grete thyngis into smale, as from a pound to a peny and from a silveren pece into a dische of an halpeny. This is a symple chaunge; thou art no good marchant. Thise ensamples aren childisch; neverthelees thei bitoken more. Yif thou trowe not me, assaie thisilf yif thou have love and delite in the havynge and in the biholdynge of ony thynge that thou haste, swich as it is, with the whiche love thou feedist thyn herte for a tyme or yif thou have desire and yeerne for to have sum thynge that thou haste not, with siche desire thyn herte is traveiled bi unskilful bisynesse, that the clene desire of vertues and of God mai not reste thereinne. This is a tokene that there is coveitise in this ymage, and yif thou wole assaie betere, loke yif onythinge that thou haste be taken awai from thee, bi maistrie or bi borwynge or bi ony othir wise, and thou mai not geten it agen, and forthi thou art disesid in thyn herte, and angrid and trobelid in thyn herte; bothe thee wanteth that thynge that thou wolde have and mai not gete it, and also agen hym that hath it thou art stired, for he myght restore it agen and wole not.

This is a tokene that thou lovest wordli goodes, for thus doon wordli men.

Whanne that heer good and her richesse is taken from hem, thei aren hevy, sori, and angry, and flite and stryve agens hem that han it, openli with word and bi deede; but thou doost alle thise in thyn herte pryveli, where God seeth. And yit arte thou in more defaute thanne a wordli man, for thou hast forsaken in likenesse the love of alle wordli thynges; but a wordli man hath not so, and therfore he is excusid though he stryve and pursue bi lawful weies for to have hem agen. But now seist thou, that thee bihoveth have thy necessaries of siche thinges as longeth to thee, as wel as a wordli man. I graunte wel therto, but thou schuldest not love hyt, ne noo likynge have in the biholdynge and in the kepynge of it, ne sorwe ne hevynesse fele in the leesynge or in the withdrawing of it; for, as Seynte Gregor seith, as moche sorwe as thou hast in the lesynge of a thynge, so moche love haddest thou in the kepynge. And therfore yif thyn herte were maad hool and thou hadde soothfastli felid a desire of goostli thynges, and hadde thereof a sighte of the leste goostli thynge that is, al the love and likyng of ony ertheli thynge thou schuldest sette it at nought, it schulde not cleve on thee. For to love and for to have more thanne thee nedeth skilfulli, it is a grete defaute. Also for to love that thing that thee nedith is defaute, but not so greet; but for to have and use that thee nedeth withoutin love of it is no defaute. Soothli manye that han the staat and the likenesse of povertee aren moche blyndid in this poynt and hyndred froo the love of God.

But I accuse no man, ne no staat reprove, for in every astaat summe aren goode and sume aren othir. But oo thynge I seie to eche man and woman whiche hath take the staat of poverté wilfulli, whethir he be religious or seculer, or what degree he be inne: As longe as his affeccioun is bounden, festened, and as it were glewid with the love of ony othir ertheli thynge that he hath or ellis wolde have, he mai not have ne feele soothfastili the clene love and the cleer sight of goostli thyngis.

For as Seynt Austyn seith to oure Lord thus: "Lord, he loveth Thee but litil, that loveth ony thynge with Thee." For the more love and coveitise of ony ertheli thinge is in thee, the lasse is the love of God in thyn herte. For though it be soo that this love of ertheli thinge putte hem not oute of charité, but it be so moche that it strangle the love of God and of here even Cristen, sothely it hyndreth hem and letteth thee from the fervour of charité, and also from that special meede that thei schulde have in the blisse of hevene for perfight poverté. And that is a grete losse yif they myght see it; for whooso myght knowe goosteli mede, how good, and how precious, and how worthi it is ay lastynge, he wolde not for al ertheli joie, or al ertheli thynge, though he myght have it withouten synne, lette ne leese the leeste meede of the blisse of hevene, whiche he myghte have yif that he wolde. I speke ferthere thanne y can do, but I pray thee thorugh the grace of God, doo soo yif thou mai, or ony othir whoso wole; for that were a comfort to me, that though y mai not have it in mysilf as I seie, that I myght have it in thee, or in ony othir creature whiche hath receyved of oure Lord more plenté of His grace thanne y. But see now thanne, hou coveitise in the nakid ground letteth a man or a woman so moche from the goosteli felynge of the love of God, how moche more it letteth thanne and encombrith wordli men and women whiche, bi alle here wittes and bisynesse, nyght and dai studie and travaile hou thei myght gete richesse and plenté of wordli goodis. Thei kunne noon othir delite have but in wordli thynges, ne thei wole not, for thei seke it not. I sei no more at this tyme of hem, for in this writynge y speke not to hem; but this I seie, yif thei myght see and wold see what thei doo, thei schulde not doo so.