by this peple ben
signefied the marchans of cloth lynnen and wollen & of all other
marchandises And by the table that is to for hym is signefied y'e
changeurs/ And they that lene money/ And they that bye & selle by the
weyght ben signefyed by the balances and weight And the customers.
tollers/ and resseyuours of rentes & of money ben signefied by the purse
And knowe y'e that alle they that ben signefied by this peple ought to
flee auaryce and couetyse/ And eschewe brekynge of the dayes of
payement/ And ought to holde and kepe theyr promyssis/ And ought also to
rendre & restore y't/ that is gyuen to them to kepe/ And therfor hit is
reson that this peple be sette to for y'e kynge/ for as moche as they
signefie the resseyuours of the tresours royall that ought all way to be
redy to fore y'e kynge/ and to answere for hym to the knightes and other
persones for their wages & souldyes And therfore haue I sayd that they
ought to flee auarice. For auarice is as moche to say as an adourer or
as worshipar of fals ymages/ & herof saith Tullius that auarice is a
couetise to gete y't thing that is aboue necessite/ & it is a loue
disordinate to haue ony thynge And it is one of the werst thyngis that
is And specially to prynces and to them that gouerne the thynges of the
comunete And this vice caufeth a man to do euyll/ And this doynge euyll
is whan hit regneth in olde men And herof saith Seneque That alle wordly
thynges ben mortifyed and appetissid in olde men reserued auaryce only/
whiche alleway abideth wyth hym and dyeth wyth hym But I vnderstande not
well the cause wherof this cometh ne wherfore hit may be And hit is a
fowle thynge and contrarie to reson That whan a man is at ende of his
Iourney for to lengthe his viage and to ordeyne more vitayll than hym
behoueth And this may well be lykened to the auarycious wolf For the
wolf doth neuer good tyll he be dede And thus it is sayd in the
prouerbis of the wisemen/ that thauaricious man doth no good tyll that
he be ded/ And he desireth no thynge but to lyue longe in this synne For
the couetouse man certaynly is not good for ony thynge For he is euyll
to hymself and to the riche and to the poure. And fynde cause to gayn
saye theyr desire/ and herof reherceth seneque and sayth that Antigonus
was a couetous prynce/ & whan Tinque whiche was his frende requyred of
hym a besa[=u]t/ he answerd to hym that he demanded more than hit
apperteyned to hym And than tinque constrayned by grete neces