Shall sustain you, I thee behett1
To eat of them ye ne lette2

Which clean are, you may know;
Whereas you have eaten before
Trees and roots, since you were bore
Of clean beasts, now less and more,
I give you leave to eat.
Save blood and flesh, both in fear,
Of rouge dead carrion that is here,
Eat not of that, in no manere,
For that aye you shall leave.
Man slaughter also you shall flee,
For that is not pleasant unto me;
He that sheddeth blood, he or she,
Anywhere among mankind,

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335

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350

That blood foul shed shall be

355

In the firmament shall be,

By true token that you shall see,

That such vengeance shall cease. That man nor woman shall never more Be wasted with water as hath before; But for sin that grieveth me sore Therefore this vengeance was. Where clouds in the welkin been, That same bow shall be seen, In token that my wrath and teem Shall never thus wreakéd be. The string is turned towards you And toward me is bent the bow. That such weather shall never show, And this I promise thee. My blessing Noah, I give thee here, To thee, Noah, my servant dear; For vengeance shall no more appear,

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365

And now farewell, my darling dear.

310

HERE BEGINNETH A TREATISE HOW THE HIGE FATHER OF HEAVEN SENDETH DEATH TO SUMMON EVERY CREATURE TO COME ANI GIVE ACCOUNT OF THEIR LIVES IN THIS WORLD, AND IS IN MANNER OF A MORAL PLAY.

MESSENGER

I pray you all give your audience,
And hear this matter with reverence,

By figure a moral play;

The Summoning of Everyman called it is,
That of our lives and ending shows,
How transitory we be all day:

This matter is wonders precious,

But the intent of it is more gracious,
And sweet to bear away.

The story saith: man, in the beginning

Look well, and take good heed to the ending,
Be you never so gay:

Ye think sin in the beginning full sweet,
Which in the end causeth thy soul to weep,
When the body lieth in clay.

Here shall you see how Fellowship and Jollity,
Both Strength, Pleasure, and Beauty
Will fade from thee as flower in May;
For ye shall hear, how our Heaven King
Calleth Everyman to a general reckoning:
Give audience, and hear what he doth say.
GOD speaketh

I perceive here in my Majesty

How that all creatures be to me unkind,
Living without dread in worldly prosperity:

Of ghostly sight the people be so blind,

Drowned in sin, they knew me not for their God:

In worldly riches is all their mind. . . .

I see the more that I them forbear

The worse they be from year to year;
All that liveth appaireth 1 fast,

Therefore I will in all the haste

Have a reckoning of every man's person.
They be so cumbered with worldly riches,
That needs on them I must do justice,
On every man living without fear.

Where art thou, Death, thou mighty messenger?

Every man will I beset that liveth beastly,
Out of God's laws, and dreadeth not folly :
He that loveth riches I will strike with my dart,
His sight to blind, and fro heaven to depart,
Except that alms be his good friend,
In hell for to dwell, world without end.
Lo, yonder I see Everyman walking:
Full little he thinketh on my coming:
His mind is on fleshly lusts and his treasure;
And great pain it shall cause him to endure
Before the Lord, heaven's King.

Everyman, stand still; whither art thou going
Thus gaily? Hast thou thy Maker forgot?

EVERYMAN

Full unready I am such reckoning to give :

I know thee not; what messenger art thou?

DEATH

I am Death, that no man dreadeth;
For every man I 'rrest, and no man spareth,
For it is God's commandment

That all to me should be obedient.

EVERYMAN

O Death, thou comest when I had thee least in mind;

In thy power it lieth me to save;

Yet of my good will I give thee, if thou will be kind,

Yea, a thousand pounds shalt thou have,
And [thou] defer this matter till another day.

DEATH

Everyman, it may not be by no way;

I set not by gold, silver, nor riches,

Ne by pope, emperor, king, duke, ne princes;
For, and I would receive gifts great,
All the world I might get;

But my custom is clean contrary;

I give thee no respite, come hence, and not tarry.

EVERYMAN

Alas! shall I have no lenger respite?

I may say Death giveth no warning:

To think on thee it maketh my heart sick;
For all unready is my book of reckoning :
But [for] twelve year and I might have abiding,
My counting-book I would make so clear,
That my reckoning I should not need to fear.
Wherefore, Death, I pray thee for God's mercy,
Spare me, till I be provided of remedy.

DEATH

Thee availeth not to cry, weep, and pray :

But haste thee lightly, that thou wert gone this journey;

And prove thy friends, if thou can;

For, wit thou well, the tide abideth no man,
And in the world each living creature

For Adam's sin must die of nature.

EVERYMAN

Death, if I should this pilgrimage take,
And my reckoning surely make,
Show me, for Saint Charity,
Should I not come again shortly?

DEATH

No, Everyman, and thou be once there, Thou mayest never more come here, Trust me verily.

Alas! I may well weep with sighs deep :
Now have I no manner of company
To help me in my journey, and me to keep;
And also my writing is full unready.
How shall I do now for to excuse me !
I would to God I had never be got;

To my soul a full great profit it had be;
For now I fear pains huge and great.

The time passeth: Lord, help, that all wrought!
For though I mourn, it availeth nought:
The day passeth, and is almost ago;

Oh, to whom shall I make my moan,

For to go with me in that heavy journey?
First Fellowship he said he would with me gone;
His words were very pleasant and gay,

But afterward he left me alone.

Then spake I to my kinsmen all in despair,
And also they gave me words fair,
They lacked no fair speaking;

But all forsake me in the ending.

Then went I to my Goods that I loved best, In hope to have found comfort; but there had I least:

For my Goods sharply did me tell,

That he bringeth many in hell.
Then of myself I was ashamed,
And so I am worthy to be blamed,
Thus may I well myself hate.

Of whom shall I now counsel take?
I think that I shall never speed,
Till that I go to my Good Deed;
But, alas, she is so weak,
That she can nother go nor speak :
Yet will I venter on her now.
My Good Deeds, where be you?

GOOD DEEDS

Here I lie cold in the ground; Thy sins have me so sore bound, That I cannot stir.

EVERYMAN

O Good Deeds, I stand in great fear;

I must you pray of counsel,

For help now should come right well.

GOOD DEEDS

Everyman, I have understanding,

That thou art summoned account to make
Before Messias of Jerusalem King;

And you do by me, that journey with you will I take.

For your time draweth fast; and ye will saved be,
Ask God mercy, and he will grant truly :
When with the scourge of penance man doth
him bind,

The oil of forgiveness then shall he find.

EVERYMAN

Thanked be God for his gracious work;
For now I will my penance begin :
This hath rejoiced and lighted my heart,
Though the knots be painful and hard within.

KNOWLEDGE

Everyman, look your penance that ye fulfil,
What pain that ever it to you be;
And I shall give you counsel at will,
How your account ye shall make clearly.

EVERYMAN

O eternal God, O heavenly figure,
O way of right wiseness, O goodly vision,
Which descended down in a virgin pure,
Because he would Everyman redeem,
Which Adam forfeited by his disobedience,
O blessed Godhead, elect and high Divine,
Forgive me my grievous offence;

Here I cry thee mercy in this presence:

O ghostly treasure, O ransomer and redeemer!
Of all the world hope and conduyter,
Mirror of joy, foundation of mercy,
Which enlumineth heaven and earth thereby,
Hear my clamorous complaint, though it late be,
Receive my prayers of thy benignity,
Though I be a sinner most abominable,
Yet let my name be written in Moses' table.
O Mary, pray to the Maker of all thing
Me for to help at my ending,

And save me from the power of my enemy;
For death assaileth me strongly :

And, Lady, that I may by mean of thy prayer
Of your son's glory to be partiner.
By the mean of his passion I it crave;
I beseek you help me my soul to save.
Knowledge, give me the scourge of penance,
My flesh there with shall give acquittance;
I will now begin, if God give me grace.

KNOWLEDGE

Everyman, God give you time and space!
Thus I bequeath you in the hands of our Saviour;
Now may you make your reckoning sure.

EVERYMAN

In the name of all the Holy Trinity,
My body punished sore shall be,
Take this body for the sin of the flesh;
Also thou delightest to go gay and fresh ;
And in the way of damnation thou did me bring,
Therefore suffer now strokes and punishing:
Now of penance I will wade the water clear,
To save me from purgatory, that sharp fire.

GOOD DEEDS

I thank God, now I can walk and go,
And am delivered of my sickness and woe;
Therefore with Everyman I will go, and not
spare,

His good works I will help him to declare.

KNOWLEDGE

Now, Everyman, be merry and glad;

Your Good Deeds cometh now, ye may not be sad:

Now is your Good Deeds whole and sound,
Going upright upon the ground.

EVERYMAN

My heart is light, and shall be evermore; Now will I smite faster than I did before.

GOOD DEEDS

Everyman pilgrim, my special friend,
Blessed be thou without end;

For thee is prepared the eternal glory :
Ye have me made whole and sound,

Therefore I will bide by thee in every stound.

EVERYMAN

Welcome, my Good Deeds, now I hear thy voice, I weep for very sweetness of love.

KNOWLEDGE

Be no more sad, but evermore rejoice,

God seeth thy living in His throne above; Put on this garment to thy behove, Which with your tears is now all wet, Lest before God it be unsweet,

When ye to your journey's end come shall.

EVERYMAN

Gentle Knowledge, what do ye it call?

KNOWLEDGE

It is the garment of sorrow,
From pain it will you borrow;
Contrition it is,

That getteth forgiveness,
It pleaseth God passing well.

GOOD DEEDS

Everyman, will you wear it for your hele ? EVERYMAN

Now blessed be Jesu, Mary's son;

For now have I on true contrition :
And let us go now without tarrying.
Good Deeds, have we clear our reckoning?
GOOD DEEDS

Yea, indeed, I have here.