The Fourteenth Figure

The Fourteenth Figure

'Giving too much out of hand bringeth sorrow and want to the giver; for if it fail he shall be beaten with his own weapons. Therefore as such overmuch giving away hath made thee proud, thy pride shall have a time and term where it goeth thus far and no farther; then shall all be torn up, and thou must, have nothing more. But if thou hadst considered that no one should set himself against the poor, and hadst also recognised thy liberty to be against thy neighbour, thou wouldst have abstained therefrom. But thy own heart hath seduced thee and thy wisdom hath been reckoned openly as a folly.'