Page:Romance of the Rose (Ellis), volume 1.pdf/44

Envy spareth no man Love to a friend, nor hath one good
Kind thought towards those who share her blood—
Yea, sorely ’twould her heart distress
Her sire to see in happiness.
Right cruel is the price she pays,
Who walketh thus in devious ways.
And through her cursed spirit she
Suffers forsooth most bitterly;
For in her villain mind doth rage
Torment more rude than thought can gauge270
Whene’er she hears of kindly deed
Or worthy act; and sore doth bleed
Her venomous heart enduring this.
Which God’s most righteous vengeance is
Upon her. Envy’s evil tongue
Spares no man, be he old or young.
And if ’twas hers to know perchance
The noblest knight who honours France.
Or one whose fame lies over-sea.
She’d deal them slander equally.280
And should their names so fair be found
As made her villain words redound
To eke their praise, then would she try
By mean insinuating lie
To undermine their fame some deal
With venomous wound no balm could heal.
I noted how she seemed to glance
Sideways, with tortuous peep askance.
And furtive leer turned all awry.
Half-closed her slanting evil eye.290
Her habit seemed, forsooth, innate
That she towards no man cast a straight