Worldes blis ne iast no throwe
It went and wit awey anon.
The langer that ich hit iknowe
The lass ich finde pris tharon.
For al it is imeind mid care
Mid serwen and mid evel fare,
And atte laste povre and bare
It lat man wan il ginth agon.
Al the blis this heer and thare
Bilucth at ende weep and mon.

Man wi sestu thout and herte
O worldes blis that nout ne last?
Wi tholstu that thee softe smerte
For thing that is unstedefast?
Thu lickest huni of thorn iwis,
That sest thi luve o worldes blis.
For ful of bitternesse it is.
Ful sore thu might been ofgast
That heer despendest eight amis,
That tharthurw been into helle cast.

Thinc man warto Crist thee wroute
And do wey preed and felth and mood.
Thinc wu deere he thee aboute
O roode mid bis sweete blood.
Himselven he yaf for thee in pris
To beien thee blis yif thu be wis,
Bithin thee thanne, and up aris
Of senn and gin to werche good
Tharwils time to werchen is
For siker elles thu art wood.

Shal no good been unforyolde
Ne no quedhed ne wurth about,
Wanne thu list man under modle,
Thu shalt haven as tu hast wrout.
Bithinc wel forthi ich thee reede
And clanse thee of ech misdeede
That he thee help at tine neede
That so deere hath thee about,
And to hevenblisse leede
That ever last and failleth nout.

Worldly bliss does not last for a moment;
it goes away presently.
The longer that I know it the less value
I find in it; for it is all mingled with care,
with sorrows and with ill-success, and at the last
it leaves man poor and naked when it departs.
All the bliss which is here and there
amounts at the end
to weeping
and grief

Man, why do you set mind and heart
on worldly bliss that does not last?
What do you permit that you should so often be
grieved for things that are transitory?
You lick honey from thorn indeed,
who set your love on worldly bliss,
for it is full of bitterness.
You may well be greatly terrified
who mis-spend wealth here,
thereby to be cast into hell.

Think man for what purpose Christ created you,
and put away pride and filth and wrath.
Think how dearly he redeemed you on the cross
with his precious blood.
He gave himself as a ransom for you,
to buy you bliss if you are prudent;
bethink yourself then and rise up from sin
and begin to do good
whilst there is time to act,
for certainly otherwise you are mad.

No good deed shall be unrequited,
and no evil deed will not be paid for;
when you lie, man, under the earth,
you shall get what you have earned.
Consider well therefore, I advise you,
and cleanse yourself of each misdeed,
so that He may help you in your need
who has so dearly redeemed you,
and may lead you to the bliss of heaven
which ever endures and does not fail.