road before them. Yet no man spoke, rather the silence of the
men-folk deepened, as the sun's rays grew more level and more golden,
and the swifts wheeled about shriller and louder than before.

Then again John Ball spoke and said, "In good sooth, I deem ye wot no
worse than I do what is to do--and first that somewhat we shall do--
since it is for him that is lonely or in prison to dream of
fellowship, but for him that is of a fellowship to do and not to
dream.

"And next, ye know who is the foeman, and that is the proud man, the
oppressor, who scorneth fellowship, and himself is a world to himself
and needeth no helper nor helpeth any, but, heeding no law, layeth law
on other men because he is rich; and surely every one that is rich is
such an one, nor may be other.

"Forsooth, in the belly of every rich man dwelleth a devil of hell,
and when the man would give his goods to the poor, the devil within
him gainsayeth it, and saith, 'Wilt thou then be of the poor, and
suffer cold and hunger and mocking as they suffer, then give thou thy
goods to them, and keep them not.' And when he would be
compassionate, again saith the devil to him, 'If thou heed these
losels and turn on them a face like to their faces, and deem of them
as men, then shall they scorn thee, and evil shall come of it, and
even one day they shall fall on thee to slay thee when they have
learned that thou art but as they be.'

"Ah, woe worth the while! too oft he sayeth sooth, as the wont of the
devil is, that lies may be born of the barren truth; and sooth it is
that the poor deemeth the rich to be other than he, and meet to be his