11r La Desputizons dou Croisie et dou Descroisie

then they are crazy if they want to change course,
for this one is the most pleasant of them all.

Set aside the clerics and prelates
and consider the king of France,
who in order to conquer paradise,
wishes to place his own body in the balance
and lend his children to God.
The value of that loan cannot be estimated.
You see that he wishes to prepare himself
and do exactly what I am arguing with you about.

The king has much better reasons to stay
here in the kingdom than we do, and yet
he wishes to honor Him, with his own body,
whom we hold to be our Lord
who, on the cross, allowed Himself to be devoured.
If we do not suffer to serve Him,
alas, we will have much to lament,
for the lives we lead are far too foolish.

I want to be among my neighbors
and to have fun and take pleasure in life.
You will go and graze beyond the sea
since you can bear these great burdens.
Tell your master the sultan
that I take little heed of his threats.
If he comes here, I will see that he pays,
but I will not go there to hunt him down.

I am not doing anyone any harm;
no one is complaining about me.
I go to bed early and sleep well,
and I have love for my neighbors.
And so I believe, by St. Peter of Rome,
that is it better for me that I stay here
than that I carry someone else's heavy load,^{*'Porter grant soume' could also imply carrying a large sum of money, as we know Eudes did.}
a task which would cause me great fear.

And so you aspire to live here in comfort?
Do you know whether you will live a long time?
Tell me if you know in what book
certain lives are measured?
Eat and drink, and so get drunk,
for the poor wretch is soon exhausted.
Know this well: a man's life and broken eggs
are one and the same.

Alas, you poor soul, death is chasing you
and soon she will have you caught and trapped.
Death wields her club above your head.
Young and old, she takes for the same price.
She has quickly turned a foot into a peg leg.
And you! You have so much contempt for God.
Try to follow, at least a little bit, the path
by which good men have earned praise and esteem.

Lord crusader, I marvel at what I see!
Many humble folk are going beyond the sea ^{check all instances of Outremer}
They are a wise, generous, upstanding
and trustworthy company
and they are doing some good there, I think,
for which their souls are held in higher regard.
Yet they are worth nothing at all
when it comes to their return.

If God is anywhere in the world,
he is in France, without a doubt.
Do not think he is hiding over there
among people who do not love him one bit.
And your sea is so deep
that it is quite right that I fear it.
I prefer a fountain that runs over
to one that runs dry in the summertime.

You do not fear death,
yet you know you will have to die.
And you say that the sea frightens you?
Where does such foolishness come from?