17v La Complainte de monseigneur Joffroi de Sergines

Here begins the Lament
of my lord Geoffrey of Sergines

He who has a loyal and fine heart,
who would decide to loyally serve
God up until the end;
he who comes to the end of his days,
should meet his end with ease,
and facing God, finely make his end.
He who serves Him with elegant thought
in the end, ends with courtoisie^{1Courtoisie and its adverbial form cortoisement is difficult to translate because it encapsualtes an entire set of values including generosity, lack of avarice, openness, nobility, solicitousness, respecatability}
and for this reason, many offer themselves up^{2A few lines later, Rutebeuf clarifies this statement by telling the reader that he is referring to those who join religious orders}
so that they might end their lives with courtoisie
in the sight of He who lives on high
while their bodies shamefully decay.
I say this about the religious,^{3This is a reference to the everyday monks as opposed to their leaders, whom he calls out below.}
since not every one of them is a prior.
The latter have rejected