Floskaartjes as 'memento mori'
re: 'lessons' ...
I was thinking of the genre called "Estates satires".
The form begins as another angle on the 'joc partits' kind of poem, but is more satyrical. The style lasts up until the 19th C in moral poems.
Here's how one of them begins:
All kinds of people, those of every rank and every estate, work hard to be wicked ...
Here is a bishop. Wealthy with his own goods and those of his people, he leads the way. Because of him, there is a heavy burden of sin and his high throne brings him severe punishment.
Here is a king. Ranting, tyrannical, he favours some men while oppressing others and, what is worse, he is a lion to the meek, but a lamb to the extortionate.
Here is a parish priest. A priest ought to be a helpful path towards goodness, but the path he offers is not helpful but tearful, even for himself. Here is a cleric. He makes the wrong moral choices, he does not control himself, his mind dwells on sinful things. He knows what he ought to do, but he does not do it. He exchanges good for evil.
Here is a knight. He bears arms, he rages, he strikes, he brandishes his lance. He walks through the camp, suffocating everything. He is like the horned people of Cyprus.
Here is a nobleman. He is puffed up. Since he is fearless himself, he is feared by others. Confident of his power, which is like huge, curved horns, he respects nothing.
Here is a judge. His judgements are for sale. He loves money. His decrees are unjust. He helps the rich but he grimly obstructs the poor. Here is a merchant. He travels around the markets at home and overseas. He praises the goods he has to sell. He approves of his own goods, but he rejects yours and so he cheats you.
Here is a farmer. He sows and gathers crops. He hides the first fruits and avoids paying his tithes, saving himself money.
for the rest see
http://www.prosentient.com.au/balnaves/johnbalnaves/dissch3.asp