The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Introduction
• Errata.
• Additions to ‘the Minor Poems’ In Vol. I.
• XXIV.: Womanly Noblesse.
• XXV.: Complaint to My Mortal Foe.
• XXVI.: Complaint to My Lode-sterre.
• Notes to the Preceding Poems.
• The Canterbury Tales. Group A.
• The Prologue.
• The Knightes Tale.
• The Miller’s Prologue.
• The Milleres Tale.
• The Reeve’s Prologue.
• The Reves Tale.
• The Cook’s Prologue.
• The Cokes Tale.
• Group B.
• Introduction to the Man of Law’s Prologue. (t. 4421-4446.)
• The Tale of the Man of Lawe.
• The Shipman’s Prologue.
• The Shipmannes Tale.
• The Prioress’s Prologue. (t. 13365-13382.)
• The Prioresses Tale.
• Prologue to Sir Thopas. (t. 13621-13641.)
• Sir Thopas.
• Prologue to Melibeus. (t. 13847-13875.)
• The Tale of Melibeus.
• The Monk’s Prologue. (t. 13895-13924.)
• The Monkes Tale.
• The Prologue of the Nonne Prestes Tale. (t. 14773-14798).
• The Nonne Preestes Tale.
• Epilogue to the Nonne Preestes Tale.
• Group C.
• The Phisiciens Tale. (t. 11935-11957.)
• Words of the Host. (t. 12221-12239.)
• The Prologue of the Pardoners Tale. (t. 12263-12288).
• The Pardoners Tale. ( Numbered In Continuation of the Preceding. )
• Group D.
• The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. (t. 5583-5602; For T. 5582, See P. 164.)
• The Tale of the Wyf of Bathe.
• The Friar’s Prologue. (t. 6847-6868).
• The Freres Tale.
• The Somnour’s Prologue. (t. 7247-7270.)
• The Somnours Tale.
• Group E.
• The Clerk’s Prologue. (t. 7877-7898.)
• The Clerkes Tale.
• The Merchant’s Prologue. (t. 9089-9120).
• The Marchantes Tale.
• Epilogue to the Marchantes Tale.
• Group F.
• The Squieres Tale. (t. 10315-10334).
• The Franklin’s Prologue. (t. 11021-11040).
• The Frankeleyns Tale.
• Group G.
• The Seconde Nonnes Tale.
• The Canon’s Yeoman’s Prologue. (t. 16022-16043.)
• The Chanouns Yemannes Tale.
• Group H.
• The Manciple’s Prologue. (t. 16950-16968).
• The Maunciples Tale.
• Group I.
• The Parson’s Prologue. (t. 17312-17330).
• The Persones Tale.
• Appendix to Group A.
• The Tale of Gamelyn.

GROUP B.

INTRODUCTION TO THE MAN OF LAW’S PROLOGUE.
(T. 4421-4446.)

The wordes of the Hoost to the companye.

• OUR Hoste sey wel that the brighte sonne
• The ark of his artificial day had ronne
• The fourthe part, and half an houre, and more;
• And though he were not depe expert in lore,
• He wiste it was the eightetethe day5
• Of April, that is messager to May;
• And sey wel that the shadwe of every tree
• Was as in lengthe the same quantitee
• That was the body erect that caused it.
• And therfor by the shadwe he took his wit10
• That Phebus, which that shoon so clere and brighte,
• Degrees was fyve and fourty clombe on highte;
• And for that day, as in that latitude,
• It was ten of the clokke, he gan conclude,
• And sodeynly he plighte his hors aboute.15
• ‘Lordinges,’ quod he, ‘I warne yow, al this route,
• The fourthe party of this day is goon;
• Now, for the love of god and of seint Iohn,
• Leseth no tyme, as ferforth as ye may;
• Lordinges, the tyme wasteth night and day,20
• And steleth from us, what prively slepinge,
• And what thurgh necligence in our wakinge,
• As dooth the streem, that turneth never agayn,
• Descending fro the montaigne in-to playn.
• Wel can Senek, and many a philosophre25
• Biwailen tyme, more than gold in cofre.
• “For los of catel may recovered be,
• But los of tyme shendeth us,” quod he.
• It wol nat come agayn, with-outen drede,
• Na more than wol Malkins maydenhede,30
• Whan she hath lost it in hir wantownesse;
• Lat us nat moulen thus in ydelnesse.
• Sir man of lawe,’ quod he, ‘so have ye blis,
• Tel us a tale anon, as forward is;
• Ye been submitted thurgh your free assent35
• To stonde in this cas at my Iugement.
• Acquiteth yow, and holdeth your biheste,
• Than have ye doon your devoir atte leste.’
• ‘Hoste,’ quod he, ‘depardieux ich assente,
• To breke forward is not myn entente.40
• Biheste is dette, and I wol holde fayn
• Al my biheste; I can no better seyn.
• For swich lawe as man yeveth another wight,
• He sholde him-selven usen it by right;
• Thus wol our text; but natheles certeyn45
• I can right now no thrifty tale seyn,
• But Chaucer, though he can but lewedly
• On metres and on ryming craftily,
• Hath seyd hem in swich English as he can
• Of olde tyme, as knoweth many a man.50
• And if he have not seyd hem, leve brother,
• In o book, he hath seyd hem in another.
• For he hath told of loveres up and doun
• Mo than Ovyde made of mencioun
• In his Epistelles, that been ful olde.55
• What sholde I tellen hem, sin they ben tolde?
• In youthe he made of Ceys and Alcion,
• And sithen hath he spoke of everichon,
• Thise noble wyves and thise loveres eke.
• Who-so that wol his large volume seke60
• Cleped the Seintes Legende of Cupyde,
• Ther may he seen the large woundes wyde
• Of Lucresse, and of Babilan Tisbee;
• The swerd of Dido for the false Enee;
• The tree of Phillis for hir Demophon;65
• The pleinte of Dianire and Hermion,
• Of Adriane and of Isiphilee;
• The bareyne yle stonding in the see;
• The dreynte Leander for his Erro;
• The teres of Eleyne, and eek the wo70
• Of Brixseyde, and of thee, Ladomëa;
• The crueltee of thee, queen Medëa,
• Thy litel children hanging by the hals
• For thy Iason, that was of love so fals!
• O Ypermistra, Penelopee , Alceste,75
• Your wyfhod he comendeth with the beste!
• But certeinly no word ne wryteth he
• Of thilke wikke ensample of Canacee,
• That lovede hir owne brother sinfully;
• Of swiche cursed stories I sey ‘fy’;80
• Or elles of Tyro Apollonius,
• How that the cursed king Antiochus
• Birafte his doghter of hir maydenhede,
• That is so horrible a tale for to rede,
• Whan he hir threw up-on the pavement.85
• And therfor he, of ful avysement,
• Nolde never wryte in none of his sermouns
• Of swiche unkinde abhominaciouns,
• Ne I wol noon reherse, if that I may.
• But of my tale how shal I doon this day?90
• Me were looth be lykned, doutelees,
• To Muses that men clepe Pierides—
• Metamorphoseos wot what I mene:—
• But nathelees, I recche noght a bene
• Though I come after him with hawe-bake;95
• I speke in prose, and lat him rymes make.’
• And with that word he, with a sobre chere,
• Bigan his tale, as ye shal after here.

The Prologe of the Mannes Tale of Lawe.

• O hateful harm! condicion of poverte!
• With thurst, with cold, with hunger so confounded!100
• To asken help thee shameth in thyn herte;
• If thou noon aske, with nede artow so wounded,
• That verray nede unwrappeth al thy wounde hid!
• Maugree thyn heed, thou most for indigence
• Or stele, or begge, or borwe thy despence!105
• Thou blamest Crist, and seyst ful bitterly,
• He misdeparteth richesse temporal;
• Thy neighebour thou wytest sinfully,(10)
• And seyst thou hast to lyte, and he hath al.
• ‘Parfay,’ seistow, ‘somtyme he rekne shal,110
• Whan that his tayl shal brennen in the glede,
• For he noght helpeth needfulle in hir nede.’
• Herkne what is the sentence of the wyse:—
• ‘Bet is to dyën than have indigence;’
• Thy selve neighebour wol thee despyse;115
• If thou be povre, farwel thy reverence!
• Yet of the wyse man tak this sentence:—
• ‘Alle the dayes of povre men ben wikke;’(20)
• Be war therfor, er thou come in that prikke!
• If thou be povre, thy brother hateth thee,120
• And alle thy freendes fleen fro thee, alas!
• O riche marchaunts, ful of wele ben ye,
• O noble, o prudent folk, as in this cas!
• Your bagges been nat filled with ambes as,
• But with sis cink, than renneth for your chaunce;125
• At Cristemasse merie may ye daunce!
• Ye seken lond and see for your winninges,
• As wyse folk ye knowen al thestaat(30)
• Of regnes; ye ben fadres of tydinges
• And tales, bothe of pees and of debat.130
• I were right now of tales desolat,
• Nere that a marchaunt, goon is many a yere,
• Me taughte a tale, which that ye shal here.

THE TALE OF THE MAN OF LAWE.

Here beginneth the Man of Lawe his Tale.

• • IN Surrie whylom dwelte a companye
  • Of chapmen riche, and therto sadde and trewe,135
  • That wyde-wher senten her spycerye,
  • Clothes of gold, and satins riche of hewe;
  • Her chaffar was so thrifty and so newe,(40)
  • That every wight hath deyntee to chaffare
  • With hem, and eek to sellen hem hir ware.140
• • Now fel it, that the maistres of that sort
  • Han shapen hem to Rome for to wende;
  • Were it for chapmanhode or for disport,
  • Non other message wolde they thider sende,
  • But comen hem-self to Rome, this is the ende;145
  • And in swich place, as thoughte hem avantage
  • For her entente, they take her herbergage.
• • Soiourned han thise marchants in that toun(50)
  • A certein tyme, as fel to hir plesance.
  • And so bifel, that thexcellent renoun150
  • Of themperoures doghter, dame Custance,
  • Reported was, with every circumstance,
  • Un-to thise Surrien marchants in swich wyse,
  • Fro day to day, as I shal yow devyse.
• • This was the commune vois of every man—155
  • ‘Our Emperour of Rome, god him see,
  • A doghter hath that, sin the world bigan,
  • To rekne as wel hir goodnesse as beautee,(60)
  • Nas never swich another as is she;
  • I prey to god in honour hir sustene,160
  • And wolde she were of al Europe the quene.
• • In hir is heigh beautee, with-oute pryde,
  • Yowthe, with-oute grenehede or folye;
  • To alle hir werkes vertu is hir gyde,
  • Humblesse hath slayn in hir al tirannye.165
  • She is mirour of alle curteisye;
  • Hir herte is verray chambre of holinesse,
  • Hir hand, ministre of fredom for almesse.’(70)
• • And al this vois was soth, as god is trewe,
  • But now to purpos lat us turne agayn;170
  • Thise marchants han doon fraught hir shippes newe,
  • And, whan they han this blisful mayden seyn,
  • Hoom to Surryë been they went ful fayn,
  • And doon her nedes as they han don yore,
  • And liven in wele; I can sey yow no more.175
• • Now fel it, that thise marchants stode in grace
  • Of him, that was the sowdan of Surrye;
  • For whan they came from any strange place,(80)
  • He wolde, of his benigne curteisye,
  • Make hem good chere, and bisily espye180
  • Tydings of sondry regnes, for to lere
  • The wondres that they mighte seen or here.
• • Amonges othere thinges, specially
  • Thise marchants han him told of dame Custance,
  • So gret noblesse in ernest, ceriously,185
  • That this sowdan hath caught so gret plesance
  • To han hir figure in his remembrance,
  • That al his lust and al his bisy cure(90)
  • Was for to love hir whyl his lyf may dure.
• • Paraventure in thilke large book190
  • Which that men clepe the heven, y-writen was
  • With sterres, whan that he his birthe took,
  • That he for love shulde han his deeth, allas!
  • For in the sterres, clerer than is glas,
  • Is writen, god wot, who-so coude it rede,195
  • The deeth of every man, withouten drede.
• • In sterres, many a winter ther-biforn,
  • Was writen the deeth of Ector, Achilles,(100)
  • Of Pompey, Iulius, er they were born;
  • The stryf of Thebes; and of Ercules,200
  • Of Sampson, Turnus, and of Socrates
  • The deeth; but mennes wittes been so dulle,
  • That no wight can wel rede it atte fulle.
• • This sowdan for his privee conseil sente,
  • And, shortly of this mater for to pace,205
  • He hath to hem declared his entente,
  • And seyde hem certein, ‘but he mighte have grace
  • To han Custance with-inne a litel space,(110)
  • He nas but deed;’ and charged hem, in hye,
  • To shapen for his lyf som remedye.210
• • Diverse men diverse thinges seyden;
  • They argumenten , casten up and doun;
  • Many a subtil resoun forth they leyden,
  • They speken of magik and abusioun;
  • But finally, as in conclusion,215
  • They can not seen in that non avantage,
  • Ne in non other wey, save mariage.
• • Than sawe they ther-in swich difficultee(120)
  • By wey of resoun, for to speke al playn,
  • By-cause that ther was swich diversitee220
  • Bitwene hir bothe lawes, that they sayn,
  • They trowe ‘that no cristen prince wolde fayn
  • Wedden his child under oure lawes swete
  • That us were taught by Mahoun our prophete.’
• • And he answerde, ‘rather than I lese225
  • Custance, I wol be cristned doutelees;
  • I mot ben hires, I may non other chese.
  • I prey yow holde your arguments in pees;(130)
  • Saveth my lyf, and beeth noght recchelees
  • To geten hir that hath my lyf in cure;230
  • For in this wo I may not longe endure.’
• • What nedeth gretter dilatacioun?
  • I seye, by tretis and embassadrye,
  • And by the popes mediacioun,
  • And al the chirche, and al the chivalrye,235
  • That, in destruccioun of Maumetrye,
  • And in encrees of Cristes lawe dere,
  • They ben acorded, so as ye shal here;(140)
• • How that the sowdan and his baronage
  • And alle his liges shulde y-cristned be,240
  • And he shal han Custance in mariage,
  • And certein gold, I noot what quantitee,
  • And her-to founden suffisant seurtee;
  • This same acord was sworn on eyther syde;
  • Now, faire Custance, almighty god thee gyde!245
• • Now wolde som men waiten, as I gesse,
  • That I shulde tellen al the purveyance
  • That themperour, of his grete noblesse,(150)
  • Hath shapen for his doghter dame Custance.
  • Wel may men knowe that so gret ordinance250
  • May no man tellen in a litel clause
  • As was arrayed for so heigh a cause.
• • Bisshopes ben shapen with hir for to wende,
  • Lordes, ladyes, knightes of renoun,
  • And other folk y-nowe, this is the ende;255
  • And notifyed is thurgh-out the toun
  • That every wight, with gret devocioun,
  • Shulde preyen Crist that he this mariage(160)
  • Receyve in gree, and spede this viage.
• • The day is comen of hir departinge,260
  • I sey, the woful day fatal is come,
  • That ther may be no lenger taryinge,
  • But forthward they hem dressen, alle and some;
  • Custance, that was with sorwe al overcome,
  • Ful pale arist, and dresseth hir to wende;265
  • For wel she seeth ther is non other ende.
• • Allas! what wonder is it though she wepte,
  • That shal be sent to strange nacioun(170)
  • Fro freendes, that so tendrely hir kepte,
  • And to be bounden under subieccioun270
  • Of oon, she knoweth not his condicioun.
  • Housbondes been alle gode, and han ben yore,
  • That knowen wyves, I dar say yow no more.
• • ‘Fader,’ she sayde, ‘thy wrecched child Custance,
  • Thy yonge doghter, fostred up so softe,275
  • And ye, my moder, my soverayn plesance
  • Over alle thing, out-taken Crist on-lofte,
  • Custance, your child, hir recomandeth ofte(180)
  • Un-to your grace, for I shal to Surryë,
  • Ne shal I never seen yow more with yë.280
• • Allas! un-to the Barbre nacioun
  • I moste anon, sin that it is your wille;
  • But Crist, that starf for our redempcioun,
  • So yeve me grace, his hestes to fulfille;
  • I, wrecche womman, no fors though I spille.285
  • Wommen are born to thraldom and penance,
  • And to ben under mannes governance.’
• • I trowe, at Troye, whan Pirrus brak the wal(190)
  • Or Ylion brende, at Thebes the citee,
  • Nat Rome, for the harm thurgh Hanibal290
  • That Romayns hath venquisshed tymes thre,
  • Nas herd swich tendre weping for pitee
  • As in the chambre was for hir departinge;
  • Bot forth she moot, wher-so she wepe or singe.
• • O firste moevyng cruel firmament,295
  • With thy diurnal sweigh that crowdest ay
  • And hurlest al from Est til Occident,
  • That naturelly wolde holde another way,(200)
  • Thy crowding set the heven in swich array
  • At the beginning of this fiers viage,300
  • That cruel Mars hath slayn this mariage.
• • Infortunat ascendent tortuous,
  • Of which the lord is helples falle, allas!
  • Out of his angle in-to the derkest hous.
  • O Mars, O Atazir, as in this cas!305
  • O feble mone, unhappy been thy pas!
  • Thou knittest thee ther thou art nat receyved,
  • Ther thou were weel, fro thennes artow weyved.(210)
• • Imprudent emperour of Rome, allas!
  • Was ther no philosophre in al thy toun?310
  • Is no tyme bet than other in swich cas?
  • Of viage is ther noon eleccioun,
  • Namely to folk of heigh condicioun,
  • Nat whan a rote is of a birthe y-knowe?
  • Allas! we ben to lewed or to slowe.315
• • To shippe is brought this woful faire mayde
  • Solempnely, with every circumstance.
  • ‘Now Iesu Crist be with yow alle,’ she sayde;(220)
  • Ther nis namore but ‘farewel! faire Custance!’
  • She peyneth hir to make good countenance,320
  • And forth I lete hir sayle in this manere,
  • And turne I wol agayn to my matere.
• • The moder of the sowdan, welle of vyces,
  • Espyëd hath hir sones pleyn entente,
  • How he wol lete his olde sacrifyces,325
  • And right anon she for hir conseil sente;
  • And they ben come, to knowe what she mente.
  • And when assembled was this folk in-fere,(230)
  • She sette hir doun, and sayde as ye shal here.
• • ‘Lordes,’ quod she, ‘ye knowen everichon,330
  • How that my sone in point is for to lete
  • The holy lawes of our Alkaron,
  • Yeven by goddes message Makomete.
  • But oon avow to grete god I hete,
  • The lyf shal rather out of my body sterte335
  • Than Makometes lawe out of myn herte!
• • What shulde us tyden of this newe lawe
  • But thraldom to our bodies and penance?(240)
  • And afterward in helle to be drawe
  • For we reneyed Mahoun our creance?340
  • But, lordes, wol ye maken assurance,
  • As I shal seyn, assenting to my lore,
  • And I shall make us sauf for evermore?’
• • They sworen and assenten, every man,
  • To live with hir and dye, and by hir stonde;345
  • And everich, in the beste wyse he can,
  • To strengthen hir shal alle his freendes fonde;
  • And she hath this empryse y-take on honde,(250)
  • Which ye shal heren that I shal devyse,
  • And to hem alle she spak right in this wyse.350
• • ‘We shul first feyne us cristendom to take,
  • Cold water shal not greve us but a lyte;
  • And I shal swich a feste and revel make,
  • That, as I trowe, I shal the sowdan quyte.
  • For though his wyf be cristned never so whyte,355
  • She shal have nede to wasshe awey the rede,
  • Thogh she a font-ful water with hir lede.’
• • O sowdanesse, rote of iniquitee,(260)
  • Virago, thou Semyram the secounde,
  • O serpent under femininitee,360
  • Lyk to the serpent depe in helle y-bounde,
  • O feyned womman, al that may confounde
  • Vertu and innocence, thurgh thy malyce,
  • Is bred in thee, as nest of every vyce!
• • O Satan, envious sin thilke day365
  • That thou were chased from our heritage,
  • Wel knowestow to wommen the olde way!
  • Thou madest Eva bringe us in servage.(270)
  • Thou wolt fordoon this cristen mariage.
  • Thyn instrument so, weylawey the whyle!370
  • Makestow of wommen, whan thou wolt begyle.
• • This sowdanesse, whom I thus blame and warie,
  • Leet prively hir conseil goon hir way.
  • What sholde I in this tale lenger tarie?
  • She rydeth to the sowdan on a day,375
  • And seyde him, that she wolde reneye hir lay,
  • And cristendom of preestes handes fonge,
  • Repenting hir she hethen was so longe,(280)
• • Biseching him to doon hir that honour,
  • That she moste han the cristen men to feste;380
  • ‘To plesen hem I wol do my labour.’
  • The sowdan seith, ‘I wol don at your heste,’
  • And kneling thanketh hir of that requeste.
  • So glad he was, he niste what to seye;
  • She kiste hir sone, and hoom she gooth hir weye.385

Explicit prima pars. Sequitur pars secunda.

• • Arryved ben this cristen folk to londe,
  • In Surrie, with a greet solempne route,
  • And hastily this sowdan sente his sonde,(290)
  • First to his moder, and al the regne aboute,
  • And seyde, his wyf was comen, out of doute,390
  • And preyde hir for to ryde agayn the quene,
  • The honour of his regne to sustene.
• • Gret was the prees, and riche was tharray
  • Of Surriens and Romayns met y-fere;
  • The moder of the sowdan, riche and gay,395
  • Receyveth hir with al-so glad a chere
  • As any moder mighte hir doghter dere,
  • And to the nexte citee ther bisyde(300)
  • A softe pas solempnely they ryde.
• • Noght trowe I the triumphe of Iulius,400
  • Of which that Lucan maketh swich a bost,
  • Was royaller, ne more curious
  • Than was thassemblee of this blisful host.
  • But this scorpioun, this wikked gost,
  • The sowdanesse, for al hir flateringe,405
  • Caste under this ful mortally to stinge.
• • The sowdan comth him-self sone after this
  • So royally, that wonder is to telle,(310)
  • And welcometh hir with alle Ioye and blis.
  • And thus in merthe and Ioye I lete hem dwelle.410
  • The fruyt of this matere is that I telle.
  • Whan tyme cam, men thoughte it for the beste
  • That revel stinte, and men goon to hir reste.
• • The tyme cam, this olde sowdanesse
  • Ordeyned hath this feste of which I tolde,415
  • And to the feste cristen folk hem dresse
  • In general, ye! bothe yonge and olde.
  • Here may men feste and royaltee biholde,(320)
  • And deyntees mo than I can yow devyse,
  • But al to dere they boughte it er they ryse.420
• • O sodeyn wo! that ever art successour
  • To worldly blisse, spreynd with bitternesse;
  • Thende of the Ioye of our worldly labour;
  • Wo occupieth the fyn of our gladnesse.
  • Herke this conseil for thy sikernesse,425
  • Up-on thy glade day have in thy minde
  • The unwar wo or harm that comth bihinde.
• • For shortly for to tellen at o word,(330)
  • The sowdan and the cristen everichone
  • Ben al to-hewe and stiked at the bord,430
  • But it were only dame Custance allone.
  • This olde sowdanesse, cursed crone,
  • Hath with hir frendes doon this cursed dede,
  • For she hir-self wolde al the contree lede.
• • Ne ther was Surrien noon that was converted435
  • That of the conseil of the sowdan woot,
  • That he nas al to-hewe er he asterted.
  • And Custance han they take anon, foot-hoot,(340)
  • And in a shippe al sterelees, god woot,
  • They han hir set, and bidde hir lerne sayle440
  • Out of Surrye agaynward to Itayle.
• • A certein tresor that she thider ladde,
  • And, sooth to sayn, vitaille gret plentee
  • They han hir yeven, and clothes eek she hadde,
  • And forth she sayleth in the salte see.445
  • O my Custance, ful of benignitee,
  • O emperoures yonge doghter dere,
  • He that is lord of fortune be thy stere!(350)
• • She blesseth hir, and with ful pitous voys
  • Un-to the croys of Crist thus seyde she,450
  • ‘O clere, o welful auter, holy croys,
  • Reed of the lambes blood full of pitee,
  • That wesh the world fro the olde iniquitee,
  • Me fro the feend, and fro his clawes kepe,
  • That day that I shal drenchen in the depe.455
• • Victorious tree, proteccioun of trewe,
  • That only worthy were for to bere
  • The king of heven with his woundes newe,(360)
  • The whyte lamb, that hurt was with the spere,
  • Flemer of feendes out of him and here460
  • On which thy limes feithfully extenden,
  • Me keep, and yif me might my lyf tamenden.’
• • Yeres and dayes fleet this creature
  • Thurghout the see of Grece un-to the strayte
  • Of Marrok, as it was hir aventure;465
  • On many a sory meel now may she bayte;
  • After her deeth ful often may she wayte,
  • Er that the wilde wawes wole hir dryve(370)
  • Un-to the place, ther she shal arryve.
• • Men mighten asken why she was not slayn?470
  • Eek at the feste who mighte hir body save?
  • And I answere to that demaunde agayn,
  • Who saved Daniel in the horrible cave,
  • Ther every wight save he, maister and knave,
  • Was with the leoun frete er he asterte?475
  • No wight but god, that he bar in his herte.
• • God liste to shewe his wonderful miracle
  • In hir, for we sholde seen his mighty werkes;(380)
  • Crist, which that is to every harm triacle,
  • By certein menes ofte, as knowen clerkes,480
  • Doth thing for certein ende that ful derk is
  • To mannes wit, that for our ignorance
  • Ne conne not knowe his prudent purveyance.
• • Now, sith she was not at the feste y-slawe,
  • Who kepte hir fro the drenching in the see?485
  • Who kepte Ionas in the fisshes mawe
  • Til he was spouted up at Ninivee?
  • Wel may men knowe it was no wight but he(390)
  • That kepte peple Ebraik fro hir drenchinge,
  • With drye feet thurgh-out the see passinge.490
• • Who bad the foure spirits of tempest,
  • That power han tanoyen land and see,
  • ‘Bothe north and south, and also west and est,
  • Anoyeth neither see, ne land, ne tree?’
  • Sothly, the comaundour of that was he,495
  • That fro the tempest ay this womman kepte
  • As wel whan [that] she wook as whan she slepte.
• • Wher mighte this womman mete and drinke have?(400)
  • Three yeer and more how lasteth hir vitaille?
  • Who fedde the Egipcien Marie in the cave,500
  • Or in desert? no wight but Crist, sans faille.
  • Fyve thousand folk it was as gret mervaille
  • With loves fyve and fisshes two to fede.
  • God sente his foison at hir grete nede.
• • She dryveth forth in-to our occean505
  • Thurgh-out our wilde see, til, atte laste,
  • Under an hold that nempnen I ne can,
  • Fer in Northumberlond the wawe hir caste,(410)
  • And in the sond hir ship stiked so faste,
  • That thennes wolde it noght of al a tyde,510
  • The wille of Crist was that she shulde abyde.
• • The constable of the castel doun is fare
  • To seen this wrak, and al the ship he soghte,
  • And fond this wery womman ful of care;
  • He fond also the tresor that she broghte.515
  • In hir langage mercy she bisoghte
  • The lyf out of hir body for to twinne,
  • Hir to delivere of wo that she was inne.(420)
• • A maner Latin corrupt was hir speche,
  • But algates ther by was she understonde;520
  • The constable, whan him list no lenger seche,
  • This woful womman broghte he to the londe;
  • She kneleth doun, and thanketh goddes sonde.
  • But what she was, she wolde no man seye,
  • For foul ne fair, though that she shulde deye.525
• • She seyde, she was so mased in the see
  • That she forgat hir minde, by hir trouthe;
  • The constable hath of hir so greet pitee,(430)
  • And eek his wyf, that they wepen for routhe,
  • She was so diligent, with-outen slouthe,530
  • To serve and plesen everich in that place,
  • That alle hir loven that loken on hir face.
• • This constable and dame Hermengild his wyf
  • Were payens, and that contree every-where;
  • But Hermengild lovede hir right as hir lyf,535
  • And Custance hath so longe soiourned there,
  • In orisons, with many a bitter tere,
  • Til Iesu hath converted thurgh his grace(440)
  • Dame Hermengild, constablesse of that place.
• • In al that lond no cristen durste route,540
  • Alle cristen folk ben fled fro that contree
  • Thurgh payens, that conquereden al aboute
  • The plages of the North, by land and see;
  • To Walis fled the cristianitee
  • Of olde Britons, dwellinge in this yle;545
  • Ther was hir refut for the mene whyle.
• • But yet nere cristen Britons so exyled
  • That ther nere somme that in hir privetee(450)
  • Honoured Crist, and hethen folk bigyled;
  • And ny the castel swiche ther dwelten three.550
  • That oon of hem was blind, and mighte nat see
  • But it were with thilke yën of his minde,
  • With whiche men seen, after that they ben blinde.
• • Bright was the sonne as in that someres day,
  • For which the constable and his wyf also555
  • And Custance han y-take the righte way
  • Toward the see, a furlong wey or two,
  • To pleyen and to romen to and fro;(460)
  • And in hir walk this blinde man they mette
  • Croked and old, with yën faste y-shette.560
• • ‘In name of Crist,’ cryde this blinde Britoun,
  • ‘Dame Hermengild, yif me my sighte agayn.’
  • This lady wex affrayed of the soun,
  • Lest that hir housbond, shortly for to sayn,
  • Wolde hir for Iesu Cristes love han slayn,565
  • Til Custance made hir bold, and bad hir werche
  • The wil of Crist, as doghter of his chirche.
• • The constable wex abasshed of that sight,(470)
  • And seyde, ‘what amounteth al this fare?’
  • Custance answerde, ‘sire, it is Cristes might,570
  • That helpeth folk out of the feendes snare.’
  • And so ferforth she gan our lay declare,
  • That she the constable, er that it were eve,
  • Converted, and on Crist made him bileve.
• • This constable was no-thing lord of this place575
  • Of which I speke, ther he Custance fond,
  • But kepte it strongly, many wintres space,
  • Under Alla, king of al Northumberlond,(480)
  • That was ful wys, and worthy of his hond
  • Agayn the Scottes, as men may wel here,580
  • But turne I wol agayn to my matere.
• • Sathan, that ever us waiteth to bigyle,
  • Saugh of Custance al hir perfeccioun,
  • And caste anon how he mighte quyte hir whyle,
  • And made a yong knight, that dwelte in that toun,585
  • Love hir so hote, of foul affeccioun,
  • That verraily him thoughte he shulde spille
  • But he of hir mighte ones have his wille.(490)
• • He woweth hir, but it availleth noght,
  • She wolde do no sinne, by no weye;590
  • And, for despyt, he compassed in his thoght
  • To maken hir on shamful deth to deye.
  • He wayteth whan the constable was aweye,
  • And prively, up-on a night, he crepte
  • In Hermengildes chambre whyl she slepte.595
• • Wery, for-waked in her orisouns,
  • Slepeth Custance, and Hermengild also.
  • This knight, thurgh Sathanas temptaciouns,(500)
  • Al softely is to the bed y-go,
  • And kitte the throte of Hermengild a-two,600
  • And leyde the blody knyf by dame Custance,
  • And wente his wey, ther god yeve him meschance!
• • Sone after comth this constable hoom agayn,
  • And eek Alla, that king was of that lond,
  • And saugh his wyf despitously y-slayn,605
  • For which ful ofte he weep and wrong his hond,
  • And in the bed the blody knyf he fond
  • By dame Custance; allas! what mighte she seye?(510)
  • For verray wo hir wit was al aweye.
• • To king Alla was told al this meschance,610
  • And eek the tyme, and where, and in what wyse
  • That in a ship was founden dame Custance,
  • As heer-biforn that ye han herd devyse.
  • The kinges herte of pitee gan agryse,
  • Whan he saugh so benigne a creature615
  • Falle in disese and in misaventure.
• • For as the lomb toward his deeth is broght,
  • So stant this innocent bifore the king;(520)
  • This false knight that hath this tresoun wroght
  • Berth hir on hond that she hath doon this thing.620
  • But nathelees, ther was greet moorning
  • Among the peple, and seyn, ‘they can not gesse
  • That she hath doon so greet a wikkednesse.
• • For they han seyn hir ever so vertuous,
  • And loving Hermengild right as her lyf.’625
  • Of this bar witnesse everich in that hous
  • Save he that Hermengild slow with his knyf.
  • This gentil king hath caught a gret motyf(530)
  • Of this witnesse, and thoghte he wolde enquere
  • Depper in this, a trouthe for to lere.630
• • Allas! Custance! thou hast no champioun,
  • Ne fighte canstow nought, so weylawey!
  • But he, that starf for our redempcioun
  • And bond Sathan (and yit lyth ther he lay)
  • So be thy stronge champioun this day!635
  • For, but-if Crist open miracle kythe,
  • Withouten gilt thou shalt be slayn as swythe.
• • She sette her doun on knees, and thus she sayde,(540)
  • ‘Immortal god, that savedest Susanne
  • Fro false blame, and thou, merciful mayde,640
  • Mary I mene, doghter to Seint Anne,
  • Bifore whos child aungeles singe Osanne,
  • If I be giltlees of this felonye,
  • My socour be, for elles I shal dye!’
• • Have ye nat seyn som tyme a pale face,645
  • Among a prees, of him that hath be lad
  • Toward his deeth, wher-as him gat no grace,
  • And swich a colour in his face hath had,(550)
  • Men mighte knowe his face, that was bistad,
  • Amonges alle the faces in that route:650
  • So stant Custance, and loketh hir aboute.
• • O quenes, livinge in prosperitee,
  • Duchesses, and ye ladies everichone,
  • Haveth som routhe on hir adversitee;
  • An emperoures doghter stant allone;655
  • She hath no wight to whom to make hir mone.
  • O blood royal, that stondest in this drede,
  • Fer ben thy freendes at thy grete nede!(560)
• • This Alla king hath swich compassioun,
  • As gentil herte is fulfild of pitee,660
  • That from his yën ran the water doun.
  • ‘Now hastily do fecche a book,’ quod he,
  • ‘And if this knight wol sweren how that she
  • This womman slow, yet wole we us avyse
  • Whom that we wole that shal ben our Iustyse.’665
• • A Briton book, writen with Evangyles,
  • Was fet, and on this book he swoor anoon
  • She gilty was, and in the mene whyles(570)
  • A hand him smoot upon the nekke-boon,
  • That doun he fil atones as a stoon,670
  • And bothe his yën broste out of his face
  • In sight of every body in that place.
• • A vois was herd in general audience,
  • And seyde, ‘thou hast desclaundred giltelees
  • The doghter of holy chirche in hey presence;675
  • Thus hastou doon, and yet holde I my pees.’
  • Of this mervaille agast was al the prees;
  • As mased folk they stoden everichone,(580)
  • For drede of wreche, save Custance allone.
• • Greet was the drede and eek the repentance680
  • Of hem that hadden wrong suspeccioun
  • Upon this sely innocent Custance;
  • And, for this miracle, in conclusioun,
  • And by Custances mediacioun,
  • The king, and many another in that place,685
  • Converted was, thanked be Cristes grace!
• • This false knight was slayn for his untrouthe
  • By Iugement of Alla hastifly;(590)
  • And yet Custance hadde of his deeth gret routhe.
  • And after this Iesus, of his mercy,690
  • Made Alla wedden ful solempnely
  • This holy mayden, that is so bright and shene,
  • And thus hath Crist y-maad Custance a quene.
• • But who was woful, if I shal nat lye,
  • Of this wedding but Donegild, and na mo,695
  • The kinges moder, ful of tirannye?
  • Hir thoughte hir cursed herte brast a-two;
  • She wolde noght hir sone had do so;(600)
  • Hir thoughte a despit, that he sholde take
  • So strange a creature un-to his make.700
• • Me list nat of the chaf nor of the stree
  • Maken so long a tale, as of the corn.
  • What sholde I tellen of the royaltee
  • At mariage, or which cours gooth biforn,
  • Who bloweth in a trompe or in an horn?705
  • The fruit of every tale is for to seye;
  • They ete, and drinke, and daunce, and singe, and pleye.
• • They goon to bedde, as it was skile and right;(610)
  • For, thogh that wyves been ful holy thinges,
  • They moste take in pacience at night710
  • Swich maner necessaries as been plesinges
  • To folk that han y-wedded hem with ringes,
  • And leye a lyte hir holinesse asyde
  • As for the tyme; it may no bet bityde.
• • On hir he gat a knave-child anoon,715
  • And to a bishop and his constable eke
  • He took his wyf to kepe, whan he is goon
  • To Scotland-ward, his fo-men for to seke;(620)
  • Now faire Custance, that is so humble and meke,
  • So longe is goon with childe, til that stille720
  • She halt hir chambre, abyding Cristes wille.
• • The tyme is come, a knave-child she ber;
  • Mauricius at the font-stoon they him calle;
  • This Constable dooth forth come a messager,
  • And wroot un-to his king, that cleped was Alle,725
  • How that this blisful tyding is bifalle,
  • And othere tydings speedful for to seye;
  • He takth the lettre, and forth he gooth his weye.(630)
• • This messager, to doon his avantage,
  • Un-to the kinges moder rydeth swythe,730
  • And salueth hir ful faire in his langage,
  • ‘Madame,’ quod he, ‘ye may be glad and blythe,
  • And thanke god an hundred thousand sythe;
  • My lady quene hath child, with-outen doute,
  • To Ioye and blisse of al this regne aboute.735
• • Lo, heer the lettres seled of this thing,
  • That I mot bere with al the haste I may;
  • If ye wol aught un-to your sone the king,(640)
  • I am your servant, bothe night and day.’
  • Donegild answerde, ‘as now at this tyme, nay;740
  • But heer al night I wol thou take thy reste,
  • Tomorwe wol I seye thee what me leste.’
• • This messager drank sadly ale and wyn,
  • And stolen were his lettres prively
  • Out of his box, whyl he sleep as a swyn;745
  • And countrefeted was ful subtilly
  • Another lettre, wroght ful sinfully,
  • Un-to the king direct of this matere(650)
  • Fro his constable, as ye shul after here.
• • The lettre spak, ‘the queen delivered was750
  • Of so horrible a feendly creature,
  • That in the castel noon so hardy was
  • That any whyle dorste ther endure.
  • The moder was an elf, by aventure
  • Y-come , by charmes or by sorcerye,755
  • And every wight hateth hir companye.’
• • Wo was this king whan he this lettre had seyn,
  • But to no wighte he tolde his sorwes sore,(660)
  • But of his owene honde he wroot ageyn,
  • ‘Welcome the sonde of Crist for evermore760
  • To me, that am now lerned in his lore;
  • Lord, welcome be thy lust and thy plesaunce,
  • My lust I putte al in thyn ordinaunce!
• • Kepeth this child, al be it foul or fair,
  • And eek my wyf, un-to myn hoom-cominge;765
  • Crist, whan him list, may sende me an heir
  • More agreable than this to my lykinge.’
  • This lettre he seleth, prively wepinge,(670)
  • Which to the messager was take sone,
  • And forth he gooth; ther is na more to done.770
• • O messager, fulfild of dronkenesse,
  • Strong is thy breeth, thy limes faltren ay,
  • And thou biwreyest alle secreenesse.
  • Thy mind is lorn, thou Ianglest as a Iay,
  • Thy face is turned in a newe array!775
  • Ther dronkenesse regneth in any route,
  • Ther is no conseil hid, with-outen doute.
• • O Donegild, I ne have noon English digne(680)
  • Un-to thy malice and thy tirannye!
  • And therfor to the feend I thee resigne,780
  • Let him endyten of thy traitorye!
  • Fy, mannish, fy! o nay, by god, I lye,
  • Fy, feendly spirit, for I dar wel telle,
  • Though thou heer walke, thy spirit is in helle!
• • This messager comth fro the king agayn,785
  • And at the kinges modres court he lighte,
  • And she was of this messager ful fayn,
  • And plesed him in al that ever she mighte.(690)
  • He drank, and wel his girdel underpighte.
  • He slepeth, and he snoreth in his gyse790
  • Al night, un-til the sonne gan aryse.
• • Eft were his lettres stolen everichon
  • And countrefeted lettres in this wyse;
  • ‘The king comandeth his constable anon,
  • Up peyne of hanging, and on heigh Iuÿse,795
  • That he ne sholde suffren in no wyse
  • Custance in-with his regne for tabyde
  • Thre dayes and a quarter of a tyde;(700)
• • But in the same ship as he hir fond,
  • Hir and hir yonge sone, and al hir gere,800
  • He sholde putte, and croude hir fro the lond,
  • And charge hir that she never eft come there.’
  • O my Custance, wel may thy goost have fere
  • And sleping in thy dreem been in penance,
  • When Donegild caste al this ordinance!805
• • This messager on morwe, whan he wook,
  • Un-to the castel halt the nexte wey,
  • And to the constable he the lettre took;(710)
  • And whan that he this pitous lettre sey,
  • Ful ofte he seyde ‘allas!’ and ‘weylawey!’810
  • ‘Lord Crist,’ quod he, ‘how may this world endure?
  • So ful of sinne is many a creature!
• • O mighty god, if that it be thy wille,
  • Sith thou art rightful Iuge, how may it be
  • That thou wolt suffren innocents to spille,815
  • And wikked folk regne in prosperitee?
  • O good Custance, allas! so wo is me
  • That I mot be thy tormentour, or deye(720)
  • On shames deeth; ther is noon other weye!’
• • Wepen bothe yonge and olde in al that place,820
  • Whan that the king this cursed lettre sente,
  • And Custance, with a deedly pale face,
  • The ferthe day toward hir ship she wente.
  • But natheles she taketh in good entente
  • The wille of Crist, and, kneling on the stronde,825
  • She seyde, ‘lord! ay wel-com be thy sonde!
• • He that me kepte fro the false blame
  • Whyl I was on the londe amonges yow,(730)
  • He can me kepe from harme and eek fro shame
  • In salte see, al-thogh I se nat how.830
  • As strong as ever he was, he is yet now.
  • In him triste I, and in his moder dere,
  • That is to me my seyl and eek my stere.’
• • Hir litel child lay weping in hir arm,
  • And kneling, pitously to him she seyde,835
  • ‘Pees, litel sone, I wol do thee non harm.’
  • With that hir kerchef of hir heed she breyde,
  • And over his litel yën she it leyde;(740)
  • And in hir arm she lulleth it ful faste,
  • And in-to heven hir yën up she caste.840
• • ‘Moder,’ quod she, ‘and mayde bright, Marye,
  • Sooth is that thurgh wommannes eggement
  • Mankind was lorn and damned ay to dye,
  • For which thy child was on a croys y-rent;
  • Thy blisful yën sawe al his torment;845
  • Than is ther no comparisoun bitwene
  • Thy wo and any wo man may sustene.
• • Thou sawe thy child y-slayn bifor thyn yën,(750)
  • And yet now liveth my litel child, parfay!
  • Now, lady bright, to whom alle woful cryën,850
  • Thou glorie of wommanhede, thou faire may,
  • Thou haven of refut, brighte sterre of day,
  • Rewe on my child, that of thy gentillesse
  • Rewest on every rewful in distresse!
• • O litel child, allas! what is thy gilt,855
  • That never wroughtest sinne as yet, pardee,
  • Why wil thyn harde fader han thee spilt?
  • O mercy, dere Constable!’ quod she;(760)
  • ‘As lat my litel child dwelle heer with thee;
  • And if thou darst not saven him, for blame,860
  • So kis him ones in his fadres name!’
• • Ther-with she loketh bakward to the londe,
  • And seyde, ‘far-wel, housbond routhelees!’
  • And up she rist, and walketh doun the stronde
  • Toward the ship; hir folweth al the prees,865
  • And ever she preyeth hir child to holde his pees;
  • And taketh hir leve, and with an holy entente
  • She blesseth hir; and in-to ship she wente.(770)
• • Vitailled was the ship, it is no drede,
  • Habundantly for hir, ful longe space,870
  • And other necessaries that sholde nede
  • She hadde y-nogh, heried be goddes grace!
  • For wind and weder almighty god purchace,
  • And bringe hir hoom! I can no bettre seye;
  • But in the see she dryveth forth hir weye.875

Explicit secunda pars. Sequitur pars tercia.

• • Alla the king comth hoom, sone after this,
  • Unto his castel of the which I tolde,
  • And axeth wher his wyf and his child is.(780)
  • The constable gan aboute his herte colde,
  • And pleynly al the maner he him tolde880
  • As ye han herd, I can telle it no bettre,
  • And sheweth the king his seel and [eek] his lettre,
• • And seyde, ‘lord, as ye comaunded me
  • Up peyne of deeth, so have I doon, certein.’
  • This messager tormented was til he885
  • Moste biknowe and tellen, plat and plein,
  • Fro night to night, in what place he had leyn.
  • And thus, by wit and subtil enqueringe,(790)
  • Ymagined was by whom this harm gan springe.
• • The hand was knowe that the lettre wroot,890
  • And al the venim of this cursed dede,
  • But in what wyse, certeinly I noot.
  • Theffect is this, that Alla, out of drede,
  • His moder slow, that men may pleinly rede,
  • For that she traitour was to hir ligeaunce.895
  • Thus endeth olde Donegild with meschaunce.
• • The sorwe that this Alla, night and day,
  • Maketh for his wyf and for his child also,(800)
  • Ther is no tonge that it telle may.
  • But now wol I un-to Custance go,900
  • That fleteth in the see, in peyne and wo,
  • Fyve yeer and more, as lyked Cristes sonde,
  • Er that hir ship approched un-to londe.
• • Under an hethen castel, atte laste,
  • Of which the name in my text noght I finde,905
  • Custance and eek hir child the see up-caste.
  • Almighty god, that saveth al mankinde,
  • Have on Custance and on hir child som minde,(810)
  • That fallen is in hethen land eft-sone,
  • In point to spille, as I shal telle yow sone.910
• • Doun from the castel comth ther many a wight
  • To gauren on this ship and on Custance.
  • But shortly, from the castel, on a night,
  • The lordes styward—god yeve him meschaunce!—
  • A theef, that had reneyed our creaunce,915
  • Com in-to ship allone, and seyde he sholde
  • Hir lemman be, wher-so she wolde or nolde.
• • Wo was this wrecched womman tho bigon,(820)
  • Hir child cryde, and she cryde pitously;
  • But blisful Marie heelp hir right anon;920
  • For with hir strugling wel and mightily
  • The theef fil over bord al sodeinly,
  • And in the see he dreynte for vengeance;
  • And thus hath Crist unwemmed kept Custance.
• • O foule lust of luxurie! lo, thyn ende!

    Auctor.925

  • Nat only that thou feyntest mannes minde,
  • But verraily thou wolt his body shende;
  • Thende of thy werk or of thy lustes blinde(830)
  • Is compleyning, how many-oon may men finde
  • That noght for werk som-tyme, but for thentente930
  • To doon this sinne, ben outher sleyn or shente!
• • How may this wayke womman han this strengthe
  • Hir to defende agayn this renegat?
  • O Golias, unmesurable of lengthe,
  • How mighte David make thee so mat,935
  • So yong and of armure so desolat?
  • How dorste he loke up-on thy dredful face?
  • Wel may men seen, it nas but goddes grace!(840)
• • Who yaf Iudith corage or hardinesse
  • To sleen him, Olofernus, in his tente,940
  • And to deliveren out of wrecchednesse
  • The peple of god? I seye, for this entente,
  • That, right as god spirit of vigour sente
  • To hem, and saved hem out of meschance,
  • So sente he might and vigour to Custance.945
• • Forth goth hir ship thurgh-out the narwe mouth
  • Of Iubaltar and Septe, dryving ay,
  • Som-tyme West, som-tyme North and South,(850)
  • And som-tyme Est, ful many a wery day,
  • Til Cristes moder (blessed be she ay!)950
  • Hath shapen, thurgh hir endelees goodnesse,
  • To make an ende of al hir hevinesse.
• • Now lat us stinte of Custance but a throwe,
  • And speke we of the Romain Emperour,
  • That out of Surrie hath by lettres knowe955
  • The slaughtre of cristen folk, and dishonour
  • Don to his doghter by a fals traitour,
  • I mene the cursed wikked sowdanesse,(860)
  • That at the feste leet sleen both more and lesse.
• • For which this emperour hath sent anoon960
  • His senatour, with royal ordinance,
  • And othere lordes, got wot, many oon,
  • On Surriens to taken heigh vengeance.
  • They brennen, sleen, and bringe hem to meschance
  • Ful many a day; but shortly, this is thende,965
  • Homward to Rome they shapen hem to wende.
• • This senatour repaireth with victorie
  • To Rome-ward, sayling ful royally,(870)
  • And mette the ship dryving, as seith the storie,
  • In which Custance sit ful pitously.970
  • No-thing ne knew he what she was, ne why
  • She was in swich array; ne she nil seye
  • Of hir estaat, althogh she sholde deye.
• • He bringeth hir to Rome, and to his wyf
  • He yaf hir, and hir yonge sone also;975
  • And with the senatour she ladde her lyf.
  • Thus can our lady bringen out of wo
  • Woful Custance, and many another mo.(880)
  • And longe tyme dwelled she in that place,
  • In holy werkes ever, as was hir grace.980
  • The senatoures wyf hir aunte was,
  • But for al that she knew hir never the more;
  • I wol no lenger tarien in this cas,
  • But to king Alla, which I spak of yore,
  • That for his wyf wepeth and syketh sore,985
  • I wol retourne, and lete I wol Custance
  • Under the senatoures governance.
• • King Alla, which that hadde his moder slayn,(890)
  • Upon a day fil in swich repentance,
  • That, if I shortly tellen shal and plain,990
  • To Rome he comth, to receyven his penance;
  • And putte him in the popes ordinance
  • In heigh and low, and Iesu Crist bisoghte
  • Foryeve his wikked werkes that he wroghte.
• • The fame anon thurgh Rome toun is born,995
  • How Alla king shal come in pilgrimage,
  • By herbergeours that wenten him biforn;
  • For which the senatour, as was usage,(900)
  • Rood him ageyn , and many of his linage,
  • As wel to shewen his heighe magnificence1000
  • As to don any king a reverence.
• • Greet chere dooth this noble senatour
  • To king Alla, and he to him also;
  • Everich of hem doth other greet honour;
  • And so bifel that, in a day or two,1005
  • This senatour is to king Alla go
  • To feste, and shortly, if I shal nat lye,
  • Custances sone wente in his companye.(910)
• • Som men wolde seyn, at requeste of Custance,
  • This senatour hath lad this child to feste;1010
  • I may nat tellen every circumstance,
  • Be as be may, ther was he at the leste.
  • But soth is this, that, at his modres heste,
  • Biforn Alla, during the metes space,
  • The child stood, loking in the kinges face.1015
• • This Alla king hath of this child greet wonder,
  • And to the senatour he seyde anon,
  • ‘Whos is that faire child that stondeth yonder?’(920)
  • ‘I noot,’ quod he, ‘by god, and by seint Iohn!
  • A moder he hath, but fader hath he non1020
  • That I of woot’—but shortly, in a stounde,
  • He tolde Alla how that this child was founde.
• • ‘But god wot,’ quod this senatour also,
  • ‘So vertuous a livere in my lyf,
  • Ne saugh I never as she, ne herde of mo1025
  • Of worldly wommen, mayden, nor of wyf;
  • I dar wel seyn hir hadde lever a knyf
  • Thurgh-out her breste, than been a womman wikke;(930)
  • Ther is no man coude bringe hir to that prikke.’
• • Now was this child as lyk un-to Custance1030
  • As possible is a creature to be.
  • This Alla hath the face in remembrance
  • Of dame Custance, and ther-on mused he
  • If that the childes moder were aught she
  • That was his wyf, and prively he sighte,1035
  • And spedde him fro the table that he mighte.
• • ‘Parfay,’ thoghte he, ‘fantome is in myn heed!
  • I oghte deme, of skilful Iugement,(940)
  • That in the salte see my wyf is deed.’
  • And afterward he made his argument—1040
  • ‘What woot I, if that Crist have hider y-sent
  • My wyf by see, as wel as he hir sente
  • To my contree fro thennes that she wente?’
• • And, after noon, hoom with the senatour
  • Goth Alla, for to seen this wonder chaunce.1045
  • This senatour dooth Alla greet honour,
  • And hastifly he sente after Custaunce.
  • But trusteth weel, hir liste nat to daunce(950)
  • Whan that she wiste wherefor was that sonde.
  • Unnethe up-on hir feet she mighte stonde.1050
• • When Alla saugh his wyf, faire he hir grette,
  • And weep, that it was routhe for to see.
  • For at the firste look he on hir sette
  • He knew wel verraily that it was she.
  • And she for sorwe as domb stant as a tree;1055
  • So was hir herte shet in hir distresse
  • Whan she remembred his unkindenesse.
• • Twyës she swowned in his owne sighte;(960)
  • He weep, and him excuseth pitously:—
  • ‘Now god,’ quod he, ‘and alle his halwes brighte1060
  • So wisly on my soule as have mercy,
  • That of your harm as giltelees am I
  • As is Maurice my sone so lyk your face;
  • Elles the feend me fecche out of this place!’
• • Long was the sobbing and the bitter peyne1065
  • Er that hir woful hertes mighte cesse;
  • Greet was the pitee for to here hem pleyne,
  • Thurgh whiche pleintes gan hir wo encresse.(970)
  • I prey yow al my labour to relesse;
  • I may nat telle hir wo un-til tomorwe,1070
  • I am so wery for to speke of sorwe.
• • But fynally, when that the sooth is wist
  • That Alla giltelees was of hir wo,
  • I trowe an hundred tymes been they kist,
  • And swich a blisse is ther bitwix hem two1075
  • That, save the Ioye that lasteth evermo,
  • Ther is non lyk, that any creature
  • Hath seyn or shal, whyl that the world may dure.(980)
• • Tho preyde she hir housbond mekely,
  • In relief of hir longe pitous pyne,1080
  • That he wold preye hir fader specially
  • That, of his magestee, he wolde enclyne
  • To vouche-sauf som day with him to dyne;
  • She preyde him eek, he sholde by no weye
  • Un-to hir fader no word of hir seye.1085
• • Som men wold seyn, how that the child Maurice
  • Doth this message un-to this emperour;
  • But, as I gesse, Alla was nat so nyce(990)
  • To him, that was of so sovereyn honour
  • As he that is of cristen folk the flour,1090
  • Sente any child, but it is bet to deme
  • He wente him-self, and so it may wel seme.
• • This emperour hath graunted gentilly
  • To come to diner, as he him bisoghte;
  • And wel rede I, he loked bisily1095
  • Up-on this child, and on his doghter thoghte.
  • Alla goth to his in, and, as him oghte,
  • Arrayed for this feste in every wyse(1000)
  • As ferforth as his conning may suffyse.
• • The morwe cam, and Alla gan him dresse,1100
  • And eek his wyf, this emperour to mete;
  • And forth they ryde in Ioye and in gladnesse.
  • And whan she saugh hir fader in the strete,
  • She lighte doun, and falleth him to fete.
  • ‘Fader,’ quod she, ‘your yonge child Custance1105
  • Is now ful clene out of your remembrance.
• • I am your doghter Custance,’ quod she,
  • ‘That whylom ye han sent un-to Surrye.(1010)
  • It am I, fader, that in the salte see
  • Was put allone and dampned for to dye.1110
  • Now, gode fader, mercy I yow crye,
  • Send me namore un-to non hethenesse,
  • But thonketh my lord heer of his kindenesse.’
• • Who can the pitous Ioye tellen al
  • Bitwix hem three, sin they ben thus y-mette?1115
  • But of my tale make an ende I shal;
  • The day goth faste, I wol no lenger lette.
  • This glade folk to diner they hem sette;(1020)
  • In Ioye and blisse at mete I lete hem dwelle
  • A thousand fold wel more than I can telle.1120
• • This child Maurice was sithen emperour
  • Maad by the pope, and lived cristenly.
  • To Cristes chirche he dide greet honour;
  • But I lete al his storie passen by,
  • Of Custance is my tale specially.1125
  • In olde Romayn gestes may men finde
  • Maurices lyf; I bere it noght in minde.
• • This king Alla, whan he his tyme sey,(1030)
  • With his Custance, his holy wyf so swete,
  • To Engelond been they come the righte wey,1130
  • Wher-as they live in Ioye and in quiete.
  • But litel whyl it lasteth, I yow hete,
  • Ioye of this world, for tyme wol nat abyde;
  • Fro day to night it changeth as the tyde.
• • Who lived ever in swich delyt o day1135
  • That him ne moeved outher conscience,
  • Or ire, or talent, or som kin affray,
  • Envye, or pryde, or passion, or offence?(1040)
  • I ne seye but for this ende this sentence,
  • That litel whyl in Ioye or in plesance1140
  • Lasteth the blisse of Alla with Custance.
• • For deeth, that taketh of heigh and low his rente,
  • When passed was a yeer, even as I gesse,
  • Out of this world this king Alla he hente,
  • For whom Custance hath ful gret hevinesse.1145
  • Now lat us preyen god his soule blesse!
  • And dame Custance, fynally to seye,
  • Towards the toun of Rome gooth hir weye.(1050)
• • To Rome is come this holy creature,
  • And fyndeth ther hir frendes hole and sounde:1150
  • Now is she scaped al hir aventure;
  • And whan that she hir fader hath y-founde,
  • Doun on hir knees falleth she to grounde;
  • Weping for tendrenesse in herte blythe,
  • She herieth god an hundred thousand sythe.1155
• • In vertu and in holy almes-dede
  • They liven alle, and never a-sonder wende;
  • Til deeth departed hem, this lyf they lede.(1060)
  • And fareth now weel, my tale is at an ende.
  • Now Iesu Crist, that of his might may sende1160
  • Ioye after wo, governe us in his grace,
  • And kepe us alle that ben in this place! Amen.

Here endeth the Tale of the Man of Lawe; and next folweth the Shipmannes Prolog.

THE SHIPMAN’S PROLOGUE.

Here biginneth the Shipmannes Prolog.

*∗*In Tyrwhitt’s text, ll. 12903-12924.

• OUR hoste up-on his stiropes stood anon,
• And seyde, ‘good men, herkneth everich on;
• This was a thrifty tale for the nones!1165
• Sir parish prest,’ quod he, ‘for goddes bones,
• Tel us a tale, as was thy forward yore.
• I see wel that ye lerned men in lore
• Can moche good, by goddes dignitee!’
• The Persone him answerde, ‘benedicte!1170
• What eyleth the man, so sinfully to swere?’
• Our hoste answerde, ‘O Iankin, be ye there?(10)
• I smelle a loller in the wind,’ quod he.
• ‘How! good men,’ quod our hoste, ‘herkneth me;
• Abydeth, for goddes digne passioun,1175
• For we shal han a predicacioun;
• This loller heer wil prechen us som-what.’
• ‘Nay, by my fader soule! that shal be nat,’
• Seyde the Shipman; ‘heer he shal nat preche,
• He shal no gospel glosen heer ne teche.1180
• We leve alle in the grete god,’ quod he,
• ‘He wolde sowen som difficultee,(20)
• Or springen cokkel in our clene corn;
• And therfor, hoste, I warne thee biforn,

• My Ioly body shal a tale telle,1185
• And I shal clinken yow so mery a belle,
• That I shal waken al this companye;
• But it shal nat ben of philosophye,
• Ne physices, ne termes queinte of lawe;(27)
• Ther is but litel Latin in my mawe.’1190

THE SHIPMANNES TALE.

Here biginneth the Shipmannes Tale.

• A Marchant whylom dwelled at Seint Denys,
• That riche was, for which men helde him wys;
• A wyf he hadde of excellent beautee,
• And compaignable and revelous was she,
• Which is a thing that causeth more dispence1195
• Than worth is al the chere and reverence
• That men hem doon at festes and at daunces;
• Swiche salutaciouns and contenaunces
• Passen as dooth a shadwe up-on the wal.
• But wo is him that payen moot for al;1200
• The sely housbond, algate he mot paye;(11)
• He moot us clothe, and he moot us arraye,
• Al for his owene worship richely,
• In which array we daunce Iolily.
• And if that he noght may, par-aventure,1205
• Or elles , list no swich dispence endure,
• But thinketh it is wasted and y-lost,
• Than moot another payen for our cost,
• Or lene us gold, and that is perilous.
• This noble Marchant heeld a worthy hous,1210
• For which he hadde alday so greet repair(21)
• For his largesse, and for his wyf was fair,
• That wonder is; but herkneth to my tale.
• Amonges alle his gestes, grete and smale,
• Ther was a monk, a fair man and a bold,1215
• I trowe of thritty winter he was old,
• That ever in oon was drawing to that place.
• This yonge monk, that was so fair of face,
• Aqueinted was so with the gode man,
• Sith that hir firste knoweliche bigan,1220
• That in his hous as famulier was he(31)
• As it possible is any freend to be.
• And for as muchel as this gode man
• And eek this monk, of which that I bigan,
• Were bothe two y-born in o village,1225
• The monk him claimeth as for cosinage;
• And he again, he seith nat ones nay,
• But was as glad ther-of as fowel of day;
• For to his herte it was a greet plesaunce.
• Thus been they knit with eterne alliaunce,1230
• And ech of hem gan other for tassure(41)
• Of bretherhede, whyl that hir lyf may dure.
• Free was daun Iohn, and namely of dispence,
• As in that hous; and ful of diligence
• To doon plesaunce, and also greet costage.1235
• He noght forgat to yeve the leeste page
• In al that hous; but, after hir degree,
• He yaf the lord, and sitthe al his meynee,
• When that he cam, som maner honest thing;
• For which they were as glad of his coming1240
• As fowel is fayn, whan that the sonne up-ryseth.(51)
• Na more of this as now, for it suffyseth.
• But so bifel, this marchant on a day
• Shoop him to make redy his array
• Toward the toun of Brugges for to fare,1245
• To byen ther a porcioun of ware;
• For which he hath to Paris sent anon
• A messager, and preyed hath daun Iohn
• That he sholde come to Seint Denys to pleye
• With him and with his wyf a day or tweye,1250
• Er he to Brugges wente, in alle wyse.(61)
• This noble monk, of which I yow devyse,
• Hath of his abbot, as him list, licence,
• By-cause he was a man of heigh prudence,
• And eek an officer, out for to ryde,1255
• To seen hir graunges and hir bernes wyde;
• And un-to Seint Denys he comth anon.
• Who was so welcome as my lord daun Iohn,
• Our dere cosin, ful of curteisye?
• With him broghte he a Iubbe of Malvesye,1260
• And eek another, ful of fyn Vernage,(71)
• And volatyl , as ay was his usage.
• And thus I lete hem ete and drinke and pleye,
• This marchant and this monk, a day or tweye.
• The thridde day, this marchant up aryseth,1265
• And on his nedes sadly him avyseth,
• And up in-to his countour-hous goth he
• To rekene with him-self, as wel may be,
• Of thilke yeer, how that it with him stood,
• And how that he despended hadde his good;1270
• And if that he encressed were or noon.(81)
• His bokes and his bagges many oon
• He leith biforn him on his counting-bord;
• Ful riche was his tresor and his hord,
• For which ful faste his countour-dore he shette;1275
• And eek he nolde that no man sholde him lette
• Of his accountes, for the mene tyme;
• And thus he sit til it was passed pryme.
• Daun Iohn was risen in the morwe also,
• And in the gardin walketh to and fro,1280
• And hath his thinges seyd ful curteisly.(91)
• This gode wyf cam walking prively
• In-to the gardin, ther he walketh softe,
• And him saleweth, as she hath don ofte.
• A mayde child cam in hir companye,1285
• Which as hir list she may governe and gye,
• For yet under the yerde was the mayde.
• ‘O dere cosin myn, daun Iohn,’ she sayde,
• ‘What eyleth yow so rathe for to ryse?’
• ‘Nece,’ quod he, ‘it oghte y-nough suffyse1290
• Fyve houres for to slepe up-on a night,(101)
• But it were for an old appalled wight,
• As been thise wedded men, that lye and dare
• As in a forme sit a wery hare,
• Were al for-straught with houndes grete and smale.1295
• But dere nece, why be ye so pale?
• I trowe certes that our gode man
• Hath yow laboured sith the night bigan,
• That yow were nede to resten hastily?’
• And with that word he lough ful merily,1300
• And of his owene thought he wex al reed.(111)
• This faire wyf gan for to shake hir heed,
• And seyde thus, ‘ye, god wot al,’ quod she;
• ‘Nay, cosin myn, it stant nat so with me.
• For, by that god that yaf me soule and lyf,1305
• In al the reme of France is ther no wyf
• That lasse lust hath to that sory pley.
• For I may singe “allas” and “weylawey,
• That I was born,” but to no wight,’ quod she,
• ‘Dar I nat telle how that it stant with me.1310
• Wherfore I thinke out of this land to wende,(121)
• Or elles of my-self to make an ende,
• So ful am I of drede and eek of care.’
• This monk bigan up-on this wyf to stare,
• And seyde, ‘allas, my nece, god forbede1315
• That ye, for any sorwe or any drede,
• Fordo your-self; but telleth me your grief;
• Paraventure I may, in your meschief,
• Conseille or helpe, and therfore telleth me
• Al your anoy, for it shal been secree;1320
• For on my porthors here I make an ooth,(131)
• That never in my lyf, for lief ne looth,
• Ne shal I of no conseil yow biwreye.’
• ‘The same agayn to yow,’ quod she, ‘I seye;
• By god and by this porthors, I yow swere,1325
• Though men me wolde al in-to peces tere,
• Ne shal I never, for to goon to helle,
• Biwreye a word of thing that ye me telle,
• Nat for no cosinage ne alliance,
• But verraily, for love and affiance.’1330
• Thus been they sworn, and heer-upon they kiste,(141)
• And ech of hem tolde other what hem liste.
• ‘Cosin,’ quod she, ‘if that I hadde a space,
• As I have noon, and namely in this place,
• Than wolde I telle a legende of my lyf,1335
• What I have suffred sith I was a wyf
• With myn housbonde, al be ne your cosyn.’
• ‘Nay,’ quod this monk, ‘by god and seint Martyn,
• He is na more cosin un-to me
• Than is this leef that hangeth on the tree!1340
• I clepe him so, by Seint Denys of Fraunce,(151)
• To have the more cause of aqueintaunce
• Of yow, which I have loved specially
• Aboven alle wommen sikerly;
• This swere I yow on my professioun.1345
• Telleth your grief, lest that he come adoun,
• And hasteth yow, and gooth your wey anon.’
• ‘My dere love,’ quod she, ‘o my daun Iohn,
• Ful lief were me this conseil for to hyde,
• But out it moot, I may namore abyde.1350
• Myn housbond is to me the worste man(161)
• That ever was, sith that the world bigan.
• But sith I am a wyf, it sit nat me
• To tellen no wight of our privetee,
• Neither a bedde, ne in non other place;1355
• God shilde I sholde it tellen, for his grace!
• A wyf ne shal nat seyn of hir housbonde
• But al honour, as I can understonde;
• Save un-to yow thus muche I tellen shal;
• As help me god, he is noght worth at al1360
• In no degree the value of a flye.(171)
• But yet me greveth most his nigardye;
• And wel ye woot that wommen naturelly
• Desyren thinges sixe, as wel as I.
• They wolde that hir housbondes sholde be1365
• Hardy, and wyse, and riche, and ther-to free,
• And buxom to his wyf, and fresh a-bedde.
• But, by that ilke lord that for us bledde,
• For his honour, my-self for to arraye,
• A Sonday next, I moste nedes paye1370
• An hundred frankes, or elles am I lorn.(181)
• Yet were me lever that I were unborn
• Than me were doon a sclaundre or vileinye;
• And if myn housbond eek it mighte espye,
• I nere but lost, and therfore I yow preye1375
• Lene me this somme, or elles moot I deye.
• Daun Iohn, I seye, lene me thise hundred frankes;
• Pardee, I wol nat faille yow my thankes,
• If that yow list to doon that I yow praye.
• For at a certein day I wol yow paye,1380
• And doon to yow what plesance and servyce(191)
• That I may doon, right as yow list devyse.
• And but I do, god take on me vengeance
• As foul as ever had Geniloun of France!’
• This gentil monk answerde in this manere;1385
• ‘Now, trewely, myn owene lady dere,
• I have,’ quod he, ‘on yow so greet a routhe,
• That I yow swere and plighte yow my trouthe,
• That whan your housbond is to Flaundres fare,
• I wol delivere yow out of this care;1390
• For I wol bringe yow an hundred frankes.’(201)
• And with that word he caughte hir by the flankes,
• And hir embraceth harde, and kiste hir ofte.
• ‘Goth now your wey,’ quod he, ‘al stille and softe,
• And lat us dyne as sone as that ye may;1395
• For by my chilindre it is pryme of day.
• Goth now, and beeth as trewe as I shal be.’
• ‘Now, elles god forbede, sire,’ quod she,
• And forth she gooth, as Iolif as a pye,
• And bad the cokes that they sholde hem hye,1400
• So that men mighte dyne, and that anon.(211)
• Up to hir housbonde is this wyf y-gon,
• And knokketh at his countour boldely.
• ‘Qui la?’ quod he. ‘Peter! it am I,’
• Quod she, ‘what, sire, how longe wol ye faste?1405
• How longe tyme wol ye rekene and caste
• Your sommes, and your bokes, and your thinges?
• The devel have part of alle swiche rekeninges!
• Ye have y-nough, pardee, of goddes sonde;
• Come doun to-day, and lat your bagges stonde.1410
• Ne be ye nat ashamed that daun Iohn(221)
• Shal fasting al this day elenge goon?
• What ! lat us here a messe, and go we dyne.’
• ‘Wyf,’ quod this man, ‘litel canstow devyne
• The curious bisinesse that we have.1415
• For of us chapmen, al-so god me save,
• And by that lord that cleped is Seint Yve,
• Scarsly amonges twelve ten shul thryve,
• Continuelly, lastinge un-to our age.
• We may wel make chere and good visage,1420
• And dryve forth the world as it may be,(231)
• And kepen our estaat in privetee,
• Til we be deed, or elles that we pleye
• A pilgrimage, or goon out of the weye.
• And therfor have I greet necessitee1425
• Up-on this queinte world tavyse me;
• For evermore we mote stonde in drede
• Of hap and fortune in our chapmanhede.
• To Flaundres wol I go to-morwe at day,
• And come agayn, as sone as ever I may.1430
• For which, my dere wyf, I thee biseke,(241)
• As be to every wight buxom and meke,
• And for to kepe our good be curious,
• And honestly governe wel our hous.
• Thou hast y-nough, in every maner wyse,1435
• That to a thrifty houshold may suffyse.
• Thee lakketh noon array ne no vitaille,
• Of silver in thy purs shaltow nat faille.’
• And with that word his countour-dore he shette,
• And doun he gooth, no lenger wolde he lette,1440
• But hastily a messe was ther seyd,(251)
• And spedily the tables were y-leyd,
• And to the diner faste they hem spedde;
• And richely this monk the chapman fedde.
• At-after diner daun Iohn sobrely1445
• This chapman took a-part, and prively
• He seyde him thus, ‘cosyn, it standeth so,
• That wel I see to Brugges wol ye go.
• God and seint Austin spede yow and gyde!
• I prey yow, cosin, wysly that ye ryde;1450
• Governeth yow also of your diete(261)
• Atemprely, and namely in this hete.
• Bitwix us two nedeth no strange fare;
• Fare-wel, cosyn; god shilde yow fro care.
• If any thing ther be by day or night,1455
• If it lye in my power and my might,
• That ye me wol comande in any wyse,
• It shal be doon, right as ye wol devyse.
• O thing, er that ye goon, if it may be,
• I wolde prey yow; for to lene me1460
• An hundred frankes, for a wyke or tweye,(271)
• For certein beestes that I moste beye,
• To store with a place that is oures.
• God help me so, I wolde it were youres!
• I shal nat faille surely of my day,1465
• Nat for a thousand frankes, a myle-way.
• But lat this thing be secree, I yow preye,
• For yet to-night thise beestes moot I beye;
• And fare-now wel, myn owene cosin dere,
• Graunt mercy of your cost and of your chere.’1470
• This noble marchant gentilly anon(281)
• Answerde, and seyde, ‘o cosin myn, daun Iohn,
• Now sikerly this is a smal requeste;
• My gold is youres, whan that it yow leste.
• And nat only my gold, but my chaffare;1475
• Take what yow list, god shilde that ye spare.
• But o thing is, ye knowe it wel y-nogh,
• Of chapmen, that hir moneye is hir plogh.
• We may creaunce whyl we have a name,
• But goldlees for to be, it is no game.1480
• Paye it agayn whan it lyth in your ese;(291)
• After my might ful fayn wolde I yow plese.’
• Thise hundred frankes he fette forth anon,
• And prively he took hem to daun Iohn.
• No wight in al this world wiste of this lone,1485
• Savinge this marchant and daun Iohn allone.
• They drinke, and speke, and rome a whyle and pleye,
• Til that daun Iohn rydeth to his abbeye.
• The morwe cam, and forth this marchant rydeth
• To Flaundres-ward; his prentis wel him gydeth,1490
• Til he cam in-to Brugges merily.(301)
• Now gooth this marchant faste and bisily
• Aboute his nede, and byeth and creaunceth.
• He neither pleyeth at the dees ne daunceth;
• But as a marchant, shortly for to telle,1495
• He let his lyf, and there I lete him dwelle.
• The Sonday next this Marchant was agon,
• To Seint Denys y-comen is daun Iohn,
• With crowne and berd all fresh and newe y-shave.
• In al the hous ther nas so litel a knave,1500
• Ne no wight elles, that he nas ful fayn,(311)
• For that my lord daun Iohn was come agayn.
• And shortly to the point right for to gon,
• This faire wyf accorded with daun Iohn,
• That for thise hundred frankes he sholde al night1505
• Have hir in his armes bolt-upright;
• And this acord parfourned was in dede.
• In mirthe al night a bisy lyf they lede
• Til it was day, that daun Iohn wente his way,
• And bad the meynee ‘fare-wel, have good day!’1510
• For noon of hem, ne no wight in the toun,(321)
• Hath of daun Iohn right no suspecioun.
• And forth he rydeth hoom to his abbeye,
• Or where him list; namore of him I seye.
• This marchant, whan that ended was the faire,1515
• To Seint Denys he gan for to repaire,
• And with his wyf he maketh feste and chere,
• And telleth hir that chaffare is so dere,
• That nedes moste he make a chevisaunce.
• For he was bounde in a reconissaunce1520
• To paye twenty thousand sheeld anon.(331)
• For which this marchant is to Paris gon,
• To borwe of certein frendes that he hadde
• A certein frankes; and somme with him he ladde.
• And whan that he was come in-to the toun,1525
• For greet chertee and greet affeccioun,
• Un-to daun Iohn he gooth him first, to pleye;
• Nat for to axe or borwe of him moneye,
• But for to wite and seen of his welfare,
• And for to tellen him of his chaffare,1530
• As freendes doon whan they ben met y-fere.(341)
• Daun Iohn him maketh feste and mery chere;
• And he him tolde agayn ful specially,
• How he hadde wel y-boght and graciously,
• Thanked be god, al hool his marchandyse.1535
• Save that he moste, in alle maner wyse,
• Maken a chevisaunce , as for his beste,
• And thanne he sholde been in Ioye and reste.
• Daun Iohn answerde, ‘certes, I am fayn
• That ye in hele ar comen hoom agayn.1540
• And if that I were riche, as have I blisse,(351)
• Of twenty thousand sheeld shold ye nat misse,
• For ye so kindely this other day
• Lente me gold; and as I can and may,
• I thanke yow, by god and by seint Iame!1545
• But nathelees I took un-to our dame,
• Your wyf at hoom, the same gold ageyn
• Upon your bench; she woot it wel, certeyn,
• By certein tokenes that I can hir telle.
• Now, by your leve, I may no lenger dwelle,1550
• Our abbot wol out of this toun anon;(361)
• And in his companye moot I gon.
• Grete wel our dame, myn owene nece swete,
• And fare-wel, dere cosin, til we mete!’
• This Marchant, which that was ful war and wys,1555
• Creaunced hath, and payd eek in Parys,
• To certeyn Lumbardes, redy in hir hond,
• The somme of gold, and gat of hem his bond;
• And hoom he gooth, mery as a papeiay.
• For wel he knew he stood in swich array,1560
• That nedes moste he winne in that viage(371)
• A thousand frankes above al his costage.
• His wyf ful redy mette him atte gate,
• As she was wont of old usage algate,
• And al that night in mirthe they bisette;1565
• For he was riche and cleerly out of dette.
• Whan it was day, this marchant gan embrace
• His wyf al newe, and kiste hir on hir face,
• And up he gooth and maketh it ful tough.
• ‘Namore,’ quod she, ‘by god, ye have y-nough!’1570
• And wantounly agayn with him she pleyde;(381)
• Til, atte laste, that this Marchant seyde,
• ‘By god,’ quod he, ‘I am a litel wrooth
• With yow, my wyf, al-thogh it be me looth.
• And woot ye why? by god, as that I gesse,1575
• That ye han maad a maner straungenesse
• Bitwixen me and my cosyn daun Iohn.
• Ye sholde han warned me, er I had gon,
• That he yow hadde an hundred frankes payed
• By redy tokene; and heeld him yvel apayed,1580
• For that I to him spak of chevisaunce,(391)
• Me semed so, as by his contenaunce.
• But nathelees, by god our hevene king,
• I thoghte nat to axe of him no-thing.
• I prey thee, wyf, ne do namore so;1585
• Tel me alwey, er that I fro thee go,
• If any dettour hath in myn absence
• Y-payëd thee; lest, thurgh thy necligence,
• I mighte him axe a thing that he hath payed.’
• This wyf was nat afered nor affrayed,1590
• But boldely she seyde, and that anon:(401)
• ‘Marie, I defye the false monk, daun Iohn!
• I kepe nat of hise tokenes never a deel;
• He took me certein gold, that woot I weel!
• What! yvel thedom on his monkes snoute!1595
• For, god it woot, I wende, withouten doute,
• That he had yeve it me bycause of yow,
• To doon ther-with myn honour and my prow,
• For cosinage, and eek for bele chere
• That he hath had ful ofte tymes here.1600
• But sith I see I stonde in this disioint,(411)
• I wol answere yow shortly, to the point.
• Ye han mo slakker dettours than am I!
• For I wol paye yow wel and redily
• Fro day to day; and, if so be I faille,1605
• I am your wyf; score it up-on my taille,
• And I shal paye, as sone as ever I may.
• For, by my trouthe, I have on myn array,
• And nat on wast, bistowed every deel.
• And for I have bistowed it so weel1610
• For your honour, for goddes sake, I seye,(421)
• As be nat wrooth, but lat us laughe and pleye.
• Ye shal my Ioly body have to wedde;
• By god, I wol nat paye yow but a-bedde.
• Forgive it me, myn owene spouse dere;1615
• Turne hiderward and maketh bettre chere.’
• This marchant saugh ther was no remedye,
• And, for to chyde, it nere but greet folye,
• Sith that the thing may nat amended be.
• ‘Now, wyf,’ he seyde, ‘and I foryeve it thee;1620
• But, by thy lyf, ne be namore so large;(431)
• Keep bet our good, this yeve I thee in charge.’
• Thus endeth now my tale, and god us sende
• Taling y-nough un-to our lyves ende. Amen.

Here endeth the Shipmannes Tale.

THE PRIORESS’S PROLOGUE.
(T. 13365-13382.)

Bihold the mery wordes of the Host to the Shipman and to the lady Prioresse.

• ‘WEL seyd, by corpus dominus,’ quod our hoste,1625
• ‘Now longe moot thou sayle by the coste,
• Sir gentil maister, gentil marineer!
• God yeve this monk a thousand last quad yeer!
• A ha! felawes! beth ware of swiche a Iape!
• The monk putte in the mannes hood an ape,1630
• And in his wyves eek, by seint Austin!
• Draweth no monkes more un-to your in.
• But now passe over, and lat us seke aboute,
• Who shal now telle first, of al this route,(10)
• Another tale;’ and with that word he sayde,1635
• As curteisly as it had been a mayde,
• ‘My lady Prioresse, by your leve,
• So that I wiste I sholde yow nat greve,
• I wolde demen that ye tellen sholde
• A tale next, if so were that ye wolde.1640
• Now wol ye vouche-sauf, my lady dere?’
• ‘Gladly,’ quod she, and seyde as ye shal here.(18)

Explicit.

THE PRIORESSES TALE.

The Prologe of the Prioresses Tale.

• • Domine, dominus noster.
  • O LORD our lord, thy name how merveillous
  • Is in this large worlde y-sprad—quod she:—
  • For noght only thy laude precious1645
  • Parfourned is by men of dignitee,
  • But by the mouth of children thy bountee
  • Parfourned is, for on the brest soukinge
  • Som tyme shewen they thyn heryinge.
• • Wherfor in laude, as I best can or may,1650
  • Of thee, and of the whyte lily flour
  • Which that thee bar, and is a mayde alway,(10)
  • To telle a storie I wol do my labour;
  • Not that I may encresen hir honour;
  • For she hir-self is honour, and the rote1655
  • Of bountee, next hir sone, and soules bote.—
• • O moder mayde! o mayde moder free!
  • O bush unbrent, brenninge in Moyses sighte,
  • That ravisedest doun fro the deitee,
  • Thurgh thyn humblesse, the goost that in thalighte,1660
  • Of whos vertu, whan he thyn herte lighte,
  • Conceived was the fadres sapience,(20)
  • Help me to telle it in thy reverence!
• • Lady! thy bountee, thy magnificence,
  • Thy vertu, and thy grete humilitee1665
  • Ther may no tonge expresse in no science;
  • For som-tyme, lady, er men praye to thee,
  • Thou goost biforn of thy benignitee,
  • And getest us the light, thurgh thy preyere,
  • To gyden us un-to thy sone so dere.1670
• • My conning is so wayk, o blisful quene,
  • For to declare thy grete worthinesse,(30)
  • That I ne may the weighte nat sustene,
  • But as a child of twelf monthe old, or lesse,
  • That can unnethes any word expresse,1675
  • Right so fare I, and therfor I yow preye,
  • Gydeth my song that I shal of yow seye.

Explicit.

Here biginneth the Prioresses Tale.

• • Ther was in Asie, in a greet citee,
  • Amonges cristen folk, a Iewerye,
  • Sustened by a lord of that contree1680
  • For foule usure and lucre of vilanye,
  • Hateful to Crist and to his companye;(40)
  • And thurgh the strete men mighte ryde or wende,
  • For it was free, and open at either ende.
• • A litel scole of cristen folk ther stood1685
  • Doun at the ferther ende, in which ther were
  • Children an heep, y-comen of cristen blood,
  • That lerned in that scole yeer by yere
  • Swich maner doctrine as men used there,
  • This is to seyn, to singen and to rede,1690
  • As smale children doon in hir childhede.
• • Among thise children was a widwes sone,(50)
  • A litel clergeon, seven yeer of age,
  • That day by day to scole was his wone,
  • And eek also, wher-as he saugh thimage1695
  • Of Cristes moder, hadde he in usage,
  • As him was taught, to knele adoun and seye
  • His Ave Marie, as he goth by the weye.
• • Thus hath this widwe hir litel sone y-taught
  • Our blisful lady, Cristes moder dere,1700
  • To worshipe ay, and he forgat it naught,
  • For sely child wol alday sone lere;(60)
  • But ay, whan I remembre on this matere,
  • Seint Nicholas stant ever in my presence,
  • For he so yong to Crist did reverence.1705
• • This litel child, his litel book lerninge,
  • As he sat in the scole at his prymer,
  • He Alma redemptoris herde singe,
  • As children lerned hir antiphoner;
  • And, as he dorste, he drough him ner and ner,1710
  • And herkned ay the wordes and the note,
  • Til he the firste vers coude al by rote.(70)
• • Noght wiste he what this Latin was to seye,
  • For he so yong and tendre was of age;
  • But on a day his felaw gan he preye1715
  • Texpounden him this song in his langage,
  • Or telle him why this song was in usage;
  • This preyde he him to construe and declare
  • Ful ofte tyme upon his knowes bare.
• • His felaw, which that elder was than he,1720
  • Answerde him thus: ‘this song, I have herd seye,
  • Was maked of our blisful lady free,(80)
  • Hir to salue, and eek hir for to preye
  • To been our help and socour whan we deye.
  • I can no more expounde in this matere;1725
  • I lerne song, I can but smal grammere.’
• • ‘And is this song maked in reverence
  • Of Cristes moder?’ seyde this innocent;
  • ‘Now certes, I wol do my diligence
  • To conne it al, er Cristemasse is went;1730
  • Though that I for my prymer shal be shent,
  • And shal be beten thryes in an houre,(90)
  • I wol it conne, our lady for to honoure.’
• • His felaw taughte him homward prively,
  • Fro day to day, til he coude it by rote,1735
  • And than he song it wel and boldely
  • Fro word to word, acording with the note;
  • Twyës a day it passed thurgh his throte,
  • To scoleward and homward whan he wente;
  • On Cristes moder set was his entente.1740
• • As I have seyd, thurgh-out the Iewerye
  • This litel child, as he cam to and fro,(100)
  • Ful merily than wolde he singe, and crye
  • O Alma redemptoris ever-mo.
  • The swetnes hath his herte perced so1745
  • Of Cristes moder, that, to hir to preye,
  • He can nat stinte of singing by the weye.
• • Our firste fo, the serpent Sathanas,
  • That hath in Iewes herte his waspes nest,
  • Up swal, and seide, ‘o Hebraik peple, allas!1750
  • Is this to yow a thing that is honest,
  • That swich a boy shal walken as him lest(110)
  • In your despyt, and singe of swich sentence,
  • Which is agayn your lawes reverence?’
• • Fro thennes forth the Iewes han conspyred1755
  • This innocent out of this world to chace;
  • An homicyde ther-to han they hyred,
  • That in an aley hadde a privee place;
  • And as the child gan for-by for to pace,
  • This cursed Iew him hente and heeld him faste,1760
  • And kitte his throte, and in a pit him caste.
• • I seye that in a wardrobe they him threwe(120)
  • Wher-as these Iewes purgen hir entraille.
  • O cursed folk of Herodes al newe,
  • What may your yvel entente yow availle?1765
  • Mordre wol out, certein, it wol nat faille,
  • And namely ther thonour of god shal sprede,
  • The blood out cryeth on your cursed dede.
• • ‘O martir, souded to virginitee,
  • Now maystou singen, folwing ever in oon1770
  • The whyte lamb celestial,’ quod she,
  • ‘Of which the grete evangelist, seint Iohn,(130)
  • In Pathmos wroot, which seith that they that goon
  • Biforn this lamb, and singe a song al newe,
  • That never, fleshly, wommen they ne knewe.’1775
• • This povre widwe awaiteth al that night
  • After hir litel child, but he cam noght;
  • For which, as sone as it was dayes light,
  • With face pale of drede and bisy thoght,
  • She hath at scole and elles-wher him soght,1780
  • Til finally she gan so fer espye
  • That he last seyn was in the Iewerye.(140)
• • With modres pitee in hir brest enclosed,
  • She gooth, as she were half out of hir minde,
  • To every place wher she hath supposed1785
  • By lyklihede hir litel child to finde;
  • And ever on Cristes moder meke and kinde
  • She cryde, and atte laste thus she wroghte,
  • Among the cursed Iewes she him soghte.
• • She frayneth and she preyeth pitously1790
  • To every Iew that dwelte in thilke place,
  • To telle hir, if hir child wente oght for-by.(150)
  • They seyde, ‘nay’; but Iesu, of his grace,
  • Yaf in hir thought, inwith a litel space,
  • That in that place after hir sone she cryde,1795
  • Wher he was casten in a pit bisyde.
• • O grete god, that parfournest thy laude
  • By mouth of innocents, lo heer thy might!
  • This gemme of chastitee, this emeraude,
  • And eek of martirdom the ruby bright,1800
  • Ther he with throte y-corven lay upright,
  • He ‘Alma redemptoris’ gan to singe(160)
  • So loude, that al the place gan to ringe.
• • The Cristen folk, that thurgh the strete wente,
  • In coomen, for to wondre up-on this thing,1805
  • And hastily they for the provost sente;
  • He cam anon with-outen tarying,
  • And herieth Crist that is of heven king,
  • And eek his moder, honour of mankinde,
  • And after that, the Iewes leet he binde.1810
• • This child with pitous lamentacioun
  • Up-taken was, singing his song alway;(170)
  • And with honour of greet processioun
  • They carien him un-to the nexte abbay.
  • His moder swowning by the bere lay;1815
  • Unnethe might the peple that was there
  • This newe Rachel bringe fro his bere.
• • With torment and with shamful deth echon
  • This provost dooth thise Iewes for to sterve
  • That of this mordre wiste, and that anon;1820
  • He nolde no swich cursednesse observe.
  • Yvel shal have, that yvel wol deserve.(180)
  • Therfor with wilde hors he dide hem drawe,
  • And after that he heng hem by the lawe.
• • Up-on his bere ay lyth this innocent1825
  • Biforn the chief auter, whyl masse laste,
  • And after that, the abbot with his covent
  • Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste;
  • And whan they holy water on him caste,
  • Yet spak this child, whan spreynd was holy water,1830
  • And song—‘O Alma redemptoris mater!’
• • This abbot, which that was an holy man(190)
  • As monkes been, or elles oghten be,
  • This yonge child to coniure he bigan,
  • And seyde, ‘o dere child, I halse thee,1835
  • In vertu of the holy Trinitee,
  • Tel me what is thy cause for to singe,
  • Sith that thy throte is cut, to my seminge?’
• • ‘My throte is cut un-to my nekke-boon,’
  • Seyde this child, ‘and, as by wey of kinde,1840
  • I sholde have deyed, ye, longe tyme agoon,
  • But Iesu Crist, as ye in bokes finde,(200)
  • Wil that his glorie laste and be in minde,
  • And, for the worship of his moder dere,
  • Yet may I singe “O Alma” loude and clere.1845
• • This welle of mercy, Cristes moder swete,
  • I lovede alwey, as after my conninge;
  • And whan that I my lyf sholde forlete,
  • To me she cam, and bad me for to singe
  • This antem verraily in my deyinge,1850
  • As ye han herd, and, whan that I had songe,
  • Me thoughte, she leyde a greyn up-on my tonge.(210)
• • Wherfor I singe, and singe I moot certeyn
  • In honour of that blisful mayden free,
  • Til fro my tonge of-taken is the greyn;1855
  • And afterward thus seyde she to me,
  • “My litel child, now wol I fecche thee
  • Whan that the greyn is fro thy tonge y-take;
  • Be nat agast, I wol thee nat forsake.” ’
• • This holy monk, this abbot, him mene I,1860
  • His tonge out-caughte, and took a-wey the greyn,
  • And he yaf up the goost ful softely.(220)
  • And whan this abbot had this wonder seyn,
  • His salte teres trikled doun as reyn,
  • And gruf he fil al plat up-on the grounde,1865
  • And stille he lay as he had been y-bounde.
• • The covent eek lay on the pavement
  • Weping, and herien Cristes moder dere,
  • And after that they ryse, and forth ben went,
  • And toke awey this martir fro his bere,1870
  • And in a tombe of marbul-stones clere
  • Enclosen they his litel body swete;(230)
  • Ther he is now, god leve us for to mete.
• • O yonge Hugh of Lincoln, slayn also
  • With cursed Iewes, as it is notable,1875
  • For it nis but a litel whyle ago;
  • Preye eek for us, we sinful folk unstable,
  • That, of his mercy, god so merciable
  • On us his grete mercy multiplye,(237)
  • For reverence of his moder Marye. Amen.1880

Here is ended the Prioresses Tale.

PROLOGUE TO SIR THOPAS.
(T. 13621-13641.)

Bihold the murye wordes of the Host to Chaucer.

• • WHAN seyd was al this miracle, every man
  • As sobre was, that wonder was to se,
  • Til that our hoste Iapen tho bigan,
  • And than at erst he loked up-on me,
  • And seyde thus, ‘what man artow?’ quod he;1885
  • ‘Thou lokest as thou woldest finde an hare,
  • For ever up-on the ground I see thee stare.
• • Approche neer, and loke up merily.
  • Now war yow, sirs, and lat this man have place;
  • He in the waast is shape as wel as I;1890
  • This were a popet in an arm tenbrace(11)
  • For any womman, smal and fair of face.
  • He semeth elvish by his contenaunce,
  • For un-to no wight dooth he daliaunce.
• • Sey now somwhat, sin other folk han sayd;1895
  • Tel us a tale of mirthe, and that anoon;’—
  • ‘Hoste,’ quod I, ‘ne beth nat yvel apayd,
  • For other tale certes can I noon,
  • But of a ryme I lerned longe agoon.’
  • ‘Ye, that is good,’ quod he; ‘now shul we here1900
  • Som deyntee thing, me thinketh by his chere.’(21)

Explicit.

SIR THOPAS.

Here biginneth Chaucers Tale of Thopas.

• • LISTETH, lordes, in good entent,
  • And I wol telle verrayment
  • Of mirthe and of solas;
  • Al of a knyght was fair and gent1905
  • In bataille and in tourneyment,
  • His name was sir Thopas.
• • Y-born he was in fer contree,
  • In Flaundres, al biyonde the see,
  • At Popering, in the place;1910
  • His fader was a man ful free,(10)
  • And lord he was of that contree,
  • As it was goddes grace.
• • Sir Thopas wex a doghty swayn,
  • Whyt was his face as payndemayn,1915
  • His lippes rede as rose;
  • His rode is lyk scarlet in grayn,
  • And I yow telle in good certayn,
  • He hadde a semely nose.
• • His heer, his berd was lyk saffroun,1920
  • That to his girdel raughte adoun;(20)
  • His shoon of Cordewane.
  • Of Brugges were his hosen broun,
  • His robe was of ciclatoun,
  • That coste many a Iane.1925
• • He coude hunte at wilde deer,
  • And ryde an hauking for riveer,
  • With grey goshauk on honde;
  • Ther-to he was a good archeer,
  • Of wrastling was ther noon his peer,1930
  • Ther any ram shal stonde.(30)
• • Ful many a mayde, bright in bour,
  • They moorne for him, paramour,
  • Whan hem were bet to slepe;
  • But he was chast and no lechour,1935
  • And sweet as is the bremble-flour
  • That bereth the rede hepe.
• • And so bifel up-on a day,
  • For sothe, as I yow telle may,
  • Sir Thopas wolde out ryde;1940
  • He worth upon his stede gray,(40)
  • And in his honde a launcegay,
  • A long swerd by his syde.
• • He priketh thurgh a fair forest,
  • Ther-inne is many a wilde best,1945
  • Ye, bothe bukke and hare;
  • And, as he priketh north and est,
  • I telle it yow, him hadde almest
  • Bitid a sory care.
• • Ther springen herbes grete and smale,1950
  • The lycorys and cetewale,(50)
  • And many a clowe-gilofre;
  • And notemuge to putte in ale,
  • Whether it be moyste or stale,
  • Or for to leye in cofre.1955
• • The briddes singe, it is no nay,
  • The sparhauk and the papeiay,
  • That Ioye it was to here;
  • The thrustelcok made eek his lay,
  • The wodedowve upon the spray1960
  • She sang ful loude and clere.(60)
• • Sir Thopas fil in love-longinge
  • Al whan he herde the thrustel singe,
  • And priked as he were wood:
  • His faire stede in his prikinge1965
  • So swatte that men mighte him wringe,
  • His sydes were al blood.
• • Sir Thopas eek so wery was
  • For prikinge on the softe gras,
  • So fiers was his corage,1970
  • That doun he leyde him in that plas(70)
  • To make his stede som solas,
  • And yaf him good forage.
• • ‘O seinte Marie, benedicite!
  • What eyleth this love at me1975
  • To binde me so sore?
  • Me dremed al this night, pardee,
  • An elf-queen shal my lemman be,
  • And slepe under my gore.
• • An elf-queen wol I love, y-wis,1980
  • For in this world no womman is(80)
  • Worthy to be my make

    [T. 13722

  • In toune;

    [T. 13722

  • Alle othere wommen I forsake,

    [T. 13723

  • And to an elf-queen I me take1985
  • By dale and eek by doune!’
• • In-to his sadel he clamb anoon,
  • And priketh over style and stoon
  • An elf-queen for tespye,
  • Til he so longe had riden and goon1990
  • That he fond, in a privee woon,(90)
  • The contree of Fairye

    [T. 13731

  • So wilde;

    [T. 13734

  • For in that contree was ther noon
  • That to him dorste ryde or goon,1995
  • Neither wyf ne childe.
• • Til that ther cam a greet geaunt,
  • His name was sir Olifaunt,
  • A perilous man of dede;
  • He seyde, ‘child, by Termagaunt,2000
  • But-if thou prike out of myn haunt,(100)
  • Anon I slee thy stede

    [T. 13743

  • With mace.

    [T. 13743

  • Heer is the queen of Fayerye,
  • With harpe and pype and simphonye2005
  • Dwelling in this place.’
• • The child seyde, ‘al-so mote I thee,
  • Tomorwe wol I mete thee
  • Whan I have myn armoure;
  • And yet I hope, par ma fay,2010
  • That thou shalt with this launcegay(110)
  • Abyen it ful soure;

    [T. 13752

  • Thy mawe

    [T. 13752

  • Shal I percen, if I may,
  • Er it be fully pryme of day,2015
  • For heer thou shalt be slawe.’
• • Sir Thopas drow abak ful faste;
  • This geaunt at him stones caste
  • Out of a fel staf-slinge;
  • But faire escapeth child Thopas,2020
  • And al it was thurgh goddes gras,(120)
  • And thurgh his fair beringe.
• • Yet listeth, lordes, to my tale
  • Merier than the nightingale,
  • For now I wol yow roune2025
  • How sir Thopas with sydes smale,
  • Priking over hil and dale,
  • Is come agayn to toune.
• • His merie men comanded he
  • To make him bothe game and glee,2030
  • For nedes moste he fighte(130)
  • With a geaunt with hevedes three,
  • For paramour and Iolitee
  • Of oon that shoon ful brighte.
• • ‘Do come,’ he seyde, ‘my minstrales,2035
  • And gestours, for to tellen tales
  • Anon in myn arminge;
  • Of romances that been royales,
  • Of popes and of cardinales,
  • And eek of love-lykinge.’2040
• • They fette him first the swete wyn,(140)
  • And mede eek in a maselyn,
  • And royal spicerye;
  • Of gingebreed that was ful fyn,
  • And lycorys, and eek comyn,2045
  • With sugre that is so trye.
• • He dide next his whyte lere
  • Of clooth of lake fyn and clere
  • A breech and eek a sherte;
  • And next his sherte an aketoun,2050
  • And over that an habergeoun(150)
  • For percinge of his herte;
• • And over that a fyn hauberk,
  • Was al y-wroght of Iewes werk,
  • Ful strong it was of plate;2055
  • And over that his cote-armour
  • As whyt as is a lily-flour,
  • In which he wol debate.
• • His sheeld was al of gold so reed,
  • And ther-in was a bores heed,2060
  • A charbocle bisyde;(160)
  • And there he swoor, on ale and breed,
  • How that ‘the geaunt shal be deed,
  • Bityde what bityde!’
• • His Iambeux were of quirboilly,2065
  • His swerdes shethe of yvory,
  • His helm of laton bright;
  • His sadel was of rewel-boon,
  • His brydel as the sonne shoon,
  • Or as the mone light.2070
• • His spere was of fyn ciprees,(170)
  • That bodeth werre, and no-thing pees,
  • The heed ful sharpe y-grounde;
  • His stede was al dappel-gray,
  • It gooth an ambel in the way2075
  • Ful softely and rounde

    [T. 13815

  • In londe.

    [T. 13815

  • Lo, lordes myne, heer is a fit!
  • If ye wol any more of it,
  • To telle it wol I fonde.2080

• • [The Second Fit.]
  • Now hold your mouth, par charitee,(180)
  • Bothe knight and lady free,
  • And herkneth to my spelle;
  • Of bataille and of chivalry,
  • And of ladyes love-drury2085
  • Anon I wol yow telle.
• • Men speke of romances of prys,
  • Of Horn child and of Ypotys,
  • Of Bevis and sir Gy,
  • Of sir Libeux and Pleyn-damour;2090
  • But sir Thopas, he bereth the flour(190)
  • Of royal chivalry.
• • His gode stede al he bistrood,
  • And forth upon his wey he glood
  • As sparkle out of the bronde;2095
  • Up-on his crest he bar a tour,
  • And ther-in stiked a lily-flour,
  • God shilde his cors fro shonde!
• • And for he was a knight auntrous,
  • He nolde slepen in non hous,2100
  • But liggen in his hode;(200)
  • His brighte helm was his wonger,
  • And by him baiteth his dextrer
  • Of herbes fyne and gode.
• • Him-self drank water of the wel,2105
  • As did the knight sir Percivel,
  • So worthy under wede,
  • Til on a day—(207)

Here the Host stinteth Chaucer of his Tale of Thopas.

PROLOGUE TO MELIBEUS.
(T. 13847-13875.)

• ‘NO more of this, for goddes dignitee,’
• Quod oure hoste, ‘for thou makest me2110
• So wery of thy verray lewednesse
• That, also wisly god my soule blesse,
• Myn eres aken of thy drasty speche;
• Now swiche a rym the devel I biteche!
• This may wel be rym dogerel,’ quod he.2115
• ‘Why so?’ quod I, ‘why wiltow lette me
• More of my tale than another man,
• Sin that it is the beste rym I can?’(10)
• ‘By god,’ quod he, ‘for pleynly, at a word,
• Thy drasty ryming is nat worth a tord;2120
• Thou doost nought elles but despendest tyme,
• Sir, at o word, thou shalt no lenger ryme.
• Lat see wher thou canst tellen aught in geste,
• Or telle in prose somwhat at the leste
• In which ther be som mirthe or som doctryne.’2125
• ‘Gladly,’ quod I, ‘by goddes swete pyne,
• I wol yow telle a litel thing in prose,
• That oghte lyken yow, as I suppose,(20)
• Or elles, certes, ye been to daungerous.
• It is a moral tale vertuous,2130
• Al be it told som-tyme in sondry wyse
• Of sondry folk, as I shal yow devyse.
• As thus; ye woot that every evangelist,
• That telleth us the peyne of Iesu Crist,
• Ne saith nat al thing as his felaw dooth,2135
• But natheles, hir sentence is al sooth,
• And alle acorden as in hir sentence,
• Al be ther in hir telling difference.(30)
• For somme of hem seyn more, and somme lesse,
• Whan they his pitous passioun expresse;2140
• I mene of Marke, Mathew, Luk and Iohn;
• But doutelees hir sentence is al oon.
• Therfor, lordinges alle, I yow biseche,
• If that ye thinke I varie as in my speche,
• As thus, thogh that I telle som-what more2145
• Of proverbes , than ye han herd bifore,
• Comprehended in this litel tretis here,
• To enforce with the theffect of my matere,(40)
• And thogh I nat the same wordes seye
• As ye han herd, yet to yow alle I preye,2150
• Blameth me nat; for, as in my sentence,
• Ye shul not fynden moche difference
• Fro the sentence of this tretis lyte
• After the which this mery tale I wryte.
• And therfor herkneth what that I shal seye,2155
• And lat me tellen al my tale, I preye.’(48)

Explicit.

THE TALE OF MELIBEUS.

Here biginneth Chaucers Tale of Melibee.

§ 1. A yong man called Melibeus, mighty and riche, bigat up-on his wyf that called was Prudence, a doghter which that called was Sophie./

§ 2. Upon a day bifel, that he for his desport is went in-to the feeldes him to pleye. / His wyf and eek his doghter hath he left inwith his hous, of which the dores weren fast y-shette. / Thre of his olde foos han it espyed, and setten laddres to the walles of his hous, and by the windowes been entred, / and betten his wyf,2160 and wounded his doghter with fyve mortal woundes in fyve sondry places; / this is to seyn, in hir feet, in hir handes, in hir eres, in hir nose, and in hir mouth; and leften hir for deed, and wenten awey. /

§ 3. Whan Melibeus retourned was in-to his hous, and saugh al this meschief, he, lyk a mad man, rendinge his clothes, gan to wepe and crye. /

§ 4. Prudence his wyf, as ferforth as she dorste, bisoghte him of his weping for to stinte;/ but nat for-thy he gan to crye and wepen ever lenger the more. /2165

§ 5. This noble wyf Prudence remembered hir upon the sentence of Ovide, in his book that cleped is The Remedie of Love, wher-as he seith;/ ‘he is a fool that destourbeth the moder to wepen in the deeth of hir child, til she have wept hir fille, as for a certein tyme;/ and thanne shal man doon his diligence with amiable wordes hir to reconforte, and preyen hir of hir weping for to stinte.’/ For which resoun this noble wyf Prudence suffred hir housbond for to wepe and crye as for a certein space; / and whan she saugh hir tyme, she seyde him in this wyse. ‘Allas, my lord,’ quod she, ‘why make ye your-self for to be lyk a fool?/ For2170 sothe, it aperteneth nat to a wys man, to maken swiche a sorwe./ Your doghter, with the grace of god, shal warisshe and escape. / And al were it so that she right now were deed, ye ne oghte nat as for hir deeth your-self to destroye. / Senek seith: “the wise man shal nat take to greet disconfort for the deeth of his children, / but certes he sholde suffren it in pacience, as wel as he2175 abydeth the deeth of his owene propre persone.” ’/

§ 6. This Melibeus answerde anon and seyde, ‘What man,’ quod he, ‘sholde of his weping stinte, that hath so greet a cause for to wepe? / Iesu Crist, our lord, him-self wepte for the deeth of Lazarus his freend.’/ Prudence answerde, ‘Certes, wel I woot, attempree weping is no-thing defended to him that sorweful is, amonges folk in sorwe, but it is rather graunted him to wepe. / The Apostle Paul un-to the Romayns wryteth, “man shal reioyse with hem that maken Ioye, and wepen with swich folk as wepen.”/ But thogh attempree weping be y-graunted, outrageous weping2180 certes is defended. / Mesure of weping sholde be considered, after the lore that techeth us Senek./ “Whan that thy freend is deed,” quod he, “lat nat thyne eyen to moyste been of teres, ne to muche drye; althogh the teres come to thyne eyen, lat hem nat falle.” / And whan thou hast for-goon thy freend, do diligence to gete another freend; and this is more wysdom than for to wepe for thy freend which that thou hast lorn; for ther-inne is no bote./ And therfore, if ye governe yow by sapience, put awey sorwe out of your herte./ Remembre yow that Iesus Syrak seith: “a man that is Ioyous and glad in herte, it him conserveth florisshing in2185 his age; but soothly sorweful herte maketh his bones drye.” / He seith eek thus: “that sorwe in herte sleeth ful many a man.”/ Salomon seith: “that, right as motthes in the shepes flees anoyeth to the clothes, and the smale wormes to the tree, right so anoyeth sorwe to the herte.” / Wherfore us oghte, as wel in the deeth of our children as in the losse of our goodes temporels, have pacience. /

§ 7. Remembre yow up-on the pacient Iob, whan he hadde lost his children and his temporel substance, and in his body endured and receyved ful many a grevous tribulacioun; yet seyde he thus: / “our lord hath yeven it me, our lord hath biraft it me; right as our lord hath wold, right so it is doon; blessed be the name of our lord.” ’ / To thise foreseide thinges answerde2190 Melibeus un-to his wyf Prudence: ‘Alle thy wordes,’ quod he, ‘been sothe, and ther-to profitable; but trewely myn herte is troubled with this sorwe so grevously, that I noot what to done.’ / ‘Lat calle,’ quod Prudence, ‘thy trewe freendes alle, and thy linage whiche that been wyse; telleth your cas, and herkneth what they seye in conseiling, and yow governe after hir sentence./ Salomon seith: “werk alle thy thinges by conseil, and thou shalt never repente.” ’/

§ 8. Thanne, by the conseil of his wyf Prudence, this Melibeus leet callen a greet congregacioun of folk; / as surgiens, phisiciens, olde folk and yonge, and somme of hise olde enemys reconsiled as by hir semblaunt to his love and in-to his grace; / and therwith-al2195 ther comen somme of hise neighebores that diden him reverence more for drede than for love, as it happeth ofte. / Ther comen also ful many subtile flatereres, and wyse advocats lerned in the lawe. /

§ 9. And whan this folk togidre assembled weren, this Melibeus in sorweful wyse shewed hem his cas; / and by the manere of his speche it semed that in herte he bar a cruel ire, redy to doon vengeaunce up-on hise foos, and sodeynly desired that the werre sholde biginne; / but nathelees yet axed he hir conseil upon this matere. / A surgien, by licence and assent of swiche as2200 weren wyse, up roos and un-to Melibeus seyde as ye may here. /

§ 10. ‘Sir,’ quod he, ‘as to us surgiens aperteneth, that we do to every wight the beste that we can, wher-as we been with-holde, and to our pacients that we do no damage; / wherfore it happeth, many tyme and ofte, that whan twey men han everich wounded other, oon same surgien heleth hem bothe; / wherefore un-to our art it is nat pertinent to norice werre, ne parties to supporte./ But certes, as to the warisshinge of your doghter, al-be-it so that she perilously be wounded, we shullen do so ententif bisinesse fro day to night, that with the grace of god she shal be hool and 2205 sound as sone as is possible.’/ Almost right in the same wyse the phisiciens answerden, save that they seyden a fewe wordes more:/ ‘That, right as maladyes been cured by hir contraries, right so shul men warisshe werre by vengeaunce.’/ His neighebores, ful of envye, his feyned freendes that semeden reconsiled, and his flatereres, / maden semblant of weping, and empeireden and agreggeden muchel of this matere, in preising greetly Melibee of might, of power, of richesse, and of freendes, despysinge the power of his adversaries, / and seiden outrely that he anon sholde wreken2210 him on his foos and biginne werre./

§ 11. Up roos thanne an advocat that was wys, by leve and by conseil of othere that were wyse, and seyde: / ‘Lordinges, the nede for which we been assembled in this place is a ful hevy thing and an heigh matere, / by-cause of the wrong and of the wikkednesse that hath be doon, and eek by resoun of the grete damages that in tyme cominge been possible to fallen for this same cause; / and eek by resoun of the grete richesse and power of the parties bothe;/ for the whiche resouns it were a ful greet peril to erren in this2215 matere. / Wherfore, Melibeus, this is our sentence: we conseille yow aboven alle thing, that right anon thou do thy diligence in kepinge of thy propre persone, in swich a wyse that thou ne wante noon espye ne wacche, thy body for to save. / And after that we conseille, that in thyn hous thou sette suffisant garnisoun, so that they may as wel thy body as thyn hous defende. / But certes, for to moeve werre, or sodeynly for to doon vengeaunce, we may nat demen in so litel tyme that it were profitable. / Wherfore we axen leyser and espace to have deliberacioun in this cas to deme./ For the commune proverbe seith thus: “he that sone demeth,2220 sone shal repente.”/ And eek men seyn that thilke Iuge is wys, that sone understondeth a matere and Iuggeth by leyser. / For al-be-it so that alle tarying be anoyful, algates it is nat to repreve in yevynge of Iugement, ne in vengeance-taking, whan it is suffisant and resonable. / And that shewed our lord Iesu Crist by ensample; for whan that the womman that was taken in avoutrie was broght in his presence, to knowen what sholde be doon with hir persone, al-be-it so that he wiste wel him-self what that he wolde answere, yet ne wolde he nat answere sodeynly, but he wolde have deliberacioun, and in the ground he wroot twyes. / And by thise causes we axen deliberacioun, and we shal thanne, by the grace of god, conseille thee thing that shal be profitable.’/

§ 12. Up stirten thanne the yonge folk at-ones, and the moste partie of that companye han scorned the olde wyse men, and bigonnen to make noyse, and seyden: that, / right so as whyl that2225 iren is hoot, men sholden smyte, right so, men sholde wreken hir wronges whyle that they been fresshe and newe; and with loud voys they cryden, ‘werre! werre!’/

Up roos tho oon of thise olde wyse, and with his hand made contenaunce that men sholde holden hem stille and yeven him audience./ ‘Lordinges,’ quod he, ‘ther is ful many a man that cryeth “werre! werre!” that woot ful litel what werre amounteth./ Werre at his beginning hath so greet an entree and so large, that every wight may entre whan him lyketh, and lightly finde werre. / But, certes, what ende that shal ther-of bifalle, it is nat light to knowe./ For sothly, whan that werre is2230 ones bigonne, ther is ful many a child unborn of his moder, that shal sterve yong by-cause of that ilke werre, or elles live in sorwe and dye in wrecchednesse./ And ther-fore, er that any werre biginne, men moste have greet conseil and greet deliberacioun.’/ And whan this olde man wende to enforcen his tale by resons, wel ny alle at-ones bigonne they to ryse for to breken his tale, and beden him ful ofte his wordes for to abregge./ For soothly, he that precheth to hem that listen nat heren his wordes, his sermon hem anoyeth./ For Iesus Syrak seith: that “musik in wepinge is anoyous thing;” this is to seyn: as muche availleth to speken bifore folk to whiche his speche anoyeth, as dooth to singe biforn him that wepeth. / And whan this wyse man saugh that him2235 wanted audience, al shamefast he sette him doun agayn. / For Salomon seith: “ther-as thou ne mayst have noon audience, enforce thee nat to speke.”/ ‘I see wel,’ quod this wyse man, ‘that the commune proverbe is sooth; that “good conseil wanteth whan it is most nede.” ’ /

§ 13. Yet hadde this Melibeus in his conseil many folk, that prively in his ere conseilled him certeyn thing, and conseilled him the contrarie in general audience./

Whan Melibeus hadde herd that the gretteste partie of his conseil weren accorded that he sholde maken werre, anoon he2240 consented to hir conseilling, and fully affermed hir sentence./ Thanne dame Prudence, whan that she saugh how that hir housbonde shoop him for to wreken him on his foos, and to biginne werre, she in ful humble wyse, when she saugh hir tyme, seide him thise wordes: / ‘My lord,’ quod she, ‘I yow biseche as hertely as I dar and can, ne haste yow nat to faste, and for alle guerdons as yeveth me audience. / For Piers Alfonce seith: “who-so that dooth to that other good or harm, haste thee nat to quyten it; for in this wyse thy freend wol abyde, and thyn enemy shal the lenger live in drede.”/ The proverbe seith: “he hasteth wel that wysely can abyde;” and in wikked haste is no profit.’/

§ 14. This Melibee answerde un-to his wyf Prudence: ‘I purpose nat,’ quod he, ‘to werke by thy conseil, for many causes and resouns. For certes every wight wolde holde me thanne a2245 fool; / this is to seyn, if I, for thy conseilling, wolde chaungen thinges that been ordeyned and affermed by so manye wyse./ Secoundly I seye, that alle wommen been wikke and noon good of hem alle. For “of a thousand men,” seith Salomon, “I fond a good man: but certes, of alle wommen, good womman fond I never.” / And also certes, if I governed me by thy conseil, it sholde seme that I hadde yeve to thee over me the maistrie; and god forbede that it so were. / For Iesus Syrak seith; “that if the wyf have maistrie, she is contrarious to hir housbonde.”/ And Salomon seith: “never in thy lyf, to thy wyf, ne to thy child, ne to thy freend, ne yeve no power over thy-self. For bettre it were that thy children aske of thy persone thinges that hem nedeth,2250 than thou see thy-self in the handes of thy children.” / And also, if I wolde werke by thy conseilling, certes my conseilling moste som tyme be secree, til it were tyme that it moste be knowe; and this ne may noght be. / [For it is writen, that “the Ianglerie of wommen can hyden thinges that they witen noght.” / Furthermore, the philosophre seith, “in wikked conseil wommen venquisshe men;” and for thise resouns I ne owe nat usen thy conseil.’] /

§ 15. Whanne dame Prudence, ful debonairly and with greet pacience, hadde herd al that hir housbonde lyked for to seye, thanne axed she of him licence for to speke, and seyde in this wyse./ ‘My lord,’ quod she, ‘as to your firste resoun, certes it may lightly been answered. For I seye, that it is no folie to chaunge conseil whan the thing is chaunged; or elles whan the thing semeth otherweyes than it was biforn./ And more-over I2255 seye, that though ye han sworn and bihight to perfourne your emprise, and nathelees ye weyve to perfourne thilke same emprise by Iuste cause, men sholde nat seyn therefore that ye were a lyer ne forsworn./ For the book seith, that “the wyse man maketh no lesing whan he turneth his corage to the bettre.”/ And al-be-it so that your emprise be establissed and ordeyned by greet multitude of folk, yet thar ye nat accomplice thilke same ordinaunce but yow lyke. / For the trouthe of thinges and the profit been rather founden in fewe folk that been wyse and ful of resoun, than by greet multitude of folk, ther every man cryeth and clatereth what that him lyketh. Soothly swich multitude is nat honeste./ As to the seconde resoun, where-as ye seyn that “alle wommen been wikke,” save your grace, certes ye despysen alle wommen in this wyse; and “he that alle despyseth alle displeseth,” as seith the book. / And Senek seith that “who-so wole have sapience, shal2260 no man dispreise; but he shal gladly techen the science that he can, with-outen presumpcioun or pryde. / And swiche thinges as he nought ne can, he shal nat been ashamed to lerne hem and enquere of lasse folk than him-self.”/ And sir, that ther hath been many a good womman, may lightly be preved./ For certes, sir, our lord Iesu Crist wolde never have descended to be born of a womman, if alle wommen hadden ben wikke./ And after that, for the grete bountee that is in wommen, our lord Iesu Crist, whan he was risen fro deeth to lyve, appeered rather to a womman than to his apostles./ And though that Salomon seith, that “he2265 ne fond never womman good,” it folweth nat therfore that alle wommen ben wikke. / For though that he ne fond no good womman, certes, ful many another man hath founden many a womman ful good and trewe. / Or elles per-aventure the entente of Salomon was this; that, as in sovereyn bountee, he fond no womman;/ this is to seyn, that ther is no wight that hath sovereyn bountee save god allone; as he him-self recordeth in his Evaungelie./ For ther nis no creature so good that him ne2270 wanteth somwhat of the perfeccioun of god, that is his maker./ Your thridde resoun is this: ye seyn that “if ye governe yow by my conseil, it sholde seme that ye hadde yeve me the maistrie and the lordshipe over your persone.” / Sir, save your grace, it is nat so. For if it were so, that no man sholde be conseilled but only of hem that hadden lordshipe and maistrie of his persone, men wolden nat be conseilled so ofte./ For soothly, thilke man that asketh conseil of a purpos, yet hath he free chois, wheither he wole werke by that conseil or noon. / And as to your fourthe resoun, ther ye seyn that “the Ianglerie of wommen hath hid thinges that they woot noght,” as who seith, that “a womman can nat hyde that she woot;”/ sir, thise wordes been understonde of2275 wommen that been Iangleresses and wikked;/ of whiche wommen, men seyn that “three thinges dryven a man out of his hous; that is to seyn, smoke, dropping of reyn, and wikked wyves;” / and of swiche wommen seith Salomon, that “it were bettre dwelle in desert, than with a womman that is riotous.”/ And sir, by your leve, that am nat I;/ for ye han ful ofte assayed my grete silence and my gret pacience; and eek how wel that I can hyde and hele thinges that men oghte secreely to hyde./ And soothly, as to your fifthe resoun, wher-as ye seyn, that “in wikked conseil wommen venquisshe men;” god woot, thilke resoun stant here2280 in no stede. / For understond now, ye asken conseil to do wikkednesse;/ and if ye wole werken wikkednesse, and your wyf restreyneth thilke wikked purpos, and overcometh yow by resoun and by good conseil;/ certes, your wyf oghte rather to be preised than y-blamed./ Thus sholde ye understonde the philosophre that seith, “in wikked conseil wommen venquisshen hir housbondes.”/ And ther-as ye blamen alle wommen and hir resouns, I shal shewe yow by manye ensamples that many a womman hath ben ful good, and yet been; and hir conseils ful2285 hoolsome and profitable./ Eek som men han seyd, that “the conseillinge of wommen is outher to dere, or elles to litel of prys.”/ But al-be-it so, that ful many a womman is badde, and hir conseil vile and noght worth, yet han men founde ful many a good womman, and ful discrete and wise in conseillinge./ Lo, Iacob, by good conseil of his moder Rebekka, wan the benisoun of Ysaak his fader, and the lordshipe over alle his bretheren./ Iudith, by hir good conseil, delivered the citee of Bethulie, in which she dwelled, out of the handes of Olofernus, that hadde it biseged and wolde have al destroyed it./ Abigail delivered Nabal hir housbonde fro David the king, that wolde have slayn him, and apaysed the ire of the king by hir wit and by hir good conseilling./ Hester by hir good conseil enhaunced greetly the2290 peple of god in the regne of Assuerus the king. / And the same bountee in good conseilling of many a good womman may men telle./ And moreover, whan our lord hadde creat Adam our forme-fader, he seyde in this wyse:/ “it is nat good to been a man allone; make we to him an help semblable to himself.”/ Here may ye se that, if that wommen were nat goode, and hir conseils goode and profitable,/ our lord god of hevene wolde2295 never han wroght hem, ne called hem help of man, but rather confusioun of man./ And ther seyde ones a clerk in two vers: “what is bettre than gold? Iaspre. What is bettre than Iaspre? Wisdom. / And what is bettre than wisdom? Womman. And what is bettre than a good womman? No-thing.” / And sir, by manye of othre resons may ye seen, that manye wommen been goode, and hir conseils goode and profitable./ And therfore sir, if ye wol triste to my conseil, I shal restore yow your doghter hool and sound./ And eek I wol do to yow so muche, that ye2300 shul have honour in this cause.’/

§ 16. Whan Melibee hadde herd the wordes of his wyf Prudence, he seyde thus:/ ‘I se wel that the word of Salomon is sooth; he seith, that “wordes that been spoken discreetly by ordinaunce, been honycombes; for they yeven swetnesse to the soule, and hoolsomnesse to the body.”/ And wyf, by-cause of thy swete wordes, and eek for I have assayed and preved thy grete sapience and thy grete trouthe, I wol governe me by thy conseil in alle thing.’/

§ 17. ‘Now sir,’ quod dame Prudence, ‘and sin ye vouche-sauf to been governed by my conseil, I wol enforme yow how ye2305 shul governe your-self in chesinge of your conseillours./ Ye shul first, in alle your werkes, mekely biseken to the heighe god that he wol be your conseillour;/ and shapeth yow to swich entente, that he yeve yow conseil and confort, as taughte Thobie his sone./ “At alle tymes thou shalt blesse god, and praye him to dresse thy weyes”; and looke that alle thy conseils been in him for evermore./ Seint Iame eek seith: “if any of yow have nede of sapience, axe it of god.”/ And afterward thanne shul ye taken conseil in your-self, and examine wel your thoghtes, of swich thing as yow2310 thinketh that is best for your profit. / And thanne shul ye dryve fro your herte three thinges that been contrariouse to good conseil, / that is to seyn, ire, coveitise, and hastifnesse./

§ 18. First, he that axeth conseil of him-self, certes he moste been with-outen ire, for manye causes./ The firste is this: he that hath greet ire and wratthe in him-self, he weneth alwey that he may do thing that he may nat do./ And secoundely, he that is irous2315 and wroth, he ne may nat wel deme; / and he that may nat wel deme, may nat wel conseille./ The thridde is this; that “he that is irous and wrooth,” as seith Senek, “ne may nat speke but he blame thinges;” / and with his viciouse wordes he stireth other folk to angre and to ire./ And eek sir, ye moste dryve coveitise out of your herte./ For the apostle seith, that “coveitise is rote2320 of alle harmes.”/ And trust wel that a coveitous man ne can noght deme ne thinke, but only to fulfille the ende of his coveitise;/ and certes, that ne may never been accompliced; for ever the more habundaunce that he hath of richesse, the more he desyreth./ And sir, ye moste also dryve out of your herte hastifnesse; for certes, / ye ne may nat deme for the beste a sodeyn thought that falleth in youre herte, but ye moste avyse yow on it ful ofte./ For as ye herde biforn, the commune proverbe is this, that “he that2325 sone demeth, sone repenteth.”/

§ 19. Sir, ye ne be nat alwey in lyke disposicioun; / for certes, som thing that somtyme semeth to yow that it is good for to do, another tyme it semeth to yow the contrarie./

§ 20. Whan ye han taken conseil in your-self, and han demed by good deliberacion swich thing as you semeth best, / thanne rede I yow, that ye kepe it secree./ Biwrey nat your conseil to no persone, but-if so be that ye wenen sikerly that, thurgh your biwreying, your condicioun shal be to yow the more profitable./ For Iesus2330 Syrak seith: “neither to thy foo ne to thy freend discovere nat thy secree ne thy folie;/ for they wol yeve yow audience and loking and supportacioun in thy presence, and scorne thee in thyn absence.” / Another clerk seith, that “scarsly shaltou finden any persone that may kepe conseil secreely.” / The book seith: “whyl that thou kepest thy conseil in thyn herte, thou kepest it in thy prisoun:/ and whan thou biwreyest thy conseil to any wight, he holdeth thee in his snare.”/ And therefore yow is bettre to hyde2335 your conseil in your herte, than praye him, to whom ye han biwreyed your conseil, that he wole kepen it cloos and stille. / For Seneca seith: “if so be that thou ne mayst nat thyn owene conseil hyde, how darstou prayen any other wight thy conseil secreely to kepe?” / But nathelees, if thou wene sikerly that the biwreying of thy conseil to a persone wol make thy condicioun to stonden in the bettre plyt, thanne shaltou tellen him thy conseil in this wyse./ First, thou shalt make no semblant whether thee were lever pees or werre, or this or that, ne shewe him nat thy wille and thyn entente; / for trust wel, that comunly thise conseillours been flatereres, / namely the conseillours of grete lordes; / for they enforcen2340 hem alwey rather to speken plesante wordes, enclyninge to the lordes lust, than wordes that been trewe or profitable./ And therfore men seyn, that “the riche man hath seld good conseil but-if he have it of him-self.” / And after that, thou shalt considere thy freendes and thyne enemys./ And as touchinge thy freendes, thou shalt considere whiche of hem been most feithful and most wyse, and eldest and most approved in conseilling. / And2345 of hem shalt thou aske thy conseil, as the caas requireth./

§ 21. I seye that first ye shul clepe to your conseil your freendes that been trewe./ For Salomon seith: that “right as the herte of a man delyteth in savour that is sote, right so the conseil of trewe freendes yeveth swetenesse to the soule.”/ He seith also: “ther may no-thing be lykned to the trewe freend.”/ For certes, gold ne silver beth nat so muche worth as the gode wil of a trewe freend./2350 And eek he seith, that “a trewe freend is a strong deffense; who-so that it findeth, certes he findeth a greet tresour.”/ Thanne shul ye eek considere, if that your trewe freendes been discrete and wyse. For the book seith: “axe alwey thy conseil of hem that been wyse.”/ And by this same resoun shul ye clepen to your conseil, of your freendes that been of age, swiche as han seyn and been expert in manye thinges, and been approved in conseillinges./ For the book seith, that “in olde men is the sapience and in longe tyme the prudence.”/ And Tullius seith: that “grete thinges ne been nat ay accompliced by strengthe, ne by delivernesse of body, but by good conseil, by auctoritee of persones, and by science; the whiche three thinges ne been nat feble by age, but2355 certes they enforcen and encreesen day by day.” / And thanne shul ye kepe this for a general reule. First shul ye clepen to your conseil a fewe of your freendes that been especiale;/ for Salomon seith: “manye freendes have thou; but among a thousand chese thee oon to be thy conseillour.”/ For al-be-it so that thou first ne telle thy conseil but to a fewe, thou mayst afterward telle it to mo folk, if it be nede./ But loke alwey that thy conseillours have thilke three condiciouns that I have seyd bifore; that is to seyn, that they be trewe, wyse, and of old experience./ And werke nat alwey in every nede by oon counseillour allone; for somtyme bihoveth it2360 to been conseilled by manye./ For Salomon seith: “salvacioun of thinges is wher-as ther been manye conseillours.”/

§ 22. Now sith that I have told yow of which folk ye sholde been counseilled, now wol I teche yow which conseil ye oghte to eschewe. / First ye shul eschewe the conseilling of foles; for Salomon seith: “taak no conseil of a fool, for he ne can noght conseille but after his owene lust and his affeccioun.”/ The book seith: that “the propretee of a fool is this; he troweth lightly harm of every wight, and lightly troweth alle bountee in him-self.”/ Thou shalt eek eschewe the conseilling of alle flatereres, swiche as enforcen hem rather to preise your persone2365 by flaterye than for to telle yow the sothfastnesse of thinges. /

§ 23. ‘Wherfore Tullius seith: “amonges alle the pestilences that been in freendshipe, the gretteste is flaterye.” And therfore is it more nede that thou eschewe and drede flatereres than any other peple./ The book seith: “thou shalt rather drede and flee fro the swete wordes of flateringe preiseres, than fro the egre wordes of thy freend that seith thee thy sothes.”/ Salomon seith, that “the wordes of a flaterere is a snare to cacche with innocents.” / He seith also, that “he that speketh to his freend wordes of swetnesse and of plesaunce, setteth a net biforn his feet to cacche him.”/ And therfore seith Tullius: “enclyne nat thyne eres to flatereres, ne taketh no conseil of wordes of flaterye.” / And2370 Caton seith: “avyse thee wel, and eschewe the wordes of swetnesse and of plesaunce.”/ And eek thou shalt eschewe the conseilling of thyne olde enemys that been reconsiled./ The book seith: that “no wight retourneth saufly in-to the grace of his olde enemy.”/ And Isope seith: “ne trust nat to hem to whiche thou hast had som-tyme werre or enmitee, ne telle hem nat thy conseil.” / And Seneca telleth the cause why. “It may nat be,” seith he, “that, where greet fyr hath longe tyme endured, that ther ne dwelleth som vapour of warmnesse.”/ And therfore seith2375 Salomon: “in thyn olde foo trust never.”/ For sikerly, though thyn enemy be reconsiled and maketh thee chere of humilitee, and louteth to thee with his heed, ne trust him never. / For certes, he maketh thilke feyned humilitee more for his profit than for any love of thy persone; by-cause that he demeth to have victorie over thy persone by swich feyned contenance, the which victorie he mighte nat have by stryf or werre. / And Peter Alfonce seith: “make no felawshipe with thyne olde enemys; for if thou do hem bountee, they wol perverten it in-to wikkednesse.”/ And eek thou most eschewe the conseilling of hem that been thy servants, and beren thee greet reverence; for peraventure they seyn it more for drede than for love. / And2380 therfore seith a philosophre in this wyse: “ther is no wight parfitly trewe to him that he to sore dredeth.”/ And Tullius seith: “ther nis no might so greet of any emperour, that longe may endure, but-if he have more love of the peple than drede.” / Thou shalt also eschewe the conseiling of folk that been dronkelewe; for they ne can no conseil hyde. / For Salomon seith: “ther is no privetee ther-as regneth dronkenesse.”/ Ye shul also han in suspect the conseilling of swich folk as conseille yow a thing prively, and conseille yow the contrarie openly./ For2385 Cassidorie seith: that “it is a maner sleighte to hindre, whan he sheweth to doon a thing openly and werketh prively the contrarie.”/ Thou shalt also have in suspect the conseilling of wikked folk. For the book seith: “the conseilling of wikked folk is alwey ful of fraude:”/ And David seith: “blisful is that man that hath nat folwed the conseilling of shrewes.” / Thou shalt also eschewe the conseilling of yong folk; for hir conseil is nat rype./

§ 24. Now sir, sith I have shewed yow of which folk ye shul2390 take your conseil, and of which folk ye shul folwe the conseil,/ now wol I teche yow how ye shal examine your conseil, after the doctrine of Tullius./ In the examininge thanne of your conseillour, ye shul considere manye thinges./ Alderfirst thou shalt considere, that in thilke thing that thou purposest, and upon what thing thou wolt have conseil, that verray trouthe be seyd and conserved; this is to seyn, telle trewely thy tale./ For he that seith fals may nat wel be conseilled, in that cas of which he lyeth./ And after this, thou shalt considere the thinges that acorden to that thou purposest for to do by thy conseillours, if resoun2395 accorde therto;/ and eek, if thy might may atteine ther-to; and if the more part and the bettre part of thy conseillours acorde ther-to, or no. / Thanne shaltou considere what thing shal folwe of that conseilling; as hate, pees, werre, grace, profit, or damage; and manye othere thinges. / And in alle thise thinges thou shalt chese the beste, and weyve alle othere thinges. / Thanne shaltow considere of what rote is engendred the matere of thy conseil, and what fruit it may conceyve and engendre. / Thou shalt eek considere alle thise causes, fro whennes they2400 been sprongen./ And whan ye han examined your conseil as I have seyd, and which partie is the bettre and more profitable, and hast approved it by manye wyse folk and olde;/ thanne shaltou considere, if thou mayst parfourne it and maken of it a good ende./ For certes, resoun wol nat that any man sholde biginne a thing, but-if he mighte parfourne it as him oghte./ Ne no wight sholde take up-on hym so hevy a charge that he mighte nat bere it./ For the proverbe seith: “he that to muche2405 embraceth, distreyneth litel.”/ And Catoun seith: “assay to do swich thing as thou hast power to doon, lest that the charge oppresse thee so sore, that thee bihoveth to weyve thing that thou hast bigonne.” / And if so be that thou be in doute, whether thou mayst parfourne a thing or noon, chese rather to suffre than biginne./ And Piers Alphonce seith: “if thou hast might to doon a thing of which thou most repente thee, it is bettre ‘nay’ than ‘ye’;”/ this is to seyn, that thee is bettre holde thy tonge stille, than for to speke./ Thanne may ye understonde by strenger resons, that if thou hast power to parfourne a werk of which thou shalt repente, thanne is it bettre that thou suffre than biginne. / Wel seyn they, that defenden every wight to assaye2410 any thing of which he is in doute, whether he may parfourne it or no./ And after, whan ye han examined your conseil as I have seyd biforn, and knowen wel that ye may parfourne youre emprise, conferme it thanne sadly til it be at an ende. /

§ 25. Now is it resoun and tyme that I shewe yow, whanne, and wherfore, that ye may chaunge your conseil with-outen your repreve./ Soothly, a man may chaungen his purpos and his conseil if the cause cesseth, or whan a newe caas bitydeth. / For the lawe seith: that “upon thinges that newely bityden bihoveth newe conseil.”/ And Senek seith: “if thy conseil is comen to2415 the eres of thyn enemy, chaunge thy conseil.” / Thou mayst also chaunge thy conseil if so be that thou finde that, by errour or by other cause, harm or damage may bityde. / Also, if thy conseil be dishonest, or elles cometh of dishoneste cause, chaunge thy conseil./ For the lawes seyn: that “alle bihestes that been dishoneste been of no value.”/ And eek, if it so be that it be inpossible, or may nat goodly be parfourned or kept. /2420

§ 26. And take this for a general reule, that every conseil that is affermed so strongly that it may nat be chaunged, for no condicioun that may bityde, I seye that thilke conseil is wikked.’/

§ 27. This Melibeus, whanne he hadde herd the doctrine of his wyf dame Prudence, answerde in this wyse. / ‘Dame,’ quod he, ‘as yet in-to this tyme ye han wel and covenably taught me as in general, how I shal governe me in the chesinge and in the withholdinge of my conseillours./ But now wolde I fayn that ye wolde condescende in especial,/ and telle me how lyketh yow, or what semeth yow, by our conseillours that we han chosen in2425 our present nede.’/

§ 28. ‘My lord,’ quod she, ‘I biseke yow in al humblesse, that ye wol nat wilfully replye agayn my resouns, ne distempre your herte thogh I speke thing that yow displese./ For god wot that, as in myn entente, I speke it for your beste, for your honour and for your profite eke./ And soothly, I hope that your benignitee wol taken it in pacience. / Trusteth me wel,’ quod she, ‘that your conseil as in this caas ne sholde nat, as to speke properly, be called a conseilling, but a mocioun or a moevyng of folye;/2430 in which conseil ye han erred in many a sondry wyse./

§ 29. First and forward, ye han erred in thassemblinge of your conseillours./ For ye sholde first have cleped a fewe folk to your conseil, and after ye mighte han shewed it to mo folk, if it hadde been nede./ But certes, ye han sodeynly cleped to your conseil a greet multitude of peple, ful chargeant and ful anoyous for to here./ Also ye han erred, for there-as ye sholden only have cleped to your conseil your trewe freendes olde and wyse,/ ye han y-cleped straunge folk, and yong folk, false flatereres, and enemys reconsiled, and folk that doon yow reverence withouten2435 love./ And eek also ye have erred, for ye han broght with yow to your conseil ire, covetise, and hastifnesse;/ the whiche three thinges been contrariouse to every conseil honeste and profitable;/ the whiche three thinges ye han nat anientissed or destroyed hem, neither in your-self ne in your conseillours, as yow oghte. / Ye han erred also, for ye han shewed to your conseillours your talent, and your affeccioun to make werre anon and for to do vengeance;/ they han espyed by your wordes to what thing ye2440 been enclyned./ And therfore han they rather conseilled yow to your talent than to your profit./ Ye han erred also, for it semeth that yow suffyseth to han been conseilled by thise conseillours only, and with litel avys; / wher-as, in so greet and so heigh a nede, it hadde been necessarie mo conseillours, and more deliberacioun to parfourne your emprise./ Ye han erred also, for ye han nat examined your conseil in the forseyde manere, ne in due manere as the caas requireth./ Ye han erred also, for ye han maked no divisioun bitwixe your conseillours; this is to seyn, bitwixen your trewe freendes and your feyned conseillours; /2445 ne ye han nat knowe the wil of your trewe freendes olde and wyse;/ but ye han cast alle hir wordes in an hochepot, and enclyned your herte to the more part and to the gretter nombre; and ther been ye condescended. / And sith ye wot wel that men shal alwey finde a gretter nombre of foles than of wyse men,/ and therfore the conseils that been at congregaciouns and multitudes of folk, ther-as men take more reward to the nombre than to the sapience of persones,/ ye see wel that in swiche conseillinges foles han the maistrie.’/ Melibeus answerde agayn, and seyde:2450 ‘I graunte wel that I have erred;/ but ther-as thou hast told me heer-biforn, that he nis nat to blame that chaungeth hise conseillours in certein caas, and for certeine Iuste causes,/ I am al redy to chaunge my conseillours, right as thow wolt devyse./ The proverbe seith: that “for to do sinne is mannish, but certes for to persevere longe in sinne is werk of the devel.” ’/

§ 30. To this sentence answerde anon dame Prudence, and seyde: / ‘Examineth,’ quod she, ‘your conseil, and lat us see2455 the whiche of hem han spoken most resonably, and taught yow best conseil. / And for-as-muche as that the examinacioun is necessarie, lat us biginne at the surgiens and at the phisiciens, that first speken in this matere. / I sey yow, that the surgiens and phisiciens han seyd yow in your conseil discreetly, as hem oughte;/ and in hir speche seyden ful wysly, that to the office of hem aperteneth to doon to every wight honour and profit, and no wight for to anoye; / and, after hir craft, to doon greet diligence un-to the cure of hem whiche that they han in hir governaunce. /2460 And sir, right as they han answered wysly and discreetly,/ right so rede I that they been heighly and sovereynly guerdoned for hir noble speche; / and eek for they sholde do the more ententif bisinesse in the curacioun of your doghter dere./ For al-be-it so that they been your freendes, therfore shal ye nat suffren that they serve yow for noght;/ but ye oghte the rather guerdone hem and shewe hem your largesse. / And as touchinge the proposicioun2465 which that the phisiciens entreteden in this caas, this is to seyn, / that, in maladyes, that oon contrarie is warisshed by another contrarie, / I wolde fayn knowe how ye understonde thilke text, and what is your sentence.’ / ‘Certes,’ quod Melibeus, ‘I understonde it in this wyse:/ that, right as they han doon me a2470 contrarie, right so sholde I doon hem another./ For right as they han venged hem on me and doon me wrong, right so shal I venge me upon hem and doon hem wrong;/ and thanne have I cured oon contrarie by another.’/

§ 31. ‘Lo, lo!’ quod dame Prudence, ‘how lightly is every man enclyned to his owene desyr and to his owene plesaunce!/ Certes,’ quod she, ‘the wordes of the phisiciens ne sholde nat han been understonden in this wyse./ For certes, wikkednesse is nat contrarie to wikkednesse, ne vengeaunce to vengeaunce, ne2475 wrong to wrong; but they been semblable./ And therfore, o vengeaunce is nat warisshed by another vengeaunce, ne o wrong by another wrong;/ but everich of hem encreesceth and aggreggeth other./ But certes, the wordes of the phisiciens sholde been understonden in this wyse:/ for good and wikkednesse been two contraries, and pees and werre, vengeaunce and suffraunce, discord and accord, and manye othere thinges./ But certes, wikkednesse shal be warisshed by goodnesse, discord by2480 accord, werre by pees, and so forth of othere thinges./ And heer-to accordeth Seint Paul the apostle in manye places./ He seith: “ne yeldeth nat harm for harm, ne wikked speche for wikked speche;/ but do wel to him that dooth thee harm, and blesse him that seith to thee harm.”/ And in manye othere places he amonesteth pees and accord./ But now wol I speke to yow of the conseil which that was yeven to yow by the men of2485 lawe and the wyse folk,/ that seyden alle by oon accord as ye han herd bifore;/ that, over alle thynges, ye sholde doon your diligence to kepen your persone and to warnestore your hous. / And seyden also, that in this caas ye oghten for to werken ful avysely and with greet deliberacioun./ And sir, as to the firste point, that toucheth to the keping of your persone;/ ye shul understonde that he that hath werre shal evermore mekely and2490 devoutly preyen biforn alle thinges, / that Iesus Crist of his grete mercy wol han him in his proteccioun, and been his sovereyn helping at his nede. / For certes, in this world ther is no wight that may be conseilled ne kept suffisantly withouten the keping of our lord Iesu Crist. / To this sentence accordeth the prophete David, that seith:/ “if god ne kepe the citee, in ydel waketh he that it kepeth.”/ Now sir, thanne shul ye committe the keping of your persone to your trewe freendes that been approved and y-knowe; / and of hem shul ye axen help your persone for to kepe.2495 For Catoun seith: “if thou hast nede of help, axe it of thy freendes;/ for ther nis noon so good a phisicien as thy trewe freend.”/ And after this, thanne shul ye kepe yow fro alle straunge folk, and fro lyeres, and have alwey in suspect hir companye./ For Piers Alfonce seith: “ne tak no companye by the weye of a straunge man, but-if so be that thou have knowe him of a lenger tyme. / And if so be that he falle in-to thy companye paraventure withouten thyn assent, / enquere thanne, as subtilly as2500 thou mayst, of his conversacioun and of his lyf bifore, and feyne thy wey; seye that thou goost thider as thou wolt nat go;/ and if he bereth a spere, hold thee on the right syde, and if he bere a swerd, hold thee on the lift syde.” / And after this, thanne shul ye kepe yow wysely from alle swich manere peple as I have seyd bifore, and hem and hir conseil eschewe./ And after this, thanne shul ye kepe yow in swich manere,/ that for any presumpcioun of your strengthe, that ye ne dispyse nat ne acounte nat the might of your adversarie so litel, that ye lete the keping of your persone for your presumpcioun;/ for every wys man dredeth2505 his enemy./ And Salomon seith: “weleful is he that of alle hath drede;/ for certes, he that thurgh the hardinesse of his herte and thurgh the hardinesse of him-self hath to greet presumpcioun, him shal yvel bityde.”/ Thanne shul ye evermore countrewayte embusshements and alle espiaille./ For Senek seith: that “the wyse man that dredeth harmes escheweth harmes; / ne he ne falleth in-to perils, that perils escheweth.”/2510 And al-be-it so that it seme that thou art in siker place, yet shaltow alwey do thy diligence in kepinge of thy persone;/ this is to seyn, ne be nat necligent to kepe thy persone, nat only fro thy gretteste enemys but fro thy leeste enemy. / Senek seith: “a man that is wel avysed, he dredeth his leste enemy.” / Ovide seith: that “the litel wesele wol slee the grete bole and the wilde2515 hert.”/ And the book seith: “a litel thorn may prikke a greet king ful sore; and an hound wol holde the wilde boor.” / But nathelees, I sey nat thou shalt be so coward that thou doute ther wher-as is no drede./ The book seith: that “somme folk han greet lust to deceyve, but yet they dreden hem to be deceyved.”/ Yet shaltou drede to been empoisoned, and kepe yow from the companye of scorneres./ For the book seith: “with scorneres2520 make no companye, but flee hir wordes as venim.”/

§ 32. Now as to the seconde point, wher-as your wyse conseillours conseilled yow to warnestore your hous with gret diligence,/ I wolde fayn knowe, how that ye understonde thilke wordes, and what is your sentence.’/

§ 33. Melibeus answerde and seyde, ‘Certes I understande it in this wise; that I shal warnestore myn hous with toures, swiche as han castelles and othere manere edifices, and armure and artelleries, / by whiche thinges I may my persone and myn hous so kepen and defenden, that myne enemys shul been in drede myn hous for to approche.’/

§ 34. To this sentence answerde anon Prudence; ‘warnestoring,’ quod she, ‘of heighe toures and of grete edifices apperteneth2525 som-tyme to pryde; / and eek men make heighe toures and grete edifices with grete costages and with greet travaille; and whan that they been accompliced, yet be they nat worth a stree, but-if they be defended by trewe freendes that been olde and wyse. / And understond wel, that the gretteste and strongeste garnison that a riche man may have, as wel to kepen his persone as hise goodes, is/ that he be biloved amonges his subgets and with hise neighebores./ For thus seith Tullius: that “ther is a maner garnison that no man may venquisse ne disconfite, and that is,/2530 a lord to be biloved of hise citezeins and of his peple.”/

§ 35. Now sir, as to the thridde point; wher-as your olde and wise conseillours seyden, that yow ne oghte nat sodeynly ne hastily proceden in this nede,/ but that yow oghte purveyen and apparaillen yow in this caas with greet diligence and greet deliberacioun;/ trewely, I trowe that they seyden right wysly and right sooth./ For Tullius seith, “in every nede, er thou biginne it, apparaille thee with greet diligence.”/ Thanne seye I, that in vengeance-taking, in werre, in bataille, and in warnestoring,/ er2535 thow biginne, I rede that thou apparaille thee ther-to, and do it with greet deliberacioun./ For Tullius seith: that “long apparailling biforn the bataille maketh short victorie.” / And Cassidorus seith: “the garnison is stronger whan it is longe tyme avysed.”/

§ 36. But now lat us speken of the conseil that was accorded by your neighebores, swiche as doon yow reverence withouten love,/ your olde enemys reconsiled, your flatereres/ that conseilled2540 yow certeyne thinges prively, and openly conseilleden yow the contrarie;/ the yonge folk also, that conseilleden yow to venge yow and make werre anon./ And certes, sir, as I have seyd biforn, ye han greetly erred to han cleped swich maner folk to your conseil;/ which conseillours been y-nogh repreved by the resouns afore-seyd./ But nathelees, lat us now descende to the special. Ye shuln first procede after the doctrine of Tullius./2545 Certes, the trouthe of this matere or of this conseil nedeth nat diligently enquere;/ for it is wel wist whiche they been that han doon to yow this trespas and vileinye,/ and how manye trespassours, and in what manere they han to yow doon al this wrong and al this vileinye./ And after this, thanne shul ye examine the seconde condicioun, which that the same Tullius addeth in this matere./ For Tullius put a thing, which that he clepeth “consentinge,” this is to seyn;/ who been they and how manye, and2550 whiche been they, that consenteden to thy conseil, in thy wilfulnesse to doon hastif vengeance. / And lat us considere also who been they, and how manye been they, and whiche been they, that consenteden to your adversaries./ And certes, as to the firste poynt, it is wel knowen whiche folk been they that consenteden to your hastif wilfulnesse;/ for trewely, alle tho that conseilleden yow to maken sodeyn werre ne been nat your freendes./ Lat us now considere whiche been they, that ye holde so greetly your freendes as to your persone./ For al-be-it so that ye be mighty2555 and riche, certes ye ne been nat but allone./ For certes, ye ne han no child but a doghter;/ ne ye ne han bretheren ne cosins germayns, ne noon other neigh kinrede,/ wherfore that your enemys, for drede, sholde stinte to plede with yow or to destroye your persone./ Ye knowen also, that your richesses moten been2560 dispended in diverse parties;/ and whan that every wight hath his part, they ne wollen taken but litel reward to venge thy deeth./ But thyne enemys been three, and they han manie children, bretheren, cosins, and other ny kinrede;/ and, though so were that thou haddest slayn of hem two or three, yet dwellen ther y-nowe to wreken hir deeth and to slee thy persone./ And though so be that your kinrede be more siker and stedefast than the kin of your adversarie,/ yet nathelees your kinrede nis but a fer2565 kinrede; they been but litel sib to yow, / and the kin of your enemys been ny sib to hem. And certes, as in that, hir condicioun is bet than youres./ Thanne lat us considere also if the conseilling of hem that conseilleden yow to taken sodeyn vengeaunce, whether it accorde to resoun?/ And certes, ye knowe wel “nay.”/ For as by right and resoun, ther may no man taken vengeance on no wight, but the Iuge that hath the Iurisdiccioun of it,/ whan it is graunted him to take thilke vengeance, hastily or attemprely,2570 as the lawe requireth./ And yet more-over, of thilke word that Tullius clepeth “consentinge,”/ thou shalt considere if thy might and thy power may consenten and suffyse to thy wilfulnesse and to thy conseillours./ And certes, thou mayst wel seyn that “nay.”/ For sikerly, as for to speke proprely, we may do no-thing but only swich thing as we may doon rightfully./ And certes, rightfully2575 ne mowe ye take no vengeance as of your propre auctoritee./ Thanne mowe ye seen, that your power ne consenteth nat ne accordeth nat with your wilfulnesse./ Lat us now examine the thridde point that Tullius clepeth “consequent.”/ Thou shalt understonde that the vengeance that thou purposest for to take is the consequent./ And ther-of folweth another vengeaunce, peril, and werre; and othere damages with-oute nombre, of whiche we be nat war as at this tyme./ And as touchinge the2580 fourthe point, that Tullius clepeth “engendringe,”/ thou shalt considere, that this wrong which that is doon to thee is engendred of the hate of thyne enemys;/ and of the vengeance-takinge upon that wolde engendre another vengeance, and muchel sorwe and wastinge of richesses, as I seyde./

§ 37. Now sir, as to the point that Tullius clepeth “causes,” which that is the laste point, / thou shalt understonde that the wrong that thou hast receyved hath certeine causes, / whiche that clerkes clepen Oriens and Efficiens, and Causa longinqua and Causa propinqua; this is to seyn, the fer cause and the ny cause./2585 The fer cause is almighty god, that is cause of alle thinges./ The neer cause is thy three enemys./ The cause accidental was hate./ The cause material been the fyve woundes of thy doghter./ The cause formal is the manere of hir werkinge, that broghten laddres and cloumben in at thy windowes./ The cause final was2590 for to slee thy doghter; it letted nat in as muche as in hem was./ But for to speken of the fer cause, as to what ende they shul come, or what shal finally bityde of hem in this caas, ne can I nat deme but by coniectinge and by supposinge./ For we shul suppose that they shul come to a wikked ende,/ by-cause that the Book of Decrees seith: “selden or with greet peyne been causes y-broght to good ende whanne they been baddely bigonne.” /

§ 38. Now sir, if men wolde axe me, why that god suffred men to do yow this vileinye, certes, I can nat wel answere as for no sothfastnesse./ For thapostle seith, that “the sciences and2595 the Iuggementz of our lord god almighty been ful depe;/ ther may no man comprehende ne serchen hem suffisantly.”/ Nathelees, by certeyne presumpcions and coniectinges, I holde and bileve/ that god, which that is ful of Iustice and of rightwisnesse, hath suffred this bityde by Iuste cause resonable./

§ 39. Thy name is Melibee, this is to seyn, “a man that drinketh hony.”/ Thou hast y-dronke so muchel hony of swete2600 temporel richesses and delices and honours of this world, / that thou art dronken; and hast forgeten Iesu Crist thy creatour;/ thou ne hast nat doon to him swich honour and reverence as thee oughte./ Ne thou ne hast nat wel y-taken kepe to the wordes of Ovide, that seith:/ “under the hony of the godes of the body is hid the venim that sleeth the soule.”/ And Salomon seith, “if2605 thou hast founden hony, ete of it that suffyseth;/ for if thou ete of it out of mesure, thou shalt spewe,” and be nedy and povre./ And peraventure Crist hath thee in despit, and hath turned awey fro thee his face and hise eres of misericorde; / and also he hath suffred that thou hast been punisshed in the manere that thow 2610 hast y-trespassed./ Thou hast doon sinne agayn our lord Crist;/ for certes, the three enemys of mankinde, that is to seyn, the flessh, the feend, and the world, / thou hast suffred hem entre in-to thyn herte wilfully by the windowes of thy body, / and hast nat defended thy-self suffisantly agayns hir assautes and hir temptaciouns, so that they han wounded thy soule in fyve places;/ this is to seyn, the deedly sinnes that been entred in-to thyn herte by thy fyve wittes./ And in the same manere our lord Crist hath wold and suffred, that thy three enemys been entred2615 in-to thyn hous by the windowes,/ and han y-wounded thy doghter in the fore-seyde manere.’/

§ 40. ‘Certes,’ quod Melibee, ‘I see wel that ye enforce yow muchel by wordes to overcome me in swich manere, that I shal nat venge me of myne enemys;/ shewinge me the perils and the yveles that mighten falle of this vengeance./ But who-so wolde considere in alle vengeances the perils and yveles that mighte sewe of vengeance-takinge,/ a man wolde never take vengeance,2620 and that were harm;/ for by the vengeance-takinge been the wikked men dissevered fro the gode men./ And they that han wil to do wikkednesse restreyne hir wikked purpos, whan they seen the punissinge and chastysinge of the trespassours.’/ [And to this answerde dame Prudence: ‘Certes,’ seyde she, ‘I graunte wel that of vengeaunce cometh muchel yvel and muchel good; / but vengeaunce-taking aperteneth nat unto everichoon, but only unto Iuges and unto hem that han Iurisdiccioun upon the trespassours.] / And yet seye I more, that right as a singuler2625 persone sinneth in takinge vengeance of another man,/ right so sinneth the Iuge if he do no vengeance of hem that it han deserved. / For Senek seith thus: “that maister,” he seith, “is good that proveth shrewes.”/ And as Cassidore seith: “A man dredeth to do outrages, whan he woot and knoweth that it displeseth to the Iuges and sovereyns.”/ And another seith: “the Iuge that dredeth to do right, maketh men shrewes.” / And Seint Paule the apostle seith in his epistle, whan he wryteth un-to the2630 Romayns: that “the Iuges beren nat the spere with-outen cause;”/ but they beren it to punisse the shrewes and misdoeres, and for to defende the gode men. / If ye wol thanne take vengeance of your enemys, ye shul retourne or have your recours to the Iuge that hath the Iurisdiccion up-on hem;/ and he shal punisse hem as the lawe axeth and requyreth.’/

§ 41. ‘A!’ quod Melibee, ‘this vengeance lyketh me no-thing./ I bithenke me now and take hede, how fortune hath norissed me fro my childhede, and hath holpen me to passe many a strong pas./ Now wol I assayen hir, trowinge, with goddes help, that she2635 shal helpe me my shame for to venge.’/

§ 42. ‘Certes,’ quod Prudence, ‘if ye wol werke by my conseil, ye shul nat assaye fortune by no wey;/ ne ye shul nat lene or bowe unto hir, after the word of Senek:/ for “thinges that been folily doon, and that been in hope of fortune, shullen never come to good ende.”/ And as the same Senek seith: “the more cleer and the more shyning that fortune is, the more brotil and the sonner broken she is.”/ Trusteth nat in hir, for she nis nat2640 stidefast ne stable;/ for whan thow trowest to be most seur or siker of hir help, she wol faille thee and deceyve thee. / And wheras ye seyn that fortune hath norissed yow fro your childhede,/ I seye, that in so muchel shul ye the lasse truste in hir and in hir wit./ For Senek seith: “what man that is norissed by fortune, she maketh him a greet fool.”/ Now thanne, sin ye desyre and2645 axe vengeance, and the vengeance that is doon after the lawe and bifore the Iuge ne lyketh yow nat, / and the vengeance that is doon in hope of fortune is perilous and uncertein, / thanne have ye noon other remedie but for to have your recours unto the sovereyn Iuge that vengeth alle vileinyes and wronges;/ and he shal venge yow after that him-self witnesseth, wher-as he seith:/ “leveth the vengeance to me, and I shal do it.” ’/2650

§ 43. Melibee answerde, ‘if I ne venge me nat of the vileinye that men han doon to me, / I sompne or warne hem that han doon to me that vileinye and alle othere, to do me another vileinye./ For it is writen: “if thou take no vengeance of an old vileinye, thou sompnest thyne adversaries to do thee a newe vileinye.”/ And also, for my suffrance, men wolden do to me so muchel vileinye, that I mighte neither bere it ne sustene;/ and so sholde I been put and holden over lowe./ For men seyn: “in muchel2655 suffringe shul manye thinges falle un-to thee whiche thou shalt nat mowe suffre.” ’/

§ 44. ‘Certes,’ quod Prudence, ‘I graunte yow that over muchel suffraunce nis nat good;/ but yet ne folweth it nat ther-of, that every persone to whom men doon vileinye take of it vengeance;/ for that aperteneth and longeth al only to the Iuges, for they shul venge the vileinyes and iniuries./ And ther-fore tho two auctoritees that ye han seyd above, been only understonden2660 in the Iuges;/ for whan they suffren over muchel the wronges and the vileinyes to be doon withouten punisshinge, / they sompne nat a man al only for to do newe wronges, but they comanden it./ Also a wys man seith: that “the Iuge that correcteth nat the sinnere comandeth and biddeth him do sinne.”/ And the Iuges and sovereyns mighten in hir land so muchel suffre of the shrewes and misdoeres, / that they sholden by swich suffrance, by proces of tyme, wexen of swich power and might, that they sholden putte2665 out the Iuges and the sovereyns from hir places, / and atte laste maken hem lesen hir lordshipes./

§ 45. But lat us now putte, that ye have leve to venge yow./ I seye ye been nat of might and power as now to venge yow./ For if ye wole maken comparisoun un-to the might of your adversaries, ye shul finde in manye thinges, that I have shewed yow er this, that hir condicioun is bettre than youres./ And therefore2670 seye I, that it is good as now that ye suffre and be pacient./

§ 46. Forther-more, ye knowen wel that, after the comune sawe, “it is a woodnesse a man to stryve with a strenger or a more mighty man than he is him-self;/ and for to stryve with a man of evene strengthe, that is to seyn, with as strong a man as he, it is peril;/ and for to stryve with a weyker man, it is folie.”/ And therfore sholde a man flee stryvinge as muchel as he mighte./ For Salomon seith: “it is a greet worship to a man to kepen2675 him fro noyse and stryf.”/ And if it so bifalle or happe that a man of gretter might and strengthe than thou art do thee grevaunce, / studie and bisie thee rather to stille the same grevaunce, than for to venge thee./ For Senek seith: that “he putteth him in greet peril that stryveth with a gretter man than he is him-self.”/ And Catoun seith: “if a man of hyer estaat or degree, or more mighty than thou, do thee anoy or grevaunce, suffre him;/ for he that ones hath greved thee may another tyme releve thee and2680 helpe.” / Yet sette I caas, ye have bothe might and licence for to venge yow./ I seye, that ther be ful manye thinges that shul restreyne yow of vengeance-takinge, / and make yow for to enclyne to suffre, and for to han pacience in the thinges that han been doon to yow./ First and foreward, if ye wole considere the defautes that been in your owene persone, / for whiche defautes god hath suffred yow have this tribulacioun, as I have seyd yow heer-biforn./ For the poete seith, that “we oghte paciently taken2685 the tribulacions that comen to us, whan we thinken and consideren that we han deserved to have hem.” / And Seint Gregorie seith: that “whan a man considereth wel the nombre of hise defautes and of his sinnes,/ the peynes and the tribulaciouns that he suffreth semen the lesse un-to hym;/ and in-as-muche as him thinketh hise sinnes more hevy and grevous, / in-so-muche semeth his peyne the lighter and the esier un-to him.”/ Also ye owen2690 to enclyne and bowe your herte to take the pacience of our lord Iesu Crist, as seith seint Peter in hise epistles:/ “Iesu Crist,” he seith, “hath suffred for us, and yeven ensample to every man to folwe and sewe him;/ for he dide never sinne, ne never cam ther a vileinous word out of his mouth: / whan men cursed him, he cursed hem noght; and whan men betten him, he manaced hem noght.”/ Also the grete pacience, which the seintes that been in paradys han had in tribulaciouns that they han y-suffred, with-outen hir desert or gilt,/ oghte muchel stiren yow to pacience./2695 Forthermore, ye sholde enforce yow to have pacience, / consideringe that the tribulaciouns of this world but litel whyle endure, and sone passed been and goon. / And the Ioye that a man seketh to have by pacience in tribulaciouns is perdurable, after that the apostle seith in his epistle:/ “the Ioye of god,” he seith, “is perdurable,” that is to seyn, everlastinge./ Also troweth and2700 bileveth stedefastly, that he nis nat wel y-norissed ne wel y-taught, that can nat have pacience or wol nat receyve pacience./ For Salomon seith: that “the doctrine and the wit of a man is knowen by pacience.”/ And in another place he seith: that “he that is pacient governeth him by greet prudence.”/ And the same Salomon seith: “the angry and wrathful man maketh noyses, and the pacient man atempreth hem and stilleth.”/ He seith also: “it is more worth to be pacient than for to be right strong;/ and he that2705 may have the lordshipe of his owene herte is more to preyse, than he that by his force or strengthe taketh grete citees.”/ And therfore seith seint Iame in his epistle: that “pacience is a greet vertu of perfeccioun.” ’/

§ 47. ‘Certes,’ quod Melibee, ‘I graunte yow, dame Prudence, that pacience is a greet vertu of perfeccioun;/ but every man may nat have the perfeccioun that ye seken;/ ne I nam nat of2710 the nombre of right parfite men, / for myn herte may never been in pees un-to the tyme it be venged./ And al-be-it so that it was greet peril to myne enemys, to do me a vileinye in takinge vengeance up-on me, / yet token they noon hede of the peril, but fulfilleden hir wikked wil and hir corage./ And therfore, me thinketh men oghten nat repreve me, though I putte me in a litel peril for to venge me, / and though I do a greet excesse, that is to seyn,2715 that I venge oon outrage by another.’/

§ 48. ‘A!’ quod dame Prudence, ‘ye seyn your wil and as yow lyketh; / but in no caas of the world a man sholde nat doon outrage ne excesse for to vengen him./ For Cassidore seith: that “as yvel doth he that vengeth him by outrage, as he that doth the outrage.”/ And therfore ye shul venge yow after the ordre of right, that is to seyn by the lawe, and noght by excesse ne by outrage./ And also, if ye wol venge yow of the outrage of your2720 adversaries in other maner than right comandeth, ye sinnen;/ and therfore seith Senek: that “a man shal never vengen shrewednesse by shrewednesse.”/ And if ye seye, that right axeth a man to defenden violence by violence, and fighting by fighting,/ certes ye seye sooth, whan the defense is doon anon with-outen intervalle or with-outen tarying or delay, / for to defenden him and nat for to vengen him. / And it bihoveth that a man putte swich2725 attemperance in his defence, / that men have no cause ne matere to repreven him that defendeth him of excesse and outrage; for elles were it agayn resoun. / Pardee, ye knowen wel, that ye maken no defence as now for to defende yow, but for to venge yow; / and so seweth it that ye han no wil to do your dede attemprely. / And therfore, me thinketh that pacience is good. For Salomon seith: that “he that is nat pacient shal have greet harm.” ’/

§ 49. ‘Certes,’ quod Melibee, ‘I graunte yow, that whan a man is inpacient and wroth, of that that toucheth him noght and that aperteneth nat un-to him, though it harme him, it is no wonder./ For the lawe seith: that “he is coupable that entremetteth2730 or medleth with swich thyng as aperteneth nat un-to him.”/ And Salomon seith: that “he that entremetteth him of the noyse or stryf of another man, is lyk to him that taketh an hound by the eres.”/ For right as he that taketh a straunge hound by the eres is outherwhyle biten with the hound, / right in the same wyse is it resoun that he have harm, that by his inpacience medleth him of the noyse of another man, wher-as it aperteneth nat un-to him./ But ye knowen wel that this dede, that is to seyn, my grief and my disese, toucheth me right ny./ And therfore, though2735 I be wroth and inpacient, it is no merveille./ And savinge your grace, I can nat seen that it mighte greetly harme me though I toke vengeaunce; / for I am richer and more mighty than myne enemys been./ And wel knowen ye, that by moneye and by havinge grete possessions been all the thinges of this world governed./ And Salomon seith: that “alle thinges obeyen to moneye.” ’/2740

§ 50. Whan Prudence hadde herd hir housbonde avanten him of his richesse and of his moneye, dispreisinge the power of hise adversaries, she spak, and seyde in this wyse:/ ‘certes, dere sir, I graunte yow that ye been rich and mighty, / and that the richesses been goode to hem that han wel y-geten hem and wel conne usen hem./ For right as the body of a man may nat liven with-oute the soule, namore may it live with-outen temporel goodes. / And by richesses may a man gete him grete freendes. /2745 And therfore seith Pamphilles: “if a net-herdes doghter,” seith he, “be riche, she may chesen of a thousand men which she wol take to hir housbonde; / for, of a thousand men, oon wol nat forsaken hir ne refusen hir.”/ And this Pamphilles seith also: “if thou be right happy, that is to seyn, if thou be right riche, thou shalt find a greet nombre of felawes and freendes./ And if thy fortune change that thou wexe povre, farewel freendshipe and felaweshipe;/ for thou shalt be allone with-outen any companye, but-if it be the companye of povre folk.” / And yet seith this2750 Pamphilles moreover: that “they that been thralle and bonde of linage shullen been maad worthy and noble by the richesses.”/ And right so as by richesses ther comen manye goodes, right so by poverte come ther manye harmes and yveles./ For greet poverte constreyneth a man to do manye yveles./ And therfore clepeth Cassidore poverte “the moder of ruine,” / that is to seyn,2755 the moder of overthrowinge or fallinge doun./ And therfore seith Piers Alfonce: “oon of the gretteste adversitees of this world is / whan a free man, by kinde or by burthe, is constreyned by poverte to eten the almesse of his enemy.”/ And the same seith Innocent in oon of hise bokes; he seith: that “sorweful and mishappy is the condicioun of a povre begger;/ for if he axe nat his mete, he dyeth for hunger;/ and if he axe, he dyeth2760 for shame; and algates necessitee constreyneth him to axe.”/ And therfore seith Salomon: that “bet it is to dye than for to have swich poverte.”/ And as the same Salomon seith: “bettre it is to dye of bitter deeth than for to liven in swich wyse.”/ By thise resons that I have seid un-to yow, and by manye othere resons that I coude seye, / I graunte yow that richesses been goode to hem that geten hem wel, and to hem that wel usen tho richesses./ And therfore wol I shewe yow how ye shul have yow, and how ye shul bere yow in gaderinge of richesses, and in2765 what manere ye shul usen hem./

§ 51. First, ye shul geten hem with-outen greet desyr, by good leyser sokingly, and nat over hastily. / For a man that is to desyringe to gete richesses abaundoneth him first to thefte and to alle other yveles./ And therfore seith Salomon: “he that hasteth him to bisily to wexe riche shal be noon innocent.”/ He seith also: that “the richesse that hastily cometh to a man, sone and lightly gooth and passeth fro a man;/ but that richesse that2770 cometh litel and litel wexeth alwey and multiplyeth.”/ And sir, ye shul geten richesses by your wit and by your travaille un-to your profit;/ and that with-outen wrong or harm-doinge to any other persone./ For the lawe seith: that “ther maketh no man himselven riche, if he do harm to another wight;”/ this is to seyn, that nature defendeth and forbedeth by right, that no man make him-self riche un-to the harm of another persone./ And Tullius seith: that “no sorwe ne no drede of deeth, ne no-thing2775 that may falle un-to a man / is so muchel agayns nature, as a man to encressen his owene profit to the harm of another man./ And though the grete men and the mighty men geten richesses more lightly than thou, / yet shaltou nat been ydel ne slow to do thy profit; for thou shalt in alle wyse flee ydelnesse.”/ For Salomon seith: that “ydelnesse techeth a man to do manye yveles.”/ And the same Salomon seith: that “he that travailleth and bisieth him to tilien his land, shal eten breed;/ but he that is2780 ydel and casteth him to no bisinesse ne occupacioun, shal falle in-to poverte, and dye for hunger.”/ And he that is ydel and slow can never finde covenable tyme for to doon his profit / For ther is a versifiour seith: that “the ydel man excuseth hym in winter, by cause of the grete cold; and in somer, by enchesoun of the hete.”/ For thise causes seith Caton: “waketh and enclyneth nat yow over muchel for to slepe; for over muchel reste norisseth and causeth manye vices.”/ And therfore seith seint Ierome: “doth somme gode dedes, that the devel which is our enemy ne finde yow nat unoccupied.” / For the devel ne taketh2785 nat lightly un-to his werkinge swiche as he findeth occupied in gode werkes.”/

§ 52. Thanne thus, in getinge richesses, ye mosten flee ydelnesse./ And afterward, ye shul use the richesses, whiche ye have geten by your wit and by your travaille, / in swich a manere, that men holde nat yow to scars, ne to sparinge, ne to fool-large, that is to seyn, over-large a spender./ For right as men blamen an avaricious man by-cause of his scarsetee and chincherye, / in the2790 same wyse is he to blame that spendeth over largely./ And therfore seith Caton: “use,” he seith, “thy richesses that thou hast geten / in swich a manere, that men have no matere ne cause to calle thee neither wrecche ne chinche;/ for it is a greet shame to a man to have a povere herte and a riche purs.”/ He seith also: “the goodes that thou hast y-geten, use hem by mesure,” that is to seyn, spende hem mesurably;/ for they that2795 folily wasten and despenden the goodes that they han,/ whan they han namore propre of hir owene, they shapen hem to take the goodes of another man./ I seye thanne, that ye shul fleen avarice;/ usinge your richesses in swich manere, that men seye nat that your richesses been y-buried, / but that ye have hem in 2800 your might and in your weeldinge./ For a wys man repreveth the avaricious man, and seith thus, in two vers:/ “wherto and why burieth a man hise goodes by his grete avarice, and knoweth wel that nedes moste he dye;/ for deeth is the ende of every man as in this present lyf.”/ And for what cause or enchesoun Ioyneth he him or knitteth he him so faste un-to hise goodes,/ that alle his wittes mowen nat disseveren him or departen him2805 from hise goodes;/ and knoweth wel, or oghte knowe, that whan he is deed, he shal no-thing bere with him out of this world./ And ther-fore seith seint Augustin: that “the avaricious man is likned un-to helle;/ that the more it swelweth, the more desyr it hath to swelwe and devoure.”/ And as wel as ye wolde eschewe to be called an avaricious man or chinche,/ as wel sholde ye kepe yow and governe yow in swich a wyse that men2810 calle yow nat fool-large./ Therfore seith Tullius: “the goodes,” he seith, “of thyn hous ne sholde nat been hid, ne kept so cloos but that they mighte been opened by pitee and debonairetee;”/ that is to seyn, to yeven part to hem that han greet nede;/ “ne thy goodes shullen nat been so opene, to been every mannes goodes.”/ Afterward, in getinge of your richesses and in usinge hem, ye shul alwey have three thinges in your herte;/ that is to2815 seyn, our lord god, conscience, and good name./ First, ye shul have god in your herte;/ and for no richesse ye shullen do nothing, which may in any manere displese god, that is your creatour and maker./ For after the word of Salomon: “it is bettre to have a litel good with the love of god, / than to have muchel good and tresour, and lese the love of his lord god.”/ And the prophete seith: that “bettre it is to been a good man and have2820 litel good and tresour,/ than to been holden a shrewe and have grete richesses.”/ And yet seye I ferthermore, that ye sholde alwey doon your bisinesse to gete yow richesses,/ so that ye gete hem with good conscience./ And thapostle seith: that “ther nis thing in this world, of which we sholden have so greet Ioye as whan our conscience bereth us good witnesse.”/ And the wyse man seith: “the substance of a man is ful good, whan sinne is2825 nat in mannes conscience.”/ Afterward, in getinge of your richesses, and in usinge of hem,/ yow moste have greet bisinesse and greet diligence, that your goode name be alwey kept and conserved./ For Salomon seith: that “bettre it is and more it availleth a man to have a good name, than for to have grete richesses.”/ And therfore he seith in another place: “do greet diligence,” seith Salomon, “in keping of thy freend and of thy gode name;/ for it shal lenger abide with thee than any tresour, be it never so precious.”/ And certes he sholde nat be called a gentil man,2830 that after god and good conscience, alle thinges left, ne dooth his diligence and bisinesse to kepen his good name./ And Cassidore seith: that “it is signe of a gentil herte, whan a man loveth and desyreth to han a good name.”/ And therfore seith seint Augustin: that “ther been two thinges that arn necessarie and nedefulle,/ and that is good conscience and good loos;/ that is to seyn, good conscience to thyn owene persone inward, and good loos for thy neighebore outward.”/ And he that trusteth him so2835 muchel in his gode conscience,/ that he displeseth and setteth at noght his gode name or loos, and rekketh noght though he kepe nat his gode name, nis but a cruel cherl. /

§ 53. Sire, now have I shewed yow how ye shul do in getinge richesses, and how ye shullen usen hem;/ and I se wel, that for the trust that ye han in youre richesses, ye wole moeve werre and bataille./ I conseille yow, that ye biginne no werre in trust of your richesses; for they ne suffysen noght werres to mayntene./2840 And therfore seith a philosophre: “that man that desyreth and wole algates han werre, shal never have suffisaunce;/ for the richer that he is, the gretter despenses moste he make, if he wole have worship and victorie.”/ And Salomon seith: that “the gretter richesses that a man hath, the mo despendours he hath.”/ And dere sire, al-be-it so that for your richesses ye mowe have muchel folk,/ yet bihoveth it nat, ne it is nat good, to biginne werre, where-as ye mowe in other manere have pees, un-to your worship and profit./ For the victories of batailles that been in2845 this world, lyen nat in greet nombre or multitude of the peple ne in the vertu of man;/ but it lyth in the wil and in the hand of our lord god almighty./ And therfore Iudas Machabeus, which was goddes knight, / whan he sholde fighte agayn his adversarie that hadde a greet nombre, and a gretter multitude of folk and strenger than was this peple of Machabee, / yet he reconforted his litel companye, and seyde right in this wyse:/ “als lightly,” quod2850 he, “may our lord god almighty yeve victorie to a fewe folk as to many folk;/ for the victorie of bataile cometh nat by the grete nombre of peple, / but it cometh from our lord god of hevene.” / And dere sir, for as muchel as there is no man certein, if he be worthy that god yeve him victorie, [namore than he is certein whether he be worthy of the love of god] or naught, after that Salomon seith, / therfore every man sholde greetly drede werres to2855 biginne./ And by-cause that in batailles fallen manye perils, / and happeth outher-while, that as sone is the grete man sleyn as the litel man;/ and, as it is written in the seconde book of Kinges, “the dedes of batailles been aventurouse and nothing certeyne;”/ for as lightly is oon hurt with a spere as another./ And for ther is gret peril in werre, therfore sholde a man flee and eschewe2860 werre, in as muchel as a man may goodly./ For Salomon seith: “he that loveth peril shal falle in peril.” ’/

§ 54. After that Dame Prudence hadde spoken in this manere, Melibee answerde and seyde, / ‘I see wel, dame Prudence, that by your faire wordes and by your resons that ye han shewed me, that the werre lyketh yow no-thing;/ but I have nat yet herd your conseil, how I shal do in this nede.’/

§ 55. ‘Certes,’ quod she, ‘I conseille yow that ye accorde2865 with youre adversaries, and that ye haue pees with hem./ For seint Iame seith in hise epistles: that “by concord and pees the smale richesses wexen grete, / and by debaat and discord the grete richesses fallen doun.”/ And ye knowen wel that oon of the gretteste and most sovereyn thing, that is in this world, is unitee and pees./ And therfore seyde oure lord Iesu Crist to hise apostles in this wyse:/ “wel happy and blessed been they that2870 loven and purchacen pees; for they been called children of god.” ’/ ‘A!’ quod Melibee, ‘now se I wel that ye loven nat myn honour ne my worshipe. / Ye knowen wel that myne adversaries han bigonnen this debaat and brige by hir outrage;/ and ye see wel that they ne requeren ne preyen me nat of pees, ne they asken nat to be reconsiled./ Wol ye thanne that I go and meke me and obeye me to hem, and crye hem mercy?/ For sothe, that were2875 nat my worship./ For right as men seyn, that “over-greet homlinesse engendreth dispreysinge,” so fareth it by to greet humylitee or mekenesse.’/

§ 56. Thanne bigan dame Prudence to maken semblant of wratthe, and seyde,/ ‘certes, sir, sauf your grace, I love your honour and your profit as I do myn owene, and ever have doon;/ ne ye ne noon other syen never the contrarie./ And yit, if I hadde seyd that ye sholde han purchaced the pees and the reconsiliacioun, I ne hadde nat muchel mistaken me, ne seyd amis./2880 For the wyse man seith: “the dissensioun biginneth by another man, and the reconsiling bi-ginneth by thy-self.”/ And the prophete seith: “flee shrewednesse and do goodnesse;/ seke pees and folwe it, as muchel as in thee is.”/ Yet seye I nat that ye shul rather pursue to your adversaries for pees than they shuln to yow;/ for I knowe wel that ye been so hard-herted, that ye wol do no-thing for me./ And Salomon seith: “he that hath overhard2885 an herte, atte laste he shal mishappe and mistyde.” ’/

§ 57. Whanne Melibee hadde herd dame Prudence maken semblant of wratthe, he seyde in this wyse, / ‘dame, I prey yow that ye be nat displesed of thinges that I seye;/ for ye knowe wel that I am angry and wrooth, and that is no wonder;/ and they that been wrothe witen nat wel what they doon, ne what they seyn./2890 Therfore the prophete seith: that “troubled eyen han no cleer sighte.”/ But seyeth and conseileth me as yow lyketh; for I am redy to do right as ye wol desyre;/ and if ye repreve me of my folye, I am the more holden to love yow and to preyse yow. / For Salomon seith: that “he that repreveth him that doth folye, / he shal finde gretter grace than he that deceyveth him by swete wordes.” ’/2895

§ 58. Thanne seide dame Prudence, ‘I make no semblant of wratthe ne anger but for your grete profit./ For Salomon seith: “he is more worth, that repreveth or chydeth a fool for his folye, shewinge him semblant of wratthe, / than he that supporteth him and preyseth him in his misdoinge, and laugheth at his folye.” / And this same Salomon seith afterward: that “by the sorweful visage of a man,” that is to seyn, by the sory and hevy countenaunce of a man, / “the fool correcteth and amendeth him-self.” ’/2900

§ 59. Thanne seyde Melibee, ‘I shal nat conne answere to so manye faire resouns as ye putten to me and shewen./ Seyeth shortly your wil and your conseil, and I am al ready to fulfille and parfourne it.’/

§ 60. Thanne dame Prudence discovered al hir wil to him, and seyde, / ‘I conseille yow,’ quod she, ‘aboven alle thinges, that ye make pees bitwene god and yow;/ and beth reconsiled un-to him2905 and to his grace./ For as I have seyd yow heer-biforn, god hath suffred yow to have this tribulacioun and disese for your sinnes./ And if ye do as I sey yow, god wol sende your adversaries un-to yow, / and maken hem fallen at your feet, redy to do your wil and your comandements./ For Salomon seith: “whan the condicioun of man is plesaunt and likinge to god, / he chaungeth the hertes of the mannes adversaries, and constreyneth hem to biseken him2910 of pees and of grace.”/ And I prey yow, lat me speke with your adversaries in privee place;/ for they shul nat knowe that it be of your wil or your assent./ And thanne, whan I knowe hir wil and hir entente, I may conseille yow the more seurly.’ /

§ 61. ‘Dame,’ quod Melibee, ‘dooth your wil and your lykinge, /2915 for I putte me hoolly in your disposicioun and ordinaunce.’/

§ 62. Thanne Dame Prudence, whan she saugh the gode wil of her housbonde, delibered and took avys in hir-self, / thinkinge how she mighte bringe this nede un-to a good conclusioun and to a good ende./ And whan she saugh hir tyme, she sente for thise adversaries to come un-to hir in-to a privee place, / and shewed wysly un-to hem the grete goodes that comen of pees, / and the2920 grete harmes and perils that been in werre;/ and seyde to hem in a goodly manere, how that hem oughte have greet repentaunce of the iniurie and wrong that they hadden doon to Melibee hir lord, and to hir, and to hir doghter. /

§ 63. And whan they herden the goodliche wordes of dame Prudence, / they weren so surprised and ravisshed, and hadden so greet Ioye of hir, that wonder was to telle. / ‘A! lady!’ quod they, ‘ye han shewed un-to us “the blessinge of swetnesse,” after the2925 sawe of David the prophete;/ for the reconsilinge which we been nat worthy to have in no manere, / but we oghte requeren it with greet contricioun and humilitee, / ye of your grete goodnesse have presented unto us./ Now see we wel that the science and the conninge of Salomon is ful trewe;/ for he seith: that “swete wordes multiplyen and encresen freendes, and maken shrewes to2930 be debonaire and meke.”/

§ 64. ‘Certes,’ quod they, ‘we putten our dede and al our matere and cause al hoolly in your goode wil;/ and been redy to obeye to the speche and comandement of my lord Melibee./ And therfore, dere and benigne lady, we preyen yow and biseke yow as mekely as we conne and mowen, / that it lyke un-to your grete goodnesse to fulfillen in dede your goodliche wordes;/ for we consideren and knowlichen that we han offended and greved my lord Melibee out of mesure;/ so ferforth, that we be nat of power2935 to maken hise amendes./ And therfore we oblige and binden us and our freendes to doon al his wil and hise comandements./ But peraventure he hath swich hevinesse and swich wratthe to us-ward, by-cause of our offence,/ that he wole enioyne us swich a peyne as we mowe nat bere ne sustene./ And therfore, noble lady, we biseke to your wommanly pitee, / to taken swich avysement2940 in this nede, that we, ne our freendes, be nat desherited ne destroyed thurgh our folye.’/

§ 65. ‘Certes,’ quod Prudence, ‘it is an hard thing and right perilous, / that a man putte him al outrely in the arbitracioun and Iuggement, and in the might and power of hise enemys./ For Salomon seith: “leveth me, and yeveth credence to that I shal seyn; I seye,” quod he, “ye peple, folk, and governours of holy chirche,/ to thy sone, to thy wyf, to thy freend, ne to thy brother/2945 ne yeve thou never might ne maistrie of thy body, whyl thou livest.”/ Now sithen he defendeth, that man shal nat yeven to his brother ne to his freend the might of his body, / by a strenger resoun he defendeth and forbedeth a man to yeven him-self to his enemy./ And nathelees I conseille you, that ye mistruste nat my lord./ For I woot wel and knowe verraily, that he is debonaire and meke, large, curteys, / and nothing desyrous ne coveitous of2950 good ne richesse./ For ther nis no-thing in this world that he desyreth, save only worship and honour./ Forther-more I knowe wel, and am right seur, that he shal no-thing doon in this nede with-outen my conseil./ And I shal so werken in this cause, that, by grace of our lord god, ye shul been reconsiled un-to us.’/

§ 66. Thanne seyden they with o vois, ‘worshipful lady, we putten us and our goodes al fully in your wil and disposicioun;/2955 and been redy to comen, what day that it lyke un-to your noblesse to limite us or assigne us, / for to maken our obligacioun and bond as strong as it lyketh un-to your goodnesse;/ that we mowe fulfille the wille of yow and of my lord Melibee.’/

§ 67. Whan dame Prudence hadde herd the answeres of thise men, she bad hem goon agayn prively;/ and she retourned to hir lord Melibee, and tolde him how she fond hise adversaries2960 ful repentant,/ knowlechinge ful lowely hir sinnes and trespas, and how they were redy to suffren al peyne,/ requiringe and preyinge him of mercy and pitee./

§ 68. Thanne seyde Melibee, ‘he is wel worthy to have pardoun and foryifnesse of his sinne, that excuseth nat his sinne,/ but knowlecheth it and repenteth him, axinge indulgence./ For Senek seith: “ther is the remissioun and foryifnesse, whereas2965 confessioun is;” / for confession is neighebore to innocence./ And he seith in another place: “he that hath shame for his sinne and knowlecheth it, is worthy remissioun.” And therfore I assente and conferme me to have pees;/ but it is good that we do it nat with-outen the assent and wil of our freendes.’ /

§ 69. Thanne was Prudence right glad and Ioyeful, and seyde,/2970 ‘Certes, sir,’ quod she, ‘ye han wel and goodly answered./ For right as by the conseil, assent, and help of your freendes, ye han been stired to venge yow and maken werre,/ right so with-outen hir conseil shul ye nat accorden yow, ne have pees with your adversaries./ For the lawe seith: “ther nis no-thing so good by wey of kinde, as a thing to been unbounde by him that it was y-bounde.” ’/

§ 70. And thanne dame Prudence, with-outen delay or taryinge, sente anon hir messages for hir kin, and for hir olde freendes whiche that were trewe and wyse, / and tolde hem by ordre, in the presence of Melibee, al this matere as it is aboven expressed and2975 declared;/ and preyden hem that they wolde yeven hir avys and conseil, what best were to doon in this nede. / And whan Melibees freendes hadde taken hir avys and deliberacioun of the forseide matere, / and hadden examined it by greet bisinesse and greet diligence, / they yave ful conseil for to have pees and reste;/ and that Melibee sholde receyve with good herte hise adversaries2980 to foryifnesse and mercy./

§ 71. And whan dame Prudence hadde herd the assent of hir lord Melibee, and the conseil of hise freendes, / accorde with hir wille and hir entencioun, / she was wonderly glad in hir herte, and seyde:/ ‘ther is an old proverbe,’ quod she, ‘seith: that “the goodnesse that thou mayst do this day, do it;/ and abyde nat ne delaye it nat til to-morwe.”/ And therfore I conseille that ye2985 sende your messages, swiche as been discrete and wyse,/ un-to your adversaries; tellinge hem, on your bihalve,/ that if they wole trete of pees and of accord, / that they shape hem, with-outen delay or tarying, to comen un-to us.’/ Which thing parfourned was in dede./ And whanne thise trespassours and repentinge2990 folk of hir folies, that is to seyn, the adversaries of Melibee,/ hadden herd what thise messagers seyden un-to hem,/ they weren right glad and Ioyeful, and answereden ful mekely and benignely,/ yeldinge graces and thankinges to hir lord Melibee and to al his companye;/ and shopen hem, with-outen delay, to go with the messagers, and obeye to the comandement of hir lord Melibee./2995

§ 72. And right anon they token hir wey to the court of Melibee,/ and token with hem somme of hir trewe freendes, to maken feith for hem and for to been hir borwes./ And whan they were comen to the presence of Melibee, he seyde hem thise wordes:/ ‘it standeth thus,’ quod Melibee, ‘and sooth it is, that ye,/ causeless, and with-outen skile and resoun,/3000 han doon grete iniuries and wronges to me and to my wyf Prudence, and to my doghter also./ For ye han entred in-to myn hous by violence, / and have doon swich outrage, that alle men knowen wel that ye have deserved the deeth; / and therfore wol I knowe and wite of yow, / whether ye wol putte the punissement and the chastysinge and the vengeance of this outrage in the wil of me and of my wyf Prudence; or ye wol nat?’ /3005

§ 73. Thanne the wyseste of hem three answerde for hem alle, and seyde:/ ‘sire,’ quod he, ‘we knowen wel, that we been unworthy to comen un-to the court of so greet a lord and so worthy as ye been./ For we han so greetly mistaken us, and han offended and agilt in swich a wyse agayn your heigh lordshipe,/ that trewely we han deserved the deeth. / But yet, for the grete goodnesse and debonairetee that all the world witnesseth of your persone, / we submitten us to the excellence and benignitee of your3010 gracious lordshipe, / and been redy to obeie to alle your comandements;/ bisekinge yow, that of your merciable pitee ye wol considere our grete repentaunce and lowe submissioun, / and graunten us foryevenesse of our outrageous trespas and offence./ For wel we knowe, that your liberal grace and mercy strecchen hem ferther in-to goodnesse, than doon our outrageouse giltes and3015 trespas in-to wikkednesse;/ al-be-it that cursedly and dampnably we han agilt agayn your heigh lordshipe.’ /

§ 74. Thanne Melibee took hem up fro the ground ful benignely, / and receyved hir obligaciouns and hir bondes by hir othes up-on hir plegges and borwes, / and assigned hem a certeyn day to retourne un-to his court, / for to accepte and receyve the sentence and Iugement that Melibee wolde comande to be doon3020 on hem by the causes afore-seyd;/ whiche thinges ordeyned, every man retourned to his hous./

§ 75. And whan that dame Prudence saugh hir tyme, she freyned and axed hir lord Melibee, / what vengeance he thoughte to taken of hise adversaries?/

§ 76. To which Melibee answerde and seyde, ‘certes,’ quod he, ‘I thinke and purpose me fully / to desherite hem of al that ever3025 they han, and for to putte hem in exil for ever.’/

§ 77. ‘Certes,’ quod dame Prudence, ‘this were a cruel sentence, and muchel agayn resoun. / For ye been riche y-nough, and han no nede of other mennes good;/ and ye mighte lightly in this wyse gete yow a coveitous name, / which is a vicious thing, and oghte been eschewed of every good man./ For after the3030 sawe of the word of the apostle: “coveitise is rote of alle harmes.”/ And therfore, it were bettre for yow to lese so muchel good of your owene, than for to taken of hir good in this manere./ For bettre it is to lesen good with worshipe, than it is to winne good with vileinye and shame. / And every man oghte to doon his diligence and his bisinesse to geten him a good name./ And yet shal he nat only bisie him in kepinge of his good name, / but he shal also enforcen him alwey to do som-thing by which he may3035 renovelle his good name;/ for it is writen, that “the olde good loos or good name of a man is sone goon and passed, whan it is nat newed ne renovelled.” / And as touchinge that ye seyn, ye wole exile your adversaries,/ that thinketh me muchel agayn resoun and out of mesure, / considered the power that they han yeve yow up-on hem-self./ And it is writen, that “he is worthy to lesen his privilege that misuseth the might and the power that is yeven him.”/ And I sette cas ye mighte enioyne hem that peyne by3040 right and by lawe,/ which I trowe ye mowe nat do,/ I seye, ye mighte nat putten it to execucioun per-aventure,/ and thanne were it lykly to retourne to the werre as it was biforn./ And therfore, if ye wole that men do yow obeisance, ye moste demen more curteisly;/ this is to seyn, ye moste yeven more esy3045 sentences and Iugements./ For it is writen, that “he that most curteisly comandeth, to him men most obeyen.”/ And therfore, I prey yow that in this necessitee and in this nede, ye caste yow to overcome your herte./ For Senek seith: that “he that overcometh his herte, overcometh twyes.”/ And Tullius seith: “ther is nothing so comendable in a greet lord / as whan he is debonaire and3050 meke, and appeseth him lightly.” / And I prey yow that ye wole forbere now to do vengeance,/ in swich a manere, that your goode name may be kept and conserved;/ and that men mowe have cause and matere to preyse yow of pitee and of mercy;/ and that ye have no cause to repente yow of thing that ye doon./ For3055 Senek seith: “he overcometh in an yvel manere, that repenteth him of his victorie.”/ Wherfore I pray yow, lat mercy been in your minde and in your herte, / to theffect and entente that god almighty have mercy on yow in his laste Iugement./ For seint Iame seith in his epistle: “Iugement withouten mercy shal be doon to him, that hath no mercy of another wight.” ’/

§ 78. Whanne Melibee hadde herd the grete skiles and resouns of dame Prudence, and hir wise informaciouns and techinges,/3060 his herte gan enclyne to the wil of his wyf, consideringe hir trewe entente;/ and conformed him anon, and assented fully to werken after hir conseil;/ and thonked god, of whom procedeth al vertu and alle goodnesse, that him sente a wyf of so greet discrecioun./ And whan the day cam that hise adversaries sholde apperen in his presence, / he spak unto hem ful goodly, and seyde in this wyse:/ ‘al-be-it so that of your pryde and presumpcioun3065 and folie, and of your necligence and unconninge,/ ye have misborn yow and trespassed un-to me;/ yet, for as much as I see and biholde your grete humilitee,/ and that ye been sory and repentant of your giltes,/ it constreyneth me to3070 doon yow grace and mercy./ Therfore I receyve yow to my grace,/ and foryeve yow outrely alle the offences, iniuries, and wronges, that ye have doon agayn me and myne;/ to this effect and to this ende, that god of his endelees mercy / wole at the tyme of our dyinge foryeven us our giltes that we han trespassed to him in this wrecched world./ For doutelees, if we be sory and repentant of the sinnes and giltes whiche we han trespassed3075 in the sighte of our lord god, / he is so free and so merciable,/ that he wole foryeven us our giltes, / and bringen us to his blisse3078 that never hath ende. Amen.’ /

THE MONK’S PROLOGUE.
(T. 13895-13924.)

The mery wordes of the Host to the Monk.

• WHAN ended was my tale of Melibee,
• And of Prudence and hir benignitee,3080
• Our hoste seyde, ‘as I am faithful man,
• And by the precious corpus Madrian,
• I hadde lever than a barel ale
• That goode lief my wyf hadde herd this tale!
• For she nis no-thing of swich pacience3085
• As was this Melibeus wyf Prudence.
• By goddes bones! whan I bete my knaves,
• She bringth me forth the grete clobbed staves,(10)
• And cryeth, “slee the dogges everichoon,
• And brek hem, bothe bak and every boon.”3090
• And if that any neighebor of myne
• Wol nat in chirche to my wyf enclyne,
• Or be so hardy to hir to trespace,
• Whan she comth hoom, she rampeth in my face,
• And cryeth, “false coward, wreek thy wyf,3095
• By corpus bones! I wol have thy knyf,
• And thou shalt have my distaf and go spinne!”
• Fro day to night right thus she wol biginne;—(20)
• “Allas!” she seith, “that ever I was shape
• To wedde a milksop or a coward ape,3100
• That wol be overlad with every wight!
• Thou darst nat stonden by thy wyves right!”
• This is my lyf, but-if that I wol fighte;
• And out at dore anon I moot me dighte,
• Or elles I am but lost, but-if that I3105
• Be lyk a wilde leoun fool-hardy.
• I woot wel she wol do me slee som day
• Som neighebor, and thanne go my wey.(30)
• For I am perilous with knyf in honde,
• Al be it that I dar nat hir withstonde,3110
• For she is big in armes, by my feith,
• That shal he finde, that hir misdooth or seith.
• But lat us passe awey fro this matere.
• My lord the Monk,’ quod he, ‘be mery of chere;
• For ye shul telle a tale trewely.3115
• Lo! Rouchestre stant heer faste by!
• Ryd forth, myn owene lord, brek nat our game,
• But, by my trouthe, I knowe nat your name,(40)
• Wher shal I calle yow my lord dan Iohn,
• Or dan Thomas, or elles dan Albon?3120
• Of what hous be ye, by your fader kin?
• I vow to god, thou hast a ful fair skin,
• It is a gentil pasture ther thou goost;
• Thou art nat lyk a penaunt or a goost.
• Upon my feith, thou art som officer,3125
• Som worthy sexteyn, or som celerer,
• For by my fader soule, as to my doom,
• Thou art a maister whan thou art at hoom;(50)
• No povre cloisterer , ne no novys,
• But a governour, wyly and wys.3130
• And therwithal of brawnes and of bones
• A wel-faring persone for the nones.
• I pray to god, yeve him confusioun
• That first thee broghte un-to religioun;
• Thou woldest han been a trede-foul aright.3135
• Haddestow as greet a leve, as thou hast might
• To parfourne al thy lust in engendrure,
• Thou haddest bigeten many a creature.(60)
• Alas! why werestow so wyd a cope?
• God yeve me sorwe! but, and I were a pope,3140
• Not only thou, but every mighty man,
• Thogh he were shorn ful hye upon his pan,
• Sholde have a wyf; for al the world is lorn!
• Religioun hath take up al the corn
• Of treding, and we borel men ben shrimpes!3145
• Of feble trees ther comen wrecched impes.
• This maketh that our heires been so sclendre
• And feble, that they may nat wel engendre.(70)
• This maketh that our wyves wol assaye
• Religious folk, for ye may bettre paye3150
• Of Venus payements than mowe we;
• God woot, no lussheburghes payen ye!
• But be nat wrooth, my lord, for that I pleye;
• Ful ofte in game a sooth I have herd seye.’
• This worthy monk took al in pacience,3155
• And seyde, ‘I wol doon al my diligence,
• As fer as souneth in-to honestee,
• To telle yow a tale, or two, or three.(80)
• And if yow list to herkne hiderward,
• I wol yow seyn the lyf of seint Edward;3160
• Or elles first Tragedies wol I telle
• Of whiche I have an hundred in my celle.
• Tragedie is to seyn a certeyn storie,
• As olde bokes maken us memorie,
• Of him that stood in greet prosperitee3165
• And is y-fallen out of heigh degree
• Into miserie, and endeth wrecchedly.
• And they ben versifyed comunly(90)
• Of six feet, which men clepe exametron.
• In prose eek been endyted many oon,3170
• And eek in metre, in many a sondry wyse.
• Lo! this declaring oughte y-nough suffise.
• Now herkneth, if yow lyketh for to here;
• But first I yow biseke in this matere,
• Though I by ordre telle nat thise thinges,3175
• Be it of popes, emperours, or kinges,
• After hir ages, as men writen finde,
• But telle hem som bifore and som bihinde,(100)
• As it now comth un-to my remembraunce;
• Have me excused of myn ignoraunce.’3180

Explicit.

THE MONKES TALE.

Here biginneth the Monkes Tale, de Casibus Virorum Illustrium.

• I WOL biwayle in maner of Tragedie
• The harm of hem that stode in heigh degree,
• And fillen so that ther nas no remedie
• To bringe hem out of hir adversitee;
• For certein, whan that fortune list to flee,3185
• Ther may no man the cours of hir withholde;
• Lat no man truste on blind prosperitee;
• Be war by thise ensamples trewe and olde.

• Lucifer.
• At Lucifer, though he an angel were,
• And nat a man, at him I wol biginne;3190
• For, thogh fortune may non angel dere,(11)
• From heigh degree yet fel he for his sinne
• Doun in-to helle, wher he yet is inne.
• O Lucifer! brightest of angels alle.
• Now artow Sathanas, that maist nat twinne3195
• Out of miserie, in which that thou art falle.

• Adam.
• Lo Adam, in the feld of Damassene,
• With goddes owene finger wroght was he,
• And nat bigeten of mannes sperme unclene,
• And welte al Paradys, saving o tree.3200
• Had never worldly man so heigh degree(21)
• As Adam, til he for misgovernaunce
• Was drive out of his hye prosperitee
• To labour, and to helle, and to meschaunce.

• Sampson.
• • Lo Sampson, which that was annunciat3205
  • By thangel, longe er his nativitee,
  • And was to god almighty consecrat,
  • And stood in noblesse, whyl he mighte see.
  • Was never swich another as was he,
  • To speke of strengthe, and therwith hardinesse;3210
  • But to his wyves tolde he his secree,(31)
  • Through which he slow him-self, for wrecchednesse.
• • Sampson, this noble almighty champioun,
  • Withouten wepen save his hondes tweye,
  • He slow and al to-rente the leoun,3215
  • Toward his wedding walking by the weye.
  • His false wyf coude him so plese and preye
  • Til she his conseil knew, and she untrewe
  • Un-to his foos his conseil gan biwreye,
  • And him forsook, and took another newe.3220
• • Three hundred foxes took Sampson for ire,(41)
  • And alle hir tayles he togider bond,
  • And sette the foxes tayles alle on fire,
  • For he on every tayl had knit a brond;
  • And they brende alle the cornes in that lond,3225
  • And alle hir oliveres and vynes eek.
  • A thousand men he slow eek with his hond,
  • And had no wepen but an asses cheek.
• • Whan they were slayn, so thursted him that he
  • Was wel ny lorn, for which he gan to preye3230
  • That god wolde on his peyne han som pitee,(51)
  • And sende him drinke, or elles moste he deye;
  • And of this asses cheke, that was dreye,
  • Out of a wang-tooth sprang anon a welle,
  • Of which he drank y-nogh, shortly to seye,3235
  • Thus heelp him god, as Iudicum can telle.
• • By verray force, at Gazan, on a night,
  • Maugree Philistiens of that citee,
  • The gates of the toun he hath up-plight,
  • And on his bak y-caried hem hath he3240
  • Hye on an hille, that men mighte hem see.(61)
  • O noble almighty Sampson, leef and dere,
  • Had thou nat told to wommen thy secree,
  • In al this worlde ne hadde been thy pere!
• • This Sampson never sicer drank ne wyn,3245
  • Ne on his heed cam rasour noon ne shere,
  • By precept of the messager divyn,
  • For alle his strengthes in his heres were;
  • And fully twenty winter, yeer by yere,
  • He hadde of Israel the governaunce.3250
  • But sone shal he wepen many a tere,(71)
  • For wommen shal him bringen to meschaunce!
• • Un-to his lemman Dalida he tolde
  • That in his heres al his strengthe lay,
  • And falsly to his fo-men she him solde.3255
  • And sleping in hir barme up-on a day
  • She made to clippe or shere his heer awey,
  • And made his fo-men al his craft espyen;
  • And whan that they him fonde in this array,
  • They bounde him faste, and putten out his yen.3260
• • But er his heer were clipped or y-shave,(81)
  • Ther was no bond with which men might him binde;
  • But now is he in prisoun in a cave,
  • Wher-as they made him at the querne grinde.
  • O noble Sampson, strongest of mankinde,3265
  • O whylom Iuge in glorie and in richesse,
  • Now maystow wepen with thyn yen blinde,
  • Sith thou fro wele art falle in wrecchednesse.
• • Thende of this caytif was as I shal seye;
  • His fo-men made a feste upon a day,3270
  • And made him as hir fool bifore hem pleye,(91)
  • And this was in a temple of greet array.
  • But atte laste he made a foul affray;
  • For he two pilers shook, and made hem falle,
  • And doun fil temple and al, and ther it lay,3275
  • And slow him-self, and eek his fo-men alle.
• • This is to seyn, the princes everichoon,
  • And eek three thousand bodies wer ther slayn
  • With falling of the grete temple of stoon.
  • Of Sampson now wol I na-more seyn.3280
  • Beth war by this ensample old and playn(101)
  • That no men telle hir conseil til hir wyves
  • Of swich thing as they wolde han secree fayn,
  • If that it touche hir limmes or hir lyves.

• Hercules.
• • Of Hercules the sovereyn conquerour3285
  • Singen his workes laude and heigh renoun;
  • For in his tyme of strengthe he was the flour.
  • He slow, and rafte the skin of the leoun;
  • He of Centauros leyde the boost adoun;
  • He Arpies slow, the cruel briddes felle;3290
  • He golden apples rafte of the dragoun;(111)
  • He drow out Cerberus, the hound of helle:
• • He slow the cruel tyrant Busirus,
  • And made his hors to frete him, flesh and boon;
  • He slow the firy serpent venimous;3295
  • Of Achelois two hornes, he brak oon;
  • And he slow Cacus in a cave of stoon;
  • He slow the geaunt Antheus the stronge;
  • He slow the grisly boor, and that anoon,
  • And bar the heven on his nekke longe.3300
• • Was never wight, sith that the world bigan,(121)
  • That slow so many monstres as dide he.
  • Thurgh-out this wyde world his name ran,
  • What for his strengthe, and for his heigh bountee,
  • And every reaume wente he for to see.3305
  • He was so strong that no man mighte him lette;
  • At bothe the worldes endes, seith Trophee,
  • In stede of boundes, he a piler sette.
• • A lemman hadde this noble champioun,
  • That highte Dianira, fresh as May;3310
  • And, as thise clerkes maken mencioun,(131)
  • She hath him sent a sherte fresh and gay.
  • Allas! this sherte, allas and weylaway!
  • Envenimed was so subtilly with-alle,
  • That, er that he had wered it half a day,3315
  • It made his flesh al from his bones falle.
• • But nathelees somme clerkes hir excusen
  • By oon that highte Nessus, that it maked;
  • Be as be may, I wol hir noght accusen;
  • But on his bak this sherte he wered al naked,3320
  • Til that his flesh was for the venim blaked.(141)
  • And whan he sey noon other remedye,
  • In hote coles he hath him-selven raked,
  • For with no venim deyned him to dye.
• • Thus starf this worthy mighty Hercules;3325
  • Lo, who may truste on fortune any throwe?
  • For him that folweth al this world of prees,
  • Er he be war, is ofte y-leyd ful lowe.
  • Ful wys is he that can him-selven knowe.
  • Beth war, for whan that fortune list to glose,3330
  • Than wayteth she hir man to overthrowe(151)
  • By swich a wey as he wolde leest suppose.

• Nabugodonosor (Nebuchadnezzar).
• • The mighty trone, the precious tresor,
  • The glorious ceptre and royal magestee
  • That hadde the king Nabugodonosor,3335
  • With tonge unnethe may discryved be.
  • He twyes wan Ierusalem the citee;
  • The vessel of the temple he with him ladde.
  • At Babiloyne was his sovereyn see,
  • In which his glorie and his delyt he hadde.3340
• • The fairest children of the blood royal(161)
  • Of Israel he leet do gelde anoon,
  • And maked ech of hem to been his thral.
  • Amonges othere Daniel was oon,
  • That was the wysest child of everichoon;3345
  • For he the dremes of the king expouned,
  • Wher-as in Chaldey clerk ne was ther noon
  • That wiste to what fyn his dremes souned.
• • This proude king leet make a statue of golde,
  • Sixty cubytes long, and seven in brede,3350
  • To which image bothe yonge and olde(171)
  • Comaunded he to loute, and have in drede;
  • Or in a fourneys ful of flambes rede
  • He shal be brent, that wolde noght obeye.
  • But never wolde assente to that dede3355
  • Daniel, ne his yonge felawes tweye.
• • This king of kinges proud was and elaat,
  • He wende that god, that sit in magestee,
  • Ne mighte him nat bireve of his estaat:
  • But sodeynly he loste his dignitee,3360
  • And lyk a beste him semed for to be,(181)
  • And eet hay as an oxe, and lay ther-oute;
  • In reyn with wilde bestes walked he,
  • Til certein tyme was y-come aboute.
• • And lyk an egles fetheres wexe his heres,3365
  • His nayles lyk a briddes clawes were;
  • Til god relessed him a certein yeres,
  • And yaf him wit; and than with many a tere
  • He thanked god, and ever his lyf in fere
  • Was he to doon amis, or more trespace,3370
  • And, til that tyme he leyd was on his bere,(191)
  • He knew that god was ful of might and grace.

• Balthasar (Belshazzar).
• • His sone, which that highte Balthasar,
  • That heeld the regne after his fader day,
  • He by his fader coude nought be war,3375
  • For proud he was of herte and of array;
  • And eek an ydolastre was he ay.
  • His hye estaat assured him in pryde.
  • But fortune caste him doun, and ther he lay,
  • And sodeynly his regne gan divyde.3380
• • A feste he made un-to his lordes alle(201)
  • Up-on a tyme, and bad hem blythe be,
  • And than his officeres gan he calle—
  • ‘Goth, bringeth forth the vessels,’ [tho] quod he,
  • ‘Which that my fader, in his prosperitee,3385
  • Out of the temple of Ierusalem birafte,
  • And to our hye goddes thanke we
  • Of honour, that our eldres with us lafte.’
• • His wyf, his lordes, and his concubynes
  • Ay dronken, whyl hir appetytes laste,3390
  • Out of thise noble vessels sundry wynes;(211)
  • And on a wal this king his yën caste,
  • And sey an hond armlees, that wroot ful faste,
  • For fere of which he quook and syked sore.
  • This hond, that Balthasar so sore agaste,3395
  • Wroot Mane, techel, phares, and na-more.
• • In al that lond magicien was noon
  • That coude expoune what this lettre mente;
  • But Daniel expouned it anoon,
  • And seyde, ‘king, god to thy fader lente3400
  • Glorie and honour, regne, tresour, rente:(221)
  • And he was proud, and no-thing god ne dradde,
  • And therfor god gret wreche up-on him sente,
  • And him birafte the regne that he hadde.
• • He was out cast of mannes companye,3405
  • With asses was his habitacioun,
  • And eet hey as a beste in weet and drye,
  • Til that he knew, by grace and by resoun,
  • That god of heven hath dominacioun
  • Over every regne and every creature;3410
  • And thanne had god of him compassioun,(231)
  • And him restored his regne and his figure.
• • Eek thou, that art his sone, art proud also,
  • And knowest alle thise thinges verraily,
  • And art rebel to god, and art his fo.3415
  • Thou drank eek of his vessels boldely;
  • Thy wyf eek and thy wenches sinfully
  • Dronke of the same vessels sondry wynes,
  • And heriest false goddes cursedly;
  • Therfor to thee y-shapen ful gret pyne is.3420
• • This hand was sent from god, that on the walle(241)
  • Wroot mane, techel, phares, truste me;
  • Thy regne is doon, thou weyest noght at alle;
  • Divyded is thy regne, and it shal be
  • To Medes and to Perses yeven ,’ quod he.3425
  • And thilke same night this king was slawe,
  • And Darius occupyeth his degree,
  • Thogh he therto had neither right ne lawe.
• • Lordinges, ensample heer-by may ye take
  • How that in lordshipe is no sikernesse;3430
  • For whan fortune wol a man forsake,(251)
  • She bereth awey his regne and his richesse,
  • And eek his freendes, bothe more and lesse;
  • For what man that hath freendes thurgh fortune,
  • Mishap wol make hem enemys, I gesse:3435
  • This proverbe is ful sooth and ful commune.

• Cenobia (Zenobia).
• • Cenobia, of Palimerie quene,
  • As writen Persiens of hir noblesse,
  • So worthy was in armes and so kene,
  • That no wight passed hir in hardinesse,3440
  • Ne in linage, ne in other gentillesse.(261)
  • Of kinges blode of Perse is she descended;
  • I seye nat that she hadde most fairnesse,
  • But of hir shape she mighte nat been amended.
• • From hir childhede I finde that she fledde3445
  • Office of wommen, and to wode she wente;
  • And many a wilde hertes blood she shedde
  • With arwes brode that she to hem sente.
  • She was so swift that she anon hem hente,
  • And whan that she was elder, she wolde kille3450
  • Leouns, lepardes, and beres al to-rente,(271)
  • And in hir armes welde hem at hir wille.
• • She dorste wilde beestes dennes seke,
  • And rennen in the montaignes al the night,
  • And slepen under a bush, and she coude eke3455
  • Wrastlen by verray force and verray might
  • With any yong man, were he never so wight;
  • Ther mighte no-thing in hir armes stonde.
  • She kepte hir maydenhod from every wight,
  • To no man deigned hir for to be bonde.3460
• • But atte laste hir frendes han hir maried(281)
  • To Odenake, a prince of that contree,
  • Al were it so that she hem longe taried;
  • And ye shul understonde how that he
  • Hadde swiche fantasyes as hadde she.3465
  • But nathelees, whan they were knit in-fere,
  • They lived in Ioye and in felicitee;
  • For ech of hem hadde other leef and dere.
• • Save o thing, that she never wolde assente
  • By no wey, that he sholde by hir lye3470
  • But ones, for it was hir pleyn entente(291)
  • To have a child, the world to multiplye;
  • And al-so sone as that she mighte espye
  • That she was nat with childe with that dede,
  • Than wolde she suffre him doon his fantasye3475
  • Eft-sone, and nat but ones, out of drede.
• • And if she were with childe at thilke cast,
  • Na-more sholde he pleyen thilke game
  • Til fully fourty dayes weren past;
  • Than wolde she ones suffre him do the same.3480
  • Al were this Odenake wilde or tame,(301)
  • He gat na-more of hir, for thus she seyde,
  • ‘It was to wyves lecherye and shame
  • In other cas, if that men with hem pleyde.’
• • Two sones by this Odenake hadde she,3485
  • The whiche she kepte in vertu and lettrure;
  • But now un-to our tale turne we.
  • I seye, so worshipful a creature,
  • And wys therwith, and large with mesure,
  • So penible in the werre, and curteis eke,3490
  • Ne more labour mighte in werre endure,(311)
  • Was noon, thogh al this world men sholde seke.
• • Hir riche array ne mighte nat be told
  • As wel in vessel as in hir clothing;
  • She was al clad in perree and in gold,3495
  • And eek she lafte noght, for noon hunting,
  • To have of sondry tonges ful knowing,
  • Whan that she leyser hadde, and for to entende
  • To lernen bokes was al hir lyking,
  • How she in vertu mighte hir lyf dispende.3500
• • And, shortly of this storie for to trete,(321)
  • So doughty was hir housbonde and eek she,
  • That they conquered many regnes grete
  • In the orient, with many a fair citee,
  • Apertenaunt un-to the magestee3505
  • Of Rome, and with strong hond helde hem ful faste;
  • Ne never mighte hir fo-men doon hem flee,
  • Ay whyl that Odenakes dayes laste.
• • Hir batailes, who-so list hem for to rede,
  • Agayn Sapor the king and othere mo,3510
  • And how that al this proces fil in dede,(331)
  • Why she conquered and what title had therto,
  • And after of hir meschief and hir wo,
  • How that she was biseged and y-take,
  • Let him un-to my maister Petrark go,3515
  • That writ y-nough of this, I undertake.
• • When Odenake was deed, she mightily
  • The regnes heeld, and with hir propre honde
  • Agayn hir foos she faught so cruelly,
  • That ther nas king ne prince in al that londe3520
  • That he nas glad, if that he grace fonde,(341)
  • That she ne wolde up-on his lond werreye;
  • With hir they made alliaunce by bonde
  • To been in pees, and lete hir ryde and pleye.
• • The emperour of Rome, Claudius,3525
  • Ne him bifore, the Romayn Galien,
  • Ne dorste never been so corageous,
  • Ne noon Ermyn, ne noon Egipcien,
  • Ne Surrien, ne noon Arabien,
  • Within the feld that dorste with hir fighte3530
  • Lest that she wolde hem with hir hondes slen,(351)
  • Or with hir meynee putten hem to flighte.
• • In kinges habit wente hir sones two,
  • As heires of hir fadres regnes alle,
  • And Hermanno, and Thymalao3535
  • Her names were, as Persiens hem calle.
  • But ay fortune hath in hir hony galle;
  • This mighty quene may no whyl endure.
  • Fortune out of hir regne made hir falle
  • To wrecchednesse and to misaventure.3540
• • Aurelian, whan that the governaunce(361)
  • Of Rome cam in-to his hondes tweye,
  • He shoop up-on this queen to do vengeaunce,
  • And with his legiouns he took his weye
  • Toward Cenobie, and, shortly for to seye,3545
  • He made hir flee, and atte laste hir hente,
  • And fettred hir, and eek hir children tweye,
  • And wan the lond, and hoom to Rome he wente.
• • Amonges othere thinges that he wan,
  • Hir char, that was with gold wrought and perree,3550
  • This grete Romayn, this Aurelian,(371)
  • Hath with him lad, for that men sholde it see.
  • Biforen his triumphe walketh she
  • With gilte cheynes on hir nekke hanging;
  • Corouned was she, as after hir degree,3555
  • And ful of perree charged hir clothing.
• • Allas, fortune! she that whylom was
  • Dredful to kinges and to emperoures,
  • Now gaureth al the peple on hir, allas!
  • And she that helmed was in starke stoures,3560
  • And wan by force tounes stronge and toures,(381)
  • Shal on hir heed now were a vitremyte;
  • And she that bar the ceptre ful of floures
  • Shal bere a distaf, hir cost for to quyte.

    [T. 14380.

(Nerofollows in T.; see p 259.)

• De Petro Rege Ispannie.
• • O noble, o worthy Petro, glorie of Spayne,

    [T. 14685.

  • Whom fortune heeld so hy in magestee,3566
  • Wel oughten men thy pitous deeth complayne!
  • Out of thy lond thy brother made thee flee;
  • And after, at a sege, by subtiltee,
  • Thou were bitrayed , and lad un-to his tente,3570
  • Wher-as he with his owene hond slow thee,(391)
  • Succeding in thy regne and in thy rente.
• • The feeld of snow, with thegle of blak ther-inne,

    [T. 14693.

  • Caught with the lymrod, coloured as the glede,
  • He brew this cursednes and al this sinne.3575
  • The ‘wikked nest’ was werker of this nede;
  • Noght Charles Oliver, that ay took hede
  • Of trouthe and honour, but of Armorike
  • Genilon Oliver, corrupt for mede,
  • Broghte this worthy king in swich a brike.3580

• De Petro Rege de Cipro.
• O worthy Petro, king of Cypre, also,(401)
• That Alisaundre wan by heigh maistrye,
• Ful many a hethen wroghtestow ful wo,
• Of which thyn owene liges hadde envye,
• And, for no thing but for thy chivalrye,3585
• They in thy bedde han slayn thee by the morwe.
• Thus can fortune hir wheel governe and gye,
• And out of Ioye bringe men to sorwe.

  [T. 14708.

• De Barnabo de Lumbardia.
• Of Melan grete Barnabo Viscounte,
• God of delyt, and scourge of Lumbardye,3590
• Why sholde I nat thyn infortune acounte,(411)
• Sith in estaat thou clombe were so hye?
• Thy brother sone, that was thy double allye,
• For he thy nevew was, and sone-in-lawe,
• With-inne his prisoun made thee to dye;3595
• But why, ne how, noot I that thou were slawe.

• De Hugelino, Comite de Pize.
• • Of the erl Hugelyn of Pyse the langour
  • Ther may no tonge telle for pitee;
  • But litel out of Pyse stant a tour,
  • In whiche tour in prisoun put was he,3600
  • And with him been his litel children three.(421)
  • The eldeste scarsly fyf yeer was of age.
  • Allas, fortune! it was greet crueltee
  • Swiche briddes for to putte in swiche a cage!
• • Dampned was he to deye in that prisoun,3605
  • For Roger, which that bisshop was of Pyse,
  • Hadde on him maad a fals suggestioun,
  • Thurgh which the peple gan upon him ryse,
  • And putten him to prisoun in swich wyse
  • As ye han herd, and mete and drink he hadde3610
  • So smal, that wel unnethe it may suffyse,(431)
  • And therwith-al it was ful povre and badde.
• • And on a day bifil that, in that hour,
  • Whan that his mete wont was to be broght,
  • The gayler shette the dores of the tour.3615
  • He herde it wel,—but he spak right noght,
  • And in his herte anon ther fil a thoght,
  • That they for hunger wolde doon him dyen.
  • ‘Allas!’ quod he, ‘allas! that I was wroght!’
  • Therwith the teres fillen from his yën.3620
• • His yonge sone, that three yeer was of age,(441)
  • Un-to him seyde, ‘fader , why do ye wepe?
  • Whan wol the gayler bringen our potage,
  • Is ther no morsel breed that ye do kepe?
  • I am so hungry that I may nat slepe.3625
  • Now wolde god that I mighte slepen ever!
  • Than sholde nat hunger in my wombe crepe;
  • Ther is no thing, save breed, that me were lever.’
• • Thus day by day this child bigan to crye,
  • Til in his fadres barme adoun it lay,3630
  • And seyde, ‘far-wel, fader, I moot dye,’(451)
  • And kiste his fader, and deyde the same day.
  • And whan the woful fader deed it sey,
  • For wo his armes two he gan to byte,
  • And seyde, ‘allas, fortune! and weylaway!3635
  • Thy false wheel my wo al may I wyte!’
• • His children wende that it for hunger was
  • That he his armes gnow, and nat for wo,
  • And seyde, ‘fader, do nat so, allas!
  • But rather eet the flesh upon us two;3640
  • Our flesh thou yaf us, tak our flesh us fro(461)
  • And eet y-nough:’ right thus they to him seyde,
  • And after that, with-in a day or two,
  • They leyde hem in his lappe adoun, and deyde.
• • Him-self, despeired, eek for hunger starf;3645
  • Thus ended is this mighty Erl of Pyse;
  • From heigh estaat fortune awey him carf.
  • Of this Tragedie it oghte y-nough suffyse.
  • Who-so wol here it in a lenger wyse,
  • Redeth the grete poete of Itaille,3650
  • That highte Dant, for he can al devyse(471)
  • Fro point to point, nat o word wol he faille.

    [T. 14772.

(For T. 14773, see p. 269; for T. 14380, see p. 256.)

• Nero.
• • Al-though that Nero were as vicious

    [T. 14381.

  • As any feend that lyth ful lowe adoun,
  • Yet he, as telleth us Swetonius,3655
  • This wyde world hadde in subieccioun,
  • Both Est and West, South and Septemtrioun;
  • Of rubies, saphires, and of perles whyte
  • Were alle his clothes brouded up and doun;
  • For he in gemmes greetly gan delyte.3660
• • More delicat, more pompous of array,(481)
  • More proud was never emperour than he;
  • That ilke cloth, that he had wered o day,
  • After that tyme he nolde it never see.
  • Nettes of gold-thred hadde he gret plentee3665
  • To fisshe in Tybre, whan him liste pleye.
  • His lustes were al lawe in his decree,
  • For fortune as his freend him wolde obeye.
• • He Rome brende for his delicacye;
  • The senatours he slow up-on a day.3670
  • To here how men wolde wepe and crye;(491)
  • And slow his brother, and by his sister lay.
  • His moder made he in pitous array;
  • For he hir wombe slitte, to biholde
  • Wher he conceyved was; so weilawey!3675
  • That he so litel of his moder tolde!
• • No tere out of his yën for that sighte
  • Ne cam, but seyde, ‘a fair womman was she.’
  • Gret wonder is, how that he coude or mighte
  • Be domesman of hir dede beautee.3680
  • The wyn to bringen him comaunded he,(501)
  • And drank anon; non other wo he made.
  • Whan might is Ioyned un-to crueltee,
  • Allas! to depe wol the venim wade!
• • In youthe a maister hadde this emperour,3685
  • To teche him letterure and curteisye,
  • For of moralitee he was the flour,
  • As in his tyme, but-if bokes lye;
  • And whyl this maister hadde of him maistrye,
  • He maked him so conning and so souple3690
  • That longe tyme it was er tirannye(511)
  • Or any vyce dorste on him uncouple.
• • This Seneca, of which that I devyse,
  • By-cause Nero hadde of him swich drede,
  • For he fro vyces wolde him ay chastyse3695
  • Discreetly as by worde and nat by dede;—
  • ‘Sir,’ wolde he seyn, ‘an emperour moot nede
  • Be vertuous, and hate tirannye’—
  • For which he in a bath made him to blede
  • On bothe his armes, til he moste dye.3700
• • This Nero hadde eek of acustumaunce(521)
  • In youthe ageyn his maister for to ryse,
  • Which afterward him thoughte a greet grevaunce;
  • Therfor he made him deyen in this wyse.
  • But natheles this Seneca the wyse3705
  • Chees in a bath to deye in this manere
  • Rather than han another tormentyse;
  • And thus hath Nero slayn his maister dere.
• • Now fil it so that fortune list no lenger
  • The hye pryde of Nero to cheryce;3710
  • For though that he were strong, yet was she strenger;(531)
  • She thoughte thus, ‘by god, I am to nyce
  • To sette a man that is fulfild of vyce
  • In heigh degree, and emperour him calle.
  • By god, out of his sete I wol him tryce;3715
  • When he leest weneth, sonest shal he falle.’
• • The peple roos up-on him on a night
  • For his defaute, and whan he it espyed,
  • Out of his dores anon he hath him dight
  • Alone, and, ther he wende han ben allyed,3720
  • He knokked faste, and ay, the more he cryed,(541)
  • The faster shette they the dores alle;
  • Tho wiste he wel he hadde him-self misgyed,
  • And wente his wey, no lenger dorste he calle.
• • The peple cryde and rombled up and doun,3725
  • That with his eres herde he how they seyde,
  • ‘Wher is this false tyraunt, this Neroun?’
  • For fere almost out of his wit he breyde,
  • And to his goddes pitously he preyde
  • For socour, but it mighte nat bityde.3730
  • For drede of this, him thoughte that he deyde,(551)
  • And ran in-to a gardin, him to hyde.
• • And in this gardin fond he cherles tweye
  • That seten by a fyr ful greet and reed,
  • And to thise cherles two he gan to preye3735
  • To sleen him, and to girden of his heed,
  • That to his body, whan that he were deed,
  • Were no despyt y-doon, for his defame.
  • Him-self he slow, he coude no better reed,
  • Of which fortune lough, and hadde a game.3740

• De Oloferno (Holofernes).
• • Was never capitayn under a king(561)
  • That regnes mo putte in subieccioun,
  • Ne strenger was in feeld of alle thing,
  • As in his tyme, ne gretter of renoun,
  • Ne more pompous in heigh presumpcioun3745
  • Than Oloferne, which fortune ay kiste
  • So likerously, and ladde him up and doun
  • Til that his heed was of, er that he wiste.
• • Nat only that this world hadde him in awe
  • For lesinge of richesse or libertee,3750
  • But he made every man reneye his lawe.(571)
  • ‘Nabugodonosor was god,’ seyde he,
  • ‘Noon other god sholde adoured be.’
  • Ageyns his heste no wight dar trespace
  • Save in Bethulia, a strong citee,3755
  • Wher Eliachim a prest was of that place.
• • But tak kepe of the deeth of Olofern;
  • Amidde his host he dronke lay a night,
  • With-inne his tente, large as is a bern,
  • And yit, for al his pompe and al his might,3760
  • Iudith, a womman, as he lay upright,(581)
  • Sleping, his heed of smoot, and from his tente
  • Ful prively she stal from every wight,
  • And with his heed unto hir toun she wente.

• De Rege Anthiocho illustri.
• • What nedeth it of King Anthiochus3765
  • To telle his hye royal magestee,
  • His hye pryde, his werkes venimous?
  • For swich another was ther noon as he.
  • Rede which that he was in Machabee,
  • And rede the proude wordes that he seyde,3770
  • And why he fil fro heigh prosperitee,(591)
  • And in an hil how wrechedly he deyde.
• • Fortune him hadde enhaunced so in pryde
  • That verraily he wende he mighte attayne
  • Unto the sterres, upon every syde,3775
  • And in balance weyen ech montayne,
  • And alle the flodes of the see restrayne.
  • And goddes peple hadde he most in hate,
  • Hem wolde he sleen in torment and in payne,
  • Wening that god ne mighte his pryde abate.3780
• • And for that Nichanor and Thimothee(601)
  • Of Iewes weren venquisshed mightily,
  • Unto the Iewes swich an hate hadde he
  • That he bad greithe his char ful hastily,
  • And swoor, and seyde, ful despitously,3785
  • Unto Ierusalem he wolde eft-sone,
  • To wreken his ire on it ful cruelly;
  • But of his purpos he was let ful sone.
• • God for his manace him so sore smoot
  • With invisible wounde, ay incurable,3790
  • That in his guttes carf it so and boot(611)
  • That his peynes weren importable.
  • And certeinly, the wreche was resonable,
  • For many a mannes guttes dide he peyne;
  • But from his purpos cursed and dampnable3795
  • For al his smert he wolde him nat restreyne;
• • But bad anon apparaillen his host,
  • And sodeynly, er he of it was war,
  • God daunted al his pryde and al his bost.
  • For he so sore fil out of his char,3800
  • That it his limes and his skin to-tar,(621)
  • So that he neither mighte go ne ryde,
  • But in a chayer men aboute him bar,
  • Al for-brused, bothe bak and syde.
• • The wreche of god him smoot so cruelly3805
  • That thurgh his body wikked wormes crepte;
  • And ther-with-al he stank so horribly,
  • That noon of al his meynee that him kepte,
  • Whether so he wook or elles slepte,
  • Ne mighte noght for stink of him endure.3810
  • In this meschief he wayled and eek wepte,(631)
  • And knew god lord of every creature.
• • To al his host and to him-self also
  • Ful wlatsom was the stink of his careyne;
  • No man ne mighte him bere to ne fro.3815
  • And in this stink and this horrible peyne
  • He starf ful wrecchedly in a monteyne.
  • Thus hath this robbour and this homicyde,
  • That many a man made to wepe and pleyne,
  • Swich guerdon as bilongeth unto pryde.3820

• De Alexandro.
• • The storie of Alisaundre is so comune,(641)
  • That every wight that hath discrecioun
  • Hath herd somwhat or al of his fortune.
  • This wyde world, as in conclusioun,
  • He wan by strengthe, or for his hye renoun3825
  • They weren glad for pees un-to him sende.
  • The pryde of man and beste he leyde adoun,
  • Wher-so he cam, un-to the worldes ende.
• • Comparisoun might never yit be maked
  • Bitwixe him and another conquerour;3830
  • For al this world for drede of him hath quaked,(651)
  • He was of knighthode and of fredom flour;
  • Fortune him made the heir of hir honour;
  • Save wyn and wommen, no-thing mighte aswage
  • His hye entente in armes and labour;3835
  • So was he ful of leonyn corage.
• • What preys were it to him, though I yow tolde
  • Of Darius, and an hundred thousand mo,
  • Of kinges, princes, erles, dukes bolde,
  • Whiche he conquered, and broghte hem in-to wo?3840
  • I seye, as fer as man may ryde or go,(661)
  • The world was his, what sholde I more devyse?
  • For though I write or tolde you evermo
  • Of his knighthode, it mighte nat suffyse.
• • Twelf yeer he regned, as seith Machabee;3845
  • Philippes sone of Macedoyne he was,
  • That first was king in Grece the contree.
  • O worthy gentil Alisaundre, allas!
  • That ever sholde fallen swich a cas!
  • Empoisoned of thyn owene folk thou were;3850
  • Thy sys fortune hath turned into as,(671)
  • And yit for thee ne weep she never a tere!
• • Who shal me yeven teres to compleyne
  • The deeth of gentillesse and of fraunchyse,
  • That al the world welded in his demeyne,3855
  • And yit him thoughte it mighte nat suffyse?
  • So ful was his corage of heigh empryse.
  • Allas! who shal me helpe to endyte
  • False fortune, and poison to despyse,
  • The whiche two of al this wo I wyte?3860

• De Iulio Cesare.
• • By wisdom, manhede, and by greet labour(681)
  • Fro humble bed to royal magestee,
  • Up roos he, Iulius the conquerour,
  • That wan al thoccident by lond and see,
  • By strengthe of hond, or elles by tretee,3865
  • And un-to Rome made hem tributarie;
  • And sitthe of Rome the emperour was he,
  • Til that fortune wex his adversarie.
• • O mighty Cesar, that in Thessalye
  • Ageyn Pompeius , fader thyn in lawe,3870
  • That of thorient hadde al the chivalrye(691)
  • As fer as that the day biginneth dawe,
  • Thou thurgh thy knighthode hast hem take and slawe,
  • Save fewe folk that with Pompeius fledde,
  • Thurgh which thou puttest al thorient in awe.3875
  • Thanke fortune, that so wel thee spedde!
• • But now a litel whyl I wol biwaille
  • This Pompeius, this noble governour
  • Of Rome, which that fleigh at this bataille;
  • I seye, oon of his men, a fals traitour,3880
  • His heed of smoot, to winnen him favour(701)
  • Of Iulius, and him the heed he broghte.
  • Allas, Pompey, of thorient conquerour,
  • That fortune unto swich a fyn thee broghte!
• • To Rome ageyn repaireth Iulius3885
  • With his triumphe, laureat ful hye,
  • But on a tyme Brutus Cassius,
  • That ever hadde of his hye estaat envye,
  • Ful prively hath maad conspiracye
  • Ageins this Iulius, in subtil wyse,3890
  • And cast the place, in whiche he sholde dye(711)
  • With boydekins, as I shal yow devyse.
• • This Iulius to the Capitolie wente
  • Upon a day, as he was wont to goon,
  • And in the Capitolie anon him hente3895
  • This false Brutus, and his othere foon,
  • And stikede him with boydekins anoon
  • With many a wounde, and thus they lete him lye;
  • But never gronte he at no strook but oon,
  • Or elles at two, but-if his storie lye.3900
• • So manly was this Iulius at herte(721)
  • And so wel lovede estaatly honestee,
  • That, though his deedly woundes sore smerte,
  • His mantel over his hippes casteth he,
  • For no man sholde seen his privitee.3905
  • And, as he lay on deying in a traunce,
  • And wiste verraily that deed was he,
  • Of honestee yit hadde he remembraunce.
• • Lucan, to thee this storie I recomende,
  • And to Sweton, and to Valerie also,3910
  • That of this storie wryten word and ende,(731)
  • How that to thise grete conqueroures two
  • Fortune was first freend, and sithen fo.
  • No man ne truste up-on hir favour longe,
  • But have hir in awayt for ever-mo.3915
  • Witnesse on alle thise conqueroures stronge.

• Cresus.
• • This riche Cresus, whylom king of Lyde,
  • Of whiche Cresus Cyrus sore him dradde,
  • Yit was he caught amiddes al his pryde,
  • And to be brent men to the fyr him ladde.3920
  • But swich a reyn doun fro the welkne shadde(741)
  • That slow the fyr, and made him to escape;
  • But to be war no grace yet he hadde,
  • Til fortune on the galwes made him gape.
• • Whan he escaped was, he can nat stente3925
  • For to biginne a newe werre agayn.
  • He wende wel, for that fortune him sente
  • Swich hap, that he escaped thurgh the rayn,
  • That of his foos he mighte nat be slayn;
  • And eek a sweven up-on a night he mette,3930
  • Of which he was so proud and eek so fayn,(751)
  • That in vengeaunce he al his herte sette.
• • Up-on a tree he was, as that him thoughte,
  • Ther Iuppiter him wesh, bothe bak and syde,
  • And Phebus eek a fair towaille him broughte3935
  • To drye him with, and ther-for wex his pryde;
  • And to his doghter, that stood him bisyde,
  • Which that he knew in heigh science habounde,
  • He bad hir telle him what it signifyde,
  • And she his dreem bigan right thus expounde.3940
• • ‘The tree,’ quod she, ‘the galwes is to mene,(761)
  • And Iuppiter bitokneth snow and reyn,
  • And Phebus, with his towaille so clene,
  • Tho ben the sonne stremes for to seyn;
  • Thou shalt anhanged be, fader, certeyn;3945
  • Reyn shal thee wasshe, and sonne shal thee drye;’
  • Thus warned she him ful plat and ful pleyn,
  • His doughter, which that called was Phanye.
• • Anhanged was Cresus, the proude king,
  • His royal trone mighte him nat availle.—3950
  • Tragedie is noon other maner thing,(771)
  • Ne can in singing crye ne biwaille,
  • But for that fortune alwey wol assaille
  • With unwar strook the regnes that ben proude;
  • For when men trusteth hir, than wol she faille,3955
  • And covere hir brighte face with a cloude.

    [See p. 256.

THE PROLOGUE OF THE NONNE PRESTES TALE.
(T. 14773-14798).

The prologue of the Nonne Preestes Tale.

• ‘HO!’ quod the knight, ‘good sir, na-more of this,
• That ye han seyd is right y-nough, y-wis,
• And mochel more; for litel hevinesse
• Is right y-nough to mochel folk, I gesse.3960
• I seye for me, it is a greet disese
• Wher-as men han ben in greet welthe and ese,
• To heren of hir sodeyn fal, allas!
• And the contrarie is Ioie and greet solas,
• As whan a man hath been in povre estaat,3965
• And clymbeth up, and wexeth fortunat,(10)
• And ther abydeth in prosperitee,
• Swich thing is gladsom, as it thinketh me,
• And of swich thing were goodly for to telle.’
• ‘Ye,’ quod our hoste, ‘by seint Poules belle,3970
• Ye seye right sooth; this monk, he clappeth loude,
• He spak how “fortune covered with a cloude”
• I noot never what, and als of a “Tragedie”
• Right now ye herde, and parde! no remedie
• It is for to biwaille, ne compleyne3975
• That that is doon, and als it is a peyne,(20)
• As ye han seyd, to here of hevinesse.
• Sir monk, na-more of this, so god yow blesse!
• Your tale anoyeth al this companye;
• Swich talking is nat worth a boterflye;3980
• For ther-in is ther no desport ne game.
• Wherfor, sir Monk, or dan Piers by your name,
• I preye yow hertely, telle us somwhat elles,
• For sikerly, nere clinking of your belles,
• That on your brydel hange on every syde,3985
• By heven king, that for us alle dyde,(30)
• I sholde er this han fallen doun for slepe,
• Although the slough had never been so depe;
• Than had your tale al be told in vayn.
• For certeinly, as that thise clerkes seyn,3990
• “Wher-as a man may have noon audience,
• Noght helpeth it to tellen his sentence.”
• And wel I woot the substance is in me,
• If any thing shal wel reported be.
• Sir, sey somwhat of hunting, I yow preye.’3995
• ‘Nay,’ quod this monk, ‘I have no lust to pleye;(40)
• Now let another telle, as I have told.’
• Than spak our host, with rude speche and bold,
• And seyde un-to the Nonnes Preest anon,
• ‘Com neer, thou preest, com hider, thou sir Iohn,4000
• Tel us swich thing as may our hertes glade,
• Be blythe, though thou ryde up-on a Iade.
• What though thyn hors be bothe foule and lene,
• If he wol serve thee, rekke nat a bene;
• Look that thyn herte be mery evermo.’4005
• ‘Yis, sir,’ quod he, ‘yis, host, so mote I go,(50)
• But I be mery, y-wis, I wol be blamed:’—
• And right anon his tale he hath attamed,
• And thus he seyde un-to us everichon,
• This swete preest, this goodly man, sir Iohn.4010

Explicit.

THE NONNE PREESTES TALE.

Here biginneth the Nonne Preestes Tale of the Cok and Hen, Chauntecleer and Pertelote.

• APOVRE widwe, somdel stope in age,
• Was whylom dwelling in a narwe cotage,
• Bisyde a grove , stonding in a dale.
• This widwe, of which I telle yow my tale,
• Sin thilke day that she was last a wyf,4015
• In pacience ladde a ful simple lyf,
• For litel was hir catel and hir rente;
• By housbondrye, of such as God hir sente,
• She fond hir-self, and eek hir doghtren two.
• Three large sowes hadde she, and namo,4020
• Three kyn, and eek a sheep that highte Malle.(11)
• Ful sooty was hir bour, and eek hir halle,
• In which she eet ful many a sclendre meel.
• Of poynaunt sauce hir neded never a deel.
• No deyntee morsel passed thurgh hir throte;4025
• Hir dyete was accordant to hir cote.
• Repleccioun ne made hir never syk;
• Attempree dyete was al hir phisyk,
• And exercyse, and hertes suffisaunce.
• The goute lette hir no-thing for to daunce,4030
• Napoplexye shente nat hir heed;(21)
• No wyn ne drank she, neither whyt ne reed;
• Hir bord was served most with whyt and blak,
• Milk and broun breed, in which she fond no lak,
• Seynd bacoun, and somtyme an ey or tweye,4035
• For she was as it were a maner deye.
• A yerd she hadde, enclosed al aboute
• With stikkes, and a drye dich with-oute,
• In which she hadde a cok, hight Chauntecleer,
• In al the land of crowing nas his peer.4040
• His vois was merier than the mery orgon(31)
• On messe-dayes that in the chirche gon;
• Wel sikerer was his crowing in his logge,
• Than is a clokke, or an abbey orlogge.
• By nature knew he ech ascencioun4045
• Of equinoxial in thilke toun;
• For whan degrees fiftene were ascended,
• Thanne crew he, that it mighte nat ben amended.
• His comb was redder than the fyn coral,
• And batailed, as it were a castel-wal.4050
• His bile was blak, and as the Ieet it shoon;(41)
• Lyk asur were his legges, and his toon;
• His nayles whytter than the lilie flour,
• And lyk the burned gold was his colour.
• This gentil cok hadde in his governaunce4055
• Sevene hennes, for to doon al his plesaunce,
• Whiche were his sustres and his paramours,
• And wonder lyk to him, as of colours.
• Of whiche the faireste hewed on hir throte
• Was cleped faire damoysele Pertelote.4060
• Curteys she was, discreet, and debonaire,(51)
• And compaignable, and bar hir-self so faire,
• Sin thilke day that she was seven night old,
• That trewely she hath the herte in hold
• Of Chauntecleer loken in every lith;4065
• He loved hir so, that wel was him therwith.
• But such a Ioye was it to here hem singe,
• Whan that the brighte sonne gan to springe,
• In swete accord, ‘my lief is faren in londe.’
• For thilke tyme, as I have understonde,4070
• Bestes and briddes coude speke and singe.(61)
• And so bifel, that in a daweninge,
• As Chauntecleer among his wyves alle
• Sat on his perche, that was in the halle,
• And next him sat this faire Pertelote,4075
• This Chauntecleer gan gronen in his throte,
• As man that in his dreem is drecched sore.
• And whan that Pertelote thus herde him rore,
• She was agast, and seyde, ‘O herte dere,
• What eyleth yow, to grone in this manere?4080
• Ye been a verray sleper, fy for shame!’(71)
• And he answerde and seyde thus, ‘madame,
• I pray yow, that ye take it nat a-grief:
• By god, me mette I was in swich meschief
• Right now, that yet myn herte is sore afright.4085
• Now god,’ quod he, ‘my swevene recche aright,
• And keep my body out of foul prisoun!
• Me mette, how that I romed up and doun
• Withinne our yerde, wher-as I saugh a beste,
• Was lyk an hound, and wolde han maad areste4090
• Upon my body, and wolde han had me deed.(81)
• His colour was bitwixe yelwe and reed;
• And tipped was his tail, and bothe his eres,
• With blak, unlyk the remenant of his heres;
• His snowte smal, with glowinge eyen tweye.4095
• Yet of his look for fere almost I deye;
• This caused me my groning, doutelees.’
• ‘Avoy!’ quod she, ‘fy on yow, hertelees!
• Allas!’ quod she, ‘for, by that god above,
• Now han ye lost myn herte and al my love;4100
• I can nat love a coward, by my feith.(91)
• For certes, what so any womman seith,
• We alle desyren, if it mighte be,
• To han housbondes hardy, wyse, and free,
• And secree, and no nigard, ne no fool,4105
• Ne him that is agast of every tool,
• Ne noon avauntour, by that god above!
• How dorste ye seyn for shame unto your love,
• That any thing mighte make yow aferd?
• Have ye no mannes herte, and han a berd?4110
• Allas! and conne ye been agast of swevenis?(101)
• No-thing, god wot, but vanitee, in sweven is
• Swevenes engendren of replecciouns,
• And ofte of fume, and of complecciouns,
• Whan humours been to habundant in a wight.4115
• Certes this dreem, which ye han met to-night,
• Cometh of the grete superfluitee
• Of youre rede colera, pardee,
• Which causeth folk to dreden in here dremes
• Of arwes, and of fyr with rede lemes,4120
• Of grete bestes, that they wol hem byte,(111)
• Of contek, and of whelpes grete and lyte;
• Right as the humour of malencolye
• Causeth ful many a man, in sleep, to crye,
• For fere of blake beres, or boles blake,4125
• Or elles, blake develes wole hem take.
• Of othere humours coude I telle also,
• That werken many a man in sleep ful wo;
• But I wol passe as lightly as I can.
• Lo Catoun, which that was so wys a man,4130
• Seyde he nat thus, ne do no fors of dremes?(121)
• Now, sire,’ quod she, ‘whan we flee fro the bemes,
• For Goddes love, as tak som laxatyf;
• Up peril of my soule, and of my lyf,
• I counseille yow the beste, I wol nat lye,4135
• That bothe of colere and of malencolye
• Ye purge yow; and for ye shul nat tarie,
• Though in this toun is noon apotecarie,
• I shal my-self to herbes techen yow,
• That shul ben for your hele, and for your prow;4140
• And in our yerd tho herbes shal I finde,(131)
• The whiche han of hir propretee, by kinde,
• To purgen yow binethe, and eek above.
• Forget not this, for goddes owene love!
• Ye been ful colerik of compleccioun.4145
• Ware the sonne in his ascencioun
• Ne fynde yow nat repleet of humours hote;
• And if it do, I dar wel leye a grote,
• That ye shul have a fevere terciane,
• Or an agu, that may be youre bane.4150
• A day or two ye shul have digestyves(141)
• Of wormes, er ye take your laxatyves,
• Of lauriol, centaure, and fumetere,
• Or elles of ellebor, that groweth there,
• Of catapuce, or of gaytres beryis,4155
• Of erbe yve, growing in our yerd, that mery is;
• Pekke hem up right as they growe, and ete hem in.
• Be mery, housbond, for your fader kin!
• Dredeth no dreem; I can say yow na-more.’
• ‘Madame,’ quod he, ‘graunt mercy of your lore.4160
• But nathelees, as touching daun Catoun,(151)
• That hath of wisdom such a greet renoun,
• Though that he bad no dremes for to drede,
• By god, men may in olde bokes rede
• Of many a man, more of auctoritee4165
• Than ever Catoun was, so mote I thee,
• Than al the revers seyn of his sentence,
• And han wel founden by experience,
• That dremes ben significaciouns,
• As wel of Ioye as tribulaciouns4170
• That folk enduren in this lyf present.(161)
• Ther nedeth make of this noon argument;
• The verray preve sheweth it in dede.
• Oon of the gretteste auctours that men rede
• Seith thus, that whylom two felawes wente4175
• On pilgrimage, in a ful good entente;
• And happed so, thay come into a toun,
• Wher-as ther was swich congregacioun
• Of peple, and eek so streit of herbergage,
• That they ne founde as muche as o cotage,4180
• In which they bothe mighte y-logged be.(171)
• Wherfor thay mosten, of necessitee,
• As for that night, departen compaignye;
• And ech of hem goth to his hostelrye,
• And took his logging as it wolde falle.4185
• That oon of hem was logged in a stalle,
• Fer in a yerd, with oxen of the plough;
• That other man was logged wel y-nough,
• As was his aventure, or his fortune,
• That us governeth alle as in commune.4190
• And so bifel, that, longe er it were day,(181)
• This man mette in his bed, ther-as he lay,
• How that his felawe gan up-on him calle,
• And seyde, ‘allas! for in an oxes stalle
• This night I shal be mordred ther I lye.4195
• Now help me, dere brother, er I dye;
• In alle haste com to me,’ he sayde.
• This man out of his sleep for fere abrayde;
• But whan that he was wakned of his sleep,
• He turned him, and took of this no keep;4200
• Him thoughte his dreem nas but a vanitee.(191)
• Thus twyes in his sleping dremed he.
• And atte thridde tyme yet his felawe
• Cam, as him thoughte, and seide, ‘I am now slawe;
• Bihold my blody woundes, depe and wyde!4205
• Arys up erly in the morwe-tyde,
• And at the west gate of the toun,’ quod he,
• ‘A carte ful of donge ther shaltow see,
• In which my body is hid ful prively;
• Do thilke carte aresten boldely.4210
• My gold caused my mordre, sooth to sayn;’(201)
• And tolde him every poynt how he was slayn,
• With a ful pitous face, pale of hewe.
• And truste wel, his dreem he fond ful trewe;
• For on the morwe, as sone as it was day,4215
• To his felawes in he took the way;
• And whan that he cam to this oxes stalle,
• After his felawe he bigan to calle.
• The hostiler answered him anon,
• And seyde, ‘sire, your felawe is agon,4220
• As sone as day he wente out of the toun.’(211)
• This man gan fallen in suspecioun,
• Remembring on his dremes that he mette,
• And forth he goth, no lenger wolde he lette,
• Unto the west gate of the toun, and fond4225
• A dong-carte, as it were to donge lond,
• That was arrayed in the same wyse
• As ye han herd the dede man devyse;
• And with an hardy herte he gan to crye
• Vengeaunce and Iustice of this felonye:—4230
• ‘My felawe mordred is this same night,(221)
• And in this carte he lyth gapinge upright.
• I crye out on the ministres,’ quod he,
• ‘That sholden kepe and reulen this citee;
• Harrow! allas! her lyth my felawe slayn!’4235
• What sholde I more un-to this tale sayn?
• The peple out-sterte, and caste the cart to grounde,
• And in the middel of the dong they founde
• The dede man, that mordred was al newe.
• O blisful god, that art so Iust and trewe!4240
• Lo, how that thou biwreyest mordre alway!(231)
• Mordre wol out, that see we day by day.
• Mordre is so wlatsom and abhominable
• To god, that is so Iust and resonable,
• That he ne wol nat suffre it heled be;4245
• Though it abyde a yeer, or two, or three,
• Mordre wol out, this my conclusioun.
• And right anoon , ministres of that toun
• Han hent the carter, and so sore him pyned,
• And eek the hostiler so sore engyned,4250
• That thay biknewe hir wikkednesse anoon,(241)
• And were an-hanged by the nekke-boon.
• Here may men seen that dremes been to drede.
• And certes, in the same book I rede,
• Right in the nexte chapitre after this,4255
• (I gabbe nat, so have I Ioye or blis,)
• Two men that wolde han passed over see,
• For certeyn cause, in-to a fer contree,
• If that the wind ne hadde been contrarie,
• That made hem in a citee for to tarie,4260
• That stood ful mery upon an haven-syde.(251)
• But on a day, agayn the even-tyde,
• The wind gan chaunge, and blew right as hem leste.
• Iolif and glad they wente un-to hir reste,
• And casten hem ful erly for to saille;4265
• But to that oo man fil a greet mervaille.
• That oon of hem, in sleping as he lay,
• Him mette a wonder dreem, agayn the day;
• Him thoughte a man stood by his beddes syde,
• And him comaunded, that he sholde abyde,4270
• And seyde him thus, ‘if thou to-morwe wende,(261)
• Thou shalt be dreynt; my tale is at an ende.’
• He wook, and tolde his felawe what he mette.
• And preyde him his viage for to lette;
• As for that day, he preyde him to abyde.4275
• His felawe, that lay by his beddes syde,
• Gan for to laughe, and scorned him ful faste.
• ‘No dreem,’ quod he, ‘may so myn herte agaste,
• That I wol lette for to do my thinges.
• I sette not a straw by thy dreminges,4280
• For swevenes been but vanitees and Iapes.(271)
• Men dreme al-day of owles or of apes,
• And eke of many a mase therwithal;
• Men dreme of thing that nevere was ne shal.
• But sith I see that thou wolt heer abyde,4285
• And thus for-sleuthen wilfully thy tyde,
• God wot it reweth me; and have good day.’
• And thus he took his leve, and wente his way.
• But er that he hadde halfe his cours y-seyled,
• Noot I nat why, ne what mischaunce it eyled,4290
• But casuelly the shippes botme rente,(281)
• And ship and man under the water wente
• In sighte of othere shippes it byside,
• That with hem seyled at the same tyde.
• And therfor, faire Pertelote so dere,4295
• By swiche ensamples olde maistow lere,
• That no man sholde been to recchelees
• Of dremes, for I sey thee, doutelees,
• That many a dreem ful sore is for to drede.
• Lo, in the lyf of seint Kenelm, I rede,4300
• That was Kenulphus sone, the noble king(291)
• Of Mercenrike, how Kenelm mette a thing;
• A lyte er he was mordred, on a day,
• His mordre in his avisioun he say.
• His norice him expouned every del4305
• His sweven, and bad him for to kepe him wel
• For traisoun; but he nas but seven yeer old,
• And therfore litel tale hath he told
• Of any dreem, so holy was his herte.
• By god, I hadde lever than my sherte4310
• That ye had rad his legende, as have I.(301)
• Dame Pertelote, I sey yow trewely,
• Macrobeus, that writ the avisioun
• In Affrike of the worthy Cipioun,
• Affermeth dremes, and seith that they been4315
• Warning of thinges that men after seen.
• And forther-more, I pray yow loketh wel
• In the olde testament, of Daniel,
• If he held dremes any vanitee.
• Reed eek of Ioseph, and ther shul ye see4320
• Wher dremes ben somtyme (I sey nat alle)(311)
• Warning of thinges that shul after falle.
• Loke of Egipt the king, daun Pharao,
• His bakere and his boteler also,
• Wher they ne felte noon effect in dremes.4325
• Who-so wol seken actes of sondry remes,
• May rede of dremes many a wonder thing.
• Lo Cresus, which that was of Lyde king,
• Mette he nat that he sat upon a tree,
• Which signified he sholde anhanged be?4330
• Lo heer Andromacha , Ectores wyf,(321)
• That day that Ector sholde lese his lyf,
• She dremed on the same night biforn,
• How that the lyf of Ector sholde be lorn,
• If thilke day he wente in-to bataille;4335
• She warned him, but it mighte nat availle;
• He wente for to fighte nathelees,
• But he was slayn anoon of Achilles.
• But thilke tale is al to long to telle,
• And eek it is ny day, I may nat dwelle.4340
• Shortly I seye, as for conclusioun,(331)
• That I shal han of this avisioun
• Adversitee; and I seye forther-more,
• That I ne telle of laxatyves no store,
• For they ben venimous, I woot it wel;4345
• I hem defye , I love hem never a del.
• Now let us speke of mirthe, and stinte al this;
• Madame Pertelote, so have I blis,
• Of o thing god hath sent me large grace;
• For whan I see the beautee of your face,4350
• Ye ben so scarlet-reed about your yën,(341)
• It maketh al my drede for to dyen;
• For, also siker as In principio,
• Mulier est hominis confusio;
• Madame, the sentence of this Latin is—4355
• Womman is mannes Ioye and al his blis.
• For whan I fele a-night your softe syde,
• Al-be-it that I may nat on you ryde,
• For that our perche is maad so narwe, alas!
• I am so ful of Ioye and of solas4360
• That I defye bothe sweven and dreem.’(351)
• And with that word he fley doun fro the beem,
• For it was day, and eek his hennes alle;
• And with a chuk he gan hem for to calle,
• For he had founde a corn, lay in the yerd.4365
• Royal he was, he was namore aferd;
• He fethered Pertelote twenty tyme,
• And trad as ofte, er that it was pryme.
• He loketh as it were a grim leoun;
• And on his toos he rometh up and doun,4370
• Him deyned not to sette his foot to grounde.(361)
• He chukketh, whan he hath a corn y-founde,
• And to him rennen thanne his wyves alle.
• Thus royal, as a prince is in his halle,
• Leve I this Chauntecleer in his pasture;4375
• And after wol I telle his aventure.
• Whan that the month in which the world bigan,
• That highte March, whan god first maked man,
• Was complet, and [y]-passed were also,
• Sin March bigan, thritty dayes and two,4380
• Bifel that Chauntecleer, in al his pryde,(371)
• His seven wyves walking by his syde,
• Caste up his eyen to the brighte sonne,
• That in the signe of Taurus hadde y-ronne
• Twenty degrees and oon, and somwhat more;4385
• And knew by kynde, and by noon other lore,
• That it was pryme, and crew with blisful stevene.
• ‘The sonne,’ he sayde, ‘is clomben up on hevene
• Fourty degrees and oon, and more, y-wis.
• Madame Pertelote, my worldes blis,4390
• Herkneth thise blisful briddes how they singe,(381)
• And see the fresshe floures how they springe;
• Ful is myn herte of revel and solas.’
• But sodeinly him fil a sorweful cas;
• For ever the latter ende of Ioye is wo.4395
• God woot that worldly Ioye is sone ago;
• And if a rethor coude faire endyte,
• He in a cronique saufly mighte it wryte,
• As for a sovereyn notabilitee.
• Now every wys man, lat him herkne me;4400
• This storie is al-so trewe, I undertake,(391)
• As is the book of Launcelot de Lake,
• That wommen holde in ful gret reverence.
• Now wol I torne agayn to my sentence.
• A col-fox, ful of sly iniquitee,4405
• That in the grove hadde woned yeres three,
• By heigh imaginacioun forn-cast,
• The same night thurgh-out the hegges brast
• Into the yerd, ther Chauntecleer the faire
• Was wont, and eek his wyves, to repaire;4410
• And in a bed of wortes stille he lay,(401)
• Til it was passed undern of the day,
• Wayting his tyme on Chauntecleer to falle,
• As gladly doon thise homicydes alle,
• That in awayt liggen to mordre men.4415
• O false mordrer, lurking in thy den!
• O newe Scariot, newe Genilon!
• False dissimilour, O Greek Sinon,
• That broghtest Troye al outrely to sorwe!
• O Chauntecleer, acursed be that morwe,4420
• That thou into that yerd flough fro the bemes!(411)
• Thou were ful wel y-warned by thy dremes,
• That thilke day was perilous to thee.
• But what that god forwoot mot nedes be,
• After the opinioun of certeyn clerkis.4425
• Witnesse on him, that any perfit clerk is,
• That in scole is gret altercacioun
• In this matere, and greet disputisoun,
• And hath ben of an hundred thousand men.
• But I ne can not bulte it to the bren,4430
• As can the holy doctour Augustyn,(421)
• Or Boece, or the bishop Bradwardyn,
• Whether that goddes worthy forwiting
• Streyneth me nedely for to doon a thing,
• (Nedely clepe I simple necessitee);4435
• Or elles, if free choys be graunted me
• To do that same thing, or do it noght,
• Though god forwoot it, er that it was wroght;
• Or if his witing streyneth nevere a del
• But by necessitee condicionel.4440
• I wol not han to do of swich matere;(431)
• My tale is of a cok, as ye may here,
• That took his counseil of his wyf, with sorwe,
• To walken in the yerd upon that morwe
• That he had met the dreem, that I yow tolde.4445
• Wommennes counseils been ful ofte colde;
• Wommannes counseil broghte us first to wo,
• And made Adam fro paradys to go,
• Ther-as he was ful mery, and wel at ese.
• But for I noot, to whom it mighte displese,4450
• If I counseil of wommen wolde blame,(441)
• Passe over, for I seyde it in my game.
• Rede auctours, wher they trete of swich matere,
• And what thay seyn of wommen ye may here.
• Thise been the cokkes wordes, and nat myne;4455
• I can noon harm of no womman divyne.
• Faire in the sond, to bathe hir merily,
• Lyth Pertelote, and alle hir sustres by,
• Agayn the sonne; and Chauntecleer so free
• Song merier than the mermayde in the see;4460
• For Phisiologus seith sikerly,(451)
• How that they singen wel and merily.
• And so bifel that, as he caste his yë,
• Among the wortes, on a boterflye,
• He was war of this fox that lay ful lowe.4465
• No-thing ne liste him thanne for to crowe,
• But cryde anon, ‘cok, cok,’ and up he sterte,
• As man that was affrayed in his herte.
• For naturelly a beest desyreth flee
• Fro his contrarie, if he may it see,4470
• Though he never erst had seyn it with his yë.(461)
• This Chauntecleer, whan he gan him espye,
• He wolde han fled, but that the fox anon
• Seyde, ‘Gentil sire, allas! wher wol ye gon?
• Be ye affrayed of me that am your freend?4475
• Now certes, I were worse than a feend,
• If I to yow wolde harm or vileinye.
• I am nat come your counseil for tespye;
• But trewely, the cause of my cominge
• Was only for to herkne how that ye singe.4480
• For trewely ye have as mery a stevene(471)
• As eny aungel hath, that is in hevene;
• Therwith ye han in musik more felinge
• Than hadde Boece, or any that can singe.
• My lord your fader (god his soule blesse!)4485
• And eek your moder, of hir gentilesse,
• Han in myn hous y-been, to my gret ese;
• And certes, sire, ful fayn wolde I yow plese.
• But for men speke of singing, I wol saye,
• So mote I brouke wel myn eyen tweye,4490
• Save yow, I herde never man so singe,(481)
• As dide your fader in the morweninge;
• Certes, it was of herte, al that he song.
• And for to make his voys the more strong,
• He wolde so peyne him, that with bothe his yën4495
• He moste winke, so loude he wolde cryen,
• And stonden on his tiptoon ther-with-al,
• And strecche forth his nekke long and smal.
• And eek he was of swich discrecioun,
• That ther nas no man in no regioun4500
• That him in song or wisdom mighte passe.(491)
• I have wel rad in daun Burnel the Asse,
• Among his vers, how that ther was a cok,
• For that a preestes sone yaf him a knok
• Upon his leg, whyl he was yong and nyce,4505
• He made him for to lese his benefyce.
• But certeyn, ther nis no comparisoun
• Bitwix the wisdom and discrecioun
• Of youre fader, and of his subtiltee.
• Now singeth, sire, for seinte charitee,4510
• Let see, conne ye your fader countrefete?’(501)
• This Chauntecleer his winges gan to bete,
• As man that coude his tresoun nat espye,
• So was he ravisshed with his flaterye.
• Allas! ye lordes, many a fals flatour4515
• Is in your courtes, and many a losengeour,
• That plesen yow wel more, by my feith,
• Than he that soothfastnesse unto yow seith.
• Redeth Ecclesiaste of flaterye;
• Beth war, ye lordes, of hir trecherye.4520
• This Chauntecleer stood hye up-on his toos,(511)
• Strecching his nekke, and heeld his eyen cloos,
• And gan to crowe loude for the nones;
• And daun Russel the fox sterte up at ones,
• And by the gargat hente Chauntecleer,4525
• And on his bak toward the wode him beer,
• For yet ne was ther no man that him sewed.
• O destinee, that mayst nat been eschewed!
• Allas, that Chauntecleer fleigh fro the bemes!
• Allas, his wyf ne roghte nat of dremes!4530
• And on a Friday fil al this meschaunce.(521)
• O Venus, that art goddesse of plesaunce,
• Sin that thy servant was this Chauntecleer,
• And in thy service dide al his poweer,
• More for delyt, than world to multiplye,4535
• Why woldestow suffre him on thy day to dye?
• O Gaufred, dere mayster soverayn,
• That, whan thy worthy king Richard was slayn
• With shot, compleynedest his deth so sore,
• Why ne hadde I now thy sentence and thy lore,4540
• The Friday for to chide, as diden ye?(531)
• (For on a Friday soothly slayn was he.)
• Than wolde I shewe yow how that I coude pleyne
• For Chauntecleres drede, and for his peyne.
• Certes, swich cry ne lamentacioun4545
• Was never of ladies maad, whan Ilioun
• Was wonne, and Pirrus with his streite swerd,
• Whan he hadde hent king Priam by the berd,
• And slayn him (as saith us Eneydos),
• As maden alle the hennes in the clos,4550
• Whan they had seyn of Chauntecleer the sighte.(541)
• But sovereynly dame Pertelote shrighte,
• Ful louder than dide Hasdrubales wyf,
• Whan that hir housbond hadde lost his lyf,
• And that the Romayns hadde brend Cartage;4555
• She was so ful of torment and of rage,
• That wilfully into the fyr she sterte,
• And brende hir-selven with a stedfast herte.
• O woful hennes, right so cryden ye,
• As, whan that Nero brende the citee4560
• Of Rome, cryden senatoures wyves,(551)
• For that hir housbondes losten alle hir lyves;
• Withouten gilt this Nero hath hem slayn.
• Now wol I torne to my tale agayn:—
• This sely widwe, and eek hir doghtres two,4565
• Herden thise hennes crye and maken wo,
• And out at dores sterten they anoon,
• And syen the fox toward the grove goon,
• And bar upon his bak the cok away;
• And cryden, ‘Out! harrow! and weylaway!4570
• Ha, ha, the fox!’ and after him they ran,(561)
• And eek with staves many another man;
• Ran Colle our dogge, and Talbot, and Gerland,
• And Malkin, with a distaf in hir hand;
• Ran cow and calf, and eek the verray hogges4575
• So were they fered for berking of the dogges
• And shouting of the men and wimmen eke,
• They ronne so, hem thoughte hir herte breke.
• They yelleden as feendes doon in helle;
• The dokes cryden as men wolde hem quelle;4580
• The gees for fere flowen over the trees;(571)
• Out of the hyve cam the swarm of bees;
• So hidous was the noyse, a! benedicite!
• Certes, he Iakke Straw, and his meynee,
• Ne made never shoutes half so shrille,4585
• Whan that they wolden any Fleming kille,
• As thilke day was maad upon the fox.
• Of bras thay broghten bemes, and of box,
• Of horn, of boon, in whiche they blewe and pouped,
• And therwithal thay shryked and they houped;4590
• It semed as that heven sholde falle.(581)
• Now, gode men, I pray yow herkneth alle!
• Lo, how fortune turneth sodeinly
• The hope and pryde eek of hir enemy!
• This cok, that lay upon the foxes bak,4595
• In al his drede, un-to the fox he spak,
• And seyde, ‘sire, if that I were as ye,
• Yet sholde I seyn (as wis god helpe me),
• Turneth agayn, ye proude cherles alle!
• A verray pestilence up-on yow falle!4600
• Now am I come un-to this wodes syde,(591)
• Maugree your heed, the cok shal heer abyde;
• I wol him ete in feith, and that anon.’—
• The fox answerde, ‘in feith, it shal be don,’—
• And as he spak that word, al sodeinly4605
• This cok brak from his mouth deliverly,
• And heighe up-on a tree he fleigh anon.
• And whan the fox saugh that he was y-gon,
• ‘Allas!’ quod he, ‘O Chauntecleer, allas!
• I have to yow,’ quod he, ‘y-doon trespas,4610
• In-as-muche as I maked yow aferd,(601)
• Whan I yow hente, and broghte out of the yerd;
• But, sire, I dide it in no wikke entente;
• Com doun, and I shal telle yow what I mente.
• I shal seye sooth to yow, god help me so.’4615
• ‘Nay than,’ quod he, ‘I shrewe us bothe two,
• And first I shrewe my-self, bothe blood and bones,
• If thou bigyle me ofter than ones.
• Thou shalt na-more, thurgh thy flaterye,
• Do me to singe and winke with myn yë.4620
• For he that winketh, whan he sholde see,(611)
• Al wilfully, god lat him never thee!’
• ‘Nay,’ quod the fox, ‘but god yeve him meschaunce,
• That is so undiscreet of governaunce,
• That Iangleth whan he sholde holde his pees.’4625
• Lo, swich it is for to be recchelees,
• And necligent, and truste on flaterye.
• But ye that holden this tale a folye,
• As of a fox, or of a cok and hen,
• Taketh the moralitee, good men.4630
• For seint Paul seith, that al that writen is,(621)
• To our doctryne it is y-write, y-wis.
• Taketh the fruyt, and lat the chaf be stille.
• Now, gode god, if that it be thy wille,
• As seith my lord, so make us alle good men;4635
• And bringe us to his heighe blisse. Amen.