The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• General Introduction.
• Life of Geoffrey Chaucer.
• List of Chaucer’s Works.
• Errata and Addenda.
• Introduction.: the Romaunt of the Rose.
• Introduction: the Minor Poems.
• The Romaunt of the Rose.
• Fragment A.: Le Roman De La Rose.
• Fragment B.
• Fragment C.
• The Minor Poems.
• I.: An A. B. C.
• II.: The Compleynte Unto Pite.
• III.: The Book of the Duchesse.
• IV.: The Compleynt of Mars.
• V.: The Parlement of Foules.
• VI.: A Compleint to His Lady.
• VII.: Anelida and Arcite.
• VIII.: Chaucers Wordes Unto Adam, His Owne Scriveyn.
• IX.: The Former Age.
• X.: Fortune.
• XI.: Merciles Beaute: a Triple Roundel.
• XII.: To Rosemounde. a Balade.
• XIII.: Truth.
• XIV.: Gentilesse.
• XV.: Lak of Stedfastnesse.
• XVI.: Lenvoy De Chaucer a Scogan.
• XVII.: Lenvoy De Chaucer a Bukton.
• XVIII.: The Compleynt of Venus.
• XIX.: The Compleint of Chaucer to His Empty Purse.
• XX.: Proverbs.
• Appendix.
• XXI.: Against Women Unconstant.
• XXII.: An Amorous Compleint. (compleint Damours.)
• XXIII.: A Balade of Compleynt.
• Notes to the Romaunt of the Rose.
• Notes to the Minor Poems.

XX.

PROVERBS.

The MSS. are: F. (Fairfax 16); Ha. (Harl. 7578); Ad. (Addit. 16165). I follow F. mainly.Title;in F. Ha.; Ad. Prouerbe.

• Proverbe of Chaucer.
• • I.
  • What shul thiseclothesmany-fold ,
  • Lo ! this hote somers day?—
  • After greet heet cometh cold ;
  • No man caste his pilche away.5
• • II.
  • Of al this world the wydecompas
  • Hitwol not in myn armes tweyne.—^[ ][ ]
  • Who-so mochel wol embrace
  • Litel therof he shal distreyne.

[1. ]Ad. þees; F. Ha. these. All needlessly insert thus after clothes. F. manyfolde.

[2. ]F. Loo; hoote.

[3. ]F. grete hete; Ha. greet hete; Ad. heet. F. colde.

[4. ]Ha. pilche; F. pilch.

[5. ]F. all; worlde. Ad. wyde; F. Ha. large. Ad. Ha. compas; F. compace.

[6. ]Ad. Hit; F. Yt. Ad. wol; F. Ha. wil. Ad. myn; F. Ha. my.

[7. ]F. Whoo-so.

[7.]At the head of a Ballad by Deschamps, ed. Tarbé, i. 132, is the French proverb—‘Qui trop embrasse, mal étreint.’ Cotgrave, s. v. embrasser, has: ‘Trop embrasser, et peu estraigner, to meddle with more business then he can wield; to have too many irons in the fire; to lose all by coveting all.’

But the most interesting point is the use of this proverb by Chaucer elsewhere, viz. in the Tale of Melibeus, Group B, 2405—‘For the proverbe seith, he that to muche embraceth, distreyneth litel.’ It is also quoted by Lydgate, in his description of the Merchant in the Dance of Machabre.

[7.]Embrace must be read as embrac’, for the rime. Similarly, Chaucer puts gras for grac-e in Sir Thopas (Group B, l. 2021).