Geoffrey Chaucer

“ And hem to Iesus Crist reverte.
⁠'Ful many another horriblete
May men in that boke see, 7190
That ben comaunded, douteles,
Ayens the lawe of Rome expres;
And alle with Antecrist they holden,
As men may in the book biholden. ”

“ Ful dusty been our heles two;
And thus bothe we ben sent
Thurghout this world that is miswent, 7490
To yeve ensample, and preche also.
To fisshen sinful men we go,
For other fisshing ne fisshe we. ”

“ If a man be so bestial
That he of no craft hath science,
And nought desyreth ignorence,
Than may he go a-begging yerne,
Til he som maner craft can lerne, 6720
Thurgh which, withoute truaunding,
He may in trouthe have his living. ”

“ And yit resseyveth, and shal resseyve,
That my falsnesse never aperceyve:
But who-so doth, if he wys be, 6315
Him is right good be war of me.
But so sligh is the [deceyving
That to hard is the] aperceyving. ”

“ And if that prelats grucchen it, 6465
That oughten wroth be in hir wit,
To lese her fatte bestes so,
I shal yeve hem a stroke or two,
That they shal lesen with [the] force,
Ye, bothe hir mytre and hir croce. ”

“ Dewe to folk that men may see
Lame, feble, wery, and bare,
Pore, or in such maner care, 6640
(That conne winne hem nevermo,
For they have no power therto) ,
He eteth his owne dampning,
But-if he lye, that made al thing. ”

“ I take your-self to record here,
That men ne may, in no manere,
Teren the wolf out of his hyde, 7315
Til he be [flayn] , bak and syde,
Though men him bete and al defyle;
What? wene ye that I wole bigyle? ”

“ On folkes shuldres thinges they couchen
That they nil with her fingres touchen.'
⁠Amour. 'And why wol they not touche it?'
⁠F. Sem. ⁠'Why? 6905
For hem ne list not, sikirly;
For sadde burdens that men taken
Make folkes shuldres aken. ”

“ The folk, for they shal not perceyve.
⁠'But I ne speke in no such wyse,
That men shulde humble abit dispyse,
So that no pryde ther-under be. 7275
No man shulde hate, as thinketh me,
The pore man in sich clothing. ”

“ That no man loveth him tenderly
That seith him harm, if he wot it, 7615
Al be he never so pore of wit.
And sooth is also sikerly,
(This knowe ye, sir, as wel as I) ,
That lovers gladly wol visyten
The places ther hir loves habyten. 7620
This man you loveth and eek honoureth;
This man to serve you laboureth ”

“ Our mighty linage and our route
Regneth in every regne aboute; 7220
And wel is worth we [maistres] be,
For al this world governe we,
And can the folk so wel disceyve,
That noon our gyle can perceyve ”

“ God, thou me kepe, for thy poustee,
Fro richesse and mendicitee;
For if a riche man him dresse 6535
To thenke to moche on [his] richesse,
His herte on that so fer is set,
That he his creatour foryet ”

“ I quethe him quyte, and him relesse
Of Egipt al the wildirnesse; 7000
To fer were alle my mansiouns
Fro alle citees and goode tounes.
My paleis and myn hous make I
There men may renne in openly,
And sey that I the world forsake. ”

“ That they may fede me in delyt, 5995
I wol not have hem in despyt.
No good man hateth hem, as I gesse,
For chinche and feloun is Richesse,
That so can chase hem and dispyse,
And hem defoule in sondry wyse. ”

“ Shulde lede a wikked lyf, parfey,
Ne not therfore her soules lese,
That hem to worldly clothes chese; 6230
For, certis, it were gret pitee.
Men may in seculer clothes see
Florisshen holy religioun. ”

“ And witeth wel, [wher] that god bad
The good man selle al that he had,
And folowe him, and to pore it yive, 6655
He wolde not therfore that he live
To serven him in mendience,
For it was never his sentence ”

“ Ye, sikerly, though he it feyned,
Or that him list, or that him deyned 6950
A man thurgh him avaunced be;
Therof alle parceners be we,
And tellen folk, wher-so we go,
That man thurgh us is sprongen so. ”

“ That thrallen folk so gilteles.'
⁠Fals-Semblant proveth so this thing
That he can noon answering,
And seeth alwey such apparaunce,
That nygh he fel in repentaunce, 7670
And seide him:—'Sir, it may wel be.
Semblant, a good man semen ye ”

“ Lest they berafte, with hir asking,
Folk of hir catel or of hir thing. 6670
For in this world is many a man
That yeveth his good, for he ne can
Werne it for shame, or elles he
Wolde of the asker delivered be ”

“ As he had, in this stedfastnesse,
The accord of the universitee,
And of the puple, as semeth me. 6770
⁠'No good man oughte it to refuse,
Ne oughte him therof to excuse,
Be wrooth or blythe who-so be ”

“ And with my bemes I wol blowe 7605
To alle neighboris a-rowe,
How he hath bothe comen and gon.'
⁠Tho spak Fals-Semblant right anon,
Al is not gospel, out of doute,
That men seyn in the toune aboute ”

“ Somtyme in Paris the citee.
⁠'And if men wolde ther-geyn appose 6555
The naked text, and lete the glose,
It mighte sone assoiled be;
For men may wel the sothe see,
That, parde, they mighte axe a thing
Pleynly forth, without begging. ”

“ And fisshen hem-self greet richesse
With wyly nettis that they caste:
It wol come foul out at the laste.
They ben fro clene religioun went; 6185
They make the world an argument
That hath a foul conclusioun. ”

“ But [leye] in houses smale withalle.
A mighty man, that can and may,
Shulde with his honde and body alway
Winne him his food in laboring, 6575
If he ne have rent or sich a thing,
Although he be religious,
And god to serven curious. ”

“ But not lyk even, sooth to seye;
Shortly, I wol herberwe me 6145
There I hope best to hulstred be;
And certeynly, sikerest hyding
Is undirneth humblest clothing.
⁠'Religious folk ben ful covert;
Seculer folk ben more appert. ”

“ That ofte hath pleyed with you, er this, 7530
The fairest games that he coude,
Withoute filthe, stille or loude;
Now dar [he] nat [him] self solace.
Ye han also the man do chace,
That he dar neither come ne go. ”

“ Th. bougerons; G. begger. 7029. Both these that; F. lerres ou. 7035. G. ony. 7037. we] G. me. 7038. hem] Both them. 7041. G. cheffis; Th. cheffes; F. fromages. 7047. he] G. we. 7048. Both bake.
7056. Both his; read our. 7059. G. sleght; Th. sleight. 7060. G. hight; Th. heyght. 7063. Both vounde. 7070. Both good. 7071. G. sleghtes. I supply as. 7075. G. om. he have. 7092. Th. We had ben turmented al and 7093. I supply fals. 7104. Both brent. 7109. G. has here l. 7110, followed by a blank line; Th. has That they [read he] ne might 7110. ”

“ In thilke book that I recorde.
Justinian eek, that made lawes, 6615
Hath thus forboden, by olde dawes,
"No man, up peyne to be deed,
Mighty of body, to begge his breed,
If he may swinke, it for to gete ”

“ Th. marchauntes; G. marchauntz. 5942. Both folyly. 5946. Th. vyce; G. wise. 5947. G. trust; pay. 5958. Th. surere. 5959. Both beaute (!) . 5960. Both That I.
5976. Both ful dere. 5977. Both leest; supply she. ”