Geoffrey Chaucer

“ Is comen hoom, and othere worthy men.
O blisful artow now, thou Dorigen, 1090
That hast thy lusty housbonde in thyne armes,
The fresshe knight, the worthy man of armes,
That loveth thee, as his owene hertes lyf.
No-thing list him to been imaginatyf
If any wight had spoke, whyl he was oute, 1095
To hire of love; he hadde of it no doute.
He noght entendeth to no swich matere,
But daunceth, Iusteth, maketh hir good chere ”

“ For quik or deed, right ther ye shul me finde;
In yow lyth al, to do me live or deye;—
But wel I woot the rokkes been aweye!' (610)
He taketh his leve, and she astonied stood,
In al hir face nas a drope of blood; 1340
She wende never han come in swich a trappe:
'Allas!' quod she, 'that ever this sholde happe!
For wende I never, by possibilitee,
That swich a monstre or merveille mighte be!
It is agayns the proces of nature': 1345
And hoom she gooth a sorweful creature. ”

“ Trouthe is the hyeste thing that man may kepe':—
But with that word he brast anon to wepe, 1480
And seyde, 'I yow forbede, up peyne of deeth,
That never, whyl thee lasteth lyf ne breeth,
To no wight tel thou of this aventure.
As I may best, I wol my wo endure,
Ne make no contenance of hevinesse, 1485
That folk of yow may demen harm or gesse.'
And forth he cleped a squyer and a mayde:
'Goth forth anon with Dorigen,' he sayde, (760)
'And bringeth hir to swich a place anon.'
They take hir leve, and on hir wey they gon; 1490
But they ne wiste why she thider wente. ”

“ In Armorik, that called is Britayne,
Ther was a knight that loved and dide his payne 730
To serve a lady in his beste wyse;
And many a labour, many a greet empryse
He for his lady wroghte, er she were wonne.
For she was oon, the faireste under sonne,
And eek therto come of so heigh kinrede, 735
That wel unnethes dorste this knight, for drede,
Telle hir his wo, his peyne, and his distresse. ”

“ For in this world, certein, ther no wight is,
That he ne dooth or seith som-tyme amis. 780
Ire, siknesse, or constellacioun,
Wyn, wo, or chaunginge of complexioun
Causeth ful ofte to doon amis or speken.
On every wrong a man may nat be wreken;
After the tyme, moste be temperaunce 785
To every wight that can on governaunce.
And therfore hath this wyse worthy knight,
To live in ese, suffrance hir bihight, (60)
And she to him ful wisly gan to swere
That never sholde ther be defaute in here. 790
Heer may men seen an humble wys accord ”

“ I seye, whan ye han maad the coost so clene 995
Of rokkes, that ther nis no stoon y-sene,
Than wol I love yow best of any man;
Have heer my trouthe in al that ever I can.' (270)
'Is ther non other grace in yow,' quod he.
'No, by that lord,' quod she, 'that maked me! 1000
For wel I woot that it shal never bityde.
Lat swiche folies out of your herte slyde.
What deyntee sholde a man han in his lyf
For to go love another mannes wyf,
That hath hir body whan so that him lyketh?' 1005
Aurelius ful ofte sore syketh ”

“ Hir to disporte up-on the bank an heigh,
Wher-as she many a ship and barge seigh 850
Seilinge hir cours, wher-as hem liste go;
But than was that a parcel of hir wo.
For to hir-self ful ofte 'allas!' seith she,
'Is ther no ship, of so manye as I see,
Wol bringen hom my lord? than were myn herte 855
Al warisshed of his bittre peynes smerte.'
Another tyme ther wolde she sitte and thinke,
And caste hir eyen dounward fro the brinke. (130)
But whan she saugh the grisly rokkes blake,
For verray fere so wolde hir herte quake, 860
That on hir feet she mighte hir noght sustene. ”

“ Or other magik naturel above, 1155
He sholde wel make my brother han his love.
For with an apparence a clerk may make
To mannes sighte, that alle the rokkes blake (430)
Of Britaigne weren y-voyded everichon,
And shippes by the brinke comen and gon, 1160
And in swich forme endure a day or two;
Than were my brother warisshed of his wo.
Than moste she nedes holden hir biheste,
Or elles he shal shame hir atte leste.'
What sholde I make a lenger tale of this? ”

“ As preyeth hir so greet a flood to bringe,
That fyve fadme at the leeste it overspringe 1060
The hyeste rokke in Armorik Briteyne;
And lat this flood endure yeres tweyne;
Than certes to my lady may I seye:
"Holdeth your heste, the rokkes been aweye."
Lord Phebus, dooth this miracle for me; 1065
Preye hir she go no faster cours than ye;
I seye, preyeth your suster that she go
No faster cours than ye thise yeres two. (340)
Than shal she been evene atte fulle alway,
And spring-flood laste bothe night and day. ”

“ Hir frendes, whiche that knewe hir hevy thoght,
Conforten hir in al that ever they may;
They prechen hir, they telle hir night and day,
That causelees she sleeth hir-self, allas! 825
And every confort possible in this cas
They doon to hir with al hir bisinesse,
Al for to make hir leve hir hevinesse. (100)
By proces, as ye knowen everichoon,
Men may so longe graven in a stoon, 830
Til som figure ther-inne emprented be. ”

“ To remoeven alle the rokkes of Britayne,
And eek from Gerounde to the mouth of Sayne.
He made it straunge, and swoor, so god him save,
Lasse than a thousand pound he wolde nat have,
Ne gladly for that somme he wolde nat goon. 1225
Aurelius, with blisful herte anoon,
Answerde thus, 'fy on a thousand pound!
This wyde world, which that men seye is round, (500)
I wolde it yeve, if I were lord of it. ”

“ As that ye been! fy on possessioun
But-if a man be vertuous with-al.
I have my sone snibbed, and yet shal,
For he to vertu listeth nat entende;
But for to pleye at dees, and to despende, 690
And lese al that he hath, is his usage.
And he hath lever talken with a page (20)
Than to comune with any gentil wight
Ther he mighte lerne gentillesse aright.'—
'Straw for your gentillesse,' quod our host; 695
'What, frankeleyn? pardee, sir, wel thou wost
That eche of yow mot tellen atte leste
A tale or two, or breken his biheste.'
'That knowe I wel, sir,' quod the frankeleyn ”

“ And nat to ben constreyned as a thral;
And so don men, if I soth seyen shal. ”

“ His brest was hool, with-oute for to sene,
But in his herte ay was the arwe kene.
And wel ye knowe that of a sursanure
In surgerye is perilous the cure,
But men mighte touche the arwe, or come therby. ”

“ For Narcisus, that dorste nat telle hir wo.
In other manere than ye here me seye,
Ne dorste he nat to hir his wo biwreye;
Save that, paraventure, som-tyme at daunces, 955
Ther yonge folk kepen hir observaunces,
It may wel be he loked on hir face
In swich a wyse, as man that asketh grace ”

“ That with hir haukes han the heron slayn.
Tho saugh he knightes Iusting in a playn; (470)
And after this, he dide him swich plesaunce,
That he him shewed his lady on a daunce 1200
On which him-self he daunced, as him thoughte.
And whan this maister, that this magik wroughte,
Saugh it was tyme, he clapte his handes two,
And farewel! al our revel was ago.
And yet remoeved they never out of the hous, 1205
Whyl they saugh al this sighte merveillous,
But in his studie, ther-as his bookes be,
They seten stille, and no wight but they three. ”

“ Hom cam Arveragus, this worthy knight, 1460
And asked hir, why that she weep so sore?
And she gan wepen ever lenger the more.
'Allas!' quod she, 'that ever was I born!
Thus have I seyd,' quod she, 'thus have I sworn'—
And told him al as ye han herd bifore; 1465
It nedeth nat reherce it yow na-more.
This housbond with glad chere, in freendly wyse,
Answerde and seyde as I shal yow devyse: (740)
'Is ther oght elles, Dorigen, but this?'
'Nay, nay,' quod she, 'god help me so, as wis; 1470
This is to muche, and it were goddes wille.'
'Ye, wyf,' quod he, 'lat slepen that is stille ”

“ Have heer my trouthe, til that myn herte breste.'
Thus been they bothe in quiete and in reste. 760
For o thing, sires, saufly dar I seye,
That frendes everich other moot obeye,
If they wol longe holden companye.
Love wol nat ben constreyned by maistrye;
Whan maistrie comth, the god of love anon 765
Beteth hise winges, and farewel! he is gon!
Love is a thing as any spirit free ”

“ Ther shal no wight defoulen, if I may." (690)
What sholde I mo ensamples heer-of sayn,
Sith that so manye han hem-selven slayn 1420
Wel rather than they wolde defouled be?
I wol conclude, that it is bet for me
To sleen my-self, than been defouled thus.
I wol be trewe un-to Arveragus,
Or rather sleen my-self in som manere, 1425
As dide Demociones doghter dere,
By-cause that she wolde nat defouled be.
O Cedasus! it is ful greet pitee, (700)
To reden how thy doghtren deyde, allas!
That slowe hem-selven for swich maner cas. ”

“ And to him-self he seyde prively:
'My brother shal be warisshed hastily; (410)
For I am siker that ther be sciences,
By whiche men make diverse apparences 1140
Swiche as thise subtile tregetoures pleye.
For ofte at festes have I wel herd seye,
That tregetours, with-inne an halle large,
Have maad come in a water and a barge,
And in the halle rowen up and doun. 1145
Somtyme hath semed come a grim leoun ”

“ He is at his avantage al above.
Pacience is an heigh vertu certeyn;
For it venquisseth, as thise clerkes seyn,
Thinges that rigour sholde never atteyne. 775
For every word men may nat chyde or pleyne. ”