Geoffrey Chaucer

“ 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 paye 3150
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.' ”

“ 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.' ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 renoun 3825
They weren glad for pees un-to him sende. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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! ”

“ 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 preye 3230
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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 annunciat 3205
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. ”

“ Ful ofte in game a sooth I have herd seye.'
This worthy monk took al in pacience, 3155 ”

“ 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 yën. 3260
But er his heer were clipped or y-shave, (81)
Ther was no bond with which men might him binde ”

“ E. Pyze; Hn. Pize; Cp. Pyse; Pt. Ln. Hl. Pise.—3599. E. Hn. Cm. Pize; Cp. Pyse; Pt. Ln. Hl. Pise.—3606. E. Hn. Pize; Cm. Pyze; Cp. Pyse; Pt. Ln. Hl. Pise.—3611. E. Pt. omit wel.—3616. E. Hn. spak right; Cp. Hl. saugh it; Pt. seegh it; Ln. sawe it.—3622. E. Hn. repeat fader.—3628. Ln. Hl. saue; Cp. Pt. sauf; E. Hn. but.—3632. E. Hl. dyde; Hn. Cp. deyde; see l. 3644.—3640. E. flessh.—3641. E. flessh.—E. Hn. omit vs after yaf.—3646. See note to l. 3597.—3653. E. Hn. Cm. omit as.—3654. E. in helle; rest full lowe.—3657. E. Hn. Cm. North (but read South) ”

“ I supply tho.—For vessels, see 3391, 3416, 3418.—3400. Hn. lente; rest sente (but see l. 3403) .—3422. E. Hn. Cp. Hl. truste; Pt. trest; Ln. trust; Cm. trust to.—See B. 4214.—3425. E. om. yeven.—3435. E. as I ”