“ I hope he that knowes the fashions of the East, of Muscovy, Spain, Italy, and the Mores, understands that no married wife goes abroad but to honorable purposes; and it is an introduction to death to salute any stranger, or be seene in private conference. ”

“ For though mariage hath many difficulties attending; especially, the feare of legitimation in our children, and suspicion of that honour which lies on our wives honesty, yet all shall be overcome with this resolution, that I shall please you in the same; for I am resolved, if anie good come for man’s contentment by mariage, it is from God, to whom I submit this cause, and pray for the good successe of your wishes, that I may live to maintaine your peace, as well as my owne pleasure: and look, wherein my contentment shall enlarge mine honour, your welfare shall be respected above my life ”

“ Thou wonder of women, and champion of true vertue! I am ashamed of my imperfections, and tyred with abusing thee. I have tryed thee beyond reason, and thou hast forborne mee beyond modestie: beleeve it, therefore, I will have no wife but thy selfe, and when God hath thought thee too good for the earth, I will (if it bee not too much superstition) pray to thee in heaven. Oh! ’tis a pleasure to be acquainted with thy worth, and to come neere thy goodnes maketh a man better than himselfe. ”

“ But when the strangers were made acquainted with the fortune of Grisel, and saw her faire demeanour, they could not but esteeme her a woman of great vertue and honour, being more amased at her patience then at the mutability of mans conditions; till at last shee approached the lady, and taking her by the hand, used this speech.
Lady, if it were not his pleasure, that may command to bid you welcome, yet me thinks there is a kinde of over-ruling grace from nature in you, that must exact a respect unto you. ”

“ Take him then, a Gods name, and if hee be marked for death, it is but the common brand of all creatures; nay, if the mother may be a sacrifice of propitiation to appease your disquiet, never was lamb so meek, nor holocaust so willing to bee offred. For, what may bee comprehended under the titles of father, kinred, children, friends, life, pleasure, honours, and contentment, are all comprised under your love, and the society of a husband. Do with mee, then, what you please: the body shall serve your turne while it lives, and the soule attend you after death. ”

“ We cannot trace the story back farther than the middle of the fourteenth century, when Boccaccio incorporated it into his Decameron (day 10, novel 10) ; but it must have had a previous existence in Italy, for Petrarch says in his letter to Boccaccio that when he read it in the Decameron he remembered how pleased he had been with it when he heard it many years before. When his memory was thus revived in the story that charmed him so much he set to work to learn it by heart, so that he might repeat it to his friends. ”

“ Who rages against the mere fire that enfolds the martyr, or the nails that pierce the hands of a crucified Believer? Indeed, nothing in the tale is of any ethical moment but the carriage of the heroine herself. ”

“ In relation to her the marquis has no moral being; he is a mere means of showing forth her supreme excellence; a mere mechanical expedient. He is no more morally than a thorn in the saint’s footpath, or a wheel, or a cross. ”

“ But as it happens many times that inward graces doe moderate outward discommodities, and that God seasoneth poverty with contentment and their sufficient supportation, so had this poore man all his defects supplied in the admirable comfort of one onely daughter, so composed, as if nature determined a worke of ostentation. For such was her beauty in appearance, and vertue in operation, that it put judicious men to an extasie in the choice by comparison ”

“ The poore ould man was so astonished, that he could not looke up for teares, nor speak a word for joy; but when the extasie had end, hee thus faintly replied:—My gracious soueraigne, you are my lord, and therefore I must accord to your will; but you are generous, and therefore I presume on your vertue; take her a Gods name, and make mee a glad father; and let that God, which raiseth the humble and meek, make her a befitting wife, and fruitful mother. Why then, replied the Marquesse, let us enter your house, for I must ask her a question before you. ”

“ In this wee are the more suppliant, because it will rebound so much to the good of your countrey, and the enlarging your renowne; for if it should so fall out (which God forbid) that you die without issue, we may lament the losse of our lord, but not redresse the complaints of the people: we shall want you that was al our comfort, but are sure of distresse to our everlasting trouble. If then you either love your selfe, or pity us, frame a heart to this impression, and leave not us to further feare and disquiet. ”

“ The hearts of men refused to accept the dishonouring pictures so often drawn of their fellow mortals. They rose in a loyal insurrection against lying fables of essential wantonness and of shameful obstinacy. ”

“ It enjoys a complete monopoly, an absolute sway. Other moral life is suspended in this representation of it. She has but one function; for her there is but one sin possible, and that is to murmur. She is all meekness, all yielding, all resignation. ”

“ Nay, let no man shed a teare, I must bee more naked than so; for though the wife of a Marquesse while I lived, and the widow when I died, yet am I not too good for a grave, but in despight of pride must return to dust and ashes.
Did I say before, they began to weep? I can assure you, when she had done, they roared out-right; yea, the Marquesse himselfe shed so many teares that he was faine to retire, and commanded the smock she had begged to be sent unto her, that shee might prosecute the enterprise, and he determine his businesse, as he had constantly projected. ”

“ The nobles prepared themselves in the best manner: the ladies spared no cost, either for ornaments of their bodies, or setting out their beauties; the gentles flocked to please their lord, and were brave to set out their owne greatnes: the citisens were rich in their neatnes, and handsome in their attire: the officers were formall in their showes, and sumptuous in their attendants; the countryman had his variety, and the verie peasant his bravery; in a word, al sorts gloried in the hope of that festivall, and every man’s expectation attended the day of triumph. ”

“ I hope the instances of scripture are not made canonicall to no purpose, and out of reason and naturall inforcement: what a filthinesse is it to a generous spirit, to have a woman so presumptuous as to take an account of her husband’s actions and businesse? ”

“ For when any controversie hapned betweene himselfe and his nobles, she was so nobly minded, that what she could not obtaine by fair intreaty she yet mitigated by sweet perswasion. When any unkindnes hapned of forraine prince, shee urged those blessings of peace, and reasoned the matter with delightsom enforcement; and when the people were either complained of, or against, he marvelled from whence she had those pretty reasons to asswage his anger, and they verely beleeved shee was sent from heaven for their releefe. ”

“ I had not now come to you, most noble lady, though that power commanded me which hath my life in subjection, if I had not more relied upon your wisdome and vertue, than feared death it selfe. Therefore I crave pardon if I am displeasing in my message, and seeme cruell (as it were) in tearing your flesh from your sides, by bereaving you of this your daughter; for hee hath appointed it that must not bee gainsaid, 21and I am a messenger that cannot bee denied. ”

“ For never was such a preparation in Saluss before, nor such a confluence of people seene in that countrey; for besides the novelty, many forraine princes came to celebrate this mariage, and to shew their owne greatnes. Savoy was neare, and sent some from her snowie hills: France as neare, and sent others from her fruitful vines: Italy not far off, and sent many from her pleasant fields; and the ilands round about kept none at home that would come. Thus were his kinred invited, strangers admitted, his owne people entertained, and all sorts welcommed ”

“ I say plainely, that though their husbands were fooles by nature, yet is it not befitting for a wife to discover the same, or over-rule in forren affaires, I meane matters which concerne them not: for there is no great man so weake but hath councell and supportation of inferior officers, nor mean man so sottish but hath friends or servants in the dispatch of 37his businesse. ”

“ As for your new spouse, God grant her many daies of comfort, and you 34many yeeres of joy, that you may live in reciprocall delight one with another, and intertaine no worse contentment than poore Grisel accustomed. As for my dowry I brought, I brought only my selfe, and will have no more back againe, which was faith, love, reverence, poverty and virginity ”

“ For, in true understanding, what businesse should any man have with my wife three houres together in private? or why, without my leave, and that upon good grounds, should shee wander in publike? I speake not to overthrow noble societies, generous entertainment, familiar invitations, curteous behaviour, charitable welcomes, honest recreations, or peradventure, the imparting of private businesse ”

“ This device of the Marquesses, of kissing her so lovingly, and setting her downe by him so discreetly, did much good; for the company had time to dispute of the miracle, and the yong lady reason to prepare her obedience; which, no sooner was the dinner finished, but shee as soone performed, nothing thought upon but joy at the matter, and wonder at the accident; every one pleased to see such a unity of goodnes, and all delighted to have a businesse so well concluded. ”

“ That this is the true origin of the Clerk’s tale is confirmed by the fact that Petrarch varied somewhat from Boccaccio’s original, and in these variations Chaucer follows Petrarch. An impossible tale such as this requires all the art of the true poet to make it delightful to us, and this of course we have in Chaucer. It is far different when we come to read the common-place prose of the chap-book or the equally common-place verse of the ballad-monger. ”

“ For delay shall not intangle you with suspicion, nor two daies longer protract the kindnes; onely I must be satisfied in this, if your heart afford a willing entertainement to the motion, and your vertue a constancy to this resolution, not to repine at my pleasure in any thing, nor presume on contradiction, when I determine to command. For as amongst good souldiers, they must simply obey without disputing the businesse: so must vertuous wives dutifully consent withoute reproofe, or the least contraction of a brow. ”

“ The Marquesse, to try his lady further, made her beleeve hee would marry another wife. Some dozen years were passed since the Marquesse of Saluss had sent his daughter to Bologna, to his sister (as you have heard) , who was by this time growne to that beautie, comelinesse, and perfection, that her fame busied all Europe; and the lady Grisel, her mother, was made acquainted with her excellency, whereupon, he very strangely sent to Rome, by a messenger of trust, for counterfeit letters to marrie [t] his paragon, and to bee dispensed from his first wife. ”

“ Perhaps in ages when much most ignorant abuse of women prevailed in literature—abuse springing mainly out of the vile prejudices and superstitions of the mediæval Church—some such figure might have been expected to arise. ”

“ And so like a poore servant shee presently addressed herselfe to the businesse of the house, performing all things with such a quicknes and grace that each one wondred at her goodnesse and faire demeanour, and many murmured to see her put to such a triall. But the day of entertainement is now comme, and when the faire lady approached, her very presence had almost extinguished the impression of Grisels worthinesse; for some inconstant humourists gave way to the alteration, not blaming the Marquesse for such a change. ”

“ Therefore, to prevent this discontentment betweene us, and to maintaine that peace which must corroborate my estate, I must needes yeelde to their judgements, and take away your daughter from you, to preserve their amity: the thing I know must be displeasing to nature, and a mother cannot well indure such a losse ”

“ All the ballads of Griselda now in existence are essentially the same as that printed in The Garland of Goodwill by Thomas Deloney; and, as the same ballad, divided into chapters with prose chapters at the beginning and end, is printed in The Pleasant and Sweet History of Patient Grissell (reprinted by Mr. Collier for the Percy Society) , it has been suggested that this tract was also written by Deloney. ”

“ And whereas in others this temporary blessing gave wings to desire to bee seene and knowne abroad, in her those innated vertues allaied the heat of all manner of passion, and breakings out of frailty. The viands they had were but meane, and the diet they kept was to satisfie nature: the time was over-ruled by their stomachs, and the ceremonies they used were thanks to God, and moderation in their repasts. ”