552 555 Ther nas no dore that he nolde heve of harre,1 560 564 569 A gentil MAUNCIPLE was ther of a temple, Of which achatours" myghte take exemple For to be wise in byynge of vitaille; For, wheither that he payde or took by taille," Algates he wayted' so in his achaat10 That he was ay biforn11 and in good staat. Now is nat that of God a ful fair grace That swich a lewed 12 mannės wit shal pace The wisdom of an heepe of lerned men? Of maistres hadde he mo than thriės ten, That weren of lawe expert and curious, Of wiche ther weren a duszeyne in that hous Worthy to been stywardes of rente and lond Of any lord that is in Engelond, 575 580 585 In any caas that myghte falle or happe; Ful longe were his legges and ful lene, 1 Heave off its hinges. Loud and ribald jester. 596 600 2 Tip. Millers were allowed as toll a certain proportion of the grain in payment for the grinding. This miller tolled thrice, i. e. took three times the legal quantity of grain. An allusion to the proverb "An honest miller has a thumb of gold." The line may be ironical,-he stole corn, he tolled thrice, and yet was honest enough for a miller. The proverb itself is ambiguous, and the passage obscure. Buyers. 8 Always. 7 Tally, i. e. charged the goods. • Watched. 10 Buying. 12 Ignorant. 14 Without debts. 16 Outwitted them all. 18 Farm stock. Nor of the knobbės sittynge on his chekes. wood.36 And whan that he wel dronken hadde the wyn, 640 Than wolde he speke no word but Latyn. As greet as it were for an alė stake; With hym ther rood a gentil PARDONER Of Rouncivale,2 his freend and his compeer, 670 That streight was comen fro the court of Rome. 675 Ful loude he soong Com hider, love to me! 680 A vernycle hadde he sowed upon his cappe; 685 692 695 A voys he hadde as smal as hath a goot; He was in chirche a noble ecclesiaste; But alderbest he song an Offertorie; 700 710 For wel he wistė whan that song was songe, Now have I toold you shortly, in a clause, 715 The staat, tharray, the nombre, and eek the Whan we were in that hostelrie alyght; 730 But first, I pray yow of youre curteisye, 725 That ye narette it nat my vileynye,17 Thogh that I pleynly speke in this mateere To telle yow hir wordes and hir cheere, 18 Ne thogh I speke hir wordes proprely;19 For this ye knowen al-so wel as I, Whoso shal telle a tale after a man, He moote reherce, as ny as ever he kan, Everich a word, if it be in his charge, Al speke he never so rudéliche20 or large; Or ellis he moot telle his tale untrewe, Or feyné thyng, or fynde wordės newe. He may nat spare, althogh he were his brother; He moot as wel seye o word as another. Crist spak hymself ful brode in hooly writ, And wel ye woot no vileynye is it. 735 740 Eek Plato seith, whoso that kan hym rede, "The wordės moote be cosyn to the dede.' Also I prey yow to foryeve it me 744 Al have I nat set folk in hir degree Greet chiere made oure hoost us everichon, And to the soper sette he us anon, And served us with vitaille at the beste: Strong was the wyn and wel to drynke us leste.21 750 A semely man OUR HOOSTE was with-alle For to han been a marchal in an halle. A large man he was, with eyen stepe, 754 A fairer burgeys is ther noon in Chepe;22 And after soper pleyen he bigan, And spak of myrthe amonges othere thynges, 765 775 "Ye goon to Canterbury-God yow speede, The blisful martir quite yow youre meede!24 770 And, wel I woot, as ye goon by the weye, Ye shapen yow to talen25 and to pleye; For trewėly confort ne myrthe is noon To ride by the weye doumb as a stoon; And therfore wol I maken yow disport, As I seyde erste, and doon yow som confort. And if you liketh alle, by oon assent, Now for to stonden at my juggėment, And for to werken as I shal yow seye, To-morwė, whan ye riden by the weye, Now, by my fader soule, that is deed, But ye be myrie, smyteth of myn heed! Sire Knyght," quod he, "my mayster and my lord, Now draweth cut, for that is myn accord. 845 849 To kepe his foreward by his free assent, THE PARDONER'S TALE 665 Thise riotoures thre, of whiche I telle, Longe erst er primè13 rong of any belle, Were set hem in a taverne for to drynke; And as they sat they herde a belle clynke Biforn a cors, was carried to his grave. That oon of hem gan callen to his knave:14 "Go bet," quod he, "and axe redily 15 What cors is this that passeth heer forby, And looke that thou reporte his name weel.” "Sire," quod this boy, "it nedeth never a deel, It was me toold er ye cam heere two houres; 671 He was, pardee, an old felawe of youres, And sodeynly he was y-slayn to-nyght, For-dronke, as he sat on his bench upright; Ther cam a privee theef, men clepeth Deeth,675 That in this contree al the peple sleeth, And with his spere he smoot his herte atwo, And wente his wey withouten wordės mo. He hath a thousand slayn this pestilence,1o And maister, er ye come in his presence, Me thynketh that it were necessarie For to be war of swich an adversarie; Beth redy for to meete hym evermoore; Thus taughte me my dame; I sey na-moore." By Seinte Marie!" seyde this taverner, 685 "The child seith sooth, for he hath slayn this yeer, 680 Henne over a mile, withinne a greet village, Bothe man and womman, child, and hyne, is and page; I trowe his habitacioun be there; Whan they han goon nat fully half a mile, Right as they wolde han troden over a stile, An oold man and a poure with hem mette; This oldė man ful mekély hem grette And seyed thus: "Now, lordės, God yow see!" The proudeste of thise riotourės three Answerde agayn, "What, carl with sory grace, Why artow al for-wrapped, save thy face? Why lyvestow so longe in so greet age?' This olde man gan looke in his visage, And seyde thus: "For I ne kan nat fynde A man, though that I walked into Ynde, Neither in citee, ne in no village, 716 720 That wolde chaunge his youthẻ for myn age; And therfore moot I han myn agė stille, As longé tyme as it is Goddes wille. Ne Deeth, allas! ne wol nat han my lyf; Thus walke I, lyk a restėless kaityf, 725 And on the ground which is my moodrės3 gate, I knokke with my staf, erly and late, 730 735 740 Lo, how I vanysshe, flessh and blood and skyn; 12 Nay, olde cherl, by God, thou shalt nat so!" Seyde this oother hasardour13 anon; 751 "Thou partest nat so lightly, by Seint John! 66 759 Now, sires," quod he, "if that ye so be leef To fynde Deeth, turne up this croked wey, For in that grove I lafte hym, by my fey, Under a tree, and there he wole abyde; Noght for youre boost he wole him no thyng hyde. Se ye that ook? Right there ye shal hym fynde. 765 God save yow that boghte agayn mankynde, And yow amende!" thus seyde this oldė man; And everich of thise riotourės ran This tresor hath Fortúne unto us yeven Dear Mother. 12 Advice. 14 Pay for. 16 Weemed, know. 19 Fist. He woot how that the gold is with us tweye; What shal we doon, what shal we to hym seye?" "Shal it be conseil?" seyde the firtse shrewe,1 "And I shal tellen thee in wordės fewe What we shal doon, and bryngen it wel aboute." "I graunte," quod that oother, "out of doute, That by my trouthe I shal thee nat biwreye.' Now," quod the firste, "thou woost wel we be tweye, 825 831 And two of us shul strenger be than oon. Ful oft in herte he rolleth up and doun The beautee of thise floryns newe and brighte; "O Lord,"quod he, "if so were that I myghte 840 Have al this tresor to myself allone, Ther is no man that lyveth under the trone3 Putte in his thought that he sholde poyson beye, 845 865 Ye, sterve he shal, and that in lasse while This cursed man hath in his hond y-hent 870 The thridde he kepte clene for his owene drynke; For al the nyght he shoope" hym for to swynke 875 In cariynge of the gold out of that place. What nedeth it to sermone of it moore? For right as they hadde cast his deeth bifoore, Right so they han hym slayn, and that anon,881 And whan that this was doon thus spak that oon; "Now lat us sitte and drynke, and make us merie, 885 And afterward we wol his body berie;" O cursed synne of alle cursednesse! 890 895 900 That to thy Creatour which that thee wroghte, And with his precious hertė-blood thee boghte, Thou art so fals and so unkynde, allas! Now, goode men, God foryeve yow youre trespas, And ware yow fro the synne of avarice. 905 THE COMPLEYNT OF CHAUCER TO HIS To you, my purse, and to noon other wyght I am so sory now that ye been light; 11 Planned. 5 12. e., Avicenna (980-1037), a celebrated Arabian physician. 13 A section in The Canon, Avicenna's work on medicine, is called (from an Arabic word) a fen. No more wonderful signs of poisoning are described in the Canon of Medicine, or in any fen, or part of that book;-not even the fen which specifically treats of poisons. 15 Heal. 14 Gambling. |