And eek his speche, and out at dore him slong
Un-to the devel, which I him bitake;
And for this caas ben alle crowes blake.-
Lordings, by this ensample I yow preye,
Beth war, and taketh kepe what I seye:
Ne telleth never no man in your lyf
How that another man hath dight his wyf;

He wol yow haten mortally, certeyn.
Daun Salomon, as wyse clerkes seyn,
Techeth a man to kepe his tonge wel;
But as I seyde, I am noght textuel.

But nathelees, thus taughte me my dame:

'My sone, thenk on the crowe, a goddes name;
My sone, keep wel thy tonge and keep thy freend.
A wikked tonge is worse than a feend.
My sone, from a feend men may hem blesse ;
My sone, god of his endelees goodnesse
Walled a tonge with teeth and lippes eke,
For man sholde him avyse what he speke.
My sone, ful ofte, for to muche speche,
Hath many a man ben spilt, as clerkes teche;
But for a litel speche avysely

Is no men shent, to speke generally.
My sone, thy tonge sholdestow restreyne

310

(210)

315

320

(220)

325

At alle tyme, but whan thou doost thy peyne

330

To speke of god, in honour and preyere.
The firste vertu, sone, if thou wolt lere,

Is to restreyne and kepe wel thy tonge.-

Thus lerne children whan that they ben yonge.

My sone, of muchel speking yvel-avysed,
Ther lasse speking hadde y-nough suffysed,
Comth muchel harm, thus was me told and taught.
In muchel speche sinne wanteth naught.

Wostow wher-of a rakel tonge serveth?

Right as a swerd forcutteth and forkerveth

(230)

335

340

308. E. Cp. caas; Hn. Cm. Ln. cas; Pt. caus; Hl. cause.

Cm. I; Hl. ye; rest that ye.

310. E. Hn.

315. E. Hn. kepen; rest kepe. E. Cm. weel. 318. a] E. on; Hl. in.

316. E. textueel; Hl. tixted wel. Hn. freend, feend. 327. Hl. a;

rest om.

319, 320. E. 330. E. Hn. Cm. tymes.

An arm a-two, my dere sone, right so

A tonge cutteth frendship al a-two.

A Iangler is to god abhominable;

Reed Salomon, so wys and honurable;

Reed David in his psalmes, reed Senekke.

My sone, spek nat, but with thyn heed thou bekke.
Dissimule as thou were deef, if that thou here

A Iangler speke of perilous matere.
The Fleming seith, and lerne it, if thee leste,
That litel Iangling causeth muchel reste.
My sone, if thou no wikked word hast seyd,
Thee thar nat drede for to be biwreyd;
But he that hath misseyd, I dar wel sayn,
He may by no wey clepe his word agayn.
Thing that is seyd, is seyd; and forth it gooth,
Though him repente, or be him leef or looth.
He is his thral to whom that he hath sayd
A tale, of which he is now yvel apayd.
My sone, be war, and be non auctour newe
Of tydinges, whether they ben false or trewe.
Wher-so thou come, amonges hye or lowe,

Kepe wel thy tonge, and thenk up-on the crowe.

Here is ended the Maunciples Tale of the Crowe.

(240)

345

350

(250)

355

360

356. leef or] Cp. Pt. Ln. Hl. neuer so. So E. Hn.

360. E. wheither.

COLOPHON.

GROUP I.

THE PARSON'S PROLOGUE.

(T. 17312-17330).

Here folweth the Prologe of the Persones Tale.

Y that the maunciple hadde his tale al ended,

BY

The sonne fro the south lyne was descended

So lowe, that he nas nat, to my sighte,

Degrees nyne and twenty as in highte.
Foure of the clokke it was tho, as I gesse;
For eleven foot, or litel more or lesse,
My shadwe was at thilke tyme, as there,
Of swich feet as my lengthe parted were
In six feet equal of proporcioun.
Ther-with the mones exaltacioun,
I mene Libra, alwey gan ascende,

As we were entringe at a thropes ende;
For which our host, as he was wont to gye,
As in this caas, our Ioly companye,
Seyde in this wyse, 'lordings everichoon,
Now lakketh us no tales mo than oon.
Fulfild is my sentence and my decree;
I trowe, that we han herd of ech degree.
Almost fulfild is al myn ordinaunce;

1. E. Hn. al; rest om.

ne was; Cp. Pt. Ln. was.

2. E. Cm. was; rest is.

3. E. ne nas; Cm.

5. The MSS. have Ten; but see the note. 8. Hn. swich; E. swiche. 10. Perhaps for the mones we should read Saturnes; see 11. So all but HI., which has In mena.

the note.

townes. 17. E. Fulfilled; Hn. Cp. Fulfild; see 1. 19.

12. thropes] Hl.

I prey to god, so yeve him right good chaunce,
That telleth this tale to us lustily.

Sir preest,' quod he, 'artow a vicary?

Or art a person? sey sooth, by thy fey!

Be what thou be, ne breke thou nat our pley ;
For every man, save thou, hath told his tale,
Unbokel, and shewe us what is in thy male;
For trewely, me thinketh, by thy chere,
Thou sholdest knitte up wel a greet matere.
Tel us a tale anon, for cokkes bones!'
This Persone him answerde, al at ones,
'Thou getest fable noon y-told for me;
For Paul, that wryteth unto Timothee,
Repreveth hem that weyven soothfastnesse,
And tellen fables and swich wrecchednesse.
Why sholde I sowen draf out of my fest,
Whan I may sowen whete, if that me lest?
For which I seye, if that yow list to here
Moralitee and vertuous matere,

And thanne that ye wol yeve me audience,
I wol ful fayn, at Cristes reverence,
Do yow plesaunce leefful, as I can.
But trusteth wel, I am a Southren man,
I can nat geste—rum, ram, ruf—by lettre,
Ne, god wot, rym holde I but litel bettre;
And therfor, if yow list, I wol nat glose.

I wol yow telle a mery tale in prose

To knitte up al this feeste, and make an ende.

And Iesu, for his grace, wit me sende

To shewe yow the wey, in this viage,
Of thilke parfit glorious pilgrimage
That highte Ierusalem celestial.

And, if ye vouche-sauf, anon I shal

Biginne upon my tale, for whiche I preye

Telle your avys, I can no bettre seye.

But nathelees, this meditacioun

50

55

23. Cm. art; E. Hn. arte; HI. artow; rest art thou. 30. I supply him from ed. 1550. 32. E. Hn. Thymothee. 33. E. HI. weyueth.

omits ful.

41. E. leefful; Hn. leueful; Pt. lecfull; Cp. Ln. lefful. E. geeste. rum] Hn. Cp. Ln. rom. 46. E. Hn. myrie.

40. E

43.

I putte it ay under correcciqun

Of clerkes, for I am nat textuel;

I take but the sentens, trusteth wel.
Therfor I make protestacioun

That I wol stonde to correccioun.'

Up-on this word we han assented sone,
For, as us semed, it was for to done,
To enden in som vertuous sentence,
And for to yeve him space and audience;
And bede our host he sholde to him seye,
That alle we to telle his tale him preye.

Our host hadde the wordes for us alle:-
'Sir preest,' quod he, 'now fayre yow bifalle!
Sey what yow list, and we wol gladly here'
And with that word he seyde in this manere—
'Telleth,' quod he, 'your meditacioun.
But hasteth yow, the sonne wol adoun;
Beth fructuous, and that in litel space,
And to do wel god sende yow his grace!'

Explicit prohemium.

57, 58. E. textueel, weel.

tence. 59. E. make a; rest omit a.

60

65

70

58. E. omits the. Hl. sentens; rest sen62. E. vs; rest it, which is inferior.

COLOPHON. So E. Hn. Ln.; Pt.-Thus endeth the prolog of the persons tale.