LENVOY DE CHAUCER.
Nat for to know oure wyl, for certes he,
Er we were born, knew al1oure freletee ;
And for oure beste is al his governaunce;
Lat us thanne lyve in vertuous suffraunce.2
But o word, lordynges, herkneth, er I go:
It were ful hard to fynde now a dayes 13,500
In al a toun Grisildis thre or two,
For if that they were put to swiche assayes,
The gold of hem hath now so badde alayes
With bras, that thogh the coyne be fair at eye
It wolde rather breste atwo than plye; 5
For which heere, for the Wyves love of Bathe, -
Whos lyf and al hire secte God mayntene
In heigh maistrie, and elles were it scathe, -
I wol with lusty herte, fressh and grene,
Seyn yow a song to glade yow I wene; 13,510
And lat us stynte of ernestful matere :
Herkneth my song that seith in this manere.
Grisilde is deed, and eek hire pacience,
And bothe atones buryed in Ytaille ;
For which I crie in open audience,
No wedded man so hardy be tassaille
His wyves pacience in hope to fynde
Grisildis, for in certein he shal faille!
1 Not in Elles. MS. 2 The paraphrase of the Latin of Petrarch
ends here. 3 Alloys. 4 Burst. 5 Bend. 6 Suite.
O noble wyves, ful of heigh prudence,
Lat noon humylitee youre tonge naill, 13,520
Ne lat no clerk have cause or diligence
To write of yow a storie of swich mervaille
As of Grisildis pacient and kynde,
Lest Chichivache1 yow swelwe in hire entraille!
Folweth Ekko, that holdeth no silence,
But evere answereth at the countretaille.2
Beth nat bidaffed for youre innocence,
But sharply taak on yow the governaille.*
Emprenteth wel this lessoun in youre mynde
For commune profit sith it may availle. 13,530
Ye archiwyves stondeth at defense,
Syn ye be strong as is a greet camaille,"
Ne suffreth nat that men yow doon offense;
And sklendre wyves, fieble, as in bataille,
Beth egre as is a tygre yond in Ynde;
Ay clappeth as a mille, I yow consaille;
Ne dreed hem nat, doth hem no reverence,
For though thyn housbonde armed be in maille,
The arwes of thy crabbed eloquence
Shal perce his brest, and eek his aventaille."
In jalousie I rede eek thou hym bynde, 13,541
And thou shalt make hym couche as dooth a
quaille.
If thou be fair, ther folk been in presence
Shewe thou thy visage and thyn apparaille ;
1 Chiche, stingy, vache, cow, apparently corrupted from chiche face, one whose stingy character is written in his face. A fabulous beast of medieval literature that fed on patient wives. Cf. 1. 7212, and Romaunt of the Rose, 1. 5591. 2 Counter tally, i. e., in return. 3 Befooled. 4 Helm. 5 Ruling wives. 6 Camel. 7 Ventail, helmet.
THE MERCHANT'S PROLOGue. 553
If thou be foul, be fre of thy dispence,
To gete thee freendes, ay do thy travaille;
Be ay of chiere, as light as leef on lynde,1
And lat hym care and wepe, and wryng and
(9089 T.) I knowe ynogh, on even and a morwe," 13,550 Quod the Marchant, "and so doon othere mo That wedded been, I trowe that it be so; For wel I woot it fareth so with me.
I have a wyf, the worste that may be,
For thogh the feend to hire ycoupled were,
She wolde hym overmacche, I dar wel swere.
What sholde I yow reherce in special.
Hir hye malice? She is a shrewe at al.
Ther is a long and large difference
Bitwix Grisildis grete pacience,
And of my wyf the passyng crueltee;
Were I unbounden, al so moot I thee! 2
I wolde nevere eft comen in the snare.
We wedded men lyve in sorwe and care.
Assaye who so wole and he shal fynde (9105 T.)
I seye sooth, by Seint Thomas of Ynde!
As for the moore part, I sey nat alle ;
God shilde that it sholde so bifalle !
1 Linden tree. 2 Thrive. 3 Cf. Chaucer's lines To Bukton.
"A! good sire Hoost! I have ywedded bee Thise monthes two, and moore nat, pardee! And yet I trowe he that al his lyve 13,571 Wyflees hath been, though that men wolde him ryve
Un-to the herte, ne koude in no manere
Tellen so muchel sorwe as I now heere
Koude tellen of my wyves cursednesse! "
"Now," quod our Hoost, "Marchant, so God
yow blesse !
Syn ye so muchel knowen of that art,
Ful hertely I pray yow telle us part."
Gladly," quod he, "but of myn owene soore,
For soory herte, I telle may namoore." 13,580
Heere bigynneth The Marchantes Tale.
Whilom ther was dwellynge in Lumbardye A worthy knyght that born was of Pavye, In which he lyved in greet prosperitee; And sixty yeer a wyflees man was hee, And folwed ay his bodily delyt On wommen ther as was his appetyt, As doon thise fooles that been seculeer;1 And whan that he was passed sixty yeer, Were it for hoolynesse or for dotage
I kan nat seye, but swich a greet corage
1 The Merchant being himself "seculeer," this must be considered as a sly expression of ironical respect for the clerics present. clination.
Hadde this knyght to been a wedded man
That day and nyght he dooth al that he kan
Tespien where he myghte wedded be ;
Preyinge oure Lord to granten him that he
Mighte ones knowe of thilke blisful lyf
That is bitwixe an housbonde and his wyf,
And for to lyve under that hooly boond
With which that first God man and womman
"Noon oother lyf," seyde he, "is worth a bene,
For wedlok is so esy, and so clene,1
That in this world it is a paradys ;
Thus seyde this olde knyght that was so wys.
And certeinly, as sooth as God is kyng,
To take a wyf it is a glorious thyng,
And namely 2 whan a man is oold and hoor, -
Thanne is a wyf the fruyt of his tresor,3
Thanne sholde he take a yong wyf and a feir,
On which he myghte engendren hym an heir,
And lede his lyf in joye and in solas;
Where as thise bacheleris synge, “Allas!”
Whan that they fynden any adversitee 13,611
In love, which nys but childyssh vanytee;
And trewely it sit wel to be so
That bacheleris have often peyne
On brotel 5 ground they buylde, and brotelnesse
They fynde whan they wene sikernesse."
They lyve but as a bryd, or as a beest,
In libertee and under noon arreest; 7
1 Pure. 2 Especially. 3 Bought with his money! priate. Insecure. Suppose security. 7 Restraint.
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