tracioun and juggement, and in the might and power of hise enemys. / For Salomon seith: "leveth me, and yeveth credence to that I shal seyn; I seye," quod he, "ye peple, folk, and governours of holy chirche, to thy sone, to thy wyf, to thy 2945 freend, ne to thy brother / ne yeve thou never might ne maistrie of thy body, whyl thou livest." / Now sithen he defendeth, that man shal nat yeven to his brother ne to his freend the might of his body,/ by a strenger resoun he defendeth and forbedeth a man to yeven him-self to his enemy. And nathelees I conseille you, that ye mistruste nat my lord. For I woot wel and knowe verraily, that he is 2950 debonaire and meke, large, curteys, / and nothing desyrous ne coveitous of good ne richesse. For ther nis no-thing in this world that he desyreth, save only worship and honour./ Forther-more I knowe wel, and am right seur, that he shal no-thing doon in this nede with-outen my conseil. And I shal so werken in this cause, that, by grace of our lord god, ye shul been reconsiled un-to us.' /

§ 66. Thanne seyden they with o vois, 'worshipful lady, we putten us and our goodes al fully in your wil and disposi2955 cioun; and been redy to comen, what

day that it lyke un-to your noblesse to limite us or assigne us, / for to maken our obligacioun and bond as strong as it lyketh un-to your goodnesse ;/ that we mowe fulfille the wille of yow and of my lord Melibee.' /

§ 67. Whan dame Prudence hadde herd the answeres of thise men, she bad hem goon agayn prively;/ and she retourned to hir lord Melibee, and tolde him how she fond hise adversaries ful 2560 repentant, / knowlechinge ful lowely hir sinnes and trespas, and how they were redy to suffren al peyne, / requiringe and preyinge him of mercy and pitee. / § 68. Thanne seyde Melibee, 'he is wel worthy to have pardoun and foryifnesse of his sinne, that excuseth nat his sinne, / but knowlecheth it and repenteth him, axinge indulgence. / For Senek seith: "ther is the remissioun and foryifnesse,

whereas confessioun is"; / for confession 2965 is neighebore to innocence. / And he seith in another place: "he that hath shame for his sinne and knowlecheth it, is worthy remissioun." And therfore I assente and conferme me to have pees; / but it is good that we do it nat with-outen the assent and wil of our freendes.' /

§ 69. Thanne was Prudence right glad and joyeful, and seyde, / Certes, sir,' quod she, 'ye han wel and goodly answered. For right as by the conseil, 2970 assent, and help of your freendes, ye han been stired to venge yow and maken werre,/ right so with-outen hir conseil shul ye nat accorden yow, ne have pees with your adversaries. For the lawe seith: "ther nis no-thing so good by wey of kinde, as a thing to been unbounde by him that it was y-bounde."'/

§ 70. And thanne dame Prudence, with-outen delay or taryinge, sente anon hir messages for hir kin, and for hir olde freendes whiche that were trewe and wyse, and tolde hem by ordre, in the presence of Melibee, al this matere as it is aboven expressed and declared; / and 2975 preyden hem that they wolde yeven hir avys and conseil, what best were to doon in this nede. / And whan Melibees freendes hadde taken hir avys and deliberacioun of the forseide matere, / and hadden examined it by greet bisinesse and greet diligence,/ they yave ful conseil for to have pees and reste; / and that Melibee sholde receyve with good herte hise adversaries to foryifnesse and mercy./ 2980 § 71. And whan dame Prudence hadde herd the assent of hir lord Melibee, and the conseil of hise freendes, / accorde with hir wille and hir entencioun, / she was wonderly glad in hir herte, and seyde/ther is an old proverbe,' quod she, 'seith: that "the goodnesse that thou mayst do this day, do it; / and abyde nat ne delaye it nat til to-morwe." / 2985 And therfore I conseille that ye sende your messages, swiche as been discrete and wyse, un-to your adversaries; tellinge hem, on your bihalve, / that if they wole trete of pees and of accord, / that

they shape hom, with-outen delay or tarying, to comen un-to us.' Which 2990 thing parfourned was in dede. / And whanne thise trespassours and repentinge folk of hir folies, that is to seyn, the adversaries of Melibee, / hadden herd what thise messagers seyden un-to hem, / they weren right glad and joyeful, and answereden ful mekely and benignely, yeldinge graces and thankinges to hir lord Melibee and to al his companye; / and shopen hem, with-outen delay, to go with the messagers, and obeye to the 2995 comandement of hir lord Melibee. /

§ 72. And right anon they token hir wey to the court of Melibee, / and token with hem somme of hir trewe freendes, to maken feith for hem and for to been hir borwes. And whan they were comen to the presence of Melibee, he seyde hem thise wordes: / 'it standeth thus,' quod Melibee, and sooth it is, that ye, causeless, and with-outen skile and 3000 resoun, han doon grete injuries and wronges to me and to my wyf Prudence, and to my doghter also. / For ye han entred in-to myn hous by violence, and have doon swich outrage, that alle men knowen wel that ye have deserved the deeth; and therfore wol I knowe and wite of yow,/ whether ye wol putte the punissement and the chastysinge and the vengeance of this outrage in the wil of me and of my wyf Prudence; or ye wol 3005 nat?' /

3010

6

§ 73. Thanne the wyseste of hem three answerde for hem alle, and seyde:/ 'sire,' quod he, we knowen wel, that we been unworthy to comen un-to the court of so greet a lord and so worthy as ye been. For we han so greetly mistaken us, and han offended and agilt in swich a wyse agayn your heigh lordshipe, / that trewely we han deserved the deeth./ But yet, for the grete goodnesse and debonairetee that all the world witnesseth

of your persone, / we submitten us to the excellence and benignitee of your gracious lordshipe, and been redy to obeie to alle your comandements; / bisekinge yow, that of your merciable pitce ye wol con

sidere our grete repentaunce and lowe submissioun,/ and graunten us foryevenesse of our outrageous trespas and offence. For wel we knowe, that your liberal grace and mercy strecchen hem ferther in-to goodnesse, than doon our outrageouse giltes and trespas in-to wikkednesse; al-be-it that cursedly and 3015 dampnably we han agilt agayn your heigh lordshipe.'/

§ 74. Thanne Melibee took hem up fro the ground ful benignely, / and receyved hir obligaciouns and hir bondes by hir othes up-on hir plegges and borwes, / and assigned hem a certeyn day to retourne un-to his court,/ for to accepte and receyve the sentence and jugement that Melibee wolde comande to be doon on hem by the causes afore-seyd;/ whiche 3020 thinges ordeyned, every man retourned to his hous./

$75. And whan that dame Prudence saugh hir tyme, she freyned and axed hir lord Melibee, / what vengeance he thoughte to taken of hise adversaries?/

§ 76. To which Melibee answerde and seyde, 'certes,' quod he, 'I thinke and purpose me fully / to desherite hem of al that ever they han, and for to putte hem in exil for ever.' /

3025

§ 77. Certes,' quod dame Prudence, 'this were a cruel sentence, and muchel agayn resoun. / For ye been riche ynough, and han no nede of other mennes good; and ye mighte lightly in this wyse gete yow a coveitous name, / which is a vicious thing, and oghte been eschewed of every good man. / For after the sawe of the word of the apostle : "coveitise is rote of alle harmes." / And 3030

therfore, it were bettre for yow to lese so muchel good of your owene, than for to taken of hir good in this manere. / For bettre it is to lesen good with worshipe, than it is to winne good with vileinye and shame. And every man oghte to doon his diligence and his bisinesse to geten him a good name. And yet shal he nat only bisie him in kepinge of his good name, but he shal also enforcen him alwey to do som-thing by which he

WHAN ended was my tale of Melibee,

6

And of Prudence and hir benignitee, 3080
Our hoste seyde, as I am faithful man,
And by the precious corpus Madrian,
I hadde lever than a barel ale

That goode lief my wyf hadde herd this tale!

For she nis no-thing of swich pacience As was this Melibeus wyf Prudence. 3086 By goddes bones! whan I bete my knaves, She bringth me forth the grete clobbed staves,

(10)

3091

And cryeth, "slee the dogges everichoon,
And brek hem, bothe bak and every boon."
And if that any neighebor of myne
Wol nat in chirche to my wyf enclyne,
Or be so hardy to hir to trespace,
Whan she comth hoom, she rampeth in
my face,
3094
And cryeth, "false coward, wreek thy wyf!
By corpus bones! I wol have thy knyf,
And thou shalt have my distaf and go
spinne!"

Fro day to night right thus she wol bi-
ginne ;-
(20)
"Allas!" she seith, "that ever I was shape
To wedde a milksop or a coward ape, 3100
That wol be overlad with every wight!
Thou darst nat stonden by thy wyves
right!"

This is my lyf, but-if that I wol fighte; And out at dore anon I moot me dighte, Or elles I am but lost, but-if that I 3105 Be lyk a wilde leoun fool-hardy.

I woot wel she wol do me slee som day Som neighebor, and thanne go my wey. (30)

For I am perilous with knyf in honde,
Al be it that I dar nat hir withstonde, 3110
For she is big in armes, by my feith,
That shal he finde, that hir misdooth or
seith.

But lat us passe awey fro this matere.
My lord the Monk,' quod he, 'be mery
of chere;

3115

3120

For ye shul telle a tale trewely.
Lo! Rouchestre stant heer faste by!
Ryd forth, myn owene lord, brek nat our
game,
(39)
But, by my trouthe, I knowe nat your name,
Wher shal I calle yow my lord dan John,
Or dan Thomas, or elles dan Albon?
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
Some worthy sexteyn, or som celerer,
For by my fader soule, as to my doom,
Thou art a maister whan thou art at hoom;
No povre cloisterer, ne no novys,
But a governour, wyly and wys.
And therwithal of brawnes and of bones
A wel-faring persone for the nones.
I pray to god, yeve him confusioun
That first thee broghte un-to religioun ;
Thou woldest han been a trede-foul aright.
Haddestow as greet a leve, as thou hast
might

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3136

Not only thou, but every mighty man, 3141
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 3144
Oftreding, and we borel men ben shrimpes!
Of feble trees ther comen wrecched impes.
This maketh that our heires been so
sclendre
(69)

And feble, that they may nat wel engendre.
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.'
This worthy monk took al in pacience,
And seyde, 'I wol doon al my diligence,
As fer as souneth in-to honestee,
3157
To telle yow a tale, or two, or three. (80)
And if yow list to herkne hiderward,
I wol yow seyn the lyf of seint Edward;

3161

Or elles first Tragedies wol I telle
Of whiche I have an hundred in my celle.
Tragedie is to seyn a cefteyn storie,
As olde bokes maken us memorie,
Of him that stood in greet prosperitee 3165
And is y-fallen out of heigh degree
Into miserie, and endeth wrecchedly.
And they ben versifyed comunly
Of six feet, which men clepe exametron.
In prose eek been endyted many oon, 3170
And eek in metre, in many a sondry wyse.
Lo! this declaring oughte y-nough suffise.

(90)

Now herkneth, if yow lyketh for to here; But first I yow biseke in this matere, 3174 Though I by ordre telle nat thise thinges, Be it of popes, emperours, or kinges, After hir ages, as men writen finde, (99) But telle hem som bifore and som bihinde, As it now comth un-to my remembraunce; Have me excused of myn ignoraunce.' 3180

Explicit.