O noble wyves, ful of heigh prudence, Lat noon humilitee your tonge naille, 1184 Ne lat no clerk have cause or diligence To wryte of yow a storie of swich mervaille As of Grisildis pacient and kinde; (1131) Lest Chichevache yow swelwe in hir entraille !

Folweth Ekko, that holdeth no silence, But evere answereth at the countretaille; Beth nat bidaffed for your innocence, 1191 But sharply tak on yow the governaille. Emprinteth wel this lesson in your minde For commune profit, sith it may availle. Ye archewyves, stondeth at defence, 1195 Sinye be stronge as is a greet camaille; (1140) Ne suffreth nat that men yow doon offence. And sclendre wyves, feble as in bataille,

Beth egre as is a tygre yond in Inde;
Ay clappeth as a mille, I yow consaille. 1200
Ne dreed hem nat, do 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 jalousye I rede eek thou him binde, 1205
And thou shalt make him couche as dooth
a quaille.
(1150)

If thou be fair, ther folk ben in presence
Shew thou thy visage and thyn apparaille;
If thou be foul, be free of thy dispence, 1209
To gete thee freendes ay do thy travaille;
Be ay of chere as light as leef on linde,
And lat him care, and wepe, and wringe,
and waille!
(1156)

I speke of folk in seculer estaat.
And herke why, I sey nat this fornoght,(79)
That womman is for mannes helpy-wroght.
The hye god, whan he hadde Adam maked,
And saugh him al allone, bely-naked, 1326
God of his grete goodnesse seyde than,
'Lat us now make an help un-to this man
Lyk to him-self;' and thanne he made
him Eve.
1329
Heer may ye se, and heer-by may ye preve,
That wyf is mannes help and his confort,
His paradys terrestre and his disport
So buxom and so vertuous is she,
They moste nedes live in unitee. (90) 1334
O flesh they been, and o flesh, as I gesse,
Hath but on herte, in wele and in distresse.
A wyf! a! Seinte Marie, ben'cite !
How mighte a man han any adversitee
That hath a wyf? certes, I can nat seye.1339
The blisse which that is bitwixe hem tweye
Ther may no tonge telle, or herte thinke.
If he be povre, she helpeth him to swinke;
She kepeth his good, and wasteth never
a deel;

Al that hir housbonde lust, hir lyketh weel;

(100) She seith not ones 'nay,' when he seith 'ye.' 1345

'Do this,' seith he; 'al redy, sir,' seith she. O blisful ordre of wedlok precious, Thou art so mery, and eek so vertuous, And so commended and appreved eek, That every man that halt him worth a leek,

1350

Up-on his bare knees oghte al his lyf Thanken his god that him hath sent a wyf;

Or elles preye to god him for to sende
A wyf, to laste un-to his lyves ende. (110)
For thanne his lyf is set in sikernesse; 1355
He may nat be deceyved, as I gesse,
So that he werke after his wyves reed;
Than may he boldly beren up his heed,

They been so trewe and ther-with-al so wyse;

For which, if thou wolt werken as the wyse, 1360 Do alwey so as wommen wol thee rede. Lo, how that Jacob, as thise clerkes rede,

By good conseil of his moder Rebekke, Bond the kides skin aboute his nekke; (120) Thurgh which his fadres benisoun he wan

Lo, Judith, as the storie eek telle can, By wys conseil she goddes peple kepte, And slow him, Olofernus, whyl he slepte.

Lo Abigayl, by good conseil how she 1369 Saved hir housbond Nabal, whan that he Sholde han be slayn; and loke, Ester also By good conseil delivered out of wo The peple of god, and made him, Mardochee,

(130)

Of Assuere enhaunced for to be.
Ther nis no-thing in gree superlatyf, 1375
As seith Senek, above an humble wyf.

Suffre thy wyves tonge, as Caton bit; She shal comande, and thou shalt suffren it;

And yet she wol obeye of curteisye.

A wyf is keper of thyn housbondrye; 1380 Wel may the syke man biwaille and wepe, Ther-as ther nis no wyf the hous to kepe. I warne thee, if wysly thou wolt wirche, Love wel thy wyf, as Crist loveth his chirche. (140) 1384

If thou lovest thy-self, thou lovest thy wyf; No man hateth his flesh, but in his lyf He fostreth it, and therfore bidde I thee, Cherisse thy wyf, or thou shalt never thee. Housbond and wyf, what so men jape or

And almost, god wot, on my pittes brinke;
Up-on my soule somwhat moste I thinke.
I have my body folily despended; (159)
Blessed be god, that it shal been amended! |
For I wol be, certeyn, a wedded man, 1405
And that anoon in al the haste I can,
Un-to som mayde fair and tendre of age.
I prey yow, shapeth for my mariage
Al sodeynly, for I wol nat abyde;
And I wol fonde t'espyen, on my syde, 1410
To whom I may be wedded hastily.
But for-as-muche as ye ben mo than I,
Ye shullen rather swich a thing espyen
Than I, and wher me best were to allyen.
But o thing warne I yow, my freendes
dere,
(171) 1415

I wol non old wyf han in no manere.
She shal nat passe twenty yeer, certayn;
Old fish and yong flesh wolde I have ful
fayn.

Bet is,' quod he, 'a pyk than a pikerel ;
And bet than old boef is the tendre veel.
I wol no womman thritty yeer of age, 1421
It is but bene-straw and greet forage.
And eek thise olde widwes, god it woot,
They conne so muchel craft on Wades
boot,
(180)

So muchel broken harm, whan that hem leste, 1425 That with hem sholde I never live in reste. For sondry scoles maken sotil clerkis ; Womman of manye scoles half a clerk is. But certeynly, a yong thing may men gye, Right as men may warm wex with handes plye.

1430

For if so were, I hadde swich mischaunce,
That I in hir ne coude han no plesaunce,
Thanne sholde I lede my lyf in avoutrye,
And go streight to the devel, whan I dye.
Ne children sholde I none up-on hir geten;
Yet were me lever houndes had me eten,
Than that myn heritage sholde falle 1439
In straunge hand, and this I tell yow alle.
I dote nat, I woot the cause why
Men sholde wedde, and forthermore wot I,
Ther speketh many a man of mariage,
That woot na-more of it than woot my
page,
(200) 1444

For whiche causes man sholde take a wyf.
If he ne may nat liven chast his lyf,
Take him a wyf with greet devocioun,
By-cause of leveful procreacioun
Of children, to th'onour of god above,
And nat only for paramour or love; 1450
And for they sholde lecherye eschue,
And yelde hir dettes whan that they ben
due;

Or for that ech of hem sholde helpen
other
(209)
In meschief, as a suster shal the brother;
And live in chastitee ful holily. 1455

But sires, by your leve, that am nat I.
For god be thanked, I dar make avaunt,
I fele my limes stark and suffisaunt
To do al that a man bilongeth to;
I woot my-selven best what I may do. 1460
Though I be hoor, I fare as dooth a tree
That blosmeth er that fruyt y-woxen be;
A blosmy tree nis neither drye ne deed.
I fele me nowher hoor but on myn heed;
Myn herte and alle my limes been as
grene
(221) 1465

As laurer thurgh the yeer is for to sene.
And sin that ye han herd al myn entente,
I prey yow to my wil ye wole assente.'
Diverse men diversely him tolde
Of mariage manye ensamples olde.
Somme blamed it, somme preysed it,

certeyn;

1470

So wisly god my soule bringe at reste,
I hold your owene conseil is the beste. 1490
For brother myn, of me tak this motyf,
I have now been a court-man al my lyf.
And god it woot, though I unworthy be,
I have stonden in ful greet degree (250)
Abouten lordes of ful heigh estaat; 1495
Yet hadde I never with noon of hem
debaat.

I never hem contraried, trewely;

I woot wel that my lord can more than I. What that he seith, I holde it ferme and stable;

1501

I seye the same, or elles thing semblable.
A ful gret fool is any conseillour,
That serveth any lord of heigh honour,
That dar presume, or elles thenken it,
That his conseil sholde passe his lordes
wit.
(260)
Nay, lordes been no foles, by my fay; 1505
Ye han your-selven shewed heer to-day
So heigh sentence, so holily and weel,
That I consente and conferme every-deel
Your wordes alle, and your opinioun. 1509
By god, ther nis no man in al this toun
N'in al Itaille, that coude bet han sayd;
Crist halt him of this conseil wel apayd.
And trewely, it is an heigh corage
Of any man, that stapen is in age,
To take a yong wyf; by my fader kin,
Your herte hangeth on a joly pin. 1516
Doth now in this matere right as yow
leste,

For finally I holde it for the beste.'

(270)

Or proud, or elles other-weys a shrewe;
A chydester, or wastour of thy good, 1535
Or riche, or poore, or elles mannish wood.
Al-be-it so that no man finden shal
Noon in this world that trotteth hool
in al,

Ne man ne beest, swich as men coudo devyse;

But nathelees, it oghte y-nough suffise 1540 With any wyf, if so were that she haddo Mo gode thewes than hir vyces badde; And al this axeth leyser for t'enquere. For god it woot, I have wept many a tere Ful prively, sin I have had a wyf. (301) 1545 Preyse who-so wole a wedded mannes lyf, Certein, I finde in it but cost and care, And observances, of alle blisses bare. 1548 And yet, god woot, my neighebores aboute, And namely of wommen many a route, Seyn that I have the moste stedefast wyf, And eek the mekeste oon that bereth lyf. But I wot best wher wringeth me my sho.

(309)

Ye mowe, for me, right as yow lyketh do;
Avyseth yow, ye been a man of age, 1555
How that ye entren in-to mariage,
And namely with a yong wyf and a fair.
By him that made water, erthe, and air,
The yongest man that is in al this route
Is bisy y-nogh to bringen it aboute 1560
To han his wyf allone, trusteth me.
Ye shul nat plese hir fully yeres three,
This is to seyn, to doon hir ful plesaunce.
A wyf axeth ful many an observaunce. (320)
I prey yow that ye be nat yvel apayd.'
'Wel,' quod this Januarie,' and hastow
sayd?

1566 Straw for thy Senek, and for thy proverbes,

I counte nat a panier ful of herbes
Of scole-termes; wyser men than thow,
As thou hast herd, assenteden right now
To my purpos; Placebo, what sey ye?'

'I seye, it is a cursed man,' quod he, 'That letteth matrimoine, sikerly.' (329) And with that word they rysen sodeynly, And been assented fully, that he sholde Be wedded whanne him list and wher he wolde. 1576