Hir lemman? certes, this is a knavish speche ! (101) 205 Foryeveth it me, and that I yow biseche. The wyse Plato seith, as ye may rede, The word mot nede accorde with the dede. (110) If men shal telle proprely a thing, 220 And, god it woot, myn owene dere brother, Men leyn that oon as lowe as lyth that other. Right so, bitwixe a titlelees tiraunt And an outlawe, or a theef erraunt, (120) The same I seye, ther is no difference. 225 To Alisaundre told was this sentence; That, for the tyrant is of gretter might, By force of meynee for to sleen doun-right, And brennen hous and hoom, and make al plain, Lo! therfor is he cleped a capitain; 230 And, for the outlawe hath but smal mey nee, And may nat doon so greet an harm as he, (133) Whan Phebus wyf had sent for hir lemman, Anon they wroghten al hir lust volage. The whyte crowe, that heng ay in the cage, 240 Biheld hir werk, and seyde never a word. And whan that hoom was come Phebus, the lord, This crowe sang 'cokkow! cokkow! cokkow!' 'What, brid?' quod Phebus, song singestow? 'what (140) ly to singe 245 Ne were thow wont so meri 6 By god,' quod he, 'I singeng is this?' Phebus,' quod he, for al thy worat amis; For al thy beautee and thy gentilthinesse, For al thy song and al thy minstrasse, 250 For al thy waiting, blered is thyn yleye, With oon of litel reputacioun, Noght worth to thee, as in comparisoun?) The mountance of a gnat; so mote I thryve! For on thy bed thy wyf Isaugh him swyve.' What wol ye more? the crowe anon 257 him tolde, By sadde tokenes and by wordes bolde, How that his wyf had doon hir lecherye, Him to gret shame and to gret vileinye; And tolde him ofte, he saugh it with his yen. 261 This Phebus gan aweyward for to wryen, Him thoughte his sorweful herte brast a-two; His bowe he bente, and sette ther-inne a flo, (160) And in his ire his wyf thanne hath he slayn. 265 This is th'effect, ther is na-more to sayn; For sorwe of which he brak his minstralcye, Bothe harpe, and lute, and giterne, and sautrye; And eek he brak his arwes and his bowe. And after that, thus spak he to the crowe: 'Traitour,' quod he, 'with tonge of scorpioun, 271 Thou hast me broght to my confusioun ! Allas! that I was wroght! why nere I deed? O dere wyf, O gemme of lustiheed, (170) 280 'I wol thee quyte anon thy false tale! And to the crowe he stirte, and that anon, 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 311 How that another man hath dight his wyf; He wol yow haten mortally, certeyn. Daun Salomon, as wyse clerkes seyn, (210) Techeth a man to kepe his tonge wel; 315 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. 320 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, leste, 349 That litel jangling 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, (251) 355 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. 360 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. Ꮓ GROUP I. THE PARSON'S PROLOGUE. Here folweth the Prologe of the Persones Tale. By that the maunciple hadde his tale al ended, The sonne fro the south lyne was descended 10 So lowe, that he nas nat, to my sighte, I prey to god, so yeve him right good That telleth this tale to us lustily. 20 Sir preest,' quod he, 'artow a vicary? For every man, save thou, hath told his 25 40 For which I seye, if that yow list to here '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, THE PERSONES TALE. Here biginneth the Persones Tale. Jer. 6o. State super vias et videte et interrogate de viis antiquis, que sit via bona; et ambulate in ea, et inuenietis refrigerium animabus vestris, &c. § 1. Our swete lord god of hevene, that no man wol perisse, but wole that we comen alle to the knoweleche of him, 75 and to the blisful lyf that is perdurable, amonesteth us by the prophete Jeremie, that seith in this wyse: / 'stondeth upon the weyes, and seeth and axeth of olde pathes (that is to seyn, of olde sentences) which is the goode wey;/ and walketh in that wey, and ye shul finde refresshinge for your soules,' &c. / Manye been the weyes espirituels that leden folk to oure Lord Jesu Crist, and to the regne of glorie. Of whiche weyes, ther is a ful noble wey and a ful covenable, which may nat faile to man ne to womman, that thurgh sinne hath misgoon fro the 80 righte wey of Jerusalem celestial;/ and this wey is cleped Penitence, of which man sholde gladly herknen and enquere with al his herte; to witen what is Penitence, and whennes it is cleped Penitence, and in how manye maneres been the accions or werkinges of Penitence, / and how manye spyces ther been of Penitence, and whiche thinges apertenen and bihoven to Penitence, and whiche thinges destourben Penitence. / § 2. Seint Ambrose seith, that 'Penitence is the pleyninge of man for the gilt that he hath doon, and na-more to do any thing for which him oghte to (10) pleyne.' And som doctour seith: 'Peni tence is the waymentinge of man, that sorweth for his sinne and pyneth him85 self for he hath misdoon.'/ Penitence, with certeyne circumstances, is verray repentance of a man that halt him-self in sorwe and other peyne for hise giltes. / And for he shal be verray penitent, he shal first biwailen the sinnes that he hath doon, and stidefastly purposen in his herte to have shrift of mouthe, and to doon satisfaccioun, / and never to doon thing for which him oghte more to biwayle or to compleyne, and to continue in goode werkes: or elles his repentance may nat availle. For as seith seint Isidre : 'he is a japer and a gabber, and no verray repentant, that eftsoone dooth thing, for which him oghte repente.'/ Wepinge, and nat for to stinte to doon sinne, may nat avaylle. / 90 But nathelees, men shal hope that every tyme that man falleth, be it never so ofte, that he may arise thurgh Penitence, if he have grace: but certeinly it is greet doute. For as seith Seint Gregorie: 'unnethe aryseth he out of sinne, that is charged with the charge of yvel usage.' / And therfore repentant folk, that stinte for to sinne, and forlete sinne er that sinne forlete hem, holy chirche holdeth hem siker of hir savacioun. / And he that sinneth, and verraily repenteth him in his laste ende, holy chirche yet hopeth his savacioun, by the grete mercy of oure lord Jesu Crist, for his repentaunce; but tak the siker wey. / (20) § 3. And now, sith I have declared yow what thing is Penitence, now shul ye understonde that ther been three accions of Penitence. / The firste accion 95 of Penitence is, that a man be baptized after that he hath sinned. / Seint Augustin seith: 'but he be penitent for his olde sinful lyf, he may nat biginne the newe clene lif.'/ For certes, if he be baptized withouten penitence of his olde gilt, he receiveth the mark of baptisme, but nat the grace ne the remission of his sinnes, til he have repentance verray. / Another defaute is this, that men doon deedly sinne after that they han received baptisme. The thridde defaute is, that men fallen in venial sinnes after hir 100 baptisme, fro day to day. / Ther-of seith Seint Augustin, that 'penitence of goode and humble folk is the penitence of every day.'/ § 4. The spyces of Penitence been three. That oon of hem is solempne, another is commune, and the thridde is privee. / Thilke penance that is solempne, is in two maneres; as to be put out of holy chirche in lente, for slaughtre of children, and swich maner thing. / Another is, whan a man hath sinned openly, of which sinne the fame is openly spoken in the contree; and thanne holy chirche by jugement destreineth him for to do open (30) penaunce. / Commune penaunce is that preestes enjoinen men comunly in certeyn caas; as for to goon, peraventure, naked 105 in pilgrimages, or bare-foot. / Privee penaunce is thilke that men doon alday for privee sinnes, of whiche we shryve us prively and receyve privee penaunce. / § 5. Now shaltow understande what is bihovely and necessarie to verray parfit Penitence. And this stant on three thinges; Contricioun of herte, Confessioun of Mouth, and Satisfaccioun. / For which seith Seint John Crisostom: 'Penitence destreyneth a man to accepte benignely every peyne that him is enjoyned, with contricion of herte, and shrift of mouth, with satisfaccion; and in werkinge of alle maner humilitee.' / And this is fruitful Penitence agayn three thinges in whiche we wratthe oure 110 lord Jesu Crist: / this is to seyn, by delyt in thinkinge, by recchelesnesse in spekinge, and by wikked sinful werkinge. / And agayns thise wikkede giltes is Penitence, that may be lykned un-to a tree. / § 6. The rote of this tree is Contricion, that hydeth him in the herte of him that is verray repentant, right as the rote of a tree hydeth him in the erthe. / Of the rote of Contricion springeth a stalke, that bereth braunches and leves of Con(40) fession, and fruit of Satisfaccion. / For which Crist seith in his gospel: 'dooth digne fruit of Penitence'; for by this fruit may men knowe this tree, and nat by the rote that is hid in the herte of man, ne by the braunches ne by the leves of Confession. / And therefore 115 oure Lord Jesu Crist seith thus: by the fruit of hem ye shul knowen hem.'/ Of this rote eek springeth a seed of grace, the which seed is moder of sikernesse, and this seed is egre and hoot. / The grace of this seed springeth of god, thurgh remembrance of the day of dome and on the peynes of helle. Of this matere seith Salomon, that 'in the drede of god man forleteth his sinne.' The hete of this seed is the love of god, and the desiring of the joye perdurable. / 120 This hete draweth the herte of a man to god, and dooth him haten his sinne. / For soothly, ther is no-thing that savoureth so wel to a child as the milk of his norice, ne no-thing is to him more abhominable than thilke milk whan it is medled with other mete. / Right so the sinful man that loveth his sinne, him semeth that it is to him most swete of any-thing;/ but fro that tyme that he loveth sadly our lord Jesu Crist, and desireth the lif perdurable, ther nis to him no-thing more abhominable. For (50) soothly, the lawe of god is the love of god; for which David the prophete seith: 'I have loved thy lawe and hated wikkednesse and hate'; he that loveth god kepeth his lawe and his word. This 125 tree saugh the prophete Daniel in spirit, up-on the avision of the king Nabugodonosor, whan he conseiled him to do penitence. / Penaunce is the tree of lyf to hem that it receiven, and he that holdeth him in verray penitence is blessed; after the sentence of Salomon. / § 7. In this Penitence or Contricion man shal understonde foure thinges, that is to seyn, what is Contricion: and whiche been the causes that moeven a man to Contricion and how he sholde be contrit: and what Contricion availleth to the soule. / Thanne is it thus: that Contricion is the verray sorwe that a : |