Chaucer's Works-The Canterbury Tales Part 63

I holde a mouses herte nat worth a leek, That hath but oon hole for to sterte to, And if that faille, thanne is al y-do.

571. E. Hn. nof; Cm. and more; _rest_ ne of. 572. herte] Cp. Pt. Ln.

witte.

I bar him on honde, he hadde enchanted me; 575 My dame taughte me that soutiltee.

And eek I seyde, I mette of him al night; He wolde han slayn me as I lay up-right, And al my bed was ful of verray blood, But yet I hope that he shal do me good; 580 For blood bitokeneth gold, as me was taught.

And al was fals, I dremed of it right naught, [337: T. 6165-6199.]

But as I folwed ay my dames lore, As wel of this as of other thinges more.

575-584. _All but_ E. Cm. _omit these lines;_ (Dd. _has them_). 583.

E. Cm. _om._ as; _but it occurs in_ MSS. Camb. Dd. 4. 24, Ii. I. 36, &c.

But now sir, lat me see, what I shal seyn? 585 A! ha! by G.o.d, I have my tale ageyn.

Whan that my fourthe housbond was on bere, I weep algate, and made sory chere, As wyves moten, for it is usage, And with my coverchief covered my visage; 590 But for that I was purveyed of a make, I weep but smal, and that I undertake.

592. E. wepte; _but see_ 588.

To chirche was myn housbond born a-morwe With neighebores, that for him maden sorwe; And Iankin oure clerk was oon of tho. 595 As help me G.o.d, whan that I saugh him go After the bere, me thoughte he hadde a paire Of legges and of feet so clene and faire, That al myn herte I yaf un-to his hold.

He was, I trowe, a twenty winter old, 600 And I was fourty, if I shal seye sooth; But yet I hadde alwey a coltes tooth.

Gat-tothed I was, and that bicam me weel; I hadde the prente of seynt Venus seel.

As help me G.o.d, I was a l.u.s.ty oon, 605 And faire and riche, and yong, and wel bigoon; And trewely, as myne housbondes tolde me, I had the beste _quoniam_ mighte be.

For certes, I am al Venerien In felinge, and myn herte is Marcien. 610 Venus me yaf my l.u.s.t, my likerousnesse, And Mars yaf me my st.u.r.dy hardinesse.

Myn ascendent was Taur, and Mars ther-inne.

Allas! allas! that ever love was sinne!

I folwed ay myn inclinacioun 615 By vertu of my constellacioun; That made me I coude noght withdrawe [338: T. 6200-6225.]

My chambre of Venus from a good felawe.

Yet have I Martes mark up-on my face, And also in another privee place. 620 For, G.o.d so wis be my savacioun, I ne loved never by no discrecioun, But ever folwede myn appetyt, Al were he short or long, or blak or whyt; I took no kepe, so that he lyked me, 625 How pore he was, ne eek of what degree.

595. _Or_ Ianekin, _see_ 383; MSS. Iankyn. 603. Ln. Gate-toede.

605-612. Hl. _omits._ 608. E. hadde. E. Hn. quonyam; Cm. Pt. Ln.

quoniam; Cp. queynte. 609-612. Hn. Cp. Pt. Ln. _omit._ 619-626. Hn.

Cp. Pt. Ln. Hl. _omit._ 623. Cm. folwede; E. folwed. 626. Cm. pore; E. poore.

What sholde I seye, but, at the monthes ende, This Ioly clerk Iankin, that was so hende, Hath wedded me with greet solempnitee, And to him yaf I al the lond and fee 630 That ever was me yeven ther-bifore; But afterward repented me ful sore.

He nolde suffre nothing of my list.

By G.o.d, he smoot me ones on the list, For that I rente out of his book a leef, 635 That of the strook myn ere wex al deef.

Stiborn I was as is a leonesse, And of my tonge a verray Iangleresse, And walke I wolde, as I had doon biforn, From hous to hous, al-though he had it sworn. 640 For which he often tymes wolde preche, And me of olde Romayn gestes teche, How he, Simplicius Gallus, lefte his wyf, And hir forsook for terme of al his lyf, Noght but for open-heeded he hir say 645 Lokinge out at his dore upon a day.

634. E. Hn. on the lyst; (Ln. l.u.s.te; Cp. Pt. lest); Hl. Cm. with his fist. 636. E. Hl. wax. 637. E. Hn. Stibourne. 645. E. Hn.

-heueded; Hl. heedid.

Another Romayn tolde he me by name, That, for his wyf was at a someres game With-oute his witing, he forsook hir eke.

And than wolde he up-on his Bible seke 650 That ilke proverbe of Ecclesiaste, Wher he comandeth and forbedeth faste, Man shal nat suffre his wyf go roule aboute; [339: T. 6226-6271.]

Than wolde he seye right thus, with-outen doute, "Who-so that buildeth his hous al of salwes, 655 And priketh his blinde hors over the falwes, And suffreth his wyf to go seken halwes, Is worthy to been hanged on the galwes!"

But al for noght, I sette noght an hawe Of his proverbes nof his olde sawe, 660 Ne I wolde nat of him corrected be.

I hate him that my vices telleth me, And so do mo, G.o.d woot! of us than I.

This made him with me wood al outrely; I nolde noght forbere him in no cas. 665

649. E. Hn. Cm. With-outen. 650. E. thanne. 654. E. Thanne. 660.

E. Hn. nof; _rest_ ne of. E. awe; Hn. Cm. Hl. sawe; Cp. Pt. Ln. lawe.

Now wol I seye yow sooth, by seint Thomas, Why that I rente out of his book a leef, For which he smoot me so that I was deef.

He hadde a book that gladly, night and day, For his desport he wolde rede alway. 670 He cleped it Valerie and Theofraste, At whiche book he lough alwey ful faste.

And eek ther was som-tyme a clerk at Rome, A cardinal, that highte Seint Ierome, That made a book agayn Iovinian; 675 In whiche book eek ther was Tertulan, Crisippus, Trotula, and Helowys, That was abbesse nat fer fro Parys; And eek the Parables of Salomon, Ovydes Art, and bokes many on, 680 And alle thise wer bounden in o volume.

And every night and day was his custume, Whan he had leyser and vacacioun From other worldly occupacioun, To reden on this book of wikked wyves. 685 He knew of hem mo legendes and lyves Than been of G.o.de wyves in the Bible.

For trusteth wel, it is an impossible That any clerk wol speke good of wyves, [340: T. 6272-6305.]

But-if it be of holy seintes lyves, 690 Ne of noon other womman never the mo.

Who peyntede the leoun, tel me who?

By G.o.d, if wommen hadde writen stories, As clerkes han with-inne hir oratories, They wolde han writen of men more wikkednesse 695 Than all the mark of Adam may redresse.

The children of Mercurie and of Venus Been in hir wirking ful contrarious; Mercurie loveth wisdom and science, And Venus loveth ryot and dispence. 700 And, for hir diverse disposicioun, Ech falleth in otheres exaltacioun; And thus, G.o.d woot! Mercurie is desolat In Pisces, wher Venus is exaltat; And Venus falleth ther Mercurie is reysed; 705 Therfore no womman of no clerk is preysed.

The clerk, whan he is old, and may noght do Of Venus werkes worth his olde sho, Than sit he doun, and writ in his dotage That wommen can nat kepe hir mariage! 710

676. Cm. Ln. whiche; _rest_ which. Cp. Pt. Hl. Terculan. 680. Hl.

bourdes; _rest_ bookes (bokes). 683. E. hadde. 691. E. Ne; Hn. Nof; _rest_ Ne of. 692. Cm. peyntede; _rest_ peynted. 697. Cm. Hl. and of; _rest om._ of. 698. E. Hn. Ln. Hl. contrarius. 699. E.

wysdam. 705. _Over_ is reysed E. _has_ i. in Virgine. 709. E.

Thanne.

But now to purpos, why I tolde thee That I was beten for a book, pardee.

Up-on a night Iankin, that was our syre, Redde on his book, as he sat by the fyre, Of Eva first, that, for hir wikkednesse, 715 Was al mankinde broght to wrecchednesse, For which that Iesu Crist him-self was slayn, That boghte us with his herte-blood agayn.

Lo, here expres of womman may ye finde, That womman was the los of al mankinde. 720

717-720. Hn. Cm. Cp. Pt. Ln. Hl. _omit._ 717. E. _om._ that Iesu; _which occurs in_ MS. Bibl. Reg. 17. D. xv. _and in_ Dd.

Tho redde he me how Sampson loste his heres, Slepinge, his lemman kitte hem with hir sheres; Thurgh whiche tresoun loste he bothe his yen.

721, 723. E. hise. 722. Cm. hem; _rest_ it (_badly_). 723. Pt. Ln.

whiche; _rest_ which (_badly_). E. eyen.

[341: T. 6306-6340.]

Tho redde he me, if that I shal nat lyen, Of Hercules and of his Dianyre, 725 That caused him to sette himself a-fyre.

No-thing forgat he the penaunce and wo That Socrates had with hise wyves two; How Xantippa caste p.i.s.se up-on his heed; This sely man sat stille, as he were deed; 730 He wyped his heed, namore dorste he seyn But "er that thonder stinte, comth a reyn."

727. Cp. Pt. Ln. penaunce; E. Hn. sorwe; Cm. Hl. care. 728. E. hadde.

Of Phasipha, that was the quene of Crete, For shrewednesse, him thoughte the tale swete; Fy! spek na-more--it is a grisly thing-- 735 Of hir horrible l.u.s.t and hir lyking.

733. E. Hn. Phasifpha; Cm. Phasippa; _rest_ Phasipha. 735. E. speke; Hn. Cm. Cp. Hl. spek.

Of c.l.i.temistra, for hir lecherye, That falsly made hir housbond for to dye, He redde it with ful good devocioun.

737. E. Hn. Cp. Pt. Ln. c.l.i.termystra; Cm. c.l.i.temysta; Hl. Clydemystra.

He tolde me eek for what occasioun 740 Amphiorax at Thebes loste his lyf; Myn housbond hadde a legende of his wyf, Eriphilem, that for an ouche of gold Hath prively un-to the Grekes told Wher that hir housbonde hidde him in a place, 745 For which he hadde at Thebes sory grace.

Of Lyma tolde he me, and of Lucye, They bothe made hir housbondes for to dye; That oon for love, that other was for hate; Lyma hir housbond, on an even late, 750 Empoysoned hath, for that she was his fo.