Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History Bookso softe; 1725 But atte laste hit was on-lofte. Thoo com the sexte companye, And gonne faste on Fame crye. Right verraily, in this manere They seyden: 'Mercy, lady dere! (640) 1730 To telle certein, as hit is, We han don neither that ne this, But ydel al our lyf y-be. But, natheles, yit preye we, That we mowe han so good a fame, 1735 And greet renoun and knowen name, As they that han don noble gestes, And acheved alle hir lestes, As wel of love as other thing; Al was us never broche ne ring, (650) 1740 Ne elles nought, from wimmen sent, Ne ones in hir herte y-ment To make us only frendly chere, But mighte temen us on bere; Yit lat us to the peple seme 1745 Swiche as the world may of us deme, That wimmen loven us for wood. Hit shal don us as moche good, And to our herte as moche availe To countrepeise ese and travaile, (660) 1750 As we had wonne hit with labour; For that is dere boght honour At regard of our grete ese. And yit thou most us more plese; Let us be holden eek, therto, 1755 Worthy, wyse, and gode also, And riche, and happy unto love. For goddes love, that sit above, Though we may not the body have Of wimmen, yet, so god yow save! (670) 1760 Let men glewe on us the name; Suffyceth that we han the fame.' 'I graunte,' quod she, 'by my trouthe! Now, Eolus, with-outen slouthe, Tak out thy trumpe of gold, let see, 1765 And blow as they han axed me, That every man wene hem at ese, Though they gon in ful badde lese.' This Eolus gan hit so blowe, That through the world hit was y-knowe. (680) 1770 Tho com the seventh route anoon, And fel on kneës everichoon, And seyde, 'Lady, graunte us sone The same thing, the same bone, That [ye] this nexte folk han doon.' 1775 'Fy on yow,' quod she, 'everichoon! Ye masty swyn, ye ydel wrecches, Ful of roten slowe tecches! What? false theves! wher ye wolde Be famous good, and no-thing nolde (690) 1780 Deserve why, ne never roughte? Men rather yow to-hangen oughte! For ye be lyk the sweynte cat, That wolde have fish; but wostow what? He wolde no-thing wete his clowes. 1785 Yvel thrift come on your Iowes, And eek on myn, if I hit graunte, Or do yow favour, yow to avaunte! Thou Eolus, thou king of Trace! Go, blow this folk a sory grace,' (700) 1790 Quod she, 'anoon; and wostow how? As I shal telle thee right now; Sey: "These ben they that wolde honour Have, and do noskinnes labour, Ne do no good, and yit han laude; 1795 And that men wende that bele Isaude Ne coude hem noght of love werne; And yit she that grint at a querne Is al to good to ese hir herte."' This Eolus anon up sterte, (710) 1800 And with his blakke clarioun He gan to blasen out a soun, As loude as belweth wind in helle. And eek therwith, [the] sooth to telle, This soun was [al] so ful of Iapes, 1805 As ever mowes were in apes. And that wente al the world aboute, That every wight gan on hem shoute, And for to laughe as they were wode; Such game fonde they in hir hode. (720) 1810 Tho com another companye, That had y-doon the traiterye, The harm, the gretest wikkednesse That any herte couthe gesse; And preyed hir to han good fame, 1815 And that she nolde hem doon no shame, But yeve hem loos and good renoun, And do hit blowe in clarioun. 'Nay, wis!' quod she, 'hit were a vyce; Al be ther in me no Iustyce, (730) 1820 Me listeth not to do hit now, Ne this nil I not graunte you.' Tho come ther lepinge in a route, And gonne choppen al aboute Every man upon the croune, 1825 That al the halle gan to soune, And seyden: 'Lady, lefe and dere, We ben swich folk as ye mowe here. To tellen al the tale aright, We ben shrewes, every wight, (740) 1830 And han delyt in wikkednes, As gode folk han in goodnes; And Ioye to be knowen shrewes, And fulle of vyce and wikked thewes; Wherfor we preyen yow, a-rowe, 1835 That our fame swich be knowe In alle thing right as hit is.' 'I graunte hit yow,' quod she, 'y-wis. But what art thou that seyst this tale, That werest on thy hose a pale, (750) 1840 And on thy tipet swiche a belle!' 'Madame,' quod he, 'sooth to telle, I am that ilke shrewe, y-wis, That brende the temple of Isidis In Athenes, lo, that citee.' 1845 'And wherfor didest thou so?' quod she. 'By my thrift,' quod he, 'madame, I wolde fayn han had a fame, As other folk hadde in the toun, Al-thogh they were of greet renoun (760) 1850 For hir vertu and for hir thewes; Thoughte I, as greet a fame han shrewes, Thogh hit be [but] for shrewednesse, As gode folk han for goodnesse; And sith I may not have that oon, 1855 That other nil I noght for-goon. And for to gette of Fames hyre, The temple sette I al a-fyre. Now do our loos be blowen swythe, As wisly be thou ever blythe.' (770) 1860 'Gladly,' quod she; 'thou Eolus, Herestow not what they preyen us?' 'Madame, yis, ful wel,' quod he, 'And I wil trumpen hit, parde!' And tok his blakke trumpe faste, 1865 And gan to puffen and to blaste, Til hit was at the worldes ende. With that I gan aboute wende; For oon that stood right at my bak, Me thoughte, goodly to me spak, (780) 1870 And seyde: 'Frend, what is thy name? Artow come hider to han fame?' 'Nay, for-sothe, frend!' quod I; 'I cam noght hider, graunt mercy! For no swich cause, by my heed! 1875 Suffyceth me, as I were deed, That no wight have my name in honde. I woot my-self best how I stonde; For what I drye or what I thinke, I wol my-selven al hit drinke, (790) 1880 Certeyn, for the more part, As ferforth as I can myn art.' 'But what dost thou here than?' quod he. Quod I, 'that wol I tellen thee, The cause why I stondë here:-- 1885 Som newe tydings for to lere:-- Som newe thinges, I not what, Tydinges, other this or that, Of love, or swiche thinges glade. For certeynly, he that me made (800) 1890 To comen hider, seyde me, I shulde bothe here and see, In this place, wonder thinges; But these be no swiche tydinges As I mene of.' 'No?' quod he. 1895 And I answerde, 'No, pardee! For wel I wiste, ever yit, Sith that first I hadde wit, That som folk han desyred fame Dyversly, and loos, and name; (810) 1900 But certeynly, I niste how Ne wher that Fame dwelte, er now; Ne eek of hir descripcioun, Ne also hir condicioun, Ne the ordre of hir dome, 1905 Unto the tyme I hider come.' '[Whiche] be, lo, these tydinges, That thou now [thus] hider bringes, That thou hast herd?' quod he to me; 'But now, no fors; for wel I see (820) 1910 What thou desyrest for to here. Com forth, and stond no longer here, And I wol thee, with-outen drede, In swich another place lede, Ther thou shalt here many oon.' 1915 Tho gan I forth with him to goon Out of the castel, soth to seye. Tho saugh I stonde in a valeye, Under the castel, faste by, An hous, that _domus Dedali_, (830) 1920 That _Laborintus_ cleped is, Nas maad so wonderliche, y-wis, Ne half so queynteliche y-wrought. And evermo, so swift as thought, This queynte hous about |