Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History Bookdens, and how trewe wyves, *How stedfast widwes during al hir lyves, *Telleth Jerome; and that nat of a fewe, *But, I dar seyn, an hundred on a rewe; 285 *That hit is pitee for to rede, and routhe, *The wo that they enduren for hir trouthe. For to hir love were they so trewe, (B. 334) *That, rather than they wolde take a newe, *They chosen to be dede in sundry wyse, 290 *And deyden, as the story wol devyse; *And some were brend, and some were cut the hals, *And some dreynt, for they wolden nat be fals. *For alle keped they hir maydenhed, *Or elles wedlok, or hir widwehed. 295 *And this thing was nat kept for holinesse, *But al for verray vertu and clennesse, *And for men shulde sette on hem no lak; *And yit they weren hethen, al the pak, *That were so sore adrad of alle shame. 300 *These olde wemen kepte so hir name, *That in this world I trow men shal nat finde *A man that coude be so trewe and kinde, *As was the leste woman in that tyde. *What seith also the epistels of Ovyde 305 *Of trewe wyves, and of hir labour? *What Vincent, in his Storial Mirour? *Eek al the world of autours maystow here, *Cristen and hethen, trete of swich matere; *It nedeth nat alday thus for tendyte. 310 *But yit I sey, what eyleth thee to wryte *The draf of stories, and forgo the corn? By seint Venus, of whom that I was born, (B. 338) Although [that] thou reneyed hast my lay, (B. 336) As othere olde foles many a day, (B. 337) 315 Thou shalt repente hit, that hit shal be sene!' Than spak Alceste, the worthieste quene, +And seyde, 'god, right of your curtesye, +Ye moten herknen if he can replye Ageyns these points that ye han to him meved; 320 +A god ne sholde nat be thus agreved, +But of his deitee he shal be stable, And therto rightful and eek merciable. *He shal nat rightfully his yre wreke *Or he have herd the tother party speke. 325 *Al ne is nat gospel that is to yow pleyned; *The god of love herth many a tale y-feyned. _From_ A. 338, 339. This man to yow may wrongly been accused, +Ther as by right him oghte been excused; +For in your court is many a losengeour, +And many a queynte totelere accusour, That tabouren in your eres many a thing 330 For hate, or for Ielous imagining, And for to han with yow som daliaunce. Envye (I prey to god yeve hir mischaunce!) Is lavender in the grete court alway. +For she ne parteth, neither night ne day, 335 +Out of the hous of Cesar; thus seith Dante; Who-so that goth, alwey she moot [nat] wante. This man to yow may wrongly been accused, +Ther as by right him oghte been excused. Or elles, sir, for that this man is nyce, 340 He may translate a thing in no malyce. But for he useth bokes for to make, And takth non heed of what matere he take; *Therfor he wroot the Rose and eek Crisseyde *Of innocence, and niste what he seyde; 345 +Or him was boden make thilke tweye +Of som persone, and durste hit nat with-seye; *For he hath writen many a book er this. +He ne hath nat doon so grevously amis +To translaten that olde clerkes wryten, 350 +As thogh that he of malice wolde endyten Despyt of love, and hadde him-self y-wroght. +This shulde a rightwys lord han in his thoght, +And nat be lyk tiraunts of Lumbardye, That usen wilfulhed and tirannye, 355 +For he that king or lord is naturel, +Him oghte nat be tiraunt ne cruel, +As is a fermour, to doon the harm he can. +He moste thinke hit is his lige man, *And that him oweth, of verray duetee, 360 *Shewen his peple pleyn benignitee, *And wel to here hir excusaciouns, *And hir compleyntes and peticiouns, *In duewe tyme, whan they shal hit profre. +This is the sentence of the philosophre: (B. 381) 365 +A king to kepe his liges in Iustyce; +With-outen doute, that is his offyce. *And therto is a king ful depe y-sworn, *Ful many an hundred winter heer-biforn; And for to kepe his lordes hir degree, 370 +As hit is right and skilful that they be +Enhaunced and honoured, and most dere-- +For they ben half-goddes in this world here-- This shal he doon, bothe to pore [and] riche, Al be that here stat be nat a-liche, 375 +And han of pore folk compassioun. +For lo, the gentil kind of the lioun! +For whan a flye offendeth him or byteth, +He with his tayl awey the flye smyteth +Al esily; for, of his genterye, 380 +Him deyneth nat to wreke him on a flye, +As doth a curre or elles another beste. +In noble corage oghte been areste, +And weyen every thing by equitee, +And ever han reward to his owen degree. 385 +For, sir, hit is no maystrie for a lord To dampne a man with-oute answere or word; +And, for a lord, that is ful foul to use. +And if so be he may him nat excuse, [But] axeth mercy with a sorweful herte, 390 +And profreth him, right in his bare sherte, +To been right at your owne Iugement, +Than oghte a god, by short avysement, +Considre his owne honour and his trespas. +For sith no cause of deeth lyth in this cas, 395 +Yow oghte been the lighter merciable; +Leteth your yre, and beth somwhat tretable! +The man hath served yow of his conning, And forthered your lawe with his making. *Whyl he was yong, he kepte your estat; 400 *I not wher he be now a renegat. But wel I wot, with that he can endyte, He hath maked lewed folk delyte +To serve you, in preysing of your name. +He made the book that hight the Hous of Fame, 405 +And eek the Deeth of Blaunche the Duchesse, +And the Parlement of Foules, as I gesse, +And al the love of Palamon and Arcyte +Of Thebes, thogh the story is knowen lyte; +And many an ympne for your halydayes, 410 +That highten Balades, Roundels, Virelayes; And for to speke of other besinesse, +He hath in prose translated Boëce; *And of the Wreched Engendring of Mankinde, *As man may in pope Innocent y-finde; 415 +And mad the Lyf also of seynt Cecyle; (B. 426) +He made also, goon sithen a greet whyl, +Origenes upon the Maudeleyne; +Him oghte now to have the lesse peyne; +He hath mad many a lay and many a thing. 420 +'Now as ye been a god, and eek a king, +I, your Alceste, whylom quene of Trace, +I axe yow this man, right of your grace, +That ye him never hurte in al his lyve; +And he shal sweren yow, and that as blyve, 425 +He shal no more agilten in this wyse; +But he shal maken, as ye wil devyse, +Of wemen trewe in lovinge al hir lyve, +Wher-so ye wil, of maiden or of wyve, +And forthren yow, as muche as he misseyde 430 +Or in the Rose or elles in Crisseyde.' +The god of love answerde hir thus anoon, +'Madame,' quod he, 'hit is so long agoon +That I yow knew so charitable and trewe, +That never yit, sith that the world was newe, 435 +To me ne fond I better noon than ye. That, if that I wol save my degree, +I may ne wol nat warne your requeste; Al lyth in yow, doth with him what yow leste +And al foryeve, with-outen lenger space; 440 +For who-so yeveth a yift, or doth a grace, +Do hit by tyme, his thank is wel the more; +And demeth ye what he shal d |