Chaucer's Works-The Canterbury Tales Part 100

Wherfor in that I holde him lewed and nyce.

For whan a man hath over-greet a wit, Ful oft him happeth to misusen it; [530: T. 16118-16154.]

So dooth my lord, and that me greveth sore. 650 G.o.d it amende, I can sey yow na-more.'

'Ther-of no fors, good yeman,' quod our host; 'Sin of the conning of thy lord thou wost, (100) Tel how he dooth, I pray thee hertely, Sin that he is so crafty and so sly. 655 Wher dwellen ye, if it to telle be?'

'In the suburbes of a toun,' quod he, 'Lurkinge in hernes and in lanes blinde, Wher-as thise robbours and thise theves by kinde Holden hir privee fereful residence, 660 As they that dar nat shewen hir presence; So faren we, if I shal seye the sothe.'

'Now,' quod our host, 'yit lat me talke to the; (110) Why artow so discoloured of thy face?'

663. Cm. Hl. yit; _rest omit_. E. telle; Cm. speke; _rest_ talke.

'Peter!' quod he, 'G.o.d yeve it harde grace, 665 I am so used in the fyr to blowe, That it hath chaunged my colour, I trowe.

I am nat wont in no mirour to prye, But swinke sore and lerne multiplye.

We blondren ever and pouren in the fyr, 670 And for al that we fayle of our desyr, For ever we lakken our conclusioun.

To mochel folk we doon illusioun, (120) And borwe gold, be it a pound or two, Or ten, or twelve, or many sommes mo, 675 And make hem wenen, at the leeste weye, That of a pound we coude make tweye!

Yet is it fals, but ay we han good hope It for to doon, and after it we grope.

But that science is so fer us biforn, 680 We mowen nat, al-though we hadde it sworn, It overtake, it slit awey so faste; It wol us maken beggers atte laste.' (130)

672. E. Cm. lakke; _rest_ lakken. E. of oure; _rest omit_ of. 681.

E. _omits_ it.

Whyl this yeman was thus in his talking, This chanoun drough him neer, and herde al thing 685 Which this yeman spak, for suspecioun [531: T. 16155-16187.]

Of mennes speche ever hadde this chanoun.

For Catoun seith, that he that gilty is Demeth al thing be spoke of him, y-wis.

That was the cause he gan so ny him drawe 690 To his yeman, to herknen al his sawe.

And thus he seyde un-to his yeman tho, 'Hold thou thy pees, and spek no wordes mo, (140) For if thou do, thou shalt it dere abye; Thou sclaundrest me heer in this companye, 695 And eek discoverest that thou sholdest hyde.'

686. E. Cm. Which this; _rest_ Which that this; cf. ll. 684, 691, 701 (yeman).

'Ye,' quod our host, 'telle on, what so bityde; Of al his threting rekke nat a myte!'

698. E. his; _rest_ this. E. Cm. rekke; Cp. recche I; Hl. Pt. Ln.

recche the.

'In feith,' quod he, 'namore I do but lyte.'

And whan this chanon saugh it wolde nat be, 700 But his yeman wolde telle his privetee, He fledde awey for verray sorwe and shame.

'A!' quod the yeman, 'heer shal aryse game, (150) Al that I can anon now wol I telle.

Sin he is goon, the foule feend him quelle! 705 For never her-after wol I with him mete For peny ne for pound, I yow bihete!

He that me broghte first unto that game, Er that he dye, sorwe have he and shame!

For it is ernest to me, by my feith; 710 That fele I wel, what so any man seith.

And yet, for al my smert and al my grief, For al my sorwe, labour, and meschief, (160) I coude never leve it in no wyse.

Now wolde G.o.d my wit mighte suffyse 715 To tellen al that longeth to that art!

But natheles yow wol I tellen part; Sin that my lord is gon, I wol nat spare; Swich thing as that I knowe, I wol declare.-- 719

HERE ENDETH THE PROLOGE OF THE CHANOUNS YEMANNES TALE.

706. _So_ Hl. Cp. Pt. Ln.; E. _omits_ after, _having_ heer _only_.

711. E. that; _rest_ so. 717. E. And; _rest_ But.

[532: T. 16188-16211.]

THE CHANOUNS YEMANNES TALE.

HERE BIGINNETH THE CHANOUNS YEMAN HIS TALE.

[_Prima pars_.]

With this chanoun I dwelt have seven yeer, 720 And of his science am I never the neer.

Al that I hadde, I have y-lost ther-by; And G.o.d wot, so hath many mo than I. (170) Ther I was wont to be right fresh and gay Of clothing and of other good array, 725 Now may I were an hose upon myn heed; And wher my colour was bothe fresh and reed, Now is it wan and of a leden hewe; Who-so it useth, sore shal he rewe.

And of my swink yet blered is myn ye, 730 Lo! which avantage is to multiplye!

That slyding science hath me maad so bare, That I have no good, wher that ever I fare; (180) And yet I am endetted so ther-by Of gold that I have borwed, trewely, 735 That whyl I live, I shal it quyte never.

Lat every man be war by me for ever!

What maner man that casteth him ther-to, If he continue, I holde his thrift y-do.

So helpe me G.o.d, ther-by shal he nat winne, 740 But empte his purs, and make his wittes thinne.

And whan he, thurgh his madnes and folye, Hath lost his owene good thurgh Iupartye, (190) [533: T. 16212-16246.]

Thanne he excyteth other folk ther-to, To lese hir good as he him-self hath do. 745 For unto shrewes Ioye it is and ese To have hir felawes in peyne and disese; Thus was I ones lerned of a clerk.

Of that no charge, I wol speke of our werk.

728. E. _omits_ a. 740. E. Pt. Ln. Hl. For so; _but_ Cp. _omits_ For.

Whan we been ther as we shul exercyse 750 Our elvish craft, we s.e.m.e.n wonder wyse, Our termes been so clergial and so queynte.

I blowe the fyr til that myn herte feynte. (200)

What sholde I tellen ech proporcioun Of thinges whiche that we werche upon, 755 As on fyve or sixe ounces, may wel be, Of silver or som other quant.i.te, And bisie me to telle yow the names Of orpiment, brent bones, yren squames, That into poudre grounden been ful smal? 760 And in an erthen potte how put is al, And salt y-put in, and also papeer, Biforn thise poudres that I speke of heer, (210) And wel y-covered with a lampe of glas, And mochel other thing which that ther was? 765 And of the pot and gla.s.ses enluting, That of the eyre mighte pa.s.se out no-thing?

And of the esy fyr and smart also, Which that was maad, and of the care and wo That we hadde in our matires sublyming, 770 And in amalgaming and calcening Of quik-silver, y-clept Mercurie crude?

For alle our sleightes we can nat conclude. (220) Our orpiment and sublymed Mercurie, Our grounden litarge eek on the porphurie, 775 Of ech of thise of ounces a certeyn Nought helpeth us, our labour is in veyn.

Ne eek our spirites ascencioun, [534: T. 16247-16281.]

Ne our materes that lyen al fixe adoun, Mowe in our werking no-thing us avayle. 780 For lost is al our labour and travayle, And al the cost, a twenty devel weye, Is lost also, which we upon it leye. (230)

761. E. _omits_ how. 762. E. Cm. papeer; Ln. papere; Lich. papire; Cp. Pt. Hl. paupere. (Tyrwhitt _reads_ pepere.) 764. _The MSS. have_ lampe, laumpe, lamp. 767. Lich. Pt. eyre; Ln. eyere; E. eyr; Cm. ayr; Cp. Hl. aier. 775. E. in; Cm. &; _rest_ on. 776. E. And; _rest_ Of. 782. E. Cm. a; Ln. in; _rest_ on. 782, 3. Cm. Pt. Ln. weye, leye; _rest_ way, lay.

Ther is also ful many another thing That is unto our craft apertening; 785 Though I by ordre hem nat reherce can, By-cause that I am a lewed man, Yet wol I telle hem as they come to minde, Though I ne can nat sette hem in hir kinde; As bole armoniak, verdegrees, boras, 790 And sondry vessels maad of erthe and glas, Our urinales and our descensories, Violes, croslets, and sublymatories, (240) Cucurbites, and alembykes eek, And othere swiche, dere y-nough a leek. 795 Nat nedeth it for to reherce hem alle, Watres rubifying and boles galle, a.r.s.enik, sal armoniak, and brimstoon; And herbes coude I telle eek many oon, As egremoine, valerian, and lunarie, 800 And othere swiche, if that me liste tarie.

Our lampes brenning bothe night and day, To bringe aboute our craft, if that we may. (250) Our fourneys eek of calcinacioun, And of watres albificacioun, 805 Unslekked lym, chalk, and gleyre of an ey, Poudres diverse, a.s.shes, dong, p.i.s.se, and cley, Cered pokets, sal peter, vitriole; And divers fyres maad of wode and cole; Sal tartre, alkaly, and sal preparat, 810 And combust materes and coagulat, Cley maad with hors or mannes heer, and oile Of tartre, alum, glas, berm, wort, and argoile, (260) [535: T. 16282-16317.]

Resalgar, and our materes enbibing; And eek of our materes encorporing, 815 And of our silver citrinacioun, Our cementing and fermentacioun, Our ingottes, testes, and many mo.

790. E. vertgrees; Li. Cm. Cp. Hl. verdegres; Pt. verdegrees. 792. E.

Li. Hl. vrinals; Cm. vrynallis; Cp. Pt. vrinales. 803. E. purpos if; _rest_ craft if that. 806. _The MSS. all retain_ an. 808.

_Miswritten_ pottes in E.; Hl. poketts. 812. E. and; _rest_ or.

813. _Accent_ alum _on the_ u. 817. E. And of oure; _rest omit_ And of.

I wol yow telle, as was me taught also, The foure spirites and the bodies sevene, 820 By ordre, as ofte I herde my lord hem nevene.

The firste spirit quik-silver called is, The second orpiment, the thridde, y-wis, (270) Sal armoniak, and the ferthe brimstoon.

The bodies sevene eek, lo! hem heer anoon: 825 Sol gold is, and Luna silver we threpe, Mars yren, Mercurie quik-silver we clepe, Saturnus leed, and Iupiter is tin, And Venus coper, by my fader kin!