Chaucer's Works-The Canterbury Tales Part 91

She thanked him, and with ful greet humblesse She seyde, 'sire, sith of your gentillesse Ye profre me to have so large a reyne, 755 Ne wolde never G.o.d bitwixe us tweyne, [484: T. 11069-11106.]

As in my gilt, were outher werre or stryf.

Sir, I wol be your humble trewe wyf, (30) Have heer my trouthe, til that myn herte breste.'

Thus been they bothe in quiete and in reste. 760

For o thing, sires, saufly dar I seye, That frendes everich other moot obeye, If they wol longe holden companye.

Love wol nat ben constreyned by maistrye; Whan maistrie comth, the G.o.d of love anon 765 Beteth hise winges, and farewel! he is gon!

Love is a thing as any spirit free; Wommen of kinde desiren libertee, (40) And nat to ben constreyned as a thral; And so don men, if I soth seyen shal. 770 Loke who that is most pacient in love, He is at his avantage al above.

Pacience is an heigh vertu certeyn; For it venquisseth, as thise clerkes seyn, Thinges that rigour sholde never atteyne. 775 For every word men may nat chyde or pleyne.

Lerneth to suffre, or elles, so moot I goon, Ye shul it lerne, wher-so ye wole or noon. (50) For in this world, certein, ther no wight is, That he ne dooth or seith som-tyme amis. 780 Ire, siknesse, or constellacioun, Wyn, wo, or chaunginge of complexioun Causeth ful ofte to doon amis or speken.

On every wrong a man may nat be wreken; After the tyme, moste be temperaunce 785 To every wight that can on governaunce.

And therfore hath this wyse worthy knight, To live in ese, suffrance hir bihight, (60) And she to him ful wisly gan to swere That never sholde ther be defaute in here. 790

772. E. auantate (_sic_).

Heer may men seen an humble wys accord; Thus hath she take hir servant and hir lord, Servant in love, and lord in mariage; Than was he bothe in lords.h.i.+p and servage; [485: T. 11107-11144.]

Servage? nay, but in lords.h.i.+pe above, 795 Sith he hath bothe his lady and his love; His lady, certes, and his wyf also, The which that lawe of love acordeth to. (70) And whan he was in this prosperitee, Hoom with his wyf he gooth to his contree, 800 Nat fer fro Penmark, ther his dwelling was, Wher-as he liveth in blisse and in solas.

791. E. Heere. 794. E. Thanne. 801. Ln. penmarke; _rest_ Pedmark.

Who coude telle, but he had wedded be, The Ioye, the ese, and the prosperitee That is bitwixe an housbonde and his wyf? 805 A yeer and more lasted this blisful lyf, Til that the knight of which I speke of thus, That of Kayrrud was cleped Arveragus, (80) Shoop him to goon, and dwelle a yeer or tweyne In Engelond, that cleped was eek Briteyne, 810 To seke in armes wors.h.i.+p and honour; For al his l.u.s.t he sette in swich labour; And dwelled ther two yeer, the book seith thus.

803. Pt. Ln. had; _rest_ hadde. 810. Cm. er (_for_ eek); Pt. _om._

Now wol I stinte of this Arveragus, And speken I wole of Dorigene his wyf, 815 That loveth hir housbonde as hir hertes lyf.

For his absence wepeth she and syketh, As doon thise n.o.ble wyves whan hem lyketh. (90) She moorneth, waketh, wayleth, fasteth, pleyneth; Desyr of his presence hir so distreyneth, 820 That al this wyde world she sette at noght.

Hir frendes, whiche that knewe hir hevy thoght, Conforten hir in al that ever they may; They prechen hir, they telle hir night and day, That causelees she sleeth hir-self, allas! 825 And every confort possible in this cas They doon to hir with al hir bisinesse, Al for to make hir leve hir hevinesse. (100)

814. E. stynten.

By proces, as ye knowen everichoon, Men may so longe graven in a stoon, 830 Til som figure ther-inne emprented be.

So longe han they conforted hir, til she [486: T. 11145-11181.]

Receyved hath, by hope and by resoun, The emprenting of hir consolacioun, Thurgh which hir grete sorwe gan aswage; 835 She may nat alwey duren in swich rage.

And eek Arveragus, in al this care, Hath sent hir lettres hoom of his welfare, (110) And that he wol come hastily agayn; Or elles hadde this sorwe hir herte slayn. 840

Hir freendes sawe hir sorwe gan to slake, And preyede hir on knees, for G.o.ddes sake, To come and romen hir in companye, Awey to dryve hir derke fantasye.

And finally, she graunted that requeste; 845 For wel she saugh that it was for the beste.

842. Cm. preyede; Cp. preyed; E. Hn. preyde; Pt. preiden.

Now stood hir castel faste by the see, And often with hir freendes walketh she (120) Hir to disporte up-on the bank an heigh, Wher-as she many a s.h.i.+p and barge seigh 850 Seilinge hir cours, wher-as hem liste go; But than was that a parcel of hir wo.

For to hir-self ful ofte 'allas!' seith she, 'Is ther no s.h.i.+p, of so manye as I see, Wol bringen hom my lord? than were myn herte 855 Al warisshed of his bittre peynes smerte.'

851. E. Hn. Seillynge. 852. E. thanne. 855. E. thanne.

Another tyme ther wolde she sitte and thinke, And caste hir eyen dounward fro the brinke. (130) But whan she saugh the grisly rokkes blake, For verray fere so wolde hir herte quake, 860 That on hir feet she mighte hir noght sustene.

Than wolde she sitte adoun upon the grene, And pitously in-to the see biholde, And seyn right thus, with sorweful sykes colde:

862. E. Thanne.

'Eterne G.o.d, that thurgh thy purveyaunce 865 Ledest the world by certein governaunce, In ydel, as men seyn, ye no-thing make; But, lord, thise grisly feendly rokkes blake, (140) That s.e.m.e.n rather a foul confusioun [487: T. 11182-11217.]

Of werk than any fair creacioun 870 Of swich a parfit wys G.o.d and a stable, Why han ye wroght this werk unresonable?

For by this werk, south, north, ne west, ne eest, Ther nis y-fostred man, ne brid, ne beest; It dooth no good, to my wit, but anoyeth. 875 See ye nat, lord, how mankinde it destroyeth?

An hundred thousand bodies of mankinde Han rokkes slayn, al be they nat in minde, (150) Which mankinde is so fair part of thy werk That thou it madest lyk to thyn owene merk. 880 Than semed it ye hadde a greet chiertee Toward mankinde; but how than may it be That ye swiche menes make it to destroyen, Whiche menes do no good, but ever anoyen?

I wool wel clerkes wol seyn, as hem leste, 885 By arguments, that al is for the beste, Though I ne can the causes nat y-knowe.

But thilke G.o.d, that made wind to blowe, (160) As kepe my lord! this my conclusioun; To clerkes lete I al disputisoun. 890 But wolde G.o.d that alle thise rokkes blake Were sonken in-to h.e.l.le for his sake!

Thise rokkes sleen myn herte for the fere.'

Thus wolde she seyn, with many a pitous tere.

873. MSS. eest, est. 874. MSS. beest, best. 881. E. Thanne. Pt.

cheerte. 882. E. thanne. 887. E. _om._ ne. 889. Cm. Cp. Pt. this is (this = this is). 890. E. al this: _rest om._ this.

Hir freendes sawe that it was no disport 895 To romen by the see, but disconfort; And shopen for to pleyen somwher elles.

They leden hir by riveres and by welles, (170) And eek in othere places delitables; They dauncen, and they pleyen at ches and tables. 900

So on a day, right in the morwe-tyde, Un-to a gardin that was ther bisyde, In which that they had maad hir ordinaunce Of vitaille and of other purveyaunce, They goon and pleye hem al the longe day. 905 [488: T. 11218-11253.]

And this was on the sixte morwe of May, Which May had peynted with his softe shoures This gardin ful of leves and of floures; (180) And craft of mannes hand so curiously Arrayed hadde this gardin, trewely, 910 That never was ther gardin of swich prys, But-if it were the verray paradys.

The odour of floures and the fresshe sighte Wolde han maad any herte for to lighte That ever was born, but-if to gret siknesse, 915 Or to gret sorwe helde it in distresse; So ful it was of beautee with plesaunce.

At-after diner gonne they to daunce, (190) And singe also, save Dorigen allone, Which made alwey hir compleint and hir mone; 920 For she ne saugh him on the daunce go, That was hir housbonde and hir love also.

But nathelees she moste a tyme abyde, And with good hope lete hir sorwe slyde.

903. E. hadde. 906. E. in; _rest_ on. 907. E. hadde. 914. _So_ Cm. (_see_ Group F, l. 396); E. Hn. maked, _and om._ for to; Cp. Pt.

Wold han made ony pensif herte light.

Up-on this daunce, amonges othere men, 925 Daunced a squyer biforen Dorigen, That fressher was and Iolyer of array, As to my doom, than is the monthe of May. (200) He singeth, daunceth, pa.s.singe any man That is, or was, sith that the world bigan. 930 Ther-with he was, if men sholde him discryve, Oon of the beste faringe man on-lyve; Yong, strong, right vertuous, and riche and wys, And wel biloved, and holden in gret prys.

And shortly, if the sothe I tellen shal, 935 Unwiting of this Dorigen at al, This l.u.s.ty squyer, servant to Venus, Which that y-cleped was Aurelius, (210) Had loved hir best of any creature Two yeer and more, as was his aventure, 940 But never dorste he telle hir his grevaunce; [489: T. 11254-11290.]

With-outen coppe he drank al his penaunce.

He was despeyred, no-thing dorste he seye, Save in his songes somwhat wolde he wreye His wo, as in a general compleyning; 945 He seyde he lovede, and was biloved no-thing.

Of swich matere made he manye layes, Songes, compleintes, roundels, virelayes, (220) How that he dorste nat his sorwe telle, But languissheth, as a furie dooth in h.e.l.le; 950 And dye he moste, he seyde, as dide Ekko For Narcisus, that dorste nat telle hir wo.

In other manere than ye here me seye, Ne dorste he nat to hir his wo biwreye; Save that, paraventure, som-tyme at daunces, 955 Ther yonge folk kepen hir observaunces, It may wel be he loked on hir face In swich a wyse, as man that asketh grace; (230) But no-thing wiste she of his entente.

Nathelees, it happed, er they thennes wente, 960 By-cause that he was hir neighebour, And was a man of wors.h.i.+p and honour, And hadde y-knowen him of tyme yore, They fille in speche; and forth more and more Un-to his purpos drough Aurelius, 965 And whan he saugh his tyme, he seyde thus:

926. Cp. biforen; Hn. Cm. bifore; E. biforn. 939. E. hadde. 941. E.

Hn. tellen. 950. E. Cm. a furye; Hn. Pt. a fuyre; Cp. fuyre; Ln.

fire. 956. E. Hn. yong. 965. E. Hn. this; _rest_ his.

'Madame,' quod he, 'by G.o.d that this world made, So that I wiste it mighte your herte glade, (240) I wolde, that day that your Arveragus Wente over the see, that I, Aurelius, 970 Had went ther never I sholde have come agayn; For wel I woot my service is in vayn.

My guerdon is but bresting of myn herte; Madame, reweth upon my peynes smerte; For with a word ye may me sleen or save, 975 Heer at your feet G.o.d wolde that I were grave!

I ne have as now no leyser more to seye; Have mercy, swete, or ye wol do me deye!' (250) [490: T. 11291-11327.]

She gan to loke up-on Aurelius: 'Is this your wil,' quod she, 'and sey ye thus? 980 Never erst,' quod she, 'ne wiste I what ye mente.

But now, Aurelie, I knowe your entente, By thilke G.o.d that yaf me soule and lyf, Ne shal I never been untrewe wyf In word ne werk, as fer as I have wit: 985 I wol ben his to whom that I am knit; Tak this for fynal answer as of me.'

But after that in pley thus seyde she: (260)

971. E. Hn. Cm. Ln. Hadde. 973. E. Hn. gerdon. 987. E. Hn. Taak.

'Aurelie,' quod she, 'by heighe G.o.d above, Yet wolde I graunte yow to been your love, 990 Sin I yow see so pitously complayne; Loke what day that, endelong Britayne, Ye remoeve alle the rokkes, stoon by stoon, That they ne lette s.h.i.+p ne boot to goon-- I seye, whan ye han maad the coost so clene 995 Of rokkes, that ther nis no stoon y-sene, Than wol I love yow best of any man; Have heer my trouthe in al that ever I can.' (270)

993. Cm. remoue; Cp. Ln. remewe; Pt. remeue. 997. E. Thanne.