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This day in mirth and revel to dispend,
Til on the welkin shone the sterres bright:
For more solempne in every mannes sight
This feste was, and greter of costage,
Than was the revel of hire mariage.

Ful many a yere in high prosperitee
Liven thise two in concord and in rest,
And richely his doughter maried he
Unto a lord, on of the worthiest
Of all Itaille, and than in pees and rest
His wives fader in his court he kepeth,
Til that the soule out of his body crepeth.
His sone succedeth in his heritage,
In rest and pees, after his fadres day:
And fortunat was eke in mariage,
Al put he not his wif in gret assay:
This world is not so strong, it is no nay,
As it hath ben in olde times yore,

And herkneth, what this auctour saith therfore.

This story is said, not for that wives shuld Folwe Grisilde, as in humilitee,

For it were importable, tho they wold;
But for that every wight in his degree
Shulde be constant in adversitee,

As was Grisilde, therfore Petrark writeth
This storie, which with high stile he enditeth.
For sith a woman was so patient
Unto a mortal man, wel more we ought
Receiven all in gree that God us sent.
For gret skill is he preve that he wrought:
But he ne tempteth no man that he bought,
As saith seint Jame, if ye his pistell rede;
He preveth folk al day, it is no drede;

And suffreth us, as for our exercise,
With sharpe scourges of adversitee
Ful often to be bete in sondry wise;
Not for to know our will, for certes he,
Or we were borne, knew all our freeletee;
And for our best is all his governance;
Let us than live in vertuous suffrance.

But o word, lordings, herkeneth, or I go:
It were ful hard to finden now adayes
In all a toun Grisildes three or two:
For if that they were put to swiche assayes,
The gold of hem hath now so bad alayes
With bras, that though the coine be faire at eye,
It wolde rather brast atwo than plie.

For which here, for the wives love of Bathe,
Whos lif and al hire secte God maintene
In high maistrie, and elles were it scathe,
I wol with lusty herte fresshe and grene,
Say you a song to gladen you, I wene:
And let us stint of ernestful matere.
Herkneth my song, that saith in this manere.
Grisilde is ded, and eke hire patience,
And both at ones buried in Itaille:
For which I crie in open audience,
No wedded man so hardy be to assaille
His wives patience, in trust to find
Grisildes, for in certain he shal faille.

O noble wives, ful of high prudence,
Let non humilitee your tonges naile:
Ne let no clerk have cause or diligence
To write of you a storie of swiche mervaille,
As of Grisildis patient and kinde,

Lest Chichevache you swalwe in hire entraille.

Folweth ecco, that holdeth no silence,
But ever answereth at the countre taille:
Beth not bedaffed for your innocence,
But sharply taketh on you the governaille:
Emprenteth wel this lesson in your minde,
For comun profit, sith it may availle.

Ye archewives, stondeth ay at defence,
Sin ye be strong, as is a gret camaille,
Ne suffreth not, that men do you
offence.
And selendre wives, feble as in bataille,
Beth egre as is a tigre yond in Inde;
Ay clappeth as a mill, I you counsaille.

Ne drede hem not, doth hem no reverence, For though thin husbond armed be in maille, The arwes of thy crabbed eloquence

Shal perce his brest, and eke his aventaille:
In jalousie I rede eke thou him binde,
And thou shalt make him couche as doth a quaille,

If thou be faire, ther folk ben in presence
Shew thou thy visage, and thin apparaille:
If thou be foule, be free of thy dispence,
To get thee frendes ay do thy travaille:
Be ay of chere as light as lefe on linde, [waille.
And let him care, and wepe, and wringe, and

THE MARCHANTES PROLOGUE.
WEPING and wailing, care and other sorwe
I have ynough, on even and on morwe,
Quod the marchant, and so have other mo,
That wedded ben; I trowe that it be so:

For wel I wot it fareth so by me.

I have a wif, the werste that may be,
For though the fend to hire ycoupled were,
She wolde him overmatche I dare wel swere.
What shulde I you reherse in special
Hire high malice? she is a shrew at al.
Ther is a long and a large difference
Betwix Grisildes grete patience,
And of my wif the passing crueltee.
Were I unbounden, all so mote I the,
I wolde never eft comen in the snare.
We wedded men live in sorwe and care,
Assay it who so wol, and he shal finde
That I say soth, by seint Thomas of Inde,
As for the more part, I say not alle;
God shilde that it shulde so befalle.

A, good sire hoste, I have ywedded be
Thise monethes two, and more not parde;
And yet I trowe that he, that all his lif
Wifles hath ben, though that men wolde him rife
Into the herte, ne coude in no manere
Tellen so much sorwe, as I you here
Coud tellen of my wives cursednesse.

[blesse,

Now, quod our hoste, marchant, so God you Sin ye so mochel knowen of that art, Ful hertely I pray you tell us part. Gladly, quod he, but of min owen sore For sory herte I tellen may no more.

277

THE MARCHANTES TALE.

WHILOM ther was dwelling in Lumbardie
A worthy knight, that born was at Pavie
In which he lived in gret prosperitee;
And sixty yere a wifles man was he,
And folwed ay his bodily delit
On women, ther as was his appetit,
As don thise fooles that ben seculere.
And whan that he was passed sixty yere,
Were it for holinesse or for dotage,
I cannot sain, but swiche a gret corage
Hadde this knight to ben a wedded man,
That day and night he doth all that he can
To espien, wher that he might wedded be;
Praying our lord to granten him, that he
Mighte ones knowen of that blisful lif,
That is betwix an husbond and his wif,
And for to live under that holy bond,
With which God firste man and woman bond.
Non other lif (said he) is worth a bene:
For wedlok is so esy and so clene,
That in this world it is a paradise.

Thus saith this olde knight, that was so wise.
And certainly, as soth as God is king,
To take a wif, it is a glorious thing,
And namely whan a man is old and hore,
Than is a wif the fruit of his tresore;
Than shuld he take a yong wif and a faire,
On which he might engendren him an heire,
And lede his lif in joye and in solas,
Wheras thise bachelers singen alas,

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