Chaucerian and Other Pieces. Various

is. nowe one. 35. nowe. 36. one. perfyte. 38. nowe. the howe. 42. worlde. 43. one. 44. alwaye put. 45. healed. 47. Nowe. 48. reasons. 51. lawes; read lawe. 52. determinatiōs. 53. I supply founden.

      58. reasoun. 59. purueyde. vnderputte. 61. arne. 65. diseases. breaken. 66. mischefe. 68. stretcheth. 69. exployte forthe. 70. nothynge. 71. purpose. 72. the. 73. lette. porte. 75. the. 77. wysdome. 78. fyght. 79. graunt. 80. meanynge. 84. vnderstande. rayne. 85. I supply bare. 86. aferde. 88. great. wether; read weder. 90. huysshte. peace. styl. 91. se nowe howe.

      92. groubed. 94. none. 101. Nowe. 102. I supply come. 103. kynrest (sic). 109. skorne. 110. this; read thus? 120. toforne. 121. worship; read worshippe (verb). 122. styl. 123. protection.

      130. nowe. the. 131. set the. 132. lest. 133. ianghes; read jangles.

      CHAPTER VI.

      Ever,' quod she, 'hath the people in this worlde desyred

      to have had greet name in worthinesse, and hated foule

      to bere any [en]fame; and that is oon of the objeccions thou

      alegest to be ayen thyne hertely desyre.'

      5

      'Ye, forsothe,' quod I; 'and that, so comenly, the people wol

      lye, and bringe aboute suche enfame.'

      'Now,' quod she, 'if men with lesinges putte on thee enfame,

      wenest thy-selfe therby ben enpeyred? That wening is wrong;

      see why; for as moche as they lyen, thy meryte encreseth, and

      10

      make[th] thee ben more worthy, to hem that knowen of the soth;

      by what thing thou art apeyred, that in so mokil thou art encresed

      of thy beloved frendes. And sothly, a wounde of thy frende [is] to

      thee lasse harm, ye, sir, and better than a fals kissing in disceyvable

      glosing of thyne enemy; above that than, to be wel with thy

      15

      frende maketh [voyd] suche enfame. Ergo, thou art encresed

      and not apeyred.'

      'Lady,' quod I, 'somtyme yet, if a man be in disese, th'estimacion

      of the envyous people ne loketh nothing to desertes of men,

      ne to the merytes of their doinges, but only to the aventure of

      20

      fortune; and therafter they yeven their sentence. And some

      loken the voluntary wil in his herte, and therafter telleth his

      jugement; not taking hede to reson ne to the qualitè of the

      doing; as thus. If a man be riche and fulfild with worldly

      welfulnesse, some commenden it, and sayn it is so lent by juste

      25

      cause; and he that hath adversitè, they sayn he is weked; and

      hath deserved thilke anoy. The contrarye of these thinges some

      men holden also; and sayn that to the riche prosperitè is purvayed

      in-to his confusion; and upon this mater many autoritès

      of many and greet-witted clerkes they alegen. And some men

      30

      sayn, though al good estimacion forsake folk that han adversitè,

      yet is it meryte and encrees of his blisse; so that these purposes

      am so wonderful in understanding, that trewly, for myn adversitè

      now, I not how the sentence of the indifferent people wil jugen

      my fame.'

      35

      'Therfore,' quod she, 'if any wight shulde yeve a trewe sentence

      on suche maters, the cause of the disese maist thou see

      wel. Understand ther-upon after what ende it draweth, that is to

      sayne, good or badde; so ought it to have his fame †by goodnesse

      or enfame by badnesse. For [of] every resonable person, and

      40

      namely of a wyse man, his wit ought not, without reson to-forn

      herd, sodainly in a mater to juge. After the sawes of the wyse,

      "thou shalt not juge ne deme toforn thou knowe."'

      'Lady,' quod I, 'ye remembre wel, that in moste laude and

      praysing of certayne seyntes in holy churche, is to rehersen their

      45

      conuersion from badde in-to good; and that is so rehersed, as

      by a perpetual mirrour of remembraunce, in worshippinge of

      tho sayntes, and good ensample to other misdoers in amendement.

      How turned the Romayne Zedeoreys fro the Romaynes,

      to be with Hanibal ayenst his kynde nacion; and afterwardes,

      50

      him seming the Romayns to be at the next degrè of confusion,

      turned to his olde alyes; by whose witte after was Hanibal

      discomfited. Wherfore, to enfourme you, lady, the maner-why

      I mene, see now. In my youth I was drawe to ben assentaunt

      and (in my mightes) helping to certain conjuracions and other

      55

      grete maters of ruling of citizins; and thilke thinges ben my

      drawers in; and ex[c]itours to tho maters wern so paynted and

      coloured that (at the prime face) me semed them noble and

      glorious to al the people. I than, wening mikel meryte have

      deserved in furthering and mayntenaunce of tho thinges, besyed

      60

      and laboured, with al my diligence, in werkinge of thilke maters

      to the ende. And trewly, lady, to telle you the sothe, me rought

      litel of any hate of the mighty senatours in thilke citè, ne of

      comunes malice; for two skilles. Oon was, I had comfort to ben

      in suche plyte, that bothe profit were to me and to my frendes.

      65

      Another was, for commen profit in cominaltee is not but pees and

      tranquilitè, with just governaunce, proceden from thilke profit;

      sithen, by counsayle of myne inwitte, me thought the firste painted

      thinges malice and yvel meninge, withouten any good avayling to

      any people, and of tyrannye purposed. And so, for pure sorowe,

      70

      and of my medlinge and badde infame that I was in ronne, tho

      [the] teres [that] lasshed out of myne eyen were thus awaye

      wasshe, than the under-hidde malice and the rancour of purposing

      envye, forncast and imagined in distruccion of mokil people,

      shewed so openly, that, had I ben blind, with myne hondes al the

      75

      circumstaunce