Chaucerian and Other Pieces. Various

the false disceyvable conjectementes

      of mannes begylinges. Lo! how it fareth; though ye men

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      gronen and cryen, certes, it is but disceyt; and that preveth wel

      by th'endes in your werkinge. How many women have ben

      lorn, and with shame foule shent by long-lastinge tyme, whiche

      thorow mennes gyle have ben disceyved? Ever their fame shal

      dure, and their dedes [ben] rad and songe in many londes; that

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      they han don, recoveren shal they never; but alway ben demed

      lightly, in suche plyte a-yen shulde they falle. Of whiche slaunders

      and tenes ye false men and wicked ben the verey causes; on you

      by right ought these shames and these reproves al hoolly discende.

      Thus arn ye al nighe untrewe; for al your fayre speche, your

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      herte is ful fickel. What cause han ye women to dispyse? Better

      fruite than they ben, ne swetter spyces to your behove, mowe ye

      not fynde, as far as worldly bodyes strecchen. Loke to their

      forminge, at the making of their persones by god in joye of

      paradyce! For goodnesse, of mans propre body were they

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      maked, after the sawes of the bible, rehersing goddes wordes in

      this wyse: "It is good to mankynde that we make to him an

      helper." Lo! in paradyse, for your helpe, was this tree graffed,

      out of whiche al linage of man discendeth. If a man be noble

      frute, of noble frute it is sprongen; the blisse of paradyse, to

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      mennes sory hertes, yet in this tree abydeth. O! noble helpes

      ben these trees, and gentil jewel to ben worshipped of every

      good creature! He that hem anoyeth doth his owne shame; it is

      a comfortable perle ayenst al tenes. Every company is mirthed

      by their present being. Trewly, I wiste never vertue, but a woman

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      were therof the rote. What is heven the worse though Sarazins

      on it lyen? Is your fayth untrewe, though †renegates maken

      theron lesinges? If the fyr doth any wight brenne, blame his

      owne wit that put him-selfe so far in the hete. Is not fyr gentillest

      and most comfortable element amonges al other? Fyr

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      is cheef werker in fortheringe sustenaunce to mankynde. Shal

      fyr ben blamed for it brende a foole naturelly, by his own stulty

      witte in steringe? Ah! wicked folkes! For your propre malice

      and shreudnesse of your-selfe, ye blame and dispyse the precious[es]t

      thing of your kynde, and whiche thinges among other

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      moste ye desyren! Trewly, Nero and his children ben shrewes,

      that dispysen so their dames. The wickednesse and gyling of

      men, in disclaundring of thilke that most hath hem glad[d]ed

      and plesed, were impossible to wryte or to nempne. Never-the-later

      yet I say, he that knoweth a way may it lightly passe; eke

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      an herbe proved may safely to smertande sores ben layd. So

      I say, in him that is proved is nothing suche yvels to gesse.

      But these thinges have I rehersed, to warne you women al at

      ones, that to lightly, without good assaye, ye assenten not to

      mannes speche. The sonne in the day-light is to knowen from

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      the moone that shyneth in the night. Now to thee thy-selfe

      (quod she) as I have ofte sayd, I knowe wel thyne herte; thou

      art noon of al the tofore-nempned people. For I knowe wel the

      continuaunce of thy service, that never sithen I sette thee

      a-werke, might thy Margaryte for plesaunce, frendship, ne fayrhede

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      of none other, be in poynte moved from thyne herte; wherfore

      in-to myne housholde hastely I wol that thou entre, and al the

      parfit privitè of my werking, make it be knowe in thy understonding,

      as oon of my privy familiers. Thou desyrest (quod she)

      fayn to here of tho thinges there I lefte?'

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      'Ye, forsothe,' quod I, 'that were to me a greet blisse.'

      'Now,' quod she, 'for thou shalt not wene that womans condicions

      for fayre speche suche thing belongeth:—

      Ch. III. 2. ganne. 5. beforne. 6. thynge. menne. 9. thynge. whose.

      10. lignes (sic). 11. whose lykenesse. 12. halte. 15. facultie. 17. forthe. 18. borne. 19. comforte. 20. dethe. 23. buxome. beautie. 27. parfyte. 32. wotte. 38. graunt. 40. toforne.

      48. golde. 51. worthe. on; read of. 53. -warde. 54. birde. 56. beare. vnhande; read on hande. 58. none. 59. bloder; read blobere. 61. Howe. 63. sette. frenship (sic). one. 64. lyste. delyte. 65. faire. 66. maye. tel. 67. bonde. 69. dey. 72. trust. crafte. 74. howe. 76. thendes. Howe. 77. lorne. longe-. 78. thorowe. 79. I supply ben. radde. 80. done. 81. fal. 83. holy.

      84. arne. 87. farre. stretchen. 97. dothe. 99. wyst. 101. faythe. thoughe rennogates. 102. leasynges. fyre (four times) 103. wytte. farre. heate. 104, 112. moste. 104. element comfortable; read comfortable element. 105. chefe. 108. precioust. 109. amonge. 112–3. gladed and pleased. 115. layde. 120. Nowe. the.

      122. arte none. 123. set the. 124. frendeshyp. fayrehede. 127. parfyte. 128. one. 129. fayne. 130. great. 131. Nowe.

      CHAPTER IV.

      Thou shalt,' quod she, 'understonde first among al other

      thinges, that al the cure of my service to me in the parfit

      blisse in doing is desyred in every mannes herte, be he never

      so moche a wrecche; but every man travayleth by dyvers studye,

      5

      and seke[th] thilke blisse by dyvers wayes. But al the endes

      are knit in selinesse of desyre in the parfit blisse, that is suche

      joye, whan men it have gotten, there †leveth no thing more to

      ben coveyted. But how that desyre of suche perfeccion in

      my service be kindely set in lovers hertes, yet her erroneous

      10

      opinions misturne it by falsenesse of wening. And although

      mannes understanding be misturned, to knowe whiche shuld ben

      the way unto my person, and whither it abydeth; yet wote they

      there is a love in every wight,