The Hengwrt ms of Chaucer's Canterbury tales / edited by Frederick J. Furnivall.

§ 1. THE DOCTOR'S TALE.

HENGWRT MS.

¶ Here bigynneth / the Phisiciens tale. [folio 191b]

THer was / as telleth Titus Liuius A knyght/ that called was Virginius ffulfild of honour / and of worthynesse And strong of freendes / and of greet richesse Line 4 ¶ This knyght a doghter hadde by his wif Ne children hadde he mo / in al his lif ffair was this mayde / in excellent beautee Abouen euery wight þat man may see Line 8 ffor Nature hath / with souereyn diligence Yformed hire / in so greet excellence As thogh she wolde seyn / lo I nature Thus kan I forme / and peynte a creature Line 12 Whan þat me list who kan me countrefete Pigmalion noght thogh he ay forge and bete [¶ quere in Metha|morphosios.] Or graue / or peynte / for I dar wel seyn Apelles Zanzis / sholde werche in veyn [¶ Apelles fecit mirabile opus in tumulo darij. Vi|de in Alexandri libro .6.^o de zanze in libro Tullij.] Outher to graue / or peynte / or forge / or bete If they presumeden / me to countrefete ffor he that is / the formere principal Hath maked me / his vicaire general Line 20 To forme and peynten / erthely creaturis Right as me list and ech thyng in my cure is Vnder the Moone / that may wane and waxe And for my werk right no thyng wol I axe Line 24

[6-text p 304] Line 24 My lord and I / been ful of oon acord I made hire / to the worshipe of my lord So do I / alle myne othere creatures What colour þat they han / or what figures Line 28 Thus semeth me / that nature wolde seye This mayde of age / xij. yeer was and tweye In which þat nature / hadde swich delit ffor / right as she kan peynte a lilye whit Line 32 And reed a Rose / right with swich peynture She peynted hath / this noble creature Er she were born / vp-on hir lymes free Wher as by right swiche colours sholden be Line 36 And Phebus / dyed hath hir tresses grete [folio 192a] Lyk to the stremys / of his burned hete And if þat excellent was hir beautee A thousand fold / moore vertuous was she Line 40 In hire / ne lakked no condicion That is to preyse / as by discrecion As wel in goost as body / chaast was she ffor which / she floured in virginitee Line 44 With all humilitee / and abstinence With all atemperance / and pacience With mesure eek / of beryng and array Discreet she was / in answeryng alway Line 48 Thogh she were wise Pallas / dar I seyn Hir facound eek / ful wommanly and pleyn No countrefeted termes / hadde she To seme wys / but after hir degree Line 52 She spak/ and alle hir wordes / moore and lesse Sownynge in vertu / and in gentilesse Shamefast she was / in maydens shamefastnesse Constant in herte / and euere in bisynesse Line 56 To dryue hire out of ydel slogardye Bacus hadde of hir mouth / right no maistrye ffor wyn and youthe / dooth Venus encresse As men in fyr / wil casten oille / or gresse Line 60

[6-text p 305] Line 60 And of hir owene vertu / vnconstreyned She hath ful ofte tyme / syk hir feyned ffor þat she wolde / fleen the compaignye Where likly was / to treten of folye Line 64 As is at festes / reuels / and at daunces That been occasions / of daliaunces Swich thyng maken children for to be To soone rype / and boold / as men may se Line 68 Which is ful perilous / and hath be yoore ffor al to soone / may they lerne loore Of boldnesse / whan she woxe is a wyf/ ¶ And ye Maistresses / in youre olde lyf Line 72 That lordes doghtres / han in gouernance Ne taketh of my wordes / no displesance Thenketh / þat ye been set in gouernynges Of lordes doghtres / oonly for two thynges Line 76 ¶ Owther / for ye han kept youre honestee [folio 192b] Or ellis / ye han falle in freletee And knowen wel ynow / the olde daunce And han forsaken fully / swich meschaunce Line 80 ffor euere mo / therfore / for Cristes sake To teche hem vertu / looke þat ye ne slake ¶ A theef of venyson / that hath forlaft His likerousnesse / and al his olde craft Line 84 Kan kepe a fforest best of any man Now kepeth wel / for if ye wole ye kan Looke wel þat ye / vn-to no vice assente Lest ye be dampned / for youre wikke entente Line 88 ffor who so dooth / a traytour is certeyn And taketh kepe / of that þat I shal seyn Of alle treson / souerayn pestilence [¶ nota] Is / whan a wight bitrayseth Innocence Line 92 ¶ Ye fadres / and ye modres eek also Thogh ye han children / be it oon or mo Youre is the charge / of al hir surueance Whil þat they been / vnder youre gouernance Line 96

[6-text p 306] Line 96 Beth war / if by ensample of youre lyuynge Or by youre necligence / in chastisynge That they perisse / for I dar wel seye If þat they doon / ye shul it deere abeye Line 100 Vnder a Shepherde / softe and necligent The wolf hath many a sheepe / and lomb to-rent Suffiseth oon ensample / now as heere ffor I moot turne agayn to my matere Line 104 ¶ This mayde of which / I wol this tale expresse So kepte hir self hir neded no maistresse ffor in hir lyuyng maydens myghten rede As in a book euery good word / or dede Line 108 That longeth / to a mayden vertuous She was so prudent and so bounteuous ffor which the fame out sproong on euery syde Bothe of hir beautee / and hir bountee / wyde Line 112 That thurgh that land / they preysed hire echone That loued vertu / saue enuye allone That sory is / of oother mennes wele [¶ Augustinus.] And glad is / of his sorwe / and his vnheele Line 116 The doctor / maketh this discripcioun [folio 193a] This mayde / vp-on a day / wente in the toun Toward a temple / with hir moder deere As is / of yonge maydens the manere Line 120 ¶ Now was ther thanne / a Iustice in that toun That gouernour was / of that Regioun And so bifel / this Iuge hise eyen caste Vp-on this mayde / auysynge hym ful faste Line 124 As she cam forby / ther as this Iuge stood Anoon his herte chaunged / and his mood So was he caught with beautee of this mayde And to hym self / ful pryuely he sayde Line 128 This mayde shal be myn / for any man Anon the feend / in-to his herte ran And taughte hym sodeynly / þat he by slyghte This mayden / to his purpos wynne myghte Line 132

[6-text p 307] Line 132 ffor certes / by no force / ne by no meede Hym thoughte / he was nat able for to speede ffor she was strong of freendes / and eek she Confermed was / in swich souerayn bountee Line 136 That wel he wiste / he myghte hir neuere wynne As for to make hire / with hir body synne ffor which / by greet deliberacioun He sente after a cherl / was in the town Line 140 Which þat he knew / for subtil and for bold This Iuge vn-to this cherl / his tale hath told In secree wise / and made hym to ensure He sholde telle it to no creature Line 144 And if he dide / he sholde lese his heed Whan þat assented was / this cursed reed Glad was this Iuge / and maked hym gret cheere And yaf hym yiftes / preciouse and deere Line 148 ¶ Whan shapen was / al hir conspiracie ffro point to point how þat his lecherie Parfourned sholde been / ful subtilly As ye shul heere it after openly Line 152 ¶ Hom goth the cherl / that highte Claudius This false Iuge / that highte Apius So was his name / for this is no fable But knowen / for historial thyng notable Line 156 The sentence of it sooth is out of doute [folio 193b] This false Iuge / gooth now faste aboute To hasten his delit al that he may And so bifel / soone after on a day Line 160 This false Iuge / as telleth vs the storie As he was wont sat in his Consistorie And yaf his domes / vp-on sondry cas ¶ This false cherl cam forth / a ful gret pas Line 164 And seyde / lord if þat it be youre wille As dooth me right vp-on this pitous bille In which / I pleyne vp-on Virginius And if þat he wol seyn / it is nat thus Line 168

[6-text p 308] Line 168 I wol it preue / and fynde good witnesse That sooth is / that my bille wol expresse ¶ This Iuge answerde / of this in his absence I may nat yeue / diffynytif sentence Line 172 Lat do hym calle / and I wol gladly heere [audire] Thow shalt haue al right and no wrong heere [hic] Virginius cam to wite / the Iuges wille And right anon / was rad this cursed bille Line 176 The sentence of it was as ye shul heere ¶ To yow my lord / sire Apius so deere Sheweth / youre poure seruant Claudius How þat a knyght called Virginius Line 180 Agayns the lawe / agayn al equitee Holdeth expres / agayn the wyl of me My seruant which þat is my thral by right Which fro myn hous / was stole vp-on a nyght Line 184 Whil that she was ful yong this wol I preue By witnesse lord / so þat it nat yow greue She nys his doghter nat what so he seye Wher to yow / my lord the Iuge I preye Line 188 Yeld me my thral / if þat it be youre wille Lo / this was al the sentence / of his bille ¶ Virginius / gan vp-on the cherl biholde But hastily / er he his tale tolde Line 192 And wolde haue proued it as sholde a knyght And eek by witnessynge / of many a wight That it was fals / that seyde his Aduersarie This cursed Iuge / wolde no thyng tarie Line 196 Ne here a word / moore of Virginius [folio 194a] But yaf his Iuggement and seyde thus / ¶ I deme anon / this cherl / his seruant haue Thou shalt no lenger / in thyn hous hir saue Line 200 Go bryng hir forth / and put hire in oure warde The cherl shal han his thral / this I awarde ¶ And whan / this worthy knyght Virginius Thurgh sentence / of this Iustice Apius Line 204

[6-text p 309] Line 204 Moste by force / his deere doghter yeuen Vn-to the Iuge / in lecherie to lyuen He goth hym hom / and sette hym in his halle And leet anoon / his deere doghter calle Line 208 And with a face deed / as asshen colde Vp-on hir humble face / he gan biholde With fadres pitee / stikyng thurgh his herte Al wolde he / from his purpos nat conuerte Line 212 ¶ Doghter quod he / Virginia by thy name Ther been two weyes / outher deeth / or shame That thow most suffre / allas þat I was bore ffor neuere / thow deseruedest wherfore Line 216 To dyen / with a swerd / or with a knyf O deere doghter / endere of my lyf Which I haue fostred vp / with swich plesance That thow were neuere / out of my remembrance Line 220 O doghter / which that art my laste wo And in my lyf my laste ioye also O gemme of chastitee / in pacience Tak thow thy deeth / for this is my sentence Line 224 ffor loue / and nat for hate / thow most be deed My pitous hand / moot smyten of thyn heed Allas / þat euere Apius thee say Thus hath he falsly / Iugged thee to day Line 228 And tolde hire al the cas / as ye bifore Han herd / nat nedeth for to telle it moore ¶ O mercy deere fader / quod this mayde And with that word / she bothe hir armes layde Line 232 Aboute his nekke / as she was wont to do The teeris borste / out of hir eyen two And seyde / goode fader / shal I dye Is ther no grace / is ther no remedye Line 236 ¶ No certes / deere doghter myn quod he [folio 194b] ¶ Thanne yif me leyser / fader myn quod she My deeth for to compleyne / a litel space Line 239 ffor pardee Iepte / yaf his doghter grace [¶ Iudicum cap.^o xj.^o]

[6-text p 310] ffor to compleyne / er he hir slowe allas [fuit illo tempore lepte Galaandes.] And god it woot no thyng was hir trespas But for she ran / hir fader for to se To welcome hym / with greet solempnytee Line 244 And with that word / she fil aswowne anon And after / whan hir swownyng is agon She riseth vp / and to hir fader sayde Blessed be god / þat I shal dye a mayde Line 248 Yif me my deeth / er þat I haue a shame Dooth with youre child / youre wyl a goddes name And with that word / she preyed hym ful ofte That with his swerd / he wolde smyte softe Line 252 And with that word / aswowne doun she fil ¶ Hir fader / with ful sorweful herte and wil Hir heed of smoot and by the tope it hente And to the Iuge / he gan it to presente Line 256 As he sat yet in doom / in Consistorie ¶ And whan the Iuge it saw / as seith the storie He bad to take hym / and anhange hym faste But right anon / a thousand peple In thraste Line 260 To saue the knyght for routhe and for pitee ffor knowen was / the false Iniquitee ¶ The peple anon / hadde suspect in this thyng By manere / of the cherles chalangyng Line 264 That it was / by the assent of Apius They wisten wel / þat he was lecherus ffor which / vn-to this Apius they gon And caste hym in a prison / right anon Line 268 Ther as he slow hym self / and Claudius That seruant was / vn-to this Apius Was demed / for to hange vp on a tree But that Virginius / of his pitee Line 272 So preyde for hym / that he was exiled And ellis certes / he hadde been bigyled The remenant were anhanged / moore and lesse That were consentant of this cursednesse Line 276

[6-text p 311] Line 276 ¶ Heere may men seen / how synne hath his merite [folio 195a] Beth war / for no man woot whom god wol smyte In no degree / ne in which manere wise The worm of conscience / may agrise Line 280 Of wikked lyf / thogh it so pryuee be That no man woot ther of / but god and he ffor be he lewed man / or ellis lered He noot how soone / that he shal been afered Line 284 Ther-fore I rede yow / this conseil take fforsaketh synne / er synne yow forsake [6-text p 312]

¶ Here endeth the Phisiciens tale.