The Corpus ms (Corpus Christi coll., Oxford) of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall.

§ 1. MAN OF LAW'S HEAD-LINK.

CORPUS MS.

Owre oost saugh wel þat by þe brighte sonne [.C^m.v^m.] The ark of his artificial day hadde ronne The ferþe part of half an hour and moore And þough he were nought deepe expert in lore [folio 74a] he wist it was þe xviij.^e day Of Aprille þat is messager to May And saugh wel þat þe schadwe of euery tree Was as in lengþe þe same quantite Line 8 That was þe body erect þat caused it And þerfore by þe schadewe he took his wit That Phebus which þat schon so cler and bright Degrees was xlv clombe on hight Line 12 And for þat day as in þat latitude It was ten atte clokke he gan conclude And sodeinly he plight his hors aboute lordynges quod he I warne ȝou alle þis route Line 16 The ferþe party of þis day is gon Now for þe loue of god and of seint Iohn leseþ no tyme as ferforth as ye may Lordinges þe time it wasteþ night and day Line 20 And steleþ from vs what priuely slepyng And what þurgh necligence in oure waking As doth þe streem þat turneþ neuer agayn Descendyng from þe mountayn in to playn Line 24 Wel can senek and many a Philosophre Biweilen tyme more þan gold in cophre ffor los of catelle may recouered be But los of tyme schendeþ vs quod he Line 28

[6-text p 130] Line 28 It wil nought come agayn wiþouten drede Namore þan wile Malkyns maydenhede Whan sche haþ lost it / in hir wantonnesse lat vs nought mowlen þus in ydelnesse Line 32 Sire Man of lawe quod he saue ȝe blis Tel vs a tale anon as forward is ye be submitted þurgh your free assent To stonde in þis cas of my Iuggement Line 36 Aquiteþ ȝow now of ȝoure beheste Thanne haue ȝe doon your deuer atte leste Oost quod he depardeux ich assente To breke forward is nought myn entente [folio 74b] Biheste is dette and I wil holde fayn Al my biheste I can no bettre sain ffor swich lawe as a man yeueþ anoþer wight he schulde himself vsen it by right Line 44 Thus wile oure text but naþeles certein I can right now no þrifty tale sein That Chaucer þough he can but lewedly On metris and in rymyng craftily Line 48 haþ sayd hem in such englissh as he can Of olde tyme as knoweþ many a man And if he haue nought seyd hem leeue broþer In o book / he haþ seyd hem in anoþer Line 52 ffor he haþ told of louers vp and don Mo þan Ovide made mencion In his Epistles þat been ful olde What scholde I tellen hem sen þei ben tolde Line 56 In youþe he made of Ceys and alcione And siþþen haþ he spoke of euerychone Thise noble wyfes and þese louers eeke Who so þat wile his large volom seeke Line 60 Cleped þe seintes legende of Cupide Ther may he seen þe large woundes wyde Of lucresse & of Babilan Tisbe The swerd of Dido for þe fals Ene Line 64

[6-text p 131] Line 64 The tree of Phillis for hire Demephon The pleynt of Dyanyre and of Ermion Of Adriane and of ysyphile The barayne ysle stondyng in þe see Line 68 The dreynt leander for his Erro The teeres of helyne and eek þe woo Of Brixseyde and of þe ladomya þe cruelte of queen medea Line 72 The litel children hangyng by þe hals ffor þe Iason þat was of loue so fals Of ypmistra Penolope Alceste youre wifhode he comendeth wiþ þe beste [folio 75a] But certeinly no word ne writeþ he Of þikke wicke ensample of Canace That loued hir owne brother synfully Of suche cursed stories I sei fy Line 80 Or elles of Tyro Appoloneus how þat þe cursed king Antiochus Biraft his doughter of hir maydenhede That is so horrible a tale for to rede Line 84 Whan he hir þrew þorugh þe pament And þerfore he of ful auisement Nolde neuer write in none of his sermons Of which vnkynde abhominacions Line 88 Ne I ne wil not reherce if þat I may But of my tale how schal I don þis day Me were loþ be likned douteles To muses þat men clepen pieriedes Line 92 Methamorphoseos wot what I mene But naþeles I recche nought a bene Though I come after him with hawe bake I speke in prose and lat him Rimes make Line 96 And with þat word he with a sobre chere Bigan his tale as ȝe schal after heere.