The complete works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Vol. 7. Chaucerian and other pieces / edited from numerous mauscripts by the Rev. Walter W. Skeat.

CHAPTER X.

FULLY have I now declared thyn estate to be good, so thou folow therafter, and that the †objeccion first †by thee aleged, in worthinesse of thy Margaryte, shal not thee lette, as it shal forther thee, and encrese thee. It is now to declare, the last objeccion in nothing may greve.' [ 5]

'Yes, certes,' quod I, 'bothe greve and lette muste it nedes; the contrarye may not ben proved; and see now why. Whyle I was glorious in worldly welfulnesse, and had suche goodes in welth as maken men riche, tho was I drawe in-to companyes that loos, prise, and name yeven. Tho louteden blasours; tho [ 10] curreyden glosours; tho welcomeden flatterers; tho worshipped thilke that now deynen nat to loke. Every wight, in such erthly wele habundant, is holde noble, precious, benigne, and wyse to do what he shal, in any degree that men him sette; al-be-it that the sothe be in the contrarye of al tho thinges. But he that can [ 15] never so wel him behave, and hath vertue habundaunt in manyfolde maners, and be nat welthed with suche erthly goodes, is holde for a folle, and sayd, his wit is but sotted. Lo! how fals for aver is holde trewe! Lo! how trewe is cleped fals for wanting of goodes! Also, lady, dignitees of office maken men mikel [ 20] comended, as thus: "he is so good, were he out, his pere shulde men not fynde." Trewly, I trowe of some suche that are so praysed, were they out ones, another shulde make him so be knowe, he shulde of no wyse no more ben loked after: but only fooles, wel I wot, desyren suche newe thinges. Wherfore I wonder [ 25] that thilke governour, out of whom alone the causes proceden that governen al thinges, whiche that hath ordeyned this world in workes of the kyndely bodyes so be governed, not with

unstedfast or happyous thing, but with rules of reson, whiche shewen the course of certayne thinges: why suffreth he suche [ 30] slydinge chaunges, that misturnen suche noble thinges as ben we men, that arn a fayr parcel of the erthe, and holden the upperest degree, under god, of benigne thinges, as ye sayden right now your-selfe; shulde never man have ben set in so worthy a place but-if his degrè were ordayned noble. Alas! thou that knittest [ 35] the purveyaunce of al thinges, why lokest thou not to amenden these defautes? I see shrewes that han wicked maners sitten in chayres of domes, lambes to punisshen, there wolves shulden ben punisshed. Lo! vertue, shynende naturelly, for povertee lurketh, and is hid under cloude; but the moone false, forsworn (as [ 40] I knowe my-selfe) for aver and yeftes, hath usurped to shyne by day-light, with peynture of other mens praysinges; and trewly, thilke forged light fouly shulde fade, were the trouth away of colours feyned. Thus is night turned in-to day, and day in-to night; winter in-to sommer, and sommer in-to winter; not in [ 45] dede, but in misclepinge of foliche people.'

'Now,' quod she, 'what wenest thou of these thinges? How felest thou in thyn hert, by what governaunce that this cometh aboute?'

'Certes,' quod I, 'that wot I never; but-if it be that Fortune [ 50] hath graunt from above, to lede the ende of man as her lyketh.'

'Ah! now I see,' quod she, 'th'entent of thy mening! Lo, bycause thy worldly goodes ben fulliche dispent, thou beraft out of dignitè of office, in whiche thou madest the †gaderinge of thilke goodes, and yet diddest in that office by counsaile of wyse [before [ 55] that] any thing were ended; and true were unto hem whos profit thou shuldest loke; and seest now many that in thilke hervest made of thee mokel, and now, for glosing of other, deyneth thee nought to forther, but enhaunsen false shrewes by witnessinge of trouthe! These thinges greveth thyn herte, to sene thy-selfe thus [ 60] abated; and than, frayltè of mankynde ne setteth but litel by the lesers of suche richesse, have he never so moche vertue; and so thou wenest of thy jewel to renne in dispyt, and not ben accepted in-to grace. Al this shal thee nothing hinder. Now (quod she) first thou wost wel, thou lostest nothing that ever mightest thou [ 65]

chalenge for thyn owne. Whan nature brought thee forth, come thou not naked out of thy †moders wombe? Thou haddest no richesse; and whan thou shalt entre in-to the ende of every flesshly body, what shalt thou have with thee than? So, every richesse thou hast in tyme of thy livinge, nis but lent; thou [ 70] might therin chalenge no propertee. And see now; every thing that is a mannes own, he may do therwith what him lyketh, to yeve or to kepe; but richesse thou playnest from thee lost; if thy might had strecched so ferforth, fayn thou woldest have hem kept, multiplyed with mo other; and so, ayenst thy wil, ben they departed [ 75] from thee; wherfore they were never thyn. And if thou laudest and joyest any wight, for he is stuffed with suche maner richesse, thou art in that beleve begyled; for thou wenest thilke joye to be selinesse or els ese; and he that hath lost suche happes to ben unsely.' [ 80]

'Ye, forsoth,' quod I.

'Wel,' quod she, 'than wol I prove that unsely in that wise is to preise; and so the tother is, the contrary, to be lacked.'

'How so?' quod I.

'For Unsely,' quod she, 'begyleth nat, but sheweth th'entent [ 85] of her working. Et e contra: Selinesse begyleth. For in prosperitè she maketh a jape in blyndnesse; that is, she wyndeth him to make sorowe whan she withdraweth. Wolt thou nat (quod she) preise him better that sheweth to thee his herte, tho[ugh] it be with bytande wordes and dispitous, than him that gloseth and [ 90] thinketh in †his absence to do thee many harmes?'

'Certes,' quod I, 'the oon is to commende; and the other to lacke and dispice.'

'A! ha!' quod she, 'right so Ese, while †she lasteth, gloseth and flatereth; and lightly voydeth whan she most plesauntly [ 95] sheweth; and ever, in hir absence, she is aboute to do thee tene and sorowe in herte. But Unsely, al-be-it with bytande chere, sheweth what she is, and so doth not that other; wherfore Unsely doth not begyle. Selinesse disceyveth; Unsely put away doute. That oon maketh men blynde; that other openeth their [ 100] eyen in shewinge of wrecchidnesse. The oon is ful of drede to

lese that is not his owne; that other is sobre, and maketh men discharged of mokel hevinesse in burthen. The oon draweth a man from very good; the other haleth him to vertue by the hookes of thoughtes. And wenist thou nat that thy disese hath [ 105] don thee mokel more to winne than ever yet thou lostest, and more than ever the contrary made thee winne? Is nat a greet good, to thy thinking, for to knowe the hertes of thy sothfast frendes? Pardè, they ben proved to the ful, and the trewe have discevered fro the false. Trewly, at the goinge of the ilke brotel [ 110] joye, ther yede no more away than the ilke that was nat thyn proper. He was never from that lightly departed; thyn owne good therfore leveth it stille with thee. Now good (quod she); for how moche woldest thou somtyme have bought this verry knowing of thy frendes from the flatteringe flyes that thee glosed, [ 115] whan thou thought thy-selfe sely? But thou that playnest of losse in richesse, hast founden the most dere-worthy thing; that thou clepest unsely hath made thee moche thing to winnen. And also, for conclusioun of al, he is frende that now leveth nat his herte from thyne helpes. And if that Margarite denyeth now nat [ 120] to suffre her vertues shyne to thee-wardes with spredinge bemes, as far or farther than if thou were sely in worldly joye, trewly, I saye nat els but she is somdel to blame.'

'Ah! pees,' quod I, 'and speke no more of this; myn herte breketh, now thou touchest any suche wordes!' [ 125]

'A! wel!' quod she, 'thanne let us singen; thou herest no more of these thinges at this tyme.'

Notes

• CH. X. 1. nowe.
• 2. abiection; read objeccion. be; read by. the.
• 3. the.
• 4. the. encrease the. nowe.
• 5. obiection.
• 6. let.
• 7. maye. se nowe.
• 12. nowe.
• 14. set.
• 15. can ne never; omit ne.
• 18. wytte. false.
• 19. auer (sic); for aueir (avoir). howe. cleaped. false.
• 24. onely.
• 25. wotte. new.
• 26. whome.
• 27. worlde.
• 29. reason.
• 32. arne a fayre parsel.
• 33. nowe.
• 37. se.
• 39. pouertie.
• 40. hydde. forsworne.
• 44. daye (twice).
• 46. miscleapynge.
• 50. wotte.
• 52. nowe I se. thentent. meanyng.
• 53. berafte.
• 54. gatherynge.
• 55. I supply before that.
• 56. whose profyte.
• 57. nowe.
• 58. the (twice). nowe.
• 63. dispyte.
• 64. the. Nowe.
• 65. woste.
• 66. the forthe.
• 67. mothers; read moders.
• 69. the.
• 70. haste. lente.
• 71. propertie. se nowe.
• 72. owne.
• 73. the.
• 74. stretched. fayne.
• 76. the.
• 78. arte.
• 79. ease. loste.
• 84. Howe.
• 85. thentent.
• 88. Wolte.
• 89. the.
• 91. their; read his. the.
• 92. one.
• 94. ease. he; read she.
• 99. dothe. awaye.
• 100-1. one (twice).
• 101. wretchydnesse.
• 103. one.
• 105. disease.
• 106. done the.
• 107. the. great.
• 109. Pardy.
• 111. awaye.
• 111-2. thyne.
• 113. leaueth. the. Nowe.
• 114. howe.
• 115. the.
• 117. thynge.
• 118. cleapest. the. thynge.
• 119. nowe leaueth.
• 120. hert. nowe.
• 121. the. spreadynge beames.
• 122. farre.
• 123. somdele.
• 124. peace. myne.
• 125. breaketh nowe.
• 126. lette.