¶ Heere the Hoost stynteth Chaucer / of his tale of Thopas.
Na moore of this / for goddes dignitee
Quod oure hoost for thou makest me
So wery / of thy verray lewednesse
That also wisly / god my soule blesse
Line 2112
Min eres aken / of thy drasty speche
Now swich a Rym / the deuel I biteche
This may wel / be Rym dogerel quod he
¶ Why so quod I / why wiltow lette me?
Line 2116
Moore of my tale / than another man
Syn that it is / the beste tale I kan
¶ By god quod he / for pleynly at a word
Thy drasty rymyng / is nat worth a toord
Line 2120
Thou doost noght elles / but despendest tyme
Sire at o word / thou shalt no lenger ryme
Lat se / wher thou kanst tellen aught in geeste
Or telle in prose / somwhat at the leeste
Line 2124
In which ther be som murthe / or som doctryne
¶ Gladly quod I / by goddes sweete pyne
I wol yow telle / a litel thyng in prose
That oghte liken yow / as I suppose
Line 2128
Or elles certes / ye been to daungerous
It is a moral tale vertuous
Al be it take somtyme / in sondry wyse
Of sondry folk as I shal yow deuyse
Line 2132
¶ As thus / ye woot þat euery Euaungelist/
That telleth vs / the peyne of Ihesu crist
Ne seith nat alle thyng as his felawe dooth
But nathelees / hir sentence is al sooth
Line 2136
And alle acorden / as in hire sentence
Al be ther / in hir tellyng difference
