The Harleian ms. 7334 of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall.

                                
                                     [6-text p 368] 
                                  
                                  Ȝit may þe highe god and so hope I
                                
                                  Graunte me grace to lyue vertuously
                                
                                  Than am I gentil whan þat I bygynne
                                
                                  To lyue vertuously and weyuen synne
                                  Line 1176 
                                
                                  And þer as ȝe of povert me repreue
                                
                                  The heighe god on whom þat we bilieue
                                
                                  In wilful pouert ches to lese his lif
                                
                                  And certes euery man . mayden or wif
                                  Line 1180 
                                
                                  May vnderstonde þat Ihc heuen king
                                
                                  Ne wold not chese . a vicious lyuyng
                                
                                  Glad pouert is an honest þing certayn
                                
                                  This wol Senek and oþer clerkes sayn
                                  Line 1184 
                                
                                  who þat holt him payd of his pouert
                                
                                  I hold him riche . al had he nouȝt a schert
                                
                                  he þat coueitith is a pore wight
                                
                                  For he wold haue þat is not in his might
                                  Line 1188 
                                
                                  But he þat nouȝt haþ . ne coueyteth nouȝt/ to haue
                                
                                  Is riche al þough ȝe hold him but a knaue
                                
                                  Verray pouert is synne proprely
                                
                                  Iuuenal saith of pouert merily
                                  Line 1192 
                                
                                  ¶ The pore man whan he goþ by þe way
                                
                                  Bifore þe theues he may synge and play
                                
                                  Pouert is hateful and as I gesse /
                                
                                  A ful gret brynger out of busynesse /
                                  Line 1196 
                                
                                  A gret amender eek of Sapiens
                                
                                  To him þat takith it in paciens
                                
                                  Pouert is þis al þough it seme elenge [folio 102a] 
                                
                                  Possessioun þat no wight wil chalenge
                                  Line 1200 
                                
                                  ∴ Pouert ful often whan a man is lowe
                                
                                  Makith him his god and eek himself/ to knowe
                                
                                  ∴ Pouert a spectacle is as þinkith me
                                
                                  Þurgh which he may his verray frendes se
                                  Line 1204 
                                
                                  And þerfor sir syth þat I ȝow nought greue
                                
                                  Of my pouert no more ȝe me repreue
                                
                                  // Now sir of elde ȝe repreue me
                                
                                  And certes sir þough noon auctorite

                                  Line 1208

Pages

Index

About this Item

Title: The Harleian ms. 7334 of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall.
Author: Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400.
Canvas: Page 228
Publication: London,: Pub. for the Chaucer society by N. Trübner & co.,; 1885.

Technical Details

Collection: Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse
Link to this Item: https://name.umdl.umich.edu/agz8246.0001.001
Link to this scan: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/agz8246.0001.001/240:5

Rights and Permissions

The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials are in the public domain. If you have questions about the collection, please contact [email protected]. If you have concerns about the inclusion of an item in this collection, please contact [email protected].

DPLA Rights Statement: No Copyright - United States

IIIF

Manifest: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/api/manifest/cme:agz8246.0001.001

Cite this Item

Full citation: "The Harleian ms. 7334 of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/agz8246.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 11, 2025.

The Harleian ms. 7334 of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall.

Annotations Tools

Actions

About this Item

Technical Details

Rights and Permissions

Related Links

IIIF

Cite this Item