The Canterbury tales and Faerie queene &c., &c., &c., ed. for popular perusal with current illustrations and explanatory notes, by D. Laing Purves.

90 THE CANTERBURY TALES.
To seeken other leeches in the town? It is great harm, and certes great pity
Your inconstance is your confusiotin. To set an irous man in high degree.
Hold ye then me, or ellis our convent, "Whilom 16 there was an irous potestate,17
To praye for you insufficient? As saith Senec, that during his estate'8
Thomas, that jape 1 it is not worth a mite; Upon a day out rode knightis two;
Your malady is for we have too lite.2 And, as fortune would that it were so,
Ah, give that convent half a quarter oats; The one of them came home, the other not.
And give that convent four and twenty groats; Anon the knight before the judge is brought,
And give that friar a penny, and let him go! That saidi thus;'Thou hast thy fellow slain,
Nay, nay, Thomas, it may no thing be so. For which I doom thee to the death certain.'
What is a farthing worth parted on twelve? And to another knight commanded he;
Lo, each thing that is oned 3 in himselve'Go, lead him to the death, I charge thee.'
Is more strong than when it is y-scatter'd. And happened, as they went by the way
Thomas, of me thou shalt not be y-flatter'd, Toward the place where as he should dey,l9
Thou wouldest have our labour all for nought. The knight came, which men weened20 had been
Thehighe God, that all this worldhathwrought, dead.
Saith, that the workman worthy is his hire. Then thoughte they it was the beste rede 21
Thomas, nought of your treasure I desire To lead them both unto the judge again.
As for myself, but that all our conv6nt They saide,' Lord, the knight hath not y-slain
To pray for you is aye so diligent: His fellow; here he standeth whole alive.'
And for to builde Christe's owen church.' Ye shall be dead, quoth he,'so may I thrive,
Thomas, if ye will learne for to wirch,4 That is to say, both one, and two, and three.'
Of building up of churches may ye find And to the firste knight right thus spake he:
If it be good, in Thomas' life of Ind.'I damned thee, thou must algate 22 be dead:
Ye lie here full of anger and of ire, And thou also must needes lose thine head,
With which the devil sets your heart on fire, For thou the cause art why thy fellow dieth.'
And chidd here this holy innocent And to the thirde knight right thus he sayeth,
Your wife, that is so meek and patient.' Thou hast not done that I commanded thee.'
And therefore trow5 me, Thomas, if thee lest,6 And thus he did do slay them 23 alle three.
Ne strive not with thy wife, as for the best. Irous Cambyses was eke dronkelew,24
And bear this word away now, by thy faith, And aye delighted him to be a shrew.25
Touching such thing, lo, what the wise man And so befell, a lord of his meinie,26
saith: That loved virtuous morality,' Within thy house be thou no li6n; Said on a day betwixt them two right thus:
To thy subj6cts do none oppression;' A lord is lost, if he be vicious.
Nor make thou thine acquaintance for to flee.' [An irous man is like a frantic beast,
And yet, Thomas, eftsoonis 7 charge I thee, In which there is of wisdom none arrest 27];
Beware from ire that in thy bosom sleeps, And drunkenness is eke a foul record
Ware from the serpent, that so slily creeps Of any man, and namely28 of a lord.
Under the grass, and stingeth subtilly. There is full many an eye and many an ear
Beware, my son, and hearken patiently, Awaiting on29 a lord, he knows not where.!
That twenty thousand men have lost their lives For Godde's love, drink more attemperly:30
For striving with their lemans8 and their wives. Wine maketh man to lose wretchedly
Now since ye have so holy and meek a wife, His mind, and eke his limbes every one.'
What needeth you, Thomas, to maki strife?' The reverse shalt thou see,' quoth he,' anon,
There is, y-wis,9 no serpent so cruel, And prove it by thine own experience,
When men tread on his tail, nor half so fell,l0 That wine doth to folk no such offence.
As woman is, when she hath caught an ire; There is no wine bereaveth me my might
Very 1 vengeance is then all her desire. Of hand, nor foot, nor of mine eyen sight.'
Ire is a sin, one of the greate seven,l2 And for despite he dranke muche more
Abominable to the God of heaven, A hundred part 31 than he had done before,
And to himself it is destruction. And right anon this cursed irons wretch
This every lewed 13 vicar and pars6n This knighte's sone let 32 before him fetch,
Can say, how ire engenders homicide; Commanding him he should before him stand:
Ire is in sooth th' executor 4 of pride. And suddenly he took his bow in hand,
I could of ire you say so muche sorrow, And up the string he pulled to his ear,
My tale shoulde last until to-morrow. And with an arrow slew the child right there.
And therefore pray I God both day and night,'Now whether have I a sicker33 hand or non?'34
An irons 5 man God send him little might. Quoth he;'Is all my might and mind agone?
1 Trick. Italian, "podesta." Seneca relates the story of Cor2 Because we have too little. nelius Piso; "De Ira," i. 16. 18 Term of office.
3 Made one, united. 4 Work. 6 Believe. 19 Die. 20 Thought. 21 Counsel.'6 If it please thee. 7 Again. 8 Mistresses. 22 At all events. 23 Caused them to be slain.
9 Certainly. 10 Fierce. 11 Pure; only. 24 A drunkard. 25 Vicious, ill-tempered.
12 The seven cardinal sins. 13 Ignorant. 26 Suite. 27 No decree, control. 28 Especially.
14 Executioner. 15 Passionate. 16 Once. 29 Watching. 30 Temperately. 31 Times.
17 Chief magistrate or judge; Latin, "potestas;" 32 Caused. 83 Sure. 34 Not.