All my behest; I can no better sayn.
For such law as a man gives another wight,
He should himselfë usen it by right.
Thus will our text: but natheless certáin
I can right now no thrifty1411 talë sayn,
But Chaucer (though he can but lewëdly1412
On metres and on rhyming craftily)
Hath said them, in such English as he can,
Of oldë time, as knoweth many a man.
And if he have not said them, levë1413 brother,
In one book, he hath said them in another
For he hath told of lovers up and down,
More than Ovidë made of mentioun1414
In his Epistolae, that be full old.
Why should I tellë them, since they he told?
In youth he made of Ceyx and Alcyon,1415
And since then he hath spoke of every one
These noble wivës, and these lovers eke.
Whoso that will his largë volume seek
Called the Saintës’ Legend of Cupíd:1416
There may he see the largë woundës wide
Of Lucrece, and of Babylon Thisbé;
The sword of Dido for the false Enée;
The tree of Phillis for her Demophon;
The plaint of Diane, and of Hermion,
Of Ariadne, and Hypsipilé;
The barren islë standing in the sea;
The drown’d Leander for his fair Heró;
The tearës of Heléne, and eke the woe
Of Briseïs, and Laodamia;
The cruelty of thee, Queen Medeá,
Thy little children hanging by the halse,1417
For thy Jason, that was of love so false.
Hypermnestra, Pénelop’, Alcest’,
Your wifehood he commendeth with the best.
But certainly no wordë writeth he
Of thilkë wick’1418 example of Canacé,
That loved her own brother sinfully;
(Of all such cursed stories I say, Fy),
Or else of Tyrius Apollonius,
How that the cursed king Antiochus
Bereft his daughter of her maidenhead;
That is so horrible a tale to read,
When he her threw upon the pavëment.
And therefore he, of full avisëment,1419
Would never write in none of his sermons
Of such unkind1420 abominatións;
Nor I will none rehearse, if that I may.
But of my tale how shall I do this day?
Me were loth to be liken’d doubtëless
To Muses, that men call Pieridés1421
(Metamorphoseos1422 wot what I mean),
But natheless I reckë not a bean,
Though I come after him with hawëbake;1423
I speak in prose, and let him rhymës make.”
And with that word, he with a sober cheer
Began his tale, and said as ye shall hear.
The Tale1424
O scatheful harm, condition of povérty,
With thirst, with cold, with hunger so confounded;
To askë help thee shameth in thine heartë;
If thou none ask, so sore art thou y-wounded,
That very need unwrappeth all thy wound hid.
Maugré thine head thou must for indigence
Or steal, or beg, or borrow thy dispence.1425
Thou blamest Christ, and sayst full bitterly,
He misdeparteth1426 riches temporal;
Thy neighëbour thou witest1427 sinfully,
And sayst, thou hast too little, and he hath all:
“Parfay (sayst thou) sometime he reckon shall,
When that his tail shall brennen in the glede,1428
For he not help’d the needful in their need.”
Hearken what is the sentence of the wise:
Better to die than to have indigence.
Thy selvë neighëbour1429 will thee despise,
If thou be poor, farewell thy reverence.
Yet of the wisë man take this senténce,
Allë the days of poorë men be wick’,1430
Beware therefore ere thou come to that prick.1431
If thou be poor, thy brother hateth thee,
And all thy friendës flee from thee, alas!
O richë merchants, full of wealth be ye,
O noble, prudent folk, as in this case,
Your baggës be not fill’d with ambës ace,1432
But with six-cinque,1433 that runneth for your chance;
At Christenmass well merry may ye dance.
Ye seekë land and sea for your winníngs,
As wisë folk ye knowen all th’ estate
Of regnës;1434 ye be fathers of tidings,
And talës, both of peace and of debate:1435
I were right now of talës desolate,1436
But that a merchant, gone in many a year,
Me taught a tale, which ye shall after hear.
In Syria whilom dwelt a company
Of chapmen rich, and thereto sad1437 and true,
That widëwherë1438 sent their spicery,
Clothës of gold, and satins rich of hue.
Their chaffare1439 was so thriftly1440 and so new,
That every wight had dainty1441 to chaffare1442
With them, and eke to sellë them their ware.
Now fell it, that the masters of that sort
Have shapen them1443 to Romë for to wend,
Were it for chapmanhood1444 or for disport,
None other message would they thither send,
But come themselves to Rome, this is the end:
And in such place as thought them ávantage
For their intent, they took their herbergage.1445
Sojourned have these merchants in that town
A certain time as fell to their pleasance:
And so befell, that th’ excellent renown
Of th’ emperorë’s daughter, Dame Constance,
Reported was, with every circumstance,
Unto these Syrian merchants in such wise,
From day to day, as I shall you devise1446
This was the common voice of every man:
“Our emperor of Romë, God him see,1447
A daughter hath, that since the world began,
To reckon as well her goodness and beautý,
Was never such another as is she:
I pray to God in honour her sustene,
And would she were of all Európe the queen.
“In her is highë beauty without pride,
And youth withoutë greenhood1448 or follý:
To all her workës virtue is her guide;
Humbless hath slain in her all tyranny:
She is the mirror of all courtesy,
Her heart a very chamber of holiness,
Her hand miníster of freedom for almess.”1449
And all this voice was sooth, as God is true;
But now to purpose1450 let us turn again.
These merchants have done freight1451 their shippës new,
And when they have this blissful maiden seen,
Homë to Syria then they went full fain,
And did their needës,1452 as they have done yore,1453
And liv’d in weal;1454 I can you say
