Canterbury Tales and Other Poems by Geoffrey Chaucer (best summer reads .TXT) 📕

saith. <13>

Alas! a foul thing is it, by my faith, To say this word, and fouler is the deed, When man so drinketh of the *white and red, i.e. wine*

That of his throat he maketh his privy Through thilke cursed superfluity

The apostle saith, <14> weeping full piteously, There walk many, of which you told have I, —

I say it now weeping with piteous voice, —

That they be enemies of Christe’s crois; cross Of which the end is death; womb* is their God. *belly O womb, O belly, stinking is thy cod, bag <15>

Full fill’d of dung and of corruptioun; At either end of thee foul is the soun.

How great labour and cost is thee to find! supply These cookes how they stamp, and strain, and grind, And turne substance into accident,

To fulfill all thy likerous talent!

Out of the harde bones knocke they

The marrow, for they caste naught away That may go through the gullet soft and swoot sweet Of spicery and leaves, of bark and root, Shall be his sauce y-maked by delight, To make him have a newer appetite.

But, certes, he that haunteth such delices Is dead while that he liveth in those vices.

 

A lecherous thing is wine, and drunkenness Is full of striving and of wretchedness.

O drunken man! disfgur’d is thy face,<16>

Sour is thy breath, foul art thou to embrace: And through thy drunken nose sowneth the soun’, As though thous saidest aye, Samsoun! Samsoun!

And yet, God wot, Samson drank never wine.

Thou fallest as it were a sticked swine; Thy tongue is lost, and all thine honest cure; care For drunkenness is very sepulture tomb Of manne’s wit and his discretion.

In whom that drink hath domination,

He can no counsel keep, it is no dread. doubt Now keep you from the white and from the red, And namely* from the white wine of Lepe,<17> *especially That is to sell in Fish Street <18> and in Cheap.

This wine of Spaine creepeth subtilly —

In other wines growing faste by,

Of which there riseth such fumosity,

That when a man hath drunken draughtes three, And weeneth that he be at home in Cheap, He is in Spain, right at the town of Lepe, Not at the Rochelle, nor at Bourdeaux town; And thenne will he say, Samsoun! Samsoun!

But hearken, lordings, one word, I you pray, That all the sovreign actes, dare I say, Of victories in the Old Testament,

Through very God that is omnipotent,

Were done in abstinence and in prayere: Look in the Bible, and there ye may it lear. learn Look, Attila, the greate conqueror,

Died in his sleep, <19> with shame and dishonour, Bleeding aye at his nose in drunkenness: A captain should aye live in soberness And o’er all this, advise* you right well *consider, bethink What was commanded unto Lemuel; <20>

Not Samuel, but Lemuel, say I.

Reade the Bible, and find it expressly Of wine giving to them that have justice.

No more of this, for it may well suffice.

 

And, now that I have spoke of gluttony, Now will I you *defende hazardry. forbid gambling*

Hazard is very mother of leasings, lies And of deceit, and cursed forswearings: Blasphem’ of Christ, manslaughter, and waste also Of chattel* and of time; and furthermo’ property It is repreve, and contrar’ of honour, *reproach For to be held a common hazardour.

And ever the higher he is of estate,

The more he is holden desolate. undone, worthless If that a prince use hazardry,

In alle governance and policy

He is, as by common opinion,

Y-hold the less in reputation.

 

Chilon, that was a wise ambassador,

Was sent to Corinth with full great honor From Lacedemon, <21> to make alliance; And when he came, it happen’d him, by chance, That all the greatest that were of that land, Y-playing atte hazard he them fand. found For which, as soon as that it mighte be, He stole him home again to his country And saide there, “I will not lose my name, Nor will I take on me so great diffame, reproach You to ally unto no hazardors. gamblers Sende some other wise ambassadors,

For, by my troth, me were lever* die, *rather Than I should you to hazardors ally.

For ye, that be so glorious in honours, Shall not ally you to no hazardours,

As by my will, nor as by my treaty.”

This wise philosopher thus said he.

Look eke how to the King Demetrius

The King of Parthes, as the book saith us, Sent him a pair of dice of gold in scorn, For he had used hazard therebeforn:

For which he held his glory and renown At no value or reputatioun.

Lordes may finden other manner play

Honest enough to drive the day away.

 

Now will I speak of oathes false and great A word or two, as olde bookes treat.

Great swearing is a thing abominable,

And false swearing is more reprovable.

The highe God forbade swearing at all; Witness on Matthew: <22> but in special Of swearing saith the holy Jeremie, <23>

Thou thalt swear sooth thine oathes, and not lie: And swear in doom* and eke in righteousness; *judgement But idle swearing is a cursedness. wickedness Behold and see, there in the firste table Of highe Godde’s hestes* honourable, commandments How that the second best of him is this, Take not my name in idle or amiss. in vain Lo, rather he forbiddeth such swearing, sooner Than homicide, or many a cursed thing; I say that as by order thus it standeth; This knoweth he that his hests understandeth, *commandments How that the second hest of God is that.

And farthermore, I will thee tell all plat, flatly, plainly That vengeance shall not parte from his house, That of his oathes is outrageous.

“By Godde’s precious heart, and by his nails, <24>

And by the blood of Christ, that is in Hailes, <25>

Seven is my chance, and thine is cinque and trey: By Godde’s armes, if thou falsely play, This dagger shall throughout thine hearte go.”

This fruit comes of the *bicched bones two, two cursed bones (dice)*

Forswearing, ire, falseness, and homicide.

Now, for the love of Christ that for us died, Leave your oathes, bothe great and smale.

But, Sirs, now will I ell you forth my tale.

 

These riotoures three, of which I tell, Long erst than prime rang of any bell, *before Were set them in a tavern for to drink; And as they sat, they heard a belle clink Before a corpse, was carried to the grave.

That one of them gan calle to his knave, servant “Go bet,” <26> quoth he, “and aske readily What corpse is this, that passeth here forth by; And look that thou report his name well.”

“Sir,” quoth the boy, “it needeth never a deal; whit It was me told ere ye came here two hours; He was, pardie, an old fellow of yours, And suddenly he was y-slain tonight;

Fordrunk* as he sat on his bench upright, *completely drunk There came a privy thief, men clepe Death, That in this country all the people slay’th, And with his spear he smote his heart in two, And went his way withoute wordes mo’.

He hath a thousand slain this pestilence; And, master, ere you come in his presence, Me thinketh that it were full necessary For to beware of such an adversary;

Be ready for to meet him evermore.

Thus taughte me my dame; I say no more.”

“By Sainte Mary,” said the tavernere,

“The child saith sooth, for he hath slain this year, Hence ov’r a mile, within a great village, Both man and woman, child, and hind, and page; I trow his habitation be there;

To be advised* great wisdom it were, watchful, on one’s guard Ere that he did a man a dishonour.” *lest “Yea, Godde’s armes,” quoth this riotour, “Is it such peril with him for to meet?

I shall him seek, by stile and eke by street.

I make a vow, by Godde’s digne* bones.” *worthy Hearken, fellows, we three be alle ones: at one Let each of us hold up his hand to other, And each of us become the other’s brother, And we will slay this false traitor Death; He shall be slain, he that so many slay’th, By Godde’s dignity, ere it be night.”

Together have these three their trothe plight To live and die each one of them for other As though he were his owen sworen brother.

And up they start, all drunken, in this rage, And forth they go towardes that village Of which the taverner had spoke beforn, And many a grisly* oathe have they sworn, *dreadful And Christe’s blessed body they to-rent; tore to pieces <7>

“Death shall be dead, if that we may him hent.” catch When they had gone not fully half a mile, Right as they would have trodden o’er a stile, An old man and a poore with them met.

This olde man full meekely them gret, greeted And saide thus; “Now, lordes, God you see!” look on graciously The proudest of these riotoures three

Answer’d again; “What? churl, with sorry grace, Why art thou all forwrapped* save thy face? *closely wrapt up Why livest thou so long in so great age?”

This olde man gan look on his visage,

And saide thus; “For that I cannot find A man, though that I walked unto Ind,

Neither in city, nor in no village go, That woulde change his youthe for mine age; And therefore must I have mine age still As longe time as it is Godde’s will.

And Death, alas! he will not have my life.

Thus walk I like a resteless caitife, miserable wretch And on the ground, which is my mother’s gate, I knocke with my staff, early and late, And say to her, ‘Leve* mother, let me in. *dear Lo, how I wane, flesh, and blood, and skin; Alas! when shall my bones be at rest?

Mother, with you I woulde change my chest, That in my chamber longe time hath be, Yea, for an hairy clout to *wrap in me.’ wrap myself in*

But yet to me she will not do that grace, For which fall pale and welked* is my face. *withered But, Sirs, to you it is no courtesy

To speak unto an old man villainy,

But* he trespass in word or else in deed. *except In Holy Writ ye may yourselves read;

‘Against* an old man, hoar upon his head, *to meet Ye should arise:’ therefore I you rede, advise Ne do unto an old man no harm now,

No more than ye would a man did you

In age, if that ye may so long abide.

And God be with you, whether ye go or ride I must go thither as I have to go.”

 

“Nay, olde churl, by God thou shalt not so,”

Saide this other hazardor anon;

“Thou partest not so lightly, by Saint John.

Thou spakest right now of that traitor Death, That in this country all our friendes slay’th; Have here my troth, as thou art his espy; spy Tell where he is, or thou shalt it abie, suffer for By God and by the holy sacrament;

For soothly thou art one of his assent To slay us younge folk, thou false thief.”

“Now, Sirs,” quoth he, “if it be you so lief desire To finde Death, turn up this crooked way, For in that grove I left him, by my fay, Under a tree, and there he will abide; Nor for your boast he