Chaucerian and Other Pieces. VariousЧитать онлайн книгу.

is. nowe one. 35. nowe. 36. one. perfyte. 38. nowe. the howe. 42. worlde. 43. one. 44. alwaye put. 45. healed. 47. Nowe. 48. reasons. 51. lawes; read lawe. 52. determinatiōs. 53. I supply founden.

58. reasoun. 59. purueyde. vnderputte. 61. arne. 65. diseases. breaken. 66. mischefe. 68. stretcheth. 69. exployte forthe. 70. nothynge. 71. purpose. 72. the. 73. lette. porte. 75. the. 77. wysdome. 78. fyght. 79. graunt. 80. meanynge. 84. vnderstande. rayne. 85. I supply bare. 86. aferde. 88. great. wether; read weder. 90. huysshte. peace. styl. 91. se nowe howe.

92. groubed. 94. none. 101. Nowe. 102. I supply come. 103. kynrest (sic). 109. skorne. 110. this; read thus? 120. toforne. 121. worship; read worshippe (verb). 122. styl. 123. protection.

130. nowe. the. 131. set the. 132. lest. 133. ianghes; read jangles.

CHAPTER VI.

Ever,' quod she, 'hath the people in this worlde desyred

to have had greet name in worthinesse, and hated foule

to bere any [en]fame; and that is oon of the objeccions thou

alegest to be ayen thyne hertely desyre.'

'Ye, forsothe,' quod I; 'and that, so comenly, the people wol

lye, and bringe aboute suche enfame.'

'Now,' quod she, 'if men with lesinges putte on thee enfame,

wenest thy-selfe therby ben enpeyred? That wening is wrong;

see why; for as moche as they lyen, thy meryte encreseth, and

make[th] thee ben more worthy, to hem that knowen of the soth;

by what thing thou art apeyred, that in so mokil thou art encresed

of thy beloved frendes. And sothly, a wounde of thy frende [is] to

thee lasse harm, ye, sir, and better than a fals kissing in disceyvable

glosing of thyne enemy; above that than, to be wel with thy

frende maketh [voyd] suche enfame. Ergo, thou art encresed

and not apeyred.'

'Lady,' quod I, 'somtyme yet, if a man be in disese, th'estimacion

of the envyous people ne loketh nothing to desertes of men,

ne to the merytes of their doinges, but only to the aventure of

fortune; and therafter they yeven their sentence. And some

loken the voluntary wil in his herte, and therafter telleth his

jugement; not taking hede to reson ne to the qualitè of the

doing; as thus. If a man be riche and fulfild with worldly

welfulnesse, some commenden it, and sayn it is so lent by juste

cause; and he that hath adversitè, they sayn he is weked; and

hath deserved thilke anoy. The contrarye of these thinges some

men holden also; and sayn that to the riche prosperitè is purvayed

in-to his confusion; and upon this mater many autoritès

of many and greet-witted clerkes they alegen. And some men

sayn, though al good estimacion forsake folk that han adversitè,

yet is it meryte and encrees of his blisse; so that these purposes

am so wonderful in understanding, that trewly, for myn adversitè

now, I not how the sentence of the indifferent people wil jugen

my fame.'

'Therfore,' quod she, 'if any wight shulde yeve a trewe sentence

on suche maters, the cause of the disese maist thou see

wel. Understand ther-upon after what ende it draweth, that is to

sayne, good or badde; so ought it to have his fame †by goodnesse

or enfame by badnesse. For [of] every resonable person, and

namely of a wyse man, his wit ought not, without reson to-forn

herd, sodainly in a mater to juge. After the sawes of the wyse,

"thou shalt not juge ne deme toforn thou knowe."'

'Lady,' quod I, 'ye remembre wel, that in moste laude and

praysing of certayne seyntes in holy churche, is to rehersen their

conuersion from badde in-to good; and that is so rehersed, as

by a perpetual mirrour of remembraunce, in worshippinge of

tho sayntes, and good ensample to other misdoers in amendement.

How turned the Romayne Zedeoreys fro the Romaynes,

to be with Hanibal ayenst his kynde nacion; and afterwardes,

him seming the Romayns to be at the next degrè of confusion,

turned to his olde alyes; by whose witte after was Hanibal

discomfited. Wherfore, to enfourme you, lady, the maner-why

I mene, see now. In my youth I was drawe to ben assentaunt

and (in my mightes) helping to certain conjuracions and other

grete maters of ruling of citizins; and thilke thinges ben my

drawers in; and ex[c]itours to tho maters wern so paynted and

coloured that (at the prime face) me semed them noble and

glorious to al the people. I than, wening mikel meryte have

deserved in furthering and mayntenaunce of tho thinges, besyed

and laboured, with al my diligence, in werkinge of thilke maters

to the ende. And trewly, lady, to telle you the sothe, me rought

litel of any hate of the mighty senatours in thilke citè, ne of

comunes malice; for two skilles. Oon was, I had comfort to ben

in suche plyte, that bothe profit were to me and to my frendes.

Another was, for commen profit in cominaltee is not but pees and

tranquilitè, with just governaunce, proceden from thilke profit;

sithen, by counsayle of myne inwitte, me thought the firste painted

thinges malice and yvel meninge, withouten any good avayling to

any people, and of tyrannye purposed. And so, for pure sorowe,

and of my medlinge and badde infame that I was in ronne, tho

[the] teres [that] lasshed out of myne eyen were thus awaye

wasshe, than the under-hidde malice and the rancour of purposing

envye, forncast and imagined in distruccion of mokil people,

shewed so openly, that, had I ben blind, with myne hondes al the

circumstaunce

Скачать книгу