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What maketh this but Jupiter the King,
The which is prince and caufe of alle thing,
Converting alle unto his propre wille,
From which it is derived, foth to telle?
And here-againes no creature on live
Of no degree availleth for to firive.
Than is it wisdom, as it thinketh me,

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To maken vertue of neceflite,

And take it wel that we may not efchewe,

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And namely that to us all is dewe;

And whofo grutcheth ought he doth folie,

And rebel is to him that all may gie.

And certainly a man hath most honour

To dien in his excellence and flour,

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Whan he is fiker of his goode name;

Than hath he don his frend ne him no shame;
And glader ought his frend ben of his deth,
Whan with honour is yolden up his breth,
Than whan his name appalled is for age,
For all foryetten is his vaffallage:
Than is it beft, as for a worthy fame,
To dien whan a man is beft of name.
The contrary of all this is wilfulnoffe.

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Why grutchen we? why have we hevineffe, 3060 V. 3043. Than is it wifdom] From The Thefeida;

E pero fare de la neceffitate

Virtu, quando bifogna, e fapientia,

E il contrario e chiara vanitate.

V. 3056. his vassallage] Valour, prowess. Froissart, v. i. c. 271, "à grand honneur et vassellage.” See Du Cange, in v. Vafaticum.

That good Areite, of chivalry the flour,
Departed is, with dutee and honour,
Out of this foule prifon of this lif?

Why grutchen here his cofin and his wif

Of his welfare, that loven him fo wel?

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Can he hem thank? nay, God wot, never a del,

That both his foule and eke hemself offend,

And yet they mow hir luftes not amend.

What may 1 conclude of this longe ferie,
But after forwe 1 rede us to be merie,
And thanken Jupiter of all his grace,
And er that we departen from this place,
I rede that we make of forwes two
O parfit joye lafting evermo:

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And loketh now wher most forwe is herein,

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Ther wol I firfte amenden and begin.

Sifter, (quod he) this is my full affent,

With all th' avis here of my parlement,

That gentil Palamon, your owen knight,

That ferveth you with will, and herte, and might,

And ever hath don fin ye first him knew,

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That ye shall of your grace upon him rew,
And taken him for hufbond and for lord:

Lene me your hand, for this is oure accord.
Let fee now of your womanly pitee;

He is a kinges brothers fone pardee,

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. 3078. With all th' avis] So the ftatute 5 II. IV. is faid in the preamble to be made-" de l'advis et affent des Seig "nurs,". The fame form is used in most of the acts of that reign,

And though he were a poure bachelere,
Sin he hath ferved you so many a yere,
And had for you fo gret adverfite,
It mofte ben confidered, leveth me,
For gentil mercy oweth to passen right.

Than fayd he thus to Palamon the Knight;

I trow ther nedeth litel fermoning

To maken you afferten to this thing.

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Cometh ner, and take your lady by the hond. 3095 Betwixen hem was maked anon the bond

That highte Matrimoine.or Mariage,,

By all the confeil of the baronage;

And thus with alle bliffe and melodie

Hath Palamon ywedded Emelie ;

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And God, that all this wide world hath wrought, Send him his love that hath it dere ybought.

For now is Palamon in alle wele,

Living in bliffe, in richeffe, and in hele,

[blocks in formation]

. 3091. caeth] By writing this word fo (according to fome mtl.) we preserve a proper distinction between oweth, the third perfon fing, of the prefent tenfe,, and ought, which was formerly only used in the past tense.

.3109. Thus endeth Palamon] Before I quit this Tale I'will just take notice that the fame fubject has been treated twice in

THE MILLERES PROLOGUE.
WHAN that the Knight had thus his Tale told,
In all the compagnie n'as ther yong ne old
That he ne faid it was a noble storie,
And worthy to be drawen to memorie,
And namely the gentiles everich on.

Our Hofte lough and swore, So mote I gon
This goth aright; unbokeled is the male;
Let fee now who fhal tel another Tale,
For trewely this game is wel begonne :
Now telleth ye fire Monk, if that ye conne,
Somwhat to quiten with the Knightes Tale.

The Miller, that for-dronken was all pale,

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French verfe, many years fince Chaucer's time, by two ladies; the one, Anne de Graville, is faid by Du Verdier [Bibl. p. 42.] to have tranflated "de viell langage et profe Le beau Romant "des deux amants Palamon et Arcita." It began thus;

Victorieux en armes et amours

Fut Thefeus, apres que plufieurs jours
Eat fejourne en l'Amazone terre,
Ou Cupido et Mars lay firem guerre,

Les quels vainquit et Hypolite aufi-→→→→

The other, Jeanne de la Fontaine, is mentioned by La Croix du Maine; and it was moft probably her poem that Johannes Secundus has celebrated, 1. iii. eleg. xv, as he appears to have written her epitaph and a nænia upon her death, V. Lib. Funer. -inter Opp. Sccund.-In the new edit. of Les Bibliotheques Francoifes the poem of Anne de Graville is faid to be still preferved in the royal library at Pris; and I find from a note of M. de la Monnoye in that edit. that be was well apprized of our Chaucer's having borrowed this Tale from The 'Theleida.

So that unnethes upon his hors he fat,
He n'old avalen neither hood ne hat,
Ne abiden no man for his curtefie,
But in Pilates vois he gan to crie,

And swore by armes, and by blood, and bones,
I can a noble Tate for the nones,

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With which I wol now quite the Knightes Tale.
Our Hofte faw that he was dronken of ale, 3130
And fayd, Abide, Robin, my leve brother,
Som better man fhall tell us first another;
Abide, and let us werken thriftily.

By Goddes foule (quod he) that wol not I,
For I wol fpeke, or elles go my way.

Our Hofte anfwerd, Tell on a devil way;

Thou art a fool; thy wit is overcome.

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Now herkeneth, quod the Miller, all and fome: But first I make a proteftatioun

That I am dronke, I know it by my foun,

And therfore if that I miffpeke or fay

Wite it the ale of Southwerk I you pray;

For I wol tell a legend and a lif

Both of a carpenter and of his wif,

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How that a clerk hath fet the wrightes cappe. 3145 The Reve anfwerd and faide, Stint thy clappe; Let be thy lewed dronken harlotrie.

It is a finne and eke a gret folie

V. 3126. in Pilates vois] In fuch a voice as Pilate was used to speak with in the myfteries. Pilate being an odious character was probably represented as speaking with a harth difagree able voice.

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