"YE, let that passen," quod our Hoste, "as now, "Sire Doctour of Physike, I prey you, Tell us a tale of some honest matere."
"It shal be don, if that ye wol it here,"
Said this Doctour, and his tale began anon. "Now, good men," quod he, "herkeneth everich
THER was, as telleth Titus Livius,
A knight, that cleped was Virginius,
Fulfilled of honour and worthinesse,
And strong of frendes, and of gret richesse.
This knight a doughter hadde by his wif:
No children had he mo in all his lif.
Faire was this maid in excellent beautee
Aboven every wight that man may see:
For Nature hath with soveraine diligence
Yformed hire in so gret excellence,
As though she wolde sayn, "Lo, I Nature,
Thus can I forme and peint a creature,
Whan that me list; who can me contrefete?
Pigmalion? not, though he ay forge and bete,
Or grave, or peinte: for I dare wel sain,
Apelles, Xeuxis, shulden werche in vain,
Other to grave, or peinte, or forge, or bete,
If they persumed me to contrefete.
For he that is the former principal,
Hath maked me his vicaire general
To forme and peinten erthly creatures
Right as me list, and eche thing in my cure is
Under the Mone, that may wan and waxe.
And for my werk right nothing wol I axe;
My lord and I ben ful of on accord.
I made hire to the worship of my lord;
So do I all min other creatures,
What colour that they han, or what figures."
Thus semeth me that Nature wolde say.
This maid of age twelf yere was and tway, In which that Nature hadde swiche delit. For right as she can peint a lily whit And red a rose, right with swiche peinture She peinted hath this noble creature Er she was borne, upon hire limmes free, Wheras by right swiche colours shulden be: And Phebus died hath hire tresses grete, Like to the stremes of his burned hete. And if that excellent were hire beautee, A thousand fold more vertuous was she. In hire ne lacked no condition, That is to preise, as by discretion. As wel in gost as body, chast was she; For which she floured in virginitee, With all humilitee and abstinence, With all attemperance and patience, VOL. I.
With mesure eke, of bering and array.
Discrete she was in answering alway,
Though she were wise as Pallas, dare I sain,
Hire facounde eke ful womanly and plain,
No contrefeted termes hadde she
To semen wise; but after hire degree
She spake, and all hire wordes more and lesse
Souning in vertue and in gentillesse.
Shamefast she was in maidens shamefastnesse,
Constant in herte, and ever in besinesse
To drive hire out of idel slogardie:
Bacchus had of hire mouth right no maistrie.
For wine and youthe don Venus encrese,
As men in fire wol casten oile and grese.
And of hire owen vertue unconstreined,
She hath hireself ful often sike yfeined,
For that she wolde fleen the compagnie,
Wher likely was to treten of folie,
As is at festes, at revels, and at dances,
That ben occasions of daliances.
Swiche thinges maken children for to be
To sone ripe and bold, as men may see,
Which is ful perilous, and hath ben yore;
For al to sone may she lernen lore
Of boldnesse, whan she woxen is a wif.
And ye maistresses in your olde lif,
That lordes doughters han in governance,
Ne taketh of my wordes displesance :
Thinketh that ye ben set in governinges
Of lordes doughters, only for two thinges
Other for ye han kept your honestee,
Or elles for ye han fallen in freeltee,
And knowen wel ynough the olde dance,
And han forsaken fully swiche meschance
For evermo: therfore for Cristés sake
To teche hem vertue loke that ye ne slake.
A theef of venison, that hath forlaft,
His likerousnesse, and all his olde craft,
Can kepe a forest best of any man:
Now kepeth hem wel, for if ye wol ye can.
Loke wel, that ye unto no vice assent,
Lest ye be damned for your wikke entent,
For who so doth, a traytour is certain :
And taketh kepe of that I shall you sain;
Of all treson soveraine pestilence
Is, whan a wight betrayeth innocence.
Ye fathers, and ye mothers eke also,
Though ye han children, be it on or mo,
Your is the charge of all hir surveance,
While that they ben under your governance.
Beth ware, that by ensample of your living,
Or by your negligence in chastising,
That they ne perish: for I dare wel saye,
If that they don, ye shul it dere abeye.
Under a shepherd soft and negligent,
The wolf hath many a shepe and lamb to-rent.
Sufficeth this ensample now as here,
For I mote turne agen to my matere.
This maid, of which I tell my tale expresse, She kept hireself, hire neded no maistresse; For in hire living maidens mighten rede, As in a book, every good word and dede, That longeth to a maiden vertuous: She was so prudent and so bounteous. For which the fame out sprong on every side Both of hire beautee and hire bountee wide; That thurgh the lond they preised hire ech one, That loved vertue, sauf envie alone,
That sory is of other mannes wele,
And glad is of his sorwe and his unhele.
The Doctour maketh this descriptioun.
This maiden on a day went in the toun
Toward a temple, with hire mother dere,
As is of yonge maidens the manere.
Now was ther than a justice in that toun, That governour was of that regioun: And so befell, this juge his eyen cast Upon this maid, avising hire ful fast, As she came forth by ther this juge stood: Anon his herte changed and his mood, So was he caught with beautee of this maid, And to himself ful prively he said,
"This maiden shal be min for any man."
Anon the fend into his herte ran,
And taught him sodenly, that he by sleight
This maiden to his purpos winnen might.
For certes, by no force, ne by no mede,
Him thought he was not able for to spede;
For she was strong of frendes, and eke she
Confermed was in swiche soveraine bountee,
That wel he wist he might hire never winne,
As for to make hire with hire body sinne.
For which with gret deliberatioun
He sent after a cherl was in the toun,
The which he knew for sotil and for bold.
This juge unto this cherl his tale hath told
In secree wise, and made him to ensure,
He shulde tell it to no creture,
And if he did, he shulde lese his hede.
And whan assented was this cursed rede,
Glad was the juge, and maked him gret chere,
And yaf him yeftes precious and dere.
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