879. Which mankinde is so fair part of thy werk.--B. i. met. 5. 38. 886. Al is for the beste.--B. iv. pr. 6. 194-196. 1031. God and governour, &c.--B. i. met. 6. 10-14. GROUP G. THE SECONDE NONNES TALE. I think it certain that this early Tale is quite independent of Boethius. L. 114, instanced by Mr. Stewart, is from 'Ysidorus'; see my note. THE CANOUNS YEMANNES TALE. *958. We fayle of that which that we wolden have.--B. iii. pr. 9. 89-91. (Very doubtful.) GROUP H. THE MAUNCIPLES TALE. 160. ther may no man embrace As to destreyne a thing, which that nature Hath naturelly set in a creature.--B. iii. met. 2. 1-5. 163. Tak any brid, &c.--B. iii. met. 2. 15-22. GROUP I. THE PERSONES TALE. *212. A shadwe hath the lyknesse of the thing of which it is shadwe, but shadwe is nat the same thing of which it is shadwe.--B. v. pr. 4. 45, 46. (Doubtful.) *471. Who-so prydeth him in the goodes of fortune, he is a ful greet fool; for som-tyme is a man a greet lord by the morwe, that is a caitif and a wrecche er it be night.--B. ii. met. 3. 16-18. (I think this is doubtful, and mark it as such.) 472. Som-tyme the delyces of a man is cause of the grevous maladye thurgh which he dyeth.--B. iii. pr. 7. 3-5. § 24. It is worth while to see what light is thrown upon the chronology of the Canterbury Tales by comparison with Boethius. In the first place, we may remark that, of the Tales mentioned above, there is nothing to shew that The Seconde Nonnes Tale, the Clerkes Tale, or even the Tale of Melibeus, really refer to any passages in Boethius. They may, in fact, have been written _before_ that translation was made. In the instance of the Second Nonnes Tale, this was certainly the case; and it is not unlikely that the same is true with respect to the others. But the following Tales (_as revised_) seem to be later than 'Boece,' viz. The Knightes Tale, The Man of Lawes Tale, and The Monkes Tale; whilst it is quite certain that the following Tales were amongst the latest written, viz. the Nonne Preestes Tale, the three tales in Group D (Wyf, Frere, Somnour), the Marchantes Tale, the Squieres Tale, the Frankeleins Tale, the Canouns Yemannes Tale, and the Maunciples Tale; all of which are in the heroic couplet, and later than 1385.