26. _Rémembráunce_; accented on the first and last syllables. The melody of innumerable lines in Chaucer is only apparent to those who perceive the difference between the present and the old accentuation, especially in the case of French words. Besides, such accent is frequently variable; Chaucer has _hónour_, _rénoun_, &c. at one time, and _honóur_, _renóun_, &c. at another. Thus in l. 27 we have _honóuren_; and in l. 31 _credénce_. 27. _Wel oghte us_, it is very necessary for us, it well behoves us. _Us_ is here the dative case, and _oghte_ is the impersonal verb; in accordance with Chaucer's usual method. But, in this case, there is a grammatical difficulty; for the past tense _oghte_ is here used with the sense of the present; the right form would be expressed, in modern English, by _oweth_, and in M.E. by _ah_ (also _awe_, _o[gh]e_). Such use of the right form of the present tense is exceedingly rare; and (possibly owing to a sense of uncertainty about its true form) the form of the past tense was used both for past and present, whether personal or impersonal, precisely as we now use _must_ in place both of M.E. _mot_ (present) and _moste_ (past). Mätzner only gives three examples of the present tense of this verb, when used impersonally; viz. '_Hym awe_ to rise,' it behoves him to rise, Metrical Homilies, p. 77; '_Vus o[gh]e_,' it behoves us, Allit. Poems, ed. Morris, i. 552; '_Him owith_ to mynystre,' Reliquiæ Antiquæ, ii. 48. The only right way of thoroughly understanding Chaucer's grammar is by comparing one passage with another, observing how particular expressions occur. This is best done by the proper process of reading the text; but even the usual glossarial indexes will often furnish ready examples. Thus the glossary to the Prioresses Tale gives the following examples:-- 'And ther she was honoured as _hir oughte_'; E 1120. --'wel more _us oughte_ Receyven al in gree that god us sent'; E 1150. The glossary to the Man of Law's Tale gives:-- 'Alla goth to his in, and, as _him oughte_,' &c.; B 1097. 'But that they weren as hem _oughte be_'; G 1340. 'Wel _oughten we_ to doon al our entente'; G 6. 'Wel _oughte us_ werche, and ydelnes withstonde'; G 14. As to the spelling of the word, it may be remarked that _oghte_ is the more correct form, because _[=o]_ answers to A.S. _[=a]_, and _gh_ to A.S. _h_ in the A.S. form _[=a]hte_. But a confusion between the symbols _ogh_, _ugh_, and _ough_ soon arose, and all three were merged in the form _ough_; hence neither _ogh_ nor _ugh_ occurs in modern English. See Skeat, Eng. Etymology, § 333, p. 361. The full explanation of this and similar phrases would extend these notes to an inordinate length. Only brief hints can here be given. 28. _Ther_, where. The sense 'where' is commoner than the sense 'there.' 29. _Can but lyte_, know but little. Cf. Prior. Tale, B 1726, 1898.