Chaucerian and Other Pieces: Being a Supplement to the Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer
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Chaucerian and Other Pieces: Being a Supplement to the Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer
Chaucer, Geoffrey, -1400
How passinge is the beautee of flesshly bodyes, more flittinge
than movable floures of sommer! And if thyne eyen weren as good
as the lynx, that may seen thorow many stone walles, bothe fayre
and foule, in their entrayles, of no maner hewe shulde apere to 105
thy sight; that were a foule sight. Than is fayrnesse by feblesse
of eyen, but of no kynde; wherfore thilke shulde be no way to
the knot; whan thilke is went, the knotte wendeth after. Lo,
now, at al proves, none of al these thinges mowe parfitly ben in
understanding, to ben way to the during blisse of the knotte. 110
But now, to conclusion of these maters, herkeneth these wordes.
Very sommer is knowe from the winter: in shorter cours draweth
the dayes of Decembre than in the moneth of June; the springes
of Maye faden and +falowen in Octobre. These thinges ben not
unbounden from their olde kynde; they have not lost her werke 115
of their propre estat. Men, of voluntarious wil, withsitte that
hevens governeth. Other thinges suffren thinges paciently to
werche; man, in what estat he be, yet wolde he ben chaunged.
Thus by queynt thinges blisse is desyred; and the fruit that
cometh of these springes nis but anguis and bitter; al-though it 120
be a whyle swete, it may not be with-holde; hastely they departe;
thus al-day fayleth thinges that fooles wende. Right thus hast
thou fayled in thy first wening. He that thinketh to sayle, and drawe
after the course of the sterre _de polo antartico_, shal he never
come northward to the contrarye sterre of _polus articus_; of whiche 125
thinges if thou take kepe, thy first out-waye-going "prison" and
"exile" may be cleped. The ground falsed underneth, and so
hast thou fayled. No wight, I wene, blameth him that stinteth
in misgoing, and secheth redy way of his blisse. Now me
thinketh (quod she) that it suffyseth in my shewing; the wayes 130
by dignetè, richesse, renomè, and power, if thou loke clerely, arn
no wayes to the knotte.'
CH. VIII. 2. waye. 11. Fayne. howe. 14. maye. 16. Nowe. 18. wotte. 19.
reason. 21. Howe. 22. great harme. 25. se.
31. great harme. 33. veyned; _read_ weyued. 38. se. howe. 41. se. 42.
qualyties. 43. _I supply_ some. 46. therthe. 49. hotte. 50. colde.
co_n_trariousty. my; _read_ by. 51. fyre. 52. erthe; _read_ eyre (_twice_).
56. connection. 58. arne. 60. contraryoustie. 62. _I supply_ it. 66. waye.
67. howe.
68. arte none. thynge. 69. great. one. great. 71. folke. 74. reprofe. 75.
chylde. 76. measureth. 78. fayre. 79. folke. 80. the. beforne. folke. 83.
folke. foule. 84. folke. 85. thanke. 86. worthe. 88. encreaseth. 89. clear
thynge. 97-100. the (_thrice_). 101. haste. deserte. 102. Howe. beautie.
104. maye sene thorowe.
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