Have thou ynough, what thar thee rekke or care
How merily that other folkes fare?
For certes, olde dotard, by your leve,
Ye fhullen have queint right ynough at eve.
He is to gret a nigard that wol werne
A man to light a candel at his lanterne;
He fhal have never the leffe light parde:
Have thou ynough thee thar not plainen thee.
Thou fayft alfo if that we make us gay
With clothing and with precious array
That it is peril of our chastitee:
And yet with forwe thou enforceft thee,
And fayft thise wordes in the apostles name;
In habit made with chastitee and shame
Ye women fhul appareile you, (quod he)
And nat in treffed here and gay perrie,
As perles, ne with gold, ne clothes riche,
After thy text ne after thy rubriche
I wol not work as mochel as a gnat.
Thou fayft alfo I walke out like a cat;
For who fo wolde fenge the cattes skin
Than wol the cat wel dweilen in hire in ;
And if the cattes fkin be fleke and gay
She wol nat dwellen in hous half a day,
But forth the wol, or any day be dawed,
To fhew hire fkin and gon a caterwawed.
.5923. in the apofiles name] See 1 Tim. ii. 9.
This is to fay, if I be gay, fire fhrewe,
I wol renne out my borel for to fhewe.
Sire olde fool, what helpeth thee to spien?
Though thou pray Argus with his hundred eyen 5946
To be my wardecorps, as he can best,
In faith he fhal not kepe me but me left:
Yet coude I make his berd, fo mote I the.
Thou fayeft eke that ther ben thinges three, Which thinges gretly troublen all this erthe, 5945 And that no wight ne may endure the ferthe: O lefe fire fhrewe, Jesu short thy lif.
Yet precheft thou, and sayst, An hateful wif
Yrekened is for on of thise mefchances.
Be ther non other maner refemblances
That ye may liken your parables to
But if a fely wif be on of tho?
Thou likeneft eke womans love to helle, To barrein lond ther water may not dwelle.
Thou likenest it alfo to wilde fire;
The more it brenneth the more it hath defire
To confume every thing that brent wol be.
Thou fayeft right as wormes fhende a tre
Right fo a wif deftroieth hire hufbond;
This know en they that ben to wives bond.
Lordings, right thus, as ye han understond,
Bare I fifiy min old hufbondes on hond,
That thus they faiden in hir dronkenneffe;
And all was falfe but as I toke witneffe
On Jankin, and upon my nece alfo.
O Lord! the peine I did hem and the wo,
Fal gilteles, by Goddes fwete pine,
For as an hors I coude bite and whine;
I coude plain, and I was in the gilt,
Or elles oftentime I had ben fpilt.
Who fo firft cometh to the mill first grint;
I plained first, so was our werre yftint.
They were ful glad to excufen hem ful blive
Of thing the which they never agilt hir live.
Of wenches wold I beren hem on hond
Whan that for fike unnethes might they stond,
Yet tikeled I his herte for that he
Wend that I had of him so gret chiertee:
I fwore that all my walking out by night
Was for to espien wenches that he dight:
Under that colour had I many a mirth;
For all fwiche wit is yeven us in our birth;
Deceite, weping, fpinning, God hath yeven
To women kindly while that they may liven.
And thus of o thing I may avaunten me,
At th' ende I had the beter in eche degree
By fleight or force, or by fom maner thing,
As by continual murmur or grutching,
Namely a-bcd; ther hadden they mefchance;
Ther wold I chide, and don hem no plefance: 5990
I wold no lenger in the bed abide
If that I felt his arme over my fide,
Til he had made his raunson unto me,
Than wold I foffre him do his nicetee:
And therfore every man this Tale I tell,
Winne who fo may, for all is for to fell.
With empty hond men may no haukes lure;
For winning wold I all his lust endure,
And maken me a feined appetit,
And yet in bacon had I never delit,
That maked me that ever I wold hem chide;
For though the Pope had fitten hem beside
I wold not spare hem at hir owen bord,
For by my trouthe I quitte hem word for word.
As helpe me veray God omnipotent,
Tho I right now fhuld make my testament,
I ne owe hem not a word that it n'is quit;
I brought it fo abouten by my
That they mufl yeve it up as for the best,
Or elles had we never ben in reft;
For though he loked as a wood leon
Yet fhuld he faille of his conclufion.
Than wold I fay, Now, goode lefe, take képe;
How mekely loketh Wilkin oure shepe!
Come ner my fpouse, and let me ba thy cheke; 6C15
Ye fhulden be al patient and meke,
And han a fwete fpiced confcience,
Sith ye fo preche of Jobes patience.
Suffreth alway fin ye fo wel can prcche,
And but ye do, certain we ihal you teche
That it is faire to han a wif in pees.
On of us two moft bowen doutelees;
And fith a man is more refonable
Than woman is ye moften ben fuffrable.
What aileth you to grutchen thus and grone? 6025
Is it for ye wold have my queint alone?
Why take it all; to, have it every del:
Peter, I fhrew you but ye love it wel:
For if I wolde fell my belle chofe
I coude walke as fresfhe as is a rofe,
But I wol kepe it for your owen toth.
Ye be to blame, by God I say you foth.
Swiche maner wordes hadden we on hond. Now wol I fpeken of my of fourthe husbond. My fourthe hufbonde was a revellour,
This is to fayn, he had a paramour,
And I was yonge and ful of ragerie,
Stibborne and strong, and joly as a pie;
Tho coude I dancen to an harpe smale,
And fing ywis as any nightingale,
Whan I had dronke a draught of fwete wine.
Metellius, the foule cherle, the fwine,
That with a ftaf beraft his wif hire lif
For fhe drank wine, though I had ben his wif
Ne fhuld he not have daunted me fro drinke; 6045
And after wine of Venus most I thinke;
v. 6042. Metellius] This ftory is told by Pliny, Nat. Hift. 1. xiv. c. 13, of one Mecenius; but Chaucer probably followed Valerius Maximus, 1. vi. c. 3.
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