But yet, Manciple, in faith thou art to nice
Thus openly to repreve him of his vice;
Another day he wol paraventure
Recleimen thee, and bring thee to the lure;
I mene he speken wol of smale thinges,
As for to pinchen at thy rekeninges,
That were not honeft if it came to prefe.

17020

Quod the Manciple, That were a gret meschefe ;

So might he lightly bring me in the fnare;

17:26

Yet had I lever payen for the mare

Which he rit on than he fhuld with me strive:

I wol not wrathen him, fo mote I thrive:

That that I fpake I fayd it in my bourd.
And wete ye what? I have here in my gourd
A draught of win, ye of a ripe grape,

17030

And right anon ye fhul feen a good jape;

This coke fhal drinke therof if that I may;

Up peine of my lif he wol not say nay.

17035

17040

And certainly, to tellen as it was, Of this veffell the coke dranke faft, (alas! What nedeth it? he dranke ynough beforne) And whan he hadde pouped in his horne To the Manciple he toke the gourd again; And of that drinke the coke was wonder fain, And thonked him in fwiche wife as he coude. Than gan our Hofte to laughen wonder loude, And fayd; I fee wel it is neceffary Wher that we gon good drinke with us to cary, 17045

Volume V.

I

For that wol turnen rancour and difefe
To accord and love, and many a wrong apese.
O Bacchus, Bacchus! bleffed be thy name,
That fo canft turnen erneft into game;
Worship and thonke be to thy deitee.
Of that matere ye get no more of me.

17050

Tell on thy Tale, Manciple, I thee pray.
Wel, Sire, quod he, now herkeneth what I say.

THE MANCIPLES TALE.
WHAN Phebus dwelled here in erth adoun,

As olde bookes naken mentioun,

17055

He was the mofte lufty bacheler

Of all this world, and eke the best archer:

He flow Phiton the ferpent as he lay

Sleping agains the fonne upon a day,

And many another noble worthy dede

17060

He with his bow wrought, as men mowen rede.

Playen he coude on every minfralcie,

And fingen that it was a melodie

To heren of his clere vois the foun:
Certes the King of Thebes Amphioun,
That with his finging walled the citee,
Coud never fingen half fo wel as he.

17065

The Manciple Tale] Phœbus kepeth a white crow which can fpeak as a jay. The crow accufeth his wife, of whom he was too jealouse, to have played falfe in his abfence; hereupon with an arrow he flayeth his wife, but after repenting of his rathness he taketh revenge of the crow. Urry.

Therto he was the femeliefte man
That is or was fithen the world began.
What nedeth it his feture to defcrive?
For in this world n'is non fo faire on live;
He was therwith fulfilled of gentilleffe,
Of honour, and of parfite worthineffe.

This Phebus, that was flour of bachelerie,
As wel in fredom as in chivalrie,
For his difport, in figne eke of victorie
Of Phiton, fo as telleth us the ftorie,
Was wont to beren in his hond a bowe.
Now had this Phebus in his hous a crowe,
Which in a cage he foftred many a day,
And taught it speken, as men teche a jay.
Whit was this crowe, as is a fnow-whit fwan,
And contrefete the fpeche of every man
He coude whan he shulde tell a tale;
Therwith in all this world no nightingale
Ne coude by an hundred thousand del

Singen fo wonder merily and wel.

Now had this Phebus in his hous a wif

17070

17975

17080

17085

Which that he loved more than his lif,

And night and day did ever his diligence
Hire for to plefe and don hire reverence;

Save only, if that I the foth fhal fain,

Jelous he was, and wold have kept hire fain,
For him were loth yjaped for to be,

And fo is every wight in swiche degree:

17090

17095

But all for nought, for it availeth nought.

A good wif, that is clene of werk and thought,
Shuld not be kept in non await certain;
And trewely the labour is in vain
To kepe a fhrewe, for it wol not be.
This hold I for a veray nicetee
To fpillen labour for to kepen wives;
Thus writen olde clerkes in hir lives.
But now to purpos as I first began.
This worthy Phebus doth all that he can

17100

17105

'To plesen hire, wening thurgh swiche plefance, And for his manhood and his governance,

That no man fhulde put him from hire grace;
But God it wote ther may no man embrace

As to deftreine a thing which that Nature

17110

Hath naturelly fet in a creature.

Take any brid and put it in a cage,

And do all thin entente and thy corage
To fofter it tendrely with mete and drinke
Of alle deintees that thou canst bethinke,
And kepe it al fo clenely as thou may,
Although the cage of gold be never fo

gay,

Yet had this brid by twenty thoufand fold
Lever in a foreft that is wilde and cold

17115

Gon eten wormes and swiche wretchedneffe: 17120 For ever this brid will don his befineffe

V. 17112. Take any brid] This paffage is too like one which has occurred before in The Squieres Tale, ver. 10925. The thought is plainly taken from Becibius, 1. iii. met, 2. See alfo Rom, de la R. ver. 14717-34.

To escape out of his cage whan that he may :
His libertee the brid defireth ay.

Let take a cat, and fofter hire with milke

And tendre flesh, and make hire couche of filke,
And let hire fee a mous go by the wall,

17126

Anon fhe weiveth milke and flesh and all,

And every deintee that is in that hous,
Swiche appetit hath the to ete the mous.
Lo, here hath kind hire domination,
And appetit flemeth discretion.

A fhe-wolf hath also a vilains kind;
The lewedefte wolf that fhe may find,
Or left of reputation, wol the take

In time whan hire luft to have a make,

All thise enfamples fpeke I by thife men
That ben untrewe, and nothing by women;
For men have ever a likerous appetit.
On lower thing to parforme hir delit
Than on hir wives, be they never so faire
Ne never fo trewe ne fo debonaire.

17130

17138

17140

.17124. Let take a cat] This is imitated from Rom. de la R. ver. 14825.

. 17130. Lo, bere hath kind] So mff. Ask. 1, 2. The common editt. read luß. Kind is nature. See the next line but one, and ver. 10922, 4.

. 17132. A she-wolf] This is alfo from the Rem. de la R. ver. 8142.;

Tout ainfi comme fait la louve,

Que fa folie tant empire,

Qu'elle prent de tous loups le pire.