Ne make baskettės and lyve therby,
By cause I wol nat beggen ydelly.
I wol noon of the Apostles countrefete,

I wol have moneie, wolle, chese and whete,

Al were it geven of the povereste page,
Or of the povereste wydwe in a village,
Al sholde hir children stervė for famyne.
Nay, I wol drynkė licour of the vyne,
And have a joly wenche in every toun;
But herkneth, lordynges, in conclusioun.

"Youre likyng is that I shal telle a tale.
Now have I dronke a draughte of corny ale,
By God, I hope I shal yow telle a thyng
That shal by resoun been at youre likyng;
For though myself be a ful vicious man,
A moral tale yet I yow tellė kan,

Which I am wont to preche for to wynne.

Now hoold youre pees, my tale I wol bigynne."

445

450

455

460

PARDONER'S TALE

Heere bigynneth The Pardoners Tale

In Flaundres whilom was a compaignye

Of yonge folk, that haunteden folye,
As riot, hasard, stywės and tavérnes,

449. povereste, H prestes.

Pardoner's Tale: the
earliest form of this tale
is a Buddhist Birth-Story

465

in the Vedabbha Jataka; analogues exist in Persian, Arabic, etc., and in the Cento Novelle Antiche, but Chaucer's particular original is unknown.

Where as with harpės, lutės and gyternes,

They daunce and pleyen at dees, bothe day and

nyght,

And eten also, and drynken over hir myght,
Thurgh which they doon the devel sacrifise
Withinne that develes temple, in cursed wise,
By superfluytee abhomynable.

Hir othės been so grete and so dampnable
That it is grisly for to heere hem swere;
Oure blissed Lordės body they to-tere;

470

476

Hem thoughte that Jewės rente hym noght ynough,
And ech of hem at otheres synnė lough;
And right anon thanne comen tombesteres
Fetys and smale, and yonge frutesteres,
Syngeres with harpės, baudės, wafereres,
Whiche been the verray develes officeres,
To kyndle and blowe the fyr of lecherye,
That is annexed unto glotonye.
The Hooly Writ take I to my witnesse
That luxurie is in wyn and dronkenesse.

Lo, how that dronken Looth unkyndėly

Lay by hise doghtrės two unwityngly;
So dronke he was he nystė what he wroghte.
Herodes, who so wel the stories soghte,—
Whan he of wyn was repleet at his feeste,

467. pleyen, H4 pleye; so in
next 1. ete and drynk.

474. Oure blissed Lordes body,
etc.,
the phrase occurs
also in the Parson's Tale.
477. tombesteres, female tum-
blers.

478. Fetys, neat.

480

485

frutesteres, fruit-women. 479. wafereres, confectioners. 485. unkyndely, unnaturally. 488. the stories, i.e, of the birth of a Messiah.

Right at his owené table, he gaf his heeste
To sleen the Baptist John, ful giltėlees.

Seneca seith a good word, doutėlees;
He seith he kan no difference fynde
Bitwix a man that is out of his mynde
Ánd a man which that is dronkėlewe,

But that woodnessé, fallen in a shrewe,
Persévereth lenger than dooth dronkenesse.
O glotonyė, ful of cursednesse ;

O cause first of oure confusioun ;

O original of oure dampnacioun ;

Til Crist hadde boght us with his blood agayn !
Ló, how deere, shortly for to sayn,
Aboght was thilkė cursed vileynye;
Corrupt was al this world for glotonye!
Adam oure fader, and his wyf also,
Fro Paradys to labour and to wo

Were dryven for that vice, it is no drede,—
For whil that Adam fasted, as I rede,

He was in Paradys, and whan that he

Eet of the fruyt deffended, on the tree,
Anon he was out cast to wo and peyne.
O glotonye, on thee wel oghte us pleyne !
O, wiste a man how manye maladyes

492. Seneca, E6 Senec; Corp.2
reading eek good wordes
for a good word. Tyr-
whitt traces the refer-
ence to Ep. 83.

495. dronkelewe, tipsy. 496. woodnesse, madness. 501. us, H3 out.

490

495

500

505

510

508. as I rede, glossed: Ieroni

mus contra Iouianum.

"Quamdiu ieiunavit
Adam in Paradiso fuit;
comedit et eiectus est;
statim duxit uxorem
(Bk. ii. cap. 15).

510. deffended, forbidden.

"

Folwen of excesse and of glotonyes,

He wolde been the moore mesurable

Of his dietė, sittynge at his table!

Allas! the shortė throte, the tendré mouth,
Maketh that est and west, and north and south,
In erthe, in eir, in water, man to swynke
To gete a glotoun deyntee mete and drynke!
Of this matiere, O Paul, wel kanstow trete!
"Mete unto wombe, and wombe eek unto mete,
Shal God destroyen bothe," as Paulus seith.
Allas! a foul thyng is it, by my feith,

515

520

To seye this word, and fouler is the dede

525

Whan man so drynketh of the white and rede,
That of his throte he maketh his pryvee,

Thurgh thilke cursed superfluitee.

The Apostel wepyng seith ful pitously,

529

"Ther walken manye of whiche yow toold have I,

I

seye it now wepyng with pitous voys,

That they been enemys of Cristės croys,

Of whiche the ende is deeth, wombe is hir god." O wombe! O bely! O stynkyng is thi cod! Fulfilled of donge and of corrupcioun !

At either ende of thee foul is the soun;

How greet labour and cost is thee to fynde!

535

Thise cookės, how they stampe, and streyne, and

grynde,

And turnen substaunce into accident,

520. a glotoun deyntee mete, H a

sely glotoun; Hom.deyntee.

534. is thi, om. E6.

539. turnen substaunce into ac

cident, alter the whole character of. Chaucer is imitating the chapter De Gula in the De Cont. Mundi of Innocent III.

To fulfillen al thy likerous talent!

540

Out of the hardė bonės knokke they

The mary, for they castẻ noght awey

That may go thurgh the golet softe and swoote.
Of spicerie, of leef, and bark, and roote,

Shal been his sauce y-maked by delit,

To make hym yet a newer appetit;

But certės he that haunteth swiche delices

Is deed, whil that he lyveth in tho vices.

545

A lecherous thyng is wyn, and dronkenesse

Is ful of stryvyng and of wrecchednesse.
O dronkė man! disfigured is thy face,
Sour is thy breeth, foul artow to embrace,

550

And thurgh thy dronkė nose semeth the soun,
As though thou seydest ay, "Sampsoun! Sampsoun!"
And yet, God woot, Sampsoun drank nevere no wyn.
Thou fallest as it were a styked swyn,

556

Thy tonge is lost and al thyn honeste cure;

For dronkenesse is verray sepulture

Of mannės wit and his discrecioun,

In whom that drynke hath dominacioun ;

560

He kan no conseil kepe, it is no drede.
Now kepe yow fro the white and fro the rede,
And namely fro the white wyn of Lepe,
That is to selle in Fysshstrete, or in Chepe.