The Prologue to the Book of the Tales of Canterbury: The Knight's Tale. The Nun's Priest's Tale

Front Cover
Macmillan Company, 1922

From inside the book

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 1 - WHAN that Aprille with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote. And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heeth The tendre croppes...
Page 274 - The intelligible forms of ancient poets, The fair humanities of old religion, The power, the beauty, and the majesty, That had their haunts in dale, or piny mountain. Or forest by slow stream, or pebbly spring, Or chasms and wat'ry depths; all these have vanished ; They live no longer in the faith of reason!
Page 23 - Ther nas no dore that he nolde heve of harre, 550 Or breke it, at a renning, with his heed. His berd as any sowe or fox was reed, And ther-to brood, as though it were a spade. Up-on the cop...
Page 192 - The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halve cours yronne, And smale foweles maken melodye, That slepen al the nyght with open ye (So priketh hem nature in hir corages); Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes...
Page 4 - With lokkes crulle, as they were leyd in presse. Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse. Of his stature he was of evene lengthe, And wonderly deliver, and greet of strengthe.
Page 147 - Or elles, if free choys be graunted me To do that same thing, or do it noght, Though god forwoot it, er that it was wroght ; Or if his witing streyneth nevere a del But by necessitee condicionel.
Page 21 - Or with a bretherhed to been withholde; But dwelte at hoom, and kepte wel his folde, So that the wolf ne made it nat miscarie ; He was a shepherde and no mercenarie. And though he holy were, and vertuous, He was to sinful man nat despitous, Ne of his speche daungerous ne digne, But in his teching discreet and benigne.
Page 13 - Souninge in moral vertu was his speche, And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.
Page 24 - Now is nat that of God a ful fair grace, That swich a lewed mannes wit shal pace The wisdom of an heep of lerned men?

Bibliographic information