Canterbury Tales and Other Poems, Geoffrey Chaucer [good fiction books to read txt] 📗

Wrought on the wall, full piteous to behold, The broken sleepes, and the sikes* cold, *sighes The sacred teares, and the waimentings, lamentings The fiery strokes of the desirings,

That Love’s servants in this life endure; The oathes, that their covenants assure.

Pleasance and Hope, Desire, Foolhardiness, Beauty and Youth, and Bawdry and Richess, Charms and Sorc’ry, Leasings* and Flattery, *falsehoods Dispence, Business, and Jealousy,

That wore of yellow goldes* a garland, *sunflowers <40>

And had a cuckoo sitting on her hand,

Feasts, instruments, and caroles and dances, Lust and array, and all the circumstances Of Love, which I reckon’d and reckon shall In order, were painted on the wall,

And more than I can make of mention.

For soothly all the mount of Citheron,<41>

Where Venus hath her principal dwelling, Was showed on the wall in pourtraying, With all the garden, and the lustiness*. *pleasantness Nor was forgot the porter Idleness,

Nor Narcissus the fair of *yore agone, olden times*

Nor yet the folly of King Solomon,

Nor yet the greate strength of Hercules, Th’ enchantments of Medea and Circes,

Nor of Turnus the hardy fierce courage, The rich Croesus caitif in servage. <42> abased into slavery

Thus may ye see, that wisdom nor richess, Beauty, nor sleight, nor strength, nor hardiness Ne may with Venus holde champartie, divided possession <43>

For as her liste the world may she gie*. guide Lo, all these folk so caught were in her las *snare Till they for woe full often said, Alas!

Suffice these ensamples one or two,

Although I could reckon a thousand mo’.

 

The statue of Venus, glorious to see

Was naked floating in the large sea,

And from the navel down all cover’d was With waves green, and bright as any glass.

A citole <44> in her right hand hadde she, And on her head, full seemly for to see, A rose garland fresh, and well smelling, Above her head her doves flickering

Before her stood her sone Cupido,

Upon his shoulders winges had he two;

And blind he was, as it is often seen; A bow he bare, and arrows bright and keen.

 

Why should I not as well eke tell you all The portraiture, that was upon the wall Within the temple of mighty Mars the Red?

All painted was the wall in length and brede* breadth Like to the estres of the grisly place interior chambers That hight the great temple of Mars in Thrace, In thilke cold and frosty region, *that There as Mars hath his sovereign mansion.

In which there dwelled neither man nor beast, With knotty gnarry* barren trees old *gnarled Of stubbes sharp and hideous to behold; In which there ran a rumble and a sough, groaning noise As though a storm should bursten every bough: And downward from an hill under a bent slope There stood the temple of Mars Armipotent, Wrought all of burnish’d steel, of which th’ entry Was long and strait, and ghastly for to see.

And thereout came *a rage and such a vise, such a furious voice*

That it made all the gates for to rise.

The northern light in at the doore shone, For window on the walle was there none Through which men mighten any light discern.

The doors were all of adamant etern,

Y-clenched overthwart and endelong crossways and lengthways

With iron tough, and, for to make it strong, Every pillar the temple to sustain

Was tunne-great*, of iron bright and sheen. *thick as a tun (barrel) There saw I first the dark imagining

Of felony, and all the compassing;

The cruel ire, as red as any glede, live coal The picke-purse<45>, and eke the pale dread; The smiler with the knife under the cloak, The shepen* burning with the blacke smoke *stable <46>

The treason of the murd’ring in the bed, The open war, with woundes all be-bled; Conteke* with bloody knife, and sharp menace. contention, discord All full of chirking was that sorry place. creaking, jarring noise The slayer of himself eke saw I there, His hearte-blood had bathed all his hair: The nail y-driven in the shode at night, *hair of the head <47>

The colde death, with mouth gaping upright.

Amiddes of the temple sat Mischance,

With discomfort and sorry countenance; Eke saw I Woodness* laughing in his rage, Madness Armed Complaint, Outhees, and fierce Outrage; Outcry The carrain in the bush, with throat y-corve*, corpse **slashed A thousand slain, and not of qualm y-storve; dead of sickness

The tyrant, with the prey by force y-reft; The town destroy’d, that there was nothing left.

Yet saw I brent* the shippes hoppesteres, <48> burnt The hunter strangled with the wilde bears: The sow freting the child right in the cradle; *devouring <49>

The cook scalded, for all his longe ladle.

Nor was forgot, *by th’infortune of Mart* through the misfortune The carter overridden with his cart; of war

Under the wheel full low he lay adown.

There were also of Mars’ division,

The armourer, the bowyer*, and the smith, maker of bows That forgeth sharp swordes on his stith. *anvil And all above depainted in a tower

Saw I Conquest, sitting in great honour, With thilke* sharpe sword over his head *that Hanging by a subtle y-twined thread.

Painted the slaughter was of Julius<50>, Of cruel Nero, and Antonius:

Although at that time they were yet unborn, Yet was their death depainted there beforn, By menacing of Mars, right by figure,

So was it showed in that portraiture,

As is depainted in the stars above,

Who shall be slain, or elles dead for love.

Sufficeth one ensample in stories old, I may not reckon them all, though I wo’ld.

 

The statue of Mars upon a carte* stood *chariot Armed, and looked grim as he were wood, mad And over his head there shone two figures Of starres, that be cleped in scriptures, That one Puella, that other Rubeus. <51>

This god of armes was arrayed thus:

A wolf there stood before him at his feet With eyen red, and of a man he eat:

With subtle pencil painted was this story, In redouting* of Mars and of his glory. *reverance, fear Now to the temple of Dian the chaste

As shortly as I can I will me haste,

To telle you all the descriptioun.

Depainted be the walles up and down

Of hunting and of shamefast chastity.

There saw I how woful Calistope,<52>

When that Dian aggrieved was with her, Was turned from a woman to a bear,

And after was she made the lodestar*: pole star Thus was it painted, I can say no far; *farther Her son is eke a star as men may see.

There saw I Dane <53> turn’d into a tree, I meane not the goddess Diane,

But Peneus’ daughter, which that hight Dane.

There saw I Actaeon an hart y-maked, made For vengeance that he saw Dian all naked: I saw how that his houndes have him caught, And freten* him, for that they knew him not. *devour Yet painted was, a little farthermore

How Atalanta hunted the wild boar;

And Meleager, and many other mo’,

For which Diana wrought them care and woe.

There saw I many another wondrous story, The which me list not drawen to memory.

This goddess on an hart full high was set, seated With smalle houndes all about her feet, And underneath her feet she had a moon, Waxing it was, and shoulde wane soon.

In gaudy green her statue clothed was, With bow in hand, and arrows in a case*. *quiver Her eyen caste she full low adown,

Where Pluto hath his darke regioun.

A woman travailing was her beforn,

But, for her child so longe was unborn, Full piteously Lucina <54> gan she call, And saide; “Help, for thou may’st best of all.”

Well could he painte lifelike that it wrought; With many a florin he the hues had bought.

Now be these listes made, and Theseus, That at his greate cost arrayed thus

The temples, and the theatre every deal, part <55>

When it was done, him liked wonder well.

 

But stint* I will of Theseus a lite*, cease speaking **little And speak of Palamon and of Arcite.

The day approacheth of their returning, That evereach an hundred knights should bring, The battle to darraine* as I you told; *contest And to Athens, their covenant to hold, Hath ev’reach of them brought an hundred knights, Well-armed for the war at alle rights.

And sickerly* there trowed** many a man, surely <56> *believed That never, sithen* that the world began, *since For to speaken of knighthood of their hand, As far as God hath maked sea and land, Was, of so few, so noble a company.

For every wight that loved chivalry,

And would, *his thankes, have a passant name, thanks to his own Had prayed, that he might be of that game, efforts, have a And well was him, that thereto chosen was. surpassing name*

For if there fell to-morrow such a case, Ye knowe well, that every lusty knight, That loveth par amour, and hath his might Were it in Engleland, or elleswhere,

They would, their thankes, willen to be there, T’ fight for a lady; Benedicite,

It were a lusty* sighte for to see. *pleasing And right so fared they with Palamon;

With him there wente knightes many one.

Some will be armed in an habergeon,

And in a breastplate, and in a gipon*; *short doublet.

And some will have *a pair of plates* large; back and front armour

And some will have a Prusse* shield, or targe; *Prussian Some will be armed on their legges weel; Some have an axe, and some a mace of steel.

There is no newe guise*, but it was old. *fashion Armed they weren, as I have you told,

Evereach after his opinion.

There may’st thou see coming with Palamon Licurgus himself, the great king of Thrace: Black was his beard, and manly was his face.

The circles of his eyen in his head

They glowed betwixte yellow and red,

And like a griffin looked he about,

With kemped* haires on his browes stout; *combed<57>

His limbs were great, his brawns were hard and strong, His shoulders broad, his armes round and long.

And as the guise* was in his country, *fashion Full high upon a car of gold stood he, With foure white bulles in the trace.

Instead of coat-armour on his harness, With yellow nails, and bright as any gold, He had a beare’s skin, coal-black for old*. *age His long hair was y-kempt behind his back, As any raven’s feather it shone for black.

A wreath of gold *arm-great*, of huge weight, thick as a man’s arm

Upon his head sate, full of stones bright, Of fine rubies and clear diamants.

About his car there wente white alauns, greyhounds <58>

Twenty and more, as great as any steer, To hunt the lion or the wilde bear,

And follow’d him, with muzzle fast y-bound, Collars of gold, and torettes* filed round. rings An hundred lordes had he in his rout *retinue Armed full well, with heartes stern and stout.

 

With Arcita, in stories as men find,

The great Emetrius the king of Ind,

Upon a *steede bay* trapped in steel, bay horse

Cover’d with cloth of gold diapred* well, *decorated Came riding like the god of armes, Mars.

His coat-armour was of *a cloth of Tars, a kind of silk*

Couched* with pearls white and round and great *trimmed His saddle was of burnish’d gold new beat; A mantelet on his shoulders hanging,

Bretful* of rubies red, as fire sparkling. *brimful His crispe hair like ringes was y-run, And that was