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

have in dread, *bow down to Or in a furnace, full of flames red,

He should be burnt that woulde not obey: But never would assente to that deed

Daniel, nor his younge fellows tway.

 

This king of kinges proud was and elate; lofty He ween’d* that God, that sits in majesty, *thought Mighte him not bereave of his estate;

But suddenly he lost his dignity,

And like a beast he seemed for to be,

And ate hay as an ox, and lay thereout In rain, with wilde beastes walked he, Till certain time was y-come about.

 

And like an eagle’s feathers wax’d his hairs, His nailes like a birde’s clawes were, Till God released him at certain years, And gave him wit; and then with many a tear He thanked God, and ever his life in fear Was he to do amiss, or more trespace:

And till that time he laid was on his bier, He knew that God was full of might and grace.

 

His sone, which that highte BALTHASAR, That *held the regne* after his father’s day, possessed the kingdom

He by his father coulde not beware,

For proud he was of heart and of array; And eke an idolaster was he aye.

His high estate assured* him in pride; *confirmed But Fortune cast him down, and there he lay, And suddenly his regne gan divide.

 

A feast he made unto his lordes all

Upon a time, and made them blithe be,

And then his officeres gan he call;

“Go, bringe forth the vessels,” saide he, “Which that my father in his prosperity Out of the temple of Jerusalem reft,

And to our highe goddes thanks we

Of honour, that our elders* with us left.” *forefathers His wife, his lordes, and his concubines Aye dranke, while their appetites did last, Out of these noble vessels sundry wines.

And on a wall this king his eyen cast, And saw an hand, armless, that wrote full fast; For fear of which he quaked, and sighed sore.

This hand, that Balthasar so sore aghast, dismayed Wrote Mane, tekel, phares, and no more.

 

In all that land magician was there none That could expounde what this letter meant.

But Daniel expounded it anon,

And said, “O King, God to thy father lent Glory and honour, regne, treasure, rent; revenue And he was proud, and nothing God he drad; dreaded And therefore God great wreche* upon him sent, *vengeance And him bereft the regne that he had.

 

“He was cast out of manne’s company;

With asses was his habitation

And ate hay, as a beast, in wet and dry, Till that he knew by grace and by reason That God of heaven hath domination

O’er every regne, and every creature;

And then had God of him compassion,

And him restor’d his regne and his figure.

 

“Eke thou, that art his son, art proud also, And knowest all these thinges verily;

And art rebel to God, and art his foe.

Thou drankest of his vessels boldely;

Thy wife eke, and thy wenches, sinfully Drank of the same vessels sundry wines, And heried* false goddes cursedly; praised Therefore to thee y-shapen full great pine is. great punishment is prepared for thee*

“This hand was sent from God, that on the wall Wrote Mane, tekel, phares, truste me;

Thy reign is done; thou weighest naught at all; Divided is thy regne, and it shall be

To Medes and to Persians giv’n,” quoth he.

And thilke same night this king was slaw slain And Darius occupied his degree,

Though he thereto had neither right nor law.

 

Lordings, example hereby may ye take,

How that in lordship is no sickerness; security For when that Fortune will a man forsake, She bears away his regne and his richess, And eke his friendes bothe more and less, For what man that hath friendes through fortune, Mishap will make them enemies, I guess; This proverb is full sooth, and full commune.

 

ZENOBIA, of Palmyrie the queen, <12>

As write Persians of her nobless,

So worthy was in armes, and so keen,

That no wight passed her in hardiness, Nor in lineage, nor other gentleness. noble qualities Of the king’s blood of Perse* is she descended; *Persia I say not that she hadde most fairness, But of her shape she might not he amended.

 

From her childhood I finde that she fled Office of woman, and to woods she went, And many a wilde harte’s blood she shed With arrows broad that she against them sent; She was so swift, that she anon them hent. caught And when that she was older, she would kill Lions, leopards, and beares all to-rent, torn to pieces And in her armes wield them at her will.

 

She durst the wilde beastes’ dennes seek, And runnen in the mountains all the night, And sleep under a bush; and she could eke Wrestle by very force and very might

With any young man, were he ne’er so wight; active, nimble There mighte nothing in her armes stond.

She kept her maidenhood from every wight, To no man deigned she for to be bond.

 

But at the last her friendes have her married To Odenate, <13> a prince of that country; All were it so, that she them longe tarried.

And ye shall understande how that he

Hadde such fantasies as hadde she;

But natheless, when they were knit in fere, together They liv’d in joy, and in felicity,

For each of them had other lefe* and dear. *loved Save one thing, that she never would assent, By no way, that he shoulde by her lie

But ones, for it was her plain intent

To have a child, the world to multiply; And all so soon as that she might espy That she was not with childe by that deed, Then would she suffer him do his fantasy Eftsoon,* and not but ones, *out of dread. again without doubt

 

And if she were with child at thilke* cast, *that No more should he playe thilke game

Till fully forty dayes were past;

Then would she once suffer him do the same.

All* were this Odenatus wild or tame, *whether He got no more of her; for thus she said, It was to wives lechery and shame

In other case* if that men with them play’d. on other terms Two sones, by this Odenate had she,

The which she kept in virtue and lettrure. learning But now unto our tale turne we;

I say, so worshipful a creature,

And wise therewith, and large* with measure,* bountiful **moderation So penible* in the war, and courteous eke, *laborious Nor more labour might in war endure,

Was none, though all this worlde men should seek.

 

Her rich array it mighte not be told,

As well in vessel as in her clothing:

She was all clad in pierrie* and in gold, jewellery And eke she lefte not,* for no hunting, did not neglect

To have of sundry tongues full knowing, When that she leisure had, and for t’intend apply To learne bookes was all her liking,

How she in virtue might her life dispend.

 

And, shortly of this story for to treat, So doughty was her husband and eke she, That they conquered many regnes great

In th’Orient, with many a fair city

Appertinent unto the majesty

Of Rome, and with strong hande held them fast, Nor ever might their foemen do* them flee, *make Aye while that Odenatus’ dayes last’.

 

Her battles, whoso list them for to read, Against Sapor the king, <14> and other mo’, And how that all this process fell in deed, Why she conquer’d, and what title thereto, And after of her mischief* and her woe, *misfortune How that she was besieged and y-take,

Let him unto my master Petrarch go,

That writes enough of this, I undertake.

 

When Odenate was dead, she mightily

The regne held, and with her proper hand Against her foes she fought so cruelly, That there n’as* king nor prince in all that land, *was not That was not glad, if be that grace fand That she would not upon his land warray; make war With her they maden alliance by bond,

To be in peace, and let her ride and play.

 

The emperor of Rome, Claudius,

Nor, him before, the Roman Gallien,

Durste never be so courageous,

Nor no Armenian, nor Egyptien,

Nor Syrian, nor no Arabien,

Within the fielde durste with her fight, Lest that she would them with her handes slen, slay Or with her meinie* putte them to flight. *troops In kinges’ habit went her sones two,

As heires of their father’s regnes all; And Heremanno and Timolao

Their names were, as Persians them call But aye Fortune hath in her honey gall; This mighty queene may no while endure; Fortune out of her regne made her fall To wretchedness and to misadventure.

 

Aurelian, when that the governance

Of Rome came into his handes tway, <15>

He shope* upon this queen to do vengeance; *prepared And with his legions he took his way

Toward Zenobie, and, shortly for to say, He made her flee, and at the last her hent, took And fetter’d her, and eke her children tway, And won the land, and home to Rome he went.

 

Amonges other thinges that he wan,

Her car, that was with gold wrought and pierrie, jewels This greate Roman, this Aurelian

Hath with him led, for that men should it see.

Before in his triumphe walked she

With gilte chains upon her neck hanging; Crowned she was, as after* her degree, *according to And full of pierrie her clothing.

 

Alas, Fortune! she that whilom was

Dreadful to kinges and to emperours,

Now galeth* all the people on her, alas! yelleth And she that helmed was in starke stowres, wore a helmet in And won by force townes strong and tow’rs, obstinate battles*

Shall on her head now wear a vitremite; <16>

And she that bare the sceptre full of flow’rs Shall bear a distaff, *her cost for to quite. to make her living*

 

Although that NERO were so vicious

As any fiend that lies full low adown, Yet he, as telleth us Suetonius,<17>

This wide world had in subjectioun,

Both East and West, South and Septentrioun.

Of rubies, sapphires, and of pearles white Were all his clothes embroider’d up and down, For he in gemmes greatly gan delight.

 

More delicate, more pompous of array,

More proud, was never emperor than he; That ilke cloth that he had worn one day, same robe

After that time he would it never see; Nettes of gold thread had he great plenty, To fish in Tiber, when him list to play; His lustes* were as law, in his degree, *pleasures For Fortune as his friend would him obey.

 

He Rome burnt for his delicacy; pleasure The senators he slew upon a day,

To heare how that men would weep and cry; And slew his brother, and by his sister lay.

His mother made he in piteous array;

For he her wombe slitte, to behold

Where he conceived was; so wellaway!

That he so little of his mother told. valued No tear out of his eyen for that sight Came; but he said, a fair woman was she.

Great wonder is, how that he could or might Be doomesman* of her deade beauty: *judge The wine to bringe him commanded he,

And drank anon; none other woe he made, When might is joined unto cruelty,

Alas! too deepe will the venom wade.

 

In youth a master had this emperour,

To teache him lettrure* and