105.

106.

107.

108.

Full boisterously hath said her this sentence:
Certes, Griseld, I had enough pleasance
To have you to my wife, for your goodness
And for your truth and for your obeisance,
Not for your lineage, ne for your richesse;
But now know I, in very soothfastness,
That in great lordship, if I well avise,
There is great servitude in sundry wise.

"I may not do as every ploughman may:
My people me constraineth for to take
Another wife, and cryen day by day;
And eke the pope rancor for to slake
Consenteth it, that dare I undertake;
And trewely thus much I will you say,
My newe wife is coming by the way.

"Be strong of heart, and void anon her place,
And thilke dower that ye broughten me,

* Shaping her riden in hir. Her and hir each their. A. S. hira, heora, of them (genitive, or pos., plu.)-Courage, disposition.-Lore, learning, knowledge.-Boisterously (Ice. bistr; D. byster, stormy; O. Eng. boistous, furious; boist, swelling; akin to boast; W. bwyst, wild, savage; bwystus; Low Ger. biester, frowning, dark, ugly; Fr. bis, swarthy).Said her, said to her.—I had enough, etc., I was well enough pleased to have you as my wife. -For your goodness, on account of your goodness.-Soothfastness, truth. See soothly, Index. For -ness, see homeliness, Index.—Avise, observe, reflect.—Eke, also. See Index.--Pope (A. S., Lat., It., Fr., Ger., D., Dan., Sp. papa; Gг. пáппа, пáña, father; O. Eng. pape), the bishop of Rome, the chief dignitary of the Catholic Church. Pope is here dissyl.-Rancor for to slake, to appease rancor. Rancor (Lat. rancor, rancidity, an old grudge, rancor; Fr. rancune), settled malignity.-Trewely (A. S. treowe, triwe, faithful; Ger. treu, getreu; A. S. treowian, to believe, trust), truly. Trisyl.-Will you say, will say to you.--Void (Lat. vid-uus, separate, widowed; Fr. vide. Vid, the Lat., is the same as in vid-ēre, to separate with the eye, to see. A. S. weoduwe, widuwe; Ger. wittwe; Lat. vid-ua; Eng. wid-ow), make empty, quit. See wost, Index.-Thilke, that same. Give root, root-meaning, etc., of each word in this line.

What power over foreign princes had the Pope in Chaucer's time? Was there then in England or on the Continent any form of Protestantism? What were Chaucer's religious sympathies? With what prominent English nobleman was he associated?

And thus in great noblesse and with glad cheer. The sound of gl, as in glad, denotes smoothness or silent motion. E. g., Ger. glatt, smooth, even; A. S. glad; Eng. glide, glib. This signification probably arises by analogy from the smooth sound. Other examples?

109.

110.

111.

112.

Take it again, I grant it of my grace.
Returneth* to your fatheres house,” quoth he,
"No man may always have prosperity.
With even heart I rede you to endure
The stroke of fortune, or of adventure."
And she again answered in patience.

'My Lord," quoth she, "I wot and wist alway,
How that, betwixen your magnificence
And my poverty, no wight can ne may
Maken comparison, it is no nay.

I ne held me never digne in no mannere
To ben your wife, ne yet your chamberere.
"And in this house there ye me lady made,
(The highe God take I for my witness,
And all so wisly he my soule glad!)

I never held me lady ne mistress,

But humble servant to your worthiness,
And ever shall, while that my life may dure,
Aboven every worldly creature.

"That ye so long of your benignity
Han holden me in honor and nobley,
Whereas I was not worthy for to be,

That thank I God and you, to whom I pray
Foryeld it you; there is no more to say.
Unto my father gladly will I wend,

And with him dwell unto my life's end.

"There I was fostered as a child full small, Till I be dead my life there will I lead,

A widow clean in body, heart, and all.

* Returneth. Impera. plu.-Even heart, equanimity.-Rede, advise. St. 86.--Adventure (Lat. adventurus, about to come; fr. advenire, to come on or to), hap, chance. Wist, knew. See wost, Index.-Betwixen (A. S. be, and twyg, two; Lat. duo. See tway, st. 60), between.-Poverty (Lat. paupertas, poverty; pauper, poor; O. Fr. poverte; Fr. pauvrete). The 2d syl. is acc.; probably because it is so in the Lat.-It is no nay. It cannot be denied.Digne, worthy.--Chamberere (Gr. κaμápa, Lat. camera, arched roof; Fr. chambre, chamber), chambermaid.There, where.-Wisly, certainly. He my soule glad, may he gladden my soul! Soule, dissyl.-Han (0. Eng. plu.), have.-Nobley (Lat. no-scere, to know; nob-ilis, well known, famous, noble; Fr. noblesse, nobility. See nempyned, st. 79), distinction.-Foryeld (A. S. for, forth, away, fr. faran, to go. For, as an inseparable preposition, denotes,-(1) simple removal; as in forbid, to bid away; forsake, to seek away, desert; (2) removal and disappearance; as, forgive, to give out of sight; forget, to let go out of mind; (3) removal and going wrong; as, forswear; (4) removal with added notion of completeness; as, forlorn, utterly lost; (5) the same as simple for; as, forsooth, for truth, in truth; (6) fore; as, forward. Yield is A. S. gildan, geldan, to pay, yield), repay.-Wend, go, wend. See went, Index.-There, where.

Unto my father gladly will I wend. The sound of ƒ in father (corresponding by Grimm's Law to p or ph in Lat., and T or in Gr.), from the ease with which it is enounced, is employed to denote one of the first objects that interest the child. E. g., Sans. pitar, Zendish paiter, Pers. padar, Gr. пárηp, Lat. pater, Russ. batia, Ger. vater, Eng. father, and papa, Turk. peder.

113.

114.

115.

116.

For sith* I gave to you my maydenhede
And am your trewe wife, it is no drede,
God schilde such a lordes wife to take
Another man to husband or to make!

"And of your newe wife, God of his grace
So grante you weal and prosperity;
For I will gladly yelden her my place,
In which that I was blissful wont to be.
For sith it liketh you, my Lord," quoth she,
"That whilom weren all my heartes rest,
That I shall gon, I will go when you lest.

"But thereas ye me proffer such dowaire
As I first brought, it is well in my mind,
It were my wretched clothes, nothing faire,
The which to me were hard now for to find.
Oh, goode God! How gentle and how kind
Ye seemed by your speech and your visage,
That day that maked was our marriage!

"But soth is said, algate I find it true,
For in effect it proved is on me,

Love is not old, as when that it is new.
But certes, Lord, for none adversity
To dien in this case, it shall not be

That ever, in word or work, I shall repent
That I you gave mine heart in whole intent.
"My Lord, ye wot that in my father's place
Ye did me strip out of my poore weed,
And richely me cladden of your grace;
To you brought I nought elles out of drede
But faith and nakedness and maydenhede.

* Sith, since.-Maydenhede (A. S. mag, a boy; magedh, magden, a girl), maidenhood See womanhood, st. 27.-Trewe, true. Dissyl. See trewely, st. 107.--It is no drede, there i no (occasion to) fear. See drad, st. 2.-Schilde (A. S. scild; Ger. and Dan. schild, shield fr. Ice. and Sw. skyla, to cover, defend), shield, forbid.-Make (A. S. macian; Ger. machen; Dan mage, to make, frame, fashion; A. S. maca, gemaca, gemacca, mate, husband, companion; Ice maki, an equal, husband; Dan. mage, equal, mate, match, spouse; O. Eng. macche), a companion a mate.--Yelden, yield. See foryelde, st. 111.-Gon, go.-Thereas, whereas.--Dowaire (Fr douer, to endow; douaire; Lat. dotare, to endow, portion; fr. dos, a dowry, gift; fr. do, dare, t‹ give, Gr. Sídwμi), dowry.—Soth, sooth, true, truly. See soothly, Index.--Algate (A. S. álgeats, fr call, al, all, and geat, passage, door, way; Ger. gasse, path; Ice. and D. gat, opening), always.— For none adversity, etc., for no adversity (i. e., notwithstanding any adversity, even to the extent) of dying in this case, shall it be that, etc. The student's attention is called to the touching pathos of the last three lines of the preceding stanza. The whole speech is remarkable.-Weed (A. S. wæd, a garment; O. Fries. wede; fr. Goth. vid-an, to bind), clothing.

O goode God! How gentle and how kind. The sound of o in God, being a short sound, is more appropriate to express littleness than greatness. There is a sense of congruity in the enuncia tion of the word jot; but of incongruity in uttering the word God. Such an exception proves the rule. This sound sometimes denotes surprise or harshness. Examples?

117.

120.

121.

122.

123.

And here again your clothing I restore,
And eke your wedding ring forevermore.

'The remnant of your jewels ready be
Within your chamber, dare I safely sayn.
Naked out of my father's house," quoth she,
"I came, and naked mote I turn again.
All your pleasaunce would I fulfill fain;
But yet I hope it be not your intent

That I smokles* out of your palace went."

"The smok," quoth he, "that thou hast on thy back,
Let it be still, and bear it forth with thee."
But well unnethes thilke word he spake,
But went his way for ruth and for pity.
Before the folk hirselven strippeth she,
And in her smok, with foot and head all bare,
Toward her father's house forth is she fare.

The folk her folwen weeping in hir way,
And fortune aye they cursen as they gone;
But she from weeping kept her eyen drey,
Ne in this time word ne spake she none.
Her father, that this tiding heard anon,
Curseth the day and time, that nature
Shope him to be a lives creature.

For, out of doubt, this olde poore man
Was ever in suspect of her marriage.
For ever he deemed, sith that it began,
That when the lord fulfilled had his courage,
Him woulde think that it were disparage
To his estate, so lowe for to light,

And voiden her as soon as ever he might.

Agains his daughter hastily goeth he;
For he by noise of folk knew her coming;

* Smokles (A. S. smocc; Ice. smokkr, chemise. As to -les, see reccheles, Index), without under-garment.—Unnethes, with difficulty. See Index.--Ruth (A. S. hreowan, to rue; Ger. reuen), sorrow, compassion.-Fare (A. S. and Goth. faran, to go; Ger. fahren; Ice. and Sw. fara; Dan. fare), gone.-Folwen (A. S. folgian; Ger. folgen, to follow), follow.-Drey (A. S. dryg, dryge, drege, dry; D. droog; Ger. trocken), dry.--Time. Dissyl.-Shope, shaped. See schope, Index.-Lives (A. S. libban, to live; libbe, surviving; lif, life; Ger. leben, to live), live, living.-Courage, inclination.-Disparage (Lat. dispar, unequal; dis, asunder; par, equal), a disparagement. Acc. 1st and 3d syl.-Voiden, make empty, remove, cause to quit. See void, Index.-Agains (A. S. agen, ongegn; Ger. entgegen, against; O. Eng. agens; A. S. to-geanes, to genes, toward, against; Fries. aien, agen; D. tegens. Agains is here probably the genitive case of an old noun), towards, to meet. To illustrate this origin of agains, or against, we may remark, that since, amongst, betwixt, amidst, and whilst are also old genitives. See Gibbs' Teutonic Etymology.

The smok, quoth he, that thou hast on thy back. The sound of a in hast and back, as well as that of a in half, being one of the very earliest and easiest, stands at the head of the Indo-European and some other languages, and often seems to be used where no reason exists for any other special Vowel.

124.

125.

126.

And with her olde coat,* as it might be,
He covereth her, full sorrowfully weeping.
But on her body might he it not bring,
For rude was the cloth, and more of age
By dayes fele than at her marriage.

Thus with her father for a certain space
Dwelleth this flower of wifely patience,
That neither by her wordes ne by her face,
Beforn the folk, nor eke in her absence,
Ne shewed she that her was done offence;
Ne of her high estate no remembrance
Ne hadde she, as by her countenance.

No wonder is, for in her great estate
Her ghost was ever in plain humility;
Ne tender mouth, no hearte delicate,
Ne pompe, ne semblant of realty;
But full of patient benignity,

Discreet and prideless, aye honorable,

And to her husband ever meek and stable.

Men speak of Job, and most of his humblesse,
As clerkes, when hem list, can well indite;
Namely, of men; but as in soothfastness,
Though clerkes praisen women but a lite,
There can no man in humblesse him acquite

As women can, ne can be half so true

As women ben, but it befall of new.

*Coat, frock, gown.-Fele (A. S. fela, fele; Ger. viel, many), many.-Beforn (A. S. be-; Goth. bi-; O. Ger. pi-; Ger., Sw., Dan., D., be-, originally the same as by, and denoting nearness of place; sometimes giving emphasis, as bedeck, bedaub. See note on betide, st. 4; and see Teutonic Etymology, by Prof. Gibbs. Often, as here, the original meaning of the prefix is lost. Fore is A. S. for, fore; Ger. für, vor; Lat. pro; Gr. πpó, in front; A. S. beforan; O. Eng. beforn; Ger. bevor), in front, before.-Her was done, to her was done.-Ghost (A. S. gast, breath; O. Eng. gast; Ice. geysa, to be impelled; whence geyser, a spouting spring of boiling water), spirit.-Pompe. Dissyl.-Realty (0. Fr. roial, real. The ending -ty is fr. Lat. -itas, which is much used in Lat. to form abstract substantives), royalty. See real, st. 31.-Aye (Gr. ácí, ever; alúv, an age; Lat. ævum; Goth. aivs; Ice. æfi ; A. S. awa, aa, a, always), always.— Humblesse (Lat. humilitas, humility; humus, the ground; Gr. xaμaí, on the ground; xaμadós), humility.-Clerkes (Lat. clericus, a clergyman; Gr. kλŋpɩkós, a priest; kλîpos, a lot, the clergy, to whom lands were allotted for their support; A. S. clerc, cleric, cleroc, priest, clerk; afterwards any educated person, for the ministers of religion were almost the only literary men), scholars.Lite (A. S. lyt, lytel), little.--Him acquite, acquit himself, conduct himself.—But it befall of new, unless it happen recently. The word ben, in this line, illustrates the O. Eng. plural in -en. So we have, four lines before, praisen, and, in st. 121, folwen and cursen. The loss of this ending and the dropping of inflections generally, accompany the transition from A. S. to Eng.

Ne of her high estate no remembrance. The sound of m in remembrance, being highly internal, made with closed lips, is exceedingly suggestive of subjectivity, belongs to one's own consciousness, and is indicative of important mental operations. E. g., Sans. man, to think; Gr. unvíw; Lat. moneo, I remind; memini, I remember; Ger. mahnen, meinen, Eng. mean, to intend, imply; Lat. mens, Eng. mind. Hence, perhaps, the word man, A. S. mann, mon, means the thinker. Other examples?