THE PROLOGUE.
By that the Manciple his tale had ended,The sunne from the south line was descendedSo lowe, that it was not to my sightDegrees nine-and-twenty as in height.Four of the clock it was then, as I guess,For eleven foot, a little more or less,My shadow was at thilke time, as there,Of such feet as my lengthe parted wereIn six feet equal of proportion.Therewith the moone’s exaltation,* *rising*In meane* Libra, gan alway ascend, *in the middle of*As we were ent’ring at a thorpe’s* end. *village’sFor which our Host, as he was wont to gie,* *governAs in this case, our jolly company,Said in this wise; “Lordings every one,Now lacketh us no more tales than one.Fulfill’d is my sentence and my decree;I trow that we have heard of each degree.* from each class or rankAlmost fulfilled is mine ordinance; in the companyI pray to God so give him right good chanceThat telleth us this tale lustily.Sir Priest,” quoth he, “art thou a vicary?* *vicarOr art thou a Parson? say sooth by thy fay.* *faithBe what thou be, breake thou not our play;For every man, save thou, hath told his tale.Unbuckle, and shew us what is in thy mail.* *walletFor truely me thinketh by thy cheerThou shouldest knit up well a great mattere.Tell us a fable anon, for cocke’s bones.”
This Parson him answered all at ones;“Thou gettest fable none y-told for me,For Paul, that writeth unto Timothy,Reproveth them that *weive soothfastness,* *forsake truth*And telle fables, and such wretchedness.Why should I sowe draff* out of my fist, *chaff, refuseWhen I may sowe wheat, if that me list?For which I say, if that you list to hearMorality and virtuous mattere,And then that ye will give me audience,I would full fain at Christe’s reverenceDo you pleasance lawful, as I can.But, truste well, I am a southern man,I cannot gest,* rom, ram, ruf, <1> by my letter; *relate storiesAnd, God wot, rhyme hold I but little better.And therefore if you list, I will not glose,* *mince mattersI will you tell a little tale in prose,To knit up all this feast, and make an end.And Jesus for his grace wit me sendTo shewe you the way, in this voyage,Of thilke perfect glorious pilgrimage, <2>That hight Jerusalem celestial.And if ye vouchesafe, anon I shallBegin upon my tale, for which I prayTell your advice,* I can no better say. *opinionBut natheless this meditationI put it aye under correctionOf clerkes,* for I am not textuel; *scholarsI take but the sentence,* trust me well. *meaning, senseTherefore I make a protestation,That I will stande to correction.”Upon this word we have assented soon;For, as us seemed, it was *for to do’n,* *a thing worth doing*To enden in some virtuous sentence,* *discourseAnd for to give him space and audience;And bade our Host he shoulde to him sayThat alle we to tell his tale him pray.Our Hoste had. the wordes for us all:“Sir Priest,” quoth he, “now faire you befall;Say what you list, and we shall gladly hear.”And with that word he said in this mannere;“Telle,” quoth he, “your meditatioun,But hasten you, the sunne will adown.Be fructuous,* and that in little space; *fruitful; profitableAnd to do well God sende you his grace.”
Notes to the Prologue to the Parson’s Tale
1. Rom, ram, ruf: a contemptuous reference to the alliterativepoetry which was at that time very popular, in preference even,it would seem, to rhyme, in the northern parts of the country,where the language was much more barbarous and unpolishedthan in the south.
2. Perfect glorious pilgrimage: the word is used here to signifythe shrine, or destination, to which pilgrimage is made.
THE TALE. <1>
[The Parson begins his “little treatise” -(which, if given atlength, would extend to about thirty of these pages, and whichcannot by any stretch of courtesy or fancy be said to merit thetitle of a “Tale”) in these words: —]
Our sweet Lord God of Heaven, that no man will perish, butwill that we come all to the knowledge of him, and to theblissful life that is perdurable [everlasting], admonishes us bythe prophet Jeremiah, that saith in this wise: “Stand upon theways, and see and ask of old paths, that is to say, of oldsentences, which is the good way, and walk in that way, and yeshall find refreshing for your souls,” <2> &c. Many be thespiritual ways that lead folk to our Lord Jesus Christ, and to thereign of glory; of which ways there is a full noble way, and fullconvenable, which may not fail to man nor to woman, thatthrough sin hath misgone from the right way of Jerusalemcelestial; and this way is called penitence. Of which men shouldgladly hearken and inquire with all their hearts, to wit what ispenitence, and whence it is called penitence, and in whatmanner, and in how many manners, be the actions or workingsof penitence, and how many species there be of penitences, andwhat things appertain and behove to penitence, and what thingsdisturb penitence.
[Penitence is described, on the authority of Saints Ambrose,Isidore, and Gregory, as the bewailing of sin that has beenwrought, with the purpose never again to do that thing, or anyother thing which a man should bewail; for weeping and notceasing to do the sin will not avail — though it is to be hopedthat after every time that a man falls, be it ever so often, he mayfind grace to arise through penitence. And repentant folk thatleave their sin ere sin leave them, are accounted by Holy Churchsure of their salvation, even though the repentance be at the lasthour. There are three actions of penitence; that a man bebaptized after he has sinned; that he do no deadly sin afterreceiving baptism; and that he fall into no venial sins from dayto day. “Thereof saith St Augustine, that penitence of good andhumble folk is the penitence of every day.” The species ofpenitence are three: solemn, when a man is openly expelledfrom Holy Church in Lent, or is compelled by Holy Church todo open penance for an open sin openly talked of in thecountry; common penance, enjoined by priests in certain cases,as to go on pilgrimage naked or barefoot; and privy penance,which men do daily for private sins, of which they confessprivately and receive private penance. To very perfect penitenceare behoveful and necessary three things: contrition of heart,confession of mouth, and satisfaction; which are fruitfulpenitence against delight in thinking, reckless speech, andwicked sinful works.
Penitence may be likened to a tree, having its root in contrition,biding itself in the heart as a tree-root does in the earth; out ofthis root springs a stalk, that bears branches and leaves ofconfession, and fruit of satisfaction. Of this root also springs aseed of grace, which is mother of all security, and this seed iseager and hot; and the grace of this seed springs of God,through remembrance on the day of judgment and on the painsof hell. The heat of this seed is the love of God, and the desireof everlasting joy; and this heat draws the heart of man to God,and makes him hate his sin. Penance is the tree of life to themthat receive it. In penance or contrition man shall understandfour things: what is contrition; what are the causes that move aman to contrition; how he should be contrite; and whatcontrition availeth to the soul. Contrition is the heavy andgrievous sorrow that a man receiveth in his heart for his sins,with earnest purpose to confess and do penance, and nevermore to sin. Six causes ought to move a man to contrition: 1.He should remember him of his sins; 2. He should reflect thatsin putteth a man in great thraldom, and all the greater thehigher is the estate from which he falls; 3. He should dread theday of doom and the horrible pains of hell; 4. The sorrowfulremembrance of the good deeds that man hath omitted to dohere on earth, and also the good that he hath lost, ought tomake him have contrition; 5. So also ought the remembrance ofthe passion that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered for our sins; 6.And so ought the hope of three things, that is to say,forgiveness of sin, the gift of grace to do well, and the glory ofheaven with which God shall reward man for his good deeds. —All these points the Parson illustrates and enforces at length;waxing especially eloquent under the third head, and plainlysetting forth the sternly realistic notions regarding futurepunishments that were entertained in the time of Chaucer:-] <3>
Certes, all the sorrow that a man might make from thebeginning of the world, is but a little thing, at retard of [incomparison with] the sorrow of hell. The cause why that Jobcalleth hell the land of darkness; <4> understand, that he callethit land or earth, for it is stable and never shall fail, and dark, forhe that is in hell hath default [is devoid] of light natural; forcertes the dark light, that shall come out of the fire that evershall burn, shall turn them all to pain that be in hell, for itsheweth them the horrible devils that them torment. Coveredwith the darkness of death; that is to say, that he that is in hellshall have default of the sight of God; for certes the sight ofGod is the life perdurable [everlasting]. The darkness of death,be the sins that the wretched man hath done, which that disturb[prevent] him to see the face of God, right as a dark cloud dothbetween us and the sun. Land of misease, because there be threemanner of defaults against three things that folk of this worldhave in this present life; that is to say, honours, delights, andriches. Against honour have they in hell shame and confusion:for well ye wot, that men call honour the reverence that mandoth to man; but in hell is no honour nor reverence; for certesno more reverence shall be done there to a king than to a knave[servant]. For which God saith by the prophet Jeremiah; “Thefolk that me despise shall be in despite.” Honour is also calledgreat lordship. There shall no wight serve other, but of harmand torment. Honour is also called great dignity and highness;but in hell shall they be all fortrodden [trampled under foot] ofdevils. As God saith, “The horrible devils shall go and comeupon the heads of damned folk;” and this is, forasmuch as thehigher that they were in this present life, the more shall they beabated [abased] and defouled in hell. Against the riches of thisworld shall they have misease [trouble, torment] of poverty, andthis poverty shall be in four things: in default [want] of treasure;of which David saith, “The rich folk that embraced and oned[united] all their heart to treasure of this world, shall sleep in thesleeping of death, and nothing shall they find in their hands ofall their treasure.” And moreover, the misease of hell shall be indefault of meat and drink. For God saith thus by Moses, “Theyshall be wasted with hunger, and the birds of hell shall devourthem with bitter death, and the gall of the dragon shall be theirdrink, and the venom of the dragon their morsels.” Andfurthermore, their misease shall be in default of clothing, forthey shall be naked in body, as of clothing, save the fire inwhich they burn, and other filths; and naked shall they be insoul, of all manner virtues, which that is the clothing of the soul.Where be then the gay robes, and the soft sheets, and the fineshirts? Lo, what saith of them the prophet Isaiah, that underthem shall be strewed moths, and their covertures shall be ofworms of hell. And furthermore, their misease shall be in defaultof friends, for he is not poor that hath good friends: but there isno friend; for neither God nor any good creature shall be friendto them, and evereach of them shall hate other with deadly hate.The Sons and the daughters shall rebel against father andmother, and kindred against kindred, and chide and despise eachother, both day and night, as God saith by the prophet Micah.And the loving children, that whom loved so fleshly each other,would each of them eat the other if they might. For how shouldthey love together in the pains of hell, when they hated eachother in the prosperity of this life? For trust well, their fleshlylove was deadly hate; as saith the prophet David; “Whosoloveth wickedness, he hateth his own soul:” and whoso hatethhis own soul, certes he may love none other wight in nomanner: and therefore in hell is no solace nor no friendship, butever the more kindreds that be in hell, the more cursing, themore chiding, and the more deadly hate there is among them.And furtherover, they shall have default of all manner delights;for certes delights be after the appetites of the five wits[senses]; as sight, hearing, smelling, savouring [tasting], andtouching. But in hell their sight shall be full of darkness and ofsmoke, and their eyes full of tears; and their hearing full ofwaimenting [lamenting] and grinting [gnashing] of teeth, assaith Jesus Christ; their nostrils shall be full of stinking; and, assaith Isaiah the prophet, their savouring [tasting] shall be full ofbitter gall; and touching of all their body shall be covered withfire that never shall quench, and with worms that never shalldie, as God saith by the mouth of Isaiah. And forasmuch as theyshall not ween that they may die for pain, and by death flee frompain, that may they understand in the word of Job, that saith,“There is the shadow of death.” Certes a shadow hath thelikeness of the thing of which it is shadowed, but the shadow isnot the same thing of which it is shadowed: right so fareth thepain of hell; it is like death, for the horrible anguish; and why?for it paineth them ever as though they should die anon; butcertes they shall not die. For, as saith Saint Gregory, “Towretched caitiffs shall be given death without death, and endwithout end, and default without failing; for their death shallalways live, and their end shall evermore begin, and their defaultshall never fail.” And therefore saith Saint John the Evangelist,“They shall follow death, and they shall not find him, and theyshall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.” And eke Jobsaith, that in hell is no order of rule. And albeit that God hathcreated all things in right order, and nothing without order, butall things be ordered and numbered, yet nevertheless they thatbe damned be not in order, nor hold no order. For the earthshall bear them no fruit (for, as the prophet David saith, “Godshall destroy the fruit of the earth, as for them”); nor water shallgive them no moisture, nor the air no refreshing, nor the fire nolight. For as saith Saint Basil, “The burning of the fire of thisworld shall God give in hell to them that be damned, but thelight and the clearness shall be given in heaven to his children;right as the good man giveth flesh to his children, and bones tohis hounds.” And for they shall have no hope to escape, saithJob at last, that there shall horror and grisly dread dwell withoutend. Horror is always dread of harm that is to come, and thisdread shall ever dwell in the hearts of them that be damned.And therefore have they lost all their hope for seven causes.First, for God that is their judge shall be without mercy to them;nor they may not please him; nor none of his hallows [saints];nor they may give nothing for their ransom; nor they have novoice to speak to him; nor they may not flee from pain; nor theyhave no goodness in them that they may shew to deliver themfrom pain.
[Under the fourth head, of good works, the Parson says: —]
The courteous Lord Jesus Christ will that no good work be lost,for in somewhat it shall avail. But forasmuch as the good worksthat men do while they be in good life be all amortised [killed,deadened] by sin following, and also since all the good worksthat men do while they be in deadly sin be utterly dead, as for tohave the life perdurable [everlasting], well may that man that nogood works doth, sing that new French song, J’ai tout perdu —mon temps et mon labour <5>. For certes, sin bereaveth a manboth the goodness of nature, and eke the goodness of grace.For soothly the grace of the Holy Ghost fareth like fire, thatmay not be idle; for fire faileth anon as it forleteth [leaveth] itsworking, and right so grace faileth anon as it forleteth itsworking. Then loseth the sinful man the goodness of glory, thatonly is to good men that labour and work. Well may he be sorrythen, that oweth all his life to God, as long as he hath lived, andalso as long as he shall live, that no goodness hath to pay withhis debt to God, to whom he oweth all his life: for trust well heshall give account, as saith Saint Bernard, of all the goods thathave been given him in his present life, and how he hath themdispended, insomuch that there shall not perish an hair of hishead, nor a moment of an hour shall not perish of his time, thathe shall not give thereof a reckoning.
[Having treated of the causes, the Parson comes to the manner,of contrition — which should be universal and total, not merelyof outward deeds of sin, but also of wicked delights andthoughts and words; “for certes Almighty God is all good, andtherefore either he forgiveth all, or else right naught.” Further,contrition should be “wonder sorrowful and anguishous,” andalso continual, with steadfast purpose of confession andamendment. Lastly, of what contrition availeth, the Parson says,that sometimes it delivereth man from sin; that without it neitherconfession nor satisfaction is of any worth; that it “destroyeththe prison of hell, and maketh weak and feeble all the strengthsof the devils, and restoreth the gifts of the Holy Ghost and of allgood virtues, and cleanseth the soul of sin, and delivereth itfrom the pain of hell, and from the company of the devil, andfrom the servage [slavery] of sin, and restoreth it to all goodsspiritual, and to the company and communion of Holy Church.”He who should set his intent to these things, would no longer beinclined to sin, but would give his heart and body to the serviceof Jesus Christ, and thereof do him homage. “For, certes, ourLord Jesus Christ hath spared us so benignly in our follies, thatif he had not pity on man’s soul, a sorry song might we all sing.”
The Second Part of the Parson’s Tale or Treatise opens with anexplanation of what is confession — which is termed “thesecond part of penitence, that is, sign of contrition;” whether itought needs be done or not; and what things be convenable totrue confession. Confession is true shewing of sins to the priest,without excusing, hiding, or forwrapping [disguising] ofanything, and without vaunting of good works. “Also, it isnecessary to understand whence that sins spring, and how theyincrease, and which they be.” From Adam we took original sin;“from him fleshly descended be we all, and engendered of vileand corrupt matter;” and the penalty of Adam’s transgressiondwelleth with us as to temptation, which penalty is calledconcupiscence. “This concupiscence, when it is wrongfullydisposed or ordained in a man, it maketh him covet, by covetiseof flesh, fleshly sin by sight of his eyes, as to earthly things, andalso covetise of highness by pride of heart.” The Parsonproceeds to shew how man is tempted in his flesh to sin; how,after his natural concupiscence, comes suggestion of the devil,that is to say the devil’s bellows, with which he bloweth in manthe fire of con cupiscence; and how man then bethinketh himwhether he will do or no the thing to which he is tempted. If heflame up into pleasure at the thought, and give way, then is heall dead in soul; “and thus is sin accomplished, by temptation, bydelight, and by consenting; and then is the sin actual.” Sin iseither venial, or deadly; deadly, when a man loves any creaturemore than Jesus Christ our Creator, venial, if he love JesusChrist less than he ought. Venial sins diminish man’s love toGod more and more, and may in this wise skip into deadly sin;for many small make a great. “And hearken this example: Agreat wave of the sea cometh sometimes with so great aviolence, that it drencheth [causes to sink] the ship: and thesame harm do sometimes the small drops, of water that enterthrough a little crevice in the thurrok [hold, bilge], and in thebottom of the ship, if men be so negligent that they dischargethem not betimes. And therefore, although there be differencebetwixt these two causes of drenching, algates [in any case] theship is dreint [sunk]. Right so fareth it sometimes of deadly sin,”and of venial sins when they multiply in a man so greatly as tomake him love worldly things more than God. The Parson thenenumerates specially a number of sins which many a manperadventure deems no sins, and confesses them not, and yetnevertheless they are truly sins: — ]
This is to say, at every time that a man eateth and drinketh morethan sufficeth to the sustenance of his body, in certain he dothsin; eke when he speaketh more than it needeth, he doth sin; ekewhen he heareth not benignly the complaint of the poor; ekewhen he is in health of body, and will not fast when other folkfast, without cause reasonable; eke when he sleepeth more thanneedeth, or when he cometh by that occasion too late to church,or to other works of charity; eke when he useth his wife withoutsovereign desire of engendrure, to the honour of God, or for theintent to yield his wife his debt of his body; eke when he will notvisit the sick, or the prisoner, if he may; eke if he love wife, orchild, or other worldly thing, more than reason requireth; eke ifhe flatter or blandish more than he ought for any necessity; ekeif he minish or withdraw the alms of the poor; eke if he apparail[prepare] his meat more deliciously than need is, or eat it toohastily by likerousness [gluttony]; eke if he talk vanities in thechurch, or at God’s service, or that he be a talker of idle wordsof folly or villainy, for he shall yield account of them at the dayof doom; eke when he behighteth [promiseth] or assureth to dothings that he may not perform; eke when that by lightness offolly he missayeth or scorneth his neighbour; eke when he hathany wicked suspicion of thing, that he wot of it nosoothfastness: these things, and more without number, be sins,as saith Saint Augustine.
[No earthly man may eschew all venial sins; yet may he refrainhim, by the burning love that he hath to our Lord Jesus Christ,and by prayer and confession, and other good works, so that itshall but little grieve. “Furthermore, men may also refrain andput away venial sin, by receiving worthily the precious body ofJesus Christ; by receiving eke of holy water; by alms-deed; bygeneral confession of Confiteor at mass, and at prime, and atcompline [evening service]; and by blessing of bishops andpriests, and by other good works.” The Parson then proceeds toweightier matters:— ]
Now it is behovely [profitable, necessary] to tell which bedeadly sins, that is to say, chieftains of sins; forasmuch as allthey run in one leash, but in diverse manners. Now be theycalled chieftains, forasmuch as they be chief, and of them springall other sins. The root of these sins, then, is pride, the generalroot of all harms. For of this root spring certain branches: as ire,envy, accidie <6> or sloth, avarice or covetousness (to commonunderstanding), gluttony, and lechery: and each of these sinshath his branches and his twigs, as shall be declared in theirchapters following. And though so be, that no man can tellutterly the number of the twigs, and of the harms that come ofpride, yet will I shew a part of them, as ye shall understand.There is inobedience, vaunting, hypocrisy, despite, arrogance,impudence, swelling of hearte, insolence, elation, impatience,strife, contumacy, presumption, irreverence, pertinacity, vain-glory and many another twig that I cannot tell nor declare. . . .]
And yet [moreover] there is a privy species of pride that waitethfirst to be saluted ere he will salute, all [although] be he lessworthy than that other is; and eke he waiteth [expecteth] ordesireth to sit or to go above him in the way, or kiss the pax,<7> or be incensed, or go to offering before his neighbour, andsuch semblable [like] things, against his duty peradventure, butthat he hath his heart and his intent in such a proud desire to bemagnified and honoured before the people. Now be there twomanner of prides; the one of them is within the heart of a man,and the other is without. Of which soothly these foresaid things,and more than I have said, appertain to pride that is within theheart of a man and there be other species of pride that bewithout: but nevertheless, the one of these species of pride issign of the other, right as the gay levesell [bush] at the tavern issign of the wine that is in the cellar. And this is in many things:as in speech and countenance, and outrageous array of clothing;for certes, if there had been no sin in clothing, Christ would notso soon have noted and spoken of the clothing of that rich manin the gospel. And Saint Gregory saith, that precious clothing isculpable for the dearth [dearness] of it, and for its softness, andfor its strangeness and disguising, and for the superfluity or forthe inordinate scantness of it; alas! may not a man see in ourdays the sinful costly array of clothing, and namely [specially] intoo much superfluity, or else in too disordinate scantness? As tothe first sin, in superfluity of clothing, which that maketh it sodear, to the harm of the people, not only the cost of theembroidering, the disguising, indenting or barring, ounding,paling, <8> winding, or banding, and semblable [similar] wasteof cloth in vanity; but there is also the costly furring [lining oredging with fur] in their gowns, so much punching of chisels tomake holes, so much dagging [cutting] of shears, with thesuperfluity in length of the foresaid gowns, trailing in the dungand in the mire, on horse and eke on foot, as well of man as ofwoman, that all that trailing is verily (as in effect) wasted,consumed, threadbare, and rotten with dung, rather than it isgiven to the poor, to great damage of the foresaid poor folk,and that in sundry wise: this is to say, the more that cloth iswasted, the more must it cost to the poor people for thescarceness; and furthermore, if so be that they would give suchpunched and dagged clothing to the poor people, it is notconvenient to wear for their estate, nor sufficient to boot [help,remedy] their necessity, to keep them from the distemperance[inclemency] of the firmament. Upon the other side, to speak ofthe horrible disordinate scantness of clothing, as be these cuttedslops or hanselines [breeches] , that through their shortnesscover not the shameful member of man, to wicked intent alas!some of them shew the boss and the shape of the horribleswollen members, that seem like to the malady of hernia, in thewrapping of their hosen, and eke the buttocks of them, that fareas it were the hinder part of a she-ape in the full of the moon.And more over the wretched swollen members that they shewthrough disguising, in departing [dividing] of their hosen inwhite and red, seemeth that half their shameful privy memberswere flain [flayed]. And if so be that they depart their hosen inother colours, as is white and blue, or white and black, or blackand red, and so forth; then seemeth it, by variance of colour,that the half part of their privy members be corrupt by the fireof Saint Anthony, or by canker, or other such mischance. Andof the hinder part of their buttocks it is full horrible to see, forcertes, in that part of their body where they purge their stinkingordure, that foul part shew they to the people proudly in despiteof honesty [decency], which honesty Jesus Christ and his friendsobserved to shew in his life. Now as of the outrageous array ofwomen, God wot, that though the visages of some of themseem full chaste and debonair [gentle], yet notify they, in theirarray of attire, likerousness and pride. I say not that honesty[reasonable and appropriate style] in clothing of man or womanunconvenable but, certes, the superfluity or disordinate scarcityof clothing is reprovable. Also the sin of their ornament, or ofapparel, as in things that appertain to riding, as in too manydelicate horses, that be holden for delight, that be so fair, fat,and costly; and also in many a vicious knave, [servant] that issustained because of them; in curious harness, as in saddles,cruppers, peytrels, [breast-plates] and bridles, covered withprecious cloth and rich bars and plates of gold and silver. Forwhich God saith by Zechariah the prophet, “I will confound theriders of such horses.” These folk take little regard of the ridingof God’s Son of heaven, and of his harness, when he rode uponan ass, and had no other harness but the poor clothes of hisdisciples; nor we read not that ever he rode on any other beast.I speak this for the sin of superfluity, and not for reasonablehonesty [seemliness], when reason it requireth. And moreover,certes, pride is greatly notified in holding of great meinie[retinue of servants], when they be of little profit or of right noprofit, and namely [especially] when that meinie is felonous[violent ] and damageous [harmful] to the people by hardiness[arrogance] of high lordship, or by way of office; for certes,such lords sell then their lordship to the devil of hell, when theysustain the wickedness of their meinie. Or else, when these folkof low degree, as they that hold hostelries, sustain theft of theirhostellers, and that is in many manner of deceits: that manner offolk be the flies that follow the honey, or else the hounds thatfollow the carrion. Such foresaid folk strangle spiritually theirlordships; for which thus saith David the prophet, “Wickeddeath may come unto these lordships, and God give that theymay descend into hell adown; for in their houses is iniquity andshrewedness, [impiety] and not God of heaven.” And certes, butif [unless] they do amendment, right as God gave his benison[blessing] to Laban by the service of Jacob, and to Pharaoh bythe service of Joseph; right so God will give his malison[condemnation] to such lordships as sustain the wickedness oftheir servants, but [unless] they come to amendment. Pride ofthe table apaireth [worketh harm] eke full oft; for, certes, richmen be called to feasts, and poor folk be put away and rebuked;also in excess of divers meats and drinks, and namely [specially]such manner bake-meats and dish-meats burning of wild fire,and painted and castled with paper, and semblable [similar]waste, so that it is abuse to think. And eke in too greatpreciousness of vessel, [plate] and curiosity of minstrelsy, bywhich a man is stirred more to the delights of luxury, if so bethat he set his heart the less upon our Lord Jesus Christ, certainit is a sin; and certainly the delights might be so great in thiscase, that a man might lightly [easily] fall by them into deadlysin.
[The sins that arise of pride advisedly and habitually are deadly;those that arise by frailty unadvised suddenly, and suddenlywithdraw again, though grievous, are not deadly. Pride itselfsprings sometimes of the goods of nature, sometimes of thegoods of fortune, sometimes of the goods of grace; but theParson, enumerating and examining all these in turn, points outhow little security they possess and how little ground for pridethey furnish, and goes on to enforce the remedy against pride —which is humility or meekness, a virtue through which a manhath true knowledge of himself, and holdeth no high esteem ofhimself in regard of his deserts, considering ever his frailty.]
Now be there three manners [kinds] of humility; as humility inheart, and another in the mouth, and the third in works. Thehumility in the heart is in four manners: the one is, when a manholdeth himself as nought worth before God of heaven; thesecond is, when he despiseth no other man; the third is, when herecketh not though men hold him nought worth; the fourth is,when he is not sorry of his humiliation. Also the humility ofmouth is in four things: in temperate speech; in humility ofspeech; and when he confesseth with his own mouth that he issuch as he thinketh that he is in his heart; another is, when hepraiseth the bounte [goodness] of another man and nothingthereof diminisheth. Humility eke in works is in four manners:the first is, when he putteth other men before him; the second is,to choose the lowest place of all; the third is, gladly to assent togood counsel; the fourth is, to stand gladly by the award[judgment] of his sovereign, or of him that is higher in degree:certain this is a great work of humility.
[The Parson proceeds to treat of the other cardinal sins, andtheir remedies: (2.) Envy, with its remedy, the love of Godprincipally and of our neighbours as ourselves: (3.) Anger, withall its fruits in revenge, rancour, hate, discord, manslaughter,blasphemy, swearing, falsehood, flattery, chiding and reproving,scorning, treachery, sowing of strife, doubleness of tongue,betraying of counsel to a man’s disgrace, menacing, idle words,jangling, japery or buffoonery, &c. — and its remedy in thevirtues called mansuetude, debonairte, or gentleness, andpatience or sufferance: (4.) Sloth, or “Accidie,” which comesafter the sin of Anger, because Envy blinds the eyes of a man,and Anger troubleth a man, and Sloth maketh him heavy,thoughtful, and peevish. It is opposed to every estate of man —as unfallen, and held to work in praising and adoring God; assinful, and held to labour in praying for deliverance from sin;and as in the state of grace, and held to works of penitence. Itresembles the heavy and sluggish condition of those in hell; itwill suffer no hardness and no penance; it prevents anybeginning of good works; it causes despair of God’s mercy,which is the sin against the Holy Ghost; it induces somnolencyand neglect of communion in prayer with God; and it breedsnegligence or recklessness, that cares for nothing, and is thenurse of all mischiefs, if ignorance is their mother. AgainstSloth, and these and other branches and fruits of it, the remedylies in the virtue of fortitude or strength, in its various species ofmagnanimity or great courage; faith and hope in God and hissaints; surety or sickerness, when a man fears nothing that canoppose the good works he has under taken; magnificence, whenhe carries out great works of goodness begun; constancy orstableness of heart; and other incentives to energy and laboriousservice: (5.) Avarice, or Covetousness, which is the root of allharms, since its votaries are idolaters, oppressors and enslaversof men, deceivers of their equals in business, simoniacs,gamblers, liars, thieves, false swearers, blasphemers, murderers,and sacrilegious. Its remedy lies in compassion and pity largelyexercised, and in reasonable liberality — for those who spend on“fool-largesse,” or ostentation of worldly estate and luxury,shall receive the malison [condemnation] that Christ shall giveat the day of doom to them that shall be damned: (6.) Gluttony;— of which the Parson treats so briefly that the chapter may begiven in full: — ]
After Avarice cometh Gluttony, which is express against thecommandment of God. Gluttony is unmeasurable appetite to eator to drink; or else to do in aught to the unmeasurable appetiteand disordered covetousness [craving] to eat or drink. This sincorrupted all this world, as is well shewed in the sin of Adamand of Eve. Look also what saith Saint Paul of gluttony:“Many,” saith he, “go, of which I have oft said to you, and nowI say it weeping, that they be enemies of the cross of Christ, ofwhich the end is death, and of which their womb [stomach] istheir God and their glory;” in confusion of them that so savour[take delight in] earthly things. He that is usant [accustomed,addicted] to this sin of gluttony, he may no sin withstand, hemust be in servage [bondage] of all vices, for it is the devil’shoard, [lair, lurking-place] where he hideth him in and resteth.This sin hath many species. The first is drunkenness, that is thehorrible sepulture of man’s reason: and therefore when a man isdrunken, he hath lost his reason; and this is deadly sin. Butsoothly, when that a man is not wont to strong drink, andperadventure knoweth not the strength of the drink, or hathfeebleness in his head, or hath travailed [laboured], throughwhich he drinketh the more, all [although] be he suddenlycaught with drink, it is no deadly sin, but venial. The secondspecies of gluttony is, that the spirit of a man waxeth alltroubled for drunkenness, and bereaveth a man the discretion ofhis wit. The third species of gluttony is, when a man devourethhis meat, and hath no rightful manner of eating. The fourth is,when, through the great abundance of his meat, the humours ofhis body be distempered. The fifth is, forgetfulness by too muchdrinking, for which a man sometimes forgetteth by the morrowwhat be did at eve. In other manner be distinct the species ofgluttony, after Saint Gregory. The first is, for to eat or drinkbefore time. The second is, when a man getteth him too delicatemeat or drink. The third is, when men take too much overmeasure [immoderately]. The fourth is curiosity [nicety] withgreat intent [application, pains] to make and apparel [prepare]his meat. The fifth is, for to eat too greedily. These be the fivefingers of the devil’s hand, by which he draweth folk to the sin.
Against gluttony the remedy is abstinence, as saith Galen; butthat I hold not meritorious, if he do it only for the health of hisbody. Saint Augustine will that abstinence be done for virtue,and with patience. Abstinence, saith he, is little worth, but if[unless] a man have good will thereto, and but it be enforced bypatience and by charity, and that men do it for God’s sake, andin hope to have the bliss in heaven. The fellows of abstinence betemperance, that holdeth the mean in all things; also shame, thatescheweth all dishonesty [indecency, impropriety], sufficiency,that seeketh no rich meats nor drinks, nor doth no force of [setsno value on] no outrageous apparelling of meat; measure[moderation] also, that restraineth by reason the unmeasurableappetite of eating; soberness also, that restraineth the outrage ofdrink; sparing also, that restraineth the delicate ease to sit longat meat, wherefore some folk stand of their own will to eat,because they will eat at less leisure.
[At great length the Parson then points out the many varieties ofthe sin of (7.) Lechery, and its remedy in chastity andcontinence, alike in marriage and in widowhood; also in theabstaining from all such indulgences of eating, drinking, andsleeping as inflame the passions, and from the company of allwho may tempt to the sin. Minute guidance is given as to theduty of confessing fully and faithfully the circumstances thatattend and may aggravate this sin; and the Treatise then passesto the consideration of the conditions that are essential to a trueand profitable confession of sin in general. First, it must be insorrowful bitterness of spirit; a condition that has five signs —shamefastness, humility in heart and outward sign, weeping withthe bodily eyes or in the heart, disregard of the shame thatmight curtail or garble confession, and obedience to the penanceenjoined. Secondly, true confession must be promptly made, fordread of death, of increase of sinfulness, of forgetfulness ofwhat should be confessed, of Christ’s refusal to hear if it be putoff to the last day of life; and this condition has four terms; thatconfession be well pondered beforehand, that the manconfessing have comprehended in his mind the number andgreatness of his sins and how long he has lain in sin, that he becontrite for and eschew his sins, and that he fear and flee theoccasions for that sin to which he is inclined. — What followsunder this head is of some interest for the light which it throwson the rigorous government wielded by the Romish Church inthose days —]
Also thou shalt shrive thee of all thy sins to one man, and not aparcel [portion] to one man, and a parcel to another; that is tounderstand, in intent to depart [divide] thy confession for shameor dread; for it is but strangling of thy soul. For certes JesusChrist is entirely all good, in him is none imperfection, andtherefore either he forgiveth all perfectly, or else never a deal[not at all]. I say not that if thou be assigned to thy penitencer<9> for a certain sin, that thou art bound to shew him all theremnant of thy sins, of which thou hast been shriven of thycurate, but if it like thee [unless thou be pleased] of thyhumility; this is no departing [division] of shrift. And I say not,where I speak of division of confession, that if thou have licenseto shrive thee to a discreet and an honest priest, and where theeliketh, and by the license of thy curate, that thou mayest notwell shrive thee to him of all thy sins: but let no blot be behind,let no sin be untold as far as thou hast remembrance. And whenthou shalt be shriven of thy curate, tell him eke all the sins thatthou hast done since thou wert last shriven. This is no wickedintent of division of shrift. Also, very shrift [true confession]asketh certain conditions. First, that thou shrive thee by thyfree will, not constrained, nor for shame of folk, nor for malady[sickness], or such things: for it is reason, that he thattrespasseth by his free will, that by his free will he confess histrespass; and that no other man tell his sin but himself; nor heshall not nay nor deny his sin, nor wrath him against the priestfor admonishing him to leave his sin. The second condition is,that thy shrift be lawful, that is to say, that thou that shrivestthee, and eke the priest that heareth thy confession, be verily inthe faith of Holy Church, and that a man be not despaired of themercy of Jesus Christ, as Cain and Judas were. And eke a manmust accuse himself of his own trespass, and not another: but heshall blame and wite [accuse] himself of his own malice and ofhis sin, and none other: but nevertheless, if that another man beoccasion or else enticer of his sin, or the estate of the person besuch by which his sin is aggravated, or else that be may notplainly shrive him but [unless] he tell the person with which hehath sinned, then may he tell, so that his intent be not tobackbite the person, but only to declare his confession. Thoushalt not eke make no leasings [falsehoods] in thy confessionfor humility, peradventure, to say that thou hast committed anddone such sins of which that thou wert never guilty. For SaintAugustine saith, “If that thou, because of humility, makest aleasing on thyself, though thou were not in sin before, yet artthou then in sin through thy leasing.” Thou must also shew thysin by thine own proper mouth, but [unless] thou be dumb, andnot by letter; for thou that hast done the sin, thou shalt have theshame of the confession. Thou shalt not paint thy confessionwith fair and subtle words, to cover the more thy sin; for thenbeguilest thou thyself, and not the priest; thou must tell itplainly, be it never so foul nor so horrible. Thou shalt eke shrivethee to a priest that is discreet to counsel thee; and eke thoushalt not shrive thee for vain-glory, nor for hypocrisy, nor forno cause but only for the doubt [fear] of Jesus’ Christ and thehealth of thy soul. Thou shalt not run to the priest all suddenly,to tell him lightly thy sin, as who telleth a jape [jest] or a tale,but advisedly and with good devotion; and generally shrive theeoft; if thou oft fall, oft arise by confession. And though thoushrive thee oftener than once of sin of which thou hast beenshriven, it is more merit; and, as saith Saint Augustine, thoushalt have the more lightly [easily] release and grace of God,both of sin and of pain. And certes, once a year at the least way,it is lawful to be houseled, <10> for soothly once a year allthings in the earth renovelen [renew themselves].
[Here ends the Second Part of the Treatise; the Third Part,which contains the practical application of the whole, followsentire, along with the remarkable “Prayer of Chaucer,” as itstands in the Harleian Manuscript:—]
De Tertia Parte Poenitentiae. [Of the third part of penitence]
Now have I told you of very [true] confession, that is thesecond part of penitence: The third part of penitence issatisfaction, and that standeth generally in almsdeed and bodilypain. Now be there three manner of almsdeed: contrition ofheart, where a man offereth himself to God; the second is, tohave pity of the default of his neighbour; the third is, in givingof good counsel and comfort, ghostly and bodily, where menhave need, and namely [specially] sustenance of man’s food.And take keep [heed] that a man hath need of these thingsgenerally; he hath need of food, of clothing, and of herberow[lodging], he hath need of charitable counsel and visiting inprison and malady, and sepulture of his dead body. And if thoumayest not visit the needful with thy person, visit them by thymessage and by thy gifts. These be generally alms or works ofcharity of them that have temporal riches or discretion incounselling. Of these works shalt thou hear at the day of doom.This alms shouldest thou do of thine own proper things, andhastily [promptly], and privily [secretly] if thou mayest; butnevertheless, if thou mayest not do it privily, thou shalt notforbear to do alms, though men see it, so that it be not done forthank of the world, but only for thank of Jesus Christ. For, aswitnesseth Saint Matthew, chap. v., “A city may not be hid thatis set on a mountain, nor men light not a lantern and put itunder a bushel, but men set it on a candlestick, to light the menin the house; right so shall your light lighten before men, thatthey may see your good works, and glorify your Father that isin heaven.”
Now as to speak of bodily pain, it is in prayer, in wakings,[watchings] in fastings, and in virtuous teachings. Of orisons yeshall understand, that orisons or prayers is to say a piteous willof heart, that redresseth it in God, and expresseth it by wordoutward, to remove harms, and to have things spiritual anddurable, and sometimes temporal things. Of which orisons,certes in the orison of the Pater noster hath our Lord JesusChrist enclosed most things. Certes, it is privileged of threethings in its dignity, for which it is more digne [worthy] thanany other prayer: for Jesus Christ himself made it: and it isshort, for [in order] it should be coude the more lightly, [bemore easily conned or learned] and to withhold [retain] it themore easy in heart, and help himself the oftener with this orison;and for a man should be the less weary to say it; and for a manmay not excuse him to learn it, it is so short and so easy: andfor it comprehendeth in itself all good prayers. The expositionof this holy prayer, that is so excellent and so digne, I betake[commit] to these masters of theology; save thus much will Isay, when thou prayest that God should forgive thee thy guilts,as thou forgivest them that they guilt to thee, be full well warethat thou be not out of charity. This holy orison aminisheth[lesseneth] eke venial sin, and therefore it appertaineth speciallyto penitence. This prayer must be truly said, and in very faith,and that men pray to God ordinately, discreetly, and devoutly;and always a man shall put his will to be subject to the will ofGod. This orison must eke be said with great humbleness andfull pure, and honestly, and not to the annoyance of any man orwoman. It must eke be continued with the works of charity. Itavaileth against the vices of the soul; for, assaith Saint Jerome,by fasting be saved the vices of the flesh, and by prayer thevices of the soul
After this thou shalt understand, that bodily pain stands inwaking [watching]. For Jesus Christ saith “Wake and pray, thatye enter not into temptation.” Ye shall understand also, thatfasting stands in three things: in forbearing of bodily meat anddrink, and in forbearing of worldly jollity, and in forbearing ofdeadly sin; this is to say, that a man shall keep him from deadlysin in all that he may. And thou shalt understand eke, that Godordained fasting; and to fasting appertain four things: largeness[generosity] to poor folk; gladness of heart spiritual; not to beangry nor annoyed nor grudge [murmur] for he fasteth; and alsoreasonable hour for to eat by measure; that is to say, a manshould not eat in untime [out of time], nor sit the longer at hismeal for [because] he fasteth. Then shalt thou understand, thatbodily pain standeth in discipline, or teaching, by word, or bywriting, or by ensample. Also in wearing of hairs [haircloth] orof stamin [coarse hempen cloth], or of habergeons [mail-shirts]<11> on their naked flesh for Christ’s sake; but ware thee wellthat such manner penance of thy flesh make not thine heartbitter or angry, nor annoyed of thyself; for better is to cast awaythine hair than to cast away the sweetness of our Lord JesusChrist. And therefore saith Saint Paul, “Clothe you, as they thatbe chosen of God in heart, of misericorde [with compassion],debonairte [gentleness], sufferance [patience], and such mannerof clothing,” of which Jesus Christ is more apaid [betterpleased] than of hairs or of hauberks. Then is discipline eke inknocking of thy breast, in scourging with yards [rods], inkneelings, in tribulations, in suffering patiently wrongs that bedone to him, and eke in patient sufferance of maladies, or losingof worldly catel [chattels], or of wife, or of child, or of otherfriends.
Then shalt thou understand which things disturb penance, andthis is in four things; that is dread, shame, hope, and wanhope,that is, desperation. And for to speak first of dread, for whichhe weeneth that he may suffer no penance, thereagainst isremedy for to think that bodily penance is but short and little atthe regard of [in comparison with] the pain of hell, that is socruel and so long, that it lasteth without end. Now against theshame that a man hath to shrive him, and namely [specially]these hypocrites, that would be holden so perfect, that theyhave no need to shrive them; against that shame should a manthink, that by way of reason he that hath not been ashamed todo foul things, certes he ought not to be ashamed to do fairthings, and that is confession. A man should eke think, that Godseeth and knoweth all thy thoughts, and all thy works; to himmay nothing be hid nor covered. Men should eke rememberthem of the shame that is to come at the day of doom, to themthat be not penitent and shriven in this present life; for all thecreatures in heaven, and in earth, and in hell, shall see apertly[openly] all that he hideth in this world.
Now for to speak of them that be so negligent and slow toshrive them; that stands in two manners. The one is, that hehopeth to live long, and to purchase [acquire] much riches forhis delight, and then he will shrive him: and, as he sayeth, hemay, as him seemeth, timely enough come to shrift: another is,the surquedrie [presumption <12>] that he hath in Christ’smercy. Against the first vice, he shall think that our life is in nosickerness, [security] and eke that all the riches in this world bein adventure, and pass as a shadow on the wall; and, as saith StGregory, that it appertaineth to the great righteousness of God,that never shall the pain stint [cease] of them, that never wouldwithdraw them from sin, their thanks [with their goodwill], butaye continue in sin; for that perpetual will to do sin shall theyhave perpetual pain. Wanhope [despair] is in two manners [oftwo kinds]. The first wanhope is, in the mercy of God: the otheris, that they think they might not long persevere in goodness.The first wanhope cometh of that he deemeth that he sinned sohighly and so oft, and so long hath lain in sin, that he shall notbe saved. Certes against that cursed wanhope should he think,that the passion of Jesus Christ is more strong for to unbind,than sin is strong for to bind. Against the second wanhope heshall think, that as oft as he falleth, he may arise again bypenitence; and though he never so long hath lain in sin, themercy of Christ is always ready to receive him to mercy.Against the wanhope that he thinketh he should not longpersevere in goodness, he shall think that the feebleness of thedevil may nothing do, but [unless] men will suffer him; and ekehe shall have strength of the help of God, and of all HolyChurch, and of the protection of angels, if him list.
Then shall men understand, what is the fruit of penance; andafter the word of Jesus Christ, it is the endless bliss of heaven,where joy hath no contrariety of woe nor of penance norgrievance; there all harms be passed of this present life; there asis the sickerness [security] from the pain of hell; there as is theblissful company, that rejoice them evermore each of the other’sjoy; there as the body of man, that whilom was foul and dark, ismore clear than the sun; there as the body of man that whilomwas sick and frail, feeble and mortal, is immortal, and so strongand so whole, that there may nothing apair [impair, injure] it;there is neither hunger, nor thirst, nor cold, but every soulreplenished with the sight of the perfect knowing of God. Thisblissful regne [kingdom] may men purchase by poverty spiritual,and the glory by lowliness, the plenty of joy by hunger andthirst, the rest by travail, and the life by death and mortificationof sin; to which life He us bring, that bought us with hisprecious blood! Amen.
Notes to the Parson’s Tale
1. The Parson’s Tale is believed to be a translation, more or lessfree, from some treatise on penitence that was in favour aboutChaucer’s time. Tyrwhitt says: “I cannot recommend it as a veryentertaining or edifying performance at this day; but the readerwill please to remember, in excuse both of Chaucer and of hiseditor, that, considering The Canterbury Tales as a great pictureof life and manners, the piece would not have been complete ifit had not included the religion of the time.” The Editor of thepresent volume has followed the same plan adopted with regardto Chaucer’s Tale of Melibœus, and mainly for the samereasons. (See note 1 to that Tale). An outline of the Parson’sponderous sermon — for such it is — has been drawn; whilethose passages have been given in full which more directlyillustrate the social and the religious life of the time — such asthe picture of hell, the vehement and rather coarse, but, in anantiquarian sense, most curious and valuable attack on thefashionable garb of the day, the catalogue of venial sins, thedescription of gluttony and its remedy, &c. The brief third orconcluding part, which contains the application of the whole,and the “Retractation” or “Prayer” that closes the Tale and theentire “magnum opus” of Chaucer, have been given in full.
- Jeremiah vi. 16.
- See Note 3 to the Sompnour’s Tale.
4. Just before, the Parson had cited the words of Job to God(Job x. 20-22), “Suffer, Lord, that I may a while bewail andweep, ere I go without returning to the dark land, covered withthe darkness of death; to the land of misease and of darkness,where as is the shadow of death; where as is no order norordinance, but grisly dread that ever shall last.”
- “I have lost everything - my time and my work.”
6. Accidie: neglectfulness or indifference; from the Greek,akedeia.
7. The pax: an image which was presented to the people to bekissed, at that part of the mass where the priest said, “PaxDomini sit semper vobiscum.” (“May the peace of the Lord bealways with you”) The ceremony took the place, for greaterconvenience, of the “kiss of peace,” which clergy and people, atthis passage, used to bestow upon each other.
8. Three ways of ornamenting clothes with lace, &c.; in barringit was laid on crossways, in ounding it was waved, in paling itwas laid on lengthways.
9. Penitencer: a priest who enjoined penance in extraordinarycases.
10. To be houseled: to receive the holy sacrament; from Anglo-Saxon, “husel;” Latin, “hostia,” or “hostiola,” the host.
11. It was a frequent penance among the chivalric orders towear mail shirts next the skin.
12. Surquedrie: presumption; from old French, “surcuider,” tothink arrogantly, be full of conceit.
*PRECES DE CHAUCERES* <1> *Prayer of Chaucer*
Now pray I to you all that hear this little treatise or read it, thatif there be anything in it that likes them, that thereof they thankour Lord Jesus Christ, of whom proceedeth all wit and allgoodness; and if there be anything that displeaseth them, I praythem also that they arette [impute] it to the default of mineunconning [unskilfulness], and not to my will, that would fainhave said better if I had had conning; for the book saith, all thatis written for our doctrine is written. Wherefore I beseech youmeekly for the mercy of God that ye pray for me, that God havemercy on me and forgive me my guilts, and namely [specially]my translations and of inditing in worldly vanities, which Irevoke in my Retractions, as is the Book of Troilus, the Bookalso of Fame, the Book of Twenty-five Ladies, the Book of theDuchess, the Book of Saint Valentine’s Day and of theParliament of Birds, the Tales of Canter bury, all those thatsounen unto sin, [are sinful, tend towards sin] the Book of theLion, and many other books, if they were in my mind orremembrance, and many a song and many a lecherous lay, of thewhich Christ for his great mercy forgive me the sins. But of thetranslation of Boece de Consolatione, and other books ofconsolation and of legend of lives of saints, and homilies, andmoralities, and devotion, that thank I our Lord Jesus Christ, andhis mother, and all the saints in heaven, beseeching them thatthey from henceforth unto my life’s end send me grace to bewailmy guilts, and to study to the salvation of my soul, and grantme grace and space of very repentance, penitence, confession,and satisfaction, to do in this present life, through the benigngrace of Him that is King of kings and Priest of all priests, thatbought us with his precious blood of his heart, so that I may beone of them at the day of doom that shall be saved: Qui cumPatre et Spiritu Sancto vivis et regnas Deus per omnia secula.Amen. <2>
Notes to the Prayer of Chaucer
1. The genuineness and real significance of this “Prayer ofChaucer,” usually called his “Retractation,” have been warmlydisputed. On the one hand, it has been declared that the monksforged the retractation. and procured its insertion among theworks of the man who had done so much to expose their abusesand ignorance, and to weaken their hold on popular credulity:on the other hand, Chaucer himself at the close of his life, issaid to have greatly lamented the ribaldry and the attacks on theclergy which marked especially “The Canterbury Tales,” and tohave drawn up a formal retractation of which the “Prayer” iseither a copy or an abridgment. The beginning and end of the“Prayer,” as Tyrwhitt points out, are in tone and terms quiteappropriate in the mouth of the Parson, while they carry on thesubject of which he has been treating; and, despite the fact thatMr Wright holds the contrary opinion, Tyrwhitt seems to bejustified in setting down the “Retractation” as interpolated intothe close of the Parson’s Tale. Of the circumstances underwhich the interpolation was made, or the causes by which it wasdictated, little or nothing can now be confidently affirmed; butthe agreement of the manuscripts and the early editions ingiving it, render it impossible to discard it peremptorily as adeclaration of prudish or of interested regret, with whichChaucer himself had nothing whatever to do.
2. “[You] Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest andreignest God for ever and ever. Amen.”
THE END OF THE CANTERBURY TALES