Chaucer, Geoffrey: The Merchant's Tale (1 089 words)

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1A wyf is Goddes yifte verraily;
2Alle othere manere yiftes hardily,
3As londes, rentes, pasture, or commune,
4Or moebles - alle been yiftes of Fortune,
5That passen as a shadwe upon a wal.
6But drede nat, if pleynly speke I shal:
7A wyf wol laste, and in thyn hous endure,
8Wel lenger than thee list, paraventure.

9Mariage is a ful greet sacrement.
10He which that hath no wyf, I holde hym shent;
11He lyveth helplees and al desolat -
12I speke of folk in seculer estaat.
13And herke why - I sey nat this for noght -
14That womman is for mannes helpe ywroght.
15The hye God, whan he hadde Adam maked,
16And saugh him al allone, bely-naked,
17God of his grete goodnesse seyde than,
18"Lat us now make an helpe unto this man
19Lyk to hymself"; and thanne he made him Eve.
20Heere may ye se, and heerby may ye preve,
21That wyf is mannes helpe and his confort,
22His paradys terrestre, and his disport.
23So buxom and so vertuous is she,
24They moste nedes lyve in unitee.
25O flessh they been, and o fleesh, as I gesse,
26Hath but oon herte, in wele and in distresse.

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27A wyf! a, Seinte Marie, benedicite!
28How myghte a man han any adversitee
29That hath a wyf? Certes, I kan nat seye.
30The blisse which that is bitwixe hem tweye
31Ther may no tonge telle, or herte thynke.
32If he be povre, she helpeth hym to swynke;
33She kepeth his good, and wasteth never a deel;
34Al that hire housbonde lust, hire liketh weel;
35She seith nat ones "nay," whan he seith "ye."
36"Do this," seith he; "Al redy, sire," seith she.
37O blisful ordre of wedlok precious,
38Thou art so murye, and eek so vertuous,
39And so commended and appreved eek
40That every man that halt hym worth a leek,
41Upon his bare knees oughte al his lyf
42Thanken his God that hym hath sent a wyf,
43Or elles preye to God hym for to sende
44A wyf to laste unto his lyves ende.
45For thanne his lyf is set in sikernesse;
46He may nat be deceyved, as I gesse,
47So that he werke after his wyves reed.
48Thanne may he boldely beren up his heed,
49They been so trewe, and therwithal so wyse;
50For which, if thou wolt werken as the wyse,
51Do alwey so as wommen wol thee rede.

52Lo, how that Jacob, as thise clerkes rede,
53By good conseil of his mooder Rebekke,
54Boond the kydes skyn aboute his nekke,
55For which his fadres benyson he wan.

56Lo Judith, as the storie eek telle kan,
57By wys conseil she Goddes peple kepte,
58And slow hym Olofernus, whil he slepte.

59Lo Abigayl, by good conseil how she
60Saved hir housbonde Nabal whan that he
61Sholde han be slayn; and looke, Ester also
62By good conseil delyvered out of wo
63The peple of God, and made hym Mardochee
64Of Assuere enhaunced for to be.

65Ther nys no thyng in gree superlatyf,
66As seith Senek, above an humble wyf.

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67Suffre thy wyves tonge, as Catoun bit;
68She shal comande, and thou shalt suffren it,
69And yet she wole obeye of curteisye.
70A wyf is kepere of thyn housbondrye;
71Wel may the sike man biwaille and wepe,
72Ther as ther nys no wyf the hous to kepe.
73I warne thee, if wisely thou wolt wirche,
74Love wel thy wyf, as Crist loved his chirche.
75If thou lovest thyself, thou lovest thy wyf;
76No man hateth his flessh, but in his lyf
77He fostreth it, and therfore bidde I thee
78Cherisse thy wyf, or thou shalt nevere thee.
79Housbonde and wyf, what so men jape or pleye,
80Of worldly folk holden the siker weye;
81They been so knyt ther may noon harm bityde,
82And namely upon the wyves syde.
83For which this Januarie, of whom I tolde,
84Considered hath, inwith his dayes olde,
85The lusty lyf, the vertuous quyete,
86That is in mariage hony-sweete,
87And for his freendes on a day he sente,
88To tellen hem th'effect of his entente.

89With face sad his tale he hath hem toold.
90He seyde, "Freendes, I am hoor and oold,
91And almoost, God woot, on my pittes brynke;
92Upon my soule somwhat moste I thynke.
93I have my body folily despended;
94Blessed be God that it shal been amended!
95For I wol be, certeyn, a wedded man,
96And that anoon in al the haste I kan.
97Unto som mayde fair and tendre of age,
98I prey yow, shapeth for my mariage
99Al sodeynly, for I wol nat abyde;
100And I wol fonde t'espien, on my syde,
101To whom I may be wedded hastily.
102But forasmuche as ye been mo than I,
103Ye shullen rather swich a thyng espyen
104Than I, and where me best were to allyen.

105But o thyng warne I yow, my freendes deere,
106I wol noon oold wyf han in no manere.
107She shal nat passe twenty yeer, certayn;
108Oold fissh and yong flessh wolde I have fayn.

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109Bet is," quod he, "a pyk than a pykerel,
110And bet than old boef is the tendre veel.
111I wol no womman thritty yeer of age;
112It is but bene-straw and greet forage.
113And eek thise olde wydwes, God it woot,
114They konne so muchel craft on Wades boot,
115So muchel broken harm, whan that hem leste,
116That with hem sholde I nevere lyve in reste.
117For sondry scoles maken sotile clerkis;
118Womman of manye scoles half a clerk is.
119But certeynly, a yong thyng may men gye,
120Right as men may warm wex with handes plye.
121Wherfore I sey yow pleynly, in a clause,
122I wol noon oold wyf han right for this cause.
123For if so were I hadde swich myschaunce
124That I in hire ne koude han no plesaunce,
125Thanne sholde I lede my lyf in avoutrye
126And go streight to the devel whan I dye.
127Ne children sholde I none upon hire geten;
128Yet were me levere houndes had me eten
129Than that myn heritage sholde falle
130In straunge hand, and this I telle yow alle.
131I dote nat; I woot the cause why
132Men sholde wedde, and forthermoore woot I
133Ther speketh many a man of mariage
134That woot namoore of it than woot my page
135For whiche causes man sholde take a wyf.
136If he ne may nat lyven chaast his lyf,
137Take hym a wyf with greet devocioun,
138By cause of leveful procreacioun
139Of children, to th'onour of God above,
140And nat oonly for paramour or love;