Certés, it was a shrewed conclusioun,
That everyman sholde have yliche his part,
As of the soun or savour of a fart.
O vilė proudé cherl! I shrewe his face!
Lo, sirės,' quod the lord, with hardė grace,
'Who herd ever of swich a thyng er now?
"To every man ylikė,"-tel me how?
It is an inpossible, it may nat be.
Ey, nycẻ cherl? God lete thee never thee!
The rumblynge of a fart, and every soun,
Nis but of eir reverberacioun,

2231

And ever it wasteth, litel and litel awey.
Ther is no man kan demen, by my fey!
If that it were departed equally.
What, lo, my cherl, lo, yet how shrewedly,
Unto my confessour to day he spak;
I holde hym, certeyn, a demonyak. 2240
Now ete youre mete, and lat the cherl go
pleye.

Lat hym go honge hymself a devel weye!'

The wordes of the lordes Squier and his kervere for departynge of the fart on twelve

Now stood the lordés Squier at the bord, That karf his mete, and herde, word by word,

Of alle thynges whiche that I have sayd; 'My lord,' quod he, 'be ye nat yvele apayd,

I koude telle for a gowne-clooth
To yow, sir frere, so ye be nat wrooth,
How that this fart sholde evene y-deled be
Among youre covent, if it lykėed me.' 2250
'Tel,' quod the lord, and thou shalt

have anon

John !'

weder is fair,

Withouten wynd, or perturbynge of air, Lat brynge a cartewheel into this halle,But looke that it have his spokės alle,Twelve spokes hath a cartwheel comunly; And bryng me thanne twelf freres, woot ye why?

2224. H6 read who schulde make a demonstracioun.

2227. vile, H6 nyce.

tiltee

2290

10

For Goddės sake! as beth of bettre cheere!
It is no tyme for to studien heere;
Telle us som myrie talė, by youre fey!
For what man that is entred in a pley,
He nedės moot unto the pley assente;
But precheth nat, as frerės doon in Lente,
To make us for oure oldė synnės wepe,
Ne that thy talė make us nat to slepe.
Telle us som murie thyng of áventúrts,-
Youre termés, youre colours, and youre
figúres

Keepe hem in stoor til so be ye endite Heigh style, as whan that men to kyngės write ;

Speketh so pleyn at this tyme, I yow preye,

19

That we may understondė what ye seye.'

This worthy clerk benignély answérde, 'Hosté,'quod he, 'I am under youre yerde, Ye han of us, as now, the governance, And therefor wol I do yow obeisance As fer as resoun axeth hardily. I wol yow telle a tale which that I Lerned at Padwe of a worthy clerk, As preved by his wordės and his werk; He is now deed and nayled in his cheste, I prey to God so yeve his soulé reste! 30

Fraunceys Petrak, the lauriat poete, Hightė this clerk whos rethorike sweete Enlumyned al Ytaille of poetrie,— 19. I, E2 we.

27. Lerned at Padwe. Petrarch was at Arqua, near Padua, from Jan. to Sept. 1373, and Chaucer may easily have visited him on his Genoese mission of that year.

29. deed. Petrarch died in 1374.

As Lynyan dide of philosophie,
Or lawe, or oother art particuler,–

But deeth, that wol nat suffre us dwellen heer,

But as it were a twynklyng of an eye, Hem bothe hath slayn, and allė shul we dye.

But forth to tellen of this worthy man
That taughtė me this tale, as I bigan, 40
I seye that first with heigh stile he
enditeth,

Er he the body of his tale writeth,
A prohemye, in the which discryveth he
Pemond, and of Saluces the contree;
And speketh of Apennyn, the hillės hye
That been the boundės of West Lum-