What maketh this but Jupiter the King, 3040 To maken vertue of neceflite, And take it wel that we may not efchewe, 3045 And namely that to us all is dewe; And whofo grutcheth ought he doth folie, And rebel is to him that all may gie. And certainly a man hath most honour To dien in his excellence and flour, 3050 Whan he is fiker of his goode name; Than hath he don his frend ne him no shame; 3955 Why grutchen we? why have we hevineffe, 3060 V. 3043. Than is it wifdom] From The Thefeida; E pero fare de la neceffitate Virtu, quando bifogna, e fapientia, E il contrario e chiara vanitate. V. 3056. his vassallage] Valour, prowess. Froissart, v. i. c. 271, "à grand honneur et vassellage.” See Du Cange, in v. Vafaticum. That good Areite, of chivalry the flour, Why grutchen here his cofin and his wif Of his welfare, that loven him fo wel? 3065 Can he hem thank? nay, God wot, never a del, That both his foule and eke hemself offend, And yet they mow hir luftes not amend. What may 1 conclude of this longe ferie, 3070 And loketh now wher most forwe is herein, 3075 Ther wol I firfte amenden and begin. Sifter, (quod he) this is my full affent, With all th' avis here of my parlement, That gentil Palamon, your owen knight, That ferveth you with will, and herte, and might, And ever hath don fin ye first him knew, 3081 That ye shall of your grace upon him rew, Lene me your hand, for this is oure accord. He is a kinges brothers fone pardee, 3085 . 3078. With all th' avis] So the ftatute 5 II. IV. is faid in the preamble to be made-" de l'advis et affent des Seig "nurs,". The fame form is used in most of the acts of that reign, And though he were a poure bachelere, Than fayd he thus to Palamon the Knight; I trow ther nedeth litel fermoning To maken you afferten to this thing. 3090 Cometh ner, and take your lady by the hond. 3095 Betwixen hem was maked anon the bond That highte Matrimoine.or Mariage,, By all the confeil of the baronage; And thus with alle bliffe and melodie Hath Palamon ywedded Emelie ; 3ICO And God, that all this wide world hath wrought, Send him his love that hath it dere ybought. For now is Palamon in alle wele, Living in bliffe, in richeffe, and in hele, . 3091. caeth] By writing this word fo (according to fome mtl.) we preserve a proper distinction between oweth, the third perfon fing, of the prefent tenfe,, and ought, which was formerly only used in the past tense. .3109. Thus endeth Palamon] Before I quit this Tale I'will just take notice that the fame fubject has been treated twice in THE MILLERES PROLOGUE. Our Hofte lough and swore, So mote I gon The Miller, that for-dronken was all pale, 3115 3120 French verfe, many years fince Chaucer's time, by two ladies; the one, Anne de Graville, is faid by Du Verdier [Bibl. p. 42.] to have tranflated "de viell langage et profe Le beau Romant "des deux amants Palamon et Arcita." It began thus; Victorieux en armes et amours Fut Thefeus, apres que plufieurs jours Les quels vainquit et Hypolite aufi-→→→→ The other, Jeanne de la Fontaine, is mentioned by La Croix du Maine; and it was moft probably her poem that Johannes Secundus has celebrated, 1. iii. eleg. xv, as he appears to have written her epitaph and a nænia upon her death, V. Lib. Funer. -inter Opp. Sccund.-In the new edit. of Les Bibliotheques Francoifes the poem of Anne de Graville is faid to be still preferved in the royal library at Pris; and I find from a note of M. de la Monnoye in that edit. that be was well apprized of our Chaucer's having borrowed this Tale from The 'Theleida. So that unnethes upon his hors he fat, And swore by armes, and by blood, and bones, 3125 With which I wol now quite the Knightes Tale. By Goddes foule (quod he) that wol not I, Our Hofte anfwerd, Tell on a devil way; Thou art a fool; thy wit is overcome. 3135 Now herkeneth, quod the Miller, all and fome: But first I make a proteftatioun That I am dronke, I know it by my foun, And therfore if that I miffpeke or fay Wite it the ale of Southwerk I you pray; For I wol tell a legend and a lif Both of a carpenter and of his wif, 3140 How that a clerk hath fet the wrightes cappe. 3145 The Reve anfwerd and faide, Stint thy clappe; Let be thy lewed dronken harlotrie. It is a finne and eke a gret folie V. 3126. in Pilates vois] In fuch a voice as Pilate was used to speak with in the myfteries. Pilate being an odious character was probably represented as speaking with a harth difagree able voice. |