The Canterbury Tales [218]
made him at the querne* grind. *mill <6> O noble Sampson, strongest of mankind! O whilom judge in glory and richess! Now may'st thou weepe with thine eyen blind, Since thou from weal art fall'n to wretchedness.
Th'end of this caitiff* was as I shall say; *wretched man His foemen made a feast upon a day, And made him as their fool before them play; And this was in a temple of great array. But at the last he made a foul affray, For he two pillars shook, and made them fall, And down fell temple and all, and there it lay, And slew himself and eke his foemen all;
This is to say, the princes every one; And eke three thousand bodies were there slain With falling of the great temple of stone. Of Sampson now will I no more sayn; Beware by this example old and plain, That no man tell his counsel to his wife Of such thing as he would *have secret fain,* *wish to be secret* If that it touch his limbes or his life.
Of HERCULES the sov'reign conquerour Singe his workes' land and high renown; For in his time of strength he bare the flow'r. He slew and reft the skin of the lion He of the Centaurs laid the boast adown; He Harpies <7> slew, the cruel birdes fell; He golden apples reft from the dragon He drew out Cerberus the hound of hell.
He slew the cruel tyrant Busirus. <8> And made his horse to fret* him flesh and bone; *devour He slew the fiery serpent venomous; Of Achelous' two hornes brake he one. And he slew Cacus in a cave of stone; He slew the giant Antaeus the strong; He slew the grisly boar, and that anon; And bare the heav'n upon his necke long. <9>
Was never wight, since that the world began, That slew so many monsters as did he; Throughout the wide world his name ran, What for his strength, and for his high bounte; And every realme went he for to see; He was so strong that no man might him let;* *withstand At both the worlde's ends, as saith Trophee, <10> Instead of boundes he a pillar set.
A leman had this noble champion, That highte Dejanira, fresh as May; And, as these clerkes make mention, She hath him sent a shirte fresh and gay; Alas! this shirt, alas and well-away! Envenomed was subtilly withal, That ere that he had worn it half a day, It made his flesh all from his bones fall.
But natheless some clerkes her excuse By one, that highte Nessus, that it maked; Be as he may, I will not her accuse; But on his back this shirt he wore all naked, Till that his flesh was for the venom blaked.* *blackened And when he saw none other remedy, In hote coals he hath himselfe raked, For with no venom deigned he to die.
Thus sterf* this worthy mighty Hercules. *died Lo, who may trust on Fortune *any throw?* *for a moment* For him that followeth all this world of pres,* *near <11> Ere he be ware, is often laid full low; Full wise is he that can himselfe know. Beware, for when that Fortune list to glose Then waiteth she her man to overthrow, By such a way as he would least suppose.
The mighty throne, the precious treasor, The glorious sceptre, and royal majesty, That had the king NABUCHODONOSOR With tongue unnethes* may described be. *scarcely He twice won Jerusalem the city, The vessels of the temple he with him lad;* *took away At Babylone was his sov'reign see,* *seat In which his glory and delight he had.
The fairest children of the blood royal Of Israel he *did do geld* anon, *caused to be castrated* And maked each of them to be his thrall.* *slave Amonges others Daniel was one, That was the wisest child of every one; For he the dreames of the king expounded, Where in Chaldaea clerkes was there none That wiste to what fine* his dreames sounded. *end
This proude king let make a statue of gold Sixty cubites long, and seven in bread', To which image hathe young and old Commanded he to lout,* and have in dread,
Th'end of this caitiff* was as I shall say; *wretched man His foemen made a feast upon a day, And made him as their fool before them play; And this was in a temple of great array. But at the last he made a foul affray, For he two pillars shook, and made them fall, And down fell temple and all, and there it lay, And slew himself and eke his foemen all;
This is to say, the princes every one; And eke three thousand bodies were there slain With falling of the great temple of stone. Of Sampson now will I no more sayn; Beware by this example old and plain, That no man tell his counsel to his wife Of such thing as he would *have secret fain,* *wish to be secret* If that it touch his limbes or his life.
Of HERCULES the sov'reign conquerour Singe his workes' land and high renown; For in his time of strength he bare the flow'r. He slew and reft the skin of the lion He of the Centaurs laid the boast adown; He Harpies <7> slew, the cruel birdes fell; He golden apples reft from the dragon He drew out Cerberus the hound of hell.
He slew the cruel tyrant Busirus. <8> And made his horse to fret* him flesh and bone; *devour He slew the fiery serpent venomous; Of Achelous' two hornes brake he one. And he slew Cacus in a cave of stone; He slew the giant Antaeus the strong; He slew the grisly boar, and that anon; And bare the heav'n upon his necke long. <9>
Was never wight, since that the world began, That slew so many monsters as did he; Throughout the wide world his name ran, What for his strength, and for his high bounte; And every realme went he for to see; He was so strong that no man might him let;* *withstand At both the worlde's ends, as saith Trophee, <10> Instead of boundes he a pillar set.
A leman had this noble champion, That highte Dejanira, fresh as May; And, as these clerkes make mention, She hath him sent a shirte fresh and gay; Alas! this shirt, alas and well-away! Envenomed was subtilly withal, That ere that he had worn it half a day, It made his flesh all from his bones fall.
But natheless some clerkes her excuse By one, that highte Nessus, that it maked; Be as he may, I will not her accuse; But on his back this shirt he wore all naked, Till that his flesh was for the venom blaked.* *blackened And when he saw none other remedy, In hote coals he hath himselfe raked, For with no venom deigned he to die.
Thus sterf* this worthy mighty Hercules. *died Lo, who may trust on Fortune *any throw?* *for a moment* For him that followeth all this world of pres,* *near <11> Ere he be ware, is often laid full low; Full wise is he that can himselfe know. Beware, for when that Fortune list to glose Then waiteth she her man to overthrow, By such a way as he would least suppose.
The mighty throne, the precious treasor, The glorious sceptre, and royal majesty, That had the king NABUCHODONOSOR With tongue unnethes* may described be. *scarcely He twice won Jerusalem the city, The vessels of the temple he with him lad;* *took away At Babylone was his sov'reign see,* *seat In which his glory and delight he had.
The fairest children of the blood royal Of Israel he *did do geld* anon, *caused to be castrated* And maked each of them to be his thrall.* *slave Amonges others Daniel was one, That was the wisest child of every one; For he the dreames of the king expounded, Where in Chaldaea clerkes was there none That wiste to what fine* his dreames sounded. *end
This proude king let make a statue of gold Sixty cubites long, and seven in bread', To which image hathe young and old Commanded he to lout,* and have in dread,