The Canterbury Tales: The Squire's Tale (Part Three)


Incipit pars tercia

Appollo whirleth up his chaar so hye Til that the god Mercurius hous, the slye ---- Heere folwen the wordes of the Frankelyn to the Squier, and the wordes of the hoost to the Frankelyn. "In feith, Squier, thow hast thee wel yquit, And gentilly I preise wel thy wit," Quod the Frankeleyn, "considerynge thy yowthe, So feelyngly thou spekest, sire, I allow the; As to my doom, ther is noon that is heere Of eloquence that shal be thy peere, If that thou lyve; God yeve thee good chaunce, And in vertu sende thee continuance! For of thy speche I have greet deyntee; I have a sone, and, by the Trinitee, I hadde levere than twenty pound worth lond, Though it right now were fallen in myn hond, He were a man of swich discrecioun As that ye been! Fy on possessioun But if a man be vertuous withal! I have my sone snybbed, and yet shal, For he to vertu listneth nat entende, But for to pleye at dees, and to despende And lese al that he hath, is his usage. And he hath levere talken with a page Than to comune with any gentil wight Where he myghte lerne gentillesse aright." "Straw for youre gentillesse," quod our Hoost, "What, Frankeleyn, pardee! sire, wel thou woost That ech of yow moot tellen atte leste A tale or two, or breken his biheste." "That knowe I wel, sire," quod the Frankeleyn, "I prey yow, haveth me nat in desdeyn Though to this man I speke a word or two." "Telle on thy tale, withouten wordes mo." "Gladly, sire Hoost," quod he, "I wole obeye Unto your wyl; now herkneth what I seye. I wol yow nat contrarien in no wyse As fer as that my wittes wol suffyse; I prey to God that it may plesen yow, Thanne woot I wel that it is good ynow."

The Squire's Tale: Part Two | The Franklin's Prologue

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