The Canterbury Talesand Other Poems

Part 8: The Parson’sTale

by Geoffrey Chaucer

Styled by LimpidSoft

Contents

THE PROLOGUE 1

NOTES TO THE PROLOGUE 4

THE TALE 5

NOTES 35

2

The present document was derived from textprovided by Project Gutenberg (document 2383)which was made available free of charge. Thisdocument is also free of charge.

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THE PROLOGUE

By that the Manciple his tale had ended,The sunne from the south line was descendedSo lowe, that it was not to my sightDegrees nine-and-twenty as in height.Four of the clock it was then, as I guess,For eleven foot, a little more or less,My shadow was at thilke time, as there,Of such feet as my lengthe parted wereIn six feet equal of proportion.Therewith the moone’s exaltation1,In meane2 Libra, gan alway ascend,As we were ent’ring at a thorpe’s3 end.For which our Host, as he was wont to gie4,As in this case, our jolly company,Said in this wise; "Lordings every one,Now lacketh us no more tales than one.Fulfill’d is my sentence and my decree;I trow that we have heard of each degree5.Almost fulfilled is mine ordinance;I pray to God so give him right good chance

1rising.2in the middle of.3village’s.4govern.5from each class or rank in the company.

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THE PROLOGUE

That telleth us this tale lustily.Sir Priest," quoth he, "art thou a vicary6?Or art thou a Parson? say sooth by thy fay7.Be what thou be, breake thou not our play;For every man, save thou, hath told his tale.Unbuckle, and shew us what is in thy mail8.For truely me thinketh by thy cheerThou shouldest knit up well a great mattere.Tell us a fable anon, for cocke’s bones."This Parson him answered all at ones;"Thou gettest fable none y-told for me,For Paul, that writeth unto Timothy,Reproveth them that weive soothfastness9,And telle fables, and such wretchedness.Why should I sowe draff10 out of my fist,When I may sowe wheat, if that me list?For which I say, if that you list to hearMorality and virtuous mattere,And then that ye will give me audience,I would full fain at Christe’s reverenceDo you pleasance lawful, as I can.But, truste well, I am a southern man,I cannot gest11, rom, ram, ruf, (Note 1) by my

letter;And, God wot, rhyme hold I but little better.And therefore if you list, I will not glose12,I will you tell a little tale in prose,To knit up all this feast, and make an end.And Jesus for his grace wit me sendTo shewe you the way, in this voyage,

6vicar.7faith.8wallet.9forsake truth.

10chaff, refuse.11relate stories.12mince matters.

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THE PROLOGUE

Of thilke perfect glorious pilgrimage, (Note 2)That hight Jerusalem celestial.And if ye vouchesafe, anon I shallBegin upon my tale, for which I prayTell your advice13, I can no better say.But natheless this meditationI put it aye under correctionOf clerkes14, for I am not textuel;I take but the sentence15 trust me well.OfTherefore I make a protestation,That I will stande to correction."Upon this word we have assented soon;For, as us seemed, it was for to do’n16

To enden in some virtuous sentence17,And for to give him space and audience;And bade our Host he shoulde to him sayThat alle we to tell his tale him pray.Our Hoste had. the wordes for us all:"Sir Priest," quoth he, "now faire you befall;Say what you list, and we shall gladly hear."And with that word he said in this mannere;"Telle," quoth he, "your meditatioun,But hasten you, the sunne will adown.Be fructuous18, and that in little space;And to do well God sende you his grace."

13opinion.14scholars.15meaning, sense.16a thing worth doing.17discourse.18fruitful, profitable.

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NOTES TO THE

PROLOGUE

1. Rom, ram, ruf: a contemptuous reference to the allitera-tive poetry which was at that time very popular, in prefer-ence even, it would seem, to rhyme, in the northern parts ofthe country, where the language was much more barbarousand unpolished than in the south.

2. Perfect glorious pilgrimage: the word is used here tosignify the shrine, or destination, to which pilgrimage ismade.

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(Note 1)

(The Parson begins his "little treatise" -(which, if given atlength, would extend to about thirty of these pages, andwhich cannot by any stretch of courtesy or fancy be saidto merit the title of a "Tale") in these words: –)

Our sweet Lord God of Heaven, that no manwill perish, but will that we come all to theknowledge of him, and to the blissful life that isperdurable (everlasting), admonishes us by theprophet Jeremiah, that saith in this wise: "Standupon the ways, and see and ask of old paths,that is to say, of old sentences, which is the goodway, and walk in that way, and ye shall find re-freshing for your souls," (Note 2) &c. Many bethe spiritual ways that lead folk to our Lord Je-sus Christ, and to the reign of glory; of whichways there is a full noble way, and full conven-able, which may not fail to man nor to woman,that through sin hath misgone from the rightway of Jerusalem celestial; and this way is calledpenitence. Of which men should gladly hearkenand inquire with all their hearts, to wit what ispenitence, and whence it is called penitence, andin what manner, and in how many manners, be

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the actions or workings of penitence, and howmany species there be of penitences, and whatthings appertain and behove to penitence, andwhat things disturb penitence.

(Penitence is described, on the authority ofSaints Ambrose, Isidore, and Gregory, as thebewailing of sin that has been wrought, withthe purpose never again to do that thing, orany other thing which a man should bewail;for weeping and not ceasing to do the sin willnot avail – though it is to be hoped that afterevery time that a man falls, be it ever so of-ten, he may find grace to arise through peni-tence. And repentant folk that leave their sin eresin leave them, are accounted by Holy Churchsure of their salvation, even though the repen-tance be at the last hour. There are three ac-tions of penitence; that a man be baptized af-ter he has sinned; that he do no deadly sin af-ter receiving baptism; and that he fall into novenial sins from day to day. "Thereof saith StAugustine, that penitence of good and humblefolk is the penitence of every day." The speciesof penitence are three: solemn, when a man isopenly expelled from Holy Church in Lent, or iscompelled by Holy Church to do open penancefor an open sin openly talked of in the country;common penance, enjoined by priests in certaincases, as to go on pilgrimage naked or barefoot;and privy penance, which men do daily for pri-vate sins, of which they confess privately and re-ceive private penance. To very perfect penitenceare behoveful and necessary three things: contri-tion of heart, confession of mouth, and satisfac-tion; which are fruitful penitence against delightin thinking, reckless speech, and wicked sinfulworks.

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THE TALE

Penitence may be likened to a tree, having itsroot in contrition, biding itself in the heart asa tree-root does in the earth; out of this rootsprings a stalk, that bears branches and leaves ofconfession, and fruit of satisfaction. Of this rootalso springs a seed of grace, which is mother ofall security, and this seed is eager and hot; andthe grace of this seed springs of God, through re-membrance on the day of judgment and on thepains of hell. The heat of this seed is the love ofGod, and the desire of everlasting joy; and thisheat draws the heart of man to God, and makeshim hate his sin. Penance is the tree of life tothem that receive it. In penance or contritionman shall understand four things: what is con-trition; what are the causes that move a man tocontrition; how he should be contrite; and whatcontrition availeth to the soul. Contrition is theheavy and grievous sorrow that a man receivethin his heart for his sins, with earnest purpose toconfess and do penance, and never more to sin.Six causes ought to move a man to contrition:

1. He should remember him of his sins; 2. Heshould reflect thatsin putteth a man in greatthraldom, and all the greater the higher is the es-tate from which he falls; 3. He should dread theday of doom and the horrible pains of hell; 4.The sorrowful remembrance of the good deedsthat man hath omitted to do here on earth, andalso the good that he hath lost, ought to makehim have contrition; 5. So also ought the re-membrance of the passion that our Lord JesusChrist suffered for our sins; 6. And so ought thehope of three things, that is to say, forgivenessof sin, the gift of grace to do well, and the gloryof heaven with which God shall reward man forhis good deeds. – All these points the Parson

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illustrates and enforces at length; waxing espe-cially eloquent under the third head, and plainlysetting forth the sternly realistic notions regard-ing future punishments that were entertained inthe time of Chaucer:-) (Note 3)

Certes, all the sorrow that a man might makefrom the beginning of the world, is but a lit-tle thing, at retard of (in comparison with) thesorrow of hell. The cause why that Job callethhell the land of darkness; (Note 4) understand,that he calleth it land or earth, for it is stableand never shall fail, and dark, for he that is inhell hath default (is devoid) of light natural; forcertes the dark light, that shall come out of thefire that ever shall burn, shall turn them all topain that be in hell, for it sheweth them the hor-rible devils that them torment. Covered with thedarkness of death; that is to say, that he that is inhell shall have default of the sight of God; forcertes the sight of God is the life perdurable (ev-erlasting). The darkness of death, be the sinsthat the wretched man hath done, which thatdisturb (prevent) him to see the face of God,right as a dark cloud doth between us and thesun. Land of misease, because there be threemanner of defaults against three things that folkof this world have in this present life; that is tosay, honours, delights, and riches. Against hon-our have they in hell shame and confusion: forwell ye wot, that men call honour the reverencethat man doth to man; but in hell is no honournor reverence; for certes no more reverence shallbe done there to a king than to a knave (servant).For which God saith by the prophet Jeremiah;"The folk that me despise shall be in despite."Honour is also called great lordship. There shallno wight serve other, but of harm and torment.

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THE TALE

Honour is also called great dignity and high-ness; but in hell shall they be all fortrodden(trampled under foot) of devils. As God saith,"The horrible devils shall go and come upon theheads of damned folk;" and this is, forasmuch asthe higher that they were in this present life, themore shall they be abated (abased) and defouledin hell. Against the riches of this world shallthey have misease (trouble, torment) of poverty,and this poverty shall be in four things: in de-fault (want) of treasure; of which David saith,"The rich folk that embraced and oned (united)all their heart to treasure of this world, shallsleep in the sleeping of death, and nothing shallthey find in their hands of all their treasure."And moreover, the misease of hell shall be indefault of meat and drink. For God saith thusby Moses, "They shall be wasted with hunger,and the birds of hell shall devour them with bit-ter death, and the gall of the dragon shall betheir drink, and the venom of the dragon theirmorsels." And furthermore, their misease shallbe in default of clothing, for they shall be nakedin body, as of clothing, save the fire in whichthey burn, and other filths; and naked shall theybe in soul, of all manner virtues, which that isthe clothing of the soul. Where be then the gayrobes, and the soft sheets, and the fine shirts?Lo, what saith of them the prophet Isaiah, thatunder them shall be strewed moths, and theircovertures shall be of worms of hell. And fur-thermore, their misease shall be in default offriends, for he is not poor that hath good friends:but there is no friend; for neither God nor anygood creature shall be friend to them, and ev-ereach of them shall hate other with deadly hate.The Sons and the daughters shall rebel against

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father and mother, and kindred against kindred,and chide and despise each other, both day andnight, as God saith by the prophet Micah. Andthe loving children, that whom loved so fleshlyeach other, would each of them eat the other ifthey might. For how should they love togetherin the pains of hell, when they hated each otherin the prosperity of this life? For trust well,their fleshly love was deadly hate; as saith theprophet David; "Whoso loveth wickedness, hehateth his own soul:" and whoso hateth his ownsoul, certes he may love none other wight in nomanner: and therefore in hell is no solace norno friendship, but ever the more kindreds thatbe in hell, the more cursing, the more chiding,and the more deadly hate there is among them.And furtherover, they shall have default of allmanner delights; for certes delights be after theappetites of the five wits (senses); as sight, hear-ing, smelling, savouring (tasting), and touch-ing. But in hell their sight shall be full of dark-ness and of smoke, and their eyes full of tears;and their hearing full of waimenting (lament-ing) and grinting (gnashing) of teeth, as saith Je-sus Christ; their nostrils shall be full of stinking;and, as saith Isaiah the prophet, their savouring(tasting) shall be full of bitter gall; and touch-ing of all their body shall be covered with firethat never shall quench, and with worms thatnever shall die, as God saith by the mouth of Isa-iah. And forasmuch as they shall not ween thatthey may die for pain, and by death flee frompain, that may they understand in the word ofJob, that saith, "There is the shadow of death."Certes a shadow hath the likeness of the thingof which it is shadowed, but the shadow is notthe same thing of which it is shadowed: right

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THE TALE

so fareth the pain of hell; it is like death, forthe horrible anguish; and why? for it paineththem ever as though they should die anon; butcertes they shall not die. For, as saith Saint Gre-gory, "To wretched caitiffs shall be given deathwithout death, and end without end, and de-fault without failing; for their death shall al-ways live, and their end shall evermore begin,and their default shall never fail." And there-fore saith Saint John the Evangelist, "They shallfollow death, and they shall not find him, andthey shall desire to die, and death shall flee fromthem." And eke Job saith, that in hell is no or-der of rule. And albeit that God hath createdall things in right order, and nothing without or-der, but all things be ordered and numbered, yetnevertheless they that be damned be not in or-der, nor hold no order. For the earth shall bearthem no fruit (for, as the prophet David saith,"God shall destroy the fruit of the earth, as forthem"); nor water shall give them no moisture,nor the air no refreshing, nor the fire no light.For as saith Saint Basil, "The burning of the fireof this world shall God give in hell to them thatbe damned, but the light and the clearness shallbe given in heaven to his children; right as thegood man giveth flesh to his children, and bonesto his hounds." And for they shall have no hopeto escape, saith Job at last, that there shall hor-ror and grisly dread dwell without end. Hor-ror is always dread of harm that is to come, andthis dread shall ever dwell in the hearts of themthat be damned. And therefore have they lost alltheir hope for seven causes. First, for God thatis their judge shall be without mercy to them;nor they may not please him; nor none of hishallows (saints); nor they may give nothing for

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their ransom; nor they have no voice to speak tohim; nor they may not flee from pain; nor theyhave no goodness in them that they may shewto deliver them from pain.(Under the fourth head, of good works, the Par-son says: –)The courteous Lord Jesus Christ will that nogood work be lost, for in somewhat it shallavail. But forasmuch as the good works thatmen do while they be in good life be all amor-tised (killed, deadened) by sin following, andalso since all the good works that men do whilethey be in deadly sin be utterly dead, as for tohave the life perdurable (everlasting), well maythat man that no good works doth, sing that newFrench song, J’ai tout perdu – mon temps et monlabour (Note 5). For certes, sin bereaveth a manboth the goodness of nature, and eke the good-ness of grace. For soothly the grace of the HolyGhost fareth like fire, that may not be idle; forfire faileth anon as it forleteth (leaveth) its work-ing, and right so grace faileth anon as it for-leteth its working. Then loseth the sinful manthe goodness of glory, that only is to good menthat labour and work. Well may he be sorrythen, that oweth all his life to God, as long ashe hath lived, and also as long as he shall live,that no goodness hath to pay with his debt toGod, to whom he oweth all his life: for trust wellhe shall give account, as saith Saint Bernard, ofall the goods that have been given him in hispresent life, and how he hath them dispended,insomuch that there shall not perish an hair ofhis head, nor a moment of an hour shall not per-ish of his time, that he shall not give thereof areckoning.(Having treated of the causes, the Parson comes

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to the manner, of contrition – which shouldbe universal and total, not merely of outwarddeeds of sin, but also of wicked delights andthoughts and words; "for certes Almighty Godis all good, and therefore either he forgivethall, or else right naught." Further, contritionshould be "wonder sorrowful and anguishous,"and also continual, with steadfast purpose ofconfession and amendment. Lastly, of what con-trition availeth, the Parson says, that sometimesit delivereth man from sin; that without it nei-ther confession nor satisfaction is of any worth;that it "destroyeth the prison of hell, and makethweak and feeble all the strengths of the devils,and restoreth the gifts of the Holy Ghost and ofall good virtues, and cleanseth the soul of sin,and delivereth it from the pain of hell, and fromthe company of the devil, and from the servage(slavery) of sin, and restoreth it to all goods spir-itual, and to the company and communion ofHoly Church." He who should set his intent tothese things, would no longer be inclined to sin,but would give his heart and body to the ser-vice of Jesus Christ, and thereof do him homage."For, certes, our Lord Jesus Christ hath spared usso benignly in our follies, that if he had not pityon man’s soul, a sorry song might we all sing."

The Second Part of the Parson’s Tale or Treatiseopens with an explanation of what is confession– which is termed "the second part of penitence,that is, sign of contrition;" whether it oughtneeds be done or not; and what things be con-venable to true confession. Confession is trueshewing of sins to the priest, without excusing,hiding, or forwrapping (disguising) of anything,and without vaunting of good works. "Also,it is necessary to understand whence that sins

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spring, and how they increase, and which theybe." From Adam we took original sin; "from himfleshly descended be we all, and engenderedof vile and corrupt matter;" and the penalty ofAdam’s transgression dwelleth with us as totemptation, which penalty is called concupis-cence. "This concupiscence, when it is wrong-fully disposed or ordained in a man, it makethhim covet, by covetise of flesh, fleshly sin bysight of his eyes, as to earthly things, and alsocovetise of highness by pride of heart." The Par-son proceeds to shew how man is tempted in hisflesh to sin; how, after his natural concupiscence,comes suggestion of the devil, that is to say thedevil’s bellows, with which he bloweth in manthe fire of con cupiscence; and how man then be-thinketh him whether he will do or no the thingto which he is tempted. If he flame up into plea-sure at the thought, and give way, then is he alldead in soul; "and thus is sin accomplished, bytemptation, by delight, and by consenting; andthen is the sin actual." Sin is either venial, ordeadly; deadly, when a man loves any creaturemore than Jesus Christ our Creator, venial, if helove Jesus Christ less than he ought. Venial sinsdiminish man’s love to God more and more, andmay in this wise skip into deadly sin; for manysmall make a great. "And hearken this example:A great wave of the sea cometh sometimes withso great a violence, that it drencheth (causes tosink) the ship: and the same harm do sometimesthe small drops, of water that enter through a lit-tle crevice in the thurrok (hold, bilge), and in thebottom of the ship, if men be so negligent thatthey discharge them not betimes. And there-fore, although there be difference betwixt thesetwo causes of drenching, algates (in any case)

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the ship is dreint (sunk). Right so fareth it some-times of deadly sin," and of venial sins whenthey multiply in a man so greatly as to makehim love worldly things more than God. TheParson then enumerates specially a number ofsins which many a man peradventure deems nosins, and confesses them not, and yet neverthe-less they are truly sins: – )

This is to say, at every time that a man eatethand drinketh more than sufficeth to the suste-nance of his body, in certain he doth sin; ekewhen he speaketh more than it needeth, he dothsin; eke when he heareth not benignly the com-plaint of the poor; eke when he is in health ofbody, and will not fast when other folk fast,without cause reasonable; eke when he sleepethmore than needeth, or when he cometh by thatoccasion too late to church, or to other worksof charity; eke when he useth his wife withoutsovereign desire of engendrure, to the honour ofGod, or for the intent to yield his wife his debtof his body; eke when he will not visit the sick,or the prisoner, if he may; eke if he love wife,or child, or other worldly thing, more than rea-son requireth; eke if he flatter or blandish morethan he ought for any necessity; eke if he minishor withdraw the alms of the poor; eke if he ap-parail (prepare) his meat more deliciously thanneed is, or eat it too hastily by likerousness (glut-tony); eke if he talk vanities in the church, or atGod’s service, or that he be a talker of idle wordsof folly or villainy, for he shall yield account ofthem at the day of doom; eke when he behigh-teth (promiseth) or assureth to do things that hemay not perform; eke when that by lightnessof folly he missayeth or scorneth his neighbour;eke when he hath any wicked suspicion of thing,

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that he wot of it no soothfastness: these things,and more without number, be sins, as saith SaintAugustine.

(No earthly man may eschew all venial sins;yet may he refrain him, by the burning lovethat he hath to our Lord Jesus Christ, and byprayer and confession, and other good works,so that it shall but little grieve. "Furthermore,men may also refrain and put away venial sin,by receiving worthily the precious body of Je-sus Christ; by receiving eke of holy water; byalms-deed; by general confession of Confiteor atmass, and at prime, and at compline (eveningservice); and by blessing of bishops and priests,and by other good works." The Parson then pro-ceeds to weightier matters:– )

Now it is behovely (profitable, necessary) to tellwhich be deadly sins, that is to say, chieftains ofsins; forasmuch as all they run in one leash, butin diverse manners. Now be they called chief-tains, forasmuch as they be chief, and of themspring all other sins. The root of these sins, then,is pride, the general root of all harms. For ofthis root spring certain branches: as ire, envy,accidie (Note 6) or sloth, avarice or covetousness(to common understanding), gluttony, and lech-ery: and each of these sins hath his branchesand his twigs, as shall be declared in their chap-ters following. And though so be, that no mancan tell utterly the number of the twigs, and ofthe harms that come of pride, yet will I shew apart of them, as ye shall understand. There isinobedience, vaunting, hypocrisy, despite, arro-gance, impudence, swelling of hearte, insolence,elation, impatience, strife, contumacy, presump-tion, irreverence, pertinacity, vain- glory andmany another twig that I cannot tell nor declare.

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. . .)

And yet (moreover) there is a privy species ofpride that waiteth first to be saluted ere he willsalute, all (although) be he less worthy than thatother is; and eke he waiteth (expecteth) or de-sireth to sit or to go above him in the way, orkiss the pax, (Note 7) or be incensed, or go to of-fering before his neighbour, and such semblable(like) things, against his duty peradventure, butthat he hath his heart and his intent in such aproud desire to be magnified and honoured be-fore the people. Now be there two manner ofprides; the one of them is within the heart of aman, and the other is without. Of which soothlythese foresaid things, and more than I have said,appertain to pride that is within the heart ofa man and there be other species of pride thatbe without: but nevertheless, the one of thesespecies of pride is sign of the other, right as thegay levesell (bush) at the tavern is sign of thewine that is in the cellar. And this is in manythings: as in speech and countenance, and out-rageous array of clothing; for certes, if there hadbeen no sin in clothing, Christ would not sosoon have noted and spoken of the clothing ofthat rich man in the gospel. And Saint Gregorysaith, that precious clothing is culpable for thedearth (dearness) of it, and for its softness, andfor its strangeness and disguising, and for thesuperfluity or for the inordinate scantness of it;alas! may not a man see in our days the sinfulcostly array of clothing, and namely (specially)in too much superfluity, or else in too disordi-nate scantness? As to the first sin, in superfluityof clothing, which that maketh it so dear, to theharm of the people, not only the cost of the em-broidering, the disguising, indenting or barring,

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ounding, paling, (Note 8) winding, or banding,and semblable (similar) waste of cloth in vanity;but there is also the costly furring (lining or edg-ing with fur) in their gowns, so much punchingof chisels to make holes, so much dagging (cut-ting) of shears, with the superfluity in length ofthe foresaid gowns, trailing in the dung and inthe mire, on horse and eke on foot, as well ofman as of woman, that all that trailing is verily(as in effect) wasted, consumed, threadbare, androtten with dung, rather than it is given to thepoor, to great damage of the foresaid poor folk,and that in sundry wise: this is to say, the morethat cloth is wasted, the more must it cost to thepoor people for the scarceness; and furthermore,if so be that they would give such punched anddagged clothing to the poor people, it is not con-venient to wear for their estate, nor sufficient toboot (help, remedy) their necessity, to keep themfrom the distemperance (inclemency) of the fir-mament. Upon the other side, to speak of thehorrible disordinate scantness of clothing, as bethese cutted slops or hanselines (breeches) , thatthrough their shortness cover not the shamefulmember of man, to wicked intent alas! some ofthem shew the boss and the shape of the horribleswollen members, that seem like to the maladyof hernia, in the wrapping of their hosen, andeke the buttocks of them, that fare as it were thehinder part of a she-ape in the full of the moon.And more over the wretched swollen membersthat they shew through disguising, in depart-ing (dividing) of their hosen in white and red,seemeth that half their shameful privy memberswere flain (flayed). And if so be that they de-part their hosen in other colours, as is white andblue, or white and black, or black and red, and

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so forth; then seemeth it, by variance of colour,that the half part of their privy members be cor-rupt by the fire of Saint Anthony, or by canker, orother such mischance. And of the hinder part oftheir buttocks it is full horrible to see, for certes,in that part of their body where they purge theirstinking ordure, that foul part shew they to thepeople proudly in despite of honesty (decency),which honesty Jesus Christ and his friends ob-served to shew in his life. Now as of the out-rageous array of women, God wot, that thoughthe visages of some of them seem full chasteand debonair (gentle), yet notify they, in theirarray of attire, likerousness and pride. I say notthat honesty (reasonable and appropriate style)in clothing of man or woman unconvenable but,certes, the superfluity or disordinate scarcity ofclothing is reprovable. Also the sin of their orna-ment, or of apparel, as in things that appertainto riding, as in too many delicate horses, thatbe holden for delight, that be so fair, fat, andcostly; and also in many a vicious knave, (ser-vant) that is sustained because of them; in cu-rious harness, as in saddles, cruppers, peytrels,(breast-plates) and bridles, covered with pre-cious cloth and rich bars and plates of goldand silver. For which God saith by Zechariahthe prophet, "I will confound the riders of suchhorses." These folk take little regard of the rid-ing of God’s Son of heaven, and of his harness,when he rode upon an ass, and had no other har-ness but the poor clothes of his disciples; nor weread not that ever he rode on any other beast.I speak this for the sin of superfluity, and notfor reasonable honesty (seemliness), when rea-son it requireth. And moreover, certes, pride isgreatly notified in holding of great meinie (ret-

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inue of servants), when they be of little profitor of right no profit, and namely (especially)when that meinie is felonous (violent ) and dam-ageous (harmful) to the people by hardiness (ar-rogance) of high lordship, or by way of office;for certes, such lords sell then their lordship tothe devil of hell, when they sustain the wicked-ness of their meinie. Or else, when these folk oflow degree, as they that hold hostelries, sustaintheft of their hostellers, and that is in many man-ner of deceits: that manner of folk be the fliesthat follow the honey, or else the hounds thatfollow the carrion. Such foresaid folk stranglespiritually their lordships; for which thus saithDavid the prophet, "Wicked death may comeunto these lordships, and God give that theymay descend into hell adown; for in their housesis iniquity and shrewedness, (impiety) and notGod of heaven." And certes, but if (unless) theydo amendment, right as God gave his benison(blessing) to Laban by the service of Jacob, andto Pharaoh by the service of Joseph; right so Godwill give his malison (condemnation) to suchlordships as sustain the wickedness of their ser-vants, but (unless) they come to amendment.Pride of the table apaireth (worketh harm) ekefull oft; for, certes, rich men be called to feasts,and poor folk be put away and rebuked; also inexcess of divers meats and drinks, and namely(specially) such manner bake-meats and dish-meats burning of wild fire, and painted and cas-tled with paper, and semblable (similar) waste,so that it is abuse to think. And eke in too greatpreciousness of vessel, (plate) and curiosity ofminstrelsy, by which a man is stirred more to thedelights of luxury, if so be that he set his heartthe less upon our Lord Jesus Christ, certain it is

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a sin; and certainly the delights might be so greatin this case, that a man might lightly (easily) fallby them into deadly sin.

(The sins that arise of pride advisedly and habit-ually are deadly; those that arise by frailty unad-vised suddenly, and suddenly withdraw again,though grievous, are not deadly. Pride itselfsprings sometimes of the goods of nature, some-times of the goods of fortune, sometimes of thegoods of grace; but the Parson, enumerating andexamining all these in turn, points out how lit-tle security they possess and how little groundfor pride they furnish, and goes on to enforcethe remedy against pride – which is humility ormeekness, a virtue through which a man hathtrue knowledge of himself, and holdeth no highesteem of himself in regard of his deserts, con-sidering ever his frailty.)

Now be there three manners (kinds) of humil-ity; as humility in heart, and another in themouth, and the third in works. The humility inthe heart is in four manners: the one is, whena man holdeth himself as nought worth beforeGod of heaven; the second is, when he despisethno other man; the third is, when he recketh notthough men hold him nought worth; the fourthis, when he is not sorry of his humiliation. Alsothe humility of mouth is in four things: in tem-perate speech; in humility of speech; and whenhe confesseth with his own mouth that he issuch as he thinketh that he is in his heart; an-other is, when he praiseth the bounte (good-ness) of another man and nothing thereof dimin-isheth. Humility eke in works is in four man-ners: the first is, when he putteth other menbefore him; the second is, to choose the low-est place of all; the third is, gladly to assent to

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good counsel; the fourth is, to stand gladly bythe award (judgment) of his sovereign, or of himthat is higher in degree: certain this is a greatwork of humility.

(The Parson proceeds to treat of the other car-dinal sins, and their remedies: (2.) Envy, withits remedy, the love of God principally and ofour neighbours as ourselves: (3.) Anger, withall its fruits in revenge, rancour, hate, discord,manslaughter, blasphemy, swearing, falsehood,flattery, chiding and reproving, scorning, treach-ery, sowing of strife, doubleness of tongue, be-traying of counsel to a man’s disgrace, menac-ing, idle words, jangling, japery or buffoonery,&c. – and its remedy in the virtues called man-suetude, debonairte, or gentleness, and patienceor sufferance: (4.) Sloth, or "Accidie," whichcomes after the sin of Anger, because Envyblinds the eyes of a man, and Anger troubletha man, and Sloth maketh him heavy, thought-ful, and peevish. It is opposed to every estate ofman – as unfallen, and held to work in praisingand adoring God; as sinful, and held to labour inpraying for deliverance from sin; and as in thestate of grace, and held to works of penitence.It resembles the heavy and sluggish conditionof those in hell; it will suffer no hardness andno penance; it prevents any beginning of goodworks; it causes despair of God’s mercy, whichis the sin against the Holy Ghost; it induces som-nolency and neglect of communion in prayerwith God; and it breeds negligence or reckless-ness, that cares for nothing, and is the nurseof all mischiefs, if ignorance is their mother.Against Sloth, and these and other branches andfruits of it, the remedy lies in the virtue of forti-tude or strength, in its various species of magna-

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nimity or great courage; faith and hope in Godand his saints; surety or sickerness, when a manfears nothing that can oppose the good works hehas under taken; magnificence, when he carriesout great works of goodness begun; constancyor stableness of heart; and other incentives to en-ergy and laborious service: (5.) Avarice, or Cov-etousness, which is the root of all harms, since itsvotaries are idolaters, oppressors and enslaversof men, deceivers of their equals in business, si-moniacs, gamblers, liars, thieves, false swearers,blasphemers, murderers, and sacrilegious. Itsremedy lies in compassion and pity largely ex-ercised, and in reasonable liberality – for thosewho spend on "fool-largesse," or ostentation ofworldly estate and luxury, shall receive the mal-ison (condemnation) that Christ shall give at theday of doom to them that shall be damned: (6.)Gluttony; – of which the Parson treats so brieflythat the chapter may be given in full: – )

After Avarice cometh Gluttony, which is expressagainst the commandment of God. Gluttonyis unmeasurable appetite to eat or to drink; orelse to do in aught to the unmeasurable ap-petite and disordered covetousness (craving) toeat or drink. This sin corrupted all this world,as is well shewed in the sin of Adam and ofEve. Look also what saith Saint Paul of glut-tony: "Many," saith he, "go, of which I have oftsaid to you, and now I say it weeping, that theybe enemies of the cross of Christ, of which theend is death, and of which their womb (stom-ach) is their God and their glory;" in confusionof them that so savour (take delight in) earthlythings. He that is usant (accustomed, addicted)to this sin of gluttony, he may no sin withstand,he must be in servage (bondage) of all vices, for

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it is the devil’s hoard, (lair, lurking-place) wherehe hideth him in and resteth. This sin hath manyspecies. The first is drunkenness, that is the hor-rible sepulture of man’s reason: and thereforewhen a man is drunken, he hath lost his rea-son; and this is deadly sin. But soothly, whenthat a man is not wont to strong drink, andperadventure knoweth not the strength of thedrink, or hath feebleness in his head, or hathtravailed (laboured), through which he drinkeththe more, all (although) be he suddenly caughtwith drink, it is no deadly sin, but venial. Thesecond species of gluttony is, that the spirit of aman waxeth all troubled for drunkenness, andbereaveth a man the discretion of his wit. Thethird species of gluttony is, when a man de-voureth his meat, and hath no rightful mannerof eating. The fourth is, when, through the greatabundance of his meat, the humours of his bodybe distempered. The fifth is, forgetfulness bytoo much drinking, for which a man sometimesforgetteth by the morrow what be did at eve.In other manner be distinct the species of glut-tony, after Saint Gregory. The first is, for to eator drink before time. The second is, when aman getteth him too delicate meat or drink. Thethird is, when men take too much over measure(immoderately). The fourth is curiosity (nicety)with great intent (application, pains) to makeand apparel (prepare) his meat. The fifth is, forto eat too greedily. These be the five fingers ofthe devil’s hand, by which he draweth folk tothe sin.

Against gluttony the remedy is abstinence, assaith Galen; but that I hold not meritorious, if hedo it only for the health of his body. Saint Au-gustine will that abstinence be done for virtue,

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and with patience. Abstinence, saith he, is lit-tle worth, but if (unless) a man have good willthereto, and but it be enforced by patience andby charity, and that men do it for God’s sake,and in hope to have the bliss in heaven. Thefellows of abstinence be temperance, that hold-eth the mean in all things; also shame, thatescheweth all dishonesty (indecency, impropri-ety), sufficiency, that seeketh no rich meats nordrinks, nor doth no force of (sets no value on) nooutrageous apparelling of meat; measure (mod-eration) also, that restraineth by reason the un-measurable appetite of eating; soberness also,that restraineth the outrage of drink; sparingalso, that restraineth the delicate ease to sit longat meat, wherefore some folk stand of their ownwill to eat, because they will eat at less leisure.

(At great length the Parson then points out themany varieties of the sin of (7.) Lechery, andits remedy in chastity and continence, alike inmarriage and in widowhood; also in the abstain-ing from all such indulgences of eating, drink-ing, and sleeping as inflame the passions, andfrom the company of all who may tempt to thesin. Minute guidance is given as to the duty ofconfessing fully and faithfully the circumstancesthat attend and may aggravate this sin; and theTreatise then passes to the consideration of theconditions that are essential to a true and prof-itable confession of sin in general. First, it mustbe in sorrowful bitterness of spirit; a conditionthat has five signs – shamefastness, humility inheart and outward sign, weeping with the bod-ily eyes or in the heart, disregard of the shamethat might curtail or garble confession, and obe-dience to the penance enjoined. Secondly, trueconfession must be promptly made, for dread

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of death, of increase of sinfulness, of forgetful-ness of what should be confessed, of Christ’s re-fusal to hear if it be put off to the last day of life;and this condition has four terms; that confes-sion be well pondered beforehand, that the manconfessing have comprehended in his mind thenumber and greatness of his sins and how longhe has lain in sin, that he be contrite for and es-chew his sins, and that he fear and flee the oc-casions for that sin to which he is inclined. –What follows under this head is of some inter-est for the light which it throws on the rigorousgovernment wielded by the Romish Church inthose days –)

Also thou shalt shrive thee of all thy sins to oneman, and not a parcel (portion) to one man, anda parcel to another; that is to understand, in in-tent to depart (divide) thy confession for shameor dread; for it is but strangling of thy soul. Forcertes Jesus Christ is entirely all good, in him isnone imperfection, and therefore either he for-giveth all perfectly, or else never a deal (not atall). I say not that if thou be assigned to thypenitencer (Note 9) for a certain sin, that thou artbound to shew him all the remnant of thy sins,of which thou hast been shriven of thy curate,but if it like thee (unless thou be pleased) of thyhumility; this is no departing (division) of shrift.And I say not, where I speak of division of con-fession, that if thou have license to shrive theeto a discreet and an honest priest, and wherethee liketh, and by the license of thy curate, thatthou mayest not well shrive thee to him of all thysins: but let no blot be behind, let no sin be un-told as far as thou hast remembrance. And whenthou shalt be shriven of thy curate, tell him ekeall the sins that thou hast done since thou wert

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last shriven. This is no wicked intent of divisionof shrift. Also, very shrift (true confession) as-keth certain conditions. First, that thou shrivethee by thy free will, not constrained, nor forshame of folk, nor for malady (sickness), or suchthings: for it is reason, that he that trespasseth byhis free will, that by his free will he confess histrespass; and that no other man tell his sin buthimself; nor he shall not nay nor deny his sin,nor wrath him against the priest for admonish-ing him to leave his sin. The second conditionis, that thy shrift be lawful, that is to say, thatthou that shrivest thee, and eke the priest thatheareth thy confession, be verily in the faith ofHoly Church, and that a man be not despairedof the mercy of Jesus Christ, as Cain and Judaswere. And eke a man must accuse himself ofhis own trespass, and not another: but he shallblame and wite (accuse) himself of his own mal-ice and of his sin, and none other: but never-theless, if that another man be occasion or elseenticer of his sin, or the estate of the person besuch by which his sin is aggravated, or else thatbe may not plainly shrive him but (unless) hetell the person with which he hath sinned, thenmay he tell, so that his intent be not to back-bite the person, but only to declare his confes-sion. Thou shalt not eke make no leasings (false-hoods) in thy confession for humility, peradven-ture, to say that thou hast committed and donesuch sins of which that thou wert never guilty.For Saint Augustine saith, "If that thou, becauseof humility, makest a leasing on thyself, thoughthou were not in sin before, yet art thou then insin through thy leasing." Thou must also shewthy sin by thine own proper mouth, but (unless)thou be dumb, and not by letter; for thou that

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hast done the sin, thou shalt have the shame ofthe confession. Thou shalt not paint thy con-fession with fair and subtle words, to cover themore thy sin; for then beguilest thou thyself,and not the priest; thou must tell it plainly, beit never so foul nor so horrible. Thou shalt ekeshrive thee to a priest that is discreet to coun-sel thee; and eke thou shalt not shrive thee forvain-glory, nor for hypocrisy, nor for no causebut only for the doubt (fear) of Jesus’ Christ andthe health of thy soul. Thou shalt not run to thepriest all suddenly, to tell him lightly thy sin, aswho telleth a jape (jest) or a tale, but advisedlyand with good devotion; and generally shrivethee oft; if thou oft fall, oft arise by confession.And though thou shrive thee oftener than onceof sin of which thou hast been shriven, it is moremerit; and, as saith Saint Augustine, thou shalthave the more lightly (easily) release and graceof God, both of sin and of pain. And certes, oncea year at the least way, it is lawful to be houseled,(Note 10) for soothly once a year all things in theearth renovelen (renew themselves).(Here ends the Second Part of the Treatise; theThird Part, which contains the practical applica-tion of the whole, follows entire, along with theremarkable "Prayer of Chaucer," as it stands inthe Harleian Manuscript:–)De Tertia Parte Poenitentiae. (Of the third partof penitence)Now have I told you of very (true) confes-sion, that is the second part of penitence: Thethird part of penitence is satisfaction, and thatstandeth generally in almsdeed and bodily pain.Now be there three manner of almsdeed: contri-tion of heart, where a man offereth himself toGod; the second is, to have pity of the default

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of his neighbour; the third is, in giving of goodcounsel and comfort, ghostly and bodily, wheremen have need, and namely (specially) suste-nance of man’s food. And take keep (heed) thata man hath need of these things generally; hehath need of food, of clothing, and of herberow(lodging), he hath need of charitable counseland visiting in prison and malady, and sepul-ture of his dead body. And if thou mayest notvisit the needful with thy person, visit them bythy message and by thy gifts. These be gener-ally alms or works of charity of them that havetemporal riches or discretion in counselling. Ofthese works shalt thou hear at the day of doom.This alms shouldest thou do of thine own properthings, and hastily (promptly), and privily (se-cretly) if thou mayest; but nevertheless, if thoumayest not do it privily, thou shalt not forbear todo alms, though men see it, so that it be not donefor thank of the world, but only for thank of Je-sus Christ. For, as witnesseth Saint Matthew,chap. v., "A city may not be hid that is set ona mountain, nor men light not a lantern and putit under a bushel, but men set it on a candlestick,to light the men in the house; right so shall yourlight lighten before men, that they may see yourgood works, and glorify your Father that is inheaven."

Now as to speak of bodily pain, it is in prayer,in wakings, (watchings) in fastings, and in vir-tuous teachings. Of orisons ye shall understand,that orisons or prayers is to say a piteous willof heart, that redresseth it in God, and expres-seth it by word outward, to remove harms, andto have things spiritual and durable, and some-times temporal things. Of which orisons, certesin the orison of the Pater noster hath our Lord

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Jesus Christ enclosed most things. Certes, itis privileged of three things in its dignity, forwhich it is more digne (worthy) than any otherprayer: for Jesus Christ himself made it: and it isshort, for (in order) it should be coude the morelightly, (be more easily conned or learned) and towithhold (retain) it the more easy in heart, andhelp himself the oftener with this orison; and fora man should be the less weary to say it; andfor a man may not excuse him to learn it, it isso short and so easy: and for it comprehendethin itself all good prayers. The exposition of thisholy prayer, that is so excellent and so digne,I betake (commit) to these masters of theology;save thus much will I say, when thou prayestthat God should forgive thee thy guilts, as thouforgivest them that they guilt to thee, be full wellware that thou be not out of charity. This holyorison aminisheth (lesseneth) eke venial sin, andtherefore it appertaineth specially to penitence.This prayer must be truly said, and in very faith,and that men pray to God ordinately, discreetly,and devoutly; and always a man shall put hiswill to be subject to the will of God. This orisonmust eke be said with great humbleness and fullpure, and honestly, and not to the annoyance ofany man or woman. It must eke be continuedwith the works of charity. It availeth against thevices of the soul; for, assaith Saint Jerome, byfasting be saved the vices of the flesh, and byprayer the vices of the soul

After this thou shalt understand, that bodilypain stands in waking (watching). For JesusChrist saith "Wake and pray, that ye enter notinto temptation." Ye shall understand also, thatfasting stands in three things: in forbearing ofbodily meat and drink, and in forbearing of

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worldly jollity, and in forbearing of deadly sin;this is to say, that a man shall keep him fromdeadly sin in all that he may. And thou shaltunderstand eke, that God ordained fasting; andto fasting appertain four things: largeness (gen-erosity) to poor folk; gladness of heart spiri-tual; not to be angry nor annoyed nor grudge(murmur) for he fasteth; and also reasonablehour for to eat by measure; that is to say, aman should not eat in untime (out of time),nor sit the longer at his meal for (because) hefasteth. Then shalt thou understand, that bod-ily pain standeth in discipline, or teaching, byword, or by writing, or by ensample. Also inwearing of hairs (haircloth) or of stamin (coarsehempen cloth), or of habergeons (mail-shirts)(Note 11) on their naked flesh for Christ’s sake;but ware thee well that such manner penanceof thy flesh make not thine heart bitter or an-gry, nor annoyed of thyself; for better is to castaway thine hair than to cast away the sweetnessof our Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore saithSaint Paul, "Clothe you, as they that be chosenof God in heart, of misericorde (with compas-sion), debonairte (gentleness), sufferance (pa-tience), and such manner of clothing," of whichJesus Christ is more apaid (better pleased) thanof hairs or of hauberks. Then is discipline eke inknocking of thy breast, in scourging with yards(rods), in kneelings, in tribulations, in sufferingpatiently wrongs that be done to him, and ekein patient sufferance of maladies, or losing ofworldly catel (chattels), or of wife, or of child,or of other friends.

Then shalt thou understand which things dis-turb penance, and this is in four things; thatis dread, shame, hope, and wanhope, that is,

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desperation. And for to speak first of dread,for which he weeneth that he may suffer nopenance, thereagainst is remedy for to think thatbodily penance is but short and little at the re-gard of (in comparison with) the pain of hell,that is so cruel and so long, that it lasteth with-out end. Now against the shame that a manhath to shrive him, and namely (specially) thesehypocrites, that would be holden so perfect, thatthey have no need to shrive them; against thatshame should a man think, that by way of rea-son he that hath not been ashamed to do foulthings, certes he ought not to be ashamed to dofair things, and that is confession. A man shouldeke think, that God seeth and knoweth all thythoughts, and all thy works; to him may noth-ing be hid nor covered. Men should eke remem-ber them of the shame that is to come at theday of doom, to them that be not penitent andshriven in this present life; for all the creaturesin heaven, and in earth, and in hell, shall seeapertly (openly) all that he hideth in this world.

Now for to speak of them that be so negligentand slow to shrive them; that stands in two man-ners. The one is, that he hopeth to live long,and to purchase (acquire) much riches for his de-light, and then he will shrive him: and, as hesayeth, he may, as him seemeth, timely enoughcome to shrift: another is, the surquedrie (pre-sumption (Note 12)) that he hath in Christ’smercy. Against the first vice, he shall think thatour life is in no sickerness, (security) and ekethat all the riches in this world be in adven-ture, and pass as a shadow on the wall; and, assaith St Gregory, that it appertaineth to the greatrighteousness of God, that never shall the painstint (cease) of them, that never would withdraw

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them from sin, their thanks (with their good-will), but aye continue in sin; for that perpet-ual will to do sin shall they have perpetual pain.Wanhope (despair) is in two manners (of twokinds). The first wanhope is, in the mercy ofGod: the other is, that they think they mightnot long persevere in goodness. The first wan-hope cometh of that he deemeth that he sinnedso highly and so oft, and so long hath lain insin, that he shall not be saved. Certes againstthat cursed wanhope should he think, that thepassion of Jesus Christ is more strong for to un-bind, than sin is strong for to bind. Againstthe second wanhope he shall think, that as oftas he falleth, he may arise again by penitence;and though he never so long hath lain in sin, themercy of Christ is always ready to receive him tomercy. Against the wanhope that he thinketh heshould not long persevere in goodness, he shallthink that the feebleness of the devil may noth-ing do, but (unless) men will suffer him; and ekehe shall have strength of the help of God, and ofall Holy Church, and of the protection of angels,if him list.

Then shall men understand, what is the fruit ofpenance; and after the word of Jesus Christ, itis the endless bliss of heaven, where joy hath nocontrariety of woe nor of penance nor grievance;there all harms be passed of this present life;there as is the sickerness (security) from the painof hell; there as is the blissful company, thatrejoice them evermore each of the other’s joy;there as the body of man, that whilom was fouland dark, is more clear than the sun; there as thebody of man that whilom was sick and frail, fee-ble and mortal, is immortal, and so strong andso whole, that there may nothing apair (impair,

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injure) it; there is neither hunger, nor thirst, norcold, but every soul replenished with the sight ofthe perfect knowing of God. This blissful regne(kingdom) may men purchase by poverty spiri-tual, and the glory by lowliness, the plenty of joyby hunger and thirst, the rest by travail, and thelife by death and mortification of sin; to whichlife He us bring, that bought us with his preciousblood! Amen.

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NOTES

1. The Parson’s Tale is believed to be a translation, more orless free, from some treatise on penitence that was in favourabout Chaucer’s time. Tyrwhitt says: "I cannot recommendit as a very entertaining or edifying performance at this day;but the reader will please to remember, in excuse both ofChaucer and of his editor, that, considering The CanterburyTales as a great picture of life and manners, the piece wouldnot have been complete if it had not included the religion ofthe time." The Editor of the present volume has followed thesame plan adopted with regard to Chaucer’s Tale of Meli-boeus, and mainly for the same reasons. (See note 1 to thatTale). An outline of the Parson’s ponderous sermon – forsuch it is – has been drawn; while those passages have beengiven in full which more directly illustrate the social andthe religious life of the time – such as the picture of hell, thevehement and rather coarse, but, in an antiquarian sense,most curious and valuable attack on the fashionable garbof the day, the catalogue of venial sins, the description ofgluttony and its remedy, &c. The brief third or concludingpart, which contains the application of the whole, and the"Retractation" or "Prayer" that closes the Tale and the entire"magnum opus" of Chaucer, have been given in full.

2. Jeremiah vi. 16.3. See Note 3 to the Sompnour’s Tale.4. Just before, the Parson had cited the words of Job to

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God (Job x. 20-22), "Suffer, Lord, that I may a while bewailand weep, ere I go without returning to the dark land, cov-ered with the darkness of death; to the land of misease andof darkness, where as is the shadow of death; where as is noorder nor ordinance, but grisly dread that ever shall last."

5. "I have lost everything - my time and my work."6. Accidie: neglectfulness or indifference; from the Greek,

akedeia.7. The pax: an image which was presented to the people

to be kissed, at that part of the mass where the priest said,"Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum." ("May the peace of theLord be always with you") The ceremony took the place, forgreater convenience, of the "kiss of peace," which clergy andpeople, at this passage, used to bestow upon each other.

8. Three ways of ornamenting clothes with lace, &c.; inbarring it was laid on crossways, in ounding it was waved,in paling it was laid on lengthways.

9. Penitencer: a priest who enjoined penance in extraor-dinary cases.

10. To be houseled: to receive the holy sacrament; fromAnglo- Saxon, "husel;" Latin, "hostia," or "hostiola," the host.

11. It was a frequent penance among the chivalric ordersto wear mail shirts next the skin.

12. Surquedrie: presumption; from old French, "sur-cuider," to think arrogantly, be full of conceit.

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