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Incipit pars tercia
(Here begins the third part)
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," | |
675 | 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, | |
680 | 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, | |
685 | 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, | |
690 | 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." | |
695 | "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, | |
700 | "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. | |
705 | 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." |
Next: The Franklin's Prologue (ll. 1-20) | © Librarius All rights reserved. |