Page:The Canterbury Tales and Faerie Queene.djvu/172

158

THE CANTERBURY TALES.

Th' end of this caitifi i was as I shall say ; His foemeu made a feast upon a day, And made him as their fool before them play ; And this was in ^ temple of great array. But at the last he made a foul affray, !For he tvro pillars shook, and made them fall. And down fell temple and all, and there it lay, And slew himself and eke his f oemen 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 so 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, If that it touch his limbes or his life,

Of Herclues the sov'reign conquerotir Singe his workes' laud and high renown ; For in his time of strength he bare the flow'r. He slew and reft the skin of the liotin ; He of the Centaurs laid the boast adown ; He Harpies " slew, the cruel birdes f eU ; He golden apples reft from the drag6n ; He drew out Cerberus the hound of heU.

He slew the cruel tyrant Busims,' And made his horse to fret * Tiitn flesh and bone ; He slew the fiery serpent venomous ; Of Achelous' two homes brake he one. And he slew Caous in a cave of stone ; He slew the giant Antseus the strong ; He slew the grisly boar, and that anon ; And bare the heav'n upon his neoke long."

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 ; At both the worlde's ends, as saith Trophee,^ Instead of boundes he a pillar set.

A leman had this noble champi6n. That highte Dejanira, fresh as May ; And, as these clerkes make mentifin, She hath Tiim sent a shirte fresh and gay ; Alas ! this shirt, alas and well-away ! Envenomed was subtUly withal, That ere that he had worn it half a day, It made his flesh aU from his bones fall.

But natheless some clerkes her excuse By one, that highte Nessus^ that it maked ; Be as be 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.'

1 Wretched man.

2 The Stymphalian Birds, which fed on human flesh.

3 Busiris. king of Egypt, was wont to samflce all foreigners coming to his dominions. Hercules was seized bound, and led to the altar by his orders, but the hero broke his bonds and slew the tyrant.

4 Devour. . , IS A long time. The feats of Hercules here recorded

are not all those known as the "twelve labours;' for instance, the cleansing of the Augean stables, and the capture of -Hippolyte's girdle, are not in this hst,_other and less famous deeds of the hero taking their place For this however, we must accuse not Ohauoer, but

' Boethius, whom .he has almost literally translated,

' though with some change of order.

And when he saw none other remedy, In bote coals he hath himseUe raked. For with no venom deigned he to die.

Thus starf 8 this worthy mighty Hercules. Lo, who may trust on Fortune any throw?' For him that foUoweth all this world of pres,i» 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 treas6r. The glorious sceptre, and royal majesty, That had the king Nabuchodonosor, With tongue unnethes ^ may described be. He twice won Jerusalem the city, The vessels of the temple he with him lad ;" At Babylone was his sov'reign see,^^ In which his glory smd delight he had.

The fairest children of the blood roySl Of Israel he did do " geld anon, And maked each of them to be his thrall.^^ Amonges others Daniel was one. That was the wisest child of every one ; For he the dreames of the king expounded, Where in Chaldaea clerke was there none That wiste to what fine^^ his dreames sounded.

This proude king let make a statue of gold Sixty cubites long, and seven in bread'. To which image bothe young and old Commanded he to lout,^' and have in dread. Or in a furnace, full of flames red. He should be burnt that woulde not obey : But never would assente to that deed Daniel, nor his younge fellows tway.

This king of kinges proud was and elate ; He ween'd^^ that God, that sits in majesty, Mights him not bereave of his estate j But suddenly he lost his dignity, And like a beast he seemed for to be, And ate hay as an ox, and lay thereout In rain, with wilde beastes walked he. Till certain time was y-come about.

And like an eagle's feathers wax'd his hairs, His nailes like a birde's clawes were, TUl God released him at certain years, And gave him wit ; and then with many a tear He thanked God, and ever his life in fear Was he to do amiss, or more trespaoe : And tin that time he laid was on his bier. He knew that God was fuU of might and grace.

His sone, which that highte Balthasae, That held the regne ^^ after his father's day,

s One of the manuscripts has a marginal reference to "Tropheus vates Chaldseoinim ;" but it is not known what author Chaucer meant — unless the reference is to a passage in the " Filostrato " of Boccaccio, on which Ohaucer founded his "Troilus and Oressida," and which Lydgate mentions, under the name of " Trophe," as having b^en translated by Chaucer.

1 Blackened. 8 i)ied.

8 For a moment.

10 Near ; French, " pres ; " the meaning seems to be, this nearer, lower world, u Scarcely.

12 Took away. " 13 Seat. " Caused.

JO Slave. 16 End.

17 Bow down, do honour. 18 Thought.

19 Possessed the kingdom.