very seriously. That it refers to Gower I have little doubt, but that
the attack was a humorous one is almost equally clear. Chaucer was
aware that some of his own tales were open to objection on the score
of morality, and when he saw a chance of scoring a point on the very
ground where his friend thought himself strongest, he seized it with
readiness. Some degree of seriousness there probably is, for Chaucer’s
sound and healthy view of life instinctively rejected the rather morbid
horrors to which he refers; but it may easily be suspected that he was
chiefly amused by the opportunity of publicly lecturing the moralist,
who perhaps had privately remonstrated with him[K]. As to the notion
that Chaucer had been seriously offended by the occasional and very
trifling resemblances of phrase in Gower’s tale of Constance with his
own version of the same original, it is hardly worth discussion.
There is of course the possibility that Gower may have taken it more
seriously than it was meant, and though he was not quite so devoid of
a sense of humour as it has been the fashion to suppose[L], yet he
may well have failed to enjoy a public attack, however humorous, upon
two of his tales. It must be observed, however, that if we suppose
the passage in question to have been the cause of the excision of
Gower’s lines about Chaucer, we must assume that the publication of it
took place precisely within this period of a few months which elapsed
between the first and the second versions of Gower’s epilogue.
Before further considering the question as to what was actually our
author’s motive in omitting the tribute to his brother poet, we should
do well to observe that this tribute was apparently allowed to stand in
some copies of the rewritten epilogue. There is one good manuscript,
that in the possession of Lord Middleton, in which the verses about
Chaucer not only stand in combination with the new form of epilogue,
but in a text which has also the revised preface, dated two years
later[M]. Hence it seems possible that the exclusion of the Chaucer
verses was rather accidental than deliberate, and from this and other
considerations an explanation may be derived which will probably seem
too trivial, but nevertheless is perhaps the true one. We know from
the Fairfax MS. of the _Confessio Amantis_ and from several original
copies of the _Vox Clamantis_ that the author’s method of rewriting
his text was usually to erase a certain portion, sometimes a whole
column or page, and substitute a similar number of lines of other
matter. It will be observed here that for the thirty lines 2941*-2970*,
including the reference to Chaucer, are substituted thirty lines from
which that reference is excluded. After this come four Latin lines
replacing an equal number in the original recension, and then follow
fifteen lines, 2971-2985, which are the same except a single line in
the two editions. It may be that the author, wishing to mention the
departure of the Confessor and the thoughts which he had upon his
homeward way, sacrificed the Chaucer verses as an irrelevance, in order
to find room for this matter between the Adieu of Venus and the lines
beginning ‘He which withinne daies sevene,’ which he did not intend to
alter, and that this proceeding, carried out upon a copy of the first
recension which has not come down to us, determined the general form
of the text for the copies with epilogue rewritten, though in a few
instances care was taken to combine the allusion to Chaucer with the
other alterations. Such an explanation as this would be in accord with
the methods of the author in some other respects; for, as we shall see
later on, the most probable explanation of the omission in the third
recension of the additional passages in the fifth and seventh books,
is that a first recension copy was used in a material sense as a basis
for the third recension text, and it was therefore not convenient to
introduce alterations which increased the number of lines in the body
of the work.
iii. ANALYSIS.
PROLOGUS.
1-92. PREFACE. By the books of those that were before us we are
instructed, and therefore it is good that we also should write
something which may remain after our days. But to write of wisdom only
is not good. I would rather go by the middle path and make a book of
pleasure and profit both: and since few write in English, my meaning
is to make a book[N] for England’s sake now in the sixteenth year of
King Richard. Things have changed and books are less beloved than in
former days, but without them the fame and the example of the virtuous
would be lost. Thus I, simple scholar as I am, purpose to write a
book touching both upon the past and the present, and though I have
long been sick, yet I will endeavour as I may to provide wisdom for
the wise. For this prologue belongs all to wisdom, and by it the wise
may recall to their memory the fortunes of the world; but after the
prologue the book shall be of Love, which does great wonders among men.
Also I shall speak of the vices and virtues of rulers. But as my wit
is too small to admonish every man, I submit my work for correction to
my own lord Henry of Lancaster, with whom my heart is in accord, and
whom God has proclaimed the model of knighthood. God grant I may well
achieve the work which I have taken in hand.
93-192. TEMPORAL RULERS. In the time past things went well: there was
plenty and riches, with honour for noble deeds, and each estate kept
its due place. Justice was upheld and the people obeyed their rulers.
Man’s heart was then shown in his face and his thought expressed by
his words, virtue was exalted and vice abased. Now all is changed, and
above all discord and hatred have taken the place of love, there is no
stable peace, no justice and righteousness. All kingdoms are alike in
this, and heaven alone knows what is to be done. The sole remedy is
that those who are the world’s guides should follow good counsel and
should be obeyed by their people; and if king and council were at one,
it might be hoped that the war would be brought to an end, which is so
much against the peace of Christ’s religion and from which no land gets
any good. May God, who is above all things, give that peace of which
the lands have need.
193-498. THE CHURCH. Formerly the life of the clergy was an example to
all, there was no simony, no disputes in the Church, no ambition for
worldly honour. Pride was held a vice and humility a virtue. Alms were
given to the poor and the clergy gave themselves to preaching and to
prayer. Thus Christ’s faith was first taught, but now it is otherwise.
Simony and worldly strife prevail; and if priests take part in wars, I
know not who shall make the peace. But heaven is far and the world is
near, and they regard nothing but vainglory and covetousness, so that
the tithe goes at once to the war, as though Christ could not do them
right by other ways. That which should bring salvation to the world is
now the cause of evil: the prelates are such as Gregory wrote of, who
desire a charge in order that they may grow rich and great, and the
faith is hindered thereby. Ambition and avarice have destroyed charity;
Sloth is their librarian and delicacy has put away their abstinence.
Moreover Envy everywhere burns in the clergy like the fire of Etna,
as we may see now [in this year of grace 1390] at Avignon. To see the
Church thus fall between two stools is a cause of sorrow to us all:
God grant that it may go well at last with him who has the truth. But
as a fire spreads while men are slothfully drinking, so this schism
causes the new sect of Lollardy to spring up, and many another heresy
among the clergy themselves. It were better to dike and delve and have
the true faith, than to know all that the Bible says and err as some
of these do. If men had before their eyes the virtues which Christ
taught, they would not thus dispute about the Papacy. Each one attends
to his own profit, but none to the general cause of the Church, and
thus Christ’s fold is broken and the flock is devoured. The shepherds,
intent upon worldly good, wound instead of healing, and rob the sheep
unjustly of their wool. Nay, they drive them among the brambles, so
that they may have the wool which the thorns tear off. If the wolf
comes in the way, their staff is not at hand to defend the sheep,
but they are ready enough to smite the sheep with it, if they offend
ever so little. There are some indeed in whom virtue dwells, whom God
has called as Aaron was called, but most follow Simon at the heels,
whose chariot rolls upon wheels of covetousness and pride. They teach
how good it is to clothe and feed the poor, yet of their own goods
they do not distribute. They say that chastity should be preserved by
abstinence, but they eat daintily and lie softly, and whether they
preserve their chastity thereby, I dare not say: I hear tales, but I
will not understand. Yet the vice of the evil-doers is no reproof to
the good, for every man shall bear his own works.
499-584. THE COMMONS. As for the people, it is to be feared that that
may happen which has already come to pass in sundry lands, that they
may break the bounds and overflow in a ruinous flood. Everywhere there
is lack of law and growth of error; all say that this world has gone
wrong, and every one gives his judgement as to the cause; but he who
looks inwards upon himself will be ready to excuse his God, in whom
there is no default. The cause of evil is in ourselves. Some say it is
fortune and some the planets, but in truth all depends upon man. No
estate is secure, the fortune of it goes now up, now down, and all this
is in consequence of man’s doings. In the Bible I find a tale which
teaches that division is the chief cause why things may not endure,
and that man himself is to blame for the changes which have overthrown
kingdoms.
585-662. NABUGODONOSOR in a dream saw an image with the head and neck
of gold, the breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of brass,
the legs of steel, and the feet of mixed steel and clay. On the feet of
this image fell a great stone which rolled down from a hill, and the
image was destroyed. Daniel expounded this of the successive kingdoms
of the world.
663-880. These were the FOUR MONARCHIES, of Babylon, of Persia, of
the Greeks, and of the Romans. We are now in the last age, that of
dissension and division, as shown by the state of the Empire and the
Papacy. This is that which was designated by the feet of the image.
881-1088. We are near to the end of the world, as the apostle tells
us. The world stands now divided like the feet of the image. Wars are
general, and yet the clergy preach that charity is the foundation of
all good deeds. Man is the cause of all the evil, and therefore the
image bore the likeness of a man. The heavenly bodies, the air and
the earth suffer change and corruption through the sin of man, who
is in himself a little world. When he is disordered in himself, the
elements are all at strife with him and with each other. Division is
the cause of destruction. So it is with man, who has within him diverse
principles which are at strife with one another, and in whom also
there is a fatal division between the body and the soul, which led to
the fall from a state of innocence. The confusion of tongues at the
building of the tower of Babel was a further cause of division, and
at last all peace and charity shall depart, and the stone shall fall.
Thenceforward every man shall dwell either in heaven, where all is
peace, or in hell, which is full of discord.
Would God that there were in these days any who could set peace on the
earth, as Arion once by harping brought beasts and men into accord. But
this is a matter which only God can direct.
LIB. I.
1-92. I cannot stretch my hand to heaven and set in order the world: so
great a task is more than I am able to compass: I must let that alone
and treat of other things. Therefore I think to change from this time
forth the style of my writings, and to speak of a matter with which all
the world has to do, and that is Love; wherein almost all are out of
rule and measure, for no man is able to resist it or to find a remedy
for it. If there be anything in this world which is governed blindly by
fortune, it is love: this is a game in which no man knows whether he
shall win or lose. I am myself one who belongs to this school, and I
will tell what befel me not long since in regard to love, that others
may take example thereby.
93-202. I fared forth to walk in the month of May, when every bird
has chosen his mate and rejoices over the love which he has achieved;
but I was further off from mine than earth is from heaven. So to the
wood I went, not to sing with the birds, but to weep and lament; and
after a time I fell to the ground and wished for death. Then I looked
up to the heaven and prayed the god and the goddess of love to show me
some grace. Anon I saw them; and he, the king of love, passed me by
with angry look and cast at me a fiery lance, which pierced through my
heart. But the queen remained, and asked me who I was, and bade me make
known my malady. I told her that I had served her long and asked only
my due wage, but she frowned and said that there were many pretenders,
who in truth had done no service, and bade me tell the truth and show
forth all my sickness. ‘That can I well do,’ I replied, ‘if my life
may last long enough.’ Then she looked upon me and said, ‘My will is
first that thou confess thyself to my priest.’ And with that she called
Genius, her priest, and he came forth and sat down to hear my shrift.
203-288. This worthy priest bade me tell what I had felt for love’s
sake, both the joy and the sorrow; and I fell down devoutly on my knees
and prayed him to question me from point to point, lest I should forget
things which concerned my shrift, for my heart was disturbed so that I
could not myself direct my wits. He replied that he was there to hear
my confession and to question me: but he would not only speak of love;
for by his office of priest he was bound to set forth the moral vices.
Yet he would show also the properties of Love, for he was retained in
the service of Venus and knew little of other things. His purpose was
to expound the nature of every vice, as it became a priest to do, and
so to apply his teaching to the matter of love that I should plainly
understand his lore.
289-574. SINS OF SEEING AND HEARING. I prayed him to say his will, and
I would obey, and he bade me confess as touching my five senses, which
are the gates through which things come into the heart, and first of
the principal and most perilous, the sense of sight. Many a man has
done mischief to love through seeing, and often the fiery dart of love
pierces the heart through the eye. (289-332.)
Ovid tells a tale of the evils of ‘mislook,’ how _Acteon_ when hunting
came upon Diana and her nymphs bathing, and because he did not turn
away his eyes, he was changed into a hart and torn to pieces by his own
hounds. (333-378.)
Again, the _Gorgons_ were three sisters, who had but one eye between
them, which they passed one to another, and if any man looked upon
them he was straightway turned into a stone. These were all killed by
Perseus, to whom Pallas lent a shield with which he covered his face,
and Mercury a sword with which he slew the monsters. (389-435.)
My priest therefore bade me beware of misusing my sight, lest I also
should be turned to stone; and further he warned me to take good heed
of my hearing, for many a vanity comes to man’s heart through the ears.
(436-462.)
There is a serpent called _Aspidis_, which has a precious stone in his
head, but when a man tries to overcome him by charms in order to win
this stone, he refuses to hear the enchantment, laying one ear close to
the earth and stopping the other with his tail. (463-480.)
Moreover, in the tale of Troy we read of _Sirens_, who are in the form
of women above and of fishes below, and these sing so sweetly, that the
sailors who pass are enchanted by it and cannot steer their ships: so
they are wrecked and torn to pieces by the monsters. Uluxes, however,
escaped this peril by stopping the ears of his company, and then they
slew many of them. (481-529.)
From these examples (he said) I might learn how to keep the eye and
the ear from folly, and if I could control these two, the rest of the
senses were easy to rule. (530-549.)
I made my confession then, and said that as for my eyes I had indeed
cast them upon the Gorgon Medusa, and my heart had been changed into
stone, upon which my lady had graven an eternal mark of love. Moreover,
I was guilty also as regards my ear; for when I heard my lady speak,
my reason lost all rule, and I did not do as Uluxes did, but fell at
once in the place where she was, and was torn to pieces in my thought.
(550-567.)
God amend thee, my son, he said. I will ask now no more of thy senses,
but of other things. (568-574.)
THE SEVEN DEADLY VICES.--PRIDE.
575-1234. HYPOCRISY. Pride, the first of the seven deadly Vices, has
five ministers, of whom the first is called Hypocrisy. Hast thou been
of his company, my son?
I know not, father, what hypocrisy means. I beseech you to teach me
and I will confess. (575-593.)
A hypocrite is one who feigns innocence without, but is not so within.
Such are many of those who belong to the religious orders, with some
of those who occupy the high places of the Church, and others also who
pretend to piety, while all their design is to increase their worldly
wealth. (594-672.)
There are lovers also of this kind, who deceive by flattery and soft
speech, and who pretend to be suffering sickness for love, but are
ready always to beguile the woman who trusts them. Art thou one of
these, my son?
Nay, father, for I have no need to feign: my heart is always more sick
than my visage, and I am more humble towards my lady within than any
outward sign can show. I will not say but that I may have been guilty
towards others in my youth; but there is one towards whom my word has
ever been sincere.
It is well, my son, to tell the truth always towards love; for if thou
deceive and win thereby, thou wilt surely repent it afterwards, as a
tale which I will tell may show. (672-760.)
_Mundus and Paulina._ At Rome, in the time of Tiberius, a worthy lady
Pauline was deceived by Mundus, who bribed the priests of Isis and
induced them to bring her to the temple at night on pretence of meeting
the god Anubus. Mundus concealed himself in the temple and personated
the god. Meeting her on her way home he let her understand the case,
and she, overcome with grief and shame, reported the matter to her
husband. The priests were put to death, Mundus was sent into exile, and
the image of Isis was thrown into the Tiber. (761-1059.)
_The Trojan Horse._ Again, to take a case of the evil wrought by
Hypocrisy in other matters, we read how, when the Greeks could not
capture Troy, they made a horse of brass and secretly agreeing with
Antenor and Eneas they concluded a feigned peace with the Trojans and
desired to bring this horse as an offering to Minerva into the city.
The gates were too small to admit it, and so the wall was broken
down, and the horse being brought in was offered as an evidence of
everlasting peace with Troy. The Greeks then departed to their ships,
as if to set sail, but landed again in the night on a signal from
Sinon. They came up through the broken gate, and slew those within, and
burnt the city. (1060-1189.)
Thus often in love, when a man seems most true, he is most false, and
for a time such lovers speed, but afterwards they suffer punishment.
Therefore eschew Hypocrisy in love. (1190-1234.)
1235-1875. INOBEDIENCE. The second point of Pride is Inobedience,
which bows before no law, whether of God or man. Art thou, my son,
disobedient to love?
Nay, father, except when my lady bids me forbear to speak of my love,
or again when she bids me choose a new mistress. She might as well say,
‘Go, take the Moon down from its place in heaven,’ as bid me remove
her love out of my breast. Thus far I disobey, but in no other thing.
(1235-1342.)
There are two attendants, my son, on this vice, called _Murmur_ and
_Complaint_, which grudge at all the fortune that betides, be it good
or bad. And so among lovers there are those who will not faithfully
submit to love, but complain of their fortune, if they fail of anything
that they desire.
My father, I confess that at times I am guilty of this, when my lady
frowns upon me, but I dare not say a word to her which might displease
her. I murmur and am disobedient in my heart, and so far I confess that
I am ‘unbuxom.’
I counsel thee, my son, to be obedient always to love’s hest, for
obedience often avails where strength may do nothing; and of this I
remember an example written in a chronicle. (1343-1406.)
There was a knight, nephew to the emperor, by name _Florent_,
chivalrous and amorous, who seeking adventures was taken prisoner by
enemies. He had slain the son of the captain of the castle to which
he was led; and they desired to take vengeance on him, but feared
the emperor. An old and cunning dame, grandmother to the slain man,
proposed a condition. He should be allowed to go, on promise of
returning within a certain time, and then he should suffer death unless
he could answer rightly the question, ‘What do all women most desire?’
He gave his pledge, and sought everywhere an answer to the question,
but without success. When the day approached, he set out; and as he
passed through a forest, he saw a loathly hag sitting under a tree. She
offered to save him if he would take her as his wife. He refused at
first, but then seeing no other way, he accepted, on the condition that
he should try all other answers first, and if they might save him he
should be free. She told him that what all women most desire is to be
sovereign of man’s love. He saved himself by this answer, and returned
to find her, being above all things ashamed to break his troth. Foul as
she was, he respected her womanhood, and set her upon his horse before
him. He reached home, journeying by night and hiding himself by day,
and they were wedded in the night, she in her fine clothes looking
fouler than before. When they were in bed, he turned away from her,
but she claimed his bond; and he turning towards her saw a young lady
of matchless beauty by his side. She stayed him till he should make
his choice, whether he would have her thus by night or by day; and he,
despairing of an answer, left it to her to decide. By thus making her
his sovereign, he had broken the charm which bound her. She was the
king’s daughter of Sicily, and had been transformed by her stepmother,
till she should win the love and sovereignty of a peerless knight. Thus
obedience may give a man good fortune in love. (1407-1861.)
Know then, my son, that thou must ever obey thy love and follow her
will.
By this example, my father, I shall the better keep my observance to
love. Tell me now if there be any other point of Pride. (1862-1882.)
1883-2383. SURQUIDRY or PRESUMPTION holds the third place in the court
of Pride. He does everything by guess and often repents afterwards: he
will follow no counsel but his own, depends only on his own wit, and
will not even return thanks to God.
When he is a lover, he thinks himself worthy to love any queen, and he
often imagines that he is loved when he is not. Tell me, what of this,
my son?
I trow there is no man less guilty here than I, or who thinks himself
less worthy. Love is free to all men and hides in the heart unseen,
but I shall not for that imagine that I am worthy to love. I confess,
however, that I have allowed myself to think that I was beloved when I
was not, and thus I have been guilty. But if ye would tell me a tale
against this vice, I should fare the better. (1883-1976.)
My son, the proud knight _Capaneus_ trusted so in himself that he
would not pray to the gods, and said that prayer was begotten only of
cowardice. But on a day, when he assailed the city of Thebes, God took
arms against his pride and smote him to dust with a thunderbolt. Thus
when a man thinks himself most strong, he is nearest to destruction.
(1977-2009.)
Again, when a man thinks that he can judge the faults of others and
forgets his own, evil often comes to him, as in the tale which follows.