'And, if I shal shortly him discryve,
Was never noon [un]to this day alyve,
To reken all[e], bothe of yonge and olde,
That worthy was his inkhorn for to holde.'
Similar passages occur in some of his other works, and shew that he
regarded Chaucer with affectionate reverence.
Allusions in later authors have only a literary value, and need not be
cited in a Life of Chaucer.
* * * * *
I subjoin (on p. lxii.) a List of Chaucer's genuine works, arranged, as
nearly as I can conjecture, in their chronological order. Of his poetical
excellence it is superfluous to speak; Lowell's essay on 'Chaucer' in My
Study Windows gives a just estimate of his powers.