Quotes by Geoffrey Chaucer

He loved chivalrye Trouthe and honour, freedom and curteisye.

Lat take a cat, and fostre him wel with milk, And tendre flesh, and make his couche of silk, And let him seen a mous go by the wal; Anon he weyveth milk, and flesh, and al, And every deyntee that is in that hous, Swich appetyt hath he to ete a mous.

No-wher so bisy a man as he ther nas And yet he semed bisier than he was.

And as for me, thogh that I can but lyte, On bakes for to rede I me delyte, And to hem yeve I feyth and ful credence, And in myn herte have hem in reverence So hertely, that ther is game noon, That fro my bokes maketh me to goon, But hit be seldom, on the holyday; Save, certeynly, when that the month of May Is comen, and that I here the foules singe, And that the floures ginnen for to springe, Farwel my book and my devocion.

His studie was but litel on the bible.

HYD, Absolon, they gilte tresses clere; Ester, ley thou thy meknesse al a-doun; Hyd, Jonathas, al thy frendly manere; Penalopee, and Marcia Catoun, Mak of your wyfhod no comparisoun; Hyde ye your beautes, Isoude and Eleyne, Alceste is here, that al that may desteyne. Thy faire bodye, let hit net appere, Lavyne; and thou, Lucresse of Rome toun, And Polixene, that boghte love so dere, Eek Cleopatre, with al thy passioun, Hyde ye your trouthe in love and your renoun; And thou, Tisbe, that hast for love swich peyne: Alceste is here, that al that may desteyne. Herro, Dido, Laudomia, alle in-fere, Eek Phyllis, hanging for thy Demophoun, And Canace, espyed by thy chere, Ysiphile, betrayed with Jasoun, Mak of your trouthe in love no boft ne soun; Nor Ypermistre or Adriane, ne pleyne; Alceste is here, that al that may desteyne.

'Thou lokest as thou woldest finde an hare, For ever up-on the ground I see thee stare.'

By God, if women had but written stories, As have these clerks within their oratories, They would have written of men more wickedness Than all the race of Adam could redress.

'My lige lady, generally,' quod he, 'Wommen desyren to have sovereyntee As well over hir housbond as hir love.'

What is bettre than wisdom ? Womman. And what is bettre than a good womman? No-thing.