1380

CANTERBURY TALES

THE TALE OF MELIBEUS

by Geoffrey Chaucer

A young man named Melibeus, mighty and rich, begot on Prudence,

his wife, a daughter who was called Sophie.

It happened one day that, for his amusement he went into the

fields to play. His wife and daughter remained at home, the doors of

his house being all fast shut and locked. But three of his old

enemies, having spied out the state of things, set ladders to the wall

of the house and entered therein by a window; and they beat the wife

and wounded the daughter with five dangerous wounds in five

different places; that is to say, in her feet, in her hands, in her

ears, in her nose, and in her mouth; and they left her for dead and

went away.

When Melibeus returned to his house and saw all this mischief, he,

like a madman, rending his clothes, began to weep and cry.

Prudence his wife, so far as she dared, besought him to cease his

weeping; nevertheless he wept and cried but the more.

This noble wife Prudence remembered then the opinion of Ovid, in his

book The Remedy for Love, wherein he says: "He is but a fool who

interferes with the mother weeping for the death of her child, until

she shall have wept her fill, and for a certain time; and only then

may a man be diligent, with kind words, to comfort her, and pray her

to forgo her tears." For which reason this noble wife Prudence

suffered, her husband to weep and cry for a time; and when she saw her

opportunity, she spoke to him. "Alas, my lord!" said she, "Why do

you allow yourself to act like a fool? For truly it becomes not a wise

man to show such sorrow. Your daughter, by grace of God, shall be

healed and will recover. And were she dead even now, you ought not,

for this, to destroy yourself. Seneca says: 'The wise man will not

take too sorrowfully to heart the death of his children, but will

suffer it with patience, just as he awaits the death of his own

body.'"

Melibeus answered, saying: "What man should cease his weeping who

has so great a cause to weep? Jesus Christ Our Lord Himself wept for

the death of His friend Lazarus."

Prudence replied: "Indeed, well do I know that moderate weeping is

not forbidden to anyone who sorrows, among sorrowing folk; but,

rather, it is permitted him to weep. The Apostle Paul writes unto

the Romans: 'Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them

that weep.' But though a tempered weeping may be granted, excessive

weeping certainly is forbidden. Moderation in grief should be

considered, according to the teaching of Seneca. 'When your friend

is dead,' says he, 'let not your eyes be too wet with tears, nor yet

too dry; and though your tears rise to the eyes, let them not fall.'

So, when you have given over your friend, be diligent in procuring

another; and this is wiser than to weep for the friend who is lost;

for therein is no profit. And therefore, if you govern yourself with

wisdom, put away sorrow out of your heart. Remember how Jesus son of

Sirach says: 'A joyous and glad heart makes a man flourish in his age;

but truly a sorrowful heart drieth the bones.' He says also that

sorrow hath killed many a man. Solomon says that as moths in the

sheep's fleece annoy the clothes, and as small worms the tree, so

sorrow annoys the heart. Wherefore we ought to be patient, not less

for the death of our children than for the loss of worldly goods.

"Remember the patient Job, when he had lost his children and his

substance, and had in his body received and endured many a grievous

tribulation, yet said he thus: 'The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken

away; blessed be the name of the Lord.'"

To these things Melibeus answered, saying to Prudence his wife: "All

your words are true, and likewise profitable, but verily my heart is

troubled so grievously with this sorrow that I know not what to do."

"Call, then," said Prudence, "all of your true friends and those

of your kindred who are wise; tell them your trouble and hearken to

what they say in council; and then govern yourself according to

their advice. Says Solomon: 'Do nothing without advice, and thou shalt

never repent.'"

Then, upon the advice of his wife Prudence, Melibeus called together

a great gathering of people, old and young; and some among them were

surgeons and physicians; and some were of his old enemies who seemed

to have become reconciled to him; and there came some of his

neighbours who respected him more out of fear than of love, as often

happens; there came also a great many subtle flatterers; and there

were wise advocates learned in the law.

And when all these folks were assembled together, Melibeus, with

sorrowful words and mien, told them his trouble; and by the manner

of his speech it appeared that in his heart he bore a savage anger,

ready to take vengeance upon his foes, and was desirous that the war

upon them should quickly come. Nevertheless, he asked their advice

upon this matter. Then a surgeon, by leave and voice of all present

who were wise, rose up and spoke to Melibeus as you shall hear.

"Sir," said he, "as for us surgeons, it belongs to us that we do for

everyone the best that we can, when we have been retained, and that we

do no harm to our patients. Wherefore it happens, many times and

oft, that when two men have wounded one another, the same surgeon

heals them both. Therefore it does not become us to foment warfare nor

to support factions. And certainly, as to the healing of your

daughter, although she is dangerously wounded, we will be so

attentive, by day and by night, that, with God's grace, she shall be

made sound and whole again, and that as soon as may be possible."

Almost in the same words the physicians answered, save that they

added: "Just as diseases are cured by their contraries, so shall men

cure war by vengeance."

His neighbours, full of envy, his false friends who feigned to be

reconciled to him, and his flatterers, made a semblance of weeping;

and they greatly aggravated the matter by praising Melibeus,

speaking of his might, his power, his wealth, and his friends, and

disparaging the strength of his enemies; and they said outright,

that very swiftly he should begin the war and wreak vengeance upon his

foes.

Then arose an advocate, a wise man, by leave and advice of others

who were wise, and said: "Masters, the matter for which we are

assembled here is a heavy thing, and a high, what with the wrong and

wickedness that have been done, and by reason of the great evil that

may follow hereafter from this same cause; and, too, by reason of

the great wealth and power of both parties. For all of these reasons

it were dangerous indeed to err in this matter. Wherefore, Melibeus,

this is our judgment: we counsel you above all things, that, without

delay, you take steps to guard your own person in such wise that you

shall lack neither spy nor watchman. And we counsel, that in your

house you establish a sufficient garrison, so that the house may be as

well defended as you yourself. But, to say truth, as to initiating

warfare in order to obtain a sudden revenge, we can give no opinion,

in so short a time, on whether such a move will be profitable.

Therefore we ask for leisure and time wherein to deliberate upon the

matter more fully. For the common proverb runs 'Resolve in haste, in

haste repent.' And besides, men hold that he is a wise judge who

quickly understands a case and leisurely pronounces thereupon. For

though delay may be annoying, nevertheless it is not to be blamed when

it is a question of rendering just judgments, or of securing

vengeance, when the delay is both sufficient and reasonable. And

that was shown, in example, by Our Lord Jesus Christ. For when the

woman taken in adultery was brought into His presence, in order to

learn what He would have them to do with her, though He well knew what

He would thereafter answer, yet would He not answer quickly, but

deliberated; and He stooped down and wrote twice upon the ground.

For all these reasons, we ask time in which to deliberate, and

thereafter we will counsel you, by the grace of God, as to the most

profitable course."

Up started, then, all of the young folk, at once, and the greater

part of them scorned the counsel of the old wise men; and they

raised a clamour and said: that just as it is well to strike while the

iron is hot, so should men wreak their vengeance while they are

fresh in anger. And they all cried loudly, "War, war!"

Upon this, one of the old wise ones arose, and with his hand

commanding silence and attention, he said: "Masters, there is many a

man to cry 'War, War!' who yet knows but little of the meaning of

it. War, in the beginning, has so high an entrance, and so wide,

that every man may enter when he pleases, and may find war easily. But

truly, what the end of war shall be is not so easy to know. For when a

war is once begun, many an unborn child shall die in the womb

because of the strife, or else shall be born into sorrow and die in

wretchedness. Therefore, ere any war begins, men should take much

counsel together and act only after much deliberation."

But when this old man thought to reinforce his words with reasons,

then well-nigh all the younger folk arose and began to heckle him

and to break up his argument, bidding him cut short his remarks. For

indeed, he that preaches to those who have ears but hear not, makes of

himself a nuisance. As Jesus son of Sirach says: "A tale out of season

is as musick in mourning." Which is to say, it avails as much to speak

to folk to whom the speech is annoying as to sing before one who

weeps. And when this wise man understood that he lacked an audience,

he sat down again, much confused. For Solomon says: "When there is

none will hear thee, cease to speak." "I see well," said this wise

man, "that the proverb says truth, which runs, 'Good counsel is

wanting when it is most needed.'"

Again, Melibeus had in his council many men who said one thing in

his private ear and spoke otherwise in general audience.

When Melibeus heard that the greater part of his councillors were

agreed on war, straightway he showed himself in accord with them and

confirmed their judgment. Then Dame Prudence, seeing that her

husband shaped his course for war and revenge, humbly and after biding

her time, said to him: "My lord, I beseech you as earnestly as I

dare and can, that you go not too hastily in this matter; and for your

own good give me a hearing. For Petrus Alfonsus says: 'And if one

man do to another any good or any evil, let there be no haste to repay

it in kind; for then will the friend remain friendly, while the

enemy shall but the longer fear.' The proverb has it: 'He hastens well

who wisely can delay.' And in foolish haste there is no profit."

This Melibeus answered Prudence his wife: "I purpose not to work

by your counsel, for many causes and reasons. For truly every man

would then take me for a fool; by which I mean: if I by your advising,

should change things that have been ordained and confirmed by so

many wise men. Secondly, I say that all women are evil and none

good. 'Behold, this have I found (saith the Preacher), counting one by

one, to find out the account; which yet my soul seeketh, but I found

not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all

those have I not found.' And certainly, if I were to be governed by

your counsel, it would appear as if I had given over to you my

sovereignty; and may God forbid that such a thing should ever be.

For Jesus son of Sirach says: 'A woman, if she maintain her husband,

is full of anger, impudence,' and much reproach.' And Solomon says:

'Give not thy son and wife, thy brother and friend, power over thee

while thou livest, and give not thy goods to another: lest it repent

thee, and thou entreat for the same again. As long as thou livest

and hast breath in thee, give not thyself over to any. For better it

is that thy children should seek to thee, than that thou shouldest

stand to their courtesy.' And also, if I were to work according to

your counselling, certain it is that my counsels must be kept secret

until the proper time to make them known; and this could not thus

be. For it is written that 'The chattering of women can conceal

nothing except that which they do not know.' Furthermore, the

philosopher says: 'In evil counsel women surpass men.' And for all

these reasons I will not follow your advice."

When Dame Prudence, very affably and with great patience, had

heard all that her husband chose to say, then she asked of him leave

to speak, and said: "My lord, as to your first reason, surely it may

readily be answered. For I say that it is no folly to over-rule

counsel when circumstances are changed, or when the cause appears

otherwise than at the first. And, moreover, I say that though you have

sworn and warranted to perform your enterprise, nevertheless, should

you refuse for just cause to perform it, men will not therefore say

that you are a liar and forsworn. For the book says that the wise

man deals not falsely when he changes his first purpose for a better

one. And although your undertaking be ordained and established by a

great many men, yet you need not accomplish it, unless you like. For

the truth of things, and the profit thereof, are found rather among

a few folk who are wise and reasonable than among the multitude, where

every man cries and gabbles as he likes. Truly such a crowd is not

worthy of honour. As to the second reason, wherein you say that all

women are evil, then certainly, saving your grace, you must despise

all women by so saying; and he that despises all displeases all, as

the book says. And Seneca says that 'Whoso has sapience will not any

man dispraise; but he will gladly impart such knowledge as he can, and

that without presumption and pride. And for such things as he knows

not, he will not be ashamed to inquire of and learn from lesser folk.'

And, sir, that there has been many a good woman may be easily

proved. For certainly, sir, Our Lord Jesus Christ would never have

condescended to be born of a woman if all women had been evil. And

thereafter, for the great worth that is in women, Our Lord Jesus

Christ, when He had risen from death unto life, appeared to a woman,

rather than to His disciples. And although Solomon says that he

never found good in any woman, it follows not, therefore, that all

women are wicked. For, though he may never have found a good woman,

surely many another man has found full many a woman to be both good

and true. Or perchance Solomon's meaning was this: that so far as

the highest virtue is concerned, he found no such woman; which is to

say, that there is no one who has sovereign goodness and worth, save

God alone, as He Himself has caused to be recorded in His gospels. For

there is no creature so good that he is not somehow wanting in the

perfection of God, Who is his Maker. Your third reason is this: You

say that if you were to be governed by my counsel, it should appear as

if you had given over to me the mastery and sovereignty of your

person. Sir, saving your presence, it is not so. For, if it were true,

then, in order that no man should ever be advised, save by those who

had mastery over his person, men could not so often be advised. For

truly, every man who asks counsel concerning any purpose yet retains

his freedom to choose whether he will or will not proceed by that

counselling. And as to your fourth reason, wherein you say that the

chattering of women can hide things of the which they are not aware,

as one might say that a woman cannot hide what she knows- sir, these

words are only to be understood of women who are both evil and

gossipy; of which women men say that three things will drive a man out

of his own house: smoke, and the dripping of rain, and a wicked

wife. And further, of such women, Solomon says: 'It were better to

dwell in a corner of the housetop than with a brawling woman in a wide

house.' And, sir, by your leave, that I am not; for you have often

enough tested my ability to keep silence, and tried my patience, and

even how I can hide and conceal matters that men ought to keep secret.

And, in good truth, as to your fifth reason, wherein you say that in

evil counsel women surpass men, God knows that this reason has no

standing here. For understand now, you ask counsel to do wickedness;

and if your will is to work wickedness, and your wife restrains such

an ill purpose and overcomes you by reason and good counsel given,

then, certainly, your wife ought rather to be praised than blamed.

Thus should you understand the saw of the philosopher who says that in

evil counsel women surpass their husbands. And whereas you blame all

women and their reasonings, I will show you, by many examples, that

many women have been good and are yet, and have given counsel both

wholesome and profitable. True, some men have said that the advice

of women is either too dear or too cheap in price. But, be it that

many a woman is bad, and her counsel vile and worthless, yet men

have found many a good woman, full wise and full discreet in giving

counsel. Behold how Jacob, by following the good advice of his

mother Rebecca, won the blessing of Isaac, his father, and came to

authority over all his brethren. Judith, by her good counsel,

delivered the city of Bethulia, wherein she dwelt, out of the hands of

Holofernes, who besieged it and who would have completely destroyed

it. Abigail delivered her husband Nabal from David the king, who would

have slain him, and appeased the anger of the king by her wit and good

advising. Esther, by her good counsel, greatly exalted the people of

God in the reign of King Ahasuerus. And men may tell much of the

same excellence of good advice in many a good woman. Moreover, when

Our Lord had created Adam, our forefather, he said thus: 'It is not

good that the man should be alone: I will make him a help meet for

him.' Here you may see that, if women were not good, and their

counsels good and profitable, Our Lord God of Heaven would never

have wrought them, nor called them the help of man, but, rather, the

confusion of man. And once a writer said, in two verses: 'What is

better than gold? Jasper. What is better than jasper? Wisdom. What

is better than wisdom? Woman. And what is better than woman? Nothing.'

And, sir, by many other examples you may see that women are good and

their counselling both good and profitable. And thereupon, sir, if you

will trust to my advice, I will restore to you your daughter whole and

sound. And moreover, I will do for you so much that you shall come out

of this affair with honour."

When Melibeus had listened to the words of his wife Prudence, he

said: "I see well that the word of Solomon is true. He says, 'Pleasant

words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the

bones.' And, wife, because of your sweet words, and because, moreover,

I have tried and proved your great wisdom and your great truthfulness,

I will be governed in all things by your counsels."

"Now, sir," said Dame Prudence, "since you give yourself to be

governed by my advice, I will tell you how to choose your councillors.

You shall first, in all your works, meekly pray to the high God that

He will be your adviser, and you shall mould your understanding in

such wise that He may give you counsel and comfort, as Tobit taught

his son, that is to say: 'Bless the Lord thy God always, and desire of

Him that thy ways may be directed and that all thy paths and

counsels may prosper.' And look to it that all your counsels are in

Him for evermore. Saint James, also, says: 'If any of you lack wisdom,

let him ask of God.' And after that, then shall you take counsel

within yourself, and examine well your thoughts, concerning all things

that seem to be the best for your own profit. And then shall you drive

from your heart three things that are opposed to the following of good

counsel, and they are anger, and covetousness, and hastiness.

"First, he that takes counsel within himself, certainly he must be

free from anger, and this for many reasons. The first one is this:

He that has great ire and wrath within himself thinks always that he

is capable of doing things that he cannot do. Secondly, he that is

angry and full of wrath cannot think or judge well, and he that cannot

judge well cannot well advise. The third reason is this: That 'He that

is angry,' as says Seneca, 'can speak only to berate and blame.' And

thus with his vicious words he drives others into a like state.

"And too, sir, you must drive covetousness out of your heart. For

the Apostle says that 'The love of money is the root of all evil.'

And, trust me, a covetous man cannot judge correctly, nor can he think

well, save only to the furtherance of his covetousness; and that, in

truth, can never really be accomplished, because the richer he

becomes, the greater desire has he for yet a larger abundance.

"And, sir, you must drive hastiness out of your inmost heart. For

certain it is that you cannot hold to be best the sudden thought

that comes into your heart, but you must weigh it and advise upon

it. For, as you have heard before, the common proverb has it that he

who resolves in haste soon repents. Sir, you are not always in like

mood and of a like disposition; for surely that which at one time

seems good to you, at another appears to be quite the contrary.

"When you have taken counsel within yourself, and have, after due

deliberation, deemed such, or such, a thing to be for the best,

then, I advise you, keep it secret. Reveal not your intentions to

any person, save to such as you may certainly know will be of help

to render your position more tenable through such revelation. For

Jesus son of Sirach says 'Whether it be to a friend or a foe, talk not

of other men's lives; and if thou canst without offense, reveal them

not. For he heard and observed thee, and when time cometh he will hate

thee.' And another writer says: 'Hardly shalt thou find one person who

can keep secrets.' The Book says: 'While thou dost keep thy counsel in

thine own heart, thou keepest it imprisoned; and when thou revealest

it to anyone, he holdeth thee imprisoned.' And therefore it is

better that you hide your thoughts within your own heart, than pray to

him to whom you have told them that he will be close and keep silence.

For Seneca says: 'If thou canst not keep thine own counsel, how darest

thou beg of another that he will do so?' But, nevertheless, if you

deem certainly that the revealing of your secret to anyone will better

your condition, then tell it to him in this wise. First, you shall

give no indication whether you prefer peace or war, or this or that,

and show him not your determination and intent; for, trust me,

councillors are commonly flatterers, especially the councillors of

great lords. For they are at pains always to speak pleasantly,

inclining toward the lord's desire, rather than to use words that are,

in themselves, true and profitable. And therefore men say that the

rich man rarely receives good counsel, save as he has it from himself.

And after that, you shall consider your friends and your enemies.

Touching your friends, you must consider which of them are most old

and faithful, and wisest, and most approved in counselling. And of

them shall you ask advice, as the event requires.

"I say that first you must call into council such of your friends as

are true. For Solomon says: 'Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart;

so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.' He says

also: 'Nothing doth countervail a faithful friend, and his

excellency is invaluable.' For certain it is that neither gold nor

silver are worth so much as the goodwill of a true friend. Again he

says: 'A faithful friend is a strong defence: and he that hath found

such an one hath found a treasure.'

"Then, too, shall you consider whether your real friends are

discreet and wise. For the Book says: 'Stand in the multitude of the

elders, and cleave unto him that is wise.' And for this reason you

should call to your council, of your friends that have arrived at a

proper age, those who have seen and experienced many. things, and

who have been approved in parliaments. For the Book says: 'With the

ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.' And Tullius

says: 'Great things are not accomplished by strength and activity of

body, but by counsel, authority, and knowledge; and these things do

not become enfeebled with age, but rather grow stronger and increase

day after day.'

"And then you shall keep this for a general rule. First, you shall

call to your council but a few of your most special friends. For

Solomon says: 'Have thou many friends, but of a thousand choose but

one to be thy councillor.' And although you should, at the first, tell

your secrets to but a few, afterward you may tell them to others, if

there be need. But look to it always that your councillors have the

three attributes that I have mentioned, namely: that they are true,

wise, and experienced. And act not always, and in every need, by the

advice of one councillor alone; for sometimes it is well to have the

advice of many. Says Solomon: 'Without counsel purposes are

disappointed: but in the multitude of councillors they are

established.'

"Now that I have told you of the sort of folk by whom you should

be counselled, I will teach you which sort of counsel you ought to

eschew. First, you shall avoid the counselling of fools. For Solomon

says: 'Consult not with a fool, for he cannot keep counsel.' It is

said in a book that the characteristic of a fool is this: he readily

believes evil of everyone. and as readily believes all good of

himself. You shall also eschew the counselling of all flatterers, such

as force themselves rather to praise your person than to tell you

the truth about things.

"Wherefore Tullius says, that of all the pestilences of

friendship, the greatest is flattery. And so it is more needful that

you eschew and fear flatterers than any other kind of men. The Book

says that one should rather flee from and fear the sweet words of

flatterers than the earnest words of the friend who tells one the

truth. Solomon says that the words of a flatterer are a snare

wherewith to catch innocents. He says also, that he who speaks sweet

words to his friend, sets before his feet a net to catch him. And

therefore says Tullius Cicero: 'Incline not thine ears to

flatterers, nor take counsel of flattering words.' And Cato says:

'Be well advised, and avoid sweet and pleasant words.' And you must

also eschew the counsels of such of your former enemies as have become

reconciled to you. The Book says that no one can safely trust to the

goodwill of a former enemy. And Aesop says: 'Trust not to those with

whom you have been sometime at war or in enmity, neither tell them

of your intentions.' And Seneca tells us the reason for this. 'It

may not be,' says he, 'that, where fire has long existed there shall

remain no vapour of heat.' And thereto says Solomon: 'The kisses of an

enemy are deceitful.' For, certainly, though your enemy may be

reconciled, and appear before you in all humility, and bow his head to

you, you should never trust him. Surely he feigns this humility more

for his advantage than for any love of you; for he thinks to gain some

victory over you by such feigning, the which he could not gain by

strife of open war. And Petrus Alfonsus says: 'Have no fellowship with

ancient foes; for if you do good to them, they will pervert it into

evil.' And, too, you must eschew the advice of those who are your

own servants and bear themselves toward you with all reverence; for

perchance they speak more out of fear than for love. And therefore

says a philosopher thus: 'There is no one perfectly true to him of

whom he is afraid.' And Tullius says: 'There is no power of any

emperor, fitted to endure, save it be founded more in the love of

the people than in the fears.' You must also avoid the counselling

of drunkards; for they can retain nothing. Solomon says that there

is no secrecy where drunkenness reigns. You should also suspect the

counsels of such as advise you privately to one thing and to a

contrary thing in public. For Cassiodorus says that it is but an

artifice to hinder when a man does one thing openly and its contrary

in private. You should also hold suspect the counselling of the

wicked. For the Book says that the advice of the wicked is always full

of fraud. And David says that he is a happy man who has I not followed

the counselling of villains. You should also avoid and shun the advice

of the young; for their judgments are not mature.

"And. now, sir, that I have shown you as to the folk from whom you

may take counsel, and what counsel you may accept and follow, now will

I teach you how that counsel should be examined, according to the

doctrines of Tullius. In bringing a councillor to the test, you must

consider many things. First, you should consider that, in this very

thing that you purpose, and upon which you are in need of advice, only

the truth may be told; that is to say, state your case truthfully. For

he that lies or prevaricates may not well be counselled, at least in

so far as he has deceived. And after this, you must consider the

things that agree with your purpose in council; whether reason

agrees therewith; and whether you have power to attain your purpose;

and whether the major and the better part of your council agree with

it. Then shall you consider the probable result of acting upon all

your advices: as hate, peace, war, honour, gain, loss, and many

other things. And in all these things you must choose the best and

avoid all else. Then must you take into consideration the root whereof

is grown the matter of your counselling, and what fruit it may

engender. Then, too, you shall consider all of the causes and

examine into the causes of causes. And when you have examined your

counselling as I have outlined to you, and have determined which

part of it is the better and more profitable, and have found it to

be approved by many wise and elderly men: then shall you consider

whether you have power to carry it to a good end. For surely reason

will not permit a man to begin a thing, save he carry it through as he

should. Nor should anyone take upon himself a burden so heavy that

he cannot bear it. For says the proverb: He that too much embraces,

confines but little. And Cato says: 'Attempt only what thou hast power

to do, lest the great task so oppress thee that it shall behoove

thee to forgo that which thou hast begun.' And if it be that you are

in doubt whether you can perform a thing, choose rather to suffer than

to begin. For Petrus Alfonsus says: 'If you have power to do any thing

which you must later regret, it is better to say nay than yea.' That

is to say, it is better to keep silence than to speak. Then may you

apprehend, and for stronger reasons, that if you have the ability to

carry out any work whereof it is likely that later you must repent,

then it is better to suffer it to remain undone than to begin it. Well

do they speak who forbid a man to attempt a thing of which he has

doubt of his ability to perform it. And afterward, when you have

thoroughly examined your counsels, as I have set forth, and are

convinced that you can carry through your enterprise to its goal,

conform to it, then, gravely and carefully to the end.

'Now it is time that I instruct you when and for what you may change

your intention without reproach. For truly a man may change purpose

and plan when the cause for them is removed, or when a new condition

arises. For the law says that new conditions demand new counsels.

And Seneca says: 'If thy plan be come to the ears of thine enemy,

change thy plan.' You may also change your plan if it develops that,

through error or for other reason, harm will ensue from following

it. Also, if your counselling is dishonest, or comes of a false

premise, change your plan. For the laws provide that all dishonest

mandates are invalid. And plans may be altered if they are

impossible of fulfilment, or may not well be performed.

"And take this for a general rule: That every counsel that is so

rigorously established that it cannot be altered, for any condition

that may arise, I say that counsel is vicious."

This Melibeus, when he had heard all the doctrines of his wife, Dame

Prudence, answered her thus: "Dame, so far you have well and agreeably

taught me, in a general way, how I should govern myself in the

choosing and in the rejecting of councillors. But now I would fain

have you descend to the particular, and tell me how you like them

and how they appear to you- I mean, the councillors who have been

already chosen in the present need."

"My lord," said she, "I beg of you, in all humility, that you will

not wilfully object to my reasons, nor allow anger to enter your

heart, even though I should say things that must displease you. For

God knows that, as for my intention, I speak to your best interest,

your honour, and your advantage. And, truly, I hope that your

benignity will take it all in patience. Trust me, your counselling

in this case should not be called counselling, properly speaking,

but only a motion to do folly; and you have erred in many ways.

"First and foremost, you have erred in the method and manner of

assembling your councillors. For you should have called, at first, but

a few, and thereafter, had there arisen a need, you might have

called in more. But, indeed, you have suddenly called into council a

great multitude of persons, all very burdensome and all very

tiresome to hear. Also, you have erred thus: whereas you should have

called into council only your true friends, elderly and wise, you have

gathered here many strange men, and young men, false flatterers,

reconciled enemies, and men who do you reverence without love.

Again, you have erred in that you have brought with you into council

anger, covetousness, and hastiness, the which three things are

antagonistic to every honest and profitable parliament; nor have you

voided nor destroyed them, either in yourself or in your

councillors, as you ought to have done. You have erred, again, in that

you have revealed your wishes to your councillors, and your desire

to make war and obtain vengeance; they have learned from your speeches

the thing toward which you incline. Therefore, they have advised you

agreeably to your wishes, rather than to your profit. You have

erred, also, in that it appears to have sufficed you to be

counselled by these councillors only, and with little advising;

whereas, in so great and high a matter, it was really encumbent upon

you to have procured more councillors and to have deliberated longer

upon the means of performing your enterprise. Again you have erred,

for you have not examined and tested your council in the manner

aforesaid, nor in any manner required by the cause. You have erred,

again, in that you have made no division between your councillors;

that is to say, between your true friends and your feigned; nor have

you learned the desire of your true friends, the elderly and wise of

them; but you have cast the words of every man into a hotchpot, and

you have then inclined your heart toward the majority, and upon that

side have you stooped to folly. And since you well know that men

must always exhibit, in any gathering, a greater number of fools

than of wise heads, therefore in those councils composed of large

numbers, where rather is considered the will of the majority than

the wisdom of individuals, you may see easily enough that in such

cases the fools must have the mastery."

Melibeus answered her again, saying: "I grant that I have erred; but

since you have already told me that he is not to blame who changes

councillors under certain conditions and for just causes, I stand

ready to change mine, just as you shall prompt. The proverb runs: To

err is human, but to persist in sin is the work of the devil."

To this replied. Dame Prudence: "Examine your council, and let us

see which of them have spoken most reasonably and given the best

advice. And since such an examination is necessary, let us begin

with the surgeons and physicians who spoke the first in this cause.

I say that the surgeons and physicians have spoken discreetly, as they

should; and they wisely spoke when they said that to their

profession belongs the duty of dealing honourably with every man,

and to his profit, and to harm no one; and, according to their

skill, to set diligently about the healing of those under their

care. And sir, since they have answered wisely and discreetly, I

advise that they be richly and nobly rewarded for their noble

speech, and, too, that they may be the more attentive to the healing

of your dear daughter. For, though they are your friends, you must not

suffer it that they serve you for nothing; you ought, indeed, but

the more to reward them and to give them largess. And, touching the

proposition that the physicians introduced into this case, namely,

that, in diseases, the thing is cured by its contrary, I would fain

learn how you understand that saying and what is your opinion of it."

"Indeed," said Melibeus, "I understand it thus: That just as they

have done me an injury, so should I do them another. For just as

they have revenged themselves upon me, and have thereby done me a

wrong, so shall I now take my revenge and do them a wrong. And then

shall I have cured one contrary by another."

"Lo, lo," exclaimed Dame Prudence, "how easily is every man inclined

toward his own desire and to the securing of his own pleasure!

Surely the words of the physicians should not have been interpreted in

this sense. For, indeed, wickedness is not the contrary of wickedness,

nor is vengeance of vengeance, nor wrong of wrong; but they are

their likenesses. And therefore one vengeance is not to be cured by

another vengeance, nor one wrong by another wrong; but, rather, each

of them fructifies and engenders upon the other. But the words of

the physicians should be understood in this wise: good and evil are

opposites, and peace and war, revenge and forgiveness, discord and

concord, and many others. But, certainly, wickedness shall be cured by

goodness, discord by concord, war by peace, and so on of other things.

And with this Saint Paul the Apostle accords in many places. Says

he: 'See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever

follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.' And

in many other places he admonishes to peace and harmony.

"But now will I speak of the counselling that was given by the

lawyers and suchlike wise men, who were all of one accord, as you

heard: to the effect that, above all else, you should be diligent in

guarding your person and in garrisoning and provisioning your house.

And they held, also, that in these matters you ought to act

advisedly and after much deliberation. Sir, as to the first point,

which touches upon the safety of your person, you must understand that

he who is at war should meekly and devoutly pray, above all things,

that Jesus Christ, of His great mercy, will keep him under His

protection and be his sovereign and very present help in time of need.

For assuredly, in this world there is no man who can be safeguarded by

advice, save and except he be within the keeping of Our lord Jesus

Christ. With this opinion agrees the prophet David, who says:

'Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman wakes but in vain.' Now

then, sir, you shall commit the guarding of your person to your true

friends, approved and well known; for of them only should you ask such

help. For Cato says: 'If thou hast need of aid, ask it of thy friends;

for there is no physician so valuable as thy true friend.' And

hereafter you must keep always from all strange folk, and from

liars, and hold them always suspect. For Petrus Alfonsus says:

'Never take company of a strange man, on the way, unless it is that

you have known him longer than the present moment. And if it be that

he fall in with you by accident, and without your assent, inquire

then, as subtly as you may, into his conversation and into his life,

and do you dissemble for yourself; say that you are going where you do

not intend to go; and if he carry a spear, walk upon the right side of

him, and if he bear a sword, walk on his left.' And hereafter shall

you wisely hold yourself verily aloof from the sorts of people I

have described, and eschew both them and their counsel. And you

shall not presume so much upon your strength that you are led to

despise and hold as naught the might of your adversary, thus

endangering your person by this presumption; for every wise man

fears his enemy. And Solomon says that it is well for him that

suspects all others; for verily he that, because of the courage of his

heart and the strength of his body, presumes too much upon them- him

shall evil befall. Then, you should guard always against all

ambushments and all espionage. For Seneca says: 'The wise man that

fears danger avoids danger; he does not fall into peril who peril

shuns.' And though it may seem that you are secure in a place, yet

shall you be always upon your guard; that is to say, be not

negligent either before your greatest enemy or, your least. Seneca

says: 'A man that is well advised dreads his weakest foe.' Ovid says

that the little weasel may kill the great bull and the wild hart.

And the Book says that a little thorn may sorely prick a great king;

and that a hound will hold the wild boar. But, nevertheless, I do

not say that you are to be so cowardly as to be afraid where there

is no just cause for fear. It is said in a book that some folk have

a great wish to deceive, who yet fear deception. But you shall fear

poisoning, and withhold yourself from the company of scoffers. For the

Book says that with the scoffer one should have no fellowship, and

should avoid his words as venom.

"Now, as to the second point, wherein your wise councillors have

advised you to provision and garrison your house, I would know how you

understand their words, and what is your opinion of them."

Melibeus answered and said: "Verily, I understand them in this wise:

that I am to equip my house with towers, such as castles have, and

other such buildings, and with armour and with artilleries; by means

of which I may keep my house and may so defend and keep my person that

my enemies will not dare to approach me."

To this judgment Prudence then replied: "The garrisoning,

provisioning, and equipping of high towers is sometimes but the

pandering to pride. And it sometimes happens that even when men

build high towers and great fortresses, at much cost and with untold

labour, when they are completed they are not worth a straw, unless

they be defended by true friends, who are both old and wise. And

understand well that the greatest and strongest garrison a, powerful

man may have, as well to defend his person as his property, is the

love of his vassals and his neighbours. For Tullius says that there is

a kind of garrison which no man can vanquish or disperse, and that

is the love of a lord's own citizens and people.

"Now, sir, as to the third point, whereof your older and wiser

councillors averred that you ought not suddenly and hastily to proceed

in this matter, but that you should provide for and array yourself

with great diligence and after much careful thought, indeed I think

that they spoke wisely and truthfully. For Tullius says: 'In every

act, or ever thou begin it, array thyself with great diligence.' Then,

say I, in seeking vengeance, in war, in battle, and in making

arrangements, before you begin you must thoroughly prepare yourself

and do it with much forethought. For Tullius says that a swift victory

is the result of long preparation. And Cassiodorus says that the

garrison is the stronger for being well prepared.

"But let us now speak of the counsel that was given by your

neighbours, those who do you reverence without love; by your old

reconciled enemies; by your flatterers who counselled you privately to

certain things and openly to quite others; and by the younger men,

also, who advised a speedy taking of vengeance and an immediate

opening of hostilities. And certainly, sir, as I have said before, you

were greatly in error in calling such folk into your council; such

councillors are sufficiently discredited by the reasons hitherto

adduced. But, nonetheless, let us descend to the particular. You

should first proceed after the teaching of Tullius. Certainly the

truth of this matter, or of this counselling, needs no long inquiry.

For we know well who they are that have done to you this injury and

this villainy, and how many offenders there are, and in what manner

they have wrought against you this wrong and harm. And after this,

then shall you examine the second condition which this same Tullius

added. For Tullius puts forth a condition which he calls

'complying,' by which he means: who they are, and how many of them,

that complied with your wishes to do hasty vengeance on your

enemies, as you expressed it in council. And let us consider, also,

who they are and how many, that complied with the wishes of your

adversaries. As to the first group, it is well known who they are that

complied with your hasty wilfulness; for truly all those who

counselled you to make a sudden war are not your friends. Let us now

consider who they are that you hold so steadfastly to be friends of

your person. For though you are a mighty man, and a rich, true it is

that you do but stand alone. For you have no child, save a daughter;

nor have you any brothers, or cousins, or other near kinsmen for the

dread of whom your enemies might forgo treating with you or attempting

to destroy your person. You know also that your wealth, when

apportioned out, will be distributed to a few men not closely

related to you; and when each of them shall have received his share,

then he will have but little incentive to avenge your death. But

your enemies are three, and they have many children, brothers,

cousins, and other near kinsmen; and though it were that you had slain

two or three of them, yet, there should remain enough to avenge

those deaths by killing you. And though it were that your own

kindred are true and more steadfast than those of your enemies, yet,

nevertheless, your own kinsmen are but distantly related to you,

whereas the kinsmen of your adversaries are closely sib to them.

And, certainly, as for that, their condition is better than yours.

Then let us consider, also, whether the advice of those who urged

you to a sudden vengeance accords with reason. Certainly you know here

that the answer is nay. For you know well that there is no man who may

take vengeance upon anyone, save the judge who has proper

jurisdiction, and when it has been to him to take such vengeance,

hastily or slowly, as the law requires. And, moreover, as to that same

word which Tullius calls 'complying,' you should consider whether your

might and power may consent to comply with your wilfulness and that of

your councillors. And, surely, to that also you must answer no. For

indeed, properly speaking, we should do nothing save such things as we

may do rightfully. And, in truth, rightfully you may take no vengeance

as of your own authority. Thus you may see that your power does not

rightfully consent to comply with your wilfulness. Let us now

examine the third point, which Tullius calls the 'consequence.' You

must understand that the vengeance which you purpose is the

consequence. And from that follows another vengeance, another peril,

and another war, and further injuries and damages without number

whereof we are not at this time aware. And, touching the fourth point,

which Tullius calls 'engendering,' you should consider that this wrong

done to you was engendered of the hate of your enemies; and of the

vengeance taken on that evil would be begotten another vengeance,

and therewithal much sorrow and wastage of wealth, as I have pointed

out.

"Now, sir, as to the point which Tullius calls 'causes,' which is

the last point to consider, you must understand that the wrong that

has been done you had certain causes, the which scholars call Oriens

and Efficens, and Causa longinqua and Causa propinqua, which is to

say, the ultimate cause and the proximate cause. The ultimate cause is

Almighty God, Who is the Cause of all things. The proximate cause is

your three enemies. The accidental cause is hate. The material cause

is the five wounds of your daughter. The formal cause is the method of

their working who brought ladders and climbed in at your windows.

The final cause was the wish to slay your daughter; it hindered them

not, in so far as they did their best. But, to speak now of the

ultimate cause, as to what end they shall reach, or what shall finally

betide your enemies in this case, I cannot judge, save in conjecture

and supposition. Yet we may suppose that they shall come to an evil

end, for the Book of Decrees says: 'Seldom, and only with great

pain, are causes brought to a good end, when they have been badly

begun.'

"Now, sir, if men ask me why God has suffered men to do this

villainy, certainly I can answer nothing in any reliable language. For

the Apostle says that the wisdom and the judgments of Our Lord God

Almighty are very deep, whereof no man may comprehend anything, nor

search into them. Nevertheless, by certain presumptions and

conjecturings, I hold and believe that God, Who is justice and

righteousness, has permitted this villainy upon a just and

reasonable cause.

"Your name is Melibee, which is to say, a man who drinks honey.

You have drunk so much of the sweet honey of mundane riches and

delights and honours that you are intoxicated therewith, and have

forgotten Jesus Christ, your Creator: you have not honoured Him as you

should have done, nor have you showed Him a proper reverence. Nor have

you well observed those words of Ovid, who says: 'Under the honey of

the good things of the flesh is hidden the venom that slays the soul.'

And Solomon says that if you have found honey, eat of it only a

sufficiency; for if you eat of it overmuch, you shall vomit, and so be

again hungry and in want. And perchance Christ holds you in scorn, and

has turned away His face from you, and shut up the ears of His

mercy; and also He has suffered it that you have been punished in that

manner in which you have sinned. You have sinned against Our Lord

Christ; for, certainly, those three enemies of mankind, the world, the

flesh, and the devil, you have wilfully suffered to enter into your

heart through the windows of your body, and you have not

sufficiently defended yourself against their assaults and temptations,

so that they have wounded your soul in five different places; that

is to say, the deadly sins that have entered into your heart through

your five senses. In the same manner Our Lord Christ has willed and

permitted it that your three enemies have entered your house through

the windows thereof, and have wounded your daughter in the manner

whereof you know."

"Certainly," said Melibeus, "I see well that you so strengthen

your arguments that I shall not revenge myself upon my enemies,

showing me thus the perils and the evils that may result from this

taking of vengeance. But if everyone were to consider, in every

revenge, the dangers and ills that might ensue therefrom, no man would

ever take vengeance, and that would be harmful; for by

vengeance-taking the wicked are set apart from the good men. And

they that have the will to do wickedly restrain their evil purpose

when they see the punishment and chastisement of other wrongdoers."

To this replied Dame Prudence: "Surely," said she, "I grant that

much good and much evil come of vengeance; but vengeance-taking does

not belong to everyone, but only to judges and such as have a proper

jurisdiction and authority over wrongdoers. And I say, further, that

just as an individual sins in wreaking vengeance upon another man,

so sins the judge if he does not fully exact payment from those who

have deserved to be punished. For Seneca says: 'That is a good

master who convicts criminals.' And as Cassiodorus says: 'A man

shrinks from crime when he understands and knows that it angers the

judges and the sovereigns.' And yet another says: 'The judge who fears

to deal justly makes criminals of men.' And Saint Paul the apostle

says in his Epistle to the Romans that not without reason are the

fasces borne before the magistrates. For they are borne to punish

criminals and miscreants, and for the security of good and just men.

If, then, you would have revenge upon your enemies, you should turn to

and have recourse unto the judge having a proper jurisdiction over

them; and he will punish them as the law demands and requires."

"Ah!" exclaimed Melibeus. "This idea of vengeance is no longer to my

liking. I remember, now, how Fortune has nourished me from my

childhood, helping me over many a difficult place. I give heed to

this; and now will I make trial of her again, believing that, with

God's help, she will aid me to avenge my shame."

"Indeed," said Prudence, "if you will act according to my advice,

you shall not make trial of Fortune in any way; you shall not bow down

before her. For, to quote Seneca: 'Things done foolishly and in the

hope of Fortune, shall never come to any good end.' And as the same

Seneca says: 'The clearer and the more shining Fortune appears, the

more brittle she is and the more easily broken.' Trust not in her, for

she is neither steadfast nor stable; for when you believe yourself

to be most secure and most certain of her help, she will deceive and

fail you. And whereas you say that Fortune has nourished you from your

childhood, I say that by so much the less should you trust now to

her and to her ingenuity. For Seneca says: 'As for the man who is

nursed by Fortune, she will make of him a great fool.' Now then, since

you desire and demand vengeance, and since the sort of vengeance

that is to be had according to law and before a judge is not to your

taste, and since the vengeance that is attempted in reliance upon

Fortune is dangerous and uncertain, then remains to you no other

remedy than to have recourse unto the sovereign. Judge Who punishes

all villainies and avenges all wrongs. And He will avenge you, as He

Himself promises, for 'Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.'"

Melibee answered: "If I do not revenge myself for the injury that

men have done to me, I invite and advertise to those who have

injured me, and to all others, that they are free to do me another

wrong. For it is written: 'If thou take no revenge for an old

injury, thou invitest thine enemies to do thee a new evil.' And

also, what of my sufferance, men would do to me so much of villainy

that I could neither endure it nor sustain it; and I should be held in

contempt. For men say: 'In patient sufferance shall many things happen

to one, the which one may not grin and bear.'

"Certainly," said Prudence, "I grant you that too much of sufferance

is not a good thing; but yet it follows not therefrom that every

person to whom men do a rascality may take vengeance for it; for

that is the duty of and belongs only to the proper judges. Wherefore

the two authorities that you have quoted are only to be understood

as speaking to and of the judges; for when they suffer overmuch that

wrong and crime remain unpunished, they not only invite new injury and

wrong, but they command that they be done. Also a wise man says:

'The judge who does not chasten the sinner, bids him to sin again.'

And it is conceivable that the judges and sovereigns of any realm

might show so much leniency to criminals and evil-doers that, from

such sufferance, in process of time, they might so wax in power as

to turn out the judges and the monarchs from their places, and thus,

at last, deprive them of the mastery.

"But now let us assume that you have a proper leave to avenge

yourself. I say that you have not now the power to avenge yourself.

For if you will compare your own with the power and might of your

adversaries, you shall find, in many ways, as I have previously

pointed out, that their condition is better than yours. And

therefore say I that it is well, as for this time, to suffer your

injuries in patience.

"Furthermore, you know well the common saw: It is madness in a man

to strive with one who is stronger than himself; and to strive with

a man of even strength is dangerous; but to strive with a weaker man

is foolish. And for this reason a man should avoid all strife, in so

far as he may. For Solomon says that it is to a man's honour if he

withhold himself from noise and strife. And if it so happen that a man

of greater power or strength does you an injury, make it your business

to study how to stop the pain of it, rather than how to avenge it. For

Seneca says: 'He puts himself into great peril who strives with a

greater than himself.' And Cato says: 'If a man of higher degree or

estate, or one more mighty than thou do thee an annoyance or

grievance, tolerate him; for he that once has grieved thee, at another

time he may relieve and help.' Yet I am assuming that you have both

the power and the license to avenge yourself. I say, nevertheless,

that there are very many things which ought to constrain you to

withhold your punishment, and make you rather incline toward

sufferance and to have patience under whatever may have been done to

you. First and foremost, if you will, consider the faults in your

own person, for which defects God has permitted that you have this

tribulation, as I said before. For the poet says that we ought

patiently to endure the tribulations that come to us when we think

upon and well consider that we have deserved them. And Saint Gregory

says: 'When a man considers well the multitude of his faults and sins,

the trials and tribulations that he suffers will seem but the

lighter to be borne; and just in so much as he holds his sins to be

the more heavy and grievous, in so much will seem his pains the

lighter and the easier to be borne.' Also, you ought to incline and

bow down your heart to observe and learn the patience of Our Lord

Jesus Christ, as Saint Peter says in his Epistle. 'Jesus Christ,' he

says, 'hath suffered for us, and hath given example to every man to

follow Him and to pray unto Him; for He did never sin, nor ever came

there a vicious word out of His mouth; when men cursed Him, he

cursed them not, and when men belaboured Him with blows, He would

not menace them.' Also, the great patience which the saints in

Paradise showed in bearing the tribulations of this world, and all

without their deserving or their guilt- this ought greatly to prompt

you to patience. Furthermore, you should enforce patience upon

yourself when you consider that the tribulations of this world can but

a little while endure, being soon over and ended. But the happiness

that a man looks to receive by bearing tribulations patiently is

perdurable, as the apostle says in his Epistle. 'The joy of God,' he

says, 'is perdurable.' Which is to say, it is everlasting. Also,

hold and believe steadfastly that he is neither well bred nor well

taught who cannot have patience, or will not receive training in

patience. For Solomon says that the belief and the knowledge of a

man are known by his patience. And in another place he says that he

who is patient will govern himself prudently. And this same Solomon

says that the angry and wrathful man is noisy, while the patient man

moderates and quiets noise. He says, also, that it is better to be

patient than to be very strong; and he that governeth his own heart is

more praiseworthy than he that taketh a city. And thereto says Saint

James in his Epistle: 'Let patience have her perfect work.'"

"Surely," said Melibeus, "I will grant you, Dame Prudence, that

patience is a great virtue of perfection; but every man may not attain

to the perfection that you seek; nor am I of the number of perfect

men, for my heart will never find peace until I have revenged

myself. And though it was dangerous to my enemies to do me an injury

in taking vengeance upon me, yet took they no heed of their own peril,

but fulfilled their evil purpose. And therefore it seems to me that

men ought not to find fault with me if I incur a little peril in

taking vengeance, even though I go to great excess, that is to say,

that I avenge one outrage with another."

"Ah," said Dame Prudence, "you speak out of your purpose as you

desire it to happen; but never in this world should any man commit

an outrage or go to excess to obtain his vengeance. For Cassiodorus

says: 'As much evil does he who avenges himself by outrage as did he

who first committed outrage.' And therefore you must avenge yourself

in an orderly manner, and rightfully, that is to say, according to

law, and not by excess nor by outrage. For if you avenge yourself in

any other way, you sin. And thereupon Seneca says: 'A man must not

avenge villainy with villainy.' If you say that right demands that a

man defend himself violently against violence, and fightingly

against fighting, certainly you speak but the truth, when the fighting

is done immediately, without interval of tarrying or delay, and simply

for defence and not for vengeance. And it behooves a man that he

conduct his defence with such moderation that men will have no cause

to accuse him of excess and outrage; for otherwise the thing were

unreasonable. By God, you know well that you are not now defending

yourself, but are going to revenge yourself; and so it follows that

you have no wish to do your deed with moderation. That is why I hold

that patience would be good for you. For Solomon says: 'He that is not

patient shall endure great evil.'

"Certainly," said Melibeus, "I grant you that when a man is

impatient and wroth because of that which touches him not, and in no

way concerns him, if he be harmed thereby it is not to be wondered at.

For the law provides that he is culpable who interferes or meddles

with what does not concern him. And Solomon says that he who

interferes in the strife of other men is like one who seizes a hound

by the ears. For just as he who takes a strange dog by the ears is

likely to be bitten, just so is it reasonable to suppose that he may

be injured who, by his impatience, meddles in the strife of other men,

when it does not concern him. But you know well that this deed, that

is to say, my grief and unrest, touches me closely. Therefore, if I am

angry and impatient, it is no marvel. And, saving your presence, I

cannot see wherein it can greatly harm me if I wreak my revenge: for I

am richer and stronger than are my enemies. And well do you know

that with money and great possessions are governed all the matters

of this world. Solomon says that all things obey great wealth."

When Prudence had heard her husband boast thus of his possessions

and money, despising the power of his enemies, she answered and

said: "Surely, dear sir, I grant that you are mighty and rich, and

that wealth is a good thing for those who have acquired it honestly

and know well how to use it. For just as the body of man cannot live

without the soul, neither can it exist without worldly goods. And by

means of riches a man may acquire powerful friends. Thereupon says

Pamphilius: 'If a cowherd's daughter be rich, she may make choice of a

thousand men, which she will take for her husband; for, of a thousand,

not one will forsake or refuse her.' And this Pamphilius also says:

'If thou be very happy, that is to say, if thou be very rich, thou

shalt find a great many comrades and friends. And if thy fortune

change, so that thou become poor, then farewell fellowship and

friendship; for thou shalt be left alone, without any company, save it

be the company of the poor.' And still further says Pamphilius: 'Those

who are thralls and born of bondmen's blood shall be made worthy and

noble by wealth.' And just as from riches come many good things, so

from poverty come many ills and evils. For deep poverty forces a man

into evil deeds. Therefore Cassiodorus calls poverty the 'mother of

ruin,' which is to say, the mother of overthrowing or of falling down.

And thereupon says Petrus Alfonsus: 'One of the greatest adversities

of this world is when a man free by kindred and birth is constrained

by poverty to eat of the alms of his enemy.' And the same thing is

said by Innocent in one of his books, for he says: 'Sorrowful and

unhappy is the condition of the poor beggar; for if he beg not his

food, he dies of hunger; and if he beg it, he dies of shame; and yet

necessity constrains him to beg.' And thereupon Solomon says that it

is better to die than to live in poverty. And this same Solomon says

that it is better to die the bitter death than to live in such wise.

For these reasons that I have given, and for many others that I

could adduce, I grant you that riches are good for those who have well

acquired them, and for those who use them well. And therefore will I

show you how you should bear yourself in acquiring wealth, and how you

should use it.

"First, you should get it without any great desire, and leisurely,

and gradually, and not over eagerly. For the man who is too desirous

of gathering riches abandons himself first to theft and to all other

evils. And thereupon says Solomon: 'A merchant shall hardly keep

himself from doing wrong, and a huckster shall not be freed from sin.'

He says also: 'The wealth that cometh hastily unto a man goeth soon

and passeth lightly away from him; but the wealth that cometh by a

little and a little waxeth alway and multiplieth.' And, sir, you shall

acquire riches by your wisdom and by your labour to your own profit;

and that without wronging or doing harm to any other person. For the

law provides that no man shall legally become rich who injures another

in the process; that is to say, that Nature forbids, and rightfully,

that a man acquire wealth at another's expense. And Tullius says:

'No sorrow, no fear of death, nay nothing that may befall a man, is so

much against Nature as for a man to increase and take his profit at

the expense of another. And though the great man and the mighty man

acquire riches more easily than thou, yet be not idle nor slow in

gaining thine own profit; for thou must, in all things, avoid

idleness.' For Solomon says that idleness teaches a man to do many

evil things. And the same Solomon says that he that labours and busies

himself to till his land shall eat bread; but he that is given over to

idleness and has no business or occupation shall fall into poverty and

die of hunger. And he that is idle and slow can never find a

convenient time wherein to transact his business. For there is a

versifier who says: 'The lazy man excuses himself in winter because of

the great cold, and in summer because of the great heat.' For these

reasons Cato says: 'Wake, and be not overly inclined toward sleep; for

a superfluity of rest causes and nourishes many vices.' And

thereupon says Saint Jerome: 'Do some good deeds, that the Devil,

our Enemy, find you not unoccupied. For the Devil takes not easily

into his service those whom he finds occupied in good deeds.'

"Thus, then, in getting riches, you must avoid idleness. And

afterward you shall use the wealth, which you have acquired by your

knowledge and by your labour, in such manner that men will not hold

you to be too stingy, or too sparing, or too foolishly generous,

that is to say, too great a spendthrift. For just as men blame an

avaricious man for his meanness and penuriousness, in the same wise is

he to be blamed that spends too freely. Thereupon says Cato: 'Use

the wealth which thou hast acquired in such manner that men shall have

no reason to call thee either wretch or niggard; for it is shameful

for a man to have a poor heart and a rich purse.' He says also: 'Use

the wealth, which thou hast measureably.' That is to say, spend it

within measure; for those who foolishly spend and waste what riches

they have, when they have no longer any property of their own,

scheme then to take that of another man. I say, then, that you shall

flee avarice; using your riches in such manner that men shall not

say that you have buried them, but that you hold them in your power

and at your wielding. For a wise man reproves an avaricious man

thus, in two verses: 'Wherefore and why does a man bury his wealth, of

his great avarice, when he knows well that he must needs die; for

death is the end of every man in this present life? And for what cause

or occasion does he join or knit himself so closely to his goods

that all his wit may not dissever or part him therefrom; when he

knows, or ought to know, that when he is dead he shall have borne with

him nothing at all from this world? Thereupon says Saint Augustine:

'The avaricious man is like unto Hell; for the more it swallows the

more desire has it to swallow and devour.' And just as you would

hate to be called an avaricious man, or a stingy, just so should you

govern yourself that men will not call you a spendthrift. Therefore

says Tullius: 'The riches of thy house should not be hid, nor should

they be kept so closely that they may not be opened by pity and good

will.' That is to say, in order to give a part to those in need.

'But yet thy wealth should not be so openly exposed as to become the

goods of every man.' Afterward, in getting your wealth and in using

it, you should have always three things in mind, that is to say, Our

Lord God, conscience, and your own good name. First, you have God in

your heart, and for the sake of no riches at all should you do

anything which may in any manner displease God, Who is your Creator

and Maker. For, after the word of Solomon: Better it is to have little

and therewith the love of God, than great riches and treasure and

the loss of God's love thereby. And the prophet says that it is better

to be held for a good man and to have but little of the wealth and

treasure of this world, than to be held for a villain and have great

riches. And yet say I still, that you should always do your business

in the gathering of wealth so that you gather it with a good

conscience. And the apostle says that there is not anything in all

this world whereof a man should have so great a joy as when his

conscience bears a good witness unto himself. And the wise man says

that the substance a man has is righteous when sin lies not upon the

conscience of that man. Afterward, in gathering your riches and in the

using them, you must busy yourself and be diligent to observe that

your good name be kept and conserved. For Solomon says: 'A good name

is rather to be chosen than great riches.' And thereupon he says

elsewhere: 'Do thy diligence in keeping of thy friend and of thine own

good name; for these shall abide longer than any treasure, be it never

so precious.' And surely he should not be called a good man who, after

God and his own conscience, in all things else is not diligent in

the business of maintaining his good name. Cassiodorus says: 'It is

a sign of a good heart in a man when he loves and desires to have

and to keep an honoured name.' And thereupon says Saint Augustine:

'Two things there be which are necessary and needful, and they are:

good conscience and a good name; that is to say, a good conscience for

the sake of thy soul, and a good name for the sake of thy

neighbour.' And he who will trust so much in his own good conscience

that he recks not of displeasing and setting at naught the value of

his neighbour's opinion of his good name, and cares nothing if he keep

not his good name toward his neighbour- he is but a boor.

"My lord, now have I showed you how you should act in acquiring

riches, and how you should employ them; and well I understand that,

because of the faith you rest in your wealth you will move toward

war and battle. I counsel you that you begin no war upon faith in

the continuance of your wealth; for your wealth is not sufficient to

maintain war. Wherefore says a philosopher: 'He who intrigues for

and will always have war, shall never have sufficient funds; for the

richer he is, the more must his expenses be, always providing he wants

respect and victory.' And Solomon says that the greater a man's riches

the more leeches hang upon him. And, dear sir, though because of

your wealth you may have many followers, yet it behooves you not,

nor is it a good thing, to initiate a war when you may have a peace,

and that to your own honour and profit. For victory in battle in

this world lies not in a great multitude of people, neither lies it in

the virtue of man; but it lies alone within the will and in the

hands of Our Lord God Almighty. And therefore Judas Maccabeus, God's

own knight, when called upon to fight against an adversary greatly

superior in numbers and stronger than his own people, comforted his

little army, saying: 'As easily may Our Lord God Almighty give victory

unto a few as unto a multitude; for the fortune of war lieth not in

numbers, but cometh solely from Our Lord God of Heaven.' And, dear

sir, for as much as there is no man certain whether he be worthy

that God give him the victory, any more than he can be certain whether

he is worthy of the love of God, therefore Solomon says that every man

should greatly fear to begin a war. Also, in battle, many perils

befall, and many chances of evil, and therein is a great man as easily

slain as a poor; and thereupon is it written in the Second Book of the

Kings that the issue of battle is all at chance and is not to be known

beforehand; for as easily hurt with a spear is one man as any other.

And since there lies great peril in war, therefore should a man flee

and eschew warfare, in so far as he may with honour. For Solomon says:

'He that liveth by the sword shall perish by the sword.'"

After Dame Prudence had spoken in this manner, Melibeus answered and

said: "I see well, Dame Prudence, that by your fair words and by the

reasons you have adduced before me, you are not in favour of war;

but I have not yet heard you advise as to what course I ought to

pursue in this extremity."

"Certainly," quoth she, "I counsel you that you accord with your

adversaries, and that you have peace with them. For Saint James says

in his Epistle that by concord and peace little fortunes grow great,

and by discord and warfare are great fortunes brought low. And well

you know that one of the greatest things there is in all this world is

unity and peace. Wherefore says Our Lord Jesus Christ in this wise

to His disciples: 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be

called the children of God.'"

"Ah," said Melibee, "now do I see well that you love neither my

honour nor my reputation. You know well that my adversaries have begun

this quarrel and contention by their outrage; and you see well that

they neither require nor ask peace from me, nor even do they ask to be

reconciled. Will you, then, that I go and show myself meek and make

myself humble before them, and cry mercy of them? Forsooth that were

not to my honour. For just as men say that too much familiarity breeds

contempt, so fares it with overmuch humility or meekness."

Then began Dame Prudence to make a show of wrath, and she said:

"Certainly, sir, saving your grace, I love your honour and your profit

as I do my own, and so have I ever; nor have you or any other hitherto

said anything to the contrary. And yet, if I had said that you

should have bought a peace and a reconciliation, I had not been much

mistaken nor said very far amiss. For the wise man says that

dissension begins with another, but reconciliation with oneself. And

the prophet says: 'Flee evil and do good; seek peace and follow it.'

Yet say I not that you shall rather sue to your enemies than they to

you; for well I know that you are so hard-hearted that you will do

nothing for me. And Solomon says that he that is too hard of heart

shall in the end have evil fortune."

When Melibee had heard Dame Prudence show anger thus, he said:

"Dame, I pray you that you be not displeased at things I say, for

you know well that I am in my angry mood, and that it is no wonder;

and that those who are angry cannot judge well of what they say or do.

Wherefore the prophet says: 'The troubled eyes have no clear sight.'

But speak to and counsel me as you like; for I am ready to do as you

wish; and if you reprove me for my folly I am but bound the more to

love you and praise you. For Solomon says that he that reproves him

who has done a folly shall have more grace than he that deceives him

with sweet words."

Then said Dame Prudence: "I make no show of wrath or anger save

for your great profit. For Solomon says that more worth is he who

reproves and chides a fool for his folly than is he that supports

him and praises him and laughs at his foolishness. And this same

Solomon says that by the sorrowful visage of a man (that is to say, by

the sorry and heavy countenance of a man) the fool corrects and amends

himself."

Then said Melibee: "I shall not know how to answer so many fair

and good reasons as you show and lay before me. Speak out briefly your

counsel and your wish, for I am ready to fulfill and to perform it."

Then Dame Prudence showed him all her wish and desire, saying: "I

counsel you, above all things, that you make peace with God and become

reconciled to Him and to His grace. For, as I have heretofore said,

God has suffered you to have this tribulation and unrest because of

your sins. And if you do as I tell you to do, God will send your

adversaries unto you and make them fall at your feet, ready to do your

will and to obey your commands. For Solomon says that when the

condition of a man is pleasant and to God's liking, He changes the

hearts of that man's enemies and constrains them to seek peace of him,

and grace. And I pray you, let me have private speech with your

adversaries; for they shall not know that it is done with your

consent. And then, when I have learned their whole intent and will,

I may the more surely counsel you."

"Dame," quoth Melibee, "do your whole will and whatsoever pleases

you. For I put myself entirely at your disposal and command."

Then Dame Prudence, when she saw the goodwill of her husband,

deliberated and took advice of herself how she might bring this

whole matter to a good end. And when she saw her time, she sent for

these adversaries to come to her privately; and truly showed them

the great good to be gained from peace and the great harms and dangers

that are in war, and told them in a gracious manner that they ought to

be repentant for the injury and wrong they had done to Melibee, her

lord, and to herself, and to her daughter.

And when they heard the gracious words of Dame Prudence they were so

taken by surprise and so ravished with delight of her, that it was

wonderful to tell. "Ah, lady," they said, "you have showed us the

'blessings of sweetness' in the words of David the prophet; for the

reconciliation we are in no way worthy of, though we ought but in

the greater contrition and humility to ask it- this, of your goodness,

you have offered to us. Now see we well that the wisdom and

knowledge of Solomon are true indeed, for he says that sweet words

multiply and increase friends and cause villains to become courteous

and humble.

"Certainly," said they, "we will put our actions and all our

matter and cause wholly in your good keeping; and we stand ready to

obey the word and command of Lord Melibee. Therefore, dear and

benign lady, we pray and beseech you, as humbly as we can, that it

shall please you, in your great goodness, to fulfill your goodly words

in deeds; for we consider and acknowledge that we have offended and

grieved Lord Melibee beyond measure; so far indeed that it lies not

within our power to make him any amends. Therefore we obligate and

bind ourselves and our friends to do whatsoever he commands. But

perchance he has for us such a heaviness of wrath, what of our

offense, that he will impose upon us so great a pain of punishment

that we shall not be able to bear it. And therefore, noble lady, we

beseech you of your womanly pity to take such advisement in this

need that we, and our friends, shall not be disinherited and destroyed

because of our folly."

"Certainly," said Prudence, "it is a hard thing, and a dangerous,

for a man to put himself utterly into the arbitrament and judgment and

into the might and power of his enemies. For Solomon says: 'Give not

thy son and wife, thy brother and friend, power over thee while thou

livest, and give not thy goods to another: lest it repent thee, and

thou entreat for the same again. As long as thou livest and hast

breath in thee, give not thyself over to any.' Now, since he

counsels that a man give not even to a brother or a friend the

power. over his body, by a stronger reason he forbids a 'man to give

himself over to his enemy. Nevertheless, I counsel you that you

mistrust not my lord. For I know well and truly that he is kindly

and meek, large-hearted, courteous, and nothing desirous nor

covetous of goods and riches. For there is nothing in all the world

that he desires, save only respect and honour. Furthermore, I know

well and am right sure that he will do nothing in this case without my

counsel. And I shall so work therein that, by the grace of Our Lord

God, you shall be reconciled unto us."

Then said they with one voice: "Worshipful lady, we put ourselves

and our property all fully at your command and disposal; and we are

ready to come, upon whatever day is agreeable to your goodness, to

make and give our obligation and bond, and that as strong as your

goodness may desire: all that we may fulfill your will and that of

Lord Melibee."

When Dame Prudence had heard the answers of these men, she sent them

away again, secretly. And she returned to Lord Melibee and reported to

him how she had found these adversaries ready to suffer pain and

punishment, praying him, however, for mercy and pity.

"Then," said Melibee, "he is well worthy of pardon and to have his

sins forgiven who excuses not his crime but acknowledges it and

repents, asking indulgence. For Seneca says: 'There is the remission

and the forgiveness where confession is.' For confession is

neighbour to innocence. And he says in another place: 'He that is

ashamed for his sin and acknowledges it, is worthy of remission.'

Therefore I assent to peace; but it is best that we do this with the

advice and consent of our friends."

Then was Dame Prudence right glad and joyful, and she said:

"Certainly, sir, you have well answered. For just as by the counsel,

assent, and help of your friends you have been stirred to avenge

yourself and go to war, just so you should not, without their consent,

accord and make peace with your adversaries. For the law says:

"There is nothing so good in kind as that a thing shall be unbound

by him by whom it was bound."

And then Dame Prudence, without delay or tarrying, sent messengers

for their kindred and for their old friends who were true and wise,

and told them in detail and in order, in the presence of Melibee,

all of this matter, as it has been here expressed and declared; and

she prayed them that they would advise and counsel what best were to

be done in this need. And when Melibee's friends had taken their

advices in this said matter, and had examined into it with

diligence, they gave their counsel for peace and rest; and that

Melibee should receive, with good heart, the prayers of his

adversaries for forgiveness and mercy.

And when Dame Prudence had heard the assent of her lord, Melibee,

and the counsel of these friends, how they accorded with her will

and intention, she was wonderfully glad of heart; and she said: "There

is an old proverb which advises that the goodness you may do this day,

do it; and delay it not until the morrow. Therefore I counsel you that

you send wise and discreet messengers to your adversaries, bidding

them that, if they are still minded to treat with you of peace and

concord, they come hither to us without delay or tarrying."

Which thing was done. And when these trespassers and repentant folk,

that is to say, the adversaries of Melibeus, had heard the messengers'

words, they were right glad and joyful, and they replied full meekly

and favourably, yielding grace and giving thanks to their Lord Melibee

and to all his party; and they made ready, without delay, to accompany

the messengers in obedience to the command of Lord Melibee.

Soon, then, they took their way toward Melibee's court, and they

took with them some of their true friends to stand as sureties for

them, and as hostages. And when they were come into the presence of

Melibee, he spoke to them as follows: "It stands thus, and true it is,

that you, without just cause, and without right or reason, have done

great injury and wrong to me, to my wife Prudence, and to my

daughter also. For you have entered my house with violence, and you

did such outrage here that all men know well enough that you have

fully deserved death; therefore do I ask of you whether you will leave

the punishment, the chastisement, and the vengeance of this thing to

me and to my wife Prudence? Or will you not?"

Then the wisest of these three answered for all of them, saying:

"Sir, we know well that we are unworthy to come into the court of so

great and so worthy a lord as you are. For we have so greatly erred,

and have offended guiltily in such wise against your lordship, that

verily we have been deserving of death. But yet, for the great

goodness and kindness that all the world witnesses in your person,

we submit ourselves to the excellence and benignity of your gracious

lordship, and stand ready to obey all your commands, beseeching you,

that of your mercy and pity you will consider our great repentance and

humble submission, and will grant us forgiveness for our outrageous

trespass and offence. For well we know that your liberal grace and

mercy reach out farther into goodness than reach our outrageous guilts

and trespasses into wickedness; and this despite the fact that we have

wickedly and damnably offended against your high lordship."

Then Melibee took them benignly up from the ground, and received

their obligations and bonds, by their oaths, and their pledges and

sureties and hostages, and assigned a day for their reappearance

before his court to receive and accept his sentence and judgment,

the which he should impose; and after this, each man returned to his

own home.

And when Dame Prudence saw her opportunity, she asked her lord,

Melibee, what vengeance he purposed taking on these adversaries.

To which Melibee replied: "Surely I think and fully purpose to

confiscate all that they have and to strip them out of their

inheritances, and then to send them into perpetual banishment."

"Certainly," said Dame Prudence, "that were a cruel sentence and

much against reason. For you are rich enough, and have no need of

other men's property. And you could easily in this way acquire a

name for covetousness, which is a vicious thing and ought to be

avoided by every good man. For, after the word of the apostle,

covetousness is the root of all evil. Therefore were it better for you

to lose an equal property of your own than to take theirs from them in

this manner. For better it is to lose goods with honour than to win

them by villainy and shame. And every man ought to be diligent about

getting and keeping a good name. And he should not only busy himself

with the keeping of a good name, but he should impose upon himself the

constant task of renewing it. For it is written that 'The good fame or

good name of a man is soon passed and forgotten, unless it be

renewed.' And touching what you say, that you will exile your

adversaries, that seems to me much against reason and out of all

measure, considering how they have placed themselves within your

power. And it is written that 'He deserves to lose his privilege who

abuses and misuses the might and the power that are given to him.' And

I submit that, even if you might impose upon them that pain by right

and by law, which I think that you could not, I say that you might not

be able to put it into execution, by some chance, and then were you as

likely to fall again into war as you were before. Therefore, if you

would have men render you obedience, you must judge more

courteously, that is to say, you must give more easy sentences. For it

is written that 'He who most courteously commands, men most readily

obey.' Therefore I pray you that in this need you contrive to

conquer your own heart. For Seneca says: 'He that overcomes his own

heart, conquers twice.' And Tullius says: 'There is nothing so

commendable in a great lord as when he is kindly and meek and easily

satisfied.' And I pray you that you will forgo your vengeance in

this manner, in order that your good name may be kept and preserved;

and that men may have cause and reason to praise you for pity and

for mercy, and that you yourself shall not have cause to repent for

what you have done. For Seneca says: 'He conquers but evilly who

repents of his victory.' Wherefore, I pray you, let there be mercy

in your mind and in your heart, to the end that God Almighty may

have mercy upon you at His last judgment. For Saint James says in

his Epistle: 'For he shall have judgment without mercy, who hath

showed no mercy.'"

When Melibee had heard the great arguments and reasons of Dame

Prudence, and her wise information and teaching, his heart began to

incline toward the desire of his wife, considering her true intent;

and he conformed his will to hers and assented fully to her

counselling. And he thanked God, from Whom proceeds all virtue and

goodness, that He had sent him a wife of so very great discretion.

And when the day arrived for his adversaries to appear before him,

he spoke to them kindly, in this wise: "Howbeit that of your pride and

presumption and folly, and in your negligence and ignorance, you

have borne yourselves badly and have trespassed against me, yet for as

much as I see and behold your great humility and that you are sorry

and repentant for your crimes, it constrains me to show you grace

and mercy. Therefore do I receive you into my grace and forgive you

utterly all the offences, injuries, and wrongs that you have done

against me and mine; to this effect and to this end: that God of His

endless mercy will, at our dying day, forgive us our sins that we have

sinned against Him in this wretched world. For doubtless, if we be

sorry and repentant for the sins and crimes which we have committed in

the sight of Our Lord, He is so free and so merciful He will forgive

us our guilt and bring us into His everlasting bliss. Amen."

HERE ENDS CHAUCER'S TALE OF MELIBEE

AND OF DAME PRUDENCE