{"id":14690,"date":"2021-11-01T17:56:53","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T17:56:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/?page_id=14690"},"modified":"2022-12-03T22:12:09","modified_gmt":"2022-12-03T22:12:09","slug":"contes-de-canterbury-pardonneur-8","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/breton-mythology\/canterbury-tales-forgiver-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Canterbury Tales: The Forgiver"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/breton-mythology\/\" role=\"button\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBreton mythology<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/fr.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Les_Contes_de_Canterbury\" role=\"button\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWiki<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Geoffrey Chaucer is an English writer and poet who was born in London in the 1340s and died in 1400 in that same city. His most famous work is <i>Canterbury Tales<\/i>. The <i>Canterbury Tales<\/i> are, with <i>Sire Gauvain and the Green Knight<\/i> (from an anonymous person) and <i>Peter the Plowman<\/i> (by William Langland), the very first great works of English literature. Here is the first tale: the forgiver.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/cropped-AlphaOmega-e1602613368367.png\" alt=\"canterbury tales the forgiver\" width=\"25\" height=\"25\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseprofile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/breton-mythology\/canterbury-tales-forgiver-8\/#Contes-de-Canterbury-Le-conte-du-pardonneur\" >Canterbury Tales: The Tale of the Forgiver<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Contes-de-Canterbury-Le-conte-du-pardonneur\"><\/span>Canterbury Tales: The Tale of the Forgiver<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>\t\t<i>Here follows the prologue to the Tale of Forgiveness<\/i>.Radix malorum est cupiditas. (Ad Thimotheum, sexto.)<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Messeigneurs, (he said,) when I preach in the churches<br \/>330je prends grand\u2019peine d\u2019avoir le verbe haut,<br \/>and to ring my voice as round as a bell:<br \/>because I know everything by heart what I&#039;m saying.<br \/>My text is still the same and always has been:<br \/>&quot;\u00a0<i>Radix malorum est cupiditas<\/i>\u00a0&quot;.<br \/>First I announce where I come from,<br \/>and then I show my bubbles from first to last.<br \/>The seal of our lord lies on my letters patent,<br \/>I show it first, to protect myself,<br \/>so that no one is bold enough, priest or cleric,<br \/>340pour m\u2019arracher au saint minist\u00e8re du Christ\u00a0;<br \/>then after that when I tell my stories;<br \/>bubbles of popes and cardinals,<br \/>of patriarchs and bishops, this is what I show;<br \/>and i say a few words in latin<br \/>to uphold my prone,<br \/>and excite people to devotion.<br \/>When I produce my long crystal stones,<br \/>all stuffed with rags and bones;<br \/>they are relics of what everyone believes.<br \/>350Puis j\u2019ai en une boite de cuivre une omoplate<br \/>having belonged to the sheep of a holy Jew<sup id=\"cite_ref-1\"><\/sup>.<br \/>\u201cGood people,\u201d I said, \u201cbeware of my words:<br \/>that if this bone is soaked in a well,<br \/>if cow, or calf, or sheep, or beef swells,<br \/>a snake has bitten or a viper has stung,<\/p>\n<p>take the water from this well and wash its tongue,<br \/>and here he is healed; then in addition,<br \/>pustules and scabies and any other ailments<br \/>will be healed any sheep that in this well<br \/>360boira une gorg\u00e9e\u00a0; prenez encore garde a ce que je vais dire\u00a0:<br \/>that if the brave man who owns these beasts<br \/>wants every week, before the rooster crows,<br \/>on an empty stomach, take a sip from this well<br \/>as this holy Jew taught our ancestors,<br \/>his beasts and his stock will multiply;<br \/>and, sirs, its water also cures jealousy;<br \/>for is a man angry with jealousy?<br \/>with this water we make our soup,<br \/>and he will never distrust his wife again,<br \/>370conn\u00fbt-il la v\u00e9rit\u00e9 sur ses fautes,<br \/>had she taken two or three priests.<br \/>Here is one more mitten that you can see:<br \/>who will pass his hand through this mitten<br \/>will see its grain multiply<br \/>when he has sown, whether it is wheat or oats,<br \/>provided that it offers sols or deniers.<br \/>Good people, men and women, of one thing I warn you:<br \/>if there is anyone in this church<br \/>380qui ait commis p\u00e9ch\u00e9 si horrible qu\u2019il<br \/>dare not, with shame, confess,<br \/>or if he is any woman either young or old,<br \/>who made her cuckold husband,<br \/>those will have neither the power nor the grace<br \/>to make an offering to my relics in this place.<br \/>And whoever is safe from such blame,<br \/>come forward and make an offering in the name of God,<br \/>and I abscond it by authority<br \/>which was granted to me by bubble. &quot;<br \/>Through these tricks, I won, year after year,<br \/>390cent marcs<sup id=\"cite_ref-2\"><\/sup> since I am a forgiver.<br \/>I stand like a clerk in my pulpit,<br \/>and when the ignorant people are seated,<br \/>I preach, as I said above,<\/p>\n<p>and tells a hundred false nonsense again.<br \/>Then I struggle to tighten the collar well,<br \/>and to the east and to the west, above the people, I make my head go,<br \/>like a pigeon perched on a barn.<br \/>My hands and my tongue go so fast<br \/>how happy it is to see me work.<br \/>400C\u2019est sur l\u2019avarice et sur abominations de la sorte<br \/>that all my sermon carries, to engage them<br \/>to yawn their soil, and mainly to me.<br \/>Cause my only design is to win<br \/>and not to correct sinners.<br \/>It doesn&#039;t matter to me when they are buried,<br \/>may their souls go pick the blackberries from the hedges<sup id=\"cite_ref-3\"><\/sup>.<br \/>Because, of course, more than one sermon<br \/>often comes with bad intentions:<br \/>some to please people and flatter them,<br \/>410et se pousser en avant par l\u2019hypocrisie\u00a0;<br \/>some out of vain glory, others out of hatred;<br \/>because, when I dare not quarrel with a man in any other way,<br \/>so i give a stinging sting with my tongue<br \/>while preaching, so that he does not avoid<br \/>to be falsely defamed, if he<br \/>sinned against my brothers or against me.<br \/>Because, although I do not say his proper name,<br \/>people know who I&#039;m talking about<br \/>to certain signs and other circumstances.<br \/>420C\u2019est la monnaie dont je paye qui nous fait d\u00e9plaisir\u00a0;<br \/>this is how I spit out my venom, under color<br \/>of holiness, to appear holy and honest.<br \/>But, briefly, I&#039;ll tell you my purpose:<br \/>I never preach except out of lust;<br \/>and so my text is still, and always has been:<br \/>&quot;\u00a0<i>Radix malorum is cupiditas.<\/i>\u00a0&quot;<br \/>So I can preach against vice itself<br \/>that I practice, and that is greed.<br \/>But, if I myself am guilty of this sin,<br \/>430je puis pourtant faire autrui se partir<br \/>avarice and having stinging remorse.<\/p>\n<p>But that is not my main purpose.<br \/>I never preach except out of lust;<br \/>on this subject, that is enough.<br \/>Then I give them over and over again<br \/>old stories from days gone by,<br \/>for ignorant people love old tales;<br \/>these are things they know how to bring back and remember.<br \/>What! do you think, as long as I can preach<br \/>440en gagnant or et argent par ce que j\u2019enseigne,<br \/>that I will live voluntarily in poverty?<br \/>No no ! in fact, I never thought of it.<br \/>I want to preach and beg in different countries;<br \/>I don&#039;t want to do my own work,<br \/>nor make baskets and make a living from this profession,<br \/>because I don&#039;t want to beg for nothing.<br \/>I don&#039;t want to imitate any of the apostles;<br \/>I want to have money, wool, cheese and wheat,<br \/>were they given by the poorest page,<br \/>450ou par la plus pauvre veuve d\u2019un village,<br \/>even if his children die of hunger.<br \/>Parbleu! I want to drink the juice of the vine,<br \/>to have a cheerful bitch in every town.<br \/>Hate, look! Messeigneurs, to conclude:<br \/>your desire is for me to tell a tale.<br \/>But that, I drank a shot of strong beer;<br \/>by God I hope to tell you one thing,<br \/>which, of course, is to your liking.<br \/>Because, if I myself am a very vicious man,<br \/>460je puis cependant vous dire un conte moral<br \/>which I have become accustomed to preaching, for gain.<br \/>But be silent! I will start my tale. &quot;<\/p>\n<p>\u2042Conte du Pardonneur<sup id=\"cite_ref-p288_4-0\"><\/sup>.<i>Here begins the Tale of the Forgiving.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>In Flanders, once upon a time there was a gang<br \/>young people addicted to follies,<\/p>\n<p>like orgies and a game of chance; haunting brothels and taverns,<br \/>where, to the sound of harps, lutes and guitars,<br \/>they dance and play dice, day and night,<br \/>and eat and drink more than they can hold;<br \/>how they sacrifice to the devil<br \/>the very temple of the devil, cursedly,<br \/>out of abominable superfluity.<br \/>Their oaths are so big and so damnable<br \/>how terrible it is to hear them sacred;<br \/>they tear to pieces the blessed body of Our Lord;<br \/>they thought the Jews hadn&#039;t torn it up enough!<br \/>and each of them laughed at the sin of the other.<br \/>And immediately dancers appear<br \/>pretty and petite, young fruit sellers,<br \/>singers with harps, prostitutes, vendors of forgetting,<br \/>480qui sont vraies servantes du diable<br \/>to kindle and fan the fire of lust,<br \/>which is linked to gluttony;<br \/>I take Holy Scripture as witness<br \/>that lust is in wine and drunkenness.<br \/>See how, in his drunkenness, Lot, unnatural,<br \/>lay down beside his two daughters, unwittingly;<br \/>so drunk he was that he didn&#039;t know what he was doing.<br \/>Herod - if we read the stories correctly -<br \/>when at his feast he was gorged with wine,<br \/>490\u00e0 sa table m\u00eame donna l\u2019ordre<br \/>to kill John the Baptist completely innocent.<br \/>Seneca also says a wise word, surely;<br \/>he says he could not find a difference<br \/>between man having lost his mind<br \/>and a drinker,<br \/>except that madness falling on a villain<br \/>lasts longer than drunkenness.<br \/>O gluttony, full of curses,<br \/>O primary cause of our confusion,<br \/>500\u00f4 origine de notre damnation,<\/p>\n<p>until Christ redeemed us with his blood!<br \/>See, to speak briefly, of what price<br \/>this accursed villainy was paid for;<br \/>corrupted was this whole world by gluttony.<br \/>Adam, our father, and his wife too.<br \/>far from Paradise, towards work and misery,<br \/>were driven out for this vice, it is certain;<br \/>for while Adam fasted, from what I have read,<br \/>he was in Paradise; and since he had<br \/>510mang\u00e9, sur l\u2019arbre, du fruit d\u00e9fendu<br \/>immediately he was banished into misfortune and suffering.<br \/>O gluttony! it is fitting that we accuse you!<br \/>Oh ! if man knew how many diseases<br \/>follow excesses and gluttony,<br \/>it would be more moderate<br \/>in his regime, seated at his table.<br \/>Alas! short throat<sup id=\"cite_ref-5\"><\/sup> and choosy<br \/>make that east and west, and north and south,<br \/>in the earth, in the air and in the water, men toil<br \/>520pour fournir au glouton viandes et boissons d\u00e9licates\u00a0!<br \/>On this subject, O Paul, you know how to speak very well.<br \/>&quot;Meats for the belly, and belly for the meats,<br \/>God will destroy them both \u201d, as Saint Paul says<sup id=\"cite_ref-6\"><\/sup>.<br \/>Alas, it&#039;s disgusting thing, by my faith,<br \/>to utter that word, but more disgusting is the act itself;<br \/>when the man drinks so much and white and red,<br \/>he makes his throat his latrine<br \/>by such abominable superfluity.<br \/>The apostle, weeping, said very piteously:<br \/>530\u00ab\u00a0Il en va beaucoup dont je vous ai parl\u00e9\u00a0;<br \/>I tell you now crying and in a pitiful voice<br \/>that they are enemies of the cross of Christ;<br \/>whose end will be perdition, who have their belly for god.<br \/>O belly! oh paunch! oh smelly bag<br \/>filled with manure and corruption, <br \/>what a poisonous noise at each of your ends!<br \/>how much labor and money it costs to satisfy you!<\/p>\n<p>These cooks, see them grind and strain and grind,<br \/>and change the substance into an accident<sup id=\"cite_ref-7\"><\/sup><br \/>540pour satisfaire \u00e0 tous les app\u00e9tits gloutons\u00a0;<br \/>hard bones they extract<br \/>the marrow, because they waste nothing<br \/>of that which is sweet and sweet to the throat;<br \/>spices, leaves and bark and roots<br \/>your sauce should be made deliciously<br \/>to give you a whole new appetite.<br \/>But, of course, who pursues such delights<br \/>is dead, while he lives in these vices.<br \/>Wine and drunkenness are lustful<br \/>550et pleine de querelles et de mis\u00e8res.<br \/>O drunkard, your face is disfigured,<br \/>your breath smells sour, you are disgusting to kiss,<br \/>and through your drunken nose it seems the sound<br \/>that we always hear is: <i>samson, samson<\/i>.<br \/>And yet, God knows, Samson never drank wine.<br \/>You fall like a shackled pig;<br \/>your language is lost and all concern for honesty,<br \/>because drunkenness is the real tomb<br \/>of the spirit of man and of his prudence.<br \/>560Qui se laisse dominer par la boisson<br \/>does not know how to keep a secret, that is quite certain;<br \/>but that, beware of white and red,<br \/>and especially white wine from L\u00e9p\u00e9<sup id=\"cite_ref-8\"><\/sup><br \/>that we put on sale in Fish Street or Cheapside.<br \/>This Spanish wine slips subtly<br \/>in other wines growing nearby<sup id=\"cite_ref-9\"><\/sup>\u00a0;<br \/>it produces when such fumes<br \/>that when a man has drunk three mouthfuls of it<br \/>and thinks to be at home in Cheapside,<br \/>570il est en <a href=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/iberian-mythology\/\">Spain<\/a> in the very town of Lepe,<br \/>not in La Rochelle, or in the city of Bordeaux;<br \/>and it is then that he will say: <i>samson, samson<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>But, behold, my lords, one word I beg of you:<br \/>it is certain that the glorious exploits<br \/>in the victories of the Old Testament,<br \/>by the grace of the true God who is omnipotent,<br \/>were accomplished in abstinence and prayer.<br \/>See in the Bible, that&#039;s where you can learn it.<br \/>See Attila, the great conqueror,<br \/>580qui mourut dans son sommeil, avec honte et d\u00e9shonneur,<br \/>endless bleeding from the nose in his intoxication:<br \/>a captain must live soberly.<br \/>And above all, please consider<br \/>what was ordered to Lamuel, -<br \/>it is not Samuel, but Lamuel that I am saying, -<br \/>read the bible<sup id=\"cite_ref-10\"><\/sup> and you will see expressly<br \/>whether to give wine to those who judge.<br \/>I say no more because that may well be enough.<br \/>And now that I&#039;ve spoken of gluttony,<br \/>590maintenant je vais vous interdire le jeu de hasard.<br \/>The game is the real father of lies,<br \/>deceit and accursed perjury,<br \/>blasphemies against Christ, murder and also loss<br \/>good and time; and further<br \/>it&#039;s a shame and a dishonor<br \/>to be considered a vulgar player.<br \/>And the higher you are<br \/>the more we&#039;ll go avoiding you.<br \/>That if a prince plays games,<br \/>600lors en tout acte de gouvernement et de politique,<br \/>according to common opinion<br \/>he therefore loses his reputation.<br \/>Stilbon<sup id=\"cite_ref-11\"><\/sup>, who was a wise ambassador,<br \/>was sent to Corinth with great pomp,<br \/>of Lacedaemon, to conclude an alliance there.<br \/>And when he did, it happened by fortune,<br \/>that the greatest of this country<br \/>he found them playing dice.<br \/>This why, as soon as he could,<\/p>\n<p>610secr\u00e8tement il s\u2019en revint dans son pays,<br \/>and said, &quot;I don&#039;t want to lose my name over there,<br \/>nor do I want to take upon myself so great a shame<br \/>than to ally yourself with dice players.<br \/>Send other wise ambassadors,<br \/>Because, by my faith, I&#039;d rather die<br \/>than to ally yourself with dice players;<br \/>for you, who have so much glory and honor,<br \/>will not ally yourself with dice players<br \/>of my own accord or by treaty with which I would be responsible. &quot;<br \/>620Ce sage philosophe, c\u2019est ainsi qu\u2019il parla.<br \/>Hear again that at King Demetrius<br \/>king of the Parthians, so says the <a href=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/book-libraries\/\">book<\/a><sup id=\"cite_ref-12\"><\/sup>,<br \/>scornfully sent a pair of golden dice,<br \/>for what he had played before,<br \/>what he considered his glory and his fame<br \/>as worthless and without any price.<br \/>Lords can find other kinds<br \/>games honest enough to kill the day <br \/>\u00a0 \u00a0 Now am I going to talk about false oaths and big oaths,<br \/>630en dire un mot ou deux suivant les anciens <a href=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/book-libraries\/\">books<\/a>.<br \/>Big oaths are an abominable thing,<br \/>and false oaths are even more reprehensible.<br \/>The mighty God forbade to swear at all,<br \/>witness Mathieu; but in particular<br \/>Saint Jeremiah says, speaking of oaths:<br \/>&quot;May your oaths be true and not lying,<br \/>and sworn with justice and also with righteousness. &quot;<br \/>But swearing in vain is a curse.<br \/>Consider that at the first table<br \/>640des v\u00e9n\u00e9rables commandements du Tr\u00e8s Haut,<br \/>the second commandment is as follows:<br \/>\u201cDo not take my name in vain or wrongly. &quot;<br \/>Hear, he defends swearing like that before<br \/>homicide or many other cursed things.<br \/>It comes well in the order I say.<br \/>They know well those who understand these commandments<br \/>that the second commandment of God is this.<\/p>\n<p>And much more, I will put it bluntly:<br \/>the punishment will not depart from the house<br \/>650de celui qui est trop outrageux dans ses jurements.<br \/>&quot;By the precious heart of God, and by his nails,<br \/>and by the blood of Christ which is in Hailes<sup id=\"cite_ref-13\"><\/sup>,<br \/>my luck is seven, and yours five and three<sup id=\"cite_ref-14\"><\/sup>\u00a0;<br \/>by the arms of god, if you cheat at the game<br \/>this dagger pierces your heart. &quot;<br \/>This is the fruit of the two dice of misfortune:<br \/>perjury, anger, falsehood, homicide.<br \/>Now therefore, for the sake of Christ who died for us<br \/>quit your swearing, big and small.<br \/>660Mais, messires, je vais maintenant continuer mon histoire.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 These three debauchery I&#039;m talking about,<br \/>long before the bells rang prime,<br \/>had sat down in a tavern to drink;<br \/>and as they were there they heard a bell ringing<br \/>in front of a body that was carried to its grave,<br \/>so that one of them began to call his valet:<br \/>&quot;Go quickly, (he said,) and ask right away<br \/>what body goes through here,<br \/>and see to tell me his name. &quot;<br \/>670\u00ab\u00a0Messire, (dit l\u2019enfant,) il n\u2019est mie besoin\u00a0;<br \/>I was told two hours before your arrival here;<br \/>it was, pardieu, an old comrade of yours,<br \/>which suddenly was slain that night;<br \/>he was very drunk, lying at full length on his bench,<br \/>when a stealthy thief came called Death,<br \/>who in this country kills all the people,<br \/>who with his spear split his heart in two,<br \/>and went his way without another word.<br \/>He killed a thousand in the plague,<br \/>680et, ma\u00eetre, avant que de venir en sa pr\u00e9sence,<br \/>seems to me that it would be necessary<br \/>to beware of such an adversary:<br \/>always be ready to meet him,<br \/>that&#039;s what my mother taught me, I say no more. &quot;<\/p>\n<p>- &quot;By Sainte Marie, (said the innkeeper,)<br \/>this child is telling the truth, because he killed this year,<br \/>more than a mile from here, in a large village,<br \/>man, woman, child, manant and page.<br \/>I believe he lives around there.<br \/>690\u00catre sur ses gardes serait grande sagesse<br \/>before he can hurt anyone. &quot;<br \/>- &quot; What ! by the arms of God, (says our debauchery,)<br \/>is it such a danger to meet him?<br \/>I will seek him by way and by road,<br \/>I vow it by the sacred bones of Christ.<br \/>Listen, comrades, the three of us are one;<br \/>May each of us reach out to each other,<br \/>and let each be a brother to the other,<br \/>and we will kill this traitorous felon of Death.<br \/>700On le tuera, lui qui en a tant tu\u00e9,<br \/>by the dignity of God, and before it is night. &quot;<br \/>And together these three swore their faith<br \/>to live and die for each other<br \/>as if they were born brothers.<br \/>And they went away drunk in their anger,<br \/>and off they go to this village<br \/>which the innkeeper had spoken of before.<br \/>They swore a lot of horrible oaths<br \/>and tore the blessed body of Christ to pieces:<br \/>710 \u00ab\u00a0Ils mettront Mort \u00e0 mort si seulement ils le prennent.\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>They hadn&#039;t gone as long as half a mile,<br \/>just as they were about to cross a barrier,<br \/>an old and poor man they met.<br \/>This old man greeted them very humbly<br \/>and spoke thus: \u201cNow, lords, God preserve you! &quot;<br \/>The boldest of these three debauchery<br \/>&quot;What is this?&quot; ugly looking sad,<br \/>why are you so wrapped up except the face?<br \/>why do you live so long at such a great age? &quot;<br \/>720Ce vieil homme se mit \u00e0 le regarder au visage<br \/>and thus said: &quot;It is because I cannot find<br \/>a man, when I walk to India,<br \/>neither in cities nor in any village,<br \/>who would like to trade their youth for my age,<\/p>\n<p>and that&#039;s why I have to keep my age<br \/>as long as God wills.<br \/>Death itself, alas! don&#039;t want to take my life<br \/>I walk like this like a restless captive,<br \/>and on the floor which is my mother&#039;s door<br \/>730je frappe de mon b\u00e2ton matin et soir,<br \/>and say, &quot;Dear mother, let me in!&quot;<br \/>See how I faint flesh and blood and skin<br \/>Alas, when will my bones be at rest?<br \/>Mother, I would like you to exchange the trunk for me<br \/>who has been in my room for a long time<sup id=\"cite_ref-15\"><\/sup>,<br \/>Yes Da ! for a sheet of haire in which to wrap myself. &quot;<br \/>But she has not yet wanted to do me this favor,<br \/>for which my face is all pale and withered.<br \/>But, sirs, it is not courteous to you<br \/>740de parler \u00e0 un vieil homme avec rudesse,<br \/>if you are not lacking in words or deeds.<br \/>In Sacred Scripture you can read yourself:<br \/>&quot;In front of an old man with a bald head<br \/>you have to get up \u201d; also I give you this advice,<br \/>do no more harm to an old man now<br \/>that you wouldn&#039;t want us to do<br \/>in your old age, if you last until then;<br \/>and God be with you, wherever you go on foot or on horseback.<br \/>For me, I have to go where I have to go. &quot;<br \/>750\u00ab\u00a0Non pas, vieux rustre, pardieu tu n\u2019iras pas,<br \/>(said the other player immediately \ud83d\ude09<br \/>you will not leave so easily, by Saint John!<br \/>You spoke at the moment of Death, this traitor,<br \/>who in this country occit all our friends.<br \/>I give you my faith, as true as you are his spy,<br \/>say where he is, or he&#039;ll kill you,<br \/>by God and by the Blessed Sacrament!<br \/>Because in truth you agree with him<br \/>to kill us all, young people, old felon thief! &quot;<br \/>760\u00ab\u00a0Eh\u00a0! bien, Messires, (dit l\u2019autre,) si vous avez tel d\u00e9sir<br \/>to find Death, turn this winding path,<br \/>because in this little wood I left it, by my faith,<\/p>\n<p>under a tree and it is there that he dwells;<br \/>all your bravado will not make him hide.<br \/>Do you see this oak? that&#039;s where you&#039;ll find it.<br \/>God save you who redeemed mankind,<br \/>and fine you! So said this old man.<br \/>And each of these debauchery ran away,<br \/>until he came to that tree and found there<br \/>770en beaux florins d\u2019or bien frapp\u00e9s<br \/>close to eight bushels it seemed to them;<br \/>so no longer went in search of Death,<br \/>but each of them was so happy at the sight,<br \/>for the florins were so beautiful and so brilliant,<br \/>that they sat down beside this precious treasure.<br \/>The worst of the three says the first word:<br \/>\u201cMy brethren,\u201d he said, \u201cbeware of what I say;<br \/>I have a big mind although I joke and laugh.<br \/>This treasure, fortune gave it to us<br \/>780pour qu\u2019en joie et liesse nous vivions notre vie,<br \/>and since it came easily to us, we will spend it in the same way.<br \/>Oh ! by the precious dignity of God! who would have thought<br \/>today that we would have such a good time?<br \/>If only that gold could get swept away from this place<br \/>at home in my house or in yours<br \/>(because you know very well that all this gold is ours)<br \/>we would then have great happiness<br \/>But really during the day you cannot:<br \/>people would say that we are staunch thieves,<br \/>790et pour ce tr\u00e9sor bien \u00e0 nous ils nous pendraient.<br \/>We must take away this night treasure<br \/>as cleverly and secretly as possible.<br \/>I therefore recommend that we draw a straw<br \/>between the three of us and see who will scrape the straw;<br \/>and who will have it, with a happy heart<br \/>will run to the city and that at the earliest,<br \/>and will bring us wine and bread in great secrecy;<br \/>and two of us will cleverly guard<br \/>this treasure, and, if the other does not linger,<br \/>800quand il fera nuit nous transporterons ce tr\u00e9sor<br \/>by mutual agreement where we deem best. &quot;<br \/>One of them took the straws in his fist<\/p>\n<p>and told them to shoot to see where the spell fell,<br \/>and he fell on the youngest of them all;<br \/>and he went straight to the city,<br \/>and, as soon as he was gone,<br \/>the first spoke thus to the other:<br \/>\u201cYou know very well that you are my sworn brother;<br \/>I&#039;ll tell you straight on how to make your profit.<br \/>810Tu sais bien que notre camarade est parti\u00a0;<br \/>and here is the gold, and there is a lot planted<br \/>which must be divided among the three of us.<br \/>But yet if I could make it so<br \/>that it was divided between the two of us,<br \/>would I not have done you a service of friend? &quot;<br \/>The other replied: \u201cDon&#039;t know how that can be;<br \/>he knows the gold is with both of us;<br \/>what will we do, what will we say to him? &quot;<br \/>&quot;Will it be a secret?&quot; (said the first rascal)<br \/>in this case I will tell you in a few words<br \/>830ce que nous ferons pour mener la chose \u00e0 bien.\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>&quot;I promise, (said the other,) that of course,<br \/>on my faith, I will not betray you. &quot;<br \/>&quot;Now that, (said the first,) you know very well that we are two<br \/>and that we two will be stronger than one.<br \/>Take care when he is seated, and immediately<br \/>stand up as if you wanted to play with him;<br \/>and I will pierce it through and through<br \/>while you will fight with him as if to laugh;<br \/>830et avec ta dague pense \u00e0 en faire autant\u00a0;<br \/>and then all that gold will be distributed,<br \/>my dear friend, between you and me;<br \/>then we can both fulfill our desires<br \/>and play dice all our drunk. &quot;<br \/>So these two rascals agreed<br \/>to kill the third, as you heard me say.<br \/>The youngest, who was going to the city,<br \/>very often in his heart rolls and returns<br \/>the beauty of these shiny new florins.<br \/>840 \u00ab\u00a0\u00d4 Seigneur\u00a0! (disait-il,) s\u2019il se pouvait \u00eatre<br \/>that I had the treasure all to myself,<br \/>he is not a man living below the throne<\/p>\n<p>of God, who would live as happy as I! &quot;<br \/>And finally the demon, our enemy,<br \/>took it into his head to buy poison,<br \/>enough to kill his two comrades;<br \/>because the demon found him in such a state of life<br \/>that he had permission to lead him to harm;<br \/>and so our man firmly took the resolution<br \/>to kill them both and never repent.<br \/>850Il va donc, ne voulant pas s\u2019attarder,<br \/>to the city, to an apothecary,<br \/>and begged him to sell him<br \/>poison to kill his rats;<br \/>and there was also a polecat in his pen,<br \/>who, he said, had killed his capons,<br \/>and he would have liked to avenge himself, if he could,<br \/>vermin that hurt him at night.<br \/>The apothecary replied: &quot;Yes, you will have<br \/>860telle chose que (sur mon \u00e2me que Dieu sauve\u00a0!)<br \/>he is not a creature in the whole world<br \/>who eats or drinks this jam,<br \/>even the size of a grain of wheat,<br \/>without immediately losing their life;<br \/>yes, she will die, and in less time<br \/>that you will not do a mile on foot<br \/>so strong and violent is this poison. &quot;<br \/>The accursed one took in his hand<br \/>a bunch of this poison, and then ran<br \/>870dans la rue voisine chez quelqu\u2019un<br \/>to borrow three large bottles from him;<br \/>and, in two, he poured out his poison,<br \/>the third he kept it pure for his own drink,<br \/>because all night long he was getting ready to sweat<br \/>by transporting the gold away from the place.<br \/>And when this debauchery (God give him bad luck!)<br \/>had filled his three large bottles with wine,<br \/>he returned to his comrades.<br \/>Is there a need to preach more?<br \/>880Car, tout comme ils avaient pr\u00e9m\u00e9dit\u00e9 sa mort,<br \/>all so they killed him immediately.<br \/>And when it was done, one spoke thus:<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Now let&#039;s sit down, and drink, and cheer up<br \/>and then we will bury his body. &quot;<br \/>El at these words it happened to him by chance<br \/>to take the bottle where the poison was,<br \/>he drank and also offered a drink to his friend,<br \/>from which they both died immediately.<br \/>But, of course, I suppose that Avicennes<br \/>890ne d\u00e9crivit jamais, dans un canon ni aucun fen<sup id=\"cite_ref-16\"><\/sup>,<br \/>more wonderful signs of poisoning<br \/>that these two wretches did not have before their end.<br \/>So ended these two homicides<br \/>and likewise the perfidious poisoner too.<\/p>\n<p>O cursed sin, full of curse!<br \/>O homicidal traitors, O wickedness!<br \/>O gluttony, lust and play!<br \/>O you who blasphemes Christ with villainy<br \/>and with great oaths, out of habit and pride!<br \/>O cursed sin, full of curse!<br \/>900H\u00e9las\u00a0! genre humain, comment se peut-il<br \/>that towards your creator who shaped you,<br \/>and the precious blood of her heart has redeemed you,<br \/>you are so felon and so wicked, alas!<br \/>\u00a0 \u00a0 Now, good people, God forgive you your faults,<br \/>and keep you from the sin of greed.<br \/>My holy forgiveness can heal you all<br \/>as long as you offer me gold doubles or esterlins,<br \/>or even silver brooches, spoons or rings;<br \/>bow your head under this holy bubble!<br \/>Come, women, offer your wool.<br \/>910J\u2019inscris ici vos noms sur mon r\u00f4le tout de suite\u00a0;<br \/>you will arrive at celestial bliss;<br \/>I absolve you by my great power,<br \/>you who are going to make an offering, and also make yourself pure and clean<br \/>than when you were born. There you go, gentlemen<sup id=\"cite_ref-17\"><\/sup>, how I preach;<br \/>and Jesus Christ, who is the target of our souls,<br \/>thus grant you to receive his forgiveness.<\/p>\n<p>Because it&#039;s the best, I don&#039;t want to cheat on you.<br \/>But, sirs, I forgot a word in my story:<br \/>920j\u2019ai des reliques et des pardons dans mon sac,<br \/>as handsome as a man from England,<br \/>which were given to me by the hand of the Pope.<br \/>If any of you, out of devotion,<br \/>wants to make an offering and have my absolution,<br \/>let him come forward and kneel here<br \/>and humbly receive my forgiveness;<br \/>or take pardons on the way,<br \/>brand new and fresh, out of each village,<br \/>provided you are always offering new and new<br \/>930nobles d\u2019or et des sols qui soient bons et de poids.<br \/>It&#039;s an honor for all who are here<br \/>than having an authorized forgiver<br \/>to absolve you, as you ride through the land,<br \/>in the adventures that may happen to you:<br \/>adventure one or two may fall<br \/>horse and break the collar.<br \/>Think how safe it is for all of you<br \/>that I fell in your company,<br \/>I who can absolve you, big and small,<br \/>when your soul leaves the body.<br \/>940Je conseille que notre h\u00f4te que voici commence,<br \/>for he is deeply rooted in sin.<br \/>Come forward, sir host, and first make some offering,<br \/>and you shall kiss the relics, each and every one;<br \/>yes, for a penny, quickly loosen your purse. &quot;<br \/>- &quot;No, no, (said the other,) rather than Christ curse me!&quot;<br \/>Leave it, he said, I won&#039;t do it, of course!<br \/>You would like to make me kiss your old shoes,<br \/>and swear it&#039;s a relic of a saint,<br \/>were they smeared with your foundation!<br \/>950Mais, par la croix qu\u2019a trouv\u00e9e Sainte H\u00e9l\u00e8ne,<br \/>I would rather have your balls in my hand<br \/>instead of relics and sanctities;<br \/>let me cut them, I&#039;ll help you wear them;<br \/>they will be embedded in a pork turd. &quot;<br \/>The forgiver did not answer a word;<br \/>he was so angry he didn&#039;t want to say a word.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Come on, (said our host), I don&#039;t want to joke any more<br \/>with you, nor with any angry man. &quot;<br \/>960Mais tout aussit\u00f4t le digne Chevalier se mit<br \/>to speak when he saw that everyone was laughing:<br \/>\u201cLet&#039;s finish this, because that&#039;s enough;<br \/>Sir Pardonneur, be cheerful and cheerful,<br \/>and you, sir host, who are so dear to me,<br \/>I beg you, give a kiss to the Forgiver;<br \/>and, Forgiver, please come closer,<br \/>and as before, let&#039;s laugh and joke. &quot;<br \/>Immediately they kissed and the ride resumed.<\/p>\n<p><i>Here ends the Tale of the Forgiving.<\/i><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Breton Mythology Wiki Geoffrey Chaucer is an English writer and poet born in London in the 1340s and died\u2026 <\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":96,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-14690","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25251,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14690\/revisions\/25251"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/96"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}