Geoffrey Chaucer Quotes

That wel by reson men hit calle may The 'dayesye' or elles the 'ye of day,' The emperice and flour of floures alle.

Now purs, that be to me my lyves light, And saveour, as doun in this worlde here, Out of this toune help me through your might.

El hombre favorecido por la Fortuna se convierte en un imbécil integral.

Lo, lo,” said Lady Prudence, “how easily is every man inclined to his own desire and to his own pleasure. Surely, the words of the Physicians should not be understood in this way. For certain, wickedness is not the contrary of wickedness, nor vengeance the contrary of vengeance, nor wrong the contrary of wrong, for, in fact, they are the same. And, therefore, one vengeance is not cured by another vengeance, nor one wrong by another wrong, but each one of them increases and aggravates the other.

If gold rusts, what then can iron do?

Fortune has dealt us this adversity:
Some malign aspect or disposition
Of Saturn in some adverse position
Has brought it on us; nothing's to be done:
It stood thus in our stars when we were born;
The long and short of it is this: Endure.

No more of this,” said our Host, “for the dignity Of God. Your storytelling is making me So terribly weary of your stupidity That, really, as I hope some day to be blessed, My ears are aching from your utterly senseless 5 Blather. Send such poetry to the devil! Whatever you call it, it’s stuff of the lowest level.

No empty handed man can lure a bird

Yet from the wise take this for common sense That to the poor all times are out of joint Therefore beware of reaching such a point.

For he would rather have, by his bedside, twenty books, bound in black or red, of Aristotle and his philosophy, than rich robes or costly fiddles or gay harps.

Youth may outrun the old, but not outwit.

And after winter folweth grene May.

"For if a priest be foul, on whom we trust,
No wonder is a common man should rust"
-The Prologue of Chaucers Canterbury Tales-

A thousand tymes have I herd men telle, That ther is joye in heven, and peyne in helle; And I acorde wel that hit is so; But natheles, yit wot I wel also, That ther nis noon dwelling in this contree, That either hath in heven or helle y-be, Ne may of hit non other weyes witen, But as he hath herd seyd, or founde hit writen; For by assay ther may no man hit preve. But god forbede but men shulde leve Wel more thing then men han seen with yë! Men shal nat wenen every-thing a lyë But-if him-self hit seeth, or elles dooth; For, god wot, thing is never the lasse sooth, Thogh every wight ne may hit nat y-see. Bernard the monk ne saugh nat al, parde!

Look well that you unto no vice assent, lest you be damned for your evil intent. For she who does so is a traitor, certainly. And take heed of what I shall say: of all the treasons, the greatest wickedness is the betrayal of innocence.