Geoffrey Chaucer Quotes

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!

Three years went by in happiness and health; He bore himself so well in peace and war That there was no one Theseus valued more.

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

Ye knowe eek, that in forme of speche is chaunge
With-inne a thousand yeer, and wordes tho
That hadden prys, now wonder nyce and straunge
Us thinketh hem; and yet they spake hem so,
And spedde as wel in love as men now do.

For I am shave as nye as any frere. But yit I pray un-to youre curtesye: Beth hevy ageyn, or elles mot I die.

Lo, what said King Solomon, who can teach us so well? ‘Do not befriend an angry man, and walk not along the way with a madman, lest you repent.’ I will no further say.

— La compasión surge rápidamente de los nobles corazones que sienten los agudos aguijonazos que sufren otros como en su propia carne;

A priest should take to heart the shameful scene of shepards filthy while the sheep are clean.

Purity in body and heart
May please some — as for me, I make no boast.
For, as you know, no master of a household
Has all of his utensils made of gold;
Some are wood, and yet they are of use.

"By God," quod he, "for pleynly, at a word,
Thy drasty rymyng is nat worth a toord!"

Who shall give a lover any law?’ Love is a greater law, by my troth, than any law written by mortal man.

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.

Against this horrible Sin of Sloth, and the branches of the same, there is a virtue called fortitude or strength. This is a love by which a man despises noxious things. This virtue is so mighty and so vigorous that it dares to withstand and wisely keep itself from perils that are wicked, and to wrestle successfully against the assaults of the Devil. For this virtue enhances and strengthens the soul, just as Sloth lessens it and makes it grow feeble. This fortitude will endure, by patient stoicism, the travails that may befall.

the greatest scholars are not usually the wisest people

Amor vincit omnia