作者：查尔斯·爱略特
出版社：万卷出版公司
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百年哈佛经典第40卷：英文诗集(卷I)：从乔叟到格雷(英文原版)试读：
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
THE aim in these three volumes of English Poetry has been to give, as far as the limits of space allowed, a substantial representation of the most distinguished poets of England and America for the last five hundred years. Among previous anthologies an especially wide recognition has been given by the best judges to Francis Turner Palgrave's “Golden Treasury of the Best Songs and Lyrical Poems in the English Language,” first published in 1861; and it has been thought best to make that collection the nucleus of the present one. All the poems originally selected by Mr. Palgrave have, accordingly, been retained, with the exception of those by Milton and Burns, which appear in the Harvard Classics in the complete editions of the poetical works of these two authors.
The larger scale of this collection has made it possible to ignore the limitation of most anthologies to lyrical poems, and to include a considerable number of long narrative and didactic poems. Thus we have been able to give the Prologue to Chaucer's “Canterbury Tales,” the most vivid series of types of character to be found in any English poem; the “Nun's Priest's Tale,” one of the finest specimens of the beast fable; a large group of traditional ballads, including the almost epic “Gest of Robin Hood”; Pope's “Essay on Man”; Byron's “Prisoner of Chillon”; Coleridge's “Ancient Mariner” and “Christabel”; Keats's “Eve of St. Agnes”; Shelley's “Adonais”; Tennyson's “Maud”; Longfellow's “Evangeline”; and many others rarely found in mixed collections. All these poems are given, in accordance with the general practise in this series, in their entirety.
In the case of Chaucer and other older authors, and of poems in the Scottish dialect, the meanings of obsolete and rare words have been given in the foot-notes. The poems of each author will be found together; and the general arrangement is chronological.
GEOFFREY CHAUCER
［1340(?)-1400］THE PROLOGUE TO THE CANTERBURY TALES注1WHAN that Aprille with his shoures soote注2
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote,注3
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth注4
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth注5
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne注6
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open y,注7
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages:
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,注8
And palmers for to seken straunge strondes,注9注10
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir for to seke,注11
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.
Bifel that, in that sesoun on a day,注12
In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay
Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage
To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,
At night was come in-to that hostelrye注13
Wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye,注14注15
Of sondry folk, by aventure y-falle
In felawshipe, and pilgrims were they alle,
That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde;
The chambres and the stables weren wyde,注16
And wel we weren esed atte beste.
And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste,注17
So hadde I spoken with hem everichon,
That I was of hir felawshipe anon,注18
And made forward erly for to ryse,注19
To take our wey, ther as I yow devyse.注20
But natheles, whyl I have tyme and space,注21
Er that I ferther in this tale pace,
Me thinketh it acordaunt to resoun,注22
To telle yew al the condicioun
Of ech of hem, so as it semed me,注23
And whiche they weren, and of what degree;
And eek in what array that they were inne:
And at a knight than wol I first biginne.
A KNIGHT ther was, and that a worthy man,
That fro the tyme that he first bigan
To ryden out, he loved chivalrye,注24
Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye.注25
Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre,注26注27
And thereto hadde he riden (no man ferre)
As wel in cristendom as hethenesse,
And evere honoured for his worthinesse.
At Alisaundre he was, whan it was wonne;注28
Ful ofte tyme he hadde the bord bigonne注29
Aboven alle naciouns in Pruce.注30注31注32
In Lettow hadde he reysed and in Ruce,
No cristen man so ofte of his degree.注33
In Gernade at the sege eek hadde he be注34
Of Algezir, and riden in Belmarye.注35注36
At Lyeys was he, and at Satalye,注37
Whan they were wonne; and in the Grete See注38
At many a noble aryve hadde he be,
At mortal batailles hadde he been fiftene,注39
And foughten for our feith at Tramissene
In listes thryes, and ay slayn his foo.注40
This ilke worthy knight hadde been also注41
Somtyme with the lord of Palatye,
Ageyn another hethen in Turkye:注42
And everemore he hadde a sovereyn prys.
And though that he were worthy, he was wys,注43
And of his port as meek as is a mayde.注44
He nevere yet no vileinye ne sayde注45
In al his lyf, un-to no maner wight.
He was a verray parfit gentil knight.
But for to tellen yow of his array,
His hors were goode, but he was nat gay.注46注47
Of fustian he wered a gipoun注48注49
Al bismotered with his habergeoun.注50
For he was late y-come from his viage,
And wente for to doon his pilgrimage.
With him ther was his sone, a yong SQUYER,
A lovyer, and a lusty bacheler,注51
With lokkes crulle, as they were leyd in presse.
Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse.注52
Of his stature he was of evene lengthe,注53
And wonderly delivere, and greet of strengthe.注54
And he hadde been somtyme in chivachye,
In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Picardye,注55
And born him wel, as of so litel space,注56
In hope to stonden in his lady grace.
Embrouded was he, as it were a mede
Al ful of fresshe floures, whyte and rede.注57
Singinge he was, or floytinge, al the day;
He was as fresh as is the month of May.
Short was his goune, with sleves longe and wyde.
Wel coude he sitte on hors, and faire ryde.注58
He coude songes make and wel endyte,
Iuste and eek daunce, and wel purtreye and wryte.注59
So hote he lovede, that by nightertale
He sleep namore than doth a nightingale.
Curteys he was, lowly, and servisable,注60
And carf biforn his fader at the table.注61注62
A YEMAN hadde he, and servaunts namo注63
At that tyme, for him liste ryde so;
And he was clad in cote and hood of grene;注64
A sheef of pecok arwes brighte and kene
Under his belt he bar ful thriftily,
(Wel coude he dresse his takel yemanly:
His arwes drouped noght with fetheres lowe),
And in his hand he bar a mighty bowe.注65
A not-heed hadde he, with a broun visage.注66
Of wode-craft wel coude he al the usage.注67
Upon his arm he bar a gay bracer,
And by his syde a swerd and a bokeler,
And on that other syde a gay daggere,注68
Harneised wel, and sharp as point of spere;注69
A Cristofre on his brest of silver shene注70
An horn he bar, the bawdrik was of grene;
A forster was he, soothly, as I gesse.
Ther was also a Nonne, a PRIORESSE,
That of hir smyling was ful simple and coy;注71
Hir gretteste ooth was but by seynt Loy;注72
And she was cleped madame Eglentyne.
Ful wel she song the service divyne,
Entuned in hir nose ful semely;注73
And Frensh she spak ful faire and fetisly,注74
After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe,
For Frensh of Paris was to hir unknowe.
At mete wel y-taught was she with-alle;
She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle,
Ne wette hir fingres in hir sauce depe.
Wel coude she carie a morsel, and wel kepe,
That no drope ne fille up-on hir brest.注75
In curteisye was set ful moche hir lest.注76
Hir over lippe wyped she so clene,注77
That in hir coppe was no ferthing sene
Of grece, whan she dronken hadde hir draughte.注78
Ful semely after hir mete she raughte,注79注80
And sikerly she was of greet disport,
And ful plesaunt, and amiable of port,注81
And peyned hir to countrefete chere注82
Of court, and been estatlich of manere,注83
And to ben holden digne of reverence.注84
But, for to speken of hir conscience,
She was so charitable and so pitous,
She wolde wepe, if that she sawe a mous
Caught in a trappe, if it were deed or bledde.
Of smale houndes had she, that she fedde注85
With rosted flesh, or milk and wastel breed.
But sore weep she if oon of hem were deed,注86
Or if men smoot it with a yerde smerte:注87
And al was conscience and tendre herte.注88注89注90
Ful semely hir wimpel pinched was;注91
Hir nose tretys; hir eyen greye as glas;
Hir mouth ful smal, and ther-to softe and reed;
But sikerly she hadde a fair forheed.
It was almost a spanne brood, I trowe;注92
For, hardily, she was nat undergrowe.注93
Ful fetis was hir cloke, as I was war.
Of smal coral aboute hir arm she bar注94注95
A peire of bedes, gauded al with grene;
And ther-on heng a broche of gold ful shene,
On which ther was first write a crowned A,注96
And after, Amor vincit omnia.
Another NONNE with hir hadde she,
That was hir chapeleyne, and PREESTES thre.注97
A MONK ther was, a fair for the maistrye,注98注99
An out-rydere, that lovede venerye;
A manly man, to been an abbot able.
Ful many a deyntee hors hadde he in stable:
And, whan he rood, men mighte his brydel here
Ginglen in a whistling wynd as clere,
And eek as loude as dooth the chapel-belle,注100注101
Ther-as this lord was keper of the celle.
The reule of seint Maure or of seint Beneit,注102
By-cause that it was old and som-del streit,
This ilke monk leet olde thinges pace,
And held after the newe world the space.注103注104
He yaf nat of that text a pulled hen,
That seith, that hunters been nat holy men;注105
Ne that a monk, whan he is cloisterlees
Is likned til a fish that is waterlees;
This is to seyn, a monk out of his cloistre.
But thilke text held he nat worth an oistre.
And I seyde his opinioun was good.注106
What sholde he studie, and make him-selven wood,
Upon a book in cloistre alwey to poure,注107
Or swinken with his handes, and laboure,注108
As Austin bit? How shal the world be served?
Lat Austin have his swink to him reserved.注109
Therfor he was a pricasour aright;
Grehoundes he hadde, as swifte as fowel in flight;注110
Of priking and of hunting for the hare
Was al his lust, for no cost wolde he spare.注111注112
I seigh his sleves purfiled at the hond注113
With grys, and that the fyneste of a lond;
And, for to festne his hood under his chin,
He hadde of gold y-wroght a curious pin:
A love-knot in the gretter ende ther was.
His heed was balled, that shoon as any glas,
And eek his face, as he hadde been anoint.注114
He was a lord ful fat and in good point;注115
His eyen stepe, and rollinge in his heed,注116注117
That stemed as a forneys of a leed;
His botes souple, his hors in greet estaat.
Now certeinly he was a fair prelat;注118
He was nat pale as a for-pyned goost.
A fat swan loved he best of any roost.
His palfrey was as broun as is a berye.
A FRERE ther was, a wantown and a merye,注119注120
A limitour, a ful solempne man.注121注122
In alle the ordres foure is noon that can
So moche of daliaunce and fair langage.
He hadde maad ful many a mariage
Of yonge wommen, at his owne cost.
Un-to his ordre he was a noble post.
Ful wel biloved and famulier was he注123
With frankeleyns over-al in his contree,
And eek with worthy wommen of the toun:
For he had power of confessioun,
As seyde him-self, more than a curat,
For of his ordre he was licentiat.
Ful swetely herde he confessioun,
And plesaunt was his absolucioun;
He was an esy man to yeve penaunce注124
Ther as he wiste to han a good pitaunce;
For unto a povre ordre for to yive注125
Is signe that a man is wel y-shrive.注126
For if he yaf, he dorste make avaunt,
He wiste that a man was repentaunt.
For many a man so hard is of his herte,
He may nat wepe al-thogh him sore smerte.
Therfore, in stede of weping and preyeres,注127
Men moot yeve silver to the povre freres.注128
His tipet was ay farsed ful of knyves
And pinnes, for to yeven faire wyves.
And certeinly he hadde a mery note;注129
Wel coude he singe and pleyen on a rote.注130
Of yeddinges he bar utterly the prys.
His nekke whyt was as the flour-de-lys;
Ther-to he strong was as a champioun.
He knew the tavernes wel in every toun,
And everich hostiler and tappestere注131注132注133
Bet than a lazar or a beggestere;
For un-to swich a worthy man as he注134
Acorded nat, as by his facultee,
To have with seke lazars aqueyntaunce.注135
It is nat honest, it may nat avaunce注136
For to delen with no swich poraille,
But al with riche and sellers of vitaille.注137
And over-al, ther-as profit sholde aryse,
Curteys he was, and lowly of servyse.注138
Ther nas no man nowher so vertuous.
He was the beste beggere in his hous;
For thogh a widwe hadde noght a sho,注139
So plesaunt was his “In principio”,
Yet wolde he have a ferthing, er he wente.注140
His purchas was wel bettre than his rente.注141
And rage he coude as it were right a whelpe.注142
In love-dayes ther coude he mochel helpe.
For ther he was nat lyk a cloisterer,
With a thredbare cope, as is a povre scoler,
But he was lyk a maister or a pope.注143
Of double worsted was his semi-cope,
That rounded as a belle out of the presse.注144
Somwhat he lipsed, for his wantownesse,
To make his English swete up-on his tonge;
And in his harping, whan that he had songe,
His eyen twinkled in his heed aright,
As doon the sterres in the frosty night.注145
This worthy limitour was cleped Huberd.
A MARCHANT was ther with a forked berd,注146
In mottelee, and hye on horse he sat,
Up-on his heed a Flaundrish bever hat;注147
His botes clasped faire and fetisly.注148
His resons he spak ful solempnely,注149
Sowninge alway thencrees of his winning.注150注151
He wolde the see were kept for any thing
Bitwixe Middleburgh and Orewelle.注152
Wel coude he in eschaunge sheeldes selle.注153
This worthy man ful wel his wit bisette;
Ther wiste no wight that he was in dette,注154注155
So estatly was he of his governaunce,注156
With his bargaynes, and with his chevisaunce.
For sothe he was a worthy man with-alle,
But sooth to seyn, I noot how men him calle.注157
A CLERK ther was of Oxenford also,注158
That un-to logik hadde longe y-go,
As lene was his hors as is a rake,
And he nas nat right fat, I undertake;
But loked holwe, and ther-to soberly.注159
Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy;
For he had geten him yet no benefice,
Ne was so worldly for to have office.注160
For him was levere have at his beddes heed
Twenty bokes, clad in blak or reed
Of Aristotle and his philosophye,注161注162
Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrye.
But al be that he was a philosophre,
Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre;注163
But al that he mighte of his frendes hente,
On bokes and on lerninge he it spente
And bisily gan for the soules preye注164
Of hem that yaf him wher-with to scoleye.
Of studie took he most cure and most hede,
Noght o word spak he more than was nede,
And that was seyd in forme and reverence,注165
And short and quik, and ful of hy sentence.注166
Sowninge in moral vertu was his speche,
And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.注167
A SERGEANT OF THE LAWE, war and wys,注168
That often hadde been at the parvys,
Ther was also, ful riche of excellence.
Discreet he was, and of greet reverence:
He seemed swich, his wordes weren so wyse,
Iustice he was ful often in assyse,注169
By patente, and by pleyn commissioun;
For his science, and for his heigh renoun
Of fees and robes hadde he many oon.注170
So greet a purchasour was nowher noon.注171
Al was fee simple to him in effect,注172注173
His purchasing mighte nat been infect.
Nowher so bisy a man as he ther nas,
And yet he semed bisier than he was.注174
In termes hadde he caas and domes alle,
That from the tyme of king William were falle.注175
Therto he oude endyte, and make a thing,注176
Ther coude no wight pinche at his wryting;注177
And every statut coude he pleyn by rote.注178
He rood but hoomly in a medlee cote注179
Girt with a ceint of silk, with barres smale;
Of his array telle I no lenger tale.
A FRANKELEYN was in his compaignye;
Whyt was his berd as is the dayesye.
Of his complexioun he was sangwyn.注180
Wel loved he by the morwe a sop in wyn.注181
To liven in delyt was evere his wone,
For he was Epicurus owne sone,
That heeld opinioun that pleyn delyt
Was verraily felicitee parfyt.
An householdere, and that a greet, was he;注182
Seynt Iulian he was in his contree.注183
His breed, his ale, was alwey after oon;注184
A bettre envyned man was no-wher noon.
With-oute bake mete was nevere his hous,
Of fish and flesh, and that so plentevous,注185
It shewed in his hous of mete and drinke,
Of alle deyntees that men coude thinke.
After the sondry sesons of the yeer,
So chaunged he his mete and his soper.注186
Ful many a fat partrich hadde he in mewe,注187注188注189
And many a breem and many a luce in stewe.注190
Wo was his cook, but-if his sauce were
Poynaunt and sharp, and redy al his gere.注191
His table dormant in his halle alway
Stood redy covered al the longe day.
At sessiouns ther was he lord and sire.
Ful ofte tyme he was knight of the shire.注192注193
An anlas and a gipser al of silk
Heng at his girdel, whyt as morne milk.注194
A shirreve hadde he been, and a countour;注195
Was nowher such a worthy vavasour.
An HABERDASSHER and a CARPENTER,注196注197
A WEBBE, a DYERE, and a TAPICER,注198
And they were clothed alle in o livenee,注199
Of a solempne and greet fraternitee.注200
Ful fresh and newe hir gere apyked was;注201
Hir knyves were y-chaped noght with bras,
But al with silver, wroght ful clene and weel,
Hir girdles and hir pouches every-deel.
Wel semed ech of hem a fair burgeys,注202注203
To sitten in a yeldhalle on a deys.注204注205
Everich, for the wisdom that he can,注206
Was shaply for to been an alderman.注207
For catel hadde they ynogh and rente,
And eek hir wyves wolde it wel assente;
And elles certein were they to blame.注208
It is ful fair to been y-clept “ma dame,”注209
And goon to vigilys al bifore,注210注211
And have a mantel roialliche y-bore.注212
A COOK they hadde with hem for the nones,
To boille chiknes with the mary-bones,注213注214
And poudre-marchant tart, and galingale.
Wel coude he knowe a draughte of London ale.注215
He coude roste, and sethe, and broille, and frye,注216
Maken mortreux, and wel bake a pye.
But greet harm was it, as it thoughte me,注217
That on his shine a mormal hadde he;注218
For blankmanger, that made he with the beste.注219
A SHIPMAN was ther, woning fer by weste:
For aught I woot, he was of Dertemouthe.注220注221
He rood up-on a rouncy, as he couthe,注222
In a gowne of falding to the knee.
A daggere hanging on a laas hadde he
Aboute his nekke under his arm adoun.
The hote somer had maad his hewe al broun;
And, certeinly, he was a good felawe.注223
Ful many a draughte of wyn had he y-drawe注224
From Burdeux-ward, whyl that the chapman sleep.注225注226
Of nyce conscience took he no keep.
If that he faught, and hadde the hyer hond,注227
By water he sente hem hoom to every lond.
But of his craft to rekene wel his tydes,注228
His stremes and his daungers him bisydes,注229注230
His herberwe and his mone, his lodemenage,
Ther nas noon swich from Hulle to Cartage.注231
Hardy he was, and wys to undertake,
With many a tempest hadde his berd been shake.
He knew wel alle the havenes, as they were,
From Gootlond to the cape of Finistere,
And every cryke in Britayne and in Spayne;
His barge y-cleped was the Maudelayne.
With us ther was a DOCTOUR OF PHISYK,
In al this world ne was ther noon him lyk
To speke of phisik and of surgerye;
For he was grounded in astronomye.注232
He kepte his pacient a ful greet del注233
In houres, by his magik naturel.
Wel coude he fortunen the ascendent注234
Of his images for his pacient.
He knew the cause of everich maladye,
Were it of hoot or cold, or moiste, or drye,注235
And where engendred, and of what humour;
He was a verrey parfit practisour.
The cause y-knowe, and of his harm the rote,注236
Anon he yaf the seke man his bote.
Ful redy hadde he his apothecaries,注237注238
To sende him drogges, and his letuaries,
For ech of hem made other for to winne;
Hir frendschipe nas nat newe to biginne.
Wel knew he the olde Esculapius,
And Deiscorides, and eek Rufus;
Old Ypocras, Haly, and Galien;
Serapion, Razis, and Avicen;
Averrois, Damascien, and Constantyn;注239
Bernard, and Gatesden, and Gilbertyn.注240
Of his diete mesurable was he,
For it was of no superfluitee,
But of greet norissing and digestible.
His studie was but litel on the Bible.注241注242
In sangwin and in pers he clad was al,注243
Lyned with taffata and with sendal;注244
And yet he was but esy of dispence;
He kepte that he wan in pestilence.
For gold in phisik is a cordial,
Therfor he lovede gold in special.
A good WYF was ther of bisyde BATHE,注245
But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe.注246
Of cloth-making she hadde swiche an haunt,
She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.
In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon
That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon;
And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she,
That she was out of alle charitee.注247
Hir coverchiefs ful fyne were of ground;
I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound
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