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1. The General Prologue
2. The Knight's Tale
3. The Miller's Prologue
4. The Miller's Tale
5. The Reeve's Prologue
6. The Reeve's Tale
7. The Cook's Prologue
8. The Cook's Tale
9. Introduction to the Man of Law's Tale
10. The Man of Law's Tale
11. The Wife of Bath's Prologue
12. The Wife of Bath's Tale
13. The Friar's Prologue
14. The Friar's Tale
15. The Summoner's Prologue
16. The Summoner's Tale
17. The Clerk's Tale
18. Lenvoye de Chaucer
19. Words of the Host
20. The Merchant's Prologue
21. The Merchant's Tale
22. Epilogue to the Merchant's Tale
23. The Squire's Tale
24. The Franklin's Tale
25. The Physician's Tale
26. Introduction to the Pardoner's Tale
27. The Pardoner's Prologue & Tale
28. The Shipman's Tale
29. The Prioress' Tale
30. The Tale of Sir Thopas
31. Here the Host 'stynteth' Chaucer's Tale of Sir Thopas
32. The Tale of Melibeus
33. The Monk's Prologue
34. The Monk's Tale
35. The Nun's Priest's Prologue
36. The Nun's Priest's Tale
37. Epilogue to the Nun's Priest's Tale
38. The Second Nun's Tale
39. The Canon's Yeoman's Prologue
40. The Canon's Yeoman's Tale
The Tale of Melibeus Folio 164r 29 of 32 folios
that had it biseged / and wolde it al destroye
Nabal hire housbonde fro Dauyd the kyng
slayn h
hire good co
Cross in dry point in the left margin.ODR
the peeple of god / in the regne / of Assureus the kyng /
And þ e same
bountee in good coū seillyng / of many a good wō man / moun men
telle
bountee in good co
telle
135
forme fader / he seide in this wyse /
It is nat good / to be a man
allone / make we to hī an helpe / semblable to hī self /
allone / make we to h
heere moū
ȝe se / that if that wō men weren nat goode / & here coū seil good &
pro fitable /
ȝe se / that if that w
oure lord god of heuene / wolde neither han wrougħ t
hē / ne called hē helpe of man / but rathere cō fusioū of man /
h
there seide oones a Clerk in two vers / what is bettre than gold ;
Iaspre / what is bettre than Iaspre ; wysdom /
140
Corrected from: <nothing> && what is bettre than
wysdom ; wō man / And what is bettre than good wō man ; no þ ī g /
wysdom ; w
men ben goode /
If ȝe wole troste to my co
hool
hono
his wyf Pudence / he seide thus /
145
I se wel / that the word of Sa-
lamon is sotħ / he seitħ þ t wordes þ t ben spoken discretly by
ordynaū ce / ben honycombes / for they ȝeuen swetnesse to the
soule /& holsumnesse to the body /
lamon is sot
ordyna
soule /
And wyf / by cause of thyne
swete wordes /& eke for I haue assaied / & preeued thy grete sa-
pience /& thy gret trouthe / I wol gouer ne me by thy counseil / in
alle thyng
swete wordes /
pience /
alle thyng
saf / to be gou
ȝe shulñ
first in alle ȝour werkes / mekely byseken / to the heigħ god / that
he wol be ȝoure coū seillour /
first in alle ȝour
he wol be ȝoure co
And shapetħ ȝow to swicħ entente
that he ȝeue ȝow coū seil & comfort / as taugħ te Tobye his sone
that he ȝeue ȝow co
150
weyes /
axe it of god /
and afterward / thā ne shuln ȝe take coū seil / in ȝour
self / and examyne wel ȝour thougħ tes / of swicħ thynges / as
ȝow thynketħ / that is best for ȝour pro fyt /
self / and examyne wel ȝour
ȝow thynket
And thā ne shuln ȝe
dryue fro ȝoure herte / thre thynges /þ t ben conta rious to good
counseil /
dryue fro ȝoure herte / thre thynges /
counseil /
that is to seyn ; Ire / Coueitise / & hastynesse
155
he that axet
the firste is this / he þ t hatħ gret Ire / and
wrathe in hī self / he wenetħ alwey / þ t he may do thyng / þ t he
wrathe in h