The House of Fame

by Geoffrey Chaucer

852 Kindely to Fames place.

  853 `Telle me this feithfully,

  854 Have I not preved thus simply,

  855 Withouten any subtiltee

  856 Of speche, or gret prolixitee

  857 Of termes of philosophye,

  858 Of figures of poetrye,

  859 Or colours of rethoryke?

  860 Pardee, hit oghte thee to lyke;

  861 For hard langage and hard matere

  862 Is encombrous for to here

  863 At ones; Wost thou not wel this?'

  864 And I answerde, and seyde,`Yis.'

  865 `A ha!' quod he, `lo, so I can,

  866 Lewedly to a lewed man

  867 Speke, and shewe him swiche skiles,

  868 That he may shake hem by the biles,

  869 So palpable they shulden be.

  870 But tel me this, now pray I thee,

  871 How thinkth thee my conclusioun?'

  872 Quod he. `A good persuasioun,'

  873 Quod I, `hit is; and lyk to be

  874 Right so as thou hast preved me.'

  875 `By god,' quod he, `and as I leve,

  876 Thou shalt have yit, or hit be eve,

  877 Of every word of this sentence

  878 A preve, by experience;

  879 And with thyn eres heren wel

  880 Top and tail, and everydel,

  881 That every word that spoken is

  882 Comth into Fames Hous, y-wis,

  883 As I have seyd; what wilt thou more?'

  884 And with this word upper to sore

  885 He gan, and seyde, `Be Seynt Iame!

  886 Now wil we speken al of game.' --

  887 `How farest thou?' quod he to me,

  888 `Wel,' quod I. `Now see,' quod he,

  889 `By thy trouthe, yond adoun,

  890 Wher that thou knowest any toun,

  891 Or hous, or any other thing.

  892 And whan thou hast of ought knowing,

  893 Loke that thou warne me,

  894 And I anoon shal telle thee

  895 How fer that thou art now therfro.'

  896 And I adoun gan loken tho,

  897 And beheld feldes and plaines,

  898 And now hilles, and now mountaines,

  899 Now valeys, and now forestes,

  900 And now, unethes, grete bestes;

  901 Now riveres, now citees,

  902 Now tounes, and now grete trees,

  903 Now shippes saillinge in the see.

  904 But thus sone in a whyle he

  905 Was flowen fro the grounde so hye,

  906 That al the world, as to myn ye,

  907 No more semed than a prikke;

  908 Or elles was the air so thikke

  909 That I ne mighte not discerne.

  910 With that he spak to me as yerne,

  911 And seyde: `Seestow any toun

  912 Or ought thou knowest yonder doun?'

  913 I seyde, `Nay.' `No wonder nis,'

  914 Quod he, `for half so high as this

  915 Nas Alexander Macedo;

  916 Ne the king, dan Scipio.

  917 That saw in dreme, at point devys,

  918 Helle and erthe, and paradys;

  919 Ne eek the wrecche Dedalus,

  920 Ne his child, nyce Icarus,

  921 That fleigh so highe that the hete

  922 His winges malt, and he fel wete

  923 In-mid the see, and ther he dreynte,

  924 For whom was maked moch compleynte.

  925 `Now turn upward,' quod he, `thy face,

  926 And behold this large place,

  927 This air; but loke thou ne be

  928 Adrad of hem that thou shalt see;

  929 For in this regioun, certein,

  930 Dwelleth many a citezein,

  931 Of which that speketh dan Plato.

  932 These ben the eyrish bestes, lo!'

  933 And so saw I al that meynee

  934 Bothe goon and also flee.

  935 `Now,' quod he tho, `cast up thyn ye;

  936 See yonder, lo, the Galaxye,

  937 Which men clepeth the Milky Wey,

  938 For hit is whyt: and somme, parfey,

  939 Callen hit Watlinge Strete:

  940 That ones was y-brent with hete,

  941 Whan the sonnes sone, the rede,

  942 That highte Pheton, wolde lede

  943 Algate his fader cart, and gye.

  944 The cart-hors gonne wel espye

  945 That he ne coude no governaunce,

  946 And gonne for to lepe and launce,

  947 And beren him now up, now doun,

  948 Til that he saw the Scorpioun,

  949 Which that in heven a signe is yit,

  950 And he, for ferde, loste his wit,

  951 Of that, and leet the reynes goon

  952 Of his hors; and they anoon

  953 Gonne up to mounte, and doun descende

  954 Til bothe the eyr and erthe brende;

  955 Til Iupiter, lo, atte laste,

  956 Him slow, and fro the carte caste.

  957 Lo, is it not a greet mischaunce,

  958 To lete a fole han governaunce

  959 Of thing that he can not demeine?'

  960 And with this word, soth for to seyne,

  961 He gan alway upper to sore,

  962 And gladded me ay more and more,

  963 So feithfully to me spak he.

  964 Tho gan I loken under me,

  965 And beheld the eyrish bestes,

  966 Cloudes, mistes, and tempestes,

  967 Snowes, hailes, reines, windes,

  968 And thengendring in hir kindes,

  969 And al the wey through whiche I cam;

  970 `O god,' quod I, `that made Adam,

  971 Moche is thy might and thy noblesse!'

  972 And tho thoughte I upon Boece,

  973 That writ, `a thought may flee so hye,

  974 With fetheres of Philosophye,

  975 To passen everich element;

  976 And whan he hath so fer y-went,

  977 Than may be seen, behind his bak,

  978 Cloud, and al that I of spak.'

  979 Tho gan I wexen in a were,

  980 And seyde, `I woot wel I am here;

  981 But wher in body or in gost

  982 I noot, y-wis; but god, thou wost!'

  983 For more cleer entendement

  984 Nadde he me never yit y-sent.

  985 And than thoughte I on Marcian,

  986 And eek on Anleclaudian,

  987 That sooth was hir descripcioun

  988 Of al the hevenes regioun,

  989 As fer as that I saw the preve;

  990 Therfor I can hem now beleve.

  991 With that this egle gan to crye:

  992 `Lat be,' quod he, `thy fantasye;

  993 Wilt thou lere of sterres aught?'

  994 `Nay, certeinly,' quod I, `right naught;

  995 `And why? for I am now to old.'

  996 `Elles I wolde thee have told,'

  997 Quod he, `the sterres names, lo,

  998 And al the hevenes signes to,

  999 And which they been.' `No fors,' quod I.

  1000 `Yis, pardee,' quod he; `wostow why?

  1001 For when thou redest poetrye,

  1002 How goddes gonne stellifye

  1003 Brid, fish, beste, or him or here,

  1004 As the Raven, or either Bere,

  1005 Or Ariones harpe fyn,

  1006 Castor, Pollux, or Delphyn,

  1007 Or Atlantes doughtres sevene,

 
; 1008 How alle these arn set in hevene;

  1009 For though thou have hem ofte on honde,

  1010 Yet nostow not wher that they stonde.'

  1011 `No fors,' quod I, `hit is no nede;

  1012 I leve as wel, so god me spede,

  1013 Hem that wryte of this matere,

  1014 As though I knew hir places here;

  1015 And eek they shynen here so brighte,

  1016 Hit shulde shenden al my sighte

  1017 To loke on hem.' `That may wel be,'

  1018 Quod he. And so forth bar he me

  1019 A whyl, and than he gan to crye,

  1020 That never herde I thing so hye,

  1021 `Now up the heed; for al is wel;

  1022 Seynt Iulyan, lo, bon hostel!

  1023 See here the Hous of Fame, lo!

  1024 Maistow not heren that I do?'

  1025 `What?' quod I. `The grete soun,'

  1026 Quod he, `that rumbleth up and doun

  1027 In Fames Hous, full of tydinges,

  1028 Bothe of fair speche and chydinges,

  1029 And of fals and soth compouned.

  1030 Herke wel; hit is not rouned.

  1031 Herestow not the grete swogh?'

  1032 `Yis, pardee,' quod I, `wel y-nogh.'

  1033 `And what soun is it lyk?' quod he.

  1034 `Peter! lyk beting of the see,'

  1035 Quod I, `again the roches holowe,

  1036 Whan tempest doth the shippes swalowe;

  1037 And lat a man stonde, out of doute,

  1038 A myle thens, and here hit route;

  1039 Or elles lyk the last humblinge

  1040 After the clappe of oo thundringe,

  1041 Whan Ioves hath the aire y-bete;

  1042 But hit doth me for fere swete.'

  1043 `Nay, dred thee not thereof,' quod he,

  1044 `Hit is nothing wil byten thee;

  1045 Thou shalt non harme have, trewely.'

  1046 And with this word bothe he and I

  1047 As nigh the place arryved were

  1048 As men may casten with a spere.

  1049 I niste how, but in a strete

  1050 He sette me faire on my fete,

  1051 And seyde, `Walke forth a pas,

  1052 And tak thyn aventure or cas,

  1053 That thou shalt finde in Fames place.'

  1054 `Now,' quod I, `whyl we han space

  1055 To speke, or that I go fro thee,

  1056 For the love of god, tel me,

  1057 In sooth, that wil I of thee lere,

  1058 If this noise that I here

  1059 Be as I have herd thee tellen,

  1060 Of folk that doun in erthe dwellen,

  1061 And cometh here in the same wyse

  1062 As I thee herde or this devyse;

  1063 And that ther lyves body nis

  1064 In al that hous that yonder is,

  1065 That maketh al this loude fare?'

  1066 `No,' quod he, `by Seynte Clare,

  1067 And also wis god rede me!

  1068 But o thinge I wil warne thee

  1069 Of the which thou wolt have wonder.

  1070 Lo, to the House of Fame yonder

  1071 Thou wost how cometh every speche,

  1072 Hit nedeth noght thee eft to teche.

  1073 But understond now right wel this;

  1074 Whan any speche y-comen is

  1075 Up to the paleys, anon-right

  1076 Hit wexeth lyk the same wight,

  1077 Which that the word in erthe spak,

  1078 Be hit clothed red or blak;

  1079 And hath so verray his lyknesse

  1080 That spak the word, that thou wilt gesse

  1081 That hit the same body be,

  1082 Man or woman, he or she,

  1083 And is not this a wonder thing?'

  1084 `Yis,' quod I tho, `by hevene king!'

  1085 And with this worde, `Farwel,' quod he,

  1086 `And here I wol abyden thee;

  1087 And god of hevene sende thee grace,

  1088 Som good to lernen in this place,'

  1089 And I of him took leve anoon,

  1090 And gan forth to the paleys goon.

  Explicit liber secundus.

  Book III Incipit liber tercius.

  Invocation.

  1091 O god of science and of light,

  1092 Apollo, through thy grete might,

  1093 This litel laste book thou gye!

  1094 Nat that I wilne, for maistrye,

  1095 Here art poetical be shewed;

  1096 But, for the rym is light and lewed,

  1097 Yit make hit sumwhat agreable,

  1098 Though som vers faile in a sillable;

  1099 And that I do no diligence

  1100 To shewe craft, but o sentence.

  1101 And if, divyne vertu, thou

  1102 Wilt helpe me to shewe now

  1103 That in myn hede y-marked is --

  1104 Lo, that is for to menen this,

  1105 The Hous of Fame for to descryve --

  1106 Thou shalt see me go, as blyve,

  1107 Unto the nexte laure I see,

  1108 And kisse hit, for hit is thy tree;

  1109 Now entreth in my brest anoon!

  The Dream.

  1110 Whan I was fro this egle goon,

  1111 I gan beholde upon this place.

  1112 And certein, or I ferther pace,

  1113 I wol yow al the shap devyse

  1114 Of hous and site; and al the wyse

  1115 How I gan to this place aproche

  1116 That stood upon so high a roche,

  1117 Hyer stant ther noon in Spaine.

  1118 But up I clomb with alle paine,

  1119 And though to climbe hit greved me,

  1120 Yit I ententif was to see,

  1121 And for to pouren wonder lowe,

  1122 If I coude any weyes knowe

  1123 What maner stoon this roche was;

  1124 For hit was lyk a thing of glas,

  1125 But that hit shoon ful more clere;

  1126 But of what congeled matere

  1127 Hit was, I niste redely.

  1128 But at the laste espyed I,

  1129 And found that hit was, every deel,

  1130 A roche of yse, and not of steel.

  1131 Thoughte I, `By Seynt Thomas of Kent!

  1132 This were a feble foundement

  1133 To bilden on a place hye;

  1134 He ought him litel glorifye

  1135 That her-on bilt, god so me save!'

  1136 Tho saw I al the half y-grave

  1137 With famous folkes names fele,

  1138 That had y-been in mochel wele,

  1139 And hir fames wyde y-blowe.

  1140 But wel unethes coude I knowe

  1141 Any lettres for to rede

  1142 Hir names by; for, out of drede,

  1143 They were almost of-thowed so,

  1144 That of the lettres oon or two

  1145 Was molte away of every name,

  1146 So unfamous was wexe hir fame;

  1147 But men seyn, `What may ever laste?'

  1148 Tho gan I in myn herte caste,

  1149 That they were molte awey with hete,

  1150 And not awey with stormes bete.

  1151 For on that other syde I sey

  1152 Of this hille, that northward lay,

  1153 How hit was writen ful of names

  1154 Of folk that hadden grete fames

  1155 Of olde tyme, and yit they were

  1156 As fresshe as men had writen hem there

  1157 The selve day right, or that houre

  1158 That I upon hem gan to poure.
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  1159 But wel I wiste what hit made;

  1160 Hit was conserved with the shade --

  1161 Al this wrytinge that I sy --

  1162 Of a castel, that stood on hy,

  1163 And stood eek on so cold a place,

  1164 That hete mighte hit not deface.

  1165 Tho gan I up the hille to goon,

  1166 And fond upon the coppe a woon,

  1167 That alle the men that ben on lyve

  1168 Ne han the cunning to descryve

  1169 The beautee of that ilke place,

  1170 Ne coude casten no compace

  1171 Swich another for to make,

  1172 That mighte of beautee be his make

  1173 Ne be so wonderliche y-wrought;

  1174 That hit astonieth yit my thought,

  1175 And maketh al my wit to swinke

  1176 On this castel to bethinke.

  1177 So that the grete craft, beautee,

  1178 The cast, and curiositee

  1179 Ne can I not to yow devyse,

  1180 My wit ne may me not suffyse.

  1181 But natheles al the substance

  1182 I have yit in my remembrance;

  1183 For-why me thoughte, by Seynt Gyle!

  1184 Al was of stone of beryle,

  1185 Bothe castel and the tour,

  1186 And eek the halle, and every bour,

  1187 Withouten peces or Ioininges,

  1188 But many subtil compassinges,

  1189 Babewinnes and pinacles,

  1190 Imageries and tabernacles,

  1191 I saw; and ful eek of windowes,

  1192 As flakes falle in grete snowes.

  1193 And eek in ech of the pinacles

  1194 Weren sondry habitacles,

  1195 In whiche stoden, al withoute --

  1196 Ful the castel, al aboute --

  1197 Of alle maner of minstrales,

  1198 And gestiours, that tellen tales

  1199 Bothe of weping and of game,

  1200 Of al that longeth unto Fame.

  1201 Ther herde I pleyen on an harpe

  1202 That souned bothe wel and sharpe,

  1203 Orpheus ful craftely,

  1204 And on his syde, faste by,

  1205 Sat the harper Orion,

  1206 And Eacides Chiron,

  1207 And other harpers many oon,

  1208 And the Bret Glascurion;

  1209 And smale harpers with her glees

  1210 Saten under hem in sees,

  1211 And gunne on hem upward to gape,

  1212 And countrefete hem as an ape,

  1213 Or as craft countrefeteth kinde.

  1214 Tho saugh I stonden hem behinde,

  1215 A-fer fro hem, al by hemselve,

  1216 Many thousand tymes twelve,

  1217 That maden loude menstralcyes

  1218 In cornemuse and shalmyes,

  1219 And many other maner pype,

  1220 That craftely begunne pype

  1221 Bothe in doucet and in rede,

  1222 That ben at festes with the brede;

  1223 And many floute and lilting-horne,

  1224 And pypes made of grene corne,

  1225 As han thise litel herde-gromes

  1226 That kepen bestes in the bromes.

  1227 Ther saugh I than Atiteris,

  1228 And of Athenes dan Pseustis,

  1229 And Marcia that lost her skin,

  1230 Bothe in face, body, and chin,

  1231 For that she wolde envyen, lo!

  1232 To pypen bet than Apollo.

  1233 Ther saugh I famous, olde and yonge,

  1234 Pypers of the Duche tonge,

  1235 To lerne love-daunces, springes,

  1236 Reyes, and these straunge thinges.

  1237 Tho saugh I in another place

  1238 Stonden in a large space,

  1239 Of hem that maken blody soun

  1240 In trumpe, beme, and clarioun;

  1241 For in fight and blood-shedinge

  1242 Is used gladly clarioninge.

  1243 Ther herde I trumpen Messenus,

  1244 Of whom that speketh Virgilius.

  1245 Ther herde I Ioab trumpe also,

  1246 Theodomas, and other mo;

  1247 And alle that used clarion

  1248 In Cataloigne and Aragon,

  1249 That in hir tyme famous were

  1250 To lerne, saugh I trumpe there.

  1251 Ther saugh I sitte in other sees,

  1252 Pleyinge upon sondry glees,

  1253 Whiche that I cannot nevene,

  1254 Mo then sterres been in hevene,

  1255 Of whiche I nil as now not ryme,

  1256 For ese of yow, and losse of tyme:

  1257 For tyme y-lost, this knowen ye,

  1258 By no way may recovered be.

  1259 Ther saugh I pleyen Iogelours,

  1260 Magiciens and tregetours,

  1261 And phitonesses, charmeresses,

  1262 Olde wicches, sorceresses,

  1263 That use exorsisaciouns,

  1264 And eek thise fumigaciouns;

  1265 And clerkes eek, which conne wel

  1266 Al this magyke naturel,

  1267 That craftely don hir ententes,

  1268 To make, in certeyn ascendentes,

  1269 Images, lo, through which magyk

  1270 To make a man ben hool or syk.

  1271 Ther saugh I thee queen Medea,

  1272 And Circes eke, and Calipsa;

  1273 Ther saugh I Hermes Ballenus,

  1274 Lymote, and eek Simon Magus.

  1275 Ther saugh I, and knew hem by name,

  1276 That by such art don men han fame.

  1277 Ther saugh I Colle tregetour

  1278 Upon a table of sicamour

  1279 Pleye an uncouthe thing to telle;

  1280 I saugh him carien a wind-melle

  1281 Under a walsh-note shale.

  1282 What shuld I make lenger tale

  1283 Of al the peple that I say,

  1284 Fro hennes in-to domesday?

  1285 Whan I had al this folk beholde,