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Geoffrey Chaucer Quotes

1340–1400 England

Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant. Chaucer is most famous as the author of The Canterbury Tales.

England
Philosophers
Poets
Translators

Also known as: Chaucer, Chaucer, Geoffrey

Random Geoffrey Chaucer quote

78 quotes

His rode was reed, his eyen greye as goos

Ther saugh I Attheon an hert y-maked,
For vengeaunce that he saugh Diane al naked;
I saugh how that his houndes have him caught,
And freten him, for that they knewe him naught.

Forth, pilgrim, forth! Forth, beste, out of thy stal!
Know thy contree, look up, thank God of al;
Hold the hye wey, and lat thy gost thee lede:
And trouthe shal delivere, hit is no drede.

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.

His heer, his berd was lyk saffroun,
That to his girdel raughte adoun

He was a verray perfight gentil knight.

Nature vicarye of the Almighty Lord.

Ther seyde ones a clerk in two vers: "what is bettre than gold? Iaspre. What is bettre than Iaspre? Wisdom.
And what is bettre than wisdom? Womman. And what is bettre than a good womman? No-thing."

Up-on the cop right of his nose he hade
A werte, and ther-on stood a tuft of heres,
Reed as the bristles of a sowes eres

Therwith ye ben so mery and so jocounde,
That at a revel whan that I see you daunce,
It is an oynement unto my wounde,
Thogh ye to me ne do no daliaunce.

This flour of wyfly pacience.

Of smale houndes had she, that she fedde
With rosted flesh, or milk and wastel-breed.
But sore weep she if oon of hem were deed,
Or if men smoot it with a yerde smerte.

Soun is noght but air y-broken,
And every speche that is spoken,
Loud or privee, foul or fair,
In his substaunce is but air;
For as flaumbe is but lighted smoke,
Right so soun is air y-broke.

Lat take a cat, and fostre hym wel with milk
And tendre flessh, and make his couche of silk,
And lat hym seen a mous go by the wal,
Anon he weyveth milk and flessh and al,
And every deyntee that is in that hous,
Swich appetit hath he to ete a mous.

She hadde a cok, hight Chauntecleer,
In al the land of crowing nas his peer.
His vois was merier than the mery orgon
On messe-dayes that in the chirche gon;
Wel sikerer was his crowing in his logge,
Than is a clokke, or an abbey orlogge.

O little booke, thou art so unconning,
How darst thou put thy-self in prees for drede?

Misattributed

For iii may keep a counsel if twain be away.

Misattributed

Your duty is, as ferre as I can gesse.

Misattributed

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Geoffrey Chaucer (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.