No Fear Literature: The Canterbury Tales: The Wife of Bath's Tale Prologue to the Wife of Bath’s Tale Page 12

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Original Text	Modern Text
Thou seyst also, that if we make us gay With clothing and with precious array, That it is peril of our chastitee; And yet, with sorwe, thou most enforce thee, And seye thise wordes in the apostles name, “In habit, maad with chastitee and shame, Ye wommen shul apparaille yow,” quod he, “And noght in tressed heer and gay perree, As perles, ne with gold, ne clothes riche;” After thy text, ne after thy rubriche I wol nat wirche as muchel as a gnat. Thou seydest this, that I was lyk a cat; For who-so wolde senge a cattes skin, Thanne wolde the cat wel dwellen in his in; And if the cattes skin be slyk and gay, She wol nat dwelle in house half a day, But forth she wole, er any day be dawed, To shewe hir skin, and goon a-caterwawed; This is to seye, if I be gay, sir shrewe, I wol renne out, my borel for to shewe.	Thou seyst also, that if we make us gay With clothing and with precious array, That it is peril of our chastitee; And yet, with sorwe, thou most enforce thee, And seye thise wordes in the apostles name, “In habit, maad with chastitee and shame, Ye wommen shul apparaille yow,” quod he, “And noght in tressed heer and gay perree, As perles, ne with gold, ne clothes riche;” After thy text, ne after thy rubriche I wol nat wirche as muchel as a gnat. Thou seydest this, that I was lyk a cat; For who-so wolde senge a cattes skin, Thanne wolde the cat wel dwellen in his in; And if the cattes skin be slyk and gay, She wol nat dwelle in house half a day, But forth she wole, er any day be dawed, To shewe hir skin, and goon a-caterwawed; This is to seye, if I be gay, sir shrewe, I wol renne out, my borel for to shewe.
Sire olde fool, what eyleth thee to spyën? Thogh thou preye Argus, with his hundred yën, To be my warde-cors, as he can best, In feith, he shal nat kepe me but me lest; Yet coude I make his berd, so moot I thee.	Sire olde fool, what eyleth thee to spyën? Thogh thou preye Argus, with his hundred yën, To be my warde-cors, as he can best, In feith, he shal nat kepe me but me lest; Yet coude I make his berd, so moot I thee.

Original Text	Modern Text
Thou seyst also, that if we make us gay With clothing and with precious array, That it is peril of our chastitee; And yet, with sorwe, thou most enforce thee, And seye thise wordes in the apostles name, “In habit, maad with chastitee and shame, Ye wommen shul apparaille yow,” quod he, “And noght in tressed heer and gay perree, As perles, ne with gold, ne clothes riche;” After thy text, ne after thy rubriche I wol nat wirche as muchel as a gnat. Thou seydest this, that I was lyk a cat; For who-so wolde senge a cattes skin, Thanne wolde the cat wel dwellen in his in; And if the cattes skin be slyk and gay, She wol nat dwelle in house half a day, But forth she wole, er any day be dawed, To shewe hir skin, and goon a-caterwawed; This is to seye, if I be gay, sir shrewe, I wol renne out, my borel for to shewe.	Thou seyst also, that if we make us gay With clothing and with precious array, That it is peril of our chastitee; And yet, with sorwe, thou most enforce thee, And seye thise wordes in the apostles name, “In habit, maad with chastitee and shame, Ye wommen shul apparaille yow,” quod he, “And noght in tressed heer and gay perree, As perles, ne with gold, ne clothes riche;” After thy text, ne after thy rubriche I wol nat wirche as muchel as a gnat. Thou seydest this, that I was lyk a cat; For who-so wolde senge a cattes skin, Thanne wolde the cat wel dwellen in his in; And if the cattes skin be slyk and gay, She wol nat dwelle in house half a day, But forth she wole, er any day be dawed, To shewe hir skin, and goon a-caterwawed; This is to seye, if I be gay, sir shrewe, I wol renne out, my borel for to shewe.
Sire olde fool, what eyleth thee to spyën? Thogh thou preye Argus, with his hundred yën, To be my warde-cors, as he can best, In feith, he shal nat kepe me but me lest; Yet coude I make his berd, so moot I thee.	Sire olde fool, what eyleth thee to spyën? Thogh thou preye Argus, with his hundred yën, To be my warde-cors, as he can best, In feith, he shal nat kepe me but me lest; Yet coude I make his berd, so moot I thee.