Chaucer's use of proverbs in the Troilus and Criseyde

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Authors Leininger, Lorie Jerrell, 1922-

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CHA.UGER»S USE OF * PROliEEBS IN THE TROILUS Ai® CRISEIDE

: IT

: -Lorie, Jerrell Leininger

A Thesis Submitted to the FacuXty of the

of English ' . v ' . 'In PartiaX FuXf iXXment of the Eequiremeiitg

: For the Degree of \‘f . , \: ' MASTER OF ARTS X'v :.V .-'t,

In the Graduate CoXXege

THE UKHEESITI OF ARIZONA

19 6 0

STATSMIMT BY, AUTHOR

■ , , This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of re-quirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is ■ deposited in The University Libraiy to be made available to.borrowers under rules of the library,. - : ,

Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable 'without special permission^ provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made0 Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction ; of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of ■the major department or. the Dean of the Graduate College, when in their judgment the proposed use of. the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances5 however.., permission must be obtained from the author0 .

SIGNED s

: . APFRQttL BY THESIS DIRECTOR

This thesis has been approved on the date shown below;

. ' DRi A. LAIEENCE MUIR ■ ' : : Date^. Professor of English. '

/4 6 D

' "/ ' TABLE OF CONTENTS : ;

CHAPTER ' . ' ' . PAGEI. DxT'TRCBUCTIOl AID BEFBIT'TIOM . ............. >>, , « 1

lo Number of proverbs in the Troilus » . . « . .. . . . » 22» Definition of proverbs » = . « <, . » ' 3

: 3o Criteria, to be used to determine which passagesare proverb ra3. o • <> <» » © ■ o ©1 ® © ©: © © © © © © , © © © • © . 3

. Is.© Organization of this study © « © © » © « © :» © » © © » 7

' II. LOGICAL ASPECTS OF. P E O W B S USED AS PBRSUASI1/E TOOLS © © © 8

Intr oduc taon © © © © © © © ©% © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © 8

1© Different proverbs support contradictory views © •© © 10

■ ■ A» ..-pW'.Eortunet . .. ■ ' ,7': ' .. i® Fortune may be influenced © © » © © © © . © © lit

. ' '7 . (a) by boldness » © © © © © © © © © © © » © © lit• ' . ■; (b) by humility © © © © © © . © © © . © , . « © 15

ii© Fortune cannot be influenced » © © © © © « © 16/ '.'.F:'- /. ''Therefore:'' -y 7 . if . , •''yii'y' ’ . (a) reject the world © . © . „ © . . . © © © ,, 19

(b) seize the day © ©„©©©:©,;:©. © ;©' © © \ 21

''''X y'\ Fr'D©' On^Lovefi /' 'F; ' i . '' i© Love is to be welcomed © © ©- © © © © © © © © 2lt

: ;’;'v ' iii ; ■ '.:v: ' v -

CHAPTER- . ' ' ; : , ' PAGEiio Love is better avoided « . , = « « , . , « « « 25

' - ■ . ■ _ ; 1 /: (f) eonstancy-is the highest virtue <> « « = 26

(b) variety is the essence of love »' « « « o «. 27

(i») protect reputation through secrecy « ' 28.(iio) break the rule of secrecy « -* » <> <. » o , 29

2o .The same proverb may be used to urge one- actionat one time and its opposite at another „ » * <. = o 31

- ' 3* Proverbs are easily grouped' without connectives. ' in illogical sequences 'o *, ' o o. » = « o « . « ® 0 32

III,' PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PROVERBS » , , , , . , , „ , , . , UlIntroduction: justification of previous analysis of

logical aspects c l o , -. ", o , » , , o © Rl1, Proverbs operate as personal appeals, as spurs

,• to action or means of reassurance , , , , , h 3'•' 2= . ProYerbs provide a means of elaboration , o . , © R6

3» .RroVerbs afford occasion, for humor, when, the ' . ■ ; content flickers between the metaphorical and ;: ' . ■ ■ literal meaning , 0 ,- ».''oVe;;« , , , , , , © © © © 52

I?5'THB-EELATIOR OF ‘THE LOGICAL'A® iPSYCHOLOGICAi ASPECTS ; OF THE PROVERBS' TO THE THElvE OF THE TROILIJS © © = © © © 55

BIBLIOGRAPHY © © © . © , „ , . , © . © . , © © © © © © © © © © 60

CHAPTER I

' mmODUOTIOM # D DEPimTION . -

■ V; ' ■ Chaucer’s Troilus and Crisejrde conta.ins a larger proportion ,■of proverbs and senbentiae than does any other work of Chaucer*ss and

. ' ' far more than the works of his contemporaries contain,, The objectof this study•will.be to analyse the effect of the-numerous proverbs

: ■ in the Troilus 0 t ;. : Archer Taylor^ in his discussion of nProverbs and Literature** \ ,in The : ' Vi. :

' : ■ ■ , f In works-' of literature the use of proverbs varies in "/_ ;; manner and'de^ee from' age'to age= At all; times proverbs

, . . ■ have meant more to the folk than' to the learned « » <, 0 / ■- . : • - Proverbs are used freely in writings''which make an appeal

. : to the f oik and in those in which the folk is characterized3/""■ ;... .. in those classes of literature which are far removed from the7 V ‘ f oik5 proverbs rarely'.Opdurto .We see these distinctions ' • , , ', ; ' . a.lready in classical writers: .; Aristophanesj, Theophrastus,; ; LUciau^ Ahd,Plautus use proverbs easily and naturallyo

Writings :#ilch' ke-a conspicuous .effort at .literary style7 . ' ' generally- avoid them except as 'details;, characterising the’ folko. ; « o Tet we must not carry these distinctions too

' far; Chaucer * s Troilus f a very sophisticated^ anti-popular. ■ / poem^ - bris.tles. ;with proven^ . ' V 7 7;'

. . : . Not only is the poem, Trbilus and Criseyde sophisticated5 but

Walker- Bariy5 “The.gententiae in Chaucer's Works#** .(Unpublished Doctor's Thesis# Depto of -'Philosophy# Stanford# California#

' 1 9 2 h ) # P p V 2 0 h # 2 6 1 . 7 ■ '' -'-'7. - : - > r - 7 - . - , 7 . 7 -

...; 7- ,- . ;_%rcher. Taylor# The Proverb (Cambridge# Mass. # 1931)# pp. 171-1720

: :: \ :.. : \ ■' v ' . : .' ; ' ' 2 ' ' '; .:Pandarp.Si who uses by far the ;greatest number of proverbs, is the . .most sophisticated among the characterso The easily made assumption-

, that proverbs are the domain of untutored folk does not apply here®

' ' ■' The general impression that the Trollus contains an unusually large number of proverbs is borne out by close study; "Whiting, in . vhis" study of'Ghaucer's Use of -Proverbs, listed 215 proverbs, proverbial phrases or comparisons, and sententious remarks in the 8239 lines of • the Troiluse^ Barry found . 192. Lumianski,, who declared that he was ", leaning 'toward the conservative side in his listing of proverbs in . . .

, ' the Troilus,nevertheless,'found. 206. -The list prepared for this study, containing all passages - ; h

which might be considered proverbial, consisted of 221 proverbs, of

which only a fraction are discussed in the following chapters0 Thus -

• the question of the' number of proverbs in the Troilus offers no realproblem, since the various writers arrive at a number in the vicinity >

• - yBartlett Jere Ihiting, Chaucer> s Use of Proverbs (Cambridge, Mass., 193k), p0 viiio y " ’;

;-y. 20k. ; - : . - ■ V 1 '.y '■ 'P. IL Lumianski, "The Function of the Proverbial Monitory

Elements in Chaucer1 s Troilus and Criseyde,11 Tulane Studies in 'English, ...

: 'Cx£::'200,« soae„i "no* distakingly wide^^variationu.Two other problems related to the question of numbers* both

,;mabiers . oT/db^ ebnsidbredi ; ■ : ' •'•1) What to include under the definition of•proverbs, since

Vy ■: . .. sententiae have been included in some -writers' definitions ■ , : ■' of proverbs> and excluded in others'| and - •- .

' 2 ) What oriteria,, to- use.yto, determine which of the seemingly : proverbial expressions 'actually- Were proverbial when t

. ■ . . . • . Chaucer wrote the' Troilus* and .which may . have been of hisawn invention,, \ \ ' T h V y

It-would be difficult to improve, upon Archer Taylor* s intro-’

ductory comments upon the difficulties of defining a proverbs y h:': The definition of a proverb is too difficult to repay the

, yy y , undertakingJ and should we fortunately combine in a single : , - - - y y definition' all the‘ essentiai elements and give each the y '

: proper emphasis, we should not even then have a touchstone0 An incommunicable quality tells us this sentence is proverbial.' and that one is note <. ■« o Let us be content Tfith recognizing

''f- : that a proverb is a 'saying current among lolko^ ' : y' 'v’ :

Since some definition is necessary, one can say that both proverbs and' ■ ’ sententiae are traditional sayings in common use, or at least easily

7P. 3

accessible, and both are. usually brief, pithy, arid; often figurative3 . a broad and roughly serviceable distinction between the two is that :;pb6verbs- are' wisdom .of .the -folkyiusmaily practical wisdom, while

sententiae come from learned sources and tend to- be more abstracto .Difficulties'arise, in the application of the distinction, particularly since some writers use the term "proverb1* to include sente ntiae, ■. . .while others use "sententiae" as the more inclusive term0 Terms ■such as :l,matiins,M- Wsaws,-'1 and "gnomes^ further blur the distinctions0 •

•;' For -the purposes of this, study it is not necessary to explore these distinctions further, beyond indicating that discrepancies in■ definition do exist. The simplest and most inclusive definition will

serve: ..the'word "proverb,* taken in its broadest sense, includes proverbs, sententiae, certain expressions of commonplace sentiments,, . f and finally short "ehsaumpleso" , These "ensaumples11 are illustrative examples, each containing a simple moral, taken from the stock of stories about commonly known historical or literary characterso The quaiity which all of these dLements have in' common is that they, have been in traditional use or that they have the support of authority.

^Barry, pp, 17, 20, 23| Whiting, p= viiij JoSoPo Tatlpck, "People • in Chaucer»s Troilus,11 fMLAs- - L W .(March 19il), 860 ■■"■;• '; ■ Whiting,- po yiii0. 1.; . v. ■ m ; ■ ■

^Hazel Pearl Walker, "Chaucer's Use of Proverbs in Troilus and de,!* ■ (Unpublished i a, 1932), p» 20■'' ^Thmianski,- p0 8o

Criseyde," (Unpublished- Master >s Thesis,' hepto. of English, University. of Iowa, 1932), p» 2o

a charaet-eristic ■ i/vhlcte' raised - theBi tiutfc tif that realm of ord.ina.ry speech- y/hich the hearer feels free to analyze and to dispute0 For this broad def inition there is the precedent of Whiting,, who in­

cluded proverbs,, proverbial phrases and comparisons, and sententious. ,/ sayings in: his study of Ghaucer’ s.. proverbs 3 and Lumianski, .whoiadded: to . these,-the ;@.ncient moral stories, exempla, and ,-tens'aumples>.fton the ground that these also lend, themselves to Mpersuasive '•

r ' .At'':'. ' .purpose3 •... and - Of Ghaueer himself <,. who freely uses : this variety ofmaterial,' or has his,: characters do so, with little distinction in . .classification,', .introducing the maxims with phrases such as 11 menseyn" or - Has writen clerkes wise,I! and loosely and ■ interchangeably

making .references to "proverbes, n f*Sawes’, Mreed, K nloore, '* "by-word,"and uolde stories" or "ensaumpleso18 ■ ,

3

■ . The main difficulty in determining which of the seemingly proverbial and:sententious- elements in the Troilus are genuine proverbs -

and which are not is that one may mistake ary short, pithy, and figurative' saying for a proverb, when the .saying actually may have been

12Po vilib 7, '

Chaucer1s invention, . Chaucer undoubtedly composed many epigrammatic ;linesj: Barry remarks’that wit is evident that Chaucer followed . tradition in his use of sententlae/ but it is equally true that the poet had a genuine fondness for composing lines. 'souning in moral

.yertut:ahd\i ,ftl^l■.of^';^;sehtence■«t^'./i :' Robinson1s explanatory notes; based on the work of Skeat .

and Haekel, prove invaluable, at this point.; In the notes to the Troilus he labels almost one hundred passages as clearly proverbial* .

referring to a number of others as commonplaces of the rhetoricians* commonplace sentiments* common tropes*' .recurring' expressions* stock comparisons* familiar comparisons* or.familiar ideas. He lists five " •passages as probably proverbial* and a number of others as possibly

v - " 'proverbial. y- : : • ■ ; ■ .. . '''There still remain a number of doubtful phrases which sou&d

proverbial* and which may or may not have been so* upon which Robinson

makes no comment. In the introduction to his study "Whiting.wrote* wy consider as proverbs sayings which are* or appear to be* popular in . origin* or which have become thoroughly: popular' in use. w ' [italics mine.] - One cannot eliminate entirely the problem of passages which. .

wappear to bew proverbial. This study was begun with a list of every

: .-V : :' ■ Notes .to .the Troilus* ■ pp. 922-952. 'Quotations from the Troilus in this thesis’will be from Robinson's edition.

passage' in the Troilus which smacked of the proverbial flavorj of these only a fraction were finally used'# thus, the discussion remains . restricted'largely to those proverbs recognized by Robinson# %iting#

or .Lmnianskio Comments will be made in note's upon passages outside

.. ..

> Finally# the organization of this study 31 needs be explained Various commentators have observed that proverbs tend to express half-

truths#; and that they do this in a peculiarly misleading way# since'on the surface proverbs seem to embody the distilled wisdom of man'sexperience# wisdom which anyone in difficulty might heed without '

'' 17 ; . . v . . ■ ■ 'question0 . '•"••• *i>bh: this ambiguous .quality of proverbs as a focal point#

two aspects of the proverbs in the Troilus will be examined: thelogical aspects of proverbs used as persuasive tools (Chapter II)# ,and', the psychological' aspects (Chapter III)®. Chapter IV will deal ; -xwith the relationship of the logical and psychological aspects of ;

proverbs to the theme of the Troilus® vv ' ; '

John Spiers#:- Chaucer; the Maker (London# 1951)# pp» 56-57# Lumianski# .;p® 9irTaylor# p» 9» .. ,,/ ; V : ; ^

G H & B I E E : II.

. L O G I C A L A S P E C T S O F P R O V E R B S U S E D ‘A S P E R S U A S I V E T O O L S

.P-'L' L , L-S)' ‘':L -;.; /vP : ' Inbrbd^dtion.. : ‘ : PPL-V ' ; L-.P" p

In any- age men have' been hungry for edification and guidance,'in our age as well as' in the Middle Ages; and aphorisms and proverbs .. . V• offer us distillations oftraditional M.sd;om in pithy form0 , Educated':people today, hovrever, are aware of the pitfalls that lurk^ in proverb-wisdom0 Few of them would act on the strength of an argument which IP,/''cdnsisted./dL .a h t # e r , oLPpr.overLs thrown.: togethero ./p We. consider such

innocence and gullibility amusing, let arguments couched in terms ofproverbs have always had a, certain compelling force. In the Middle P.P. •Ages a trust In a kind ,of absolute wisdom, easily transmitted, stemming

from the proper'authority, was. far more current than it is today. Toquote but three writers, on the Middle Ages; P P

pPP P P . P».: P;:lhe\.pedfhii^,/Of,/(^id:^s'/t^ken:,serious^,' for one thing, in P. . .p1 ‘, an'-ag6;;when :iVerything systematic was yaluable just because it p: ' :■ Pp , P p ' was a system;' When every. doctrine was valuable,3

P : 1 / : ^ S p i e r s , P ;p,' T a y l o r , 'p„P,9, ' . '' . ‘ pP PP : < Pp -/ ■ P P P . . v ' P ^ C o S , L e w i s , ' " l h a t p C h a u C e p P R e a l l y :D i d ; t o I I F i l o s t r a t o ,11 i n p ,■:, E s s a y s a n d S t u d i e s b y M e m b e r s o f t h e E n g l i s h A s s o c i a t i o n , X W I ^ T C k f b r d ; '

. P L ' P P ' - p p p ' ' - . .■ p •'

W i l l i a m P a t o n K e r , E p i c a n d R o m a n c e ; E s s a y s o n M e d i e v a l ,P: L i t e r a t u r e ( L o n d o n , 1908) , p , 3)46, ' /''°p'''P P'' ' P 1 "'/ u ■ ■ ;8

' . « -o The sentence;, impersonal -epigramss' proverbs' or- proverb-like, or expositions on general truths » 'o. are

: o' o o characteristic of the Middle Ages> "with,their avidityfor the edifying and W e iihlversalo^. ' s . ; :

In the ■ minds of the Middle Ages every event, every case,, fictitious, or historic, tends to crystallize, to become a :

. parable, an example, a. proof, in order to be applied as a standing instance of a general moral trutho' In the same ■way every 'Utterance becomes', a dictum, a maxim, a text,,For erery question of conduct Scripture, legends, history, literature^ furnish a crowd of examples or of types, to- - .gether making up a sort of moral clan, to which the matter in question belongs. If it is desired to make someone to pardon an offence, all the Biblical cases of pardon are

. enumerated to. .him; if to dissuade him from marrying, allthe unhappy .marriages of antiquity are c ited, ' ' . ' ,

.Consequently a hdgb value was set upon proverbs, exempla, sententiae, ■and - aphorisms •--the .whole stock of ge he rail za'tions or illustrationsof some trutho As'Huizinga has. noted in The Waning of the Middle

6 : V ■ : .. ■Agea, p-,;The t endency to give each particular case the character ' - ,

of a moral sentence or of an example, so that. It becomes some™, '. thing sUb'stantial and unchallengeable, the crystallizatiqn:

. of thought, in short, finds, its most general and naturalexpression, in the proverb. 1' \ p', ■

Of course Chaucerfs precursors, as well as his.contemporaries, made use of proverbs in . their works = Chaucer ' s contribution was not merely that he used more proverbs in the Troilus than any contemporary

; , ^Tatlock, p0 860 ' .% oh n Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Agee (London, 1937),

pp. 207-208. ' -f- - . ; -

; Bariy,.. p. , 256j: Whiting, p. 3, . '. ' v

. \ ■ v ' ' - . > ; ■ . • , ; .. , ■ . . O ■ , , '■ " .had used; ih was that he used;.proverbs: dramati.callyj) casting doubt ■ > upon their 'wisdom;obliquely, suggesting that the truth they contained was at best double-edged, and at worst quite deceptive» While never making explicit the;, thesis that proverbs as guides to. action are un- ' reliable, he. presented his characters using proverbs in such a w a y v - that the reader■is finally made to•feel that the implications of any proverb may change- with the changing situation,- the user, or his ■

purpose.

. The Troilus offers.us numerous examples of ways in which , ;'t. prbt'erbi-lore m y prove, atihiguous. -.First of all, for each proverb •.supporting one attitude, there usually exists another supporting the ,

: opposite attitude. . Second, similar,' or sometimes .identical,-;, proverbs :

may be used to urge different actions. Third, proverbs may be : .- oluSteied in-'groupS' withbutclearv:conneetives, making curiously .11- S :. •logical sequences possible, while the form of the proverbs — ' pat, aphoristic iahd'figurative' -- tends to make the listener accept such groupli^s uncritically. In the following sections proverbs from the ■ Tf oiltis illustrating; eaJch. of. these.;; categories 'Will be .examined.

' - First of all, proverbs may prove deceptive in that, while they

°J ohh Eatthews '. Manly,. ..'M Ghauder ' and % the She toricians, : in British icadeiiy, hbidon,' Proceedings, 1?26, JII (London, 1926), 18.

: : A-.:';' -' , \ . . ; : ■ ■ ; ; Uappear to be expressions of indispmiable ;£ they often -.

;. - express: sotoe half-truths while", the other .side of. that half-trut|is .• \ -its. direct antithesis, may be. found in another proverb* which may .

' : 1 be quoted with the same authoritative' force with which the first

proverb was" quoted,.; One ■ can easily find examples in common usages :';' id’He' who hesitates is: lost/” one may say to a friend in difficulty * it:; ■. ..' but might one not .a,s well/have said*:''Look before yoii leap”’? Either ' . .

' : proverb sounds like excellent advice s it has obviously served■oftenin the pasti There is unquestionably-a measure of wisdom in either —

' ■ but a measure' onlyo "When either is accepted, as advice not to be • ,- .questioned* the results may prove disturbingv Other examples abounds V

ffiHaste' makes,.waste*V but .I?i stitch ,in-timb saves nine|n "Absence makes . . -the heart grow- fonder*" but "Out of sight* out of mindo"

Obyiously proverb-wiSdbm operates circumstantiallys where one r. --t' man gives one piece of- advice* another might have given its opposite0

. ; Xet’the . two :cqntradictory proverbial exhortations are seldom brought " ' v - ■ ;. into / prie'-fbqus*or eyenwibhin -/si|ht of' nacliothero, -; IBile one proverb

. is presented as.a guide to action, awareness of its contrary is sup­pressed; the use of one seems to exclude the other,

: " ' Many such contradictory proverbs occur in the Troilnso Although : .•. they appear at various places throughout the. poem, the' contradictory

abtitudes which the' proverbs support may. be reduced to a few basic ohes

yMark Van Doren, The.lloble Voice (New York, 191(6), pp0 2^9-2606 •

which underlie the actions of the characters in the Troilus, attitudes which are in some; measure still current today„ ; Hiey inay be grouped under; y;-' 10 . ; : -the headings of Fortune and loydj, -,' although these do, at some points#

bverlapo''' f V V : :'r;' ".y:':; y \ : . ' ; " ; ^ :'yTwo basic attitudes ' towtrdvPbrtune are that -rX '::: .. ■

:■ : 1) Fortune may be influenced, at..least at times., or that .,, 2) Fortune may-in no way be influeneedo

; If one can at times 'influence Fortune (1) then there are two

possibilities; it may be that ' .(a) Fortune, favors the bold, or that(b) she best reypirds ttie tteek,.■ those who are humble aiS. ’-v'";

. patient. ' ' .y,, . / - ' ; . ■ ; ;'• • But,if Dame Fortune is entirely erratic (2)> one still has two

choices; either / t.' i, I.-.' \ (a) one rejects the. unstable world altogether — the De

Cbntemptu Mundi attitudes or ',1 •(b) one may choose to live all the more fully in the given

moment -- the Carpe Diem attitude, ’’Gather Te Eosebuds ' , .

- Barry, p. 2^1, observes that « = ±k% of all the' sententiae.'^in the iroilu#] ,1.' = deal with love.. No other topic . •; approaches; this proportion. The favorite medieval topic. Fortune, has .' the next highest percentage - . . ; :: ; ■ : '

. On Love, the major contradictory attitndes supported byproverbs are •that ' ;

" 1) Love is undesirable and is to be avoided, or that. ;. 2) Love is life1s boon, and is to be welcomed — 1 or in ary

. . ca,se, cannot'be resistedo df one'feels that Love is de~

■ siraTDle> then a' number of attitudes are possibles, : ' ' (a) Variety is the essence, of. Loire o' This is the Ovidian

■ ' , view: the lover seeks his own pleasure and gratifica

\ ' tion. 'Hie ' contrasted attitude is that . . , . / ■ V■ ■: is--the ,highestvyii‘tue and gives Love its

• ' _ ‘ significanceo ; . \ : ' ^-v.. .This attitude is in the tradition of Courtly Love, or as it

has been aptly, called/pourteous; Love® Now if one feels that Loveis the best gift that life can offer:(2), and he is constant in his

love (b), he may still embr'aoe.; one of two. attitudes: •■ (i) as a; Courtly Lover he will feel that the beloved1 s. •: reputation must be safeguarded, and that therefore

: /' ' secrecy is of the : greatest importance j but(ii) if that love is threatened, as* in the case of the

, : TroilUs and Criseyde "it::was, by, separation, and .

•' Karl Young, "Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde as Eomance,,t PtiLI)' LILI.;(la,reh:,193S),:vM *’.: t ;: y y - y — — ■■ ; ' :

': ■: circumsiances force a choice between the realization.'

■ ; ; ■ of love and. the protection of reputatioiij, then thelover may choose to throw reputation to the winds<,

. : The first of the attitudes on Fortune, that Dame Fortune may beinfluenced,' finds its expression in proverbial form by Pandarus: theoptimistic affirmative, comes to mind with the very ring of his voice,:

bantering, encouraging, teasing, always.ready for Mgame,tr that is,

action^ manipulation; . , ' - \ . , ' ., ' I'Thenk ek Fortune, as wel thiselven woost, " , ’ ; 'v

’ 'vhelpeth, hardy man to M s emprise, ' ' '• . &nd: weyveth wrecches for hire cowardiseeW (iv, 600 ffo.)At.another time Pandarus tells Troilus, somewhat at length, in a pas­sage which is’ not proverbial but which expresses a current commonplace .

sentiment, that the man/who fails to take advantage,of his moment of good

fortune must take the entire blame for his ensuing unhappiness, and not blame • Dame Fortune, who "cannot be considered at fault (ii, 281 ff o )•« ..

, . Criseyde herself,' speaking of Fortune, says at one point, "And

she- ne daunteth ho % but a- wrecGhe#(iv, 1589) o ' 1 • •, The assumption behind such proverbs and "commonplace sentiments"

is that the ingenious man can always get along with Dame Fortune, and

"'"'No source for this organization of Medieval and early Renaissance a ttitudes, either within the Troilus • or - outside it, was , founds although HUizinga^s and liOvejoyTs discus sidns were suggestive $ Arthur QofLovejoy,.The Great Chain of Being (Cambridge, 19t2)o

further, that the way to influence Fortune is through boldness0 , ' ■ ■ / : ' On the .other:'haM,another, quite distinct, attitude is . ■:• possible, still under the assumption that Dame Fortune may be in­

fluenced:. Fortune .may fay or the meeko Thus Pandarus at one time may tell Troilus, in the passage quoted above,

!*Think ek; Fortune, as 'TOl thiselven woost, .; f-.gelFeth k ^ d y ;man:'to,.his’em^ise,. ' ■ ; . .

knd:'W3nreSh w f br\hire cawardiseo'f (iv, 600 ff =, ) . •But Criseyde at another time may tell him, / : •

,, "Men seyh^ the ' SUff rant oyerc^mith, ' .parde; : . .: ■Sk\.dTidx6&e:.iifolv] h lief,, he-lief.■modt;'iete-« » ■ •

Thus maketh vertu of necessite . .By pacience » . o” ' v:..' (iTf, l^SU ffo.)

" tiriseyde tehades to, shift with .agility‘between the, two views, that

Fortune favors the meek, or that she, favors the bold, for she

.t -' :.", o' o and thynk that lord is.he ■ : ‘

• ‘ _ of Fortune ay, that naught wole of hire recche;And she ne daunteth no wight but a wrecche," (iv, 1587 ff,)

;ktV one: moment/she tells 'Trbilus, in effect, "Don’t take risks 3 be.. patient? That is .the Way to overcome F.ortune," and the next she tells■ him, "Ion must take, 'chances: nothing ventured, nothing . Wono ”' Thepoint is,' "Take the. chances I suggest, not yours," This kind of shift is facilitated by the use of proverbs or commonplace .expressions, as ■- •/ proverbs supporting either. vieW are readily at hando . - ' .

, ' . A whole group of.cautionary proverbs imply, more or less . .

directly,' that 'one. can inf lue nee For tune, or escape her blows by

' ; : - ' -" : ' T " ^ . ; . ' . ' .' ■ . •;. , 16

"lying iaw,,i v .' ;i \ ../a .■■-•; ■ : " ' "; , "Nqxt ibke ihat atempre- be thi bridel5 . V' ’ ■ . '

;And fqn the beste 'ay snffre to the.- tyde^ . , . '• . Or elles al cure labour is on ydelo" (i 953. .ffc : ; ' ' ."He hasteth vfel that; wisely kan abydeo " (is 956) ■; ' '

; ■ "Be naught to rakel, 'theigh thow sitte warme; ■: For if thow'bej, certey% it wol the hanneo " (iii5 1630 fo)

■; • i-'tBridle ;hltrey^welVthl'speche and 'thi desir, ; • . - 'For worldly joie halt nought but by a win,- : .

' i , -; piat preveW t I it brest al day vso. oftej ' ''. . ' Forthi; nede::is 'tbfMrkeh with; it softeo"- (iii, 1635 ffo) .In each of these Pandarns is cautioning Troilns^'and in the last he has

. made explicit the general, underlying sense of the mutability of earthlyjoy, based upon the capriciousness of Dame Fortune, through the fine,'

if not original,. figure of, worldly joy suspended by a thin wire0

.; : But yd.ll this attitude, that Fortune may be influenced, eitherby boldness or meekness, see one through,.thick and thin', to use one more' hackneyed proverbial expression?; No:., while: it is essentially a healthyattitude, there are, times when the characters in the Troilus sadly findthat the attitude cannot-be maintained. Not'even Pandarus,. whose major

. mode is. one of. enthusiastic manipulation of obstacles, can uphold thatattitude consistently, and on occasion he finds it necessary to give

.expression to the opposite view, that Of the unreliability of Fortunein proverbial form, of'courses ? ■ .• • ; . "Ne truste. no wight to fynden in Fortune ' : / . 5:' :.

, . ..Ay propreteej hire yiftes ben cornune,11 (iv, 391 f, ) : ' ,

■ . 17Thus he mourns, with Troilusj, when he hears the news of the impending

exchange of Griseyde for Antenor» Fortune is treacherous^ Fortune has no regard for worth or deserh° It is true that Pandarus readily expresses any attitude which the moment requires^ but the point to be

made here is that expression in the form of proverbs not only offers ho obstacles to, such shift'Sj, but .rather facilitates the inconsistency^

The extent of Pandarus* commitment to a position may often be

in questions Troilus. is the consistent spokesman for the view that man - is powerless to influence the course of events, either because Fortune is capriciousj: or because everything is predetermined,. He elaborates

his complaint that Fortune is his foe with two proverbs* ,"Ne all the men that riden. kome or go.May of.hire [Fortune*sj cruel whiel the harm withstondey Fors as hire list, she pleyeth with free and bonded* (i, 838 ffc)

At another time he says, "For al that oomth, comth by neeessitee1* (ivs958)o ; '

These are but two of the passages which carry the full flavor

of Troilus* deterministic leanings= And Griseyde also expresses a deepsense of fatalism at times, though often in form that is not proverbial^Something similar may, indeed, be said of all the attitudes discussed here,

as this study is limited to the discussion of examples in proverbial andsententlou.s formo One such proverbial expression is Griseyde* s?

"But al to late comth the le tuarie,.lhen men the cors unto the grave carle*" (v, 7^1 f *)

She had previously mourned, in form not proverbialt

wAllas i and I ne may. it - nat amende I ■■ • ■For novf is. wors. than evere yet I wende<, , ' -¥y fader ryl .for nothyng do me .grace ,: / : ■■ ■ ■■ 'To gon ayeyn,. ;fdr naught I kan hym queme o11 (v, 692 ff,) :

She follows the 'proverbial couplet quoted above with the figure' of the

.• three eyes , of .Prudence .-T hindsight/ present sight, and foresight — .a figure hot of Chaucer's invention, but one for which he had varioussources among ancient writers; . ■ , '

"Prudence,, alias, oon.df thyne eyen thre ' - . . . • '' t: .Me lakked alwey, er that I come here J .... ■ ' .

' ' ' On iyme ypassed me remembred me^ 'And present tyme ek koud ich wel ise, ;

' ' But future tyme, er I was ,in-the snare) ' :' ;. , Kou.de I nat senj that causeth now my care®" . (y, ■ tkk ££.*,):■ -;' •• ,It proves: simply tihtenable, that one may master Fortune^,

Not only do Pandarus, Troilus, and Criseyde bewail the fickle-

. ness, of Fortune^ bht the' .Narrator,'': in the opening stanza of Book IP, '.

. 'gives us the classic; complaint against Dame Fortune, "traitour comune"s

. . ' / "But al';td;'litel, weyleaway-the: whyle," tV " ..pasteth SWitih' jdie.> -ythonked' be, Fortune V V. ; . -., V ., . : • That semeth trewest whan she wol bygyle,

. ' : And kan to fooles so hire song entune, ,That she hem' hent and blent, trait our comune J . . ^

' .. V , V , ', , And whan a wight, is' from' hire whiel ythrowe, , : .. Than laugheth she, and maketh hym the mowe„" (iv, 1 ffo)

Fortune is more’than capricious| she deceives by intention, and takes

..' pleasure ■in'heisg;: -cruelihv''';' ' •; v ,/;V. . . "'-v v'' . . ••'. / . , \ 'At. an earlier point in Book I, the Narrator had expressed his

"^Whiting, po gives lines. S and; 6-7 of this passage as proverbialo" Lumianski considers the •entire ;s.tahza! prov.erbial0

sense- of the' iro.cgr of fai.e5 which rests "upon the assumption;, of a '

capricious Fortune5 in the stanza ending with the famous line5.'"Alday faileth thing that fooles wenden" (i# 217.)« /- ' _ - \

Now if Dame-Fortune should be intractable in her wayward™. nessj . or if events . should prove absolutely controlled through - necessity, either view leaving the characters both vulnerable and

powerlessj, : two distinct attitudes are still possible: one is therejection of the world, De Contemptu Mundij the other, the Carpe Diem attitude. = ' . t v • '

One does not have to search far to find proverbial expression of the "Eat, drink, ; and ■ ]pe: mpriy7 . ‘ 0!* attitude . in the Troilus, butone has to look far indeed to find proverbial expression of the

Contemptu Mundi attitude, and this imbalance is in itself significant.v Proverbs are essentially worldly, that is, practical'and utilitarian;■■ ■ and furthermore, the more superficial a position is, the more readily

is it supported by proverbs. There are, for'example, innumerable •proverbs, both within the poem and outside it, in support of the ' Ovidian view of love, that, "there -are mary more fish in the sea than Y-

one;" Pandams easily finds a group of proverbs to suggest to the ■' heartbroken Troilus that one woman is replaceable by another, but what proverbs had he produced in support:ofY; constancy? ' The. Meal' of

fidelity is also more fundamental than that of. secrecy, which.is merely a practical necessity; Pandarus has more proverbs at .hand

enjoining secrecy and the protection of reputation than he has on the .subject of fidelity o' It. is not surprising., then, that the •“gather ye rosebuds" .attitude is richly supported by pithy maxims* while the rejection of the world is not. Of course no one could be urged to reject the world through proverbso' Proverbs' support worldly or opportunistic attitudes* and not the spiritual or idealistic<> This ■

point will be explored .further in Chapter- IV* on the relation of proverbs to the theme of the Troiluso

A few expressions of the Contemptu- Mundi. attitude* an 1

attitude which runs through the poem somewhat like a musica.1 base or counterpart to the joys and sorrows of the lovers* do occur in the-form of sententiae* or. commonplace expressions,, Griseyde1 s VThis false ' world* alias I who may it leve?" (ii* 1|20)* spoken to Pandarus* isperhaps too.facile* but .it reflects the attitude„' The Narrator’s

■ ' ' ' . ■ ' : " . ; - ' 13 '■ ■ ."Swich fyn hath false worldes brotelnesse J" (y* 1832}* on the sametheme* and in a more serious context* occurs in. the palinode* a pointworth noting* it is shortly.followed by the most explicit and most

moving —- statement of the theme of rejection of the worlds' . , .' . :

; : 'S t *: Thynketh. al rys but a faire .' ' . : ,‘this, world* that passeth. soone as. floures faire*" (v* 18t0 f *)

■ - ^Neither of these lines has been established as proverbial*although Bobinson comments in his .notes that "the contrast between earthly and heavenly affection was of course one of the most familiar .■ commonplaces of the age*", (p* 5 6 k )« Those who leaned in the direction of eschewing the world could rely upon certain standard commonplaces| but those commonplace expressions were rarely proverbial*

The comparison, at least, is proverbial^ ■ ■ , ‘ ' : '■ The Narrators on the one hands tells uSj, after Griseyde ’ s

betrayal'and Troilus! death, to reject a shifting and unstable worldin favor of the love of , GodPandarus: :however> .had utilized the fact.

' that chance .and change govern the world in altogether another way: ;"Think eke how elde wasteth every houre,. . ' ,

. , • In ech of you a partie of beautee0n • (ii, 393 f»)Thus he urges Griseyde not to reject the world, but., to. accept Troilus

as a suit o r t o gather her rosebuds, to seize her day indeed, beforeher beauty should be wasted* He makes this quite explicit in the ,literal' statement, "(jo love, for old,..ther vrol no/wight of the" v •

(ii, 396), and then continues with a proverb — ' in fact explicitly ,telling Griseyde that he is "proverbing": .

"Lat this proverbs a loore unto yow be:■ . /^To lat-ywar,, quod beaute, whan it paste13 ■

And elde daunteth daunger at the - laste*." (ii, 395 f f o )The last line is yet another proverb, finely figurative and alliterative,

■ as Pandarus1 sayings frequently .are* , 1 t

But Pandarus1 most blatant statement of the "Gather ye rosebudswhile ye may” attitude occurs later, in Book IV, when he tries tocomfort the grieving .Trdilus with, t rThb: hewe. love out chaceth ofte the .

olde31» (iv, hl5), a M ; V;1' . \. "For also seur as day comth after nyght, . : .' .The newe love, labour,. or 0other we, • .

/ Or elles selde seynge of a wight, ■ 'j ■’ Don olde affecciouns alle over-go," (iv, lj.21 ffa.)

■ or -- ' ' ::: , ' " - > ' - ' - : '/■ :

;; -- V .'■■■ . ' " 22^. "Hath Kynde the wrought al only hire to plese?

.;Lat be5 and thynk right thus in thi diseseo :. : ' : That3 in the dees right as ther fallen chauncess ; ' ,; / V, ." . Eight so in love ther home and gon plesaunceso11 (ivs 105*6 ff =)Of the first two of these passages, and others in which Pandarus morecoarsely suggests that Troilus find himself another lore,' the Narrator

says., . _ ■ . . ' ; : ■' ' ■ : . . ,: 11 Thise wordes seyde he for the.nones alle,

„'To help his, f rend, lest -he f or'sorwe deyde," (ir, lj.28 f =) •

’The reader'is told that Pandarus is talking "nnthrif t," that is . ; •nonsense which he himself does not believe„ But it is a defined andrecognizable’attitude, toward which Pandarus leans more at one timethan another, and it is an attitude supported by proverbse

,. The Carpe Diemattitude also underlies Pandarus5 "Ye .fare ,wel:al the snow of feme yere J" (v, 1176),• a phrase in itself poetic • '

enough, but coarsely used by Pandarus, who has been withdrawing hissympathy by degrees from the faithful TroiluSj - torn between grief and : 'hopeo While.Troilus watches at the gate, momentarily expecting

Crisbyde»s return,, Pandarus, outwardly agreeing with whatever Troilussays," laugha,:i.n'hls heart that;, laugh dees not speak well forPandarus -- thinking.?; - • .

. .p' Wrpmvhaselwbde^ there joly Eobyn pleyde, ' ■V _Shal come, al that that thtiw abidest heere6 . ’

Ye .fare well al the snow of f erne yere jlt (v, 1173 ff») :

In this instance the phrase is not used with that sense of loss and

longing that.we have come to associate with it, through Villon's poem, ’but with something of a smug tone of conscious superiority? "I'm no

. such fool as to believe that she will return,,; let* s turn to;:new .pleasures&*! , . -

The Carpe'Diem attitude easily leads to the Ovidian or ' - v'■ ■ C a v a l i e r e & ^ c t i o n between the two may • not be a .necessary-' one)s just’ as the 'rejection of the world is , - \

, ■ . naturally linked;.-.with a- .distrust of the -experience of love0 Proverbs ; . ',. ■ ' supporting Contradictory; positions on the subject of Love are as: - vv' - - .

plentiful as. were those; on the subject of Fortune,. . • ' ' . - '' To summarize briefly the contradictory attitudes on Love ■ f

: ■ /"y expressed in: the' Tfoilus^: in proverbs :to be discussed.-in the following' , ;:pages: Criseyde speculates upon whether love is desirable or undesirable>9

’ and finds proverbs in "support, of both: views j, and other characters supply- •. .mofe. provefSsc.- intig,ohe-*s song: in praise of love,, -which comes spon- ' -'

tareously just as Criseyde.silently debates the question, contains at , .•1 least three proverb So Once it has been accepted that Love is a thing „ . -'

■ - to be. desired, two attitudes are possible^ ' o commit himself to •-., '. unwavering constancy:. (the Courtly Loverf.s .position) or to the sampling.

. of variety (the:. Oyidiah attitude)0 Probably"the greatest contradiction ; in one character’s positions occurs in Pandarus*'urging constancy upon - Troilusj in keeping with the tradition"of Courtly hove, and his later • .

;.. .- ■; urging :the ’Ovidian attitude: :h ' rtlf one can. sing, another can well. ’ .

• f t^Germaine 'Dempster, Dramatic. Irony in Chaucer (Stanford, , ' .'v -'• V Galifqrnia:, 1932), ,P= 26ls : \ .. : . .. -,V;.; "

.':-I- • 23

lhati's past is past5

;: V:- -V .•^r;'-: - : 2k

:, (iamnce,, ** Evert thGtighi-as has 'been ot-eci' above> the Narrator says that ' pandarus took the latter position minly .to comfort Troilus after the'' departare of. Griseydej,, it is ah attaitride whlchl.;a ftr^ , Conrtly Eover ' could never'have entertainedo The.two positions are frankly contra-

' ’ d i e t b i ^ o ; ' f ; - i ' v: :: ; ! . . There is one -more group of contradictory proverbs pertaining to, Love: both Griseyde and Pandarus exhibit .a healthy respect for the :power'.of public opinion^ and cohsepuently -for the need of secrecy in ■ an illicit love affair; but both can,, on occasion, bring forth proverbs which scoff at the importance of reputation, bravely becoming spokesmen

' for the % l i For 'Love ahd the Wprld Wbll Lost? pbsitiono : ; , • ' ‘

; Antigone,'in the song in which she describes the perfect;Courtly .Laver; and the joys and virtues which are the outgrowth of such . love, say's, of those who would defame love, " Thei speken, but thei

benteh hevere :his bowe l'o (ii, '’Sbl o' The common proverb was {,Mary talk .. • of Robin Hood who never shot his bow,'* a .good variation on the well- worn observation that talk is ,cheap0’ fit; is: amusing that in Antigone's ' •

version the bow might also be taken as Cupid'So She continues, "No . '; wele is' worth, that may;no sorwe dryen" (ii, 866}, meaning, that the,. joys of love are well Worth its sorrows, or else that anyone so weak 1 7 .:that he canndt bear the pangs- of love is unworthy of its pleasures,

; an interpretation borne out by the following linbs: ' /

. . , , ^Robinson, p0 932, notes to the TroiluSo " ■

"And fdrthA. who that hath an hed of verre^ . ' :;• ' '.Fro cast of .stones war hym in the werre J" (iis 867'fo) '

;■ In answer to Criseyde's. questions at the end of her song Antigone''says . "They wenen all• be love, if oon be hoot" (ii, 892)s making the " .

' ' '. distinotion between desire and love, and she oontimes, employing. a

■ : ' Pfpverbs . v..: v . , . ■■ % ;: .. : ■ n '' . :' ; ; V'' MMen mdsten^nxe'nt seyntes, if tit^i^ . ■ ; : ’ 1

: Aught fair .in hevene (why? for they kan telle), ' - "AAA-;-.;. ■" rr - And axen fendes - is it foul in he lie®" (ii, Q9b ff ®) • ,

- Fandarus 'in. his - tuyn praises Love, with:. A \ ' . ; - ., '. ■AAA A. V>; / "» •> o For nought but good it is ■ : " . '.' -• ■ ; : A .'., h . ,lo loveh wel, and in a .wor& " -. (i, . 8 9 A f® ) ,:

, : ' The Harratqr, who in the . Palinode enjoins all "yonge, f res she :; A ’ f pikes,.. he'-;pr ’ She j",' to reject the world, ; in telling the lovers * story:, comments sympathetically upon the' virtue of love, as well as on love's ,

inescapabilityj maintaining that .the power of love is such that no manmay resist it; , "For may no man fordon the lawe of kynde" (1, 238)® ' ,

: . The same attitude is conveyed in; , . . \ ' . \ 'jA . "The yerde is bet that bowen wole and T»ynde ' , : A- .

' : A ' .'Aihan that that brest . . ®" (i, 257 f®) / A ..' That is, one must submit to the power of love® A ' : . ‘ '

- ■ ■ Criseyde most frequently expresses the opposite view, that theexperience .of love is better avoided than embraced® A number of such

. proverbs and cpmmonplaoe expressions occur in Book. II, as she speculates A ■ upon the hews that Troilus loves her, before she has heard Antigone{s . -; . A :,sor . and begun to incline .toward the acceptance .of Love; "Ther loveth

::C ; ^ ' / : , ' : / , / : : ' : ■V.:.-; 26noq% that - she ttiplsyne” (ii^ :777)j. or5 thinking of men’s

1 irifidelity, 'iBut harm y’dopn is dbon^ -sdioso it'rewe,f (ii^ 789)o ■ : • ' "Ful sharp bygynnyng breketh ofte at end.eo,'1 (ii3 791) ' .

■ no aright: on it ' jl'pvej sporneth; : v ' ■. " x ; ■• , That erst m s nothing^ into nought it tornetho" (ii5 797 f o) •

, Why ehanee palh'atid/uncertainty for something insubstantial? , • • ;fhis' attitude> the distrust of Love5 recurs at other: times6 ’

. Criseyde’s earlier reservations were essentially a matter of caution'• on:;the prao tioal v levelsbut her' later ory»■ 7*Enddh tharme love in wot'

. Te, or men liethF1 (its 83it)s comes from the, hearts At other times she

: s a y s ; . ; . . t •';/v;-v ':' - '■ *'o o o. Ie, jalousie is love J x ’ ■ : :h f' ■ '

• ; .And wolde a bus she 1 venym al excus.ens . ■.; '/ For that o greyri of love is on it shoveo" (iii5 102ij. ffe)

% : :' '.tyMFbr% am eyere % s t ^ ^ : - • : V' ! V ^^That.lote is thyng ay ful of bisy dredeo^ (ivs iS h h f«) x; .

Criseyde at various• times, inclines toward the attitude that Love is

./better' aypided:thanr embraoedj,. and finds proverbs through which to • f '''express this distrust. ■ . ;

■ Ary of the sayings quoted above which praise Love„ such as - ,' "o 'i.' o For nought but good. it is to love'n wel5 and in a worthy. placen’ (i, 89b fo), assume that the relationship is ohe of Courtly Love, in ;

which ”loyalty to the beloved is the prime ethical consideratione M ;

(Berkeleyj California,.1936), po l89o.t . / • .

But • there is another type of love5, which finds , adequate expression in 'proverbial form, in which variety, rather than fidelity, is the key­note. PandaTOsvis the1 spokesman for this-view, in the passage in . 'Book IV previously discussed, ‘in'which'he tries to cheer Troilus;■ ' ' 1 :,vv: i/ - 17 ' '"If oon kan syrge, an other kan wel daunce" (iv, 409)0 . It may have

been George Bernard Shaw who said that the difference between onewoman and another had been highly exaggerated. This is obviouslyPandarus'' "line"! ;herey end a, cynically 'Ovidian attitude it is I He ■

develops it at greater ..length; ■ : ."Ech for his vertu holden is for deere, .Both heroner and faucon for ryvere. , '

... .. And ek, as writ;Zanzis, that was ful wys, ; ' ' . . ; '; . ' . V-i'The newe love out chaceth ofte the olde)'" (iv, i|12.ff.)Here Pandarus strengthens a position which'might be considered • / ' .questionable by giving, it the backing of authority. And making use of

a proverb which corresponds to -the cprfent "Out of sight, out of mind,"Pand.arus ends -with "Absence' .of hire ' sh'al dryve . hire out of herte" -(iv, li.27)o Pandarus sums up his attitude by referring to Troilus ( love

as "casudl.pbsaunoe" (iv, '1|.19)»- Pandarus' shift from.his earlierurging constancy upon Troilus to his calling it "casuel plesaunce" '(iv, dip) in this scene, involves the most blatant contradiction of • v

attitudes in the poems it. was'never "casuel plesaunce" for Troilus, ■

and-pandarus5; justification as a go-between rested upon this fact.

. ''V: 1 “ Bbbihsoii does -not list this passage as proverbial, but re- :fers the reader to Ovid5s Amores. The source and the attitude were "common domain.15 ; ' ' '.Vv;V;

, The last group, of contradictory atbitudes- which finds easy • ■:

expression in the.forp of provefbs'has 'to do with secrecy and the 'guarding of reputation- in a love affairo. .Gircumstances easily explain,.and often Justifyshif ts in the characters’ attitudes, but the fact ' ■ h

remains that contradictory attitudes can find expression in proverbs,.ahy’one of which sounds like.the definitive statement at a given time0

■ ::ln Book I Pandarus uses all his arts to break Troilus$ resolve■hto-.keep-'his; love:.;Seeret-; y ■ '' . ■ , .-y. . ; .

.' V , / MMen seyh,' ’■Tb/yiree is consolacioun : ■-■ ..To have another; felawe in- hys peyroa,!t;; (i, 708 f o ) '/ .y-'hWnknowe'j .ahkist, and lost,, that is,unsought^1’ (i, -809)

■ 1 ■ ^For irohosd-list-have hplyngVof his; leche-:. ...'Y ffo hym/byhoveth'.first unwre. his wownde» (i, 857 fo ) ' ..

: That is, "Confide, in me so I can help you." ; ' : ■ ' ’ c: • ’ Having • drawn froiit Troilus ’the causes of his distress, first, . ;that the cause is Love, and then, that•Criseyde is the loved one, - '

. Pandarus turns ab out and' lecture s- troilus: on the need f or secrecy,

; along with constancy, steadfastness^, and; restraint:: - - Y"But he that parted is in everi place

:• J , .IsYhOf^erYhpf.’,.-h's ;vn?iteh';-bX©rfces ’t/ysee" (i, 960 f0 ) , • ■fhen, at Deiphebus1 house, Pandarus leads Criseyde to the

chamber • of the ailing Troilus, he warns her, "The folk devyne at ■ waggyng of a ttreeu (ii, 17h5)c ; .And after the meeting at .Deiphebus1 ',;house, and the' first kiss, -Pandarus is again liberal vjith the advice, ;

;; in the f orm of proverbs^: that' secrecy is of the greatest importance;' ;

. "For which thise wise clerkes. that ben dede - .Han evere thus proverbed to us yonges . ■ V

• • / dhat ' 'f irste vertu is .tb kepe tongeo " (iii5 292 ff 0) : •. ' „, ; uPrpverbes kanst thiself ynowe and woqst,. ' ■ . ., ; 1 .Aypins 'that viee^. for to ben a' labbe^ ;

A1 seyde raen soth as often as the! gabbe." (iii5 299 ff*)- "Avauntcur and a lyere, al is ono" (iii, 309) 'A ' But when he: is confronted: with' Criseyde *'s imminent exchangej, -

he shifts again,. urgiiig Troilus..to; ran away with Griseydes since the .noise that the world makes signifies • littleand is5. in any case, of ; "'short durations .■ • .. ■■ . ... .V. v' . A . ; ■ ", - : ‘ • ',.- :

• ,fI holdeVsette: at al that noys a grote Jt( . " ; -/ /A ' : .“Ior whan;menAhan. wel cryd, .than wol they ,rowne; .... A ". .; , A ' :

" ■ JEk wonder last but nyne nyght nevere in townea" (iv, 586 ffo.)Adding, example to his; argument, he brings up Paris1 open abduction of

Helen (iv, 608 fo)o Eihally> -he urges.Troilus withi ■ ; : ,■ A . HFprthi tak herte, - and' thynk right as a ' kryght, . . '.A . ' A" ..Thorugh love is broken'al day every lawe,” (iv, 617 fo) ,A ,,Ihis.'is not precisely the Courtly Lover’s attitude as Pandarus" had ■

• elaborated upon, it earlier0 A'A. ' ' - A A ' :,,A On the other hand, Criseyde, in arguing against an open elope- .

ment, tells'Troiluss • ■ ■ ' - " ' A A . " ... ■' •• • '■A "And er that ye .juparten so-youre name. A; . - ,A : A'

..Beth naught to hastif • in this hoote fare|'.- For hastif man' ne • whiSeth'• rievere.'care =.5 (iv, 1566 ffo)

That is> ' it is imppr'taht to pheserye :"na^Aahd; peputati6n0 .Earlier, in’

her general caution before entering into the affair with Troilus, she .had exhibited a...‘well-Ateveloped. respect :f or the. power of public opinion.

. - ; ' ' / ; ■ • ; ;'.-.';-:0- • : 30 :;and a general fear of gossipo ■V . . . . nA,nd wtio may sioppen every wilcked tonge, ; / ’

Or sown of belles whil that the! ben. ronge?!t. . (ii5 8OI4. f =).Bans she had mused to herself, while reviewing the arguments against

oeimaitting herself to the inconveniences and dangers 'of an affair0 She • .might have used the figure to mean, “Since one cannot stop tongues *wagging, even as one cannot stop the noise of bells ringing, why should ,

I bare what people s a ^ f B u t actually she concluded, nI must therefore -be very careful 1 must not expose ;myself to comment o'* This aspect ofproverbs, that the same proverb may be utilized to support opposite :

attitudes, will be examined further in section 2 of - this chapteroIn the last Book, Criseyde, now in .the Greek camp, trying to

■bblster up her courage f or the impossible venture' of making her way . ■ .

back to Troy and Troilus alone, conjures up proverbs to the effect that■ she need not care -- perhaps that she does not care — what others say

or thinks f ' '' ' " : .: "For whos, woi of every word take hede, , ■ •

.' '. _ Or. reulen hjm by every wightes wit, : : . ,;■ / ' Ne. shal he nevere thryvehj out of drede; I. ' ■ For that that som men blamen evere .yit,

lo, other manere folk comenden it*. And as for me, for al.swlch variaunce,. Feliclte to clepe -I my suff isauncee 11 (v, 757 . ffo )

At this point, the iroiy is not less painful than it is obvious*Grisey.de >s f elicity depended more than a little upon what others

, thought .of 'her® 1 : /iV.'.'l / : .

31

Not only, may proverbs support contradictory attitudes, but -

sometimes the siame;proverb may be used to urge, one action at one time .and• its opposite at anothere ■ .Then Pandarus tells Troilus "Every thing - hath tyme" (ii^ 989)^ it means, «Bide'your time.o- Don't be hasty®'; ■.Don't do anything at all for a while® The same proverb5 later spoken

by the same character5 though this time to Criseyde, means quite the opposite® "Nece, a lie thyng hath tyme, I dar avowe" '(iii5 . 853) > : ■' .Pandarus -says to Chiseyde^ now. using it to mean, - "Act immediately j • : ' .

,4dmit Troilus to your,chumbbr now®".Criseyde at one point uses the'proverb, "But harm ydoom is - '

. doon. » o oh (ii> ?98), in support of her feeling that evil is irrevo­cable? , since the dangers ihherent.: In A , love :affair" may be serious she ought not to get involved® Troilus may be suffering for love of,,herj, .. it' is truey,;but here she is5 comfortable and secure 'o ' Far better .''

for hdr :not tb"ant3, leave things as they are® .• ' ’•pandarus assails Criseyde with the same proverb to mean> "Act

immediately fr ; TrbilUs.»:: 'suffering is so great'that if you refuse to

ease his pain, the result :will be your responsibility» When a house is ; ;;on fire5 /it; is mbfe''important to acts than to dispute how the candle .might have fallen into the firej, otherwise* '-The harm is don ® ,» J"(iii* ' 861)* an argument which, he does*’ indeed* eventually win0 . ■

32Y . • • These examples of proverbs used at one time to mean ’’Don't . •

• act>11 and at 'another j, ‘ ’•Aet: iramediatelyj,H are significant enough to ' - -’ indicate that proverbs aie not, as the characters take them to be^

‘ ;y • ;k .: 'x'' . \

: ; , A third aspect of proverbs used as' argumentative tools is one: • in which the proverbs serve to befuddle the listener: proverbs are . ' . ,

easily grouped in blusters wlthput^/clehr' :cbn Remitting se- " V,: 'quences of thought' #hich tend to defy analysis^ but whichj,. if they vrere

■ ' : /submltted. to 'cfitlb :prbve illogical or strangely off

• the point. Because proverbs are pat, aphoristic, and authoritative, . V ," the.listener usually accepts them without considering the possibility , •: '

t ■ • of disputing themo In addition^, many proverbs are stated in figurative • .

, ■ language<, . guch"imagery may contribute icolor5 'richness, and vividness^ 'V-may subtly suggest overtones of meaning, and may provide opportunities , ■ for humor, • elements to . be discussed, in 'Chapter III on the psychological ..

aspects of proverbso However, the figurative language may also serve ; to obscure meanings, to enable a .speaker''to; avoid facing difficulties ;

or contradictions, in short, to keep the edges of thought fuzzy* ' ' •

- ;'V .. f > In a passage in' the Troilus, Criseyde offers Troilus a loosely : 'connected sequence, in .which the proverbs shift in their relationship x

to her. argumento :. She wants to convince. Troilns. that she' will be able " to. return' from the .Greek camp ten days after the exchange5 offering^ ’ ■' . '

; : as one writer observed, rather too many "good" reasons: 'K Griseyde " 'v

■ ..betrays soma .slight misgivings throngh the very elaboration and . .t'v- -V " t"' ' ' ' ' ' 18 "■ ihgennity' .of. devices by which, hdr- return was to be assuredo” Yet, . sha is. certain; that she can "enchaunten" her father with her !tsawesH ■'(iv, 1395)o She begins, her argument. witii: a..generalization which:.is ' .not proverbial: v-'y''.:-. ■ ■'■. % : v;- ■. ..t; t ...

- \: "My faders as ye knoxven wel, pardes 1 1 . , 1''.''t ..'.-/ ''S%s pld^ and; elde is ful of coveybiseot" (iv, 1368 f<,) , ' .

Griseyde has already^ hefore launching into proverbs in support of her. argument, involved hersif in a fallacy, for one cannot foretell the -'

■ future on the strength of such generalizations as "elde is ful of ..

coveybise.0" The saying contains a measure of truth: some "elde" are gindeed covetous i others are no to. In ary case, one cannot tell to whatparticular action, one old man* s covetousness will lead him0 There is. : • •:

. sufficient evidence that the "elde." ih questiph, •. Galchas, is, in . ; •: 'informal, proverbial .terms' a pretty sharp cookie, one not to be led by

; the.mse.i9 t f : ; g -' ; -: ':: ; : ::: ' " ■' ■■■■ty';'/ Griseyde; develops .her. argument, with a: cluster of proverbs

"y "bO) : Trbilus, men Seyn that hard it is . ■ .. ; '.. , 'The .w fuly' and . the' we ther bool -tb have y' , . / ' ,

y; 'y yy : % . is. to sey% that; pen ful ofte,. : l w y s ^ ; ■ '' ; :yx

' , ^Gordon hall iGerould, .Chaucerian Essays (Princetori, 1952), pe 9 0 o v -': ;'y y y y ' ^%iked 'metaphor,yas wello - • ' f ■ ' . y''■ : •

Mote spenden part the remenant.for to save* . V ' '. : . ■ For ay witfr gold men may' the herte grave* t ', • ' ■ ' ' Of hym that set is upon coveytise0 " (iv, 1373 ffo)

Hie r elation of tjhe three proverbs in this Cluster is obscure: : one

senses a non sequituro It is not:clear to whom lines 1373-ha afigurative version of "You can't have it. both ways, the wdf full and•the':sheep^unharmedy’1 applys Gaiohas or; Iroiluso • The next line> 1376,"Men must spend, a part to save the rest," seems to. apply to Troilus:that is, "Let me, Criseyde, go from you for a time . 0 »" Yet in thefollowing, line she is speaking metaphorically: of her father’s -

' covet bus ness® Perhaps, then, she. means that her father would .partwith her in order to.gain the riches she would bring from Troyo The

obscurity in .Criseyders .meaning, or at least the possibility pf more

than one Interpretation, is the very quality on which, consciously orunconsciously, she is capitalizing in putting her arguments'in theform of proverbs,: for one rarely stops to analyze the implications of

•a proverbo' : 1 p . " .'b;; . .' 1; Trpilus Is;, merely -uneasyj his heart misgives him, though he

tries to "take it for the best," and joins in "th’amourouse daunceo." -V'Jhen at last he resumes the argument, it is to say:'/■. " "For; trewely^1 nyn;owhe:lady deepe,v' . ;;b •" " b b , . :' ;

- .. Tho sleghtes yet that I have herd yow stere . .. Ful sharply ben to faylen alle yfeereo" (iv, 1U50 ffo)

Then he f pllows . this with three'proverbs, in quick succession, ;interestingly enough his only'suchPluster:

. ‘ t’Forv'tMs:;men'^ ithat 'oh 'thei&eth".the .But al another the nice th his ledere®' :

'■ Icure syre is ?jys; and seyd isg . otit -drede . ’ . , ; ./ : ’ ' •Men m y .the vmse .atrennej,; and: "naught''’dtrede0' - -

. ; v. ■ It is fill hard -to halten unespied ' - ,• ..1Byfore a . crepe 1 ' for he .kan the craft;" - (iv5 1^53 ffo ) : f

; Troilus is sayings in effect; "It is easy to talk, and put forth v ' ;■ plaiasd But what assurance have we that they will work? Words are ,

'; cheapo ■ ■ They sound comfprtlng,;.hut the reality isn't like that„ One .: : f >: can produce as convincing a set of proverbs to the contrary; even 1/

Troilus, can I" Professor llaiting's interpretation seems more tenable. . • than that: of Professor Lumianski>.;who-i6a.intains; that Troilus is a ' -V-

naive young man who puts absolute trust.in advice couched in the form

of proverbso " : Whiting writes of ‘ this.'.passage in;Book IV:

' tCy- - ' Troilus is afraid of Galohas, and in three proverbs expresses ■ '1 / ‘ his.dear, and.; also, perhaps, his irritation at people who can-

. ' - not talk five minutes without becoming sententiouso « c o We •are uncommonly close to a desperate parody of Cressida»sconversational; stylea 21 . d

■ t vGhlseyde»s final'.arghinent .probably contains her - greatest fallacy^. "Fior v .who may holde a thing that wdl;aw;ey?" (iy, 1628} she cries,, noty

. however, pausing to give; Troilus time to answero. Why didn't Troilusanswer, "Well, .now, that you ask, any number of things may hold a thing

■ which would like to escape: a dam holds water; a .cage, a bird0 A trap

may hold a wild animal captive; or a chain a dog» Prisoners are held /

20Pp„' 10, ffo' . 7-: - " ■ 7 :/ V n ;: 2b.;6& ;:V d ; d . . . d - . : ' V .

in warj and, where no other constraint is apparent, fear constrains

many, peopleo To. leave generalities' and' come to the case in point. ■ fear and uncertainty .may constrain you from leaving the Greek camp once you are there*" But there is that quality in proverbs and pithy'. sayings,that, keeps one from analyzing and refuting them,. The event — -

as: Criseyde. herself 'is quick to realize in the Greek camp 'proved •; V' ' ; , V ■ ' ' ' : . i ' ' ' 22 - 'her arguments mistaken-and Troilus* uneasy distrust well-foundedc

If Troilus did object to Criseyde1s use of proverbs, as Whiting .suggests^: he,, did so: ihdirectlyi ■ earlie.r' in the poem he objected toPandarus' use of proverbs quite explicitly«, W e n Troilus; was at theheight of his joy, Pandarus had cautioned him:\ ' \ .,Hppr of fortunes shahpe; adyersitee . - ' : . y , ' . , . ; ■ • .•: ■_ The worste l<ynde of infortune is this, :

A. man to ban ben in prosperitee.And it remembren, whan it passed is0 !l ' (iii, 1625 ff 0)

Later, when the lovers are to be separated, Pandarus tells Troilus: . ‘'But, telld me this^ whi thdw art now so mad. ' v .'

- .,fo sortren thus? listpw in this wise, " '.VGyn' thi desir. al holly hastdw had, - . : . ' , ' ■ :. So that, by right, it oughte ynough suffise?But I, that . neTere felte in tty servyse. • .

, . ■ ’ ' A f rendly cheere, . or Ic^yng of ,. a.n eye, j ' i : ■.. ■ ■ . ,'. 1 /Lat me:.thus wepe. and wailenjtil i 'deye»M (iv, 393 ff ®

Troilus, no fool at this point, notes the contradiction and points it

out to Pandarus: . ■ ' ; : v • . ■ ;. : ' .v .«Thcw :hastJhere; m an argument, for fyn, -y

.Horf that it sholde a lasse peyne be . : . /Criseyde to forgon, for she way myn, • ' : '

'And lyved in ese and in felicite, •Ihi gabbestow, that seydest.thus to me • '

■ ; • 22Percy Van Dykd Shelly, The Living Chaucer (Philadelphia, 190)P- 136c . : ■ v y: ' , -

37That 1 hym is wors that is fro wele ythrowe.,Than he hadde erst noon of that wele ykndwe»?K.: (iv, it?7 ff» )

"Ihi gahbegtowe?" is gratifying, Troilus * picking u p 'Pandams1 inooh-sistenoy^, his ansWring, point -for pointy is particularly amusing, since.

the Marrator has told, us that while Pandarus was “gabbing,!l as Troiltisputs it, or saying “unthrift,!t in the: Narrator's phrase, Troilus, who.was nearly-dying for sorrow, took little heedr “Don ere it herde, at ■

- tothir put it wente" ■ (iv, U3li.)o This “inattentive" Troilus then '' .:; proceeds to answer Pandamis'' chatter point for point, and to tell him,in no uncertain terms, what he thinks-of the kind of.inconsistency

which Pandarus* proverb-1ore supports; ; f-V- - ; : .“But kanstow piayeh^mhetj ::tb;"aM,f^ ; - '.C -1 ' 1 :Nettle in, dok' buty now - thisnow that,. Pandareo" (iv, I4.6O fc )

"Thow farest ek by me, thow Pandarus, ' ...As he that, whan a wight is wo. bygon, : -'

' He,cometh to hym a paas, and-seith right thus,'*Tt rnlc nat on smert, and thow shalt fele nons 'M (iv, I463 ffo.)

Or-with f i n e , . f ' , . : - .-'v f '• • “0, where has tow ben hid so longe in muwe, . '

.That kanst so wel and formaly arguwe?" (iv, 745*6 f0) 'Nor is this the first time that Troilus .' re jected Pandarus.' proverb™loree'

In answer to ■Pandarus' first onslaught of proverbs and•examples in Book. I; Troilus. says, 11» ■=, « Thi proverbes may be naught availle" (i, 736), and

“What knowe I of the queene Nyobe? • •' '..Lat be thyne old ensaumples, I the preye0 “ (i, 759 fo) .

“These are words,, w-ords, words," he is saying to this, artist in. the :

'HBrdpula.ii.lon of w O T d s , w o f d s are not the actualityo Words go round and rounds but - the reality remains«,11 '

The fact that one of the characters^ Troilus, tries, though with rdouhtful success, to combat arguments couched in terms of

proverbs helps to support the thesis that it is extremely difficult . to analyze or refute such'arguments<, In each case Pandarus, undaunted,

resumes his argument, using more proverbs,,:. v .. ■; . 'There she :dther,\b Illogical tise's of proverbs in'whichthe fault is partly that sequences•are vaguely connected and partly

that the relation of the proverbs .to the question under •discussion is

: obscure, although'the speaker again manages to avoid any. opposition precisely because he is using proverbs. . When, ..bn the rainy night, the . occasion of Criseyde !s sleeping at. her uncle{s house, Pandarus has ;; :

brought her the news that-Troilus is distraught with jealousy,, Criseyde . offers Pandarus a blue ring to bake to, Troiius. to reassure him„ nA . . ■ *’

ryng?» quod he, :nye, haselwodes shaken I” (iii,. 890)» Pandarus accuses Criseyde of having, lost all discretion, ,and continues with a proverb, , y '■ (,;G/:tyme. ilbst, >we:iymaistow,'corsen slouthe J'f ■ (iii,v 896)« Before making

use of the proverb, Pandarus has already distorted the facts in accusing

Criseyde of lack' of discretion, since the act .'which he is urging upon ' her, that.she admit Troiius into her'room, would hardly.be'more dis­creet. In addition, the proverb, sound enough in itself, ”0 tyme Host,

wel maistow corsen slouthe," is peculiarly inappropriate in its application, for in refusing to admit Troiius into her chamber Criseyde!s

■ From one point of view the a b s u r d . i t . 5r does not signify, sincethe two are playing at a game in which the loser will be winner„ . Butat the same time each is at least pretending to a measure of reasonable­

ness, and the obliquely fallacious arguments, often facilitated by the use of proverbs, contrast humorously with the characters * assumptions t M t they are'acting, sensiblyo _ - ' : ; , ;

' : ' . At still another point Pandarus protects an exaggeration from ' ,possible criticism by using a proverb for which■he gives authorities= When he lectures frpxlus on, the necessity fdr .secrecy after Troilus!

meeting 'With Criseyde at ' Beiphebus * house'he 'saysi.’’For which thise wise pierkes that ben dede • / ' - - /

: ’■ .Han eyere ■ thus. proverbed to us yonge, •That tfirstevertu is to kepe tonge0’" (iii, 2p2 ff„) , : .

Within the.Courtly■Love■code secrecy was,; indeed, extremely importantp ’but secrecy was not more important than, , say^ nonstancyo Integrity : inlove, fidelity, and service were virtues that might well lay claim to

first;'placeo Pandarus ’ exaggeration contains more than a touch oftfalse'nesst But since he prefaced the statement by saying that the, wise clerks, now dead, had ”proverbed” us thus, he raised his pro-

nouncement out of that realm where it might be disputed,, • '•- , ;The examples from the Tcoilus discussed in this chapter have . t

illustrated the point that as. logical tools proverbs prove sometimes'

"suspect, and sometimes altogether misleading: different proverbs oftensupport: cohtradietdry positions! the ..same' proverb may be used to urge

/ disparate' actions j and proverbs may be obliquely related to the subject , under discussion^ •or they may be grouped "without connectives in illogical- sequences 'Hokever, the listener .rarely analyzes or refutes the argu™ •

ments that proverbs, fallaciously support.,, because of their aphoristic and figurative form0 . v v.-xt /v; :■ y v v- -

: v'

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PROFERBS

The: Ti'ollus Is a dramatic poeni, not -a disquisition in logic* ‘

V-.'Jh.e questipn• may, be raised whether logical consistency is pertinent, in a dramatic poenu f Ao Go Bradley had observed of lady Macbeth ' and '

- Macbeth :th%t' her reasonings are mere sophisms) they could h,

persuade no mane • It is not by them, it is by personal appeals o « » that she impels him to the deedoSomething similar may be said of 'Chaucer's characters in the Troiluss it is not through reasoning, but

through personal appeal) that thd characters influence one another)■ and the.proverbs which) on the logical level, were found to support inconsistencies, play another part altogether on the psychological*

A -' This is not' to imply thal the logical aspect of proverbs is

unimportanto If. one needs a justification for the analysis in the preceding chapter,.it; -is that:-in almost every scene of the Troilus one

' character Is urging another * to some action, and each .of the characters

has his own standard "ofreasonableness,' a standard to which he imagines

.Co" Bradley, Shakespearean Tragedy (London, 1950), p0 36?o

he adhereso Each wishes to be wise* or at least sensible* according -

to his own lights» There is* therefore* a degree of humorous tension . between the characters * assumptionsthat. they, are acting; reasonably* ; and the actual grounds upon which their,decisions are based* .' ':\

' • Of course no character* either in fiction or in life* can be thoroughly consistento •One has to grant that Pandarus* that skillful manipulator of proverbs as well as of all the tricks of language* is

quite right when he says* ‘'Upon newe, cas lith newe avys" (iv* lf.l6)e Adaptability is not a,; vice; it ,is,/a; virtue'•which pne ' is compelled to ' exercise in order to surviveo It is. neither .possible nor desirable to state all the aspects of every case* Limits must be set to the consideration of alternate possibilities* lest one be caught in a h.. paralysis of inactivity 0 ’ ■ ' - ; <■ •. ,•■;•.

, But this* while true* is no warrant for gross inconsistencye One feels the need of ■•limitations at either extreme *. that of an un­naturally rigid logical consistency* and that of irresponsible in­

consistency = Even though it be true that ''upon newe cas lith newe t avys*" a man of integrity will limit the range of his swing from one. • position to,another* despite changing circumstances•— in,contrast* for example* to Pandarus'. too wide arc when* in Book V, he urged in­constancy upon Troilus* whom he: had earlier lectured on fidelity*

Logical consistency, .then, is a fine ideal| but as we live in

a changing world,.and must act from moment to moment, proverbs serve their:ptirpdse, 'often.a psychological one0 • They are particularly use™. • ful when one needs to make, a decision quickly, or when one wishes to

give adviceo' Troilus, with his sense of fatalism and helplessness, needs to be told to "Buck up f! Whether one sees Troilus, because of

■ .. : t ' ■; ; ; V - • : 2 • 3 ■ . ’his inability to act, as a comic figure, as do Root and Hagopian, ■ . ;or a neurotic, as does Tatlock, or, more complexly, as one whose very

' ; ' '' ' , ' 5 ’ ‘ 6 ' ■virtues are the cause of his paralysis, as do Stroud and Shelly,Pandarus1 •upbraiding strikes one as altogether-appropriate:

Thou hast gret nare . y ■ v : v -, .Lest, that the. cherl may falle out of the moone l n (i, 1023 f =) .

"Lat hat this wrecced wo thyn herte gnawe,, ..But manly sette the world on six and seveneo” (iv, 621 fe j " 1

Pandarus makes use of proverbs to tell'Troilus to be a mans -

. Robert Kilburn Root, The Poetry of Chaucer; a Guide to its Study and Appreciation (Boston, 1922), po II80 — — — ™ — -- ' ' .'O 1 ' ■ ■ ■ ■ ■'. ■ ' , ' , .-John V» Hagopian, ^Chaucer as Psychologist in,Troilus and Criseyde, R Literature and Psychology, If, 7o ■ • ' ; .' : t. -t:,:■■■■:■, ■... . ; -Z : '■■■; . : ' , '; ' '

• John Strong Perry Tatlock, The Mind and Art of Chaucer (New York, 195Q), Ro li3» , '

■ <y.-' y ' ;■ ■ ■ : - ■■ ■■" ■ ■ . - ■ ' y ■ ytTheodore Ao Stroud, ’’Boethius* Influence on Chaucer’s Troilus, Modern 'Philology, 1LVIIII (1951), 60 . ... , . ..

' ■ . ; ' v ' : ; - Vi " *. v '«i)epyte .pLiVi^.wb:.',thi t o /tO'' .e;cheo.w.-.70lj.) . '

'V : .. "Swich1 is delit of foies to byWepe ; ' ' ■Hir wos but seken bote they ne kepeo'* (is 762 f 0)

. "A man may al bytyjiie his. nekk6 beede: .Whan it shal ofs and sorwen at the nede®« (ivs 1105 £0) ■■

Griseydej, as well as PandarH.ss, mpbraids Troilns with proverbs 2 . 'v :" 0 0 0 If a wight alwey his wo compleynes .And seketh" nought hew holpen for to beyIt nys but folie and ericrees of peyne®11 (ivs 12$5 ffo)

. !,iv o . o Sometyme it is wit ' .■,ip spend a tymej, A. tyme for. to Wynne,," (ivs 1611 f = )

' ' • A great many." of these proverbs are obvious commonplaceSj, soobvious as to be trite3 but they serve -their purpose, which is'psychological; they are used to.give 'encouragement, or comfort.' When■ Criseyde' says to herself, RQ£ harmes twoj, the lesse is for to cheseM'

(ii, 1|.70), she is' making a thoroughly safe, indisputable generalization, which reassures her. It enables her to move, forward. She often uses proverbs in this way. i/hen Pandarus' telis her, "Bet is a tyme of cure

■ ay than of pleynte" ( iy, 931), he is . saying something'utterly obvious, but comforting, at a time when comfort is needed® Platitudes, are often

• emotionally appropriate® Other examples of utterly obvious statements

in proverbial form occur in the Troilus: ■. . ; : t "Ayysement is good byfbre the , nede®". . ( ii, 3^3) " /

"For also seur as reed is every fir, . . ■ . .„As gret a craft is kepe. wel as wynne®" (iii, 1633 fo)"For tyme ylost may nought recovered be®" (iv, 1283)

: / ::/ y : : \ y ': i &

.. . Some of • these commonplaces are more than tritej they are almost meaninglesso It is difficult to find much significance in the words Pandarils uses after urging Troilns to be. of good comfort in Book Is

: .■ .; 'Tor ceptaln^^. the f irste; pqjrnb. is this ■ s • t:- :0f ndble cdrage and wel ordayne; ; , ; .

: A man to have pees with himself <, ywis011 (is 893 ffo )Possibly Pandarus does not intend the words to make sense. He is ■chattering in an excited way, having jirawn from Troilus the name ofOriseyde, . .A little, later he sayss. .■ , ' ■ • . :

"But he that parted is in everi place ' ..Is nbwher 'hois as writen clerkes wyse,H (is 960 f,)

This is very nearly nonsensical5 and.-in so far as the words do convey meaningj there is little need to tell it to Troilus, Pandarus is in

a.general way'urging constancy/ restraint^ secrecy and steadfastness upon Troilus? who is by nature constant, and whom Pandarus will later try to dissuade from constancy. Much of what Pandarus says is sheer

■chatter, but well-meant, and, as sucii,; effective, .. - That the ■ progress of Pandafust arguments' iS' psychological', •

rather than logical is apparent in his first scene with Troilus, '.

Pandarus. wants, first to. draw from Troilus the. cause of his woe, and then the name of :his beloved, Troilus responds at. last •— after seventeen proverbs, and numerous "ensaumples" and mythological

references, Pandarus*. job is to move Troilus from one psychological . ' point to.another, from paralysed despair to hopeful action, Pandarus;: f ires his barrage. Anything will do, , .It is a. matter; of ' time,.and talk ■

fills time. The talk does not have to make rigorous sense« Troilus seems not :to listen closely , and. for a long time does not dnswer® ■.When he does, .it is to indicate that he distrusts much of this, or 'considers it nonsensec His response vvas quoted earlier, in the dis­cussion of logical aspects of proverbs; ’'NawpeesJ'1 (i5 ?53)o

Ho o o Thi proverhes'ina,y- me naught availlSo11 (is 736) .. ^Ihat know I of the queene Nyobe?.. ■ : .

. : Lat be thyne olde ensaumples, I the preye0n. (i, 739)

One wonders whether Pandarus listens to himself» He may, but probably' not critically* He goes on talking until,he meets with success^ as$indeed, he eventually does, '

■'' ' ' . ' , - /'' 3;.'v v

■; Wh,en Pandarus needs time, rather than logic, ‘ to make Troilus feel the benevolent intention behind his stream of talk, proverbs and examples offer him. an excellent means of elaborating his arguments,,One can' find a recurring pattern by which Pandarus and, less frequently,

. the Narrator and Griseyde, use proverbs to elaborate upon a themet

Pandarus usually begins with a literal statement of his themeo Then he weaves into his argument various figurative illustrations, often in -

, ■ . %illiam. George Dodd, Courtly Love in Chaucer and Gower (Bostonajyi.London, 1913),; p® 186B . " , :v. 7./ ; . /

■ ^Thomas Austin Kirby, Chaucer ' s "Troilus, " Study in Courtly Love (Baton "Rouge, 19U0), pc 129o , T’. 7 . ' . .

■: the form of ■ proverb'sj, as weXl as some abstract or general observations,,; . Finally he makes his literal, poihted conclusion,, a direct application, an exhortation to act thus and..so,, 'This, method, involving the use of proverbs and examples to play variations upon a theme, moving back and forth from general to specific, from abstract to concrete, from / . /figurative to literal, enables Pandarus to make lengthy disquisitions out of what might otherwise have been merely bald exhortations^

When,, in his first scene with Troilus, Pandarus suggests that his advice might: help Troilus,,if only Troilus would confide in him, Troilus scoffs that since Pandarus had never prospered in love, he was hardly in a position to help him„ Pandarus replies that a fool may guide a wise man, elaborating his'theme through four stanzas, using ten proverbSo Only one of the twenty lines which are. quoted below is not . given as prpverbial by iumianski, ' and that is line 636; . 11 If thow do . so, thi wit is well bewaredo - The'' sequence of ten proverbs involves • first a literal statement in' somewhat general7terms (i, 62j? ff)j then an illustration (628 $)., followed: by a line which may be taken either as an illustration or as the direct application (630)5 a figurative example (631 ,f0 ) j, a literal, . Specific exhortation, which' is the- moral

of sequence (633 f<,)| a restatement in general terms (635)J another

One feels uncertain about some, of the passages given by Iumianski as proverbial0, However, the point that proverbs are inter- . woven with other material as a means of elaboration stands whether all. of these passages be considered proverbial or not, •.' ' -

- : ■ ,. : • ' ■ . usdirect application, in form not proverbial.(636)5 and an abstract

generalization^ once again in the -f orm of a proverb» There ends the

second, stanza, but not. Pandapus1 disquisition,, In the next stanza he uses three more proverbs, containing four examples and the ap-

, propriate generalization, before he goes on, in a fourth stanza not

\ .quoted below, to a - general. conclusion and. a specific application, ; V- which he does not couch in terms of proverbs0 . '\

' 625) "Though I be i rce, it happeth often so,./That; oon that excesse doth ful yvele fare, / v fBy good counseil lean kepe his frend ther fro*

‘v'l. I have myself ek seyn a blynd man goo- : . ' There aklef el that -oouthe loken iwidej

• ; 630 A. fool may ek a wis-man ofte gideo ** ' .

!IA whesfon is no kervyng instrument,.But yet it maketh sharppe Icervyng tolls*

: - . : And ther thow wbpst/that I- have- anght. -ayswent, - '. - :■ ; . . Eschuw thow that, for.swich thing to' the’schole is; .;v:; 635 . Thus often wise .men ben' war .by foolys* " •'1; If thow do so, thi wit is ,wel bewared)' ■ . ; . ' ' - .. ' By his contrarie is every thyng declared*K , .V;. ,' ; . nFor how myghte ever swe.fnesse haho ben knowe :" , . To him. that' nevere "tasted bitternesse? ' - . . '

6i|.0 - Me no.-imn-may ben inly, glad, I trowe, - - .; . \ ' 1Tnat nevere was in sorsre or som destresse* - •

, Eke, whit by blak, by shame ek worthinesse, . ; ■ .: ■ • Ech set b^ ', :

As men may se, and so the pyse demetho" (i, 62$ ff*)

-: Pandarus elaborates"another couplet, not"in itself proverbial (i, 9UU fo), .with four concrete illustrations, each of which is a ..proverb (9U6 If ),

• and ends with a: restatement-of his theixie in specific terms, also, in the

fo rm o f a p ro v e rb ;

»o o o Thynk .xjreX, she of whom, rist al thi wo 'Hereafter may thy comfort be also0” ' ."For thilke growrrie that bereth the wed.es wikke ■Bereth ek thise. holsom herbes# as ful ofte lext'the foule netley: rough and thikke,'■ ■The rose waxeth swoote and smother and softej • ' •And next the vaXeye is,the hiX o-Xofte; :And next the derke nyght, the gXade morwe;And aXso joxe is next the fyn of sorwe." (i, 9li-U ff»)

' ?/hen Pandarus,. after devious .preparation.™ though he hadresoXyed to: be1 direct J— . teXis Criseyde of TroiXus1 loye, and foXXbws'his news with tears;, exaggerations^ and threats, that both TroiXus andhe wiXX. die if she': prove crueX, he says;' ' . , "Wo worth the faire gemme yertuXees. J, ,

.Wo worth that herbe aXso ths.t dooth no boote JWo worth that-beaute. that ie routheeXes i; ; ■Wo worth that wight that: tret ech undir ,foote J";' (ii„ 3I1I4 ffo )

paoh'Xine is proverbiaX: the first-two are figuratXve .statements ofhis subject, that beauty shouid not be crueXo The third is preciseXy

and XiteraXXy to the pointo The fourth is a strong exaggeration: aithough in form, it is paraXXeX to the others, it imputes more de­

liberate malice than mere lack of pity or indifference’a Pandarus ends

the sequence in his usual manner, with the -specific application, thistime not in'proverbial form, phrased — again, typically; -- in a mixture of gallant flattery and' exhortations. .. ..

"And: ye, that ben of beaute crop and roote,Jlf therwithal in you 'ther be no routhe, A

' ' : Than is it harm ye lyven, by .my troubhe (ii, 3k8 ff®.)He gives his suggestions emotional.coloring, at times exaggerating, at

ptheriimes safely retreating after a thrust forward. ' These' illus-:

trations indicate how Pandarus influences the other characters in • large' part', thrpugh his use of the figurative language,of proverbs, / ' that i s t h f ough: his ability to. mix the f igurative and the . literati ■ ;

the general and the specific,. in elaborating his. arguments, , y . '

The motive - behind Pandarus1 elaborations is psychological: he.needs" time to influence his listener, and words fill time. It is . interesting to note that occasionally the Narrator elaborates a theme by ■means’ of a simliah 'ihterplay - of flguratiye,. literal, specific, and " t,,,

general material,'much'of it:proverbial,' although his intention is not the same as .Pandarus’. In the introduction to Book II the Narrator discusses changes in language and.in customs, pleading with his audience that they accept that which may appear strange in his story.■The passage (ii, 22 ff.) is somewhat long to be reproduced here, but : sprinkled' throughout' the discussion are. "f our proverbs, two of ‘ thpm • ■ ., '.

' literal and' two fi^rative :' : ■ ; '1 ' ' . ’"Ek for to vfynneh - love in" sondry. ages.In sondry lender, sondry ben usages." (ii, 27 fa)

: ' "For every wight which that to Rome went \ ... •, Halt nat o path, or alwey o manere.11 (ii, 36 f.) . ..

Bertram L. Joseph, "TrOilus and Criseyde.: '*a' Most Admirable , Inimitable Epicke -Poeme, " English Association Essays' and Studies (1951), 32| ,CharleslMuspatine," Chaucer and .the 'French Tradition (Berkeley,1957), p. Ihko . 1 ' ’ - /’ --It .)

«Forthi men; sbjoi eech centree Mt-h his lawes»;u (11/ 1*2)

"gk ,gom‘men grave'dm;.;tree/’.som In ston walo11. (ii5 it?) . ■

Another example of this . inteiweaving. of literal statement^ abstract tgeneral!zations figurative restatement^ and specific application ■ •

occurs in-the Narrator's comment pn;Trcilus* blind arrogance at the .beginning:of the story5 as Troilus scoffs at lovers before-he himself :is smitten:. v.; . r -; ’ • .,'1

- "0 blsh^e wprld^ 0 blynde entenciounj . - :■ ' ■ How often falleth al -the effect coritraire : ...; % foul presumptcioun; . ' ' : '

- ■. .; :2pry'kati#vt: is■ proud.>. and kaught;:'is debonaireot;; g; g-: : . ’;■ '"tjhis Troilus1 is. c!omben;;©n the stairej • ' t. . ;■

V And:'liteX'imneth: that/Wv iaoot descenden^ g ,-v ' . 1 ' . ,. But;alday faileth thing that fooles wendeho^ (i3 211 ff0) ■ -

Ihile Criseyde knows very well- how to use proverbs as exhorta­tions, particularly in Book IV,■ - she often uses;proverbs and* commonplaces

as a means of reassuring herself, . or, as: in the follovfing' example, in , • lamentstiono ' She,; too, begins with a' literal, statement (iv, 76U),. which she follows with a figurative example involving a commonplace comparison

(766)o In the next line she states her woe in unembroidered and per­sonal terms (767 )<> , There follows a larger generalization in a figure which Chaucer had used in translating Boethius (768 f„), and then the V

sad conclusion:,in a figurative proverb: , '■ 765 • "To, what fyn sholde I- lyve and sorwen thus? - ,

:,y.; .How, shplde -. a• f issh withouten water dure?. • ' i - - . -% w

........ ilhat is Gris eyrie worth, frpm Troilus?How sholde a. plaunfce or lives creature? ■ :Lyve wlbhouten his kynde noriture? ' . •

77Q - .For itiiioh ful. ofte a by-word here I seye,,■" That 'rooteles moot grene soone deye01" (iv, 765 f fo )

The proverb in the last line goes, strangely to the root of Criseyde1s ultimate problem. It is her:unconscious comment upon her own tragedys ■ a tragedy as yet unrealized. .Criseyde — or what is best in her, her

love for Troilus — is like an exquisite but delicate flower that , thrives in the right environment,.but, uprooted,'lacks the strength : to survive transplantation, iihile most of Chaucer’s imagery is con­

ventional, occasionally an image plmbs unexpected depths. Besides, aff ording the characters a means of elaboration, .the imagery in proverbs offers the author an opportunity for plumbing the deeper

reaches of meaning, as does ary figurative language. ,

Many, perhaps most, proverbs are figurative. One of the

psychological aspects of the proverbs is/the peculiarly humorous effect that results when a proverb hovers between the figurative and the literal meaning. ' One example occurs - in.Book III, in the consum-

.mation scene, when Pandarus 'sayst . "It Is nought good a slepyng hound to wake" (iii, 76h). The proverb is current today in the form "Let sleeping dogs lie." It conveys the idea, to put it in prosaic terms.

; v : ' ;;; v : : a' that .there is no point in stirring- up troubi.6» But at the time that ; ::

Pandarns used his version he was referring to Criseyde * s women, who ■ . .were indeed sleeping outside her chamber3 not hounds -- that inuch is 1 figurative -— but nonetheless''sleepers, who must -- literally — not '

be: awakehedo The effect of.the proverb is delightfully humorous,: 1 Another example of-Pahdarus'' humorous use of figurativeproverbs occurs in his first scene,, when, upbraiding Troilus for

failing - to respond to his injunctions, he, demahds:"' . v:, : asse ..tb the harpe, r ; .

.That hereth sown whan men the strynges plye,/. ' • .: But in his mynde of that no melodie '■ iMay sinken hym' to gladen, for that he ' ' ’

So dul ys of his bestialitefit (i, 731 ff,'}'Consider the implication of the simile,. Who is:the harpe?1 Who the ■asse?. This is superior to the literal statement, heard all.too often,

. "Why don't you pay attention,to me?" Bandarus makes use of thefigurative proverb with obvious relish, '

Another proverb overlaid with conscious1 humor and; .irony is the

one with which Pandarus, bearing off the candle, leaves the lovers at :the consummation scene: "Light is nogght good for.sike folkes .yenj"

, (iii,' 1137)® .Unrequited love' has been referred to numerous times as a

sickness, yet it is not precisely a sickness like, say, the measles, which does Indeed require a darkened room for the patient. At this '

moment: Troilus and Criseyde are about to be cured®. Pandarus is having his fun® The figurative language in proverbs, then, can on .

. occasion give rise to humor, particularly when the meaning flickers

'■between the figurative' and. the • literal,

v ; ' - ' g h a p w i v ' .. • ' ' 1 . '

y : ' V T H E . EELAT10N OF THE LOGIGAij AH) PSTCHbMGIGAL ■ - ' ASPECTS OF THE PROVERBS TO THE THEME'OF THE TROILUS

■ The question of the.relation of the proverbs' to the theme of ■the Proilus has been touched upon in the previous amlysiso The object of this chapter is to.define that relationships

• •' Ao:' C« Bradipy,,: in speaking df Shakespeare * s characters, hadmade the distinetioh between "children of the- world" and " children

bf light.M ’ : In Chaucer s 'ppemi'Trpiliis at one point makes the dis™ ' tinction between accident and-substance5 when arguing with Criseyde . agaihsrt her'going away to,the'Greek: camps ■ ■ ■ ' ' ' ' n • ? : -

", o o Thynk that folie is, whan man may chese,• .For accident his substaunce ay to lese," • (iv, IpOij. f,)" That is> why risk; uncertainty ;of. accident for the certainty of

substance? Either :of these1 distinctions, that between the "childrenof the world" and the "children of light," and that between accidentand substance, .may serve as.clues to the theme of the Troilus, which

rests upon the.contrast between the chance and instability of this

1P<, 3?0„

55

1 2 ",world' and the immutability of the .next5 or, ,in the'-words of Curry,“the false felicity of this world and the perfect felicity here- ■after...3 / ■ \ ' '' ' f. ■ : ■ The presence of many proverbs reinforces' this theme, for ,proverbs, as has been observed in the preceding discussion, belong, to .the.shifting, mutable, practical world. They have■to do with immediate’ action, and not with ultimate principle= They serve psychological

purposes admirably^ that is, they fulfill the needs of the momento But they are logically fallible, easily lending support to specious arguments and gross inconsistency. ' . ..

It may be assumed that the characters who make most frequent use of proverbs are also the most worldly; the assumption is supported

; by this study o Many of the ''critics ’who have commented, upon the ; .'' ■,

characterizations and theme of the Troilus, without focusing on the proverbs, have observed that Pandarus is worldly and realistic, some finding in this quality a healthy contrast to Troilus» paralyzed

. ■ 2 • '. . . :' . :John.Middleton Mhrry, "Troilus and Cressida,11 .jVdelphi, I (July 1923), 1^11 William paton.hep. Form and Style in Poetry (London,

..192'8},,. pp« .'51, '52, 86, -,209| James Lyndpn .Shanley, ,HThe Troilus and , Christian Lovd," ELH, ?I' (1939), 2793 ■ Theodore. Morrison, ed., The . ■ .,; Portable Chaucer .{hew lohki,:. 19h9.),:: po 23J Sister lazy Baynelda ■ ;Makarewicz, The Patristic Influence on Chaucer (Washington, D.C«, '1953), pPo l?I7I3^ .Muscatine,; pp0 131, 161^ . ' f;-.; ■

%alter C. Guriy, ."Destiry in Chaucer's Troilus," PMIA, %LV . (March 1930), 167o ; l . .'"r“ . ‘

\ '- - - ^ ^ . - -'' - # ii ' ' ' ■ ' , ' ; ■ , -';idealism, ' others, finding in Pandarus > ■worldliness a deficiency of .moral principle.o „ In either case Pandarus, the "child of the world"par excellence, the. opportunist who 1tshifts and tables and turns v/ith■every wind and tide," uses by far the greatest number of proverbs,.over one hundred, according to. Lumianskio He displays a- great '.deal;■ _ .of insight in his dealings with people and. with situations. But his • '. :insight is all on the surfacej.he lacks philosophical depth of vision.This impression is conveyed by other means than by his • glib and "■

'frequent use of proverbs; at the. same; time. his. extreme facility with ■ .proverbs contributes much to the characterization.

. Bariy, p. 233? Curry, 161; Ernest De Selincourt, Oxford • . Lectures on Poetry (Oxford,'/193il-}, ■pp.o .56,' 3:7| Howard Beilin Patch,On Rereading Chaucer (Cambridge, Mass.,. 1939), pp. 93,. 9 W Shanley,279)George Lyman Kittredge, Chaucer and His Poetry (Cambridge, Mass., ' ' 19l|.6), p.' 1 3 9 j John Livingston Lowes.-, Geoffrey Chaucer (Oxford, 1949),' / p. 144} Sanford ,B. leech, "Figurative Contrasts in Chaucer»s Troilus and Criseyde," in English Institute Essays, ed. Alan S. Downer (New Tork^ '19 0')," pp. 6l, 67} (Lumianski}. ,p. 10} Morrison, p. 3691 Sherman ':B. Reff , "Chaucer's. Pandarns, »• West.ern Humanities /Review, 17 (1950), ' .W ^ ’: p 7S- ' ^",'; ^J=. Jo Jusserand, A Literary History Of the English People 1 .(London, 1895), .1,■ 302-303}; 'Dodd, pp. 161, '1%3} Emile Hyacinthe Legouis, Geoffrey Chaucer (Hew,'York, 1928), M Boot,, p. 120}' / Tatlock, The Mind and Art of /Chaucer, p. 45j. D. W. Robertson, "Chaucerian Tragedy in the' .Trdilus, " ELH,' "(&i'bh 1952)} 16.

^Shelly, p. 149. \ .V: . '

; ; 7p. 10, 19, 32, 38, 44. ,/ ; ; ■ '4/''// '" '

Troilus, whose: idealism stands.in contrast to the worldliness

’ of Eahddrus? nses feweh than twenty proverbs^ seems ■to. distrust their 'wisdom, and,- when he does use .three in a cluster, seems to be parodying Criseyde•s method of arguing by proverbs. There is no room for ex­

pediency, if not the shiftiness, of proverb-lore in absolute devotion such as his, ;or -in that; seyepth' sphepej':fPom .which- he finally laughs at the sub-lunar world. He is- not, however, as perfect an example of ,, a "child of light" as Pandarus is of a child; of a worlds W ' H-is yearnings are. in the direction of the absolute: he would like life toanswer to.his capacity for ultimate constancy,. He loves Criseyde with a devotion which borders pn- the religiouso, ' Within the framework of the Courtly Love tradition, he fulfills the highest:ideal® But the object of his devotion, Criseyde, is part of. the shifting, - unpredictable world, and ■ his life is therefore subject to the uncertainty of "accideht** ■ rather than the security of 11 substance1' for which his soul yearnso It would be more precise to say that he is a "seeker after light'* rather than a "child of light®" ■ In any case, through the figure of Troilus Chaucer keeps the reader aware of the contrast between the instability

of the world and man* s desire for something immutable«

« " '■ . : ■ ' ■ : ' r ■. ■' ' ■ . ' "■Ibido : ■ ■; ; ■ ' ■ ' uyMevill Coghill,:The Poet Chaucer (Oxford, 19U9), p« 72j DoS®

Brewer^ Chaucer (lohdpn, Hew York, 19$3), p. 101®' ( .’•

During the time tha t Qriseycle loves- Irbilu's with, a love -which answers hiss she has no need of proverbs® ' Only when she encounters

. some practical, difficulty, when she feels the. pressure of the world's' ■ '' t': \ v '.'V : :' • u- ': , ■ ' '. ' ' ; "■"demands3 does she'resort to proverbs® Altogether she makes use of ,forty-five proverbs®,. She obviously understands Pandarus1 twists and ■ turns as he manipulates his store•of proverbs, and knows how to reply in kind® Criseyde has potentialities for living in either of the two

worlds of Pandarus and Troilus®, " The tension between,those worlds Is central to 'fjhaucerfs:theme®;, ' ^

Proverbs, then, reflect the. changing and unreliable aspect of

• existence® The way in which each of the characters manipulates .proverbs: or responds to their use. reinforces the underlying contrast ,

. between the shifting and deceptive world and that something 'stable which men identify with God® ^

^Whiting, p® 61® -11ibid® ;^^Muscatine,' pp® 157-161®

b i b l i o g r a p h y '

; '.Barry,' fiaymond. WaIker:o. "The Sententiae In Gha.ucer • s Workse”' tTnpublished Doctor's Thesisy Department of Philosophy, Stanford University,

■ .■ ■■■.'■ i92Uc , y , _ ■ y ■ y-'yy'.-' . yBradley, A, G® Shakespearean Tragedy®. London: Macmillan, 195>Oe; '. v

. Brewer, Do'S® Chaucer0 London, Hew York, and Toronto: Longmans, Green,;

Goghill, Hevillo The Poet Ghaucer® London: Oxford,University Press,19^0 • . • ■ . y yy :;. :"'..;y.v "V ■■ ■ • y '' ' '/V"'

Gurry, Walter "G® "Destiny in Ghaticer's Troilus®" PELA, XL? (March 1930),' ' , 129-168® ; y ' , ■ y; ' ', Dempster,.. Germaine Collette® Dramatic Irony in Chaucer® Stanf ord, /

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Joseph, Bertram® "Troilus and Criseyde, la Most Admirable and Inimitable . . Epicke Poeme®' » English Association, London: Essays and. Studies®

/ . / .• London: J® Murray, 195h9 62-61® ; , '

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