CHAUCER. 275 



them thoroughly, and with enough philological knowledge 

 of cognate languages to guide him, is sure that they at 

 least aimed at regularity, precisely as he is convinced 

 that Raynouard's rule about singular and plural termi- 

 nations has plenty of evidence to sustain it, despite the 

 numerous exceptions. To show what a bad versifier 

 could make out of the same language that Chaucer used, 

 I copy one stanza from a contemporary poem. 



" When Phebus fresh was in chare resplendent, 

 In the moneth of May erly in a morning, 

 I hard two lovers prefer this argument 

 In the yeere of our Lord a M. by rekening, 

 CCCXL. and VIII. yeere following. 

 potent princesse conserve true lovers aH 

 And grant them thy region and blisse celestial." * 



Here is riding-rhyme, and on a very hard horse too! 

 Can any one be insensible to the difference between such 

 stuff as this and the measure of Chaucer ? Is it possi- 

 ble that with him the one halting verse should be the 

 rule, and the twenty musical ones the exception ? Let 

 us take heed to his own words : 



" And, for there is so great diversite 

 In English, and in writing of our tong, 

 So pray I God f that none miswrite the 

 Ne the mismetre for defaut of tong, 

 And redde whereso thou be or elles song 

 That thou be understood God I beseech." 



Yet more. Boccaccio's ottava rima is almost as regu- 

 lar as that of Tasso. Was Chaucer unconscious of this 1 

 It will be worth while to compare a stanza of the origi- 

 nal with one of the translation. 



" Era cortese Ettore di natura 

 Pero vedendo di costei il gran pianto, 

 Ch 'era piu bella ch 'altra creatura, 

 Con pio parlare confortolla alquanto, 



* From the " Craft of Lovers," attributed by Ritson to Lydgate, but 

 too bad even for him. 



f Here the received texts give " So pray I to God." Cf. " But Rea- 

 son said him." T. & C. 



