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 profer this argument 

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

 CCCXL. and VIII. yeere following. 

 potent princesse conserve true lovers all 

 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 1 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 t that none miswrite the 

 Ne the mismetre for defaut of tong, 

 And redde whereso thou be or elle's 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 ] 

 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 'altrn creatura. 

 Con pio parlare confortolla alquanto, 



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

 too bad even for him. 



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

 son said him." T. & C. 



