"Tak any brid, and put it in a cage, And do al thyn entente and thy corage To fostre it tendrely with mete and drinke, Of alle deyntees that thou canst bithinke, And keep it al-so clenly as thou may; Al-though his cage of gold be never so gay, Yet hath this brid, by twenty thousand fold, Lever in a forest, that is rude and cold, Gon ete wormes and swich wrecchednesse. For ever this brid wol doon his bisinesse To escape out of his cage, if he may; His libertee this brid desireth ay."

"Appetyt flemeth discrecioun."

"My sone, keep wel thy tonge and keep thy freend."

"Ye been as bolde as is Bayard the blinde, That blundreth forth, and peril casteth noon; He is as bold to renne agayn a stoon As for to goon besydes in the weye."

"Ne every appel that is fair at yë Ne is nat good, what-so men clappe or crye."

"He was the moste lusty bachiler In al this world, and eek the beste archer."

"The bodies sevene eek, lo! hem heer anoon: Sol gold is, and Luna silver we threpe, Mars yren, Mercurie quik-silver we clepe, Saturnus leed, and Jupiter is tin, And Venus coper, by my fader kin!"

"For whan a man hath over-greet a wit, Ful oft him happeth to misusen it."

"But al thing which that shyneth as the gold Nis nat gold, as that I have herd it told."

"A good wyf, that is clene of werk and thoght, Sholde nat been kept in noon await, certayn; And trewely, the labour is in vayn To kepe a shrewe, for it wol nat be. This holde I for a verray nycetee, To spille labour, for to kepe wyves; Thus writen olde clerkes in hir lyves."

"The firste vertu, sone, if thou wolt lere, Is to restreyne and kepe wel thy tonge."

"For the proverbe seith: that manye smale maken a greet."

"And the same Seneca also seith: ‘I am born to gretter thinges than to be thral to my body, or than for to maken of my body a thral.’"

"Avarice, after the descripcion of seint Augustin, is likerousnesse in herte to have erthely thinges."

"He was of knighthode and of fredom flour."

"Redeth the grete poete of Itaille, That highte Dant, for he can al devyse Fro point to point, nat o word wol he faille."

"Tragedie is noon other maner thing, Ne can in singing crye ne biwaille, But for that fortune alwey wol assaille With unwar strook the regnes that ben proude; For when men trusteth hir, than wol she faille, And covere hir brighte face with a cloude."

"Certes, they been lyk to houndes; for an hound, whan he comth by the roser or by othere [busshes], though he may nat pisse, yet wole he heve up his leg and make a contenaunce to pisse."

"Trouthe is the hyeste thing that man may kepe."

"It is agayns the proces of nature."

"For certein, whan that fortune list to flee, Ther may no man the cours of hir withholde."

"Tak this for fynal answer as of me."

"Wel she saugh that it was for the beste."

"Til that the brighte sonne loste his hewe; For thorisonte hath reft the sonne his light; This is as muche to seye as it was night."

"Ful wys is he that can him-selven knowe."

"For he ne made hir nat of the heved of Adam, for she sholde nat clayme to greet lordshipe. / For ther-as the womman hath the maistrie, she maketh to muche desray; ther neden none ensamples of this. The experience of day by day oghte suffyse. / Also certes, god ne made nat womman of the foot of Adam, for she ne sholde nat been holden to lowe; for she can nat paciently suffre: but god made womman of the rib of Adam, for womman sholde be felawe un-to man."

"Thing that is seyd, is seyd; and forth it gooth."

"Fy on possessioun But-if a man be vertuous with-al."

"I am lorn with-outen remedye!"

"I sleep never on the mount of Pernaso, Ne lerned Marcus Tullius Cithero."

"Therfor bihoveth him a ful long spoon That shal ete with a feend."

"They demen gladly to the badder ende."

"Men loven of propre kinde newfangelnesse."

"For o thing, sires, saufly dar I seye, That frendes everich other moot obeye, If they wol longe holden companye. Love wol nat ben constreyned by maistrye; Whan maistrie comth, the god of love anon Beteth hise winges, and farewel! he is gon! Love is a thing as any spirit free; Wommen of kinde desiren libertee, And nat to ben constreyned as a thral; And so don men, if I soth seyen shal."

"But for to telle yow al hir beautee, It lyth nat in my tonge, nin my conning; I dar nat undertake so heigh a thing. Myn English eek is insufficient; It moste been a rethor excellent, That coude his colours longing for that art, If he sholde hir discryven every part. I am non swich, I moot speke as I can."

"A doghter hadde this worthy king also, That yongest was, and highte Canacee."

"The Pegasee, The hors that hadde winges for to flee."

"Ye archewyves, stondeth at defence, Sin ye be stronge as is a greet camaille; Ne suffreth nat that men yow doon offence. And sclendre wyves, feble as in bataille, Beth egre as is a tygre yond in Inde; Ay clappeth as a mille, I yow consaille."

"Grisilde is deed, and eek hir pacience, And bothe atones buried in Itaille; For which I crye in open audience, No wedded man so hardy be tassaille His wyves pacience, in hope to finde Grisildes, for in certein he shall faille!"

"Be ay of chere as light as leef on linde, And lat him care, and wepe, and wringe, and waille!"

"As many hedes, as many wittes ther been. They murmureden as dooth a swarm of been."

"Pacience is an heigh vertu certeyn."

"Ye been our lord, doth with your owene thing Right as yow list."

"And though your grene youthe floure as yit, In crepeth age alwey, as stille as stoon, And deeth manaceth every age, and smit In ech estaat, for ther escapeth noon: And al so certein as we knowe echoon That we shul deye, as uncerteyn we alle Been of that day whan deeth shal on us falle."

"Love is noght old as whan that it is newe."

"With bely stif and toght As any tabour."

"He is as angry as a pissemyre."

"The lady of the hous ay stille sat."

"For though we slepe or wake, or rome, or ryde, Ay fleeth the tyme, it nil no man abyde."

"Thus with hir fader, for a certeyn space, Dwelleth this flour of wyfly pacience, That neither by hir wordes ne hir face Biforn the folk, ne eek in hir absence, Ne shewed she that hir was doon offence."