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The Great Gatsby
Hamlet

Canterbury Tales John and Alan Quotes

And hardily they dorste leye hir nekke
The millere sholde not stele hem half a pekke
Of corn by sleighte, ne by force hem reve.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Alan and John believe that the miller won’t succeed in stealing half a peck of grain from them by trickery or by force. So confident are the young university students in their superior intelligence that they pledge their necks on it! This is desite the fact that Symkyn has already stolen from many older and and possibly wiser people than them.

"By God, right by the hopur wil I stande,"
Quod John, "and se howgates the corn gas in.
Yet saugh I nevere, by my fader kyn,
How that the hopur wagges til and fra."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. When Symkyn is grinding their corn, John plans to watch it going into the hopper and Alan will stand guard below to inspect it coming out. In that way they aim to stop the miller stealing their corn or padding their flour with cheaper bran flour.

This millere smyled of hir nycetee,
And thoghte, "Al this nys doon but for a wyle.
They wene that no man may hem bigyle,
But by my thrift, yet shal I blere hir ye,
For al the sleighte in hir philosophye.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. John and Alan’s plan to stop the miller from stealing their flour doesn’t go unnoticed to the crafty Symkyn, who smiles at their foolishness. In spite of their scholarly learning, he fully believes that he will be able to fool them.

The moore queynte crekes that they make,
The moore wol I stele whan I take.
In stide of flour yet wol I yeve hem bren.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Symkyn the miller pledges that the more tricks and stratagems John and Alan make, the more he will steal from them and instead of wheat flour he will give them bran. It has become like a competition to Symkyn as to who will outwit whom.

The gretteste clerkes been noght wisest men.
Modern English:
The greatest scholars are not usually the wisest people.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Symkyn is not impressed by scholars – in this case John and Alan – and doesn’t rate them as very smart or wise. The pair of university students have pledged that they won’t be robbed by the miller, but he in turn is confident he will trick them in this battle of wits.

Of al hir art counte I noght a tare.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. The miller dismisses John and Alan’s book learning as not worth a weed.

And to the hors he goth hym faire and wel;
He strepeth of the brydel right anon.
And whan the hors was laus, he gynneth gon
Toward the fen, ther wilde mares renne.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. The devious Symkyn sets John and Alan’s horse loose, so that they will have to chase after it while he is grinding their corn. He hopes this will give him the opportunity to steal from them.

The wyf cam lepynge inward with a ren.
She seyde, "Allas! youre hors goth to the fen
With wilde mares, as faste as he may go.
Unthank come on his hand that boond hym so,
And he that bettre sholde han knyt the reyne!"

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. The miller’s wife shouts out to John and Alan that their horse has run off to the fen with some wild mares. She curses the hand of the person who tied the horse so carelessly – it was her husband who let the horse loose. The two gullible clerks take off towards the fen, allowing Symkyn to get on with the business of stealing their corn.

And whan the millere saugh that they were gon,
He half a busshel of hir flour hath take,
And bad his wyf go knede it in a cake.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. With John and Alan busy chasing after their horse, Symkyn steals half a bushel of their flour that he has grinded. And to add insult to injury he orders his wife to bake a cake with the stolen flour.

He seyde, "I trowe the clerkes were aferd.
Yet kan a millere make a clerkes berd,
For al his art; now lat hem goon hir weye!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. After stealing John and Alan’s corn, Symkyn congratulates himself on winning this particular battle of wits. He gloats over the fact that a miller can trick a clerk despite all his learning.

"Allas," quod John, "the day that I was born!
Now are we dryve til hethyng and til scorn.
Oure corn is stoln; men wil us fooles calle,
Bathe the wardeyn and oure felawes alle,
And namely the millere, weylaway!"

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. John wails to Alan that they are going to be branded fools and viewed with contempt and scorn because the miller has succeeded in stealing their corn. He seems to be more concerned with the humiliation of being outsmarted by a miller than with the theft of the corn.

The millere sittynge by the fyr he fond,
For it was nyght, and forther myghte they noght;
But for the love of God they hym bisoght
Of herberwe and of ese, as for hir peny.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. John and Alan’s humiliation doesn’t end with them being robbed of their grain. For night has now fallen and they are forced to seek lodgings and food from the miller, thus enriching Symkyn even further.

The millere seyde agayn, "If ther be eny,
Swich as it is, yet shal ye have youre part.
Myn hous is streit, but ye han lerned art;
Ye konne by argumentes make a place
A myle brood of twenty foot of space.
Lat se now if this place may suffise,
Or make it rowm with speche, as is youre gise."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. When John and Alan have to ask Symkyn to give them lodgings for the night, the students’ smug adversary can’t resist the opportunity to rub more salt in their wounds. He teases them by saying his house is small but they can use their logical arguments to increase twenty feet of space into an area a mile broad. He is mocking them for the sophistry of their scholarly training.

But specially I pray thee, hooste deere,
Get us som mete and drynke, and make us cheere,
And we wil payen trewely atte fulle.
With empty hand men may na haukes tulle;
Loo, heere oure silver, redy for to spende.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Showing him their silver, John tells Symkyn that he and Alan will pay him fully for good food and drink and lodgings. He quotes an old saying: with empty hand men may lure no hawks.

Aleyn the clerk, that herde this melodye,
He poked John, and seyde, "Slepestow?
Herdestow evere slyk a sang er now?
Lo, swilk a complyn is ymel hem alle;
A wilde fyr upon thair bodyes falle!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. With everyone bedded down in the same room, Alan is unable to sleep because of the loud snoring of Symkyn and his wife and daughter. He hopes a wild fire will descend on the bodies of the three. This foreshadows John and Alan’s revenge when have sex with the miller’s wife and daughter and beat him up.

Ye, they sal have the flour of il endyng.
This lange nyght ther tydes me na reste;
But yet, na fors, al sal be for the beste.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Alan says that Symkyn and his wife and daughter will have the flour (the best) of a bad ending for depriving him of sleep with their loud snoring. The word flour is used metaphorically and it is foreshadowing of the revenge that Alan and John will take on the thieving miller.

For, John," seyde he, "als evere moot I thryve,
If that I may, yon wenche wil I swyve.
Som esement has lawe yshapen us,
For, John, ther is a lawe that says thus,
That gif a man in a point be agreved,
That inanother he sal be releved.
Oure corn is stoln, sothly, it is na nay,
And we han had an il fit al this day;
And syn I sal have neen amendement
Agayn my los, I will have esement."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Alan tells John of his plan to have redress for the miller’s theft of their grain. He will set the scale of justice right again by having sex with the miller’s daughter. There is a law he says, that if a man in one point is injured, then in another he shall be relieved.

And up he rist, and by the wenche he crepte.
This wenche lay uprighte and faste slepte,
Til he so ny was, er she myghte espie,
That it had been to late for to crie,
And shortly for to seyn, they were aton.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Alan creeps into bed with the miller’s daughter Molly and has revenge sex with her to hit back at the miller. There is a debate on whether or not this was consentual or coerced. Molly was asleep when Alan got in beside her and it was too late for her to cry out, the story says.

"Allas!" quod he, "this is a wikked jape;
Now may I seyn that I is but an ape.
Yet has my felawe somwhat for his harm;
He has the milleris doghter in his arm.
He auntred hym, and has his nedes sped,
And I lye as a draf-sak in my bed;
And when this jape is tald another day,
I sal been halde a daf, a cokenay!
I wil arise and auntre it, by my fayth!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. John calls himself a fool and a weakling after seeing Alan pay back the miller for his thievery by having sex with his daughter. His friend took a risk and accomplished his purpose. Encouraged by this John says he will now arise and chance it too, as he hatches a plan to sleep with the miller’s wife.

And up he roos, and softely he wente
Unto the cradel, and in his hand it hente,
And baar it softe unto his beddes feet.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. John moves the cradle beside the miller’s wife’s bed to the foot of his own bed. This is to trick her when she gets up to relieve herself, so that she mistakingly returns into John’s bed instead of her own.

Withinne a while this John the clerk up leep,
And on this goode wyf he leith on soore.
So myrie a fit ne hadde she nat ful yoore;
He priketh harde and depe as he were mad.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. John has vigorous revenge sex with the miller’s wife to dish out his form of justice for the miller’s theft of the corn. While it says she has a merry experience, she is tricked into another man’s bed thinking she was laying down beside her husband. The image of John stabbing her hard and deep as if he was mad adds to the repulsive nature of the act, which is without doubt rape.

He seyde, "Thou John, thou swynes-heed, awak,
For Cristes saule, and heer a noble game.
For by that lord that called is Seint Jame,
As I have thries in this shorte nyght
Swyved the milleres doghter bolt upright,
Whil thow hast, as a coward, been agast."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Alan goes to wake John to boast to him about having had sex with the miller’s daughter three times during the night while his friend was a terrified coward. But he has mistakingly gotten into the wrong bed, beside the furious miller, who hears all this.

And by the throte-bolle he caughte Alayn,
And he hente hym despitously agayn,
And on the nose he smoot hym with his fest.
Doun ran the blody streem upon his brest.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. After hearing Alan boast about having sex with his daughter, the millar grabs Alan by the throat and hits him with his fist on the nose, bloodying him.

They walwe as doon two pigges in a poke;
And up they goon, and doun agayn anon,
Til that the millere sporned at a stoon,
And doun he fil bakward upon his wyf.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. During their fight Symkyn and Alan are said to wallow like two pigs in a poke. Up and down they go until the miller stumbles on a stone and falls backward upon his wife.

But as she saugh a whit thyng in hir ye.
And whan she gan this white thyng espye,
She wende the clerk hadde wered a volupeer,
And with the staf she drow ay neer and neer,
And wende han hit this Aleyn at the fulle,
And smoot the millere on the pyled skulle,
That doun he gooth, and cride, "Harrow! I dye!"

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. When Symkyn’s wife sees his bald skull fall down on her, she mistakingly thinks he is one of the clerks wearing a night cap. So he grabs a club and hits her husband on the head and down he goes crying "Help! I die!"

Thise clerkes beete hym weel and lete hym lye,
And greythen hem, and tooke hir hors anon,
And eek hire mele, and on hir wey they gon.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. After the miller is clubbed to the ground by his wife, he receives a bad beating from the two clerks. They lay into him and leave him lying there, fetch their horse and meal and away they go.

Thus is the proude millere wel ybete,
And hath ylost the gryndynge of the whete,
And payed for the soper everideel
Of Aleyn and of John, that bette hym weel.
His wyf is swyved, and his doghter als.
Low, swich it is a millere to be fals!
And therefore this proverbe is seyd ful sooth,
"Hym thar nat wene wel that yvil dooth."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. The reckoning comes for the thieving miller who steals from his customers. His punishment includes a beating by John and Alan, his wife screwed and his daughter screwed. This is how it is when a miller is false, says the Reeve, still smarting at how The Miller’s Tale slandered carpenters.

And therfore this proverbe is seyd ful sooth,
"Hym thar nat wene wel that yvele dooth;"
A gylour shal hymself bigyled be.
Modern English:
And therefore this proverb is said very truly,
"One who does evil should not expect good."
A trickster shall himself be tricked.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. The trickster being tricked is a story device that is used in many of the 24 Canterbury Tales. The miller set out to trick and thieve from John and Alan. He then became the target of deception and tricks by the student pair when they had sex with the miller’s wife and daughter.