Canterbury Tales Justice and Judgment Quotes

The sergeantz of the toun of Rome hem soghte,
And hem biforn Almache, the prefect, broghte,
Which hem apposed, and knew al hire entente,
And to the ymage of Juppiter hem sente,
And seyde, "Whoso wol nat sacrifise,
Swape of his heed; this my sentence heer."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. The sergeants of the town of Rome seek Valerian and his brother Tiburtius and bring them before the prefect Almachius. He has them sent to the image of Jupiter and commands those who will not sacrifice there to be beheaded.

Ye han for sothe ydoon a greet bataille,
Youre cours is doon, youre feith han ye conserved.
Gooth to the corone of lif that may nat faille;
The rightful Juge, which that ye han served,
Shal yeve it yow, as ye han it deserved.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Before their execution Cecilia has words of comfort for her husband Valerian and his brother Tiburtius. She says that they have fought the good fight and have kept their Christian faith. They go to God, the rightful judge whom they have served, and he will grant them eternal life, she assures them.

They nolde encense ne sacrifise right noght,
But on hir knees they setten hem adoun
With humble herte and sad devocioun,
And losten bothe hir hevedes in the place.
Hir soules wenten to the Kyng of grace.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. When Valerian and Tiburtius are brought before the idol of Jupitor they refuse the prefect Almachius’s order to worship it with incense or sacrifice. The brothers simply kneel down with humble heart and Christian devotion and are martyred by beheading. Their souls join with God in heaven.

This Maximus, that saugh this thyng bityde,
With pitous teeris tolde it anonright,
That he hir soules saugh to hevene glyde
With aungels ful of cleernesse and of light,
And with his word converted many a wight;
For which Almachius dide hym so bete
With whippe of leed til he his lif gan lete.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Maximus told how he saw the souls of the martyred Valerian and Tiburtius ascent to heaven. Many people were converted to Christianity by his words. But the prefect Almachius had him beaten to death with whips tipped with lead, so Maximus became a martyr also.

"Yowre princes erren, as youre nobleye dooth,"
Quod tho Cecile, "and with a wood sentence
Ye make us gilty, and it is nat sooth.
For ye, that knowen wel oure innocence,
For as muche as we doon a reverence
To Crist, and for we bere a Cristen name,
Ye putte on us a cryme and eek a blame.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Not mincing her words, Cecilia launches into a trenchant attack on the justice of Almachius and his princes in making it a crime for people to be Christians. She brands it crazy and tells him that he is in error to make Christians guilty, when he knows they are innocent.

Almache answerde, "Chees oon of thise two:
Do sacrifice, or Cristendom reneye,
That thou mowe now escapen by that weye."
At which the hooly blisful faire mayde
Gan for to laughe, and to the juge sayde:
"O juge, confus in thy nycetee,
Woltow that I reneye innocence,
To make me a wikked wight?" quod shee.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. When Almachius delivers an ultimatum to Cecilia to do sacrifice to the Roman gods or renounce Christianity to escape judgment and execution, the holy Cecilia laughs. O judge confused in your folly, she responds, do you want me to renounce innocence and make myself a wicked person?

Thre strokes in the nekke he smoot hire tho,
The tormentour, but for no maner chaunce
He myghte noght smyte al hir nekke atwo;
And for ther was that tyme an ordinaunce
That no man sholde doon man swich penaunce
The ferthe strook to smyten, softe or soore,
This tormentour ne dorste do namoore,
But half deed, with hir nekke ycorven there,
He lefte hir lye, and on his wey he went.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. When Cecilia survives scalding hot water in a cauldron, Almachius sends his executioner to slay her in the bath. But three strokes in the neck fail to decapitate her and an ordinance does not allow the executioner administer a fourth. So he leaves her lie there half dead with her neck cut and goes on his way.

For in a bath they gonne hire faste shetten,
And nyght and day greet fyr they under betten.
The longe nyght, and eek a day also,
For al the fyr and eek the bathes heete
She sat al coold and feelede no wo.
It made hire nat a drope for to sweete.
But in that bath hir lyf she moste lete,
For he Almachius, with ful wikke entente,
To sleen hire in the bath his sonde sente.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Enraged by Cecilia’s boldness and resolute Christian faith, Almachius sentences her to be boiled to death in a bath at her house. Day and night a great fire is lit under the cauldron, but she remains unharmed and stays cold, not even sweating one drop. But in that cauldron she is destined to die, for Almachius "with wicked intent" sends his executioner to slay the saintly Cecilia in the bath.
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