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The Great Gatsby
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Reeve’s Tale Lies and Deceit Quotes

A theef he was for sothe of corn and mele,
And that a sly, and usaunt for to stele.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. The Reeve doesn’t waste time telling us the kind of sneaky character Symkyn the miller in his story is. Sly, dishonest and a thief, he steals corn and meal from his customers at the community mill, where he works grinding the grain into flour. For example, he increases his profits by padding the customers’ sacks of wheat flour with the cheaper bran flour.

A ful fair sighte was it upon hem two;
On halydayes biforn hire wolde he go
With his typet wounde aboute his heed,
And she cam after in a gyte of reed;
And Symkyn hadde hosen of the same.
Ther dorste no wight clepen hire but "dame."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Together the preening Symkyn and his wife make for quite a sight when they parade themselves around town in their flashy clothes. She in her red gown and he fully color-coordinated with her in his red hose and hood. Oh, and she insists on being called "dame" – meaning lady. Well, if you can inflate your profits in business by cheating your customers, you might as well look successful to the neighbors too.

For hooly chirches good moot been despended
On hooly chirches blood, that is descended.
Therfore he wolde his hooly blood honoure,
Though that he hooly chirche sholde devoure.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. If Symkyn is increasing his wealth by cheating customers at the mill, his wife is an even greater source of wealth through her blood line to the church. She is the daughter of a parson, who had a substantial dowry when she married, and the parson intends to pass on the church’s property to his blood heirs. The parson and his heirs are thus dishonestly feeding off the church, with property that should be held in common by the church.

Sik lay the maunciple of a maladye;
Men wenden wisly that he shoulde dye.
For which this millere stal bothe mele and corn
An hundred tyme moore than biforn;
For therbiforn he stal but curteisly,
But now he was a theef outrageously.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Oswold the Reeve gives an insight into really unscrupulous Symkyn the miller is when he reveals how he steals from the dying. A manciple lies ill in bed and is expected to die and Symkyn steals large amounts of meal and grain from him – a hundred times more than he stole from anyone before. From this point on the miller, who previously was cautious in his thieving, steals outrageously.

But now he was a theef outrageously,
For which the wardeyn chidde and made fare.
But therof sette the millere nat a tare;
He craketh boost, and swoor it was nat so.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. When the warden of the college complains and makes a fuss about the theft of meal and grain by Symkyn, the miller simply blusters and lies, swearing it didn’t happen.

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.

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.

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.