Canterbury Tales Religion Quotes

"O Lord, o feith, o God, withouten mo,
O Cristendom, and Fader of alle also,
Aboven alle and over alle everywhere."
Thise wordes al with gold ywriten were.
Whan this was rad, thanne seyde this olde man,
"Leevestow this thyng or no? Sey ye or nay."
"I leeve al this thyng," quod Valerian,
"For sother thyng than this, I dar wel say,
Under the hevene no wight thynke may."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. The old man reads from the gold-lettered book that there is one Lord, one God, one faith, one Christian Church and one Father of all. He asks Valerian if he believes this, and Valerian replies that he does, immediately recognizing the Christian truths contained in the book. Pope Urban christens right after this.

"With body clene and with unwemmed thoght
Kepeth ay wel thise corones," quod he;
"Fro paradys to yow have I hem broght,
Ne nevere mo ne shal they roten bee,
Ne lese hir soote savour, trusteth me;
Ne nevere wight shal seen hem with his ye,
But he be chaast and hate vileynye.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Valerian returns home to find Cecilia with her guardian angel. The angel has brought two crowns of lilies and roses from Paradise that will never wilt or lose their fragrance. He gives one each to Cecilia and Valerian, telling them to guard them well. Only those who are chaste and who hate evil will see the crowns, the angel says.

The palm of martirdom for to receyve,
Seinte Cecile, fulfild of Goddes yifte,
The world and eek hire chambre gan she weyve;
Witnesse Tyburces and Valerians shrifte,
To whiche God of his bountee wolde shifte
Corones two of floures wel smellynge,
And made his angel hem the corones brynge.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. The Second Nun is quoting Doctor of the Church, Saint Ambrose, about Saint Cecilia. In order for her to receive the palm of martyrdom, she filled herself completely with God’s gift and gave up worldly things and her bed-chamber. She witnessed the confession of Tiburtius and Valerian and God sending his angel to bring them two crowns of flowers, symbols of their purity through God.

"Whoso that troweth nat this, a beest he is,"
Quod tho Tiburce, "if that I shal nat lye."
And she gan kisse his brest, that herde this,
And was ful glad he koude trouthe espye.
"This day I take you for my own ally."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Tiburtius has been well and truly won over to Christianity, saying that those who don’t believe the Christian faith are nothing but beasts. When she hears this Cecilia kisses his breast and is glad that he could perceive truth. She now sees him as an ally in Christ.

"Ne menestow nat Urban," quod he tho,
"That is so ofte dampned to be deed,
And woneth in halkes alwey to and fro,
And dar nat ones putte forth his heed?
Men sholde hym brennen in a fyr so reed
If he were founde, or that men myghte hym spye,
And we also, to bere hym compaignye;

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. When Valerian tries to persuade Tiburtius to be baptized by Pope Urban, Tiburtius doesn’t like the idea. He tells his brother Valerian that Urban has so often been condemned to be dead that if people ever found him they would burn him. They too would be burned if they were in his company.

Men myghten dreden wel and skilfully
This lyf to lese, myn owene deere brother,
If this were lyvynge oonly and noon oother.
But ther is bettre lif in oother place,
That nevere shal be lost, ne drede thee noght,
Which Goddes Sone us tolde thurgh his grace.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Cecilia tells Tiburtius not to fear death. People might reasonably fear to lose this life, if it were the only life and there were none other. But she tells him that there is a better life in another place, which the Son of God told us about, and it is eternal.

That Fadres Sone hath alle thyng ywroght,
And al that wroght is with a skilful thoght;
The Goost, that fro the Fader gan procede,
Hath sowled hem, withouten any drede.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Cecilia explains one of the key tenets of Christianity to Tiburtius, the Holy Trinity. This is the belief that God exists three persons, the Father, Son Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit, and they are one God. Through the Holy Spirit mankind was given souls, so that they might have eternal life beyond the body.

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.

Whan Maximus had herd the seintes loore,
He gat hym of the tormentoures leve,
And ladde hem to his hous withoute moore,
And with hir prechyng, er that it were eve,
They gonnen fro the tormentours to reve,
And fro Maxime, and fro his folk echone,
The false feith, to trowe in God allone.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. When Maximus, one of prefect Almachius’s officers, hears the Christian teachings of Valerian and his brother Tiburtius, he gets permission from the executioners to lead them to his house. There the preaching of the brothers results in the executioners, Maximus and his people renouncing their false faith and converting to Christianity.

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.

"Youre myght," quod she, "ful litel is to dreede,
For every mortal mannes power nys
But lyk a bladdre ful of wynd, ywys.
For with a nedles poynt, whan it is blowe,
May al the boost of it be leyd ful lowe."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. When Cecilia is brought before the prefect Almachius she is unafraid and defiantly refuses to acknowledge men’s earthly authority. When he asks her does she not take heed of his power, she replies that his might is very little to fear. Every mortal man’s power is nothing but only like a bladder full of wind, she says using a simile. For with a needle’s point, when it is blown up, all the arrogance of it comes down.

"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?
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