If thou be fair, ther folk been in presence,
Shewe thou thy visage and thyn apparaille;
If thou be foul, be fre of thy dispence;
To gete thee freendes ay do thy travaille;
Be ay of chiere as light as leef on lynde,
And lat hym care, and wepe, and wrynge, and waille!
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Chaucer’s Envoy gives his final piece of advice after the Clerk’s Tale. He tells the beautiful wives to show their faces and clothes in the presence of other folk. And the ugly wives he advocates to spend lavishly, work hard to gain friends and be light as a leaf on a tree. And let the husband worry, weep, wring his hands and wail, he adds!