This lively irony had an exponent before in Jean de Meung. But Chaucer pushes it further, and gives it life and motion. His monk begs from house to house, holding out his wallet:
"In every hous he gan to pore and prie,
And begged mele and chese, or elles corn....
'Yeve us a bushel whete, or malt, or reye,
A Goddes kichel, or a trippe of chese,
Or elles what you list, we may not chese;
A Goddes halfpeny, or a masse peny;
Or yeve us of your braun, if ye have any,
A dagon of your blanket, leve dame,
Our suster dere (lo here I write your name).'...
And whan that he was out at dore, anon,
He planed away the names everich on."[226]
He has kept for the end of his circuit, Thomas, one of his most liberal clients. He finds him in bed, and ill; here is excellent fruit to suck and squeeze:
"'God wot,' quod he, 'laboured have I ful sore.
And specially for thy salvation,
Have I sayd many a precious orison....
I have this day ben at your chirche at messe...
And ther I saw our dame, a, wher is she?'"[227]
The dame enters:
"This frere ariseth up ful curtisly,
And hire embraceth in his armes narwe,
And kisseth hire swete and chirketh as a sparwe."[228]...
Then, in his sweetest and most caressing voice, he compliments her, and says:
"'Thanked be God that you yaf soule and lif,
Yet saw I not this day so faire a wif
In all the chirche, God so save me.'"[229]
Have we not here already Tartuffe and Elmire? But the monk is with a farmer, and can go to work more quickly and directly. When the compliments ended, he thinks of the substance, and asks the lady to let him talk alone with Thomas. He must inquire after the state of his soul:
"'I wol with Thomas speke a litel throw:
Thise curates ben so negligent and slow
To gropen tendrely a conscience....
Now, dame,' quod he, 'jeo vous die sanz doute,
Have I nat of a capon but the liver,
And of your white bred nat but a shiver,
And after that a rosted pigges hed
(But I ne wolde for me no beest were ded),
Than had I with you homly suffisance.
I am a man of litel sustenance,
My spirit hath his fostring in the Bible.
My body is ay so redy and penible
To waken, that my stomak is destroied.'"[230]