But Chaucer, thogh he kan but lewedly
On metres and on rymyng craftily,
Hath seyd hem, in swich Englissh as he kan,
Of olde tyme, as knoweth many a man;
And if he have noght seyd hem, leve brother,
In o book, he hath seyd hem in another;
For he hath toold of loveris up and doun
Mo than Ovide made of mencioun
In his Epistelles , that been ful olde.
What sholde I tellen hem, syn they ben tolde?