How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Line). We used the line numbering found on Librarius's online edition.
Quote #1
But for ye speken of swich gentillesse
As is descended out of old richesse,
That therfore sholden ye be gentil men,
Swich arrogance nis nat worth an hen.
(1115 – 1118)
"Gentillesse" refers to the concept of a sort of nobility of spirit through which a person lives a virtuous life of steadfastness, chivalry, and the fulfilling of obligations.
Quote #2
Looke who that is moost vertuous alway,
Privee and apert, and moost entendeth ay
To do the gentil dedes that he kan,
Taak hym for the grettest gentil man.
(1120 – 1123)
The Wife of Bath is arguing that a person ought to be considered "gentil" because of their actions, and not because of some accident of birth. To those of us who have grown up in a society that pays lip service to the equality of all mankind, the concept that rich or poor could possess "gentilesse" does not seem so revolutionary. But for people who also believed in the divine right of kings to rule, it might be.
Quote #3
Crist wole we clayme of him oure gentillesse,
Nat of oure eldres for hire old richesse.
(1123 – 1124)
Here the lady begins her exploration of gentility's origin. By claiming it originates with Christ, she aligns herself with theologians like Augustine, a late classical thinker who claimed that all good things were an emanation of God.
Quote #4
For thogh they yeve us al hir heritage,
For which we clayme to been of heigh parage,
Yet may they nat biquethe, for no thyng
To noon of us hir vertuous lyvyng.
That mad hem gentil men ycalled be
And baad us folwe hem in swich degre.
(1125 – 1130)
By saying that our elders cannot "bequeath" virtuous living to us, the lady makes the point that gentilesse is not a material possession that people can simply 'pass down' in the family. That heritage can only force others to call us "gentle," and obey us. This last reference to obedience is a neat alignment of gentilesse with the sovereignty that's at issue in the rest of the tale.
Quote #5
Wel kan the wise poete of Florence,
That highte Dant, speken in this sentence.
'Ful selde upriseth by his branches smale
Prowesse of man, for God of his goodnesse,
Wole, that of hym we clayme oure gentillesse.'
For of oure eldres may we no thyng clayme
But temporel thyng that man may hurte and mayme.
(1132 – 1138)
The lady's essentially just repeating here what she's said directly before this, but using the clout of Dante to back up her point. She also takes care to point out that temporal things – material possessions that belong to us only on earth – can be destroyed. The implication is that "gentilesse," as a quality of the soul, is better than material possessions because it can't be hurt and maimed.
Quote #6
Eek every wight woot this as wel as I,
If gentillesse were planted natureelly
Unto a certeyn lynage doun the lyne,
Pryvee nor apert, thanne wolde they nevere fyne
To doon of gentillesse the faire office,
They myghte do no vileynye or vice.
(1139 – 1144)
The lady's point here is that, if gentilesse were something 'natural' to a certain family, this quality would inhere in all of their descendants, who would never do evil deeds whether in private or public. The concept of naturalness is an important one for the example that follows. Something is 'natural' to a thing if it is an inherent, inseparable quality of that thing.
Quote #7
Taak fyr, and ber it in the derkeste hous,
Bitwix this and the mount of Kakasous,
And lat men shette the dores and go thenne;
Yet wole the fyr as faire lye and brenne
As twenty thousand men myghte it biholde;
His office natureel ay wol it holde,
Up peril of my lyf, til that it dye.
(1145 – 1151)
It's important to the lady to emphasize fire's maintenance of its 'natural' qualities, even after the twenty thousand men have left because she's implying that some gentle folk only do gentle deeds when others are watching. Were gentilesse truly natural to them, they would do these deeds even in private, just as the fire maintains its flame when no one's watching.
Quote #8
Heere may ye se wel, how that genterye
Is nat annexed to possessioun,
Sith folk ne doon hir operacioun
Alwey as dooth the fyr lo in his kynde.
(1151 – 1154)
"Kynde" is an important word here because of all the talk we've gotten about families and inheritance. "Kyndely" refers to something that is done because of something's nature, and is thus related to the word "natural," but it can also mean "kindly" in the modern sense of the term. Finally, someone's "kynde" is his family. The fire always does his operation as in his "kynde," meaning, it's in its nature to do.
Quote #9
For God it woot, men may wel often fynde
A lordes sone do shame and vileynye.
(1156 – 1157)
The irony of the address of this passage to the knight is, of course, that he is probably a "lordes sone," but has done a deed of terrible shame and villainy by raping a woman. He himself is proof that gentility is not an inherent property of noble ancestry.
Quote #10
And he that wole han pris of his gentrye,
For he was boren of a gentil hous
And hadde hise eldres noble and vertuous,
And nel hym-selven do no gentil dedis,
Ne folwen his gentil auncestre that deed is,
He nys nat gentil, be he duc or erl;
For vileyns synful dedes make a cherl.
(1158 – 1164)
Just like gentle deeds make a gentleman, the lady is saying that villainous deeds make a villain. She's also implying, interestingly, that it's a "vileyns synful dede" to boast of one's gentility just because of one's ancestry, without doing gentle deeds to back it up.
Quote #11
For gentillesse nys but renomee
Of thyne auncestres for hire heigh bountee,
Which is a strange thyng to thy persone.
(1165 – 1167)
Here the lady is basically saying that the renown that one's ancestors win has nothing to do with you – it's a "strange thyng to thy persone." Not only that, we might add, but that renown may or may not have had anything to do with their gentilesse, and it certainly doesn't have anything to do with their descendants'.
Quote #12
Thy gentillesse cometh fro God allone.
Thanne comth oure verray gentillesse of grace,
It was no thyng biquethe us with oure place.
(1168 – 1170)
Here the lady is saying that gentillesse is a gift 'of grace.' This idea contrasts somewhat with her assertion that gentilesse accrues to someone because of gentle actions. In the latter explanation of gentilesse's origin, a person's own agency is important. When gentillesse is a gift of grace, a person has less control over whether or not he possesses it.
Quote #13
There shul ye seen expres that it no drede is,
That he is gentil that dooth gentil dedis.
And therfore, leeve housbonde, I thus conclude:
Al were it that myne auncestres weren rude,
Yet may the hye God, and so hope I,
Grante me grace to lyven vertuously.
Thanne am I gentil whan that I bigynne
To lyven vertuously, and weyve synne.
(1175 – 1182)
Here comes the pay-dirt for the lady; her entire speech has been designed to allow her to say at the end of it that, despite the knight's claims to the contrary, she is gentle and he is not. She also explains here how gentility can be both a gift of grace and a result of one's own actions. God gives a person the grace to act with gentility.