Quote #10

What is a lond wher men ben none? What ben the men whiche are alone Withoute a kinges governance? What is a king in his ligance, Wher that ther is no lawe in londe? What is to take lawe on honde, Bot if the jugges weren trewe?

More from John Gower

  1. Nevere yit Was non, which half so loste his wit Of drinke, as thei of such thing do Which cleped is the jolif wo.
  2. The beaute faye upon her face Non erthly thing it may desface.
  3. O fol of alle foles, Thou farst as he betwen tuo stoles That wolde sitte and goth to grounde.
  4. In the content of his work it is interesting to notice that he is profoundly English. His romanticism, and his choice of the theme of Time …
  5. He hath the sor which no man heleth, The which is cleped lack of herte.
  6. It hath and schal ben everemor That love is maister wher he wile.
  7. But in proverbe I have herde say, That who that wel his werk beginneth, The rather a good end he winneth.
  8. Bot for men sein, and soth it is, That who that al of wisdom writ It dulleth ofte a mannes wit To him that schal it aldai rede, For thilke …

All John Gower quotes