How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Line). We used the line numbering found on Librarius's online edition.
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.