At the same time the poet lends an attentive ear, as genius can always
afford to do, to a criticism of his shortcomings, and readily accepts the
sentence pronounced by Alcestis that he shall write a legend of GOOD
women, both maidens and also wives, that were

true in loving all their lives.

And thus, with the courage of a good or at all events easy conscience, he
sets about his task which unfortunately--it is conjectured by reason of
domestic calamities, probably including the death of his wife--remained,
or at least has come down to us unfinished. We have only nine of the
nineteen stories which he appears to have intended to present (though
indeed a manuscript of Henry IV's reign quotes Chaucer's book of "25 good
women"). It is by no means necessary to suppose that all these nine
stories were written continuously; maybe, too, Chaucer, with all his
virtuous intentions, grew tired of his rather monotonous scheme, at a time
when he was beginning to busy himself with stories meant to be fitted into
the more liberal framework of the "Canterbury Tales." All these
illustrations of female constancy are of classical origin, as Chaucer is
glad to make known and most of them are taken from Ovid. But though the
thread of the English poet's narratives is supplied by such established
favourites as the stories of Cleopatra the Martyr Queen of Egypt, of
Thisbe of Babylon the Martyr, and of Dido to whom "Aeneas was forsworn,"
yet he by no means slavishly adheres to his authorities, but alters or
omits in accordance with the design of his book. Thus, for instance, we
read of Medea's desertion by Jason, but hear nothing of her as the
murderess of her children; while, on the other hand, the tragedy of Dido
is enhanced by pathetic additions not to be found in Virgil. Modern taste
may dislike the way in which this poem mixes up the terms and ideas of
Christian martyrology with classical myths, and as "the Legend of the