How we cite our quotes: (Line Number)
Quote #10
For thogh the peple have no greet insight
In vertu, he considered ful right
Hir bountee, and disposed that he wolde
wedde hire only, if ever he wedde sholde. (242-245)
Here "peple" probably refers to the common man, the implication being that Walter, as a nobleman, is better at sussing out virtue than the common man would be. Although at some times the "Clerk's Tale" appears to want to democratize virtue, it also has a somewhat contradictory tendency to criticize the shallowness of the "peple," or common folk.
Quote #11
For thogh that evere vertuous was she,
She was encressed in swich excellence
Of thewes gode, y-set in heigh bountee,
And so discreet and fair of eloquence,
So benigne and so digne of reverence,
And coude so the peples herte embrace,
That ech hire lovede that loked on hir face. (407-413)
There's a subtle criticism here of the "peple," whose hearts Grisilde is able to win after she becomes Walter's wife. After all, she's always been virtuous, but it's only now, when she's all decked-out and surrounded by bling, that they love her the way they should.
Quote #12
And for he saugh that under low degree
Was ofte vertue hid, the peple him helde
A prudent man, and that is seyn ful selde. (425-427)
As he did a few hundred lines earlier, Walter again gets to seem virtuous just because he's one of the few able to notice Grisilde's virtue. The idea is that only a virtuous or prudent person would be able to recognize this kind of virtue in someone else. Apparently, prudence is something rarely seen in these parts.