The Monk's Tale
Folio 179r
11 of 18 folios
Thurgħ whicħ he slow hī self / for wrecchednesse
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¶ Sampson / this noble / almygħty champioū
Witħ outen wepene / saue hise handes tweye
He slow / and al to rent the leoū
Toward his weddyng / walkyng by the weye
His fals wyf / coude hī so plese & preye
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Til she his counseille knew / and she vntrewe
Vn to hise foos / his counseille gan bywreye
And hī forsoke / and toke a nother newe
¶ Thre hondred foxes / toke Sampson for Ire
And alle here tayles / he to gidre bond
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And sette the foxes tailles / alle on fire
For he on euery taille / had knyt a brond
And they brente alle the cornes / in þt lond
And alle here Olyuerys / & vynes eke
A thousand men / he slow eke wt his hond
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And had no wepene / but an asses cheke
¶ Whan they were slayn / so thursted hī / þt he
Was wel ney lorn / for whicħ he gan to preye
That god wolde on his peyne / han som pitee
And sende hī drynk / or elles most he deye
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And of this Asses cheke / that was dreye
Out of a wang totħ / sprang a noon a welle
Of whicħ he drank I now / shortly to seye
Thus halp hī god / as Iudicū can telle
¶ By verrey force / at Gazan on a nygħt
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Maugree the Philistiens / of that Citee
The gates of the Touñ / he hatħ vp pligħt
And oon his bak / I caried hem hatħ he
Heigħ on an hil / where as men mygħt hē se
O noble almygħty / Sampsoū lief and dere
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Had þu nat tolde / to wōmen thy secree
In al this world / ne hadde ben thy pere
¶ This Sampsoū / neuere / sither drank ne wyn
Ne on his hed cam rasour noon / ne shere
By percept / of the Messager dyuyn
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For alle hise strengthes / in hise heres were
And fully twenty wynter / ȝere by ȝere
He hadde of Israel / the gouernaunce
But sone shal he wepe / many a tere
For wōmen shuln hī brynge / to myschaunce
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¶ Vn to his lemman Dalida / he tolde
That in hise heeris / al his strengthe lay