The Man of Law's Tale
Folio 51r
3 of 27 folios
In hir / is heigh beautee / with oute pride
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Yowthe / with oute grenehede / or folye
To alle hir werkes / vertu is hir gyde
Humblesse / hath slayn in hir al tirannye
She is Mirour / of alle curteisye
Hir herte / is verray chambre of hoolynesse
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Hir hand / Ministre of fredam / for Almesse
And al this voys was sooth / as god is trewe
But now to purpos / lat vs turne agayn
Thise Marchantz / han doon fraught / hir shippes newe
And whan they han / this blisful mayden sayn
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Hoom to Surrye / been they went ful fayn
And doon hir nedes / as they han doon yoore
And lyuen in wele / I kan sey yow namoore
¶ Now fil it that thise Marchantz / stode in grace
Of hym / that was the Sowdan of Surrye
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For whan they cam / from any strange place
He wolde / of his benigne curteisye
Make hem good chiere / and bisily espye
Tidynges of sondry regnes for to leere
The wondres / that they mygħte seen or heere
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Amonges othere thynges specially
Thise Marchantz / han hym toold / of dame Custance
So greet noblesse / in ernest ceriously .i. ceriose
That this Sowdan / hath caught so greet plesance
To han hir figure / in his remembrance
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That al his lust and al his bisy cure
Was for to loue hir / whil his lyf may dure
Parauenture / in thilke large book /
Which þt men clipe the heuene ywriten was
With sterres / whan that he his birthe took /
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That he for loue / sholde han his deeth allas
For in the sterres / clerer than is glas
Is writen god woot who so koude it rede
The deeth of euery man / withouten drede
In sterres / many a wynter / ther biforn
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Was writen the deeth / of Ector/ Achilles
Of Pompei Iulius / er they were born
The strif of Thebes / and of Ercules
Of Sampson / Turnus / and of Socrates
The deeth / but mennes wittes ben so dulle
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That no wigħt kan wel rede it atte fulle