The Physician's Tale
Folio 134v
4 of 7 folios
So was he caugħt with beautee of this mayde
And to hym self / ful pryuely he sayde
This mayde shal by myn / for any man
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Anon the feend / in to his herte ran
And taugħte hym sodeynly / þt he by slygħte
The mayden / to his purpos wynne mygħte
For certes by no force / ne by no meede
Hym thougħte / he was nat able for to speede
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For she was strong of freendes / and eek she
Confermed was / in swich souerayn boūtee
That wel he wiste / he mygħte hir neuere wynne
As for to maken hir / with hir body synne
For which / by greet deliberacioū
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He sente after a cherl / was in the toun
Which þt he knew / for subtil and for boold
This Iuge / vn to this cherl / his tale hath toold
In secree wise / and made hym to ensure
He sholde telle it to no creature
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And if he dide / he sholde lese his heed
Whan þt assented was / this cursed reed
Glad was this Iuge / & maked hī greet cheere
And yaf hym yiftes / perciouse and deere
¶ Whan shapen was / al hir conspiracie
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Fro point to point how þt his lecherie
Parfourned sholde been ful subtilly
As ye shul heere it after openly
Hoom gooth the cherl / þt higħte Claudius
This false Iuge / that higħte Apius
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So was his name / for this is no fable
But knowen / for historial thyng notable
The sentence of it sooth is out of doute
This false Iuge / gooth now faste aboute
To hasten his delit al that he may
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And so bifel / soone after on a day
This false Iuge / as telleth vs the storie
As he was wont sat in his Consistorie
And yaf his doomes / vp on sondry cas
This false cherl / cam forth / a ful greet pas
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And seyde lord / if þt it be youre wille
As dooth me rigħt / vp on this pitous bille
In which I pleyne / vp on Virginius
And if þt he wol seyn / it is nat thus
I wol it preeue / and fynde good witnesse
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That sooth is / that my bille wol expersse
¶ The Iuge answerde / of this in his absence
I may nat yeue / diffynyue sentence
Lat do hym calle / and I wol gladly heere audire
Thou shalt haue al rigħt and no wrong heere hic