The Wife of Bath's Tale
Folio 69v
9 of 11 folios
And with attendaunce / and with bisynesse
Been we ylymed / bothe moore and lesse
¶ And sōme seyn / þt we louen best
For to be free / and do right as vs lest
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And that no man / repreue vs of oure vice
But seye þt we be wise / and no thyng nyce
For trewely / ther is noon of vs alle
If any wight wolde clawe vs on the galle
That we nyl kike / for he seith vs sooth
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Assay / and he shal fynde it that so dooth
For be we / neuer so vicious / with Inne
We wol be holden wise / and clene of synne
¶ And sōme seyn / that greet delit han we
For to be holden / stable and eek secree
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And in o purpos / stedefastly to dwelle
And nat biwreye thyng that men vs telle
But that tale / is nat worth a Rake stele
Pardee / we wommen / konne no thyng hele
Witnesse on Mida / wol ye heere the tale
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¶ Ouyde / amonges othere thynges smale
Seyde / Mida / hadde vnder his longe herys
Growynge vp on his heed / two Asses erys
The which vice he hidde / as he best myghte
Ful sotilly / from euery mannes sighte
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That saue his wyf / ther wiste of it na mo
He loued hir moost and trusted hir also
He preyed hir / that to no creature
She sholde tellen / of his diffigure
¶ She swoor hym nay / for al this world to wynne
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She nolde do / that vileynye / or syn
To make hir housbonde / han so foul a name
She nolde nat telle it for hir owene shame
But nathelees / hir thoughte þt she dyde
That she so longe / sholde a conseil hyde
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Hir thoughte / it swal so soore aboute hir herte
That nedely / som word / hir moste asterte
And sith / she dorste nat telle it to no man
Doun to a Marys / faste by she ran
Til she cam there / hir herte was a fyre
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And as a Bitore / bombleth in the Myre