The Physician's Tale
Folio 141v
7 of 7 folios
245
And witħ that word / she fel a swougħne a non
And after / whan hire swougħnyng is a gon
She risetħ vp / and to hire fader seide
Blissed be god / that I shal dye a mayde
Ȝif me my detħ / er that I haue a shame
250
Dotħ witħ ȝoure child / ȝoure wil / a goddes name
And witħ that word / she preietħ hī ful ofte
That witħ his swerd / he shulde smyte softe
And witħ that word / a swougħne doun she fil
Hire fader / witħ ful sorweful herte / and wil
255
Hir hed of smot / and by the top it hente
And to the Iuge / he gan it to persente
As he sat ȝet / in doom Consistorie
And whan the Iuge it saw / as seitħ the storie
He bad to take hī / and an hange hī faste
260
But rigħt a noon / a thousand peeple in thraste
To saue the knygħt / for routhe and for pitee
For knowen was / this fals Iniquitee
¶ The peeple a noon / hadden suspect in this thyng
By manere of the cherles / chalangyng
265
That it was by the assent / of Apius
They wisten wel / that he was lecherous
For whicħ / vn to this Apius they gon
And cast hī in a prisoū / rigħt a noon
Where as he slow hī self / and Claudyus
270
That seruaūt was / vn to this Apius
Was demed for to hange / vp on a tree
But that Virginius / of his pitee
So preyed for hī / that he was exiled
And elles certes / had he ben bigyled
275
The remenaūt were an hanged / moore and lesse
That were consentant / of this cursednesse
¶ Heere moun men sen / how synne hatħ his merite
Betħ war / for noman woot / whom god wol smyte
In no degree / ne in whicħ manere wyse
280
The worm of conscience / may a gryse
Of wykked lyf / thougħ it so pryue be
That no man wot ther of / but god and he
For be he lewed man / or elles lered
He noot how sone / that he shal ben a fered
285
Therfore I rede ȝow / this counseil take
Forsaket
ħ synne
/ er synne
ȝow forsake
There are two crosses in dry point at the end of the folio. One perhaps refering to the rubric.ODR
¶ Here endetħ the Phisiciens tale /