Agein the lawe, agein all equitee,
Holdeth, expresse agein the will of me,
My servant, which that is my thral by right,
Which from min hous was stolen on a night
While that she was ful yong, I wol it preve
By witnesse, lord, so that it you not greve;
She n'is his doughter nought, what so he say.
Wherfore to you, my lord the juge, I pray ;
Yelde me my thral, if that it be your will."
Lo, this was all the sentence of his bill.

Virginius gan upon the cherl behold;
But hastily, er he his tale told,

And wold han preved it, as shulde a knight,
And eke by witnessing of many a wight,
That all was false, that said his adversary,
This cursed juge wolde nothing tary,
Ne here a word more of Virginius,
But yave his jugement, and saide thus.

"I deme anon this cherl his servant have:
Thou shalt no lenger in thin hous hire save.
Go bring hire forth, and put hire in our ward.
The cherl shal have his thral; thus I award."
And whan this worthy knight Virginius,
Thurgh sentence of this justice Appius,
Muste by force his dere doughter yeven
Unto the juge, in lecherie to liven,

He goth him home, and set him in his hall,
And let anon his dere doughter call:
And with a face ded as ashen cold,
Upon hire humble face he gan behold,
With fadres pitee stiking thurgh his herte,
Al wold he from his purpos not converte.

Doughter," quod he, “Virginia by thy name, Ther ben two waies, other deth or shame, That thou must suffre, alas that I was bore! For never thou deservedest wherfore To dien with a swerd or with a knif.

O dere doughter, ender of my lif,

Which I have fostred up with swiche plesance,
That thou were never out of my remembrance;
O doughter, which that art my laste wo,
And in my lif my laste joye also,

O gemme of chastitee, in patience

Take thou thy deth, for this is my sentence;
For love and not for hate thou must be ded,
My pitous hond must smiten of thin hed.
Alas that ever Appius thee say!
Thus hath he falsely juged thee to-day."
And told hire all the cas, as ye before
Han herd, it nedeth not to tell it more.

"O mercy, dere father," quod this maid.
And with that word she both hire armes laide
About his necke, as she was wont to do,
(The teres brast out of hire eyen two,)
And said, "O goode father, shal I die?
Is ther no grace? is ther no remedie?"

"Ne certes, dere doughter min," quod he, "Than yeve me leiser, father min," quod she, "My deth for to complaine a litel space :" For parde Jepte yave his doughter grace For to complaine, or he hire slow, alas! And God it wot, nothing was hire trespas, But for she ran hire father first to see, To welcome him with gret solempnitee."

And with that word she fell aswoune anon,
And after, whan hire swouning was agon,
She riseth up, and to hire father said:
"Blessed be God, that I shall die a maid.
Yeve me my deth, or that I have a shame.
Doth with your child your wille a goddes name."
And with that word she praied him ful oft,
That with his swerd he wolde smite hire soft;
And with that word, aswoune again she fell.
Hire father, with ful sorweful herte and will,
Hire hed of smote, and by the top it hent,
And to the juge he gan it to present,
As he sat yet in dome in consistorie.

And whan the juge it saw, as saith the storie,
He bad to take him, and anhang him fast.
But right anon a thousand peple in thrast
To save the knight, for routh and for pitee,
For knowen was the false iniquitee.

The peple anon had suspect in this thing
By maner of the cherles chalenging,
That it was by the assent of Appius;
They wisten wel that he was lecherous.
For which unto this Appius they gon,
And caste him in a prison right anon,
Wheras he slow himself: and Claudius,
That servant was unto this Appius,
Was demed for to hange upon a tree;
But that Virginius of his pitee

So prayed for him, that he was exiled,
And elles certes had he ben begiled:

The remenant were anhanged, more and lesse,
That were consentant of this cursednesse.

Here men may see how sin hath his merite : Beth ware, for no man wot whom God wol smite In no degree, ne in which maner wise

The worme of conscience may agrise

Of wicked lif, though it so privee be,
That no man wote therof, sauf God and he:
For be he lewed man or elles lered,

He n'ot how sone that he shal ben afered.
Therfore I rede you this conseil take,
Forsaketh sinne, or sinne you forsake.

TRE

PARDONERES PROLOGUE

OUR Hoste gan to swere as he were wood;
"Harow!" (quod he) "by nailes and by blood,
This was a false cherl, and a false justice.
As shameful deth as herte can devise,
Come to thise juges and hir advocas.
Algate this sely maide is slain, alas!
Alas! to dere abought she hire beautee.
Wherfore I say, that al day man may see,
That yeftes of fortune and of nature
Ben cause of deth to many a creature.
Hire beautee was hire deth, I dare wel sain,
Alas! so pitously as she was slain.

Of bothe yeftes, that I speke of now,

Men han ful often more for harm than prow.
"But trewely, min owen maister dere,
This was a pitous tale for to here:
But natheles, passe over, is no force.
I pray to God to save thy gentil corps,
And eke thyn urinals, and thy jordanes,
Thin Ypocras, and eke thy Galianes,
And every boist ful of thy letuaries,
God blesse hem and our lady Seinte Marie
So mote I the, thou art a propre man,
And like a prelat by Seint Ronian;