The Ellesmere ms of Chaucer's Canterbury tales / edited by Frederick J. Furnivall.

Ther was / as telleth Titus Liuius A knyght that was called Virginius ffulfild / of honour / and of worthynesse And strong of freendes / and of greet richesse Line 4 ¶ This knyght a doghter hadde by his wyf / [[Painting of the Physician]] No children hadde he mo in al his lyf ffair was this mayde / in excellent beautee Abouen euery wight that man may see Line 8 ffor Nature / hath with souereyn diligence Yformed hire / in so greet excellence As though she wolde seyn / lo I Nature Thus kan I forme / and peynte a creature Line 12 Whan that me list who kan me countrefete Pigmalion noght / though he ay forge and bete [¶ Quere in Metha|morphosios] Or graue / or peynte / for I dar wel seyn Apelles Zanzis / sholde werche in veyn [¶ Apelles fecit mira|bile opus in tumulo Darii / Vide in Alex|andro libro .I^o. de Zanze in libro Tulij.] Outher to graue / or peynte / or forge / or bete If they presumed / me to countrefete ffor he that is the formere principal Hath maked me / his vicaire general Line 20 To forme and peynten erthely creaturis Right as me list and ech thyng in my cure is Vnder the Moone / þat may wane and waxe And for my werk right no thyng wol I axe Line 24

[6-text p 304] Line 24 My lord and I / been ful of oon accord I made hire / to the worshipe of my lord So do I / alle myne othere creatures What colour that they han / or what figures Line 28 Thus semeth me / that Nature wolde seye [folio 137b] ¶ This mayde of Age .xij. yeer was and tweye In which þat Nature / hadde swich delit ffor right as she kan peynte a lilie whit Line 32 And reed a Rose / right with swich peynture She peynted hath this noble creature Er she were born / vp-on hir lymes fre Where as by right / swiche colours sholde be Line 36 And Phebus dyed hath / hire treses grete Lyk to the stremes / of his burned heete And if þat excellent was hire beautee A thousand foold / moore vertuous was she Line 40 In hire / ne lakked no condicion That is to preyse / as by discrecion As wel in goost as body / chast was she ffor which / she floured in virginitee Line 44 With alle humylitee / and Abstinence With alle attemperaunce and pacience With mesure eek / of beryng and array Discreet she was / in answeryng alway Line 48 Though she were wise Pallas dar I seyn Hir facound eek / ful wommanly a pleyn No countrefeted termes / hadde she To seme wys / but after hir degree Line 52 She spak / and alle hire wordes moore and lesse Sownynge in vertu / and in gentillesse Shamefast she was / [in] maydens shamefastnesse Constant in herte / and euere in bisynesse Line 56 To dryue hire / out of ydel slogardye Bacus hadde of hire mouth / right no maistrie ffor wyn and youthe / dooth Venus encresse As man in fyr / wol wasten oille or greesse Line 60

[6-text p 305] Line 60 And of hir owene vertu / vnconstreyned She hath ful ofte tyme syk hire feyned ffor that she wolde fleen the compaignye Where likly was / to treten of folye Line 64 As is at feestes / reuels / and at daunces That been / occasions of daliaunces Swich thyng / maken children for to be To soone rype and boold / as men may se Line 68 Which is ful perilous / and hath been yoore ffor al to soone / may they lerne loore Of booldnesse / whan she woxen is a wyf ¶ And ye maistresses / in youre olde lyf Line 72 That lordes doghtres / han in gouernance Ne taketh of my wordes no displesance Thenketh / that ye been set in gouernynges Of lordes doghtres / oonly for two thynges Line 76 Outher / for ye han kept youre honestee [folio 138a] Or elles / ye han falle in freletee And knowen wel ynough the olde daunce And han forsaken / fully swich meschaunce Line 80 ffor eueremo / therfore for Cristes sake To teche hem vertu / looke þat ye ne slake ¶ A theef of venyson / that hath forlaft His likerousnesse / and al his olde craft Line 84 Kan kepe a fforest best of any man Now kepeth wel / for if ye wolde ye kan Looke wel / þat ye / vn-to no vice assente Lest ye be dampned / for youre wikke entente Line 88 ffor who so dooth / a traitour is certeyn And taketh kepe / of that þat I shal seyn Of alle tresons / souereyn pestilence [Nota] Is / whan a wight bitrayseth Innocence Line 92 ¶ Ye fadres and ye moodres / eek also Though ye han children / be it oon or two Youre is the charge / of al hir surueiance Whil þat they been / vnder youre gouernance Line 96

[6-text p 306] Line 96 Beth war / if by ensample / of youre lyuynge Or by youre necligence / in chastisynge That they perisse / for I dar wel seye If þat they doon / ye shul it deere abeye Line 100 Vnder a shepherde / softe and necligent The wolf / hath many a sheepe and lamb to-rent . . . . . . . . . . [no gap in the MS.] Line 104

This mayde / of which I wol this tale expresse So kepte hir self hir neded no maistresse ffor in hir lyuyng maydens myghten rede As in a book/ euery good word or dede Line 108 That longeth to a mayden vertuous She was so prudent and so bounteuous ffor which / the fame / out sprong on euery syde Bothe of hir beautee and hir bountee wyde Line 112 That thurgh that land / they preised hire echone That loued vertu / saue Enuye allone That sory is / of oother mennes wele [¶ Augustinus] And glad is of his sorwe / and his vnheele Line 116 The doctour / maketh this descripcioun This mayde vp-on a day / wente in the toun Toward a temple / with hire mooder deere As is / of yonge maydens the manere Line 120 ¶ Now was ther thanne / a Iustice in that toun That gouernour was / of that Regioun And so bifel / this Iuge / hise eyen caste Vp-on this mayde / auysynge hym ful faste Line 124 As she cam forby / ther as this Iuge stood Anon / his herte chaunged and his mood So was he caught with beautee of this mayde [folio 138b] And to hym self / ful pryuely he sayde Line 128 This mayde / shal be myn / for any man ¶ Anon the feend / in-to his herte ran And taughte hym sodeynly / þat he by slyghte The mayden / to his purpos wynne myghte Line 132

[6-text p 307] Line 132 ffor certes by no force / ne by no meede Hym thoughte / he was nat able for to speede ffor she was strong of freendes / and eek she Confermed was / in swich souerayn bountee Line 136 That wel he wiste / he myghte hire neuere wynne As for to maken hire / with hir body synne ffor which / by greet deliberacioun He sente after a cherl / was in the toun Line 140 Which þat 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 Line 144 And if he dide / he sholde lese his heed Whan þat assented was / this cursed reed Glad was this Iuge / and maked him greet cheere And yaf hym yiftes / preciouse and deere Line 148 ¶ Whan shapen was / al hire conspiracie ffro point to point how þat his lecherie Parfourned sholde been ful subtilly As ye / shul heere it after openly Line 152 Hoom gooth the cherl / þat highte Claudius This false Iuge / that highte Apius So was his name / for this is no fable But knowen / for historial thyng notable Line 156 The sentence of it sooth is out of doute This false Iuge / gooth now faste aboute To hasten his delit al that he may And so bifel / soone after on a day Line 160 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 Line 164 And seyde lord / if þat it be youre wille As dooth me right/ vp-on this pitous bille In which I pleyne / vp-on Virginius And if þat he wol seyn / it is nat thus Line 168

[6-text p 308] Line 168 I wol it preeue / and fynde good witnesse That sooth is / that my bille wol expresse ¶ The Iuge answerde / of this in his absence I may nat yeue / diffyny[ty]ue sentence Line 172 Lat do hym calle / and I wol gladly heere [audire] Thou shalt haue al right and no wrong heere [hic] ¶ Virginius / cam to wite the Iuges wille [folio 139a] And right anon / was rad this cursed bille Line 176 The sentence of it / was as ye shul heere ¶ To yow my lord / sire Apius so deere Sheweth youre poure seruant Claudius How that a knyght / called Virginius Line 180 Agayns the lawe / agayn al equitee Holdeth expres / agayn the wyl of me My seruant. which þat is my thral by right Which fro myn hous / was stole vp-on a nyght Line 184 Whil þat she was ful yong this wol I preeue By witnesse lord / so þat it nat yow greeue She nys his doghter nat what so he seye Wherfore / to yow / my lord the Iuge I preye Line 188 yeld me my thral / if þat it be youre wille Lo / this was / al the sentence of his bille ¶ Virginius / gan vp-on the cherl biholde But hastily / er he his tale tolde Line 192 And wolde haue preeued it as sholde a knyght And eek by witnessyng of many a wight That it was fals / that seyde his Aduersarie This cursed Iuge / wolde no thyng tarie Line 196 Ne heere a word moore of Virginius But yaf his Iuggement and seyde thus ¶ I deeme anon / this cherl his seruant haue Thou shalt no lenger / in thyn hous hir saue Line 200 Go bryng hire forth / and put hire in oure warde The cherl shal haue his thral / this I awarde ¶ And whan this worthy knyght Virginius Thurgh sentence / of this Iustice Apius Line 204

[6-text p 309] Line 204 Moste by force / his deere doghter yeuen Vn-to the Iuge / in lecherie to lyuen He gooth hym hoom / and sette him in his halle And leet anon / his deere doghter calle Line 208 And with a face deed / as asshen colde Vpon hir humble face / he gan biholde With fadres pitee / stikynge thurgh his herte Al wolde he / from his purpos nat conuerte Line 212

Doghter quod he / Virginia / by thy name Ther been two weyes / outher deeth or shame That thou most / suffre / allas þat I was bore ffor neuere / thou deseruedest wherfore Line 216 To dyen / with a swerd / or with a knyf O deere doghter / endere of my lyf Which I haue fostred vp / with swich plesance That thou were neuere / out of my remembrance Line 220 O doghter / which þat art my laste wo And in my lyf my laste ioye also O gemme o Chastitee in pacience [folio 139b] Take thou thy deeth / for this is my sentence Line 224 ffor loue and nat for hate / thou most be deed My pitous hand / moot smyten of thyn heed Allas / that euere Apius the say Thus hath he falsly / Iugged the to day Line 228 And tolde hire al the cas / as ye bifore Han herd / nat nedeth for to telle it moore ¶ O mercy deere fader / quod this mayde And with that word / she both hir Armes layde Line 232 About his nekke / as she was wont to do The teeris / bruste out of hir eyen two And seyde / goode fader shal I dye Is ther no grace / is ther no remedye Line 236 ¶ No certes / deere doghter myn quod he ¶ Thanne yif me leyser / fader myn quod she My deeth for to compleyne / a litel space ffor pardee Iepte yaf his doghter grace [¶ Iudicum capitulo .xj.^o] Line 240

[6-text p 310] Line 240 ffor to compleyne / er he hir slow allas [‖ ffuit illo tempore Iepte Galaandes] And god it woot no thyng was hir trespas But for she ran / hir fader for to see To welcome hym / with greet solempnitee Line 244 And with that word / she fil aswowne anon And after/ whan hir swownyng is agon She riseth vp / and to hir fader sayde Blissed be god / that I shal dye a mayde Line 248 Yif me my deeth / er that I haue a shame Dooth with youre child / youre wyl a goddes name ¶ And with that word / she preyed hym ful ofte That with his swerd / he wolde smyte softe Line 252 And with that word / aswowne doun she fil Hir fader / with ful sorweful herte and wil Hir heed of smoot and by the tope it hente And to the Iuge / he gan it to presente Line 256 As he sat yet in doom in Consistorie And whan the Iuge it saugh / as seith the storie He bad to take hym / and anhange hym faste But right anon / a thousand peple in thraste Line 260 To saue the knyght for routhe and for pitee ffor knowen was / the false Iniquitee The peple anon / hath suspect of this thyng By manere / of the cherles chalangyng Line 264 That it was / by the assent of Apius They wisten wel / that he was lecherus ffor which / vn-to this Apius they gon And caste hym in a prison right anon Line 268 Ther as he slow hym self and Claudius That seruant was / vn-to this Apius And demed / for to hange vpon a tree [folio 140a] But that Virginius / of his pitee Line 272 So preyde for hym / that he was exiled And elles certes / he had been bigyled The remenant were anhanged moore and lesse That were consentant of this cursednesse Line 276

[6-text p 311] Line 276

Heere men may seen / how synne hath his merite Beth war / for no man woot whom god wol smyte In no degree / ne in which manere wyse The worm of conscience / may agryse Line 280 Of wikked lyf though it so pryuee be That no man / woot ther-of but god and he ffor be he lewed man / or ellis lered He noot how soone / þat he shal been afered Line 284 Therfore I rede yow / this conseil take fforsaketh synne / er synne yow forsake

¶ Heere endeth / the Phisiciens tale.