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

[Antiochus.]

What nedeth it of kyng Anthiochus [¶ De Rege An|thiocho illustri] To telle / his hye Roial magestee His hye pride / hise werkes venymus ffor swich another / was ther noon as he Line 3768 Rede which þat he was / in Machabee And rede / the proude wordes that he seyde And why he fil / fro heigh prosperitee [folio 179a] And in an hill / how wrecchedly he deyde Line 3772

[6-text p 274] , [6-text p 275] Line 3772

ffortune / hym hadde enhaunced so in pride That verraily / he wende he myghte attayne Vn-to the sterres / vp-on euery syde And in balance / weyen ech montayne Line 3776 And alle the floodes / of the see restrayne And goddes peple / hadde he moost in hate Hem wolde he sleen / in torment and in payne Wenynge / þat god ne myghte his pride abate Line 3780

And for that Nichanore / and Thymothee Of Iewes / weren venquysshed myghtily Vn-to the Iewes / swich an hate hadde he That he bad / greithen his Chaar ful hastily Line 3784 And swoor / and seyde ful despitously Vn-to Ierusalem / he wolde eft soone To wreken his Ire / on it ful cruelly But of his purpos / he was let ful soone Line 3788

God for his manace / hym so soore smoot With invisible wounde / ay incurable That in hise guttes / carf it so and boot That hise peynes / weren importable Line 3792 And certeinly / the wreche was resonable ffor many a mannes guttes / dide he peyne But from his purpos / cursed and dampnable ffor all his smert he wolde hym nat restreyne Line 3796

But bad anon / apparaillen his hoost And sodeynly / er he was of it war God daunted / al his pride and all his boost ffor he so soore / fil out of his Char [lacerauit/] Line 3800 That it hise lemes / and his skyn to-tar So that he neyther/ myghte go ne ryde But in a chayer / men / aboute hym bar Al forbrused / bothe bak and syde Line 3804

[6-text p 275] , [6-text p 276] Line 3804

The wreche of god / hym smoot so cruelly That thurgh his body / wikked wormes crepte And ther-with-al / he stank horriblely That noon of al his meynee / þat hym kepte Line 3808 Wheither so he wook or ellis slepte Ne myghte noght for stynk of hym endure In this meschief / he wayled and eek wepte And knew god / lord of euery creature Line 3812

To all his hoost and to hym self also [folio 179b] fful wlatsom was / the stynk of his careyne No man / ne myghte hym bere / to ne fro And in this stynk and this horrible peyne Line 3816 He starf ful wrecchedly / in a Monteyne Thus hath this Robbour / and this homycide That many a man / made to wepe and pleyne Swich gerdon / as bilongeth vn-to pryde Line 3820