[6-text p 581]
Whit was this Crowe / as a snow whit swan
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And countrefete the speche of euery man
He koude / whan he sholde telle a tale
Ther-with in al this world / no nyghtyngale
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Ne koude / by an hondred thousand deel
Syngen / so wonder myrily and weel
¶ Now hadde this Phebus / in his hous a wyf /
Which þat he louede / moore than his lyf/
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And nyght and day / dide euere his diligence
Hir for to plese / and doon hire reuerence
Saue oonly / the sothe that I shal sayn
Ialous he was / and wolde haue kept hire fayn
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ffor hym were looth / byiaped for to be
And so is euery wight in swich degree
But all in ydel / for it auailleth noght
A good wyf / that is clene / of werk and thoght
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Sholde nat been kept in noon awayt certayn
And trewely / the labour is in vayn
To kepe a shrewe / for it wol nat bee
This holde I / for a verray nycetee
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To spille labour / for to kepe wyues
Thus writen olde clerkes / in hir lyues
Bvt now to purpos / as I first bigan
This worthy Phebus / dooth all that he kan
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To plesen hire / wenynge that swich plesance
And for his manhede / and his gouernance
That no man / sholde han put hym from hire grace
But god it woot. ther may no man embrace
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As to destreyne a thyng. which þat nature
Hath natureelly / set in a creature
¶ Taak any bryd / and put it in a Cage [¶ Exemplum. de volucre]
And do al thyn entente / and thy corage
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To fostre it tendrely / with mete and drynke
Of alle deyntees / þat thou kanst bithynke
And keepe it al so clenly / as thou may
Al though his Cage / of gold be neuer so gay
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