For upon thy condición,

Liggend upon the bedde a loft,

feith,

Suche price, as he us tolde, he leith,
That he wol stonde of thin accorde ;
And for to beare herof recorde
He sende us hider bothé two.
Glad was her innocéncé tho
Of suché wordés as she herd,
With humble chere and thus an-
swerd

And saidé, that the goddés will
She was all redy to fulfill,
That by her husébondés leve
She wolde in Ysis temple at eve
Upon her goddés grace abide
To serven him the nightés tide.
The prestés tho gon home ayeine,
And she goth to her sovereine e;
Of goddes will and as it was 1
She tolde him all the plainé cas,
Wherof he was deceivéd eke,
And bad that she her shuldé meke
All hole unto the goddés heste.
And thus she, which was all honeste
To godward, after her entent
At night unto the temple went
Where that the falsé prestés were.
And they receívén her there
With suche a token of holinesse,
As though they seén a goddesse ;
And all within in privé place
A softé bedde of large space
They hadde made and encortíned,
Where she was afterward engined.2
But she, whiche all honóur sup-

poseth,

The falsé prestés than opposeth And axeth by what observaúnce She mighté most to the plesaúnce Of god that nightés reulé kepe. And they her bidden for to slepe

1 And she told all the plain case, of how it was the god's will. 'And' was not always placed at the beginning of a clause.

2 Engined, trapped by a crafty contrivance.

God Anubus her wolde awake.
The counseil in this wisé take
The prestés fro this lady gone.
And she that wiste of guilé none
In the manér as it was said
To slepe upon the bedde is leid,
In hope that she sholde acheve
Thing which stode than upon beleve
Fulfilled of all holinesse.

But she hath failed as I gesse,
For in a closet fasté by

The Duke was hid so privelý,
That she him mighté nought per-

ceive.

And he that thoughté to deceive
Hath suche array upon him nome,1
That whan he wold unto her come
It shuldé semen at her eye,
As though she verriliché seie
God Anubus, and in suche wise
This Ypocrite of his queintise
Awaiteth ever til she slept.
And than out of his place he crept
So stillé, that she nothing herde,
And to the bed stalkénd he ferde
And sodeinly, er she it wiste,
Beclipt in armés he her kiste,
Wherof in womannisshé drede
She woke and niste what to rede.2
But he with softé wordés milde
Comforteth her and saith, with
childe

He wolde her make in suche a kinde,

That al the world shall have in minde

The worshippe of that ilké sone; For he shall with the goddes wone And ben him selfe a god also. With suché wordés and with mo,

1 Nome, taken.

2 Knew not what counsel to take. 3 Wone, dwell.

3

The which he feigneth in his speche,
This ladies wit was al to seche,1
As she which alle trouthe weneth.
But he, that all untrouthé meneth,
With blindé talés so her ladde,
That all his will of her he hadde.
And whan him thought it was inough,
Ayein the day he him withdrough
So prively, that she ne wiste
Where he be come, but as him liste
Out of the temple he goth his way.
And she began to bid and pray,
Upon the baré ground knelende,
And after that made her offrende
And to the prestés yeftés great
She yaf, and homeward by the strete
The Duke her mette and saidé thus:
'The mighty god, whiche Anubus
Is hote, he save the Pauline,
For thou art of his discipline
So holy, that no mannés might
May do that he hath do to night,
Of thing which thou hast ever
eschued.

But I his grace have so pursued,
That I was made his lieutenaúnt.
Forthy by way of covenaúnt

Fro this day forth I am all thine,
And if thee liké to be mine
That stant upon thin owné wille.'
She herde his tale and bare it stille
And home she went as it befell
Into her chambre and there she fell
Upon her bed to wepe and crie
And saide: O derke Ypocrisie,
Through whose dissimulatiön
Of false ymaginatiön

I am thus wickedly deceived!
But that I have it apperceived
I thonke unto the goddés alle.

1 All to seek, all away, as she who believes all to be truth. 'To seek' was a phrase long used to represent want of knowledge. So the elder brother in Milton's Comus

'I do not think my sister so to seek
Or so undisciplined in virtue's book.'

For though it onés be befalle
I shall never eft while that I live,
And thilke avow to god I yive.
And thus wepéndé she compleigneth
Her fairé face and all disteigneth
With wofull terés of her eye,
So that upon this agonie

Her husébónde is inné come
And sigh1 how she was overcome
With sorwe, and axeth her what
her eileth.

And she with that her self beweileth
Well more than she didde afore
And said: 'Alas, wifehode is lore
In me which whilom was honést,
I am none other than a beste
Nowe I defouléd am of two!'
And as she mighté speaké tho
Ashamed with a pitous onde,2
She tolde unto her husébonde
The soth of all the holé tale,
And in her speché dead and pale
She swouneth well nigh to the laste.
And he her in his armés faste
Upheld and ofté swore his oth,
That he with her is nothing wroth,
For wel he wot she may there
nought.

But nethéles within his thought
His hert stode in a sory plite
And said, he wolde of that despite
Be vengéd how so ever it falle;
And send unto his frendes alle,
And whan they weré come infere,3
He tolde hem upon this matere
And axeth hem what was to done.
And they aviséd weré sone

And said, it thought hem for the

By alle waiés and dispórted,
Til that she was somdele amended.
And thus a day or two dispended
The thriddé day she goth to pleine
With many a worthy citezeine
And he with many a citezein.
Whan themperoúr it herde saine
And knew the falsehed of the vice,
He said he woldé do justíce.
And first he let the prestes take,
And for they shulde it nought for-
sake 1

He put hem into questión.
But they of the suggestión
Ne couthé nought a word refuse,
But for they wold hem self excuse
The blame upon the Duke they
laide.

But thereayein the counseil saide,
That they be nought excuséd so
For he is one and they be two,
And two have moré wit than one,
So thilke excusément was none.
And over that, was said hem eke
That whan men wolden vertue seke
Men shulden it in the prestés finde,
Their ordre is of so high a kinde,
That they be dívisers 2 of the wey.
Forthý if any man forswey 3
Through hem, they be nought ex-
cusáble,

And thus by lawé resonable
Among the wisé jugés there
The prestés bothé dampned were,
So that the privé trecherý
Hid under false Ypocrisie
Was thanne all openliché shewed,
That many a man hem hath be-
shrewed.

And whan the prestés weren dede,
The temple of thilk horrible dede
They thoughten purge and thilke
ymage

Whose causé was the pelrináge
They drowen out and also faste
Fer into Tiber they it caste,
Where the rivér it hath defied.1
And thus the temple purified
They have of thilke horrible sinne,
Which was that timé do 2 therinne.
Of this point such was the divise.
But of the duke was otherwise;
For 3 he with lové was bestad

His dome was nought so hardé lad.
For lové put refón awey

And can nought se the righté wey.
And by this cause he was respíted,
So that the deth him was acquíted,
But for all that he was exiled,
For he his love had so beguiled,
That he shall never come ayeine.
For he that is to trouth unpleine
He may nought failen of vengeaunce
And eke to také remembraunce
Of that Ypocrisie hath wrought.
On other half, men shuldé nought
To lightly leve all that they here,
But thanné shulde a wiseman stere
The ship, whan suché windés blowe;
For first though they beginné lowe,
At endé they be nought meváble,+
But all to-broken mast and cable,
So that the ship, with sodain blast
Whan men leste wene, is overcast.
As now full ofte a man may se,
And of old time how it hath be
I finde a great experience,
Wherof to take an evidence
Good is, and to beware also
Of the períll er him be woo.5

"Of hem that ben so derk

withinne

At Troie also if we beginne,

1 Defied, digested. So in 'The Vision of Piers Plowman,' 'wyn the roste to defye.' 2 At that time done.

3 For, because.

4 Mevable, to be moved.

5 Before woe betides him.

Ypocrisie it hath betraied.
For whan the Grekes had all assaied
And foundé that by no bataile
Ne by no siege it might availe
The town to winné through prow-

esse,

This Vicé feignéd of simplesse,
Through sleight of Calcas and of
Crise

It wan by such a maner wise :-
An horse of brass they let do forge
Of suche entaile,1 of suche a forge,
That in this world was never man
That such an other werk began.
The crafty werkeman Epius
It made, and for to tellé thus,
The Grekes that thoughten to be-
guile

The king of Troie in thilké while
With Antenór and with Enee,
That were bothe of the citee
And of the counseil the wisést,
The richest and the mightiest,
In privé placé so they trete
With fair beheste and yeftes grete
Of gold, that they hem have engined
To-gider and whan they be covined,
They feignen for to maké
pees,
And under that yet nethéless
They shopen the destructión
Bothe of the king and of the town.
And thus the falsé pees was take
Of hem of Grece and undertake,
And therupon they founde a way,
Where strengthé mighté nought

Unto the king the Gregois saiden By way of love and thus they praiden,

As they that wolden his thank deserve,

A sacrifice unto Minerve

The pees to kepe in good entent
They must offre, or that they went.
The King, counseiléd in the cas
By Antenor and Eneás,
Therto hath yoven his assent.
So was the pleiné trouthé blent 1
Through counterfeit Ypocrisie.
Of that they shulden sacrifie
The Grekes under the holinesse
Anone with alle besinesse

Here hors of brass let fairé dight,
Which was to sene a wonder sight.
For it was trappéd of him selve
And had of smalé whelés twelve,
Upon the whiché men inowe
With craft toward the town it drowe,
And goth glistrénd ayein the sonne.
Tho was there joie inough begonne,
For Troie in great devoción
Came also with processión
Ayein this noble sacrifice
With great honóur, and in this wise
Unto the gates they it broughte:
But of here entré whan they soughte,
The gates weren all to smale.
And therupon was many a tale ;
But for the worship of Minerve,
To whom they comen for to serve,
They of the town which understood
That all this thing was done for
good,

For pees, wherof that they ben glade,

The gates that Neptunus made
A thousand winter ther to-fore
They have anone to-broke and tore,
The strongé wallés down they bete,
So that into the largé strete

1 Blent, blinded.

This horse with great solempnité
Was brought withinné the cité,
And offred with great reverence,
Which was to Troie an evidence
Of love and pees for evermo.
The Gregois token levé tho
With all the holé felaship,
And forth they wenten into ship,
And crossen sail, and made hem
yare,1

Anone as though they wolden fare.2
But whan the blacké winter night
Withouté mone or sterré light
Bederkéd hath the water stronde,
Al privély they gone to londe
Full arméd out of the navie.
Sinon, whiche made was here espie
Withinné Troie, as was conspired,
Whan timé was, a tokne hath fired,
And they with that here waié holden
And comen in, right as they wolden,
There as the gaté was to-broke.
The purpose was full take and spoke
Er any man may teké kepe,
Whil that the citee was aslepe;
They slowen al that was withinne
And token what they mighten winne
Of such good as was suffisaunt
And brenden 3 up the remenaunt.
And thus come out the trecherie,
Which under false Ypocrisie
Was hid, and they that wendé1·
Tho mighten findé no releese
Of thilké swerd whiche al de-
voureth.

pees

Full ofte and thus the sweté soureth
Whan it is knowé to the taste,
He spilleth many a worde in waste
That shal with such a people trete,
For whan he weneth most beyete 5
Than is he shapé most to lese.

1 Yare, ready.

2 As though they would go.

3 Brenden, burnt.

4 Wendé, hoped for, expected.

5 When he expects to get most.

And right so if a woman chese1
Upon the wordés that she hereth,
Som man whan he most true ap-
pereth

Than is he furthest fro the trouthe.
But yet full ofte, and that is routhe,
They speden that ben most untrue
And loven every day a newe,
Wherof the life is after lothe
And love hath causé to be wrothe.
But what man that his lust desireth
Of love and therupon conspireth
With wordés feigned to deceive,
He shall nought failé to receive
His peine as it is ofté sene.

"Forthy my sone, as I the mene,
It sit thee well to taken hede,
That thou escheue of thy manhede
Ypocrisie and his semblaunt,
That thou ne be nought deceivaunt
To make a woman to beleve
Thing whiche is nought in thy
beleve.

For in suche feint Ypocrisie
Of Love is all the trecherie,
Through which love is deceivéd
ofte.

For feignéd semblaunt is so softe,
Unnethés 2 Lové may be ware.
Forthy my sone, as I well dare,
I chargé the to flee that vice,
That many a woman hath made