Hys wyf, that koude of Cesar have no grace,
To Egipte is fled, for drede and for distresse.
But herkeneth ye that speken of kyndenesse.

Ye men that falsly sweren many an oothe,
That ye wol dye yf that your love be wroothe,
Here may ye seene of women which a trouthe.
This woful Cleopatra had made swich routhe,
That ther nys tonge noon that may yt telle.
But on the morwe she wol no lenger dwelle,
But made hir subtil werkmen make a shryne
Of alle the rubees and the stones fyne
In al Egipte that she koude espye;
And put ful the shryne of spicerye,

And let the corps embawme; and forth she fette
This dede corps, and in the shryne yt shette.
And next the shryne a pitte than dooth she grave,
And all the serpentes that she myghte have,
She put hem in that grave, and thus she seyde :—
'Now, love, to whom my sorweful herte obeyde,
So ferforthely, that fro that blysful houre
That I yow swor to ben al frely youre ;
(I mene yow, Antonius, my knyght,)

670. nys, ne ys, is not.

672. subtil, skilful.

665

670

675

680

676. let the corps embawme, caused the body to be embalmed ;— fette, past tense of fecche, fetched, brought.

677. dede corps: this expression would now be pleonastic, but in Chaucer's time, and much later, corpse was used for both the living and the dead body.

"where-ever that thou dost behold
A comely corpse, with beautie faire endewed,
Know this for certaine, that the same doth hold
A beauteous soule with fair conditions thewed,
Fit to receive the seede of virtue strewed."

shette, shut.

Spenser's Hymne in Honour of Beautie, v. 135.

678. dooth she grave, she causes to be dug. 1680. grave, pit.

682. ferforthely, far forth, such an extent.

That never wakyng in the day or nyght,
Ye nere out of myn hertes remembraunce,
For wele or woo, for carole, or for daunce;
And in my self this covenaunt made I thoo,
That ryght swich as ye felten wele or woo,
As ferforth as yt in my powere laye,
Unreprovable unto my wifhood aye,
The same wolde I felen, life or dethe;

685

690

And thilke covenaunt while me lasteth brethe

I woll fulfille; and that shal wel be seene,

Was never unto hir love a trewer queene.'

695

And wyth that worde, naked, with ful good herte,

Amonge the serpents in the pit she sterte.
And ther she chees to han hir buryinge.
Anoon the neddres gonne hir for to stynge,
And she hir deeth receveth with good chere,
For love of Antony that was hir so dere.
And this is storial, sooth it ys no fable.
Now er I fynd a man thus trewe and stable,
And wolde for love his deeth so frely take,
I preye God lat oure hedes nevere ake!

700

705

EXPLICIT LEGENDA CLEOPATRE MARTYRIS.

686. nere, ne were, were not.

693. me, dative case; while breath lasteth to me.

697. sterte, leaped.

698. chees, past tense of chese, chose.

699. neddres, adders.

701. hir, dative case, to her.

702. storial, historical.

Explicit legenda Cleopatre Martyris: Here endeth the legend of

Cleopatra the martyr.

INCIPIT LEGENDA TESBE BABILON, MARTIRIS.

T Babiloyne whylome fil it thus,

The whiche toune the queene Simyramus

Leet dichen al about, and walles make

Ful hye, of harde tiles wel ybake:

Ther were dwellynge in this noble toune,

710

Two lordes, which that were of grete renoune,

And woneden so neigh upon a grene,

That ther nas but a stoon wal hem betwene,

As ofte in grette tounes ys the wone.

And sooth to seyne, that o man had a sone,

715

Of al that londe oon the lustieste;

That other had a doghtre, the faireste

That esteward in the worlde was tho dwellynge.
The name of everyche gan to other sprynge,

Incipit legenda Tesbe Babilon, Martiris: Here beginneth the legend of Thisbe, of Babylon, the Martyr. The story of Pyramus and Thisbe is related in Ovid's Metamorphoses, iv. 55—166.

706. fil, past tense of falle, fell.

708. leet dichen, caused to be ditched.

712. woneden, past tense pl. of wone, dwelt.

713. nas, contraction of ne was, was not.

714. wone, custom, usage.

716. lustieste; the idea involved in lusty is that of a pleasurable vigor of body.

718. tho, then.

719. everyche, a contraction of every eche, i. e., every each. In La Mort d' Arthure, it is frequently given in full :-" and every each had a speare in his hand," v. 1, c. 83, Wright's ed.-"Sir Gareth and Sir Dinadan every each smote downe a good Knight," v. 2, c. 153.-"At the fifth day they departed, and every each held as fell them by adventure," v. 3, c. 44. "And then they were wedded together with great joy, and King Arthur gave unto every each of them a barony of lands," v. 3, c. 141. So everichon, everichone, or

By wommen that were neyghebores aboute;
For in that countre yit, wythouten doute,
Maydenes ben ykept for jelousye
Ful streyte, leste they diden somme folye.

This yonge man was cleped Piramus,
Tesbe hight the maide, (Naso seith thus).
And thus by reporte was hir name yshove,
That as they woxe in age, wax hir love.
And certeyne, as by reson of hir age,

720

725

Ther myghte have ben betwex hem mariage,
But that hir fadres nolde yt not assente,

730

And booth in love ylike soore they brente,

That noon of al hir frendes myghte yt lette.
But prevely sommetyme yit they mette

Be sleight, and spoken somme of hir desire,

As wrie the glede and hotter is the fire;

735

Forbeede a love, and it is ten times so woode.

This wal, which that bitwixe hem bothe stoode,

740

Was cloven atwoo, right fro the toppe adoune,
Of olde tyme, of his foundacioun.
But yit this clyft was so narwe and lite
Yt was nat seene, deere ynough a myte;
But what is that that love kannot espye?
Ye lovers twoo, yt that I shal nat lye,

everichoon, is a contraction of every eche on, or oon, i. e., every each "I would with pride have overcome you everyechone."

one.

726. yshove, past part. of shove, pushed (into notice).

"-La

727. woxe, past tense pl. of wexe, grew;—wax, past tense sing.

of wexe.

730. nolde, contraction of ne wolde, would not.

731. brente, past tense of brenne, burned.

732. lette, hinder, prevent.

735. As wrie the glede and hotter is the fire: As cover the firebrand, etc.

736. woode, mad, furious; see note on woode, v. 624.

Ye founden first this litel narwe clifte,

And with a soune as softe as any shryfte,

745

They leete hir wordes thurgh the clifte pace,

And tolden, while that they stoden in the place,

Al hir compleynt of love, and al hire woo.

At every tyme whan they durste soo,
Upon the o syde of the walle stood he,
And on that other syde stood Tesbe,
The swoote soune of other to receyve.

750

And thus hire wardeyns wolde they disceyve,
And every day this walle they wolde threete,

And wisshe to God that it were doune ybete.

755

Thus wolde they seyn:-'Allas, thou wikked walle!

Thurgh thyne envye thow us lettest alle!

Why nyltow cleve, or fallen al atwo?

Or at the leest, but thow wouldest so,
Yit woldestow but ones let us meete,
Or oones that we myghte kyssen sweete,
Than were we covered of oure cares colde.
But natheles, yit be we to the holde,
In as muche as thou suffrest for to goon

760

Oure wordes thurgh thy lyme and eke thy stoon,

765

Yet oghte we with thee ben wel apayde.'
And whanne thise idel wordes weren sayde,

745. a soune as softe as any shryfte, i. e., as Bell explains, "A voice as low as that with which one utters his confession."

753. wardeyns, guardians.

754. threete, threaten.

755. ybete, past part. of bete, beaten.

757. lettest, hinderest.

758. nyltow, wilt not thou.

760. woldestow, wouldst thou.

762. covered, for recovered.

763. yit be we to the holde, yet are we to thee beholden, or indebted.

766. apayde, satisfied.