Be thilke God that formed man on lyve,
This swerde thurgh thyn herte shall I ryve.'
And therwithalle unto hire throte he sterte,
And sette the swerde al sharpe unto hire herte.
No worde she spak, she hath no myghte thereto,
What shal she sayne? hire witte ys al agoo!
Ryghte as a wolfe that fynt a lamb allone,
To whom shal she compleyne or make mone?
What? shal she fyghte with an hardy knyghte?
Wel wote men a woman hath no myghte.
What? shal she crye, or how shal she asterte,

1790

1795

1800

That hath hire by the throte, with swerde at herte !

She axeth grace, and seyde all that she kan.

'Ne wolt thou nat?' quod this cruelle man;

'As wisly Jupiter my soule save,

I shal in the stable slee thy knave,

1805

And lay him in thy bed, and lowde crye,

That I the fynde in suche avowtrye;

And thus thou shalt be ded, and also lese

Thy name, for thou shalt nat chese.'

Thise Romaynes wyfes loveden so hire name

1810

At thylke tyme, and dredden so the shame

That what for fere of sklaundre, and drede of dethe,

1790. Be thilke God, by that same God;-on lyve, early form of alive.

1791. ryve, thrust.

1796. fynt, pres. tense, 3d sing. of finde, findeth. The Fairfax MS. reads "Right as a wolfe that fayneth a love allone."

is evidently a mere clerical error.-Bell.

1798. hardy, bold; see v. 1526.

1799. wote, pres. tense of witen, know.

1800. asterte, escape.

1804. wisly, certainly, truly.

1805. slee, slay ;-knave, servant.

1807. avowtrye, adultery.

1808. lese, lose.

1809. chese, chose.

1811. thilke, that same.

This

She loste both attones wytte and brethe;
And in a swowgh she lay, and wax so ded,
Men myghten smyte of hire arme or hed,
She feleth nothinge, neither foule ne feyre.

Tarquynyus, that art a kynges eyre,
And sholdest as by lynage and by ryghte
Doon as a lorde and a verray knyghte,
Why hastow doon dispite to chevalrye?
Why hastow doon this lady vylanye?
Allas, of the thys was a vilenouse dede!

1815

1820

But now to the purpose; in the story I rede,

Whan he was goon al this myschaunce ys falle.

Thys lady sent after her frendes alle,

1825

Fader, moder, housbond, alle yfere,

And disshevelee with hire heere clere,
In habyte suche as wymmen used thoo
Unto the buryinge of hire frendes goo,
She sytte in halle with a sorow full syghte.

1830

Hire frendes axen what hire aylen myghte,

And who was dede, and she sytte aye wepynge.

A worde for shame ne may she forthe oute brynge,

Ne upon hem she durste nat beholde,

But atte last of Tarquyny she hem tolde

1835

This rewful case, and al thys thing horryble.
The woo to telle hyt were impossyble
That she and alle hire frendes made attones.
Al had folkes hertes ben of stones,

Hyt myghte have maked hem upon her rewe,
Hire herte was so wyfely and so trewe.
She sayde that for hire gilte ne for hire blame
Hire housbonde shulde nat have the foule name;

1817. eyre, heir.

1819. verray, true.

1824. myschaunce, misfortune.

1826. yfere, together.

1839. al, although.

1840

That nolde she nat suffren by no wey.

And they answerde alle unto hire fey,

1845

That they forgave hyt hire, for hyt was ryghte.
Hit was no gilt; hit lay nat in hire myghte.
And seyden hire ensamples many oon.

But al for noghte, for thus she seyde anoon :
'Be as be may,' quod she, of forgyfynge;
I wol not have no forgyft for nothinge.'
But pryvely she kaughte forthe a knyfe,

And therwithalle she rafte hire selfe hire lyfe;
And as she felle adoun she kast hire loke,
And of hire clothes yet hede she toke;
For in hire fallynge yet she hadde care,
Lest that hire fete or suche thynge lay bare,
So wel she loved clennesse, and eke trouthe!
Of hire had al the toune of Rome routhe,
And Brutus hath by hire chaste bloode swore,
That Tarquyny shulde ybanysshed be therfore,
And al hys kynne; and let the peple calle,
And openly the tale he tolde hem alle;
And openly let cary hire on a bere

1850

1855

1860

Thurgh al the toune, that men may see and here 1865
The horryble dede of hire oppressyoun.
Ne never was ther kynge in Rome toun
Syn thilke day; and she was holden there
A seynt, and ever hire day yhalwed dere,
As in hire law. And thus endeth Lucresse
The noble wyf, Titus bereth witnesse.
I telle hyt, for she was of love so trewe,
Ne in hire wille she chaunged for no newe,
And in hire stable herte, sadde and kynde,

1844. nolde, ne wolde, would not.

1845. fey, faith.

1853. rafte, past tense of reve, bereft.

1870

1862. and let the peple calle, caused the people to be called; so

in the 2d verse below: let cary hire, caused her to be carried.

1871. Titus, Titus Livius, lib. 1, c. 57.

1874. sadde, steady, firm.

That in these wymmen men may all day fynde,

1875

Ther as they kast hire herte, there it dwelleth.
For wel I wot, that Criste himselfe telleth,
That in Israel, as wyde as is the londe,

That so grete feythe in all the londe he ne fonde,

As in a woman; and this is no lye.

1880

And as for men, loketh which tyrannye

They doon al day, assay hem who so lyste,

Nat oonly for thy sake writen is this story,

But for to clepe ageyn unto memory
Of Theseus the grete untrewe of love,
For which the goddys of hevene above

1875. all day, always; Fr. toujours.

1880. as in a woman; see Matt. xv., and Mark vii. 1881. which, what.

1883. brotil, brittle ;-triste, to trust.

1885

Explicit legenda Lucrecie, Rome, Martiris: Here endeth the

legend of Lucretia of Rome, the martyr.

Incipit legenda Adriane de Athenes: Here beginneth the legend of Ariadne, of Athens. This legend is taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses, lib. viii. v. 152 et seq.

1884. Crete: The Fairfax MS. reads Grece.-Bell.

1885. commestow, comest thou.

Ben wrothe, and wrecche han take for thy synne. 1890
Be rede for shame! now I thy lyf begynne.

Mynos, that was the myghty kynge of Crete,
That wan an hundred citees strong and grete,
To scole hath sent hys sone Androgeus
To Athenes, of the which hyt happeth thus,
That he was slayne, lernynge philosophie,
Ryghte in that citee, nat but for envye.

The grete Mynos of the whiche I speke,
His sones dethe ys come for to wreke.
Alcathoe he besegeth harde and longe;
But natheles, the walles be so stronge,
And Nysus, that was kynge of that citee,
So chevalrouse, that lytel dredeth he;
Of Mynos or hys oste toke he no cure.
Till, on a day, befel an aventure,
That Nisus doghtre stode upon the walle,
And of the sege sawe the maner alle.
So hyt happed, that at a skarmysshynge,
She cast hire herte upon Mynos the kynge,
For hys beaute, and hys chevalerye,
So sore, that she wende for to dye.
And shortly of this processe for to pace,
She made Mynos wynnen thilke place,
So that the citee was alle at his wille,
To saven whom hym lyst, or elles spille.
But wikkidly he quytte her kyndenesse,

And let hire drenche in sorowe and distresse,

1895

1900

1905

1910

1915

1890. wrecche, vengeance.

1891. rede, red.

1899. wreke, to revenge.

1900. Alcathoe: The Fairfax MS. reads And the citee.-Bell.

1904. oste, host, army;-cure, care.

1911. wende, past tense of wene, thought.

1915. spille, to destroy.

1916. quytte, requited.

1917. let hire drenche, caused her to be drowned.