And gan her to complainin thanne,
And faied that fhe the cause ywas

Who fo to knowe it hath purpose,

Rede Virgile in Æneidos,

Or the Epiftils of Ovide,

What that fhe wrote or that she dide;
And n'ere it to longe to endite

By God I would it here ywrite.

380

But welawaie! the harme and routh
That hath betide for foche untrouth,

As men maie oft in bokis rede,
And al daie seen it yet in dede,

385

And falfely gan his termè pace;
And whan fhe wift that he was false
She hong herself right by the halfe,
For he had doen her fuch untrouthe:
Lo! was not this a wo and routh?

395

If Ariadne ne had be;

And for she had of hym pite
She made hym fro the deth escape,
And he made her a full false jape;
For aftir this within a while
He left her flepyng in an ile,
Defert alone right in the fe,
And ftale awaie and let her be,
And toke her fuftir Phædra tho

With hym, and gan to shippe ygo;
And yet he had yfworne to here,
On all that evir he could fwere,
That fo fhe favid hym his life
He would takin her to his wife,
For fhe defirid nothinge elles
In certain, as the boke us telles.
But for to' excufe this Æneas
Fulliche of all his grete trefpas
The boke fayith withoutin faile
The goddes bad hym go to Itaile,
And levin Affriques regioun

415

420

425

430

And faire Dido and her faire toun.

Tho fawe I grave how to Itaile

Dan Æneas gan for to faile,

And how the tempest all began,
And howe he loft his fterifman,

435

Whiche that the fterne or he toke kepe
Smote ovir the borde as he slepe.

And also faugh I how Sibile

And Æneas befide an ile

To helle went yfere for to fe

His father Anchifes the fre,

440

And how he there founde Palinurus,

And alfo Dido and Deiphobus,

And everiche tourment eke in hell
Sawe he, whiche long is for to tell,
Whiche painis who fo lifte to knowe
He must redin many a rowe
In Virgile or in Claudian,
Or Dantes, that it tellin can.
Tho fawe I all the arivaile

That Æneas made in Itaile,

And with Kyng Latine his trete,
And all the battailis that he

Was at himselfin and his knightes

Or he had all iwonne his rightes,

And how he Turnus refte his life,

And wan Lavina to his wife,

And all the marvelous fignals

Of the goddis Celestials,

How maugre Juno Æneas,

For all her fleighte and her compas,

Atchivid all his avinture,

For Jupiter toke on hym cure
At the praier of his modir Venus,
Whiche I praie alwaie favin us,

445

450

455

460

465

And us aie of our forowes light.

When I had fein all this fight

Within this noble temple thus,

Hey! Lord, thought I, that madift us,

470

Yet fawe I nevir foch nobleffe

Of imagis, nor foche richeffe,

As I fe gravin in this churche;

But nought wote I who did 'hem worche,
Ne where I am, ne' in what countre,

475

But now will I out gone and fe,
Right at the wickit, if I can
Seen oughtwhere fteryng any man
That maie me tellin where I am.
When I out of the dorè cam

I faste aboutin me behelde,
Then fawe I but a large felde
As farre as evir I might se,
Withoutin toune, or house, or tre,
Or bufhe or graffe, or arid lande,
For all the felde was but of fande
As fmal as men maye se at eye
In the defertis of Lybye;
Ne ferthir no manir creture
That is yformid by Nature

Ne fawe I, me to rede or wiffe;

O Chrift! thought I, that art in bliffe,

From fanton and illufion

Me fave, and with devocyon

480

485

490