And seyde, 'who so wol nat sacrifyse,

Swap of his heed, this is my sentence here.'

240

Anon thise martirs that I yow devyse,

Oon Maximus, that was an officere

Of the prefectes and his corniculere,88

Hem hente; and whan he forth the seintes ladde,
Him-self he weep, for pitee that he hadde.

245

When Maximus had herd the seintes lore,
He gat him of the tormentoures leve,
And ladde hem to his hous withoute more;
And with hir preching, er that it wer eve,
They gonnen fro the tormentours to reve,3
And fro Maxime, and fro his folk echone
The false feith, to trowe in god allone.

39

250

Cecilie cam, whan it was woxen night,

With preestes that hem cristned alle y-fere;40

And afterward, whan day was woxen light,

255

Cecile hem seyde with a ful sobre chere,

'Now, Cristes owene knightes leve and dere,
Caste alle awey the werkes of derknesse,
And armeth yow in armure of brightnesse.

Ye han for sothe y-doon a greet bataille,

260

Your cours is doon, your feith han ye conserved,
Goth to the corone of lyf that may nat faille;
The rightful juge, which that ye han served,
Shall yeve it yow, as ye han it deserved.'
And whan this thing was seyd as I devyse,

265

Men ladde hem forth to doon the sacrifyse.

But whan they weren to the place broght,
To tellen shortly the conclusioun,

They nolde encense ne sacrifice right noght,
But on hir knees they setten hem adoun
With humble herte and sad devocioun,

270

37 Strike. 38 Registration clerk.

39 Take away.

40 Together.

And losten bothe hir hedes in the place.
Hir soules wenten to the king of grace.

This Maximus, that saugh this thing bityde,
With pitous teres tolde it anon-right,
That he hir soules saugh to heven glyde

275

With angels ful of cleernesse and of light,
And with his word converted many a wight;
For which Almachius dide him so to-bete11
With whippe of leed, til he his lyf gan lete.42

280

Cecile him took and buried him anoon

By Tiburce and Valerian softely,

Withinne hir burying-place, under the stoon.

Unto hir word, and cryden more and more,

290

'Crist, goddes sone withouten difference,

Is verray god, this is al our sentence,

That hath so good a servant him to serve;

This with o voys we trowen, thogh we sterve!'43

Almachius, that herde of this doinge,

295

Bad fecchen Cecile, that he might hir see,

And alderfirst," lo! this was his axinge,

'What maner womman artow?' tho quod he.

'Ye han bigonne your question folily,'

Quod she, 'that wolden two answeres conclude
In oo demande; ye axed lewedly.'45

Almache answerde unto that similitude,

305

'Of whennes comth thyn answering so rude?'

'Of whennes?' quod she, whan that she was freyned,"

'Of conscience and of good feith unfeyned.'

Almachius seyde, 'ne takestow non hede

Of my power?' and she answerde him this

310

'Your might,' quod she, 'ful litel is to drede;

For every mortal mannes power nis

But lyk a bladdre, ful of wind, y-wis.

For with a nedles poynt, whan it is blowe,

May al the boost of it be leyd ful lowe.'

315

'Ful wrongfully bigonne thou,' quod he,
'And yet in wrong is thy perseveraunce;
Wostow nat how our mighty princes free
Han thus comanded and maad ordinaunce,
That every Cristen wight shal han penaunce
But-if that he his Cristendom withseye,
And goon al quit, if he wol it reneye?'

320

'Your princes erren, as your nobley dooth,'

Quod tho Cecile, 'and with a wood sentence

Ye make us gilty, and it is nat sooth;

325

For ye, that knowen wel our innocence,

For as muche as we doon a reverence

To Crist, and for we bere a Cristen name,

Ye putte on us a cryme, and eek a blame.

But we that knowen thilke name so

330

For vertuous, we may it not withseye'

Almache answerde, 'chees oon of thise two,
Do sacrifyce, or Cristendom reneye,

That thou mowe now escapen by that weye.'
47 Mad.

"Foolishly.

Questioned.

Ne woostow nat how far my might may strecche?

Han noght our mighty princes to me yeven,
Ye, bothe power and auctoritee

345

To maken folk to dyen or to liven?

Why spekestow so proudly than to me?'

'I speke noght but stedfastly,' quod she,
'Nat proudly, for I seye, as for my syde,
We haten deedly thilke vyce of pryde.

350

And if thou drede nat a sooth to here,
Than wol I shewe al openly, by right,

That thou hast maad a ful gret lesing here.
Thou seyst, thy princes han thee yeven might

Bothe for to sleen and for to quiken1o a wight;

355

Thou, that ne mayst but only lyf bireve,

Thou hast non other power ne no leve!

But thou mayst seyn, thy princes han thee maked
Ministre of deeth; for if thou speke of mo,
Thou lyest, for thy power is ful naked.'
'Do wey thy boldnes,' seyde Almachius tho,
'And sacrifice to our goddes, er thou go;
I recche nat what wrong that thou me profre,
For I can suffre it as a philosophre;

360

But thilke wrongs may I nat endure

365

That thou spekest of our goddes here,' quod he.
Cecile answerede, 'O nyce creature,

Thou seydest no word sin thou spak to me

That I ne knew therwith thy nycetee;

And that thou were, in every maner wyse,
A lewed officer and a veyn justyse.

370

Ther lakketh no-thing to thyn utter yën50

That thou nart blind, for thing that we seen alle

That it is stoon, that men may wel espyen,

That ilke stoon a god thou wolt it calle.

375

I rede thee, lat thyn hand upon it falle,

And taste it wel, and stoon thou shalt it finde,

Sin that thou seest nat with thyn yën blinde.

It is a shame that the peple shal

So scorne thee, and laughe at thy folye;
For comunly men woot it wel overal,"1

380

60 Eyes.

That mighty god is in his hevenes hye,

And thise images, wel thou mayst espye,

To thee ne to hem-self mowe nought profyte,

For in effect they been nat worth a myte.'

385

Thise wordes and swiche othere seyde she,

And he weex wroth, and bad men sholde hir lede

Hom til hir hous, 'and in hir hous,' quod he,
'Brenne hir right in a bath of flambes rede.'

And as he bad, right.so was doon in dede;

390

For in a bath they gonne hir faste shetten,52
And night and day greet fyr they under betten.

The longe night and eek a day also,

For al the fyr and eek the bathes hete,

She sat al cold, and felede no wo,

395

It made hir nat a drope for to swete.
But in that bath hir lyf she moste lete;