And wold han preved it as shuld a knight,
And eke by witneffing of many a wight
That all was falfe that said his adversary,
This curfed juge wolde nothing tary,
Ne here a word more of Virginius,
But yave his jugement, and faide thus:

I deme anon this cherl his fervant have;
Thou shalt no lenger in thin hous hire save;

12130

Go bring hire forth, and put hire in our ward: 12135
The cherl fhal have his thral; thus I award.
And whan this worthy knight Virginius,
Thurgh fentence of this juftice Appius,
Mufte by force his dere doughter yeven

Unto the juge, in lecherie to liven,

12140

He goth him home, and fet him in his hall,

And let anon his dere doughter call;

And with a face ded as afhen cold
Upon hire humble face he gan behold,
With fadres pitee fliking thurgh his herte,
Al wold he from his purpos not converte.
Doughter, quod he, Virginia by thy name,
Ther ben two waies, other deth or fhame,
That thou muft fuffre, alas that I was bore!

12145

For never thou deservedeft wherfore

To dien with a fwerd or with a knif.

O dere doughter, ender of my lif!

12150

Which I have foftred up with fwiche plefance
That thou were never out of my remembrance;

O doughter! which that art my laste wo,
And in my lif my laste joye alfo;

O gemme of chastitee! in patience

Take thou thy deth, for this is my sentence;
For love and not for hate thou must be ded;
My pitous hond muft fmiten of thin hed.
Alas that ever Appius thee fay!

Thus hath he falfely juged thee to-day.

And told hire all the cas, as ye

before

Han herd; it nedeth not to tell it more.
O mercy, dere father! quod this maid.
And with that word the both hire armes laid
About his necke, as fhe was wont to do,
(The teres braft out of hire eyen two)
And faid, Cgoode father! fhal I die?
Is ther ne grace? is ther no remedie?

No certes, dere doughter min! quod he.
Thon yeve me leifer, father min, quod fhe,
My deth for to complaine a litel space;
For parde Jepte yave his doughter grace
For to complaine or he hire flow, alas!

12153

12160

12165

12170

12175

And God it wot nothing was hire trespas,

. 12159. For love] Rom. de la R. 5871.;

Car par amour et fans haine

A fa belle fille Virgine
Tantoft a la tele coupee,
Et puis au Juge prefentee
Devant tous en plain Confiftoire,

Et ie Juge, felon l'hyftoire,

Le commanda tanto a prendre

See below, ver. 12190-3. The fpeeches of Virginius and his

daughter are of Chaucer's own invention.

But for fhe ran hire father firft to fee,
To welcome him with gret folempnitee.
And with that word fhe fell afwoune anon,
And after, whan hire fwouning was agon,
She rifeth up, and to hire father faid;
Bleffed be God that I fhal die a maid!

12180

Yeve me my deth or that I have a shame:

12185

Doth with your child your wille a Goddes name.
And with that word the praied him ful oft
That with his fwerd he wolde fmite hire soft;
And with that word afwoune again fhe fell.
Hire father, with ful forweful herte and will,
Hire hed of fmote, and by the top it hent,
And to the juge he gan it to prefent,

As he fat yet in dome in confiftorie.

12199

And whan the juge it faw, as faith the storie,
He bad to take him and anhang hini faft:
But right anon a thousand peple in thraft

To fave the knight for routh and for pitee,
For knowen was the falfe iniquitee.

The peple anon had fufpect in this thing,
By maner of the cherles chalenging,
That it was by the affent of Appius;
They wisten wel that he was lecherous:
For which unto this Appius they gon,
And cafte him in a prifon right anon,
Whereas he flow himfelf; and Claudius,
That fervant was unto this Appius,

12195

12200

Was demed for to hange upon a tree,
But that Virginius of his pitee

So prayed for him that he was exiled,

And elles certes had he ben begiled:

12203

The remenant were anhanged, more and lesse,
That were confentant of this curfedneffe. 12210
Here men may see how fin hath his merite:
Beth ware, for no man wot whom God wol fmite
In no degree, ne in which maner wife

The worme of conscience may agrise

Of wicked lif, though it fo privee be

That no man wote therof fauf God and he;
For be he lewed man or elles lered

He n'ot how fone that he fhal ben afered:

Therfore I rede you this conseil take,

12215

Forfaketh finne or finne you forfake.

12220

THE PARDONERES PROLOGUE.

OUR Hofte gan to fwere as he were wood,
Harrow! (quod he) by nailes and by blood
This was a falfe cherl and a false justice.
As fhameful deth as herte can divife
Come to thise juges and hir advocas.
Algate this fely maide is flain, alas!
Alas! to dere abought she hire beautee;
Wherfore I say that al day man may fee
That yeftes of Fortune and of Nature
Ben cause of deth to many a creature.

12225

12230

Hire beautee was hire deth, I dare wel fain:

Alas! fo pitoufly as fhe was flain.

Of bothe yeftes that i fpeke of now

Men han ful often more for harm than prow.

But trewcly, min owen maister dere,
This was a pitous Tale for to here;
But natheles paffe over is no force.
I pray to God to save thy gentil corps,
And eke thyn urinals and thy jordanes,
Thin Ypocras, and eke thy Galianes,
And every boift ful of thy letuarie

God bleffe hem and our Lady Seinte Marie.
So mote I the thou art a propre man,

And like a prelat, by Seint Ronian.

12235

12240

V. 12233. Of bothe yeftes] This line is reftored from mff. C. 1, HA. It had been supplied in the common copies by the following;

But hereof wol I not proceed as now.

. 122 36. a pitous Tale'] This is the reading of two good míf. A. and 4. but I believe it to be a glofs: the other copies read ernejul, which is near the truth. It thould be ermeful. Earme, Sax. fignifies mifer. Hence carmelice, mifere, Chr. Sax. 65, earmthe, mijeria, ibid. 141. And a little lower, ver. 12245, to erme is ufed for to grieve, as the Sax. earmian is, Chr. Sax! 188, 14.

. 12239. thyjordanes] This word is in Walfingham, p. 288'; "Duæ olla, quas Jordanes vocamus, ad ejus collum colligan"tur." This 's part of the punishment of a pretended phiticus et aftrologs who had deceived the people by a falfe prediction. Hollinked calls them to jorden pots, p. 440.

12240. Thin Ipocras] Ypocras (or Hippocras) and Galianes fhould both have been printed as proper names, with great initial letters. See the note on ver. 433.