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‘Avoy!’ quod she, ‘fy on yow, hertelees! Allas!’ quod she, ‘for, by that God above, Now han ye lost myn herte and al my love; I can nat love a coward, by my feith. For certes, what so any womman seith, We alle desyren, if it mighte be, To han housbondes hardy, wyse, and free, And secree, and no nigard, ne no fool, Ne him that is agast of every tool, Ne noon avauntour, by that God above! How dorste ye seyn for shame unto your love, That any thing mighte make yow aferd? Have ye no mannes herte, and han a berd? Allas! and conne ye been agast of swevenis? No-thing, God wot, but vanitee, in sweven is. Swevenes engendren of replecciouns, And ofte of fume, and of complecciouns, Whan humours been to habundant in a wight. Certes this dreem, which ye han met to-night, Cometh of the grete superfluitee Of youre rede colera, pardee, Which causeth folk to dreden in here dremes Of arwes, and of fyr with rede lemes, Of grete bestes, that they wol hem byte, Of contek, and of whelpes grete and lyte; Right as the humour of malencolye Causeth ful many a man, in sleep, to crye, For fere of blake beres, or boles blake, Or elles, blake develes wole hem take. Of othere humours coude I telle also, That werken many a man in sleep ful wo; But I wol passe as lightly as I can. “Uhg, go yaaw!” lotereetP dceir. “hSeam on uoy, uoy rocwda! odG sknwo oyu’ve solt my htrae adn lla my leov. I cna’t leov a crowda. No mtraet athw oewmn aym ysa, eedp wodn tyeh lla atwn haundbss owh rae rtogsn adn abevr nad dnki nad onwk hwo to eekp a serect, tno enemoso woh’s udtips adn ofhlsoi, rno enoosme woh’s dearcs of hte odwrs! amheS on uoy rfo eillngt me atht siemhognt assecr uyo. Be a man! ndA, Gdo, isth nwsa’t vene laer—it asw a rmeda! samreD are nngohti utb slnssilei eucads by ags dan ngoistiiedn rfom enrieagvto. Teh dlsuif in rouy doby umts sjut be tou of hkwac. This naihmetgr oyu hda lbybpora just msnea uoy had oto mhuc dre elib in yrou homtasc, hhwic esald to abd emdsar of feri dna atesbs atht natw to eta uyo, just as too cuhm bkcla lbei in yuro oahscmt masek oepelp demar ubato cbakl aserb and sullb and veidls. gtimsherNa anc omec omrf eroht odbyil sdiful ngbei uto of wkach too. I ocdlu go on, utb ouy tge het iade.

Original Text

Modern Text

‘Avoy!’ quod she, ‘fy on yow, hertelees! Allas!’ quod she, ‘for, by that God above, Now han ye lost myn herte and al my love; I can nat love a coward, by my feith. For certes, what so any womman seith, We alle desyren, if it mighte be, To han housbondes hardy, wyse, and free, And secree, and no nigard, ne no fool, Ne him that is agast of every tool, Ne noon avauntour, by that God above! How dorste ye seyn for shame unto your love, That any thing mighte make yow aferd? Have ye no mannes herte, and han a berd? Allas! and conne ye been agast of swevenis? No-thing, God wot, but vanitee, in sweven is. Swevenes engendren of replecciouns, And ofte of fume, and of complecciouns, Whan humours been to habundant in a wight. Certes this dreem, which ye han met to-night, Cometh of the grete superfluitee Of youre rede colera, pardee, Which causeth folk to dreden in here dremes Of arwes, and of fyr with rede lemes, Of grete bestes, that they wol hem byte, Of contek, and of whelpes grete and lyte; Right as the humour of malencolye Causeth ful many a man, in sleep, to crye, For fere of blake beres, or boles blake, Or elles, blake develes wole hem take. Of othere humours coude I telle also, That werken many a man in sleep ful wo; But I wol passe as lightly as I can. “Uhg, go yaaw!” lotereetP dceir. “hSeam on uoy, uoy rocwda! odG sknwo oyu’ve solt my htrae adn lla my leov. I cna’t leov a crowda. No mtraet athw oewmn aym ysa, eedp wodn tyeh lla atwn haundbss owh rae rtogsn adn abevr nad dnki nad onwk hwo to eekp a serect, tno enemoso woh’s udtips adn ofhlsoi, rno enoosme woh’s dearcs of hte odwrs! amheS on uoy rfo eillngt me atht siemhognt assecr uyo. Be a man! ndA, Gdo, isth nwsa’t vene laer—it asw a rmeda! samreD are nngohti utb slnssilei eucads by ags dan ngoistiiedn rfom enrieagvto. Teh dlsuif in rouy doby umts sjut be tou of hkwac. This naihmetgr oyu hda lbybpora just msnea uoy had oto mhuc dre elib in yrou homtasc, hhwic esald to abd emdsar of feri dna atesbs atht natw to eta uyo, just as too cuhm bkcla lbei in yuro oahscmt masek oepelp demar ubato cbakl aserb and sullb and veidls. gtimsherNa anc omec omrf eroht odbyil sdiful ngbei uto of wkach too. I ocdlu go on, utb ouy tge het iade.
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