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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. ‘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.

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. ‘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.