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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 wyaa!” ePtotleer cdier. “ahmeS on uyo, yuo radwco! odG knwos ouy’ve olts my treah nda lla my veol. I nca’t vleo a wocadr. No ttrmea tawh noemw yma ysa, deep wdon yhte all nwat adssbnhu hwo aer nsgotr dan eravb dan iknd nda wokn ohw to eepk a rteesc, not soeomne owh’s ituspd dna lohosfi, rno omeenso hwo’s rdesac of the oswdr! eShma on uyo rof ltgelni me htta oiegmtsnh sceras oyu. Be a anm! ndA, doG, thsi wans’t eevn rael—it asw a drema! Desarm are nhgotni btu snileslis udaces by sag dan deotsignnii romf ngvieaoetr. ehT ulisfd in ouyr dboy must tujs be uot of kwcha. Tsih thgeiramn ouy hda bbploray ujst sanem ouy dha oto cumh erd ible in oryu otcsham, hihcw eadsl to bda arsmed of iref dna basets ahtt ntwa to eat oyu, jtus as oto mcuh lckba blei in ruyo taohscm emska opelpe deamr tobua acbkl asebr and lbusl and levids. temrgihNsa acn cmeo fmor htreo ylibdo suifdl enigb uot of wkhac too. I dcoul go on, ubt you etg the idea.

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 wyaa!” ePtotleer cdier. “ahmeS on uyo, yuo radwco! odG knwos ouy’ve olts my treah nda lla my veol. I nca’t vleo a wocadr. No ttrmea tawh noemw yma ysa, deep wdon yhte all nwat adssbnhu hwo aer nsgotr dan eravb dan iknd nda wokn ohw to eepk a rteesc, not soeomne owh’s ituspd dna lohosfi, rno omeenso hwo’s rdesac of the oswdr! eShma on uyo rof ltgelni me htta oiegmtsnh sceras oyu. Be a anm! ndA, doG, thsi wans’t eevn rael—it asw a drema! Desarm are nhgotni btu snileslis udaces by sag dan deotsignnii romf ngvieaoetr. ehT ulisfd in ouyr dboy must tujs be uot of kwcha. Tsih thgeiramn ouy hda bbploray ujst sanem ouy dha oto cumh erd ible in oryu otcsham, hihcw eadsl to bda arsmed of iref dna basets ahtt ntwa to eat oyu, jtus as oto mcuh lckba blei in ruyo taohscm emska opelpe deamr tobua acbkl asebr and lbusl and levids. temrgihNsa acn cmeo fmor htreo ylibdo suifdl enigb uot of wkhac too. I dcoul go on, ubt you etg the idea.
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