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In Rome dwellyng decently; and yf yee lust to lere,
How they were y-clepid, or I ferther goon,

I woll tell you the names of them everichone;
And declare you the cause why they ther namys bere
And first was y-cleped Sother Legifeer;

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This is thus much for to sey, as man bering the lawe;
And so he did trewly; for levir he had be sclawe,
Then do or sey eny thing that sownyd out of reson :
So cleen was his conscience y-set in trowith and reson.
Marcus Stoycus the second, so pepill hym highte;
That is to mene in our constert, a keper of the right :
And so he did full trewe; for the record and the plees,
He wrote them evir trewly; and took noon othir fees, 800
But such as was ordeyned to take by the yere.

Now, Lord God! in Cristendom I wold it were so clere.
The third Crassus Asulus among men clepid was;

An house of rest, and ese, and counsail in every case;
For to onderstond that was his name full right,

For evirmore the counsails he helpid wyth al his myght.
Antonius Judeus the forth was y-clepid;

That was as much to mene, as wele ne myght have clepid,
As eny purposid of all the long yere,

That myght have made hym sory or chongit onys chere,
But evirmore rejoycing, what that evir betid;

For his hert was evir mery, right as the somer bridd.
Summus Philopater was the fifftis name;

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That thoughe men wold flee hym, or do hym al the shame, Angir, or disese, as evil as men couthe,

Yet wold he love them nevir the wers, in hert ne in mowith. His will was cleen undir his foot, and nothing hym above;

the Middle Ages, and were the heroes of a story of which a version in English verse has been published by the Percy Society. They are rather oddly introduced here.

Therfor he was clepid father of perfite love.
The sixth and the seventh of these sevin sages,
Was Stypio, and Sithero; as thes words astrolages
Was surname to them both, aftir their sciences.

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For of astronomy sikerlich the cours, and all the fences Bothe they knowhit wele i-noughe, and wer right sotil of art.

But now to othir purpose for her I woll depart,

As lightly as I can, and draw to my matere.

In that same tyme, that these sages were

Dwellyng thus in Room, a litil without the walles,
In the subarbis of the town, of chambris, and of hallis,
And all other howseing, that to a lord belongit,
Was noon wythyn the ceté, ne noon so wele behongit
With docers of highe pryse, ne wallid so aboute,
As was a senatours hous, wythyn, and eke wythoute.
Favinus was his name, a worthe man, and rich;
And for to sey shortlych, in Room was noon hym lyche.
His portis and his estris were full evenaunte

Of tresor, and of lordshyp; also the most valiant

He

was, and eke y-com of high lynage.

And at last he toke a wyff, like to his peerage;

For noriture, and connyng, bewté, and parentyne,

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Wer the countid more worth, than gold or sylvir fyne. 840

But now it is all othir in mannys thought;

For muk ys now y-married, and vertu set at nought.
Fawnus and his worthy wyff wer togither aloon,
Fyveteene wyntir fulliche, and issu had they noon.
Wherfor their joyis wer nat half perfite;

For uttirlich to have a child was al ther delite,
That myght enjoy ther heritage, and weld ther honour,
And eke, when they were febill, to their trew socoure.
Their fastyng, and their preyir, and all that evir they
wrought,

As pilgramage, and almsded, ever they besought

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That God would of his goodness som fruyte betwene them

send.

Fro gynnyng of their spousaill, the myddil, and the end,

This was their most besynes; and all othir delices,
And eke this worldis rychis, they set at litil price.
So at last, as God wold, it fill oppon a dey,
As this lady fro chirch-ward went in the wey,

A child gan stere in her womb, as Goddis wyl was ;
Wherof she gan to mervill, and made shortir pas,
Wyth colour pale, and eke wanne, and full in hevynes ;
For she had nevir, tofore that day, such manere sekenes.
The wymmen, that with her were, gon to behold
The lady and her chere, but nothyng they told;
But feir and soft wyth ese hom-ward they her led ;
For her soden sekenes full sore they were adred.

For she was inlich gentil, kynd, and amyabill,

And eke trewe of hert, and nothyng variabill.

She lovid God above all thing, and dred syn and shame ;

And Agea sikerly was her rightfull name.

So aftir in breff tyme, when it was purseyvyd,

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That she had done a womans dede, and had a child

conseyvyd,

The joy that she made ther may no tung tell;

And al so much, or more yf I ne ly shell,

Favinus made in his behalf, for this glad tyding,
That I trowe, I leve the emperour, ne the kyng,
Made no bettir cher to wyff, ne no more myrth,
Then Fawnus to Agea. And when the tyme of birth
Nyghid ner and ner, aftir cours of kynd,

Wetith wele in certen, that al the wyt and mynd

Of Fawnus was continuell of feir delyveraunce,

Betwene Agea and his child; and made grete ordenaunce,

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Ageyn the tyme it shuld be bore, as it was for to doon. 881
So as God wold, whan tyme cam, Agea had a son.
But joy that Fawnus made, was dobil tho tofore,
When that he knew in certen she had a son y-bore;
And sent anoon for nursis four, and no less,

To reule this child; after-ward, as yeris did pas,

The child was kept so tenderly, that it throff wel the bet, For what the norishes axit, anoon it was y-sett.

In his chambir it norished was, to town it must nat go;
Fawnus lovid it so cherely, it myght nat part hym fro. 890
It was so feir a creature, as myght be on lyve,

Of lymes, and of fetours, and growe wondir blyve.
This child, that I of tell, Berinus was his name,

Was ovir much cherished, which turned him into grame ;
As
yee shull here aftir, when tyme comyth and spase :
For aftir swete the soure comyth full oft, in many a plase.
For as sone as he coud go and also speke,

All that he set his ey on, or aftir list to beke,

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Anoon he shuld it have; for no man hym wernyd.
But it had be well bettir, he had be wele y-lerned
Noriture and gentilnes; and had y-had som hey.
For it fill so aftir, with what child he did pley,
Yf the pley ne likid hym, he wold breke his hede;
Or wyth a knyff hym hurt ryght nygh hond to be dede.
For ther nas knyght, ne squyer, in his fathirs house,
That thought his owne persone moste corajouse,"
That did or seyd eny thing Berinus to displese,
That he nold spetously anoon oppon him rese.
Wherof his fathir had joy, and his mothir also ;
Yit it semeth to many a man, it was nat wisely do.
When Beryn passid was seven yere, and grew in more age,
He wrought ful many an evil chek; for such was his corage,
That ther he wist or might do eny evill dede,

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He wold nevir fese, for ought that men him seid.
Wherfor many a pore man oft was agrevid.

But Fawnus and Agea ful light theron belevid;
And thoughe men wold pleyne, full short it shuld availe;
For Fawnus was so mighty, and cheff of all counsaill,
With Augustyn the emperour, that all men hym drad,
And lete pas ovir mischefe, and harmys that they had.
Berinus ferthermore lovid wel the dise,

And for to pley at hazard, and held therof grete pryse,
And all othir gamys that losery was in;

And evirmore he lost, and nevir myght wyn.

Berynus at hazard many a nyght he wakid;

And oft tyme it fill so, that he cam hom al nakid;
And that was all his joy: for right wele he knew,
That Agea his mothir wold cloth hym newe.
Thus Berynus lyvid, as I have told tofore,
Tyll he was of the age of eighteen yere or more.
Fawnus made amendis, and put them in quiete ;
So was the fathir cause the sone was so wyld.
And so have many mo such, of his own child
Be cause of his undoyng, as we mowe se al day;
For thing y-take is hard to put awey ;

As how that evir trottid, trewlich I yow telle,

It were hard to make hym aftir to ambill welle.

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Ryght so by Beryn, when he had his lust and wyll, when he was lite,

It shuld be hevy after-ward to reve his old delite;

Save the whele of fortune, that no man may withstonde ;

For every man on lyve theron he is gond,

O spoke she turnyd bak-ward, righte at high noone,
All ageyn Berinus, as ye shull here sone.

Agea his mothir fell in grete sekenes,

And sent aftir husbond wyth wordis hire to lis;

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