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425
She was ful simple of countenaunce,
And she was clothed and eek shod,
As she were, for the love of god,
Yolden to religioun,
Swich semed hir devocioun. 430
A sauter held she faste in honde,
And bisily she gan to fonde
To make many a feynt prayere
To god, and to his seyntes dere.
Ne she was gay, fresh, ne Iolyf, 435
But semed be ful ententyf
To gode werkes, and to faire,
And therto she had on an haire.
Ne certes, she was fat no-thing,

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PAPELARDIE ert apelee.
C'est cele qui en recelee, 410
Quant nus ne s'en puet prendre garde,
De nul mal faire ne se tarde.
El fait dehors le marmiteus,
Si a le vis simple et piteus,
Et semble sainte creature;
Mais sous ciel n'a male aventure
Qu'ele ne pense en son corage.
Moult la ressembloit bien l'ymage
Qui faite fu a sa semblance,
Qu'el fu de simple contenance; 420
Et si fu chaucie et vestue
Tout ainsinc cum fame rendue.
En sa main ung sautier tenoit,
Et sachies que moult se penoit
De faire a Dieu prieres faintes,
Et d'appeler et sains et saintes.
El ne fu gaie, ne jolive,
Ains fu par semblant ententive
Du tout a bonnes ovres faire;
Et si avoit vestu la haire. 430
Et sachies que n'iere pas grasse,

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But semed wery for fasting; 440
Of colour pale and deed was she.
From hir the gate [shal] werned be
Of paradys, that blisful place;
For swich folk maketh lene hir face,
As Crist seith in his evangyle, 445
To gete hem prys in toun a whyle;
And for a litel glorie veine
They lesen god and eek his reine.
And alderlast of everichoon, POVERT.
Was peynted POVERT al aloon, 450
That not a peny hadde in wolde,
Al-though [that] she hir clothes solde,
And though she shulde anhonged be;
For naked as a worm was she.
And if the weder stormy were, 455
For colde she shulde have deyed there.
She nadde on but a streit old sak,
And many a clout on it ther stak;
This was hir cote and hir mantel,
No more was there, never a del, 460
To clothe her with; I undertake,
Gret leyser hadde she to quake.
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De jeuner sembloit estre lasse,
S'avoit la color pale et morte.
A li et as siens ert la porte
Deveee de Paradis;
Car icel gent si font lor vis
Amegrir, ce dit l'Evangile,
Por avoir loz parmi la ville,
Et por un poi de gloire vaine
Qui lor toldra Dieu et son raine. 440
Portraite fu au darrenier POVRETE.
POVRETE, qui ung seul denier
N'eust pas, s'el se deust pendre,
Tant seust bien sa robe vendre;
Qu'ele iere nue comme vers:
Se li tens fust ung poi divers,
Je cuit qu'ele acorast de froit,
Qu'el n'avoit c'ung vie sac estroit
Tout plain de maves palestiaus;
Ce iert sa robe et ses mantiaus. 450
El n'avoit plus que afubler,
Grant loisir avoit de trembler.

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And she was put, that I of talke,
Fer fro these other, up in an halke;
There lurked and there coured she, 465
For povre thing, wher-so it be,
Is shamfast, and despysed ay.
Acursed may wel be that day,
That povre man conceyved is;
For god wot, al to selde, y-wis, 470
Is any povre man wel fed,
Or wel arayed or y-cled,
Or wel biloved, in swich wyse
In honour that he may aryse.
Alle these thinges, wel avysed, 475
As I have you er this devysed,
With gold and asure over alle
Depeynted were upon the walle.
Squar was the wal, and high somdel;
Enclosed, and y-barred wel, 480
In stede of hegge, was that gardin;
Com never shepherde therin.
Into that gardyn, wel [y-]wrought,
Who-so that me coude have brought,
By laddre, or elles by degree, 485
It wolde wel have lyked me.

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Des autres fu un poi loignet;
Cum chien honteus en ung coignet
Se cropoit et s'atapissoit,
Car povre chose, ou qu'ele soit,
Est ades boutee et despite.
L'eure soit ore la maudite,
Que povres homs fu conceus!
Qu'il ne sera ja bien peus, 460
Ne bien vestus, ne bien chaucies,
Neis ames, ne essaucies.
Ces ymages bien avise,
Qui, si comme j'ai devise,
Furent a or et a asur
De toutes pars paintes ou mur.
Haut fu li mur et tous quarres,
Si en fu bien clos et barres,
En leu de haies, uns vergiers,
Ou onc n'avoit entre bergiers. 470
Cis vergiers en trop bel leu sist:
Qui dedens mener me vousist
Ou par echiele ou par degre,
Je l'en seusse moult bon gre;

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For swich solace, swich Ioye, and play,
I trowe that never man ne say,
As in that place delitous.