ME. I. 1. C. swife (_for_ swifte). 4. A. hey[gh]enesse (_for_ roundnesse); Lat. _globum_. // A. hir (_for_ his). 6. A. til that she areisith hir in-til ... hir weyes. 9. C. saturnis; A. saturnus. // A. she (_for_ he). 10. A. soule (_for_ thought); _twice_. 12. C. alle; A. alle the; Ed. al the. 13. Ed. ypaynted; A. depeynted. 16. A. And whan the soule hath gon ynou[gh] she shal forleten the last poynt of the heuene, and she. 17. A. Ed. wenden; C. wyndyn. 18. A. she (_for_ he). 18, 19. C. Ed. worshipful lyht; A. dredefulle clerenesse. // A. haldeth. 20. A. this; _for_ the (2). 22. A. _om._ or wayn. 25. C. requerest; Ed. requirest; A. requeredest. 27. A. lyke (_for_ lyketh). 28. C. dyrknesses; A. derkenesse; Lat. _noctem_.
Than seyde I thus: 'owh! I wondre me that thou bihetest me so grete thinges; ne I ne doute nat that thou ne mayst wel performe that thou bihetest. But I preye thee only this, that thou ne tarye nat to telle me thilke thinges that thou hast moeved.' 5
'First,' quod she, 'thou most nedes knowen, that goode folk ben alwey stronge and mighty, and the shrewes ben feble and desert and naked of alle strengthes. And of thise thinges, certes, everich of hem is declared and shewed by other. For so as good and yvel ben two contraries, yif so be that good be stedefast, 10 than sheweth the feblesse of yvel al openly; and yif thou knowe cleerly the frelenesse of yvel, the stedefastnesse of good is knowen. But for as moche as the fey of my sentence shal be the more ferme and haboundaunt, I will gon by that oo wey and by that other; and I wole conferme the thinges that ben purposed, 15 now on this syde and now on that syde. Two thinges ther ben in whiche the effect of alle the dedes of mankinde standeth, that is to seyn, wil and power; and yif that oon of thise two fayleth, ther nis nothing that may be don. For yif that wil lakketh, ther nis no wight that undertaketh to don that he wol nat don; and 20 yif power fayleth, the wil nis but in ydel and stant for naught. And ther-of cometh it, that yif thou see a wight that wolde geten that he may nat geten, thou mayst nat douten that power ne fayleth him to haven that he wolde.'
'This is open and cleer,' quod I; 'ne it may nat ben deneyed 25 in no manere.'