C. = MS. Ii. 3. 21, Cambridge; A. = MS. Addit. 10340 (Brit. Mus.). _The text follows_ C. _mainly_. Ed. = Printed edition (1532), _quoted occasionally_.
1, 2. _Imperfect in_ C. 6. C. foleweden; A. folweden. 8. C. sorful; A. sorouful. // C. wierdes, _glossed_ fata; A. werdes. 11. C. arn; A. ben. 12. C. of; A. upon. // C. emptyd; A. emty. 16. C. nayteth; A. Ed. naieth. 17. A. _glosses_ lighte _by_ sc. temporels. // C. sorwful; A. sorouful. 19. C. deceyuable; A. disceyuable. 20. C. vnpietous; A. vnpitouse. 22. C. stidefast; A. stedfast.
Whyle that I stille recordede thise thinges with my-self, and markede my weeply compleynte with office of pointel, I saw, stondinge aboven the heighte of myn heved, a woman of ful greet reverence by semblaunt, hir eyen brenninge and cleer-seinge over the comune might of men; with a lyfly colour, and with swich 5 vigour and strengthe that it ne mighte nat ben empted; al were it so that she was ful of so greet age, that men ne wolde nat trowen, in no manere, that she were of oure elde. The stature of hir was of a doutous Iugement; for som-tyme she constreinede and shronk hir-selven lyk to the comune mesure of men, and sum-tyme it 10 semede that she touchede the hevene with the heighte of hir heved; and whan she heef hir heved hyer, she percede the selve hevene, so that the sighte of men looking was in ydel. Hir clothes weren maked of right delye thredes and subtil crafte, of perdurable matere; the whiche clothes she hadde woven with hir 15 owene hondes, as I knew wel after by hir-self, declaringe and shewinge to me the beautee; the whiche clothes a derknesse of a forleten and dispysed elde hadde dusked and derked, as it is wont to derken bi-smokede images.
In the nethereste hem or bordure of thise clothes men redden, 20 y-woven in, a Grekissh P, _that signifyeth the lyf Actif_; and aboven that lettre, in the heyeste bordure, a Grekissh T, _that signifyeth the lyf Contemplatif_. And bi-twixen these two lettres ther weren seyn degrees, nobly y-wroght in manere of laddres; by whiche degrees men mighten climben fro the nethereste lettre to the 25 uppereste. Natheles, handes of some men hadde corven that cloth by violence and by strengthe; and everiche man of hem hadde born awey swiche peces as he mighte geten. And forsothe, this forseide woman bar smale bokes in hir right hand, and in hir left hand she bar a ceptre. 30