[513: T. 15581-15608.]
And right so as thise philosophres wryte
That heven is swift and round and eek brenninge,
Right so was fayre Cecilie the whyte 115
Ful swift and bisy ever in good werkinge,
And round and hool in good perseveringe,
And brenning ever in charitee ful brighte;
Now have I yow declared what she highte.
_Explicit_.
=Here Biginneth the Seconde Nonnes Tale, of the Lyf of Seinte Cecile.=
This mayden bright Cecilie, as hir lyf seith, 120
Was comen of Romayns, and of noble kinde,
And from hir cradel up fostred in the feith
Of Crist, and bar his gospel in hir minde;
She never cessed, as I writen finde,
Of hir preyere, and god to love and drede, 125
Biseking him to kepe hir maydenhede.
And when this mayden sholde unto a man
Y-wedded be, that was ful yong of age,
Which that y-cleped was Valerian,
And day was comen of hir mariage, 130
She, ful devout and humble in hir corage,
Under hir robe of gold, that sat ful fayre,
Had next hir flesh y-clad hir in an heyre.
And whyl the organs maden melodye,
To god alone in herte thus sang she; 135
‘O lord, my soule and eek my body gye
Unwemmed, lest that I confounded be:’
And, for his love that deyde upon a tree,
Every seconde or thridde day she faste,
Ay biddinge in hir orisons ful faste. 140
134. Hl. Hn. organs; Ln. orgens; E. Orgues; Cp. Orgles; Pt. Orgels.
137. E. it; _rest_ I. 138. Hn. Cm. Cp. Hl. deyde; E. dyde. 139. E.
Hn. and; _rest_ or.
[514: T. 15609-15643.]
The night cam, and to bedde moste she gon
With hir housbonde, as ofte is the manere,
And prively to him she seyde anon,
‘O swete and wel biloved spouse dere,
Ther is a conseil, and ye wolde it here, 145
Which that right fain I wolde unto yow seye,
So that ye swere ye shul me nat biwreye.’