The thought oppressed with inward sighes sore, The painful lyf, the body languisshing, The woful gost, the herte rent and tore, 220 The pitous chere, pale in compleyning, The deedly face, lyk ashes in shyning, The salte teres that fro myn eyën falle, Parcel declare grounde of my peynes alle: Whos herte is grounde to blede in hevinesse; 225 The thought, resceyt of wo and of complaynt; The brest is cheste of dole and drerinesse; The body eek so feble and so faynt; With hote and colde myn acces is so meynt, That now I chiver for defaute of hete, 230 And, hoot as gleed, now sodainly I swete. Now hoot as fyr, now cold as asshes dede, Now hoot fro cold, now cold fro hete agayn; Now cold as ys, now as coles rede For hete I brenne; and thus, betwixe twayne, 235 I possed am, and al forcast in payne; So that my hete plainly, as I fele, Of grevous cold is causë, every-deel. This is the cold of inward high disdayne, Cold of dispyt, and cold of cruel hate; 240 This is the cold that doth his besy payne Ayeines trouthe to fighte and to debate. This is the cold that wolde the fyr abate Of trewe mening; alas! the harde whyle! This is the cold that wolde me begyle. 245 For ever the better that in trouthe I mente With al my mighte faythfully to serve, With herte and al for to be diligent, The lesse thank, alas! I can deserve! Thus for my trouthe Daunger doth me sterve. 250 For oon that shulde my deeth, of mercy, lette Hath mad despyt newe his swerd to whette Ayeines me, and his arowes to fyle To take vengeaunce of wilful crueltè; And tonges false, through hir sleightly wyle, 255 Han gonne a werre that wil not stinted be; And fals Envye, Wrathe, and Enmitè, Have conspired, ayeines al right and lawe, Of hir malyce, that Trouthe shal be slawe. And Male-Bouche gan first the tale telle, 260 To slaundre Trouthe, of indignacioun; And Fals-Report so loude rong the belle, That Misbeleve and Fals-Suspeccioun, Have Trouthe brought to his dampnacioun, So that, alas! wrongfully he dyeth, 265 And Falsnes now his placë occupyeth, And entred is in-to Trouthes lond, And hath therof the ful possessioun. O rightful god, that first the trouthe fond, How may thou suffre such oppressioun, 270 That Falshood shulde have jurisdiccioun In Trouthes right, to slee him giltëlees? In his fraunchyse he may not live in pees. Falsly accused, and of his foon forjuged, Without answere, whyl he was absent, 275 He dampned was, and may not ben excused, For Crueltè sat in jugëment Of hastinesse, withoute avysëment, And bad Disdayn do execute anon His jugëment, in presence of his foon. 280