“Eke thou, that art his son, art proud also, And knowest all these thingës verily; And art rebel to God, and art his foe. Thou drankest of his vessels boldëly; Thy wife eke, and thy wenches, sinfully Drank of the samë vessels sundry winës, And heried falsë goddës cursedly; Therefore to thee y-shapen full great pine is.
“This hand was sent from God, that on the wall Wrote Mane, tekel, phares , trustë me; Thy reign is done; thou weighest naught at all; Divided is thy regne, and it shall be To Medës and to Persians giv’n,” quoth he. And thilkë samë night this king was slaw; And Darius occupied his degree, Though he thereto had neither right nor law.
Lordings, example hereby may ye take, How that in lordship is no sickerness; For when that Fortune will a man forsake, She bears away his regne and his richéss, And eke his friendës bothë more and less. For what man that hath friendës through fortúne, Mishap will make them enemies, I guess; This proverb is full sooth, and full commúne.
Zenobia , of Palmyrie the queen, As writë Persians of her nobléss, So worthy was in armës, and so keen, That no wight passed her in hardiness, Nor in lineage, nor other gentleness. Of the king’s blood of Perse is she descended; I say not that she haddë most fairnéss, But of her shape she might not he amended.
From her childhood I findë that she fled Office of woman, and to woods she went, And many a wildë hartë’s blood she shed With arrows broad that she against them sent; She was so swift, that she anon them hent. And when that she was older, she would kill Lions, leopárds, and bearës all to-rent, And in her armës wield them at her will.
She durst the wildë beastës’ dennës seek, And runnen in the mountains all the night, And sleep under a bush; and she could eke Wrestle by very force and very might With any young man, were he ne’er so wight; There mightë nothing in her armës stond. She kept her maidenhood from every wight, To no man deigned she for to be bond.