The king hath asked of him thus—
"Say, thou unsely[1] Lucius,
Why hast thou done this sacrilege?"
"My lord, if I the cause allege,"
(Quoth he again,) "me-thinketh this,
That I have done nothing amiss.
Three points there be, which I have do,
"Whereof the first-e point stands so,
That I the ring have ta'en away—
Unto this point this will I say.
When I the god beheld about,
I saw how he his hand stretched out,
And proffered me the ring to yeve[2];
And I, which wold-e gladly live
Out of povérte thro' his largéss,
It underfang[3], so that I guess;
And therefore, am I nought to wite[4].
And overmore, I will me 'quit[5],
Of gold that I the mantle took
Gold in his kind, as saith the book,
Is heavy both, and cold also;
And fór that it was heavy so,
Methought it was no garn-e-ment[6]
Unto the god convenient,
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NOTES.
