1. Being very old he dyed of a diarrhea or fluxe, of whom there goes this merry though somewhat unsavory tale, that all the phisitians having given him over and he lying drawing his last breath, there came an old woman unto him, who was held a witch, and asked him whether he would be cured, to whom he sayed, “Very willingly.” Then quod she, “There is a whikey tree in the lower end of your orchard, and if you will goe and walke but thrice about it, and thrice repeate theis wordes, ‘Whikey tree, whikey tree, take away this fluxe from me,’ you shall be presently cured.” He told her that beside he was extreme faint and weake, it was extreme frost and snow, and that it was impossible for him to go. She told him that unles he did so, it was impossible he should recover. Mr Henderson then lifting upp himselfe and pointing to an oken table that was in the roome, asked her and seied, “Gude dame, I pray ye tell me if it would not do as well if I repeated thrice theis words, ‘Oken burd, oken burd, garre me shit a hard turd’?” The woman, seing herselfe derided and scorned, ran out of the house in a great passion; and Mr Henderson within halfe a quarter of an houre departed this life.

2. Hwær cwom mearg? Hwær cwom mago? Hwær cwom maþþumgyfa? Hwær cwom symbla gesetu? Hwær sindon seledreamas? Eala beorht bune! Eala byrnwiga! Eala þeodnes þrym! Hu seo þrag gewat, genap under nihthelm, swa heo no wære. (The Wanderer, 92-96) [Where has the horse gone? Where the young warrior? Where the giver of treasures (the lord)? Where the benches at the feast? Where now are the joys in the hall? Alas, the bright goblet! Alas, the knight in mail! Alas, the splendor of the king! How that time has passed away, Dark under the cover of night, as if it had never been.] Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing? Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing? Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing? They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow; The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow. Who shall gather the smoke of the dead wood burning, Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning? (Tolkien, Two Towers)

3. And eek yif that he ne knowe nat why that the hornes of the fulle mone waxen pale and infect by bowndes of the derk nyght, and how the mone derk and confus discovereth the sterres that sche hadde covered by hir clere vysage. The comune errour moeveth folk, and the Coribantes maken hir tabours sounen and maken weery hir basyns of bras by thikke strokes. (That is to seyn, that ther is a maner peple that hyghte Coribantes, that wenen that whan the mone is in the eclips that it be enchaunted, and therfore for to rescowe the mone thei betyn hir basyns with thikke strokes.) Ne no man ne wondreth whanne the blastes of the wynd Chorus beten the strondes of the see by quakynge floodes; ne no man ne wondrith whan the weighte of the snowh, ihardid by the cold, is resolvyd by the brennynge hete of Phebus, the sonne; for her seen men redily the causes. But [ther] the causes yhidd (that is to seyn, in hevene) trowblen the brestes of men. The moevable peple is astoned of alle thinges that comen seelde and sodeynly in our age; but yif the trubly errour of our ignoraunce departed fro us, so that we wisten the causes why that swiche thinges bytyden, certes thei scholde cesen to seme wondres." --Chaucer's Boece, Book IV, Metrum 5

5. She is called a WEASEL (mustela) as if she were an elongated mouse (mus), for the Greeks say "theon" for "long." When she lives in a house, she moves from place to place with subtle cunning after she has had her babies, and always lies at night in a different lair. She pursues snakes and mice. There are two kinds. One kind keeps far off in the forest -- the Greeks call these Ictides -- and the other wanders about in houses. Some say that they conceive through the ear and give birth through the mouth, while, on the other hand, others declare that they conceive by mouth and give birth by ear. Now these creatures signify not a few of you fellows, who willingly accept by ear the seed of God's word, but who, shackled by the love of earthly things, put it away in the wrong place and dissimulate what you hear. --The Book of Beasts, translated by T. H. White

7. And whan that he [Troilus] was slayn in this manere [that is, by Achilles], His lighte goost ful blisfully is went Up to the holughnesse of the eighthe spere, In convers (converse/opposite side) letyng ("letting" i.e. abandoning) everich element; And ther he saugh with ful avysement (deliberation, consideration) The erratik sterres, herkenyng armonye With sownes ful of hevenyssh melodie. And down from thennes faste he gan avyse (see, consider) This litel spot of erthe that with the se Embraced is, and fully gan despise This wrecched world, and held al vanite To respect of the pleyn felicite That is in hevene above; and at the laste, Ther he was slayn his lokyng down he caste, And in hymself he lough right at the wo Of hem that wepten for his deth so faste, And dampned al oure werk that foloweth so The blynde lust, the which that may nat laste, And sholden al oure herte on heven caste; And forth he wente, shortly for to telle, Ther as Mercurye sorted hym to dwelle. --Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde Book V.1807-1827)

8. "Blisful is that man that may seen the clere welle of good! Blisful is he that mai unbynden hym fro the boondes of the hevy erthe! The poete of Trace, Orpheus, that whilome hadde ryght greet sorwe for the deth of his wyf, aftir that he hadde makid by his weeply songes the wodes moevable to renne, and hadde makid the ryveris to stonden stille, and hadde maked the hertes and the hyndes to joynen dreedles here sydes to cruel lyouns for to herknen his song, and hadde maked that the hare was nat agast of the hound, whiche was plesed by his song; so, whanne the moste ardaunt love of his wif brende the entrayles of his breest, ne the songes that hadden overcomen alle thinges ne mighten nat asswagen hir lord Orpheus, he pleynid hym of the hevene goddis that weren cruel to hym. "He wente hym to the houses of helle, and ther he tempride his blaundysschinge songes by resounynge strenges, and spak and song in wepynge al that evere he hadde resceyved and lavyd out of the noble welles of his modir Callyope the goddesse.

9. And he sang with as mochel as he myghte of wepynge, and with as moche as love that doublide his sorwe myghte yeve hym and teche hym, and he commoevde the helle, and requyred and bysoughte by swete preyere the lordes of soules in helle of relessynge, that is to seyn, to yelden hym his wyf. Cerberus, the porter of helle, with hise thre hevedes, was caught and al abasschid of the newe song. And the thre goddesses, furiis and vengeresses of felonyes, that tormenten and agasten the soules by anoy, woxen sorweful and sory, and wepyn teeris for pite. Tho was nat the heved of Yxion ytormented by the overthrowynge wheel. And Tantalus, that was destroied by the woodnesse of long thurst, despyseth the floodes to drynken. The foul that highte voltor, that etith the stomak or the gyser of Tycius, is so fulfild of his song that it nil eten ne tiren no more. At the laste the lord and juge of soules was moevid to misericordes, and cryede: "We ben overcomen," quod he; "yyve we to Orpheus his wif to beren hym compaignye; he hath wel ybought hire by his faire song and his ditee."

10. "But we wolen putten a lawe in this and covenaunt in the yifte; that is to seyn that, til he be out of helle, yif he loke byhynde hym, that his wyf schal comen ageyn unto us." But what is he that may yeven a lawe to loverys? Love is a grettere lawe and a strengere to hymself thanne any lawe that men mai yyven. Allas! Whanne Orpheus and his wif weren almest at the termes of the nyght (that is to seyn, at the laste boundes of helle), Orpheus lokede abakward on Erudyce his wif, and lost hire, and was deed. "This fable apertenith to yow alle, whosoevere desireth or seketh to lede his thought into the sovereyn day, that is to seyn, to cleernesse of sovereyn good. For whoso that evere be so overcomen that he ficche his eien into the put of helle, that is to seyn, whoso sette his thoughtes in erthly thinges, al that evere he hath drawen of the noble good celestial he lesith it, whanne he looketh the helles, that is to seyn, into lowe thinges of the erthe.