e and a wanton, and you a madman. But it is meet to
keep and observe the command of St. Paul, for St. Paul teaches
him who does not wish to remain continent to act so wisely that
he may never incur outcry nor blame nor reproach. It is well to
stop an evil mouth, and this I think I can fully accomplish, if
it be not too grievous for you; for if I act as my thought
suggests to me, I will pretend to be dead. I will shortly feign
sickness, and do you on your side lavish your pains to provide
for my tomb. Set your attention and care on this, that both tomb
and bier be made in such fashion that I die not there nor
suffocate, and let no one perceive you that night when you will
be ready to take me away. And you will find me a refuge, such
that never any save you may see me; and let no one provide me
with anything of which I have need or requirement, save you to
whom I grant and give myself. Never in all my life do I seek to
be served by any other man. You will be my lord and my servant,
good will be to me whatsoever you will do to me, nor shall I ever
be lady of the empire, if you be not lord of it. A poor, dark,
and sordid place will be to me more splendid than all these
halls, when you shall be together with me. If I have you and see
you, I shall be lady of all the wealth in the world, and the
whole world will be mine. And if the thing is done wisely, never
will it be interpreted ill, and none will ever be able to point
the finger of scorn at me, for through the whole empire folk will
believe that I have rotted in the grave. And Thessala, my nurse,
who has brought me up and in whom I have great trust, will aid me
in good faith, for she is very wise and I have great confidence
in her." And Cliges, when he heard his love, replies: "Lady, if
so it can be, and if you think that your nurse is likely to
counsel you rightly in the matter, all you have to do is to make
preparations and to carry them out speedily; but if we act not
wisely, we are lost beyond recovery. In this town there is a
craftsman who carves and works in wood wondrous well; there is no
land where he is not famed for the works of art that he has made
and carved and shaped. John is his name, and he is my serf. No
handicraft is there, however peculiar it be, in which anyone
could rival him, if John set his mind to it with a will. For
compared with him they are all novices like a child at nurse. It
is by imitating his works that the inhabitants of Antioch and of
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