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'A blysful lyf thou says I lede;
Thou woldes knaw therof the stage.
Thow wost wel when thy perle con schede
I was ful yong and tender of age;
Bot my Lorde the Lombe, thurgh hys godhede,
He toke myself to hys maryage,
Corouned me quene in blysse to brede
In lenghe of dayes that ever schal wage;
And sesed in alle hys herytage
Hys lef is. I am holy hysse:
Hy s prese, hy s pry s, and hy s parage
Is rote and grounde of alle my blysse.'

VIII

'Blysful,' quod I, 'may thys be trwe ?
Dyspleses not if I speke errour.
Art thou the quene of hevenes blwe,
That al thys worlde schal do honour `?
We leven on Marye that grace of grewe,
That ber a barne of vyrgyn flour;
The croune fro hyr quo moght remwe
Bot ho hir passed in sum favour ?
Now for synglerty o hyr dousour,
We calle hyr Fenyx of Arraby,
'That freles tlewe of hyr fasor,
Like to the Quen of cortaysye.'


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A blissful life you say I lead
And seek to know in what degree;
Your pearl was lost, you know indeed,
When she was tender, young and free.
My Lord the Lamb, who knew my need,
Took me in marriage graciously,
Crowned me, that now my joys exceed
The sum of days that e'er shall be;
Gave all his heritage to me,
His dearest one, and wholly his,
Precious, and of his family.
That is the root of all my bliss.

VIII

'Blissful ?' I said. 'Can this be true ?
Forgive if aught amiss I say;
Are you the queen of heaven blue
To whom this world must honour pay ?
We know in grace that Mary grew
And, virgin, bore a child one day;
What maid could now her crown outdo
Unless her worth matched such assay,
Or sweetness such as hers display ?
The Phoenix she, of Araby's race,
From her Creator flew, they say,
Like to that Queen of heavenly grace.'



'A happy life you say I lead. You wish to know to what degree. You know well that when your pearl fell [from you] I was very young and tender. But my Lord the Lamb, through his divine goodness, took me in marriage [and] crowned me queen, in joy to grow in length of days that will last for ever, and made [me] possessor of all His inheritance. [I am] His beloved; I am wholly His. [To be] His precious [one], His excellence, and [of] His lineage is the root and ground of all my happiness.'

'Happy,' I said, 'can this be true? Do not be angry if I speak in error. Are you the queen of heaven blue whom all the world shall honour? We believe in Mary, who grew in grace, who bore a child in perfect virginity. Who could take the crown from her unless she excelled her in grace? Now, because of her unique sweetness, we call her Phoenix of Araby, which flew unique from her Creator - as did the Queen of divine grace.

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