And sum time be maistrie,
I lai bi the lovelokest,
And lovede hem nevere aftur.
Whan I was eld and hor,
And hadde i-lorn that kynde,
I hadde likyng to lige
Of lecherous tales.
Now, lord, for thi lewté,
On lecheres have merci.
[2850]. Sire Hervy. Whitaker and Price (in Warton) suppose that there is here a personal allusion, which at the time had become proverbial.