How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Line). We used the line numbering found on Librarius's online edition.
Quote #10
'Lo, lyk a bisy bee, withouten gile,
Thee serveth ay thyn owene thral Cecile!
For thilke spouse that she took but now
Ful lyk a fiers leoun, she sendeth heere
As meke as evere was any lomb, to yow.'
(195 – 199)
Urban portrays the bulk of Cecilia's work as the taming of a lion. Perhaps he means to refer to Cecilia's uprooting of the pride a nobleman like Valerian might have before his Christian conversion. Now the 'lion' must behave like a 'lamb' – he must follow the shepherd Christ.
Quote #11
'With body clene and with unwemmed thoght
Kepeth ay wel thise corones,' quod he,
'Fro Paradys to yow have I hem broght,
Ne nevere mo ne shal they roten bee,
Ne lese hir soote savour, trusteth me,
Ne nevere wight shal seen hem with his eye
But he be chaast and hate vileynye.'
(225 – 231)
The crowns with which the angel presents Cecilia and Valerian are a symbol of their spiritual beauty. Unlike physical beauty, this virtue can never decay. The crowns also become, like the angel, an effective test of one's spirituality – only those who embrace the true faith can see the crowns, symbolizing the true (as opposed to physical) vision that Christianity gives its converts.
Quote #12
'The palm of martirdom for to receyve
Seinte Cecile, fulfild of Goddes yifte,
The world and eek hire chambre gan she weyve,
Witnesse Tyburces and Valerians shrifte.'
(274 – 277)
As she did previously with Urban, the narrator here praises Cecilia's holiness in the voice of a holy father, Saint Ambrose. As Urban did, Ambrose holds up the conversions Cecilia has effected as the clearest evidence of her holiness.