Han noght oure myghty princes to me yiven,
Ye, bothe power and auctoritee
To maken folk to dyen or to lyven?
Why spekestow so proudly thanne to me?
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. The prefect Almachius seems to have a God complex. Puzzled by Cecilia’s defiance, he reminds her that the might princes have given to him to power and authority to make folk die or live. So why do you speak so proudly then to me, he asks her?