For in a bath they gonne hire faste shetten, And nyght and day greet fyr they under betten. The longe nyght, and eek a day also, For al the fyr and eek the bathes heete She sat al coold and feelede no wo. It made hire nat a drope for to sweete. But in that bath hir lyf she moste lete, For he Almachius, with ful wikke entente, To sleen hire in the bath his sonde sente.

For in a bath they gonne hire faste shetten,
And nyght and day greet fyr they under betten.
The longe nyght, and eek a day also,
For al the fyr and eek the bathes heete
She sat al coold and feelede no wo.
It made hire nat a drope for to sweete.
But in that bath hir lyf she moste lete,
For he Almachius, with ful wikke entente,
To sleen hire in the bath his sonde sente.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Enraged by Cecilia’s boldness and resolute Christian faith, Almachius sentences her to be boiled to death in a bath at her house. Day and night a great fire is lit under the cauldron, but she remains unharmed and stays cold, not even sweating one drop. But in that cauldron she is destined to die, for Almachius "with wicked intent" sends his executioner to slay the saintly Cecilia in the bath.

Geoffrey Chaucer Quotes