Grisildis moot al suffre and al consente,
And as a lamb she sitteth meke and stille,
And leet this crueel sergeant doon his wille.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. As Griselda’s child is taken from her, she doesn’t protest but consents. The Clerk uses a simile to describe how meek and still as a lamb she is while the Sergeant cruelly removes her daughter.