From the prologue to William Caxton's Eneydos (1490)
(eh-NAY-dose)

I love the language in this passage. I took the liberties to swap some "u"s and "v"s, and remove the old punctuation mark "/", so that you can experience its comedy without interruption.

And also my Lorde Abbot of Westmynster ded do shewe to me late, certayn evydences wryton in olde Englysshe, for to reduce it into our Englysshe now usid. And certaynly it was wreton in suche wyse that it was more lyke to Dutche than Englysshe; I coude not reduce ne brynge it to be understonden. And certaynly our langage now used varyeth ferre from that whiche was used and spoken whan I was borne. For we Englysshe men, ben borne under the domynacyoun of the mone, whiche is never stedfaste, but euer waverynge-- wexynge one season, and waneth and dyscreaseth another season-- and that comyn Englysshe that is spoken in one shyre varyeth from another. In so moche that in my dauyes happened that certayn marchauntes were in a shippe in Tamyse, for to haue sayled ouer the see into Zelande, and for lacke of wynde, they taryed atte forlond, and wente to lande for to refreshe them. And one of theym named Sheffelde, a mercer, cam into an hows and axed for mete; and specyally he axyd after eggys. And the goode wyf answerde, that she coude speke no Frenshe. And the marchaunt was angry, for he also coude speke no Frenshe, but wolde have hadde egges, and she understode hym not; and thenne at laste a nother sayd that he wolde have eyren; then the good wyf sayd that she understod hym wel. Loo, what sholde a man in thyse dayes now wryte, egges or eyren? Certaynly it is harde to playse euery man, bycause of dyversite & chaunge of langage.