Have God my trouthe, her cause sustene.'

'Good thrift have ye!' quod Eleyne the quone.

6

Quod Pandarus, ' And it your wil be,

That she may take her leve or that she go?
Or ellis God forbede it,' tho quod he,
"If that she vouchith safe to do so:'
And with that word, quod Troylus, 'Ye to,
Deiphebus, and my sustir leve and dere,
To yow have I to speke of a matere,

'To be avisid by your rede the bettre.'
And had, as hap was, at his beddis hede
The copie of a tretis, and a lettre
That Ector had hym sent to axin rede
If suche a man was worthy to be dede;
Note I not how, but in a grisly wise
He prayed hem on it anone avise.
Deiphebus gan this lettre to unfolde
In ernest grete, so ded Eleyne the qwene,
And romyng outward, fast it gun byhold,
Dounward a steir, into an herber grene:
This ilk thing thei reddyn hem bytwene,
And largely the mountaunce of an houre
Thei gun on it to redyn and to poure.

Now lete hem rede, and turne we anone
To Pandare, that gan ful faste prie
That al was wele; and out he gan to gone
Into the grete chambre, and that in hye,
And seid, God save al this cumpanye!
Come nece myn, my lady qwene Eleyne,
Abideth yow, and eke my lordis tweyne.

'Rys, take with yow your nece Antigone,
Or whom yow lyst, or no fors hardily;
The lasse prese the bet, com forth with me,
And lokith that ye thonk humbly
Hem al thre; and whan ye may goodly

Your tyme ysee, takith of hem your leve,
Lest we to long his restis hym byreve.'

Al innocent of Pandarus entent,

Quod tho Cryseyd, 'Go we, uncle dere;'
And arme in arme, inward with hym she went,
Avising her wele of her wordis and chere;
And Pandarus, in ernfullest manere,
Saied, Al folk, for Goddis love I pray
Styntith right here, and softely yow play.

'Avisith yow what folk be her inne,
And in what plite on is, God him amende!'
And ynwardly thus ful softly begynne :-
'Nece, I conjure, and holy yow defende,
On his half which us soule hath sende,
And in the vertue of corounys tweyne,
Sle not this man that hath for yow this peyn.

1

'For on his dele," thenk one whiche he is,
And in what plite he lith; come of anone,
Thenk al suche taried tyde lost it is;
That wil ye bothe seyn, whan ye bene one:
Secondly, ther it divineth none

Upon yow two; come of, if ye kun,
Whil folk is blent, lo, al this tyme is won!

'In tyteryng, and pursute, and delayes,
The folk devyne at waggyng of a stre,
That though ye wold have aftir merry dayes,
Than dare ye not, for why? She, and she,
Spak suche a word; thus lokyd he, and he;
Lest tyme be lost, I dare not with yow dele;
Come of therfor, and bring ye hym to hele.'

་

1 This expression is obscure. Perhaps it means, ' In regard for the King and Queen, his parents.'

2 That is, 'On his behalf.' The printed editions have, Fie on the devil.'

But now to yow, ye lovers that bene here,
Was Troylus not in a kankerdorte,'

That lay, and myght the whistryng of hem here,
And thoght 'O lord, now rennith my sort
Fully to dethe, or have anone comfort;'
And was the ferst tyme he shold her prey
Of love; O myghty God! what shal he sey?

EXPLICIT LIBER SECUNDUS.

2

O BLISFULL light, of which the bemes clere
Adornith al the thrid hevyn faire!

O Sonnys leef, O Jovis doghtir dere!
Plesaunce of love, O goodly deboneyre,

In gentil hertis redy to reppired refuge
O verray cause of hele and of gladnes,
Yheried be thi might and thi goodnes!

In hevyn and helle, in erthe and salte see,
Is felt thi myght, if that I wel discerne
As man, brid, best, fissh, herbe, and grene tre,
They fele in tymes, with vapour eterne,
God lovith, and to love wil not werne;

3

1 Speght reads cankedort, and explains the word to mean woeful case; but it would appear from the context to signify rather anxiety, perplexity. It may perhaps come from the verb to kink, still used in East Anglia, and meaning to entangle.

2 This introduction is addressed to Venus, who is compared to light. She is called the sun's love, because beloved by Apollo, and Jove's daughter; and is said to adorn the third heaven, because the planet Venus moves in the third sphere, counting that of the moon as one, from the earth.-See Somnium Scipionis, quoted vol. iv. The following address to her is founded upon the Platonic philosophy, which Chaucer knew through Boethius.-See vol. i. p. 184, note; vol. iv. pp. 303-4 3 The expression with vapour eterne is obscure. It may perhaps mean spirit or inspiration; and the passage might be paraphrased thus: Since man, bird, beast, fish, herb, and green tree, feel, by an eternal and invariable inspiration which urges them to love, that God himself loves, and does not forbid his creatures to love.' The loves of plants may be supposed to consist in the desire they evince to blossom and bear fruit.

میسون

نول

And in this world no lyvis creature,
Withouten love is worth, or may endure.

Ye, Jovis, ferst, to thilk effectis glade,
Thurgh whiche that thinges lyvin al and be,
Commodious, and amerous

made

On mortal thing; and, as ye lyst, ay ye
Yeve hem, in love, ese, or adversite;
And in a thousand fourmes doun hem sent
For love in erthe, and whom list
ye

Ye fers Mars apesyn of his yre,

ye

hent.

And as yow list ye makyn hertis digne;
Algatis hem that ye wil set a fyre,

Thei dredyn shame, and vices thei resigne;.
Ye do him curteys to be, and benigne,

емер

And hye or low, aftir that a wight entendith,
The joyes that he hath your myght hym sendith.

Ye holdyn regne and hous in unyte;
Ye sothfast cause of frendshipe bene also;
Ye know al thilk coverid qualitelity
Of thingis, which that folk on wondrin so;
Whan thei may not construe how it may go,
She lovith him, or why he lovith here,

come alm

As whi this fissh, and not that comith to the weren

Ye folk a lawe have set in universe,

And thus know I by hem that lovers be,

Y

That who so stryvith with yow hath the wers:
Now, lady bright! for thi benignyte,

At reverence of hem

that

servy
the desembre
Whos clerk I am, so techith me devise embe
Some joy that is felt in thi servise.

Ye, in my nakyd hertis sentement

Inheld, and do me shewe of thy swetnes!
Caliope,' thi voys be now present,

1 The Muse of Epic Poetry.

For is now nede; seest thou not my distres?
How I mote telle anon right the gladnes
Of Troylus, to Venus herying

To whiche ho nede hath, God hym bring.

INCIPIT LIBER TERTIUS.

LAY al this mene while Troylus
Recordyng his lesson in this manere;

'Ma fey!' thoght he, 'thus wul I sey, and thus;
Thus wole I pleyne unto myn herte dere;
That word is good, and this shal be my chere;
This wole I not foryetyn in no wyse;'

God leve hym werk as he gan devise.

And, lord! so as his herte gan to quappe,
Heryng her come, and short for to sike;
And Pandarus, that led her by the lappe,
Come nere, and gan yn at the curtyn pike,
And seid, God do bote on al syke!

Se who is here yow comyn to visite,
Lo, here is she that is your dethe to wyte!'

6

Therwith it semyd as he wept almost,
Aha! God help,' quod Troylus so rewfully,
'Wher me be wo, O myghty God, thow wost!
Who is ther? I se not trewely.'

'Sir,' quod Cryseyde, 'it is Pandare and I;'

Ye, swete hert? alas, I may not rise

To knele, and do yow honour in some wise.'

And dressid hym upward, and she right tho
Gan bothe her hondis soft upon hym ley,
'O, for love of God, do ye not so

To me,' quod she; 'ey? what is this to sey?
For comyn am I to you for causis twey;
Ferst yow to thank, and of your lordship eke
Continuance I wolde yow byseke.'