HE double sorrow of Troilus to tellen,
That was kinge Priamus sonne of Troy,
In loving, how his aventures fellen
From woe to wele, and after out of joy,
My purpose is, er that I part froy.
Thou Thesiphone, thou helpe me for t'endite
These wofull verses, that wepen as I write.
To thee I clepe, thou goddesse of tourment
Thou cruell furie, sorrowing ever in paine,
Helpe me that am the sorrowfull instrument,
That helpeth lovers, as I can complaine:
For well sit it, the sooth for to saine,
A wofull wight to have a drery fere,
And to a sorrowfull tale a sorrie chere.
For I that god of loves servantes serve,
Ne dare to love, for mine unlikelynesse,
Prayen for speed, all should I therefore sterve,
So farre am I fro his helpe in derkenesse.
But nathelesse, if this may done gladnesse
any lover, and his cause availe,
Have he my thanke, and mine be the travaile.
But ye lovers that bathen in gladnesse,
If any droppe of pite in you be,
Remembreth you of passed heavinesse
That ye have felt, and on the adversite
Of other folke, and thinketh how that ye
Han felt, that Love durst you displease,
han won him with too great an ease.
And prayeth for hem that been in the case
Of Troilus, as ye may after heare,
That he hem bring in Heaven to solace.
And eke for me prayeth to God so deare,
That I have might to shew in some manere,
Such paine and woe, as Loves folke endure,
In Troilus unsely aventure.
And biddeth eke for hem that ben dispeired
In love, that never will recovered be:
And eke for hem that falsely ben apeired,
Through wicked tongues, be it he or she:
Thus biddeth God for his benignite,
So grant hem sone out of this world to pace
That ben dispaired out of Loves grace.
And biddeth eke for hem that ben at ease,
That God hem graunt aie good perseverance,
And send hem grace hir loves for to please,
That it to love be worship and pleasaunce :
For so hope I my selfe best to avaunce
To
pray for hem, that Loves servaunts be,
And write hir woe, and live in charite.
And for to have of hem compassioun,
As though I were hir owne brother dere,
Now hearkeneth with a good ententioun,
For now woll I go straight to my matere:
In which ye may the double sorrowes here Of Troilus, in loving of Creseide,
And how she forsoke him er that she deide.
It is well wist, how that the Greekes strong
In armes with a thousand shippes went
To Troie wardes, and the citie long
Besiegeden, nigh ten yeres ere they stent,
And how in divers wise, and one entent,
The ravishing to wreake of queen Heleine,
By Paris don, they wroughten all hir peine.
Now fell it so, that in the toune there was
Dwelling a lord of great authorite
A great divine that cleped was Calcas,
That in science so expert was, that he
Knew well, that Troie should destroyed be,
By answere of his god, that hight thus,
Dan Phebus, or Apollo Delphicus.
So whan this Calcas knew by calculing,
And eke by the answere of this god Apollo,
That the Greekes should such a people bring,
Thorow the which that Troy must be fordo,
He cast anone out of the toune to go:
For well he wist by sort, that Troie sholde
Destroyed be, ye would who so or n'olde.
Wherefore he to departen softely,
Tooke purpose full, this forknowing wise,
And to the Greekes host full prively
He stale anone, and they in courteous wise
Did to him both worship and servise,
In trust that he hath cunning hem to rede
In every perill, which that was to drede.
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