She thanked him, and with ful greet humblesse

She seyde, sire, sith of your gentillesse Ye profre me to have so large a reyne, 755 Ne wolde never god bitwixe us tweyne, As in my gilt, were outher werre or stryf. Sir, I wol be your humble trewe wyf, (30) Have heer my trouthe, til that myn herte breste.'

Thus been they bothe in quiete and in reste. 760

For o thing, sires, saufly dar I seye, That frendes everich other moot obeye, If they wol longe holden companye. Love wol nat ben constreyned by maistrye;

Whan maistrie comth, the god of love

anon

765 Beteth hise winges, and farewel! he is gon!

Love is a thing as any spirit free;
Wommen of kinde desiren libertee, (40)
And nat to ben constreyned as a thral;
And so don men, if I soth seyen shal. 770
Loke who that is most pacient in love,
He is at his avantage al above.
Pacience is an heigh vertu certeyn;
For it venquisseth, as thise clerkes seyn,
Thinges that rigour sholde never atteyne.
For every word men may nat chyde or
pleyne:

776

Lerneth to suffre, or elles, so moot I goon,
Ye shul it lerne, wher-so ye wole or noon.
For in this world, certein, ther no wight
is,
(51)
That he ne dooth or seith som-tyme amis.
Ire, siknesse, or constellacioun,
781
Wyn, wo, or chaunginge of complexioun
Causeth ful ofte to doon amis or speken.
On every wrong a man may nat be wreken;
After the tyme, moste be temperaunce 785
To every wight that can on governaunce.
And therfore hath this wyse worthy

knight,

To live in ese, suffrance hir bihight, (60) And she to him ful wisly gan to swere That never sholde ther be defaute in here. Heer may men seen an humble wys accord; 791 Thus hath she take hir servant and hir lord,

In Engelond, that cleped was eek Briteyne, To seke in armes worship and honour; 811 For al his lust he sette in swich labour; And dwelled ther two yeer, the book seith thus.

Now wol I stinte of this Arveragus, And speken I wole of Dorigene his wyf, 815 That loveth hir housbonde as hir hertes lyf.

For his absence wepeth she and syketh, As doon thise noble wyves whan hem lyketh. (90) She moorneth, waketh, wayleth, fasteth, pleyneth ; 819

Desyr of his presence hir so distreyneth, That al this wyde world she sette at noght. Hir frendes, whiche that knewe hir hevy thoght,

Conforten hir in al that ever they may; They prechen hir, they telle hir night and day,

That causelees she sleeth hir-self, allas! 825
And every confort possible in this cas
They doon to hir with al hir bisinesse,
Al for to make hir leve hir hevinesse. (100)
By proces, as ye knowen everichoon,
Men may so longe graven in a stoon, 830
Til som figure ther-inne emprented be.
So longe han they conforted hir, til she

834

Receyved hath, by hope and by resoun, Th'emprenting of hir consolacioun, Thurgh which hir grete sorwe gan aswage; She may nat alwey duren in swich rage. And eek Arveragus, in al this care, Hath sent hir lettres hoom of his welfare, And that he wol come hastily agayn; (111) Or elles hadde this sorwe hir herte slayn. Hir freendes sawe hir sorwe gan to slake,

841 And preyede hir on knees, for goddes sake,

To come and romen hir in companye, Awey to dryve hir derke fantasye. And finally, she graunted that requeste; For wel she saugh that it was for the beste. (118) 846

Now stood hir castel faste by the see, And often with hir freendes walketh she Hir to disporte up-on the bank an heigh, Wher-as she many a ship and barge seigh Seilinge hir cours, wher-as hem liste go; But than was that a parcel of hir wo. For to hir-self ful ofte 'allas!' seith she, Is ther no ship, of so manye as I see, Wol bringen hom my lord? than were myn herte 855 Al warisshed of his bittre peynes smerte.' Another tyme ther wolde she sitte and thinke,

And caste hir eyen dounward fro the brinke. (130)

But whan she saugh the grisly rokkes blake,

For verray fere so wolde hir herte quake, That on hir feet she mighte hir noght

880

That thou it madest lyk to thyn owene merk. Than semed it ye hadde a greet chiertee Toward mankinde; but how than may it be

That ye swiche menes make it to de. stroyen,

Whiche menes do no good, but ever anoyen?

I woot wel clerkes wol seyn, as hem leste, 885

By arguments, that al is for the beste, Though I ne can the causes nat y-knowe. But thilke god, that made wind to blowe, As kepe my lord! this my conclusioun ; To clerkes lete I al disputisoun. (162) 890 But wolde god that alle thise rokkes blako Were sonken in-to helle for his sake! Thise rokkes sleen myn herte for the fere.' Thus wolde she seyn, with many a pitous

tere.

926

For she ne saugh him on the daunce go,
That was hir housbonde and hir love also.
But nathelees she moste a tyme abyde,
And with good hope lete hir sorwe slyde.
Up-on this daunce, amonges othere men,
Daunced a squyer biforen Dorigen,
That fressher was and jolyer of array,
As to my doom, than is the monthe of
May.
(200)
He singeth, daunceth, passinge any man
That is, or was, sith that the world bigan.
Ther-with he was, if men sholde him
discryve,
931

Oon of the beste faringe man on-lyve;
Yong, strong, right vertuous, and riche

6

Have mercy, swete, or ye wol do me deye!' She gan to loke up-on Aurelius: (251) Is this your wil,' quod she, and sey ye thus? 980 Never erst,' quod she, 'ne wiste I what ye mente.

But now, Aurelie, I knowe your entente,
By thilke god that yaf me soule and lyf,
Ne shal I never been untrewe wyf 984
In word ne werk, as fer as I have wit:
I wol ben his to whom that I am knit ;
Tak this for fynal answer as of me.'
But after that in pley thus seyde she: (260)
'Aurelie,' quod she, 'by heighe god
above,

989 Yet wolde I graunte yow to been your love,

1020

This is as muche to seye as it was night.
And hoom they goon in joye and in solas,
Save only wrecche Aurelius, allas!
He to his hous is goon with sorweful herte;
He seeth he may nat fro his deeth asterte.
Him semed that he felte his herte colde;
Up to the hevene his handes he gan holde,
And on his knowes bare he sette him doun,
And in his raving seyde his orisoun. 1026
For verray wo out of his wit he breyde.
He niste what he spak, but thus he seyde;
With pitous herte his pleynt hath he
bigonne
(301)
Un-to the goddes, and first un-to the

Lo, lord! my lady hath my deeth y-sworn With-oute gilt, but thy benignitee 1039 Upon my dedly herte have som pitee! For wel I woot, lord Phebus, if yow lest, Ye may me helpen, save my lady, best. Now voucheth sauf that I may yow devyse How that I may been holpe and in what wyse. 1044

Your blisful suster, Lucina the shene, That of the see is chief goddesse and quene, Though Neptunus have deitee in the see, Yet emperesse aboven him is she: (320) Ye knowen wel, lord, that right as hir desyr 1049

Is to be quiked and lightned of your fyr,
For which she folweth yow ful bisily,
Right so the see desyreth naturelly
To folwen hir, as she that is goddesse
Bothe in the see and riveres more and
lesse.

Wherfore, lord Phebus, this is my requeste

1055

Do this miracle, or do myn herte bresteThat now, next at this opposicioun, (329) Which in the signe shal be of the Leoun, As preyeth hir so greet a flood to bringe, That fyve fadme at the leeste it overspringe The hyeste rokke in Armorik Briteyne; And lat this flood endure yeres tweyne ; Than certes to my lady may I seye : "Holdeth your heste, the rokkes been aweye." 1064

Lord Phebus, dooth this miracle for me; Preye hir she go no faster cours than ye;

I

seye, preyeth your suster that she go No faster cours than ye thise yeres two. Than shal she been evene atte fulle alway, And spring-flood laste bothe night and day. (342) 1070

And, but she vouche-sauf in swiche manere To graunte me my sovereyn lady dere, Prey hir to sinken every rok adoun In-to hir owene derke regioun Under the ground, ther Pluto dwelleth inne, 1075