"The fresshe beautee sleeth me sodeynly
Of hire that rometh in the yonder place,
And but I have hir mercy and hir grace 1120
That I may seen hire atte1 leeste weye
I nam but deed; ther is namoore to seye."
This Palamon, whan he tho wordes herde, Dispitously he looked and answerde,
"Wheither seistow this in ernest or in pley?" "Nay," quod Arcite, "in ernest, by my fey! God helpe me so, me list ful yvele pleye." This Palamon gan knytte his browes tweye, "It nere,' 4 quod he, "to thee no greet hon
For to be fals, ne for to be traitour
To me, that am thy cosyn and thy brother
Ysworn ful depe, and ech of us til oother,
That nevere for to dyen in the peyne,5
Til that deeth departe shal us tweyne,
Neither of us in love to hyndre oother
Ne in noon oother cas, my leeve brother,
But that thou sholdest trewely forthren me
In every cas, as I shal forthren thee.
This was thyn ooth, and myn also certeyn;
I woot right wel thou darst it nat withseyn.
Thus artow of my conseil, out of doute:
And now thow woldest falsly been aboute
To love my lady, whom I love and serve,
And evere shal, til that myn herte sterve.
4 Were not. 5 Torture English marriage service
Nay certes, false Arcite, thow shalt nat so;
I loved hire first, and tolde thee my wo
As to my conseil, and to my brother sworn
To forthre me, as I have toold biforn. (1150 T.)
For which thou art ybounden as a knyght
To helpen me, if it lay in thy myght,
Or elles artow fals, I dar wel seyn."
This Arcite ful proudly spak ageyn;
"Thow shalt," quod he, "be rather fals than I, And thou art fals, I telle thee, outrely,
For par amour I loved hire first er thow.
What wiltow seyn? thou wistest nat yet now
Wheither she be a womman or goddesse!
Thyn is affeccioun of hoolynesse,
And myn is love as to a creature,
For which I tolde thee myn aventure
As to my cosyn and my brother sworn.
I pose1 that thow lovedest hire biforn,
Wostow 2 nat wel the olde clerkes 3 sawe,
That who shal geve a lovere any lawe;
Love is a gretter lawe, by my pan,*
Than may be geve of any erthely man?
And therfore positif lawe and swich decree
Is broken al day for love in ech degree.
A man moot nedes love maugree his heed;
He may nat flee it, thogh he sholde be deed,
Al be she mayde, or wydwe, or elles wyf;
And eek it is nat likly al thy lyf
1 Put it. 2 Knowest thou. See Boethius, book iii. met 12. Brain-pan, head.
To stonden in hir grace, namoore shal I;
For wel thou woost, thy selven verraily,
That thou and I be dampned to prisoun
Perpetuelly, us gayneth no raunsoun.
We stryven as dide the houndes for the boon,
They foughte al day, and yet hir part was noon
Ther cam a kyte, whil they weren so wrothe,
And baar awey the boon bitwixe hem bothe;
And therfore, at the kynges court, my brother,
Ech man for hym-self, ther is noon oother.
Love, if thee list, for I love and ay shal, 1183
And soothly, leeve brother, this is al.
Heere in this prisoun moote we endure
And everich of us take his aventure."
Greet was the strif, and long, bitwix hem
tweye,
If that I hadde leyser for to seye;
But to theffect. It happed on a day, -
To telle it yow as shortly as I may,
A worthy duc, that highte Perotheus,
That felawe was to duc Theseus,
Syn thilke day that they were children lite,
Was come to Atthenes, his felawe to visite,
And for to pleye, as he was wont to do;
For in this world he loved no man so,
And he loved hym als tendrely agayn.
So wel they lovede, as old bookes sayn, (1200 T.) That whan that oon was deed, soothly to telle, His felawe wente and soughte hym doun in
But of that storie list me nat to write.
Duc Perotheus loved wel Arcite,
And hadde hym knowe at Thebes yee by
And finally, at request and preyere
Of Perotheus, with-outen any raunsoun,
Duc Theseus hym leet out of prisoun
Frely to goon wher that hym liste over al,
In swich a gyse as I you tellen shal.
This was the forward,1 pleynly for tendite, Bitwixen Theseus and hym Arcite;
That if so were that Arcite were yfounde,
Evere in his lif, by day or nyght, o stounde,
In any contree of this Theseus,
And he were caught, it was acorded thus,
That with a swerd he sholde lese his heed:
Ther nas noon oother remedie, ne reed,*
But taketh his leve and homward he him
Lat hym be war, his nekke lith to wedde."
How greet a sorwe suffreth now Arcite ! The deeth he feeleth thurgh his herte smyte; He wepeth, wayleth, crieth pitously;
To sleen hym-self he waiteth prively.
He seyde, "Allas that day that I was born!
Now is my prisoun worse than biforn;
Now is me shape eternally to dwelle,
Nat in my purgatorie, but in helle.
1 Agreement. 2 One moment.
or stounde.'
8 Lose.
Most MSS. read, with the Elles
Lieth in pledge. Ordained.
Allas that evere knew I Perotheus!
For elles hadde I dwelled with Theseus
Yfetered in his prisoun everemo.
Thanne hadde I been in blisse, and nat in
Oonly the sighte of hire whom that I serve,
Though that I nevere hir grace may deserve, —
Wolde han suffised right ynough for me.
O deere cosyn Palamon,” quod he,
'Thyn is the victorie of this aventure
Ful blisfully in prison maistow1 dure, -
In prisoun? certes nay, but in paradys!
Wel hath Fortune y-turned thee the dys,
That hast the sighte of hire and I thabsence,
For possible is, syn thou hast hire presence,
And art a knyght, a worthy and an able, 1241
That som cas,2 syn Fortune is chaungeable,
Thow maist to thy desir some tyme atteyne,
But I, that am exiled and bareyne
Of alle grace, and in so greet dispeir,
That ther nys erthe, water, fir, ne eir,
Ne creature, that of hem maked is, (1249 T.)
That may me heele, or doon confort in this.
Wel oughte I sterve in wanhope and distresse;
Farwel, my lif, my lust and my gladnesse! 125C
"Allas, why pleynen folk so in commune
Of purvieaunce of God, or of Fortune,
That geveth hem ful ofte in many a gyse
Wel bettre than they kan hem self devyse?
Mayest thou. 2 Chance. 8 Complain. 4 Providence
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