Lay straught vpright, plainely to endite,
With deadly eyen tourned vp the white,
Who made sorrow, or felt her herte riue
For her lord but the faire Argiue,
Who can now weepe, but Deiphilee,
Tideus for she ne might see,

Whose constreints were so fell and kene,
That Adrastus might not susteine,
To behold the ladies so compleine,
Wishing his herte coruen were in tweine.

The women first with pekois and with malles,
With great labour beat downe the walles,
And in hir writing, also as they saine,
Campaneus was in the wals slaine,
With cast of stones he was so ouerlade,
For whom Adrastus such a sorrow made,
That no man may release him of his paine,
And locasta, with her doughters twaine,
Full wilfully oppressed of hir cheres,
To Athenes were sent as prisoners,
What fell of hem, more can I not saine,

neither to be brent nor buried.

And yet alas both euen and morrow,

O thing there was that doubled all hir sorow
That old Creon fader of fellony,

Ne would suffer through his tiranny,
The dead bodies be buried neither brent,
But with beasts and hounds to be rent,
He made hem all upon an heape be laid,
Whereof the women thrist and euil apaid,
for very dole as it was no wonder,
Hir hertes felt almost riue asunder,
And as my master Chaucer list to endite,
All clad in blacke with hir wimples white,
With great honour, and due reuerence,
In the temple of the goddesse Clemence,
They bode the space of a fourthnight,
Till Theseus the noble worthy knight,
Duke of Athenes, with his cheualry,
Repaired home out of Feminy,

And with him led, full faire vpon to seene,
Through his manhood Ipolita the queene,
And her sister called Emely:
And whan these woman first gan espy
The worthy duke as he came riding,
King Adrastus hem all conueying,
The women brought vnto his presence,
Which him besought to yeue hem audience,
And all at ones swouning in the place,
Full humbly besoughten him of grace,
To rew on hem, hir harmes to redresse:
But if ye list to see the gentillesse
Of Theseus, and how he hath him borne,
If ye remember, as ye haue heard toforne
Well rehearsed, at Depford in the vale,
In the beginning of the knights tale.

How the final destruction of Thebes is compendiously rehearsed in the Knights tale.

First how that he whan he herd hem speke,
For very routh he felt his herte breke,
And hir sorrowes whan he gan aduart,
From his courser downe anone he start,
Hem comforting in full good entent,
And in his armes he hem all vp hent,
The Knights tale rehearsen euerydele,
From point to point, if ye looke it wele,
And how this duke without more abode,
The same day toward Thebes rode,
Full like in sooth a worthy conquerour,
And in his coast of cheualry the flour:
And finally to speaken of this thing,

With old Creon, that was of Thebes king,

How that he faught, and slough him like a knight, And all his hoast put vnto the flight,

Yet as some authors make mentioun,

Or Theseus entred into the tonn,

Out of the field, ere he from Thebes went,
He beat it downe, and the houses brent,
The people slough, for all hir crying loud,
He made her wals and her toures proud,
Round about, euen vpon a row,
With the soile to be laied full low,
That nought was left but the soile bare,
And to the women, in release of hir care,

How that duke Theseus delivered to the ladies the bodies of their lords.

The bodies of hir lords that were slaine,
This worthy duke restored hath againe,
But what should I any lenger dwell,
The old rites by and by to tell,
Nor the obsequies in order to deuise,
Nor declare the manner and the guise,
How the bodies were to ashes brent,
Nor of the gommes in the flaume spent,
To make the aire sweeter of reles,
Of frankencence, mirre, and aloes,
Nor how the women round about stood,
Some with milke, and some also with blood,
And some of hem with vrnes made of gold,
Whan the ashes fully were made cold,
To enclose hem of great affection,
And beare hem home vnto hir region,
And how that other, full deadly of hir looke,
For loue onely, of the bones tooke,
Hem to keepe for a remembraunce,
That to rehearse euery obseruaunce
That was doen in the fires bright,
The wake plaies during all the night,
Nor of the wrastling, telling point by point,
Of hem that were naked and annoint,
How eueriche other lugge can and shake,
Ne how the women haue hir leaue take
Of Theseus, with full great humblesse
Thanking him of his high worthinesse,
That him list vpon hir wo to rew,
And how that he his freedome to renew
With the women of his high largesse
Iparted hath eke, of his richesse,
And how this duke Theseus hem forsooke,
And to Athenes the right way tooke,
With laurer crowned in signe of victory,
And the palme of conquest and of glory,
Did his honour duly vnto Marte,

And how the women wept whan they parte

How king Adrastus, with the ladies, repaired home ayen to Arge.

With king Adrastus, home ayein to Arge,
To tellen all it were too great a charge:
And eke also as ye shall vnderstand,
At ginning I tooke no more on hand,

Unto his end, ye get no more of me,
Sauf as mine authour liketh to compile,
After that he liued but a while,
For he was old ere the seige began,

And thought and sorrow so vpon him ran,
The which in sooth shorted hath his daies,
And time set, death maketh no delaies,
And all his joy passed was and gone,
For of his lords aliue was not one,

But slaine at Thebes, ye known all the caas,
And whan this king in Arge buried was
Full royally with great solemnitee,

It was accounted in bookes ye may see,

Four hundred year tofore the foundation of Rome was the city of Thebes destroyed.

CCCC. yeare, as made is mention,
Tofore the building and foundation
Of great Rome, so royal and so large,
Whan the ladies departed from Arge
To hir countries, full trist and desolate,
Lo here the fine of conteke and debate,

Lo here the might of Mars the froward sterre,
Lo what it is to beginne a werre,
How it concludeth, ensample ye may see,
First of the Grekes, and sith of the Thebans cite,
For eyther part hath matter to complaine,
And in hir strife ye may see things twaine.

How all the worthy blood of Greece destroyed was at seige, and the city brought to nought, to final loss of both parties.

The worthy blood of all Greece spilt,
And Thebes eke of Amphion first built,
Without recure brought to ruine,

And with the soile made plaine as any line,
To wildernesse tourned, and deserte,
And Grekes eke fall into pouerte,
Both of her men, and also of her good,
For finally all the gentill blood

Was shed out there, her wounds wer so wide,
To losse finall vnto either side,
For in the warre is none exception

Of high estate, ne low condition,

But as fate and fortune both in fere,
List to dispose with hir double chere,
Bellona goddesse is of battaile.

And Bellona the goddesse in her chare
Aforn prouideth: wherefore euery man beware
Unauised warre to beginne,

For no man wote who shall lese or winne,
And hard it is whan either part leseth,
And doubtlesse neither of hem cheseth,
That they must in all such mortall rage,
Maugre hir lust, feelen great damage,
It may not be by mannes might restreined,
And warre in sooth was neuer ordained
But for sinfull folkes to chastise,
And as the Bible truly can deuise,

How that the war first began in Heaven, by the high pride and surquedy of Lucifer,

High in Heauen, of pride and surquedy,
Lucifer fader of enuy,

The old serpent the Leuiathan,
Was the first that euer warre began,
Whan Michael, the heauenly champion,
With his feres venquished the dragon,
And to Hell cast him downe full low,
The which serpent hath the coccle sow,
Through all earth, of enuy and debate,
That vnneths is there none estate,
Without strife can liue in charitee,
For euery man of high and low degree,
Enuieth now that other should thriue :
And ground and cause, why that men so striue,
Is couetise, and false ambition,

That eueriche would haue domination
Ouer other, and trede him vnderfoot,
Which of all sorrow ginning is and root,

And Christ recordeth, rede, looke, and ye may se,
For lacke of loue what mischeef there shall be:

Surget gens contra gentem. Luc. xxi,

For o people, as he doth denise,
Ayenst another of hate shall arise:
And after telleth what diuisions
There shall be betweene regions,
Eueriche busie other to oppresse,

And all such strife, as he beareth witnesse,
Kalends been, I take his word to borrow,
And a ginning of mischeefe and of sorrow,
Men haue it found by experience:
But the venim and the violence

Of strife, of warre, of conteke and of debate,
That maketh londs bare and desolate,
Shall be proscript, and voided out of place,
And Martes swerds shall no more manace
Nor his spere, greeuous to sustene,
Shall now no more whetted be so kene,
For he no more shall his hauberke shake,
But loue and peace shall in hertes awake,
And charity, both in length and bread,
Of new shall hir bright beames spread
Through grace onely in diuers nations,
For to reforme atweene regions
Peace and quiet, concord, and vnitee,
And that is both one, two, and three,
Eke three in one, and soueraine lord of pees,
Which in this exile, for our sake chees,
For loue onely our troubles to termine,
For to be borne of a pure virgine,
And let vs pray to him that is most good,
That for mankind shadde his herte blood,
Through beseeching of that heauenly quene,
Wife and moder, and maiden clene,
To send vs peace in this life here present,
And of our sinnes perfite amendement,
And joy eternall, whan we hence wend,
And of my tale thus I make an end.

Here now endeth, as ye may see,
The destruction of Thebes the citee,