Imatges de pàgina
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And also blisful Venus, wel arayed,
Sate in her seventh hous of Hevyn tho,
Disposyd wele, and with aspact purvayed
To helpe sely Troylus of his wo:
And soth to sey, she nas not his fo
To Troylus, in his nativyte;

God wote that wele the sooner spedde he.1

1 The following passage from The Conclusions of the Astrolabie illustrates these astrological terms; but it has also an independent interest besides, because it shows that Chaucer was too good a catholic to believe in these anti-christian superstitions; and that when he uses astrological terms in his poems, it is only as a poetical ornament. The section is entitled Special Declaration of the Ascendent. 'The ascendent soothly, as wel in alle nativities as in questions and as in eleccions of times, is a thing whyche that thes Astrologiens gretely observen; wherfor me semeth convenient, sens I speke of the ascendent, to make of it a special declaracion. The ascendent soothly, to take it at the largest, is thilke degre that ascendeth at any of thes foreseyde tymes on the East Orizont; and therfor, if that any planete ascende at thilke same time in the foreseyde same degre of his longitude, men seyne that thilke planete is in horoscopo. But soothly the house of that ascendent, that is to seyne, the first house or the east angle, is a thyng more brode and large; for after the statutes of Astrologiens, what celestial body that is five degres above thilke degre that ascendeth on the Orizont, or within that number, that is to seyne, nere that degre that ascendeth, yet recken they thilke planete in the ascendent: and what planete that is under thilke degre that ascendeth xxv. degrees, yet, seyne they, that planete is like to him that is the house of the ascendent. Yet seyne thes Astrologiens that the ascendent, and eke the Lord of the ascendent, may be shapen to be fortunate or infortunate, as thus:-A fortunate ascendent clepen they, when that no wikked planete, as Saturne or Mars, or ellis the tayle of the Dragon, is in the house of the ascendent, ne that no wikked planete have no aspect of enmity upon the ascendent; but yet they wolle cast that they have fortunate planete in her ascendent, and yet in his felicity, and than seye they that it is wel. . . . The Lord of the ascendent, seyne they, is fortunate whan he is in gode place fro the ascendent, and yet the Lord of the ascendent is in an angle, or in a succedent, wher he is in his dignity, and comforted with frendly aspectes receyved; and eke that he may sene the ascendent; not retrograde, ne combust, ne joyned with no shrewe in the same signe, ne that he be not in his discension, ne joined with no planete in his discension, ne have upon him none aspect infortunate; and than they seyne that he is wel. Natheles, these bene observaunces of judicial matere, and rites of Paynims, in whiche my spirite hath no feithe,' &c.

Now lete us stynt of Troylus a throwe,
That ridith forth, and lete us turne fast
Unto Cryseyde, that hing her heed ful lowe,
Ther as she sate alone, and gan to cast
Wheron she wold appoynt her at the last,
If it so were her eme nolde sese,
For Troylus upon her for to prese.

And, lord! so she gan in her herte argue
Of this matere, of which I have yow told,
And what to do best were, and what teschewe,
That plytid she ful oft in meny fold;1

Now was her herte warm, now was it cold.
And what she thoght, sumwhat I shal write,
As to myn auctor lysteth to endite."

She thoght ferst, that Troylus persone
She knew by sight and eke his gentilnes:
And seyd thus, 'Al were it not to done
To graunte hym love, al for the worthines,
Hit were honour, with pley and with gladnes,
In honeste, with such a lord to dele,
For myn astate, and also for his hele.

'Eke wel I wote my kingis sone is he,
And seth he hath to se me such delite,
If I wold uttirlich his sight fle,
Paraunture he myght have me in dispite,
Thurgh which I myght stond in wors plite:
Now were I a fole, me hate to purchase
Withoute nede, wher I may stond in grace.

'In every thing, I wote there lith mesure;
For though a man forbede drunkennesse,
He not forbedes that every creature

1 This is an excellent metaphor: the laying of argument upon argu ment is compared to plaiting fold upon fold of a garment.

2 The Harl. MS. 3943 reads As to me myn auctour lest for to endyte. The reading in the text is from MS. 1239, and is preferred for its metrical correctness.

Be drinkeles for alwey, as I gesse:
Eke, seth I wote for me is his distresse,
I oght not for that thinge hym dispise,
Sethe hit is so he menith it in good wise.

' And eke I know, of longe tyme agone,
His thewys gode, and that he is not nyce,
No avauntour, certenly he is none,
To wys is he to do so grete a vice:
Ne as I nel never hym so cherice,
That he may make avaunt by juste cause;
He shal me never bynde with such a clause.

'Now sette a cas, the herdeste is ywis,1
Men myghte demyn that he lovith me:
What dishonour were it unto me this?
May I hym lette of that? why nay, parde!
I know also, and alway here and se,
Men lovyn wymmen al this toun about,
Be they the wors? why nay, withoutyn dout i

'I thenk eke how able he is to have
Of all this noble toun the thriftyest,
That woman is, so she her honour save:
For out and out he is the worthiest,
Save only Ector, which that is the best;
And yet his lyf lith now in al my cure,
But such is love, and eke myn aventure.

'Ne me to love a wondir is it noght;
For wele wote I my self, so God me spede,
Al wol I that no man wist of this thoght,
I am one the fayrest, withoutyn drede,
And goodliest, ho so takith hede,

The Harl. MS., 3943, reads Now set y a cas thus ywis. This is a defective line, and therefore the reading of the MS. 1239 is adopted instead. The meaning is, 'Now suppose a case, which is the hardest, gr worst, that can occur.'

VOL. III.

G

And so men seyn in al the toun of Troy ;
What wondur is it thogh he on me have joy?1

'I am myn owne woman, wele at ese,
I thank it God, as aftir myn astate,
Right yung, and stond untyd in lusty lese,
Withowte jelousie, or suche debate:

Shal nonne husbond sey to me 'chek mate;"
For either they be ful of jelosye,
Or maystreful, or lovyn novelrye.

'What shal I do? to what fyn lyve I thus?
Shal I not love in cas if that me lyst?
What? parde! I am not religious;
And thogh that I myn herte set at rest
Upon this knyght that is the worthiest,
And kepe alwey myn honour, and my name,
By al right I may do me no shame.'

But right as whan the sunne shynith bright
In Marche that chaungith oft tyme his face,

1 Instead of these two lines, the Harl. MS., 12 39, reads :—

'Men love women al beside her leve,

And whan hem lyst no more, lat hem leve.'

2 The term check-mate is probably derived from the Persian Shâhmât, the king is taken, used to mark that the game at chess is ended. As employed here it is a pun. Cryseyde says, 'No husband shall check or chastise, me, his mate, or wife.

3 In the Filostrato there are none of the vicissitudes of feeling, so admirably illustrated by these similes, and which give to the poem all the interest of a subtle analysis of the workings of the human heart when moved by the passion of love, in its various combinations. Boccaccio's Griseida is simply a gay coquettish widow, who is conscious of no higher feeling but that of triumph, at having succeeded in ecuring the affections of a handsome young man of rank.

'Partito Pandaro, se andò soletta

Nella camera sua Griseida bella,
Seco nel cor ciascuna paroletta
Ripetendo, e di Troilo la novella
Forma d'amar, così che gl'era detta;
E lieta ragionando in sua favella,

And that a cloud is putte with wynde to flight,'
The which oversprat the sunne, as for a space,
A clowdy thoght gan thurgh her herte pace,
That oversprad her othir thoughtis alle,
So that for fere almost she gan to falle.

That thoght was this:-'Alas! seth I am free,
Shold I now love, and put in jupardy
My sikirnes, and thrallyn liberte?

Alas! how durst I thenke that foly?

I

may ful wele in other folk aspy

Her dredful joy, her constreynt, and her peyne; Ther loveth noon, that sche ne hath why to pleyne."

'For love is yet the moste stormy lyf,
Right of hymself, that ever was begunne;
For ever some mystrust, or nice stryf,

Si dette in braccio a amore sospirando,
Le bellezze di Troilo imaginando.

• Giovine e bella io sono, e vaga e lieta,
Vedova rica, nobile ed amata,
Menando senza figli vita lieta;
Perchè non potrò stare innamorata ?

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The reading in the text is taken

1 The Harl. MS., 3943, reads, 'that put the wynde to flight;' this is evidently a mistake of the scribe. from MS. 1239.

2 This form of the third person sing. pres. indic. has already been remarked. See ante, p. 46, note 5. It is in accordance with the rule of Anglo-Saxon, given by Professor Raske, Grammar, p. 76. 'Those [verbs] in dan [as here, overspredan] have sometimes tst in the second person sing. of the present tense; in the third person, usually t only; as lædan, to lead; thu lætst, he læt.' These are evidently the contracted forms of lædest and ladeth, which also occur.

3 The Harl. MS., 3943, reads:

'Her dredful joy, her constreynt and pleynt;
Ther lovith none without both care and peyn.'

These lines being very unsatisfactory, the reading of MS. 1239 has been adopted in preference.

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