Quod she, and ther-with-al she sore sighte;
And he bigan to glade hir as he mighte;
And hir to glade he dide al his entente;
For which hir goost, that flikered ay on-lofte, 1221
In-to hir woful herte ayein it wente.
But at the laste, as that hir eyen glente
A- syde, anoon she gan his swerd aspye,
As it lay bare, and gan for fere crye, 1225
And Troilus anoon the cause hir tolde,
And how himself ther-with he wolde have slawe.
For which Criseyde up-on him gan biholde,
And gan him in hir armes faste folde, 1230
And seyde, ‘O mercy, god, lo, which a dede!
Allas! how neigh we were bothe dede!
Ye wolde han slayn your-self anoon?’ quod she.
‘Ye, douteless;’ and she answerde, ‘allas!
For, by that ilke lord that made me, 1236
I nolde a forlong wey on- lyve han be,
After your deeth, to han be crowned quene
Of al the lond the sonne on shyneth shene.
My-selve I wolde have slayn!’—quod she tho;
‘But ho, for we han right y-now of this,
And late us ryse and streight to bedde go,
And therë lat vs speken of our wo.
For, by the morter which that I see brenne, 1245
Knowe I ful wel that day is not fer henne.’
Nought was it lyk tho nightes here-biforn;
For pitously ech other gan biholde, 1249
As they that hadden al hir blisse y-lorn,
Biwaylinge ay the daythat they were born.
Til at the last this sorwful wight Criseyde
To Troilus these ilke wordes seyde:—
‘That if a wight alwey his wo compleyne,
And seketh nought how holpen for to be,
It nis but folye and encrees of peyne;
And sin that here assembled be we tweyne
To finde bote of wo that we ben inne,
It were al tyme sone to biginne. 1260
And as I am avysed sodeynly,
So wol I telle yow, whyl it is hoot.
Me thinketh thus, that neither ye nor I
Oughte half this wo to make skilfully. 1265
For there is art y-now for to redresse
That yet is mis, and sleen this hevinesse.
For ought I woot, for no-thing elles is
But for the cause that we sholden twinne.
Considered al, ther nis no-more amis. 1271
But what is thanne a remede un-to this,
But that we shape us sone for to mete?
This al and som, my dere herte swete.
To come ayein, sone after that I go,
Ther-of am I no maner thing in doute.
For dredeles, with-inne a wouke or two,
I shal ben here; and, that it may be so
By alle right, and in a wordes fewe, 1280
I shal yow wel an heep of weyes shee.
For tyme y-lost may not recovered be;
But I wol gon to my conclusion, 1284
And to the beste, in ought that I can see.
And, for the love of god, for-yeve it me
If I speke ought ayein your hertes reste;
For trewely, I speke it for the beste;
That now these wordes, whiche that I shal seye, 1290
Nis but to shewe yow my mocioun,
To finde un-to our helpe the beste weye;
And taketh it non other wyse, I preye.
For in effect what-so ye me comaunde,
That wol I doon, for that is no demaunde.
My going graunted is by parlement
So ferforth, that it may not be with-stonde
For al this world, as by my jugement.
And sin ther helpeth noon avysement 1300
To letten it, lat it passe out of minde;
And lat us shape a bettre wey to finde.
Wol us disese and cruelliche anoye.
But him bihoveth som-tyme han a peyne,
That serveth love, if that he wol have joye. 1306
And sin I shal no ferthere out of Troye
Than I may ryde ayein on half a morwe.
It oughte lasse causen us to sorwe:
That day by day, myn owene herte dere,
Sin wel ye woot that
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