For ever on love han wrecches had envye.
Or rewlen him by every wightes wit,
Ne shal he never thryven, out of drede.
For that that som men blamen ever yit,
Lo, other maner folk commenden it. 761
And as for me, for al swich variaunce,
Felicitee clepe I my suffisaunce.
To Troye I wol, as for conclusioun.’ 765
But god it wot, er fully monthes two,
She was ful fer fro that entencioun.
For bothe Troilus and Troye toun
Shal knotteles through-out hir herte slyde;
For she wol take a purpos for t’abyde. 770
Goth now, with-inne him-self ay arguinge
With al the sleighte and al that ever he can,
How he may best, with shortest taryinge,
In-to his net Criseydes herte bringe. 775
To this entente he coude never fyne;
To fisshen hir, he leyde out hook and lyne.
That she nas nat with-oute a love in Troye.
For never, sithen he hir thennes broughte,
Ne coude he seen her laughe or make joye. 781
He niste how best hir herte for t’acoye.
‘But for t’assaye,’ he seyde, ‘it nought ne greveth;
For he that nought n’assayeth, nought n’acheveth.’
‘Now am I not a fool, that woot wel how
Hir wo for love is of another wight,
And here-up-on to goon assaye hir now?
I may wel wite, it nil not been my prow.
For wyse folk in bokes it expresse, 790
“Men shal not wowe a wight in hevinesse.”
From him, for whom she morneth night and day,
He mighte seyn, he were a conquerour.’
And right anoon, as he that bold was ay,
Thoughte in his herte, ‘happe, how happe may, 796
Al sholde I deye, I wole hir herte seche;
I shal no more lesen but my speche.’
Was in his nedes prest and corageous;
With sterne voys and mighty limes square,
Hardy, testif, strong, and chevalrous
Of dedes, lyk his fader Tideus.
And som men seyn, he was of tunge large;
And heir he was of Calidoine and Arge. 805
Ther-to of shap, of face, and eek of chere,
Ther mighte been no fairer creature.
And ofte tyme this was hir manere,
To gon y-tressed with hir heres clere 810
Doun by hir coler at hir bak bihinde,
Which with a threde of gold she wolde binde.
Ther nas no lak, in ought I can espyen;
But for to speken of hir eyen clere, 815
Lo, trewely, they writen that hir syen,
That Paradys stood formed in hir yën.
And with hir riche beautee ever-more
Strof love in hir, ay which of hem was more.
The beste y-norisshed eek that mighte be,
And goodly of hir speche in general,
Charitable, estatliche, lusty, and free;
Ne never-mo ne lakkede hir pitee;
Tendre- herted, slydinge of corage; 825
But trewely, I can not telle hir age.
And complet formed by proporcioun
So wel, that kinde it not amenden mighte;
Yong, fresshe, strong, and hardy as lyoun;
Trewe as steel in ech condicioun; 831
On of the beste enteched creature,
That is, or shal, whyl that the world may dure.
That Troilus was never un-to no wight, 835
As in his tyme, in no degree secounde
In durring don that longeth to a knight.
Al mighte a geaunt passen him of might,
His herte ay with the firste and with the beste 839
stod paregal, to durre don that him leste.
It fil that after, on the tenthe day,
Sin that Criseyde out of the citee yede,
This Diomede, as fresshe as braunche in May,
Com to the tente ther-as Calkas lay, 845
And feyned him with Calkas han to done;
But what he mente, I shal yow telle sone.
Welcomed him, and doun by hir him sette;
And he was ethe
| Previous chapter/page | Back | Home | Email this | Search | Discuss | Bookmark | Next chapter/page |