Fil Pandarus on knees, and up his eyen To hevene threw, and held his hondes hye, 'Immortal G.o.d!' quod he, 'That mayst nought dyen, 185 Cupide I mene, of this mayst glorifye; And Venus, thou mayst maken melodye; With-outen hond, me semeth that in the towne, For this merveyle, I here ech belle sowne.

'But ho! No more as now of this matere, 190 For-why this folk wol comen up anoon, That han the lettre red; lo, I hem here.

But I coniure thee, Criseyde, and oon, And two, thou Troilus, whan thow mayst goon, That at myn hous ye been at my warninge, 195 For I ful wel shal shape youre cominge;

'And eseth ther your hertes right y-nough; And lat see which of yow shal bere the belle To speke of love a-right!' ther-with he lough, 'For ther have ye a layser for to telle.' 200 Quod Troilus, 'How longe shal I dwelle Er this be doon?' Quod he, 'Whan thou mayst ryse, This thing shal be right as I yow devyse.'

With that Eleyne and also Deiphebus Tho comen upward, right at the steyres ende; 205 And Lord, so than gan grone Troilus, His brother and his suster for to blende.

Quod Pandarus, 'It tyme is that we wende; Tak, nece myn, your leve at alle three, And lat hem speke, and cometh forth with me.' 210

She took hir leve at hem ful thriftily, As she wel coude, and they hir reverence Un-to the fulle diden hardely, And speken wonder wel, in hir absence, Of hir, in preysing of hir excellence, 215 Hir governaunce, hir wit; and hir manere Commendeden, it Ioye was to here.

Now lat hir wende un-to hir owne place, And torne we to Troilus a-yein, That gan ful lightly of the lettre pa.s.se 220 That Deiphebus hadde in the gardin seyn.

And of Eleyne and him he wolde fayn Delivered been, and seyde that him leste To slepe, and after tales have reste.

Eleyne him kiste, and took hir leve blyve, 225 Deiphebus eek, and hoom wente every wight; And Pandarus, as faste as he may dryve, To Troilus tho com, as lyne right; And on a paillet, al that glade night, By Troilus he lay, with mery chere, 230 To tale; and wel was hem they were y-fere.

Whan every wight was voided but they two, And alle the dores were faste y-shette, To telle in short, with-oute wordes mo, This Pandarus, with-outen any lette, 235 Up roos, and on his beddes syde him sette, And gan to speken in a sobre wyse To Troilus, as I shal yow devyse:

'Myn alderlevest lord, and brother dere, G.o.d woot, and thou, that it sat me so sore, 240 When I thee saw so languisshing to-yere, For love, of which thy wo wex alwey more; That I, with al my might and al my lore, Have ever sithen doon my bisinesse To bringe thee to Ioye out of distresse, 245

'And have it brought to swich plyt as thou wost, So that, thorugh me, thow stondest now in weye To fare wel, I seye it for no bost, And wostow which? For shame it is to seye, For thee have I bigonne a gamen pleye 250 Which that I never doon shal eft for other, Al-though he were a thousand fold my brother.

'That is to seye, for thee am I bicomen, Bitwixen game and ernest, swich a mene As maken wommen un-to men to comen; 255 Al sey I nought, thou wost wel what I mene.

For thee have I my nece, of vyces clene, So fully maad thy gentilesse triste, That al shal been right as thy-selve liste.

'But G.o.d, that al wot, take I to witnesse, 260 That never I this for coveityse wroughte, But only for to abregge that distresse, For which wel nygh thou deydest, as me thoughte.

But, G.o.de brother, do now as thee oughte, For G.o.ddes love, and kep hir out of blame, 265 Sin thou art wys, and save alwey hir name.

'For wel thou wost, the name as yet of here Among the peple, as who seyth, halwed is; For that man is unbore, I dar wel swere, That ever wiste that she dide amis. 270 But wo is me, that I, that cause al this, May thenken that she is my nece dere, And I hir eem, and trattor eek y-fere!

'And were it wist that I, through myn engyn, Hadde in my nece y-put this fantasye, 275 To do thy l.u.s.t, and hoolly to be thyn, Why, al the world up-on it wolde crye, And seye, that I the worste trecherye Dide in this cas, that ever was bigonne, And she for-lost, and thou right nought y-wonne. 280

'Wher-fore, er I wol ferther goon a pas, Yet eft I thee biseche and fully seye, That privetee go with us in this cas; That is to seye, that thou us never wreye; And be nought wrooth, though I thee ofte preye 285 To holden secree swich an heigh matere; For skilful is, thow wost wel, my preyere.

'And thenk what wo ther hath bitid er this, For makinge of avantes, as men rede; And what mischaunce in this world yet ther is, 290 Fro day to day, right for that wikked dede; For which these wyse clerkes that ben dede Han ever yet proverbed to us yonge, That "Firste vertu is to kepe tonge."

'And, nere it that I wilne as now tabregge 295 Diffusioun of speche, I coude almost A thousand olde stories thee alegge Of wommen lost, thorugh fals and foles bost; Proverbes canst thy-self y-nowe, and wost, Ayeins that vyce, for to been a labbe, 300 Al seyde men sooth as often as they gabbe.

'O tonge, allas! So often here-biforn Hastow made many a lady bright of hewe Seyd, "Welawey! The day that I was born!"

And many a maydes sorwes for to newe; 305 And, for the more part, al is untrewe That men of yelpe, and it were brought to preve; Of kinde non avauntour is to leve.

'Avauntour and a lyere, al is on; As thus: I pose, a womman graunte me 310 Hir love, and seyth that other wol she non, And I am sworn to holden it secree, And after I go telle it two or three; Y-wis, I am avauntour at the leste, And lyere, for I breke my biheste. 315

'Now loke thanne, if they be nought to blame, Swich maner folk; what shal I clepe hem, what, That hem avaunte of wommen, and by name, That never yet bihighte hem this ne that, Ne knewe hem more than myn olde hat? 320 No wonder is, so G.o.d me sende hele, Though wommen drede with us men to dele.

'I sey not this for no mistrust of yow, Ne for no wys man, but for foles nyce, And for the harm that in the world is now, 325 As wel for foly ofte as for malyce; For wel wot I, in wyse folk, that vyce No womman drat, if she be wel avysed; For wyse ben by foles harm chastysed.

'But now to purpos; leve brother dere, 330 Have al this thing that I have seyd in minde, And keep thee clos, and be now of good chere, For at thy day thou shalt me trewe finde.

I shal thy proces sette in swich a kinde, And G.o.d to-forn, that it shall thee suffyse, 335 For it shal been right as thou wolt devyse.

'For wel I woot, thou menest wel, parde; Therfore I dar this fully undertake.

Thou wost eek what thy lady graunted thee, And day is set, the chartres up to make. 340 Have now good night, I may no lenger wake; And bid for me, sin thou art now in blisse, That G.o.d me sende deeth or sone lisse.'

Who mighte telle half the Ioye or feste Which that the sowle of Troilus tho felte, 345 Heringe theffect of Pandarus biheste?

His olde wo, that made his herte swelte, Gan tho for Ioye wasten and to-melte, And al the richesse of his sykes sore At ones fledde, he felte of hem no more. 350

But right so as these holtes and these hayes, That han in winter dede been and dreye, Revesten hem in grene, whan that May is, Whan every l.u.s.ty lyketh best to pleye; Right in that selve wyse, sooth to seye, 355 Wax sodeynliche his herte ful of Ioye, That gladder was ther never man in Troye.

And gan his look on Pandarus up caste Ful sobrely, and frendly for to see, And seyde, 'Freend, in Aprille the laste, 360 As wel thou wost, if it remembre thee, How neigh the deeth for wo thou founde me; And how thou didest al thy bisinesse To knowe of me the cause of my distresse.

'Thou wost how longe I it for-bar to seye 365 To thee, that art the man that I best triste; And peril was it noon to thee by-wreye, That wiste I wel; but tel me, if thee liste, Sith I so looth was that thy-self it wiste, How dorst I mo tellen of this matere, 370 That quake now, and no wight may us here?

'But natheles, by that G.o.d I thee swere, That, as him list, may al this world governe, And, if I lye, Achilles with his spere Myn herte cleve, al were my lyf eterne, 375 As I am mortal, if I late or yerne Wolde it biwreye, or dorste, or sholde conne, For al the good that G.o.d made under sonne;

'That rather deye I wolde, and determyne, As thinketh me, now stokked in presoun, 380 In wrecchednesse, in filthe, and in vermyne, Caytif to cruel king Agamenoun; And this, in alle the temples of this toun Upon the G.o.ddes alle, I wol thee swere, To-morwe day, if that thee lyketh here. 385

'And that thou hast so muche y-doon for me, That I ne may it never-more deserve, This knowe I wel, al mighte I now for thee A thousand tymes on a morwen sterve.

I can no more, but that I wol thee serve 390 Right as thy sclave, whider-so thou wende, For ever-more, un-to my lyves ende!

'But here, with al myn herte, I thee biseche, That never in me thou deme swich folye As I shal seyn; me thoughte, by thy speche, 395 That this, which thou me dost for companye, I sholde wene it were a bauderye; I am nought wood, al-if I lewed be; It is not so, that woot I wel, pardee.

'But he that goth, for gold or for richesse, 400 On swich message, calle him what thee list; And this that thou dost, calle it gentilesse, Compa.s.sioun, and felawship, and trist; Departe it so, for wyde-where is wist How that there is dyversitee requered 405 Bitwixen thinges lyke, as I have lered.

'And, that thou knowe I thenke nought ne wene That this servyse a shame be or Iape, I have my faire suster Polixene, Ca.s.sandre, Eleyne, or any of the frape; 410 Be she never so faire or wel y-shape, Tel me, which thou wilt of everichone, To han for thyn, and lat me thanne allone.

'But, sith that thou hast don me this servyse My lyf to save, and for noon hope of mede, 415 So, for the love of G.o.d, this grete empryse Performe it out; for now is moste nede.

For high and low, with-outen any drede, I wol alwey thyne hestes alle kepe; Have now good night, and lat us bothe slepe.' 420

Thus held him ech of other wel apayed, That al the world ne mighte it bet amende; And, on the morwe, whan they were arayed, Ech to his owene nedes gan entende.

But Troilus, though as the fyr he brende 425 For sharp desyr of hope and of plesaunce, He not for-gat his G.o.de governaunce.

But in him-self with manhod gan restreyne Ech rakel dede and ech unbrydled chere, That alle tho that liven, sooth to seyne, 430 Ne sholde han wist, by word or by manere, What that he mente, as touching this matere.

From every wight as fer as is the cloude He was, so wel dissimulen he coude.

And al the whyl which that I yow devyse, 435 This was his lyf; with al his fulle might, By day he was in Martes high servyse, This is to seyn, in armes as a knight; And for the more part, the longe night He lay, and thoughte how that he mighte serve 440 His lady best, hir thank for to deserve.

Nil I nought swere, al-though he lay softe, That in his thought he nas sumwhat disesed, Ne that he tornede on his pilwes ofte, And wolde of that him missed han ben sesed; 445 But in swich cas men is nought alwey plesed, For ought I wot, no more than was he; That can I deme of possibilitee.

But certeyn is, to purpos for to go, That in this whyle, as writen is in geste, 450 He say his lady som-tyme; and also She with him spak, whan that she dorste or leste, And by hir bothe avys, as was the beste, Apoynteden ful warly in this nede, So as they dorste, how they wolde procede. 455

But it was spoken in so short a wyse, In swich awayt alwey, and in swich fere, Lest any wyght devynen or devyse Wolde of hem two, or to it leye an ere, That al this world so leef to hem ne were 460 As that Cupido wolde hem grace sende To maken of hir speche aright an ende.

But thilke litel that they spake or wroughte, His wyse goost took ay of al swich hede, It semed hir, he wiste what she thoughte 465 With-outen word, so that it was no nede To bidde him ought to done, or ought for-bede; For which she thought that love, al come it late, Of alle Ioye hadde opned hir the yate.

And shortly of this proces for to pace, 470 So wel his werk and wordes he bisette, That he so ful stood in his lady grace, That twenty thousand tymes, or she lette, She thonked G.o.d she ever with him mette; So coude he him governe in swich servyse, 475 That al the world ne might it bet devyse.

For-why she fond him so discreet in al, So secret, and of swich obeisaunce, That wel she felte he was to hir a wal Of steel, and sheld from every displesaunce; 480 That, to ben in his G.o.de governaunce, So wys he was, she was no more afered, I mene, as fer as oughte ben requered.

And Pandarus, to quike alwey the fyr, Was evere y-lyke prest and diligent; 485 To ese his frend was set al his desyr.