'Gret is my wo,' quod she, and sighte sore, As she that feleth dedly sharp distresse; 'But yet to me his sorwe is muchel more, That love him bet than he him-self, I gesse. 900 Allas! For me hath he swich hevinesse?

Can he for me so pitously compleyne?

Y-wis, his sorwe doubleth al my peyne.

'Grevous to me, G.o.d wot, is for to twinne,'

Quod she, 'but yet it hardere is to me 905 To seen that sorwe which that he is inne; For wel wot I, it wol my bane be; And deye I wol in certayn,' tho quod she; 'But bidde him come, er deeth, that thus me threteth, Dryve out that goost which in myn herte beteth.' 910

Thise wordes seyd, she on hir armes two Fil gruf, and gan to wepe pitously.

Quod Pandarus, 'Allas! Why do ye so, Syn wel ye woot the tyme is faste by, That he shal come? Arys up hastely, 915 That he yow nat biwopen thus ne finde, But ye wol have him wood out of his minde!

'For wiste he that ye ferde in this manere, He wolde him-selve slee; and if I wende To han this fare, he sholde not come here 920 For al the good that Pryam may despende.

For to what fyn he wolde anoon pretende, That knowe I wel; and for-thy yet I seye, So leef this sorwe, or platly he wol deye.

'And shapeth yow his sorwe for to abregge, 925 And nought encresse, leve nece swete; Beth rather to him cause of flat than egge, And with som wysdom ye his sorwes bete.

What helpeth it to wepen ful a strete, Or though ye bothe in salte teres dreynte? 930 Bet is a tyme of cure ay than of pleynte.

'I mene thus; whan I him hider bringe, Sin ye ben wyse, and bothe of oon a.s.sent, So shapeth how distourbe your goinge, Or come ayen, sone after ye be went. 935 Wommen ben wyse in short avys.e.m.e.nt; And lat sen how your wit shal now avayle; And what that I may helpe, it shal not fayle.'

'Go,' quod Criseyde, 'and uncle, trewely, I shal don al my might, me to restreyne 940 From weping in his sighte, and bisily, Him for to glade, I shal don al my peyne, And in myn herte seken every veyne; If to this soor ther may be founden salve, It shal not lakken, certain, on myn halve.' 945

Goth Pandarus, and Troilus he soughte, Til in a temple he fond him allone, As he that of his lyf no lenger roughte; But to the pitouse G.o.ddes everichone Ful tendrely he preyde, and made his mone, 950 To doon him sone out of this world to pace; For wel he thoughte ther was non other grace.

And shortly, al the sothe for to seye, He was so fallen in despeyr that day, That outrely he shoop him for to deye. 955 For right thus was his argument alwey: He seyde, he nas but loren, waylawey!

'For al that comth, comth by necessitee; Thus to be lorn, it is my destinee.

'For certaynly, this wot I wel,' he seyde, 960 'That for-sight of divyne purveyaunce Hath seyn alwey me to for-gon Criseyde, Sin G.o.d seeth every thing, out of doutaunce, And hem disponeth, thourgh his ordenaunce, In hir merytes sothly for to be, 965 As they shul comen by predestinee.

'But nathelees, allas! Whom shal I leve?

For ther ben grete clerkes many oon, That destinee thorugh argumentes preve; And som men seyn that nedely ther is noon; 970 But that free chois is yeven us everichoon.

O, welaway! So sleye arn clerkes olde, That I not whos opinion I may holde.

'For som men seyn, if G.o.d seth al biforn, Ne G.o.d may not deceyved ben, pardee, 975 Than moot it fallen, though men hadde it sworn, That purveyaunce hath seyn bifore to be.

Wherfor I seye, that from eterne if he Hath wist biforn our thought eek as our dede, We have no free chois, as these clerkes rede. 980

'For other thought nor other dede also Might never be, but swich as purveyaunce, Which may not ben deceyved never-mo, Hath feled biforn, with-outen ignoraunce.

For if ther mighte been a variaunce 985 To wrythen out fro G.o.ddes purveyinge, Ther nere no prescience of thing cominge;

'But it were rather an opinioun Uncerteyn, and no stedfast forseinge; And certes, that were an abusioun, 990 That G.o.d shuld han no parfit cleer witinge More than we men that han doutous weninge.

But swich an errour up-on G.o.d to gesse Were fals and foul, and wikked corsednesse.

'Eek this is an opinioun of somme 995 That han hir top ful heighe and smothe y-sh.o.r.e; They seyn right thus, that thing is not to come For that the prescience hath seyn bifore That it shal come; but they seyn that therfore That it shal come, therfore the purveyaunce 1000 Wot it biforn with-outen ignoraunce;

'And in this manere this necessitee Retorneth in his part contrarie agayn.

For needfully bihoveth it not to be That thilke thinges fallen in certayn 1005 That ben purveyed; but nedely, as they seyn, Bihoveth it that thinges, whiche that falle, That they in certayn ben purveyed alle.

'I mene as though I laboured me in this, To enqueren which thing cause of which thing be; 1010 As whether that the prescience of G.o.d is The certayn cause of the necessitee Of thinges that to comen been, pardee; Or if necessitee of thing cominge Be cause certeyn of the purveyinge. 1015

'But now ne enforce I me nat in shewinge How the ordre of causes stant; but wel wot I, That it bihoveth that the bifallinge Of thinges wist biforen certeynly Be necessarie, al seme it not ther-by 1020 That prescience put falling necessaire To thing to come, al falle it foule or faire.

'For if ther sit a man yond on a see, Than by necessitee bihoveth it That, certes, thyn opinioun soth be, 1025 That wenest or coniectest that he sit; And ferther-over now ayenward yit, Lo, right so it is of the part contrarie, As thus; (now herkne, for I wol not tarie):

'I seye, that if the opinioun of thee 1030 Be sooth, for that he sit, than seye I this, That he mot sitten by necessitee; And thus necessitee in either is.

For in him nede of sittinge is, y-wis, And in thee nede of sooth; and thus, forsothe, 1035 Ther moot necessitee ben in yow bothe.

'But thou mayst seyn, the man sit not therfore, That thyn opinioun of sitting soth is; But rather, for the man sit ther bifore, Therfore is thyn opinioun sooth, y-wis. 1040 And I seye, though the cause of sooth of this Comth of his sitting, yet necessitee Is entrechaunged, bothe in him and thee.

'Thus on this same wyse, out of doutaunce, I may wel maken, as it semeth me, 1045 My resoninge of G.o.ddes purveyaunce, And of the thinges that to comen be; By whiche reson men may wel y-see, That thilke thinges that in erthe falle, That by necessitee they comen alle. 1050

'For al-though that, for thing shal come, y-wis, Therfore is it purveyed, certaynly, Nat that it comth for it purveyed is: Yet nathelees, bihoveth it nedfully, That thing to come be purveyed, trewely; 1055 Or elles, thinges that purveyed be, That they bityden by necessitee.

'And this suffyseth right y-now, certeyn, For to destroye our free chois every del. -- But now is this abusion, to seyn, 1060 That fallinge of the thinges temporel Is cause of G.o.ddes prescience eternel.

Now trewely, that is a fals sentence, That thing to come sholde cause his prescience.

'What mighte I wene, and I hadde swich a thought, 1065 But that G.o.d purveyth thing that is to come For that it is to come, and elles nought?

So mighte I wene that thinges alle and some, That whylom been bifalle and over-come, Ben cause of thilke sovereyn purveyaunce, 1070 That for-wot al with-outen ignoraunce.

'And over al this, yet seye I more herto, That right as whan I woot ther is a thing, Y-wis, that thing mot nedefully be so; Eek right so, whan I woot a thing coming, 1075 So mot it come; and thus the bifalling Of thinges that ben wist bifore the tyde, They mowe not been eschewed on no syde.'

Than seyde he thus, 'Almighty Iove in trone, That wost of al this thing the soothfastnesse, 1080 Rewe on my sorwe, or do me deye sone, Or bring Criseyde and me fro this distresse.'

And whyl he was in al this hevinesse, Disputinge with him-self in this matere, Com Pandare in, and seyde as ye may here. 1085

'O mighty G.o.d,' quod Pandarus, 'in trone, Ey! Who seigh ever a wys man faren so?

Why, Troilus, what thenkestow to done?

Hastow swich l.u.s.t to been thyn owene fo?

What, parde, yet is not Criseyde a-go! 1090 Why list thee so thy-self for-doon for drede, That in thyn heed thyn eyen s.e.m.e.n dede?

'Hastow not lived many a yeer biforn With-outen hir, and ferd ful wel at ese?

Artow for hir and for non other born? 1095 Hath kinde thee wroughte al-only hir to plese?

Lat be, and thenk right thus in thy disese.

That, in the dees right as ther fallen chaunces, Right so in love, ther come and goon plesaunces.

'And yet this is a wonder most of alle, 1100 Why thou thus sorwest, sin thou nost not yit, Touching hir goinge, how that it shal falle, Ne if she can hir-self dis...o...b..n it.

Thou hast not yet a.s.sayed al hir wit.

A man may al by tyme his nekke bede 1105 Whan it shal of, and sorwen at the nede.

'For-thy take hede of that that I shal seye; I have with hir y-spoke and longe y-be, So as accorded was bitwixe us tweye.

And ever-mor me thinketh thus, that she 1110 Hath som-what in hir hertes prevetee, Wher-with she can, if I shal right arede, Dis...o...b.. al this, of which thou art in drede.

'For which my counseil is, whan it is night, Thou to hir go, and make of this an ende; 1115 And blisful Iuno, thourgh hir grete mighte, Shal, as I hope, hir grace un-to us sende.

Myn herte seyth, "Certeyn, she shal not wende;"

And for-thy put thyn herte a whyle in reste; And hold this purpos, for it is the beste.' 1120

This Troilus answerde, and sighte sore, 'Thou seyst right wel, and I wil do right so;'

And what him liste, he seyde un-to it more.

And whan that it was tyme for to go, Ful prevely him-self, with-outen mo, 1125 Un-to hir com, as he was wont to done; And how they wroughte, I shal yow telle sone.

Soth is, that whan they gonne first to mete, So gan the peyne hir hertes for to twiste, That neither of hem other mighte grete, 1130 But hem in armes toke and after kiste.

The la.s.se wofulle of hem bothe niste Wher that he was, ne mighte o word out-bringe, As I seyde erst, for wo and for sobbinge.

Tho woful teres that they leten falle 1135 As bittre weren, out of teres kinde, For peyne, as is ligne aloes or galle.