Previous: From Troilus and Criseyde, Book I, lines 267-322: Troilus sees Criseyde

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330	And seyde, `Lord, so ye live al in lest,
	Ye loveres! For the conningest of yow,
	That serveth most ententiflich and best,
	Him tit as often harm therof as prow;
	Your hyre is quit ayein, ye, God woot how!
335	Nought wel for wel, but scorn for good servyse;
	In feith, your ordre is ruled in good wyse!

	`In nouncerteyn ben alle your observaunces,
	But it a sely fewe poyntes be;
	Ne no thing asketh so grete attendaunces
340	As doth youre lay, and that knowe alle ye;
	But that is not the worste, as mote I thee;
	But, tolde I yow the worste poynt, I leve,
	Al seyde I sooth, ye wolden at me greve!

	`But tak this, that ye loveres ofte eschuwe,
345	Or elles doon of good entencioun,
	Ful ofte thy lady wole it misconstrue,
	And deme it harm in hir opinioun;
	And yet if she, for other enchesoun,
	Be wrooth, than shalt thou han a groyn anoon:
350	Lord! wel is him that may be of yow oon!'

	But for al this, whan that he say his tyme,
	He held his pees, non other bote him gayned;
	For love bigan his fetheres so to lyme,
	That wel unnethe unto his folk he fayned
355	That othere besye nedes him destrayned;
	For wo was him, that what to doon he niste,
	But bad his folk to goon wher that hem liste.

	And whan that he in chaumbre was allone,
	He doun up-on his beddes feet him sette,
360	And first be gan to syke, and eft to grone,
	And thoughte ay on hir so, withouten lette,
	That, as he sat and wook, his spirit mette
	That he hir saw a temple, and al the wyse
	Right of hir loke, and gan it newe avyse.

365	Thus gan he make a mirour of his minde,
	In which he saugh al hoolly hir figure;
	And that he wel koude in his herte finde,
	It was to him a right good aventure
	To love swich oon, and if he dide his cure
370	To serven hir, yet mighte he falle in grace,
	Or elles, for oon of hir servaunts pace.

	Imagininge that travaille nor grame
	Ne mighte, for so goodly oon, be lorn
	As she, ne him for his desir ne shame,
375	Al were it wist, but in prys and up-born
	Of alle lovers wel more than biforn;
	Thus argumented he in his ginninge,
	Ful unavysed of his wo cominge.

	Thus took he purpos loves craft to suwe,
380	And thoughte he wolde werken prively,
	First, to hyden his desir in muwe
	From every wight y-born, al-outrely,
	But he mighte ought recovered be therby;
	Remembring him, that love to wyde y-blowe
385	Yelt bittre fruyt, though swete seed be sowe.

	And over al this, yet muchel more he thoughte
	What for to speke, and what to holden inne,
	And what to arten hir to love he soughte,
	And on a song anon right to biginne,
390	And gan loude on his sorwe for to winne;
	For with good hope he gan fully assente
	Criseyde for to love, and nought repente.

	And of his song nought only the sentence,
	As writ myn autour called Lollius,
395	But pleynly, save our tonges difference,
	I dar wel sayn, in al that Troilus
	Seyde in his song, lo! every word right thus
	As I shal seyn; and who-so list it here,
	Lo! next this vers, he may it finden here.

Next: From Troilus and Criseyde, Book I, lines 400-469: Canticus Troili: Troilus falls deeper in love with Criseyde