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470 | The sharpe shoures felle of armes preve, |
That Ector or his othere bretheren diden, | |
Ne made him only therfore ones meve; | |
And yet was he, where so men wente or riden, | |
Founde oon the beste, and lengest tyme abiden | |
475 | Ther peril was, and dide eek such travayle |
In armes, that to thenke it was mervayle. |
But for non hate he to the Grekes hadde, | |
Ne also for the rescous of the toun, | |
Ne made him thus in armes for to madde, | |
480 | But only, lo, for this conclusioun, |
To lyken hir the bet for his renoun; | |
Fro day to day in armes so he spedde, | |
That alle the Grekes as the deeth him dredde. |
And fro this forth tho refte him love his sleep, | |
485 | And made his mete his foo; and eek his sorwe |
Gan multiplie, that, whoso toke keep, | |
It shewed in his hewe, bothe eve and morwe; | |
Therfor a title he gan him for to borwe | |
Of other syknesse, lest of him men wende | |
490 | That the hote fyr of love him brende, |
And seyde, he hadde a fever and ferde amis; | |
But how it was, certayn, can I not seye, | |
If that his lady understood not this, | |
Or feyned hir she niste, oon of the tweye; | |
495 | But wel I rede that, by no maner weye, |
Ne semed it as that she of him roughte, | |
Nor of his peyne, or whatsoever he thoughte. |
But than fel to this Troilus swich wo, | |
That he was wel neigh wood; for ay his drede | |
500 | Was this, that she som wight had loved so, |
That never of him she wolde han taken hede; | |
For whiche him thoughte he felte his herte blede. | |
Ne of his wo ne dorste he not biginne | |
To tellen it, for al this world to winne. |
505 | But whanne he hadde a space fro his care, |
Thus to himself ful ofte he gan to pleyne; | |
He sayde, `O fool, now art thou in the snare, | |
That whilom japedest at loves peyne; | |
Now artow hent, now gnaw thyn owene cheyne; | |
510 | Thou were ay wont eche lovere reprehende |
Of thing fro which thou canst thee nat defende. |
`What wol now every lover seyn of thee, | |
If this be wist, but ever in thyn absence | |
Laughen in scorn, and seyn, `Lo, ther gooth he, | |
515 | That is the man of so gret sapience, |
That held us lovers leest in reverence! | |
Now, thanked be God, he may goon in the daunce | |
Of hem that Love list febly for to avaunce!' |
`But, O thou woful Troilus, god wolde, | |
520 | Syn thou most loven thurgh thi destinee, |
That thow beset were on swich oon that sholde | |
Knowe al thy wo, al lakkede hir pitee: | |
But al so cold in love, towardes thee, | |
Thy lady is, as frost in winter mone, | |
525 | And thou fordoon, as snow in fyr is sone.' |
`God wolde I were aryved in the port | |
Of deth, to which my sorwe wil me lede! | |
A, lord, to me it were a gret comfort; | |
Than were I quit of languisshing in drede. | |
530 | For by myn hidde sorwe y-blowe on brede |
I shal byjaped been a thousand tyme | |
More than that fool of whos folye men ryme. |
`But now help God, and ye, swete, for whom | |
I pleyne, y-caught, ye, never wight so faste! | |
535 | O mercy, dere herte, and help me from |
The deeth, for I, whyl that my lyf may laste, | |
More than myself wol love yow to my laste. | |
And with som freendly look gladeth me, swete, | |
Though never more thing ye me bihete!' |
Next: From Troilus and Criseyde, Book I, lines 540-581: Pandarus visits his friend Troilus |