Previous: From Troilus and Criseyde, Book I, lines 820-875: Troilus reveals Criseyde's name to Pandarus

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	`Ne I never saw a more bountevous
	Of hir estat, ne a gladder, ne of speche
885	A freendlier, ne a more gracious
	For to do wel, ne lasse hadde nede to seche
	What for to doon; and al this bet to eche,
	In honour, to as fer as she may strecche,
	A kinges herte semeth by hirs a wrecche.

890	`And for thy loke of good comfort thou be;
	For certeinly, the firste poynt is this
	Of noble corage and wel ordeyne,
	A man to have pees with himself, ywis;
	So oughtest thou, for nought but good it is
895	To loven wel, and in a worthy place;
	Thee oghte not to clepe it hap, but grace.

	`And also thenk, and therwith glade thee,
	That sith thy lady vertuous is al,
	So folweth it that ther is som pitee
900	Amonges alle thise othere in general;
	And for thy see that thou, in special,
	Requere nought that is ayein hir name;
	For vertue streccheth not himself to shame.

	`But wel is me that ever that I was born,
905	That thou biset art in so good a place;
	For by my trouthe, in love I dorste have sworn,
	Thee sholde never han tid thus fayr a grace;
	And wostow why? For thou were wont to chace
	At Love in scorn, and for despyt him calle
910	"Seynt Idiot, lord of thise foles alle."

	`How often hastow maad thy nyce japes,
	And seyd, that loves servants everichone
	Of nycetee been verray goddes apes;
	And some wolde monche hir mete alone,
915	Ligging a-bedde, and make hem for to grone;
	And som, thou seydest, hadde a blaunche fevere,
	And preydest God he sholde never kevere.

	`And som of hem tok on hem, for the colde,
	More than ynough, so seydestow ful ofte;
920	And som han feyned ofte tyme, and tolde
	How that they wake, whan they slepen softe;
	And thus they wolde han brought hemself a-lofte,
	And nathelees were under at the laste;
	Thus seydestow, and japedest ful faste.

925	`Yet seydestow, that, for the more part,
	These loveres wolden speke in general,
	And thoughten that it was a siker art,
	For fayling, for to assayen overal.
	Now may I jape of thee, if that I shal!
930	But nathelees, though that I sholde deye,
	That thou art noon of tho, that dorste I seye.

	`Now beet thy brest, and sey to God of love,
	"Thy grace, lord! For now I me repente
	If I mis spak, for now myself I love:"
935	Thus sey with al thyn herte in good entente.'
	Quod Troilus, `A! Lord! I me consente,
	And prey to thee my japes thou foryive,
	And I shal nevermore whyl I live.'

	`Thou seyst wel,' quod Pandare, `and now I hope
940	That thou the goddes wrathe hast al apesed;
	And sithen thou hast wepen many a drope,
	And seyd swich thing wherwith thy god is plesed,
	Now wolde never God but thou were esed;
	And think wel, she of whom rist al thy wo
945	Hereafter may thy comfort been also.

	`For thilke ground, that bereth the wedes wikke,
	Bereth eek thise holsom herbes, as ful ofte
	Next the foule netle, rough and thikke,
	The rose waxeth swote and smothe and softe;
950	And next the valey is the hil alofte;
	And next the derke night the glade morwe;
	And also joye is next the fyn of sorwe.

	`Now loke that atempre be thy brydel,
	And, for the beste, ay suffre to the tyde,
955	Or elles al our labour is on ydel;
	He hasteth wel that wysly can abyde;
	Be diligent, and trewe, and ay wel hyde.
	Be lusty, free, persevere in thy servyse,
	And al is wel, if thou werke in this wyse.

960	`But he that parted is in every place
	Is no-wher hool, as writen clerkes wyse;
	What wonder is, though swich oon have no grace?
	Eek wostow how it fareth of som servyse?
	As plaunte a tre or herbe, in sondry wyse,
965	And on the morwe pulle it up as blyve,
	No wonder is, though it may never thryve.

	`And sith that God of love hath thee bistowed
	In place digne unto thy worthynesse,
	Stond faste, for to good port hastow rowed;
970	And of thyself, for any hevynesse,
	Hope alwey wel; for, but-if drerinesse
	Or over-haste our bothe labour shende,
	I hope of this to maken a good ende.

	`And wostow why I am the lasse a-fered
975	Of this matere with my nece trete?
	For this have I herd seyd of wyse y-lered,
	"Was never man ne woman yet bigete
	That was unapt to suffren loves hete,
	Celestial, or elles love of kinde;"
980	Forthy som grace I hope in hir to finde.

	`And for to speke of hir in special,
	Hir beautee to bithinken and hir youthe,
	It sit hir nought to be celestial
	As yet, though that hir liste bothe and couthe;
985	But trewely, it sete hir wel right nouthe
	A worthy knight to loven and cheryce,
	And but she do, I holde it for a vyce.

	`Wherfore I am, and wol be, ay redy
	To peyne me to do yow this servyse;
990	For bothe yow to plese thus hope I
	Herafterward; for ye beth bothe wyse,
	And konne it counseil kepe in swich a wyse
	That no man shal the wyser of it be;
	And so we may be gladed alle three.

995	`And, by my trouthe, I have right now of thee
	A good conceyt in my wit, as I gesse,
	And what it is, I wol now that thou see.
	I thenke, sith that love, of his goodnesse,
	Hath thee converted out of wikkednesse,
1000	That thou shalt be the beste post, I leve,
	Of al his lay, and most his foos to greve.

	`Ensample why, see now these wyse clerkes,
	That erren aldermost ayein a lawe,
	And ben converted from hir wikked werkes
1005	Thorugh grace of god, that list hem to him drawe,
	Than arn they folk that han most God in awe,
	And strengest-feythed been, I understonde,
	And conne an errour alderbest withstonde.'

Next: From Troilus and Criseyde, Book I, lines 1009-1092: Pandarus offers Troilus his help