Troilus and Crisyde | Page 5

wey, so priketh
him his corn,
Til he a lash have of the longe whippe, 220
Than
thenketh he, `Though I praunce al biforn
First in the trays, ful fat and
newe shorn,
Yet am I but an hors, and horses lawe
I moot endure,
and with my feres drawe.'
So ferde it by this fers and proude knight; 225
Though he a worthy
kinges sone were,
And wende nothing hadde had swiche might

Ayens his wil that sholde his herte stere,
Yet with a look his herte
wex a-fere,
That he, that now was most in pryde above, 230
Wex
sodeynly most subget un-to love.
For-thy ensample taketh of this man,
Ye wyse, proude, and worthy
folkes alle,
To scornen Love, which that so sone can
The freedom
of your hertes to him thralle; 235
For ever it was, and ever it shal
bifalle,
That Love is he that alle thing may binde;
For may no man
for-do the lawe of kinde.

That this be sooth, hath preved and doth yet;
For this trowe I ye
knowen, alle or some, 240
Men reden not that folk han gretter wit

Than they that han be most with love y-nome;
And strengest folk ben
therwith overcome,
The worthiest and grettest of degree:
This was,
and is, and yet men shal it see. 245
And trewelich it sit wel to be so;
For alderwysest han ther-with ben
plesed;
And they that han ben aldermost in wo,
With love han ben
conforted most and esed;
And ofte it hath the cruel herte apesed, 250

And worthy folk maad worthier of name,
And causeth most to
dreden vyce and shame.
Now sith it may not goodly be withstonde,
And is a thing so vertuous
in kinde,
Refuseth not to Love for to be bonde, 255
Sin, as
him-selven list, he may yow binde.
The yerde is bet that bowen wole
and winde
Than that that brest; and therfor I yow rede
To folwen
him that so wel can yow lede.
But for to tellen forth in special 260
As of this kinges sone of which I
tolde,
And leten other thing collateral,
Of him thenke I my tale for
to holde,
Both of his Ioye, and of his cares colde;
And al his werk,
as touching this matere, 265
For I it gan, I wol ther-to refere.
With-inne the temple he wente him forth pleyinge,
This Troilus, of
every wight aboute,
On this lady and now on that lokinge,
Wher-so
she were of toune, or of with-oute: 270
And up-on cas bifel, that
thorugh a route
His eye perced, and so depe it wente,
Til on
Criseyde it smoot, and ther it stente.
And sodeynly he wax ther-with astoned,
And gan hire bet biholde in
thrifty wyse: 275
`O mercy, god!' thoughte he, `wher hastow woned,

That art so fair and goodly to devyse?'
Ther-with his herte gan to
sprede and ryse,
And softe sighed, lest men mighte him here,
And
caughte a-yein his firste pleyinge chere. 280

She nas nat with the leste of hir stature,
But alle hir limes so wel
answeringe
Weren to womanhode, that creature
Was neuer lasse
mannish in seminge.
And eek the pure wyse of here meninge 285

Shewede wel, that men might in hir gesse
Honour, estat, and
wommanly noblesse.
To Troilus right wonder wel with-alle
Gan for to lyke hir meninge
and hir chere,
Which somdel deynous was, for she leet falle 290
Hir
look a lite a-side, in swich manere,
Ascaunces, `What! May I not
stonden here?'
And after that hir loking gan she lighte,
That never
thoughte him seen so good a sighte.
And of hir look in him ther gan to quiken 295
So greet desir, and
swich affeccioun,
That in his herte botme gan to stiken
Of hir his
fixe and depe impressioun:
And though he erst hadde poured up and
doun,
He was tho glad his hornes in to shrinke; 300
Unnethes wiste
he how to loke or winke.
Lo, he that leet him-selven so konninge,
And scorned hem that loves
peynes dryen,
Was ful unwar that love hadde his dwellinge

With-inne the subtile stremes of hir yen; 305
That sodeynly him
thoughte he felte dyen,
Right with hir look, the spirit in his herte;

Blissed be love, that thus can folk converte!
She, this in blak, likinge to Troylus,
Over alle thyng, he stood for to
biholde; 310
Ne his desir, ne wherfor he stood thus,
He neither
chere made, ne worde tolde;
But from a-fer, his maner for to holde,

On other thing his look som-tyme he caste,
And eft on hir, whyl that
servyse laste. 315
And after this, not fulliche al awhaped,
Out of the temple al esiliche
he wente,
Repentinge him that he hadde ever y-iaped
Of loves folk,
lest fully the descente
Of scorn fille on him-self; but, what he mente,
320
Lest it were wist on any maner syde,
His wo he gan dissimulen
and hyde.

Whan he was fro the temple thus departed,
He streyght anoon un-to
his paleys torneth,
Right with hir look thurgh-shoten and
thurgh-darted, 325
Al feyneth he in lust that he soiorneth;
And al
his chere and speche also he borneth;
And ay, of loves servants every
whyle,
Him-self to wrye, at hem he gan to smyle.
And seyde, `Lord, so ye live al in lest, 330
Ye