Troilus and Crisyde | Page 8

on that folye, 545
A thousand
fold his wo gan multiplye.
Bi-wayling in his chambre thus allone,
A freend of his, that called
was Pandare,
Com ones in unwar, and herde him grone,
And say
his freend in swich distresse and care:
`Allas!' quod he, `who causeth
al this fare? 551
O mercy, god! What unhap may this mene?
Han
now thus sone Grekes maad yow lene?
`Or hastow som remors of conscience,
And art now falle in som
devocioun, 555
And waylest for thy sinne and thyn offence,
And
hast for ferde caught attricioun?
God save hem that bi-seged han our
toun,
And so can leye our Iolyte on presse,
And bring our lusty folk
to holinesse!' 560
These wordes seyde he for the nones alle,
That with swich thing he
mighte him angry maken,
And with an angre don his sorwe falle,

As for the tyme, and his corage awaken;
But wel he wist, as fer as
tonges spaken, 565
Ther nas a man of gretter hardinesse
Than he,
ne more desired worthinesse.
`What cas,' quod Troilus, `or what

aventure
Hath gyded thee to see my languisshinge,
That am refus of
euery creature? 570
But for the love of god, at my preyinge,
Go
henne a-way, for certes, my deyinge
Wol thee disese, and I mot nedes
deye;
Ther-for go wey, ther is no more to seye.
`But if thou wene I be thus sik for drede, 575
It is not so, and ther-for
scorne nought;
Ther is a-nother thing I take of hede
Wel more than
ought the Grekes han y-wrought,
Which cause is of my deeth, for
sorwe and thought.
But though that I now telle thee it ne leste, 580

Be thou nought wrooth; I hyde it for the beste.'
This Pandare, that neigh malt for wo and routhe,
Ful often seyde,
`Allas! what may this be?
Now freend,' quod he, `if ever love or
trouthe
Hath been, or is, bi-twixen thee and me, 585
Ne do thou
never swiche a crueltee
To hyde fro thy freend so greet a care;

Wostow nought wel that it am I, Pandare?
`I wole parten with thee al thy peyne,
If it be so I do thee no comfort,
590
As it is freendes right, sooth for to seyne,
To entreparten wo, as
glad desport.
I have, and shal, for trewe or fals report,
In wrong and
right y-loved thee al my lyve;
Hyd not thy wo fro me, but telle it
blyve.' 595
Than gan this sorwful Troilus to syke,
And seyde him thus, "God leve
it be my beste
To telle it thee; for sith it may thee lyke,
Yet wole I
telle it, though myn herte breste;
And wel wot I thou mayst do me no
reste. 600
But lest thow deme I truste not to thee,
Now herkne,
freend, for thus it stant with me.
`Love, a-yeins the which who-so defendeth
Him-selven most, him
alder-lest avayleth,
With disespeir so sorwfully me offendeth, 605

That streyght un-to the deeth myn herte sayleth.
Ther-to desyr so
brenningly me assaylleth,
That to ben slayn it were a gretter Ioye

To me than king of Grece been and Troye!

`Suffiseth this, my fulle freend Pandare, 610
That I have seyd, for
now wostow my wo;
And for the love of god, my colde care
So hyd
it wel, I telle it never to mo;
For harmes mighte folwen, mo than two,

If it were wist; but be thou in gladnesse, 615
And lat me sterve,
unknowe, of my distresse.'
`How hastow thus unkindely and longe

Hid this fro me, thou fool?' quod Pandarus;
`Paraunter thou might
after swich oon longe,
That myn avys anoon may helpen us.' 620

`This were a wonder thing,' quod Troylus,
`Thou coudest never in
love thy-selven wisse;
How devel maystow bringen me to blisse?'
`Ye, Troilus, now herke,' quod Pandare,
`Though I be nyce; it
happeth ofte so, 625
That oon that exces doth ful yvele fare,
By
good counseyl can kepe his freend ther-fro.
I have my-self eek seyn a
blind man go
Ther-as he fel that coude loke wyde;
A fool may eek a
wys man ofte gyde. 630
`A whetston is no kerving instrument,
And yet it maketh sharpe
kerving-tolis.
And ther thou woost that I have ought miswent,

Eschewe thou that, for swich thing to thee scole is;
Thus ofte wyse
men ben war by folis. 635
If thou do so, thy wit is wel biwared;
By
his contrarie is every thing declared.
`For how might ever sweetnesse have be knowe
To him that never
tasted bitternesse?
Ne no man may be inly glad, I trowe, 640
That
never was in sorwe or som distresse;
Eek whyt by blak, by shame eek
worthinesse,
Ech set by other, more for other semeth;
As men may
see; and so the wyse it demeth.
`Sith thus of two contraries is a lore, 645
I, that have in love so ofte
assayed
Grevaunces, oughte conne, and wel the more
Counsayllen
thee of that thou art amayed.
Eek thee ne oughte nat ben yvel apayed,

Though I desyre with thee for to bere 650
Thyn hevy charge; it
shal the lasse dere.

`I woot wel that it fareth thus by me
As to thy brother Parys an
herdesse,
Which that y-cleped was Oenone,
Wrot in a compleynte
of hir hevinesse: 655
Ye say the