Goon at his large, and wher him list may turne.
But I moot been in prison thurgh Saturne, evil omea amory
And eek thurgh Iuno, Ialous and eek wood,
That hath destroyed wel ny al the blood
Of Thebes, with his1
And Venus sleeth me on that other syde
For Ielousye, and fere of him: Arcite: feoff 4
Now wol I stinte of Palamon a lyte,
And lete him in his prison stille dwelle,
And of Arcita forth I wol yow telle.
The somer passeth, and the nightes longe
Encresen double wyse the peynes stronge
Bothe of the lovere and the prisoner.
I noot which hath the wofullere mester.
For shortly for to seyn, this Palamoun
Perpetuelly is dampned to prisoun,
In cheynes and in fettres to been deed;
And Arcite is exyled upon his heed
For evere-mo as out of that contree,
Ne nevere-mo he shal his lady see.
Yow loveres axe I now this questioun,
Who hath the worse, Arcite or Palamoun ?
That oon may seen his lady day by day,
But in prisoun he moot dwelle alway.
That other wher him list may ryde or go,
But seen his lady shal he nevere-mo.
Now demeth as yow liste, ye that can,
For I wol telle forth as I bigan.
Explicit prima Pars. Sequitur pars secunda.
1 E. hise.
3 E. (alone) sonne. 4 E. Encressen.
5 Cm. Cp. Pt. vp (perhaps rightly).
6 E. Now (wrongly).
7 Hn. Cp. Pt. moot he. 8 Ln. liste; Cm. lyste; Hl. luste; rest list.
Whan that Arcite to Thebes comen was,
Ful ofte a day he swelte and seyde 'allas,'
For seen his lady shal he nevere-mo.
And shortly to concluden al his wo,
So muche sorwe had1 nevere creature
That is, or shal, whyl that the world may dure.
His sleep, his mete, his drink is him biraft, de (1361)
That lene he wex2, and drye, as is a shaft.
His eyen holwe, and grisly to biholde;
Pale
His hewe falwe
3) pale as asshen colde,
And solitarie he was, and evere allone,
And wailling al the night, making his mone.
And if he herde song or instrument,
Then wolde he wepe, he mighte nat be stent;
So feble eek were his spirits, and so lowe,
And chaunged so, that no man coude knowe (1370)
His speche nor his vois, though men it herde.
And in his gere, for al the world he ferde went:
Nat oonly lyk the loveres maladye
Of Hereos, but rather lyk manye mania.
Engendred of humour malencolyk,
Biforen, in his celle fantastyk. 44,
And shortly, turned was al up-so-doun
Bothe habit and eek disposicioun
Of him, this woful lovere daun Arcite.
What sholde I al-day of his wo endyle?
Whan he endured hadde a yeer or two
This cruel torment, and this peyne and wo,
At Thebes, in his contree, as I seyde,
1 Hl. Pt. Ln. had; rest hadde.
9 Hl. Cm. falwe; E. Hn. falow.
5 E. Biforn his owene; Cm. Be-forn hese owene; Hn. Cp. Pt. Ln.
Biforn his; Hl. Beforne in his.
Up-on a night, in sleep as he him leyde,
Him thoughte how that the winged god Mercurie
Biforn him stood, and bad him to be murye.
His slepy yerde in hond he bar uprighte;
An hat he werede up-on1 his heres brighte.
Arrayed was this god (as he took keep)
As he was whan that Argus took his sleep;
And seyde him thus: To Athenes shaltou wende;
Ther is thee shapen of thy wo an ende.'
And with that word Arcite wook and sterte.
'Now trewely, how sore that me smerte,'
Quod he, 'to Athenes right now wol I fare;
Ne for the drede of deeth shal I nat spare bien
To see my lady, that I love and serve;
In hir presence I recche nat to sterve.'
And with that word he caughte a greet mirour,
And saugh that chaunged was al his colour, (1400)
And saugh his visage al in another kynde. ftion
And right anoon it ran him in his mynde,
That, sith his face was so disfigured
Of maladye, the which he hadde endured,
He mighte wel, if that he bar him lowe, humbly, low w
Live in Athenes evere-more unknowe,
And seen his lady wel ny day by day.
And right anon he chaungede his array, i,
And cladde him as a povre laborer,
And al allone, save oonly a squyer,
That knew his privetee and al his cas,
Which was disgysed povrely, as he was,
To Athenes is he goon the nexte way. di
And to the court he wente up-on a day,
And at the gate he profreth his servyse,
1 E. vp (perhaps rightly); rest vp-on.
To drugge and drawe, what so men wol devyse.
And shortly of this matere for to seyn,
He fil in office with a chamberleyn,
The which that dwelling was with Emelye.
For he was wys, and coude soon aspye
Of every servaunt, which that serveth here.
Wel coude he hewen wode, and water bere,
For he was yong and mighty for the nones,
And ther-to he was strong and big of bones
To doon that any wight can him devyse.
Besides in leer or two he was in this servyse,
Page of the chambre of Emelye the brighte;
"And Philostrate' he seide that he highte.
But half so wel biloved a man as he
Ne was ther nevere in court, of his degree; (1430)
He was so gentil of condicioun,
That thurghout al the court was his renoun.
They seyden that it were a charitee
That Theseus wolde enhauncen his degree, e m
And putten him in worshipful servyse, w
where Ther as he mighte his vertu excercyse. his per And thus, with-inne a whyle, his name is spronge Bothe of his dedes, and his goode tonge,
That Theseus hath taken him so neer
That of his chambre he made him a squyer, (1440)
And yaf him gold to mayntene his degree;
And eek men broghte him out of his contree
From yeer to yeer ful prively his rente;
But honestly and slyly he it spente,
That no man wondred how that he it hadde. when
And thre yeer in this wyse his lyf he ladde,
And bar him so in pees and eek in werre,
1 E. Cm. long; rest strong.
Ther nas no man that Theseus hath derre.
And in this blisse lete I now Arcite,
And speke I wol of Palamon a lyte.
In derknesse and horrible and strong prisoun
This seven yeer hath seten Palamoun,
Forpyned, what for wo and for distresse;
Who feleth double soor1 and hevynesse und & bever co
But Palamon? that love destreyneth so, whom love as refe's
mad That wood out of his wit he goth for wo; «rtur
And eek therto he is a prisoner
Perpetuelly, noght oonly for a yeer.
Who coude ryme in English proprely
His martirdom? for sothe, it am nat I;
Therefore I passe as lightly as I may.
It fel that in the seventhe yeer, in May,
The thridde night, (as olde bokes seyn,
That al this storie tellen more pleyn,)
Were it by aventure or destinee,
(As, whan a thing is shapen, it shal be,) decried.
That, sone after the midnight, Palamoun,
By helping of a freend, brak his prisoun,
And fleeth the citee faste as he may go,
For he had yive3 his gayler drinke so
Of a clarree, maad of a certeyn wyn,
With nercotikes and opie of Thebes fyn,
That al that night, thogh that men wolde him shake,
The gayler sleep, he mighte nat awake;
And thus he fleeth as faste as evere he may.
The night was short, and faste by the day, based
That nedes-cost he moste 5 him-selven hyde,
1 So E. Hn. Pt.; Cp. Ln. sore; Cm. Hl. sorwe.
2 E. om..and.
4 E. Of; rest With.
5 E. moot; rest moste, most, muste.
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