Delphi Poetry Anthology: The World's Greatest Poems (Delphi Poets Series Book 50) (31 page)

This worthy Duke answer’d anon again,
And said, “This is a short conclusion.
Your own mouth, by your own confession
Hath damned you, and I will it record;
It needeth not to pain you with the cord;
Ye shall be dead, by mighty Mars the Red.

The queen anon for very womanhead
Began to weep, and so did Emily,
And all the ladies in the company.
Great pity was it as it thought them all,
That ever such a chance should befall,
For gentle men they were, of great estate,
And nothing but for love was this debate
They saw their bloody woundes wide and sore,
And cried all at once, both less and more,
“Have mercy, Lord, upon us women all.”
And on their bare knees adown they fall
And would have kissed his feet there as he stood,
Till at the last
¹
aslaked was his mood
^1
1
his anger was
(For pity runneth soon in gentle heart); appeased
¹
And though at first for ire he quoke and start
He hath consider’d shortly in a clause
The trespass of them both, and eke the cause:
And although that his ire their guilt accused
Yet in his reason he them both excused;
As thus; he thoughte well that every man
Will help himself in love if that he can,
And eke deliver himself out of prison.
Of women, for they wepten ever-in-one:
^1
1
continually
And eke his hearte had compassion
And in his gentle heart he thought anon,
And soft unto himself he saide: “Fie
Upon a lord that will have no mercy,
But be a lion both in word and deed,
To them that be in repentance and dread,
As well as-to a proud dispiteous
¹
man
¹
unpitying
That will maintaine what he first began.
That lord hath little of discretion,
That in such case
¹
can no division
¹
:
¹
can make no distinction
¹
But weigheth pride and humbless
¹
after one
¹
.”
¹
alike
¹
And shortly, when his ire is thus agone,
He gan to look on them with eyen light
¹
,
¹
gentle, lenient
¹
And spake these same wordes
¹
all on height.
^1
1
aloud
¹

“The god of love, ah! benedicite
¹
,
¹
bless ye him
How mighty and how great a lord is he!
Against his might there gaine
¹
none obstacles,
¹
avail, conquer
He may be called a god for his miracles
For he can maken at his owen guise
Of every heart, as that him list devise.
Lo here this Arcite, and this Palamon,
That quietly were out of my prison,
And might have lived in Thebes royally,
And weet
¹
I am their mortal enemy,
¹
knew
And that their death li’th in my might also,
And yet hath love,
¹
maugre their eyen two
¹
,
¹
in spite of their eyes
¹
Y-brought them hither bothe for to die.
Now look ye, is not this an high folly?
Who may not be a fool, if but he love?
Behold, for Godde’s sake that sits above,
See how they bleed! be they not well array’d?
Thus hath their lord, the god of love, them paid
Their wages and their fees for their service;
And yet they weene for to be full wise,
That serve love, for aught that may befall.
But this is yet the beste game
¹
of all,
¹
joke
That she, for whom they have this jealousy,
Can them therefor as muchel thank as me.
She wot no more of all this
¹
hote fare
¹
,
¹
hot behaviour
¹
By God, than wot a cuckoo or an hare.
But all must be assayed hot or cold;
A man must be a fool, or young or old;
I wot it by myself
¹
full yore agone
¹
:
¹
long years ago
¹
For in my time a servant was I one.
And therefore since I know of love’s pain,
And wot how sore it can a man distrain
¹
,
¹
distress
As he that oft hath been caught in his last
¹
,
¹
snare
I you forgive wholly this trespass,
At request of the queen that kneeleth here,
And eke of Emily, my sister dear.
And ye shall both anon unto me swear,
That never more ye shall my country dere
^1
1
injure
Nor make war upon me night nor day,
But be my friends in alle that ye may.
I you forgive this trespass
¹
every deal
¹
.
¹
completely
¹
And they him sware
¹
his asking
¹
fair and well,
¹
what he asked
¹
And him of lordship and of mercy pray’d,
And he them granted grace, and thus he said:

“To speak of royal lineage and richess,
Though that she were a queen or a princess,
Each of you both is worthy doubteless
To wedde when time is; but natheless
I speak as for my sister Emily,
For whom ye have this strife and jealousy,
Ye wot
¹
yourselves, she may not wed the two
¹
know
At once, although ye fight for evermo:
But one of you,
¹
all be him loth or lief,
^1
1
whether or not he wishes
¹
He must
¹
go pipe into an ivy leaf
¹
:
¹
”go whistle”
¹
This is to say, she may not have you both,
All be ye never so jealous, nor so wroth.
And therefore I you put in this degree,
That each of you shall have his destiny
As
¹
him is shape
¹
; and hearken in what wise
¹
as is decreed for him
¹
Lo hear your end of that I shall devise.
My will is this, for plain conclusion
Withouten any replication
¹
,
¹
reply
If that you liketh, take it for the best,
That evereach of you shall go where
¹
him lest
¹
,
¹
he pleases
Freely without ransom or danger;
And this day fifty weekes,
¹
farre ne nerre
¹
,
¹
neither more nor less
¹
Evereach of you shall bring an hundred knights,
Armed for listes up at alle rights
All ready to darraine
¹
her by bataille,
¹
contend for
And this behete
¹
I you withoute fail
¹
promise
Upon my troth, and as I am a knight,
That whether of you bothe that hath might,
That is to say, that whether he or thou
May with his hundred, as I spake of now,
Slay his contrary, or out of listes drive,
Him shall I given Emily to wive,
To whom that fortune gives so fair a grace.
The listes shall I make here in this place.
¹
And God so wisly on my soule rue
¹
,
¹
may God as surely have
As I shall even judge be and true. mercy on my soul
¹
Ye shall none other ende with me maken
Than one of you shalle be dead or taken.
And if you thinketh this is well y-said,
Say your advice
¹
, and hold yourselves apaid
²
.
¹
opinion
²
satisfied
This is your end, and your conclusion.”
Who looketh lightly now but Palamon?
Who springeth up for joye but Arcite?
Who could it tell, or who could it indite,
The joye that is maked in the place
When Theseus hath done so fair a grace?
But down on knees went every
¹
manner wight
¹
,
¹
kind of person
¹
And thanked him with all their heartes’ might,
And namely
¹
these Thebans
¹
ofte sithe
¹
.
¹
especially
¹
oftentimes
¹
And thus with good hope and with hearte blithe
They take their leave, and homeward gan they ride
To Thebes-ward, with his old walles wide.

I trow men woulde deem it negligence,
If I forgot to telle the dispence
^1
1
expenditure
Of Theseus, that went so busily
To maken up the listes royally,
That such a noble theatre as it was,
I dare well say, in all this world there n’as
¹
.
¹
was not
The circuit a mile was about,
Walled of stone, and ditched all without.
¹
Round was the shape, in manner of compass,
Full of degrees, the height of sixty pas
^1
1
see note
¹
That when a man was set on one degree
He letted
¹
not his fellow for to see.
¹
hindered
Eastward there stood a gate of marble white,
Westward right such another opposite.
And, shortly to conclude, such a place
Was never on earth made in so little space,
For in the land there was no craftes-man,
That geometry or arsmetrike
¹
can
²
,
¹
arithmetic
²
knew
Nor pourtrayor
¹
, nor carver of images,
¹
portrait painter
That Theseus ne gave him meat and wages
The theatre to make and to devise.
And for to do his rite and sacrifice
He eastward hath upon the gate above,
In worship of Venus, goddess of love,
¹
Done make
¹
an altar and an oratory;
¹
caused to be made
¹
And westward, in the mind and in memory
Of Mars, he maked hath right such another,
That coste largely of gold a fother
¹
.
¹
a great amount
And northward, in a turret on the wall,
Of alabaster white and red coral
An oratory riche for to see,
In worship of Diane of chastity,
Hath Theseus done work in noble wise.
But yet had I forgotten to devise
^1
1
describe
The noble carving, and the portraitures,
The shape, the countenance of the figures
That weren in there oratories three.

First in the temple of Venus may’st thou see
Wrought on the wall, full piteous to behold,
The broken sleepes, and the sikes
¹
cold,
¹
sighes
The sacred teares, and the waimentings
¹
,
¹
lamentings
The fiery strokes of the desirings,
That Love’s servants in this life endure;
The oathes, that their covenants assure.
Pleasance and Hope, Desire, Foolhardiness,
Beauty and Youth, and Bawdry and Richess,
Charms and Sorc’ry, Leasings
¹
and Flattery,
¹
falsehoods
Dispence, Business, and Jealousy,
That wore of yellow goldes
¹
a garland,
¹
sunflowers
And had a cuckoo sitting on her hand,
Feasts, instruments, and caroles and dances,
Lust and array, and all the circumstances
Of Love, which I reckon’d and reckon shall
In order, were painted on the wall,
And more than I can make of mention.
For soothly all the mount of Citheron,
Where Venus hath her principal dwelling,
Was showed on the wall in pourtraying,
With all the garden, and the lustiness
¹
.
¹
pleasantness
Nor was forgot the porter Idleness,
Nor Narcissus the fair of
¹
yore agone
¹
,
¹
olden times
¹
Nor yet the folly of King Solomon,
Nor yet the greate strength of Hercules,
Th’ enchantments of Medea and Circes,
Nor of Turnus the hardy fierce courage,
The rich Croesus
¹
caitif in servage.
^1
 
1
abased into slavery
¹
Thus may ye see, that wisdom nor richess,
Beauty, nor sleight, nor strength, nor hardiness
Ne may with Venus holde champartie
¹
,
¹
divided possession
For as her liste the world may she gie
¹
.
¹
guide
Lo, all these folk so caught were in her las
^1
1
snare
Till they for woe full often said, Alas!
Suffice these ensamples one or two,
Although I could reckon a thousand mo’.

The statue of Venus, glorious to see
Was naked floating in the large sea,
And from the navel down all cover’d was
With waves green, and bright as any glass.
A citole
 
in her right hand hadde she,
And on her head, full seemly for to see,
A rose garland fresh, and well smelling,
Above her head her doves flickering
Before her stood her sone Cupido,
Upon his shoulders winges had he two;
And blind he was, as it is often seen;
A bow he bare, and arrows bright and keen.

Why should I not as well eke tell you all
The portraiture, that was upon the wall
Within the temple of mighty Mars the Red?
All painted was the wall in length and brede
^1
1
breadth
Like to the estres
¹
of the grisly place
¹
interior chambers
That hight the great temple of Mars in Thrace,
In thilke
¹
cold and frosty region,
¹
that
There as Mars hath his sovereign mansion.
In which there dwelled neither man nor beast,
With knotty gnarry
¹
barren trees old
¹
gnarled
Of stubbes sharp and hideous to behold;
In which there ran a rumble and a sough
¹
,
¹
groaning noise
As though a storm should bursten every bough:
And downward from an hill under a bent
^1
1
slope
There stood the temple of Mars Armipotent,
Wrought all of burnish’d steel, of which th’ entry
Was long and strait, and ghastly for to see.
And thereout came
¹
a rage and such a vise
¹
,
¹
such a furious voice
¹
That it made all the gates for to rise.
The northern light in at the doore shone,
For window on the walle was there none
Through which men mighten any light discern.
The doors were all of adamant etern,
Y-clenched
¹
overthwart and ende-long
^1
1
crossways and lengthways
¹
With iron tough, and, for to make it strong,
Every pillar the temple to sustain
Was tunne-great
¹
, of iron bright and sheen.
¹
thick as a tun (barrel)
There saw I first the dark imagining
Of felony, and all the compassing;
The cruel ire, as red as any glede
¹
,
¹
live coal
The picke-purse, and eke the pale dread;
The smiler with the knife under the cloak,
The shepen
¹
burning with the blacke smoke
¹
stable
The treason of the murd’ring in the bed,
The open war, with woundes all be-bled;
Conteke
¹
with bloody knife, and sharp menace.
¹
contention, discord
All full of chirking
¹
was that sorry place.
¹
creaking, jarring noise
The slayer of himself eke saw I there,
His hearte-blood had bathed all his hair:
The nail y-driven in the shode
¹
at night,
¹
hair of the head
The colde death, with mouth gaping upright.
Amiddes of the temple sat Mischance,
With discomfort and sorry countenance;
Eke saw I Woodness
¹
laughing in his rage,
¹
Madness
Armed Complaint, Outhees
¹
, and fierce Outrage;
¹
Outcry
The carrain
¹
in the bush, with throat y-corve
²
,
¹
corpse
²
slashed
A thousand slain, and not
¹
of qualm y-storve
¹
;
¹
dead of sickness
¹
The tyrant, with the prey by force y-reft;
The town destroy’d, that there was nothing left.
Yet saw I brent
¹
the shippes hoppesteres,
 
¹
burnt
The hunter strangled with the wilde bears:
The sow freting
¹
the child right in the cradle;
¹
devouring
The cook scalded, for all his longe ladle.
Nor was forgot,
¹
by th’infortune of Mart
^1
1
through the misfortune
The carter overridden with his cart; of war
¹
Under the wheel full low he lay adown.
There were also of Mars’ division,
The armourer, the bowyer
¹
, and the smith,
¹
maker of bows
That forgeth sharp swordes on his stith
¹
.
¹
anvil
And all above depainted in a tower
Saw I Conquest, sitting in great honour,
With thilke
¹
sharpe sword over his head
¹
that
Hanging by a subtle y-twined thread.
Painted the slaughter was of Julius,
Of cruel Nero, and Antonius:
Although at that time they were yet unborn,
Yet was their death depainted there beforn,
By menacing of Mars, right by figure,
So was it showed in that portraiture,
As is depainted in the stars above,
Who shall be slain, or elles dead for love.
Sufficeth one ensample in stories old,
I may not reckon them all, though I wo’ld.