My berd, my here that hangeth long adoun,
That never yet felt non offenfioun
Of rasour ne of there I wol thee yeve,
And ben thy trewe servant while I live. : 24:20
Now, Lord, have reuthe upon my sorwes fore;
Yeve me the victorie; 1 axe thee no more.
The praier Nint of Arcita the stronge,
The ringes on the temple dore that honge,
And eke the dores, clattereden ful fast, 2425
Of which Arcita fomwhat him agast.
The fires brent upon the auter bright
That it gan all the temple for to light;
A swete smell anon the ground up yaf,
And Arcita anon his hond up haf,
243©
And more encenfe into the fire he cast,
With other rites mo, and at the last
The statue of Marş began his hauberke ring,
And with that soun he herd a murmuring
Ful low and dim, that fayde thus, Victorie; 2435
For which he yaf to Mars honour and glorie. .
And thus with joye and hope wel to fare
Arcice anon unto his inne is fare
Asfayn as foul is of the brighte fonne.
And right anon swiche strif ther is begonne 2440
For thilke granting in the heven above
Betwixen Venus the goddesse of Love,
And Mars the fterne god Armipotent,
That Jupiter was befy it to stent,
Volume II.
L
'Til that the Pale Saturnus the Colde, 2445
That knew so many of aventures olde,
Fond in his olde experience and art
That he ful fone hath plesed every part.
As footh is sayd, elde hath gret avantage;
In elde is bothe wisdom and usage:
2450 Men may the old out-renne but not out-rede.
Saturnę anon, to stenten strif and drede,
Al be it that it is again his kind,
Of all this strif he gan a remedy find.
My dere doaghter Venus! quod Saturne, 2435
My cours that hath so wide for to turne
Hath more power than wot any man.
Min is the drunching in the fee fo wan,
Min is the prison in the derke cote,
Min is the strangel and hanging by the throte, 2460
The murnivre, and the cherles rebelling,
The groyning, and the prive empoysoning.
I do vengeance and pleine correction
While. I dwell in the signe of the Leon.
Min is the ruine of the highe halles, 2465
The falling of the toures and of the walles
Upon the mincur or the carpenter;
I flew Sampson in shaking the piler.
$. 2451. out-rede) Cutwit, surpass in counsel. The sense of this word has been most ridiculouty mittaken by Dryden ;
For this advantage age from youth has won,
As not to be outridden though autrun.
Min ben also the maladies colde,
The derke tresons, and the calles olde: 2470
My loking is the fader of Pestilence.
Now wepe no more, I shal do diligence
That Palamon, that is thin owen knight,
Shal have his lady, as thou haft him hight.
Thogh Mars sal help his knight yet natheles. 2475
Betwixen you ther mot somtime be pees:
All be ye not of o complexion
That causeth all day swiche division.
I am thin ayel, redy at thy will;
Wepe now no more, I shal thy lust fulfill. 2480
Now woll stenten of the goddes above,
Of Mars and of Venus goddesse of Love,
And tellen you as plainly as I can
The gret effect for which that I began.
Gret was the feste in Athenes thilke day, 2485
And eke the lufty seson of that May
Made every wight to ben in swiche plesance
That all that Monday juften they and dance,
$. 2469. Min ben also the maladies colde] I apprehend that maladies, in this verse, is to be pronounced as of four syllables;
Min ben also the maladies cólde. So below, ver. 2495 ;
Ther was in th' hóftelríes áll aboute. And ver. 2591;
Ther n'ére swiche compagnies néver twiy. However, if any one thould prefer a hobbling line with ano. ther fyllable in it he may read, with the best ml. And min ben allo, c.
And spenden it in Venus highe fervise ;
But by the cause that they fhuiden rise
Erly a-morwe for to seen the fight,
Unto hir reste wenten they at night.
And on the-mor we whan the day gan spring
Of hors and harneis noise and clattering
Ther was in the hostelries all aboute,
2495 And to the paleis rode ther many a route Of lordes upon itedes and palsreis.
Ther mayest thou see deviling of harneis So uncouth and so riche, and wrought so wele Of goldsmithry, of brouding and of stele; 2500 The sheldes brighte, testeres, and trappures, Gold-hewen helmes, hauberkes, cote armures; Lordes in parem.entes on hir courseres, Knightes of retenue, and eke fquieres, Nailing the speres, and helmes bokeling, 2505 Gniding of iheldes, with lainers lacing; Ther as nede is they weren nothing idel : The fomy stedes on the golden bridel Gnawing, and fast the armureres also With file and hammer priking to and fro; 2,5 10 Yemen on foot, and communes many on With shorte staves, thicke as they may gon;
ỹ.2506. Guiding of Meldes) Rubbing, from the Sax. gnidan, fricare. I have not fcrupled to insert this reading in the text from a single mf. (NC.) and that one of the least authority. Indeed both Caxton's editions fumort it, for they read guydyng, and n in many mss. is indistinguiihable from u. The other readings are gyngynge, gigging, grissing, girding, Eyding, gryding,
Pipes, trompes, nakeres, and clariounes,
That in the bataille blowen blody founes;
The paleis ful of peple up and doun,
2515
Here three, ther ten, holding hir questioun,
Devining of these Theban knightes two,
Som sayden thus, som sayde it shall be so;
Som helden with him with the blacke berd,
Som with the balled, som with the thick herd; 2520
Som faide he loked grim, and wolde fighte;
He hath a sparth of twenty pound of wighte.
Thus was the halle full of devining Long after that the sonne gan up fpring. The gret Theseus that of his lepe is waked 2525 With minstralcie and noise that was maked, Held yet the chambre of his paleis riche, Til that the Theban knightes bothe yliche Honoured were, and to the paleis fette. Duk Theseus is at a window sette,
2530 Araied right as he were a god in trone : The peple preseth thider ward ful sone
. 2513. Pipes, trompes] Thefcida, l. ii.;
A una hora trombe, nachare, e tamburi
Sonaron forte. See Du Cange in v. Nacara, who describes it to be a kind of brazen drum used in the cavalry. *. 2516. Here three] So in The Thesiida;
Qui tre, la quatro, e qui sei adunati,
Tra lor moitrando diverse ragione.
2527. Held yet the chambre] So The Tlsefeida;
Anchor le riche camere tenca
Del fuo palagi..
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