And every lacerte in his breft adoun

2735 Is hent with venime and corruptioun. Him gaineth neyther for to get his lif Vomit upward ne dounward laxatif: All is tc-brotten thalke region; Nature hath now no domination:

2760 And certainly ther nature wol not werche. Farewel phyfike; go bere the man to cherche. This is all and som, that Arcite mofte die; For which he fendeth after Emelie, And Palamon, that was his coin dere; 2765 Than save he thus, as ye fhulu after here.

Nought may the worul spirit in myn herte Declare o point of all my forwes smerte To you my lady, that I love moft, But i bequethe the service of my goft 2770 To you aboven every creature, Sin that my lif ne may no lenger dure.

Alas the wo! alas the peines sirong, That i for you have suffered, and so longe! Alas the deth! alas min Emelie!

2775 Alas departing of our compagnie! Alag min hertes quene! alas my wif! Min hertes ladie, ender of niy lif! What is this world! what axen men to have ? Now with his love, now in his colde grave 2789 Alone withouten any compagnie. Farewel my swete, farewel min Emelie!

And softe take me in your armes twey
For love of God, and herkeneth what i sey.

I have here with my cofin Palamon 2785
Had ftrif and rancour many a day agon
For love of you, and for my jalousie;
And Jupiter so wis my foule gie,
To speken of a servant proprely,
With alle circumstances trewely,

2790 That is to sayn, trouth, honour, and knighthede, Wisdom, humblesse, estat, and high kinrede, Fredom, and all that longeth to that art, So Jupiter have of my

soule

part, As in this world right now ne know I non 2795 So worthy to be loved as Palamon, That serveth you, and wol don all his lif; And if that ever ye shal ben a wif Foryete not Palamon, the gentil man.

And with that word his fpeche faille began; 2800 For from his feet up to his brest was come The cold of deth that had him overnome; And yet moreover in his armes two The vital strength is lost and all ago; Only the intellect, withonten more, That dwelled in his herte sike and fore,

$. 2802. overnome] Overtaken, from otsrniman, Sax. ♡. 2803. And yee] So in The Theseida, l. X.;

E anchor ne le brazza era perduta

2805

La vital forza, fol uc lo intelletto
E nel core era ancora foftenuta
La pocha vita.-

Gan faillen whan the herte felte deth;
Dulked his eyen two, and failled his breth:
But on his ladie yet cast he his eye;
His latte word was, Mercy, Emelie!

2810
Pis fpirit changed hous, and wente ther
As I came never I cannot tellen wher;
Therfore I ftent, I am no diviniftre;
Of foules find I not in this regifre:
Ne me luft not th'opinions to telle

2815 Of hem, though that they writen wher they dwelle. Arcite is cold, ther Mars his soule gie. Now wollspcken forth of Emelie.

Shright Enelie, and honleth Palamon, And Theseus his sister toke anon

2820 Swouning, and bare hire from the corps away. What helpeth it to tarien forth the day, To tellen how she wep both even and morwe? For in fwiche cas wimmen have swiche forwe, Whan that hir housbonds ben frohem ago, Thut for the more part they forwen to, Or elles fallen in swiche maladie, That atte laste certainly they die.

v. 2513. Therfore I lent] This is apparentiy a fling at Boccace's pompous defcription of the pallage of Arcite's foul to heaven, Thef. l. xi. it thould be obterved however that our Author had already made use of the fame defcription in liis Troilus, ver. 1806, ley. It is not in The Philostrato.

♡ . 2817 ther Mars Dis soule gie] The force of ther, in this pallage, will best appear by a collation of other fimilar patlages. sce particularly ver. 5022, 7143, 9182.

2825

2835

Infinite ben the forwes and the teres of olde folk and folk of tendre yeres 2830 In all the toun for deth of this Theban; For him ther wepeth bothe child and man: So gret a weping was ther non certain Whan Hector was ybrought all fresh yslain To 'Troy: alas! the pitee that was there; Cratching of chekes, rending eke of here. Why woldest thou be ded? thise women crie, And haddest gold ynough and Emelie.

No man mighe gladen this Duk Theseus Saving his olde fader Egeus,

2840 That knew this worldes transmutatioun, As he had seen it chaungen up and doun, Joye after wo, and wo after gladneile, And shewed him ensample and likenesse.

Right as ther died never man (quod he)
That he ne lived in erth in som degree,
Right so ther lived never man (he seyd)
In all this world that somtime he ne deyd :
This world a'is but a thurghfare ful of wo,
And we ben pilgrimes pafling to and fro: 2850
Deth is an end of every worldes fore.

And over all this yet said he mochel more
To this effect, ful witely to enhort
The peple that they shuld hem recomfort. 1

Duk Theseus with all his bely cure
He casteth now wher that the sepulture

Ť.2956. H: call_tb] I have added He to complete the verle. The use of pronouns redundantly is common in Chaucer.

2845

2855

fote and grene,

Of good Arcite may best ymaked be,
And eke most honourable in his degree;
And at the last he toke conclusion
That ther as first Arcite and Palamon

2860
Hadden for love the bataille hem betwene,
That in that selve grove,
Ther as he hadde his amorous desires,
His complaint, and for love his hote fires,
He wolde make a fire, in which the office 2865
Of funeral he might all accomplise;
And let anon commande to hack and hewe
The okes old, and lay hem on a rew
In culpons, wel araied for to brenne.
His officers with swifte feet they renne 2870
And ride anon at his commandement.
And after this, this Theseus hath sent
After a here, and it all overfpradde
With cloth of gold the richest that he hadde,
And of the same fuit he cladde Arcite.
Upon his hondes were his gloves white,
Ekc on his hcd a croune of laurer grene,
And in his hond a fwerd sul bright and kene.
V. 2362. in tharkive grote] In The Thefeida Arcita is buried
---Nclico, Inn chia

Aver invente foleta de andre. V. 2866. Of funcra!] Of is a conjectural supplement; or the Verse may be (perhaps better) completed by taking in the word fully from mi. NC. and ed.C.3. 2, --in which the office

Funeral he mirbt all fully accomplice. v. 2872. And after this] The second this is from conjecture only. Some mil. read-And after this Thefcus liath jeniwhich perlaps is

2875