The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems Part 102

"Divine not in reason ay so deep, Nor courteously, but help thyself anon; Bet* is that others than thyselfe weep; *better And namely, since ye two be all one, Rise up, for, by my head, she shall not go'n!

And rather be in blame a little found, Than sterve* here as a gnat withoute wound! *die

"It is no shame unto you, nor no vice, Her to withholde, that ye loveth most; Parauntre* she might holde thee for nice,** *peradventure **foolish To let her go thus unto the Greeks' host; Think eke, Fortune, as well thyselfe wost, Helpeth the hardy man to his emprise, And weiveth* wretches for their cowardice. *forsaketh

"And though thy lady would a lite* her grieve, *little Thou shalt thyself thy peace thereafter make; But, as to me, certain I cannot 'lieve That she would it as now for evil take: Why shoulde then for fear thine hearte quake?

Think eke how Paris hath, that is thy brother, A love; and why shalt thou not have another?

"And, Troilus, one thing I dare thee swear, That if Cressida, which that is thy lief,* *love Now loveth thee as well as thou dost her, G.o.d help me so, she will not take agrief* *amiss Though thou *anon do boot in* this mischief; *provide a remedy And if she willeth from thee for to pa.s.s, immediately*

Then is she false, so love her well the la.s.s.* *less

"Forthy,* take heart, and think, right as a knight, *therefore Through love is broken all day ev'ry law; Kithe* now somewhat thy courage and thy might; *show Have mercy on thyself, *for any awe;* *in spite of any fear*

Let not this wretched woe thine hearte gnaw; But, manly, set the world on six and seven, <75> And, if thou die a martyr, go to heaven."

Pandarus promises his friend all aid in the enterprise; it is agreed that Cressida shall be carried off, but only with her own consent; and Pandarus sets out for his niece's house, to arrange an interview. Meantime Cressida has heard the news; and, caring nothing for her father, but everything for Troilus, she burns in love and fear, unable to tell what she shall do.

But, as men see in town, and all about, That women use* friendes to visite, *are accustomed So to Cresside of women came a rout,* *troop For piteous joy, and *weened her delight,* *thought to please her*

And with their tales, *dear enough a mite,* *not worth a mite*

These women, which that in the city dwell, They set them down, and said as I shall tell.

Quoth first that one, "I am glad, truely, Because of you, that shall your father see;"

Another said, "Y-wis, so am not I, For all too little hath she with us be."* *been Quoth then the third, "I hope, y-wis, that she Shall bringen us the peace on ev'ry side; Then, when she goes, Almighty G.o.d her guide!"

Those wordes, and those womanishe thinges, She heard them right as though she thennes* were, *thence; in some For, G.o.d it wot, her heart on other thing is; other place Although the body sat among them there, Her advertence* is always elleswhere; *attention For Troilus full fast her soule sought; Withoute word, on him alway she thought.

These women that thus weened her to please, Aboute naught gan all their tales spend; Such vanity ne can do her no ease, As she that all this meane while brenn'd Of other pa.s.sion than that they wend;* *weened, supposed So that she felt almost her hearte die For woe, and weary* of that company. *weariness

For whiche she no longer might restrain Her teares, they began so up to well, That gave signes of her bitter pain, In which her spirit was, and muste dwell, Rememb'ring her from heav'n into which h.e.l.l She fallen was, since she forwent* the sight *lost Of Troilus; and sorrowfully she sight.* *sighed

And thilke fooles, sitting her about, Weened that she had wept and siked* sore, *sighed Because that she should out of that rout* *company Depart, and never playe with them more; And they that hadde knowen her of yore Saw her so weep, and thought it kindeness, And each of them wept eke for her distress.

And busily they gonnen* her comfort *began Of thing, G.o.d wot, on which she little thought; And with their tales weened her disport, And to be glad they her besought; But such an ease therewith they in her wrought, Right as a man is eased for to feel, For ache of head, to claw him on his heel.

But, after all this nice* vanity, *silly They took their leave, and home they wenten all; Cressida, full of sorrowful pity, Into her chamber up went out of the hall, And on her bed she gan for dead to fall, In purpose never thennes for to rise; And thus she wrought, as I shall you devise.* *narrate

She rent her sunny hair, wrung her hands, wept, and bewailed her fate; vowing that, since, "for the cruelty," she could handle neither sword nor dart, she would abstain from meat and drink until she died. As she lamented, Pandarus entered, making her complain a thousand times more at the thought of all the joy which he had given her with her lover; but he somewhat soothed her by the prospect of Troilus's visit, and by the counsel to contain her grief when he should come. Then Pandarus went in search of Troilus, whom he found solitary in a temple, as one that had ceased to care for life:

For right thus was his argument alway: He said he was but lorne,* well-away! *lost, ruined "For all that comes, comes by necessity; Thus, to be lorn,* it is my destiny. *lost, ruined

"For certainly this wot I well," he said, "That foresight of the divine purveyance* *providence Hath seen alway me to forgo* Cresseide, *lose Since G.o.d sees ev'ry thing, *out of doubtance,* *without doubt*

And them disposeth, through his ordinance, In their merites soothly for to be, As they should come by predestiny.

"But natheless, alas! whom shall I 'lieve?

For there be greate clerkes* many one *scholars That destiny through argumentes preve, *prove And some say that needly* there is none, *necessarily But that free choice is giv'n us ev'ry one; O well-away! so sly are clerkes old, That I n'ot* whose opinion I may hold. <76> *know not

"For some men say, if G.o.d sees all beforn, G.o.dde may not deceived be, pardie!

Then must it fallen,* though men had it sworn, *befall, happen That purveyance hath seen before to be; Wherefore I say, that from etern* if he *eternity Hath wist* before our thought eke as our deed, *known We have no free choice, as these clerkes read.* *maintain

"For other thought, nor other deed also, Might never be, but such as purveyance, Which may not be deceived never mo', Hath feeled* before, without ignorance; *perceived For if there mighte be a variance, To writhen out from G.o.dde's purveying, There were no prescience of thing coming,

"But it were rather an opinion Uncertain, and no steadfast foreseeing; And, certes, that were an abusion,* *illusion That G.o.d should have no perfect clear weeting,* *knowledge More than we men, that have *doubtous weening;* *dubious opinion*

But such an error *upon G.o.d to guess,* *to impute to G.o.d*

Were false, and foul, and wicked cursedness.* *impiety

"Eke this is an opinion of some That have their top full high and smooth y-sh.o.r.e, <77> They say right thus, that thing is not to come, For* that the prescience hath seen before *because That it shall come; but they say, that therefore That it shall come, therefore the purveyance Wot it before, withouten ignorance.

"And, in this manner, this necessity *Returneth in his part contrary again;* *reacts in the opposite For needfully behoves it not to be, direction*

That thilke thinges *fallen in certain,* *certainly happen*

That be purvey'd; but needly, as they sayn, Behoveth it that thinges, which that fall, That they in certain be purveyed all.

"I mean as though I labour'd me in this To inquire which thing cause of which thing be; As, whether that the prescience of G.o.d is The certain cause of the necessity Of thinges that to come be, pardie!

Or if necessity of thing coming Be cause certain of the purveying.

"But now *enforce I me not* in shewing *I do not lay stress*

How th'order of causes stands; but well wot I, That it behoveth, that the befalling Of thinges wiste* before certainly, *known Be necessary, *all seem it not* thereby, *though it does not appear*

That prescience put falling necessair To thing to come, all fall it foul or fair.

"For, if there sit a man yond on a see,* *seat Then by necessity behoveth it That certes thine opinion sooth be, That weenest, or conjectest,* that he sit; *conjecturest And, furtherover, now againward yet, Lo! right so is it on the part contrary; As thus, -- now hearken, for I will not tarry; --

"I say that if th'opinion of thee Be sooth, for that he sits, then say I this, That he must sitte by necessity; And thus necessity in either is, For in him need of sitting is, y-wis, And, in thee, need of sooth; and thus forsooth There must necessity be in you both.

"But thou may'st say he sits not therefore That thine opinion of his sitting sooth But rather, for the man sat there before, Therefore is thine opinion sooth, y-wis; And I say, though the cause of sooth of this Comes of his sitting, yet necessity Is interchanged both in him and thee.

"Thus in the same wise, out of doubtance, I may well maken, as it seemeth me, My reasoning of G.o.dde's purveyance, And of the thinges that to come be; By whiche reason men may well y-see That thilke* thinges that in earthe fall,** *those **happen That by necessity they comen all.

"For although that a thing should come, y-wis, Therefore it is purveyed certainly, Not that it comes for it purveyed is; Yet, natheless, behoveth needfully That thing to come be purvey'd truely; Or elles thinges that purveyed be, That they betide* by necessity. *happen

"And this sufficeth right enough, certain, For to destroy our free choice ev'ry deal; But now is this abusion,* to sayn *illusion, self-deception That falling of the thinges temporel Is cause of G.o.dde's prescience eternel; Now truely that is a false sentence,* *opinion, judgment That thing to come should cause his prescience.

"What might I ween, an'* I had such a thought, *if But that G.o.d purveys thing that is to come, For that it is to come, and elles nought?

So might I ween that thinges, all and some, That *whilom be befall and overcome,* *have happened Be cause of thilke sov'reign purveyance, in times past*

That foreknows all, withouten ignorance.

"And over all this, yet say I more thereto, -- That right as when I wot there is a thing, Y-wis, that thing must needfully be so; Eke right so, when I wot a thing coming, So must it come; and thus the befalling Of thinges that be wist before the tide,* *time They may not be eschew'd* on any side." *avoided

While Troilus was in all this heaviness, disputing with himself in this matter, Pandarus joined him, and told him the result of the interview with Cressida; and at night the lovers met, with what sighs and tears may be imagined. Cressida swooned away, so that Troilus took her for dead; and, having tenderly laid out her limbs, as one preparing a corpse for the bier, he drew his sword to slay himself upon her body. But, as G.o.d would, just at that moment she awoke out of her swoon; and by and by the pair began to talk of their prospects. Cressida declared the opinion, supporting it at great length and with many reasons, that there was no cause for half so much woe on either part. Her surrender, decreed by the parliament, could not be resisted; it was quite easy for them soon to meet again; she would bring things about that she should be back in Troy within a week or two; she would take advantage of the constant coming and going while the truce lasted; and the issue would be, that the Trojans would have both her and Antenor; while, to facilitate her return, she had devised a stratagem by which, working on her father's avarice, she might tempt him to desert from the Greek camp back to the city. "And truly," says the poet, having fully reported her plausible speech,

And truely, as written well I find, That all this thing was said *of good intent,* *sincerely*

And that her hearte true was and kind Towardes him, and spake right as she meant, And that she starf* for woe nigh when she went, *died And was in purpose ever to be true; Thus write they that of her workes knew.

This Troilus, with heart and ears y-sprad,* *all open Heard all this thing devised to and fro, And verily it seemed that he had *The selfe wit;* but yet to let her go *the same opinion*

His hearte misforgave* him evermo'; *misgave But, finally, he gan his hearte wrest* *compel To truste her, and took it for the best.

For which the great fury of his penance* *suffering Was quench'd with hope, and therewith them between Began for joy the amorouse dance; And as the birdes, when the sun is sheen, *bright Delighten in their song, in leaves green, Right so the wordes that they spake y-fere* *together Delighten them, and make their heartes cheer.* *glad

Yet Troilus was not so well at ease, that he did not earnestly entreat Cressida to observe her promise; for, if she came not into Troy at the set day, he should never have health, honour, or joy; and he feared that the stratagem by which she would try to lure her father back would fail, so that she might be compelled to remain among the Greeks. He would rather have them steal away together, with sufficient treasure to maintain them all their lives; and even if they went in their bare s.h.i.+rt, he had kin and friends elsewhere, who would welcome and honour them.

Cressida, with a sigh, right in this wise Answer'd; "Y-wis, my deare hearte true, We may well steal away, as ye devise, And finde such unthrifty wayes new; But afterward full sore *it will us rue;* *we will regret it*

And help me G.o.d so at my moste need As causeless ye suffer all this dread!