And with a sigh he saidë piteously:
“The freshë beauty slay’th me suddenly
Of her that roameth yonder in the place.
And but341 I have her mercy and her grace,
That I may see her at the leastë way,
I am but dead; there is no more to say.”
This Palamon, when he these wordës heard,
Dispiteously342 he looked, and answér’d:
“Whether say’st thou this in earnest or in play?”
“Nay,” quoth Arcite, “in earnest, by my fay.343
God help me so, me lust full ill to play.”344
This Palamon gan knit his browës tway.
“It were,” quoth he, “to thee no great honoúr
For to be false, nor for to be traitoúr
To me, that am thy cousin and thy brother
Y-sworn full deep, and each of us to other,
That never for to dien in the pain,345
Till that the death departen shall us twain,
Neither of us in love to hinder other,
Nor in none other case, my levë346 brother;
But that thou shouldest truly farther me
In every case, as I should farther thee.
This was thine oath, and mine also certáin;
I wot it well, thou dar’st it not withsayn.347
Thus art thou of my counsel out of doubt.
And now thou wouldest falsely be about
To love my lady, whom I love and serve,
And ever shall, until mine heartë sterve.348
Now certes, false Arcite, thou shalt not so.
I lov’d her first, and toldë thee my woe
As to my counsel, and my brother sworn
To farther me, as I have told beforn.
For which thou art y-bounden as a knight
To helpë me, if it lie in thy might,
Or ellës art thou false, I dare well sayn,”
This Arcita full proudly spake again:
“Thou shalt,” quoth he, “be rather349 false than I,
And thou art false, I tell thee utterly;
For par amour I lov’d her first ere thou.
What wilt thou say? thou wist it not right now350
Whether she be a woman or goddéss.
Thine is affectión of holiness,
And mine is love, as to a creature:
For which I toldë thee mine áventure
As to my cousin, and my brother sworn.
I posë,351 that thou loved’st her beforn:
Wost352 thou not well the oldë clerkë’s saw,353
That who shall give a lover any law?
Love is a greater lawë, by my pan,354
Than may be giv’n to any earthly man:
Therefore positive law, and such decree,
Is broke alway for love in each degree
A man must needës love, maugré his head.355
He may not flee it, though he should be dead,
All be she356 maid, or widow, or else wife.
And eke it is not likely all thy life
To standen in her grace, no more than I:
For well thou wost thyselfë verily,
That thou and I be damned to prisón
Perpetual, us gaineth no ranson.
We strive, as did the houndës for the bone;
They fought all day, and yet their part was none.
There came a kite, while that they were so wroth,
And bare away the bone betwixt them both.
And therefore at the kingë’s court, my brother,
Each man for himselfë, there is no other.
Love if thee list; for I love and aye shall:
And soothly, levë brother, this is all.
Here in this prison musten we endure,
And each of us takë his áventúre.”
Great was the strife and long betwixt them tway,
If that I haddë leisure for to say;
But to the effect: it happen’d on a day
(To tell it you as shortly as I may),
A worthy duke that hight Perithous,
That fellow was to the Duke Theseus357
Since thilkë358 day that they were children lite,359
Was come to Athéns, his fellow to visite,
And for to play, as he was wont to do;
For in this world he loved no man so;
And he lov’d him as tenderly again.
So well they lov’d, as oldë bookës sayn,
That when that one was dead, soothly to tell,
His fellow went and sought him down in hell:
But of that story list me not to write.
Duke Perithous loved well Arcite,
And had him known at Thebes year by year:
And finally at réquest and prayére
Of Perithous, withoutë ransón
Duke Theseus him let out of prisón,
Freely to go, where him list over all,
In such a guise, as I you tellen shall
This was the forword,360 plainly to indite,
Betwixtë Theseus and him Arcite:
That if so were, that Arcite were y-found
Ever in his life, by day or night, one stound361
In any country of this Theseus,
And he were caught, it was accorded thus,
That with a sword he shouldë lose his head;
There was none other remedy nor rede.362
But took his leave, and homeward he him sped;
Let him beware, his neckë lieth to wed.363
How great a sorrow suff’reth now Arcite!
The death he feeleth through his heartë smite;
He weepeth, waileth, crieth piteously;
To slay himself he waiteth privily.
He said; “Alas the day that I was born!
Now is my prison worsë than beforn:
Now is me shape364 eternally to dwell
Not in purgatory, but right in hell.
Alas! that ever I knew Perithous.
For ellës had I dwelt with Theseus
Y-fettered in his prison evermo’.
Then had I been in bliss, and not in woe.
Only the sight of her, whom that I serve,
Though that I never may her grace deserve,
Would have sufficed right enough for me.
O dearë cousin Palamon,” quoth he,
“Thine is the vict’ry of this áventúre,
Full blissfully in prison to endure:
In prison? nay certes, in paradise.
Well hath fortúne y-turned thee the dice,
That hast the sight of her, and I th’ absénce.
For possible is, since thou hast her presénce,
And art a knight, a worthy and an able,
That by some cas,365 since fortune is changeáble,
Thou may’st to thy desire sometime attain.
But I that am exiled, and barrén
Of allë grace, and in so great despair,
That there n’is earthë, water, fire, nor air,
Nor creature, that of them maked is,
That may me helpë nor comfort in this,
Well ought I sterve in wanhope366 and distress.
Farewell my life, my lust,367 and my
