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Neyther of us in love to hindre other,
Ne in non other cas, my leve brother;
But that thou fhuldest trewely forther me
In every cas as I fauld forther thee.
This was thin oth, and min alfo certain;
I wot it wel thou darft it not withfain:
Thus art thou of my confeil out of doute,
And now thou woldest falsly ben aboute
To love my lady whom I love and serve,
And ever fhal til that min herte sterve.
Now certes, falfe Arcite, thou shalt not fo:
I loved hire firfte, and tolde thee my wo
As to my confeil, and my brother fworne
To forther me as I have told beforne,
For which thou art yhounden as a knight
To helpen me, if it lie in thy might,
Or elles art thou falfe I dare wel fain..
This Arcita full proudly fpake again.
Thou fhalt, quod he, be rather false than I,
And thou art falfe, I tell thee utterly;

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For par amour I loved hire first or thou.

.1157. par amour I loved hire] i. e. with love I loved her. This is a genuine old expreffion. See Froiffart, v. i. c. 196; “ It "aima adonc par amours, et depuis efpoufa, Madame Yfabelle "de Juillers”—and Boccace, Decam. x. 7," per amore ami"ate." So below, ver. 2114, That loveth par amour.-From hence paramour or paramours (in one word) was used vulgarly to fignify love, [fec ver. 3354, 4390,1 3772,] and a mistress, ver. 6036.

What wolt thou fayn? thou wistest nat right now. Whether fhe were a woman or a goddeffe:

Thin is affection of holineffe,

And min is love as to a creature,
For which I tolde thee min aventure,
As to my cofin and my brother fworne.

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I pofe that thou lovedeft hire heforne: Woft thou not wel the olde clerkes fawe, 1165 That who shall give a lover any lawe?

Love is a greter lawe by my pan.

Then may be yeven of any erthly man;
And therfore pofitif lawe and swiche decree
Is broken all day for love in eche degree.
A man mofte nedes love maugre his hed;
He may not fleen it though he fhuld be ded,

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All be fhe maid, or widewe, or elles wif.

And eke it is not likely all thy lif

To ftonden in hire grace, no more shal I;

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For wel thou woft thy felven veraily

That thou and I be damned to prison:
Perpetuel; us gaineth no raunfon.

We strive as did the houndes for the bone,
They fought all day, and yet hir part was none: 1180
Ther came a kyte, while that they were fo wrothe,
And bare away the bone betwix hem bothe...

V. 1165. the olde clerkes fazve] The olde clerk is Boethius, from whose book De Confolatione Chaucer has borrowed largely in many places. The paffage alluded to is in 1. iii. met. 12;

Quis legem det amantibus?
Major lex amor eft fibi.

1

And therfore at the kinges court, my brother,

Eche man for himself, ther is non other.
Love if thee luft, for I love, and ay fhal;

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And fothly, leve brother, this is al.

Here in this prifon moften we endure,

And everich of us take his aventure.

Gret was the ftrif, and long betwix hem twey,

If that I hadde leifer for to fey:

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But to th' effect. It happed on a day,

(To tell it you as shortly as I may)
A worthy duk that highte Perithous,
That felaw was to this duk Thefeus

Sin thilke day that they were children lite,
Was come to Athenes his felaw to visite,
And for to play as he was wont to do,
For in this world he loved no man fo,
And he loved him as tendrely again :
So wel they loved, as olde bokes fain,

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I2CO

That whan that on was dede, fothly to tell,

His felaw wente and fought him doun in hell:
But of that ftorie lift me not to write.

Duk Perithous loved wel Arcite,

And had him knowe at Thebes yere by yere: 1205

And finally, at request and praiere

Of Perithous, withouten any raunson,
Duk Thefeus him let out of prison,
Frely to gon wher that him lift over all,

In fwiche a gife as I you tellen fhall.

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This was the forword, plainly for to endite,
Betwixen Thefeus and him Arcite;
That if fo were that Arcite were yfound
Ever in his lif, by day or night, o stound

In any countree of this Thefeus,

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And he were caught, it was accorded thus,

That with a fwerd he fhulde lefe his hed;

Ther was non other remedie ne rede;

But taketh his leve, and homeward he him fpedde:
Let him beware, his nekke lieth to wedde.

How gret a forwe fuffereth now Arcite?
The deth he feleth thurgh his herte smite;
He wepeth, waileth, crieth, pitously,
To fleen himself he waiteth prively.

He said, Alas the day that I was borne!
Now is my prison werfe than beforne;
Now is me hape eternally to dwelle
Not only in purgatorie but in helle.
Alas! that ever I knew Perithous,
For elles had I dwelt with Thefeus,

Yfetered in his prifon evermo;

Than had I ben in bliffe and not in wo:

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Only the fight of hire whom that I ferve,

Though that I never hire grace may deferve,
Wold have fufficed right ynough for me.

O dere cofin Palamon, quod he,

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. 1214. 0 found] One moment. For this reading we are

bliged to mf. C. i, vulg. or floand.

Thin is the victorie of this aventure;
Ful blisful in prifon maiesl thou endure :
In prifon? certes nay, but in paradife.
Wel hath Fortune yturned thee the dise,
That haft the fight of hire and I th' abfence.
For poffible is, fin thou haft hire presence,
And art a knight, a worthy and an able,
That by fome cas, fin Fortune is changeable,
Thou maieft to thy defir fomtime atteine:
But that I am exiled, and barreine
Of alle grace, and in fo gret despaire,
That ther n'is erthe, water, fire, ne aire,
Ne creature, that of hem maked is,
That may me hele or don comfort in this,
Wel ought I terve in wanhope and diftreffe.
Farewel my lif, my luft, and my gladnesse.

Alas! why plainen men fo in commune
Of purveiance of God or of Fortune,
That yeveth hem ful oft in many a gife

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Wel better than they can hemfelf devife ?·

Som man defireth for to have richeffe,

That caufe is of his murdre or gret fikneffe ;-..
And fom man wold out of his prifon fayn,

That in his houfe is of his meynie flain.

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Infinite harmes ben in this matere:

We wote not what thing that we praien here.
We faren as he that dronke is as a mous:

A dronken man wot wel he hath an hous,

. 1264. A dronken man] This is alfo from Boeth. I. iii. pr. z

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