Thou shalt be wedded unto on of tho
That han for thee so mochel care and wo,
But unto which of hem I may not tell.
Farewel, for here I may no longer dwell;
The fires which that on min auter brenne
Shal thee declaren er that thou go henne
Thin aventure of love as in this cas.
And with that word the arwes in the cas
Of the goddeffe clatteren fast and ring,
And forth fhe went and made a vanishing,
For which this Emelie aftonied was,
And fayde, What amounteth this, alas!
I putte me in thy protection
Diane, and in thy difpofition.
And home the goth anon the nexte way.
This is the effecte; ther n'is no more to say.
The nexte houre of Mars folwing this
Arcite unto the temple walked is
Of fierce Mars, to don his facrifife
With all the rites of his payen
With pitous herte and high devotion
Right thus to Mars he fayde his orifon :
V. 2358. Shal thee declaren] This is improper, as the fires have already declared the event of the combat. In the origi nal, as I remember, the appearance of Diana is prior to the
. 2372. payen] This Fr. word is constantly used in the beft mff. inftead of pagan.
Oftronge god, that in the regnes cold
Of Trace honoured art, and lord yhold,
And haft in every regne and every lond
Of armes all the bridel in thin hond,
And hem fortuneft as thee lift devife,
Accept of me my pitous facrifife!
If fo be that my youthe may deferve,
And that my might be worthy for to serve
Thy godhed, that I may ben on of thine,
Than praie I thee to rewe upon my pine,
For thilke peine and thilke hote fire
In which thou whilom brendeft for defire
Whanne that thou ufedeft the beautee
Of fayre yonge Venus freshe and free,
And haddest hire in armes at thy wille;
Although thee ones on a time misfille,
Whan Vulcanus had caught thee in his las,
And fond thee ligging by his wif, aias!
For thilke forwe that was tho in thin herte
Have reuthe as wel upon my pcines fmerte.
2375. O fronge god] The prayer of Arcite in The The. feida begins in the fame manner;
A forte dio, che ne i regni nivoa
Biftonii fervi le tue facre cafe-
Se per alto volere la mia etate
E le mie forze meritan, che io
De i toi fia detto, per quella pietate,
Ch'chbe Neptuno, alor che con difio
Di Citharea ufavi la beltate,
Rinchiufo da Vulcan, ad ogni idio
Facto palefe, humilmente te pricgo,
Che ai miei prieghi tu non fazi niego,
lo fun come tu vidi giovinetto, Fel
I am yonge and unkonning as thou woft,
And, as I trow, with love offended moft
That ever was ony lives creature;
For fhe that doth me all this wo endure
Ne recceth never whether I finke or flete;
And wel I wot or fhe me mercy hete
I mofte with ftrengthe win hire in the place;
And wel I wot withouten helpe or grace
Of thee ne may my strengthe not availle;
Than helpe me, Lord, to-morwe in my bataille,
For thilke fire that whilom brenned thee,
As wel as that this fire now brenneth me,
And do, that I to-morwe may han victorie:
Min be the travaille and thin be the glorie.
Thy foveraine temple wol I most honouren
Of ony place, and alway moft labouren
In thy plefance and in thy craftes ftrong;
And in thy temple I wol my baner hong,
And all the armes of my compagnie,
And evermore until that day I die
Eterne fire I wol beforne thee find;
And eke to this avow I wol me bind.
V. 2404. Than helpe me] So in The Thefeida;
Dunque me ajuta per lo fanto focho,
Che te arfe gia, fi come me arde hora.
I templi tuoi eterni foneranno
De l'armi del mio vinto compagnone,
Et ancora le mie i penderano-
Eterni fochi fempre vi arderano,
E la barboa [f. barbale i mei con [f. crin] che offenfione
Di ferro non fentiron te imprometto.
My berd, my here that hangeth long adoun,
That never yet felt non offenfioun
Of rafour ne of there I wol thee yeve,
And ben thy trewe fervant while I live.
Now, Lord, have reuthe upon my forwes fore;
Yeve me the victorie; I axe thee no more.
The praier fint of Arcita the ftronge,
The ringes on the temple dore that honge,
And eke the dores, clattereden ful fast,
Of which Arcita fomwhat him agast.
The fires brent upon the auter bright
That it gan all the temple for to light;
A fwete smell anon the ground up yaf,
And Arcita anon his hond up haf,
And more encenfe into the fire he cast,
With other rites mo, and at the last
The ftatue of Mars began his hauberke ring,
And with that foun he herd a murmuring
Ful low and dim, that fayde thus, Victorie;
For which he yaf to Mars honour and glorie..
And thus with joye and hope wel to fare
Arcite anon unto his inne is fare
As fayn as foul is of the brighte fonne.
And right anon fwiche ftrif ther is begonne 2440 For thilke granting in the heven above Betwixen Venus the goddeffe of Love, And Mars the flerne god Armipotent, That Jupiter was befy it to stent,
Til that the Pale Saturnus the Colde,
That knew fo many of aventures olde,
Fond in his olde experience and art
That he ful fone hath plefed every part.
As footh is fayd, elde hath gret avantage;
In elde is bothe wifdom and ufage:
Men may the old out-renne but not out-rede.
Al be it that it is again his kind,
Saturne anon, to stenten ftrif and drede,
Of all this ftrif he gan a remedy find.
My dere doughter Venus! quod Saturne, 2455 My cours that hath so wide for to turne
Hath more power than wot any man.
Min is the drenching in the fee fo wan,
Min is the prifon in the derke cote,
Min is the ftrangel and hanging by the throte, 2460
The murmure, and the cherles rebelling,
The groyning, and the prive empoyfoning.
I do vengeance and pleine correction
While I dwell in the figne of the Leon.
Min is the ruine of the highe halles,
The falling of the toures and of the walles
Upon the mincur or the carpenter;
A flew Sampfon in fhaking the piler.
. 2451. out-rede] Cutwit, furpafs in counfel. The fenfe of this word has been moft ridiculoufly miftaken by Dryden;
For this advantage age from youth has won,
As not to be outridden though extrun.
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