In a Cronique, as thou schalt wite,
[Sidenote: Hic ponit Confessor exemplum contra istos
detractores, qui in alterius vituperium mendacia
confingentes diffamacionem fieri procurant. Et narrat
qualiter Perseus, Philippi Regis Macedonie filius,
Demetrio fratri suo ob eius probitatem inuidens, composito
detraccionis mendacio ipsum apud patrem suum mortaliter
accusauit, dicens quod ipse non solum patrem set et totum
Macedonie regnum Romanis hostibus proditorie vendidisset:
quem super hoc in iudicium producens, testibus que
iudicibus auro subornatis, quamuis falsissime morte
condempnatum euicit: quo defuncto eciam et pater infra
breue postea mortuus est. Et sic Perseo successiue
regnante deus huiusmodi detraccionis inuidiam abhorrens
ipsum cum vniuersa suorum pugnatorum multitudine extra
Danubii fluuium ab Emilio tunc Romanorum Consule euentu
bellico interfici fortunauit. Ita quod ab illo die
Macedonie potestas penitus destructa Romano Imperio
subiugata deseruiuit, et eius detraccio, quam contra alium
conspirauerat, in sui ipsius diffamacionem pro perpetuo
diuulgata consistit.]
A gret ensample I finde write,
Which I schal telle upon this thing.
Philippe of Macedoyne kyng
Two Sones hadde be his wif,
Whos fame is yit in Grece rif:[667]
Demetrius the ferste brother
Was hote, and Perseüs that other. 1620
Demetrius men seiden tho
The betre knyht was of the tuo,
[Sidenote: =P. i. 214=]
To whom the lond was entendant,[668]
As he which heir was apparant
To regne after his fader dai:
Bot that thing which no water mai
Quenche in this world, bot evere brenneth,
Into his brother herte it renneth,
The proude Envie of that he sih
His brother scholde clymbe on hih, 1630
And he to him mot thanne obeie:[669]
That may he soffre be no weie.
With strengthe dorst he nothing fonde,
So tok he lesinge upon honde,
Whan he sih time and spak therto.
For it befell that time so,
His fader grete werres hadde
With Rome, whiche he streite ladde
Thurgh mihty hond of his manhode,
As he which hath ynowh knihthode,[670] 1640
And ofte hem hadde sore grieved.
Bot er the werre were achieved,
As he was upon ordinance
At hom in Grece, it fell per chance,[671]
Demetrius, which ofte aboute
Ridende was, stod that time oute,
So that this Perse in his absence,
Which bar the tunge of pestilence,
With false wordes whiche he feigneth
Upon his oghne brother pleigneth 1650
In privete behinde his bak,
And to his fader thus he spak:
[Sidenote: =P. i. 215=]
‘Mi diere fader, I am holde
Be weie of kinde, as resoun wolde,
That I fro yow schal nothing hide,
Which mihte torne in eny side
Of youre astat into grevance:
Forthi myn hertes obeissance
Towardes you I thenke kepe;
For it is good ye take kepe 1660
Upon a thing which is me told.
Mi brother hath ous alle sold
To hem of Rome, and you also;
For thanne they behote him so,
That he with hem schal regne in pes.
Thus hath he cast for his encress
That youre astat schal go to noght;
And this to proeve schal be broght
So ferforth, that I undertake[672]
It schal noght wel mow be forsake.’ 1670
The king upon this tale ansuerde
And seide, if this thing which he herde
Be soth and mai be broght to prove,
‘It schal noght be to his behove,
Which so hath schapen ous the werste,[673]
For he himself schal be the ferste
That schal be ded, if that I mai.’
Thus afterward upon a dai,[674]
Whan that Demetrius was come,
Anon his fader hath him nome, 1680
And bad unto his brother Perse
That he his tale schal reherse
[Sidenote: =P. i. 216=]
Of thilke tresoun which he tolde.
And he, which al untrowthe wolde,
Conseileth that so hih a nede
Be treted wher as it mai spede,
In comun place of juggement.
The king therto yaf his assent,
Demetrius was put in hold,
Wherof that Perseüs was bold. 1690
Thus stod the trowthe under the charge,
And the falshede goth at large,
Which thurgh beheste hath overcome
The greteste of the lordes some,
That privelich of his acord
Thei stonde as witnesse of record:
The jugge was mad favorable:
Thus was the lawe deceivable
So ferforth that the trowthe fond
Rescousse non, and thus the lond 1700
Forth with the king deceived were.
The gulteles was dampned there
And deide upon accusement:
Bot such a fals conspirement,
Thogh it be prive for a throwe,
Godd wolde noght it were unknowe;[675]
And that was afterward wel proved[676]
In him which hath the deth controved.
Of that his brother was so slain
This Perseüs was wonder fain, 1710
As he that tho was apparant,[677]
Upon the Regne and expectant;
[Sidenote: =P. i. 217=]
Wherof he wax so proud and vein,
That he his fader in desdeign
Hath take and set of non acompte,
As he which thoghte him to surmonte;
That wher he was ferst debonaire,
He was tho rebell and contraire,
And noght as heir bot as a king
He tok upon him alle thing 1720
Of malice and of tirannie
In contempt of the Regalie,
Livende his fader, and so wroghte,
That whan the fader him bethoghte
And sih to whether side it drowh,
Anon he wiste well ynowh
How Perse after his false tunge
Hath so thenvious belle runge,[678]
That he hath slain his oghne brother.
Wherof as thanne he knew non other, 1730
Bot sodeinly the jugge he nom,
Which corrupt sat upon the dom,
In such a wise and hath him pressed,
That he the sothe him hath confessed
Of al that hath be spoke and do.
Mor sori than the king was tho
Was nevere man upon this Molde,
And thoghte in certein that he wolde
Vengance take upon this wrong.
Bot thother parti was so strong, 1740
That for the lawe of no statut
Ther mai no riht ben execut;
[Sidenote: =P. i. 218=]
And upon this division[679]
The lond was torned up so doun:
Wherof his herte is so distraght,
That he for pure sorwe hath caght
The maladie of which nature
Is queint in every creature.
And whan this king was passed thus,
This false tunged Perseüs 1750
The regiment hath underfonge.
Bot ther mai nothing stonde longe
Which is noght upon trowthe grounded;
For god, which alle thing hath bounded
And sih the falshod of his guile,
Hath set him bot a litel while,
That he schal regne upon depos;
For sodeinliche as he aros[680]
So sodeinliche doun he fell.
In thilke time it so befell, 1760
This newe king of newe Pride
With strengthe schop him forto ride,
And seide he wolde Rome waste,[681]
Wherof he made a besi haste,
And hath assembled him an host
In al that evere he mihte most:
What man that mihte wepne here
Of alle he wolde non forbere;
So that it mihte noght be nombred,
The folk which after was encombred[682] 1770
Thurgh him, that god wolde overthrowe.
Anon it was at Rome knowe,
[Sidenote: =P. i. 219=]
The pompe which that Perse ladde;
And the Romeins that time hadde
A Consul, which was cleped thus
Be name, Paul Emilius,
A noble, a worthi kniht withalle;
And he, which chief was of hem alle,[683]
This werre on honde hath undertake.
And whanne he scholde his leve take[684] 1780
Of a yong dowhter which was his,
Sche wepte, and he what cause it is
Hire axeth, and sche him ansuerde
That Perse is ded; and he it herde,
And wondreth what sche meene wolde:
And sche upon childhode him tolde
That Perse hir litel hound is ded.
With that he pulleth up his hed[685]
And made riht a glad visage,
And seide how that was a presage 1790
Touchende unto that other Perse,
Of that fortune him scholde adverse,
He seith, for such a prenostik
Most of an hound was to him lik:
For as it is an houndes kinde
To berke upon a man behinde,
Riht so behinde his brother bak
With false wordes whiche he spak
He hath do slain, and that is rowthe.
‘Bot he which hateth alle untrowthe, 1800
The hihe god, it schal redresse;
For so my dowhter prophetesse
[Sidenote: =P. i. 220=]
Forth with hir litel houndes deth[686]
Betokneth.’ And thus forth he geth[687]
Conforted of this evidence,
With the Romeins in his defence
Ayein the Greks that ben comende.
This Perseüs, as noght seende[688]
This meschief which that him abod,[689]
With al his multitude rod, 1810
And prided him upon the thing,[690]
Of that he was become a king,
And how he hadde his regne gete;
Bot he hath al the riht foryete
Which longeth unto governance.
Wherof thurgh goddes ordinance
It fell, upon the wynter tide
That with his host he scholde ride
Over Danubie thilke flod,
Which al befrose thanne stod 1820
So harde, that he wende wel
To passe: bot the blinde whiel,
Which torneth ofte er men be war,
Thilke ys which that the horsmen bar
Tobrak, so that a gret partie
Was dreint; of the chivalerie
The rerewarde it tok aweie,
Cam non of hem to londe dreie.
Paulus the worthi kniht Romein[691]
Be his aspie it herde sein, 1830
And hasteth him al that he may,
So that upon that other day
[Sidenote: =P. i. 221=]
He cam wher he this host beheld,
And that was in a large feld,
Wher the Baneres ben desplaied.
He hath anon hise men arraied,
And whan that he was embatailled,
He goth and hath the feld assailed,
And slowh and tok al that he fond;
Wherof the Macedoyne lond, 1840
Which thurgh king Alisandre honoured
Long time stod, was tho devoured.
To Perse and al that infortune
Thei wyte, so that the comune
Of al the lond his heir exile;
And he despeired for the while
Desguised in a povere wede
To Rome goth, and ther for nede
The craft which thilke time was,
To worche in latoun and in bras, 1850
He lerneth for his sustienance.
Such was the Sones pourveance,
And of his fader it is seid,
In strong prisoun that he was leid
In Albe, wher that he was ded
For hunger and defalte of bred.[692]
The hound was tokne and prophecie
That lich an hound he scholde die,
Which lich was of condicioun,
Whan he with his detraccioun 1860
Bark on his brother so behinde.
[Sidenote: Confessor.]
Lo, what profit a man mai finde,
[Sidenote: =P. i. 222=]
Which hindre wole an other wiht.
Forthi with al thin hole miht,
Mi Sone, eschuie thilke vice.
[Sidenote: Amans.]
Mi fader, elles were I nyce:
For ye therof so wel have spoke,[693]
That it is in myn herte loke
And evere schal: bot of Envie,[694]
If ther be more in his baillie 1870
Towardes love, sai me what.
[Sidenote: Confessor.]
Mi Sone, as guile under the hat
With sleyhtes of a tregetour
Is hidd, Envie of such colour
Hath yit the ferthe deceivant,
The which is cleped Falssemblant,
Wherof the matiere and the forme
Now herkne and I thee schal enforme.
[Sidenote: [iv. FALSE-SEMBLANT.]]
iv. _Nil bilinguis aget, nisi duplo concinat ore,_
_Dumque diem loquitur, nox sua vota tegit._
_Vultus habet lucem, tenebras mens, sermo salutem,_
_Actus set morbum dat suus esse grauem._
_Pax tibi quam spondet, magis est prenostica guerre;_
_Comoda si dederit, disce subesse dolum._
_Quod patet esse fides in eo fraus est, que politi_
_Principium pacti finis habere negat._
_O quam condicio talis deformat amantem,_
_Qui magis apparens est in amore nichil._ 10
Of Falssemblant if I schal telle,
Above alle othre it is the welle 1880
Out of the which deceipte floweth.
Ther is noman so wys that knoweth
Of thilke flod which is the tyde,
[Sidenote: Hic tractat Confessor super quarta specie
Inuidie, que dissimilacio dicitur, cuius vultus quanto
maioris amicicie apparenciam ostendit, tanto subtilioris
doli fallacias ad decipiendum mens ymaginatur.]
Ne how he scholde himselven guide
[Sidenote: =P. i. 223=]
To take sauf passage there.
And yit the wynd to mannes Ere
Is softe, and as it semeth oute
It makth clier weder al aboute;
Bot thogh it seme, it is noght so.
For Falssemblant hath everemo 1890
Of his conseil in compaignie
The derke untrewe Ypocrisie,
Whos word descordeth to his thoght:
Forthi thei ben togedre broght
Of o covine, of on houshold,[695]
As it schal after this be told.[696]
Of Falssemblant it nedeth noght
To telle of olde ensamples oght;
For al dai in experience
A man mai se thilke evidence 1900
Of faire wordes whiche he hiereth;
Bot yit the barge Envie stiereth[697]
And halt it evere fro the londe,
Wher Falssemblant with Ore on honde
It roweth, and wol noght arive,
Bot let it on the wawes dryve
In gret tempeste and gret debat,[698]
Wherof that love and his astat
Empeireth. And therfore I rede,
Mi Sone, that thou fle and drede 1910
This vice, and what that othre sein,
Let thi Semblant be trewe and plein.
For Falssemblant is thilke vice,
Which nevere was withoute office:
[Sidenote: =P. i. 224=]
Wher that Envie thenkth to guile,
He schal be for that ilke while[699]
Of prive conseil Messagier.
For whan his semblant is most clier,
Thanne is he most derk in his thoght,
Thogh men him se, thei knowe him noght; 1920
Bot as it scheweth in the glas
Thing which therinne nevere was,
So scheweth it in his visage
That nevere was in his corage:
Thus doth he al his thing with sleyhte.[700]
[Sidenote: Hic in amoris causa Confessor super isto vicio
Amanti opponit.]
Now ley thi conscience in weyhte,
Mi goode Sone, and schrif the hier,
If thou were evere Custummer
To Falssemblant in eny wise.
[Sidenote: Confessio Amantis.]
For ought I can me yit avise, 1930
Mi goode fader, certes no.
If I for love have oght do so,
Now asketh, I wol praie yow:
For elles I wot nevere how
Of Falssemblant that I have gilt.
[Sidenote: Confessor.]
Mi Sone, and sithen that thou wilt
That I schal axe, gabbe noght,
Bot tell if evere was thi thoght
With Falssemblant and coverture
To wite of eny creature 1940
How that he was with love lad;
So were he sori, were he glad,
Whan that thou wistest how it were,
Al that he rounede in thin Ere[701]
[Sidenote: =P. i. 225=]
Thou toldest forth in other place,
To setten him fro loves grace
Of what womman that thee best liste,
Ther as noman his conseil wiste
Bot thou, be whom he was deceived
Of love, and from his pourpos weyved; 1950
And thoghtest that his destourbance
Thin oghne cause scholde avance,
As who saith, ‘I am so celee,
Ther mai no mannes privete
Be heled half so wel as myn.’
Art thou, mi Sone, of such engin?
Tell on.
[Sidenote: Amans.]
Mi goode fader, nay
As for the more part I say;
Bot of somdiel I am beknowe,
That I mai stonde in thilke rowe[702] 1960
Amonges hem that Saundres use.
I wol me noght therof excuse,
That I with such colour ne steyne,
Whan I my beste Semblant feigne
To my felawh, til that I wot
Al his conseil bothe cold and hot:
For be that cause I make him chiere,
Til I his love knowe and hiere;
And if so be myn herte soucheth
That oght unto my ladi toucheth 1970
Of love that he wol me telle,[703]
Anon I renne unto the welle
And caste water in the fyr,
So that his carte amidd the Myr,
[Sidenote: =P. i. 226=]
Be that I have his conseil knowe,
Fulofte sithe I overthrowe,
Whan that he weneth best to stonde.
Bot this I do you understonde,
If that a man love elles where,
So that my ladi be noght there, 1980
And he me telle, I wole it hide,
Ther schal no word ascape aside,
For with deceipte of no semblant
To him breke I no covenant;
Me liketh noght in other place
To lette noman of his grace,
Ne forto ben inquisitif
To knowe an other mannes lif:
Wher that he love or love noght,
That toucheth nothing to my thoght,[704] 1990
Bot al it passeth thurgh myn Ere
Riht as a thing that nevere were,
And is foryete and leid beside.
Bot if it touche on eny side
Mi ladi, as I have er spoken,
Myn Eres ben noght thanne loken;
For certes, whanne that betitt,
My will, myn herte and al my witt
Ben fully set to herkne and spire
What eny man wol speke of hire. 2000
Thus have I feigned compaignie
Fulofte, for I wolde aspie
What thing it is that eny man[705]
Telle of mi worthi lady can:
[Sidenote: =P. i. 227=]
And for tuo causes I do this,
The ferste cause wherof is,--
If that I myhte ofherkne and seke
That eny man of hire mispeke,
I wolde excuse hire so fully,
That whan sche wist it inderly,[706] 2010
Min hope scholde be the more
To have hir thank for everemore.
That other cause, I you assure,
Is, why that I be coverture
Have feigned semblant ofte time
To hem that passen alday byme
And ben lovers als wel as I,
For this I weene trewely,
That ther is of hem alle non,
That thei ne loven everich on 2020
Mi ladi: for sothliche I lieve
And durste setten it in prieve,
Is non so wys that scholde asterte,
Bot he were lustles in his herte,
Forwhy and he my ladi sihe,
Hir visage and hir goodlych yhe,
Bot he hire lovede, er he wente.
And for that such is myn entente,
That is the cause of myn aspie,
Why that I feigne compaignie 2030
And make felawe overal;
For gladly wolde I knowen al
And holde me covert alway,
That I fulofte ye or nay
[Sidenote: =P. i. 228=]
Ne liste ansuere in eny wise,
Bot feigne semblant as the wise
And herkne tales, til I knowe
Mi ladi lovers al arowe.
And whanne I hiere how thei have wroght,
I fare as thogh I herde it noght[707] 2040
And as I no word understode;
Bot that is nothing for here goode:
For lieveth wel, the sothe is this,[708]
That whanne I knowe al how it is,
I wol bot forthren hem a lite,[709]
Bot al the worste I can endite
I telle it to my ladi plat
In forthringe of myn oghne astat,
And hindre hem al that evere I may.
Bot for al that yit dar I say, 2050
I finde unto miself no bote,
Althogh myn herte nedes mote
Thurgh strengthe of love al that I hiere
Discovere unto my ladi diere:
For in good feith I have no miht
To hele fro that swete wiht,
If that it touche hire eny thing.
Bot this wot wel the hevene king,
That sithen ferst this world began,
Unto non other strange man 2060
Ne feigned I semblant ne chiere,
To wite or axe of his matiere,
Thogh that he lovede ten or tuelve,
Whanne it was noght my ladi selve:
[Sidenote: =P. i. 229=]
Bot if he wolde axe eny red
Al onlich of his oghne hed,
How he with other love ferde,
His tales with myn Ere I herde,
Bot to myn herte cam it noght
Ne sank no deppere in my thoght, 2070
Bot hield conseil, as I was bede,
And tolde it nevere in other stede,[710]
Bot let it passen as it com.
Now, fader, say what is thi dom,
And hou thou wolt that I be peined
For such Semblant as I have feigned.
[Sidenote: Confessor.]
Mi Sone, if reson be wel peised,
Ther mai no vertu ben unpreised
Ne vice non be set in pris.
Forthi, my Sone, if thou be wys, 2080
Do no viser upon thi face,
Which as wol noght thin herte embrace:
For if thou do, withinne a throwe
To othre men it schal be knowe,
So miht thou lihtli falle in blame
And lese a gret part of thi name.
And natheles in this degree
Fulofte time thou myht se
Of suche men that now aday
This vice setten in a say:[711] 2090
I speke it for no mannes blame,
Bot forto warne thee the same.
Mi Sone, as I mai hiere talke
In every place where I walke,
[Sidenote: =P. i. 230=]
I not if it be so or non,
Bot it is manye daies gon
That I ferst herde telle this,
How Falssemblant hath ben and is
Most comunly fro yer to yere
With hem that duelle among ous here, 2100
Of suche as we Lombardes calle.
For thei ben the slyeste of alle,
So as men sein in toune aboute,
To feigne and schewe thing withoute
Which is revers to that withinne:
Wherof that thei fulofte winne,
Whan thei be reson scholden lese;
Thei ben the laste and yit thei chese,
And we the ferste, and yit behinde
We gon, there as we scholden finde 2110
The profit of oure oghne lond:[712]
Thus gon thei fre withoute bond
To don her profit al at large,
And othre men bere al the charge.
Of Lombardz unto this covine,
Whiche alle londes conne engine,
Mai Falssemblant in special
Be likned, for thei overal,
Wher as they thenken forto duelle,
Among hemself; so as thei telle, 2120
Ferst ben enformed forto lere
A craft which cleped is Fa crere:[713]
For if Fa crere come aboute,
Thanne afterward hem stant no doute
[Sidenote: =P. i. 231=]
To voide with a soubtil hond
The beste goodes of the lond
And bringe chaf and take corn.
Where as Fa crere goth toforn,[714]
In all his weie he fynt no lette;
That Dore can non huissher schette 2130
In which him list to take entre:
And thus the conseil most secre
Of every thing Fa crere knoweth,
Which into strange place he bloweth,
Where as he wot it mai most grieve.
And thus Fa crere makth believe,
So that fulofte he hath deceived,
Er that he mai ben aperceived.
Thus is this vice forto drede;[715]
For who these olde bokes rede 2140
Of suche ensamples as were ar,
Him oghte be the more war
Of alle tho that feigne chiere,
Wherof thou schalt a tale hiere.
[Sidenote: [DEIANIRA AND NESSUS.]]
Of Falssemblant which is believed
Ful many a worthi wiht is grieved,
And was long time er we wer bore.
[Sidenote: Hic ponit Confessor exemplum contra istos,
qui sub dissimilate beneuolencie speculo[716] alios in amore
defraudant. Et narrat qualiter Hercules, cum ipse quoddam
fluuium, cuius vada non nouit, cum Deianira transmeare
proposuit, superueniens Nessus Gigas ob amiciciam Herculis,
vt dixit, Deianiram in vlnas suas suscipiens trans ripam
salvo perduxit. Et statim cum ad litus peruenisset,
quamcito currere potuit, ipsam tanquam propriam in
preiudicium Herculis asportare fugiens conabatur: per quod
non solum ipsi seteciam Herculi mortis euentum fortuna
postmodum causauit.]
To thee, my Sone, I wol therfore
A tale telle of Falssemblant,
Which falseth many a covenant, 2150
And many a fraude of fals conseil
Ther ben hangende upon his Seil:
And that aboghten gulteles
Bothe Deianire and Hercules,
[Sidenote: =P. i. 232=]
The whiche in gret desese felle
Thurgh Falssemblant, as I schal telle.
Whan Hercules withinne a throwe
Al only hath his herte throwe
Upon this faire Deianire,
It fell him on a dai desire, 2160
Upon a Rivere as he stod,
That passe he wolde over the flod
Withoute bot, and with him lede
His love, bot he was in drede
For tendresce of that swete wiht,
For he knew noght the forde ariht.
Ther was a Geant thanne nyh,
Which Nessus hihte, and whanne he sih
This Hercules and Deianyre,
Withinne his herte he gan conspire,[717] 2170
As he which thurgh his tricherie
Hath Hercules in gret envie,
Which he bar in his herte loke,
And thanne he thoghte it schal be wroke.
Bot he ne dorste natheles
Ayein this worthi Hercules
Falle in debat as forto feihte;
Bot feigneth Semblant al be sleihte[718]
Of frendschipe and of alle goode,
And comth where as thei bothe stode, 2180
And makth hem al the chiere he can,
And seith that as here oghne man
He is al redy forto do
What thing he mai; and it fell so
[Sidenote: =P. i. 233=]
That thei upon his Semblant triste,
And axen him if that he wiste
What thing hem were best to done,
So that thei mihten sauf and sone
The water passe, he and sche.
And whan Nessus the privete 2190
Knew of here herte what it mente,[719]
As he that was of double entente,
He made hem riht a glad visage;
And whanne he herde of the passage
Of him and hire, he thoghte guile,
And feigneth Semblant for a while
To don hem plesance and servise,
Bot he thoghte al an other wise.[720]
This Nessus with hise wordes slyhe
Yaf such conseil tofore here yhe 2200
Which semeth outward profitable
And was withinne deceivable.
He bad hem of the Stremes depe
That thei be war and take kepe,
So as thei knowe noght the pas;
Bot forto helpe in such a cas,
He seith himself that for here ese[721]
He wolde, if that it mihte hem plese,
The passage of the water take,
And for this ladi undertake 2210
To bere unto that other stronde
And sauf to sette hire up alonde,
And Hercules may thanne also
The weie knowe how he schal go:[722]
[Sidenote: =P. i. 234=]
And herto thei acorden alle.
Bot what as after schal befalle,
Wel payd was Hercules of this,
And this Geant also glad is,[723]
And tok this ladi up alofte
And set hire on his schuldre softe,[724] 2220
And in the flod began to wade,[725]
As he which no grucchinge made,
And bar hire over sauf and sound.
Bot whanne he stod on dreie ground
And Hercules was fer behinde,
He sette his trowthe al out of mynde,
Who so therof be lief or loth,
With Deianyre and forth he goth,[726]
As he that thoghte to dissevere
The compaignie of hem for evere. 2230
Whan Hercules therof tok hiede,
Als faste as evere he mihte him spiede
He hyeth after in a throwe;
And hapneth that he hadde a bowe,
The which in alle haste he bende,
As he that wolde an Arwe sende,
Which he tofore hadde envenimed.
He hath so wel his schote timed,
That he him thurgh the bodi smette,
And thus the false wiht he lette. 2240
Bot lest now such a felonie:
Whan Nessus wiste he scholde die,
He tok to Deianyre his scherte,
Which with the blod was of his herte
[Sidenote: =P. i. 235=]
Thurghout desteigned overal,
And tolde how sche it kepe schal
Al prively to this entente,[727]
That if hire lord his herte wente[728]
To love in eny other place,
The scherte, he seith, hath such a grace, 2250
That if sche mai so mochel make[729]
That he the scherte upon him take,
He schal alle othre lete in vein
And torne unto hire love ayein.
Who was tho glad bot Deianyre?
Hire thoghte hire herte was afyre
Til it was in hire cofre loke,
So that no word therof was spoke.
The daies gon, the yeres passe,
The hertes waxen lasse and lasse 2260
Of hem that ben to love untrewe:
This Hercules with herte newe
His love hath set on Eolen,
And therof spieken alle men.
This Eolen, this faire maide,
Was, as men thilke time saide,
The kinges dowhter of Eurice;
And sche made Hercules so nyce
Upon hir Love and so assote,
That he him clotheth in hire cote,[730] 2270
And sche in his was clothed ofte;[731]
And thus fieblesce is set alofte,[732]
And strengthe was put under fote,
Ther can noman therof do bote.
[Sidenote: =P. i. 236=]
Whan Deianyre hath herd this speche,
Ther was no sorwe forto seche:
Of other helpe wot sche non,
Bot goth unto hire cofre anon;
With wepende yhe and woful herte
Sche tok out thilke unhappi scherte, 2280
As sche that wende wel to do,
And broghte hire werk aboute so
That Hercules this scherte on dede,
To such entente as she was bede
Of Nessus, so as I seide er.
Bot therof was sche noght the ner,
As no fortune may be weyved;
With Falssemblant sche was deceived,
That whan sche wende best have wonne,
Sche lost al that sche hath begonne. 2290
For thilke scherte unto the bon
His body sette afyre anon,
And cleveth so, it mai noght twinne,
For the venym that was therinne.
And he thanne as a wilde man
Unto the hihe wode he ran,
And as the Clerk Ovide telleth,
The grete tres to grounde he felleth
With strengthe al of his oghne myght,[733]
And made an huge fyr upriht, 2300
And lepte himself therinne at ones
And brende him bothe fleissh and bones.
Which thing cam al thurgh Falssemblant,
That false Nessus the Geant
[Sidenote: =P. i. 237=]
Made unto him and to his wif;
Wherof that he hath lost his lif,
And sche sori for everemo.
[Sidenote: Confessor.]
Forthi, my Sone, er thee be wo,
I rede, be wel war therfore;
For whan so gret a man was lore, 2310
It oghte yive a gret conceipte
To warne alle othre of such deceipte.
[Sidenote: Amans.]
Grant mercy, fader, I am war
So fer that I nomore dar
Of Falssemblant take aqueintance;
Bot rathere I wol do penance[734]
That I have feigned chiere er this.
Now axeth forth, what so ther is
Of that belongeth to my schrifte.
[Sidenote: Confessor.]
Mi Sone, yit ther is the fifte 2320
Which is conceived of Envie,
And cleped is Supplantarie,
Thurgh whos compassement and guile
Ful many a man hath lost his while
In love als wel as otherwise,
Hierafter as I schal devise.
[Sidenote: [v. SUPPLANTATION.]]
v. _Inuidus alterius est Supplantator honoris,_[735]
_Et tua quo vertat culmina subtus arat._
_Est opus occultum, quasi que latet anguis in herba,_[736]
_Quod facit, et subita sorte nociuus adest._
_Sic subtilis amans alium supplantat amantem,_
_Et capit occulte, quod nequit ipse palam;_
_Sepeque supplantans in plantam plantat amoris,_
_Quod putat in propriis alter habere bonis._[737]