‘Eterne god, that thurgh thy purveyaunce 865
Ledest the world by certein governaunce,
In ydel, as men seyn, ye no-thing make;
But, lord, thise grisly feendly rokkes blake, (140)
That semen rather a foul confusioun
[487: T. 11182-11217.]
Of werk than any fair creacioun 870
Of swich a parfit wys god and a stable,
Why han ye wroght this werk unresonable?
For by this werk, south, north, ne west, ne eest,
Ther nis y-fostred man, ne brid, ne beest;
It dooth no good, to my wit, but anoyeth. 875
See ye nat, lord, how mankinde it destroyeth?
An hundred thousand bodies of mankinde
Han rokkes slayn, al be they nat in minde, (150)
Which mankinde is so fair part of thy werk
That thou it madest lyk to thyn owene merk. 880
Than semed it ye hadde a greet chiertee
Toward mankinde; but how than may it be
That ye swiche menes make it to destroyen,
Whiche menes do no good, but ever anoyen?
I wool wel clerkes wol seyn, as hem leste, 885
By arguments, that al is for the beste,
Though I ne can the causes nat y-knowe.
But thilke god, that made wind to blowe, (160)
As kepe my lord! this my conclusioun;
To clerkes lete I al disputisoun. 890
But wolde god that alle thise rokkes blake
Were sonken in-to helle for his sake!
Thise rokkes sleen myn herte for the fere.’
Thus wolde she seyn, with many a pitous tere.
873. MSS. eest, est. 874. MSS. beest, best. 881. E. Thanne. Pt.
cheerte. 882. E. thanne. 887. E. _om._ ne. 889. Cm. Cp. Pt. this
is (this = this is). 890. E. al this: _rest om._ this.
Hir freendes sawe that it was no disport 895
To romen by the see, but disconfort;
And shopen for to pleyen somwher elles.
They leden hir by riveres and by welles, (170)
And eek in othere places delitables;
They dauncen, and they pleyen at ches and tables. 900
So on a day, right in the morwe-tyde,
Un-to a gardin that was ther bisyde,
In which that they had maad hir ordinaunce
Of vitaille and of other purveyaunce,
They goon and pleye hem al the longe day. 905
[488: T. 11218-11253.]
And this was on the sixte morwe of May,
Which May had peynted with his softe shoures
This gardin ful of leves and of floures; (180)
And craft of mannes hand so curiously
Arrayed hadde this gardin, trewely, 910
That never was ther gardin of swich prys,
But-if it were the verray paradys.
The odour of floures and the fresshe sighte
Wolde han maad any herte for to lighte
That ever was born, but-if to gret siknesse, 915
Or to gret sorwe helde it in distresse;
So ful it was of beautee with plesaunce.
At-after diner gonne they to daunce, (190)
And singe also, save Dorigen allone,
Which made alwey hir compleint and hir mone; 920
For she ne saugh him on the daunce go,
That was hir housbonde and hir love also.
But nathelees she moste a tyme abyde,
And with good hope lete hir sorwe slyde.
903. E. hadde. 906. E. in; _rest_ on. 907. E. hadde. 914. _So_
Cm. (_see_ Group F, l. 396); E. Hn. maked, _and om._ for to; Cp. Pt.
Wold han made ony pensif herte light.
Up-on this daunce, amonges othere men, 925
Daunced a squyer biforen Dorigen,
That fressher was and Iolyer of array,
As to my doom, than is the monthe of May. (200)
He singeth, daunceth, passinge any man
That is, or was, sith that the world bigan. 930
Ther-with he was, if men sholde him discryve,
Oon of the beste faringe man on-lyve;
Yong, strong, right vertuous, and riche and wys,
And wel biloved, and holden in gret prys.
And shortly, if the sothe I tellen shal, 935
Unwiting of this Dorigen at al,
This lusty squyer, servant to Venus,
Which that y-cleped was Aurelius, (210)
Had loved hir best of any creature
Two yeer and more, as was his aventure, 940
But never dorste he telle hir his grevaunce;
[489: T. 11254-11290.]
With-outen coppe he drank al his penaunce.
He was despeyred, no-thing dorste he seye,
Save in his songes somwhat wolde he wreye
His wo, as in a general compleyning; 945
He seyde he lovede, and was biloved no-thing.
Of swich matere made he manye layes,
Songes, compleintes, roundels, virelayes, (220)
How that he dorste nat his sorwe telle,
But languissheth, as a furie dooth in helle; 950
And dye he moste, he seyde, as dide Ekko
For Narcisus, that dorste nat telle hir wo.
In other manere than ye here me seye,
Ne dorste he nat to hir his wo biwreye;
Save that, paraventure, som-tyme at daunces, 955
Ther yonge folk kepen hir observaunces,
It may wel be he loked on hir face
In swich a wyse, as man that asketh grace; (230)
But no-thing wiste she of his entente.
Nathelees, it happed, er they thennes wente, 960
By-cause that he was hir neighebour,
And was a man of worship and honour,
And hadde y-knowen him of tyme yore,
They fille in speche; and forth more and more
Un-to his purpos drough Aurelius, 965
And whan he saugh his tyme, he seyde thus:
926. Cp. biforen; Hn. Cm. bifore; E. biforn. 939. E. hadde. 941. E.
Hn. tellen. 950. E. Cm. a furye; Hn. Pt. a fuyre; Cp. fuyre; Ln.
fire. 956. E. Hn. yong. 965. E. Hn. this; _rest_ his.
‘Madame,’ quod he, ‘by god that this world made,
So that I wiste it mighte your herte glade, (240)
I wolde, that day that your Arveragus
Wente over the see, that I, Aurelius, 970
Had went ther never I sholde have come agayn;
For wel I woot my service is in vayn.
My guerdon is but bresting of myn herte;
Madame, reweth upon my peynes smerte;
For with a word ye may me sleen or save, 975
Heer at your feet god wolde that I were grave!
I ne have as now no leyser more to seye;
Have mercy, swete, or ye wol do me deye!’ (250)
[490: T. 11291-11327.]
She gan to loke up-on Aurelius:
‘Is this your wil,’ quod she, ‘and sey ye thus? 980
Never erst,’ quod she, ‘ne wiste I what ye mente.
But now, Aurelie, I knowe your entente,
By thilke god that yaf me soule and lyf,
Ne shal I never been untrewe wyf
In word ne werk, as fer as I have wit: 985
I wol ben his to whom that I am knit;
Tak this for fynal answer as of me.’
But after that in pley thus seyde she: (260)