The Canterbury Tales [366]
she sight.* *sighed
And thilke fooles, sitting her about, Weened that she had wept and siked* sore, *sighed Because that she should out of that rout* *company Depart, and never playe with them more; And they that hadde knowen her of yore Saw her so weep, and thought it kindeness, And each of them wept eke for her distress.
And busily they gonnen* her comfort *began Of thing, God wot, on which she little thought; And with their tales weened her disport, And to be glad they her besought; But such an ease therewith they in her wrought, Right as a man is eased for to feel, For ache of head, to claw him on his heel.
But, after all this nice* vanity, *silly They took their leave, and home they wenten all; Cressida, full of sorrowful pity, Into her chamber up went out of the hall, And on her bed she gan for dead to fall, In purpose never thennes for to rise; And thus she wrought, as I shall you devise.* *narrate
She rent her sunny hair, wrung her hands, wept, and bewailed her fate; vowing that, since, "for the cruelty," she could handle neither sword nor dart, she would abstain from meat and drink until she died. As she lamented, Pandarus entered, making her complain a thousand times more at the thought of all the joy which he had given her with her lover; but he somewhat soothed her by the prospect of Troilus's visit, and by the counsel to contain her grief when he should come. Then Pandarus went in search of Troilus, whom he found solitary in a temple, as one that had ceased to care for life:
For right thus was his argument alway: He said he was but lorne,* well-away! *lost, ruined "For all that comes, comes by necessity; Thus, to be lorn,* it is my destiny. *lost, ruined
"For certainly this wot I well," he said, "That foresight of the divine purveyance* *providence Hath seen alway me to forgo* Cresseide, *lose Since God sees ev'ry thing, *out of doubtance,* *without doubt* And them disposeth, through his ordinance, In their merites soothly for to be, As they should come by predestiny.
"But natheless, alas! whom shall I 'lieve? For there be greate clerkes* many one *scholars That destiny through argumentes preve, *prove And some say that needly* there is none, *necessarily But that free choice is giv'n us ev'ry one; O well-away! so sly are clerkes old, That I n'ot* whose opinion I may hold. <76> *know not
"For some men say, if God sees all beforn, Godde may not deceived be, pardie! Then must it fallen,* though men had it sworn, *befall, happen That purveyance hath seen before to be; Wherefore I say, that from etern* if he *eternity Hath wist* before our thought eke as our deed, *known We have no free choice, as these clerkes read.* *maintain
"For other thought, nor other deed also, Might never be, but such as purveyance, Which may not be deceived never mo', Hath feeled* before, without ignorance; *perceived For if there mighte be a variance, To writhen out from Godde's purveying, There were no prescience of thing coming,
"But it were rather an opinion Uncertain, and no steadfast foreseeing; And, certes, that were an abusion,* *illusion That God should have no perfect clear weeting,* *knowledge More than we men, that have *doubtous weening;* *dubious opinion* But such an error *upon God to guess,* *to impute to God* Were false, and foul, and wicked cursedness.* *impiety
"Eke this is an opinion of some That have their top full high and smooth y-shore, <77> They say right thus, that thing is not to come, For* that the prescience hath seen before *because That it shall come; but
And thilke fooles, sitting her about, Weened that she had wept and siked* sore, *sighed Because that she should out of that rout* *company Depart, and never playe with them more; And they that hadde knowen her of yore Saw her so weep, and thought it kindeness, And each of them wept eke for her distress.
And busily they gonnen* her comfort *began Of thing, God wot, on which she little thought; And with their tales weened her disport, And to be glad they her besought; But such an ease therewith they in her wrought, Right as a man is eased for to feel, For ache of head, to claw him on his heel.
But, after all this nice* vanity, *silly They took their leave, and home they wenten all; Cressida, full of sorrowful pity, Into her chamber up went out of the hall, And on her bed she gan for dead to fall, In purpose never thennes for to rise; And thus she wrought, as I shall you devise.* *narrate
She rent her sunny hair, wrung her hands, wept, and bewailed her fate; vowing that, since, "for the cruelty," she could handle neither sword nor dart, she would abstain from meat and drink until she died. As she lamented, Pandarus entered, making her complain a thousand times more at the thought of all the joy which he had given her with her lover; but he somewhat soothed her by the prospect of Troilus's visit, and by the counsel to contain her grief when he should come. Then Pandarus went in search of Troilus, whom he found solitary in a temple, as one that had ceased to care for life:
For right thus was his argument alway: He said he was but lorne,* well-away! *lost, ruined "For all that comes, comes by necessity; Thus, to be lorn,* it is my destiny. *lost, ruined
"For certainly this wot I well," he said, "That foresight of the divine purveyance* *providence Hath seen alway me to forgo* Cresseide, *lose Since God sees ev'ry thing, *out of doubtance,* *without doubt* And them disposeth, through his ordinance, In their merites soothly for to be, As they should come by predestiny.
"But natheless, alas! whom shall I 'lieve? For there be greate clerkes* many one *scholars That destiny through argumentes preve, *prove And some say that needly* there is none, *necessarily But that free choice is giv'n us ev'ry one; O well-away! so sly are clerkes old, That I n'ot* whose opinion I may hold. <76> *know not
"For some men say, if God sees all beforn, Godde may not deceived be, pardie! Then must it fallen,* though men had it sworn, *befall, happen That purveyance hath seen before to be; Wherefore I say, that from etern* if he *eternity Hath wist* before our thought eke as our deed, *known We have no free choice, as these clerkes read.* *maintain
"For other thought, nor other deed also, Might never be, but such as purveyance, Which may not be deceived never mo', Hath feeled* before, without ignorance; *perceived For if there mighte be a variance, To writhen out from Godde's purveying, There were no prescience of thing coming,
"But it were rather an opinion Uncertain, and no steadfast foreseeing; And, certes, that were an abusion,* *illusion That God should have no perfect clear weeting,* *knowledge More than we men, that have *doubtous weening;* *dubious opinion* But such an error *upon God to guess,* *to impute to God* Were false, and foul, and wicked cursedness.* *impiety
"Eke this is an opinion of some That have their top full high and smooth y-shore, <77> They say right thus, that thing is not to come, For* that the prescience hath seen before *because That it shall come; but