The Canterbury Tales [46]
cruelly: *earned; suffered from Chaste goddess, well wottest thou that I Desire to be a maiden all my life, Nor never will I be no love nor wife. I am, thou wost*, yet of thy company, *knowest A maid, and love hunting and venery*, *field sports And for to walken in the woodes wild, And not to be a wife, and be with child. Nought will I know the company of man. Now help me, lady, since ye may and can, For those three formes <68> that thou hast in thee. And Palamon, that hath such love to me, And eke Arcite, that loveth me so sore, This grace I pray thee withoute more, As sende love and peace betwixt them two: And from me turn away their heartes so, That all their hote love, and their desire, And all their busy torment, and their fire, Be queint*, or turn'd into another place. *quenched And if so be thou wilt do me no grace, Or if my destiny be shapen so That I shall needes have one of them two, So send me him that most desireth me. Behold, goddess of cleane chastity, The bitter tears that on my cheekes fall. Since thou art maid, and keeper of us all, My maidenhead thou keep and well conserve, And, while I live, a maid I will thee serve.
The fires burn upon the altar clear, While Emily was thus in her prayere: But suddenly she saw a sighte quaint*. *strange For right anon one of the fire's *queint And quick'd* again, and after that anon *went out and revived* That other fire was queint, and all agone: And as it queint, it made a whisteling, As doth a brande wet in its burning. And at the brandes end outran anon As it were bloody droppes many one: For which so sore aghast was Emily, That she was well-nigh mad, and gan to cry, For she ne wiste what it signified; But onely for feare thus she cried, And wept, that it was pity for to hear. And therewithal Diana gan appear With bow in hand, right as an hunteress, And saide; "Daughter, stint* thine heaviness. *cease Among the goddes high it is affirm'd, And by eternal word writ and confirm'd, Thou shalt be wedded unto one of tho* *those That have for thee so muche care and woe: But unto which of them I may not tell. Farewell, for here I may no longer dwell. The fires which that on mine altar brenn*, *burn Shall thee declaren, ere that thou go henne*, *hence Thine aventure of love, as in this case." And with that word, the arrows in the case* *quiver Of the goddess did clatter fast and ring, And forth she went, and made a vanishing, For which this Emily astonied was, And saide; "What amounteth this, alas! I put me under thy protection, Diane, and in thy disposition." And home she went anon the nexte* way. *nearest This is th' effect, there is no more to say.
The nexte hour of Mars following this Arcite to the temple walked is Of fierce Mars, to do his sacrifice With all the rites of his pagan guise. With piteous* heart and high devotion *pious Right thus to Mars he said his orison "O stronge god, that in the regnes* old *realms Of Thrace honoured art, and lord y-hold* *held And hast in every regne, and every land Of armes all the bridle in thine hand, And *them fortunest as thee list devise*, *send them fortune Accept of me my piteous sacrifice. as you please* If so be that my youthe may deserve, And that my might be worthy for to serve Thy godhead, that I may be one of thine, Then pray I thee to *rue upon my pine*, *pity my anguish* For thilke* pain, and thilke hote fire, *that In which thou whilom burned'st for desire Whenne that thou usedest* the beauty *enjoyed Of faire young Venus, fresh and free, And haddest her in armes at thy will: And though thee ones on a time misfill*, *were unlucky When Vulcanus had caught thee
The fires burn upon the altar clear, While Emily was thus in her prayere: But suddenly she saw a sighte quaint*. *strange For right anon one of the fire's *queint And quick'd* again, and after that anon *went out and revived* That other fire was queint, and all agone: And as it queint, it made a whisteling, As doth a brande wet in its burning. And at the brandes end outran anon As it were bloody droppes many one: For which so sore aghast was Emily, That she was well-nigh mad, and gan to cry, For she ne wiste what it signified; But onely for feare thus she cried, And wept, that it was pity for to hear. And therewithal Diana gan appear With bow in hand, right as an hunteress, And saide; "Daughter, stint* thine heaviness. *cease Among the goddes high it is affirm'd, And by eternal word writ and confirm'd, Thou shalt be wedded unto one of tho* *those That have for thee so muche care and woe: But unto which of them I may not tell. Farewell, for here I may no longer dwell. The fires which that on mine altar brenn*, *burn Shall thee declaren, ere that thou go henne*, *hence Thine aventure of love, as in this case." And with that word, the arrows in the case* *quiver Of the goddess did clatter fast and ring, And forth she went, and made a vanishing, For which this Emily astonied was, And saide; "What amounteth this, alas! I put me under thy protection, Diane, and in thy disposition." And home she went anon the nexte* way. *nearest This is th' effect, there is no more to say.
The nexte hour of Mars following this Arcite to the temple walked is Of fierce Mars, to do his sacrifice With all the rites of his pagan guise. With piteous* heart and high devotion *pious Right thus to Mars he said his orison "O stronge god, that in the regnes* old *realms Of Thrace honoured art, and lord y-hold* *held And hast in every regne, and every land Of armes all the bridle in thine hand, And *them fortunest as thee list devise*, *send them fortune Accept of me my piteous sacrifice. as you please* If so be that my youthe may deserve, And that my might be worthy for to serve Thy godhead, that I may be one of thine, Then pray I thee to *rue upon my pine*, *pity my anguish* For thilke* pain, and thilke hote fire, *that In which thou whilom burned'st for desire Whenne that thou usedest* the beauty *enjoyed Of faire young Venus, fresh and free, And haddest her in armes at thy will: And though thee ones on a time misfill*, *were unlucky When Vulcanus had caught thee