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To Troilus, as I shal yow devyse:

`Myn alderlevest lord, and brother dere,

God woot, and thou, that it sat me so sore, 240

When I thee saw so languisshing to-yere,

For love, of which thy wo wex alwey more;

That I, with al my might and al my lore,

Have ever sithen doon my bisinesse

To bringe thee to Ioye out of distresse, 245

`And have it brought to swich plyt as thou wost,

So that, thorugh me, thow stondest now in weye

To fare wel, I seye it for no bost,

And wostow which? For shame it is to seye,

For thee have I bigonne a gamen pleye 250

Which that I never doon shal eft for other,

Al-though he were a thousand fold my brother.

`That is to seye, for thee am I bicomen,

Bitwixen game and ernest, swich a mene

As maken wommen un-to men to comen; 255

Al sey I nought, thou wost wel what I mene.

For thee have I my nece, of vyces clene,

So fully maad thy gentilesse triste,

That al shal been right as thy-selve liste.

`But god, that al wot, take I to witnesse, 260

That never I this for coveityse wroughte,

But only for to abregge that distresse,

For which wel nygh thou deydest, as me thoughte.

But, gode brother, do now as thee oughte,

For goddes love, and kep hir out of blame, 265

Sin thou art wys, and save alwey hir name.

`For wel thou wost, the name as yet of here

Among the peple, as who seyth, halwed is;

For that man is unbore, I dar wel swere,

That ever wiste that she dide amis. 270

But wo is me, that I, that cause al this,

May thenken that she is my nece dere,

And I hir eem, and trattor eek y-fere!

`And were it wist that I, through myn engyn,

Hadde in my nece y-put this fantasye, 275

To do thy lust, and hoolly to be thyn,

Why, al the world up-on it wolde crye,

And seye, that I the worste trecherye

Dide in this cas, that ever was bigonne,

And she for-lost, and thou right nought y-wonne. 280

`Wher-fore, er I wol ferther goon a pas,

Yet eft I thee biseche and fully seye,

That privetee go with us in this cas;

That is to seye, that thou us never wreye;

And be nought wrooth, though I thee ofte preye 285

To holden secree swich an heigh matere;

For skilful is, thow wost wel, my preyere.

`And thenk what wo ther hath bitid er this,

For makinge of avantes, as men rede;

And what mischaunce in this world yet ther is, 290

Fro day to day, right for that wikked dede;

For which these wyse clerkes that ben dede

Han ever yet proverbed to us yonge,

That "Firste vertu is to kepe tonge."

`And, nere it that I wilne as now tabregge 295

Diffusioun of speche, I coude almost

A thousand olde stories thee alegge

Of wommen lost, thorugh fals and foles bost;

Proverbes canst thy-self y-nowe, and wost,

Ayeins that vyce, for to been a labbe, 300

Al seyde men sooth as often as they gabbe.

`O tonge, allas! So often here-biforn

Hastow made many a lady bright of hewe

Seyd, "Welawey! The day that I was born!"

And many a maydes sorwes for to newe; 305

And, for the more part, al is untrewe

That men of yelpe, and it were brought to preve;

Of kinde non avauntour is to leve.

`Avauntour and a lyere, al is on;

As thus: I pose, a womman graunte me 310

Hir love, and seyth that other wol she non,

And I am sworn to holden it secree,

And after I go telle it two or three;

Y-wis, I am avauntour at the leste,

And lyere, for I breke my biheste. 315

`Now loke thanne, if they be nought to blame,

Swich maner folk; what shal I clepe hem, what,

That hem avaunte of wommen, and by name,

That never yet bihighte hem this ne that,

Ne knewe hem more than myn olde hat? 320

No wonder is, so god me sende hele,

Though wommen drede with us men to dele.

`I sey not this for no mistrust of yow,

Ne for no wys man, but for foles nyce,

And for the harm that in the world is now, 325

As wel for foly ofte as for malyce;

For wel wot I, in wyse folk, that vyce

No womman drat, if she be wel avysed;

For wyse ben by foles harm chastysed.

`But now to purpos; leve brother dere, 330

Have al this thing that I have seyd in minde,

And keep thee clos, and be now of good chere,

For at thy day