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Fox that ye been, god yeve youre herte care! 1565

God help me so, ye caused al this fare,

Trow I,' quod she, `for alle your wordes whyte;

O! Who-so seeth yow knoweth yow ful lyte!'

With that she gan hir face for to wrye

With the shete, and wex for shame al reed; 1570

And Pandarus gan under for to prye,

And seyde, `Nece, if that I shal be deed,

Have here a swerd, and smyteth of myn heed.'

With that his arm al sodeynly he thriste

Under hir nekke, and at the laste hir kiste. 1575

I passe al that which chargeth nought to seye,

What! God foryaf his deeth, and she al-so

Foryaf, and with hir uncle gan to pleye,

For other cause was ther noon than so.

But of this thing right to the effect to go, 1580

Whan tyme was, hom til hir hous she wente,

And Pandarus hath fully his entente.

Now torne we ayein to Troilus,

That resteles ful longe a-bedde lay,

And prevely sente after Pandarus, 1585

To him to come in al the haste he may.

He com anoon, nought ones seyde he `nay,'

And Troilus ful sobrely he grette,

And doun upon his beddes syde him sette.

This Troilus, with al the affeccioun 1590

Of frendes love that herte may devyse,

To Pandarus on knees fil adoun,

And er that he wolde of the place aryse,

He gan him thonken in his beste wyse;

An hondred sythe he gan the tyme blesse, 1595

That he was born, to bringe him fro distresse.

He seyde, `O frend of frendes the alderbeste

That ever was, the sothe for to telle,

Thou hast in hevene y-brought my soule at reste

Fro Flegitoun, the fery flood of helle; 1600

That, though I mighte a thousand tymes selle,

Upon a day, my lyf in thy servyse,

It mighte nought a mote in that suffyse.

`The sonne, which that al the world may see,

Saw never yet, my lyf, that dar I leye, 1605

So inly fayr and goodly as is she,

Whos I am al, and shal, til that I deye;

And, that I thus am hires, dar I seye,

That thanked be the heighe worthinesse

Of love, and eek thy kinde bisinesse. 1610

`Thus hastow me no litel thing y-yive,

Fo which to thee obliged be for ay

My lyf, and why? For thorugh thyn help I live;

For elles deed hadde I be many a day.'

And with that word doun in his bed he lay, 1615

And Pandarus ful sobrely him herde

Til al was seyd, and than he thus answerde:

`My dere frend, if I have doon for thee

In any cas, god wot, it is me leef;

And am as glad as man may of it be, 1620

God help me so; but tak now a-greef

That I shal seyn, be war of this myscheef,

That, there-as thou now brought art in-to blisse,

That thou thy-self ne cause it nought to misse.

`For of fortunes sharpe adversitee 1625

The worst kinde of infortune is this,

A man to have ben in prosperitee,

And it remembren, whan it passed is.

Thou art wys y-nough, for-thy do nought amis;

Be not to rakel, though thou sitte warme,

For if thou be, certeyn, it wol thee harme. 1631

`Thou art at ese, and holde the wel ther-inne.

For also seur as reed is every fyr,

As greet a craft is kepe wel as winne;

Brydle alwey wel thy speche and thy desyr, 1635

For worldly Ioye halt not but by a wyr;

That preveth wel, it brest alday so ofte;

For-thy nede is to werke with it softe.'

Quod Troilus, `I hope, and god to-forn,

My dere frend, that I shal so me bere, 1640

That in my gilt ther shal no thing be lorn,

Ne I nil not rakle as for to greven here;

It nedeth not this matere ofte tere;

For wistestow myn herte wel, Pandare,

God woot, of this thou woldest litel care.' 1645

Tho gan he telle him of his glade night,

And wher-of first his herte dredde, and how,

And seyde, `Freend, as I am trewe knight,

And by that feyth I shal to god and yow,

I hadde it never half so hote as now; 1650

And ay the more that desyr me byteth

To love hir best, the more it me delyteth.

`I noot my-self not wisly what it is;

But now I fele a newe qualitee,

Ye, al another than I dide er this.' 1655

Pandare answerde, and seyde thus, that he

That ones may in hevene blisse be,

He feleth other weyes, dar I leye,

Than thilke tyme he first herde of it seye.

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