The Canterbury tales and Faerie queene &c., &c., &c., ed. for popular perusal with current illustrations and explanatory notes, by D. Laing Purves.

34 STHE CANTERBURY TALES.
And pulled out a sword and cried, " Ho! Till at the last aslaked was his mood 10
No more, on pain of losing of your head. (For pity runneth soon in gentle heart);
By mighty Mars, he shall anon be dead And though at first for ire he quoke and start,
That smiteth any stroke, that I may see! He hath consider'd shortly in a clause
But tell to me what mister men ye be, The trespass of them both, and eke the cause:
That be so hardy for to fightB here And although that his ire their guilt accused,
Withoute judge or other officer, Yet in his reason he them both excused;
As though it were in listes 2 royally." As thus; he thoughte well that every man
This Palamon answered hastily, Will help himself in love if that he can,
And saide: " Sir, what needeth wordes mo'? And eke deliver himself out of prison.
We have the death deserved bothe two, And eke his hearti had compassion
Two woful wretches be we, and caitives, Of women, for they wepten ever-in-one:1
That be accumbered 3 of our own lives, And in his gentle heart he thought anon,
And as thou art a rightful lord and judge, And soft unto himself he saide: " Fie
So give us neither mercy nor refuge. Upon a lord that will have no mercy,
And slay me first, for saintB charity, But be a lion both in word and deed,
But slay my fellow eke as well as me. To them that be in repentance and dread,
Or slay him first; for, though thou know it lite,4 As well asto a proud dispiteous12 man
This is thy mortal foe, this is Arcite, That will maintainB what he first began.
That from thy land is banisht on his head, That lord hath little of discreti6n,
For which he hath deserved to be dead. That in such case can no divisin:13
For this is he that came unto thy gate But weigheth pride and humbless after one." 14
And saide, that he hightB Philostrate. And shortly, when his ire is thus agone,
Thus hath he japed5 thee full many a year, He gan to look on them with eyen light,15
And thou hast made of him thy chief esquier; And spake these same wordbs all on height.16
And this is he, that loveth Emily. "The god of love, ah! benedicite,7
For since the day is come that I shall die How mighty and how great a lord is he!
I makB pleinly6 my confessi6n, Against his might there gain 18 none obstacles,
That I am thilkB7 woful Palamon, He may be call'd a god for his miracles.
That hath thy prison broken wickedly. For he can maken at his owen guise
I am thy mortal foe, and it am I Of every heart, as that him list devise.
That so hot loveth Emily the bright, Lo here this Arcite, and this Palamon,
That I would die here present in her sight. That quietly were out of my pris6n,
Therefore I aske death and my jewise.8 And might have lived in Thebes royally,
But slay my fellow eke in the same wise, And weet19 I am their mortal enemy,
For both we have deserved to be slain." And that their death li'th in my might also,
This worthy Duke answer'd anon again, And yet hath love, maugre their eyen two,20
And said, " This is a short conclusion. Y-brought them hither bothe for to die.
Your own mouth, by your own confession Now look ye, is not this an high folly?
Hath danned you, and I will it record; Who may not be a fool, if but he love?
It needeth not to pain you with the cord; Behold, for Godde's sake that sits above,
Ye shall be dead, by mighty Mars the Red." 9 See how they bleed! be they not well array'd?
The queen anon for very womanhead Thus hath their lord, the god of love, them paid
Began to weep, and so did Emily, Their wages and their fees for their service;
And all the ladies in the company. And yet they weenb for to be full wise,
Great pity was it, as it thought them all, That serve love, for ought that may befall.
That ever such a chance should befall, But this is yet the bestB game2l of all,
For gentle men they were, of great estate, That she, for whom they have this jealousy,
And nothing but for love was this debate; Can them therefor as muchel thank as me.
They saw their bloody woundbs wide and sore, She wot no more of all this hote fare,22
And cried all at once, both less and more, By God, than wot a cuckoo or an hare.
" Have mercy, Lord, upon us women all." But all must be assayed hot or cold;
And on their bar8 knees adown they fall, A man must be a fool, or young or old;
And would have kiss'd his feet there as he I wot it by myself full yore agone: 23
stood, For in my time a servant was I one.
1 Manner, kind; German, "Muster," sample, model. " Then the red glow, horrible to the nations, which you
2 In the lists, prepared for such single combats be- saytobe that of Mars." Boccaccio opens the "Theseida"
tween champion and accuser, &c. by an invocation to " rubicondo Marte."
3 Wearied, burdened. 4 Little. 10 His anger was appeased.
5 Deceived. 6 Fully, unreservedly. 11 Contihually; perhaps another reading, "every one,"
7 Contracted from "the ilke," the same; that. is the better. 12 Unpitying, disdainful.
8 Doom, judgment; from the Latin, " judicium." 13 Can make no distinction.
9 Referring to the ruddy colour of the planet, to 14 Alike. 15 Gentle, lenient.
which was doubtless due the transference to it of the 16 Aloud; he had just been speaking to himself.
name of the God of War. In his "Republic," enu- 17 Bless ye him. 18 Avail, conquer. 19 Know.
merating the seven planets, Cicero speaks of the pro- 20 "In spite of their eyes."
pitious and beneficent light of Jupiter: " Turn (fulgor) 21 The best joke of all-the best of the joke.
rutilus horribilisque terris, quem Martium dicitis"- 22 Behaviour. 23 Long ago; years ago,