Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History Book, And bar him on his bakke away, Cryinge, 'Allas, and welaway!' 170 The whiche Anchises in his honde Bar the goddes of the londe, Thilke that unbrende were. And I saw next, in alle this fere, How Creusa, daun Eneas wyf, 175 Which that he lovede as his lyf, And hir yonge sone Iulo, And eek Ascanius also, Fledden eek with drery chere, That hit was pitee for to here; 180 And in a forest, as they wente, At a turninge of a wente, How Creusa was y-lost, allas! That deed, [but] noot I how, she was; How he hir soughte, and how hir gost 185 Bad him to flee the Grekes ost, And seyde, he moste unto Itaile, As was his destinee, sauns faille; That hit was pitee for to here, Whan hir spirit gan appere, 190 The wordes that she to him seyde, And for to kepe hir sone him preyde. Ther saw I graven eek how he, His fader eek, and his meynee, With his shippes gan to sayle 195 Toward the contree of Itaile, As streight as that they mighte go. Ther saw I thee, cruel Iuno, That art daun Iupiteres wyf, That hast y-hated, al thy lyf, 200 Al the Troyanisshe blood, Renne and crye, as thou were wood, On Eolus, the god of windes, To blowen out, of alle kindes, So loude, that he shulde drenche 205 Lord and lady, grome and wenche Of al the Troyan nacioun, Withoute any savacioun. Ther saw I swich tempeste aryse, That every herte mighte agryse, 210 To see hit peynted on the walle. Ther saw I graven eek withalle, Venus, how ye, my lady dere, Wepinge with ful woful chere, Prayen Iupiter an hye 215 To save and kepe that navye Of the Troyan Eneas, Sith that he hir sone was. Ther saw I Ioves Venus kisse, And graunted of the tempest lisse. 220 Ther saw I how the tempest stente, And how with alle pyne he wente, And prevely took arrivage In the contree of Cartage; And on the morwe, how that he 225 And a knight, hight Achatee, Metten with Venus that day, Goinge in a queynt array, As she had ben an hunteresse, With wind blowinge upon hir tresse; 230 How Eneas gan him to pleyne, Whan that he knew hir, of his peyne; And how his shippes dreynte were, Or elles lost, he niste where; How she gan him comforte tho, 235 And bad him to Cartage go, And ther he shuldë his folk finde, That in the see were left behinde. And, shortly of this thing to pace, She made Eneas so in grace 240 Of Dido, quene of that contree, That, shortly for to tellen, she Becam his love, and leet him do That that wedding longeth to. What shulde I speke more queynte, 245 Or peyne me my wordes peynte, To speke of love? hit wol not be; I can not of that facultee. And eek to telle the manere How they aqueynteden in-fere, 250 Hit were a long proces to telle, And over long for yow to dwelle. Ther saw I grave, how Eneas Tolde Dido every cas, That him was tid upon the see. 255 And after grave was, how she Made of him, shortly, at oo word, Hir lyf, hir love, hir lust, hir lord; And dide him al the reverence, And leyde on him al the dispence, 260 That any woman mighte do, Weninge hit had al be so, As he hir swoor; and her-by demed That he was good, for he swich semed. Allas! what harm doth apparence, 265 Whan hit is fals in existence! For he to hir a traitour was; Wherfor she slow hir-self, allas! Lo, how a woman doth amis, To love him that unknowen is! 270 For, by Crist, lo! thus hit fareth; 'Hit is not al gold, that glareth.' For, al-so brouke I wel myn heed, Ther may be under goodliheed Kevered many a shrewed vyce; 275 Therfor be no wight so nyce, To take a love only for chere, For speche, or for frendly manere; For this shal every woman finde That som man, of his pure kinde, 280 Wol shewen outward the faireste, Til he have caught that what him leste; And thanne wol he causes finde, And swere how that she is unkinde, Or fals, or prevy, or double was. 285 Al this seye I by Eneas And Dido, and hir nyce lest, That lovede al to sone a gest; Therfor I wol seye a proverbe, That 'he that fully knoweth therbe 290 May saufly leye hit to his yë'; Withoute dreed, this is no lye. But let us speke of Eneas, How he betrayed hir, allas! And lefte hir ful unkindely. 295 So whan she saw al-utterly, That he wolde hir of trouthe faile, And wende fro hir to Itaile, She gan to wringe hir hondes two. 'Allas!' quod she, 'what me is wo! 300 Allas! is every man thus trewe, That every yere wolde have a newe, If hit so longe tyme dure, Or elles three, peraventure? As thus: of oon he wolde have fame 305 In magnifying of his name; Another for frendship, seith he; And yet ther shal the thridde be, That shal be taken for delyt, Lo, or for singular profyt.' 310 In swiche wordes gan to pleyne Dido of hir grete peyne, As me mette redely; Non other auctour alegge I. 'Allas!' quod she, 'my swete herte, 315 Have pitee on my sorwes smerte, And slee me not! go noght away! O woful Dido, wel away!' Quod she to hir-selve tho. 'O Eneas! what wil ye do? 320 O, that your love, ne your bonde, That ye han sworn with your right honde, Ne my cruel deeth,' quod she, 'May holde yow still heer with me! O, haveth of my deeth pitee! 325 Y-wis, my dere herte, ye Knowen ful wel that never yit, As fer-forth as I hadde wit, Agilte [I] yow in thoght ne deed. O, have ye men swich goodliheed 330 In speche, and never a deel of trouthe? Allas, that ever hadde routhe Any woman on any man! Now see I wel, and telle can, We wrecched wimmen conne non art; 335 For certeyn, for the more part, Thus we be served everichone. How sore that ye men conne grone, Anoon as we have yow receyved! Certeinly we ben deceyved; 340 For, though your love laste a sesoun, Wayte upon the conclusioun, And eek how that ye determynen, And for the more part diffynen. 'O, welawey that I was born! 345 For through yow is my name lorn, And alle myn actes red and songe Over al this lond, on every tonge. O wikke Fame! for ther nis Nothing so swift, lo, as she is! 350 O, sooth is, every thing is wist, Though hit be kevered with the mist. Eek, thogh I mighte duren ever, That I have doon, rekever I never, That I ne shal be seyd, allas, 355 Y-shamed be through Eneas, And that I shal thus Iuged be-- "Lo, right as she hath doon, now she Wol do eftsones, hardily;" Thus seyth the peple prevely.'-- 360 But that is doon, nis not to done; Al hir compleynt ne al hir mone, Certeyn, availeth hir not a stre. And whan she wiste sothly he Was forth unto his shippes goon, 365 She in hir chambre wente anoon, And called on hir suster Anne, And gan hir to compleyne thanne; And seyde, that she cause was That she first lovede [Eneas], 370 And thus counseilled hir therto. But what! when this was seyd and do, She roof hir-selve to the herte, And deyde through the wounde smerte. But al the maner how she deyde, 375 And al the wordes that she seyde, Who-so to knowe hit hath purpos, Reed Virgile in Eneidos Or the Epistle of Ovyde, What that she wroot or that she dyde; 380 |