|
Who koude ryme in Englyssh proprely |
| His martirdom? For sothe it am nat I, |
| Therfore I passe as lightly as I may. |
| It fel that in the seventhe yer, in May, |
| 605 | The thridde nyght, (as olde bookes seyn, |
| That al this storie tellen moore pleyn) |
| Were it by aventure or destynee - |
| As, whan a thyng is shapen, it shal be - |
| That soone after the mydnyght Palamoun |
| 610 | By helpyng of a freend, brak his prisoun |
| And fleeth the citee faste as he may go; |
| For he hade yeve his gayler drynke so |
| Of a clarree maad of a certeyn wyn, |
| With nercotikes and opie of Thebes fyn, |
| 615 | That al that nyght, thogh that men wolde him shake, |
| The gayler sleep, he myghte nat awake. |
| And thus he fleeth as faste as evere he may; |
| The nyght was short and faste by the day, |
| That nedes-cost he moot hymselven hyde; |
| 620 | And til a grove, faste ther bisyde, |
| With dredeful foot thanne stalketh Palamoun. |
| For shortly, this was his opinioun, |
| That in that grove he wolde hym hyde al day, |
| And in the nyght thanne wolde he take his way |
| 625 | To Thebes-ward, his freendes for to preye |
| On Theseus to helpe hym to werreye; |
| And shortly, outher he wolde lese his lif, |
| Or wynnen Emelye unto his wyf; |
| This is th'effect and his entente pleyn. |
|
| And who could rhyme in English, properly, |
| His martyrdom? In truth, it is not I; |
| And therefore I pass lightly on my way. |
| It fell out in the seventh year, in May, |
| 605 | On the third night (as say the books of old |
| Which have this story much more fully told), |
| Were it by chance or were it destiny |
| Since, when a thing is destined, it must be, |
| That, shortly after midnight, Palamon, |
| 610 | By helping of a friend, broke from prison, |
| And fled the city, fast as he might go; |
| For he had given his guard a drink that so |
| Was mixed of spice and honey and certain wine |
| And Theban opiate and anodyne, |
| 615 | That all that night, although a man might shake |
| This jailor, he slept on, nor could awake. |
| And thus he flees as fast as ever he may. |
| The night was short and it was nearly day, |
| Wherefore he needs must find a place to hide; |
| 620 | And to a grove that grew hard by, with stride |
| Of furtive foot, went fearful Palamon. |
| In brief, he'd formed his plan, as he went on, |
| That in the grove he would lie fast all day, |
| And when night came, then would he take his way |
| 625 | Toward Thebes, and there find friends, and of them pray |
| Their help on Theseus in war's array; |
| And briefly either he would lose his life, |
| Or else win Emily to be his wife; |
| This is the gist of his intention plain. |
|
