Part 102

“For certainly this wot I well,” he said, “That foresight of the divine purveyance* *providence Hath seen alway me to forgo* Cresseide, *lose Since God sees ev’ry thing, *out of doubtance,* *without doubt* And them disposeth, through his ordinance, In their merites soothly for to be, As they should come by predestiny.

“But natheless, alas! whom shall I ’lieve? For there be greate clerkes* many one *scholars That destiny through argumentes preve, *prove And some say that needly* there is none, *necessarily But that free choice is giv’n us ev’ry one; O well-away! so sly are clerkes old, That I n’ot* whose opinion I may hold. <76> *know not

“For some men say, if God sees all beforn, Godde may not deceived be, pardie! Then must it fallen,* though men had it sworn, *befall, happen That purveyance hath seen before to be; Wherefore I say, that from etern* if he *eternity Hath wist* before our thought eke as our deed, *known We have no free choice, as these clerkes read.* *maintain

“For other thought, nor other deed also, Might never be, but such as purveyance, Which may not be deceived never mo’, Hath feeled* before, without ignorance; *perceived For if there mighte be a variance, To writhen out from Godde’s purveying, There were no prescience of thing coming,

“But it were rather an opinion Uncertain, and no steadfast foreseeing; And, certes, that were an abusion,* *illusion That God should have no perfect clear weeting,* *knowledge More than we men, that have *doubtous weening;* *dubious opinion* But such an error *upon God to guess,* *to impute to God* Were false, and foul, and wicked cursedness.* *impiety

“Eke this is an opinion of some That have their top full high and smooth y-shore, <77> They say right thus, that thing is not to come, For* that the prescience hath seen before *because That it shall come; but they say, that therefore That it shall come, therefore the purveyance Wot it before, withouten ignorance.

“And, in this manner, this necessity *Returneth in his part contrary again;* *reacts in the opposite For needfully behoves it not to be, direction* That thilke thinges *fallen in certain,* *certainly happen* That be purvey’d; but needly, as they sayn, Behoveth it that thinges, which that fall, That they in certain be purveyed all.

“I mean as though I labour’d me in this To inquire which thing cause of which thing be; As, whether that the prescience of God is The certain cause of the necessity Of thinges that to come be, pardie! Or if necessity of thing coming Be cause certain of the purveying.

“But now *enforce I me not* in shewing *I do not lay stress* How th’order of causes stands; but well wot I, That it behoveth, that the befalling Of thinges wiste* before certainly, *known Be necessary, *all seem it not* thereby, *though it does not appear* That prescience put falling necessair To thing to come, all fall it foul or fair.

“For, if there sit a man yond on a see,* *seat Then by necessity behoveth it That certes thine opinion sooth be, That weenest, or conjectest,* that he sit; *conjecturest And, furtherover, now againward yet, Lo! right so is it on the part contrary; As thus, — now hearken, for I will not tarry; —

“I say that if th’opinion of thee Be sooth, for that he sits, then say I this, That he must sitte by necessity; And thus necessity in either is, For in him need of sitting is, y-wis, And, in thee, need of sooth; and thus forsooth There must necessity be in you both.

“But thou may’st say he sits not therefore That thine opinion of his sitting sooth But rather, for the man sat there before, Therefore is thine opinion sooth, y-wis; And I say, though the cause of sooth of this Comes of his sitting, yet necessity Is interchanged both in him and thee.

“Thus in the same wise, out of doubtance, I may well maken, as it seemeth me, My reasoning of Godde’s purveyance, And of the thinges that to come be; By whiche reason men may well y-see That thilke* thinges that in earthe fall,** *those **happen That by necessity they comen all.

“For although that a thing should come, y-wis, Therefore it is purveyed certainly, Not that it comes for it purveyed is; Yet, natheless, behoveth needfully That thing to come be purvey’d truely; Or elles thinges that purveyed be, That they betide* by necessity. *happen

“And this sufficeth right enough, certain, For to destroy our free choice ev’ry deal; But now is this abusion,* to sayn *illusion, self-deception That falling of the thinges temporel Is cause of Godde’s prescience eternel; Now truely that is a false sentence,* *opinion, judgment That thing to come should cause his prescience.

“What might I ween, an’* I had such a thought, *if But that God purveys thing that is to come, For that it is to come, and elles nought? So might I ween that thinges, all and some, That *whilom be befall and overcome,* *have happened Be cause of thilke sov’reign purveyance, in times past* That foreknows all, withouten ignorance.

“And over all this, yet say I more thereto, — That right as when I wot there is a thing, Y-wis, that thing must needfully be so; Eke right so, when I wot a thing coming, So must it come; and thus the befalling Of thinges that be wist before the tide,* *time They may not be eschew’d* on any side.” *avoided

While Troilus was in all this heaviness, disputing with himself in this matter, Pandarus joined him, and told him the result of the interview with Cressida; and at night the lovers met, with what sighs and tears may be imagined. Cressida swooned away, so that Troilus took her for dead; and, having tenderly laid out her limbs, as one preparing a corpse for the bier, he drew his sword to slay himself upon her body. But, as God would, just at that moment she awoke out of her swoon; and by and by the pair began to talk of their prospects. Cressida declared the opinion, supporting it at great length and with many reasons, that there was no cause for half so much woe on either part. Her surrender, decreed by the parliament, could not be resisted; it was quite easy for them soon to meet again; she would bring things about that she should be back in Troy within a week or two; she would take advantage of the constant coming and going while the truce lasted; and the issue would be, that the Trojans would have both her and Antenor; while, to facilitate her return, she had devised a stratagem by which, working on her father’s avarice, she might tempt him to desert from the Greek camp back to the city. “And truly,” says the poet, having fully reported her plausible speech,

And truely, as written well I find, That all this thing was said *of good intent,* *sincerely* And that her hearte true was and kind Towardes him, and spake right as she meant, And that she starf* for woe nigh when she went, *died And was in purpose ever to be true; Thus write they that of her workes knew.

This Troilus, with heart and ears y-sprad,* *all open Heard all this thing devised to and fro, And verily it seemed that he had *The selfe wit;* but yet to let her go *the same opinion* His hearte misforgave* him evermo’; *misgave But, finally, he gan his hearte wrest* *compel To truste her, and took it for the best.

For which the great fury of his penance* *suffering Was quench’d with hope, and therewith them between Began for joy the amorouse dance; And as the birdes, when the sun is sheen, *bright Delighten in their song, in leaves green, Right so the wordes that they spake y-fere* *together Delighten them, and make their heartes cheer.* *glad

Yet Troilus was not so well at ease, that he did not earnestly entreat Cressida to observe her promise; for, if she came not into Troy at the set day, he should never have health, honour, or joy; and he feared that the stratagem by which she would try to lure her father back would fail, so that she might be compelled to remain among the Greeks. He would rather have them steal away together, with sufficient treasure to maintain them all their lives; and even if they went in their bare shirt, he had kin and friends elsewhere, who would welcome and honour them.

Cressida, with a sigh, right in this wise Answer’d; “Y-wis, my deare hearte true, We may well steal away, as ye devise, And finde such unthrifty wayes new; But afterward full sore *it will us rue;* *we will regret it* And help me God so at my moste need As causeless ye suffer all this dread!

“For thilke* day that I for cherishing *that same Or dread of father, or of other wight, Or for estate, delight, or for wedding, Be false to you, my Troilus, my knight, Saturne’s daughter Juno, through her might, As wood* as Athamante <78> do me dwell *mad Eternally in Styx the pit of hell!

“And this, on ev’ry god celestial I swear it you, and eke on each goddess, On ev’ry nymph, and deity infernal, On Satyrs and on Faunes more or less, That *halfe goddes* be of wilderness; *demigods And Atropos my thread of life to-brest,* *break utterly If I be false! now trow* me if you lest.** *believe **please

“And thou Simois, <79> that as an arrow clear Through Troy ay runnest downward to the sea, Bear witness of this word that said is here! That thilke day that I untrue be To Troilus, mine owen hearte free, That thou returne backward to thy well, And I with body and soul sink in hell!”

Even yet Troilus was not wholly content, and urged anew his plan of secret flight; but Cressida turned upon him with the charge that he mistrusted her causelessly, and demanded of him that he should be faithful in her absence, else she must die at her return. Troilus promised faithfulness in far simpler and briefer words than Cressida had used.

“Grand mercy, good heart mine, y-wis,” quoth she; “And blissful Venus let me never sterve,* *die Ere I may stand *of pleasance in degree in a position to reward To quite him* that so well can deserve; him well with pleasure* And while that God my wit will me conserve, I shall so do; so true I have you found, That ay honour to me-ward shall rebound.