Book XII. The gods hate it; it spoils the best plans; emprize have no friends. Syn it haten thies hegh goddes & hogely withstondyn, And ay the purpas enpayres with pride is be gonen, Hit is wit for to wayue or vs worse happon; and proud men in 4840 ffor proude men in price haue playnly no fryndes, But euery mon with enuy ertis hom skathe; And who-so frend is & felow to pat foule vise, Myche hate on hym highes & harmys with all, 4844 And makes fos of his frendes & fele pat hym louys. Let us therefore walk wisely in this undertaking, and be ruled by righteousness, that no fault may be found with us. Ye all know, that this great host has come hither to avenge us for the misdeeds of Priam. (fol. 76 a.) (ournyt, roused, enraged.) ('erted,' emboldened.) Assuredly he is forewarned, and has collected great forces; but they know not our movements. If all his forces are ready we may pay dearly for our invasion. Let vs waive now wisely in our werkes all, And nomly in þis note, pat now is in honde, hat no pride fro our purpos put vs abacke; 4848 And rule vs by rightwisnes in our Ranke dedis, With a lyue of lewte, pat as a laump shynes, pat no fawte with vs founden be, ne fylyng of pride. Now wete ye right well, þat all þis wale pepull 4852 Are comyn to this cost with cumpany grete, And pursuyt to pis prouynse in purpos to venge Of harmys & hegh grem, with hethyng full mekull, bat Priam and his pepull hath plainly vs done. 4856 Syn we arofe in pis Rewme in a rad haste, We have ournyt hym with angur, ertid hym mykill, Yf he were fully our foo forwith this tyme, To hate vs in hert, now here is our cause. 4860 This wot I full well, þai warnyt are before, And haue gedrit of gyngys mony grym batell. But þai wete not our werkes, ne our wilde fare; hat we be neghit so negh, ne noy þat is fallyn. 4864 ffor if þai might be so mony, & of mayne strenght, We mut bye it full bitterly be baret we make. pai haue a Cité for sothe, a sure & a noble, 4868 THE COUNSEL OF AGAMEMNON. Well wallit to wale, with water aboute; owne; 159 Book XII. ('filsom' = And yche freike is pere frynd to filsom pere spede. fulsum, to 4872 bis I say not, for sothe, supposyng in hert pat of our dede shuld be doute,-I dem it not so. further.) our success; Ne I put not vnpossible 30n place for to take, 4876 Ne the Cité to sese and serche within, city but that we may work wisely and with And all the toures of the toun tumbell to ground; discretion. But þat louyng & lose shuld lenge of our dedis, Hit rapit to repentaunse & mony ranke harmys. Priam, Noght leng sithen but late, a lede of his owne This couet the kyng, keppit he no more. (Jonnyng,' This assembly knows that Priam sent a message to us lately, and asked us only to send back his sister Hesione; and that, like fools, we answered him with scorn. (atterwart,' angrily.) (fol. 76 b.) 4892 Answarth hym awterwart with angur & skorne, ill-naturedly, 4896 Done his dissyre, deiret not our seluyn, The harme & the hardgrem, þat highet vs after, And this sorow in Sitheria had sothely not fallyn; Ne Elan, ne other mo honerable of grece, 4000 Had not laithly bene laght, & led vnto Troy ; Had we but request, the harms and sorrow that followed would not have befallen us. Book XII. And, what fortune shall befall us, no one can tell. Therefore, sirs, if you wish to avoid all the perils of war, and to save our people, let us send a message to Priam, and promise to grant him Hesione if he will send back Helen and the rest of our people; and redress the wrongs done to us by Paris. (MS. has ruder.') And if Priam refuse this offer, we shall have two friends to fight in our cause: Right, that constrains us for the loss of our goods, and Peace, Ne we, pat are wonyn ouer the wale streames, hat worthy to wyn with weppon in fight, Hade not faren so far our fos to distroy, 4904 Ne so long fro our londes lengit away. 4912 And, what fall shalbe fortune, no freke can vs telle : Wethur worship or wo: wete we not all? 4908 Yf ye deme it be don, & in dede holde, 4916 4920 4924 We may wend hom with worship & our wille haue; And saue so our seluyn & our sute hole; On is right, pat vs riches for rape of our godes; that we proffer to 4928 Thurgh the world shall it wend our werke at prevent the exercise of our power. (fol. 77 a.) The Trojans will be accounted pis tyme. Ay the mo, pat our mesure maynly may here, The lengur vs luff shall till our last end; And the Troiens be told as for triet foles, 4932 Ne excusit of skathe & sklaunder of pride, To macche vs with monhede & might of our selfe, ULYSSES AND DIOMEDES SENT TO PRIAM. And wyn hom in wer with weppon in fight. Neuer buerne will vs blame, ne ban for our dede, 4936 Ne wegh will vs wite to pe worldes end. Ses now, your seluyn, my saghis vnto, 4944 Two chere men pai chese on þis choise erend,- And Dyamede, pe derfe kyng demyt þat other)— 4948 Stiden vpon stithe horse stird to the Cité, 4952 Hade meruell full mekull of pat mayne place, Of the walles pat wroght were wondurly faire, Book XII. 161 'Devise now as ye think best." The council is divided; some condemn, and some approve the proposal. At last all accept it, and Ulysses and Diomede are sent as messengers to Priam. They arrive at the palace and pass into the hall. They are astonished at the greatness of the city; its walls 4956 With high toures full torrit all the toun vmbe. and towers, &c. Yet meruelt hom more ymyddes the halle 4960 The bole was of bright gold, bret to pe myddes, Largior pen a lawriall & lengur with all, 4964 The brede of his bowes borly to se, Large and longe, (light as the sun) ffro the dese to the dorse doblit on brede And the sydys, by a sercle of þe same hall. 4968 The braunches were borly, sum of bright gold, Sum syluer for sothe, semlist of hew; But they are more astonished by a tree of gold, set in the centre of the great hall. It was twelve cubits high, and finely formed. (fol. 77 b.) The boughs spread from the dais to the doors, and from wall to wall. Some of the branches are of gold, and some Book XII. of silver; with leaves of the same. The buds and fruit are of precious stones. Ulysses and Diomede are led through many long chambers, till they reach the one where Priam was seated among his lords. They make no obeisance, and sit down before the king. With leuys full luffly, light of þe same; With burions aboue bright to be holde; 4972 And frut on yt fourmyt fairest of shap, Of mony kynd þat was kuyt, knagged aboue, bat shemert as shire as any shene stonys. Long abodyn thies buernes in the bright hall, 4976 Or pai comyn to the kyng by course for to speike. Led were po lordes pro mony long chaumburs, And past into a proude chaumbur þere Priam 4980 Among lordes of his londe & ledis of his owne. ben auntred Vlexes and his erund said, THE WORDES OF VLIXES TO THE KYNG PRIAM. "Sir Priam! thof we prise not þi person to hailse, 4988 Ne worship the as worthy, no wonder pou haue; ffor we haue pe in hate as our hede ffoo: And an enmy to anoper nothing it semys, Hailsyng ne hynd speche with no hede bare. 4992 Agamynon the gret, pat on pi ground lys, Hase made vs as messengers at this mene tyme,- He biddes the full barly the bright qwene Elan, 4996 That you caght fro his kyng, & oper kyd pepull, Send hom in sound & safly to hym, And stifly restore o the stithe harmys; 5000 That you pild in his prouynse by Paris þi son. |