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;
And perfore sothly I say, hit semis vnto vs,
pai are feler of folke, & fuerser by the halfe,
With more plenty of pepull, & pe province hor

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.)
I say not this
through doubt of

our success;
nor do I deem it
impossible to take

Ne I put not vnpossible 30n place for to take,
And all pere folke in fight with forse to distroy; and destroy the

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,
And our werkes all wisely wroght by discrecioun,
4880 bat we fare with no foly ne fonnyng of pride.
Hit has fallyn vnto fele men, fer in tymes past,
þat hastely on hede has highit to a note,
And keppit no counsell, ne no clene rule,
4884 But put hom with pride a purpos vnto,

Hit rapit to repentaunse & mony ranke harmys.
This knowis all the company, þat the kyng

Priam,

Noght leng sithen but late, a lede of his owne
4888 Made on a message vnto our menes londis,
ffor his sustor Exiona to send hym agayne:

This couet the kyng, keppit he no more.
And we, as vnwise men, welt into pride;

(Jonnyng,'
foolishness.)

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,
With thretyng vnthriuand of our thro hertes;
And manast his messanger with malicous pride.
Hade we herkont hym hyndly, hedit his wille, listened to his

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?
perfore, sirs, me semys, if you so like,

4908 Yf ye deme it be don, & in dede holde,
To put of all perells & our pepull saue;
All chaunse to exchewe, & cheue vs the bettur
Our worship to wyn, & no wegh hurt;
hat we may saile hom in sound & our sute haue;
Let make vs a message to the mon Priam,
bat is kyng of the coste & the kythe ow,
And wilne hym wisely, þat worthy, to send
Honerable Elan & other of our pepull:
And redresse vs the domage, þat he don has
By Paris his proude son, in our prise londis.
If þat souerayne accept this sothly with hert,
And do it in dede, as our dissyre wille,

4916

4920

4924

We may wend hom with worship & our wille

haue;

And saue so our seluyn & our sute hole;
Nauther redur ne rape to pis rem do.
And if Priam with pride this purpos refuse,
Two frendes haue fully to fight in our cause:

On is right, pat vs riches for rape of our godes;
And pes, þat we proffer our pouer to extaint.

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
fools; but never
one will blame us.

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,
And deuys of pis dede as you dere think."
When the souerain hade said, pen sesit he here,
4940 And mony of po mighty menyt þer agayn,
Noght semond, þai said, ne sittyng to do;
And part of pat pepull prouyt hit for wit;
And o sithin, all samyn assentid perto.

4944 Two chere men pai chese on þis choise erend,-
(Onest & abell Vlexes was one,

And Dyamede, pe derfe kyng demyt þat other)—
Aionet to pis iornay iustly to-gedre.

4948 Stiden vpon stithe horse stird to the Cité,
And wenton in wightly po worthy hom seluon.
Entred into Elion, þat honerable Palis,
Lightyn at the low, leftyn paire horses,
Gone vp by the greses all of gray marbill,
Hit into the halle of the high kynge.

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
Was a tre, þat was tried, all of tru gold,
Meruelous & mekyll men to be-hold.

4960 The bole was of bright gold, bret to pe myddes,

Largior pen a lawriall & lengur with all,
(xij cubettes by course all of clene heght)
pat fourmyt was full faire to pe fre boghes.

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
many kinds, and
shimmer among
the leaves like

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,
Goand vp by degres þurgh mony gay Alys,

And past into a proude chaumbur þere Priam
was set,

4980 Among lordes of his londe & ledis of his owne.
pai salut not þat souerain with no sad wordes,
Ne worshippit no wegh pat hym with stode;
But euyn agaynst þat gret þai gone for to sit,
4984 In the ffrount of po folke & pe fre kyng.

ben auntred Vlexes and his erund said,
And warpet pies wordes as ye wete shall.

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,-
Hyder send vs to say to pi selfe euyn,

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;
All Redurs to riche with pi Ranke goodes,

5000 That you pild in his prouynse by Paris þi son.