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ULYSSES CHARGED WITH STEALING IT.

383

Book XXVIII.

told that it was

Who can be

bat the kyng, þurgh his comyng, by craft hade
hit goten,

The Trojans are
Paladian, the pure god, pertly away;

stolen by him. And the troiens betrautid with his triet wit. 11768 A! God of pis ground, who graidly may trist

trusted, when Any lede on to leng, as for lele true,

even this priest

proved a traitor Syn this prest þus priset the pepull to dissayue, to his country ?

As a kaytiff, for couetoise to cumber his land? 11772 This poynt is not prynted in proces þat are

now:
Hit lenges not so long tho ledis within,
To be cumbrid with couetous, by custome of old,

That rote is & rankist of all the rif syns.
11776 There is no greuaunce so grete vndur god one,

As the glemyng of gold, þat glottes þere hertis : covetousness.
Hit puttes the pouer of pristhode abake,
And forges to the fend a forslet with-in.

(" forslet"=

"forcelette," a 11780 Couetous men comynly are cald aftur right, fort, a strong

hold.) A temple to the tyrand, þat tises to syn.

There is no sin so debasing as

and wheat are stored in the temple of

While the

When the golde was all gotyn, & the grete The gold, silver,

sommes

Of qwhete, & of qwhite syluer, qwemly to-gedur, Minerva 11784 Into Myner mykell temple maynly was broght,

And put vnto pure men till payment were made ;
Hit plesit to Appollo, the pure god aboue,
With Sacrifise solemne, besoght at þat tyme,

Trojans are 11788 With bestis, & briddis, britnet full mony, sacrificing to

Apollo, two awful
And the carcas full clanly kowchit on þe auter.
When ffyre shuld be festnet in þat fyne offrond,

Two meruellis on mold maynly were shewid. First, the altar 11792 The first was to fele, no fyre wold be light, quenched.

bat assait was full sothely of sere men full ofte :
Ten tymes be-tyde, tellis me the lyne,

þat hit fest was on fyre, & flappit out onone 11796 Vnto smorther & smoke, and no smethe low,

179 6.)

omens are
observed.

fire is ten times

Book XXVIII.

Swoops down upon the

Greeks.

a

ffor all the craft þat þai kowthe, & the coynt

sleght. Second, an eagle

The secund, for-sothe, I said you before, screaming wildly

When the bestis were britnet & broght to be entrails, and bears

auter, them away to the

11800 With the entrell euermore euyn vppo lofte, ships of the

Come an Erne, þat was Eger, euer on a crye,
Light downe lyuely fro the low ayre,
Braid

vp

the bowels, & bere hom away, 11804 And showvet to the shippes of the shene grekes. The Trojans,

The troiens merueld full mekyll of pe mayne amazed and terrified, seek

foghle,
counsel of
Cassandra

All stonyed þai stode, starond aboute.
Thai wist þere goddes were greuit with a gret

yre,
11808 And wrothe at the werkes, but wist þai no cause.

Cassandra to councell, ben call þai belyue,
To haue a dom of þat dede, if the dere kowthe.

The first signe, ho hom sayd, sothely was this: Apollo is wroth

11812 pat Appollo, the pure god, was put into wrathe, temple was

ffor tene of his temple was trasit with blode blood of Achilles,

Of Achilles the choise, þat chaunsit to be slayne :

“bat mys to amend, is maistur ye go 11816 To the corse of þat kyng in his cleane towmbe,

Light þere a lowe lyuely with honde, and they must

ffecche pere your ffyre, & festyn on pe auter, tomb.

And þat bren wull full bright in the brode

temple." (Þrugh=through, 11820 Than passid the pepull to the pure prugh : a stone coffin, a tomb.)

As kend hom Cassandra þai kyndlit a fire.

Of the secund, for sothe, ho saide o this wise :The second omen “This towne is betrayed, trist ye non other, reveals that the city is betrayed

11824 And grauntid to the grekes by gomys of your to the Greeks,

owne." Calcas the curset, þat comynt with the grekes, Bisshop of the burgh, as I aboue told,

She declares

because his

defiled with the

fetch fire from his

OF CALCAS AND THE BRAZEN HORSE.

385

Book XXVIII.

When he wist of thies wondres, thies wordes he

said :-
11828 “Yonder towne wilbe takon in a tyme short.”

han the grekes hom graithet to a gret Sacrifice,
Thurgh biddyng of the bisshop & a bold prist,
In honour of Appolyne angardly thicke.*

Calcas makes the same statement to the Greeks

set near the

[Amongst these things, Calcas and Crisis the Priest, counselled Calcas and Crisis the Greeks that they should make a great Horse of Brasse, and counsel the that must be so great as might hold within it a thousand Greeks to make a knights armed : and they said unto him that it was the pleasure capable of holding

brazen horse, of the godes. This horse was made by a passing wise Master, a thousand as Apius was, whose name was Sinon, and he made it so sub knights. tilly, that no man could perceive any entry or issue, but within it was easie for them that were inclosed within for to issue out when they would.

When the great horse was fully made, and the thousand The Greeks knights therein, by the counsell of Crisis, they prayed the King desire that Priam Pryamus, that he would suffer this horse to enter into the city, will allow it to be and that it might be set in the Temple of Pallas, forasmuch as

temple of Pallas. they said, that they had made it in the honour of Pallas, for a Vowe that they made for restitution of the Palladium, which they had caused to be taken out of the same Temple.

Among these things, the Princes that were yet within Troy, The allies of when they saw that the King had so shamefully treated with Troy, disgusted

that Priam is in the Greekes, they went away out of Troy, and tooke their men

treaty with the with them, and the King Phylomenus led no more but two

enemy, depart hundred and fifty men, and threescore maydens of Amazones, from the city. that were left of a thousand that came thither with the Queen The Amazons, Penthasilia, and carryed the body of her with them, and carrying with

them the body of trauelled so long till they came to their owne Country.

their Queen, are led home by

Pylæmenes. * Fol. 180 is awanting in MS. See Note.

The xxix Boke: Of the takyng of the toune,

and the deth of Kyng Priam.

6

The Greeks and Then came the day that the Greeks should sweare the peace Trojans meet to fainedly vpon the plaine field vpon the Sanctuaries. King ratify the treaty. Priamus issued out of the City and his people, and sware there

each party to hold the peace firmely from thenceforth on : and Diomedes swore first to the Greeks : after, when they had broken the peace that they had treated with Anthenor of that thing that they concluded after, and therefore they maintayned

that they were not forsworne by that colour,] * (fol. 181 a.) 11832 But in prouerbe hit is put with prise men of wit,

'Who þat sweyres to be swike, he forsworne

worthes.' The Greeks swear Thus the grete of the grekes grymly þai sware to keep the treaty faithfully:

ffast pes to afferme, & flit of the londe. then Priam and 11836 Priam on his part, & his prise knightes, his knights swear.

Sweryn all swiftly, & no swyke thoghtyn :
So wend he full wele, po worthy kyngis all

Hade no malis in mynd, ment at the tyme.
Priam delivers up 11840 pan honerable Elan þat abill deliuert,
Helen, and pleads
that she may be

Comendyng þat clere all with cloise wordes, pardoned.

Prayng the prise men with [his) pure hert, They all promise þat no harmys þat hend shuld haue of hir lord.

11844 Thai heght hym full hyndly his hestes to kepe,

And his desyre for to do, po dukes ychon.
The grekes for-gete noght of the grete trayne,

to do so.

• Guido di Colonna: from The Ancient Historie of The Destruction of Troy. Sixth Ed. London, 1635.

PRIAM CONCLUDES THE TREATY.

387

to allow them to bring in the

Priam hositates,

Æneas and

Prayd to Priam for a gret vow,

Book XXIX. 11848 ffor to hale in a horse hastely of bras,

They ask Priam Palades to ples with, er þai passe furth,

brazen horse, and And at Myners mayn temple make hit to stonnd. to set it up at the

temple of Pallas. This couet po kynges, & the cause made 11852 ffor the palladian thai pullit of þe pure temple,

bat bai Sayle might in sound, & hor sute hoole,
Lest the goddes in greme gert hom to lose

Bothe hor flete & hor folke with a felle storme. 11856 Priam, at þis prayer, aperit not sone,

Ne grauntid not the grekes þat the gret jernet.
Eneas pan ertid Egurly fast,

Antenor urge him
And Antenor also, the abill kyng to :

to grant the

request. 11860 “ Hit is due to be done, & doutles,” þai saide,

“ The sight is full solemne, the Cité to haue
Ay lastond to long, þat ledis may knowe
bat soche acord was here knyt with kynges for

euer.” 11864 The kyng affirmet the faitours, & no fraud Priam consents :

thoght;
baire dessire for to do demyt onone.
pan payet kyng Priam all the pure sowmes

to the Greeks the Of gold, & of gay syluer, & of goode whete: amounts of gold,

silver, and wheat. 11868 All þai shot into ship on þe shire water,

And made hom Redy to Rode on pe rough

he then pays over

ythes.

With great ceremony the horse is drawn to the walls of

All the grekes hom gedrit, the grettist & other,

With Sacrifice solemne, synging of prestys: (fol. 181 b.) 11872 With profession & prise puld furth the horse To a Side of the Cité, and set at þe yate.

Troy.
Hit was so borly of brede, & of brem heght,

There was no entre with ease abill perfore : 11876 ban the warpit downe the walle, & the wale Part of the wall

toure,
Bothe obreade & aboue brekyn the yates,
Tyll hit might entur at ease, euyn as hom list.

is pulled down to Admit it:

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