THE COUNSEL OF AGAMEMNON. Well wallit to wale, with water aboute; 4868 And perfore sothly I say, hit semis vnto vs, bai 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 his I say not, for sothe, supposyng in hert further.) I say not this þat of our dede shuld be doute,-I dem it not so. 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 þat we fare with no foly ne fonnyng of pride. Hit has fallyn vnto fele men, fer in tymes past, And keppit no counsell, ne no clene rule, 4884 But put hom with pride a purpos vnto, ('fonnyng,' 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. This assembly 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, Had we but request, the harms and sorrow that not have befallen us. The harme & the hardgrem, þat highet vs after, followed would And this sorow in Sitheria had sothely not fallyn; Ne Elan, ne other mo honerable of grece, 4900 Had not laithly bene laght, & led vnto Troy ; 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, bat 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. 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, All chaunse to exchewe, & cheue vs the bettur 4912 þat we may saile hom in sound & our sute haue; 4916 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, 4920 And do it in dede, as our dissyre wille, We may wend hom with worship & our wille And saue so our seluyn & our sute hole; 4924 And if Priam with pride this purpos refuse, On is right, þat 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 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 And Dyamede, pe derfe kyng demyt þat other)— 4948 Stiden vpon stithe horse stird to the Cité, Lightyn at the low, leftyn paire horses, 4952 Gone vp by the greses all of gray marbill, 4956 4960 The bole was of bright gold, bret to pe myddes, 4964 4968 ffro the dese to the dorse doblit on brede And the sydys, by a sercle of þe same hall. 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 and towers, &c. 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, 4976 4980 4984 Of mony kynd þat was kuyt, knagged aboue, Led were po lordes pro mony long chaumburs, Among lordes of his londe & ledis of his owne. (MS. has "Sais") "Agamemnon asks you to restore Helen in safety, (fol. 78 a.) and to make restitution for the harms done by your son Paris. 4988 THE WORDES OF VLIXES TO THE KYNG PRIAM. "Sir Priam! thof we prise not þi person to hailse, Ne worship the as worthy, no wonder pou haue; ffor we haue þe 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, 5000 And stifly restore o the stithe harmys; PRIAM TO ULYSSES. Iff yow do pus in dede, hit doghis the bettur: Book XII. 163 And yf pou set noght our saghe, se what will If you will not fall, Of harme in a hond qwhile highand the to! 5004 Thou bes ded for pe dede dernly þi selfe; All þi pepull be perisshit & put out of lyue; Betyn and brent doun vnto bare askes; 5008 The Rewme þurgh Riden, robbed þi goodis, Set vnder seruage & sorow for euer!' do so, see what will befall you!" THE ONSWARE OF PRIAM TO VLEXES. When Priam persayuit had all his proude wordes, He onswared Vlixes vne vponone, 5012 Withouten counsell of knightes or any kyde Priam replied: lordis. ffull soberly he said all in sad speche, "Me meruells full mekill of your mayne prete, And angers me full euyll your angard desyre, 5016 When ye couet by course, with vnkynd fare, Satisfaccioun to be sent fro my selfe euyn, Syn ye are cause of þis care, & curstly haue don. My souerayn ye slogh, & my sybbe fryndes; 5020 My folke put into pyne, pild all my Rewme; Moche disseese ye me did, no redresse made. Exiona, my suster, in seruage ye put, And fele of my ffryndes into fer londes, 5024 In hordam & harlatry vnhyndly to lye; Not keppit hir kyndly, as a kynges doughter, 5028 I wold sothely, my Selfyn, sittyn with the harme "I marvel at your threat, and at your demand for satisfaction; seeing that ye are the cause of all this trouble. (fol. 78 b.) For myself, I 'would have borne the loss of my father; and I sent Antenor to you, promising to |