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 pi selfe; All pi pepull be perisshit & put out of lyue; Thy Cité & pi Sid londe sesit in were, 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 :— 5016 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, When ye couet by course, with vnkynd fare, Satisfaccioun to be sent fro my selfe euyn, Syn ye are cause of pis 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 5032 "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 Book XII. forgive all injuries, if you would restore my sister. Ye dishonoured my legate and despised my name. I will not now yield to your demand because of a wild threat. Be it known to Agamemnon and his people that I seek not their peace, but, as mine enemies, that they may perish." (In MS. lines 5048 and 5049 are transposed.) Diomedes laughed and said : "If we two cause you such anger, you shall have abundance of it when a hundred thousand Greeks surround you. (fol. 79 a.) And sent for my Sustor, sothely, to you; And with spite in your speche dispiset my name. 5040 Here is plainly no place in pis plit now, I hope the grekes in hor grem shall neuer so gret To oppresse me with power, ne my plas take, 5044 Ne my godis to gripe agaynes my wille. I will Agamynon hit wete, & his weghes all, 5048 But I wond for my worship as wetheruns shuld die! And ye, so rebell and roide with your rugh speche, sight! While I se you in certain I sourde full of yre, 5052 And bolne at þe brest all for bale angre!" 5056 THE WORDES OF DIAMED TO PRIAM. When the worthy hade his wordes warpit to end, pouer; DIOMEDES TO PRIAM. And pou faithly shall fynd, in a felle haste, armys, The weghes to wound & warpe vnto dethe. 5064 And if pou sothely of sorow set be so full, ffor two buernes all bare & of body nakyd, 165 Book XII. And if your sorrow be so full men, I hope I hope your bolnyng with brest, & your brethe leue 5068 Ne no suertie, may saue fro pere sid harmys." breast may save you from the harms of such Mony knightes in the courte, pat by the kyng an army.” stode, Wex wroth at his wordes, walt into yre; Warpit out wordes full swice at the kyng, 5072 And drogh taward Diamede to dere hym anon, ffor to britton pat buerne for his bolde speche. THE WORDES OF PRIAM AGAYN. Priam pen presit vp fro his proude sete, Bade hom blym of hor brathe or hor bare lyues, 5076 pat no gome shuld hym greue with no grym weppon, Ne negh hym with noy for noght þat he said. 66 Syn the wit of no wise man shuld walt into yre, 5080 ffor it falles to a fole his foly to shew, And a wise man witterly his wordes to suffer. So is it wit, a wiseman his wordis to listyn,5084 Laghe at it lightly and let it ouer pas; Enraged by the speech of Diomedes, the knights of the court threaten to kill him. Priam prevents them. "A wise man should not be angry with a fool, who has done foolishly. ffor in speche may men spie the speker to know, And wete, by his wordes, the wit þat he beires. I wold sothely, my-seluyn, suffer full harde, 5088 Or any messanger were mysdon, or marrit with messenger were hond Within my courtte, or my cumpany, for any cause here. I would suffer much before any injured within my court, or in my company. Book XII. Therefore compose yourselves, and do him no injury." (fol. 79 b.) ffor lightly a litil thyng, a lose may be tynt, 5092 perfore set you full sone, sober your wille, And non proffer, apon payne, to prese hym no more, Ne to warpe hym no worde, þat worship may hyndur." ben set þai sone, as said hom the kyng. Eneas, who sat next the king, then angrily said: "Sir King! a You would doom me to death for such bold words; and any one, except your Majesty, who should dare to speak so, ought to die. I therefore command him to leave this place on pain of his life." THE WORDES OF ENEAS TO DIAMEDE. 5096 And Eneas efterward etlid to say, 5100 : þat sete by the souerayne, non sothely betwene,- But wo vnwisely with wordis walis his speche, Hit is skille for his skorne, þat he scathe thole, 5104 And not cherist, but chastist, by charge of his foly. I might sothely so say, here syttyng yow by, hat ye wold deme to dethe for my derfe wordes, pat right wold & reason by rewle of my-seluyn. 5108 And, saue your magiste so mykell, þat men will obey, He, þat warpes thies wordes in his wild foly, Shuld degh, for his derfenes, by domys of right; bat so dispitously hath spoken in spit of your person, 5112 And meuyt your magesty with his mad wordes, With presumpcoun & prise of his proude hert. And gyrt on no grete wordis to greue vs no DIOMEDES TO AENEAS. TH[E] ONSWARE OF DIAMEDE TO ENEAS. Then Dyamed, the derfe kyng, withoutyn dyn said: 167 Book XII. 5120 'You, frynde, with pi fare, what freike so pou be, “Friend, I 5124 desire to thank thee for thy friendship and thy threat. (fol. 80 a.) I see now plainly, that the king is hat I may fynd þe before pi frendship to ponke, And mede the after mesure of þi meke wille, To thanke the of þi thret and þi pro wordis. Now I se well, for-sothe, sely is the kyng, pat kepis the for counsell clene for hym seluyn, silly, who keeps 5128 þat well con his worship wisshe hym to saue, And rede hym to redurs, þat rixles to shame!" ben Vlixes, with vtterans vne vpponone, The derfe wordis of Diamede dullit with speche; 5132 And wysely he waynet all his wild yre, you as a To prevent strife, bat he nomore in þe mater shuld mene at put addressed the tyme. And to Priam [the] price kyng prestly he said:- 5136 To Agamynon agayne we go with our onsware, 5140 Gone to pe grekes in a grete hast; Lighten at pere logges, leuyn þere horses, Into the Emperours awne tent entrid belyue, 5144 Ther all the grete were gedrit Agamynon before Thai hade meruell full mekyll in hor mynd all, 5148 Of his authwart onswares, þat hym arghet no more. Then po Kynges in counsell castyn hom anon, king. (MS. has "to") "We clearly understand your answer, and we shall now go to report it to Agamemnon." Ulysses and Diomedes ride with all haste to the tent of Agamemnon and report the answer of Priam, The council determine to prosecute the war. |