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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,
But laithly in lechery, lengyng to dwelle:
And menen me with manas Amendes to bede!

5028 I wold sothely, my Selfyn, sittyn with the harme
Of the dethe & the dole of my dere fader,
In obryggyng of batell, & blode to be spilt.
And on message I made a mon of myn owne,
Antinor I ordant pat erende to wende,

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 all giltes for-gyffen & greuans of old.
And of the awthwart onswares & angur to hym,
5036 All the wise how it was ye wetyn your selfe.
Hit is knowen to your kynges & comyn with all,
Of the dishonour ye did to my dere legat,

And with spite in your speche dispiset my

name.

5040 Here is plainly no place in pis plit now,
Your wille for to wirke for no wild threte.

I hope the grekes in hor grem shall neuer so gret
worthe,

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,
þat for pes to his pepull pray will I neuer,
Ne folowe on hor frendship, þat me so foule
hyndryt ;

5048 But I wond for my worship as wetheruns shuld

die!

And ye, so rebell and roide with your rugh speche,
Wynnes yow now wightly for woche of my

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,
Diamede full depely drough out a laughter,
And said to pat suffrayn sittyng agayne :—
"Now kyng, yf we be cause of þi kene yre,
And pou vnsaght of þi sight sothely of vs two,
While pou lyues in pis londe, leue for trew,
Withouten noy be pou neuer, & pin ene opon,
5060 Syn the grekes on the ground are of so gret

pouer;

DIOMEDES TO PRIAM.

And pou faithly shall fynd, in a felle haste,
A hundrith thowsaund pro men priuand in

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
on account
of two unarmed

men, I hope

I hope your bolnyng with brest, & your brethe leue
Toqwhiche pouer, playnly, pou proues no strenght, your bursting

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,
Ne be fuerse on a fole, pat foutly hath wroght;

5080 ffor it falles to a fole his foly to shew,

And a wise man witterly his wordes to suffer.
As it is fre to a fole foly to carpe,

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,
And a fame be defoulede, & fatid for euer;

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
fool must not be
favoured to speak
folly.

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,-
Breke out full boldely all in breme wordis,
And spake full dispitously with a sprete felle :-
"Sir kyng, it sittes not, sothely, for right,
A fole to be fauoret folili to speke.

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,
And angert vs all angardly sore,

With presumpcoun & prise of his proude hert.
I bid perfore barly, þat he bove herchyn,
5116 And pas fro this place o payn of his lyfe.
If he faine will foly for a fyn wit,

And gyrt on no grete wordis to greue vs no
more."

DIOMEDES TO AENEAS.

TH[E] ONSWARE OF DIAMEDE TO ENEAS.

Then Dyamed, the derfe kyng, withoutyn dyn

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said:

167

Book XII.

5120 'You, frynde, with pi fare, what freike so pou be, “Friend, I
I wote, by your wordes, pou ert no wise juge;
But I deply dissyre in dedis to come,

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
counsellor."

To prevent strife,
Ulysses then

bat he nomore in þe mater shuld mene at put addressed the

tyme.

And to Priam [the] price kyng prestly he said:-
"Kyng, we haue clenly consaiued pi wille.

5136 To Agamynon agayne we go with our onsware,
All þi saghes, for-sothe, pat souerain to telle !"
And so pai past fro pat pales, preset vnto horse,
Lepyn on lightly, launchet on hor way,

5140 Gone to pe grekes in a grete hast;

Lighten at pere logges, leuyn þere horses,
And ferdon on fote fairly to-gedur ;

Into the Emperours awne tent entrid belyue,

5144 Ther all the grete were gedrit Agamynon before
And toldyn all tomly, as hom tide hade,
The purpas of Priam tho prinses vntill.

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,
And ordant on all wise paire enmeis to greue
Be wiles of wer, as ye shall wete after.

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.

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