Which thou to love hast so dispended,
Thou oughtest wel to be comended.
But if fo be that there ought faile
Of that thou floutheft to travaile
In armes for to ben absent,
And for thou makeft an argument
Of that thou faideft here above,
How Achilles through strength of love
His armes lefte for a throwe,
Thou shalt an other tale knowe,
Whiche is contrarie, as thou shalt wite.
For this a man may finde write,
Whan that knighthode shall be werred,
Luft may nought thanne be preferred,
The bed mot thanne be forfake
And shield and fpere on honde take,
Which thing fhall make hem after glad,
Whan they be worthy knightes made,
Wherof, fo as it cometh to honde,
A tale thou shalt understonde,
How that a knight fhall armes fue,
And for the while his ese eschue.
Upon knighthode I rede thus,
How whilom whan the king Nanplus,
preferre debet, et po- The fader of Palamides,
nit exemplum de U-
Hic dicit, quod amoris delectamento post
pofito miles arma fua
lixe, cum ipfe a bello Came for to preien Ulixes
morem Penelope re- With other Gregois eke alfo,
fet, Nanplus pater That he with hem to Troie go,
fermonibus allocutus Where that the fiege fhulde be,
fue conjugis relicto Anone upon Penelope,
His wife, whom that he loveth hote,
Thenkend, wolde hem nought behote.
But he shope than a wonder wile,
How that he shulde hem best beguile,
So that he mighte dwelle stille
At home and weld his love at wille,
Wherof erly the morwe day
Out of his bed, where that he lay,
Whan he was up, he gan to fare
Into the felde and loke and stare
As he, which feigneth to be wode,
He toke a plough, where that it stood,
Wherin anone in ftede of oxes
He let do yoken grete foxes
And with great falt the londe he fewe.
But Nanplus, which the cause knewe,
Ayein the fleighte, which he feigneth,
Another fleight anone ordeigneth.
And fell that time Ulixes hadde
A child to fone, and Nanplus radde,
How men that fone take sholde
And fetten him upon the molde,
Where that his fader held the plough
In thilke furgh, which he tho drough.
For in fuch wife he thought affay,
Howe it Ulixes fhulde pay,
If that he were wode or none.
The knightes for this child forth gone,
Telemacus anone was fette
To-fore the plough and even sette,
labores armorum una cum aliis Troie magnanimis fubibat.
Where that his fader fhulde drive.
But whan he figh his childe as blive,
He drof the plough out of the way,
And Nanplus tho began to fay
And hath half in a jape cried :
O Ulixes, thou art aspied,
What is all this thou woldest mene?
For openlich it is now sene,
That thou haft feigned all this thing,
Which is great shame to a king,
Whan that for luft of any flouthe
Thou wolt in a quarel of trouthe
Of armes thilke honour forfake
And dwelle at home for loves fake.
For better it were honour to winne
Than love, which likinge is inne.
Forthy take worship upon honde
And elles thou shalt understonde
These other worthy kinges alle
Of Grece, which unto the calle,
Towardes the wol be right wroth
And greve the par chaunce both,
Which shall be to the double shame
Most for the hindringe of thy name,
That thou for flouthe of any love
Shalt fo thy luftes set above
And leve of armes the knighthode,
Whiche is the prife of thy manhode
And oughte first to be defired.
But he, which had his herte fired,
Upon his wife, whan he this herd,
Nought o word there ayein answerd,
But torneth home halving ashamed
And hath within him felf fo tamed
His herte, that all the fotie
Of love for chivalrie
He lefte, and be him leef or loth
To Troie with hem forth he goth,
That he him mighte nought excufe.
Thus ftant it, if a knight refuse
The luft of armes to travaile.
There may no worldes efe availe,
But if worshipe be with all.
And that hath fhewed overall,
For it fit wel in alle wife
A knight to ben of high emprise
And putten alle drede away,
For in this wife I have herd say,
The worthy knight Prothesalay
On his paffage where he lay
Towardes Troie thilke fiege
She which was all his owne liege
Laodomie his lufty wife,
Which for his love was penfife
As he whiche all her herte hadde,
Upon a thing, wherof she dradde,
A letter for to make him dwelle
Fro Troie, fend him thus to telle,
How he hath axed of the wife
Touchend of him in fuche a wife,
Hic narrat fuper eodem, qualiter Laodomia regis Prothefalai uxor volens ipfum a bello Trojano fecum retinere fatalem fibi mortem in portu Troie prenunciavit, fed ipfe miliciam pocius quam ocia affectans, Trojam adiit, ubi fue mortis precio perpetue laudis cronicam ademit.
Adhuc fuper eodem, qualiter rex
That they have done her understonde
Towardes other how fo it ftonde,
The destine it hath so shape,
That he shall nought the deth escape
In cas that he arrive at Troy.
Forthy as to her worldes joy
With all her herte she him preide
And many another cause alleide,
That he with her at home abide.
But he hath caft her letter afide
As he, which tho no maner hede
Toke of her wommanische drede
And forth he goth, as nought ne were,
To Troy, and was the firfte there,
Which londeth and toke arrivaile,
For him was lever in the bataile
He faith to deien as a knight
Than for to live in all his might
And be reproved of his name.
Lo, thus upon the worldes fame
Knighthode hath ever yet befet,
Which with no cowardis is let.
Of kinge Saul also I finde,
Saul, non obftante Whan Samuel out of his kinde,
Phitonifla fufcita- Through that the Phitoneffe hath lered, tum et conjuratum In Samarie was arered
iple in bello more- Long time after that he was dede.
hoftes tamen fuos The kinge Saul him axeth rede,
famam cunctis hui- If that he shall go fight or none.
us vite blandimen
tis prepofuit.
And Samuel him said anone :
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