| |
At Babiloine whylom fil it thus, |
| |
The whiche toun the queen Semiramus |
| |
Leet dichen al about, and walles make |
| |
Ful hye, of harde tyles wel y-bake. |
| 710 |
Ther weren dwellinge in this noble toun |
| |
Two lordes, which that were of greet renoun, |
| |
And woneden so nigh, upon a grene, |
| |
That ther nas but a stoon-wal hem bitwene, |
| |
As ofte in grete tounes is the wone. |
| |
And sooth to seyn, that o man hadde a sone, |
| |
Of al that londe oon of the lustieste. |
| |
That other hadde a doghter, the faireste, |
| |
That estward in the world was tho dwellinge. |
| |
The name of everich gan to other springe |
| 720 |
By wommen, that were neighebores aboute. |
| |
For in that contree yit, withouten doute, |
| |
Maidens been y-kept, for Ielosye, |
| |
Ful streite, lest they diden som folye. |
| |
| |
This yonge man was cleped Piramus, |
| |
And Tisbe hight the maid, Naso seith thus; |
| |
And thus by report was hir name y-shove |
| |
That, as they wexe in age, wex hir love; |
| |
And certein, as by reson of hir age, |
| |
Ther mighte have been bitwix hem mariage, |
| 730 |
But that hir fadres nolde hit nat assente; |
| |
And bothe in love y-lyke sore they brente, |
| |
That noon of alle hir frendes mighte hit lette |
| |
But prively somtyme yit they mette |
| |
By sleighte, and speken som of hir desyr; |
| |
As, wry the gleed, and hotter is the fyr; |
| |
Forbede a love, and it is ten so wood. |
| |
| |
This wal, which that bitwix hem bothe stood, |
| |
Was cloven a-two, right fro the toppe adoun. |
| |
Of olde tyme of his fundacioun; |
| 740 |
But yit this clifte was so narwe and lyte, |
| |
It as nat sene, dere y-nogh a myte. |
| |
But what is that, that love can nat espye? |
| |
Ye lovers two, if that I shal nat lye, |
| |
Ye founden first this litel narwe clifte; |
| |
And, with a soun as softe as any shrifte, |
| |
They lete hir wordes through the clifte pace, |
| |
And tolden, whyl that they stode in the place, |
| |
Al hir compleynt of love, and al hir wo, |
| |
At every tyme whan they dorste so. |
| |
| 750 |
Upon that o syde of the wal stood he, |
| |
And on that other syde stood Tisbe, |
| |
The swote soun of other receyve, |
| |
And thus hir wardeins wolde they deceyve. |
| |
And every day this wal they wolde threte, |
| |
And wisshe to god, that it were doun y-bete. |
| |
Thus wolde they seyn -- "allas! Thou wikked wal, |
| |
Through thyn envye thou us lettest al! |
| |
Why nilt thou cleve, or fallen al a-two? |
| |
Or, at the leste, but thou woldest so, |
| 760 |
Yit woldestow but ones lete us mete, |
| |
Or ones that we mighte kissen swete, |
| |
Than were we covered of our cares colde. |
| |
But natheles, yit be we to thee holde |
| |
In as muche as thou suffrest for to goon |
| |
Our wordes through thy lyme and eek thy stoon. |
| |
Yit oghte we with thee ben wel apayd." |
| |
| |
And whan thise ydel wordes weren sayd, |
| |
The colde wal they wolden kisse of stoon, |
| |
And take hir leve, and forth they wolden goon. |
| 770 |
And this was gladly in the even-tyde |
| |
Or wonder erly, lest men hit espyde; |
| |
And longe tyme they wroghte in this manere |
| |
Til on a day, whan Phebus gan to clere, |
| |
Aurora with the stremes of hir hete |
| |
Had dryed up the dew of herbes were; |
| |
Unto this clifte, as it was wont to be, |
| |
Com Pyramus, and after com Tisbe, |
| |
And plighten trouthe fully in hir fey |
| |
That ilke same night to stele awey, |
| 780 |
And to begyle hir wardiens everichoon, |
| |
And forth out of the citee for to goon; |
| |
And, for the feldes been so brode and wyde, |
| |
For to mete in o place at o tyde, |
| |
They sette mark hir meting sholde be |
| |
Ther king Ninus was graven, under a tree; |
| |
For olde payens that ydoles heried |
| |
Useden tho in feldes to ben beried. |
| |
And faste by this grave was a welle. |
| |
And, shortly of this tale for to telle, |
| 790 |
This covenant was affermed wonder faste; |
| |
And longe hem thoughte that the sonne laste, |
| |
That hit nere goon under the see adoun. |
| |
| |
This Tisbe hath so greet affeccioun |
| |
And so greet lyking Piramus to see, |
| |
That, whan she seigh her tyme mighte be, |
| |
At night she stal awey ful prively |
| |
With her face y-wimpled subtiny; |
| |
For alle her frendes -- for to save her trouthe -- |
| |
She hath for-sake; allas! and that is routhe |
| 800 |
That ever woman wolde be so trewe |
| |
To trusten man, but she the bet him knewe! |
| |
And to the tree she goth a ful good pas, |
| |
For love made her so hardy in this cas; |
| |
And by the welle adoun she gan her dresse. |
| |
Allas! than comth a wilde leonesse |
| |
Out of the wode, withouten more areste, |
| |
With blody mouthe, of strangling of a beste, |
| |
To drinken of the welle, ther as she sat; |
| |
And, whan that Tisbe had espyed that, |
| 810 |
She rist her up, with a ful drery herte, |
| |
And in a cave with dredful foot she sterte, |
| |
For by the mone she seigh hit wel with-alle. |
| |
And, as she ran, her wimpel leet she falle, |
| |
And took noon heed, so sore she was a-whaped. |
| |
And eek so glad of that she was escaped; |
| |
And thus she sit, and darketh wonder stille. |
| |
Whan that this leonesse hath dronke her fille, |
| |
Aboute the welle gan she for to winde, |
| |
And right anoon the wimpel gan she finde, |
| 820 |
And with her blody mouth hit al to-rente. |
| |
Whan this was doon, no lenger she ne stente, |
| |
But to the wode her wey than hath she nome. |
| |
| |
And, at the laste, this Piramus is come, |
| |
But al to longe, allas! at hoom was he. |
| |
The mone shoon, men mighte wel y-see, |
| |
And in his weye, as that he com ful faste, |
| |
His eyen to the grounde adoun he caste, |
| |
And in the sonde, as he beheld adoun, |
| |
He seigh the steppes brode of a leoun, |
| 830 |
And in his herte he sodeinly agroos, |
| |
And pale he wex, therwith his heer aroos, |
| |
And neer he com, and fond the wimpel torn. |
| |
"Allas!" quode he, "the day that I was born! |
| |
This o night wol us lovers bothe slee! |
| |
How sholde I axen mercy of Tisbe |
| |
Whan I am he that have yow slain, allas! |
| |
My bidding hath yow slain, as in this cas. |
| |
Allas! to bidde a woman goon by nighte |
| |
In place ther as peril fallen mighte, |
| 840 |
And I so slow! allas, I ne hadde be |
| |
Here in this place a furlong-wey or ye! |
| |
Now what leoun that be in this foreste, |
| |
My body mote he renden, or what beste |
| |
That wilde is, gnawen mote he now myn herte!" |
| |
And with that worde he to the wimpel sterte, |
| |
And kiste hit ofte, and weep on hit ful sore, |
| |
And seide, "wimpel, allas! ther nis no more |
| |
But thou shalt fele as wel the blood of me |
| |
As thou hast felt the bleding of Tisbe!" |
| 850 |
And with that worde he smoot him to the herte. |
| |
The blood out of the wounde as brode sterte |
| |
As water, whan the conduit broken is. |
| |
| |
Now Tisbe, which that wiste nat of this, |
| |
But sitting in her drede, she thoghte thus, |
| |
"If hit so falle that my Piramus |
| |
Be comen hider, and may me nat y-finde, |
| |
He may me holden fals and eek unkinde." |
| |
And out she comth, and after him gan espyen |
| |
Bothe with her herte and with her yen, |
| 860 |
And thoghte, "I wol him tellen of my drede |
| |
Bothe of the leonesse and al my dede." |
| |
And at the laste her love than hath she founde |
| |
Beting with his heles on the grounde, |
| |
Al blody, and therwith-al a-bak she sterte, |
| |
And lyke the wawes quappe gan her herte, |
| |
And pale as box she wex, and in a throwe |
| |
Avysed her, and gan him wel to knowe, |
| |
That hit was Piramus, her herte dere. |
| |
Who coude wryte whiche a deedly chere |
| 870 |
Hath Tisbe now, and how her heer she rente, |
| |
And how she gan her-selve to turmente, |
| |
And how she lyth and swowneth on the grounde, |
| |
And how she weep of teres ful his wounde, |
| |
How medeleth she his blood with her compleynte, |
| |
And with his blood her-selven gan she peynte; |
| |
How clippeth she the dede cors, allas? |
| |
How doth this woful Tisbe in this cas! |
| |
How kisseth she his frosty mouth so cold! |
| |
"Who hath doon this, and who hath been so bold |
| 880 |
To sleen my leef? O spek, my Piramus! |
| |
I am thy Tisbe, that thee calleth thus!" |
| |
And therwith-al she lifteth up his heed. |
| |
| |
This woful man, that was nat fully deed, |
| |
Whan that he herde the name of Tisbe cryen, |
| |
On her he caste his hevy deedly yen |
| |
And doun again, and yeldeth up the gost. |
| |
| |
Tisbe rist up, withouten noise or bost, |
| |
And seigh her wimpel and his empty shethe, |
| |
And eek his swerd, that him hath doon to dethe; |
| 890 |
Than spak she thus: "my woful hand," quod she, |
| |
"Is strong y-nogh in swiche a werk to me; |
| |
For love shal yive me strengthe and hardinesse |
| |
To make my wounde large y-nogh, I gesse. |
| |
I wol thee folwen deed, and I wol be |
| |
Felawe and cause eek of thy deeth," quod she. |
| |
"And thogh that nothing save the deeth only |
| |
Mighte thee fro me departe trewely, |
| |
Thou shalt no more departe now fro me |
| |
Than fro the deeth, for I wol go with thee! |
| |
| 900 |
"And now, ye wrecched Ielous fadres oure, |
| |
We, that weren whylom children youre, |
| |
We prayen yow, withouten more envye, |
| |
That in o grave y-fere we moten lye, |
| |
Sin love hath brought us to this pitous ende! |
| |
And rightwis god to every lover sende, |
| |
That loveth trewely, more prosperitee |
| |
Than ever hadde Piramus and Tisbe! |
| |
And lat no gentil woman her assure |
| |
To putten her in swiche an aventure. |
| 910 |
But god forbede but a woman can |
| |
Been as trewe and loving as a man! |
| |
And, for my part, I shal anoon it kythe!" |
| |
And, with that worde, his swerd she took as swythe, |
| |
That warm was of her loves blood and hoot, |
| |
And to the herte she her-selven smoot. |
| |
| |
And thus ar Tisbe and Piramus ago. |
| |
Of trewe men I finde but fewe mo |
| |
In alle my bokes, save this Piramus, |
| |
And therfor have I spoken of him thus. |
| 920 |
For hit is deyntee to us men to finde |
| |
A man that can in love be trewe and kinde. |
| |
Heer may ye seen, what lover so he be, |
| |
A woman dar and can as wel as he. |
| |
| |
Explicit Legenda Tisbe. |
