Robert Henryson

“ Quhilk Troilus in drowry to me send,
To him agane I leif it quhan I am deid,
To mak my cairfull deid unto him kend. 585
Thus I conclude shortly, and mak ane end.
My spreit I leif to Diane, quhair sho dwellis,
To walk with hir in waist woddis and wellis.
O Diomeid! thow hes baith broche and belt
Quhilk Troilus gave me in takinning 590
Of his trew lufe!'—And with that word sho swelt.
And sone ane lipper-man tuik of the ring,
Syne buryit hir withoutin tarying. ”

“ Fy! fals Cresseid! O, trew knicht Troilus! 560
Lovers, be war, and tak gude heid about
Quhom that ye lufe, for quhom ye suffer paine;
I lat yow wit, thair is richt few thairout
Quhom ye may traist, to have trew lufe againe;
Preif quhen ye will, your labour is in vaine. 565
Thairfoir I reid ye tak thame as ye find;
For they ar sad as widdercock in wind.
Becaus I knaw the greit unstabilnes
Brukkil as glas, into my-self I say,
Traisting in uther als greit unfaithfulnes, 570
Als unconstant, and als untrew of fay. ”

“ Ravishit in spreit, intill ane dream sho fell;
And, be apperance, hard, quhair sho did ly,
Cupid the king ringand ane silver bell,
Quhilk men micht heir fra hevin unto hell; 145
At quhais sound befoir Cupide appeiris
The sevin planetis, discending fra thair spheiris,
Quhilk hes powèr of all thing generábill
To reull and steir, be thair greit influence,
Wedder and wind and coursis variábill. 150
And first of all Saturn gave his sentence,
Quhilk gave to Cupid litill reverence,
But as ane busteous churl, on his maneir,
Com crabbitly, with auster luik and cheir. ”

“ In breif sermone ane pregnant sentence wryte. ”

“ Nocht is your fairnes bot ane faiding flour,
Nocht is your famous laud and hy honour
⁠Bot wind inflat in uther mennis eiris; ”

“ And passit doun quhair cairfull Cresseid lay; 310
And on hir heid he laid ane frosty wand,
Than lawfully on this wyse can he say;
'Thy greit fairnes, and al thy bewty gay,
Thy wantoun blude, and eik thy goldin hair,
Heir I exclude fra thee for evermair. 315
I change thy mirth into melancholy,
Quhilk is the mother of all pensivenes;
Thy moisture and thy heit in cald and dry;
Thyne insolence, thy play and wantones
To greit diseis: thy pomp and thy riches 320
In mortall neid; and greit penuritie
Thow suffer sall, and as ane beggar die.' ”

“ Quhair thow cummis, ilk man sall flee the place;
Thus sall thou go begging fra hous to hous,
With cop and clapper, lyk ane lazarous.'
This dooly dream, this ugly visioun
Brocht to ane end, Cresseid fra it awoik, 345
And all that court and convocatioun
Vanischit away. Than rais sho up and tuik
Ane poleist glas, and hir shaddow coud luik;
And quhen sho saw hir face sa déformait,
Gif sho in hart was wa aneuch, god wait! 350
Weiping full sair, 'Lo! ”

“ Ane busteous bow within his hand he boir;
Under his gyrdil ane flash of felloun flanis
Fedderit with yse, and heidit with hail-stanis.
Than Juppiter richt fair and amiábill,
God of the starnis in the firmament, 170
And nureis to all thing [is] generábill,
Fra his father Saturn far different,
With burely face, and browis bricht and brent;
Upon his heid ane garland wonder gay
Of flouris fair, as it had been in May. 175
His voice was cleir, as cristal wer his ene ”

“ Thy greit triumphand fame and hy honour,
Quhair thou was callit of eirdly wichtis flour, 435
⁠All is decayit; thy weird is welterit so,
Thy hy estait is turnit in darknes dour!
This lipper ludge tak for thy burelie bour,
⁠And for thy bed tak now ane bunch of stro.
⁠For waillit wyne and meitis thou had tho, 440
Tak mowlit breid, peirry, and syder sour;
⁠But cop and clapper, now is all ago.
My cleir voice and my courtly carrolling,
Quhair I was wont with ladyis for to sing,
⁠Is rawk as ruik, full hiddeous, hoir, and hace ”

“ Lyk to ane bair quhetting his tuskis kene
Richt tuilyour-lyk, but temperance in tene;
Ane horn he blew, with mony bosteous brag, 195
Quhilk all this warld with weir hes maid to wag.
Than fair Phebus, lanterne and lamp of licht
Of man and beist, baith frute and flourishing,
Tender nuréis, and banisher of nicht,
And of the warld causing, be his moving 200
And influence, lyf in all eirdly thing;
Without comfort of quhom, of force to nocht
Must all ga dy, that in this warld is wrocht.
As king royáll he raid upon his chair,
The quhilk Phaeton gydit sum-tyme unricht ”

“ Ane myle or twa, unto ane mansioun
Beildit full gay, quhair hir father Calchas,
Quhilk than amang the Greikis dwelland was.
Quhan he hir saw, the caus he can inquyr
Of hir cuming; sho said, syching full soir, 100
'Fra Diomeid had gottin his desyr
He wox wery, and wald of me no moir!'
Quod Calchas, 'Douchter, weip thow not thairfoir;
Peraventure all cummis for the best;
Welcum to me; thow art full deir ane gest.' 105
This auld Calchas, efter the law was tho,
Wes keeper of the tempill, as ane preist,
In quhilk Venus and hir son Cupido
War honourit; and his chalmer was thaim neist ”

“ Thocht luf be hait, yit in ane man of age
It kendillis nocht sa sone as in youthheid, 30
Of quhom the blude is flowing in ane rage;
And in the auld the curage †douf and deid,
Of quhilk the fyr outward is best remeid,
To help be phisik quhair that nature failit ”

“ And on hir breist ane churl paintit ful evin,
Beirand ane bunch of thornis on his bak,
Quhilk for his thift micht clim na nar the hevin.
Thus quhen they gadderit war, thir goddis sevin,
Mercurius they cheisit with ane assent 265
To be foir-speikar in the parliament. ”

“ E. humanitie; Th. -te. 536. Th. ins. a knight after is. 540. E. ovircome; Th. ouercome. 541. Th. colde atone (!) . 542. Th. brest. 543. Th. om. ane; Th. one (for wane) . 544. Th. Than fel in swoun ful ofte. ”

“ Th. ranke as roke, ful hidous heer. Th. om. ll. 446, 447. 448. Th. Deformed is. 449. Th. no pleople (sic) hath lykyng (!) . 450. Th. Solped in syght. 451. E. Ludgeit; Th. Lyeng. Th. leper folke. E. allace; Th. alas. ”