The Knight's Tale
Folio 18r
31 of 35 folios
395
That ȝeueth hem ful oft / in many gyse
Wel beter / þāne þei can / hem self deuyse
Sōme man desire / for to haue richesse
That cause is of here mordre / or gret seknes
And sōme man wold / out of prison fayn
400
That in his hous / is of his meyne slayn
Infenyt harmes / ben in this matere
We wot neuere / what we preisen here
We faren as he / þt dronken is as a mous
A dronke man wot wel / he hath an hous
405
But he ne wot which is / þe rigħt weye theder
And to a dronke man / the weye is slyder
And certes in þis world / so fare we
We seke faste after / felicite
But we gon wrong / ful ofte trewely
410
Thus may we seyn alle / and namely I
That wende / and had / a gret opinyon
That if I myght escape / from prisoū
Than had I ben / in ioye & parfyt hele
That now am exiled / fro my wele
415
Syn I may nouȝt so ȝow / Emelye
InIIn am but ded / þere is non oþer remedye
¶ Vp on þt oþer side / Palamon
Whan þt he wist / þt Arcite was gon
Swich sorwe he maketh / þt the grete Tour
420
Resouned of his Ianglyng / and clamour
The pure feteres / on his shynes grete
Were of his bittere / Salt teres / wete
Allas qd he / Arcite Cosyn myn
Of al oure strif / god wot þe fruyt is thyn
425
Thow walkest now / in Thebes at thy large
And of my woo / þu ȝeuest litel charge
Thow maist / sithe þu hast / wysdom & manhode
Assemble alle the folk / of oure kynrede
And make a werre so sharp / on this Citee
430
That be som auenture / or tretee
Thow maist haue hire / to lady & to wyf
For whom I must nedes / lese my lyf
For as be weye / of possibilitee
Sithe þu art at þe large / of prison free
435
And art a lord / gret is þin auauntage