Confessio Amantis; Or, Tales of the Seven Deadly Sins. John Gower

And thus the conseil most secre

       Of every thing Fa crere knoweth,

       Which into strange place he bloweth,

       Where as he wot it mai most grieve.

       And thus Fa crere makth believe,

       So that fulofte he hath deceived,

       Er that he mai ben aperceived.

       Thus is this vice forto drede;

       For who these olde bokes rede 2140

       Of suche ensamples as were ar,

       Him oghte be the more war

       Of alle tho that feigne chiere,

       Wherof thou schalt a tale hiere.

       Of Falssemblant which is believed

       Ful many a worthi wiht is grieved,

       And was long time er we wer bore.

       To thee, my Sone, I wol therfore

       A tale telle of Falssemblant,

       Which falseth many a covenant, 2150

       And many a fraude of fals conseil

       Ther ben hangende upon his Seil:

       And that aboghten gulteles

       Bothe Deianire and Hercules,

       The whiche in gret desese felle

       Thurgh Falssemblant, as I schal telle.

       Whan Hercules withinne a throwe

       Al only hath his herte throwe

       Upon this faire Deianire,

       It fell him on a dai desire, 2160

       Upon a Rivere as he stod,

       That passe he wolde over the flod

       Withoute bot, and with him lede

       His love, bot he was in drede

       For tendresce of that swete wiht,

       For he knew noght the forde ariht.

       Ther was a Geant thanne nyh,

       Which Nessus hihte, and whanne he sih

       This Hercules and Deianyre,

       Withinne his herte he gan conspire, 2170

       As he which thurgh his tricherie

       Hath Hercules in gret envie,

       Which he bar in his herte loke,

       And thanne he thoghte it schal be wroke.

       Bot he ne dorste natheles

       Ayein this worthi Hercules

       Falle in debat as forto feihte;

       Bot feigneth Semblant al be sleihte

       Of frendschipe and of alle goode,

       And comth where as thei bothe stode, 2180

       And makth hem al the chiere he can,

       And seith that as here oghne man

       He is al redy forto do

       What thing he mai; and it fell so

       That thei upon his Semblant triste,

       And axen him if that he wiste

       What thing hem were best to done,

       So that thei mihten sauf and sone

       The water passe, he and sche.

       And whan Nessus the privete 2190

       Knew of here herte what it mente,

       As he that was of double entente,

       He made hem riht a glad visage;

       And whanne he herde of the passage

       Of him and hire, he thoghte guile,

       And feigneth Semblant for a while

       To don hem plesance and servise,

       Bot he thoghte al an other wise.

       This Nessus with hise wordes slyhe

       Yaf such conseil tofore here yhe 2200

       Which semeth outward profitable

       And was withinne deceivable.

       He bad hem of the Stremes depe

       That thei be war and take kepe,

       So as thei knowe noght the pas;

       Bot forto helpe in such a cas,

       He seith himself that for here ese

       He wolde, if that it mihte hem plese,

       The passage of the water take,

       And for this ladi undertake 2210

       To bere unto that other stronde

       And sauf to sette hire up alonde,

       And Hercules may thanne also

       The weie knowe how he schal go:

       And herto thei acorden alle.

       Bot what as after schal befalle,

       Wel payd was Hercules of this,

       And this Geant also glad is,

       And tok this ladi up alofte

       And set hire on his schuldre softe, 2220

       And in the flod began to wade,

       As he which no grucchinge made,

       And bar hire over sauf and sound.

       Bot whanne he stod on dreie ground

       And Hercules was fer behinde,

       He sette his trowthe al out of mynde,

       Who so therof be lief or loth,

       With Deianyre and forth he goth,

       As he that thoghte to dissevere

       The compaignie of hem for evere. 2230

       Whan Hercules therof tok hiede,

       Als faste as evere he mihte him spiede

       He hyeth after in a throwe;

       And hapneth that he hadde a bowe,

       The which in alle haste he bende,

       As he that wolde an Arwe sende,

       Which he tofore hadde envenimed.

       He hath so wel his schote timed,

       That he him thurgh the bodi smette,

       And thus the false wiht he lette. 2240

       Bot lest now such a felonie:

       Whan Nessus wiste he scholde die,

       He tok to Deianyre his scherte,

       Which with the blod was of his herte

       Thurghout desteigned overal,

       And tolde how sche it kepe schal

       Al prively to this entente,

       That if hire lord his herte wente

       To love in eny other place,

       The scherte, he seith, hath such a grace, 2250

       That if sche mai so mochel make

       That he the scherte upon him take,

       He schal alle othre lete in vein

       And torne unto hire love ayein.

       Who was tho glad bot Deianyre?

       Hire thoghte hire herte was afyre

       Til it was in hire cofre loke,

       So that no word therof was spoke.

       The daies gon, the yeres passe,

       The hertes waxen lasse and lasse 2260

       Of hem that ben to love untrewe:

       This Hercules with herte newe

       His love hath set on Eolen,