As custome was, the pepill far and neir,
Befoir the none, unto the tempill went
With sacrifice, devoit in thair maneir.
But still Cresseid, hevye in hir intent,
Into the kirk wald not hirself present,
For giving of the pepill ony deming
Of hir expuls fra Diomeid the king;

Bot past into ane secreit orature,
Qwhair scho micht weip hir wofull desteny.
Behind hir bak scho cloisit fast the dure,
And on hir kneis bair fell down in hy;
Upon Venus and Cupide angerly
Scho cryit out, and said on this same wise,
"Allace, that ever I maid you sacrifce!

"Ye gave me anis ane devine responsaill
That I suld be the flowr of luif in Troy,
Now am I maid ane unworthye outwaill,
And all in cair traslatit is my joy.
Qwha sall me gide? Qwha sall me now convoy,
Sen I fra Diomeid, and nobill Troilus,
Am clene excludit, as abject odious?

"O fals Cupide, is nane to wite bot thou,
And thy mother, of lufe the blind goddes!
Ye causit me alwayis understand and trow
The seid of lufe was sawin in my face,
And ay grew grene throw your supplye and grace.
Bot now, allace, that seid with froist is slane,
And I fra luifferis left, and all forlane."

Qwhen this was said, down in ane extasye,
Ravischit in spreit, intill ane dreame scho fell,
And be apperance hard, qwhair scho did ly,
Cupide the king ringand ane silver bell,
Qwhilk men micht heir fra hevin unto hell;
At qwhais sound befoir Cupide appeiris
The sevin Planetis, discending fra thair spheiris,

Qwhilk hes power of all thing generabill
To reull and steir be thair greit influence,
Wedder and wind, and coursis variabill.
And first of all Saturne gave his sentence
Qwhilk gave to Cupide litill reverence,
Bot, as ane busteous churle on his maneir,
Come crabitlye, with auster luik and cheir.

His face fronsit, his lire was like the leid,
His teith chatterit and cheverit with the chin,
His ene droupit, how sonkin in his heid,
Out of his nois the meldrop fast can rin,
With lippis bla, and cheikis leine and thin,
The ice-schoklis that fra his hair down hang
Was wonder greit, and as ane speir als lang.

Atovir his belt his liart lokkis lay
Felterit unfair, ovirfret with froistis hoir;
His garmound and hus gite full gay of gray;
His widderit weid fra him the wind out woir,
Ane busteous bow within his hand he boir;
Under his girdill ane flasche of felloun flanis,
Fedderit with ice, and heidit with hailstanis.

Than Juppiter richt fair and amiabill,
God of the starnis in the firmament,
And nureis to all thing generabill,
Fra his father Saturne far different,
With burelye face, and browis bricht and brent,
Upon his heid ane garland, wonder gay,
Of flowris fair, as it had bene in May.

His voice was cleir, as cristall wer his ene,
As goldin wire sa glitterand was his hair,
His garmound and his gite full gay of grene,
With golden listis gilt on everye gair;
Ane burelye brand about his middill bair;
In his richt hand he had ane groundin speir,
Of his father the wraith fra us to weir.

Nixt efter him come Mars, the god of ire,
Of strife, debait, and all dissensioun,
To chide and fecht, als feirs as ony fire;
In hard harnes, heumound, and habirgeoun;
And on his hanche ane roustye fell fachioun,
And in his hand he had ane roustye sword;
Writhing his face with mony angrye word.

Schaikand his sword, befoir Cupide he come
With reid visage and grislye glowrand ene;
And at his mouth ane bullar stude of fome,
Like to ane bair qwhetting his tuskis kene,
Richt tuilyeour-like, but temperance in tene;
Ane horne he blew with mony bosteous brag,
Qwhilk all this warld with weir hes maid to wag.

Than fair Phebus, lanterne and lamp of licht
Of man and beist, baith frute and flourisching,
Tender nureis and banischer of nicht,
And of the warld causing, be his moving
And influence, life in all eirdlye thing,
Without comfort of qwhome, of force to nocht
Must all ga die that in this warld is wrocht.

As king royall he raid upon his chair,
The qwhilk Phaeton gidit sumtime unricht,
The brichtness of his face, qwhen it was bair,
Nane micht behald for peirsing of his sicht:
This goldin cart with firye bemes bricht
Four yokkit steidis full different of hew,
But bait or tiring, throu the spheiris drew.

The first was soir, with mane als reid as rois,
Callit Eoye into the Orient;
The secund steid to name hecht Ethios,
Qwhitlye and paill, and sum deill ascendent;
The thrid Peros, right hait and richt fervent;
The feird was blak, and callit Phlegonye,
Qwhilk rollis Phebus down into the sey.

Venus was thair present, that goddess gay,
Her soonis querrel for to defend, and mak
Hir awin complaint, cled in ane nice array,
The ane half grene, the uther half sabill blak,
Qwhite hair as gold, kemmit and sched abak,
Bot in hir face semit greit variance,
Qwhiles perfite treuth, and qwhiles inconstance.

Under smiling scho was dissimulait,
Provocative with blenkis amorous,
And suddanely changit and alterait,
Angrye as ony serpent vennemous,
Richt pungitive with wordis odious:
Thus variant scho was, qwha list tak keip,
With ane eye lauch, and with the uther weip.

In taikning that all fleschelye paramour
Qwhilk Venus hes in reull and governance,
Is sum time sweit, sum time bitter and sour,
Richt unstabill, and full of variance,
Mingit with cairfull joy and fals plesance,
Now hait, now cauld, now blyith, now full of wo,
Now grene as leif, now widderit and ago.

With buik in hand than come Mercurius,
Richt eloquent and full of rethorye,
With polite termis and delicious,
With pen and ink to report all reddye,
Setting sangis and singand merilye.
His hude was reid, heklit atovir his crown,
Like to ane poeit of the auld fassoun.

Boxis he bair, with fine electuairis,
And sugerit syropis for digestioun,
Spicis belangand to the pothecairis,
With mony hailsum sweit confectioun,
Doctour in physick, cled in ane scarlot gown,
And furrit weill, as sic ane aucht to be,
Honest and gude, and not ane word culd lie.

Nixt efter him come Lady Cynthia,
The last of all, and swiftest in hir spheir,
Of colour blak, buskit with hornis twa,
And in the nicht scho listis best appeir;
Haw as the leid, of colour nathing cleir;
For all hir licht scho borowis at hir brother
Titan, for of hirself scho hes nane uther.

Hir gite was gray, and full of spottis blak;
And on hir breist ane churle paintit full evin,
Beirand ane bunche of thornis on his bak,
Qwhilk for his thift micht clim na nar the hevin.
Thus qwhen they gadderit war thir goddes sevin,
Mercurius they cheisit with ane assent
To be foirspeikar in the parliament.

Qwha had bene thair, and liken for to heir
His facound toung and termis exquisite,
Of rethorick the prettick he micht leir,
In breif sermone ane pregnant sentence write:
Befoir Cupide veiling his cap a lite,
Speiris the caus of that vocatioun;
And he anone schew his intentioun.

"Lo," quod Cupide, "qwha will blaspheme the name
Of his awin god, outher in word or deid,
To all goddis he dois baith lak and schame,
And suld have bitter panis to his meid;
I say this by yone wretchit Cresseid,
The qwhilk throu me was sum time flowr of lufe,
Me and my mother starklye can reprufe;

"Saying of hir greit infelecitye
I was the caus and my mother Venus;
Ane blind goddes hir cald, that micht not se,
With sclander and defame injurious:
Thus hir leving unclene and lecherous
Scho wald returne on me and on my mother,
To qwhome I schew my grace abone all uther.

"And sen ye ar all sevin deificait,
Participant of devine sapience,
This greit injure done to our hye estait
Methink with pane we suld mak recompence;
Was never to goddes done sic violence.
As weill for you as for myself I say,
Thairfoir ga help to revenge, I you pray."

Mercurius to Cupide gave answeir,
And said, "Schir King, my counsall is that ye
Refer you to the hyest planeit heir,
And tak to him the lawest of degre,
The pane of Cresseid for to modifye:
As God Saturne, with him tak Cynthia."
"I am content," quod he, "to tak thay twa."

Than thus proceidit Saturne and the Mone,
Qwhen thay the mater ripelye had degest,
For the dispite to Cupide scho had done,
And to Venus oppin and manifest,
In all hir life with pane to be opprest,
And torment sair, with seiknes incurabill,
And to all lovers be abhominabill.

This dulefull sentence Saturne tuik on hand,
And passit down qwhair cairfull Cresseid lay,
And on hir heid he laid ane frostye wand;
Than lawfullye on this wise can he say:
"Thy greit fairnes, and all thy beutye gay,
Thy wantoun blude, and eik thy goldin hair,
Heir I exclude fra thee for evermair.

"I change thy mirth into melancholy,
Qwhilk is the mother of all pensivenes;
Thy moisture and thy heit in cald and dry;
Thine insolence, thy play and wantones
To greit diseis; thy pomp and thy riches
In mortall neid; and greit penuritye
Thou suffer sall; and as ane beggar die."

O cruell Saturne! fraward and angrye,
Hard is thy dome, and to malitious:
On fair Cresseid qwhy hes thou na mercye,
Qwhilk was sa sweit, gentill, and amourous?
Withdraw thy sentence, and be gracious
As thou was never; so schawis thou thy deid,
Ane wraikfull sentence gevin on fair Cresseid.

Than Cynthia, qwhen Saturne past away,
Out of hir seit discendit down belive,
And red ane bill on Cresseid qwhair scho lay,
Contening this sentence diffinitive:
"Fra heit of bodye I thee now deprive,
And to thy seiknes sal be na recure,
But in dolour thy dayis to indure.

"Thy cristall ene minglit with blude I mak;
Thy voice sa cleir, unplesand, hoir, and hace;
Thy lustye lire ovirspred with spottis blak,
And lumpis haw appeirand in thy face;
Qwhair thou cummis, ilk man sall fle the place;
This sall thou go begging fra hous to hous,
With cop and clapper like ane lazarous."

This doolye dreame, this uglye visioun
Brocht to ane end, Cresseid fra it awoik,
And all that court and convocatioun
Vanischit away. Than rais scho up and tuik
Ane poleist glas, and hir schaddow culd luik;
And qwhen scho saw hir face sa deformait,
Gif scho in hart was wa aneuch, God wait!