Page:Romance of the Rose (Ellis), volume 1.pdf/262

And if so be that thou forsake
My counsels never, they shall make
Thee wise and happy, and no man
Shall higher be or richer than
Thy very self, and thou shalt ne’er
Eat out thine heart in dark despair
Or wasting wrath, though Fortune’s stroke
Thy friends, estate, and body broke;
But having patience, thou in me,
Shalt find a friend to comfort thee.6740

Wherefore discoverest thou such dole?
Tears from between thine eyelids roll,
As drops from some alembic stood
Above a furnace. In the flood
Thou mightst be washed out like a rag,
None but a fool, or merry wag,
Would call so poor a stick a man,
For never creature looked so wan
And wretched as dost thou. The devil,
True spring and source of all things evil,6750
Within thy weakling heart hath set
This love, and hence thy cheeks are wet
With waterfalls; thou shouldst disdain
To show thee so far weak and vain.
This tyrant God whose breath doth fan
The fire of love within the pan
Of thy frail brain it is, alone,
Who causeth thee to fret and moan.
Thy noble liege! thy reverenced friend!
Through whom thy soul thou dost expend6760
In tears—he sells his friendship dear,
As doth to my poor wit appear.