By process and by length of certain years All stinted* is the mourning and the tears *ended Of Greekes, by one general assent. Then seemed me there was a parlement At Athens, upon certain points and cas*: *cases Amonge the which points y-spoken was To have with certain countries alliance, And have of Thebans full obeisance. For which this noble Theseus anon Let* send after the gentle Palamon, *caused Unwist* of him what was the cause and why: *unknown But in his blacke clothes sorrowfully He came at his commandment *on hie*; *in haste* Then sente Theseus for Emily. When they were set*, and hush’d was all the place *seated And Theseus abided* had a space *waited Ere any word came from his wise breast *His eyen set he there as was his lest*, *he cast his eyes And with a sad visage he sighed still, wherever he pleased* And after that right thus he said his will. “The firste mover of the cause above When he first made the faire chain of love, Great was th’ effect, and high was his intent; Well wist he why, and what thereof he meant: For with that faire chain of love he bond* *bound The fire, the air, the water, and the lond In certain bondes, that they may not flee:<91> That same prince and mover eke,” quoth he, “Hath stablish’d, in this wretched world adown, Certain of dayes and duration To all that are engender’d in this place, Over the whiche day they may not pace*, *pass All may they yet their dayes well abridge. There needeth no authority to allege For it is proved by experience; But that me list declare my sentence*. *opinion Then may men by this order well discern, That thilke* mover stable is and etern. *the same Well may men know, but that it be a fool, That every part deriveth from its whole. For nature hath not ta’en its beginning Of no *partie nor cantle* of a thing, *part or piece* But of a thing that perfect is and stable, Descending so, till it be corruptable. And therefore of His wise purveyance* *providence He hath so well beset* his ordinance, That species of things and progressions Shallen endure by successions, And not etern, withouten any lie: This mayst thou understand and see at eye. Lo th’ oak, that hath so long a nourishing From the time that it ’ginneth first to spring, And hath so long a life, as ye may see, Yet at the last y-wasted is the tree. Consider eke, how that the harde stone Under our feet, on which we tread and gon*, *walk Yet wasteth, as it lieth by the way. The broade river some time waxeth drey*. *dry The greate townes see we wane and wend*. *go, disappear Then may ye see that all things have an end.