TR3.253 “Thăt ís tŏ séyĕ, fór the ăm Í bĭcómĕn, TR3.254 Bĭtwíxĕn gáme ănd érnĕst, swích ă méenĕ TR3.255 Ăs mákĕn wómmĕn úntŏ mén tŏ cómĕn; TR3.256 Ăl séy Ĭ nóught, thŏw wóst wĕl whát Ĭ méenĕ. TR3.257 Fŏr thé hăve Í my̆ néce, ŏf vícĕs cléenĕ, TR3.258 Sŏ fúlly̆ máad thĭ géntĭléssĕ trístĕ, TR3.259 Thăt ál shăl bén rĭght ás thĭsélvĕn lístĕ.
Line Information
- Differences among the manuscripts and editions:
- English translation (Windeatt: 1998) (Windeatt: 1998): That’s to say, for you I’ve become — half in jest, and half in earnest — the sort of go-between who makes women come to men … Even if I say nothing, you know very well what I mean … For you, I’ve made my innocent niece trust so completely in your nobility of character, that everything will be exactly as you wish.
- Japanese translation (Sasamoto: 2012) (Sasamoto: 2012): すなわち、若君のために、私は今戯れ半分と真面目半分というところですが、女は男に取り持つような仲介役になっているのです。何も、言わなくとも、私の言おうとするところはよくご存じですね。若君のために私は無邪気な姪を説得して、若君の高貴なお人柄に十分信頼を寄せさせましたので、すべて若君ご自身の望む通りになりましょう。
- Chinese translation (Fang: 1956) (Fang: 1956): 这就是说，在半真半假之间，我为你做了一个媒人；你自己该懂得我的意思。我这位一身清白的甥女，已被我推动得完全信任了你，认你为正直人，现在你可以如愿以偿了。
Word Information
- Etymology: OE
- Addresser: Pandarus
- Addressee: Troilus
- Adjectives with which juxtaposed: N/A
- Counterpart in its source (Fil): 3.6
- Noun(s) (NPs) modified: defect or fault or flaw (vice)
- Attributive/ Predicative: predicative
Information in Previous Studies
- OED: Not quoted
- MED: Not quoted
- Commented in other previous works:
- Windeatt (2003: 133): cleene: free
- Fisher (1989: 452): clene: clean
- Benson (1987): N/A
- Davis et al. (1979): (Quoted) free (s.v. clene, adj.)
- Donaldson (1975): N/A
- Baugh (1963): N/A
Possible Definitions
clean, free
Comments from the Editor
This part of Pandarus’s speech occurs after he successfully arranges the two protagonists’ first private meeting at Deiphebus’s place. The quotation follows 3.6 of Fil, and yet there is a major difference. In Fil, Pandaro states that winning Criseida for Troiolo equates to casting his honour to the ground and corrupting the wholesome breast of Criseida. However, Chaucer omits these statements in Pandarus’s ‘Al sey I nought, thow wost wel what I meene’ in the quotation above.