TR4.925 “Ănd shápĕth yów hĭs sórwĕ fór t’ăbréggĕ, TR4.926 Ănd nóught ĕncréssĕ, léevĕ nécĕ swétĕ! TR4.927 Bĕth ráthĕr tó hy̆m cáuse ŏf flát thăn éggĕ, TR4.928 Ănd wíth sŏm wísdŏm yé hĭs sórwĕ bétĕ. TR4.929 Whăt hélpĕth ít tŏ wépĕn fúl ă strétĕ, TR4.930 Ŏr thóugh yĕ bóthe ĭn sáltĕ téerĭs dréyntĕ? TR4.931 Bĕt ís ă týme ŏf cúre ăy thán ŏf pléyntĕ.
Line Information
- Differences among the manuscripts and editions:
- English translation (Windeatt: 1998): And find a way to shorten his sorrow and not increase it, dear, sweet niece! Touch him with the flat of the blade, not the cutting edge, and calm his sorrow with some wise advice. How does it help to weep a stressful, or for you both to drown in salt tears? Time spent on a remedy is always better than time spent on complaining.
- Japanese translation (Sasamoto: 2012): そして若君の悲しみを減らす手立てを捜しなさい、それを増やしてはいけないよ、愛しい美しい姪よ！むしろ若君には剣の刃よりも剣のひらで触れてやりなさい。何かよい知恵を出して若君の悲しみを和らげてやりなさい。泣いて、通りを一杯涙で満たしても、またお前たち二人が塩辛い涙の中で溺れても何の役に立つかね。癒しに使う時間のほうが嘆いて過ごす時間よりいつもいいのだよ。
- Chinese translation (Fang: 1956): 你应设法减轻他的忧痛，不可使其增长，亲爱的甥女；要治疗他的伤痕，不可再刺激他，拿出本领来治疗他才是。他们若由街头哭到街尾，即使你俩都被眼泪淹没了，又有何益？
Word Information
- Etymology: OE
- Addresser: Pandarus
- Addressee: Criseyde
- Adjectives with which juxtaposed: N/A
- Counterpart in its source (Fil): N/A (but see 4.107)
- Noun(s) (NPs) modified: Others (a tyme of cure)
- Attributive/ Predicative: predicative
Information in Previous Studies
- OED: Not quoted
- MED: Not quoted
- Commented in other previous works:
- Windeatt (2003: 236): Bet is a tyme of cure ay than of pleynte: Time is better spent on a remedy than on complaining
- Fisher (1989: 491): Bet: better
- Benson (1987): N/A
- Davis et al. (1979): Not quoted
- Donaldson (1975: 907): Bet is a time of cure ay than of plainte: It’s better to spend time finding remedy than complaining
- Baugh (1963): N/A
Possible Definitions
better
Comments from the Editor
Pandarus persuades Criseyde to cheer up and to cure Troilus’s pain. This scene follows Fil (4.107) closely, but Chaucer added the last three lines (4.929–31). These lines, especially the last, ‘Bet is a tyme of cure ay than of pleynte’, feature Chaucer’s Pandarus: a character whose speech is always well-reasoned.