Prologue
Here begins the Book of the Duke of True Lovers, which treats of love and of the customs and adventures that belong to the governance of true lovers according to their several estates. And first the Author speaketh in the person of a young Prince who from his tender youth had given his heart to Love, and who relateth how he was first taken with the passion of love.
Chapter I: How the Duke First Saw His Lady
It was in the season of May, when the woods put on their fresh livery of green, and the meadows are enameled with flowers, that the Duke, being then in the flower of his youth, rode forth one morning to take the air in the forest. And as he passed by a certain castle, he saw at a window a lady of great beauty, who was leaning forth to watch the returning cavalcade. And at the first sight of her his heart was smitten, so that from that hour he had no rest, neither by day nor by night.
He turned to his squire and said: "Tell me, I pray thee, who is that lady at the window? For I have never seen her before, and yet it seems to me that I have known her all my life."
The squire answered: "Sir, she is the wife of the lord of this castle, a lady of high lineage and of great virtue. She is much beloved in all the country round, and her husband prizes her above all earthly things."
When the Duke heard this, he was both gladdened and sorrowed — gladdened because the lady was worthy of his love, and sorrowed because she was already bound to another. Yet Love, who will not be denied, had so taken possession of his heart that he resolved to seek all means whereby he might speak with her and declare his passion.
Chapter V: The Exchange of Letters
After long days of pining, the Duke found means to send a letter to the lady by the hand of a trusty go-between. And the letter ran thus:
"Most gentle lady, — Since the hour when first mine eyes beheld your surpassing beauty, my heart has been a prisoner in your keeping. I ask no more than that you should know of my devotion, for to love you is already a happiness beyond my deserts. Yet if it should please your gentleness to grant me the grace of a single kind word, I should esteem myself the most fortunate of men. I am, and shall ever remain, your faithful servant."
The lady, having read the letter, was much troubled. She knew that it was perilous to listen to such words, and yet she was not displeased that so worthy a knight should think her worthy of his love. After much reflection, she sent this answer:
"Fair sir, — I have received your letter, and I marvel that you should direct your thoughts to one who is already bound by the ties of wedlock. Yet because I would not seem ungracious to a gentleman of your worth, I pray you to believe that I esteem your service and your honour. But I counsel you, as a friend, to turn your heart elsewhere, for the path upon which you have entered is full of danger."
The Author's Conclusion and Warning to Ladies
Now when the Duke had departed for the wars beyond the sea, and the Lady had taken the veil, Christine, who had set down this history, saith these words by way of conclusion:
"Here may all ladies take example of the great peril that lieth in the surrender of the heart to unlawful love. For though the beginning seem sweet, and the meetings full of joy, yet the end is ever bitterness and repentance. No good fortune ever came of a love that was founded in wrong, and the lady who giveth ear to such persuasions doth hazard her honour, her peace, and her soul.
Therefore I pray all gentlewomen to govern their hearts wisely, and to set their love upon that which is lawful and enduring — that is to say, upon their husbands, their children, and the service of God. For these be the true foundations of woman's honour, and whoso buildeth upon other ground buildeth upon sand."