and say not her will; for now in the hearing, one of the other,
can they reveal their inmost hearts. But so much do they fear
refusal that they dare not betray their hearts. He fears that she
might reject him; she, on her part, would have betrayed herself
if she had not feared rejection. And, nevertheless, the one
betrays his thoughts to the other with the eyes if they could
only have known it. They speak by glances with their eyes; but
they are so craven with their tongues that in no wise dare they
speak of the love which masters them. If she dare not begin it,
it is no marvel; for a maiden ought to be a simple and shy
creature. But why does he wait; and why does he delay, who is
thoroughly bold in her behalf, and has shown dread of none but
her? God! Whence comes this fear to him that he fears a single
maiden, weak and timid, simple and shy? At this, methinks, I see
dogs fleeing before the hare, and the fish hunting the beaver,
the lamb the wolf, the dove the eagle. So would it be if the
villein were to flee before his hoe by which he gains his
livelihood, and with which he toils. So would it be if the falcon
were to flee from the duck, and the gerfalcon from the heron, and
the great pike from the minnow, and if the stag were to chase the
lion; so do things go topsy-turvy. But a desire comes upon me to
give some reason why it happens to true lovers, that wit and
courage fail them to express what they have in their thoughts
when they have leisure and opportunity and time.

You who are being instructed in Love, who faithfully uphold the
customs and rites of his court, and who never broke his law
whatever might have befallen you for your obedience, tell me if
one can see anything which affords Love's delight but that lovers
shiver and grow pale thereat. Never shall there be a man opposed