570
*I wot wel that thou mayst nat al hit ryme,
*That swiche lovers diden in hir tyme;
*It were to long to reden and to here;
*Suffyceth me, thou make in this manere,
*That thou reherce of al hir lyf [the grete],
575
*[After thise olde auctours listen to trete].
*For who-so [shal so many a storie telle],
*Sey shortly, or he shal to longe dwelle.'