NOTES

PROLOGUS

Latin Verses.i. 1 f. The author acknowledges his incapacity for higher themes, as at the beginning of the first book. The subject of the present work is a less exalted one than that of those which preceded it.

3 f.Qua tamen&c. The couplet may be translated, ‘Yet in that tongue of Hengist in which the island of Brut sings, I will utter English measures by the aid of Carmentis.’

5 f.Ossibus ergo carens&c. That is, ‘Let the evil tongue be far away.’ The reference is to Prov. xxv. 15, ‘A soft tongue breaketh the bone,’ taken here in a bad sense: cp. iii. 463 ff.

7. ‘Moved by the example of these wise men of old.’ For this use of ‘ensampled’ cp.Traitié, xv. l. 4,

‘Pour essampler les autres du present.’

13.Who that al&c. ‘If one writes of wisdom only’: a common form of expression in Gower’s French and English both; see note onMirour, 1244. In English we have ‘who that,’ ‘who so (that)’ or ‘what man (that),’ sometimes with indic. and sometimes with subjunctive: cp. Prol. 460, 550, i. 383, 481, ii. 88, iii. 971, 2508, &c. See also note on l. 460.

writ, present tense, syncopated form.

16.if that ye rede, ‘if ye so counsel me,’ i.e. if you approve, equivalent to the ‘si bon vous sembleroit’ of theMirour, l. 33.

24. The marginal note is wanting in F and S, and may perhaps have been added after the year 1397, when Henry became Duke of Hereford, cp. ‘tunc Derbie comiti,’ or even later, for in theCron. TripertitaGower calls him Earl of Derby at the time of his exile, using the same expression as here, ‘tunc Derbie comiti.’ Caxton, followed byBerthelet, gives the following: ‘Hic in primis declarat Ioannes Gower quam ob causam presentem libellum composuit et finaliter compleuit, An. regni regis Ric. secundi 16.’

31. That is, compared with what it was in former time: cp. l. 133.

41.write ... stode: subjunctive. For the subjunctive in indirect question cp. ii. 1243, 1943, iii. 708, 771, &c.

43.as who seith, i.e. ‘as one may say,’ a qualification of what follows, ‘a gret partie’: the phrase is a common one, e.g. i. 1381, ‘as who seith, everemo,’ 2794, ii. 696, ‘as who seith, ded for feere,’ &c.

46.schewen, used absolutely, ‘set forth their histories.’

52.a burel clerk, ‘a man of simple learning,’ esp. ‘a layman’; cp. Chaucer,Cant. Tales, B 3145, D 1872: ‘burel’ was a coarse cloth.

54.tok, ‘took place,’ ‘existed’: cp. Chaucer,Troilus, iv. 1562,

‘And if so be that pees herafter take.’

So ‘prendre’ in French, e.g.Mir.831,

‘Le mariage devoit prendre.’

72.the god, so 198, ii. 594; cp. ‘the vertu,’ 116, ‘the manhode,’ 260, ‘the man,’ 546, 582, ‘The charite,’ 319, &c.

74.ended, ‘continued to the end.’

77 ff. Apparently a reference to the treatise on the duties of a ruler contained in the seventh book: ‘I shall make a discourse also with regard to those who are in power, marking the distinction between the virtues and the vices which belong to their office.’

81 ff. ‘But as my wit is too small to correct the faults of every one, I send this book unto my own lord Henry of Lancaster ... to be amended at his command.’ For ‘upon amendement to stonde’ cp. ii. 583. The suggestion of amendment at the hands of the author’s patron is of course a mere compliment, like that paid by Chaucer to Gower at the conclusion ofTroilus, but it gives a modest appearance to the general censure.

It is not likely that the expression ‘upon amendement’ refers to the change made in this part of the text, to which the author would hardly have called attention thus. Also, unless we explain as above, the meaning would seem to be ‘as my wit is too small to admonish every one, I send my work as now revised to my own lord Henry of Lancaster,’ a much too pointed application of the coming admonitions.

It is hardly needful to add that ‘to tellen every man his tale’ is not a reference to theCanterbury Tales, as some have supposed.

24*-92*. For this variation see the Introduction. The text of B, which is here followed, is as good as any other, but none of the copies which give the passage are thoroughly good in spelling, and the text has in this respect been slightly normalized. A and E are here defective, and J, which is the best available MS., has eccentricities of spelling (‘Richardus,’ ‘wyche,’ ‘hyt,’ ‘hys,’ ‘aftur,’ ‘resonabul,’ ‘ȝef,’ ‘be heste,’ ‘be ginne,’ &c.), which make it rather unsuitable as a basis for the text. It will be found however that J and B mutually correct each other to a great extent, and we have also MGRCL as additional witnesses of a respectable character. Thus in regard to some of the variations in spelling from B we have as follows:—

34* ff. A very loosely constructed sentence. It means apparently, ‘I consider how it befell, as a thing destined then to come to pass, namely that as on Thames I came rowing by boat &c., I chanced to meet my liege lord.’ The disorder in which the clauses are thrown together is a feature which we shall notice elsewhere in our author’s style. ‘The toun of newe Troye’ is of course London, supposed to have been founded by Brut of Troy, whence was derived ‘Britain,’ the ‘insula Bruti’ of the opening lines.

52*.loke, ‘examine’: cp. ii. 733, vi. 1959.

65*. There is here a corruption which affects all the existing copies. The various readings are given in the critical notes, and evidently ‘outkrong’ is that which has most support. I conjecture that the author wrote ‘onwrong,’ i.e. ‘awrong,’ which being an unusual word suffered corruption at the hand of the first transcriber, the ‘w’ being mistaken, as it easily might be, for ‘tk’: cp. Chaucer,H. of Fame, ii. 403, where ‘tokne’ is apparently a corruption of ‘towne.’

66*.the hevene king, ‘the king of hevene.’ Gower regularly writes the final ‘e’ in ‘hevene,’ ‘evene,’ ‘evere,’ ‘nevere,’ &c. The preceding syllable is of course syncopated in pronunciation.

69*.what befalle, ‘whatsoever may befall’: cp. iii. 325, ‘what it were.’

75*.bit, i.e. ‘biddeth.’

85*. The true reading is probably ‘listen pleie,’ which is preferable both as regards form and construction: cp. iv. 3147, ‘whan the wommen listen pleie.’ The readings are as follows: ‘listen pleye’ J, ‘lusten pleie’ M, ‘luste pley’ B₂; the rest mostly ‘lust to pleye.’ The verb seems usually to be followed by a preposition when used impersonally, as i. 147, 1403, and otherwise more generally not, as i. 2741, iv. 3147, but there are exceptions both ways, e.g. iv. 907 and iii. 111, iv. 3187.

90*. Cp. 54 ff.

92*.for to newe.This is the reading of the better MSS., and ‘schewe’ is probably the correction of a copyist who did not understand it. The word ‘newe’ means here ‘produce,’ but in l. 59 ‘neweth’ is intransitive and means ‘comes into being.’

Latin Verses, ii. 2.vertit in orbe, ‘turns round,’ as upon her wheel.

4. Cp. 111 f.

11. ‘And thus those regions which were once the strongest fall intodecay throughout the world, and have no centre of rest there.’ (The first ‘que’ is the relative, for ‘quae.’) It is possible however that ‘per orbem’ may refer again to Fortune’s wheel, cp. 138 ff., where the sense of this couplet seems to be expressed, and in that case the meaning is, ‘fall into decay as they turn upon the wheel.’

116.the vertu: for this French use of the article, which is often found in Gower, see note on l. 72.

122 ff. ‘And in witness of that I take the common voice of every land, which may not lie.’ This appeal to the common voice, the ‘commune dictum,’ is characteristic of our author, who repeats the proverb ‘Vox populi vox dei’ several times in various forms, e.g.Mirour, 12725. For the use of ‘that’ in such expressions cp. l. 907, and iv. 2040.

133.to loke&c., ‘when we look on all sides’: cp. 31, i. 1060, 2278, &c.

139.blinde fortune.‘Fortune’ must here be taken as a proper name, and hence the definite form of adjective: cp. i. 3396, ‘wyse Peronelle,’ ii. 588, 2721, ‘of grete Rome,’ ii. 2304, ‘false Nessus,’ iii. 2100, ‘false Egiste,’ &c.

143.upon a weer, i.e. in doubt or distress: cp. iii. 1148, and Chaucer,House of Fame, 979,

‘Tho gan I wexen in a wer.’

144 ff. ‘And especially if the power of the rulers of the world be not kept upright by good counsel in such wise that’ &c.

152.heved, always a monosyllable in the metre: the word also appears as ‘hefd’ i. 199, and frequently as ‘hed.’

154.her trowthe allowe, ‘approve of their loyalty,’ i.e. accept it.

155. ‘And welcome them with all his heart.’ For the position of the conjunction cp. 521, 756, 759, 1014, i. 854, 863, &c., and note onMirour, 415. Mr. Liddell points out to me that the same usage occurs frequently in the ME. Palladius.

156 (margin). The quotation is from Ecclus. xxxii. 24, ‘Fili, sine consilio nihil facias.’ This book is often cited as Solomon in theMirour.

162. A truce with both France and Scotland was made for three years in 1389, but peace was not finally concluded till 1396.

166 f. Cp.Praise of Peace, 190.

172.at alle assaies, ‘in every way’: cp. ii. 2447.

Latin Verses.iii. 1.Iohannes: St. John the Evangelist, who is mentioned either as the teacher of brotherly love or because his Gospel contains the exhortations to St. Peter, ‘Feed my sheep,’ ‘Feed my lambs.’

2.ista, ‘this.’

3.bina virtute, perhaps charity and chastity, cp. 464 ff.

4.inculta, nominative in spite of metre, soauariciain l. 8.

8.tepente, ‘being lukewarm,’ that is, held in a lukewarm manner.

196 (margin).Roberti Gibbonensis, Robert of Geneva, elected pope in opposition to Urban VI, under the title of Clement VII.

198.the god, see note on l. 72.

204.Simon, i.e. Simon Magus, whence simony has its name: cp. 442 ff.,Mirour, 18451 ff., andVox Clamantis, iii. 249, 1217, &c.

207 ff. The reference is to Lombard bankers employed as intermediaries in obtaining Church preferment. The ‘letter’ referred to is the papal provision, or perhaps the letter of request addressed to the pope in favour of a particular person: cp.Vox Clam.iii. 1375 f.,

‘Littera dum Regis papales supplicat aures,Simon et est medius, vngat vt ipse manus.’

‘Littera dum Regis papales supplicat aures,

Simon et est medius, vngat vt ipse manus.’

210.provende, equivalent to prebend, and in fact ‘prebende’ is a var. reading here. Littré quotes from Wace,

‘Cil me dona et Diez li rendeÀ Baiex une provende,’

‘Cil me dona et Diez li rende

À Baiex une provende,’

and from Rutebeuf,

‘Qui argent porte a Rome, assés tot provende a.’

212. ‘The authority of the Church’ (symbolized by the key) ‘did not then lie at the mercy of armed bands or depend upon the issue of battle.’ For ‘brigantaille,’ meaning bands of irregular troops, cp.Mir.18675.

218.defence, ‘prohibition’: cp. iv. 1026, v. 1710, and Chaucer,Troil.iii. 138, ‘if that I breke your defence.’

220. ‘was then no charge of theirs,’ i.e. did not come under their authority: ‘baillie’ means the charge or government of a thing, asTrait.xi. 19, ‘Le duc q’ot lors Ravenne en sa baillie,’ hence a thing placed in a person’s charge.

221.The vein honour: the definite form is rather less regularly used by Gower in adjectives taken from French than in others, e.g. iii. 889, ‘For with here fals compassement’; but on the other hand, i. 864, ‘the pleine cas,’ ii. 412, ‘And thurgh his false tunge endited,’ and 824, ‘This false knyht upon delay.’

246.is went: cp. iii. 878 and Chaucer,Cant. Tales, E 1013, F 567.

247.here lawe positif: the ‘lex positiva’ is that which is not morally binding in itself, but only so because imposed by (ecclesiastical) authority: cp.Vox Clam.iii. 227 ff. This is naturally the sphere within which Church dispensations of all kinds take effect.

248.Hath set.Apparently ‘set’ is intransitive, ‘Since their positive law hath set itself to make,’ &c. There is no good authority for reading ‘hire.’.

252. There is hardly another instance of ‘but’ for ‘bot’ in F, and the form ‘right’ for ‘riht’ in the preceding line is very unusual.

260.the manhode, i.e. human nature: see note on l. 72. For ‘thenkth’ see note on 461.

263.withholde, ‘retained as her servant.’

268.in the point&c., i.e. so soon as it is collected. The allusion is to the circumstances of the campaign of the Bishop of Norwich in1385; cp.Vox Clam.iii. 373 (margin), and see Froissart (ed. Lettenhove), vol. x. p. 207.

278.That scholde be&c., i.e. the papacy, which by reason of the schism has become a cause of war and strife.

289.Gregoire.The reference is to such passages asRegula Pastoralis, i. cap. 8, 9. The quotation in the margin at l. 298 is loosely taken from the Homilies on the Gospel (Migne,Patrol.vol. 76. p. 1128), ‘Mercenarius quippe est qui locum quidem pastoris tenet, sed lucra animarum non quaerit: terrenis commodis inhiat, honore praelationis gaudet, temporalibus lucris pascitur, impensa sibi ab hominibus reverentia laetatur.’ The idea expressed by ‘non vt prosint sed vt presint’ often occurs in Gregory’s writings, e.g.Reg. Past.ii. cap. 6, ‘nec praeesse se hominibus gaudent sed prodesse.’

299.manie: the final ‘e’ counts as a syllable and the preceding vowel is absorbed; see note on 323: but ‘many’ is also used as the plural.

305. Cp.Vox Clam.iii. 1271, ‘In cathedram Moysi nunc ascendunt Pharisei,’ and seeRom. de la Rose, 11809 ff. (ed. Méon), English version, 6889 ff.

311.is noght foryete, an impersonal use, ‘there is no forgetting’: cp. 338.

323. Here ‘studie’ is reduced by elision to the value of a monosyllable: see note onMirour, 296. The rule applies to substantives like ‘accidie,’ ‘Mercurie,’ ‘chirie,’ adjectives like ‘manie’ (l. 299), and verbs like ‘studie,’ ‘carie,’ ‘tarie.’

329.If Ethna brenne&c. What is meant is the fire of Envy, which is often compared to that of Etna, ii. 20, 2337, &c.

338 f. The verb is used impersonally, ‘there is cause for us all to be sorry.’

348. ‘it causeth this new sect to be brought in.’ The subject must be supplied from the previous clause.

366 f. That is, the various claimants to the papacy are supported in various lands by national partiality or interest.

380 f. ‘They use no other reasoning than this as to the peril of religion.’

383.his world, i.e. his fortune, cp. 1081, i. 178, &c.

388 f. That is, the right cause has no defence but in the rule of personal inclination and interest, the principle expressed by ‘Where I love, there I hold.’

407 ff. This is a charge against those who hold office in the Church of deliberately throwing temptation in the way of their people, in order to profit by the fines which may be imposed for breaches of morality and discipline. The meaning is fully illustrated by parallel passages in theMirour de l’omme, 20161 ff., and theVox Clamantis, iii. 195; cp. Chaucer,Pers. Tale, 721. The sentence here is a little disorderly and therefore obscure: ‘Men say that they drive forth their flock from the smooth meadow into the briars, because they wish to seize and by suchill-treatment take away the wool which shall remain upon the thorns, torn out by the briars,’ &c. The archdeacon’s court is chiefly referred to.

416.chalk for chese, cp. ii. 2346: it is a proverbial expression still current.

430. ‘We see the lot drawn amiss’: for ‘merel’ cp.Mir.23496.

434. Hebr. v. 4.

452.in audience, ‘in public assembly’: cp. ii. 2556.

454.a chirie feire, taken as an emblem of delights which are transitory: cp. vi. 890 f.,

‘And that endureth bot a throwe,Riht as it were a cherie feste.’

‘And that endureth bot a throwe,

Riht as it were a cherie feste.’

460.understode, past subj. with indefinite sense: cp. i. 383, ii. 88, iii. 971, iv. 2597, 2728, vi. 1474. ‘Whoso understood their words, to him it seems likely,’ &c., instead of ‘to him it would seem likely’; cp. l. 520.

461. The distinction between ‘thinke’ and ‘thenke’ is completely lost in Gower’s usage: ‘thenke’ is the regular form for both, but ‘thinke’ is admitted equally for both in rhyme, as v. 213, 254.

480. ‘For fear that (On the chance that) I may say wrong.’ The subject is a delicate one and the author shows similar caution when dealing with it in theMirour.

492.as of, ‘as regards’: cp. i. 557, iii. 1479, &c.

Latin Verses. iv. 4.velle, used as a noun, ‘will’: so ‘de puro velle’ in the lines at the beginning of the second book.

509 f. ‘Which with great difficulty man shall restrain, if he shall restrain it ever.’

521. For the position of ‘and’ see note on 155.

525.stonde upon: cp. 214.

529.som men: ‘som’ is uninflected in this expression: on the other hand we have ‘somme clerkes,’ l. 355.

546.the man, so 582: see note on 72.

550 f. ‘If any one thinks otherwise, look at the people of Israel’: ‘Behold’ is 2nd sing. imperative. The unusual form ‘Irael’ is given by the best MSS. here and elsewhere, and we must suppose that it proceeds from the author.

558.stonde full: perhaps a reference to 503 ff., or a metaphor from the tides.

567 (margin). The quotation is fromCons. Phil.ii. Pr. 4: ‘Quam multis amaritudinibus humanae felicitatis dulcedo respersa est.’ The constant references to Fortune and her wheel may probably be suggested by Boethius, e.g. ii. Pr. 1.

578. i.e. till the end of all things.

585 ff. This vision of Nebuchadnezzar, which our author takes as his guide to universal history, is made the subject of illustration in those MSS. which have miniatures at or near the beginning of theConfessio Amantis.

618.Fel doun: cp. iii. 2492, ‘That have I herd the gospell seith.’

668.hol: see note on 683.

676. ‘And he kept himself in this condition undisturbed,’ the subject being supplied from l. 671, ‘Was in that kinges time tho.’ For omission of pronoun cp. Prol. 348, i. 1895, 2083, 2462, &c. However, the fall of the Empire took place not in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar but of Belshazzar (see l. 685).

683. Here and in 693 the best MSS. have ‘put’ for ‘putte,’ and this entire suppression of the inflexional syllable in cases where it is lost to the metre by elision is sufficiently well-attested to justify us in accepting it as an occasional practice of the author, both in the case of verbs and adjectives; cp. 668, 739, &c. It is especially common with this particular verb, e.g. i. 1578, 1807, 3213, ii. 93, 1021, &c., where ‘put’ is used for infinitive as well as for the preterite. Much more rarely in cases where there is no elision, as i. 732. On the other hand, we have ‘putte’ pret. before an elision, l. 1069, i. 2797, ‘pute’ inf. i. 462, iv. 1641.

702. In the marginal summary here F gives ‘Imparatoris,’ and sometimes in other places where the word is fully written, as i. 1417, ii. 593, 2506, 3201. However, ‘Imperator’ is also found in various places of the same MS., as vii. 2416, and the contracted form ‘Imꝑator’ has in this edition been written out so.

725.Of that honour which tok, i.e. ‘of such honour that he took.’

738.so vileins: a clear case of French plural of the adjective, used here for the sake of the rhyme.

739.fals: see notes on 221, 683.

745 ff. It is hardly necessary to point out that our author’s history is here incorrect. Charlemagne was not called in against the Emperor Leo, who died in the year before he was born, but against the Lombards by Adrian I, and then against the rebellious citizens of Rome by Leo III, on which latter occasion he received the imperial crown.The authority here followed is the Trésor of Brunetto Latini, pp. 84-88 (ed. 1863).

756.Of Rome and: cp. ll. 759, 766, and note on 155.

761.doth restore, i.e. ‘causeth to be restored.’

772 ff. Here again the story is historically inaccurate, but it is not worth while to set it straight.

786 ff. The meaning seems to be, ‘But this after all is what we might expect, for prosperity (they say) seldom endures.’

795.hath no felawe‘hath no supporter or champion’: cp.Praise of Peace, 266, ‘And in this wise hath charite no brother.’

809. The punctuation follows F.

823.expondeth.This form occurs also in ll. 663, 873, as a reading of F. The French terminations ‘-on,’ ‘-oun,’ had the same sound and rhymed together, and the same is true of ‘-ance,’ ‘-aunce.’ Probably on the same principle therefore ‘expondeth’ may stand for ‘expoundeth,’ and rhyme with ‘foundeth’: cp. viii. 235 f. On the other hand, in i. 2867 we have expounde, founde. It maybe noted that ‘exponde’ is the form used in the French works, e.g.Mir.22192,Trait.xi. 20, where itrhymes withRosemonde,responde,immonde. As a rule in theMirourthis class of words is given without ‘u,’ but in one stanza we have ‘responde,’ ‘monde,’ ‘blounde’ in rhyme together, 8681 ff.

836.Cit: this is the true reading; the word occurs alsoMir.7197.

843.now with that beforn, ‘the present with the past,’ ‘now’ being used as a substantive.

850.the sothe seie: this is the reading of the third recension; the others have ‘the soth schal seie.’ Either text is admissible, for ‘soth’ is used as a substantive, but ‘the sothe’ is usually preferred, as in l. 834, and i. 981, iii. 765.

858. Cp. ii. 3490.

881.writ: syncopated present, ‘writeth.’ The reference is to 1 Cor. x. 11.

891.Statue: a dissyllable in Gower and Chaucer (equivalent to ‘statwe’), and here reduced to one syllable by elision: cp.Cant. Tales, A. 975. The longer form ‘stature’ occurs vi. 1524.

900.these clerkes: demonstrative for definite article, as in French; cp. i. 608, and see note onMir.301.

905. See l. 965. Perhaps here ‘cause of’ means ‘because of,’ as ‘whos cause’ for ‘because of which’ 1040; but I suspect rather an inversion of order, for ‘Man is cause of al this wo.’

907.that in tokne, cp. 122.

910 ff. This matter of the corruption of all creation through man’s fall is discussed at length both in theMirour, 26605 ff., and in theVox Clamantis, vii. 509 ff.

945 ff. This is one of Gower’s favourite citations: it occurs alsoMir.26869,Vox Clam.vii. 639. It is quoted here fromMoralia, vi. 16 (Migne,Patr.vol. 75, p. 740): ‘Homo itaque, quia habet commune esse cum lapidibus, vivere cum arboribus, sentire cum animalibus, discernere cum angelis, recte nomine universitatis exprimitur.’ In theMirourit is given as from the Homilies; seeHom. in Ev.xxix. 2. The passage is also quoted in theRoman de la Rose, 19246 ff. (ed. Méon),

‘Il a son estre avec les pierres,Et vit avec les herbes drues,Et sent avec les bestes mues,’ &c.

‘Il a son estre avec les pierres,

Et vit avec les herbes drues,

Et sent avec les bestes mues,’ &c.

947.the lasse world, i.e. a microcosm: cp.Vox Clam.vii. 645,

‘Sic minor est mundus homo, qui fert singula solus.’

The saying is attributed to Aristotle inMirour, 26929.

953. That is, the stones have existence and so hath he, this being the only point in common.

955.as telleth the clergie, ‘as learning informs us.’

975.The which, resumed by ‘He’ in 978:for, i.e. ‘since.’

979. That is, the opposite elements in his constitution (‘complexioun’) are so much at variance with one another.

985. ‘Without separation of parts.’

995.also, a repetition of ‘yit over this,’ 991.

1013.sende, pret., cp. i. 851, 992, 1452, &c. (but ‘sente’ in rhyme i. 3095, ii. 613, v. 1072), so ‘bende’ ii. 2235.

1047. That is, there can be no conciliation of the discord.

1055 ff. Cp. Ovid,Fasti, ii. 83 ff.

1066.commun: this form, as well as ‘commune,’ occurs in theMirour.

1085.The horse side: cp. i. 1536, 2301, &c.

After1088 the Sidney Coll. MS. (Δ) has the following lines,

‘So were it gode at þis tideþat eueri man vpon his sidebesowt and preied for þe peswiche is þe cause of al encresof worschep and of werldis welþeof hertis rest of soule helþewithouten pes stant no þing godeforthi to crist wiche sched his blodefor pes beseketh alle menAmen amen amen amen.’

‘So were it gode at þis tide

þat eueri man vpon his side

besowt and preied for þe pes

wiche is þe cause of al encres

of worschep and of werldis welþe

of hertis rest of soule helþe

withouten pes stant no þing gode

forthi to crist wiche sched his blode

for pes beseketh alle men

Amen amen amen amen.’

These were printed by Caxton, and after him by Berthelet, with some slight variations of spelling, and the reading ‘and soules helthe’ for ‘of soule helþe.’ No other MS. contains them, so far as I know, except Hatton 51, which is copied from Caxton’s edition. If we read ‘So were it good as at þis tide,’ and correct the spelling throughout, the lines will be such as Gower might have written, and I rather suspect that they may have been contained in the Stafford MS. (S), to which Δ is nearly allied. S has lost a leaf here, on which ample room for them could have been found, the number of lines missing being only 156, while the number for a full leaf is 184. The authority of S would be conclusive in their favour.

LIB. I.

After setting forth in the Prologue the evils of the existing state of society and tracing them for the most part to lack of love and concord between man and man, the author now deliberately renounces the task of setting right the balance of the world, an undertaking which he has not shrunk from in former years, but recognizes now as too great for his strength. He proposes to change the style of his writings and to deal with something which all may understand, with that emotion of love which Nature has implanted both in man and beast, which no one is able to keep within rule or measure, and which seems to be under the dominion of blind chance, like the gifts of fortune.

Latin Verses.i. 7 f. Cp. the lines ‘Est amor in glosa pax bellica, lis pietosa,’ &c., which follow theTraitié.

10.of thingis, i.e. ‘of thing which is’: cp. ii. 1393, ‘Withinne a Schip was stiereles,’ so iii. 219, v. 298 &c., andMirour, 16956.

21.natheles: as in Prol. 36, this seems to mean here ‘moreover,’ or perhaps ‘in truth,’ rather than ‘nevertheless.’

37. That is, ‘Wheresoever it pleases him to set himself,’ ‘him’ serving a double function.

50.went: present tense, ‘goes.’

62.I am miselven&c. Note, however, that the author guards himself in the margin with ‘quasi in persona aliorum, quos amor alligat, fingens se auctor esse Amantem.’

88.jolif wo, cp. ‘le jolif mal sanz cure,’Bal.xiii. 24.

98 ff. The construction is broken off, and then resumed in a new form: cp. i. 2948, iii. 1595, 2610, iv. 3201, v. 1043, 1339, &c.

116.other: this must be regarded as a legitimate plural form beside ‘othre’: cp. iv. 1183, and see Morsbach,Schriftsprache, p. 23. On the other hand, ‘othre’ is sometimes used as singular, e.g. l. 481, ii. 283.

178.Mi world, i.e. ‘my fortune’: cp. Prol. 383.

196. The idea of ‘Genius’ is taken from theRoman de la Rose, where Genius is the priest of Nature, ‘Qui célébroit en sa chapelle,’ and she confesses to him, 16487 ff. (ed. Méon).

205.Benedicite: the regular beginning of a confessor’s address to his penitent.

213. Cp.Rom. de la Rose, 16927 f. (of Nature confessing to Genius),

‘Qui dit par grant dévocionEn plorant sa confession.’

‘Qui dit par grant dévocion

En plorant sa confession.’

225.my schrifte oppose, ‘question me as to my confession,’ cp. the use of ‘opponere’ in the margin here and 299, 708, &c.

232.tome.This is Gower’s usual form of combination where the accent is to be thrown on the preposition. We have also ‘byme,’ ii. 2016, &c., tome, l. 294, ii. 3160, &c., ‘untome,’ iii. 99, ‘tothe,’ iv. 1875. In such cases, as is seen below, l. 294, the final syllable becomes weak and subject to elision.

279.remene, ‘bring back,’ from Fr. ‘remener’: cp. ‘demenen.’

299 ff. See note onMir.16597.

320. The punctuation is here determined by that of F, which has a stop after ‘love.’ Otherwise the meaning might be, ‘And doth great mischief to love,’ the conjunction being transposed, as often.

333 ff. The story is from Ovid,Metam.iii. 138 ff.

350.cam ride.For this use of the infin. seeNew Engl. Dict., ‘come,’ B. i. 3. f.: so ‘thei comen ryde,’ iv. 1307.

367. For the use of ‘hire’ as a dissyllable in the verse, cp. 872, 1667: on the other hand, 884, 887, 939, 1673, &c.

383. That is, if a man gave heed to the matter, he would see that it was, &c.: cp. Prol. 460.

389. Ovid,Metam.iv. 772 ff. This, however, is not Gower’s only authority, for he mentions details, as for example the names of Medusa’ssisters, which are not given by Ovid. The confusion which we find here between the Graeae and the Gorgons appears in Boccaccio,De Gen. Deorum, x. 10, which possibly our author may have seen; but I suspect he had some other authority. The names which Gower gives as Stellibon and Suriale are properly Stheno (Stennio in Boccaccio) and Euryale.

422.Mercurie: see note on Prol. 323. Mercury’s sword is not mentioned either by Ovid or Boccaccio.

431.gan enbrace, ‘placed on his arm’; see the quotations inNew Engl. Dict.under ‘embracev.1,’ e.g.K. Alis.6651, ‘His scheld enbraceth Antiocus.’

452.To tarie with, ‘with which to vex’: cp. i. 2172, ii. 283, 1081, v. 925, &c., andCant. Tales, F 471, ‘To hele with youre hurtes hastily.’

463 ff. Cp.Mirour, 15253. The legend is founded upon Psalm lviii. 4 f. (Vulg.lvii. 5 f.), ‘Furor illis secundum similitudinem serpentis; sicut aspidis surdae et obturantis aures suas, quae non exaudiet vocem incantantium,’ &c. (Hence the genitive form ‘Aspidis’ in our author.) The moral application is connected with the Gospel precept, ‘Be ye wise as serpents,’ to which reference is made in theMirour. The serpent’s method of stopping his ears was perhaps first suggested by Augustine,In Ps.lvii, who is followed by Isid.Etym.xii. 4, but there is nothing in these authorities about the carbuncle.The authority for this is perhaps the Trésor, p. 191.

481.an othre thing: for ‘othre’ cp. i. 1496, ii. 511.

who that recordeth, ‘if a man calls it to mind’: see note on Prol. 13.

483.tale of Troie, i.e. Guido di Colonna,Hist. Troiana, lib. 32 (o2, ed. Argent. 1494), which is here followed. Benoît mentions the Sirens, but does not describe their form nor state that Ulysses stopped his men’s ears.

492 ff. This manner of piling up consecutive clauses is observable in the author’s French style, and the use of relatives like ‘wherof,’ ‘which’ (l. 771) to introduce them is parallel to that of ‘Dont,’ ‘Par quoy,’ &c. in the French: e.g.Mir.219 ff.,

‘Et tant luy fist plesant desport,Dont il fuist tant enamouré,Que sur sa fille,’ &c.

‘Et tant luy fist plesant desport,

Dont il fuist tant enamouré,

Que sur sa fille,’ &c.

Cp.Mir.681.

527. ‘plus quam mille ex eis interfecimus,’ Guido,Hist. Troi., lib. 32.

532.hiere, subjunctive: cp. ii. 252, iii. 665, &c.

574.othre thing: plural no doubt, but we have also ‘othre (other) thinges,’ i. 2464, iv. 1183.

Latin Verses.v. i.que Leone.This position of ‘que’ is quite common in our author’s Latin writings: see the lines after thePraise of Peace, ll. 10, 49, 50, &c.

8.sub latitante, ‘lurking underneath,’ ‘sub’ being an adverb. The best copies have the words separate.

577.applied, ‘assigned’; cp. iv. 2607, v. 913, vii. 1100.

585.seid, ‘named.’

595.feigneth conscience, that is, makes pretence as to his feeling, or state of mind, (‘As thogh it were al innocence’): cp. iii. 1504, ‘Mi conscience I woll noght hyde.’ The explanation suggested in theNew Engl. Dict.that ‘conscience’ stands for ‘conscientiousness’ or ‘rightful dealing,’ will hardly do, and the word does not seem to be used early in this sense.

599.the vein astat: see note on Prol. 221.

608.these ordres, i.e. ‘the orders’ (of religion): so ‘these clerkes,’ Prol. 900.

where he duelleth, that is, the hypocrite, standing for Hypocrisy in general.

623.religioun, the members of the religious orders, as distinguished from the rest of the clergy.

626.It scheweth, ‘it appears’: cp. Prol. 834.

636.devolte apparantie: the words are pure French, and the French feminine form is as naturally used for the adjective, as in the ‘seinte apparantie’ ofMir.1124. We cannot apply the English rule of the definite adjective to such combinations as this: cp. note on Prol. 221. However, ‘devoute’ in l. 669 seems to be the plural form.

637.set, present tense: so ll. 650, 707, &c.

648.these othre seculers, ‘the men of the world also.’

650. ‘He makes no reckoning in his account.’

695.As he which&c.; that is simply, ‘feigning to be sick,’ so iv. 1833, ‘As he who feigneth to be wod’; cp. vii. 3955. The expression ‘as he which,’ ‘as sche which,’ is very commonly used by Gower in this sense; cp. i. 925, 1640, &c., andMir.27942, ‘Comme cil q’est tout puissant,’ ‘being all-powerful.’

698. Cp. iv. 1180, ‘And thus mi contienance I pike.’ It means ‘he makes many a pretence.’

709.Entamed, ‘wounded’: used in a similar moral sense inMir.25161, ‘Car Covoitise les entame.’

713.As forto feigne, i.e. ‘as regards feigning’: so l. 723, ‘as to my ladi diere.’

718 ff. For the form of sentence, which is a favourite one with our author in all his three languages, but especially perhaps in Latin, cp.Mirour, 18589 ff.,

‘Unques le corps du sainte HeleineSerchant la croix tant ne se peine,Qe nous ovesque nostre Court,Assetz n’y mettons plus du peine,’ &c.

‘Unques le corps du sainte Heleine

Serchant la croix tant ne se peine,

Qe nous ovesque nostre Court,

Assetz n’y mettons plus du peine,’ &c.

Vox Clam.i. 263 ff.,

‘In Colchos tauri, quos vicit dextra Iasonis,Non ita sulphureis ignibus ora fremunt,Quin magis igne boues isti,’ &c.

‘In Colchos tauri, quos vicit dextra Iasonis,

Non ita sulphureis ignibus ora fremunt,

Quin magis igne boues isti,’ &c.

So alsoBal.vii. 23, xviii. 8, xxx. 10;Vox Clam.i. 355, 449, 499, &c.;Conf. Am.i. 1259, 1319, &c.

733. ‘For I shall not declare this in my defence, that’ &c.; a somewhat different use of the word from that which we find in the quotations given by theNew Engl. Dict., ‘Excusev.’ i. 1. d.

761 ff. The story of Mundus and Paulina is historical, related by Josephus,Ant.xviii. 66 ff., and after him by Hegesippus, ii. 4, from whom it was taken by Vincent of Beauvais,Spec. Hist.vii. 4, and also doubtless, directly or indirectly, by Gower. It is told in verse by Godfrey of Viterbo,Pantheon, xv, but it is certain that this was not Gower’s source.

771.Which: for this use of the relative in a consecutive clause, which is very common in our author’s style, see note on 492, and cp. 801.

773.thilke bore frele kinde.Human nature is described as frail from birth, and by its weakness causing blindness of the heart.

776 f. ‘And such were the fortunes of this tale of which I would speak,’ i.e. this was the passion which determined its course.

816.his thonk pourchace, ‘win their gratitude towards himself.’

833. ‘In which a false heart was concealed,’ an instance of inverted order, for which cp. ii. 565,

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