25. alle thinges may, is omnipotent: 'potentis omnia.'
27. an enbasshinge ... ende: 'infiniti stuporis.'
30. right ordenee, well ordered: 'dispositissima domo.'
32. heried, praised. This resembles the language of St. Paul; 2 Tim. ii. 20.
41. cesen, cause to cease: 'sopitis querelis.'
45. alle thinges, all things being treated of: 'decursis omnibus.'
47. fetheres, wings; 'pennas.' The A. S. pl. fethera sometimes means wings.
50. sledes, sleds, i. e. sledges: 'uehiculis.' The Vulgate version of 1 Chron. xx. 3 has: 'et fecit super eos tribulas, et trahas, et ferrata carpenta transire.' Wycliffe translates trahas by sledis (later version, sleddis).
METRE 1. 2-5. Quoted in Ho. Fame, 973-8.
5. fyr, fire. In the old astronomy, the region of air was supposed to be surrounded by a region of fire, which Boethius here says was caused by the swift motion of the ether: 'Quique agili motu calet aetheris Transcendit ignis uerticem.' Beyond this region were the planetary spheres, viz. those of the moon, Mercury, Venus, the sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. This explains the allusion to the passage of Thought (Imagination) through 'the houses that bear the stars' (i. e. planets), in Latin astriferas domos, and so, past the sun, to the seventh sphere of Saturn. After this, Thought soars to the eighth sphere, called the Sphere of the Fixed Stars (denoted below by 'the circle of the stars' or 'the firmament'); and after 'wending on the back of it,' i. e. getting beyond it, reaches the primum mobile, where 'the lord of kings holds the sceptre of his might.'
'Donec in astriferas surgat domos,
Phoeboque coniungat uias,
Aut comitetur iter gelidi senis
Miles corusci sideris;
Vel quocunque micans nox pingitur,
Recurrat astri circulum,
Atque ubi iam exhausti fuerit satis,
Polum relinquit extimum,
Dorsaque uelocis premat aetheris
Compos uerendi luminis.'
9. Saturnus, the planet Saturn; which Chaucer rightly gives as the sense of 'senis.'
and he y-maked, i.e. and he (Thought) becomes a knight. I hesitate to insert is after he, because all the authorities omit it; in fact, the phrase and he y-maked seems to be equivalent to 'he being made.' I do not understand what is meant by 'Miles corusci sideris,' unless it means that Boethius imagines Thought to become a companion of Mars, and thus to be made a soldier, in the service of that bright planet.
15. images of sterres, i.e. constellations, which were fancifully supposed to represent various objects.
18. worshipful light. MS. A has dredefulle clerenesse. Both are translations of 'uerendi luminis.'
22. swifte cart: 'uolucrem currum.' Cart is sometimes used for car or chariot.
25. but now, &c. These words are supposed to be spoken by Boethius, when he remembers all the truth. 'Haec dices, memini, patria est mihi.'
26. heer wol I fastne my degree: 'hic sistam gradum.' The sense is rather, 'here will I [or, let me] fix my step,' or 'plant my foot'; i.e. remain. Cf. 'Siste gradum,' i. e. stop; Verg. Aen. vi. 465.
27. But yif:
'Quod si terrarum placeat tibi
Noctem relictam uisere,
Quos miseri toruos populi timent
Cernes tyrannos exules.'
PROSE 2. 1. owh, an exclamation; 'Papae.'
13. fey, the faith, the certainty: 'fides.' sentence, opinion.
31. And in that: 'Quod uero quisque potest.' may, can do.
71. Yif that: 'Etsi coniecto, inquam, quid uelis.'
84. knit forth: 'Contexe, inquam, cetera.'
93. shewinge, evident; is open and shewinge: 'patet.'
97. Iugement. Evidently meant to translate iudicium. But Chaucer misread his text, which has indicium. 'Idque, ut medici sperare solent, indicium est erectae iam resistentisque naturae.'
103. ledeth hem, i. e. leads them to: 'qui ne ad hoc quidem peruenire queunt, ad quod eos naturalis ducit, ac pene compellit, intentio.'
104. And what: 'Et quid? si hoc tam magno ac pene inuicto praeeuntis naturae desererentur auxilio?'
112. Ne shrewes: 'Neque enim leuia aut ludicra praemia petunt, quae consequi atque obtinere non possunt.'
49. may it semen: 'possuntne sibi supplicii expertes uideri, quos omnium malorum extrema nequitia non afficit modò, verumetiam uehementer inficit?'
70. under, beneath, below: 'infra hominis meritum.'
METRE 3. 1. aryvede, cause to arrive, drove: 'appulit.'
the sailes: 'Vela Neritii ducis;' Chaucer inserts Ulixes, i. e. Ulysses. The phrase is from Ovid: 'Dux quoque Neritius,' i. e. Ulysses; Fasti, iv. 69. Neritos was a mountain of Ithaca, the island of Ulysses. MS. C. reads Naricii, which accounts for the form Narice.
3. Circes, Circe, as in Ho. Fame, 1272; inserted by Chaucer.
7. that oon of hem: 'Hunc apri facies tegit.'--'One of them, his face is covered,' &c.
9. Marmorike: 'Marmaricus leo.' This refers to the country of Barca, on the N. African coast, to the W. of Egypt.
13. But al-be-it: 'Sed licet uariis modis Numen Arcadis alitis Obsitum miserans ducens Peste soluerit hospitis.' Arcas ales, the winged Arcadian, i. e. Mercury, because born on the Arcadian mountain Cyllene.
16. algates, at any rate; by this, already.
19. akornes of okes; this is not tautology, for an acorn was, originally, any fruit of the field, as the etymology (from acre) shews.
23. over-light, too light, too feeble: 'O leuem nimium manum, Nec potentia gramina, Membra quae ualeant licet, Corda uertere non ualent.'
32. for vyces: 'Dira, quae penitus meant, Nec nocentia corpori Mentis uulnere saeuiunt.'
PROSE 4. 2. ne I ne see nat: 'nec iniuria dici uideo uitiosos, tametsi humani corporis speciem seruent, in belluas tamen animorum qualitate mutari.' Chaucer's 'as by right' should rather be 'as by wrong.' It means 'I do not see that it is wrongly said.'
4, 5. But I nolde, but I would rather that it were not so with regard to evil men: 'eis licere noluissem.'
18. to mowen don, to be able to do: 'potuisse.'
22. three, i. e. the triple misfortune of wishing to do evil, of being able to do it, and of doing it.
26. thilke unselinesse: 'hoc infortunio'; i. e. the ability to sin.
28. So shullen: 'Carebunt, inquit, ocius, quàm uel tu forsitan uelis, uel illi sese existiment esse carituros.'
30. For ther: 'Neque enim est aliquid in tam breuibus uitae metis ita serum, quod exspectare longum immortalis praesertim animus putet.'
39. by the outtereste: 'eorum malitiam ... mors extrema finiret.'
42. ben perdurable, i. e. to exist eternally: 'infinitam liquet esse miseriam, quam constat esse aeternam.'
51. ther is not why, there is no reason why.
54. but of the thinges: 'sed ex his, quae sumpta sunt, aeque est necessarium.'
64. but I understande: 'sed alio quodam modo infeliciores esse improbos arbitror impunitos, tametsi nulla ratio correctionis, nullus respectus habeatur exempli.' Thus 'non ensaumple of lokinge' is wrong; it should rather be 'non lokinge of ensaumple,' i. e. no regard to the example thus set.
90. which defaute: 'quam iniquitatis merito malum esse confessus es.' Hence 'for the deserte of felonye' means 'when we consider what wickedness deserves.'
102. to leten, to leave: 'nullane animarum supplicia ... relinquis?'
132. briddes, i. e. owls. See Parl. Foules, 599.
142. right as thou: 'ueluti si uicibus sordidam humum caelumque respicias, cunctis extra cessantibus, ipsa cernendi ratione nunc coeno nunc sideribus interesse uidearis.'
153. Wrong. It should rather run: 'sholde we wene that we were blinde?' Lat. 'num uidentes eadem caecos putaremus?'
193. in al, altogether: 'tota,' sc. opera defensorum.
197, 8. at any clifte: 'aliqua rimula.'
sawen, if they should perceive: 'uiderent.'
200. right for: 'compensatione adipiscendae probitatis.' Hence for to geten hem means 'of obtaining for themselves.'
205. y-leten, left: 'nullus prorsus odio locus relinquatur.'
METRE 4. 1. What delyteth you, Why does it delight you? 'Quid tantos iuuat excitare motus?'
Lines 8-10 are put interrogatively in the Latin text.
9. and wilnen: 'Alternisque uolunt perire telis.'
10. But the resoun: 'Non est iusta satis saeuitiae ratio.'
20. hepeth: 'Nunc stuporem meum Deus rector exaggerat.'
METRE 5. The Latin text begins thus:--
'Si quis Arcturi sidera nescit
Propinqua summo cardine labi,
Cur legat tardus plaustra Boötes,
Mergatque seras aequore flammas,
Cum nimis celeres explicet ortus,
Legem stupebit aetheris alti.'
1. sterres of Arcture, the stars of the constellation Arcturus. Arcturus was (as here) another name for Boötes, though it properly meant the brightest star in that constellation. It is at no great distance from the north pole, and so appears to revolve round it. The passage, which is somewhat obscure, seems to refer to the manner of the rising and setting of Boötes; and the argument is, that a person ignorant of astronomy, must be puzzled to understand the laws that rule the motions of the sky.
3. the sterre, the constellation. Chaucer uses sterre in this sense in several passages; see Kn. Tale, A 2059, 2061, and the notes.
8. the fulle mone. This alludes to an eclipse of the moon, as appears from below.
9. infect: 'Infecta metis noctis opacae.'
confuse, confounded, overcome; the light of the moon disappears in a full eclipse, rendering the stars brighter.
11. The comune errour: 'Commouet gentes publicus error.' The people who do not understand an eclipse, are excited by it; they bring out basins, and beat them with a loud din, to frighten away the spirit that is preying on the moon. Chaucer calls them Corybantes, but these were the priests of Cybele. Still, they celebrated her rites to the sound of noisy music; and he may have been thinking of a passage in Ovid, Fasti, iv. 207-14. C. adds a gloss: 'i. vulgaris error, quo putatur luna incantari.'
12. thikke strokes, frequent strokes. The word resembles thilke in C., because lk is not unfrequently written for kk in the fifteenth century, to the confusion of some editors; see my paper on Ghost-words, in the Philol. Soc. Trans. 1886, p. 370.
18. by quakinge flodes: 'frementi ... fluctu.'
23. alle thinges: 'Cuncta, quae rara prouehit aetas.'
24. troubly errour: 'nubilus error.'
PROSE 6. 9. laven it, to exhaust the subject: 'cui uix exhausti quidquam satis sit.' As to lave, see note to Bk. iii. Met. 12-16.
13. Ydre, Hydra; see note below to Met. 7. The form is due to hydrae (MS. hydre) in the Latin text.
Ne ther ... ende: 'nec ullus fuerit modus.' Manere is not the sense of modus here; it rather means ende or 'limit.'
14. but-yif: 'nisi quis eas uiuacissimo mentis igne coërceat.'
24, 5. But althogh: 'Quòd si te musici carminis oblectamenta delectant, hanc oportet paullisper differas uoluptatem, dum nexas sibi ordine contexo rationes.' This is said, because this 'Prose' is of unusual length. For sibi, another reading is tibi; hence Chaucer's 'weve to thee resouns.'
33. in the tour: 'Haec in suae simplicitatis arce composita, multiplicem rebus gerendis modum statuit.'
48. but destinee: 'fatum uero singula digerit in motum, locis, formis, ac temporibus distributa.'
59. and ledeth: 'et quod simpliciter praesentarieque prospexit, per temporales ordines ducit.' Cf. Troilus, i. 1065-9.
67. by some sowle; glossed 'anima mundi.' This idea is from Plato, De Legibus, bk. x: [Greek: psychên dê dioikousan kai enoikousan en hapasi tois pantê kinoumenois môn ou kai ton ouranon anankê dioikein phanai]; (896 D).
68. by the celestial, &c.; alluding to the old astrology.
81. a same centre; i.e. concentric circles, as on a target.
87. and yif ther be: 'si quid uero illi se medio connectat et societ, in simplicitatem cogitur, diffundique ac diffluere cessat.'
93. laus, loose; from Icel. lauss. Also spelt loos, los. it axeth: 'quantò illum rerum cardinem uicinius petit.' Thus it axeth is due to 'petit,' i.e. seeks, tends to.
97. Thanne right swich: 'Igitur uti est ad intellectum ratiocinatio; ad id quod est, id quod gignitur; ad aeternitatem tempus; ad puncti medium circulus: ita est fati series mobilis ad prouidentiae stabilem simplicitatem.'
108. whan they passen: 'cùm ... proficiscantur.' Thus whan should rather be so as, i.e. whereas, because.
112. unable to ben ybowed: 'indeclinabilem caussarum ordinem promat.'
114. sholden fleten: 'res ... temerè fluituras.'
For which it is: 'Quo fit.'
116. natheles: 'nihilominus tamen suus modus ad bonum dirigens cuncta disponat.'
121. ne the ordre: 'ne dum ordo de summi boni cardine proficiscens, a suo quoquam deflectat exordio.' MS. C. has 'deflectatur.'
123. 'Quae uero, inquies, potest ulla iniquior esse confusio.' For 'iniquior,' MS. C. has the extraordinary reading 'inquiescior,' which Chaucer seems to have tried to translate.
138. Ne it ne is nat: 'Non enim dissimile est miraculum nescienti.'
145. hele of corages: 'animorum salus.'
148. lecher, i.e. leech-er, healer: 'medicator mentium Deus.'
151. leneth hem, gives them: 'quod conuenire nouit, accommodat.' Printed leueth in Dr. Furnivall's print of MS. C., but leneth in Morris's edition of MS. A. There is no doubt as to the right reading, because accommodare and lenen are both used in the sense 'to lend.'
154. for to constreine: 'ut pauca ... perstringam,' i.e. 'to touch lightly on a few things.' Chaucer has taken it too literally, but his paraphrase is nearly right.
157. right kepinge: 'aequi seruantissimum.'
159. my familer: 'familiaris noster Lucanus.' Alluding to the famous line:--'Victrix caussa deis placuit, sed uicta Catoni'; Pharsalia, i. 128.
168. with-holden, retain: 'retinere fortunam.'
176. by me, by my means, by my help: 'Nam ut quidam me quoque excellentior ait.' This looks like a slip on the part of Boethius himself, for the supposed speaker is Philosophy herself. The philosopher here alluded to still remains unknown. MS. C. has 'me quidem'; and 'me' is glossed by 'philosophus per me.'
177. in Grek. Some MSS. have: [Greek: andros hierou sôma dynameis oikodomousi]. There are various readings, but Chaucer had before him only the interpretation: 'Viri sacri corpus aedificauerunt uirtutes.' Such is the reading in MS. C.
179. taken, delivered, entrusted. 'Fit autem saepe, uti bonis summa rerum gerenda deferatur.'
182. remordeth: 'remordet,' i.e. plagues, troubles.
186. And other folk: 'Alii plus aequo metuunt, quod ferre possunt.'
201. of wikkede merite: 'eos male meritos omnes existimant.'
206. serven to shrewes: 'famulari saepe improbis.' I trowe: 'illud etiam dispensari credo.'
207, 8. overthrowinge to yvel: 'praeceps.'
209. egren him: 'eum ... exacerbare possit.'
219. shal be cause: 'ut exercitii bonis, et malis esset caussa supplicii.' Hence continuacion seems to mean 'endurance' or 'continuance.'
242. sin that: the original is in Greek, with (in MS. C.) the false gloss:--'fortissimus in mundo Deus omnia regit.' The Greek is--[Greek: Argaleon de me tauta theon hôs pant' agoreuein]. From Homer, Il. xii. 176, with the change from [Greek: agoreusai] to [Greek: agoreuein].
247. with-holden, to retain, keep, maintain; 'retinere.'
253. ben outrageous or haboundant: 'abundare.' Hence outrageous is 'superfluous' or 'excessive.'
257. and whan: 'quo refectus, firmior in ulteriora contendas.'
METRE 6. 1. 'Si uis celsi iura tonantis Pura sollers cernere mente, Adspice summi culmina caeli'; &c.
5. cercle: 'Non Sol ... Gelidum Phoebes impedit axem.'
6. Ne the sterre: 'Nec quae summo uertice mundi Flectit rapidos Ursa meatus, Numquam occiduo lota profundo, Cetera cernens sidera mergi, Cupit Oceano tingere flammas.' Hence deyen is to dye, to dip.
10. Hesperus, the evening-star; Lucifer, the morning-star.
13. And thus: 'Sic aeternos reficit cursus Alternus amor; sic astrigeris Bellum discors exsulat oris. Haec concordia temperat aequis Elementa modis, ut pugnantia Vicibus cedant humida siccis'; &c.
20, 1. in the firste somer-sesoun warminge: 'uere tepenti.' This is not the only place where uer is translated somer-sesoun, a phrase used as applicable to May in P. Plowman, Prol. 1. Another name for 'spring' was Lent or Lenten.
24. and thilke: 'Eadem rapiens condit et aufert Obitu mergens orta supremo.'
29. And tho: 'Et quae motu concitat ire, Sistit retrahens, ac uaga firmat.'
31. For yif: 'Nam nisi rectos reuocans itus, Flexos iterum cogat in orbes, Quae nunc stabilis continet ordo, Dissepta suo fonte fatiscant.'
37. This is: 'Hic est cunctis communis amor Repetuntque boni fine teneri, Quia non aliter durare queunt, Nisi conuerso rursus amore Refluant caussae, quae dedit esse.'
PROSE 7. 57. ne also it: 'ita uir sapiens molestè ferre non debet, quotiens in fortunae certamen adducitur.'
60. matere, material, source.
62. vertu. Boethius here derives uirtus from uires: 'quod suis uiribus nitens non superetur aduersis.'
64. Ne certes: 'Neque enim uos in prouectu positi uirtutis, diffluere deliciis, et emarcescere uoluptate uenistis; proelium cum omni fortuna nimis acre conseritis, ne uos aut tristis opprimat, aut iucunda corrumpat: firmis medium uiribus occupate.'
72. in your hand: 'In uestra enim situm est manu.'
METRE 7. 1. wreker, avenger; Attrides, Atrides, i.e. Agamemnon, son of Atreus. Chaucer derived the spelling Agamenon from a gloss in MS. C. Gower (C. A. ii. 344) has the same form.
2. recovered: 'Fratris amissos thalamos piauit.'
5. Menelaus, &c.; 'that was his brother Menelaus' wife.' The usual idiom; see note to Squieres Tale, E 209.
9. doughter, i.e. Iphigenia; Ovid, Met. xii. 27-38.
13. Itacus: 'Fleuit amissos Ithacus sodales.' The well-known story of Ulysses of Ithaca; from Homer, Od. ix.
15. empty; as if translating 'inani.' But the right reading is inmani (or immani); i.e. 'vast.' MS. C. 'inmani,' glossed 'magno.'
20. Hercules. See Monkes Tale, B 3285, and the notes. In the first note, this passage from Boethius is given at length.
21. Centaures, Centaurs; Hercules was present at the fight between the Centauri and Lapithae; Ovid, Met. xii. 541; ix. 191.
22. lyoun, the Nemean lion; Ovid, Met. ix. 197, 235; Her. ix. 61.
23. Arpyes, the Harpies; with reference to the destruction of the Stymphalian birds, who ate human flesh; Met. ix. 187. The gloss in the footnote--in the palude of lyrne (in the marsh of Lerna) is a mistake; it should refer to the Hydra mentioned below.
25. dragoun, the dragon in the garden of the Hesperides; Met. ix. 190. The 'golden metal' refers to the golden apples.
26. Cerberus; Ovid, Met. ix. 185.
27. unmeke, proud; see note to Monkes Tale, B 3293; and Ovid, Met. ix. 194-6. Note that hors (= horses) is plural.
29. Ydra, Hydra; Ovid, Met. ix. 192.
30. Achelous; see the story in Ovid, Met. ix. 1-97. Boethius imitates Ovid, l. 97, viz. 'Et lacerum cornu mediis caput abdidit undis.'
35. Antheus, Antaeus; Ovid, Met. ix. 184. For the story, see Lucan, Phars. iv. 590-660; Lucan refers to Lybia as the place of combat; l. 582.
36. Cacus; see the story in Ovid, Fasti, i. 543-86.
39. boor, the boar of Erymanthus; Ovid, Her. ix. 87. For scomes (lit. scums), Caxton and Thynne have vomes, for fomes (foams).
40. the whiche, 'which shoulders were fated to sustain (lit. thrust against) the high sphere of heaven.' Alluding to Hercules, when he took the place of Atlas.
45. nake, expose your unarmed backs (Lat. nudatis), like one who runs away. An unarmed man was usually said to be naked; as in Othello, v. 2. 258; 2 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 234; &c.
BOOK V.
PROSE 1. 3. A mistranslation. 'Recta quidem exhortatio, tuaque prorsus auctoritate dignissima.'
9. assoilen to thee the. I prefer this reading, adopted from Caxton's edition, because the others make no sense. The original reading was to the the (= to thee the), as in MS. Ii. 1. 38, whence, by dropping one the, the reading to the in C. and Ed. MS. A. alters it to the to the, absurdly. The fact is, that to thee belongs to the next clause. 'Festino, inquit, debitum promissionis absoluere, uiamque tibi,' &c.
14. to douten, to be feared; 'uerendumque est.'
28. left, or dwellinge, left, or remaining (reliquus). 'Quis enim ... locus esse ullus temeritati reliquus potest?'
31. nothing: 'nihil ex nihilo exsistere.' Referring to the old saying:--'Ex nihilo nihil fit.'
34. prince and beginnere oddly represents Lat. 'principio.' casten it, laid it down: 'quasi quoddam iecerint fundamentum.' I supply it.
44. Aristotulis, Aristotle. The reference is to Aristotle's Physics, bk. ii. ch. 5.
47. for grace, for the sake of; 'gratia.'
50. Right as, just as if. by cause, for the purpose.
55. ne dolve, had not digged; subj. mood.
57. abregginge. A mistranslation. 'Hae sunt igitur fortuiti caussae compendii'; these then are the causes of this fortuitous acquisition. Compendium also means 'an abbreviating,' which Chaucer here expresses by abbregginge, introducing at the same time the word 'hap,' to make some sense.
66. uneschuable, inevitable; 'ineuitabili.'
METRE 1. 2. Achemenie: 'Rupis Achaemeniae scopulis,' in the crags of the Achæmenian rock or mountain. Achaemenius signifies 'Persian,' from Achaemenes, the grandfather of Cyrus; but is here extended to mean Armenian. The sources of the Tigris and Euphrates are really different, though both rise in the mountains of Armenia; they run for a long way at no great distance apart, and at last join.
3. fleinge bataile, the flying troop; with reference to the well-known Parthian habit, of shooting arrows at those who pursue them; see Vergil, Georg. iii. 31.
5. yif they, when they; meaning that they do converge.
9. and the wateres: 'Mixtaque fortuitos implicet unda modos: Quae tamen ipsa uagos terrae decliuia cursus Gurgitis et lapsi defluus ordo regit.'
14. it suffereth: 'Fors patitur frenos, ipsaque lege meat.'
30. caitifs, captive: 'propriâ libertate captiuae.' Ll. 30-34 are repeated in Troilus, iv. 963-6; q.v.
34. in Greek: [Greek: pant' ephora kai pant' epakouei]. From Homer, Iliad, iii. 277--[Greek: Êelios th', hos pant' ephoras kai pant' epakoueis]. Cf. Odys. xii. 323.
METRE 2. 1, 2. with the, &c.; 'Melliflui ... oris.' cleer, bright; alluding to the common phrase in Homer: [Greek: lampron phaos êelioio]; Il. i. 605, &c.
8. strok: 'Uno mentis cernit in ictu.'
PROSE 3. A large portion of this Prose, down to l. 71, is paraphrased in Troilus, iv. 967-1078; q.v.
12. libertee of arbitre, freedom of will (arbitrii).
19. proeve, approve of: 'Neque ... illam probo rationem.'
30. but ... ytravailed: 'Quasi uero ... laboretur'; which means, rather, 'as if the question were.'
35. But I ne, &c. The translation is here quite wrong; and as in another place, Chaucer seems to have read nitamur as uitamus. The text has: 'At nos illud demonstrare nitamur.' The general sense is: 'But let me endeavour to shew, that, in whatever manner the order of causes be arranged, the happening of things foreseen is necessary, although the foreknowledge does not seem to impose on future things a necessity of their happening.'
53. For althogh that; cf. Troil. iv. 1051-7, which is clearer.
55. therfore ne bityde they nat, it is not on that account that they happen. Cf. 'Nat that it comth for it purveyed is'; Troil. iv. 1053.
71. at the laste, finally: 'Postremò.'
78. that I ne wot it. The ne is superfluous, though in all the copies. The sense is--'if I know a thing, it cannot be false (must be true) that I know it.'
80. wanteth lesing, is free from falsehood: 'mendacio careat.'
And yit, &c. To make sense, read than whiche for of the whiche. The whole clause, from And yit down to wikke is expanded from 'Quoque nihil sceleratius excogitari potest.'
131. sin that: 'quando optanda omnia series indeflexa connectit?'
141. that nis nat ... or that, that cannot be approached before. The Latin is: 'illique inaccessae luci, prius quoque quam impetrent, ipsa supplicandi ratione coniungi.'
142. impetren, ask for it; such is the reading of MS. Ii. 1. 38. A coined word, from the Lat. impetrent; see the last note.
146. linage of mankind, the human race; to which his (its) twice refers below.
147. a litel her-biforn; i.e. in Bk. iv. Met. 6. 34, where we find--'they sholden departen from hir welle, that is to seyn, from hir biginninge, and faylen.' See p. 122.
METRE 3. 1. What, &c.: 'Quaenam discors foedera rerum Caussa resoluit?'
2. the coniunccioun; but this gloss seems to be wrong, for the reference is rather (as Chaucer, following a sidenote in MS. C., says in l. 5) to foreknowledge and free will.
3. Whiche god, i.e. what divinity: 'Quis tanta deus Veris statuit bella duobus?'
7. But ther nis. The Lat. text is put interrogatively: 'An nulla est discordia ueris, Semperque sibi certa cohaerent?'
10. by fyr: 'oppressi luminis igne.'
12. But wherefore: 'Sed cur tanto flagrat amore Veri tectas reperire notas?' It thus appears that y-covered, i.e. 'that are hidden,' refers to thilke notes, not to sooth; cf. l. 15. But the translation is not at all happy.
16. Wot it: 'Scitne, quod appetit anxia nosse?'
18. seith thus: 'Sed quis nota scire laborat? At si nescit, quid caeca petit? Quis enim quidquam nescius optet?'
26. But whan: not a statement, as here taken, but a question. 'An cùm mentem cerneret altam Pariter summam et singula norat?' The translation is quite incorrect, and the passage is difficult. The reference seems to be to the supposition that the soul, apart from the body, sees both universals and particulars, but its power in the latter respect is impeded by the body; ideas taken from Plato's Meno and Phædo.
34. in neither nother, put for in ne either ne other, i.e. not in one nor in the other; or, in modern English, 'he is neither in one position nor the other': 'Neutro est habitu.' This curious phrase is made clearer by comparing it with the commoner either other. Thus, in P. Plowman, B. v. 148: 'either despiseth other'; in the same, B. v. 164: 'eyther hitte other'; and again, in B. xi. 173: 'that alle manere men .. Louen her eyther other'; and, in B. vii. 138: 'apposeden either other'; and lastly, in B. xvi. 207: 'either is otheres Ioye.'
PROSE 4. 2. Marcus Tullius, i.e. Cicero; De Diuinatione, lib. ii. 60.
8. moeven to: 'ad diuinae praescientiae simplicitatem non potest admoueri.'
15. y-spended, spent; but the right sense of the Latin is weighed or considered: 'si prius ea quibus moueris, expendero.'
22. from elles-where: 'aliunde'; compare Chaucer's gloss.
24. unbityde, not happen: 'non euenire non possunt.'
27. thou thyself. The reference is to Bk. v. Pr. 3. l. 27, above--'ne it ne bihoveth nat, nedes, that thinges bityden that ben purvyed.'
28, 9. what cause: 'quid est, quod uoluntarii exitus rerum ad certum cogantur euentum?' endes, results: 'exitus;' and so again below.
30. by grace of position, for the sake of a supposition, by way of supposition: 'positionis gratia.' Cf. Chaucer's use of pose for 'suppose' in the next line. The reading possessioun (in both MSS.) is obviously wrong; it sounds as if taken down from dictation.
31. I pose, I suppose, I put the case: 'statuamus nullam esse praescientiam.' The words 'per impossibile' are inserted by Chaucer, and mean, 'to take an impossible case.'
56. But, certes, right; only, indeed, just as, &c. It is difficult to give the right force intended; and, probably, Chaucer quite mistook the sense. 'Quasi uero nos ea, quae prouidentia futura esse praenoscit, non esse euentura credamus.'
62. in the torninge: 'in quadrigis moderandis atque flectendis.'
63. And by: 'atque ad hunc modum caetera.'
100. and for that this thing shal mowen shewen, and in order that this may appear (lit. may be able to appear). The whole clause merely means--'And to make this clearer by an easy example.' Lat. 'Nam ut hoc breui liqueat exemplo.'
101. roundnesse is here in the objective case: 'eandem corporis rotunditatem aliter uisus aliter tactus agnoscit.'
107. And the man: 'Ipsum quoque hominem.' wit, i.e. sense. The 'five wits' were the five senses.
113. spece, species. peces, parts; in the singuler peces, i.e. in the particular parts.
115. universitee, that which is universal: 'uniuersitatis ambitum.'
133. by a strok: 'illo uno ictu mentis formaliter.'
137. diffinissheth, defines the universality of her conception.
METRE 4. 1. The Porche; in Latin, Porticus; in Gk. [Greek: stoa], a roofed colonnade or porch in Athens, frequented by Zeno and his followers, who hence obtained the name of Stoics.
'Quondam Porticus attulit Obscuros nimium senes,
Qui sensus, et imagines E corporibus extimis
Credant mentibus imprimi.'
10. TEXT. The Latin text continues thus:--
'Vt quondam celeri stilo Mos est aequore paginae
Quae nullas habeat notas, Pressas figere litteras.'
11. pointel; see note to Somn. Tale, D 1742. And cf. Troilus, i. 365; Cant. Ta. E 1581, 2.
15. But yif:
'Sed mens si propriis uigens Nihil motibus explicat
Sed tantùm patiens iacet Notis subdita corporum,
Cassasque in speculi uicem Rerum reddit imagines.
Vnde haec sic animis uiget Cernens omnia notio?
Quae uis singula prospicit, Aut quae cognita diuidit?
Quae diuisa recolligit, Alternumque legens iter
Nunc summis caput inserit, Nunc desidit in infima,
Tum sese referens sibi, Veris falsa redarguit?'
18. For the wit, i.e. the sense, the external senses.
21. as oystres ... see: the Latin merely has: 'quales sunt conchae maris.'
23. remuable, capable of motion from place to place: 'mobilibus belluis.'
talent, inclination, desire, wish: 'affectus.'
30. But how ... yif that, but how will it be if?
33. that that that, that that thing which.
35. ne that ther nis, so that there is: 'nec quicquam esse sensibile.'
49. maner stryvinge, sort of strife: 'In huiusmodi igitur lite.'
62. parsoneres, partners of, endowed with. The modern partner represents the M. E. parcener, variant of parsoner, from O. F. parsonier, representing a Latin form *partitionarius. Lat. 'participes.'
66. For which: 'Quare in illius summae intelligentiae cacumen, si possumus, erigamur.'
11. hevieth, oppresses: 'Prona tamen facies hebetes ualet ingrauare sensus.' From Aristotle, On the Parts of Animals, Bk. iv. [Greek: Dio pleionos genomenou tou barous kai tou sômatôdous, anankê rhepein ta sômata pros tên gên] (chap. 10). As to the upright carriage of man, see the same chapter. Cf. Ovid, Met. i. 84, and see note to Chaucer's 'Truth,' l. 19.
12. light, i.e. not bowed down: 'leuis recto stat corpore.'
14. axest, seemest to seek: 'caelum ... petis.'
PROSE 6. 21. as Aristotle demed; in De Caelo, lib. i.
33. present: 'et sui compos praesens sibi semper assistere.'
42. Plato. This notion is found in Proclus and Plotinus, and other followers of Plato; but Plato himself really expressed a contrary opinion, viz. that the world had a definite beginning. See his Timæus.
48. For this ilke: 'Hunc enim uitae immobilis praesentarium statum infinitus ille temporalium rerum motus imitatur; cumque eum effingere atque aequare non possit, ex immobilitate deficit in motum, et ex simplicitate praesentiae decrescit in infinitam futuri ac praeteriti quantitatem;' &c.
53. disencreseth; a clumsy form for decreseth: 'decrescit.'
65. therfor it: 'infinitum temporis iter arripuit.'
81. it is science: 'sed scientiam nunquam deficientis instantiae rectius aestimabis.'
82. For which: 'Unde non praeuidentia, sed prouidentia, potius dicitur.' The footnote to l. 83 is wrong, as Dr. Furnivall's reprint of MS. C. is here at fault. That MS. (like MS. Ii. 1. 38) has here the correct reading 'preuydence,' without any gloss at all. The gloss 'prouidentia' belongs to the word 'purviaunce.' Hence the reading 'previdence,' which I thought to be unsupported, is really supported by two good MSS.
86. Why axestow ... thanne: 'Quid igitur postulas?'
112. he ne unwot: 'quod idem exsistendi necessitate carere non nesciat.'
116. it ne may nat unbityde: 'id non euenire non posse.'
119. but unnethe: 'sed cui uix aliquis nisi diuini speculator accesserit.'
150, 1. in beinge, in coming to pass: 'exsistendo.'
by the which: 'qua prius quam fierent, etiam non euenire potuissent.' MS. C. has the contraction for 'que,' i.e. 'quae'; but Chaucer clearly adopted the reading 'qua.' The usual reading is 'quia' or 'quae.'
154. so as they comen, since they come: 'cum ... eueniant.'
159. the sonne arysinge. See above, p. 148, l. 102: 'Right so,' &c.
185. And thilke: 'illa quoque noscendi uices alternare uideatur?'
191. For the devyne: 'Omne namque futurum diuinus praecurrit intuitus, et ad praesentiam propriae cognitionis retorquet ac reuocat.' Hence retorneth hem means 'makes them return.'
193. ne he ne: 'nec alternat, ut existimas, nunc hoc, nunc illud praenoscendi uices; sed uno ictu mutationes tuas manens praeuenit atque complectitur.'
199. a litel her-biforn. See above, Bk. v. Pr. 3, ll. 62-65; &c.
207. purposen, propose, assign: 'proponunt.'
208. to the willinges: 'solutis omni necessitate uoluntatibus.'
211. renneth ... with, concurs with: 'concurrit.'
214. put, set: 'positae.' that ne mowen: 'quae cum rectae sunt, inefficaces esse non possunt.'
220. sin that ye: 'cum ante oculos agitis iudicis cuncta cernentis.' With the word 'cernentis' the Lat. treatise ends.
The words--'To whom ... Amen' occur in the Cambridge MS. only; and, in all probability, were merely added by the scribe. However, the Latin copy in that MS. adds, after 'cernentis,' the following: 'Qui est dominus noster Iesus Christus, cui sit honor et gloria in secula seculorum. AMEN.'
NOTES TO TROILUS.
BOOK I.
I must refer the student to Mr. Rossetti's work (Chaucer Soc. 1875) for a detailed comparison of Chaucer's poem with the Filostrato of Boccaccio. The following table roughly indicates the portions of these works which are more or less similar, down to the end of Book I. Similar tables are prefixed to the Notes on the other books. It often happens that a stanza in Chaucer has a mere general resemblance to the corresponding one in Boccaccio. The lines in Chaucer not mentioned below are, in the main, original; e.g. 1-20, 31-56, &c.; and so are many others that cannot be here more exactly specified.
CHAUCER: BOOK I. FILOSTRATO.
ll. 21-30. Bk. I. St. V, VI.
57-213. VII-XXV.
267-329. XXVI-XXXII. 6.
354-392. XXXII. 7-XXXVII.
400-420. [Petrarch: Sonnet 88.]
421-546. XXXVIII-LVII.
547-553. Bk. II. St. I.
568-630. II-X.
645-7, 666-7, 675-6. XI. 1, XIII. 7, 8, XI, 7, 8.
680-686. XII.
701-3, 708-9, 722-3. XIII, XV. 1.
860-889. XVI, XVII, XX-XXII.
897-900. XXIII. 1-3.
967-1060. XXIV-XXXIV.
2. 'That was the son of King Priam of Troy.'
5. fro ye, from you; observe the rime. The form ye is not here the nom. case, but the unemphatic form of the acc. you; pronounced (y[*e]), where ([*e]) is the indefinite vowel, like the a in China. So in Shak. Two Gent. iv. 1. 3, 4, we have about ye (unemphatic) in l. 3, and you twice in l. 4.
6. Thesiphone, Tisiphone, one of the Furies, invoked as being a 'goddess of torment.' Cf. 'furial pyne of helle,' Sq. Ta. F 448.
13. fere, companion; viz. Tisiphone.
16. 'Nor dare pray to Love,' &c.
21. Cf. Boccaccio: 'Tuo sia l'onore, e mio si sia l'affanno,' Fil. I. st. 5. And see ll. 1042, 3 below.
57. Here begins the story; cf. Fil. I. st. 7. Bell remarks that 'a thousand shippes,' in l. 58, may have been suggested by 'mille carinae' in Verg. Æn. ii. 198; cf. 'anni decem' in the same line, with l. 60.
67. Read éxpert. Calkas is Homer's Calchas, Il. i. 69. He was a Greek, but Guido makes him a Trojan, putting him in the place of Homer's Chryses. See the allit. Troy-book, 7886.
70. Delphicus, of Delphi; cf. Ovid, Met. ii. 543.
77. Ye, yea. wolde who-so nolde, whoever wished it or did not wish it. This idiomatic phrase is thus expressed in the MSS. Bell's edition has wold who so or nolde, where the e in wolde is suppressed and the word or inserted without authority. I hesitate, as an editor, to alter an idiomatic phrase. Cf. will he, nill he, in which there is no or.
91. 'Deserve to be burnt, both skin and bones.'
99. Criseyde; Boccaccio has Griseida, answering to Homer's [Greek: Chrysêida], Il. i. 143. It was common, in the Middle Ages, to adopt the accusative form as the standard one, especially in proper names. Her father was Chryses; see note to l. 67. But Benoît de Sainte-Maure calls her Briseida, and Chryseis and Briseis seem to have been confused. The allit. Troy-book has Bresaide; l. 8029.
119. 'While it well pleases you'; good is used adverbially. Ital. 'mentre t' aggrada.'
125. 'And would have done so oftener, if,' &c.
126. and hoom, and (went) home.
132, 133. This is a curious statement, and Chaucer's object in making it is not clear. Boccaccio says expressly that she had neither son nor daughter (st. 15); and Benoît (l. 12977) calls her 'la pucele.'
136. som day, one day; used quite generally.
138. 'And thus Fortune wheeled both of them up and down again.' Alluding to the wheel of Fortune; see the Ballade on Fortune, l. 46, and note.
145. Troyane gestes, Trojan history; cf. the title of Guido delle Colonne's book, viz. 'Historia Troiana,' which Chaucer certainly consulted, as shewn by several incidents in the poem.
146. Omer, Homer; whose account was considered untrustworthy by the medieval writers; see Ho. Fame, 1477, and note. Dares, Dares Phrygius; Dyte, Dictys Cretensis; see notes to Ho. Fame, 1467, 1468. These three authors really mean Guido delle Colonne, who professed to follow them.
153. Palladion, the Palladium or sacred image of Pallas, on the keeping of which the safety of Troy depended. It was stolen from Troy by Diomede and Ulysses; see Æneid, ii. 166. But Chaucer doubtless read the long account in Guido delle Colonne.
171. Hence Henrysoun, in his Testament of Criseyde, st. 12, calls her 'the flower and A-per-se Of Troy and Greece.' Cf. 'She was a woman A-per-se, alon'; Romance of Partenay, 1148. Boccaccio's image is much finer; he says that she surpassed other women as the rose does the violet. On the other hand, l. 175 is Chaucer's own.
192. bayten, feed, feast (metaphorically); E. bait.
205. Ascaunces, as if; in l. 292, the Ital. text has Quasi dicesse, as if she said. See Cant. Ta. D 1745, G 838. It is tautological, being formed from E. as and the O.F. quanses, as if (Godefroy); so that the literal force is 'as as if.'
210. 'And nevertheless [or, still] he (Cupid) can pluck as proud a peacock (as was Troilus).' Cf. Prol. A 652.
214-266. These lines are Chaucer's own.
217. falleth, happens; ne wenden, would not expect. In Ray's Proverbs, ed. 1737, p. 279, is a Scotch proverb--'All fails that fools thinks' (sic); which favours the alternative reading given in the footnote.
218. Bayard, a name for a bay horse; see Can. Yem. Ta. G 1413.
229. wex a-fere, became on fire. Fere is a common Southern form, as a variant of fyre, though a-fyre occurs in Ho. Fame, 1858. The A.S. vowel is [=y], the A.S. form being f[=y]r.
239. 'Has proved (to be true), and still does so.'
257. 'The stick that will bend and ply is better than one that breaks.' Compare the fable of the Oak and the Reed; see bk. ii. 1387.
266. ther-to refere, revert thereto. Halliwell gives: 'Refeere, to revert; Hoccleve.' Chaucer here ends his own remarks, and goes back to the Filostrato.
292. Ascaunces, as if (she said); see note to l. 205.
316. awhaped, amazed, stupefied; see Anelida, 215; Leg. of Good Women, 132, 814, 2321; he was 'not utterly confounded,' but only dazed; cf. l. 322.
327. borneth, burnishes, polishes up; i.e. makes bright and cheerful. The rime shews that it is a variant spelling of burneth; cf. burned, burnished, Ho. Fame, 1387; Kn. Ta. A 1983.
MS. Harl. 3943 has vnournith, an error for anorneth, adorns; with a like sense.
333. Him tit, to him betideth; tit is for tydeth.
336. ordre, sect, brotherhood; a jesting allusion to the religious orders. So also ruled = under a religious rule.
337. noun-certeyn, uncertainty; cf. O.F. noncerteit, uncertainty (Godefroy); nounpower, want of power (P. Plowman); and F. nonchalance. Again spelt noun-certeyn, Compl. Venus, 46.
340. lay, law, ordinance; see Sq. Ta. F 18.
344. 'But observe this--that which ye lovers often avoid, or else do with a good intention, often will thy lady misconstrue it,' &c.
363. a temple, i.e. in the temple.
381. First stands alone in the first foot. Cf. ll. 490, 603, 811.
385. Yelt, short for yeldeth, yields.
394. writ, writeth. Lollius; Chaucer's reason for the use of this name is not known. Perhaps we may agree with Dr. Latham, who suggested (in a letter to the Athenæum, Oct. 3, 1868, p. 433), that Chaucer misread this line in Horace (Epist. i. 2. 1), viz. 'Troiani belli scriptorem, maxime Lolli'; and thence derived the notion that Lollius wrote on the Trojan war. This becomes the more likely if we suppose that he merely saw this line quoted apart from the context. Chaucer does not seem to have read Horace for himself. As a matter of fact, ll. 400-420 are translated from the 88th sonnet of Petrarch. See note to Ho. of Fame, 1468. The following is the text of Petrarch's sonnet:
'S'amor non è, che dunque è quel ch' i'sento?
Ma s'egli è amor, per Dio, che cosa e quale?
Se buona, ond' è l'effetto aspro mortale?
Se ria, ond' è si dolce ogni tormento?
S'a mia voglia ardo, ond' è 'l pianto e'l lamento?
S'a mal mia grado, il lamentar che vale?
O viva morte, o dilettoso male,
Come puoi tanto in me s'io nol consento?
E s'io 'l consento, a gran torto mi doglio.
Fra si contrari venti, in frale barca
Mi trovo in alto mar, senza governo.
Sì lieve di saver, d'error sì carca
Ch' i' medesmo non so quel ch'io mi voglio,
E tremo a mezza state, ardendo il verno.'
In l. 401, whiche means 'of what kind.'
425. Ital. text--'Non so s'io dico a donna, ovvero a dea'; Fil. I. 38. Cf. Æneid, i. 327. Hence the line in Kn. Ta. A 1101.
457. That; in modern E., we should use But, or else said not for seyde.
463. Fled-de is here a plural form, the pp. being treated as an adjective. Cf. sprad-de, iv. 1422; whet-te, v. 1760.
464. savacioun; Ital. 'salute.' Mr. Rossetti thinks that salute here means 'well-being' or 'health'; and perhaps savacioun is intended to mean the same, the literal sense being 'safety.'
465. fownes, fawns; see Book of the Duch. 429. It is here used, metaphorically, to mean 'young desires' or 'fresh yearnings.' This image is not in Boccaccio.
470. I take the right reading to be felle, as in Cm. Ed., with the sense 'destructive.' As it might also mean 'happened,' other MSS. turned it into fille, which makes a most awkward construction. The sense is: 'The sharp destructive assaults of the proof of arms [i.e. which afforded proof of skill in fighting], which Hector and his other brothers performed, not once made him move on that account only'; i.e. when he exerted himself, it was not for mere fighting's sake. Chaucer uses fel elsewhere; the pl. felle is in Troil. iv. 44; and see Cant. Ta. D 2002, B 2019. For preve, proof, see l. 690.
473, 4. riden and abiden (with short i) rime with diden, and are past tenses plural. l. 474 is elliptical: 'found (to be) one of the best, and (one of those who) longest abode where peril was.'
483. the deeth, i.e. the pestilence, the plague.
488. title, a name; he said it was 'a fever.'
517. daunce, i.e. company of dancers. Cf. Ho. Fame, 639, 640.
530-2. 'For, by my hidden sorrow, (when it is) blased abroad, I shall be befooled more, a thousand times, than the fool of whose folly men write rimes.' No particular reference seems to be intended by l. 532; the Ital. text merely has 'più ch' altro,' more than any one.
557. attricioun, attrition. 'An imperfect sorrow for sin, as if a bruising which does not amount to utter crushing (contrition); horror of sin through fear of punishment ... while contrition has its motive in the love of God;' New E. Dict.
559. ley on presse, compress, diminish; cf. Prol. A 81.
560. holinesse, the leanness befitting a holy state.
626. 'That one, whom excess causes to fare very badly.'
631-679. Largely original; but, for l. 635, see note to Bk. III. 329.
638-644. There is a like passage in P. Pl. C. xxi. 209-217. Chaucer, however, here follows Le Roman de la Rose, 21819-40, q.v.
648. amayed, dismayed; O.F. esmaier. So in Bk. IV. l. 641.
654. Oënone seems to have four syllables. MS. H. has Oonone; MS. Cm. senome (over an erasure); MS. Harl. 3943, Tynome. Alluding to the letter of Oenone to Paris in Ovid, Heroid. v.
659-665. Not at all a literal translation, but it gives the general sense of Heroid. v. 149-152:
'Me miseram, quod amor non est medicabilis herbis!
Deficior prudens artis ab arte mea.
Ipse repertor opis uaccas pauisse Pheraeas
Fertur, et a nostro saucius igne fuit.'
Ipse repertor opis means Phoebus, who 'first fond art of medicyne;' Pheraeas, i.e. of Pherae, refers to Pherae in Thessaly, the residence of king Admetus. Admetus gained Alcestis for his wife by the assistance of Apollo, who, according to some accounts, served Admetus out of attachment to him, or, according to other accounts, because he was condemned to serve a mortal for a year. Chaucer seems to adopt a theory that Apollo loved Admetus chiefly for his daughter's sake. The usual story about Apollo is his love for Daphne.
674. 'Even though I had to die by torture;' cf. Kn. Ta. A 1133.
686. 'Until it pleases him to desist.'
688. 'To mistrust every one, or to believe every one.'
694. The wyse, Solomon; see Eccles. iv. 10.
699. Niobe; 'lacrimas etiamnum marmora manant;' Ovid, Met. vi. 311.
705. 'That eke out (increase) their sorrows,' &c.
707. 'And care not to seek for themselves another cure.'
730, 731. From Boethius, Bk. I. Pr. 2. l. 14, and Pr. 4. l. 2.
739. 'On whose account he fared so.'
740. Compare: 'He makes a rod for his own breech'; Hazlitt's Proverbs.
745. 'For it (love) would sufficiently spring to light of itself.'
747. Cf. Rom. de la Rose, 7595-6.
763. 'But they do not care to seek a remedy.'
780. Pronounced ben'cite; see note to Cant. Ta. B 1170.
786. Ticius, Tityos. MS. H2. wrongly has Siciphus. 'The fowl that highte voltor, that eteth the stomak or the giser of Tityus, is so fulfild of his song that it nil eten ne tyren no more;' tr. of Boeth. Bk. III. Met. 12. 28. The original has:
'Vultur, dum satur est modis,
Non traxit Tityi iecur.'
See also Verg. Æn. vi. 595; Ovid, Met. iv. 456.
811. First foot deficient, as in ll. 603, 1051, 1069, &c. winter, years. Perhaps imitated from Le Rom. de la Rose, 21145-9.
846, 847. See Boethius, Bk. ii. Pr. 3. 52-54.
848. From Boethius, Lib. II. Pr. 1: 'si manere incipit, fors esse desistit.' See p. 26 above, l. 83.
887. 'And, to augment all this the more.'
890-966. This is all Chaucer's own; so also 994-1008.
916. a blaunche fevere, a fever that turns men white; said jocosely. Lovers were supposed to be pale; Ovid, Art. Am. i. 729. Cotgrave is somewhat more precise. He gives: 'Fievres blanches, the agues wherewith maidens that have the green sickness are troubled; hence, Il a les fievres blanches, either he is in love, or sick of wantonness.' In the Cuckoo and the Nightingale, l. 41, we find: 'I am so shaken with the feveres white.'
932. beet; beat thy breast (to shew thy repentance). Cf. P. Plowm. B. v. 454.
956. A proverb. 'The more haste, the worse speed (success).' Cf. Bk. iii. 1567, and The Tale of Melibeus, B 2244.
964. Dr. Köppel says--cf. Albertano of Brescia, Liber de Amore Dei, 45b: 'Iam et Seneca dixit, Non conualescit planta, quae saepe transfertur.'
969. 'A bon port estes arrivés'; Rom. de la Rose, 12964.
977. Fil. ii. st. 27: 'Io credo certo, ch' ogni donna in voglia Viva amorosa.'
1000. post, pillar, support; as in Prol. A 214.
1002. Cf. 'The greater the sinner, the greater the saint.'
1011. Understand he. 'He became, as one may say, untormented of his wo.'
1024. cherl, man. 'You are afraid the man will fall out of the moon!' Alluding to the old notion that the spots on the moon's surface represent a man with a bundle of sticks. See the curious poem on this subject in Wright's Specimens of Lyric Poetry, p. 110; also printed in Ritson's Ancient Songs, i. 68, and in Böddeker's Altenglische Dichtungen, p. 176, where a fear is expressed that the man may fall out of the moon. Cf. Temp. ii. 2. 141; Mids. Nt. Dr. v. 1. 249; and see Alex. Neckam, ed. Wright, pp. xviii, 54.
1026. 'Why, meddle with that which really concerns you,' i.e. mind your own business. Some copies needlessly turn this into a question and insert ne before hast.
1038. 'And am I to be thy surety?'
1050. Scan: 'And yet m' athink'th ... m'asterte.' The sense is: 'And yet it repents me that this boast should escape me.'
1051. Deficient in the first foot: 'Now | Pandáre.' So in l. 1069.
1052. 'But thou, being wise, thou knowest,' &c. In this line, thou seems to be emphatic throughout.
1058. Read désiróus; as in Book ii. 1101, and Sq. Ta. F 23.
1070. Pandare is here trisyllabic; with unelided -e.
1078. The same line occurs in the Clerk. Ta. E 413.
1088. 'And is partly well eased of the aching of his wound, yet is none the more healed; and, like an easy patient (i.e. a patient not in pain), awaits (lit. abides) the prescription of him that tries to cure him; and thus he perseveres in his destiny.' Dryveth forth means 'goes on with,' or 'goes through with.' The reading dryeth, i.e. endures, is out of place here, as it implies suffering; whereas, at the present stage, Troilus is extremely hopeful.
BOOK II.
The chief correspondences are shewn in the following table.
Other passages are mainly original; as, e.g. ll. 1352-1757 at the end, and 1-264 at the beginning.
1-3. These lines somewhat resemble Dante, Purgat. i. 1-3.
'Per correr miglior acqua alza le vele
Omai la navicella del mio ingegno,
Che lascia dietro a sè mar sì crudele;' &c.
7. calendes, the introduction to the beginning; see bk. v. l. 1634. Thus the 'kalends of January' precede that month, being the period from Dec. 14 to Dec. 31.
8. Cleo; so in most copies; H2. has Clyo; Clio, the muse of history.
14. Latin seems, in this case, to mean Italian, which was called Latino volgare.
21. 'A blind man cannot judge well of colours;' a proverb.
22. Doubtless from Horace's Ars Poetica, 71-3; probably borrowed at second-hand.
28. A proverb. In the Proverbs of Hendyng, l. 29, we have: 'Ase fele thede, ase fele thewes,' i.e. so many peoples, so many customs. See l. 42 below. Cf. Boethius, Bk. ii. Pr. 7. 49 (p. 47).
36. went, for wendeth; i.e. goes; pres. tense.
46. 'Yet all is told, or must be told.'
48. bitit, for bitydeth; i.e. betides, happens.
55. Bole, Bull, the sign Taurus. On the third of May, in Chaucer's time, the sun would be in about the 20th degree of Taurus. The epithet white is from Ovid, Met. ii. 852.
63. wente, sb., a turn; i.e. he tossed about.
64-68. forshapen, metamorphosed. Progne was changed into a swallow; Ovid, Met. vi. 668. Tereus carried off Progne's sister Philomela; see Leg. of Good Women (Philomela).
74. 'And knew that the moon was in a good plight (position) for him to take his journey.' That is, the moon's position was propitious; see note to Man of Lawes Tale, B 312.
77. 'Janus, god of (the) entry;' see Ovid, Fasti, i. 125.
81. 'And found (that) she and two other ladies were sitting.' Sete (A. S. s[=æ]ton) is the pt. t. pl., not the pp.
84. The celebrated story of the Siege of Thebes, known to Chaucer through the Thebais of Statius; see bk. v. 1484. And see l. 100.
87. Ey, eh! a note of exclamation, of frequent occurrence in the present poem.
103. lettres rede, i.e. the rubric describing the contents of the next section.
100-105. Oedipus unwittingly slew his father Laius; and the two sons of Oedipus contended for Thebes. For Amphiorax, see note to bk. v. 1500, and to Anelida, 57.
108. bokes twelve; the 12 Books of the Thebais. The death of Amphioraus is related at the end of Book vii.
110. barbe, 'part of a woman's dress, still sometimes worn by nuns, consisting of a piece of white plaited linen, passed over or under the chin, and reaching midway to the waist;' New E. Dict. She wore it because she was a widow; see the quotations in the New E. Dict., esp. 'wearing of barbes at funerals.' And see Barbuta in Ducange.
112. 'Let us perform some rite in honour of May;' see note to Kn. Ta. A 1500.
117. The right reading is necessarily sete, for A. S. s[=æ]te, 3 p. s. pt. t. subj. of sitten; 'it would befit.' Cf. seten, they sat, 81, 1192.
134. 'And I am your surety,' i.e. you may depend upon me; see bk. i. 1038.
393. In the same, 113, we find: 'Forma bonum fragile est,' &c.
396. 'Go and love; for, when old, no one will have you.'
398. 'I am warned too late, when it has past away, quoth Beauty.'
400. The 'king's fool' got the hint from Ovid, Art. Amat. ii. 118: 'Iam uenient rugae,' &c.
403. crowes feet, crow's feet; wrinkles at the corners of the eyes; from the shape. So in Spenser, Shep. Kal. December, 136: 'And by myne eie the crow his clawe doth write.'
408. breste a wepe, burst out a-weeping.
413. Ret, for redeth, advises; cf. P. Plowman C. iv. 410, and note.
425. Pallas; perhaps invoked with reference to the Palladium of Troy; bk. I. l. 153. Moreover, Pallas was a virgin goddess.
434. 'Of me no consideration need be taken.'
477. 'Except that I will not give him encouragement;' see 1222.
483. 'But when the cause ceases, the disease ceases.'
507. gon, gone; 'not very long ago.'
525. mea culpa, by my fault; words used in confession: see P. Plowman, B. v. 77, and note.
527. Ledest the fyn, guidest the end; cf. Boeth. Bk. iv. Pr. 6. 149.
537. biwryen, used in place of biwreyen, to bewray. The same rather arbitrary form appears in Parl. Foules, 348.
539. 'Because men cover them up,' &c.
586. were never, never would be; were is in the subjunctive mood.
611. Thascry, for The ascry, the alarm. Ascry occurs in Wyclif, Prov. vii. 6.
615. latis, lattice. The reading yates, gates, is wrong, as shewn by l. 617.
618. Dardanus, ancestor of Priam. Cf. Dardanidae, i. e. Trojans, Verg. Aen. i. 560, ii. 72, &c. Troy had six gates, according to Guido; the strongest of these was Dardanus; see the allit. Destruction of Troy, ed. Panton and Donaldson, l. 1557, Lydgate, Siege of Troy, b. ii. c. 11, and Shakespeare's Prologue to his Troilus.
ther open is the cheyne, where the chain is open, or unfastened. Alluding to the chains sometimes drawn across a street, to block it against horsemen. The sense is, 'he will come down this street, because the others are blocked.'
621. happy, fortunate. It was a lucky day for him.
627. a pas, at a foot-pace; see Prol. A 825, and l. 620 above.
