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— Boethius and Troilus

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Title: Chaucer's Works, Volume 2 — Boethius and Troilus

Author: Geoffrey Chaucer

Editor: Walter W. Skeat

Release date: February 5, 2014 [eBook #44833]
Most recently updated: October 24, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAUCER'S
WORKS, VOLUME 2 — BOETHIUS AND TROILUS ***

Transcriber's A Glossary including words from the two texts in this
note: volume is included in Skeat's Volume VI, available
from Project Gutenberg here.

MS. Corp. Chr. Coll., Cambridge. Troil. iv. 575-588
Frontispiece**

THE COMPLETE WORKS

OF

GEOFFREY CHAUCER

EDITED, FROM NUMEROUS MANUSCRIPTS

BY THE

R e v . WA L T E R W . S K E AT , M.A.
Litt.D., LL.D., D.C.L., Ph.D.

ELRINGTON AND BOSWORTH PROFESSOR OF ANGLO-SAXON
AND FELLOW OF CHRIST'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE

**

BOETHIUS AND TROILUS

'Adam scriveyn, if ever it thee befalle
Boece or Troilus to wryten newe,
Under thy lokkes thou most have the scalle,
But after my making thou wryte trewe.'
Chaucers Wordes unto Adam.

SECOND EDITION

Oxford
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
M DCCCC

Oxford
PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
BY HORACE HART, M.A.
PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

CONTENTS.

PAGE
Introduction to Boethius. vii
—§ 1. Date of the
Work. § 2. Boethius. §

3. The Consolation of
Philosophy; and fate of
its author. § 4. Jean de
Meun. § 5. References
by Boethius to current
events. § 6.
Cassiodorus. § 7. Form
of the Treatise. § 8.
Brief sketch of its
general contents. § 9.
Early translations. § 10.
Translation by Ælfred.
§ 11. MS. copy, with
A.S. glosses. § 12.
Chaucer's translation
mentioned. § 13.
Walton's verse
translation. § 14.
Specimen of the same.
§ 15. His translation of
Book ii. met. 5. § 16.
M. E. prose translation;
and others. § 17.
Chaucer's translation
and le Roman de la
Rose. § 18. Chaucer's
scholarship. § 19.
Chaucer's prose. § 20.
Some of his mistakes. §
21. Other variations
considered. § 22.
Imitations of Boethius
in Chaucer's works. §
23. Comparison with
'Boece' of other works
by Chaucer. § 24.
Chronology of

Chaucer's works, as
illustrated by 'Boece.' §
25. The Manuscripts. §
26. The Printed
Editions. § 27. The
Present Edition

Introduction to Troilus.—§ xlix
1. Date of the Work. §
2. Sources of the Work;
Boccaccio's Filostrato.
§§ 3, 4. Other sources.
§ 5. Chaucer's share in
it. § 6. Vagueness of
reference to sources. §
7. Medieval note-
books. § 8. Lollius. § 9.
Guido delle Colonne. §
10. 'Trophee.' §§ 11, 12.
The same continued. §§
13-17. Passages from
Guido. §§ 18, 19.
Dares, Dictys, and
Benôit de Ste-More. §
20. The names; Troilus,
&c. § 21. Roman de la
Rose. § 22. Gest
Historiale. § 23.
Lydgate's Siege of
Troye. § 24.
Henrysoun's Testament
of Criseyde. § 25. The
MSS. § 26. The
Editions. § 27. The
Present Edition. § 28.
Deficient lines. § 29.
Proverbs. § 30.

Kinaston's Latin
translation. § 31.
Sidnam's translation

Boethius de Consolatione
Philosophie 1
Book I. 1
Book II. 23
Book III. 51
Book IV. 92
Book V. 126

Troilus and Criseyde 153
Book I. 153
Book II. 189
Book III. 244
Book IV. 302
Book V. 357

Notes to Boethius 419

Notes to Troilus 461

INTRODUCTION TO BOETHIUS.

§ 1. Date of the Work.

In my introductory remarks to the Legend of Good Women, I refer to the
close connection that is easily seen to subsist between Chaucer's translation
of Boethius and his Troilus and Criseyde. All critics seem now to agree in
placing these two works in close conjunction, and in making the prose work
somewhat the earlier of the two; though it is not at all unlikely that, for a
short time, both works were in hand together. It is also clear that they were
completed before the author commenced the House of Fame, the date of

which is, almost certainly, about 1383-4. Dr. Koch, in his Essay on the
Chronology of Chaucer's Writings, proposes to date 'Boethius' about 1377-
8, and 'Troilus' about 1380-1. It is sufficient to be able to infer, as we can
with tolerable certainty, that these two works belong to the period between
1377 and 1383. And we may also feel sure that the well-known lines to
Adam, beginning—

'Adam scriveyn, if ever it thee
befalle
Boece or Troilus to wryten newe'—

were composed at the time when the fair copy of Troilus had just been
finished, and may be dated, without fear of mistake, in 1381-3. It is not
likely that we shall be able to determine these dates within closer limits; nor
is it at all necessary that we should be able to do so. A few further remarks
upon this subject are given below.

§ 2. Boethius.

Before proceeding to remark upon Chaucer's translation of Boethius, or (as
he calls him) Boece, it is necessary to say a few words as to the original
work, and its author.

Anicius Manlius Torquatus Severinus Boethius, the most learned
philosopher of his time, was born at Rome about A. D. 480, and was put to
death A. D. 524. In his youth, he had the advantage of a liberal training, and
enjoyed the rare privilege of being able to read the Greek philosophers in
their own tongue. In the particular treatise which here most concerns us, his
Greek quotations are mostly taken from Plato, and there are a few
references to Aristotle, Homer, and to the Andromache of Euripides. His
extant works shew that he was well acquainted with geometry, mechanics,
astronomy, and music, as well as with logic and theology; and it is an
interesting fact that an illustration of the way in which waves of sound are
propagated through the air, introduced by Chaucer into his House of Fame,
ll. 788-822, is almost certainly derived from the treatise of Boethius De
Musica, as pointed out in the note upon that passage. At any rate, there is an

unequivocal reference to 'the felinge' of Boece 'in musik' in the Nonnes
Preestes Tale, B 4484.

§ 3. The most important part of his political life was passed in the service of
the celebrated Theodoric the Goth, who, after the defeat and death of
Odoacer, A. D. 493, had made himself undisputed master of Italy, and had
fixed the seat of his government in Ravenna. The usual account, that
Boethius was twice married, is now discredited, there being no clear
evidence with respect to Elpis, the name assigned to his supposed first wife;
but it is certain that he married Rusticiana, the daughter of the patrician
Symmachus, a man of great influence and probity, and much respected,
who had been consul under Odoacer in 485. Boethius had the singular
felicity of seeing his two sons, Boethius and Symmachus, raised to the
consular dignity on the same day, in 522. After many years spent in
indefatigable study and great public usefulness, he fell under the suspicion
of Theodoric; and, notwithstanding an indignant denial of his supposed
crimes, was hurried away to Pavia, where he was imprisoned in a tower,
and denied the means of justifying his conduct. The rest must be told in the
eloquent words of Gibbon[1].

'While Boethius, oppressed with fetters, expected each moment the sentence
or the stroke of death, he composed in the tower of Pavia the "Consolation
of Philosophy"; a golden volume, not unworthy of the leisure of Plato or
Tully, but which claims incomparable merit from the barbarism of the times
and the situation of the author. The celestial guide[2], whom he had so long
invoked at Rome and at Athens, now condescended to illumine his
dungeon, to revive his courage, and to pour into his wounds her salutary
balm. She taught him to compare his long prosperity and his recent distress,
and to conceive new hopes from the inconstancy of fortune[3]. Reason had
informed him of the precarious condition of her gifts; experience had
satisfied him of their real value[4]; he had enjoyed them without guilt; he
might resign them without a sigh, and calmly disdain the impotent malice of
his enemies, who had left him happiness, since they had left him virtue[5].
From the earth, Boethius ascended to heaven in search of the SUPREME
GOOD[6], explored the metaphysical labyrinth of chance and destiny[7], of
prescience and freewill, of time and eternity, and generously attempted to

reconcile the perfect attributes of the Deity with the apparent disorders of
his moral and physical government[8]. Such topics of consolation, so
obvious, so vague, or so abstruse, are ineffectual to subdue the feelings of
human nature. Yet the sense of misfortune may be diverted by the labour of
thought; and the sage who could artfully combine, in the same work, the
various riches of philosophy, poetry, and eloquence, must already have
possessed the intrepid calmness which he affected to seek. Suspense, the
worst of evils, was at length determined by the ministers of death, who
executed, and perhaps exceeded, the inhuman mandate of Theodoric. A
strong cord was fastened round the head of Boethius, and forcibly tightened
till his eyes almost started from their sockets; and some mercy may be
discovered in the milder torture of beating him with clubs till he expired.
But his genius survived to diffuse a ray of knowledge over the darkest ages
of the Latin world; the writings of the philosopher were translated by the
most glorious of the English Kings, and the third emperor of the name of
Otho removed to a more honourable tomb the bones of a catholic saint,
who, from his Arian persecutors, had acquired the honours of martyrdom
and the fame of miracles. In the last hours of Boethius, he derived some
comfort from the safety of his two sons, of his wife, and of his father-in-
law, the venerable Symmachus. But the grief of Symmachus was indiscreet,
and perhaps disrespectful; he had presumed to lament, he might dare to
revenge, the death of an injured friend. He was dragged in chains from
Rome to the palace of Ravenna; and the suspicions of Theodoric could only
be appeased by the blood of an innocent and aged senator.'

This deed of injustice brought small profit to its perpetrator; for we read
that Theodoric's own death took place shortly afterwards; and that, on his
death-bed, 'he expressed in broken murmurs to his physician Elpidius, his
deep repentance for the murders of Boethius and Symmachus.'

§ 4. For further details, I beg leave to refer the reader to the essay on
'Boethius' by H. F. Stewart, published by W. Blackwood and Sons,
Edinburgh and London, in 1891. We are chiefly concerned here with the
'Consolation of Philosophy,' a work which enjoyed great popularity in the
middle ages, and first influenced Chaucer indirectly, through the use of it
made by Jean de Meun in the poem entitled Le Roman de la Rose, as well
as directly, at a later period, through his own translation of it. Indeed, I have

little doubt that Chaucer's attention was drawn to it when, somewhat early
in life, he first perused with diligence that remarkable poem; and that it was
from the following passage that he probably drew the inference that it might
be well for him to translate the whole work:—

'Ce puet l'en bien des clers enquerre
Qui Boëce de Confort lisent,
Et les sentences qui là gisent,
Dont grans biens as gens laiz feroit
Qui bien le lor translateroit' (ll.
5052-6).

I.e. in modern English:—'This can be easily ascertained from the learned
men who read Boece on the Consolation of Philosophy, and the opinions
which are found therein; as to which, any one who would well translate it
for them would confer much benefit on the unlearned folk':—a pretty strong
hint[9]!

§ 5. The chief events in the life of Boethius which are referred to in the
present treatise are duly pointed out in the notes; and it may be well to bear
in mind that, as to some of these, nothing further is known beyond what the
author himself tells us. Most of the personal references occur in Book i.
Prose 4, Book ii. Prose 3, and in Book iii. Prose 4. In the first of these
passages, Boethius recalls the manner in which he withstood one
Conigastus, because he oppressed the poor (l. 40); and how he defeated the
iniquities of Triguilla, 'provost' (præpositus) of the royal household (l. 43).
He takes credit for defending the people of Campania against a particularly
obnoxious fiscal measure instituted by Theodoric, which was called
'coemption' (coemptio); (l. 59.) This Mr. Stewart describes as 'a fiscal
measure which allowed the state to buy provisions for the army at
something under market-price—which threatened to ruin the province.' He
tells us that he rescued Decius Paulinus, who had been consul in 498, from
the rapacity of the officers of the royal palace (l. 68); and that, in order to
save Decius Albinus, who had been consul in 493, from wrongful
punishment, he ran the risk of incurring the hate of the informer Cyprian (l.
75). In these ways, he had rendered himself odious to the court-party, whom

he had declined to bribe (l. 79). His accusers were Basilius, who had been
expelled from the king's service, and was impelled to accuse him by
pressure of debt (l. 81); and Opilio and Gaudentius, who had been
sentenced to exile by royal decree for their numberless frauds and crimes,
but had escaped the sentence by taking sanctuary. 'And when,' as he tells us,
'the king discovered this evasion, he gave orders that, unless they quitted
Ravenna by a given day, they should be branded on the forehead with a hot
iron and driven out of the city. Nevertheless on that very day the
information laid against me by these men was admitted' (ll. 89-94). He next
alludes to some forged letters (l. 123), by means of which he had been
accused of 'hoping for the freedom of Rome,' (which was of course
interpreted to mean that he wished to deliver Rome from the tyranny of
Theodoric). He then boldly declares that if he had had the opportunity of
confronting his accusers, he would have answered in the words of Canius,
when accused by Caligula of having been privy to a conspiracy against him
—'If I had known it, thou shouldst never have known it' (ll. 126-135). This,
by the way, was rather an imprudent expression, and probably told against
him when his case was considered by Theodoric.

He further refers to an incident that took place at Verona (l. 153), when the
king, eager for a general slaughter of his enemies, endeavoured to extend to
the whole body of the senate the charge of treason, of which Albinus had
been accused; on which occasion, at great personal risk, Boethius had
defended the senate against so sweeping an accusation.

In Book ii. Prose 3, he refers to his former state of happiness and good
fortune (l. 26), when he was blessed with rich and influential parents-in-
law, with a beloved wife, and with two noble sons; in particular (l. 35), he
speaks with justifiable pride of the day when his sons were both elected
consuls together, and when, sitting in the Circus between them, he won
general praise for his wit and eloquence.

In Book iii. Prose 4, he declaims against Decoratus, with whom he refused
to be associated in office, on account of his infamous character.

§ 6. The chief source of further information about these circumstances is a
collection of letters (Variæ Epistolæ) by Cassiodorus, a statesman who
enjoyed the full confidence of Theodoric, and collected various state-papers
under his direction. These tell us, in some measure, what can be said on the
other side. Here Cyprian and his brother Opilio are spoken of with respect
and honour; and the only Decoratus whose name appears is spoken of as a
young man of great promise, who had won the king's sincere esteem. But
when all has been said, the reader will most likely be inclined to think that,
in cases of conflicting evidence, he would rather take the word of the noble
Boethius than that of any of his opponents.

§ 7. The treatise 'De Consolatione Philosophiæ' is written in the form of a
discourse between himself and the personification of Philosophy, who
appears to him in his prison, and endeavours to soothe and console him in
his time of trial. It is divided (as in this volume) into five Books; and each
Book is subdivided into chapters, entitled Metres and Proses, because, in
the original, the alternate chapters are written in a metrical form, the metres
employed being of various kinds. Thus Metre 1 of Book I is written in
alternate hexameters and pentameters; while Metre 7 consists of very short
lines, each consisting of a single dactyl and spondee. The Proses contain the
main arguments; the Metres serve for embellishment and recreation.

In some MSS. of Chaucer's translation, a few words of the original are
quoted at the beginning of each Prose and Metre, and are duly printed in
this edition, in a corrected form.

§ 8. A very brief sketch of the general contents of the volume may be of
some service.

Book I. Boethius deplores his misfortunes (met. 1). Philosophy appears
to him in a female form (pr. 2), and condoles with him in song (met. 2);
after which she addresses him, telling him that she is willing to share
his misfortunes (pr. 3). Boethius pours out his complaints, and
vindicates his past conduct (pr. 4). Philosophy reminds him that he
seeks a heavenly country (pr. 5). The world is not governed by chance
(pr. 6). The book concludes with a lay of hope (met. 7).

Book II. Philosophy enlarges on the wiles of Fortune (pr. 1), and
addresses him in Fortune's name, asserting that her mutability is natural
and to be expected (pr. 2). Adversity is transient (pr. 3), and Boethius
has still much to be thankful for (pr. 4). Riches only bring anxieties,
and cannot confer happiness (pr. 5); they were unknown in the Golden
Age (met. 5). Neither does happiness consist in honours and power (pr.
6). The power of Nero only taught him cruelty (met. 6). Fame is but
vanity (pr. 7), and is ended by death (met. 7). Adversity is beneficial
(pr. 8). All things are bound together by the chain of Love (met. 8).

Book III. Boethius begins to receive comfort (pr. 1). Philosophy
discourses on the search for the Supreme Good (summum bonum; pr.
2). The laws of nature are immutable (met. 2). All men are engaged in
the pursuit of happiness (pr. 3). Dignities properly appertain to virtue
(pr. 4). Power cannot drive away care (pr. 5). Glory is deceptive, and
the only true nobility is that of character (pr. 6). Happiness does not
consist in corporeal pleasures (pr. 7); nor in bodily strength or beauty
(pr. 8). Worldly bliss is insufficient and false; and in seeking true
felicity, we must invoke God's aid (pr. 9). Boethius sings a hymn to the
Creator (met. 9); and acknowledges that God alone is the Supreme
Good (p. 10). The unity of soul and body is necessary to existence, and
the love of life is instinctive (pr. 11). Error is dispersed by the light of
Truth (met. 11). God governs the world, and is all-sufficient, whilst evil
has no true existence (pr. 12). The book ends with the story of Orpheus
(met. 12).

Book IV. This book opens with a discussion of the existence of evil,
and the system of rewards and punishments (pr. 1). Boethius describes
the flight of Imagination through the planetary spheres till it reaches
heaven itself (met. 1). The good are strong, but the wicked are
powerless, having no real existence (pr. 2). Tyrants are chastised by
their own passions (met. 2). Virtue secures reward; but the wicked lose
even their human nature, and become as mere beasts (pr. 3). Consider
the enchantments of Circe, though these merely affected the outward
form (met. 4). The wicked are thrice wretched; they will to do evil, they
can do evil, and they actually do it. Virtue is its own reward; so that the
wicked should excite our pity (pr. 4). Here follows a poem on the folly

of war (met. 4). Boethius inquires why the good suffer (pr. 5).
Philosophy reminds him that the motions of the stars are inexplicable
to one who does not understand astronomy (met. 5). She explains the
difference between Providence and Destiny (pr. 6). In all nature we see
concord, due to controlling Love (met. 6). All fortune is good; for
punishment is beneficial (pr. 7). The labours of Hercules afford us an
example of endurance (met. 7).

Book V. Boethius asks questions concerning Chance (pr. 1). An
example from the courses of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates (met. 1).
Boethius asks questions concerning Free-will (pr. 2). God, who sees all
things, is the true Sun (met. 2). Boethius is puzzled by the
consideration of God's Predestination and man's Free-will (pr. 3). Men
are too eager to inquire into the unknown (met. 3). Philosophy replies
to Boethius on the subjects of Predestination, Necessity, and the nature
of true Knowledge (pr. 4); on the impressions received by the mind
(met. 4); and on the powers of Sense and Imagination (pr. 5). Beasts
look downward to the earth, but man is upright, and looks up to heaven
(met. 5). This world is not eternal, but only God is such; whose
prescience is not subject to necessity, nor altered by human intentions.
He upholds the good, and condemns the wicked; therefore be constant
in eschewing vice, and devote all thy powers to the love of virtue (pr.
6).

§ 9. It is unnecessary to enlarge here upon the importance of this treatise,
and its influence upon medieval literature. Mr. Stewart, in the work already
referred to, has an excellent chapter 'On Some Ancient Translations' of it.
The number of translations that still exist, in various languages, sufficiently
testify to its extraordinary popularity in the middle ages. Copies of it are
found, for example, in Old High German by Notker, and in later German by
Peter of Kastl; in Anglo-French by Simun de Fraisne; in continental French
by Jean de Meun[10], Pierre de Paris, Jehan de Cis, Frere Renaut de
Louhans, and by two anonymous authors; in Italian, by Alberto della
Piagentina and several others; in Greek, by Maximus Planudes; and in
Spanish, by Fra Antonio Ginebreda; besides various versions in later times.
But the most interesting, to us, are those in English, which are somewhat
numerous, and are worthy of some special notice. I shall here dismiss, as

improbable and unnecessary, a suggestion sometimes made, that Chaucer
may have consulted some French version in the hope of obtaining
assistance from it; there is no sure trace of anything of the kind, and the
internal evidence is, in my opinion, decisively against it.

§ 10. The earliest English translation is that by king Ælfred, which is
particularly interesting from the fact that the royal author frequently
deviates from his original, and introduces various notes, explanations, and
allusions of his own. The opening chapter, for example, is really a preface,
giving a brief account of Theodoric and of the circumstances which led to
the imprisonment of Boethius. This work exists only in two MSS., neither
being of early date, viz. MS. Cotton, Otho A VI, and MS. Bodley NE. C. 3.
11. It has been thrice edited; by Rawlinson, in 1698; by J. S. Cardale, in
1829; and by S. Fox, in 1864. The last of these includes a modern English
translation, and forms one of the volumes of Bohn's Antiquarian Library; so
that it is a cheap and accessible work. Moreover, it contains an alliterative
verse translation of most of the Metres contained in Boethius (excluding the
Proses), which is also attributed to Ælfred in a brief metrical preface; but
whether this ascription is to be relied upon, or not, is a difficult question,
which has hardly as yet been decided. A summary of the arguments, for and
against Ælfred's authorship, will be found in Wülker's Grundriss zur
Geschichte der angelsächsischen Litteratur, pp. 421-435.

§ 11. I may here mention that there is a manuscript copy of this work by
Boethius, in the original Latin, in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, No.
214, which contains a considerable number of Anglo-Saxon glosses. A
description of this MS., by Prof. J. W. Bright and myself, is printed in the
American Journal of Philology, vol. v, no. 4.

§ 12. The next English translation, in point of date, is Chaucer's; concerning
which I have more to say below.

§ 13. In the year 1410, we meet with a verse translation of the whole
treatise, ascribed by Warton (Hist. E. Poetry, § 20, ed. 1871, iii. 39) to John
Walton, Capellanus, or John the Chaplain, a canon of Oseney. 'In the British
Museum,' says Warton, 'there is a correct MS. on parchment[11] of Walton's

translation of Boethius; and the margin is filled throughout with the Latin
text, written by Chaundler above mentioned [i. e. Thomas Chaundler,
among other preferments dean of the king's chapel and of Hereford
Cathedral, chancellor of Wells, and successively warden of Wykeham's two
colleges at Winchester and Oxford.] There is another less elegant MS. in the
same collection[12]. But at the end is this note:—'Explicit liber Boecij de
Consolatione Philosophie de Latino in Anglicum translatus A.D. 1410, per
Capellanum Ioannem. This is the beginning of the prologue:—"In
suffisaunce of cunnyng and witte[13]." And of the translation:—"Alas, I
wrecch, that whilom was in welth." I have seen a third copy in the library of
Lincoln cathedral[14], and a fourth in Baliol college[15]. This is the
translation of Boethius printed in the monastery of Tavistock in 1525[16],
and in octave stanzas. This translation was made at the request of Elizabeth
Berkeley.'

Todd, in his Illustrations of Gower and Chaucer, p. xxxi, mentions another
MS. 'in the possession of Mr. G. Nicol, his Majesty's bookseller,' in which
the above translation is differently attributed in the colophon, which ends
thus: 'translatus anno domini millesimo ccccxo. per Capellanum Iohannem
Tebaud, alius Watyrbeche.' This can hardly be correct[17].

I may here note that this verse translation has two separate Prologues. One
Prologue gives a short account of Boethius and his times, and is extant in
MS. Gg. iv. 18 in the Cambridge University Library. An extract from the
other is quoted below. MS. E Museo 53, in the Bodleian Library, contains
both of them.

§ 14. As to the work itself, Metre 1 of Book i. and Metre 5 of the same are
printed entire in Wülker's Altenglisches Lesebuch, ii. 56-9. In one of the
metrical prologues to the whole work the following passage occurs, which I
copy from MS. Royal 18 A xiii:—

'I have herd spek and sumwhat haue
y-seyne,

Of diuerse men[18], that wounder
subtyllye,
In metir sum, and sum in prosë
pleyne,
This book translated haue[19]
suffishantlye
In-to[20] Englissh tongë, word for
word, wel nye[21];
Bot I most vse the wittes that I
haue;
Thogh I may noght do so, yit noght-
for-thye,
With helpe of god, the sentence
schall I saue.

To Chaucer, that is floure of
rethoryk
In Englisshe tong, and excellent
poete,
This wot I wel, no-thing may I do
lyk,
Thogh so that I of makynge
entyrmete:
And Gower, that so craftily doth
trete,
As in his book, of moralitee,
Thogh I to theym in makyng am
vnmete,
Ȝit most I schewe it forth, that is in
me.'

This is an early tribute to the excellence of Chaucer and Gower as poets.

§ 15. When we examine Walton's translation a little more closely, it soon
becomes apparent that he has largely availed himself of Chaucer's prose
translation, which he evidently kept before him as a model of language. For

example, in Bk. ii. met. 5, l. 16, Chaucer has the expression:—'tho weren
the cruel clariouns ful hust and ful stille.' This reappears in one of Walton's
lines in the form:—'Tho was ful huscht the cruel clarioun.' This is poetry
made easy, no doubt.

In order to exhibit this a little more fully, I here transcribe the whole of
Walton's translation of this metre, which may be compared with Chaucer's
rendering at pp. 40, 41 below. I print in italics all the words which are
common to the two versions, so as to shew this curious result, viz. that
Walton was here more indebted to Chaucer, than Chaucer, when writing his
poem of 'The Former Age,' was to himself. The MS. followed is the Royal
MS. mentioned above (p. xvi).

Boethius: Book II: Meter V.

A verse translation by John
Walton.

Full wonder blisseful was that
rather age,
When mortal men couthe holde
hem-selven[22] payed
To fede hem-selve[23] with-oute
suche outerage,
With mete that trewe feeldes[24]
have arrayed;
With acorne[s] thaire hunger was
alayed,
And so thei couthe sese thaire
talent;
Thei had[den] yit no queynt[e] craft
assayed,
As clarry for to make ne pyment[25].

To de[y]en purpure couthe thei
noght be-thynke,
The white flees, with venym Tyryen;

The rennyng ryver yaf hem lusty
drynke,
And holsom sleep the[y] took vpon
the grene.
The pynes, that so full of braunches
been,
That was thaire hous, to kepe[n]
vnder schade.
The see[26] to kerve no schippes
were there seen;
Ther was no man that
marchaundise made.

They liked not to sailen vp and
doun,
But kepe hem-selven[27] where thei
weren bred;
Tho was ful huscht the cruel
clarioun,
For eger hate ther was no blood I-
sched,
Ne therwith was non armour yet
be-bled;
For in that tyme who durst have be
so wood
Suche bitter woundes that he nold
have dred,
With-outen réward, for to lese his
blood.

I wold oure tyme myght turne
certanly,
And wise[28] maneres alwey with vs
dwelle;
But love of hauyng brenneth
feruently,

More fersere than the verray fuyre
of helle.
Allas! who was that man that wold
him melle
With [29] gold and gemmes that were
kevered thus[30],
That first began to myne; I can not
telle,
But that he fond a perel[31]
precious.

§ 16. MS. Auct. F. 3. 5, in the Bodleian Library, contains a prose
translation, different from Chaucer's. After this, the next translation seems
to be one by George Colvile; the title is thus given by Lowndes: 'Boetius de
Consolatione Philosophiæ, translated by George Coluile, alias Coldewel.
London: by John Cawoode; 1556. 4to.' This work was dedicated to Queen
Mary, and reprinted in 1561; and again, without date.

There is an unprinted translation, in hexameters and other metres, in the
British Museum (MS. Addit. 11401), by Bracegirdle, temp. Elizabeth. See
Warton, ed. Hazlitt, iii. 39, note 6.

Lowndes next mentions a translation by J. T., printed at London in 1609,
12mo.

A translation 'Anglo-Latine expressus per S. E. M.' was printed at London
in quarto, in 1654, according to Hazlitt's Hand-book to Popular Literature.

Next, a translation into English verse by H. Conningesbye, in 1664, 12mo.

The next is thus described: 'Of the Consolation of Philosophy, made English
and illustrated with Notes by the Right Hon. Richard (Graham) Lord
Viscount Preston. London; 1695, 8vo. Second edition, corrected; London;
1712, 8vo.'

A translation by W. Causton was printed in London in 1730; 8vo.

A translation by the Rev. Philip Ridpath, printed in London in 1785, 8vo., is
described by Lowndes as 'an excellent translation with very useful notes,
and a life of Boethius, drawn up with great accuracy and fidelity.'

A translation by R. Duncan was printed at Edinburgh in 1789, 8vo.; and an
anonymous translation, described by Lowndes as 'a pitiful performance,'
was printed in London in 1792, 8vo.

In a list of works which the Early English Text Society proposes shortly to
print, we are told that 'Miss Pemberton has sent to press her edition of the
fragments of Queen Elizabeth's Englishings (in the Record Office) from
Boethius, Plutarch, &c.'

§ 17. I now return to the consideration of Chaucer's translation, as printed in
the present volume.

I do not think the question as to the probable date of its composition need
detain us long. It is so obviously connected with 'Troilus' and the 'House of
Fame,' which it probably did not long precede, that we can hardly be wrong
in dating it, as said above, about 1377-1380; or, in round numbers, about
1380 or a little earlier. I quite agree with Mr. Stewart (Essay, p. 226), that, 'it
is surely most reasonable to connect its composition with those poems
which contain the greatest number of recollections and imitations of his
original;' and I see no reason for ascribing it, with Professor Morley
(English Writers, v. 144), to Chaucer's youth. Even Mr. Stewart is so
incautious as to suggest that Chaucer's 'acquaintance with the works of the
Roman philosopher ... would seem to date from about the year 1369, when
he wrote the Deth of Blaunche.' When we ask for some tangible evidence of
this statement, we are simply referred to the following passages in that
poem, viz. the mention of 'Tityus (588); of Fortune the debonaire (623);
Fortune the monster (627); Fortune's capriciousness and her rolling wheel
(634, 642); Tantalus (708); the mind compared to a clean parchment (778);
and Alcibiades (1055-6);' see Essay, p. 267. In every one of these instances,
I believe the inference to be fallacious, and that Chaucer got all these

illustrations, at second hand, from Le Roman de la Rose. As a matter of
fact, they are all to be found there; and I find, on reference, that I have, in
most instances, already given the parallel passages in my notes. However,
to make the matter clearer, I repeat them here.

Book Duch. 588. Cf. Comment li juisier Ticius
S'efforcent ostoir de mangier;
Rom. Rose, 19506.
Si cum tu fez, las Sisifus, &c.;
R. R. 19499.

Book Duch. 623. The dispitouse debonaire,
That scorneth many a creature.

I cannot give the exact reference, because Jean de Meun's description of the
various moods of Fortune extends to a portentous length. Chaucer
reproduces the general impression which a perusal of the poem leaves on
the mind. However, take ll. 4860-62 of Le Roman:—

Que miex vaut asses et profite
Fortune perverse et contraire
Que la mole et la debonnaire.

Surely 'debonaire' in Chaucer is rather French than Latin. And see
debonaire in the E. version of the Romaunt, l. 5412.

Book Duch. 627. She is the monstres heed y-wryen,
As filth over y-strawed with floures.

Si di, par ma parole ovrir,
Qui vodroit un femier covrir
De dras de soie ou de floretes; R. R. 8995.

As the second of the above lines from the Book of the Duchesse is
obviously taken from Le Roman, it is probable that the first is also; but it is

a hard task to discover the particular word monstre in this vast poem.
However, I find it, in l. 4917, with reference to Fortune; and her wheel is
not far off, six lines above.

B. D. 634, 642. Fortune's capriciousness is treated of by Jean de Meun at
intolerable length, ll. 4863-8492; and elsewhere. As to her wheel, it is
continually rolling through his verses; see ll. 4911, 5366, 5870, 5925, 6172,
6434, 6648, 6880, &c.

B. D. 708. Cf. Et de fain avec Tentalus; R. R. 19482.

B. D. 778. Not from Le Roman, nor from Boethius, but from Machault's
Remède de Fortune, as pointed out by M. Sandras long ago; see my note.

B. D. 1055-6. Cf. Car le cors Alcipiades
Qui de biauté avoit adés ...
Ainsinc le raconte Boece; R. R. 8981.

See my note on the line; and note the spelling of Alcipiades with a p, as in
the English MSS.

We thus see that all these passages (except l. 778) are really taken from Le
Roman, not to mention many more, already pointed out by Dr. Köppel
(Anglia, xiv. 238). And, this being so, we may safely conclude that they
were not taken from Boethius directly. Hence we may further infer that, in
all probability, Chaucer, in 1369, was not very familiar with Boethius in the
Latin original. And this accounts at once for the fact that he seldom quotes
Boethius at first hand, perhaps not at all, in any of his earlier poems, such as
the Complaint unto Pite, the Complaint of Mars, or Anelida and Arcite, or
the Lyf of St. Cecilie. I see no reason for supposing that he had closely
studied Boethius before (let us say) 1375; though it is extremely probable,
as was said above, that Jean de Meun inspired him with the idea of reading
it, to see whether it was really worth translating, as the French poet said it
was.

§ 18. When we come to consider the style and manner in which Chaucer
has executed his self-imposed task, we must first of all make some
allowance for the difference between the scholarship of his age and of our
own. One great difference is obvious, though constantly lost sight of, viz.
that the teaching in those days was almost entirely oral, and that the student
had to depend upon his memory to an extent which would now be regarded
by many as extremely inconvenient. Suppose that, in reading Boethius,
Chaucer comes across the phrase 'ueluti quidam clauus atque
gubernaculum' (Bk. iii. pr. 12, note to l. 55), and does not remember the
sense of clauus; what is to be done? It is quite certain, though this again is
frequently lost sight of, that he had no access to a convenient and well-
arranged Latin Dictionary, but only to such imperfect glossaries as were
then in use. Almost the only resource, unless he had at hand a friend more
learned than himself, was to guess. He guesses accordingly; and, taking
clauus to mean much the same thing as clauis, puts down in his translation:
'and he is as a keye and a stere.' Some mistakes of this character were
almost inevitable; and it must not greatly surprise us to be told, that the
'inaccuracy and infelicity' of Chaucer's translation 'is not that of an
inexperienced Latin scholar, but rather of one who was no Latin scholar at
all,' as Mr. Stewart says in his Essay, p. 226. It is useful to bear this in mind,
because a similar lack of accuracy is characteristic of Chaucer's other works
also; and we must not always infer that emendation is necessary, when we
find in his text some curious error.

§ 19. The next passage in Mr. Stewart's Essay so well expresses the state of
the case, that I do not hesitate to quote it at length. 'Given (he says) a man
who is sufficiently conversant with a language to read it fluently without
paying too much heed to the precise value of participle and preposition,
who has the wit and the sagacity to grasp the meaning of his author, but not
the intimate knowledge of his style and manner necessary to a right
appreciation of either, and—especially if he set himself to write in an
uncongenial and unfamiliar form—he will assuredly produce just such a
result as Chaucer has done.

'We must now glance (he adds) at the literary style of the translation. As Ten
Brink has observed, we can here see as clearly as in any work of the middle
ages what a high cultivation is requisite for the production of a good prose.

Verse, and not prose, is the natural vehicle for the expression of every
language in its infancy, and it is certainly not in prose that Chaucer's genius
shews to best advantage. The restrictions of metre were indeed to him as
silken fetters, while the freedom of prose only served to embarrass him; just
as a bird that has been born and bred in captivity, whose traditions are all
domestic, finds itself at a sad loss when it escapes from its cage and has to
fall back on its own resources for sustenance. In reading "Boece," we have
often as it were to pause and look on while Chaucer has a desperate wrestle
with a tough sentence; but though now he may appear to be down, with a
victorious knee upon him, next moment he is on his feet again, disclaiming
defeat in a gloss which makes us doubt whether his adversary had so much
the best of it after all. But such strenuous endeavour, even when it is
crowned with success, is strange in a writer one of whose chief charms is
the delightful ease, the complete absence of effort, with which he says his
best things. It is only necessary to compare the passages in Boethius in the
prose version with the same when they reappear in the poems, to realise
how much better they look in their verse dress. Let the reader take Troilus'
soliloquy on Freewill and Predestination (Bk. iv. ll. 958-1078), and read it
side by side with the corresponding passage in "Boece" (Bk. v. proses 2 and
3), and he cannot fail to feel the superiority of the former to the latter. With
what clearness and precision does the argument unfold itself, how close is
the reasoning, how vigorous and yet graceful is the language! It is to be
regretted that Chaucer did not do for all the Metra of the "Consolation"
what he did for the fifth of the second book. A solitary gem like "The
Former Age" makes us long for a whole set[32]. Sometimes, whether
unconsciously or of set purpose, it is difficult to decide, his prose slips into
verse:—

It lyketh me to shewe, by subtil
song,
With slakke and délitáble soun of
strenges (Bk. iii. met. 2. 1).

Whan Fortune, with a proud right
hand (Bk. ii. met. 1. 1)[33].'

The reader should also consult Ten Brink's History of English Literature,
Book iv. sect. 7. I here give a useful extract.

'This version is complete, and faithful in all essential points. Chaucer had
no other purpose than to disclose, if possible wholly, the meaning of this
famous work to his contemporaries; and notwithstanding many errors in
single points, he has fairly well succeeded in reproducing the sense of the
original. He often employs for this purpose periphrastic turns, and for the
explanation of difficult passages, poetical figures, mythological and
historical allusions; and he even incorporates a number of notes in his text.
His version thus becomes somewhat diffuse, and, in the undeveloped state
of prose composition so characteristic of that age, often quite unwieldy. But
there is no lack of warmth, and even of a certain colouring....

'The language of the translation shews many a peculiarity; viz. numerous
Latinisms, and even Roman idioms in synthesis, inflexion, or syntax, which
are either wholly absent or at least found very rarely in Chaucer's poems.
The labour of this translation proved a school for the poet, from which his
powers of speech came forth not only more elevated but more self-reliant;
and above all, with a greater aptitude to express thoughts of a deeper
nature.'

§ 20. Most of the instances in which Chaucer's rendering is inaccurate,
unhappy, or insufficient are pointed out in the notes. I here collect some
examples, many of which have already been remarked upon by Dr. Morris
and Mr. Stewart.

i. met. 1. 3. rendinge Muses: 'lacerae Camenae.'

" 20. unagreable dwellinges[34]: 'ingratas moras.'

i. pr. 1. 49. til it be at the laste: 'usque in exitium;' (but see the note).

i. pr. 3. 2. I took hevene: 'hausi caelum.'

i. met. 4. 5. hete: 'aestum;' (see the note). So again, in met. 7. 3.

i. pr. 4. 83. for nede of foreine moneye: 'alienae aeris necessitate.'

i. pr. 4. 93. lykned: 'astrui;' (see the note).

i. met. 5. 9. cometh eft ayein hir used cours: 'Solitas iterum mutet habenas;'
(see the note).

ii. pr. 1. 22. entree: 'adyto;' (see the note).

ii. pr. 1. 45. use hir maneres: 'utere moribus.'

ii. pr. 5. 10. to hem that despenden it: 'effundendo.'

" 11. to thilke folk that mokeren it: 'coaceruando.'

" 90. subgit: 'sepositis;' (see the note).

ii. met. 6. 21. the gloss is wrong; (see the note).

ii. met. 7. 20. cruel day: 'sera dies;' (see the note).

iii. pr. 2. 57. birefte awey: 'adferre.' Here MS. C. has afferre, and Chaucer
seems to have resolved this into ab-ferre.

iii. pr. 3. 48. foreyne: 'forenses.'

iii. pr. 4. 42. many maner dignitees of consules: 'multiplici consulatu.'

iii. pr. 4. 64. of usaunces: 'utentium.'

iii. pr. 8. 11. anoyously: 'obnoxius;' (see the note).

" 29. of a beest that highte lynx: 'Lynceis;' (see the note).

iii. pr. 9. 16. Wenest thou that he, that hath nede of power, that him ne
lakketh no-thing? 'An tu arbitraris quod nihilo indigeat egere potentia?' On
this Mr. Stewart remarks that 'it is easy to see that indigeat and egere have
changed places.' To me, it is not quite easy; for the senses of the M.E. nede
and lakken are very slippery. Suppose we make them change places, and
read:—'Wenest thou that he, that hath lak of power, that him ne nedeth no-
thing?' This may be better, but it is not wholly satisfactory.

iii. pr.9. 39-41. that he ... yif him nedeth = whether he needeth. A very
clumsy passage; see the Latin quoted in the note.

iii. pr. 10. 165. the soverein fyn and the cause: 'summa, cardo, atque caussa.'

iii. pr. 12. 55, 67. a keye: 'clauus;' and again, 'clauo.'

" 74. a yok of misdrawinges: 'detrectantium iugum.'

" 75. the savinge of obedient thinges: 'obtemperantium salus.'

iii. pr. 12. 136. the whiche proeves drawen to hem-self hir feith and hir
acord, everich of hem of other: 'altero ex altero fidem trahente ...
probationibus.' (Not well expressed.)

iii. met. 12. 5. the wodes, moveable, to rennen; and had maked the riveres,
&c.: 'Siluas currere, mobiles Amnes,' &c.

iii. met. 17-19. Obscure and involved.

iv. pr. 1. 22. of wikkede felounes: 'facinorum.'

iv. pr. 2. 97. Iugement: 'indicium' (misread as iudicium).

iv. met. 7. 15. empty: 'immani;' (misread as inani).

v. pr. 1. 3. ful digne by auctoritee: 'auctoritate dignissima.'

" 34. prince: 'principio.'

" 57. the abregginge of fortuit hap: 'fortuiti caussae compendii.'

v. pr. 4. 30. by grace of position (or possessioun): 'positionis gratia.'

v. pr. 4. 56. right as we trowen: 'quasi uero credamus.'

v. met. 5. 6. by moist fleeinge: 'liquido uolatu.'

§ 21. In the case of a few supposed errors, as pointed out by Mr. Stewart,
there remains something to be said on the other side. I note the following
instances.

i. pr. 6. 28. Lat. 'uelut hiante ualli robore.' Here Mr. Stewart quotes the
reading of MS. A., viz. 'so as the strengthe of the paleys schynyng is open.'
But the English text in that MS. is corrupt. The correct reading is 'palis
chyning;' where palis means palisade, and translates ualli; and chyning is
open means is gaping open, and translates hiante.

ii. pr. 5. 16. Lat. 'largiendi usu.' The translation has: 'by usage of large
yevinge of him that hath yeven it.' I fail to see much amiss; for the usual
sense of large in M. E. is liberal, bounteous, lavish. Of course we must not
substitute the modern sense without justification.

ii. pr. 5. 35. 'of the laste beautee' translates Lat. 'postremae pulcritudinis.'
For this, see my note on p. 431.

ii. pr. 7. 38. Lat. 'tum commercii insolentia.' Chaucer has: 'what for defaute
of unusage and entrecomuninge of marchaundise.' There is not much amiss;
but MS. A. omits the word and after unusage, which of course makes
nonsense of the passage.

ii. met. 8. 6. Lat. 'Ut fluctus auidum mare Certo fine coerceat.' Chaucer has:
'that the see, greedy to flowen, constreyned with a certein ende hise
floodes.' Mr. Stewart understands 'greedy to flowen' to refer to 'fluctus
auidum.' It seems to me that this was merely Chaucer's first idea of the
passage, and that he afterwards meant 'hise floodes' to translate 'fluctus,' but
forgot to strike out 'to flowen.' I do not defend the translation.

iii. pr. 11. 86. Lat. 'sede;' Eng. 'sete.' This is quite right. Mr. Stewart quotes
the Eng. version as having 'feete,' but this is only a corrupt reading, though
found in the best MS. Any one who is acquainted with M. E. MSS. will
easily guess that 'feete' is merely mis-copied from 'ſeete,' with a long s; and,
indeed, sete is the reading of the black-letter editions. There is a blunder
here, certainly; only it is not the author's, but due to the scribes.

iv. pr. 6. 176. Lat. 'quidam me quoque excellentior:' Eng. 'a philosophre, the
more excellent by me.' The M. E. use of by is ambiguous; it frequently
means 'in comparison with.'

v. met. 5. 14. Lat. 'male dissipis:' Eng. 'wexest yvel out of thy wit.' In this
case, wexest out of thy wit translates dissipis; and yvel, which is here an
adverb, translates male.

Of course we must also make allowances for the variations in Chaucer's
Latin MS. from the usually received text. Here we are much assisted by
MS. C., which, as explained below, appears to contain a copy of the very
text which he consulted, and helps to settle several doubtful points. To take
two examples. In Book ii. met. 5. 17, Chaucer has 'ne hadde nat deyed yit
armures,' where the usual Lat. text has 'tinxerat arua.' But many MSS. have
arma; and, of these, MS. C. is one.

Once more, in Book ii. met. 2. 11, Chaucer has 'sheweth other gapinges,'
where the usual Lat. text has 'Altos pandit hiatus.' But some MSS. have
Alios; and, of these, MS. C. is one.

§ 22. After all, the chief point of interest about Chaucer's translation of
Boethius is the influence that this labour exercised upon his later work,

owing to the close familiarity with the text which he thus acquired. I have
shewn that we must not expect to find such influence upon his earliest
writings; and that, in the case of the Book of the Duchesse, it affected him
at second hand, through Jean de Meun. But in other poems, viz. Troilus, the
House of Fame, The Legend of Good Women, some of the Balades, and in
the Canterbury Tales, the influence of Boethius is frequently observable;
and we may usually suppose such influence to have been direct and
immediate; nevertheless, we should always keep an eye on Le Roman de la
Rose, for Jean de Meun was, in like manner, influenced in no slight degree
by the same work. I have often taken an opportunity of pointing out, in my
Notes to Chaucer, passages of this character; and I find that Mr. Stewart,
with praiseworthy diligence, has endeavoured to give (in Appendix B,
following his Essay, at p. 260) 'An Index of Passages in Chaucer which
seem to have been suggested by the De Consolatione Philosophiae.' Very
useful, in connection with this subject, is the list of passages in which
Chaucer seems to have been indebted to Le Roman de la Rose, as given by
Dr. E. Köppel in Anglia, vol. xiv. 238-265. Another most useful help is the
comparison between Troilus and Boccaccio's Filostrato, by Mr. W. M.
Rossetti; which sometimes proves, beyond all doubt, that a passage which
may seem to be due to Boethius, is really taken from the Italian poet. As
this seems to be the right place for exhibiting the results thus obtained, I
proceed to give them, and gladly express my thanks to the above-named
authors for the opportunity thus afforded.

§ 23. Comparison with 'Boece' of other works by Chaucer.

Troilus and Criseyde: Book I.

365.[35] a mirour.—Cf. B. v. met. 4. 8.

638. sweetnesse, &c.—B. iii. met. 1. 4.

730. What? slombrestow as in a lytargye?—See B. i. pr. 2. 14.

731. an asse to the harpe.—B. i. pr. 4. 2.

786. Ticius.—B. iii. met. 12. 29.

837. Fortune is my fo.—B. i. pr. 4. 8.

838-9. May of hir cruel wheel the harm withstonde.—B. ii. pr. 1. 80-82.

840. she pleyeth.—B. ii. met. 1. 10; pr. 2. 36.

841. than blamestow Fortune.—B. ii. pr. 2. 14.

846-7. That, as hir Ioyes moten overgoon,
So mote hir sorwes passen everichoon.—B. ii. pr. 3. 52-4.

848-9. For if hir wheel stinte any-thing to torne,
Than cessed she Fortune anoon to be.
B. ii. pr. 1. 82-4.

850. Now, sith hir wheel by no wey may soiorne, &c.—B. ii. pr. 2. 59.

857. For who-so list have helping of his leche.—B. i. pr. 4. 3.

1065-71. For every wight that hath an hous to founde.—B. iv. pr. 6. 57-60.

Troilus: Book II.

*42.[36] Forthy men seyn, ech contree hath his lawes.—B. ii. pr. 7. 49-51.
(This case is doubtful. Chaucer's phrase—men seyn—shews that he is
quoting a common proverb. 'Ase fele thedes, as fele thewes, quoth
Hendyng.' 'Tant de gens, tant de guises.'—Ray. So many countries, so many
customs.—Hazlitt).

526. O god, that at thy disposicioun
Ledest the fyn, by Iuste purveyaunce,
Of every wight. B. iv. pr. 6. 149-151.

766-7. And that a cloud is put with wind to flighte
Which over-sprat the sonne as for a space.
B. i. met. 3. 8-10.

Troilus: Book III.

617.[37] But O, Fortune, executrice of wierdes,
O influences of thise hevenes hye!
Soth is, that, under god, ye ben our hierdes.
B. iv. pr. 6. 60-71.

624. The bente mone with hir hornes pale.—B. i. met. 5. 6.

813. O god—quod she—so worldly selinesse ...
Y-medled is with many a bitternesse.—B. ii. pr. 4. 86, 87.

816. Ful anguisshous than is, god woot—quod she—
Condicioun of veyn prosperitee.
B. ii. pr. 4. 56.

820-833.—B. ii. pr. 4. 109-117.

*836. Ther is no verray wele in this world here.
B. ii. pr. 4. 130.

1219. And now swetnesse semeth more swete.—B. iii. met. 1. 4.

1261. Benigne Love, thou holy bond of thinges.—B. ii. met. 8. 9-11.

1625-8. For of Fortunes sharp adversitee, &c.—B. ii. pr. 4. 4-7.

1691-2. Feicitee.—B. iii. pr. 2. 55.

1744-68. Love, that of erthe and see hath governaunce, &c.
B. ii. met. 8. 9-11; 15, 16; 3-8; 11-14; 17, 18.

Troilus: Book IV.

*1-7. (Fortune's changes, her wheel, and her scorn).—B. ii. pr. 1. 12; met. 1.
1, 5-10; pr. ii. 37. (But note, that ll. 1-3 are really due to the Filostrato, Bk.
iii. st. 94; and ll. 6, 7 are copied from Le Roman de la Rose, 8076-9).

200. cloud of errour.—B. iii. met. 11. 7.

391. Ne trust no wight to finden in Fortune
Ay propretee; hir yeftes ben comune.
B. ii. pr. 2. 7-9; 61-2.

*481-2. (Repeated from Book III. 1625-8. But, this time, it is copied from
the Filostrato, Bk. iv. st. 56).

503. For sely is that deeth, soth for to seyne,
That, oft y-cleped, comth and endeth peyne.
B. i. met. 1. 12-14.

*835. And alle worldly blisse, as thinketh me,
The ende of blisse ay sorwe it occupyeth.
B. ii. pr. 4. 90.

(A very doubtful instance; for l. 836 is precisely the same as Prov. xiv. 13.
The word occupyeth is decisive; see my note to Cant. Ta. B 421).

958; 963-6. (Predestination).—B. v. pr. 2. 30-34.

974-1078. (Necessity and Free Will).—B. v. pr. 3. 7-19; 21-71.

*1587. ... thenk that lord is he
Of Fortune ay, that nought wol of hir recche;
And she ne daunteth no wight but a wrecche.
B. ii. pr. 4. 98-101.

(But note that l. 1589 really translates two lines in the Filostrato, Bk. iv. st.
154).

Troilus: Book V.

278. And Phebus with his rosy carte.—B. ii. met. 3. 1, 2.

763. Felicitee clepe I my suffisaunce.—B. iii. pr. 2. 6-8.

*1541-4. Fortune, whiche that permutacioun
Of thinges hath, as it is hir committed
Through purveyaunce and disposicioun
Of heighe Iove. B. iv. pr. 6. 75-77.

*1809. (The allusion here to the 'seventh spere' has but a remote reference
to Boethius (iv. met. 1. 16-19); for this stanza 259 is translated from
Boccaccio's Teseide, Bk. xi. st. 1).

It thus appears that, for this poem, Chaucer made use of B. i. met. 1, pr. 2,
met. 3, pr. 4, met. 5; ii. pr. 1, met. 1, pr. 2, pr. 3, met. 3, pr. 4, pr. 7, met. 8;
iii. met. 1, pr. 2, met. 2, pr. 3, met. 11, 12; iv. pr. 6; v. pr. 2, pr. 3.

The House of Fame.

*535 (Book ii. 27). Foudre. (This allusion to the thunderbolt is copied from
Machault, as shewn in my note; but Machault probably took it from Boeth.
i. met. 4. 8; and it is curious that Chaucer has tour, not toun).

730-746 (Book ii. 222-238).—Compare B. iii. pr. 11; esp. 98-111. (Also Le
Roman de la Rose, 16957-69; Dante, Purg. xviii. 28).

972-8 (Book ii. 464-70).—B. iv. met. 1. 1-5.

1368-1375 (Book iii. 278-285).—Compare B. i. pr. 1. 8-12.

*1545-8 (Book iii. 455-8).—Compare B. i. pr. 5. 43, 44. (The likeness is
very slight).

1920 (Book iii. 830). An hous, that domus Dedali, That Laborintus cleped
is.—B. iii. pr. 12. 118.

Legend of Good Women.

195 (p. 78). tonne.—B. ii. pr. 2. 53-5.

*2228-30. (Philomela, 1-3).—B. iii. met. 9. 8-10. (Doubtful; for the same is
in Le Roman de la Rose, 16931-6, which is taken from Boethius. And
Köppel remarks that the word Eternally answers to nothing in the Latin
text, whilst it corresponds to the French Tous jors en pardurableté).

MINOR POEMS.

III. Book of the Duchesse.

The quotations from Boethius are all taken at second-hand. See above, pp.
xx, xxi.

V. Parlement of Foules.

*380. That hoot, cold, hevy, light, [and] moist and dreye, &c.—B. iii. pr. 11.
98-103.

(Practically, a chance resemblance; these lines are really from Alanus, De
Planctu Naturæ; see the note).

599. ... as oules doon by light;
The day hem blent, ful wel they see by night.
B. iv. pr. 4. 132-3.

IX. The Former Age.

Partly from B. ii. met. 5; see the notes.

X. Fortune.

1-4. Compare B. ii. met. 1. 5-7.

10-12. Compare B. ii. pr. 8. 22-25.

13. Compare B. ii. pr. 4. 98-101.

*17. Socrates.—B. i. pr. 3. 20. (But really from Le Roman de la Rose,
5871-4).

25. No man is wrecched, but himself it wene.—B. ii. pr. 4. 79, 80; cf. pr. 2.
1-10.

29-30. Cf. B. ii. pr. 2. 17, 18.

31. Cf. B. ii. pr. 2. 59, 60.

33, 34. Cf. B. ii. pr. 8. 25-28.

38. Yit halt thyn ancre.—B. ii. pr. 4. 40.

43, 44. Cf. B. ii. pr. 1. 69-72, and 78-80.

45, 46. Cf. B. ii. pr. 2. 60-62; and 37.

50-52. Cf. B. ii. pr. 8. 25-28.

57-64. Cf. B. ii. pr. 2. 11-18.

65-68. Cf. B. iv. pr. 6. 42-46.

68. Ye blinde bestes.—B. iii. pr. 3. 1.

71. Thy laste day.—B. ii. pr. 3. 60, 61.

XIII. Truth.

2. Cf. B. ii. pr. 5. 56, 57.

3. For hord hath hate.—B. ii. pr. 5. 11.

3. and climbing tikelnesse.—B. iii. pr. 8. 10, 11.

7. And trouthe shal delivere. Cf. B. iii. met. 11. 7-9; 15-20.

8. Tempest thee noght.—B. ii. pr. 4. 50.

9. hir that turneth as a bal.—B. ii. pr. 2. 37.

15. That thee is sent, receyve in buxumnesse.—B. ii. pr. 1. 66-68.

17, 19. Her nis non hoom. Cf. B. i. pr. 5. 11-15.

18. Forth, beste.—B. iii. pr. 3. 1.

19. Know thy contree, lok up.—B. v. met. 5. 14, 15.

XIV. Gentilesse.

For the general idea, see B. iii. pr. 6. 24-38; met. 6. 2, and 6-10. With l. 5
compare B. iii. pr. 4. 25.

XV. Lak of Stedfastnesse.

For the general idea, cf. B. ii. met. 8.

Canterbury Tales: Group A.

Prologue. 337-8. Pleyn delyt, &c.—B. iii. pr. 2. 55.

741-2. The wordes mote be cosin to the dede.—B. iii. pr. 12. 152.

Knightes Tale. 925. Thanked be Fortune, and hir false wheel.—B. ii. pr. 2.
37-39.

1164. Who shal yeve a lover any lawe?—B. iii, met. 12. 37.

*1251-4. Cf. B. iv. pr. 6. 147-151.

1255, 1256. Cf. B. iii. pr. 2. 19; ii. pr. 5. 122.

1262. A dronke man, &c.—B. iii. pr. 2. 61.

1266. We seke faste after felicitee,
But we goon wrong ful often, trewely.
B. iii. pr. 2. 59, 60; met. 8. 1.

1303-12. O cruel goddes, that governe, &c.—B. i. met. 5. 22-26; iv. pr. 1.
19-26.

*1946. The riche Cresus. Cf. B. ii. pr. 2. 44. (But cf. Monkes Ta. B. 3917,
and notes.)

2987-2993[38]. The firste moevere, &c.—B. ii. met. 8. 6-11. (But see also
the Teseide, Bk. ix. st. 51.)

2994-9, 3003-4.—B. iv. pr. 6. 29-35.

3005-3010.—B. iii. pr. 10. 18-22.

3011-5.—B. iv. pr. 6.

Group B.

Man of Lawes Tale. 295-299. O firste moeving cruel firmament. Cf. B. i.
met. 5. 1-3; iii. pr. 8. 22; pr. 12. 145-147; iv. met. 1. 6.

481-3. Doth thing for certein ende that ful derk is.—B. iv. pr. 6. 114-117,
and 152-154.

813-6. O mighty god, if that it be thy wille.—B. i. met. 5. 22-30; iv. pr. 1.
19-26.

N.B. The stanzas 421-7, and 925-931, are not from Boethius, but from Pope
Innocent; see notes.

The Tale of Melibeus. The suggested parallels between this Tale and Boece
are only three; the first is marked by Mr. Stewart as doubtful, the third
follows Albertano of Brescia word for word; and the second is too general a
statement. It is best to say that no certain instance can be given[39].

The Monk's Prologue. 3163. Tragedie.—B. ii. pr. 2. 51.

The Monkes Tale: Hercules. 3285-3300.—B. iv. met. 7. 20-42. (But see
Sources of the Tales, § 48; vol. iii. p. 430.)

*3329. Ful wys is he that can him-selven knowe. Cf. B. ii. pr. 4. 98-101.

3434. For what man that hath freendes thurgh fortune,
Mishap wol make hem enemys, I gesse.
B. iii. pr. 5. 48-50.

3537. But ay fortune hath in hir hony galle.—B. ii. pr. 4. 86-7.

3587. Thus can fortune hir wheel governe and gye.—B. ii. pr. 2. 37-39.

*3636. Thy false wheel my wo al may I wyte.—B. ii. pr. 1. 7-10.

3653. Nero. See B. ii. met. 6; esp. 5-16.

3914. Julius Cesar. No man ne truste upon hir favour longe. B. ii. pr. 1. 48-
53.

3921. Cresus.—B. ii. pr. 2. 44-46.

3951. Tragedie.—B. ii. pr. 2. 51-2. (See 3163 above.)

3956. And covere hir brighte face with a cloude.—B. ii. pr. 1. 42.

Nonne Preestes Tale. 4190. That us governeth alle as in comune.—B. ii.
pr. 2. 61.

4424. But what that god forwoot mot nedes be.—B. v. pr. 3. 7-10.

4433. Whether that godes worthy forwiting, &c.—B. v. pr. 3. 5-15; 27-39;
pr. 4. 25-34; &c.

Group D.

*100. Wyf of Bath. He hath not every vessel al of gold.—B. iv. pr. 1. 30-
33. (But cf. 2 Tim. ii. 20.)

170. Another tonne.—B. ii. pr. 2. 53.

1109-1116. 'Gentilesse.'—B. iii. pr. 6. 24-38; met. 6. 6, 7.

1140. Caucasus.—B. ii. pr. 7. 43.

1142. Yit wol the fyr as faire lye and brenne.—B. iii. pr. 4. 47.

1170. That he is gentil that doth gentil dedis.—B. iii. met. 6. 7-10.

1187. He that coveyteth is a povre wight.—B. iii. pr. 5. 20-32.

1203. Povert a spectacle is, as thinketh me.—B. ii. pr. 8. 23-25, 31-33.

The Freres Tale. 1483. For som-tyme we ben goddes instruments.—B. iv.
pr. 6. 62-71.

The Somnours Tale. 1968. Lo, ech thing that is oned in him-selve, &c.—B.
iii. pr. 11. 37-40.

Group E.

The Clerkes Tale. Mr. Stewart refers ll. 810-2 to Boethius, but these lines
translate Petrarch's sentence—'Nulla homini perpetua sors est.' Also ll.
1155-1158, 1161; but these lines translate Petrarch's sentence—'Probat

tamen et sæpe nos, multis ac grauibus flagellis exerceri sinit, non ut
animum nostrum sciat, quem sciuit antequam crearemur ... abundè ergo
constantibus uiris ascripserim, quisquis is fuerit, qui pro Deo suo sine
murmure patiatur.' I find no hint that Chaucer was directly influenced by
Boethius, while writing this Tale.

The Marchantes Tale. Mr. Stewart refers ll. 1311-4 to Boethius, but they
are more likely from Albertanus Brixiensis, Liber de Amore dei, fol. 30 a
(as shewn by Dr. Köppel):—'Et merito uxor est diligenda, qui donum est
Dei,' followed by a quotation from Prov. xix. 14.

1582. a mirour—B. v. met. 4. 8.

1784. O famulier foo.—B. iii. pr. 5. 50.

1849. The slakke skin.—B. i. met. 1. 12.

1967-9. Were it by destinee or aventure, &c.—B. iv. pr. 6. 62-71.

2021. felicitee Stant in delyt.—B. iii. pr. 2. 55.

2062. O monstre, &c.—B. ii. pr. 1. 10-14.

Group F.

The Squieres Tale. *258. As sore wondren somme on cause of thonder. Cf.
B. iv. met. 5. 6. (Somewhat doubtful.)

608. Alle thing, repeiring to his kinde.—B. iii. met. 2. 27-29.

611. As briddes doon that men in cages fede.—B. iii. met. 2. 15-22.

The Frankeleins Tale. 865. Eterne god, that thurgh thy purveyaunce, &c.—
B. i. met. 5. 22, 23; iii. met. 9. 1; cf. iii. pr. 9. 147, 148.

879. Which mankinde is so fair part of thy werk.—B. i. met. 5. 38.

886. Al is for the beste.—B. iv. pr. 6. 194-196.

1031. God and governour, &c.—B. i. met. 6. 10-14.

Group G.

The Seconde Nonnes Tale. I think it certain that this early Tale is quite
independent of Boethius. L. 114, instanced by Mr. Stewart, is from
'Ysidorus'; see my note.

The Canouns Yemannes Tale. *958. We fayle of that which that we wolden
have.—B. iii. pr. 9. 89-91. (Very doubtful.)

Group H.

The Maunciples Tale. 160.

ther may no man
embrace
As to destreyne a thing, which that
nature
Hath naturelly set in a creature.—B.
iii. met. 2. 1-5.

163. Tak any brid, &c.—B. iii. met. 2. 15-22.

Group I.

The Persones Tale. *212. A shadwe hath the lyknesse of the thing of which
it is shadwe, but shadwe is nat the same thing of which it is shadwe.—B. v.
pr. 4. 45, 46. (Doubtful.)

*471. Who-so prydeth him in the goodes of fortune, he is a ful greet fool;
for som-tyme is a man a greet lord by the morwe, that is a caitif and a
wrecche er it be night.—B. ii. met. 3. 16-18. (I think this is doubtful, and
mark it as such.)

472. Som-tyme the delyces of a man is cause of the grevous maladye thurgh
which he dyeth.—B. iii. pr. 7. 3-5.

§ 24. It is worth while to see what light is thrown upon the chronology of
the Canterbury Tales by comparison with Boethius.

In the first place, we may remark that, of the Tales mentioned above, there
is nothing to shew that The Seconde Nonnes Tale, the Clerkes Tale, or even
the Tale of Melibeus, really refer to any passages in Boethius. They may, in
fact, have been written before that translation was made. In the instance of
the Second Nonnes Tale, this was certainly the case; and it is not unlikely
that the same is true with respect to the others.

But the following Tales (as revised) seem to be later than 'Boece,' viz. The
Knightes Tale, The Man of Lawes Tale, and The Monkes Tale; whilst it is
quite certain that the following Tales were amongst the latest written, viz.
the Nonne Preestes Tale, the three tales in Group D (Wyf, Frere, Somnour),
the Marchantes Tale, the Squieres Tale, the Frankeleins Tale, the Canouns
Yemannes Tale, and the Maunciples Tale; all of which are in the heroic
couplet, and later than 1385.

The case of the Knightes Tale is especially interesting; for the numerous
references in it to Boece, and the verbal resemblances between it and
Troilus shew that either the original Palamoun and Arcite was written just
after those works, or else (which is more likely) it was revised, and became
the Knight's Tale, nearly at that time. The connection between Palamon and
Arcite, Anelida, and the Parlement of Foules, and the introduction of three
stanzas from the Teseide near the end of Troilus, render the former
supposition unlikely; whilst at the same time we are confirmed in the
impression that the (revised) Knightes Tale succeeded Boece and Troilus at
no long interval, and was, in fact, the first of the Canterbury Tales that was

written expressly for the purpose of being inserted in that collection, viz.
about 1385-6.

§ 25. The Manuscripts.

I have now to explain the sources of the present edition.

1. MS. C. = MS. Camb. Ii. 3. 21. This MS., in the Cambridge University
Library, is certainly the best; and has therefore been taken as the basis of the
text. The English portion of it was printed by Dr. Furnivall for the Chaucer
Society in 1886; and I have usually relied upon this very useful edition[40].
It is a fine folio MS., wholly occupied with Boethius (De Consolatione
Philosophiae), and comments upon it.

It is divided into two distinct parts, which have been bound up together. The
latter portion consists of a lengthy commentary upon Boethius, at the end of
which we find the title, viz.—'Exposicio preclara quam Iohannes
Theutonicus prescripsit et finiuit Anno domini MoCCCvj viij ydus Iunii;'
i.e. An Excellent Commentary, written by Johannes Teutonicus, and
finished June 6, 1306. This vast commentary occupies 118 folios, in double
columns.

The former part of the volume concerns us more nearly. I take it to be, for
all practical purposes, the authentic copy. For it presents the following
peculiarities. It contains the whole of the Latin text, as well as Chaucer's
English version; and it is surprising to find that these are written in alternate
chapters. Thus the volume begins with the Latin text of Metre 1, at the close
of which there follows immediately, on the same page, Chaucer's translation
of Metre 1. Next comes Prose 1 in Latin, followed by Prose 1 in English;
and so throughout.

Again, if we examine the Latin text, there seems reason to suppose that it
fairly represents the very recension which Chaucer used. It abounds with
side-notes and glosses, all in Latin; and the glosses correspond to those in

Chaucer's version. Thus, to take an example, the following lines occur near
the end of Bk. iii. met. 11:—

'Nam cur rogati sponte recte[41]
censetis
Ni mersus alto uiueret fomes corde.'

Over rogati is written the gloss i. interrogato.

Over censetis is written i. iudicatis.

Over Ni is i. nisi; over mersus alto is i. latenter conditos; over uiueret is i.
vigeret; and over fomes is i. radix veritatis.

Besides these glosses, there is here the following side-note:—'Nisi radix
veritatis latenter conditus vigeret in abscondito mentis, homo non iudicaret
recta quacunque ordinata interrogata.'

When we turn to Chaucer's version, we find that he first gives a translation
of the two verses, thus:—

'For wherefor elles demen ye of your owne wil the rightes, whan ye ben
axed, but-yif so were that the norisshinge of resoun ne livede y-plounged in
the depthe of your herte?'

After this he adds, by way of comment:—'This is to seyn, how sholden men
demen the sooth of anything that were axed, yif ther nere a rote of
soothfastnesse that were y-plounged and hid in naturel principles, the
whiche soothfastnesse lived with-in the deepnesse of the thought.'

It is obvious that he has here reproduced the general sense of the Latin side-
note above quoted. The chief thing which is missing in the Latin is the
expression 'in naturel principles.' But we have only to look to a passage a
little higher up, and we find the line—

'Suis retrusum possidere thesauris.'

Over the word retrusum is written i. absconditum; and over thesauris is i.
naturalibus policiis et principiis naturaliter inditis. Out of these we have
only to pick the words absconditum naturalibus ... principiis, and we at
once obtain the missing phrase—'hid in naturel principles.'

Or, to take another striking example. Bk. iv. met. 7 begins, in the MS., with
the lines:

'Bella bis quinis operatus annis
Vltor attrides frigie ruinis,
Fratris amissos thalamos piauit.'

At the beginning, just above these, is written a note: 'Istud metrum est de
tribus exemplis: de agamenone (sic); secundum de vlixe; tertium, de
hercule.'

The glosses are these; over quinis is i. decim; over attrides is agamenon
(sic); over Fratris is s. menelai; and over piauit is i. vlcissendo (sic)
purgauit: troia enim erat metropolis Frigie.

If we turn to Chaucer's version, in which I print the additions to the text in
italics, we find that it runs thus:—

'The wreker Attrides, that is to seyn, Agamenon, that wroughte and
continuede the batailes by ten yeer, recovered and purgede in wrekinge, by
the destruccioun of Troye, the loste chaumbres of mariage of his brother;
this is to seyn, that he, Agamenon, wan ayein Eleyne, that was Menelaus
wyf his brother.'

We see how this was made up. Not a little curious are the spellings Attrides
and Agamenon[42], as occurring both in the Latin part of this MS. and in
Chaucer's version. Again, Chaucer has ten, corresponding to the gloss
decim, not to the textual phrase bis quinis. His explanation of piauit by

recovered and purgede in wrekinge is clearly due to the gloss ulciscendo
purgauit. His substitution of Troye for Frigie is due to the gloss: troia enim
erat metropolis Frigie. And even the name Menelaus his brother answers to
Fratris, s. menelai. And all that is left, as being absolutely his own, are the
words and continuede, recovered, and wan ayein Eleyne. We soon discover
that, in a hundred instances, he renders a single Latin verb or substantive by
two English verbs or substantives, by way of making the sense clearer;
which accounts for his introduction of the verbs continuede and recovered;
and this consideration reduces Chaucer's additional contribution to a
mention of the name of Eleyne, which was of course extremely familiar to
him.

Similarly, we find in this MS. the original of the gloss explaining
coempcioun (p. 11); of the 'Glose' on p. 15; of the 'Glosa' on p. 26; and of
most of the notes which, at first sight, look like additions by Chaucer
himself[43].

The result is that, in all difficulties, the first authority to be consulted is the
Latin text in this particular MS.; for we are easily led to conclude that it was
intentionally designed to preserve both Chaucer's translation and the
original text. It does not follow that it is always perfect; for it can only be a
copy of the Latin, and the scribe may err. In writing recte for recta (see note
on p. xxxviii), he has certainly committed an error by a slip of the pen. The
same mistake has been observed to occur in another MS., viz. Codex
Gothanus I.

The only drawback is this. The MS. is so crowded with glosses and side-
notes, many of them closely written in small characters, that it is almost
impossible to consult them all. I have therefore contented myself with
resorting to them for information in difficult passages only. For further
remarks on this subject, I must refer the reader to the Notes.

Lastly, I may observe that the design of preserving in this MS. all the
apparatus referring to Chaucer's Boethius, is made the more apparent by the
curious fact that, in this MS. only, the two poems by Chaucer that are
closely related to Boethius, viz. The Former Age, and Fortune, are actually

inserted into the very body of it, immediately after Bk. ii. met. 5. This place
was of course chosen because The Former Age is, to some extent, a verse
translation of that metre; and Fortune was added because, being founded
upon scraps from several chapters, it had no definite claim to any specific
place of its own.

In this MS., the English text, like the Latin one, has a few imperfections.
One imperfection appears in certain peculiarities of spelling. The scribe
seems to have had some habits of pronunciation that betoken a greater
familiarity with Anglo-French than with English. The awkward position of
the guttural sound of gh in neighebour seems to have been too much for
him; hence he substituted ssh (= sh-sh) for gh, and gives us the spelling
neysshebour (Bk. ii. pr. 3. 24, foot-note; pr. 7. 57, foot-note.) Nevertheless,
it is the best MS. and has most authority. For further remarks, see the
account of the present edition, on pp. xlvi-xlviii.

2. MS. Camb. Ii. 1. 38. This MS. also belongs to the Cambridge University
Library, and was written early in the fifteenth century. It contains 8
complete quires of 8 leaves, and 1 incomplete quire of 6 leaves, making 70
leaves in all. The English version appears alone, and occupies 68 leaves,
and part of leaf 69 recto; leaf 69, verso, and leaf 70, are blank. The last
words are:—'þe eyen of þe Iuge þat seeth and demeth alle thinges. Explicit
liber boecij, &c.' Other treatises, in Latin, are bound up with it, but are
unrelated. The readings of this MS. agree very closely with those of Ii. 3.
21, and of our text. Thus, in Met. i. l. 9, it has the reading wyerdes, with the
gloss s. fata, as in Ii. 3. 21. (The scribe at first wrote wyerldes, but the l is
marked for expunction.) In l. 12, it has emptid, whereas the Addit. MS. has
emty; and in l. 16 it has nayteth, whereas the Addit. MS. wrongly has
naieth. On account of its close agreement with the text, I have made but
little use of it.

It is worth notice that this MS. (like Harl. 2421) frequently has correct
readings in cases where even the MS. above described exhibits some
blunder. A few such instances are given in the notes. For example, it has the
reading wrythith in Bk. i. met. 4. 7, where MS. C. has the absurd word
writith, and MS. A. has wircheth. In the very next line, it has thonder-leit,

and it is highly probable that leit is the real word, and light an ignorant
substitution; for leit (answering to A.S. lēget, līget) is the right M.E. word
for 'lightning'; see the examples in Stratmann. So again, in Bk. ii. met. 3.
13, it reads ouer-whelueth, like the black-letter editions; whilst MS. C. turns
whelueth into welueeth, and MS. A. gives the spelling whelweth. In Bk. ii.
pr. 6. 63, it correctly retains I after may, though MSS. C. and A. both omit
it. In Bk. ii. pr. 8. 17, it has wyndy, not wyndynge; and I shew (in the note at
p. 434) that windy is, after all, the correct reading, since the Lat. text has
uentosam. In Bk. iii. met. 3. 1, it resembles the printed editions in the
insertion of the words or a goter after river. In Bk. iv. pr. 3. 47, 48, it
preserves the missing words: peyne, he ne douteth nat þat he nys entecchid
and defouled with. In Bk. iv. met. 6. 24, it has the right reading, viz.
brethith. Finally, it usually retains the word whylom in places where the MS.
next described substitutes the word somtyme. If any difficulty in the text
raises future discussion, it is clear that this MS. should be consulted.

3. MS. A. = MS. Addit. 10340, in the British Museum. This is the MS.
printed at length by Dr. Morris for the Early English Text Society, and
denoted by the letter 'A.' in my foot-notes. As it is so accessible, I need say
but little. It is less correct than MS. Ii. 3. 21 in many readings, and the
spelling, on the whole, is not so good. The omissions in it are also more
numerous, but it occasionally preserves a passage which the Cambridge
MS. omits. It is also imperfect, as it omits Prose 8 and Metre 8 of Bk. ii.,
and Prose 1 of Bk. iii. It has been collated throughout, though I have usually
refrained from quoting such readings from it as are evidently inferior or
wrong. I notice one peculiarity in particular, viz. that it almost invariably
substitutes the word somtyme for the whylom found in other copies; and
whylom, in this treatise, is a rather common word. Dr. Morris's account of
the MS. is here copied.

'The Additional MS. is written by a scribe who was unacquainted with the
force of the final -e. Thus he adds it to the preterites of strong verbs, which
do not require it; he omits it in the preterites of weak verbs where it is
wanted, and attaches it to passive participles of weak verbs, where it is
superfluous. The scribe of the Cambridge MS. is careful to preserve the
final -e where it is a sign (1) of the definite declension of the adjective; (2)
of the plural adjective; (3) of the infinitive mood; (4) of the preterite of

weak verbs; (5) of present participles; (6) of the 2nd pers. pret. indic. of
strong verbs; (7) of adverbs; (8) of an older vowel-ending.

'The Addit. MS. has frequently thilk (singular and plural) and -nes (in
wrechednes, &c.), when the Camb. MS. has thilke (as usual in the
Canterbury Tales) and -nesse.'

The copy of Boethius is contained on foll. 3-40. On fol. 41, recto, is a copy
of Chaucer's Truth, and the description of the 'Persone,' extracted from the
Prologue to the Cant. Tales. The other side of the leaf is blank. This is, in
fact, the MS. which I denote by 'At.,' as described in the Introduction to the
'Minor Poems' in vol. i. p. 57.

4. MS. Addit. 16165, in the British Museum. This is one of Shirley's MSS.,
being that which I denote by 'Ad.,' and have described in the Introduction to
the 'Minor Poems' in vol. i. p. 56. I believe this MS. to be of less value than
MS. A. (above), and have therefore not collated it; for even A. is not a very
good authority.

5. MS. Harl. 2421. The Harleian Catalogue describes it thus: 'Torq. Sever.
Boetius: his 5 Books of the Comfort of Philosophy. Translated into English.
On vellum, 152 leaves. XV century.'

A small quarto MS. of the middle of the fifteenth century. The first Prose of
Bk. i. begins (like MS. A.) with the words: 'In þe mene while þat y stil
recorded þese þinges;' &c. Hence are derived the readings marked 'H.' in
Morris's edition, pp. 62-64. It rightly reads writheth, wyndy, bretheth (see p.
xlii).

6. The celebrated Hengwrt MS. of the Canterbury Tales (denoted by 'Hn.' in
the foot-notes to that poem) contains a part of Chaucer's Boethius. See the
Second Report of the Historical MSS. Commission, p. 106.

7. There is also a copy in a MS. belonging to the Cathedral Library at
Salisbury. It was discovered by Dr. Wülker in 1875; see the Academy for

Oct. 5, 1875. Bk. i. met. 1 was printed, from this MS., by Dr. Wülker in
Anglia, ii. 373. It resembles MS. A.

8. In the Phillipps collection, MS. no. 9472 is described as 'Boetius' Boke of
Comfort,' and is said to be of the fifteenth century. I do not know its real
contents.

§ 26. The Printed Editions.

Caxton. Chaucer's Boethius was first printed by Caxton, without date; but
probably before 1479. See the description in The Biography and
Typography of W. Caxton, by W. Blades; second edition, 1882; p. 213. A
complete collation of this text with MS. A., as printed by Morris, was
printed by L. Kellner, of Vienna, in Englische Studien, vol. xiv, pp. 1-53; of
which I have gladly availed myself. The text agrees very closely indeed
with that printed by Thynne in 1532, and resembles MS. C. rather than MS.
A.

Perhaps it is necessary to remark that the readings of MS. C., as given in
Kellner's collation, are sometimes incorrect, because MS. C. had not at that
time been printed, and the readings of that MS. were only known to him
from the foot-notes in Morris's edition, which are not exhaustive, but only
record the more important variations. There is a curious but natural error,
for example, in his note on l. 1002 of Morris's edition (Bk. ii. met. 3. 14, p.
32, l. 1), where MS. C. has ȝeelde (= zeelde). The word is missing in MS.
A., but Morris supplied it from C. to complete the text. Hence the foot-note
has: '[ȝeelde]—from C.'; meaning that A. omits ȝeelde, which is supplied
from C. This Kellner took to mean that A. has ȝeelde, and C. has from.
However, the readings of A. and of Caxton are given with all possible care
and minuteness; and now that C. is also in type, the slight inevitable errors
are easily put right. This excellent piece of work has saved me much
trouble.

It turns out that Caxton's text is of great value. He followed a MS. (now
lost) which is, in some places, even more correct than MS. C. The following

readings are of great importance, as they correct MSS. C. and A. (I denote
Caxton's edition by the symbol Cx.)

Bk. i. met. 4. 7. Cx. writheth. (Cf. p. xlii. above, l. 6.)

Bk. i. met. 4. 8. Cx. thonder leyte[44].

Bk. i. met. 5. 26. Cx. punisheth.

Bk. i. met. 5. 28. Cx. on the nekkes.

Bk. i. pr. 6. 54. Cx. funden (but read founden).

Bk. i. pr. 6. 65. Cx. norissing. (Perhaps better than norisshinges, as in the
MSS.; for the Lat. text has the sing. fomitem.) Cf. Bk. iii. met. 11. 27.

Bk. ii. pr. 3. 59. Cx. seeld (better selde). It is clear that yelde in MS. A.
arose from a reading ȝelde, which really meant zelde, the Southern form of
selde. See below.

Bk. ii. met. 3. 14. Cx. selde (correctly). And so again in Bk. ii. pr. 6. 15.

Bk. ii. pr. 6. 63. Cx. may I most. (MSS. C. A. omit I.)

Bk. ii. pr. 8. 17. Cx. wyndy (which is right; see note, p. 434).

Bk. iii. pr. 1. 26. Cx. thyne (better thyn, as in Thynne).

Bk. iii. pr. 10. 10. Cx. denyed (or read deneyed).

Bk. iii. pr. 10. 51. Cx. that the fader. (MSS. that this prince.) Caxton's
translation is closer; Lat. text, patrem.

Bk. iii. pr. 11. 116. Cx. slepen.

Bk. iii. pr. 11. 152. Cx. maistow (Thynne has mayst thou) MS. C. omits
thou; and MS. A. is defective.

Bk. iii. pr. 12. 143. Cx. Parmenides.

Bk. iv. pr. 6. 52. Cx. be cleped.

Bk. iv. pr. 6. 188, 189. Cx. and some dispyse that they mowe not here
(misprint for bere). MSS. C. and A. omit this clause.

Bk. v. pr. 1. 9, 10. Cx. assoilen to the the dette (where the former the =
thee).

Bk. v. pr. 3. 142. Cx. impetren.

In a few places, Caxton's text is somewhat fuller than that of the MSS. Thus
in Bk. ii. pr. 3. 8, Cx. has: thei ben herd and sowne in eeres thei, &c.
However, the Lat. text has merely: 'cum audiuntur.' And again, only 9 lines
lower (l. 17), Cx. inserts and ajuste after moeve; but the Lat. text has
merely: 'admouebo.' In some cases, it is closer to the Latin text; as, e. g. in
Bk. i. met. 3. 9, where Cx. has kaue (Lat. antro), whereas MSS. C. and A.
have the pl. kaues. In Bk. i. pr. 3. 41, where C. has the E. form Sorans, Cx.
preserves the Latin form Soranos.

It thus appears that a collation with Caxton's text is of considerable service.

Thynne. Thynne's edition of Chaucer, printed in 1532, contains Boethius. I
suspect that Thynne simply reprinted Caxton's text, without consulting any
other authority; for it is hard to detect any difference, except that his
spellings are somewhat less archaic. Hence this text, by a lucky accident, is
an extremely good one, and I have constantly referred to it in all cases of
difficulty. Readings from this edition are marked in the foot-notes with the
symbol 'Ed.'

The later black-letter copies are mere reprints of Thynne's text, each being,
as usual, a little worse than its predecessor, owing to the introduction of
misprints and later forms. I have consulted the editions of 1550 (undated)
and 1561. Perhaps the most readable edition is that by Chalmers, in vol. i.
of his British Poets, as it is in Roman type. It closely resembles the edition
of 1561, and is therefore not very correct.

§ 27. The Present Edition.

The present edition is, practically, the first in which the preparation of the
text has received adequate attention. Caxton's edition probably represents a
single MS., though a very good one; and all the black-letter editions merely
reproduce the same text, with various new errors. Dr. Morris's edition was
unfortunately founded on an inferior MS., as he discovered before the
printing of it was completed. Dr. Furnivall's text reproduces the excellent
MS. C., but collation was rightly refrained from, as his object was to give
the exact spellings of the MS. for the benefit of students. Hence there are
several passages, in both of these editions, which do not afford the best
sense; in a few places, they are less correct than the black-letter editions. It
is also a considerable drawback to the reader, that they reproduce, of course
intentionally and fully, the troublesome and obscure punctuation-marks of
the MSS.

Finding the ground thus clear, I have taken occasion to introduce the
following improvements. The text is founded on MS. C., certainly the best
extant authority, which it follows, on the whole, very closely. At the same
time, it has been carefully collated throughout with the text of MS. A., and
(what is even more important) with the texts printed by Caxton and Thynne
and with the original Latin text (1) as given in the edition by Obbarius (Jena
1843)[45] and (2) as existing in MS. C. The latter usually gives the exact
readings of the MS. used by Chaucer himself. By taking these precautions, I
have introduced a considerable number of necessary corrections, so that we
now possess a very close approximation to the original text as it left
Chaucer's hands. In all cases where emendations are made, the various
readings are given in the foot-notes, where 'C.' and 'A.' refer to the two chief
MSS., and 'Ed.' refers to Thynne's first edition (1532). But I have

intentionally refrained from crowding these foot-notes with inferior
readings which are certainly false. Some readings from the excellent MS. Ii.
1. 38 are given in the Notes; I now wish that I had collated it throughout. I
have introduced modern punctuation. As I am here entirely responsible, the
reader is at liberty to alter it, provided that he is justified in so doing by the
Latin text.

Wherever Chaucer has introduced explanatory words and phrases which are
not in the Latin text, I have printed them in italics; as in lines 6, 7, and 18
on page 1. However, these words and phrases are seldom original; they are
usually translated or adapted from some of the Latin glosses and notes with
which MS. C. abounds; as explained above, at p. xxxviii.

I have also adopted an entirely new system of numbering. In Dr. Morris's
edition, every line of the printed text is numbered consecutively, from 1 up
to 5219, which is the last line of the treatise. In Dr. Furnivall's print of MS.
C., a new numbering begins on every page, from 1 to 32, 33, 34, or 35.
Both these methods are entirely useless for general reference. The right
method of reference is Tyrwhitt's, viz. to treat every chapter separately.
Thus a reference to 'Bk. 1. met. 2' serves for every edition; but I have
further taken occasion to number the lines of every chapter, for greater
convenience. Thus the word acountinge occurs in Bk. i. met. 2. 10: and
even in referring to a black-letter edition, the number 10 is of some use,
since it shews that the word occurs very nearly in the middle of the Metre.
The usual method of referring to editions by the page is an extremely poor
and inconvenient makeshift; and it is really nearly time that editors should
learn this elementary lesson. Unfortunately, some difficulty will always
remain as to the numbering of the lines of prose works, because the length
of each line is indefinite. The longest chapter, Bk. iv. pr. 6, here extends to
258 lines; the shortest, Bk. iii. met. 3, has less than 7 lines.

I have also corrected the spelling of MS. C. in a large number of places, but
within very narrow limits. The use of the final e in that MS. is exceedingly
correct, and has almost always been followed, except where notice to the
contrary is given in the notes. My corrections are chiefly limited to the
substitution of in for yn, and of i for short y, in such words as bygynnen, for

which I write biginnen; the substitution of y for long i, as in whylom, when
the MS. has whilom; the use of v for the MS. symbol u (where necessary);
the substitution of sch or ssh for ss, when the sound intended is double sh;
and the substitution of e and o for ee and oo where the vowels are obviously
long by their position in the word. I also substitute -eth and -ed for the
variable -eth or -ith, and -ed, -id, or -yd of the MS. Such changes render the
text more uniformly phonetic, and much more readable, without really
interfering with the evidence. Changes of a bolder character are duly noted.

The introduction of these slight improvements will not really trouble the
reader. The trouble has been the editor's; for I found that the only
satisfactory way of producing a really good text was to rewrite the whole of
it. It seemed worth while to have a useful critical edition of 'Boethius' for
general reference, because of the considerable use which Chaucer himself
made of his translation when writing many of his later poems.

The Notes are all new, in the sense that no annotated edition of Chaucer's
text has hitherto appeared. But many of them are, necessarily, copied or
adapted from the notes to the Latin text in the editions by Vallinus and
Valpy.

INTRODUCTION TO TROILUS.

§ 1. Date of the Work. The probable date is about 1380-2, and can hardly
have been earlier than 1379 or later than 1383. No doubt it was in hand for
a considerable time. It certainly followed close upon the translation of
Boethius; see p. vii above.

§ 2. Sources of the Work. The chief authority followed by Chaucer is
Boccaccio's poem named Il Filostrato, in 9 Parts or Books of very variable
length, and composed in ottava rima, or stanzas containing eight lines each.
I have used the copy in the Opere Volgari di G. Boccaccio; Firenze, 1832.

Owing to the patient labours of Mr. W. M. Rossetti, who has collated the
Filostrato with the Troilus line by line, and published the results of his work
for the Chaucer Society in 1875, we are able to tell the precise extent to
which Chaucer is indebted to Boccaccio for this story. The Filostrato
contains 5704 lines; and the Troilus 8239 lines[46], if we do not reckon in
the 12 Latin lines printed below, at p. 404. Hence we obtain the following
result.

Total of lines in Troilus 8239
Adapted from the Filostrato
(2730 lines, condensed into) 2583
Balance due to Chaucer 5656

In other words, Chaucer's debt to Boccaccio amounts to less than one-third
of the whole poem; and there remains more than two-thirds of it to be
accounted for from other sources. But even after all deductions have been
made for passages borrowed from other authors, very nearly two-thirds
remain for which Chaucer is solely responsible. As in the case of the
Knightes Tale, close investigation shews that Chaucer is, after all, less
indebted to Boccaccio than might seem, upon a hasty comparison, to be the
case.

As it was found impracticable to give Mr. Rossetti's results in full, I have
drawn up lists of parallel passages in a somewhat rough way, which are
given in the Notes, at the beginning of every Book; see pp. 461, 467, 474,
484, 494. These lists are sufficiently accurate to enable the reader, in
general, to discover the passages which are in no way due to the Filostrato.

§ 3. I have taken occasion, at the same time, to note other passages for
which Chaucer is indebted to some other authors. Of these we may
particularly note the following. In Book I, lines 400-420 are translated from
Petrarch's 88th Sonnet, which is quoted at length at p. 464. In Book III,
lines 813-833, 1625-9, and 1744-1768 are all from the second Book of
Boethius (Prose 4, 86-120 and 4-10, and Metre 8). In Book IV, lines 974-
1078 are from Boethius, Book V. In Book V, lines 1-14 and 1807-27 are
from various parts of Boccaccio's Teseide; and a part of the last stanza is

from Dante. On account of such borrowings, we may subtract about 220
lines more from Chaucer's 'balance'; which still leaves due to him nearly
5436 lines.

§ 4. Of course it will be readily understood that, in the case of these 5436
lines, numerous short quotations and allusions occur, most of which are
pointed out in the notes. Thus, in Book II, lines 402-3 are from Ovid, Art.
Amat. ii. 118; lines 716-8 are from Le Roman de la Rose[47]; and so on. No
particular notice need be taken of this, as similar hints are utilised in other
poems by Chaucer; and, indeed, by all other poets. But there is one
particular case of borrowing, of considerable importance, which will be
considered below, in § 9 (p. liii).

§ 5. It is, however, necessary to observe here that, in taking his story from
Boccaccio, Chaucer has so altered and adapted it as to make it peculiarly
his own; precisely as he has done in the case of the Knightes Tale.
Sometimes he translates very closely and even neatly, and sometimes he
takes a mere hint from a long passage. He expands or condenses his
material at pleasure; and even, in some cases, transposes the order of it. It is
quite clear that he gave himself a free hand.

The most important point is that he did not accept the characters of the three
chief actors, Troilus, Criseyde, and Pandarus, as pourtrayed by Boccaccio;
he did not even accept all the incidents which gave occasion for their
behaviour. Pandarus is no longer the cousin of Criseyde, a young and
dashing gallant, but her middle-aged uncle, with blunted perceptions of
what is moral and noble. In fact, Chaucer's Pandarus is a thorough and
perfect study of character, drawn with a dramatic skill not inferior to that of
Shakespeare, and worthy of the author of the immortal Prologue to the
Canterbury Tales. I must leave the fuller consideration of these points to
others; it is hardly necessary to repeat, at full length, the Prefatory Remarks
by Mr. Rossetti, whilst at the same time, if I begin to quote from them, I
shall hardly know where to stop. See also Ten Brink's English Literature,
and Morley's English Writers, vol. v.

§ 6. It has been observed that, whilst Chaucer carefully read and made very
good use of two of Boccaccio's works, viz. Il Filostrato and Il Teseide, he
nowhere mentions Boccaccio by name; and this has occasioned some
surprise. But we must not apply modern ideas to explain medieval facts, as
is so frequently done. When we consider how often MSS. of works by
known authors have no author's name attached to them, it becomes likely
that Chaucer obtained manuscript copies of these works unmarked by the
author's name; and though he must doubtless have been aware of it, there
was no cogent reason why he should declare himself indebted to one in
whom Englishmen were, as yet, quite uninterested. Even when he refers to
Petrarch in the Clerk's Prologue (E 27-35), he has to explain who he was,
and to inform readers of his recent death. In those days, there was much
laxity in the mode of citing authors.

§ 7. It will help us to understand matters more clearly, if we further observe
the haphazard manner in which quotations were often made. We know, for
example, that no book was more accessible than the Vulgate version of the
Bible; yet it is quite common to find the most curious mistakes made in
reference to it. The author of Piers Plowman (B. text, iii. 93-95) attributes to
Solomon a passage which he quotes from Job, and (B. vii. 123) to St. Luke,
a passage from St. Matthew; and again (B. vi. 240) to St. Matthew, a
passage from St. Luke. Chaucer makes many mistakes of a like nature; I
will only cite here his reference to Solomon (Cant. Tales, A 4330), as the
author of a passage in Ecclesiasticus. Even in modern dictionaries we find
passages cited from 'Dryden' or 'Bacon' at large, without further remark; as
if the verification of a reference were of slight consequence. This may help
to explain to us the curious allusion to Zanzis as being the author of a
passage which Chaucer must have known was from his favourite Ovid (see
note to Troil. iv. 414), whilst he was, at the same time, well aware that
Zanzis was not a poet, but a painter (Cant. Tales, C 16); however, in this
case we have probably to do with a piece of our author's delicious banter,
since he adds that Pandarus was speaking 'for the nonce.'

There is another point about medieval quotations which must by no means
be missed. They were frequently made, not from the authors themselves,
but from manuscript note-books which contained hundreds of choice
passages, from all sorts of authors, collected by diligent compilers. Thus it

was, I strongly suspect, that Albertano of Brescia was enabled to pour out
such quantities of quotations as those which Chaucer copied from him in
his Tale of Melibeus. Thus it was that borrowers of such note-books often
trusted to their strong memories for the words of a quotation, yet forgot or
mistook the author's name; as was readily done when a dozen such names
occurred on every page. A MS. of this character is before me now. It
contains many subjects in alphabetical order. Under Fortitudo are given 17
quotations which more or less relate to it, from Ambrose, Gregory,
Chrysostom, and the rest, all in less than a single page. And thus it was,
without doubt, that Chaucer made acquaintance with the three scraps of
Horace which I shall presently consider. It is obvious that Chaucer never
saw Horace's works in the complete state; if he had done so, he would have
found a writer after his own heart, and he would have quoted him even
more freely than he has quoted Ovid. 'Chaucer on Horace' would have been
delightful indeed; but this treat was denied, both to him and to us.

§ 8. The first and second scraps from Horace are hackneyed quotations.
'Multa renascentur' occurs in Troil. ii. 22 (see note, p. 468); and 'Humano
capiti' in Troil. ii. 1041 (note, p. 472). In the third case (p. 464), there is no
reason why we should hesitate to accept the theory, suggested by Dr. G.
Latham (Athenæum, Oct. 3, 1868) and by Professor Ten Brink
independently, that the well-known line (Epist. I, 2. 1)—

'Troiani belli scriptorem, maxime
Lolli,'

was misunderstood by Chaucer (or by some one else who misled him) as
implying that Lollius was the name of a writer on the Trojan war. Those
who are best acquainted with the ways of medieval literature will least
hesitate to adopt this view. It is notorious that first lines of a poem are
frequently quoted apart from their context, and repeated as if they were
complete; and, however amazing such a blunder may seem to us now, there
is really nothing very extraordinary about it.

We should also notice that Lollius was to Chaucer a mere name, which he
used, in his usual manner, as a sort of convenient embellishment; for he is

inconsistent in his use of it. In Book i. 394, 'myn autour called Lollius'
really means Petrarch; whereas in Book v. 1653, though the reference is to
the Filostrato, Bk. viii. st. 8, Chaucer probably meant no more than that
Lollius was an author whom the Italian poet might have followed[48]. Cf.
my note to the House of Fame, 1468, where the name occurs for the third
time. We may also notice that, in Book iii. 1325, Chaucer bears testimony to
the 'excellence' of his 'auctor.' The statement, in Book ii. 14, that he took the
story 'out of Latin' is less helpful than it appears to be; for 'Latin' may mean
either Latin or Italian.

§ 9. I have spoken (§ 4) of 'a particular case of borrowing,' which I now
propose to consider more particularly. The discovery that Chaucer mainly
drew his materials from Boccaccio seems to have satisfied most enquirers;
and hence it has come to pass that one of Chaucer's sources has been little
regarded, though it is really of some importance. I refer to the Historia
Troiana of Guido delle Colonne[49], or, as Chaucer rightly calls him, Guido
de Columpnis, i.e. Columnis (House of Fame, 1469). Chaucer's obligations
to this author have been insufficiently explored.

When, in 1889, in printing the Legend of Good Women with an accuracy
never before attempted, I restored the MS. reading Guido for the Ouyde of
all previous editions in l. 1396, a clue was thus obtained to a new source for
some of Chaucer's work. It was thus made clear that the Legend of
Hypsipyle and Medea was primarily derived from this source; and further,
that it was from Guido that Chaucer derived his use of Ilioun to mean the
citadel of Troy (Leg. of Good Women, 936, and note). In the Nonne Prestes
Tale, B 4331, as was pointed out by Tyrwhitt long ago, the dream of
Andromache is taken from Guido. And I find in Lounsbury's Studies in
Chaucer, ii. 315, the significant but insufficient remark, that 'it was in Guido
da (sic) Colonna's work that Chaucer found the martial deeds of Troilus
recounted in full, the slaughter he wrought, and the terror he inspired.'
Hence we naturally come to the question, what incidents in Troilus are
expressly due to Guido?

§ 10. Before answering this question, it will be best to consider the famous
crux, as to the meaning of the word Trophee.

When Lydgate is speaking of his master's Troilus, viz. in his Prologue to the
Falls of Princes, st. 3, he says that Chaucer

'made a translacion
Of a boke which called is Trophe
In Lumbarde tong,' &c.

No book or author is now known by that name; and, as Chaucer was in this case much
indebted to Boccaccio, critics have jumped to the conclusion that Trophee means
either Boccaccio or the Filostrato; and this conclusion has been supported by
arguments so hopeless as to need no repetition. But it is most likely that Lydgate, who
does not seem to have known any Italian[50], spoke somewhat casually; and, as
Chaucer was to some extent indebted to Guido, he may possibly have meant Guido.

So far, I have merely stated a supposition which is, in itself, possible; but I shall now
adduce what I believe to be reasonable and solid proof of it.

We have yet another mention of Trophee, viz. in Chaucer himself! In the Monkes Tale,
B 3307, he says of Hercules—

'At bothe the worldes endes, seith Trophee,
In stede of boundes, he a piler sette.'

Whence, we may ask, is this taken? My answer is, from Guido.

§ 11. If we examine the sources of the story of Hercules in the Monkes Tale, we see
that all the supposed facts except the one mentioned in the two lines above quoted are
taken from Boethius and Ovid (see the Notes). Now the next most obvious source of
information was Guido's work, since the very first Book has a good deal about
Hercules, and the Legend of Hypsipyle clearly shews us that Chaucer was aware of
this. And, although neither Ovid (in Met. ix.) nor Boethius has any allusion to the
Pillars of Hercules, they are expressly mentioned by Guido. In the English translation
called the Gest Historiale of the Destruction of Troy, ed. Panton and Donaldson
(which I call, for brevity, the alliterative Troy-book), l. 308, we read:—

'But the wonders that he wroght in this world
here
In yche cuntré ben knowen under Criste evyn.
Tow pyllers he pight in a place lowe
Vppon Gades groundes, that he gotton had.'

And again, further on, the Latin text has:—'Locus ille, in quo predicte Herculis
columpne sunt affixe, dicitur Saracenica lingua Saphy.' To which is added, that

Alexander afterwards came to the same spot.

When Lydgate, in translating Guido, comes to this passage, he says:—

'And of the pyllers that at Gades he set,
Which Alexsaundre, of Macedone the kyng,
That was so worthy here in his lyuynge,
Rood in his conquest, as Guydo list to write,
With all his hoost proudely to visyte ...
And these boundes named be of all
Of Hercules, for he hymselfe theim set
As for his markes, all other for to lette
Ferther to passe, as Guydo maketh mynde';
&c.
Siege of Troye, ed.
1555, fol. B6.

We can now easily see that, when Lydgate speaks of the book 'which called is Trophe
in Lumbarde tong,' he is simply copying the name of the book from Chaucer, though
he seems also to have heard some rumour of its being so called in Italy.

§ 12. Why this particular book was so called, we have no means of knowing[51]; but
this does not invalidate the fact here pointed out. Of course the Latin side-note in
some of the MSS. of the Monkes Tale, which explains 'Trophee' as referring to 'ille
vates Chaldeorum Tropheus,' must be due to some mistake, even if it emanated (as is
possible) from Chaucer himself. It is probable that, when the former part of the
Monkes Tale was written, Chaucer did not know much about Guido's work; for the
account of Hercules occurs in the very first chapter. Perhaps he confused the name of
Tropheus with that of Trogus, i.e. Pompeius Trogus the historian, whose work is one
of the authorities for the history of the Assyrian monarchy.

§ 13. It remains for me to point out some of the passages in Troilus which are clearly
due to Guido, and are not found in Boccaccio at all.

Book I. 145-7:—

'But the Troyane gestes, as they felle,
In Omer, or in Dares, or in Dyte,
Who-so that can, may rede hem as they
wryte.'

The reference here is simply to Guido's history, whence, and not at first hand, both
Chaucer and his readers could easily get the required information. Guido constantly
refers to these authors; and, although he speaks disrespectfully of Homer[52], he
professes to put great faith in Dares and Dytes, whose names he frequently cites as
being those of his best authorities[53].

With the description of Troilus in ll. 1072-1085, it is interesting to compare the words
of Guido, in Book VIII. 'Troilus vero, licet multum fuit corpore magnus, magis fuit
tamen corde magnanimus; animosus multum, set multam habuit in sua animositate
temperiem; dilectus plurimum a puellis cum ipse aliqualem seruando modestiam
delectaretur in illis. In viribus et strenuitate bellandi uel fuit alius Hector uel secundus
ab ipso. In toto eciam regno Troie iuuenis nullus fuit tantis viribus nec tanta audacia
gloriosus[54].' The latter part of this description should be compared with Book II.
157-161, where the very phrase 'Ector the secounde' is used; see also ll. 181-189.

§ 14. Book II. 618. 'The yate ... Of Dardanus.' The six gates of Troy are named in
Guido, Book IV, 'Quarum vna Dardanides, secunda Tymbrea, tercia Helyas, quarta
Chetas, quinta Troiana, vltima Anthenorides vocabantur.'

'The furst and the fairest fourmet was Dardan.'
Allit. Troy-
book, l.
1557.

Lydgate keeps the form 'Dardanydes'; cap. xi. fol. F 5.

§ 15. Book IV. 204. 'For he was after traytour to the toun.' The treason of Antenor is
told by Guido at great length; see 'Boke xxviii' of the allit. Troy-book, p. 364;
Lydgate, Siege of Troye, Y 6, back. Cf. Dictys Cretensis, lib. iv. c. 22.

Book IV. 1397, &c. 'For al Apollo and his clerkish lawes,' &c. Guido gives rather a
long account of the manner in which Criseyde upbraided her father Chalcas at their
meeting. Chaucer says nothing about this matter in Book V. 193, but he here
introduces an account of the same speech, telling us that Creseyde intended to make
it! I quote from Book XIX. 'Sane deceperunt te Apollinis friuola responsa, a quo dicis
te suscepisse mandatum vt tu paternas Lares desereres, et tuos in tanta acerbitate
Penates[55] sic tuis specialiter hostibus adhereres. Sane non fuit ille deus Apollo, set,
puto, fuit comitiua infernalium Furiarum a quibus responsa talia recepisti.' Cf. allit.
Troy-book, 8103-40; and observe that Lydgate, in his Siege of Troye, R 3, back, omits
the speech of Criseyde to her father, on the ground that it is given in Chaucer. Yet such

is not the case, unless we allow the present passage to stand for it. In Book V. 194,
Chaucer (following Boccaccio) expressly says that she was mute!

Book IV. 1695-1701. This last stanza is not in Boccaccio; but the general sense of it is
in Guido, Book XIX, where the interview ends thus:—'Set diei Aurora quasi
superueniente uicina, Troilus a Brisaida in multis anxietatibus et doloribus discessit; et
ea relicta ad sui palacii menia properauit.' Lydgate, at this point, refers us to Chaucer;
Siege of Troye, fol. R 2, back. The allit. Troy-book actually does the same; l. 8054.

§ 16. Book V. 92-189. These fourteen stanzas are not in Boccaccio. The corresponding
passage in Guido (Book XIX) is as follows:—

'Troilus et Troiani redeunt, Grecis eam recipientibus in suo commeatu. Inter quos dum
esset Diomedes, et illam Diomedes inspexit, statim in ardore veneris exarsit et eam
vehementi desiderio concupiuit, qui collateralis associando Brisaidam cum insimul
equitarent, sui ardoris flammam continere non valens Brisaide reuelat sui estuantis
cordis amorem; quam in multis affectuosis verbis et blandiciis necnon et
promissionibus reuera magnificis allicere satis humiliter est rogatus. Set Brisaida in
primis monitis, vt mulierum moris est, suum prestare recusauit assensum; nec tamen
passa est quin post multa Diomedis verba, ipsum nolens a spe sua deicere verbis
similibus dixit ei: "Amoris tui oblaciones ad presens nec repudio nec admitto, cum cor
meum non sit ad presens ita dispositum quod tibi possim aliter respondere."'

Book V. 799-805[56]. The description of Diomede in Boccaccio (Fil. VI. 33) is merely
as follows:—

'Egli era grande e bel della persona,
Giovane fresco e piacevole assai,
E forte e fier siccome si ragiona,
E parlante quant'altro Greco mai,
E ad amor la natura aveva prona.'

The account in Guido (Book VIII) is as follows:—'Diomedes vero multa fuit
proceritate, distensus amplo pectore, robustis scapulis, aspectu ferox; in promissis
fallax; in armis strenuus; victorie cupidus; timendus a multis, cum multum esset
iniuriosus; sermonibus sibi nimis impaciens, cum molestus seruientibus nimis esset;
libidinosus quidem multum, et qui multas traxit angustias ob feruorem amoris.' Cf.
allit. Troy-book, ll. 3794-3803; Lydgate, Siege of Troye, fol. K 1, back.

Book V. 810. To gon y-tressed, &c. Perhaps suggested by the remark in Guido (Book
XIX) that Cressid's hair was unbound in her hour of deepest sorrow:—'aureos crines

suos a lege ligaminis absolutos a lactea sui capitis cute diuellit.' Cf. IV. 736.

Book V. 827-840. Troilus is not described by Boccaccio. Guido's description of him
has already been quoted above; see remarks on Book I. 1072; pp. lvi, lvii.

Book V. 1002-4. The parallel passage in Guido has already been quoted, viz.: 'Amoris
tui oblaciones ad presens nec repudio nec admitto.' See remarks on l. 92; p. lviii.

Book V. 1013. Obviously from Guido; the passage follows soon after that last quoted.
'Associauit [Diomedes] eam vsquequo Brisaida recipere in sui patris tentoria se
debebat. Et ea perueniente ibidem, ipse eam ab equo descendentem promptus adiuit, et
vnam de cirothecis[57], quam Brisaida gerebat in manu, ab ea nullo percipiente furtiue
subtraxit. Set cum ipsa sola presensit, placitum furtum dissimulauit amantis.'

For this incident of the glove, cf. allit. Troy-book, l. 8092.

Book V. 1023-1099. This passage is not in Boccaccio. Several hints for it seem to
have been taken from Guido, Book XIX, whence I quote the following.

'Nondum dies illa ad horas declinauerat vespertinas, cum iam suas Brisaida recentes
mutauerat voluntates,' &c.. 'Et iam nobilis Troili amor ceperat in sua mente tepescere,
et sic repente subito facta volubilis se in omnibus variauit. Quid est ergo quod dicitur
de constancia mulierum,' &c.

'Tunc ilico Diomedes superuenit . . qui repente in Troilum irruit, ipsum ab equo
prosternit, ab eo auferens equum suum, quem per suum nuncium specialem ad
Brisaidam in exennium[58] destinauit, mandans nuncio suo predicto vt Brisaide
nunciet equum ipsum eius fuisse dilecti . . . . Brisaida vero equum Troili recepit
hilariter, et ipsi nuncio refert hec verba: "Dic secure domino tuo quod ilium odio
habere non possum, qui me tanta puritate cordis affectat . . . . [Diomedes] Brisaidam
accedit, et eam suplex hortatur vt sibi consenciat in multitudine lacrimarum. Set illa,
que multum vigebat sagacitatis astucia, Diomedem sagacibus machinacionibus
differre procurat, ut ipsum afflictum amoris incendio magis affligat, et eius amoris
vehemenciam in maioris augmentum ardoris extollat. Vnde Diomedi suum amorem
non negat, etiam nec promittit."'

In l. 1039, read he, i. e. Diomede; see my note on the line, at p. 499.

In l. 1037, the story means the Historia Troiana; and in l. 1044, in the stories elles-
where means 'elsewhere in the same History.' The passage (in Book XXV) is as

follows:—

'Troilus autem tunc amorem Brisaide Diomedi obprobriosis verbis improperat; set
Greci Diomedem ... abstraxerunt' ...

'Interim Brisaida contra patris sui voluntatem videre Diomedem in lecto suo iacentem
ex vulnere sibi facto frequenter accedit, et licet sciuisset illum a Troilo dudum dilecto
suo sic vulneratum, multa tamen in mente sua reuoluit; et dum diligenter attendit de se
iungenda cum Troilo nullam sibi superesse fiduciam, totum suum animum, tanquam
varia et mutabilis, sicut est proprium mulierum, in Diomedis declinat amorem.'

Cf. Troy-book, ll. 9942-59; Lydgate, Siege of Troye, fol. U 4.

Book V. 1558-60. The treacherous slaughter of Hector by Achilles is in Guido, near
the end of Book XXV. See my note to l. 1558, at p. 503.

Book V. 1771. 'Read Dares.' This merely means that Guido cites Dares as his authority
for the mighty deeds of Troilus. In Book XXV, I find:—'Scripsit enim Dares, quod illo
die mille milites interfecit [Troilus] ex Grecis'; cf. l. 1802 below. So in the allit. Troy-
book, ll. 9877-9:—

'As Dares of his dedis duly me tellus,
A thowsaund thro knightes throng he to dethe,
That day with his dynttes, of the derffe
Grekes.'

So Lydgate, Siege of Troye, fol. U 3, back:—

'And, as Dares wryteth specyally,
A thousand knightes this Troyan champyowne
That day hath slayne, rydyng vp and downe,
As myne auctour Guydo lyst endyte;
Saue after hym, I can no ferther wryte.'

I. e. he only knew of Dares through the medium of Guido. In fact, Dares (capp. 29, 31,
32) has 'multos,' not 'mille.'

Book V. 1849-1855. The introduction of this stanza is quite irrelevant, unless we
remember that, in Guido, the story of Troy is completely mixed up with invectives
against idolatry. In Book X, there is a detailed account of the heathen gods, the

worship of which is attributed to the instigation of fiends. See the long account in the
allit. Troy-book, ll. 4257-4531, concluding with the revelation by Apollo to Calchas of
the coming fall of Troy. Cf. Lydgate, Siege of Troye, fol. K 6. Of course, this notion of
the interference of the gods in the affairs of the Greeks and Trojans is ultimately due
to Homer.

§ 17. With regard to the statement in Guido, that Achilles slew Hector treacherously,
we must remember how much turns upon this assertion. His object was to glorify the
Trojans, the supposed ancestors of the Roman race, and to depreciate the Greeks. The
following passage from Guido, Book XXV, is too characteristic to be omitted. 'Set o
Homere, qui in libris tuis Achillem tot laudibus, tot preconiis extulisti, que probabilis
racio te induxit, vt Achillem tantis probitatis meritis vel titulis exultasses?' Such was
the general opinion about Homer in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

§ 18. This is not the place for a full consideration of the further question, as to the
sources of information whence Boccaccio and Guido respectively drew their stories.
Nor is it profitable to search the supposed works of Dares and Dictys for the passages
to which Chaucer appears to refer; since he merely knew those authors by name,
owing to Guido's frequent appeals to them. Nevertheless, it is interesting to find that
Guido was quite as innocent as were Chaucer and Lydgate of any knowledge of Dares
and Dictys at first hand. He acquired his great reputation in the simplest possible way,
by stealing the whole of his 'History' bodily, from a French romance by Benoît de
Sainte-More, entitled Le Roman de Troie, which has been well edited and discussed
by Mons. A. Joly. Mons. Joly has shewn that the Roman de Troie first appeared
between the years 1175 and 1185; and that Guido's Historia Troiana is little more than
an adaptation of it, which was completed in the year 1287, without any
acknowledgment as to its true source.

Benoît frequently cites Dares (or Daires), and at the end of his poem, ll. 30095-6,
says:—

'Ce que dist Daires et Dithis
I avons si retreit et mis.'

In his Hist. of Eng. Literature (E. version, ii. 113), Ten Brink remarks that, whilst
Chaucer prefers to follow Guido rather than Benoît in his Legend of Good Women, he
'does the exact opposite to what he did in Troilus.' For this assertion I can find but
little proof. It is hard to find anything in Benoît's lengthy Romance which he may not
have taken, much more easily, from Guido. There are, however, just a few such points
in Book V. 1037-1078. Thus, in l. 1038, Criseyde gives Diomede Troilus' horse; cf.
Benoît, l. 15046—'lo cheval Vos presterai.' L. 1043 is from the same, ll. 15102-4:—

'La destre manche de son braz
Bone et fresche de ciclaton
Li done en leu de gonfanon.'

Ll. 1051-7 answer to the same, beginning at l. 20233; and l. 1074 is from the same, l.
20308:—'Dex donge bien à Troylus!' I doubt if there is much more.

For some further account of the works ascribed to Dares Phrygius and Dictys
Cretensis, both duly edited among the 'Delphin Classics,' I must refer the reader to
Smith's Classical Dictionary.

§ 19. The whole question of the various early romances that relate to Troy is well
considered in a work entitled 'Testi Inediti di Storia Trojana, preceduti da uno studio
sulla Leggenda Trojana in Italia, per Egidio Gorra; Torino, 1887'; where various
authorities are cited, and specimens of several texts are given. At p. 136 are given the
very lines of Benoît's Roman (ll. 795-6) where Guido found a reference to the
columns of Hercules:—

'Et les bonnes ilec ficha
Ou Alixandre les trova.'

This hint he has somewhat elaborated, probably because he took a personal interest in
'columns,' on account of their reference to his own name—'delle Colonne.' I believe
that the notion of Alexander finding Hercules' Pillars is due to a rather large blunder in
geography. Hercules set up his pillars 'at the end of the world,' viz. at the straits of
Gibraltar, whereas Alexander set up his at another 'end of the world,' viz. at the
furthest point of India which he succeeded in reaching. So says his Romance; see
Alexander and Dindimus, ed. Skeat, l. 1137; Wars of Alexander, l. 5063. The setting
up of pillars as boundary-marks seems to have been common; cf. Vergil, Æn. xi. 262.
Among the points noticed by Gorra, I may mention the following:—

1. Some account (p. 7) of the Ephemeris Belli Troiani by Dictys Cretensis, who, it was
pretended, accompanied Idomeneus to the Trojan war. Achilles is depicted in dark
colours; he is treacherous towards Agamemnon; falls in love with the Trojan princess,
Polyxena; and slays Hector by a stratagem. It appears to have been a work of
invention, resting upon no Greek original.

2. Some account (p. 17) of the Historia de Excidio Troiae of Dares Phrygius, a work
which (as was pretended) was discovered by Cornelius Nepos. This also, in the
opinion of most critics, was an original work. At p. 115, there is a comparison of the

lists of Greek leaders and the number of their ships (cf. Homer, Il. ii.) as given by
Dares, Benoît, and Guido.

3. At p. 123, there is an enumeration of points in which Guido varies from Benoît.

4. At p. 152, is an account of some Italian prose versions of the story of Troy. Such
are: La Istorietta Trojana, with extracts from it at p. 371; a romance by Binduccio
dello Scelto, with extracts relating to 'Troilo e Briseida' at p. 404; a version of Guido
by Mazzeo Bellebuoni, with extracts relating to 'Paride ed Elena' at p. 443; an
anonymous version, with extracts relating to 'Giasone e Medea' at p. 458; a version in
the Venetian dialect, with extracts relating to 'Ettore ed Ercole' at p. 481; another
anonymous version, with extracts at p. 493; and La 'Fiorita' of Armannino, Giudice da
Bologna, with extracts at p. 532.

5. At p. 265, is an account of Italian poetical versions, viz. Enfances Hector, Poema
d'Achille, Il Trojano di Domenico da Montechiello, Il Trojano a stampa (i.e. a printed
edition of Il Trojano), and L'Intelligenza. At p. 336, Boccaccio's Filostrato is
discussed; followed by a brief notice of an anonymous poem, also in ottava rima,
called Il cantare di Insidoria. It appears that Boccaccio followed some recension of the
French text of Benoît, but much of the work is his own invention. In particular, he
created the character of Pandaro, who resembles a Neapolitan courtier of his own
period.

The most interesting of the extracts given by Gorra are those from Binduccio dello
Scelto; at p. 411, we have the incident of Diomede possessing himself of Briseida's
glove, followed by the interview between Briseida and her father Calcas. At p. 413,
Diomede overthrows Troilus, takes his horse from him and sends it to Briseida, who
receives it graciously; and at p. 417, Briseida gives Diomede her sleeve as a love-
token, after which a 'jousting' takes place between Diomede and Troilus, in which the
former is badly wounded.

For further remarks, we are referred, in particular, to H. Dunger's Dictys-Septimius:
über die ursprüngliche Abfassung und die Quellen der Ephemeris belli Troiani;
Dresden, 1878 (Programm des Vitzthumschen Gymnasiums); to another essay by the
same author on Die Sage vom trojanischen Kriege, Leipzig, 1869; to Koerting's
Dictys und Dares, &c., Halle, 1874; to A. Joly's Benoît de Sainte-More et le Roman de
Troie, Paris, 1871; and to an article by C. Wagener on Dares Phrygius, in Philologus,
vol. xxxviii. The student may also consult E. Meybrinck, Die Auffassung der Antike
bei Jacques Millet, Guido de Columna, und Benoît de Ste-More, printed in Ausgaben
und Abhandlungen aus dem Gebiete für Romanischen Philologie, Marburg, 1886;

where the author concludes that Millet was the originator of the story in France. Also
W. Greif, Die mittelalterlichen Bearbeitungen der Trojanersage; Marburg, 1886.

§ 20. A few words may be said as to the names of the characters. Troilus is only once
mentioned in Homer, where he is said to be one of the sons of Priam, who were slain
in battle, Iliad, xxiv. 257; so that his story is of medieval invention, except as to the
circumstance of his slayer being Achilles, as stated by Vergil, Æn. i. 474, 475; cf.
Horace, Carm. ii. 9. 16. Pandarus occurs as the name of two distinct personages; (1) a
Lycian archer, who wounded Menelaus; see Homer, Il. iv. 88, Vergil, Æn. 5. 496; and
(2) a companion of Æneas, slain by Turnus; see Vergil, Æn. ix. 672, xi. 396. Diomede
is a well-known hero in the Iliad, but his love-story is of late invention. The heroine of
Benoît's poem is Briseida, of whom Dares (c. 13) has merely the following brief
account: 'Briseidam formosam, alta statura, candidam, capillo flauo et molli,
superciliis junctis[59], oculis venustis, corpore aequali, blandam, affabilem,
uerecundam, animo simplici, piam'; but he records nothing more about her. The name
is simply copied from Homer's Βρισηΐδα, Il. i. 184, the accusative being taken (as
often) as a new nominative case; this Briseis was the captive assigned to Achilles. But
Boccaccio substitutes for this the form Griseida, taken from the accusative of Homer's
Chryseis, mentioned just two lines above, Il. i. 182. For this Italian form Chaucer
substituted Criseyde, a trisyllabic form, with the ey pronounced as the ey in prey. He
probably was led to this correction by observing the form Chryseida in his favourite
author, Ovid; see Remed. Amoris, 469. Calchas, in Homer, Il. i. 69, is a Grecian
priest; but in the later story he becomes a Trojan soothsayer, who, foreseeing the
destruction of Troy, secedes to the Greek side, and is looked upon as a traitor. Cf.
Vergil, Æn. ii. 176; Ovid, Art. Amat. ii. 737.

§ 21. In Anglia, xiv. 241, there is a useful comparison, by Dr. E. Köppel, of the
parallel passages in Troilus and the French Roman de la Rose, ed. Méon, Paris, 1814,
which I shall denote by 'R.' These are mostly pointed out in the Notes. Köppel's list is
as follows:—

Troilus. I. 635 (cf. III. 328).—Rom. Rose, 8041. 637.—R. 21819. 747.—R. 7595. 810.
—R. 21145. 969—R. 12964.

II. 167.—R. 5684. 193.—R. 8757. 716.—R. 5765. 754.—R. 6676. 784 (cf. III. 1035).
—R. 12844. 1564.—R. 18498.

III. 294.—R. 7085. 328; see I. 635. 1035; see II. 784. 1634.—R. 8301.

IV. 7.—R. 8076. 519.—R. 6406. 1398.—R. 6941.

V. 365.—R. 18709.

Some of the resemblances are but slight; but others are obvious. The numbers refer to
the beginning of a passage; sometimes the really coincident lines are found a little
further on.

The parallel passages common to Troilus and Boethius are noted above, pp. xxviii-
xxx.

An excellent and exhaustive treatise on the Language of Chaucer's Troilus, by Prof.
Kitteredge, is now (1893) being printed for the Chaucer Society. A Ryme-Index to the
same, compiled by myself, has been published for the same society, dated 1891.

§ 22. I have frequently alluded above to the alliterative 'Troy-book,' or 'Gest
Historiale,' edited for the Early English Text Society, in 1869-74, by Panton and
Donaldson. This is useful for reference, as being a tolerably close translation of
Guido, although a little imperfect, owing to the loss of some leaves and some slight
omissions (probably) on the part of the scribe. It is divided into 36 Books, which
agree, very nearly, with the Books into which the original text is divided. The most
important passages for comparison with Troilus are lines 3922-34 (description of
Troilus); 3794-3803 (Diomede); 7268-89 (fight between Troilus and Diomede); 7886-
7905 (Briseida and her dismissal from Troy); 8026-8181 (sorrow of Troilus and
Briseida, her departure, and the interviews between Briseida and Diomede, and
between her and Calchas her father); 8296-8317 (Diomede captures Troilus' horse,
and presents it to Briseida); 8643-60 (death of Hector); 9671-7, 9864-82, 9926-9
(deeds of Troilus); 9942-59 (Briseida visits the wounded Diomede); 10055-85, 10252-
10311 (deeds of Troilus, and his death); 10312-62 (reproof of Homer for his false
statements).

At l. 8053, we have this remarkable allusion; speaking of Briseida and Troilus, the
translator says:—

'Who-so wilnes to wit of thaire wo fir [futher],
Turne hym to Troilus, and talke[60] there
ynoughe!'

I.e. whoever wishes to know more about their wo, let him turn to Troilus, and there
find enough. This is a clear allusion to Chaucer's work by its name, and helps to date
the translation as being later than 1380 or 1382. And, as the translator makes no
allusion to Lydgate's translation of Guido, the date of which is 1412-20, we see that he

probably wrote between 1382 and 1420[61]; so that the date 'about 1400,' adopted in
the New Eng. Dictionary (s. v. Bercelet, &c.) cannot be far wrong[62].

§ 23. Another useful book, frequently mentioned above, is Lydgate's Siege of
Troye[61], of which I possess a copy printed in 1555. This contains several allusions to
Chaucer's Troilus, and more than one passage in praise of Chaucer's poetical powers,
two of which are quoted in Mr. Rossetti's remarks on MS. Harl. 3943 (Chaucer Soc.
1875), pp. x, xi. These passages are not very helpful, though it is curious to observe
that he speaks of Chaucer not only as 'my maister Chaucer,' but as 'noble Galfride,
chefe Poete of Brytaine,' and 'my maister Galfride.' The most notable passages occur
in cap. xv, fol. K 2; cap. xxv, fol. R 2, back; and near the end, fol. Ee 2. Lydgate's
translation is much more free than the preceding one, and he frequently interpolates
long passages, besides borrowing a large number of poetical expressions from his
'maister.'

§ 24. Finally, I must not omit to mention the remarkable poem by Robert Henrysoun,
called the Testament and Complaint of Criseyde, which forms a sequel to Chaucer's
story. Thynne actually printed this, in his edition of 1532, as one of Chaucer's poems,
immediately after Troilus; and all the black-letter editions follow suit. Yet the 9th and
10th stanzas contain these words, according to the edition of 1532:—

'Of his distresse me nedeth nat reherse;
For worthy Chaucer, in that same boke,
In goodly termes, and in ioly verse,
Compyled hath his cares, who wyl loke.
To breke my slepe, another queare I toke,
In whiche I founde the fatal desteny
Of fayre Creseyde, whiche ended wretchedly.

Who wot if al that Chaucer wrate was trewe?
Nor I wotte nat if this narration
Be authorysed, or forged of the newe
Of some poete by his inuention,
Made to reporte the lamentation
And woful ende of this lusty Creseyde,
And what distresse she was in or she deyde.'

§ 25. The Manuscripts.

1. MS. Cl.—The Campsall MS., on vellum, written before 1413; prepared for Henry,
Prince of Wales, afterwards Henry V, as shewn by his arms on leaf 2. The poem

occupies leaves 2-120; each page usually contains five stanzas. Two pages have been
reproduced by the autotype process for the Chaucer Society; viz. leaf 1, recto,
containing stanzas 1-5, and leaf 42, verso, containing stanzas 249-251 of Book II, and
stanza 1 of Book III. This is a beautifully written MS., and one of the best; but it is
disappointing to find that it might easily have been much better. The scribe had a still
better copy before him, which he has frequently treated with supreme carelessness;
but it is some consolation to find that his mistakes are so obvious that they can easily
be corrected. Thus, in Book I, l. 27, he writes dorst for dorste, though it ruins the
grammar and the metre; in l. 31, he actually has hym for hem, to the destruction of the
sense; in l. 69, he has high (!) for highte; and so on. It therefore requires careful
control. In particular, the scribe gives many examples of the fault of 'anticipation,' i.e.
the fault whereby the mind, swifter than the pen, has induced him to write down
letters that belong to a later syllable or word, or to omit one or more letters. Thus in
Book I. l. 80, he omits u in pryuely, writing pryely; in l. 126, he omits and before
hoom; in l. 198, he omits lewede; in l. 275, he omits gan; &c. But the faults of
'anticipation' appear most clearly in such startling forms as addermost for aldermost,
I. 248, where the former d is due to the one that is coming; assent for absent, IV. 1642,
for a like reason; estal for estat, because the next word is royal, I. 432; þyn for þyng,
because the next word is myn, I. 683; nat for nas, because the next word is not, I. 738;
seynt for seyn, because the next word is that, V. 369; shad for shal, because the next
word is drede, V. 385; liten for litel, because weten follows, IV. 198; make for may,
because the line ends with wake, III. 341; fleld for feld, II. 195. Sometimes, however,
the scribe's mind reverts to something already written, so that we find Delphebus for
Delphicus, because Phebus precedes, I. 70; bothen for bothe, because deden precedes,
I. 82; falles for fallen, after unhappes, II. 456; daunder for daunger, III. 1321; tolle for
tolde, III 802; &c. Downright blunders are not uncommon; as incocent for innocent
(where again the former c is due to the latter), II. 1723; agarst for agast, III. 737; right
for rit, V. 60. We even find startling variations in the reading, as in III. 1408:—

'Reson wil not that I speke of shep,
For it accordeth nough[t] to my matere.'

Certainly, shep (sheep) is irrelevant enough; however, Chaucer refers to sleep. And
again, the line in II. 1554, which should run—

As for to bidde a wood man for to renne

appears in the startling form—

As for to bydde a womman for to renne.

As all the variations of 'Cl.' from the correct text are given in the foot-notes, it is not
necessary to say more about these peculiarities. I must add, however, that, as in
Boethius, I have silently corrected yn to in in such words as thing; besides altering ee
and oo to e and o in open syllables, writing v for u, and the like. See above.

The Campsall MS., now in the possession of Mr. Bacon Frank, has been printed in
full, as written, for the Chaucer Society; and I have relied upon the accuracy of this
well-edited print.

2. MS. Cp.—MS. No. 61 in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, described in
Nasmith's Catalogue, p. 40, as 'a parchment book in folio neatly written, and
ornamented with a frontispiece richly illuminated, containing Chaucer's Troilus, in
four [error for five] books.' It is a fine folio MS., 12 inches by 8½. This MS., noticed
by Warton, has not as yet been printed, though the Chaucer Society have undertaken
to print it, upon my recommendation. It contains many pages that are left wholly or
partially blank, obviously meant to be supplied with illuminations; which shews that it
was written for some wealthy person. On the left margin, near the 83rd stanza of Book
IV, is a note of ownership, in a hand of the fifteenth century—'neuer foryeteth: Anne
neuyll.' This probably refers to Anne Neville, wife of Humphrey, duke of Buckingham
(who was killed at Northampton in 1460), and daughter of Ralph Neville, earl of
Westmoreland, and of Joan Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt. That is, she was John
of Gaunt's granddaughter; and it seems reasonable to infer that the MS. was actually
written for one of John of Gaunt's family. This probability is a very interesting one,
when we consider how much Chaucer owed to John of Gaunt's favour and protection.

The MS. is slightly deficient, owing to the omission of a few stanzas; but not much is
missing. It is of a type closely resembling the preceding, and gives excellent readings.
I have therefore taken the opportunity of founding the text upon a close collation of
Cl. and Cp., taking Cl. as the foundation, but correcting it by Cp. throughout, without
specifying more than the rejected reading of Cl. in passages where these MSS. differ.
In this way the numerous absurdities of Cl. (as noted above) have been easily
corrected, and the resulting text is a great improvement upon all that have hitherto
appeared. In a few places, as shewn by the foot-notes, the readings of other MSS. have
been preferred.

3. MS. H.—MS. Harl. 2280, in the British Museum. An excellent MS., very closely
related to both the preceding. Printed in full for the Chaucer Society, and collated
throughout in the present edition. It was taken as the basis of the text in Morris's
Aldine edition, which in many passages closely resembles the present text. It is
certainly the third best MS. One leaf is missing (Bk. V. 1345-1428; twelve stanzas).

4. MS. Cm.—MS. Gg. 4. 27, in the Cambridge University Library; the same MS. as
that denoted by 'Cm.' in the foot-notes to the Canterbury Tales, and by 'C.' in the foot-
notes to the Legend of Good Women. A remarkable MS., printed in full for the
Chaucer Society. It exhibits a different type of text from that found in Cl., Cp., and H.
The most noteworthy differences are as follows. In Bk. ii. 734, 5, this MS. has quite a
different couplet, viz.:

Men louyn women þour al þis toun aboute;
Be þey þe wers? whi, nay, with-outyn doute.

Bk. ii. 792 runs thus:—

How ofte tyme may men rede and se.

Bk. iv. 309-15 (stanza 45) runs thus:—

What shulde ye don but, for myn disconfort,
Stondyn for nought, and wepyn out youre ye?
Syn sche is queynt that wont was yow
disport[63],
In vayn from this forth have I seyn twye;
For[64] medycyn youre vertu is a-weye;
O crewel eyen, sythyn that youre dispyt
Was al to sen Crisseydes eyen bryght.

Bk. iv. 638 runs thus:—

Pandare answerde, of that be as be may.

After Bk. iv. 735, MS. Cm. introduces the following stanza, which, in the present text,
appears a little later (ll. 750-6) in a slightly altered form.

The salte teris from hyre eyȝyn tweyn
Out ran, as schour of aprille, ful swythe;
Hyre white brest sche bet, and for the peyne,
Aftyr the deth cryede a thousent sithe,
Syn he that wonyt was hir wo for to lythe,
Sche mot forgon; for which disauenture
Sche held hire-selue a for-lost creature.

Bk. iv. 806-33 (four stanzas) are omitted; so also are the 18 stanzas referring to Free-
Will, viz. Bk. iv. 953-1078. Bk. v. 230-1 runs thus:—

To whom for eueremor myn herte is holde:
And thus he pleynyd, and ferthere-more he
tolde.

We cannot believe that Bk. iv. 309-15, as here given, can be genuine[65]; but it seems
possible that some of the other readings may be so. The stanza, Bk. iv. 750-6, as here
given, seems to represent the first draft of these lines, which were afterwards altered
to the form in which they appear in the text, whilst at the same time the stanza was
shifted down. However, this is mere speculation; and it must be confessed that, in
many places, this MS. is strangely corrupted. Several stanzas have only six lines
instead of seven, and readings occur which set all ideas of rime at defiance. Thus, in I.
1260, paste (riming with caste) appears as passede; in I. 1253, ryde (riming with
aspyde) appears as rydende; in III. 351, hayes (riming with May is) appears as halis;
&c.

Yet the MS. is worth collating, as it gives, occasionally, some excellent readings. For
example, in Bk. i. 143, it preserves the word here, which other MSS. wrongly omit;
and, in the very next line, rightly has to longe dwelle, not to longe to dwelle.

The MS. has been, at some time, shamefully maltreated by some one who has cut out
several leaves, no doubt for the sake of their illuminated initials. Hence the following
passages do not appear: I. 1-70; I. 1037—II. 84; III. 1-56; III. 1807—IV. 112; IV. 1667
—V. 35; V. 1702—end (together with a piece at the beginning of the Canterbury
Tales).

5. MS. H2.—Harleian MS. 3943, in the British Museum. Printed in full for the
Chaucer Society in 1875, together with a most valuable line by line collation with
Boccaccio's Filostrato, by Wm. Michael Rossetti. Referred to in Prof. Lounsbury's
Studies in Chaucer, i. 398, as 'much the worst that has been printed,' where his object
is to depreciate its authority. Yet it is well worth a careful study, and it must be
particularly borne in mind that it consists of two parts, written at different dates, and
of different value. In Bell's Chaucer, we read of it:—'Unfortunately it is imperfect.
The first few leaves, and the whole of the latter part of the poem, appear to have been
destroyed, and the deficiency supplied by a later copyist.' The late hand occurs in I. 1-
70, 498-567, III. 1429-1638, IV. 197—end, and Book V.; and thus occupies a large
portion of the MS. Moreover, two leaves are lost after leaf 59, comprising III. 1289-
1428; these are supplied in Dr. Furnivall's edition from Harl. 1239, which accounts for

the extraordinary disorder in which these stanzas are arranged. The MS. also omits III.
1744-1771, and some other stanzas occasionally.

This is one of those curious MSS. which, although presenting innumerable corrupt
readings (the worst being Commodious for Commeveden in III. 17), nevertheless have
some points of contact with an excellent source. All editors must have observed a few
such cases. Thus, in II. 615, it happily restores the right reading latis, where the
ordinary reading gates is ludicrously wrong. In III. 49, it supplies the missing word
gladnes. In V. 8, it has 'The Auricomus tressed Phebus hie on lofte,' instead of 'The
golden tressed'; and this reading, though false, lets us into the secret of the origin of
this epithet, viz. that it translates the Latin auricomus; see note to the line. In the very
next line, V. 9, it preserves the correct reading bemes shene[66], riming with grene,
quene, where other MSS. have bemes clere, a reminiscence of the opening line of
Book III. Hence I have carefully collated this MS., and all readings of value are given
in the Notes. See, e. g. III. 28, 49, 136, 551, 1268, 1703, &c.

6. MS. Harl. 1239 (B. M.). 'It is an oblong folio, written from the beginning in a small,
clear character, which ceases at an earlier place [III. 231] than the change occurs in
MS. 3943 [IV. 197], leaving the remainder comparatively useless as an authority.'—
Bell. Dr. Furnivall has printed the passages in III. 1289-1428, and III. 1744-1771,
from this MS. to supply the gaps in H 2 (see above); we thus see that it transposes
several of the stanzas, and is but a poor authority.

7. MS. Harl. 2392 (B. M.). A late MS. on paper, not very correct; once the property of
Sir H. Spelman. As an example of a strange reading, observe 'O mortal Gower,' in V.
1856. Still, it has the correct reading sheene in V. 9; and in III. 49, supplies the rare
reading gladnesse, which is necessary to the sense.

This MS. has a large number of notes and glosses. Some are of small interest, but
others are of value, and doubtless proceeded from the author himself, as they furnish
useful references and explanations. I here notice the best of them.

II. 8. 'Cleo: domina eloquencie.' This view of Clio explains the context.

II. 784. Side-note: 'nota mendacium.' A remarkable comment.

II. 1238-9. 'Leuis impressio, leuis recessio.' Clearly, a proverb.

III. 933. 'Dulcarnon: i. fuga miserorum.' This proves that Chaucer confused the 47th
proposition of Euclid with the 5th; see note.

III. 1177. 'Beati misericordes'; from Matt. v. 7.

III. 1183. 'Petite et accipi[e]tis'; a remarkable comment.

III. 1415. 'Gallus vulgaris astrologus; Alanus, de Planctu Nature'; see note.

III. 1417. 'Lucifera: Stella matutina.'

III. 1466. 'Aurora: amica solis'; shewing the confusion of Tithonus with Titan.

IV. 22. 'Herine (sic), furie infernales; unde Lucanus, me pronuba duxit Herinis.' This
proves that Chaucer really took the name from Lucan, Phars. viii. 90, q. v.

IV. 32. 'Sol in Leone'; i. e. the sun was in Leo; see note.

IV. 600. 'Audaces fortuna iuuat'; error for 'Audentes'; see note.

IV. 790. 'Vmbra subit terras,' &c.; Ovid, Met. xi. 61.

IV. 836. 'Extrema gaudii luctus'; see note.

IV. 1138. 'Flet tamen, et tepide,' &c.; Ovid, Met. x. 500.

IV. 1504. 'Non est bonum perdere substantiam propter accidens.'

IV. 1540. 'Styx, puteus infernalis.' Chaucer's mistake.

V. 8. 'The gold-tressed Phebus,' glossed 'Auricomus Sol'; which is from Valerius
Flaccus; see note.

V. 319. Reference to Ovid's Metamorphoses; see note.

V. 655. 'Latona, i. luna'; shewing that 'Latona' is mis-written for 'Lucina.' Cf. IV. 1591.

V. 664. Reference to Ovid, Metam. ii. See note.

V. 1039. For 'she,' MS. has 'he,' correctly (see note); side-note, 'Nota, de donis c. d.',
i. e. of Criseyde to Diomede.

V. 1107. 'Laurigerus'; see note.

V. 1110. 'Nisus,' glossed 'rex'; 'douhter,' glossed 'alauda'; see note.

V. 1548. 'Parodye: duracio'; see note.

V. 1550. 'Vnbodye: decorporare.'

There are many more such glosses, of lesser interest.

8. MS. Harl. 4912 (B. M.). On vellum; rather large pages, with wide margins; five
stanzas on the page. Imperfect; ends at IV. 686. A poor copy. In III. 49, it retains the
rare reading 'gladnes,' but miswritten as 'glanes.'

9. MS. Addit. 12044 (B. M.). On vellum; five stanzas to the page. Last leaf gone; ends
at V. 1820. Not a good copy. In III. 17, it has 'Comeued hem,' an obvious error for
'Comeueden,' which is the true reading. In V. 8, it has 'golden dressed,' error for
'golden tressed.' Note this correct form 'golden'; for it is miswritten as 'gold' or 'golde'
in nearly all other copies.

The next four are in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

10. Arch. Seld. B. 24 is the Scottish MS., dated 1472, described in the Introduction to
the Minor Poems, where it is denoted by 'Ar.,' and fully collated throughout the
Legend of Good Women, where it appears in the foot-notes as 'A.' It seems to be the
best of the Oxford MSS., and has some good readings. In III. 17, it has 'Commeued
tham' for Commeueden,' which is near enough for a MS. that so freely drops
inflexions; and the line ends with 'and amoreux tham made.' In III. 49, it correctly
preserves 'gladness.'

11. MS. Rawlinson, Poet. 163. Not a very good copy. It omits the Prologue to Book
III. At the end is the colophon:—

Heer endith the book of
'Tregentyll Chaucer.'
Troylus and of Cresseyde

I take 'Tregentyll' to be the scribe's name[67]. Besides the 'Troilus,' the MS. contains,
on a fly-leaf, the unique copy of the Balade to Rosemounde, beneath which is written
(as in the former case) 'tregentil' to the left of the page, and 'chaucer' to the right;

connected by a thin stroke. See my 'Twelve Facsimiles of Old English MSS.'; Plate
XII.

12. MS. Arch. Seld. supra 56. Small quarto, 8 inches by 5½, on paper; vellum binding;
writing clear. A poor copy. The grammar shews a Northern dialect.

13. MS. Digby 181. Incomplete; nearly half being lost. It ends at III. 532—'A certayn
houre in which she come sholde.' A poor copy, closely allied to the preceding. Thus, in
III. 17, both have moreux for amoreux; in III. 2, both have Adornes; in III. 6, both
absurdly have Off (Of) for O; and so on.

14. MS. L. 1, in St. John's College, Cambridge. A fair MS., perhaps earlier than 1450.
Subjoined to the Troilus is a sixteenth century copy of the Testament of Creseide.
Quarto; on vellum; 10 inches by 6½; in 10 sheets of 12 leaves each. Leaf g 12 is cut
out, and g 11 is blank, but nothing seems to be lost. It frequently agrees with Cp., as in
I. 5, fro ye; 21, be this; 36, desespeyred; 45, fair ladys so; 70, Delphicus; 308, kan
thus. In I. 272, it correctly has: percede; in 337, nouncerteyne. In II. 734, it agrees
with H.; 735 runs—'And whan hem list no lenger, lat hem leue'; a good line. In II.
894, it has 'mosten axe,' the very reading which I give; and in II. 968, stalkes.

15. MS. Phillipps 8252; the same MS. as that described in my preface to the C. text of
Piers the Plowman, p. xix, where it is numbered XXVIII.

16. A MS. in the Library of Durham Cathedral, marked V. ii. 13. A single stanza of
Troilus, viz. I. 631-7, occurs in MS. R. 3. 20, in Trinity College Library, Cambridge;
and three stanzas, viz. III. 302-322, in MS. Ff. 1. 6, leaf 150, in the Cambridge
University Library; all printed in Odd Texts of Chaucer's Minor Poems, ed. F. J.
Furnivall, Chaucer Society, 1880, pp. x-xii. In 1887, Dr. Stephens found two vellum
strips in the cover of a book, containing fragments of a MS. of Troilus (Book V. 1443-
1498); see Appendix to the Report of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, May 24,
1887; pp. 331-5.

The MSS. fall, as far as I can tell, into two main families. The larger family is that
which resembles Cl., Cp., and H. Of the smaller, Cm. may be taken as the type. The
description of Cm. shews some of the chief variations. Observe that many MSS. omit
I. 890-6; in the John's MS., it is inserted in a much later hand. The stanza is obviously
genuine.

§ 26. The Editions. 'Troilus' was first printed by Caxton, about 1484; but without
printer's name, place, or date. See the description in Blades' Life of Caxton, p. 297.
There is no title-page. Each page contains five stanzas. Two copies are in the British

Museum; one at St. John's College, Oxford; and one (till lately) was at Althorp. The
second edition is by Wynkyn de Worde, in 1517. The third, by Pynson, in 1526. These
three editions present Troilus as a separate work. After this, it was included in
Thynne's edition of 1532, and in all the subsequent editions of Chaucer's Works.

Of these, the only editions accessible to me have been Thynne's (1532), of which there
is a copy in the Cambridge University Library; also the editions of 1550 (or
thereabouts) and 1561, of both of which I possess copies.

Thynne's edition was printed from so good a MS. as to render it an excellent authority.
In a few places, I fear he has altered the text for the worse, and his errors have been
carefully followed and preserved by succeeding editors. Thus he is responsible for
altering io (= jo) into go, III. 33; for creating the remarkable 'ghost-word' gofysshe, III.
584; and a few similar curiosities. But I found it worth while to collate it throughout;
and readings from it are marked 'Ed.' The later black-letter copies are mere
reproductions of it.

§ 27. The Present Edition. The present edition has the great advantage of being
founded upon Cl. and Cp., neither of which have been previously made use of, though
they are the two best. Bell's text is founded upon the Harleian MSS. numbered 1239,
2280, and 3943, in separate fragments; hence the text is neither uniform nor very
good. Morris's text is much better, being founded upon H. (closely related to Cl. and
Cp.), with a few corrections from other unnamed sources.

Thanks to the prints provided by the Chaucer Society, I have been able to produce a
text which, I trust, leaves but little to be desired. I point out some of the passages
which now appear in a correct form for the first time, as may be seen by comparison
with the editions by Morris and Bell, which I denote by M. and B.

I. 136; derre, dearer; M. B. dere (no rime). 285. meninge, i. e. intention; and so in l.
289; M. B. mevynge. 388. M. B. insert a semicolon after arten. 465. fownes (see
note); M. B. fantasye (line too long). 470 felle, fell, pl. adj.; M. B. fille, i. e. fell
(verb). 590. no comfort; M. comfort; B. eny comfort. 786. Ticius (see note); M.
Syciphus; B. Siciphus. 896. Thee oughte; M. To oght (no sense); B. The oght (will not
scan). 1026. See note; put as a question in M. B.; B. even inserts not before to done.
1050. me asterte; M. may sterte; B. me stert (better).

II. 41. seyde, i. e. if that they seyde; M. B. seyinge (will not scan). 138. were (would
there be); M. B. is. 180. wight; M. B. knyght (but see l. 177). 808. looth; M. B. leve.
834. Ye; M. B. The. 1596. For for; M. B. For.

III. 17. Comeveden (see note); M. Comeneden; B. Commodious. him; M. B. hem. 33.
io (= jo); M. B. go. 49. M. B. omit gladnes. 572. Yow thurfte; M. Thow thruste; B.
Yow durst. 584. goosish; M. goofish; B. gofisshe. 674. M. Thei voide [present],
dronke [past], and traveres drawe [present] anon; B. They voyded, and drunk, and
travars drew anone. Really, dronke and drawe are both past participles; see note. 725.
Cipris; M. Cyphes; B. Ciphis. 1231. Bitrent and wryth, i. e. winds about and wreathes
itself; M. Bytrent and writhe is; B. Bitrent and writhen is. Wryth is short for writheth;
not a pp. 1453. bore, i. e. hole; M. boure; B. bowre. 1764. to-hepe, i. e. together; M. B.
to kepe.

IV. 538. kyth; M. B. right (no sense). 696. thing is; M. B. thynges is. 818. martyre; M.
B. matere (neither sense nor rime).

V. 49. helpen; M. B. holpen. 469. howve; M. B. howen. 583. in my; M. B. omit my.
927. wight; M. B. with. 1208. trustinge; M. B. trusten (against grammar). 1266. bet;
M. B. beste. 1335, 6. wyte The teres, i. e. blame the tears; M. B. wite With teres. 1386.
Commeve; M. Com in to; B. Can meven. 1467. She; M. B. So. 1791. pace; M. B.
space (see note).

It is curious to find that such remarkable words as commeveden, io, voidee, goosish,
to-hepe, appear in no Chaucerian glossary; they are only found in the MSS., being
ignored in the editions.

A large number of lines are now, for the first time, spelt with forms that comply with
grammar and enable the lines to be scanned. For example, M. and B. actually give
wente and wonte in V. 546, instead of went and wont; knotles for knotteles in V. 769,
&c.

I have also, for the first time, numbered the lines and stanzas correctly. In M., Books
III. and IV. are both misnumbered, causing much trouble in reference. Dr. Furnivall's
print of the Campsall MS. omits I. 890-6; and his print of MS. Harl. 3943 counts in
the Latin lines here printed at p. 404.

§ 28. It is worth notice that Troilus contains about fifty lines in which the first foot
consists of a single syllable. Examples in Book I are:—

That | the hot-e fyr of lov' him brende: 490.
Lov' | ayeins the which who-so defendeth:
603.
Twen | ty winter that his lady wiste: 811.
Wer' | it for my suster, al thy sorwe: 860.

Next | the foule netle, rough and thikke: 948.
Now | Pandar', I can no mor-e seye: 1051.
Al | derfirst his purpos for to winne: 1069.

So also II. 369, 677, 934, 1034, 1623 (and probably 1687); III. 412, 526, 662, 855
(perhaps 1552), 1570; IV. 176, 601, 716, 842, 1328, 1676; V. 67 (perhaps 311), 334,
402, 802, 823, 825, 831, 880, 887, 949, 950, 1083, 1094, 1151, 1379, 1446, 1454,
1468, 1524.

It thus appears that deficient lines of this character are by no means confined to the
poems in 'heroic verse,' but occur in stanzas as well. Compare the Parlement of
Foules, 445, 569.

§ 29. Proverbs. Troilus contains a considerable number of proverbs and proverbial
phrases or similes. See, e. g., I. 257, 300, 631, 638, 694, 708, 731, 740, 946-952, 960,
964, 1002, 1024; II. 343, 398, 403, 585, 784, 804, 807, 861, 867, 1022, 1030, 1041,
1238, 1245, 1332, 1335, 1380, 1387, 1553, 1745; III. 35, 198, 294, 308, 329, 405,
526, 711, 764, 775, 859, 861, 931, 1625, 1633; IV. 184, 415, 421, 460, 588, 595, 622,
728, 836, 1098, 1105, 1374, 1456, 1584; V. 484, 505, 784, 899, 971, 1174, 1265,
1433.

§ 30. A translation of the first two books of Troilus into Latin verse, by Sir Francis
Kinaston, was printed at Oxford in 1635. The volume also contains a few notes, but I
do not find in them anything of value. The author tries to reproduce the English
stanza, as thus:—

'Dolorem Troili duplicem narrare,
Qui Priami Regis Trojae fuit gnatus,
Vt primùm illi contigit amare,
Vt miser, felix, et infortunatus
Erat, decessum ante sum conatus.
Tisiphone, fer opem recensere
Hos versus, qui, dum scribo, visi flere.'

For myself, I prefer the English.

§ 31. Hazlitt's Handbook to Popular Literature records the following title:—'A
Paraphrase vpon the 3 first bookes of Chaucer's Troilus and Cressida. Translated into
modern English ... by J[onathan] S[idnam]. About 1630. Folio; 70 leaves; in 7-line
stanzas.'

ERRATA AND ADDENDA.

I. BOETHIUS.

P. 8, Book I, met. 4, l. 8. For thonder-light a better reading is thonder-leit; see p. xliii,
and the note (p. 422).

P. 10; foot-notes, l. 10. Read: C. vnplitable; A. inplitable.

P. 26, Book II, met. 1, l. 11. For proeueth read proeveth.

P. 29, Book II, pr. 3, l. 3. Delete the comma after wherwith.

P. 48, Book II, pr. 7, l. 86. For thas read that.

P. 50, Book II, pr. 8, l. 17. For windinge read windy. See pp. xlii, 434.

P. 58, Book III, pr. 3, l. 68. For all read al.

P. 62, l. 4. Counted as l. 10; it is really l. 9.

P. 63, Book III, pr. 5, l. 41. For of read of (in italics).

P. 74, Book III, pr. 10, l. 6. For has read hast.

P. 111. The side-number 215 is one line too high.

P. 122, Book IV, met. 6, l. 24. Delete the square brackets; see pp. xlii, xliii.

P. 124, Book IV, pr. 7, l. 61. MS. C. has confirme; and MS. A. has conferme. But the
right reading must be conforme; for the Latin text has conformandae.

II. TROILUS.

P. 159, Book I, 204. For cast read caste.

P. 160, Book I, 217. The alternative reading is better; see note, p. 463.

P. 160, Book I, 239. For yet read yit (for the rhyme).

P. 162, Book I, 284. For neuer read never.

P. 163, Book, I, 309. For Troylus read Troilus.

P. 163, Book I, 310. For thyng read thing.

P. 165, Book I, 401. Alter ! to ?

P. 166, Book I, 406. For thurst read thurste.

P. 166, Book I, 420. For deye read dye (for the rhyme).

P. 171, Book I, 570. For euery read every.

P. 172, Book I, 621. For Troylus read Troilus (as elsewhere).

P. 173, Book I, 626. Delete the comma after 'fare.'

P. 174, Book I, 656. For y read I.

P. 174, Book I, 657. Insert ' at the beginning.

P. 181, Book I, 879. For the read thee.

P. 192, Book II, 113. Delete ' at the end.

P. 194, Book II, 170. Insert ' at the beginning.

P. 205, Book II, 529. For penaunc read penaunce.

P. 208, Book II, 628. For swych read swich.

P. 229, Book II, 1294. Insert ' at the beginning.

P. 234, Book II, 1461. For streyt read streght, as in MS. H.

P. 260, Book III, 522. Delete the comma after laft.

P. 260, Book III, 535. For made read mad or maad.

P. 261, Book III, 558. For lengere read lenger.

P. 264, Book III, 662. For thondre read thonder.

P. 271, Book III, 885. For ringe read ring.

P. 282, Book III, 1219. For sweet read swete.

P. 312, Book IV, 318. For to the peyne read to my peyne.

P. 390, Book V, 1039. For she read he. Cf. note, p. 499; and p. lx, l. 3.

P. 431, note to Prose 5, 35; l. 3. Delete for which I find no authority. (In fact, postremo
is the reading given by Peiper, from one MS. only; most MSS. have postremae, the
reading given by Obbarius, who does not recognise the reading postremo).

P. 463. Note to I, 217. Add—So too in Barbour's Bruce, i. 582: 'Bot oft failyeis the
fulis thocht.'

P. 479, last line; and p. 480, first line. For represents the Pers. and Arab. dū’lkarnayn,
lit. two-horned; from Pers. dū, two, and karn, horn—read represents the Arab,
zū’lkarnayn, lit. two-horned; from Arab. zū, lord of, hence, possessing, and the dual
form of karn, horn.

Notes to I. 948, 951; II. 36, 1335; III. 1219. Dr. Köppel has shewn (in Archiv für das
Studium der neueren Sprachen, xc. 150, that Chaucer here quotes from Alanus de
Insulis, Liber Parabolarum (as printed in Migne, Cursus Patrologicus, vol. ccx). The
passages are:—

Fragrantes uicina rosas urtica perurit (col.
582).

Post noctem sperare diem, post nubila solem;
Post lacrimas risus laetitiamque potes (583).

Mille uiae ducunt homines per saecula
Romam (591).

De nuce fit corylus, de glande fit ardua
quercus (583).

Dulcius haerescunt humano mella palato,
Si malus hoc ipsum mordeat ante sapor
(592).

P. 498, Note to V, 806. Add—L. 813 is due to Dares; see p. lxiv, note.

P. 499, Note to V, 1039, l. 6. For the rest is Chaucer's addition read the statement that
she gave it to Diomede is due to Benoît; see p. lxii. Again, just below, read The
incidents of the 'broche' and 'pensel' are also due to the same; see p. lxii.

BOETHIUS DE CONSOLATIONE PHILOSOPHIE.

BOOK I.
Metre I.

Carmina qui quondam studio florente peregi.

Allas! I, weping, am constreined to biginnen vers of sorowful
matere, that whylom in florisching studie made delitable ditees.
For lo! rendinge Muses of poetes endyten to me thinges to be
writen; and drery vers of wrecchednesse weten my face with
verray teres. At the leeste, no drede ne mighte overcomen tho 5
Muses, that they ne weren felawes, and folweden my wey, that is
to seyn, whan I was exyled; they that weren glorie of my youthe,
whylom weleful and grene, comforten now the sorowful werdes of
me, olde man. For elde is comen unwarly upon me, hasted by
the harmes that I have, and sorow hath comaunded his age to be 10
in me. Heres hore ben shad overtymeliche upon myn heved,
and the slake skin trembleth upon myn empted body. Thilke
deeth of men is weleful that ne cometh not in yeres that ben
swete, but cometh to wrecches, often y-cleped.

Allas! allas! with how deef an ere deeth, cruel, torneth awey 15
fro wrecches, and naiteth to closen wepinge eyen! Whyl Fortune,
unfeithful, favorede me with lighte goodes, the sorowful houre,
that is to seyn, the deeth, hadde almost dreynt myn heved. But
now, for Fortune cloudy hath chaunged hir deceyvable chere to
me-ward, myn unpitous lyf draweth a-long unagreable dwellinges 20
in me. O ye, my frendes, what or wherto avauntede ye me to
ben weleful? for he that hath fallen stood nat in stedefast
degree.

C. = MS. Ii. 3. 21, Cambridge; A. = MS. Addit. 10340 (Brit. Mus.). The text follows C.
mainly. Ed. = Printed edition (1532), quoted occasionally.

1, 2. Imperfect in C. 6. C. foleweden; A. folweden. 8. C. sorful; A. sorouful. // C.
wierdes, glossed fata; A. werdes. 11. C. arn; A. ben. 12. C. of; A. upon. // C. emptyd;
A. emty. 16. C. nayteth; A. Ed. naieth. 17. A. glosses lighte by sc. temporels. // C.
sorwful; A. sorouful. 19. C. deceyuable; A. disceyuable. 20. C. vnpietous; A.
vnpitouse. 22. C. stidefast; A. stedfast.

Prose I.

Hec dum mecum tacitus ipse reputarem.

Whyle that I stille recordede thise thinges with my-self, and
markede my weeply compleynte with office of pointel, I saw,
stondinge aboven the heighte of myn heved, a woman of ful greet
reverence by semblaunt, hir eyen brenninge and cleer-seinge over
the comune might of men; with a lyfly colour, and with swich 5
vigour and strengthe that it ne mighte nat ben empted; al were it
so that she was ful of so greet age, that men ne wolde nat trowen,
in no manere, that she were of oure elde. The stature of hir was
of a doutous Iugement; for som-tyme she constreinede and shronk
hir-selven lyk to the comune mesure of men, and sum-tyme it 10
semede that she touchede the hevene with the heighte of hir
heved; and whan she heef hir heved hyer, she percede the
selve hevene, so that the sighte of men looking was in ydel. Hir
clothes weren maked of right delye thredes and subtil crafte, of
perdurable matere; the whiche clothes she hadde woven with hir 15
owene hondes, as I knew wel after by hir-self, declaringe and
shewinge to me the beautee; the whiche clothes a derknesse of a
forleten and dispysed elde hadde dusked and derked, as it is wont
to derken bi-smokede images.

In the nethereste hem or bordure of thise clothes men redden, 20
y-woven in, a Grekissh P, that signifyeth the lyf Actif; and aboven
that lettre, in the heyeste bordure, a Grekissh T, that signifyeth
the lyf Contemplatif. And bi-twixen these two lettres ther weren
seyn degrees, nobly y-wroght in manere of laddres; by whiche
degrees men mighten climben fro the nethereste lettre to the 25
uppereste. Natheles, handes of some men hadde corven that cloth
by violence and by strengthe; and everiche man of hem hadde
born awey swiche peces as he mighte geten. And forsothe, this
forseide woman bar smale bokes in hir right hand, and in hir left
hand she bar a ceptre. 30

And whan she say thise poetical Muses aprochen aboute my
bed, and endytinge wordes to my wepinges, she was a litel
amoved, and glowede with cruel eyen. 'Who,' quod she, 'hath
suffred aprochen to this syke man thise comune strompetes of
swich a place that men clepen the theatre? The whiche nat 35
only ne asswagen nat hise sorwes with none remedies, but they

wolden feden and norisshen hem with swete venim. Forsothe,
thise ben tho that with thornes and prikkinges of talents or
affecciouns, whiche that ne ben no-thing fructefyinge nor
profitable, destroyen the corn plentevous of fruites of resoun; 40
for they holden the hertes of men in usage, but they ne delivere
nat folk fro maladye. But if ye Muses hadden withdrawen fro
me, with your flateryes, any uncunninge and unprofitable man, as
men ben wont to finde comunly amonges the poeple, I wolde
wene suffre the lasse grevously; for-why, in swiche an unprofitable 45
man, myn ententes ne weren no-thing endamaged. But ye withdrawen
me this man, that hath be norisshed in the studies or
scoles of Eleaticis and of Achademicis in Grece. But goth now
rather awey, ye mermaidenes, whiche that ben swete til it be at
the laste, and suffreth this man to be cured and heled by myne 50
Muses,' that is to seyn, by noteful sciences.

And thus this companye of Muses y-blamed casten wrothly the
chere dounward to the erthe; and, shewinge by reednesse hir
shame, they passeden sorowfully the threshfold.

And I, of whom the sighte, plounged in teres, was derked so 55
that I ne mighte not knowen what that womman was, of so
imperial auctoritee, I wex al abaisshed and astoned, and caste my
sighte doun to the erthe, and bigan stille for to abyde what she
wolde don afterward. Tho com she ner, and sette hir doun up-on
the uttereste corner of my bed; and she, biholdinge my chere, 60
that was cast to the erthe, hevy and grevous of wepinge, compleinede,
with thise wordes that I shal seyen, the perturbacioun
of my thought.

Pr. I. 1. C. While that; A. In the mene while that. 2. C. sawh; A. sawe. 3. C. heyhte; A.
heyȝt. // C. gret; A. greet. 5. C. myht; A. myȝt. 6. C. vygor; A. vigoure. // C. myhte; A.
myȝt. // C. emted; A. emptid. 7. C. gret; A. greet (and so often). 9. C. dowtows; A.
doutous (and so ow for ou often). 10. C. lyk; A. lyche. 11. C. heyhte; A. heyȝte (and
so elsewhere). 12. C. hef; A. heued; Ed. houe. 14. C. riht (and so h for gh often). 16.
C. knewh; A. knewe. 17. C. dirknesse; A. derkenes. 19. Both dyrken. // C. the
smokede; A. bysmoked. 21. A. in swiche; C. om. swiche. C. glosses P by practik. // C.
syngnifieth; A. signifieth. 22. C. glosses T by theorik. // C. singnifieth; A. signifieth.
23. C. by-twixen; A. by-twene. 24. C. nobely; A. nobly. 25. C. clymbyn (and so -yn
for -en constantly). // C. Ed. nethereste; A. nethemast. 26. C. Ed. vppereste; A.
ouermast 31. C. say; A. sauȝ. 33. C. amoued; A. ameued. // C. cruwel; A. cruel. 34. C.
sike; A. seek. // C. the; A. thise (Lat. has). 37. C. noryssyn; A. norysche. // C. hym; A.

hem. 39. C. fructefiynge; A. frutefiyng. 40. C. corn; A. cornes (Lat. segetem). 41. C.
om. the. // C. om. ne. 42. C. maledye; A. maladye. 44. C. poeple; A. peple. 45. C.
greuosly; A. greuously (and so often os for ous in C.). 48. C. schooles; A. scoles. 53.
C. downward; A. adounward. // C. om. and. // C. rednesse; A. redenesse. 54. C.
sorwfully. // C. thresshfold; A. threschefolde. 55. C. dyrked; A. derked. 57. C. wax; A.
wex. // C. cast; A. caste. 58. C. down to; A. adoune in-to. 59. C. ner; A. nere. 61. C.
compleyde; A. compleinede. 63. C. thowht; A. thouȝt.

Metre II.

Heu quam precipiti mersa profundo.

'Allas! how the thought of man, dreint in over-throwinge
deepnesse, dulleth, and forleteth his propre cleernesse, mintinge
to goon in-to foreine derknesses, as ofte as his anoyous bisinesse
wexeth with-oute mesure, that is driven to and fro with worldly
windes! This man, that whylom was free, to whom the hevene 5
was open and knowen, and was wont to goon in heveneliche
pathes, and saugh the lightnesse of the rede sonne, and saugh the
sterres of the colde mone, and whiche sterre in hevene useth
wandering recourses, y-flit by dyverse speres—this man, overcomer,
hadde comprehended al this by noumbre of acountinge in 10
astronomye. And over this, he was wont to seken the causes
whennes the souning windes moeven and bisien the smothe water
of the see; and what spirit torneth the stable hevene; and why
the sterre aryseth out of the rede eest, to fallen in the westrene
wawes; and what atempreth the lusty houres of the firste somer 15
sesoun, that highteth and apparaileth the erthe with rosene flowres;
and who maketh that plentevouse autompne, in fulle yeres, fleteth
with hevy grapes. And eek this man was wont to telle the
dyverse causes of nature that weren y-hidde. Allas! now lyeth
he empted of light of his thought; and his nekke is pressed with 20
hevy cheynes; and bereth his chere enclyned adoun for the grete
weighte, and is constreined to looken on the fool erthe!

Me. II. 3. C. dyrk-; A. derk-. 4. C. wordely; A. worldly (Lat. terrenis). 5. C. Ed.
whilom; A. sumtyme. 7. C. lythnesse; A. lyȝtnesse. 10. C. comprendyd; A. Ed.
comprehendid. 11. C. seken; A. seche. 14. C. est; A. eest. 15. C. fyrst; A. fyrste. 17. A.
that; C. the. // C. autompne; A. autumpne. 19. C. I-hydde; A. yhidde. // C. lith; A.
lieth. 20. A. emptid; C. emted. 22. C. the fool; Ed. the fole; A. foule (Lat. stolidam).

Prose II.

Set medicine, inquit, tempus est.

But tyme is now,' quod she, 'of medicine more than of
compleinte.' Forsothe than she, entendinge to me-ward with alle
the lookinge of hir eyen, seide:—'Art nat thou he,' quod she,
'that whylom y-norisshed with my milk, and fostered with myne
metes, were escaped and comen to corage of a parfit man? 5
Certes, I yaf thee swiche armures that, yif thou thy-self ne
haddest first cast hem a-wey, they shulden han defended thee
in sikernesse that may nat ben over-comen. Knowest thou me
nat? Why art thou stille? Is it for shame or for astoninge?
It were me lever that it were for shame; but it semeth me that 10
astoninge hath oppressed thee.' And whan she say me nat only
stille, but with-outen office of tunge and al doumb, she leide hir
hand softely upon my brest, and seide: 'Here nis no peril,' quod
she; 'he is fallen into a litargie, whiche that is a comune sykenes
to hertes that ben deceived. He hath a litel foryeten him-self, 15
but certes he shal lightly remembren him-self, yif so be that he
hath knowen me or now; and that he may so don, I wil wypen a
litel his eyen, that ben derked by the cloude of mortal thinges.'
Thise wordes seide she, and with the lappe of hir garment, y-plyted
in a frounce, she dryede myn eyen, that weren fulle of the wawes 20
of my wepinges.

Pr. II. 4. C. Ed. whilom; A. sumtyme. // C. noryssed; A. I-norschide. 5. C. escaped; A.
ascaped. 8. C. Knowestow; A. Knowest thou. 9. C. artow; A. art thou. // C. it is; A. Ed.
is it. // C. asthonynge (but astonynge below). 14. C. litarge; A. litargie. // C. sykenesse;
A. sekenes. 15. C. desseyued; A. desceiued. 16. C. remenbren; A. remembren.

Metre III.

Tunc me discussa liquerunt nocte tenebre.

Thus, whan that night was discussed and chased a-wey,
derknesses forleften me, and to myn eyen repeirede ayein hir
firste strengthe. And, right by ensaumple as the sonne is hid
whan the sterres ben clustred (that is to seyn, whan sterres ben
covered with cloudes) by a swifte winde that highte Chorus, and 5

that the firmament stant derked by wete ploungy cloudes, and
that the sterres nat apperen up-on hevene, so that the night
semeth sprad up-on erthe: yif thanne the wind that highte Borias,
y-sent out of the caves of the contree of Trace, beteth this night
(that is to seyn, chaseth it a-wey), and descovereth the closed day: 10
than shyneth Phebus y-shaken with sodein light, and smyteth
with his bemes in mervelinge eyen.

Me. III. 1. C. descussed; A. discussed. 2. C. dirk-; A. derk-. // C. om. ayein. 3. C. fyrst;
A. firste. 5. C. heyhte; A. hyȝt. 6. C. dirked; A. derked. 8. C. hyhte; A. hyȝt.

Prose III.

Haud aliter tristicie nebulis dissolutis.

Right so, and non other wyse, the cloudes of sorwe dissolved
and don a-wey, I took hevene, and receivede minde to knowen the
face of my fysicien; so that I sette myn eyen on hir, and fastnede
my lookinge. I beholde my norice Philosophie, in whos houses
I hadde conversed and haunted fro my youthe; and I seide thus. 5
'O thou maistresse of alle vertues, descended from the soverein
sete, why artow comen in-to this solitarie place of myn exil?
Artow comen for thou art maked coupable with me of false
blames?'

'O,' quod she, 'my norry, sholde I forsaken thee now, and 10
sholde I nat parten with thee, by comune travaile, the charge
that thou hast suffred for envie of my name? Certes, it nere
not leveful ne sittinge thing to Philosophie, to leten with-outen
companye the wey of him that is innocent. Sholde I thanne
redoute my blame, and agrysen as though ther were bifallen a 15
newe thing? quasi diceret, non. For trowestow that Philosophie
be now alderfirst assailed in perils by folk of wikkede maneres?
Have I nat striven with ful greet stryf, in olde tyme, bifore the
age of my Plato, ayeines the foolhardinesse of folye? And eek,
the same Plato livinge, his maister Socrates deservede victorie of 20
unrightful deeth in my presence. The heritage of which Socrates—the
heritage is to seyn the doctrine of the whiche Socrates in his
opinioun of Felicitee, that I clepe welefulnesse—whan that the
poeple of Epicuriens and Stoiciens and many othre enforceden
hem to go ravisshe everich man for his part—that is to seyn, 25

that everich of hem wolde drawen to the defence of his opinioun the
wordes of Socrates—they, as in partie of hir preye, to-drowen me,
cryinge and debatinge ther-ayeins, and corven and to-renten my
clothes that I hadde woven with myn handes; and with tho
cloutes that they hadden araced out of my clothes they wenten 30
awey, weninge that I hadde gon with hem everydel.

In whiche Epicuriens and Stoiciens, for as moche as ther semede
some traces or steppes of myn habite, the folye of men, weninge
tho Epicuriens and Stoiciens my famuleres, perverted (sc. persequendo)
some through the errour of the wikkede or uncunninge 35
multitude of hem. This is to seyn that, for they semede philosophres,
they weren pursued to the deeth and slayn. So yif thou hast nat
knowen the exilinge of Anaxogore, ne the enpoysoninge of
Socrates, ne the tourments of Zeno, for they weren straungeres:
yit mightestow han knowen the Senecciens and the Canios and 40
the Sorans, of whiche folk the renoun is neither over-olde ne
unsolempne The whiche men, no-thing elles ne broughte hem to
the deeth but only for they weren enfourmed of myne maneres,
and semeden most unlyke to the studies of wikkede folk. And
forthy thou oughtest nat to wondren though that I, in the bittre 45
see of this lyf, be fordriven with tempestes blowinge aboute, in
the whiche tempestes this is my most purpos, that is to seyn, to
displesen to wikkede men. Of whiche shrewes, al be the ost
never so greet, it is to dispyse; for it nis governed with no leder
of resoun, but it is ravisshed only by fletinge errour folyly and 50
lightly. And if they som-tyme, makinge an ost ayeins us, assaile
us as strenger, our leder draweth to-gidere hise richesses in-to his
tour, and they ben ententif aboute sarpulers or sachels unprofitable
for to taken. But we that ben heye aboven, siker fro alle
tumulte and wode noise, warnestored and enclosed in swich a 55
palis, whider as that chateringe or anoyinge folye ne may nat
atayne, we scorne swiche ravineres and henteres of fouleste
thinges.

Pr. III. 3. C. fesissien; A. fyciscien; Ed. phisycien. // C. fastnede; A. festned. 4. Lat.
respicio. 6. C. vertuus; A. vertues. 7. C. artow; A. art thou. 13. A. om. thing. 14. C.
compaygnie; A. compaignie. 16. C. trowestow; A. trowest thou. 20. C. desseruede; A.
deserued. 21. C. eritage; A. heritage. 25. C. rauysse; A. rauische. 26. C. deffence; A.
defence. 30. C. arraced; A. arased. 31. C. om. I. 33. C. or; A. and. 34. A. familers. 36.
A. om. that. 38. C. om. 1st of. 40. C. myhtestow; A. myȝtest thou. // C. Senecciens; A.
Senectiens; Ed. Senecas. 43. C. enformyd; A. vnfourmed. 44. C. vnlyk; A. vnlyke. 48.

C. oost, glossed i. acies. 50. C. rauyssed; A. rauysched. // C. folyly, i. sine consilio. 52.
A. hys rycchesse. 53. C. sarpuleris; A. sarpulers. 55. C. tumolte; A. tumulte. // A.
stored. 56. C. palis; A. palays (Lat. uallo). // C. om. that. // C. anoyenge; A. anoying.
57 C. atayne; A. attayne. // C. schorne; A. scorne.

Metre IV.

Quisquis composito serenus euo.

Who-so it be that is cleer of vertu, sad, and wel ordinat of
livinge, that hath put under foot the proude werdes and looketh
upright up-on either fortune, he may holde his chere undiscomfited.
The rage ne the manaces of the see, commoevinge or
chasinge upward hete fro the botme, ne shal not moeve that 5
man; ne the unstable mountaigne that highte Vesevus, that
wrytheth out through his brokene chiminees smokinge fyres. Ne
the wey of thonder-light, that is wont to smyten heye toures, ne
shal nat moeve that man. Wher-to thanne, o wrecches, drede ye
tirauntes that ben wode and felonous with-oute any strengthe? 10
Hope after no-thing, ne drede nat; and so shaltow desarmen
the ire of thilke unmighty tiraunt. But who-so that, quakinge,
dredeth or desireth thing that nis nat stable of his right, that
man that so doth hath cast awey his sheld and is remoeved fro
his place, and enlaceth him in the cheyne with the which he may 15
ben drawen.

Me. IV. 2. C. leuynge; A. lyuyng. // Both wierdes; C. has the gloss fata. 3. C. may his
cheere holde vndescounfited; A. may holde hys chiere vndiscomfited. 4. C. manesses;
A. manace (Lat. minae). 5. hete (Lat. aestum). 6. C. hihte; A. hyȝt. 7. Ed. writheth; C.
writith; A. wircheth (Lat. torquet). // A. chemineys. 9. C. Whar-; A. Wher-. 10. C.
felonos; A. felownes. 11. C. deseruien; A. desarmen; Ed. disarmen. 14. C. remwed; A.
remoeued. 15. A. om. the before which.

Prose IV.

Sentisne, inquit, hec.

'Felestow,' quod she, 'thise thinges, and entren they aught in
thy corage? Artow lyke an asse to the harpe? Why wepestow,

why spillestow teres? Yif thou abydest after help of thy leche,
thee bihoveth discovere thy wounde.'

Tho I, that hadde gadered strengthe in my corage, answerede 5
and seide: 'And nedeth it yit,' quod I, 'of rehersinge or of
amonicioun; and sheweth it nat y-nough by him-self the sharpnesse
of Fortune, that wexeth wood ayeins me? Ne moeveth it
nat thee to seen the face or the manere of this place (i. prisoun)?
Is this the librarie whiche that thou haddest chosen for a right 10
certein sete to thee in myn hous, ther-as thou desputedest ofte
with me of the sciences of thinges touchinge divinitee and touchinge
mankinde? Was thanne myn habite swich as it is now?
Was than my face or my chere swiche as now (quasi diceret, non),
whan I soughte with thee secrets of nature, whan thou enformedest 15
my maneres and the resoun of alle my lyf to the ensaumple of
the ordre of hevene? Is nat this the guerdoun that I referre to
thee, to whom I have be obeisaunt? Certes, thou confermedest,
by the mouth of Plato, this sentence, that is to seyn, that comune
thinges or comunalitees weren blisful, yif they that hadden studied 20
al fully to wisdom governeden thilke thinges, or elles yif it so
bifille that the governoures of comunalitees studieden to geten
wisdom.

Thou seidest eek, by the mouth of the same Plato, that it was
a necessarie cause, wyse men to taken and desire the governaunce 25
of comune thinges, for that the governements of citees, y-left
in the handes of felonous tormentours citizenes, ne sholde nat
bringe in pestilence and destruccioun to gode folk. And therfor
I, folwinge thilke auctoritee (sc. Platonis), desired to putten forth
in execucioun and in acte of comune administracioun thilke 30
thinges that I hadde lerned of thee among my secree resting-whyles.
Thou, and god that putte thee in the thoughtes of wyse
folk, ben knowinge with me, that no-thing ne broughte me to
maistrie or dignitee, but the comune studie of alle goodnesse.
And ther-of comth it that bi-twixen wikked folk and me han ben 35
grevous discordes, that ne mighten ben relesed by preyeres; for
this libertee hath the freedom of conscience, that the wratthe of
more mighty folk hath alwey ben despysed of me for savacioun of
right.

How ofte have I resisted and withstonde thilke man that highte 40
Conigaste, that made alwey assautes ayeins the prospre fortunes of
pore feble folk? How ofte eek have I put of or cast out him,

Trigwille, provost of the kinges hous, bothe of the wronges that he
hadde bigunne to don, and eek fully performed? How ofte have
I covered and defended by the auctoritee of me, put ayeins perils— 45
that is to seyn, put myn auctoritee in peril for—the wrecched
pore folk, that the covetyse of straungeres unpunished tourmenteden
alwey with miseyses and grevaunces out of noumbre? Never man
ne drow me yit fro right to wronge. Whan I say the fortunes and
the richesses of the poeple of the provinces ben harmed or 50
amenused, outher by privee ravynes or by comune tributes or
cariages, as sory was I as they that suffreden the harm.

Glossa. Whan that Theodoric, the king of Gothes, in a dere
yere, hadde hise gerneres ful of corn, and comaundede that no man
ne sholde byen no corn til his corn were sold, and that at a grevous 55
dere prys, Boece withstood that ordinaunce, and over-com it, knowinge
al this the king him-self.

Textus. Whan it was in the soure hungry tyme, ther was
establisshed or cryed grevous and inplitable coempcioun, that men
sayen wel it sholde greetly turmenten and endamagen al the 60
province of Campaigne, I took stryf ayeins the provost of the pretorie
for comune profit. And, the king knowinge of it, I overcom
it, so that the coempcioun ne was not axed ne took effect.

[Glossa.] Coempcioun, that is to seyn, comune achat or bying
to-gidere, that were establisshed up-on the poeple by swiche a manere 65
imposicioun, as who-so boughte a busshel corn, he moste yeve the king
the fifte part.

[Textus.] Paulin, a counseiller of Rome, the richesses of the
whiche Paulin the houndes of the palays, that is to seyn, the officeres,
wolden han devoured by hope and covetise, yit drow I him out of 70
the Iowes (sc. faucibus) of hem that gapeden. And for as moche
as the peyne of the accusacioun aiuged biforn ne sholde nat
sodeinly henten ne punisshen wrongfully Albin, a counseiller of
Rome, I putte me ayeins the hates and indignaciouns of the
accusor Ciprian. Is it nat thanne y-nough y-seyn, that I have 75
purchased grete discordes ayeins my-self? But I oughte be the
more assured ayeins alle othre folk (s. Romayns), that for the love
of rightwisnesse I ne reserved never no-thing to my-self to hem-ward
of the kinges halle, sc. officers, by the whiche I were the more
siker. But thorugh tho same accusers accusinge, I am condempned. 80
Of the noumbir of the whiche accusers oon Basilius,

that whylom was chased out of the kinges service, is now compelled
in accusinge of my name, for nede of foreine moneye.
Also Opilion and Gaudencius han accused me, al be it so that the
Iustice regal hadde whylom demed hem bothe to go in-to exil for 85
hir trecheryes and fraudes withoute noumbir. To whiche Iugement
they nolden nat obeye, but defendeden hem by the sikernesse
of holy houses, that is to seyn, fledden into seintuaries; and
whan this was aperceived to the king, he comaundede, that but
they voidede the citee of Ravenne by certein day assigned, that 90
men sholde merken hem on the forheved with an hoot yren and
chasen hem out of the toune. Now what thing, semeth thee,
mighte ben lykned to this crueltee? For certes, thilke same day
was received the accusinge of my name by thilke same accusers.
What may ben seid her-to? (quasi diceret, nichil). Hath my 95
studie and my cunninge deserved thus; or elles the forseide dampnacioun
of me, made that hem rightful accusers or no? (quasi
diceret, non). Was not Fortune ashamed of this? Certes, al
hadde nat Fortune ben ashamed that innocence was accused, yit
oughte she han had shame of the filthe of myne accusours. 100

But, axestow in somme, of what gilt I am accused, men seyn
that I wolde save the companye of the senatours. And desirest
thou to heren in what manere? I am accused that I sholde han
destourbed the accuser to beren lettres, by whiche he sholde han
maked the senatoures gilty ayeins the kinges real maiestee. O 105
maistresse, what demestow of this? Shal I forsake this blame,
that I ne be no shame to thee? (quasi diceret, non). Certes, I have
wold it, that is to seyn, the savacioun of the senat, ne I shal never
leten to wilne it, and that I confesse and am aknowe; but the
entente of the accuser to be destourbed shal cese. For shal I 110
clepe it thanne a felonie or a sinne that I have desired the
savacioun of the ordre of the senat? (quasi diceret, dubito quid).
And certes yit hadde thilke same senat don by me, thorugh hir
decrets and hir Iugements, as though it were a sinne or a felonie;
that is to seyn, to wilne the savacioun of hem (sc. senatus). But 115
folye, that lyeth alwey to him-self, may not chaunge the merite
of thinges. Ne I trowe nat, by the Iugement of Socrates, that
it were leveful to me to hyde the sothe, ne assente to lesinges.
But certes, how so ever it be of this, I putte it to gessen or
preisen to the Iugement of thee and of wyse folk. Of whiche 120
thing al the ordinaunce and the sothe, for as moche as folk that
ben to comen after our dayes shullen knowen it, I have put it

in scripture and in remembraunce. For touching the lettres falsly
maked, by whiche lettres I am accused to han hoped the fredom
of Rome, what aperteneth me to speke ther-of? Of whiche 125
lettres the fraude hadde ben shewed apertly, yif I hadde had
libertee for to han used and ben at the confessioun of myne
accusours, the whiche thing in alle nedes hath greet strengthe.
For what other fredom may men hopen? Certes, I wolde that
som other fredom mighte ben hoped. I wolde thanne han 130
answered by the wordes of a man that highte Canius; for whan
he was accused by Gaius Cesar, Germeynes sone, that he
(Canius) was knowinge and consentinge of a coniuracioun
y-maked ayeins him (sc. Gaius), this Canius answerede thus:
"Yif I hadde wist it, thou haddest nat wist it." In which thing 135
sorwe hath nat so dulled my wit, that I pleyne only that shrewede
folk aparailen felonies ayeins vertu; but I wondre greetly how
that they may performe thinges that they hadde hoped for to
don. For-why, to wilne shrewednesse, that comth peraventure
of oure defaute; but it is lyk a monstre and a mervaille, how 140
that, in the present sighte of god, may ben acheved and performed
swiche thinges as every felonous man hath conceived in his
thought ayeins innocents. For which thing oon of thy famileres
nat unskilfully axed thus: "Yif god is, whennes comen wikkede
thinges? And yif god ne is, whennes comen gode thinges?" 145
But al hadde it ben leveful that felonous folk, that now desiren
the blood and the deeth of alle gode men and eek of alle the
senat, han wilned to gon destroyen me, whom they han seyen
alwey batailen and defenden gode men and eek al the senat,
yit had I nat desserved of the faderes, that is to seyn, of the 150
senatoures, that they sholden wilne my destruccioun.

Thou remembrest wel, as I gesse, that whan I wolde doon or
seyen any thing, thou thyself, alwey present, rewledest me. At
the city of Verone, whan that the king, gredy of comune slaughter,
caste him to transporten up al the ordre of the senat the gilt of 155
his real maiestee, of the whiche gilt that Albin was accused, with
how gret sikernesse of peril to me defendede I al the senat!
Thou wost wel that I seye sooth, ne I ne avauntede me never
in preysinge of my-self. For alwey, whan any wight receiveth
precious renoun in avauntinge him-self of his werkes, he amenuseth 160
the secree of his conscience. But now thou mayst wel seen to
what ende I am comen for myne innocence; I receive peyne
of fals felonye for guerdon of verray vertu. And what open

confessioun of felonye hadde ever Iuges so acordaunt in crueltee,
that is to seyn, as myn accusinge hath, that either errour of mannes 165
wit or elles condicioun of Fortune, that is uncertein to alle mortal
folk, ne submittede some of hem, that is to seyn, that it ne enclynede
som Iuge to han pitee or compassioun? For al-thogh I hadde ben
accused that I wolde brenne holy houses, and strangle preestes
with wikkede swerde, or that I hadde greythed deeth to al gode 170
men, algates the sentence sholde han punisshed me, present,
confessed, or convict. But now I am remewed fro the citee of
Rome almost fyve hundred thousand pas, I am with-oute defence
dampned to proscripcioun and to the deeth, for the studie and
bountees that I have doon to the senat. But O, wel ben they 175
worthy of merite (as who seith, nay), ther mighte never yit non
of hem be convict of swiche a blame as myne is! Of whiche
trespas, myne accusours sayen ful wel the dignitee; the whiche
dignitee, for they wolden derken it with medeling of som felonye,
they baren me on hand, and lyeden, that I hadde polut and 180
defouled my conscience with sacrilege, for coveitise of dignitee.
And certes, thou thy-self, that are plaunted in me, chacedest
out of the sege of my corage al coveitise of mortal thinges; ne
sacrilege hadde no leve to han a place in me biforn thyne eyen.
For thou droppedest every day in myne eres and in my thought 185
thilke comaundement of Pictagoras, that is to seyn, men shal
serve to godde, and not to goddes. Ne it was nat convenient,
ne no nede, to taken help of the foulest spirites; I, that thou
hast ordeined and set in swiche excellence that thou makedest
me lyk to god. And over this, the right clene secree chaumbre 190
of myne hous, that is to seyn, my wyf, and the companye of
myn honest freendes, and my wyves fader, as wel holy as worthy
to ben reverenced thorugh his owne dedes, defenden me from
alle suspecioun of swich blame. But O malice! For they that
accusen me taken of thee, Philosophie, feith of so gret blame! 195
For they trowen that I have had affinitee to malefice or enchauntement,
by-cause that I am replenisshed and fulfilled with thy
techinges, and enformed of thy maneres. And thus it suffiseth
not only, that thy reverence ne availe me not, but-yif that thou,
of thy free wille, rather be blemished with myn offencioun. But 200
certes, to the harmes that I have, ther bitydeth yit this
encrees of harm, that the gessinge and the Iugement of moche
folk ne looken no-thing to the desertes of thinges, but only
to the aventure of fortune; and iugen that only swiche thinges
ben purveyed of god, whiche that temporel welefulnesse commendeth. 205

Glose. As thus: that, yif a wight have prosperitee, he is a
good man and worthy to han that prosperitee; and who-so hath
adversitee, he is a wikked man, and god hath forsake him, and
he is worthy to han that adversitee. This is the opinioun of some 210
folk.

And ther-of comth that good gessinge, first of alle thing, forsaketh
wrecches: certes, it greveth me to thinke right now the
dyverse sentences that the poeple seith of me. And thus moche
I seye, that the laste charge of contrarious fortune is this: that, 215
whan that any blame is leyd upon a caitif, men wenen that he
hath deserved that he suffreth. And I, that am put awey fro
gode men, and despoiled of dignitees, and defouled of my name
by gessinge, have suffred torment for my gode dedes. Certes,
me semeth that I see the felonous covines of wikked men 220
habounden in Ioye and in gladnesse. And I see that every
lorel shapeth him to finde out newe fraudes for to accuse gode
folk. And I see that gode men beth overthrowen for drede
of my peril; and every luxurious tourmentour dar doon alle
felonye unpunisshed and ben excited therto by yiftes; and 225
innocents ne ben not only despoiled of sikernesse but of defence;
and therfore me list to cryen to god in this wyse:—

Pr. IV. 1. C. Felistow; A. Felest thou. 2. A. Art thou. // C. wepistow; A. wepest thou.
3. A. spillest thou. 9. C. sen; A. seen. 11. A. sege (for sete). 12. So A.; C. deuynyte. //
C. om. 2nd touchinge. 13. C. om. it is. 14. C. om. quasi ... non. 17. After this, C. has
nonne; A. has ironice. // C. gerdouns; A. gerdoun (Lat. praemia). 18. C. conformedest
(Lat. sanxisti); see note. 19. C. Mowht; A. mouthe. 20. A. comunabletes. 22. A.
studieden in grete wisdomes. 25. C. whise; A. wyse. 26. A. of comune citees (Lat.
urbium). 27. C. citesenes; A. citizenis. 29. A. folowynge. // C. autorite; A. auctoritee.
30. C. excussioun(!); A. execusioun. 32. C. whise; A. wise. 33. A. knowen; C. has the
gloss concij (= conscii). 34. C. dignete; A. dignite. // C. om. the. 36. So A.; C.
descordes. // Above preyeres, C. has i. est inexorabiles. 37. A. om. 2nd the. 38. C.
sauacioun; A. saluacioun. 40. C. recisted. // C. hyhte; A. hyȝt. 41. C. Ed. prospere; A.
propre. 42. A. poure. // C. fookk; A. folke. 45. C. deffended; A. defended. // C.
autorite; A. auctorite. 47. C. vnpunyssed; A. -nysched. 49. C. ne drowh; A. drowe. 50.
A. rychesse. // C. om. 2nd the. 51. A. eyther (for outher). // C. pryuey; A. priue. // C.
Raueynes; A. rauynes. 54. C. yer; A. yere. 55. C. A. solde. 58. C. sowre; A. soure (Lat.
acerbae famis tempore). 59. A. establissed; C. estabelissed. // C. vnplitable; A.
inplitable (Lat. inexplicabilis). 61. Ed. Campayne; C. A. Compaygne. 64. The gloss
(Coempcioun ... part) is misplaced in both MSS., so as to precede Whan it was (58).
65. C. estabelissed. // A. om. the. 66. C. imposiscioun. // C. bossel; A. busshel. 68. So

A.; C. consoler (!). // A. rychesse. 69. C. palysse; A. palays. 70. C. drowh; A. drowe.
71. sc. faucibus from A. 73. C. punisse; A. punischen. // C. conseyler. 75. A. yseyne.
77. A. asseured. 78. After no-thing, C. adds i. affinite. 79. C. om. 2nd the. 81. A. om.
2nd the. 82, 85. C. whilom; A. somtyme. 84. C. caudencius (wrongly). 88. C.
sentuarye; A. seyntuaries. 89. C. om. was. 90. C. assingned; A. assigned. 91. C. me (=
men); A. men. // C. marke; A. merken. 92. A. om. the. // C. om. thee. 93. C. crwelte.
94. C. resseyued. 98. C. asshamyd; A. asshamed. 99. C. whas. 101. A. axest thou. 102.
C. desires. 104. C. destorbed; A. distourbed. 106. C. maysteresse; A. meistresse. A.
demest thou. 109. C. om. that. 109. C. I am; A. Ed. om. I. 110. C. destorbed. 111. A. a
felonie than. 114. C. and (for or). 119. C. A. put. 120. C. whise. 122. C. shellen; A.
schollen (better shullen). 123. A. om. 2nd in. C. thowchinge. 125. C. om. Of whiche
lettres. 129. C. om. what. // C. hoepen. 133. C. om. Canius. 136. C. sorw. 137. C.
felonies; A. folies (Lat. scelerata). // A. vertues (wrongly). 138. C. han; A. had (better
hadde). 139. C. om. to. 148. C. gon and; A. Ed. om. and. 151. C. willene; A. wilne.
153. C. rwledest. 154. C. om. 1st the. 155. C. transpor(!). C. vp; A. vp on. 157. C.
deffendede. 158. A. om. 2nd ne. 159. C. resseyueth; A. resceiueth. 162. C. resseyue;
A. receiue. 163. A. in (for for). // Both gerdoun; Ed. gwerdone. 164. C. crwelte. 171.
C. punyssed; A. punysched. 172. A. conuict; C. conuict. // So A.; C. remwed. 173. C.
paas. 176. C. merite; A. mercye; (gloss in C. ironice; O meritos). 179. C. dirken. 180.
C. an; A. on. 181. C. sacrilege; glossed sorcerie. 183. C. alle; A. al. 185. C. om. 2nd in.
187. in margin of C.; Homo debet seruire deo et non diis. // C. om. was. // A. no
couenaunt (Lat. Nec conueniebat). 188. A. spirites; C. spirite (Lat. spirituum). 189. C.
and; A. or. 190. C. chaumbyr; A. chaumbre. 191. C. compaygnye; A. compaignie. 193.
C. deffenden. // C. from; A. of. 195. C. the philosophre; A. the philosophie (Lat. te).
196. A. enchauntementz. 198. C. thechinges. 207. A. Glosa. 208. C. who; A. who so.
217. C. desserued. 218. C. of (1); A. from. 223. C. beth; A. ben. 225. C.
vnpunnysshed; A. vnpunissed. 227. C. wise; A. manere; Ed. maner.

Metre V.

O stelliferi conditor orbis.

O thou maker of the whele that bereth the sterres, which that
art y-fastned to thy perdurable chayer, and tornest the hevene
with a ravisshing sweigh, and constreinest the sterres to suffren
thy lawe; so that the mone som-tyme shyning with hir ful hornes,
meting with alle the bemes of the sonne hir brother, hydeth the 5
sterres that ben lesse; and somtyme, whan the mone, pale with
hir derke hornes, approcheth the sonne, leseth hir lightes; and
that the eve-sterre Hesperus, whiche that in the firste tyme of
the night bringeth forth hir colde arysinges, cometh eft ayein

hir used cours, and is pale by the morwe at the rysing of the 10
sonne, and is thanne cleped Lucifer. Thou restreinest the day
by shorter dwelling, in the tyme of colde winter that maketh
the leves to falle. Thou dividest the swifte tydes of the night,
whan the hote somer is comen. Thy might atempreth the
variaunts sesons of the yere; so that Zephirus the deboneir 15
wind bringeth ayein, in the first somer sesoun, the leves that
the wind that highte Boreas hath reft awey in autumpne, that
is to seyn, in the laste ende of somer; and the sedes that the
sterre that highte Arcturus saw, ben waxen heye cornes whan the
sterre Sirius eschaufeth hem. Ther nis no-thing unbounde from 20
his olde lawe, ne forleteth the werke of his propre estat.

O thou governour, governinge alle thinges by certein ende, why
refusestow only to governe the werkes of men by dewe manere?
Why suffrest thou that slydinge fortune torneth so grete entrechaunginges
of thinges, so that anoyous peyne, that sholde dewely 25
punisshe felouns, punissheth innocents? And folk of wikkede
maneres sitten in heye chayres, and anoyinge folk treden, and
that unrightfully, on the nekkes of holy men? And vertu cler-shyninge
naturelly is hid in derke derkenesses, and the rightful
man bereth the blame and the peyne of the feloun. Ne forsweringe 30
ne the fraude, covered and kembd with a fals colour,
ne anoyeth nat to shrewes; the whiche shrewes, whan hem list
to usen hir strengthe, they reioysen hem to putten under hem
the sovereyne kinges, whiche that poeple with-outen noumbre
dreden. 35

O thou, what so ever thou be that knittest alle bondes of
thinges, loke on thise wrecchede erthes; we men that ben nat
a foule party, but a fayr party of so grete a werk, we ben
tormented in this see of fortune. Thou governour, withdraw
and restreyne the ravisshinge flodes, and fastne and ferme thise 40
erthes stable with thilke bonde, with whiche thou governest the
hevene that is so large.'

Me. V. 1. C. whel; A. whele. 3. C. Rauessyng; A. rauyssyng. // C. sweyh; A. sweigh;
Ed. sweygh. 4. C. wyt (for with). 6. A. lasse. // C. wan (for whan). 9. C. est; A. eft
(Lat. iterum). // A. aȝeynes. 10. C. om. the after at. 13. C. falle; A. to falle. // C. swift;
A. swifte. 14. C. wan (for whan). 15. C. sesoun (wrongly); A. sesons. 17. C. hihte; A.
hyȝt. // C. borias. 19. C. hihte; A. hyȝt. // C. sawgh; A. saw. // C. hyye; A. hey. // C.
wan. 20. C. eschaufed; A. eschaufeth; (Lat. urat). // C. fram. 21. C. the werke; A. hym.

23. C. refowsestow; A. refusest thou. // C. dwwe; A. dewe. 24. C. suffres. // C. so; A.
to. // A. vtter; (for entre-). 25. C. dwwelly; A. duelly. 26. C. punysshe; A. punissitȝ. 27.
C. heere; A. heiȝe (Lat. celsos). // C. chayres; A. chaiers. 28. C. oon (read on); A. in.
29. A. clere and shynyng (Lat. clara). 30. A. Ne the forsweryng. 32. C. weche (for
whiche). // C. wan (for whan). 34. C. weche. // C. nowmbyr; A. noumbre. 38. C. om. a
bef. werk. 39. C. this; A. the. // C. withdrawh. 40. C. restryne; A. restreyne. // C. thei
(for the). // C. rauesynge; A. rauyssinge. 41. C. by whiche; A. with whiche (better?)

Prose V.

Hic ubi continuato dolore delatraui.

Whan I hadde, with a continuel sorwe, sobbed or borken out
thise thinges, she with hir chere pesible, and no-thing amoeved
with my compleintes, seide thus: 'Whan I say thee,' quod she,
'sorweful and wepinge, I wiste anon that thou were a wrecche
and exiled; but I wiste never how fer thyne exile was, yif thy 5
tale ne hadde shewed it to me. But certes, al be thou fer fro thy
contree, thou nart nat put out of it; but thou hast failed of thy
weye and gon amis. And yif thou hast lever for to wene that
thou be put out of thy contree, than hast thou put out thy-self
rather than any other wight hath. For no wight but thy-self ne 10
mighte never han don that to thee. For yif thou remembre of
what contree thou art born, it nis nat governed by emperours, ne
by governement of multitude, as weren the contrees of hem of
Athenes; but oo lord and oo king, and that is god, that is lord of
thy contree, whiche that reioyseth him of the dwelling of hise 15
citezenes, and nat for to putte hem in exil; of the whiche lorde
it is a soverayne fredom to be governed by the brydel of him and
obeye to his Iustice. Hastow foryeten thilke right olde lawe of thy
citee, in the whiche citee it is ordeined and establisshed, that for
what wight that hath lever founden ther-in his sete or his hous than 20
elles-wher, he may nat be exiled by no right from that place? For
who-so that is contened in-with the palis and the clos of thilke citee,
ther nis no drede that he may deserve to ben exiled. But who-so
that leteth the wil for to enhabite there, he forleteth also to deserve
to ben citezein of thilke citee. So that I sey, that the face of this 25
place ne moveth me nat so mochel as thyne owne face. Ne I
axe nat rather the walles of thy librarie, aparayled and wrought
with yvory and with glas, than after the sete of thy thought. In
whiche I putte nat whylom bokes, but I putte that that maketh
bokes worthy of prys or precious, that is to seyn, the sentence of 30
my bokes. And certeinly of thy desertes, bistowed in comune
good, thou hast seid sooth, but after the multitude of thy gode
dedes, thou hast seid fewe; and of the honestee or of the falsnesse
of thinges that ben aposed ayeins thee, thou hast remembred
thinges that ben knowen to alle folk. And of the felonyes and 35
fraudes of thyne accusours, it semeth thee have y-touched it forsothe
rightfully and shortly, al mighten tho same thinges betere
and more plentivousely ben couth in the mouthe of the poeple
that knoweth al this.

Thou hast eek blamed gretly and compleined of the wrongful 40
dede of the senat. And thou hast sorwed for my blame, and thou

hast wopen for the damage of thy renoun that is apayred; and thy
laste sorwe eschaufede ayeins fortune, and compleinest that guerdouns
ne ben nat evenliche yolden to the desertes of folk. And
in the latere ende of thy wode Muse, thou preyedest that thilke 45
pees that governeth the hevene sholde governe the erthe. But
for that manye tribulaciouns of affecciouns han assailed thee, and
sorwe and ire and wepinge to-drawen thee dyversely; as thou art
now feble of thought, mightier remedies ne shullen nat yit touchen
thee, for whiche we wol usen somdel lighter medicines: so that 50
thilke passiouns that ben woxen harde in swellinge, by perturbaciouns
flowing in-to thy thought, mowen wexen esy and softe,
to receiven the strengthe of a more mighty and more egre
medicine, by an esier touchinge.

Pr. V. 1. C. om. a. // C. borken (= barked); A. broken (Lat. delatraui). 2. A. peisible. 4.
C. soruful; A. sorweful. // C. wrechche; A. wrecche. 6. C. nadde; A. ne hadde. // A. to
me; C. om. to. 8. C. wey; A. weye. 11. C. remenbre; A. remembre. 13. C. om. hem of.
16. C. cytesenis; A. citezenis. C. put; A. putte. 17. C. brydul; A. bridel. 18. C.
hasthow; A. hast thou. 19. C. weche. 20. C. whyht; A. wyȝt. 21. C. wer; A. where. 22.
C. contyned; A. contened. // C. palys; A. paleis (Lat. uallo). 23. C. desserue. 25. C.
cytesein; A. Citezein. // C. face, glossed i. manere (Lat. facies). 26. C. moueth; A.
amoeueth. 27. A. Ne I ne axe. // C. wrowht; A. wrouȝt. 29. C. put; A. putte (twice). //
C. whilom; A. somtyme. 30. C. presyous. 32. C. seyde; A. seid. 33. A. vnhonestee
(wrongly). 34. A. Ed. opposed. // C. remenbryd. 36. C. Acusours. // C. I-twoched (for
I-towched); A. I-touched. 38: C. mowhth; A. mouthe. 42. A. wepen. 43. C. A.
gerdouns; Ed. guerdons. 44. C. om. nat. 45. C. latere; A. lattre. // C. glosses wode by s.
seuientis. 52. A. perturbacioun folowyng (wrongly).

Metre VI.

Cum Phebi radiis graue
Cancri sidus inestuat.

Whan that the hevy sterre of the Cancre eschaufeth by the
bemes of Phebus, that is to seyn, whan that Phebus the sonne is
in the signe of the Cancre, who-so yeveth thanne largely hise sedes
to the feldes that refusen to receiven hem, lat him gon, bigyled of
trust that he hadde to his corn, to acorns of okes. Yif thou wolt 5
gadre violettes, ne go thou not to the purpur wode whan the feld,
chirkinge, agryseth of colde by the felnesse of the winde that highte
Aquilon. Yif thou desirest or wolt usen grapes, ne seke thou nat,

with a glotonous hond, to streyne and presse the stalkes of the
vine in the ferst somer sesoun; for Bachus, the god of wyne, hath 10
rather yeven hise yiftes to autumpne, the later ende of somer.

God tokneth and assigneth the tymes, ablinge hem to hir
propres offices; ne he ne suffreth nat the stoundes whiche that
him-self hath devyded and constreyned to ben y-medled to-gidere.
And forthy he that forleteth certein ordinaunce of doinge by over-throwinge 15
wey, he ne hath no glade issue or ende of his werkes.

Me. VI. 1. C. cankyr; A. Ed. cancre. 2. C. beemes; A. beme (Lat. radiis). 3. C. cankyr;
A. Ed. Cancre. 4. C. feeldes. // C. Reseyue; A. receiuen. // C. glosses hem by s. corn.
5. C. Accornes of Okes; A. acorns or okes. // C. wolt; A. wilt. 6. C. gadery; A. gadre. //
C. feeld; A. felde. 7. C. felnesses; A. felnesse. // C. hyhte; A. hyȝt. 9. C. stryne; A.
streyne. 11. C. later; A. latter. 13. C. propres; A. propre. 16. C. issw; A. issue.

Prose VI.

Primum igitur paterisne me pauculis rogacionibus.

First woltow suffre me to touche and assaye the estat of thy
thought by a fewe demaundes, so that I may understonde what
be the manere of thy curacioun?'

'Axe me,' quod I, 'at thy wille, what thou wolt, and I shal
answere.' 5

Tho seide she thus: 'Whether wenestow,' quod she, 'that
this world be governed by foolish happes and fortunous, or
elles that ther be in it any governement of resoun?'

'Certes,' quod I, 'I ne trowe nat in no manere, that so
certein thinges sholde be moeved by fortunous fortune; but I 10
wot wel that god, maker and mayster, is governour of his werk.
Ne never nas yit day that mighte putte me out of the sothnesse
of that sentence.'

'So is it,' quod she; 'for the same thing songe thou a litel
her-biforn, and biweyledest and biweptest, that only men weren 15
put out of the cure of god. For of alle other thinges thou
ne doutedest nat that they nere governed by resoun. But owh!
(i. pape!) I wondre gretly, certes, why that thou art syk, sin

that thou art put in so holsom a sentence. But lat us seken
depper; I coniecte that ther lakketh I not nere what. But 20
sey me this: sin that thou ne doutest nat that this world be
governed by god, with whiche governailes takestow hede that
it is governed?'

'Unnethe,' quod I, 'knowe I the sentence of thy questioun;
so that I ne may nat yit answeren to thy demaundes.' 25

'I nas nat deceived,' quod she, 'that ther ne faileth somwhat,
by whiche the maladye of thy perturbacioun is crept into
thy thought, so as the strengthe of the palis chyning is open.
But sey me this: remembrest thou what is the ende of thinges,
and whider that the entencioun of alle kinde tendeth?' 30

'I have herd it told som-tyme,' quod I; 'but drerinesse hath
dulled my memorie.'

'Certes,' quod she, 'thou wost wel whennes that alle thinges
ben comen and procedeth?'

'I wot wel,' quod I, and answerede, that 'god is beginning 35
of al.'

'And how may this be,' quod she, 'that, sin thou knowest
the beginning of thinges, that thou ne knowest nat what is the
ende of thinges? But swiche ben the customes of perturbaciouns,
and this power they han, that they may moeve a 40
man out of his place, that is to seyn, fro the stablenes and perfeccioun
of his knowinge; but, certes, they may nat al arace
him, ne aliene him in al. But I wolde that thou woldest
answere to this: remembrestow that thou art a man?'

'Why sholde I nat remembre that?' quod I. 45

'Maystow nat telle me thanne,' quod she, 'what thing is a man?'

'Axestow me nat,' quod I, 'whether that I be a resonable
mortal beest? I woot wel, and I confesse wel that I am it.'

'Wistestow never yit that thou were any other thing?' quod
she. 50

'No,' quod I.

'Now woot I,' quod she, 'other cause of thy maladye, and
that right grete. Thou hast left for to knowen thy-self, what
thou art; thorugh whiche I have pleynly founden the cause of
thy maladye, or elles the entree of recoveringe of thyn hele. 55
For-why, for thou art confounded with foryeting of thy-self, for-thy
sorwestow that thou art exiled of thy propre goodes. And
for thou ne wost what is the ende of thinges, for-thy demestow
that felonous and wikked men ben mighty and weleful. And
for thou hast foryeten by whiche governements the world is 60
governed, for-thy wenestow that thise mutaciouns of fortune
fleten with-oute governour. Thise ben grete causes not only
to maladye, but, certes, grete causes to deeth. But I thanke
the auctor and the maker of hele, that nature hath not al
forleten thee. I have grete norisshinges of thyn hele, and that 65
is, the sothe sentence of governaunce of the worlde; that thou
bilevest that the governinge of it nis nat subiect ne underput
to the folie of thise happes aventurous, but to the resoun of
god. And ther-for doute thee no-thing; for of this litel spark
thyn hete of lyf shal shyne. 70

But for as moche as it is nat tyme yit of faster remedies, and
the nature of thoughtes deceived is this, that as ofte as they
casten awey sothe opiniouns, they clothen hem in false opiniouns,
of which false opiniouns the derkenesse of perturbacioun wexeth
up, that confoundeth the verray insighte: and that derkenesse 75
shal I assaye som-what to maken thinne and wayk by lighte
and meneliche remedies; so that, after that the derkenesse of
deceivinge desiringes is don awey, thou mowe knowe the shyninge
of verray light.

Pr. VI. 1. C. woltow; A. wolt thou. // C. estat; A. stat. 6. C. wheyther. // C.
weenesthow; A. wenest thou. 8. A. ins. wenest thou after elles. 9. A. om. 2nd I. 11. C.
his; A. this (Lat. suo). 12. C. put; A. putte. 14. C. lytul; A. lytel. 17. C. dowtedest, A.
doutest. // C. owh; A. how; Ed. ough. 18. C. syk; A. seek. 19. C. sin that; A. sithen. //
A. in-to (for in). 20. A. om. nere. 21. C. syn; A. sithen. 22. A. takest thou. 23. C. om.
it. 25. C. om. nat. // A. demaunde (Lat. inquisita). 26. C. desseyued. 27. C. of thi; A.
om. thi. 28. C. palys chynyng; A. paleys schynyng (Lat. hiante ualli robore). 29. C.
remenbres. // A. adds thi bef. thinges; and om. and. 30. C. entensyn. 34. A. proceded.
35. A. is the. 37. C. syn; A. sithen. 39. A. endyng. 42. C. arrace; A. arace. 44. C.
Remenbresthow; A. remembrest thou. 45. C. remenbre. 46. C. Maysthow; A. Maiste
thou. // C. thinge. 47. C. Axestow me nat; A. Axest not me. // C. wheither. // A. om. I
after that. 48. A. best mortel. 49. C. Wystesthow; A. Wistest thou. 54. C. fwonde; A.

knowen. 56. C. confwndyd. 57. C. sorwistow; A. sorwest thou. 58. C. domesthow; A.
demest. 59. A. om. And. 60. C. ast foryeeten. // C. gouernement; A. gouernementz
(Lat. gubernaculis). 61. A. wenest thou. 63. C. thi deth; A. (rightly) om. thi. 64. C.
alle; A. al. 65. A. ins. and before I have. 67. A. subgit. // C. -putte; A. -put. 68. C.
Auentros; A. auenturouses; Ed. auenturous. // C. om. to. 69. C. lytul; A. litel. 70. A.
heet. 71. C. meche (= moche). 72. C. desseyued; A. disseiued. 74. C. dirkenesse; A.
derknesse. // C. perturba (!). // C. wexit. 78. C. A. desseyuynge.

Metre VII.

Nubibus atris.

The sterres, covered with blake cloudes, ne mowen yeten
a-doun no light. Yif the trouble wind that hight Auster, turning
and walwinge the see, medleth the hete, that is to seyn,
the boyling up from the botme; the wawes, that whylom weren
clere as glas and lyke to the faire clere dayes, withstande anon 5
the sightes of men by the filthe and ordure that is resolved.
And the fletinge streem, that royleth doun dyversly fro heye
mountaignes, is arested and resisted ofte tyme by the encountringe
of a stoon that is departed and fallen from som roche.

And for-thy, yif thou wolt loken and demen sooth with cleer 10
light, and holden the wey with a right path, weyve thou Ioye,
dryf fro thee drede, fleme thou hope, ne lat no sorwe aproche;
that is to seyn, lat non of thise four passiouns over-comen thee
or blende thee. For cloudy and derke is thilke thought, and
bounde with brydles, where-as thise thinges regnen.' 15

Me. VII. 1. C. Ed. yeten; A. geten. 2. C. A. wynde. 4. C. Ed. whilom; A. somtyme. 5.
C. lyk; A. lyke. // C. cleere dayes and brihte; A. bryȝt dayes. // C. withstand; A.
withstant. 7. C. hy; A. heyȝe. 9. C. fram. 14. C. A. dirke. 15. C. were (for where). // C.
reygnen; A. regnen.

Explicit Liber Primus.

BOOK II.
Prose I.

Postea paulisper conticuit.

After this she stinte a litel; and, after that she hadde gadered
by atempre stillenesse myn attencioun, she seide thus: (As who
mighte seyn thus: After thise thinges she stinte a litel; and whan
she aperceived by atempre stillenesse that I was ententif to herkene
hir, she bigan to speke in this wyse): 'Yif I,' quod she, 'have 5
understonden and knowen outrely the causes and the habit of
thy maladye, thou languissest and art defeted for desyr and
talent of thy rather fortune. She, that ilke Fortune only, that
is chaunged, as thou feynest, to thee-ward, hath perverted the
cleernesse and the estat of thy corage. I understonde the 10
fele-folde colours and deceites of thilke merveilous monstre
Fortune, and how she useth ful flateringe familaritee with hem
that she enforceth to bigyle; so longe, til that she confounde
with unsufferable sorwe hem that she hath left in despeyr unpurveyed.
And yif thou remembrest wel the kinde, the maneres, 15
and the desert of thilke Fortune, thou shalt wel knowe that,
as in hir, thou never ne haddest ne hast y-lost any fair thing.
But, as I trowe, I shal nat gretly travailen to do thee remembren
on thise thinges. For thou were wont to hurtelen and despysen
hir, with manly wordes, whan she was blaundissinge and present, 20
and pursewedest hir with sentences that were drawen out of myn
entree, that is to seyn, out of myn informacioun. But no sodein
mutacioun ne bitydeth nat with-oute a manere chaunginge of
corages; and so is it befallen that thou art a litel departed
fro the pees of thy thought. 25

But now is tyme that thou drinke and ataste some softe and
delitable thinges; so that, whan they ben entred with-in thee,
it mowe maken wey to strengere drinkes of medicynes. Com
now forth therfore the suasioun of swetenesse rethorien, whiche
that goth only the right wey, whyl she forsaketh nat myne estatuts. 30
And with Rhetorice com forth Musice, a damisel of our hous,
that singeth now lighter moedes or prolaciouns, now hevyer.
What eyleth thee, man? What is it that hath cast thee in-to
morninge and in-to wepinge? I trowe that thou hast seyn

som newe thing and uncouth. Thou wenest that Fortune be 35
chaunged ayein thee; but thou wenest wrong, yif thou that
wene. Alwey tho ben hir maneres; she hath rather kept, as
to thee-ward, hir propre stablenesse in the chaunginge of hir-self.
Right swich was she whan she flatered thee, and deceived 40
thee with unleveful lykinges of fals welefulnesse. Thou
hast now knowen and ataynt the doutous or double visage of
thilke blinde goddesse Fortune. She, that yit covereth hir and
wimpleth hir to other folk, hath shewed hir every-del to thee.
Yif thou aprovest hir and thenkest that she is good, use hir
maneres and pleyne thee nat. And yif thou agrysest hir false 45
trecherye, despyse and cast awey hir that pleyeth so harmfully;
for she, that is now cause of so muche sorwe to thee, sholde
ben cause to thee of pees and of Ioye. She hath forsaken
thee, forsothe; the whiche that never man may ben siker that
she ne shal forsake him. 50

Glose. But natheles, some bokes han the text thus: For sothe,
she hath forsaken thee, ne ther nis no man siker that she ne
hath nat forsaken.

Holdestow than thilke welefulnesse precious to thee that shal
passen? And is present Fortune dereworthe to thee, which that 55
nis nat feithful for to dwelle; and, whan she goth awey, that
she bringeth a wight in sorwe? For sin she may nat ben withholden
at a mannes wille, she maketh him a wrecche whan she
departeth fro him. What other thing is flittinge Fortune but a
maner shewinge of wrecchednesse that is to comen? Ne it ne 60
suffyseth nat only to loken on thinge that is present biforn the
eyen of a man. But wisdom loketh and amesureth the ende
of thinges; and the same chaunginge from oon in-to an-other,
that is to seyn, from adversitee in-to prosperitee, maketh that the
manaces of Fortune ne ben nat for to dreden, ne the flateringes 65
of hir to ben desired. Thus, at the laste, it bihoveth thee to
suffren with evene wille in pacience al that is don in-with the
floor of Fortune, that is to seyn, in this world, sin thou hast
ones put thy nekke under the yok of hir. For yif thou wolt
wryten a lawe of wendinge and of dwellinge to Fortune, whiche 70
that thou hast chosen frely to ben thy lady, artow nat wrongful
in that, and makest Fortune wroth and aspere by thyn inpatience,
and yit thou mayst nat chaunge hir?

Yif thou committest and bitakest thy sailes to the winde, thou

shall be shoven, not thider that thou woldest, but whider that the 75
wind shoveth thee. Yif thou castest thy sedes in-to the feldes,
thou sholdest han in minde that the yeres ben, amonges, other-whyle
plentevous and other-whyle bareyne. Thou hast bitaken
thy-self to the governaunce of Fortune, and for-thy it bihoveth
thee to ben obeisaunt to the maneres of thy lady. Enforcest 80
thou thee to aresten or withholden the swiftnesse and the sweigh
of hir turninge whele? O thou fool of alle mortal fooles, if
Fortune bigan to dwelle stable, she cesede thanne to ben
Fortune!

Pr. I. 1. C. lytul; A. litel; (and so below). // A. she; C. I (wrongly). 2. C. atencioun. 4.
C. aperseyuyd; A. aperceiued. 5. C. here; A. hire. // C. whise. 6. A. vtterly. 7. C.
maledye. // A. talent and desijr. 9. C. changed; A. chaunged. 10. A. astat. 11. C.
feelefold; A. felefolde. // A. colour. // C. meruayles; A. merueillous. 14. C.
onsufferabele; A. vnsuffreable. // C. dyspeyr; A. despeir. 15. C. remenbrest. 16. A. om.
that. 17. C. thinge. 18. C. remenbre; A. remembren. 19. C. on; A. of. // C. hurtelyn; A.
hurtlen. 20. C. wan. // C. om. was. 21. C. purswedest; A. pursewedest. 24. A. departed
a litel. 26. C. ataast; A. atast. 29. C. suacyoun; A. suasioun. 30. C. estatutes; A.
estatutz. 31. A. damoisel. 32. C. A. moedes (Lat. modos). // C. probasyons; A.
prolaciouns. 36. C. weenes. 38. C. stabylnesse; A. stablenes. // C. ins. standeth bef. in.
// C. chaunnynge. 40. C. desseyued; A. desseiued. // C. vnlefful; A. vnleueful. 42. C.
coueryht. 43. C. hat (for hath). 44. C. thinkest; A. thenkest. // C. god; A. goode. 48. A.
to the cause. 53. C. forsake; A. forsaken. 54. C. holdestow; A. holdest thou. // C.
presyes; A. preciouse. 56. C. feythfulle; A. feithful. 57. C. whitholden. 62. A. om. a. //
A. mesureth. 63. C. fram. 64. C. in-to; A. to. 65. C. manesses; A. manaces. 67. C. wit.
68. C. syn; A. sythen. 69. C. welt; A. wilt; Ed. wolt. 71. C. artow; A. art thou. 75. C.
thedyr; A. thider. // C. whedyr. 76. C. A. wynde. // C. in-to; A. in. // C. feeldes. 77. A.
om. amonges. 78. C. barayne. 81. C. sweyȝ; A. sweyes (Lat. impetum). 82. C. wheel;
A. whele.

Metre I.

Hec cum superba uerterit uices dextra.

Whan Fortune with a proud right hand hath torned hir
chaunginge stoundes, she fareth lyk the maneres of the boilinge
Eurype. Glosa. Eurype is an arm of the see that ebbeth and
floweth; and som-tyme the streem is on o syde, and som-tyme on
the other. Text. She, cruel Fortune, casteth adoun kinges 5
that whylom weren y-drad; and she, deceivable, enhaunseth up

the humble chere of him that is discomfited. Ne she neither
hereth ne rekketh of wrecchede wepinges; and she is so hard
that she laugheth and scorneth the wepinges of hem, the whiche
she hath maked wepe with hir free wille. Thus she pleyeth, 10
and thus she proeueth hir strengthes; and sheweth a greet wonder
to alle hir servauntes, yif that a wight is seyn weleful, and over-throwe
in an houre.

Me. I. 3. C. A. Eurippe (twice); Ed. Eurype. 5. C. the; A. that. 6. C. whilom; A.
somtyme. // C. enhanseth; A. enhaunseth. 7. C. vmble; A. humble. // C. descounfited;
A. discomfited. // C. Ne; A. and. 9. C. lyssheth; A. lauȝeth; Ed. laugheth (Lat. ridet.)
11. A. preueth. // A. strengthe (Lat. uires). // C. A. grete. 12. C. whiht; A. wyȝt.

Prose II.

Vellem autem pauca tecum.

Certes, I wolde pleten with thee a fewe thinges, usinge the
wordes of Fortune; tak hede now thy-self, yif that she axeth
right. "O thou man, wher-fore makest thou me gilty by thyne
every-dayes pleyninges? What wrong have I don thee? What
goodes have I bireft thee that weren thyne? Stryf or plete 5
with me, bifore what Iuge that thou wolt, of the possessioun
of richesses or of dignitees. And yif thou mayst shewen me
that ever any mortal man hath received any of tho thinges to
ben hise in propre, than wol I graunte frely that alle thilke
thinges weren thyne whiche that thou axest. Whan that nature 10
broughte thee forth out of thy moder wombe, I receyved thee
naked and nedy of alle thinges, and I norisshede thee with my
richesses, and was redy and ententif through my favour to
susteyne thee; and that maketh thee now inpacient ayeins me;
and I envirounde thee with alle the aboundance and shyninge 15
of alle goodes that ben in my right. Now it lyketh me to
with-drawen my hand; thou hast had grace as he that hath
used of foreine goodes: thou hast no right to pleyne thee, as
though thou haddest outrely for-lorn alle thy thinges. Why
pleynest thou thanne? I have done thee no wrong. Richesses, 20
honours, and swiche other thinges ben of my right. My servauntes
knowen me for hir lady; they comen with me, and departen
whan I wende. I dar wel affermen hardily, that yif tho thinges,
of which thou pleynest that thou hast forlorn, hadde ben thyne,

thou ne haddest not lorn hem. Shal I thanne only ben defended 25
to usen my right?

Certes, it is leveful to the hevene to make clere dayes, and,
after that, to coveren tho same dayes with derke nightes. The
yeer hath eek leve to apparailen the visage of the erthe, now
with floures and now with fruit, and to confounden hem som-tyme 30
with reynes and with coldes. The see hath eek his right
to ben som-tyme calme and blaundishing with smothe water,
and som-tyme to ben horrible with wawes and with tempestes.
But the covetise of men, that may nat ben stanched, shal it
binde me to ben stedefast, sin that stedefastnesse is uncouth 35
to my maneres? Swich is my strengthe, and this pley I pleye
continuely. I torne the whirlinge wheel with the torning cercle;
I am glad to chaungen the lowest to the heyest, and the heyest
to the lowest. Worth up, if thou wolt, so it be by this lawe,
that thou ne holde nat that I do thee wronge thogh thou 40
descende adoun, whan the resoun of my pley axeth it.

Wistest thou nat how Cresus, the king of Lydiens, of whiche
king Cyrus was ful sore agast a litel biforn, that this rewliche
Cresus was caught of Cyrus and lad to the fyr to ben brent,
but that a rayn descendede doun fro hevene that rescowede 45
him? And is it out of thy minde how that Paulus, consul of
Rome, whan he hadde taken the king of Perciens, weep pitously
for the captivitee of the self kinge? What other thing biwailen
the cryinges of tragedies but only the dedes of Fortune, that
with an unwar stroke overtorneth realmes of grete nobley? 50
Glose. Tragedie is to seyn, a ditee of a prosperitee for a tyme,
that endeth in wrecchednesse.

Lernedest nat thou in Greke, whan thou were yonge, that
in the entree, or in the celere, of Iupiter, ther ben couched two
tonnes; that on is ful of good, that other is ful of harm? What 55
right hast thou to pleyne, yif thou hast taken more plentevously
of the goode syde, that is to seyn, of my richesses and prosperites;
and what eek if I ne be nat al departed fro thee? What eek
yif my mutabilitee yiveth thee rightful cause of hope to han yit
beter thinges? Natheles dismaye thee nat in thy thought; and 60
thou that art put in the comune realme of alle, ne desyre nat to
liven by thyn only propre right.

Pr. II. 3. C. makes; A. makest. 4. A. wronges (Lat. iniuriam). 5. C. pleten; A. plete
(Lat. contende). 8. C. reseyued. // C. tho; A. these. 9. C. thykke; A. thilke. 11. C.
browht; A. brouȝt. // C. resseyued. 12. A. al thing. // C. noryssede; A. norysshed. 13.
C. fauor; A. fauour. 19. A. vtterly lorn. 20. C. pleynes. 25. C. I shal; A. Shal I. // C.
deffendyd. 28. C. coeueryn; A. keuere (better coveren). // C. dirk; A. derke. 29. C.
apayrelyn; A. apparaile. 30. C. frut; A. fruyt. 32. C. kalm; A. calme. // C.
blawndyssynge; A. blaundyshing. 33. C. om. 2nd with. 35. C. stidefast; A. stedfast. So
stide(sted-)fastnesse. 41. C. dessende. // A. doun. // A. om. the. 42. C. wistesthow; A.
Wost thou (Lat. Nesciebas). // A. om. the. 44. C. kawth; A. cauȝt. 45. C. dessendede;
A. descended. 48. C. kapteuite; A. captiuitee. // C. thinge; A. thinges. 49. C. cryenges;
A. criinges. 50. A. the realmes; C. om. the. // C. noblye; A. nobley. 54. A. seler. // C.
cowched; A. couched (Lat. iacere). 56. C. hasthow. 57. A. rycchesse. 58. A. om. be
and al. 59. C. yeueth; A. ȝiueth. 60. A. desmaye. 61. A. om. the.

Metre II.

Si quantas rapidis flatibus incitus.

Though Plentee, that is goddesse of richesses, hielde adoun
with ful horn, and withdraweth nat hir hand, as many richesses
as the see torneth upward sandes whan it is moeved with
ravisshinge blastes, or elles as many richesses as ther shynen
brighte sterres on hevene on the sterry nightes; yit, for al 5
that, mankinde nolde not cese to wepe wrecchede pleyntes.
And al be it so that god receyveth gladly hir preyers, and
yiveth them (as fool-large) moche gold, and aparaileth coveitous
men with noble or clere honours: yit semeth hem haven y-geten
no-thing, but alwey hir cruel ravyne, devouringe al that they 10
han geten, sheweth other gapinges; that is to seyn, gapen and
desyren yit after mo richesses. What brydles mighten withholden,
to any certein ende, the desordenee covetise of men, whan,
ever the rather that it fleteth in large yiftes, the more ay brenneth
in hem the thurst of havinge? Certes he that, quakinge and 15
dredful, weneth him-selven nedy, he ne liveth never-more riche."

Me. II. 1. A. rycche. // Both hielde; Ed. hylde. 2. A. recches(!). 4. C. rauyssynge. // A.
rycches. 5. A. nyȝt (Lat. noctibus). 6. C. plentes; A. pleyntes. 7. C. resseyueth. // C.
preyres; A. prayers. 8. C. A. yeueth. // A. ful (for fool). 9. A. folk (for men). 10. C.
thinge; A. thing. // C. crewel. 12. A. rycchesse. 15. A. threst. 16. C. leueth; A. lyueth.
// A. -mo.

Prose III.

Hiis igitur si pro se tecum Fortuna loqueretur.

Therfor, yif that Fortune spake with thee for hir-self in this
manere, for-sothe thou ne haddest nat what thou mightest answere.
And, if thou hast any-thing wherwith, thou mayest rightfully defenden
thy compleint, it behoveth thee to shewen it; and I wol
yeven thee space to tellen it.' 5

'Certeynly,' quod I thanne, 'thise beth faire thinges, and
enointed with hony swetenesse of rethorike and musike; and
only whyl they ben herd they ben delicious. But to wrecches is
a depper felinge of harm; this is to seyn, that wrecches felen the
harmes that they suffren more grevously than the remedies or the 10
delites of thise wordes mowen gladen or comforten hem; so that,
whan thise thinges stinten for to soune in eres, the sorwe that is
inset greveth the thought.'

'Right so is it,' quod she. 'For thise ne ben yit none remedies
of thy maladye; but they ben a maner norisshinges of thy sorwe, 15
yit rebel ayein thy curacioun. For whan that tyme is, I shal
moeve swiche thinges that percen hem-self depe. But natheles,
that thou shalt not wilne to leten thy-self a wrecche, hast thou
foryeten the noumber and the manere of thy welefulnesse? I
holde me stille, how that the soverayne men of the citee token 20
thee in cure and kepinge, whan thou were orphelin of fader and
moder, and were chosen in affinitee of princes of the citee; and
thou bigunne rather to be leef and dere than forto ben a neighbour;
the whiche thing is the most precious kinde of any propinquitee
or alyaunce that may ben. Who is it that ne seide tho 25
that thou were right weleful, with so grete a nobleye of thy fadres-in-lawe,
and with the chastitee of thy wyf, and with the oportunitee
and noblesse of thy masculin children, that is to seyn, thy sones?
And over al this—me list to passen the comune thinges—how
thou haddest in thy youthe dignitees that weren werned to olde 30
men. But it delyteth me to comen now to the singuler uphepinge
of thy welefulnesse. Yif any fruit of mortal thinges may han any
weighte or prys of welefulnesse, mightest thou ever foryeten, for
any charge of harm that mighte bifalle, the remembraunce of
thilke day that thou saye thy two sones maked conseileres, and 35
y-lad to-gedere fro thyn house under so greet assemblee of

senatoures and under the blythenesse of poeple; and whan thou
saye hem set in the court in here chayeres of dignitees? Thou,
rethorien or pronouncere of kinges preysinges, deservedest glorie
of wit and of eloquence, whan thou, sittinge bitwene thy two sones, 40
conseileres, in the place that highte Circo, fulfuldest the abydinge
of the multitude of poeple that was sprad abouten thee, with so large
preysinge and laude, as men singen in victories. Tho yave thou
wordes to Fortune, as I trowe, that is to seyn, tho feffedest thou
Fortune with glosinge wordes and deceivedest hir, whan she acoyede 45
thee and norisshede thee as hir owne delyces. Thou bere away of
Fortune a yifte, that is to seyn, swiche guerdoun, that she never yaf
to privee man. Wilt thou therfor leye a rekeninge with Fortune?
She hath now twinkled first upon thee with a wikkede eye. Yif
thou considere the noumbre and the manere of thy blisses and 50
of thy sorwes, thou mayst nat forsaken that thou art yit blisful.
For if thou therfor wenest thy-self nat weleful, for thinges that
tho semeden ioyful ben passed, ther nis nat why thou sholdest wene
thy-self a wrecche; for thinges that semen now sorye passen also.

Art thou now comen first, a sodein gest, in-to the shadwe or 55
tabernacle of this lyf; or trowest thou that any stedefastnesse be
in mannes thinges, whan ofte a swift houre dissolveth the same
man; that is to seyn, whan the soule departeth fro the body? For,
al-though that selde is ther any feith that fortunous thinges wolen
dwellen, yit natheles the laste day of a mannes lyf is a manere 60
deeth to Fortune, and also to thilke that hath dwelt. And therfor,
what, wenestow, thar [thee] recche, yif thou forlete hir in deyinge,
or elles that she, Fortune, forlete thee in fleeinge awey?

Pr. III. 2. A. om. nat. 4. A. tellen (for defenden). 6. C. bet (for beth); A. ben. 8. C.
delysyos; A. deliciouse. 15. C. maledye. // C. noryssynges; A. norissinges. // C.
sorwes; A. sorwe (Lat. doloris). 17. C. swych; A. swiche. 20. C. souerane; A.
souerayn. 23. C. begunne; A. bygunne. 24. C. neysshebour; A. neyȝbour. // C.
presyous. 26. A. om. tho that. // A. nere (for were). // C. fadyris. 27. C. castete; A.
chastite. 29. C. lyste; A. lyst. // C. the; A. of. 30. A. thought (for youthe); Ed. youthe.
32. C. wel-; A. wele-. // C. frute; A. fruyt. 36. C. A semble; A. Ed. assemble. 37. C.
peeple; A. poeple. 39. C. des-; A. de-. 40. C. bitwyen; A. bytwix; Ed. bytwene. 41. C.
hihte; A. hyȝt. // C. A. Ed. all insert and before fulfuldest; I omit it, because it
obscures the sense. 42. A. om. the and so. 44. C. to; A. of. 45. So Ed.; C. A.
desseiuedest. 46. C. noryssede; A. norsshed; Ed. norisshed. // A. hast had (for bere
away). // C. bar. 47. C. A. gerdoun; Ed. guerdon. 48. C. lye; A. leye; Ed. laye (Lat.
ponere). 49. C. om. a. 50. C. blysse (wrongly); A. Ed. blisses. 51. C. art; A. Ed. nart. //

C. blysse-; A. blys-. 53. C. the; A. tho (Lat. tunc). 57. C. dyssoluede; A. Ed.
dissolueth. 59. C. al that thowgh; A. Ed. although that. // Ed. selde; C. ȝelde (= zelde);
A. yelde (= ȝelde); Lat. rara. // C. fortune; A. Ed. fortunous. 62: C. weenestow; A.
wenest thou. // C. dar; A. thar. // I supply thee. // C. recke; A. recche.

Metre III.

Cum polo Phebus roseis quadrigis.

Whan Phebus, the sonne, biginneth to spreden his cleernesse
with rosene chariettes, thanne the sterre, y-dimmed, paleth hir
whyte cheres, by the flambes of the sonne that overcometh the
sterre-light. This is to seyn, whan the sonne is risen, the dey-sterre
wexeth pale, and leseth hir light for the grete brightnesse of the 5
sonne.

Whan the wode wexeth rody of rosene floures, in the first somer
sesoun, thorugh the brethe of the winde Zephirus that wexeth
warm, yif the cloudy wind Auster blowe felliche, than goth awey
the fairenesse of thornes. 10

Ofte the see is cleer and calm withoute moevinge flodes; and
ofte the horrible wind Aquilon moeveth boilinge tempestes and
over-whelveth the see.

Yif the forme of this worlde is so selde stable, and yif it turneth
by so many entrechaunginges, wolt thou thanne trusten in the 15
tomblinge fortunes of men? Wolt thou trowen on flittinge goodes?
It is certein and establisshed by lawe perdurable, that no-thing that
is engendred nis stedefast ne stable.'

Me. III. 1. C. hyr; A. Ed. his. 2. C. palyt. 3. A. flamus. 7. C. rosyn; A. rosene. 9. C. A.
wynde. 10. C. thornesse. 11. C. floedes. 13. Ed. -whelueth; C. -welueeth; A. -
whelweth. 14. Ed. selde; C. ȝeelde (= zeelde); A. om. (Lat. rara). 15. C. wolthow; A.
Ed. wilt thou. 16. C. towmblynge; Ed. tomblyng; A. trublynge (Lat. caducis). // C.
wolthow; A. Ed. wilt thou. // C. Ed. on; A. in. // C. flettynge; A. flittyng. 17. C. is it;
A. It is. // C. A. establyssed; Ed. establysshed. // C. thinge; A. thing. 18. C. estable; A.
stable.

Prose IV.

Tunc ego, uera, inquam, commemoras.

Thanne seide I thus: 'O norice of alle vertues, thou seist ful
sooth; ne I ne may nat forsake the right swifte cours of my
prosperitee; that is to seyn, that prosperitee ne be comen to me
wonder swiftly and sone. But this is a thing that greetly smerteth
me whan it remembreth me. For in alle adversitee of fortune, 5
the most unsely kinde of contrarious fortune is to han ben
weleful.'

'But that thou,' quod she, 'abyest thus the torment of thy
false opinioun, that mayst thou nat rightfully blamen ne aretten
to thinges: as who seith, for thou hast yit many habundaunces of 10
thinges.

Text. For al be it so that the ydel name of aventurous
welefulnesse moeveth thee now, it is leveful that thou rekne with
me of how manye grete thinges thou hast yit plentee. And
therfor, yif that thilke thing that thou haddest for most precious 15
in al thy richesse of fortune be kept to thee yit, by the grace of
god, unwemmed and undefouled, mayst thou thanne pleyne
rightfully upon the meschef of Fortune, sin thou hast yit thy
beste thinges? Certes, yit liveth in good point thilke precious
honour of mankinde, Symacus, thy wyves fader, which that is 20
a man maked alle of sapience and of vertu; the whiche man
thou woldest byen redely with the prys of thyn owne lyf. He
biwayleth the wronges that men don to thee, and nat for him-self;
for he liveth in sikernesse of any sentences put ayeins him. And
yit liveth thy wyf, that is atempre of wit, and passinge other 25
wimmen in clennesse of chastetee; and for I wol closen shortely
hir bountees, she is lyk to hir fader. I telle thee wel, that she
liveth looth of this lyf, and kepeth to thee only hir goost; and is
al maat and overcomen by wepinge and sorwe for desyr of thee,
in the whiche thing only I moot graunten that thy welefulnesse is 30
amenused. What shal I seyn eek of thy two sones, conseilours,
of whiche, as of children of hir age, ther shyneth the lyknesse of
the wit of hir fader or of hir elder fader? And sin the sovereyn
cure of alle mortel folk is to saven hir owen lyves, O how weleful
art thou, yif thou knowe thy goodes! For yit ben ther 35
thinges dwelled to thee-ward, that no man douteth that they ne
ben more dereworthe to thee than thyn owen lyf. And for-thy
drye thy teres, for yit nis nat everich fortune al hateful to thee-ward,

ne over greet tempest hath nat yit fallen upon thee, whan
that thyn ancres cleven faste, that neither wolen suffren the 40
counfort of this tyme present ne the hope of tyme cominge to
passen ne to faylen.'

'And I preye,' quod I, 'that faste moten they halden; for
whyles that they halden, how-so-ever that thinges ben, I shal wel
fleten forth and escapen; but thou mayst wel seen how grete 45
aparayles and aray that me lakketh, that ben passed away fro
me.'

'I have som-what avaunsed and forthered thee,' quod she, 'yif
that thou anoye nat or forthinke nat of al thy fortune: as who
seith, I have som-what comforted thee, so that thou tempest thee nat 50
thus with al thy fortune, sin thou hast yit thy beste thinges. But
I may nat suffren thy delices, that pleynest so wepinge and
anguissous, for that ther lakketh som-what to thy welefulnesse.
For what man is so sad or of so parfit welefulnesse, that he ne
stryveth and pleyneth on som halve ayen the qualitee of his 55
estat? For-why ful anguissous thing is the condicioun of mannes
goodes; for either it cometh nat al-togider to a wight, or elles it
last nat perpetuel. For sum man hath grete richesses, but he is
ashamed of his ungentel linage; and som is renowned of noblesse
of kinrede, but he is enclosed in so grete anguisshe of nede 60
of thinges, that him were lever that he were unknowe. And
som man haboundeth both in richesse and noblesse, but yit he
bewaileth his chaste lyf, for he ne hath no wyf. And som man is
wel and selily y-maried, but he hath no children, and norissheth
his richesses to the eyres of strange folkes. And som man is 65
gladed with children, but he wepeth ful sory for the trespas of
his sone or of his doughter. And for this ther ne acordeth no
wight lightly to the condicioun of his fortune; for alwey to every
man ther is in som-what that, unassayed, he ne wot nat; or elles
he dredeth that he hath assayed. And adde this also, that every 70
weleful man hath a ful delicat felinge; so that, but-yif alle thinges
bifalle at his owne wil, for he is impacient, or is nat used to han
non adversitee, anon he is throwen adoun for every litel thing.
And ful litel thinges ben tho that withdrawen the somme or the
perfeccioun of blisfulnesse fro hem that ben most fortunat. How 75
many men, trowest thou, wolden demen hem-self to ben almost in
hevene, yif they mighten atayne to the leest party of the remnaunt
of thy fortune? This same place that thou clepest exil, is

contree to hem that enhabiten heer, and forthy nothing [is]
wrecched but whan thou wenest it: as who seith, thou thy-self, ne 80
no wight elles, nis a wrecche, but whan he weneth him-self a wrecche
by reputacioun of his corage. And ayeinward, alle fortune is blisful
to a man by the agreabletee or by the egalitee of him that
suffreth it.

What man is that, that is so weleful, that nolde changen his 85
estat whan he hath lost pacience? The swetnesse of mannes
welefulnesse is sprayned with many biternesses; the whiche welefulnesse,
al-though it seme swete and ioyful to hem that useth it,
yit may it nat ben with-holden that it ne goth away whan it wole.
Thanne is it wel sene, how wrecched is the blisfulnesse of mortal 90
thinges, that neither it dureth perpetuel with hem that every
fortune receiven agreablely or egaly, ne it delyteth nat in al to
hem that ben anguissous. O ye mortal folk, what seke ye thanne
blisfulnesse out of your-self, whiche that is put in your-self?
Errour and folye confoundeth yow. 95

I shal shewe thee shortely the poynt of sovereyne blisfulnesse.
Is ther any-thing more precious to thee than thy-self? Thou
wolt answere, "nay." Thanne, yif it so be that thou art mighty
over thy-self, that is to seyn, by tranquillitee of thy sowle, than hast
thou thing in thy power that thou noldest never lesen, ne Fortune 100
ne may nat beneme it thee. And that thou mayst knowe that
blisfulnesse ne may nat standen in thinges that ben fortunous
and temporel, now understonde and gader it to-gidere thus:
Yif blisfulnesse be the sovereyn good of nature that liveth by
resoun, ne thilke thing nis nat sovereyn good that may be taken 105
awey in any wyse, (for more worthy thing and more digne is
thilke thing that may nat ben taken awey); than sheweth it wel,
that the unstablenesse of fortune may nat atayne to receiven
verray blisfulnesse. And yit more-over: what man that this
toumbling welefulnesse ledeth, either he woot that it is chaungeable, 110
or elles he woot it nat. And yif he woot it nat, what blisful
fortune may ther be in the blindnesse of ignorance? And yif he
woot that it is chaungeable, he moot alwey ben adrad that he ne
lese that thing that he ne doubteth nat but that he may lesen it;
as who seith, he mot ben alwey agast, lest he lese that he wot wel he 115
may lese it. For which, the continuel dreed that he hath ne
suffreth him nat to ben weleful. Or yif he lese it, he weneth to
be dispysed and forleten. Certes eek, that is a ful litel good that

is born with evene herte whan it is lost; that is to seyn, that men
do no more fors of the lost than of the havinge. And for as moche 120
as thou thy-self art he, to whom it hath ben shewed and proved
by ful manye demonstraciouns, as I wot wel, that the sowles of
men ne mowe nat deyen in no wyse; and eek sin it is cleer and
certein, that fortunous welefulnesse endeth by the deeth of the
body; it may nat ben douted that, yif that deeth may take awey 125
blisfulnesse, that alle the kinde of mortal thinges ne descendeth
in-to wrecchednesse by the ende of the deeth. And sin we knowen
wel, that many a man hath sought the fruit of blisfulnesse nat
only with suffringe of deeth, but eek with suffringe of peynes and
tormentes; how mighte than this present lyf maken men blisful, 130
sin that, whan thilke selve lyf is ended, it ne maketh folk no
wrecches?

Pr. IV. 1. C. vertuus; A. vertues. 4. C. om. a. 6. C. vnȝely (= vnzely); A. Ed. vnsely. 8.
A. abaist (!). // C. tormentz; A. tourment (Lat. supplicium). 10. C. -daunce; A. Ed. -
daunces. 13. C. leefful; A. leueful. 15. C. thinge; A. thing. 19. C. leueth; A. lyueth. 21.
C. om. 2nd of. 24. C. leueth; A. liueth. 29. C. maad; A. maat; Ed. mate. 30. C. thinge;
A. thing. 31. C. amenyssed; A. Ed. amenused. 32. C. lyke-; A. lyk-. 33. A. Ed.
eldefadir. 35. A. But (for For). 36. So C. Ed.; A. dwellyng. // A. -wardes. 40. A. cliue.
42. A. fallen. 43. A. holden. 44. C. A. halden. 45. C. mayste. 49. A. forthenke. 52. C.
delites (?); A. Ed. delices (Lat. delicias). 55. C. Ed. and; A. or. 57. A. om. nat. 58. A.
lasteth. // A. perpetuely. // A. rycchesse. 59. A. renomed. 60. anguisshe of] A. angre
for. 63. Ed. chaste; C. caste; A. chast. 64. C. zelyly; A. Ed. selily. // C. hat. // C.
noriseth; A. norissheth. 66. C. A. sory; Ed. sore. 69. A. is in mest som-what. 71. A.
wel (for ful). 72. Ed. is; C. A. om. 77. A. remenaunt. 79. I supply is; Lat. nihil est
miserum. 80. C. ho; A. who. 81. A. no (for a). 83. C. egreablete; A. agreablete. 86. C.
what (!); A. whan. // C. lost; A. lorn. 87. C. sprayngd (!); A. y-spranid; Ed. spraynte. //
C. beter-; A. bitter-. // C. weche. 89. C. wan. // C. woole; A. wol. 92. C. resseyuen; A.
receyuen. 100, 106. C. thinge; A. thing. 101. A. bynyme. 102. A. om. ne. 107. C. take;
A. taken. 108. C. resseyuen; A. receyue. 110. A. om. it. 115. C. list; A. lest. 116. A.
om. it. 118. A. forleten hit. 120. C. A. lost; Ed. losse. // C. meche (for moche). 126. C.
dessendeth; A. descendith. 128. C. frut; A. fruit.

Metre IV.

Quisquis uolet perennem Cautus ponere sedem.

What maner man, stable and war, that wole founden him
a perdurable sete, and ne wole nat ben cast down with the loude

blastes of the wind Eurus; and wole despyse the see, manasinge
with flodes; lat him eschewen to bilde on the cop of the mountaigne
or in the moiste sandes. For the felle wind Auster 5
tormenteth the cop of the mountaigne with all his strengthes;
and the lause sandes refusen to beren the hevy wighte.

And forthy, if thou wolt fleen the perilous aventure, that is to
seyn, of the worlde; have minde certeinly to ficchen thyn hous of
a merye site in a lowe stoon. For al-though the wind, troubling 10
the see, thondre with over-throwinges, thou that art put in quiete,
and weleful by strengthe of thy palis, shalt leden a cleer age,
scorninge the woodnesses and the ires of the eyr.

Me. IV. 1. C. waar. 7. Ed. lose; A. lowe see(!); (Lat. solutae). // A. weyȝte. 10. C.
lowh; A. Ed. lowe. 12. C. A. palys (Lat. ualli).

Prose V.

Set cum rationum iam in te.

But for as moche as the norisshinges of my resouns descenden
now in-to thee, I trowe it were tyme to usen a litel strenger
medicynes. Now understond heer, al were it so that the yiftes of
Fortune ne were nat brutel ne transitorie, what is ther in hem
that may be thyn in any tyme, or elles that it nis foul, yif that it 5
be considered and loked perfitly? Richesses, ben they precious
by the nature of hem-self, or elles by the nature of thee? What is
most worth of richesses? Is it nat gold or might of moneye
assembled? Certes, thilke gold and thilke moneye shyneth and
yeveth betere renoun to hem that despenden it thanne to thilke 10
folk that mokeren it; for avarice maketh alwey mokereres to ben
hated, and largesse maketh folk cleer of renoun. For sin that
swich thing as is transferred fram o man to another ne may nat
dwellen with no man; certes, thanne is thilke moneye precious
whan it is translated into other folk and stenteth to ben had, by 15
usage of large yevinge of him that hath yeven it. And also: yif
that al the moneye that is over-al in the worlde were gadered
toward o man, it sholde maken alle other men to ben nedy as of that.
And certes a voys al hool, that is to seyn, with-oute amenusinge,
fulfilleth to-gidere the hering of moche folk; but certes, youre 20
richesses ne mowen nat passen in-to moche folke with-oute

amenusinge. And whan they ben apassed, nedes they maken
hem pore that for-gon the richesses.

O! streite and nedy clepe I this richesse, sin that many folk
ne may nat han it al, ne al may it nat comen to o man with-outen 25
povertee of alle other folk! And the shyninge of gemmes, that
I clepe precious stones, draweth it nat the eyen of folk to hem-ward,
that is to seyn, for the beautee? But certes, yif ther were
beautee or bountee in the shyninge of stones, thilke cleernesse is
of the stones hem-self, and nat of men; for whiche I wondre 30
gretly that men mervailen on swiche thinges. For-why, what
thing is it, that yif it wanteth moeving and Ioynture of sowle and
body, that by right mighte semen a fair creature to him that hath
a sowle of resoun? For al be it so that gemmes drawen to hem-self
a litel of the laste beautee of the world, through the entente of 35
hir creatour and through the distinccioun of hem-self; yit, for as
mochel as they ben put under youre excellence, they ne han nat
deserved by no wey that ye sholden mervailen on hem. And
the beautee of feldes, delyteth it nat mochel un-to yow?'

Boece. 'Why sholde it nat delyten us, sin that it is a right fair 40
porcioun of the right faire werke, that is to seyn, of this world?
And right so ben we gladed som-tyme of the face of the see
whan it is cleer; and also mervailen we on the hevene and on the
sterres, and on the sonne and on the mone.'

Philosophye. 'Aperteneth,' quod she, 'any of thilke thinges to 45
thee? Why darst thou glorifyen thee in the shyninge of any
swiche thinges? Art thou distingwed and embelised by the
springinge floures of the first somer sesoun, or swelleth thy
plentee in the fruites of somer? Why art thou ravisshed with
ydel Ioyes? Why embracest thou straunge goodes as they weren 50
thyne? Fortune ne shal never maken that swiche thinges ben
thyne, that nature of thinges hath maked foreine fro thee. Sooth
is that, with-outen doute, the frutes of the erthe owen to ben to
the norissinge of bestes. And yif thou wolt fulfille thy nede after
that it suffyseth to nature, than is it no nede that thou seke after 55
the superfluitee of fortune. For with ful fewe things and with ful
litel thinges nature halt hir apayed; and yif thou wolt achoken
the fulfillinge of nature with superfluitees, certes, thilke thinges
that thou wolt thresten or pouren in-to nature shullen ben unioyful
to thee, or elles anoyous. Wenest thou eek that it be a fair 60
thing to shyne with dyverse clothinge? Of whiche clothinge yif

the beautee be agreeable to loken up-on, I wol mervailen on the
nature of the matere of thilke clothes, or elles on the werkman
that wroughte hem. But also a long route of meynee, maketh
that a blisful man? The whiche servants, yif they ben vicious of 65
condiciouns, it is a great charge and a distruccioun to the hous,
and a greet enemy to the lord him-self. And yif they ben goode
men, how shal straunge or foreine goodnesse ben put in the
noumbre of thy richesse? So that, by all these forseide thinges,
it is clearly y-shewed, that never oon of thilke thinges that thou 70
acountedest for thyne goodes nas nat thy good. In the whiche
thinges, yif ther be no beautee to ben desyred, why sholdest thou
ben sory yif thou lese hem, or why sholdest thou reioysen thee
to holden hem? For yif they ben faire of hir owne kinde, what
aperteneth that to thee? For al so wel sholden they han ben 75
faire by hem-selve, though they weren departed fram alle thyne
richesses. Forwhy faire ne precious ne weren they nat, for that
they comen among thy richesses; but, for they semeden faire and
precious, ther-for thou haddest lever rekne hem amonges thy
richesses. 80

But what desirest thou of Fortune with so grete a noise, and
with so grete a fare? I trowe thou seke to dryve awey nede with
habundaunce of thinges; but certes, it torneth to you al in the
contrarie. Forwhy certes, it nedeth of ful manye helpinges to
kepen the diversitee of precious ostelments. And sooth it is, 85
that of manye thinges han they nede that manye thinges han; and
ayeinward, of litel nedeth hem that mesuren hir fille after the nede
of kinde, and nat after the outrage of coveityse. Is it thanne so,
that ye men ne han no proper good y-set in you, for which
ye moten seken outward youre goodes in foreine and subgit 90
thinges? So is thanne the condicioun of thinges torned up-so-down,
that a man, that is a devyne beest by merite of his resoun,
thinketh that him-self nis neither faire ne noble, but-yif it be
thorugh possessioun of ostelments that ne han no sowles. And
certes, al other thinges ben apayed of hir owne beautee; but ye 95
men, that ben semblable to god by your resonable thought,
desiren to aparailen your excellent kinde of the lowest thinges;
ne ye understonden nat how greet a wrong ye don to your
creatour. For he wolde that mankinde were most worthy and
noble of any othre erthely thinges; and ye threste adoun your 100
dignitees benethe the lowest thinges. For yif that al the good of
every thinge be more precious than is thilke thing whos that

the good is: sin ye demen that the fouleste thinges ben youre
goodes, thanne submitten ye and putten your-selven under tho
fouleste thinges by your estimacioun; and certes, this tydeth nat 105
with-oute youre desertes. For certes, swiche is the condicioun of
alle mankinde, that only whan it hath knowinge of it-selve, than
passeth it in noblesse alle other thinges; and whan it forleteth the
knowinge of it-self, than is it brought binethen alle beestes. For-why
al other livinge beestes han of kinde to knowe nat hem-self; 110
but whan that men leten the knowinge of hemself, it cometh hem
of vice. But how brode sheweth the errour and the folye of yow
men, that wenen that any thing may ben aparailed with straunge
aparailements! But for sothe that may nat ben doon. For yif
a wight shyneth with thinges that ben put to him, as thus, if 115
thilke thinges shynen with which a man is aparailed, certes, thilke
thinges ben comended and preysed with which he is aparailed;
but natheles, the thing that is covered and wrapped under that
dwelleth in his filthe.

And I denye that thilke thing be good that anoyeth him that 120
hath it. Gabbe I of this?. Thou wolt seye "nay." Certes,
richesses han anoyed ful ofte hem that han tho richesses; sin that
every wikked shrewe, (and for his wikkednesse the more gredy
after other folkes richesses, wher-so ever it be in any place, be it
gold or precious stones), weneth him only most worthy that hath 125
hem. Thou thanne, that so bisy dredest now the swerd and now
the spere, yif thou haddest entred in the path of this lyf a voide
wayferinge man, than woldest thou singe beforn the theef; as
who seith, a pore man, that berth no richesse on him by the weye,
may boldely singe biforn theves, for he hath nat wherof to ben 130
robbed. O precious and right cleer is the blisfulnesse of mortal
richesses, that, whan thou hast geten it, than hast thou lorn thy
sikernesse!

Pr. V. 1. C. A. noryssinges; Ed. norisshynges. // C. dess-; A. desc-. 6. A. Richesse. 8.
A. worthi. // A. rycchesse. // C. om. it. 15. C. stenteth; A. stynteth. 19. A. al hool; Ed.
al hole; C. om.; (Lat. tota). 21. A. rycchesse. 24. A. thise rycchesses. 25. A. om. 1st ne.
27. A. in-to. 28. C. beautes; A. Ed. beaute. // C. But; A. For. 29. A. om. the. 31. C.
gretely; A. gretly. 32. C. Ioyngture; A. ioynture. 33. C. myht; A. myȝt. 35. C. last; A.
laste. 36. C. om. and. 38. C. A. desserued. // A. shullen. 41. C. ryhte; A ryȝt. 46. C.
darsthow; A. darst thou. 47. C. Arthow; A. Art thou. 49. A. om. the. // C. fructes; A.
fruytes. // C. arthow. // C. rauyssed; A. rauyshed. 52. A. om. hath. // A. Syche (!). 53.
A. on (for 2nd to). 59. C. shollen; A. shullen. 60. C. anoyos; A. anoies; Ed. anoyous.

64. C. wrowht; A. wrouȝt. 70. oon] A. none. 71. A. accoumptedest. 75. A. as (for al-
so). 77, 78, 80. A. rycchesse. 90. A. outwardes. 98. A. ne ye ne, &c. 100. A. Ed.
erthely; C. wordly. 103. C. tho; A. the. // C. A. foulest. 104. A. summytten. // C. the;
A. tho. 106. A. desert. 110. A. om. livinge. // C. hym-; A. hem-. 111. C. om. that. 119.
So A.; C. felthe. 122. A. rycchesse (thrice). // C. tho; A. the. 125. C. A. Ed. and
weneth; but and must be omitted (see Latin text). // C. hat. 126. A. om. 2nd now. 128.
A. wayfaryng. 132. A. rycchesse.

Metre V.

Felix nimium prior etas.

Blisful was the first age of men! They helden hem apayed
with the metes that the trewe feldes broughten forth. They
ne distroyede nor deceivede nat hem-self with outrage. They
weren wont lightly to slaken hir hunger at even with acornes
of okes. They ne coude nat medly the yifte of Bachus to the 5
cleer hony; that is to seyn, they coude make no piment nor clarree;
ne they coude nat medle the brighte fleeses of the contree of
Seriens with the venim of Tyrie; this is to seyn, they coude nat
deyen whyte fleeses of Serien contree with the blode of a maner
shelfisshe that men finden in Tyrie, with whiche blood men deyen 10
purpur. They slepen hoolsom slepes up-on the gras, and
dronken of the renninge wateres; and layen under the shadwes
of the heye pyn-trees. Ne no gest ne straungere ne carf yit
the heye see with ores or with shippes; ne they ne hadde seyn
yit none newe strondes, to leden marchaundyse in-to dyverse 15
contrees. Tho weren the cruel clariouns ful hust and ful stille,
ne blood y-shad by egre hate ne hadde nat deyed yit armures.
For wher-to or which woodnesse of enemys wolde first moeven
armes, whan they seyen cruel woundes, ne none medes be of
blood y-shad? 20

I wolde that oure tymes sholde torne ayein to the olde
maneres! But the anguissous love of havinge brenneth in folk
more cruely than the fyr of the mountaigne Ethna, that ay brenneth.
Allas! what was he that first dalf up the gobetes or the weightes
of gold covered under erthe, and the precious stones that wolden 25
han ben hid? He dalf up precious perils. That is to seyn, that
he that hem first up dalf, he dalf up a precious peril; for-why for
the preciousnesse of swiche thinge, hath many man ben in peril.

Me. V. 2. Ed. feldes; C. feeldes; A. erthes. 3. C. desseyuyd; A. desceyued. 4. C.
accornes; A. acornes. 6. C. nor; Ed. or; A. of. 7. C. fleezes; A. flies; Ed. fleces. 8. A.
siriens (Lat. Serum). 9. C. flezes; A. flies; Ed. fleces. // C. syryen; A. sirien; Ed.
Syrien. 10. C. shylle-; A. Ed. shel-. 13. A. om. 3rd ne. // C. karue; A. karf; Ed. carfe.
16. C. crwel (and so again below). // C. Ed. hust; A. whist. 17. A. y-shed. // A.
armurers (!). 18. C. wer to. 19. C. say; A. seien. 22. C. angwissos; A. anguissous. 23.
C. om. 2nd the. // A. Ed. of Ethna; C. om. of. // A. euer (for ay). 27. C. om. 2nd he. 28.
A. om. thinge. // A. ben; C. be.

Prose VI.

Quid autem de dignitatibus.

But what shal I seye of dignitees and of powers, the whiche
ye men, that neither knowen verray dignitee ne verray power,
areysen hem as heye as the hevene? The whiche dignitees and
powers, yif they comen to any wikked man, they don as grete
damages and destrucciouns as doth the flaumbe of the mountaigne 5
Ethna, whan the flaumbe walweth up; ne no deluge ne doth so
cruel harmes. Certes, thee remembreth wel, as I trowe, that
thilke dignitee that men clepen the imperie of consulers, the
whiche that whylom was biginninge of fredom, youre eldres
coveiteden to han don away that dignitee, for the pryde of the 10
consulers. And right for the same pryde your eldres, biforn that
tyme, hadden don awey, out of the citee of Rome, the kinges
name; that is to seyn, they nolde han no lenger no king. But
now, yif so be that dignitees and powers be yeven to goode men,
the whiche thing is ful selde, what agreable thing is ther in tho 15
dignitees or powers but only the goodnesse of folkes that usen
hem? And therfor it is thus, that honour ne comth nat to vertu
for cause of dignitee, but ayeinward honour comth to dignitee for
cause of vertu. But whiche is thilke youre dereworthe power,
that is so cleer and so requerable? O ye ertheliche bestes, 20
considere ye nat over which thinge that it semeth that ye han
power? Now yif thou saye a mous amonges other mys, that
chalaunged to him-self-ward right and power over alle other mys,
how greet scorn woldest thou han of it! Glosa. So fareth it by
men; the body hath power over the body. For yif thou loke wel 25
up-on the body of a wight, what thing shall thou finde more
freele than is mankinde; the whiche men wel ofte ben slayn with
bytinge of smale flyes, or elles with the entringe of crepinge

wormes in-to the privetees of mannes body? But wher shal man
finden any man that may exercen or haunten any right up-on 30
another man, but only up-on his body, or elles up-on thinges
that ben lowere than the body, the whiche I clepe fortunous
possessiouns? Mayst thou ever have any comaundement over
a free corage? Mayst thou remuen fro the estat of his propre
reste a thought that is clyvinge to-gidere in him-self by stedefast 35
resoun? As whylom a tyraunt wende to confounde a free man
of corage, and wende to constreyne him by torment, to maken
him discoveren and acusen folk that wisten of a coniuracioun,
which I clepe a confederacie, that was cast ayeins this tyraunt;
but this free man boot of his owne tonge and caste it in the 40
visage of thilke wode tyraunt; so that the torments that this
tyraunt wende to han maked matere of crueltee, this wyse man
maked it matere of vertu.

But what thing is it that a man may don to another man, that
he ne may receyven the same thing of othre folk in him-self: 45
or thus, what may a man don to folk, that folk ne may don him the
same? I have herd told of Busirides, that was wont to sleen his
gestes that herberweden in his hous; and he was sleyn him-self
of Ercules that was his gest. Regulus hadde taken in bataile
many men of Affrike and cast hem in-to feteres; but sone after 50
he moste yeve his handes to ben bounde with the cheynes of
hem that he hadde whylom overcomen. Wenest thou thanne
that he be mighty, that hath no power to don a thing, that othre
ne may don in him that he doth in othre? And yit more-over,
yif it so were that thise dignitees or poweres hadden any propre 55
or natural goodnesse in hem-self, never nolden they comen to
shrewes. For contrarious thinges ne ben nat wont to ben
y-felawshiped to-gidere. Nature refuseth that contrarious thinges
ben y-ioigned. And so, as I am in certein that right wikked folk
han dignitees ofte tyme, than sheweth it wel that dignitees and 60
powers ne ben nat goode of hir owne kinde; sin that they suffren
hem-self to cleven or ioinen hem to shrewes. And certes, the
same thing may I most digneliche iugen and seyn of alle the
yiftes of fortune that most plentevously comen to shrewes; of
the whiche yiftes, I trowe that it oughte ben considered, that no 65
man douteth that he nis strong in whom he seeth strengthe; and
in whom that swiftnesse is, sooth it is that he is swift. Also
musike maketh musiciens, and phisike maketh phisiciens, and
rethorike rethoriens. For-why the nature of every thing maketh

his propretee, ne it is nat entremedled with the effects of the 70
contrarious thinges; and, as of wil, it chaseth out thinges that
ben to it contrarie. But certes, richesse may not restreyne
avarice unstaunched; ne power ne maketh nat a man mighty
over him-self, whiche that vicious lustes holden destreyned with
cheynes that ne mowen nat be unbounden. And dignitees that 75
ben yeven to shrewede folk nat only ne maketh hem nat digne,
but it sheweth rather al openly that they ben unworthy and
undigne. And why is it thus? Certes, for ye han Ioye to clepen
thinges with false names that beren hem alle in the contrarie;
the whiche names ben ful ofte reproeved by the effecte of the 80
same thinges; so that thise ilke richesses ne oughten nat by
right to ben cleped richesses; ne swich power ne oughte nat
ben cleped power; ne swich dignitee ne oughte nat ben cleped
dignitee.

And at the laste, I may conclude the same thing of alle the 85
yiftes of Fortune, in which ther nis nothing to ben desired, ne
that hath in him-self naturel bountee, as it is ful wel y-sene. For
neither they ne ioignen hem nat alwey to goode men, ne maken
hem alwey goode to whom that they ben y-ioigned.

Pr. VI. 1. A. seyne. 2. A. om. ye. 5. C. flawmbe; A. flamme (twice). 6. A. ins. wit (!)
bef. walweth. 7. C. crwel. // C. remenbryth. 8. A. thilke; C. thikke. // A. emperie; C.
Imperiye. 11. A. conseilers. 13. A. kyng; C. kynge. 15. Ed. selde; C. A. zelde. // C. A.
Ed. thinges; read thing (Lat. quid placet). 19. A. om. thilke. 22. C. musȝ; A. myse; Ed.
myce. 23. C. mysȝ; A. myse; Ed. myce. 26. C. shalthow. 27. A. mannes kynde. // A.
whiche ben ful ofte slayn. 29. A. mennes bodyes. 33. C. Maysthow. 34. C. Maysthow
remwen. 35. A. cleuyng. // C. stidefast; A. stedfast. 40. Ed. caste; C. A. cast. 42. C.
crwelte. 45. C. resseyuen; A. receyue. 48. A. herburghden. 52. C. om. he. // C.
whylom; A. somtyme. // C. weenesthow. 53. C. thinge; A. thing. 54. A. om. 1st in. //
A. to (for 2nd in). 63. Ed. I (after may); C. A. omit. 67. C. om. it. 68. So A.; C.
musuciens, phisissiens. 70. A. effectis; C. effect. // A. om. the. 72. C. A. to it ben. 73.
A. om. 2nd ne. 81, 82. A. rycchesse (twice). 82, 83. A. whiche (for swich; twice). 87.
C. I-seene; A. sene.

Metre VI.

Nouimus quantas dederit ruinas.

We han wel knowen how many grete harmes and destrucciouns

weren don by the emperor Nero. He leet brenne the citee of
Rome, and made sleen the senatoures. And he, cruel, whylom
slew his brother; and he was maked moist with the blood of
his moder; that is to seyn, he leet sleen and slitten the body of 5
his moder, to seen wher he was conceived; and he loked on every
halve up-on her colde dede body, ne no tere ne wette his face, but
he was so hard-herted that he mighte ben domes-man or Iuge of
hir dede beautee. And natheles, yit governede this Nero by
ceptre alle the poeples that Phebus the sonne may seen, cominge 10
from his outereste arysinge til he hyde his bemes under the
wawes; that is to seyn, he governed alle the poeples by ceptre imperial
that the sonne goth aboute, from est to west. And eek this
Nero governed by ceptre alle the poeples that ben under the
colde sterres that highten "septem triones"; this is to seyn, he 15
governede alle the poeples that ben under the party of the north.
And eek Nero governed alle the poeples that the violent wind
Nothus scorkleth, and baketh the brenning sandes by his drye
hete; that is to seyn, alle the poeples in the south. But yit ne
mighte nat al his hye power torne the woodnesse of this wikked 20
Nero. Allas! it is a grevous fortune, as ofte as wikked swerd
is ioigned to cruel venim; that is to seyn, venimous crueltee to
lordshippe.'

Me. VI. 2. C. let; A. letee (!). 3. C. crwel. // C. whylom; A. somtyme. 5. C. lette
(wrongly); A. let. 6. C. conseyued; A. conceiued. 7. A. half. // C. wecte; A. wette. 9. A.
ȝitte neuertheles. 11. A. hidde. 12. C. sceptre; A. ceptre. 15. C. vii. tyryones (sic); A.
the seuene triones; Ed. the Septentrions. 16. A. parties. 18. C. Ed. scorklith; A.
scorchith. 19-21. A. om. But yit ... Nero; Ed. retains it, omitting hye. // For Allas ... it
is, A. has—But ne how greuous fortune is; C. om. a bef. greuous, but Ed. retains it. C.
repeats it is. 22. C. crwel; crwelte.

Prose VII.

Tum ego, scis, inquam.

Thanne seyde I thus: 'Thou wost wel thy-self that the coveitise
of mortal thinges ne hadde never lordshipe of me; but
I have wel desired matere of thinges to done, as who seith, I
desire to han matere of governaunce over comunalitees, for vertu,
stille, ne sholde nat elden;' that is to seyn, that [him] leste that, 5
or he wex olde, his vertu, that lay now ful stille, ne should nat

perisshe unexercised in governaunce of comune; for which men
mighten speken or wryten of his goode governement.

Philosophye. 'For sothe,' quod she, 'and that is a thing that
may drawen to governaunce swiche hertes as ben worthy and 10
noble of hir nature; but natheles, it may nat drawen or tollen
swiche hertes as ben y-brought to the fulle perfeccioun of vertu,
that is to seyn, coveitise of glorie and renoun to han wel administred
the comune thinges or don gode desertes to profit of the
comune. For see now and considere, how litel and how voide of 15
alle prys is thilke glorie. Certein thing is, as thou hast lerned by
the demonstracioun of astronomye, that al the environinge of the
erthe aboute ne halt nat but the resoun of a prikke at regard of the
greetnesse of hevene; that is to seyn, that yif ther were maked
comparisoun of the erthe to the greetnesse of hevene, men wolden 20
iugen in al, that the erthe ne helde no space. Of the whiche litel
regioun of this worlde, the ferthe partye is enhabited with livinge
bestes that we knowen, as thou thyself hast y-lerned by Tholomee
that proveth it. And yif thou haddest with-drawen and abated in
thy thought fro thilke ferthe partye as moche space as the see and 25
the mareys contenen and over-goon, and as moche space as the
regioun of droughte over-streccheth, that is to seyn, sandes and
desertes, wel unnethe sholde ther dwellen a right streit place to
the habitacioun of men. And ye thanne, that ben environed and
closed with-in the leste prikke of thilke prikke, thinken ye to 30
manifesten your renoun and don youre name to ben born forth?
But your glorie, that is so narwe and so streite y-throngen in-to so
litel boundes, how mochel coveiteth it in largesse and in greet
doinge? And also sette this there-to: that many a nacioun,
dyverse of tonge and of maneres and eek of resoun of hir livinge, 35
ben enhabited in the clos of thilke litel habitacle; to the whiche
naciouns, what for difficultee of weyes and what for dyversitee of
langages, and what for defaute of unusage and entrecomuninge of
marchaundise, nat only the names of singuler men ne may nat
strecchen, but eek the fame of citees ne may nat strecchen. At 40
the laste, certes, in the tyme of Marcus Tullius, as him-self writ in
his book, that the renoun of the comune of Rome ne hadde nat
yit passed ne cloumben over the mountaigne that highte Caucasus;
and yit was, thilke tyme, Rome wel waxen and greetly redouted of
the Parthes and eek of other folk enhabitinge aboute. Seestow 45
nat thanne how streit and how compressed is thilke glorie that ye
travailen aboute to shewe and to multiplye? May thanne the

glorie of a singuler Romaine strecchen thider as the fame of the
name of Rome may nat climben ne passen? And eek, seestow nat
that the maneres of dyverse folk and eek hir lawes ben discordaunt 50
among hem-self; so that thilke thing that som men
iugen worthy of preysinge, other folk iugen that it is worthy of
torment? And ther-of comth it that, though a man delyte him in
preysinge of his renoun, he may nat in no wyse bringen forth ne
spreden his name to many maner poeples. There-for every man 55
oughte to ben apayed of his glorie that is publisshed among his
owne neighbours; and thilke noble renoun shal ben restreyned
within the boundes of o manere folke. But how many a man,
that was ful noble in his tyme, hath the wrecched and nedy
foryetinge of wryteres put out of minde and don awey! Al be 60
it so that, certes, thilke wrytinges profiten litel; the whiche
wrytinges long and derk elde doth awey, bothe hem and eek hir
autours. But ye men semen to geten yow a perdurabletee, whan
ye thenken that, in tyme to-cominge, your fame shal lasten. But
natheles, yif thou wolt maken comparisoun to the endeles spaces 65
of eternitee, what thing hast thou by whiche thou mayst reioysen
thee of long lastinge of thy name? For yif ther were maked comparisoun
of the abydinge of a moment to ten thousand winter,
for as mochel as bothe the spaces ben ended, yit hath the
moment som porcioun of it, al-though it litel be. But natheles, 70
thilke selve noumbre of yeres, and eek as many yeres as
ther-to may be multiplyed, ne may nat, certes, ben comparisoned
to the perdurabletee that is endeles; for of thinges that han ende
may be maked comparisoun, but of thinges that ben with-outen
ende, to thinges that han ende, may be maked no comparisoun. 75
And forthy is it that, al-though renoun, of as long tyme as ever
thee list to thinken, were thought to the regard of eternitee, that
is unstaunchable and infinit, it ne sholde nat only semen litel, but
pleynliche right naught. But ye men, certes, ne conne don
nothing a-right, but-yif it be for the audience of poeple and for 80
ydel rumours; and ye forsaken the grete worthinesse of conscience
and of vertu, and ye seken your guerdouns of the smale wordes of
straunge folk.

Have now heer and understonde, in the lightnesse of swich
pryde and veine glorie, how a man scornede festivaly and merily 85
swich vanitee. Whylom ther was a man that hadde assayed
with stryvinge wordes another man, the whiche, nat for usage of
verray vertu but for proud veine glorie, had taken up-on him

falsly the name of a philosophre. This rather man. that I spak
of thoughte he wolde assaye, wher he, thilke, were a philosophre 90
or no; that is to seyn, yif that he wolde han suffred lightly in
pacience the wronges that weren don un-to him. This feynede
philosophre took pacience a litel whyle, and, whan he hadde
received wordes of outrage, he, as in stryvinge ayein and reioysinge
of him-self, seyde at the laste right thus: "understondest 95
thou nat that I am a philosophre?" That other man answerde
ayein ful bytingly, and seyde: "I hadde wel understonden it, yif
thou haddest holden thy tonge stille." But what is it to thise
noble worthy men (for, certes, of swiche folke speke I) that seken
glorie with vertu? What is it?' quod she; 'what atteyneth fame 100
to swiche folk, whan the body is resolved by the deeth at the
laste? For yif it so be that men dyen in al, that is to seyn, body
and sowle, the whiche thing our resoun defendeth us to bileven,
thanne is ther no glorie in no wyse. For what sholde thilke glorie
ben, whan he, of whom thilke glorie is seyd to be, nis right naught 105
in no wyse? And yif the sowle, whiche that hath in it-self science
of goode werkes, unbounden fro the prison of the erthe, wendeth
frely to the hevene, despyseth it nat thanne alle erthely occupacioun;
and, being in hevene, reioyseth that it is exempt fro alle
erthely thinges? As who seith, thanne rekketh the sowle of no 110
glorie of renoun of this world.

Pr. VII. 4. A. desired. 5. I supply him (to make sense). // Ed. leste; C. A. list. 6. A.
wex; C. wax. 7. C. perise; A. perisshe. // Ed. vnexercysed; C. A. vnexcercised. 17. A.
om. 1st the. // C. om. of. 21. A. that erthe helde. 26. A. and mareys. // C. spaces (for
space). 28. C. vel; A. wel. 32. C. narwh; A. narwe. 36. A. cloos. 37. C. deficulte; A.
difficulte. // C. deficulte (repeated); A. Ed. diuersite. 38. A. om. and after vnusage. 39.
Ed. synguler; C. A. syngler. // A. om. nat (bef. 1st strecchen). 41. C. marchus; A.
Marcus. // Ed. Tullius; C. A. Tulius. // C. writ; A. writeth. 43. C. om. yit. // A. hyȝt. 44.
C. thikke; A. thilk. // A. wexen. 45. C. sestow; A. Sest thou. 48. Ed. synguler; C.
singler; A. singlere. // A. strecchen; C. strechchen. 49. C. seysthow; A. sest thou; Ed.
seest thou. 51. C. thinge; A. thing. 56. A. paied. // Ed. publysshed; C. publyssed; A.
puplissed. 57. A. neyȝbores; Ed. neyghbours; C. nesshebours. 59. A. nedy and
wrecched. 63. A. autours; Ed. auctours; C. actorros (!). // A. Ed. ye men semen; C.
yow men semeth. 64. A. thenke; C. thinken. // A. comyng (om. to-). 65. A. space (Lat.
spatia). 69. C. A. Ed. insert for bef. yit (wrongly). 70. A. it a litel. 73. C. -durablyte; A.
-durablete. // A. eenles (for endeles). 74, 75. A. om. but of ... comparisoun. 77. A. by
(for 2nd to). 82. C. A. gerdouns; Ed. guerdones. 84. A. whiche (for swich). 89. A.
speke. 90. C. weere he; A. where he; Ed. wheder he. 91. A. om. that. 94. C. resseyuyd;
A. receiued. 95. C. vnderstondow. 97. A. om. it. 98. C. glosses it by s. fama. 102. A.

om. it. 103. C. deffendeth; A. defendith. 105. A. for (for whan). 107. C. glosses erthe
by i. corporis. 108. C. glosses it by i. anima. 110, 111. A. om. As who ... this world.

Metre VII.

Quicunque solam mente praecipiti petit.

Who-so that, with overthrowinge thought, only seketh glorie of
fame, and weneth that it be sovereyn good: lat him loken up-on
the brode shewinge contrees of hevene, and up-on the streite site
of this erthe; and he shal ben ashamed of the encrees of his
name, that may nat fulfille the litel compas of the erthe. O! 5
what coveiten proude folk to liften up hir nekkes in ydel in the
dedly yok of this worlde? For al-though that renoun y-sprad,
passinge to ferne poeples, goth by dyverse tonges; and al-though
that grete houses or kinredes shynen with clere titles of honours;
yit, natheles, deeth despyseth alle heye glorie of fame: and deeth 10
wrappeth to-gidere the heye hevedes and the lowe, and maketh
egal and evene the heyeste to the loweste. Wher wonen now the
bones of trewe Fabricius? What is now Brutus, or stierne
Catoun? The thinne fame, yit lastinge, of hir ydel names, is
marked with a fewe lettres; but al-though that we han knowen 15
the faire wordes of the fames of hem, it is nat yeven to knowe
hem that ben dede and consumpte. Liggeth thanne stille, al
outrely unknowable; ne fame ne maketh yow nat knowe. And
yif ye wene to liven the longer for winde of your mortal name,
whan o cruel day shal ravisshe yow, thanne is the seconde deeth 20
dwellinge un-to yow.' Glose. The first deeth he clepeth heer the
departinge of the body and the sowle; and the seconde deeth he
clepeth, as heer, the stintinge of the renoun of fame.

3. C. cyte (for site); A. sete (error for site; Lat. situm). 6. A. liften vpon hire nekkes in
ydel and dedely. 7. A. om. that. 9. A. om. that. // C. cler; A. clere. 13. A. stiern; Ed.
sterne. 17. A. Ed. consumpt. 18. A. vtterly. 21. Ed. to (for un-to); A. in. // A. Ed. the;
C. om. (after heer).

Prose VIII.

Set ne me inexorabile contra fortunam.

'But for as mochel as thou shalt nat wenen', quod she, 'that I
bere untretable bataile ayeins fortune, yit som-tyme it bifalleth that
she, deceyvable, deserveth to han right good thank of men; and
that is, whan she hir-self opneth, and whan she descovereth hir
frount, and sheweth hir maneres. Peraventure yit understondest 5
thou nat that I shal seye. It is a wonder that I desire to telle,
and forthy unnethe may I unpleyten my sentence with wordes; for
I deme that contrarious Fortune profiteth more to men than
Fortune debonaire. For alwey, whan Fortune semeth debonaire,
than she lyeth falsly in bihetinge the hope of welefulnesse; but 10
forsothe contrarious Fortune is alwey soothfast, whan she sheweth
hir-self unstable thorugh hir chaunginge. The amiable Fortune
deceyveth folk; the contrarie Fortune techeth. The amiable
Fortune bindeth with the beautee of false goodes the hertes of
folk that usen hem; the contrarie Fortune unbindeth hem by the 15
knowinge of freele welefulnesse. The amiable Fortune mayst
thou seen alwey windinge and flowinge, and ever misknowinge of
hir-self; the contrarie Fortune is atempre and restreyned, and wys
thorugh exercise of hir adversitee. At the laste, amiable Fortune
with hir flateringes draweth miswandringe men fro the sovereyne 20
good; the contrarious Fortune ledeth ofte folk ayein to soothfast
goodes, and haleth hem ayein as with an hooke. Wenest thou
thanne that thou oughtest to leten this a litel thing, that this aspre
and horrible Fortune hath discovered to thee the thoughtes of thy
trewe freendes? For-why this ilke Fortune hath departed and uncovered 25
to thee bothe the certein visages and eek the doutous
visages of thy felawes. Whan she departed awey fro thee, she
took awey hir freendes, and lafte thee thyne freendes. Now whan
thou were riche and weleful, as thee semede, with how mochel
woldest thou han bought the fulle knowinge of this, that is to seyn, 30
the knowinge of thy verray freendes? Now pleyne thee nat thanne
of richesse y-lorn, sin thou hast founden the moste precious kinde
of richesses, that is to seyn, thy verray freendes.

Pr. VIII. A. omits to end of bk. iii. pr. 1. 3. C. desseyuable. // C. desserueth. 7. So C.;
Ed. vnplyten. 13. C. desseyueth. 17. C. maysthow. 30. C. woldesthow.

Metre VIII.

Quod mundus stabili fide.

That the world with stable feith varieth acordable chaunginges;
that the contrarious qualitee of elements holden among hem-self
aliaunce perdurable; that Phebus the sonne with his goldene
chariet bringeth forth the rosene day; that the mone hath commaundement
over the nightes, which nightes Hesperus the eve-sterre 5
hath brought; that the see, greedy to flowen, constreyneth
with a certein ende hise flodes, so that it is nat leveful to strecche
hise brode termes or boundes up-on the erthes, that is to seyn, to
covere al the erthe:—al this acordaunce of thinges is bounden with
Love, that governeth erthe and see, and hath also commaundements 10
to the hevenes. And yif this Love slakede the brydeles,
alle thinges that now loven hem to-gederes wolden maken a bataile
continuely, and stryven to fordoon the fasoun of this worlde, the
whiche they now leden in acordable feith by faire moevinges.
This Love halt to-gideres poeples ioigned with an holy bond, and 15
knitteth sacrement of mariages of chaste loves; and Love endyteth
lawes to trewe felawes. O! weleful were mankinde, yif thilke
Love that governeth hevene governed youre corages!'

Me. VIII. 6. C. hat. 7. C. lueful; Ed. leful. 8. erthes; Lat. terris.

Explicit Liber secundus.

BOOK III.
Prose I.

Iam cantum illa finierat.

By this she hadde ended hir song, whan the sweetnesse of hir
ditee hadde thorugh-perced me that was desirous of herkninge,
and I astoned hadde yit streighte myn eres, that is to seyn, to
herkne the bet what she wolde seye; so that a litel here-after I
seyde thus: 'O thou that art sovereyn comfort of anguissous 5
corages, so thou hast remounted and norisshed me with the
weighte of thy sentences and with delyt of thy singinge; so that
I trowe nat now that I be unparigal to the strokes of Fortune:
as who seyth, I dar wel now suffren al the assautes of Fortune, and
wel defende me fro hir. And tho remedies whiche that thou 10
seydest her-biforn weren right sharpe, nat only that I am nat
a-grisen of hem now, but I, desirous of heringe, axe gretely to
heren the remedies.'

Than seyde she thus: 'That felede I ful wel,' quod she, 'whan
that thou, ententif and stille, ravisshedest my wordes; and I 15
abood til that thou haddest swich habite of thy thought as thou
hast now; or elles til that I my-self hadde maked to thee the
same habit, which that is a more verray thing. And certes, the
remenaunt of thinges that ben yit to seye ben swiche, that first
whan men tasten hem they ben bytinge, but whan they ben 20
receyved withinne a wight, than ben they swete. But for thou
seyst that thou art so desirous to herkne hem, with how gret
brenninge woldest thou glowen, yif thou wistest whider I wol
leden thee!'

'Whider is that?' quod I. 25

'To thilke verray welefulnesse,' quod she, 'of whiche thyn herte
dremeth; but for as moche as thy sighte is ocupied and distorbed
by imaginacioun of erthely thinges, thou mayst nat yit seen thilke
selve welefulnesse.'

'Do,' quod I, 'and shewe me what is thilke verray welefulnesse, 30
I preye thee, with-oute taryinge.'

'That wole I gladly don,' quod she, 'for the cause of thee;
but I wol first marken thee by wordes and I wol enforcen me to
enformen thee thilke false cause of blisfulnesse that thou more
knowest; so that, whan thou hast fully bi-holden thilke false 35
goodes, and torned thyn eyen to that other syde, thou mowe knowe
the cleernesse of verray blisfulnesse.

Pr. I. 3. C. streyhte; Ed. streyght. 5. C angwissos. 7. C. weyhte; Ed. weight. // C.
sentenses; Ed. sentences. 8. C. vnparygal; Ed. vnperegall. 10. C. deffende; Ed.
defende. 11. C. hir-; Ed. here-. 12. C. desiros; Ed. desyrous. 17. C. Ed. had. 21. C.
resseyued. 22. C. wit; Ed. with. 23. C. woldesthow; Ed. woldest thou. 26. C. thynge
(!); Ed. thyn; Lat. tuus. 28. C. herthely; Ed. erthly. 31. C. tarynge; Ed. taryeng; Lat.
cunctatione. 33. C. the (for thee); Ed. om.

Metre I.

Qui serere ingenuum uolet agrum.

Who-so wole sowe a feeld plentivous, lat him first delivere it fro
thornes, and kerve asunder with his hook the busshes and the
fern, so that the corn may comen hevy of eres and of greynes.
Hony is the more swete, yif mouthes han first tasted savoures that
ben wikkid. The sterres shynen more agreably whan the wind 5
Nothus leteth his ploungy blastes; and after that Lucifer the
day-sterre hath chased awey the derke night, the day the fairere
ledeth the rosene hors of the sonne. And right so thou, bi-holdinge
first the false goodes, bigin to with-drawen thy nekke
fro the yok of erthely affecciouns; and after-ward the verray goodes 10
shollen entren in-to thy corage.'

Me. I. 1. A. of (for fro). 2. A. bushes; Ed. busshes; C. bosses. 3. C. heres; A. eres. 5. A.
wikke. // C. agreablely. 7. C. dirke; A. derke. 8. A. om. And. 10. C. verre; A. verrey.

Prose II.

Tunc defixo paullulum uisu.

Tho fastnede she a litel the sighte of hir eyen, and with-drow
hir right as it were in-to the streite sete of hir thought; and bigan

to speke right thus: 'Alle the cures,' quod she, 'of mortal folk,
whiche that travaylen hem in many maner studies, goon certes by
diverse weyes, but natheles they enforcen hem alle to comen only 5
to oon ende of blisfulnesse. And blisfulnesse is swiche a good,
that who-so that hath geten it, he ne may, over that, no-thing
more desyre. And this thing is forsothe the sovereyn good that
conteyneth in him-self alle maner goodes; to the whiche good yif
ther failede any thing, it mighte nat ben cleped sovereyn good: 10
for thanne were ther som good, out of this ilke sovereyn good, that
mighte ben desired. Now is it cleer and certein thanne, that
blisfulnesse is a parfit estat by the congregacioun of alle goodes;
the whiche blisfulnesse, as I have seyd, alle mortal folk enforcen
hem to geten by diverse weyes. For-why the coveitise of verray 15
good is naturelly y-plaunted in the hertes of men; but the miswandringe
errour mis-ledeth hem in-to false goodes. Of the
whiche men, som of hem wenen that sovereyn good be to liven
with-oute nede of any thing, and travaylen hem to be haboundaunt
of richesses. And som other men demen that sovereyn good be, 20
for to ben right digne of reverence; and enforcen hem to ben
reverenced among hir neighbours by the honours that they han
y-geten. And some folk ther ben that holden, that right heigh
power be sovereyn good, and enforcen hem for to regnen, or elles
to ioignen hem to hem that regnen. And it semeth to some other 25
folk, that noblesse of renoun be the sovereyn good; and hasten
hem to geten glorious name by the arts of werre and of pees.
And many folk mesuren and gessen that sovereyn good be Ioye
and gladnesse, and wenen that it be right blisful thing to ploungen
hem in voluptuous delyt. And ther ben folk that entrechaungen 30
the causes and the endes of thise forseyde goodes, as they that
desiren richesses to han power and delytes; or elles they desiren
power for to han moneye, or for cause of renoun. In thise thinges,
and in swiche othre thinges, is torned alle the entencioun of
desiringes and of werkes of men; as thus: noblesse and favour 35
of people, whiche that yeveth to men, as it semeth hem, a maner
cleernesse of renoun; and wyf and children, that men desiren for
cause of delyt and of merinesse. But forsothe, frendes ne sholden
nat be rekned a-mong the godes of fortune, but of vertu; for it is
a ful holy maner thing. Alle thise othre thinges, forsothe, ben 40
taken for cause of power or elles for cause of delyt.

Certes, now am I redy to referren the goodes of the body to
thise forseide thinges aboven; for it semeth that strengthe and

gretnesse of body yeven power and worthinesse, and that beautee
and swiftnesse yeven noblesses and glorie of renoun; and hele of 45
body semeth yeven delyt. In alle thise thinges it semeth only
that blisfulnesse is desired. For-why thilke thing that every man
desireth most over alle thinges, he demeth that it be the sovereyn
good; but I have defyned that blisfulnesse is the sovereyn good;
for which every wight demeth, that thilke estat that he desireth 50
over alle thinges, that it be blisfulnesse.

Now hast thou thanne biforn thyn eyen almest al the purposed
forme of the welefulnesse of man-kinde, that is to seyn, richesses,
honours, power, and glorie, and delyts. The whiche delyt only
considerede Epicurus, and iuged and establisshed that delyt is 55
the sovereyn good; for as moche as alle othre thinges, as him
thoughte, bi-refte awey Ioye and mirthe fram the herte. But I
retorne ayein to the studies of men, of whiche men the corage
alwey reherseth and seketh the sovereyn good, al be it so that
it be with a derked memorie; but he not by whiche path, right 60
as a dronken man not nat by whiche path he may retorne him to
his hous. Semeth it thanne that folk folyen and erren that
enforcen hem to have nede of nothing? Certes, ther nis non other
thing that may so wel performe blisfulnesse, as an estat plentivous
of alle goodes, that ne hath nede of non other thing, but that is 65
suffisaunt of himself unto him-self. And folyen swiche folk thanne,
that wenen that thilke thing that is right good, that it be eek right
worthy of honour and of reverence? Certes, nay. For that thing
nis neither foul ne worthy to ben despised, that wel neigh al the
entencioun of mortal folk travaylen for to geten it. And power, 70
oughte nat that eek to ben rekened amonges goodes? What
elles? For it is nat to wene that thilke thing, that is most worthy
of alle thinges, be feble and with-oute strengthe. And cleernesse
of renoun, oughte that to ben despised? Certes, ther may no
man forsake, that al thing that is right excellent and noble, that it ne 75
semeth to ben right cleer and renomed. For certes, it nedeth nat
to seye, that blisfulnesse be [nat] anguissous ne drery, ne subgit to
grevaunces ne to sorwes, sin that in right litel thinges folk seken
to have and to usen that may delyten hem. Certes, thise ben
the thinges that men wolen and desiren to geten. And for this 80
cause desiren they richesses, dignitees, regnes, glorie, and delices.
For therby wenen they to han suffisaunce, honour, power, renoun,
and gladnesse. Than is it good, that men seken thus by so many
diverse studies. In whiche desyr it may lightly ben shewed how

gret is the strengthe of nature; for how so that men han diverse 85
sentences and discordinge, algates men acorden alle in lovinge the
ende of good.

Pr. II. 2. C. cyte; A. sete; Lat. sedem. 5. C. enforsen; A. enforced; Ed. enforcen. 6. A.
om. And blisfulnesse. 10. A. om. cleped. 14. C. enforsen; A. enforcen. 18. A. is (for
be). 20. C. ben; A. be. 22. C. nesshebors; A. neyghbours. 23. A. halden. // C. heyh; A.
heyȝe; Ed. hye. 24: A. to b (for be). 28. C. by (for be); A. Ed. be. 29. A. om. thing. 32.
A. rycchesse. 35. A. om. 1st of. // C. fauor; A. fauour. 36. A. om. to men and hem. 38.
A. shollen. 39. A. Ed. the; C. tho. 45. C. sweft-; A. swifte-. 49. C. deffyned; A. Ed.
diffined. 52. A. om. thy eyen; C. thy (for thyn); Ed. thyn. // A. almost. 55. A. om. and
bef. iuged. // C. A. establyssed; Ed. establysshed. 59. A. ins. of after good (wrongly).
60. C. dirkyd; A. derke; Ed. dyrked. // A. om. but he ... path. // C. paath (twice). 62. C.
foleyen; A. folyen. 65. C. A. ins. it bef. is; Ed. om. 66. C. A. foleyen; Ed. folyen. 69.
C. wel neyh; Ed. wel nygh; A. om. // C. alle; A. Ed. al. 77. I supply nat. // C.
angwyssos. // C. subgyd; A. subgit. 81. A. rycches. 86. C. allegates; A. algates. // A.
lyuynge (!).

Metre II.

Quantas rerum flectat habenas.

It lyketh me to shewe, by subtil song, with slakke and delitable
soun of strenges, how that Nature, mighty, enclineth and flitteth
the governements of thinges, and by whiche lawes she, purveyable,
kepeth the grete world; and how she, bindinge, restreyneth alle
thinges by a bonde that may nat ben unbounde. Al be it so that 5
the lyouns of the contre of Pene beren the faire chaynes, and
taken metes of the handes of folk that yeven it hem, and dreden
hir sturdy maystres of whiche they ben wont to suffren betinges:
yif that hir horrible mouthes ben be-bled, that is to seyn, of bestes
devoured, hir corage of time passed, that hath ben ydel and rested, 10
repeyreth ayein; and they roren grevously and remembren on hir
nature, and slaken hir nekkes fram hir chaynes unbounde; and
hir mayster, first to-torn with blody tooth, assayeth the wode
wrathes of hem; this is to seyn, they freten hir mayster. And the
iangelinge brid that singeth on the heye braunches, that is to seyn, 15
in the wode, and after is enclosed in a streyt cage: al-though that
the pleyinge bisinesse of men yeveth hem honiede drinkes and
large metes with swete studie, yit natheles, yif thilke brid, skippinge
out of hir streyte cage, seeth the agreables shadewes of the
wodes, she defouleth with hir feet hir metes y-shad, and seketh 20
mourninge only the wode; and twitereth, desiringe the wode, with
hir swete vois. The yerde of a tree, that is haled a-doun by
mighty strengthe, boweth redily the crop a-doun: but yif that the
hand of him that it bente lat it gon ayein, anon the crop loketh
up-right to hevene. The sonne Phebus, that falleth at even in 25
the westrene wawes, retorneth ayein eftsones his carte, by privee
path, ther-as it is wont aryse. Alle thinges seken ayein to hir
propre cours, and alle thinges reioysen hem of hir retorninge ayein
to hir nature. Ne non ordinaunce nis bitaken to thinges, but that
that hath ioyned the endinge to the beginninge, and hath maked 30
the cours of it-self stable, that it chaungeth nat from his propre
kinde.

Me. II. 3. A. om. the. 8. A. om. betinges. 9. C. horyble. 11. A. that (for 1st and). 13. A.
to-teren. 15. A. Iangland. // A. this (for 2nd that). 16. A. inclosed. // C. streyht; A.
streit. 17. C. pleynynge; A. pleiyng; Lat. ludens. 19. A. Ed. agreable. 24. C. bent; A.
bente. 27. A. in-to (for to). 30. C. hat; A. hath.

Prose III.

Vos quoque, o terrena animalia.

Certes also ye men, that ben ertheliche beestes, dremen alwey
youre beginninge, al-though it be with a thinne imaginacioun;
and by a maner thoughte, al be it nat cleerly ne parfitly, ye loken
fram a-fer to thilke verray fyn of blisfulnesse; and ther-fore naturel
entencioun ledeth you to thilke verray good, but many maner 5
errours mis-torneth you ther-fro. Consider now yif that by thilke
thinges, by whiche a man weneth to geten him blisfulnesse, yif
that he may comen to thilke ende that he weneth to come by
nature. For yif that moneye or honours, or thise other forseyde
thinges bringen to men swich a thing that no good ne fayle hem 10
ne semeth fayle, certes than wole I graunte that they ben maked
blisful by thilke thinges that they han geten. But yif so be that
thilke thinges ne mowen nat performen that they bi-heten, and
that ther be defaute of manye goodes, sheweth it nat thanne
cleerly that fals beautee of blisfulnesse is knowen and ateint in 15
thilke thinges? First and forward thou thy-self, that haddest
habundaunces of richesses nat long agon, I axe yif that, in the
habundaunce of alle thilke richesses, thou were never anguissous
or sory in thy corage of any wrong or grevaunce that bi-tidde thee
on any syde?' 20

'Certes,' quod I, 'it ne remembreth me nat that evere I was
so free of my thought that I ne was alwey in anguissh of
som-what.'

'And was nat that,' quod she, 'for that thee lakked som-what
that thou noldest nat han lakked, or elles thou haddest that thou 25
noldest nat han had?'

'Right so is it,' quod I.

'Thanne desiredest thou the presence of that oon and the
absence of that other?'

'I graunte wel,' quod I. 30

'Forsothe,' quod she, 'than nedeth ther som-what that every
man desireth?'

'Ye, ther nedeth,' quod I.

'Certes,' quod she, 'and he that hath lakke or nede of aught
nis nat in every wey suffisaunt to himself?' 35

'No,' quod I.

'And thou,' quod she, 'in al the plentee of thy richesses haddest
thilke lakke of suffisaunse?'

'What elles?' quod I.

'Thanne may nat richesses maken that a man nis nedy, ne that 40
he be suffisaunt to him-self; and that was it that they bi-highten,
as it semeth. And eek certes I trowe, that this be gretly to
considere, that moneye ne hath nat in his owne kinde that it
ne may ben bi-nomen of hem that han it, maugre hem?'

'I bi-knowe it wel,' quod I. 45

'Why sholdest thou nat bi-knowen it,' quod she, 'whan every
day the strenger folk bi-nemen it fro the febler, maugre hem?
For whennes comen elles alle thise foreyne compleyntes or
quereles of pletinges, but for that men axen ayein here moneye
that hath ben bi-nomen hem by force or by gyle, and alwey 50
maugre hem?'

'Right so is it,' quod I.

'Than,' quod she, 'hath a man nede to seken him foreyne
helpe by whiche he may defende his moneye?'

'Who may sey nay?' quod I. 55

'Certes,' quod she; 'and him nedede non help, yif he ne hadde
no moneye that he mighte lese?'

'That is douteles,' quod I.

'Than is this thinge torned in-to the contrarye,' quod she.
'For richesses, that men wenen sholde make suffisaunce, they 60
maken a man rather han nede of foreyne help! Which is
the manere or the gyse,' quod she, 'that richesse may dryve awey
nede? Riche folk, may they neither han hunger ne thurst?
Thise riche men, may they fele no cold on hir limes on winter?
But thou wolt answeren, that riche men han y-now wher-with they 65
may staunchen hir hunger, slaken hir thurst, and don a-wey cold.
In this wyse may nede be counforted by richesses; but certes,
nede ne may nat all outrely ben don a-wey. For though this nede,

that is alwey gapinge and gredy, be fulfild with richesses, and axe
any thing, yit dwelleth thanne a nede that mighte be fulfild. I 70
holde me stille, and telle nat how that litel thing suffiseth to
nature; but certes to avarice y-nough ne suffiseth no-thing. For
sin that richesses ne may nat al don awey nede, but richesses
maken nede, what may it thanne be, that ye wenen that richesses
mowen yeven you suffisaunce? 75

Pr. III. 2. A. om. youre biginninge. 15. C. ataynt; A. a-teint. 24. A. that (for And). // A.
om. nat that ... for. // A. thou lakkedest; Ed. the lacked. 34. A. a wyȝt (for aught). 35.
C. suffysaunte; A. suffisaunt. 37, 40. A. rycchesse. 46. C. sholdesthow. 47. A.
bynymen. // C. febelere; A. febler. 50. C. om. hem. 54. C. deffende. 56. A. nedith. 60.
A. rycchesse. 63. A. threst. 64. C. the; A. thei. 65. A. y-nouȝ. 66. A. threst. 68. C. om.
nat. // C. vtrely; A. outerly. 69, 70. C. fulfyd; A. fulfilled (twice). 72. C. aueryce; A.
auarice. 73. C. rychesse (1st time only); A. rychesse (twice). // C. alwey; A. awey.

Metre III.

Quamvis fluente diues auri gurgite.

Al were it so that a riche coveytous man hadde a river fletinge
al of gold, yit sholde it never staunchen his coveitise; and though
he hadde his nekke y-charged with precious stones of the rede
see, and though he do ere his feldes plentivous with an hundred
oxen, never ne shal his bytinge bisinesse for-leten him whyl he 5
liveth, ne the lighte richesses ne sholle nat beren him companye
whan he is ded.

Me. III. 1. A. om. 2nd a. 2. A. couetise. 4. A. erye. // C. feeldes. 6. C. leuith; A. lyueth.
// C. shol; A. shal. // C. A. compaignie.

Prose IV.

Set dignitates.

But dignitees, to whom they ben comen, maken they him
honorable and reverent? Han they nat so gret strengthe, that
they may putte vertues in the hertes of folk that usen the lordshipes
of hem? Or elles may they don a-wey the vyces? Certes, they
ne be nat wont to don awey wikkednesse, but they ben wont 5

rather to shewen wikkednesse. And ther-of comth it that I have
right grete desdeyn, that dignitees ben yeven ofte to wikked
men; for which thing Catullus cleped a consul of Rome, that
highte Nonius, "postum" or "boch"; as who seyth, he cleped him
a congregacioun of vyces in his brest, as a postum is ful of corupcioun, 10
al were this Nonius set in a chayre of dignitee. Seest thou nat
thanne how gret vilenye dignitees don to wikked men? Certes,
unworthinesse of wikked men sholde be the lasse y-sene, yif they
nere renomed of none honours. Certes, thou thyself ne mightest
nat ben brought with as manye perils as thou mightest suffren 15
that thou woldest beren the magistrat with Decorat; that is to
seyn, that for no peril that mighte befallen thee by offence of the king
Theodorike, thou noldest nat be felawe in governaunce with Decorat;
whan thou saye that he hadde wikked corage of a likerous shrewe
and of an accuser. Ne I ne may nat, for swiche honours, iugen 20
hem worthy of reverence, that I deme and holde unworthy to han
thilke same honours. Now yif thou saye a man that were fulfild
of wisdom, certes, thou ne mightest nat deme that he were unworthy
to the honour, or elles to the wisdom of which he is
fulfild?'—'No,' quod I.—'Certes, dignitees,' quod she, 'apertienen 25
proprely to vertu; and vertu transporteth dignitee anon to
thilke man to which she hir-self is conioigned. And for as moche
as honours of poeple ne may nat maken folk digne of honour, it
is wel seyn cleerly that they ne han no propre beautee of dignitee.
And yit men oughten taken more heed in this. For yif it so be 30
that a wikked wight be so mochel the foulere and the more out-cast,
that he is despysed of most folk, so as dignitee ne may nat
maken shrewes digne of reverence, the which shrewes dignitee
sheweth to moche folk, thanne maketh dignitee shrewes rather so
moche more despysed than preysed; and forsothe nat unpunisshed: 35
that is for to seyn, that shrewes revengen hem ayeinward
up-on dignitees; for they yilden ayein to dignitees as gret guerdoun,
whan they bi-spotten and defoulen dignitees with hir
vilenye. And for as mochel as thou mowe knowe that thilke
verray reverence ne may nat comen by thise shadewy transitorie 40
dignitees, undirstond now thus: yif that a man hadde used and
had many maner dignitees of consules, and were comen peraventure
amonge straunge naciouns, sholde thilke honour maken
him worshipful and redouted of straunge folk? Certes, yif that
honour of poeple were a naturel yift to dignitees, it ne mighte 45
never cesen nowher amonges no maner folk to don his office,
right as fyr in every contree ne stinteth nat to eschaufen and to

ben hoot. But for as moche as for to ben holden honourable or
reverent ne cometh nat to folk of hir propre strengthe of nature,
but only of the false opinioun of folk, that is to seyn, that wenen 50
that dignitees maken folk digne of honour; anon therfore whan
that they comen ther-as folk ne knowen nat thilke dignitees, hir
honours vanisshen awey, and that anon. But that is amonges
straunge folk, mayst thou seyn; but amonges hem ther they
weren born, ne duren nat thilke dignitees alwey? Certes, the 55
dignitee of the provostrie of Rome was whylom a gret power;
now is it nothing but an ydel name, and the rente of the senatorie
a gret charge. And yif a wight whylom hadde the office to taken
hede to the vitailes of the poeple, as of corn and other thinges, he
was holden amonges grete; but what thing is now more out-cast 60
thanne thilke provostrie? And, as I have seyd a litel her-biforn,
that thilke thing that hath no propre beautee of him-self receiveth
som-tyme prys and shyninge, and som-tyme leseth it by the
opinioun of usaunces. Now yif that dignitees thanne ne mowen
nat maken folk digne of reverence, and yif that dignitees wexen 65
foule of hir wille by the filthe of shrewes, and yif that dignitees
lesen hir shyninge by chaunginge of tymes, and yif they wexen
foule by estimacioun of poeple: what is it that they han in hem-self
of beautee that oughte ben desired? as who seyth, non;
thanne ne mowen they yeven no beautee of dignitee to non other. 70

Pr. IV. 2. C. honorable, glossed ironice. 3. C. lordshippys; A. lordshipes. 5. A. om. ne.
// A. wikkednesses (twice); Lat. nequitiam. 6. C. om. to bef. shewen. 7. C. desdaign; A.
desdeyne. 9. C. nomyus; A. nonius. // Ed. postome. 11. C. nomyus. // C. om. a. // C.
Sesthow. 12. C. fylonye; A. vylenye; Ed. vylonies; Lat. dedecus. 16. C. Ed. the; A. thi.
// A. magistrat; C. magestrat. 17. A. by the offence; C. by offense; Ed. by offence. 19.
Ed. saw. // C. lykoros; A. likerous. 22. Ed. sawe. 25. A. Ed. quod she; C. om. 29. C.
they, glossed, s. honurs. 30. A. more; C. mor. // C. om. it. 30-5. A. For if it so be that
he that is most out-cast that most folk dispisen. or as dignite ne may nat maken
shrewes worthi of no reuerences. than maketh dignites shrewes more dispised than
preised. the whiche shrewes dignit (sic) scheweth to moche folk. and forsothe not
vnpunissed; Ed. for if a wight be in so muche the more outcast, that he is dispysed of
moste folke, so as dignyte ne may not maken shrewes worthy of no reuerence, than
maketh dignite shrewes rather dispysed than praysed, the whiche shrewes dignite
sheweth to moche folk. And forsothe not vnpunisshed. 38. C. A. gerdoun; Ed.
guerdons. // C. by-spetten; A. byspotten; Lat. commaculant. 40. C. thyse shadwye; A.
the shadewy. 41. A. this (for thus). 47. A. enchaufen. 50. C. om. that bef. wenen. 53. C.
vanesshen; A. vanissen. 54. C. maysthow. // A. but; C. Ed. ne. 56, 58. C. whylom; A.
som-tyme (twice). 57. C. om. the bef. senatorie. 59. A. and what other; Ed. and of

other. 62. C. resseyueth; A. resceyueth. 66. C. felthe; A. filthe. // C. om. that after yif
(3rd time only). 70. C. dignete.

Metre IV.

Quamvis se, Tyrio superbus ostro.

Al be it so that the proude Nero, with alle his wode luxurie,
kembde him and aparailede him with faire purpres of Tirie,
and with whyte perles, algates yit throf he hateful to alle folk:
this is to seyn, that al was he behated of alle folk. Yit this
wikked Nero hadde gret lordship, and yaf whylom to the 5
reverents senatours the unworshipful setes of dignitees. Unworshipful
setes he clepeth here, for that Nero, that was so wikked, yaf
tho dignitees. Who-so wolde thanne resonably wenen, that blisfulnesse
were in swiche honours as ben yeven by vicious shrewes? 10

Me. IV. 2. A. kembed; apparailed. 5. C. lorshippe; A. lordship. // C. Ed. whylom; A.
som-tyme. 6. C. reuerentz; Ed. reuerent; A. dredeful; Lat. uerendis. 8. A. tho; C. Ed.
the. // A. om. so. 10. C. vysios; A. vicious.

Prose V.

An vero regna regumque familiaritas.

But regnes and familiaritees of kinges, may they maken a
man to ben mighty? How elles, whan hir blisfulnesse dureth
perpetuely? But certes, the olde age of tyme passed, and eek
of present tyme now, is ful of ensaumples how that kinges ben
chaunged in-to wrecchednesse out of hir welefulnesse. O! a 5
noble thing and a cleer thing is power, that is nat founden
mighty to kepen it-self! And yif that power of reaumes be
auctour and maker of blisfulnesse, yif thilke power lakketh on
any syde, amenuseth it nat thilke blisfulnesse and bringeth in
wrecchednesse? But yit, al be it so that the reaumes of mankinde 10
strecchen brode, yit mot ther nede ben moche folk, over
whiche that every king ne hath no lordshipe ne comaundement.
And certes, up-on thilke syde that power faileth, which that
maketh folk blisful, right on that same syde noun-power entreth

under-nethe, that maketh hem wrecches; in this manere thanne 15
moten kinges han more porcioun of wrecchednesse than of
welefulnesse. A tyraunt, that was king of Sisile, that hadde
assayed the peril of his estat, shewede by similitude the dredes
of reaumes by gastnesse of a swerd that heng over the heved
of his familier. What thing is thanne this power, that may nat 20
don awey the bytinges of bisinesse, ne eschewe the prikkes of
drede? And certes, yit wolden they liven in sikernesse, but
they may nat; and yit they glorifye hem in hir power. Holdest
thou thanne that thilke man be mighty, that thou seest that
he wolde don that he may nat don? And holdest thou thanne 25
him a mighty man, that hath envirownede his sydes with men
of armes or seriaunts, and dredeth more hem that he maketh
agast than they dreden him, and that is put in the handes of
his servaunts for he sholde seme mighty? But of familieres
or servaunts of kinges what sholde I telle thee anything, sin 30
that I myself have shewed thee that reaumes hem-self ben
ful of gret feblesse? The whiche familieres, certes, the ryal
power of kinges, in hool estat and in estat abated, ful ofte
throweth adown. Nero constreynede Senek, his familier and
his mayster, to chesen on what deeth he wolde deyen. Antonius 35
comaundede that knightes slowen with hir swerdes Papinian
his familier, which Papinian hadde ben longe tyme ful mighty
amonges hem of the court. And yit, certes, they wolden bothe
han renounced hir power; of whiche two Senek enforcede him
to yeven to Nero his richesses, and also to han gon in-to 40
solitarie exil. But whan the grete weighte, that is to seyn, of
lordes power or of fortune, draweth hem that shullen falle,
neither of hem ne mighte do that he wolde. What thing is
thanne thilke power, that though men han it, yit they ben agast;
and whanne thou woldest han it, thou nart nat siker; and 45
yif thou woldest forleten it, thou mayst nat eschuen it? But
whether swiche men ben frendes at nede, as ben conseyled by
fortune and nat by vertu? Certes, swiche folk as weleful
fortune maketh freendes, contrarious fortune maketh hem
enemys. And what pestilence is more mighty for to anoye a 50
wight than a familier enemy?

Pr. V. 3. C. perpetualy; A. perpetuely. 7. A. realmes. 8. C. auctor; A. auctour. 10. A.
realmes (om. the). 11. C. node (for nede). 12. C. lorshipe. 14. C. A. nounpower. 19. A.
realmes. 20. C. famyler. 23. A. yit; C. yif. 24. C. seyst; A. seest; Lat. uideas. 27. A.
seruauntes. // A. om. hem. 31. A. realmes. 32. A. feblenesse. // A. real; Ed. royal. 34.

C. hyr famyler (sic); A. his familier. 37. C. famyler; A. familier. // C. that hadde; A.
om. that. 41. C. solutarie; A. solitarie. 42. C. sholen; Ed. shullen; A. sholden; Lat.
ruituros. 44. C. yit; Ed. yet; A. that. 47. C. wheyther.

Metre V.

Qui se uolet esse potentem.

Who-so wol be mighty, he mot daunten his cruel corage,
ne putte nat his nekke, overcomen, under the foule reynes of
lecherye. For al-be-it so that thy lordshipe strecche so fer,
that the contree of Inde quaketh at thy comaundements or at
thy lawes, and that the last ile in the see, that hight Tyle, 5
be thral to thee, yit, yif thou mayst nat putten awey thy foule
derke desyrs, and dryven out fro thee wrecched complaintes,
certes, it nis no power that thou hast. 8

Me. V. 1. C. wole; Ed. wol; A. wolde. 4. C. thath (!). // A. contre Inde. // A.
comaundement. 5. A. leest (for last); Lat. ultima.

Prose VI.

Gloria uero quam fallax saepe.

But glorie, how deceivable and how foul is it ofte! For
which thing nat unskilfully a tragedien, that is to seyn, a maker
of ditees that highten tragedies, cryde and seide: "O glorie,
glorie," quod he, "thou art nothing elles to thousandes of folkes
but a greet sweller of eres!" For manye han had ful greet 5
renoun by the false opinioun of the poeple, and what thing
may ben thought fouler than swiche preysinge? For thilke folk
that ben preysed falsly, they moten nedes han shame of hir
preysinges. And yif that folk han geten hem thonk or preysinge
by hir desertes, what thing hath thilke prys eched or 10
encresed to the conscience of wyse folk, that mesuren hir good,
nat by the rumour of the poeple, but by the soothfastnesse of
conscience? And yif it seme a fair thing, a man to han
encresed and spred his name, than folweth it that it is demed
to ben a foul thing, yif it ne be y-sprad and encresed. But, 15

as I seyde a litel her-biforn that, sin ther mot nedes ben many
folk, to whiche folk the renoun of a man ne may nat comen,
it befalleth that he, that thou wenest be glorious and renomed,
semeth in the nexte partie of the erthes to ben with-oute glorie
and with-oute renoun. 20

And certes, amonges thise thinges I ne trowe nat that the
prys and grace of the poeple nis neither worthy to ben
remembred, ne cometh of wyse Iugement, ne is ferme perdurably.
But now, of this name of gentilesse, what man is it
that ne may wel seen how veyn and how flittinge a thing it 25
is? For yif the name of gentilesse be referred to renoun and
cleernesse of linage, thanne is gentil name but a foreine thing,
that is to seyn, to hem that glorifyen hem of hir linage. For it
semeth that gentilesse be a maner preysinge that comth of the
deserte of ancestres. And yif preysinge maketh gentilesse, 30
thanne moten they nedes be gentil that ben preysed. For
which thing it folweth, that yif thou ne have no gentilesse of
thy-self, that is to seyn, preyse that comth of thy deserte, foreine
gentilesse ne maketh thee nat gentil. But certes, yif ther be
any good in gentilesse, I trowe it be al-only this, that it semeth 35
as that a maner necessitee be imposed to gentil men, for that
they ne sholden nat outrayen or forliven fro the virtues of hir
noble kinrede.

Pr. VI. 4. A. Ed. he; C. she (!). 6. A. om. the bef. poeple. 9. C. of (for or). 15. A. ne
encresed. 19. A. parties of the erthe; Lat. parte terrarum. 23. C. remenbred. 24, 26, 29.
C. gentellesse; A. gentilesse. 26. C. refferred. 30. A. decert; Ed. desertes. 32. A.
folweth; C. folueth. 36. C. inposed.

Metre VI.

Omne hominum genus in terris.

Al the linage of men that ben in erthe ben of semblable
birthe. On allone is fader of thinges. On allone ministreth
alle thinges. He yaf to the sonne hise bemes; he yaf to the
mone hir hornes. He yaf the men to the erthe; he yaf the
sterres to the hevene. He encloseth with membres the soules 5
that comen fro his hye sete. Thanne comen alle mortal folk
of noble sede; why noisen ye or bosten of youre eldres? For

yif thou loke your biginninge, and god your auctor and your
maker, thanne nis ther no forlived wight, but-yif he norisshe
his corage un-to vyces, and forlete his propre burthe. 10

Me. VI. 4. A. Ed. hir hornes; C. hyse hornes. 5. C. menbrys. 8. Ed. ye loke; Lat.
spectes. // A. thy (for 1st your); Lat. uestra.

Prose VII.

Quid autem de corporis uoluptatibus.

But what shal I seye of delices of body, of whiche delices the
desiringes ben ful of anguissh, and the fulfillinges of hem ben ful
of penaunce? How greet syknesse and how grete sorwes unsufferable,
right as a maner fruit of wikkednesse, ben thilke delices
wont to bringen to the bodies of folk that usen hem! Of whiche 5
delices I not what Ioye may ben had of hir moevinge. But this
wot I wel, that who-so-ever wole remembren him of hise luxures,
he shal wel understonde that the issues of delices ben sorwful
and sorye. And yif thilke delices mowen maken folk blisful,
than by the same cause moten thise bestes ben cleped blisful; 10
of whiche bestes al the entencioun hasteth to fulfille hir bodily
Iolitee. And the gladnesse of wyf and children were an honest
thing, but it hath ben seyd that it is over muchel ayeins kinde,
that children han ben founden tormentours to hir fadres, I not
how manye: of whiche children how bytinge is every condicioun, 15
it nedeth nat to tellen it thee, that hast or this tyme assayed
it, and art yit now anguissous. In this approve I the sentence
of my disciple Euripidis, that seyde, that "he that hath no
children is weleful by infortune."

Pr. VII. 12. A. om. an. 15. A. Ed. euery; C. euere. 18. Ed. Euripidis; C. Eurydyppys;
A. Euridippus; Lat. Euripidis (gen.).

Metre VII.

Habet omnis hoc uoluptas.

Every delyt hath this, that it anguissheth hem with prikkes

that usen it. It resembleth to thise flyinge flyes that we clepen
been, that, after that he hath shad hise agreable honies, he fleeth
awey, and stingeth the hertes, of hem that ben y-smite, with
bytinge overlonge holdinge. 5

Me. VII. 1. C. A. anguisseth. 3. C. om. 2nd that. // A. the bee (for he).

Prose VIII.

Nihil igitur dubium est.

Now is it no doute thanne that thise weyes ne ben a maner
misledinges to blisfulnesse, ne that they ne mowe nat leden
folk thider as they biheten to leden hem. But with how grete
harmes thise forseyde weyes ben enlaced, I shal shewe thee
shortly. For-why yif thou enforcest thee to asemble moneye, 5
thou most bireven him his moneye that hath it. And yif
thou wolt shynen with dignitees, thou most bisechen and
supplien hem that yeven tho dignitees. And yif thou coveitest
by honour to gon biforn other folk, thou shalt defoule thy-self
thorugh humblesse of axinge. Yif thou desirest power, thou 10
shalt by awaytes of thy subgits anoyously ben cast under manye
periles. Axest thou glorie? Thou shalt ben so destrat by aspre
thinges that thou shalt forgoon sikernesse. And yif thou wolt
leden thy lyf in delices, every wight shal despisen thee and
forleten thee, as thou that art thral to thing that is right foul 15
and brotel; that is to seyn, servaunt to thy body. Now is it
thanne wel seen, how litel and how brotel possessioun they
coveiten, that putten the goodes of the body aboven hir owne
resoun. For mayst thou sormounten thise olifaunts in gretnesse
or weight of body? Or mayst thou ben stronger than the bole? 20
Mayst thou ben swifter than the tygre? Bihold the spaces and
the stablenesse and the swifte cours of the hevene, and stint
som-tyme to wondren on foule thinges; the which hevene, certes,
nis nat rather for thise thinges to ben wondred up-on, than for
the resoun by which it is governed. But the shyning of thy 25
forme, that is to seyn, the beautee of thy body, how swiftly passinge
is it, and how transitorie; certes, it is more flittinge than the
mutabilitee of flowers of the somer-sesoun. For so Aristotle
telleth, that yif that men hadden eyen of a beest that highte
lynx, so that the lokinge of folk mighte percen thorugh the 30

thinges that with-stonden it, who-so loked thanne in the entrailes
of the body of Alcibiades, that was ful fayr in the superfice
with-oute, it shold seme right foul. And forthy, yif thou semest
fayr, thy nature maketh nat that, but the desceivaunce of the
feblesse of the eyen that loken. But preyse the goodes of the 35
body as mochel as ever thee list; so that thou knowe algates
that, what-so it be, that is to seyn, of the goodes of thy body,
which that thou wondrest up-on, may ben destroyed or dissolved
by the hete of a fevere of three dayes. Of alle whiche forseyde
thinges I may reducen this shortly in a somme, that thise worldly 40
goodes, whiche that ne mowen nat yeven that they biheten, ne
ben nat parfit by the congregacioun of alle goodes; that they
ne ben nat weyes ne pathes that bringen men to blisfulnesse,
ne maken men to ben blisful.

Pr. VIII. 9. C. shal. 10. A. by (for thorugh). 11. C. be (for by). // A. vndir many; C. Ed.
vndyr by many; Lat. periculis subiacebis. 12. C. A. destrat; Ed. distracte. 16. C. brwtel
(for brotel; 1st time). 19. A. mayst thou; C. maysthow. 20. C. weyhty (!). 32. C. in
superfyce (om. the). 34. A. desceiuaunce of the; Ed. disceyuaunce of; C. deceyuable or
(!). 37. A. the goodes of thi; Ed. the goodes of the; C. godes of the. 40. A. Ed. a
somme; C. om. a. // C. wordly. 42. C. ne ne ben. // A. Ed. by the; C. om. the. 43. C.
man (for men; 1st time).

Metre VIII.

Eheu! quae miseros tramite deuios.

Allas! which folye and which ignoraunce misledeth wandringe
wrecches fro the path of verray goode!

Certes, ye ne seken no gold in grene trees, ne ye ne gaderen
nat precious stones in the vynes, ne ye ne hyden nat your
ginnes in the hye mountaignes to cacchen fish of whiche ye 5
may maken riche festes. And yif yow lyketh to hunte to roes,
ye ne gon nat to the fordes of the water that highte Tyrene.
And over this, men knowen wel the crykes and the cavernes
of the see y-hid in the flodes, and knowen eek which water
is most plentivous of whyte perles, and knowen which water 10
haboundeth most of rede purpre, that is to seyn, of a maner
shelle-fish with which men dyen purpre; and knowen which
strondes habounden most with tendre fisshes, or of sharpe fisshes

that highten echines. But folk suffren hem-self to ben so blinde,
that hem ne reccheth nat to knowe where thilke goodes ben 15
y-hid whiche that they coveiten, but ploungen hem in erthe
and seken there thilke good that sormounteth the hevene that
bereth the sterres. What preyere may I maken that be digne
to the nyce thoughtes of men? But I preye that they coveiten
richesse and honours, so that, whan they han geten tho false 20
goodes with greet travaile, that ther-by they mowe knowen the
verray goodes.

Me. VIII. 4. A. om. nat. 5. C. hyye mountaygnes; A. heyȝe mountaignes. // C.
kachche; A. kachen; Ed. catchen (= cacchen). 6. C. honte; A. Ed. hunte. // C. rooes;
Ed. roes; A. roos. 8. A. crikes; Ed. crekes; C. brykes; Lat. recessus. 9. A. Ed. in the; C.
om. the. 14. Ed. Echines; C. A. echynnys. 15. C. rechcheth; A. recchith. // C. weere
(for where).

Prose IX.

Hactenus mendacis formam.

It suffyseth that I have shewed hider-to the forme of false
welefulnesse, so that, yif thou loke now cleerly, the order of
myn entencioun requireth from hennes-forth to shewen thee the
verray welefulnesse.'

'For sothe,' quod I, 'I see wel now that suffisaunce may nat 5
comen by richesses, ne power by reames, ne reverence by
dignitees, ne gentilesse by glorie, ne Ioye by delices.'

'And hast thou wel knowen the causes,' quod she, 'why it is?'

'Certes, me semeth,' quod I, 'that I see hem right as though
it were thorugh a litel clifte; but me were levere knowen hem 10
more openly of thee.'

'Certes,' quod she, 'the resoun is al redy. For thilke thing
that simply is o thing, with-outen any devisioun, the errour
and folye of mankinde departeth and devydeth it, and misledeth
it and transporteth from verray and parfit good to goodes that 15
ben false and unparfit. But sey me this. Wenest thou that
he, that hath nede of power, that him ne lakketh no-thing?'

'Nay,' quod I.

'Certes,' quod she, 'thou seyst a-right. For yif so be that
ther is a thing, that in any partye be febler of power, certes, 20
as in that, it mot nedes ben nedy of foreine help.'

'Right so is it,' quod I.

'Suffisaunce and power ben thanne of o kinde?'

'So semeth it,' quod I.

'And demest thou,' quod she, 'that a thing that is of this 25
manere, that is to seyn, suffisaunt and mighty, oughte ben
despysed, or elles that it be right digne of reverence aboven
alle thinges?'

'Certes,' quod I, 'it nis no doute, that it is right worthy to
ben reverenced.' 30

'Lat us,' quod she, 'adden thanne reverence to suffisaunce
and to power, so that we demen that thise three thinges ben
al o thing.'

'Certes,' quod I, 'lat us adden it, yif we wolen graunten the
sothe.' 35

'What demest thou thanne?' quod she; 'is that a derk thing
and nat noble, that is suffisaunt, reverent, and mighty, or elles that
it is right noble and right cleer by celebritee of renoun? Consider
thanne,' quod she, 'as we han graunted her-biforn, that he that
ne hath nede of no-thing, and is most mighty and most digne 40
of honour, yif him nedeth any cleernesse of renoun, which
cleernesse he mighte nat graunten of him-self, so that, for lakke
of thilke cleernesse, he mighte seme the febeler on any syde
or the more out-cast?' Glose. This is to seyn, nay; for who-so
that is suffisaunt, mighty, and reverent, cleernesse of renoun folweth 45
of the forseyde thinges; he hath it al redy of his suffisaunce.

Boece. 'I may nat,' quod I, 'denye it; but I mot graunte
as it is, that this thing be right celebrable by cleernesse of renoun
and noblesse.'

'Thanne folweth it,' quod she, 'that we adden cleernesse of 50

renoun to the three forseyde thinges, so that ther ne be amonges
hem no difference?'

'This is a consequence,' quod I.

'This thing thanne,' quod she, 'that ne hath nede of no
foreine thing, and that may don alle thinges by hise strengthes, 55
and that is noble and honourable, nis nat that a mery thing
and a Ioyful?'

'But whennes,' quod I, 'that any sorwe mighte comen to this
thing that is swiche, certes, I may nat thinke.'

'Thanne moten we graunte,' quod she, 'that this thing be 60
ful of gladnesse, yif the forseyde thinges ben sothe; and certes,
also mote we graunten that suffisaunce, power, noblesse, reverence,
and gladnesse ben only dyverse by names, but hir substaunce
hath no diversitee.'

'It mot needly been so,' quod I. 65

'Thilke thing thanne,' quod she, 'that is oon and simple
in his nature, the wikkednesse of men departeth it and devydeth
it; and whan they enforcen hem to geten partye of a thing
that ne hath no part, they ne geten hem neither thilke partye that
nis non, ne the thing al hool that they ne desire nat.' 70

'In which manere?' quod I.

'Thilke man,' quod she, 'that secheth richesses to fleen
povertee, he ne travaileth him nat for to gete power; for he
hath levere ben derk and vyl; and eek withdraweth from
him-self many naturel delyts, for he nolde lese the moneye that 75
he hath assembled. But certes, in this manere he ne geteth
him nat suffisaunce that power forleteth, and that molestie
prikketh, and that filthe maketh out-cast, and that derkenesse
hydeth. And certes, he that desireth only power, he wasteth
and scatereth richesse, and despyseth delyts, and eek honour 80
that is with-oute power, ne he ne preyseth glorie no-thing.
Certes, thus seest thou wel, that manye thinges faylen to him;
for he hath som-tyme defaute of many necessitees, and many
anguisshes byten him; and whan he ne may nat don tho defautes
a-wey, he forleteth to ben mighty, and that is the thing that 85
he most desireth. And right thus may I maken semblable

resouns of honours, and of glorie, and of delyts. For so as
every of thise forseyde thinges is the same that thise other
thinges ben, that is to seyn, al oon thing, who-so that ever
seketh to geten that oon of thise, and nat that other, he ne 90
geteth nat that he desireth.'

Boece. 'What seyst thou thanne, yif that a man coveiteth
to geten alle thise thinges to-gider?'

Philosophie. 'Certes,' quod she, 'I wolde seye, that he wolde
geten him sovereyn blisfulnesse; but that shal he nat finde in 95
tho thinges that I have shewed, that ne mowen nat yeven that
they beheten.'

'Certes, no,' quod I.

'Thanne,' quod she, 'ne sholden men nat by no wey seken
blisfulnesse in swiche thinges as men wene that they ne mowen 100
yeven but o thing senglely of alle that men seken.'

'I graunte wel,' quod I; 'ne no sother thing ne may ben
sayd.'

'Now hast thou thanne,' quod she, 'the forme and the causes
of false welefulnesse. Now torne and flitte the eyen of thy 105
thought; for ther shalt thou sen anon thilke verray blisfulnesse
that I have bihight thee.'

'Certes,' quod I, 'it is cleer and open, thogh it were to
a blinde man; and that shewedest thou me ful wel a litel her-biforn,
whan thou enforcedest thee to shewe me the causes 110
of the false blisfulnesse. For but-yif I be bigyled, thanne
is thilke the verray blisfulnesse parfit, that parfitly maketh a
man suffisaunt, mighty, honourable, noble, and ful of gladnesse.
And, for thou shalt wel knowe that I have wel understonden
thise thinges with-in my herte, I knowe wel that thilke blisfulnesse, 115
that may verrayly yeven oon of the forseyde thinges, sin
they ben al oon, I knowe, douteles, that thilke thing is the
fulle blisfulnesse.'

Philosophie. 'O my norie,' quod she, 'by this opinioun I
seye that thou art blisful, yif thou putte this ther-to that I 120
shal seyn.'

'What is that?' quod I.

'Trowest thou that ther be any thing in thise erthely mortal
toumbling thinges that may bringen this estat?'

'Certes,' quod I, 'I trowe it naught; and thou hast shewed 125
me wel that over thilke good ther nis no-thing more to ben
desired.'

'Thise thinges thanne,' quod she, 'that is to sey, erthely
suffisaunce and power and swiche thinges, either they semen
lykenesses of verray good, or elles it semeth that they yeve to 130
mortal folk a maner of goodes that ne ben nat parfit; but thilke
good that is verray and parfit, that may they nat yeven.'

'I acorde me wel,' quod I.

'Thanne,' quod she, 'for as mochel as thou hast knowen
which is thilke verray blisfulnesse, and eek whiche thilke thinges 135
ben that lyen falsly blisfulnesse, that is to seyn, that by deceite
semen verray goodes, now behoveth thee to knowe whennes and
where thou mowe seke thilke verray blisfulnesse.'

'Certes,' quod I, 'that desire I greetly, and have abiden longe
tyme to herknen it.' 140

'But for as moche,' quod she, 'as it lyketh to my disciple
Plato, in his book of "in Timeo," that in right litel thinges men
sholden bisechen the help of god, what iugest thou that be now
to done, so that we may deserve to finde the sete of thilke
verray good?' 145

'Certes,' quod I, 'I deme that we shollen clepen the fader
of alle goodes; for with-outen him nis ther no-thing founden
a-right.'

'Thou seyst a-right,' quod she; and bigan anon to singen
right thus:— 150

Pr. IX. 5. A. om. sothe and 2nd I. 6. A. richesse. // A. Ed. realmes. 8. A. hast thou;
C.hasthow. // A. cause; Lat. caussas. 16. A. inparfit. // C. Wenesthow. 20. A. fieble; C.
Ed. febler; Lat. imbecillioris ualentiae. 21. C. mot; Ed. mote; A. most. 25. C.
demesthow. 29. A. nis (twice). 36. C. demesthow. // Ed. derke; C. dyrk; A. dirke. 38.
A. of (for by). 53. A. And this (for This). // C. consequens; Ed. consequence; A.

consequente or consequence. 54. C. hat (for hath). // A. no nede. 58. Ed. whence; A.
wenest (!); Lat. unde. 72. A. rychesse. 74. Ed. derke; C. dyrk; A. dirk. 75. C. delices
(or delites); A. delitz; Ed. delytes. 77. Ed. molestie; C. A. moleste; Lat. molestia. 78.
A. derknesse; C. dyrkenesse. 80. C. schatereth. // C. delytz; A. delices (or delites). 83.
C. Ed. defaute; A. faute. 84. Ed. anguysshes; A. anguysses; C. angwyssos. 86. A.
semblable; C. semlable. 90. C. oothre. 92. C. seysthow. 101. C. A. senglely. 104. C.
hasthow. 106. C. shalthow. 109. A. om. ful wel. 115. C. Ed. that thilke; A. om. that.
118. A. the fulle of (wrongly). 119. C. norye; A. nurry. 130. A. likenesse; Lat.
imagines. 141. A. disciple; C. dissipule. 142. C. in tymeo; A. in thimeo; Lat. uti in
Timaeo Platoni. 143. C. byshechen. // A. om. now.

Metre IX.

O qui perpetua mundum ratione gubernas.

'O thou fader, creator of hevene and of erthes, that governest
this world by perdurable resoun, that comaundest the tymes to
gon from sin that age hadde beginninge; thou that dwellest
thy-self ay stedefast and stable, and yevest alle othre thinges
to ben moeved; ne foreine causes necesseden thee never to 5
compoune werk of floteringe matere, but only the forme of
soverein good y-set with-in thee with-oute envye, that moevede
thee freely. Thou that art alder-fayrest, beringe the faire world
in thy thought, formedest this world to the lyknesse semblable
of that faire world in thy thought. Thou drawest al thing of 10
thy soverein ensaumpler, and comaundest that this world,
parfitliche y-maked, have freely and absolut his parfit parties.
Thou bindest the elements by noumbres proporcionables, that
the colde thinges mowen acorden with the hote thinges, and
the drye thinges with the moiste thinges; that the fyr, that 15
is purest, ne flee nat over hye, ne that the hevinesse ne drawe
nat adoun over-lowe the erthes that ben plounged in the wateres.
Thou knittest to-gider the mene sowle of treble kinde, moevinge
alle thinges, and devydest it by membres acordinge; and whan
it is thus devyded, it hath asembled a moevinge in-to two 20
roundes; it goth to torne ayein to him-self, and envirouneth a
ful deep thought, and torneth the hevene by semblable image.
Thou by evene-lyke causes enhansest the sowles and the lasse
lyves, and, ablinge hem heye by lighte cartes, thou sowest hem
in-to hevene and in-to erthe; and whan they ben converted to 25
thee by thy benigne lawe, thou makest hem retorne ayein to

thee by ayein-ledinge fyr.

O fader, yive thou to the thought to styen up in-to thy streite
sete, and graunte him to enviroune the welle of good; and, the
lighte y-founde, graunte him to fichen the clere sightes of his 30
corage in thee. And scater thou and to-breke thou the weightes
and the cloudes of erthely hevinesse, and shyne thou by thy
brightnesse. For thou art cleernesse; thou art peysible reste
to debonaire folk; thou thy-self art biginninge, berer, leder, path,
and terme; to loke on thee, that is our ende. 35

Me. IX. 3. A. for to gon. // C. from sin that; A. from tyme that; Ed. syth that. 7. A. om.
thee after with-in. 10. A. alle thinges. 11. A. comaundedist. 12. C. om. and absolut. 13.
A. Ed. proporcionables; C. porcionables. 16. A. fleye (for flee). // A. Ed. drawe; C.
drawen. 18. C. glosses sowle by anima mundi. 19. C. menbres. 20. C. in to two; A. in
two; Ed. in to. 22. C. tornet; A. tournith. 24. C. Ed. sowest; A. sewest. 26. A. Ed.
benigne; C. bygynnynge (!). 28. A. thi thouȝt (wrongly); C. has the gloss: s. boecii. //
A. thi streite; Ed. thy strayte; C. the streite. 29. A. om. him. // C. enuerowne; A.
enuiroune. 31. A. om. 2nd thou. 33. A. om. reste. 34. C. paath. 35. A. om. that.

Prose X.

Quoniam igitur quae sit imperfecti.

For as moche thanne as thou hast seyn, which is the forme
of good that nis nat parfit, and which is the forme of good that
is parfit, now trowe I that it were good to shewe in what this
perfeccioun of blisfulnesse is set. And in this thing, I trowe
that we sholden first enquere for to witen, yif that any swiche 5
maner good as thilke good that thou has diffinisshed a litel
heer-biforn, that is to seyn, soverein good, may ben founde in the
nature of thinges; for that veyn imaginacioun of thought ne
deceyve us nat, and putte us out of the sothfastnesse of thilke
thing that is summitted unto us. But it may nat ben deneyed 10
that thilke good ne is, and that it nis right as welle of alle
goodes. For al thing that is cleped inparfit is proeved inparfit
by the amenusinge of perfeccioun or of thing that is parfit.
And ther-of comth it, that in every thing general, yif that men
sen any-thing that is inparfit, certes, in thilke general ther mot 15
ben som-thing that is parfit; for yif so be that perfeccioun is
don awey, men may nat thinke ne seye fro whennes thilke

thing is that is cleped inparfit. For the nature of thinges ne
took nat hir beginninge of thinges amenused and inparfit, but
it procedeth of thinges that ben al hoole and absolut, and 20
descendeth so doun in-to outterest thinges, and in-to thinges
empty and with-outen frut. But, as I have y-shewed a litel
her-biforn, that yif ther be a blisfulnesse that be freele and
veyn and inparfit, ther may no man doute that ther nis som
blisfulnesse that is sad, stedefast, and parfit.' 25

Boece. 'This is concluded,' quod I, 'fermely and sothfastly.'

Philosophie. 'But considere also,' quod she, 'in wham this
blisfulnesse enhabiteth. The comune acordaunce and conceite
of the corages of men proeveth and graunteth, that god, prince
of alle thinges, is good. For, so as nothing ne may ben thought 30
bettre than god, it may nat ben douted thanne that he, that
nothing nis bettre, that he nis good. Certes, resoun sheweth
that god is so good, that it proveth by verray force that parfit
good is in him. For yif god ne is swich, he ne may nat ben
prince of alle thinges; for certes som-thing possessing in it-self 35
parfit good, sholde ben more worthy than god, and it sholde
semen that thilke thing were first, and elder than god. For
we han shewed apertly that alle thinges that ben parfit ben
first or thinges that ben unparfit; and for-thy, for as moche as
that my resoun or my proces ne go nat a-wey with-oute an 40
ende, we owen to graunten that the soverein god is right ful
of soverein parfit good. And we han establisshed that the
soverein good is verray blisfulnesse: thanne mot it nedes be,
that verray blisfulnesse is set in soverein god.'

'This take I wel,' quod I, 'ne this ne may nat ben withseid 45
in no manere.'

'But I preye,' quod she, 'see now how thou mayst proeven,
holily and with-oute corupcioun, this that I have seyd, that the
soverein god is right ful of soverein good.'

'In which manere?' quod I. 50

'Wenest thou aught,' quod she, 'that this prince of alle
thinges have y-take thilke soverein good any-wher out of him-self,
of which soverein good men proveth that he is ful, right
as thou mightest thinken that god, that hath blisfulnesse in

him-self, and thilke blisfulnesse that is in him, weren dyvers in 55
substaunce? For yif thou wene that god have received thilke
good out of him-self, thou mayst wene that he that yaf thilke
good to god be more worthy than is god. But I am bi-knowen
and confesse, and that right dignely, that god is right worthy
aboven alle thinges; and, yif so be that this good be in him 60
by nature, but that it is dyvers fro him by weninge resoun,
sin we speke of god prince of alle thinges: feigne who-so
feigne may, who was he that hath conioigned thise dyverse
thinges to-gider? And eek, at the laste, see wel that a thing
that is dyvers from any thing, that thilke thing nis nat that 65
same thing fro which it is understonden to ben dyvers. Thanne
folweth it, that thilke thing that by his nature is dyvers fro
soverein good, that that thing nis nat soverein good; but certes,
that were a felonous corsednesse to thinken that of him that
nothing nis more worth. For alwey, of alle thinges, the nature 70
of hem ne may nat ben bettre than his biginning; for which
I may concluden, by right verray resoun, that thilke that is
biginning of alle thinges, thilke same thing is soverein good
in his substaunce.'

Boece. 'Thou hast seyd rightfully,' quod I. 75

Philosophie. 'But we han graunted,' quod she, 'that the
soverein good is blisfulnesse.'

'And that is sooth,' quod I.

'Thanne,' quod she, 'moten we nedes graunten and confessen
that thilke same soverein good be god.' 80

'Certes,' quod I, 'I ne may nat denye ne withstonde the
resouns purposed; and I see wel that it folweth by strengthe
of the premisses.'

'Loke now,' quod she, 'yif this be proved yit more fermely
thus: that ther ne mowen nat ben two soverein goodes that 85
ben dyverse amonge hem-self. For certes, the goodes that
ben dyverse amonges hem-self, that oon nis nat that that other
is; thanne ne [may] neither of hem ben parfit, so as either of
hem lakketh to other. But that that nis nat parfit, men may
seen apertly that it nis nat soverein. The thinges, thanne, that 90
ben sovereinly goode, ne mowen by no wey ben dyverse. But

I have wel concluded that blisfulnesse and god ben the soverein
good; for whiche it mot nedes ben, that soverein blisfulnesse
is soverein divinitee.'

'Nothing,' quod I, 'nis more soothfast than this, ne more 95
ferme by resoun; ne a more worthy thing than god may nat
ben concluded.'

'Up-on thise thinges thanne,' quod she, 'right as thise geometriens,
whan they han shewed hir proposiciouns, ben wont
to bringen in thinges that they clepen porismes, or declaraciouns 100
of forseide thinges, right so wole I yeve thee heer as a corollarie,
or a mede of coroune. For-why, for as moche as by the getinge
of blisfulnesse men ben maked blisful, and blisfulnesse is
divinitee: thanne is it manifest and open, that by the getinge
of divinitee men ben maked blisful. Right as by the getinge 105
of Iustice [they ben maked iust], and by the getinge of sapience
they ben maked wyse: right so, nedes, by the semblable resoun,
whan they han geten divinitee, they ben maked goddes. Thanne
is every blisful man god; but certes, by nature, ther nis but
o god; but, by the participacioun of divinitee, ther ne let ne 110
desturbeth nothing that ther ne ben manye goddes.'

'This is,' quod I, 'a fair thing and a precious, clepe it as
thou wolt; be it porisme or corollarie,' or mede of coroune or
declaringes.

'Certes,' quod she, 'nothing nis fayrer than is the thing that 115
by resoun sholde ben added to thise forseide thinges.'

'What thing?' quod I.

'So,' quod she, 'as it semeth that blisfulnesse conteneth many
thinges, it were for to witen whether that alle thise thinges maken
or conioignen as a maner body of blisfulnesse, by dyversitee of 120
parties or of membres; or elles, yif that any of alle thilke thinges
be swich that it acomplisshe by him-self the substaunce of
blisfulnesse, so that alle thise othre thinges ben referred and
brought to blisfulnesse,' that is to seyn, as to the cheef of hem.

'I wolde,' quod I, 'that thou makedest me cleerly to understonde 125
what thou seyst, and that thou recordedest me the forseyde
thinges.'

'Have I nat iuged,' quod she, 'that blisfulnesse is good?'

'Yis, forsothe,' quod I; 'and that soverein good.'

'Adde thanne,' quod she, 'thilke good, that is maked blisfulnesse, 130
to alle the forseide thinges; for thilke same blisfulnesse
that is demed to ben soverein suffisaunce, thilke selve is soverein
power, soverein reverence, soverein cleernesse or noblesse, and
soverein delyt. Conclusio. What seyst thou thanne of alle thise
thinges, that is to seyn, suffisaunce, power, and this othre thinges; 135
ben they thanne as membres of blisfulnesse, or ben they referred
and brought to soverein good, right as alle thinges that ben brought
to the chief of hem?'

'I understonde wel;' quod I, 'what thou purposest to seke;
but I desire for to herkne that thou shewe it me.' 140

'Tak now thus the discrecioun of this questioun,' quod she.
'Yif alle thise thinges,' quod she, 'weren membres to felicitee,
than weren they dyverse that oon from that other; and swich is
the nature of parties or of membres, that dyverse membres compounen
a body.' 145

'Certes,' quod I, 'it hath wel ben shewed heer-biforn, that alle
thise thinges ben alle o thing.'

'Thanne ben they none membres,' quod she; 'for elles it
sholde seme that blisfulnesse were conioigned al of on membre
allone; but that is a thing that may nat be don.' 150

'This thing,' quod I, 'nis nat doutous; but I abyde to herknen
the remnaunt of thy questioun.'

'This is open and cleer,' quod she, 'that alle othre thinges ben
referred and brought to good. For therefore is suffisaunce requered,
for it is demed to ben good; and forthy is power requered, 155
for men trowen also that it be good; and this same thing mowen
we thinken and coniecten of reverence, and of noblesse, and of
delyt. Thanne is soverein good the somme and the cause of al
that aughte ben desired; for-why thilke thing that with-holdeth
no good in it-self, ne semblaunce of good, it ne may nat wel in 160
no manere be desired ne requered. And the contrarie: for
thogh that thinges by hir nature ne ben nat goode, algates, yif
men wene that ben goode, yit ben they desired as though that

they weren verrayliche goode. And therfor is it that men oughten
to wene by right, that bountee be the soverein fyn, and the cause 165
of alle the thinges that ben to requeren. But certes, thilke that
is cause for which men requeren any thing, it semeth that thilke
same thing be most desired. As thus: yif that a wight wolde
ryden for cause of hele, he ne desireth nat so mochel the moevinge
to ryden, as the effect of his hele. Now thanne, sin that 170
alle thinges ben requered for the grace of good, they ne ben nat
desired of alle folk more thanne the same good. But we han
graunted that blisfulnesse is that thing, for whiche that alle thise
othre thinges ben desired; thanne is it thus: that, certes, only
blisfulnesse is requered and desired. By whiche thing it sheweth 175
cleerly, that of good and of blisfulnesse is al oon and the same
substaunce.'

'I see nat,' quod I, 'wherfore that men mighten discorden in
this.'

'And we han shewed that god and verray blisfulnesse is al oo 180
thing.'

'That is sooth,' quod I.

'Thanne mowen we conclude sikerly, that the substaunce of
god is set in thilke same good, and in non other place. 184

Pr. X. 6. A. diffinissed; C. dyffynnyssed; Ed. diffynished. 10. After us, A. ins. this is
to seyne (needlessly). // C. A. denoyed (error for deneyed); Ed. denyed. 12. A. al; C.
alle. 14. C. ther-of; A. Ed. her-of. // C. comht (for comth). 20. C. absolut, i. laws. 21.
C. dessendeth. 28. C. conseite; A. conceite. 31. A. om. he that. 32. A. is bettre. 35. C.
Ed. it-self; A. hym self. 36. A. om. it. 39. A. inperfit. 40. C. as that; A. om. that. // A.
Ed. proces; C. processes. 41. owen] A. ouȝt. 44. A. om. that ... is. 50. A. om. In which
... I. 51. C. Wenesthow awht. 56. A. receyued; C. resseyud. 58. A. goode (for worthy).
61. A. it is; C. is is (sic). // fro him] A. om. him. 63. A. om. hath. 70. A. Ed. nis; C. is.
73. A. om. soverein. 84. A. om. yit. 86, 87. A. om. For certes ... hem-self. // C. othre.
88. A. om. ne. // C. A. Ed. mowen; read may. 90. A. Ed. nis; C. is. 106. I supply they
ben maked iust; Lat. iusti. 110. C. by thy (wrongly); A. Ed. by the. 119. A. witen; C.
whyten. // C. wheyther that; A. om. that. // A. thise; C. this. 120. A. Ed. by; C. be. 121.
C. or of; A. om. of. 122. Ed. accomplysshe; C. acomplyse; A. acomplise. 126. A.
recordest. 134. C. om. thise. 141. Ed. discrecion; A. discressioun; C. descressioun.
143. C. swhych. 157. C. coniecten; A. coneiten; Lat. coniectare. 159. C. awht; A. auȝt.
161. A. requered; C. required. 171. A. requered; C. required. 176. C. of good; A. om.
of; Lat. boni.

Metre X.

Huc omnes pariter uenite capti.

O cometh alle to-gider now, ye that ben y-caught and y-bounde
with wikkede cheynes, by the deceivable delyt of erthely thinges
enhabitinge in your thought! Heer shal ben the reste of your
labours, heer is the havene stable in peysible quiete; this allone
is the open refut to wrecches. Glosa. This is to seyn, that ye 5
that ben combred and deceived with worldely affecciouns, cometh now
to this soverein good, that is god, that is refut to hem that wolen
comen to him. Textus. Alle the thinges that the river Tagus
yeveth yow with his goldene gravailes, or elles alle the thinges
that the river Hermus yeveth with his rede brinke, or that Indus 10
yeveth, that is next the hote party of the world, that medleth the
grene stones with the whyte, ne sholde nat cleeren the lookinge
of your thought, but hyden rather your blinde corages with-in hir
derknesse. Al that lyketh yow heer, and excyteth and moeveth
your thoughtes, the erthe hath norisshed it in hise lowe caves. 15
But the shyninge, by whiche the hevene is governed and whennes
he hath his strengthe, that eschueth the derke overthrowinge of
the sowle; and who-so may knowen thilke light of blisfulnesse,
he shal wel seyn, that the whyte bemes of the sonne ne ben nat
cleer.' 20

Me. X. 3. A. Ed. Here; C. He. 6. A. deceyued; C. desseyued. 10. A. Ed. Hermus; C.
Herynus (!). 12. C. grene stones, i. smaragdes; with the whyte, i. margaretes. 14. Ed.
derkenesse; C. dyrknesse. 16. A. by the whiche. 17. C. eschueth; A. chaseth; Lat. uitat.
// A. derke; C. dyrke.

Prose XI.

Assentior, inquam.

Boece. 'I assente me,' quod I; 'for alle thise thinges ben
strongly bounden with right ferme resouns.'

Philosophie. 'How mochel wilt thou preysen it,' quod she,
'yif that thou knowe what thilke good is?'

'I wol preyse it,' quod I, 'by prys with-outen ende, yif it shal 5

bityde me to knowe also to-gider god that is good.'

'Certes,' quod she, 'that shal I do thee by verray resoun, yif
that tho thinges that I have concluded a litel her-biforn dwellen
only in hir first graunting.'

'They dwellen graunted to thee,' quod I; this is to seyn, as 10
who seith: I graunte thy forseide conclusiouns.

'Have I nat shewed thee,' quod she, 'that the thinges that ben
requered of many folkes ne ben nat verray goodes ne parfite, for
they ben dyverse that oon fro that othre; and so as ech of hem
is lakkinge to other, they ne han no power to bringen a good that 15
is ful and absolut? But thanne at erst ben they verray good,
whanne they ben gadered to-gider alle in-to o forme and in-to oon
wirkinge, so that thilke thing that is suffisaunce, thilke same be
power, and reverence, and noblesse, and mirthe; and forsothe,
but-yif alle thise thinges ben alle oon same thing, they ne han nat 20
wherby that they mowen ben put in the noumber of thinges that
oughten ben requered or desired.'

'It is shewed,' quod I; 'ne her-of may ther no man douten.'

'The thinges thanne,' quod she, 'that ne ben no goodes
whanne they ben dyverse, and whan they beginnen to ben alle 25
oon thing thanne ben they goodes, ne comth it hem nat thanne
by the getinge of unitee, that they ben maked goodes?'

'So it semeth,' quod I.

'But al thing that is good,' quod she, 'grauntest thou that it be
good by the participacioun of good, or no?' 30

'I graunte it,' quod I.

'Thanne most thou graunten,' quod she, 'by semblable resoun,
that oon and good be oo same thing. For of thinges, of whiche
that the effect nis nat naturelly diverse, nedes the substance mot
be oo same thing.' 35

'I ne may nat denye that,' quod I.

'Hast thou nat knowen wel,' quod she, 'that al thing that is
hath so longe his dwellinge and his substaunce as longe as it is

oon; but whan it forleteth to ben oon, it mot nedes dyen and
corumpe to-gider?' 40

'In which manere?' quod I.

'Right as in bestes,' quod she, 'whan the sowle and the body
ben conioigned in oon and dwellen to-gider, it is cleped a beest.
And whan hir unitee is destroyed by the disseveraunce of that oon
from that other, than sheweth it wel that it is a ded thing, and 45
that it nis no lenger no beest. And the body of a wight, whyl
it dwelleth in oo forme by coniunccioun of membres, it is
wel seyn that it is a figure of man-kinde. And yif the parties
of the body ben so devyded and dissevered, that oon fro that
other, that they destroyen unitee, the body forleteth to ben that 50
it was biforn. And, who-so wolde renne in the same manere by
alle thinges, he sholde seen that, with-oute doute, every thing is
in his substaunce as longe as it is oon; and whan it forleteth to
ben oon, it dyeth and perissheth.'

'Whan I considere,' quod I, 'manye thinges, I see non other.' 55

'Is ther any-thing thanne,' quod she, 'that, in as moche as it
liveth naturelly, that forleteth the talent or appetyt of his beinge,
and desireth to come to deeth and to corupcioun?'

'Yif I considere,' quod I, 'the beestes that han any maner
nature of wilninge and of nillinge, I ne finde no beest, but-yif 60
it be constreined fro with-oute forth, that forleteth or
despyseth the entencioun to liven and to duren, or that wole,
his thankes, hasten him to dyen. For every beest travaileth him
to deffende and kepe the savacioun of his lyf, and eschueth deeth
and destruccioun. 65

But certes, I doute me of herbes and of trees, that is to
seyn, that I am in a doute of swiche thinges as herbes or trees, that
ne han no felinge sowles, ne no naturel wirkinges servinge to
appetytes as bestes han, whether they han appetyt to dwellen
and to duren.' 70

'Certes,' quod she, 'ne ther-of thar thee nat doute. Now
loke up-on thise herbes and thise trees; they wexen first in
swiche places as ben covenable to hem, in whiche places they
ne mowen nat sone dyen ne dryen, as longe as hir nature may

deffenden hem. For som of hem waxen in feeldes, and som 75
in mountaignes, and othre waxen in mareys, and othre cleven
on roches, and somme waxen plentivous in sondes; and yif
that any wight enforce him to beren hem in-to othre places,
they wexen drye. For nature yeveth to every thing that that
is convenient to him, and travaileth that they ne dye nat, as 80
longe as they han power to dwellen and to liven. What woltow
seyn of this, that they drawen alle hir norisshinges by hir rotes,
right as they hadden hir mouthes y-plounged with-in the erthes,
and sheden by hir maryes hir wode and hir bark? And what
woltow seyn of this, that thilke thing that is right softe, as the 85
marye is, that is alwey hid in the sete, al with-inne, and that
is defended fro with-oute by the stedefastnesse of wode; and
that the uttereste bark is put ayeins the destemperaunce of
the hevene, as a defendour mighty to suffren harm? And thus,
certes, maystow wel seen how greet is the diligence of nature; 90
for alle thinges renovelen and puplisshen hem with seed y-multiplyed;
ne ther nis no man that ne wot wel that they ne
ben right as a foundement and edifice, for to duren nat only
for a tyme, but right as for to duren perdurably by generacioun.
And the thinges eek that men wenen ne haven none sowles, 95
ne desire they nat ech of hem by semblable resoun to kepen
that is hirs, that is to seyn, that is acordinge to hir nature in
conservacioun of hir beinge and enduringe? For wher-for elles
bereth lightnesse the flaumbes up, and the weighte presseth
the erthe a-doun, but for as moche as thilke places and thilke 100
moevinges ben covenable to everich of hem? And forsothe
every thing kepeth thilke that is acordinge and propre to him,
right as thinges that ben contraries and enemys corompen hem.
And yit the harde thinges, as stones, clyven and holden hir
parties to-gider right faste and harde, and deffenden hem in 105
withstondinge that they ne departe nat lightly a-twinne. And
the thinges that ben softe and fletinge, as is water and eyr,
they departen lightly, and yeven place to hem that breken or
devyden hem; but natheles, they retornen sone ayein in-to
the same thinges fro whennes they ben arraced. But fyr fleeth 110
and refuseth al devisioun. Ne I ne trete nat heer now of
wilful moevinges of the sowle that is knowinge, but of the
naturel entencioun of thinges, as thus: right as we swolwe the
mete that we receiven and ne thinke nat on it, and as we
drawen our breeth in slepinge that we wite it nat whyle we 115
slepen. For certes, in the beestes, the love of hir livinges ne

of hir beinges ne comth nat of the wilninges of the sowle, but
of the biginninges of nature. For certes, thorugh constreininge
causes, wil desireth and embraceth ful ofte tyme the deeth
that nature dredeth; that is to seyn as thus: that a man may 120
ben constreyned so, by som cause, that his wil desireth and
taketh the deeth which that nature hateth and dredeth ful sore.
And somtyme we seeth the contrarye, as thus: that the wil
of a wight destorbeth and constreyneth that that nature desireth
and requereth al-wey, that is to seyn, the werk of generacioun, 125
by the whiche generacioun only dwelleth and is sustened the
long durabletee of mortal thinges.

And thus this charitee and this love, that every thing hath
to him-self, ne comth nat of the moevinge of the sowle, but
of the entencioun of nature. For the purviaunce of god hath 130
yeven to thinges that ben creat of him this, that is a ful
gret cause to liven and to duren; for which they desiren
naturelly hir lyf as longe as ever they mowen. For which
thou mayst nat drede, by no manere, that alle the thinges
that ben anywhere, that they ne requeren naturelly the ferme 135
stablenesse of perdurable dwellinge, and eek the eschuinge of
destruccioun.'

Boece. 'Now confesse I wel,' quod I, 'that I see now wel
certeinly, with-oute doutes, the thinges that whylom semeden
uncertain to me.' 140

'But,' quod she, 'thilke thing that desireth to be and to
dwellen perdurably, he desireth to ben oon; for yif that that
oon were destroyed, certes, beinge ne shulde ther non dwellen
to no wight.'

'That is sooth,' quod I. 145

'Thanne,' quod she, 'desiren alle thinges oon?'

'I assente,' quod I.

'And I have shewed,' quod she, 'that thilke same oon is
thilke that is good?'

'Ye, for sothe,' quod I. 150

'Alle thinges thanne,' quod she, 'requiren good; and thilke

good thanne mayst thou descryven right thus: good is thilke
thing that every wight desireth.'

'Ther ne may be thought,' quod I, 'no more verray thing.
For either alle thinges ben referred and brought to nought, 155
and floteren with-oute governour, despoiled of oon as of hir
propre heved; or elles, yif ther be any thing to which that
alle thinges tenden and hyen, that thing moste ben the soverein
good of alle goodes.'

Thanne seyde she thus: 'O my nory,' quod she, 'I have 160
gret gladnesse of thee; for thou hast ficched in thyn herte
the middel soothfastnesse, that is to seyn, the prikke; but this
thing hath ben descovered to thee, in that thou seydest that
thou wistest nat a litel her-biforn.'

'What was that?' quod I. 165

'That thou ne wistest nat,' quod she, 'which was the ende
of thinges; and certes, that is the thing that every wight
desireth; and for as mochel as we han gadered and comprehended
that good is thilke thing that is desired of alle, thanne
moten we nedes confessen, that good is the fyn of alle thinges. 170

Pr. XI. 3. C. wylthow. 5. C. preys; A. Ed. price. 6. A. Ed. bytyde; C. betydde. 7. C.
om. that. // A. Ed. resoun; C. resouns; Lat. ratione. 17. C. in on; A. in to oon; Ed. in to
one. 23. C. om. ther. 29. C. grauntisthow. 32. Ed. muste thou; C. mosthow; A. mayst
thou. // Ed. semblable; A. sembleable; C. semlable. 37. C. Hasthow. 43. A.
conioigned; C. conioigne. 44. A. disseueraunce; C. desseueraunce; after which C. A.
om. of, which Ed. retains. 51. A. Ed. who so; C. who. 54. Ed. perissheth; C. periseth;
A. perissith. 60. C. wylnynge; A. Ed. willynge. 62. A. om. the entencioun. 64. C. om.
and bef. eschueth. 68. A. soule. 69. A. Ed. appetite; C. apetid. 76. Ed. mareys; A.
mareis; C. marys. // A. has here lost a leaf, from and othre to past end of Met. xi. 84.
C. maryes, i. medulle. 86. Ed. seete; C. feete (!); Lat. sede. 87. Ed. is; C. is is (sic). //
C. stidefastnesse. 88. C. om. the bef. destemperaunce; Ed. has it. 91. C. pupllisen; Ed.
publysshen. 94. Ed. perdurably; C. perdurablely. 103. Ed. corrumpen. 106. Ed. om. nat
lightly ... departen. // C. a twyne. 110. Ed. araced. // Ed. fleeth and; C. and (om.
fleeth); Lat. refugit. 112. Ed. wylful; C. weleful; Lat. uoluntariis. 114. Ed. receyuen;
C. resseyuen. 116. Ed. slepen; C. slepyt. 127. Ed. durabylite. 142. Ed. perdurablye; C.
perdurablely. 152. Ed. thou; C. om. // Ed. discryuen. 161. C. fichched; Ed. fyxed. 163.
Ed. discouered. 165. Ed. is that (for was that).

Metre XI.

Quisquis profunda mente uestigat uerum.

Who-so that seketh sooth by a deep thoght, and coveiteth
nat to ben deceived by no mis-weyes, lat him rollen and trenden
with-inne him-self the light of his inward sighte; and lat him
gadere ayein, enclyninge in-to a compas, the longe moevinges
of his thoughtes; and lat him techen his corage that he hath 5
enclosed and hid in his tresors, al that he compasseth or seketh
fro with-oute. And thanne thilke thinge, that the blake cloude
of errour whylom hadde y-covered, shal lighten more cleerly
thanne Phebus him-self ne shyneth.

Glosa. Who-so wole seken the deep grounde of sooth in his 10
thought, and wol nat be deceived by false proposiciouns that goon
amis fro the trouthe, lat him wel examine and rolle with-inne him-self
the nature and the propretees of the thing; and lat him yit
eftsones examine and rollen his thoughtes by good deliberacioun, or
that he deme; and lat him techen his sowle that it hath, by natural 15
principles kindeliche y-hid with-in it-self, alle the trouthe the whiche
he imagineth to ben in thinges with-oute. And thanne alle the
derknesse of his misknowinge shal seme more evidently to sighte of
his understondinge thanne the sonne ne semeth to sighte
with-oute-forth. 20

For certes the body, bringinge the weighte of foryetinge, ne
hath nat chased out of your thoughte al the cleernesse of your
knowinge; for certeinly the seed of sooth haldeth and clyveth
with-in your corage, and it is awaked and excyted by the winde
and by the blastes of doctrine. For wherfor elles demen ye of 25
your owne wil the rightes, whan ye ben axed, but-yif so were that
the norisshinge of resoun ne livede y-plounged in the depthe of
your herte? this is to seyn, how sholden men demen the sooth of
any thing that were axed, yif ther nere a rote of soothfastnesse that
were y-plounged and hid in naturel principles, the whiche soothfastnesse 30
lived with-in the deepnesse of the thought. And yif so be
that the Muse and the doctrine of Plato singeth sooth, al that
every wight lerneth, he ne doth no-thing elles thanne but
recordeth, as men recorden thinges that ben foryeten.'

Me. XI. 2. Ed. om. nat. // Ed. treaten (for trenden). 18. Ed. derknesse; C. dyrknesse. //
Ed. seme; C. seen (but note semeth below). 24. Ed. wyndes. 26. Ed. asked. 27. Ed.
norisshyng; C. noryssynges; Lat. fomes. 29. Ed. asked. 30. Ed. naturel; C. the nature
(sic).

Prose XII.

Tum ego, Platoni, inquam.

Thanne seide I thus: 'I acorde me gretly to Plato, for thou
remembrest and recordest me thise thinges yit the secounde
tyme; that is to seyn, first whan I loste my memorie by the
contagious coniunccioun of the body with the sowle; and
eftsones afterward, whan I loste it, confounded by the charge and 5
by the burdene of my sorwe.'

And thanne seide she thus: 'yif thou loke,' quod she, 'first
the thinges that thou hast graunted, it ne shal nat ben right fer
that thou ne shalt remembren thilke thing that thou seydest that
thou nistest nat.' 10

'What thing?' quod I.

'By whiche governement,' quod she, 'that this world is
governed.'

'Me remembreth it wel,' quod I; 'and I confesse wel that I
ne wiste it naught. But al-be-it so that I see now from a-fer 15
what thou purposest, algates, I desire yit to herkene it of thee
more pleynly.'

'Thou ne wendest nat,' quod she, 'a litel her-biforn, that men
sholden doute that this world nis governed by god.'

'Certes,' quod I, 'ne yit ne doute I it naught, ne I nel never 20
wene that it were to doute; as who seith, but I wot wel that god
governeth this world; and I shal shortly answeren thee by what
resouns I am brought to this. This world,' quod I, 'of so manye
dyverse and contrarious parties, ne mighte never han ben
assembled in o forme, but-yif ther nere oon that conioignede so 25
manye dyverse thinges; and the same dyversitee of hir natures,
that so discorden that oon fro that other, moste departen and

unioignen the thinges that ben conioigned, yif ther ne were oon
that contenede that he hath conioined and y-bounde. Ne the
certein ordre of nature ne sholde nat bringe forth so ordenee 30
moevinges, by places, by tymes, by doinges, by spaces, by
qualitees, yif ther ne were oon that were ay stedefast dwellinge,
that ordeynede and disponede thise dyversitees of moevinges.
And thilke thing, what-so-ever it be, by which that alle thinges
ben y-maked and y-lad, I clepe him "god"; that is a word that 35
is used to alle folk.'

Thanne seyde she: 'sin thou felest thus thise thinges,' quod
she, 'I trowe that I have litel more to done that thou, mighty of
welefulnesse, hool and sounde, ne see eftsones thy contree.
But lat us loken the thinges that we han purposed her-biforn. 40
Have I nat noumbred and seyd,' quod she, 'that suffisaunce is in
blisfulnesse, and we han acorded that god is thilke same blisfulnesse?'

'Yis, forsothe,' quod I.

'And that, to governe this world,' quod she, 'ne shal he never 45
han nede of non help fro with-oute? For elles, yif he hadde
nede of any help, he ne sholde nat have no ful suffisaunce?'

'Yis, thus it mot nedes be,' quod I.

'Thanne ordeineth he by him-self al-one alle thinges?' quod she.

'That may nat be deneyed,' quod I. 50

'And I have shewed that god is the same good?'

'It remembreth me wel,' quod I.

'Thanne ordeineth he alle thinges by thilke good,' quod she;
'sin he, which that we han acorded to be good, governeth alle
thinges by him-self; and he is as a keye and a stere by which 55
that the edifice of this world is y-kept stable and with-oute
coroumpinge.'

'I acorde me greetly,' quod I; 'and I aperceivede a litel her-biforn
that thou woldest seye thus; al-be-it so that it were by
a thinne suspecioun.' 60

'I trowe it wel,' quod she; 'for, as I trowe, thou ledest now

more ententifly thyne eyen to loken the verray goodes. But
natheles the thing that I shal telle thee yit ne sheweth nat lasse to
loken.'

'What is that?' quod I. 65

'So as men trowen,' quod she, 'and that rightfully, that god
governeth alle thinges by the keye of his goodnesse, and alle thise
same thinges, as I have taught thee, hasten hem by naturel
entencioun to comen to good: ther may no man douten that they
ne be governed voluntariely, and that they ne converten hem of 70
hir owne wil to the wil of hir ordenour, as they that ben acordinge
and enclyninge to hir governour and hir king.'

'It mot nedes be so,' quod I; 'for the reaume ne sholde nat
semen blisful yif ther were a yok of misdrawinges in dyverse
parties; ne the savinge of obedient thinges ne sholde nat be.' 75

'Thanne is ther nothing,' quod she, 'that kepeth his nature,
that enforceth him to goon ayein god?'

'No,' quod I.

'And yif that any-thing enforcede him to with-stonde god,
mighte it availen at the laste ayeins him, that we han graunted to 80
ben almighty by the right of blisfulnesse?'

'Certes,' quod I, 'al-outrely it ne mighte nat availen him.'

'Thanne is ther no-thing,' quod she, 'that either wole or may
with-stonden to this soverein good?'

'I trowe nat,' quod I. 85

'Thanne is thilke the soverein good,' quod she, 'that alle
thinges governeth strongly, and ordeyneth hem softely.'

Thanne seyde I thus: 'I delyte me,' quod I, 'nat only in the
endes or in the somme of the resouns that thou hast concluded
and proeved, but thilke wordes that thou usest delyten me moche 90
more; so, at the laste, fooles that sumtyme renden grete thinges
oughten ben ashamed of hem-self;' that is to seyn, that we fooles
that reprehenden wikkedly the thinges that touchen goddes governaunce,
we oughten ben ashamed of our-self: as I, that seyde that

god refuseth only the werkes of men, and ne entremeteth nat of 95
hem.

'Thou hast wel herd,' quod she, 'the fables of the poetes,
how the giaunts assaileden the hevene with the goddes; but forsothe,
the debonair force of god deposede hem, as it was worthy;
that is to seyn, destroyede the giaunts, as it was worthy. But wilt 100
thou that we ioignen to-gider thilke same resouns? For per-aventure,
of swich coniuncioun may sterten up som fair sparkle
of sooth.'

'Do,' quod I, 'as thee liste.'

'Wenest thou,' quod she, 'that god ne be almighty? No man 105
is in doute of it.'

'Certes,' quod I, 'no wight ne douteth it, yif he be in his
minde.'

'But he,' quod she, 'that is almighty, ther nis nothing that he
ne may?' 110

'That is sooth,' quod I.

'May god don yvel?' quod she.

'Nay, forsothe,' quod I.

'Thanne is yvel nothing,' quod she, 'sin that he ne may nat
don yvel that may don alle thinges.' 115

'Scornest thou me?' quod I; 'or elles pleyest thou or deceivest
thou me, that hast so woven me with thy resouns the hous of
Dedalus, so entrelaced that it is unable to be unlaced; thou that
other-whyle entrest ther thou issest, and other-whyle issest ther
thou entrest, ne foldest thou nat to-gider, by replicacioun of 120
wordes, a maner wonderful cercle or environinge of the simplicitee
devyne? For certes, a litel her-biforn, whan thou bigunne at
blisfulnesse, thou seydest that it is soverein good; and seydest
that it is set in soverein god; and seydest that god him-self
is soverein good; and that god is the fulle blisfulnesse; for which 125
thou yave me as a covenable yift, that is to seyn, that no wight
nis blisful but-yif he be god also ther-with. And seidest eek,
that the forme of good is the substaunce of god and of blisfulnesse;

and seidest, that thilke same oon is thilke same good, that is
requered and desired of alle the kinde of thinges. And thou 130
proevedest, in disputinge, that god governeth all the thinges of
the world by the governements of bountee, and seydest, that alle
thinges wolen obeyen to him; and seydest, that the nature of yvel
nis no-thing. And thise thinges ne shewedest thou nat with none
resouns y-taken fro with-oute, but by proeves in cercles and hoomlich 135
knowen; the whiche proeves drawen to hem-self hir feith and
hir acord, everich of hem of other.'

Thanne seyde she thus: 'I ne scorne thee nat, ne pleye, ne
deceive thee; but I have shewed thee the thing that is grettest
over alle thinges by the yift of god, that we whylom preyeden. 140
For this is the forme of the devyne substaunce, that is swich that
it ne slydeth nat in-to outterest foreine thinges, ne ne receiveth
no straunge thinges in him; but right as Parmenides seyde in
Greek of thilke devyne substaunce; he seyde thus: that "thilke
devyne substaunce torneth the world and the moevable cercle of 145
thinges, whyl thilke devyne substaunce kepeth it-self with-oute
moevinge;" that is to seyn, that it ne moeveth never-mo, and yit it
moeveth alle othre thinges. But natheles, yif I have stired resouns
that ne ben nat taken fro with-oute the compas of thing of which
we treten, but resouns that ben bistowed with-in that compas, 150
ther nis nat why that thou sholdest merveilen; sin thou hast
lerned by the sentence of Plato, that "nedes the wordes moten
be cosines to the thinges of which they speken."

Pr. XII. 2. A. begins again with the seconde tyme. 4. A. coniunccioun; C.
coniuncsioun. 12. C. wordyl (for world). 19. C. world nis; Ed. A. worlde is. 26. A. om.
dyverse. 27. A. discordeden. 30. C. ordene; A. ordinee. 31. A. Ed. spaces; C. splaces
(!). 32. C. stidefast; A. stedfast. 35. Ed. ymaked; C. A. maked. 40. A. han; C. ha (for
hā). 47. A. om. no. 50. C. denoyed (for deneyed); A. Ed. denied. 55. A. Ed. om. as;
Lat. ueluti. // C. A. stiere (better stere). 57. A. corumpynge. 63. A. natheles; C. natles.
82. C. hem; A. Ed. hym. 84. A. this; C. Ed. his. 93. C. reprehendnen. 96. A. hem; C.
Ed. it. 99. C. desposede; A. Ed. disposed; read deposed; Lat. deposuit. 100. A. wilt;
Ed. wylte; C. wil. 105. C. Ed. be; A. is. // A. Ed. No man; C. non. 107. A. Ed. if he; C.
yif it. 110. A. may do. 116. C. scornesthow ... pleyesthow ... desseyuesthow. 118. Ed.
Dedalus; C. dydalus; A. didalus. 119. C. A. issest; Ed. issuest. 120. C. fooldesthow.
125. C. fulle the; A. the ful; Lat. plenam beatitudinem. 127. Ed. god (Deus); C. A.
good. 132. A. bountee; C. bowonte. 139. C. A. desseyue. 142. C. resseiueth. 143. C.
aparmanides; Ed. Permenides; A. parmaynws; Lat. Parmenides. 148. C. Ed. styred; A.
stered.

Metre XII.

Felix, qui potuit boni.

Blisful is that man that may seen the clere welle of good; blisful
is he that may unbinden him fro the bondes of the hevy erthe.
The poete of Trace, Orpheus, that whylom hadde right greet sorwe
for the deeth of his wyf, after that he hadde maked, by his weeply
songes, the wodes, moevable, to rennen; and hadde maked the 5
riveres to stonden stille; and hadde maked the hertes and the
hindes to ioignen, dredeles, hir sydes to cruel lyouns, for to herknen
his songe; and hadde maked that the hare was nat agast of the
hounde, which that was plesed by his songe: so, whan the moste
ardaunt love of his wif brende the entrailes of his brest, ne the 10
songes that hadden overcomen alle thinges ne mighten nat
asswagen hir lord Orpheus, he pleynede him of the hevene goddes
that weren cruel to him; he wente him to the houses of helle.
And there he temprede hise blaundisshinge songes by resowninge
strenges, and spak and song in wepinge al that ever he hadde 15
received and laved out of the noble welles of his moder Calliope
the goddesse; and he song with as mochel as he mighte of wepinge,
and with as moche as love, that doublede his sorwe, mighte
yeve him and techen him; and he commoevede the helle, and
requerede and bisoughte by swete preyere the lordes of sowles 20
in helle, of relesinge; that is to seyn, to yilden him his wyf.

Cerberus, the porter of helle, with his three hevedes, was caught
and al abayst for the newe song; and the three goddesses, Furies,
and vengeresses of felonyes, that tormenten and agasten the sowles
by anoy, woxen sorwful and sory, and wepen teres for pitee. 25
Tho ne was nat the heved of Ixion y-tormented by the overthrowinge
wheel; and Tantalus, that was destroyed by the woodnesse
of longe thurst, despyseth the flodes to drinke; 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. At the laste 30
the lord and Iuge of sowles was moeved to misericordes and
cryde, "we ben overcomen," quod he; "yive we to Orpheus his
wyf to bere him companye; he hath wel y-bought hir by his song
and his ditee; but we wol putte a lawe in this, and covenaunt in
the yifte: that is to seyn, that, til he be out of helle, yif he loke 35
behinde him, that his wyf shal comen ayein unto us."

But what is he that may yive a lawe to loveres? Love is
a gretter lawe and a strenger to him-self than any lawe that men
may yeven. Allas! whan Orpheus and his wyf weren almest at the
termes of the night, that is to seyn, at the laste boundes of helle, 40
Orpheus lokede abakward on Eurydice his wyf, and loste hir, and
was deed.

This fable aperteineth to yow alle, who-so-ever desireth or
seketh to lede his thought in-to the soverein day, that is to seyn,
to cleernesse of soverein good. For who-so that ever be so overcomen 45
that he ficche his eyen into the putte of helle, that is to
seyn, who-so sette his thoughtes in erthely thinges, al that ever he
hath drawen of the noble good celestial, he leseth it whan he
loketh the helles,' that is to seyn, in-to lowe thinges of the erthe.

Me. XII. 2. A. bonde; Lat. uincula. // A. Ed. om. 2nd the. 4. C. wepply; A. Ed. wepely.
7. A. cruel; C. cruwel. 10. A. Ed. ardaunt; C. ardent. 12. C. goodes; A. godes (om.
hevene); Lat. superos. 14. C. blaundyssynge; A. blaundissyng. 15. C. soonge; A. song
(twice). 16. C. resseyued; A. resceyued. // C. calyope; A. calliope. 17. A. as mychel as
he myȝt; C. om. he. 19. C. thechen; after techen him, A. adds in his seke herte (not in
Lat.) 23. Ed. Furyes; C. A. furijs. 27. C. tatalus (for tātalus). 28. A. thrust. 29. Ed.
Tityus; C. A. ticius; Lat. Tityi. 33. A. his faire song; Lat. carmine. 38. A. gretter; C.
gret; Lat. maior. 41. C. A. Erudice; Ed. Euridice; Lat. Eurydicen. 43. C. apartienyth;
A. apperteineth. 45. C. god; A. goode. 46. C. fychche. 47. C. om. his after sette. 49. A.
to (for in-to). // C. om. the bef. erthe.

Explicit Liber tercius.

BOOK IV.
Prose I.

Hec cum Philosophia, dignitate uultus.

Whan Philosophye hadde songen softely and delitably the
forseide thinges, kepinge the dignitee of hir chere and the
weighte of hir wordes, I thanne, that ne hadde nat al-outerly
foryeten the wepinge and the mourninge that was set in myn
herte, forbrak the entencioun of hir that entendede yit to seyn 5
some othre thinges. 'O,' quod I, 'thou that art gyderesse of
verrey light; the thinges that thou hast seid me hider-to ben so
clere to me and so shewinge by the devyne lookinge of hem, and
by thy resouns, that they ne mowen ben overcomen. And
thilke thinges that thou toldest me, al-be-it so that I hadde 10
whylom foryeten hem, for the sorwe of the wrong that hath ben
don to me, yit natheles they ne weren nat al-outrely unknowen to
me. But this same is, namely, a right greet cause of my sorwe,
so as the governour of thinges is good, yif that yveles mowen ben
by any weyes; or elles yif that yveles passen with-oute punisshinge. 15
The whiche thing only, how worthy it is to ben wondred
up-on, thou considerest it wel thy-self certeinly. But yit to this
thing ther is yit another thing y-ioigned, more to ben wondred
up-on. For felonye is emperesse, and floureth ful of richesses;
and vertu nis nat al-only with-oute medes, but it is cast under and 20
fortroden under the feet of felonous folk; and it abyeth the
torments in stede of wikkede felounes. Of alle whiche thinges
ther nis no wight that may merveylen y-nough, ne compleine,
that swiche thinges ben doon in the regne of god, that alle thinges
woot and alle thinges may, and ne wole nat but only gode 25
thinges.'

Thanne seyde she thus: 'Certes,' quod she, 'that were a greet
merveyle, and an enbasshinge with-outen ende, and wel more
horrible than alle monstres, yif it were as thou wenest; that is to
seyn, that in the right ordenee hous of so mochel a fader and an 30
ordenour of meynee, that the vesseles that ben foule and vyle
sholden ben honoured and heried, and the precious vesseles
sholden ben defouled and vyle; but it nis nat so. For yif tho
thinges that I have concluded a litel her-biforn ben kept hole

and unraced, thou shalt wel knowe by the autoritee of god, of the 35
whos regne I speke, that certes the gode folk ben alwey mighty,
and shrewes ben alwey out-cast and feble; ne the vyces ne ben
never-mo with-oute peyne, ne the vertues ne ben nat with-oute
mede; and that blisfulnesses comen alwey to goode folk, and
infortune comth alwey to wikked folk. And thou shalt wel 40
knowe many thinges of this kinde, that shollen cesen thy pleintes,
and strengthen thee with stedefast sadnesse. And for thou hast
seyn the forme of the verray blisfulnesse by me, that have
whylom shewed it thee, and thou hast knowen in whom blisfulnesse
is y-set, alle thinges y-treted that I trowe ben necessarie to 45
putten forth, I shal shewe thee the wey that shal bringen thee
ayein un-to thyn hous. And I shal ficchen fetheres in thy thought,
by whiche it may arysen in heighte, so that, alle tribulacioun
y-don awey, thou, by my gydinge and by my path and by my
sledes, shalt mowe retorne hool and sound in-to thy contree. 50

Pr. I. 6. A. om. some. // A. Se (for O); Lat. o. // C. om. that. 7. A. om. me. 9. A. Ed.
thy; C. the. 14. C. so as; Ed. so that as; A. that so as. 19. C. imperisse; A. emperisse;
Ed. emperesse. // A. rycchesse. 20. A. vertues (badly). 22. Ed. stede; C. stide; A. sted.
25. C. good; A. goode. 28. A. enbaissynge; Ed. abasshyng. 29. C. horible. // C. al; A.
alle. 31. A. Ed. vyle; C. vyl (twice). 32. C. he heryed (mistake for heryed). 33. C. tho;
A. Ed. the. 35. Ed. vnaraced. 37. A. yuel (for out-cast). 42. C. strengthyn; A. stedfast
(!). // C. stidfast; A. stedfast. 45. C. I tretyd; A. I treted; Ed. treated; Lat. decursis
omnibus. 48. C. areysen. 50. C. sledys; A. Ed. sledes. // C. shal (for shalt).

Metre I.

Sunt etenim pennae uolucres mihi.

I have, forsothe, swifte fetheres that surmounten the heighte of
hevene. Whan the swifte thought hath clothed it-self in tho
fetheres, it despyseth the hateful erthes, and surmounteth the
roundnesse of the grete ayr; and it seeth the cloudes behinde his
bak; and passeth the heighte of the region of the fyr, that 5
eschaufeth by the swifte moevinge of the firmament, til that he
areyseth him in-to the houses that beren the sterres, and ioyneth
his weyes with the sonne Phebus, and felawshipeth the wey of
the olde colde Saturnus; and he y-maked a knight of the clere
sterre; that is to seyn, that the thought is maked goddes knight by 10
the sekinge of trouthe to comen to the verray knowleche of god.

And thilke thoght renneth by the cercle of the sterres, in alle
places ther-as the shyninge night is peinted; that is to seyn, the
night that is cloudeles; for on nightes that ben cloudeles it semeth as
the hevene were peinted with dyverse images of sterres. And 15
whanne he hath y-doon ther y-nough, he shal forleten the laste
hevene, and he shal pressen and wenden on the bak of the
swifte firmament, and he shal ben maked parfit of the worshipful
light of god. Ther halt the lord of kinges the ceptre of his
might, and atempreth the governements of the world, and the 20
shyninge Iuge of thinges, stable in him-self, governeth the swifte
cart or wayn, that is to seyn, the circuler moevinge of the sonne.
And yif thy wey ledeth thee ayein so that thou be brought thider,
thanne wolt thou seye now that that is the contree that thou
requerest, of which thou ne haddest no minde: "but now it 25
remembreth me wel, heer was I born, heer wol I fastne my
degree, heer wole I dwelle." But yif thee lyketh thanne to loken
on the derknesse of the erthe that thou hast forleten, thanne
shalt thou seen that thise felonous tyraunts, that the wrecchede
peple dredeth, now shollen ben exyled fro thilke fayre contree.' 30

Me. I. 1. C. swife (for swifte). 4. A. heyȝenesse (for roundnesse); Lat. globum. // A. hir
(for his). 6. A. til that she areisith hir in-til ... hir weyes. 9. C. saturnis; A. saturnus. //
A. she (for he). 10. A. soule (for thought); twice. 12. C. alle; A. alle the; Ed. al the. 13.
Ed. ypaynted; A. depeynted. 16. A. And whan the soule hath gon ynouȝ she shal
forleten the last poynt of the heuene, and she. 17. A. Ed. wenden; C. wyndyn. 18. A.
she (for he). 18, 19. C. Ed. worshipful lyht; A. dredefulle clerenesse. // A. haldeth. 20.
A. this; for the (2). 22. A. om. or wayn. 25. C. requerest; Ed. requirest; A. requeredest.
27. A. lyke (for lyketh). 28. C. dyrknesses; A. derkenesse; Lat. noctem.

Prose II.

Tum ego, Papae, inquam.

Than seyde I thus: 'owh! I wondre me that thou bihetest me
so grete thinges; ne I ne doute nat that thou ne mayst wel
performe that thou bihetest. But I preye thee only this, that
thou ne tarye nat to telle me thilke thinges that thou hast
moeved.' 5

'First,' quod she, 'thou most nedes knowen, that goode folk
ben alwey stronge and mighty, and the shrewes ben feble and
desert and naked of alle strengthes. And of thise thinges, certes,
everich of hem is declared and shewed by other. For so as
good and yvel ben two contraries, yif so be that good be stedefast, 10
than sheweth the feblesse of yvel al openly; and yif thou
knowe cleerly the frelenesse of yvel, the stedefastnesse of good is
knowen. But for as moche as the fey of my sentence shal be the
more ferme and haboundaunt, I will gon by that oo wey and by
that other; and I wole conferme the thinges that ben purposed, 15
now on this syde and now on that syde. Two thinges ther ben
in whiche the effect of alle the dedes of mankinde standeth, that
is to seyn, wil and power; and yif that oon of thise two fayleth,
ther nis nothing that may be don. For yif that wil lakketh, ther
nis no wight that undertaketh to don that he wol nat don; and 20
yif power fayleth, the wil nis but in ydel and stant for naught.
And ther-of cometh it, that yif thou see a wight that wolde geten
that he may nat geten, thou mayst nat douten that power ne
fayleth him to haven that he wolde.'

'This is open and cleer,' quod I; 'ne it may nat ben deneyed 25
in no manere.'

'And yif thou see a wight,' quod she, 'that hath doon that he
wolde doon, thou nilt nat douten that he ne hath had power to
don it?'

'No,' quod I. 30

'And in that that every wight may, in that men may holden
him mighty; as who seyth, in so moche as man is mighty to don a
thing, in so mochel men halt him mighty; and in that that he ne
may, in that men demen him to be feble.'

'I confesse it wel,' quod I. 35

'Remembreth thee,' quod she, 'that I have gadered and

shewed by forseyde resouns that al the entencioun of the wil of
mankinde, which that is lad by dyverse studies, hasteth to
comen to blisfulnesse?'

'It remembreth me wel,' quod I, 'that it hath ben shewed.' 40

'And recordeth thee nat thanne,' quod she, 'that blisfulnesse
is thilke same good that men requeren; so that, whan that
blisfulnesse is requered of alle, that good also is requered and
desired of alle?'

'It ne recordeth me nat,' quod I; 'for I have it gretly alwey 45
ficched in my memorie.'

'Alle folk thanne,' quod she, 'goode and eek badde, enforcen
hem with-oute difference of entencioun to comen to good?'

'This is a verray consequence,' quod I.

'And certein is,' quod she, 'that by the getinge of good ben 50
men y-maked goode?'

'This is certein,' quod I.

'Thanne geten goode men that they desiren?'

'So semeth it,' quod I.

'But wikkede folk,' quod she, 'yif they geten the good that 55
they desiren, they ne mowe nat be wikkede?'

'So is it,' quod I.

'Thanne, so as that oon and that other,' quod she, 'desiren
good; and the goode folk geten good, and nat the wikke folk;
thanne nis it no doute that the goode folk ne ben mighty and 60
the wikkede folk ben feble?'

'Who-so that ever,' quod I, 'douteth of this, he ne may nat
considere the nature of thinges ne the consequence of resouns.'

And over this quod she, 'yif that ther be two thinges that
han oo same purpose by kinde, and that oon of hem pursueth 65
and parformeth thilke same thing by naturel office, and that
other ne may nat doon thilke naturel office, but folweth, by other

manere thanne is convenable to nature, him that acomplissheth
his purpos kindely, and yit he ne acomplissheth nat his owne
purpos: whether of thise two demestow for more mighty?' 70

'Yif that I coniecte,' quod I, 'that thou wolt seye, algates yit
I desire to herkne it more pleynly of thee.'

'Thou wilt nat thanne deneye,' quod she, 'that the moevement
of goinge nis in men by kinde?'

'No, forsothe,' quod I. 75

'Ne thou ne doutest nat,' quod she, 'that thilke naturel office
of goinge ne be the office of feet?'

'I ne doute it nat,' quod I.

'Thanne,' quod she, 'yif that a wight be mighty to moeve and
goth upon his feet, and another, to whom thilke naturel office of 80
feet lakketh, enforceth him to gon crepinge up-on his handes:
whiche of thise two oughte to ben holden the more mighty by
right?'

'Knit forth the remenaunt,' quod I; 'for no wight ne douteth
that he that may gon by naturel office of feet ne be more mighty 85
than he that ne may nat.'

'But the soverein good,' quod she, 'that is eveneliche purposed
to the gode folk and to badde, the gode folk seken it by naturel
office of vertues, and the shrewes enforcen hem to geten it by
dyverse coveityse of erthely thinges, which that nis no naturel office 90
to geten thilke same soverein good. Trowestow that it be any
other wyse?'

'Nay,' quod I; 'for the consequence is open and shewinge of
thinges that I have graunted; that nedes gode folk moten ben
mighty, and shrewes feeble and unmighty.' 95

'Thou rennest a-right biforn me,' quod she, 'and this is the
Iugement; that is to seyn, I iuge of thee right as thise leches ben
wont to hopen of syke folk, whan they aperceyven that nature is
redressed and withstondeth to the maladye. But, for I see thee
now al redy to the understondinge, I shal shewe thee more thikke 100
and continuel resouns. For loke now how greetly sheweth the

feblesse and infirmitee of wikkede folk, that ne mowen nat comen
to that hir naturel entencioun ledeth hem, and yit almost thilke
naturel entencioun constreineth hem. And what were to demen
thanne of shrewes, yif thilke naturel help hadde forleten hem, the 105
which naturel help of intencioun goth awey biforn hem, and is so
greet that unnethe it may ben overcome? Consider thanne how
greet defaute of power and how greet feblesse ther is in wikkede
felonous folk; as who seyth, the gretter thing that is coveited and
the desire nat acomplisshed, of the lasse might is he that coveiteth it 110
and may nat acomplisshe. And forthy Philosophie seyth thus by
soverein good: Ne shrewes ne requeren nat lighte medes ne veyne
games, whiche they ne may folwen ne holden; but they failen of
thilke somme and of the heighte of thinges, that is to seyn, soverein
good; ne thise wrecches ne comen nat to the effect of soverein 115
good, the which they enforcen hem only to geten, by nightes and
by dayes; in the getinge of which good the strengthe of good folk
is ful wel y-sene. For right so as thou mightest demen him mighty
of goinge, that gooth on his feet til he mighte come to thilke
place, fro the whiche place ther ne laye no wey forther to ben 120
gon; right so most thou nedes demen him for right mighty, that
geteth and ateyneth to the ende of alle thinges that ben to desire,
biyonde the whiche ende ther nis nothing to desire. Of the
which power of good folk men may conclude, that the wikked
men semen to be bareine and naked of alle strengthe. For-why 125
forleten they vertues and folwen vyces? Nis it nat for that they
ne knowen nat the goodes? But what thing is more feble and
more caitif thanne is the blindnesse of ignoraunce? Or elles they
knowen ful wel whiche thinges that they oughten folwe, but
lecherye and coveityse overthroweth hem mistorned; and certes, 130
so doth distemperaunce to feble men, that ne mowen nat wrastlen
ayeins the vyces. Ne knowen they nat thanne wel that they
forleten the good wilfully, and tornen hem wilfully to vyces? And
in this wyse they ne forleten nat only to ben mighty, but they
forleten al-outrely in any wyse for to ben. For they that forleten 135
the comune fyn of alle thinges that ben, they forleten also therwith-al
for to ben.

And per-aventure it sholde semen to som folk that this were
a merveile to seyen: that shrewes, whiche that contienen the more
partye of men, ne ben nat ne han no beinge; but natheles, it is so, 140
and thus stant this thing. For they that ben shrewes, I deneye
nat that they ben shrewes; but I deneye, and seye simplely and

pleinly, that they ne ben nat, ne han no beinge. For right as
thou mightest seyen of the carayne of a man, that it were a deed
man, but thou ne mightest nat simplely callen it a man; so graunte 145
I wel forsothe, that vicious folk ben wikked, but I ne may nat
graunten absolutly and simplely that they ben. For thilke thing
that with-holdeth ordre and kepeth nature, thilke thing is and
hath beinge; but what thing that faileth of that, that is to seyn,
that he forleteth naturel ordre, he forleteth thilke thing that is set 150
in his nature. But thou wolt seyn, that shrewes mowen. Certes,
that ne deneye I nat; but certes, hir power ne descendeth nat of
strengthe, but of feblesse. For they mowen don wikkednesses;
the whiche they ne mighte nat don, yif they mighten dwellen in
the forme and in the doinge of good folk. And thilke power 155
sheweth ful evidently that they ne mowen right naught. For so
as I have gadered and proeved a litel her-biforn, that yvel is
naught; and so as shrewes mowen only but shrewednesses, this
conclusioun is al cleer, that shrewes ne mowen right naught, ne
han no power. 160

And for as moche as thou understonde which is the strengthe
of this power of shrewes, I have definisshed a litel her-biforn, that
nothing is so mighty as soverein good.'

'That is sooth,' quod I.

'And thilke same soverein good may don non yvel?' 165

'Certes, no,' quod I.

'Is ther any wight thanne,' quod she, 'that weneth that men
mowen doon alle thinges?'

'No man,' quod I, 'but-yif he be out of his witte.'

'But, certes, shrewes mowen don yvel,' quod she. 170

'Ye, wolde god,' quod I, 'that they mighten don non!'

'Thanne,' quod she, 'so as he that is mighty to doon only but
goode thinges may don alle thinges; and they that ben mighty to
don yvele thinges ne mowen nat alle thinges: thanne is it open
thing and manifest, that they that mowen don yvel ben of lasse 175
power. And yit, to proeve this conclusioun, ther helpeth me this,
that I have y-shewed her-biforn, that alle power is to be noumbred

among thinges that men oughten requere. And I have shewed
that alle thinges, that oughten ben desired, ben referred to good,
right as to a maner heighte of hir nature. But for to mowen don 180
yvel and felonye ne may nat ben referred to good. Thanne nis
nat yvel of the noumbir of thinges that oughte ben desired. But
alle power oughte ben desired and requered. Than is it open and
cleer that the power ne the mowinge of shrewes nis no power; and
of alle thise thinges it sheweth wel, that the goode folke ben certeinly 185
mighty, and the shrewes douteles ben unmighty. And it is
cleer and open that thilke opinioun of Plato is verray and sooth, that
seith, that only wyse men may doon that they desiren; and
shrewes mowen haunten that hem lyketh, but that they desiren,
that is to seyn, to comen to sovereign good, they ne han no power 190
to acomplisshen that. For shrewes don that hem list, whan, by
tho thinges in which they delyten, they wenen to ateine to thilke
good that they desiren; but they ne geten ne ateinen nat ther-to,
for vyces ne comen nat to blisfulnesse.

Pr. II. 1. C. owh; Ed. O; A. om.; Lat. Papae. 8. C. dishert; A. desert; Ed. deserte; Lat.
desertos. // All strengthes; Lat. uiribus. 10. C. stidefast; A. stedfast. 12. C.
stidefastnesse; A. stedfastnesse. 13. C. A. fey; Ed. faythe. 19. C. lakkit; A. lakketh. 25.
C. denoyed. 28. C. om. he bef. ne. 33. C. halt; A. halden; Ed. holde. // A. Ed. that that;
C. that. 42. A. whan that; C. Ed. om. that. 45. C. It ne ... nat; A. It recordeth me wel;
Lat. Minimè ... recordor. 48. C. defference; A. Ed. difference. 63. A. resoun; Lat.
rationum. 67. C. by (for but; by mistake). 68. Ed. accomplyssheth; A. acomplisith; C.
a-complesseth (twice). 70. A. demest thou. 73. C. denoye (for deneye); A. Ed. denye.
// A. moeuementz; Lat. motum. 88. C. good folk (1st time); goode folk (2nd time). 91.
A. trowest thou. 92. A. wyse; C. whise. 99. C. maledie; A. maladie. 104. C. om. hem
after constreineth. 109. A. the gretter thinges that ben. 110. C. acomplised; A.
accomplissed; Ed. accomplysshed. 112. C. veyn; A. veyne. 120. A. lay. 122. C. desired
(for desire, by mistake). 135. A. wise; C. whise. 141. C. denoye (for deneye); A. denye
(thrice). 142. C. sympeli (1st time). 149. C. Ed. what; A. that. 151. C. shrewen (by
mistake). 152. A. descendeth; C. dessendit (sic). 158. A. shrewednesse; Lat. mala.
160. A. to han (for ne han no). 162. C. diffinissed; A. diffinised; Ed. defynisshed; Lat.
definiuimus. 169. A. but yif; Ed. but if; C. but. 186. A. om. ben. 188. A. om. doon.
192. C. the; A. Ed. tho. 194. C. om. to.

Metre II.

Quos uides sedere celsos.

Who-so that the covertoures of hir veyne aparailes mighte strepen
of thise proude kinges, that thou seest sitten on heigh in hir
chaires gliteringe in shyninge purpre, envirouned with sorwful
armures, manasinge with cruel mouth, blowinge by woodnesse of
herte, he shulde seen thanne that thilke lordes beren with-inne hir 5
corages ful streite cheines. For lecherye tormenteth hem in that
oon syde with gredy venims; and troublable ire, that araiseth in
him the flodes of troublinges, tormenteth up-on that other syde
hir thought; or sorwe halt hem wery and y-caught; or slydinge
and deceivinge hope tormenteth hem. And therfore, sen thou 10
seest oon heed, that is to seyn, oon tyraunt, beren so manye
tyrannyes, thanne ne doth thilke tyraunt nat that he desireth, sin
he is cast doun with so manye wikkede lordes; that is to seyn, with
so manye vyces, that han so wikkedly lordshipes over him.

Me. II. 1. Ed. vayne; C. A. veyn. 2. A. Ed. in; C. on. 3. Ed. chayres; C. (miswritten)
charyes; A. chayeres. 4. A. manasyng; C. manassinge. 8. A. troublynges; C.
trwblynges. 9. C. hym (for hem). 12. C. Ed. tyrannyes; A. tyrauntis. 14. A. wicked (for
wikkedly).

Prose III.

Videsne igitur quanto in coeno.

Seestow nat thanne in how grete filthe thise shrewes ben
y-wrapped, and with which cleernesse thise good folk shynen? In
this sheweth it wel, that to goode folk ne lakketh never-mo hir
medes, ne shrewes lakken never-mo torments. For of alle thinges
that ben y-doon, thilke thing, for which any-thing is don, it semeth 5
as by right that thilke thing be the mede of that; as thus: yif
a man renneth in the stadie, or in the forlong, for the corone,
thanne lyth the mede in the corone for which he renneth. And
I have shewed that blisfulnesse is thilke same good for which
that alle thinges ben doon. Thanne is thilke same good purposed 10
to the workes of mankinde right as a comune mede; which
mede ne may ben dissevered fro good folk. For no wight as by
right, fro thennes-forth that him lakketh goodnesse, ne shal ben
cleped good. For which thing, folk of goode maneres, hir medes
ne forsaken hem never-mo. For al-be-it so that shrewes wexen 15
as wode as hem list ayeins goode folk, yit never-the-lesse the
corone of wyse men shal nat fallen ne faden. For foreine shrewednesse

ne binimeth nat fro the corages of goode folk hir propre
honour. But yif that any wight reioyse him of goodnesse that he
hadde take fro with-oute (as who seith, yif that any wight hadde 20
his goodnesse of any other man than of him-self), certes, he that yaf
him thilke goodnesse, or elles som other wight, mighte binime it
him. But for as moche as to every wight his owne propre bountee
yeveth him his mede, thanne at erst shal he failen of mede whan
he forleteth to ben good. And at the laste, so as alle medes ben 25
requered for men wenen that they ben goode, who is he that
wolde deme, that he that is right mighty of good were part-les of
mede? And of what mede shal he be guerdoned? Certes, of
right faire mede and right grete aboven alle medes. Remembre
thee of thilke noble corolarie that I yaf thee a litel her-biforn; 30
and gader it to-gider in this manere:—so as good him-self is
blisfulnesse, thanne is it cleer and certein, that alle good folk ben
maked blisful for they ben goode; and thilke folk that ben blisful,
it acordeth and is covenable to ben goddes. Thanne is the mede
of goode folk swich that no day shal enpeiren it, ne no wikkednesse 35
ne shal derken it, ne power of no wight ne shal nat amenusen it,
that is to seyn, to ben maked goddes.

And sin it is thus, that goode men ne failen never-mo of hir mede,
certes, no wys man ne may doute of undepartable peyne of the
shrewes; that is to seyn, that the peyne of shrewes ne departeth nat 40
from hem-self never-mo. For so as goode and yvel, and peyne and
medes ben contrarye, it mot nedes ben, that right as we seen
bityden in guerdoun of goode, that also mot the peyne of yvel
answery, by the contrarye party, to shrewes. Now thanne, so as
bountee and prowesse ben the mede to goode folk, al-so is 45
shrewednesse it-self torment to shrewes. Thanne, who-so that
ever is entecched and defouled with peyne, he ne douteth nat,
that he is entecched and defouled with yvel. Yif shrewes thanne
wolen preysen hem-self, may it semen to hem that they ben with-outen
party of torment, sin they ben swiche that the uttereste 50
wikkednesse (that is to seyn, wikkede thewes, which that is the
uttereste and the worste kinde of shrewednesse) ne defouleth ne
enteccheth nat hem only, but infecteth and envenimeth hem
gretly? And also look on shrewes, that ben the contrarie party
of goode men, how greet peyne felawshipeth and folweth hem! 55
For thou hast lerned a litel her-biforn, that al thing that is and
hath beinge is oon, and thilke same oon is good; thanne is this
the consequence, that it semeth wel, that al that is and hath beinge

is good; this is to seyn, as who seyth, that beinge and unitee and
goodnesse is al oon. And in this manere it folweth thanne, that al 60
thing that faileth to ben good, it stinteth for to be and for to han
any beinge; wherfore it is, that shrewes stinten for to ben that
they weren. But thilke other forme of mankinde, that is to seyn,
the forme of the body with-oute, sheweth yit that thise shrewes
weren whylom men; wher-for, whan they ben perverted and 65
torned in-to malice, certes, than han they forlorn the nature of
mankinde. But so as only bountee and prowesse may enhaunsen
every man over other men; thanne mot it nedes be that shrewes,
which that shrewednesse hath cast out of the condicioun of mankinde,
ben put under the merite and the desert of men. Thanne 70
bitydeth it, that yif thou seest a wight that be transformed into
vyces, thou ne mayst nat wene that he be a man.

For yif he be ardaunt in avaryce, and that he be a ravinour by
violence of foreine richesse, thou shalt seyn that he is lyke to the
wolf. And yif he be felonous and with-oute reste, and exercyse 75
his tonge to chydinges, thou shalt lykne him to the hound. And
yif he be a prevey awaitour y-hid, and reioyseth him to ravisshe
by wyles, thou shalt seyn him lyke to the fox-whelpes. And yif he
be distempre and quaketh for ire, men shal wene that he bereth
the corage of a lyoun. And yif he be dredful and fleinge, and 80
dredeth thinges that ne oughten nat to ben dred, men shal holden
him lyk to the hert. And yif he be slow and astoned and lache, he
liveth as an asse. And yif he be light and unstedefast of corage, and
chaungeth ay his studies, he is lykned to briddes. And if he be
plounged in foule and unclene luxuries, he is with-holden in the 85
foule delyces of the foule sowe. Thanne folweth it, that he that forleteth
bountee and prowesse, he forleteth to ben a man; sin he may
nat passen in-to the condicioun of god, he is torned in-to a beest.

Pr. III. 1. A. Seest thou. 16. A. les; C. leese (error for lesse). 17. C. faaden. 25. A.
laste; C. last. 27. A. wolde; C. Ed. nolde; Lat. quis ... iudicet. 27, 28. A. Ed. of mede;
C. of the mede. // C. A. gerdoned; Ed. reguerdoned. 30. C. yat (miswritten for yaf). 31.
C. good him-self; A. Ed. god him-self; Lat. ipsum bonum. // C. his (error for is); after
him-self. 36. A. endirken (for derken). 38. A. medes. 43. C. gerdown; A. gerdoun; Ed.
guerdone. 44. A. Ed. answere. // A. Ed. by the; C. om. the. 45. A. medes; Lat.
praemium. 47. C. entechched. // Both MSS. om. peyne ... defouled with; but Ed. has:
payne, he ne douteth not, that he is entetched and defouled with; Lat. quisquis afficitur
poena, malo se affectum esse non dubitat. 50. A. om. uttereste ... which that is the. 52.
C. vtteriste (1st time); owttereste (2nd time). 55. C. folueth. 56. C. alle; A. al. 58. C.

alle; A. al (twice). 67. A. Ed. so as; C. om. as. // C. enhawsen (for enhawnsen). 73. A.
rauynour; Ed. rauenour; C. rauaynour. 75. A. Ed. a wolf. // C. excersise. 77. A.
rauysshe; C. rauysse. 78. A. Ed. wyles; C. whiles; Lat. fraudibus. 81. C. dredd. 82. A.
Ed. slowe; C. slowh. 83. C. vnstidefast.

Metre III.

Vela Neritii dulcis.

Eurus the wind aryvede the sailes of Ulixes, duk of the contree
of Narice, and his wandringe shippes by the see, in-to the ile
ther-as Circes, the faire goddesse, doughter of the sonne,
dwelleth; that medleth to hir newe gestes drinkes that ben
touched and maked with enchauntements. And after that hir 5
hand, mighty over the herbes, hadde chaunged hir gestes in-to
dyverse maneres; that oon of hem, is covered his face with forme
of a boor; that other is chaunged in-to a lyoun of the contree of
Marmorike, and his nayles and his teeth wexen; that other of
hem is neweliche chaunged in-to a wolf, and howleth whan he 10
wolde wepe; that other goth debonairely in the hous as a tygre
of Inde.

But al-be-it so that the godhed of Mercurie, that is cleped the
brid of Arcadie, hath had mercy of the duke Ulixes, biseged with
dyverse yveles, and hath unbounden him fro the pestilence of 15
his ostesse, algates the roweres and the marineres hadden by this
y-drawen in-to hir mouthes and dronken the wikkede drinkes.
They that weren woxen swyn hadden by this y-chaunged hir
mete of breed, for to eten akornes of okes. Non of hir limes ne
dwelleth with hem hole, but they han lost the voice and the 20
body; only hir thought dwelleth with hem stable, that wepeth
and biweileth the monstruous chaunginge that they suffren. O
overlight hand (as who seyth, O! feble and light is the hand of
Circes the enchaunteresse, that chaungeth the bodyes of folkes in-to
bestes, to regard and to comparisoun of mutacioun that is maked by 25
vyces); ne the herbes of Circes ne ben nat mighty. For al-be-it
so that they may chaungen the limes of the body, algates yit
they may nat chaunge the hertes; for with-inne is y-hid the
strengthe and vigor of men, in the secree tour of hir hertes; that
is to seyn, the strengthe of resoun. But thilke venims of vyces to-drawen 30
a man to hem more mightily than the venim of Circes;