Chaucer's Works, Volume 2 — 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 ***
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[=a] signifies "a with macron"; [)a] "a with breve"; and so forth. [gh]
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superscription: a single character following the carat is superscripted
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Project Gutenberg has Volume VI of Skeat's edition, which contains a
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* * * * *
[Illustration: MS. CORP. CHR. COLL., CAMBRIDGE. Troil. iv. 575-588
_Frontispiece**_]
THE COMPLETE WORKS
OF
GEOFFREY CHAUCER
_EDITED, FROM NUMEROUS MANUSCRIPTS_
BY THE
REV. WALTER W. SKEAT, 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.--§ 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 vii
INTRODUCTION TO TROILUS.--§ 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 xlix
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 d_omi_ni millesimo ccccx^o. 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,
[Gh]it 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 d_omi_ni M^oCCCvj 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. _l[=e]get_,
_l[=i]get_) 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 _[gh]eelde_ (= _zeelde_). The word is
missing in MS. A., but Morris supplied it from C. to complete the text.
Hence the foot-note has: '[_[gh]eelde_]--from C.'; meaning that A. omits
_[gh]eelde_, which is supplied from C. This Kellner took to mean that A.
has _[gh]eelde_, 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 _[gh]elde_, 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 [Greek: Brisêida], 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--'neu_er_ 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 þ_our_ al þis tou_n_ aboute;
Be þey þe wers? whi, nay, w_i_t_h_-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 fro_m_ hyre ey[gh]yn tweyn
Out ran, as scho_ur_ 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 eu_er_emor myn herte is holde:
And thus he pleynyd, and ferth_er_e-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 'Co_m_meued 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: p_er_cede; in 337, nou_n_c_er_teyne. 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. _d[=u]'lkarnayn_, lit. two-horned; from Pers. _d[=u]_, two, and
_karn_, horn--_read_ represents the Arab, _z[=u]'lkarnayn_, lit.
two-horned; from Arab. _z[=u]_, 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. hey[gh]t. // C. gret; A. greet. 5. C. myht; A. my[gh]t. 6. C.
vygor; A. vigoure. // C. myhte; A. my[gh]t. // 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. hey[gh]te (_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. sau[gh]. 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. thou[gh]t.
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. ly[gh]tnesse. 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. reme_m_bren.
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. hy[gh]t. 6. C. dirked; A.
derked. 8. C. hyhte; A. hy[gh]t.
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. my[gh]test
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. hy[gh]t. 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. gerdou_n_s; A. gerdou_n_ (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.
hy[gh]t. 41. C. Ed. prosp_er_e; A. p_ro_pre. 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. sowr_e_;
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. mayst_er_esse; 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. re
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