God was pitous and mad him hol at al;[1972]
Silvestre cam, and in the same stede
Yaf him baptisme first in special,
Which dide awai the sinne original,
And al his lepre it hath so purified,
That his pite for evere is magnified.[1973] 350
Pite was cause whi this emperour
Was hol in bodi and in soule bothe,
And Rome also was set in thilke honour
Of Cristes feith, so that the lieve of lothe,
Whiche hadden be with Crist tofore wrothe,
Resceived weren unto Cristes lore:[1974]
Thus schal pite be preised evermore.
=M=y worthi liege lord, Henri be name,
Which Engelond hast to governe and righte,
Men oghten wel thi pite to proclame, 360
Which openliche in al the worldes sighte
Is schewed with the help of god almighte,
To yive ous pes, which longe hath be debated,
Wherof thi pris shal nevere ben abated.
My lord, in whom hath evere yit be founde[1975]
Pite withoute spot of violence,
Kep thilke pes alwei withinne bounde,
Which god hath planted in thi conscience:
So schal the cronique of thi pacience
Among the seintz be take into memoire 370
To the loenge of perdurable gloire.[1976]
And to thin erthli pris, so as y can,
Which everi man is holde to commende,
I, Gower, which am al thi liege man,
This lettre unto thin excellence y sende,
As y which evere unto my lives ende
Wol praie for the stat of thi persone
In worschipe of thi sceptre and of thi throne.[1977]
=N=oght only to my king of pes y write,
Bot to these othre princes cristene alle, 380
That ech of hem his oghne herte endite,
And see the werre er more meschief falle:[1978]
Sette ek the rightful Pope uppon his stalle,
Kep charite and draugh pite to honde,
Maintene lawe, and so the pes schal stonde.
=Explicit carmen de pacis commendacione, quod ad laudem et memoriam
serenissimi principis domini Regis Henrici quarti suus[1979] humilis
orator Iohannes Gower composuit.[1980] Et nunc sequitur epistola in
qua idem Ioannes pro statu et salute dicti domini sui apud altissitmum
deuocius exorat.=
[1981]Rex celi deus et dominus, qui tempora solus
Condidit, et solus condita cuncta regit;
Qui rerum causas ex se produxit et vnum
In se principium rebus inesse dedit;
Qui dedit vt stabili motu consisteret orbis
Fixus ineternum mobilitate sua;
Quique potens verbi produxit ad esse creata,
Quique sue mentis lege ligauit ea;
Ipse caput regum, reges quo rectificantur,
Te que tuum regnum, rex pie, queso, regat.[1982] 10
Grata superueniens te misit gracia nobis,
Quo sine labe salus nulla perante fuit.
Sic tuus aduentus noua gaudia sponte reduxit,
Quo prius in luctu lacrima maior erat:
Nos tua milicies pauidos releuauit ab ymo,
Quos prius oppressit ponderis omne malum:
Ex probitate tua, quo mors latitabat in vmbra,
Vita resurexit clara que regna regit:
Sic tua sors sortem mediante deo renouatam
Sanat et emendat, que prius egra fuit. 20
O pie rex, Cristum per te laudamus, et ipsum
Qui tibi nos tribuit terra reuiua colit.
Sancta sit illa dies qua tu tibi regna petisti,
Sanctus et ille deus qui tibi regna dedit.
Qui tibi prima tulit, confirmet regna futura,
Quo poteris magno magnus honore frui.
Sit tibi progenies ita multiplicata per euum,
Quod genus inde pium repleat omne solum.
Quicquid in orbe boni fuerit, tibi summus ab alto
Donet, vt in terris rex in honore regas: 30
Omne quod est turpe vacuum discedat, et omne
Est quod honorificum det deus esse tuum.
Consilium nullum, pie rex, te tangat iniquum,
In quibus occultum scit deus esse dolum.
Absit auaricia, ne tangat regia corda,
Nec queat in terra proditor esse tua.
Sic tua processus habeat fortuna perhennes,
Quo recolant laudes secula cuncta tuas:
Nuper vt Augusti fuerant preconia Rome,[1983]
Concinat in gestis Anglia leta tuis. 40
O tibi, rex, euo detur, fortissime, nostro
Semper honorata sceptra tenere manu:
Stes ita magnanimus quod, vbi tua regna gubernas,
Terreat has partes hostica nulla manus:
Augeat imperium tibi Cristus et augeat annos,
Protegat et nostras aucta corona fores:
Sit tibi pax finis, domito domineris in orbe,
Cunctaque sint humeris inferiora tuis.[1984]
Sic honor et virtus, laus, gloria, pax que potestas[1985]
Te que tuum regnum magnificare queant.[1986] 50
Cordis amore boni, pie rex, mea vota paraui;
Corpore cum nequii, seruio mente tibi:
Ergo tue laudi que tuo genuflexus honori[1987]
Verba loco doni pauper habenda tuli.
Est tamen ista mei, pie rex, sentencia verbi,
Fine tui regni sint tibi regna poli.
FOOTNOTES:
[1902] _The text is that of the MS. at Trentham Hall_ (T). _Variations
marked_ Th _are those of the copy in Chaucer’s Works, ed._ 1532, ff.
375 v^o-377.
[1903] _No title in_ T Iohan Gower vnto the worthy and noble kynge
Henry the fourth Th
[1904] _Latin Verses placed at the end of the poem_ Th
[1905] 1 O Noble worthy kyng Th
[1906] 3 uppon this] here vpon Th
[1907] 4 chosen Th
[1908] 8 highe Th high T
[1909] 16 thi] the Th
[1910] 17 bounde Th
[1911] 21 this is Th goddes purueyaunce Th godespourveiance T
[1912] 30 to _om._ Th
[1913] 31 the _om._ Th
[1914] 35 unto the] in to his Th
[1915] 36 his storie Th
[1916] 42 he _om._ Th
[1917] 45 paynem Th
[1918] 54 as _om._ Th
[1919] 63 erthly Th
[1920] 71 S.... pes (_erasure after_ S) T To stere peace Th eueriche on
lyue Th
[1921] 74 lande may stande Th
[1922] 89 euer TTh
[1923] 90 al TTh
[1924] 93 that] what Th
[1925] 96 ysought Th
[1926] 108 here T her Th
[1927] 121 hast be gyde Th
[1928] 122 Ley Th Leie T
[1929] 124 sette TTh
[1930] 126 euer TTh
[1931] 127 euer TTh
[1932] 129 Lete T Lette Th
[1933] 130 put Th putte T
[1934] 148 neuer TTh
[1935] 155 and knighthode Th
[1936] 162 þenke T thynke Th
[1937] 165 the subgit] be subiecte Th
[1938] 173 But afterwarde Th
[1939] 175 Ayenst Th
[1940] 177 stighed Th
[1941] 181 neuer TTh
[1942] 183 paynyms Th
[1943] 185 erre Th
[1944] 194 paynems Th
[1945] 200 which] þ_at_ Th
[1946] 202 worthi _om._ Th
[1947] 203 is there Th which] that Th
[1948] 209 payne Th
[1949] 211 a] any Th
[1950] 216 how _om._ Th
[1951] 219 the _om._ Th
[1952] 227 men] people Th
[1953] 238 him selfe Th
[1954] 241 euer TTh
[1955] 251 ayenst Th
[1956] 254 is _om._ Th hersilf T her selfe Th
[1957] 263 helpples T helplesse Th
[1958] 269 Betwene TTh
[1959] 276 Beholde TTh
[1960] 283 Godfray and Arthus Th
[1961] 288 mai] many Th
[1962] 291 ben] is Th
[1963] 294 pes] men Th
[1964] 295 Off (_for_ OF) T
[1965] 301 neuer TTh
[1966] 305 That is aboue al other peerles Th
[1967] 306 begete Th
[1968] 321 the pes] these Th
[1969] 329 here T her Th
[1970] 331 ther _om._ Th
[1971] 336 wei T way Th
[1972] 345 made Th
[1973] 350 euer TTh
[1974] 356 were TTh
[1975] 365 euer TTh
[1976] 371 loenge] legende Th
[1977] 378 and thy throne Th
[1978] 382 mor T
[1979] EXPLICIT 3 suis Th
[1980] 4 Et nunc--exorat _om._ Th
[1981] _Instead of the Latin lines that follow_ Th _has here the lines_
‘Electus Cristi--sponte data,’ _which in_ T _stand at the beginning,
and after these without a break_, ‘Henrici quarti--futura deus,’
_twelve lines which are written at the end of the Trentham MS._
[1982] 10 Teque T
[1983] 39 augusti T
[1984] 48 Cuncta que T
[1985] 49 paxque T
[1986] 50 Teque T
[1987] 53 laudique T
NOTES
LIB. V. (_continued_)
1980. F has a stop after ‘Avarice,’ but see note on l. 3966.
1982 ff. The meaning seems to be that they make no distinction of day
or night when there is work of this kind to be done.
2004. _overhippeth_, i. e. leaps over or omits something, so that he
has not all that he desires. The word is used in _Piers Plowman_, xv.
379, of omitting passages in the services of the Church.
2015 ff. Cp. _Mirour de l’Omme_, 6253 ff.,
‘Sicomme le Luce en l’eaue gloute
Du piscon la menuse toute,
Qu’il presde luy verra noer,
Ensi ly riches,’ &c.
2031 ff. The tale of Virgil’s Mirror is from the French prose _Roman
des Sept Sages_, as published by Le Roux de Lincy. It might easily be
shown that Gower did not follow either the French metrical version or
the Latin _Historia Septem Sapientum_. The English metrical version
published by Weber is from a source similar to that of Gower’s story,
but it differs in some points. Gower seems to be responsible for the
introduction of Carthage and Hannibal.
2099. _slepende a nyht_, i. e. while they slept.
2101. Cp. Prol. 182.
2115. _he his oghne body_, i. e. ‘he himself.’
2150 f. This point is omitted in the English metrical version.
2157 f. The English metrical version is very similar, ‘We schulle the
ymage so undersette, That we ne schal hit nothing lette.’
2168. That is, the timber having been set up.
2198 ff. This about Hannibal is introduced here as if taken from a
different source, ‘For this I finde,’ &c.
2238f. Cp. _Mirour_, 10651, ‘Plus que gaigners son augst attent.’
2273 ff. The tale of the Two Coffers is essentially the same story
as that which we have in Boccaccio _Decam._ x. i, and essentially
different from that which is told in _Vit. Barlaam et Josaphat_, cap.
vi, as a sequel to the story of the Trump of Death. The story which we
have here and in Boccaccio is not at all connected with the idea of
choosing by the outward appearance. The coffers are exactly alike, and
the very point of the situation lies in the fact that the choice is a
purely fortuitous one. The object was to show that they who complained
were persons who had fortune against them, and that this was the cause
of their having failed of reward, and not any neglect on the part of
the king. I cannot say what the source was for Gower; certainly not
Boccaccio, whose story is altogether different in its details.
2391 ff. With this story may be compared that in the _Gesta Romanorum_,
109, where by a choice between three pasties, one containing money, a
decision is come to as to whether it is God’s will that a certain sum
shall be restored to its owner, who is a miser.
2476. _tall_, i. e. comely, elegant.
2481. Cp. Chaucer, _Cant. Tales_, D 259.
2507. _His thonkes_, ‘of his own good will’: cp. Chaucer, _Cant.
Tales_, A 1626, &c.
2543 ff. See _Hist. Alexandri Magni de Preliis_, f 1, ed. Argent. 1489.
2547 ff. _Rom. de Troie_, 23283 ff.
2563. Cp. ii. 2025.
2587. ‘If men shall estimate her value.’ The reading of the text is
also that of S.
2643 ff. This story is to be found in the _Roman des Sept Sages_. Gower
follows the same French prose version as before, 2031 ff.
2677. _it stod._ In this kind of expression the verb is usually
subjunctive, as Prol. 481, i. 991, iv. 182, &c.
2752. _a weie._ This is also the reading of S.
2815 f. A rather more violent displacement than usual of the
conjunction, ‘And fled away with all the haste,’ &c. Cp. l. 3947.
2835. _hele_ seems here to mean ‘profit,’ in a worldly sense.
2872. According to the _New Engl. Dict._ this is the same as the Dutch
‘heepe,’ ‘heep,’ meaning a pruning-hook. ‘As there is no cognate word
in O. E., its appearance in Gower, and this apparently in a proverbial
phrase, is not easy to account for.’ In any case the phrase here seems
equivalent to ‘by hook or by crook.’
2937. F has punctuation after ‘dai,’ but this is clearly a case of the
inverted order of the conjunction: cp. note on Prol. 155, and below on
l. 3966.
2961 ff. The story is probably taken from Statius, _Achill._ i. 197
ff., where however it is told at much greater length. For Gower’s
acquaintance with the _Achilleis_, cp. iv. 1968 ff.
3002 ff. Cp. _Achill._ i. 338 ff.
3004 f. That is, howsoever his behaviour might be watched.
3082. _Protheüs._ According to Statius, _Achill._ i. 494 ff.,
Protesilaus rebuked Calchas for not having discovered Achilles, upon
which Calchas revealed the truth. Perhaps the mention of Protesilaus
suggested to Gower the idea of Proteus, of whom he had heard as one
who could change his form at will, see l. 6672, and perhaps as having
prophesied the birth and greatness of Achilles (Ovid, _Metam._ xi. 221
ff.).
3119. _topseilcole_, see note on viii. 1890.
3138 f. Cp. _Achill._ i. 812 ff.
3247 ff. The first part of the story of Jason and Medea (ll. 3247-3926)
is taken from Benoît (_Rom. de Troie_, 703-2062), and not from Guido,
as may be easily shown by comparison of the texts. For example, Guido
tells all the conditions of the enterprise, about the fire-breathing
bulls, the serpent’s teeth and so on, at the beginning of the story,
whereas Benoît more dramatically introduces them into the instructions
given to Jason by Medea (_Rom. de Troie_, 1337-1374, 1691-1748), and in
this he is followed by Gower (3505-3540). Guido says nothing about the
sleeplessness of the serpent (_Rom. de Troie_, 1357 f., _Conf. Am._ v.
3514), nor about repeating the charm ‘contre orient’ (_Rom. de Troie_,
1700), nor does he mention the thanksgiving which Jason is to offer up
to the gods after his victory and before he takes the fleece (_Rom. de
Troie_, 1735 f., _Conf. Am._ v. 3626 ff.). The sleep of Jason after
leaving Medea is omitted by Guido (_Rom. de Troie_, 1755 ff., _Conf.
Am._ v. 3665 ff.), and also the bath which he took after his adventure
(_Rom. de Troie_, 1999, _Conf. Am._ v. 3801). There is no need to
multiply instances, which will be observed by every careful reader. We
have seen on other occasions that Gower prefers Benoît to Guido, and
not without excellent reasons. Guido indeed makes this story even more
prosaic than usual, and combines it with matter-of-fact discussions
about the magic powers of Medea and the virtues of the various stones
which she used.
Gower, however, does not follow Benoît in a slavish manner. He omits or
alters the details of the story very happily at times, and he adds much
of his own. Thus he omits all mention of the evil motives of Peleus (or
Pelias), and makes the proposal to seek the golden fleece come from
Jason; he passes over the story of the dispute with Laomedon, which was
necessary to the _Roman de Troie_, but not to the story of Jason taken
separately; he adds the discourse of Jason with Oëtes on his arrival;
he omits the details about Medea’s hair and eyes, her arms and her chin
(_Rom. de Troie_, 1254 ff.), and dwells rather upon the feelings which
the two lovers had for one another at first sight (3376 ff.). When they
are together at night, it is Medea, according to our author, and not
Jason, who suggests that it is time to rise and to speak of what has to
be done (3547 ff.); and Gower adds the scene of parting (3634-3659),
the description of Jason’s return over the sea and of Medea’s feelings
meanwhile upon her tower, and the sending of the maid to inquire how
he did. Finally, he much improves the story by making the flight take
place at once, instead of prolonging Jason’s stay for a month.
Chaucer, who tells the story in a rather perfunctory manner, follows
Guido (_Leg. of Good Women_, 1396 ff.).
3291. _And schop anon_, &c. This might be understood of Peleus, who,
according to the original story, gave orders for the building of the
ship; but better perhaps of Jason, ‘And schop’ for ‘And he schop,’ cp.
l. 4590 and vi. 1636.
3376. _herd spoke_: cp. 4485, ‘I have herd seid.’
3388. That is, ‘they took heed each of other.’ For the plural verb cp.
3439.
3416. That is, ‘he took St. John as his pledge’ of a good issue, ‘he
committed himself to the care of St. John.’ The expression was often
used in connexion with setting out on a journey: cp. Chaucer, _Compl.
of Mars_, 9.
3422. Cp. iv. 3273, vi. 2104. The expression in vi. 1621 f., ‘to ful
age, That he can reson and langage,’ that is, ‘till he is of full age
and knows reason,’ &c., is much of the same kind.
3488. _dede him helpe._ We must take this second ‘helpe’ as a
substantive, otherwise the rhyme would not be good. The rule is that
words identical in form can only be combined in rhyme when they have
some difference of meaning.
3509. _to thyle._ The idea was that the golden fleece was guarded in
a small island adjacent to the larger ‘isle of Colchos.’ See _Rom. de
Troie_, 1791 ff.,
‘Ilec li covient à passer,
Ou voille ou non, un bras de mer;
Mès estreiz est, ne dure mie
Gaires plus de lieue et demie.
De l’altre part est li isliax,
Non mie granz, mès molt est biax.’
3533. _dethes wounde_, ‘deadly wound’: cp. iii. 2657, ‘And smot him
with a dethes wounde,’ and also the genitives ‘lyves’ for ‘living’ and
‘worldes’ for ‘worldly,’ i. 1771, iv. 382, &c.
3573. _hold_, i. e. let him hold: cp. viii. 1128, 1420.
3579 ff. According to Benoît Medea gave him first the magic figure,
‘une figure Fete par art et par conjure’ (cp. 3580), then the ointment
and the ring, and after that a writing, the words of which he was
to repeat three times when he came to the place. Gower changes the
order of things, and combines the writing with the ‘hevenely figure,’
describing it as written over with names which he is to repeat in the
manner mentioned.
3632. _That thanne he were_, &c., that is, she prayed that he would
soon be gone.
3654. ‘It shall not be owing to any sloth of mine if I do not,’ &c.
3665 ff.
‘Dedanz son lit s’est tost cochiez
Endormi sei en eslepas;
Car tot esteit de veiller las:
Et quant il ot dormi grant piece,
Tant qu’il estoit ja halte tierce,
Levez s’est,’ &c. _Rom. de Troie_, 1756 ff.
‘undren hih’ is in the French ‘halte tierce.’
3681. _recorde_, ‘take note of.’
3688. The reading of X here, ‘And forth with all his wey he fongeth,’
is also that of GOAd₂.
3707. _scherded_: perhaps the word is suggested by Benoît’s expression,
‘Les escherdes hérice’ (_Rom. de Troie_, 1905).
3711. A literal translation of _Rom. de Troie_, 1906, ‘Feu et venin
gitot ensenble.’ With the lines that follow cp. _Rom. de Troie_, 1911
ff.
3731 ff. The picturesque elements here are perhaps partly suggested by
_Rom. de Troie_, 1869 ff.
3747. _That he ne were_, expressing a wish: cp. iv. 3414, ‘Helas, that
I nere of this lif,’ equivalent to ‘why ne were I,’ l. 5979.
3781 f. ‘leyhe’ seems to be modified in form for the sake of the rhyme,
the usual form in Gower being ‘lawhe.’
3786. _naght_, in rhyme for ‘noght’: cp. ‘awht,’ ‘auht,’ i. 2770, v.
6073.
3789. So Ovid, _Metam._ vii. 144 ff.,
‘Tu quoque victorem complecti, barbara, velles,
Obstitit incepto pudor,’ &c.,
but it is also in Benoît, _Rom. de Troie_, 1991 f.
3793 ff. The sending of the maid, with the pretty touch in l. 3800, is
an addition by Gower.
3890. Cp. i. 1516.
3904. _this was conseil_, ‘this was a secret’: cp. iii. 778, vi. 2326;
so Chaucer, _Cant. Tales_, C 819, ‘Shal it be conseil?’ cp. D 966, E
2431.
3927 ff. Benoît tells no more of Jason’s life after his return to
Greece, saying that Dares relates no more, and he does not wish to tell
stories that may not be true, ‘N’en velt fere acreire mençonge.’ From
this point then Gower follows Ovid, _Metam._ vii. 159-293, and it must
be understood that the illustrative quotations in the notes are from
this passage.
3947. ‘And prayed her that by the magic art which she knew,’ &c. For
the order of words cp. 2815 f.
3957 f. Ovid makes it full moon, l. 180, but afterwards, l. 188, says
‘Sidera sola micant.’
3962 ff.
‘Egreditur tectis vestes induta recinctas,
Nuda pedem, nudos humeris infusa capillos,
Fertque vagos mediae per muta silentia noctis
Incomitata gradus.’ _Metam._ vii. 182 ff.
The comparison to the adder in l. 3967 is Gower’s own.
3966. F has a stop after ‘specheles,’ there being a natural tendency
even in the best copies to treat ‘and’ or ‘for’ as the beginning of
a new clause: so (to take examples from the fifth book only) v. 231,
410, 444, 2318, 2937, 5096, in all which places F has apparently wrong
punctuation in connexion with this kind of inverted order.
3971 ff.
‘Ter se convertit, ter sumptis flumine crinem
Irroravit aquis, ternis ululatibus ora
Solvit’: 189 f.
3981. The punctuation is that of F, but perhaps we ought rather to read,
‘Sche preide and ek hield up hir hond,
To Echates and gan to crie.’
3986. _help._ For this use of the imperat. sing, (with ‘helpeth’ just
above) see Introduction, p. cxviii.
3994.
‘Sublimis rapitur, subiectaque Thessala Tempe
Despicit, et Creteis regionibus applicat angues:’ 222 f.
Gower very naturally understood this to mean that Medea visited Crete,
and hence the confusion of geography. He could not be expected to know
that Othrys and Olympus were mountains of Thessaly, and hence that the
‘Creteis’ or ‘cretis’ of his manuscript was probably a corruption.
4000 f.
‘et placitas partim radice revellit,
Partim succidit curvamine falcis ahenae.’ 226 f.
4005. _Eridian_, i. e. Apidanus.
4006.
‘Necnon Peneus, necnon Spercheïdes undae
Contribuere aliquid.’ 230 f.
4011. _the rede See._ Perhaps Gower read ‘rubrum mare’ for ‘refluum
mare’ in _Metam._ vii. 258.
4031 ff.
‘statuitque aras e caespite binas,
Dexteriore Hecates, at laeva parte Iuventae.’ 240 f.
4039. ‘verbenis, silvaque incinxit agresti,’ 242. Gower took ‘silva
agrestis’ as the name of a herb and ingeniously translated it into
‘fieldwode.’
4052 f. ‘Umbrarumque rogat rapta cum coniuge regem,’ 249. Our author is
able to supply the names correctly.
4064-4114. This picturesque passage is for the most part original.
4127 ff. ‘Nec defuit illic Squamea Cinyphii tenuis membrana chelydri,’
272. Gower understood this to mean ‘the scales of Cinyphius (or
Cimphius) and _the_ skin of Chelidrus.’
4134. ‘novem cornicis saecula passae,’ 274.
4137. Ovid speaks of the entrails of a werwolf, ‘Ambigui prosecta
lupi,’ &c.
4156. For omission of relative cp. l. 4205 and note on i. 10.
4175 ff. The story here is only summarized by Ovid, _Metam._ vii.
394-401. Gower of course knew it from other sources.
4219. ‘intrat Palladias arces,’ _Metam._ vii. 398. This means Athens,
but it is misunderstood by Gower.
4251. _Philen_, i. e. Nephele. Hyginus tells this story much as it is
told here (except that it was the mother of the children who provided
the ram), but he gives the name in its Latin form, as ‘Nebula.’ Note
the mistake as to this name in the margin, appearing in all MSS. except
SΔΛ.
4299 ff. Note the confused construction of the sentence: cp. note on i.
98.
4391. The metaphor of hunting is still kept up: the gain which they
pursue is started like a hare and driven into the net.
4399. _Outward_, that is, when he gives things out, cp. ‘withinne’
below.
4452. _I were a goddeshalf._ This seems to mean, ‘I should be content,’
that is, I should be ready to say ‘In God’s name let it be so.’ For the
expression cp. l. 5016, ‘Thanne a goddes half The thridde time assaie
I schal.’ In the _New Engl. Dict._ (‘half’) it is said to be used ‘to
add emphasis _to_ a petition, command, or expression of consent or
resignation’: cp. Chaucer, _Book of the Duchess_, 370, 757.
4455. _I biede nevere ... Bot_, ‘I demand only.’ In this expression
‘biede’ and ‘bidde’ have been confused, as often. Thus we have ‘I bidde
nevere a betre taxe,’ i. 1556, ‘That I ne bede nevere awake,’ iv. 2905,
in the latter of which ‘bede’ may be either pret. subj. of ‘bidde,’ or
pres. ind. equivalent to ‘biede,’ and vi. 1356, ‘He bede nevere fare
bet’ where ‘bede’ is apparently pret. subj. of bidde; while in the
English _Rom. of the Rose_, 791, we have ‘Ne bode I nevere thennes go,’
in which ‘bode’ must be pret. subj. of ‘biede.’
4465. _lete_: see note on i. 3365.
4549 ff. Cp. i. 42 ff.
4557 f. ‘No law may control him either by severity or by mildness.’ For
the use of ‘compaignie’ in the sense of ‘friendliness’ cp. i. 1478, and
below, l. 7759.
4583 ff. Ovid, _Metam._ iii. 362 ff., but the circumstances are
somewhat modified to suit Gower’s purpose. According to Ovid Echo’s
fault was that she talked too much and diverted Juno’s attention, and
her punishment was that her speech was confined to a mere repetition of
what she heard. Here the crime is rather that she cunningly concealed
in her speech what she ought to have told, and the punishment is that
she is obliged to tell everything that comes to her ears.
4590. ‘And through such brocage he was untrue,’ &c. For the omission of
the pronoun see note on i. 1895.
4623. _maken it so queinte_, ‘be so cunning’: cp. iv. 2314, where
however ‘queinte’ has a different meaning.
4642. _hire mouth ascape_, i. e. escape being repeated by her mouth.
4661. The aspiration of ‘hem,’ so as to prevent elision, is very
unusual: cp. Introduction, p. cxxv.
4668 ff. ‘I shall arrange in their due order those branches of Avarice
on which no wealth is well bestowed,’ that is, those which make no
return for what is bestowed upon them, viz. Usury and Ingratitude.
4708. _of som reprise_, i. e. ‘of some cost,’ cp. i. 3414,
‘Which most is worth, and no reprise
It takth ayein,’
that is, it costs nothing.
4724. _with ydel hand_, ‘with empty hand,’ that is, without a lure.
This seems to be the original meaning of the adjective: see _New Eng.
Dict._ ‘idle.’
4731. _the gold Octovien._ The treasures of Octovien (or Octavian) were
proverbial: cp. _Rom. de Troie_, 1684 f.,