30. #glednesse#: after the manner of l. 29, we expect gleawnesse, but
comp. ‘Of alkin gladnes es þar gleu,’ CM 23359. T has ⁊ he is gleu |
ouer alle glade þinhes: S omits. Line 31 is probably a gloss upon l. 30.
34. #riche#, powerful: comp. 6/30, 133/33; ‘hit ne gerist nanum ricum
cynincge,’ Ælf. Lives i. 382/260.
35, 6. that there shall not be wanting anything he desires to him who is
purposed to honour Him here in this world. For the construction of
#wone#, see 52/368: for the double negative comp. ‘for he ne mihte beon
wurðe[;] na þing of his wille,’ L 18704: in the MS. _wc_ the scribe
mistook þ for w. T has apparently þo, not wo: Skeat reads [hwo]: that
relative is not found in J.
37. For stanza iii generally comp. ‘Decet regem discere legem. | Audiat
rex quod praecipit lex. | Legem servare hoc est regnare. | Notitia
litterarum lux est animarum,’ Wipo 1-4. An echo of this stanza is
evident in, ‘The ferste seide, “I understonde | Ne may no king wel ben
in londe, | Under God Almihte, | But he cunne himself rede, | Hou he
shal in londe lede | Everi man wid rihte,”’ Wright, Pol. Songs, 254/7
(date 1311 A.D.).
38. #may# has possibly its independent force, is strong, has power,
comp. 29/12, but the line is evidently corrupt; #ryhtwis# is a
reminiscence of l. 34, as is also _riche_ in T. It is easy to supply beo
after #king#, for TS have _ben_. But RJ, S are nearest the right reading
with, Ne mai no riht cing ben under crist selve (selve SH{1}; self
SH{2}, selfe SL). Read Ne may beon ryht king. #vnder criste#, a
favourite expression in Layamon, as, ‘Ȝe beoð under criste[;] cnihten
alre kennest | and ich æm rihchest alre kinge[;] vnder gode seolue,’ L
27230, 27976, 28056.
40. It is obvious to substitute for #wyttes#, _wrytes_, or better
_iwriten_, as at 20/67, 70, after #writes# in T, but ‘his writings,’
i.e. manuscripts, seems suspicious, and if correct gives a feeble
threefold repetition of the same idea; and further the relation between
ll. 41 and 42 requires the explanation of #hw# as, ‘so as to know how,’
Skeat. A transposition of ll. 40, 41 with _welde_ read for #kunne#
(which seems to be due to the following line), will give a better
sequence of ideas, obviate repetition, and restore the alliteration.
Comp. ‘ælc bi his witte[;] wisdom sæiden,’ L 25627; ‘he wes swiðe wis
mon[;] and witful on bocken,’ id. 22097. For cunne RJ, S have icweme.
41. #lokie#, consult, examine, refer to records for himself: comp. ‘þat
yow tels sent Ieremi, | If yee wald lok his propheci,’ CM 9333.