81. Basilius. Not much is known of him; see H. F. Stewart, as above, p. 48.

82. compelled, i.e. bribed to accuse me. for nede of foreine moneye: 'alienae aeris necessitate.'

84. Opilion, Opilio; the Opilio mentioned in Cassiodorus, lib. v. epist. 41, and lib. viii. epist. 16, and brother of the Cyprian mentioned above, l. 75. His father's name was Opilio likewise.

89. aperceived, made known. the king, i.e. Theodoric, king of Italy for 33 years, A.D. 493-526. His reign was, on the whole, good and glorious, but he committed the great crime of putting to death both Boethius and his aged father-in-law Symmachus, for which he afterwards expressed his deep repentance. See Gibbon's Roman Empire. The chief record of his reign is in the collection of twelve books of public epistles composed in his name by Cassiodorus. The seat of his government was Ravenna, as mentioned below.

93. lykned; rather, added; Lat. 'posse adstrui uidetur.'

95-194. See a translation into modern English of the whole of this passage, in H. F. Stewart's Essay, pp. 37-41.

101. axestow in somme, if you ask particularly; 'summam quaeris?'

106, 107. forsake, deny. have wold, have willed, did wish.

109. and that I confesse. Here Chaucer's version seems to be quite at fault. 'At uolui, nec unquam uelle desistam. Fatebimur? [MS. C. Et fatebimur.] Sed impediendi delatoris opera cessabit.'

113. by me, with regard to me; 'de me.'

117. Socrates; in Plato's Republic, Book VI: τὴν ἀψεύδειαν ... μισεῖν, τὴν δ' ἀλήθειαν στέργειν (485 C).

120. preisen, appraise, judge of: 'aestimandum.'

131. Canius, better Canus, i.e. 'Julius Canus, whose philosophic death is described by Seneca, De Tranquillitate Animi, cap. xiv.'—Gibbon. He has already been mentioned above, Prose iii. l. 40.

132. Germeynes sone, the son of Germanicus. This Gaius Cæsar is better known as Caligula, the emperor who succeeded Tiberius.

143. famileres, friends, i.e. disciples, viz. Epicurus, in the De Ira Divina, cap. xiii (Stewart).

154. Verone, Verona; next to Ravenna, the favourite residence of Theodoric.

156. his real maiestee, high treason, lit. 'his royal majesty'; Lat. 'maiestatis crimen.' The king was intent upon repressing all freedom of speech.

167. submittede, subdued: 'summitteret.'

171. present, i.e. he would, even in such a case, have been allowed to appear in his defence, would have been called upon to confess his crime, and would have been condemned in a regular manner.

173. fyve hundred, nearly 500 miles. Boethius was imprisoned in a tower at Pavia.

176. as who seith, nay; i.e. it is said ironically. The senate well deserve that no one should ever defend them as I did, and be convicted for it.

181. sacrilege; glossed sorcerie: 'sacrilegio.' Sorcery or magic is intended. 'At the command of the barbarians, the occult science of a philosopher was stigmatised with the names of sacrilege and magic.'—Gibbon. See below, l. 196.

186. Pictagoras, Pythagoras. The saying here attributed to him is given in the original in Greek—ἕπου θεῷ. Some MSS. add the gloss, i. deo non diis seruiendum. MS. C. has: deo et non diis sacrificandum.

188. I, i. e. for me. A remarkable grammatical use.

190. right clene: 'penetral innocens domus.'

193. thorugh, i. e. for. Caxton and Thynne read for.

195. feith: 'de te tanti criminis fidem capiunt.'

198. it suffiseth nat only ... but-yif, this alone is insufficient ... unless thou also, &c. of thy free wille: 'ultro.'

212. good gessinge, high esteem: 'existimatio bona.'

215. charge, burden, load: 'sarcinam.'

219. by gessinge, in men's esteem: 'existimatione.'

223. for drede: 'nostri discriminis terrore.'

Metre 5. 1. whele, sphere: 'orbis.' Not only were there seven spheres allotted to the planets, but there was an eighth larger sphere, called the sphere of fixed stars, and a ninth 'sphere of first motion,' or primum mobile, which revolved round the earth once in 24 hours, according to the Ptolemaic astronomy. This is here alluded to. God is supposed to sit in an immoveable throne beyond it.

3. sweigh, violent motion; the very word used in the same connexion in the Man of Lawes Tale, B 296; see note to that passage.

4. ful hornes, i. e. her horns filled up, as at full moon, when she meets 'with alle the bemes' of the Sun, i. e. reflects them fully.

7. derke hornes, horns faintly shining, as when the moon, a thin crescent, is near the sun and nearly all obscured.

9. cometh eft ayein hir used cours, returns towards her accustomed course, i. e. appears again, as usual, as a morning-star, in due course. I think the text is incorrect; for cometh read torneth, i. e. turns. Lat. text: 'Solitas iterum mutet habenas.' The planet Venus, towards one apparent extremity of her orbit, follows the sun, as an evening-star; and again, towards the other apparent extremity, precedes it as a morning-star. So Cicero, De Nat. Deorum, ii. 20. 53: 'dicitur Lucifer, cum antegreditur solem, cum subsequitur autem, Hesperus.'

11. restreinest, shortenest; the sun's apparent course being shorter in winter. Lat. 'stringis.'

13. swifte tydes, short times; viz. of the summer nights.

19. Arcturus, α Boötis, in the sign Libra; conspicuous in the nights of spring.

20. Sirius, α Canis Maioris, or the Dog-star, in the sign of Cancer; seen before sun-rise in the so-called dog-days, in July and August. It was supposed that the near approach of Sirius to the Sun caused great heat.

21. his lawe, i.e. 'its law'; and so again in his propre.

28. on. Caxton and Thynne rightly read on.

29. derke derknesses, obscure darkness: 'obscuris ... tenebris.' Not a happy expression.

31. covered and kembd: 'compta.' Cf. kembde in Squi. Ta. F 560.

37. erthes, lands; the pl. is used, to translate 'terras.'

41. bonde, i.e. the chain of love; see Bk. ii. Met. 8. l. 15.

Prose 5. 1. borken out, barked out; 'delatraui.' MS. A. changes borken into broken. The glossaries, &c., all seem to miss this excellent example of the strong pp. of berken. Borken appears as a pt. t. pl. in the King of Tars, l. 400. The A.S. pp. borcen appears in the A.S. Leechdoms, ed. Cockayne, i. 170, l. 17.

14. oo ... king. The original is in Greek—εἷς κοίρανος ἐστὶν, εἷς βασιλεύς: quoted from Homer, Iliad, ii. 204, with the change from ἔστω to ἐστίν.

18, 19. thy citee, i.e. the city of heaven; note the context.

22. palis, paling, rampart; 'uallo.' Clearer than paleis, as in A, which might mean palace; but both spellings occur in French.

25. face (facies), the look of this prison.

31. in comune good, for the common good: 'in commune bonum.'

34. thinges ... aposed, accusations; 'delatorum.'

45. thy wode Muse: 'Musae saeuientis'; cf. Met. 5 above, l. 22.

51. thilke passiouns: 'ut quae in tumorem perturbationibus influentibus induruerunt.'

54. by an esier touchinge refers to the preceding mowen ... softe: 'tactu blandiore mollescant.'

Metre 6. This Metre refers to the necessity of doing everything in its proper season.

2. 'When the sun is in Cancer'; i.e. in the month of June.

4. lat him gon, let him go and eat acorns.

6. whan the feld: 'Cùm saeuis Aquilonibus Stridens campus inhorruit.' Chirkinge, hoarse, rustling; alluding to the rustling of frozen grass in a high wind.

15. And forthy: 'Sic quod praecipiti uiâ Certum deserit ordinem, Laetos non habet exitus.'

Prose 6. 10. by fortunous fortune: 'fortuitis casibus.' Not well expressed.

14. the same ... thou, thou didst sing the same thing. See Met. v. 22.

17. owh! an exclamation of astonishment: Lat. 'papae.'

18. why that thou: 'cur in tam salubri sententiâ locatus aegrotes.'

20. I not ... what: 'nescio, quid abesse coniecto.'

22. with whiche governailes, by what sort of government.

28. the strengthe, the strength of the gaping stockade discloses an opening: 'uelut hiante ualli robore.' The corruption of chyning to schynyng in MS. A. makes sad nonsense of the passage.

42. they may nat al: 'sibique totum extirpare non possint.'

55. or elles the entree: 'uel aditum reconciliandae sospitatis inueni.'

56. For-why, for, Because, since. for-thy, therefore.

64. the auctor ... of hele: 'sospitatis auctori.'

65. norisshinges; perhaps better norisshing, as in Caxton and Thynne; 'fomitem,' i. e. furtherance.

71. faster, firmer, stronger: 'firmioribus.'

76. to maken thinne and wayk: 'attenuare.'

77. meneliche, moderate: 'mediocribus.'

Metre 7. 1. yeten a-doun, pour down; 'fundere.' Not geten, as in A.

2. trouble, turbid; 'Turbidus Auster.'

3. medleth the hete: 'Misceat aestum.' See above, Met. iv. l. 5.

5. clere as glas; cf. Knight's Tale, A 1958.

withstande: 'Mox resoluto Sordida caeno, Visibus obstat.'

7. royleth, wanders; 'uagatur.' Not 'rolls.'

11. holden, keep to; cf. 'Hold the hye wey'; Truth, l. 20. weyve: 'Gaudia pelle, Pelle timorem; Spemque fugato.'

BOOK II.

Prose 1. 13. to begyle; copied in Troil. iv. 2, 3:—

22. myn entree: 'de nostro adyto.' But Chaucer has translated 'adyto' as if it were 'aditu.' He translates aditum by entree in Bk. i. Pr. 6, l. 55. Adyto is 'sanctuary.'

28. Com, i. e. let (it) come; imperative: 'Adsit igitur rhetoricae suadela dulcedinis.'

32. moedes, moods, strains; 'modos.' prolaciouns, utterances.

35. Compare Chaucer's poem on Fortune; and see the long note at the beginning of the Notes to that poem.

45. use hir maneres; rather, make the best of her conduct: 'utere moribus.' agrysest, shudderest at, dreadest.

48. She hath forsaken: 'Reliquit enim te, quam non relicturam nemo umquam poterit esse securus.'

51. The MSS. usually agree in this clause. Chaucer's gloss is due to an obscure note in MS. C., viz. 'vel quam non relictam, secundum alios libros.' Other notes occur there, but do not help us.

68. floor: 'intra fortunae aream.' We say 'area' or 'domain.'

77. amonges, at various times, from time to time, now and then; see New E. Dict., s.v. Among, B. 2.

83. cesede, would cease; copied in Troil. i. 848:—

Metre 1. 3. Eurype, Euripus; a narrow channel, with a strong current; especially that between Boeotia and Euboea. This use of the word is here seen to be far older in English than the quotation from Holland's Pliny in the New E. Dict.

8. so hard: 'Ultroque gemitus, dura quos fecit, ridet.'

9. laugheth, laughs at; 'ridet.' It is impossible to accept the reading lyssheth in C. There seems to be no such word. It probably arose from the attempt of the scribe to represent the guttural sound of gh, because we actually find him writing neysshebour for neighbour twice, viz. in Bk. ii. Pr. 3. 24, and in Pr. 7. 57. This passage is imitated in Troil. iv. 7: 'Than laugheth she and maketh him the mowe.'

Prose 2. 1. Compare Chaucer's 'Fortune'; l. 25, &c.

4. every-dayes, daily: 'cottidianis querelis.'

37. I torne: 'Rotam uolubili orbe uersamus.'

39. Worth up, climb up: 'Ascende.' Cf. P. Plowman, B. vii. 91; Wars of Alexander, 2878, 2973.

42. Cresus, Croesus; see note to Monk. Tale, B 3917.

47. Perciens, Persians. But Chaucer is here wrong. The Lat. text has 'Persi regis,' i. e. king Perseus. Perseus, or Perses III, was the last king of Macedonia, who was defeated by L. Æmilius Paulus in a decisive battle fought near Pydna, in June, B.C. 168. 'When brought before Æmilius [here, Paulus], he is said to have degraded himself by the most abject supplications; but he was treated with kindness by the Roman general;' Smith, Class. Dict. See Livy, xl. 57; xli. 53; xliv. 32; &c.; Plutarch, Life of Æmilius.

51. Tragedie. Cf. the definition in the Monk. Prol. B 3163; and note to Anelida, 320.

53. in Greke. These two words are not in the original, but the following quotation is given in Greek: δύο τοὺς πίθους, τὸν μὲν ἕνα κακῶν, τὸν δὲ ἕτερον καλῶν. Some MSS. add: 'duo dolia quidem malum alterum bonum.' From Homer, Iliad, xxiv. 527:

Cf. notes to Wyf of Bathes Prol. D 170, and to Leg. of Good Women, 195.

54. in the entree: 'in Iouis limine': ἐν Διὸς οὔδει.

61. realme: 'intra commune omnibus regnum locatus.'

Metre 2. 1. hielde, pour: 'Tantas fundat opes, nec retrahat manum Pleno copia cornu.'

8. as fool-large, like one that is foolishly lavish: 'Multi prodigus auri.'

11. other gapinges: 'Alios pandit hiatus.' Some MSS. have Altos, but Chaucer evidently read Alios, as in MS. C.

13. to any ... ende; rather, 'within a prescribed boundary'; 'Certo fine retentent.'

Prose 3. 22. princes. These were, in particular, Festus and Symmachus. Boethius married Rusticiana, the daughter of Symmachus. Hence the allusion to his fadres-in-lawe (socerorum) just below, in l. 26; where the right sense is parents-in-law. See Stewart's Essay, p. 24.

23. leef: 'delectusque in affinitatem principum ciuitatis, quod pretiosissimum propinquitatis genus est, priùs carus, quam proximus esse coepisti.' Hence the whiche thing really refers back to affinitee, which is hardly obvious in the E. version.

40. whan thou: 'cùm in Circo duorum medius consulum circumfusae multitudinis exspectationem triumphali largitione satiasti.'

43. gave thou wordes: 'Dedisti ... uerba fortunae.'

48. privee, a man of private station, not of noble rank: 'priuato.' The reference is to the election of his two sons as consuls in one day.

55. Art thou: 'An tu in hanc uitae scenam nunc primum subitus hospesque uenisti.' Thus shadwe or tabernacle is meant to translate scenam.

60. laste day; quoted in Chaucer's 'Fortune,' l. 71; see note to the line.

61. and also, i. e. even to such Fortune as abides and does not desert the man: 'fortunae ... etiam manentis.'

62. thar recche; it is absolutely necessary to insert thee after thar; i. e. And therefore, what, do you suppose, need you care? yif thou, i. e. whether thou.

Metre 3. 10. the fairnesse: 'Iam spinis abeat decus.'

13. over-whelveth, turns over: 'Verso concitat aequore.' whelveth is the right form, as noted by Stratmann; it occurs in MS. Ii. 1. 38, and in the black-letter editions. It occurs again in Palladius on Husbandry, i. 161: 'For harme ... may ... perchaunce the overwhelve,' i.e. for perhaps harm may overthrow thee. And again, in the same, i. 781: 'overwhelve hit upsodowne,' i.e. turn it (the land) right over.

16. tomblinge, fleeting, transitory; 'caducis.'

18. nis, is; we must disregard the second negative.

Prose 4. 3. ne be comen, is not come; i.e. did not come. It refers to past time.

5. For in alle: 'Nam in omni aduersitate fortunae infelicissimum genus est infortunii, fuisse felicem.' This famous sentence has been several times copied. See, e.g., Troil. iii. 1625-8; Dante, Inferno, v. 121-3; Tennyson, Locksley Hall, 76.

8. But that thou, i.e. 'but the fact that thou.' abyest, sufferest: 'falsae opinionis supplicium luis.'

12. For al be it: 'Nam si te hoc inane nomen fortuitae felicitatis mouet.'

20. Symacus, Symmachus. There were several distinguished men of this family. Q. Aurelius Symmachus was a statesman and author in the latter half of the fourth century. The one here referred to is Q. Aurelius Memmius Symmachus, who had been consul under Odoacer in 485, and was involved in the fate of Boethius, being put to death by Theodoric in 525, shortly after the execution of Boethius in 524. He had two daughters, Rusticiana and Galla, of whom the former married Boethius. See Procopius, de Bello Gothico, lib. i., and several Epistles in Cassiodorus, viz. lib. iv. epist. 22, 37, 66.

25. thy wyf; i. e. Rusticiana, daughter of Symmachus; for there is no proof that Boethius was twice married (Stewart, p. 24). She survived the capture of Rome by the Goths under Totila, A.D. 546. 'The riches of Rusticiana, the daughter of Symmachus and widow of Boethius, had been generously devoted to alleviate the calamities of famine. But the barbarians were exasperated by the report, that she had prompted the people to overthrow the statue of the great Theodoric; and the life of that venerable matron would have been sacrificed to his memory, if Totila had not respected her birth, her virtues, and even the pious motive of her revenge.'—Gibbon, Rom. Empire, ch. 43.

31. two sones; the two spoken of just above (Pr. iii. l. 35), as being both made consuls together. This was in 522.

conseilours, i.e. of consular rank: 'consulares.'

40. thyne ancres. Hence the line, 'Yit halt thyn ancre.' Fortune, l. 38.

52. thy delices: 'delicias tuas.' The sense here intended is 'effeminacy,' or 'unmanly weakness.'

56. ful anguissous, very full of anxieties: 'Anxia enim res,' &c. Repeated in Troilus, iii. 816, q.v.

68. for alwey, &c. Very obscure. Chaucer seems to mean—'for always, in every man's case, there is, in something or other, that which (if he has not experienced it) he does not understand; or else he dreads that which he has already experienced.' The Latin is clearer: 'inest enim singulis, quod inexpertus ignoret, expertus exhorreat.'

79. nothing [is] wrecched. The insertion of is completes the sense: 'adeo nihil est miserum, nisi cùm putes.' Observe 'nis a wrecche' in Chaucer's own gloss (l. 81); and see l. 25 of 'Fortune.'

83. by the agreabletee, by means of the equanimity: 'aequanimitate tolerantis.' Not having the word 'equanimity' at command, Chaucer paraphrases it by 'agreeabletee or egalitee,' i. e. accommodating or equable behaviour. Cf. l. 92.

86. The swetnesse, &c. Cf. Troilus, iii. 813-5; and Man of Lawes Tale, B 421-2, and note.

89. withholden, retained: 'retineri non possit.' that, so that.

107. sheweth it wel, it is plain: 'manifestum est.'

110. either he woot, &c.; copied in Troilus, iii. 820-833.

115. lest he lese that ... it, lest he lose that which. MS. A. omits 'it'; but the phrase is idiomatic.

119. this is to seyn that men, that is to say that, in such a case, men, &c.

120. lost, loss. This form of the sb. occurs elsewhere; as in Gower, i. 147 (goth to lost); and in P. Plowman, C. vii. 275; &c. See Stratmann.

131. it ne maketh, it does not make men miserable.

Metre 4. 7. lause, loose; Icel. lauss: 'solutae.' Usually loos, as in Cant. Ta. A 4064, 4352.

8. forthy if thou: 'Fugiens periculosam Sortem sedis amoenae, Humili domum memento Certus figere saxo.' Chaucer's translation is hardly correct; sortem and sedis must be taken in close connection. 'Avoiding the perilous condition of a fair (and exposed) situation, take care to found thy house securely on a low-lying (and sheltered) rock.'

12. weleful: 'Felix robore ualli Duces serenus aeuum.' palis, stockade, rampart; as before, Bk. i. Pr. 3. 56, Pr. 5. 22.

Prose 5. 10. to hem that despenden it; rather, by spending it; Lat. 'effundendo.' So again, in l. 11, to thilke folke that mokeren it answers to the Lat. gerund 'coaceruando.'

11. mokeren it, hoard it. Perhaps related to O.F. mucier; see Curmudgeon in my Etym. Dict. See mokereres, misers, below.

15. stenteth to ben had, ceases to be possessed: 'desinit possideri.'

16. large, lavish; 'largiendi usu desinit possideri.'

18. as of that, as regards that hoard.

19. a voys al hool, a voice not yet dispersed: 'uox ... tota.'

32. yif it wanteth, if it lacks: 'carens animae motu atque membrorum compage.'

35. of the laste: 'postremae aliquid pulcritudinis.' Perhaps it means 'of the lowest kind of beauty.' Mr. Stewart, in his Essay, p. 225, reads postremo, for which I find no authority. MS. C. has postreme.

36. through the distinccioun: 'suique distinctione.'

40. Why sholde it nat, &c. In some editions, this passage is not marked as being assigned to Boethius. In others, it is.

85. ostelments, furniture, household goods: 'supellectilis.' O.F. ostillement, oustillement, furniture; cf. mod. F. outil, a word of doubtful origin. Cf. l. 94.

90. subgit; as if for 'suppositis'; but the Lat. text has 'sepositis,' i.e. separate, independent.

92. beest, animal: 'diuinum merito rationis animal.'

97. of the lowest, &c., 'by means of vilest things.'

101. yif that al, &c., 'if all the good possessed is more valuable than the thing possessing it.'

105. and certes: 'quod quidem haud immerito cadit.'

111. it cometh: 'it arises from some defect in them.'

121. Gabbe I of this, do I lie concerning this?

125. weneth. The texts have and weneth; but I suppress and to make sense, and to make the translation agree with the Latin. 'Atqui diuitiae possidentibus persaepè nocuerunt, cùm pessimus quisque, eóque alieni magis auidus, quidquid usquam auri gemmarumque est, se solum qui habeat dignissimum putat.'

128. way-feringe; MS. A, way-faryng. Both forms, feringe and faring(e) occur; see Stratmann. Feringe = A. S. fērende, from the weak verb fēran, to go, travel; whilst faringe = A. S. farende, from the strong verb faran, to go. Fēran (= *fōrian) is derived, with vowel-mutation, from the stem *fōr, appearing in fōr, the pt. t. of faran.

130. singe, &c. Doubtless from Juvenal, Sat. x. 22; see Wyf of Bathes Tale, D 1191, and the note.

Metre 5. Largely imitated in Chaucer's poem called 'The Former Age,' which see. See also the Notes to the same.

5. They ne coude, they knew not how: 'Non Bacchica munera norant Liquido confundere melle.'

6. piment, usually spiced wine; here, wine mixed with honey. See Rom. of the Rose, 6027, and the note. clarree, wine mixed with honey and spices, and then strained till it is clear; clarified wine. See Rom. of the Rose, 5967, 6026; Former Age, 16; Kn. Tale, A 1471. Chaucer uses these two words here in conjunction, for the simple reason that he was thinking of the parallel passage in the French Rom. de la Rose, which is imitated from the present passage in Boethius. Ll. 8418-9 are:—