1920. Here that means 'that very.' The description of 'the house of Dædalus' is in Ovid, Met. viii. 159; and the word labyrinthus, used with reference to it, is in Vergil, Æn. v. 588. Chaucer again refers to it in the Leg. of Good Women (Ariadne), 2010; and it is mentioned in his translation of Boethius, bk. iii. pr. 12. 118 (vol. ii. p. 89). And see Gower, Conf. Amant. ed. Pauli, ii. 304.

1926. This somewhat resembles Dante, Inf. iii. 53, which Cary translates:—

1928. Oise, a river which flows into the Seine, from the north, not far below Paris. Chaucer says the sound might have been heard from there to Rome. From this vague statement, Warton would wish us to infer that the whole poem was founded on some foreign production now (and probably always) unknown. There is no need to draw any such conclusion. The English were fairly familiar with the north of France in days when a good deal of French soil belonged more or less to the king of England. The Oise, being a northern affluent of the Seine, must have been a well-known river. I think the allusion proves just nothing at all.

1933. This is an excellent and picturesque allusion, but in these days can no longer be appreciated. Compare Barbour's Bruce, xvii. 681:—

1940. Though the authorities read hattes (Th. hutches), I alter this word to hottes without hesitation. We do not make hats with twigs or osiers. Chaucer says that some of the twigs were white, such as men use to make cages with, or panniers (i.e. baskets), or hottes, or dossers. Now Cotgrave explains F. Panier by 'a Pannier, or Dosser; also, a Pedlers Pack; also, a fashion of trunke made of wicker'; and he explains F. Hotte by 'a Scuttle, Dosser, Basket to carry on the back; the right hotte is wide at the top, and narrow at the bottom.' Dr. Murray kindly refers me to Cursor Mundi, l. 5524:—

He also tells me that in Caxton's Golden Legend (1483), fol. cix. col. 2, is the sentence—'And bare on hys sholdres vij. hottis or baskettis fulle of erthe.' In a Glossary of North of England Words, printed as Gloss. B. 1, by the Eng. Dial. Society, I find: 'Hots, s. pl. a sort of panniers to carry turf or slate in'; and Halliwell gives it as a Cumberland word. Dickenson's Cumberland Glossary has: 'Muck-hots, panniers for conveying manure on horseback.' Brockett's Gloss. of Northern Words has: 'Hot, a sort of square basket, formerly used for taking manure into fields of steep ascent; the bottom opened by two wooden pins to let out the contents.' Thus the existence of the word in English is fully proved; and the fitness of it is evident.

1943. 'Al ful of chirking was that sory place'; Kn. Tale, A 2004.

1946. Again from Ovid, Met. xii. 44-47.

1970. Read—'Of estáts and éek of regióuns.' The e in estat was very light; hence mod. E. state.

1975. Mis is here an adjective, meaning 'bad' or 'wrong'; cf. 'But to correcten that is mis I mente'; Can. Yeom. Tale, G 999.

1980. 'Although the timber,' &c.

1982. 'As long as it pleases Chance, who is the mother of news, just as the sea (is mother) of wells and springs.'

1997. Paráventure; also spelt paraunter, shewing how rapidly the third syllable could be slurred over.

2000. Peter! by St Peter; see note to l. 1034.

2004. Cunne ginne, know how to begin. (Gin, a contrivance, is monosyllabic).

2009. I substitute the dissyllabic swich-e for the monosyllabic these, to preserve the melody.

2011. 'To drive away thy heaviness with.'

2017. MS. F. has frot, which has no meaning, but may be a misspelling of froit, which is another form of fruit. As Koch says, we must read The fruit, remembering that Chaucer uses fruit in the peculiar sense of 'upshot' or 'result.'

In the present case, it would be used in a double sense; (1) of result, (2) of a fruit that withers and is ready to burst open. As to the spelling froit, we find froyte in the Petworth MS. in the latter of the above quotations, where other MSS. have fruyt or fruite. The swote (Cx. Th.) means 'the sweetness.'

2019. That, in this line, goes back to Sith that in l. 2007.

2021. I suppress in after yaf, because it is not wanted for the sense, and spoils the metre.

2034-40. Suggested by Dante, Inf. iii. 55-57, just as ll. 1924-6 above are by the two preceding lines in Dante; see note to l. 1926. Cary has:—

In l. 2038, left means 'left alive.'

2044. I substitute ech for euerych (in Caxton). The two MSS. (F. and B.) have merely Rouned in others ere, which is of course defective.

2048. I here follow B. (except that it wrongly omits lo).

2059. Wondermost; superl. of wonder, which is very common as an adjective.

2076. As the reading of the MSS. is obviously wrong (the word mouth being repeated three times), whilst the reading of the printed editions (Wente every tydyng) cannot be right on account of the scansion, I put word for the first of the three mouths. This gives the right sense, and probably Chaucer actually wrote it.

2089. Again from Ovid, Met. xii. 54, 55. A sad soth-sawe, a sober truth.

2099. With the nones, on the condition; see Leg. of Good Women, 1540; and the note. So also in the Tale of Gamelyn, 206.

2101. See Kn. Tale, 273, 274 (A 1131).

2105. Beside, without; without asking his leave.

2119. Cf. Cant. Tales, D 1695—'Twenty thousand freres on a route,' where Tyrwhitt prints A twenty. But the MSS. (at least the seven best ones) all omit the A. Just as the present line wants its first syllable, and is to be scanned—'Twénty thoúsand ín a roúte'; so the line in the Cant. Tales wants its first syllable, and is to be scanned—Twénty thoúsand fréres ón a roúte. For having called attention to this fact, my name (misspelt) obtained a mention in Lowell's My Study Windows, in his (otherwise excellent) article on Chaucer. 'His (Chaucer's) ear would never have tolerated the verses of nine^[63] syllables with a strong accent on the first, attributed to him by Mr. Skeate and Mr. Morris. Such verses seem to me simply impossible in the pentameter iambic as Chaucer wrote it.' Surely this is assumption, not proof. I have only to say that the examples are rather numerous, and nine-syllable lines are not impossible to a poet with a good ear; for there are twelve consecutive lines of this character in Tennyson's Vision of Sin. It may suffice to quote one of them:—

I will merely add here, that similar lines abound in Lydgate's 'Sege of Thebes,' and that there are 25 clear examples of such lines in the Legend of Good Women, as I shew in my Introduction to that Poem.

2123. Cf. P. Plowman; B. prol. 46-52. Bretful, brim-ful, occurs in P. Pl. C. i. 42; also in Chaucer, Prol. 687; Kn. Tale, 1306 (A 2164).

2130. Lyes; F. lies, E. lees. 'Lie, f. the lees, dregs, grounds'; Cotgrave.

2140. Sooner or later, every sheaf in the barn has to come out to be thrashed.

2152. 'And cast up their noses on high.' I adopt this reading out of deference to Dr. Koch, who insists upon its correctness. Otherwise, I should prefer the graphic reading in MS. B.—'And up the nose and yën caste.' Each man is trying to peer beyond the rest.

2154. 'And stamp, as a man would stamp on a live eel, to try to secure it.' Already in Plautus, Pseudolus, 2. 4. 56, we have the proverb anguilla est, elabitur, he is an eel, he slips away from you; said of a sly or slippery fellow. In the Rom. de la Rose, 9941, we are told that it is as hard to be sure of a woman's constancy as it is to hold a live eel by the tail. 'To have an eel by the tail' was an old English proverb; see Eel in Nares' Glossary, ed. Halliwell and Wright.

2158. The poem ends here, in the middle of a sentence. It seems as if Chaucer did not quite know how to conclude, and put off finishing the poem till that more 'convenient season' which never comes. Practically, nothing is lost.

The copy printed by Caxton broke off still earlier, viz. at l. 2094. In order to make a sort of ending to it, Caxton added twelve lines of his own, with his name—Caxton—at the side of the first of them; and subjoined a note in prose, as follows:—

I fynde nomore of this werke to-fore sayd. For as fer as I can vnderstonde / This noble man Gefferey Chaucer fynysshed at the sayd conclusion of the metyng of lesyng and sothsawe / where as yet they ben chekked and may nat departe / whyche werke as me semeth is craftyly made'; &c. (The rest is in praise of Chaucer). But, although Caxton's copy ended at l. 2094, lines 2095-2158 appear in the two MSS., and are obviously genuine. Thynne also printed them, and must have found them in the MS. which he followed. After l. 2158, Thynne subjoins Caxton's ending, with an alteration in the first three lines, as unsuitable to follow l. 2158. Hence Thynne prints them as follows:—

We thus see that it was never pretended that the lines following l. 2158 were Chaucer's. They are admittedly Caxton's and Thynne's. Even if we had not been told this, we could easily have detected it by the sudden inferiority in the style. Caxton's second line will not scan at all comfortably; neither will the third, nor the fourth. (The seventh can be improved by altering began to gan). And Thynne's lines are but little better.

NOTES TO THE LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN.

NOTES TO THE PROLOGUE.

2. Compare Chaucer's Troilus, book ii. ll. 894-6.

5. Nis noon = ne is noon, is not none, i.e. is no one. This use of the double negative, as in modern provincial English, is extremely common, and need not be again remarked upon. Cf. ll. 7, 15, &c.

9. 'For there may no man prove it by actual trial.'

10. Leve, believe. Notice the numerous senses of leve, viz. (1) believe; (2) leave, v.; (3) grant; (4) dear; (5) leave, sb.; (6) leaf (dat. case).

11. Wel more thing, many more things. The word thing was originally neuter, and long remained unchanged in the plural. In l. 23, we have thinges. The M.E. more usually means 'greater'; it is seldom used (as here) in the modern sense.

12. Men shal nat, people ought not to. The use of men in the general sense of 'people' is extremely common in Chaucer, and the student should notice that it usually takes a singular verb, when thus used. With ll. 12, 13 cf. Hamlet, i. 5. 166.

13. But-if, unless, except. Great attention should be paid to the exact sense of these apparently less important words. Frequently the whole sense of a sentence is missed, even by editors, owing to inattention to their use.

14. 'For, God knoweth, a thing is none the less true, although no one can see it.'

16. In the margins of MSS. C. and F. is written the Latin proverb here referred to, viz. 'Bernardus monachus non uidit omnia'; i.e. Bernard the monk (even) did not see everything. The reference is to the great learning and experience of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (born A.D. 1091, died Aug. 20, 1153). This we know from an entry in J. J. Hofmann's Lexicon Universale (Basileæ, 1677), s.v. Bernardus, where we find: 'Nullos habuit præceptores præter quercus et fagos. Hinc proverb: Neque enim Bernardus vidit omnia.' See an account of St. Bernard in Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints, or in Chambers' Book of Days, under the date of Aug. 20.

18. Minde, remembrance; see l. 26. Cf. 'to bear in mind.'

25. Cf. Le Rom. de la Rose, ed. Méon, 9669-72:—

26. Rémembráunce; accented on the first and last syllables. The melody of innumerable lines in Chaucer is only apparent to those who perceive the difference between the present and the old accentuation, especially in the case of French words. Besides, such accent is frequently variable; Chaucer has hónour, rénoun, &c. at one time, and honóur, renóun, &c. at another. Thus in l. 27 we have honóuren; and in l. 31 credénce.

27. Wel oghte us, it is very necessary for us, it well behoves us. Us is here the dative case, and oghte is the impersonal verb; in accordance with Chaucer's usual method. But, in this case, there is a grammatical difficulty; for the past tense oghte is here used with the sense of the present; the right form would be expressed, in modern English, by oweth, and in M.E. by ah (also awe, oȝe). Such use of the right form of the present tense is exceedingly rare; and (possibly owing to a sense of uncertainty about its true form) the form of the past tense was used both for past and present, whether personal or impersonal, precisely as we now use must in place both of M.E. mot (present) and moste (past). Mätzner only gives three examples of the present tense of this verb, when used impersonally; viz. 'Hym awe to rise,' it behoves him to rise, Metrical Homilies, p. 77; 'Vus oȝe,' it behoves us, Allit. Poems, ed. Morris, i. 552; 'Him owith to mynystre,' Reliquiæ Antiquæ, ii. 48.

The only right way of thoroughly understanding Chaucer's grammar is by comparing one passage with another, observing how particular expressions occur. This is best done by the proper process of reading the text; but even the usual glossarial indexes will often furnish ready examples. Thus the glossary to the Prioresses Tale gives the following examples:—

The glossary to the Man of Law's Tale gives:—

As to the spelling of the word, it may be remarked that oghte is the more correct form, because ō answers to A.S. ā, and gh to A.S. h in the A.S. form āhte. But a confusion between the symbols ogh, ugh, and ough soon arose, and all three were merged in the form ough; hence neither ogh nor ugh occurs in modern English. See Skeat, Eng. Etymology, § 333, p. 361.

The full explanation of this and similar phrases would extend these notes to an inordinate length. Only brief hints can here be given.

28. Ther, where. The sense 'where' is commoner than the sense 'there.'

29. Can but lyte, know but little. Cf. Prior. Tale, B 1726, 1898.

30. For to rede, to read. The use of for to with the gerundial infinitive is found in Layamon and the Ormulum, and may have been suggested by the like use of the French pour, O. Fr. por (and even por a). See Mätzner, Engl. Grammatik, ii. 2. 54. Compare Parl. Foules, 16, 695; Ho. Fame, 657.

36. This connection of 'the month of May' with song and poetry is common in Mid. Eng. poetry, from the natural association of spring with a time of joy and hope. We even find something of the kind in A.S. poetry. See The Phœnix, l. 250; Menologium, l. 75.

The earliest song in Middle English relates to the cuckoo; and, before Chaucer, we already find, in the Romance of Alexander, l. 2049, such lines as—

See also the poem on Alisoun, in Morris and Skeat, Spec. of Eng., part ii. p. 43. Again, we have a like mention of the May-season and of the singing of birds in the introduction to the Roman de la Rose; see vol. i. p. 96.

Nevertheless, the whole of the present passage is highly characteristic of the author, and extremely interesting. Cf. ll. 108, 176.

40. Condicioun, temperament, character, disposition. Prof. Corson here refers us to Shakespeare, Merch. Ven. i. 2. 143; Cor. v. 4. 10; Oth. iv. 1. 204; Jul. Cæs. ii. 1. 254, &c.

41. On the scansion, see note to l. 67.

43. Daysyes, daisies; here dissyllabic. But in l. 182 we have the full form day-es-y-e, of four syllables, answering to the A.S. dæges éage (or ége), lit. day's eye, or eye of day, as Chaucer himself says in l. 184. And it is worth adding that his etymology is perfectly correct; for, in the few instances in which etymologies are suggested in Middle English, they are usually ludicrously wrong. In l. 184, the word is only trisyllabic (day-es-y'), the last syllable suffering elision. The A.S. dægesége occurs in a list of plants in A.S. Leechdoms, ed. Cockayne, iii. 292, l. 8; and we also find in Wright's A.S. Vocabularies, ed. Wülker, col. 135, l. 22, and col. 322, l. 11, the following entries:—'Consolda, dægesege,' and 'Consolda, dægeseage.'

The primary meaning of dæges éage is doubtless the sun; the daisy is named from its supposed likeness to the sun, the white petals being the rays, and the yellow centre the sun's sphere.

Compare Lydgate's Troy-book, ed. 1555, fol. K 6, back:—

46. 'That, when in my bed, no day dawns upon me on which I am not (at once) up, and (am soon) walking in the meadow.' Nam = ne am, am not.

49. By the morwe, with the (dawn of the) morning.

50. Sight-e is dissyllabic, as the scansion shews. In l. 15, wight is monosyllabic. It is often difficult to ascertain Chaucer's usage of such forms, and we have to observe, where we can, any instances that are helpful. The Rime-Indexes to the Canterbury Tales and to the Minor Poems are often of great service. We learn from them that wight rimes with the monosyllables bright, knight, might, night, right, &c., whereas sighte rimes with the infin. moods light-e, fight-e, &c., as well as with monosyllables, and is therefore used somewhat capriciously. Another helpful list is that given in Ellis's Early Eng. Pronunciation, ch. iv. § 5, founded upon Prof. Child's articles on Chaucer and Gower. This at once refers us to C. T. 2118 (It were a lusty sight-e for to see); 2335 (But sodeinly she saugh a sight-e queynte); &c.

We should also consider the etymology. Now wight = A.S. wiht, is monosyllabic, and gives no difficulty. On the other hand, the A.S. for 'sight' is gesiht or gesihþ; but it is a fem. sb., and makes all its oblique cases with a final -e, viz. gesiht-e or gesihþ-e. In such instances, the nominative case often lost its distinctive form, and took the form of the other cases, so that already in the Ormulum (l. 12670) we find the nom. case sihhþ-e, dissyllabic. Such usages have received careful attention in the present edition, and in almost every case the addition of a final e in an unexpected place can be amply justified by instances of Chaucer's usage in other passages. If the student will endeavour to verify some of the examples here given, he will soon come to a clearer knowledge of the matter.

52. Hit, it, i.e. the daisy. But in l. 53 it is referred to as she. We shall see why this is hereafter. As a mere flower, it is neuter; but as being the type of Alcestis, it is feminine. Cf. ll. 62, 63.

53. We have come to the first instance in which Chaucer transposed the order of his material in the course of revision. Line 53 of the B-text corresponds to A. 55, whilst B. 61 corresponds to A. 51. All such instances are clearly shewn by printing the transposed passages twice over, once in their right place, and again in their changed place in a smaller type. By this arrangement all such transpositions can be understood at a glance.

The blank space which here appears in the A-text corresponds to ll. 50-52 in B, which are marked with an asterisk as being peculiar to the latter text. In order to save space, a small blank space (of one or two lines only) often corresponds to an insertion in the other text of some length.

56. 'And I love it, and ever (do so) equally anew,' i.e. unalterably.

57. The word herte is so common that it is worth while to remember that it is usually dissyllabic; the A.S. form being heorte.

58. Al, although (very common). Of this, in this matter.

61. Weste, is here a verb; 'to turn to the west.' See l. 197.

65. Probably to be scanned thus: Óf | the sónn' | for thér | hit wól | unclós-e. See note to l. 67, and cf. l. 111.

66. Ne had, pronounced as nad; and often so written.

67. The first syllable of a line is often wanting in Chaucer; so that the first foot consists of a single emphatic syllable. Such lines are now considered faulty, though examples may be found in Tennyson's 'Vision of Sin,' which cannot be called unmelodious; but they were once common, especially in Lydgate. Some examples from the present poem are the following:—

So also ll. 245, 303, 722, 783, 797, 859, 863, 901, 911, 1024, 1030, 1076, 1187, 1275, 1324, 1342, 1498, 1551, 1828, 1996, 2471, 2575.

68. Conning, knowledge. Many words now used with a changed signification are well explained in Trench's Select Glossary, which should be consulted for them. Thus, in the article upon cunning, Trench quotes the following from the examination of Wm. Thorpe, as preserved in Foxe's Book of Martyrs:—'I believe that all these three Persons [in the Godhead] are even in power and in cunning and in might'.

69. Make, compose poetry; of sentement, concerning your feelings. So in l. 74, making is 'poetry.' See Trench, s.v. make; where it is shewn that the use of the word arose quite independently of the Gk. use of ποιεῖν and ποιητής. 'One of the earliest instances of the use of makyere in the sense of "author" occurs in the Kentish Ayenbite of Inwyt, ed. Morris, p. 269; written A.D. 1340. The A.S. scóp and O.H.G. scóf mean "a shaper." The G. Dichter means an "arranger"; the Fr. trouvère, Provençal troubadour, and Ital. trovatore means a "finder."'—Skeat, note to P. Plowman, B. xii. 16 (where makynges means 'poems').

72. Cf. l. 193. There appears to be here some reference to a poem of the kind called in F. tenson (O.F. tençon) or in O. Provençal tenso, i.e. 'dispute,' in which the relative merits of two subjects are discussed. An early example in English is the poem called The Owl and the Nightingale, in which these birds contend for the superiority. In the present case, the suggestion is to discuss the value of the Leaf, representing no doubt constancy or any enduring virtue, as compared with that of the Flower, the representative of perishable beauty and the freshness of first love. Chaucer probably refers to some such poem in French, but I cannot point out the exact source.

On the other hand, the present passage doubtless suggested the poem called 'The Flower and the Leaf,' a pretty but somewhat tedious poem of the fifteenth century, in which Chaucer's style is imitated with no remarkable exactness or success. This poem was formerly rashly attributed to Chaucer himself without any evidence, though it was printed for the first time as late as 1598. See it discussed in vol. i. p. 44. Gower also refers to the present passage; C. A. iii. 358.

In scanning this line, remember to pronounce Whether as Whe'r, a monosyllable. This is common also in Shakespeare, as in his 59th Sonnet: 'Whe'r we are mended, or whe'r better they.'

74. Making, poetry; ropen, reaped. 'For I well know, that ye (poets) have long ere this reaped the field of poetry, and carried away the corn from it; and I come after you as a gleaner.' See note to l. 69. Compare Parl. Foules, 22-25.

The A.S. rípan, to reap, was a strong verb; pt. t. ráp, pp. ripen. The M.E. forms are various and corrupt, and not very common. In P. Plowman, B. xiii. 374, the pt. t. is rope, pl. ropen. The proper form of the pp. is rĭpen; the form ropen is due to that confusion between the past tense and past participle which is so extremely common in English. See Morris, Hist. Outlines of Eng. Accidence, p. 160.

80. Evel apayd, ill pleased, displeased; a common phrase. See Cler. Tale, E 1052; Can. Yem. Tale, G 921, 1049. Apayd, pleased, occurs in the Kn. Tale, 1010 (A 1868).

85. Wynt, windeth, turns (me) about, directs (me). These contracted forms of the third person singular of the present indicative are almost universal in Anglo-Saxon, and very common in M.E. Chaucer has fynt = findeth, rit = rideth, hit = hideth, et = eateth, l. 1389, &c. A much earlier example of wint for windeth is in the Ancren Riwle, p. 296.

86. In-with, within. This curious form is not very common in Chaucer. Still it occurs in l. 228 below; in the Prior. Tale, B 1794; Cler. Tale, E 870; March. Tale, E 1944; Troilus, ii. 508, iii. 1499, &c. See Mätzner.

88. Nothing I, I am not at all (the master of it).

90. This is a fine simile. His lady sovereign can evoke from him any tone at will. And maketh = and (the hand) makes. Bell puts That for And, without authority.

93. Yow list, it pleases you. List = listeth; cf. note to l. 85.

97. 'But why said I that we should give credence?' See ll. 10, 20.

In the A-text (l. 81) But wherfor is used differently, and means—'But the reason why,' &c.

100. Seen at eye, see evidently. So in the Can. Yem. Tale, G 1059. Cf. fair at yë, fair to the sight, id. G 964; Cler. Tale, E 1168. The promise made in l. 101 was not fulfilled.

103. Besy gost, active spirit. Thrusteth, thirsteth.

105. Gledy, glowing; an adj. formed from gleed, a glowing coal. I know of no other example of this word. The compound adj. gled-read, glede-red, i.e. red as a glowing coal, occurs in O. Eng. Homilies, ed. Morris, i. 249.

108. The first of May was a favourite time for joyful observances. See note to Kn. Tale, A 1500.

109. Dredful, timid, timorous; as in Kn. Tale, A 1479.

112. Agayn, against, towards, turned towards; as in l. 48.

113. The beste, i.e. the Bull, the sign Taurus. Agenores doghter is Europa, daughter of Agenor of Phœnicia, who, according to the fable, was carried off by Jupiter in the form of a bull. Hence Ovid uses the expression 'Agenoreus bos,' Fast. vi. 712; and calls Europa 'Agenore nata,' Met. ii. 858. For the story, see the latter reference.

Chaucer here tells us that the Sun, on the 1st of May, was 'in the breast' of Taurus, i.e. in the middle of it. It was, in fact, far advanced in the sign, near the 20th degree. See Fig. 1 in this volume, which shews the back of the Astrolabe.

118. Cf. Book of the Duchesse, 399.

125. Cf. Book of the Duchesse, ll. 410-2, which is a parallel passage. Both passages are borrowed from the Roman de la Rose, 55-58; see vol. i. p. 95.

126. Mat, dead; a term borrowed from the game of chess. See Anelida, 176; Book Duch., 660; and Kn. Tale, A 955.

128. Atempre, temperate, mild. See Book of the Duch., 341, and the note. This again is from the Rom. de la Rose, 125. Releved, raised up again, revived. Cotgrave gives: 'Relevé, raised, lift, or set up again; relieved, revived, fully restored.'

130. 'In the classical and middle ages small birds were a common article of food, as they are on the continent at the present time; and the season for catching them with a panter, or bag-net, was winter, when the scarcity of food made them tame. The poet here represents their songs in the spring, as the expression of their exultation at having baffled the stratagems, quaintly called sophistries, by which the fowler had endeavoured to lure them to their destruction.'—Bell.

The word panter is curiously preserved in the mod. E. painter, a rope for mooring a boat. I quote the following from my Etym. Dict.: '"Painter, a rope employed to fasten a boat"; Hawkesworth's Voyages, 1773, vol. i. p. xxix. Corrupted (by assimilation to the ordinary sb. painter) from M.E. panter, a noose, esp. for catching birds. See Chaucer, Leg. of Good Women, 131; Prompt. Parv., p. 381; spelt paunter, Polit. Songs, ed. Wright, p. 344.—O.F. pantiere, a kind of snare for birds, Roquefort; panthiere, "a great swoop-net"; Cotgrave. Cf. Ital. pantiera, "a kind of tramell or fowling net"; Florio; panthera, "a net or haie to catch conies with, also a kind of fowling-net"; id.—Lat. panther, a hunting-net for catching wild beasts. Cf. panthera, an entire capture.—Gk. πανθηρός, catching all; cf. πανθήρα, the whole booty (a very late word).—Gk. πᾶν, neut. of πᾶς, every; and θήρ, a wild beast.

'The Irish painteir, Gael. painntear, a gin, snare, are forms of the same word [but were borrowed from English or French]. It is remarkable that, in America, a panther is also called a painter. See Cooper, The Pioneers, cap. xxviii.'

132. Upon, against, in scorn of; cf. in his despyt, l. 134. A-whaped, scared.

—A. 127. The A-text is hereabouts very imperfect, and some lines are too short. I supply words within square brackets, in order to fill out the lines, and to make sense.

145. See Parl. of Foules, 309, 683, and the note to the former passage in vol. i. p. 516. Birds were supposed to choose their mates on St. Valentine's day (Feb. 14).

146. Chees, chose: the past tense; A.S. céas.

154. Tydif, the name of some small bird, guessed by Skinner to be the titmouse; more probably the tydy mentioned by Drayton, which is supposed to mean a wren. See Tydy in Nares. Cf. Squi. Tale, F 648; id. 610, 611.

158. 'Provided that their mates would pity them.'

160. Daunger usually means 'power to harm.' These allegorical personages were suggested by the Roman de la Rose. In the English version (l. 3018) Daunger is the name of the 'foul churl,' who is set beside the Rose, to prevent strangers from plucking it. In Chaucer's Complaint unto Pite, he introduces such personages as Crueltee (corresponding to Daunger), Pite, Bountee, Gentilesse, and Curtesye. So here, we are told that although Daunger (i.e. power to harm or to repel) seemed for a time to have the upper hand, yet at the last Pity induced relenting, and caused Mercy to surpass (or prevail over) Right (or Justice). Just as Pity is opposed to Danger or Cruelty, so we find, in the old theological allegories, that Mercy is opposed to Justice. The pleading of Mercy against Justice will be found at length in Grosteste's Chastel d'Amour, in the Cursor Mundi, p. 550, and in the Gesta Romanorum, Tale 55. See my note to P. Plowman, C. xxi. 120.

163. 'By means of innocence and well-mannered courtesy.'

164. 'But I do not call folly, or false pity, by the name of innocence'; i.e. the poet does not approve of immodesty or weakness, because in all things the chief virtue is moderation, or the 'golden mean.' Beauty should be neither too yielding nor too pitiless.

166. Etik, Lat. Ethica; alluding to the Ethics of Aristotle, in which happiness and virtue are discussed, and the nature of virtue is said to shew itself in its appearing as the medium or mean between two extremes. Similarly, Gower in his Conf. Amantis (ed. Pauli, iii. 153) refers us to Aristotle's advice to Alexander, to keep the mean between avarice and prodigality. See also Gower's remarks on ethique; id. iii. 140. Cf. Lounsbury, Studies in Chaucer, ii. 387.

170. So in the Parl. of Foules, 680, the birds are described as joining in the roundel—'Now welcom somer, with thy sonne softe.'

171. Here again is a reminiscence of the Roman de la Rose, ll. 8449-51:—