Metre 1. In order to elucidate the English text, I frequently quote the original Latin, usually from the text of T. Obbarius, Jena, 1843. See further in the Introduction.

3. rendinge, Lat. 'lacerae'; rather rent, or tattered. The sense 'rending' occurs in Ovid, Met. viii. 880.

6. that is to seyn. The words in italics are not in the original, but were added by Chaucer as explanatory. Throughout the treatise, I print all such passages in italics.

8. werdes, 'weirds,' fate.

12. slake, better slakke; cf. Cant. Ta. E. 1849. empted, 'effeto.' MS. C. has emty.

13. in yeres ... swete: 'dulcibus annis.'

14. y-cleped, invoked; 'uocata,' sc. 'mors.' Cf. Troilus, iv. 503.

16. naiteth, refuseth; 'negat.' Icel. neita, to say nay.

17. lighte, i.e. transitory; 'leuibus ... bonis.' The gloss 'sc. temporels' (in A) gives the right sense. sc. = scilicet, namely; the form temporels is the French plural.

18, 19. But now:

The translation unagreable dwellinges is an unhappy one.

22. in stedefast degree, in a secure position; 'stabili ... gradu.'

With regard to the last sentence, Mr. Stewart remarks, in his essay on Boethius, that Chaucer here 'actually reproduces the original Latin metre,' i.e. a hexameter and pentameter. The true M. E. pronunciation must, for this purpose, be entirely neglected; which amounts to saying that Chaucer must have been profoundly unconscious of any such intention.

Prose 1. 2. and markede: 'querimoniamque lacrimabilem stili officio designarem.' Hence markede is 'wrote down'; and pointel refers to the stilus. Cf. Som. Tale, D 1742. with office, by the use (of).

6. empted, exhausted; 'inexhausti uigoris.' Of course the woman here described is Philosophia.

9. doutous; 'statura discretionis ambiguae.'

12. heef, heaved; A. S. hof. In Layamon, hof, haf, heaf. I put heef for hef, because the e is long.

13. so that: 'respicientiumque hominum frustrabatur intuitum.'

14. delye (so in both MSS.) = deli-e, O. F. deliÈ (see Cotgrave), delicate, thin, slender, from Lat. delicatus, with the usual loss of c between two vowels and before the accented syllable; Lat. 'tenuissimis filis.'

After crafte it would have been better to insert and; Lat. 'indissolubilique materiÂ.' But some MSS., including C., omit que.

18. as it is wont: 'ueluti fumosas imagines solet.'

21. a Grekissh P; i.e. ?. a Grekissh T; i.e. T, not ?; the Greek ? being pronounced as t in Latin. The reference is to f???s?f?a p?a?t??? ?a? ?e???t???; in Latin, Philosophia Actiua et Contemplatiua; i.e. Practical (or Active) and Theoretical (or Contemplative) Philosophy. This is the same distinction as that between the Vita Actiua and Vita Contemplatiua, so common in medieval literature; see note (3) to the Sec. Non. Tale, G 87; and note to P. Plowman, B. vi. 251.

26. corven, cut, cut away pieces from; Lat. 'sciderant.'

33. cruel, i.e. stern; 'toruis.'

34. thise comune: 'has scenicas meretriculas.'

39. no-thing fructefyinge; 'infructuosis.' Hence we may perhaps prefer to read no-thing fructuous, as in Caxton and Thynne.

41. holden: 'hominumque mentes assuefaciunt morbo, non liberant.'

45. for-why, because (very common); seldom interrogative.

47. me, from me; and, in fact, Caxton and Thynne read from me or fro me. The forms Eleaticis, &c. are due to the Lat. text—'Eleaticis atque Academicis studiis.' He should rather have said—'scoles of Elea and of the Academie.' The Eleatici philosophi were the followers of Zeno of Elea (Zeno Eleates, born about B. C. 488 at Elea (Velia) in Italy), and the favourite disciple of Parmenides (who is expressly mentioned in Book iii. pr. 12, l. 143). The Academic philosophers were followers of Plato.

49. mermaidenes; Lat. 'Sirenes,' Sirens; cf. N. P. Tale, B 4461, and note.

til it be at the laste; a false translation. Rather unto destruction; 'usque in exitium.' But, instead of exitium, MS. C. has exitum.

55. plounged, drowned; 'mersa.' Cf. dreint, Met. 2, l. 1.

59. ner, nearer; comparative, not positive; 'propius.'

Metre 2. 2. mintinge, intending; 'tendit ... ire.' Still in use in Cambridgeshire.

8. sterres of the cold moon: 'gelidae sidera lunae.' I suppose this means the constellations seen by moonlight, but invisible in the day. The expression sidus lunae, the moon's bright form, occurs in Pliny, Nat. Hist. ii. 9. 6; but it is difficult to see how sidera can have the same sense, as some commentators say.

9. recourses, orbits; referring to the planets.

y-flit, moved or whirled along by their different spheres; alluding to the old Ptolemaic system of astronomy, which supposed that each planet was fastened to a revolving sphere, thus causing it to perform its orbit in a certain time, varying in the case of each.

this man: 'Comprensam [sc. stellam] in numeris uictor habebat.'

16. highteth, adorns; 'ornet.' Prob. from the sb. hight, hiht (A. S. hyht), joy, delight.

17. fleteth, flows (i.e. abounds); 'grauidis influat uuis.'

20. empted: 'Nunc iacet effeto lumine mentis.'

22. fool, i.e. foolish, witless, senseless; 'stolidam.'

Prose 2. 6. armures, i.e. defensive armour; 'arma.'

8. in sikernesse: 'inuicta te firmitate tuerentur.'

14. litargie; better letargye, i.e. lethargy. Cf. Troil. i. 730.

19. yplyted, pleated into a wrinkle; 'contracta in rugam ueste.'

Metre 3. 1. discussed, driven away; 'discuss ... nocte.'

4. clustred; 'glomerantur'; or 'covered with clouds,' as Chaucer says.

5. Chorus, Corus, or Caurus, the north-west wind.

6. ploungy, stormy, rainy; 'nimbosis ... imbribus.'

8. Borias, Boreas, the north wind, from Thrace.

9. caves; better cave, as in Caxton and Thynne; Lat. 'antro.' beteth; 'uerberet'; hence Chaucer's gloss.

11. y-shaken, 'uibratus'; i.e. tremulous, sparkling.

Prose 3. 2. took, drew in, received light; 'hausi caelum.'

4. beholde, the present tense; 'respicio.'

10. norry, pupil, lit. nourished one; 'alumne.'

11. parten the charge, share the burden.

15. redoute my blame, fear blame. agrysen, shudder.

16. quasi diceret non, as if she would say no; as if she expected the answer no. This remark is often inserted by Chaucer.

19. Plato; B.C. 428-347. Before his time, Solon, Anaxagoras, and Pythagoras all met with opposition. The fate of Socrates is well known.

21. The heritage: 'Cuius hereditatem cum deinceps Epicureum uulgus ac Stoicum, ceterique pro sua quisque parte raptum ire molirentur, meque reclamantem renitentemque uelut in partem praedae detraherent, uestem, quam meis texueram manibus, disciderunt, abreptisque ab ea panniculis, totam me sibi cessisse credentes abiere.'

38. Anaxogore, Anaxagoras, a Greek philosopher (B.C. 500-428); exiled from Athens (B.C. 450).

39. Zeno; Zeno of Elea (see p. 420), born about B.C. 488, is said to have risked his life to defend his country. His fate is doubtful.

40. Senecciens, apparently meant for 'the followers of Seneca.' The original has: 'at Canios, at Senecas, at Soranos ... scire potuisti.'

Canios, the Canii; i.e. men like Canius. The constancy and death of Julius Canius (or Canus) is related by Seneca, De Tranquillitate, cap. xiv. Cf. Pr. iv. 131, and note, p. 424.

41. Sorans, the Sorani; men like Soranus. Soranus is mentioned in Tacitus, Annal. xvi. 23. Caxton and Thynne read Soranos, as in the Latin text.

42. unsolempne, uncelebrated; 'incelebris.'

49. it is to dispyse, it (the host) is to be despised.

53. ententif, busy about seizing useless baggage as spoil.

sarpulers, sacks made of coarse canvas; in Caxton, sarpleris; 'sarcinulas.' Cotgrave has: 'Serpillere, a Sarpler, or Sarp-cloth, a piece of course canvas to pack up things in.' Cf. mod. F. serpilliÈre.

56. palis, also spelt paleis (O. F. palis), lit. a palisading, or a piece of strong paling, a rampart, used to translate Lat. uallum. When spelt paleis, it must not be confused with paleis, a palace.

Metre 4. 3. either fortune, good fortune or bad.

5. hete: 'Versum funditus excitantis aestum.' I suppose that aestum is rather 'surge' than 'heat' here. See Met. vii. below, l. 3.

6. Vesevus, 'Veseuus'; the same as Vesuvius; cf. Vergil, Georg. ii. 224.

7. wrytheth, writhes out, throws forth wreaths of smoke. Here the old printed editions by Caxton and Thynne, as well as MS. Ii. 1. 38, happily restore the text; Lat. 'Torquet.'

8. Caxton and Thynne have thonder-leyte, which is perhaps better. MS. Ii. 1. 38 has thonder leit.

13. stable of his right: 'stabilis, suique iuris.'

Prose 4. 2. Artow lyk. The original is partly in Greek. 'An ???? ???a??' Some MSS. have: 'Esne ???? p??? ???a??' And MS. C. has: 'Esne asinus ad liram?' In an edition of Boethius by Renatus Vallinus, printed in 1656, I find the following note: 'Ut et omnes veteres scripsere, Varro in satyra quÆ Testamentum inscribitur apud Agellium, lib. iii. cap. xvi: Ii liberi, si erunt ???? ???a?, exheredes sunto. Suidas ex Menandro, Lucianus, Martian. Capella, lib. viii., atque alii quos refert Erasmus, in eo adagio. Imo et apud Varronem id nominis satyra extitit.' It has clearly a proverbial reference to dullness of perception. Ch. quotes it again in his Troilus, i. 731, where he so explains it.

3. why spillestow teres, why do you waste tears; 'Quid lacrimis manas?' After these words occur, in the original, four Greek words which Chaucer does not translate, viz.: ??a?da, ? ?e??e ???: i.e. speak out, do not hide them in your mind; quoted from Homer, Iliad i. 363.

With lines 3 and 4 compare Troilus, i. 857.

7. by him-self, in itself; 'per se.' Alluding to 'sharpnesse,' i.e. 'asperitas.'

15. enformedest, didst conform; 'formares.'

17. ordre of hevene; 'ad caelestis ordinis exemplar.' This refers to the words of Plato just at the end of the 9th book of The Republic: ?? ???a?? ?s?? pa??de??a ????e?ta?. Cf. also the last lines of Book II of the present treatise.

18. confermedest (MS. A, enfourmedist), didst confirm; 'sanxisti.' The reading conformedest evidently arose from confusion with enformedest above, in l. 15.

19. mouth of Plato; referring to Book V (473 D) of the Republic: ??? ?, ? ?? f???s?f?? as??e?s?s?? ?? ta?? p??es??, ? ?? as???? te ??? ?e??e??? ?? d???sta? f???s?f?s?s? ???s??? te ?a? ??a???, ?a? t??t? ??? ta?t?? ??p?s?, d??a?? te p???t??? ?a? f???s?f?a? t?? de ??? p??e?????? ????? ?f' ???te??? ?? p???a? f?se?? ?? ??????? ?p???e?s??s??, ??? ?st? ?a??? pa??a ... ta?? p??es?? d??? d?, ??d? t? ?????p??? ???e?.

24. the same Plato; in the 6th Dialogue on the Republic.

25. cause, reason; 'caussam.' wyse, i.e. 'for wise men.'

27. felonous tormentours citizenes, citizens who are wicked and oppressive; the substantives are in apposition.

33. knowinge with me, my witnesses; 'mihi ... conscii.'

36. discordes ... preyeres; 'inexorabilesque discordiae.'

37. for this libertee, &c.; 'et quod conscientiae libertas habet.'

41. Conigaste, Conigastus, or Cunigastus; mentioned in Cassiodorus, Epist. lib. viii. ep. 28. The facts here referred to are known only from the present passage.

prospre fortunes translates 'fortunas' simply; it seems to mean 'success' or 'well-being.'

43. Trigwille, Triguilla; 'regiae praepositum domus.'

45. auctoritee; 'obiecta periculis auctoritate protexi.'

52. cariages, taxes; 'uectigalibus.' See a similar use in the Pers. Tale, I 752, and note.

59. inplitable, intricate: 'inexplicabilis.' coempcioun, an imposition so called; see Chaucer's explanation below, in l. 64. In Greek, s?????.

61. Campaigne, Campania, in Italy, provost; 'praefectum praetorii.'

64-67. See the footnote. I have here transposed this gloss, so as to make it follow, instead of preceding, the mention of coempcioun in the text.

68. Paulin, Decius Paulinus, consul in 498; mentioned in Cassiodorus, Epist. lib. i. epist. 23, lib. iii. epist. 29.

69. houndes; 'Palatini canes.'

73. Albin, perhaps Decius Albinus, to whom Theodoric addressed a letter preserved in Cassiodorus, lib. iv. ep. 30. See l. 156 below.

75. Ciprian, Cyprian. We know something of him from two letters in Cassiodorus, Epist. v. 40, 41. Theodoric esteemed him highly. See a discussion of his career in H. F. Stewart's Essay on Boethius, pp. 42-52.

78. to hem-ward, i.e. for the benefit of the officers around me; 'mihi ... nihil apud aulicos, quo magis essem tutior, reseruaui.'

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: t?? ??e?de?a? ... ?se??, t?? d' ????e?a? st???e?? (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—?p?? ?e?. 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, a BoÖtis, in the sign Libra; conspicuous in the nights of spring.

20. Sirius, a 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—e?? ????a??? ?st??, e?? as??e??: quoted from Homer, Iliad, ii. 204, with the change from ?st? to ?st??.

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 ui 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 sententi 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.'