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: d?? t??? p?????, t?? ?? ??a ?a???, t?? d? ?te??? ?a???. 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': ?? ???? ??de?.

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. ferende, from the weak verb feran, to go, travel; whilst faringe = A. S. farende, from the strong verb faran, to go. Feran (= *forian) is derived, with vowel-mutation, from the stem *for, appearing in for, 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:—

'Et de l'iaue simple bevoient

Sans querre piment ne clarÉ.'