Prose 1. 3. A mistranslation. 'Recta quidem exhortatio, tuaque prorsus auctoritate dignissima.'

9. assoilen to thee the. I prefer this reading, adopted from Caxton's edition, because the others make no sense. The original reading was to the the (= to thee the), as in MS. Ii. 1. 38, whence, by dropping one the, the reading to the in C. and Ed. MS. A. alters it to the to the, absurdly. The fact is, that to thee belongs to the next clause. 'Festino, inquit, debitum promissionis absoluere, uiamque tibi,' &c.

14. to douten, to be feared; 'uerendumque est.'

28. left, or dwellinge, left, or remaining (reliquus). 'Quis enim ... locus esse ullus temeritati reliquus potest?'

31. nothing: 'nihil ex nihilo exsistere.' Referring to the old saying:—'Ex nihilo nihil fit.'

34. prince and beginnere oddly represents Lat. 'principio.' casten it, laid it down: 'quasi quoddam iecerint fundamentum.' I supply it.

44. Aristotulis, Aristotle. The reference is to Aristotle's Physics, bk. ii. ch. 5.

47. for grace, for the sake of; 'gratia.'

50. Right as, just as if. by cause, for the purpose.

55. ne dolve, had not digged; subj. mood.

57. abregginge. A mistranslation. 'Hae sunt igitur fortuiti caussae compendii'; these then are the causes of this fortuitous acquisition. Compendium also means 'an abbreviating,' which Chaucer here expresses by abbregginge, introducing at the same time the word 'hap,' to make some sense.

66. uneschuable, inevitable; 'ineuitabili.'

Metre 1. 2. Achemenie: 'Rupis Achaemeniae scopulis,' in the crags of the AchÆmenian rock or mountain. Achaemenius signifies 'Persian,' from Achaemenes, the grandfather of Cyrus; but is here extended to mean Armenian. The sources of the Tigris and Euphrates are really different, though both rise in the mountains of Armenia; they run for a long way at no great distance apart, and at last join.

3. fleinge bataile, the flying troop; with reference to the well-known Parthian habit, of shooting arrows at those who pursue them; see Vergil, Georg. iii. 31.

5. yif they, when they; meaning that they do converge.

9. and the wateres: 'Mixtaque fortuitos implicet unda modos: Quae tamen ipsa uagos terrae decliuia cursus Gurgitis et lapsi defluus ordo regit.'

14. it suffereth: 'Fors patitur frenos, ipsaque lege meat.'

Prose 2. 4, 5. destinal, fatal; 'fatalis.' corages, minds.

10. thinges ... fleen, i.e. to be avoided: 'fugienda.'

13. is, i.e. is in, resides in: 'quibus in ipsis inest ratio.'

14. ordeyne, determine: 'constituo.'

16. sovereines, the supreme divine substances. This is a good example of adjectives of French origin with a plural in -es.

17, 18. wil: 'et incorrupta uoluntas.' might: 'potestas.'

27. talents, affections: 'affectibus.'

30. caitifs, captive: 'propri libertate captiuae.' Ll. 30-34 are repeated in Troilus, iv. 963-6; q.v.

34. in Greek: p??t' ?f??? ?a? p??t' ?pa???e?. From Homer, Iliad, iii. 277—?e???? ?', ?? p??t' ?f???? ?a? p??t' ?pa???e??. Cf. Odys. xii. 323.

Metre 2. 1, 2. with the, &c.; 'Melliflui ... oris.' cleer, bright; alluding to the common phrase in Homer: ?ap??? f??? ?e?????; Il. i. 605, &c.

8. strok: 'Uno mentis cernit in ictu.'

Prose 3. A large portion of this Prose, down to l. 71, is paraphrased in Troilus, iv. 967-1078; q.v.

12. libertee of arbitre, freedom of will (arbitrii).

19. proeve, approve of: 'Neque ... illam probo rationem.'

30. but ... ytravailed: 'Quasi uero ... laboretur'; which means, rather, 'as if the question were.'

35. But I ne, &c. The translation is here quite wrong; and as in another place, Chaucer seems to have read nitamur as uitamus. The text has: 'At nos illud demonstrare nitamur.' The general sense is: 'But let me endeavour to shew, that, in whatever manner the order of causes be arranged, the happening of things foreseen is necessary, although the foreknowledge does not seem to impose on future things a necessity of their happening.'

53. For althogh that; cf. Troil. iv. 1051-7, which is clearer.

55. therfore ne bityde they nat, it is not on that account that they happen. Cf. 'Nat that it comth for it purveyed is'; Troil. iv. 1053.

71. at the laste, finally: 'PostremÒ.'

78. that I ne wot it. The ne is superfluous, though in all the copies. The sense is—'if I know a thing, it cannot be false (must be true) that I know it.'

80. wanteth lesing, is free from falsehood: 'mendacio careat.'

90, 1. egaly, equally: 'aeque.' indifferently, impartially.

94. Iape-worthy, ridiculous: 'ridiculo.' From Horace, Sat. ii. 5. 59—'O LaËrtiade, quicquid dicam, aut erit, aut non.'

116. sent, for sendeth, sends: 'mittit.'

117. constreineth: 'futuri cogit certa necessitas.'

121. discrecioun, discernment: 'indiscreta confusio.'

And yit, &c. To make sense, read than whiche for of the whiche. The whole clause, from And yit down to wikke is expanded from 'Quoque nihil sceleratius excogitari potest.'

131. sin that: 'quando optanda omnia series indeflexa connectit?'

141. that nis nat ... or that, that cannot be approached before. The Latin is: 'illique inaccessae luci, prius quoque quam impetrent, ipsa supplicandi ratione coniungi.'

142. impetren, ask for it; such is the reading of MS. Ii. 1. 38. A coined word, from the Lat. impetrent; see the last note.

146. linage of mankind, the human race; to which his (its) twice refers below.

147. a litel her-biforn; i.e. in Bk. iv. Met. 6. 34, where we find—'they sholden departen from hir welle, that is to seyn, from hir biginninge, and faylen.' See p. 122.

Metre 3. 1. What, &c.: 'Quaenam discors foedera rerum Caussa resoluit?'

2. the coniunccioun; but this gloss seems to be wrong, for the reference is rather (as Chaucer, following a sidenote in MS. C., says in l. 5) to foreknowledge and free will.

3. Whiche god, i.e. what divinity: 'Quis tanta deus Veris statuit bella duobus?'

7. But ther nis. The Lat. text is put interrogatively: 'An nulla est discordia ueris, Semperque sibi certa cohaerent?'

10. by fyr: 'oppressi luminis igne.'

12. But wherefore: 'Sed cur tanto flagrat amore Veri tectas reperire notas?' It thus appears that y-covered, i.e. 'that are hidden,' refers to thilke notes, not to sooth; cf. l. 15. But the translation is not at all happy.

16. Wot it: 'Scitne, quod appetit anxia nosse?'

18. seith thus: 'Sed quis nota scire laborat? At si nescit, quid caeca petit? Quis enim quidquam nescius optet?'

23. or who: 'Aut quis ualeat nescita sequi? Quoue inueniat, quisue repertam Queat ignarus noscere formam?'

26. But whan: not a statement, as here taken, but a question. 'An cÙm mentem cerneret altam Pariter summam et singula norat?' The translation is quite incorrect, and the passage is difficult. The reference seems to be to the supposition that the soul, apart from the body, sees both universals and particulars, but its power in the latter respect is impeded by the body; ideas taken from Plato's Meno and PhÆdo.

32, 33. withholdeth, retains: 'tenet.' singularitees, particulars: 'singula.'

34. in neither nother, put for in ne either ne other, i.e. not in one nor in the other; or, in modern English, 'he is neither in one position nor the other': 'Neutro est habitu.' This curious phrase is made clearer by comparing it with the commoner either other. Thus, in P. Plowman, B. v. 148: 'either despiseth other'; in the same, B. v. 164: 'eyther hitte other'; and again, in B. xi. 173: 'that alle manere men .. Louen her eyther other'; and, in B. vii. 138: 'apposeden either other'; and lastly, in B. xvi. 207: 'either is otheres Ioye.'

36. retreteth, reconsiders: 'altÈ uisa retractans.'

Prose 4. 2. Marcus Tullius, i.e. Cicero; De Diuinatione, lib. ii. 60.

8. moeven to: 'ad diuinae praescientiae simplicitatem non potest admoueri.'

15. y-spended, spent; but the right sense of the Latin is weighed or considered: 'si prius ea quibus moueris, expendero.'

22. from elles-where: 'aliunde'; compare Chaucer's gloss.

24. unbityde, not happen: 'non euenire non possunt.'

27. thou thyself. The reference is to Bk. v. Pr. 3. l. 27, above—'ne it ne bihoveth nat, nedes, that thinges bityden that ben purvyed.'

28, 9. what cause: 'quid est, quod uoluntarii exitus rerum ad certum cogantur euentum?' endes, results: 'exitus;' and so again below.

30. by grace of position, for the sake of a supposition, by way of supposition: 'positionis gratia.' Cf. Chaucer's use of pose for 'suppose' in the next line. The reading possessioun (in both MSS.) is obviously wrong; it sounds as if taken down from dictation.

31. I pose, I suppose, I put the case: 'statuamus nullam esse praescientiam.' The words 'per impossibile' are inserted by Chaucer, and mean, 'to take an impossible case.'

56. But, certes, right; only, indeed, just as, &c. It is difficult to give the right force intended; and, probably, Chaucer quite mistook the sense. 'Quasi uero nos ea, quae prouidentia futura esse praenoscit, non esse euentura credamus.'

62. in the torninge: 'in quadrigis moderandis atque flectendis.'

63. And by: 'atque ad hunc modum caetera.'

100. and for that this thing shal mowen shewen, and in order that this may appear (lit. may be able to appear). The whole clause merely means—'And to make this clearer by an easy example.' Lat. 'Nam ut hoc breui liqueat exemplo.'

101. roundnesse is here in the objective case: 'eandem corporis rotunditatem aliter uisus aliter tactus agnoscit.'

107. And the man: 'Ipsum quoque hominem.' wit, i.e. sense. The 'five wits' were the five senses.

113. spece, species. peces, parts; in the singuler peces, i.e. in the particular parts.

114. intelligence, understanding; 'intelligentiae.'

115. universitee, that which is universal: 'uniuersitatis ambitum.'

133. by a strok: 'illo uno ictu mentis formaliter.'

137. diffinissheth, defines the universality of her conception.

Metre 4. 1. The Porche; in Latin, Porticus; in Gk. st??, a roofed colonnade or porch in Athens, frequented by Zeno and his followers, who hence obtained the name of Stoics.

10. Text. The Latin text continues thus:—

11. pointel; see note to Somn. Tale, D 1742. And cf. Troilus, i. 365; Cant. Ta. E 1581, 2.

15. But yif:

32. passioun, passive feeling, impression: 'passio.'

Prose 5. 1. But what yif ... and al be it so, Nevertheless, even if it be so: 'Quod si ... quamuis.'

4. entalenten, affect, incline, stimulate: 'afficiant.'

18. For the wit, i.e. the sense, the external senses.

21. as oystres ... see: the Latin merely has: 'quales sunt conchae maris.'

23. remuable, capable of motion from place to place: 'mobilibus belluis.'

talent, inclination, desire, wish: 'affectus.'

30. But how ... yif that, but how will it be if?

33. that that that, that that thing which.

35. ne that ther nis, so that there is: 'nec quicquam esse sensibile.'

49. maner stryvinge, sort of strife: 'In huiusmodi igitur lite.'

62. parsoneres, partners of, endowed with. The modern partner represents the M. E. parcener, variant of parsoner, from O. F. parsonier, representing a Latin form *partitionarius. Lat. 'participes.'

66. For which: 'Quare in illius summae intelligentiae cacumen, si possumus, erigamur.'

Metre 5. 1. passen by, move over: 'permeant.'

6. by moist fleeinge: 'liquido ... uolatu.' gladen hemself, delight: 'gaudent.'

7. with hir goings ... feet: 'gressibus.'

9. to walken under, to enter: 'subire.'

10. enclined, i.e. enclined earthwards: 'Prona.'

11. hevieth, oppresses: 'Prona tamen facies hebetes ualet ingrauare sensus.' From Aristotle, On the Parts of Animals, Bk. iv. ??? p?e????? ?e?????? t?? ????? ?a? t?? s?at?d???, ?????? ??pe?? t? s?ata p??? t?? ??? (chap. 10). As to the upright carriage of man, see the same chapter. Cf. Ovid, Met. i. 84, and see note to Chaucer's 'Truth,' l. 19.

12. light, i.e. not bowed down: 'leuis recto stat corpore.'

14. axest, seemest to seek: 'caelum ... petis.'

Prose 6. 21. as Aristotle demed; in De Caelo, lib. i.

33. present: 'et sui compos praesens sibi semper assistere.'

42. Plato. This notion is found in Proclus and Plotinus, and other followers of Plato; but Plato himself really expressed a contrary opinion, viz. that the world had a definite beginning. See his TimÆus.

48. For this ilke: 'Hunc enim uitae immobilis praesentarium statum infinitus ille temporalium rerum motus imitatur; cumque eum effingere atque aequare non possit, ex immobilitate deficit in motum, et ex simplicitate praesentiae decrescit in infinitam futuri ac praeteriti quantitatem;' &c.

53. disencreseth; a clumsy form for decreseth: 'decrescit.'

65. therfor it: 'infinitum temporis iter arripuit.'

81. it is science: 'sed scientiam nunquam deficientis instantiae rectius aestimabis.'

82. For which: 'Unde non praeuidentia, sed prouidentia, potius dicitur.' The footnote to l. 83 is wrong, as Dr. Furnivall's reprint of MS. C. is here at fault. That MS. (like MS. Ii. 1. 38) has here the correct reading 'preuydence,' without any gloss at all. The gloss 'prouidentia' belongs to the word 'purviaunce.' Hence the reading 'previdence,' which I thought to be unsupported, is really supported by two good MSS.

86. Why axestow ... thanne: 'Quid igitur postulas?'

112. he ne unwot: 'quod idem exsistendi necessitate carere non nesciat.'

116. it ne may nat unbityde: 'id non euenire non posse.'

119. but unnethe: 'sed cui uix aliquis nisi diuini speculator accesserit.'

150, 1. in beinge, in coming to pass: 'exsistendo.'

by the which: 'qua prius quam fierent, etiam non euenire potuissent.' MS. C. has the contraction for 'que,' i.e. 'quae'; but Chaucer clearly adopted the reading 'qua.' The usual reading is 'quia' or 'quae.'

154. so as they comen, since they come: 'cum ... eueniant.'

159. the sonne arysinge. See above, p. 148, l. 102: 'Right so,' &c.

185. And thilke: 'illa quoque noscendi uices alternare uideatur?'

191. For the devyne: 'Omne namque futurum diuinus praecurrit intuitus, et ad praesentiam propriae cognitionis retorquet ac reuocat.' Hence retorneth hem means 'makes them return.'

193. ne he ne: 'nec alternat, ut existimas, nunc hoc, nunc illud praenoscendi uices; sed uno ictu mutationes tuas manens praeuenit atque complectitur.'

199. a litel her-biforn. See above, Bk. v. Pr. 3, ll. 62-65; &c.

207. purposen, propose, assign: 'proponunt.'

208. to the willinges: 'solutis omni necessitate uoluntatibus.'

211. renneth ... with, concurs with: 'concurrit.'

214. put, set: 'positae.' that ne mowen: 'quae cum rectae sunt, inefficaces esse non possunt.'

217. areys thy corage: 'animum subleuate.' yilde: 'humiles preces in excelsa porrigite.'

220. sin that ye: 'cum ante oculos agitis iudicis cuncta cernentis.' With the word 'cernentis' the Lat. treatise ends.

The words—'To whom ... Amen' occur in the Cambridge MS. only; and, in all probability, were merely added by the scribe. However, the Latin copy in that MS. adds, after 'cernentis,' the following: 'Qui est dominus noster Iesus Christus, cui sit honor et gloria in secula seculorum. Amen.'

NOTES TO TROILUS.