Chapter XXVI: Part 26

386. _Confiteor_, I confess. In the Ancren Riwle, p. 137, the editor's translation has:--'Wherefore every anchoress saith to every priest _Confiteor_ first of all, and confesseth herself first of all, and often.'

387. Here begins the famous and very common subject of the Seven Deadly Sins, largely borrowed from the treatise by Frère Lorens mentioned above (p. 447). I give occasional quotations from the French text, marked 'Fr.,' with references to the pages of Essays on Chaucer, Part V (Chaucer Society).

I here repeat, from my note on P. Plowman, C. vii. 3, some of the references to passages in which the Seven Sins appear. See, for instance, Ælfric's Homilies, ed. Thorpe, ii. 219; Wyclif's Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 119, 225; The Ancren Riwle, ed. Morton, pp. 198-204; Religious Pieces, ed. Perry (E. E. T. S.), pp. 11, 12; the Ayenbite of Inwyt, ed. Morris, p. 16; Political, Religious, and Love Poems, ed. Furnivall, p. 215; Hymns to the Virgin and Christ, ed. Furnivall, p. 62; Myrc's Instructions for Parish Priests, p. 33; Dunbar's Dance of the Seven Deadly Sins; Spenser, F. Q. bk. i. c. 4; &c. See also _Sins_ in Nares' Glossary.

The Seven Sins, in Chaucer's order, are:--

1. _Superbia_, Pride (p. 591); its 'remedy' is _Humilitas_, Humility.

2. _Inuidia_, Envy (p. 598); remedy, _Caritas_, Love.

3. _Ira_, Ire, Wrath (p. 601); remedy, _Patientia_, Patience.

4. _Accidia_, Sloth (p. 612); remedy, _Fortitudo_, Strength.

5. _Auaricia_, Avarice (p. 617); remedy, _Misericordia_, Pity.

6. _Gula_, Gluttony (p. 623); remedy, _Abstinentia_, Abstinence.

7. _Luxuria_, Lechery (p. 625); remedy, _Castitas_, Chastity.

_springers_, origins, sources. I adopted this reading from Hl., because none of the other MSS. make sense. They have _spryngen of_ or _springen of_ (Hn. _sprynge of_), which can only mean 'arise from,' thus exactly contradicting the sense intended. Thynne has _springe of_; but Wright, Morris, and Bell all have _springers of_, as they follow the Harl. MS. I know no other example of this rare word; and it is difficult to see why the commoner form _springes_ would not have served the purpose. Tyrwhitt gets over the difficulty by transposing the words, as in the Selden MS., thus reading--'and of hem springen alle,' &c. But the other MSS. do not countenance this arrangement.

388. Pride is usually accounted as the chief of all sins, and the source of the rest; cf. Ecclus. x. 13; P. Plowman, C. vii. 3 (B. v. 63), and the note; Ayenbite of Inwyt, p. 16. [456]

There is a long passage in St. Gregory's Moralium lib. xxxi. c. 45 (ed. Migne, vol. 76. col. 621), to which I suppose that later writers were much indebted. It is explicitly referred to, for instance, by John of Salisbury, in his Policraticus, lib. viii. c. 1. I quote some passages from it further on, in suitable places. It begins thus:--

'Radix quippe cuncti mali Superbia est. Primae autem ejus soboles, septem nimirum principalia vitia, de hac virulenta radice proferuntur, scilicet inanis gloria, invidia, ira, tristitia, avaritia, ventris ingluvies, luxuria; ... sed habet contra nos haec singula exercitum suum.'

389. _hise braunches_, its branches. In the Ayenbite of Inwyt, p. 17, they are called _boghes_, boughs; and the 'twigs' are called _little boghes_.

DE SUPERBIA.

390. In Essays on Chaucer, p. 510, Dr. Eilers gives a detailed and careful comparison of the English with the French text from which it is partly derived. The result, through no fault of his, is more bewildering than useful; for the numerous alterations in the arrangement of the parts of the subject are altogether too tedious to explain. The reader will gain the best idea of the state of the case, if I here quote Dr. Eilers' summary of his comparison of the two texts, as to their treatment of 'Pride.' Similar numberless alterations of detail occur in the treatment of the other 'Sins.' (Fr. = French text).

'From the above [comparison] it will appear that a well-ordered scheme underlies the French text. _Orguel_ is divided into 7 branches, and each of these again into a similar number of _reinselez_ (_branchettes_). Let us examine the English text (Chaucer's) more closely. After first pointing out (substantially in agreement with Fr.) the impossibility of naming all the parts (_twigges_) into which Pride may be divided, 16 _twigges_ are enumerated, but without that logical coherence apparent in Fr. Next follow short definitions of the twigs, in which, however, the 11th twig (_Strif_) is omitted from the list, and is added instead at the end, under _janglinge_, which had never been mentioned before. These 16 twigs correspond partly to the branches, partly to the _reinselez_ of Fr., whilst some of them are not found in Fr. at all, or at least not under the same heading.

'The definitions correspond only in their general sense with Fr. [Here instances are given.]

'Throughout this part there is in Ch. much confusion of particulars. The definition of "swelling of herte" is incorrect. "Arrogaunce" and "Presumpcion," which in Fr. are identical, appear in Ch. as distinct conceptions. On the other hand, the definitions of some of the words resemble each other closely.... The next section, on "a privee spece of Pryde" (§ 25), has nothing corresponding to it in Fr.; &c.... In the section "whennes Pride sourdeth and springeth" (§ 29), Ch. is in tolerably exact accordance with Fr.... The correspondence in this [457] first Deadly Sin is confined to isolated expressions, points of arrangement common to both,' &c.

On account, then, of the complicated differences in the treatment of details, I do not think it advisable to give the full and exact results. I confine myself to passages in which the Fr. throws real light on the English text, and to the points of chief interest only.

I think it worth while to continue here the quotation from Gregory commenced in the note to l. 388 above:--'Nam de inani gloria inobedientia, jactantia, hypocrisis, contentiones, pertinaciae, discordiae, et novitatum praesumptiones oriuntur.' Here is the outline of the division of Pride into branches. He gives similar 'branches' of _Inuidia_, _Ira_, and the rest.

In the Ayenbite of Inwyt, p. 17, the first bough of Pride has three twigs, as in Fr.; in fact, it follows Fr. _very closely_, and gives a very good idea of its general contents and treatment.

In the Ancren Riwle, p. 199, 'the Lion of Pride' has 9 whelps, such as Vain Glory, Indignation, Hypocrisy, Presumption, &c.

392. _Inobedient_, disobedient. Cf. P. Plowman, C. vii. 19; Ayenb. (i. e. Ayenbite of Inwyt), p. 20, ll. 7. 8.

393. _Avauntour_, boaster; P. Pl. C. vii. 35; Ayenb. p. 22, ll. 5-15.

394. _Ipocrite_, hypocrite. Cf. P. Pl. C. vii. 36-40; Ayenb. p. 25 (Sixth Bough).

395. _Despitous_, scornful; cf. Ayenb. p. 20, ll. 4, 5. _even-cristene_, fellow-Christian; cf. Swed. _jämn-christen_, from _jämn_, even; Icel. _jafnkristinn_. _Euene-cristene_ occurs in P. Plowm. B. ii. 94, v. 440; also spelt _emcristene_ in the same, C. xx. 226, &c.

398. The definition does not well suit 'Swellinge of herte.' It better defines 'the envious man'; see Ayenb. p. 27, l. 15. And see P. 599, l. 492, below. At the same time, it is not so much out of place as the critics say it is, and is paralleled by the lines in P. Plowman, C. vii. 17, where Pride says that he was--

'nouht abaissed to agulte
God and alle good men, _so gret was myn herte_.'

399. This is parallel to P. Plowm. C. vii. 41-58.

401. This corresponds to Ayenb. p. 29, l. 19. 'The zixte is, to werri zoþnesse be his wytinde.' Fr. 'guerroier verité a son escient.'

402. _Contumax_, contumacious; as in P. Plowm. C. xiv. 85.

403. _Surquidrie_, presumption; O.F. _surquiderie_. It occurs in the Ancren Riwle, p. 56 (note _h_); Gawain and the Grene Knight, l. 2457; Barbour's Bruce, xi. 11, xvi. 327; &c.

406. See E. 1200, and the note. Cf. Ayenb. p. 58, l. 13:--'that byeth ase the _cleper of the melle_, thet ne may him naght hyealde stille.' Fr. 'vaines paroles, qui sont come _li batels du moulin_.'

407. There is nothing in Fr. corresponding to this passage. _waiteth_, i. e. watches his opportunity of being first saluted, or of taking a higher seat at table. _above him_, before him, as in a procession. [458]

_kisse pax_, to kiss the pax. The _pax_ was a small flat piece of wood or metal, quite distinct from the _pyx_, with which it is often confounded. See the full explanation in Nares. See also Bingham, Antiq. of the Christian Church; and Rock, Church of our Fathers.

_goon to offring_; see A. 450, and the note.

411. _leefsel_, a shady arbour, such as may still be seen before an ale-house-door, or a cottage-door, in some country villages. The word has already occurred in A. 4061, and has been explained in the note to that line. It is quite distinct from the _ivy-bush_ which was so commonly suspended in place of, or in addition to, the _sign_ which denoted an ale-house; see the chapter on Ale-house Signs in Brand's Pop. Antiquities. Perhaps we may assume that the descriptive epithet _gaye_ is here of some force; the arbour in front of an inn-door would, usually, be either larger or more conspicuous than that in front of an ordinary cottage.

412. This 'outrageous array of clothing' answers to the 'plente des beles robes' in Fr.; cf. Ayenb. p. 24, last line but one.

413. Alluding to Luke xvi. 19. Really from S. Gregorii Homiliarum in Evangelia lib. ii. homil. xl. § 3: 'Quodsi uidelicet culpa non esset, nequaquam sermo Dei tam uigilanter exprimeret quod diues ... bysso et purpura indutus fuisset.' See Migne's ed. vol. 76. col. 1305.

414. From S. Gregorii Homiliarum in Evangelia lib. ii. homil. 40. § 3: 'Nemo quippe uestimenta praecipua nisi ad inanem gloriam quaerit, uidelicet, ut honorabilior caeteris esse uideatur.' Cf. lib. i. homil. vi. § 3 (on the text, Matt. xi. 2-10), where St. Gregory inveighs against such as--'solis exterioribus dediti, praesentis uitae _mollitiem_ et _delectationem_ quaerunt ... Nemo ergo existimet _in fluxu atque studio uestium_ peccatum deesse;' (ed. Migne, vol. 76. col. 1097). He proceeds to refer to 1 Pet. iii. 5, 1 Tim. ii. 9.

415. _costlewe_, costly. '_Costelewe_, costfull, costuous, _Sumptuosus_'; Prompt. Parv.; see Way's note. This form answers to the Icel. _kostligr_; and the only difference between the suffixes _-lewe_ and _-ly_ is that the former is Norse, and represents Icel. _-ligr_, whilst the latter represents the A. S. _-lic_. See _Chokelew_ in the New Eng. Dict., and cf. _drunken-lewe_, drunken-like, _sik-lewe_, sickly.

416. Wyclif (Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 124) is similarly severe against proud array.

417. _degyse_, fashionable; O. F. _desguisè_, also spelt _desguisiè_ (Godefroy). Chaucer found this word in Le Roman de la Rose, l. 827; see vol. i. p. 128.

_endentinge_, notching, or the use of indented lines. _Indentee_ (better _endentee_) is still a term in heraldry, to signify that an edge or dividing line is notched or serrated, as shewn in any heraldic work. Several of the terms in this clause have, in heraldry, a special sense, and Chaucer seems to be thinking, in particular, of such coats-of-arms as were sometimes made of variously coloured cloths, cut into the requisite shapes. [459]

_barringe_, cutting into stripes, or decoration with _bars_. A _bar_, in heraldry, is a horizontal stripe like the _fess_, but narrower.

_oundinge_, waving; decoration by the use of waved lines. _Oundee_ or _oundy_ (also _onde_, _ondy_) is the heraldic name for a waved line or edge. Criseyde's hair was _ounded_, i. e. waved; Troilus, iv. 736.

_palinge_, decoration with a 'pale' or upright stripe. A _pale_, in heraldry, is a broad upright stripe, occupying the third part of the field. Cf. note to HF. 1840 (vol. iii. p. 282).

_windinge_, twisting; decoration with curved lines. Many heraldic charges, such as a lion, had to be cut out in the cloth, by 'winding' the scissors about, along the outline required.

_bendinge_, decoration with bends. A _bend_, in heraldry, is a slanting stripe or band. The _bend dexter_ is drawn from the dexter chief to the sinister base of the shield; the _bend sinister_ (once a mark of bastardy) slopes the other way.

418. _pounsoninge_, punching, perforation. Strictly, the use of a _puncheon_ or perforating implement. '_Punchon_, stimulus, punctorium'; Prompt. Parv.

_chisels_, i. e. cutting instruments; we may note that, etymologically, _chisels_ and _scissors_ (M. E. _cisoures_) are closely related words.

_dagginge_, slitting, snipping, cutting into strips or narrow flapping ends. There is a special allusion to the custom of _dagging_, i. e. jagging, or foliating the edges of robes (especially of the sleeves), so common in the reigns of Edw. III. and Rich. II. See fig. 91 in Fairholt's Costume in England (1885), i. 124. See P. Plowman, C. xxiii. 143; Rich. the Redeless, iii. 193.

419. The length of the trains of gowns is a common subject of satire. See, in particular, Sir David Lyndesay's Minor Poems (E. E. T. S.), pp. 574-5.

421. _bete_, remedy, amend, better, relieve; cf. A. 2253.

422. _cutted_, cut short; see Leg. G. Women, 973, and note.

_sloppes_, garments; here, evidently, jackets of a short length. '_Sloppe_, garment, _Mutatorium_'; Prompt. Parv.; Icel. _sloppr_, a robe, gown. There is a parallel passage in the Knight of La Tour-Landry, cap. xlvii (p. 63). Cf. _oversloppe_, G. 633.

_hainselins_ (also spelt _hanselins_, _anslets_), the same as _sloppes_, i. e. jackets. Tyrwhitt unluckily says that 'it appears from the context to mean _a sort of breeches_,' whereas it was the shortness of the _hainselin_ that enabled the breeches to be seen; and his error has been copied by others. This most unusual word answers to the rare O. F. _hamselin_, _hamcellim_, or _hainselin_, a sort of robe. Godefroy says--'sorte de robe _longue_'; whereas it was certainly 'courte.' His examples include the mention of 'un hainselin de vert brun' in 1416, 'hamselin' in 1403, and an extract from Christine de Pisan:--

'N'orent pas gonele a pointes,
Mais hamcellins a grans manches
Estroit serrez sus les hanches.'

[460] I suppose the last line means 'tightly gathered in above the hips.' Cotgrave has: '_sus_, above.' The word is probably of Frankish origin; from O. H. G. *_hemithil[=i]n_, M. H. G. _hemdel[=i]n_, dimin. of O. H. G. _hemithi_, a shirt (G. _Hema_). See Fig. 93 and Fig. 136 in Fairholt's Costume, i. 126, 180.

425. _degysinge_, mode of dress. This alludes to the singular habit of wearing parti-coloured dresses; see the remarks in Fairholt's Costume, i. 114, 115.

427. _fyr of seint Anthony_, St. Anthony's fire; a popular name for erysipelas, which this saint was supposed to cure.

429. _honestetee_, decency; as in B. 3908. In 431, it seems to mean 'neatness'; and so in 436.

432. _aornement_, the O. F. form of 'adornment'; see _Adornment_ in the New E. Dict., in which the oldest quotation for this form is from Caxton. The expression 'in thinges that apertenen to rydinge' answers to 'his uaire ridinges' in Ayenb. p. 24, l. 3 from bottom; Fr. 'beles chevauchures.'

434. From Zech. x. 5.

435. This curiously expresses the view taken by the lower orders in England, who regarded the riders, mostly Normans, as belonging to the class of their oppressors. Hence the curious song against the Retinues of the Rich, in Wright's Political Songs, pp. 237-240.

437. _greet meinee_, a large household; 'the uayre mayné,' Ayenb. p. 24, l. 31; Fr. 'bele maisnie.'

440. As 'thilke that holden hostelries,' i. e. innkeepers, are here represented as upholding the cheating ways of the 'hostilers,' the latter must here be used (like mod. E. _ostler_) in the sense of the servants attached to the inn. In A. 241, _hostiler_ may mean the innkeeper himself; but ostler goes well with _tappestere_, i. e. barmaid.

442. From Ps. lv. 15.

445. _wilde fyr_, fire caused by kindling some inflammable spirit, just as our modern 'Christmas pudding' or 'mince pie' is surrounded with the flames of burning brandy. It seems to have been called 'wild fire' as being not easily extinguishable, like the 'Greek fire' of the middle ages; see Ancren Riwle, p. 402, and Warton's note, Hist. Eng. Poetry, ed. 1871, ii. 154. In A. 4172, and E. 2252, it is used, metaphorically, to denote 'erysipelas.'

446. _vessel_, a collective noun, like mod. E. 'plate.' As to minstrelsy at feasts, see E. 1178, F. 268, &c.

448. _sourden of_, arise from, have their _source_ in; F. _sourdre_.

450-5. Here the E. text is tolerably close to the Fr. original; cf. Ayenb. p. 24. The 'goodes' are _Li bien de nature_, being such as are (1) _devers le cors_, viz. _sainteté_ (good health), _biauté_, _force_, _proesce_, _noblesce_, _bone langue_, _bone voiz_; and (2) _devers l'ame_, viz. _cler sens_, _soutil engin_, _bone memoire_, _les vertuz natureles_. Again, there are _Li bien de fortune_, viz. _hautesces_, _honors_, _richesces_, _delices_, _prosperitez_. Lastly, there are _Li bien de grace_, viz. _vertuz_, _bones oevres_. [461]

459. Alluding to Gal. v. 17; see Wyclif's version.

460. _causeth ... meschaunce_, often brings many a man into peril and misfortune. The idiom is curious; but all the MSS. agree here, and Thynne's edition has the same. Tyrwhitt has 'causeth ful oft to many man peril,' &c. This is easier, but lacks authority.

467. Chaucer found this quotation from Seneca in the Latin treatise which is the original of 'Melibeus' (p. 124 of Sundby's edition), though the passage does not occur in his version of that tale. It is made up of two clauses, taken, respectively, from Seneca, De Clementia, i. 3. 3, and the same, i. 19. 2. 'Nullum clementia magis decet quam regem'; et iterum, 'Iracundissimae et parui corporis sunt apes, rex tamen earum sine aculeo est.' Cf. Pliny, Nat. History, bk. xi. c. 17; Batman upon Bartholomè, bk. xviii. c. 12; Hoccleve, de Regimine Principum, p. 121; Brunetto Latini, Li Livres dou Tresor, i. v. 155.

At the same time, it is remarkable that Chaucer's words resemble even more closely a passage from Cicero which is quoted on the preceding page of the same book:--'Nam Tullius dixit: Nihil est laudabilius, nihil magno et praeclaro viro dignius placabilitate atque clementia'; De Officiis, i. 25.

470. Here there is a slight change in the order; the 'goods of grace' are discussed _before_ those of 'fortune'; see 454, 455.

473. Cf. the Clerkes Tale, E. 1000.

475. In the Fr. treatise, all the Sins come first, and then the Remedies are discussed afterwards. The alteration in this respect is an improvement.

476. _mekenesse_; called 'Mildenesse' in Ayenb. p. 130, and 'umilite' in Fr. The resemblance of this § 29 to the Fr. text is very slight.

483. _to stonde gladly to_, willingly to abide by.

DE INUIDIA.

484. See Ayenb. 26; Myrc's Instructions to Parish Priests, p. 37; P. Plowm. C. vii. 63 (B. v. 76); Ancren Riwle, p. 200; Wyclif's Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 128. In form and general contents, this chapter on Envy is a condensation of the corresponding chapter in the Fr. text, but there are several deviations.

_philosophre_; I do not know who is meant. However, St. Gregory (see the note to 388) says: 'De _inuidia_, odium, susurratio, detractio, _exsultatio in aduersis proximi, afflictio autem in prosperis_ nascitur.'

_Augustin._ The quotation seems rather to follow the words of St. Gregory just quoted. I find, in St. Augustine, only _one_ of the clauses, viz. 'Inuidia est enim odium felicitatis alienae'; S. Aug. in Psalm. civ. 25 (cv. 25 in the Vulgate); ed. Migne, vol. 37, col. 1399. This is the very quotation which has already done duty in the Phisicien's Tale; see C. 115, and the note. Cf. P. Plowm. B. v. 112, 113.

485. _platly_, &c.; Fr. 'il est contraires an saint esperit.' Cf. Ayenb. p. 28, l. 7 from bottom. [462]

486. _two_; Dr. Eilers remarks--'Clearly _three_ follow.' But we can easily count them as _two_; (1) hardness of heart; (2) warring against truth, or against grace given to one's neighbour.

487. Fr. 'guerroier verité a son escient'; and again, 'guerroier la grace du saint esperit en autrui.' See Ayenb. p. 29, ll. 2, 3, 18, 19.

490. Compare P. Pl. C. vii. 93.

491-492. See 484 above, and the note.

493. _bakbyting_; cf. Ancren Riwle, p. 86; P. Plowm. B. v. 89. Fr. text, 'detraction.'

493-494. Fr. 'quant on dist bien d'autrui devant lui, toz jors il i trueve e i met un _mes_'; where _mes_ is the mod. F. _mais_, Chaucer's 'but.'

495. Fr. 'il pervertist e torne tout a la pior partie.'

496. Fr. 'il estaint e met a nient touz les biens que li hons fait.'

499. Fr. 'grondiller e murmurer.'

500. Fr. 's'il [Dieu] li envoie adversitez, povretez, chier tens, pluie, seccheresce, s'il done a l'un et toult a l'autre.' Cf. P. Pl. B. vi. 317.

502. See John xii. 4. _enoynte_, anointed, is the past tense; the pp. is _enoynt_, A. 2961; cf. _anoint_, A. 199.

504. See Luke vii. 39.

505. _bereth him_, &c., lays to his charge. Cf. D. 226, 380.

508. Compare the Fr. text:--'murmure contre Dieu et chante la pater-nostre au singe, certes mais la chancon au diable.'

515. This section, on the Remedy against Envy, is very much abridged from the Fr. original, and the points of contact are few. Cf. Ayenb. p. 144; Myrc, p. 52.

526. From Matt. v. 44.

DE IRA.

532. 'The first part of this chapter is, in arrangement as in substance, a condensation of the corresponding chapter in Fr. The working out of the subject is interwoven with ideas, which are nowhere to be found in Fr. ... the verbal coincidences are very numerous.'--Essays on Chaucer, p. 533. See Ayenb. p. 29; Myrc, p. 38; Wyclif, Works, iii. 134.

535. 'Nam et ipsam iram nihil aliud esse, quam ulciscendi libidinem, veteres definierunt'; S. August. De Civitate Dei, lib. xiv. c. 15. § 2. Cf. Cicero, Tuscul. Disput. lib. iii. c. 5; lib. iv. c. 9.

536. Cf. Horace, Epist. I. 2. 62:--'Ira furor breuis est.'

537. _trouble_, i. e. troubled, agitated; F. _trouble_, adj. Cf. H. 279.

540. From Ps. iv. 5 (Vulgate).

551. '_Juniperus_, ... Graece dicta, ... quod conceptum diu teneat ignem: adeo ut si prunae ex eius cinere fuerint opertae, usque ad annum perueniant; [Greek: pur] enim apud Graecos _ignis_ dicitur'; S. Isidorus, Etymologiarum lib. xvii. c. 7; ed. Migne, vol. 82, col. 615. This is one of Isidore's delicious 'etymologies.' This remarkable story is founded on the imaginary fact that _juniper_ is derived from the Gk. [Greek: pur], fire! [463]

562. _hate_, &c. This expression is from St. Augustine:--'Quid est odium? ira inueterata. Ira inuerata si facta est, iam odium dicitur'; Sermo lviii. c. 7; ed. Migne, vol. 38, col. 397.

565. _six thinges_; evidently an error for _three_. The three are: (1) hate; (2) backbiting; (3) deceitful counsel. The error may easily have arisen from misreading _iij_ as _uj_. Most of the MSS. have '.vj.'; but '.ui.' and '.uj.' were also in use. See 1 John iii. 15.

566. Probably due to an imperfect remembrance of Prov. xxv. 18:--'Iaculum, et gladius, et sagitta acuta, homo qui loquitur contra proximum suum falsum testimonium.' Cf. xii. 18, xxx. 14.

568. From Prov. xxviii. 15; cf. iii. 27.

_shepe_, hire, is a rare word; hence the addition, either by Chaucer or by a scribe, of the words _or the hyre_, by way of a gloss. The writer of the Ayenbite writes _ss_ for _sh_; and we there find the word _ssepe_, in the sense of 'hire' or 'pay,' no less than five times; at pp. 33, 40, 86, 113, 146, also the pl. _ssepes_, wages, at p. 39. Cf. A. S. _scipe_, pay, in Ælfric's Lives of Saints, ed. Skeat, xxxi. 55 (vol. ii. p. 222). See note to Anelida, 193.

569. From Prov. xxv. 21.

572. _in his defendaunt_, in his (own) defence; it looks like an imitation of the French phrase _en se defendant_.

575. Note the double use of _homicide_; it here translates _homicidium_; just above, it translates _homicida_.

580. Fr. 'Mais especiaument nous apelons ci blaspheme, quant on mesdit de Dieu e de ses sainz, on des sacramenz de sainte eglise.'

582. From Ps. cxlv. 9.

587. The French treatise includes seven forms of swearing (parjuremens) under the head of Ire.

588. See Exod. xx. 7; Matt. v. 34. Cf. C. 642.

591. Fr. 'Il resont plus cruel que li Iuys qui le crucifierent. Il ne briserent nul des os, mais cist le depiecent plus menu c'on ne fait pourcel en la boucherie.' Cf. Pard. Tale, C. 475, 651, and the notes.

592. See the parallel passage in the Pard. Tale, C. 635, and the note. From Jer. iv. 2; on which St. Jerome remarks: 'Animaduertendum est quod iusiurandum _tres_ habet comites.'

593. See Pard. Tale, C. 649, and the note. _The wounde_ is a translation of the Lat. _plaga_ in Ecclus. xxiii. 12 (Vulgate):--'non discedet a domo illius plaga.'

597. From Acts iv. 12.

598. From Phil. ii. 10.

601. This section (§ 37) is rather closer than usual to the French text, but is amplified.

603. Fr. 'comme font les devines et les sorcieres et les charmeresses. Et touz ceus qui en tiex choses croient ... pecchent morteument; car toutes teles choses sont contre la foi, et por ce les deffent sainte eglise.'

_bacins ful of water._ These were sometimes used, instead of [464] looking-glasses, for divination; Brand, Pop. Antiq. ed. Ellis, iii. 169. This kind of divination was called catoptromancy.

_bright swerd_, used, instead of a magic mirror, in catoptromancy; see Brand.

_in a cercle._ Circles were almost invariably drawn upon the ground by sorcerers, within which the invoked spirit was supposed to be confined; see Brand, iii. 56, 59.

_in a fyr_, as in pyromancy. 'Amphiaraus was the first that had knowledge in Pyromancie, and gathered signs by speculation of fire'; Holland, tr. of Pliny, bk. vii. c. 56. Cf. P. Plowman, A. xi. 158.

'Magic may be practised after diuers sorts; ... for it worketh by the means of (1) Water, _hydromantia_; (2) Globes or Balls, _sphaeromantia_; (3) Aire, _aeromantia_; (4) Starres, _astrologia_; (5) Fire-lights, _pyromantia_; (6) Basons, _lecanomantia_; and (7) Axes, _axinomantia_'; Holland, tr. of Pliny, bk. xxx. c. 2.

_shulder-boon._ See Pard. Tale, C. 351, and the note. Brand, in his Pop. Antiq., has a chapter on Divination by the Speal [rather Spaule], or Blade-bone. In Miss Burne's Shropshire Folk-Lore, p. 179, we are referred to Tylor, Prim. Culture, i. 124; Folk-Lore Record, i. 176; Henderson, Folk-Lore, p. 175.

605. _divynailes_, divinations. '_Devinailles_, f. Divinations, predictions'; Cotgrave.

_flight of briddes._ This form of divination, so well known to the Romans, is still kept in remembrance by the use of the words _augury_ and _auspice_. Divinations by beasts were common and various; the commonest method was by inspecting the entrails of a beast when sacrificed. See Brand's chapter on Omens, as e.g. by the howling of dogs, by cats, birds, animals crossing one's path, &c.

_sort_, lot; as by the Virgilian lots, Bible lots, &c.; see Brand, Pop. Antiq. iii. 336; Sir T. Browne, Vulgar Errors, bk. v. c. 24, § 7; Gay, Shepherd's Week, Pastoral 4.

_geomancie_, divination by dots made with a pointed stick in dust, &c. See the note on A. 2043, above. Divination by dreams needs no remark.

_chirkinge_, creaking. Strange noises have often caused superstitious terrors; a familiar instance is that of the death-watch. They are also sometimes regarded, with less evil effect, and perhaps, occasionally, with some truth, as weather-omens.

See Gay's Trivia, bk. i. l. 157; and the well-known Signs of Rain, by Dr. Jennings.

_gnawynge of rattes._ See Brand, Popular Antiq. iii. 188.

607. _Charmes._ See examples in Brand, Pop. Antiquities, of Rural Charms, Characts, and Amulets. It is curious to note Chaucer's qualified belief in them.

609. Cf. Fr. 'unes menconges aidans, ... unes nuisans, ... por faire domage a autrui.'

611. _Som lesinge_, &c.; 'some (kind of) lying arises, because a man [465] wants to sustain (the credit of) his word.' Dr. Eilers marks _he_ with the note--'grammatical error.' But it is quite right; _he_ is used indefinitely, as frequently. It is just a little too bad to charge this as an error on the author.

612. The mention of flattery seems out of place. But, as Dr. Eilers says, we may well suppose that 'the English author, once having had recourse to the "pecchiez de male langue," exhausted its whole contents, perhaps intentionally, perhaps unintentionally, but certainly with no regard to the subject of anger.' If we turn to the Ayenbite, p. 57, we shall find that the sins of the tongue, including flattery, are there given at the end of the section on Gluttony, where their appearance is even more surprising. The fact is, that the grouping of all sins under the Seven Deadly Sins is extremely artificial, and there is no particular place for the insertion of flattery or of certain other sins. Moreover, in 618 below, Chaucer naively gives his reason for the arrangement which he has adopted.

613. Fr. 'Li losengier sont les norrices au diable, qui ses enfans alaitent et endorment en leur pecchies ... par lor biau chanter.' The same expression occurs in the Ayenbite of Inwyt, p. 60, l. 7.

614. _Salomon._ Chaucer gives the general sense of Prov. xxviii. 23.

615. Fr. 'les apele l'escripture _enchanteors_, car il enchantent tant l'ome que il les croit plus que soi meismes.' The Ayenbite has 'charmeres'; p. 60, l. 25.

616. Following Tyrwhitt, I have supplied the words between square brackets, which are wanting in all the seven MSS. and in Thynne's edition. Tyrwhitt supplies 'god; and thise flatereres betrayen.' But he does not tell us where (if anywhere) he found these words.

617. The Fr. text has the very expression 'quant il chantent touz jors _Placebo_.' The Ayenbite adds an explanation (p. 60, l. 7 from bottom): viz. they all sing _Placebo_, that is to say, 'my lord saith truth,' or 'my lord doth well'; and turn to good all that the master doth or saith, whether it be good or bad. See my note to P. Plowman, C. iv. 467.

Note the name _Placebo_ in the Marchauntes Tale; see E. 1476.

619. Fr. 'Apres vienent les maudicons.... E saint Pol dist que tieus genz ne poent le regne Dieu avoir.' This refers to 1 Cor. vi. 10, where the Vulgate has: 'neque _maledici_ (A. V. 'revilers') ... regnum Dei possidebunt.' So in Ayenb. p. 66, l. 22.

620. Not in the Fr. text. This is an old proverb, which Southey quotes, in a Greek form, as a motto prefixed to his Curse of Kehama. His English version of it is:--'curses are like young chickens, they always come home to roost.'

623. _gospel._ See Matt. v. 22, 44.

624. Fr. 'on reproche à l'ome ou ses pecchiez, ou ses folies, ou sa povrete, ou ses povres parenz, ou aucune defaute qu'il a en lui.' Cf. Ayenb. p. 66, l. 27.

_mesel_, leper; so _meselrie_, leprosy, in 625.

625. _maheym_, maim, i. e. mutilation or bodily imperfection. Our [466] _maim_ is a contracted form of this M. E. _maheym_. In P. Plowman, B. xvii. 189, one MS. has _y-mayheymed_, where others have _y-maymed_. In Britton, i. 98, the Anglo-French form is _maheyng_; in the Liber Albus, p. 281, it is _mahaym_.

627. From Matt. xii. 34.

629. From Prov. xv. 4.

_deslavee_, lit. 'unwashed,' foul; from O. F. '_deslaver_, v. a. salir, souiller; fig., souiller, ternir la reputation de quelqu'un'; Godefroy. The pp. _deslave_ properly means: 'non lavé, crasseux, sale.' Chaucer seems to confuse this with the transitive sense of the active verb; and he evidently had in mind the above verse from the Proverbs, where the Vulgate has 'Lingua placabilis, lignum uitae; quae autem _immoderata_ est, conteret spiritum.' Hence _deslavee_ here means 'unbridled.'

630. From 2 Tim. ii. 24.

631. From Prov. xxvii. 15; the Vulgate has 'Tecta perstillantia.' Cf. Prov. xix. 13; and note to D. 278.

633. From Prov. xvii. 1. Below, see Col. iii. 18.

636. See Ayenb., p. 187. The toad was considered poisonous, and wine was an antidote. Hence the antipathy.

639. See 2 Sam. xvii. 1.

640. _fals livinge_, false liver, evil liver.

642-3. This passage resembles the Fr. text.

649. From Ecclesiastes, v. 3.

651. _deffendeth_, forbids; see Eph. v. 4.

654. The word _Mansuetude_ is borrowed from the Fr. text.

657. Jerome seems to be quoting 1 Cor. xiii. 4, 5.

660. Compare Boethius, bk. ii. pr. 7. ll. 91, 92 (vol. ii. p. 48).

661. Mat. v. 9. Cf. Frank. Tale, F. 773, and the note. The 'wise man' is Dionysius Cato, who says:--'Quem superare potes, interdum uince ferendo,' sometimes altered to 'superare _nequis, patienter_,' &c.; Distich. i. 38.

664. From Prov. xxix. 9.

670. This example somewhat resembles a story in Seneca, De Ira, lib. i. c. 15:--'Socrates seruo ait: Caederem te, nisi irascerer'; &c.

DE ACCIDIA.

677. The description of Sloth answers to the description in the Fr. text chiefly as regards the general outline. The particular points of contact are few. Cf. Ayenb. of Inwyt, pp. 31-34.

678. This remark, from Augustine, properly applies to the sin of Envy; see note to 484 above; p. 461.

679. _Salomon_; with reference to Eccl. ix. 10.

680. See Jer. xlviii. 10; for 'necligently,' the Vulg. has 'fraudulenter'; A. V. 'deceitfully.'

687. Referring, probably, to Rev. iii. 16.

688. Cf. Prov. xx. 4; xxi. 25. [467]

693. _wanhope_, despair; as in the parallel passage in the Ayenb. p. 34, l. 12. Cf. P. Plowman, C. viii. 59, 81, and note.

694. 'Quidam enim in peccata prolapsi desperatione plus pereunt'; S. Aug. De Natura et Gratia, cap. 35; ed. Migne, xliv. 266. A similar passage occurs in his Sermo xx. § 3; ed. Migne, xxxviii. 140.

698. The words _recreant_ and _creant_ are, curiously enough, used in almost exactly the same sense; perhaps _creant_ was merely an abbreviated form. To 'say _creant_' and to 'yield oneself _recreant_' meant, 'to own oneself beaten'; the original sense being, apparently, 'to entrust oneself to the enemy' or confide in him, in the hope of obtaining mercy; see the explanation of _se recredere_ in Ducange, and _recreant_ and _recroire_ in Godefroy. The E. phrase is well illustrated by P. Plowman, B. xii. 193, xviii. 100; see _creant_ in the New E. Dict.

700-703. Alluding to Luke xv. 7; xv. 24; xxiii. 42, 43.

705. From Matt. vii. 7, John xvi. 24; compare Wyclif's version.

707. _by the morwe_, early in the morning; cf. D. 755, H. 16; and D. 1080.

709. From Prov. viii. 17.

712. From the Vulgate, Eccl. vii. 19 (18):--'qui timet Deum, nihil negligit.'

714. Cf. G. 3, and note; also Ayenb. p. 31, ll. 20-22.

715. _thurrok_, the sink in which all evil things collect; see note to 363, above, p. 454.

716. Cf. Matt. xi. 12. The reference to 'David' is to Ps. lxxiii. 5 (lxxii. 5 in the Vulgate):--'In labore hominum non sunt, et cum hominibus non flagellabuntur.' See the comment on this verse in Hampole's Psalter, ed. Bramley; which concludes with:--'for with men whaym God drawes to heven thai sal nought be swongen, but with fendes in hell.'

718. _latrede_, tardy (very rare); A. S. læt-r[=æ]de, slow of counsel, deliberate (see Toller).

_dich_, ditch. In the Fr. text, the image is that of a prisoner, who, when the door is open, is too lazy to mount the steps; so in Ayenb. p. 32, l. 2. Cf. P. Plowman, C. xiv. 236, 237.

719. Cf. Ayenb. p. 32, l. 21:--'thou sselt libbe long'; also P. Pl. C. xii. 180; Prov. of Hendyng, l. 304.

723. This is something like the Fr. text; see Ayenb. p. 33, l. 14. But the Fr. text does not quote St. Bernard. The passage in St. Bernard seems to be one in his Vitis Mystica, cap. xix. § 66; ed. Migne, vol. clxxxiv. coll. 674, 675: 'Aliquando affligitur hoc uitio anima bonorum,... ut nec orare, nec legere, nec meditari, nec opus manuum libeat exercere.'

725. _tristicia._ The Fr. text has _tristesce_, translated by 'zor[gh]e' in the Ayenbite, p. 34, l. 8; see 2 Cor. vii. 10.

728. Fr. text--'La vertu de proesce'; Ayenb.--'uirtue' and 'prouesse,' p. 163, l. 22. _Fortitude_ is one of the four cardinal virtues; P. Plowman, C. xxii. 289. [468]

731. The 'speces,' or kinds, are here five, viz. magnanimity, faith, surety, magnificence, and constancy. These are taken from the Fr. text, which gives _six_ kinds, viz. magnanimite, fiance, seurte, _pacience_, magnificence, constaunce. _Patience_ is omitted, as having occurred above; see 659.

DE AUARICIA.

739. In this section we again find several hints taken from the Fr. text, especially in the arrangement of the subdivisions; cf. Ayenb. pp. 34-45. The text of St. Paul is quoted in the original, and in the Ayenb. p. 34; see note to C. 334, and cf. 1 Tim. vi. 10.

741. 'Amor mundi, amor huius saeculi, cupiditas dicitur'; S. Augustini enarratio in Psalmum xxxi, part ii. § 5; ed. Migne, vol. 36, col. 260.

748. 'Auarus, quod est idolorum seruitus'; Eph. v. 5.

749. _mawmet_, idol. It was unjustly supposed that Mahometans worshipped the prophet; whence _Mahomet_, corrupted to _mawmet_, came to mean an idol in general. See Marco Polo, ed. Yule, i. 174, for illustrations.

751. 'Non habebis deos alienos coram me. Non facies tibi sculptile'; Exod. xx. 3, 4. The addition of the second clause, taken from the second commandment, is remarkable. It was quite common to omit the second commandment altogether; cf. note to C. 641. Cf. Ayenb. pp. 5, 6.

752. _tailages_, &c. The Fr. text has:--'par tallies, par corvees, par emprunz, par mauvaises coustumes,' &c.; cf. 'be tailes, be coruees, be lones, be kueade wones'; Ayenb. p. 38. Cowel explains _tallage_ as 'a tribute, toll, or tax.' It was, in fact, an exaction for which a _tally_, or acknowledgement (upon a notched stick) was given; see note to P. Plowman, B. iv. 57; and cf. Chaucer's Prologue, 570; P. Plowman, C. xxii. 37.

Dr. Murray explains _cariage_ in this passage as meaning 'an obsolete service of carrying, or a payment in lieu of the same, due by a tenant to his landlord or feudal superior, or imposed by authority.'

_amerciments_, arbitrary fines inflicted 'at the mercy' of an affeeror. If the affeeror had no mercy, they became, as is here said, mere extortions.

754. The reference is given to Augustine's De Civitate Dei, lib. ix.; but is wrong. It should be to lib. xix. c. 15:--'Prima ergo seruitutis caussa peccatum est.'

755. See Gen. ix. 18-27. The reference to Gen. v. is a mistake, perhaps due to the fact that Ham is first mentioned in that chapter, at the end of it. See 766 below.

759. This is from Seneca, Epist. 47, which begins:--'Libenter ex his, qui a te ueniunt, cognoui, familiariter te cum seruis tuis uiuere; hoc prudentiam tuam, hoc eruditionem decet. Serui sunt? immo homines. Serui sunt? immo contubernales.' [469]

760. _contubernial with_, dwelling together with, intimate with. Chaucer found the word in Seneca; see the last note.

761-3. The general sense of this passage is from Seneca, Epist. 47 (note to 759). Thus the words 'that they rather love thee than drede' answer to 'Colant [serui] potius te, quam timeant.'

766. See Gen. ix. 26, and note to 755.

767-8. Cf. Ayenb. p. 39, ll. 6-9; P. Pl. B. vi. 28. The Fr. Text has:--'ces gran prelaz qui acrochent ... par trop grans procuracions ... ce sont li lou qui manguent les berbiz.' It does not mention St. Austin.

783. So in Fr. text; see Ayenb. p. 41, near the bottom. See also the parallel passage in Wyclif's Works, ed. Matthew, p. 64.

788. _Damasie_; Damasus I., pope from 336 to 384. His day is December 11. St. Jerome (Epist. 61, c. 3) tells us that a Roman senator, envious of the pomp sometimes observed in church ceremonies, said to pope Damasus, 'Make me bishop of Rome, and I will be a Christian tomorrow.' (Alban Butler.)

793. See Pard. Tale, C. 590; Ayenb. p. 45, l. 13.

797. Cf. 'ualse notaryes'; Ayenb. p. 40, l. 8; and see 'Susannah' in the Apocrypha, as told in Dan. xiii., in the Vulgate version.

799. _Corporel_, bodily theft; see Ayenb. p. 37, l. 3.

801. _Sacrilege_; see Ayenb. p. 40, l. 26. _chirche-hawes_, church-yards; Fr. 'mostiers, ou sainz leus, _cymetieres_'; Ayenb. (p. 41)--'cherches, other holi stedes, _cherchtounes_.'

802. See Ayenb. p. 41, ll. 7-20. The concluding portion of this section resembles the Fr. text more closely than usual.

Dr. Eilers proposes to insert the words _rentes and_ before _rightes_, because the Fr. text has 'les rentes ... e les autres droitures'; and it is remarkable that Tyrwhitt also inserts these words. But they neither appear in any of the seven MSS., nor in Thynne's edition.

804. _misericorde_ answers to 'merci' in Ayenb. p. 185, l. 26.

811. _largesse_, bounty; so also in Ayenb. p. 188, l. 4.

813. _fool-largesse_, foolish prodigality, such as is satirised in P. Plowm. C. viii. 82-101.

DE GULA.

818. This section has very little in common with the Fr. Text; cf. Ayenb. p. 50. It is also much shorter than the original.

819-20. _Adam_; mentioned also in Fr. text; see Ayenb. p. 50, l. 8 from bottom. See Pard. Tale, C. 505, and the note; also C. 529, and the note. From Phil. iii. 18, 19.

822. See Pard. Tale, C. 549, 558.

828. The mention of St. Gregory is copied from the Fr. text; see Ayenb. p. 51, l. 18. The passage meant is the following: 'Sciendum praeterea est quia quinque nos modis gulae uitium tentat. Aliquando namque indigentiae tempora praeuenit; aliquando uero tempus non praeuenit, sed cibos lautiores quaerit; aliquando quaelibet qua [470] sumenda sint praeparari accuratius expetit; aliquando autem et qualitati ciborum et tempori congruit, sed in ipsa quantitate sumendi mensuram moderatae refectionis excedit.'--S. Gregorii Moralium Lib. xxx. cap. xviii. § 60; ed. Migne, vol. 76, col. 556.

829. _curiositee_; Fr. 'curieusete'; Ayenb. 'bysihede,' p. 55, l. 8 from bottom.

831. The remedy against Gluttony, in the Fr. text, is 'La vertu de Sobrete,' answering to 'the uirtue of Temperance' in the Ayenb. p. 245. The Fr. text treats this at great length; but Chaucer only says a few words. He mentions, however, 'Attemperaunce' and 'Mesure'; cf. Fr. 'atemprance' and 'mesure.'

DE LUXURIA.

836. This section contains a considerable amount of the matter found in the Fr. text, but the comparison between the texts is difficult, owing to the frequent changes in the arrangement of the material. Dr. Eilers says (p. 566):--'This chapter of the Eng. text, though twice as comprehensive as the French, contains more in quantity that corresponds with the Fr. than that diverges from it, and exceeds all the previous chapters in the degree of correspondence.' For details, see Dr. Eilers' essay, and cf. Ayenb. pp. 46-49.

After 'departe,' MS. Hl. supplies a reference to Eph. v. 18.

837-8. See Exod. xx. 14; Lev. xix. 20; Deut. xxii. 21; Lev. xxi. 9.

839. _thonder-leyt_, thunder-bolt, lit. thunder-flash; A. S. _l[=i]get_, _l[=i]getu_, a flash; cf. note to Boethius, bk. i. met. 4. 8. See Gen. xix. 24.

841. _stank_, pool; 'stagno' in the Vulgate (Rev. xxi. 8).

842-5. See Matt. xix. 5; Eph. v. 25; Exod. xx. 17; Matt. v. 28.

852. _that other_, the second. The former is mentioned above, in 830. The 'five fingers' are, in Fr., called _fol regart_, _fous atouchemenz_, _foles paroles_, _fous baisiers_, _le fait_; all 'si come dist saint Gregoire.' Cf. Ayenb. p. 46.

853. _basilicok_, basilisk; Fr. Text, 'basilicoc.' The fabulous basilisk, or cockatrice, which had a head like a cock and a body like a serpent, was supposed to slay men by its mere glance. In the Wars of Alexander, ed. Skeat, 4837-57, we read how Alexander induced a basilisk to commit suicide by gazing in a mirror. Cf. Ayenb. p. 28, l. 12.

854. See Prov. vi. 26-9; vii. 26; Ecclus. xii. 13, 14; xiii. 1; xxvi. 7.

858. _roser_, rose-bush; as in Havelok, 2919.

_busshes_, as in Tyrwhitt, must be the right reading; but I can find _no authority_ for it. The MSS. all have _beautees_, i. e. beauties, or some equivalent form. Thynne (ed. 1550) has _benches_, which is also found in some MSS.; but it does not help us.

859. Compare this with the March. Tale, E. 1840; and see Ayenb. p. 48, l. 25.

861. 'Si egeris patienter, coniunx mutabitur in sororem'; Hieron. c. Iouinianum, lib. i. (ed. 1524, t. ii. p. 25). [471]

867. 'St. Paul gives them the kingdom due to sinners.' In fact, St. Paul denies them the kingdom due to saints; which comes to the same thing. See Gal. v. 19-21; and see 884 below. Cf. Rev. xxi. 8.

869. _the hundred fruit_, i. e. fruit brought forth a hundred-fold. Cf. 'dabant _fructum_, aliud _centesimum_,' &c.; Matt. xiii. 8. It was usual to liken virginity, widowhood, and matrimony, respectively, to the bringing forth of fruit a hundredfold, sixtyfold and thirtyfold; see P. Plowman, C. xix. 84-90, and note to l. 84; Hali Meidenhad, ed. Cockayne, p. 22; Ayenb. p. 234. '_Centesimus_ et sexagesimus et tricesimus _fructus_ ... multum differt in numero. Triginta referuntur ad nuptias ... Sexaginta uero ad uiduas ... Porro _centesimus_ numerus ... exprimit uirginitatis coronam'; Hieronymus contra Iouinianum, lib. i; ed. 1524, ii. 18. The Fr. text has: 'Ceus qui gardent virginite ont le centiesme fruit.' But Chaucer, being well acquainted with Jerome's treatise, recognised at once the Latin source; for in MS. Hl. we find the note, 'secundum Ieronimum contra Iouinianum.'

879. 'Him shall God destroy'; 1 Cor. iii. 17.

880. _douted_, feared. See Gen. xxxix. 8, 9.

884. 'Huanne me brecth the sacrement of spoushod, hit y-ualth otherhuyl desertesoun of eyr, and ualse mariages'; Ayenb. p. 48.

887. _gladly_, readily; hence, fittingly.

889. 'Iam amplius noli peccare'; John viii. 11.

895. _as by the dignitee_, i. e. on account of the dignity of their office; see note to 900.

'Satanas transfigurat se,' &c.; 2 Cor. xi. 14.

897-8. From 1 Sam. ii. 12 (in the Vulgate, _Liber primus Regum_). _Belial_ signifies worthlessness; and hence, lawlessness, or evil. But in the Vulgate version of Judges, xix. 22, the word _Belial_ is explained to mean 'absque iugo'; which in O. French would become 'sans ioug.' Chaucer seems to have met with this explanation, and perhaps misread it as 'sans iuge'; i. e. 'without Iuge.'

900. _misterie_, i. e. office, duty. As in 895 above, _misterie_ is here short for _ministerie_, i. e. ministry, office, duty; in fact, the Selden and Lansdowne MSS. actually have the spelling _mynysterie_. MS. Cm., by a singular error, adds _mynystre_ again, and has the reading: 'kunne not _mynystre_ the mysterie.' Tyrwhitt has wrongly introduced the extra _mynystre_. Wright copied him; Bell copied Wright; and Morris copied Bell; so that these editions vary from the Harl. MS., which _omits_ it! The question is easily settled. 'The Book' means the Bible; and the Vulgate version (1 Sam. ii. 12, 13) has 'nescientes ... _officium_ sacerdotum ad populum.' Hence _conne_ means 'know.'

904. 'Adulter est, inquit [Xystus, in sententiis] in suam uxorem amator ardentior,' &c.; S. Hieron. c. Iouinian. lib. i. (near the end)

906. There is no such passage in the E. version of the book of Tobit; but it occurs in the Vulgate, Tob. vi. 17; and see Ayenb. p. 223.

908. _godsibbes_, i. e. his godmother or his goddaughter. Already, in the Laws of Cnut (Eccles. § vii), we find that a man is forbidden to [472] marry his godmother; and this rule was formerly stringent. Cf. Ayenb. p. 48.

915. This section has much in common with the Fr. text. 'We meet,' says Dr. Eilers, 'with whole sentences in entire agreement.' See Ayenb. pp. 202-238.

916. _two maneres_, two ways; cf. the two 'states,' in Ayenb. p. 220.

918-19. Eph. v. 32; Gen. ii. 24; John ii. 1.

922. Eph. v. 25, again quoted in 929; 1 Cor. xi. 3.

927. _desray_, disorder, 'dissarray'; A. F. _desrei_, O. F. _desroi_; see _derai_ in Stratmann.

930. MS. Hl. adds _cap. iij._ after _Peter_; hence the reference is to 1 Pet. iii. 1.

933. Perhaps the reference is to Rev. xvii. 4, xviii. 16.

934. _Gregorie_; see note to 414 above, p. 458.

939. _three thinges_, three reasons; so in Ayenb. p. 222, l. 14.

944. _widewe_; cf. Ayenb. p. 225, l. 9.

947. _boyste_, box; Mat. xxvi. 7; John xii. 3.

948. _lyf_, life; i. e. she lives like them; Fr. semblant as angels du ciel,' i. e. like the angels of heaven. Cf. P. Plowman, C. xix. 89-100; Ayenb. p. 227, l. 13.

951. See the parallel passage; Ayenb. p. 204, at the bottom.

954. _leyt_, flame; the candle being stuck close to the wall.

955. _Daniel_; so in E. Cm.; but the other five MSS. have _Dauid_, i. e. David. It appears that _David_ is the correct reading, since the names of Sampson, David, and Solomon occur both in the Fr. text, and in Ayenb. p. 204.

956-7. Probably Chaucer omitted the ten commandments, because he was getting tired of the work. He mentions them because they are treated of at length in the French treatise; see Ayenb. pp. 5-11. Hence his 'leaving them to divines' is a mere excuse. Cf. Kn. Tale, A. 1323; and see note to 1043 below (p. 474).

We may also see, in this expression, a clear proof that this Treatise was _originally_ made by Chaucer in his own person. On assigning this Tale to the Parson, he should have struck out this tell-tale clause; for surely the Parson was 'a divine.'

DE CONFESSIONE. Instead of this Title, most MSS., including E., have--'Sequitur secunda Pars Penitencie.' But this is unsuitable, as it has already appeared, viz. at p. 586. I have therefore taken, from MSS. Pt. and Christchurch, the alternative title--'De Confessione.' See p. 639.

958. This chapter, on Confession, answers to a similar chapter in the Fr. text, though the material has been re-arranged. See Ayenb. pp. 172-180; Ancren Riwle, pp. 299, 317. The reference to the 'firste chaptire' is to paragraph 107, on p. 572.

959. _fyve wittes_, five senses, also called 'the vif wittes of the bodie' in Ayenb. p. 177. And cf. P. Plowman, C. ii. 15, and the note.

960. _that that_, that which, what it is that. [473]

961. This corresponds to Ayenb. p. 175, l. 23, and lines following, to p. 176, l. 12; but the order varies.

971. _eschew_, reluctant; lit. 'shy.' See E. 1812, and the note. Tyrwhitt reads _slow_, which is ingenious, but wrong.

979. _engreggen_, aggravate; Fr. 'les circumstances qui poent _engreger_ le pecche.' Godefroy, s. v. _engregier_, quotes this very passage, from two other MS. which read, respectively, 'qui pueent _engregier_ le pechie,' and 'qui _engrigent_ les pechies.'

981. _namely by the two_, especially by the (former) two; penitence and shrift. _the thridde_, the third; i. e. satisfaction, reparation.

982. _foure_, four; Fr. 'six.' See Ayenb. p. 172, l. 6.

983. _Ezekias_, Hezekiah; Fr. text, 'Ezechias'; all the MSS. have _Ezekiel_ (wrongly); see Isaiah, xxxviii. 15. The Ayenb. has 'ezechie'; p. 172, l. 9 from bottom.

986-8. See Luke xviii. 13; 1 Pet. v. 6.

994, 996. See Matt. xxvi. 75; Luke vii. 37.

998. _hastily_, without delay; Ayenb. 'hasteliche,' p. 173, l. 10; Fr. 'hastivement.' And see Ayenb. p. 173, l. 25 for the rest of the sentence.

1005. _countrewaite_, watch against, be on his guard against; see Tale of Melibeus, B. 2508.

1006. _parcel_, part; _departe_, divide; see Ayenb. p. 175.

1008. Cf. Somn. Tale, D. 2095-8.

1013. _nayte_, deny; Icel. _neita_; Tyrwhitt has _nay_. So, in Boeth. bk. i. met. 1. l. 16, where the original has _negat_, MS. Addit. has _naieth_; but the Camb. MS. has _nayteth_.

1020. This passage from St. Augustine is alluded to in the Ancren Riwle, p. 337:--'Qui causa humilitatis mentitur fit quod prius ipse non fuit, id est, peccator.' See S. August. Sermo clxxxi. § 4 (ed. Migne, vol. 38, col. 981): 'Propter humilitatem dicis te peccatorem.... Testis ergo falsus es contra te.'

1025. Cf. Ayenb. p. 178, l. 13; Ancren Riwle, p. 323.

1027. _ones a yere_, viz. at Easter. In the Ancren Riwle, p. 413, fifteen times are mentioned. See P. Plowman, C. xxi. 472, xxii. 3, and the note to the latter passage. _renovellen_, are renewed; i. e. in spring-time.

DE SATISFACCIONE.

1030. In Religious Pieces, ed. Perry (E. E. T. S.), p. 9, the seven 'works of mercy' are (1) feeding the hungry; (2) giving drink to the thirsty; (3) clothing the naked; (4) sheltering the homeless; (5) visiting the sick; (6) visiting prisoners; (7) burying the dead poor.

1031. Cf. P. Plowman, C. ii. 20 (B. i. 20), and the note.

1034. Compare Ayenb. p. 192, l. 5.

1036. From Matt. v. 14-16. Chaucer's translation is smoother than Wyclif's. [474]

1040-2. Compare Ayenbite, p. 99.

1043. Here again Chaucer really speaks in his own person; cf. note to 957 above. The reason for his mentioning the 'exposition' of the prayer is, that a long exposition, which he wished to avoid, is given in the Fr. text (see Ayenb. pp. 99-118).

1045. Epitomised from the Fr. text; see Ayenb. p. 207.

1048. _wakinge_, watching; see Matt. xxvi. 41.

1049. Cf. Ayenb. p. 53, where _iolyuete_ answers to _ioliuete_ in the Fr. text, and to _Iolitee_ in Chaucer.

1051. On eating, see P. Plowman, C. ix. 273 (B. vi. 263). _in untyme_, at a wrong season; see P. Plowm. B. ix. 186.