Chapter VII: Part 7

ich ém | nu áld|er þénẹ | ich wés || awín|tre ént | a láre
Ich wél|de má|re þénẹ | ich déde || mi wít | áhte | bon máre
Wel lóngẹ | ich háb|be chíld | ibón || a wórd|e ént | a déde
þáh ich | bó a | wíntre | áld || to ȝúng | ich ém | on réde
v́nnet | líf ich | hábbẹ i|léd || ⁊ ȝét | me þíngþ | iléde 5
þénnẹ ich | mé bi|þénche | wél || ful sárẹ | ich mé | adréde
mést al | þét ich | hábbẹ i|dón || bífealt | tó child|háde
Wel látẹ | ich háb|be mé | biþócht || búte | Gód me nu | réde
Fólẹ id|el wórd | ich hábbẹ | iquéðen || sóððen | ich spék|e kúðe
fóle | ȝúnge | dédẹ i|dón || þe mé | ofþínch|et núðe 10
Mést al | þét me | líkedẹ | ér || nú hit | mé mis|líkeð
þa múch|el fúl|iéð | his wíl || híne | sólf he bi|swíkeð
Ich míh|te háb|be bét | idón || héfdẹ ich | þé i|sélþe
Nú ich | wáldẹ ah | ích ne | meí || for éldẹ | ⁊ fór | unhélþe
Élde | me ís | bistól|en ón || ér ich | hít | wíste 15
ne míchtẹ | ich séon | bifór|e mé || for smí|ke né | for míste
Érȝe | we béoð | to dón|e gód || ⁊ to úf|elẹ ál | to þríste
Marẹ éi|e stónd|eð mén | of mónne || þánnẹ hom | dó of | críste
þe wél | ne dóð | þe hwílẹ (þe) | ho múȝen || wél oft
| hít schal | rówen
þénnẹ _ho_ | máwen | scúlen ⁊ | répen || þét ho | ér | sówen 20
Dó he | to gód|e þét | he múȝe || þe hwílẹ (ꝥ) | he bó | alíue
ne líp|nie ná | món | to múchel || to chíld|e né | to wíue
[þé] þe | hím | sólue | forȝét || for wí|ue né | for chílde
hé scal | cúmen in | úuel | stúde || bútẹ him | Gód bo | mílde
Séndeð | sum gód | bifór|en éow || (þe) hwíle | (ꝥ) ȝe múȝẹn
| to hóuẹne 25
for bét|erẹ is án | elmés|se bifórẹn || þénne | bóð efter | sóuẹne
Álto | lómẹ ich | hábbẹ i|gúlt || a wérk|e ént | o wórde
Ál to | múchẹl ich | hábbẹ i|spént || to lítẹl | ihúd | in hórde
Ne béo | þe ló|ure þé|ne þe sólf || ne þín | mei né | þin máȝe
Soht is þét | is óð|ers món|nes frónd || bétre
| þén his | áȝen 30
for þer wé | hit mích|te fínd|en éft || ⁊ hább|en bút|en énde 52

Elision of e occurs under the usual conditions: pronouns like me 6, 10, 15, þe 23, and nouns of the type of wintre 1, 4 are not subject to it. Instances of hiatus are worde 3, þe 13, werke 27. Syncopation of e occurs in muȝẹn, houẹne 25, biforẹn, souẹne 26, litẹl 28, and probably in muchẹl 28, though it might be regarded as forming part of a trisyllabic verse. The prelude is wanting in the first section, 4, 5, 6, 14, 20, 27, 28; in the second section, 8, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 26, 30; in both, 7, 11, 20, 24. It is doubled in the first section, 30, 52; in the second, 17. The first foot of each section is sometimes a trochee instead of an iamb; so in the first section, 9, 15, 17, 21, 25; in the second, 9. The unstressed element in a foot is sometimes wanting, 15, 20, 22; sometimes it is of two syllables, 8, 12, 24, 26 (three times), 29. Feminine endings before the caesura are not uncommon, 2, 9, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24; but the ending of the line is invariably feminine. A comparison of the manuscripts shows that the author’s practice was more correct than the representation of any of them; thus the unmetrical second section of 25 is in e, þe hwílẹ | he méi | to héuẹne. But it is clear that he used all the licences detailed above.

#Introduction:# The Moral Ode is, to all appearance, an original work, the natural product of an old man’s musings on life with its lost opportunities, death, and judgement. Its manner and spirit, simple, earnest, austere, sententious, are of the Old English cast. The author lived in Hampshire somewhere near the junction of the Stour with the Avon. He was probably a secular priest, for he makes no reference to the life of the cloister and names no saint or holy place. His theological learning was of a commonplace kind and without subtilty. He may have had some skill in medicine. He lived through the Anarchy, and the faithless vassal and the tyrannous noble wallow in his Inferno with the corrupt judge and extortionate official.

Another poem of similar content, the Sermon of Guischart de Beaulieu in Anglo-Norman, was written in England about the same time as the Poema Morale. If the author took his name from Beaulieu in Hampshire, where King John founded a Cistercian Abbey in 1204 A.D. (Dugdale v. 680), he may have written not far from the home of our poet. It abounds in striking parallels to the PM, but the editor of the Sermon thinks the resemblances are not sufficiently close to prove that Guischart used the English poem.

1. #nu#: in LT only. #awintre ⁊ a lare#: a winter and ek on lore J; of wintre ⁊ of lore M. ⁊ = ent; see 38/159.

2. #welde mare#: not in the usual meaning, possess more wealth, as at 21/89, 22/122, 130, 32/55, but either, am more respected, honoured, as at 18/22; ‘for worulde weorðscypes wealdan,’ Thorpe, Laws, ii. 324. 4, or more probably, possess more knowledge; if so, ‘knowledge comes but wisdom lingers.’ Comp. ‘of wisdom wilde,’ OEM 96/94. For #welde# D reads ealdi, M eldi, age, grow old.

3. #child#: comp. ‘Adhuc enim non pueritia in nobis sed, quod est gravius, puerilitas remanet: et hoc quidem peius est quod auctoritatem habemus senum, vitia puerorum,’ Seneca, Ep. iv; ‘To longe ich habbe sot ibeo | Wel sore ich me adrede,’ OEM 160/31. #a worde#, &c.: comp. 30/27: on worde ⁊ on dede D; of wordes & of dede M.

4. #a#: on D; of JM. #on#: at E; á e; of M.

5-8. Comp. ‘Ki se fie en cest secle por fol tenc mult celui | Par mei meimes le sai ne mie par altrui | Folement le menai itant cum ieo i fui | Kar unkes ne fis riens de quanke faire dui | Trop i dui demurer trop tart men apercui,’ Guischart 32-36; ‘vnnut lif to longe ich lede | hwanne ich me biþenche[;] wel sore ich me adrede,’ OEM 192/3, 4.

6. #wel ful#: wel, wel D; ful J; the other MSS. wel, but T alters the first half of the line. #wel# qualifies biþenche.

7. #ꝥ# = þet; see 32/55. #bi fealt# &c. is not original, but an avoidance of the rare word chilce, which is in E e J T; D has chilðe, M chilse. #chilce#, childishness, appears to be formed from child, on the analogy of milce from mild; it occurs here only. L alters l. 8 for the sake of the rhyme; the other MSS. are with T.

8. #bute#, unless; comp. ll. 24, 210, 271.

9. #iqueðen#: ispeken T; ispeke J. Comp. ‘Ifurn ich habbe isuneȝet mid wurken ⁊ midd muðe | ⁊ mid alle mine lime siððe ich sunehi cuðe | ⁊ wel feole sunne ido þe me ofþincheð nuðe,’ OEM 193/29-31.

10. #þe#: so T e, but þat EJM; þet D. OE. #ofþyncan# is impersonal, it takes dative of the person and genitive or, rarely, nominative of the cause; ‘him ðæs slæpes ofþuhte,’ Ælf., Hom. Cath. i. 86/19 is normal. The indeclinable relative þe here and in similar places, as ‘Ne do þu non oðer man þing þe þe wolde ofþunche gief me hit dude þe,’ OEH ii. 179/20, may be doing duty for the genitive (see 46/292 note). But in ME. generally hit is expressed as subject, 52/370, or the cause is nominative, 38/164, 42/203 (notwithstanding the verb in the singular), 145/104, or the subject is actually personal, 46/271; ‘his freonden hit ofþuhten,’ L 197. Þat in the other texts is nominative.

11. Comp. ‘Or me semblet puillent co ke ieo mult amai | Quant del plait me souent enz en mun queor mes mai,’ Guischart 1205, 6. #Mest#: Best J. The scribe should have put the stop after er.

12. Comp. ‘Mult est fous ke fait trop de sa volontez,’ Archiv lxiii. 84/301. After this line J interpolates, Mon let þi fol lust ouer-go · and eft hit þe likeþ; see 29/45.

13. #þe# is possibly miswriting of þen. M has also þe selþe, but e T D þo; E þer; J eny selhþe. The meanings given in the dictionaries for iselþe, luck, good fortune, happiness, do not give a good sense here; if it could mean experience, the sentiment would be like ‘si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait.’ Morris in OEH i. 160/13 translates discretion.

14. #elde# &c.: comp. 20/72; 40/197; 48/323.

15. #wiste#: awuste E; á wyste e; iwiste TD; er þan ich hit wiste JM.

16. #smike#: smeke E; smeche e D; smoke J; smiche M.

17. #al to þriste#, all too bold, ready; comp. 157/127.

18. #stondeð#: B-T quotes under #standan# (of direction) ‘Swa micel ege stod deoflum fram eow,’ Ælf. Hom. Cath. i. 64/25, with meaning, came over; similar is ‘Norð-Denum stod atelic egesa,’ Beowulf, 783. In ME. stonden has developed the meaning, exists (comp. Fr. être < stare). For the construction comp. ‘non eige ne stand of louerde,’ OEH ii. 39/20, 139/28; ‘of iwel and dead hem stondeð greim,’ GE 392: #men# here is dative like #hom#. Variations are, ‘þer hem stod eie[;] þer hem ne sholde,’ OEH ii. 73/30; ‘him ne stod æie to naþing,’ L 11694; ‘alle heom stod him æie to,’ id. 27100; ‘wið dead him stood hinke and age,’ GE 432; 62/37; ‘uor elles vuele us stode,’ AR 312/9. For #do#, subjunctive after þanne with comparative, comp. 31/28; ‘he brycð swiðor on ðone suðdæl þonne he do on þone norðdæl; ⁊ sio hæte hæfð genumen þæs suðdæles mare þonne se cyle þæs norðdæles hæbbe,’ Orosius 24/26.

19. See 32/35. #hwile þe#: comp. 32/33, 55: elsewhere L has the more usual hwile ꝥ (always unmetrically), or hwile.

20. #ȝe#: hy E e; hi DM: but J has, Hwenne alle men repen schule · þat heo ear seowe. For #ꝥ# E has þer þe; e, þer; M, her þat.

21. #to gode#, for good; comp. 32/61. #he# (muȝe): hi D; ȝe E e M; ye J: similarly in the case of the following he.

22. #lipnie#, depend on, trust to: hopie E e; leue D; truste M.

24. #bute--milde#: a formula of frequent occurrence; see KH 80 note.

25. D alters, Sende sum god biuoren him | man, ꝥ wile to heuene; the scribe of E copied the end of l. 21, reading, þe wyle ȝe ben aliue, and in the second half of the next line, þanne ben after vyue.

27, 28 are misplaced, the other MSS. have them as in T. With 27 comp. ‘Ifurn ich habbe isunehed mid worke ⁊ mid worde,’ OEM 193/21; and with 28, ‘muchel ich habbe ispened[;] to lite ich habbe an horde. | Hord þat ich telle · is almesse dede,’ id. 193/24, 25; ‘Ne des altres uertuz nule ne reseruai | . . . | Or ai si despendu ke ieo nule nen ai,’ Guischart 1184, 6.

29, 30 are wanting in D. #þe solf#: þi self EJ. With #mei . . . maȝe#, comp. ‘Ne naueþ he mey ne mowe. | þat durre one þrowe. | Bi hym sitte ne stonde,’ OEM 79/208-10, 179/161, 2. With l. 30 comp. ‘Qui mieux aime autri que sei au molin fu mort de sei.’ ‘Videtur enim quod quis alium plus quam se amat qui alios admonitionibus et correctionibus pascit et seipsum non emendat,’ Hauréau, Notices, ii. 281, an application which robs the proverb of its apparent crude selfishness.

31. #lipnie#: lipne J; hopie E e T D; truste M.

32. #ech#: vych J; the others are with T.

33. #to him#: the others have him. #þe mot#: he is to be understood from him in the preceding clause, see 6/18 note. E has þe he mot, D, ꝥ he, M, þat he, the other MSS. he.

34. #fremede . . . sibbe#: a formula, see KH 64 note. A variant is, ‘to freomede ⁊ to kunne,’ OEH ii. 259/30. #wule# is singular; comp. T.

35. Comp. 30/19, 44/238. The proverb is common, as, ‘he ne mei hwon he wule, þe nolde hwule þet he muhte,’ AR 338/19; ‘hit is riht Godes dom, þet hwo ne deð hwon he mei, he ne schal nout hwon he wolde,’ id. 296/22; Hendyng C., stanza 46.

36. The fruits of many a man’s hard toil often pass into the possession of his enemies. Comp. 22/129, 30. From ‘Scrutetur foenerator omnem substantiam eius: et diripiant alieni labores eius,’ Psalm cviii. 11, in the OE. version, ‘Ealle his æhta unholde fynd, rice reðe mann, rycene gedæle; and his feoh onfon fremde handa,’ Thorpe, Psalter, 317/11. #sare iswinc# is plural.

37. #don afirst#, put off: OE. #fyrst#, respite: comp. ‘Vre deð he do in firste ȝet,’ OEH i. 71/294. #slawen#: so e; but sclakien E; slakien J; sleuhþen D; sclakie M. ‘Nolite deficere benefacientes,’ 2 Thess. iii. 13.

40. #he his#: he it E; he hit JD; he e M. #mid iwisse#, of a certainty: OE. #mid gewisse#: ‘mid iwissen,’ 38/139 is #mid gewissum#: ‘iwis,’ 187/349 represents _s. neut._ of #gewiss#: ‘fuliwis,’ 79/17, ‘fullȝewiss,’ 89/20 is the same strengthened by ful: ‘to fuliwis’ 190/445 shows the same treated as though it were a noun: similarly ‘to fuligewis,’ 192/508, a compound of fulli + #gewiss#; Orm has contracted ‘fuliȝwiss.’ From #to wisse#, #mid wisse# come ‘to nafre none wisse,’ 45/240, ‘mid neure nane wisse,’ 44/236. See KH 1209 note.

42-65. Comp. generally 27/274-291.

43 T. After For, þar ne has been omitted by the scribe.

44. #þerf he#, copied by mistake from the preceding line. The MSS. agree substantially with T: e has, þer ne mei hí be nime. #laðe . . . loue#: formal; comp. ‘mid lufe ge mid laþe,’ BH 45/8; ‘litel me is of ower luue, leasse of ower laððe,’ SJ 27/14.

45. #of ȝeve ne of ȝelde#, of bribes to officials and of taxes; things which subtract from his gains on earth. Comp. ‘hem þat desireth | Ȝiftes or ȝeresȝyues · bi cause of here offices,’ Piers Plowman, B. iii. 98, 99; Böddeker, Alteng. Dicht. 104/53; 44/256: Mede was very busy in those days. This is undoubtedly the original reading; J D concur, but E has of wiue ne of childe, similarly e; M of ȝunge ne of ȝelde: #here# in T is hire, usury.

46. For #solf bereð# E has the singular variant, suuel and bred, savoury meat and bread.

47, 48. Not in D. #draȝen ⁊ don#, convey our wealth and deposit it: comp. ‘La devriüm traire | trestot nostre afaire, | nostre estage prendre, | le nostre doner | por nos delivrer, | partir e despendre,’ Reimpredigt 56/110, which is possibly the source of the English; see also 51 note. Otherwise #draȝen# with #þider# would naturally mean, proceed to that place, as in ‘Traez uers cel pais chascon a grant espleit,’ Guischart 1259, but that leaves #don# without meaning. It has the sense of the fuller phrase in l. 42: see NED, #do# I 3. Morris indeed connects don wel which is against the metrical pause as indicated by the point after #don# in E e J: E e moreover read wel oft ⁊ wel ȝelome, and J has hit in l. 48 for naut. For #wel ofte# see 49/329, for wel ilome, 134/97. M reads þider we scolde bere ⁊ draȝe, ofte ⁊ wel ylome, with hit in the next line, as in J. #ofte ⁊ ilome#: OE. #oft and gelōme#; comp. 48/325, 119/78, 127/360; ‘Hi hedden teone and seorewe · ofte and ilome,’ OEM 89/14, 169/22; ON 1545; L 16500.

48. #wrangwise dome#: comp. 44/256. E reads mid wronge ne mid woȝe.

50. #ne reue#: ne se ireue e, the others with T. The ‘reue’ is the sheriff. Comp. ‘Ia nuls hom ki cel (i.e. luer) ad ne se deit esmaer | Kar li nel pot tolir ne prouost ne ueier,’ Guischart 614, 15; ‘Il nen i ad prouost ne nad plaiz ne contez | Sun aueir ni ert pris ne a marche menez,’ id. 375, 6.

51. #hefden#: hedde e; the others have the present. Comp. ‘Tut le mielz ke auum a deu nus deurum traire,’ Guischart 329.

53. #er#, for her, which the other MSS. have.

55. #halden wel#, possess to good purpose, make good use of. M reads wel wile wite.

56. #hies#: his E e; hit J; hi D; he M. #hes#: heo hit E; he his e; he hit J; he hi D; hi M.

58. #doð#: yeueþ J, with T.

62. #Eiðer#, both. Both of them shall hereafter seem both too little and too much; a curious way of saying, He shall think his good deeds too little and his bad deeds too much. The MSS. are in accord. Comp. ‘De tut le plus kat fait est dolens e pensanz | Del bien li semble poi · li mals li semble granz,’ Guischart 30, 31.

63. #weien#: comp. ‘Dunc serrat a chascon tuz ses biens demustrez | Sulum nostre labur dunc serrum mesurez | E les biens e les mals tuz nus serrunt pesez,’ Guischart 442-4.

64. #swinkes lan#: comp. ‘⁊ ta shall ure Laferrd Crist | Att ure lifess ende | Uss ȝifenn ure swinnkess læn | Wiþþ enngless eche blisse,’ Orm 111/3256-9; ‘lure ow is to leosen | ower swinkes lan,’ SK 804; ‘La receura chacon luer de sun labor,’ Guischart 311. #lan#: lyen E; lien e M; lean JTD: see 27/289.

66. #þe (mare)#: þe þe E e M; se ꝥ D. J rewrites, þe riche and þe poure boþe · ah nouht alle ilyche. #muȝen#: mai E; mei e; the others omit as T.

67. #Al se#, just the same: e Eal se, omitting the nominative, like L, but He alse E; þe poure J; Al suo on D; Ase wel þon M. #alse oðer#: se þe oþer E e; alse þe oþer M; swo oþer D; þe riche J.

68. #cheþ#: ware e J D T M; ȝare E, a case of letter substitution.

69. #mid--þonke#: equivalent to ‘of gode wille,’ l. 73: see 10/167 note.

70. #se þe þe#: se þe E e; swo se D; so he M; J omits 69, 70. #manke#: the mancus was ‘not current coin but merely money of account,’ Grueber, Handbook of Coins, introd. p. ix: ‘fif penegas gemacjað ǽnne scylling and þrittig penega ǽnne mancus,’ Ælf. Gram. ed. Zupitza 296/15, 16. The word was in OE. #mancus#, _g._ -es. _m._ its _pl. n._ #mancussas#, _pl. g._ #mancussa#; _s._ mancs, #pl.# mancsas also occur (ES xxxix. 349). The Latin forms were mancusa, mancus, manca, from the last of which may have been derived an OE. *#manc# with _pl. a._ *#mancas# = mancys, Kemble, Codex Dipl. ii. 380, and _pl. g._ *#manca#, the original of manke here. e reads marke. #golde# may mean, in gold; OE. #on golde#, but more probably it is a mistake for goldes as in the other MSS. For #fele# with genitive see 132/9 note.

71. #kon mare þonc#, acknowledges, feels more thankful; like Fr. savoir gré. #þen þe#, to him who: ðan þe E e D; ye þat J; him þat M.

73, 74 T: see 203, 204 T.

74. #ec lete# appears to be a mistake for eðlete, of small account as in the other MSS.; ȝeþlete M: comp. Et lete 38/148, 153. #of þan#, of whom, of him whose; ðenne E e; þer J; þanne D; of him þat M. J rewrites ⁊ lutel he let on muchel wowe · þer þe heorte is ille; wherein ‘wowe’ is explained by Kock (Anglia xxv. 318) as = vowe, votive offering.

76. #houen fur#, probably daylight; possibly lightning or the stars: heuene · ⁊ fur J; dai ⁊ fur E; dei ⁊ fur e; ⁊ alle sterren D; sterre ⁊ fur M. #þestre#: see 123/230. T omits this line and substitutes a new line at 80, not in the other MSS.

79. #þenkeð . . . doþ#: doþ . . . queþeþ M.

80. #swich se#, such as: swilc se E e; comp. ‘þa com þær heofonlic leoht . . . swilc swa hi ær ne gesawon,’ Ælf. Lives, ii. 184/262; 76/29. #swilch# in T, with which the other MSS. agree, = such as; comp. 36/120; ‘Ðonne ic wæs mid Iudeum ic wæs suelc hie,’ Cura Past. 101/5. The fuller expression is seen in, ‘we ne magon . . . nan þing geseon swylc swilc hyt is,’ Blooms, ES xviii. 354/26.

80 T is probably the scribe’s own attempt to remedy the omission of l. 76: #Boðe# appears to refer to ‘crist’ and ‘drihte.’ #þe his bien#, such as be his, his own.

81. #biloken#: comp. 13/37.

82. #wettre . . . londe#: a common formula: comp. 26/271 note; 40/194; ‘Vor hi bynomen him saulen · in water ⁊ in londe,’ OEM 56/682, 162/13; ‘a londe ⁊ a watere,’ L 550, 562, 17990. See KH 245 note.

83. #fuȝeles# &c.: comp. 143/79.

84. #wit ⁊ waldeð#: wit ⁊ walt E. Comp. 139/17.

85. #buten#: abuten, in both places E e; al buten D: a buten ende represents OE. #ā būtan ende#, ever without end; by union of the first two words a false form abuten, without, grew up, as at 52/369, 371, 373, alongside abuten, OE. #abūtan, onbūtan#, around, about. J rewrites, He wes erest of alle þing · and euer byþ buten ende.

86. #wende# &c., go where you will; so ‘Ga quar þou ga,’ CM 14072; ‘for wende woder þou wende[;] þine daȝes beoþ at þe ende,’ L 16110. Expressions of the same form are ‘comen þer heo comen,’ L 20667, 23021; ‘fare wha swa auere fare,’ id. 20849, 23223; 104/176; ‘likien swa me liken,’ L 22511, 30544; ‘wreaðe se þu wreaðe,’ 141/54; 143/84; 145/115.

88. #þe--wille#: the MSS. have the order in T. #uwer#, anywhere: aihwar D (= OE. #ǣhwǣr#, everywhere); ichwer J; oueral M; but E e have eiðer, OE. #ǣgðer#, both; perhaps for eaðe, or eaðere, easily, more easily.

90. #Wi#, alas; not in E e; wy J; wai D. Comp. 36/105; ‘wei þet he eure hit wule iþenche,’ OEH i. 21/28; ‘Awi leof ware þu me, Heu dilecta mihi,’ OEH ii. 183/7: Heu is translated by Aweilewei, id. 183/15. #hwat--rede#, what shall be to us for advisable? a common tag; see KH 825 note.

91. #gulteð#, &c.: comp. 117/18.

92. #et--dome#: comp. ‘at þa{n} muchele dome,’ L 23056; 16/136 note. D has at to heaȝe dome; M, atte heȝe dome.

93-96 are omitted in D. J has them in the order 93, 96, 94, then a new line, Crist for his muchele myhte · hus helpe þenne and rede, 95, 97.

94. #engles#: comp. 17/146; ‘Dunc tremblerunt li angle qui tant sunt beaus e clers | E nus que ferum dunc chaitif maleurez | Ki en peche uiuom,’ Guischart 446-8.

95. #beren biforen us#: e, omitting us, has the right reading. The phrase is Fr. mettre avant, put forward, allege as a plea; comp. ‘Mes tu iés si engresse e fole, | qu’avant vuels metre ta parole,’ Marie de France, Fables, ed. Warnke, 305/15, 16. Gabrielson, Archiv cxxviii. 327, notes the similarity of the expression to ‘Mais eiez charite ke uus metez de uant,’ Guischart 1896, but the metaphor there is that of interposing a shield against the darts of the devil. #hom#: wan E; hwan e J T; wham M: all the readings mean, what.

96. #þo#, a mistake for we, which the other MSS. read. #deme# is object of #iquemen#.

99. The variant #iseien# is peculiar to T: it is evidently due to l. 98.

101. Comp. 119/70, 72.

103. Comp. ‘Quant ileoc tremblerunt martir e confessur | Dites mei que ferunt pariurie e traitur,’ Guischart 319, 20. #þes wichen# in T may be a false division of words, or it may be a deliberate variation, meaning, these witches (#wicca#, #wicce#).

104. #hwi#: the other MSS. have the exclamation like T; a wei D; Awi M. The corruption in L has brought about the insertion of ⁊, which is also in D. ‘Multi enim sunt vocati, pauci vero electi,’ S. Matt. xxii. 14.

105. #wi hwi#: comp. ‘Wei hwi beo we uule on þisse wrecche world,’ OEH i. 33/36; ‘Wi qui þan mak we us sa kene,’ CM 23845. #to hwon#: to hwi D; hwi J.

107. #bi clepie#, accuse. D has biclepien, bitelle ⁊ deme.

108. All MSS. except L have temen or teme. For #he# J has hit, which is probably object of temen, the subject of schal being that of the preceding line.

110. #ȝere#, fully; OE. #geare#: the other MSS. have wel. For him J has, his þonk.

112. #bi seiþ#, declares; with #mest#, has most to say about it. Comp. ‘Seó wearð gebróht and besǽd þám cyninge,’ B-T. suppl. _s.v._ #besecgan#; ‘elch sinne þare him seluen biseið,’ OEH ii. 173/6. he seið e J; the others seiþ only; seit E. With #stille#, silent, comp. 135/105; ‘sedebit solitarius et tacebit, Me schal sitten him one ⁊ beon stille,’ AR 156/18.

114. #hal#: vnhol J. M has Þe man þat saiþ þat he is lame, himself he wot þe smerte.

115. ‘Igitur ex nostro iudicio iudicat nos Deus,’ Alcuin ii. 131.

116. J agrees with L, but E e have oðer with T, and D aider: all meaning, either death or life.

117. #com to monne#, was born; comp. 113/30.

118. The original is preserved in swilc hit si abóc jwriten e, as if it were written in a book; similarly E; J has Al so he hit iseye; D swich hit were on boc iwrite, | isien he sel hit þanne. #iþenchen#, remember: OE. #geþencan#.

119-121. Compare generally, ‘forðan ðe god ne besceawað na, hwilce we ær wæron, ac he besceawað, hwilce we beon, þonne we dælan sceolon sawle ⁊ lichaman. Þæt is to witanne, þæt god ne secð na þæs godan weorces angin, ac he secð þæne ænde, forðan ðe ælc man sceal beon demed be ðam geearnungum, þe he hæfð, þonne he of ðisum life hwyrfan sceal,’ AS. Hom., ed. Assmann, 149/138-43; Orm 111/3248-55. S. Bernard quotes as from Isidore, ‘Non iudicat Deus hominem de praeterita vita, sed de suo fine,’ Opera ii. 840: for further parallels see Alcuin ii. 141; Fecunda Ratis 4/8.

119. #efter#: in accordance with: comp. 119/80.

120. #suilch#, such as; comp. 34/80: swulc se E; swich se e; DM have iteald, iteld, estimated; J rewrites, Ah dom schal þolyen vych mon · after his endinge.

121. #ȝefe# is probably due to ȝeue in the next line; ȝif E e; ȝef M; yef J; ef D. The inversion in T is peculiar to it. e reads for the last half of the line ⁊ gód ȝíf gód ís þenne.

122. #wite--lende#: in T lende is probably _pr. s. subj._ of lenden, OE. #lendan#, to arrive, in the very rare causal use, bring to land (#lǣnde#, _pt._ of #lǣnan#, would, by rule, be lande in this text): the sense then may be, grant that he convey us to heaven, a forced meaning for lende; similarly J with, God yef vs vre ende gód · hwider þat he vs lende. On the other hand the scribe of D, regardless of the rhyme, can have meant only #lǣnde# in writing, wite whet he us lende, meaning, preserve what he has entrusted to us, i.e. our souls; the expression of a familiar idea as at 121/144; 127/339, 368, and similarly lenne in e _r. w._ þenne, must be taken to represent #lǣne#, _pr. s. subj._ of #lǣnan#. The meaning of L, with which E and M agree, is probably the same, but if #lende# means convey, then #wite# must have the rare sense of, see to it, provide, as in, ‘Wite ȝe þet ȝe ȝemen þenne halie sunnendei,’ OEH i. 11/28. It would seem that all the texts derive from a corrupt source; the author may have written ⁊ wite us þen we wende; comp. ‘For-þi er we wende. | Makie we us clene and skere. | Þat we englene ivere. | Mawe beon o buten ende,’ OEM 73/27-30; 21/116-17.

123. #uuel#: mistake for nule, due to the persistence of uuel from 121.

124. J reads, þat deþ cume to his dure. #him# is in L only: comp. 30/6.

125. Comp. ‘Mult avient sovent, | quant li mals le prent, | qu’il ne puet parler, | penitence prendre | ne le suen despendre, | partir ne doner,’ Reimpredigt 32/64. #itit#: bilimpeð D.

126. #for þi#: þi E e, with same meaning; D omits. #biet# is difficult; possibly it is a mistake for beiet, kneels; see 132/3; 143/84. For #bit ⁊ bet#, prays for pardon and amends, comp. 86/120. The variations in the MSS. here look like attempts to mend a faulty source. E, like T, has bit ⁊ beȝit ⁊ bet, prays for pardon, obtains it and amends: e has beot ⁊ beat ⁊ bit, the first verb probably from beoden, the second possibly for beȝat: þat bit ore J; þat ore bit M gives a good sense, but is plainly from the previous line. Finally the reading of D, ꝥ bit ⁊ bete ⁊ bet, suggests that the author wrote, þat beot bote ⁊ bet, that offers satisfaction and reforms; comp. 136/132, and for bet, 38/164.

127 T. #þe deað#: the article is often so prefixed in ME.; see NED. iii. 73 for examples.

128. #latheð#: leted E; leteþ e J M; uorlet D: probably the scribe of L meant to write lateð as in T, he does not elsewhere use th.

129, 130 T. These lines, not in L, were added on the margin of e and then partially erased. They are not, in my opinion, original. J has, Bilef sunne hwil þu myht · and do bi godes lore. | And do to gode hwat þu myht · if þu wilt habben ore. #nah#: for naht; Sin leaves you and not you it, when you cannot commit it any longer. #him# shows confusion of genders, #synn# is _fem._ For him þan þu, e has hi þanne þus, E hire þanne þus (= þu es). With the sentiment comp. ‘Nulla igitur laus est non facere quod facere non possis,’ Lactantius 579; ‘Si enim tunc vis poenitentiam agere, quando peccare non potes; peccata te dimiserunt, non tu illa,’ Alcuin ii. 135; ‘Or l’estuet laissier, | ne puet mais pechier, | n’at mais a durer,’ Reimpredigt 36/71 (l’ = son pechié).

130 T. #abit#, puts off, delays.

129, 130. Comp. ‘Ceo dit escriture: | Tant cum li huem dure | en sa poesté, | se dunc se repent: | a deu veirement | s’est ja acordé,’ Reimpredigt, 38/73. The reference is possibly to Isa. lv. 7. #ꝥ#: E e agree with T; For we hit ileueþ wel J; Swa ileuen we hit muȝen D.

132. #þer#: probably a miswriting of er, previously, hitherto: her T; hier D, in this world. #haueð to#: scal E; sceal e.

134. #Ne--bet#, ought I not rather to pray? In 136 T, #bie ich# means, may I be. For #alesed . . . of bende#, see 52/394. D reads, ne recche ic bote bi ic alesd; and M similarly.

135. #scaweð#, shows, is pointless: with T the other MSS. have icnaweð e; iknoweþ J D; knoweþ M; but icwoweð E, an error of anticipation.

137-140. Comp. generally, ‘El mund n’ad nul home, tant eit de leaute, | S’il aveit par mort le siecle trespasse, | E en enfern un oret este | E sentu la puur e veu le oscurte, | S’il reveneit en vie e en prosperite, | Ke james feit mal, tant serreit effree,’ Archiv lxiii. 81/152-7. In 138 T #hit# is a scribe’s mistake for hete.

137. #twa bare tide#, merely two hours; comp. 221/227. After 138, J has Swiþe grimlych stench þer is · ⁊ wurþ wyþ vten ende | ⁊ hwo þe enes cumeþ þer · vt may he neuer þenne wende, which are not in any other MS., followed by two lines corresponding to 42/221-2, which fit in better here.

139. #þa hit#: þit E T = þe hit; ꝥ e; ꝥ hit D; heo hit J; & wite hit M. The allusion is to such legends as those of Owain and Tundale. For #mid iwissen#, see 32/40.

140. #wa wurð#: so T M; but, uuel is E e; þer wurh D; þer þurh J. #for#, in exchange for.

141. #In# is a scribe’s mistake for Ent: wa wurð, or in E e uuel is, must be supplied from the preceding line. The second #þe# is a superfluous repetition of the last word on the preceding recto. J avoiding #for# reads ⁊ for þe blysse þat ende haueþ[;] endeles is þe pyne.

142. #water drunch#, water-drink; comp. ‘Alls iff þu drunnke waterr-drinnch,’ Orm ii. 149/14482. The other MSS. avoid the compound; water to drinke E; weter í drunke e; wateres drung J; betere were drinke wori weter D; wateres drinch M. #atter#: comp. ‘God for ure secnesse dronc attri drunch o rode,’ AR 364/17.

143. #brede#, roast meat; OE. #brǣde#: comp. ‘he nom his aȝe þeh | . . . þer of he makede brede. | he bredde heo an hiȝinge,’ L 30581, 3, 4.

144. All too dear he buyeth it, who giveth his neck for it.

145. ‘Plenus venter facile de ieiuniis disputat,’ S. Jerome, Epist. 158, 2.

146 is intelligible if of pine is understood after #cnauð#. E has þe naht not · hu hi scullen ilesten; similarly e.

147. #stunde#: hwile E.

148. #Et lete#: see 34/74 note. J reads ⁊ lete for crist beo wif.

149, 150 are wanting in e M. For #oðerluker#, see 125/270.

151. #wawe . . . wene#: the combination is formal: comp. 142/77: but E has wa . . . pine, e, wa . . . wawe; D, wo . . . wope; J, Eure he wolde in bonen beon · ⁊ in godnesse wunye | Wiþ þat he myhte helle fur · euer fleon ⁊ schonye, and similarly M.

152. #Wið ꝥ þe#, provided that, if only; wid þan þe E, wið þan ðe e M, = #wīþ þǣm þe#; Wiþ þat J; wið þet D. T J D M add he, unnecessarily, as it is in the principal clause.

153. J reads, ⁊ lete sker al þes worldes weole, where ‘sker’, utterly, is OWScand. skǽrr, clean.

154. L appears to mean, Because to attain to that great bliss is joy of a certainty. But #cume# in T E e, come in D are subjunctives dependent on for, in order that he may come, the subject not being expressed because of _him_ in the principal clause; see 6/18: #for . . . cumen# in L could have the same meaning, comp. ‘for lesen’ 40/180, 182, but a subject is needed for #is#. #For# with the subjunctive is not common, but see NED. iv. 412, col. 3; in this use it descends from #for þǣm þæt#. J has Wiþ þat he myhte to heouene cumen. In Te #þis# = þe is; D has þet is, E þat is heuenriche. For #mid iwisse#, see 32/40.

155. #ꝥ . . . of#: see 1/3.

157. #eþe#: so E e D; J M omit; sore T is isolated, but J reads ⁊ sore vs of-drede.

158. #he#: in L only: the others agree with T: #al# is in L T only.

159, 160. #þer men#, wherein men. #stelen . . . helen# change places in T M only. #wruȝen . . . ⁊ helen#: the combination is formal; comp. ‘ase þe uikelares wreoð ⁊ helieð,’ AR 88/18; a reminiscence of ‘quoadusque veniat Dominus, qui et illuminabit abscondita tenebrarum et manifestabit consilia cordium’, 1 Cor. iv. 5.

162. #riche#: so J only; heiȝe E; heȝe e D M.

164 T. #to þe#: a mistake which has probably arisen out of an original þo: efning is constructed with wið.

163-166. Not in J. After scal E has þei, e þeh, D þeð, T þeih, nevertheless.

164. #ofþincþ#: see 30/10 note. The subject of #bet# is he, as implied by him preceding.

165. #scameþ . . . gromeð#: comp. ‘Teonen þolien ⁊ gromen ⁊ schomen umbe stunde,’ HM 7/8, and for the corresponding nouns in the next line, ‘Þu vs hauest iwroht þes schome. | And alle þene eche grome,’ OEM 83/334, 5; ‘Me to sorge, scaðe and same,’ GE 302; OEH ii. 173/13, 14, 23.

166. #þo þre#: so D þoðre, but þe oþre E e M. #oft#: e D M agree with T; but E has, þat sculle beon forlorene.

167, 168. Comp. ‘Ia ne porrat nuls dire ke il seit enganez | En tant com li oil clot serrat li plaiz finez,’ Guischart 444, 5.

168. #mene#, with #him# reflexive, complain; comp. ‘þat he ne mahte nanes weis | meanen him of wohe,’ SK 1235, 6. D has bimene; comp. ‘Men hem bimenin of litel trewthe,’ Rel. Ant. ii. 121/11. At 196/663, 205/280 it has the more usual sense, with reflexive, of bemoan. #strengþe . . . wronge#: comp. 19/48-51, 32/48-50, 44/256: the perversion of justice by bribed or overawed judges is a common theme in the literature of the time; see Wright, Political Songs, pp. 224-30. #strengþe#, violence, has usually a determining adjective in this sense, as ‘nawt wið luðer strencðe,’ SK 1234; ‘liste ne luðer strengðe,’ id. 1516, but see 60/18.

170. #uuele holden#, handled, treated, hardly; comp. ‘and heom heold swa harde[;] ⁊ mid hærme heo{m} igrette,’ L 29937, 8. #redde#: a mistake for rerde, as in E; the others have arerde, set up, instituted; comp. 15/80, 85.

171. #ec#: Ac E; End e; ech D; Euerich M. 171, 172 are not in J.

176, 178. #forð mid#: see 1/19.

177. #habbeð doules were#: nabbeð god idon E e: comp. 44/254.

178. #grunde#: comp. 46/295; ‘alesde us of helle grunde,’ OEH i. 19/8; ‘al forloren into helle grunde,’ id. 21/35; see also 119/82. For #faren forð mid#, E e have, falle swiþe raþe.

179. #are#: ore E J D. The text means, ever without mercy and without end, but Lewin confusing ore with orde as in ‘Wiþþutenn ord ⁊ ende,’ Orm 234/6775, translates ‘ohne Anfang und Ende.’ e reads á ⁊ buten ende.

180. #gate#: dure E e J D; M omits. #for lesen#: for lese e; the others have to. The infinitive of purpose with _for_ is uncommon, comp. 173/409.

181. #sullic#, wonder. #wa . . . uneade#, OE. #unēaðe#, are historically adverbs, lit. though to them it be wofully and grievously; bet, wwrs, &c., are used in the same construction; see 46/289: comp. with #uneade#, ‘þer fore hire wes uneðe,’ L 4503; ‘an heorte him wes unneðe,’ id. 26730. J has, he mawe wunye eþe, they may easily remain there.

182. #for lesen#: variants as in l. 180, but E for lesen. Comp. ‘Ki deu ne uolt conustre tut serrat cureicus | Il ne morrat ia meis ne por mei ne por uus,’ Guischart 223, 4.

183. #helle brec#, harrowed hell. ‘The Gospel [of Nicodemus] probably reached the climax of its popularity in England during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries,’ The ME. Harrowing of Hell, ed. Hulme, p. lxviii.

184: Comp. ‘Tant cher nus achatað de sun sanc precius,’ Guischart 220; OEM 49/434, 187/20. #hom#: hi D; the others, us.

185. #mei . . . mei#: comp. 30/29, where L has the usual pair, representing OE. #mǣge#, kinswoman, #mǣg#, kinsman: mouwe . . . mey E; maȝhe . . . mei e; moȝe . . . meie D; moȝe . . . mei M: but J Nolde hit nomon do for me.

188. #bendes#: comp. 81/67.

192 T. #þar þat#, of those who: comp. 1 Cor. vi. 2.

192. #ꝥ#, because. #uuele#: harde J D M, meaning hardship; comp. ON. 459, 527. #habbeð . . . on honde#, have to do with, have to suffer: similar expressions are ‘sorhen heom com on honde,’ L 30428; ‘for al hit trukeð us an hond[;] ꝥ we to temden,’ id. 16799; ‘and eoden him luðere an hond,’ id. 31265: ‘him for ðissere worulde wel on hand eode,’ Ælf. Lives i. 488/13. For the matter, comp. 183/241, 193/551-2.

193. #honde#: comp. 56/50: ande e.

194. #sake#: in L only. It means here, guilt, as in ‘Þa lakess mihhtenn clennsenn hemm | Off sakess ⁊ off senness,’ Orm 36/1126, 7. Other similar combinations are ‘sorge, scaðe and same,’ GE 302; ‘sorge and sare,’ Ælf. Lives i. 266/90; ‘swinc and sorwe and deades strif,’ GE 268. With T comp. 42/204, 136/136; ‘on sorhge leofodon and on geswincum,’ Ælf. de Vet. Test. 3/10; ‘labor et dolor,’ Psalm lxxxix. 10. For #a watere#, &c., see 34/82; on se ⁊ on londe D.

195, 196. Comp. ‘Adam le (i.e. nostre pais) nus tolit e sa fole moiller | E nus ki deaus uenimes lauum conpare chier | En grant cheitiuison mult nus pot en nuier,’ Guischart 695-7. #forme#: formes E e; uormes D.

197. Comp. 48/323; ‘þurst and hunger · chele and hete · þis beoð stronge pyne,’ OEM 37/9; ‘muchel hunger ⁊ hæte[;] at æuer ælche monnes ȝete,’ L 20441, 2. #helde ⁊ unhelðe#: comp. 20/72, 30/14, 48/323, 52/373. But, eche ⁊ al unelþe E; eche · ⁊ eal un helðe e; ache and vnhelþe J; ecðe (= eche) ⁊ al unhelðe D; eche ⁊ unhelþe M, show the original reading: OE. #ece, æce#, ache.

198. #uniselðe#: comp. 52/374; 26/256 note. J has vnyselyhþe.

199. #unsele#: vnhele J; vnvele D.

200. #a hele#: on hele E e D; myd blysse and myd wele J.

203, 204 T are copied by mistake from ll. 73, 74. As in both cases the lines are at the top of a folio, it may be inferred that the scribe of T was copying a MS. exactly page by page, and that l. 202 completed a gathering in his original with an added catchword Litel; that he, after beginning f 5^a with the catchword, laid aside his work, and on resuming it began at the wrong place. On discovering his mistake he started afresh.

201. #lutel--mon#: so T J D, it seems a small matter to many a man; but E e omit hit, read iþenchð, iðencð, and hu for ac, many a man little thinks how great, &c.

202. #hwam#: hwan e; whan M; whon J = #for hwǣm#, #for hwon#, why; vor hwy D = #for hwȳ#; E has for þan. #hore# must mean Adam and Eve; M reads adammes: but e reads þe, D þo, yet they begin the next line with Heore e, Here D, and J with heore in this line has Vre sunne and vre sor · vs may sore of þunche.

203. #ofþinche#: see 30/10.

204. #sorȝe#: see 40/194.

206. #eðe#: sore E J M.

208. #an helle pine# &c.: e M go with L; E with T; in pyne ⁊ on vnwunne J.

209. #ledden#: the other MSS. have the present tense. #mid unriht#: comp. ‘Ne wurþ þer vnryht ne wrong,’ OEM 143/85.

210. #buten--do#, unless God’s mercy intervene. #longe#: comp. 48/327, 169/342.

212. #bi þan ilke iwichte#, by the same measure, i.e. as great as his might; comp. 53/384: ah al by one wyhte J; nis him no þing litlinde, | ac bi emliche wihte D (litlinde, decreasing, see 126/327; emliche, equal). In T 216 mihte is a mistake for milce.

213. ‘Nuls ne pot tant pecher com deus pot parduner,’ Guischart 948.

214. #hit bigunne#, made a beginning, took the first step, i.e. repentance, #hit# being indefinite; comp. ‘Li sires est tut prest certes de nus aider | Se il en fust alkun kil uosist comencer,’ Guischart 703, 4. Less probable is, began to show mercy, Einenkel, Anglia iv., Anz. 92. Morris takes #bigunne# as subjunctive of bigan, to seek for. E reads, it bidde gunne.

218. #wallinde#: the other MSS. add pich, and have bed instead of bað: see 44/245, 120/104.

219. Comp. ‘Ke plus fait sun servise, plus fait ke maleurous,’ Archiv lxiii. 81/171; ‘Ki plus fait sun plaisir a celui fait il pis,’ Guischart 59; ‘Ki kunques mielz le sert cil ad peines plus granz,’ id. 102; ‘Hec est natura Diaboli, qui semper malefacit amicis suis et non aliis; pessime remunerat illos qui ei seruiunt,’ Eudes de Cheriton 232/7. #fulle#, utter, deadly: comp. ‘þat is my fulle i-vo,’ OEM 42/174; ‘nawt ane to hare freond, ah to hare fulle fon,’ HM 31/3; 24/202. For #frond#, E e M have wines; D wine. J omits ll. 219-22. #Wurst# is adverbial.

220. #wih#: wihd E; wið e D; fram M.

221. #hi# = ih, I.

222. #þer--feche#, might there procure for myself: but E e D M have for þer me, þerinne, þarinne, and D wende for mahte.

223. #ꝥ his# is a misreading of an original þeh ic, and #on# is for ou. #wise men#: comp. ‘De ceo ke io dirrai asez en ai garanz | Les mielz de seinte glise e tuz les plus uaillanz,’ Guischart 9, 10.

224. #aboken#: comp. ‘Hit is write in þe bok · þer me hit may rede,’ OEM 41/131.

226. #unfrome#, detriment: unfreme e; unureme M; hearme E; harme J; unwines D.

227. #edi men ⁊ arme#: comp. ‘Arme ⁊ edie ledin,’ Prov. of Alfred, ed. Skeat 7/39; ‘ne ermne ne eadine,’ OEH i. 115/19. For arme M reads strangely areȝe. ‘Entendez ca uers mei les petiz e les granz,’ Guischart 1.

229. #twa uuele#: uuele twa e, and similarly the other MSS. #iferen# in T is certainly the noun, companions, so iueren D and probably #iuere# in L: in the others #ifere#, in company.

230. #maket niþinges#, made worthless men, a reading due to the misunderstanding of the compound, as in T and the other MSS., stingy in giving away food: comp. ‘mete custi,’ L 19266. M has, þat were niþinges here.

231. For #waning#, D has sorinesse; for #wow#, all MSS. wop; comp. ‘þær nan stefne styreð butan stearc-heard | wop and waning, na wiht elles,’ Be Domes Dæge, 14/200; 2/10. #efter eche streche#, at every stride, on every hand; comp. 29/14; ‘bið swa mihtles on his modes streche,’ OEH i. 111/25, for the verb, ‘bot inwyth not a fote, | To strech in the strete þou hatȝ no vygour,’ E. E. Allit. Poems, 29/969. The other MSS. agree with T: #after ache strate#, along each road: for #after# comp. ‘Ðonne licggeað ða giemmas toworpne æfter strætum’ (= dispersi per plateas), Cura Past. 135/4; ‘Al þat verden æfter wæi,’ L 13776. M reads in eueriche strete.

With 232-4 comp. 120/100-2. #from hete to hete# may mean from one degree of heat to another, but the MSS. agree with T. The last half of the line which is peculiar to L does not mean, ‘and nearly freeze the wretches,’ as Morris translates, but, and each (change) for comfort to the wretches. The construction is probably the same as at 86/125; see 176/24 note: if #to frure# is a _dat. inf._, it is the only one in L without final _n_.

233. #blisse#: J has here and l. 235, lisse, rest, respite; a word often associated with blisse, as ‘Blisse ⁊ lisse ic sende uppon monnen’, OEH i. 15/2.

234. #of--misse#, they feel the privation of heat. The verb is also constructed with of, ‘Hwo þat for lyue þisse | þer-of schal mysse,’ OEM 73/34, 5, 87/7, 8; Minot ix. 13 note.

235. #hi#, heat and cold; the MSS. agree with T. The omission of the subject to nabbeð T 239 is grammatically correct, but the metre requires hie. #lisse#: T, so E e J M.

236. D reads Niteð hi hwer hi wonieð mest, they know not where they lament most. For #mid--wisse#, see 32/40.

237. #walkeð#: not ‘rolls’ as at 2/12; the place in the writer’s mind is ‘Cum immundus spiritus exierit de homine, ambulat per loca inaquosa, quaerens requiem; et non inveniens dicit,’ &c., S. Luke xi. 24.

238. See 32/35.

239. #for þi#: so J; for hi D; ⁊ hi M, but E has ac þi; e þi, therefore; comp. ‘Ich rede þi þat man bo ȝare,’ ON 860, 1548: ‘þi bileafden heo heore timbrunge,’ OEH i. 93/23.

240, 241. Suggested by ‘Qui enim haesitat similis est fluctui maris, qui a vento movetur et circumfertur,’ S. James i. 6; ‘Vir duplex animo inconstans est in omnibus viis suis,’ id. i. 8. #walkeð# here seems to mean, rolls, tosses; see 2/12. #weri#: comp. ‘wery so water in wore,’ Bödd., AE. Dicht. 148/32, said however of stagnant water. For #weri# J substitutes þar boþe.

241. #a þanke#: comp. ‘stif he wes on þonke,’ L 2110. For #boð#, D has seden, for senden. For the last three words J substitutes Mid hwom me heold feste; Morris, thinking it corrupt, conjectures, hwom me ne heold feste, or, me heold vnfeste, whom men considered unsteadfast. But the scribe of J has deliberately substituted for the men of infirm purpose those who fare sumptuously. These are they who in this world were those with whom men feasted.

242. #⁊ þa þe#: e reads ⁊ to, which gives the best sense. #heste#, not often in the sense of promise: auht E; aht e. In T 246, naht has dropped out before #ilaste#.

243. #ful enden#: fulendi D; OE. #fullendian#, finish.

244. #witen#, went; OE. #gewītan#: the other MSS. have weren E e D; were J M.

245. e reads, þere is pich ðe æure wealð · þer sculle baðie inne, and so the others, but for þer--inne J has, ꝥ heo schulle habbe þere, and M, þat sculle þe beo inne. See 42/218 and comp. ‘In a bytter baþ | ich schal baþe naked. | Of pych and of brunston | wallynde is i-maked,’ OEM 181/209-12.

246. #here#: vuel E; uuel e. #in werre ⁊ in winne#, in war and in strife: the combination is at least rare. M has, mid werre ⁊ mid ywinne. #unwinne# in T 250, meaning distress, is also a rare word; comp. ‘Sinne me hauiþ in care ibroȝt | broȝt in mochil vnwinne,’ E. E. Poems, 21/5, 6: e has, in feoht end in iginne, where iginne is miswritten for iwinne; E in feoh (= feoht) end in iginne (= iwinne), in fighting and strife; comp. ‘ne bilæfde he næuer nænne[;] þat heold feht and iwin,’ L 9042, 4, 11522. D reads, in wele ⁊ in senne; J vnwreste · and eke false were.

247. E has ll. 249, 250 before 247, 248. In 251 T #þis# = þe is.

248. #uersc#, fresh water; OE. _adj._ #fersc# used exclusively of fresh as opposed to salt water. The other MSS. agree with T: nauene strien ne sture E; nauene striem ne sture e; ne auene strém · ne sture J; Hauene stream ne Sture D. There are two places where rivers called Avon and Stour meet, in Warwickshire near Stratford-on-Avon, and in Hampshire near Christchurch.

249. #nawiht#: nomon J; no þing D.

250. #þa þe--lof#, those to whom it was too pleasing, those who took too much delight in: ll. 250, 251 may be a reminiscence of the Anarchy; see 7/49, 6/44.

252. Those who had the power to do evil, (and) those (without the power) to whom it was sweet to contemplate it. But the other MSS., except T D, and M which omits the line, agree with E, þo þe ne mihte euel don · ⁊ lef was it to þenche. In T 256 #þe# does double duty as _nom._ to mihten, and as _dat._ to lief; comp. 118/28.

254. ⁊ á · on ðes deofles weorc · bliðeliche swunche e; comp. 40/177; ‘qui laetantur cum malefecerint, et exultant in rebus pessimis,’ Prov. ii. 14.

255. ‘Or ne set lum ki creire tant est fel e muanz,’ Guischart 13. Comp. 7/47.

256. #Medierne#, greedy of bribes. Comp. 32/48.

257. #ꝥ#: so þe E e, meaning, he to whom; comp. 161/187: Þe þat J; þo ꝥ D: wes has fallen out after #wif#.

258. #ete#: méte J; comp. ‘Inne mete ⁊ inne drinke ic habbe ibeo ouerdede,’ OEM 193/41. A variant is, ‘on hete and on wete,’ OEH i. 101/24; ‘on æte oððe on wæte,’ Ælf. Lives i. 354/270. #druken# in T 262 is miswritten for drunke (#drynce#) through confusion with druken 257 (#druncen#).

259. Who took from the poor man his property, and added it to his store. See 7/51, and comp. ‘leggeþ ine hord,’ OEM 47/364; ‘Vych mon hit scholde legge on hord,’ ON 1224.

260. #lutel let of#, held in small esteem; comp. 113/45; 143/99; ‘Ac se kyngc let lihtlice of oð ꝥ he com to Englalande,’ AS. Chron. D 211/16; ‘ne lete he nout wel of þet he is Godes ȝerde,’ AR 184/21; ‘þat prophet | þat drightin of sa mikel let,’ CM 9149; ‘þat of his wordus lette pure liht,’ AE Legenden, ed. Horstman, 44/206; ‘he let lutel to þe,’ HM 33/14. For similar expressions see 8/84, 124/264, 129/32, 173/417. #borde#: comp. 48/307: bode E J D; bibode e; hest M.