Chapter XIX: Front Matter (19)

1321 f. _thymage Of Thebith._ Thebith (or Thebit) stands for Thabet son of Corah, a distinguished Arabian mathematician, to whom were attributed certain works on astrology and magic that were current in Latin. Thus we find _Thebit de imaginibus_ very commonly in MSS., and a _Liber Thebit ben Corat de tribus imaginibus magicis_ was printed in 1559 at Frankfort. In this latter book the author says, ‘Exercentur quoque hae imagines in amore vel odio, si fuerit actor earum prouidus et sapiens in motibus coeli ad hoc utilibus.’ Thebith is mentioned several times in the _Spec. Astronomiae_, e. g. p. 662, ‘Super istis imaginibus reperitur unus liber Thebith eben Chorath,’ &c. We must take ‘therupon’ in l. 1321 to mean ‘moreover,’ for it is not to be supposed that the image of Thebith was upon the seal of Ghenbal.

1338. The ‘Naturiens’ are those who pursue the methods of astrology, as opposed to those who practise necromancy (‘nigromance’) or black magic.

1356. _He bede nevere_: see note on v. 4455.

1359. _red_, originally written ‘rede’ in F, but the final letter was afterwards erased. See Introduction, p. cxiv.

1371 f. The rhyme requires that ‘become,’ ‘overcome’ shall either be both present or both preterite (subjunctive), and ‘wonne’ seems to decide the matter for preterite. The only difficulty is ‘have I’ for ‘hadde I’ in l. 1370, the latter being required also by the sense (for the reference is to the former time of youth), but not given by the MSS. ‘So that I wonne’ means ‘Provided that I won.’

1391 ff. This story is from the _Roman de Troie_, 28571-28666, 29629-30092. Guido does not differ as to the main points, but there are several details given by Gower from Benoît which are not found in Guido. In particular the ensign carried by Telegonus is mentioned by Guido only in telling of the dream of Ulysses. Some of the passages which tend to show that Benoît was our author’s authority are noted below.

1408. _al the strengthe of herbes_: a poem _De Viribus Herbarum_ passed in the Middle Ages under the name of Macer.

1422. The mention of ‘nedle and ston’ in this connexion is a rather daring anachronism, for which of course Gower is responsible.

1424. _Cilly._ Benoît says ‘les isles d’Oloi,’ and Guido ‘in Eolidem insulam,’ but Sicily has been mentioned shortly before.

1438 f. Cp. _Rom. de Troie_, 28594 ff. Guido does not mention it.

1441. ‘S’el sot des arz, il en sot plus,’ _Rom. de Troie_, 28641.

1445 ff. Benoît says nothing of this, but the story of the adventures of Ulysses was to some extent matter of common knowledge in the Middle Ages. Gower may have had it from Ovid, _Metam._ xiv. 277 ff. Guido says in a general way that Circe was in the habit of transforming those who resisted her power into beasts.

1457. _into such a rote_, that is, ‘into such a habit’ (or ‘condition’): see note on l. 1312.

1467. _toswolle bothe sides_, ‘with both her sides swollen’: cp. _Rom. de Troie_, 28660 f.,

‘Et si li lesse les costez
Toz pleins, ço quit, de vif enfant.’

1474. _understode_: subj., see note on Prol. 460.

1481. _on of al the beste_, see note on iv. 2606.

1513 f. _margin._ This quotation is not from Horace, but from Ovid, _Pont._ iv. 3. 35. Cp. _Mirour_, 10948, where the same quotation occurs and is attributed as here to ‘Orace.’

1524. The form ‘stature’ is required by the metre here, and is given by the best MSS. of the second and third recensions. In Prol. 891, where ‘statue’ occurs, it is reduced to a monosyllable by elision, and so it is in Chaucer, _Cant. Tales_, A 975, 1955. The forms ‘statura,’ ‘stature,’ are found with this sense in the Latin and French of the time.

1541 ff.

‘Et si me disoit: Hulixes
Saiches, ceste conjuncions,
Cist voloir, ceste asembloisons,
Que de moi et de toi desirres,
Ce sunt dolors et mortex ires.’

_Rom. de Troie_, 29670 ff.

The prediction, however, that one of the two would have his death by reason of their meeting comes later, 29699, whereas Guido combines the materials here much in the same way as Gower.

1552 ff. This idea of a pennon embroidered with a device is Gower’s own conception, constructed from the not very clear or satisfactory account of the matter given by his authority here and later, 29819 ff. The fact is that Benoît did not understand the expression used in the Latin book (the so-called ‘Dictys Cretensis’) which he was here following, the passage being probably corrupt in his copy, and consequently failed to make it intelligible to his readers. The original statement (made with reference to the ensign carried afterwards by Telegonus) is, ‘Ithacam venit gerens manibus quoddam hastile, cui summitas marinae turturis osse armabatur, scilicet insigne insulae eius in qua genitus erat.’ The meaning apparently is that his spearhead was made of a sea-turtle’s shell. Benoît, in recounting the vision, says that the figure which appeared bore upon the steel head of his lance a crown worked of the bone of a sea-fish,

‘Portoit une coronne ovrée
D’os de poisson de mer salée.’ 29687 f.

Then afterwards, in telling of the departure of Telegonus to seek his father, he says that, to show of what country he was, he bore on the top of his lance the sign of a sea-fish worked like a tower,

‘En semblance de tor ovrée.’ 29822.

Guido apparently was not able to make much of this, and after saying, in the account of the dream, that at the top of the lance there appeared ‘quedam turricula tota ex piscibus artificiose composita’ (Bodl. MS. Laud 645, with variants ‘craticula,’ MS. Add. 365, ‘curricula,’ printed editions), he subsequently omitted mention of the recognisance.

1561 f. _A signe it is ... Of an Empire._ Benoît has,

‘Que c’iert d’ampire conoissance
Et si aperte demostrance
Que por ce seroient devis,’ &c. 29695 ff.,

which may perhaps mean, ‘that it was the cognisance of a kingdom and a sign that they should be divided.’ In Guido, however, it is ‘hoc est signum impie disiunccionis’ (MS. Laud 645 and printed text), or ‘hoc est signum impii et disiunccionis’ (MS. Add. 365).

1567 f. Cp. 2296 ff.

1603 ff. For the order of the clauses here cp. ii. 709, iv. 3520 ff.

1622 ff. _That_, for ‘Til that’; cp. iv. 3273, v. 3422.

1636. ‘And he made himself ready forthwith.’ For the omission of the pronoun even where the subject is changed cp. v. 3291, 4590.

1637 ff. Cp. _Rom. de Troie_, 29824 ff. Guido says nothing about it.

1643. That is, ‘to avoid espial and wrong suspicions.’

1656. _Rom. de Troie_, 29801 f.,

‘A Hulyxes, qui fut ses druz,
Mande par lui v. c. saluz.’

Guido says nothing about this.

1660. _Nachaie_, a mistake for ‘Acaie,’

‘Tant qu’il vint droit en Acaie’;

and this again seems to be from ‘Ithaca.’

1685. _and welnyh ded_: cp. _Rom. de Troie_, 29906 f. Guido says only ‘et ab illis est grauiter vulneratus.’

1689. Gower has judiciously reduced the number from fifteen (_Rom. de Troie_, 29902).

1696. _for wroth_, that is, ‘by reason that he was wroth’: see note on iv. 1330. We can hardly take ‘wroth’ as a substantive.

1701. ‘Se il ne fust un poi guenchiz,’ _Rom. de Troie_, 29939.

1707. _With al the signe_, ‘together with the signe,’ like the French ‘ove tout’; cp. _Mirour_ 4 (note).

1745 f. _Rom. de Troie_, 30022 ff. Guido omits this.

1769 ff. For this repetition cp. 2095 ff.

1785. The ‘Cronique imperial’ is evidently the story itself, and not any particular book in which it is to be found.

1789 ff. The authority which is mainly followed by our author for this story is the Anglo-Norman _Roman de toute Chevalerie_, by Eustace (or Thomas) of Kent. The beginning of this, including all that we have to do with here, has been printed by M. Paul Meyer in his book on the Alexander romances, ‘Bibliothèque française du moyen âge’ vol. iv. pp. 195-216. Gower was acquainted, however, also with the Latin _Historia Alexandri de Preliis_, and has made use of this in certain places, as (1) in the account of Philip’s vision (2129-2170) where he probably found the French unintelligible, and (2) in the story of the death of Nectanabus (2289 ff.), of which the Latin authority certainly gives the more satisfactory account.

The following are some of the points in which Gower agrees with the _Roman de toute Chevalerie_ against the two Latin versions of the story, viz. the _Historia de Preliis_ and the _Res Gestae Alexandri_ of Valerius: (1) the celebration by Olympias of the festival of her nativity, when she rides out on a white mule and is first seen by Nectanabus, ll. 1823-1880; (2) the omission of the sealing of the queen’s womb by Nectanabus, this being introduced only in Philip’s vision; (3) the question of the queen as to how she shall procure further interviews with the god, and the answer of Nectanabus, ll. 2109 ff.; (4) the circumstances connected with the egg from which the serpent was hatched, ll. 2219 ff. The English metrical Romance of Alexander, printed by Weber, is also taken from the _Roman de toute Chevalerie_, and consequently the details of it are for the most part the same as those in Gower. It is certain, however, that Gower does not follow this. It would be quite contrary to his practice to follow an English authority, and apart from this there are many small matters here in which he agrees with the French as against the English, e. g. the name Nectanabus, which is Neptanabus in the English (Anectanabus in the _Hist. de Preliis_), the mention of the _nativity_ of Olympias as the occasion of her festival, ‘Grant feste tint la dame de sa nativité,’ the use of the word ‘artemage,’ l. 1957, the incident of the dragon being changed into an eagle, l. 2200; and such points of correspondence as may seem to suggest a connexion between the two English writers, as in ll. 1844 f., 2231 f., are also to be found in the French. The English alliterative Romance of Alexander follows the _Hist. de Preliis_, and consequently it agrees with Gower in the two passages which have been referred to above.

1798. The sentence is broken off and finished in a different manner. See note on i. 98, and cp. vii. 3632.

1811. _Thre yomen_, &c. This is an addition by Gower. According to the original story Nectanabus was alone, and this would evidently be the better for his purpose.

1828. _list._ This may be present tense, ‘it pleases.’ Loss of the final _e_ in the preterite would hardly occur except before a vowel: see Introduction, p. cxv. The French original lays stress here on the extravagant desire that women have to display themselves.

1831. _At after_, i. e. ‘After,’ used especially of meals, cp. l. 1181, and Chaucer, _Cant. Tales_, B 1445, F 918 ‘at after diner,’ E 1921 ‘At after mete,’ F 302, 1219 ‘At after soper,’ for which references, as for many others elsewhere, I am indebted to Prof. Skeat’s very useful Glossary.

1844 f. The French has

‘E tymbres e tabours ont e leur corns corné,’ 130,

and later

‘Plus de mil damoisels ount le jur karolé, 140.

The English version of the second line,

‘There was maidenes carolying,’

comes very near to Gower.

1924. _Bot if I sihe_, ‘unless I should see,’ pret. subj.

1943 ff. This promise is not in the French.

1959 ff. The astrological terms in these lines are due to Gower. The original says that Nectanabus laid the image in a bed with candles lighted round it, bathed it in the juice of certain herbs, and said his charms over it.

1997. _such thing ... Wherof_: cp. ll. 502, 2398.

2005 f.

‘Nectanabus idunc ses karectes fina.’

2062. _putte him._ We should rather read ‘put him’ with S and F: see Introduction, p. cxvi. The French romance here grotesquely represents Nectanabus as making up a disguise for himself with a ram’s head and a dragon’s tail, which he joins together with wax, ‘e puis dedens se mist.’ The Latin _Hist. de Preliis_ says simply that he changed himself into a dragon.

2074 ff. The French has,

‘Une pel de moton ouvec les cornes prist,
Une coroune d’or sur les cornes assist.’

The punctuation after ‘tok’ is that of F, but I suspect that ‘in signe of his noblesse’ belongs really in sense to 2076 f., and refers rather to the crown than to the horns, in which case we ought to set a full stop after ‘bar.’

2113. _seth hire grone_, that is, in child-bed.

2128 ff. The French romance, following Valerius in the main, gives a rather confused account of Philip’s dream. Gower has turned from it to the _Historia de Preliis_.

2160. _Amphion._ The name apparently is got from ‘Antifon,’ which occurs below in connexion with the incident of the pheasant’s egg.

2182. _rampende._ The French has ‘mult fierement rampant.’

2199 ff. The transformation into an eagle is found in Valerius and the French romance, and not in the _Hist. de Preliis_. It may be noted, however, that the picturesque description which we have here of the eagle pruning himself and then shaking his feathers, so that the hall was moved as by an earthquake, is Gower’s own.

2219 ff. The Latin accounts say that a bird, according to Valerius a hen, came and laid an egg in Philip’s lap as he sat in his hall. The _Rom. de toute Chevalerie_ makes the incident take place out in the fields, and the bird, as here, is a pheasant. The expression used, ‘Un oef laissat chaïr sur les curs Phelippun,’ seems to mean that the egg was laid in Philip’s lap. There is nothing about the heat of the sun in the Latin versions.

2250 ff. These lines refer to the precautions taken by Nectanabus to secure that the child shall be born precisely at the right astrological moment: cp. _Rom. de toute Chevalerie_, 401-425. Gower has chosen to omit the details.

2274. _Calistre_, i. e. Callisthenes, who was reputed to be the author of the history of Alexander which Valerius translated.

2299 ff. The question of Alexander and the answer of Nectanabus is given as here in the _Hist. de Preliis_. In Valerius and the French romance Alexander throws Nectanabus down merely in order to surprise him, and the suggestion that Nectanabus knew that he should die by the hands of his son is not made till afterwards.

2368. _Zorastes._ The statement here about the laughter of Zoroaster at his birth is ultimately derived from Pliny, _Hist. Nat._ vii. 15. It is repeated by Augustine, with the addition ‘nec ei boni aliquid monstrosus risus ille portendit. Nam magicarum artium fuisse perhibetur inventor; quae quidem illi nec ad praesentis vitae vanam felicitatem contra suos inimicos prodesse potuerunt; a Nino quippe rege Assyriorum, cum esset ipse Bactrianorum, bello superatus est’ (_De Civ. Dei_, xxi. 14).

2381. ‘Like wool which is ill spun’: cp. i. 10.

2387. _Phitonesse_, cp. iv. 1937.

2411. _betawht To Aristotle_, ‘delivered over to Aristotle’: ‘betawht’ is the past partic. of ‘beteche,’ which occurs afterwards, vii. 4234, and in Chaucer, _Cant. Tales_, B 2114, ‘Now such a rym the devel I beteche.’

2418. _Yit for a time_: to be taken as one phrase; cp. ‘for a while yit,’ &c., ll. 311, 738, 893.

LIB. VII.

The account given in the earlier part of this book of the parts of Philosophy, that is, of the objects of human knowledge, represents in its essentials the Aristotelian system. The division into ‘Theorique,’ ‘Rethorique,’ and ‘Practique’ is in effect the same as Aristotle’s classification of knowledge as Theoretical, Poetical, and Practical, and the further division of ‘Theorique’ into Theology, Physics, and Mathematics, and of ‘Practique’ into Ethics, Economics, and Politics, is that which is made by Aristotle. The statement of Pauli and others that this part of Gower’s work is ‘very likely borrowed’ from the _Secretum Secretorum_ is absolutely unfounded. This treatise is not in any sense an exposition of the Aristotelian philosophy, indeed it is largely made up of rules for diet and regimen with medical prescriptions. Gower is indebted to it only in a slight degree, and principally in two places, vii. 2014-2057, the discussion of Liberality in a king, and 3207*-3360*, the tale of the Jew and the Pagan.

The most important authority, however, for the earlier part of the seventh book has hitherto been overlooked. It is the _Trésor_ of Brunetto Latini. This book is very largely based upon Aristotle, with whose works Latini was exceptionally well acquainted, and it is from this that Gower takes his classification of the sciences, though in regard to the place of Rhetoric he does not quite agree with Latini, who brings it in under the head of ‘Politique,’ making Logic the third main branch of philosophy. Gower takes from the _Trésor_ also many of his physical and geographical statements and his reference to the debate on the conspiracy of Catiline. On the other hand his astronomy is for the most part independent of the _Trésor_, and so also is his method of dealing with the principles of Government, under the five points of Policy. Brunetto Latini does not treat of politics generally so much as of the practical rules to be observed by the Podestà of an Italian republic. It may be observed that Gower has drawn on the _Trésor_ also in the sketch of general history given in the Prologue (ll. 727-820). I refer to pages of the edition of Chabaille, 1863.

26 ff. ‘As to which Aristotle ... declares the “intelligences” under three heads especially.’ The meaning of ‘intelligences’ here and in l. 176, and of ‘intelligencias’ in the margin, l. 149, seems to be nearly the same as ‘sciences,’ that is to say, divisions or provinces of knowledge.

155. _Algorisme._ This stands properly for the decimal system of numeration, but the use of the word in the plural, l. 158, shows that Gower did not use it in this sense only. The association of the word ‘Algorismes’ below with the letters _a_, _b_, _c_ (‘Abece’) seems to suggest some kind of algebraical expression, but this is perhaps due to a misunderstanding by Gower of the word ‘abaque’ (or ‘abake’) in the _Trésor_, p. 6: ‘Et de ce sont li enseignement de l’abaque et de l’augorisme.’

183 ff. ‘Ce est la science par laquele li vii sage s’esforcierent par soutillece de geometrie de trover la grandeur dou ciel et de la terre, et la hautesce entre l’un et l’autre.’ _Trésor_, pp. 6, 7.

207 ff. Cp. _Trésor_, p. 15, ‘Cele matiere de quoi ces choses furent formées les desvance de naissance, non mie de tens, autressi comme li sons est devant le chant, ... et neporquant andui sont ensemble.’ Cp. pp. 104, 105.

216. _Ylem_, this is ‘hyle’ (Gr. ὕλη), the Aristotelian term for matter. For what follows cp. _Trésor_, p. 105.

245. This comparison of the movement of water within the earth to the circulation of blood in the veins, is taken from the _Trésor_, p. 115: ‘autressi comme li sangs de l’ome qui s’espant par ses vaines, si que il encherche tout le cors amont et aval.’

256 ff. Cp. _Trésor_, p. 117.

265 ff. This which follows about the Air seems to be partly independent of the _Trésor_, and the word ‘periferie’ is not there used. Aristotle divides the atmosphere into two regions only, that of ἀτμίς or moist vapour, corresponding to the first and second periferies here, and that of exhalation (ἀναθυμίασις) or fiery vapour, corresponding to the third, _Meteor._ i. 3.

283 f. ‘According to the condition under which they take their form.’ I suppose the word ‘intersticion’ to be taken from ‘interstitium,’ as used with a technical sense in astrology. Albumasar, for example, says, ‘Quicquid in hoc mundo nascitur et occidit ex quatuor elementis est compositum, tribus interstitiis educatum, scilicet principio, medio et fine, quae tria in illa quatuor ducta duodecim producunt.’ This is the cause, he says, why there are twelve signs of the zodiac, ‘Praesunt siquidem haec signa quatuor elementis eorumque tribus interstitiis.’ He then explains that the first ‘interstitium’ of each element is that condition of it which is favourable to production, growth and vigour, the second that which is stationary, and the third that which tends to decay and corruption, so that the word is almost equivalent to condition or quality. (Vincent of Beauvais, _Spec. Nat._ xv. 36.)

302. Cp. _Trésor_, p. 119, ‘mais li fors deboutemenz dou vent la destraint et chace si roidement que ele fent et passe les nues et fait toner et espartir.’

307 ff. Cp. _Trésor_, p. 120.

323 ff. _Trésor_, p. 120, ‘dont aucunes gens cuident que ce soit li dragons ou que ce soit une estele qui chiet.’ What follows about ‘exhalations’ is not from the _Trésor_.

334. _Assub._ This word is used in Latin translations of Aristotle as an equivalent of ‘stella cadens.’

339. _exalacion._ This stands for fiery vapour only, originally a translation of Aristotle’s ἀναθυμίασις.

351 ff. The names ‘Eges’ and ‘Daaly’ (l. 361), must be taken originally from Aristotle’s expression δαλοὶ καὶ αἶγες, which he says are names given by some people to various forms of fire in the sky, _Meteor._ i. 4. Our author simply repeated the terms after his authorities and without understanding them. In fact, ‘Eges’ stands for the same as the ‘Capra saliens’ of the preceding lines.

389. The idea of the four complexions of man, corresponding to the four elements, is not due to Aristotle, but we find it in the _Trésor_. The application to matters of love in ll. 393-440 is presumably Gower’s own.

405 f. Aristotle says on the contrary, οἱ μελαγχολικοὶ οἱ πλεῖστοι λάγνοι εἰσίν, _Probl._ 30.

437. _To thenke._ For this use of ‘may’ with the gerund cp. ii. 510, ‘I myhte noght To soffre.’

510. ‘While the flesh has power to act,’ that is during the life of the body.

521 ff. For the geography which follows cp. _Trésor_, pp. 151-153.

534. _the hevene cope_: cp. l. 1579, ‘under the coupe of hevene,’ where the spelling suggests the Latin ‘cupa,’ rather than ‘capa,’ as the origin of the word in this common phrase. The quality of the ‘o’ in Europe is perhaps doubtful.

536. _Begripeth_: used here as plural, cp. l. 1107: ‘calleth’ in l. 561 with ‘men’ (indef.) as the subject is not a case of the same kind.

545. _who that rede_: subj., cp. Prol. 460.

559. That is, presumably, double as much as either of the other two: cp. _Trésor_, p. 152, ‘car Asie tient bien l’une moitié de toute la terre.’

566. _Canahim_: a mistake for ‘Tanaim’ (or ‘Tanain’), see _Trésor_, p. 152, where the extent of Asia is said to be from the mouths of the Nile and the ‘Tanain’ (i. e. the Don) as far as the Ocean and the terrestrial Paradise.

593 ff. Cp. _Trésor_, p. 115.

597. Latini says that this is the explanation given by some people of the tides, but he adds that the astronomers do not agree with them (_Trésor_, p. 172).

611. Aristotle does in fact make of αἰθήρ a fifth element, of which the heaven and the heavenly bodies consist, but Gower takes this account of it and the name Orbis from the _Trésor_, p. 110, where also we find the comparison to the shell of an egg.

652 ff. ‘Sapiens dominabitur astris,’ an opinion which is developed in the _Vox Clamantis_, ii. 217 ff.

694. _Bot thorizonte_, ‘beyond the horizon’: so perhaps in the first text of v. 3306, ‘But of his lond’ stood for ‘Out of his lond.’ However, this use of ‘but’ is not clearly established in Southern ME. and perhaps the reading of the second recension, ‘Be thorizonte,’ may be right. As regards sense, one is much the same as the other: neither is very intelligible, unless ‘thorizonte’ means the ecliptic.

699. _thei_, that is the planets, not the signs.

725 ff. Cp. _Trésor_, p. 141.

831. _is that on_, i. e. ‘is one,’ or ‘is the first.’

853. The sun’s horses are named by Fulgentius, _Mythol._ ii, in the same order as we have here, ‘Erythreus, Actæon, Lampos, Philogeus.’ They are said there to represent four divisions of the day, Erythreus, for example, having his name from the red light of morning, and Philogeus from the inclination of the sun towards the earth at evening. Ovid gives a different set of names.

944. ‘In whatever degree he shall exercise his powers.’

978. _as it appendeth_, ‘as it is fitting,’ lit. ‘as it belongs’: cp. ‘appent,’ _Mir._ 1535.

979. _natheles._ This word is frequently used by Gower with no sense of opposition, meaning ‘moreover’ or something similar: cp. i. 21, vii. 3877, &c.

983. It may be observed that (in spite of this reference and that in l. 1043) our author’s statements about the number and arrangement of stars in the constellations of the zodiac do not at all correspond with those in the Almagest.

983 (margin). _produxit ad esse_, ‘brought forth into existence’: the infinitive is often used as a substantive in Gower’s Latin: e. g. Prol. _Lat. Verses_, iv. 4, v. 6.

989. _hot and drye._ According to the astrologers, Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius preside over the element of fire, and are hot and dry by nature; Taurus, Virgo, Capricornus over that of earth, being dry and cold; Gemini, Libra, Aquarius preside over air, and are hot and moist; while Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces are moist and cold, having dominion over water (Albumasar, cited by Vincent of Beauvais, _Spec. Nat._ xv. 36).

991 f. Aries and Scorpio are the ‘houses’ or ‘mansions’ of Mars, Taurus and Libra of Venus, Gemini and Virgo of Mercury, Cancer of the Moon, Leo of the Sun, Sagittarius and Pisces of Jupiter, Capricornus and Aquarius of Saturn.

1021. _somdiel descordant_: the hot and moist Libra is more in accordance with her nature: see 1111 ff.

1036 f. This statement and the others like it below, 1073, 1089, 1127, 1147, 1198, 1222, may be taken to indicate that the division of the signs was very uncertain in our author’s mind. It may be observed that the usual representation of Taurus in star-maps is with his head, not his tail, towards Gemini.

1085. _the risinge_: that is to say, Virgo is the ‘exaltation’ of Mercury, as well as one of his houses.

1100. For the sense of ‘applied’ cp. v. 913.

1115 f. Libra is the exaltation of Saturn.

1135. That is to say, Scorpio is the ‘fall’ of Venus, being the sign opposite to one of her houses, namely Taurus.

1155 f. Sagittarius is a house of Jupiter, and it is opposite to Gemini, which is one of the houses of Mercury.

1162. _The Plowed Oxe_, i. e. the ox that has ploughed the land.

1166. Then the swine are killed and the larder, or bacon-tub, comes into use.

1175. Capricorn is the ‘fall’ of the Moon, being opposite to her house, Cancer, as the next sign Aquarius is that of the Sun, see l. 1190.

1216. ‘Piscis’ is the reading of the MSS. here in text and margin, but ‘Pisces’ in l. 1253.

1229 ff. That is, Pisces is a house of Jupiter and the exaltation of Venus.

1239 ff. The reference is apparently to the _Introductorium_ of Albumasar, but the printed editions of this give an abbreviated text which does not help us here. A fuller translation of the original may be found in manuscript, e. g. MS. Digby 194, where something more or less corresponding to this may be found on f. 55, but the Arabic names of places make it difficult to follow.

1281 ff. This account of the fifteen stars with their herbs and stones is taken by Gower from a treatise called ‘Liber Hermetis de xv stellis et de xv lapidibus et de xv herbis, xv figuris,’ &c., which may be found in several manuscripts, e. g. MSS. Ashmole 341 (f. 123) and 1471 (f. 120 v^o): cp. l. 1437, where Hermes is mentioned as the authority. Some information as to the names of the stars here mentioned may be found in Ideler’s _Untersuchungen über den Ursprung und die Bedeutung der Sternnamen_, 1809.

1292 ff. ‘Et scias quod stelle fixe habent fortunia et infortunia quemadmodum et planete’ (_Lib. Herm._).

1317. ‘anabulla seu titimallum.’

1329. _Algol_, or Caput Algol, the Arabic ‘Ras el-ghûl’ (devil’s head), in Perseus.

1338. _Alhaiot_, probably for ‘Alhaioc,’ that is Capella, from the Arabic ‘El-‛aijûk.’

1343. ‘prassium seu marrubium.’

1345. _Canis maior_, ‘Alhabor,’ i. e. Sirius.

1356. _Canis minor_, ‘Algomeiza,’ i. e. Procyon.

1362. _Primerole_: in the _Liber Hermetis_ we have here ‘solsecium, quam elitropiam vocant.’

1364. _Arial_, apparently ‘Cor Leonis,’ i. e. Regulus.

1367. _Gorgonza_: ‘gregonza’ in MS. Ash. 341.

1375. ‘lappacium maius.’

1378. _gret riote_: ‘color huius niger est, faciens hominem iratum, animosum et audacem et mala cogitantem et maledicentem ... et faciens fugere demones et congregare.’

1379 ff. ‘Nona stella dicitur Atimet Alaazel, ... et est ex natura Veneris et Mercurii, et dicitur stella pulchritudinis et racionis,’ &c. The name ‘Atimet Alaazel’ is from the Arabic ‘El-simâk el-a‛zal,’ that is the star which we call Spica.

1385. _Salge_, Lat. ‘saluia.’

1387. ‘Decima vero stella Atimet Alrameth, et dicitur saltator, et est ex natura Martis et Iouis.’ This is the Arabic ‘El-simâk el-râmih,’ which we call Arcturus.

1393. _Venenas_: ‘Vndecima stella dicitur Benenais et est postrema de ii stellis que sunt in cauda urse maioris.’ In Arabic ‘Banat Na‛sh.’

1401. _Alpheta_, ‘Elfetah,’ from the Arabic ‘El-fak‛ah’ (the beggar’s dish), meaning the constellation which we call the Northern Crown. Here the name stands for the principal star of that constellation, Gemma.

1419. _Botercadent._ The Latin says ‘Vultur cadens,’ that is perhaps Vega; but ‘Botercadent’ would probably be a different star, namely that called in Arabic ‘Batn-Kaitos’ or Whale’s belly.

1426. _Tail of Scorpio_: in the Latin ‘Cauda Capricorni.’

1449 ff. These names of the chief authors of the science of astronomy seem to be partly taken from the treatise called _Speculum Astronomiae_ or _De libris licitis et illicitis_, cap. ii. (_Alberti Magni Opera_, v. 657): cp. note on vi. 1311 ff. The passage is as follows, under the heading ‘De libris astronomicis antiquorum’: ‘Ex libris ergo qui post libros geometricos et arithmeticos inueniuntur apud nos scripti super his, primus tempore compositionis est liber quem edidit Nembroth gigas ad Iohathonem discipulum suum, qui sic incipit: _Sphaera caeli_ &c., in quo est parum proficui et falsitates nonnullae, sed nihil est ibi contra fidem quod sciam. Sed quod de hac scientia vtilius inuenitur, est liber Ptolemaei Pheludensis, qui dicitur Graece Megasti, Arabice Almagesti, ... quod tamen in eo diligentiae causa dictum est prolixe, commode restringitur ab Azarchele Hispano, qui dictus est Albategni in libro suo.... Voluitque Alpetragius corrigere principia et suppositiones Ptolemaei,’ &c.

It would seem that, either owing to corruption of his text or to misunderstanding, our author separated the name ‘Megasti’ from its connexion with Ptolemy and the Almagest, and made of it a book called ‘Megaster,’ which he attributes to Nembrot.

1461. Alfraganus was author of a book called in Latin _Rudimenta Astronomica_.

1576 f. _out of herre ... entriketh_, that is, ‘involves (this world) in perplexity, so that it is disordered.’

1579. _coupe of hevene_, see note on l. 534.

1595 ff. The discussion in the Roman Senate on the fate of the accomplices of Catiline is here taken as a model of rhetorical treatment. The idea is a happy one, but it is borrowed from the _Trésor_, where Latini, after laying down the rules of rhetoric, illustrates them (pp. 505-517) by a report and analysis of the speeches in this debate, as they are given by Sallust. The ‘Cillenus’ mentioned below is D. Junius Silanus, who as consul-designate gave his opinion first. It is tolerably evident in this passage, as it is obvious in iv. 2647 ff., that Gower did not identify Tullius with Cicero, though Latini actually says, ‘Marcus Tullius Cicero, cils meismes qui enseigne l’art de rectorique, estoit adonques consule de Rome.’

1615 ff. Cp. _Trésor_, p. 509, ‘mais Jules Cesar, qui autre chose pensoit, se torna as covertures et as moz dorez, porce que sa matiere estoit contraire,’ &c.

1623. _after the lawe._ It may be observed as a matter of fact that the law was on the side of Caesar, and that this was his chief argument against the death penalty.

1706. _Fyf pointz._ The _Secretum Secretorum_ recommends to rulers the virtues of Liberality, Wisdom, Chastity, Mercy, Truth, and afterwards of Justice, but there is no very systematic arrangement there, nor in general does the treatment of the subject, except partly as regards Liberality, resemble Gower’s. It has been already observed that the treatment of Politics in the _Trésor_ is altogether different from that which we have here.

1783 ff. This story comes originally from 3 Esdras, ch. iii, iv. The names, however, of Arpaghes and Manachaz are not found in the text of that book, and the story of Alcestis, which Zorobabel tells, is of course a later addition, made no doubt by our author.

1809. ‘Having his mind so disposed.’

1856. _behelde_, an archaic form, used here for the rhyme.

1884 ff. 3 Esdr. iv. 29, ‘Videbam tamen Apemen filiam Bezacis, mirifici concubinam regis, sedentem iuxta regem ad dexteram,’ &c.

1961 f. ‘He that is true shall never rue,’ or some such jingle. Cp. Shaksp. _K. John_, v. 7,

‘Nought shall make us rue,
If England to herself do rest but true.’

2000. _laste_, pret. ‘lasted’: cp. Prol. 672, iv. 2315.

2017 ff. This seems to be suggested by a passage in the _Secretum Secretorum_. ‘Reges sunt quattuor. Rex largus subditis et largus sibi, Rex auarus subditis et auarus sibi, Rex auarus sibi et largus subditis, Rex largus sibi et auarus subditis.’ This last is pronounced to be the worst, as the first is the best.

2031 ff. This refers to a passage in the _Secretum Secretorum_ (ed. 1520, f. 8), which runs thus in the printed edition: ‘Que fuit causa destructionis regni calculorum: vnde quia superfluitas expensarum superat redditus ciuitatum, et sic deficientibus redditibus et expensis reges extenderunt manus suas ad res et redditus aliorum. Subditi ergo propter iniuriam clamauerunt ad deum excelsum gloriosum, qui immittens ventum calidum afflixit eos vehementer, et insurrexit populus contra eos et nomina eorum penitus de terra deleuerunt.’

This is obviously corrupt, and it is evident that ‘calculorum’ stands for a proper name, which Gower read ‘Caldeorum,’ as it is in MS. Laud 708. Other Bodleian MSS. to which I have referred give ‘Saldeorum’ (Bodley 181), ‘cangulorum’ (Add. C. 12), ‘singulorum ’ (Laud 645), ‘Anglorum’ (Digby 170). ‘Nonne’ is the reading of the MSS. for ‘vnde,’ and it seems that ‘Que fuit’ &c. is also a question.

2039. So in the _Secretum Secretorum_ (shortly before the passage quoted above), ‘Debes igitur dona dare iuxta posse tuum cum mensura, hominibus indigentibus atque dignis.’

2050. _of ken_, here apparently ‘of quality.’

2061 ff. The basis of this story is to be found in Seneca, _De Beneficiis_, v. 24, ‘Causam dicebat apud divum Iulium ex veteranis quidam,’ &c., but there is no question there of an advocate; the veteran simply gains his case by recalling his personal services. The story appears in a form more like that of Gower in the _Gesta Romanorum_, 87 (ed. Oesterley), but the name Julius is not there mentioned, only ‘Quidam imperator.’ It may be observed also in general, that though many stories are common to the _Gesta Romanorum_ and the _Confessio Amantis_, there is no instance in which Gower can be proved to have used the _Gesta Romanorum_ as his authority. Indeed the tales are there so meagrely and badly told for the most part, that there would be little temptation to turn to it if any other book were available.

Such references as ‘dicitur in gestis Romanorum’ are not to this book but to Roman History.

Hoccleve tells this story much as we have it here, in his _Regement of Princes_, 3270 ff., e. g.

‘Han ye forgote how scharp it with yow ferde,
Whan ye were in the werres of Asie?
Maffeith, your lif stood there in jupartie;
And advocat ne sente I non to yow,
But myself put in prees and for yow faght,’ &c.

2115 ff. This anecdote is perhaps taken from the _Trésor_, where it occurs more appropriately as an example of hypocritical excuses for not giving, ‘Li Maistres dit: Après te garde de malicieus engin de escondire, si comme fist le rois Antigonus, qui dist à un menestrier qui li demandoit un besant, que il demandoit plus que à lui n’aferoit; et quant il li demanda un denier, il dist que rois ne devoit pas si povrement doner. Ci ot malicieus escondit; car il li pooit bien doner un besant, porce que il estoit rois, ou un denier, porce que il estoit menestrel. Mais Alixandres le fist mieulx; car quant il dona une cité à un home, cil li dist que il estoit de trop has afaire à avoir cité; Alixandres li respondit: Je ne pren pas garde quel chose tu dois avoir, mais quel chose je doi doner’ (p. 412). This may serve as a rather favourable example of Latini’s style.

2132. _is in manere_: cp. l. 4344. It seems to mean that the virtue of giving depends on the measure with which it is done: cp. _Praise of Peace_, 53.

2139. _To helpe with_: cp. i. 452, 2172, ii. 283, &c.

2194. _holden up his oil_: cp. l. 2584, ‘To bere up oil.’ The only other instance which I can quote of this expression is from Trevisa’s translation of the _Polychronicon_ (Rolls’ Series, vol. iii. p. 447, a reference which I owe to Dr. Murray), ‘There Alisaundre gan to boste ... and a greet deel of hem that were at the feste hilde up the kynges oyl.’ (In the Latin, magna convivantium parte assentiente.’) In all these cases it is used of flatterers, and ‘oil’ seems to stand in this phrase for ‘pride’ or ‘vainglory.’ I am disposed to think it is simply the French ‘oil,’ meaning ‘eye,’ and getting its present sense from such Biblical expressions as ‘oculi sublimium deprimentur,’ ‘oculos superborum humiliabis,’ ‘oculos sublimes, linguam mendacem’; but I can quote no examples of this meaning in French.

2217 ff. This story is based originally on an anecdote told by Valerius Maximus: ‘Idem Syracusis, cum holera ei lavanti Aristippus dixisset, Si Dionysium adulari velles, ista non esses, Immo, inquit, si tu ista esse velles, non adularere Dionysium’ (_Mem._ iv. 3). It has been repeated often in a short form.

2268. _the worldes crok_, that is, the crooked way of the world. See the quotations in the _New Engl. Dictionary_ under ‘crook,’ 12.

2279. _joutes_: see Godefroy’s Dictionary, where an instance is quoted of the use of this word in a French version of this very story.

2302. F punctuates after ‘pyke,’ and no doubt rightly so. The word ‘trewely’ corresponds to the Latin ‘certe’ in the margin above.

2355 ff. The Roman Triumph as here related was a commonplace of preachers and moralists, cp. Bromyard, _Summa Praedicantium_, T. v. 36, ‘Triumphus enim secundum Isidorum dicitur a tribus: quia triumphator Romanus cum victoria versus civitatem veniens tres honores habere debuit,’ &c. So l. 2366, ‘Of treble honour he was certein.’ It is also in the _Gesta Romanorum_, 30 (ed. Oesterley), but from neither of these could Gower have got his ‘Notheos’ (for Γνῶθι σεαυτόν).

2416 ff. This custom is spoken of in Hoccleve’s _Regement of Princes_ with a marginal reference to the _Vita Iohannis Eleemosynarii_, where it is in fact mentioned (Migne, _Patrol._, vol. 73, p. 354).

2527 ff. From 1 Kings xxii. It will be seen that the story is told rather freely as regards order of events, as if from memory.

2531 (margin). _organizate_, used in a musical sense.

2553. _Godelie_: the person meant is Athaliah.

2584. _bere up oil_: see note on l. 2194.

2660. _astraied._ See _New Engl. Dict._, under ‘astray,’ _verb_ and _adv._

2698 (margin). No manuscript here gives the reading ‘regiminis,’ so far as I know; but it is required by the sense, and the reading ‘regis’ might easily arise from the abbreviation of ‘regiminis,’ as we find it in some MSS. at l. 3106 (margin). Note that S is defective here, and J, Ad, K omit the Latin margin. Δ attempts an emendation.

2726 f. _lete Of wrong to don_, i. e. ‘abstain from doing wrong.’

2765 ff. From Godfrey of Viterbo (in _Monum. Germ. Hist._ xxii. p. 169), ‘Quando voluit rectores dare provinciis ... nomina eorum examinabat in populo, dicens: Si quis habet crimen contra eos, dicat et probet,’ &c. This passage is not contained in the earlier redactions of the _Pantheon_, and consequently we may conclude that Gower’s copy was one which contained the later additions: cp. notes on 4181 ff. and viii. 271 ff.

2771. _his name_, that is, his reputation: cp. 2774.

2780. _stod ... upon_, ‘rested upon,’ ‘was guided by.’

2783 ff. The saying by which this story is characterized, ‘malle locupletibus imperare quam ipsum fieri locupletem,’ is more properly attributed to M’. Curius Dentatus (Valerius Maximus, _Mem._ iv. 3. 5): but Fabricius also rejected gifts sent him by the Samnites.

2810. _bothe_: apparently both the men and their possessions.

2833 ff. This is probably Conrad II, of whom Godfrey of Viterbo says ‘nulli violatori pacis parcebat.’

2845 ff. Originally taken from Valerius Maximus, who tells it, however, with reference to Charondas, the supposed legislator of Thurii (_Mem._ vi. 5).

2864. _sete_: apparently a strong past participle formed from ‘sette’ by confusion with ‘sitte ‘: cp. ‘upsete’ rhyming with ‘misgete,’ viii. 244.

2883. _of dawe_: equivalent to ‘of this lif,’ iv. 3414.

2889 ff. This is a story which we find very often repeated (originally from Herodotus), e. g. Valerius Maximus, _Mem._ vi. 3, _Gesta Romanorum_, 29 (without mention of Cambyses by name), Hoccleve’s _Regement of Princes_, &c. In Δ we find added to the marginal Latin,

‘vnde versus,
Sede sedens ista iudex inflexibilis sta,
Sit tibi lucerna lux, lex, pellisque paterna,
Qua resides natus pro patre sponte datus.
A manibus reuoces munus, ab aure preces.’

It would seem that the last line should stand as the second.

2902. _Avise him_, ‘Let him consider.’

_flitte_, ‘turn aside,’ cp. iv. 214; but also intransitive, v. 7076.

2917 ff. Another often repeated story. The _Gesta Romanorum_ has it (169) with a reference to Trogus Pompeius (that is Justin, _Epit._ iii. 3). Gower makes the city Athens instead of Sparta (cp. 3089), and the god Mercury instead of Apollo.

3054 ff. This list of legislators is from the _Trésor_, p. 24, but the text which our author used seems to have been corrupt. The passage runs thus in the printed edition: ‘Moyses fu li premiers qui bailla la loi as Hebreus; et li rois Foroneus fu li premiers qui la bailla as Grezois; Mercures as Egypciens, et Solon à cels de Athenes; Ligurgus as Troyens; Numa Pompilius, qui regna après Romulus en Rome, et puis ses filz, bailla et fist lois as Romains premierement,’ &c. If we suppose ‘Solon’ to have been omitted in the MS., the passage might read (with changes of punctuation) nearly as we have it in Gower.

3092. _on the beste Above alle other_: cp. iv. 2606, &c.

3137 ff. Cp. _Mirour de l’Omme_, 13921, and see also ii. 3204 ff. (margin).

3144. _Troian_: so given in all MSS. for ‘Traian.’ So also in the _Mirour_, 22168, and in Godfrey of Viterbo, _Spec. Reg._ ii. 14 (_Mon. Germ. Hist._ xxii. p. 74).

3181 ff. Valerius Maximus, _Mem._ v. 6: but he does not mention the Dorians as the enemy against whom Codrus fought. However, the story was a common one: cp. _Gesta Romanorum_, 41.

3201. _lemes_: cp. Chaucer, _Cant. Tales_, A 3886.

* * * * *

3149* f. The reference is to the Epistle of St. James ii. 13, ‘Iudicium enim sine misericordia illi qui non fecit misericordiam.’

3157*. That is, ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.’

3161* f. Cp. _Mirour de l’Omme_, 13918 ff., where the same is quoted.

3163* ff. Quoted also in the _Mirour_, 13925 ff.,and there also attributed to Tullius, but I cannot give the reference.

* * * * *

3210. _drawe_: the change to subjunctive marks this sentence as really conditional.

3215 ff. Valerius Maximus, _Mem._ v. 1. 9.

3217. _in jeupartie_, i. e. equally balanced, the result uncertain.

3267 ff. Justinian II is described by Gibbon as a cruel tyrant, whose deposition by Leontius was fully deserved, and who, when restored by the help of Terbelis, took a ferocious vengeance on his opponents: ‘during the six years of his new reign, he considered the axe, the cord, and the rack as the only instruments of royalty.’ Nothing apparently could be less appropriate than the epithet ‘pietous,’ which Gower bestows upon him.

3295 ff. This again was a very common story: cp. _Gesta Romanorum_, 48 (ed. Oesterley). Hoccleve tells it with a reference to Orosius, _Regement of Princes_, 3004 ff. Gower probably had it from Godfrey of Viterbo, _Pantheon_, p. 181 (ed. 1584), where Berillus is given for Perillus, as in our text. He takes ‘Phalaris Siculus’ as the tyrant’s name, and shortens it to Siculus.

3302. I take the preceding three lines as a parenthesis, and this as following l. 3298.

3341. ‘Dionys’ is a mistake for Diomede, or rather Diomedes is confused with the tyrant Dionysius.

3355 ff. Cp. Ovid, _Metam._ i. 221 ff.

3359. _With othre men_, i. e. ‘by other men’: cp. viii. 2553.

3387 ff. This characteristic of the lion is mentioned by Brunetto Latini, _Trésor_, p. 224.

3417 ff. This story is told much as it appears in Justin, _Epit._ i. 8, and Orosius, _Hist._ ii. 7, but the name Spertachus (Spartachus) is apparently from Peter Comestor (Migne, _Patrol._. vol. 198, p. 1471), who gives this as the name of Cyrus in his boyhood. The same authority may have supplied the name ‘Marsagete,’ for the histories named above call Thamyris only ‘queen of the Scythians’; but Comestor omits the details of the story.

* * * * *

3207* ff. The tale of the Jew and the Pagan is from the _Secretum Secretorum_, where it is told as a warning against trusting those who are not of our faith. The differences are mainly as follows. No names of places are mentioned in the original; the ‘pagan’ is called ‘magus orientalis,’ and he rides a mule: the Jew is without provisions, and the Magian feeds him as well as allowing him to ride: the Jew is found not dead but thrown from the mule, with a broken leg and other injuries--there is no mention of a lion except in the entreaties of the Magian, ‘noli me derelinquere in deserto, ne forte interficiar a leonibus.’ The Magian is about to leave him to die, but the Jew pleads that he has acted only in accordance with his own law, and again appeals to the Magian to show him the mercy which his religion enjoins. Finally the Magian carries him away and delivers him safely to his own people. Probably our author thought that this form of the story unduly sacrificed justice to mercy, and therefore he killed his Jew outright.

3342* ff. Note the subjunctive after ‘who (that)’ here and in ll. 3349, 3355: see note on Prol. 460.

* * * * *

3418. The name ‘Spertachus’ is given in full by F in the Latin summary, l. 3426 (margin). In the English text the first syllable is abbreviated in most copies, but A has ‘Spartachus’ and H₃ ‘Spertachus.’

3539. _Pite feigned_: cp. l. 3835.

3581. The reference should be to Juvenal, _Sat._ viii. 269 ff.,

‘Malo pater tibi sit Thersites, dummodo tu sis
Aeacidae similis, Vulcaniaque arma capessas,
Quam te Thersitae similem genuisset Achilles.’

Gower has here taken the point out of the quotation to a great extent, but it occurs in the _Mirour_, 23371 ff., in its proper form, though with the same false reference.

3627 ff. From the Book of Judges, ch. vii.

3632. For the anacoluthon cp. iv. 3201, vi. 1798, and note on i. 98.

3639. The reading of the second recension, ‘hem,’ seems clearly to be right here: ‘against those who would assail them.’

3640 ff. The meaning apparently is that each single division of the three which the enemy had was twice as large as Gideon’s whole army. The original text says nothing of the kind.

3752. _per compaignie_, ‘together.’

3820 ff. 1 Samuel xv.

3860 ff. 1 Kings ii.

3877. _natheles_, ‘moreover’: cp. 4242 and note on Prol. 39.

3884. _that_, for ‘to that’: cp. Prol. 122.

3891 ff. 1 Kings iii.

4011. _propre_, i. e. ‘in himself.’

4027 ff. 1 Kings xii.

4144. _can ... mai_, used in their original senses, the one implying knowledge and the other active power.

4181 ff. The person meant is Antoninus Pius, of whom his biographer Capitolinus says that he loved peace ‘eousque ut Scipionis sententiam frequentarit, qua ille dicebat, malle se unum civem servare quam mille hostes occidere’ (_Hist. August._ ed. 1620, p. 20). Godfrey of Viterbo, in the text given by Waitz (_Mon. Germ. Hist._ xxii. pp. 75, 163), regularly calls him Antonius, and probably Gower had the saying from this source. It is one of the later additions to the _Pantheon_: cp. note on 2765 ff.

4195. _is due To Pite._ This seems to mean ‘is bound by duty’ to show mercy.

4228. _His trouthe plight_, ‘the engagement of his faith.’ Here we have the word ‘plight’ from OE. ‘pliht,’ to be distinguished from ‘plit.’

4242. _natheles_: cp. l. 3877.

4245. _hihe_: note the definite form after the possessive genitive, as after a possessive pronoun.

4284. ‘And even if it should chance that he obtained any friendliness from her.’ For the use of ‘compainie’ cp. v. 4558.

4335. _Barbarus_: more properly Arbaces, but ‘Barbatus’ in the _Pantheon_ (p. 165, ed. 1584).

4361 ff. Cp. Justin, _Epit._ i. 7, where however the expedient is said to have been used (as related by Herodotus) after Cyrus had put down a revolt.

4406 ff. Numbers xxv.

4408. _Amalech_: Balak is meant.

4464 ff. This means apparently that the later time of life will be as a dark night which is not illuminated by any sunshine of dawn; but it is not very clearly expressed.

4469 ff. 1 Kings xi.

4515. That is, ‘Ahijah the Shilonite,’ called ‘Ahias Silonites’ in the Latin version.

4559 ff. (margin). The quotation is from the _Secretum Secretorum_: ‘O summe rex, studeas modis omnibus custodire et retinere calorem naturalem’ (ed. 1520, f. 25 v^{o}).

4574 f. Caracalla, son of Severus, is here meant. His name was Aurelius Antoninus, and he is called Aurelius Antonius in the _Pantheon_ (_Mon. Germ. Hist._ xxii. p. 166). Caracalla is called by Orosius ‘omnibus hominibus libidine intemperantior, qui etiam novercam suam Iuliam uxorem duxerit’ (_Hist._ vii. 18), and this character of him is repeated in the _Pantheon_.

4593 ff. This story is from Ovid, _Fasti_, ii. 687-720. Gower’s rendering of it is remarkable for ease and simplicity of style: see especially ll. 4667-4685, 4701-4717.

4598. Neither Aruns nor Sextus is mentioned by name in Ovid, who speaks only of ‘Tarquinius iuvenis.’ Gower gives to Aruns the place of Sextus throughout this and the following story.

4623. _schette_, intransitive, equivalent to ‘were shut’: cp. iii. 1453.

4701 ff. The sacrifice at which this portent occurred is here brought into connexion with the capture of Gabii, a construction which is not unnaturally suggested by Ovid’s abrupt transition, l. 711.

4718 ff.

‘Consulitur Phoebus. Sors est ita reddita: Matri
Qui dederit princeps oscula, victor erit.’ _Fasti_, ii. 713 f.

Ovid means that a message was sent to Delphi; but our author understands it differently.

4739 f. ‘Creditus offenso procubuisse pede’ (720).

4754 ff. This again is from Ovid, where it occurs as a continuation of the last story, _Fasti_, 721-852. Chaucer, who tells this story in the _Legend of G. Women_, 1680 ff., also follows Ovid, and more closely than Gower, e. g. 1761 ff., 1805 ff., 1830f.

4757. _unskilfully_, that is, ‘unjustly,’ without due ‘skile’ or reason.

4778 ff. ‘Non opus est verbis, credite rebus, ait’ (734).

4805 f. This is derived from a misunderstanding of _Fasti_, ii. 785,

‘Accipit aerata iuvenem Collatia porta.’

Cp. l. 4911 below. Both Chaucer and Gower make the tragedy occur at Rome, though Chaucer professes to have Livy before him.

4902. ‘audentes forsve deusve iuvat.’

4937. _To hire_: cp. v. 5724. It means here much the same as ‘by her.’

5062. _sche myhte it noght_, ‘sche could not help it.’

5088 ff.

‘Illa iacens ad verba oculos sine lumine mouit,
Visaque concussa dicta probare coma.’ _Fasti_, ii. 845 f.

5093 ff. This latter part is added from other sources, perhaps from Livy.