V. THE PART IS DERIVED FROM THE WHOLE, THE IMPERFECT FROM THE PERFECT.

(Knightes Tale, vol. ii. p. 92.)

For al þing þat is cleped inperfit . is proued inperfit by þe amenusynge of perfeccioun . or of þing þat is perfit . and her-of comeþ it . þat in euery þing general . yif þat . þat men seen any þing þat is inperfit . certys in þilke general þer mot ben somme þing þat is perfit. For yif so be þat perfeccioun is don awey . men may nat þinke nor seye fro whennes þilke þing is þat is cleped inperfit . For þe nature of þinges ne token nat her bygynnyng of þinges amenused and inperfit . but it procediþ of þingus þat ben al hool . and absolut . and descendeþ so doune in-to outerest þinges and in-to þingus empty and wiþ-oute fruyt . but as I haue shewed a litel her byforne . þat yif þer be a blisfulnesse þat be frele and vein and inperfit . þer may no man doute . þat þer nys som blisfulnesse þat is sad stedfast and perfit.’

(bk. iii. pr. 10, p. 89.)

Omne enim quod imperfectum esse dicitur, id deminutione perfecti imperfectum esse perhibetur. Quo fit ut si in quolibet genere imperfectum quid esse videatur, in eo perfectum quoque aliquod esse necesse sit. Etenim perfectione sublata, unde illud, quod imperfectum perhibetur, extiterit, ne fingi quidem potest. Neque enim ab diminutis inconsummatisque natura rerum cepit exordium, sed ab integris absolutisque procedens in hæc extrema atque effœta dilabitur. Quod si, uti paulo ante monstravimus, est quædam boni fragilis imperfecta felicitas, esse aliquam solidam perfectamque non potest dubitari.

(Boeth., lib. iii. pr. 10.)

VI. GENTILITY.

(The Wyf of Bathes Tale, vol. ii. p. 241.)

For if þe name of gentilesse be referred to renoun and clernesse of linage. þan is gentil name but a foreine þing.

(Chaucer’s Boethius, p. 78.)

Quæ [nobilitas], si ad claritudinem refertur, aliena est.

(Boethius, lib. iii. pr. 6.)

VII. NERO’S CRUELTY.

(The Monkes Tale, vol. iii. p. 217.)

Ne no tere ne wette his face, but he was so hard-herted þat he myȝte ben domesman or iuge of hire dede beauté.

(Chaucer’s Boethius, p. 55.)

(Boethius, lib. ii. met. 6.)

VIII. PREDESTINATION AND FREE-WILL.

In ‘Troylus and Cryseyde’ we find the following long passage taken from Boethius, book v. prose 2, 3.

(1) Quæ tamen ille ab æterno cuncta prospiciens providentiæ cernit intuitus, et suis quæque meritis prædestinata disponit. . . . . (Boethius, lib. v. pr. 2.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2) Nam si cuncta prospicit Deus neque falli ullo modo potest, evenire necesse est, quod providentia futurum esse præviderit. Quare si ab æterno non facta hominum modo, sed etiam consilia voluntatesque prænoscit, nulla erit arbitrii libertas;

(3) Neque enim vel factum aliud ullum vel quælibet existere poterit voluntas, nisi quam nescia falli providentia divina præsenserit. Nam si res aliorsum, quam provisæ sunt detorqueri valent, non jam erit futuri firma præscientia;

(4) Sed opinio potius incerta; quod de Deo nefas credere judico.

(5) Aiunt enim non ideo quid esse eventurum quoniam id providentia futurum esse prospexerit; sed e contrario potius, quoniam quid futurum est, id divinam providentiam latere non possit.

(6) Eoque modo necessarium est hoc in contrariam relabi partem; neque enim necesse est contingere quæ providentur, sed necesse est quæ futura sunt provideri.

(7) Quasi vero quæ cujusque rei causa sit,

(8) Præscientiane futurorum necessitatis an futurorum necessitas providentiæ, laboretur.

(9) At nos illud demonstrare nitamur, quoquo modo sese habeat ordo causarum, necessarium esse eventum præscitarum rerum, etiam si præscientia futuris rebus eveniendi necessitatem non videatur inferre.

(10) Etenim si quispiam sedeat, opinionem quæ eum sedere conjectat veram esse necesse est: at e converso rursus,

(11) Si de quopiam vera sit opinio quoniam sedet eum sedere necesse est. In utroque igitur necessitas inest: in hoc quidem sedendi, at vero in altero veritatis.

(12) Sed non idcirco quisque sedet, quoniam vera est opinio: sed hæc potius vera est, quoniam quempiam sedere præcessit. Ita cum causa veritatis ex altera parte procedat, inest tamen communis in utraque necessitas.

(13) Similia de providentia futurisque rebus ratiocinari patet.

(14) Nam etiam si idcirco, quoniam futura sunt, providentur: non vero ideo, quoniam providentur, eveniunt: nihilo minus tamen a Deo vel ventura provideri, vel provisa evenire necesse est:

(15) Quod ad perimendam arbitrii libertatem solum satis est.

(lib. v. pr. 3.)

See Chaucer’s Boethius, pp. 154-6.

IX. THE GRIEF OF REMEMBERING BYGONE HAPPINESS.

(Troylus and Cryseyde, bk. iii. st. 226, vol. iv. p. 291.)

Sed hoc est, quod recolentem me vehementius coquit. Nam in omni adversitate fortunæ infelicissimum genus est infortunii, fuisse felicem.10

(Boethius, lib. ii. pr. 4.)

X. VULTURES TEAR THE STOMACH OF TITYUS IN HELL.

(Troylus and Cryseyde, book i. st. 113, p. 140.)

Þe fowel þat hyȝt voltor þat etiþ þe stomak or þe giser of ticius.

(Chaucer’s Boethius, p. 107.)

XI. THE MUTABILITY OF FORTUNE.

(Troylus and Cryseyde, bk. i. st. 122, p. 142.)

If fortune bygan to dwelle stable. she cesed[e] þan to ben fortune.

(Chaucer’s Boethius, p. 32.)

(Compare stanzas 120, 121, p. 142, and stanza 136, p. 146, of ‘Troylus and Cryseyde’ with pp. 31, 33, 35, and p. 34 of Chaucer’s Boethius.)

At omnium mortalium stolidissime, si manere incipit, fors esse desistit.

(Boethius, lib. ii. prose 1.)

XII. WORLDLY SELYNESSE

(Troylus and Cryseyde, bk. iii. st. 110, p. 258.)

Þe swetnesse of mannes welefulnesse is yspranid wiþ many[e] bitternesses.

(Chaucer’s Boethius, p. 42.)

—ful anguissous þing is þe condicioun of mans goodes. For eyþer it comeþ al to-gidre to a wyȝt. or ellys it lasteþ not perpetuely.

(Ib. p. 41.)

Quam multis amaritudinibus humanæ felicitatis dulcedo respersa est!

(Boethius, lib. ii. prose 4.)

Anxia enim res est humanorum conditio bonorum, et quæ vel nunquam tota proveniat, vel nunquam perpetua subsistat.

(Ib.)

(Troylus and Cryseyde, bk. iii. st. 111, 112, vol. iv. p. 258.)

(1) What man þat þis toumblyng welefulnesse leediþ, eiþer he woot þat [it] is chaungeable. or ellis he woot it nat. And yif he woot it not. what blisful fortune may þer be in þe blyndenesse of ignoraunce.

(2) And yif he woot þat it is chaungeable. he mot alwey ben adrad þat he ne lese þat þing. þat he ne douteþ nat but þat he may leesen it. . . . . For whiche þe continuel drede þat he haþ ne suffriþ hym nat to ben weleful. Or ellys yif he leese it he wene[þ] to be dispised and forleten hit. Certis eke þat is a ful lytel goode þat is born wiþ euene hert[e] whan it is loost.

(Chaucer’s Boethius, pp. 43, 44.)

(1) Quem caduca ista felicitas vehit, vel scit eam, vel nescit esse mutabilem. Si nescit, quænam beata sors esse potest ignorantiæ in cæcitate?

(2) Si scit, metuat necesse est, ne amittat, quod amitti posse non dubitat; quare continuus timor non sinit esse felicem. An vel si amiserit, negligendum putat? Sic quoque perexile bonum est, quod æquo animo feratur amissum.

(Boethius, lib. ii. prose 4.)

XIII. FORTUNE.

(Troylus and Cryseyde, bk. iii. st. 254, vol. iv. p. 299.)

She (Fortune) vseþ ful flatryng familarité wiþ hem þat she enforceþ to bygyle.

(Chaucer’s Boethius, p. 30.)

. . . . . . . She lauȝeþ and scorneþ þe wepyng of hem þe whiche she haþ maked wepe wiþ hir free wille . . . . . . . Yif þat a wyȝt is seyn weleful and ouerþrowe in an houre.

(Ib. p. 33.)

In book v., stanza 260, vol. v. p. 75, Chaucer describes how the soul of Hector, after his death, ascended ‘up to the holughnesse of the seventhe spere.’ In so doing he seems to have had before him met. 1, book 4, of Boethius, where the ‘soul’ is described as passing into the heaven’s utmost sphere, and looking down on the world below. See Chaucer’s Boethius, p. 110, 111.

Ætas Prima is of course a metrical version of lib. ii. met. 5.

Hampole speaks of the wonderful sight of the Lynx; perhaps he was indebted to Boethius for the hint.—(See Boethius, book 3, pr. 8, p. 81.)

I have seen the following elsewhere:

(1) Value not beauty, for it may be destroyed by a three days’ fever.

(See Chaucer’s Boethius, p. 81.)

(2) There is no greater plague than the enmity of thy familiar friend.

(See Chaucer’s translation, p. 77.)

Chaucer did not English Boethius second-hand, through any early French version, as some have supposed, but made his translation with the Latin original before him.

Jean de Méung’s version, the only early French translation, perhaps, accessible to Chaucer, is not always literal, while the present translation is seldom free or periphrastic, but conforms closely to the Latin, and is at times awkwardly literal. A few passages, taken haphazard, will make this sufficiently clear.

Et dolor ætatem jussit inesse suam. And sorou haþ comaunded his age to be in me (p. 4).

Þilke deeþ of men is welful þat ne comeþ not in ȝeres þat ben swete (i. mirie). but comeþ to wrecches often yclepid. (p. 4)

Querimoniam lacrymabilem. Wepli compleynte (p. 5). Fr. ma complainte moy esmouuant a pleurs.

Styli officio. Wiþ office of poyntel (p. 5). Fr. (que ie reduisse) par escript.

Inexhaustus. Swiche . . . þat it ne myȝt[e] not be emptid (p. 5). Fr. inconsumptible.

Scenicas meretriculas. Comune strumpetis of siche a place þat men clepen þe theatre (p. 6). Fr. ces ribaudelles fardees.

Præcipiti profundo. In ouer-þrowyng depnesse (p. 7).

Nec pervetusta nec incelebris. Neyþer ouer-oolde ne vnsolempne (p. 11). Fr. desquelz la memoire nest pas trop ancienne ou non recitee.

Inter secreta otia. Among my secre restyng whiles (p. 14). Fr. entre mes secrettes et oyseuses estudes.

Palatini canes. Þe houndys of þe palays (p. 15). Fr. les chiens du palais.

Masculæ prolis. Of þi masculyn children (p. 37). Fr. de ta lignie masculine.

Ad singularem felicitatis tuæ cumulum venire delectat. It deliteþ me to comen now to þe singuler vphepyng of þi welefulnesse (p. 37). Fr. Il me plait venir au singulier monceau de ta felicite.

Consulare imperium. Emperie of consulers (p. 51). Fr. lempire consulaire.

Hoc ipsum brevis habitaculi. Of þilke litel habitacle (p. 57). Fr. de cest trespetit habitacle.

Late patentes plagas. Þe brode shewyng contreys (p. 60).

Ludens hominum cura. Þe pleiyng besines of men (p. 68).

Hausi cœlum. I took heuene (p. 10). Fr. ie . . . regarday le ciel.

Certamen adversum præfectum prætorii communis commodi ratione suscepi. I took strif aȝeins þe prouost of þe pretorie for comune profit (p. 15). Fr. ie entrepris lestrif a lencontre du prefect du parlement royal a cause de la commune vtilite.

At cujus criminis arguimur summam quæris? But axest þou in somme of what gilt I am accused? (p. 17). Fr. Mais demandes tu la somme du pechie duquel pechie nous sommes arguez?

Fortuita temeritate. By fortunouse fortune (p. 26). Fr. par fortuite folie.

Quos premunt septem gelidi triones. Alle þe peoples þat ben vndir þe colde sterres þat hyȝten þe seuene triones (p. 55). Fr. ceulx de septentrion.

Ita ego quoque tibi veluti corollarium dabo. Ryȝt so wil I ȝeue þe here as a corolarie or a mede of coroune (p. 91). Fr. semblablement ie te donneray ainsi que vng correlaire.

In stadio. In þe stadie or in þe forlonge (p. 119). Fr. ou (for au) champ.

Conjecto. I coniecte (p. 154). Fr. ie coniecture.

Nimium . . . adversari ac repugnare videtur. It semeþ . . . to repugnen and to contrarien gretly. Fr. Ce semble chose trop contraire et repugnante.

Universitatis ambitum. Envirounynge of þe vniuersite (p. 165). Fr. lauironnement de luniuersalite.

Rationis universum. Vniuersite of resoun (p. 165). Fr. luniuersalite de Raison.

Scientiam nunquam deficientis instantiæ rectius æstimabis. Þou shalt demen [it] more ryȝtfully þat it is science of presence or of instaunce þat neuer ne fayleþ (p. 174). Fr. mais tu la diras plus droittement et mieulx science de instante presentialite non iamais defaillant mais eternelle.

Many of the above examples are very bald renderings of the original, and are only quoted here to show that Chaucer did not make his translation from the French.

Chaucer is not always felicitous in his translations:—thus he translates clavus atque gubernaculum by keye and a stiere (p. 103), and compendium (gain, acquisition) by abreggynge (abridging, curtailment), p. 151. Many terms make their appearance in English for the first time,—and most of them have become naturalized, and are such as we could ill spare. Some few are rather uncommon, as gouernaile (gubernaculum), p. 27; arbitre (arbitrium), p. 154. As Chaucer takes the trouble to explain inestimable (inæstimabilis), p. 158, it could not have been a very familiar term.

Our translator evidently took note of various readings, for on p. 31 he notes a variation of the original. On p. 51 he uses armurers (= armures) to render arma, though most copies agree in reading arva.

There are numerous glosses and explanations of particular passages, which seem to be interpolated by Chaucer himself. Thus he explains what is meant by the heritage of Socrates (p. 10, 11); he gives the meaning of coemption (p. 15); of Euripus (p. 33); of the porch (p. 166).11 Some of his definitions are very quaint; as, for instance, that of Tragedy—‘a dité of a prosperité for a tyme þat endiþ in wrechednesse’ (p. 35). One would think that the following definition of Tragedian would be rather superfluous after this,—‘a maker of dites þat hyȝten (are called) tregedies’ (p. 77).

Melliflui . . . oris Homerus

is thus quaintly Englished: Homer wiþ þe hony mouþe, þat is to seyn. homer wiþ þe swete dites (p. 153).

The present translation of the De Consolatione is taken from Additional MS. 10,340, which is supposed to be the oldest manuscript that exists in our public libraries. After it was all copied out and ready for press, Mr Bradshaw was kind enough to procure me, for the purpose of collation, the loan of the Camb. University MS. Ii. 3. 21, from which the various readings at the foot of the pages are taken.

Had I had an opportunity of examining the Cambridge MS. carefully throughout before the work was so far advanced, I should certainly have selected it in preference to the text now given to the reader. Though not so ancient as the British Museum MS., it is far more correct in its grammatical inflexions, and is no doubt a copy of an older and very accurate text.

The Additional MS. is written by a scribe who was unacquainted with the force of the final -e. Thus he adds it to the preterites of strong verbs, which do not require it; he omits it in the preterites of weak verbs where it is wanted, and attaches it to passive participles (of weak verbs), where it is superfluous. The scribe of the Cambridge MS. is careful to preserve the final -e where it is a sign (1) of the definite declension of the adjective; (2) of the plural adjective; (3) of the infinitive mood; (4) of the preterite of weak verbs; (5) of present participles;12 (6) of the 2nd pers. pret. indic. of strong verbs; (7) of adverbs; (8) of an older vowel ending.

The Addit. MS. has frequently thilk (singular and plural), and -nes (in wrechednes, &c.), when the Camb. MS. has thilke13 and -nesse.

For further differences the reader may consult the numerous collations at the foot of the page.

If the Chaucer Society obtains that amount of patronage from the literary public which it deserves, but unfortunately has yet not succeeded in getting, so that it may be enabled to go on with the great work which has been so successfully commenced, then the time may come when I shall have the opportunity of editing the Camb. MS. of Chaucer’s Boethius for that Society, and lovers of Early English Literature will have two texts instead of one.

APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION.

The last of the ancients, and one who forms a link between the classical period of literature and that of the middle ages, in which he was a favourite author, is Boethius, a man of fine genius, and interesting both from his character and his death. It is well known that after filling the dignities of Consul and Senator in the court of Theodoric, he fell a victim to the jealousy of a sovereign, from whose memory, in many respects glorious, the stain of that blood has never been effaced. The Consolation of Philosophy, the chief work of Boethius, was written in his prison. Few books are more striking from the circumstances of their production. Last of the classic writers, in style not impure, though displaying too lavishly that poetic exuberance which had distinguished the two or three preceding centuries, in elevation of sentiment equal to any of the philosophers, and mingling a Christian sanctity with their lessons, he speaks from his prison in the swan-like tones of dying eloquence. The philosophy that consoled him in bonds, was soon required in the sufferings of a cruel death. Quenched in his blood, the lamp he had trimmed with a skilful hand gave no more light; the language of Tully and Virgil soon ceased to be spoken; and many ages were to pass away, before learned diligence restored its purity, and the union of genius with imitation taught a few modern writers to surpass in eloquence the Latinity of Boethius.—(Hallam’s Literature of Europe, i. 2, 4th ed. 1854.)

The Senator Boethius is the last of the Romans whom Cato or Tully could have acknowledged for their countryman. As a wealthy orphan, he inherited the patrimony and honours of the Anician family, a name ambitiously assumed by the kings and emperors of the age; and the appellation of Manlius asserted his genuine or fabulous descent from a race of consuls and dictators, who had repulsed the Gauls from the Capitol, and sacrificed their sons to the discipline of the Republic. In the youth of Boethius the studies of Rome were not totally abandoned; a Virgil is now extant, corrected by the hand of a consul; and the professors of grammar, rhetoric, and jurisprudence, were maintained in their privileges and pensions by the liberality of the Goths. But the erudition of the Latin language was insufficient to satiate his ardent curiosity; and Boethius is said to have employed eighteen laborious years in the schools of Athens, which were supported by the zeal, the learning, and the diligence of Proclus and his disciples. The reason and piety of their Roman pupil were fortunately saved from the contagion of mystery and magic, which polluted the groves of the Academy, but he imbibed the spirit, and imitated the method, of his dead and living masters, who attempted to reconcile the strong and subtle sense of Aristotle with the devout contemplation and sublime fancy of Plato. After his return to Rome, and his marriage with the daughter of his friend, the patrician Symmachus, Boethius still continued, in a palace of ivory and [glass] to prosecute the same studies. The Church was edified by his profound defence of the orthodox creed against the Arian, the Eutychian, and the Nestorian heresies; and the Catholic unity was explained or exposed in a formal treatise by the indifference of three distinct though consubstantial persons. For the benefit of his Latin readers, his genius submitted to teach the first elements of the arts and sciences of Greece. The geometry of Euclid, the music of Pythagoras, the arithmetic of Nicomachus, the mechanics of Archimedes, the astronomy of Ptolemy, the theology of Plato, and the logic of Aristotle, with the commentary of Porphyry, were translated and illustrated by the indefatigable pen of the Roman senator. And he alone was esteemed capable of describing the wonders of art, a sun-dial, a water-clock, or a sphere which represented the motions of the planets. From these abstruse speculations, Boethius stooped, or, to speak more truly, he rose to the social duties of public and private life: the indigent were relieved by his liberality; and his eloquence, which flattery might compare to the voice of Demosthenes or Cicero, was uniformly exerted in the cause of innocence and humanity. Such conspicuous merit was felt and rewarded by a discerning prince: the dignity of Boethius was adorned with the titles of consul and patrician, and his talents were usefully employed in the important station of master of the offices. Notwithstanding the equal claims of the East and West, his two sons were created, in their tender youth, the consuls of the same year. On the memorable day of their inauguration, they proceeded in solemn pomp from their palace to the forum amidst the applause of the senate and people; and their joyful father, the true Consul of Rome, after pronouncing an oration in the praise of his royal benefactor, distributed a triumphal largess in the games of the circus. Prosperous in his fame and fortunes, in his public honours and private alliances, in the cultivation of science and the consciousness of virtue, Boethius might have been styled happy, if that precarious epithet could be safely applied before the last term of the life of man.

A philosopher, liberal of his wealth and parsimonious of his time, might be insensible to the common allurements of ambition, the thirst of gold and employment. And some credit may be due to the asseveration of Boethius, that he had reluctantly obeyed the divine Plato, who enjoins every virtuous citizen to rescue the state from the usurpation of vice and ignorance. For the integrity of his public conduct he appeals to the memory of his country. His authority had restrained the pride and oppression of the royal officers, and his eloquence had delivered Paulianus from the dogs of the palace. He had always pitied, and often relieved, the distress of the provincials, whose fortunes were exhausted by public and private rapine; and Boethius alone had courage to oppose the tyranny of the Barbarians, elated by conquest, excited by avarice, and, as he complains, encouraged by impunity. In these honourable contests his spirit soared above the consideration of danger, and perhaps of prudence; and we may learn from the example of Cato, that a character of pure and inflexible virtue is the most apt to be misled by prejudice, to be heated by enthusiasm, and to confound private enmities with public justice. The disciple of Plato might exaggerate the infirmities of nature, and the imperfections of society; and the mildest form of a Gothic kingdom, even the weight of allegiance and gratitude, must be insupportable to the free spirit of a Roman patriot. But the favour and fidelity of Boethius declined in just proportion with the public happiness; and an unworthy colleague was imposed to divide and control the power of the master of the offices. In the last gloomy season of Theodoric, he indignantly felt that he was a slave; but as his master had only power over his life, he stood without arms and without fear against the face of an angry Barbarian, who had been provoked to believe that the safety of the senate was incompatible with his own. The Senator Albinus was accused and already convicted on the presumption of hoping, as it was said, the liberty of Rome.

“If Albinus be criminal,” exclaimed the orator, “the senate and myself are all guilty of the same crime. If we are innocent, Albinus is equally entitled to the protection of the laws.” These laws might not have punished the simple and barren wish of an unattainable blessing; but they would have shown less indulgence to the rash confession of Boethius, that, had he known of a conspiracy, the tyrant never should. The advocate of Albinus was soon involved in the danger and perhaps the guilt of his client; their signature (which they denied as a forgery) was affixed to the original address, inviting the emperor to deliver Italy from the Goths; and three witnesses of honourable rank, perhaps of infamous reputation, attested the treasonable designs of the Roman patrician. Yet his innocence must be presumed, since he was deprived by Theodoric of the means of justification, and rigorously confined in the tower of Pavia, while the senate, at the distance of five hundred miles, pronounced a sentence of confiscation and death against the most illustrious of its members. At the command of the Barbarians, the occult science of a philosopher was stigmatized with the names of sacrilege and magic. A devout and dutiful attachment to the senate was condemned as criminal by the trembling voices of the senators themselves; and their ingratitude deserved the wish or prediction of Boethius, that, after him, none should be found guilty of the same offence.

While Boethius, oppressed with fetters, expected each moment the sentence or the stroke of death, he composed in the tower of Pavia the Consolation of Philosophy; a golden volume not unworthy of the leisure of Plato or Tully, but which claims incomparable merit from the barbarism of the times and the situation of the author. The celestial guide, whom he had so long invoked at Rome and Athens, now condescended to illumine his dungeon, to revive his courage, and to pour into his wounds her salutary balm. She taught him to compare his long prosperity and his recent distress, and to conceive new hopes from the inconstancy of fortune. Reason had informed him of the precarious condition of her gifts; experience had satisfied him of their real value; he had enjoyed them without guilt; he might resign them without a sigh, and calmly disdain the impotent malice of his enemies, who had left him happiness, since they had left him virtue. From the earth, Boethius ascended to heaven in search of the Supreme Good; explored the metaphysical labyrinth of chance and destiny, of prescience and free-will, of time and eternity; and generously attempted to reconcile the perfect attributes of the Deity with the apparent disorders of his moral and physical government. Such topics of consolation, so obvious, so vague, or so abstruse, are ineffectual to subdue the feelings of human nature. Yet the sense of misfortune may be diverted by the labour of thought; and the sage who could artfully combine in the same work the various riches of philosophy, poetry, and eloquence, must already have possessed the intrepid calmness which he affected to seek. Suspense, the worst of evils, was at length determined by the ministers of death, who executed, and perhaps exceeded, the inhuman mandate of Theodoric. A strong cord was fastened round the head of Boethius, and forcibly tightened till his eyes almost started from their sockets; and some mercy may be discovered in the milder torture of beating him with clubs till he expired. But his genius survived to diffuse a ray of knowledge over the darkest ages of the Latin world; the writings of the philosopher were translated by the most glorious of the English kings, and the third emperor of the name of Otho removed to a more honourable tomb the bones of a Catholic saint, who, from his Arian persecutors, had acquired the honours of martyrdom and the fame of miracles. In the last hours of Boethius, he derived some comfort from the safety of his two sons, of his wife, and of his father-in-law, the venerable Symmachus. But the grief of Symmachus was indiscreet, and perhaps disrespectful; he had presumed to lament, he might dare to revenge, the death of an injured friend. He was dragged in chains from Rome to the palace of Ravenna; and the suspicions of Theodoric could only be appeased by the blood of an innocent and aged senator.—Gibbon’s Decline and Fall, 1838, vol. vii. p. 45-52 (without the notes).

INDEX

(Giving the first line of each Metre, the first words of each Prose, and the corresponding page of the translation).

Book Metre Prose Page

I 1 —Carmina qui quondam studio florente peregi 4

„ — 1 Hæc dum mecum tacitus ipse reputarem 5

„ 2 —Heu, quam præcipiti mersa profundo 7

„ — 2 Sed medicinæ, inquit, potius tempus est 8

„ 3 —Tunc me discussa liquerunt nocte tenebræ 9

„ — 3 Haud aliter tristitiæ nebulis dissolutis, hausi cœlum 10

„ 4 —Quisquis composito serenus ævo 12

„ — 4 Sentisne, inquit, hæc, atque animo illabuntur tuo? 13

„ 5 —O stelliferi conditor orbis 21

„ — 5 Hæc ubi continuato dolore delatravi 23

„ 6 —Cum Phœbi radiis grave 25

„ — 6 Primum igitur paterisne me pauculis rogationibus 26

„ 7 —Nubibus atris 29

II — 1 Posthæc paulisper obticuit 29

„ 1 —Hæc cum superba verterit vices dextra 33

„ — 2 Vellem autem pauca tecum fortunæ ipsius 33

„ 2 —Si quantas rapidis flatibus incitus 35

„ — 3 His igitur si pro se tecum fortuna loqueretur 36

„ 3 —Cum polo Phœbus roseis quadrigis 39

„ — 4 Tum ego, Vera, inquam, commemoras 39

„ 4 —Quisquis volet perennem 44

„ — 5 Sed quoniam rationum jam in te mearum fomenta 45

„ 5 —Felix nimium prior ætas 50

„ — 6 Quid autem de dignitatibus, potentiaque disseram 51

„ 6 —Novimus quantas dederit ruinas 55

„ — 7 Tum ego, Scis, inquam, ipsa 56

„ 7 —Quicumque solam mente præcipiti petit 60

„ — 8 Sed ne me inexorabile contra fortunam 61

„ 8 —Quod mundus stabili fide 62

III — 1 Jam cantum illa finierat 63

„ 1 —Qui serere ingenuum volet agrum 64

„ — 2 Tum defixo paululum visu 64

„ 2 —Quantas rerum flectat habenas 68

„ — 3 Vos quoque, o terrena animalia 69

„ 3 —Quamvis fluente dives auri gurgite 71

„ — 4 Sed dignitates honorabilem reverendumque 72

„ 4 —Quamvis se Tyrio superbus ostro 74

„ — 5 An vero regna regumque familiaritas efficere potentem valent? 75

„ 5 —Qui se volet esse potentem 77

„ — 6 Gloria vero quam fallax sæpe, quam turpis est! 77

„ 6 —Omne hominum genus in terris 78

„ — 7 Quid autem de corporis voluptatibus loquar? 79

„ 7 —Habet omnis hoc voluptas 80

„ — 8 Nihil igitur dubium est, quin 80

„ 8 —Eheu, quam miseros tramite devio 81

„ — 9 Hactenus mendacis formam felicitatis ostendisse 82

„ 9 —O qui perpetua mundum ratione gubernas 87

„ — 10 Quoniam igitur quæ sit imperfecti 88

„ 10 —Huc omnes pariter venite capti 94

„ — 11 Assentior, inquam. 95

„ 11 —Quisquis profunda mente vestigat verum 100

„ — 12 Tum ego, Platoni, inquam, vehementer assentior 101

„ 12 —Felix qui potuit boni 106

IV — 1 Hæc cum Philosophia, dignitate 108

„ 1 —Sunt etenim pennæ volucres mihi 110

„ — 2 Tum ego, Papæ, inquam, ut magna promittis! 112

„ 2 —Quos vides sedere celso 118

„ — 3 Videsne igitur quanto in cœno probra volvantur 119

„ 3 —Vela Neritii ducis 122

„ — 4 Tum ego, Fateor, inquam, nec injuria dici video 123

„ 4 —Quid tantos juvat excitare motus 130

„ — 5 Hic ego, Video, inquam, quæ sit vel felicitas 131

„ 5 —Si quis Arcturi sidera nescit 132

„ — 6 Ita est, inquam. 133

„ 6 —Si vis celsi jura tonantis 143

„ — 7 Jamne igitur vides, quid hæc omnia quæ diximus, consequatur? 144

„ 7 —Bella bis quinis operatus annis 147

V — 1 Dixerat, orationisque cursum ad alia quædam 149

„ 1 —Rupis Achæmeniæ scopulis, ubi versa sequentum 151

„ — 2 Animadverto, inquam, idque uti tu dicis, ita esse consentio. 152

„ 2 —Puro clarum lumine Phœbum 153

„ — 3 Tum ego, En, inquam, difficiliori rursus ambiguitate confundor. 154

„ 3 —Quænam discors fœdera rerum 159

„ — 4 Tum illa, Vetus, inquit, hæc est de Providentia querela 161

„ 4 —Quondam porticus attulit 166

„ — 5 Quod si in corporibus sentiendis, quamvis 168

„ 5 —Quam variis terras animalia permeant figuris! 170

„ — 6 Quoniam igitur, uti paulo ante monstratum est 171

Appendix.— Ætas Prima 180

„ Balades de Vilage sanz Peinture 182

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

[I]NCIPIT TABULA LIBRI BOICII DE CONSOLACIONE PHILOSOPHIE.

[Additional MS. 10,340, fol. 3.]

[fol. 3.] LIBER PRIMUS.

1 Carmina qui quondam studio florente peregi.

2 Hic dum mecum tacitus.

3 Heu quam precipiti.

4 Set medicine inquit tempus.

5 Tunc me discussa.

1

MS. hanc.

6 Haut1 aliter tristicie.

7 Quisquis composito.

8 Sentis ne inquit.

9 O stelliferi conditor orbis.

10 Hic ubi continuato dolore.

11 Cum phebi radijs.

12 Primum igitur pateris rogacionibus.

13 Nubibus atris condita.

EXPLICIT LIBER PRIMUS.

LIBER SECUNDUS.

2

MS. luper.

1 Postea paulisper2 conticuit.

2 Hec cum superba.

3 Uellem autem pauca.

4 Si quantas rapidis.

5 His igitur si et pro se.

6 Cum primo polo.

7 Tunc ego uera inquam.

8 Contraque.

9 Quisquis ualet perhennem cantus.

10 Set cum racionum iam in te.

11 Felix in mirum iam prior etas.

12 Quid autem de dignitatibus.

13 Nouimus quantos dederat.

14 Tum ego scis inquam.

15 Quicunque solam mente.

16 Set ne me inexorabile.

17 Quod mundus stabile fide.

EXPLICIT LIBER SECUNDUS.

LIBER TERCIUS.

1 Iam tantum illa.

2 Qui serere ingenium.

3 Tunc defixo paululum.

4 Quantas rerum flectat.

5 Uos quoque terrena animalia.

6 Quamuis fluenter diues.

7 Set dignitatibus.

8 Quamuis se tirio.

9 An uero regna.

10 Qui se ualet esse potentem.

11 Gloria uero quam fallax.

12 Omne hominum genus in terris.

13 Quid autem de corporibus.

14 Habet hoc uoluptas.

15 Nichil igitur dubium est.

16 Heu que miseros tramite.

17 Hactenus mendacio formam.

18 O qui perpetua.

19 Quoniam igitur qui scit.

20 Nunc omnes pariter.

21 Assencior inquam cuncta.

22 Quisque profunda.

23 Tunc ego platoni inquam.

24 Felix qui poterit.

EXPLICIT LIBER TERCIUS.

LIBER QUARTUS.

1 Hec cum philosophia.

2 Sunt etenim penne.

3 Tunc ego pape inquam.

4 Quos uides sedere celsos.

5 Uides ne igitur quanto.

6 U[e]la naricij ducis.

7 Tunc ego fateor inquam.

8 Quid tantos iuuat.

9 Huic ego uideo inquam.

3

MS. arituri.

10 Si quis arcturi3 sydera.

11 Ita est inquam.

12 Si uis celsi iura.

13 Iam ne igitur uides.

14 Bella bis quinis.

EXPLICIT LIBER QUARTUS.

INCIPIT LIBER QUINTUS.

1 Dixerat oracionis que cursum.

2 Rupis achemenie.

3 Animaduerto inquam.

4 Puro clarum lumine.

5 Tamen ego en inquam.

6 Que nam discors.

7 Tamen illa uetus.

8 Quondam porticus attulit.

9 Quod si in corporibus.

10 Quam uarijs figuris.

11 Quoniam igitur uti paulo ante.

EXPLICIT LIBER QUINTUS ET ULTIMUS.

BOETHIUS DEPLORES HIS MISFORTUNES.

*LIBER PRIMUS. [* fol. 3 b.]

[The fyrste Met

ur

.]

INCIPIT LIBER BOICII DE CONSOLACIONE PHILOSOPHIE.

Carmina qui quondam studio florente peregi.

Allas I wepyng Boethius deplores his misfortunes in the following pathetic elegy. am constreined to bygynne vers of sorouful matere. ¶ Þat whilom in florysching studie made delitable ditees. For loo rendyng muses of poetes enditen to me þinges to be writen. and drery 4 vers of wrecchednes weten my face wiþ verray teers. ¶ At þe leest no drede ne myȝt[e] ouer-come þo muses. þat þei ne weren felawes and folweden my wey. þat is to seyne when I was exiled. ypalage antithesis þei þat weren glorie of 8 my youȝth whilom weleful and grene conforten now þe sorouful werdes of me olde man. Laments his immature old age. for elde is comen vnwarly vpon me hasted by þe harmes þat I haue. and sorou haþ comaunded his age to be in me. ¶ Heeres 12 hore ben schad ouertymelyche vpon myne heued. and þe slak[e] skyn trembleþ vpon myn emty body. Death turns a deaf ear to the wretched. þilk[e] deeþ of men is welful þat ne comeþ not in ȝeres þat ben swete (.i. mirie.) but comeþ to wrecches often 16 yclepid.

1 of—MS. of of.

2 florysching—floryssynge

3 rendyng—rendynge

4 be—ben

5 wrecchednes—wrecchednesse teers—teeres

6 leest—leeste myȝt[e] ouer-come—myhte ouercomen

8 seyne when—seyn whan

9 youȝth—MS. þoȝt, C. yowthe

10 sorouful werdes—sorful wierdes [i. fata]

12 sorou—sorwe haþ—MS. haþe be—ben

13 hore—hoore ben—arn myne—myn

14 slak[e]—slake vpon—of emty—emptyd þilk[e]—thilke

15 welful—weleful comeþ not—comth nat

16 .i. mirie—omitted

¶ Allas allas wiþ how deef an eere deeþ cruel tourneþ awey fro wrecches and naieþ to closen wepyng eyen. When Fortune was favourable Death came near Boethius, ¶ While fortune vnfeiþful fauored[e] me 20 wiþ lyȝte goodes (.s. temporels.) þe sorouful houre þat is to seyne þe deeþ had[de] almost dreynt myne heued. but in his adversity life is unpleasantly protracted. ¶ But now for fortune clowdy haþ chaunged hir disceyuable chere to me warde. myn vnpitouse lijf draweþ 24 a long vnagreable dwellynges in me. Why did his friends call him happy? He stood not firm that hath thus fallen. ¶ O ȝe my frendes what or wherto auaunted[e] ȝe me to be weleful: for he þat haþ fallen stood not in stedfast degree.

19 tourneþ—torneth naieþ—nayteth wepyng—wepynge

20 While—Whil fauored[e]—fauorede

21 lyȝte—lyhte .s. temporels—omitted sorouful houre—sorwful howre

22 seyne—seyn had[de]—hadde myne—myn

23 haþ—MS. haþe chaunged hir disceyuable—chaungyd hyre deceyuable

24 vnpitouse lijf—vnpietous lyf

PHILOSOPHY APPEARS TO BOETHIUS.

[The firste p

ro

se.]

HIC DUM MECUM TACITUS.

A DESCRIPTION OF PHILOSOPHY.

PHILOSOPHY REBUKES THE MUSES.

Philosophy is deeply grieved, because they have not seduced one of the profane, but one who has been brought up in Eleatic and Academic studies. ¶ For-why in syche an vnprofitable man myne ententes weren no þing endamaged. ¶ But ȝe wiþdrawen me 80 þis man þat haþ ben norysched in studies or scoles of Eleaticis and of achademicis in grece. She bids the syrens begone. ¶ But goþ now raþer awey ȝe meremaydenes wyche ben swete til it be at þe laste. and suffreþ þis man to be cured and 84 heled by myne muses. þat is to say by notful sciences. Blushing for shame they pass the threshold. ¶ And þus þis compaygnie of muses I-blamed casten wroþely þe chere adounward to þe erþe and schewyng by redenesse hir schame þei passeden sorowfuly þe 88 þreschefolde. ¶ And I of whom þe syȝt plonged in teres was derked so þat I ne myȝt[e] not knowe what þat woman was of so imperial auctorite. Boethius is astonished at the presence of the august dame. ¶ I wex al a-besid and astoned. and caste my syȝt adoune in to þe 92 erþe. and bygan stille forto abide what sche wolde don afterwarde. ¶ Þo come sche nere and sette hir doun vpon þe vterrest[e] corner of my bedde. Philosophy expresses her concern for Boethius. and sche byholdyng my chere þat was cast to þe erþe heuy and 96 greuous of wepyng. compleinede wiþ þise wordes þat I schal sey þe perturbacioun of my þouȝt.

26 auaunted[e]—auauntede be—ben

27 haþ—MS. haþe not—nat stedfast—stidefast

28 In þe mene—omitted recorded[e]—recordede

30 saw—MS. sawe, C. sawh stondyng above—MS. studiyng aboue, C. stondinge abouen heyȝt—heyhte my—myn

31 greet—gret

32 brennyng—brennynge clere seing—cleer seynge

33 swiche—swych

34 strenkeþ—strengthe it——emptid—it myhte nat ben emted Al—alle

36 wolde——trowe—wolden nat trowen

37 iugement—Iuggement

38 sumtyme—somtyme constreyned[e]—constreynede schronk—MS. schronke, C. shronk

39 lyche—lyk

40 semed[e]—semede touched[e]—towchede

41 when—whan hef—MS. heued, C. hef heyer—hyere

42 perced[e]—percede syȝt—syhte lokyng—lookynge

44 crafte—craft

45 wouen—MS. wonnen, C. wouen owen hondes—owne handes

46 knew—MS. knewe, C. knewh selfe declaryng—self declarynge schewyng—shewynge

47 derkenes—dirknesse forleten—forletyn

48 dispised—despised had[de] duskid—hadde dusked dirkid—derked

49 by-smoked—the smokede neþerest[e]—nethereste

50 þese—thise

51 swiche—omitted gregkysche—grekysshe signifieþ—syngnifieth

52 heyȝest[e]—heyeste

54 by-twene þese—bytwixen thise þere—ther seien—seyn

55 nobly wrouȝt—nobely ywroght wyche—whiche

56 myȝt[en] clymbe—myhten clymbyn neþemast[e]—nethereste

57 ouermast[e]—vppereste sum—some

58 hadde korue—hadden koruen cloþe—cloth strenkeþ—strengthe

59 born—MS. borne, C. born away syche—awey swiche

60 geet[e]—geten forsaide—forseide

61 ber—MS. bere, C. bar bookes—smale bookes honde—hand lefte honde—left hand

62 ber—MS. bere, C. baar sauȝ þese—say thise

63 bedde—bed endytyng—enditynge

64 ameued—amoued

65 glowed[e]—glowede haþ—MS. haþe, C. hath

66 seek[e]—sike þise—the strumpetis—strompetes

67 siche—swich clepen—clepyn

68 only ne—nat oonly ne not his—nat hise no—none

69 wolde fede—wolden feeden norysche hem—noryssyn hym

72 ben—ne ben frutefiyng—fructefiynge

73 cornes plenteuouse—corn plentyuos

74 þe and ne—both omitted

75 not—nat if ȝe—MS. if þe, C. yif ye hadde—hadden

76 vnkonnyng—vnkunnynge

78 peple—poeple

79 syche—swhiche myne—myn

80 weren—ne weeren ȝe—ye

81 haþ—MS. haþe, C. hath ben—be scoles—schooles

82 goþ—MS. goþe, C. goth

83 wyche—whiche þat

85 say—seyn notful—noteful

86 I-blamed—Iblamyd

87 wroþely—wrothly adounward—downward

88 redenesse—rednesse sorowfuly—sorwfully

89 þreschefolde—thresshfold syȝt—syhte

90 derked—dyrked myȝt[e]——knowe—myhte nat knowen

91 wex—wax

92 a-besid—abaysshed caste—cast adoune in to—down to

93 don—MS. done

95 vterrest[e] corner—vttereste cornere bedde—bed

97 compleinede—compley[n]de

98 sey—seyen

PHILOSOPHY ADDRESSES BOETHIUS.

[The 2de Met

ur

.]

HEU QUAM PRECIPITI MERSA PROFUNDO.

101 gone—goon

102 bisines—bysynesse outen—owte

103 worldly—wordely

104 sumtyme—whilom

105 gone—goon

106 paþes—paathes sauȝ—sawh lyȝtnesse—lythnesse sunne—sonne sauȝ—MS. sue, C. sawgh

107 wyche—which

108 risorses—recourses

111 seche—seken sounyng—sownynge

114 ryseþ oute—aryseth owt falle—fallen

115 westren—westrene

116 fyrste—fyrst

119 eke—ek

120 dyuerses—diuerse yhid—MS. yhidde

121 lieþ—lith emptid—emted

123 adoune—adown greet[e] weyȝt—grete weyhte

124 loke——foule—looken on the fool

PHILOSOPHY ENLIGHTENS BOETHIUS.

[The ij

de

p

ro

se.]

SET MEDICINE INQUIT TEMPUS.

125, 126 þen—than

127 al—alle saide—seyde

128 sumtyme—whilom I-norschid—MS. I-norschide, C. noryssed

129 fostre[d]—fostered my—myne

130 Certys—Certes ȝaf, yaf

131 syche—swiche ȝif—yif caste—C. cast

132 away—awey schulden haue—sholden han

133 not be—nat ben Knowest þou—knowestow

134 art þou—artow

136 haþ—MS. haþe

138 tonge—tunge doumbe—dowmb honde—hand

139 Here—her

140 litargie whiche—litarge which

141 sekenes—sykenesse

141, 143 haþ—MS. haþe

144 done—doon wil wipe—wol wypen

146 garment—garnement

147 dried[e]—dryede were—weeren

148 ful—fulle

BOETHIUS RECOGNIZES HIS PHYSICIAN.

[The 3

de

Met

ur

.]

TUNC ME DISCUSSA.

Þus when þat Her touch dispels the darkness of his soul, just as the heavy vapours, that darken the skies and obscure the sunlight, are chased away by the north wind, causing the return of the hidden day, when the sun smites our wondering sight with his sudden light. nyȝt was discussed and chased awey. derknesses forleften me. and to myn eyen repeyre aȝeyne her firste strenkeþ. and ryȝt by ensample as þe sonne is hid when þe sterres ben clustred. þat is to 152 sey when sterres ben couered wiþ cloudes by a swifte wynde þat hyȝt chorus. and þat þe firmament stont derked by wete ploungy cloudes. and þat þe sterres not apperen vpon heuene. ¶ So þat þe nyȝt semeþ sprad 156 vpon erþe. ¶ Yif þan þe wynde þat hyȝt borias sent out of þe kaues of þe contre of Trace betiþ þis nyȝt. þat is to seyn chasiþ it away and descouereþ þe closed day. ¶ Þan schineþ phebus yshaken wiþ 160 sodeyne lyȝt and smyteþ wiþ hys bemes in meruelyng eyen.

149 when—whan

150 myn—myne repeyre—repeyrede

151 aȝeyne—omitted her firste—hir fyrst

152 hid—MS. hidde, C. hid when—whan

153 sey—seyn when—whan

154 hyȝt—heyhte chorus—MS. thorus stont—MS. stonde, C. stant

157 þan—thanne wynde—wynd hyȝt—hyhte

158 sent—isent

160 þan—thanne

161 sodeyne—sodeyn

THE TRIALS OF PHILOSOPHY AND PHILOSOPHERS.

[The 3

de

p

ro

se.]

HAUT1 ALITER TRISTICIE. 1 MS. hanc.

163 none oþer—non oother sorowe—sorwe

165 knowe—knowen

166 myne—myn festned[e]—fastnede

170 fro—from

170, 171 art þou—artow

172 mad—MS. made, C. maked fals[e]—false

174 parte—parten

176 nar[e]—nere sittyng—sittinge

178 þan—thanne

179 þing—thing q.d. non—omitted

180 trowest þou—trowestow alþerfirst—alderfirst

181 wicked[e]—wikkede

182 strife—strif

183 aȝeins—ayenis foolhardines—foolhardinesse foly—folie

184 eke—ek

185 deserued[e]—desseruede

186 wyche—the which seyne—seyn

188 welfulnesse—welefulnesse

189 oþer—oothre

190 go—gon eueryche—euerich

191 seyne—seyn to—omitted eueryche—euerich

194 tornen—read coruen, C. koruen

195 wouen—MS. wonnen, C. wouen

196 arased—arraced

197 gon—MS. gone, C. gon

198 dele—del

199 myche—moche semed[e]—semede and—or

200 myne—myn wenyng—MS. wevyng, C. weninge

202 þoruȝ—thorw wikked[e]—wikkede vnkunnyng[e]—vnkunnynge

203 seyne—seyn þat

204 semeden—semede pursued—MS. pursuede, C. pursued

205 slayn—MS. slayne, C. slayn

207 [weren]—weeren

208 myȝtest þou haue—myhtestow han

209 sorancis—sorans wyche—which is—nis

210 oolde—MS. colde, C. old

211 brouȝt[e]—browhte

212 enfourmed—MS. vnfourmed, C. enformyd my—myne vnlyke—vnlyk

213 wicked folk—wikkede foolke auȝtest—owhtest

214 wondre—wondren bitter—bittre

216 displese—displesen

217 wikked[e]—wikkede schrews—shrewes

218 oost—glossed acies in C. grete—gret

219, 222 leder—ledere

220 flityng—fleetynge lyȝtly—lythly if—yif

221 aȝeynest—ayenis

222 to——rycchesse, to gydere hise rychesses toure—towr

224 heyȝ—heye

225 al—alle ben—omitted stored—warnestored

226 syche—swich þat—omitted

227 scorne—schorne

228 rauiners——þinges—rauyneres & henteres of fowleste thinges

THE AIM OF PHILOSOPHY.

[The ferthe Met

ur

.]

QUISQUIS COMPOSITO.

Who so it be He who hath triumphed over fate, and remained insensible to the changes of Fortune, shall not be moved by storms, nor by the fires of Vesuvius, nor by the fiercest thunderbolts. þat is clere of vertue sad and wel ordinat of lyuyng. þat haþ put vnderfote þe prowed[e] wierdes and lokiþ vpryȝt vpon eyþer fortune. he may holde hys chiere vndiscomfited. ¶ Þe rage ne þe manace 232 of þe commoeuyng or chasyng vpwarde hete fro þe botme. ne schal not moeue þat man. ne þe vnstable mountaigne þat hyȝt veseuus. þat wircheþ oute þoruȝ hys broken[e] chemineys smokyng fires. ¶ Ne þe wey 236 of þonder lyȝt þat is wont to smyte heyȝe toures ne schal not mouene þat man. Fear not the tyrant’s rage. ¶ Wherto þen wrecches drede ȝe tyrauntes þat ben wode and felownes wiþ-outen ony strenkeþ. He who neither fears nor hopes for anything disarms the tyrant. ¶ Hope after no þing ne drede nat. and 240 so schalt þou desarmen þe ire of þilke vnmyȝty tyraunt. He whose heart fails him, yields his arms, and forges his own fetters. ¶ But who so þat quakyng dredeþ or desireþ þing þat nis not stable of his ryȝt. þat man þat so doþ haþ cast awey hys schelde and is remoeued fro hys place. and 244 enlaceþ hym in þe cheyne wiþ whiche he may be drawen.

229 clere—cleer

230 lyuyng—leuynge haþ—MS. haþe vnderfote—vndir-foot prowed[e]—prowde

231 may——chiere—may his cheere holde

232 manace—manesses

233 þe—þe see

235 hyȝt—hihte veseuus—MS. vesenus wircheþ—writith

236 broken[e]—brokene smokyng—smokynge

237 smyte—smyten

238 Wherto þen—wharto thanne

239 felownes——ony—felonos withowte any

241 schalt þou desarmen—shaltow deseruien

243 doþ—MS. doþe, C. doth haþ—MS. haþe, C. hath cast—MS. caste, C. cast

244 schelde—sheld remoeued fro—remwed from

245 whiche—the which be—ben

BOETHIUS SPEAKS OF HIS TROUBLES.

[The verthe p

ro

se.]

SENTIS NE INQUIT.

PHILOSOPHERS TO BE POLITICIANS.

BOETHIUS DEFENDS HIS OWN CONDUCT.

THE ACCUSERS OF BOETHIUS.

THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST BOETHIUS.

BOETHIUS COMPLAINS TO PHILOSOPHY.

OF HIS FALSE ACCUSERS.

But as the reward of his innocence he is made to suffer the punishment due to the blackest crime. I receiue peyne of fals felonie in gerdoun of verray vertue. ¶ And what open confessioun of felonie had[de] euer iugis so accordaunt in cruelte. þat is to seyne as myne accusyng haþ. ¶ Þat oþer errour of 432 mans witte or ellys condicioun of fortune þat is vncerteyne to al mortal folk ne submytted[e] summe of hem. þat is to seyne þat it ne cheyned[e] summe iuge to han pitee or compassioun. Had he been accused of a design to burn temples, massacre priests, he would have been allowed to confront his accusers. ¶ For al þouȝ I had[de] ben accused 436 þat I wolde brenne holy houses. and strangle prestys wiþ wicked swerde. ¶ or þat .I. had[de] grayþed deeþ to alle goode men algatis þe sentence scholde han punysched me present confessed or conuict. 440 But now this is denied him, and he is proscribed and condemned to death. ¶ But now I am remewed fro þe Citee of rome almost fyue-hundreþ þousand pas. I am wiþ outen defence dampned to proscripcioun and to þe deeþ. for þe studie and bountees þat I haue done to þe senat. ¶ But o wel ben 444 þei worþi of mercye (as who seiþ nay.) þer myȝt[e] neuer ȝit non of hem ben conuicte. Of swiche a blame as myn is of swiche trespas myn accusours seyen ful wel þe dignitee.

BOETHIUS ACCUSED OF SORCERY.

BOETHIUS DEPLORES THE POPULAR CENSURE.

247 Felest þou—Felistow ouȝt—awht

248 art þou—artow

249 wepest þou—wepistow spillest þou—spillestow

252 answered[e]—answerede

255 woode—wood

257 wyche—which

258 myne house þere—myn hows ther

259 desputest of[te]—desputedest ofte

260 þan—thanne

261 it and þan—both omitted

261, 262 swiche—swich

262 souȝt[e]—sowhte

263 secretys—secretȝ my—MS. me, C. my

264 al—alle

265 gerdoun—gerdouns

266 enfourmedist—conformedest

267 mouþe—mowht

268 comunabletes—comunalitees

270 by-felle—byfille

271 in grete wisdomes—to geten wysdom

272 eke—ek

275 comune—omitted y-left—MS. ylefte, C. yleft

276 Citiȝenis—citesenes brynge inne—bryngen in

278 þerfore—therfor þilk—thilke desiryng—desired

279 put[te] furþe—putten forth

280 þo—thilke

282 put[te]—putte

283 brouȝt[e]—ne browhte

284 þe—omitted al goodenes—alle goodnesse comeþ—comth

287, 288 haþ—MS. haþe

289 saluacioun—sauacioun

290 þilk—thilke hyȝt[e]—hyhte

290 conigaste—MS. coniugaste

292 ofte—ofte ek ȝitte—omitted

294 bygon[ne]—bygunne done—don

295 couered—MS. couerede, C. couered

296 put—MS. putte, C. put seine—seyn

297 myne—myn

298 vnpunysched—vnpunyssed

299 myseses—myseyses

300 drow—MS. drowe, C. weth drowh ȝitte—yit wrong—wronge

301 rychesse—richesses þe (2)—omitted

302 harmed eyþer—harmyd or amenused owther

303 tributis—tributȝ suffred[e]—suffreden

304 harme—harm

305 ȝere—yer hys—hise

305, 306, 307 corne—corn

306 schold[e] bie—sholde byen

308 But I withstod—Boece withstood (MS. withstode) com—MS. come, C. com

311 swiche—swich

312 bouȝt[e]—bowhte busshel—bossel most[e] ȝeue—moste yeue

315 inplitable—vnplitable seyn—sayen

319 ouercom—MS. ouercome, C. ouer com

320 counseiller—consoler rychesse—rychesses

321 whyche—which

322 wolde—wolden

323 drow—MS. drowe, C. drowh

324 myche—moche

326 punischen—punisse

327 putt[e]—putte

328 yseyn—MS. yseyne

329 greet[e]—grete

330 aughte be—owhte be the oþer—oothre

333 by þe whiche—by which þoruȝ þe—thorw tho

335 whiche—the whiche one—oon somtyme—whilom

339 sumtyme—whilon

340 go—gon her—hir

341 wiþ-outen—withowte wolde not—nolden nat

342 defended[e]—defendedyn by—by the

343 seyne—seyn seyntuaries—sentuarye

344 was—omitted comaunded[e]—comaundede

345 voided[e]—voidede certeyne—certeyn

346 men—me merken—marke

347 hoke of iren—hoot yren

348 þe—omitted myȝt[e] be—myhte ben

349 þilk—thilke

350 þilk[e]—thilke

351 be—ben seid—MS. seide, C. seyd haþ—MS. haþe

354, 355 [Certes——asshamyd]—from C.

356 auȝt[e]—owte haue had—han had, MS. hadde

357 axest þou—axestow

358 seyne—seyn sauen—saue

359 desirest þou—desires thow here—hereen

362 maked—MS. maken, C. makyd

363 demest þou—demestow

365 wold—MS. wolde, C. wold

366 seyne—seyn

367 þat—omitted am—I am

368 be—ben

369 it—it thanne þan—omitted

371 þilk—thilke

372 her—hir hire—hir þouȝ—thogh

373 or—and seyne—seyn

374 lieth—MS. lieþe, C. lieth

377 assent[e]—assente

381 schollen—shellen

382 and—and in

385 speken—speke of——lettres—C. omits

386 if—yif

387 had—MS. hade, C. had

388 myn—myne

389 haþ—MS. haþe, C. hath grete—gret what—omitted

390 some—som

391 myȝt[e] be—myhte ben þan haue—thanne han

392 hyȝt[e]—hyhte

394 maked—ymaked

395 answered[e]—answerede

396 had[de]—hadde

397 whiche—which sorwe—sorw haþ—MS. haþe witte—wit

398 schrewed[e]—shrewede

399 folies—felonies vertues—vertu

400 had[de]—han

401 done—don comeþ—comth

402 lyke to a—lyk a

404 syȝt—syhte

405 haþ—MS. haþe

406 innocent—innocentȝ whiche—which

408 wikked[e]—wykkede

410 bloode—blod

411 eke—ek

412 gone—gon and seyn—seyen

413 eke—ek

414 seyne—seyn

415 scholde—sholden

416 wele—wel

417 don—MS. done, C. doon seyn—seyen

418 þe (1)—omitted

419 slauȝter—slawhtre

420 transporten vpon—transpor vp

422 grete—gret defended[e]—deffendede

423 seide soþe—seye soth

424 auaunted[e]—auauntede

425 when—whan preciouse—presious

429 in—for

430 vertue—vertu

431 had[de]—hadde

432 seyne—seyn myne—myn haþ—MS. haþe

433 witte—wit vncerteyne—vncerteyn

434 al—alle submytted[e]—submittede

435 seyne—seyn cheyned[e]—enclinede

436 had[de]—hadde

438 wicked—wykkede had[de]—hadde

441 almost—almest

442 þousand—MS. þousas wiþ outen—withowte

444 done—doon

445 myȝt[e]—myhte

446 ben—be swiche—swich

447 myn (both)—myne swiche—whiche seyen—sayen

448 wolde—wolden

449 some—som beren—baren on honde—an hand

450 polute—polut

451 sacrelege—C. has sorcerie as a gloss to sacrilege

453 al—alle

454 had[de]—hadde byforne—byforn

455 drouppedest—droppedest myn—myne

456 þilk—thilke

457 seyne—seyn seruen—serue god—godde

459 helpe—help spirites—spirite

460 set—MS. sette, C. set syche—swiche [þou]—thow

461 lyke—lyk

462 house—hows seye—seyn

463 myn—my

465 owen—owne of al—from alle syche—swich

467 philosophie—philosophre feiþe—feyth grete—gret

468 had—MS. hadde, C. had

473 myne—myn

474 þere—ther harme—harm

475 myche—moche

476 þe[de]sertys—the desertȝ

479 Glosa—glose

480 good—MS. goode, C. good haue—han

481 so—omitted in C.

481, 482 haþ—MS. haþe

483 haue—han

484 Fyrste—fyrst

485 al—alle þink[e]—thinke

488 ony—any

489 laid—MS. laide, C. leyd haþ—MS. haþe

490 put—MS. putte, C. put

491 from—of

494 abounden—habownden gladnes—gladnesse

495 oute—owt

496 accusen—accuse

497 ben—beth

501 manere—wise

THE CRUEL CHANGES OF FORTUNE

[The fifthe met

ur

.]

O STELLIFERI CONDITOR ORBIS.

CONTRASTED WITH THE ORDER OF NATURE.

502 whele—whel whiche—which

503 fastned—yfastned chayere—chayer

504 sweighe—sweyh constreinest, MS. contreuiest, C. constreynest

506 hir—here

508 lasse—lesse

510 esperus whiche—hesperus which

511 first[e]—fyrste furþe—forth

512 eft—est

514 restreinest—MS. restreniest

516 to—omitted

518 attempre[þ] þo—atempreth the sesons—sesoun ȝere—yer

519 wynde bringeþ—wynd brengeth

520 wynde—wynd hyȝt[e]—hihte

521 reft—MS. refte, C. reft seyne—seyn

522 hyȝt—hihte arcturus—MS. ariturus

523 saw—MS. saweþ, C. sawgh hey[e]—hyye

524 hym—hem þere—ther þing—thinge

525 from—fram forleteþ hym of—forleetheth þe werke of

527 refusest þou—refowsestow

529 to——þinges—so grete entrechaunginges of thynges

531 punissitȝ—punysshe wikked[e]—wykkede

532 heiȝe—heere

533 in—oon

534 and—omitted

536 Ne þe forsweryng—Ne forswerynge

537 kembd—MS. kembde, C. kembd

541 wiþ[outen]—withhowtyn

542 knyttes[t]—knyttest

543 wrecched[e]—wrecchede

544 a (2)—omitted

545 þe—this

546 wiþdraw—MS. wiþdrawe, C. withdrawh þe—thei

547 forme—ferme [bonde]—from C. wiþ—by

PHILOSOPHY CONSOLES BOETHIUS,

[The fyfthe p

ro

se.]

HIC UBI CONTINUATO DOLORE.

Whan I hadde Philosophy consoles Boethius. wiþ a continuel sorwe sobbed or broken out þise þinges sche wiþ hir chere peisible and no þing amoeued. wiþ my compleyntes seide þus. whan I say þe quod sche sorweful and wepyng I wist[e] 552 on-one þat þou were a wrecche and exiled. but I wist[e] neuer how fer þine exile was: ȝif þi tale ne hadde schewed it to me. but certys al be þou fer fro þi [* fol. 7 b.] contre. þou nart *nat put out of it. but þou hast 556 fayled of þi weye and gon amys. She speaks to him of his country. ¶ and yif þou hast leuer forto wene þan þou be put out of þi contre. þan hast þou put oute þi self raþer þen ony oþer wyȝt haþ.

AND PROPOSES TO ADMINISTER REMEDIES.