Chapter D: CAMB. UNIV. Dd. viii. 19 (Bern. Cat. ii. 9653). Confessio Amantis (2)

Nine good miniatures cut out of a MS. of the _Conf. Amantis_ are in the possession of Mr. A. H. Frere, who kindly allowed me to see them. They are as follows. (1) Tereus, (2) Codrus, (3) Socrates and his wife, (4) Dives and Lazarus, (5) Roman Triumph, (6) Ulysses and Telegonus, (7) The Three Questions, (8) Lycurgus taking an oath from the Athenians (?), (9) King on a quay with bales and gold vessels, apparently landed from a ship near, perhaps Apollonius landing at Tarsis. Several of the pictures represent more than one scene of the story, as that of Tereus, in which we have the king at meat presented with the head of his son, while there are three birds in the background and the scene of the outrage on Philomene on the left; and again in (4), where the rich man and his wife are sitting at table and refusing food to the beggar, while in the background on the right an angel is receiving the soul of the dying Lazarus.

These miniatures are supposed to have belonged to Sir John Fenn, editor of the Paston Letters. The MS. from which they were cut seems to have been of the middle of the fifteenth cent.

Evidence is afforded of one other large and well written MS. of the _Conf. Amantis_ by a fragment of parchment in the Shrewsbury School Library, of which a photograph has most kindly been sent to me by Dr. Calvert of Shrewsbury. It contains about 70 lines of the Prologue, viz. 189-195 (with the Latin), 224-244, 274-294, 323-343. The leaf to which it belonged must have measured at least 15½ × 11½ in., and was written in double column of 50 lines.

Three other MSS. are mentioned in the Catalogue of 1697 (vol. ii. pt. 1), viz. 611 ‘John Gower’s Old English Poems’ with ‘S. Anselmi Speculum Religiosorum,’ at Naworth Castle, which I strongly suspect is identical with Harl. 3490 (H₁), 4035, ‘Goweri Confessio Amantis, Fol. magn.,’ belonging to Ric. Brideoake, Esq., of Ledwell, Oxon., and 6974, ‘Jo. Gower’s Poems, fol.,’ belonging to Sir Henry Langley of the County of Salop (i.e. of the Abbey, Shrewsbury).

The average excellence of the Gower MSS. stands high, and there is a surprisingly large proportion of well written and finely decorated copies, which attain to more than a respectable standard of correctness. Manuscripts such as L or B₂, which stand in the third rank among copies of the _Confessio Amantis_, would take a very different place among the authorities for any of Chaucer’s works, second only to the Ellesmere MS. if they were copies of the _Canterbury Tales_, and easily in the first place if it were a question of the _Legend of Good Women_ or the _Hous of Fame_. It is evident not only that Gower was careful about the text of his writings, but also that there was some organized system of reproduction, which was wanting in the case of Chaucer.

VERSION. It remains to say something of the Spanish prose version of the _Confessio Amantis_, which exists in manuscript in the Library of the Escorial (g. ii. 19). Information about this was first given me by Mr. J. Fitzmaurice-Kelly, and since then by the learned Librarian of the Escorial, Fr. Guillermo Antolin, O.S.A., who most obligingly sent me an account of it. The Catalogue (1858) thus describes the book: ‘Confision del amante, libro así intitulado compuesto por Juan Goer natural del Reyno de Englaterra, e tornado en lengua Portuguesa por Roberto Payn ó Payna canónigo de la ciudad de Lisboa, e despues fué puesto en lenguaje castellano por Juan de Cuenca natural de Huete. Cod. escrito en papel el año de 1400, fol. menor. pasta.’ The statement about the author and the translators is taken from the beginning of the translation itself. It seems to be rather implied that the Castilian version made by Juan de Cuenca was based upon the Portuguese of Robert Payn, no doubt an Englishman. The present Librarian adds that it is a book of 411 leaves, and of the end of the fourteenth or beginning of the fifteenth cent.

The translation was made from a copy of the first recension. So far as I can judge by the extracts with which the Librarian has furnished me, it is a tolerably close version. For example, Prol. 22 ff. ‘e por que pocos escriven en lenguaje yngles yo entiendo de componer en el un lybro a onrra del Rey rricardo cuyo sugebto yo so en todo obedescimiento de mi coraçon, como dicho sugebto puede y deue a su dicho señor,... asy fue que un tiempo acaescio como avía de ser que yo yendo en un batel a rremos por el rrio de atenas que va a la cibdad de noua troya ... y yo estonces falle por ventura a este mi señor e luego como me vido mando que fuese a una barca en que el venia, y entre otras cosas que me dixo,’ &c. And again viii. 2941 ff. (the Chaucer greeting), ‘Saluda de mi parte a caucer mi disciplo e mi poeta, quando con el topares, el qual por mi en la su mancibia fiso toda su diligencia para componer y escreuir desyres e cantares de diversas maneras de los quales toda la tierra es llena, por la qual cosa en especial le soy mucho tenido mas que a ninguno de los otros. Por ende dile que le enbio desir que tal esta en su postrimera hedad por dar fyn a todas sus obras se travaje de faser su testamento de amor, asi como tu has fecho agora en tu confision.’

EDITIONS. The _Confessio Amantis_ has been already six times printed, viz. by Caxton, by Berthelette (twice), in Chalmers’ English Poets, by Pauli, and by Prof. Henry Morley. All the later editions are dependent, directly or indirectly, on Berthelette.

CAXTON printed the _Conf. Amantis_ in 1483. His text is a composite one, taken from at least three MSS. At first he follows a copy of the third recension, either the Magdalen MS. itself or one remarkably like it, and he continues this for more than half the book, up to about v. 4500. Then for a time he seems to follow a second recension copy, either alone or in combination with the other, but from about v. 6400 to the end he prints from a manuscript of the unrevised first recension, inserting however the additional passages in the seventh book and the conclusion (after the Chaucer greeting) from one of his other MSS. The account of the books ‘Quia vnusquisque’ at the end is from a first recension MS. The principle, no doubt, was to include as much as possible, but two of the additional passages, v. 7015*-7036* and 7086*-7210*, were omitted, probably by oversight, while a first recension copy was being followed. The later form of epilogue was perhaps printed rather than the other because it is longer. Caxton prints the lines at the end of the Prologue, which are given only by Δ, and there are some other indications that he had a MS. of this type; but he had also one of the AdBT group, which alone contain vii. 2329*-2340* and 3149*-3180*.

On f. cxvi v^o Caxton still agrees with Magd. almost regularly,
e.g. v. 4450 And myn hap 4454 is not trouble 4465 But for that
4467 ne shall yeue and lene 4484 doo 4503 A good word, whereas
on f. cxvii he differs repeatedly, e.g. 4528, 4532, 4543, 4555,
4560, 4572, and seems never to be in full agreement after this.
That he is following a first recension copy after about v. 6400
is clear from the unbroken series of readings belonging to this
class which he exhibits. The text generally is very poor and
the metre extremely bad.

BERTHELETTE in 1532 printed the _Conf. Amantis_ from a MS. very closely resembling B. He did not venture, however, to substitute the preface which he found in his copy for that to which Caxton had given currency, but merely expressed surprise that the printed copies should deviate so much from the MSS., and printed separately that which his manuscript gave. He also takes from Caxton the lines at the end of the Prologue, the additional third recension passages, Prol. 495-498, 579-584, i. 1403-1406, 2267-2274, 2343-2358, 2369-2372[AK], and also the Chaucer greeting, viii. 2941-2960*, but he has overlooked v. 7701-7746. He inserts of course all the additional passages in v. and vii, as he found them in his MS., loudly protesting against Caxton for omitting ‘lynes and columnes, ye and sometyme holle padges.’

Berthelette’s text is better than Caxton’s, but his manuscript must have been decidedly inferior in correctness to B.

The second edition, 1554, is a reprint of the first, column for column, in different type. A few mistakes are corrected, and the spelling is somewhat changed, especially by substitution in many cases of _i_ for _y_.

CHALMERS published the _Conf. Amantis_ in vol. ii. of the collection of British Poets, 1810, taking the text from Berthelette’s edition of 1554.

PAULI professed to follow Berthelette’s first edition with collation throughout of MSS. Harl. 7184 and 3869, and occasional reference to Harl. 3490 and the Stafford MS. It is almost impossible that this full collation can really have been made, for by it nearly all Berthelette’s errors might have been corrected, whereas we find them as a matter of fact on every page of Pauli’s edition. As to the critical judgement of the editor, it is enough to say that he regarded Harl. 7184 as a better authority for the text and spelling than either Harl. 3869 or the Stafford MS. (being attracted apparently by the external magnificence of the volume), and that he actually pronounced it to be of the fourteenth cent. His diligence may be measured by the fact that because Harl. 3490 stops short at viii. 3062* (in the middle of a sentence), being left unfinished by the scribe, therefore Pauli’s edition omits the remainder of this conclusion, 3063*-3114*[AL], though he had the MS. in the Royal Library (R) within his reach, by means of which he might have completed his copy. He is also seriously inaccurate in the statements which he makes about the Stafford MS. as regards the additional passages.

A certain number of the errors in Berthelette’s edition are corrected, but very many remain, and in some cases further corruption has been introduced by the editor, either from Harl. 7184 or otherwise. The orthography has been ‘restored,’ but hardly with success.

MORLEY (1889) followed Pauli’s text, with conjectural alterations of his own, and a few corrections from Berthelette, as i. 773. Often the changes are quite wrong, e.g. Prol. 82, 608, i. 777, 1675 f., 2957 f., the most extraordinary perhaps being iv. 2408 f. The editor professes to omit iii. 142-338 and a few lines here and there in other places. The omissions, however, are much more extensive than this seems to imply. In the fourth book alone they are as follows, 401-408, 428-436, 443-506, 516-523, 1467-1475, 1490-1594, 2131-2182, 2754-2770, 2858-2862, 2883-2888, 3181-3302, and in some cases it is impossible even to conjecture on what principle they are made.

THE PRESENT EDITION. The text follows the Bodleian Fairfax MS. and every deviation from this is noted. The critical apparatus is constructed upon the following principles.

Three manuscripts have been collated throughout with the text of F, viz. Bodley 902 (A), Corpus Christi Coll. 67 (C), and Bodley 294 (B). These are selected to represent respectively the first recension revised, the first recension unrevised, and the second recension texts. A is an excellent copy, the best of its class, C is a carefully written MS., the best of the group to which it belongs, with the exception of Egerton 1991, and B, besides being a good copy and almost the only second recension MS. which is not imperfect, has perhaps a special claim to attention because its text is of the type which all the editions except that of Caxton have followed. In all cases where variation has been found, except where it is merely of form and spelling or of a very trifling and accidental kind, the readings of at least fourteen other selected copies have been ascertained, and by this procedure those variations which are merely individual have been distinguished from those which are shared by a class or a group. The result is given in the critical notes, all the variations of A and B being there cited except those that are very trifling[AM], while the readings of C are usually given only when shared by some other manuscript.

It is important that it should be observed which the manuscripts are which have thus been referred to and how their evidence is cited. They are divided always according to their recension, first, second or third, and they are cited in an unvarying order, as follows: AJMH₁X(G)ERCLB₂, SAdBTΔ, FWH₃ (or K), so that A ... B₂ means the whole series of the first class, and S ... Δ that of the second, while H₁ ... B₂ stands for H₁X(G)ERCLB₂, and E ... B₂ for ERCLB₂. These nineteen (or eighteen) manuscripts are present as witnesses throughout, whether named or not; for when the manuscripts are named which give a variation, it is to be assumed that the remainder have the reading of the text. Thus the note

‘1295 wisdom] wordes H₁ ... B₂, H₃’

must be taken to imply that ‘wisdom’ is the reading of AJM, SAdBTΔ, FW and ‘wordes’ of H₁XGERCLB₂, H₃:

‘1296 gostly B’

means that the reading of the text, ‘goodly,’ is given by every one of the nineteen except B:

‘1318 How þer(e) H₁G ... B₂’

means that the reading of the text is that of AJMX, SAdBTΔ, FWH₃ and that of the note belongs to H₁GERCLB₂:

‘1330 for to] þat þou SAdBTΔ’

indicates a reading of the second recension only:

‘3340 tho] þe AM ... B₂’

stands for the fact that all the first recension copies except J vary from F, while the rest agree. Occasionally readings of other MSS. are cited besides those mentioned above, as Y, Λ or Magd., but the absence of such citation must not be taken to imply anything.

It must be observed, however, that in some cases a more limited reference seemed desirable, especially on matters of form and spelling, points about which it would be idle to adduce any evidence but that of a few copies. Where selection of this kind is employed, the manuscripts on both sides are cited: thus such notes as

‘3691 set AJ, S, F sette C, B,’
‘4307 all S, F alle AJ, B’

must not be taken to imply the reading of any copy except those mentioned. In a few cases this form is used to avoid misunderstanding in passages where the record of readings is for some reason incomplete, as i. 2300, viii. 566, 1713, 1927.

In citing a variation as given by a class or group of MSS. no attempt is made to give the spelling of each one separately. The form cited is that given either by the majority or by a leading MS. with variations sometimes added in parentheses.

Attention should be paid also to the following points: (1) It
was not found possible to complete the collation of the Glasgow
MS. (G) before the text was printed, and consequently its
readings must not be taken as implied, when not mentioned, any
further than v. 1970. The collation has since been completed
and some of the results are noted in the account of the MS.
(2) K takes the place of H₃ in vi. 1671-vii. 1405, and vii.
3594 to the end, where H₃ is defective. (3) Before assuming
the evidence of any MS. _ex silentio_ it is necessary that
the reader should assure himself that it is not defective
in the part concerned. The means of doing this are fully
afforded by the accounts given of the separate MSS., where
their imperfections are noted, and it must be remembered that
J and Ad are for the most part defective as regards the Latin
summaries, and that this is the case with T also in certain
parts. The readings of S on f. 50 are for the most part passed
over, as not originally belonging to that MS. (4) A few
abbreviated Latin terms are used in the critical notes, as _in
ras._ to indicate that the text is written over an erasure, or
_p.m._ to denote the reading of the first hand.

The lines are numbered in each book (for the first time), and the numbers with an asterisk attached are those of the lines in other recensions than that of the text. In addition to this it should be observed that as nearly all references to Gower for the last forty years have been made by Pauli’s edition, it has been thought advisable to place in the margin of this text indications of the volumes and pages of that edition: thus =P. 1. 153= stands for ‘Pauli, vol. i. p. 153.’

Setting aside matters of spelling, punctuation and grammatical form, we may note that the material differences of reading between the text of this edition and that of Pauli are in number about two thousand.

OTHER ENGLISH WORKS. With regard to the text of the poem _In Praise of Peace_ all that need be said will be found in the notes upon it. The Trentham MS., which contains it, has already been fully described in the volume of ‘French Works.’

A poem in five seven-line stanzas, beginning ‘Passe forthe þou pilgryme and bridel wele þy beste,’ occurs in (Shirley’s) MS. Ashmole 59, f. 17 v^o (Bodl. Libr.), with the title ‘Balade moral of gode counseyle made by Gower.’ The same without the final stanza (owing to loss of a leaf) occurs in MS. Rawlinson C. 86, but with no title or ascription of authorship, and both texts have been printed (not quite correctly) by Dr. Karl Meyer in his _John Gower’s Beziehungen_, &c., 1889. In addition to these copies there is one in the British Museum MS. Addit. 29729, which has been published by Dr. Max Förster in the _Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen_, vol. 102, p. 50. In this MS. the piece is ascribed to Benedict Burgh, and it is called ‘A leson to kepe well the tonge.’

It is almost impossible that these verses can have been written by Gower, but out of deference to Shirley’s authority (which is not very weighty however), and in order that the reader may judge, it is printed here, all deviations from the Ashmole text being noted, except in the case of ‘th’ for ‘þ,’ and some readings of the Rawlinson copy (R) being added in parentheses.

BALADE MORAL OF GODE COUNSEYLE MADE BY GOWER.

Passe forth, thou pilgryme, and bridel wel thy beeste;[1]
Loke not agein for thing that may betyde;[2]
Thenke what thou wilt, but speke ay with the leeste;
Avyse thee wel who stondeth thee besyde;[3]
Let not thyne herte beo with thy tonge bewryde;
Trust not to muche in fayre visayginge,
For peynted cheere shapeth efft to stynge.[4]
Byholde thy selff, or that thou other deme;
Ne beo not glad whane other done amyss;[5]
Sey never al that which wolde the sothe seme,[6] 10
Thou maist not wite what thy fortune is:[7]
For there is no wight on lyve iwyss[8]
That stondeth sure, ther fore I rede beware,[9]
And looke aboute for stumbling in the snare.

Reporte not muche on other mennes sawe;[10]
Be ay adrad to here a wicked fame;[11]
For man shal dye by dome of goddes lawe,
That here enpeyreth any mannes name.[12]
Avyse thee wel ther fore or thow attame[13]
Suche as thou mayst never revoke ageyn;[14] 20
A good name leste is leste for ay certain.[15]

Pley not with pecus ne ffawvel to thy feere;[16]
Chese thou hem never, yif thou do affter me;
The hande is hurt that bourdeth with the bere;[17]
Fawvel fareth even right as doth a bee;[18]
Hony mowthed, ful of swetnesse is she,[19]
But loke behinde and ware thee from hir stonge,[20]
Thow shalt have hurt yf thou play with hir longe.[21]

Dispreyse no wight but if effte thou may him preyse,
Ne preyse no firre but thou may discomende: 30
Weyghe thy wordes and hem by mesure peyse;
Thenke that the gilty may by grace amende,
And eke the gode may happen to offende:
Remember eke that what man doth amiss,[22]
Thou hast or art or may be suche as he is.[23]

This is full of lines that Gower would not have written, with superfluous syllables in the metre, as ll. 1, 5, 10, 17, 29, 33, 35 (omitting those that might pass with amended spelling), accent on weak syllables, as ll. 20, 25, 26, 31, defective rhyme, as ‘besyde’: ‘bewryde’ (participle), and ‘feere’ (companion): ‘bere,’ or suppression of syllable at the beginning, as in l. 12. The form ‘mayst’ (maist) for ‘miht’ is not found in any respectable Gower MS. Moreover the style is not that of Gower, but evidently imitated from Chaucer’s poem ‘Fle from the pres.’

LINENOTES:

[1] 1 forþe wele

[2] 2 ageine

[3] 4 weele stondeþe

[4] 7 shapeþe (efft] her R)

[5] 9 gladde (glad R) amysse

[6] 10 þee

[7] 11 wit (witte R)

[8] 12 ewysse

[9] 13 stondeþe

[10] 15 mens (mennys R)

[11] 16 adradde

[12] 18 enpeyreþe mans (mannes R)

[13] 19 wele þowe

[14] 20 ageyne

[15] 21 gode (good R) certaine

[16] 22 (Playe not pecus R)

[17] 24 hurte bourdeþe (a brere R)

[18] 25 fareþe doþe

[19] 26 right ful (full R)

[20] 27 frome

[21] 28 þowe shalt kache hareme to pley w^t þeos beestis longe (Thow shalt haue hurt yf þou play with her longe R)

[22] 34 Remembre doþe amisse

[23] 35 haste arte

CORRIGENDA ET ADDENDA

p. 2, note on 24-92, _for_ Λ, _read_ ΛP₂, and for _Of these_ H₃ Magd. _have_ read _Of these_ Magd. _has_

p. 13, note on 331, _for_ RSnDAr _read_ RSnDAr, Δ

p. 14, l. 349, _for_ new _read_ newe

p. 19, note on 543, _read_ scholde A, B, K schold S, F

p. 23, note on 668, _for_ hol] hole AC _read_ hol B, F hole AC
note on 683, _for_ A _read_ AM

p. 25, l. 747, _for_ for _read_ forto

p. 29, l. 871, _for_ form _read_ forme

p. 33, l. 1024, _for_ wist _read_ wiste

p. 57, l. 782, _for_ There _read_ Ther

p. 60, l. 914, _for_ She _read_ Sche _so also_ p. 244, l. 679

p. 64, l. 1052, _for_ righte _read_ rihte

p. 70, l. 1275, _for_ Commandeth _read_ Comandeth

p. 72, note on 1338, _for_ SΔ _read_ SAdΔ, H₃

p. 88, l. 1946, _for_ wenyinge _read_ wenynge

p. 96, l. 2248, _for_ well _read_ wel

p. 100, l. 2365, _for_ myght _read_ myht _so also_ p. 117, l. 2990

p. 107, l. 2630, _for_ discoevered _read_ descoevered

p. 109, l. 2710, _for_ all _read_ al _so also_ p. 156, l. 966, p. 238, l. 447, p. 346, l. 1668

p. 112, l. 2822, _for_ bare _read_ bar

p. 113, l. 2838, _for_ But _read_ Bot

p. 133, below l. 96, a small space should be left

p. 138, l. 274, _for_ greveth _read_ grieveth

p. 150, l. 750, _for_ her _read_ hire

p. 170, l. 1498, _for_ Till _read_ Til

p. 182, note on 1916, _for_ RCLB₂, H₃ _read_ RCLB₂, Δ, H₃

p. 200, note on 2592, _for_ AdB _read_ SAdBΔ

p. 234, note on 313, _for_ H₁ ... B₂ _read_ H₁ ... B₂, Δ

p. 252, note on 983, _add_ pater Δ

p. 257, note on 1164, _for_ XRCLB₂ _read_ H₁XRCLB₂

p. 260, note on 1258, _for_ AdT _read_ AdTΔ

p. 262, note on 1336 (_margin_), add _om._ Δ

p. 265, note on 1448, _for_ X ... B₂, WH₃ _read_ X ... B₂, Δ, WH₃

p. 266, note on 1473, _for_ AdBT _read_ SAdBTΔ

p. 269, note on 1605, _for_ SBΛ _read_ BΛ _and for_ AdTΔ _read_ SAdTΔ

p. 280, note on 2023, _for_ Phoreus T _read_ Phoreus TΔ

p. 282, l. 2077, _for_ hounde _read_ hound

p. 284, note on 2166, _for_ W _read_ Δ, W

p. 289, l. 2357, _for_ pouere _read_ povere

p. 292, note on 2444, _for_ H₁ ... B₂ _read_ H₁ ... B₂, SΔ

p. 307, l. 225, _for_ distruid _read_ destruid

p. 314, l. 498, _for_ accordant _read_ acordant

p. 334, l. 1224 (_margin_), _add_ Confessor

p. 346, l. 1653, _for_ accompte _read_ acompte

p. 351, note on 1872, _for_ AC _read_ AC, S

p. 387, l. 3188, _for_ By _read_ Be

p. 396, l. 3507, _for_ thinge _read_ thing

p. 421, l. 716, _for_ harme _read_ harm

p. 464, note on 745 ff., _add_ The authority here followed is the _Trésor_ of Brunetto Latini, pp. 84-88 (ed. 1863).

p. 468, note on 463 ff., _add_ The authority for this is perhaps the _Trésor_, p. 191.

p. 473, l. 11, _for_ 7101), Spertachus for Cyrus (vii. 3418), &c. _read_ 7101).

p. 489, note on 2459 ff., _for_ I am unable [to say where Gower found this version of the story. The name Geta is quite unknown in the classical] form of it. _read_ The name Geta was taken by Gower from the _Geta_ of Vitalis Blesensis, a dramatic piece in Latin elegiacs founded on Plautus, in which Geta takes the place of Sosia: see Wright’s _Early Mysteries_, &c., pp. 79-90.

p. 509, note on 2606, for _on the ferst,_ read _on the ferste,_

AN ADDITIONAL MS. OF THE ‘CONFESSIO AMANTIS’

On June 12, 1902, a very valuable manuscript of the _Confessio Amantis_, which had not hitherto been described, was offered for sale by Messrs. Sotheby. By the kind assistance of Dr. Furnivall, who was allowed by the auctioneers to examine the book before the sale, I am able to give the following description of it.

FOUNTAINE MS. Contains _Confessio Amantis_ with ‘Explicit’ (six lines), ‘Quam cinxere,’ and ‘Quia vnusquisque,’ after which ‘Deo gracias.’ Then at the end an alphabetical index to the contents of the poem. Parchment, ff. 213 (originally), 17½ × 12¼ in., neatly written in double column of 46 lines to the column, Latin summaries in the text, red: middle of the fifteenth century. Illustrated throughout with well-painted miniatures, of which there were originally 108, including pictures of the signs of the Zodiac and of the positions of the principal stars. Of these miniatures nine are missing from the book, but these have now been identified with the series of nine miniatures in the possession of Mr. A. H. Frere, which are described on p. clxvi of my Introduction. At the end of the text (f. 203) is written ‘And^w. Fountaine, 1791. Æ. 20.’

This is a very large folio, giving a fair text of the first
recension. The interest of it depends upon the miniatures. In
describing the illustrated New College MS. 266 I remarked that
other similar copies must once have existed. In saying this I
was referring to the Frere miniatures, and it is a matter of
some interest to me to have been able to identify these with
the nine which are missing from the Fountaine MS. The subjects
of the Frere miniatures correspond duly with the places from
which pictures have been cut out, and the words which in some
cases have been cut away with the pictures fit in with those
that remain in the MS. For example, on f. 26 a miniature has
been cut out before i. 3067 (the tale of the Three Questions),
the text of the Latin summary above the missing picture being
cut off after the words ‘tocius perdicionis.’ The Frere
miniature which relates to this tale continues the sentence,
supplying the words ‘causam sua culpa ministrat’; and so also
with some of the others. In some respects we can now correct
our account of the Frere miniatures. The subjects of seven are
correctly given in the description, but the last two represent,
as we can now see, (8) Alexander and the Pirate, iii. 2363 ff.,
(9) Lycurgus departing with his goods from Athens, vii. 2917
ff. The book was bought by Mr. Quaritch for £1550, certainly
the highest price ever paid for a Gower manuscript.

G. C. M.

CONFESSIO AMANTIS[24a]

[Sidenote: =P. i. 1=]

i. _Torpor, ebes sensus, scola parua labor minimusque_
_Causant quo minimus ipse minora canam:_
_Qua tamen Engisti lingua canit Insula Bruti_
_Anglica Carmente metra iuuante loquar._
_Ossibus ergo carens que conterit ossa loquelis_
_Absit, et interpres stet procul oro malus._

Incipit Prologus

Of hem that writen ous tofore
The bokes duelle, and we therfore
Ben tawht of that was write tho:
Forthi good is that we also
In oure tyme among ous hiere[24]
Do wryte of newe som matiere,[25]
Essampled of these olde wyse[26]
So that it myhte in such a wyse,[27]
[Sidenote: [DESIGN OF THE BOOK.]]
Whan we ben dede and elleswhere,
Beleve to the worldes eere 10
In tyme comende after this.
Bot for men sein, and soth it is,
That who that al of wisdom writ
It dulleth ofte a mannes wit
[Sidenote: =P. i. 2=]
To him that schal it aldai rede,[28]
For thilke cause, if that ye rede,
I wolde go the middel weie
And wryte a bok betwen the tweie,
Somwhat of lust, somewhat of lore,
That of the lasse or of the more 20
Som man mai lyke of that I wryte:
And for that fewe men endite
[Sidenote: Hic in principio declarat qualiter in anno Regis
Ricardi secundi sexto decimo Iohannes Gower presentem libellum
composuit et finaliter compleuit, quem strenuissimo domino
suo domino Henrico de Lancastria tunc Derbeie Comiti cum omni
reuerencia specialiter destinauit.]
In oure englissh, I thenke make[29]
*A bok for Engelondes sake,[30]
[Sidenote: =P. i. 3=]
The yer sextenthe of kyng Richard.
What schal befalle hierafterward
God wot, for now upon this tyde
Men se the world on every syde[31]
In sondry wyse so diversed,[32]
That it welnyh stant al reversed, 30
As forto speke of tyme ago.
The cause whi it changeth so
It needeth nought to specifie,[33]
The thing so open is at ÿe
[Sidenote: =P. i. 4=]
That every man it mai beholde:
And natheles be daies olde,
Whan that the bokes weren levere,
Wrytinge was beloved evere[34]
Of hem that weren vertuous;
For hier in erthe amonges ous, 40
If noman write hou that it stode,[35]
The pris of hem that weren goode
Scholde, as who seith, a gret partie
Be lost: so for to magnifie
The worthi princes that tho were,
The bokes schewen hiere and there,[36]
Wherof the world ensampled is;[37]
And tho that deden thanne amis
[Sidenote: =P. i. 5=]
Thurgh tirannie and crualte,[38]
Right as thei stoden in degre, 50
So was the wrytinge of here werk.[39]
Thus I, which am a burel clerk,[40]
Purpose forto wryte a bok
After the world that whilom tok
Long tyme in olde daies passed:
Bot for men sein it is now lassed,
In worse plit than it was tho,
I thenke forto touche also
The world which neweth every dai,
So as I can, so as I mai. 60
Thogh I seknesse have upon honde
And longe have had, yit woll I fonde
To wryte and do my bisinesse,[41]
That in som part, so as I gesse,
The wyse man mai ben avised.
For this prologe is so assised
That it to wisdom al belongeth:
What wysman that it underfongeth,[42]
He schal drawe into remembrance
The fortune of this worldes chance, 70
The which noman in his persone[43]
Mai knowe, bot the god al one.[44]
Whan the prologe is so despended,
This bok schal afterward ben ended
Of love, which doth many a wonder[45]
And many a wys man hath put under.[46]
And in this wyse I thenke trete
Towardes hem that now be grete,
[Sidenote: =P. i. 6=]
Betwen the vertu and the vice
Which longeth unto this office.[47] 80
[Sidenote: [DEDICATION.]]
Bot for my wittes ben to smale
To tellen every man his tale,
This bok, upon amendment
To stonde at his commandement,
With whom myn herte is of accord,
I sende unto myn oghne lord,
Which of Lancastre is Henri named:
The hyhe god him hath proclamed
Ful of knyhthode and alle grace.
So woll I now this werk embrace 90
With hol trust and with hol believe;
God grante I mot it wel achieve.

* * * * *

*[48]A bok for king Richardes sake,[49]
To whom belongeth my ligeance[50]
With al myn hertes obeissance
In al that evere a liege man[51]
Unto his king may doon or can:
So ferforth I me recomande[52]
To him which al me may comande, 30*
Preyende unto the hihe regne[53]
Which causeth every king to regne,
That his corone longe stonde.
[Sidenote: Hic declarat in primis qualiter ob reuerenciam
serenissimi principis domini sui Regis Anglie Ricardi secundi[55]
totus suus humilis Iohannes Gower, licet graui infirmitate
a diu multipliciter fatigatus, huius opusculi labores
suscipere non recusauit, set[59] tanquam fauum ex variis floribus
recollectum, presentem libellum ex variis cronicis, historiis,[62]
poetarum philosophorumque dictis, quatenus sibi infirmitas
permisit, studiosissime compilauit.]
I thenke and have it understonde,
As it bifel upon a tyde,
As thing which scholde tho betyde,--[54]
Under the toun of newe Troye,
Which tok of Brut his ferste joye,[56]
In Temse whan it was flowende[57]
As I be bote cam rowende,[58] 40*
So as fortune hir tyme sette,
My liege lord par chaunce I mette;
And so befel,[60] as I cam nyh,[61]
Out of my bot, whan he me syh,
He bad me come in to his barge.
And whan I was with him at large,
Amonges othre thinges seid[63]
He hath this charge upon me leid,[64]
And bad me doo my besynesse[65]
That to his hihe worthinesse 50*
Som newe thing I scholde boke,[66]
That he himself it mihte loke[67]
After the forme of my writynge.[68]
And thus upon his comandynge
Myn herte is wel the more glad[69]
To write so as he me bad;
And eek my fere is wel the lasse
That non envye schal compasse
Withoute a resonable wite[70]
To feyne and blame that I write. 60*
A gentil herte his tunge stilleth,
That it malice non distilleth,[71]
But preyseth that is to be preised;
But he that hath his word unpeysed
And handleth <onwrong> every thing,[72]
I preye un to the hevene king[73]
Fro suche tunges he me schilde.
And natheles this world is wilde
Of such jangling, and what befalle,[74]
My kinges heste schal nought falle, 70*
That I, in hope to deserve
His thonk, ne schal his wil observe;
And elles were I nought excused,
For that thing may nought be refused
Which that a king himselve bit.[75]
Forthi the symplesce of my wit[76]
I thenke if that it myhte avayle[77]
In his service to travaile:[78]
Though I seknesse have upon honde,
And longe have had, yit wol I fonde,[79] 80*
So as I made my beheste,[80]
To make a bok after his heste,[81]
And write in such a maner wise,
Which may be wisdom to the wise
And pley to hem that lust to pleye.
But in proverbe I have herd seye
That who that wel his werk begynneth[82]
The rather a good ende he wynneth;
And thus the prologe of my bok[83]
After the world that whilom tok, 90*
And eek somdel after the newe,
I wol begynne[84] for to newe.[85]

* * * * *
[Sidenote: [THE FORMER TIME BETTER THAN THIS.]]
ii. _Tempus preteritum presens fortuna beatum_
_Linquit, et antiquas vertit in orbe vias._[86]
_Progenuit veterem concors dileccio pacem,_
_Dum facies hominis nuncia mentis erat:_
_Legibus vnicolor tunc temporis aura refulsit,_
_Iusticie plane tuncque fuere vie._[87]
_Nuncque latens odium vultum depingit amoris,_
_Paceque sub ficta tempus ad arma tegit;_[88]
_Instar et ex variis mutabile Cameliontis_
_Lex gerit, et regnis sunt noua iura nouis:_ (10)
[Sidenote: [TEMPORAL RULERS.]]
_Climata que fuerant solidissima sicque per orbem_
_Soluuntur, nec eo centra quietis habent._

If I schal drawe in to my mynde
[Sidenote: De statu regnorum, vt dicunt, secundum temporalia,
videlicet tempore regis Ricardi secundi anno regni sui sexto
decimo.[89]]
The tyme passed, thanne I fynde
The world stod thanne in al his welthe:
Tho was the lif of man in helthe,
Tho was plente, tho was richesse,
Tho was the fortune of prouesse,
Tho was knyhthode in pris be name,
Wherof the wyde worldes fame 100
[Sidenote: =P. i. 7=]
Write in Cronique is yit withholde;
Justice of lawe tho was holde,
The privilege of regalie
Was sauf, and al the baronie
Worschiped was in his astat;
The citees knewen no debat,
The poeple stod in obeissance
Under the reule of governance,
And pes, which ryhtwisnesse keste,[90]
With charite tho stod in reste: 110
Of mannes herte the corage
Was schewed thanne in the visage;
The word was lich to the conceite[91]
Withoute semblant of deceite:
Tho was ther unenvied love,[92]
Tho was the vertu sett above
And vice was put under fote.
Now stant the crop under the rote,
The world is changed overal,
And therof most in special 120
That love is falle into discord.
And that I take to record
Of every lond for his partie
The comun vois, which mai noght lie;[93]
Noght upon on, bot upon alle
It is that men now clepe and calle,
And sein the regnes ben divided,[94]
In stede of love is hate guided,
The werre wol no pes purchace,
And lawe hath take hire double face, 130
[Sidenote: =P. i. 8=]
So that justice out of the weie
With ryhtwisnesse is gon aweie:
And thus to loke on every halve,
Men sen the sor withoute salve,
Which al the world hath overtake.
Ther is no regne of alle outtake,
For every climat hath his diel
After the tornynge of the whiel,
Which blinde fortune overthroweth;
Wherof the certain noman knoweth: 140
The hevene wot what is to done,
Bot we that duelle under the mone
Stonde in this world upon a weer,[95]
And namely bot the pouer[96]
Of hem that ben the worldes guides
With good consail on alle sides
Be kept upriht in such a wyse,[97]
That hate breke noght thassise
Of love, which is al the chief[98]
To kepe a regne out of meschief. 150
For alle resoun wolde this,
[Sidenote: Apostolus. Regem honorificate.]
That unto him which the heved is
The membres buxom scholden bowe,
And he scholde ek her trowthe allowe,
With al his herte and make hem chiere,[99]
[Sidenote: Salomon. Omnia fac cum consilio.]
For good consail is good to hiere.
Althogh a man be wys himselve,[100]
Yit is the wisdom more of tuelve;
And if thei stoden bothe in on,[101]
To hope it were thanne anon 160
[Sidenote: =P. i. 9=]
That god his grace wolde sende
To make of thilke werre an ende,
Which every day now groweth newe:
And that is gretly forto rewe
In special for Cristes sake,
Which wolde his oghne lif forsake
Among the men to yeve pes.
But now men tellen natheles
That love is fro the world departed,[102]
So stant the pes unevene parted 170
With hem that liven now adaies.
Bot forto loke at alle assaies,
To him that wolde resoun seche
After the comun worldes speche
It is to wondre of thilke werre,
In which non wot who hath the werre;
For every lond himself deceyveth
And of desese his part receyveth,
And yet ne take men no kepe.
Bot thilke lord which al may kepe, 180
To whom no consail may ben hid,
Upon the world which is betid,
Amende that wherof men pleigne
With trewe hertes and with pleine,
And reconcile love ayeyn,
As he which is king sovereign
Of al the worldes governaunce,
And of his hyhe porveaunce
Afferme pes betwen the londes
And take her cause into hise hondes, 190
[Sidenote: =P. i. 10=]
So that the world may stonde appesed
And his godhede also be plesed.

[Sidenote: [THE CHURCH.]]
iii. _Quas coluit Moises vetus aut nouus ipse Iohannes,_
_Hesternas leges vix colit ista dies._
_Sic prius ecclesia bina virtute polita_
_Nunc magis inculta pallet vtraque via._
_Pacificam Petri vaginam mucro resumens_
_Horruit ad Cristi verba cruoris iter;_
_Nunc tamen assiduo gladium de sanguine tinctum_
_Vibrat auaricia, lege tepente sacra._[103]
_Sic lupus est pastor, pater hostis, mors miserator,_
_Predoque largitor, pax et in orbe timor._[104] (10)

To thenke upon the daies olde,
[Sidenote: De statu cleri, vt dicunt, secundum spiritualia,
videlicet tempore Roberti Gibbonensis, qui nomen Clementis sibi
sortitus est, tunc antipape.[105]]
The lif of clerkes to beholde,
Men sein how that thei weren tho
Ensample and reule of alle tho
Whiche of wisdom the vertu soughten.
Unto the god ferst thei besoughten
As to the substaunce of her Scole,
That thei ne scholden noght befole 200
Her wit upon none erthly werkes,[106]
Which were ayein thestat of clerkes,
And that thei myhten fle the vice
Which Simon hath in his office,
Wherof he takth the gold in honde.[107]
For thilke tyme I understonde
The Lumbard made non eschange
The bisschopriches forto change,
Ne yet a lettre for to sende
For dignite ne for Provende,[108] 210
Or cured or withoute cure.
The cherche keye in aventure
[Sidenote: =P. i. 11=]
Of armes and of brygantaille
Stod nothing thanne upon bataille;
To fyhte or for to make cheste[109]
It thoghte hem thanne noght honeste;
Bot of simplesce and pacience
Thei maden thanne no defence:
The Court of worldly regalie[110]
To hem was thanne no baillie; 220
The vein honour was noght desired,
Which hath the proude herte fyred;
Humilite was tho withholde,
And Pride was a vice holde.
Of holy cherche the largesse
Yaf thanne and dede gret almesse
To povere men that hadden nede:
Thei were ek chaste in word and dede,
Wherof the poeple ensample tok;
Her lust was al upon the bok, 230
Or forto preche or forto preie,
To wisse men the ryhte weie
Of suche as stode of trowthe unliered.
Lo, thus was Petres barge stiered[111]
Of hem that thilke tyme were,
And thus cam ferst to mannes Ere
The feith of Crist and alle goode
Thurgh hem that thanne weren goode
And sobre and chaste and large and wyse.
Bot now men sein is otherwise, 240
Simon the cause hath undertake,
The worldes swerd on honde is take;
[Sidenote: =P. i. 12=]
And that is wonder natheles,
Whan Crist him self hath bode pes
And set it in his testament,
How now that holy cherche is went,
Of that here lawe positif
Hath set to make werre and strif
For worldes good, which may noght laste.[112]
God wot the cause to the laste 250
Of every right and wrong also;
But whil the lawe is reuled so
That clerkes to the werre entende,
I not how that thei scholde amende
The woful world in othre thinges,
To make pes betwen the kynges
After the lawe of charite,
Which is the propre duete
Belongende unto the presthode.
Bot as it thenkth to the manhode,[113] 260
The hevene is ferr, the world is nyh,
And veine gloire is ek so slyh,
Which coveitise hath now withholde,
That thei non other thing beholde,
Bot only that thei myhten winne.
And thus the werres thei beginne,
Wherof the holi cherche is taxed,[114]
That in the point as it is axed
The disme goth to the bataille,
As thogh Crist myhte noght availe 270
To don hem riht be other weie.
In to the swerd the cherche keie
[Sidenote: =P. i. 13=]
Is torned, and the holy bede
Into cursinge, and every stede
Which scholde stonde upon the feith
And to this cause an Ere leyth,
Astoned is of the querele.
That scholde be the worldes hele
Is now, men sein, the pestilence
Which hath exiled pacience[115] 280
Fro the clergie in special:
And that is schewed overal,
In eny thing whan thei ben grieved.
Bot if Gregoire be believed,
As it is in the bokes write,
He doth ous somdel forto wite
The cause of thilke prelacie,
Wher god is noght of compaignie:
For every werk as it is founded
Schal stonde or elles be confounded; 290
Who that only for Cristes sake
Desireth cure forto take,
And noght for pride of thilke astat,
To bere a name of a prelat,
He schal be resoun do profit
In holy cherche upon the plit
That he hath set his conscience;
[Sidenote: Gregorius. Terrenis lucris inhiant, honore prelacie
gaudent, et non vt prosint, set vt presint, episcopatum
desiderant.]
Bot in the worldes reverence
Ther ben of suche manie glade,
Whan thei to thilke astat ben made, 300
Noght for the merite of the charge,
Bot for thei wolde hemself descharge
[Sidenote: =P. i. 14=]
Of poverte and become grete;
And thus for Pompe and for beyete
The Scribe and ek the Pharisee
Of Moïses upon the See
In the chaiere on hyh ben set;
Wherof the feith is ofte let,
Which is betaken hem to kepe.
In Cristes cause alday thei slepe, 310
Bot of the world is noght foryete;
For wel is him that now may gete
Office in Court to ben honoured.
The stronge coffre hath al devoured
Under the keye of avarice
The tresor of the benefice,
Wherof the povere schulden clothe[116]
And ete and drinke and house bothe;
The charite goth al unknowe,
For thei no grein of Pite sowe: 320
And slouthe kepeth the libraire[117]
Which longeth to the Saintuaire;
To studie upon the worldes lore
Sufficeth now withoute more;
Delicacie his swete toth
Hath fostred so that it fordoth
Of abstinence al that ther is.
And forto loken over this,
If Ethna brenne in the clergie,
Al openly to mannes ÿe 330
At Avynoun thexperience[118]
Therof hath yove an evidence,
[Sidenote: =P. i. 15=]
Of that men sen hem so divided.
And yit the cause is noght decided;
Bot it is seid and evere schal,
Betwen tuo Stoles lyth the fal,[119]
Whan that men wenen best to sitte:
In holy cherche of such a slitte[120]
Is for to rewe un to ous alle;
God grante it mote wel befalle 340
Towardes him which hath the trowthe.[121]
Bot ofte is sen that mochel slowthe,
Whan men ben drunken of the cuppe,
Doth mochel harm, whan fyr is uppe,
Bot if somwho the flamme stanche;
And so to speke upon this branche,
Which proud Envie hath mad to springe,[122]
Of Scisme, causeth forto bringe
This newe Secte of Lollardie,
And also many an heresie 350
Among the clerkes in hemselve.
It were betre dike and delve
And stonde upon the ryhte feith,
Than knowe al that the bible seith[123]
And erre as somme clerkes do.
Upon the hond to were a Schoo
And sette upon the fot a Glove
Acordeth noght to the behove
Of resonable mannes us:
If men behielden the vertus 360
That Crist in Erthe taghte here,
Thei scholden noght in such manere,
[Sidenote: =P. i. 16=]
Among hem that ben holden wise,
The Papacie so desguise
Upon diverse eleccioun,
Which stant after thaffeccioun
Of sondry londes al aboute:
Bot whan god wole, it schal were oute,
For trowthe mot stonde ate laste.
Bot yet thei argumenten faste[124] 370
Upon the Pope and his astat,
Wherof thei falle in gret debat;
This clerk seith yee, that other nay,[125]
And thus thei dryve forth the day,
And ech of hem himself amendeth
Of worldes good, bot non entendeth
To that which comun profit were.
Thei sein that god is myhti there,
And schal ordeine what he wile,
Ther make thei non other skile 380
Where is the peril of the feith,
Bot every clerk his herte leith
To kepe his world in special,
And of the cause general,
Which unto holy cherche longeth,
Is non of hem that underfongeth
To schapen eny resistence:
And thus the riht hath no defence,
Bot ther I love, ther I holde.
Lo, thus tobroke is Cristes folde, 390
Wherof the flock withoute guide
Devoured is on every side,
[Sidenote: =P. i. 17=]
In lacke of hem that ben unware
Schepherdes, whiche her wit beware
Upon the world in other halve.
The scharpe pricke in stede of salve[126]
Thei usen now, wherof the hele
Thei hurte of that thei scholden hele;
And what Schep that is full of wulle
Upon his back, thei toose and pulle, 400
Whil ther is eny thing to pile:
And thogh ther be non other skile
Bot only for thei wolden wynne,
Thei leve noght, whan thei begynne,
Upon her acte to procede,
Which is no good schepherdes dede.
And upon this also men sein,
That fro the leese which is plein
Into the breres thei forcacche[127]
Her Orf, for that thei wolden lacche[128] 410
With such duresce, and so bereve
That schal upon the thornes leve
Of wulle, which the brere hath tore;
Wherof the Schep ben al totore
Of that the hierdes make hem lese.
Lo, how thei feignen chalk for chese,
For though thei speke and teche wel,
Thei don hemself therof no del:
For if the wolf come in the weie,[129]
Her gostly Staf is thanne aweie, 420
Wherof thei scholde her flock defende;[130]
Bot if the povere Schep offende
[Sidenote: =P. i. 18=]
In eny thing, thogh it be lyte,
They ben al redy forto smyte;
And thus, how evere that thei tale,
The strokes falle upon the smale,
And upon othre that ben grete
Hem lacketh herte forto bete.
So that under the clerkes lawe
Men sen the Merel al mysdrawe, 430
I wol noght seie in general,
For ther ben somme in special
In whom that alle vertu duelleth,
[Sidenote: Qui vocatur a deo tanquam Aaron.]
And tho ben, as thapostel telleth,
That god of his eleccioun
Hath cleped to perfeccioun
In the manere as Aaron was:
Thei ben nothing in thilke cas
Of Simon, which the foldes gate
Hath lete, and goth in othergate, 440
Bot thei gon in the rihte weie.
Ther ben also somme, as men seie,
That folwen Simon ate hieles,
Whos carte goth upon the whieles
Of coveitise and worldes Pride,
And holy cherche goth beside,
Which scheweth outward a visage
Of that is noght in the corage.
For if men loke in holy cherche,
Betwen the word and that thei werche[131] 450
Ther is a full gret difference:
Thei prechen ous in audience
[Sidenote: =P. i. 19=]
That noman schal his soule empeire,[132]
For al is bot a chirie feire
This worldes good, so as thei telle;
Also thei sein ther is an helle,
Which unto mannes sinne is due,[133]
And bidden ous therfore eschue
That wikkid is, and do the goode.
Who that here wordes understode, 460
It thenkth thei wolden do the same;
Bot yet betwen ernest and game
Ful ofte it torneth other wise.
With holy tales thei devise
How meritoire is thilke dede
Of charite, to clothe and fede
The povere folk and forto parte
The worldes good, bot thei departe
Ne thenken noght fro that thei have.
Also thei sein, good is to save 470
With penance and with abstinence
Of chastite the continence;
Bot pleinly forto speke of that,
I not how thilke body fat,
Which thei with deynte metes kepe
And leyn it softe forto slepe,
Whan it hath elles al his wille,
With chastite schal stonde stille:
And natheles I can noght seie,
In aunter if that I misseye. 480
Touchende of this, how evere it stonde,
I here and wol noght understonde,
[Sidenote: =P. i. 20=]
For therof have I noght to done:
Bot he that made ferst the Mone,
The hyhe god, of his goodnesse,
If ther be cause, he it redresce.[134]
Bot what as eny man accuse,[135]
This mai reson of trowthe excuse;
The vice of hem that ben ungoode
Is no reproef unto the goode: 490
For every man hise oghne werkes
Schal bere, and thus as of the clerkes
The goode men ben to comende,
And alle these othre god amende:
For thei ben to the worldes ÿe[136]
The Mirour of ensamplerie,
To reulen and to taken hiede
Betwen the men and the godhiede.

[Sidenote: [THE COMMONS.]]
iv. _Vulgaris populus regali lege subactus_
_Dum iacet, vt mitis agna subibit onus._
_Si caput extollat et lex sua frena relaxet,_
_Vt sibi velle iubet, Tigridis instar habet._
_Ignis, aqua dominans duo sunt pietate carentes,_
_Ira tamen plebis est violenta magis._