Book iv

. sect. 7. I here give a useful extract.

'This version is complete, and faithful in all essential points. Chaucer had no other purpose than to disclose, if possible wholly, the meaning of this famous work to his contemporaries; and notwithstanding many errors in single points, he has fairly well succeeded in reproducing the sense of the original. He often employs for this purpose periphrastic turns, and for the explanation of difficult passages, poetical figures, mythological and historical allusions; and he even incorporates a number of notes in his text. His version thus becomes somewhat diffuse, and, in the undeveloped state of prose composition so characteristic of that age, often quite unwieldy. But there is no lack of warmth, and even of a certain colouring....

'The language of the translation shews many a peculiarity; viz. numerous Latinisms, and even Roman idioms in synthesis, inflexion, or syntax, which are either wholly absent or at least found very rarely in Chaucer's poems. The labour of this translation proved a school for the poet, from which his powers of speech came forth not only more elevated but more self-reliant; and above all, with a greater aptitude to express thoughts of a deeper nature.'

§ 20. Most of the instances in which Chaucer's rendering is inaccurate, unhappy, or insufficient are pointed out in the notes. I here collect some examples, many of which have already been remarked upon by Dr. Morris and Mr. Stewart.

i. met. 1. 3. rendinge Muses: 'lacerae Camenae.'

" 20. unagreable dwellinges[34]: 'ingratas moras.'

i. pr. 1. 49. til it be at the laste: 'usque in exitium;' (but see the note).

i. pr. 3. 2. I took hevene: 'hausi caelum.'

i. met. 4. 5. hete: 'aestum;' (see the note). So again, in met. 7. 3.

i. pr. 4. 83. for nede of foreine moneye: 'alienae aeris necessitate.'

i. pr. 4. 93. lykned: 'astrui;' (see the note).

i. met. 5. 9. cometh eft ayein hir used cours: 'Solitas iterum mutet habenas;' (see the note).

ii. pr. 1. 22. entree: 'adyto;' (see the note).

ii. pr. 1. 45. use hir maneres: 'utere moribus.'

ii. pr. 5. 10. to hem that despenden it: 'effundendo.'

" 11. to thilke folk that mokeren it: 'coaceruando.'

" 90. subgit: 'sepositis;' (see the note).

ii. met. 6. 21. _the gloss is wrong_; (see the note).

ii. met. 7. 20. cruel day: 'sera dies;' (see the note).

iii. pr. 2. 57. birefte awey: 'adferre.' Here MS. C. has _afferre_, and Chaucer seems to have resolved this into _ab-ferre_.

iii. pr. 3. 48. foreyne: 'forenses.'

iii. pr. 4. 42. many maner dignitees of consules: 'multiplici consulatu.'

iii. pr. 4. 64. of usaunces: 'utentium.'

iii. pr. 8. 11. anoyously: 'obnoxius;' (see the note).

" 29. of a beest that highte lynx: 'Lynceis;' (see the note).

iii. pr. 9. 16. Wenest thou that he, that hath nede of power, that him ne lakketh no-thing? 'An tu arbitraris quod nihilo indigeat egere potentia?' On this Mr. Stewart remarks that 'it is easy to see that _indigeat_ and _egere_ have changed places.' To me, it is not quite easy; for the senses of the M.E. _nede_ and _lakken_ are very slippery. Suppose we make them change places, and read:--'Wenest thou that he, that hath lak of power, that him ne nedeth no-thing?' This may be better, but it is not wholly satisfactory.

iii. pr.9. 39-41. that he ... yif him nedeth = whether he needeth. A very clumsy passage; see the Latin quoted in the note.

iii. pr. 10. 165. the soverein fyn and the cause: 'summa, cardo, atque caussa.'

iii. pr. 12. 55, 67. a keye: 'clauus;' and again, 'clauo.'

" 74. a yok of misdrawinges: 'detrectantium iugum.'

" 75. the savinge of obedient thinges: 'obtemperantium salus.'

iii. pr. 12. 136. the whiche proeves drawen to hem-self hir feith and hir acord, everich of hem of other: 'altero ex altero fidem trahente ... probationibus.' (Not well expressed.)

iii. met. 12. 5. the wodes, moveable, to rennen; and had maked the riveres, &c.: 'Siluas currere, mobiles Amnes,' &c.

iii. met. 17-19. Obscure and involved.

iv. pr. 1. 22. of wikkede felounes: 'facinorum.'

iv. pr. 2. 97. Iugement: 'indicium' (_misread as_ iudicium).

iv. met. 7. 15. empty: 'immani;' (_misread as_ inani).

v. pr. 1. 3. ful digne by auctoritee: 'auctoritate dignissima.'

" 34. prince: 'principio.'

" 57. the abregginge of fortuit hap: 'fortuiti caussae compendii.'

v. pr. 4. 30. by grace of position (_or_ possessioun): 'positionis gratia.'

v. pr. 4. 56. right as we trowen: 'quasi uero credamus.'

v. met. 5. 6. by moist fleeinge: 'liquido uolatu.'

§ 21. In the case of a few supposed errors, as pointed out by Mr. Stewart, there remains something to be said on the other side. I note the following instances.

i. pr. 6. 28. Lat. 'uelut hiante ualli robore.' Here Mr. Stewart quotes the reading of MS. A., viz. 'so as the strengthe of the paleys schynyng is open.' But the English text in that MS. is corrupt. The correct reading is 'palis chyning;' where _palis_ means _palisade_, and translates _ualli_; and _chyning is open_ means _is gaping open_, and translates _hiante_.

ii. pr. 5. 16. Lat. 'largiendi usu.' The translation has: 'by usage of large yevinge _of him that hath yeven it_.' I fail to see much amiss; for the usual sense of _large_ in M. E. is _liberal_, _bounteous_, _lavish_. Of course we must not substitute the modern sense without justification.

ii. pr. 5. 35. 'of the laste beautee' translates Lat. 'postremae pulcritudinis.' For this, see my note on p. 431.

ii. pr. 7. 38. Lat. 'tum commercii insolentia.' Chaucer has: 'what for defaute of unusage and entrecomuninge of marchaundise.' There is not much amiss; but MS. A. omits the word _and_ after _unusage_, which of course makes nonsense of the passage.

ii. met. 8. 6. Lat. 'Ut fluctus auidum mare Certo fine coerceat.' Chaucer has: 'that the see, greedy to flowen, constreyned with a certein ende hise floodes.' Mr. Stewart understands 'greedy to flowen' to refer to 'fluctus auidum.' It seems to me that this was merely Chaucer's first idea of the passage, and that he afterwards meant 'hise floodes' to translate 'fluctus,' but forgot to strike out 'to flowen.' I do not defend the translation.

iii. pr. 11. 86. Lat. 'sede;' Eng. 'sete.' This is quite right. Mr. Stewart quotes the Eng. version as having 'feete,' but this is only a corrupt reading, though found in the best MS. Any one who is acquainted with M. E. MSS. will easily guess that 'feete' is merely mis-copied from 'seete,' with a long _s_; and, indeed, _sete_ is the reading of the black-letter editions. There is a blunder here, certainly; only it is not the author's, but due to the scribes.

iv. pr. 6. 176. Lat. 'quidam me quoque excellentior:' Eng. 'a philosophre, the more excellent by me.' The M. E. use of _by_ is ambiguous; it frequently means 'in comparison with.'

v. met. 5. 14. Lat. 'male dissipis:' Eng. 'wexest yvel out of thy wit.' In this case, _wexest out of thy wit_ translates _dissipis_; and _yvel_, which is here an adverb, translates _male_.

Of course we must also make allowances for the variations in Chaucer's Latin MS. from the usually received text. Here we are much assisted by MS. C., which, as explained below, appears to contain a copy of the very text which he consulted, and helps to settle several doubtful points. To take two examples. In Book ii . met. 5. 17, Chaucer has 'ne hadde nat deyed yit _armures_,' where the usual Lat. text has 'tinxerat _arua_.' But many MSS. have _arma_; and, of these, MS. C. is one.

Once more, in