vi. 447-510), the incidents of the rescue of Philomela from her

imprisonment, which no doubt he felt would be unintelligible to his readers (587-600), and many of the more shocking details connected with the death of Itys and the feast upon his flesh. On the other hand he has added the prayer and reflections of Philomene in her prison (ll. 5734-5768), the prayers of the two sisters (5817-5860), the words of Progne to Tereus (5915-5927), and especially the reflections on the nightingale and the swallow at the end of the story (5943-6029). This latter part is quite characteristic of our author, and as usual it is prettily conceived.

Chaucer, who tells the story in the _Legend of Good Women_, 2228-2393, was weary of it even from the beginning (2257 f.), and omits the conclusion altogether, either as too shocking or as not suiting with his design. So far as he goes, however, he follows Ovid more closely than Gower.

5555. See note on Prol. 460.

5598. So also ll. 5319, 7553.

5623. Ovid’s comparison is to fire catching dry straw and leaves, _Metam._ vi. 456 f.

5643 ff. Ovid compares her state after the deed was done to that of a lamb hurt by a wolf and still trembling, or a dove which has escaped wounded from a bird of prey (527-530). Here, on the other hand, the idea is of being held fast, so that she cannot move or escape; while Chaucer, using the same similes as Ovid, applies the comparison less appropriately to her fear of the violence yet to come.

5651. Cp. _Metam._ vi. 531, ‘Mox ubi mens rediit.’

5663 ff.

‘si copia detur, In populos veniam; si silvis clausa tenebor, Implebo silvas, et conscia saxa movebo.’ _Metam._ vi. 545 ff.

5670. I suspect the combination ‘tale and ende’ may have arisen from some such phrase as ‘to sette tale on ende’ (or ‘an ende’), meaning to begin a speech: see _New Engl. Dict._ under ‘ende.’

5676. _where is thi fere?_ that is, ‘where is thy fear of the gods?’ We must not take ‘fere’ in the sense of ‘companion’ or ‘equal,’ because in that case it could not properly rhyme with ‘Ere.’

5690 f.

‘comprensam forcipe linguam Abstulit ense fero.’ _Metam._ vi. 556 f.

Gower must be commended for omitting the tasteless lines which follow in Ovid about the severed tongue, and still more the shocking statement, which even Ovid accompanies with ‘vix ausim credere,’ of 561 f.

5709. _tyh_, preterite of ‘ten,’ from OE. ‘_tēon_,’ meaning ‘draw,’ and hence ‘come.’

5724. The punctuation follows F, ‘To hire’ meaning ‘in her case,’ cp. l. 4182, vii. 4937. It would suit the sense better perhaps to set the comma after ‘forsake,’ and to take ‘To hire’ with what follows: cp. note on l. 3966, where it is shown that the punctuation of F is often wrong in such cases as this.

5726. _hir Sostres mynde_, ‘her sister’s memory.’

5730. _guile under the gore_, that is, deceit concealed, as it were, under a cloak: cp. l. 6680. The expression ‘under gore’ is common enough, meaning the same as ‘under wede,’ and this alliterative form looks like a proverbial expression.

5734-5768. All this is original.

5737. _so grete a wo_: cp. l. 6452, and see Introduction, p. cx.

5778. ‘nec scit quid tradat in illis,’ _Metam._ vi. 580.

5793. ‘Non est lacrimis hic, inquit, agendum, Sed ferro,’ _Metam._ vi. 611.

5802 ff. According to Ovid this was done under cover of a Bacchic festival (587 ff.).

5816-5860. This is all original.

5840. _to lytel of me let_: see note on l. 1004.

5891 ff. Gower does well in omitting the circumstances of this which Ovid gives (619-646), and in partially covering the horror of it by the excuse of madness, but there is one touch which ought to have been brought in, ‘Ah, quam Es similis patri!’ (621).

5910 ff. Ovid says that Philomela threw the gory head into the father’s face, and that Tereus endeavoured to vomit up that which he had eaten. Our author has shown good taste in not following him.

5915 ff. This speech is not in Ovid.

5943-6029. Nearly all this is Gower’s own. Ovid only says, ‘Quarum petit altera silvas: Altera tecta subit’ (668 f.). We have already observed upon our author’s tendency to make additions of this symbolical kind to the stories which he takes from Ovid: see note on i. 2355.

6020. The reading ‘here’ is given both by S and F, but ‘hire’ (‘hir’), supported by AJMXGCB₂, BT, W, seems to be required by the sense. She informs them of the falseness of her husband, that they also may learn to beware of them, that is of husbands. The combination of ‘here’ with the singular ‘housebonde,’ meaning ‘their husbands,’ would be very harsh.

6041 ff.

‘Ille dolore suo, poenaeque cupidine velox, Vertitur in volucrem, cui stant in vertice cristae, Prominet immodicum pro longa cuspide rostrum. Nomen Epops volucri, facies armata videtur.’

_Metam._ vi. 671 ff.

The lapwing is identified with the hoopoe because of its crest. In the _Traitié_, xii, where this story is shortly told, Tereus is changed into a ‘hupe,’

‘Dont dieus lui ad en hupe transformée, En signe qu’il fuist fals et avoltier,’

while at the same time in the _Mirour_, 8869 ff., the ‘hupe’ is represented as the bird which tries to deceive those who search for its nest, a description which obviously belongs to the lapwing.

6047. Cp. Chaucer, _Parl. of Foules_, 347, ‘The false lapwyng ful of trecherye.’

6053. _goddes forebode_: cp. Chaucer, _Leg. of Good Women_, 10,

‘But goddes forbode but men schulde leve,’

where the second form of text has

‘But god forbede but men shulde leve.’

We must take ‘forebode’ as a substantive.

6073. _auht_: modified to suit the rhyme: so ‘awht,’ i. 2770, and ‘naght,’ l. 3786, rhyming with ‘straght.’ The regular forms for Gower are ‘oght,’ ‘noght.’

6145 ff. This is from Ovid, _Metam._ ii. 569-588. Gower has judiciously kept it apart from the story of Coronis and the raven, told by him in the second book, with which it is combined in rather a confusing manner by Ovid. The story is somewhat expanded by Gower.

6150. _wif to Marte_: cp. 1214 f.

6169. _And caste_: cp. l. 4590, and see note on i. 1895.

6197. ‘mota est pro virgine virgo, Auxiliumque tulit,’ _Metam._ ii. 579 f., but Ovid says nothing of any special prayer to Pallas for help, nor does he represent that Cornix was before in attendance upon that goddess.

6207 ff. This is original and characteristic of our author.

6225 ff. This story is from Ovid, _Metam._ ii. 409-507, but Gower evidently knew it from other sources also, for the name Calistona (or Callisto) is not given by Ovid, who calls her ‘virgo Nonacrina’ and ‘Parrhasis.’ Hyginus tells it in various forms, _Fab._ 177 and _Poet. Astr._ ii. 2.

6255. According to Ovid, Diana was quite ignorant of the fact, though the nymphs suspected it.

6258. _in a ragerie_, that is ‘in sport’: cp. Chaucer, _Cant. Tales_, E 1847, and the use of the verb ‘rage,’ e. g. i. 1764 and _Cant. Tales_, A 257, 3273, 3958.

6275 ff. ‘I procul hinc, dixit, nec sacros pollue fontes,’ _Metam._ ii. 464.

6281. F has a stop after ‘schame.’

6291 ff. This address is mostly original: cp. _Metam._ ii. 471 ff.

6334 ff.

‘Arcuit omnipotens, pariterque ipsosque nefasque Sustulit, et celeri raptos per inania vento Imposuit caelo vicinaque sidera fecit.’

_Metam._ ii. 505 ff.

_Latin Verses_, x. The idea expressed is that though examples of virginity can only be produced through marriage, yet virginity is nobler than marriage, as the flower of a rose is nobler than the stock from which it springs. Marriage, in fact, replenishes the earth, but virginity heaven: cp. _Trait._ ii.

6359 ff. Cp. _Mirour_, 17119 ff., where the saying is attributed to Jerome, who says in fact that precedence was given in the streets to the Vestal Virgins by the highest magistrates, and even by victors riding in the triumphal car (_adv. Jovin._ ii. 41).

6372 ff. Cp. _Mirour_, 18301 ff. The anecdote is taken from Valerius Maximus, _Mem._ iv. 5, but the name in the original is ‘Spurina,’ and he does not thrust out his eyes, but merely destroys the beauty of his face. In the _Mirour_ it is ‘Coupa ses membres.’

6385 ff. ‘So may I prove that, if a man will weigh the virtues, he will find that virginity is to be praised above all others.’ The sentence is disordered for the sake of the rhymes: cp. ii. 709 ff.

6389. The quotation from the Apocalypse is given in the margin of SΔ and in _Mirour_, 17053 ff. The reference is to Rev. xiv. 4.

6395* ff. Cp. _Mirour_, 17067 and note.

6398 ff. This also appears in _Mirour_, 17089 ff., and _Traitié_, xvi. It may have been taken from the _Epistola Valerii ad Rufinum_.

6402. The margin makes him ‘octogenarius,’ and so it is also in the _Mirour_ and _Traitié_, as well as in the _Epistola Valerii_.

6435 ff. This shows more knowledge than could have been got from the _Roman de Troie_. The story is told by Hyginus, _Fab._ 121, but not exactly as we have it here. This ‘Criseide douhter of Crisis’ should be distinguished from the Criseide daughter of Calchas (Briseïda in the _Roman de Troie_), who is associated with Troilus, if it is worth while making distinctions where so much confusion prevails.

6442. _dangerous_, that is, ‘grudging’ or ‘reluctant’: cp. Chaucer, _Cant. Tales_, D 1090, and see note on i. 2443.

6452. _So grete a lust_: cp. l. 5737 and Introduction, p. cx.

6498. _as a Pocok doth._ It is difficult to see the appropriateness of the comparison, for to ‘stalke’ is to go cautiously or secretly, and that is evidently the meaning here, so that any idea of display is out of the question. The peacock was supposed to be ashamed of its ugly feet, cp. _Mirour_, 23459, and in the _Secretum Secretorum_ we actually have the expression ‘humilis et obediens ut pavo,’ translated by Lydgate (or Burgh) ‘Meeke as a pecock.’ Albertus Magnus says, ‘Cum aspicitur ad solem, decorem ostentat, et alio tempore occultat quantum poterit’ (_De Animalibus_, 23). There seems to have been a notion that it was liable to have its pride humbled and to slink away ashamed.

6526. _bile under the winge_, that is, concealed, as a bird’s head under its wing: apparently proverbial.

6541. _I mai remene ... mene._ This is apparently the reading of the MSS. The meaning of ‘remene’ is properly to bring back. It is used earlier, i. 279, with reference to the application of the teaching about vices generally to the case of love, and here it seems to have much the same sense. ‘So that I may apply what has been said about this craft directly’ (‘Withouten help of eny mene’) to the case of lovers, they being very evidently offenders in this way.

6581. _hire it is_: but in l. 4470, ‘It schal ben hires.’

6608 ff. For the construction see note on i. 718.

6620. _Danger_: see note on i. 2443.

6634. _slyke_: cp. l. 7092*, ‘He can so wel hise wordes slyke.’ The word means properly to smoothe, hence to flatter: cp. the modern ‘sleek.’

6635. _Be him_, &c., i. e. by his own resources or by the help of any other.

6636. _To whom_: see note on i. 771.

6654. _a nyht_, i. e. by night, also written ‘anyht,’ ii. 2857.

6672. _Protheüs_, that is Proteus: cp. note on l. 3082.

6674. _in what liknesse_, ‘into any form whatsoever.’

6680. _under the palle_, ‘in secret,’ like ‘under the gore,’ l. 5730.

6713 ff. From Ovid, _Metam._ iv. 192-255, but with several changes. In the original story the Sun-god came to Leucothoe by night and in the form of her mother. Clytie (not Clymene) discovered the fact (without the aid of Venus) and told it to the father; and it was an incense plant which grew from the place where Leucothoe was buried.

6757. For the expression cp. iii. 2555, ‘Achastus, which with Venus was Hire priest.’

6779. This change into a flower which follows the sun is suggested by _Metam._ iv. 266 ff., where we are told that Clytie was changed into a heliotrope. Here it is a sun-flower apparently.

6807 ff. From Ovid, _Fasti_, ii. 305-358. The ‘mistress’ of whom Ovid speaks is Omphale, but Gower supposed it to be Iole. He gets ‘Thophis’ as the name of the cave from a misunderstanding of l. 317, and apparently he read ‘Saba’ for ‘Lyda’ in l. 356, out of which he has got his idea of a goddess Saba with attendant nymphs. This feature, though based on a mistake, is a decided improvement of the story, which is told by Gower in a spirited and humorous manner.

6848 ff. The reading of X in this passage is also that of GOAd₂.

6899. The punctuation is that of F.

6932. _al a route_: so iv. 2145, cp. l. 6257, ‘al a compainie.’

7013. Cp. _Mirour_, 7181 ff.

7048. This is a nautical metaphor, ‘so near the wind will they steer.’ The verb ‘love’ is the modern ‘luff,’ meaning to bring a ship’s head towards the wind. The substantive ‘lof’ (genit. ‘loves’) means in ME. a rudder or some similar contrivance for turning the ship, and ‘love’ here seems to mean simply to steer. The rhyme with ‘glove’ makes ‘love’ from ‘lufian’ out of the question, even if it gave a satisfactory sense.

7140. _gon offre._ The ceremony of ‘offering’ after mass was one which involved a good deal of etiquette as regards precedence and so on, cp. Chaucer, _Cant. Tales_, A 449 ff., and ladies apparently were led up to the altar on these occasions by their cavaliers.

7179. ‘If I might manage in any other way,’ like the expression ‘(I cannot) away with,’ &c.

7195 ff. The story comes no doubt from Benoît, _Rom. de Troie_, 2851-4916, where it is told at much greater length. Guido does not differ much as regards the incidents related by Gower, but by comparing the two texts in some particular places we can tell without much difficulty which was Gower’s source. For example, in the speech of Hector Benoît has,

‘Veez Europe que il ont, La tierce partie del mont, Où sont li meillor chevalier.’ 3791 ff.,

while Guido says, ‘Nostis enim ... totam Affricam et Europam hodie Grecis esse subiectam, quanta Greci multitudine militum sunt suffulti,’ &c. See below, 7340 ff.

The story is told by Gower with good judgement, and he freely omits unnecessary details, as those of the mission of Antenor to Greece. The debate in Priam’s parliament is shortened, and the speeches of Hector and Paris much improved.

7197 ff. Cp. 3303 ff.

7202. The sentence is broken off and resumed in a different form: see note on i. 98.

* * * * *

7015* ff. Cp. _Mirour_, 7156 ff.

7033*. _And that_, i. e. ‘And provided that.’

7092*. See note on l. 6634.

7105* ff. The tale is told also in the _Mirour de l’Omme_, 7093-7128. It is to be found in the _Gesta Romanorum_ (which however is not Gower’s source), and in various other places. Cicero tells what is practically the same story of Dionysius of Syracuse (_De Nat. Deorum_,