Walter William Skeat

“ Stewart's Essay so well expresses the state of the case, that I do not hesitate to quote it at length. 'Given (he says) a man who is sufficiently conversant with a language to read it fluently without paying too much heed to the precise value of participle and preposition, who has the wit and the sagacity to grasp the meaning of his author, but not the intimate knowledge of his style and manner necessary to a right appreciation of either, and—especially if he set himself to write in an uncongenial and unfamiliar form—he will assuredly produce just such a result as Chaucer has done. ”

“ The laws of nature are immutable (met. 2) . All men are engaged in the pursuit of happiness (pr. 3) . Dignities properly appertain to virtue (pr. 4) . Power cannot drive away care (pr. 5) . Glory is deceptive, and the only true nobility is that of character (pr. 6) . Happiness does not consist in corporeal pleasures (pr. 7) ; nor in bodily strength or beauty (pr. 8) . Worldly bliss is insufficient and false; and in seeking true felicity, we must invoke God's aid (pr. 9) . Boethius sings a hymn to the Creator (met. 9) ”

“ It is only necessary to compare the passages in Boethius in the prose version with the same when they reappear in the poems, to realise how much better they look in their verse dress. Let the reader take Troilus' soliloquy on Freewill and Predestination (Bk. iv. ll. 958-1078) , and read it side by side with the corresponding passage in "Boece" (Bk. v. proses 2 and 3) , and he cannot fail to feel the superiority of the former to the latter. With what clearness and precision does the argument unfold itself, how close is the reasoning, how vigorous and yet graceful is the language! ”

“ Boethius had the singular felicity of seeing his two sons, Boethius and Symmachus, raised to the consular dignity on the same day, in 522. After many years spent in indefatigable study and great public usefulness, he fell under the suspicion of Theodoric; and, notwithstanding an indignant denial of his supposed crimes, was hurried away to Pavia, where he was imprisoned in a tower, and denied the means of justifying his conduct. ”

“ For further details, I beg leave to refer the reader to the essay on 'Boethius' by H. F. Stewart, published by W. Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London, in 1891. We are chiefly concerned here with the 'Consolation of Philosophy,' a work which enjoyed great popularity in the middle ages, and first influenced Chaucer indirectly, through the use of it made by Jean de Meun in the poem entitled Le Roman de la Rose, as well as directly, at a later period, through his own translation of it. ”

“ Adversity is transient (pr. 3) , and Boethius has still much to be thankful for (pr. 4) . Riches only bring anxieties, and cannot confer happiness (pr. 5) ; they were unknown in the Golden Age (met. 5) . Neither does happiness consist in honours and power (pr. 6) . The power of Nero only taught him cruelty (met. 6) . Fame is but vanity (pr. 7) , and is ended by death (met. 7) . Adversity is beneficial (pr. 8) . All things are bound together by the chain of Love (met. 8) .
Book III. Boethius begins to receive comfort (pr. 1) . ”

“ Boethius.
Before proceeding to remark upon Chaucer's translation of Boethius, or (as he calls him) Boece, it is necessary to say a few words as to the original work, and its author.
Anicius Manlius Torquatus Severinus Boethius, the most learned philosopher of his time, was born at Rome about A. D. 480, and was put to death A. D. 524. In his youth, he had the advantage of a liberal training, and enjoyed the rare privilege of being able to read the Greek philosophers in their own tongue. ”

“ Som-tyme the delyces of a man is cause of the grevous maladye thurgh which he dyeth.—B. iii. pr. 7. 3-5.
§ 24. It is worth while to see what light is thrown upon the chronology of the Canterbury Tales by comparison with Boethius.
In the first place, we may remark that, of the Tales mentioned above, there is nothing to shew that The Seconde Nonnes Tale, the Clerkes Tale, or even the Tale of Melibeus, really refer to any passages in Boethius. They may, in fact, have been written before that translation was made. ”

“ It is to be regretted that Chaucer did not do for all the Metra of the "Consolation" what he did for the fifth of the second book. A solitary gem like "The Former Age" makes us long for a whole set [32] . Sometimes, whether unconsciously or of set purpose, it is difficult to decide, his prose slips into verse:—
It lyketh me to shewe, by subtil song,
With slakke and délitáble soun of strenges (Bk. iii. met. 2. 1) .
Whan Fortune, with a proud right hand (Bk. ii. met. 1. 1) [33] .'
[33]
The reader should also consult Ten Brink's History of English Literature, Book iv. sect. 7. ”

“ The result is that, in all difficulties, the first authority to be consulted is the Latin text in this particular MS.; for we are easily led to conclude that it was intentionally designed to preserve both Chaucer's translation and the original text. It does not follow that it is always perfect; for it can only be a copy of the Latin, and the scribe may err. ”

“ The unity of soul and body is necessary to existence, and the love of life is instinctive (pr. 11) . Error is dispersed by the light of Truth (met. 11) . God governs the world, and is all-sufficient, whilst evil has no true existence (pr. 12) . ”

“ Boethius describes the flight of Imagination through the planetary spheres till it reaches heaven itself (met. 1) . The good are strong, but the wicked are powerless, having no real existence (pr. 2) . Tyrants are chastised by their own passions (met. 2) . Virtue secures reward ”

“ Qui Boëce de Confort lisent,
Et les sentences qui là gisent,
Dont grans biens as gens laiz feroit
Qui bien le lor translateroit' (ll. 5052-6) .
I.e. in modern English:—'This can be easily ascertained from the learned men who read Boece on the Consolation of Philosophy, and the opinions which are found therein; as to which, any one who would well translate it for them would confer much benefit on the unlearned folk':—a pretty strong hint [9] !
§ 5. The chief events in the life of Boethius which are referred to in the present treatise are duly pointed out in the notes ”

“ Troilus, the House of Fame, The Legend of Good Women, some of the Balades, and in the Canterbury Tales, the influence of Boethius is frequently observable; and we may usually suppose such influence to have been direct and immediate; nevertheless, we should always keep an eye on Le Roman de la Rose, for Jean de Meun was, in like manner, influenced in no slight degree by the same work. I have often taken an opportunity of pointing out, in my Notes to Chaucer, passages of this character ”

“ In some MSS. of Chaucer's translation, a few words of the original are quoted at the beginning of each Prose and Metre, and are duly printed in this edition, in a corrected form.
§ 8. A very brief sketch of the general contents of the volume may be of some service.
Book I. Boethius deplores his misfortunes (met. 1) . Philosophy appears to him in a female form (pr. 2) , and condoles with him in song (met. 2) ; after which she addresses him, telling him that she is willing to share his misfortunes (pr. 3) . Boethius pours out his complaints, and vindicates his past conduct (pr. 4) . ”

“ Dr. Morris's account of the MS. is here copied.
'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 ”

“ At any rate, there is an unequivocal reference to 'the felinge' of Boece 'in musik' in the Nonnes Preestes Tale, B 4484.
§ 3. The most important part of his political life was passed in the service of the celebrated Theodoric the Goth, who, after the defeat and death of Odoacer, A. D. 493, had made himself undisputed master of Italy, and had fixed the seat of his government in Ravenna. The usual account, that Boethius was twice married, is now discredited, there being no clear evidence with respect to Elpis, the name assigned to his supposed first wife ”

“ However, the Lat. text has merely: 'cum audiuntur.' And again, only 9 lines lower (l. 17) , Cx. inserts and ajuste after moeve; but the Lat. text has merely: 'admouebo.' In some cases, it is closer to the Latin text; as, e. g. in Bk. i. met. 3. 9, where Cx. has kaue (Lat. antro) , whereas MSS. C. and A. have the pl. kaues. In Bk. i. pr. 3. 41, where C. has the E. form Sorans, Cx. preserves the Latin form Soranos.
It thus appears that a collation with Caxton's text is of considerable service.
Thynne. Thynne's edition of Chaucer, printed in 1532, contains Boethius. ”

“ Not a little curious are the spellings Attrides and Agamenon [42] , as occurring both in the Latin part of this MS. and in Chaucer's version. Again, Chaucer has ten, corresponding to the gloss decim, not to the textual phrase bis quinis. His explanation of piauit by recovered and purgede in wrekinge is clearly due to the gloss ulciscendo purgauit. His substitution of Troye for Frigie is due to the gloss: troia enim erat metropolis Frigie. And even the name Menelaus his brother answers to Fratris, s. menelai. ”

“ A shadwe hath the lyknesse of the thing of which it is shadwe, but shadwe is nat the same thing of which it is shadwe.—B. v. pr. 4. 45, 46. (Doubtful.)
*471. Who-so prydeth him in the goodes of fortune, he is a ful greet fool; for som-tyme is a man a greet lord by the morwe, that is a caitif and a wrecche er it be night.—B. ii. met. 3. ”

“ After this he adds, by way of comment:—'This is to seyn, how sholden men demen the sooth of anything that were axed, yif ther nere a rote of soothfastnesse that were y-plounged and hid in naturel principles, the whiche soothfastnesse lived with-in the deepnesse of the thought.'
It is obvious that he has here reproduced the general sense of the Latin side-note above quoted. ”

“ Book V. Boethius asks questions concerning Chance (pr. 1) . An example from the courses of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates (met. 1) . Boethius asks questions concerning Free-will (pr. 2) . God, who sees all things, is the true Sun (met. 2) . Boethius is puzzled by the consideration of God's Predestination and man's Free-will (pr. 3) . Men are too eager to inquire into the unknown (met. 3) . Philosophy replies to Boethius on the subjects of Predestination, Necessity, and the nature of true Knowledge (pr. 4) ”

“ For it destroys the evidence. Note also, that Agamenon is the usual M. E. form. It appears as Agamenoun in Troil. iii. 382.↑ Hence it is easy to see that when Chaucer's glosses agree, as they sometimes do, with those in Notker's Old High German version or in any other version, the agreement is due to the fact that both translators had similar Latin glosses before them.↑ My text has thonder-light, as in the MSS.; but leyte or leyt is better; see note to the line (p. 422) , and see above, p. xlii, l. 8.↑ There is a later edition by Peiper, said to be the best ”

“ Qui vodroit un femier covrir
Book Duch. 627. De dras de soie ou de floretes; R. R. 8995.
As the second of the above lines from the Book of the Duchesse is obviously taken from Le Roman, it is probable that the first is also; but it is a hard task to discover the particular word monstre in this vast poem. However, I find it, in l. 4917, with reference to Fortune; and her wheel is not far off, six lines above.
B. D. 634, 642. Fortune's capriciousness is treated of by Jean de Meun at intolerable length, ll. 4863-8492; and elsewhere. As to her wheel, it is continually rolling through his verses ”

“ However, the readings of A. and of Caxton are given with all possible care and minuteness; and now that C. is also in type, the slight inevitable errors are easily put right. This excellent piece of work has saved me much trouble.
It turns out that Caxton's text is of great value. He followed a MS. (now lost) which is, in some places, even more correct than MS. C. The following readings are of great importance, as they correct MSS. C. and A. (I denote Caxton's edition by the symbol Cx.)
Bk. i. met. 4. 7. Cx. writheth. (Cf. p. xlii. above, l. 6.)
Bk. i. met. 4. 8. Cx. thonder leyte [44] .
Bk. ”

“ Stewart.↑ Observe that this line is due to Chaucer's gloss, not to his text.↑ MS. Thisee (!) .↑ MS. hem self.↑ Printed thise by Mr. Stewart.↑ MS. This (giving no sense) .↑ Mr. Stewart omits thus.↑ MS. parelous (!) . This shews that Walton's text can be corrected by Chaucer's.↑ Yet we must remember that 'The Former Age' only reproduces a part of this Metre; and that it also introduces a passage from Jerome, besides reminiscences of Ovid and of Le Roman de la Rose; as shewn in the notes.↑ Mr. Stewart adds another instance, from Bk. iii. met. 5. ”

“ I believe this MS. to be of less value than MS. A. (above) , and have therefore not collated it; for even A. is not a very good authority.
5. MS. Harl. 2421. The Harleian Catalogue describes it thus: 'Torq. Sever. Boetius: his 5 Books of the Comfort of Philosophy. Translated into English. On vellum, 152 leaves. XV century.'
A small quarto MS. of the middle of the fifteenth century. The first Prose of Bk. i. begins (like MS. A.) with the words: 'In þe mene while þat y stil recorded þese þinges;' &c. Hence are derived the readings marked 'H.' in Morris's edition, pp. ”

“ 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. ”