Part 135

It is to be noted that Gower gives ‘Achelons’ instead of Achelous, as he does also in the Traitié, vii. 5, where the story is shortly told in the same way as here, and there we find ‘Achelontis’ in the margin as the genitive case. He ought to have been preserved from the mistake by the occurrence of the name in Ovid’s verse.

2054. For these two pillars cp. Chaucer, Cant. Tales, B 3307 f., but Gower supposes them to have been both set up in the ‘desert of India,’ ‘El grant desert d’Ynde superiour’ as he has it in Traitié, vii. 1, whereas according to Chaucer one was set up in the East and the other in the West, to mark the extreme bounds of the world.

2123 f. Such forms of spelling as ‘sleighte,’ ‘heighte’ are unusual with our author, but cp. vii. 1121, 1227 f.

2135. For the stories of ‘Pantasilee’ and Philemenis we may refer to the Roman de Troie, 23283 ff. and 25663-25704.

2200 ff. From this question arises the inevitable discussion of the nature of ‘gentilesse’ and how far it depends upon birth, riches or personal merit. Gower accepts only the last qualification, and argues for it after the fashion of John Ball, though he was neither a Lollard nor a social revolutionist: cp. Mirour, 23389 ff. For the general subject cp. Dante, Convito, iv. 10, Roman de la Rose, 18807 ff. (ed. Méon), Chaucer, Cant. Tales, D 1109, ff.

To Gower we must grant the merit of clearness and conciseness in handling the well-worn theme.

2208 f. Cp. Dante, Convito, iv. 3.

2305 ff. ‘And love is of profit also as regards women, so that they may be the better “affaited.”’

2314. make it queinte, ‘behave gently’: cp. ‘make it tough,’ Chaucer, Troilus, v. 101. For the meaning of ‘queinte’ see the quotations in Godefroy’s Dictionary under ‘cointe.’

2325. 1 John iii. 14.

2342. This is from Job v. 7.

2396 ff. Many of these names are unknown to me, and Warton’s conjectures on the subject are very wild, but some points may be illustrated from Godfrey of Viterbo. For example, as regards the first we find,

‘Septem quas legimus Cham primus scripserat artes.’

Pantheon, iii. (p. 88).

2401. Godf. Vit., Pantheon, vi. (p. 133), ‘Tunc Cadmus Graecas literas sedecim fecit.’

2410. Termegis. The word is a dissyllable for the metre. Probably this name stands for Termegistus (i.e. Trismegistus), and in that case we must throw the accent upon the final syllable and pass lightly over the preceding one.

2418 ff. I suspect that ‘Poulins’ means Apollo or Apollinis: cp. Pantheon, vi. (p. 133), ‘Apollo etiam citharam condidit et artem medicinalem invenit.’

2421. Zenzis, i.e. Zeuxis, who is referred to in the Rom. de la Rose (for example) as the chief of painters, 16387 ff. (ed. Méon).

2422. Cp. Godf. Vit, Panth. v. (p. 121),

‘Tunc et Prometheus, qui filius est Atlantis Dat statuas hominis humano more meantes.’

2427. ‘Jadahel’ is the Jabal (or Jebal) of the Bible (Gen. iv. 20). Godfrey of Viterbo calls him by the same name and makes the same statement about his hunting and fishing:

‘In mundo Iadahel posuit tentoria primus, Venator prior ipse fuit feritate ferinus, Primus et invalidis retia mersit aquis.’

Panth. ii. (p. 77).

2439 ff. Godf. Vit., Panth. iv. (p. 98),

‘Saturnus statuit super aequora vela moueri, Denarios posuit commercia rite mereri. . . . . . . . . . . . Aedificans Sutrium dum vivit ibi dominatur, Triticeum semen primus in urbe serens.’

2462 ff. For the seven bodies and four spirits of Alchemy cp. Chaucer, Cant. Tales, G 818 ff. Mercury, it will be noticed, is reckoned both as a body and as a spirit, but some authorities called this a spirit only and reckoned six metallic bodies.

2476. after the bok it calleth, ‘according as the book calls it.’

2488 ff. Cp. 2565 ff.