href="#ulink_c4701e77-45ac-568d-b563-07e867a4ff86">8, l. 135); and the whole tone of the piece shews his confidence that he is reasonably safe (p. 144, l. 120). He sees clearly that lollardy is unacceptable, and indulges in the usual spiteful fling against the cockle (lolia) which the Lollards were reproached with sowing (p. 48, l. 93). He had once been a heretic (p. 99, l. 29), and in danger of 'never returning' to the true Church (p. 99, l. 38); but he secured his safety by a full submission (p. 105, l. 133).
At the same time, there is much about the piece that is vague, shifty, and unsatisfactory. He is too full of excuses, and too plausible; in a word, too selfish. Hence he has no real message for others, but only wishes to display his skill, which he does by help of the most barefaced and deliberate plagiarism. It was not from the Consolatio Philosophiae of Boethius, but from the English translation of that work by Chaucer, that he really drew his materials; and he often takes occasion to lift lines or ideas from the poem of Troilus whenever he can find any that come in handy. In one place he turns a long passage from the House of Fame into very inferior prose. There are one or two passages that remind us of the Legend of Good Women (i. pr. 100, ii. 3. 38, iii. 7. 38); but they are remarkably few. But he keeps a copy of Chaucer's Boethius always open before him, and takes from it passage after passage, usually with many alterations, abbreviations, expansions, and other disfigurements; but sometimes without any alteration at all. A few examples will suffice, as a large number of parallel passages are duly pointed out in the Notes.
§ 11. In Chaucer's Boethius (bk. i. pr. 3. 10), when Philosophy, the heavenly visitant, comes to comfort the writer, her first words are:—'O my norry, sholde I forsaken thee now?' In the Testament (p. 10, l. 37), Heavenly Love commences her consolations with the same exclamation:—'O my nory, wenest thou that my maner be, to foryete my frendes or my servaunts?' The Latin text—'An te, alumne, desererem?'—does not suggest this remarkable mode of address.
This, however, is a mere beginning; it is not till further on that plagiarisms begin to be frequent. At first, as at p. 37, the author copies the sense rather than the words; but he gradually begins to copy words and phrases also. Thus, at p. 43, l. 38, his 'chayres of domes' comes from Chaucer's 'heye chayres' in bk. i. met. 5. 27; and then, in the next line, we find 'vertue, shynende naturelly … is hid under cloude,' where Chaucer has 'vertu, cler-shyninge naturelly is hid in derke derknesses'; bk. i. met. 5. 28. At p. 44, l. 66, we have: 'Whan nature brought thee forth, come thou not naked out of thy moders wombe? Thou haddest no richesse'; where Chaucer has: 'Whan that nature broughte thee forth out of thy moder wombe, I receyved thee naked, and nedy of alle thinges'; bk. ii. pr. 2. 10. Just a few lines below (ll. 71–76) we have the sense, but not the words, of the neighbouring passage in Chaucer (ll. 23–25). Further literal imitations are pointed out in the Notes to l. 85 in the same chapter, and elsewhere. See, for example, the Notes to Book ii. ch. iv. 4, 14, 20, 61; ch. v. 15, 57, 65, 67, 79; ch. vi. 11, 30, 74, 117, 123, 129, 132, 143; ch. vii. 8, 14, 20, 23, 30, 39, 50, 74, 95, 98, 105, 109, 114, 117, 130, 135, 139, 148; &c.
Those who require conviction on this point may take such an example as this.
'O! a noble thing and clere is power, that is not founden mighty to kepe himselfe'; (p. 70, l. 20).
'O! a noble thing and a cleer thing is power, that is nat founden mighty to kepen it-self'; Ch. Boeth. bk. iii. pr. 5. 5–7.
The Latin text is: 'O praeclara potentia quae nec ad conseruationem quidem sui satis efficax inuenitur.' I see no reason for supposing that the author anywhere troubled himself to consult the Latin original. Indeed, it is possible to correct errors in the text by help of Chaucer's version; see the last note on p. 461.
§ 12. We get the clearest idea of the author's method by observing his treatment of the House of Fame, 269–359. It is worth while to quote the whole passage:—
'Lo! how a woman doth amis
270
To love him that unknowen is! …
Hit is not al gold that glareth; …
Ther may be under goodliheed
275
Kevered many a shrewed vyce;
Therefore be no wight so nyce,
To take a love only for chere,
For speche, or for frendly manere;
For this shal every woman finde
280
That som man, of his pure kinde,
Wol shewen outward the faireste
Til he have caught that what him leste;
And thanne wol he causes finde,
And swere how that she is unkinde,
285
Or fals, or prevy, or double was …
Therfor I wol seye a proverbe,
290
That "he that fully knoweth th'erbe
May saufly leye hit to his yë" …
Allas! is every man thus trewe,
That every yere wolde have a newe, …
305
As thus: of oon he wolde have fame,
In magnifying of his name;
Another for frendship, seith he;
And yet ther shal the thri de be,
That shal be taken for delyt …
332
Allas, that ever hadde routhe
Any woman on any man!
Now see I wel, and telle can,
335
We wrecched women conne non art …
How sore that ye men conne grone,
Anoon, as we have yow receyved,
340
Certeinly we ben deceyved; …
For through you is my name lorn,
And alle my actes red and songe
348
Over al this land on
