Confessio Amantis of John Gower, Volume 1Bell and Daldy, 1857 - Christian ethics |
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Page 4
... herde say , That who that wel his werk beginneth , The rather a good end he winneth . And thus the prologue of my boke After the world , that whilom toke , And eke fomdele after the newe , I woll beginne for to newe . 1 Through tiranny ...
... herde say , That who that wel his werk beginneth , The rather a good end he winneth . And thus the prologue of my boke After the world , that whilom toke , And eke fomdele after the newe , I woll beginne for to newe . 1 Through tiranny ...
Page 39
... herde As well the lorde as the fhepherde He brought hem all in good accorde , So that the comun with the lorde And lord with the comun alfo He fette in love bothe two And put awey malencolie . That was a luftie melodie Whan every man ...
... herde As well the lorde as the fhepherde He brought hem all in good accorde , So that the comun with the lorde And lord with the comun alfo He fette in love bothe two And put awey malencolie . That was a luftie melodie Whan every man ...
Page 51
... herde This preftes tale er I answerde , And than I praid him for to fay His will and I it wolde obey After the forme of his apprife . Tho spake he to me in such a wise Hic incipit con- feffio amantis , cui de duobus precipue quinque ...
... herde This preftes tale er I answerde , And than I praid him for to fay His will and I it wolde obey After the forme of his apprife . Tho spake he to me in such a wise Hic incipit con- feffio amantis , cui de duobus precipue quinque ...
Page 57
... herde . My gode fone , take good hede And over this yet I the rede , That thou beware of thin hering , Which to the herte the tiding Of many a vanite hath brought To tarie with a manes thought . And netheles good is to here Such thing ...
... herde . My gode fone , take good hede And over this yet I the rede , That thou beware of thin hering , Which to the herte the tiding Of many a vanite hath brought To tarie with a manes thought . And netheles good is to here Such thing ...
Page 72
... herde , And to the bed stalkend he ferde And fodeinly , er she it wiste , Beclipt in armes he her kiste , Wherof in womannisfhe drede She woke and nifte what to rede . But he with fofte wordes milde Comforteth her and faith , with ...
... herde , And to the bed stalkend he ferde And fodeinly , er she it wiste , Beclipt in armes he her kiste , Wherof in womannisfhe drede She woke and nifte what to rede . But he with fofte wordes milde Comforteth her and faith , with ...
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Common terms and phrases
alſo Amans anone anſwerde awey axeth ayein beſt boke cafte cauſe Chaucer chere cleped comun Confeffio Amantis Confeffor counfeil couthe Criftes dede deie deth doth doughter enfample envie eſtate exemplum fader faide fain faith fame feith felf femblaunt fene fhall fhulde figh firſt flain fome fone Forthy forwe fothe fpeke ftant ftonde fuche full ofte fuper goddes goth grete hath hede herde herte heven honde inough John Gower kepe king knight lady laſte leve liche loke londe lord maner mannes matere mede mochel moſt netheles nought pees praide prive quod rede refon regne ſaid ſelf ſhall ſhe ſhulde ſpeciall ſpeke ſtant ſtede ſtood ſuch tale thanne thenke thenketh therupon theſe thilke thing thou to-fore toke Touchend trouth underſtonde unto uſed vice weived weren werre whan Wherof wife winne wiſte wite wolde woll wolt wote
Popular passages
Page 263 - Gower (CA ed. Pauli, i. 263) says : — ' Senec witnesseth openly How that envie properly Is of the court the comun wenche.' Note that parteth in 1. 359 means 'departeth.' 361. ' Whoever goes away, at any rate she will not be wanting.
Page 140 - Thy veingloire and thy folie With grete peines to chaftie. And of the vois thou herdeft fpeke, Which bad the bowes for to breke And hewe and felle down the tre, That word belongeth unto the.
Page 8 - ... that men now clepe and calle And sain, that regnes ben devided, In stede of love is hate guided, The werre wol no pees purchace, And lawe hath take her double face, So that justice out of the wey With rightwisnesse is gone awey. And thus to loke on every halve, Men sene the sore without salve, Whiche al the worlde hath overtake. Ther is no regne of alle out take, For every climat hath his dele After the torninge of the whele, Which blinde fortune overthroweth, Wherof the certain no man knoweth,...
Page 3 - And so befell, as I came nigh, Out of my bote, whan he me sigh, He bad me come into his barge. And whan I was with him at large, Amonges other thinges said, He hath this charge upon me laid And bad me do my besinesse, That to his highe worthynesse Some newe thing I shulde boke, That he himself it mighte loke After the forme of my writing.
Page 220 - So harde, that he wende wele To pafle. But the blinde whele, Which torneth ofte er men be ware, Thilke ice, which that the horfmen bare, To-brake, fo that a great partie Was dreint of the chivalrie, The rerewarde it toke aweie, Came none of hem to londe drey. Paulus this worthy knight Romain By his afpie it herde fain, And hafteth him all that he may, So that upon that other day He came, where he this hoft behelde, And that was in a large felde, Where the banners ben difplaied.
Page xxxiii - Venus appears to him, and, after having heard his prayer, appoints her priest called Genius, like the mystagogue in the picture of Cebes, to hear the lover's confession. This is the frame of the whole work, which is a singular mixture of classical notions, principally borrowed from Ovid's Ars Amandi, and of the purely medieval idea, that as a good Catholic the unfortunate lover must state his distress to a father confessor.
Page xxviii - Baptist, seems to have been adopted from the general clamor and cry then abroad in the country. The greater bulk of the work, the date of which its editor is inclined to fix between 1382 and 1384, is rather a moral than an historical essay; but the first book describes the insurrection of Wat Tyler in an allegorical disguise; the poet having a dream, DII the llth of June, 1381, in which men assume the "hape of animals.
Page 140 - ... herdeft fpeke, Which bad the bowes for to breke And hewe and felle down the tre, That word belongeth unto the. Thy regne fhall be overthrowe, And thou defpuiled for a throwe. But that the roote fhulde ftonde, By that thou fhalt wel underftonde, There fhall abide of thy regne A time ayein whan thou mall regne. And eke of that thou herdeft faie To take a mannes hert aweie And fette there a beftiall, So that he lich an oxe fhall Pafture, and that he be bereined By times feven and fore peined, Till...
Page xix - And moreover he hath an obite yerelv, done for hym within the same churche, on Fridaie after the feaste of the blessed pope Saynte Gregorie. " Beside on the wall where he lieth, there be peinted three virgins, with crownes on their heades, one of the...
Page xxxiii - The poem opens by introducing the author himself, in the character of an unhappy lover In despair, smitten by Cupid's arrow. Venus appears to him, and, after having heard his prayer, appoints her priest called Genius, like the mystagogue in the Picture of Cebes, to hear the lover's confession. This is the frame of the whole work, which is a singular mixture of classical notions, principally borrowed from Ovid's Ars...