And also blisful Venus, wel arayed, God wote that wele the sooner spedde he.1 1 The following passage from The Conclusions of the Astrolabie illustrates these astrological terms; but it has also an independent interest besides, because it shows that Chaucer was too good a catholic to believe in these anti-christian superstitions; and that when he uses astrological terms in his poems, it is only as a poetical ornament. The section is entitled Special Declaration of the Ascendent. 'The ascendent soothly, as wel in alle nativities as in questions and as in eleccions of times, is a thing whyche that thes Astrologiens gretely observen; wherfor me semeth convenient, sens I speke of the ascendent, to make of it a special declaracion. The ascendent soothly, to take it at the largest, is thilke degre that ascendeth at any of thes foreseyde tymes on the East Orizont; and therfor, if that any planete ascende at thilke same time in the foreseyde same degre of his longitude, men seyne that thilke planete is in horoscopo. But soothly the house of that ascendent, that is to seyne, the first house or the east angle, is a thyng more brode and large; for after the statutes of Astrologiens, what celestial body that is five degres above thilke degre that ascendeth on the Orizont, or within that number, that is to seyne, nere that degre that ascendeth, yet recken they thilke planete in the ascendent: and what planete that is under thilke degre that ascendeth xxv. degrees, yet, seyne they, that planete is like to him that is the house of the ascendent. Yet seyne thes Astrologiens that the ascendent, and eke the Lord of the ascendent, may be shapen to be fortunate or infortunate, as thus:-A fortunate ascendent clepen they, when that no wikked planete, as Saturne or Mars, or ellis the tayle of the Dragon, is in the house of the ascendent, ne that no wikked planete have no aspect of enmity upon the ascendent; but yet they wolle cast that they have fortunate planete in her ascendent, and yet in his felicity, and than seye they that it is wel. . . . The Lord of the ascendent, seyne they, is fortunate whan he is in gode place fro the ascendent, and yet the Lord of the ascendent is in an angle, or in a succedent, wher he is in his dignity, and comforted with frendly aspectes receyved; and eke that he may sene the ascendent; not retrograde, ne combust, ne joyned with no shrewe in the same signe, ne that he be not in his discension, ne joined with no planete in his discension, ne have upon him none aspect infortunate; and than they seyne that he is wel. Natheles, these bene observaunces of judicial matere, and rites of Paynims, in whiche my spirite hath no feithe,' &c. Now lete us stynt of Troylus a throwe, And, lord! so she gan in her herte argue Now was her herte warm, now was it cold. She thoght ferst, that Troylus persone 'Eke wel I wote my kingis sone is he, 'In every thing, I wote there lith mesure; 1 This is an excellent metaphor: the laying of argument upon argu ment is compared to plaiting fold upon fold of a garment. 2 The Harl. MS. 3943 reads As to me myn auctour lest for to endyte. The reading in the text is from MS. 1239, and is preferred for its metrical correctness. Be drinkeles for alwey, as I gesse: ' And eke I know, of longe tyme agone, 'Now sette a cas, the herdeste is ywis,1 'I thenk eke how able he is to have 'Ne me to love a wondir is it noght; The Harl. MS., 3943, reads Now set y a cas thus ywis. This is a defective line, and therefore the reading of the MS. 1239 is adopted instead. The meaning is, 'Now suppose a case, which is the hardest, gr worst, that can occur.' VOL. III. G And so men seyn in al the toun of Troy ; 'I am myn owne woman, wele at ese, Shal nonne husbond sey to me 'chek mate;" 'What shal I do? to what fyn lyve I thus? But right as whan the sunne shynith bright 1 Instead of these two lines, the Harl. MS., 12 39, reads :— 'Men love women al beside her leve, And whan hem lyst no more, lat hem leve.' 2 The term check-mate is probably derived from the Persian Shâhmât, the king is taken, used to mark that the game at chess is ended. As employed here it is a pun. Cryseyde says, 'No husband shall check or chastise, me, his mate, or wife. 3 In the Filostrato there are none of the vicissitudes of feeling, so admirably illustrated by these similes, and which give to the poem all the interest of a subtle analysis of the workings of the human heart when moved by the passion of love, in its various combinations. Boccaccio's Griseida is simply a gay coquettish widow, who is conscious of no higher feeling but that of triumph, at having succeeded in ecuring the affections of a handsome young man of rank. 'Partito Pandaro, se andò soletta Nella camera sua Griseida bella, And that a cloud is putte with wynde to flight,' That thoght was this:-'Alas! seth I am free, Alas! how durst I thenke that foly? I may ful wele in other folk aspy Her dredful joy, her constreynt, and her peyne; Ther loveth noon, that sche ne hath why to pleyne." 'For love is yet the moste stormy lyf, Si dette in braccio a amore sospirando, • Giovine e bella io sono, e vaga e lieta, The reading in the text is taken 1 The Harl. MS., 3943, reads, 'that put the wynde to flight;' this is evidently a mistake of the scribe. from MS. 1239. 2 This form of the third person sing. pres. indic. has already been remarked. See ante, p. 46, note 5. It is in accordance with the rule of Anglo-Saxon, given by Professor Raske, Grammar, p. 76. 'Those [verbs] in dan [as here, overspredan] have sometimes tst in the second person sing. of the present tense; in the third person, usually t only; as lædan, to lead; thu lætst, he læt.' These are evidently the contracted forms of lædest and ladeth, which also occur. 3 The Harl. MS., 3943, reads: 'Her dredful joy, her constreynt and pleynt; These lines being very unsatisfactory, the reading of MS. 1239 has been adopted in preference. |