death. Either sense will serve, and either may be read. As to sterne, cf. l. 429.
351. Keuered, covered. Hence, in the Latin text, operata is an obvious error for operta.
353. Whon = won, i.e. quantity; see l. 499. This curious word was once in common use; see Havelok, 1791, Piers Plowman, B. xx. 170. It occurs as late in the old version of Chevy Chase, where it is spelt wane. The superfluous h in whon beliongs to the word wite, i.e. whit, in the next line.
356. 'We turn quickly to a flood (that) is called Thabeus;' the relative being omitted. The river is called Taberuncus in Bisse's volume, p. 65.
359. What so, whatsoever, whatever. Evidently copied from 1 Cor. x. 31.
366. Procred to goode, procured for good, well intended.
368. 'We speak only the truth, and cease (keep silence) in good time,' i.e. before saying too much. By time, betimes.
371. Here haunteþ appears to be in the singular, like bringeþ in the next line. That seggus haunteþ, that haunts people. More commonly, haunten = to practise; and we should rather read--þat seggus haunten, which men practise.
375. 'For we count it (poverty) as being rich, and easily found that it follows (or accompanies) our people till they depart hence, i.e. die.
380. 'Because we do no misdeed, so as to suffer judgements,' i.e. to be condemned for it; cf. Latin text.
381, 382. 'We consider it as a virtue, in our land at home, that mercy is unknown amongst the men of our country; because we are never moved to show mercy to any.' This is a singular statement, but answers to the Latin text, and is explained in the next sentence. 'We never offend God, nor any man here, whereby we should have to think about craving mercy, that God might forgive us.' We never think about mercy, because we never commit faults worthy of punishment.
389. Galfule. The MS. has galsule, but there is no such word, and the MS. rightly has galful in l. 668. The prefix gal- is clearly the A.S. gál, merriness, joy, generally used as an adj. and in a bad sense, but occasionally in a good sense, bold, merry, spirited (Flügel). So als Du. geil, and cf. Icel. gáli, gála, gáll. In both the passages in the present poem, we must give it a good sense, viz. joyous, full of bliss, blessed, or else joy-giving, bliss-imparting.
391. Glose you here, to gloss over your sins here, to speak to you smooth things.
392. 'We loathe to essay all the lust of lechery.'
393. Brigge, probably a bad spelling of brike, briche, or bruche, A.S. bryce, a breach, rupture, violation. 'Or to bring us to a violation (of chastity), so as to commit adultery.' Mr. Stevenson explains the word by 'strife;' obviously with reference to F. brigue, which Cotgrave
