OBSERVATIONS ON THE LANGUAGE OF GOWOt's CONFESSIO AMANTI3. 



283 



the gen til, ii. 50. 



the vertuous, iii. 129. 



the pietous, iii. 201. 



this feverous, ii. 147. 



this curteis, ii. 132. 



the pouer, ii. 392. 



the jolif, iii. 4. 



the comun * i. 7, 9, 263 : ii. 44, 387 : iii. 142, 152, 



178, 186, 213, 380. 



§ 36. The following exceptions to § 32, § 33, 

 § 35 occur. 



a. To §32. 



his fals, i. 65, 309. his high lignage, ii. 71. (?) 



her wrong, i. 169. the high prowesse, ii. 342. (?) 

 her glad, iii. 25. his high suffraunce, iii. 376. (?) 

 the bright, iii. 113 f. his sligh compas, i. 238. (?) 



the ninth, iii. 123. 

 the seventh, iii. 130(?) 



But, the highe god, ii. 127, 



155, 215, etc. 



his highe worthinesse, ni. 



377. 



his slie caste, i, 239. 



b. To 33. 



the best, i. 67, 90. 



c. To 35 c : but see § 30, b. 



this tiranisshe knight, iii. 256. 



her wommanishe dreiie, ii. 66, 229, 335 : iii. 28. 



thy bodeliohe kinde, i. 271 : (the bodeliche thinges, 



iii. 89). 

 the hevenliche might, i. 138. 



d. To 35 d* 



the covetouse flatery, iii. 158. 

 and thus this lecherous[e] pride, iii. 259. 

 of the parfite medicine, ii. 89. 

 the secoumle, I ii. 84 f : iii. 21, 23, 85 f, 89 I 140, 

 seconde, \ 199, etc. : but see § 30, b. 



* Although the Indefinite form of this adjective, like the 

 Definite, is ctomm (Fr. commun), we find "the worldes good 

 rw first comune" (rh. fortune), iii. 152, and "comiin of 

 proprete:," i. 239, which point to a full form coraune. The 

 *miune\ i. 20, 64, 221 : iii. 187, 341, is the commonalty. Fr. 

 •ommune: so possibly at ii. 127, where, however, the morr 

 hkely meaning is fur common use (Xat. in commune). 



§ 37. The distinction of the French masculine 



and feminine adjective nuiy petit ops be noticed in 

 one or two cases. 



r peine, ) 



t iii. 360. 



which is the vertue soverein* 



my fader, I shall do mj 



wlier(e) Paris stood with fairs llelnne, | .»| g 



wiiich was his joi §9vcraine t 

 (cf. god soveroin, ii. 52,) 



O thou gentile Vrnus. loves queue, iii. 352, 



(cf. gentil love, iii. 354 : gentil folk( i, iii. 368) 

 but gentile may be only a definit e form ; see § 34 



§ 38, a. The Comparative Degr< « of the Adjec* 

 tive is generally formed in Gower, us in modern 

 English, in -er (S. -re); the ^upefiatift in -est 

 (S. -ost, -est). 



fairer, i. 201. 

 hoter, iii. 8. 

 higher, iii. 93. 

 stronger, iii. 229. 



gladder, ii. MOT, iii. 51. 



lever, i. 242: ii. 145 

 (let ii. 153: levest, 



ii. 133). 



lowest, swiftest, i. G5, etc 



b. A few Comparatives of "Irregular" Adjec- 



■ t 



tives retain the Saxon e. 



3G6 



iii. 150. 



:;80 



the werre, i. 9 f, 334 f : iii. 238. 



lasse, lesse (S. hwse), i. 107 f : ii. 331 f ! iii. -'15 



the lasse, ii. 76 f, 120. 



more (S. marc), i. 76, 113. etc. 



364. 



c. The vowel change of the "ancient" com- 

 parison is found in the following instance : 



>trengest, iii. 55, 1 47, 151. 



d. Some analytic forms of comparison are 



found. 



more 



[e] 



(So with the Adverb : wel more harde shaken, 



■) 



most pleasaunt, i. 92 : most worth, i. 15& 



most worthy, ii. 379 : most derk(e), i. 224. 

 •hidi was one of the most[e] wise, n. 161. 



