LANGUAGE OF G OVER'S COKFESSIO AMANTIS 



o 



91 



shrif, shrive (S. serif), i. 133, 175, 280 : ii. 13, 57. 



drynk (S. drinc), i. 128. 



kepe (S. cep), I 83, 178 : ii. 268. 

 rede (S. raed), iii. 138. 

 leve (S. laef), i. 179. 

 speke (S. spec), ii. 283. 



take (S. tac), i. 86, 144, 303, 335, 353. 



fare (S. far), L 289. 

 come (S. cum), i. 48. 



abide (S. abid), ii. 280. 

 beholde (S. beheald), i. 46. 



c. In the following verses, if the reading be cor- 

 rect, the final e is difficult to account for, unless 

 an abridged plural form is confounded with the 

 singular : 



behold(e) and deme (demeth ? ) my querele, iii. 196. 

 for wife (witeth ? g ) well that never man, ii. 242. 



§ 59. Plural, generally in -eth (S. aS). 

 axeth, i. 162, 166 : ii. 115 : iii. warneth, ii. 49. 



274. 



telleth, i. 89, 150, 169. 



leveth, ii. 33, 129, 395. 



demeth, i. 61 : ii. 395. 

 putteth, i. 194. 



betaketh, i. 194. 



taketh, ii. 205. 



doth, i. 46. 



b. In the following cases it is more probable that 

 the -th has been wrongly dropped. 



so help\tli\ me now, I you beseche, ii. 260. 

 now sha2ie[th~] ye the beste wa}', ii. 381. 

 yef\_tK] what ye list to my penaunce, 



witeth, ii. 205. 

 aviseth, ii. 246. 



helpeth, ii. 260. 



comforteth, iii. 



316. 



tristeth, iii. 316. 

 goth, ii. 205. 



and axeth . 



« • 



i. 371. 



§ 60. Infinitive. 



The Infinitive in Gower ends -en (S. -an) ; or, 

 more frequently, the n is dropped. 



worchen, i. 166. 

 ben, i. 5. 



tellen, i. 6, 139. 



yeven, i. 9. 



comen, i. 147. 



answeren, i. 149. 



write, i. 1, 2, 5. 

 beleve, i. 1. 

 make, i. 2, 12 

 befalle, i. 3. 



gon(e), i. 147 : ii. 240. " 



loven, i. 87, 106, 107. 



sain, i. 95. 



seen, i. 101. 



knowen, i. 140. 



slain(e)^ sleen, i. 219, 330. 



sende, i. 9 f. 

 seche, i. 9 f. 

 stande, i. 10. 

 beare, i. 13. 



beholde, i. 4, 10. 



drawe, i. 5, 6. 

 hope, i. 8. 



here, i. 229. 



clothe, i. 14 £ 

 ete, i. 14. 

 drinks, i. 14. 

 save, ii. 30, 334, 



I mighte amends that is amis, iii. -74, an apparent 

 case of the termination 1 ing wholly droppe 

 should perhaps be road, I might amends that*! 

 amis ( ss what's amis, in English). 



to till the londes and set the vine*, i. 83, should 

 probably read, to tille londes and sette vines. 



to done (best to done, etc.), i. 185 f, 191 f, 204 f 

 233 f, etc., is the Saxon gerund to-donne. 



The Infinitive sign to is often said to bo omitted 

 in such phrases as I see you stand, the fact being 

 that those phrases preserve the original Saxon 



Infinitive, and have not exchanged it for the form 



with £o, derived from the Saxon gerund. We find in 

 Gower the Infinitive without to after several verbs 

 which now require that sign, thus : 



I thenke assaie, telle, etc., i. 157, 158, 162 : ii. 21, 



45, 52, 100, 215, 361, 371 : iii. 155, 288, 327, 374, 

 378. 



I wende have said, ii. 21 : iii. 258. 



he himself assay desireth, i. 30. 



they crie begunne, ii. 326. 



they gonnen say, ii. 253. 



a man is free defende, i. 354. 



it oughte put, i. 57, 117. 



her ought[e] nought be wroth, i. 297, 



that other were lever have had, i. 305. 





H 



151. 



We also find the Infinitive with to or for to in 

 the same connections, and to and for to indifferently 



use 



d: 



I thenke to do, ii. 50, I thenke for to flee, ii. 1 21, 



72. 



20 : iii. 165. 



began to say, ii. 6 1 : oughte for to 1 , iii. 154, 



gan to clepe, n. 



150. 

 ought wel to be, iii. 

 376 : i. 294. 



157. 



a king behov. th for to have 



iii. 231. 

 me belongeth for to say, ii. 



381, etc. 



§ 61. Participles. 



Complex Perfect. -The Perfect Participle of 

 Complex ( " Irregular " ) Verbs terminates in -en : 

 as printed by Pauli, more frequently in e. 



I 



