ANTIS 



303 



4 



of the few cases that occur are worth much 

 see § 8. 



§ 90. E final is sometimes silent in -fore and 

 more. % 



-fore (to-fore, be-fore), as, i. 59, 117, 138, 155, 201, 

 205, 321, 348 : ii. 120 : iii. 61. 



On the other hand, -fore (to-fore, be-fore, a-fore), 



i. 32, 204, 209, 364 : ii. 47, 154 : iii. 40, 44, 227, 

 273, 342. 



more, i. 158, 168, 18,0, 198, 199, 203, 210, 263, 265, 

 337, 349 : ii. 2, 3, 57, 76, 136, 146, 149, 157, 171, 

 213, 226, 276, 335, 389 : iii. 44, 54, 214. 



But oftener more : i. 60, 61, 129, 168, 198, 208, 237, 

 294, 296, 297, 299, 306, 319, 336 : ii. 2, 7, 13, 15, 

 38, 60, 76, 78. 88, 98, 117, 135, 156, 186, 207,' 

 209, 232. 255, 279, 309, 310, 311, 324, 345, 348, 

 381, 383 : iii. 19, 20, 24, 25, 44, 88, 106, 202, 

 213, 216, 231, 234, 275, 295. 



Differently in successive lines : 



the wo no more than the wele, 



no more the hete than the chele, ii. 44. 



We find two forms, sire and sire = sir; corre- 

 sponding to French sire, sieur, Italian ser, sere : e. g. 



ha, leve sire, tho quod she, iii. 301. 

 but, sire, fof it is nigh day, ii. 246. 

 and saide, sire, graunt mercy, ii. 314. 

 Antiochus, the grete sire, 

 which full of rancour and of ire, iii. 292. 

 But, sire king, quod he, and that I can, i. 322. 

 sir king, if that it were so, iii. 226. 

 she shall be rendred forth with her. 

 she saith, graunt mercy, leve sir, iii. 317. 





§ 91. Disregarding the numerous demonstrably 

 misspelt words in Pauli's text, the only other im- 

 portant instances of silent e final are the word 

 have and some forms in -ce (se). 



e is generally silent in have, except at the end 

 of a line. 



now have ye herd(e) and I have said(e), i. 178. 

 as ye have told(e) I have well herd(e), ii. 235. 



So, I have, i. 47, 57, 60, 134, 161, 162, 177, 224, 

 227, 228, 229 : ii. 13, 25, 31, 39, 61, 75, 107, 

 119, 124, 278 : iii. 21, 31. 

 ye, they, have, i. 27, 59, 63, 76, 103, 104, 124, 



L 127, 131, 138, 157, 170, 177, 222, 228, 274. 



subjunctive, i. 105, 161, 175, 329: ii. 31 : iii. 346. 



imperative, i. 287: ii. 06. 



infinitive, i. 85, 91, 93, 94, 102, 1<>3, 121 36, 

 240: ii. 6,9, 16, 20. 21. -lii. 10% 103, 107. 

 But, (I) ne havii whan I spak(e) most eofte, L 296. 



ye have thilkc \ icr of *• ithe, ii. 55. 

 all though him sclvv ha\c &on(e), i. 295. 



be so they haw s\vctd(t) or knif(e) f i. 316. 

 niadame, if ye wohh have rouih. . L 47, 



and (infinitive), i. 94, 17 : iii 

 222, 302, 



The infinitives and the plural forms of the indi- 

 cative and subjunctive may have originally been 

 written haven; so written, the word might per- 

 haps have been contracted at pleasure into a mon- 

 osyllable. 



e is in a few words of Latin origin silent, or 

 absent where it might be expected, ai r <*, §. 



grace rh. encres (O. Fr. a-crois), ii. 392 : grace, i. 9, 



106, 115, 122, 208 : ii. 25, 302, 303. 



Boneface, i. 258, 201 : but rh. grace, i. 258. 

 Morice, Moris, = Maurice, i. 206, 211, 213. 191. 

 force, rh. hors, ii. 392. 

 fallas (Fr. fall ace), iii. 158, rh. was : fallas inne, ii. 



85. 



We find use (use) written in several cases where 



we should undoubtedly read us (Fr. us) : as 



to mannes us(e) wherof I rede, ii. 132. 

 rh. vertus(e), i. 15, 50: iii. 19, 136. 

 rh. jus(e) (Fr. jus), ii. 206. 



fus) 



290 



avarice, ii. 127, 131, 284, 289, which makes it 



read 



the prog'nie." 



We find pursg, iii. 1. r »5, pure, ii. 2tt Thin word 

 derived from Middle Latin bursa, probably does not 

 come to us through the Fr. bourse. It has dropped 

 the e, like Swed. and Dan. bars, and €• rm. bor$, 

 (which is found as well as horse) 



from O. Fr. lac, las, 



the e. 



331 



to be confounded with the verb. 



Noteworthy instances of e final silent after other 



ts than those already mentioned are very 



consonan 



