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yet not as an early historian, but as the first writer of a system of the metrical art, " of metre, of ryme, and of cadence"." We smile, when Hector in Shakespeare quotes Aristotle: but Gower gravely informs his reader, that Ulyffes was a clerke, accomplished with a knowledge of all the fciences, a great thetorician and magician: that he learned rhetoric of Tully, magic of Zoroafter, aftronomy of Ptolomy, philosophy of Plato, divination of the prophet Daniel, proverbial instruction of Solomon, botany of Macer, and medicine of Hippocrates". And in the feventh book, Aristotle, or the philofophre, is introduced reciting to his fcholar Alexander the great, a difputation between a Jew and a Pagan, who meet between Cairo and Babylon, concerning their refpective religions: the end of the story is to fhew the cunning, cruelty, and ingratitude of the Jew, which are at last deservedly punished. But I believe Gower's apology must be, that he took this narrative from fome chriftian legend, which was feigned, for a religious purpose, at the expence of all probability and propriety.

The only claffic Roman writers which our author cites are Virgil, Ovid, Horace, and Tully. Among the Italian poets, one is surprised he should not quote Petrarch: he mentions Dante only, who in the rubric is called "a certain poet of Italy named Dante," quidam poeta Italiæ qui DANTE vocabatur'. He appears to have been well acquainted with the Homelies of pope Gregory the great, which were translated into Italian, and printed at Milan, fo early as the year 1479. I can hardly decypher, and must therefore be excufed from tranfcribing, the names of all the renowned authors which our author has quoted in alchemy, aftrology, magic, palmistry, geomancy, and other branches of the occult philo

Lib. vi. f. 76. b. col. 1. d Lib. vi. f. 135. a. col. 1. • Lib. vii. f. 156. b. col. 2.

* Lib. vii. f. 154. b. col. 1.
Prolog. f. 2. b. col. 1.

a. col. 1. 2. f. 94. a. col. i.

Lib. v. f. 93.

fophy.

fophy. Among the astrological writers, he mentions Noah, Abraham, and Mofes, But he is not fure that Abraham was an author, having never seen any of that patriarch's works and he prefers Trifmegiftus to Mofes". Cabalistical tracts were however extant, not only under the names of Abraham, Noah, and Moses, but of Adam, Abel, and Enoch'. He mentions, with particular regard, Ptolomy's Almagest; the grand fource of all the fuperftitious notions propagated by the Arabian philofophers concerning the science of divination by the stars*, Thefe infatuations feem to have completed their triumph over human credulity in Gower's age, who probably was an ingenious adept in the false and frivolous fpeculations of this admired fpecies of study.

Gower, amidst his graver literature, appears to have been a great reader of romances. The lover, in fpeaking of the gratification which his paffion receives from the sense of hearing, fays, that to hear his lady speak is more delicious, than to feast on all the dainties that could be compounded by a cook of Lombardy. They are not so restorative fo

As bin the wordes of hir mouth;
For as the wyndes of the South
Ben moft of all debonaire,

So when hir luft' to speak faire,
The vertue of her goodly fpeche
Is verily myne hartes leche.

These are elegant verfes. To hear her fing is paradife. Then he adds,

h Lib. vii. f. 134. b. col. 1. vii. f. 149. b. col. 1.

See fupr. vol. i. p. 425. p. 393. Notes, h. And Morhof. Polyhift. tom. ii. p. 455. feq. edit. 1747.

Mabillon mentions, in a manufcript of the ALMAGEST written before the

year 1240, a drawing of Ptolomy, holding a mirrour, not an optical tube, in his hand, and contemplating the ftars. Itin. Germanic. p. 49.

She chufes. m Phyfician.

Full

Full oft tyme it falleth fo,
My ere" with a good pitance
Is fed of redynge of romance
Of IDOYNE and AMADAS,
That whilom were in my cas;
And eke of other, many a score,
That loved long ere I was bore°:
For when I of her loves rede,
Myn ere with the tale I fede;
And with the luft of her histoire,
Sometime I draw into memoire,
Howe forrowe may not ever last,

And fo hope comith in at last '.

The romance of IDOYNE and AMADAS is recited as a favourite history among others, in the prologue to a collection of legends called CURSOR MUNDI, tranflated from the French'. I have already obferved our poet's references to Sir LANCELOT's romance.

Our author's account of the progress of the Latin language is extremely curious. He fupposes that it was invented by the old Tuscan prophetess Carmens; that it was reduced to method, to compofition, pronunciation, and profody, by the grammarians Ariftarchus, Donatus, and Didymus: adorned with the flowers of eloquence and rhetoric by Tully then enriched by translations from the Chaldee, Arabic, and Greek languages, more especially by the version of the Hebrew bible into Latin by faint Jerom, in the fourth century and that at length, after the labours of many celebrated writers, it received its final confummation in Ovid, the poet of lovers. At the mention of Ovid's name, the poet, with the dexterity and address of a true master of

n Ear.

• Born.

P Their.

a Lib. vi. f. 133. a. col. 2.
See fupr. vol. 1. p. 123. Notes, t.

transition,

transition, seizes the critical moment of bringing back the dialogue to its proper argument'.

The CONFESSIO AMANTIS was most probably written after Chaucer's TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. At the close of the poem, we are prefented with an affemblage of the most illustrious lovers'. Together with the renowned heroes and heroines of love, mentioned either in romantic or claffical history, we have David and Bathsheba, Sampson and Dalila, and Solomon with all his concubines. Virgil, alfo, Socrates, Plato, and Ovid, are enumerated as lovers. Nor muft we be furprised to find Ariftotle honoured with a place in this gallant groupe: for whom, fays the poet, the queen of Greece made fuch a fyllogifm as destroyed all his logic. But, among the reft, Troilus and Creffida are introduced; feemingly with an intention of paying a compliment to Chaucer's poem on their ftory, which had been fubmitted to Gower's correction". Although this famous pair had been alfo recently celebrated in Boccacio's FILOSTRATO". And in another place, speaking of his abfolute devotion to his lady's will, he declares himself ready to acquiefce in her choice, whatsoever she fhall command: whether, if when tired of dancing and caroling, she should chuse to play at chefs, or read TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. This is certainly Chaucer's poem.

That when her lift on nights wake
In chambre, as to carol and daunce,
Methinke I maie me more avaunce,
If I may gone upon hir honde,
Than if I wynne a kynges londe.
For whan I maie her hand beclip",

With fuch gladness I daunce and skip,

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Methinketh I touch not the floore;
The roe which renneth on the moore
Is than nought fo light as I.----
And whan it falleth other gate*,
So that hir liketh not to daunce,
But on the dyes to cast a chaunce,
Or afke of love fome demaunde;
Or els that her lift commaunde

To rede and here of TROILUS.

That this poem was written after Chaucer's FLOURE AND LEAFE, may be partly collected from the following paffage, which appears to be an imitation of Chaucer, and is no bad specimen of Gower's most poetical manner. Rofiphele, a beautiful princess, but fetting love at defiance, the daughter of Herupus king of Armenia, is taught obedience to the laws of Cupid by seeing a vision of Ladies.

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