Specimens of English literature from the 'Ploughmans crede' to the ...

384 NOTES.164. So must be supplied before sore; it was omitted o^dng to therepetition of the letters s, 0.165. We must supply tbame.Vthrungin, thmst. We must supply thought, i.e. hoped, tried, 1. 6.167. Lyis the on hert, lies upon thy heart.Slant, stands, is.For lufe, for love, viz. love of Lady Jane Beaufort.Endlang and ouerthwert, along and across (clearly copied fromChaucer, Knightes Tale, 1133^ ;'through my whole frame.'—C.168. Bring should probably be bringe, the Chaucerian form ; bring,being the Scottish infinitive, would naturally be used by a northernscribe, who could not see the use of the ending -e, which James probablyused owing to his habit of affecting AngUcisms. In the wordslokin in this stanza, the ending -in is no sign of a mood, but an integralpart of the verb itself, from the Icelandic slohna, old English sloknyn.In poynt to mate, on the point of being defeated ;apparently withallusion to chess.See Mate in Nares.169. Clymben. See note on the last stanza; and cf st. 164.1 70. Ycallit. Here again, James probably used the non-Scottish form,as he uses yihrungin in st. 165. The scribe would naturally set it right, ashe supposed.Hert becomes dissyllabic by rolling the letter r, just Rs/arlsis so in Burn's Holy Fair. So also turne at the end of the stanza.Sfallit, placed, kept within thine own heart. ' Kept in your ownmind, without the comfort of communication with your friends.'—C.Be froward opposyt, by means of the per\-erse men opposite you.This seems to refer to the idea of the wheel ;the king is prevented fromclimbing up by enemies, but as for these enemies, fortune prophesiesthat ' now shall they turn, and look upon the dirt.* But this does notexplain the hopelessly difficult phrase, quhare till aspert, the explanationof which is unknov^Ti.Jamieson says aspert means harsh, from the Frenchaspre. This is not etymologically satisfactory, nor does it explain theline.171. Prime. 'In ancient times, the hours, according to the times ofdevotion, were di%ided into two parts. From six in the morning tillnine, was called the spatium orationum primarum, or the hour of prime.Thus Milton:" praise him in thy sphere.While day arises, that sweet hour of prime"Par. Lost. v. 170.'— C.But the fact is, that prime is used in more senses than one in EarlyEnglish, and it is doubtful whether Chalmers' quotation from Milton isto the point. The context shews that prime has here the meaning of the