11. SOCRATES: FOOTNOTES
1 maryed, married
3 her lynage shulde dure, their lineage should endure
6 empechemente, harm; cunnynge, wisdom
8 covenable, appropriate; couragis, hearts
9 deede beestis, dead beasts
11 maistir, master
19 quod, said
22 Creature, Creator
24 dampned, damned
26 condempned, condemned
30 mannys, man's
32 wonte, accustomed
38 nouther, neither.
40 wote, know
41 fynaunce, finance
45 here, there
48 nacyon, nation
50 peas, peace; lesinges, lies
59 doutefull, respectful
61 dede, did; merveilled, marveled
62 nygh, near
63 weel, well
64 teche and lerne, teach and instruct
67 pleasaunce, pleasure
72 hens, hence
74 suetely, sweetly
75 her, their
78 here, their
83 hidder, hither
88 passinge, surpassingly
91 senewes, sinews; wexe stark, grow stiff.
96 dye anone, die anon (soon)
100 honde, hand
102 yghen, eyes
105 devyded, divided; prestys, priests
109 reed, red
110 balled, bald
111 stered, steered
112 beleve, belief
113 girdelle, girdle
117 sadly, seriously
120 ealed, healed
123 here, their
124 suffisaunt, sufficient
126 tothir, other.
137 sewith covetises, pursues coveted things; leseth, loses
143 keytef, churl
147 duelleth, dwells
149 never a deel proufite, no share of profit
154 overmaistir, oppress; bytte, bit
156 to, too
158 enmyté, enmity
160 Cunnynge, Cleverness
163 parfite, perfect
165 lowable, allowable
166 seth, hereth, sees, hears
167 thistilles, thistles
170 incerteyned, assured
172 conduyte, conduct
173 to moche, too much
174 theynketh, thinks.
179 aventures, chance
182 to besy, too busy
183 eyre, air
184 refeccion, food
185 seche, seek
186 repayren, return
187 sewe, pursue; rightwisnesse, righteousness
191 heete, heat
194 wrothe, angry
195 habundaunce, abundance
196 but, except
200 felaship, fellowship
201 thefes, thieves
211 seiste, say; wene, believe
220 sureté, surety
223 medilleth, meddles
224 partie, part
228 hony, honey
229 leef, leaf (page); mergyne, margin
230 rennyth, runs
231 wery, weary
235 modered, moderated
236 deed, dead
237 delices, delights
241 toon, one
246 partye, part
248 to2, too
251 were, wear
254 eerys, ears
261 seth, sees.
263 caytif, churl
266 of, from
269 sewe, pursue
274 lese, lose
278 nettis, nets
280 mysgovernaunce, bad judgment
281 see, sea; skape, escape; happe, whim
282 deye, die.
283 zarab, a mirage (see note); rennyth, runs
286 ferre of, far off
287 sonne, sun
289-90 parseverith and, perseveres if
290 outher, either
291 mennys eerys deef, men(s ears deaf
292 here yghen, their eyes
297 onlasse, unless; verrey, veritable
299 but, unless.
304 doute, fear
307 vanytté, vanity
316 getith, provides
320 jugith, judges; levers, living
321 deede, dead
322 aferde, afraid
328 withstand, do not do
329 lasse, less
332 disworship, discredit
333 avauntage, advantage
337 folily, foolishly; fayne, glad
341 tydyngis, tidings; seche, seek
344 peas, peace
346 undirstande, understood
349 seyne, say
350 moche language, incessant talking
353 boden, asked to
355 onys, once
359 wote, know
360 se, see
362-63 herkeneth, listens
364 he, it
367 undoth, undoes
372 derke, dark
374 mannys, man(s
379 to moche, too much
380 suete, sweet
381 egre, eager.
387 encrece, increase
391 suffisaunte, sufficient
393 incontynente, unreliable
401 joied, joyful
405-06 empechemente, hindrance
406 expedicioun, assistance
411 folisshe, foolish
412 wawis, waves
416 leve, live
417 nettis, nets
418 her, their
420 bare, carried
421 hoote berith, hot carries
422 seek, sick.
434 sustres, sisters
437 peynted, painted
441 he, it; venyme, venom
443 nouthir, neither
451 science, i.e., course of study
459 recche, reckon (suppose)
467 th'execucioun, the execution
475 woldeste, would
479 castell, castle; engendreth, engenders
481 leyser, opportunity.
484 wolde weel, wishes well
487 leesith, loses
489 saulf, safe
495 avaunte, boast; tho, those
500 dyete, diet
503 parceyve, perceive
510 lever, rather
511 or, ere
513 Sufferaunce, Patience
516 delyver, release
517 lesith, lose
519 leeve, permission
530 breeke, break
532 chese, choose
533 or, ere
543 grene, green
544 hootter, hotter
549 wiste, knew.
11. SOCRATES: EXPLANATORY NOTES
1 Socrates. Among the greatest in a long line of Athenian philosophers, Socrates (c. 470-399 BC) left no writings, so we know his teachings only from the work of his disciples, primarily Plato. Socrates saw virtue and knowledge as one and the same, and emphasized self-analysis above all. He was forced to commit suicide after being charged with impiety and the corruption of the youth of Athens. Plato's dialogues Crito and Phaedo provide the ultimate source for the extended narrative of the philosopher's death, but since Plato was known to the Muslim world mainly through paraphrases and summaries (Marmura, "Medieval Islamic Philosophy," p. 22), the original author of Dicts and Sayings may have obtained this material from a secondhand source. For another medieval account of Socrates' life, death, and teachings, see Higden's version (Polychronicon, ed. Lumby, vol. 3, pp. 270-94). Socrates was an important figure in medieval Islamic philosophical thought. Muslim scholars "monotheized" Socrates as readily as their Christian counterparts did (Alon, Socrates in Mediaeval Arabic Literature, p. 65), adapting his tenets to fit with Islamic theology. Taylor argues that
[Socrates] is consistently presented as maintaining an elaborate monotheistic theology, neo-Platonist in its details, and his condemnation and death are attributed to his upholding faith in one true God against the errors of idolaters. This allows him to be seen as a forerunner of Islamic sages (as he was seen in the West as a proto-Christian), and to be described in terms which assimilate him to figures venerated in Islam, including Abraham, Jesus, and even the Prophet himself. (Socrates, 86)
It would be a mistake, however, to say that the philosopher was fully "converted" to Islam. As Alon notes, "Socrates assumed in Arabic literature the stature of a moral rather than a strictly religious personality. His 'religiosity' was merely a vehicle for introducing him to a Muslim public, who were more susceptible to religious terms" (Socrates in Mediaeval Arabic Literature, p. 93).
1-5 The story of the henpecked Socrates and his shrewish wife Xanthippe was part of Greek folklore, and was told and retold throughout the Middle Ages. See, for instance, Gower's Confessio Amantis (3.639-730). Chaucer's retelling is quite memorable because it occurs as part of Jankyn's book of"wicked wives" in The Wife of Bath's Prologue:
No thyng forgat he the care and the wo
That Socrates hadde with his wyves two,
How Xantippa caste pisse upon his heed.
This sely man sat stille as he were deed;
He wiped his heed, namoore dorste he seyn,
But "Er that thonder stynte, comth a reyn!" (CT III[D]727-32).
Christine de Pizan (1365-c.1429), however, offers a very different conception of Xanthippe in her Book of the City of Ladies (2.21.1):
The noble lady Xanthippe possessed great learning and goodness, and because of these qualities she married Socrates, the greatest philosopher. Although he was already quite old and cared more about searching for knowledge and researching in books than obtaining soft and new things for his wife, the valiant lady nevertheless did not stop loving him but rather thought of the excellence of his learning, his outstanding virtue, and his constancy, which, in her sovereign love and reverence, she considered to be a sign of his excellence. Upon learning that her husband had been condemned to death by the Athenians because he had attacked them for worshiping idols and had said that there was but one God, whom one must worship and serve, this brave lady could not bear it, but completely disheveled, overcome with grief and weeping, she quickly rushed to the palace where her husband was being held, and she found him among the deceitful judges who were administering to him the poison to end his life. Arriving just at the moment when Socrates was about to put the cup to his mouth to drink the poison, she rushed toward him and angrily tore the cup from his hands and poured it all out on the ground. Socrates reproved her for this and urged her to be patient and comforted her. As she could not prevent his death, she was very grieved and said, 'What a great wrong and what an enormous loss to put such a just man to death wrongfully and sinfully.' Socrates continued to console her, saying that it was better that he die wrongfully than justifiably, and so he died. But the grief in the heart of the woman who loved him did not abate for the rest of her life. (trans. Richards, pp. 130-31)
For a discussion of how Socrates' family life is depicted in the medieval Islamic tradition, see Alon, Socrates in Mediaeval Arabic Literature, pp. 52-56.
11 Timee. Timaeus, the Athenian wise man featured in Plato's dialogue of the same name.
21-25 Muslim scholars, like their Christian counterparts, saw Socrates' execution for impiety as a narrative with strong symbolic resonance for their own faith. Alon argues that for Islamic thinkers, the significance of this story"originates from the symbolism of his voluntary death, the good spirit with which he welcomed it and his firm belief in an after-life, all of these being beliefs also shared by various streams of Islam" (Socrates in Medieval Arabic Literature, p. 86). Muslims writers simply omitted any aspects of Socrates' story that did not fit well with Islamic religious principles, for they were evidently"reluctant to connect Socrates in any way with paganism" (p. 87). See Alon, Socrates in Mediaeval Arabic Literature, pp. 61-87, for a full discussion of how Socrates' trial and death are depicted in the medieval Islamic tradition.
25 the kinge of the same cuntree. Athens in Socrates' time was not, of course, a"kingdom." Here the author has reshaped the political landscape to something more familiar to the text's medieval readership.
33 Euclytes. Crito, the friend of Socrates, who visited him in prison in an effort to help him escape the day before he was to be executed. See Plato's dialogue of the same name.
37 go to Rome. An anachronistic reference, given that in Socrates' day Rome was just one of many competing Mediterranean city-states and not yet the world power it would become in the ensuing centuries.
43-52 In Plato's dialogue Phaedo, which recounts Socrates' final hours, the philosopher accepts his unjust death readily and gracefully. Later Christian writers would see the parallels with Christ's death and often depicted Socrates as a kind of proto-Christian who dies for his unstinting belief in the true God.
63 Simon. Probably Simmias, one of the main speakers in Plato's Phaedo.
105-06 thre ordres, that is to seye: in prestys, kinge, and people. This statement reflects the foundation of medieval social theory, the Three Estates (an idea rooted in the Indo-European model of tripartite society): those who pray, those who fight, and those who work.
166-68 This worlde is lyke an higheweye that is full of thistilles, for anone as a man entreth in amonge hem, thei wil pricke him; and yf a man knowe that weye, he wole leve it. Compare to line 180, and see the note for that line.
180 This worlde is but a passage unto anothir worlde. Compare Egeus' speech in Chaucer's Knight's Tale:"This world nys but a thurghfare ful of wo, / And we been pilgrymes, passynge to and fro" (CT I[A]2847-48). See also Aristotle, line 98. For other manifestations of this maxim, see Whiting W663.
247-48 Loke thu be in like wyse to thi fadir and thi modir as thu woldeste that thi children shulde be to thee. A variation on the Golden Rule. See Whiting D274.
285 zarab. Latin zaraph, French zaras, probably meaning"mirage" (S, p. 209n43).
349-50 A man maye knowe a foole by his moche language. For other manifestations of this maxim, see Whiting F401.
354-55 A man hath power over his worde as longe as it is withinne him, and whanne it is onys spoken it is oute of his power. For other manifestations of this maxim, see Whiting W605. Compare The Last Philosophers, lines 43-44.
386 knowe youreself. Much of the wisdom given for each of the philosophers is spuriously attributed, but "know thyself" remains the epitome of Socrates' doctrine of self-knowledge. Schofield notes that many other sayings in this section "show parallels to words of Socrates as given in Plato" (S, p. 209n38).
416-51 These lines contain perhaps the most severe and thoroughgoing misogynist rant in the entire work. Bühler notes that in a different English translation of Dicts and Sayings, "Earl Rivers omitted these lines and wrote: And the said Socrates had many seyinges ayenst women whiche is not translated" (p. 345). The gist of this rant is that women are accused of being inherently false; though they may seem beautiful or wholesome on the outside, on the inside they are wicked creatures whose only motivation is to lead men into carnal temptation.
437-38 I likken thee to the fyre, for the more woode that a man putteth therto, the gretter is the heete. For other manifestations of this maxim, see Whiting W560.
440 adelpha. "A fabulous tree" (MED). Schofield adds that Caxton identified this tree with the chestnut (S, p. 210n47).
475-76 Do to other lyke as thu woldeste that thei shulde do to thee. And do but that that thu woldest were done to thee. Another appearance of the Golden Rule. See Whiting D274.
497-98 Loke thu fellaship nat with that man that knoweth nat himself. See the note to line 387.
543-44 the fyre of grene wode and moyste is more hootter thanne the tothir whanne it is weel sette afyre. For other manifestations of this maxim, see Whiting W563.
558 It apperteigneth to a wyse man that he knowe what his soulle is. This is a variation on "know thyself." See the explanatory note for Socrates, line 387.
11. SOCRATES: TEXTUAL NOTES
22 thei. G: e added above the line.
104 twelve thousand. B reads the numeral in G as xij ml, but the raised "l" should not be mistaken as Roman numeration for "fifty"; ml here is, instead, an abbreviation for Latin millia, meaning "thousand." This reading is supported by S, which reads xijm.
112 had. G: word added above the line.
114 thingis. G: ingis added below the line, this being at the end of the MS page.
151 nat. G: word added above the line.
342 thei. G: word repeated at the top of the next MS page.
353 he2. I follow B in adding.
406 And. G: nd preceded by a blank space for a capital A.
416-17 wommen. G: wommien, with the i marked for deletion.
423 women. G: wo added above the line.
503 G: a repeated Many is canceled.