The wars of Alexander: an alliterative romance translated chiefly ...

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288 NOTES TO pp. 4—6, 11 118— 179.
118. " Without more hindrance."
126. None of the texts help to explain this line.
128. This line curiously resembles that in Chaucer, C. T. 3209
*'
His astrolabie, longing for his art." See Chaucer's Treatise on the
Astrolabe.
129. Quadrentis, quadrants. We suggest this word as an improvement
upon the corrupt reading In adrentis of the MS. The alliteration
demands a word beginning with qu, and as the MS. has the rest of the
word, the correctness of the suggestion can hardly be doubted.
130. Melcil quat, much of various kinds, many various things. See
Morris, Outlines of English Accidence, p. 137, § 213.
145. Openly deuynes ; Lat. "palam . . diuinabat.'' Frequent
similar coincidences of expression leave little doubt as to the fact that
the poet's translation was made (mainly) from the " Ilistoria de preliis."
146. "Let him hear, whoso desired" ;
here being in the imperative
mood. Phrases of a similar cast are not uncommon in Middle English.
150. Tere is a less common form of tore, difficult ; see tere, tor in
Stratmann, and tlie Glossary.
161. Ser Sirraphis, the Egyptian god Serapis. See 1. 5409.
168, This is an instance of an ambiguous oraclo, but the ambiguity
only appears in the original Greek, as given in the note to A. 565.
It could be read as meaning "
; Your fugitive king will again return to
Egypt, not as an old, but as a young man, and will destroy and
Bubjugate our enemies," or otherwise, "and will subjugate our enemies,
the Persians " —tovq e\dpovg »//xJ>»' Trepcrag vword^ei. See 11. 184— 189
below. It was fulfilled in the latter sense, when Alexander, the son of
Anectanabus, arrived in Egypt before defeating the Persians ;
see 11.
1121—1136.
174. Bees, shall be
;
just as the A.S. heun is often used with a
future sense.
179. " Since it is ordained to be so, and it cannot fail, nor (be)
shewn to he in any other way, nor (are) we (likely) to avoid it, (there
is nothing for us) but to give them up the girdle ; it avails us not (to
think) otherwise." Many of the sentences have similar abrupt transitions;
it is easier to catch the sense than to define it precisely. The
phrase " to give up the girdle " means to submit to the inevitable, to
acknowledge oneself to be powerless, and is a translation of a French
proverb given in Cotgrave, s. v. ceincture. In Howel's Familiar
Letters, 5th ed. (1678), p. 463, we find : "The other Proverb was II a
quitte sa denture (^sic}, he hath given up his girdle, which intimated as
much as if he had becom bankrupt, or had all his estate forfeited, It
being the ancient Law of France, that when any upon som offence had
that penalty of confiscation inflicted upon him, he us'd before the
Tribunal of Justice to give up his Girdle, implying thereby, that the
girdle held every thing that belong'd to a mans estate, as his budget of
money and writings, the keys of his House, with his Sword, Dagger
and Gloves, &c,"