[Sidenote: Boethius complains of Fortune's unrelenting rage.]
¶ Þo .I. þat hadde gadered strenkeþ in my corage answered[e] { and} seide. { and} nedeþ it [gh]itte q{ uod} 252 .I. of rehersyng or of amonic{ i}ou{ n}. { and} scheweþ it not ynou[gh] by hym self þe scharpnes of fortune þat wexeþ woode a[gh]eynes me.
[Sidenote: Is not she moved, he asks, with the aspect of his prison?]
¶ Ne moeueþ it nat þe to seen þe face or þe man{ er}e of þis place (.i. p{ r}isou{ n}.).
[Sidenote: His library, his habit, and his countenance are all changed.]
¶ Is þis 256 þe librarie wyche þat þou haddest chosen for a ry[gh]t certeyne sege to þe i{ n} myne house. ¶ Þere as þou desputest of[te] wiþ me of þe sciences of þinges touching diuinitee { and} touchyng mankynde. ¶ Was þan 260 myn habit swiche as it is now. was þan my face or [Interlinear: quasi d{ ice}ret non.] my chere swiche as now.
¶ Whan I sou[gh]t[e] wiþ þe secretys of nature. whan þou enfo{ ur}medest my maners { and} þe resou{ n} of al my lijf. to þe ensaumple of þe ordre 264 of heuene.
[Sidenote: Is this, he asks, the reward of his fidelity?]
[Interlinear: ironice] ¶ Is nat þis þe gerdou{ n} þat I refere to þe to whom I haue be obeisaunt. ¶ Certis þou enfo{ ur}medist by þe mouþe of plato þis sentence.
[Sidenote: Plato (de Rep. v.) says that those Commonwealths are most happy that are governed by philosophers, or by those who study to be so.]
þat is to seyne þat co{ m}mune þinges or comunabletes weren 268 blysful yif þei þat haden studied al fully to wisdom [[pg 14]] gouerneden þilke þinges.
or ellys yif it so by-felle þat þe gouernours *of co{ m}munalites studieden in grete wisdomes.
[Linenotes: 247 _Felest þou_--Felistow _ou[gh]t_--awht 248 _art þou_--artow 249 _wepest þou_--wepistow _spillest þou_--spillestow 252 _answered[e]_--answerede 255 _woode_--wood 257 _wyche_--which 258 _myne house þere_--myn hows ther 259 _desputest of[te]_--desputedest ofte 260 _þan_--thanne 261 _it_ and _þan_--both omitted 261, 262 _swiche_--swich 262 _sou[gh]t[e]_--sowhte 263 _secretys_--secret[gh] _my_--MS. me, C. my 264 _al_--alle 265 _gerdoun_--gerdouns 266 _enfourmedist_--conformedest 267 _mouþe_--mowht 268 _comunabletes_--comunalitees 270 _by-felle_--byfille 271 _in grete wisdomes_--to geten wysdom]