the harper's wife died, and that her soul was led to Hades. Then, as they said, the harper became so sorrowful that he could not remain among other men, but betook himself to the woods, and sat among the mountains, and both night and day wept and played on the harp, so that the woods trembled, and the waters stood still, and the stag shunned not the lion, nor the hare the hound, and no animal felt either hatred or fear of the rest, and all for the delight of the sound. Then it seemed to the harper that nothing in the world was any longer pleasant to him, and he thought he would go to Hades' gate, and begin to beguile those who were there with his harp, and beg them to give him his wife again.

When he had long and long played on his harp, then called out the king of the dwellers in Hades, and said, "Let us give this fellow his wife, for he has earned her by his harping." He commanded him then-as, indeed, he knew before-not to look back after he was on his way out, and said that if he looked back, he should lose his wife. But then, one can scarcely lay a command on love! Alas! alas! Well, Orpheus then led his wife with him until he came to the boundary between light and darkness. And so the woman after him was following. And when he came forth to the light, he looked back after his wife, but she immediately vanished from his sight.

This story teaches every man who wishes to flee from the darkness of hell, and to come to the light of the true God, that he should not look back at his old sins, so as to practise them again as fully as he did before; for whosoever, with full will, turns his mind to the sins that he before forsook, and practises them then, and fully takes pleasure in them, and never thinks to forsake them, loses all his former good, except he afterwards makes amends.

ARCHBISHOP ÆLFRIC.

POPE GREGORY THE GREAT, AND THE ANGLOSAXON SLAVES AT ROME.'

(FROM "HOMILIES," WRITTEN ABOUT A.D. 990.)

2

DA gelámp hit, æt sumum sæle, swa swa gýt for oft THEN happened it, at some (a certain) time,

deo, bat Englisce cýpmenn3 (it) doth, that English

so as yet (still) very often brohton heora ware to

chapmen (merchants) brought their ware to

eode

Romana-byrig1 and Gregorius be baere stræt Roman-burgh (Rome) and Gregory yode (went) by (along) the street

men,

to dam Engliscum mannum, heora ing sceawigende. Da to the English geseah be betwux Xam warum saw he by betwixt the wares chap-boys (boys for sale) placed,'

their

things

looking at.

Then

gesette,

cype-cnihtas

(1) The words in the above passage altogether, or almost, untraceable in modern English, are:-gelimpan, to happen; licháma, body; white, form, beauty, with its derivatives, wlitig, beautiful, and andwlita, face, countenance; athellice, nobly (cf. Æthelbert, nobly bright); nefexod, haired; befrínan, to inquire; theod, nation; undertheodan, to subject; sindon, or sind, are; and sy, may be; andwyrdan, to answer; gedafenian, to be fitting; gefera, companion; grama, wrath; generean, to save; cygan, to call; leod, people; lof, praise; scyppend, shaper, creator; lareow, teacher; gebigan, to bend, convert: gearo, ready; fultum, help; getháfian, to consent; teón to draw out, educate; gethungen, advanced, illustrious; forlætan, to forsake; fyrlen, far, distant; wræcsith, journey; geniman, to take.

(2) Sæle, dat. of sæl, or sel, time, occasion. The strengthened form seld is seen in seldom at times. This word and whilom, at whiles, are relics of the old usage. Om is for um, the term. of the dat. or abl. pl.

(3) Cýpmenn (Ger. kaufmann), fr. cýpan, to sell; hence cheap (shortened for good cheap, good sale, or purchase), Cheapside, Eastcheap, Chippenham, Chipping Norton, Chepstow, &c.

(4) Byrig, a city; also burh, gen. burge, hence borough, Edinburgh, &c. (5) Heora, or hira, of them, gen. pl. of he, heó, hit; afterwards, in Sem. Sax. hire, hir, here, and har; at length superseded by thair, thir (Milton), and their, from that.

(6) Scenwigende, pres. part. of sceawian, to look, behold; hence to show, (1) in a neuter sense, as "it shows (i.e. looks) well," (2) in a transitive sense, as "he shows me (i.e. makes me behold) the book."

(7) Cnihtas, acc. pl. of cniht (Ger. knecht), knights, i.e. originally, youths attending on their lords. Observe that in mod. Eng. the A.S. c is generally represented by k or ch, and the A.S. h in the middle or end of words by gh, as cniht, knight; cild, child; burh, burgh; broht, brought.

þa wæron hwites licháman' and fægeres andwlitan menn, and who were of white body and of fair countenance men, and ædellice

gefexode.

Gregorius a beheold nobly behaired (i. e. with noble heads of hair). Gregory then beheld

bæra cnapena wlite, and befrán of hwilcere peode hí of the boys (the) beauty, and inquired out of what

nation they

gebrohte wæron. Da sæde him man þæt hí of Englabrought were. Then said to him man (one) that they out-of Engles'

lande wæron, and þæt ære eode mennisc Swa land (England) were, and that of that nation the human race SO

wlitig2 wære.

3

Eft Ja Gregorius befrán, hwæder æs Afterwards then Gregory inquired whether of that Him man sæde, To him man (they) said,

beautiful was. landes folc Cristen wære de hæren. land (the) people Christian was or heathen. þæt hí hæðene wæron. Gregorius da of innweardre heortan that they heathen were. Gregory then out-of (his) inward heart

langsume siccetunge1 teah, and cwa, Wálawá! þæt swa longsome (long) sighings Welaway! (alas!) that 80

drew, and said,

Eft he axode, в

hú Sære eode nama

Again he axed (asked) how (that) to that

nation (the) name

wære, be hí of-comon. Him was geandwyrd,

was, that they out-of came ? To him (it) was answered

bæt hí that they

(1) Licháman, gen. sing. of licháma, a body—some say specially a living body, taking lic for a dead body, or corpse. We have traces of this root in "liche wake" (Chaucer), a body-wake, or watching, and lich-gate, the corpse-gate, a special entrance to a churchyard for funerals to pass through, also in the Devonshire word lichway, or leachway, the funeral path, and in Lichfield.

(2) Wlite means form, in a special sense, hence beauty (like the Latin forma, beauty); whitig, beautiful; and andulite, the form in front, or especially in view, the face (cf. Ger. antlitz).

(3) Befrán, asked, used in old Eng. in the simple form, fraynen or frainen. "Thanne I frayned hire faire," "Then I asked her courteously" (Piers Ploughman).

(4) Siccetung, fr. sican, to sigh, or (in Derbyshire) sike.

(5) Sindon, sind syndon, or synd, third pers. pl. of pres. tense of beon, to be. In 2nd stage we find sinden, are, occasionally.

(6) Axode, pret. of axion, to ask. Hence it appears that to say are for ask is only vulgar by use, not by origin; they are the same word with the letters transposed. See note 10, p. 2.

(7) Geandwyrd, p.p. of andwyrdan, fr. and, again or against, and a changed form of word-to word again, to reply. Cf. Ger. antworten, to reply.

Angle genemnode wæron. Da cwæ he, Rihtlice hí sind
Angles
Then said he, Rightly they are

named

were.

Angle gehátene,1 forðan e hí engla wlite habbad and

angels' beauty have, and

Angles

called,

for that

swilcum 2 gedafena

they bæt hí on

heofonum3 engla geferan

to such

heaven angels' companions

beon.

it is fitting that they on (in)

Gyt a Gregorius befrán, hú Xære scíre
Gregory inquired, how (what) to that shire (province)

should be. Still then

boys

nama wære, þe Xa cnapan (the) name was, that those Him man sæde, bæt To him man (they) said, that Dere . gehátene.

Dere (men of Deira) called

Ха
those shiremen (provincials)

Gregorius andwyrde, Wel hí
Gregory answered, Well they

sind Dere gehátene forðan de hí sind fram graman' called for that (because) they are from

are Dere

wrath

generode, and to Cristes mildheartnysse gecygede. Gýt and to Christ's mildheartness (mercy) invited. Again

saved,

da he befrán, Hú

is ære leode cyning geháten? Him then he inquired, How (what) is to that people (the) king named? To him

(2) Swilcum. dat. pl. of swi'c = sw or swa, so or this, and lic, like, and means, therefore, like this," e.g. "Such a man (a man like this) I never saw "

(3) Heofonum, dat. pl. of heofon; hence mod. Eng. heaven; fr. hebban, p.p. hafen, to heave; hence, probably, heofon, the elevated, or raised.

(4) Geferan, pl. of gefera; hence old Eng. fere, or pheere, a mate or companion. (5) Cn pan, nom. pl. of cnapa, a boy; hence in 2nd stage cnare, and in 3rd stage knave, or knave-child, a boy. The secondary meaning, servant, gave rise to the modern s gnification of rogue. See Trench (Select Glossary), sub voce.

(6) Gruman, dat. sing. of grama, anger, grief; hence old Eng. grame, in same sense (Chaucer), and, perhaps, grim, angry, fierce.

(7) Leode (Ger. leute), dat. sing. of leod, used also in old Eng. in the same sense. (8) Geandswarod, p.p. of andswarion, to answer, fr. and, again, and swarian, or suerian, which originally meant simply, to speak, or declare. Hence to answer is to speak again, or in reply.

(9) Gamenode, part. of gamenian, to game, or play; hence game and backy ammon (the tray game).

Scyppendes. Gregorius a sona

eode to dam papan

Shaper (Creator). Gregory then soon (at once) went to the pope

setles, and hine

bæd,

þæt he

seat (see) and him bade (begged) that he

sume láreowas for the English nation some teachers

gebigdon

asende, de hí to Criste would send, that them to Christ

and cwæð, bæt he

sylf gearo wære þæt

might bow (convert), and said that he self (himself) ready was that

6

8

weorc to gefremmenne mid Godes fultume, gif hit am

work for

papan swa

accomplishing

gelicode.

pope SO liked (pleased).

beah de he eall

Da ne mihte se papa þæt geðafian,
Then not might the pope that to allow,

wolde ; forðan de da Romaniscan

though that he all (altogether) wished (it); for that (because) the Roman

ceaster-gewaran noldon geðafian bat swa getogen mann, and would not allow that SO educated (a) man, and

townspeople

(1) Lofe, dat. sing. of lof (Ger. lob) praise.

(2) Scyppendes, gen. sing. of scyppend, shaping or forming one, Creator. It is strictly the pres. part. of scyppan, pret. sceóp, p.p sceapen, to mould or make. From this root we have shape, landskip or landscape, and the suffix ship, as friendship, &c. (3) Cynne, dat. sing. of cyn, race, family; hence kin, kind, kindred. So "a'kind' person is a 'kinned' person-one of kin; one who acknowledges and acts upon his kinship with other men, confesses that he owes to them, as of one blood with himself, the debt of love. And so mankind is mankinned."-Trench: "On the Study of Words," p. 47.

1

(4) Láreowas, acc. pl. of láreow, a teacher, fr. lár, lore, which forms læran, to teach. See note 7, p. 5.

(5) Gebigdon, subj. of gebigan, to bend, bow, or convert; hence derivative A.S. bugan, and from this mod. Eng. bow.

(6) To gef, emmenne, gerund of gefremman, to frame, arrange, accomplish. (7) Fultume, dat. sing. of fultum, help. See this word in the proclamation of Henry III., "Thurg Godes fulture"-" Through God's help."

(8) Gif, supposed to be the imper. mood of gifan, to give. "Give, or let it be given that the pope," &c. (See Horne Tooke's "Diversions of Purley," almost everywhere.) It is the main point of his system that all particles are really significant parts of verbs.

(9) Getogen, fr. teón, to draw, lead, educate-pret. teah, p.p. getogen; hence getogen is brought up, educated,