105 Arrianes 80 Gedwola leofre Thone Drihtnes æ. Het Iohannes, Godne Papan. Heafde beheawon : 85 Naes that haerlic daed Eac tham waes unrim Othres manes, Thaet se Gota fremede, Godra gehwilcum. 90 Tha waes ricra sum, On Rome byrig, Ahefen Heretoga, Hlaforde leof, Thenden Cynestole 95 Creacas wioldon. Thaetfwaes rihtwis rinc. Waes mid Romwarum Sinc-geofa sella. Siththan longe he 100 Waes for weorulde fwis, Weorth-myrtha georn, Beorn boca gleaw, Boitius, Se haele hatte : Se thonne hlisan gethah. Wacs him on gemynde, Maela geh wilce, Yfel and edwit, Thaet him eltheodge, 110 Kyningas cythdon. Waes on Greacas hold, Gemunde thara ara, And eald-rihta. The his eldran I. OF ROME AND BOETHIUS. Hit was geara iu, 5 10 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 115 140 145 150 160 Ac he neowol astreaht Ne wende thonan aefre It was long of yore That the Gothic rout, Led their shieldmen out; Thronged with swarms of war The lands of many a clan, And in the South set firm and far Two tribes to trouble man. Yearly waxed and grew Those Gothic kingdoms twain, And Alaric and Rædgast too Right royally did reign. Then down the Alps the Goth Made haste to force his way, In haughty pride all fiercely wroth, And lusting for the fray: While all Italia through The shielded warrior crew, To great Sicilia's coast, Its lofty island boast. Her costliness despoild, The city's beauty soil'd. The fastness first they seek, While Cæsar with his chiefs fled fast For safety to the Greek. Then could the wretched band, Left mournfully behind, Nor much of mercy find. The warders then gave up, And full was sorrow's cup. The people, as at first, To follow whom they durst. Many a wintry year, Whom thane and earl should hear. To Christ the chief was born, And water wash'd the king, with it should bring. Her old-time rights to yield, The Gothic power to wield. The Atheling he lied, And falsely slipp'd aside. And, without right or ruth, Beheaded for the truth. A shameful deed was there; And heaps of other ill 22 Essays A man there was just set For heretoch in Rome, Loved by the lord whose bread he ate, And dear to all at home : Dear also to the Greek, When he the town did save; A righteous man, whom all would seek, For many gifts he gave. Long since was he full wise, In worldly wit and lore, Eager in worth and wealth to rise, And skill'd on books to pore. Boethius was he hight; He ate shame's bitter bread, And ever kept the scorn in sight Outlandish kings had said. He to the Greek was true, And oft the old-rights told, Which he and his forefathers too From those had won of old. Carefully then he plann'd To bring the Greek to Rome, That Cæsar in his rightful land Again might reign at home. In hidden haste he plied With letters all the lords, And prayed them by the Lord who died To heed his earnest words. Greece should give laws to Rome, And Rome should Greece obey ; The people longed to let them come To drive the Goth away. Theodric found out all, This highborn chief in thrall. He feared that good earl well, And straightly bade them bind Sore troubled in his mind. Ah! he had basked so long Beneath a summer sky, So heavy did it lie. Nor heeded honour more; Upon the dungeon floor ; Nor thought to break his chains, Sang thus in sighing strains. 6 This poem also is Alfred's own : and has not in any way been suggested by Boethius. It serves, in an able and effective manner, to introduce the Metres that follow, giving a slight historic sketch of Rome and its fortunes at the time of Boethius's imprisonment. In Gibbon's · Decline and Fall' all the matters here hinted at are detailed at length: as it is not our wish to encumber this version with needless notes, the reader can if he pleases there refer to the history of Theodoric's invasion and government. Meanwhile, a few words in this version require explanation : e. g. 'sceldas læddon' led their shields, -as we would now say of a general, he sent so many hundred • bayonets' to the flank &c. : ‘lind wigende’ lime or linden-fighters,--so called from their bucklers or spear shafts having been made of lime-wood: ‘hlaf' is a 'loaf'; ‘ord' a “beginning or cause': hence ‘hlaford' is a “patronor a lord whose bread he ate :''heretoga' is a 'general or chieftain'; Boethius was in fact 'consul, but, as in the case of 'atheling for 'prince,' it is thought best to keep to the word of Alfred. So also of Amuling;' which signifies the descendant of Amul. Boethius (prænamed Anicius Manlius Torquatus Severinus, and allied to those noble families) flourished as a Roman citizen and a Christian writer toward the close of the fifth and the beginning of the 6 6 |