A wys man seide, as we may seen,
Is no man wrecched, but he it wene,...
For he suffrith in pacience...
Richesse riche ne makith nought
Him that on tresour set his thought;
For richesse stont in suffisaunce;' &c.
13. No force of, it does not matter for; i. e. 'thy rigour is of no consequence to him who has the mastery over himself.' From Boethius, bk. ii. pr. 4, l. 98, which Chaucer translates: 'Thanne, yif it so be that thou art mighty over thy-self, that is to seyn, by tranquillitee of thy sowle, than hast thou thing in thy power that thou noldest never lesen, ne Fortune ne may nat beneme it thee.'
17. Socrates is mentioned in Boeth. bk. i. pr. 3, l. 39, but ll. 17-20 are from Le Rom. de la Rose, ll. 5871-4:—
'A Socrates seras semblables,
Qui tant fu fers et tant estables,