Propinqua summo cardine labi,
Cur legat tardus plaustra Boötes,
Mergatque seras aequore flammas,
Cum nimis celeres explicet ortus,
Legem stupebit aetheris alti.'
[1]. sterres of Arcture, the stars of the constellation Arcturus. Arcturus was (as here) another name for Boötes, though it properly meant the brightest star in that constellation. It is at no great distance from the north pole, and so appears to revolve round it. The passage, which is somewhat obscure, seems to refer to the manner of the rising and setting of Boötes; and the argument is, that a person ignorant of astronomy, must be puzzled to understand the laws that rule the motions of the sky.
[3]. the sterre, the constellation. Chaucer uses sterre in this sense in several passages; see Kn. Tale, A 2059, 2061, and the notes.
[8]. the fulle mone. This alludes to an eclipse of the moon, as appears from below.
[9]. infect: 'Infecta metis noctis opacae.'
confuse, confounded, overcome; the light of the moon disappears in a full eclipse, rendering the stars brighter.