Unto his king may doon or can:
So ferforth I me recomande[52]
To him which al me may comande, 30*
Preyende unto the hihe regne[53]
Which causeth every king to regne,
That his corone longe stonde.
Hic declarat in primis qualiter ob reuerenciam serenissimi principis domini sui Regis Anglie Ricardi secundi[55] totus suus humilis Iohannes Gower, licet graui infirmitate a diu multipliciter fatigatus, huius opusculi labores suscipere non recusauit, set[59] tanquam fauum ex variis floribus recollectum, presentem libellum ex variis cronicis, historiis,[62] poetarum philosophorumque dictis, quatenus sibi infirmitas permisit, studiosissime compilauit.
I thenke and have it understonde,
As it bifel upon a tyde,
As thing which scholde tho betyde,—[54]