——— “Excommunicate.” 479. “Infatuate.” The form originated circa 1400, from “infatuatus”, etc., before the verbs existed, and are not examples of “ed” eliding or coalescing when the verb ends in “d” or “t”. This last, however, is found in Scot, and in a work at least ten years older.
[P. 442]. “Vitas.” See note 87. 458. Ditto.
[P. 444]. “Except in a plaie.” Probably, therefore, had witnessed Moralities, etc.
[P. 446]. “Increase.” Error for “incense”. Tobit viii, 5. (W. A. Harrison.) Vulg. has no word for this in viii, 2; “Fumus”, in vi, 8. Genevan version, “perfume”. Whether “incense” be Scot’s own word, or the rendering of some English version, I know not.
[P. 459]. “Sunne ... is 3966000.” The nearest to this computation that I can find is that of Archimedes, who made the sun’s distance 1,160 times the earth’s semi-diameter, that is, 3,985,760 miles. Scot, however, must have taken some later computation, as he speaks of the sun’s “neerest” distance.
——— Note, a pound of good candles, such as were offered in church, cost threepence.
[P. 461]. “Sir John” = the aforesaid priest. Cf. 265, 361, and “Sir Lucian”, 463; also 468, the translation of “Dominus”.
[P. 466]. “Kings bench.” Note, still so called in 1583.
[P. 467]. “Most noble and vertuous personage.” Probably Leicester. Cf. close of letter.
[P. 468]. “Sir John Malborne,” 1384. Hence an Englishman, and not a German, was in all probability the first to raise his voice against the cozenages of mediæval witchcraft.