[2]. welde mare: not in the usual meaning, possess more wealth, as at 21/89, 22/122, 130, 32/55, but either, am more respected, honoured, as at 18/22; ‘for worulde weorðscypes wealdan,’ Thorpe, Laws, ii. 324. 4, or more probably, possess more knowledge; if so, ‘knowledge comes but wisdom lingers.’ Comp. ‘of wisdom wilde,’ OEM 96/94. For welde D reads ealdi, M eldi, age, grow old.
[3]. child: comp. ‘Adhuc enim non pueritia in nobis sed, quod est gravius, puerilitas remanet: et hoc quidem peius est quod auctoritatem habemus senum, vitia puerorum,’ Seneca, Ep. iv; ‘To longe ich habbe sot ibeo | Wel sore ich me adrede,’ OEM 160/31. a worde, &c.: comp. 30/27: on worde ⁊ on dede D; of wordes & of dede M.
[4]. a: on D; of JM. on: at E; á e; of M.
[5]-8. Comp. ‘Ki se fie en cest secle por fol tenc mult celui | Par mei meimes le sai ne mie par altrui | Folement le menai itant cum ieo i fui | Kar unkes ne fis riens de quanke faire dui | Trop i dui demurer trop tart men apercui,’ Guischart 32-36; ‘vnnut lif to longe ich lede | hwanne ich me biþenche; wel sore ich me adrede,’ OEM 192/3, 4.
[6]. wel ful: wel, wel D; ful J; the other MSS. wel, but T alters the first half of the line. wel qualifies biþenche.
[7]. ꝥ = þet; see 32/55. bi fealt &c. is not original, but an avoidance of the rare word chilce, which is in E e J T; D has chilðe, M chilse. chilce, childishness, appears to be formed from child, on the analogy of milce from mild; it occurs here only. L alters l. 8 for the sake of the rhyme; the other MSS. are with T.
[8]. bute, unless; comp. ll. 24, 210, 271.
[9]. iqueðen: ispeken T; ispeke J. Comp. ‘Ifurn ich habbe isuneȝet mid wurken ⁊ midd muðe | ⁊ mid alle mine lime siððe ich sunehi cuðe | ⁊ wel feole sunne ido þe me ofþincheð nuðe,’ OEM 193/29-31.
[10]. þe: so T e, but þat EJM; þet D. OE. ofþyncan is impersonal, it takes dative of the person and genitive or, rarely, nominative of the cause; ‘him ðæs slæpes ofþuhte,’ Ælf., Hom. Cath. i. 86/19 is normal. The indeclinable relative þe here and in similar places, as ‘Ne do þu non oðer man þing þe þe wolde ofþunche gief me hit dude þe,’ OEH ii. 179/20, may be doing duty for the genitive (see [46/292 note]). But in ME. generally hit is expressed as subject, 52/370, or the cause is nominative, 38/164, 42/203 (notwithstanding the verb in the singular), 145/104, or the subject is actually personal, 46/271; ‘his freonden hit ofþuhten,’ L 197. Þat in the other texts is nominative.
[11]. Comp. ‘Or me semblet puillent co ke ieo mult amai | Quant del plait me souent enz en mun queor mes mai,’ Guischart 1205, 6. Mest: Best J. The scribe should have put the stop after er.