Prologue of Richard Rolle.

NOTE i., p. 12,—This passage, beginning ‘Euigilans vero animam meam’ to the end of the chapter, is found in early printed editions of Bonaventura’s works as the prologue to a treatise called the Incendium Amoris. But both the prologue and the title are said to be spurious in the exhaustive edition of the works published by the college of S. Bonaventura. ‘De titulo huius opusculi et de prologo illo Evigilans vero animam meam, qui certissime spurisu est, cum nec in primis editionibus nec in codicibus, exceptis tribus valde recentibus, inveniatur’ (Ad Claras Aquas, vol. viii. p. 3, 1989).

This is interesting as freeing Rolle—at any rate in this case—from the charge of incorporating the writings of others in his works. Not that the charge was a serious one in those days, when the pride of authorship was unknown. Rolle’s aim was to kindle men’s hearts to love God; by his own words if he could, or if he found his thoughts better expresses by another, he would gladly use what that other had written or said.

NOTE ii., p. 13.—L. reads: ’eo de iure apciores essent ad amandum’; which Misyn translates literally. C. ‘the more abyll to lufe be lawe thai ar.’³⁰³⁰    I have both here and in the footnotes followed the spelling of the manuscripts.