Complete Works

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Considering, however, the extent to, which the writings of this author in various languages illustrate one another, the help which is to be derived from the French works in dealing with the Romance element in the English not only of Gower, but also of Chaucer and other writers of the time, and the clearer View of the literary position of the Confessz'o Amantz's which is gained by approaching it from the French side, I am now disposed to think that the Delegates were right in desiring a complete edition, and as for my own competence as an editor, I can only say that I have learnt much since I first undertook the work, and I have the satisfaction of knowing that I have avoided many errors into which I should once have fallen. For the faults that remain (i speak now of the contents of the present volume) I ask the indulgence of those who are more competent Romance scholars than myself, on the ground that it was clearly desirable under the cir cumstances that the French and the English should have the same editor: Moreover, I may fairly claim to have given faithful and intelligible texts, and if I have gone wrong in other respects, it has been chiefly because I have wished to carry out the principle of dealing with all difficulties fairly, rather than passing them over with out notice.