John Gower

thumb|John Gower thumb|300px|John Gower shooting the world, a sphere of earth, air, and water (from a manuscript of his works ca. 1400). The text reads: Ad mundum mitto mea iacula dumque sagitto At ubi iustus erit nulla sagitta ferit Sed male viventes hos vulnero transgredientes Conscius ergo sibi se speculetur ibi John Gower (c. 1330 – 1408) was an English poet who wrote in English, French and Latin. His most famous work is the Confessio Amantis. Quotes For whan men wene best to have achieved,Ful ofte it is al newe to beginne:The werre hath no thing siker, thogh he winne. "In Praise of Peace", line 117 Confessio Amantis Quotations are taken from the third recension of the poem, unless otherwise stated. Bot for men sein, and soth it is,That who that al of wisdom writIt dulleth ofte a mannes witTo him that schal it aldai rede,For thilke cause, if that ye rede,I wolde go the middel weieAnd wryte a bok betwen the tweie,Somwhat of lust, somewhat of lore. Prologue, line 12 But in proverbe I have herde say,That who that wel his werk beginneth,The rather a good end he winneth. Prologue (First recension), line 86 For loves lawe is out of reule. Bk. 1, line 18 It hath and schal ben everemorThat love is maister wher he wile. Bk. 1, line 34 O Venus, queene of lovës cure,Thou lif, thou lust, thou mannës hele,Behold my cause and my querele,And yif me som part of thi grace. Bk. 1, line 132 (ed. G. C. Macauley, vol. 2, 1901) He hath the sor which no man heleth,The which is cleped lack of herte. Bk. 4, line 334 O fol of alle foles,Thou farst as he betwen tuo stolesThat wolde sitte and goth to grounde. Bk. 4, line 625 The beauté faye upon her faceNon erthly thing it may desface. Bk. 4, line 1321 Nevere yitWas non, which half so loste his witOf drinke, as thei of such thing doWhich cleped is the jolif wo. Bk. 6, line 31 What is a lond wher men ben none?What ben the men whiche are aloneWithoute a kinges governance?What is a king in his ligance,Wher that ther is no lawe in londe?What is to take lawe on honde,Bot if the jugges weren trewe? Bk. 7, line 2695 So goth the world, now wo, now wel Bk. 8, line 1738. Criticism O moral Gower! Geoffrey Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde, Bk. 5, line 1856. In the content of his work it is interesting to notice that he is profoundly English. His romanticism, and his choice of the theme of Time and Age – both these look back to the Anglo-Saxons and forward to the nineteenth century. Yet his form is French. The heart is insular and romantic, the head cool and continental: it is a good combination. C. S. Lewis, The Allegory of Love (1975 [1936]), p. 222. External links Category:Poets from England Category:Latin authors Category:Catholics from England Category:1330s births Category:1408 deaths