i. e. if thou turn coward, (and) a recreant craven, and consent to cry _cok_, thy death is imminent. In a note on this passage, Ruddiman says--'_Cok_ is the sound which cocks utter when they are beaten.' But it is probable that this is only a guess, and that Douglas is merely quoting Chaucer. To cry _cok! cok!_ refers rather to the utterance of rapid cries of alarm, as fowls cry when scared. Brand (Pop. Antiq., ed. Ellis, ii. 58) copies Ruddiman's explanation of the above passage. 4484. Boethius wrote a treatise De Musica, quoted by Chaucer in the Hous of Fame; see my note to l. 788 of that poem (vol. iii. p. 260). 4490. 'As I hope to retain the use of my two eyes.' So Havelok, l. 2545:-- 'So mote ich brouke mi Rith eie!' And l. 1743:--'So mote ich brouke finger or to.' And l. 311:--'So brouke i euere mi blake swire!' _swire_ = neck. See also _Brouke_ in the Glossary to Gamelyn. 4502. _daun Burnel the Asse._ 'The story alluded to is in a poem of Nigellus Wireker, entitled Burnellus seu Speculum Stultorum, written in the time of Richard I. In the Chester Whitsun Playes, _Burnell_ is used as a nickname for an ass. The original word was probably _brunell_, from its _brown_ colour; as the _fox_ below is called _Russel_, from his _red_ colour.'--Tyrwhitt. The Latin story is printed in The Anglo-Latin Satirists of the Twelfth Century, ed. T. Wright, i. 55; see also Wright's Biographia Britannica Literaria, Anglo-Norman Period, p. 356. There is an amusing translation of it in Lowland Scotch, printed as 'The Unicornis Tale' in Small's edition of Laing's Select Remains of Scotch Poetry, ed. 1885, p. 285. It tells how a certain young Gundulfus broke a cock's leg by throwing a stone at him. On the morning of the day when Gundulfus was to be ordained and to receive a benefice, the cock took his revenge by not crowing till much later [257] than usual; and so Gundulfus was too late for the ceremony, and lost his benefice. Cf. Warton, Hist. E. P., ed. 1871, ii. 352; Lounsbury, Studies in Chaucer, ii. 338. As to the name _Russel_, see note to l. 4039. 4516. See Rom. of the Rose (E. version), 1050. MS. E. alone reads _courtes_; Hn. Cm. Cp. Pt. have _court_; Ln. _courte_; Hl. _hous_. 4519. _Ecclesiaste_; not Ecclesiastes, but Ecclesiasticus, xii. 10, 11, 16. Cf. Tale of Melibeus, B. 2368. 4525. Tyrwhitt cites the O. F. form _gargate_, i. e. (throat), from the Roman de Rou. Several examples of it are given by Godefroy. 4537. _O Gaufred._ 'He alludes to a passage in the Nova Poetria of Geoffrey de Vinsauf, published not long after the death of Richard I. In this work the author has not only given instructions for composing in the different styles of poetry, but also examples. His specimen of the plaintive style begins thus:--