Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 1.djvu/11

Rh verse; and, as the scribe, in general, has taken pains to mark off the lines by the insertion of points, I have printed them accordingly. The attempt to introduce alliteration has affected the style, and it is worth while to point this out by a different mode of printing. Those who prefer to consider the text as being all equally in prose can do so, by disregarding the division into lines. In the first homily (for such it is), there is no attempt at verse of any kind; but in most of the narratives some attempt at embellishment is very evident.

The text is printed precisely as it stands in the MS., unless in any case express notice to the contrary is given. This remark applies particularly to the accents and the punctuation. The very few contractions are expanded in the usual manner, the expansions being denoted by the use of italic letters. The sole exception to this rule is that the word 'and' is printed in roman type, though in the MS. it is always denoted by the usual symbol. Moreover, Latin quotations are printed in italics for the sake of distinctness, though written, in the MS., in the same characters as the rest of the text.

The modern English version of the Homilies, though revised by myself, is almost entirely the work of Miss Gunning, of Cambridge, and Miss Wilkinson, formerly of Dorking, who with great perseverance have translated not only most of the text as contained in this first part, but nearly all of the remaining Lives belonging to the same series For their kind and valuable assistance I am very grateful, as it has enabled me to proceed with the work in the midst of many other engagements.