Book 4 is exceptional for its comparative lack of
interest in its sin, Sloth. The forcefulness with which it
condemns Sloth in love produces some strange and
beautiful results, for example in the Tale of Rosiphelee,
which excoriates idleness in love. Among the many
stories in this book taken from Ovid are Pygmaleon
and the Statue and the Tale of Iphis—two tales, which,
remarkably, use starkly non-Christian metamorphoses
to encourage steadfast prayer for love.
The noteworthy stories of book 5, on Avarice,
include the Tale of Jason and Medea, which examines
the sin of false witness in love, and the Tale of Tereus,
which examines “Ravine” (rape). The book also
includes a long digression, for which Gower has been
strongly criticized, on the history of religion, most of
which concerns the execrable beliefs found in Greek
mythology.
Book 6, on Gluttony, denounces drunkenness and
delicacy. Penitential tradition already associated these
sins with sexual misconduct, so Genius does not have
to stretch far to consider the amatory versions of these
sins. The book ends with an account of Sorcery, which
ecclesiastical writers sometimes associated with Glut-
tony. Finally, the Tale of Nectanabus, in which the sor-
cerer of that name uses magic to seduce King Philip’s
queen, Olympias, and fathers Alexander (the Great) on
her, sets up an adroit transition to book 7. Since
Nectanabus was not only Alexander’s father but also
his tutor, the story reminds Amans of the conqueror’s
other famous tutor, Aristotle, and he begs Genius to
expound on the noble “Scole” of Aristotle. In book 7,
the obliging Genius gives a popular account of Aristot-
le’s teachings, dividing them into “Theorique,” “Rheto-
rique,” and “Practique.” This book, which of all the
books in the Confessio shows the strongest affi nity to
the mirrors of princes genre, ends with a discussion of
Chastity, which Genius calls “The fi fte point... of
Policie” (7.4208–9). This theme transitions into book
8, which considers the antithesis of Chastity—Incest.
The story of Apollonius of Tyre dominates this book.
The hero, Apollonius, reveals a king’s incestuous rela-
tionship with his daughter, whose hand he had been
seeking. The king, Antiochus, pursues Apollonius,
who escapes, goes into hiding, and eventually meets
the woman he will marry. Several misadventures befall
them, but through everything they hold on to steadfast
love.
Despite the pro-love stance Genius has shown ear-
lier, at the end of the confession he tells Amans that it
is “time to withdrawe” (8.2133). Amans replies that he
cannot change his love, and the confession seems to
have had no effect. He renews his COMPLAINT to Cupid
and Venus, this time in the form of a “lettre” in 12
STANZAs done as RHYME ROYAL. Venus returns and makes
clear for the fi rst time that Amans is old, accusing him
of “feign[ing] a yong corage” (8.2405) and alluding to
his impotence. After Venus urges him to “make a beau
retret” from love (8.2416), Amans faints. In a vision he
sees companies of famous lovers, young and old, who
come to dispute both sides of Amans’s case. After
Cupid and Venus confer together, the blind god of love
gropes toward Amans and pulls out his fi ery dart.
Venus applies ointment to Amans’s wounds and shows
him his aging face in a mirror. She gives him a pair of
black beads inscribed por reposer (for repose, 8.2907)
and, addressing him not as Amans but as “John Gower,”
commands him to follow love no more, but to “preie
hierafter for the pes” [peace] (8.2913) and follow
“vertu moral” (8.2925). When Venus bids him “Adieu,”
Amans/John Gower refl ects on what she has said and
smiles. He returns home, resolved to obey what he has
been instructed. The fi nal section of the poem revisits
the estates satire of the prologue, and concludes by
rejecting erotic love in favor of charity.
Although Chaucer and others had written courtly
literature in English before him, Latin and French had
greater prestige at this time, and it is remarkable that
Gower wrote a work on such a scale in English. Because
Latin was the language of learning, Gower lent his
poem a learned aura by adding a Latin device akin to
those in medieval academic books. The form consists
of two main parts, both of which were almost certainly
written by Gower. Short poems in elegiac style, rang-
ing from four to 12 lines, are inset before every new
section of the English text to introduce the sections’
themes. In addition, marginal glosses in prose summa-
rize the argument of the main text.
A key debate surrounding the interpretation of the
Confessio concerns the degree to which the poem con-
stitutes a unifi ed whole. Some critics have emphasized124 CONFESSIO AMANTIS