TR4. 799 Hǒw mýghte ǐt évere y̌réd běn ór y̌sóngě,
TR4. 800 Thě pléyntě thát shě máde ǐn híre děstréssě?
TR4. 801 Ǐ nót; bǔt, ás fǒr mé, my̌ lítěl tóngě,
TR4. 802 Ǐf Í dǐscrývěn wólde hǐre hévy̌néssě,
TR4. 803 Ǐt shóldě máke hǐre sórwě sémě léssě
TR4. 804 Thǎn thát ǐt wás, ǎnd chíldǐsshlý děfácě
TR4. 805 Hǐre héigh cǒmpléynte, ǎnd thérfǒre ích ǐt pácě.

Line Information

• Differences among the manuscripts and editions:
• English translations (Windeatt: 1998): How could it ever be read or sung, the lamentation that she made in her distress? I do not know! But as far as I am concerned, if I were to describe her sadness, my little tongue would make her sorrow seem less than it was, and childishly spoil her lofty lament, and so I pass over it.
• Japanese translations (Sasamoto: 2012): 彼女が苦悩のうちに漏らした嘆きの声を、どのようにして常に読めようか、また歌えようか、分からない。しかし、私としては、私の貧弱な言葉遺いでは、もし彼女の悲嘆の苦しみを言い表したとしても、私はその悲しみを実際よりもうまく言い表せていないように見えるだろうし、彼女の高潔な悲嘆を子供っぽく汚してしまいそうである、だからそれをざっと片づけよう。
• Chinese translations (Fang: 1956): 她在苦难中的这番辈诉，我从何而歌诵得完呢？我实不能，我若想谱出她那全部衷曲，她那优越的情调将被我这笨舌糟蹋了，所以我只得敬谢不敏，不作这尝试。

Word Information

• Etymology: OE
• Addresser: Narrator
• Addressee: N/A
• Adjectives with which juxtaposed: N/A
• Counterpart in its source (Fil): 4.95
• Noun(s) (NPs) modified: language (tongue)
• Attributive/ Predicative: attributive  

Information in Previous Studies

• OED: Not quoted
• MED: 3. (a) Of a story, literary work, sentence, word, etc.: short, brief; also, with implications of affectionate disparagement: little, modest, simple; to ~, too compressed, too brief; ~ of word, discreet in speech, of few words; fig. ~ tonge, inept tongue, limited literary ability; (s.v. lī̆tel, adj.)

• Commented in other previous works:
• Windeatt (2003): N/A
• Fisher (1989): N/A
• Benson (1987): N/A
• Davis et al. (1979): Not quoted
• Donaldson (1975): N/A
• Baugh (1963): N/A

Possible Definitions

~ tonge: limited literary ability

Comments from the Editor

See my comment of ‘heigh’ (adj., Tr4.805).