e
amenusynge of perfeccioun .
amenusynge of perfeccioun .
Chaucer - Boethius
Dante read him, though,
strange to say, he speaks of the Consolation as 'a book not known by
many. '[I-2] Belgium had her translations--both Flemish[I-3] and
French[I-4]; Germany hers,[I-5] France hers,[I-6] Italy hers. [I-7] The
Latin editors are too numerous to be catalogued here, and manuscripts
abound in all our great libraries.
No philosopher was so bone of the bone and flesh of the flesh of
Middle-age writers as Boethius. Take up what writer you will, and you
find not only the sentiments, but the very words of the distinguished
old Roman. And surely we who read him in Chaucer's tongue, will not
refuse to say that his full-circling meed of glory was other than
deserved. Nor can we marvel that at the end of our great poet's life, he
was glad that he had swelled the chorus of Boethius' praise; and 'of the
translacioun of Boece de Consolacioun,' thanked 'oure Lord Ihesu Crist
and his moder, and alle the seintes in heuen. '
The impression made by Boethius on Chaucer was evidently very deep. Not
only did he translate him directly, as in the present work, but he read
his beloved original over and over again, as witness the following list,
incomplete of course, of passages from Chaucer's poems translated more
or less literally from the _De Consolatione_:
[Footnote I-1: Other translations are by John Walton of Osney, in
verse, in 1410 (Reg. MS. 18, A 13), first printed at Tavistock in
1525, and to be edited some time or other for the E. E. T. S. An
anonymous prose version in the Bodleian. George Coluile, alias
Coldewel, 1556; J. T. 1609; H. Conningesbye, 1664; Lord Preston,
1695, 1712; W. Causton, 1730; Redpath, 1785; R. Duncan, 1789;
anon. 1792 (Lowndes). ]
[Footnote I-2: Dante, in his _Convito_, says, "Misimi a legger
quello _non conosciuto da molti_ libro di Boezio, nel quale
captivo e discacciato consolato s'avea. "]
[Footnote I-3: Printed at Ghent, 1485. ]
[Footnote I-4: By Reynier de Seinct Trudon, printed at Bruges,
1477. ]
[Footnote I-5: An old version of the 11th cent. , printed by Graff,
and a modern one printed at Nuremberg, 1473. ]
[Footnote I-6: By Jean de Meung, printed at Paris, 1494. ]
[Footnote I-7: By Varchi, printed at Florence, 1551; Parma, 1798. ]
I. LOVE.
Wost thou nat wel the olde clerkes sawe,
That who schal yeve a lover eny lawe,
Love is a grettere lawe, by my pan,
Then may be yeve to (of) eny erthly man?
(_Knightes Tale, Aldine Series_, vol. ii. p. 36, 37. )
But what is he ? at may ? eue a lawe to loueres. loue is a gretter
lawe and a strengere to hym self ? an any lawe ? at men may ? euen.
(_Chaucer's Prose Translation_, p. 108. )
_Quis legem det amantibus?
Major lex amor est sibi. _
(Boeth. , lib. iii. met. 12. )
II. A DRUNKEN MAN.
A dronke man wot wel he hath an hous,
But he not[I-8] which the righte wey is thider.
(_Knightes Tale_, vol. ii. p. 39. )
_Ry? t as a dronke man not nat[I-9] by whiche pa? e he may retourne
home to hys house. _
(Chaucer's Trans. , p. 67. )
_Sed velut ebrius, domum quo tramite revertatur, ignorat. _
(Boeth. , lib. iii. pr. 2. )
[Footnote I-8: The Harl. MS. reads _not nat_, to the confusion of
the metre. ]
[Footnote I-9: = ne wot nat = knows not. ]
III. THE CHAIN OF LOVE.
The firste moevere of the cause above,
Whan he first made the fayre cheyne of love,
Gret was theffect, and heigh was his entente;
Wel wist he why, and what therof he mente;
_For with that faire cheyne of love he bond
The fyr, the watir, the eyr, and eek the lond
In certeyn boundes, that they may not flee. _
(_Knightes Tale_, p. 92. )
That ? e world with stable feith / varieth acordable chaungynges //
? at the contraryos qualite of element? holden amonge hem self
aliaunce perdurable / ? at phebus the sonne with his goldene
chariet / bryngeth forth the rosene day / ? at the mone hath
commaundement ouer the nyhtes // whiche nyhtes hesperus the eue
sterre hat[h] browt // ? at ? e se gredy to flowen constreyneth with
a certeyn ende hise floodes / so ? at it is nat l[e]ueful to
strechche hise brode termes or bowndes vp-on the erthes // ? at is
to seyn to couere alle the erthe // Al this a-cordaunce of thinges
is bownden with looue / ? at gouerneth erthe and see / and [he]
hath also commaundement? to the heuenes / and yif this looue
slakede the brydelis / alle thinges ? at now louen hem to-gederes /
wolden maken a batayle contynuely and stryuen to fordoon the
fasoun of this worlde / the which they now leden in acordable
feith by fayre moeuynges // this looue halt to-gideres poeples /
ioygned with an hooly bond / and knytteth sacrement of maryages of
chaste looues // And loue enditeth lawes to trewe felawes // O
weleful weere mankynde / yif thilke loue ? at gouerneth heuene
gouerned yowre corages /.
(_Chaucer's Boethius_, bk. ii. met. 8. )
Quod mundus stabili fide
Concordes variat vices,
Quod pugnantia semina
Foedus perpetuum tenent,
Quod Phoebus roseum diem
Curru provehit aureo,
Ut quas duxerit Hesperus
Phoebe noctibus imperet,
Ut fluctus avidum mare
Certo fine coerceat,
Ne terris liceat vagis
Latos tundere terminos;
_Hanc rerum seriem ligat,
Terras ac pelagus regens,
Et coelo imperitans amor. _
Hic si fraena remiserit,
Quicquid nunc amat invicem,
Bellum continuo geret:
Et quam nunc socia fide
Pulcris motibus incitant,
Certent solvere machinam.
Hic sancto populos quoque
Junctos foedere continet,
Hic et conjugii sacrum
Castis nectit amoribus,
Hic fidis etiam sua
Dictat jura sodalibus.
O felix hominum genus,
Si vestros animos amor,
Quo caelum regitur, regat.
(_Boeth. _, lib. ii. met. 8. )
Love, that of erth and se hath governaunce!
Love, that his hestes hath in hevene hye!
Love, that with an holsom alliaunce
Halt peples joyned, as hym liste hem gye!
Love, that knetteth law and compaignye,
And couples doth in vertu for to dwelle!
(_Troylus & Cryseyde_, st. 243, vol. iv. p. 296. )
That, that the world with faith, which that is stable
Dyverseth so, his stoundes concordynge;--
That elementz, that ben so discordable,
Holden a bond, perpetualy durynge;--
That Phebus mot his rosy carte forth brynge,
And that the mone hath lordschip overe the nyghte;--
Al this doth Love, ay heryed be his myght!
That, that the se, that gredy is to flowen,
Constreyneth to a certeyn ende so
Hise flodes, that so fiersly they ne growen
To drenchen erth and alle for everemo;
And if that Love aught lete his brydel go,
Al that now loveth asonder sholde lepe,
And lost were al that Love halt now to kepe.
(_Ibid. _ st. 244, 245. )
IV. MUTABILITY DIRECTED AND LIMITED BY AN IMMUTABLE AND DIVINE
INTELLIGENCE.
That same prynce and moevere eek, quod he,
Hath stabled, in this wrecched world adoun,
Certeyn dayes and duracioun
To alle that er engendrid in this place,
Over the whiche day they may nat pace,
Al mowe they yit wel here dayes abregge;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Than may men wel by this ordre discerne
That thilke moevere stabul is and eterne.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
And therfore of his wyse purveaunce
He hath so wel biset his ordenaunce,
That spices of thinges and progressiouns
Schullen endure by successiouns
And nat eterne be, withoute any lye.
(_Knightes Tale_, vol. ii. p. 92, 93. )
? e engendrynge of alle ? inges quod she and alle ? e progressiouns
of muuable nature. and alle ? at moeue? in any manere taki? hys
causes. hys ordre. and hys formes. of ? e stablenesse of ? e deuyne
? ou? t [and thilke deuyne thowht] ? at is yset and put in ? e toure.
? at is to seyne in ? e hey? t of ? e simplicite of god. stablisi?
many manere gyses to ? inges ? at ben to don.
(_Chaucer's Boethius_, bk. iv. pr. 6, p. 134. )
V. THE PART IS DERIVED FROM THE WHOLE, THE IMPERFECT FROM THE PERFECT.
Wel may men knowe, but it be a fool,
That every partye dyryveth from his hool.
For nature hath nat take his bygynnyng
Of no partye ne cantel of a thing,
But of a thing that parfyt is and stable,
Descendyng so, til it be corumpable.
(_Knightes Tale_, vol. ii. p. 92. )
For al ? ing ? at is cleped inperfit . is proued inperfit by ?
e
amenusynge of perfeccioun . or of ? ing ? at is perfit . and her-of
come? it . ? at in euery ? ing general . yif ? at . ? at men seen any
? ing ? at is inperfit . certys in ? ilke general ? er mot ben somme
? ing ? at is perfit. For yif so be ? at perfeccioun is don awey .
men may nat ? inke nor seye fro whennes ? ilke ? ing is ? at is cleped
inperfit . For ? e nature of ? inges ne token nat her bygynnyng of
? inges amenused and inperfit . but it procedi? of ? ingus ? at ben
al hool . and absolut . and descende? so doune in-to outerest
? inges and in-to ? ingus empty and wi? -oute fruyt . but as I haue
shewed a litel her byforne . ? at yif ? er be a blisfulnesse ? at be
frele and vein and inperfit . ? er may no man doute . ? at ? er nys
som blisfulnesse ? at is sad stedfast and perfit. '
(bk. iii. pr. 10, p. 89. )
Omne enim quod imperfectum esse dicitur, id deminutione perfecti
imperfectum esse perhibetur. Quo fit ut si in quolibet genere
imperfectum quid esse videatur, in eo perfectum quoque aliquod
esse necesse sit. Etenim perfectione sublata, unde illud, quod
imperfectum perhibetur, extiterit, ne fingi quidem potest. _Neque
enim ab diminutis inconsummatisque natura rerum cepit exordium,
sed ab integris absolutisque procedens in haec extrema atque effoeta
dilabitur. _ Quod si, uti paulo ante monstravimus, est quaedam boni
fragilis imperfecta felicitas, esse aliquam solidam perfectamque
non potest dubitari.
(_Boeth. _, lib. iii. pr. 10. )
VI. GENTILITY.
For gentilnesse nys but renome
Of thin auncestres, for her heigh bounte
Which is a straunge thing to thy persone.
(_The Wyf of Bathes Tale_, vol. ii. p. 241. )
For if ? e name of gentilesse be referred to renoun and clernesse
of linage. ? an is gentil name but a foreine ? ing.
(_Chaucer's Boethius_, p. 78. )
_Quae_ [nobilitas], _si ad claritudinem refertur, aliena est. _
(_Boethius_, lib. iii. pr. 6. )
VII. NERO'S CRUELTY.
No teer out of his eyen for that sighte
Ne cam; but sayde, a fair womman was sche.
Gret wonder is how that he couthe or mighte
Be domesman on hir dede beaute.
(_The Monkes Tale_, vol. iii. p. 217. )
Ne no tere ne wette his face, but he was so hard-herted ? at he
my? te ben domesman or iuge of hire dede beaute.
(_Chaucer's Boethius_, p. 55. )
Ora non tinxit lacrymis, sed esse
Censor extincti potuit decoris.
(_Boethius_, lib. ii. met. 6. )
VIII. PREDESTINATION AND FREE-WILL.
In 'Troylus and Cryseyde' we find the following long passage taken from
Boethius, book v. prose 2, 3.
Book iv. st. 134, vol. iv. p. 339.
(1) Syn God seth every thynge, out of doutaunce,
And hem disponeth, thorugh his ordinaunce,
In hire merites sothely for to be,
As they shul comen by predesteyne
136
(2) For som men seyn if God seth al byforne,
Ne God may not deseyved ben parde!
Than moot it fallen, theigh men hadde it sworne,
That purveyaunce hath seyn befor to be,
Wherfor I seye, that, from eterne, if he
Hathe wiste byforn our thought ek as oure dede,
We have no fre choys, as thise clerkes rede.
137
(3) For other thoughte, nor other dede also,
Myghte nevere ben, but swich as purveyaunce,
Which may nat ben deceyved nevere moo,
Hath feled byforne, withouten ignoraunce;
For if ther myghte ben a variaunce,
To wrythen out fro Goddes purveyinge,
Ther nere no prescience of thynge comynge;
138
(4) But it were rather an opinyon
Uncertein, and no stedfast forseynge;
And certes that were an abusyon
That God shold han no parfit clere wetynge,
More than we men, that han douteous wenynge,
But swich an erroure upon God to gesse
Were fals, and foule, and wikked corsednesse.
139
(5) They seyn right thus, that thynge is nat to come,
For that the prescience hath seyne byfore
That it shal come; but they seyn that therfore
That it shal come, therfor the purveyaunce
Woot it bifore, withouten ignorance.
140
(6) And in this manere this necessite
Retourneth in his part contrarye agayn;
For nedfully byhoveth it not to be,
That thilke thynges fallen in certeyn
That ben purveyed; but nedly, as they seyne,
Bihoveth it that thynges, which that falle,
That thei in certein ben purveied alle.
141
(7) I mene as though I labourede me in this,
To enqueren which thynge cause of whiche thynge be;
(8) As, whether that the prescience of God is
The certein cause of the necessite
Of thynges that to comen ben, parde!
Or, if necessite of thynge comynge
Be cause certein of the purveyinge.
142
(9) But now nenforce I me nat in shewynge
How the ordre of causes stant; but wel woot I
That it bihoveth that the bifallynge
Of thynges, wiste bifor certeinly,
Be necessarie, al seme it nat therby
That prescience put fallynge necessaire
To thynge to come, al falle it foule or faire.
143
(10) For, if ther sit a man yonde on a see, [seat]
Than by necessite bihoveth it,
That certes thyn opinioun soth be,
That wenest or conjectest that he sit;
And, further over, now ayeinwarde yit,
Lo right so is it on the part contrarie,
As thus,--nowe herkene, for I wol nat tarie:--
144
(11) I sey, that if the opinion of the
Be soth for that he sit, than seye I this,
That he moot sitten by necessite;
And thus necessite in either is,
For in hym nede of sittynge is, ywis,
And in the, nede of soth; and thus forsoth
Ther mot necessite ben in yow bothe.
145
(12) But thow maist seyne, the man sit nat therfore,
That thyn opinioun of his sittynge sothe is;
But rather, for the man sat there byfore,
Therfor is thyn opinioun soth, ywys;
And I seye, though the cause of soth of this
Cometh of his sittynge, yet necessite
Is interchaunged both in hym and the.
146
(13) Thus in the same wyse, out of doutaunce,
I may wel maken, as it semeth me,
My resonynge of Goddes purveiaunce,
And of the thynges that to comen be; . . .
147
(14) For although that for thynge shal come, ywys,
Therfor it is purveyed certeynly,
Nat that it cometh for it purveied is;
Yet, natheles, bihoveth it nedfully,
That thynge to come be purveied trewly;
Or elles thynges that purveied be.
That they bitiden by necessite.
148
(15) And this sufficeth right ynough, certeyn,
For to distruye oure fre choys everydele.
(1) Quae tamen ille ab aeterno cuncta prospiciens providentiae cernit
intuitus, et suis quaeque meritis praedestinata disponit. . . . .
(_Boethius_, lib. v. pr. 2. ) . . . . . . . . . . . .
(2) Nam si cuncta prospicit Deus neque falli ullo modo potest,
evenire necesse est, quod providentia futurum esse praeviderit.
Quare si ab aeterno non facta hominum modo, sed etiam consilia
voluntatesque praenoscit, nulla erit arbitrii libertas;
(3) Neque enim vel factum aliud ullum vel quaelibet existere
poterit voluntas, nisi quam nescia falli providentia divina
praesenserit. Nam si res aliorsum, quam provisae sunt detorqueri
valent, non jam erit futuri firma praescientia;
(4) Sed opinio potius incerta; quod de Deo nefas credere judico.
(5) Aiunt enim non ideo quid esse eventurum quoniam id providentia
futurum esse prospexerit; sed e contrario potius, quoniam quid
futurum est, id divinam providentiam latere non possit.
(6) Eoque modo necessarium est hoc in contrariam relabi partem;
neque enim necesse est contingere quae providentur, sed necesse est
quae futura sunt provideri.
(7) Quasi vero quae cujusque rei causa sit,
(8) Praescientiane futurorum necessitatis an futurorum necessitas
providentiae, laboretur.
(9) At nos illud demonstrare nitamur, quoquo modo sese habeat ordo
causarum, necessarium esse eventum praescitarum rerum, etiam si
praescientia futuris rebus eveniendi necessitatem non videatur
inferre.
(10) Etenim si quispiam sedeat, opinionem quae eum sedere conjectat
veram esse necesse est: at e converso rursus,
(11) Si de quopiam vera sit opinio quoniam sedet eum sedere
necesse est. In utroque igitur necessitas inest: in hoc quidem
sedendi, at vero in altero veritatis.
(12) Sed non idcirco quisque sedet, quoniam vera est opinio: sed
haec potius vera est, quoniam quempiam sedere praecessit. Ita cum
causa veritatis ex altera parte procedat, inest tamen communis in
utraque necessitas.
(13) Similia de providentia futurisque rebus ratiocinari patet.
(14) Nam etiam si idcirco, quoniam futura sunt, providentur: non
vero ideo, quoniam providentur, eveniunt: nihilo minus tamen a Deo
vel ventura provideri, vel provisa evenire necesse est:
(15) Quod ad perimendam arbitrii libertatem solum satis est.
(lib. v. pr. 3. )
See _Chaucer's Boethius_, pp. 154-6.
IX. THE GRIEF OF REMEMBERING BYGONE HAPPINESS.
For, of fortunes scharp adversite,
The worste kynde of infortune is this,
A man to han ben in prosperite,
And it remembren, when it passed is.
(_Troylus and Cryseyde_, bk. iii. st. 226, vol. iv. p. 291. )
Sed hoc est, quod recolentem me vehementius coquit. Nam in omni
adversitate fortunae infelicissimum genus est infortunii, fuisse
felicem. [I-10]
(_Boethius_, lib. ii. pr. 4. )
[Footnote I-10: Cf. Dante, _Inferno_, V. 121.
Nessun maggior dolore
Che ricordarsi del tempo felice
Nella miseria; e cio sa 'l tuo Dottore. ]
X. VULTURES TEAR THE STOMACH OF TITYUS IN HELL.
----Syciphus in Helle,
Whos stomak fowles tyren everemo,
That hyghten volturis.
(_Troylus and Cryseyde_, book i. st. 113, p. 140. )
? e fowel ? at hy? t voltor ?
strange to say, he speaks of the Consolation as 'a book not known by
many. '[I-2] Belgium had her translations--both Flemish[I-3] and
French[I-4]; Germany hers,[I-5] France hers,[I-6] Italy hers. [I-7] The
Latin editors are too numerous to be catalogued here, and manuscripts
abound in all our great libraries.
No philosopher was so bone of the bone and flesh of the flesh of
Middle-age writers as Boethius. Take up what writer you will, and you
find not only the sentiments, but the very words of the distinguished
old Roman. And surely we who read him in Chaucer's tongue, will not
refuse to say that his full-circling meed of glory was other than
deserved. Nor can we marvel that at the end of our great poet's life, he
was glad that he had swelled the chorus of Boethius' praise; and 'of the
translacioun of Boece de Consolacioun,' thanked 'oure Lord Ihesu Crist
and his moder, and alle the seintes in heuen. '
The impression made by Boethius on Chaucer was evidently very deep. Not
only did he translate him directly, as in the present work, but he read
his beloved original over and over again, as witness the following list,
incomplete of course, of passages from Chaucer's poems translated more
or less literally from the _De Consolatione_:
[Footnote I-1: Other translations are by John Walton of Osney, in
verse, in 1410 (Reg. MS. 18, A 13), first printed at Tavistock in
1525, and to be edited some time or other for the E. E. T. S. An
anonymous prose version in the Bodleian. George Coluile, alias
Coldewel, 1556; J. T. 1609; H. Conningesbye, 1664; Lord Preston,
1695, 1712; W. Causton, 1730; Redpath, 1785; R. Duncan, 1789;
anon. 1792 (Lowndes). ]
[Footnote I-2: Dante, in his _Convito_, says, "Misimi a legger
quello _non conosciuto da molti_ libro di Boezio, nel quale
captivo e discacciato consolato s'avea. "]
[Footnote I-3: Printed at Ghent, 1485. ]
[Footnote I-4: By Reynier de Seinct Trudon, printed at Bruges,
1477. ]
[Footnote I-5: An old version of the 11th cent. , printed by Graff,
and a modern one printed at Nuremberg, 1473. ]
[Footnote I-6: By Jean de Meung, printed at Paris, 1494. ]
[Footnote I-7: By Varchi, printed at Florence, 1551; Parma, 1798. ]
I. LOVE.
Wost thou nat wel the olde clerkes sawe,
That who schal yeve a lover eny lawe,
Love is a grettere lawe, by my pan,
Then may be yeve to (of) eny erthly man?
(_Knightes Tale, Aldine Series_, vol. ii. p. 36, 37. )
But what is he ? at may ? eue a lawe to loueres. loue is a gretter
lawe and a strengere to hym self ? an any lawe ? at men may ? euen.
(_Chaucer's Prose Translation_, p. 108. )
_Quis legem det amantibus?
Major lex amor est sibi. _
(Boeth. , lib. iii. met. 12. )
II. A DRUNKEN MAN.
A dronke man wot wel he hath an hous,
But he not[I-8] which the righte wey is thider.
(_Knightes Tale_, vol. ii. p. 39. )
_Ry? t as a dronke man not nat[I-9] by whiche pa? e he may retourne
home to hys house. _
(Chaucer's Trans. , p. 67. )
_Sed velut ebrius, domum quo tramite revertatur, ignorat. _
(Boeth. , lib. iii. pr. 2. )
[Footnote I-8: The Harl. MS. reads _not nat_, to the confusion of
the metre. ]
[Footnote I-9: = ne wot nat = knows not. ]
III. THE CHAIN OF LOVE.
The firste moevere of the cause above,
Whan he first made the fayre cheyne of love,
Gret was theffect, and heigh was his entente;
Wel wist he why, and what therof he mente;
_For with that faire cheyne of love he bond
The fyr, the watir, the eyr, and eek the lond
In certeyn boundes, that they may not flee. _
(_Knightes Tale_, p. 92. )
That ? e world with stable feith / varieth acordable chaungynges //
? at the contraryos qualite of element? holden amonge hem self
aliaunce perdurable / ? at phebus the sonne with his goldene
chariet / bryngeth forth the rosene day / ? at the mone hath
commaundement ouer the nyhtes // whiche nyhtes hesperus the eue
sterre hat[h] browt // ? at ? e se gredy to flowen constreyneth with
a certeyn ende hise floodes / so ? at it is nat l[e]ueful to
strechche hise brode termes or bowndes vp-on the erthes // ? at is
to seyn to couere alle the erthe // Al this a-cordaunce of thinges
is bownden with looue / ? at gouerneth erthe and see / and [he]
hath also commaundement? to the heuenes / and yif this looue
slakede the brydelis / alle thinges ? at now louen hem to-gederes /
wolden maken a batayle contynuely and stryuen to fordoon the
fasoun of this worlde / the which they now leden in acordable
feith by fayre moeuynges // this looue halt to-gideres poeples /
ioygned with an hooly bond / and knytteth sacrement of maryages of
chaste looues // And loue enditeth lawes to trewe felawes // O
weleful weere mankynde / yif thilke loue ? at gouerneth heuene
gouerned yowre corages /.
(_Chaucer's Boethius_, bk. ii. met. 8. )
Quod mundus stabili fide
Concordes variat vices,
Quod pugnantia semina
Foedus perpetuum tenent,
Quod Phoebus roseum diem
Curru provehit aureo,
Ut quas duxerit Hesperus
Phoebe noctibus imperet,
Ut fluctus avidum mare
Certo fine coerceat,
Ne terris liceat vagis
Latos tundere terminos;
_Hanc rerum seriem ligat,
Terras ac pelagus regens,
Et coelo imperitans amor. _
Hic si fraena remiserit,
Quicquid nunc amat invicem,
Bellum continuo geret:
Et quam nunc socia fide
Pulcris motibus incitant,
Certent solvere machinam.
Hic sancto populos quoque
Junctos foedere continet,
Hic et conjugii sacrum
Castis nectit amoribus,
Hic fidis etiam sua
Dictat jura sodalibus.
O felix hominum genus,
Si vestros animos amor,
Quo caelum regitur, regat.
(_Boeth. _, lib. ii. met. 8. )
Love, that of erth and se hath governaunce!
Love, that his hestes hath in hevene hye!
Love, that with an holsom alliaunce
Halt peples joyned, as hym liste hem gye!
Love, that knetteth law and compaignye,
And couples doth in vertu for to dwelle!
(_Troylus & Cryseyde_, st. 243, vol. iv. p. 296. )
That, that the world with faith, which that is stable
Dyverseth so, his stoundes concordynge;--
That elementz, that ben so discordable,
Holden a bond, perpetualy durynge;--
That Phebus mot his rosy carte forth brynge,
And that the mone hath lordschip overe the nyghte;--
Al this doth Love, ay heryed be his myght!
That, that the se, that gredy is to flowen,
Constreyneth to a certeyn ende so
Hise flodes, that so fiersly they ne growen
To drenchen erth and alle for everemo;
And if that Love aught lete his brydel go,
Al that now loveth asonder sholde lepe,
And lost were al that Love halt now to kepe.
(_Ibid. _ st. 244, 245. )
IV. MUTABILITY DIRECTED AND LIMITED BY AN IMMUTABLE AND DIVINE
INTELLIGENCE.
That same prynce and moevere eek, quod he,
Hath stabled, in this wrecched world adoun,
Certeyn dayes and duracioun
To alle that er engendrid in this place,
Over the whiche day they may nat pace,
Al mowe they yit wel here dayes abregge;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Than may men wel by this ordre discerne
That thilke moevere stabul is and eterne.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
And therfore of his wyse purveaunce
He hath so wel biset his ordenaunce,
That spices of thinges and progressiouns
Schullen endure by successiouns
And nat eterne be, withoute any lye.
(_Knightes Tale_, vol. ii. p. 92, 93. )
? e engendrynge of alle ? inges quod she and alle ? e progressiouns
of muuable nature. and alle ? at moeue? in any manere taki? hys
causes. hys ordre. and hys formes. of ? e stablenesse of ? e deuyne
? ou? t [and thilke deuyne thowht] ? at is yset and put in ? e toure.
? at is to seyne in ? e hey? t of ? e simplicite of god. stablisi?
many manere gyses to ? inges ? at ben to don.
(_Chaucer's Boethius_, bk. iv. pr. 6, p. 134. )
V. THE PART IS DERIVED FROM THE WHOLE, THE IMPERFECT FROM THE PERFECT.
Wel may men knowe, but it be a fool,
That every partye dyryveth from his hool.
For nature hath nat take his bygynnyng
Of no partye ne cantel of a thing,
But of a thing that parfyt is and stable,
Descendyng so, til it be corumpable.
(_Knightes Tale_, vol. ii. p. 92. )
For al ? ing ? at is cleped inperfit . is proued inperfit by ?
e
amenusynge of perfeccioun . or of ? ing ? at is perfit . and her-of
come? it . ? at in euery ? ing general . yif ? at . ? at men seen any
? ing ? at is inperfit . certys in ? ilke general ? er mot ben somme
? ing ? at is perfit. For yif so be ? at perfeccioun is don awey .
men may nat ? inke nor seye fro whennes ? ilke ? ing is ? at is cleped
inperfit . For ? e nature of ? inges ne token nat her bygynnyng of
? inges amenused and inperfit . but it procedi? of ? ingus ? at ben
al hool . and absolut . and descende? so doune in-to outerest
? inges and in-to ? ingus empty and wi? -oute fruyt . but as I haue
shewed a litel her byforne . ? at yif ? er be a blisfulnesse ? at be
frele and vein and inperfit . ? er may no man doute . ? at ? er nys
som blisfulnesse ? at is sad stedfast and perfit. '
(bk. iii. pr. 10, p. 89. )
Omne enim quod imperfectum esse dicitur, id deminutione perfecti
imperfectum esse perhibetur. Quo fit ut si in quolibet genere
imperfectum quid esse videatur, in eo perfectum quoque aliquod
esse necesse sit. Etenim perfectione sublata, unde illud, quod
imperfectum perhibetur, extiterit, ne fingi quidem potest. _Neque
enim ab diminutis inconsummatisque natura rerum cepit exordium,
sed ab integris absolutisque procedens in haec extrema atque effoeta
dilabitur. _ Quod si, uti paulo ante monstravimus, est quaedam boni
fragilis imperfecta felicitas, esse aliquam solidam perfectamque
non potest dubitari.
(_Boeth. _, lib. iii. pr. 10. )
VI. GENTILITY.
For gentilnesse nys but renome
Of thin auncestres, for her heigh bounte
Which is a straunge thing to thy persone.
(_The Wyf of Bathes Tale_, vol. ii. p. 241. )
For if ? e name of gentilesse be referred to renoun and clernesse
of linage. ? an is gentil name but a foreine ? ing.
(_Chaucer's Boethius_, p. 78. )
_Quae_ [nobilitas], _si ad claritudinem refertur, aliena est. _
(_Boethius_, lib. iii. pr. 6. )
VII. NERO'S CRUELTY.
No teer out of his eyen for that sighte
Ne cam; but sayde, a fair womman was sche.
Gret wonder is how that he couthe or mighte
Be domesman on hir dede beaute.
(_The Monkes Tale_, vol. iii. p. 217. )
Ne no tere ne wette his face, but he was so hard-herted ? at he
my? te ben domesman or iuge of hire dede beaute.
(_Chaucer's Boethius_, p. 55. )
Ora non tinxit lacrymis, sed esse
Censor extincti potuit decoris.
(_Boethius_, lib. ii. met. 6. )
VIII. PREDESTINATION AND FREE-WILL.
In 'Troylus and Cryseyde' we find the following long passage taken from
Boethius, book v. prose 2, 3.
Book iv. st. 134, vol. iv. p. 339.
(1) Syn God seth every thynge, out of doutaunce,
And hem disponeth, thorugh his ordinaunce,
In hire merites sothely for to be,
As they shul comen by predesteyne
136
(2) For som men seyn if God seth al byforne,
Ne God may not deseyved ben parde!
Than moot it fallen, theigh men hadde it sworne,
That purveyaunce hath seyn befor to be,
Wherfor I seye, that, from eterne, if he
Hathe wiste byforn our thought ek as oure dede,
We have no fre choys, as thise clerkes rede.
137
(3) For other thoughte, nor other dede also,
Myghte nevere ben, but swich as purveyaunce,
Which may nat ben deceyved nevere moo,
Hath feled byforne, withouten ignoraunce;
For if ther myghte ben a variaunce,
To wrythen out fro Goddes purveyinge,
Ther nere no prescience of thynge comynge;
138
(4) But it were rather an opinyon
Uncertein, and no stedfast forseynge;
And certes that were an abusyon
That God shold han no parfit clere wetynge,
More than we men, that han douteous wenynge,
But swich an erroure upon God to gesse
Were fals, and foule, and wikked corsednesse.
139
(5) They seyn right thus, that thynge is nat to come,
For that the prescience hath seyne byfore
That it shal come; but they seyn that therfore
That it shal come, therfor the purveyaunce
Woot it bifore, withouten ignorance.
140
(6) And in this manere this necessite
Retourneth in his part contrarye agayn;
For nedfully byhoveth it not to be,
That thilke thynges fallen in certeyn
That ben purveyed; but nedly, as they seyne,
Bihoveth it that thynges, which that falle,
That thei in certein ben purveied alle.
141
(7) I mene as though I labourede me in this,
To enqueren which thynge cause of whiche thynge be;
(8) As, whether that the prescience of God is
The certein cause of the necessite
Of thynges that to comen ben, parde!
Or, if necessite of thynge comynge
Be cause certein of the purveyinge.
142
(9) But now nenforce I me nat in shewynge
How the ordre of causes stant; but wel woot I
That it bihoveth that the bifallynge
Of thynges, wiste bifor certeinly,
Be necessarie, al seme it nat therby
That prescience put fallynge necessaire
To thynge to come, al falle it foule or faire.
143
(10) For, if ther sit a man yonde on a see, [seat]
Than by necessite bihoveth it,
That certes thyn opinioun soth be,
That wenest or conjectest that he sit;
And, further over, now ayeinwarde yit,
Lo right so is it on the part contrarie,
As thus,--nowe herkene, for I wol nat tarie:--
144
(11) I sey, that if the opinion of the
Be soth for that he sit, than seye I this,
That he moot sitten by necessite;
And thus necessite in either is,
For in hym nede of sittynge is, ywis,
And in the, nede of soth; and thus forsoth
Ther mot necessite ben in yow bothe.
145
(12) But thow maist seyne, the man sit nat therfore,
That thyn opinioun of his sittynge sothe is;
But rather, for the man sat there byfore,
Therfor is thyn opinioun soth, ywys;
And I seye, though the cause of soth of this
Cometh of his sittynge, yet necessite
Is interchaunged both in hym and the.
146
(13) Thus in the same wyse, out of doutaunce,
I may wel maken, as it semeth me,
My resonynge of Goddes purveiaunce,
And of the thynges that to comen be; . . .
147
(14) For although that for thynge shal come, ywys,
Therfor it is purveyed certeynly,
Nat that it cometh for it purveied is;
Yet, natheles, bihoveth it nedfully,
That thynge to come be purveied trewly;
Or elles thynges that purveied be.
That they bitiden by necessite.
148
(15) And this sufficeth right ynough, certeyn,
For to distruye oure fre choys everydele.
(1) Quae tamen ille ab aeterno cuncta prospiciens providentiae cernit
intuitus, et suis quaeque meritis praedestinata disponit. . . . .
(_Boethius_, lib. v. pr. 2. ) . . . . . . . . . . . .
(2) Nam si cuncta prospicit Deus neque falli ullo modo potest,
evenire necesse est, quod providentia futurum esse praeviderit.
Quare si ab aeterno non facta hominum modo, sed etiam consilia
voluntatesque praenoscit, nulla erit arbitrii libertas;
(3) Neque enim vel factum aliud ullum vel quaelibet existere
poterit voluntas, nisi quam nescia falli providentia divina
praesenserit. Nam si res aliorsum, quam provisae sunt detorqueri
valent, non jam erit futuri firma praescientia;
(4) Sed opinio potius incerta; quod de Deo nefas credere judico.
(5) Aiunt enim non ideo quid esse eventurum quoniam id providentia
futurum esse prospexerit; sed e contrario potius, quoniam quid
futurum est, id divinam providentiam latere non possit.
(6) Eoque modo necessarium est hoc in contrariam relabi partem;
neque enim necesse est contingere quae providentur, sed necesse est
quae futura sunt provideri.
(7) Quasi vero quae cujusque rei causa sit,
(8) Praescientiane futurorum necessitatis an futurorum necessitas
providentiae, laboretur.
(9) At nos illud demonstrare nitamur, quoquo modo sese habeat ordo
causarum, necessarium esse eventum praescitarum rerum, etiam si
praescientia futuris rebus eveniendi necessitatem non videatur
inferre.
(10) Etenim si quispiam sedeat, opinionem quae eum sedere conjectat
veram esse necesse est: at e converso rursus,
(11) Si de quopiam vera sit opinio quoniam sedet eum sedere
necesse est. In utroque igitur necessitas inest: in hoc quidem
sedendi, at vero in altero veritatis.
(12) Sed non idcirco quisque sedet, quoniam vera est opinio: sed
haec potius vera est, quoniam quempiam sedere praecessit. Ita cum
causa veritatis ex altera parte procedat, inest tamen communis in
utraque necessitas.
(13) Similia de providentia futurisque rebus ratiocinari patet.
(14) Nam etiam si idcirco, quoniam futura sunt, providentur: non
vero ideo, quoniam providentur, eveniunt: nihilo minus tamen a Deo
vel ventura provideri, vel provisa evenire necesse est:
(15) Quod ad perimendam arbitrii libertatem solum satis est.
(lib. v. pr. 3. )
See _Chaucer's Boethius_, pp. 154-6.
IX. THE GRIEF OF REMEMBERING BYGONE HAPPINESS.
For, of fortunes scharp adversite,
The worste kynde of infortune is this,
A man to han ben in prosperite,
And it remembren, when it passed is.
(_Troylus and Cryseyde_, bk. iii. st. 226, vol. iv. p. 291. )
Sed hoc est, quod recolentem me vehementius coquit. Nam in omni
adversitate fortunae infelicissimum genus est infortunii, fuisse
felicem. [I-10]
(_Boethius_, lib. ii. pr. 4. )
[Footnote I-10: Cf. Dante, _Inferno_, V. 121.
Nessun maggior dolore
Che ricordarsi del tempo felice
Nella miseria; e cio sa 'l tuo Dottore. ]
X. VULTURES TEAR THE STOMACH OF TITYUS IN HELL.
----Syciphus in Helle,
Whos stomak fowles tyren everemo,
That hyghten volturis.
(_Troylus and Cryseyde_, book i. st. 113, p. 140. )
? e fowel ? at hy? t voltor ?
