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DIXERAT ORATIONISQUE CURSUM. — Prosa 1
Sche hadde seyd, and torned the cours of hir resoun to some othere thingis to ben treted and to ben ispedd. Thanne seide I, "Certes ryghtful is thin amonestynge and ful digne by auctorite. But that thou seydest whilom that the questioun of the devyne purveaunce is enlaced with many othere questiouns, I undirstande wel and prove it by the same thing. But I axe yif that thou wenest that hap be anything in any weys; and yif thou wenest that hap be anything, what is it?"
Thanne quod sche, "I haste me to yelden and assoilen to the the dette of my byheste, and to schewen and openen [the] the wey, by whiche wey thou maist comen ayein to thi contre. But al be it so that the thingis whiche that thou axest ben ryght profitable to knowe, yit ben thei divers somwhat fro the path of my purpos; and it is to douten that thou ne be makid weery by mysweyes, so that thou ne maist nat suffise to mesuren the ryghte weie."
"Ne doute the therof nothing," quod I; "for for to knowen thilke thingis togidre, in the whiche thinges I delite me gretly — that schal ben to me in stede of reste, syn it nis nat to douten of the thingis folwynge, whan every syde of thi disputesoun schal han ben stedfast to me by undoutous feyth."
"Thanne," seide sche, "that manere wol I don the," and bygan to speken ryght thus: "Certes," quod sche, "yif any wyght diffynisse hap in this manere, that is to seyn that 'hap is bytydynge ibrought forth by foolisshe moevynge and by no knyttynge of causes,' I conferme that hap nis ryght naught in no wise; and I deme al outrely that hap nis [but an idel] voys (as who seith, but an idel word), withouten any significacioun of thing summitted to that voys. For what place myght ben left or duellynge to folie and to disordenaunce, syn that God ledeth and constreyneth alle thingis by ordre? For this sentence is verray and soth, that 'no thing hath his beynge of naught,' to the whiche sentence noon of thise oolde folk ne withseide nevere; al be it so that they ne undirstoden ne meneden it nat by God, prince and bygynnere of wirkynge, but thei casten as a maner foundement of subject material (that is to seyn, of the nature of alle resouns). And yif that any thing is woxen or comen of no causes, thanne schal it seme that thilke thing is comen or woxen of nawght; but yif this ne mai nat ben don, thanne is it nat possible that hap be any swich thing as I have difiynysschid a litil herebyforn."
"How schal it thanne be?" quod I. "Nys ther thanne nothing that by right may ben clepid other hap or elles aventure of fortune; or is ther awght, al be it so that it is hidd fro the peple, to whiche thing thise wordes ben covenable?"
"Myn Aristotle," quod sche, "in the book of his Phisic diffynysseth this thing by schort resoun, and nyghe to the sothe."
"In whiche manere?" quod I.
"As ofte," quod sche, "as men don any thing for grace of any other thing, and another thing
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