SET CUM RACIONUM IAM IN TE, &c. — Prosa
5
"But for as mochel as the norisschynges of my resouns
descenden now into the, I trowe it were tyme to usen a litel
strengere medicynes. Now undirstand heere; al were it so that the
yiftes of Fortune ne were noght brutel ne transitorie, what is
ther in hem that mai he thyn in any tyme, or elles that it nys
fowl, yif that
it be considered and lookyd parfitely?
Richesses ben they preciouse by the nature of hemself, or elles
by the nature of the? What is most worth of rychesses? Is it nat
gold or myght of moneye assembled? Certes thilke gold and thilke
moneye schyneth and yeveth bettre renoun to hem that dispenden
it than to thilke folk that mokeren it; for avaryce maketh alwey
mokereres to ben hated, and largesse maketh folk cleer of renoun.
For, syn that swiche thyng as is transferred fro o man to an
othir ne may nat duellen with no man, certes thanne is thilke
moneye precyous whan it is translated into other folk and
stynteth to ben had by usage of large yyvynge of hym that hath
yeven it. And also yif al the moneye that is overal in the world
were gadryd toward o man, it scholde make alle othere men to be
nedy as of that. And certes a voys al hool (that is to seyn,
withouten amenusynge) fulfilleth togydre the herynge of moche
folk. But certes your rychesses ne mowen noght passen unto moche
folk withouten amenusynge; and whan they ben apassed, nedes they
maken hem pore that forgoon tho rychesses. O streyte and nedy
clepe I this richesse, syn that many folk ne mai nat han it al,
ne al mai it nat comen to o man withoute povert of alle othere
folk. And the schynynge of gemmes (that I clepe precyous stones)
draweth it nat the eighen of folk to hem-ward (that
is to seyn, for the beautes)? But certes, yif ther were
beaute or bountee in the schynynge of stones, thilke clernesse
is of the stones hemselve, and nat of men; for whiche I wondre
gretly that men merveylen on swiche thynges. Forwhi what thyng
is it that, yif it wanteth moevynge and joynture of soule and
body, that by right myghte semen a fair creature to hym that hath
a soule of resoun? For al be it so that gemmes drawen to hemself
a litel of the laste beaute of the world thurw the entente of hir
creatour and thurw the distinccioun of hemself, yit, for as
mochel as thei ben put under yowr excellence, thei ne han nat
desserved by no way that ye schulde merveylen on hem. And the
beaute of feeldes, deliteth it nat mochel unto yow?"
Boece. "Why schulde it nat deliten us,
syn that it is a [fayr] porcioun of the ryght fair werk (that is
to seyn, of this worlde)? And right so ben we gladed somtyme of
the face of the see whan it es cleer; and also merveylen we on
the hevene, and on the sterres, and on the sonne, and on the
moone."
Philosophie. "Aperteneth," quod
sche, "any of thilke thynges to the? Why darstow glorifye the
in the shynynge of any swiche thynges? Artow distyngwed and
embelysed by the spryngynge floures of the first somer sesoun,
or swelleth thi plente in fruites of somer? Whi artow ravyssched
with idel joies? Why enbracest thow straunge goodes as they weren
thyne? Fortune ne schal nevere maken that swiche thynges ben
thyne that nature of thynges hath maked foreyne fro the. Soth is
that, withouten doute, the fruites of the erthe owen to be to the
noryssynge of beestis; and yif thow wilt fulfille thyn nede after
that it suffiseth to nature, thanne is it no nede that thow seke
aftir the superfluyte of fortune. For [with] fewe thynges and
with ful litel thynges nature halt hir apayed; and yif thow wolt
achoken the fulfillynge of nature with superfluytees, certes
thilke thynges that thow wolt thresten or powren into nature
schulle ben unjoyeful to the, or elles anoyous. Wenestow eek that it be
a fair thyng to schyne with diverse clothynge? Of whiche
clothynge yif the beaute he aggreable to loken uppon, I wol
merveylen on the nature of the matiere of thilke clothes, or
elles on the werkman that wroughte hem. But also a long route of
meyne, maketh that a blisful man? The whiche servantz yif thei
ben vicyous of condyciouns, it is a gret charge and a
destruccioun to the hous, and a gret enemy to the lord hymself;
and yif they ben gode men, how schal straunge or foreyne
goodnesse ben put in the nowmbre of thi richesse? So that by alle
thise forseide thynges it es cleerly schewed, that nevere oon of
thilke thynges that thou acountedest for thyne goodes nas nat thi
good.
"In the whiche thynges yif ther be no beaute to ben
desired, why scholdestow ben sory
yif thou leese hem, or whi scholdestow rejoysen the for to holden hem? For yif thei
ben faire of hir owene kynde, what aperteneth that to the? For
al so wel scholde they han ben fayre by hemselve, though thei
were departed fro alle thyne rychesses. Forwhy fair ne precyous
were thei nat for that thei comen among thi rychesses; but for
they semeden fair and precyous, therfore thou haddest levere
rekne hem among thi rychesses. But what desirestow of Fortune
with so greet a noyse and with so greet [affraie]? I trowe thou
seeke to dryve awey nede with habundaunce of thynges, but certes
it turneth to you al in the contrarie. Forwhy certes it nedeth
of ful manye helpynges to kepyn the diversite of precious
ostelementz; and sooth it es that of many thynges han they nede,
that many thynges han; and ayenward of litel nedeth hem that
mesuren hir fille after the nede of kynde, and nat after the
oultrage of covetyse.
"Is it thanne so, that ye men ne han no propre good iset
in yow, for whiche ye mooten seke outward your goodes in foreyne
and subgit thynges? So is thanne the condicion of thynges turned
up-so-doun, that a man, that is a devyne beest be meryte of his
resoun, thynketh that hymself nys neyther fair ne noble but yif
it be thurw possessioun of ostelementz that ne han no soules. And
certes alle othere thynges ben apayed of hir owene beautes, but
ye men that ben semlable to God by yowr resonable thought,
desiren to apparailen your excellent kynde of the loweste
thynges; ne ye undirstanden nat how greet a wrong ye don to
your creatour. For he wolde that mankynde were moost wurthy and
noble of any othere erthly thynges, and ye thresten adoun yowre
dignytes bynethen the loweste thynges. For yif that al the good
of every thyng be more precyous than is thilke thyng whos that
the good es, syn ye demen that the fowleste thynges ben your
goodes, thanne submitten ye and putten yourselven undir the
fouleste thynges by your estimacioun; and certes this betydeth
nat withouten your desert. For certes swiche is the condicioun
of alle mankynde, that oonly whan it hath knowynge of itself,
thanne passeth it in noblesse alle othere thynges; and whan it
forletith the knowynge of itself, thanne is it brought bynethen
alle beestes. Forwhi alle othere lyvynge beestes han of kynde to
knowe nat hemself; but whan that men leeten the knowynge of
hemself it cometh hem of vice. But how broode scheweth the errour
and the folie of yow men, that wenen that anythyng mai ben
apparailed with straunge apparailementz! But forsothe that mai
nat be done. For yif a wyght schyneth with thynges that ben put
to hym (as thus, yif thilke thynges schynen with
whiche a man is aparayled), certes thilke thynges ben
comended and preysed
with whiche he is apparayled; but natheles, the thyng that is
covered and wrapped under that duelleth in his felthe.
"And I denye that thilke thyng be good that anoyeth hym
that hath it. Gabbe I of this? Thow wolt sey
'nay.' Sertes rychesses
han anoyed ful ofte hem that han tho rychesses, syn that every
wikkide schrewe — and for his wikkidnesse the more gredy aftir
othir folkes rychesses, wher so evere it be in ony place, be it
gold or precyous stones — [weneth] hym oonly most worthy that hath
hem. Thow thanne, that so bysy dredest now the swerd and the
spere, yif thou haddest entred in the path of this lif a voyde
weyfarynge man, thanne woldestow syngen byfor the theef. (As
who seith, a pore man that bereth no rychesse on hym by the weie
may boldely synge byforn theves, for he hath nat whereof to be
robbed.) O precyous and ryght cleer is the blisfulnesse of
mortel rychesses, that, whan thow hast geten it, thanne hastow
lorn thi sekernesse!
