TUM EGO SCIS INQUAM. — Prosa 7
Thanne seyde I thus: "Thow woost wel thiselve that the
covetise of mortel thynges ne hadde nevere lordschipe of me, but
I have wel desired matere of thynges to done (as who seith, I
desirede to have matiere of governaunce over comunalites), for
vertue stille sholde nat elden (that is to seyn,
that list that or he waxe oold, his vertu, that lay now ful
stille, ne schulde nat perysshe unexercised in governaunce of
comune, for whiche men myghten speken or wryten of his gode
governement)."
>Philosophie. "For sothe," quod sche,
"and that is [o] thyng that mai drawen to governaunce swiche
hertes as ben worthy and noble of hir nature, but natheles it may
nat drawen or tollen
swiche hertes as ben ibrought to the ful perfeccioun of vertue;
that is to seyn, covetise of glorie and renoun to han wel
adminystred the comune thynges, or doon gode desertes to profyt
of the comune. For see now and considere how litel and how voyde
of alle prys is thylk glorye. Certeyn thyng es, as thou hast
leerned by the demonstracioun of astronomye, that al the
envyrounynge of the erthe aboute ne halt but the resoun of a
prykke at regard of the gretnesse of hevene; that is to seyn
that, yif ther were maked comparysoun of the erthe to the
gretnesse of hevene, men wolde juggen in al that the erthe ne
heelde no space. Of the whiche litel regioun of this world, the
ferthe partye is enhabited with lyvynge beestes that we knowen,
as thou hast thyselve leerned by Tholome that proveth it. And yif
thow haddest withdrawen and abated in thy thought fro thilke
ferthe partie as moche space as the see and the mareys contene
and overgoon, and as moche space as the regioun of drowghte
overstreccheth (that is to seyn, sandes and
desertes), wel unnethe sholde ther duellen a ryght streyte
place to the
habitacioun of men. And ye thanne, that ben envyrouned and closed
withynne the leeste prykke of thilke prykke, thynken ye to
manyfesten or publisschen your renoun and doon yowr name for to
he born forth? But yowr glorye that is so narwe and so streyt
ithrungen into so litel bowndes, how mochel conteneth it in
largesse and in greet doynge? And also set this therto: that
manye a nacioun, diverse of tonge and of maneris and ek of resoun
of hir lyvynge, ben enhabited in the cloos of thilke lytel
habitacle; to the whiche nacyons, what for difficulte of weyes,
and what for diversite of langages, and what for defaute of
unusage [of] entrecomunynge of marchandise, nat oonly the names
of synguler men ne may nat strecchen, but eek the fame of citees
ne may nat strecchen. At the laste, certes, in the tyme of Marcus
Tulyus, as hymselve writ in his book, that the renoun of the
comune of Rome ne hadde nat yit passid ne clomben over the
montaigne that highte Caucasus; and yit was thilke tyme Rome wel
waxen, and greetly redouted of the Parthes and eek of the othere
folk enhabitynge aboute. Seestow nat thanne how streyte and how
compressid is thilke glorie that ye travailen aboute to schewe
and to multeplye? May thanne the glorie of a synguler Romeyn
strecchen thider as the fame of the name of Rome may nat clymben
ne passen? And ek seestow nat that the maneris of diverse folk
and ek hir lawes ben discordaunt among hemselve, so that thilke
thyng that som men juggen worthy of preysynge, other folk juggen
that it is worthy of torment? And therof comyth it that, though
a man delyte hym in preysynge of his renoun, he ne mai nat in no
wyse bryngen forthe ne spreden his name to many manere peples.
And therfore every maner man aughte to ben apayed of his glorie
that is publysschid among his owene neyghebours; and thilke noble
renoun schal ben restreyned withynne the boundes of o manere
folk.
"But how many a man, that was ful noble in his
tyme, hath the wrecchid and nedy foryetynge of writeris put out
of mynde and doon awey; al be it so that, certes, thilke
wrytynges profiten litel, the whiche writynges long and dirk
eelde doth awey, bothe hem and ek hir auctours! But yow men
semeth to geten yow a perdurablete, whan ye thynken that in tyme
comynge your fame schal lasten. But natheles yif thow wolt maken
comparysoun to the endles spaces of eternyte, what thyng hastow
by whiche thow mayst rejoisen the of long lastynge of thi name?
For yif ther were makyd comparysoun of the abydynge of a moment
to ten thowsand wynter, for as mochel as bothe tho spaces ben
endyd, [yit] hath the moment som porcioun of it, although it
litel be. But natheles thilke selve nowmbre of yeeris, and eek
as many yeris as therto mai be multiplyed, ne mai nat certes be
comparysoned to the perdurablete that is endlees; for of thinges
that han ende may ben maked comparysoun, but of thynges that ben
withouten ende to thynges that han ende may be makid no
comparysoun. And forthi is it that, although renome, of as longe
tyme as evere the list to thynken, were thought to the regard of
eternyte, that is unstaunchable and infynyt, it ne sholde nat
only semen litel, but pleynliche ryght noght.
"But ye men, certes, ne konne doon no thyng aryght, but
yif it be for the audience of peple and for idel rumours; and ye
forsaken the grete worthynesse of conscience and of vertu, and
ye seeken yowr gerdouns of the smale wordes of straunge folk.
Have now here and undirstand, in the lyghtnesse of swiche pryde
and veyne glorye, how a man scornede festyvaly and myriely swich
vanyte. Whilom ther was a man that hadde [assaillede] with
stryvynge wordes another man, the whiche, nat for usage of verray
vertu but for proud veyn glorie, had taken upon hym falsly the
name of a philosophre. This rather man that I spak of thoughte
he wolde assaie where he, thilke, were a philosophre or no; that
is to seyn, yif that he wolde han suffride lyghtly in pacience
the wronges that weren doon unto hym. This feynede philosophre
took pacience a litel while; and whan he hadde resceyved wordes
of outrage, he, as in stryvynge ayen and rejoysynge of hymself,
seide at the laste ryght thus: 'Undirstondistow nat that
I am a philosophre?' The tother man answerede ayen ful
bytyngely and seyde: 'I hadde wel undirstonden it yif thou
haddest
holde thi tonge stille.'
"But what is it to thise noble worthy men (for, certes,
of swych folk speke I) that seken glorie with vertue? What is
it?" quod sche. "What atteyneth fame to swiche folk, whan
the body is resolved by the deeth at the laste? For if it so be
that men dyen in all (that is to seyen, body and soule), the
whiche thing our reson defendeth us to byleeven, thanne is ther
no glorie in no wyse; for what schulde thilke glorie ben, whan
he, of whom thilke glorie is seyd to be, nys ryght naught in no
wise? And yif the soule, whiche that hath in itself science of
gode werkes, unbownden fro the prysone of the erthe, weendeth
frely to the hevene, despiseth it nat thanne al erthly ocupacioun;
and
[usynge] hevene rejoyseth that it is exempt fro alle erthly
thynges? (As who seith, thanne rekketh the soule of no glorye of
renoun of this world.)
