TUNC EGO PLATONI INQUAM. — Prosa 12
Thanne seide I thus: "I accorde me gretly to Plato, for thou
recordist and remembrist me thise thinges yet the seconde tyme;
that is to seye, first whan I loste my memorie be the contagious
conjunccioun of the body with the soule, and eftsones aftirward,
whan Y lost it confounded by the charge and be the burdene
of my sorwe."
And thanne seide sche thus: "Yif thow loke," quod
sche, "first
the thynges that thou hast graunted, it ne schal nat ben ryght
fer that thow ne schalt remembren thilke thing that thou seidest
that thou nystist nat."
"What thing?" quod I.
"By whiche governement," quod sche, "that this
world is
governed."
"Me remembreth it wel," quod I; "and I confesse
wel that I ne
wyste it nat. But al be it so that I see now from afer what thou
purposist, algates I desire yit to herknen it of the more
pleynly."
"Thou ne wendest nat," quod sche, "a litel
herebyforn, that
men schulde doute that this world nys governed by God."
"Certes," quod I, "ne yet ne doute I it naught,
ne I nyl
nevere wene that it were to doute" (as who seith, "but I woot
wel that God governeth this world"); "and I schal
schortly
answeren the be what resouns I am brought to this. This world,"
quod I, "of so manye diverse and contraryous parties, ne myghte
nevere han ben assembled in o forme, but yif ther ne were oon
that conjoyned so manye diverse thinges; and the same diversite
of here natures, that so discorden the ton fro that other, most
departen and unjoynen the thinges that ben conjoynid, yif ther
ne were oon that contenyde that he hath conjoynid and ybounden.
Ne the certein ordre of nature ne schulde not brynge forth so
ordene moevynges by places, by tymes, by doynges, by spaces, by
qualites, yif ther ne were on, that were ay stedfaste duellynge,
that ordeynide and disponyde thise diversites of moevynges. And
thilke thing, whatsoevere it be, by whiche that alle things ben
ymaked and ilad, Y clepe hym 'God,' that is a word that is
used
to alle folk."
Thanne seide sche: "Syn thou feelist thus thise
thinges," quod
sche, "I trowe that I have litel more to done that thou, myghty
of welefulnesse, hool and sound, ne see eftsones thi contre. But
let us loken the thinges that we han purposed herebyforn. Have
I nat nombrid and seid," quod sche, "that suiffsaunce
is in blisfulnesse, and we han accorded that God is thilke same
blisfulnesse?"
"Yis, forsothe," quod I.
"And that to governen this world," quod sche,
"ne
schal he nevere han nede of noon help fro withoute? For elles,
yif he hadde nede of any help, he ne schulde nat have no ful
suffisaunce?"
"Yys, thus it moot nedes be," quod I.
"Thanne ordeyneth he be hymself alone alle thinges?"
quod
sche.
"That may noght ben denyed," quod I.
"And I have schewyd that God is the same good?"
"It remembreth me wel," quod I.
"Thanne ordeigneth he alle thinges by thilke good,"
quod sche,
"syn he, whiche that we han accordid to ben good, governeth
alle thinges by hymself; and he is as a keye and a styere, by
whiche that the edifice of this world is kept stable and
withouten corrumpynge."
"I accorde me greetly," quod I. "And I
aperceyvede a litil
herebyforn that thow woldest seyn thus, al be it so that it were
by a thynne suspecioun."
"I trowe it wel," quod sche; "for, as I trowe,
thou ledist now
more ententyfliche thyn eyen to loken the verray goodes. But
natheles the thing that I schal telle the yet ne scheweth not
lesse to loken."
"What is that?" quod I.
"So as men trowen," quod sche, "and that
ryghtfully, that God
governeth alle thinges by the keye of his goodnesse, and alle
thise same thinges, as I have taught the, hasten hem by naturel
entencioun to come to good, ther may no man douten that thei ne
ben governed voluntariely, and that they ne converten hem of here
owene wil to the wil of here ordeynour, as thei that ben
accordynge and enclynynge to here governour and here kyng."
"It moot nedes be so," quod I, "for the reume ne
schulde nat
seme blisful yif ther were a yok of mysdrawynges in diverse
parties, ne the savynge of obedient thynges ne scholde nat be."
"Thanne is ther nothyng," quod sche, "that
kepith his nature,
that enforceth hym to gon ayen God."
"No," quod I.
"And yif that any thing enforcede hym to withstonde God,
myghte it avayle at the laste ayens hym that we han graunted to
ben almyghty by the ryght of blisfulnesse?"
"Certes," quod I, "al outrely it ne myghte nat
avaylen hym."
"Thanne is ther nothing," quod she, "that either
mai or wole
withstonden to this sovereyn good."
"I trowe nat," quod I.
"Thanne is thilke the sovereyn good," quod sche,
"that alle
thinges governeth strongly and ordeyneth hem softly?"
Thanne seide I thus: "I delite me," quod I, "nat
oonly in the
eendes or in the somme of the resouns that thou hast concluded
and proved, but thilke woordes that thou usest deliten me moche
more. So that, at the laste, foolis that somtyme reenden grete
thinges oughten ben asschamid of hemself (that is to seyn,
that we foolis that reprehenden wikkidly the thinges that touchen
Godis governaunce, we aughten ben asschamid of ourself), as
I, that seide that God refuseth oonly the werkis of men and ne
entremettith nat of it."
Philosophie. "Thow hast
wel herd," quod sche, "the
fables of the poetis, how the geauntis assaileden hevene with the
goddis, but forsothe the debonayre force of God disposide hem as
it was worthy (that is to sey, destroyed the geauntes, as it was
worthy). But wiltow that we joynen togidres thilke same resouns,
for paraventure of swiche conjunccioun may sterten up som fair
sparcle of soth?"
"Do," quod I, "as the list."
"Wenestow," quod sche, "that God ne be almyghty?
No man is in
doute of it."
"Certes," quod I, "no wyght ne douteth it, yif
be he in his
mynde."
"But he," quod sche, "that is almyghti, ther nys
no thyng that
he ne may?"
"That is sooth," quod I.
"May God don evel?" quod sche.
"Nay, forsothe," quod I.
"Thanne is evel nothing," quod sche, "syn that
he ne may not
don evel, that mai doon alle thinges."
"Scornestow me," quod I, "or elles, pleyestow or
disseyvistow
me, that hast so woven
me with thi resouns the hous
of Didalus, so entrelaced that it is unable to ben unlaced, thow
that otherwhile entrist ther thow issist, and other while issist
ther thow entrest? Ne fooldist thou nat togidre by replicacioun
of wordes a manere wondirful sercle or envirounynge of the
simplicite devyne? For certes a litel herebyforne, whanne thou
bygunne at blisfulnesse, thou seidest that it is sovereyn good,
and seidest that it is set in sovereyn God; and seidest that God
hymself is sovereyn good, and that God is the ful blisfulnesse;
for whiche thou yave me as a covenable yifte, that is to seyn,
that no wyght nis blisful, but yif he be God also therwith. And
seidest eke that the forme of good is the substaunce of God and
of blisfulnesse; and seidest that thilke same oon is thilke same
good that is required and desired of al the kynde of thinges. And
thou provedest in disputynge that God governeth alle the thinges
of the world by the governementis of bounte, and seidest that
alle thinges wolen obeyen to hym, and seidest that the nature of
yvel nys no thing. And thise thinges ne schewedest thou naught
with noone resouns ytaken fro withouten, but by proeves in
cercles and homliche knowen, the whiche proeves drawen to hemself
heer feyth and here accord everiche of hem of othir."
Thanne seide sche thus: "I ne scorne the nat, ne pleie,
ne
disceyve the; but I have schewed the the thing that is grettest
over alle thinges, by the yifte of God that we whelome prayeden.
For this is the forme of the devyne substaunce, that is swiche
that it ne slideth nat into uttreste foreyne thinges, ne ne
resceyveth noone straunge thinges in hym; but ryght as Parmanydes
seide in Grees of thilke devyne substaunce — he seide thus:
that
thilke devyne substaunce tornith the world and the moevable
sercle of thinges, while thilke devyne substaunce kepith itself
withouten moevynge (that is to seyn, that
it ne moeveth
nevere mo, and yet it moeveth alle othere thinges). But
natheles, yif I have styred resouns that ne ben nat taken from
withouten the compas of the thing of whiche we treten, but
resouns that ben bystowyd withinne that compas, ther nys nat why
that thou schuldest merveillen, sith thow hast lernyd by the
sentence of Plato that nedes the wordis moot be cosynes
to the thinges of whiche thei speken.
