Chapter VIII

+Eft gan Love to +steren me [with] these wordes: 'thinke
on my speche; for trewly here-after it wol do thee lykinge;
and how-so-ever thou see Fortune shape her wheele to tourne,
this meditacion [shal] by no waye revolve. For certes, Fortune
sheweth her fayrest, whan she thinketh to begyle. And as me 5
thought, here-toforn thou saydest, thy loos in love, for thy
rightwysenesse ought to be raysed, shulde be a-lowed in tyme cominge.
Thou might in love so thee have, that loos and fame shul so ben
raysed, that to thy frendes comfort, and sorowe to thyne enemys,
endlesse shul endure. 10

But if thou were the oon sheep, amonges the hundred, were lost
in deserte and out of the way hadde erred, and now to the flocke
art restoored, the shepherd hath in thee no joye and thou ayen
to the forrest tourne. But that right as the sorowe and anguisshe
was greet in tyme of thyne out-waye goinge, right so 15
joye and gladnesse shal be doubled to sene thee converted; and
nat as Lothes wyf ayen-lokinge, but [in] hool counsayle with the
shepe folowinge, and with them grasse and herbes gadre. Never-the-later
(quod she) I saye nat these thinges for no wantrust that
I have in supposinge of thee otherwyse than I shulde. For 20
trewly, I wot wel that now thou art set in suche a purpose, out of
whiche thee liste nat to parte. But I saye it for many men there
been, that to knowinge of other mennes doinges setten al their
cure, and lightly desyren the badde to clatter rather than the
good, and have no wil their owne maner to amende. They also 25
hate of olde rancours lightly haven; and there that suche thing
abydeth, sodaynly in their mouthes procedeth the habundaunce
of the herte, and wordes as stones out-throwe. Wherfore my
counsayl is ever-more openly and apertly, in what place thou sitte,
counterplete th'errours and meninges in as fer as thou hem 30
wistest false, and leve for no wight to make hem be knowe in
every bodyes ere; and be alway pacient and use Jacobes wordes,
what-so-ever men of thee clappen: "I shal sustayne my ladyes
wrathe which I have deserved, so longe as my Margarite hath
rightwysed my cause." And certes (quod she) I witnesse my-selfe, 35
if thou, thus converted, sorowest in good meninge in thyne herte,
[and] wolt from al vanitè parfitly departe, in consolacioun of al
good plesaunce of that Margaryte, whiche that thou desyrest after
wil of thyn herte, in a maner of a +moders pitè, [she] shul fully
accepte thee in-to grace. For right as thou rentest clothes in 40
open sighte, so openly to sowe hem at his worshippe withouten
reprofe [is] commended. Also, right as thou were ensample of
moche-folde errour, right so thou must be ensample of manyfolde
correccioun; so good savour to forgoing +of errour causeth diligent
love, with many playted praisinges to folowe; and than shal al 45
the firste errours make the folowinge worshippes to seme hugely
encresed. Blacke and white, set togider, every for other more
semeth; and so doth every thinges contrary in kynde. But
infame, that goth alwaye tofore, and praysinge worship by any
cause folowinge after, maketh to ryse the ilke honour in double 50
of welth; and that quencheth the spotte of the first enfame. Why
wenest, I saye, these thinges in hindringe of thy name? Nay,
nay, god wot, but for pure encresing worship, thy rightwysenesse to
commende, and thy trouthe to seme the more. Wost nat wel
thy-selfe, that thou in fourme of making +passest nat Adam that eet 55
of the apple? Thou +passest nat the stedfastnesse of Noe, that
eetinge of the grape becom dronke. Thou passest nat the
chastitè of Lothe, that lay by his doughter; eke the nobley of
Abraham, whom god reproved by his pryde; also Davides
mekenesse, whiche for a woman made Urye be slawe. What? 60
also Hector of Troye, in whom no defaute might be founde, yet
is he reproved that he ne hadde with manhode nat suffred the
warre begonne, ne Paris to have went in-to Grece, by whom gan
al the sorowe. For trewly, him lacketh no venim of privè
consenting, whiche that openly leveth a wrong to withsaye. 65

Lo eke an olde proverbe amonges many other: "He that is
stille semeth as he graunted."

Now by these ensamples thou might fully understonde, that
these thinges ben writte to your lerning, and in rightwysenesse of
tho persones, as thus: To every wight his defaute committed 70
made goodnesse afterwardes don be the more in reverence and in
open shewing; for ensample, is it nat songe in holy churche,
"Lo, how necessary was Adams synne!" David the king gat
Salomon the king of her that was Uryes wyf. Truly, for reprofe
is non of these thinges writte. Right so, tho I reherce thy 75
before-dede, I repreve thee never the more; ne for no villany of
thee are they rehersed, but for worshippe, so thou continewe wel
here-after: and for profit of thy-selfe I rede thou on hem thinke.'

Than sayde I right thus: 'Lady of unitè and accorde, envy
and wrathe lurken there thou comest in place; ye weten wel 80
your-selve, and so don many other, that whyle I administred the
office of commen doinge, as in rulinge of the stablisshmentes
amonges the people, I defouled never my conscience for no
maner dede; but ever, by witte and by counsayle of the wysest,
the maters weren drawen to their right endes. And thus trewly 85
for you, lady, I have desyred suche cure; and certes, in your
service was I nat ydel, as fer as suche doinge of my cure
streccheth.'

'That is a thing,' quod she, 'that may drawe many hertes of
noble, and voice of commune in-to glory; and fame is nat but 90
wrecched and fickle. Alas! that mankynde coveyteth in so leude
a wyse to be rewarded of any good dede, sithe glorie of fame, in
this worlde, is nat but hindringe of glorie in tyme comminge!
And certes (quod she) yet at the hardest suche fame, in-to heven,
is nat the erthe but a centre to the cercle of heven? A pricke is 95
wonder litel in respect of al the cercle; and yet, in al this pricke,
may no name be born, in maner of peersing, for many obstacles,
as waters, and wildernesse, and straunge langages. And nat only
names of men ben stilled and holden out of knowleginge by these
obstacles, but also citees and realmes of prosperitè ben letted to 100
be knowe, and their reson hindred; so that they mowe nat ben
parfitly in mennes propre understandinge. How shulde than the
name of a singuler Londenoys passe the glorious name of London,
whiche by many it is commended, and by many it is lacked, and
in many mo places in erthe nat knowen than knowen? For in 105
many countrees litel is London in knowing or in spech; and yet
among oon maner of people may nat such fame in goodnes
come; for as many as praysen, commenly as many lacken. Fy
than on such maner fame! Slepe, and suffre him that knoweth
previtè of hertes to dele suche fame in thilke place there nothing 110
ayenst a sothe shal neither speke ne dare apere, by attourney
ne by other maner. How many greet-named, and many greet
in worthinesse losed, han be tofore this tyme, that now out
of memorie are slidden, and clenely forgeten, for defaute of
wrytinges! And yet scriptures for greet elde so ben defased, that 115
no perpetualtè may in hem ben juged. But if thou wolt make
comparisoun to ever, what joye mayst thou have in erthly name?
It is a fayr lykenesse, a pees or oon grayn of whete, to a thousand
shippes ful of corne charged! What nombre is betwene the
oon and th'other? And yet mowe bothe they be nombred, and 120
ende in rekening have. But trewly, al that may be nombred is
nothing to recken, as to thilke that may nat be nombred. For
+of the thinges ended is mad comparison; as, oon litel, another
greet; but in thinges to have an ende, and another no ende,
suche comparisoun may nat be founden. Wherfore in heven to 125
ben losed with god hath non ende, but endlesse endureth; and
thou canst nothing don aright, but thou desyre the rumour therof
be heled and in every wightes ere; and that dureth but a pricke
in respecte of the other. And so thou sekest reward of folkes
smale wordes, and of vayne praysinges. Trewly, therin thou 130
lesest the guerdon of vertue; and lesest the grettest valour of
conscience, and uphap thy renomè everlasting. Therfore boldely
renomè of fame of the erthe shulde be hated, and fame after deth
shulde be desyred of werkes of vertue. [Trewly, vertue] asketh
guerdoning, and the soule causeth al vertue. Than the soule, 135
delivered out of prison of erthe, is most worthy suche guerdon
among to have in the everlastinge fame; and nat the body, that
causeth al mannes yvels.

CH. VIII. 1. Ofte; _read_ Eft. sterne; _read_ steren. _I supply_ with. 2. the. 3. howe. se. 4. meditation. _I supply_ shal. 6. toforne. 8. the. 9. co_m_forte. 11. one shepe. 12. loste. nowe. 13. arte. shepeherd. the. 15. great. 16. the.

17. wyfe. _I supply_ in. hoole. 20. the. 21. wotte. nowe. arte sette. 22. the. 23. bene. 26. thynge. 28. stones _repeated in_ Th. 29. counsayle. apertely. 30. therrours. meanynges. ferre. 31. wystyst. leaue. 32. eare. 33. menne. the. 36. meanynge. 37. _I supply_ and. wolte. parfytely. 37. consolatyoun. 38. pleasaunce. 39. hert. mothers; _read_ moders. _I supply_ she. 40. the. 42. _I supply_ is. 44. correctioun. al; _read_ of. _After_ errour _I omit_ distroyeng (_gloss upon_ forgoing). 47. encreased. sette. 48. dothe. 49. gothe. worshippe.

52. wenyste. Naye nay god wotte. 53. encreasyng. 55-7. passeth (_twice_); passyst (_third time_). ete. 57. eatynge. become. 61. whome. 63. begon. ganne. 65. leaueth. wronge. withsay. 68. Nowe. 71. done. 72. song. 73. howe. gate. 74. wyfe. 75. none. 76-7. the (_twice_). 78. profyte. 81. done. 87. ferre. 88. stretcheth.

91. wretched. 96. respecte. 97. borne. 98. onely. 101. reason. 102. parfitely. Howe. 107. one. 108. Fye. 110. nothynge. 112. Howe. great (_twice_). 113. nowe. 115. great. 116. maye. wolte. 118. fayre. one grayne of wheate. thousande. 120. one. thother. 121-2. maye. 123. ofte; _read_ of the. made. one. 124. great.

126. none. 127. canste nothynge done. rumoure. 128. healed; _read_ deled? eare. 129. rewarde. 131. valoure. consyence. 134. _Supply_ Trewly, vertue. 136. prisone. guerdone.