Chapter VI

Now, lady,' quod I, 'that tree to sette, fayn wolde I lerne.'

'So thou shalt,' quod she, 'er thou depart hence. The
first thing, thou muste sette thy werke on grounde siker and good,
accordaunt to thy springes. For if thou desyre grapes, thou
goest not to the hasel; ne, for to fecchen roses, thou sekest not 5
on okes; and if thou shalt have hony-soukels, thou levest the
frute of the soure docke. Wherfore, if thou desyre this blisse in
parfit joye, thou must sette thy purpos there vertue foloweth, and
not to loke after the bodily goodes; as I sayd whan thou were
wryting in thy seconde boke. And for thou hast set thy-selfe in 10
so noble a place, and utterly lowed in thyn herte the misgoing of
thy first purpos, this +setling is the esier to springe, and the more
lighter thy soule in grace to be lissed. And trewly thy desyr,
that is to say, thy wil algates mot ben stedfast in this mater without
any chaunginge; for if it be stedfast, no man may it voyde.' 15

'Yes, pardè,' quod I, 'my wil may ben turned by frendes, and
disese of manace and thretning in lesinge of my lyfe and of my
limmes, and in many other wyse that now cometh not to mynde.
And also it mot ofte ben out of thought; for no remembraunce
may holde oon thing continuelly in herte, be it never so lusty 20
desyred.'

'Now see,' quod she, 'thou thy wil shal folowe, thy free wil to
be grounded continuelly to abyde. It is thy free wil, that thou
lovest and hast loved, and yet shal loven this Margaryte-perle;
and in thy wil thou thinkest to holde it. Than is thy wil knit 25
in love, not to chaunge for no newe lust besyde; this wil techeth
thyn herte from al maner varying. But than, although thou be
thretened in dethe or els in otherwyse, yet is it in thyn arbitrement
to chose, thy love to voyde or els to holde; and thilke
arbitrement is in a maner a jugement bytwene desyr and thy 30
herte. And if thou deme to love thy good wil fayleth, than art
thou worthy no blisse that good wil shulde deserve; and if thou
chose continuaunce in thy good service, than thy good wil
abydeth; nedes, blisse folowing of thy good wil must come by
strength of thilke jugement; for thy first wil, that taught thyn 35
herte to abyde, and halt it from th'eschaunge, with thy reson
is accorded. Trewly, this maner of wil thus shal abyde; impossible
it were to turne, if thy herte be trewe; and if every
man diligently the meninges of his wil consider, he shal wel
understande that good wil, knit with reson, but in a false herte 40
never is voyded; for power and might of keping this good wil is
thorow libertè of arbitrement in herte, but good wil to kepe
may not fayle. Eke than if it fayle, it sheweth it-selfe that good
wil in keping is not there. And thus false wil, that putteth out
the good, anon constrayneth the herte to accorde in lovinge of 45
thy good wil; and this accordaunce bitwene false wil and thyn
herte, in falsitè ben lykened +togider. Yet a litel wol I say
thee in good wil, thy good willes to rayse and strengthe. Tak
hede to me (quod she) how thy willes thou shalt understande.
Right as ye han in your body dyvers membres, and fyve sondrye 50
wittes, everiche apart to his owne doing, whiche thinges as
instrumentes ye usen; as, your handes apart to handle; feet,
to go; tonge, to speke; eye, to see: right so the soule hath
in him certayne steringes and strengthes, whiche he useth as
instrumentes to his certayne doinges. Reson is in the soule, 55
which he useth, thinges to knowe and to prove; and wil, whiche
he useth to wilne; and yet is neyther wil ne reson al the soule;
but everich of hem is a thing by him-selfe in the soule. And
right as everich hath thus singuler instrumentes by hemselfe,
they han as wel dyvers aptes and dyvers maner usinges; and 60
thilke aptes mowen in wil ben cleped affeccions. Affeccion is
an instrument of willinge in his apetytes. Wherfore mokel folk
sayn, if a resonable creatures soule any thing fervently wilneth,
affectuously he wilneth; and thus may wil, by terme of equivocas,
in three wayes ben understande. Oon is instrument of willing; 65
another is affection of this instrument; and the third is use, that
setteth it a-werke. Instrument of willing is thilke strength of the
soule, which that constrayneth to wilne, right as reson is instrument
of resons, which ye usen whan ye loken. Affeccion of this
instrument is a thing, by whiche ye be drawe desyrously any-thing 70
to wilne in coveitous maner, al be it for the tyme out
of your mynde; as, if it come in your thought thilke thing to
remembre, anon ye ben willing thilke to done or els to have.
And thus is instrument wil; and affeccion is wil also, to wilne
thing as I said; as, for to wilne helth, whan wil nothing theron 75
thinketh; for anon as it cometh to memorie, it is in wil. And so
is affeccion to wilne slepe, whan it is out of mynde; but anon
as it is remembred, wil wilneth slepe, whan his tyme cometh of
the doinge. For affeccion of wil never accordeth to sicknesse,
ne alway to wake. Right so, in a true lovers affeccion of willing, 80
instrument is to wilne tr[o]uthe in his service; and this affeccion
alway abydeth, although he be sleping or thretned, or els not
theron thinking; but anon as it cometh to mynde, anon he is
stedfast in that wil to abyde. Use of this instrument forsothe
is another thing by himselfe; and that have ye not but whan 85
ye be doing in willed thing, by affect or instrument of wil
purposed or desyred; and this maner of usage in my service
wysely nedeth to be ruled from wayters with envy closed, from
spekers ful of jangeling wordes, from proude folk and hautayn,
that lambes and innocentes bothe scornen and dispysen. Thus 90
in doing varieth the actes of willinge everich from other, and yet
ben they cleped "wil," and the name of wil utterly owen they to
have; as instrument of wil is wil, whan ye turne in-to purpos of
any thing to don, be it to sitte or to stande, or any such thing
els. This instrument may ben had, although affect and usage be 95
left out of doing; right as ye have sight and reson, and yet alway
use ye* +nat to loke, [ne] thinges with resonning to prove; and so
is instrument of wil, wil; and yet varyeth he from effect and
using bothe. Affeccion of wil also for wil is cleped, but it varyeth
from instrument in this maner wyse, by that nameliche, whan it 100
cometh in-to mynde, anon-right it is in willinge desyred, and the
negatif therof with willing nil not acorde; this is closed in herte,
though usage and instrument slepe. This slepeth whan instrument
and us[e] waken; and of suche maner affeccion, trewly,
some man hath more and some man lesse. Certes, trewe lovers 105
wenen ever therof to litel to have. False lovers in litel wenen
have right mokel. Lo, instrument of wil in false and trewe
bothe, evenliche is proporcioned; but affeccion is more in some
places than in some, bycause of the goodnesse that foloweth, and
that I thinke hereafter to declare. Use of this instrument is wil, 110
but it taketh his name whan wilned thing is in doing; but utterly
grace to cacche in thy blisse +desyreth to ben rewarded. Thou
most have than affeccion of wil at the ful, and use whan his
tyme asketh wysely to ben governed. Sothly, my disciple,
without fervent affeccion of wil may no man ben saved. This 115
affeccion of good service in good love may not ben grounded,
without fervent desyr to the thing in wil coveited. But he that
never reccheth to have or not to have, affeccion of wil in that
hath no resting-place. Why? For whan thing cometh to mynde,
and it be not taken in hede to comin or not come, therfore in 120
that place affeccion fayleth; and, for thilke affeccion is so litel,
thorow whiche in goodnesse he shulde come to his grace, the
litelnesse wil it not suffre to avayle by no way in-to his helpes.
Certes, grace and reson thilke affeccion foloweth. This affeccion,
with reson knit, dureth in everiche trewe herte, and evermore 125
is encresing; no ferdnesse, no strength may it remove, whyle
tr[o]uthe in herte abydeth. Sothly, whan falsheed ginneth entre,
tr[o]uthe draweth away grace and joye bothe; but than thilke
falsheed, that trouth[e] hath thus voyded, hath unknit the bond
of understanding reson bytwene wil and the herte. And who-so 130
that bond undoth, and unknitteth wil to be in other purpose
than to the first accorde, knitteth him with contrarye of reson;
and that is unreson. Lo, than, wil and unreson bringeth a man
from the blisse of grace; whiche thing, of pure kynde, every man
ought to shonne and to eschewe, and to the knot of wil and reson 135
confirme.

Me thinketh,' quod she, 'by thy studient lokes, thou wenest in
these wordes me to contrarien from other sayinges here-toforn
in other place, as whan thou were somtyme in affeccion of wil to
thinges that now han brought thee in disese, which I have thee 140
consayled to voyde, and thyn herte discover; and there I made
thy wil to ben chaunged, whiche now thou wenest I argue to
with[h]olde and to kepe! Shortly I say, the revers in these
wordes may not ben founde; for though dronkennesse be forboden,
men shul not alway ben drinklesse. I trowe right, for 145
thou thy wil out of reson shulde not tourne, thy wil in one reson
shulde not +onbyde. I say, thy wil in thy first purpos with
unreson was closed; constrewe forth of the remenant what thee
good lyketh. Trewly, that wil and reson shulde be knit togider,
was free wil of reson; after tyme thyne herte is assentaunt to them 150
bothe, thou might not chaunge. But if thou from rule of reson
varye, in whiche variaunce to come to thilke blisse desyred,
contrariously thou werchest; and nothing may knowe wil and reson
but love alone. Than if thou voide love, than +weyvest [thou]
the bond that knitteth; and so nedes, or els right lightly, that 155
other gon a-sondre; wherfore thou seest apertly that love holdeth
this knot, and amaystreth hem to be bounde. These thinges, as
a ring in circuit of wrethe, ben knit in thy soule without departing.'

'A! let be! let be!' quod I; 'it nedeth not of this no
rehersayle to make; my soule is yet in parfit blisse, in thinking of 160
that knotte!'*

CH. VI. 1. Nowe. set fayne. 3. set. 5. fetchen. 6. leauest. 8. parfite ioy. set. purpose. 10. booke. haste. 12. purpose. setteles; _read_ setling. 13. desyre. 14. mote. 15-16. maye (_twice_). 17. disease. 18. nowe. 19. mote. 20. one.

32. Nowe se. 22, 23. frewyl (_twice_). 24. haste. 26. teacheth. 27. varyeng. 30. desyre. 31. arte. 36. halte. 38. hert. 40. reason. 42. thorowe. hert. 45. anone. 47. togyther. 48. the. strength. Take. 49. howe. 51-2. aparte (_twice_). 52. fete. 53. se. 55. Reason. 57. reason.

61. affections. Affection. 62. folke. 65. thre. One. 68. reason. 69. Affection. 74. affection. 75. thynge. 77-81. affection (_four times_). 86. affecte. 93. purpose. 94. syt.

97. * _A break here in_ Th. ne ought; _read_ nat. _I supply_ ne. 98. effecte. 99. Affection. 100. name lyche. 102. negatyfe. 103. thoughe. 104. vs. 104-8. affection (_twice_). 112. catche. desyred; _read_ desyreth. 113. muste. affection (_often_). 117. desyre. 118. retcheth. 120. comyn. 124-5. reason (_twice_). 125. knytte. 126. encreasyng. maye. 128. ioy. both. 129. bonde. 130-2. reason. 131. bonde vndothe.

133. unreason (_twice_). 135. reason. 138. sayenges. toforne. 139. affection. 140. nowe. the. disease. the. 146. reason (_twice_). 147. vnbyde; _read_ onbyde. purpose. 148. unreason. remenante. the. 150. fre. 149-151. reason (_thrice_). 154. weuest; _read_ weyvest thou. 155. bonde. 156. gone. 158. ringe. 160. parfyte. * _A break here in_ Th.