Chapter VIII

Soberliche tho threw I up myn eyen, and hugely tho was
I astonyed of this sodayne adventure; and fayn wolde I have
lerned, how vertues shulden ben knowen; in whiche thinges,
I hope to god, here-after she shal me enfourmen; and namely,
sithen her restinge-place is now so nygh at my wil; and anon al 5
these thinges that this lady said, I remembred me by my-selfe, and
revolved the +lynes of myne understondinge wittes. Tho found
I fully al these maters parfitly there written, how mis-rule by
fayned love bothe realmes and citees hath governed a greet
throwe; how lightly me might the fautes espye; how rules in love 10
shulde ben used; how somtyme with fayned love foule I was
begyled; how I shulde love have knowe; and how I shal in love
with my service procede. Also furthermore I found, of perdurable
letters wonderly there graven, these maters whiche I shal nempne.
Certes, non age ne other thing in erthe may the leest sillable of 15
this in no poynte deface, but clerely as the sonne in myne
understandinge soule they shynen. This may never out of my mynde,
how I may not my love kepe, but thorow willinge in herte; wilne
to love may I not, but I lovinge have. Love have I non, but
thorow grace of this Margarite-perle. It is no maner doute, that 20
wil wol not love but for it is lovinge, as wil wol not rightfully but
for it is rightful it-selve. Also wil is not lovinge for he wol love;
but he wol love for he is lovinge; it is al oon to +wilne to be
lovinge, and lovinges in possession to have. Right so wil wol not
love, for of love hath he no partie. And yet I denye not lovinge 25
wil [may] wilne more love to have, whiche that he hath not whan
he wolde more than he hath; but I saye, he may no love wilne
if he no love have, through which thilke love he shuld wilne. But
to have this loving wil may no man of him-selfe, but only through
grace toforn-going; right so may no man it kepe, but by grace 30
folowinge. Consider now every man aright, and let seen if that
any wight of him-selfe mowe this loving wel gete, and he therof
first nothing have; for if it shulde of him-selfe springe, either it
muste be willing or not willing. Willing by him-selfe may he it not
have, sithen him fayleth the mater that shulde it forth bringe. 35
The mater him fayleth; why? He may therof have no knowing
til whan grace put it in his herte. Thus willing by him-selfe may
he it not have; and not willing, may he it not have. Pardè,
every conseyt of every resonable creature otherwyse wil [wol] not
graunte; wil in affirmatif with not willing by no way mowe acorde. 40
And although this loving wol come in myn herte by freenesse of
arbitrement, as in this booke fully is shewed, yet owe I not therfore
as moche alowe my free wil as grace of that Margaryte to me
lened. For neyther might I, without grace to-forn going and
afterward folowing, thilke grace gete ne kepe; and lese shal I it 45
never but-if free wil it make, as in willinge otherwyse than grace
hath me graunted. For right as whan any person taketh willing
to be sobre, and throweth that away, willing to be dronke; or els
taketh wil of drinking out of mesure; whiche thing, anon as it is
don, maketh (thorow his owne gilte by free wil) that [he] leseth 50
his grace. In whiche thing therfore upon the nobley of grace
I mote trusten, and my besy cure sette thilke grace to kepe, that
my free wil, otherwyse than by reson it shulde werche, cause not
my grace to voyde: for thus must I bothe loke to free wil and to
grace. For right as naturel usage in engendring of children may 55
not ben without +fader, ne also but with the +moder, for neyther
+fader ne +moder in begetting may it lacke; right so grace and
free wil accorden, and withoute hem bothe may not lovinge wil in
no partie ben getten. But yet is not free wil in gettinge of that
thing so mokel thank-worthy as is grace, ne in the kepinge therof 60
so moche thank deserveth; and yet in gettinge and keping bothe
don they accorde. Trewly, often-tyme grace free wil helpeth, in
fordoinge of contrarye thinges, that to willinge love not accorden,
and +strengtheth wil adversitees to withsitte; wherfore +al-togider
to grace oweth to ben accepted, that my willing deserveth. Free 65
wil to lovinge in this wyse is accorded. I remembre me wel how
al this book (who-so hede taketh) considereth [how] al thinges to
werchinges of mankynde evenly accordeth, as in turning of this
worde 'love' in-to trouthe or els rightwisnesse, whether that it
lyke. For what thing that falleth to man in helping of free 70
arbitrement, thilke rightwisnesse to take or els to kepe, thorow
whiche a man shal be saved (of whiche thing al this book mencion
hath maked), in every poynte therof grace oweth to be thanked.
Wherfore I saye, every wight havinge this rightwisnesse rightful
is; and yet therfore I fele not in my conscience, that to al 75
rightful is behoten the blisse everlastinge, but to hem that ben
rightful withouten any unrightfulnesse. Some man after some degree
may rightfully ben accompted as chaste men in living, and yet ben
they janglers and ful of envy pressed; to hem shal this blisse
never ben delivered. For right as very blisse is without al maner 80
nede, right so to no man shal it be yeven but to the rightful, voyde
from al maner unrightfulnesse founde; so no man to her blisse
shal ben folowed, but he be rightful, and with unrightfulnesse not
bounde, and in that degree fully be knowe. This rightfulnesse,
in as moche as in him-selfe is, of none yvel is it cause; and of al 85
maner goodnesse, trewly, it is +moder. This helpeth the spirit
to withsitte the leude lustes of flesshly lykinge. This strengtheth
and maintayneth the lawe of kynde; and if that otherwhyle me
weneth harm of this precious thing to folowe, therthorough is [it]
nothing the cause; of somwhat els cometh it aboute, who-so 90
taketh hede. By rightfulnesse forsothe wern many holy sayntes
good savour in swetenesse to god almighty; but that to some
folkes they weren savour of dethe, in-to deedly ende, that com
not of the sayntes rightwisnesse, but of other wicked mennes
badnesse hath proceded. Trewly, the ilke wil, whiche that the 95
Lady of Love me lerned 'affeccion of wil' to nempne, which is
in willing of profitable thinges, yvel is it not, but whan to flesshly
lustes it consenteth ayenst reson of soule. But that this thing
more clerely be understande, it is for to knowe, whence and how
thilke wil is so vicious, and so redy yvel dedes to perfourme. 100
Grace at the ginninge ordeyned thilke wil in goodnesse ever to
have endured, and never to badnesse have assented. Men shulde
not byleve, that god thilke wil maked to be vicious [in] our firste
+faders, as Adam and Eve; for vicious appetytes, and vicious wil
to suche appetytes consentinge, ben not on thing in kynde; other 105
thing is don for the other. And how this wil first in-to man first
assented, I holde it profitable to shewe; but if the first condicion
of resonable creature wol be considred and apertly loked, lightly
the cause of suche wil may be shewed. Intencion of god was,
that rightfully and blissed shulde resonable nature ben maked, 110
himselfe for to kepe; but neyther blisful ne rightful might it not
be, withouten wil in them bothe. Wil of rightfulnesse is thilke
same rightfulnesse, as here-to-forn is shewed; but wil of blisse
is not thilke blisse, for every man hath not thilke blisse, in whom
the wil therof is abydinge. In this blisse, after every 115
understandinge, is suffisaunce of covenable comoditees without any
maner nede, whether it be blisse of aungels or els thilke that
grace first in paradise suffred Adam to have. For al-though
angels blisse be more than Adams was in paradyse, yet may it not
be +denyed, that Adam in paradyse ne had suffisaunce of blisse; 120
for right as greet herte is without al maner of coldenesse, and yet
may another herte more hete have; right so nothing defended
Adam in paradyse to ben blessed, without al maner nede.
Al-though aungels blisse be moche more, forsothe, it foloweth
not [that], lasse than another to have, therfore him nedeth; but 125
for to wante a thing whiche that behoveth to ben had, that may
'nede' ben cleped; and that was not in Adam at the first
ginning. God and the Margaryte weten what I mene. Forsothe,
where-as is nede, there is wrecchednesse. +God without cause
to-forngoing made not resonable creature wrecched; for him to 130
understande and love had he firste maked. God made therfore
man blissed without al maner indigence; +togider and at ones
took resonable creature blisse, and wil of blissednesse, and wil
of rightfulnesse, whiche is rightfulnesse it-selve, and libertee of
arbitrement, that is, free wil, with whiche thilke rightfulnesse may 135
he kepe and lese. So and in that wyse [god] ordayned thilke
two, that wil (whiche that "instrument" is cleped, as here-toforn
mencion is maked) shulde use thilke rightfulnesse, by teching of
his soule to good maner of governaunce, in thought and in wordes;
and that it shulde use the blisse in obedient maner, withouten 140
any incommoditè. Blisse, forsothe, in-to mannes profit, and
rightwisnesse in-to his worship god delivered at ones; but rightfulnesse
so was yeven that man might it lese, whiche if he not lost
had, but continuelly [might] have it kept, he shulde have deserved
the avauncement in-to the felowshippe of angels, in whiche thing 145
if he that loste, never by him-selfe forward shulde he it mowe
ayenward recovere; and as wel the blisse that he was in, as
aungels blisse that to-him-wardes was coming, shulde be nome at
ones, and he deprived of hem bothe. And thus fil man un-to
lykenesse of unresonable bestes; and with hem to corrupcion and 150
unlusty apetytes was he under-throwen. But yet wil of blisse
dwelleth, that by indigence of goodes, whiche that he loste
through greet wrecchednesse, by right shulde he ben punisshed.
And thus, for he weyved rightfulnesse, lost hath he his blisse; but
fayle of his desyr in his owne comoditè may he not; and +where 155
comodites to his resonable nature whiche he hath lost may he not
have, to false lustes, whiche ben bestial appetytes, he is turned.
Folye of unconning hath him begyled, in wening that thilke ben
the comoditees that owen to ben desyred. This affeccion of wil
by libertè of arbitrement is enduced to wilne thus thing that 160
he shulde not; and so is wil not maked yvel but unrightful, by
absence of rightfulnesse, whiche thing by reson ever shulde he
have. And freenesse of arbitrement may he not wilne, whan he it
not haveth; for while he it had, thilke halp it not to kepe; so
that without grace may it not ben recovered. Wil of commoditè, 165
in-as-moche as unrightful it is maked by willinge of yvel lustes, willing
of goodnesse may he not wilne; for wil of instrument to affeccion
of wil is thralled, sithen that other thing may it not wilne;
for wil of instrument to affeccion desyreth, and yet ben bothe they
'wil' cleped. For that instrument wol, through affeccion it wilneth; 170
and affeccion desyreth thilke thing wherto instrument him ledeth.
And so free wil to unlusty affeccion ful servaunt is maked, for
unrightfulnesse may he not releve; and without rightfulnesse ful
fredom may it never have. For kyndly libertee of arbitrement
without it, veyne and ydel is, forsothe. Wherfore yet I say, (as 175
often have I sayd the same), whan instrument of wil lost hath
rightfulnesse, in no maner but by grace may he ayen retourne
rightfulnesse to wilne. For sithen nothing but rightfulnesse alone
shulde he wilne, what that ever he wilneth without rightfulnesse,
unrightfully he it wilneth. These than unrightful appetytes and 180
unthrifty lustes whiche the +flesh desyreth, in as mokel as they ben
in kynde, ben they nat bad; but they ben unrightful and badde for
they ben in resonable creature, where-as they being, in no waye
shulde ben suffred. In unresonable beestes neyther ben they yvel
ne unrightful; for there is their kynde being. 185

CH. VIII. 1. threwe. 2. fayne. 3. howe. 5. nowe. nyghe. 7. lyues (!). founde. 8. parfytely. howe. mysse-. 9. cyties. great. 10-12. howe (_five times_). 13. founde. 15. none. thynge. maye. 17. maye. 18. howe. maye. thorowe. 19. maye. none. 20. thorowe.

23. one. wil; _read_ wilne. 26. _I supply_ may. 27. maye. 29. onely. 30. toforne. maye. 31. nowe. sene. 32. get. 33. nothynge. spring. 35. forthe bring. 36. maye. 39. reasonable. _I supply_ wol. 40. graunt. affyrmatife. 41. hert. frenesse. 43. frewyl (_throughout_). 44. leaned. 45. afterwarde. get; _read_ gete. 50. done. thorowe. _I supply_ he. 52. set. 53. reason. 55. maye. 56-7. father (_twice_); _read_ fader. mother (_twice_); _read_ moder.

57-8. maye. 60. thankeworthy. 61. thanke. 62. done. 64. strength; _read_ strengtheth; _see_ l. 87. al togyther. 66. howe. 67. booke. _Supply_ how. 71. thorowe. 72. booke. 78. maye. 86. mother; _read_ moder. 89. harme. _Supply_ it. 90. nothynge. 91. werne. 93. come; _read_ com.

96. affectyon. 98. reason. thynge. 99. vndersta_n_d. howe. 100. redye. 103. vycious. _I insert_ in; Our (_sic_). 104. father; _read_ faders. 106. done. howe. 108-110. reasonable (_twice_). 113. -forne. 119, 122. maye. 120. denyded (!). 121. great. 122. heate. nothynge. 124. thoughe. 125. _I supply_ that. 126. thynge. maye. 128. meane. 129. wretchydnesse. good; _read_ God. 130. reasonable. wretched.

132. togyther. 133. toke reasonable. 134. lybertie. 135. fre. 136. _I supply_ god. 137. cleaped. toforne. 138. teachyng. 141. profyte. 143. not loste had not; _I omit second_ not. 144. _I supply_ might. kepte. 146. forwarde. 147. ayenwarde. 150. vnreasonable. 153. great wretchydnesse. 154. loste. 155. desyre. were; _read_ where. 156. reasonable. loste. 159. affection. 162. reason. 163. frenesse. 164. halpe.

167-170. affection (_thrice_). 172. frewyl. affection. 173. maye. 174. fredome. libertie. 176. loste. 181. flyes (!); _read_ flesh. 184. vnreasonable.