CHAPTER XIII.

'Certes,' quod Love, 'thou hast wel begonne; and I aske thee this question: Is not, in general, every-thing good?'

'I not,' quod I.

'No?' quod she; '+saw not god everything that he made, and weren right good?' 5

'Than is wonder,' quod I, 'how yvel thinges comen a-place, sithen that al thinges weren right good.'

'Thus,' quod she, 'I wol declare. Everiche qualitè and every accion, and every thing that hath any maner of beinge, it is of god; and god it made, of whom is al goodnesse and al being. 10 Of him is no badnesse. Badde to be, is naught; good to be, is somwhat; and therfore good and being is oon in understanding.'

'How may this be?' quod I. 'For often han shrewes me assailed, and mokel badnesse therin have I founden; and so me 15 semeth bad to be somwhat in kynde.'

'Thou shalt,' quod she, 'understande that suche maner badnesse, whiche is used to purifye wrong-doers, is somwhat; and god it made, and being [it] hath; and that is good. Other badnesse no being hath utterly; it is in the negative of somwhat, and that is 20 naught and nothing being. The parties essential of being arn sayd in double wyse, as that it is; and these parties ben founde in every creature. For al thing, a this halfe the first being, is being through participacion, taking partie of being; so that [in] every creature is difference bitwene being of him through whom 25 it is, and his own being. Right as every good is a maner of being, so is it good thorow being; for it is naught other to be. And every thing, though it be good, is not of him-selfe good; but it is good by that it is ordinable to the greet goodnesse. This dualitè, after clerkes +determinison, is founden in every 30 creature, be it never so single of onhed.'

'Ye,' quod I; 'but there-as it is y-sayd that god +saw every-thing of his making, and [they] were right good (as your-selfe sayd to me not longe tyme sithen), I aske whether every creature is y-sayd "good" through goodnesse unfourmed eyther els fourmed; 35 and afterward, if it be accept utterly good?'

'I shal say thee,' quod she. 'These grete passed clerkes han devyded good in-to good being alone, and that is nothing but +god, for nothing is good in that wyse but god: also, in good by participacion, and that is y-cleped "good" for far fet and 40 representative of +godly goodnesse. And after this maner manyfold good is sayd, that is to saye, good in kynde, and good in gendre, and good of grace, and good of joy. Of good in kynde Austen sayth, "al that ben, ben good." But peraunter thou woldest wete, whether of hem-selfe it be good, or els of anothers goodnesse: 45 for naturel goodnesse of every substaunce is nothing els than his substancial being, which is y-cleped "goodnesse" after comparison that he hath to his first goodnesse, so as it is inductatife by menes in-to the first goodnesse. Boece sheweth this thing at the ful, that this name "good" is, in general, name in kynde, as it is comparisoned 50 generally to his principal ende, which is god, knotte of al goodnesse. Every creature cryeth "god us made"; and so they han ful apeted to thilke god by affeccion such as to hem longeth; and in this wyse al thinges ben good of the gret god, which is good alone.' 55

'This wonder thing,' quod I, 'how ye have by many resons proved my first way to be errour and misgoing, and cause[d] of badnesse and feble meninge in the grounde ye aleged to be roted. Whence is it that suche badnesse hath springes, sithen al thinges thus in general ben good, and badnesse hath no being, as ye have 60 declared? I wene, if al things ben good, I might than with the first way in that good have ended, and so by goodnesse have comen to blisse in your service desyred.'

'Al thing,' quod she, 'is good by being in participacion out of the firste goodnesse, whiche goodnesse is corrupt by badnesse 65 and badde-mening maners. God hath [ordeyned] in good thinges, that they ben good by being, and not in yvel; for there is absence of rightful love. For badnesse is nothing but only yvel wil of the user, and through giltes of the doer; wherfore, at the ginninge of the worlde, every thing by him-selfe was good; and in universal 70 they weren right good. An eye or a hand is fayrer and betterer in a body set, in his kyndely place, than from the body dissevered. Every thing in his kyndly place, being kyndly, good doth werche; and, out of that place voyded, it dissolveth and is defouled him-selve. Our noble god, in gliterande wyse, by armony this world 75 ordeyned, as in purtreytures storied with colours medled, in whiche blacke and other derke colours commenden the golden and the asured paynture; every put in kyndely place, oon, besyde another, more for other glitereth. Right so litel fayr maketh right fayr more glorious; and right so, of goodnesse, and of other 80 thinges in vertue. Wherfore other badde and not so good perles as this Margaryte that we han of this matier, yeven by the ayre litel goodnesse and litel vertue, [maken] right mokel goodnesse and vertue in thy Margaryte to ben proved, in shyning wyse to be founde and shewed. How shulde ever goodnesse of pees have 85 ben knowe, but-if unpees somtyme reigne, and mokel yvel +wrathe? How shulde mercy ben proved, and no trespas were, by due justification, to be punisshed? Therfore grace and goodnesse of a wight is founde; the sorouful hertes in good meninge to endure, ben comforted; unitè and acord bitwene hertes knit in joye to 90 abyde. What? wenest thou I rejoyce or els accompte him among my servauntes that pleseth Pallas in undoinge of Mercurye, al-be-it that to Pallas he be knit by tytle of lawe, not according to resonable conscience, and Mercurie in doinge have grace to ben suffered; or els him that +weyveth the moone for fayrenesse of 95 the eve-sterre? Lo! otherwhyle by nightes, light of the moone greetly comforteth in derke thoughtes and blynde. Understanding of love yeveth greet gladnesse. Who-so list not byleve, whan a sothe tale is shewed, a dewe and a deblys his name is entred. Wyse folk and worthy in gentillesse, bothe of vertue and of 100 livinge, yeven ful credence in sothnesse of love with a good herte, there-as good evidence or experience in doinge sheweth not the contrarie. Thus mightest thou have ful preef in thy Margarytes goodnesse, by commendement of other jewels badnesse and yvelnesse in doing. Stoundemele diseses yeveth several houres 105 in joye.'

'Now, by my trouthe,' quod I, 'this is wel declared, that my Margaryte is good; for sithen other ben good, and she passeth manye other in goodnesse and vertue; wherthrough, by maner necessarie, she muste be good. And goodnesse of this Margaryte 110 is nothing els but vertue; wherfore she is vertuous; and if there fayled any vertue in any syde, there were lacke of vertue. Badde nothing els is, ne may be, but lacke and want of good and goodnesse; and so shulde she have that same lacke, that is to saye, badde; and that may not be. For she is good; and that is good, 115 me thinketh, al good; and so, by consequence, me semeth, vertuous, and no lacke of vertue to have. But the sonne is not knowe but he shyne; ne vertuous herbes, but they have her kynde werchinge; ne vertue, but it strecche in goodnesse or profyt to another, is no vertue. Than, by al wayes of reson, sithen mercy and pitee ben 120 moste commended among other vertues, and they might never ben shewed, [unto] refresshement of helpe and of comfort, but now at my moste nede; and that is the kynde werkinge of these vertues; trewly, I wene, I shal not varye from these helpes. Fyr, and-if he yeve non hete, for fyre is not demed. The sonne, but 125 he shyne, for sonne is not accompted. Water, but it wete, the name shal ben chaunged. Vertue, but it werche, of goodnesse doth it fayle; and in-to his contrarie the name shal ben reversed. And these ben impossible; wherfore the contradictorie, that is necessarye, nedes muste I leve.' 130

'Certes,' quod she, 'in thy person and out of thy mouthe these wordes lyen wel to ben said, and in thyne understanding to be leved, as in entent of this Margaryte alone. And here now my speche in conclusion of these wordes.

CH. XIII. 1. haste. 2, 4. thynge. 4. saue; _read_ saw. 5. werne. 6. howe. 9. action. 12. one. 14. Howe. 18. wronge. 19. _I supply_ it. 21. arne. 24. _I supply_ in. and of; _I omit_ and. 27. thorowe. 29. great. determission (!); _read_ determinison. 32. ysayde. saue; _read_ saw. 33. _I supply_ they.

35. ysayde. 36. afterwarde. accepte. 37. the. great. 39. good; _read_ god. 40. farre fette. 41. goodly; _read_ godly. manyfolde. 44. saythe. 47. ycleaped. 48. meanes. 53. affection. 56. howe. reasons. 57. waye. cause; _read_ caused. 59. baddesse (!). 65. corrupte. 66. meanynge. _I supply_ ordeyned. 68. nothynge. onely. 71. werne. hande.

72. sette. disceuered. 73. dothe. 75. worlde. 78. putte. one. 79. lytle fayre. 80. fayre. 83. _Supply_ maken. 85. Howe. peace. 86. vnpeace. wrothe; _read_ wrathe. 87. Howe. trespeace (!). 89. meanynge. 90. acorde. knytte. 91. amonge. 92. pleaseth. 93. knytte. 94. reasonable. 95. weneth; _read_ weyveth. 97. greatly. 98. great. lyste. 99. adewe. 100. folke. 101. hert. 103. prefe. 105. diseases. 107. Nowe.

109. wherthroughe. 111. no thynge. 113. wante. 115. maye. 119. stretche. profyte. 120. reason. pytie. 121. amonge. 122. _Supply_ unto. comforte. nowe. 124. Fyre. 125. none heate. 128. dothe. 133. nowe.