CHAPTER II.

'Now,' quod Love, 'trewly thy wordes I have wel understonde. Certes, me thinketh hem right good; and me wondreth why thou so lightly passest in the lawe.'

'Sothly,' quod I, 'my wit is leude, and I am right blynd, and that mater depe. How shulde I than have waded? Lightly 5 might I have drenched, and spilte ther my-selfe.'

'Ye,' quod she, 'I shal helpe thee to swimme. For right as lawe punissheth brekers of preceptes and the contrary-doers of the written constitucions, right so ayenward lawe rewardeth and yeveth mede to hem that lawe strengthen. By one lawe this 10 rebel is punisshed and this innocent is meded; the shrewe is enprisoned and this rightful is corowned. The same lawe that joyneth by wedlocke without forsaking, the same lawe yeveth lybel of departicion bycause of devorse both demed and declared.' 15

'Ye, ye,' quod I, 'I fynde in no lawe to mede and rewarde in goodnes the gilty of desertes.'

'Fole,' quod she, 'gilty, converted in your lawe, mikel merit deserveth. Also Pauly[n] of Rome was crowned, that by him the maynteyners of Pompeus weren knowen and distroyed; and yet 20 toforn was this Paulyn cheef of Pompeus counsaile. This lawe in Rome hath yet his name of mesuring, in mede, the bewraying of the conspiracy, ordayned by tho senatours the deth. Julius Cesar is acompted in-to Catons rightwisnesse; for ever in trouth florissheth his name among the knowers of reson. Perdicas was 25 crowned in the heritage of Alexander the grete, for tellinge of a prevy hate that king Porrus to Alexander hadde. Wherfore every wight, by reson of lawe, after his rightwysenesse apertely his mede may chalenge; and so thou, that maynteynest lawe of kynde, and therfore disese hast suffred in the lawe, reward is 30 worthy to be rewarded and ordayned, and +apertly thy mede might thou chalenge.'

'Certes,' quod I, 'this have I wel lerned; and ever hens-forward I shal drawe me therafter, in oonhed of wil to abyde, this lawe bothe maynteyne and kepe; and so hope I best entre in-to 35 your grace, wel deservinge in-to worship of a wight, without nedeful compulsion, [that] ought medefully to be rewarded.'

'Truly,' quod Love, 'that is sothe; and tho[ugh], by constitucion, good service in-to profit and avantage strecche, utterly many men it demen to have more desert of mede than good wil 40 nat compelled.'

'See now,' quod I, 'how +many men holden of this the contrary. And what is good service? Of you wolde I here this question declared.'

'I shal say thee,' quod she, 'in a fewe wordes:--resonable 45 workinges in plesaunce and profit of thy soverayne.'

'How shulde I this performe?' quod I.

'Right wel,' quod she; 'and here me now a litel. It is hardely (quod she) to understande, that right as mater by due overchaunginges foloweth his perfeccion and his forme, right so every 50 man, by rightful werkinges, ought to folowe the lefful desyres in his herte, and see toforn to what ende he deserveth. For many tymes he that loketh nat after th'endes, but utterly therof is unknowen, befalleth often many yvels to done, wherthrough, er he be war, shamefully he is confounded; th'ende[s] therof neden to 55 be before loked. To every desirer of suche foresight in good service, three thinges specially nedeth to be rulers in his workes. First, that he do good; next, that he do [it] by eleccion in his owne herte; and the thirde, that he do godly, withouten any surquedry in thoughtes. That your werkes shulden be good, in 60 service or in any other actes, authoritès many may be aleged; neverthelater, by reson thus may it be shewed. Al your werkes be cleped seconde, and moven in vertue of the firste wercher, whiche in good workes wrought you to procede; and right so your werkes moven in-to vertue of the laste ende: and right in 65 the first workinge were nat, no man shulde in the seconde werche. Right so, but ye feled to what ende, and seen their goodnes closed, ye shulde no more +recche what ye wrought; but the ginning gan with good, and there shal it cese in the laste ende, if it be wel considred. Wherfore the middle, if other-wayes it drawe 70 than accordant to the endes, there stinteth the course of good, and another maner course entreth; and so it is a partie by him-selve; and every part [that] be nat accordant to his al, is foul and ought to be eschewed. Wherfore every thing that is wrought and be nat good, is nat accordant to th'endes of his al hole; it is 75 foul, and ought to be withdrawe. Thus the persons that neither don good ne harm shamen foule their making. Wherfore, without working of good actes in good service, may no man ben accepted. Truely, the ilke that han might to do good and doon it nat, the crowne of worship shal be take from hem, and with shame shul 80 they be anulled; and so, to make oon werke acordant with his endes, every good servaunt, by reson of consequence, muste do good nedes. Certes, it suffiseth nat alone to do good, but goodly withal folowe; the thanke of goodnesse els in nought he deserveth. For right as al your being come from the greetest 85 good, in whom al goodnesse is closed, right so your endes ben directe to the same good. Aristotel determineth that ende and good ben one, and convertible in understanding; and he that in wil doth awey good, and he that loketh nat to th'ende, loketh nat to good; but he that doth good and doth nat goodly, [and] 90 draweth away the direction of th'ende nat goodly, must nedes be badde. Lo! badde is nothing els but absence or negative of good, as derkenesse is absence or negative of light. Than he that dooth [not] goodly, directeth thilke good in-to th'ende of badde; so muste thing nat good folowe: eke badnesse to suche 95 folke ofte foloweth. Thus contrariaunt workers of th'ende that is good ben worthy the contrary of th'ende that is good to have.'

'How,' quod I, 'may any good dede be doon, but-if goodly it helpe?' 100

'Yes,' quod Love, 'the devil doth many good dedes, but goodly he leveth be-hynde; for +ever badly and in disceyvable wyse he worketh; wherfore the contrary of th'ende him foloweth. And do he never so many good dedes, bicause goodly is away, his goodnes is nat rekened. Lo! than, tho[ugh] a man do good, 105 but he do goodly, th'ende in goodnesse wol nat folowe; and thus in good service both good dede and goodly doon musten joyne togider, and that it be doon with free choise in herte; and els deserveth he nat the merit in goodnes: that wol I prove. For if thou do any-thing good by chaunce or by happe, in what thing 110 art thou therof worthy to be commended? For nothing, by reson of that, turneth in-to thy praysing ne lacking. Lo! thilke thing doon by hap, by thy wil is nat caused; and therby shulde I thanke or lacke deserve? And sithen that fayleth, th'ende which that wel shulde rewarde, must ned[e]s faile. Clerkes sayn, no man 115 but willinge is blessed; a good dede that he hath doon is nat doon of free choice willing; without whiche blissednesse may nat folowe. _Ergo_, neither thanke of goodnesse ne service [is] in that [that] is contrary of the good ende. So than, to good service longeth good dede goodly don, thorow free choice in herte.' 120

'Truely,' quod I, 'this have I wel understande.'

'Wel,' quod she, 'every thing thus doon sufficiently by lawe, that is cleped justice, [may] after-reward clayme. For lawe and justice was ordayned in this wyse, suche desertes in goodnesse, after quantitè in doinge, by mede to rewarde; and of necessitè of 125 suche justice, that is to say, rightwysenesse, was free choice in deserving of wel or of yvel graunted to resonable creatures. Every man hath free arbitrement to chose, good or yvel to performe.'

'Now,' quod I tho, 'if I by my good wil deserve this Margarit-perle, 130 and am nat therto compelled, and have free choice to do what me lyketh; she is than holden, as me thinketh, to rewarde th'entent of my good wil.'

'Goddes forbode els,' quod Love; 'no wight meneth otherwyse, I trowe; free wil of good herte after-mede deserveth.' 135

'Hath every man,' quod I, 'free choice by necessary maner of wil in every of his doinges that him lyketh, by goddes proper purvyaunce? I wolde see that wel declared to my leude understanding; for "necessary" and "necessitè" ben wordes of mokel entencion, closing (as to saye) so mote it be nedes, and otherwyse 140 may it nat betyde.'

'This shalt thou lerne,' quod she, 'so thou take hede in my speche. If it were nat in mannes owne libertè of free wil to do good or bad, but to the one teyed by bonde of goddes preordinaunce, than, do he never so wel, it were by nedeful compulcion 145 of thilk bonde, and nat by free choice, wherby nothing he desyreth: and do he never so yvel, it were nat man for to wyte, but onlich to him that suche thing ordayned him to done. Wherfore he ne ought for bad[de] be punisshed, ne for no good dede be rewarded; but of necessitè of rightwisnesse was therfore 150 free choice of arbitrement put in mans proper disposicion. Truely, if it were otherwyse, it contraried goddes charitè, that badnesse and goodnesse rewardeth after desert of payne or of mede.'

'Me thinketh this wonder,' quod I; 'for god by necessitè forwot al thinges coming, and so mote it nedes be; and thilke 155 thinges that ben don +by our free choice comen nothing of necessitè but only +by wil. How may this stonde +togider? And so me thinketh truely, that free choice fully repugneth goddes forweting. Trewly, lady, me semeth, they mowe nat stande +togider.' 160

CH. II. 1. Nowe. 4. blynde. 5. howe. 7. Yea. the. swym. 9. constitutions. aye_n_warde.

17. gyltie. 18. gyltie. merite. 19. Pauly (_for_ Paulyn; _first time_). 21. toforne. chefe. 25. amonge. 25-8. reason. 26. great. 30. disease. rewarde. 31. apartly (_for_ ap_er_tly). 34. onehed. 37. _I supply_ that. 38. constitution. 39. profite. stretch. 42. Se. howe may. 45. the. 46. profite. 47. Howe. 48. nowe. 50. perfection.

51. leful. 52. hert. se. 55. ware. 57. thre. 58. _I supply_ it. electyon. 59. hert. 62. reason. maye. 68. recth (_for_ retch); _read_ recche. 69. cease. 73. p_ar_te. _I supply_ that. 73-5. foule. 77. harme. 79. done. 81. one. 82. reason. 85. greatest.

90. _I supply_ and. 92. bad. negatyfe (_first time_). 94. _I supply_ not. 99. done. 101. dothe. 102. even; _read_ ever. 105. tho. 107-8. done (_twice_). 108. hert. 109. merite. 111. reason. 113. done. shulde I; _put for_ shuldest thou. 115. neds (_sic_). 116-7. done (_twice_). 118. _I supply_ is _and_ that. 120. thorowe fre. hert. 122. done. 123. _I supply_ may. rewarde claym.

130. Nowe. 134. meaneth. 135. hert. 136. fre. 138. se. 140. ente_n_tion. 142. lern. 143-6. fre (_twice_). 148. onelych. 149. bad. 151. fre. 151. disposition. 153. payn. 155. forwote. 156. be; _for_ by. fre. 157. onely be; _for_ by. Howe. 157-60. togyther; _read_ togider. 158. fre.