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.