Myn aristotul q{uo}d 4340 she. in þe book of his phisik diffinisseþ þis þing by short resou{n} and neyȝe to þe soþe. [Sidenote: _B._ How?] ¶ In whiche manere q{uo}d I. [Sidenote: _P._ So often as a man does anything for the sake of any other thing, and another thing than what he intended to do is produced by other causes, that thing so produced is called _Chance_.] ¶ As ofte q{uo}d she as men don any þing for grace of any oþer þing. {and} an oþer þinge þan þilke 4344 þing þat men ententen to doon bytideþ by som[e] causes it is ycleped hap{pe}. [Sidenote: As if a man trench the ground for tillage and find gold, then this is believed to happen by chance, although it is not so.] ¶ Ryȝt as a man dalf þe erþe by cause of tylienge of þe felde. {and} fond þere a gobet of [[pg 151]] golde by-doluen. þan wenen folk þat it is fallen by fortunous 4348 bytydyng. but for soþe it nis nat for nauȝt for it haþ hys p{ro}pre causes of whiche causes þe cours vnforseyn and vnwar semiþ to han maked hap{pe}. [Sidenote: For if the tiller had not ploughed the field, and if the hider of the gold had not concealed it in that spot, the gold had not been found.] ¶ For yif þe tilier in þe erþe ne delue nat in þe felde. and yif 4352 þe hider of þe golde ne hadde hidd þe golde in þilke place. þe golde ne had[de] nat ben founde. [Sidenote: These, then, are the causes of a fortuitous acquisition which proceeds from a conflux of encountering causes, and not from the intention of the doer.] þise ben þan þe causes of þe abreggynge of fortune hap. þe whiche abreggynge of fortune hap comeþ of causes encountrynge 4356 {and} flowyng to-gidre to hem selfe. {and} nat by þe entenc{i}ou{n} of þe doer. [Sidenote: For neither the hider of the gold nor the husbandman intended or understood that the gold should be found.] ¶ For neiþer þe hider of þe gold. ne þe deluer of þe felde ne vndirstanden nat þat þe golde sholde han be founde. but as I seide. [Sidenote: But it happened by the concurrence of these two causes that the one did dig where the other had hidden the money.] it bytidde 4360 {and} ran to-gidre þat he dalf þere as þat oþer hadde hidd þe golde. [Sidenote: Chance, then, is an unexpected event, by a concurrence of causes, following an action designed for a particular purpose.] Now may I þus diffinissen hap{pe}. ¶ Hap{pe} is an vnwar bytydyng of causes assembled in þinges þat ben don for som oþer þinge. but þilke ordre p{ro}cedynge 4364 by an vneschewable byndynge to-gidre.