Chaucerian and Other Pieces: Being a Supplement to the Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer
General
Chaucerian and Other Pieces: Being a Supplement to the Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer
Chaucer, Geoffrey, -1400
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
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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