Certes, [perfeccion is] the soveraynest thing of desyre, and 45 moste +creatures resonable have, or els shulde have, ful appetyte to their perfeccion; unresonable beestes mowen not, sith reson hath in hem no werking. Than resonable that wol not is comparisoned to unresonable, and made lyke hem. For-sothe, the most soverayne and fynal perfeccion of man is in knowing of 50 a sothe, withouten any entent disceyvable, and in love of oon very god that is inchaungeable; that is, to knowe and love his creatour. ¶ Now, principally, the mene to bringe in knowleging and loving his creatour is the consideracion of thinges made by the 55 creatour, wherthrough, by thilke thinges that ben made understonding here to our wittes, arn the unsene privitees of god made to us sightful and knowing, in our contemplacion and understonding. These thinges than, forsoth, moche bringen us to the ful knowleginge [of] sothe, and to the parfit love of the 60 maker of hevenly thinges. Lo, David sayth, 'thou hast delyted me in makinge,' as who sayth, to have delyt in the tune, how god hath lent me in consideracion of thy makinge. Wherof Aristotle, in the boke _de Animalibus_, saith to naturel philosophers: 'it is a greet lyking in love of knowinge their 65 creatour; and also in knowinge of causes in kyndely thinges.' Considred, forsoth, the formes of kyndly thinges and the shap, a greet kindely love me shulde have to the werkman that hem made. The crafte of a werkman is shewed in the werke. Herfore, truly, the philosophers, with a lyvely studie, many 70 noble thinges right precious and worthy to memory writen; and by a greet swetande travayle to us leften of causes [of] the propertees in natures of thinges. To whiche (therfore) philosophers it was more joy, more lykinge, more herty lust, in kyndely vertues and maters of reson, the perfeccion by busy 75 study to knowe, than to have had al the tresour, al the richesse, al the vainglory that the passed emperours, princes, or kinges hadden. Therfore the names of hem, in the boke of perpetual memory, in vertue and pees arn writen; and in the contrarye, that is to sayne, in Styx, the foule pitte of helle, arn thilke pressed 80 that suche goodnesse hated. And bycause this book shal be of love, and the pryme causes of steringe in that doinge, with passions and diseses for wantinge of desyre, I wil that this book be cleped THE TESTAMENT OF LOVE.