'Certes,' quod Love, 'thou hast wel begonne; and I aske
thee this question: Is not, in general, every-thing good?'
'I not,' quod I.
'No?' quod she; '+saw not god everything that he made, and
weren right good?' 5
'Than is wonder,' quod I, 'how yvel thinges comen a-place,
sithen that al thinges weren right good.'
'Thus,' quod she, 'I wol declare. Everiche qualitè and every
accion, and every thing that hath any maner of beinge, it is of
god; and god it made, of whom is al goodnesse and al being. 10
Of him is no badnesse. Badde to be, is naught; good to be,
is somwhat; and therfore good and being is oon in
understanding.'
'How may this be?' quod I. 'For often han shrewes me
assailed, and mokel badnesse therin have I founden; and so me 15
semeth bad to be somwhat in kynde.'
'Thou shalt,' quod she, 'understande that suche maner badnesse,
whiche is used to purifye wrong-doers, is somwhat; and god it
made, and being [it] hath; and that is good. Other badnesse no
being hath utterly; it is in the negative of somwhat, and that is 20
naught and nothing being. The parties essential of being arn
sayd in double wyse, as that it is; and these parties ben founde
in every creature. For al thing, a this halfe the first being, is
being through participacion, taking partie of being; so that [in]
every creature is difference bitwene being of him through whom 25
it is, and his own being. Right as every good is a maner of
being, so is it good thorow being; for it is naught other to be.
And every thing, though it be good, is not of him-selfe good;
but it is good by that it is ordinable to the greet goodnesse.
This dualitè, after clerkes +determinison, is founden in every 30
creature, be it never so single of onhed.'
'Ye,' quod I; 'but there-as it is y-sayd that god +saw every-thing
of his making, and [they] were right good (as your-selfe
sayd to me not longe tyme sithen), I aske whether every creature
is y-sayd "good" through goodnesse unfourmed eyther els fourmed; 35
and afterward, if it be accept utterly good?'
'I shal say thee,' quod she. 'These grete passed clerkes han
devyded good in-to good being alone, and that is nothing but
+god, for nothing is good in that wyse but god: also, in good by
participacion, and that is y-cleped "good" for far fet and 40
representative of +godly goodnesse. And after this maner manyfold
good is sayd, that is to saye, good in kynde, and good in gendre,
and good of grace, and good of joy. Of good in kynde Austen
sayth, "al that ben, ben good." But peraunter thou woldest
wete, whether of hem-selfe it be good, or els of anothers goodnesse: 45
for naturel goodnesse of every substaunce is nothing els than his
substancial being, which is y-cleped "goodnesse" after comparison
that he hath to his first goodnesse, so as it is inductatife by menes
in-to the first goodnesse. Boece sheweth this thing at the ful, that
this name "good" is, in general, name in kynde, as it is comparisoned 50
generally to his principal ende, which is god, knotte of
al goodnesse. Every creature cryeth "god us made"; and so
they han ful apeted to thilke god by affeccion such as to hem
longeth; and in this wyse al thinges ben good of the gret god,
which is good alone.' 55
'This wonder thing,' quod I, 'how ye have by many resons
proved my first way to be errour and misgoing, and cause[d] of
badnesse and feble meninge in the grounde ye aleged to be roted.
Whence is it that suche badnesse hath springes, sithen al thinges
thus in general ben good, and badnesse hath no being, as ye have 60
declared? I wene, if al things ben good, I might than with the
first way in that good have ended, and so by goodnesse have comen
to blisse in your service desyred.'
'Al thing,' quod she, 'is good by being in participacion out of
the firste goodnesse, whiche goodnesse is corrupt by badnesse 65
and badde-mening maners. God hath [ordeyned] in good thinges,
that they ben good by being, and not in yvel; for there is absence
of rightful love. For badnesse is nothing but only yvel wil of the
user, and through giltes of the doer; wherfore, at the ginninge of
the worlde, every thing by him-selfe was good; and in universal 70
they weren right good. An eye or a hand is fayrer and betterer
in a body set, in his kyndely place, than from the body dissevered.
Every thing in his kyndly place, being kyndly, good doth werche;
and, out of that place voyded, it dissolveth and is defouled him-selve.
Our noble god, in gliterande wyse, by armony this world 75
ordeyned, as in purtreytures storied with colours medled, in
whiche blacke and other derke colours commenden the golden
and the asured paynture; every put in kyndely place, oon, besyde
another, more for other glitereth. Right so litel fayr maketh
right fayr more glorious; and right so, of goodnesse, and of other 80
thinges in vertue. Wherfore other badde and not so good perles
as this Margaryte that we han of this matier, yeven by the ayre
litel goodnesse and litel vertue, [maken] right mokel goodnesse
and vertue in thy Margaryte to ben proved, in shyning wyse to be
founde and shewed. How shulde ever goodnesse of pees have 85
ben knowe, but-if unpees somtyme reigne, and mokel yvel +wrathe?
How shulde mercy ben proved, and no trespas were, by due
justification, to be punisshed? Therfore grace and goodnesse of
a wight is founde; the sorouful hertes in good meninge to endure,
ben comforted; unitè and acord bitwene hertes knit in joye to 90
abyde. What? wenest thou I rejoyce or els accompte him among
my servauntes that pleseth Pallas in undoinge of Mercurye, al-be-it
that to Pallas he be knit by tytle of lawe, not according to
resonable conscience, and Mercurie in doinge have grace to ben
suffered; or els him that +weyveth the moone for fayrenesse of 95
the eve-sterre? Lo! otherwhyle by nightes, light of the moone
greetly comforteth in derke thoughtes and blynde. Understanding
of love yeveth greet gladnesse. Who-so list not byleve, whan
a sothe tale is shewed, a dewe and a deblys his name is entred.
Wyse folk and worthy in gentillesse, bothe of vertue and of 100
livinge, yeven ful credence in sothnesse of love with a good herte,
there-as good evidence or experience in doinge sheweth not the
contrarie. Thus mightest thou have ful preef in thy Margarytes
goodnesse, by commendement of other jewels badnesse and
yvelnesse in doing. Stoundemele diseses yeveth several houres 105
in joye.'
'Now, by my trouthe,' quod I, 'this is wel declared, that my
Margaryte is good; for sithen other ben good, and she passeth
manye other in goodnesse and vertue; wherthrough, by maner
necessarie, she muste be good. And goodnesse of this Margaryte 110
is nothing els but vertue; wherfore she is vertuous; and if there
fayled any vertue in any syde, there were lacke of vertue. Badde
nothing els is, ne may be, but lacke and want of good and goodnesse;
and so shulde she have that same lacke, that is to saye,
badde; and that may not be. For she is good; and that is good, 115
me thinketh, al good; and so, by consequence, me semeth, vertuous,
and no lacke of vertue to have. But the sonne is not knowe but
he shyne; ne vertuous herbes, but they have her kynde werchinge;
ne vertue, but it strecche in goodnesse or profyt to another, is no
vertue. Than, by al wayes of reson, sithen mercy and pitee ben 120
moste commended among other vertues, and they might never ben
shewed, [unto] refresshement of helpe and of comfort, but now
at my moste nede; and that is the kynde werkinge of these
vertues; trewly, I wene, I shal not varye from these helpes. Fyr,
and-if he yeve non hete, for fyre is not demed. The sonne, but 125
he shyne, for sonne is not accompted. Water, but it wete, the
name shal ben chaunged. Vertue, but it werche, of goodnesse
doth it fayle; and in-to his contrarie the name shal ben reversed.
And these ben impossible; wherfore the contradictorie, that is
necessarye, nedes muste I leve.' 130
'Certes,' quod she, 'in thy person and out of thy mouthe these
wordes lyen wel to ben said, and in thyne understanding to be
leved, as in entent of this Margaryte alone. And here now my
speche in conclusion of these wordes.
CH. XIII. 1. haste. 2, 4. thynge. 4. saue; _read_ saw. 5. werne. 6. howe.
9. action. 12. one. 14. Howe. 18. wronge. 19. _I supply_ it. 21. arne. 24.
_I supply_ in. and of; _I omit_ and. 27. thorowe. 29. great. determission
(!); _read_ determinison. 32. ysayde. saue; _read_ saw. 33. _I supply_
they.
35. ysayde. 36. afterwarde. accepte. 37. the. great. 39. good; _read_ god.
40. farre fette. 41. goodly; _read_ godly. manyfolde. 44. saythe. 47.
ycleaped. 48. meanes. 53. affection. 56. howe. reasons. 57. waye. cause;
_read_ caused. 59. baddesse (!). 65. corrupte. 66. meanynge. _I supply_
ordeyned. 68. nothynge. onely. 71. werne. hande.
72. sette. disceuered. 73. dothe. 75. worlde. 78. putte. one. 79. lytle
fayre. 80. fayre. 83. _Supply_ maken. 85. Howe. peace. 86. vnpeace. wrothe;
_read_ wrathe. 87. Howe. trespeace (!). 89. meanynge. 90. acorde. knytte.
91. amonge. 92. pleaseth. 93. knytte. 94. reasonable. 95. weneth; _read_
weyveth. 97. greatly. 98. great. lyste. 99. adewe. 100. folke. 101. hert.
103. prefe. 105. diseases. 107. Nowe.
109. wherthroughe. 111. no thynge. 113. wante. 115. maye. 119. stretche.
profyte. 120. reason. pytie. 121. amonge. 122. _Supply_ unto. comforte.
nowe. 124. Fyre. 125. none heate. 128. dothe. 133. nowe.