[Sidenote: [The .11. Met{ru}m.]]
[Sidenote: He who seeks truth with deep research and is unwilling
to go wrong, should collect his slumbering thoughts, and turn the
inner light upon the soul itself.]
++WHo so that sekith sotħ by a deep thoght And
coueyteth nat to ben deseyuyd by no mys-weyes //
lat hym rollen {and} trenden w{i}t{h} Inne hym self / the Lyht
of his inward syhte // And lat hym gader{e} ayein enclynynge 2836
in to a compas the longe moeuynges of hys
thowhtes /
[Sidenote: The knowledge that he seeks without he will find
treasured up in the recesses of the mind.]
And lat hym techen his corage that he hath
enclosed {and} hyd / in his tresors / al þ{a}t he compaseth or
sekith fro w{i}t{h} owte //
[Sidenote: The light of Truth will disperse Error’s dark clouds,
and shine forth brighter than the sun.]
And thanne thilke thing that the 2840
blake cloude of errour whilom hadde y-couered / shal
lyhten more clerly tha{n}ne pheb{us} hym self ne shyneth //
[Sidenote: [Chaucer’s gloss.]]
Glosa // who so wole seken the dep[e] grounde / of soth 2843
in his thowht / {and} wol nat be deceyuyd by false p{ro}posiciou{n}s /
that goon amys fro the trouthe // lat hym wel
examine / {and} rolle w{i}t{h} inne hym self the natur{e} {and}
the p{ro}pretes of the thing // and lat hym yit eft sones
examine {and} rollen his thowhtes by good deliberaciou{n} 2848
or that he deme // and lat hym techen his sowle that it [[pg 101]]
hat by naturel pryncyplis kyndeliche y-hyd w{i}t{h} in
it self alle the trowthe the whiche he ymagynith to ben
in thinges w{i}t{h} owte // And thanne alle the dyrknesse of 2852
his mysknowynge shal seen more euydently to [þe]
syhte of his vndyrstondynge thanne the sonne ne semyth
to [þe] syhte w{i}t{h} owte forth /
[Sidenote: For when the body enclosed the soul and cast oblivion
o’er its powers it did wholly exterminate the heaven-born light.]
For certes the body
bryngynge the weyhte of foryetynge / ne hath nat chasyd 2856
owt of yowr{e} thowhte al the clernesse of yowre knowyng //
[Sidenote: The germs of truth were latent within, and were fanned
into action by the gentle breath of learning.]
For certeynly the seed of sooth haldith {and} clyueth
w{i}t{h} in yowr{e} corage / {and} it is a-waked {and} excited by
the wynde {and} by the blastes of doctryne //
[Sidenote: Were not truth implanted in the heart, how could man
distinguish right from wrong?]
For wher{e} 2860
for elles demen ye of yowr{e} owne wyl the ryhtes whan
ye ben axed // but yif so wer{e} þ{a}t the noryssynges of
resou{n} ne lyuede .I.-plowngyd in the depthe of yowr{e}
herte // this [is] to seyn how sholden men demen þe 2864
sooth of any thing þ{a}t weer{e} axed / yif ther neer{e} a
Roote of sothfastnesse þ{a}t weer{e} yplowngyd {and} hyd in
the natur{e}[l] pryncyplis / the whiche sothfastnesse
lyued w{i}t{h} in the depnesse of the thowght //
[Sidenote: So, if what Plato taught is true, ‘to learn is no other
than to remember what had been before forgotten.’]
{and} yif 2868
so be þ{a}t the Muse {and} the doctryne of plato syngyth
sooth // al þ{a}t eu{er}y whyht lerneth / he ne doth no
thing elles tha{n}ne but recordeth as me{n} recordyn thinges
þ{a}t ben foryetyn. 2872
[Linenotes:
2838 _his_--H. þis
_that_--H. {and} þ{a}t
2841 _blake_--H. blak
_hadde y-couered_--H. had cou{er}ed
2842 _lyhten_--H. light
2843 _dep[e]_--C. dep, H. depe
2847 _thing_--H. þyng{es}
2863 _depthe_--H. depe
2864 [_is_]--from H.
_sholden_--H. shulde
2867 _nature[l]_--H. nat{ur}ell{e}]
[Headnote:
THE WORLD GOVERNED BY GOD.]