Part 32

Omnibus in causis sapiens doctrina salutem Consequitur, nec habet quis nisi doctus opem. Naturam superat doctrina, viro quod et ortus Ingenii docilis non dedit, ipsa dabit. Non ita discretus hominum per climata regnat, Quin magis ut sapiat, indiget ipse schole.

I Genius the prest of love, Mi Sone, as thou hast preid above That I the Scole schal declare Of Aristotle and ek the fare Of Alisandre, hou he was tauht, I am somdel therof destrauht; For it is noght to the matiere Of love, why we sitten hiere To schryve, so as Venus bad. Bot natheles, for it is glad, 10 So as thou seist, for thin aprise To hiere of suche thinges wise, Wherof thou myht the time lisse, So as I can, I schal the wisse: For wisdom is at every throwe Above alle other thing to knowe In loves cause and elleswhere. Forthi, my Sone, unto thin Ere, Though it be noght in the registre Of Venus, yit of that Calistre 20 And Aristotle whylom write To Alisandre, thou schalt wite.

Bot for the lores ben diverse, I thenke ferst to the reherce The nature of Philosophie, Which Aristotle of his clergie, Wys and expert in the sciences, Declareth thilke intelligences, As of thre pointz in principal.

Wherof the ferste in special 30 Is Theorique, which is grounded On him which al the world hath founded, Which comprehendeth al the lore.

And forto loken overmore, Next of sciences the seconde Is Rethorique, whos faconde Above alle othre is eloquent: To telle a tale in juggement So wel can noman speke as he.

The laste science of the thre 40 It is Practique, whos office The vertu tryeth fro the vice, And techeth upon goode thewes To fle the compaignie of schrewes, Which stant in disposicion Of mannes free eleccion. Practique enformeth ek the reule, Hou that a worthi king schal reule His Realme bothe in werre and pes.

Lo, thus danz Aristotiles 50 These thre sciences hath divided And the nature also decided, Wherof that ech of hem schal serve.

The ferste, which is the conserve And kepere of the remnant, As that which is most sufficant And chief of the Philosophie, If I therof schal specefie So as the Philosophre tolde, Nou herkne, and kep that thou it holde. 60

Of Theorique principal The Philosophre in special The propretees hath determined, As thilke which is enlumined Of wisdom and of hih prudence Above alle othre in his science: And stant departed upon thre, The ferste of which in his degre Is cleped in Philosophie The science of Theologie, 70 That other named is Phisique, The thridde is seid Mathematique.

Theologie is that science Which unto man yifth evidence Of thing which is noght bodely, Wherof men knowe redely The hihe almyhti Trinite, Which is o god in unite Withouten ende and beginnynge And creatour of alle thinge, 80 Of hevene, of erthe and ek of helle. Wherof, as olde bokes telle, The Philosophre in his resoun Wrot upon this conclusioun, And of his wrytinge in a clause He clepeth god the ferste cause, Which of himself is thilke good, Withoute whom nothing is good, Of which that every creature Hath his beinge and his nature. 90 After the beinge of the thinges Ther ben thre formes of beinges: Thing which began and ende schal, That thing is cleped temporal; Ther is also be other weie Thing which began and schal noght deie. As Soules, that ben spiritiel, Here beinge is perpetuel: Bot ther is on above the Sonne, Whos time nevere was begonne, 100 And endeles schal evere be; That is the god, whos mageste Alle othre thinges schal governe, And his beinge is sempiterne. The god, to whom that al honour Belongeth, he is creatour, And othre ben hise creatures: The god commandeth the natures That thei to him obeien alle; Withouten him, what so befalle, 110 Her myht is non, and he mai al: The god was evere and evere schal, And thei begonne of his assent; The times alle be present To god, to hem and alle unknowe, Bot what him liketh that thei knowe: Thus bothe an angel and a man, The whiche of al that god began Be chief, obeien goddes myht, And he stant endeles upriht. 120 To this science ben prive The clerkes of divinite, The whiche unto the poeple prechen The feith of holi cherche and techen, Which in som cas upon believe Stant more than thei conne prieve Be weie of Argument sensible: Bot natheles it is credible, And doth a man gret meede have, To him that thenkth himself to save. 130 Theologie in such a wise Of hih science and hih aprise Above alle othre stant unlike, And is the ferste of Theorique.

Phisique is after the secounde, Thurgh which the Philosophre hath founde To techen sondri knowlechinges Upon the bodiliche thinges. Of man, of beste, of herbe, of ston, Of fissch, of foughl, of everychon 140 That ben of bodely substance, The nature and the circumstance Thurgh this science it is ful soght, Which vaileth and which vaileth noght.

The thridde point of Theorique, Which cleped is Mathematique, Devided is in sondri wise And stant upon diverse aprise. The ferste of whiche is Arsmetique, And the secounde is seid Musique, 150 The thridde is ek Geometrie, Also the ferthe Astronomie.

Of Arsmetique the matiere Is that of which a man mai liere What Algorisme in nombre amonteth, Whan that the wise man acompteth After the formel proprete Of Algorismes Abece: Be which multiplicacioun Is mad and diminucioun 160 Of sommes be thexperience Of this Art and of this science.

The seconde of Mathematique, Which is the science of Musique, That techeth upon Armonie A man to make melodie Be vois and soun of instrument Thurgh notes of acordement, The whiche men pronounce alofte, Nou scharpe notes and nou softe, 170 Nou hihe notes and nou lowe, As be the gamme a man mai knowe, Which techeth the prolacion Of note and the condicion.

Mathematique of his science Hath yit the thridde intelligence Full of wisdom and of clergie And cleped is Geometrie, Thurgh which a man hath thilke sleyhte, Of lengthe, of brede, of depthe, of heyhte 180 To knowe the proporcion Be verrai calculacion Of this science: and in this wise These olde Philosophres wise, Of al this worldes erthe round, Hou large, hou thikke was the ground, Controeveden thexperience; The cercle and the circumference Of every thing unto the hevene Thei setten point and mesure evene. 190

Mathematique above therthe Of hyh science hath yit the ferthe, Which spekth upon Astronomie And techeth of the sterres hihe, Beginnynge upward fro the mone. Bot ferst, as it was forto done, This Aristotle in other thing Unto this worthi yonge king The kinde of every element Which stant under the firmament, 200 Hou it is mad and in what wise, Fro point to point he gan devise.

Tofore the creacion Of eny worldes stacion, Of hevene, of erthe, or eke of helle, So as these olde bokes telle, As soun tofore the song is set And yit thei ben togedre knet, Riht so the hihe pourveance Tho hadde under his ordinance 210 A gret substance, a gret matiere, Of which he wolde in his manere These othre thinges make and forme. For yit withouten eny forme Was that matiere universal, Which hihte Ylem in special. Of Ylem, as I am enformed, These elementz ben mad and formed, Of Ylem elementz they hote After the Scole of Aristote, 220 Of whiche if more I schal reherce, Foure elementz ther ben diverse.

The ferste of hem men erthe calle, Which is the lowest of hem alle, And in his forme is schape round, Substancial, strong, sadd and sound, As that which mad is sufficant To bere up al the remenant. For as the point in a compas Stant evene amiddes, riht so was 230 This erthe set and schal abyde, That it may swerve to no side, And hath his centre after the lawe Of kinde, and to that centre drawe Desireth every worldes thing, If ther ne were no lettyng.

Above therthe kepth his bounde The water, which is the secounde Of elementz, and al withoute It environeth therthe aboute. 240 Bot as it scheweth, noght forthi This soubtil water myhtely, Thogh it be of himselve softe, The strengthe of therthe perceth ofte; For riht as veines ben of blod In man, riht so the water flod Therthe of his cours makth ful of veines, Als wel the helles as the pleines. And that a man may sen at ije, For wher the hulles ben most hyhe, 250 Ther mai men welle stremes finde: So proveth it be weie of kinde The water heyher than the lond.

And over this nou understond, Air is the thridde of elementz, Of whos kinde his aspirementz Takth every lifissh creature, The which schal upon erthe endure: For as the fissh, if it be dreie, Mot in defaute of water deie, 260 Riht so withouten Air on lyve No man ne beste myhte thryve, The which is mad of fleissh and bon; There is outake of alle non.

This Air in Periferies thre Divided is of such degre, Benethe is on and on amidde, To whiche above is set the thridde: And upon the divisions There ben diverse impressions 270 Of moist and ek of drye also, Whiche of the Sonne bothe tuo Ben drawe and haled upon hy, And maken cloudes in the Sky, As schewed is at mannes sihte; Wherof be day and ek be nyhte After the times of the yer Among ous upon Erthe her In sondri wise thinges falle.

The ferste Periferie of alle 280 Engendreth Myst and overmore The dewes and the Frostes hore, After thilke intersticion In which thei take impression.

Fro the seconde, as bokes sein, The moiste dropes of the reyn Descenden into Middilerthe, And tempreth it to sed and Erthe, And doth to springe grass and flour. And ofte also the grete schour 290 Out of such place it mai be take, That it the forme schal forsake Of reyn, and into snow be torned; And ek it mai be so sojorned In sondri places up alofte, That into hail it torneth ofte.

The thridde of thair after the lawe Thurgh such matiere as up is drawe Of dreie thing, as it is ofte, Among the cloudes upon lofte, 300 And is so clos, it may noght oute,— Thanne is it chased sore aboute, Til it to fyr and leyt be falle, And thanne it brekth the cloudes alle, The whiche of so gret noyse craken, That thei the feerful thonder maken. The thonderstrok smit er it leyte, And yit men sen the fyr and leyte, The thonderstrok er that men hiere: So mai it wel be proeved hiere 310 In thing which schewed is fro feer, A mannes yhe is there nerr Thanne is the soun to mannes Ere. And natheles it is gret feere Bothe of the strok and of the fyr, Of which is no recoverir In place wher that thei descende, Bot if god wolde his grace sende.

And forto speken over this, In this partie of thair it is 320 That men fulofte sen be nyhte The fyr in sondri forme alyhte. Somtime the fyrdrake it semeth, And so the lewed poeple it demeth; Somtime it semeth as it were A Sterre, which that glydeth there: Bot it is nouther of the tuo, The Philosophre telleth so, And seith that of impressions Thurgh diverse exalacions 330 Upon the cause and the matiere Men sen diverse forme appiere Of fyr, the which hath sondri name.

Assub, he seith, is thilke same, The which in sondry place is founde, Whanne it is falle doun to grounde, So as the fyr it hath aneled, Lich unto slym which is congeled.

Of exalacion I finde Fyr kinled of the fame kinde, 340 Bot it is of an other forme; Wherof, if that I schal conforme The figure unto that it is, These olde clerkes tellen this, That it is lik a Got skippende, And for that it is such semende, It hatte Capra saliens.

And ek these Astronomiens An other fyr also, be nyhte Which scheweth him to mannes syhte, 350 Thei clepen Eges, the which brenneth Lik to the corrant fyr that renneth Upon a corde, as thou hast sein, Whan it with poudre is so besein Of Sulphre and othre thinges mo.