Epistola LVII.

Ad quemdam anonymum.[133]

Ut retractet ea quæ de Johanne de Magduno dixerat.

Etsi facundissimus, si copiosus, si eloquens et abundans,

sed, quod scribendi fons est, sapiens es, vir insignis; vides

tamen veritate vincente ac pariter conscientia remordente,

adversus satiricum illum perseverum magistrum Johannem

5de Magduno, nihil te ulterius mutire audere, aut disserere

posse. Ipsius quippe veritatis tanta vis est, ut ei nullius

rhetoris industria sese aequet, illo assentiente, qui dicit:

Veritas manet in aeternum; falsa non durant. Redi ergo

ipsius doctoris et praeceptoris carissimi in gratiam, nec quia

10facile prorupisti verearis. Illico enim cum voles, veniam

impetrando noster eris, modo de resipiscentia tua ex fideli

promissione nullus apud nos scrupulus remaneat. Non enim

latet nos quousque disputandi progrediatur licentia, et quod

disputationi serotinae saepe numero matutina contradicit.

15Scis insuper, vir experte, Originem et una Lactantium erravisse,

et pariter Augustinum, plerosque magni nominis atque

famae alios revocasse doctores. Non igitur pudeat nimis

liberte dicta et attentata obnoxius reparare. Forsitan vero

quae damnas perfunctorie vidisti, nec recenter; quae duo

20maxime judicium perverterunt, ac te praecipitem dederunt

in errorem, non fidei quidem vel iniquitatis, aut malitiae; sed

in quem nonnulli praedictorum ipsius de Magduno superficie

tenus viso pede tecum ruunt. Neque praesentem monitionem

nostram parvi pendas, aut existimes caritate fraterna vacare,

25vel me gratis prioribus nostris in litteris te de amantissimis

defensoribusque philosophi praelibati animadvertisse. Sunt

enim quorum calcaria auro fulgent, magnisque dignitatibus

potiuntur, qui pro tuitione nostri propositi pulchram petunt

cum Marone per vulnera mortem, nec acceptius quidquam

30Deo agere putarent, quam in eos irruere, qui nostrum coarguunt

instructorem de syllaba solum parvula sive coma.

Atqui te quid facturum censeam a me quaeris? Id quod propheta

simul et rex non erubuit suppliciter confiteri hortor

dicas: Delictum meum cognitum tibi feci, et injustitiam

35meam non abscondi. Quod si tractatum super inde conficeres,

interim per amicitiam nostram precor, taedio tibi nequaquam

adveniat tuo huic mandare quampiam praeposito remissivam,

quae levatio praesertim sit nostrae expectationis et tuae intentionis

nuntia in aliquo, cum psalmista, Laetabor ego super

40eloquia tua, quasi qui invenit spolia multa. Vale.

NOTE

[133] Gerson, according to A. Thomas.

	Prefatory Note.		[2]
I.	INTRODUCTION.		[3]
II.	MANUSCRIPTS.		[10]
III.	BIBLIOGRAPHY.		[12]
IV.	THE DOCUMENTS.		[16]
I.		“Epistre au Dieu d’Amours” of Christine De Pizan.	[16]
II.		“Dit de la Rose” of Christine.	[16]
III.		The Treatise of Jean de Montreuil.	[16]
IV.		Christine to Jean de Montreuil.	[17]
V.		Gontier Col to Christine, Asking for a Copy of No. IV.	[29]
VI.		Gontier Col to Christine, Reproving Her For Her Attitude Towards the Roman de la Rose.	[30]
VII.		Christine’s Reply to No. VI.	[32]
VIII.		Christine’s Dedicatory Epistle to the Queen of France.	[34]
IX.		Christine’s Dedicatory Epistle to Guillaume de Tignonville.	[35]
X.		Gerson’s Tractatus.	[38]
XI.		Pierre Col’s Letter Replying to Christine and to Gerson.	[56]
XII.		Gerson’s Reply to Pierre Col.	[77]
XIII.		Christine’s Reply to Pierre Col.	[83]
XIV.		Pierre Col’s Rejoinder to the Foregoing.	[112]
	APPENDIX.		[114]
		Epistola LIV.	[114]
		Epistola LVI.	[115]
		Epistola LVII.	[116]

Transcriber's Notes

Textual notes in the original are not numbered but start with the line number and the word(s) to which they apply, such as
4. Treschier sire] wanting F.
indicating that those words do not appear in manuscript F. In the transcription the line numbers have been placed in square brackets and the pertinent word(s) in round brackets:
[l. 4] (treschier sire) wanting F.

All notes have been placed at the end of each document. In a few places the order of the notes has been silently corrected.

Where appropriate, punctuation and French accents have been silently corrected, and in a few places italics have been silently adjusted. Also, confusions between u and v and between f and s in the French texts have been silently corrected.

Spelling variations such as œuure/oeuure/euure have not been harmonized, but obvious typographical errors have been corrected. Such corrections in the text are underlined with blue dots. When placing the cursor on such words the original text appears.

A table of contents has been added.

Epistola LVII.

TABLE OF CONTENTS