ADVERSE FORTUNE IS BENEFICIAL.
[SET NE ME INEXORABILE CONTRA. ]
BVt ‘But do not believe,’ said Philosophy, ‘that I am an implacable enemy to Fortune. for-as-mochel as thow shalt nat wenen quod she [1640]
þat I bere vntretable batayle ayenis fortune // This inconstant dame sometimes deserves well of men, when she appears in her true colours. yit
som-tyme it by-falleth þat she desseyuable desserueth
to han ryht good thank of men // And þat is whan she
hire self opneth / and whan she descouereth hir frownt / [1644]
and sheweth hir maneres par-auenture yit vndirstondesthow
nat þat .I. shal seye // And what I say may perhaps appear paradoxical. it is a wondyr þat .I.
desyre to telle / That is, that adverse fortune is more beneficial than prosperous fortune. and forthi vnnethe may I. vnpleyten my
sentense with wordes for I. deme þat contraryos fortune [1648]
profiteth more to men than fortune debonayre // The latter lies and deceives us, the former displays her natural inconstancy. For
al-wey whan fortune semeth debonayre than she lyeth
falsly in by-hetynge the hope of welefulnesse // but forsothe
contraryos fortune is alwey sothfast / whan she [1652]
sheweth hir self vnstable thorw hyr chaungynge // That deceives us, this instructs us; that, by a fallacious show of good, enslaves the mind; this, by the knowledge of her fickleness, frees and absolves it. the
amyable fortune desseyueth folk / the contrarye fortune
techeth // the amyable fortune byndeth with the beaute
of false goodys the hertes of folk þat vsen hem / the [1656]
contrarye fortune vnbyndeth hem by þe knowynge of
freele welefulnesse // The one is wavering and incapable of reflection, the other is staid and wise through experience of adversity. the amyable fortune maysthow sen
alwey wyndynge and flowynge / and euere mysknowynge
of hir self // the contrarye fortune is a-tempre and restreynyd [1660]
and wys thorw excersyse of hir aduersyte // Lastly, prosperous fortune leads men astray. Adversity teaches them wherein real happiness consists. at
the laste amyable fortune with hir flaterynges draweth
mys wandrynge men fro the souereyne good // the contraryos
fortune ledith ofte folk ayein to sothfast goodes / [1664]
and haleth hem ayein as with an hooke / It renders us no inconsiderable service in enabling us to recognize our true friends. weenesthow
thanne þat thow owhtest to leten this a lytel thing / þat
this aspre and horible fortune hath discoueryd to the / the
thowhtes of thy trewe frendes // For-why this ilke fortune [1668]
hath departyd and vncoueryd to the bothe the
certeyn vysages and ek the dowtos visages of thy
felawes // whan she departyd awey fro the / she took
awey hyr frendes and lafte the thyne frendes // At what price would you not have bought this knowledge in your prosperity? now [1672]
whan thow were ryche and weleful as the semede / with
how mochel woldesthow han bowht the fulle knowynge
of this // þat is to seyn the knowynge of thy
verray freendes // Complain not, then, of loss of wealth, since thou hast found infinitely greater riches in your true friends. now pleyne the nat thanne of Rychesse [1676]
.I.-lorn syn thow hast fowndyn the moste presyos kynde
of Rychesses þat is to seyn thy verray frendes.
ALL THINGS BOUND BY THE CHAIN OF LOVE.
[QUOD MUNDUS STABILI FIDE.]
THat This world, by an invariable order, suffers change. þe world with stable feith / varieth acordable
chaungynges // Elements, that by nature disagree, are restrained by concord. þat the contraryos qualite of elementȝ [1680]
holden amonge hem self aliaunce perdurable / þat phebus
the sonne with his goldene chariet / bryngeth forth the
rosene day / þat the mone hath commaundement ouer the
nyhtes // whiche nyhtes hesperus the eue sterre hat browt // [1684]
The sea is thus kept within its proper bounds. þat þe se gredy to flowen constreyneth with a certeyn ende
hise floodes / so þat it is nat l[e]ueful to strechche hise
brode termes or bowndes vp-on the erthes // þat is to seyn
to couere alle the erthe // This concord is produced by love, which governeth earth and sea, and extends its influence to the heavens. Al this a-cordaunce of thinges [1688]
is bownden with looue / þat gouerneth erthe and see / and
hath also commaundementȝ to the heuenes / If this chain of love were broken all things would be in perpetual strife, and the world would go to ruin. and yif
this looue slakede the brydelis / alle thinges þat now
louen hem to gederes / wolden maken a batayle contynuely [1692]
and stryuen to fordoon the fasoun of this worlde /
the which they now leden in acordable feith by fayre
moeuynges // Love binds nations together, it ties the nuptial knot, and dictates binding laws to friendship. this looue halt to gideres poeples Ioygned
with an hooly bond / and knytteth sacrement of maryages [1696]
of chaste looues // And loue enditeth lawes to
trewe felawes // Men were truly blest if governed by this celestial love!’ O weleful weere mankynde / yif thilke
loue þat gouerneth heuene gouerned[e] yowre corages /
EXPLICIT LIBER 2us.
1690 hath—H. he hath
BOETHIUS IS COMFORTED BY PHILOSOPHY’S SONG.