Chaucer's own writings, however, afford the strongest evidence against the opinion entertained by Sir Harris Nicolas, and such evidence as cannot be controverted.
Chaucer loves to refer to Dante, and often translates passages from the Divine Comedy. The following lines are very closely rendered from the Paradiso, xiv. 28.:—
"Thou one, two, and thre, eterne on live,
That raignest aie in thre, two, and one,
Uncircumscript, and all maist circumscrive."
Last stanza of Troilus and Creseide.
"Quell' uno e due e tre che sempre vive,
E regna sempre in tre e due ed uno,
Non circonscritto, e tutto circonscrive."
Dante, Il Paradiso, xiv. 28.