Chaucer's Translation of Boethius's "De Consolatione Philosophiae" · Boethius
TUNC DEFIXO PAULULU{M}.
Now is it clere {and} certeyne þa{n} þat blisfulnesse is a p{er}fit estat by þe congregac{i}ou{n} 1764 of alle goodes. [Sidenote: It is the object which all men strive after.] ¶ þe whiche blisfulnesse as I haue seid alle mortal folke enforcen hem to geten by dyuerse weyes. [Sidenote: A desire of the true good is a natural instinct, but error misleads them to pursue false joys.] ¶ For-whi þe couetise of verray goode is naturely y-plaunted in þe hertys of men. ¶ But þe 1768 myswandryng erro{ur} myslediþ hem in to fals[e] goodes. [Sidenote: Some, imagining the supreme good to consist in lacking nothing, labour for an abundance of _riches_; others, supposing that this good lies in the _reverence_ and _esteem_ of their fellow men, strive to acquire honourable positions.] ¶ of þe whiche men some of hem wenen þat souereygne goode is to lyue wiþ outen nede of any þing. {and} t{ra}ueile{n} hem to ben habundaunt of rycchesse. 1772 and some oþer men deme{n}. þat sou{er}ein goode be forto be ryȝt digne of reu{er}ences. {and} enforce{n} hem to ben reu{er}enced among hir neyȝbo{ur}s. by þe hono{ur}s þat þei han ygeten [Sidenote: There are some, again, who place it in supreme _power_, and seek to rule, or to be favoured by the ruling powers.] ¶ {and} some folk þer ben þat halden þat 1776 ryȝt heyȝe power to be souereyn goode. {and} enforcen he{m} forto regnen or ellys to ioigne{n} he{m} to hem þat regnen.
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