No More Learning

{a}t they ne departe nat lyhtly a twyne // {and} the
thinges ? {a}t ben softe {and} fletynge as is water {and} Eyr
they departyn lyhtly // {and} yeuen place to hem ? {a}t
brekyn or deuyden hem // but natheles they retorne{n} 2772
sone ayein in to the same thinges fro whennes they ben
arraced //

[Sidenote: Fire avoids and utterly refuses any such division. ]

but fyr [fleet? ] {and} refuseth alle deuysyou{n} /

[Sidenote: I am not now treating of the voluntary motion of a
conscious soul, but of the natural intention and instinct. ]

ne I. ne trete nat heer{e} now of weleful moeuynges of the
sowle ? {a}t is knowynge // but of the naturel entenciou{n} 2776
of thinges //

[Sidenote: We swallow our meat without thinking of it, and we draw
our breath in sleep without perception. ]

As thus ryht as we swolwe the mete ? {a}t we
resseyuen {and} ne thinke nat on it / {and} as we drawen
owr{e} breth in slepynge ? {a}t we wite it nat whil we slepyt //

[Sidenote: The love of life in animals is not derived from an
intellectual will, but from natural principles implanted in them. ]

For certes in the beestys the loue of hyr lyuynges ne of 2780
hyr beeinges ne comth nat of the wilnynges of the sowle //
but of the bygynnyngis of natur{e} //

[Sidenote: For the will, induced by powerful reasons, sometimes
chooses and embraces death, although nature dreads and abhors it. ]

For certes thorw
constreynynge causes / wil desireth {and} embraceth ful
ofte tyme / the deth ? {a}t natur{e} dredith
// that is to seyn [[pg 99]]
as thus that a man may ben constreynyd so by som 2785
cause that his wil desireth and taketh the deth which
? {a}t natur{e} hateth {and} dredeth ful sore //

[Sidenote: And, on the contrary, we see that concupiscence (by
which alone the human race is perpetuated) is often restrained by
the will.
]

And som tyme
we seeth the contrarye / as thus that the wil of a wight / 2788
destorbeth {and} constreyneth ? {a}t ? {a}t natur{e} desireth / and
requereth al-wey // that is to sein the werk of gen{er}aciou{n} /
by the whiche gen{er}aciou{n} only / dwelleth {and} is sustenyd
the longe durablete of mortal thinges //

[Sidenote: Self-love possessed by every creature is not the
product of volition, but proceeds from a natural impression or
intention of nature. ]

And thus 2792
this charite and this Loue ? {a}t eu{er}y thing hath to hym
self ne comth nat of the moeuynge of the sowle / but of
the entenciou{n} of natur{e} //

[Sidenote: Providence has implanted in all created things an
instinct, for the purpose of self-preservation, by which they
desire to prolong existence to its utmost limits. ]

For the puruyance of god
hat yeuen to thinges ? {a}t ben creat of hym / this ? {a}t is 2796
a ful gret cause / to lyuen {and} to duren / for which they
desiren naturelly hyr lyf as longe as eu{er} they mowen //

[Linenotes:
2774 [_fleeth_]--from H.
2775 _weleful_--H. wilfull{e}
2779 _slepyt_--H. slepe{n}
2788 _seeth_--H. seen)
_wil_--H. will{e}
2792 _And_--H. as
2796 _hat_--H. haue]

[Headnote:
THE WILL IS SUPERIOR TO INSTINCT. ]

[Sidenote: Doubt not, therefore, that everything which exists
desires existence and avoids dissolution.