Blanquerna

One day Blanquerna was contemplating God, and he had with him the Book of Contemplation > ; and there came to Blanquerna a jeSter,2 full of tears, and giving signs in his features that the sorrow of his soul was very great; and he spake to Blanquerna these words: “ Blanquerna, my lord 1 The fame of thy holy life has gone out through all the world, whereat my conscience torments me with contrition of soul, for the faults which I have committed in my office ; wherefore have I come to thee that thou mayeSt give me penance.” Blanquerna enquired of him what was his office, and he answered that he was a jeSter. “ Fair friend 1 ” said Blanquerna : “ The office of jeSter was made with good intent, namely, to praise God and to give solace and com¬ fort to them that are tried and tormented in the service of God. But we have come to a time wherein scarce any man fulfils the final intent for the which all offices were in the firSt place ordained ; for the office of clerk was founded firSt of all upon a good intent, and the same is true of the office of knight, jurist, artist, physician, merchant, religious, hermit and every other office; but now have we come to a time wherein a man fulfils not as much as he might the intention for the which the offices and sciences were made. And for this cause the world is in error and Strife, and God is neither known nor loved nor obeyed by those that are bound to love and know and obey and serve Him. Where¬ fore, fair friend, I give thee this penance, that thou go throughout the world, crying out and singing firSt of one office and then of another, and making known the intent for the which were made in the beginning the office of jeSter and all other offices. Thou shall bear with thee like¬ wise this romance of EvaSt and Blanquerna wherein are signified the reasons for the which in the beginning the offices aforementioned were established ; thou shalt reprove

B LAN QUERN A

and correft all such as use not their offices well, according to thy power, and according to time and place and oppor¬ tunity ; and fear thou not reproofs, neither trials nor death, in being pleasing to God.” The jester took this penance of Blanquerna, and received the office which he had given him, and went through all the world relating the intent wherein were made the offices of theology, clerkship, religion, chivalry, prelacy, lordship, merchandise, medicine, law, philosophy and other things like to these; and he reproved those that kept not the final intent for the which these things aforementioned were established, and in public places and in courts and in monasteries he read the romance of EvaSt and Blanquerna to the end that devotion should be increased, and that he might have the greater Strength and courage of mind to perform the penance which Blan¬ querna had given to him.

2. We have related the romance of EvaSt and Blan¬ querna, and the tale now returns to the Emperor whom Blanquerna found in the foreSt; the which Emperor had made ordinance concerning his empire to his son, for whom he made the Book of the Doflrine of Princes , according to the which he should rule his house and his person and his land ; and after all these things he forsook the world, and went to seek Blanquerna, to the end that they might together live the lives of hermits and contemplate our Lord God.

3. While the Emperor went in search of Blanquerna he met a Bishop who was going to the Court to expound the Brief Art of Finding Truth, the which Bishop purposed to plead with the Lord Pope that this art might be read and expounded in all seminaries of common Studies, to the end that through exaltation of the understanding there might be greater devotion in the world to the love and honour and service of God, and that greater knowledge of Him might be given to the unbelievers who journey in ignorance to eternal torment ; and to the end that this task might be accomplished, the Bishop purposed to give up all the days 528

OF THE END OF THE BOOK of his life and all the income of his diocese. When the Emperor and the Bishop had met, they made the acquaint¬ ance the one of the other, and greeted and welcomed each other very courteously. Each enquired of the other con¬ cerning his e&ate and his purpose, and each gave the other fitting answer. Great pleasure had the Emperor at the devotion of the Bishop and the Bishop at the devotion of the Emperor, the which Emperor prayed the Bishop to be an advocate, in the Court of Rome, of Valour, who by so many persons has been wronged and prevented from giving due praise and honour to God; and he begged him to command the Jester of Valour to sing these Stanzas in the Court, to the end that the Pope and the Cardinals might have the better remembrance of the lives of the ApoStles, in whose time there yet lived holiness of life and devotion and valour:

K O God, true Lord, our glorious King,1 Who with us men doft deign to be,

Remember those that to Thee sing,

Who fain would suffer death for Thee.

O, make them worthy praise to bring,

And service to Thy Majefty With all their might,

For all they wish and hope muft be Good in Thy sight.

Once more is born a fervent zeal,

Once more an apoftolic love.

In those who as they praise Thee kneel The sweet assault of death to prove. Let him go forth whose faith is real The wondrous power of God above O’er earth to cry—

For God all-wise, our hearts to move, Came from on high.

re and rime-scheme of these verses W-d-gT to 4at al, — I as also do those of the verses on p. 3 - haJf of

the Catalan the two final quatrains have the same r.mes

the stanza preceding them.

BLANQUERNA

f The Minorites from near and far,

Remembering God’s blessed Son,

Who calls us to a holy war.

And bids us work with Him as one,

Have made the house of Miramar,

By lair Majorca’s king begun The Moors to save,

For whom our God great things has done Their souls to have.

Tf But what see we the Preachers do That love so much to serve1 our Lord ?

Where do the priors and abbots go,

Bishops, that great possessions hoard,

Prelates, that prize this world below,

Kings sleeping with unbuckled sword In sloth so base,

Yet thinking to have Heaven’s reward And see God’s Face.

Both great and small, both young and old,

Delight to scoff and do me wrong,

While sighs and tears of love untold My body make to suffer long.

But memory, will and mind are bold,

And joyfully I’ll sing this song Throughout my days ;

To Him alone will I belong And tell His praise.

f Sweet Mary would I serve right well,

As I have done.

Through her I loft all fear of hell And new love won.

If Blanquerna ! Who can show thy cell i Where art thou gone ?

Fain would I be where thou doft dwell With God alone!

4. “ How, lord 1 ” said the Bishop to the Emperor :

“ Haft thou likewise knowledge of Blanquerna?” The

Emperor answered him and related how that he had met

1 strvir (P, D). The other versions have fruir, “ have fruition of.”

OF THE END OF THE BOOK Blanquerna one day when he was going alone through that foreft wherein Blanquerna sought his hermitage, and how he had promised him that he would make satisfa&ion to Valour for the wrong which he had done her. The Bishop recounted to the Emperor the holy life of Blanquerna, and showed him the parts wherein he could find the place where Blanquerna lived the life of a hermit. Right pleased was the Emperor at that which the Bishop had related to him concerning Blanquerna, and that he had shown him the ways whereby he might find him. The Bishop took the ftanzas, and bade the Emperor very courteously adieu, and commended him to the benedi&ion of God.

ENDED IS THE ROMANCE OF EVAST AND BLANQUERNA WHICH IS OF THE LIFE OF MATRIMONY AND OF THE ORDER OF CLERGY, TO GIVE DOCTRINE WHEREBY MAN MAY SO LIVE IN THIS WORLD THAT IN THE NEXT HE MAY DWELL ETERNALLY IN THE GLORY OF GOD.

APPENDIX I

ADDITIONAL PARAGRAPHS OF THE “ BOOK OF THE LOVER AND THE BELOVED,” FOUND IN CERTAIN VERSIONS ONLY

The Lover entered a delightful meadow, and saw in the meadow many children who were pursuing butterflies, and trampling down the flowers; and the more the children laboured to catch the butterflies, the higher did these fly. And the Lover, as he watched them, said : “ Such are they who with subtle reasoning attempt to comprehend the Beloved, Who opens the doors to the simple and closes them to the subtle. And Faith reveals the secrets of the Beloved through the casement of love.”

The Lover went one day into a cloister, and the monks enquired of him if he, too, were a religious. “ Yea,” he answered, “ of the order of my Beloved.” “ What rule doft thou follow ? ” He answered : “ The rule of my Be¬ loved.” “ To whom art thou vowed? ” He said: “ To my Beloved.” “ Haft thou thy will ? ” He answered : “ Nay, it is given to my Beloved.” “ Haft thou added aught to the rule of thy Beloved ? ” He answered : “ Naught can be added to that which is already perfect.” “ And wherefore,” continued the Lover, “ do not ye that are re¬ ligious take the Name of my Beloved ? May it not be that, as ye bear the name of another, your love may grow less, and, hearing the voice of another, ye may not catch the voice of the Beloved? ”

They asked the Lover: “What is the world?" He answered : “ It is a book for such as can read, in the which is revealed my Beloved.” They asked him : “ Is thy Be¬ loved, then, in the world ? ” He answered : “ Yea, even as the writer is in his book.” “ And wherein consifts this book?” He answered: “ In my Beloved, since my Be¬ loved contains it all, and therefore is the world in my Beloved rather than my Beloved in the world.”

“ Say, O Lover, who is he that loves and seems to thee as a fool ? ” The Lover answered : “ He that loves the shadow and makes no account of the truth.” “ And whom doft thou call rich ? ” “ He that loves truth.” “ And who is poor? ” “ He that loves falsehood.”

-BOOK OF THE LOVER Am THE BELOyED, „

He .„7wS- ■■TrtjVi.'Z't' f b' >—> •

artificer's sake or as the nmk* k a Plece °f work, for its follows it.” ’ he mght hy reason * the day which

The Lover gazed at the rainbow, and it seemed to him as hough ,t were of three colours. And he cried “ Om ™

And° hoitan^r k^T’ -°r the three together are one ! Anyhow can this be in the .mage, unless if be so of itself!

™en ™ere disputing concerning simplicity, the one againft the other. And the one said : “ The simple man is he that knows naught.” The other said: “ The simple man is he that lives without sin.” And the Lover came and said: True simplicity has he that commits all his ways

to my Beloved. For simplicity is to exalt faith above under¬ standing, which it so far exceeds, and in all that pertains to my Beloved it is to avoid completely all things vain, superfluous, curious, over-subtle and presumptuous. For all these are contrary to simplicity.”

Another time they both enquired of him, asking that he would tell them if the science of the simple is a great one. He answered : “ The science of great sages is as a great heap of a few grains, but the science of the simple is a small heap of numberless grains, because neither presumption nor curiosity nor over-subtlety is added to the heap of simple men.” “ And what is the work of presumption and curiosity ? ” The Lover answered : “ Vanity is the mother of curiosity, and pride is the mother of presumption, and therefore is their work the work of vanity and pride. And the enemies of my Beloved are known by presumption and curiosity, even as love for Him is acquired by simplicity.”

Many lovers came together, and they enquired of the Messenger of Love where and in what thing the heart was moft ardently inflamed with devotion and love. The Messenger of Love answered : “ In the House of God, when we humble ourselves and adore Him with all our powers; for He alone is Holiest of the holy. And they that know not how to do this, know not what it is truly to love Him.”

BLANQUERNA

The Lover thought upon his sins, and for fear of hell he would fain have wept, but he could not. So he begged Love to give him tears, and Wisdom answered that he muS weep earnestly and often, but for the love of his Beloved rather than for the pains of hell ; for tears of love are more pleasing to Him than tears shed through fear.

The Lover obeyed Wisdom ; and, on the one hand, he shed many and great tears for the sake of Love, and, on the other, few and small tears for fear, that by love and not by fear he might honour his Beloved. And the tears which he shed for love brought him solace and repose, while the tears of fear gave him sorrow and tribulation.

They asked the Lover in what manner the heart of man was turned towards the love of his Beloved. He answered them and said : “ Even as the sunflower turns to the sun.” “ How is it, then, that all men love not thy Beloved ? ” He answered : “ They that love Him not have night in their hearts, because of their sin.”

The Lover met an astrologer, and enquired of him: “ What means thy ailrology? ” He answered: “ It is a science that foretells things to come.” “ Thou art deceived,” said the Lover ; “ it is no science, but one falsely so called. It is necromancy, or the black art, in disguise, and the science of deceiving and lying prophets which dishonour the work of the sovereign Mailer. At all times it has been the messenger of evil tidings; and it runs clean contrary to the providence of my Beloved, for in place of the evils which it threatens He promises good things.”

The Lover went forth, crying : “ Oh, how vain are all they that follow after luil of knowledge and presumption 1 For through luil of knowledge do they fall into the greatest depths of impiety, insulting the Name of God and with curses and incantations invoking evil spirits as good angels, inveiling them with the names of God and of good angels, and profaning holy things with figures and images and by writings. And through presumption all errors are implanted in the world.” And the Lover wept bitterly for all the insults which are offered to his Beloved by ignorant men.

One day the Lover was looking towards the eail, and

S 34

“ book of the lofer Am Tm BELOyED „

ST TSV* “*■

.e?a 22 ff&S-VtZSt* '! WOrl1

are more in number than the believers.” Hope said : “ It is tor weeping, because few are they that hope in God whereas many put their fruit in the riches of earth.” Gharity said : It is for weeping, because they that love God and their neighbour are so few.” And there followed the other Virtues, and so declared they all.

The lovers sought to prove the messenger of Love, and they said that they should go through the world, crying that worshippers muit honour servants as servants and the Lord as a lord, that their requests might better be heard, and because there needs not to love, save the Beloved, nor to truil, save in Him alone.

They asked the messenger of Love whence came to the Beloved so many useless servants, viler, more abjeft and more contemptible than secular men. The messenger of Love answered and said : “ They come through the fault of those whose task it is to furnish their Sovereign, — the King of Kings, — the Beloved, — with servants. They make no question, as they ought, concerning the wisdom or the lives or the habits of those whom they choose. And those whom they will not take for His train they allow to serve the Eternal King in His palace, and in the moll holy ministry of His Table. Wherefore ougth they to fear the severed retributions when they are called by the Beloved to their account.”

They asked the Lover this question : “ Wherein dies

ELAN QUERN A

love?” The Lover answered: “ In the delights of this world.” “And whence has it life and sustenance ? ” “ In thoughts of the world to come.” Wherefore they that had inquired of him prepared to renounce this world, that they might think the more deeply upon the next, and that their love might live and find nourishment.

APPENDIX II

advocate

Beloved

caStle

cellarer

cellaress

chaplaincy

church

compartments

defect

despair

disvalour

draper

effedtual

example

farmer

feel, feeling

forgiveness

fortune

frail

fruitful

Gentile

gifts

infused science jeSter labourer lover

Mass, firSt

175 86 238 189 245 12 5 252 41 64 35

3i 1, 356 252 148 248 *75

245 375, 415 304

MaSter of the Schools 270 Natana 60

naught, nothingness 477 occasion 41

orchard order

peasant 245

power 400

question 429

Redeemer, redemption See Restorer

religion 08

religious life representative resolve

Restorer

sirvente

solitary

Student

trees

unloved

valiancy

valour

village

walls

water-wheel

ways

98, 225 320 500 76 253

175 56

176 175 286