at
place is made for no thing elles, but only for his desport.

Fro that contree men comen be the lond of the grete Chane also, that I have
spoken of before.

And ze schulle undirstonde, that of alle theise contrees, and of alle
theise yles, and of alle the dyverse folk, that I have spoken of before,
and of dyverse lawes, and of dyverse beleeves that thei han; zit is there
non of hem alle, but that thei han sum resoun with in hem and
undirstondynge, but zif it be the fewere: and that han certeyn articles of
oure feithe and summe gode poyntes of oure beleeve: and that thei beleeven
in God, that formede alle thinges and made the world; and clepen him God of
Nature, aftre that the prophete seythe, _Et metuent cum omnes fines terre_:
and also in another place, _Omnes gentes servient ei_; that is to seyn,
_Alle folke schalle serven Him_. But zit thei cone not speken perfytly;
(for there is no man to techen hem) but only that thei cone devyse be hire
naturelle wytt. For thei han no knouleche of the Sone, ne of the Holy Gost:
but thei cone alle speken of the Bible: and namely of Genesis, of the
prophetes lawes, and of the Bokes of Moyses. And thei seyn wel, that the
creatures, that thei worschipen, ne ben no goddes: but thei worschipen hem,
for the vertue that is in hem, that may not be, but only be the grace of
God. And of simulacres and of ydoles, thei seyn, that there ben no folk,
but that thei han simulacres: and that thei seyn, for we Cristene men han
ymages, as of Oure Lady, and of othere seyntes, that wee worschipen; nohte
the ymages of tree or of ston, but the seyntes, in whoos name thei ben made
aftre. For righte as the bokes of the Scripture of hem techen the clerkes,
how and in what manere thei schulle beleeven, righte so the ymages and the
peyntynges techen the lewed folk to worschipen the seyntes, and to have hem
in hire mynde, in whoos name that the ymages ben made aftre. Thei seyn
also, that the aungeles of God speken to hem in tho ydoles, and that thei
don manye grete myracles. And thei seyn sothe, that there is an aungele
with in hem: for there ben 2 maner of aungeles, a gode and an evelle; as
the Grekes seyn, Cacho and Calo; this Cacho is the wykked aungelle, and
Calo is the gode aungelle: but the tother is not the gode aungelle, but the
wykked aungelle, that is with inne the ydoles, for to disceyven hem, and
for to meyntenen hem in hire errour.

CAPVT. 50.

De compositione huius tractatus in nobili ciui