Thanne seide I thus: 'I acorde me gretly to Plato, for thou remembrest and recordest me thise thinges yit the secounde tyme; _that is to seyn_, first whan I loste my memorie by the contagious coniunccioun of the body with the sowle; and eftsones afterward, whan I loste it, confounded by the charge and 5 by the burdene of my sorwe.'
And thanne seide she thus: 'yif thou loke,' quod she, 'first the thinges that thou hast graunted, it ne shal nat ben right fer that thou ne shalt remembren thilke thing that thou seydest that thou nistest nat.' 10
'By whiche governement,' quod she, 'that this world is governed.'
'Me remembreth it wel,' quod I; 'and I confesse wel that I ne wiste it naught. But al-be-it so that I see now from a-fer 15 what thou purposest, algates, I desire yit to herkene it of thee more pleynly.'
'Thou ne wendest nat,' quod she, 'a litel her-biforn, that men sholden doute that this world nis governed by god.'
'Certes,' quod I, 'ne yit ne doute I it naught, ne I nel never 20 wene that it were to doute; _as who seith, but I wot wel that god governeth this world_; and I shal shortly answeren thee by what resouns I am brought to this. This world,' quod I, 'of so manye dyverse and contrarious parties, ne mighte never han ben assembled in o forme, but-yif ther nere oon that conioignede so 25 manye dyverse thinges; and the same dyversitee of hir natures, that so discorden that oon fro that other, moste departen and unioignen the thinges that ben conioigned, yif ther ne were oon that contenede that he hath conioined and y-bounde. Ne the certein ordre of nature ne sholde nat bringe forth so ordenee 30 moevinges, by places, by tymes, by doinges, by spaces, by qualitees, yif ther ne were oon that were ay stedefast dwellinge, that ordeynede and disponede thise dyversitees of moevinges. And thilke thing, what-so-ever it be, by which that alle thinges ben y-maked and y-lad, I clepe him "god"; that is a word that 35 is used to alle folk.'
Thanne seyde she: 'sin thou felest thus thise thinges,' quod she, 'I trowe that I have litel more to done that thou, mighty of welefulnesse, hool and sounde, ne see eftsones thy contree. But lat us loken the thinges that we han purposed her-biforn. 40 Have I nat noumbred and seyd,' quod she, 'that suffisaunce is in blisfulnesse, and we han acorded that god is thilke same blisfulnesse?'