Now God forbede but men shoulde leve Well more thing than men han seen with eye: Men shall not wenen every thing a lye But yf hymselfe yt seeth, or elles dooth: Than mote we to bookes that werynoe Yeve credence, in every tryltul wise That tellen of these olde appreved stories Manuscript illustrations from fol. 001r Le roman de la rose Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Douce 195 Holding Institution: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford Date Statement: 15th century, end Place of Origin: France Language: French, Middle (ca. 1400-1600) Catalogue Description: Catalogue of Western Medieval Manuscripts in Oxford Libraries Author: Guillaume de Lorris Jean de Meun Burne-Jones and Morris visited the Bodleian library to look at manuscripts while they were students, so that from an early age they were aware of this scribe seated in a canopied chair. Of the many illuminations showing a scribe at work, the example here shown is closest to that in Burne-Jones's design for Chaucer Asleep.
A man has no knowledge of heaven or hell except by what he’s been told about them, or what he’s read. There’s no direct way of proving their existence. But men should believe more than just what they can see with their own eyes. People shouldn’t believe everything to be a falsehood that happened too long ago for them to have witnessed it at first hand. God knows, a thing is no less true if some may not have seen it. Bernard the monk didn’t see everything, by God! So we must turn to the books that we have, which deal with things that happened a long time ago, and we should give credence to what they say, being guided by our own judgement. Translated by Richard Scott-Robinson 2016