Manuscripts from the Walters Art Museum

more than any other, that one can best and most rightly understand all things. For the sake of astronomy alone the other six arts were founded, which have been named above. And without them no one can know anything rightly about astronomy, no matter how wise or powerful that person might be. Just as the hammer or other tools of the mason are the instruments by which he shapes his work and carries out his craft, in the same way, through proper mastery of them, the other six arts are the instruments and basis of astronomy. The wise men of old -- kings, princes, dukes, counts, knights, and other great lords -- by their understanding and diligent study, as well as their noble conduct, put all their effort and labor into learning the scholarly arts, in order to understand astronomy. And to the extent that they worked by the will of Our Lord alone, they acquired this knowledge and knew it sufficiently well. For they knew much of the great affairs which were happening in the world. And they considered the things of the world to be as nothing,

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as people who knew well the reasons for these things. It was the custom at that time that if a man were a bondsman to one or several people, or if he were of low birth, even if he became rich and had many possessions, even so he did not dare to study the seven liberal arts, because the noble and high men wanted to maintain the principle that they [the arts] should remain free and liberal. And for this reason they gave them the name of the seven liberal arts. And they were rightly named liberal. For they are so free that they give the soul to God freely. And they were so carefully ordered and given so comprehensively that one could not take anything away, nor adjust anything, and indeed the good and expert scholar neither wanted nor knew how to meddle with them. For if any part of them were changed or altered, then the whole would be disfigured. And this is because they were so reasonably and rightly made that no person living in the world, however profound his knowledge, whether pagan, or Jew, or Christian, could not, nor knew not how to change, adjust, remove, or oppose them in any way.

The person who knows the seven arts perfectly will be convincing in all law cases. For there is no man who can oppose him in the things that he wants to prove to be true or otherwise. For he is able to prove by lively reasoning everything he wants to, whether right or wrong. But that person is a fool who thinks, knowing nothing of the seven arts, that he can know anything that pertains to scholarship; if by some mysterious means this knowledge comes to him, it can only have done so by a miracle of God, Who can do everything. For otherwise all his labor would be in vain, nor would he know how to demonstrate anything by argumentation, nor prove correctly the pro or the con. Indeed the seven arts are found in all the laws, wherever they are read. And there is no person -- however different his law or language -- who, when he is speaking with others, will not be considered expert or wise if knows something about the seven arts or is able to prove things by means of their usages and parts. Even if he were a pagan, Saracen, or Jew, as different as that is from a Christian, he could not be contradicted in anything that he might claim or prove. And

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people do not consider the elements within any decretals and laws to be bad just because others made and established them, for all the laws are based on and derive from the seven arts. And they are believed and maintained everywhere there are people who know anything about them. And all the arguments that proceed from the seven arts are true in all cases and all places. And this knowledge does not change, rather it always remains stable and true. At this point I will stop telling you any more about this, for it has been covered very thoroughly above. Now I will tell you about the incidents (see note) and acts of Nature, and, in brief, what Nature is. For she was the first thing that God created, before He created anything else that belongs to the world. And for this reason we should speak of her first, making clear that we do so in order to describe the world afterwards. For the firmament turns and changes according to Nature, and all things that have movement do similarly. Nature changes the stars and makes them to shine and come into being. And she can also destroy as she wishes. But since not everyone understands what this entails in

substance, we will dwell on this topic a bit longer, offering thereby a better understanding of what Nature is and how she works. In this way you can know more completely how to comprehend the workings of the world, as it will be discussed later on, should you want to understand the arguments, and indeed wish diligently to learn and remember them. [rubric: Here is spoken of Nature] Our [rubric: how she works and what manner of thing she is] Lord God created Nature first of all. For by her all creatures and objects have existence and life, however they might be ordained by God under the heavens. Without Nature nothing can be born. And by her all things that were created have life according to their station. For this reason, it was right for Nature to be first. For she nourishes and supports all creatures, and devotes herself to such various things as the Creator wishes. In this way, Nature functions just like the axe that a carpenter uses in his craft. For the axe does nothing but cut, whereas he who holds it directs it where he wants it to go. Just as by means of the axe

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the work is done according to the intention of the worker, in the same way, Nature devotes herself and flourishes where God wishes. For all things are done and maintained by her, as God wants them to be. She works in such a way that when she is lacking in one place she makes up for it somewhere else. Nature forms nothing in vain. But she works in such a way that she never takes away from her essential purpose. For her work is always completed using the materials available, whether those be people or animals. And therefore her works are to be recommended above all others, since she never does anything that is contrary to God. But where the material is lacking, she stops working, but when there is more material, there is more work. In this way, one can see certain beasts that are born with two heads and six legs, or one of them may have a limb fewer than it should, and so it exists without a true natural form, and may therefore be called a monster. Similarly, sometimes one sees certain animals that are almost entirely lacking in bodily parts and others that have an excess. In the

same way one often sees it come to pass with certain people that when they are born they have six fingers on one hand, while others have one or two or three less than they should have, or they are lacking a body part entirely, which causes them to be of less value according to worldly standards. And in another person there might be such a great excess of Nature or material in his body or in its parts that he takes on something other than human form, for he is missing feet or hands. So it often happens that he is born with too little or too much, or he has one leg or one arm longer or shorter than the other. And there is a further work that one should not forget. For one person will be born black and another white; one large and another small; one becomes prudent and wise, the other foolish and bad; one is considered wise and discreet in his youth, but in his old age he becomes foolish. Some are [deleted: foolish] wise in both old age and youth, whereas others are foolish and unfortunate all their life, both when young and when old. Some are fat, and others are thin. Some are unhealthy, and others healthy. Some are light and others heavy. Some are agile, others are soft and lazy. Some are too slow, others

hasty. Some are brave, others are cowards. Some are lame, others are hardy -- well-formed in every respect. A big man is often poorly made, and a small one is well-made and good looking. For every part of him is the right size in relation to his body. A beautiful child often becomes ugly when he grows up. One person wants to have a lot while another asks for little. Each has his talent and his desires. A small man will often father a big man, and a big man will father a small one. A small man frequently takes on a great task which no big men are willing to do. Some die early, others late. And some live long enough that in old age they abandon the world for as long as nature remains to them, by the will of God. One also often sees, comparing men, that some are inclined to scholarship whereas others give themselves to another kind of knowledge, becoming a carpenter, a mason, a smith, or taking on some other profession where they spend their time. For each one devotes himself voluntarily where his understanding draws him, and to some profession or science, to which

he is suited by nature and his own understanding. One can never perfectly understand nor involve oneself in anything to which one is not is suited by nature. There are also other types of people who commit themselves to doing many things, whereas others cannot and would not know how to, because they are not suited to it by nature. For one person aspires to high estate and great riches, while others are content with a lesser rank. One can often see it happen that a man achieves that which he had aspired to achieve, while others do not know how to get there; rather, everything turns against them so that they can scarcely achieve those things which they want to bring or lead to a good end. And some men do many things, while others do not know how to or cannot. Because there is such diversity among people, in their various ways of acting and in their desires, one cannot find in any country of the world two men who perfectly resemble each other, however much one might seek for them. For they will differ in their bodies, or limbs, or understanding, or visage,

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or in the things they say or do. For the power of Nature is so diverse that nothing comes into being except by her power, in such a way that she will give one thing to one person of which another person will have none. This happens even when no one can perceive or understand the difference between them. Such is the virtue of Nature, which many good scholars have in bygone days put their effort into studying, and they worked very hard at it so that they could better explain Nature's acts and power. The first to speak of this was Plato, who was very famous, saying that there is an overriding power in things that causes like to engender like, according to what each might be. This may be understood as describing a person who engenders another person, but also for beasts and plants, or for seeds, each of which comes into being according to its own semblance and manner. And this is what Plato said, who was a great scholar. Afterwards Aristotle said that this was a gift that came from the High Sovereign when he gave virtue to the heavens and to the stars to move and to be, and that without God such power could never have been given, so that they had power to change, and be, and move. Aristotle, who said this,