Friday, October 12, 2007

Scholasticism in Chaucer

To Colcos comen is this duc Jasoun,
That is of love devourer and dragoun.
As mater apetiteth form alwey
And from forme into forme it passen may,
Or as a welle that were botomles,
Right so can false Jason have no pes.
For to desyren thourgh his apetit
To don with gentil women his delyt,
This is his lust and his felicite.

--Chaucer, The Legend of Good Women, "The Legend of Medea"

Normally any post of mine having to do with poetry would go up on Monadology.net, but in this case, the exerpt can only be understood if you're the sort of person who might like the Smithy. Also it seemed to chime nicely with Faber's latest post.

Jason's vice runs so deep that he desires to use women just as matter desires form. For St Thomas, then, it is Jason's womanising that gives him his very entity, and he has no esse of his own unless he his either pursuing or dumping some poor girl. For Bl John Duns, on the other hand, Jason could exist without philandering, but only by a special act of Divine Omnipotence.

If you think this is a good joke, you are a huge nerd.