Hier begynneth the book callid the myrrour of the worlde ...

Of them that fonde the science and the clergye after the flood capitulo ¶xij^o

AS ye may vnderstonde the seuen scyences lyberall were founden by auncyent wyse men / out of whiche alle other sciences procede / Thyse were they to whom our lorde hath gyuen them and enseygned doubtyng the de∣luuye that god sente in to therthe / the whiche drowned alle creatures reseruyd Noe and them that he toke in to the Arke wyth hym / And after this the world was repeoplyd and made agayn by them that descended of them

ffor after the tyme of noe / the peple began to make agayn howses and mansions / and to make redy other werkis / But this was moche rudely as they that coude but right lytil vnto the tyme that thise sciences were foūden agayn & thenne coude they better make & doo that was nedeful & propice to them / & fynde remedye for their euyllis / the first that applyed hym / and entermeted for to enquyre and serche these sciences after the flood was Sem one of the sones of Noe / whiche had gyuen his corage therto / And in suche wyse he dyde therin suche dyligence and so conty∣nued / that by his wytte he fonde a parte of Astronomye / After hym was Abraham whiche also founde a grete partye / And after hym were other that vsed theyr lyf the best wise they myght so moche that they had the pryn∣cyples and resons of the seuen scyences / And after cam Plato the sage and right souerayn in philosophye / And his clerke named Aristotle the wyse clerke / This plato was the man aboue al them of the world in clergye the most experte of them that were to fore or after hym / he pre∣uyd first that ther was but one that was only souerayn / whiche all made / & of whom alle good thinge cometh / yet his bookes approue hyely that ther ne is but one souerayn good / that is our lord god whiche made alle thynges / And in this only veryte / he preuyd the right trouthe / ffor he preued his power / his wisedom / and his goodnes / Thise thre bountees reclayme alle crysten men / that is the fader / the sone / and the holy goste / Of the fader / he sayde the power and puissaunce / Of the sone / the Sapyence / and of the holy gost the bienueullaūce / and Aristotle whiche

cam after hym holdeth plente of thynges nyghe to hym / & knewe the thynges that he had sayd / And ordeyned right wel the science of logyke / ffor he knewe more therof than of other sciences / Thise two notable clerkes fonde by their wysedom and connyng / thre persones in one essence / and preuyd it / but they put it not in latyn / ffor bothe two were paynems / as they that were more than thre hondred yere to fore the comynge of our lord Ihesu Cryste / And alle their bookes were in grekyssh lettres / After cam Boece whiche was a grete philosophre and right wise clerke / the whiche coude byhelpe hym with dyuerses langages / And louid moche rightwisnes / This boece translated of their bookes the most partye / and sette them in latyn / But he deyde or he had alle translated them / wherof was grete dommage for vs alle / Syth haue other clerkes transla∣ted / But this boece translated more than ony other / the whiche we haue yet in vsage / And compiled in his lyf / plente of fair volumes aourned of hye and noble philoso∣phye / of whiche we haue yet grete nede for tadresse vs to∣ward our lord god / And many other good clerkes haue ben in this world of grete auctoryte whiche haue lerned and studyed alle their tyme vpon the sciences of the vij Artes / Of whiche haue ben somme / that in their tyme ha∣ue do meruaylles by Astronomye / But aboue alle them that most entremeted and traueylled vpon the science of Astronomye / was Virgyle whiche compyled many mer∣ueyllous werkes / And therfore we shal recounte a lytil here folowyng of the meruaylles he dyde /