How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Line). We used the line numbering found on Librarius's online edition.
Quote #1
This mayden, bright Cecilie, as hir lyf seith,
Was comen of Romayns, and of noble kynde,
And from hir cradel up fostred in the feith
Of Crist, and bar his gospel in hir mynde.
(120 – 123)
Like most of the virgin martyrs, Cecilia comes onstage as a fully-formed Christian, her fostering in the faith having occurred at some out-of-sight moment in the past.
Quote #2
'If that yow list, the aungel shul ye see,
So that ye trowe in Crist, and yow baptize.'
(170 – 171)
Throughout "The Second Nun's Tale," the assent to Christianity is portrayed as conveying enhanced vision to its converts, which allows them to see things invisible to the naked eye.
Quote #3
'O lord, o feith, o God, withouten mo,
O Cristendom, and fader of alle also,
Aboven alle, and over alle, everywhere.'
Whan this was rad, thanne seyde this olde man,
'Leevestow this thyn or no? sey ye or nay?'
'I leeve al this thyng,' quod Valerian,
'For sother thyng than this, I dar wel say,
Under the hevene no wight thynke may.'
(207 – 214)
Notice that the faith content to which the old man asks Valerian if he assents is not actually a statement, but simply, a proclamation of God's title. In simply acknowledging God as God, Valerian's conversion is complete.
Quote #4
Tho shewed hym Cecile, al open and pleyn,
That alle ydoles nys but a thyng in veyn,
For they been dombe and therto they been deve,
And charged hym hise ydoles for to leve.
(284 – 287)
Another way in which the Christianity in "The Second Nun's Tale" is portrayed as differing from the pagan religion it supplants is in its access to a living and sensing god, as opposed to dumb and deaf god.
Quote #5
'Men myghten dreden wel and skilfully
This lyf to lese, myn owene deere brother,
If this were lyvynge oonly and noon oother.
But ther is bettre lyf in oother place,
That nevere shal be lost, ne dreede thee noght,
Which Goddes sone us tolde thurgh his grace.'
(320 – 325)
In this scene, Cecilia lays down the tenets of her Christian faith. The first and most important is what enables her to say that her God is the God of life, for he offers eternal life to his believers. The second tenet is that this knowledge is accessible to believers through Christ's revelation.
Quote #6
'That fadres sone hath alle thyng ywroght,
And al that wroght is with a skilful thoght,
The goost, that from the Fader gan procede,
Hath sowled hem, withouten any drede.'
(326 – 329)
Another important tenet of the religion Cecilia shows Tiburtius is that God's creation is reasoned – created "with a skilful thoght." God purposefully gave mankind souls, so that they might enjoy a life beyond their bodies.
Quote #7
'By word and by myracel Goddes Sone,
Whan he was in this world, declared heere
That ther was oother lyf ther men may wone.'
Again Cecilia backs up her statements with the revelations of Christ. The fact that Christ was incarnated in human form to live on earth is important to Christians for many reasons, but to Cecilia the most important thing about Christ is that he enables humans to have access to knowledge of the afterlife.
Quote #8
To whom answerde Tiburce, 'O suster deere,
Ne seydestow right now in this manere,
Ther nys but o God, lord in soothfastnesse,
And now of thre how maystow bere witnesse?'
(333 – 336)
The idea of three persons in one god was one that not just Tiburtius, but many medieval Christians, struggled with. In fact, numerous heresies disputing the existence of the Christian Trinity sprung up throughout the medieval period, and medieval scholars busied themselves with complicated proofs of the real possibility of its existence.
Quote #9
'Right as a man hath sapiences thre,
Memorie, engyn, and intellect also,
So, in o beynge of divinitee
Thre persones may ther right wel bee.'
Cecilia's explanation of the Christian Trinity comes from the late classical philosopher Augustine, who compared the Trinity to the three powers of the human mind: memory, will, and intellect (or reason). Cecilia's knowledge of this explanation implies that she is highly educated.
Quote #10
Tho gan she hym ful bisily to preche
Of Cristes come, and of his peynes teche,
And many pointes of his passioun;
How Goddes Sone in this world was withholde
To doon mankynde pleyn remissioun,
That was ybounde in synne and cares colde.
(342 – 347)
To Christ's status as God's revelation to mankind, Cecilia now adds his role as redeemer from sin. The idea is that God died in place of sinful men so that God could give them eternal life but still maintain his justice, which demanded payment for sins.
Quote #11
Ther lakketh no thyng to thyne outter yen
That thou nart blynd, for thyng that we seen alle
That it is stoon – that men may wel espyen –
That ilke stoone a god thow wolt it calle.
I rede thee lat thyn hand upon it falle,
And taste it wel, and stoon thou shalt it fynde,
Syn that thou seest nat with thyne eyen blynde.
(498 – 504)
Again the tale implies that pagans are somehow lacking even in their physical senses. Almachius is apparently unable to tell – despite tons of visual evidence – that his idols are made of stone. So Cecilia advises him to touch and taste it.
Quote #12
It is a shame that the peple shal
So scorne thee, and laughe at thy folye;
For communly men woot it wel overal
That myghty God is in hise hevenes hye,
And this ymages, wel thou mayst espye,
To thee ne to heself mowen noght profite,
For in effect they been nat worth a myte.
(505 – 511)
A common trope of the virgin martyr's defense is to claim that the truth of Christianity is evident. If the pagan is not able to see this truth or the worthlessness of his idols, this is because something within him, and not the faith or the faithful, is lacking.