'I herde thee saye,' quod she, 'at my beginning, whan I receyved 30 thee firste for to serve, that thy jewel, thilke Margaryte thou desyrest, was closed in a muskle with a blewe shel.'
'Ye, forsothe,' quod I; 'so I sayd; and so it is.'
'Wel,' quod she, 'every-thing kyndly sheweth it-selfe; this jewel, closed in a blewe shel, [by] excellence of coloures sheweth 35 vertue from within; and so every wight shulde rather loke to the propre vertue of thinges than to his forayne goodes. If a thing be engendred of good mater, comenly and for the more part, it foloweth, after the congelement, vertue of the first mater (and it be not corrupt with vyces) to procede with encrees of good 40 vertues; eke right so it fareth of badde. Trewly, greet excellence in vertue of linage, for the more part, discendeth by kynde to the succession in vertues to folowe. Wherfore I saye, the +colour of every Margarit sheweth from within the fynesse in vertue. Kyndely heven, whan mery +weder is a-lofte, apereth in mannes 45 eye of coloure in blewe, stedfastnesse in pees betokening within and without. Margaryte is engendred by hevenly dewe, and sheweth in it-selfe, by fynenesse of colour, whether the engendrure were maked on morowe or on eve; thus sayth kynde of this perle. This precious Margaryte that thou servest, sheweth it-selfe 50 discended, by nobley of vertue, from this hevenlich dewe, norisshed and congeled in mekenesse, that +moder is of al vertues; and, by werkes that men seen withouten, the significacion of the coloures ben shewed, mercy and pitee in the herte, with pees to al other; and al this is y-closed in a muskle, who-so redily these vertues 55 loken. Al thing that hath soule is reduced in-to good by mene thinges, as thus: In-to god man is reduced by soules resonable; and so forth beestes, or bodyes that mowe not moven, after place ben reduced in-to manne by beestes +mene that moven from place to place. So that thilke bodyes that han felinge soules, and move 60 not from places, holden the lowest degree of soulinge thinges in felinge; and suche ben reduced in-to man by menes. So it foloweth, the muskle, as +moder of al vertues, halt the place of mekenesse, to his lowest degree discendeth downe of heven, and there, by a maner of virgine engendrure, arn these Margarytes 65 engendred, and afterward congeled. Made not mekenesse so lowe the hye heven, to enclose and cacche out therof so noble a dewe, that after congelement, a Margaryte, with endelesse vertue and everlasting joy, was with ful vessel of grace yeven to every creature, that goodly wolde it receyve?' 70