The need has arrived to create a new version of man, a sort of version 2.0 reboot. The original attempt at creating humankind resulted in a horrific disaster that it outlined in full in the text preceding Anticlaudianus, titled De Planctu Naturae. The English translation of that text is “The Complaint of Nature” and is literally appropriate because the character of Nature takes center stage both in the destruction of the original man and in the creation of the new man.
Extremely unhappy with the creation of man, Nature brought about his destruction and so at the beginning of the sequel calls upon the sisterhood of the Virtues to rectify the situation with an improved new model. Nature puts a rather heavy pressure upon the Virtues by charging them not just with doing better but attaining perfection. Prudence—caretaker of preparation that she is—becomes the first of the Virtues to spot the irreconcilable obstacle that guarantees another failure. While putting the physical elements of the new man together is exceedingly doable, none of them possess the ability to infuse what is necessary for the concept of perfection: constructing a soul. And since God alone is the only entity in the universe that is capable, things seem doomed from the outset.
Reason comes to the rescue of Nature’s dream with a plan to petition God to give man a soul. The plan agreed upon, they all set to wok on creating the special chariot required just to get to God and present their petition. This will take up quite a bit of the story as the chariot proves far more complicated than one might think since it will not merely be traveling over earth, but into the realms of space. The journey itself is also dramatically eventful when Reason suddenly loses control of the team of horses and her companions are met by Theologia, a maid who will be required to accompany them on a single horse as their guide. However, she is herself not allowed into the actual realm of heaven, making it only as far as the sight of Adam and Eve, which causes her to faint. Her sister, Faith, arrives to revive her and hands Theologia a mirror which allows her to indirectly get a glimpse into heaven.
No matter, however, as God will meet only with Prudence to negotiate out this whole soul idea for the new man. God agrees but first sends Noys on a mission to determine what should go into creating a soul capable of perfection. When Noys returns, her solution is a patchwork of the saving graces of the stars of some of the greatest stories of the Bible. The soul will require the patience of Job, the faith of Abraham, Judith’s wisdom and Jacob’s commonality all sewn up in a form based upon Joseph. God creates it and promptly seals the deal with Prudence along with a warning not to allow it be harmed during long chariot ride back to earth. In order to ensure protection, Noys ritually anoints the soul with a protective balm.
When Nature gets her first look at the soul which Prudence successfully returns with, she is at least satisfied and the work on the body is completed for the purpose of the union of form and substance. A long ceremonial section thereupon follows in which each of the Virtues endow the new man with their own particular aptitudes and abilities with the final element which surprisingly ties everything together being modesty.
Almost no sooner has the new man been completed than he is put to the test. The new man with a soul constructed by God is viewed jealously and enviously as a being made to mirror God by all the dark creatures and monster of the underworld which set upon him with the urge to destroy before he can become overlord of the entire earth. A massive battle pits the new man against these forces of darkness each of his victories is the direct result of qualities engendered in his creation by the Virtues. Ultimately, it is the gift of modesty which keeps the new man, conqueror of the earthy realm, from heading down the very same path of self-destruction by displeasing Nature. The era of the supremacy of mankind over the other creatures of earth begins.
