O Man know thy selfe, know what thou art, knowe thy beginning why thou were borne, vnto what vse or ende thou were gotten, why thou were made,Eccl. 12. of whose makynge thou were made, to what thyng in this worlde thou were fourmed: haue mynde of thy makynge, be suche as thou were made, yea suche as thy maker formed the. Euery day rensake thyn harte, euery day examyne thyne harte: kepe thy soule from synfulle thoughte, lette not fowle thoughte ouerthrowe thy mynde. When a shrewd thought toucheth the, consent not to it.

Kyll the serpent, when he fyrst appereth, treade downe the serpen­tes [Page] heed. Caste vnder foote the begynnynge of yuell suggestion or styrrynge to synne. Amende synne there, where it is knowen. In the begynnynge withstande a shrewd thought, and thou shalt escape well the remenant.

BE thou not defowled with a­ny vncleannesse,Gal. 5. be thou not spotted through any foule luste: Lette lecherye growe no more in the, Chastitie ioyneth a man to god. To chastitie is behyght the kyngedome of heuen. If thou yet fele the styrynge of thy fleshe, if thou be touched with prickyn­ges of thy flesshe, if thou yet be styred with the suggestion of lust, if the mynde of lechery yet tyckle thy wyll, if thy flesshe yet fyght ageinst the, yf lechery yet temp­teth [Page III] the, if luste yet styreth the to synne: sette before the the mynde of deathe, put before the, the day of thy deathe, set before thyn eyen the ende of thy life, put before the the strayte dome that is to come, put before the, the harde turmen­tes that ben to come, sette before the the euerlastynge fyre of Hell, put before the the horrible peynes of Helle.

PRay with wepynge continu­ally,The. 5. pray busily, beseche god daye and nyghte: Mourne and sorowe euer for synne. Aryse in the nighte to prayer, lette prayer be to the a continuall armour.

This is the fyrste vertue ageinste temptation. Diuels ben ouercom by prayer: Prayer auaylleth a­geynst all iuelles.

CHastise thy body by fastynge, by Abstynence, and by scar­cenesse: thou mayste not ouer­come temptations in their hyghe heate, but if thou be lerned to faste. Throughe meate forsothe groweth luste, Plentie of meatis stereth men to lechery: but by fa­stynge, luste is restreyned, by fa­stynge lechery is ouercome.

DRynke forsoth is instrument of lechery. Fyre by castynge to of wodde, increaseth more and more, the more mattier is in the fyre, the more is the flame.

THyn eien ben the fyrst dartis of luste. Sighte is desyre of womanne, mynde is caughte by the eien.Psal. 118. Withdrawe thyne eien [Page IIII] from wantonnes: set theym not in the beautie of fleshe. Beholde not a woman for to desyre her.

Do away the cause of synnynge.Eccl. 25. Laye besydes the, the mattier of trespasynge. If thou wylte be sure from lechery, be thou disce­uered from woman in bodye and in syght.

IF thou be departed in bodye from women, thou shalte falle from the intent of synne. If thou sytte besydes a serpent, thou shalt not longe be vnhurte. If thou be longe afore a fyre, although thou were made of iron, somtyme thou shalt melte. If thou abyde ryght nygh peryll, thou shalt not longe be sekyr: oft tymes leysure hath ouercome, whome wylle myghte not.

LEcherye ouertornethe sone a man gyuen to idelnes. Luste brenneth greuousely, whome she fyndeth ydell. Lust gyueth place to trauayle, to warke, to busynes, and to labour. Therfore beware of ydelnes, spende thy good in labour, vse some maner of busines, seke vnto the a profytable warke: whervpon the intent of thy soule may be sette.

GIue the moche to redynge, take hede in Meditation of scripture, busye the in the lawe of god, haue a customable vse in di­uine bokes. Redynge declareth trewely, what thou shalte shone. Redynge shewethe, what thou oughtest to drede. Redynge tel­leth whether thou goest. In re­dynge [Page V] wytte and vnderstandyng increaseth. Thou shalte moche profyte in redynge, yf thou doo as thou redest.

BE thou meke, be thou groun­did in mekenesse, be thou leest and lowest of all. By meke­nesse make thy selfe leaste. Set thy selfe tofore no man. Auāt not thy self, bost not thy selfe wantonly. Streche not forth thy wynges of pryde. So moche thou shalte be the more precious afore god, that thou settest lyttelle price by thy selfe. Beare therfore shame­fastenesse in chere by myndynge of thy defautes. For shame of thy syn be dismayed to loke proudly. Walke with a lowe chere, with a meke mouth, and a sadde visage. In hyghe worshyppe, haue great [Page] mekenesse. Al thoughe thou be hyghe of power, restreyne hygh­nes in thy selfe. Let not worship make the prowde. The hygher thou art in dignite, the lower by mekenesse make thou the.

BE not sory in thy diseases. In thy syckenesse thanke thou god. Be busye rather to be hoole in thy soule, than inbodye. If prosperitie come, be thou not proude: if aduersite falle, be thou nat heuy. Knowe thy selfe, that god hath proued the in sorowe, for thou shuldest not be prowde. Be euen therfore in all thynges. For ioye ne for sorowe, chaunge neuer thy mynde. Understande well, there is nothynge, but hit may falle as god wyll. And if those thynges be thought on be­fore, [Page VI] they ben the easier when they fal. And what so euer therfore happeth, suffer it mekely with fre wyl.

BE more redy to suffre disease than to do hit. Be patient, be meke, be softe, be busye. Kepe patience in all thynges: Kepe softenesse: Kepe mekenesse. Set before a sharpe worde, the shelde of Sufferaunce. Thoughe any man styre the to wrathe, though he whet the, though he blame the, though he repreue the, though he chyde the, thoughe he do wronge to the: be thou stylle, holde thy peace, sette not therby, speake not a worde, stryue not therageynst, by sylence thou shalte the sooner ouercome. Lerne at Christe man­lynesse, take hede at Christe, and be not heuy: he suffrynge wron­ges [Page] lefte to vs ensaumple,Mat. 26. he was bobbed and buffetted,Luc. 22. spytte vpon, and scorned, nayled hande and foote, crowned with thor­nes, dampned to the crosse, and euer more helde his peace.

Therfore what disease that fal­leth to the, wytte it well, it com­meth to the for synne and for thy best. And so tempre thy disease by consideration of rightousnes. And thou shalt suffre it the lyght­lyer, if thou take hede, wherfore it cometh.

LOue peace without fourthe, loue peace within forth, kepe peace with all men, witholde all men in myldenes, beclyppe Cha­ritie. Proue more thy selfe to loue then to be loued. Make pece there hate is. Haue stablenes of mynd. [Page VII] Haue goodnes of wylle. Be redy in good desyre.Eccl. 28. Speke gladly to all men: Flee chydynge. Beware of stryfes. Do away the occasion of Stryfe, Despyse stryfe, and lyue alwaye in peace, stryue not in any wyse.

BE not glad vpon the death of thyn ennemie,Eccl. 8. leste parauen­ture vpō the fal the same, lest god turne his wrath from hym to the. For who so euer ioyeth in the fall of his ennemie, he shal soone fall in the same. Be glad to sorowe vpon hym that is diseased. In other mens miseases be not hard harted: and for other mens mis­cheues mourne as thyn owne.

IN all thy busynesse, in all thy warkes, in all thy lyuynge fo­lowe [Page] good men▪ folow holy men, haue before thyn eien the ensam­ple of sayntis, take hede to worke wel after the vertues of holy mē, lerne to lyue well by the teachyng of ryghtousnes.

DEspise thou praysyng, che­rishinge and fauour of peo­ple. Studie rather to be good than to seme good. Take none hede who prayseth the, or who di­sprayseth the, leste praysynge de­ceyue the, or blamynge lette the. If thou sette naught by praising, lyghtly thou shalte sette besydes the blamynge. Therfore suppose not thy selfe good, thoughe thou beholde good in other mens ton­ges, aske thyne owne conscience, deme thy selfe by thin own dome, and not bi other mens speche, but [Page VIII] in thyn owne mynde inserche thy selfe. There may no man knowe better what thou arte, then thou that knowest thy selfe. What pro­fyteth the, sythen thou arte wyc­ked▪ to be holde good?

FLe thou symulation, feine not holynesse in darke clothynge. Such as thou woldest ben holde, suche be thou in dede. Shewe thy profession in lyuynge and not in tokens. In clothynge and in go­inge haue with the symplenesse: in thy gate and in thy mouynge clennes, in thy bearynge sadnes, in thy walkyng honestie, nothing of vilany, nothynge of vnclean­nesse, nothynge of wyldenesse.

Be ware in thy gouernance, that there appere nothinge of beastly­nes. Gyue not to other cause for [Page] to scorne the. Gyue thou not to any man cause to backbite the.

SHone yuel men,Nu. 16. beware of wic­ked men, fle shrewes, dele not with brothels: flee the companies of those men, whiche ben euer re­dy to vices. Ioyne the to good men, Desyre the felowshyppe of discrete men: Seke the compa­ny of vertuous men. Who so goth with wyse men, he shall be wise: & who so draweth to fooles shall be lyke to theym. For lyke to lyke is woned to be ioyned.

SHutte thyne eares,Eccl. 28. that thou here none yuell. Forsake vn­chaste speches. Fle vnhonest wor­des. For a vayne worde soone de­fouleth the soule: and that that is lyghte done, that is gladdelye [Page VIIII] harde soone.

LEt nothynge passe out of thy mouthe, that myght let ver­tue. Let the soune of thy voyce breake forthe nothynge, but that nedeth. Let that procede frome thy lyppes, that fouleth not the eares of the herers. Uayne worde is token of a voyd cōscience. The tonge of man sheweth his ma­ners: and suche as the worde is suche is the soule.Mat. 12. For the mouth speketh of abundance of the hart.Luc. 6. Refreyne thy tonge frome yuelle speache and ydell. For an ydell worde shal not passe vnpunished. Who soo wyll not refrayne his tonge from ydell wordes, he shall fall lyghtly into sinneful wordes. Let thy word be without reprefe. Let it be profitable to the helpe of [Page] the herers. Besy the not to speke y^t that liketh, but that that nedeth. Take hede what thou spekest, & what thou spekeste not. And both in speking & not speking be ryght well ware, take good auisemente what thou sayest: lest thou mayst not call agayne, that thou saidest. Fle thou the chaunces of tonge. Let not thy tonge lese the. Haue euer more silence to thy frende.

Speke when time is, be stil whan tyme is. Speke thou not ere thou here. Lette askynge open thy mouthe.

BAckebyte not the synner, but be sory for hym. Kyt from thy tonge the synne of backebytynge. Here not an other mans life. De­foule not thy mouthe with an o­ther [Page VIII] mans syn. That thou back­biteste in an other, drede hit in thy self. Whan thou blamest an other, repriue thyn owne syns. If thou wylte backebyte, thynke on thyn own sins. Loke not on other mens defautes, but se thyn owne. Thou shalt neuer backebyte, if thou wel beholde thy selfe. Here no backe­byters: Lysten not to tale tellers. For like gilty ben the backebiters and the herers. Desire not to wyt that that perteyneth not to the.

That that men speake betwene them selfe, besy the not to knowe. Aske thou neuer what any man speaketh, sayth, or doeth: be not to besy, leaue besines that pertei­neth not to the. By as great be­synes amende thyn owne synnes, by howe moche thou beholdest o­ther mens.

FLe busylye all maner of ly­enge,Eccl. 7. and neyther by happe nor by auysemente saye thou not false. The mouth forsothe that lyethe,Sap. 1. slethe the soule. Therfore flee disceyte, Aduoyde lienge, be­ware of falsenes, speke clenly, be trewe of worde, Deceyue no man in lyynge, ne brynge no man to miswenynge. Speke not one thynge and do an other. Saye not one thynge and meane an other.

PUt fro the swerynge, Do a­way the vse of swearynge.Iac. 5. It is perillous sothely, for to swere. For ofte swearynge maketh cu­stome of swearynge.Eccl. 23. And a man moche swearynge, shalbe fulfyl­led with wickednesse, & the plage [Page XI] shall not departe from his house. Trouthe nedethe none othe. A feythfull speche holdeth the place of a sacramente: as who sayth, a faythfull worde is as moche as all the swearynge of the worlde.

DO the good that thou haste behote.Deut. 23. Be not lyghte in worde and harde in dede.Eccl. 5. Thou shalte be moche gyltye to god,Baruc. 6. if thou yelde not that thou haste a­vowed. They displeasen god, that fulfil not their vowes. They bene accompted amonge hethen menne, that performe not theyr vowes, I saye not vowes that bene yuell but good. For if thou through thy foly hast made a fonned vowe: throughe the dome of a discrete man be hit wysely tur­ned into good.

SEy not one yuell worde in thin harte. An yuel worde may not be hydde in silence, that thou do­est or sayest within thy selfe. Be­leue thou that hit is open before god.Sap. 1. If men ben styll, bestes spe­ken. Therfore fly syn, as though thou myghtest not kepe it priue. Synne thou there, where thou knowest god is not. There is no thynge hyd from god, thou shalt be founde gyltye in the iudge­mentis of god, thoughe thou be hydde to mannes iudgementes. For he beholdethe the harte,Psal. 7. that is within forthe.Rom. 8. He seeth & knoweth,Apoc. 2. that man him self kno­weth not. Turne thy counsayle and thy warke euermore to god. In euery dede aske goddis helpe. Arect al thinges to goddis grace, [Page X] and to goddes gyfte. Truste not in thyn owne desertis: in thyn owne vertue presume nothynge.

THere maye no man fle frome him self: and though an open fame harme the not, yet thin own conscience, damneth the. For ther is no peyne greatter then pryc­kyng of conscience. If thou wilte neuer be sory, lyue well. A siker cōscience suffreth easily heuines. A good lyuer is euer more in ioy: the cōscience of a sinful man is e­uer more in peine. A gilty soule is neuer more siker. Nother wound nedeth shall feare the, if thou liue well and trewely.

IF thou wolt multiply thy ver­tues, shewe them not. By thy wyll, hyde thy vertues priuelye [Page] for drede of pride and vayne glo­rie. Fle to be seene, & then thou deseruest mede. That thou maistlese by shewynge, kepe it by hy­dynge.

SHewe the synnes of thyn hart, make opē thy shrewed thoughtes. A syn shewed is sone healed: a defaute forsoth hyd, is made more syn, by silence it encreaseth more and more. Trewely than hit be­houeth to shewe yuel to amend it.

BE thinke the longe before the dede: Auise the longe before the warke. That thou wylte do, inserche it longe, proue it longe: and so do it, when thou hast long bethought the. Do than as thou hast proued, in thynges that ben certayne. Of wel doinge tary not, [Page XIII] ne put it not ouer tyll to morowe. In good thynges taryenge har­meth, & letteth tho thynges that ben nedefull.

THere is no thinge better than wysedome, nothynge better than cunnynge, nothynge lustier thā knowlege: nothyng worse thā lewdnesse. It is an hyghe coun­nynge to knowe what thou shalt flee: and it is an hyghe wretched­nesse, not to knowe whither thou goeste. Therfore loue wisedome, and it shalbe shewed to the: go to it, and it shall come to the, be busy there aboute, and it shal lerne the.

LErne that thou canste not, lest thou be founde an vnprofitable techer, the good that thou haste harde, sey it: the good that [Page] thou hast lerned teache hit. The more that is youē, the more it waxeth: but yet let dedes go before the worde. The whiche thou shewest with thy mouth, fulfyll hit with warke: that thou teachest by wor­des, shewe it in ensample. For if thou teache and doo hit, thanne shalte thou be holde glorious. In thy techyng kepe the from mans praysynge. So informe other, that thou kepe thy selfe. Soo teach, that thou lese not the grace of mekenes. Beware, lest whyle thou reysyste other by teachynge, thou fal not thy selfe by praisyng. When thou teachest, vse not darknes of wordes: saye so that thou be vnderstonden. The diuersi­tie of persons is to be seen: And whan and how thou teachest, be aduised. Speake common thyn­ges [Page] to all men: And to fewe men shewe that is hydde. Be not asha­med to speake, that thou canste well defende. That thou wantest of cunnynge, aske of other men. By cunnynge trewly shewed, hyd thinges ben opened, & harde thin­ges made lyght.

BE not besy to knowe: that is hydde, coueite not to knowe. In disputynge do away stryfe: do a waye frowardnes, and assente soone to trouth. Say not ageynst ryghtousenesse. Stryue not to auoyde that is ryght. Loue more to here than to saye. Here in the begynnynge, and speake laste of all: the last spech is better then the fyrste.

VUorshyp euery man for the merite of holynesse. After theyr worthynes gyuen to euery man worshyppe. Suppose not thy selfe euen to thy soueraygne. Gyue obeysance to thyn elders. Serue theyr byddynges: bowe to theyr auctoritie: folowe theyr wyll. Obey to all men in good byddynges: yet soo obey the to man, that thou offende not the wyll of god. Therfore fulfylle mekely the charges y^t thou hast take vppon the, be obediente to goddes ordinaunce: be not hardy to do ageynst his wyll. Dispose all thynges not with a sturdy but with an easye harte. Beware of worshyppes, whiche thou mayste not haue withoute synne.

BUsy the rather to be loued of thy subiectes then to be drad. Let thy subiectes rather worshyp and serue the for loue, than for drede or for nede. Quite the such to thi subiectis, that thou be more loued than dradde. With a soue­raygne goodnes gouerne thy subiectes. Be not ferdful to thy sub­iectes: be such lorde to them, that they be glad to serue the. Both in punyshynge an cheryshyng, kepe a meane: be not to strayte, ne for­gyue not to soone. Kepe maner in al thy warke. It longeth to a wise man to measure all thynges, lest of good be made yuell. Beholde certaynely, what is couenable for the tyme, where, when, how, and wherfore thou byddest any thyng to be done. That thou wolt to be [Page] done to the, do thou to an other. Be suche to other men, as thou desirest other men to be to the. Hynder no man with thy witnes. Do no man harme, leste thou suffer the same. Kepe manlines, kepe ryghtousnes, defende no man a­gaynste trouth. When thou de­mest, be he poore, be he ryche, be­holde the cause & not the persone. Kepe trouthe in all thynges. Syt neuer in dome without mercy. Be as meke in other mens defautes as in thyn owne. So deme other men, as thou desirest to be demed thy selfe. While thou arte merci­ciful in other mens gilt, thou hast mercy on thy selfe. The dome that thou puttest vpon an other, thou shalt beare thy selfe.Mat. 7. In what me­sure that thou measureste,Mar. 4. shalbe measured to the. Deme no man [Page] by suspection: fyrste proue and so deme. In domes reserue the sen­tence to goddes iudgement. And that that thou knoweste, to thyn owne dome: and that that thou knowest not, to goddes dome.

IF thou wolte be in reste, desire nothynge of the worlde. Thou shalte haue rest of soule, if thou put fro the y^e busines of y^e worlde. Cast fro y^e al that may let a good purpose, be mesured to the world, and the worlde to the, as thoughe thou were dead. Beholde not the glory of this worlde. Set not by that whyle thou lyuest, that thou mayste not haue when thou arte dead. What so euer thou gyuest, gyue it with a good wyl. Do mercy withoute gyfte: gyue almes without heuynes. The good wil [Page] is more than that is gyuen. That y^t is giuen with good wyll,Eccl. 3 [...]. y^t god acceptethe:2. Cor. 9. but he that gyueth with heuynes, shall lese his mede. There is no mer­cye, where is no good wyll. Do nothynge for praysynge, nothynge for worldely opiniō, but onely for life e­uer lasting. Amen.