Of Fayth. j. cha.

THe lorde sayeth that all thing is po­ssyble Math. ix. to hym that be leueth. No man can come to etnal blysse without fayth, he is ryght fortunate and happye, that beleueth well, & beleuing well liueth wel, and lyuing well, kepeth well his fayth. For. s. Paule sayeth, that it is impossyble to please GOd Hebre. vi. without fayth, and. S. Isodore sayeth, that no man can please God without fayth. Men are not constrayned to byleue, but they are drawen vnto it by goodly examples / and resonable per­suasyons, [Page] for yf man shulde be constrayned to byleue, the con­straynt and fere onse gone, he wolde returne and wax worse, then euer he was before. Fayth without good, and charytable Iam. ii. workes is but deade, & of none effect, for he that is not ornared w^t good workes, let hym truste nothynge to fayth, for it is but dead. He that beareth the crosse, ought to be as ded in this world, for why to beare the crosse, is nothyng elles but to mortifye himselfe. And he that sayeth he bea­reth the crosse, and doth not mortifye hym selfe in this worlde, is a very hypocrite, and a false dy­ssembler. But he that doutythe not at all, but fermly and stedfa­stly byleueth all y^• is heuēly and good, loke what he demaūdeth [Page iiij] he shal optayne it. He y^• bileueth Iohan. iii in Iesus y^• son of God, shall op­tayne etnal & euerlasting lyfe, & who so byleueth not in hym, shal neuer come thyther. S. Iames Ia [...], ii. sayth, y^• as the bodye w^tout the soule is but dead, so in likewyse, fayth is but dead, & of none ef­fecte w^tout good workꝭ. My wel i. Cor. xiii beloued syster fayth is an excel­lēt, & a great thing, but of no substāce w^tout charite. Therfore lo­ke ye haue good fayth & kepe it as pure, & as net as ye may, ta­ke hede y^• ye be vncorrupted, y^t it cōtinue in you. And y^• ye cōfesse the selfe fayth, w^tout any corruptiō, or folish cōmunicaciō of christe Iesu, suspecte no cruelnes or euyl in hym / lest y^e so thīking by him, ye offēde, and diminish the loue ye haue, or shuld haue vnto [Page] hym be iuste in your fayth, and loke ye haue Ioyned to ryght fay the holy conuersacyon, and that in dedes ye do not denye hym that ye do praye vnto with mouth, for an euyll thynge myngled with that, that good is doth infecte and mar all, as through a lytle pryde, all other goodnes and vertues are stayned, loke therfore y^• ye (the which through grace are perfaith in Fayth) do not amis ī dede, nor y^t ye besmutter not your faith nor polute not the integrite therof by naughtie lyuynge nor that ye myngle not vyce with vertue, nor ioyne yll to good. Thus my good syster God preserue you in health.

Of esperance & hope. ij. c.

THe lord sayeth despere not Marke. xi. but loke that ye haue the fayth of God in you hope that may be sene, is no hope, for Roma. viii what Hope is in that thynge a man seyth, but yf we Hope that thynge we se not we do patienly tary for it / wherupon Salomon Prouet. x. sayeth that the abode and expectacion of iust men is ioyfulnes, but the hope of euyll men shall peryshe Therfore my ryght wel beloued syster tary for the lorde, and kepe his waies that is, kepe his cōmaūdementes and he shal so exalte you, that ye shall haue heuen for your herytage. Dere syster I saye tarry for the lorde, and declyne from al euyl, and at the day of dome and iudgement [Page] he shal exalte you, for they y^e wyl not leue to doyl, do lese but there labour to tary for his mercy, of the which they might be sure of, yf they wolde leue there mysse liuing. Wherupō s. Isidore saieth that we shuld fere lest y^• through the great hope y^e god doth ꝓmis vs, we contynue in syn. And a­gayne, y^• we fall not in dyspere, bicause of his iust punishmēt, & correctiō, the which are to great fautes, y^• is to cōtynew in syn, & to despere of Goddꝭ mercy. And therfore it shalbe best to exchew thē both, y^• is to auoyde & to re­nounce y^• is yll, & to haue good hope in the great mercy of god, for euery good man doth enforse hym selfe through hope, & fere to come to euerlastīg life, hope ele­uathe a man to ioye, & anone aft [Page vi] the remēbraūce of euerlastynge payne bryngeth a mā to feare: & truly who so desperith to optain remission & ꝑdon of his synnes, doth cōdemne him selfe more by desperatiō then by sin. Therfore good syster, let your hope be sted fast in chryst Iesu, for mercy shal cōpas them y^• trust in god, trust Psal. xxxvi stedfastly in hym therfore, and do wel & inhabite the earth, that is y^• holy church, & ye shalbe nouryshed w^t his goodes, y^• whiche the church possesseth, for y^e thing y^• is done w^tout y^• auctorite of y^• church is of no valure nor yet of no merite. Good syst leue of, all varyghtfulnesse y^• is all workes which are cōtrary vnto god, or your neyghboure, and trust in goddꝭ mercy, leue of al iniquite and specyally all pryde, the whi­che is called iniquite and truste [Page] in thy sauour chryst Iesu, amēd your selfe, and hope in the great mercye of god, put away all prauite and all noughtynesse, and hope to haue pardon, correcte your lyfe, and trust to haue lyfe eternall, to the whiche I desyre hym to bryng you that hath chosen you before all worldes.

Of grace. iij. chap

SAynt Paule say Roma. v. the, where hath ben moch sin, there hath ben moche grace, so that where syn hath reygned vnto death, grace may Roma. vi. also reygne through pardon to come to eternall lyfe, for the salare and rewarde of syn is no no­ther thynge but death [...], but the grace of god, is eternall beatitude [Page vij] god hath distributed & giuen Ephe. iiii. grace to euery man accordynge to the measure of y^e gyft of christ Welbeloued syster, the profyte of a spirituall man (as sayeth. s. Isidore) is a gift of god, then yf whe profyte throughe the grace of god, it must nedes folow, & necessary it is that we laude god, of our good dedes, and not ourselues. Nor no man can be cor­rected, but it must come of God for man hath nothynge that is good of hym selfe, nor the occasion or wayes to do well cōmeth not of man, as sayeth the Pro­phete Hiece. x. Hierime: good lorde sayth he, I knowe wel that the wayes of man is not sufficyent to ordre his affares, that is to saye, it is not in mannes power to wauke in the wayes of Iustice, yf God [Page] lede hym not, the which fayleth nomā y^• wylduly are hym y^e way But there are many y^• deserue to be depryued of y^t way. And whē man hath receyued any gifte of god, he shulde requyre nothyng elles, but well to vse the same, lest be the vsurpyng of another mans offyce, he lese the gift that was gyuē hi before. For why he troubleth all y^• hole ordre of y^• body, y^• is not content w^t his owne office, but vsurpeth another mā nes. In y^• diuisiō of goddes gyftes, y^• one taketh one, y^• other another, for they are neuer gyuē all Roma. xiii to one mā, but to dyuers, so that by humilite, some one may haue that another may maruel at For when it is wryten in Ezechiel Ezeche [...] that the beastes wynges smyte one vpō another, be that is syg­nified, [Page viij] that the holy saites throughe there manifold, & diuers vertues, prouoke and moue eche o­thers affectiōs, and that the one through good examples techeth the other. O honest virgyn I wolde ye shuld know, that with out the grace of god preuenting accompanynge, and helpyng of vs, we can do nothīg that good is, the grace of god dothe preuēt vs, to thentente we shulde wyll that is good, and verteous, it accompaneth vs, bicause we shuld begyn to do that good is, it hel­peth and worketh with vs, to thentent we maye make perfyte and brynge to passe that, that is good and verteous.

Then it is gyuen vnto vs by GOD, to wyll well, to begyn­ne well, and to do well, it fo­ [...]t [Page] foloweth then that vertue is gyuen vs by god, and that vyce and syn cōmeth of our selues of god cōmeth charite, purite, and honestye, but as for pryde coue­tusnesse, and cupidite is of oure selues, for whe can do nothyng y^e good is without the ayde & help of god, and throughe the grace of god whe may do great good, without Goddes grace whe be very tradius slouthfull & colde to all goodnesse, but his grace cadyng vs we be ryght dilygēt to al vertues operaciō, without God, that is without his helpe, we be euer more redy to synne, and to al noutynesse, but by his grace whe be delyuered therof without the helpe of god whe be inclined to loue these wordely thynges more then it becōmeth [Page ix] vs a great dele, but by his grace and gracious assistaūce we des­pyce these vayne transitoryous and worldly thynges, and de­lyre celestiall, we war e [...]ected out of the celestiall paradyse for Adams mistaute, but throughe his grace we truste to come thy­ther agayne, throughe Adams wretchednes and syn we descen­ded to hel. But by goddes grace we trust to assende to euerlastīg ioye. And not withstandynge we be ryche, wyse, and stronge, yet it is all of his grace. And I wolde ye shuld knowe my dere syster, that all the good that we haue in this worlde, we haue it of hym, and that all our aduersytes and sorowfulnesse do come of our mislyuyng, god through his great mercye deuydeth his [Page] gyftes amonge vs but all euyl cōmeth for oure synnes. Of the grace of god cōmeth all prospe­ryte, and of our syn and wyckednesse, all aduersite by GOddes grace we optaine that is neces­sarye, and through vyce the contrary. Therfore it is very expe­dy [...]t and necessary euermore w^t thankes accordynge to remem­ber the great benefites of God, of the whiche oure holy mother the church speakyng to Chryste Iesu her spouse saythe. They that remember thy grace, thy [...]an. 1, mercy, and thy benefytes, loue the, y^e is to say, they loue y^•, y^• are well mynded, they are well mynnyd and of good harte, y^• ascriue no ryghtfulnesse, nor no holy­nesse to there ꝓpre merites but al to the grace of GOD. And [Page x] they loue y^e, which are saued and remēbre thy grace. O honest virgyn loke ye remēber euermore y^e grace of god, for al the goodnes that ye haue, is by his grace. Heare what Paule sayth, by the grace of god, sayth paule, I am Cor. xv. that I am. Also by the grace of GOd ye are that ye are, for that ye haue dispised the worlde, and vtterly left your fathers house, and are apoynted to serue god, and to lyue with the handmay­dens of god, al these vertues, & goodnes do onely procede of the grace of GOD, and that ye are a pure and a clene virgin, and so dothe intende to conty­newe, it is not of your selfe, but of the great grace of god.

Of feare. iiij. cha

MY we beloued si­ter, harken what I saye, harken vnto my admonition, and to my wordes, feare God aboue all thynges, and Ecclesi. [...] [Page xii] kepe alwayes his commaunde­mentes, for the eyes of GOD, are alwayes vpō those that fere hym, and vpon those that fere hym, and vpon those that truste to his mercy. And Salomon Prouer. iii sayeth, feare GOD, and leue al wickednesse, he that feareth god forgetteth nothynge, and a cer­tayne wyse man sayeth, that the feare of god is glorye, and that gloriation is the myrth, & crow­ne of all exultacyon, the feare of Eccle. i. god shall delyte the harte, and with long lyfe gyue ioye & myr­the, for he that is without y^• fere of GOD, can not be iustifyed Eccle. i. the feare of god, is wisdome and discipline, doute not in the feare of god, nor approche not towar­des hym with a double harte.

You that feare God, sustayne & kepe wel his mercy, & depart not [Page] from hym, least ye fal, ye y^t feare god, byleue in hi, & your reward shall not be diminysshed. You y^e Ecclesi. ii. feare god, loue hym, and youre hartes shalbe illuminated, and inflamed, they that feare god, beleue his wordes, and they that feare him, wyll kepe and folowe his waves, they y^• feare god wyl enquere for such thyngꝭ as shall plese him, & are replenished with his lawes. They that fere God wyll proue there hartes, and in his presence sanctifye there sou­les, they that feare god, kepe his cōmaundementes, and haue patience vntyl he loke vpon them, that is vntyll they departe the worlde. Goddes eyes are alway­es vpon them that feare hym, & Eccle. xv he knoeth all there workes, wys­dome is the ende of the feare of [Page xiii] god, he that feareth god, is very fortunate, and god in tyme of tē ptation shall delyuer hym from all euyll. The spiryte of those y^• feare god shalbe requyred, and sought for, and be blessed in his syght. The feare of god is lyke­ned to paradyse, and shalbe co­uerde with all benediction and glorye. Happe is he, vnto whom god hath gyuē his feare, for the feare of god, is the begynnynge Eccle. xxv. of the loue of god. O my welbe­loued syster, there is nothynge that kepeth or defendeth vs better frō syn, then the feare of hell & the loue of god to feare god is to do no euyl, & to leue no goodnesse vndone, the which are mo­che necessary to cause and to in­gender in man the feare of god, that is the foūtayn of wisdome. [Page] blyssed shall he be at the houre Eccle. i. of his death, that feryth GOd. Good syster, it is a very good Iohn̄, ii [...] thynge to feare God, for the fere of god doth exile and banysshe syn, and represse vyce, the feare of god causyth a man to be wy­se and diligēt, where is no fere of god, there y^e soule is in greate parell and daunger. Where is no feare of God, there is mys & dissolute liuynge, where there is no feare of God, there is abun­dance of syn. Therfore honest virgyn, loke that fere and hope be in your harte, and that they contynewe in you. And trust so vnto the mercy of GOd, that ye alwayes feare his iustice.

But yet ye shall vnderstande y^e there are foure maner of feares, feare humane, feare seruile, Iniciall, [Page xiiii] and chaste feare, feare hu­mayne (as sayeth Cassiodore) is when we feare to suffer any daū ger of the body, or y^e feare of losse of our worldly goodes and sub­staūce, this worldly and nough­tye feare is lefte in the worlde, in his fyrst degre, for the Lorde Math. xv. sayeth, ye shall not feare them y^t kyll the body, & can not touch the soule. The seconde feare is called Seruile, as saythe blissed S. Austen, for he y^t for the great fere of the paynes of hell leuyth to synne, and dothe no good for GODdes sake, but for feare of payne, he fearythe after the ma­ner of a seruaunt, the which do­the suche good as he dothe, not for feare of lesinge of that he lo­ueth not, but for feare of pu­nyshment whiche he feareth to [Page] suffer, such men feare not to lese the swete imbrasynges of there swete spowse Iesus. But they feare to be condempned, of this feare, saynt Paule sayeth. Uere­ly sayeth he, ye haue not recey­ued Roma. viii the spyryte of seruytute in feare, but ye haue receyued the spiryte of chyldly adoption.

This feare seruyle is good and profitable, notwithstandyng it be not sufficyēt nor yet perfyte, for therby, groweth by a lytle & a litle, a custome of Iustice and of good workes. For when man begynneth to byleue the daye of Iudgment, he begynneth also to feare it. But he that feareth it, hath not perfyte trust therof, nor there is no perfyte charyte in hym that fearyth, for yf he had perfyte charite, he wold not [Page xv] feare for perfyte charite shulde Iohan. iiii cause perfyte iustice in mā. And so he shuld haue no cause to fere but rather a good cause to de­syre that all iniquite war paste and gone, and that the kyngdōe of heuen war come. What other thynge is perfyte charite, but perfyte holines, he hath perfyte charyte, that lyueth perfytely, & he that lyueth perfetly, hathe no cause to be condempned, but to be crouned in heuē, he that hath in him selfe, perfyte charite ne­deth not tofeare to be dāued but to hope to be a glorious saynte in heuen. And of this speaketh Dauid, sayenge. All they that Psal. v. loue thy name, shalbe gloryfyed in the, so it foloweth y^e feare is not in charite, but that perfyte charite chaseth all feare awaye. [Page] To this kynde of fere succedeth the thyrde feare called Iniciall, that is when a man begynneth to do that thynge for Chrystes sake, the whiche at the begyn­nyng he dyd for feare of eternal dampnatiō, of this fere speketh Dauid saieuge, that the feare of Psal. cx. god, is the beginning of al wys­dome, for Inicial is, when a mā beginneth to loue God, whome he feared before And so the secōd kynde of feare, is excluded from the harte of man. Unto this Iniciall feare succedyth the fourthe kynde of feare, called chast feare be the which we feare least that the lorde tarry to longe frō vs, and that he wyll leue vs, and that we shall offende hym, and moue him by our synnes, and finally lese hym. This maner of [Page xvi] feare doth descende and spryn­geth of loue, of the which we re­de in y^• sauter. The feare of god, Psal. xviii sayeth Dauid, remayneth eter­nally for euermore, fere cōmeth fyrst to mans harte, why so? To prepare a place for charite, whē charite shal begyn to be in y^e hart of man, then feare which had prepared a place for charite, is re­iected and sende from thense.

Lysten good syster vnto this ex­ample or similitude. We se that by the bristell the threde is bra­wen throwe, for the brystell en­ter the fyrst, & ledithe the threde throw the seme In lyke maner, feare doth fyrst enter into mans soule, and after it, cōmeth chari­te, but after that charite is onse enterde she chaseth feare away [Page] This chast feary, is a very holy feare for it in genderth all goodnes in mās thought. This is a holy feare, y^t bryngeth to mānes thought perfite charite, for ꝑfet charite, is perfite holynesse, this is a feare that is very chaste, for it falleth into no auoutery, but loueth GOD aboue al thyng, and preferthe nothyng aboue y^e loue of GOd, this feare is also caulde chyldly feare, for it fea­reth not god, as a seruāt fereth his cruel maister, but as a child feareth his swete father. But what meneth Dauid be this sayenge Psal. xviii, y^t feare of god remayneth for euermore. When saynt Iohn layeth, that perfet charite dothe repell and chace feare awaye. Iohn̄. iiii

This is that we tolde you be­fore, that he hathe chast feare in [Page xvii] hym, that fereth not GOD by­cause of the paynes of hell, nor for the tormētes of the fyer, but for the reuerence & loue he hath vnto GOd, and this reuerent, & louynge feare to God shall en­dure for euermore. He that fea­reth god for the paynes of hell, hath not this chast fere, but the feare called seruyle, nor he hath no perfyte charite, for yf he lo­ued god perfetly, he wolde haue ꝑfyte iustice in him selfe, & shuld not feare god for feare of the pa [...]es of hell, but onely for reue­rence and good loue, & therfore the fere of payne is not in cha­rite for perfyte Charite putteth all feare awaye. A seruaunt feareth his maister after ano­ther sorte, then the chyld the fa­ther. The seruant feareth his [Page] mayster with dispeare and ha­tred, the childe fereth his father with all loue and reuerence.

Therfore I aduyse you to feare god with all loue and reuerence I wyl not ye shuld be euermore vnder the yoke of feare, but that ye shulde lyfte vp your selfe vn­to god the father, that made and created you as his owne doughter. Also I exhorte you to loue god chastely, and that ye prefar nothynge aboue his loue, but y^• for his sake & loue, ye esteme lytle all worldly thynges. Fer­thermore honest virgyn, I de­syre you to amende your liuyng as moche as ye maye possible, & in such maner that your wordes and cōmunicaciō may be pudy­ke & chast, youre pase all honest, your coūtenaūce hūble & meke, [Page xviii] your tongue affable, your soule replenished w^t the loue of God, your handes ful of good workꝭ, the lorde helpyng you, without whose ayde it is impossible to do well. My deare syster in chryst, yfye feare GOd, withall youre harte, ye shall haue great aboū ­daunce of ryches not onely in this presēt lyfe, but also in tyme to come.

Of charite. v. cha.

THe king hath brought [...]. me into his wyne celler, & hath ordayned charite in me. This wine celler is y^• church in the whiche is the wyne of prechyng of y^• gospel. Into this celler is brought y^e louer of y^e spouse y^• is y^• deuoute soule of mā wherī charite is ordained & set, for eueri [Page] thynge ought not to be equally belouyd but in diuers maners, we shulde not loue all thynges alyke and with one affectiō, but one more and another lesse, for why to know what we ought to do, and not to knowe howe to order it, is no perfite science, for yf we loue not such thynges as we shulde loue, or yf we loue suche thynges as we shulde not loue, our charite is not well orderde, or yf we loue any thynge more or lesse then we shulde do, oure Charite is not well ordered, for Charite well ordered, wylleth y^• we feare god aboue all thyng, we shulde loue god with al our harte, that is with all our vnder Math. xxii standyng, and w^t all our mynd, & that is with all our wyll, and with all our thought, that is w^t [Page xix] all our memory, we shulde also e [...]alte and lyft vp vnto god all our vnderstandynge, all oure thought, all oure lyfe, of whome we haue althynge. And beware that there be no part of our lyfe in ydelnesse, but what soeuer y^• cōmeth to our mynde: redresse it vnto hym, from whome finally all feruentnes of loue dothe descende and flowe. Therfore my dere syster it is a ryght worthy thynge & a very necessary, that we loue God aboue all thynge, for he is the soueraine goodnes then to loue the souerayne goodnesse, is souerayne beatitude, & the more a man loueth god, the more he is fortunate, he that lo­ueth god is reputed to be good, and yf he be good, it foloweth y^• he is fortunate. Of the whiche [Page] thynge it is wryten in the canti­cles. The loue of god is as strō ­ge as death, that is well sayde, for as death doth violently seperate the soule from the bodye, so the loue of god, dothe violently seperate man from all carnall, and worldly loue, and verely the loue of GOD is, as stronge as death, for whē that through the loue of god, we be mortified frō vice, then what soeuer death do­the in mannes body, the same dothe the delection of god in the cupidites and pleasures of this worlde. God shulde be beloued for his owne sake, for he is the souerayn goodnes of all goodnes and he that hathe created vs of nought. Charite is the delectiō, by the which the lorde is loued for his owne sake, and a mans [Page xx] nyghbour forgoddꝭ sake. Aboue all thing & fyrst god ought to be beloued as I haue shewed you, that is before all other thynge, and secōdarely your neyghbour in god, that is in all goodnesse. Charite hath two cōmaundemē tes and preceptes. The fyrst pertayneth to the dilection of god, the whiche is y^• principall point of all. The seconde pertayneth to the dilection of your neygh­bour, the which is lyke vnto the fyrst, as it is wrytē. Thou shalt Math. xxii loue thy lorde god, & thy neygh­bour as thy selfe, as thoughe he wold say, y^• shuld loue thy neighbour for y^e thīg & to y^• ende y^• dost loue thy selfe, y^e i [...], y^e he maye be good & come the blysse of heuen. And of this godly & neighbour­ly dilection chryst in the Can­ticles sayeth vnto his spouse, [...] [Page] charite, for if charite were in him god shuld be in hym, for God is charite. Also we shulde loue our neighbours & kynsfolke, yf they be good, & goddes seruātes, but yet we shuld rather loue a straū ger copelyd vnto vs by charite, then our kynsfolke that neyther loue nor serue GOd: Why so? For the cōiunction & copulatiō of men by charite, is of a more ꝑ fectiō & holynesse, then onely bodely coniunction. We shulde loue all faythful people, but for asmoch as we cānot profyte thē all, we ought principally to profyte thē the which by reasō of in habitatiō tyme, & other oportu­nites, are straytly ioyned vnto vs by charite, but yet w^t lyke lo­ue, we shuld desyre euery mans saluattō, & loue al maner of peo­ple [Page xxii] charitable that is, we shulde loue them to thentent they may loue God and be saued, yet we ought not to shewe the workes of mercy egally to euerye man, but to some more, to some lesse. My welbeloued sister, yf we ke­pe trewe, and perfyte charite, by GODdes helpe, and grace we may come to saluation, and for the loue of god, we shulde loue our enemyes, as it is wryten.

Loue your enemyes, do good to Luke. v [...]. those that hate you, and pray for them that persecute you, that euen so, ye maye be the chyldren of GOD. Then good sy­ster, Charite is very necessary for without it no man can plea­se GOD, he loueth not GOD that hateth his peple, nor he lo­ueth not god, that dispeseth his Hevre. xii. [Page] cōmaundementes, charite is the very rote of all vertue, without charite what soeuer we do, it helpeth not, al our diligēce is vaine without charite, where that charite is not there raygneth flesly cupidite and lust, and therfore a man is called perfyte, when he is ful of charite, for without charite (notwithstandynge a man byleue neuer so well) he shal ne­uer come to eternall beatitude, the vertue of charite is so excel­lent and so noble, that without it, all other vertues auayle not, but yf charite be in man, as it ought to be, he hath all thynge, he that loueth not GOd, loueth not hym selfe. Therfore nowe at this tyme, I monyshe you, that by perfite loue ye annexe & ioine your self to your īuiseble spouse [Page xxiii] chryst Iesu, and that be no mea­nes ye couet not, these worldly thynges. And haste you also be affection to be out of this dale of wretchednes, & thynk it a payne to be long here, nor take no pleasure therī, but w^t al your myght and desyre be as faruent as ye may to departe vnto god youre louer, & that for the loue of him, ye esteme and repute youre pro­per helthe as nothynge. And lo­ke y^t ye be euermore throw pear­sed with the woundes of his ex­cellent loue, and so, that ye maye say these wordes, I am woun­ded with charite. My welbelo­ued lyster in chryst Iesu, harken vnto goddes wordes. Whoso­euer sethe, that he loued me, shal Iohn. xiiii be beloued of my father, & I wyl loue hym, and manyfestly vys­close [Page] my selfe vnto hym. Ther­fore good sister, loue him in this transitory worlde, that he maye loue you with his father in per­petuall beatitude.

Amen.

¶ Of the cōtempt of the worlde. viij. cha.

MY Welbeloued syster, Math. xix. Marke. x. Luke. xvii. harken vnto Chryst Iesu the whiche sayth. Whosoeuer wyl forsake and seue his house, his father and mother, his bre­thren and systers, or his childrē, his feldes, or his heritage for y^e loue of me and my name, he shal receyue a hunderth tymes as­moch, and therwith eternal and euerlastynge lyfe. Wherfore good syster it is for oure greate [Page xxiiii] luker & profyte, to leue al earth­ly Iaco. iiii. thynges for Goddes sake to get eternall, for whosoeuer be a frend and a fauerer of y^• worlde, he is goddes enemie. Wherfore let vs not loue the worlde, least that God shall hate vs. He shall easely despyse all thynge, that rememberth euermore that he shal dye. Yf we dayly call oure death to memory, we shall wyl­lyngly despyse all earthly thyn­ges, yf we thynke dayly vpon the daye of oure death, we shall efthsones forget and despyse all worldly pleasures.

Amen.

Of the ha [...]yte, & cōueniēt garmentes. cap. ix.

THe lorde sayeth Math. vi. They that are deli­cately and softly be­sene, are in greate mens houses. A mans garment is called softe & delicate, bycause it mollefyeth & corrupte the mynde, great mens houses delyte in such wanton, & delicate vesture, but the churche of god deliteth, & taketh pleasu­re in humble and sharp arraye. In the vesture of chryst seruan­tes & of his hand maydēs shuld not be, nor yet a peare newfan­gelnesse, no vanite, no superfluite, nor no sygne of pryde, or of vayne glorye. Wherupon. S. Hierome sayeth that the tender [Page] and softe vesture doth not orna­te nor set forth goddes seruātes, but the clerenesse of thought.

Therfore my welbeloued syster, let vs decke vs, with spirituall ornamentes, that is with chari­te, humilite, gentylnes, obedience, and paciēce, these be the very ornamentes with the whiche we may please oure celestial spouse chryst Iesus, for oure inuisible spouse requireth no erteryoure beutie, but the interior & inward beutie, as Dauid the Prophet sayeth. All the glorye of the kin­ges doughter, that is of god, is Psal. liiii. inwardly, and all such glorye is in a good, in a humble, and in a pure conscyēce, and in such thynges they that be good, do onely glorye, but these idiotes do euer more glorye ī these exterior thin­ges. [Page xxix] Therfore let good maners be your ryches, let good liuyng be your beutye, for I wolde my good syster, that that thynge myght be sayde by you, that is red in the canticles. My swete Canti. x. harte ye are all goodly, nor there is not a spot in you. And againe it is wryten, come from the moū tayne of Libano, for ye shall be crowned. Truly that soule may well be called fortunate, that seruyth god vndefyledly, ye shalbe very fortunate, yf ye maye serue god youre spouse without any spot of syn, in deuer not youre self to plese god with your fayre face, but with your harte, youre vesture shal neyther be to precy­ous, nor yet to vyle, but mode­rate and cōpetent. And so sayeth saynt Austen of hym selfe.

[Page] I confesse (sayeth he) that I am a shamed of my goodly araye.

And agayne he sayeth, that such goodly araye besemeth not his profession, it pertayneth not to these membres, it besemeth not these graye eares. Be therfore good virgyn well and honestly besene, not to apeare to be bewtifull, but only for bodely health, least that when ye are trymblye besene, ye fall to synne, for the more that the body is wantonly set forth invayneglorye, so moch the more the soule is inwardly bespotted and defyled. Therfore good syster shewe your professiō to your pace and in your haby­te, & that in youre pace be simplicite and honeste, in youre mo­uynge purenesse in your gesture grauite, and in youre maner of [Page xxx] goynge honeste, and that there­in appeare no dishoneste, no wā tonnesse, no pryde, no slugges­neshe, nor no lyghtnesse, for why the wyll and mynde of a man dothe appeare, and is knowen by the gesture of the bodye, the gesture of the body is the decla­ration of the mynde, by a mans gesture his corage is soone per­ceiued. Therfore good syster let your maner of goyng and pace haue no symilitude of lyghtnes in it. Let not your pace oftē ­de mans syght. Let it not cause men to gase apon you, or be any occasyon, why men shuld slaūder and speake euyll by you Good syster clense youre con­science so, from all malyce and iniquite, that chryst Iesus your spouse may say thus vnto you. Canti. [...]. [Page] O ye are fayre, ye are fayre, your eyes are as goodly as the doues ye are fayre by perfectiō of harte & clēlynesse of mind, ye are fayre for your intencyon is good, and full of all simplicite, for all that ye haue done, ye haue not done it all to please man withall, but onely for the pleasure of god.

Loke your eyes be lyke vnto the doues eyes, for so shall ye kepe them vndefiled from al malyce, su [...]lacion, and fiction. I wryte vnto you these thinges good syster, because ye shulde rather re­ioyce inwardly of your excellent good vertues, then outwardly of your freshe and gay clothyng Wherupon saynt Gregory say­eth, that nomā desyreth ryche, & goodly apparell but onely for vayne glorye, that is bycause [Page xxxi] that mē shulde extoll and laude hym, and thynke thē more honorable then all other. There is no man that desyreth to be wel dec­ked but there onely, where he may be sene, and so it is manifest that he desyreth it only forvaine glorie. O good virgyn, by the desyre of such ryche and worldly apparel, men knowe we do loue this worlde, for he y^e loueth not the world, careth litle or nothīg for suche vanites. When man reioyseth in such goodly & ryche habyte, then his harte is far frō the loue of god his maker, how moche the more we delyte in the fashonyng and trymmynge of our bodyes, so moche the more farther of be we from the loue of god. How moch y^• more we take our pleasure in these earthly, & [Page] transitory thinges, so moche the lesse we desyre celestial and heuē ly thinges. Truely that woman that delyteth and loueth precy­ous aray, can not be but defyled with syn, the spouse of chryst lo­uynge suche clenly and goodly apparell can not be without syn The handmayde of GOd, that hath earnestly lefte the worlde, desyreth no such apparel, hūble and symple vesture is a token of the contempte of the worlde. Therfore good syster I praye you that good maners maye be your habyte, and be no nother inwardes, then ye be outwardꝭ. Loke ye be in very dede the selfe ye wold be estemed and reputed to be And as ye be to mās sight, so be in al your operatiōs & workꝭ, & as ye are in countenaunce, [Page xxxii] so loke ye be in very dede.

Of cōpunction the, x. cha.

THe cōpūction of the harte, is y^e humi [...]ite of the mynd, the whiche procedeth of the remembraūce of syn, and of the feare of Goddes iudgement, this cōpunction is a perfyte thyn g, by the whiche all carnall delectacyon is auoyded, and the mynde intention & study of man fixed in the meditacyon, and contemplacyon of god. We rede of two maner of cōpūctiōs, the tone is whē the soule of god­des seruant is moued, and ther­with reduceth his synnes to memory, the other is, whē the soule with great & depe sythes desy­reth [Page] to come to euerlastyng ioye the soule of euery iust mā is moued by cōpūctiō foure maner of wayes. The fyrst is by y^• remembraūce of his syn, the seconde by the remēbraūce of the paynes y^• be to cōe. The thyrd is by remē ­braunce of the peregrinacion of this mortall lyfe. The fourth, by the desyre of heuē, the whiche the soule of man dothe greatly co­uet. Euery wretched syn̄er knoweth that god doth then visyte hym, when that by compunction he is prouoked to wepe, for. S. Peter dyd wepe through greate compunction, when god beheld hym, for it is wryten, that oure lorde turned hym, and behelde Luke. xxii. peter, and that incontinently he went out and wepte bytterly, & of this speaketh the Psalmist. Psal. xvi. [Page xxxiii] God loked; and the earth moued and trembled. The earth doth then tremble, when the poore & wretched synner is moued to be­wayle his si [...]es. Wherfore good syster I wolde counsell you, to call your synnes to remembraū ce in prayer, and sorowfulnesse, for his prayer is not cleane nor yet acceptable, that prayeth w^t ­out cōpunction or contrition. I pray you to harken vnto the ex­amples of holy sayntes, y^e which by cōpunction and lamentacyō haue obtayned of god pardon, and forgiuenes of theyr sinnes. As Samuels mother by com­punctyon i. Reg. [...] deserued to haue a chylde, and ferthermore she op­tayned of god the gyfte of pro­phecie Dauid by long waylyng and cōpunctiō optayned pardō [Page] of his aduenture and murther, [...]. Reg. xii. for the prophet sayde thus vnto hym. Thou shalt not die, for the lorde hath translated thy synne. And good father Tobias by such cōpūction & teares, was restored to his syght, and holpen of his pouerte, for the angel Raphael sayde thus vnto hym, be glad quod Raphael, & agayne / [...]be. xi be of good chere, for y^• shalt be shortly holpē. And the glorious Magdalene through greate cō ­punction and manyfolde teares Luke. vii harde these wordes of GOddes owne mouthe, thy synnes be for gynēthe. Good syster I haue recyted these exāples of holy sayn­tes vnto you, that your teares & lamētacyon for your missautes with cōpunction maye be swete vnto you, for cōpunction is a desyrefull [Page xxxiiii] treasure, and to mans mynde a ioye ine [...]arrable, he that prayeth with trewe compū ­ction, dothe prophet his soule very moche A stronge champi­on is no lesse worthy of prayse, beynge in lamentation, then be­ynge in battayle, consyderynge then that after oure bapteme, we haue bespotted and defyled our lyfe with stynken syn, set vs nowe baptyse & rynse our cōscy­ence w^t teares, for where is we­pynge, there is spiritual & goo­stly fyre, the whiche shall illumi­nate & kyndle y^e secretes of mās mynde, y^• weping & the teares of penitēt ꝑsons, are vnto God as a chrystendome. Welbeloued syster in christ, yf ye haue cōpunctiō, ye are happe, for cōpunctiō of y^e hart is the health of y^e soule [Page] the cōpunction of the mynde, & thought, is the illumination of the soule, for thē the soule is kynled when that by cōpunction it is moued to wepe, the cōpunctiō of teres is the remission of syn­nes, for then a mans synnes are for gyuen hym, when with byt­ter wepyng and teares he remē ­bereth them, cōpunction dothe brynge the holy gost to man, for as soone as the holy goost doth visyte mans mynde, by and by the poore synner shall bewayle his mislyuynge.

Of heuinesse the .xi. Cha.

THe lorde sayeth / Iohn̄. xvi. Amen amen, this is goddes othe, & his maner of swerynge, as though he wolde saye I sweare vnto you, that ye shall wepe, but the worlde shall reioyce, ye shalbe very heuy but your heuynesse shall be tourned into great ioyfulnesse and plea­sure, and Salomon saveth, a mery Prouet. xv harte, causeth a mery counte naūce, a heuy spiryte is deiected [Page] in to the heuinesse of the soule. A ioyfull harte and mynde ma­keth a man lustye, but a heuy spiryte, [...]o. xvii dryeth vp mans bones, good chylde make no stryfe, nor no contradiction in good thyn­ges, and in all thyng that is gyuen you, loke ye vse no angery nor no euyll wordes, for tribulacion is the heuinesse of the hart, and y^e ioyfulnesse of the harte, is mans lyfe, a troubelous mynde ingendereth heuynesse, but a wyse man wyll resyst it, by heuynesse commeth death, heuynesse doth alter the force and strēgth of mans harte, but a mery and a lyght harte ingēdereth health, heuines drieth vp mans bones. And the holy man Athanasius, sayeth, that a heuy and a melancolius person, is euermore ma­litius, [Page xl] and causeth the holy gost gyuen vnto hym by GOd, to be heuy, as S. paule sayeth. Cause Ephe. iiii. not the holy goste, that is in you to be heuy, by whome ye are marked in the day of redemption.

Therfore good syster take good hede ye cause not the holy goste beynge and dwellyng in you to be heuy, least he leaue you, & departe from you, put al maner of doute, and all hyghe myndefullnesse from you. For they do cau­se the holy goost to be in care, & heuynesse, therfore leaue of all heuynesse, for heuynesse is syster bothe vnto doutefulnes & hygh myndefulnes, verely seculer he­uynesse is of all euyll spirytes y^• very worst, & very noyful to goddes seruantes, secular heuynes hurteth, & feblished y^• seruātes of [Page] god the holy goste can not away ī no maner of meanes w^t bodely heuynes Therfore good sister ordre your self so y^t ye may be euermore in spiritual gladnes & ioy­fulnesse, the which god aloweth greatly, all spirituall gladnesse is good, and thynketh apon no­thynge but that good is, despi­synge all vayne and worldly heuynesse, yf spirytual myrth were not good, the Prophet Dauid Psal. xxxi. wolde not say, be you mery, and ioyfull in God, and ye that are iust mē, reioyse you, and ye that are ryght hartyd men glorifye Psal. lxiii. your selues in god, and agayne The iust mā shal be mery in god and shall put all his trust in hym, and all that are ryght harted men shall be reioyced and conforted.

Of the loue of god the xij. Chap.

[Page] THe lorde sayeth, Iohn̄. xv. he that loueth me, wyll kepe my com­maundemētes, and my father shal loue him, and we wyl come vnto him and dwell with hym. And saynt Iohan sayeth. We loue god 1. Iohn, iiii for he hath fyrst loued vs, he y^e loueth god shall pray for the forgyuenesse of his synnes, and ta­ke hede he fal no more. My wel beloued syster, loue almyghtye god, and call vnto hym for help for the loue of God, is the very lyfe, and his hatred very death. God wyll not be beloued onely with worde, but with harte and good workes, he loueth not god that dispyseth his commaunde­mentes, the mynde of hym that [Page xliiii] loueth God is not in earth, but in heuē, and euermore desyryng of celestyal and heuenly thyngꝭ. Good syster I exhorte you to lo­ue God aboue all thynge. We shulde rather loue GOD, then our frēdes, why so? For he hath created and made bothe vs and them with his owne hādes, that is, through his owne propre vertue and power as it is wryten. psal. x [...]

He hath made vs, and not we haue made oure selfe. Also he hath gyuen vs greater gyftes, then eyther father or mother dyd and therfore we ought to loue hym aboue them. Yt is a greate fooly to loue any thynge more then GOD, yea he synneth greatly that loueth anye crea­ture more then GOD, he is in [Page] greate arrour that preferth the loue of any creature aboue the loue of GOd, and therfore God must be beloued aboue al thing. O honest virgyn, I pray you to say thus by chryst Iesus w^t loue Canti. ii. and dilection. My welbeloued god, of whome I am greatly be­loued, the which pastorth amōg the liles vntyl it be day, that is, aslonge as it is daye, and tyl the cloudes go downewardes, that is, vntyl the cloude of this pre­sent lyfe, swage and auoide, and that the day appeare, that is, vntyl the clerenesse of the spiritual beatitude & blysse doth appeare. It is a poynt of Iustice to loue god with al your harte, and wyllyngly to cleue vnto hym. And to loue the soueraygne goodnes is soueraigne beatitude, he that [Page xlv] loueth god is good. Yf he be good, he must nedes be blessed, & how moch more a man loueth god, so moch the more he is ble­ssed. Dilectation and loue is the proper vertue of saītes, I haue sayd these thynges vnto you, to thentēt that the loue of this trā ­sytory worlde, shulde not seperate you from god And hearewith I pray you to tell and to declare vnto vs somwhat of the loue of your spouse Chryst Iesu. My Canti. [...]. louer is vnto me as a handfull or a shefe of myrre, he restyth a­pō my pappꝭ. Declare this thing a litle more playnly to vs, that we may the better vnderstande it. My louer (I saye) is vnto me as a litle shefe of myrre, he shall rest betwexte my pappes, the place of a mans hart is betwext [Page] the pappꝭ, that is to say, the me­mory, Canti. i. y^e dilectiō, the loue of christ Iesu shalbe euermore in my hart And whether it be in prosperite, or in aduersyte, I wyl euermore cal and reduce to my memory al the godnesse that he shewed me, for he hath loued me, and suffe­red his death for me, and is ascē dyd to heuen, to thētent I shuld come vnto hym. He dothe dayly call me, sayng. Leaue the world my spouse, come vnto me and ye Canti. iiii. shalbe crowned. The lefte hand of my louer and spouse, is vnder my head, y^t is to saye, the gyfte of the holy goost resteth in me in this present lyfe, and I wolde the vnderstandynge of holy scrypture were in my mind that I myght loue hym & know hym perfytly. His ryght hande [Page xlvi] shal in brayce me, that is, he shal Canti. [...] conuey and brynge me to eter­nall lyfe & blysse. O good syster saye thus vnto the handemay­des of GOD, vnderset me with floures, vnderbolster me with appelles, Can. ii. for why, I consume away in the loue of my spouse Chryst Iesu. O my holy systers, y^• loue God aboue all thynge, and pre­fer Can. ii no worldly thinge aboue his moste swetest loue, vpholde me by your good examples, & shew me howe I maye fynde my lo­uer Chryst Iesus, for I am sycke for the loue of my spouse. This loue is swete, this sycknesse is verye hooly, this dilectyon is chaste, this coniunction is inte­merate, this copulacyon is inuiolate, this imbrasynge is with out any spot of synne.

[Page] O my holy systers sustayne me with the floures of your good examples & of your hooly cōuerfa­tion, for I am sycke for the loue of my spouse. Uerely ye kepe your bed of contemplacyon for his sake, yf ye loue hym aboue all thynges, verely ye are sycke for goddꝭ sake, yf ye esteme that is celestiall aboue that is earth­ly, verely ye consume and waste awaye in the dilection and loue of chryst and in youre bed of in­warde dilection and swetnesse, yf ye be stronge in holy operati­ons and workꝭ, & feble in worldly worke and operatyon. Good syster, yf ye loue Chryst with all your harte, nor prefer nothynge aboue his loue, ye shall be with hym in great ioye in the kyng­dome of heuen, yf ye folow God [Page lxvii] with all youre mynde, and loue hym with all youre harte, with­out any doute, ye shall be with hym in heuen, and folowe hym with other hooly virgyns whether soeuer he go. Yf ye cle­ue vnto god with all deuotion, and with great desyre do sythe in this present worlde to come vn­to hym, without doute ye shall be with hym in greate ioye, and pleasure in the hyghe palece of heuen, and with other holy vyr­gyns ye shall synge to his laude and prayse, holy songes, and de­uoute hymnes, as it is wrytten in the cantykels. Thou that art Can. i [...] nuryshed amonge the lilees, en­vironed and cōpast with the cō ­panes of virgyns, glorifyenge your spouses with glorie, and giuynge them greate rewardes, [Page] and giftes, whethersoeuer ye go the virgyns do folowe you, and syngynge behynde you, they be­set you, and delyte and conforte you with many folde swete son­ges and hymnes, that is, with depe loue, and deuoute prayer. O welbeloued syster let nothīge be swete vnto you, but only chryste Iesus, requere no nother lo­ue but his onely, loue no nother mans beutefulnes but his only and loke ye wepe and wayle to come to his loue, and vntyll ye maye se hym syt vpon the ryght hande of his father.

Of the loue of thy neyghbour the .xiij. chap

My welbeloued sister, harkē what the lord sayeth to his Iohn̄. xiii. discyples. Men shal know that ye are my discyples yf one [Page xlviii] of you do loue another. Wherof foloweth this good lernīg, that who so wyl be & ītēdes to be christes discyple, must indeuer hymselfe to loue his neyghboure as him selfe: neyghbourly loue causeth no harme for the consumation of the lawe, is dilection and loue. And saynt Paule sayeth. Walke so in loue, as god hath Roma. xiii loued vs, & delyuered hym selfe for vs. And saynt Iohan sayeth i. Iohn̄. ii. He that loueth his brother, is in the lyght, and there is no shame in hym. He that hateth his bro­ther is in darknesse, and kno­weth not wether he goeth, for y^• darknes hath blynded hym. Who so euer sayeth y^• he loueth god, & hateth his brother, he ly­eth falsely, & there is no trueth [Page] in hym, and this is goddes commaūdement, that he that loueth god must loue his brother. For i. Iohn̄. iiii prouer xvii howe shall he loue god whome he seeth not, that loueth not his brother, whome he seeth? And salomō sayeth a frynd is alwayes in loue, and a mans brother is proued in necessite. And S. au­sten sayth. A man is ouercom­med by humane felicite, and the deueil by louynge of oure ene­mye. But yet good syster amon­ge goddes seruantes must be no carnal loue, but onely spirytual loue. There is nothynge more acceptable to god, then the ver­tue of loue, nor nothing that the deuel desyreth more thē to quinche charite, good spirituall loue contayneth nor hathe no shame in itselfe. And loke ye thynke [Page xlix] euery good faythfull man, to be your brother and remēber that one workemā made vs al, trew loue hath no bitternes of shame by louynge of your neyghbour, ye shall lerne and knowe howe to come to the loue of god, and as loue doth eleuate mās mind, so dothe malyce and hatred de­presse it, ye can neuer loue GOd truely and as ye ought to do, w^t out your neyghbour, nor youre neighbour without god, ye haue thē trew charite, if ye loue your frende in god, and your enemye for Goddes sake, and the more large and faruent ye are in the loue of your neyghbour, y^e more higher shal ye be in the loue and fauour of god. Yf ye loue youre neyghbour truely, your mynde is in trāquilite and rest, he that [Page] hateth his neyghbour, is beset and compast with darknesse and enuy, by louyng of your neygh­bour, ye shall pourge the eye of your harte and mynde, & se god the better. Yet good syster I wolde ye shulde loue no man carnally, wherupon sayeth saynt I­sydore. That man (sayth he) is very depe in earth, that loueth anye mortall ma [...] more then he shuld do, we cannot be in goddꝭ company if we loue not one another. A frend is knowen in tyme of nicessite. Yf we kepe Goddes commaundementes, we muste loue oure neyghboure as oureselfe, and yf a man loue his bro­ther without dissymulatyon, he shall soone please the father of heuen. He that loueth his neyghboure, can not commyt [Page l] murther, aduoutery, thefte, per­iure, nor beare false wytnesse, nor haue anye enuyousnesse or stryfe in hym. Therfore good syster let vs euermore thinke v­pon the loue of GOD, and of oure neyghboure, in the whiche Math. xxil two, dependeth all the lawe and Prophettes, and let vs do so indede, for if we can be sory for our neyghboure when we se hym in tribulation, or syckenesse, in any losse, or in pryson, then we be of Chrystes churche, but yf we be not sory for hym, we be euen as people seperated from Chryste, and his congregacyon.

For as longe as anye parte of man is adheruet, and ioyned to the bodye, so longe it sufferth with the bodye, but after it be cut of, it can not feele, nor [Page] nor suffer, yf a mans hande, or foote, or any otherpart of his body be cut frō y^• body or yf it be deuided in many partꝭ, or cast into Cor xii. the fyre, the for sayde hande or foote, feleth nothynge, bycause it is deuyded from the body, so in lyke maner it is with all such chrystians, the whiche are no­thīg sory for theyr neyghbours tribulatiō, losse, or necessite, but rather reioyleth therin, suche a neyghbour is deuyded from the body of the churche, and is none of chrystes flocke. Honest virgin yf we kepe trewe and ꝑfyte cha­rite, we must nedes loue al faith ful peple as our self, for through suche concord, charite, and true dilectiō we shall appeare w^t him in his glorye. We loue our frendes yf we loue them for goddes [Page li] sake, & not for theyr owne sake. Wherupon sayeth S. Isodore, he that intemperately and immoderately loueth his frende, lo­ueth hym more for his owne sa­ke, then for Goddes sake. And who so despiseth his frende smyt ten with aduersite, doth contra­rye to the Iustice, and goodnes of god, trewloue by no maner of occasion can be defaced, nor lost at no tyme, for howe soeuer the worlde goeth it remayneth sted­fast. But there be very fewe that charitably do contynewe in frenshyp, and that is reputed to be trewe loue, that onely requyreth of his frende, his good beneuo­lēce, that is, loue for loue. Therfore I exhorte you, to loue your frēdes in god, that is in al goodnesse, and in lyke maner youre [Page] enemyes for Goddes sake, as it is wryten. Loue your ennemies and do good to them that hate you. And yf youre ennemye be an hungerde, gyue hym meate, yf he be a thryst, giue him drynk Luke. vi. Roma, xii. And agayne, blesse and saye wel by them, that trouble you, blesse them, but speake no euyll by thē Dilectiō is charite, charite was neuer without dilection, nor di­lection or loue without charite. Therfore good virgyn dilectiō and loue is very necessary, oute of the whiche do sprynge manye great vertues, Dilection hathe two wynges, the ryght wynge is the loue of god, the left wyng is the loue of oure neyghboure, there is no man that can flye to heuen with one wynge alone, for the loue and dilection of god [Page lii] without the dilection and intere loue of oure neyghbour helpeth nor auaileth not to come to heuē nor the loue of our neyghboure without the loue of God preuayleth not to come to eternall bea­titude. Wyse and prudent vir­gyn take these two wynges vn­to you, that is the loue of GOD and the loue of your neighbour, for so without any impediment or let ye shall flye, and come to the celestyall kyngdome of heuē

Of compassyon the xiiij. Chapiter

MY welbeloued syster, lysten what the lorde Chryst Ie­su Math. vii Luke. vi. sayeth. All suche good­nesse as ye wold other mē shulde do to you, loke ye do it vnto thē And s, Paule sayeth, be mery w^t those that are mery, & wepe & be Rom. xii. [Page] sad with those that be sad. And i. Thes. v prouer xiiii agayne, receyue the poore man vnto you, & be patient with eue­ry man. And Salomon sayeth, he that despiseth his neyghbour doth sin, kepe your promis with your neyghbour in his pouerte, and reioyce in his prosperyte, be faythfull to your neyghbour in his tribulacyon, he that maketh a hole to deceiue his neighbour shal fall in to it. And he that prepareth a lake for his neighbour shall peryshe in it, of the whiche thing speaketh the Prophet Dauyd Psal. vii sayenge. He hath opened the lake and the dyche, and is fallen into it, he dothe not perfytly loue his neyghbour, that dothe not sūccoure and helpe hym in his necessyte, howe moch y^• more we succour & helpe oure neygh­bours [Page liii] in there necessite & pouer te, somoch the more we approch vnto god, we shulde so care for our self, that we forget not oure neyghbour. Wherfore good sy­ster loke what thynge ye wolde not that shulde chaunce to your selfe, ye shall not delyre it maye chaunce and happen to youre neyghbour. Be sory for poore straungers and inforce your self to be sory and to wepe for other mennes losses and damages.

Be heuy for other mens tribulation, and be sicke with those that be sycke, bewayle other mens paynes and heuynesse, as youre owne. Wepe w^t those that wepe be to all other, as ye wolde they shulde be to you, do not y^• thyng to another, that ye wolde not a nother shuld do to you, forgyue [Page] other as ye wolde be for gyuen, yf ye se youre enemye in misfor­tune, reioyce not in his aduersi­te, nor in your aduersires death, least any such mischaunce shuld fortune vnto youre selfe, be not glad of your enemyes fall, least god turne his anger vpon you, mysfortune shall soone fall vpō hym that reioyseth in his ene­mys aduersite, let vs therfore be louynge to the misfortunate, let vs sorow & take compassyon v­pon the poore, let vs haue mercy vpon the wretched, yf your ennemye be a hūgerd giue him meat, yf he be a thrust, giue him drynk despyse not the poore, nor the Rom. xiii pore orphalines, be no occasyon of heuynesse to no man, let no man depart from you in sorow­fulnesse, visyt the syckman and [Page liiii] cōfort so the weke, that ye maye haue goddes ayde and cōfort, in the kyngdome of heuen.

¶ Of mercy the .xv. cap.

WElbeloued sister harken what GOd Math. v. sayeth. Blessyd be they, that are merci­full, for they shall haue and optayne mercy. And agayne, be ye mercyful, for your Luke. vi. father of heuen is mercyfull.

And Saynt Paule sayeth, be ye good and mercyfull one to ano­ther, & clothe you with this ver­tue of mercy as y^• electe chyldrē Ephe. iiii. of god. Salomō sayeth, y^• pitie & Pro. xxi. iustyce pleaseth god moch more, then doth sacrifyce, mercyfulnes prepareth a place for mā aft (er) his [Page] merytes and deseruynges, the pite and mercy that man hathe, is but onely for hym selfe, & his neyghboure, but y^• mercy of god is vpon euery man, to be mercy full is as it were a sacrifyce vn­to god, it is calde mercy, bycause it shulde haue pite and compa­ssyon vpon another mans mi­sery and wretchednesse. For he that wyll not be pitefull vnto o­ther, shall neuer fynde ne optayne the mercy of god. Therfore good syster loke that Iustyce, & pite be euer more in your syght, neuer leaue of to be mercyfull for yf ye be mercyfull to other, ye shal do your selfe great good He that is pitifull vnto other, shall fynde god mercifull vnto hymselfe. Good syster bestowe such thinges as ye haue, in wor­kes [Page lv] of mercy, and shewe mercy­fulnesse without any grudge or murmuracyon, for your workes shalbe estemed after your inten­tion. Where is no beneuolence, there is no mercy, and take hede ye do your good dedes mercy­fully, and not for vayne glorye, do nothynge for wordly laude ne prayse, but onely to optayne ioye and rewarde euerlastynge, do nothynge for any temporall opinyon, but for celestyall remuneracyon, do nothyng for worldly name and fame, but to con­quere and get lyfe euerlastyng, to the whiche almyghtye GOd bryng you my good syster.

Of the examples of sayn­tes the .xvj. Chap.

[Page] THe good examples of sayntes, are very necessary and profytable for the amen­dement of Chrysten people. And therfore good sister there mysfautes and syn̄es, and lykewyse there good amēdemēt are wryttē, that we mooste wret­ched synners shulde not fall in to desperacion, but rather hope & trust after oure fall to amēde our selfe by penaūce, cōsideryng through the great goodnesse of god to what amēdement, & ioye these blessed sayntes after there falle be cōmē vnto. And therfore god to our example hath opened there good vertues, that folo­wynge of them and doynge as they haue done, we maye optayne the celestiall kyngdome of heuen, [Page lv] but if we folow not the steppes of there payne and penaūce in this worlde, we can not be ec­cused from suche paynes as we haue meritoriously deserued.

The holy sayntes for the tyme they were in this worlde, neuer seased to occupy thē self in good workes, as in fastynge, almis dede, chastite, continence, long animite, pacience, prayer, persecucyon, beniuolēce, hūget, thrust, cold, goyng bare, & in manifold other good workꝭ for goddꝭ sake The blessyd sayntes despysed y^• worlde, to cōquer & get the kingdome of heuē, nor beyng in this worlde they haue not taken nor yet receyued y^• wretched ꝓmyses & miserable ryches therof, y^• whiche bryng thē to the tormētes & paynes of hell, y^• mys vse them [Page] but with all theyr intention and wyll they haue forsaken this miserable worlde, lyftyng vp theyr eyes to hierusalem that heuenly mansion. These blyssed mē haue auoyded synne, bothe in worde & dede, ī thought in sight, in hearynge, in mouynge there eyes, and there handes, in anger, in goynge, in skoldynge, in furye, in discention, in vayne glorye, in pryde, in elation, in couytous­nesse, in glotony, in tomochslepe in fornication, in violence. And to saue bothe bodye and soule, they haue fasted two maner of waies Two abstaine frō delicate meates is very good, but yet to abstayne from vyce, is moch better, of the whiche to our mother the holy churche sayeth. My handes haue distilled myr, what Canti. v. [Page lvi] signifye the handes but y^e good workes of blessyd sayntes, and what other thynge betokeneth the myr, but the mortificacyō of the flesh, and the mortifycacion of vices, the hādes of the church are the holy and blessyd sayntes of heuen, the whiche do, & haue done manye good dedes, of the whiche saynt Paule sayeth, they haue done good workes, and the handes of the churche haue distylled the myr of good workꝭ for they haue shewed examples of good liuyng, and of mortify­eng the fleshe, of the whiche one of them sayeth, yf ye lyue after the appetite of the fleshe, ye shal Rom. viii. dye, and agayne. Ye that are in the worlde, mortifye your mem­bres, that is to saye, ye that are deade in soule through vitious [Page] liuynge, mortifye your mēbres, that is youre bodye, the whiche hath many mēbres. And agayne the church sayeth. My fyngers Can. ii. are full of myr moost approued, then truely it is myr moost ap­proued, when the fleshe is perfe­tely mortifyed: and all maner of vyce and syn clene set a syde & remoued. Therfore welbelo­ued syster, yf we desyre the socie­te and felowshyp of sayntes, it is requisyted we followe there examples, but yf we syne, we ha­ue no maner of meanes howe to excuse it, why so? For the lawe & the commaundementes of God do dayly exhorte vs to lyue wel, and the examples of good holy fathers, do dayly incite and prouoke vs to do well. And yf per­aduenture we at anye tyme be [Page lvii] prompte & redy to folow those, & there examples that are naught, why be we not moch more redye & dilygent to folowe the exam­ples of those y^t are good? Let vs therfore good syster praye vnto almyghtye god, y^t such holy vertues as he hath prepared to the salute & coronatyon of his sayn­tes, be not to our dānatyon, but to our saluacyon & profyte, for we doutelesse beleue, that yf we followe there good examples, that after this mortall and transytory lyfe, we shall reygne with them in euerlastyng blysse.

And how moche the more we re­de there holy lyues not folowīg there good example, so moch the more we shal be blamed & foūde fauty O honest v (er)gī I besech god almightie, to graūt you y^e v (er)tu of [Page] the holy fathers. That is the humilyte of chryst Iesu, the deuo­tion of saynt Peter, the charite of saynt Iohn̄, the obedience of Abraham, the pacience of Isaac the tollerance of Iacob, the cha­stite of Ioseph, the mansuetude and swetnesse of Moses, the cō ­stance of Iosue, the benignite of Samuell, the mercy of Dauid, the abstience of Daniel, and the other good dedes of our fore fa­thers, y^e aft (er) this wretched & mor­tall lyfe, ye maye come to theyr blessid company. O good virgin consider I pray you, with what moderacyon, with what intency on, with what cōpunction chry­stes seruātes haue pleased him? Of the whiche thyng in christes person, it is wrytten in the can­ticles. Canti. vii. O kiges doughter, howe [Page lviii] goodly are your goīges in your prynsely shoes. The LORde throughe his diuyne power is lorde of all creatures, and ther­fore our holy mother the church, is called his doughter, for by holy and deuoute preachynge, he hath reduced her to a newe ma­ner of lyuynge. And what other thynge is vnderstanded by the shoes of the churche, but onely the examples of sayntes, by the whiche she is defended, and by there ayde passeth ouer al worldly tribulation. Good sister we do then put on our shoes spiritually, when we accepte the good ex­amples of holy fathers, for by folowynge of them, we maye ouer come all worldly tentations.

And agayne it is wrytten in the Canti. vi. cantycles. I went downe in to a [Page] gardē, to loke vpō the appelles of the vales, and to know whe­ther the vines were florished or no, and wether the poone Gar­nettes were spronge or no.

The vynes do floryshe, when we retourne to Chrystes church, to his fayth and to good and holy cōuersacyō grounded vpō good workes, the poone Garnettes do sprynge, whē that perfyte good men, throughe the examples of there good workes, edifye theyr neyghbours in vertue, and whē that be good lyuyng, good wor­kes, & holy predicaciō they reduce thē to holy cōuersatiō. Wherfore my spirituall frende I ex­horte you, that as longe as ye shall lyue, that your good examples, and good lyuynge maye iluminate al other, for as sayeth [Page lix] saynt Gregory. They that hyde there good liuynge are as tou­chynge them selfe wel inflamed, but they gyue no lyght to no nother, but they that by examples of vertue, by good liuynge, by goodly sermons, declare & shew to other the waies of saluacyon, for they are the burnyng lāpes, they shewe to other the wayes of saluacyon. Of the which thyng the lorde sayeth. Let your lyght Math. v. that is your good workꝭ, glyster and shyne in the syght of men, that they maye se them, and glo­ryfye youre father that is in he­uen, for al glorye shuld be onely attributed & giuē to god. Yet neuerthelesse good virgyn I coū ­sell you so to opē & so to manifest youre good workꝭ to y^•, ꝓfyte of your neyghbour, y^e your intēcyō [Page] be euer more close and secrete in god, & that ye loke for no world­ly prayse, for it is but vayne.

And as I haue shewed you be­fore, in all youre actions, in all your workes, and in all your cō uersacyon, ye shall followe the blessed sayntes, hauynge conty­nually there noble, and vertu­ous examples before you, conterfetynge and folowynge thē and acceptynge them as a glasse of good and godly lernynge, mark and consyder well there vertues for folowynge of them, ye maye do wel, vnderstande there good doctrynes to lyue well, for in so doynge nothynge shall stayne, nor yet defyle oure lyfe, nor no euyll opinyon shall brynge you to any sorowe or heuynesse, lerne to shyne by good maners, haue [Page lx] good wytnesse in you kepe your good name, and beware in anye wyse it be not defyled with the darke spottes of syn, nor imbru­ed with anye other opprobryus­nesse or vyllany.

Of contention and stryfe the .xvij. chap.

SAynt paule the Apostle sayeth. Whē i Cor. iii. there is enuy and cō tention among you, ye walke as men, and ye are carnall. And Salo­mon Pro. xiii. sayeth, amonge proude mē there is alwayes stryfe and de­bate, a euyll person is alwayes sekynge for contention & stryfe, and the euyll angell is sent a­gaynst hym. He that goeth by ioperdus wayes, is soone downe, [Page] and he that is euermore at debate and wordes w^t his neighbour cōmeth very soone to shame, all such as haue this goodly vertue commended vnto vs by Chry­ste, called mansuetude neyther speaketh, nor doth euyl to no mā nor gyueth no euyll examples, but doth for euery man. Al such as haue this goodly vertue be neuer contentius, nor loue ney­ther debate, nor stryfe. Fewe or none do loue those y^• are cōtinu­ally in stryfe & contention. And therfore peace and concorde is very necessary for all men. O deare syster harken vnto saynt Austens sayenge, O how irreprehēsyble shall we be, yf we wolde be as diligēt to amēde our owne vices, & syn, as we be to correcte other mēs? But yf we take good [Page lxi] hede we may soone spye and correcte many of our owne fautes. I wolde ye shulde knowe, that there is nothīg more vnhonest, then is stryfe & cōtention amōg vs chrystians, the which shulde be in concorde loue & vnite, and no nother wyse shine and glister in this worlde, then the starres in the fyrmament. Contētyon is wont to procede of enuy and de­tractyon, but yf contentyon, de­bate, and stryfe, be amonge vs chrystiās, where is charite, then where is peace and vnyte, wher is brothely concorde, and lowly­felowshyp. Alas, alas. all these thinges are come to nought, fraternall charite is greatly dimy­nyshed & debated if they y^e shuld lyue in peace begīonce to stryue [Page] and stroggell, where is al quiet­nesses, all honeste al modestius­nesse become, wher is thē (I pray you) the contemplatyfe and the angelicall lyfe? Uerely there cā be no perfet peace, where slaun­derous tongues do ruell, there can be no perfete charite where stryfe and debate doth reygne.

Therfore good syster take hede I pray you, that ye lose not your tyme & your labour, by such contencyon & stryfe. Loke that ye lose not by such detraction & contention the heuenly promyses.

Beware that by lyght & folyshe cōmunicaciō ye lese not the euer lastyng ioye of heuen, refrayne your tongue, & ye shal be coūted a good chrystē womā, for yf ye re frayne not your tongue, ye can not be religious. Heare what S [Page lxii] Iames sayeth. Yf any man by­leue Iam. i he be religious, y^e is, of chri­stes religiō, & refrayneth not his tongue, but seduceth his owne harte and mynde, his religyon is but vayne, the tongue is but a small parte & member of man, yet yf it be not wel brydylde and well ruled, it corrupteth all the body. For as a litle dow destru­eth the hole masse, & as a lytle fyer Iames. iii, burneth a hole forrest, so the vnruled tongue putteth bothe lorde, mayster, & subiecte, to re­buke & shame, & prouoketh them to anger, yf the contēciꝰ tongue be vnbrydeled, there is noman y^• can lyue in peace, for a debate­ful tongue is ful of venym, and poyson, and yf it be not moderated and chasted, it shall brynge his frendes & felowes to shame. [Page] Good syster it shall be for youre great vtilyte & ꝓfyte to charme your tongue frō euyl, & your lippꝭ frō al fraude & deceite, cōsider frō whēce & wherfore ye are cōe Ye are come frō the worlde to goddes tētes, ye haue refused al worldly ryches, and are come he ther to optayne the ryches of heuen, and for this cause willyng­ly ye haue chosen wylful pouer­te, therfore ye must nowe vtter­ly forget all suche thynges as ye haue lefte and forsaken for goddes sake. And therfore take good hede ye prefer not youre selfe aboue all other, & the hygher & greater ye be, the more loke ye do humble youre selfe in all thynge, and leue these conuen­tycles of conspiracyon and de­traction, lysten to no murmuracyon [Page lxiii] exchue and auoyde these slaunderous persons as poysō, for they infecte them, that gyue them audyence, he that bacby­teth and slaundereth man, and he that wyllyngly, and gladly dothe heare hym, be both in syn. Honest virgyn harkē what the psalmist sayeth. I haue not ben Psal. xxv. sayeth he, in the counsell of va­nyte, nor I meddyll / nor am not amonge those that do iniquite. Wherfore good virgyn loke ye syt not with the counsell of va­nyte, nor medle not with them, y^• speake of iniquite. Nor ye shall not striue nor cōtēd in no cause, for contentyon ingenderth de­bate, contentyon taketh awaye the tranquilite and peace of the mynde, contentyon ingenderth stryfe, contētiō kīdeleth the fyer [Page] brādꝭ of hatred contention breaketh all concorde, contentiō (as Dauid sayeth) troubeleth y^• eye Psal. iii. of y^• soule. My fure (sayeth he) troubeleth myne eye. Wherfore I warne and exhorte you, to contende, and stryue onely, howe ye may please almyghtye god.

¶ Of disciplyne and cor­rection. xviii. Chap.

THe Wyse man salomon sayeth. My Prouer i. son (sayeth he) har­ken vnto my discy­plyne, Pro. i [...]i. and forsake not thy mothers lawes, that grace may come to thyne head, and a goodly chaine to thy neck kepe discyplyne and for sake it not? Kepe it wel for it is thy mo­ther: receyue discyplyne & refuse it not, he is but a very fole that [Page lxiiii] refuseth correctyon, he that set­teth lytle by good monityons & correctyō doth are very sore, he that dyspreyseth discyplyne and correctyon is in greate synne.

And who so wyl not kepe and regarde correctyon shall peryshe. He that setteth lytle by correcti­on, shalbe alwayes in necessyte, shame, and pouerte. He that wil here hī that correcteth hī shal cū to glory, a fole regardethe very lytle his fathers correctyō, but he that kepeth and taketh heed to correctyō is reputed to be wyse: a worde among wise mē doth more then a hundred strypes a­monge foles. He that is wyse & corrygyble shal neuer be myscō tente with hym that correctethe hym. And yet castigation muste be vsed moderatly, wherof saint [Page] Ambrose saith, he that is mene­ly and gentely corrected bereth reuerence and gyueth thankes vnto his correctour, but he that is vyolently and withoute measure chasted and corrected, is neuer the better. They must be gē tely supported and borne that by infyrmyte and feblenes cannot be corrected. And after the dyfference & qualyte of the mysdoer, some muste be corrected, and some other gentely and lo­uīgly supported. The prelates of the churche shulde supporte and be [...]e with those they do correcte, and correct and chasten al suche as comfort them in sinne. And therfore Salomon sayeth, that vnder the pyllers of god­des temple, he caused Lyōs o [...] ­en and Cherubyns to be made [Page lxv] What other thing betokē these [...]gum. iii. Can. vi. Images, but y^• prelates of the church, for all such as take vpō thē to gouerne & to rule, are as the foūdacyō of pyllers, to sup­porte & beare that, that shall be laide & set vpō thē. Cherubin is as moche to say, as the fulnesse of ꝑfytenes of science & lernig, so that y^e cherubīs declare that the forsayde prelates shulde be full and perfyte in the celestyall scyence. Be the Lyon is sygny­fyed the feare of seuerytye and punyshement, and be the oxe is declared pacyēce in al swetenes & gentylnes, be y^• Cherubins is sygnyfyed that the foundacyon shulde be ꝑfyte ī scyēce, nor y^e ly­ōs are not graued & set w^tout y^• oxē, nor yet y^• oxen w^tout y^• lyōs, for the prelates at sometymes [Page] shuld sharpely and ernestly cor­recte theyr subiectes, and some­times softly, sūtimes be wordes sumtymes by strokes. For he y^t is corrected be worde and amendeth not, muste nedes be other­wyse hādeled. Uerely such woū ­des and sores as can not be ese­ly heled, nor w^tout payne, muste nedes be healed with payne, he that is secretely & ameable war­ned, and regardethe it not, nor wyl not amend his fautes must be openly corrected and before wytnesse, that so the sore that coulde not be holpen secretelye, may be holpen apertly and ma­nyfestly. For they y^• hurte theyr neyghbour openly must be pu­nyshed openly, that be such opē punyshement, they that ensude and folowed there naughtines, [Page lxvi] may the soner be holpen, & that the punyshemēt of the one, may be the amendment of the other, for it is moch better that one be punyshed for the saluatyon and sauegarde of many, thē that for one vngracyous person, many shuld peryshe. And Saynt Gregory sayth, there are many that herken dilygently to theyr wor­des y^• chastē and correcteth thē. But neuerthelesse they returne not to penaūce. Euery mā doth here of the ioyes of heuen, and it pleaseth them, but let theym also here of the paynes of hel to fere theym, that yf they returne not to God for loue, at leste way that they returne vnto hym for fere. These ar y^• wordes of saint I sydore, they that are good mē receyue correctyon and reprehē ­cyon [Page] very gentely. Good syster dyscyplyne is the thynge that a mendyth all fautes, the whiche oughte not to be abiected.

And therfore we be boūde to lo­ue our prelates and other oure superyours and to accept there wordes gētylly, for be theyr cor­reccyon and castygacyon they take awaye oure wyll and cupidyte frome vs, and of these pre­lates it is wryttē in the Canty­cles. The kepers of y^• cyty haue founde me, they haue beatē me, and woūded me, and they haue taken away my cloke, be the ke­pers Canti. v. of the walles and watche­men, we vnderstāde y^• prelates and suche as kepe and defende the state of oure holy mother y^• churche, the whiche also do fyn­de oute the deuout soule, and be [Page lxvij] there preachynge stryke & woūde her wyth y^e loue of Chrystes cha­rytie: neyther doth this suffice thē but they also take away her cloke from her; that is, al tēporal sub­staūce, & erthlye delectatio, that so they may send her (free frō worldlie ryches & synne) to the kyngdome of Heuen.

Wherefore deare syster ī cryst, it is verie fit y^t we loue our pre­lates so y^t we may receyue frō thē y^e dycypline of our saluaciō, accordyng to the coūsel of Kyng Dauid saying Apprehēd discipline leste Psal. 2 [...] sūtime y^e Lord be wrath, & y^• pe­rishe out of y^e iust waye. It is expedient y^• we embrace dyscipline. Yf he that receyue it not shal pe­rishe out of y^e ryght way: doubte­lesse he shalbe cōfyrmed in y^e iust waye y^t receuyeth discypline.

[Page] Nowe therfore venerable sister I monyshe you y^t you wittyngly accept dyscipline, that you may bee freed frō y^• anger of God almiḡ tye & cōfirmed in the iust waye. Gyue him many thankes y^t shal chastyse you. If your Abbesse, or Prioresse shall reprehēde you for your good, be not greued: & whē they shal shewe you the way of saluatiō, listē wittyngly vnto theyr doctrine: when anye one seketh to aduaunce you ī y^e spi­ritual course whyche you haue vndertakē, be not rebellyous towardes him. Loue them y^t shal reprehende you for your offēces reuyle not them y^t rebuke you: neyther render euyl for good, ne aunswere churlishlye to good instructiōs: render not vnto them crosse wordes for their courteous [Page lxviij] admoniciōs. And why so? For he that lerneth dyscypline loueth wis­dome, & therefore yf you will loue Pro. 12 discipline you wyl become wise & prudent, if you wil paciētly endure chyding, you wyl become patiente, if you endure correctiō humbly. Honest vyrgyn, for this cause we are chastysed of oure Lorde & of our superiours in thys lyfe: that with y^• world we be not damned. It is far better for vs to be corrēted in this lyfe by oure superiours for our ne­glygences, then to be damned īn y^t lyfe to come. It is better for vs to be chastysed now for our transgreciōs & faultes thē to be punyshyd in the next world. It is better for you to be scourged by y^e hande of youre Abbesse, then to endure e­ternal sorrow & anguysh. It is better for you to be chastysed by y^e [Page] hande of your Abbesse thē to sus­teyne those tormentes that are endeles, those tormentes y^• shal neuer cease, those torments ī ­ternal whych shal last for euer. It is better for you to be tēporal lye scourged wyth twigges by y^e hand of your Abbesse or Priores thē to be eternally scortched in those hellish flames. Frō which he vouchsafe to delyuer you, who wyth hys precyous bloud hath re­demed you.

Amen.

Of Obedyence. Chap. xix.

My deare syster, hear y^e wordes of y^• Apostle S. Poule Let euerie soule be subiect to y^e hygher powers, for there is no power but of God. Those y^t are of God are ordayned. To resyst y^e power of god is to resist y^e ordy­naunce [Page lxix] of God, we shulde dys­pyse no mānes power, whether he be of y^e church or of y^e worlde, for they be ordeyned of God. Therfore when so euer be inobedyence we resyste agaynste oure prelates, we do iniurye vnto almyghtye god, and when that be pryde or be inobedyence, we be rebellyous and sturbburne a­gaynste oure superiours, we do agaynste goddes commaunde­mente, and as inobedyente per­sonnes, we dyspyse god saynge, They y^t here you here me, that Luc. ix. is to saye, they that obeye you obey me, and they that dyspyse you, dyspyse me. Good syster in God they that dyspyse theyr p̄lates, dispise god, & they y^• honour theyr p̄latꝭ honoure god, & they y^• be obediēt to theyr [Page] prelates, are obedyente to god. The Prophet Samuell dothe greately prayse obedyence, sa­ynge, that obedience is moche greater and moche more accep­table to god, then is sacryfyce i. Reg. xv. And to obey, is moche more ac­ceptable, thē to offer vp y^• fatte of shepe, for why, to repugue & not to wyll obey, nor accorde to our superyoures, is reputed as Idolatry. Mary through pride and inobedyence murmured a­gaynst her brother Moses, and Annie. xii. by and by she was smitten with the lepre. This Mary that re­belled agaynste Moses that is againste her prelate, dothe syg­nyfye the soule of euery man, y^• by iobedyence and pryde dothe murmour agaynste his prelate, to y^• which he wyll not obey, nor [Page lxx] receyue his good and holsome preceptes of saluation, and therfore it is smytten with the lepre that is with stinkynge syn. And in lyke maner Chora, Dathan and Abyron, the which by pride and inobedience withstode Moses and Aron, were through the represumptyon punyshed as it is wrytten by Dauid. The erth Psal. cv. dyd open and swalowed in Da­than, and closed it selfe vpō the congregacyō of Abyron, and y^• fyre burned theyre churche and them. And when kynge Ozyas ii. Para. xxvi. be pryde and inobedyence toke vpō hi to sence agaynst goddes lawe, intendyng to do sacrifyce the Lorde smyt hym with the lepre in the forhede to lerne hym that he sholde haue bene a sha­med of his folyshe enterpryse. [Page] And kynge Sall throughe his i. Reg. xv. inobedyence lost his kyngdom and was takē by his enemyes. And the whale swalowed in the ꝓphet Ionas, y^e which flede his wayes be inobedyēce, and kepe hym in the bottome of the See thre dayes.

Therfore we muste take good hede we rebell not agaynst our Iohan. i. and. ii. cap. prelettes and oure superyoures leste the Lorde vysyte vs and sharpely punyshe vs be theym, for they are in his stede & place. Good syster the lorde hath apoī ted & ordeyned the prelettes of the church with other rulers for our soule helth, to ꝓuide for vs, & to giue hi acoūpt of our deme nour, & to cōserue & kepe vs frō al sin & vnthriftines, of y^• which thīg sait Paule wryteth sayng, [Page lxxi] Be obedyent to youre supery­ours, Heb. xiii. and subiecte vnto them, for they watche to gyue acoun­tes for your soules The superi­ours & prelates of the churche shuld take hede & rule Christes people with al solicitude and diligence, of the whiche thynge it is wrytten in the Canticles.

Thre score of the most strōgest & valyanstes of all Israell, stode Canti. iii. aboute Salomons bed holdīg swordes ī theyr handes, & wel a poited to fyghte, and euery one had his sworde hangynge vpō his thygh for the fere of y^• night The trewe Salomō is christ h [...] selfe for he is very peasyble, and hath made peace & concorde be­twyxte god & mā. By Salomōs bed is vnderstāded y^• cōgregatiō of faythful people w^t whom god [Page] doth dwell & rest. The valyaūt and stronge men which do com­passe aboute Salomons bedde, be the prelates of the church the whiche be reprouynge correc­tynge, and exhortyng of men to vertue, do compasse and defende goddes churche agaynst vyce & other enimys, both vysible and inuisible: the whiche prelates are therfore called stronge, by­cause they are or shulde be perfet in the obseruauntes of goddes cōmaundemētes holdyng [...] theyr swordes in theyr handes, that is the worde of god, for in theyr prechynge they shulde represse the vyce and synnes of theyr subiec­tes. And they are very wel apoī ted i. Ephe. vii to warre, for it is nedefull y^• they be alwayes redy to with­stande all spirituall battelles. [Page lxxii] And they haue theyr swourdes vpō theyr thyghes, that is they shulde fyrst represse and correct theym selues of all carnall and flesshly luste: and then theyr obediences and subiectes. They do all this for y^• feare of the nyght that is agaynste the secrete tem tatyons of the deuyll, the which in the nyght of this world doth proue, and attempte the forsayd prelates verye sore, to this en­tente, that after they haue deceyued theym, they maye the more easlyer bespot and defyle the for sayd Salomon, that is the for­sayd congregacyon of faythfull people, & goodes seruaūtes, in the whiche throughe grace, the trewe Salomon Christe Iesus do the reste.

Welbeloued syster I haue de­clayred [Page] these thynges vnto you bycause ye shulde knowe that humbly we oughte to obey our prelates and superyours. Obe­dyence is the onely vertue, that bryngeth all other vertues to the soule, and whē they be there it kepeth thē there, of the which obedyence the wyse man sayeth Obedyence is better then sacryfyce. i. Reg. xv. For by sacryfyce other straunge fleshe is deuoured and slayne, but by obedyence a mannes proper fleshe and wyll is ruled. He that is obedyēt, speketh of vyctory, for who so mekelye Prouer. xxi is obedyent to another mannes worde ouercommeth hym selfe. Adam fel bycause he was inobedient, Chryst mounted vp to he­uen bycause he obeyed his fa­ther euen to deathe, and as by [Page lxxiii] Adams inobedyence, there are many synners, so be the obedy­ence of Chryste, there are many iuste men. And as by Adams Rom. [...] mysfaute and synne euery man and woman is in the way of dā nacyon, so by y^e iustyce of chryst euerye man is in the way of iu­styfycacyon. And as the inobe­dyence of oure fyrste father in­gendred deathe, so the obedy­ence of chryste ingendred lyfe.

Therfore my sister, if for the lo­ue of god, ye be obedyente and buxum to youre superyours, ye shall obtayne the kyndome of heuen, saye nothynge nor be ne­uer rebellyous agaynste theym Loke y^t ī no case ye speke agaist those y^• be ordred to rule you, honoure those y^e ar better thē ye in [Page] scyence, and in good lyuynge, honoure euery mā as his good lyfe dothe requyre and deserue, do reuerence to those that are in hyghe degre, do them reuerence after youre possibylyte, be obe­dyente to your elders, and humble at theyre commaundement, gyue place to those that be ī au­thoryte, and do condige seruyce to youre superyoures, be obedyente to euerye man: in all good workes and godlye commaun­dementes.

O Chrystes spouse, obey mā so, that ye offende not the wyll and pleasure of God, be neuer obediente in euyll, be not obedyente to hym, that shall commaunde you to do that is noughtes, nor neuer consent to euyl dede, be obedyente to no man in euyll, of [Page lxxiiii] what power or authorytye so e­uer he be, notwithstandynge he commaunde you vnder payn of deathe, it were better to suffre death, thē at any mās cōmaūdemente to do euyll, or agayne goddes cōmaundementes, bet­ter it were to be hanged with al abhominacyon and shame, then to be dampned etenally. We owe oure obedience to god one­ly nor to no nother mā, but one­ly for his sake, our p̄lates & our superyours are in goddes rowme, and for his sake, we be obedient vnto thē. Therfore good syster, loke ye be to them obe­dient, and god shall gyue you y^• crowne of euerlastynge lyfe.

Amen.

Of ꝑseueraūce.. xx. cha.

WEelbeloued Syster, harken vnto saynte Hieromes wordes, Men do not seke a­mong chrystē mē for theyr beginynges, but for theyr ende, and theyr contynuaunce, Saynt Paule begā but easesly [...]. ix. yet he made a good ende, Iu­das Skaryot began well, but Math. 27. he made a shrowed ende Iudas beginīg is alowed, but the ende of his lyfe is reproued. And sait Gregory saith, y^• perseueraunce & cōtinuance is the vertue of al good workes, he laborth ī vayn that begynneth wel, and leueth of, and Saynte Isydore sayeth, God doth not iudge a mā after his lyuynge in tyme paste, but [Page lxxv] after his ende. For it is written as I fynde the, so shall I iudge the. And gloryous saynt Mag­dalane, Mar. xvi, because she contynued styll sekyng of Chryst, she after his resuscytatyon deserued to se hym fyrste of all other, it is also written in the Canticles. In my Canti. iii. lytle bed be nyght I sought him whome my soule doth loue.

Therfore I exhort you good virgyn, to seke Christ Iesus ī your bed, that is in rest and quietnes and in contēplacyō of y^• mynde, and ye shall seke hym by nyght that is in this worlde, sythynge vnto hi & desirīg hym, y^t ye may ꝑfytely fynd hi in time to come, & se hi reigne ī his fathers sete, seke hym contynually be good life, y^t ye may se his blissed face, in y^• celestial kingdome of heuē.

[Page] I praye you good syster to saye with Dauid: my soule is maruelously a thyrste, that is it hathe Psal. xli. great desyre to come to god the fountayne of lyfe. And when shall I go, and apere before the face of god. Uerely youre soule dothe desyre god, yf it loue hym aboue all thynge, truelye youre soule doth desyre god, yf for his loue, it dispyse all earthly thyn­ges, certaynly youre soule doth desyre god, and doth loue hym, yf it desyre to se hym syttyng in heuen vpon the ryght hande of his father. And the prophet Dauid exhortynge vs sayth. Seke Psal. c. i [...]i [...]. the Lord, and ye shalbe confyr­med, seke to come to his face, y^• is in prosperyte & in aduersyte, in pouertye and aboundaunce, in syckenes and helth, in youth [Page lxxvi] and in age, we shulde seke hym, and axe for hym, with all oure mynde, and all oure intentyon, to be confyrmed in all deuouce and holye conuersacion, and yf we couet to se hym in the kyng­dome of heuen, we muste clense oure selfe frome all fylthynesse, for why at the daye of the gene­rall resurrectyon, there shall no man come to eternall blysse, nor se the glorye of his deuyne ma­iestye, but they onelye, that are clene and pure bothe of mynde and hart. The kingdome of he­uen shall not be gyuen to ydle personnes, nor yet to no vaga­boūdes, but to those onely, that seke and demaunde it, and that enforce theym selfe to gette it, for the Lorde sayth. Axe and ye Math. vii. shall haue, seke & ye shal fynde, [Page] knocke and the dore shall be o­pened vnto you,

Therfore we must go to the ga­tes of heuē be good prayer, and seke thē by good lyfe, & knocke at the gate, by perseueraunce & the contynuall seruyce of God. Nor it is not suffycyente to be­gynne well, but we muste study to beginne wel, and enforce our selfe so to cōtynew al the dayes of oure lyfe. For it were moche better not to knowe iustice, then ii. Peter. ii. after a man knowethe it, not to folowe it. And hereof sayeth the Lorde.

Suche as put to and prepayre Luke. ix. theyr handes to do wel, and af­ter they haue begun, loke backewardes, ar not mete for the kīgdome of heuen,

Therfore good sister it is greatly [Page lxxvii] necessary that we with great desyre and affectyon do knocke contynually at goddes eares, and that we neuer leaue of to do well, vntyll heuen gates be opened vnto vs, me thynkethe that to contynewe styll in god­des seruyce is an excellent ver­tue.

For they y^• leaue his seruyce to be worldly, are made moch blacker then coles, why so? For throughe a certayne feblenesse and vnlustynes of mynde, they are dede, and cleane withoute the heate and fyre of charyte.

And of suche sayeth saynt Iso­dore. They that returne from a good lyfe to an euyl ar through [...]upedytye be smuttered with [Page] the blackenes of vyce and syn̄e, and are remoued farre from the lyghte of charite. They that go frō goddes seruice to the world, are seperated from the cōpanye of aungelles, and assocyated to wycked deuilles. They that leaue the holy congregacion to come to a worldly lyfe, are put oute of goddes companye and do submytte them selues to the deuylles good grace.

Good syster take good heed what ye haue done, & euer more remembre from whence ye came whether ye be come, and wher­fore, ye haue lefte and dyspysed for goddes sake all worldly thi­ges, & for his loue ye haue cho­sen to contynewe & dwel in holy cōgregatyō, ye haue bought he­uē & paid your owne body for it, [Page lxxviii] laboure therfore with all dily­gence, that ye lese not this goodly kyngdom, the which ye haue thus conquered and gotten.

Loke ye lese not this kingdome y^• which ye haue bough w^t your owne body, harkē what. s. paule sayeth. There shall no man be crowned, but they y^t fyght law­fully, i. Timo. ii. he fighteth & laboreth lawfully, that cōtinueth all his lyfe ī good workꝭ, he fighteth lawfully that without fraude or anye dissymulacyō cōtynueth in goddes seruyce, he serueth god worthely, y^• foloweth his good wor­kes begun. He laboureth wel in good workes, y^t finyshethe that he began well. And the churche of his membres contynuyng in goodnesse sayeth. The beames and the tymber of oure houses, Canti. x. [Page] are of Cedern, the coueryngē of Cypers, that is to saye, the howses of the church, are the holye congregacyon of faythfull people, and goddes seruaun­tes that contynewe in suche thī ges as shall please hym, for Ce­der and cypers be suche trees, as neuer putryfye, & they syng­nyfye the blessed saintes of god the whiche with a marueylous and a contynuall affectyon, do desyre hym, cōtynuyng in good operacyon, and workes as lōge as they lyue. Therfore good syster loke ye be y^• cyper tre in goddes house, by the contynuaunce of a good and a deuoute lyfe.

And also that ye be the Ceder tree in the house of god, the whiche thyng ye maye be, yf ye wyl gyue y^• example of good lyfe, & [Page lxxix] the swete fragraunte sauers of good conuersacyon, thus I do wryte, because ye shulde with al youre harte and mynde dyspyse the worlde, and contynewe in vertue. For ye shulde not wyll to leaue vertue, to requyre this worldly lyfe. Also and agayne I counsayle you to tary styll in goddes seruyce, and neuer to retourne to the world agayn, why so? For in that, is lyfe cōtempla­tyfe, and in the worlde, nothyng but labour, ī that, is a holy lyfe, in the worlde, a synfull lyfe, in that, a spirituall and a gostlye lyfe, in the worlde, a carnal and a flesshly lyfe, in that, a heuenly lyfe, in the world, a earthly lyfe, in y^•, is a peaseble lyfe, ī y^e world a troubelous lyfe, in that, is a [Page] a quyet lyfe, in the world a mā ­nes lyfe is full of contentyon & stryfe: in that is trāquylyte and reste, in the worlde, a lytygeus and a contentyous lyfe, full of all reproche, in that, is a chaste and a perfyte lyfe, in the world, a luxurious and a vycyus lyfe, in that, is a life ful of al vertue, in the worlde ful of all vyce and vnthriftynesse, in that, is a very deuoute and a holye lyfe, in the worlde a lyfe ful of al iniquyte. Nowe good syster ye haue hard both of life & deth, now ye haue set before you both good & euyl, ye se both ꝑdycyō & soule helth, ye se bothe lyfe and deathe, fyre & water, put forth your hādes, take what ye thynke best & most necessary ye se before you y^• way to heuen and hell, the tone lea­deth [Page lxxx] a man to lyfe eternall, the tother to perpetual death. Therfore take whiche wayes ye wyll, I desyre you onely to take the best.

Of virginite the xxi. chapi.

THe prudent, and Math xxv. wyse virgyns toke and put oyle in ther lampes. Harken vnto my wordes, they [...] are cleane virgyns both of [Page lxxxi] body and mynde, are no fooles, but very wyse and, maye go to mete theyr spouse, for they haue oyle in there vessels, that is they haue chastyte in theyr soules, but suche as ve onely virgyns of body & not of mynde, be very fooles, nor can not go to mete theyre spouse, for they haue no oyle in theyre vessels, y^e is, they haue not chastite in theyr soules And s. Isodore sayeth. She y^e is a virgyn in bodie, & not in soule shall haue no remuncracyon ne reward. And y^• lorde speakynge of these foolysh virgyns sayeth. I knowe not what ye be. Math. xxv.

Wherfore I exhorte you, to be a virgin both in soule & body, y^• hereaft̄ ye may be set in the celestial rhābre of your spouse christ iesꝰ. Uirginite is not cōmaūded [Page] but yet our holy fathers do coū sell 1. Cor. vii. vs to kepe it, as a thynge most excellent. The gyfte of virginyte is double, for it hathe no carefulnesse in this worlde, and in tyme to come, it shalbe excel­lently rewarded, without doute they that continew chast and in virginite, shalbe egal with goddes angelles. And the prophete Izaye, doth beare wytnes that virgyns aboue all other shalbe most fortunate ī the eternal bea­tytude, be sayeth those wordes, speakynge vnto the Enuques, that is to those that be chaste & I [...]a lvi lyue chastly for goddes sake.

I wyll gyue them my house, & a place within my walles, and a better name then hath my chyl­dren a name that shall dure for euermore, and neuer perysshe. [Page lxxxii] All maner of synne through pe­naunce deserueth pardon & for­gyuenesse, but virgynite once peryshed and lost can in no ma­ner of wyse be recouered, for not withstandinge a man by penance doth optayne pardon therof, yet he by no maner of meanes can retourne to his fyrst estate, & purenesse. O my good syster bo­dely virginyte is of no valure, where is no integrite of harte, & mynde. All suche virgyns as glorifye them selfe of theyr merytes, are compared to Ipocry­tes, the whiche requyre extery­or glorye for theyr good workes and dedes, the which they shuld haue inwardly and in consciēce And this is it that is wrytten.

Howe the foolyshe virgyns had Mah. xxv no oyle in theyr vessels, that is [Page] howe they kepte not inwardely in theyr conscyence the testimo­ny of good workꝭ, but that they wolde be glorifyed heare in this worlde amonge men, and not in harte with God. Saynt Austen sayeth that the virginyte of the bodye helpeth not, where that anger dothe rule. And there is a great difference betwyxt pure virginite of the soule, the which is not poluted ne defyled with contagyousnesse, and that, that hathe ben subiecte to many bodely pleasures. Good sister I pray you harken vnto. Saynt Hie­rom wordes, sayenge. That it profyteth nothynge, that the bodye be chaste yf the mynde be maried. Also it is as nothynge to kepe the bodye chaste, yf man refrayne not his eyes from con­cupiscence [Page lxxxiii] & wanton lokes. Norvirgynyte profyteth nothynge, yf theyr be in the mynde no cha­rite, nor no humilite. Wherfore good syster I wold counsel you, to take the oyle of good workes with you, and that ye garnyshe your lampes with good & cleane maners, and that ye kyndle and lyght them with good and goo­stly vertues, that when so euer ye shall heare, that the bryde grome is commynge, ye maye go and mete hym, that is to saye, ye maye go and mete with Chryst Iesus youre spouse, and be receyued and set in his celestyall chambre.

¶ Of continence the .xxij chapitur.

Good sister I pray you to harken with all deuocyon vnto my admonicyon.

The nomber of thyrte, is the fyrst nōbre, and it syg­nifyeth the cōfederatyon of maryage. The nōbre of thre score, is the seconde degre of nōbres, & it sygnifeth the cōtynēce of wy­dowes. A hundered is the thyrd degre of nombers, the which is deputed vnto virgyns, for the glorye and crowne of theyre virginyte, Saynt Isodore sayeth y^• ther be which in there youth lyued luxuriusly, & in age do intēd to lyue chastly, and that wyl liue then in continence and chastite [Page lxxxiiii] when voluptuousnesse & bode­ly pleasure hath forsaken & left them, but suche men shall haue litle or no reward, for they haue taken no payne to resyste temp­tacyō. They shal be rewarded, & the crowne of glorye appertay­neth to them, that valyātly ha­ue foughten and warsteled for it, the fruyte of chastite is swetnesse. Chastite is the saue­gard of the soule, and the health of the body. Luxuriousnesse do­the feble a mans body, and causeth man to seme olde and aged before his tyme, continuall and longe chastite is reputed for virginite. Therfore good syster the beutifulnesse of chastite, oug ht to be loued and myche made of. They that lyue continently and chastely, prepare them selfe as [Page] and humble synner, is more to be laudyd a great dele, then the proude iust man. Therfore dys­prayse no womē, for many a ho­ly womā hath ben maryed, and haue had chyldren, truely yf ye blame or accuse any such, ye are culpable before god. For the ho­ly prophete saynt [...]n, was ma­ryed. Yet neuerthelesse she pro­phesyed Luke. ii of Chryst, and deserued to se hym. Also Mary Magda­lene Mark. xvi was a secular woman, and yet she sawe chryst after he was rysen from death to lyfe, and deserued to be chrystes messenger to his apostles, we shulde neuer haue them in cōtempte, the whi­che god hath chosen to be his seruantes. Wherfore I exhort you that for the loue of chryst, ye do them the seruyce, and pleasure [Page lxxxiv] ye maye or can, and that ye loue them, as mothers. And good syster, ye ought to loue them as your owne chyldrē, for god hath conuerted and drawen them frō the worlde to his seruyce. Yf ye then despyse them, bycause they be his handmaydēs and seruantes, ye do hym iniure. O good syster in Chryst Iesu, neuer say, or thynke your selfe a drye stock or an vnfrutefull tree. For yf ye loue the lorde as ye shuld do, ye haue seuen goodly chyldren. The fyrste is called shamefast­nesse, the seconde patyence, the thyrde sobernesse, the fourth tē ­peraunce, the fyfte is charyte, the syxte humilyte, the seuenth chastite. Behold nowe good sy­ster, how that by the great grace of GOD without any grefe, [Page] or corporall corruptyon, ye haue brought forthe to GOddes ho­nour seuen fayre chyldren.

And so ye haue fulfylled that is wryttē. The barrē hath brought Reg. ii. forthe seuen chyldren. Therfore good syster, ye muste nouryshe repast confort and chasten these your goodly chyldren, ye muste nouryshe them with good ma­ners, with deuoute contempla­cyon, with the mylke of eternall swetenesse, ye must repast them with the loue of heuēly pasture, ye muste conforte them, with the breade of the worde of God. Ye must chasten them, with the roddes of the feare of god, and commaunde them to flye, and auoyd all pryde, and lyghtnesse, & that they neuer transgresse his com­maundementes, and that they [Page lxxxvii] neuer go ne departe from you. Nowe ye se then, howe that vir­gyns fynd out and optayne the moost excellentes and moost so­ueraūce place of the kyngdome of heuen, & not without a great cause, for they haue dispised this present worlde. And therfore they are come to euerla­stynge ioye, to the whiche I desyre that he do brynge you to whose seruyce ye haue consecrated bothe bodye and soule.

Amen.

Of fornication the .xxiij. chap.

DEare syster I exhorte you, that with all deuocyon ye ly­sten vnto the wordꝭ Luke. xii. of our lorde Iesus. Loke that your loynes be gyr­ded, and that ye haue burnyng lampes in your hādes we gyrd our loynes when that by conty­nence we represse all fleshly and bodely lustes. We holde bur­nyngelampes, in oure handes, whē we shewe good example to our neyghbour, bodely fornica­cyon yf it be taken largely, is (as sayeth saynt Isodore) adul­tery. But fornicatiō of the soule, [Page lxxxviii] is Idolatre. The fyrst assautes of fornicacion, are by y^• eyes, the seconde by wordes. He that is not taken by the eyes, maye soone resyst and withstande wordes. Al fylthe polluciō is called fornication, notwithstandynge that all the kyndes therof, bye dyuers voluptuous pleasures, are cōmen. And of this vayne fornicacyon are in gendered dyuers greate synnes, by the whi­che the kyngdome of heuen is closed vp, and man seperated, & put from god. And amonge all other capitall and deadly syn­nes, fornycatyon is the cheyf­fest by extencyon, that is bycau­se it is more cōmen then any o­ther, or els bycause it hathe mo braunches then any other. By the vnclenlynesse of the flyshe [Page] the tēple of god is defeyled, & by takyng away of chrystꝭ mēbers, they make it the member of a strūpet, that is of that vyle wo­man, the whiche out of wedlock Cor. vi. doth make her selfe a cōmen brodel. Wherfore good virgyn, yf this be trewe, that god lyueth in you, loke that all fornicacion be deade in you. Lechery is Goddꝭ enemye, & the perdicyon of eter­nall blysse, and of all wordly substance. Fornicacyō doth not onely bespot mās body, but also his soule and conscyence, and not w^t standing that he that cōmitteth fornicaciō semeth to lyue, yet for al that he is dead, god shal iuge these aduouterers and fornica­tours Hebre. xiii. that is, he shal cōdempne them. Harken good syster vnto Saynt Isodore wordes.

[Page lxxxix] Yt is a great dele worsse, to be defyled with fornycacyon, then with any other syn. For fornica­cyon, (as I haue sayde before) is greates of all syn. Fornicatiō is a very greuous syn. Fornica­cyon surmoūteth, and excedeth all other fautes. Fornication is more greuous then death. Yt were better to dye, then to com­myt fornycacyon, or to be in any maner of wyse bespotted withal Yt were better to dye, then a mā by fornycion shuld dampne his his owne soule. Lechery bryn­geth a man to the paynes of hel Lechery drowneth mans soule in hel. Lechery sēdeth a man to damnacyon. The eyes are for­nycacyons messengers. The syght is the fyrste cause of fornication, the soule is oftentymes [Page] taken by a mans eyes, by y^• eyes the darte of loue cōmeth to the soule. Wherfore my welbeloued syster in Chryste Iesu, refrayne your eyes, plucke backe youre syght. Fasten not your syght v­pō the goodlynesse of the fleshe. Loke ye cast your eyes apon no man, to dysyre his cōpany. Be­holde no mans face to loue hym in euyll, turne awaye your eyes from al vanite, loke ye neuer desyre the beutyfulnesse of man. O my good syster tel me I pray you. What vtilite is ther, in the carnall bewtye of man? Is not man as drye as hay? And dothe i Peter. 1. not his goodly beutye vanyshe awaye, as dothe the shadowe? And when death cōmeth, I pray you tell me, what goodlynesse shall remayne in the bodie? whē [Page xc] ye shall se his body swollē, and turned into all fylthy stynche, and sauer, shall ye not then stop your noose from such vnsauery sauer? And from suche a styn­kynge bodye? Tell me I praye you where shall his goodly and his amable face be then? Wher shall his swete wordes be, with the which he was wont to melte theyre hartes he spake vnto? Wher is then his swete and mery communication? Tell me ho­nest virgyn where y^t his laugh­ynge coūtynance, and his vnhonest sportes be then? Where shal his vayne and his vnprofyta­ble ioyfulnesse, and myrthe, be­come then? Yt is gone consu­med to nought, and vanyshed awaye in lykenesse of smoke. This is the ende and the consū ­macyon [Page] of bodely beutye. Therfore good syster, lerne nowe that beutyfulnesse is but a vayne thynge. Consyderyng thē good [...]. [...]1. syster, that bodely shape is but a vanite, a corrupt matter, nothynge but earth, nothynge els but duste and asches, loke ye behold no man to desyre hym. Why so? For the worlde and all his con­cupiscence and pleasure vanys­shet i. Iohn̄. ii. away. And all that is in the worlde, is but the concupiscence of the fleshe, or of the eyes. Therfore this worlde shulde be despised for goddes sake with al that is in it. And you that haue lefte it for the loue of God, shulde neuer reioyce in the beutyfulnesse of man. Therfore I exhorte you to loue chryst Iesus your spou­se aboue all thyng, for yf the de­syre [Page xci] of carnall fornicacyon doth delite and please the soule, more then the loue of chaslite, it is in continuall syn. But yf the most excellēt vertue of chastite please the soule more then fylthy fornicacyon, then there is no syn in it but iustice. And notwithstāding a man be chaste of bodye and in mynd luxurius, yet syn doth re­mayne in hym. Fornicacyō of y^e mynde is taken for Idolatre.

There is another spice of fornycaciō of y^• which y^• lord speaketh sayng. Who so loketh vpō a womā desiryng her cōpany, cōmytteth Mah. v fornicacyō in harte & mynd Mē are more subiecte to the de­uel by bodely fornicacyō, thē by any other syn̄e, or vyce. Chastite is the goodlynesse of the soule, and by chastyte man is made [Page] egal, to the merytes of Aungels many a one for faute of kepyng there syght haue fallen into the daunger, and parell of theyre soules.

¶ Of abstinence the .xxiiij. chapiter.

THat is called, a perfyte faste when we fast outwardely, and pray inwardly. By fastynge mans prayer is soone harde. By fa­stynge & prayenge, mans soule [Page xciiij] is ioyned to the angels, and coupeled to God. Fastynge is as stronge armoure to feyght a­gaynst the deuyll as may be, by fastynge and prayenge the wyc­ked spirytes are ouercommed.

My welbeloued syster in GOd, wyll ye knowe howe fornycaci­on maye be best restrayned, and kepte vnder? Ye good brother, yf it please you I pray you shew me: harken then vnto me. By fastynge and by abstynence, for­nicacyon is soone layde a syde. By fastynge, voluptuous plea­sure & lechery is quicly restray­ned. Neuer fyll your self, & luxuriousnes shall neuer ruell you. Abstynence ouercōmeth y^• flesh, abstinence doth brydell bodely pleasure, abstynēce doth break & diminyshe all fleshly lust & mo [Page] cyon. Abstynence dothe vtterlyè destrowe the power of fornicacion, hunger and thryst doth ouer come all carnall concupyscence and lust. That soule that is gy­uen to diuersyte of meates, and drynkes, leseth the vigure and effecte of good prayer. That soule that of longe seasō hathe not ben repasted, nor fed w^t the word of god, is lyke the bodye y^t hathe ben long without meat. Saynt hierome sayeth, that a mā muste fast meanely, & w^t moderacyon, least that to moch fasting shuld febly she the stomacke. For meat moderately takē, is both ꝓfyta­ble for y^• soule & the bodye. A fat bellye and moch aboundaūce of meat causeth dull wyttꝭ, & dull vnderstādyng. Also it is moche better dayly to eate lytle, then [Page xcv] to eate but seldome and moche, he fasteth well, that exchuyt syn Better it is to abstayne frō vice then from meat, but to abstayne that ye may afterwardꝭ fyl your selfe, is not laudable, nor suche abstinence is nothyng cōmendable. A voyde bely prouoketh a man to prayer and deuociō, and a ful belly to slepe and slouthfulnesse, kepe the bodye drye by the desyre of the kyngdome of heuē to thentent ye may fulfyll that is wrytten. My soule & my flesh doth greatly desyre god, y^• flessh Psal. xii. doth then desyre God, when by moch fastyng it abstayneth and wareth drye. Good syster yf ye ꝑfytly desyre god in this mortal lyfe, he shal satisfye & cōtēt your mind, ī y^• glorious kīdome of heuē: abstinēce doth both kil & giue [Page] lyfe for it quyckeneth y^• soule, & mortifyeth the bodye. Abstynēce doth edifye & ingēder vertue in mans soule, & destroyeth the vi­cyousnes of y^• body. We shuld w^t all diligēce despyse glotony, the cōcupyscens & desyre of dilicate viandes & meates, shulde be left and litle regarded. A man shuld not care for his belye, when the belye is to moche replenyshed, then the bodye is inflamed with wantōnesse & lechery. We shuld not eare to fyll the bellye, but to sustayne the bodye. For when the belye is full, then is the fyer of fornycacyon kyndeled, that body that is chasted, and kepte lowe by abstynence, is neuer in­flamed nor hurt with the fyre of voluptuous pleasure. The ry­che man clothed in purpure, Luke. xxi [Page xcvi] the which to euery mānes iudgment & syght, lyued in great a­bundaūce, bycause he wold not abstayne in this world from immoderate meates and drynkes, was caste into the fyre of hell, & desyred but one droppe of wa­ter to refreshe & cole his tunge withall, yet he could not haue it Luke. xvi. nor neuer shal. And as be absti­nence all vertue is roted and e­dyfyed in the soule of manne, so be the abundaūce of meate and drynke, vice is noryshed in mās bodye, nor man shall neuer ob­tayne the perfytenes of vertue, yf he do not fyrste tame and re­frayne the glotony of the belye. The thre childrē were not burnt nor cōsumed, because they were abstinent and sober. And Da­nyell Daniel. iii. was delyuered frome the [Page] lyon because he was abstinent. No man of hym selfe can repell temptacyon, yf he refrayne not Daniel. vi. and. xiiii. frō īmoderate eatīg & drīkyng.

Of drōkennes. the .xxv. Chapi.

DEare Syster, I pray you harken to goddes owne wor­des. Take hed your Luke. xxi. bodyes be not gre­ued w^t ebryete & drōkēnes. And [Page xcviii] saynt Paule sayth, be not dron­ken w^t wyne in the which is ex­cesse. Ephesi. v. And Salomō sayth, wyne is a lechetous thing, & dronkē ­nes Prouer. xx. is full of stryfe & debate, be holde not wyne whē his colour is goodly & pleasaūt, for it goth downe full swetely, but at lēgth it wyll byte & cast out his veno­mous poysō. Where dronkēship ruleth, there is no secretnes. Wyne hath brought many a mā to great peryl & daūger both of body and soule. Wyne was made in iocundyte & myrth, and not ī ebryete & dronkēnes. Where so psal. c. 3. euer fulthsūnesse doth abunde, there ruleth fornycatyō & leche­re, voluptuous pleasure foloth a wel fed bely. Dronkēnes doth feblyshe the body, & deceyueth y^• soule, drōkennes troubleth mās [Page] vnderstādīg, & augmēteth y^• fu­ry & madnes of the harte, dron­kēnes doth nourysh the flame & fyre of fornycacyō, dronkennes doth so alienate a mānes vnder stādyng, y^• he knoweth not hymselfe. A dronkē mā is so farre be sydes hī selfe, that for the moste parte he knoweth not where he is. It is to many a mā a lawde to drynke well, & not to be dron­ken, & of those speaketh the pro­phet, sayng. Oute apō you that Iza. v. are strōge to drynke wyne, & to folow drōkēnes, & again he sai­eth. Out apō you y^• rise betimes to drynke frō mornyng tyll eue­ning. And the prophet cryeth sayng. Awake ye drōkardꝭ & wepe awake you y^• drynk wyne ī swetnes, Ioal. i. he sayeth not awake you y^• drīke wine for necessite, but you [Page xcxix] that drinke wyne in swetenes, y^• is, w^t great delectacyō & plesure Drōkēnes acustomed is deadly synne, dronkēnes is a greuous synne, dronkennes is rekened amonge murder, aduoutry, & for Gala. v. nycacyō. Dronkennes casteth a man oute of heuen, dronkennes doth drowne & cast mā into hel. Noe dranke wine and afterwardes dysclosed such preuy partes of his bodye, the whiche he had Gene. ix. kepte close the space of syx hun­dred yeares. And Loth ouercū ­med withe wyne, laye with his Gene. ix. owne doughter, yet he felte no synne, for his mynde and vnder stādīg was alienate. Now good syster thynke & esteme you, howe excecrable a thing y^• drōkennes is, & how moch goddꝭ seruaūtes ought to exchewe & to auoyd it.

Of synne. the .xxvi. Cha.

SYster lystē vnto goddꝭ saynge. Who so euer dothe synne Iohn̄. viii. is seruaunt to sīne. Synne is commyt­ted and done two dyuers maner of waies, for eyther it is done by cupydyte and desyre, or elles for feare, as whē a man wold haue that he desyreth, or when he fea­reth to come to that, y^t he shuld come vnto. Synne is commyt­ted in mannes harte foure ma­ner of wayes, and foure maner of wayes in dede. It is commytted in harte by suggestion & the instigacion of the deuyll, by de­lectatyō of y^• fleshe, by volūtary cōsēt, & by y^e defēce of pryde It is cōmitted ī dede sūtimes secretly [Page] sometymes manyfestly, somety­mes be custome, and sometimes be desperacyon. Under these for sayd maners, we synne in harte, and do it in dede. Sinne is also cōmytted thre other waies, that is by ignoraunce, by infyrmyte, and industryously, that is malycyously. Eue synde by ignoraū ­ce, as sayth Saynt Paule. The ii. Cor xi. man was not deceyued but the woman, so that Adam cōmitted synne īdustryously, and Eue by ignoraūce. He that is deceyued knoweth not to what thynge he consenteth vnto: Saynt Peter cōmytteth synne by a certayne infyrmytye and wekenes, when Math. xxvi for the fere of a mayd seruaunt he denyde the lord his mayster. Syn done by īfyrmyte is moch more greuous then that, that is [Page Cii] done by ignoraūce: but yet that is more greuous that is cōmytted by malice, thē y^•, that is done by ignoraūce, and syn which is done openly, is moch more gre­uous thē that, y^t is done secretely. He that synneth manyfestly, doth double his synne. For he sineth hym selfe and gyueth euyl examples to other, it is a greate poynte & a parte of iustyce, for a man to know his owne iniquy­te, and to be ashamed of his mislyuyng. It is moch better to abstayne frō synne for the loue of god, thē for fere of the paines of hel. Also it is better not to sinne thē after y^• a mā hath synned, to correct and to amend his faute. Euery synner is bespotted with pryde. For he y^• dothe that, that is forboddō hī, dyspiseth goddꝭ [Page] commaundemētes. Harken vn­to me good syster, harke I pray you what I saye vnto you. By one mysfaute many vertues do perysh, kepe therfore your soule from synne. For he that synneth Iames. ii. in one, is culpable in all, by one synne, many merytoryous wor­kes do perysh. Incline nor bow not youre mynde to those thyn­ges that the bodye desyrethe. Nor sette not youre soule in the power of the flesshe, consent not to no flesshly delectacyon, for yf ye lyue after the fleshe ye shal sone perishe. Loke therfore that youre conscyence be purged frō all synne, & that youre thought be net and cleane, puryfy youre body frō al īiquyte, & your hart frō al maner of spottꝭ of syn, the [Page Ciii] bodye can not be defyled, but that the soule must be fyrst be­spotted, yf the soule stomble by and by, the body is prest and re­dy to folowe, the soule gothe before the flesshe, and in all iniqui­te & synne the soule is the fyrste that synneth, the body can do nothynge, but as the soule wyll.

Therfore kepe your soule from al iniquite, and your flesshe shal neuer synne.

¶ Of confessiō of synnes and penaunce, the .xxvij. chap.

THen a man begyn­neth to be iust when he accuseth hym self of his synnes, & here of speaketh the wyse tha sayng. A iust mā fyrst of all Prouer. [...]. accuseth hym selfe, & there is no­thing [Page] worse for amā thē to knowledge his fautes, & not to be sory for thē. A synner shulde bewayle his misdedes two maner of wayes. Fyrst because y^t through ne­glygence, he hathe not done soo well as he shuld haue done, and agayne bycause y^t through boldnesse, he hath cōmitted & done y^• euyll, the which he shuld not haue done. He that bemourneth, & bewayleth his synnes (takynge good hede he faule to no moo) doth cōdyng and very good pe­naūce, but he y^• lamēteth his misdedes, & begynneth to fall to thē agayne, is lykened to hym that wessheth a raw bryke, y^• is, he la­boureth in vayne. For y^e more he wessheth, y^e more fylthynes commeth therof, but he y^• doth penaū ce whē he might sin, & in time of [Page Cv] his lyfe correcteth his liuīg, w^t ­drawīg him selfe frō syn, shal haue euerlasting rest. But he y^• le­ueth euyl, & begynneth to do pe­naūce whē death calleth him, thē as it is vncertayne whether he shalbe dāned, so it is vncertaine whether he shall be saued. And therfore he y^• wyll be sure at his last ende to haue remissyō & pardone of his synnes, must do pe­naūce whylest he is ī good helth & prosperite, & in helth must la­mē [...] & bewayle his mysdedes: & cōsiderīg y^• the mercy of God, is secret & so far frō mās knowleg yt shall be & is very necessary y^• we cōtinually bewayle our syn­nes. Harkē good syster vnto. S Isodores wordes. A man that doth penaunce shuld not, nor it is not necessary he shulde haue sure knowledge that his synnes [Page] be forgyuen hym, wherfore? For such sure knowlege doth ingendre neglygence, the whiche ne­gligēce oftētimes maketh many a one to take no hede, and so leadeth thē agayne to there fyrste nautye maner of liuyng. Ther­fore my wel beloued sister accept & take this my coūsell, & whylest ye maye, loke ye amende & cor­recte your liuing, whylest y^• god doth giue you leue, opē your sin lamēt your sinnes, do penaunce cōfesse your synnes, whylest ye lyue lamēt your misliuyng, and let them that be called to dye, by your amendemēt. Amende your misdedꝭ whilest ye may, reuoke and w^t drawe your selfe frō syn, call vpon god whylest ye maye, and whylest ye lyue, seke for re­mission of youre synnes, do pe­naunce [Page Cvi] or euer death do come. Do penaunce or euer the pytte of hell do swallowe you, lament your disordonate liuing, or euer that hell do take you. Bewayle and morne your synnes, or euer ye be drownde in the depe pyt of hell, for there is no pardon to be gotten, there is neyther ioye nor yet pleasure, nor no lycence or space to do penaunce, nor no ty­me to amende, nor no place of cō fessyō, why so? Bycause that in hell is no redemptyon. In this world, (not w^tstandyng ye be neuer so great a syn̄er) yet through penaūce ye may optayne remis­syon and pardon. Nor there is no syn so greuous, but by doing of penaunce a man may optay­ne and get forgyuenesse & pardō therof Disperacyō increaseth a [Page] [...] [Page Cvi] [...] [...] [Page] dym darkenesse do inwrap me. O good lord ayde me and helpe me or euer I come to payne, or euer the fyer of hell deuoure me, or euer I be tormēted in hell. O my lorde god what shal I do at the day of thy terryble iudge­ment. Alas what shal I answere at the examinacyō of thy iudge­ment? Alas what shall I wret­ched synner saye, when I shalbe presented before the Iudicyall seate of chryst Iesus? Cursed be the day that I sinde and misdyd and falsely transgrest the com­maundement of god. Wolde to god the son had not shyned, nor rysen vpon me. O wretched day O ab hominable day, o a day vnworthy to be named, that fyrste brought me into this worlde, that opened my mothers wome [Page Cviii] for me to come out at. It had bē better I had neuer bē borne, thē to be ꝑpetually dāpned. It had ben better I had neuer bē borne thē to be borne to suffre the eternall paynes of hell. It had ben better I had neuer bē, thē to suffer ꝑpetual torment & payne. O heuen & earth lament me. O all ye creatures of god lament me. O all ye creatures that haue a­ny felyng of lyfe, bewayle me, & shede your teares vpon me. For I haue synned greuously, vn­happely, miserably, my synnes are innumerable. I haue often­tymes promised to lyue wel and to amende, but I kepte not my promis, I retourne euermore to syn agayne, and haue increaced and renued them, nor I neuer chaūged my vnthryftye maners [Page] nor I neuer ceast frō doing euyl O ye holy fathers pray for me. O ye holy sayntes pray for me. O all ye y^t are good men praye vnto the lorde to haue mercy v­pon me. And that it wyll please his grace, to deface my fautes, & to wype out all myne iniquite.

O my wretched soule who shall haue mercy vpon the. Who shal cōfort y^•. O miserable soule who shall bewayle the. Alaswhere is the keper of mā. Where is y^• re­demer of al soules? O goodshepparde where are ye. Alas why haue ye despysed me? why turne ye your face frō me? Good lorde forget me not at the last. Leaue me not good lorde for euermore Leaue me not in the deuyls po­wer. I am a synner, I am a wretched ꝑsone, & yet good Lorde I [Page Cix] come to the for help, ye are very kynde, ye are swete, & mercyfull Ye refuse, nor despyse no man, nor put no man from your mer­cy. Ah good lord shew thy great mercy vpō me, I hartely beseke the denye me not that thynge, that ye mercyfully haue graun­ted to many other. I do not de­fende my misdedes. I hyde not my synnes. I am ryght sory for them. Alas wretche that I am, I haue synde, I confesse my er­rour, I open my faute. I knowledge mine iniquite. Good lorde I haue done amys, be mercyful vnto me wretched syn̄er, ꝑdō me my mysdedes. For gyue me my synnes. O good Lorde yf ye re­gard psal. c. xxix. iniquite, who shal sustaine it. No man can then be sure at the daye of your examynacyon, [Page] nor yet the iust man, with al his iustyce, for who is he, be he ne­uer so iuste, that dare saye, he is without syn? there is no man w^t out syn. There is no man cleare i. Iohn̄. i. from syn in thy syght, nor amōg all the holy saites, there is none vnbespotted nor they that serued god, were not stedfast, and ini­quite hath ben founde amonge the angels, y^• starres be not clea­re before the lorde, and heuen in thy syght is not clere. Thē good Iob. xxv. lorde yf no man be w^tout spot in thy syght, then can not I beyng a vyle syn̄er, a vile pece of earth a vile worme, the chylde of man the which hathe dronke vp ini­quite as water, and multiplyed and increaced in synnes, be clea­re and without syn. And yet I syt in duste, and dwel in a house [Page Cx] claye, and my foundacyō is but earth. Good lorde gyue me wretched synner thy ryght hande, I pray the good Lorde to remēbre of what substaunce and where of I am made Remembre good lorde that I am but earth, but powdre & asshes. Gyue me some maner of medecyn, where with I may be holpen, where with I may be clensed and purifyed frō all syn. For I am fallen into the dept of all my syn̄es, I am fallē into the depe pyt of hell, delyuer my soule good lorde frō the cap­tiuyte of hell, that the deptnesse therof do not inclose me, that hel do not swalowe me, and that the depe pyt of hell opē not his wy­de throte vpon me, and that the profoundnesse and deptnesse of hel let me not to depart frō thēse [Page] Nowe the dredeful day of donie approchet nygh, the laste day is come, y^• tyme of death is at hāde I haue nowe nothynge left me but my graue, good Lorde for­giue me or euer I go to y^e place of darknes. Helpe me good lord Iob. x. or euer I go to the land of wretchednesse. O redemer of mans soule succoure me or euer I de­parte. Unbynde and lose me frō all my synnes or euer I come vnto death.

Of cōmunyon, that is of the receyuing of the very body and blode of Christ. the .xxviii. Chapiter.

WHo soeuer shall eate the breade of the lorde and drynke of his cup vnworthelye [Page] shalbe culpable of his blode & body, that is to say, he shall syn greatly, & fylthyly bespotte his soule, why so? For there cōmeth y^t is bespotted & noughtꝭ to that thynge y^t is good. And therfore mā shulde proue hym selfe, that is, he shuld reasō w^t hym selfe & so eate of this bread & drynke of Corin. xi. this cuppe. As though. s. Paule woide say, that euery mā shuld cōsyder his owne lyuynge and pourge his mynde of al synne & myschefe, to the tent he may worthely come vnto y^e blessed sacra­mēt of y^e auter. For who so receyueth the precyous body & blode of Christ Iesu vnworthelye, he doth eate & drīke his owne iudgmēt, that is to say, he eateth the cause of his dānaciō And of this thīg saith. s. I sidore that al such [Page Cxiiii] as lyue yl in chrystes church, receyuīg dayly the blessed body of Chryst thīkyng y^• by such dayly cōmunyō they may be pourged of theyr sinnes. I wolde al such shulde know sayth he, that it ꝓfyteth thē nothyng towarde the purgation of theyr sinnes, for it is writtē. Why hath my louer Hiero. xi. cōmytted so many crymes & synnes in my house, holy fleshe shal neuer purge hī of his fawtes.

Therfore he y^t wyll receiue y^e blessed body of Chryst, must or euer he receiue it stāde stedfast ī faith & delectiō of god. And saīt Iohn̄ sayth. He that eateth my fleshe & drynketh my bloode, is in me & Iohn̄. vi. I in hym, as thoughe he wolde say, he is and doth dwell in me, that doynge good workes ful­filleth my cōmaūdemētes. For if [Page] [...] [Page Cxiiii] [...] [Page] dwell not fyrst in me by fayth & good workes, and I in hym, he can not eate my flesshe nor drīke my blode. What thing is it thē, that mē receyue, the which do cō menly receyue the sacrament of the auter? They do receyue it in very dede, but some receiue and eate his flesh & drīkth his blode spiritually, & sacramētally, some other receyue it onely sacramē ­tally, that is the very bodye of Christ vnder the sacramēt, but not the thyng of the sacramēte. This sacramēt is called the ve­ry body of Chryste borne of the cleane byrgyn Mary, but y^• spi­rituall thyng therof is Christes fleshe. The good christē mā be­ing ī the state of grace, receiueth this sacramēt, both sacramētal­ly & spirytually, but so doth not [Page Cxv] the euyl leuer, for he receueth it vnworthely, & therfore (as sayth the apostle) he, receyuethe his [...]Corin. xi. iudgement, for he ꝓued not him selfe, or euer he receyued it, nor made no dyfferēce betwyxte the flesshe of Christe, & other flesshe. What thing doth y^e mysliuer receyue thē? Truly he receyueth nother fleshe nor blode spiritually, nor yet for his soule helth, but he receyueth his iugemēt to his dāpnatyō, not w^t standynge it a­peare that he receiueth y^e sacra­mēt as other do. And so the one receyueth the body of Christe to his saluacyō, & the other to his dāpnacyon. He that receyued it as Iudas did, shalbe dāpned w^t Iudas, And he that receiueth it with saynt Peter & other fayth­full people deuoutly & laufully [Page] is sāctytyed in y^e bydy of Chryst w^t. s. Peter & the other apostles Harken good syster vnto saynt Austen wordes. He that cōmeth to theauter to be howfled, being chast of body, cleane of harte, w^t a pure cōscyēce, & a deuout mynde, shall come to the heuenly auter before the face of god. Wel­beloued syster lysten to the wys­dome of the sarpēt, whē y^• sarpēt doth ītend to drīke, or euer he come to y^• wel, he īforceth hym self to vomyt out al such venym as is in hym, & then he drynketh. I praye you good syster to folowe the serpente in this thynge and to vomyt out all your poyson, or euer ye come to the foūtayne, that is, or euer ye come to recey­ne the very body & blode of our lorde Christ Iesus, vomyt oute [Page Cxvi] all hatred, anger, malyce, enuy, euyll wyll, hurtfull thoughtes, & forgyue al your neyghboures & all such thynges as they haue wronfully done vnto you, that your synnes also may be forgy­uē you. For the lorde sayth, for­gyue Luke. vi & ye shal be forgyuen, and doyng thus as I haue told you ye may come to the foūtayne of lyfe, that is to Christ Iesus, the loūtayne of all goodnes. For he sayth, I am y^• breade of lyfe y^t is Iohn̄. vi, cū frō heuē, & of this breade spe­keth Da. Men hathe eatē āgels Psa. lxx vi [...] breade, and not w^tstādynge this breade came from heuen, yet be­cause it is a bodely thīg, it was nothyng cōuenyent for angels, but that thynge onely that was prefygurde & mente by y^t breade & wyne. God is y^e angels bread, [Page] & the sacramēt of y^e auter is his very flesshe & blode, the whiche man doth eate and drīke spiry­tually, and by the selfe same thī ge that angels do lyue by in he­uen, by the selfe same, man doth lyue ī earth, for that thyng that man doth receyue is spirytuall, but as the apostle sayth. Some i. Corin. i. that were in wildernes did eate this meat spiritually, & yet they be deade, & so it is now in goddꝭ church. For to some the body of Chryst is very lyfe, & to some o­ther it is payne, and the punysh mēt of syn, withoute doute this blessed sacrament is a very lyfe to those y^• be goddes seruaūtes, & to those that throughe negly­gēce & ignoraūce are mēbres of the deuyl it is death. Wherfore good syster A exhorte you y^e whē soeuer ye receiue this blessed sa­cramēt, [Page Cxvii] y^• ye stedfastly beleue it, to be a nother thynge, thē it se­meth to be by y^• taste. Here good vyrgyn what y^• prest saith when he doth cōseerate this blessed sa­cramēt. We desyre & pray (saith the prest) that this oblacyō may be made blissed, by the which we be blessed, and to be wryttē, by y^• which all we are wrytten in he­uen, & ratifyed, by the which we are rekened to be in Chryst, and to be reasonable, by the whiche we are delyuered frō all bestya­lyte, & that it wyll please god to make it acceptable, to that intēt that we beyng dysplesed w^t our myslyuyng, maye be acceptable vnto his blessed son Christe Ie­sus. Therfore good vyrgyn Christe (as I haue tolde you be fore) in hym selfe dothe fede the angelles in heuen, and also in [Page] earth, he in hīselfe, doth norysh all good faythful people. Christ by his onely presēce doth fede y^• angelles in heauē. Christe of hī selfe doth fede vs by faith ī this worlde, that we faynt not in the way. Christ doth repast both angell & man of hym selfe, & yet he remayneth holle in him selfe. O how good is this bread. O how maruaylous a thynge is it, by y^• whiche the angelles of heuen & we of the worlde are satysfyed.

Chryst is y^• breade of life, which is the angels fode and refectyō, and our onely redēption.

Now good sister pray vnto god w^t all your hart & minde, that it wyll please hī so to puryfy your conscyence, that ye may receyue the mysterye of his precious bodye and blode.

Amen.

☞ Of thought the .xxxix. Cha.

DEare syster heare I pray you what God saith by y^• ꝓphe Isa. Take & remoue all euyl frō your cogy­tacyons Ezai. l. & thoughtes, not w^t stā ­ding a mā cease & leaue of to do euyll, yet yf he be in thoughte & ī hart defyled, he is not w^toute faute, and therfore sayth. s, Iso­dory. Mā doth not syn onely in dede, but also in thought & mynde, yf suche thoughtes do delyte & please hym. For as the vyper is kylled and dystroyed by his yonglinges beyng yet in her bely, so our owne euyl and myscheuous thoughtꝭ cōsume and slay our soules yf we nonrishe them within vs. Wherfore good sy­ster I counsayle you, that with [Page] al diligēce ye take good hede to your hart & minde, for from the hart cōmeth both life and deth. Harkē also what y^• spouse sayth in the Cantycles, to the laude of y^• holy church. The heate of thy Canti. vii. heade is like y^• kynges purpure ioyned to p̄lates. The heare of the church is the lytle bed of the deuoute soule, & it is in memory as is the kiges purpure ioyned vnto the p̄lates, for purpure is boūde by hādfulles to those p̄lates, wherupō they cast water, y^• which water runneth throughe the p̄lates, vpō the cloth & so is purpure died, & of this doth purpure take his name. And al this doth agre & is ryght cōuenyent and meete for the deuout soule. For the heares of y^• hed are the thoughtꝭ of the mynde y^• which [Page Cxix] are boūde vnto these condettes, for they are faste boūde in holy scrypture, because they shulde not rūne ouer & belost in vayn. Therfore kepe your hart & minde frō such noyfull thoughtes, & loke it be net & pure lest y^t any such vayn thoughtꝭ cū crepyng in vnto it. For god doth not onely examine mānes body, but al­so he examyneth his soule. God iudgeth mānes cōscyence, God iugeth mans thought & y^• soule of mā, yf any vayn thoughtꝭ do moue or troble you, cōsent not ī no maner of wyse vnto thē, but īcōtynent eiect thē frō you. And as sone as y^• scorpiō shal appere breke his hed, that is breke and caste away al such euyll cogita­cyōs. A faute must be amended there where it hathe his begyn­nyng, that is in mans hart, put [Page] oute of your hart the hede of all euyll thoughtes, for there cā no thyng be hyddē frō god. God is euery where, the spiryte of god Sapi, i. fulfylleth all maner of places, the maiestye of god almyghtye pereseth the elemētes, god kno­weth mās thought. Good syster wyll ye neuer be heuy? Ye good brother. Thē intēd to lyue well, for yf ye lyue well ye shal neuer be heuy. For a sure & a vncare­full mynde setteth lytle by heuynes, a good & a cleare cōscyence is euer more in myrth, yf ye contynew in goodnes, all heuynes shall frō you departe, yf ye cōtynew ī holynes & deuociō, ye shal haue none occasion of heuines, Yf ye lyue well, ye nede nother to fere plage, nor yet death. But the cōscience of a sinner is euer­more [Page cxx] in payne, he that is gylthy is neuer at reste. And a synfull mynde, is alwayes vexed w^t the pryckes of his owne cōscyence. Good syster listen what the lord sayeth of the woman to the ser­pent, she shall breake thy heade. The serpentꝭ head is thē broken Gene. iii. when a mās faute is there amē ­ded, where it had his begyn­nyng. I praye GOd to puryfye your harte & your mynde frō all syn, and euyll cogytacyon, that ye may serue hym in al purenes and clenlynesse both of mynde and thought.

¶ Of silence the .xxx. cha.

I Saye the prophet sayeth. That scylēce is the honour of iustice & his perpetuall Ezai. xxxii. sauegarde and suertie, & the prophet Dauid sayeth, put some defence [Page] & custody aboute my mou­the Psa. c. lx. & a dore of circūstaūce about my lyppes. The holy fathers keping there silēce applide & gaue all there mynd to knowe & to se the swetenesse of the lord, & lea­uyng of all worldly care, they gaue them self holy to cōtemplatiō. Good syster I praye you to despyse & to auoyde al vnhonest cōmunicacyō, & to fle frō all vn­clenly wordes, for vayne cōmu­nicaciō doth right sone polute & defyle mans soule. And mā doth that thing ryght willyngly that he hereth gladly, neuer speake such wordes, that maye let anye vertue or goodnesse, nor neuer speake y^• thynge, that shall not become you to speake. Let no such wordes scape you, that may hurte those that heare them, flee [Page cxxi] all vnclenly & wanton cōmuny­cacyon. For vayne wordes beto­ken a vayne conscyence, mans tongue declareth, and openeth his conscyence, and loke what a mans wordes be, suche is his harte and mynd. For the mouth speaketh after the abundaunce and courage of the harte. Re­frayne Math. xil. yourself frō all ydle wordes. Use to tel no vayue fables, for ydle wordes shall be condē ­pned. Euery man shall gyue a tekenyng of his wordes, and at the day of iudgemēt euery mās Mah. xil. wordes shall stande before his face. Loke therfore that youre wordes be ful of grauyte, of sadnesse, and of good lernynge and that theybe irreprehensyble.

Loke that youre tongue be not the cause of yourdānatiō, enuirō [Page] your mouth w^t good watche mē and seale vp your lippes. Put y^• clausures of scilence vnto them Loke what tyme ye do speake, and in what houre, and speak in conuenyent tyme, holde youre peace when tyme shall requyre, speake not vntyll ye be spoken vnto. Let a nother mans de­maunde opon youre mouthe, speake but fewe wordes, & passe not your measure, for in manye wordes is syn. A babbeling and Prouet. x. a chatterynge made, is counted but a fole. For she that is wyse, vseth fewe wordes. Wysdome causeth fewe wordes, and it is a great foly to speake many wor­des. [...] Loke therfore y^e in wordes ye passe not your measure Good syster I pray hym to kepe youre mouth, y^e hath chosē you to his spouse and seruant.

¶ Oflieng the .xxxj. cha.

LYers are oftē ty­mes the occasyon & cause, that men by­leue not those which tell the trueth. Man shulde auoyde & exchue all kyn­des of lyes, notwithstandynge there are some of lesse syn, then some as whē a mā fayneth some pretye lye for the welth of many other. But yet bicause it is wrytten, the mouth that lieth kylleth Sapi. i. the soule, perfyte good men ha­ue also auoyded this maner of lienge, nor wolde in no maner of wyse defende anye mans lyfe by deceyte least y^• by helpyng of other mē they shuld hurte there owne soules. But yet I beleue y^• such maner of lyenge is lyghtly [Page] [...] [Page cxxii] [...] [Page] for gyuen. My welbeloued sy­ster in god. I exhort you to flee asmoche as is possyble, all ma­ner of lyes, nor willigly ye shall not speake that is false nor stu­dy to lye, notwithstandyng ye may do another man pleasure withall, nor ye shall defende no man with lyenge. There is no lye, that is iuste. Lyes in euerye thyng are syn. And all that agreeth not w^t trueth, is iniquite. The temporall lawe punyshed those that are false, & those that are lyers, yf euery man reproue lieng, yf the lawe of man punish all falsehead, cōsider how moch more that such liers shalbe punished before god, the very witnes Math. x [...]. of word & dede, before whome, euery man must gyue accoūt of euery ydle worde he hath spokē, [Page cxxiii] & be punished therfore. Of this thyng speaketh Dauid saynge. Psal. v. Thou shalt destrew & cōdemne al those y^• lye. Shal false witnes be vnpunished? no verely. Ther Pro. xix. fore good syster fle & auoyde all lyeng, & al false cōmunicacyon, speak that thyng y^e is trewe, nor neuer lye for no man. Be trewe, & deceyue no man by lienge, nor say not one thyng & do another. I pray god sende you the grace to speak that thing that is trew

¶ Of periury the .xxxij. ca

THe lorde sayeth. Sweare Math. v neyther by heuē, nor yet by the earth. For heuē is goddes seate, & the earth is his fote stole, nor sweare not by thy head for thou canst not make the least heere of thy hed neyther whyte [Page] nor blacke. But let your othe beye ye, nay naye, for yf it be anye more it is of euyl. And as he that speaketh not, can not lye, so he y^t sweareth not cā not be for sworn Howe craftely so euer a mā doth sweare yet god y^t beareth witnes euery mans cōscyēce, taketh euery mans othe after the mynde & intent of hym that sweareth, nor we shulde not fulfyll y^t we haue ꝓmised yf it be noughtes. Good sister wil ye y^e I shew you how ye shall neuer be for sworne? neuer sweare. For yf ye sweare not, ye shall neuer be forsworne. So w^tout swearyng, a man shal neuer fall into ꝑiury. Leaue the vse of Eccle. xxiii swearyng, for y^e custome therof, bryngeth many a one to ꝑiury, sweare by ye, and by naye. For y^e trueth hath no nede of othes, & [Page cxxiiii] faythfull and true wordes are in the place of a nothe. The ho­ly goost giue you grace to speak and to vse youre wordes mode­rately, and modestyously.

☞ Of detractyō the .xxxiij. cha.

WElbeloued sister harkē vnto my wordes, and to my exhortacyō, & cōsyder wel what I say vnto you Detraction is a verye greuous syn, a greuous vyce, a greuous exclamacyon, and a verye gre­uous cryme, euery man doth re­prehēd detractiō, euery māspea­keth shame by staūderous. Eue­ry man doth dishonour them, except such as be slauderous & bacbyters, or such as fauer thē, and take pleasure in them, & Dauyd Psal. c. sayeth. I dyd ꝑsecute hym y^• se­cretly [Page] bacbited & slaundered his neyghbour. There is nothynge more haynus then detraction.

Detractours barke as dogges do, and as dogges do bite those y^• passe by, so these detractours & batbyters do gnaw & byte there neyghbours good name & fame Therfore good syster, remoue this slaūderous vice of detractiō frō your tongue. Gnawe at no mans liuyng, reprehēd nor hurt no mās liuing. Defyle not your mouth w^t no nother mās iniquite, bacbyte not the syn̄er, but ha­ue cōpassyō vpō hym, and feare that thyng in your selfe, that ye reproue in another, and amend that thyng in your selfe, that ye reproue in another, & loke that ye be as diligent to correcte and to amende your selfe, as ye be to [Page cxxv] correcte & to reproue other. And when ye intende to slaunder another man, loke wel vpon your selfe, and fyrst or euer ye backe­byte or slaunder any other man reproue youre owne mysliuyng. For yf ye loke well vpon youre selfe, ye shall neuer hurte nor yet slaunder no nother man.

Therfore take good hede that with all dylygence ye reforme youre owne selfe, and amende your owne euyll demeanoure. Listen not to these detractours, nor gyue no eare to these whys­perers and mutterers. For he that slaundereth a man, and he that harkeneth vnto hym, are in lyke faute These detractours are neuer lyke to come to heuē, that virgyn that intendeth to come to euerlastynge ioye, must slaunder no persone.

[Page] O venerable virgyn, yf ye re­moue your hearyng frō there detractours & cōmen bacbyters, & refrayne your tongue from all euyll and vnclenly cōmunyca­cyō, ye (as I haue sayde before) shalbe counted amonge the prudent and wyse virgyns.

¶ Of enuye the .xxxiiij. ca

THe enuyous man is Sapi. li. a mēbre of the deuyl By whose enuie deathe came īto y^• world enuye consumeth clene away all the braunches of vertue. Enuy through his pesty ferus heate, deourneth all goodnesse enuy is the mothe, and the worme y^• cōsumeth & destroyeth the soule, enuy hurteth it selfe soner thē any other mā. Enuye gnaweth & byteth it selfe moche [Page Cxxvi] sooner, thē any other. Enuy by­teth his owne maister first of al, enuy cōsumeth a mans senses & vnderstādyng. It burneth & wasteth his brest. It teareth his soule, & as a pestiferus thyng, it pearseth and runneth throughe mās hart. And therfore goodnes must w^t stāde enuye, and charite must be prepared agaynst it.

Good syster loke ye neuer be so­ry of another mans vertue, nor of no nother mās, ꝑfyte, torment not your self, y^• your neyghbour doth prosper, there is no vertue but y^• enuy hateth it, & is clene agaynst it. And there is nothyng (except misery) but y^• enuy is as an aduersate to it, why so? For nomā hateth y^• wretched, y^• vir­gyn y^t desyreth to inhabite heuē, must enuy nor hate no ꝑson, the [Page] virgin y^• desyreth to go to the maryage w^t chryst Iesus, must not be sorowfull of another mans promocion & honour. Deare sy­ster I beseche & pray almightye god, to clense & to purifye youre harte & mynde frō al malicious­nesse & enuye, to thētent ye may serue him in al purenes & clenlynesse of lyfe.

❧ Of anger the .xxxv. cha.

HOnest virgyn har­ken Pro. xv. vnto Salomōs wordes. A gētyl and a louly answere, bre­keth anger. And ha­stye wordes make anger and debate, & agayne he sayth. Swete & gētyll wordes do mitygate anger, & encrece frēdes. The more Prouet. xv that a mā is vnpaciēt y^• more mē do iudge him to lacke wisdome. [Page Cxxvii] By anger, y^• eye of the harte is troubeled, by anger wise mē lese there wisdōe. By anger mē fal be syde thē self. Many mē are sone angery & sone pacifyed & plesed. Some there be y^t are very slowe to anger, & very hard to be pacy fyed agayne. Some other there are which are sone angery, & very hard to be pleased, but yet better is he y^• is sone angry & soone pleased, thē he, y^t wyll belong or euer he be angarde, & long or he be pleased. Deare syster I pray you harkē vnto. s. Iames wordꝭ Iames, i. sayng. Let euery mā be (sayeth. s Iames) hasty & diligēt to here, & tardius to speake, & slow to an­ger, why so? For y^e anger of man doth not effectuously cause y^• iu­stice of god, nor y^e anger of a virgyn can not work aft (er) his iustice [Page] a virgyn that shuld be y^• temple of almyghtye god, shulde in no maner of wyse be angery, it is agaynst al good honeste, that the spouse of god shuld frete & be angery. A virgyn y^• whiche prepa­reth in her harte a dwellynge place for god, shulde inforce her selfe to expell & eiecte all anger frō her harte & mynde. A virgyn y^• desyreth to come to GOd, & to his celestiall chambre shulde a­uoyde frō her harte all anger. Good sister yf anger preuēt you refrayne it, yf it take you sodēly, mitigate and appayse it. Coule your furiousnes, & your inding naciō, brydle in all maner of mocyons of anger. Yf ye can not auoyde anger, or swage it, yet let it not caste you in to a furye, or in to moch hastinesse or iudyng­natyon, [Page Cxxviii] let not the sonne goo Ephesi. iiil downe vpō your anger, that is, be not longe angrye nor conty­newe not in anger.

❧ Of hatred. the .xxxvi. Cha.

HOnest virgi herken what I shal say. Hatred doth seperate a mā frō y^• kyngdome of heuen. Hatred remoueth a mā frō paradyse. Ha­tred doth drawe a man from heuen. Hatred nother by passyon nor by merterdome nor yet by effucion of blode can be defaced pourged or wasshyd away. We shulde not hate man but the vi­ce of man, he that hate the his Psa. ix viii brother is a murderer. He y^• ha­teth his brother is ī darkenes. He loueth not god y^t hateth mā Theyr is as great difference be Iohn̄. iii, [Page] twyxt anger & hatred, as there Iohn̄. il. is betwyxt a rish & a great beme for hatred is an olde roted an­ger, by anger the eye of y^• harte is troubled, but by hatred y^• ioy of the hart is vtterly extyncte & put out. Welbeloued syster harke vnto my wordes. If so be ye haue angerde your frend make hym by and by amendes, yf ye haue offended hym, do penaūce before hym, and yf ye haue slaū ­derde or put any mā to rebuke, desyre hym to forgyue you and make hast to be reconciled, slepe not vntyl ye come to satisfactiō rest not vntyll ye be set at one, if your enemy do fall, reioyce not there at, nor be not glade of his death, nor yet of his mysfortune leste parauenture lyke fortune chaūce vnto you, & lest that god [Page Cxxix] turne his anger vpō you, take a pleasure to be sory for those, y^• are ī afflictiō, & misfortune, haue cōpassyon vpō other mēnes po­uerte & misery, be heuy for other mēnes tribulatiō, wepe w^t those Rome. xii. y^• wepe. Good sister be not hard harted, reuēge not your selfe v­pon hym, y^t hathe done you dys­pleasure. Forgyue y^e god maye forgyue you, for yf ye forgyue not, ye shal not fynd nor yet ha­ue forgiuenes, exclude al hatred Luke. vi. out of your harte, & beware ha­tred neuer remaine in you, or in your mynde. My good syster, god send you his delectyon, and the loue of your neyghbour.

Of pryde. the .xxxvii. cha.

PRyde is the beginnyng and Eccle. [...] the rote of al euyl, y^e prowde mā is odius, & hated both of god and man, the prowde man [Page] is lykened to the deuyll, pryde & couytous are vnder such a fassion one euyll, that pryde can not be w^tout couytousnes, nor couytousnes w^tout pryde, the deuyll by pryde sayde. I wyll ascēde in Isai. xiiii. to heuen, but Christ w^t great humilyte sayd, My soule is humi­lyated Psal. xliii. vnto duste, the deuyll by pryde sayde, I wyll be lyke god aboue, Christ by humylyte was obedyēt to his father vnto deth the deuyll throughe pryde was thruste in to hell, & Chryst by hu Phill. ii. mylyte exalted to heuen. What other thyng is synne, but the cō tempte of god, wherby we re­garde not but dyspyse his com­maundementes. O deare syster yf oure longe watchynges, out prayer, our charytable dedes, & al oure labour & payne we take, [Page Cxxx] ende with pride, god reputeth it as nothynge. Therfore extende not the wynges of pride, nor lift not vp his fethers, why so? For pryde hath deposed the angels, & ouetrhrowē the myghtye, god hath deiected the proude, & doth resyst thē, and gyueth his grace to those that are humble. Also Luke. i. good syster, I exhorte you to re­ioyce more in the socyete & felo­shyppe of good men, then in the nobylytye of youre stocke or ly­nage, & pray you to reioyce more in the cōpany of vertuous and poore men, thē in the nobylytye of your ryche & abundant kyns­folke, Wherfore? For god ma­kethe Rom. ii. no dyfferēce nor yet no ex­ceptyon of persons, and he that dyspiseth the poore, doth god in iure, he that dyspyseth the poore [Page] man rebuketh his maker. Good syster god sende you profounde humilyte and true charyte.

Of vayne glorye. the .xxviii. Chapt.

WE shuld esche we & auoyd vayne glorye as well in dede, as ī word. Wherfore good syster, loke well vpō your selfe, and appropryate nothyng that is in you, to your selfe, but one­ly your mysdedes & synne. Kepe your selfe frō vayne glory, take hede ye desyre not vayne glory, glorifye not your selfe, bost not your selfe, presume nothynge of your selfe, lyfe not vp your selfe w^t pryde, ascriue nothīg to your selfe that good is. Gloryfy your selfe of no good worke, dyspyse y^• laude & prayse of mā, enquere not whether any man prayse or [Page Cxxxi] disprayse you, lette not worldly laude or praise deceyue you, nor dispraise breke or discōfort you, he that desireth not to be lauded setteth by no cōtimelious wordꝭ nor be no iniury, all such virgis as do glorifye thē selfe of theyre good workꝭ before mā, haue no oile in theyr vessels, for through y^• desyre & appetite of vaine glory, they lese theyr rewardes, the which they trusted to haue had of god They shuld daily behold and marke theyr synfull fylthy­nes and fragylytie, and dyspyse all vayne glorye, and be ryghte sorye that they haue loste theyre good workes, y^• which they dyd for vayn glory, of the which thige y^• lord sayth. Ueryly saith he, Math. vi they haue receued theyr reward [Page] y^• vertues of good mē throughe the desyre of vayne glorye, are submytted vnto the deuyll. As kynge Ezechyas, the which mo­ued w^t pryde, shewed all his tre­sour i. Reg. xx. & ryches to the Caldens, & therfore the prophet brought hī worde he shulde lese them. And the pharyse y^• came to y^e churche to pray, lost his good dedes, be­cause that by iactance & vayne glorye, he shewed & opened thē. Luke. xvlii And as the egle cōmeth from a­boue to seke her foode, so man through the appetyde of vayne glorye cōmeth from the heyght of good cōuersacyon to these in feryor thinges. My welbeloued syster, set not your cōscience in a nother mans tongue, lette a no­ther man prayse you, but in no maner of wyse prayse not youre [Page Cxxxii] selfe, be youre owne iudge, and iudge youre selfe by your owne iudgemēt, & be no nother mans. For there is no man y^t knoweth you & your cōscyence so well as you your selfe. Good sester wyll ye that I shew you, how ye may increase in all vertue? Ye good brother, and I pray you shewe me: harken then vnto me, If ye wyl increase your vertues, loke ye disclose thē not, but hyde thē for feare of elatyon, hyde youre good workes for feare of arro­gāce, euermore flye to be sene, or estemed such as in very dede ye be, hyde your vertue, & opē your mysfautes, and y^• vices of your hart & mynd. And if ye euer dyd well or sayde well, neuer shew it in the presēce of other, open incō tynently your euyll thoughtes, [Page] for synne detectyd with humili­te & displeasaūce is lyghtly par­doned & forgyuē, synne doth encrease by keping ī, & hydīg therof, for yf it be cloked of a lytle it waxeth great, if it be manifestid & shewed out it decreaseth, and agayne, if it be kept in, it increasethe, whenne vertue is clo­ked in, then it augmenteth and increasethe yf it come abrode & be knowen, it vanisheth awaye & decreaseth. Vertue throughe vain glory cōmeth to naughtes but yf it be hyddē, & w^t humilite kepte in. it augmenteth merue­lously. Wherfore good syster as cryue your counsell & all youre actes to god, and ī al your ope­ratiōs & workes cal vpō god for help & ascryue al thing to y^• gift & grace of god, nor appropriate [Page cxxxiii] nothing to your owne merites, presume nothynge vpon youre vertue. Harkē good syster vnto the wordes of y^• apostle, he that glorifyeth, shuld glorify in god. 2. Cor. x. Therfore let all your glorify ca­cyon & laude be in youre spouse Chryste Iesu.

Of humilyte the .xxxix. cha.

ODrare syster harkē vnto youre spouse Chryste Iesus, the whiche sayth in his gospel. Lerne of me for I am meke & hūble of hart, Math. xi. good syster humilyate yourself vnder the myghty hand of god, y^• ī time of tribulacyō he may ex iPeter. v, alte you & helpe you, y^• cōscyēce of a virgī shuld euermore be hū ble & heuy, y^t be humilite it may be p̄serued frō (pri)de, & by heuines [Page] frō all lasciuyusnes & wanton­nes, humylyte is the most soue­rayne vertue a vyrgyn cā haue, pryde is a very euyl vyce and a myscheuous, a vyrgyn that is hūble (not w^tstādyng she be but euyll decked) before god is glo­rious in vertue, but the proude & stately virgyn (not w^tstanding in the syght of mā she be good & well besene) yet in goddꝭ syght, she is but vyle & reproued, why so? For the soule of the iust mā, is goddes seate, and he sayth, v­pon whome shuld I rest, but on Esai. 66. ly vpon him, that is hūble, quy­et, & feryng my wordes? Good syster be hāble & groūd your selfe vpon humylyte, be the lest of al other, neuer preferre youre selfe aboue other, repute not your selfe to be superyour to other, but [Page Cxxxiiii] thike all other to be aboue you, for y^• more higher ye be, so moch the more, ye ought to humilitate your selfe in all thynge, ye shall come to the glory, yf ye kepe hu­mylyte, Eccle. iii. and the more hūble and meke that ye shewe your selfe, y^• more hygher shalbe your glory, come downe, that ye maye ascé­de, hymylyate youre selfe that ye maye be exalted. Exalte not your selfe, lest ye be humilyated & deposed. For it is wryttē, who Luke. xilii. so humilyateth & mekethe hym selfe, shalbe eleuated & exalted, and he that exalteth hym selfe, shalbe humylyated & broughte lowe, the hygher a man doth fal the more greuous is his fal, humilytye knoweth not what fal­lyng meaneth, humilyte is sub­iecte to no ruyne. O good virgi Philip. ii. [Page] remēbre y^t god came very meke­ly ī to this worlde, & that he hu­mylyated hī selfe in forme of a seruaūt, & was obediēt to his father vnto d [...]th. Good sister walke & folowe his example, & fote­steppꝭ, be vyle, dispised, abiecte, & displesaūt in your owne sight, for he y^t iudgeth hym selfe here to be vyle, in the sight of god he shalbe hyghly estemed, he that hateth hym selfe in dyspleasure, shal please almyghty god hyghly. O drare syster, be humble & lowe in your owne conceite and presence, that ye maye be made great & hyghe in the presence of god almighty, how moch y^e lesse ye esteme your selfe, so moch the more shal god esteme you. If ye haue profoūde & perfyte humi­lytye, ye shall (beyng assocyated with the wyse vyrgyns) reioyce [Page Cxxxv] in the eternall blys of heuen.

Of pacyence. the .xl. cha.

THe lorde sayth, blessyd be Math. v, they that lyue peacibly, for they shall be named the Luke. vi. chyldren of god. Then good sister, yf they y^e lyue in rest & peace be blessid, and called the chyldrē of god, pacyence is very necessary for you, pacyēce is a ꝑfyte thīge of it selfe, a paciēt virgyn is rekened to be wyse, & she that is impaciēt & testy, is counted a foole, ye may (yf ye so wyl) be marterde w^tout any sworde, that is, yf ye kepe true pacyēce. A pacyent person, shall come to the companye of angelles, but the enuyous and the impacyent shall be partycypant & part ta­ker with the deuel, the peacyble [Page] man auoydeth all dyscorde, and the impaciēt styreth vp stryfe & debate, a meke vyrgyn is contēt to take & to suffre iniury, a pacyent mayde prepareth her harte as a place for god to dwell in. Why so? for Christ Iesusis the very peace, and is wonte to rest Roma, vi. in peace, the doughter of peace shuld loue peace. O good vyrgi ye shulde rather prepare youre selfe to take and to suffre iniury thē to do any, lerne rather to su­ffre harme, thē to do harme. Be pacyēt, modestyous, & amiable, loue peace, & be at peace with e­uery mā, loue euery body in charyte & mekenes, & stryue to loue all other, better then they loue you. But yet be not to lyght in loue, breake no frenshyp, be al­wayes pacyent in mynde, be gē ­tyll, [Page cxxxvi] and affable in your wordes and cōmunicacion, shewe your selfe mery spryted fle all occasiō of debate, despyse stryfe, & lyue in peace and rest. And good sy­ster yf it be possible be at one w^t al the world, ouercome al slaūderous iniurys w^t patience, with the buckler of patience, breake y^• dartes of all iniury. Holde out the shylde of good conscyence a­gaynst the sharpe and litigius tongue, for as. s. Paule sayeth. ii. Corin. [...]. The wytnesse of good cōscyence shalbe sufficient for you. Ye are well armed w^t vertue yf ye hurt not hym, y^t burieth you, ye are worthie of great glorye, if ye forgyue hym, & let hym go, whome ye may displese The pece of god which passeth al vnderstādyng, defēde your harte & soule frō all parel & daūger.

¶ Of concorde the xli. ca.

THere are syxe thyn­ges (sayeth the lord) Pro. vi that my soule hateth and the seuenth is, that I detest and abhorre, that is, a mā y^t soweth dyscorde among his brethren, he is acursed that soweth dyscorde a­mong goddes seruantes, he do­the Ephe. ii greatly agaynst god, y^t breaketh peace and cōcorde. And he that causeth dyscorde amonge goddes seruantes dothe chryste great iniury, why so? For chryst is our peace, y^• which hath made of two thynges one, y^• is the angels, & mā to be of one accorde. The cōcord of euyll mē, is y^• contrariete of good mē. And as we shuld desyre y^e good men might [Page cxxxvii] be in peace, so we shulde desyre that the peace, concorde, and vnite of euyl men myght be broken. For concorde and vnyte to do euyll is not laudable.

But concorde to do well, to ser­ue GOD, to folowe Iustice, is laudable. And the congregacy­ons and commyng togyther of Chrysten people into the church is to serue god in one spiryte, & in one wyll. For so shulde they do, that inhabyte goddes house For it preuayleth not to be togyther, if our wylles be not al one, for GOD loueth moche better the humilyte of the wyl, then the humilite of the place. We be many togyther in one house, of dy­uers maners, of dyuers hartꝭ, of diuers mindꝭ, al these thigꝭ must [Page] agre in one intencyon, in one mynde, and one loue in god.

Therfore we muste be all of one mynde, of one wyl, to serue god, and to loue hym w^t all oure hartes, w^t all your soules, and oure neyghboure as oure selfe. And therfore concorde is verye nece­ssarye for vs, for yf I folow my wyll & pleasure, & you yours, & he his, then must there nedes be diuision, cōtention & anger, the whiche thynges as sayth paule are workes of the fleshe. They [...]la. v. that do suche thynges, shall ne­uer obtayne the kyngdome of heuē. Bileue me good syster, all our fastyng, praynge & sacrifice pleaseth not god so moch as do­the good cōcord, and therfore he sayeth. Go thy wayes fyrst, and Math. v recōcyle thy selfe to thy brother, [Page cxxxviii] and then come and offer vp thy gyfte. Honorable syster the ver­tue of cōcorde is very great, to warde god, w^tout the which our sacrifyce can not please him.

¶ Of sufferaunce the xlij. chapiter.

DEare syster lerne modesty­usnesse, and sufferaunce of CHRYSTE Iesu, [Page] & marke hym well, for so doyng no man shal put you to heuines he hath suffered death for vs al and hathe lefte vs an example of sufferaunce. He was beaten scourged, whipte mocked, bespued, naylde to y^• crosse, crowned w^t thorne, & cōdēned to be hanged vpon the crosse, & al this whyle he held his peace, nor murmurd not agaynst it. But yf any man doth vs iniure, it is for our syn­nes, our myscheuousnesse, & syn­full liuynge is the cause therof, for whatsoeuer doth chaunce a­gaynst vs, all is for our synnes, & we shall y^• better suffer al such aduersytes, yf we cōsyder vpon what occasion & for what cause they do chaūce vnto vs. Ther­fore yf a mā do you displeasure, speke fayre vnto him, if he curse [Page cxl] you blesse hym. yf he be angery Rom. xii. with you, speake patiently vnto hym. Dissolue his furiusnes w^t gētyll wordes, ouercome his iniquite w^t softnes, his malyce w^t goodnes & his iniure with tranquilite. Good syster p̄pare your selfe, and be alwayes redy bothe to good and euyll. And as they chaunce, so suffer & beare them, suffer both prosperite and aduersyte, & as they chaunce take thē mekely, & set not by iniurius nor by cōtumelyus reproches, for by despysyng of such iniurius wordes, ye shall ouercome all der [...] ­sion, & by dissembulyng of suche thynges, ye shal litle or nothing regarde suche mens fautes and errours. And notwithstandyng good syster, that men do styrre you, prouoke you, assayle you, re [Page] proche you, and blame you, al­thoughe they speake iniuryusly vnto you and do you iniury, al­though they prouoke you to anger, & do you great wronge, yet for al that hold you your peace, kepe youre silēce, care not for it dissemble the matter, answer not to theyr iniures, speake no crab­bed wordes vnto thē, set aparte all cōtumeliꝰ & iniurius wordꝭ, say nothīg, for by holding your peace ye shal sone ouer come thē O chrystꝭ spouse, stryue agaynst these worldly greues & wretchednesse, be stedfast & strōge in al aduersite, suffre althyng patienly, take it well in worth, and suffre that is commen to all men.

For he that troubeleth, and he that is troubeled are mortall, and he that doth wrong, and he [Page cxli] that suffereth wronge shall dye. Byleue me good syster. No man can trouble you, no man can be against you, if god suffered him not, nor the deuyll hym selfe ha­the no power vpon you, but by actes. xiii [...] goddes sufferaunce. We muste cōe to heuē by great tribulaciō, yet all the passions, and aduer­sities of this world are not to be Rom. vi [...] cōpared to the great glorye and ioyes of heuē It is impossible beynge a womā, but nedesye must taste the troubelsumnes, and misery of this worlde. And beyng in this worlde, we ought to su­ffre euery thynge in lyke maner There is noman lyuyng in this worlde, but muste nedes syghe & mourne atsome times, for this mortal lyfe is full of heuynesse, [Page] the begynnynge of this lyfe is waylyng, & wepyng. The chyld that is nowe borne, begynneth his lyfe w^t wepyng. The chylde when it cōmeth oute of his mo­thers wombe, or euer it laughe, it wayleth & mourneth, worldly tribulacyō is very necessary.

The stormes of this worlde are ꝓfytable, the more we be tormē ­ted & troubled in this world, the more we be cōfyrmed, & the more we be vexed in this vale of my­sery, the more shall oure ioye be in heuen. Yf we be troubled and punyshed in this world, we shal be, god wyllyng, foūde pure and without faute atthe day of iudgment.

¶ Of sickenes the .xliij. ca

[Page Cxlii] THe lorde sayeth. Those that Idoloue Hebre. xii. I chasten. God doth chasten & correcteth men in this worlde, thre maner of wayes, he correc­teth those that are noughtes to theyr dampnacyon. Those y^t he hath chosē if they do are, to there purgacyon. And those that are good mē, to y^• augmentacyon of theyr glorye. God punysshed the egiptiens to theyr dampnation. Lazarus to his purgacion. And Iob, to his probacion. God also at some tyme dothe punish man or euer he syn, and that bycause he shulde not syn, as was saynt Paule. The whiche by the instygacyon of the deuyll, suffered ii Corin. xi [...] the temptacyon of the fleshe. [Page] Also God punyssheth man after that he hath trespast, to thētent he shulde amende, as he that is delyuered to the deuyll to be punished in body, for the saluacy­on of his soule. Also it is verye ii Lorin. xii profytable for those that are welthy and in good helth to be troubeled w^t sycknes, least that be to moche helthe they take greater pleasure in these transytore and earthly thynges, thē they shuld do, such bodely helth as causeth the soule to be sycke is not good But bodely tribulacyon & syck­nesse bringinge a mans soule to saluacyon is ryght p [...]ofytable. The apostle prayseth the syck­nesse of the body, saynge. The weker I am in body, y^• more strō ger ii. He. xii. I am in spiryte, A mā shuld neuer murmur agaynst goddes [Page Cxliii] punyshmentes for by suche cor­rectyon he amenth his disordi­nate lyfe and mislyuynge. But yf we wolde remembre the syns we haue displeased God withal, we shulde suffer the sycknes of the body moche better then we do. A man shulde not murmure Psal. c. viii agaynst GOd, when he visete hym with sycknes, why so? For god whose iudgemētes are iust, hath iudged hym to haue deser­ued it. Yf then in his sycknes he murmour against goddes vt sytacyon, he estemeth the iudge­ment of GOd to be vntrewe, and so he prouoketh God to anger. Nor that thynge cannot be iuste, that pleaseth not god the ryght iudge. God dothe Apoca. iii, chasten those that he loueth, & scourgeth all such chyldrē as he [Page] draweth vnto hym. And taketh no lesse pleasure in them, then doth the father in his chyldren. God in this lyfe doth spare and is very gentyll to synners, & not to those that are good men. But in another worlde he dothe not so. For there he doth spare & vp­holde the iust, & sharply correcte the vniust & mysdoer. Deare sy­ster dolor & heuines is cōmen to all men. There is no man with out sorowe in this worlde. God doth euer more correcte & chastē those he wolde shuld be saued. Good syster be not moued, nor chafe not in your sycknesse. But whē ye be sycke, thāk god therof & rayther desyre soule health, thē bodely helth. For the aduersites of y^e flesh, is y^e remedy of y^• soule, Sicknes woūdeth & hurteth the [Page Cxliiii] body but it curith the soule, sicknes consumethe vyce, syckenes couleth & quēcheth the heate of al bodely lust, by syckenes a mā is proued, & not dystrude, golde is proued by fyre, pourge youre selfe in the chymney of tribula­tyō, that ye may be & appere vn defyled, suffre to be burnt w^t the fyre of persecutyō, y^• ye may ap­pere immaculate & pure, for all these thinges that ye suffre are for your probaciō. Therfore my welbeloued syster in god, mur­mour not in your syckenes, blaspheme not, nor ye shal not saye. Why do I suffre all this trybulaciō, why doth god punish me? Good brother I pray you tel me what I shuld say whē I am sicke & in tribulatyō, & how I shulde accuse my selfe. Deare syster [Page] accuse yourself after this forme & maner, I haue sinde and done a mysse, I am not punyshed as I haue deserued, I perceiue not that god taketh egall vēgeaūce vpon my synnes, I fele y^t I am gentlier intreated thē I haue deserued, my tribulatyō is moche lesse, then is my faute, my payne is nothyng in cōparyson of my synnes, my tormētes are nothīg lyke my myslyuyng. O good sy­ster, wyll ye be pourged of your synnes? then in trybulacyō and payn accuse your selfe, & extolle the iustice of god, it is suffycyēt for your purgacyō, if ye ascriue your punyshemēt and payne to goddes iustyce, yf ye humlye & mekely gloryfye god, for y^• syckenes and trouble he senteth you, for god dothe correcte you with [Page Cxlv] the scurge of pytyfull castigacton, he doth vse very gentyll correctyon, and he that lettynge you vnchasted dyd despyse you and caste you of, dothe now cor­rectynge you, desyre ye shulde retourne vnto hym agayne. O honeste vyrgyn, thinke and call all worldlye tormentes to your mynde, and all maner of payne all maner of crudelytye and ty­ranny, all oppressyon, all heuy­nes, and compayre me all these thīges to the payne of hell and ye shall fynde that youre payne is very easy & lyght. Good sy­ster yf ye feare any payne, feare the paynes of hell. For the pay­nes of this world are temporal, & the paines of hel eternall, yf a mā desceyse & dye ī these paines [Page] [...] [Page Cxlv] [...] [Page] the payne remaynethe here, but yf he be in the paynes of hell, they succede styll, and continew for euermore. Ueryly yf ye for­tune to amende and retourne to goodnes, thē al the paynes and tribulation that ye suffred were your amendmēt, for trybulatyō doth lose hym that is conuerted frō synne. These presēt & world­ly troubles are as a purgacyon to hym that is amēded, he that is tormēted and chasted in this worlde, is delyuered in a nother but they that are not chastened nor corrected here, are in daūger to be dāpned both tēporally & e­ternally. For they are fyrst iud­ged in this worlde & fynally in a nother for euermore, and such haue double paine & dāpnacyō, they are twysevexed and trou­led, [Page Cxlvi] for they ar here iudged and troubled, & hereafter ī perpetu­all payne. So it foloweth thē, y^• it is goddes hāde y^• doth punish you, & his indyngnacyō y^• doth vexe you, and being angry with you, he hath cōmaūded ye shuld suffre such tormēt & trybulacyō. That ye are broughte lowe by syckenes, y^• ye are tormēted with the sharpe tēptacyōs of y^• fleshe, that ye are vexed w^t sorow, and w^t the passyōs of the mynd, that ye are troubled w^t euil spirytes, all this the iustyce of god dothe sende you for your synnes, your owne wepens fyghteth agaynst you, ye are woūded with youre owne arrowes, ye are hurt with your owne da [...]te, for that, that hath caused you to trespas doth trouble & vexe you, and because [Page] ye haue folowed youre bodylye luste, ye are tormented in youre body ye cōplaine of that thing, that ye trespaste with all. Good syster ye are tormented in youre bodye, because ye haue synde w^t the body, ye are troubled ī that thyng, that hath been the cause of youre trybulacyon, loke by what thynge ye fell to synne, in the selfe ye suffre payne and tormente. O good Christes spouse ye are iustly punished, ye are iustly scourged, and iustly condēpned, the payne and tormētes ye are in, do iustly chasten you.

Of couitousnes, xliiii. cha

THe Lorde saythe in Luke. xii. his gospell, flye frō all couytousnes, for the life of mā is not in the abundaunce [Page Cxlvii] of those thynges that he posses­seth vpō earth. And saynt Pau­le Ephe. [...]. sayth. Let no fornycacyon, no immundycyte, nor yet no couy­tousnes, be spoken of amonge you, And agayne he sayth, such as are fornycators, vnclenly of lyfe, or couytous, shall not be parte takers of the kyngdome of heuen, & of this thynge sayth Salomon. He that foloweth couitousnes, Prouer. xv doth trouble his house, the couytous shall neuer be satisfyed with money, he that louethe ryches, shall neuer haue ꝓfite be thē, there is nothīg worse, Eccle. [...]. thē to loue money, for his soule y^• loueth money, is euermore redy to be solde, & as couytous­nes doth drowē a man in hell, so doth almous dede done w^t lybe­ralyte, eleuateth & brīgth mā to [Page] heuen. The couytous man is lykened to hel, for as hell is neuer satysfyed, no more is the auary­cyous mā, and the more that he that hath the dropsy doth drīke, the more he may, so y^• more that the couytous man gettethe the more he desyrethe. Auarycyous­nes & couytousnes are systers, and pryde is theyre mother, for pryde was neuer without aua­rycyousnes, nor auaryce w^toute couytousnes. Good syster lette not yourhandes be redy to take and receyue, but rather redye to gyue. I wolde ye shulde delyte more in gyuyng thē in takyng, it is a greater vertue and moch [...]cia. xx. better to gyue thē to take. Good syster take heed that auaryce fasten not her rootes in you, loke there be no spot or smacke of couytousnes [Page Cxlviii] in you, yf for Christe sake ye vtterly dyspyse al worldly thynges, ye shal reioyce eter­nally with hym in heuen.

Of cupidyte the .xiv. cha.

CUpidyte is the roote of all i. Timo. vi. myschefe, no man can per­fytely take vpō hym to make spirytuall warre, withoute he tame and refrayne al bodyly pleasure, the soule of man can not be sette nor geuen to contēp lacyon, yf it be intangled withe cupidyte and the desyre of tran­sytory and worldly thynges, the eye of the soule can not beholde celesty all thynges, yf the dust of earthlye cupidyte do blynde it, cupidyte is a greuous synne, & the matter and very occasion of all other crimes, Wherfore it is no meruayle yf they be tormen­ted [Page] w^t the fyre of hell, that ī this worlde wolde not quenche the flayme of theyr cupydyte. Good syster not w^t stādyng ye haue no money, yet that shal nothīg preuaile you yf ye be desirous therof. It p̄uayleth not to be bare, yf a man be desyrous of goodly aray, Iudas through cupydyte solde Chryst, we came bare in to the worlde, & shall departe from hence bare, why shuld we thē couet or desyre these worldlye and Iob [...]. trāsytorye thynges? And yf we know y^t the goodes of the world shall perisshe & come to nough­tes, why do we loue thē so effec­tuouslye? If we loue these tran­sytory thynges more then reasō requyreth, we offende greatlye. Therfore good syster consyder the course and breuenes of your [Page Cxlix] tyme, and ye shall manyfestlye knowe and perceyue, that a ve­rye lytle thynge wyll serue you, If cupydyte (as I haue sayd before) be the rote of all other myschefe, it is necessary ye expell it, leste it be the occasyon of other, lette there be no euyl, nor no peruerse cupydytye ī you, the good lorde gyue you of his grace to dyspyse for his loue onelye, the prosperyte of the world and not to feare the aduersytes therof.

Of pouertie the .xlvi. Chapi.

BLessed be they that Math. v. Luke. vi. are poore in spirite, for the kyngdome of heuen is theyrs. There are many power mē, whose pouertie maketh [Page] thē rather wretched thē blessed, because they suffre nor take not theyr pouertie pacyētly for goddes sake, but full sore agaynste theyr wyll, other there be, that pacyētly do suffre theyr pouerte for goddꝭ sake, & through theyr meke sufferaūce are blessed, of y^• which it is wrytē, blessed at they y^• ar pore in spirite. Ye haue harde Math. v. good syster of y^• tribulacyō & pacyence of Iob. Wherfore I exhort you, to take heed that nother worldly trybulacyon do oppresse you, nor prosperyte exalte you, ye rede that y^• patryarches were very ryche of substaunce, and meruaylous hūble & meke of stomacke, suche a one was A­braham, that sayd. I wyl speke to my lord god, which I, am but Gene. xviii. earth and ashes. So my good [Page Cl] syster, yf in your welth & woo ye gyue thankes vnto almyghtye god, ye shall beleue & well per­ceyue that the felycyte of this tē porall lyfe vanysheth awaye as smoke & cōmeth to nothyng, for saynte Paule sayth, If we trust onely vpon goodes rewarde in i. [...]omi. xv this world, we are the most wretched of all other, the which take y^• fruycyō of theyr goodes here, & we great payn & tormēt. Christe Iesus promysyng vs perpe­tuall lyfe, taught vs to dyspyse gold & al other giftes, & because we shuld not fere hūger, he fa­sted forty dayes, because we shulde Math. iiii. not feare to be bare, he com­maūded his discyples they shulde Luke. iii. haue but one cote, because we shulde not feare trybulacion, he suffred great trybulacyon. And [Page] bycause we shuld not fere deth he suffred deth for vs. All these worldly thinges, are but fleshly cōcuptscence, the cōcupiscēce of the eyes, and wordly ambition, i. Ioh [...]. ii. & the worlde shall perysshe with al his cōcupiscence. Therfore good sister let vs not loue these wordly thynges lost we peryshe with thē. Kynge Dauyd was a myghty prynce, and notwithstā dyng he had great treasoure, & ruled his people with stronge hād, yet he knowledge & shewed hym selfe to be full of humilite, saynge, I am but poore, and ī cōmmual laboure. And agayne Psa 87. he sayth, I am poore & ī greate necessite. And againe, I am but Psal. 28. as a poore laborynge man, in this worlde, and a pylgryme as my fore fathers haue bene be­fore [Page Cli] me. Good syster let not the flattery of this transytory worl­de delyte and please you, take no pleasure in this worldely cō ­modite, nor reioyce not ī world­ly lucre, nor be not moued with earthly losses. For it is wrytten, If ryches come plentifully and abundantly vnto you, sette not Psal. lxi. your harte nor your minde vpō them, for yf man be in amours and loue with them, he shall lese them with great paine & sorow. O Chrystes spouse lysten vnto me, he (whome heuen and earth doth serue) made hym selfe, pore for oure sakes. Why so? that by his pouertye he myght inryche vs. Therfore good vyrgyn fo­low y^• way of Christ Iesus & leaue not of to folow his fote steppꝭ for without doute, yf ye folowe [Page] hym, ye shal come to the euer­lastynge kyngdome of heuen. Beholde good syster the virgi­nite & pouerte of our blessyd lady the which was so in goddes fauour, that she by hī deseruyd to be his mother, & yet at y^• time of. Chrystes byrth she was ī such pouerte, y^t she had nother myd­wife, nor yet maide to helpe her, her goodes were so skarce, that she was fayne to laye her dere chylde ī a crybbe, and yet not w^t standyng her husband Iosephe was a very good & a iustmā, yet throughe pouerte he was fayn to labour for his lyuyng. For it Luke. ii. is wrytten, that he was a carpē ter. Also we rede of the holy apostles y^t they serued god in great hūger & thyrste of y^• which thīg saynt paule saythe. In hūger & ii, Corin. xi [Page Clii] thryste, in fasting, in colde, barenes & great watche, ye haue ma­ny examples, by y^• which ye may lerne to despyse these worldly ryches, & desyre celestiall. For such i. Th [...]. [...] as couet to be rych & abūdant in this world, do fal into many tē ­ptacions, & in to many gīnes, & snares of the deuyll, & in to such hurtful desyres, as doth brynge thē to euerlastyng dānatiō. But they y^• wyllyngly & ꝑfytely trust to optayne celestial ryches, set litle by worldly substāce, for wyl­fulpouerte, bryngeth a mā to heuē. We come not into this world to lyue in pleasure. But that by great watch, fastyng, prayng, & feyghtyng agaynst our aduersare the deuyl, we may by the ayde of god come to the euerlastynge blysse of heuen. And therfore we [Page] [...] [Page Clii] [...] [Page] come bare into the worlde, & are borne bare to y^• font of bapteme, that we in like maner may come Iob. i bare and w^tout any impedymēt to ioye euerlastynge. O what a shame, and howe incōuenient a thyng were it, for mā y^• cōmeth bare in to y^• earth, to enter in to heuē w^t great treasure & ryches? Yt is moch more easy to nedel a gabell of a shyp, thē for a ryche [...]u [...]e. xviii mā to come to heuē. Yt were better to haue to lytle, thē to moche He is to auaricius y^e god cā not cōtent & satisfye. Good syster yf we suffer for goddes sake, hūger thryste, & barenes in this world we shalbe w^t him for euermore in his ꝑ petual kingdome of blisse.

¶ Of murmuracion the rlvij. cha.

[Page cliii] THe mātion & dwellīg place of our harte, is sanctifyed by the grace of almyghtye god, & by the īhabitaciō of y^• holy goste, y^t is, when charite, peace, goodnes, humilite, concorde w^t other lyke vertues, are in vs.

These are our ryches, y^t is good maners and vertue are our ry­ches. But yf we begin to stryue & to murmur in cōtinent we lese these spirituall vertues, and re­maine clere without them. Why so? For vertue and vyce can not dwell togyther. And a litle dow i. Corni. [...] marthe a great dele of leuent.

And therfore euerye good ser­uaunt of OOD, shulde thynk and reuolue in his mynde howe greuously he offēdeth that murmurth for these worldlye gooddes, for he īpoueresheth hi self of [Page] that he shulde be ryche of. Why what is our ryches? Uertue, thē yf we murmour eyther for meal or drynk, or for any other thyng we lese vertue, for murmuraciō is a haynus & a greuous syn, and s. Gregore sayeth. That he that murmurthe, shal neuer cōe Eccle. xxiii to heuen. No man y^t murmurth, shall optayne the celestial court of heuē, the harte & mynde of a vnwyse mā is cōpared to y^• cart whele, that caryeth hay, & mur­murth, of this cōdiciō are many chrystē men & whomē, the whiche beyng subiecte & obedient to carnall desyre, neuer cease to mut­ter Therfore good sister s. paules counsel is very necessary, sayng Ye shall not murmour as some ii. Corin. x. of the chyldrē of Israell dyd in wyldernesse to theyre destructiō [Page cliiii] So then it is a very daūgerus i. Corin. [...] thynge to murmur. Least we perysh here, as they dyd in wyldernes. Let vs therfore charme and tempour our tongues, y^• in tyme to come we misfare not, as they dyd in this world, let vs not murmur, lest we suffre ī soule, y^t they suffered in body. And S, Paule i. Corni. [...] giuyng vs coūsel, sayeth. Let vs not tēpte god, as some of thē did the which were destrued w^t ser­pētes, he tēpthe God that mur­murthe other for meat or drynk psal.. lviii or cloth. And agayne it is wryt­ten. They mourmurde in theyr tabernacles, & wold not harken Psal. c. v to goddes saynge. He tempthe god that w^t murmuraciō requyreth y^• is superfluus. They were destrued w^t serpētes, why so? By cause they were full of venym & [Page] poysē so there tōgues y^• murmur are infected w^t deuyllysh poyson &. s. Iames saieth, the tongue is a shrode & a vnquiet thīg, & full Iames. iii. of deadly poisō, and therfore we shulde exchue al murmuracyon & beware y^• we be not smytten & that we perish not by such deuellyshe poison. Welbeloued syster harkē what god sayeth. I woldye shulde neyther care for foode nor yet for clothyng sayng these Math. v, & lyke wordes, what meat shall we eate, or wher w^t shal we be clothed? As thoughe he wolde saye more playnly. God y^• hath gyuē you lyfe, wyl, puyde ye shal lack neyther meat, nor yet cloth to sustayne your bodes withall. He sayeth also. Beholde the byrdes of the ayre, the whiche neyther so we nor thresh, nor make no maner [Page clv] of prouisiō, & yet God dothe nourysh thē, that is, yf god nourysh the poore byrde, the whiche is mortal, how moch more dily­gētly shall he nourysh mā & his soule the whiche is immortall, & to whome he hath promysed the kyngdome of heuē. And agayne he sayeth. Cōsyder & loke how y^• goodly lyles grow, they neyther spyn nor carde, & yet y^• lord doth clothe them. Howe moch more shall he clothe you his seruātes and handmaydes. God wyll ne­uer vndo his seruantes for lack of meat drynke or cloth. Ferther more he sayeth. Seke for y^• king dome of heuē & his Iustice, & ye Math. vi. shal lacke nothīg of al these for sayde thynges, as thoughe he wolde saye, serue God in al me­lody & feare, & he shall minyster [Page] vnto you, all that shall be nece­ssarie, Psal. xxxiii for they that seke god, shal lacke nothynge.

¶ Of prayer the .xlviij. ca

HArkē vnto my wordꝭ good syster. To pray or necessite compelleth man, is called prouydence, to pray at tymes a­poynted is called obediēce. But to let passe the tyme of prayer is called negligēce. The more ꝓfy­table y^• prayer is, the more ofte it shuld be vsed. The lorde sayeth. Loke what soeuer ye demaunde Mathe. ix. by prayer beynge in good sted­fast bylyue, ye shall haue it. And S. paule exhorteth vs to praye [...]. v. cōtinually. And. s. Iames saieth That the cōtinuall prayer of a Iames. v. Iuste mā, is moch worth. Good syster or euer ye begyn to praye, [Page clvi] prepayre your hart vnto it, and be not as one y^• wold tēpte god. Prepayre your selfe to prayer, & opē your harte & cōscience, that ye may haue cause to optayne y^• more of his grace. Amā prayeth truely whē worde & harte accor­deth togyther. And y^• soner y^e the synfull mā leueth his misdoing, the soner is his prayer harde.

A prayer must be spokē & pronoū ced w^t harte & not w^t thy lyppes only, & it is better to pray vnder silēce w^t harte, thē in worde with out good intēciō. Amans prayer is thē moste purest, whē it is not corrupt w^t suꝑfluus thoughtes, such mens myndes are far from god, whose prayers are troube­led w^t worldly busynes. Prayer is let frō his purpose two ma­ner of waies. The fyrst is, when [Page] man intendeth not to leaue his synful lyuyng. The seconde is, when man wyl not forgyue such msfautes & iniuries as hath ben done vnto hym. A mans soule & mynd is thē celestial & wholy in the meditacyō of god, when it is not disturbed nor troubeled w^t worldly workes and busynesses When a man doth pray, he cal­leth the holy goste vnto hym, af­ter whose cōmyng al such deuellysh tēptacyō as do vexe & trouble his minde vanissheth away, for the deuyll can not abyde the presence of y^• holy goste. He y^• is hurt, must praye continually for those y^t did hurt hī, or els he is in great defaute & syn. For as the surgē or medecyn cānot remedy the woūde as longe as theyr is hyerne in it, so y^• prayer of him y^• [Page clvii] beareth maliee doth ꝓfet hī lytle Luke. xviii. or nothīg. And he doth syn, y^• in his prayer to GOd dothe repete & opē his good dedes, as dyd y^• pharise laudīg hī self more then god of his good dedꝭ O good sis [...] pray to god cōtinually w^t tearꝭ, pray nyght & daye, cease not frō prayer. Be euermore wel armyd w^t harnis made of good prayer, Let prayer neuer fall frō youre mouth, be ofte in prayer, wepe & wayle cōtinually. Rysevp in the nyght to pray, watch and pray, watch al night in prayer, take a lytle nap and then pray agayne For continuall prayer putteth a waye all deuyllyshe tēptacyon. Quotidiane and dayly prayer ouercōmeth y^• deuelles dartꝭ & al his malyce, prayer is the fyrst & cheyfest vertue agaynst the as­sauttes of the wycked fend & his [Page] tēptacyōs oratiō & prayer dothe ouercome all y^e temptacyons of our gostly enemy, it sermoūteth & ouercōmeth al euyll spirytes. Good syst let your prayer be pure & clene, and I exhorte you to pray for those y^t be good, y^t they may cōtinew in theyr goodnesse And for those y^• are noughtes, y^t they may turne frōtheyr noughtinesto goodnes. Pray for your frēdes and for youre ennemies, and for all chrysten soules.

Of holy lessō the xlix. cha

BY prayer we be purified frō al syn. By good lessons we be taught what we shulde do, bothe are good. But yet it is better to praye, thē to rede. For whē we pray, we speake to god, whē we rede, god speketh to vs Good syst yf ye desyre to be cōtynually [Page cxlviii] w^t god, be alwayes prayenge & redīge for deuine lessō, is very necessary & profytable. By suche lessons we lerne what we shuld do, what we shuld exchew, and where to we shulde tende, of this thynge sayeth Dauid. The word of god is as a lanterne for my fete, y^• is, for my affections. psal. c. xiiii And as a light to my foote pat­thes & goyng, by diuine lesson a mās vnderstādng is increased [...] good lessōs do instructe man to prayer & good workes, good les­sons do informe both life actiue & cōtemplatyue. And therfore it is wrytten. Blessyd is he y^• doth Eccle. xiiii. thynk both day & nyght vpō the lawe of god. Prayer & good les­sons are y^• wepēs, w^t the which y^• deuil is ouer cōmed, & the instrumētes, be y^• which mē cō to eter­nal beatitude. By prayer & lessō [Page] vyce is expelled & vertue in mā [...] soule īcresed. The hād mayde of god, shulde cōtinually pray and rede. For it is wryttē. I shall ne­uer Psal. c. x viii be cōfoūded, if I cōsider welthy cōmaundemētes. Therfore my welbeloued syst in god, pray oftē, & cōtynew in the meditaciō of holy scrypture, by dilygent in redynge of Goddes lawes. Use your selfe to rede scrypture. Let it be your dayly lessō, your daily meditaciō. For such holy and deuoute lessons remoue the mynd frō worldly vanite, & augmēteth the vnderstanding, such deuyne lessōs do tech mā what he shuld do, what he shuld exchue & flye, ye shal ꝓfite gretly yf ye folow y^• ye rede. I pray y^• lord to opē your hart ī his lawes & cōmaūdemētꝭ

¶ Of workes the .l. cha.

[Page clix] THe ꝓphete Ieremias say­eth. Thre. ii. Let vs lyft vp our hartꝭ w^t our hādes to god. He y^• praieth & laboureth doth lyft vp his hart & his hādes to god. But he y^• prayeth & laboureth not, lyfte vp his harte to god but not his handꝭ And he y^• laboureth & praieth not lifteth vp his hādꝭ to god but not his hart. Wherfore good syst it is very necessary y^• we lyft vp our hartꝭ by praier, & our hā ­des by good operaciō & workes why so? Least y^• we be rep̄hēded to be negligēt in obseruīg & ke­pīg of goddes cōmaūdemētꝭ, thī kīg to optaine by only praier, or by onl [...] labut y^• thīg y^• we demaūd & desyre, of this sayeth s. Paule. i.. Thess. iii He y^• wyl not labour shal not eat ye shuld euermore pray, rede, or labur, lest ꝑaduētur y^e spiryte of fornicacyon deceyue your Idle [Page] mind al fleshly & carnal desyre is ouercomde by labour. O welbe loued syster deuyde youre tyme in thre partes, in the fyrstye shal pray, in the second ye shall rede, & in the thyrde ye shall labour & work. Kyng Salomō throughe Idilnesse wrapt hym selfe in to iii. [...]g. xi diuers kyndes of fornication, & through the great and feruēt desyre he had there vnto, he wor­shypped Idolles. Good syster these thre thynges prayer, lesson & labour, are very necessary. For by prayer we be pourged, by de­vine lessō, we be instructed, & by labour & workes we be beatify­ed & blessyd. As it is wrytten.

Thou shall eat y^• laboururs of thy hādes, y^• shalbe blessed & wel Psal. c. xxvii y^• shalt be. And it at any tyme ye do leaue of reding, thē to auoyd ydelnes, ye shal labour for idel­nes [Page Clx] is enmy to the soule, the de­uyl doth very esely deceiue those that he findeth idle. O Christes spouse, beware lest whē he shall behold & enquire of other mens doynges, that he fynde nothīge ī you, he may accuse you of. And therfore I exhorte you, that ye be neuer idle, & pray god that ye may shew al other y^e loue of god, not in wordes onely but also in good workes, for thē ye loue god whē for his loue ye do al y^• good ye cā, for euery good & deuoute soule shulde manifestly both in worde & dede open & shew, y^• he loueth god, of the which thynge it is wrytten. The bryde grome that is, Chryst Iesus, apparelīg Canti. viii the bryde, that is y^• deuout soule sayth, Lay me vpō your hert as a sygnacle, & allo vpō your ar­mes. [Page] In y^• hart, is mās thought in his armes, his labour, So y^• welbeloued bryde grome is layde vpon your hart & harmes as a sygne For by the good wyll & operacyō of man it is soone knowen what loue the soule bereth to her bryde grome Chryst Ie­sus, for the loue of god, is neuer Idle, & yf it be true loue, it doth many great workes. Therfore good syster, I pray you to loue god ꝑfytely, & that for his sake ye be neuer ydle, yf ye loue god perfytely, ye shal neuer be ydle, yf ye loue god truely, ye shall a­uoyde al ydlenes, if ye loue god w^t all your hart, & with all your mynde, then for his sake ye shal laye asyde & dyspyse al ydlenes, the kingdome of heuen shal not be gyuen to those that are ydle, [Page Clxi] but to those y^• be studius & dyli­gēt ī goddꝭ seruice, nor to no vacabūdes or erroniꝰ ꝑsōs, but to those y^• for goddes sake do truli labour ī his seruyce. They y^• are slouthful to do good workꝭ shal not be ꝑtakers of y^• kīgdome of heuen. Lururiousnes & bodely lust doth sone deceyue those y^• a [...] ydle & great wāderers Luxury­ousnes doth trouble hī very sore whō she fīdeth ydle, carnal appetyte & lust giueth place to worke to diligēce, to labur & occupatiō. Amā may be diligēt labourouertred such wātō lustꝭ & desyrꝭ, for whē y^• body is wel traueled & we [...]yd with laboure, it settethe not greatelye by suche tryfelynge matters. Wherfore good syster beware and preuēt idlenes, loue no idlenes, werye youre bodye [Page] w^t labour, excercyse your bodye w^t good workes, & inquyre euermore for some ꝓfytable worke, y^• your intentyō & mynde maye be occupied, Let your good workes and your good intentyō be euermore in god.

¶ Of lyfe actyue and cō ­templatyue .the. [...]. Chapiter.

I Acob sawe a lather standīge vpō the groūde, & angels as­cēdyng, Een. xxviii. & descēding, and the top of this lather touched heuē, All those y^• are p̄destynate to be saued, & those that are in y^• way of saluacyon, are set vpō this lather. This lather doth sygnyfy y^• church, aswel militāt as tryū ­phāt. The milytant is y^• church of this worlde, the tryūphant y^• celestiall church of heuē. There is vpō this lather thre orders of [Page clxii] men, seculers, actyues, & contē ­platyues, The seculers are in y^e lowest degre, the actyues, in the hygher, & the contēplatiues in y^• highest, of these thre orders sumare in y^• myll, some in the felde, & some in theyr beddꝭ. The myll is the seculer lyfe, the felde is y^• wyll of y^• seculer mā, In y^• felde are the preachers of y^• worde of of god, In thebed, is the loue of god, they y^• are in y^• myll, be they that cōpasse the world, and that leke & loue these worldly thingꝭ they y^• are in the felde, are they y^• eare the lāde, & sow the worde of god amōge the people, they are in theyr beddꝭ y^• vtterly dyspyse all worldly substaūce & ryches, at the fote of this lather, stande they that are worldly. In y^• middle part therof, at they, that are [Page] called acryues & in the hygheste part therof are y^e contēplatyues the which are very nye vnto he­uen. For they thīke vpō nothīg, but y^•, that is heuenly, they that go vp & downe this lather, are the angels, y^e which ascēde vp to god by cōtēplacyō, & descēde to theyr neyghbour, by cōpassyon, lyfe actyue is y^e inocēcy of good workes, the cōtēplatyue lyfe, is the imaginacyō & speculacyō of celesty all thīges, the actyue life is comon to many, the contēplatyue to very fewe, y^e actyue lyfe, vseth well all worldly thynges, but the contēplatyue gyuen all to goddes seruyce, doth lytle or nothyng regarde the worlde.

¶ Of curiosite che. lij. cha

[Page clxix] MY welbeloued Sy­ [...]er I exhorte you to study cōtinually to profyte in good workes, and y^• ye desyre not the vanites whiche other do desyre. But I exhorte you to cō ­syder the goodnes ye shulde do, for a certayne wyse man sayeth. In vanite [...] and vayne thinges be not curiouse, nor it is not for your profyte, nor yet nedefull to know that passeth mans wyt to know And reasō wold y^• heshuld i. Corni. iiii leue of to iuge other mens min­des that can not perfetely know what men thinke. Why so? For we iudg that, y^• is vncertaine vntyl y^• lord come y^• which shal giue clere knowledge of al such thīgꝭ which a [...] secret & far frō mās knowledg, & shal manifestly opē the [Page] secret counsell of mens hartes. Also reason requyreth that he refrayne from syn, that desyreth to correcte other mens, vnwise persons of tentymes by the correction of other mens fautes, disclose theyr owne. For as longe as mā knoweth not his owne fautes (the which he shuld both know & bewayle) he goeth curiously aboute to know other mens. But yf he remēbre & behold hym self well, he shall not greatly īquire of other mens misdedes, for he shall fynde in hym selfe, that he may be wayle & amend. Saynt I sodore sayeth. That we can soner correcte other mens vices, then we can augment, or increce theyre vertues. Nor we be not so dilygēt to know what good mē do as we be to knowe what euyl [Page clxx] they do. Wherfore good syster I exhorte you reyther to amend your owne fautes thē to correct other mens. And fyrst to loke v­pon your owne mysdedes, and then vpon other mens. Be dily­gent for youre owne correctyon, & careful for your owne welth & amendement. Neuer desyre to medle with that thynge, that ye haue nothyng to do with all.

Nor be not curiꝰ to know where of men do speke, nor what other men do. Flye curiosyte, leue to be curiose, and to know howe o­ther men lyue. Let no curyosyte trouble or deceyue you. Loke not so vpon other mens maners that ye for get your owne, & take hede ye be as diligent to correct youre owne mysdoynges, as ye wolde be to correcte other mens [Page] Be not curiose to know y^• thing that is secrete, beware yeinquire not to knowe that ꝑtayneth no­thyng vnto you. Kepe that thīg secrete that ye haue learnde by holy scrypture. Seke for no more thē is wryttē, seke for no more then holy scrypture doth shewe you, nor neuer go aboute to lern that ye shulde not lerne, lerne y^• curiosite is a verye daungerus and a perilus presumptiō, curi­osite is a perilus science, for it ꝓuoketh man to heresy, and bryngeth a mans minde to noughtie tales & fables, & maketh a man bold in y^• thyng, y^• is very dark, & hard to be vnderstāded & doth caste hym into ignoraunt mat­ters. Good sister amēd your lyfe w^t all the diligence ye can, y^e ye may here af [...] come to euerlastīg

¶ Of watche the .liij. cha

MY welbeloued sister listē to y^• lordꝭ sayng. Watche, for math. xxii. ii ye knowe not whē the lord shall come. And agayne I saye vnto you all, watch you, and SPeter sayeth. Be wyse & watche i. Peter. iiii in prayer. For whē men shal say that theyr is peace and securite, then shall sodeyn death & destruction come vpō thē, & Salomō sayeth. They are iust and wyse, and theyr workes are in goddes Eccle. ix. handes, and yet they can not tel whether they be [...]orthe to be loued or hated. Why so? For al vncertayn thynges are reserued to the tyme y^e is to come, My good syster, god hath kepte & hydden frō vs the tyme of his cōmyng, that by such vncertaynte & long [Page] taryeng, we shulde often tymes thinke that he is euermore redy to come. For we be ignorant of his cōmynge. We must so passe forth the ioye of this world, that we forget not the bytternesse of the iudgement that is to come.

The deuyl doth often tymes deceyue man, and so leadeth hym to syn. For when he perceyueth that man is troubeled and sory for his misfaute, then by a cer­tayn securite & surenes he deceyueth hī agayne. Wherfore good syster when so euer we do anye good dedes, it is nedefull also y^t we remēber oure misdedes, least that by ignoraunce of our fau­tes, we reioyce vnwysely in oure good workes. And god wold we shulde be ignoraunt of our last houre, bycause we shulde be [Page clxxii] euermore indoute therof, & redely p̄pare our selfes vnto it w^t out any assurance. s. Isodore sayeth. Let not the iust trust in his iu­stnes, nor y^• synner mistrust nor despere of y^• great mercy of God but let them haue in harte both hope & feare. And so to trust vn­to his mercy, that they forget not to fere his iustice. For notwith­standyng that the conuersacyon of holy men is probable & well alowed, yet it is vncertayne, to what ende they are prepared vnto. And therfore a man shulde neuer be without feare, for it is not man, but GOd that iud­geth mans penaunce & satisfac­cyon. And of this thynge sayeth Cesarius, howe moch as man is in suertie of his mysfautes y^e are past somoch y^• more he must take [Page] hede & fle those that are to come. Good syster byleue me, y^t meditacyō of death is the very lyfe of a wyse man. Therfore ye shall do wysely, if ye cōtinually do think vpō god, & at some timꝭ vpōdeth for a certayn wyse man sayeth.

Blessed is he that is alwayes in feare. Wherfore good virgyn I exhorte & monyshe you, to be al­wayes in feare, in doute, diligēt, & subtyl against y^• tēptacions of the deuyll, and to be in cōtinual watche, stryte, & battell, agaynst hym, his subtyll, & crafty tēpta­cyons. Herken good Chrystys spouse, what god sayeth. Blessid is that seruant, whome God at Luke. xii. his cōmyng doth finde watshīg Wherfore yf ye wyll watch and set all your mynde vpon him, ye shalbe counted in eternall beatitude [Page clxxiii] amonge those that are for­tunate & blessed. Ye shalbe este­med to be blessed, yf ye lyfte vp the eyes of your soule with good deuocyon vnto god y^• very trew lyght, and w^tout dowte ye shall be greatly fortunate & blessed, if ye diligētly and effecteously do watche to god ward, for he hath ꝓmysed to crowne those y^t watch of this it is wryttē, her eyes are lyke doues eyes vpō y^•ful riuers Canti. v. y^• which are washte w^t mylke, y^• eyes of y^• spouse, are the good & deuout peple, the which lyke doues do liue in simplicite, and by theyr good p̄ching & good example giuyng bring many other to the way of saluacion. They are estemed to be vpōy^• riuer bicause they ar cōtynually ī y^•cōuersaciō & study of holy scripture & washt w^t mylke, y^t is, they are through [Page] the grace of god, & the blessed sacramēt of bapteme pourged frō all syn, & what other thyng may we vederstāde by the full ryuer, but the ꝓfoūde & secret lernyng of holy scrypture, y^e which when we here it, doth cōforth & refresh vs. Ferthermore the doues syt most comēly vpō y^e ryuer to se y^e shadow of the byrdes y^t fle in the ayre, y^e which by goyng into the water, auoide al daūger, so good mē by redyng of holy scrypture, ꝑceyue & se the subtilite & crafty nesse of y^e deuil, & by such descripcyon of thinges, they know him as by a shadowe, & so auoydeth both hym, & his deceytefulnesse. Therfore loke y^t ye be cōtynual­ly occupyed in y^e meditacyon of holy scrypture, for in y^t ye shall fynde howe to auoyde al Satās [Page clxxiiii] craftynes and wylynes. And a­gayne good virgyn I exhorte you, to cōmyt youre selfe holy to the good counsell of holy scryp­ture, y^• is, that ye do nothīge but as holy scrypture shal lerne and informe you, for ye shall fynde therin, how ye maye exchew and auoyde y^• deceytes of the deuyll. Ferthermore I exhorte you to kepe you vpō y^• bankes of holy scripture for feare of reueners, that is, least y^• wicked spiryte do sodenly engrype you, & deceyue you. Therfore I wolde counsell you to watche, & w^t all diligence to auoyde his fraude & deceyte­fulnes. Alas wretches as we be, why do we not lerne & vnderstād y^• all our thoughtes are openly knowē to god, or euer we put thē in execuciō? Dauyd sayeth, God psal. xiv. [Page] is he onely that knoweth & searcheth mans harte and mynde. Therfore good sister let vs thīk that we be continually before God, let vs lerne & knowe y^t we be but earth & asshes. Let vs also cōsider y^t the lorde is ter [...]yble rewardyng euery man after his deseruyng. He is not far frō vs, nor wyl not tary very long. He wyll come & saue vs. Let vs therfore watche cōtinually w^t good deuocyō, y^t at his cōmyng & whē he shall knocke at our dores, he fynde vs not a slepe, but brode wakīge in his lawde, loue, & ho­ly seruice. Let vs therfore run Ioh [...]. [...]ii. whilest we haue light, lest y^• darknesse do ouer take vs. For Salomō saieth Blessed is he, y^• heares Pro. viii me, & that kepeth dayly watche at my dore, & at my postornes. [Page clxxv] For he y^• shal fynde me, shal find lyfe, & shal haue the goodnes of god. Therfore good syster I monyshe you, that w^t all your hart & mynde ye watche in the loue & seruyce of god, y^• at the dredfull day of dome, ye may fynde hym kynde and mercyfull vnto you. Let no chance fynde you vnpre­pared, thynk vpō al chāces, & remēber y^t there is nothynge but y^• may chance. Thynk euermore vpō the wretchednes y^• is to come And ī ꝓsperyte, remēber y^•aduersite may assayle you, thīke euer­more vpō euyl, lest any such thīg chance, for it is a point of a wyse mā, to p̄meditate & fore thynk y^• losse of such chances, for yf it be thought vpō it is y^• more easyer to be suffered, & born if amā loke for amishap it may be y^• bett born [Page] the premeditaciō & forethynkīg of a thīg, breketh & diminisheth the grefe therof, but yf any such thyng chaūce vnloked for, it greueth a man very sore, for soden harme troubeled a mā greuous­ly, y^• a man hath not ꝓuyded for doth vexe him shrodly, all soden tēpest do put men in great feare and euery soden thynge is moch more troubelous, then is y^•, that man thinketh vpō. Therfore prepare your hart & mynde both to good & euyll, & in ꝓsperite remē ber aduersite, & inaduersyte re­mēber ꝓsperite. Be alwaies wa [...] thyng, [...]est euyl thoughtꝭ assayl [...] you. Loue holy scrypture, & des­pise all carnalite, for so shall ye come to the celestial court & ioye euerlastynge.

Of wysdome the .liiij. cha

[Page Clxxvi] MY deare syster har­ [...]ē vnto goddes wordes, be you as wyse as the Serpente, & Math. x. as simple as y^• doue and Salomon sayth. The sym­plycyte of iust men shall dyrecte Prouer. xi. them, and the subplantacyon of peruerse persons, shall dystroye thē. The good sīple mans way, is goddes waye, & they that do naughtely, shalbe euer more in feare, the Iustyce of the symple man shall gyde his soule, but y^• proude mā, shall dye in his naw tynes, the Innocent person beleueth euery body, they y^• deceyue the iust and leade hym to synne, shall dye, and the symple shall possesse his goodes, they that are euyl, do hate the symple, but they that are iuste, shall guyde [Page] thē, holy & symple rusticyte pro­fyteth it selfe onely, & as moche as it throughe good lyfe, dothe augmēt & profyte the church so moch it damageth & hurteth it, yf it resyste not those y^• w^tstāde veryte and truethe. And. s. Hie­rome sayth, that man shuld not requyre of goddꝭ seruaūtes bo­dely ornamētes, but y^• sīplycyte & mekenes of mynde, nor esteme al holynes to be ī theyr tōgues, but to be onely in the pure and sīple cōsciēce. And of two vnperfyte thīges, holy rusticyte is moche better thē synful eloquence, holy rusticyte is moch more alowed, thē vaine loquacite. Good syster if your intēcyō & mynd be simple before the syghte of god, your workꝭ at y^• day of iudgmēt shall not be obscure and darke. [Page Clxxvii] And they that can not be chastē by the workes of Iustyce, cā by no meanes be innocētes by symplycyte. The church doth begin the way of trueth and of simplycyte w^t feare, and endeth it with charytye. God doth not onely take hede to mans wordes, but also to the harte and mynde of man, and he louethe those that serue hī w^t the sīplicyte of hart, of this speaketh god in the Can tycles sayng. My doue is but Canti. vi. one, my perfite is alone & onely chosē out for her mother. Oure mother be generacyō is y^• grace of god, to the which there is chosen out a doue, for she bryngeth them onely togither, that abyde in symplycyte, and vnytie, For when many faythfull people set theyr hole mynde and intencyō [Page] vpon god, when they withe one mynde desyre god onely, & whē they ar assēbled ī charyte w^t one hart & one mynd, thē they so ioyned make of diuers mēbres but one body. And al they that lyue in simplicite & vnyte are but as one doue, & they that men do dispraise and gest at, in this world are greatly in goddes fauoure. Therfore good sister let vs pray Sapi. v. god, that it wyll please hym to sēde vs frō heuē the holy gooste by whose ayde we may obtayne the sīplicyte of the doue, the wisdome of the Sarpent, & that we may be simple in malyce, & wyse in doyng of good workes. A sarpent is a very subtyll beaste for we rede of y^• Serpēt called Iaspys, the which perceyuyng the inchaūter comīg towardes her, [Page Clxxviii] doth laye one of her eares vpon the groūde, & stoppeth the other w^t her tayle, lest she shuld heare the voyce of the inchanter. And the prophet speakyng of those y^• are cruell & wise in all naughtynes Psal. lvii. saith, that they are in a fury as is the deth sarpēt stoppīg of her eares, because she wold not here y^• voice of y^• inchāter. Ther­fore good syster in Chryst Iesu, folowe the sarpēt in this cace, y^• is, stoppe youre eares y^• ye here no euyll wordes, praye god that the oyle of synners anoynte not psalm. cxl. your hed, the oyle of the synner, is y^• laude of a flatterer, the sar­pent stoppeth her eares because she wyl not here the inchanters voyce, & so muste you stop your eares, that ye here not the vycy­ousnes of flatterers and slaūde­rers, [Page] the sarpent Iaspis is wyse for he wyll not here y^t wordes of the inchanter, lest he shulde dye loone after, be you wyse also, & let no euyll wordes enter in by your eares to your soule, lest he dist: oye you, therfore yemust nother haue the wysdome of y^e sarpēt w^tout y^• symplicite of y^• doue nor the simplicite of the doue w^t out y^• wisdome of y^• sarpēt, to thē tēt y^• the wysdome of the sarpēt maye [...]uycken vp sīplicite, to a­uoyde that, y^• is not good, & that the symplicite of the doue, maye temper wysdome to do that thīg that is good. This doue hath, vii. propre vertues ī her, y^• whi­ch ye your selfe through y^e grace of the holy gost may haue. The doue doth sytte very ofte vpon the riuer syde to se the commīge [Page clxxix] of the hauke, so to auoyde hym & to be out of daūger. The doue choseth euermore of y^• best corne The doue neuer smyteth w^t her byll. The doue doth oftē tymes fede the yonlynges of other byrdes. The doue hath no gall, the doue maketh her nest in y^• holes of olde walles, & for her songe she hath lamētacyō & mournīg. Therfore pray god w^t all dyly­gence, that it wyll please hym to sende you these goodly vertues, that is to say, that ye maye reste your selfe vpō the ryuer syde of holy scripture, to auoyde by the good admonycyon & lernynges therof, the wilyues of the deuyl. Chose oute the beste sentences and sainges therof to fede your selfe w^t all, & fede the yonlinges of other beastes, that is to saye, [Page] reuoke those by good example, & symple cōmunycacyō, y^t by syn are alyenate frō god, cōuert thē & brīg thē to god again. Smite not w^t your byll, that is to say, Ye shall nother say nor do no e­uyll to your neyghbour. Nor ye shal haue no gal in you, that is, ye shall not be furyous nor an­gery, ye shall buylde your neste in olde walles, y^• is, ye shal haue al your hope ī god. Take mournyng for youre sōge, y^t is to say, As men of this worlde reioyce in worldlye musyke, so take you your delyte & comfort in spirytuall sythyng and heuynes. Therfore good syster as I haue sayd vnto you before, w^t all studye & dylygēce ye muste flye & auoyde the subtyl craftynes of y^• deuyl, and with the simplycyte of lyfe, [Page Clxxx] ye muste haue wysdome. For he that doth not mingle simplicite & wysdome togyther, shalbe de­ceyued. And agayn good syster I exhorte you, to p̄payre a dwelling place for god in your hart, that when it shall please hym to come withe the father and the holy gooste, he may remayne cō tynually in you.

Of tēptacyō the .lv. cha.

GOod syster harken vnto. s. Iames wordes. Resyst the Iames. iiii deuyll, and he shall flye frō you, and saynte Hierome sayth. There is nothyng stronger thē he is, that ouercometh y^• deuyll. And lykewyse there is nothyng more feble and wake, thē he is, that the fleshe ouercometh. The deuyls dartes must be quēched [Page] and ouercomed w^t colde, w^t watche & great fastyng, our subtyll enemy y^• deuyl loketh daily how he may deceiue vs, nor he careth not to distroy our bodies, so y^t he may dystroy our soules, he doth dystroye our soules, whē be tēptacyō of syn he distroyeth y^• chrystē & faythful people, but yet he tēpteth goddꝭ seruaūtꝭ no more thē god doth suffer hī, such tēp­tacyō is ryght ꝓfytable for goddes seruaūtꝭ, for by such tēptacion he doth not deceyue thē, but le [...]e & īstruct thē, for god doth often tymes turne such tempta­tyon prepared for mans destruccyon, to the cōforte & profyte of mās soule, for y^• seruaūtꝭ of god could neuer suffre such deuilysh tēptacyō, but that god through great pytye refrained theyr ma­lyce. [Page Clxxxi] And not w^t stāding y^• deuyll doth couet & desyre to tempt mā yet yf god suffre hī not he shall neuer p̄uayle, the deuyls minde & intēt is euermore wycked, yet by goddꝭ suffraūce his power is iust, the deuyll naturally dothe seke to tēpt mā vniustly, but yet he cā not tempte hī, w^t out the lycēce & suffraūce of god, & of this thyng it is wryttē, The spiryte of god dyd vexe Saull ful shrowedly, i. Reg. xvi he was there as the spirytie, of god, Why was he euyll then? and yf he were euyll, wherfore was he y^e spirite of god? In this place is cōprysed ī two wordes the iuste power of god, and the vniuste wyll and intent of y^• deuil, For this spirite of hī selfe was noughtes, he was y^• spirite of god through the iust power, the whiche he receued of god, [Page] nor it is not the deuyll, y^• sēdeth vyce to man, for he is the onely nourysher therof, nor he can no where noury she nor increace it but there onely, where he perceiueth to be great delectacyō and pleasure, but yf we wolde reiect such vyle delectacyō & thoughtꝭ he as vtterly confoūded wolde soone leaue vs, and so myghte we breake the wepē & armour of all his tēptacyō. The deuyl fayneth hī selfe to be a good spiryte & the angel of light, & wold of tē tymes deceyue goddes seruaūtꝭ but the dyscresyon of good men muste be such as may iudge betwyxt good & euyl, to auoid his fraude & trūperye, or els by this inq̄sicyō of Iosue sayng. Are ye our frēde or our aduersary? And Iosue. v. it is wryttē in Hieremy, yf ye de­uide [Page Clxxxii] y^t is good frō that, y^t is [...]uil ye shall be to me as my nowne mouth. The deuyl to y^• syght of worldly mē is terrible, but he is but vyle to y^e syghte of the chosē seruauntes of god, vnfaythfull people fere the deuill as a lyon, but they y^• are strōge in byleue & fayth, set no more by hī thē by a smale worme, & when they see hī, they dispyse hī. The deuyl is a very slyperus sarpēt, for if his fyrst suggestyō & tētacyō be not w^t stāded & resysted, he crepethe into mā or euer he fele hī, the vycyous tētacyon of y^• deuyll, is a easy thyng to be brokē, but yf it be not well takē hede of & auoy­ded, or if we let it run ī a custom it wyll so increace & ꝓspere, that it shalbe very hard to ouercome it. The deuyl or euer he tēpt mā [Page] doth fyrst consyder his nature, prepayre his wepens, & then be­sege hym on that syde, where he supposeth he may by syn so [...]est ouercome hī, & s. Isydory sayth, that he [...]ēpteth mā most in that thynge, wherto he ꝑceyueth his cōplectyō most inclyned, as he doth that draweth water, y^e whiche wyll draw ī no nother place, but where he perceiueth that it runneth most swyftest. The de­uyl coueteth to deceyue mā at al tymes, but specyally, at his de­partynge, and y^• is it, that was sayd vnto y^e sarpēt at the begynnyng. Thou shalt lay watch for hī at his ende, not w^t stādynge a Gene. i [...]i. mā be neuer so good & vpryght yet he is not sure in this world, And therfore he must dayly hu­miliate hi self, & take good heed [Page Clxxxiii] that he be not deceyued. Wher­fore good syster, it is very nece­ssary we pray vnto god almygh tye y^t he suffre vs not to be tempted in this worlde, more then we may bere or suffre, for god doth restrain our enemies power, be­cause he shuld not do such hurt, as his wil is to do. And in y^• can tycles y^• holy goost reproueth hī Canti. iii [...]. saynge. Lyfte thy self vp thou northe wynde, & come hyther y^u south wynde, & blow ouer al my gardē, & thē shal y^• aromatyke & swete fragrant sauers cū sorth. The north wynd y^• which throughe his great & feruēt colde causeth slouthfulnes, doth sygnyfy no nother thīg but our gostly e­nemy the deuyl, the which at the hathe once tēpted mā, & is īposse ssiō of hī, causeth hī to be slouthful ī al good workꝭ y^• southwīde [Page] beynge both swete & hote dothe sygnify y^• holy gost y^• which aft (er) he hathe neuer so lytle towched the soules of good mē loseth thē from al slouthfulnes, makynge thē stedfast ī the loue of god, let therfore this north wynde, that is, this euyl spyryte departe frō goddes churche and from euery deuout soule, that he tempte no man more thē behoueth, & let the southe wynde come & blow vpō the garden, & the aromatike sa­uers shal comfort, then shal the holy gost come & powre the fyre of charite into theyr myndes, & vnbynde thē frō al temptation & slothful negligēce. The which thynge ones done the swete & redolette sauers shal sprynge and come abrode, for at the cōmyng of the holy gost, the herte y^• was [Page clxxxiiii] slouthful shal chaunge, & be moued to good workes, and shall floure lyke a garden, & after the floure it shall bryng forth swete redolent, and nuryshyng fruyte with the which he may by good example repast and refresh both hym selfe and his neyghboure.

¶ Of dreames the .lvi. ca

MY welbeloued syster har­ken vnto me. The wycked spirytes do oftentymes by nyght trouble mens myndes & vnderstandynges with dyuers visyons and oftētymes they do manifestly beate mens bodyes. Dreames do chāce after dyuers maners, some by repletion, and some chaunce as we know by experience by euacuatyon, & some by thought, for mooste cōmenly [Page lxxxvi] of that thyng that mā thynketh vpon in the day, he shall dreame in the nyght. And many dremes do chance by y^• illusyons of the deuyll, as sayeth Salomon.

Dreames haue caused manye a Eccle. 34. one to erre, and they that haue trusted in them, haue ben destrued. There are certayne visyons which ar to be regarded for they chance by Godly reuelacion, as we do rede in the olde testament of Ioseph Iacobs son, the which through dreames was preferde Gene. xli. before all his brethrē. We do re­de lyke wyse of Ioseph, husband Math. ii, to our blessed lady mother and mayde, the whiche in a dreame was warned he shulde fle w^t the chylde into Egypt. Somtimes such visions are myngled w^t co­gitaciō & illusions, or w^t cogita [Page] cyon & reuelacion as sayeth Daniel. Dany. ii He that openeth the miste­res, shall shewe thinges y^t are to come. And notwithstandynge y^• some of these dreames be trewe, yet we shuld not lyghtly byleue them. For they chāce by dyuers Imaginations & we knowe not perfetly frō whense or by what meanes they come, and therfore we shulde not be light of credēce lest y^• the fynd trāfigure him self i. Corni. xi. into an angel of light & through our siplicite deceiue vs. At sometymes the fyndes deceyue those that be curius to take hede to dreames, & tell them the trueth in some thynges, to deceyue thē in many other. And notwitstandynge suche dreames chance to be euē so as they sayde, yet men shulde not byleue them, lest they [Page clxxxvii] procede of illusiō, as witnesseth scripture sayng Yf they tel you and it chance to be so, yet byleue it not. Dreames ar likened vnto augures, the whiche do Iudge thynges by the chatteryng and flyght of byrdes, and they that beholde suche thynges, are cald auguriens, therfore men shulde not byleue them, notwithstan­dynge they appeare to be trewe they that truste in dremes or in these so the sayers haue no truste in god, & they ar likened to him y^t foloweth y^e wind, & to those y^t go aboute to take a mans shadowe These so the sayngꝭ ar but lyes dremes, and deceytefulnesse, we shulde neuer beleue dreames least they deceyue vs, let our ho­pe be onely fyred in god, and as for dremes let vs not care for, y^e [Page] which thynge shalbe very acceptable vnto god. And therfore my good syster I exhorte you, that ye put not your confidēce in dremes, but in almyghtye god. For yf ye trust to such vanitꝭ, ye shal be ryght soone deceyued. Ther­fore regard thē not, but set your hope perfetly in the prouydence of god, and so althynge bothe in this world, and in tyme to come, shall prospere with you.

Of the shortnes of life the lvii. Chapiter.

DEare syster, harken vnto Salomōs wordes. A [...] that ye cādo, Eccle. ix do it out of hande.

For neyther worke, nor reason, nor scyence, nor yet wysdome shalbe in the inferior ꝑtꝭ to y^• which ye ar going. Amā alōly [Page clxxxviii] may do good ī this world, for in another worlde good workes are not loked for, but the re­ward of good workes. This life is very caduke & shorte, wher of s. Isodore sayeth, y^• his thought is good and profytable y^t cōsydereth by the space & ende of this lyfe, how longe, & how shorte & lykewyse howe miserable it is.

Therfore my good syster in chryste, yf ye seke for the trewe waye, go towarde chryst & seke for eternall lyfe, for that is euerlastyng and this but mortall. And ther­fore in body ye muste be in this worlde as a dead womā, that in soule ye may be quycke and goddes seruant, for he is estemed a lyue, y^• is deed carnally giuyng his hoole mynde vnto GOd, to whome he ꝓmysed to lyue after [Page] his lawꝭ, it is a paine for a good man to lyue longe in this world for he thynketh it longe or euer he come to the perpetuall ioyes of heuen. Noman knoweth the ende of his lyfe, and whē a man thynketh hym selfe moost surest therof, by and by he is gone.

Let euerye man therfore make hast to amēde hym selfe, least he departe in iniquite, & ende his lyfe and his mis [...]iuyng together For the deuyll goeth aboute to brynge thē to ꝑpetuall torment and payne at theyr last ende, the which in this lyfe he inticed and brought to syn. And not w^t stan­dīg a mā be both good & iust yet whē he shal depart, he feareth he shalbe punyshed, y^• pesable & the gētyll departynge of good men out of y^• worlde, causeth men to [Page clxxxix] thynk y^t they depart in good es­tate, & to be associated w^t angels in euerlastyng ioye. Of this speketh y^• spouse in the cāticles, sayenge. My louer is come into my Canti. vi garden, to the crowne of blisse & of all swete aromatike sauers. For GOD visitinge his chur­che, cōmeth vnto thē w^t greate grace, y^• which he knoweth hath gyuen the good sauers of good examples & vertues renome vnto theyr neyghbours, he taketh a delyte in gardēs, reioycyng in the vertue of good soules, he gathered lilies, whē he calleth his electe & chosen seruātes frō this lyfe to euerlasting ioye. Wherof it is wryttē. The death of holy sayntes, is very precious to god psal. c. xv Cloth is endid by thredꝭ, & a mās lyfe by dayes, whē deth cōmeth [Page] the soules of goddes chosen ser­uantes are in great teare, & vn­certayne wether they shal be sa­ued or dāpned. Sum good men at there departyng are pourged of all theyr veniall synnes. Sū other at the same selfe tyme, are in greate ioyfulnes remēbringe the ioyes y^t ar to come. And it is Goddes pleasure we shulde not knowe the tyme of our departīg bycause we shulde thynke y^• it is euermore at hand. For the more that a man is vncertaine therof the more he shall applye & gyue him selfe to good workes. The deuyll at the departynge of all mys liuers dothe receyue theyre soules, y^e theyre inticers to plea­sure & syn, maye be theyr punis­shers & tormenters in payne. At mans departyng y^e wycked spi­rites [Page cxc] giue & imploy all theyr di­ligēce to bryng to mans remēberaunce all y^• euer they ꝑsuaded them to do in this worlde, and y^t to brynge them & theyr pore soules to euerlastīg paine. The synner after his death is brought to torment and payne, but the good syuer to cōtinual ioye and blysse. And as we do byleue that good men after theyr great paynes & labour takē in this world do rest & be in quiet, so muste we beleue that mildoers be in great payne & tormētes. Good syster I tell you this, bycause ye shulde knowe, y^t it is very nedeful, and necessarie for vs, to despyse all earthly thynges, & to remembre that we shall dye. Harke what y^• apostle sayeth. What other thinge Iames. iii [...] is our lyfe but euen a vapur [Page] appearing for a whyle. And Salomon sayeth. Neuer put truste Pro. xxvii. in the next day folowyng for ye can not tell to what chance it shall prepare you, & therfore my welbeloued syster ye shuld in cō tynually cōsider y^• ende of youre lyfe and despyse the flatterynge inticementes of this worlde to come to euerlastyng ioye & bliss In all your busynesses cōsyder Eccle vii. your last ende, and ye shal neuer do annsse. And therfore I exhort you that ye take no pleasure in these worldly trifylles. For with out doute ye shall heuse, truste not to these temporall thynges, for theyr isno wayes to sckape d [...]ath, a why shuld this wreched and slynkynge flesshe reioyce in worldly goodes, consyderynge it is prepared to fede wormes, [Page clxxxxi] This I tell you good syster, be­cause ye shulde not for gette the ordre of youre estate and condy­cyon. Remembre ye are but as­shes, Gene. iii. and that ye shall retourne to asshes, & that ye are but dust, and shal retourne therto again, and so sayde the Lorde vnto A­dam. Remembre also what Iob was wōte to say vnto him selfe, Gene. iii. I shalbe consumed as dust, and like vnto the vesture that is ea­ten Iob. xiii. with mothes, call to remembraunce that ye shal dye, and remembre it contynually that throughe the re­membraunce there of ye may eschew and auoyde all vici­ous lyuynge.

¶ Of death the .lviij. cha

WHorshypfull sister I pray you to harken vnto the sainge of y^• wyse man. O deth, Eccle. xli howe bytter a thing is it for hym that is in quiet, & restfulnesse of his substance to remember the? And agayne. O death thy iudgement is good to those that are in wretchednes, & pouerte. Unto this agreeth S. I sodore, saynge. O death howe swete arte thou to wretches, and to those that liue in bitterfulnes How plesant vnto those that be in heuynes and lamentacion? Death is the ende of al worldly mysere, of all wretchednes and of all calamite, death bryngeth a man to the ende of all worldly [Page Cxcii] tribulation, but alas death commeth very late & slowly, to those that are ī tribulatiō. Wherfore good sister it were better to dye wel, then to lyue wretchedlye, it were better not to be, thē to dye vnhappely and myserablye.

Of iudgemēt the .lix. cha.

THere are two deuine iudgemētes, the one in this worlde, the other ī the worlde y^• is to come. Many are so iudged in this presente worlde by syckenes, by pouertie and by other dyuers worldly tribulacyons, that here after they shall not be iudged, for such tē ­porall paines to some are ī stede & place of theyr purgacyon. O­ther there be that begyn theyre dāpnacyō in this present world, of whose saluacyon there is of­ten tymes nother trust nor hope because they contynew in synne & vngracyous lyuynge. Some there be that are iudged in this worlde by tribulacyon. Some [Page Cxciiii] other are iudged ī tyme to come by fyre, after the examinatiō of the streyte iudge, nor the iustice of the iust man shal not then be sure, and therfore Iob saith. He Iob. ix. consumeth the Innocente and the wycked, for the innocēt shal be consumed, and as nothynge regarded, yf his innocence becō pared with goddes innocence GOD shal consume the wret­ched & wicked synner & through y^• subtilyte of his deuyne examination his naughtynesse shal­be shewed him, and he hym selfe ryghtfully condempned. Chryst after as the life of good mē shal requyre so in his iudgement he wyl be fauorable and good vnto thē, but to those that be wycked synners he shal appere very terryble and fereful, and at the day [Page] of iudgement Chryst shal shewe hym selfe to euery man, as eue­ry mans cōscience was beynge vpon earth, & remaynynge styll in his pece & trāquilite, he shall appeare terrible to them onely, whose proper cōscience shall ac­cuse them. My good syster har­ken vnto. s. Isodore wordꝭ Ther Iohn̄. i. is no man clene w^tout syn. And therfore theyr can no mā be sure of goddes Iudgement for then we shalbe contable of euery idle Math xiii worde that is spokē. Alas what shall we wretches say at the day of iudgement, the whiche do not onely amys vsynge of ydle and fylthy wordes, but that commyt dayly so manye abhomynable, and enorme crymes, neuer lea­uynge oure noughtynesse, with other vnryghtfull operacyons [Page cxcv] and workes? And yf to be that the ryght delyng mā be not thē sure of goddes iudgemēt, what shall be come of vs moost wret­ched synners? and yf the Iustice of the vpright and iuste man be in no surance, at the examynacy on of this streyte Iudge, what shall we catyues do then, that dayly do augment and increace our noutynesse and syn? And yf at the daye of dome the iust man i. Peter. iiii shal scacely be saued, where shal we that haue synned without measure and without ende ap­pere vpō that daye? Who shall not be in drede and feare when heuen and earth shal shake, and quake, & all the elementes be re­solued by heate? Of this daye it is writtē. This is the day of yre [Page] of trybulacyō, of mysery, & ven­geaūce, Isai. xiii the daye of dym darke­nes, of the trumpet and of al or ryble sounde, vpon this day the strongeste man that euer was shall be troubled.