❧ Of the dayly exercyse of deth the fyrst parte, whiche is of the feare or drede of deth / to be excluded, exyled and to vtterly be put away.

REuerende Mother, and good deuout sisters: you haue (many & oftentymes with great instance) requyred me to wryte vnto you some breue / or short lesson of deth, [Page] and howe you shulde prepare and ordeyne your selfe dayly therunto. This lesson is very short & playne after saynt Augustine:De tēpore serm. ii. c. xxxix. for he sayth, the lest lesson and the best meane to dye well: is well to lyue. For who so well lyueth (saythe he) may nat euyll dye. Then done, we lerne to dye well / whan we lerne well to lyue / and that lesson can you teche me better thā I you. For you haue longer vsed the crafte: and gyuen more dilygēce therunto. Notwith­standynge somwhat in parte to sa­tisfye your deuout myndes: som­what / after our poore vnderstan­dynge: shall we say. But fyrst (as semeth vnto me) it is necessarye & spedefull that we inforce and gyue dilygence to auoyde, exclude, exyle, and put ferre away: that chyldyssh vayne and folyssh feare, and drede of deth, that many persones haue: for doubtles it is both vayne and [Page] folye: to feare & drede that thynge: that by no meane, may be auoyded & yet some persones ben so a frayde of deth / that they shrugge, tremble and quake, whan they here speke therof: and renne or departe out of company / bycause they wyll nat here tell of dethe. And to excuse theyr folye they take auctoryte of Aristotle the great Philosophour:iii. Ethi­corū. ca. i. tra ii. M. xxvi. d. Mar. iiii. d. L. xxii. T ii. Co. v. a. that sayth: that of al terryble thyn­ges, deth is moste terryble / & ouer that our sauyour byfore his pas­syon, was afrayde of deth, and na­turally dyd abhorre it: for y^e payne therof. Saynt Paule sayth also / y^t we wolde nat be spoyled of our bo­dyes / and yet wolde we haue the clothynge of immortalyte vpon whiche / and apon lyke auctorytes they cōclude that deth is peynfull, and therfore to be feared and dred. For declaracyon hereof: you must vnderstande that the drede of deth [Page] may be taken .ii. wayes, for .ii. cau­ses / one for the payne that is in the departynge of the soule / and the body by deth. And an other waye / or cause: for the vncertente of the houre of deth and of the state of y^e ꝑson in that houre, or tyme. This feare & drede of deth shulde euery person haue euery houre. But as vnto the fyrst feare that is for the drede of y^e payne in deth, that feare is vayne. For in deth is no payne, or ryght lytle to be feared / as after we shall shewe. Arystotle sayth in dede:Vbi su. that deth is terryble & feare­full / but that is vnto them alone (sayth he) that doubt of any other lyfe after this present lyfe. Obiecti∣on. yet say they: that euery man doth abhorre and lothe dethe: and dothe what he can, to auoyde deth / and to pro­longe lyfe / and that is generall in all lyuynge thynges / vnto that I say, Aunswe∣re. that nature dothe worke / and [Page] cause in all thynges: the appetyte and desyre to be contynued and to endure: and last for euer / and ther­unto dethe infors as muche as na­ture may / other in them selfe or in theyr frute and kynde. But therof doth nat folowe that any peyne is in deth: ne any feare or drede to be takyn therfore. As by example of trees and frutes as well as of sen­syble bestes. The trees when they wexe olde, don naturally put forth newe sprynges from the rote: and the frutes: when they be grene and yonge: wyll nat departe from the tree: nor the sedes from the herbe / or grayne, excepte vyolence: but when they ben full rype / then wyll they naturally of them selfe / and by them selfe departe without any vyolence. So is it in man: after a lyke maner: that when the person is in nature yong: grene, lusty, and stronge / and in the body confor­myte [Page] / and lyke state of complexcy­ons: deth is then horrible hugsum, and fearefull vnto the persone by­cause it is then vyolent. But when the persone is full rype: that is to say / worne by age, or sekenes, vnto the point of deth. Then is nat deth vnto that person, any thynge loth­some, fearefull, ne peyneful / but rather swete, pleasant, and desyrous: and so sayth Arystotle in his boke of naturall philosophye.Phi. v. Mors se­num, dulcis est. Iuuenum vero: violenta. The dethe of aged per­sones (sayth he) is swete and plea­saunte / but the dethe of yonge per­sones: is vyolent and greuous / yet say I: that the feare is nat for the peyne of deth in departynge of the soule. For then is no peyne / but all the peyne is in the sekenes disease / and affliccyon before dethe. For the persones that (as I sayde) ben worne or wasted vnto the poynte: [Page] done dye, and departe this life: nat only without sorowe or peyne: but also with gladnes, swetnes, and pleasure. And so sayth y^e same phi­losophour Arystotle in an other boke.Aristot. de vita & morte. & Cicero .i. Tusc. And so dothe also an other greate philosophoure / and lerned Tullie. And I dare well say, that in dethe is lesse peyne vnto suche persones: then is in the prycke of a pynne, or nedyll vnto a whole per­sone. The feare than that our saui-had before his passyon / was nat for the peyne of deth: but it was of the fraylte of our nature in his carnall flesshely parte for the paynes that he knewe wel shulde precede / and go before dethe. And y^e peyne doth our sensualyte / and our car­nall parte / alway abhorre / & feare naturally: all though in some per­sones more / and some lesse. For you may se in experyence / that some ꝑ­sones ben redy to swone or talme / [Page] yf they se an other ꝑsone sore woū ­ded / blede, or put vnto great pey­nes / & some done shake for feare / whā they here tell howe some other persones shal be racked, and strey­ned. And some persones wyll ab­horre to loke vpon the instrumen­tes, or ingyns of tourmentrye: as chyldren whan they se the rodde, or whyppe. Deth therfore is nat to be feared / nor dredde for any peyne that is therin. Many done dye, & departe this lyfe: nat onely (as we sayd) without peyne / but also with desyre, and pleasure. Which thyng we haue before,Probacy on by reason. proued by auctory­te / and good reason / wyll conclude the same. For yf peyne be in dethe / that peyne muste nedely be / other in the body, or in the soule. But in the body (at the poynte of dethe) is no peyne. For than ben all the sen­ses and wyttes of the body: wher­by he shulde feale peyne or pleasu­re [Page] / gone and departed: & the bodye than in suche case (as for fealynge peyne) as whan it is full dede. And as vnto y^e soule / deth is nat peyne­full but rather pleasant, and ioy­full / as a person that long had ben in prison / and then were sodenly loused and put at lyberte.De bono mortis. For (as saynt Ambrose sayth. The soule is in prison / whyle it is in the body, & therfore is it glad to be delyuered by deth. And to saye trothe, whan the poynt of deth approcheth and draweth nere bothe the partes (in maner) ben glad to deꝑte in soūdre / that is to saye,Maro­wse they cal in the coūte [...] .ii. housbād men that done tyll their lāde together the soule from the body / & the body from the soule / as by example of .ii. marowes or .ii. suche persones that muste nede la­bour bothe together vnto such an effecte / & purpose / as can nat come to pas and be fulfylled by one of them alone / then at nyght, or when theyr purpose is ended, they ben [Page] gladde,wher the tone is nat able therūto alone without helpe to depart vnto theyr owne propre whomes, logynges and places. So is it of the soule, and the body / that here as .ii. marowse or mates done labour to gether as in an exyle or straunge countrey (for as saynt Paule sayth) non habemꝰ hic ciuitatem manentem / we haue nat here (sayth he) any cytie or dwellynge place / and whan that labour of them bothe to gether hathe ful­fylled the course of nature vnto the periode / & poynt assygned of god / than done they gladly depart eue­ryche towarde his propre whome / that is, the bodye vnto the erthe, from whens it came.Gene. iii. d. And the soule vnto heuyn / except it be letted with any synne, which may neuer entre into heuen. Thus haue we proued vnto you bothe by auctoryte and by reason / that in deth is no peyne, and so that no feare shulde be ta­ken of any, or for any suche peyne. [Page] yet shall I go forther, and proue y^e same by experyence.Probacyon by ex­peryence For lady expe­ryence hath shewed oftymes / vnto many persones, that in dethe is no peyne. For some persones haue ben in traunce / that for the tyme haue had a large experyence of dethe / whan the body was so desolate of the soule / y^t the body felt nothynge ne any thynge perceyued by any of the senses, or wyttes / and yet hath the soule (in the same tyme) sene / & perceyued the state of heuen, hell, or any other place.ii. Cor. xii. a. Saynt Paule was so in suche rapte / y^t he coulde nat tell him selfe whether the soule was in his bodye, or nat. And that was a large and nere experyence of dethe / but yet nother he, ne any of those so takyn in traūce, or rapt / haue made any mencyon of any peyne in theyr rapte: ergo there is no peyne in deth. Swonynge also or talmynge / is (in maner) a dethe / [Page] syth the body (for that tyme) is des­tytute / and voyde of all the wyttes and some in suche swones, talmes, done expyre, dye, and departe this lyfe. yet those that done suruyue / recouer, & lyue agayne / done euy­dently shewe what peyne they had, or suffred / that so departed in theyr swone, or talme / but they confesse / and say playnly: they felte no ma­ner of payne / but rather a greate ease of all peynes: ergo in dethe is no peyne. Some ꝑsones also haue expyred and dyed slepynge (which I doubt nat) shulde haue ben wa­ked, yf a pynne or a nedell had ben thraste, or put through theyr eares or yf fyre had brent theyr fynger / ergo no peyne in deth. Let vs yet go vnto a forther experyence of deth.Io. xi. d. Lazare brother to Magda­lene and Martha (as the Gospell sheweh) was dede .iiii. dayes, and yet reysed by our sauyour (& many [Page] haue ben reysed by myracle. I knewe, and spake with one suche my selfe. But nothynge haue I herde / or redde of any peyne that any of them suffre in dethe / ergo, no peyne in deth,Amb. de bonomo [...] tis & .ii.li. de Cain et Abel. cap. x. and so doth saynt Ambrose plainly / affyrm in a boke that he wrote of the goodnes and profyte of dethe. The feare (sayth he) that the frayle persones haue of dethe / is rather by y^e opinyon that they conceyue of deth / then for the selfe deth. Bycause they haue sene, or herd tell of many great paynes, syckenesses, and passyons y^t many done suffre before theyr dethe / and that causeth theyr frayle flesshe to abhorre,De bona mortis. cap. viii. and to lothe deth / bycause of those peynes and greues. And specyally suche persones as haue a loue inordynate vnto the vayne pleasures of this present lyfe. And those also, that ī a whole body, haue a sycke soule / & foyled conscyence & [Page] moste done they feare dethe, that halte and ben faynte in the faythe. And no meruayle thoughe suche maner of persons do feare,In tus­vbi sup. & drede deth. For (as y^e lerned Cicero sayth) yf theyr lyfe had nothynge cōmyt­ted ne done / that were to be feared, they shulde of dethe haue no drede: wyse men done feare synne, whiche is the acte / and dede of quycke, and nat of dede persones.De bono mortis. vt supra. We shulde (sayth saynt Ambrose) feare & drede our life / the actes and dedes wher­of, done appertayne and belonge vnto our selfe / and ben ī our owne power and at our owne will / & nat feare dethe y^t is nother in our wyll, ne power. For whether we wyll or nat: that is / wyll we, nyll we expi­re / and dye / nedely we must.De remedis for [...]u it coru & Cice. vbi supra. Than (as we sayd before) as the wyse mā Seneke saythe / it is great foly to feare and drede that thynge / that by no meane maye be escaped ne [Page] auoyded. And who so euer wyll re­mayne in suche feare or drede,Cicero vbi sup. shal neuer lyue in quietude and rest of mynde. Wyse men sayeth Cicero / done nat feare dethe / but rather done they contemne, dispyse dethe / & set nought therby / which thynge doutbles, doth moch auayle, ꝓfet,In tusc. vbi sup. cōfort, & strength any person whan so euer deth shall approche, drawe nere, and happe vnto hym / specy­ally if he be a feythfull christyane.Cicero vbi sup. For who so euer nat onely bycause deth is necessarye, and can nat be auoyded / but also bycause that in deth is nothyng to be feared / doth dispyse & set nought by deth / that person / sayeth he / shall for a surete haue a great succoure and helpe, here to lyue quietly / and whan the tyme shall come, to receyue dethe gladly / and after this present lyfe ioyfully to lyue / and blessedlye.

❧ Note here howe great courage [Page] and conforte this pagane gyueth men, to dispyse / and nothynge to feare dethe. Well syr, say you / this is soone sayd, or soone spoken. But yet is nat dethe so soone dispysed / ne so lyghtly set at nought. For we se, & beholde many men / that shuld haue stronge hertes, & more bold­nes than we women, and such also that ben taken, & supposed for wyse & well lerned men / that ben moche affrayde of deth. Ah good systers / you muste consydre and call vnto mynde / that men ben made of the same metall, that women ben / and y^t amonge them some ben as feynte herted as women / & therfore take no hede vnto them.Cicero ī tuscu. vt supra. For althoughe a bolde and hardye herte do moche helpe vnto the contempte, and dis­pisynge of dethe / yet maye you by the examples and counsels of holy fathers / ingender & make in your selfe a more stronge boldnes and [Page] hardynesse spirytuall therunto / & specially by conforte and counsell of holy scripture / whiche, as a phi­sicyon, dothe cure y^e feynt and feble hertes, withdraweth all vayne & frutles cures and cares / and de­lyuereth the frayle herte / from the delectable poyson of all worldly & flesshely pleasures / and so putteth awaye all feare and drede.Vbi sup. Reason also, as they said Cicero saith, doth nat lytle auayle vnto the cōtempte of dethe, whiche as it were by cer­tayne preceptes, or reules doth cō ­firme / & reyse up the feynt cowar­douse herte. But aboue & beyonde all thinges, whole and pure fayth, stronge and stedfast hope and per­fecte feruent charyte / done moste helpe thereunto. For these do nat onely exyle, exclude, and putte a­waye all feare and drede of dethe with the moost hyghe contempte therof / but also done ingendre and [Page] gette a feruent couetous desyre of dethe.Philip. 1.c. Saynt Paule vnto wytnes sayenge. Cupio dissolui, et essem cū Christo / I couet, sayeth he, and de­syre / to be dissolued and departed from this lyfe, to be with Chryste / for faythe dothe teche, assure, and gyue certayne knowledge of an other lyfe to come after this lyfe which shall be more pleasaūt with­out cōparacyon, than this lyfe is. For to say trouth in this lyfe is no maner of pleasure,Amb. lib. ii. de. Caī [...]t Abel. [...]api. x. Augusti. Catho. without some maner of passyon or payne goynge before, or folowynge after. And therfore saynt Augustyne sayet / it shulde rather be called a deth than a lyfe / & contrarye this deth shulde be called lyfe / because it is the ende of all dethes (y^t is to saye) the ende of al myseryes / all sorowes, all syc­kenesses, all diseases, all troubles / all paynes whiche in them selfe ben dethes. [...]mbrosi s de b o [...]o mor­tis. capi-viii. et. Boetius de cooso­latione. i. i. Cor. xv And also because it is nat onely y^e ende of all euylles / but also [Page] the begynnynge of all that is good as of all felicyte, ioye, gladnes, cō ­forth, and pleasure / & of lyfe euer­lastynge. For as by this wretched lyfe is one passage vnto dethe / so by this dethe / is oure retourne vnto lyfe / for yf we shulde neuer expyre and dye / we shulde neuer ryse to lyfe agayne. And yf we ne­uer ryse, we shuld neuer be rewar­ded in our bodyes / for y^e great mi­seryes & paynes that we done here suffre in them for the loue of god.i. Cor. xv And if that were true / than were we, as saynt Paule sayeth / in more myserable state, and in wors case than any other people. But our faythe doth make vs sure and cer­tayne of resurrectiō, where we say. Carnis resurrectionem / that is to say, I beleue the resurrexion of our flesshe and bodyes / as in our com­mune Crede. Hope also doth helpe moche vnto the dispysyng of deth. [Page] For whan a person hath full fayth that god maye and can do all that he wyll / & that he is of suche good­nes that he dothe loue vs all: than doth hope folowe that faythe / and so dothe verely trust and byleue to haue (after or in the sayd resurrexi­on) euerlastyng rewarde, and that rewarde shall be good and plea­saunt, ioyouse and confortable. It shall be a great rewarde, as moche as may be desyred or gyuen / it shal be all god hym selfe. And this re­warde than muste nedely cause a great loue, that is charyte, & very charyte / and loue dothe nat onely dispyse deth / but also causeth a fer­uent desyre therof. Here some per­so [...]es done saye syr / yf we were cer­t [...] and sure of that rewarde after [...] deth / we shuld set lytle by deth, and be content and glad to depart: wherunto I saye, that all we may be sure therof, yf we wyll our selfe. [Page] For our lorde hath frely gyuen vs that grace,Augusti. that we may wyll and so wyllynge & disposynge our selfe therunto: he may nat of iustyce / ne wyll of his goodnes withholde it from vs.Diuus Thoma. i. sent. That rewarde thā he or­deyned and promysed vnto them that loue hym / & done worke there after. Well syr say you, it is harde so well to worke in this lyfe / that we may come vnto that rewarde without payne, after this lyfe: and that payne is it / that feareth vs more, than dothe the payne of deth / and causeth vs to be so lothe to dye, and departe hens. For we wolde lyue lenger to amende our lyfe, and to do penaunce to auoyde or (at the least) to minysshe & make lesse that payne. Vnto this I saye true penaunce done for the loue of god / may as well in short tyme as in longe, auoyde or minysshe that payne / as is euydent in hym that [Page] hange by our sauyour on the crosse vnto whom he sayde. ♣ Hodie me­cum eris in Paradiso. Thys day shalt thou be with me in paradyse: it is than nother the longe tyme: nor the short: nor yet the penaunce that dothe put away: or make lesse that payne of it selfe: but the loue of god / for whose sake that penaū ­ce is done, and that loue may be in a persone feruente in shorte tyme as well as in longe / and all the penaunce that is done,Grego. probatio a mortis. is no­thynge but a profe of that loue / & so as longe as we byde in this cor­ruptyble sory bodye we must loue / and euer proue that loue by conty­nuall penaunce and good werkes forsakynge all synne. For els is all the penaunce & the workes voyde and loste. But yet foloweth nat therof that we shulde desyre longe lyfe ne shorte, but as he wyll. For to gyue vnto god frely, fully, and [Page] holly our wyll / so that we haue no wyll but his, is the greattest gyfte y^t we can gyue vnto god, and the thynge y^t he chefely requireth & de­syreth of vs / for he doth nat desyre our affliction ne penaūce / but gyue me saith he thyne hert: & that suffy­seth me. Than so to gyue vnto him y^e thynge y^t he fyrst gaue frely vnto vs: that is fre wyll, is y^t thyng that may best auoyde or make lesse that payne. And so to say, thynke, & wyl that yf he wolde haue vs longer in payne / we shulde consent and wyll so to be / & yet forther, we shuld ra­ther chuse & desyre payne ꝑpetuall after his wyl: thā ioy euerlastyng, contrarye vnto his wyll. And this wil may be had ī fewe yeres & shore tyme. To wyll than,Marcu. trism [...]g. ad E [...]l [...] pium. and to desyre to be with god / by longe or shorte payne or withoute any payne, as beste shall please hys gracyous goodnes / is the best meane, nexte [Page] remedy and moost sure waye to a­uoyde, fle, and to minysshe payne / and in that wyll (without feare, & drede of deth / or rather dispysynge deth) to tary, byde / & in euery thing to suffre his wyll & pleasure / euer redy for dethe, and lokynge euery houre for deth, with feruēt desyre / and wysshe to be with hym, and to abyde here / for nothynge, but only for hym / so y^t he be (as saynt Paule sayth) all our lyfe / and deth (for his sake) be vnto vs lucre,Phil. i. gaynes, wynnynge and auauntage. The pagane Cicero sayeth,In Tus. that a wyse man wyll neuer feare dethe. The reason why is: that deth by reason of vncertayne chaūces, doth dayly and hourely fall happye, & sodenly come vnto euery sorte / degre, and maner of ages / and also because of the shortnes of our lyfe, dethe can nat be longe absent from vs. For (as saynt Ambrose sayeth) we may [Page] be in certente: that yf we lyue very longe: yet shall we dye shortly.De bono mortis. ca. i. & ix. For the longest of our lyues, is very shorte / and specially, yf we compa­re it vnto the longe life of eternite: than is it nothynge nat so moche: as one mote vnto the whole erthe / yet the commune people, whan a yonge person departeth doth saye: oh alas,Vbi su. it is pytie that such a ꝑson shuld dye thus, and departe before his tyme / but hereunto he doth an­swere. Before the tyme, sayeth he / what tyme done they meane? other that tyme that they wolde set and desyre: or els that tyme that god hathe determyned and appoynted? If they meane theyr tyme, I wyll nat dispute ne reason with them. But if they meane goddes tyme / than wyll I saye / that almyghtye god dothe nat gyue lyfe vnto any ꝑson for euer / as his owne thyng: but rather dothe lende it. As dette to [Page] be payde, whā so euer it shalbe ax­ed, and nat at any certayne day ap­pointed / and as the detter may vse the dette so lent, whyle he hathe it / and yet hath no wronge, although it be axed soner than he wolde, or yet than he supposed. So in lyke maner god hath lent euery person lyfe, but he poynted no daye whan he wyll axe and haue it agayne / & that he dyd bycause he wolde that man shulde be alway redy to paye, whan so euer he were called vpon. Howe than may any person com­playne or grudge, whā so euer he is taken by deth / syth he receyued life by that condicyon. yet syr sayd they / the credytour and lender is called harde, that calleth for the dette be­fore the borower haue any gaynes, or profet therof / & so done we thīke that god dealeth hardely with the yonge persones / because he taketh theyr lyfe, before they haue any [Page] pleasure thereof. Hereto nowe (saye I) they done suppose (by er­roure) that is nothynge trewe / that is, that in this lyfe shulde be pleasure / whiche in very dede well consydered, is contrarye (that is to say) displeasure, payne, miserie, wo, and dethe. And therfore those per­sones that come to dethe in theyr youthe / ben moch bounde to thāke our lorde: that hath delyuered thē from those incommodytes and mi­seryes, that they shulde haue had and suffred in lenger lyuynge. And here the cōmune people suppose an other great errour, that is / y^t longe lyfe shulde be good and pleasaunt, where in dede longe lyfe taketh a­waye all maner of goodes & plea­sures of this lyfe / that is to say, the goodes of fortune / as landes, pos­sessyons, golde, syluer, and other goodes, and cattell. For age in longe life spendeth all / and getteth [Page] nothynge. It taketh away also the senses and wyttes of man / as hea­rynge,Cicero vbi sup syght, smellynge, tastynge, and touchyng / with the other goo­des of nature: as youthe, strength, beaute, and agilyte / nymlesse and quickenes. And yet the goodes that ben more precyous and dere than al these: that is to say, memo­rye, and remembraunce / reason & vnderstandynge, connynge, and knowlege / & maketh many tymes the wyll frowarde. And doth ren­dre and make whole man, bothe in soule and body: full dull in deuo­cyon and in all maner of goodnes and vertue, wherfore the wysman sayd.Ec. vi. b. Better is he and more happy that dyeth at the mothers wombe forthwith after his byrth / than is he y^t lyueth longe. No person ther­fore of any age hath wrōge by deth for euery person (by y^e lawe of syn̄e) is in the fyrste day of byrthe, or ra­ther [Page] in the fyrst day of lyfe mortall and subdued vnto deth / and in the fyrste daye of lyfe, euery person be­gynneth to dye.Augusti. And therfore is it nat agayne the lawe for any persō to dye at any tyme, yonge or olde. Let vs therfore (good deuout chry­styanes) put clene away and vtter­ly exyle this frayle and fals opiny­on of deth / and let vs thynke vere­ly, and beleue / that in dethe is no wrōge, but all ryght: no payne, but great pleasure,In tus. vbi sup. all good & nothyng euyll. For (as the oftsayde Cicero sayth) howe may that thyng be vn­to any person euyll, and hurt? that almyghty god hath ordayned vn­to all persones indifferentlye / for theyr good and profet: and as the ende of all euyles? Good lorde, thā howe curragyously & gladly shuld that iourney and voyage be inter­prysed & taken / whiche ones made and finysshed no care, ne woo / no [Page] thought ne busynes / no turmoyle, ne trouble, no stryfe ne debate / no payne, ne disease / no vexacyon, ne displeasure may remayne ne folow but vnto them that well hope / shal wel happe / what tyme so euer they go. But yet ben they most happye / and gracyouse, that (in state of sal­uacyon) done dye, and departe this lyfe, in theyr youthe / and strength. For vnto them (immedyately after theyr deth, must nedely folowe one of these twayne (that is) that they must go streyght way vnto heuyn: or els vnto payne. If they go vnto payne / than the soner they dye / & the shorter tyme they lyue: the lesse there, and the shorter tyme shall be theyr payne. And ouer that they shall haue the greattest comforde that any creature may haue beyng out of heuyn. For the whiche com­forde to be had: any faythfull per­son wold be glad to suffre any ma­ner [Page] of most cruell & horryble payne or passyon (that is to say) surety of saluacyon.Sāctus Thoma. iiii. sent. di. xv. q. .iii. ar. l. For all y^e soules beynge in payne ben cōmunely sure, & cer­tayne of theyr saluacyon, that whā theyr penaunce is paste, and theyr synnes purged / they knowe for certente they shal go into heuen vnto euerlastynge ioy and comfort. But remembre that I sayde / they ben communely sure & certayne of sal­uacyon. For it may be, y^e some one, or fewe soules haue nat that knowledge / but that god (for some specy­all offence / and for a speciall payne & punysshement therof) doth hyde, & kepe that knowledge from them, as we haue in the reuelacyons of our holy mother saynte Byrget. And that payne is more alone, thā all the paynes of the other soules. For that sure knowledge of salua­cyon,Live. vi. c. xxxix. [...]. is vnto them a synguler con­fort in all paynes, and dothe cause [Page] them to suffre y^e paynes with good wyll in y^e charyte of our lorde: glad to suffre moche more at his gracy­ous wyll and pleasure. If those that departe this lyfe, go streyght vnto heuyn: than ben they ferre more happye that from the misery­es of this wretched worlde: they be come vnto the pleasaunt possession of so great vnspekeable ioye. For you may be sure it is an excellente ioye, to be there in companye with the pure virgynes, the holy confes­sours / the gloryous martyrs / di­uyne apostles, sage patryarches / bryght shynynge aungels / and the virgyn mother our blessyd Lady, and all these to se and beholde with our reuerende lord, and souerayne sauyour Iesu Chryst / And all be­fore the presence of the blessyd Tri­nyte / father son & holy ghost, there prayenge all for vs, and lowly be­sechinge y^t hygh mageste eterne, & [Page] euerlasting god. For al mākynd I thīke & verely beleue y^t any faithful christiane, wold be glad to expire & suffre dethe euery day newely / if it were possible, & oftimes in y^e day, so he were sure y^t he therby myght at­teyne & come vnto y^e pleasure / why thā (nowe I speke w^t stomake) why for shame, shuld we as cowardes or chyldren fere & drede deth? specially sith deth is nothīg, but like vnto a slepe. For y^e old philosophours said y^t slepe was a very ymage of deth: & as one mā may knowe an other by his ymage althogh he had neuer se ne hī before:ii. Mac. xii. Iohā. xi. Iob. so may we know what deth is by y^e ymage, which is slepe: & so is it called also ī scripture ī di­uers places, & our sauiour him selfe said: y^e lazarꝰ slept whā he was ded / & deth also is called a shadow / but you ꝑceyue wel & se, y^t folkes bē nat afrayde of a shadow, nor yet of step nother. For oftimes we slepe w^t our [Page] feare or drede, and without any payne or grefe / but rather with de­syre and pleasure / why shulde we than feare dethe syth we so euydēt­ly done [...]e & per [...]eyue by the ymage howe lytle dethe is to be drede / let vs therfore put awaye this opiny­onatyue feare and drede of dethe / and syth it dothe dayly approche & wayte for vs: let vs agayne with glad mynde and redye good wyll, abyde and wayte for it, and haue therof a thurst and a desyre / rather than any feare or drede: howe be it (of a suretye) dethe is than lest fea­red and most desyred: whan y^e lyfe of the persone / may (at the tyme of deth) be of sure and vnfayned god­ly frendes / conforted with the true testymonye and prayse of vertue / wherfore (good deuoute chrysty­nes) althoughe your reason & ler­nynge be nat sufficyent to cause or to perswade you / vtterly to dispyse [Page] deth / yet let your well spente lyfe & clere conscyence, perfourme and so satisfie you that you be perswaded: and verely beleue as a trothe euy­dent and opyn vnto you / that to lyue lenger were more miserye / & that your lyfe hath be verey longe or rather ouerlonge. If it had pleased our lorde: before and erste to haue called you. Thus now (good Chrystianes) let vs without any care of deth, leaue the carnall mournynge, and waylynge therof / vnto our suruyuyng frendes / that with lamentacyon / and shal inteere and burye our bodyes. And let vs take an other maner of care and dily­gence / to prepare, apparell, and to order our selfe vnto that thynge y^t we knowe well, no persone shall a­uoyde nor escape / byleuynge and trustyng verely, that he that made vs of nought / and whan we were lost, wold so derely bye vs agayne / [Page] wyll nat suffre vs to dye. But ra­ther (as I sayd before) to chaunge this wretched lyfe, for an other more precyous and ioyful / & onely to be desyred. All this hytherto ha­ue I sayde to the intente that you shulde exyle, exclude, and put away ferre from you, the commune feare full fantasye of the odious opiny­on of deth / and somwhat to ingen­dre, and bylde in you a contrarye opinyon. A couetous desyre to be with our lorde. Amen.

❧ Nowe shall folowe the seconde parte of this interpryse / of the dayly exercyse and expe­ryence of deth.
❧ Of the exercyse and experyence of dethe. The seconde parte of this interpryse.

FIrst you must knowe, what is exercyse / and what is ex­perynce / & howe by them you may come vnto the knowledge of deth. An exercyse (than) is an acte dede & an vse of workynge or laborynge. Than done you exercyse vertue,Defini. of exerci­ce. whan you put it vnto vse and workyng therof, & the exercyse of deth / is the acte and vse of the workyng therof.Defini. of expe­ryence. i. Meth. Experyence is a knowledge that without any maister or techer is founde out and gotyn, by exer­cyse and vse.Ibidem. And by many expery­ences sayeth Aristotle arte / crafte or connynge is ingendred and go­tyn, so y^t experiēce (as he sayth) doth apꝑtayne & by long proprely vnto singulare ꝑsones & art craft or cō ­nyng vnto al ꝑsōes. And although that artcraft or connyng y^t is called speculatyue may be had by lerning of a techer, or by dylygent studye / yet this arte or craft that we speke [Page] of here must nedely be had, by experyence / and experyence, by exercyse and vse. So that yf you wyll haue the actyue knowledge of dethe / by the arte and crafte therof, you must begynne fyrste at exercyse and vse. And yet can no man put a thynge vnto exercyse / without some intro­duction and leadynge therunto / other by techynge, studye, or natu­rall disposicyon. you muste than knowe fyrst what the thing is that you shall put in exercyse / and so to haue experyence, and knowledge therof (y^t is to say) you must knowe what dethe is / or what is ment by this terme, or worde dethe. For the selfe terme deth dothe signifye / and is taken dyuersly ī dyuers maners Somtyme dethe is taken, & called a chaunge of lyfe. So the cōmune people done often vse it, as whan they say of a deed person / he is nat deed (say they) out he hathe chaun­ged [Page] his lyfe / and so dothe saynte Ambrose say, as we shewed before.De bono mortis. And yet chaunge of lyfe is called deth in dyuers other maners. As whan a person dothe fall by synne frō good lyfe vnto the state of damnacyon or contrary / whan he doth aryse by grace from synne vnto the state of saluacyon.Ro. vi. [...], Saynt Paule dothe shewe bothe vnto the Ro­maynes / as whā he sayeth that in our baptysme we ben buryed with Chryst vnto deth from synne / and we byleue we shall aryse agayne with Chryste vnto a newe lyfe of grace.Rom. i. [...] And for the tother parte he sayeth, that occasyon hathe decey­ued the frayle person / and so hathe slayne hym, & brought him to deth. This chaunge of life is,Augusti. that spiry­tuall dethe / that (as saynt Augus­tyne sayeth) doth departe god from the soule. For god is the lyfe of the soule / & whan god than is (by syn̄e) [Page] departed there from, the soule is deed. And this is the deth onely to be feared & abhorred / as the worste dethe of all dethes / and yet to saye trouthe, there is none other dethe euyll / except onely that dethe that must nedely folowe this deth / that is to say, the deth of both body and soule eterne and euerlastyng dam­nacyon. The other maner of dethe: that I spake of / that is: the chaūge of euyll lyfe vnto good / Rom. vl. and of the whiche (as I sayde) saynt Paule wrote vnto y^e Romanes: is a good deth / whiche you and euery fayth­full persone haue exercysed and oft put in vse, by reason of the holy sa­cramentes. And whan nede shal requyre, ben redy so to do / whan I speke here of euyll lyfe to be chaū ­ged: I meane nat the state onely of mortall or deedly synne. For many persones, that ofte done vse the sacramētes / done lyue without [Page] any deedly synne / but I meane the lyfe spotted w^t any vyce or synne.Mercu. trismeg. For a great clerke sayeth. Omne [...]onū nostrū, mixtum est cū malo. Euery thinge good that is ours / & doth appertayne vnto vs, is mixed or myngled w^t euyll. So that our whole lyfe, is euer mixed, coupled, & cumbred with some vise & euyll / which natwithstandynge may (by the grace of y^e sacramentes) be day­ly purged, and so our life chaūged / and we therby haue y^e exercyse, vse, & experyence of this deth. But yet is there an other maner of deth called of lerned mē, meditatio mortis / that is to meane y^e meditacion (that is to saye) the cogytacyon, thought and remembraunce / the busynes, tractacyon or intreatye, mencyon, & disputacyon of dethe. Tota vita philosophorum, meditatio mortis est. All the whole lyfe of philoso­phers: and wyse men (saye they) is [Page] the cōmentacyon, remembraunce, & mencyon or disputacyon of deth / oft mencyon, remēbraunce / oft dis­putacyon, and discussyon of any thyng doth cause it to be the better knowen.Cicero. Macer. libro. i. de somno Sipiōis. Eras. in Enchr. And men cōmunely wyll make oft mencion, speke, and talke often of that thyng wherunto they haue desyre, loue, or haue good mynde and affection. And cōtrarye they wyl nat here tell of that thyng that they hate, and loue nat: and so is it of many persones that wyll nat here speke, ne any mencyon made of deth. And yf (by chaunce) any mencyon be made of dethe a­gayne theyr myndes and wylles / they wyll lyfte vp the hande and blesse them, or els murmure out softly: some supersticyous prayers as though they harde speke of the deuyll / or of some abhomynable & cruell dede. And certaynly it is no meruayle thoughe suche persones [Page] be affrayde to dye, and lothe ther­unto / because they be nat acquoyn­ted with deth, nor be exercysed ther in. But as (in case) a person y^e longe tyme had layne fetred in prysone / coulde nat for lacke of exercyse go faste, ne renne whan he were newly put vnto lyberte / so these maner of persones, wrapped in the worlde / & fetred in y^e flesshe / can nat quycke­ly and couragyouslye for lacke of experyence: walke the way of deth, whiche natwithstādyng they must nedely trede / & passe whether they wyll or no. Lacke (I say) of exercyse vse, and experyence / causeth these persones to feare and drede dethe. As by example, chyldren and some women, or such ꝑsones neuer had experiēce ne knowledge of a bugge that is a personage, that in playe dothe represent the deuyll at y^e fyrst syght / ben moche affrayde therof: in so moche that some ꝑsones haue [Page] ben in ieoꝑdye to lose theyr wytte & reasō therby. But whā they after­ward haue knowledge what it was & by vse haue experiēce therof: they ben than nothyng affrayde therof, but rather done take pleasure ther in. So is it of them y^t haue nat the experiēce of deth / bycause they will nat take, but rather wyll they fle / & auoyde / y^e vse & exercise therof. But & yf they knewe what / & how great profet there is in y^e exercyse / medi­tacyon & oft recorde: & remēbraūce of dethe: they wolde nat fle nor a­uoyde it: but rather with studye & diligence gyue & applye them selfe dayly therunto.Ec. i. d. Psalmꝰ. xxxviii. The wysemā saith. Fili memorare nouissima tua. &c. In al thy werkes sone (sayth he) remembre thy laste ende / and thou shalte neuer offende god. The prophete therfore prayde vnto our lorde sayenge. Notum fac mihi domine finem meum. Good lorde [Page] (sayeth he) let me haue knowledge of my last ende, as though he sayd. Good lorde gyue me grace that (by the dayly exercyse, and meditacyō of deth) I may haue an experyence and knowledge of my last ende: & euermore to be redy therunto / ac­cordyng vnto thy wyll & pleasure. Nothyng is more valyaunt to ex­pell and put awaye synne from the soule: nor yet more profytable to replenyssh & garnysshe the soule with good vertues: then is the dayly ex­ercyse, & meditacyon of dethe. But howe to put & apply them selfe vn­to that exercyse, all ꝑsones can nat tell. For many that fayne wolde haue and vse the meditacyon and exercyse of deth: haue nat the way, ne knowe any fourme or fassyon therof. And yet ben there dyuers fourmes and wayes therof and all good. For some persones:One maner of ex­ercyse of dethe. Tho. done go no forther, but to remembre [Page] and thynke that deth is the payne of syn̄e inflycted, iudged & appoynted by almyghtye god, vnto our fyrst parentes: and therfore due & ryght vnto all theyr posteryte, fo­lowers, and of sprynge: so that no man after them dyd euer escape deth / ne neuer man shall, vnto the day of generall iudgement: & ther­fore sure it is that we must dye: but whan or howe we can nat tell. To haue therfore a dayly exercyse of deth. I shall set you here .ii. four­mes of this exercyse.An other fourme or maner of the ex­ercyse of dethe. The fyrste fourme is this that in some conue­nyent tyme of the day or nyght ap­poynted and chosen for this exer­cyse: you shall ymagyne, call vnto remembraunce and so set forth be­fore the eyes & syght of your soule: howe you haue sene or herde of a person that hathe ben condemned by iudgement, vnto bodely dethe: as to be brent, hanged, or heded, or [Page] suche other. Than saye or thynke vnto your selfe: what and if I were in suche case: as that person was I knowe well, and knowledge vnto our lorde: y^t I haue deserued more cruel dethe (for euery deedly synne, is worthy more payne / than any worldly payne) or els yf you were in suche case as you haue dremed in your slepe, or herde of dremyng / that you shulde forthwith go vnto the execucyon of deth, without re­medye: howe than wolde I do / or howe shulde I then, or were boūde to do for the saluacion of my soule / or yf euer you haue sene or herde of the maner of them that ben nere vnto theyr passage / & lye drawyng vpon vnto deth. And the people a­bout some wepynge & mournyng / some cryenge, and callynge vpon the sycke / to remēbre our lorde god and our moste swete sauyour Iesu Christ / our blessyd lady with other [Page] holy sayntes. And remembre howe y^e sycke is than cōbred with sycke­nes and payne: so y^t he can do lytle for hym selfe / all weke, feble, & in­firme. And howe than, the ghostly enemye the deuyll wolde prese: and come in before you w^t a foule sorte of vgsum souldiours / & assayle you in many sōdry wyse / lay before you the multytude of your synnes & all your omyssyons of suche good de­des as you might haue done / wherof you were neglygent, and all to brynge you vnto dispeyre of your saluacyon: & that you shulde leaue your faythe / and haue no hope ne trust of mercy. Thā remēbre what cōfort it shulde be vnto you at that tyme / y^t you had prepared & made redy before hande for all these ma­ters / & howe oftymes you had sene in your soule all this conclusyon: & howe often you had reasynge vp your frayle hert dispysed deth and [Page] nothyng set therby / & how you had apointed / to beleue y^t ī deth is none euyll but great good / and that you thā shuld make an ende of al myse­ry & shortly cōe vnto a better state. Thā begyn to say vnto your selfe. I wil now ī helth study, & exercise my selfe w^t this fourme: & specially how I shal answere y^e lothly best y^e fēde. I wyl now ī this tyme p̄sent: for y^e tyme of deth y^t nedely shall cōe / left vp my hādes & hert vnto my lord / & besech him of grace & succour / & thā wil I besech y^e good blessed lady mother of mercy: my good angel w^t my holy patrōs there namyng such saintes as you haue in most synguler deuocyon: & all y^e holy sayntes of heuen, to be there p̄sent with me to ayde, confort, & to strēgth me a­gayne y^t cruel best. And as vnto my syn̄es say you I haue gadred them al togeder (as ferre as I can remē ­bre) & brought thē vnto y^e slon there to be polysshed, rubbed, & scoured [Page] (that stone is the holy sacrament of penaunce) that by the merytes of Chrystes precyous blode / hathe wasshed awaye my synne. For I knowe well that one drope alone of that most holy sacred blod, were sufficyent, and ynoughe / and ferre more than ynoughe / to wasshe and clense all the synne of the worlde / and yet shed he all his blode euery drope. And therfore (nowe at this tyme for and in stede of that tyme: I put y^e precyous blode with his bytter passyon and his most cruel / and shamefull deth / bytwene me & all the synnes that euer I dyd in thought, worde, or dede, & betwexe me and his wrath and displeasure. And hauynge full fayth and trust vnto his promyse (that is) that he wyll gracyously receyue all peny­tentes vnto mercy: I now for then boldly prouoke the and deffye the most cruell and false fende, and I [Page] straytely charge y^e in his holy bles­sed name Iesu: that if you haue any thinge to lay vnto my charge: shewe it nowe: tell it out. For thou shalt nother confoūde, ne feare me / nor yet disconforde me therwith / but rather do me great pleasure to put me in remembraunce.

❧ If I haue forgoten to confesse any thynge worthy penaunce / that I may nowe (vnto thy confusyon / shewe it and with the wyll at the lest) & desyre of perfect contricyon, and with indignacyon: I may cast it at thy face amonge all the other synnes y^t euer I dyd by any mea­nes / whiche synnes I vtterly for­sake, as nothynge appertaynynge vnto me. For I am gracyously ba­thed, wasshed, and clensed in the precyous blode of my souerayne sauyour Iesu Chryst. And therfore I bequethe and commytte all my synne, vnto the cruell best / the au­ctor [Page] & begynner of all synne: with the to remayne from whēs it came and whether it shall / in the & with the eternally to be punysshed. And than leauyng him there: turne vn­to our lorde god, & vnto our swete sauyour Iesu. And as yf you were than, at the poynt of deth / axe hym hertely forgyuenes of all your of­fenses / and beseche his goodnes of mercy and grace, & pray y^e sayntes (as I sayd before) to pray for you, and than (yf you be goynge vnto rest, whiche tyme is most conuen­yent for this exercise) blesse you thus In manus tuas cōmendo spiritū meum: redemisti me domine deus veritatis. In nomine patris & filii, & spiritus sācti. Amen. Makynge a crosse w^t a holy candell yf you haue it present, after the maner that you haue / ī your boke for housholders. And thus do .iii. tymes together / and so go vnto reste as you shulde [Page] go vnto your grace. This exer­cyse (good deuout soules) is nat to be dispysed / for by dayly vse and custome / it shall ingēdre and bylde in you a great boldnes, and hardy­nes. So that whan so euer natu­rall dethe shall approche / you shall than, nat as a woman or chyld, but as a very man / as a stronge and myghty champyon thus surely ar­med / stande styfly without feare, or drede, and lytle care / or rather set nought by deth / but vtterly dispy­se dethe, as euery houre and tyme redy therunto.An other exercyse of dethe. But nowe we shall lede you forth vnto an other exer­cyse of dethe more hygh & excellent thā this / & so to haue experyēce of y^t deth / that more proprely is called dethe / wherby you shall nat onely without fere or drede) dispyse deth, but also (as an hongrye ꝑson) you shall haue an auidiouse & gredye appetite to thurst & wyssh for deth. [Page] And with a feruent mynde, and flamynge desyre / you shall langour mourne and longe for deth. Say­enge with saynt Paule.Phi. i. c Cupio dis­solui et esse cum Christo. I couete wysshe, & wyll, to be dissolued from this presente lyfe, and to be with Chryst. In this exercyse: you shall nat onely haue the experience / and the full arte, scyence, connyng, and knowledge of dethe / but also the very practyse of dethe / so that you shall euery day (whan you wyll) be as verely deed / accordynge vnto the very definicyon of dethe. For deth (after all auctours) proprely taken is.The de­finiciō & determi­nacion of dethe. A departynge in sondre / of the soule and the bodye. To de­parte than the soule from y^e body: and to rendre and put eyther vnto his propre and naturall place / is the very practyse of deth. The pro­pre and naturall place or whome of the soule, is heuyn. Wherof saint [Page] Paule sayth.Heb. xiii. c. Non habemus hic ci­uitatem manentem, sed aliam in­quirimus: we haue here (sayeth he) no dwellyng place / but we do seke and serche for an other place.Gen. iii. c And the naturall place of the body, is y^e earth / for thens it came, and thyder it muste agayne / whā so euer than the soule (by dilygent study) is oc­cupyed wholly in heuēly thynges / and the body lefte without the sen­ses or wyttes / that is without hea­ryng, seynge, smellynge, tastynge, and touchyng / than is that person as deed. But that a person (for the state of this lyfe) may be in suche case / the philosophours done shew & determyne. Tullie sayeth.Plato. & Cicero in tusc. i. quest. Fieri potest, vt oculis, et auribus aper­tis: nihil videamus ne (que) audiamꝰ. It may come to passe (sayeth he) y^t thoughe our eyes & eares be opyn: yet shall we nother se, nor here. Many a holy person (as saynt) Ka­therine [Page] of Sene and dyuers other) hath ben so depe in contemplacion that the body (for the tyme) was w^t out the senses, so that whan they were prycked w^t pynnes, or nedles, they nothynge felte. So than this exercyse, standeth al in contempla­cyon, which thing who dayly vseth shall be so experte, and practysed in deth / that whan so euer it shall ap­proche and come, it shall be no new thyng vnto the ꝑson. For betwyxt naturall deth, and this deth of con­templacyon, is lytle difference. For as the person that exspireth and departeth this lyfe / dothe leaue and forsake all this worlde, and all the care of kynne or frendes / as father mother, syster, and brother, neygh­boure / & the whole pleasure of all. So doth the person, that is deed in cōtemplacyon for that tyme / leaue the body as a lumpe of claye with­out any mynde, care, or thoughte [Page] therupon / or vpon any other bode­ly or worldly thyng / wherfore whā dethe cōmeth (as I sayd before) it shall nother be newe, nor straunge vnto y^e person that hath ben dayly exercised therin / & that had so large experyence therof, and often prac­tysed the same. But as you haue herde of .ii. marouwse that (for tyl­lynge of theyr lande) done laboure sore all day together, and at nyght theyr labours fynished and ended / done thankefully, and gladly eche departe frō other vnto theyr owne whomes, howses, or dwelling pla­ces: so doubtles done the body and the soule, whan theyr labours ben accomplysshed and at an ende / and the due tyme commen / they done gladly and ioyfully departe, eche vnto his propre whome / the body vnto his naturall place the erthe. And the soule as a prisoner newly losed and put vnto lyberte / [Page] doth ren streyght forth hyr redye race / hyr knowen cours / hyr tryed and ofte troden path, and her well vsed way vnto her propre and na­turall place / that is heuyn. But here nowe you wyll axe of me / in what maner of contemplacion you may best put this deth in exercyse / and so to haue the said experyence / and practyse of dethe, wherunto I answere that (althoughe you can teche me that lesson better than I you) I wyll sende you vnto y^e lytle werke that I deuysed vnto youre cōmunyon, or howselynge. For to wryte and setforth all that here a­gayne, shuld be superfluous. Spe­cyally syth this werke is so lytle y^e you may (with small coste) ioyne or bynde it with that werke. And therfore haue I caused it to be prynted of y^e same volume. And yet because you shal nat fynde the ende of this lytle werke all naked and bare / we [Page] shall make you a breue and shorte remembraunce of these thynges y^t there ben sayd in effecte, althoughe nat after that same ordre.The or­der of this deth & cōtem­placion Fyrst thā purposynge at that tyme to haue the very experyence, and practyse of deth / remēbre depely from whēs you came. For you were nat, ne be of your selfe. Than remembre that whan you had a beynge / what you were / a filthy lumpe of slymy erth / and yet agayne, whan that slymye clay was fourmed and framed vp with your soule / and you a reaso­nable creature / & therunto a crea­ture most noble except aungell / yet were you but an hethen hounde / vnto y^e tyme you receyued y^e grace of baptisme. Than remēbre whan, where, howe, and of whom / and by whome you had all that you nowe haue & all that you euer shall haue that is or shall be good / and you shal fynde (by reason) and perceyue [Page] that you hadde neuer / ne haue, or shall haue any thynge of your selfe but euyll. For whan you were no­thynge, you had a begynnynge in your mothers wombe / and that by synfull generacyon with ful fylthy and lothesum mater / thus you se whan, where, and howe (that is) whā you were nat, you had beyng: where? in your mothers wombe / howe by synfull concepcyon. Of whome thā had you al, of our lorde god alone. And by whome, & what meane? Certenly by the meane of our lorde & sauyour Iesu Chryste, the seconde person in Trinite very essencyall god one / and the same selfe substaunce, and nature with the father, and the holy ghost. Se well, beholde, and consydre who it is that hathe done for you: howe excellent the person is. And than for whom he dyd. For you of whom he had no nede / nor you any thyng [Page] had or coulde or might do for him / but all he dyd for loue, and of mere charyte / and that also for his enemye / and so beynge in depe pri­son, neuer to be delyuerde, but by hym alone. Nowe consyder, and pondre well who this persone is / and than loke vpō your self make collacyon / & cōpare both together, although there may in deed, no cō ­paryson be made. yet se, & beholde howe great & mighty a ꝑson he is / how lytle, & howe infyrme & feble a ꝑson you be, howe wyse, & how well lerned he is / & howe lytle lernynge & wysdome you haue, how ryche he is: & howe poore you ben / howe ex­cellēt & noble he is, & how rustycall a vyllayne you be / howe goodly a ꝑson he is, and howe vyle & fylthy you be: how kynde & louyng he is: & howe churlysshe, & frowarde you be. And to conclude, he most hyghe god / and you a wretched worme [Page] of the earthe he all: and you ryght nought. After this collactō percey­uyng what maner of ꝑsones bothe ben: than pondre and wey, what & howe moche he dyd for you. Fyrst he left (in maner) all heuyn for you: and here toke vpon hym your na­ture / & so made you a great estate / cosyn and of kynne vnto almighty god. And yet dyd he serue here for you: nat onely .vii. yeres: as Iacob for Rachell: but for a worse & more lothsum than Lia, all the dayes of his lyfe / and here begyn to re­membre that lyfe of our sauyour. After some suche auctours as we haue named in the other workes / or at the least vnder suche a shorte fourme as we haue set forth in the boke of housholders. Thus his blessyd incarnacyon, his ioyfull byrthe / his paynefull circumsicy­on: his honorable epiphanye / his legall presentacyon / his sorowfull [Page] flyght into Egypt / his cōfortable retourne and commynge agayne in to his coūtrey / his meruaylous and lerned disputyng with the doctours at .xii. yeres of age, his lowly obedyence vnto his parentes, his educacyon & bryngynge vp vnto y^e age of nere .xxx. yeres his baptisme his fast in wyldernes / his tempta­cyon there of the wycked spiryte & his victory. The callynge eletcyon and chosynge of his apostles and discyples, prechynge, techynge, la­bours, and miracles / & his manye wrongfull repreues, rebukes / and infamyes of the iewes, and theyr malicyous awaytes / his solempe soper / his most meke minystrye / & seruyce in the wasshynge of the fete of his apostles. The worthy conse­cracyon of his blessyd body & blode in the whiche sacrament, all his a­postles were made preestes / & had the same power, his most swete ser­mon [Page] & his tediouse agonye / whan he swette water and blode / his fals betrayenge (by Iudas) and his ta­kynge his presentacyon vnto the bysshoppes Annas and Cayphas. And the cruell dealyng of the [...]ues & the presentynge of hym (by them) vnto Pylate, & by hym vnto He­rode by whom mocked and clothed in a whyte fooles cote / he was sende agayne vnto Pylate and by hym examyned, and without cause founde: put naked and scourged & arayde with a purpure garment & crowned with thornes with a rede in his hāde as a sceptre al ī mocke­age & scorne brought forthe before the iewes & by their crye, & request: put agayne into his owne clothes & condemned vnto deth his payne full beryng of the heuy crosse / his fatigacyon / and feyntynge vnder the same, so that he fell vnto the grounde / his crucifixon & naylyng [Page] vpon the crosse & his pytefull han­gyng vpon the same his deth with a lowde crye. The woundynge of his hert after that deth his takyng downe, & buryall, his gloryous re­surrection & apperynges / his mer­uaylous ascencyon into heuyn / where he toke for you possessyon of y^e plate: y^t was prepared & ordayned for you, before y^e cōstitucyon & or­dynaūce of y^e world. Here you may remembre y^e cōmodytes of y^e place: whiche in hit selfe is moste hyghly beauteous, fayre, goodly, and plea­saunte aboue that can be thoughte vpon erthe and of all thynges that ben in this worlde, is there plen­tye and aboundance without any nede or wante possessyon is there of the lande that neuer shall de­caye / & ryches that neuer shall be minisshed or made lesse. And as vnto y^e cōmodites of the body & goo­des of nature there is youth, euer [Page] florysshyng fresshe without age or any miseryes therof. Beaute and fayrenes, without any deformyte / or fadynge. Myght and strength▪ without debilyte or feblenes helth without syckenes, or disease / all pleasure and neuer payne. Euer myrth without any mornyng, euer gladnes: and neuer sadnes. Euer ioy, and neuer sorowe of all thyn­ges cōtentacion without any mur­mure or grudge. Euer loue, and neuer hate. Euer charyte, and ne­uer enuye, mercye, pitye, and com­passyon / without any crueltye, or vnkyndnes. Euer vnyte and peace and neuer varyaunce: ne debate. Euer trouth and fidelite: without any falshed or deceyte. Euer iustice equite: and ryghte / and neuer op­pression / ne wronge. Euer due ho­noure / and reuerence & neuer dys­dayne ne dyspyte. And to conclude there is al that is good / and neuer [Page] euyll. And of all these thynges: constant durans,1. Cor. ii. without any my­nysshynge, mutabilyte or chaung. And yet ben there mo cōmodytes thā eare may here, eye may se, tōge may tell, or any herte may thynke. whiche almyghty god hath orday­ned for them that loue hym. And yet there is vnto all these cōmody­tes, lyfe immortall, & euerlastyng. And yet forthermore, you may cō ­sydre in what company / and with whom you shall vse, and inioye the sayd cōmodytes. There shall you fynde your holy patrones / suche sayntes, as you dayly haue serued / the pure company of virgynes / the cōfessours, and martyrs / the inno­centes, the apostles / y^e patryarches & prophetes. And y^e goodly bright company of angels / al redy to pre­sent you vnto our lady the blessyd gloryous virgyne Marye / and by her with them to be recommended [Page] & cōmitted vnto her dere sone our lorde / & moste swete sauyour Iesu, which wyl nat disdayne to receyue you most beningly & gently & so to rep̄sēt & offre you vnto y^e p̄sēce of his most worthy father which (by him) is also your father. Se now (good deuout soule) beholde, & loke wel & inwardly, ꝑceyue where you nowe ben / & w^t whom. With your lorde & ma [...]ter / your very father & brother your gouernor & gyder / your helpe & cōfort your only refuge, & succour your inward loue: your whole hert & desyre, redemer & sauyour, your creature & maker, your god & all your good: with all y^e holy sayntes & angels of heuyn in y^e presēce / & before y^e throne of y^e gloryous trinite, y^e father y^e sone & the holy ghost .iii. distinct ꝑsōs, & one nature one sub­stāce one essencyall god. Se nowe (I saye) and take hede where and with whome you be. And here kne­lynge [Page] or rather lyenge downe pro­strate vpō your face: remayne, byde & dwell here styll / here expyre & dye starke deed / & vtterly that no soule ne spiryte be lefte or byde in youre body / but all for the tyme so ferre departed / nat onely from all thyn­ges of the world, but also from the selfe body y^t there lyenge as a lūpe of cley be lefte without any senses or wyttes of heryng, seynge, smel­lynge, tastyng, or touchynges. So done we rede (as I sayde before) of saynt Ambrose,Aug. li. confes. saynt Kathe [...]yne of Shene with diuers other. This is nowe the moost hyghe poynte of this exercyse and practyse of dethe after the verye definicyon of deth. Whiche (as I sade) is called a de­partynge of the soule from the bodye. For in this dethe (for that tyme) youre soule is depar­ted from youre body, so that you be nat than youre selfe: but deed [Page] & clene frō your selfe. For as y^e yren lyenge in the fyre / is by similytude al fyre, so ben you al one with god. Qui adheret deo / vnus spiritꝰ est.i. Cor. vi.d. Who so euer (sayeth saynt Paule) dothe cleue, and stycke faste vnto our lorde: is with hym one spiryte. So ben you than that same thyng that you shall be / with our lorde hereafter, that is al one with hym / dwellynge and abydynge in hym, and he in you so al diuyne & godly. Say nowe (good deuout soule) yf you can thynke or suppose in con­ [...]ce, that any faythfull christy­ [...]synge this exercise: and so ha­ [...]ge so large experyence & prac­t [...]se of deth / may haue, fele, or per­c [...]yue, any notable payne in dethe / syt [...] nowe in this deth, so oftymes exercysed the bodye prycked with pynnes or nedyles: feleth no payne at all. Or howe may any horrour drede, or feare, troble or moue that [Page] person / that is in suche place, with suche company and in such case as before we haue shewed. yet (saye you) syr the deuyll wyll be present at my dethe / what than? saye I so peraduenture / he wyll be at this dayly exercyse. For so done we rede in the lyues: and collacyons of the holy fathers / but that hathe alway ben, and euer shall be vnto his cō ­fusyon / rebuke, and hurte / and vn­to your triumphe, glorye, & prayse. But yet you saye, that the syght of that greslye ghost, can nat be with­out great feare: wherunto I saye agayne that although the syght of hym be (of it selfe) horryble, vgly, & fearefull / yet ben there dyuers cō ­fortes redy at hande to helpe. One is that may be sure, he can nat hurt you. An other is, [...] ­diue Brigit. li. vi. ca. lxxxxiii. the presence of the holy sayntes, your sayde fryndes y^e wyll restrayne his power and ma­licyous wyll. For they ben moche [Page] more valeant and myghty than he is. And doubt you nat they wyll al be preste, and redy there at y^e tyme about you / nat feyned, but as faithfull frendes, with whome well ac­quoynted and fully knowen / you ben nowe and of longe tyme haue ben very familyer and whomely. Truste you surely in them, for they wyll nat deceyue you. For yf they dyd, they were nat faithful / but ra­ther feyned frendes. For a very frende (sayth the wyseman) loueth at all tymes and euer is proued in necessyte or nede: & at dethe is most nede. For although good loue and faythfull frēdshyppe / be well pro­ued in all the lyfe tyme: yet is it better proued at the tyme of dethe / and best of all after deth. For than cōmunely feyned frēdes done sone forget. But these frendes wyll ne­uer forget you. For as they nowe (in your helth) done dayly conforte [Page] and defēd you in all temtacyōs: so wyl they at your deth delyuer you out of all daungers / & afterwarde wyl they deduce, lede, cōuey, & cary or bere you vp vnto the place & cō ­pany before rehersed. And yet haue you no meruayle though (in y^e mea­ne tyme) they suffre you to be trou­bled & grudged with the opinyon of dethe & with the drede of y^t vgly syght. For they done so suffre for your welth & meryte that you ther­by may be exercised with deth: and so to be euer redy for it. For dethe only semeth euyll and onely is fea­red by opinyon & nat of any other ryght cause. For deth of it selfe is very good & to be loked & wayted for, & receyued of all ꝑsōs, specially thus exercysed / nat onely without feare or drede of payne / but also, as we sayd before, with feruent desyre great ioy & gladnes as the fynall conclusyon and laste ende of all [Page] miseryes, sorowes, and all euyls, & as the begynnynge of all welthe & goodnes (that is to saye) of euer­lastynge helthe and saluacyon in the blysse of heuyn. Whyther he brynge vs y^e bought vs, our lorde & most swete sauyour Iesu Chryst, that lyueth and reigneth with god the father / and with god the holy ghost world without ende. Amen.

❧ Thus (after our poore abilyte) haue made an ende of this poore labour of the dayly exercyse, experyence and practyse of dethe. *

WHan I had wrytten vp this lytle werke redye to the pryntyng / it pleased a wyse and well lerned man, to take the laboure to rede it ouer, and to shewe his iudgement and mynde in dyuers thinges and [Page] places. And amonge other, because I had made mencyon in it / of rap­ [...]es or transes (vnto the whyche in dede) very fewe ꝑsons done duely attayne or clymbe, & come so hye / he aduysed me to warne y^e deuoute reders therof / that they gyue nat to lyght credence to all suche per­sones. For many of them haue dis­ceyued manye men, that were full holy and deuoute. For those may sonest be deceyued in such persons, because they euer suppose the beste in euery persone, without suspicy­on of euyll in any person. And they ben moost glad to here y^t our lorde shulde so visyte and comforte hys people. But yet such persones may also in them selfe be disceyued dy­uersly. For some such persons that were simple and very deuout, haue ben disceyued by a wycked spiryte / that (to illude and mocke them / hath trāsfygured and shewed hym [Page] selfe as an angel of lyght / and hath shewed vnto the persones many thynges full good and godly / and some thinges to come after y^e forme of prophecy, y^t haue truely cōmen to passe in effecte: and all to cause them to gyue faythe and credence vnto other thynges vnlaufull and false. But to wryte here, howe such a spiryte shulde be knowen from an angel or a good spiryte: it shuld be a longe werke, and also super­fluus, syth, who so euer haue myn­de to se that matter / may haue it well and playnly setforth and de­clared in englysshe, by a lerned mā a bacheler of diuinyte / one of our deuout bretherne, lately departed: whome Iesu ꝑdon, mayster Wyl­lyam Bonde / in his boke called the Pylgremage of perfeccyon in the .vii. chapyter of the secōde boke and in the thyrde and .iiii. chapy­ters of the thyrde boke, in the .iii. [Page] dayes iourney. Some other ꝑsons ben deceyued onely by the corrup­cyon of fantasye, whiche causeth them to thynke and beleue verely, y^t suche thynges as (by onely yma­gynacyon) come vnto theyr myn­des, ben verely spoken vnto them / as some done thynke that y^e crowe or other byrde, dothe saye or synge certayne wordes, or that the bell or bellys done rynge and saye after theyr ymagynacyon. And of this sorte ben many persones, & moche different, accordynge to the disease of the hede / as the fantasye is more or lesse corrupted. And yet some of thē wyll shewe many meruaylous thynges, that they beleue verely for true, which in dede were neuer true. But these persones done cō ­munelye shewe nothynge that is greatly euyll: nor yet any greate good / but that men may fone dis­cerne and perceyue for fantasyes & [Page] ymagynacyon / except the persones were some preuey synners. And than wyl the wycked speryte be re­dye to put hym selfe in prease / and with that corrupcyō to helpe forth vnto illusyon. But yet ben other deceyuers, thoughe none of this sorte / but of a more deuelisshe sorte very ypocrytes, that feyne them selfe to haue reuelacyons, & knowe well they haue none suche, but that (to deceyue the people) seme in a transe or rapt / whan they wyll, as we rede of Dauid, that feyned him selfe madde,i. [...]eg. xxi.d. and in a rage vpon a certayne tyme: For a good purpose to saue his selfe. And so playde his pagyant, that he frothed or fomed at the mouthe / & raged as though [...] he had ben furyous and madde in dede. And so done these wretches the disceyuynge of many persones wilfully and of purpose. But howe to be ware of suche wretches and [Page] ypocrytes: surely it is very harde. For as to gyue ouerlyght credence to suche persones, is agaynst wys­dome: so vtterly to cōdempne thē, or to dispyse them / is peryllous & agaynste vertue. Wysdome is therfore, to proue well the spiryte before. yet do I nowe ymagyn what many persons wyll say here­unto, that is, that this exercyse is a mater ouer hyghe / and excedynge the wyttes and vnderstandyng of symple vnlerned people. And so is the tother worke also / wherunto I do sende them in this worke, that is to say / the disposicyon and ordy­naunce vnto cōminyon or house­lynge. Wherunto I saye agayne, that bothe the workes ben so de­uyded into such partes: that euery person may take what he wyll, ac­cordynge to his state and condicy­on. Rede the werke ones ouer, and than chose / for I thynke there ben [Page] but fewe persones: but y^• they may lyghtly vnderstande and vse one of those exercyses. And (as a great lerned man sayd of a werke that he had sende forthe) althoughe this werke were so deuysed:Cicero de orato ꝓfecto. that fewe persones myght attayne to the full heyght and clere vnderstandynge therof: yet shulde no person dis­payre, ne be discouraged thereby. For as a prycke or marke is set in a butte for all men to shute at: al­thoughe none hytte the prycke. Those that done shute nere ben nat w^tout prayse.i. Cor. ix. d. And saynt Paule sayeth, whan there is a glayue set vp for renners: all or many done renne / but one catcheth the glayue alone / and yet is it nother shame ne rebuke, to wynne the seconde or the thyrde game. But here in our cāpe, none that dothe assaye to renne / shalbe without a synglar rewarde.1. Cor. iii.c. For (as the same apostle sayeth) [Page] euery person shall receyue his pro­pre wages or rewarde: acccordyng to his labour and deseruynge. And many tymes it may here fortune, and come to passe / that those that come laste: shal be fyrst and best re­warded.Math. xx. b. So sayeth our sauyour in the gospell. Erunt primi nouissi­mi, et nouissimi primi. In this campe / the fyrst shalbe last, and the last shall (in rewarde) be fyrst. The respect and weyght of this labour: standeth nat in the bodely exercyse of the outwarde werke / but in the infors and dilygence of the wyll / put therunto your good wyll and dilygence to do what you can: And thoughe it be but very very lytle that you spede or do in this exercy­se: that lytle lytle, thoughe it be ne­uer so lytle: yet shall it be greatly rewarded. And peraduēture, moch more meryte and rewarde shall the dull persone haue by that infors, [Page] dilygēce and good wyll: than shall the lerned and quycke wytted per­sons: that more lyghtly and with lesse labour done spede in this ma­ter. Let no person therfore dispayre ne take discomforte with any dul­nesse. For the poete sayeth. Labor improbus omnia vincit. Impor­tune labour doth ouercōe all thyn­ges. And yet though some persons can (by no meanes, fall vnto the hyghest exercise of this lessō: let thē fall vnto prayer / and be sory that they can nat flye so hygh, makyng protestacyon / and call our lorde to wytnesse / that fayne & gladly they wolde do what beste myght please his goodnes / And let them there cōmytte, recommende, betake, and bequeth them selfe body and soule vnto his handes at that tyme: as they intende to do, at the houre of dethe. And beseche his grace / that this recommendacyon & bequeste, [Page] may stande / and of hym be recey­ued for that tyme / and therwith let them saye. In manns tuas. &c. as is beforesayd. Some ꝑsones euery yere ones at y^e least, and some .iiii. tymes, that euery quarter ones / done make theyr funeralles / that is / all the solempnyte of theyr bu­ryalles, with Dirige and masse / & offre theyr masse peny them selfe. And after that / make a feast & dele almes: as thoughe they were than deed in dede & buryed / also whiche custome I prayse very moch. And yf y^t were done euery moneth ones or euery weke / or yet euery daye, of them that haue abilyte and tyme therunto. I wolde thynke & iudge it a deuoute and meritoryous ob­seruaunce. For those persones, that by any of these / or lyke meanes, done so prepare & make them selfe redy to dethe: may be sure neuer to dye sodenly. For many persones [Page] ben sore affrayde of soden dethe / & done ful hartely make prayer, that they neuer dye sodenly. Let them vse this maner / or some one of these formes and maner of exercyses / & they may be sure of theyr prayer / that is, neuer to dye sodēly. Study therfore good deuout soules, to be redy at euery houre / and pray vnto our lorde, that you may haue the wyll that saynt Paule had,Phi. i.c whā he sayde. I couet and desyre / to be dyssolued, and to de­parte this lyfe / and to be with Chryst. Whe­ther he brynge vs all that made vs. Amen.

The fyrst peticion. PAter noster qui es in celis: sanctificet no­men tuum. ✿ Good lorde god, our holy father y^e arte in heuē let thy name he sanctified: that is to meane / I beseche the graunte vs grace to blesse, to honoure, to laude and prayse thy holy name.

The se­conde.¶Adueniat regnum tuum. ✿Good lord god our father that art in heuen / let thy kyngdome come: that is, I beseche the lorde, that all the people of the worlde may come vnto the grace of bap­tisme, [Page] and so be the faythfull sub­iectes of thy realme and kyngdo­me of Christianite.

¶Fiat voluntas tua:The thyrde. sicut in celo et in terra. ✿ Good lorde god our father that arte in heuen, lett thy wyll be wrought in erth as it is wrought in heuen: y^t is to mea­ne I beseche the lorde, that all thy christian people here in erth maye perfourme thy wyll, and kepe thy cōmaundementes after theyr estate and condicion, as thy holy an­gels and sayntes done in heuen after theyr state and degre.

¶Panem nostrum cotidianū da nobis hodie.The fourthe. ✿ Good lorde god our holy father y^t arte in he­uen, gyue and graunte vnto vs this day our dayly brede: that is to meane, I beseche the good lord graunte vnto vs contynually the spirituall fode grace and effecte of thy holy sacramentes. Or thus. [Page] Graunte vnto vs the contynuall grace and effecte of thy holy sacramentes / whiche is the dayly fode of our soules, & spirituall suerty of our saluacion.

The fyf­the.¶Et dimitte nobis debita no­stra: sicut et nos dimittimus debi­toribus nostris. ✿ Good lord god our holy father that arte in he­uen, forgyue vs our dettes, as we done forgyue our detters, that is to meane, I beseche the good lord, forgyue and pardon me and all Christians all maner of offences and trespaces done agaynste the and thy lawes / lykewyse as we done forgyue all maner of perso­nes all maner of greues and tre­spaces done agaynste vs.

The .vi.¶Et ne nos inducas in tētati­onem. ✿ Good lord god our ho­ly father that arte in heuen / lede vs nat in to temptacion / that is to meane, I beseche the good lord, [Page] suffre me not, ne any Christian, to be lede or brought by any temp­tation / vnto the full consente of any synne.

¶Sed libera nos a malo.The .vii. ✿ But good lorde god our holy fa­ther that arte in heuē, delyuer me & all christians from euyll: y^t is to meane, I beseche the good lorde / that not onely thou kepe me and all thy people from all synne and offence of thy goodnes / but also that thou wylte delyuer and ma­ke vs quyte of all synnes paste / and conserue and kepe vs conti­nually in the state of grace. Amē. So be it: that is to meane / good lorde we beseche the that all these thynges maye come to passe in full effecte / accordynge to our pe­ticion and desyre.

This prayer of y^e Pater noster / is y^e most excellent prayer, bycause y^t our sauyour made it hym selfe / [Page] and taught it to his disciples.

¶The Aue Maria, is y^e most plesaunte prayer, and of most ho­noure vnto our blessed lady, by­cause one parte therof is the salu­tacion of y^e angell Gabriell, wher­by immediatly after her consente, she conceyued the sone of god in her wombe. And the other parte, was spokē vnto her by saynt Eli­zabeth, inspired and moued ther­vnto by the spirite of god the holy ghost. And therfore dowe set forth the Aue maria, after suche maner as we dyd the Pater noster.

AVe Maria gratia plena dominꝰ tecum: benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui Iesus. Amē. ❧Hayle Mari full of grace, god is with the. Blessed be thou amōg women, and blessed be the fruyte of thy wombe Iesus Christe, god and man. Amen. So mote it be.

¶That fyrst worde Aue, whiche I do Englyshe after the commu­ne maner, hayle is a worde of salutacion, as we say in commune cō ­gresses or metynges together. God spede you, god saue you, god blesse you. Good morowe / good euē, god spede, god be at your ga­me, god be at your werke, god sende you, with suche other, after the maner of the countrey where it is spoken. And the last worde Amen, it is a worde of consente or desyre, that the mater spokē before shuld vnderstande what euery worde meaneth.

¶The fyrste article.

CRedo in deū patrem omni­potentem:

Saynte Peter.

creatorem celi et terre. ✿ I byleue vpō god the fa­ther almyghty, maker of heuen & of erth. This terme: In deum / [Page] is diuersly Englysshed, some done saye / in to god, some: inwardly in god / some: perfytly in god. But the mooste commune vse of the countrey of the vnlerned people / is to saye. I byleue vpon god and vpon his fayth / but all dothe meane in effecte / that the persone hath perfyte faythe and byleue in god / and vnto god.

¶The seconde article.

Saynte Andrew.

¶Et in Iesum Christum filiū eius vnicum dominum nostrum. ✿ And I also byleue perfytely vpon our lorde Iesu Christe his onely begotē sone: y^t is to say, y^e on­ly begoten sone of the sayd father.

¶The thyrde article.

Saynte Iohan.

¶Qui cōceptus est de spū sctō: natꝰ ex maria virgine. ✿ And also I byleue perfytly y^e our sayd lorde Iesu was conceyued of the holy ghost, borne of our lady saynt Mary: she remaynyng & abydyng euer [Page] euer a virgine.

¶The fourth article.

¶Passus sub pontio Pilato / crucifixus mortuus et sepultus.

Saynte Iames: the more

✿ And also I perfytly byleue y^t our sayde lorde Iesu dyd suffre his passion, & was crucified, deed, and buried, vnder the power and iugement of a man called by pro­pre name Poncius / and by his se­conde or surename Pylate.

¶The fyfth artycle.

¶Descendit ad inferna:

Saynte thomas of Iude.

tertia die resurrexit a mortuis. ✿ And I byleue perfytely also / that our sayd lorde Iesu: after his sayde passyon and dethe / descen­ded and wente downe vnto y^e lowe places of hell / and brought forthe frō thense our fyrste father Adam: and all that were there with hym / and that vpō the thyrde day after his deth: he dyde aryse from deth / and all the bondes therof vnto [Page] lyfe euerlastynge.

¶The syxth artycle.

Saynte Iames / the lesse.

¶Ascendit ad celos: sedet ad dexteram dei patris oīpotentis. ✿ And also I byleue perfytly: y^t our sayd lorde Iesu dyd ascende and stye vp vnto the hyghest he­uens, and ther doth syt vpon the ryght hande of god the father oī ­potent and almyghty.

¶The seuenth article.

Saynte Philipe.

¶ Iude vēturus est iudicare vi­uos et mortuos. And I also ꝑfytely byleue, that he wyll come these agayne in to this worlde, to iuge all persones quycke and deed.

¶The .viii. article.

Saynte Bartel­mewe.

¶Credo in spiritum sanctum. ✿ I byleue perfytly also vpō the holy ghost, the spirite of y^e father and of the sone, & with them both the same selfe god.

¶The .ix. article.

Saynte Ma­thewe.

¶Sanctam ecclesiam catholicā. [Page] ✿ I also byleue that the churche of Christe is and was / and euermore shalbe holy & faythfull / therefore I do gyue fayth and credēce vnto the same, and vnto the determina­cions therof.

¶The .x. article.

¶Sanctorum communionem:

Saynte Symon.

remissionē peccato (rum). ✿ I byleue also y^e communiō of sayntes: y^t is to say / I byleue that all the workes and good dedes of all good & holy persones / ben and shalbe cōmune: so that euery faythfull Christian hath & shall haue part with other. And also I byleue the remisson of synnes: that is to say / that all ma­ner of synnes may and shalbe for­gyuen / if forgyuenes be duely de­syred and axed.

¶The .xi. article.

¶Carnis resurrectionem.

Saynte Iude: called also saint Tadeus.

✿ I also byleue the resurrection of our flesshe / that is to saye / I byleue y^t [Page] all maner of persones shall aryse at the daye of dome in soule & body with the same flesshe, blode and bones that they were borne with and dyed with.

¶The .xii. article.

Saynte Mathie.

¶Et vitam eternam. Amen. ✿ And I also byleue euerlastyng ly­fe: that is to say, that (after y^e gene­rall resurrection (all maner et per­sones / as well good as euyll: dam­pned or saued / shall cōtynue in lyfe euerlastynge, eyther in ioye or pay­ne, & neuer departe therfrō. This worde Amen, is declared before in the ende of the Pater noster.

¶This maner of y^e Pater noster, Aue, and Crede, I wold haue vsed & rede vpō the boke at euery mele / or at the leeste ones a day with a lowde voyce (as I sayde) that all y^e persones presente may here it. And yet forther I wolde aduyse & coun­seyle all other housholders to se [Page] (as I do) knowe / and proue / that euery persone in theyr house / & all that ben vnder theyr gouernaunce and charge (can say the same) and therfore they muste take y^e laboure to here them theym selfe, and wher nede is: to teche them. For many y^t ben aged and can not say wyll be abasshed to lerne it openly, and yet if they here it dayly redde after the maner shewed before: they shall by vse and custome lerne it very well. And some other persones the­re bene: that can saye ryght well / both vpon the boke and without, but yet amonge them some bene dulla [...]des and slouthfull and some negligente and careles / and so done they not saye it: but in tyme forgete it / as in maner they hade neuer lerned it. I pray you ther­fore (good deuoute housholders do as I do) take the payne to here them your selfe: at the leest [...] ones [Page] a weke & let none escape you / olde nor yong. It shall (byleue me) be vnto you a great discharge of con­science, and not without merite & greate rewarde. And charge them straytly vnder payne of punysshe­ment / that they say it euery day thre tymes at the leest / that is to saye / in the mornynge / at none or myddaye / & at nyght. Than must you teche them to knowe by ordre y^e preceptes or cōmaundementes of god, y^e names of y^e .vii. prīcipall synnes, & of theyr .v. wyttes, as thus. The cōmaundementes of god ben .x. in nōbre. The fyrſt The fyrst that we shall haue no straunge ne other godes. but one alone: and hym to loue. honoure & drede aboue all thyn­ges. The .ii. The seconde we may not take the name of god in vayne, & ther­fore we may not vse to swere. The .iii. The thyrde, we must kepe our holy day with close mynde vnto god, & re­uerende deuocion, and therfore we [Page] may do no bodely or worldly la­bours for lucre therin. .iiii. The fourth we muste with reuerende and due lowly maner do honoure vnto our parentes, that is to say vnto our fathers and mothers, and we shall haue (by the promyse of god (longe lyfe therfore. .v. The .v. we shall not slee or kyll any persone, neyther in dede: nor yet in wyll or mynde, nor yet may we hate any persone in harte. For who so euer so doth:i. Ioh. iii. is an homicide and māsleer. .vi. The .vi. we maye do no lechery. .vii. The .vii. we may do no thefte. .viii. The .viii. we may bere no false wytnes, ne make any lye or lesynge. .ix. The .ix. we may not coueyte or desyre any wedded or maried persone. .x. And the .x. we may not coueyte ne desyre any o­ther mannes goodes. These bene y^e .x. cōmaūdemētes gyuē & cōmaū ded by almyghty god / gyuē & ben deuyded in two partes, as two ta­bles [Page] or bokes.Exod. xx. The fyrste apperteyneth & belongeth vnto almyghty god, hym selfe. And in that parte be [...] conteyned the thre fyrste com­maundementes, and all those thre commaundementes ben cōteyned in this one commaundemēt of the gospell. Loue god aboue all thyn­ges. And in the seconde parte or se­conde table, bene the other seuen cōteyned, whiche done apperteyne & belonge vnto the neygbour. And yet all those .vii. ben agayne cōtey­ned in this one commaundement of Christe. Loue thy neghboure as thy selfe.A decla­racion of the sayde p̄ceptes. The fyr­ste. ¶yet may you go ferther with them / some what to teache them what they meane. For whane you saye that we maye haue no mo goddes but one alone, that is to meane, y^t we shulde loue nothynge so well as god. Whan soeuer that a persone doth sete his harte & mynde vpon any creature, more than [Page] vpon god / so that he wolde rather displease god & breake his lawes and ordynaunces, than for to leue & forbere the affection or pleasu­re of the creature / than hath he a straūge god: a nother god, for thā that thyng is his god / for y^e which he doth forsake god, and dothe cō ­trary vnto his wyll & ordynaūce. And here (good and deuoute chri­stians) be well ware, & warne all yours of these suꝑsticious wytche craftes and charmes that bene moche vsed: and done deceyue many persones, that (for y^e vnlaw­full loue vnto the helthe of theyr bodyes, or of theyr chyldrē, or bea­stes, or other goodes lost or stolē) wyll go seke wysmē or wysewomē (for so they don call y^e deuels pro­ctours that done vse suche wytch­craftes and charmes) thē dō they seke I say, and put them felfe sub­iecte vnto the false god the deuyll [Page] and his cerimonyes, to get helthe vnlawfully by the meanes of that wytchecrafte forboden by the churche, vnder payne of cursynge. And yet the symple people, done suppo­se & wene they do nothynge offend therin. For I haue herde them say full often my selfe. Syr we meane well / & we done byleue well / & we thynke it a good & charitable dede to hele a seke ꝑsone / or a seke beest: & trouth they say / but yet it is ney­ther good ne charitable to helpe y^e by vnlawfull meanes. And suerly y^t meane is vnlawfull. For good reason wyll admitte, that no sore sekenes may be heeled, but eyther by nature, or by medicine, or by myracle. If a fynger be cutte, or small surfet takē: nature in a whyle wyll heele the persone. But in all gre­uous diseasis, medicine is the cō ­mune meane of helth: but sure ben they that suche charmes or wytch­craftes [Page] be no medicins. For thā shulde they heele as well by one persone as by a nother. And no mā byleueth they ben myracles ergo they muste nedely by the deuels crafte, that do deceyue the symple persones: dothe hurte some, & tea­ched y^t waye vnlawfully to brynge them in his daūger. For you wyll graūte that he were a fole, that for the helthe of his horse legge, wold lose one of his owne hādes, or one of his owne eyes / & yet is he more fole in dede: tha [...] for any creature wolde lose his soule. But yet some haue sayd to me. Syr / howe may this charme be euell or a mys, whā all thynges be good / as by exam­ple. The charmer is a good man or a good woman, and taketh here a pece of whyte breade, and sayde ouer y^e breade nothynge: but onely the Pater noster, & maketh a crosse vpon the breade / whiche thynges [Page] ben all good, thā doth he nothyng els but ley y^t pece of breade vnto the toth y^t aketh or vnto any other sore: tournynge the crosse vnto the sore or dysease, & so is the persone heeled. Howe maye this be euyll nowe say they? I say agayne it is euyll and dampnable, bycause the faythe & byleue of the hole mater resteth in that applycacion of the crosse, whiche hathe no naturall oꝑacion, but is a cerimony vnlawfull. For although all other thyn­ges here ben good, yet done they nothynge auayle without y^t cery­mony, & so is all a charme and vnlawfull and naught, whiche may euydently be knowen for nought & vnlawfull, bycause the churche doth condempne & forbede all su­che, whiche thyng surely y^e lerned churche of god, guyded euer by y^e holy ghost wold neuer haue done, if it were good and lawfull. And [Page] therfore in any wyse, let none of your folks vse any suche.The se­conde. ¶Now for y^e seconde precepte, whiche is y^t no persone shulde take y^e name of god in vayne, warne your folkes & take good hede vnto thē y^t they be no cōmune swerers. For it were lesse ieopardy for you to haue in your house a thefe or a steler, a le­cher or vnclen lyuer, thā an vsuall swerer. For a great othe accusto­med, doth prouoke y^e sodeyne ven­geaūce of god The scripture sayth De domo iurātis non recedet plaga. The customable swerer,Ecclesi. xxiii. b. shall euer be full of iniquite & synne / & the plage of y^e vengeunace of god shall contynually hāge ouer that house.Ibidem. Let not thy mouth be vsed vnto swerynge (sayth y^e scripture) For y^e customable swerer shall ne­uer be clene purged of syn̄e. Wherfore I dare well say y^t swerynge is one of the great causes of all these [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] sodeyne plages amonge men and beastes, as pestilence, pockes, swe­tynges, and moreyns, with suche other. And I byleue verely none of you wold be glad to kepe in his hous a lepre, or any persone infec­ted with any of the forsayd plages And yet is a swerer more peryl­lous thā any of them. For his othe may slee or infecte your chylde in y^e cradle, or stryke your beastes in y^e feeldes, destroy your corne & gray­nes, and cause pryuely many mys­cheues. And yet many persones done thynke & byleue, that if they swere trouth, they do no synne, but they be surely deceyued, as by case. If a persone wolde prynte & coyne monye of good syluer or good gol­de, kepynge also the due weyghte and facion, that thynge wolde no­thynge excuse the persone vnto the kynge or his lawes, thoughe also he proued the money were good & [Page] lawfull money. For y^e kynges law is / that no persone shall prynte or toyne any money but suche as be assygned by hym, and that also in the place appoynted thervnto. So in lyke maner, the lawe of god is: y^t no persone shall swere any othe / excepte it be at the appoyntemente or cōmaundemente of suche a per­sone that hath iust power to requyre and to take an othe, and that al­so muste be done in due place, that is to saye, before a lawfull iudge. And so may the persone lawfully swere, so euer that the swerer do thynke and byleue in true and vn­feyned conscience, that his othe is true. And els that is to saye with­out these circumstaūces and suche other causes expressed in the lawe no persone may swere, though it be neuer so true that he swereth. If than to swere true is synne, and dothe prouoke y^e hyghe displeasure [Page] of god, by cause it is cōtrary vnto his cōmaundemēt, to swere false must nedes be more synne, & more ꝓuoke his vengaunce. Example shall I shew here of both, that is to say, howe god is prouoked by vsuall swerynge, & how by forswerynge & false othes. This story y^t foloweth I herde at Stondō a lytell vylage .xxv. myles frō Londō not farre from y^e hyghe way vnto Cābrydge / where for a tyme I dyd abyde in auoydynge y^t greate pia­ge y^t both in London & Cambryd­ge dyde than quyckely & sharply reyne, where also this story was open in the knowlege of all y^e coū ­trey there aboute, as don but smal tyme before. A gentylman y^t was called mayster Baryngton whose wyfe was afterwarde maried in Cābrydge vnto a gentylman cal­led maister Caryngton, so y^t there was but one lettre chaūged in her [Page] name, y^t is to say C. for B. And of her also I herde the same story, al­thogh (as she sayd) she was not present. This sayd gētylmā Baryngtō was a great swerer, & dyd customably vse greate othes: specially by the blode of our lord, or (as mo­re cōmunely they swere) by godes blode. And vpō a sōday or els a fe­estfull holy day he wente forth on hūtyng or hawkynge: & nothynge spedyng after his mynde, he came vnto an alehous at a throughfare called Pulcriche .v. myles frome ware in y^e hyghe way to Cābrydge y^e one syde of y^e whiche thorough fare was in y^e sayd parisshe of Stō ­dō, where this gentylman was, & called for drynk: & anone he began to swere after his vnhappy custo­me saynge. By godes blode this day is vnhappye. And in a whyle after in sweryng so, he bledde at y^e nose, & therwith more vexed he be­gane [Page] to rayle & rayne god (as they say) in swerynge godes passyō, go­des woundes, godes flesshe, godes nayles, and euer his holy and bles­sed blode, tyll at the laste he fell fer­ther to blede at the eares, at y^e eyes, at his wrestes, and all the ioyntes of his handes, and of all his body, at his nauyll and foundemente, & of other places of his body, in meruelouse great quātite and st [...]emes of blode, & shotynge cut his tonge in a meruelous horrible, vgs [...]e and ferefull maner, as blacke as pitche so that no persone durst co­me nere hym but stede a farre of, & cast holy water towarde hym / and so he conteynued euer swerynge / blasphemynge and bledynge / iyll he expyred and was deed. And the more we after they layd hym in a carte / and caried hym to the sayde churche of Stondon, and euer the body blede tyll he was buried in y^e [Page] waye as they came in very greate haboundaūce. This was a playn tokē that god was moche displeased with that swerynge, and dyde openly punysshe the same / in exā ­ple to all vsuall swerers. It maye also be a good monicion and war­nynge for suche ꝑsones that done mysevse the holy day in hawkyng huntynge & suche other fruytles occupacions or pastymes. A no­ther example of the same vsuall sweryng was shewed vnto me by a bacheler of diuinite called may­ster George wercke / a fellowe thā where I was also fellowe, of the quenes colege in Cambrydge, and after he was vycare of Harowe on the hyll, whiche thynge he sayd vpon his conscience. He sawe him selfe in a marchauntes house in London, whiche was his speciall frende, and sente for hym to gyue counseyle vnto the same persone, [Page] a yonge man that was prentyse: or els seruaunte vnto the same marchaunte / whiche yongman dyd vse to swere for his commune othe / by the bones of god: or by godes bones. And it came to pas­se that he was taken with a grea­te meruelous sekenes, so that no Physyke ne medicine myght hel­pe ne ease hym, but that he lay styl in bedde so longe, that the flesshe and the skynne of his armes and fyngers, and of his legges, thyes, shynnes / fete & toes / dyd deuyde in sondre / as though they had ben slytte with a knyfe, so that y^e bare bones myght openly be sene and feled. And so in the same maner / (after he had with greate contrici­on and open cōfession of that swe­rynge) receyued the sacramentes of the churche / he departed this lyfe vnto our lorde. Here bene nowe two notable exāples of vsu­all [Page] swerynge. The thyrde shall I shewe you of forswerynge, or false sweryng, whiche was shewed vn­to me of an honest preest of my fa­milier acqueyntaunce that was vycare of Halywell, where saynte Wenefredes well is, besyde the abbey of Basyng werke in Flynt shy­re in the borders of Wales .xiiii. myles from Westchester, whiche thynge he sayde on his conscience he dyde se hym selfe and was ther present with greate multitude of other people thousandes. A certeyne man was called to be sworne in a greate mater bytwene two par­ties, whiche sayd parties dyd put the mater hooly vnto the determi­nation of his othe, and met bothe at a certeyne place where was a crucifixe: a holy rode that dyd ma­ny myracles, whervpon he shulde swere, and so dyd in the syght and herynge of a great multitude of [Page] people gathred on bothe partyes. And his othe gyuen, he layd both his hādes vpon the fete of y^e rode / and sware false & contrary vnto his conscience, and so was damp­nably forsworne, whiche thynge god wold haue knowen. For whā he wolde haue taken his handes away to departe, both the handes cleued and stycked faste vnto y^e fete of y^e rode, as though they had bē glued or fastened w^t nayles there­vnto. And than he wolde with vi­olence haue pulled them of: & than with sterynge and hasty mouyng to and fro, the steppe whervpō he stode: slypped and voyded frome hym. And than hanged he styll by his handes, & so remayned hang­ynge styll contynually the space of thre dayes, & maruelous moche people came thyther to se and loke vpō hym, of the whiche many ben yet lyuyge. So at the laste after [Page] thre dayes whā he had with great contricion openly cōfessed his de­faute / & receyued the sacramentes of the churche, whan y^e people sup­posed & thought verely he shulde there haue expired & died he was sodeynly losed and delyuered / and lyued many yeres after a good & holy lyfe / vnto the glory of God and great example of them y^t bene swerers.Lib. iiii. cap xviii ⚜ Saynt Gregory in his dialoges doth shewe of a chylde, y^t (as he had herd of other persones) dyd swere great othes, & had pleasure therin, and sodeynly whan he was swerynge in his fathers lap vpon his kne / the deuyll came & openly rauysshed and by violence toke hym from his father / and ca­ried him away / that he was neuer sene after. Here maye you percey­ue the great peryll and ieopardy of sweryng. For y^e loue of our lor­de therfore good deuout christiās, [Page] take good hede therto / as well in your selfe as in your folkes. And yet shulde you haue no lesse garde or awayte vnto lyeng, or makyng of lyes or lesynges. For the lye or lesynge is very mother vnto both the defautes shewed laste before / that is to say, vnto periury or for­sweryng,Menda­cium. & vnto false wytnes. For eueryche of these doughters / is worse than the mother. For y^e lyer careth lytell to bere false wytnes / and euery lyer is cōmunely a swe­rer / for els the lye shuld not be co­loured / dubbed and paynted suf­ficiētly to seme true, & specially in a defaute whereof the lyer wolde fayne be excused for drede of pu­nysshemēt or rebuke, or whā a ma­ter shulde (by that lye) come to passe / & be broughte aboute vnto effecte, for profyte, auauntage, fla­tery or pleasure. For whā the lyer doth coueyte moste subtelly to de­ceyue [Page] & fayne and gladly wold be byleued, thā doth y^e lyer most lyberally lasshe out othes, & sparethe for no cost (as they say) but whā suche a persone doth swere most, thā wyll a wyse persone byleue hym leste. And by this doth appere, that the commune & besy swerers bene suspecte to be lyers. For the lyer is combred so in conscience, that he supposeth and thynketh he can not be byleued without he swere many othes, and great othes. Be­ware therfore of lyers. For cōmu­ne lyers bene communely theues or pyckers, & vnclene lyuers. And (to say the trouth) the lyer is [...] & disposed vnto all maner [...] ces, bycause that all lyers [...] chylder of y^e deuyll. For th [...] was the fyrste lyer, and eue [...] cōtynue a lyer. And as the g [...] saythe, he is the father of all [...] Nowe ponder and wey (go [...] uoute [Page] christiās) I pray you, if you were requyred whether you wold be cōtente to kepe in your cōpany a thefe or pyker, a persone y^t shuld enforce and laboure to corrupte your wyues / or your doughters / or yet suche a persone that were seruaūt or chylde vnto your deed­ly foo or enemy, I thinke you wyl say nay, you wold kepe no suche. Than say I beware of the lyer / for all commune lyers ben the de­uyls chyldren, and done folowe theyr father the deuyl, whose pro­perte and naturall disposicion is to lye. I cane well graunte y^t you [...]gyue and pardon them y^t done [...], pyke, or do lechery: for ones [...]yse, and labour and loke for [...]ery and amendement, but in [...]yse can I graunte that you [...]on the lyers, but euyn forth­ [...] you wolde cure the sodeyne [...]lence: so correcte & punysshe [Page] y^• lye. Wherfor I haue set out here a p̄ty lesson, whiche I pray you te­che your chyldrē, & euery chylde y^e cometh ī to your cōpany you shall (I trust) do moch good therby.

¶And than I pray you fulfyll & perfourme theyr peticiō & request, & thynke it not cruelly / but merci­fully done. For y^e wyse man sayth,Prouer [...] xiii d who spareth the roode: hateth the chylde. And in a nother place.Eccle vii. c If thou haue chyldren (sayth he) cor­recte [Page] them betyme / & hold thē vnd whyle they bene yong, your dayly practyse dothe shewe vnto you / y^• if you powder your flesshe whyle it is new and swete / it wyll conty­nue good meate: but if it smell be­for it be powdred, all the salte you haue shall neuer make it seasona­ble. Powder your chyldrē therfore betyme and than you loue them, & shall haue conforte of them. I dyd appoynte y^e correction before vnto y^e mother or maystres, for commu­nely they done take the laboure of that mynistery and seruyce. Not­withstandynge there may be sayd father or maister, & the staffe or fo­te of the ryme be all one. But who so euer do y^e correctiō, wheder it be in lasshes, or in wordes, let it be done w^t the charite of our lorde / & with a myld and softe spirite: that euer it be done for the reformaciō of the persone / rather than for the [Page] reuengynge of the defaute, & ther­fore shulde you neuer do any ma­ner of correction whyle you be vexed, chafed, troubled, wroth, or angry for any cause, but rather for that tyme deferre the correction, & a nother tyme by good delybera­cyon take the persones on parte / or if the trespas be openly knowē, than do it openly, y^t all the lokers thervpon may be warned therby, and gyue thē a good lesson before the correctiō / and tell them you do the correctiō agaynst your mynde compelled thervnto by consciēce, and requyre them to put you no-more vnto suche labour & payne. For if thou do (say you) you muste suffre parte of the payne with me / and therfore you shall nowe haue experience and proue what payne it is to vs bothe. And than paye truely, and afterwarde forthwith forgyue them clerly and gentelly / [Page] so that they do nomore so. And in doynge thus correction / you may edyfye & refourme the persones / & also meryte & haue thanke of our lorde. Where if cōtrary you chyde brawle, curse, and with vngoodly wordes rebuke, or stryke with ha­stynes to reuēge your owne cause or appetyte / you shall rendre the persones more stubbourne & styffe harted, and engendre in them an hatered toward you. And also not only lose your meryte, but also de­serue payne and the punysshemēt of god, where the other correction done by sobrenes, shall cause the persōes to haue you in a reuerēde drede, and also to loue you, & here afterward to blysse you, and pray for you. I pray you therfore, wynne & deserue both theyr blyssynge and prayer / and also the blyssyng and rewarde of our lord. But by­cause that communly all persones [Page] done vse to swere some othe / in af­firmynge or denyinge / that is in saynge ye, as grauntyng, or nay, as denyinge, whiche be seldome sayd nakedly by them selfe with­out some addiciō, therfore I wold haue you in auoydyng of all vay­ne othes to teache your chyldren to make theyr addiciōs vnder this fourme. ye father, nay father: ye mother / nay mother: ye brother / nay brother: ye syster / nay syster: ye syr / nay syr: ye dame / nay da­me: or vnto y^e states, maister / mai­stres / and so forth of all suche cō ­mune termes / as graundfather, graundmother: godfather, god­mother: vncle, aunte, cosyn / and suche lyke / w^tout any other addi­cion, or any of these founde othes, as by cocke & pye, by my hode of grene, & suche other. For Christe sayth in the gospell vnto his disci­ples.Math. v Swere not you at all (sayth [Page] he) in any wyse, y^t is to meane vn­lawfully or in vayne. And the prophete sayth.Psalmo. lxii. ⚜ Laudabuntur oēs qui iurāt in eo: quia obstructū est os loquentium iniqua. That is those persones that done lawfully swere in god, shalbe praysed & ha­ue rewarde therfore, & the mouthe of euyll spekets shalbe stopped / and they put to shame and rebu­ke. All this haue we spokē for the kepynge of the seconde precepte or cōmaundement.The thyrde p̄ ­cepte. ¶ Nowe for the thyrde commaundement. I praye you gyue good example in your owne selfe, and thā teche all yours howe they shulde kepe duely the holy day, that is to say (in asmoche as conuenientely maye be) to be voyde of all maner of worldly & bodyly laboures. I sayde in as­moche as cōueniently may be. For people must haue meat & drynke / the houses muste be appareyled / [Page] beastes muste be cured and loked vnto. And very vnfayned necessi­te or nede dothe excuse in cōscien­ce. The holy daye is ordeyned of god and the churche, onely for the seruice of god. The due place of y^e seruyce is the churche. vnto all thē that may conueniently come ther­vnto. And to them that may not / euery honest place of good & law­full occupacion is theyr churche. For God is there presente where he is duely and deuoutly serued. Take the payn therfore whā you may to go forth your selfe / and cal your folkes to followe. And whā you ben at y^e churche, do nothyng els but that you came for, and lo­ke oft tymes vpon them that bene vnder youre charge, that all they be occupyed, lyke (at the leest) vnto deuoute christians.Mathei xxi. For y^e churche (as our sauyour saythe) is a place of prayer, not of claterynge and [Page] talkyng. And charge them also to kepe theyr syght in y^e churche clo­ce vpō theyr bokes or bedes. And whyle they ben yong / let them vse euer to knele / stande or syte / & ne­uer to walke in the churche. And let them here the masse quyckly & deuotly / moche parte knelynge. But at the gospell / at the preface / and at the Pater noster, teche thē to stande, and to make curtesy at this worde Iesus, as the preste dothe. Thus in the fore noone let the tyme be spente all in the seruys of god. And than in y^e after noone, muste you appoynte them theyr pastyme with great diligence and strayte commaundement. Fyrste that in no wyse they vse such vanities as communely ben vsed, that is to say / berebaytynge and bul­baytynge, foteball, tenesplaynge / bowlyng, nor these vnlawfull ga­mes of cardynge, dycynge, clossh­ynge [Page] / w^t suche other vnthryfty pa­stymes, or rather losetimes: wher­in (for a suerty) the holy day maye rather be brokē, than if they wēt to the ploughe or carte vpō Ester day, so it were not done by cōtem­pte or dispisynge of the commaundement of the lawe, ne for vnrea­sonable couetyse & loue of worldly goodes. For synne dothe alwaye more defoule and breke the holy daye than doth any bodely werke or occupacion. Therfore let them beware of the tauerne & alehouse / for drede of dronkennes, or of glo­tony, & of suspecte places / or wan­tō company, for fere of vnclēnes / or lechery / whiche thynges bene vnto youth moste peryllous / & of great daunger & ieopardy of cor­rupcion. Assigne you therfore and appoynte you them the maner of theyr disportes, honeste euer and lawfull for a resonable recreaciō / [Page] and (asmoche as conueniētly may be (lett the sexes be departed in all theyr disportes, that is to saye: the kyndes, mē by them selfe / and the women by them selfe. And also appointe the tyme or space, that they be not (for any disportes) from the seruyce of god. Appoynte thē also the place, that you may call or sen­de for them whan case requyreth. For if ther be a sermone any tyme of the daye, let them be ther presente all that bene not occupyed in nedefull and lawfull busynes / all other layde a parte, let them euer kepe the preachynges, rather thā the masse, if (by case) they maye not here both. To bye and sell or bargayne vpon the holy daye / is vnlaufull: excepte it be for very nede. Charyte vnto the poore and nedy neyghboures, doth lawfully excuse bodely or worldly labours vpon the holy day. Loke well you [Page] neyther do ne saye wylfully, and by deliberaciō vpon the holy daye any thynge that you knowe in cō ­science, shulde be contrary vnto the honoure of god, and thā done you iustely kepe your holy daye. A very good sure pastyme vpon the holy daye, is to rede, or to here this boke or suche other good en­glyshe bokes, and gather therun­to as many persones as you can. For I tell you there shulde be no tyme loste, ne mysspente vpon the holy daye. Lett this poore lesson nowe cōtente you for these thre cō maundementes of the fyrst table, whiche (as I sayd) done appertey­ne & belonge vnto almyghty God hym selfe. A nother shorte lesson shall we set forth for the commaundementes of the seconde table.The .iiii. precepte.

And fyrste the due reuerende ho­noure to be done of y^e chyldren vn­to the parentes, that is to saye / [Page] vnto theyr fathers and mothers, Teche your chyldren therfore to aske blessynge euery nyghte kne­lynge, before they go to reste vn­der this fourme. ⚜ Father I be­seche you of blessynge for charite: or thus. Mother I beseche you of charite gyue me your blessynge. Than let y^e father or mother hold vp both the handes, and ioynyng them bothe to gether, loke vp re­uerently & deuoutly vnto the he­uen, and say thus. Our lorde god blesse you chylde, & therwith ma­ke a crosse with the ryght hande o­uer the chylde / sayng. In nomine patris et filii & spūs sancti. Amen. And if any chylde be styffe harted / stubburne and frowarde, and wyl not thus aske blessynge, if it be within age, let it surely be whys­ked with a good rodde, and be cō ­pelled thervnto by force. And if y^e persones be of forther age, & paste [Page] suche correction, & yet wyll be ob­stynate, let thē haue suche sharpe & greuous punysshement as con­uenyently maye be deuysed, as to fyt at dyner alone and by thē selfe at a stole in the mydle of the hal / with onely browne breade & wa­ter, and euery persone by ordre / to rebuke them as they wold rebuke a thefe or a traytour.Deute. xxi. d. For in y^e olde lawe suche chyldrē were brought before the hole townshype, that is to saye, the people of the cyte, or of that towne, & there were they sto­ned vnto deth. And certeynly I wold not aduyse ne counseyle any parentes, to kepe suche a chylde in theyr house, without great affliction and punysshement. And there­fore I thynke it were moche con­ueniēte for ther parētes, oft tymes to shewe vnto theyr chyldrē what commodyties and profytes, and what perylles & ieopardies done [Page] folowe the honoure and dishonoure of the parētes, accordyng vnto holy scripture. Some whereof I haue here set forth as is cōteyned in the boke of the wyse man called Ecclesiasticꝰ,Ecclesi. iii. a in the thyrde chapi­tre. Those persones (saythe he) that bene the chyldren of Christe / ben also y^e chyldren of his church, & all suche (as thoughe it were by naturall disposicion) ben gyuen & applyed of that godly disposicion vnto obedience and loue. All you therfore that ben louyng chyldrē, be euer obedient vnto the iuge­ment and discrecion of your parē ­tes. And so be you obedient in all your werkes, that you therby may be the chyldren of saluacion, that is to saye, that youre obedience be done with the very loue of your harte, vnfayned & without dissy­mulacion. For god hath ordeyned that the father shall haue due ho­noure [Page] amonge his chyldren, & the mother in lyke maner with lowly obedience. Those persones y^t done loue god, wyll pray vnto hym for the forgyuenes of theyr synnes, & afterwarde wyll beware cōteyne & kepe them selfe from them. And in y^e dayly prayer they shall graciously be herde. And lyke as a persone for the surete of his lyuynge here doth horde vp & gather treasure / so done they ordeyne for the suer­te of theyr saluaciō that duely do­ne honoure theyr parentes. This worde parentes doth sygnifye bo­the y^e father and mother. Who so euer doth due [...]y honoure his parē tes shall haue ioy, pleasure, & con­forte amonge his owne chyldren. And who so euer is duely obediēt vnto the father, dothe therby re­fresshe & moche cōforte y^e mother And these persones that done due honoure vnto theyr parētes, shall [Page] haue longe lyfe, and in the daye of theyr prayer they shall gracyously be herde of our lorde, & haue theyr petycion. Those persones that ha­ue a reuerende drede vnto our lorde god, haue in lyke maner a reue­rende drede vnto theyr parentes / and done duely honour them, and wyll do them suche seruyce, and in lyke maner as a bonde seruaunte sh [...]ld do vnto his lorde and may­ster, as well in werke as worde, w^t all pacience and gentylnes. Do therfore to your parētes honoure and reuerence, that the blessynge of God maye therby lyght vpon you, and that blessynge shall re­mayne and endure vnto your last ende. The blessynge of the paren­tes doth fyrme and make stable y^e possessions and the kynred of the chyldren. And contrary, the cursse of the parentes dothe eradicate & rotewalt & vtterly destroy bothe. [Page] Chylde, neuer take thou pleasure ne pryde in the rebuke & disprayse of thy parentes.. For that rebuke is not thy glory, boste, nor prayse, but rather thy confusyon, shame & rebuke. For the glory and prayse of euery persone, standeth in y^e ho­noure of the parētes. And a great shame and rebuke is it vnto the chyldren, whan the parentes bene without honoure and reuerence. Good chyldren take good pacien­ce with the age of your parentes, and neuer displease ne greue them in all your lyfe. And if they fayle ī wytte or vnderstandynge, & ther­after speke or do any thynge con­trary vnto your reason or wytte / take you pacience with them, & let y^e mater passe. And in no wyse do you not dispise thē, bycause of your owne strēgth or better abilite. For the pyte and compassion that you haue vnto your parētes, shall ne­uer [Page] be forgoten before God. For you shall haue good and profyte of theyr offence & synne. And in the iustyce & ryght you do vnto them shall you be edifyed, and encreace in vertue. And ī the tyme of your trybulaciō, that good dede shalbe remembrede. For as the yce in the frost doth melte by the clere sonne beames, so shall your synnes (by your duety done vnto your parē ­tes be wasted and clene losed & for gyuē. That persone is of euyll na­me and fame that doth forsake the parentes in theyr nede. And tho­se chyldren bene accursed of god, that done anger, vexe, & trouble theyr parentes. Chylde of what state or degre so euer thou be, do e­uer thy duty with myldenes, me­kenes, and lowlynes, & than shalt thou be well byloued, and praysed aboue other persones. And y^e mo­re hyghe estate thou come vnto, y^e [Page] more meke and lowly be thou in all thynges, and thā shalt thou in y^e presence of god haue great meri­te, and encrease in grace. For God doth loke vpon thē that done ren­dre & gyue due thankes, for the fa­uoure & goodnes done vnto them before.Ad ver­dum ser­me trans­lata. All this nowe is the very texte and lettre of the holy scrip­ture in the place before rehersed. Where you may se & perceyue many great commodytes and graces that done come vnto them that duely don honoure theyr parētes. And many great ieopardyes and peryles, and also the curse of god / that doth lyght vpō thē that wyll not do theyr duety of honour and reuerence vnto theyr parentes. Let therfore your chyldrē vse and accustome thē selfe, dayly to aske theyr fathers and mothers bles­synges. For this dare I saye, that although in case the father or mo­ther [Page] were an abhomynable syn­ner,Er Gre. lib. d alo. iii. ca. vii. or excommunycate, accursed / or an heretyke, & though y^e chylde were so also. yet myght that crosse of the blessynge of that father or mother saue that chylde frome so­deyne myschefe, that els myght haue come vnto that chylde. And y^e crosse may also do flee or chace a­way euyll spirites, that els shulde haue had power vpon that chyld. The blessynge of euery good per­son is good & not without greate vertue, accordynge vnto y^e power and degre of the persones & ther­fore teche thē also to aske blessyng of euery bisshope, abbote & euery preste, and of theyr godfathers & godmothers, with other deuoute persones. And let this suffyse for this fourthe commaundemente. ¶yet go ferther vnto the fyfthe cōmaundemente, whiche is to kyl or sle no persone. Teche thē there / [Page] that it is not ynoughe y^t they put no persone to deth by stroke of hā ­de or wepē, but also that they hur­te no persone in name or fame by detraction, backebytyng or sclaū ­derynge, or by euyll example of ly­uynge, nor yet that they curse or banne or wysshe euyll vnto any persone, or yet hate any persone in herte.i. Ioh. iii. For (as scripture sayth) who so euer dothe bere in the harte or mynde any hatered, malyce, euyll wyll, or stomacke agaynste any christian, is an homicide, that is a mansleer or a manqueller. Many persones wyll say they ben in cha­ryte, and haue no hatered vnto a­ny persone, and yet wyll they not speke one to a nother and that is a sygne and token that preuy hate­red is in the harte, & y^t they do not loue theyr neyghboure as thē sel­fe, in the true and vnfayned cha­ryte of our lorde. And sure it is, y^t [Page] who so euer dothe not hooly and fully loue his neyghbore,i. Iohan. iiii. d. whome he may se & behold with his body­ly syght, he cane neuer loue god / whome he cane not se, nor so be­holde. This is than the commaū ­dement of God: that who so euer doth loue god muste also loue his neyghboure.The .vi. precepte. The syxthe cōmaun­demēt is that no lechery be done / whiche is not mente onely for the vnlawful dede, but also for all maner of prouocacion therunto / as wanton and lyght behauyours, in kyssynge, clyppynge, and vnclene touchynge,Math. v d. a lyght loke or caste of the syghte, with a desyre and con­sente of harte vnto the dede, dothe breke this cōmaundemēt. Moche more than doth rybauldy breke it, and suche maner as before is sayd. The olde prouerbe sayth. Who so wyll none euyll do: shulde do no­thynge that longeth therto. The [Page] ghostly enemy dothe deceyue ma­ny persones by the pretēce and coloure of matrymony, in pryuate-secrete contractes.Contra­ctes. For many men whan they cane not obteyne theyr vnclene desyre of the woman, wyll promyse mariage, & thervpō ma­ke a contracte promyse, and gyue faythe and trouth eche vnto other saynge. Here I take the. N. vnto my wyfe, and therto plyght y^e my trouth. And she agayne vnto him in lyke maner. And after y^e done / they suppose they may lawfully vse theyr vnclene behauyoure / & somtyme the acte & dede doth fol­lowe, vnto y^e great offēce of god & theyr owne soules. It is a greate ieopardy therfore to make any su­che contractes, specially amonge them selfe secretely alone without recordes, whiche must be two at y^e leest. For many tymes after the vnlawfull pleasure is paste, dis­corde [Page] dothe fall bytwene the par­ties, eyther bycause that (as the cō mune prouerbe sayth) hote loue is sone colde,ii. Regū. xiii. c or els by the meanes of theyr frendes, or by some couety­se to haue a better mariage they or one of them done denye the con­tracte, & so vnlawfully done mary otherwyse and lyue in aduoutry all theyr lyfe tyme. And bycause y^e churche cane not openly knowe y^e thyng that was spoken and done in priuyte, they bene thought and supposed so to lyue as lawfully in mariage, wher in dede before god they done lyue as noughty packes in dampnable aduoutry and vn­lawfull lechery, and all theyr chyldren bastardes before God, all though they seme otherwyse vnto the worlde. Warne therfore your folkes ther be no such blynde bar­gaynes in youre house or gouer­naunce. ¶The .vii. cōmaunde­ment [Page] is, do not thefte. Herin cor­recte your yong persones betyme.The .vii. precepte. For the chylde that begynneth to [...]yke at a pynne or a poynte, wyll after pyke a peny or a poūde. And so go forth from an apple vnto an oxe, and from a pere to a purse, or an horse, & so frō the smal thynges vnto the greate. Whan you take any chyld therfore w^t the may­ner, be it neuer so lytle a thynge: pay truely at the fyrste tyme, and the seconde tyme: and prycke the pynnes or the poyntes vpon the cappe or shulder in open syght, & let all the house wonder vpon thē and crye all: here is the thefe, this is the thefe, se se the thefe. And if they mēde not therby, let thē be so brought through the open stretes with shame ynoughe, & cruell pu­nysshement. For better is it that y^e chylde wepte in youth, and suffre shame and rebuke, than herafter [Page] the father, mother & frendes shuld wepe for sorowe and shame at his hangyng and shamfull deth. And let euery persone beware of thefte For all other synnes with contri­cyon / confessyon and penaunce / may be forgyuē clerely, but thefte and all goodes vnlawfully gotē / can neuer be forgyuē vnto the ty­me that restituciō be made that is to saye, vnto the tyme those goo­des / or the valure of them be restored, if the persones (in any wyse) maye be able therunto. Lett euery persone pōder well and wey, what vaūtage it is to stele or pyke, syth (besyde the payne certaynely to be suffred in hell) the same goodes (in valure) must be restored agay­ne. Small goodes truly gotē, do­ne growe and encrease vnto the greate conforte of the persones- And contrary, euyll gotē goodes lyghtly come (as they saye) and [Page] lyghtly go, all wast vnto nought, with y^e disconfort of the parties / & great combraunce of conscience. Se than y^t all goodes be well go­ten amonge you. ¶Of y^e .viii.The. viii precepte. cō ­maundemēt you haue before some remēbraunce in the lessons of sweryng & lyeng. ¶ The .ix.The .ix. precepte. cōmaun­demēt is that no persone shall de­syre in mynde nor wyshe y^t the wedded make of any other persone were lawfully theyr weded make.The .x. precepte. ¶And the .x. commaundemēt is in lyke maner of the goodes. For so shulde the parties haue incom­modite, losse, displeasure or disconforte. The dedes of these two cō ­maundementes were forboden of god in the .vi. and .vii. cōmaunde­mētes, here nowe bene the wylles and desyres forbodē. That thyng than that no man maye lawfully wyll: may no mā do lawfully. Let them therfore beware that do not [Page] onely wyll and desyre in mynde / but also done secretely, pryuely / and craftely laboure to take theyr neyghboures fermes, or his house (as they saye) ouer his heed, or to entyce and get away theyr seruaū tes, or any other goodes profyta­ble for the parties. For though su­che thynges maye seme vnto the worlde lawfull, surely they be not without the great offence of god / as contrary vnto his commaun­demētes. And thus an ende of the .x. commaundementes.Of the seuen prī cipall synnes. ¶yet muste you haue a lesson to teche your folkes to beware of the seuē pryncipall synnes, whiche ben cō ­munely called the .vii. deedly syn­nes, but in dede they do call them wronge, for they bene not alway deedly syn̄es. Therfore they shuld be called capitall or principall synnes: and not deedly synnes. These bene theyr names by ordre, after [Page] our diuisiō. Pryde / Enuy / Wrath Couetyse / Glotony / Slouth / and Lechery. Thus don we ordre thē / accordynge vnto our thre ghostly enemyes / the deuyll / the worlde, & the flesshe. For Pryde, Enuy, and Wrath, done apperteyne and be­long vnto the deuyll, as chefe mouer of thē. And couetyse dothe ap­perteyne vnto the worlde, as che­fe mouer therof. And glottony / slouth / and lechery, done belonge vnto y^e flesshe / as theyr chefe mo­uer, whiche thre we done put vn­der this ordre, bycause that glo­tony is a great occasyon of slouth. For (as the prouerbe sayth) Whan the bely is full, the bones wolde haue reste. The full fedde glotton is apte vnto no good werke or la­boure, but rather all disposed vn­to sluggysshenes and slouth. And those two betwene them done sty­re and ꝓuoke most vnto lechery.

The .v. wyttes.¶Teche them also to knowe y^e names of the fyue wyttes, and to put the fyrste fynger of the ryght hande vnto the instrumentes of the same wyttes, that is to say vn­to the eare, the eye, the nose, the mouth, and than to ioyne & clappe both the handes togeder, saynge thus. Herynge, seynge, smellynge, tastynge, and touchynge.

The .vii. werkes of mercy.¶It shalbe also well done to te­che thē the .vii. workes of mercy. which you shuld (after your pow­er) set forth in werke as you teche thē in voyce. That is to fede y^e hū ­gry. To gyue drynke vnto y^e thursty. To cloth y^e naked. Herborow or lodge y^e wayfarynge folkes / or them that haue nede of lodgynge. Visite the sycke. Redeme y^e pryso­ner. And bury the deed. Here is now an ende hereof.A fourme of cōfes­sion. ¶Not w^tstā ­dyng I thynke it necessary to shew here yet howe as I lerned of my [Page] gostly father y^t taught me all this lesson you shuld teche your folkes to be ordered vnto y^e confessyon of these thynges. For I haue knowē many come vnto cōfessyō, y^t could not tell howe to do, or what to say there. I shall therfore set forth he­re a short forme and maner therof. For ther ben many formes of cō ­fessions in print set out at lengh. Fyrst good deuout christiās I be­seche you gyue no credēce vnto the false heretykes, y^t done depraue & set nought by confessyon, nor by this holy sacrament of penaunce. For I acertayne you those perso­nes what so euer they be, y^t (after theyr baptyme and christendome) haue done any deedly synne, cane neuer be in y^e state of saluacion w^t ­out the fayth & wyll of confession.Gene. iii. For almyghty god in euery lawe dyde requyre confession and pro­uoke euery trespasser thervnto, as [Page] of our fyrst parentes Adā & Eue in paradyse, whiche confessyō if they had mekely made, they & we shuld haue suffred the lesse payne.Leuit. iiii [...]. v. In y^e olde lawe speciall oblacions and sacrifyce was appoynted opēly by the prestes to be done for suche synnes amonge the people y^t were preuy vnknowen vnto all other persones, excepte onely the selfe trespassers, wherby it must nedes be trouth, that they were confessed therof vnto the prestes. Whā any persone also was suspecte of lepry, the iugement and determynacion therof remayned (by y^e ordynaūce of y^e lawe) vnto the preste. Whiche thyng was a playne figure of the sacramente of penaunce and con­fessyon.Math. v And our sauyoure sayde, he came not to breke the lawe: but rather to accomplyshe and fulfyll the lawe. And so he dyd confyrme and ratifye that lawe, whā he sent [Page] the lepres that he cured and heled vnto the prestes.Math. viii. Luc. xvii. And ī euery cure he dyd vpon the syke persones, he expressed mystycally cōfessyon, in that he caused them to shew theyr disease before they were cured. And saynt Peter his apostle after his ascension, dyd requyre confes­sy [...]n of a man called Ananye,Acto. v. & of his wyfe called Saphirye (as ap­pereth in holy scripture) of a deed­ly synne, whiche he (by the reuela­tion of god) knewe they had done / and bycause they wolde not make confession therof, they were bothe strykē to deth with the vengeaūce of god. Our mother holy churche therfore hath (by the inspiraciō of y^e holy ghost) ordeyned that euery persone y^e cōmytte or do any deed­ly synne ī werke, worde, or by full deliberate cōsente in thougt, must nedely (if they wyll be saued) be cō fessed therof vnto a preste. Sythe [Page] than all christē people haue recey­ued and vsed the same so many hondred yeres, take you that vse & custome for sufficient auctoryte to folow the same and to put all ma­ner of contrary opinion clene out of mynde, and in no wyse to here speke or talke therof. Nowe vnto our mater. Fyrste teche your f [...]l­kes to come reuerently vnto the ghostly father with meke & sobre countenaunce & behauyour. (For it is no laughynge gaine.) Than knele down at y^e place appoynted & there make a crosse vpō the fore­heed or frōte, with In nomine pa­tris (as before is shewed) and thā forth with say thus. Benedicite. And whan the preest hath answe­red, than say (if the persone be ler­ned) Confiteor deo, beate Marie, omnibꝰ sanctis, et vobis, peccaui nimis, cogitatione, locutione, et opere mea culpa. that is to saye for [Page] the vnlerned, I confesse & know­lege my selfe gylty vnto our lorde god, the blessed lady saynt Marie, vnto all the holy cōpany of heuē / and vnto you my ghostly father y^t I haue offended my lord god ma­ny tymes in my lyfe, and specially syth the laste tyme of my confessy­on, in thought, worde, and dede, in many and dyuers wayes, mo thā I can shewe, specially in the seuen pryncipall synnes. Pryde, enuy & wrath, couetyse, glotony, slouth, and lechery. And by them I haue broken his commaundementes-

¶Pryde.

¶For by y^e syn̄e of pryde I ha­ue ben presumptuous & disobedi­ent vnto god, & haue not loued hī aboue all thynges, but many ty­mes set more by myne owne frayle appetyte and sensuall desyre. For where I shuld haue desyred euer [Page] the laude and prayse of our lorde / and with all mekenes of hart ac­cused my selfe / I haue cōtrary bo­sted my selfe, or desyred and bene glade of myne owne prayse & bene loth to be dispraysed. And whan I haue ben chalenged, reproued, re­buked, or corrected, or yet chari­tably ben monysshed and warned of, and for my defautes, I haue rebelled there agaynst, and not me­kely receyued it but rather ben re­dy to defende or to excuse my selfe, and somtyme with a lye, or a false othe. And for lacke of reuerende drede and loue of our lorde, I ha­ue by presumpcion of pryde taken his holy name in vayne, and vn­lawfuly sworne by god, by our la­dy, or y^e holy sayntes by my faythe or trouthe, with suche other. And for very pryde and presumption, and for lacke also of loue & drede: I haue mysvsed the holydaye, in [Page] thynges of pleasure, or profyte vnto my selfe, and not in his seruyce vnto his honoure. I haue also (of hyghe & proude harte or mynde) bene disobediēt and not done due honoure and reuerence vnto my fathers and mothers spirituall & carnall, ghostly & bodyly, nor vn­to myne elders and betters, but haue ben many tymes full obsty­nate and frowarde vnto them. I crye God mercy. Thus (by this foule synne of pryde) I haue bro­kē foure of the principall cōmaundementes of our lorde, and many other wayes haue I also offended therin. I beseche his grace of mer­cy and forgyuenes.

¶Enuye.

¶I haue also offēded my lord god in the synne of enuye: for I haue not loued my neyghbour as my selfe, nor ben so charitable, so kyn­de, so louynge and fauorable vnto [Page] all persones: as I wold they shuld haue ben to me, but rather I haue (by suspicion) thought, iuged, sayd or herde of other persones, other­wyse than I wolde they shulde of me, nor ben so glade of theyr wel­the, ne so sory for theyr hurte as I wold haue ben of myne owne. I crye god mercy.

¶Wrathe.

¶In wrath also I haue offen­ded, for lacke of due pacience, and for lyght, slyght. or small occasi­on, haue leyghtly & soone ben sty­red & moued, wroth & angry, whā any thynge hath ben done or sayd cōtrary vnto my mynd. And ther­with haue ben redy to reuenge the same with froward and vēgeable countenaunce and behauyoure / with hyghe, hasty, and vngoodly wordes, brawlyng, chydyng, scol­dyng, reuylynge, rebukynge, ray­lynge, vpbraydyng, thretyng, cur­syng, [Page] bannyng, sweryng. And if it came thervnto, in stryuyng, fygh­tyng, or (at the lest in wyll: as god forbede) ī kyllyng or sleyng. Thus by these two great synnes of enuy & wrath I haue brokē the .v. & the viii. cōmaundement of our lorde, in them both. I beseche his grace of mercy and forgyuenes.

¶Couetyse.

In couetyse also I haue synned bycause I haue not bene contente with the goodes, state, and degre of lyuynge that god hath sente me where it is moche better than I haue deserued, or am worthy, but I haue coueyted and desyred / wys­shed & wylled, studyed & laboured to haue more (if any be vnlawful­ly goten or so with holden, make playne cōfessyon therof as the ma­ter requyreth.) Thus by this syn­ne of couetyse haue I broken the vii. commaundement of our lorde [Page] and the tenth and otherwyse dy­uersly offended in couetyse. I be­seche his grace of mercy and for­gyuenes.

¶Glotony.

¶I haue also synned in glo­tony, in takynge meate & drynke vndiscretely / and aboue that na­ture dyde requyre, & haue pycked out & chosen (somtyme by sensuall appetyte) the delycate swete and plesaunt meates and drynkes, ra­ther for pleasure thā for nede / and taken therof suche superfluyte (at some tymes) that I haue ben ther­by sycke or diseased, or at the leste ben the more dull bothe in body & soule, vnto all maner of vertue & good exercises (loke here whether you haue broken any fastes com­maunded by the law, or ben dron­ke, or taken any notable surfet) af­ter meat commonly I haue bene more redy to passe the tyme in bo­dyly [Page] disportes and ydlenes thā in labours. I crye god mercy.

¶Slouth.

¶I haue bē also moche slouth­full and neglygent to serue God, both vpon the holy day and other dayes also, and I haue ben yrke wery, & thought y^e tyme of prayer longe, come late therunto, & make haste therin, and ouer passed the seruyce of god, without due reue­rence, more by course and custome than by any good remembraunce or deuocion, and also I haue not ben diligēte to apply my selfe vn­to suche bodyly labours as I ha­ue had in charge & sometyme ha­ue not done the labours at all, or els full sleyghtly done them, and spent the tyme after myne owne appetyte full vnfruytfully, some­tyme in wantonnes, & sometyme in very ydlenes. I crye god mercy.

¶Lechery.

¶By the meanes of these two [Page] foule synnes of glotony & slouth / I haue bene the more redy vnto y^e thyrde synne of y^e flesshe, that is to say lechery, for I haue not bene so chaste in soule & body as y^e state / degre & maner of my lyuyng doth requyre, not so diligent & ready to put awaye vnclene thoughtes or mociōs of y^e body as I shulde be / but rather folowed thē at sōtymes wyllfully, & suffred them to hange vpon me, & taken in them delec­tacion and pleasure for the tyme. And whan I haue ben in p̄sence of cōpany, I haue not alway ordered my selfe in chaste maner in my lo­kes or syghtes, countenaunce and behauyour, wordes & dedes, but many tymes haue ben full lyght to take or to gyue occasyon. I crye god mercy. Here must you remē ­bre sute or prouocaciō vnto vnclē ­nes, done or suffred on your behalfe, as ī wordes, wrytyngs, sygnes tokens, messages, kyssynge, clyp­pyng, [Page] touchyng, or other more fylthy and vnlawfull behauyoure / done in dede or in full consente. And so shewe euery thynge with y^e due circumstances, of y^e tyme, pla­ce, and persones, not namynge the persones, but shewynge the states or degrees of thē: as whether they he maried or vnmaried. &c. Thus by this foule synne of lechery: ha­ue I brokē the .vi. & also .ix. com­maundemēt of god, and by many other meanes, as well in this syn­ne as in all the other of these .vii. pryncipall synnes, haue I gre­uously offended my lorde god, brokē his cōmaundementes, not ful­fylled y^e workes of mercy vnto my power, and mysvsed my fyue wyt­tes, in herynge, seynge, smellyng, tastynge, and touchynge. For the whiche & for all other, as our lord knoweth me gylty, and I wolde confesse & knowlege if they came [Page] to mynde, I beseche his gracious goodnes of mercy & forgyuenes. And you my ghostly father of pe­naunce and absolucion. Et precor sanctam Mariam, omnes sanctos dei, & vos orare pro me. Whiche is to meane vnto the vnlerned. And I beseche the blessed lady saynte Mary, all the holy cōpany of he­uen, & you also my ghostly father to pray for me. And whan you ha­ue taken your penaunce, and haue ben assoyled, than say you vnto y^e preste. Syr / and it please you, this is my penaunce, and than reherse the same ones or twyse your selfe / that you may the more surely bere it in mynde. For I assure you, it is ieopardeous (after lerned men) to forget the penaunce. And thus an ende therof. ¶yet dyd I promyse in the begynnynge / to set forthe here a forther exercise, whiche I thynke shulde be good and profy­table [Page] for all persones. For the cō ­mune prouerbe is, that a great benefyte or gyfte is worse than loste vpon suche vnkynde persones y^t done not remēbre it, ne gyue due thankes therfore. It shuld become therfore euery faythfull christian to haue euer in mynde the greate and excellēt benefyte of our salua­cion. And therfore haue I deuy­sed here a shorte table, that dothe (in some) conteyne the hole lyfe of our sauyoure Iesu, that suche per­sones as wyll can it by harte, and haue it ready in mynde may lyghtly ordre & lay vp as it were trea­sure in a cheste or cofre, all suche maters of the gospell, & that done appertayne vnto the actes of our sauyour, as bene preached where they ben presente, or that they don here any good communycacions or redynges. And also ouer this / they shall haue two greate profy­tes [Page] hereby, one is: that no remedy maye better ne soner chace awaye all temptacions, & put the ghostly enemyes to flyght, than this remē braunce. The seconde is, that no­thynge in this worlde may rather ne more spedefully moue a dull harte vnto deuotion, & vnto con­tynuaūce of vertue, than this exercise. I beseche you all therfore, in visceribus Iesu christi: that is to say, for the tender loue of our lord god and most swete sauyour Iesu: gyue some laboure and diligence thervnto, and dayly vse the same. It is but shorte and therfore may it soone be had by harte. And it is very swete, pleasaunt and profy­table, and therfore shulde be receyued with god wyll and diligence.

¶The selfe table of re­membraunce.

The fyr∣ste. ¶The Incarnacion, that is: [Page] whan (after the salutacion & gre­tyng of y^e angell Gabriell) our sa­uyoure was conceyued perfite mā & very god, in the wombe of our blessed lady Mary, euer virgine.

ii. ¶The Natiuite, that is the blessed byrth of our sauiour whan he was borne in Bethieē of the sa­me blessed lady, without any pay­ne: she euer remaynyng virgine.

iii. ¶The Circumcision / whan he fyrste shedde his precyous blode for our redempcion.

iiii. ¶The Epyphany / whan he was shewed and openly declared vnto the hoole worlde by the thre kynges, to be very god, and very man, the sauyoure of the worlde.

v. ¶The Presentacion / that is whan he was brought vnto the temple with oblacion or offrynge accordyng vnto the lawe, and al­so the purificacion or churchynge of our Lady.

vi. ¶The flyght in to Egypte, y^t was whā kynge Herode dyd pur­sue our sauyour, and wyllyng su­rely to slee hym, dyde cause to slee all the Innocent chyldren within the coostes & countrey of Bethleē.

vii. ¶The disputacion, that was after his retourne and cōmynge frōe Egypte agayne, whan he wēt with his mother and Ioseph vnto Hierusalem, & there vnknowynge vnto them remayned and taryed / tyll that thre dayes after, w^t great sekynge they founde hym in y^e tē ­ple disputyng amōge y^e doctours, & than was he .xii. yeres of age.

viii. ¶His humiliacion and meke behauyoure vnto his parentes / that was whā he lefte that hyghe place and exercise of contemplaci­on, and went with them, and was obedient vnto them.

ix. ¶ His educaciō or bryngynge vp, that was whan he taried and [Page] dwelled at Nazareth w^t his blessed mother and with Ioseph her hus­bande, euer occupied after theyr wyll and mynde vnto theyr con­forthe, and euer as he grewe & en­creased in age and statur, so dyd he appere and shewe hym selfe in grace and vertue.

x. ¶His Baptysme, y^t was: whan he was baptised of saynt Iohn̄ baptiste in y^e flode of Iordane, where the voyce of the father of heuen was herde, and the holy ghoste (in the kynde and lykenes of a doue) was sene, whiche dyd testifye and declare for trouth, y^t Christe was god and man, the Messie and sa­uyoure of the worlde.

xi. ¶Wyldernes, that is: that im­mediatly and forthwith after his sayde baptisme he was led (by the spirite of god) in to a wyldernes / not farre frome the sayd flode of Iordane, to the ende and purpose [Page] to be attempted of the deuyll.

xii. ¶Faste, that is: y^t he in the wyl­dernes dyd faste frome all maner of fode, meat or drynke, by y^e space of .xl. dayes and fourty nyghtes contynually together.

xiii. ¶Temptaciō / that is: that im­mediatly and forthwith after that faste whan he beganne to waxe hūgry, the deuyll dyd tempte him vnto glotonye and vnto pryde / & vnto couetyse.

xiiii. ¶Victory / y^t is: y^t our sauioure dyd cōfounde the deuyll in all his temptaciōs, & (for our welth) had ouer hym the vyctory & maystry.

xv. ¶Election / that is: y^e chosynge of his disciples, and the appoyn­tyng and deuydyng of them in to dyuers degrees and ordres.

xvi. ¶Preachyng, that was whan he spake openly vnto the people / and that cōmunly in paraboles.

xvii. ¶Teachynge / that was whan [Page] he taught his disciples & apostles secretly by thē selfe suche misteries as apperteyned vnto thē to know and not vnto the cōmune people.

xviii, ¶Laboures, that was whā he wente aboute from towne to tow­ne, from cite to cite, from countrey to countrey, in hunger, thurste, & colde, and many a wery iourney.

xix. ¶Miracles, whiche he dyd in many a sondry maner. In tour­nyng water in wyne / in fedynge of many thousandes with a small porcion of vytayle. In curynge & helynge of all maner of syckenes & diseases, & in shewynge to many theyr secrete & inward thoughtes.

xx. ¶The Maundy / that was the laste souper, that he made to ende and conclude the olde testamente / by the pascal lambe / and to ordey­ne & begynne the newe testament.

xxi. ¶The ministery or seruyce / y^t was whan he wasshed the fete of [Page] his disciples arisynge therunto frome the soupper.

xxii. ¶The Consecracion, that was whan he retournyng agayne vn­to the table, dyd (of bread & wyne) consecrate & make his owne holy body and sacred blode, and there­with dyd cōmune and howsell his apostles / and gaue them power to consecrate & make the same, wher­by they were all made preastes.

xxiii ¶The sermone / that was whā (after all this) he preached vnto his apostles a solempne & maruelous swete sermō makyng specially mē ciō of loue, vnite, peace, & cōcorde.

xxiiii. ¶Agony / that was whan he went a syde from the company, w^t saynt Peter, saynt Iohn̄, and saynt Iames / & yet went somwhat from them vnto prayer / wherin he swet water & blode for agony / fere / ca­re / and trouble of mynde / for the maner of that bytter passyon and [Page] moste cruell dethe that he sawe to come / and howe lytell it shulde be regarded and set by.

xxv. ¶Betraynge / that was whan the traytoure Iudas that before had solde hym vnto the Iewes / came with a company of harney­sed men / & with a false flaterynge [...]ys [...]e shewed vnto them whiche was he.

xxvi. ¶Takynge / that was whan (after that kysse) y^e soudyers layde hande vpon hym and toke hym / & all his disciples fledde and forso­ke hym for the tyme.

xxvii. ¶Bysshopes / that is whan the soudiers that toke hym / brought hym vnto the bysshopes Anne and Cayphas, where he was exami­ned, and by false wytnes accused / and cruelly tormēted all y^e nyght.

xxviii ¶Pylate, that is: that on the morowe he was presented by the Iewes, & falsly accused vnto Py­late.

xxix. ¶Herode / that is: whan Pyla­te had examined hym and coulde not fynde hym in any thynge de­fauty, than dyd he sende hym vn­to Herode the kynge.

xxx. ¶Pylate agayne, that is: whā Herode had examined hym in ma­ny thynges / and he wolde answe­re hym vnto nothynge: than he put vpō hym a whyte foles cote / & with derysion and mokery sente hym agayne vnto Pylate.

xxxi. ¶Examinacion, that was whā (after many newe false accusaciōs of the Iewes) he ferther examined hym by longe processe.

xxxii. ¶Flagellacion, that was: whā Pylate wyllynge to delyuer hym (bycause he foūde hym in all thyn­ges fautles, and yet coulde not appease the crye and malyce of the Iewes) dyd put hym naked, and tyed him vnto a pyller, and caused [Page] hym to be cruelly scourged, so that no place of his body was vntorne or vnwounded.

xxxiii. ¶Coronacion, that was whan the Iewes wolde not yet be satis­fyed and contente, Pylate caused hym to be crowned with a crowne of sharpe thornes, and with a rede in his hande in stede of a septre / & clothed in purpure: brought hym forth amonge them, and sayde in mockage / Beholde your kynge.

xxxiiii. ¶Condempnacion / that was: whan the Iewes wold in nowyse be otherwyse contente than with his deth. Pylate set in a trone as iudge (condempned him) & iudged hym vnto the deth of the crosse.

xxxv. ¶Fatigacion / that was: whā Pylate hade putt vpon hym his owne clothes agayne / and gyuen the sayde iugement, thā layde the heuy crosse vpō his necke / vnder the whiche (for very werynes and [Page] fayntenes) he fell downe (as not able to bere it any forther) and thā caused they another mā to bere it for hym vnto the place / that was the mounte of Caluary.

xxxvi ¶Crucifixion, that was: whan he came vnto the place, they caused hym to put hym selfe naked agay­ne, and to ioyne and frame his bo­dy vnto the crosse, whervnto they nayled him with foure great nay­les,Lib. iiii. reuelat btē Bry­gide cap. lxx. b one through the mydle of hys ryght hande, the seconde through the lefte hāde, and through eyther fote one, laynge y^e legges on cros­wyse, the one ouerthwarte ouer y^e other, and so dyd they hang hym / & by many rebukes mocked hym / and whan he cōplayned of thurst / they gaue hym eysell & gall. And whan he had hāged ther so payn­fully the space of thre houres, he with lowde crye commendyng his spirite and soule vnto the father [Page] of heuen / expired & dyed. And yet after his departynge (to be sure of his deth) one of y^e sowdyours ma­de a wounde in his syde & thraste hym vnto the harte with a spere.

xxxvii. ¶Sepulture, that is to saye: the buryinge, whan Iosephe ab Aramathie had asked of Pylate his blessed body / he toke hym downe at complyn tyme, and bu­ried hym in a newe graue or tom­be that he had made for hym selfe.

xxxviii. ¶Resurrection / that was: whā the thyrde daye after he dyd aryse in a gloryous body and soule, and appered fyrst vnto our blessed la­dy his mother, than vnto Mary magdalene, and after vnto y^e thre Maries / than vnto saynte Peter, and after that vnto two of his dis­ciples at Emaus. And the same nyght vnto ten of the Apostles whan all theyr dores and wyn­dowes were faste shut and closed [Page] vp. Thus you maye perceyue he dyd appere .v. tymes that same daye of his resurrection.

xxxix. ¶Ascencion / that was: whā he (in many sondry wyses, by many apperynges) had sufficiently pro­ued & assured his gloryous resur­rection, by the space of .xl. dayes: than in the presence of his mother his apostles, and in the presēce of many other disciples, men & wo­men: he dyd meruelously ascende and stye vp into heuen.

¶The Missiō or sendyng of the holy ghost, that was whan the .x. day after the sayd meruelouse ascē sion accordyng vnto his promyse he sent downe the holy ghost vnto his blessed mother / his apostles & disciples, wherby they were all fulfylled with grace, & confyrmed theryn, as the fyrste churche of christe, and so hath cōtynued / and doth & shall cōtynue ī the churche [Page] vnto the ende of the worlde. Amen. ¶you now wyll thynke this table ouer lōg for a dayly ex­ercise, but you muste remēbre that the selfe table is conteyned in the fyrst wordes of euery artycle, and the resydue is a breue declaracion of the same, & therfore I shall be contente to set it out alone in selfe wordes, whiche ben in nōmbre .xl.

¶Thus.

¶Incarnation / Natiuite / Circumcision / Epypham / Presentati­on / Egypte / Disputaciō / Humili­aciō / Educaciō / Baptysme / Wil­dernes / Faste, Tēptaciō / Victory / Electiō / Preachyng / Teachyng / Laboures / Miracles / Maundy / Ministery / Consecraciō / Sermō / Agonye / Betraynge / Takynge / Bisshopes / Pylate / Herode / Py­late agayne / Examinaciō / Flagellacion / Coronacion / Condemna­tion / Fatigation / Crucifixiō / Se­pulture [Page] / Resurrection / Ascention / Mission.

¶ The ende.

¶ Nowe you may se this table is not long, but may easely be had by harte, and if it so be, and dayly vsed: I dare well say the persones shall fynde conforte therin, bothe to exclude vyce / & also to encrease in vertu & grace. And yet forther­more to cōtynue therin vnto theyr conforte & ioye euerlastyng wher­vnto he bryng vs that bought vs our lord god and most swete saui­oure Iesu, who guyde you & kepe you all. Amen.

¶The housholder.

¶ Thus haue I nowe (in dis­chargynge of my coscience) done & fulfylled the cownsell & byddynge of my ghostly father that taught me thys lesson, whiche cownsell was, that I shulde call you all by­fore me: as well my wyfe and chyl­dren, [Page] as myne other seruauntes, men / women, and chyldren, and to teche you thys sayd and same les­son that he taught me. Now I pray you all and charge you to do your deuoyr and diligence to followe it and vse it.

¶ Also he delyuered vnto me an other prety lesson, whiche was not his owne werke, but of his translation as foloweth, and bad me also teche it you.

¶ A breue or shorte monyciō or counseyle of the cure and gouer­naunce of a housholde, accordyng vnto policy. Takē out of a pystle of a great lerned mā, called Ber­narde Siluestre, & put amonge y^e werkes of saynt Bernarde for by­cause that many done iudge and thynke hit was his owne werke.

Set forth by the same brother.

FIrste good deuoute christians / take mo­ste hede, and gyue moste diligēce to or­dre your selfe and all youres, vnto our lorde, accordyng vnto the poore lesson that goeth before / and than se well vnto the substaunce / and guydyng of your house / and goodes. Se fyrst that peace be in the house / and that you agre all together / for els all your goodes wyll sone goo to naught. Than (after the commune prouer­be) cut your thōges: after, or accor­dynge vnto your ledder. Spende accordynge vnto your gaynes / gettynges / or rētes / and not abo­ue. It is also good policy / to ha­ue one yeres rente / or a yeres gay­nes in store for chaūces, whiche is not cōtrary vnto christianite whe­re extreme, or very streyte nede / is not perceyued in the neyghbour. A [Page] negligēt or rechles ꝑsone may soo­ne set on fyre, & destroye great sub­staūce. Haue therfore a good eye / and garde vnto the diligence of your seruaūtes, for vnder thē your goodes may soone mynushe / and be wasted before you knowe / be­ware or haue knowlege therof / If your goodes begynne to waste better is, & lesse rebuke for you to absteyne, & withdrawe your char­ges / than to fall in to nedynes / or daunger. An olde prouerbe. Qui plus expēdit (quam) rerū copia tendit. Nō admiretur si paupertate gra­uetur. That is. ⚜ Who so done spende beyonde theyr faculte / No meruayle thoughe with nede they greued be.

¶ It is therfore a great prouidē ­ce, & good foresyght oftē to coūte / & cōpare your goodes, and your gaynes with your expenses. Oftē to ouerse your goodes, shalbe ne­cessary. [Page] For your beastes maye ta­ke hurte for defaute of fode, all though they nothynge aske ne cō ­playne.Aristotl. ī Econo. The stepp of the husbāde: maketh a fatte donghyll. And the eye of the mayster: a fatte horse. that is to meane. that the presence of the mayster: in euery corner / is moche profytable. Sumptuous & costly weddynges or brydales: bē damage / without honoure. Expē ­ses done vpō warre: ben more ho­norable, than profytable. Better is to suffre some wronge, & to bye peace, than to make warre, or to kepe warre. Coste made vpō pro­digall persones? is clerely loste. Coste made vpon kynne, frendes? is resonable. Fede your housholde seruaūtes: with honest commune fare / without delicates. For y^e ser­uaunte that is made a glotō, shall neuer after mende his maners. Glotony is vyle, fylthy, and styn­kyng, [Page] and wyll make the negligēt and careles persone soone roten & shorte lyued.Ecclesi. xxxi. Meane fedyng with scarcite: is vnto the diligent per­sone / pleasaunte and profytable. vpon the holydayes & hyghe fea­stes: gyue your housholde plenty of meate, but seldome & fewe deli­cates. For the vse of delicate fode / wyll soone marre a good seruaūt. Let glotony and thy purse stryue, and go to lawe together: and be­ware thou well, whiche parte thou takest, but for the moste parte al­way holde with the purse. For glo­tons, men of lawe, and wytnesses / done speke all of affection, but the purse bryngeth in playn euidence and profe, the empte barne and y^e empte bagge. But if very negar­dy shut vp thy purse, than arte not thou an euen iudge. For nygardy is a folysihe and nedeles fere / and euer lyuynge in pouerte, & hour­deth [Page] & muckereth vp: he can not tell for whome. If you haue plēty of corne desyre no derth. For those persones that of couetous mynde done procure or desyre derth, done procure & desyre the deth of y^e poo­re, and shalbe accused: as homici­des & māsteers. Sell thy corne better chepe vnto thy neyghbure (al­thouhg he were thyne enemye) thā vnto straūgers. For an enemye is somtyme soner vaynquysshed and ouercomen by a kynde dede / than by the swerde. Be neuer at debate with thy neyghbure, but rather study / & laboure to be at one. For y^u canst haue none so sure a castel / or garde of thy lyfe: as is the loue and frendshype of thy neghbure. If thou suspecte the womē of thy house: let other persones rather shewe the / thā y^u shulde be ouer bu­sy to try out y^e mater. For though it were of thyne owne wyfe / or the [Page] wyfe of the husbande: it were bet­ter vnknowē. For ones knowē, it is neuer cured / y^e wounde is w^tout remedy. If any remedy be: it shal­be whan lyke chaunce is herde of other ꝑsones. The lest & most easy way therin: is to dissimule the ma­ter though it were pryuely knowē / and pretende ygnoraūce without any quarell or cōtenaunce, but ra­ther by a dyscrete ghostly father let the parties be reformed y^t synne be not contynued. A noble harte / & hygh gentyll mynde: wyll neuer serche of womēs maters. A sh [...]ew wyll soner be corrected by smyling or laughynge: than by a staffe / or strokes. The beste way to kepe a womā good: is gentyll intreaty, & neuer to let her knowe y^t she is su­spected / & euer to be counseyled & informed w^t louing maner. An ol­de woman vnclene of lyuyng (if y^e lawe wolde suffre) shuld be buried [Page] quycke. Let your clothynge or a­ray,Of aray. be in a meane, nor vyle ne pre­cyous, but alway, fayre & honest / and of sad: and not of wanton fas­shyon. A costly garmēte beyonde: or aboue the state and degre of the persone: is a sygne and tokē of ly­tell wytte. For a woman that hath suffyciente araye: to desyre newe / and chaunge: is a synge of lytell sadnes. ⚜ Truste hym rather for thy frende, that somwhat doth for the: than hym that doth offre hym selfe: saynge. I am yours in all I can & may. For in wordes is great plenty of frendes.Prouerb xvii. c * A true frende loueth at all tymes, and neuer fayleth at nede. There is no compa­ryson of ryches: vnto a faythfull frende.Ecclesi. s. v Neuer repute, ne thynke hym thy frende that doth prayse / or boste the vnto thy face, or in thy presence. Whan you gyue coū ­seyle vnto a frēde: say this semeth [Page] best vnto me, not thus you muste nedely do. For you may soner get rebuke, or blame for your coūseyle if it proue not: than thāke for your good counseyle: though it spede well. If mynstreles, iogulers, or gesters, come vnto thy house: saye thou haste no lodgynge for suche gestes / you kepe neyther Inne nor alestake. For if you take plea­sure in theyr pastymes: you bene full lyke to haue a nother wyfe shortly after, whose name is called pouerte, or beggry. If you fortu­ne to come wher they ben, and be­gynne somwhat to delecte in theyr maters: I aduyse you dissymule & take vpon you that you herde thē not / ne set any thynge therby. For if they perceue & se you but laugh: they wyl take that for an ernest to crye largesse / and to haue reward. And so importune wyll they be / & so shāfully craue: that you shalbe [Page] yrke and wery of them, & peraduē ­ture they wyll fall to rebukynge / braulynge, and scoldynge, so that you shalbe fayne & glade, to gyue somwhat (for fere) vnto those ga­lowe clappers, worthy in dede to be hanged vp. For I tell you, god is not pleased w^t that occupacion: except it be (as scāt tolerable or a­lowable) among prynces, lordes / and hyghe estates.

Now for your seruaūtes, if you haue a seruaūt of hyghe proude mynde & stubburne stomake, put hym away lest after he do you harme, & so do hym that alway doth prayse your maners in all thinges. For a flaterer is worse than an enemye: your enemy can not lyghtly decey­ue you, but your seruaūts or your neyghbours y^t do prayse you bene surely aboute to deceyue you.Ecclesi. vii. c. [...] xxxiii. d If you haue a basshefull & dredefull seruaunte & fynde hym faythfull / [Page] than loue hym & cherysshe hym as your owne naturall chyld. Make your buyldynges rather for nede than for plesure. For y^e appetyte of buyldyng for pleasure shall neuer haue ende, tyll pouerte teche wyt: sōwhat to late. Be loth to sell your herytage, & if you muste nede sell? Sell not vnto great persones, but rather for lesse vnto y^e lower perso­nes. Better is to sell, thā to borow by vsury. For vsury is lyke a thefe y^e wolde warne you before: what harm he wold do vnto you. If you bye or bergayn, be not butyfellow w^t great persones. And though he be vnder you, yet stryue not with hym leste he put his parte vnto your better, or master. In all thin­ges kepe truely & faythfully your bonde & promyse, accordyng vnto your couenaūte. Due temperaūce is a thynge of greate honesty in a houshold, let therfore your drynke [Page] wyne / ale / or bere / be temperate. Strong drynke is more pleasaū ­te / than holsome.Ecclesi xxxi. d The wyse man sayth, that sobre drynke is the hel­the both of soul and body.Ibidem. And the wise & lerned persone wyl be ryght well contente with lytell drynke: & that shall not trouble y^e stomake / but rather cause swete and holso­me slepe: and of the contrary done come many incōmodytes as there doth folowe. Who so euer among many & dyuers strōge drynkes w^t haboundaūce therof: is sobre / may be called an erthly god, or a god vpon erth, wrastle not therwith if you do my coūsell. And if by chaū ­ce you be in cōpany, & begynne to fele y^e drynke werke: aryse and de­parte: a slepe is more mete for you than any cōpany. Who so by wor­des wolde excuse drōkennes: doth openly declare his owne disease. The knowlege & iugement of wy­nes: [Page] doth nothyng become a yong ꝑsone. If a physicion or surgiō vse to be dronke, let him not haue y^e cure of your disease ne let none of thē take experience, and lerne in you / howe to cure or hele a nother. For though they be well lerned / & ha­ue not experience: it is no wisedo­me to let thē proue theyr connyng vpon you. Great gaye horses, and lytell preaty dogges: leue you vn­to lordes & ladyes. A byg labou­ryng horse, & a mastyfe, or a curre dogge: ben good to kepe your house. As for haukes, houndes & hū ­tyng dogges do spende more than they done get, they ben mete and accordyng for states: to set ydle seruaūtes on werke, but farre vnac­cordyng ben they, for husbandes & ware housholders. It is no wyse­dome to make your owne chyldrē stewardes or rulers of your hous­hold or goodes. Foles & negligēt [Page] or careles ꝑsones, haile many mis­fortunes. For that is theyr cōmu­ne excuse whā any thyng is wrōg they say thā, that chaunce or mis­fortune was cause therof. I saye not nay: but y^t chaunce or mysfor­tune may fall. But who so doth folow wysdome, lernyng, & discreciō shall seldome accuse mysfortune. For diligēt warenes, & good hede, done seldom cōpany w^t mysfortu­ne. But yet more seldom shall you se mysfortune & slouth or neglygē ­ce, departed in fondre, for they dōe cōmunely cōpany together. The sluggard saythe, god wyll helpe hym, & so longe he trusteth thervnto,Prouer. vi. tyll he be brought vnto beggry For god by y^e wyse man doth sende the sluggarde (for example) vnto the Ant or pysmere,Iob. v. to lerne to la­boure. For man (sayth Iob (is bor­ne vnto laboure, as a byrd to flye. Kepe you (therfore) but fewe ydle [Page] persones or men. And watche you well & take good hede vnto euery ꝑsone of your house. And euer pō ­dre, weye, and cōsydre your expen­ses, w^t your gaynes or gettynges. Fyrst get and bryng in, & thā spen­de. For it is no good husbādry to borow. And whan you waxe aged truste rather vnto god than vnto your chyldrē or frēdes. That you sede before you, you shalbe sure to fynde. No cofre, cheste, ne towre may be more sure to kepe treasure? than is heuē. Let not (therfore) the poore passe you. What you gyue vnto thē: you gyue vnto Christe. And of y^t you leue behynd you: ap­poynt vnto euery ꝑsone his parte. For better were it for you nothing to leue: thā y^t stryfe & debate shuld be made cōsciēce blamysshed & god offended for your goodes. Truste them best to do for your soule: not y^t done loue, or say they done loue [Page] your soule, but that you done per­ceyue, and coniecture, done loue theyr owne soule. Make your tes­ [...]mente euery yere newe, & surely sealed by wytnes. Laye it where (whā nede is) [...]ay be founde, no man [...] howe to ende his life. The [...] sure way, to dye well, is well to lyue. Whiche he graunte vs, that bought vs, our lord god, & most swete sauyour Iesu christe. Amen. Of your charyte pray for y^e same olde wretche of Syon. Rycharde whytforde.