the mother of her husbande lorde for the churche is also a mother and a virgyne Nor there is nothynge that our lorde delyteth more in / than virgines nor wherein angelles more gladly abyde / and playe with / and talke with For they be virgins also them selfe / theyr lorde whiche wolde haue a virgine vnto his mother / and a virgine to his moste dere disciple / and the churche his spouse a virgine And also he maryeth vnto hym selfe other virgins / and gothe vnto mariages with virgins And whither so euer he goethe / that lambe without spotte / whiche made vs clene with his blode / an hundred and .xl. thousande virgins folowe hym Hit is writen in the canticles Our syster is a lytell one / and hath no breastes Whether that be the sayenge of Christe or angels to the soule / in whom standeth the very virginite pleasant vnto god Al glorie of the kynges daughter is inward sayth Dauid in the psalme There is that golden clothynge / there is the garment set and powdred with so many vertuous and precious stones Be nat proude mayde that thou arte holle of body / if thou be broken in mynde nor bycause no mā hath touched thy bodye / if many men haue persed thy mynde What auayleth hit / thy body to be clene / whan thou bearest thy mȳde and thy thought infected with a foule and an horrible blotte O thou mayde / thy mȳde is wyddred by burnyng with mānes heate nor thou fretest nat with holy loue but hast dryed vp all the good fatnes of the pleasures of paradise Therfore art thou the foly she mayde / and haste no oyle and whyle thou rounnest to the sellar / art shutte forthe and as our lorde in the gospell thretneth / whan thou commest agayne / and knockest / thou shalte be answered Who art thou I knowe the nat Thou shalte say than knowest thou nat this body closed and vntouched of men our lorde shall say agayne I se nat the body I se the soule open vnto men / and vnto deuylles worse than men / and often knocked at Thou art proude mayde / bycause thy bealy hath no cause to swelle whā thy mynde is swollen / nat with mānes sede / but with deuylles For here howe well thy spouse lyketh the / thou knowest nat thy selfe O mooste goodly of all women come forthe and folowe the steppes of thy flockes / and fede thy kyddes by the tentes of the herde men Thou knowest nat howe all only virginite is good / thou art nat my spouse come forthe / and go after the steppes of those flockes / whom thou hast norysshed in thy mȳde And syth thou dost nat fede my kyddes / fede thȳ owne Thou loueste nat me so moche / that am onely the hyghest and the beste herde man Tarye nere the tentes of the herdmen / whom thou folowest For if thou folowedest me / only one herdman shulde be knowen vnto the / and nat many For he wyl haue all to be playne and euen Thy wombe swelleth nat / nor there is no cause whye nor lette nat thy mynde than swelle nor let there be no cause why I praye the / vnderstande thyne owne goodnesse mayde / thy pryce canne nat be estemedde / if thou ioyne a chast mynde vnto thy chaste bodye / if thou shutte vp bothe bodye and mynde / and seale them with those seales that none can open / but he that hath the keye of Dauid / that is thy spouse whiche resteth so in the / as in a temple most clene and goodlye Thynkeste thou this any small thynge / that thou mayste receyue onely by purenes that thynge / whiche can nat be comprehended in this holle worlde Howe glad is a woman / if she beare in her wombe a chylde / whiche shall be a kynge But thou bearest a kynge all redy nat onely in thy wombe / but also in thy mynde whiche is more goodly / yea and that suche a kynge / in whose garment this tytle of dignite is wryten Kynge of all kynges / and lorde of all lordes of whom prophetes haue prophycied and his reigne is the reigne of all worldes whose reygne the angel tolde shuld haue none ende Let vs nowe lyfte vp our selfe aboue the common people and let vs dispute this mooste goodly matter with saynt Augustyne but yet so that thou mayst perceyue vs / and doubtles thou shalte perceyue vs better than we shall our selfe For we speake of thy goodnes / whiche thou art nat ignorant of and we shewe the that thyng / that thou haste within the. The holy virgin our lady cōceyued fyrst in her mynde our lorde Christ / and after in her body And it was a more honorable / noble / and excellent thyng to cōceyue in mȳde than in body Wherfore thou arte pertener of the more excellent cōception O happy art thou / that art maruelously mother vnto an excellent maruailous childe Our lorde in the gospell / whan the womā sayd Blessed be the wombe that bare the / and the brestes that thou suckedest he answered / Naye / But blessed by they that here the worde of god / and kepe it And whan the Iewes tolde hym that his mother and bretherne taryed hym without / he asked them Who is my mother and my bretherne And poyntyng his hande towarde his disciples Those be sayde he / my bretherne mother / and who so els obeyeth the cōmandement of my father Wherfore virgins and all holy soules / engendre Christe spiritually Howe be it corporally only one virgin dyd beare god mā whiche is spouse and also father vnto all other virgins O thou mayde / thynkest thou this but a small thing that thou art bothe mother / spouse / and daughter to that god / in whom nothynge can be / but hit be thyn and thou mayst with good ryght challenge for thyn For bothe thou gettest and art gottē and maryed vnto hym If thou woldest haue a fayre spouse / hit is sayde by hym Thou art beautyfull aboue the children of mā / grace is diffused in thy lyppes If thou woldest haue a ryche husbande / thou mayst here sayd of hym Honour and riches is in his house If thou woldest haue a gētylmā / he is goddis son̄e / and rekeneth fourtene kynges in his petegrewe / and his generations can nat be expressed and the aūciāte of his stocke is before the makyng of the worlde / tyme euerlastyng If thou woldest haue a myghty husbande / hit is sayde by hym he is wise in herte / and mighty in strength And in the .xliiij. psalme Gyrde the with thy sworde vpon thy thygh most myghtyly If thou woldest haue a good one / thou shalte here nothyng oftener of hym / than that he is the best If thou woldest haue one of great possessions / thou redest of hym / that all thinges be subiecte vnder his fete And in an other psalme / that all thynges do homage vnto hym And that
were a shame rebuke to please but sad men / chaste maydes / vertuous wyues / wyse wydowes / and fynallye all that are true christen people / nat onely in name but also in dede and with their hertes / wyll stande on our partie / whiche knowe and agree all in this / that nothynge can be more mylde and gentyll thā the preceptes of our fayth From the whiche Christe graūt vs neuer to declyne our mynde and pourpose one heares brede I haue put in remembrāce of theyr duete the good and holye women but sleyghtly / other nowe and than I take vp sharpely bycause I sawe that only techyng auayleth but a lytel / vnto those that strugle with the leader / and muste be drawen Therfore haue I spoken sometyme the more playnly that they myght se the filthynes of theyr condicions / as hit were paynted in a table / to thintēt that they shulde be ashamed / and at last leaue theyr shamefull dedes And also that good womē shuld be gladder to se them selfe out of those vices / and labour more to be furder from them / to entre in to the abitacle of vertue For I had leauer as saint Hieronyme counsayleth / auēture my shamefastnes a lytell whyle / than ieoperde my matter so yet that I wolde nat fall in to any vnclenlynes whiche were the greattest shame that can be / for hym that shulde be a maister of chastite wherfore often tymes the reder must vnderstāde more in sētence thā I speke in wordes And this worke most excellent and gratious quene / I offre vnto you in lyke maner as if a peynter wolde bringe vnto you your owne visage and image / mooste counnyngly peynted For like as in that purtrature you might se your bodilye simylitude so in these bokes shall you se the resemblaūce of your mynde goodnes bycause that you haue bene bothe mayde / wyfe / and wydowe / and wyfe agayne as I praye god you maye longe contynue and so you haue handled your selfe in all thordre and course of your lyfe that what so euer you dyd myght be an example vnto other to lyue after But you had leauer the vertues to be preysed than your selfe howe be hit no man canne preyse the vertues of women / but he must nedes cōprehende you in the same preyse howe be it your mynde ought to be obeyed Therfore you shall vnderstande / that many lyke vnto you be preysed here / by name expressely but your selfe spoken of continually / though you be nat named For vertues can neuer be preysed / but they muste nedes be preysed with all / that be excellent in them / thoughe theyr name be nat spoken of Also your dereste daughter Mary shall rede these instructions of myne / and folowe in lyuyng / whiche she muste nedes do if she ordre her selfe after thexāple that she hath at home with her of your vertue and wysedome Nor there is no doubt / but she wyll do after them / and excepte she alone of all other / dysapoynt and begyle euerye mannes opinion / she muste nedes be bothe very good and holy / that is comme of you and noble kyng Henry the viij suche a couple of mates that your honour vertue passe all craftes of preysynge Therfore all other women shall haue an example of your lyfe and dedes and by these bokes that I haue dedicated vnto your name / theys shall haue rules and preceptes to lyue by and so shall they be bounden vnto your goodnes / bothe for that / whiche it selfe hath done in gyuyng example and that hit hath ben thoccasion of my wrytyng And so I pray god gyue your good grace longe well to fare At Bruges the yere of our lorde M.D. and .xxiij. the v. day of Aprile The fyrste boke of the instruction of a Christen woman Of the bryngyng vp of the mayde Whā she is a babe The fyrste chaptre FAbius Quintilian in his boke where he doth instructe teache an oratour / wylleth his begynnyng and entrance to be taken from the cradell / and no time to be slacked vnapplied to warde th ende and purpose of the faculte entended Nowe moche more dylygence ought to be gyuen in a Christen virgine / that we may bothe enfourme her encreace and ordre it and her instruction and entrynge / and that by and by from the mylke whiche I wolde / if hit were possible / shulde be the mothers And the same counsaile gyueth Plutarche and Phauorine / and many other of the wysest and greattest philosophers For by that meanes the loue shall be the more betwene the mother and the daughter / whan none of the mothers name shall be taken from her and put vnto any other For nurces be wonte also to be called mothers And the mother maye more truely reken her daughter her owne / whom she hath nat onely borne in her wombe and brought in to the worlde / but also hath caried styll in her armes of a babe / vnto whom she hath gyuen tete / whom she hath nourisshed with her owne blod / whose slepes she hath cherisshed in her lappe / and hath cherfully accepted and kyssed the fyrst laughes / and fyrst hath ioyfully herde the stameryng of hit / couerynge to speke / and hath holden harde to her brest / prayenge hit good lucke and fortune These thynges shall cause and ingendre suche reuerent inwarde loue in the daughter toward the mother agayne / that she shall be far more loued set by of her doughter / bycause of the loue that she hath so abundantly conceyued towarde her in grene and tender age Who can nowe expresse / what charite these thynges encreace amonge folke / whan wylde beastes that haue no knowlege nor parceiuyng what loue meaneth / yet loue theyr noryshers and bryngers vp / nor shon the daungers of dethe to defende and saue them More ouer I wot nat howe / but so hit is / that we sowke out of our mothers teate to gether with the mylke nat only loue but also condicions and dispositions And that is the cause sayth the philosopher Phauorine / that maketh men to maruayle why they se many children / commen of chaste and good women / nothynge lyke theyr parentes / neither in mynde nor body nor the comen sayeng come vp of nought / whiche is nat vnknowen nat vnto children They that haue bene nurced with sowes milke haue rolled in the myer For that cause the wise mā Chrysippus bad chose the wyseste and beste nurces Whiche precepte I my selfe wyll ensue and coūsaile the mothers / that may nat norisshe their children with their owne mylke / to do likewyse Neyther I wyl so great diligēce to be gyuē in sekyng a nurce for a boy as for a maide Quintilian thought it sufficiēt to cōmaunde that the nurces shulde nat be foule and rude spoken / by cause the wayes and maner of speakyng taken in youth / wolde be harde to gette away As for
bretherne that thought their syster had ben a maydeÌ„ / whan they same her great with chylde / they dissembled theyr anger so longe as she was with chylde but as soone as she was delyuered of her chylde they throuste swordes into her bealye / and slewe her / the myddewyfe lokynge on In the same parte of Spayne / whan I was a chylde / thre maydens with a longe towell / strangled a maydeÌ„ that was one of theyr companyons / whan they toke her in the abominable dede Histories be full of exaÌ„ples / and dayly ye se neither hit is maruaile that these be done of fathers and frendes / and that the affection of loue and charite is tourned so sodaynely in to hate whan the women taken with the abomynable cruell loue / all loue caste quite out of theyr harte / hate theyr fathers and mothers / bretherne and children nat only theyr frendes and aquayntance And this I wolde nat that onely maydens shulde thynke spoken vnto them / but also maryed womeÌ„ and wydowes / fynally all women Nowe let the woman turne to her selfe consydre her owne vngratiousnes / she shall feare abhorre her selfe nor take reste day nor nyght but euer vexed with the scourge of her owne conscience / and bourned as hotte fyre brondes shall neuer loke stedfastlye vpon any body / but she shall be in feare / leste they knowe some what of her lewednes that than no body shall speake softely / but she shall thynke they speake of her vnthryftynes She shall neuer here talkyng of noughty women / but she shall thynke hit spoken bicause of her Nor she shall neuer here name of corruptyon spoken by any other / but she shall thynke hit mente by her / or of her selfe Nor no body shall stoure priuely in the house / but she shal feare / lest her vngratiousnes be opened / and that she shall be punysshed streyght What realme woldest thou bye with suche perpetual vexation Whiche many a man supposeth to be none other payne in hell The same payne haue wycked men / but women farre sorer / bycause theyr offences be rekened fouler / they be more timorus of nature And doutles / if hit be well consydred / women be worthy these punisshmentes / and moche worse / that kepe nat theyr honestie diligently For as for a maÌ„ nedeth many thynges / as wysedome / eloquence / knowlege of thynges / with remembraunce / some crafte to lyue bye / Iustice / Leberalite / lustye stomake / and other thynges moo / that were to longe to reherce And though some of these do lacke / hit is nat to be disliked / so that many of them be had / but in a womaÌ„ no maÌ„ wyll loke for eloqueÌ„ce / great witte / or prudence / or crafte to lyue by / or ordryng of the commen weale / or iustice / or liberalite Finally no man will loke for any other thing of a woman / but her honestye the whiche onely / if hit be lacked / is lyke as in a maÌ„ / if he lacke al that he shulde haue For in a womaÌ„ the honestie is in stede of all Hit is an euyll keper / that can nat kepe one thyng well / commytted to her kepyng / and put in truste to her with moche commendation of wordes and specially whiche no maÌ„ wil take from her agaynst her wyll / nor touche hit / excepte she be wyllynge her selfe The whiche thyng onely / if a woman remembre / hit shall cause her to take better hede / to be a more ware keper of her goodnes whiche alone / thoughe all other thynges be neuer so well in saftye / so loste / all other thynges perysshe to gether there with What can be safe to a womaÌ„ saith Lucrecia / whan her honestie is gone And yet had she a chast mynde in a corrupt body Therfore as Quintilian saythe / she thrist a sworde in to her body / and auenged the coÌ„pulsyon / that the pure mynde myght be seperated froÌ„ the defyled body / as shortly as coude be But I saye nat this bycause other shulde folowe the dede / but the mynde By cause she that hath ones lost her honestie / shulde thynke there is nothynge lefte Take from a woman her beautie / take from her kynrede / ryches / comelynes / eloquence / sharpenes of wytte / counnynge in her crafte / gyue her chastite / and thou haste gyuen her all thynges And on that other syde / gyue her all these thynges / and calle her a noughtye packe / with that one worde thou haste taken all from her and hast lefte her bare and foule There be also other thyÌ„ges / both in the body and minde / that helpe a woman vnto the kepynge of her honestie wherof I wyll speake nowe Of the ordryng of the body in a virgin The .viij. Chaptre THough hit were nat for this pourpose to speke of the body / nat withstaÌ„dyng for as moche as some thynges that be in the mynde come of the reason and complection of the bodye Therfore must we speke some thyng of the ordryng of the body of a virgin Fyrst of all me thyÌ„ke that it is to be tolde theyr father mother / as Aristotel dothe bydde in his historie of beastes / that is that they kepe theyr doughters / speciallye whan they begynne to growe from chyldes state / and holde them from mennes company For that tyme they be gyuen vnto most lust of the body Also the maydens shulde kepe them selfe / both at all other / and at the tyme specially / from either herynge or seyng / or yet thinkyng any foule thing / whiche thing she shall labour to do Neuer the lesse at other tymes two / vnto the tyme that they be maryed / moche fastynge shall be good / whiche dothe nat feble the bodye / but brydell hit / and presse hit downe / and quenche the heate of youthe For these be only the very and holye fastes Let theyr meate be meane and easy to gette / neither hotte of hitselfe / nor spised with spices / nor delycate And they oughte to remembre / that our fyrste mother for meate was cast out of paradise And many yonge womeÌ„ that had ben vsed to delycate meates / whan they had nat them at home / haue gone forth froÌ„ home ieoê‘ded their honestie Let their drinke be the drynke prepared of nature / that is clene water Valerius Maximus sayth / that wyne was vnknowen vnto women of Rome in olde tyme / leste they shulde fall in any shame For bycause it was wonte to be the nexte waye from Bacchus the father of intemperance vnto Venus vnlefull But if theyr stomake will nat beare water / gyue them some ale / or bere / or small wyne / as shall be sufficient to digest theyr meate / and nat enflame theyr bodies Nor that is nat only good for theyr maners and rankenes of the bodye / wantonnes / to kepe them
soone / and all the fauour of the face waxeth olde / and the breath stynketh / and the tethe rusten / and an yuel aire all the bodye ouer / bothe by the reason of the ceruse / quicke siluer / and specially by the reason of the sopis / wher with they p̄pare the body / as it were a table / ayenst the peyntyng on the nexte day Wherfore Ouide called these doynges venomes / nat without a cause Also Iuuenall asketh a question properly She that is with so many oyntementes slubbered and starched / is hit to be called a face or a sore The whiche thȳges I wolde more largely intreate / but that I am borne ī that Cite / where as the women haue a vyle name for this thyng and in my mynde nat without a cause I wyll rebuke myne owne countre / whiche is to me the most dere / that for shame it may leaue Nowe if thou canst nat els be maried / hit is better neuer marie / than toffende Christe for it / and be maried to some folisshe man / that shall haue more delite in thy peyntynge than in thy selfe For what hope canst thou haue in that mā / that hath more delyte in a cruste of whyte Ceruse / than in an honest woman God hath gyuen the a face after the image of his sonne nor he hath nat gyuen hit nakedde For he hath inspired the spirite of lyfe / that the image of his lyfe / all thynge may appere in hit Why than dost thou ouer couer hit with dirte and myre The apostle Paule byddethe a man nat to couer his heed / bycause hit is the image of god what wyll he say of the image of god in a womās face / so fyled with that myre And bicause no man shall reken hit as a bourde / Saynt Hieronyme agaynst Heluidius writeth in this wyse She that is peynted by a glasse / and in dispite of hym that made her / she gothe a bout to be fayrer than she is borne And vnto Furia What dothe purpurice or ceruse in a Christen bodies face / of whom the one countrefaiteth the rudde of precious stones in the lyppes / the other whitnes of face necke / whiche is a fyre vnto yōge men / and a fomēt of lechery / insamples of vnclene myndes How can she wepe for her synne / that must bare her skynne there with / and forowe her face This apparell is nat the coueryng of our lorde / hit is the couer of Antichrist Howe dare she lyfte vp towarde heuen that face / the her maker wyll nat knowe This sayth saint Hieronyme Nowe here the holy marter saynt Cypriā Goodly apparell and clothyng do nat agre but for harlottes comen women nor none hath lightly more precious apparell than they that set no price by theyr honestie goodnes And in the scripture / that god wolde haue vs instruct withal taught / the cite is discrybed an harlot / piked and apparelled goodly / that shall perishe together with her apparel and specially bicause of her apparel Nowe what a madnes is to delyte in that / whiche euer hath done hurte / hurteth styll and to wene that thou shalte nat perisshe bycause of the / wherby thou knowest that other haue perisshed For god made neither purple / nor crȳsin shepe / nor taught to die with the iuce of herbes neither fyne silkes enbrobred with golde / perles / or precious stones / to hide the necke in / whiche he made and to hyde the / whiche god made in man and shewe that / whiche the deuyll hath founde out his dampned angelles / whan they felle from the heuenly vertue vnto the erthly cōtagiousnes thā they taught to peynt the blacke of eies / and ruddines of chekes / and alter the naturall colour of the heares and visage And verily me thynke that for the drede that our fayth teacheth vs / and for the loue that broderhodde requireth / nat only maydes / but also wydowes and wyues / shuld be warned / ye and all womē in generall / that the worke of god ought nat to be defiled with yelowe / or blacke / or redde colours / layde on hit For god said Let vs make mā after our owne image and lykenes Nowe than / howe dare any he so bolde to change that / which god hath made For they lay violent hand on god hym selfe / whan they go aboute to reforme change / that whiche he hath made / nat knowyng / that all thyng naturall is the worke of god and all that is by alteration / is the worke of the deuyll Is if a counnyng peynter had peynted any bodies picture coūnyngly / expressyng both the forme and qualities of the body / than if an other come and layd to his hand / as though he wolde amēde hit / shuld nat he greatly dismaye and offende the fyrst workman Than wenest thou to escape vnpunysshed / that offendest god / the workeman of thy body For though thou be nat an adulterar towarde men / yet whan thou corruptest and marrest that / whiche is goddis doyng / thou art a worse adulterar And where thou thynkest thy selfe gay well picked / that is a strife agaynst goddis worke and breakynge of trouthe Thy loroe sayth / thou canste nat make one white heare or blacke / and thynkeste thou thy selfe able to ouercome the worde of thy lorde Thou diest thy heare by a bolde presumption and vngratious cōtempte and afore hande thou signifiest thy heare to be flamed / and vngoodly sinnest with the better parte of the / that is thy heed These be saynt Cyprians wordes Also after these p̄ceptes of Christē men / I am a shamed to reherse oughte out of pagans I wyll lay to only one of the most wiseman Lycurgus / the maker of the lawes of the Lacedemons whiche whan he wolde haue women of his countre to be regarded by theyr vertue / nat theyr ornamētes / he banisshed out of the countre by the lawe all peyntyng / and commanded out of the towne all crafty men of pykynge and apparellyng Our lorde sheweth by Osee the prophet / that the woman / whiche fel vnto adultery / apparelled her selfe with ouches brouches / that she myght go wayte vpon mē / and nat her lorde And if thou apparel thy selfe for god and good folkes / thou art fayre inough / whā thou art good but thou canst nat please the deuyll / and yll people / excepte thou mynisshe moche of thy naturall fayrenes What shuld all that gold do to be worne / as though thou woldest she we howe stronge thou arte that canste beare so moche weyghte Weneste thou to seme feyrer / nobler / or wyser / if thou haue so moche metall vpō the. Nay / neuer a whit What than / thou wilte saye parauenture / I shall seme the rycher O vaynes of myde / is that a thought or a sayeng of a christē mȳde Thou
bare / but hyde her face / and with scarsly an eie open to se her way with all Neither let her desire to se / nor to be sene / nor caste her eies vnstably hither and thether nor be busye to knowe / who dwelleth in this place / or in that / whiche ought scantly to knowe her owne neighbours He wolde haue all hyd / faue the eies to lede her the way Nor I can nat se / what honeste or goodnes can be in shewynge of the necke bare howe be hit that maye be suffered / but to bare the breast and the pappes / and betwene the shulders on the backe / and almost the shulders / howe foule a thyng is that / as the cōmen sayeng is / a blynde man may espy / whan those that se it / some aborre the abhomynablenes and somme wanton men / seynge the parte of the bodye / nat vsed to be sene / are set on fyre there with Wherto were gloues ordeyned / but to hyde the handes / that they shulde nat appere / excepte hit were in worke We rede / that the maides of the cite of Milete were in suche a rage in olde tyme / that in diuers places they hāged theyr selfes / nor any remedye coude be founde for that case / there was commaūded vnder great paynes / that they shulde nat do hit / they sette nat by paynes / nor in dede there is no payne sorer thā deth / as for that they wēt to on theyr owne mȳdes Than were they watched and kepte / yet founde they the meanes to dye for all theyr kepyng than at last there was a commaundement gyuen / that whiche so euer kylled her selfe / shulde be drawen naked and bare / through the market place of the towne in the open day and that payne only made them a ferde for they wolde nat be sene naked no nat whan they were deed O incredible demurenes / worthy to be spoken of / they that feared nat dethe / the extremeste of all sorowe / yet drede they honestie in the deade body and so was that rage seased And more ouer Nature her selfe / the wyse mother of all thynges / prouideth for the honestie of women For a wonderous case / Pliny in his naturall historie wryteth / that mennes bodies caste in to the see swymme vppe right / and womens on the bealy so nature hath care and respecte to womēs honesty / yet they them selfe set nought therby In goyng / let the woman neither walke ouer fast / nor ouer slowly Nowe whā she is in cōpany of people / let her shewe great sobrenes / both in coūtenaunce / and all the gesture of her body / whiche thynge let her nat do of any pride / or to make her selfe the more comely / but of sobre and very christē mynde nor let her nat beholde men moche nor thynke that they beholde her Nowe if the men syt a parte / and talke to gether beholdyng her / yet let nat her thynke / that they talke of her / nor loke at her For some maydes and yonge women / that haue gottē an opinion of beautie and pretynes in theyr selfe / wene that euerye man loketh at them only speke of them / and if any mā loke at them / though it be but by chance / nothynge thynkynge vpon them / yet wene they that they loke at theyr beautie / and than they smyle and bycause they wyll nat seme to laughe at that matter / they caste forthe some tryfyll / that they thynke shulde make folkes laugh A man maye some rymes se .xx. syttyng to gether / whom if a mā beholde them / they wyll al laugh at ones / and say / they laugh at some worde or dede of some of them selfe / whiche is neuer a whyte worth the laughyng but that euery one thynketh her selfe so wonderous fayre and goodly to se and beholde in whiche doynge they playnly shewe their owne foly lyghtnes But the mayde that wyll do after my counsaile / shal nat set by her beautie nor iudge her selfe fayre nor laugh at soly she or lewde wordes nor shall reioyse to be moche loked vpō / and to be a talkynge stocke for yōge men / whan she hath more cause to wepe for hit / that the mooste excellent goodnes / that she hath / shulde be assauted by so many craftes and enmys / and that her face doth enflame yonge mēnes myn des vnto soule vnlaufull lustes / whom she knoweth nat / whether she can withstande or nat And for as moche as we be in hande with laughynge / whiche is a sygne of a verye lyghte and dissolute mȳde / let her se that she laugh nat vnmesurably For this I nede nat to byd her / that she shall nat laugh agayne vnto yonge men / that laugh towarde her / whiche none wyll do / but she that is nought / orels a fole Let her nat suffre to be plurked at or to be touched wantōly let her chaunge her place / or go away / nede be let her gyue nothyng to no man / nor take ought of any man The wyse man sayth He that taketh a benefyt / selleth his libertie And ther is in France Spayne a good sayeng A womā that gyueth a gyft / gyueth her selfe a womā that taketh a gyfte / selleth her selfe Therfore an honest womā shal nother gyue / nor take Ful of talke I wold nat haue her / no nat amōge maydes For as for amōge men to be full of bable / I maruayle that some regarde shame so lytell / that they do nat dispreise hit That custome was confermed / as I trowe / by the decree of the deuyll / that women shulde be preysed for talkyng eloquently and prōtly with men and that by many houres to gether What I praye you / shuld an ignorāt mayde talke with a yonge man ignorant of goodnes and counnyng inough in noughtynes What shulde fyre towe do to gether What shulde they talke of so longe What I am sure of Christe and our lady nay / but rather by theyr communycation they shall be incenced / and kendled / and whether they wyll or no / shal be cōpelled to talke of theyr heate and suche they call women of courte / and I trowe well / of suche courtes as be nowe adayes / that be euen the fathers of outragious vice / and the setis of Satanas Whiche nat onely a thristen bodye shall keps them from / but also pagannes / if they haue any witte or good mynde But ye wyll parauenture saye / They be nat all nought Fyrste / I can nat tel that and though they be chast of body / yet be they vnchaste of mynde and though they be good of body / yet be they common in hart Nor they lacke nothynge to make them nought / but a good and cōuenient occasion / bicause they be euer in the eies company of many folkes But wherto shulde I dispute with
concorde / and charite / and specially where the man and wyfe be coupled with these thynges Thou shalt sone make god thy freÌ„de / if thou make thyne husbande thy frende afore God nedeth nat moche of our seruice But vertuous lyuynge / and high honour / them he reserueth vnto hym selfe / other thinges to be kepte in the worlde / as loue and concorde And that is the cause whye he reherseth â—o ofte charite in his gospell / and sayth / he gyueth â—is kyngdome vnto those / that haue vsed charite vnto folkes in this worlde and casteth out from the inheritaunce of heuen / that hath ben enuious and malytious agaynst theyr euen christen For thou shalte easily make god thy frende / if thou reconcile thyne euen Christen vnto the before Neyther there is any way more redye vnto goddes fauour / than fyrste to optayne fauour of thyne euen Christen Therfore let a woman thynke that she dothe a great sacrifyce / whan she serueth her husbande and thinke that she visetteth churches deuoutly / if she be diligent about her husbaÌ„des bed But there be some women / that if their husbande were neuer so sicke / yet wolde they neuer let theyr walkyng of their stations to churches about / and that more for theyr pleasure / than deuotion to god warde But where to shulde we talke of them Saynt Paule wrytyng vnto Tymothe speaketh of womannes duete in this wyse Let the woman lerne with all obedyence / kepynge sylence For I wyll nat haue the woman to be a teacher / nor to rule her husbande / but kepe sylence Also writyng vnto the Corinthies / he saythe Lette your women nat speake in the churche / but if they lyste lerne ought / that they be in doubte of / aske theyr husbandes at home Whiche lawe in myne opinion meaneth none other thynge / but that the woman ought to lerne of her husbande / and in such thynges as she standeth in doute of / to folowe his mynde / and beleue as he doth and if the husbaÌ„de do wronge / hym selfe shall beare all the blame / the wyfe shal be out of faute excepte it be so manifest that she maye perceyue the faute her selfe playnly mough / or els be taught other wise of suche as the husbande hym selfe myght well inoughe lerne For those thynges that be agaynste the lawes of god / she ought nat to do though her husbande coÌ„mauÌ„de her neuer so moche For she muste a knowlege one for better than her husbande and haue more in price / that is Christe The man is heed of the woman / but Christe is heed of the man Many holy women of our fayth haue bene sore punisshed of theyr husbandes / for folowynge Christ is preceptes agaynst theyr wyll And yet the apostle Paule coÌ„maunde that he wyfe nat to departe from her husbaÌ„de without his leaue / be he neuer so vngratious So great be the bondes of wedlocke / that the Christen myght nat departe from the hethen without leaue What than ought we to suppose / where bothe be Christened / and bothe good Aristotel sayth A good woman ought to take the maners of her husbande / as a lawe and rule of her lyuynge / gyuen her by god by the couplynge of matrimony And hit becommeth her to accorde with her husbande and serue hym / nat onely in prosperite / but also in aduersite If he lacke goodes / or be sicke of his body / or out of his mynde / let her suffre and obey hym / excepte it be some vnclenly thynge / or vncommelye Nor let her nat beare longe in mynde / if her husbande offende her / by reason of distresse of his mynde but lay the cause in his disease and ignorance For the more pacieÌ„tly she vseth him in these poyntes / the more thanke shall he gyue her / whanne he is amended And if there be any vncommely thynge commanded her by hym / whiche she hath nat done / he shall consydre that better after his amendynge Wherfore a woman ought to absteyne from yll / but in all good thynges / to obeye none other wyse / than thoughe she had ben bought in to the house as a bonde and hande mayde And in dede she is boughte with a great price / that is to say feloship of lyfe / and procreation of childreÌ„ / whiche / nothyÌ„g can be greatter nor holyer Moreouer if she had had a welthy husbande / than coude nat her goodnes bene so moche knowen For hit is but a small acte to handle prosperite well Howe be it to suffre aduersite paciently is counted a great thynge For in great aduersities and harmes nat to be in extreme dispayre / is a poynte of a noble stomacke Therfore she hadde nede to praye / that no harme bechaunce her husbande But if any aduersite fall / than let her considre / that she shall wynne great worship there by / if she behaue her selfe well And let her remembre / that neither quene Alcest shulde haue had so great honoure / nor quene Penolepe so great prayse / if they had lyued in prosperite with their husbaÌ„des For by the aduersite of kyng Admetus and Vlysses caused them eternall memory For in thaduersites of theyr husbandes they optayned and that well worthy / eternall glorye / for kepynge faythe and truthe towarde theyr husbandes For womeÌ„ wyll take no parte of aduersite / excepte it be suche as be wonderous good Wherfore to coÌ„clude / it is becomynge for the wyfe to haue her husbande in honour / and nat dispise hym These be Aristotles wordes Of the concorde of maryed couples The .v. Chaptre HIt were an infinite thyng / nor the tale shulde come vnto any ende / to reherse the goodnes of concorde and howe all thynge in the worlde / and also the worlde it selfe / standeth to gether by vnyte and concorde but our pourpose is to speke of wedlocke in whiche I say / the greattest quietnes and mooste parte of pleasure is concorde / and the greattest trouble and moste parte of misery in it is discorde They that were of Pythagoras disciplyne / amonge al the preceptes of Pythagoras / they kepte these rules / and mooste / and oftest vsed them That laÌ„guishenes shulde be voyded and put from the body / foly and lewdnes from the mynde / ryotte from the bealye / and sedition out of the cite / and discorde out of the house / and finally intemperaunce out of all thynges Vlysses in Homer wisheth for an husbaÌ„de / a house / and coÌ„corde vnto Nausicaa the doughter of kynge Alcynous whiche is the greattest treasure and moste to be desyred that can be For whan the wyfe and husbande lyue peasably to gether / they cause moche sorowe vnto theyr enemyes / moche ioye vnto theyr frendes / and moste of all vnto them selues Thus he sayde Howe happy a maryage suppose we that Albutius had / whiche lyued with his wyfe Terrentiana without any displeasure .xxv. yere And yet more fortunate was
thyne offryng there / and go be agreed fyrst with thy brother / and after offer that vnto god / that thou intendest For thou callest for peace of god in vayne / as longe as thy frende is nat pleased with the / but moche more / if thy husbande be nat What so euer is spoken in the chaÌ„bre the holy bed of wedlocke / let her take good hede to kepe more secreate and counsaile / than the sacrifice of Ceres in Elewce was kepte / or misteries of any other god or goddes For what madnes is hit to bable out suche thynges / as ought to be kepte so secrete The wyse people of Athens / whan they hadde warre with Phylyp kynge of Macedony / and had taken letters of his / sente vnto his wyfe Olempias / they wolde nat suffre them to be opened and red / bycause they rekened the secretes of wedlocke to be / as they be in dede / holy / and to be kepte in priuite / nor to be conuenyent to commyne them abrode / or to be knowen of other folkes / than of the wyfe and her husbande And therfore they sent the letters vntouched vnto Macedone vnto the quene Wherfore they were worthy to haue theyr wyues both to kepe faith and couÌ„saile with them Nowe if they dyd that vnto theyr enemye armed agaynst them / howe moche more is it for the to do it vnto thy husbande Porcia wyfe vnto Brutus proued her owne pacience with a wouÌ„de / whether she coude kepe counsayle of great matters or nat And whaÌ„ she sawe she coude hyde the wounde and kepe secrete / thaÌ„ was she so bolde as to aske of her husbande what he studied so carefully vpon And whan he had tolde her howe they purposed to flee Cesar / she kepte her as wel as any that was of the same counsayle Neither the wyfe ought onely to loue her husbande her selfe / but also to se that she make nat other folkes to hate hym / or bryÌ„g hym iÌ„ to any ieê‘dy by causyng hym to be eÌ„uyed through her meanes Nor let nat her vse her husbande to be her page / and reueÌ„ge all iniures done vnto her / excepte hit be the parell of chastite / whiche is the most precious thynge that a woman can haue If any body haue spoken wordes of displeasure or dishonesty vnto her / or done a thyÌ„g that may seme to greue her tender mynde / let her nat ronne streight to her husbande and kendel his stomacke with fyrye wordes / suche as angre is wonte to cause A good woman shall take all suche thynges paciently / and shall reken her selfe safe and sure inough / as longe as her chastite is holle and vntouched whiche if it be poluted / there is nothynge to be rekened pure She shall vse in chamber nat onely chast behauour / but also shamfastnes And let her remembre that she is a wyfe / in whom Plutarche wolde haue both great loue and great demurenes coupled and ioyned to gether They saye that the quenes of Perse were woÌ„te to kepe priuate and sober feastis with theyr husbaÌ„des / but as for in waÌ„ton baÌ„kettes cam none but syngers / mynstrelles / and concubynes / wedlocke was had in suche reuerence For as the noble prince was wonte to say / a wyfe was a name of dignite and nat of bodily lust so the husbande is a name of couplyng and affinite / as I haue declared Nor the husbaÌ„des ought nat to gyue them selfe vnto ouer moche pleasure / nor to delyte in any companye but theyr wyues / but our purpose is nat here to teache the husbandes Howe be it / it is nat conuenient for them to be maisters of wantoÌ„nes and lechery vnto theyr wyues And let them euer remembre this sayenge of Xystus the philosopher He is an adulterar with his wyfe / who so is ouer excedyng and ouer hote a louer And let him obey the apostle Paule / sayeng vnto husbaÌ„des / that they shulde haue their wyfe as vessels of generation in holynes / and nat in vnlefull concupiscence or immoderate / as the pagaÌ„s do / that knowe nat god The spouse in the canticles calleth his spouse syster / to th entent to make his loue more measurable but we wyll returne agayne vnto women Let them nat defoyle the holy and honeste bed of wedlocke with fylthy and lecherous actis The chast wyfe of Spartane / whaÌ„ she was asked if she vsed to go vnto her husbaÌ„de / nay perde sayde she / but he vnto me For the chast woman neuer prouoked the lust of her husbande / nor vsed the bodylye pleasure / but for her husbandes pleasure Trebellius Pollio wrytethe / that zenobia the quene of Palmyra / a very well lerned and a wyse woman / was of so great chastite / that she wolde nat lye with her husbande / without she had proued before / whether she were with chylde or no. For whan she had lyen with hym she wolde tarye her tyme / to se whether she had conceyued and if she had nat / than was she content to suffre her husbandes wyll agayne Who wolde thynke / that this woman had any luste or pleasure in her body This was a woman worthy to be had in honour and reuerence / whiche had no more pleasure in her naturall partes / thaÌ„ in her fote or her fyÌ„ger She had bene worthy to haue borne childreÌ„ with outen mannes company / whiche neuer desyred it / but only for children or els to haue brought them forthe without payne / whiche gate them without pleasure But one of our christen women called Ethelffryda / a quene of EnglaÌ„de / dyd a greatt acte / whiche after she had borne one childe / neuer laye more with her husbande And yet one Edelthrudis / a quene of the same countrey / passed her whiche had had .ij. husbandes / and made them bothe to kepe perpetuall chastite There were also other couples / that lyued to gether without carnall dealyng / as Henricus Bauarus / the prince of Rome / and Sinegunda his wyfe Iulianus the martyr / and Basilia his wyfe and in the cyte of Alexander ChrysaÌ„thus / and Daria his wyfe and Amos with his wyfe For these holy folkes vnderstode well inough / that thyng whiche is writeÌ„ of wyse men / that the bodely pleasure is vnworthy this excelleÌ„t nature of ours / whiche we haue of the soule And therfore euery bodye dispiseth it the more / and casteth it away / the more that he hath of that excellentnes of the soule / the nigher that he is to god and other heuenly myndes neyther wyll vse this pleasure often / except it be suche as haue but beastly / vile / and abiecte myndes / and hath taken moche of vile nature / and veray lytle of that high celestyall nature You wyues / whanne you put of your smokkes / put vpon chamefastnes / and kepe alway both day and night both in coÌ„pany of other men
is hit / nat to loue them that thou hast borne But yet let them hyde their loue / lest the children take boldenes there vpō / to do what they lyste Nor lette nat loue stoppe her to punisshe her children for theyr vices / and to strength their bodies and wittes with sadde bryngynge vp For you mothers be the cause of mooste parte of ylnes amonge folkes wherby you maye se / howe moche your children are beholdyng vnto you / whiche induce noughty opinions in to them with your foly For you haue the bryngyng vp of them and you alowe theyr vnthriftynes And whan they be goynge vnto high vertue / and abhorre the ryches of the worlde / and the pompe of the deuyll you with your wepynge / and sharpe rebukynge / call them backe agayne in to the deuylles snares bycause you had leauer se them ryche thā good Agrippyna / mother vnto themperour Nero / whan she had asked south sayers of her sonne / whether he shuld be emperoure / yea sayde they / but he shall kyll his mother let hym kyll her sayd she / so that he maye be emperour And so he both was emperour kylled her But whan it came to the poynt / Agrippyna wolde nat gladly haue bene kylled / and repented that her son had th empyre Fynally you / through your cherishyng wil neither let them take laboure to lerne vertue and haue a pleasure to fyll them full of vices with delicatenes Therfore many of you wepe and wayle for I speke nat of all and be well punysshed and worthyly in this lyfe / for your madnes Whan you be sory to se your chyldren suche as your selfe haue made them Nor you be loued of them agayne / whan they perceyue them selfe vnloued of all other for your loue There is a certayne tale of a yonge mā / whiche whā he was led to be put to deth / desyred to speke with his mother and whan she came / layde his mouthe to her eare / and bote it of And whan the people that were by rebuked hym callȳg hym nat only a these / but also cursed / for so entreatynge his mother / he answered agayne This is the rewarde for her bryn gynge vp For if she / sayd he / had corrected me for stealing my felowes boke out of the schole / whiche was my fyrst thefte thā had I nat proceded vnto these mischeuous dedes But she cherysshed me / kyssed me for my doyng Nowe where to shulde I reherse the madnes of those mothers / that loue better those children / that be foule / croked / leude / dullardes / sluggardes / droūkerdes / vnruely / and folisshe / than those / that be fayre / vpryght / counnyng / quicke witted / inuentyue / sober / treatable / quiet and wyse Whether is this an errour of folkes myndes / or a punysshement of god / deserued for their syns / to make them to loue suche thȳges / as be worthy no loue Dūme beastis cherysshe euer the fayrest of their whelpes / or byrdes / lightly hit is a sygne of good proffe in them / whan the dāmes make moche of them Also hūters knowe that that shal be the best dogge / whiche the damme is most busye about / and for whom she careth the most / and carieth fyrst in to her lytter But in mākynde that is the moste vile and the least worthe / that the mother loueth most tenderly If you will beloued in dede of your children / and specially in that age / whan they knowe what is true and holy loue / thā make them nat to loue you ouer moche / whan they knowe nat yet what loue is but sette more by a spised cake / a hunnye combe / or a pece of sugare / than by bothe father and mother No mother loued her childe better thā myne dyd me neither any chylde dyd euer lesse perceyue hym selfe loued of his mother than I. She neuer lyghtely laughed vpon me she neuer cokered me and yet whā I had ben .iii. or .iiij. dayes out of her house / that she wyst nat where / she was almost sore sicke And whan I was comen home / I coulde nat perceyue that euer she longed for me Therfore was ther no body / that I more fled / or was more lothe to come nyghe / than my mother / whan I was a childe But after I came to yonge mānes estate / there was no body / whom I delited more to haue in syghte Whose memorye nowe I haue in reuerence / as afte as she cometh to my remēbraūce / I enbrace her with in my mynde and thoughte / whan I can nat with my body I had a frende at Paris / a very well lerned man Whiche amonge other great benefites of god / rekened this for one that his mother was deade / that sherysshed hym so wonderously Whiche sayd he if she had lyued / I had neuer come to Paris to lerne But had syt styll at home all my lyfe / amōge dicyng / drabbes / delycates / and pleasures / as I begounne Howe coude this man loue his mother / that was so glad of her dethe But a wyse mother shall nat wysshe for pleasures vnto her childe / but vertue Nor for ryches / but for counnyng / and good fame And rather for an honest dethe / than for an vncomly lyfe The women of Lacedemon / had leauer their sonnes shulde dye honestelye for the defence of they ▪ coūtrey / than fle to saue theyr lyues And we rede in histories / that many of them haue kylled with theyr owne hādes / theyr sonnes / that were cowardes and dastardes / pronouncyng these wordes This was neuer my sonne / Nor borne in Lacedemone Sophia whiche had .iij. goodly daughters / named them with .iij. names of vertue / hope / faith / and charite / and was very glad to se them all dye for the honour of Christe / buried them her owne selfe / nat farre from Rome / in the tyme of Hadryan themperour Let nat the mothers be so diligēt in teachynge theyr children craftes to gette good by / as to make them vertuous Neither shall bydde them take exāple of suche as haue gathered moche goodes in shorte space but rather of suche as haue comen vnto great vertue and goodnes The people of Megara is dispreysed / and nat without a cause / for teachyng theyr children nygardshyppe and couetyse and in stede of honest children / made them sparynge bonde men Wherfore they caused suche thynges / as wese chaunseth nowe adayes / that with byddyng them so ofte / seke for good / get good / increase theyr good / and gether good by all meanes / they caused their children to do myschiefe vngratious dedes The whiche faute is a great parte in the fathers and mothers / whiche be coūsaylours / causers / and setters vpon / and as good reason was / whan the children coulde fynde none other wayes to come by ryches /
the sepulture / and royalties of the funerall / be rather the consolations of them that lyue / than any ease to the deed For if solemne buryeng myght helpe an iuyll man any thyng / than shulde poure buryeng orels none at all / hyndre a good mā but we se far contrary / nor the great royalte of sepulture dyd nat ease the payne of the ryche man / spoken of in the gospell nor hit was no rebuke to the lazer man / that his body lay on the erthe abiecte and nought set by For after warde the ryche man was punysshed in hell for his yll lyuyng / and the lazer was refresshed in the lap of Abraham / had his rewarde for his lyfe innocētly vertuously spente Neither I wolde nat that sepulture shulde be put awaye For holy fathers / as Abraham / Isac / and Iacob / and Iosephe / whan they dyed / commaūded moche of theyr buryeng And Tobias was preysed of the angel of god / bicause he had burted deed people But all the ornamētes of sepultures ought to go to the profet of them that be deed / and nat to them that lyue For he that is deed must make his rekenȳge to god only / whiche reioyseth of the merites of them that be deed / done before in theyr lyues / and of the clene pure myndes of them that be alyue Ther is no shewe of ryches nor pride pleasant to hym / but holle trust and hope in hym / and charite with thyn euē Christen For if thou gyue almys / thou shalte haue almys and if thou be mercifull / thou shalte receyue mercye Therfore make frendes to thy selfe and to thy louers / that are deed / with thy worldly treasure / that thou mayste fynde in the other lyfe them that shall receyue the in to eternall herborowe For our lorde in the gospell gyueth paradise to them / that gyueth the workes of mercy and denyeth hit to them / that denye the workes of mercy Also he teacheth the wayes of gyuyng almes / that thou gyue none of thy goodes to them that be of great habylyte / and maye quyte the / or do a better tourne for the agayne but gyue to poure folkes and beggars / that be nat able to do as moche for the agayne and so thou shalte haue great rewarde of god Thanne howe moche is hit better to cloth poure strangers / than thy ryche kynsfolkes / and poure lay men / than riche prestis and that that is spēded on waxe and costly sepultures / to be bestowed on poure wydowes / and fatherles children / and suche as lacke And moche surer and more plentuous aduantage shall comme hereof And in the day of thy weping / thou shalte remember them that euer wepe / beyng opressed with necessite their teares shall folowe thyn their mirthe shall chere the. Thy frende that is deed shall finde them atournees and aduocates / moste pleasant to the iudge eteruall / to pleade his matter / and be as diligēt in his peryll as in theyr owne Nowe it appereth well inough / what I iudge of those wydowes / that disceyue their creditours of theyr payment / to brynge forthe theyr husbandes royally / orels do nat accomplysshe and perfourme the wyll and bequestis of the deed mā / whiche thyng ought to be done speciallye I nede nat to declare here / howe moche men be boūde to the payeng of theyr dettes / nor howe moche the fulfyllyng of testamētes ought to be regarded For the true and durable honour of the corce standeth in mennes hartes / nat in the pompe of sepulture / or tombes of marble and metall / costly wrought For men saye well by the buryeng of a good mā / be it neuer so poure and pray for hym / and curse sumptuous tombes / and that the more spitously / if the money be ill gotten / that it was made with Of the myndyng of her husbande The .iij. Chaptre LEt a wydowe remēber / and haue styll before her eies in her mynde / that our soules do nat perisshe together with the body / but be losed of the bondes of our corporall grocenes / and be lyghtned from the burden of the body / and that death is nothyng / but a seperation of the soule from the body / and that the soule departeth nat so from the body in to an other lyfe / that it clerely gyueth ouer our matters here in this worlde / they haue bene ofte tymes harde of them that were on lyue / and they knowe moche of our actis and fore times by the shewing of angels / that go betwene Wherfore a good wydowe ought to suppose / that her husbāde is nat vtterly deade / but liueth / both with lyfe of his soule / whiche is the very lyfe / and besyde with her remembraunce For our frendes lyue with vs / thoughe they be absente from vs or deade / if the lyuely image of them be imprinted in our hartes / with often thynkyng vpon them / and dayly renewed / and theyr lyfe euer waxe fresshe in our myndes And if we forgette them / than they dye towarde vs. The bretherne of Valeria Messalina / that was Sulpicius wyfe / asked her after her husbandes deth bicause she was yet in the flowers of her youth / and helthfull of body / and therto goodly of beautie whether she wolde marye agayne Nay verily sayd she for Sulpicius is still alyue to me And this was the sayeng of a pagane / nat assured of the eternall lyfe Than what shulde a christen woman do Lette her kepe the rememraunce of her husbande with reuerence / and nat with wepyng and let her take for a solempne and a great othe / to swire by her husbādes soule / and let her lyue and do so / as she shall thynke to please her husbande / beynge nowe no man but a spirite purified / a deuine thynge Also let her take hym for her keper and spy / nat only of her dedes / but also of her conscience Let her handell so her house householde / and so bryng vp her children / that her husbande may be glad / and thinke that he is happy to leaue suche a wyfe behȳde hym And let her nat behaue her selfe so / that his soule haue cause to be angry with her / and take vengeaunce on her vngratiousnes Cyrus the elder kynge of Perse / whan he dyed as Xenophon wryteth / commaunded his sonnes to kepe his memory with deuotion and purenes / for cause of the honour of the god immortall / and the worshyp and the immortalite of his soule Let the wydowe make an ende of wepȳg / leste we shulde seme to mourne for our folkes / that are departed / as thoughe we counted them clene deed / and nat absent Of the chastite and honestie of a wydowe The .iiij. Chaptre IN gyuyng instruction to a christen woman / whom may a man do better after / than saynt Paule / that sayd /