neuer to lacke the commodities requisite for the shorte tyme in this worlde in the whiche case you shall opteyne the worshyp and dignitie of a good an honest man whose conditions I had rather se you haue with pouerte than in greate abundance to be a man of smal honeste You may be good honest and ryche and so study to be or els thynke neuer of ryches for other wyse you shal deceyue your selfe do contrary to y t way that as wel worldly wisedom as the trouth of our faith sheweth you But nowe here what I saye ¶ Fyrst and last myn owne good Withipol remēbre ernestly to haue in your mind .iii. certeine thinges the whiche be of suche valure that he that forgetteth eyther their dignitie and nature orles the degrees order of them he can not please nother god nor hym selfe nor the worlde I saye in all the course of your lyfe there be .iii. thinges to be loked so vpō that the first of them must be firste of you regarded the second enext after and the third in his place after the .ii. Beware as of dedly poison that you ruffil not them without care one before the other as to take the .iii. in the place of the fyrste or the second after the third or both the second the third before the first In this conclusion you shal as I haue sayd both offēd god displese your selfe also nothinge contēt the world Like as the most part of men now a dayes trespas al for the rechfulnes negligēce in not keping these .iii. thinges vnder the dignite degre according as they ought to be obserued and kept And what be we my good Edmōd if we be out of goddis fauor odious to our selfe and dispiteful to men Therfore agayne I exhort you to th entent you may eschewe this abhominable condycion growe to be admitted in the blessed nombre of them that rest in the grace of god in the clennes of theyr conscience and in the fauour of the world to be iudged a good a wyse and an honeste man For this finall ende myn exhortation is nowe that you in al your actes in the hole course of your lyfe remembre these three thinges that I wil reherse vnto you But I say to you y t you must not only remēbre these thre thinges but also specially haue in minde the degres of them so that euer the first of them be chiefly in your thoughte aboue al other and then in his place put the second and let not the third be regarded but as his place requireth that is when you haue done with the fyrste and also with the seconde There lieth more weight valure vpon the knowynge and kepynge of this tale that I shall tell you then if I coude shewe you the waye within fewe monethes to be a man of greate power both in excedynge abundance of riches and also in passynge auctoritie of rule Therfore as wel for the frute that foloweth if you do after myn exhortation as for the infinite hurtes that you canne not escape if you shulde forgette that I say I warne warne you agayne here this lesson with a glad eare and print the same in your mind to execute with lyuely diligence the effect of this counseyl wherin is cōteyned your life and deathe your ioye and sorowe as welle in this world as in that shal be here after These .iii. thinges be the soule the bodye and the substaunce of this worlde The fyrst place hath by good reason the soule seynge hit is a thynge immortal that is created and made after the fygure shape of almyghtye god The nexte and seconde rome hath the bodye as the caas and sepulture of the soule and nereste seruaunt to the secretis of the spirite The .iii. rome occupieth y e riches goodis of this world as the necessarie instrumentes or toles for the bodye the whiche can not want nor lacke suche thynges Let then the eie of your inward minde fyrst chiefely euer beholde the first thing in you that is your soule Nexte therto haue a respecte to your bodye and thirdely considre the worlde Care for your soule as for your chiefe iewell and only treasure Care for your body for the soules sake Care for the worlde for the bodis sake Beware aboue al thinges that you go not backewarde as he doothe that carethe fyrste to be a ryche man nexte to be an helthye manne and thyrdely to be a good manne where he shoulde do clene contrary first to study for goodnes nexte for helth and then for welthe You se so greate blindnes amonge men that some folke so careth for ryches that very littel they loke for the helth of the bodye nothing at al they mind the state of the soule I say to you som folkes do thus I wolde to god I myghte not truely report that for the most parte al mē in maner now a dayes do no nother wyse Loke vpō eyther the spiritual sort or the temporal and moch a do you shal hauein the great swarmyng multitude of this blynd sorte to fynde oute theym that fyrste aboue all thynges care for theyr soule nexte for their body and thirdly for goodes of this world You shal se marchantes spare no trauayle nor ieopardie of the body to get these goodes They be to sey the trouth so occupied in the study of this third thynge that scant they haue tyme to care for the seconde and as for the fyrste they passe nothynge ther vppon it semeth a thynge leaste in theyr thoughte where of conueniencye the same care studye and thought that they gyue to the opteynynge of these worldly goodes they shulde spend it al in the mainteynaunce of the fyrste thynge that is the soule and the smalle lyttelle regarde that they take for the fyrste shoulde be bestowed for the thyrde and more than they do they shuld cherishe the seconde The same cōfusiō is with vs scholers for our first study is to get promotion to get these goodis to liue welthily In this care we busely be occupied continually Somewhat more we cheryshe our bodies then doth the marchant but our cherysshynge is for the longer vse of these goodes not as it shuld be for the soules sake And as for y e soule we haue as lyttel regarde as other men haue although we speke therof more then parauēture other mē do This ouerthwarte confusion of these thre thynges marreth all And playnely I may say that all mischief cometh onely of this misorder that we put the chyefe care of our study to the thyrde thynge and not to the fyrste as of duitye we oughte to do the contrarye If my purpose were to shewe you what other men do and not rather what I wolde haue you doo I wolde farther procede to expresse vnto you how farre out of square our lyfe is nowe a dayes and how blessed a life we shuld haue in this traunsitorie
worlde if the care of our soule were fyrst and chiefely in mens myndes lyke as the care of the worldly substāce occupieth our hartis aboue all other thinges If it were as it ought to be y t in our phantasie reigned the study for the soule thē shuld be here that celestial kyngedom the whiche Christ techeth vs to pray for in oure pater noster where we craue of god that his rule and reygne maye come amonge vs. But as I despayre that commonly this study and care can not be changed from these worldly ryches to the soule so I am ful of good hope that you wyl take hede to your lyfe to ordre therein your desyres in this dewe maner more regardynge what shulde be done then what is done When you se and knowe the ryght path I trust you wil not walk in the croked hye way The trouth shal more drawe you to loue and to folowe vertue then the common ensample shalle entice you to folowe vyce the whiche no man can loue not the synner hym selfe But nowe myne owne good Edmonde here of these three thynges somewhat more you muste prynte in your mynde with a perfect perswasiō that your soule is the chief treasure that you haue wherevppon your continualle thoughte and care muste be to kepe hit to defende it to norishe it to comfort it by al waies and meanes possible for you In this studie you muste spende all your wittes night and day you must think on this thing what so euer you do you must direct your act to this thing If you be occupied in the state of your body eyther to dryue away syckenes or to susteyne helth let it be for the seruice your bodi oweth to y e soule If you trauayle for goodes of this worlde to get your owne lyuyng or to helpe your frende orels to prouide for your chyldren when god shal sende you them let your trauayle be for the necessyties of the body and so finally for the soule Consydre what the goodes of the worlde be howe they be but instrumentes for the body Use then the worlde in his kynde Loke agayne vpon your body howe it is preciouser then the goodes vse hym thē in his worthynes hurte not your body for a thing of lesse valu And as ye haue nothinge nother your body nor your goodes to be cōpared with the dignite of your soule so my swete withipol let nothinge be in your reputation aboue this chief principal iewel the whiche must only for him self be cared for al other thinges in this life must be cherished for it I sticke moche with you in repetinge one thynge but maruayle nat though I so do For I se vs al in this world so blinded partly by a vse custome frō y e cradil in the magnifienge of these goodis partli by thēsāple of them with whom we be daily conuersāt that scant after longe crieng it can nowe be harde y t the soule must be cheifly cared for And except grace worke with you that you your self wyll consent to the trouth it is not possible to perswade you that the very trewe way of lyuyng is this to care chiefly for the soule and to care for all other thynges onelye for the soules sake This sayenge thoughe it be trewe yet I saye hit can not be harde in as moche the lyues of all them with whome ye shal be continuallye conuersaunt shall crye oute clene contrarye agaynste my sayeng For on al sides you shall se menne sweatynge in a contynuall worke bothe of bodye and of mynde to get these worldly goodes withoute any mention made of the soules state the whiche the verye friers care lyttel for as it openly appereth But euer I say to you loke what Christen men shuld do and if you se men so do be glad of that syght folowe the same if you se the contrarie fle from the ensample and cleue euer fastly to the trouthe with a sorowful harte for the losse of other men that so blyndely rushe forthe in the trayne of a vicious lyuyng where the soule is so lyttel cared fore ¶ That this firste thynge may be y e better in your study I wil brefely touche som what of tho thynges that appertein hereto to haue you knowe what nourisheth and comforteth the soule what hurteth and noyeth the same The soule can not but euer lyue it hath noo ende of lyuynge yet we may saye that the soule liueth and dyeth It liueth in the grace of god and dieth in the malice of the diuel The soules lyfe is the lyghte of vertue his death is the derkenes of sinne You haue a free wyll gyuen you wherby you may either quicken or slaye at your owne pleasure your soule in y e bryght Paradise of life and you may set your soule in the blacke dungeon of deathe Let therefore this wyll of yours euer study to procure for the soules life the whiche is your owne lyfe and in the same study you shall delyuer the soule from his death the whiche is the perpetualle payne ordeined for synne that seperateth the image of god frome his patrone I saye syn plucketh your soule frō god whose image your soule shuld beare Therfore in all your actis so doo that you wyllyngely displease not god who canne not be pleased but with a pure and clene conscience pure and cleane if you suffre noo synne to remaygne soo longe in your desyre and mynde that hit cankerethe the thoughte Your thoughte is cankered with the longe resydence of synne when eyther you be weake in the studye of vertue orelles make verye littelle of a faulte or defende youre vyce or nowselle youre selfe in a custome of an inordynate desyre The fraylenes of our flesshe is so greatte that it canne not be but that syn shall come to our desyre but it is our blame if synne tarye and abyde within vs. God hath gyuen vs a myghtye power ouer our selfe we maye when we wyll correcte our desires and dryue out all synne If you knowe not what is synne nor what is vertue by the feare and loue of god you shal knowe boothe The feare of god wylle teache you to flee sinne and folowe vertu The loue of god wylle teache you to folowe vertu and flee sinne wherby your priuey and secrete conscience shall better and more clerely perceiue what is to be done and what is not than any diffinition or descryption can appoynt oute to you Therfore my dere Withipoll enwarpe your selfe faste and sure in the fere and loue of god from your firste rysynge to your reste drawe forth the day in all your busynesse as this louynge feare and feareful loue shal secretely admonishe and warne you and dye rather than you wolde pursue any lust against your knowlege of goddes plesure ¶ What marchandise so euer you occupie remembre it is the busynes of the thirde care for the whiche you may not leaue any poynte of this fyrste care that belongeth
to the soule Lyke wise if ye be occupied about the body remembre it is the warke of the seconde care the which also must be ordered vnder the fyrste the whiche fyrst must alwey sticke in your mynde sturred vp and led in all desires appetites by the sayde feare loue of god Do neuer that thynge wherin you feare goddis displeasure ¶ More partycularlye in wrytinges you shall lerne this lesson if you wold somtyme take in your handes the newe testamente and rede it with a dewe reuerence For I wold not haue you in that boke forgette with whome you talke hit is god that there speakethe hit is you a poore creature of god that redeth Consider the matche and meke downe your wittes Presume not in no case to thynke that there you vnderstonde ought leue deuisinge thervpon submit your selfe to the expositiōs of holy doctours and euer conforme your cōsent to agre with Christes church This is the surest way that you cā take both before god man Your obediēce to the vniuersal faith shal excuse you before god although it might be in a false belefe y e same obediēce shal also kepe you out of trouble in this worlde where you se howe folishe medlars be daylie sore punyshed both to theyr owne vndoing also to their gret sorow lamenting of their louers frendes Surely the trouthe is as I haue sayd that it is your parte to obey and to folowe the church so that both for your soules sake and for your bodily quietnes with the cōforte of your frendes I exhorte you to meddel in no point of your faith other wise then the churche shal instruct teache you In the whiche obedience rede for your increase in vertue the storie of oure mayster Christe that liuely expressethe the hole course of a vertuous lyfe And there you shall here the holye gooste commande you to seeke fyrste afore all thynges the kingedome of heuen than saith the spirite of god al other thinges apperteyninge to the bodye and worlde shall by them selfe folowe withoute your care ¶ In reding the gospels I wold you had at hande Chrysostome Ierom by whom you might surely be brought to a perfecte vnderstanding of the text And hereafter at leysure I wolde you redde the Ethikes of Aristotell eyther vnder some expert philosopher orels with comment of Futtiratius And lette Plato be familiar with you specially in the bokes that he wryteth De re publica Also you shall fynde moch for your knowelege in the moral philosophie of Cic. as in his bokes De officiis de senectute de fato de finibus de Achademicis questio de Thust Specially rede with diligēce the workes of Seneca of whom ye shall lerne as moche of vertue as mans wit can teche you These workes I thinke sufficiēt to shew you what is vertue and what is vice and by redynge of these you shall growe in to a highe corage to ryse in a iudgemente aboue the commen sorte to esteme this world accordynge to his worthines that is farre vnder the dignitie of the vertues the whiche the mynde of men conceyueth and reioycethe in these bokes shal lyft you vp from the claye of this erthe and set you in a hill of highe contemplacion from whence you shal loke downe and dispise the vanite that folishe men take in the deceyteful pompe of this shorte wretched life Mobokes I wyll not aduyse you for your soules study to rede thanne these excepte hit be Enchiridion that Erasmus wrytethe a worke doubtles that in fewe leaues conteynethe an infynite knowlege of goodnes Thynke not my good Edmond that I ouer charge you For I knowe what pleasure you haue in redinge in better bokes you can not bestowe your plesure than in these the whiche be in nōbre but fewe and yet they shall do you more good thā the reding here there of many other I wolde to Iesus I had in your age folowed lyke coūseil in redinge onely these workes the whiche nowe at laste by a great losse of tyme in redyng of other I haue chosen out for my purpose to refreshe with them the reste of my lyfe And I councel you nowe to begynnne to doo the same when tyme and conueniente leyser shall be giuen you to rede any boke ¶ The second care is for the body the which you must cherish as moche as may stande with the seruice of your former thought and study for your chief treasure Haue a resspecte to kepe your bodye in good helth the whiche resteth in the aier and in your diete Abide not where ruption or infection is Eate not nor drīk not out of time or mesure nor yet of suche meates drynkes as be more delicate and pleasant then holsome Knowe the measure of your stomacke before you ouerlade your bealye Choke not your appetite but fede your honger Drowne not your lust but quench your thirst euer for your soules sake kepe you frō glottony Faste sometime boothe for deuotion and also for your helth Slepe rather to lyttell then to moche as moche as you take from slepe soo moche you adde to your lyfe For slepe is deth for the tyme. Exercise you continually for in labor your bodye shall fynde strengthe and lustynesse is gotten by the vse of your lymmes Lette neuer the sonne ryse before you you shall haue to all your affaires the lenger day And euer for your soules sake flee from ydlenes the whiche is not onely in hym that dothe nothynge but also in hym that doth not well and ydell you be when you be not well occupied Be temperate in your lustes touching the bodyly pleasure the tyme shal not belonge tyll your frendes by goddis grace wyll prouide you of an honeste mate In the meane season let the feare loue of god kepe you in chastitie the whiche apperteyneth to your chiefe care for nedes you must so do seinge y t other wise lecherie shal sore defoyle your soule y e which you must regard be fore y e bodis appetite For this part I wolde you redde as your leiser shal be a littel worke of Galen De bona valetudine tuenda And in the workes afore named you shal find many thynges that shall instruct you well for this parte also and lyke wise for the third the whiche thyrd euer hath occupied mens stomackes more thē eyther the first or the seconde Wherfore as wel in holy scripture as in the other philosophers specially in Seneca you shal finde many lessons that apperteine to the thirde care This third care is for the goodes in this world In this part I can giue you smal aduyse of my selfe bycause I haue had but smal experience here in yet euer I se that you may not in the study of gettyng these goodes leue or slake the chief care
for the fyrste thynge nor yet the secoÌ„darye care for the bodye Labour you muste for your lyuynge in a dewe order as in the thyrd degree of your thinges If matens masse or a sermon be to be harde set your marchaÌ„dise aparte for the season prefer the mattens of your soule y t loketh to haue suche gostly fode If the tyme require to haue you take a mele eyther a diner or a supper for your refection let not your marchaÌ„dise defer the going therto in a dewe tyme. For remeÌ„bre that busines is one degree aboue your marchandise If you espie a pore man to be in nede of your helpe hast to helpe him befor any eare of makinge a bargayne for y t worke of mercy perteyneth to your chiefe iewell therfore your soule shall growe in the grace of god Breke not moch to the hurt of your helth the coÌ„uenient time of going to bed for any occupatioÌ„s or rekeninges in your study for these goodes For remeÌ„bre that reste slepe perteine to the .ii. thyng wher your conting bokes belonge to the thyrde In making your bargaine kepe faith and promise deceiue no man with any gyle or false color For let it be euer in your phantasie howe the gaines that you shuld get with suche vntrue dealyng be coÌ„teined vnder your .iii. y t is to sey vnder your lest care wher y e breking of faith ê“pmise with false deceite vntrue deling sore hurteth your soule in whom resteth your chief thought And by falshed you coulde not get so moch of riches as by y e same you shuld lose of honestie goodnes wherfore trauayle euer as the degres of these .iii. thinges shal reqÌ„re If an infinite hepe of worldly goodes might be got with a smal hurte damage of y e soule forsake rather that great heape than you wolde suffre this small hurte There can be no comparison betwene the soules helth and the riches the leaste droppe that can be of your soules parte must pondre and weye more in your thought theÌ„ al this world besyde can do ¶ Let not any similitude deceyue your indgement As if par cas a man wolde reson that the goodes of the soule be all golde the goodes of the worlde be all leade all thoughe that golde is euer better than lede yet there may be a great quaÌ„tite of leade y t shal be valured aboue the smalle portion of golde So in your phantasy a great gaines lucre of the worldly goodes may seme better than a smal point of our soules substaunce Wherfore he wyll conclude that with a lyttel losse of honestie or goodnes we maye venture to gette a greate aduauntage in this worlde and some littel small portion we maye borowe of our soule to wynne by that meanes a great summe of riches Beware good withipoll of suche reasonnyng and to the deth to gayne al the hole royalte of this hole worlde neuer trespas against your soule in the smallest iote that can be imagined As if ye might be made a lorde of greate myght power with abundance of possessions and goodes onelye for the speakynge in wyttenesse of one worde agaynste the trouthe with grudge of your conscience for sake you all that offer rather then you wolde fele the priuey bytte of your offence For if you loke well you shal see that there is a greatter valu of gaynes in the smallest iote of vertue then is in the moste wer of riches y t y e losse of y e smallest mote perteining to your soules state is more hurte domage theÌ„ the refusing or forgoing of al y t is vnder heueÌ„ So that I say it is not like betwene the soules goodis the goodes of this world as it is betwene golde and lead valured aboue a peny weight of gold where there is no title so small of vertue that is not to be valured without comparison aboue the hole power of the erth and sees throughe out Asia Affrica and Europa The profe of my saieng dependeth here vpon that euery iote euery title euery mote of vertu wherin is conteined y e soules welthie state hath appointed his propre state place in the heueÌ„ kingdom of god al the spiritual goodes both small great be vnder god of whom vertue receiueth hir rewarde Of the which reward he y t leseth any maner portion loseth more than the losse of the hole dominioÌ„ rule of this world whose prince is the diuel y t reineth ouer al them as ouer his bonde seruaÌ„tes the which can finde in their hartes to forsake vertue to wynne these false and vaine goodes that stande to vs in no erthily stede but for the shorte tyme of a fewe yeres in this life where y e possessioÌ„s of vertu be euerlasting Thus I shewe you good EdmoÌ„d that your care to get these worldly goodes muste be subdued vnder due order as in his thyrde place But what be these goodes what wey you may laufully gette them I doubte not but your father wyll in tyme conuenint shewe you He is of that sorte of men the whiche hath by longe approued honestie purchased hym a good name and is therby beloued and regarded of good men whose steppes if you folowe you shal by goddes grace come to lyke worshyppe and be of lyke or more habilitie to leaue to your childreÌ„ sufficieÌ„t to passe this lyfe with Here remeÌ„bre the more your father loueth you the lesse is your thirde care and the lesse that your thirde care is the more leiser you haue to think vpon your chief iewell the whiche god hath gyuen you to be ordered after your wyll in the whiche iewel you shall after this lyfe well passed haue the fruition of goddis presence wherein resteth the ioye ineffable of the blessed lammes The gotis that is to say the gredie soules of this third care the which neuer mendeth or very lyttel and weakely mendeth the fyrste care shal remayne for euer more in the peineful darknes where is nothynge but cryeng out and lamentynge with frettyng of stomakes and snarrynge of teth as the gospell shall teache you In the whiche boke of god you shall here what an harde thyng it is for a ryche man to entre in to heuen bicause that most commonly riche men spend al theyr care thought out of order onely for this worlde and seldome or neuer they thinke of theyr soule and whenne they thynke thereof they soo thynke that they put that care far vnder the care of these worldely busines doynge clene contrarye to this order The whiche god wolde haue vs to kepe The which order thouh you shal se very litel regarded of al sortes of men yet good Edmonde regarde you it haue pite of them y t regarde it not It is the sonne of god the which saith many be called to heuen but fewe be chosen Enforce your selfe to be amonge the few forsake y e