slepe And in these so longe as they passe nat y e bondes of necessytye neyther make a man good ne bad nor make it to deserue other ponysshmeÌ„t or any rewarde by theym Thus ye perceyue what is ment by these thre maner of frutes ¶ Now secondly I wyll shew vnto you whan the tastynge of this fruyte is dedly synne ¶ Loke man or woman whan thou folowest the desyres of thy body Eue is the ruler Whan thou folowes the desyre of thy soule of thy reason than Adam is orderer Therfore saynt Austyn sayth whan y u begynnest to fele in thy selfe any vnlefull pleasure aryse there Eue he sayth tastyth of the apple and offreth it vnto Adam for to eat yet Adam is at his lyberty whether he will taste of this apple ye or nay That is to say after that the body be styred to vnclennes the â—â—reasonable soule is at his lyberty whether it wyll assent to the styrynges vnclene delytes of the flesshe ye or nay But yf it assent than Adam eteth of the Apple ¶ Also yf thy reason and thy wyll do assent to this vnlefull pleasure than doste thou taste of this dedly fruyte of deth For by this fruyt is betokened as I sayd before all vnlefull pleasures specyally those which be contrary vnto the commauÌ„dement of almyghty god ¶ whaÌ„ so euer for our pleasure to be done we breke y e coÌ„mauÌ„dement of almighty god than we taste of this myscheuous fruyt Our flesshe carnall desyres are ê“ne redy to tast of this fruit of deth of all y t nought is perillous vnto our soules Our flesshe wolde haue y e carnall pleasures the worldly rychesse the coÌ„modytees honours of this life All these desyres aryse in vs by the reason of our flesshe no man lyueth but he felyth in him selfe som desyre of these Neuertheles yf his soule wyll assent nat vnto these desyres yet Adam hath nat tastyd of the fruyte of deth nor hath as yet broken the coÌ„mauÌ„dement of almighty god Many a good man many a good woman felyth in them selfe great temptacyoÌ„s great mocioÌ„s styringes now to lechery now to pryde now to couetise But if they be sory for them in theyr soules resyst wrastyll against them kepe them selfe so that they do nat asseÌ„t inwardly by theyr wylles to folow these same mocyons Yet they kepe them fro the eatyng of the apple This is no synne in them but it shall be gretly to theyr meryt These batailes which they make agaynst the sterynges desyres so longe as Adam is nat wyllyng to take folow this pleasure all is well So long as the reason of man is content to forbere stryueth there is no synne But whan Adam that is to say maÌ„nes reason wyll agreeth to the eatyng of this apple whan he doth assent is content to take any pleasure contrary to the commaundement of god than is synne done than is synne commytted in thy soule though thou neuer made further in doyng the dede This consent is syn ¶ Marke what I say Thou man seest peraduenture a fayre woman thou haste a carnall lykynge of her a pleasure to beholde her so y t thy body is styred moued with an vnclene desyre to haue her at thy wyll yf thy soule do nat assent vnto this steryng mocyon of thy body yet art thou safe front any certayne syn except thy negligence to repell this thought fro the y e suffrauÌ„ce of it to abyde in thy mynde w tout any resistence which by the fathers is thought to be synne But yf thy wyll ones asseÌ„t to this desyre of thy flesshe though they neuer go any forther or though thou neuer come to the actuall dede thou doost offende and synne deedly by this only consent of thy selfe Neuerthelesse yf thou reuoke this consent betymes repeÌ„t thy selfe it is moche lesse offece more pardonable than yf thou perfourmed thy desyre w t the actuall dede ¶ By this that I haue sayd thou mayst ê‘ceyue whan thou doest synne by tastyng of this fruyt Now let vs here the great foly of synners ¶ Many there be whiche folow the steppes of the olde Adam they leue the moost profytable fruyte and take the worse ¶ Adam lefte the fruyte of lyfe and tastyd of the fruyte of dethe ¶ Adam all the whyle that he was in Paradyse he neuer touched the tree of lyfe as playnly it dothe appere by the wordes wryten in the same storye Ne forte sumat etiam de ligno vite et comedat et viuat in eternuÌ„ That is as moche to saye leest peraduenture he eate of the tree of lyfe and so lyue for euer ¶ Almyghty god wolde betymes haue hym excludyd out of paradyse leest he sholde haue etyn of the tree of lyfe lyke as he had done before of the tree of dethe Adam tasted of the tree of deth so brake the coÌ„maundement of almyghty god thereby wherby he became mortall was assured for to dye But yf he had absteined therfro kept hym selfe to the fruyt of the tree of lyfe he sholde neuer haue dyed but haue lyued euer lastyngly Thus all synners do they leue the gracyous fruyt wherby they myght meryt the lyfe euerlastyng boldly taste eat of the pestylent fruit wherby they deserue the deth euerlastyng Yf Adam had had any lyke example before hym of som punysshment taken for synne as was taken vpon hym selfe for brekyng of this coÌ„maun dement it is full lyke that he wolde haue esche wed that offence but he neuer saw example of suche ponysshement And for this coÌ„syderacyon the madnes of synners in tastyng of this vnlefull fruyte is moche more greuous odyous be-before the tyeÌ„ of god for whaÌ„ they haue nat only y e example of this sore punisshment but many other mo before theyr iyes yet they wyll nat beware but styll coÌ„tynue in theyr foly madnes This one example yf there were no mo wryten in all scrypture myght suffyse to make the synner to represse leue his wretchyd pleasures that be agaynst the lawes coÌ„maundementes of almyghty god seyng so greuous punysshmeÌ„t was taken vpon the fyrst man Adam for so lytle a defaut This greuous punysshmeÌ„t was taken vpon hym for eatyng of an apple Thus he y t was so ê‘fytely created made by the handes of god nat many houres before was lifted vp to suche a dygnyty Yet for the fyrst faut y t euer he made for so lytle a faut he was spoyled of his dygnyte cast out of Paradyse the place of excelleÌ„t pleasures into mysery wretchydnes fynally striken with dethe nat only in hym selfe but in all his postorytye ¶ Yf this one defaut in hym that neuer herde ne saw any example of punysshment before were thus sore punysshed how greuously shall in other men the multytude of defautes be toutmentyd whiche hath herde and sene many
it is more greuouse than any paynes that thou canst se fele or thynke in this world wherby thou mayst be sure that it farre passeth the common fyre that we haue here in this worlde Take than a profe of this fyre whether thou mayst endure to suffre thy fynger in it by the space of halfe an houre Consyder whether thou mayst indure that payn ye or nay And yf thou mayst nat indure that payne whiche is a thousande partes lesse what vnwysdome is it for the to Jeoparde thy soule vnto the fyre of Pur gatorye where thou canst nat tell how many houres how many days how many yeres thou shalte there abyde ¶ Do therfore as dyd a ryghte good father an holy man whan he was tempted to synne and was almoste ouercome by temptacyon he sayd vnto hym selfe let me fyrst proue and assay whe ther I may endure the payne that is ordeyned for synne before that I do take any pleasure or the same And forthwith into the fyre that was before hym he put in his fynger But whan the payne of brennyng waxed so great y t he myght no longer suffre his fynger in fyre he cryed say eng It is a great madnes to take that pleasure y t nedes must haue so greuous payn folowyng This gracyouse man vsed a synguler wysdom Yf we shall do well we must do in lyke manner we must folow the same wysdome Before we entre into synne let vs fyrst assay how painfull that fyre is And than I suppose we shall deuyse and study with our selfe how that we may escape the fyre of Purgatory THyrdly for a conclusyon of my tale I wolde aduyse euery chrysten man and woman that hath begon a new gracyouse lyfe in chryste to reken with theym selfe as though theyr owne soules were now in that same greuous pryson of Purgatory and that they must lye there for the satiffaccyon of theyr synne tyll tyme euery parcell of theyr dettys be fully contendyd and declared how longe that shall be no man can tell ¶ Saynt Bernarde which was a maÌ„ of great synguler holynesse sayth in a sermon that yf after this lyfe he myght be delyuered fro the pry son of Purgatory at any tyme before the dredfull day of Jugement he wolde reken that he were well and mercyfully delt withall And yf this synguler holy man thought within hym selfe thus longe for to abyde in Purgatorye what shall become of vs whose lyues be farre from the great holynes of this man ¶ Let vs than study to delyuer our pore soules from that paynfull pryson by prayers and good workes whyle we lyue here ¶ Do this crysten man thy selfe while thou hast space for thyn owne soule and trust non other with the doynge therof after thy dethe Be now thyne owne frende in this vrgent and necessary cause Thou ought moost specyally to do for thy selfe Thou sholde do this moost effectually and thou maist do the same moost merytoryously Fyrst I saye thou ought to do this moste specyally for thyne owne soule Thyne owne soule vnder god sholde be most dere vnto the. Our sauyour Cryste sayth in the Gospell Quid ê“derit homini si vniuersuÌ„ munduÌ„ lucretur aiÌ„e vero sue detrimentum pacietur Aut quaÌ„ commutationem dabit homo pro anima sua ¶ what shall it profyte any man to wynne all this world â–ª and for the same to suffre an harme in his owne soule Or what thynge hathe a man more precyouse or acceptable for to gyue for the recouerynge of his soule agayne whan it is in peryll than is it selfe ¶ By this than euery man may lerne how dere his owne soule ought to be vnto hym selfe So dere was euery of our soules vnto our sauyour Jesu Chryste that he for the welth and saluacyon of theym dyd shede all the precyouse blode of his moost noble blessed body And for this cause doubtlesse our soules ought to be moche more dere vnto euery one of vs that is to saye bycause they be so dere and precyouse in the eres of our sauyour Jesu Chryste For this derenesse euery one of vs shold indeuour hym selfe more largely to delyuer his soule from this paynfull pryson Oh chrysten man for thy workes for this wretchyd pleasures takynge and for thyne offencys thy bere soule must suffre tho greuouse paynes Thou art the cause of suffraunce and therfore of ryght thou oughtest moste specyally to labour for this delyueraunce SEcondly I say y u sholdest do this most effectually Supposest thou that any freÌ„de of thyne wyll do this more studyously more effectually after thy departure heÌ„ce than thou thyne owne selfe wyll do If thou do so thynk I fere me that thou shalt be sore beceyued and that for two reasons especyall ¶ The fyrst is this Yf thou to whome thyne owne soule ought to haue ben moost dere as I haue sayd forget the welth therof and made it to folow thy vayne desyres and take no care ne study for this present tyme here for the delyuerauÌ„ce of the same out of Purgatory what maruell is it yf other do forget the same after thy dethe For how mayst thou thynke that any other shall be more dylygent for thy soule than thou thy selfe was Thy soule can nat be more dere to any other than it was vnto thy selfe And therfore yf thou be thus neglygent therof thynke nat that any other shalbe more dylygeÌ„t than thy selfe was for thyne owne soule ¶ The seconde reason is this Thou mayst ryght well and easely perceyue that other of thy frendes haue soules of theyr owne whiche of ryght must be more dere vnto them than is thy soule and that of theyr owne soules they must be more myndefull than of thy soule or els they be ryght vnwyse ¶ Forthermore thou mayst consider that euery man hath ynough to do to satysfy for his owne synnes And therfore as our sauyour tellyth in a parable whan the fyue folyssh vyrgyns wold haue borowed som oyle of y e other fyue vyrgyns for theyr lampes agaynst the comynge of theyr great spouse The fyue wyse vyrgyns aÌ„swered and bad them prouyde som where els Ne forte nonsufficiat nobis et vobis That is to say leest peraduenture it can nat suffyse bothe for you and for vs. Euery mannes good workes there shal be lytle ynough for his owne soule therfore thy frende shall haue ynough to do to prouyde for hym selfe THyrdly I say that any man may more merytoryousty helpe coÌ„forte his owne soule whan that he is here lyuynge than any other frende of his after his dethe For now is the tyme of merytynge And after this lyfe whan the nyghnes of dethe is come thou canst meryt no more And therfore our sauyour sayth Veniet anteÌ„ nox quaÌ„do nemo potest operari whan deth is comen ones farewell the tyme of merytoryouse workynge ¶ I wyll nat say the contrary but thy frendes prayers after thy dethe may moche profyte the
shakyd out of this slepe yf thā we haue not the ryghtwysnes of good lyuyng we shalbe excludyd from the kyngdom of heuyn accordyng to the wordes aboue rehersyd Nisi abundauerit iustitia vestra plusquam scribarum et phariseorum non intrabitisin regnum celorum ¶ Onelesse your ryghtwysnes be more large than was the ryghtwysenes of the scrybes and the pharyseys ye shall not enter in to y e kyngdō of heuyn Scrypture tellyth how that the fyrst man Adā was put into a place all of pleasure named paradyse In y e which was moche pleasaūt delycate fruit but especyally there was two trees that is to saye the tree of lyfe whiche was assygned vnto hym to eate vpon and the tree of knowlege of good and bad whiche was for bod vnto hym Almyghty god gaue vnto hym vnder payne of deth that he shold not eate of this tree But not withstandynge this commaundemēt Adam folowyng the mynde of his wyfe left the tree of lyfe whiche was assigned vnto hym and ▪ ate of that other whiche was forbed hym ¶ For this dysobedyence for this vnryghtwysnes and for brekynge of this commaundement almyghty god excludyd hym out of paradyse out of y t place of excellent pleasure and put hym into this vale of mysery this wretchyd worlde And fynyally to the entent that the waye of entresse into that place sholde be kept he set before hym an aungell of the order of Cherubin and a brēnynge swerd two egged that neyther he nor yet any other of his posteryty sholde haue entresse there oneles he were iustified ¶ This Scripture euydently declaryth the wordes of our sauyour chryst aboue rehersyd that is to say that no man shall enter in to the kyngdome of heuyn y t hath in hym any spot of synne or of vnryghtwysnes For the whiche more clerely to be shewyd ▪ I wyll here touche thre thynges by order ¶ Fyrst how the demeanour of Adā representeth the demeanour of euery synner in this worlde ¶ The second how that for the brekynge of iustice and dysobedyence vnto the commaundemente of god we be excludyd fro the pleasure of heuyn lyke wyle as he was from the pleasures of paradise ¶ The thyrde what those lettes do mene which he set in the entresse in paradise that no synner can entre thyder oneles he be iustifyed before ¶ Euery man and woman that lyueth in this worlde hath in them by a maner of representacyon these two persones Adam Eue for they haue a soule and a body and the soule representeth Adam and the body Eue. For as the man sholde order his wyfe soo sholde the soule rule and gouerne the body And as the wyfe sholde be ruled by her husbande soo the body sholde be gouerned and be obedyent vnto the soule ¶ where the soule gouerneth there wysdom gouerneth there reason gouerneth there Adam is mayster and there is all well ¶ where the body gouerneth there foly gouerneth there bestelynes gouerneth there Eue is maystresse and all is amysse ¶ But here we shall declare thre poyntes necessary to be knowen ¶ Fyrst what these fruytes do meane and betoken vnto vs. ¶ The second ▪ whan we synne by tastynge of this fruyte and whan nat ¶ Thyrdly the great foly of Adam and how all synners be in lyke foly THre maner of frutes there was i Para dyse One that was called the fruyt of y e tree of lyfe This Adam ▪ ate nat of all the tyme he was in Paradyse as apereth Ne forte mittat manum suam et sumat etiam de ligno vite viuat ineternum ¶ Than was there another fruyte of the tree that was called the tree of knowlege of good bad And the taste of this fruyte was to Adam the fruyt of dethe Besyde these two was the thyrde maner of fruyte the whiche neyther gaue lyfe nor dethe but onely refresshed the eater and was as ye wolde say Indyfferent These thre fruytes betoken thre kynde of pleasures that we men taste in this wolde Fruyt may well betoken vnto vs pleasure because that fruyt is pleasant for to taste And therfore these thre fruytes betoken thre dyuers maners of pleasures whiche be offred vnto vs in this lyfe THe fyrst maner of pleasures be the pleasures of lyfe which fruyt comyth of the tree of lyfe that is to say of Cryst Jesu which is called in Scriptutes the tree of lyfe Out of this tree spryngeth moche dylycyouse fruyt wherof to taste is to be made partyners of euer lastynge lyfe ¶ we taste of this fruyt whan we delyte in his wordes whan we conforte vs in his doctryne whan we Joy in his moost blessed byrth passyon Resurreccyon whan we take pleasure in redyng of his moost gpacyous lyfe And generally all pleasures in god and godly thynges is the fruyte that spryngeth of thys moost gracyouse tree For by hym and of hym aryseth all these gracyouse pleasures vnto vs. And for the tastynge of this fruyt we shal haue the rewarde of euerlastynge lyfe ¶ we taste ete of this fruit whan for the loue of Chryste we gyue almesse vnto the nedy and do forgyue iuiuryes done vnto vs. ¶ whan we pray fast watch any of these to do for the loue of Cryste is to taste of the fruyt and of the tree of euerlastynge lyfe THe seconde maner of pleasures be the pleasures of deth and bryng our soules to euerlastynge deth And these be suche pleasures as be forbed by the law of god They be forbed by the commaundementes of god who that foloweth these pleasures and taste of this fruyt breketh the commaundementes of almyghty god Suche be they that lyuyth in auowtry the man that taketh an other woma besyde his wyfe and that woman that takyth an other man besyde her husbande they that beleuyth not trewly of almyghty god and of his doctryne they that commyt periuryes and wyllyngly for swere them selfe vpon a boke or other wyse they that breke theyr holy dayes and commyth not to the seruyce of god and to here the worde of god as other chrysten people do They that brybe and stele by wrongfull meanes get other mennes goodes they that do nat nat due honour to theyr fathers and mothers they that commyt assent or councell to any murder doynge They that bere false wytnesse or brynge vp false slaunders of theyr neyghbours All these be dedly pleasures and be the fruyte of dethe And the synall rewarde of these pleasures and of this truyte shall be euerlastynge deth THe thyrde maner of pleasures be those that be indyfferent so that neyther we shall haue greate rewarde for theym ne yet great punysshment And these pleasures be necessary eatyng drynkyng kepyng walkyng spekynge and necessary recreacyon For these we shall neither haue euerlastyng punysshmēt nor yet the rewarde of euerlastyng lyfe These pleasures be comon to all folke and indifferent to good bad without these pleasures no man may contynue Euery man must eat drynke
great greuous punysshmentes taken for synne for brekyng of the commaundementes of almighty god ¶ Yf this lytle defaut was thus roughly intreated how roughly shall be punysshed the horryble abhomynable trespasses that stynke before the nostrels of god crye vengeaunce at his eares whan so openly without any chaunge they be commytted done before the face iyen of god prouoke hym to be reuengyd of them ¶ For what may ye suppose or thynk whan this fyrst defaut of man which neuer offended before nor saw any correccyon done before for synne was thus straytly correctyd but y t moche more straitly the contynuaunce longe lyuyng in syn hepyng syn vpon syn from day to day and after so many examples of correccyon done shewed before shall at the last be greuously correctyd punysshed yf betymes they wyll nat repent theÌ„ selfe and sue for remedy ¶ The great foly of Adam apereth many wyse ¶ First in that y t he wolde preferre the pleasure of his lyfe before the pleasure of god Secondly in that that he lefte the fruyt of the tree of lyfe tastyd of the fruyte of the tree of dethe For by this meanes he lefte the Joyes of Paradise the which he myght haue kept also was throwen out therof into the myseryes of this lyfe whiche he endured by y e space of M. yeres almost And at the last he suffred deth which he myght haue eschewyd And fynally after his deth was kept in the pryson of darkenes called limbus patruÌ„ froÌ„ the face of almyghty god fro the ioyes of heuyn by thre thousande yeres And all this ponysshmeÌ„t fell vpoÌ„ hym for the tastyng of an apple was nat this a wonderfull foly ¶ But yet greater is the madnes of them that folow his steppes in the whiche condycyon be all synners that breketh the commaundement of almyghty god They preferre the pleasures of theyr flesshe before the pleasure of god They taste of the fruyte of the tree of dethe and leue y e fruyte of lyfe vntastyd of ¶ And therfore as Adam lost the Joyes of Paradyse so they lese the Joyes of a clere conscyence As Adam was cast into mysery so they euer after indure mysery and suffre the frettynge and gnawynges of theyr troubled conscyence whiche hath a contynuall remors a corsy of theyr synfull dealynge ¶ Adam suffred temporall dethe and they shall suffre euerlastynge dethe AdaÌ„ was kept in darke pryson fro the face of god and fro the Joyes of heuyn by thre M. yeres and they shall be kept in the pryson of hell from the face of god and all the gloryouse court of heuyn by innumerable thousandes thousades of yeres that is to say for euer ¶ By this than ye may lerne to know the great foly of synners that for a lytle transytory pleasure they do exclude them selfe from the place of euer lastynge pleasure and for the same also they must nedes be throwen into euer lastyng mysery ¶ Adam as ye haue herde myght haue continued many yeres in Paradise and fynally at the last sholde haue ben translate into the Joyes of heuyn but for the castynge of an apple contrary to the commaundement of god he was soon excluded from thens and so lyued in this worlde in payne and mysery almoost M. yere and after his dethe yet was he kept fro the syght and face of almyghty god by the space of thre thousande yere and more ¶ But ye wyll say vnto me after this maner Syr we were borne and ordeynyd for to haue the Joyes and pleasures of heuyn for our inherytaunce and it was derely bought for vs by the bytter passyon of our sauyour Chryste Jesu and by the same it was assuredly promysed vnto vs. ¶ To this I answere and say that no mannes inherytaunce is so sure vnto hym but he may lese it by his foly ¶ we haue herde of many noble men great Erles Dukes that for theyr mysbehauour agaynst theyr Prynce for theyr treason traitoury haue lost theyr inheritauÌ„ce yet they were borne vnto the same theyr auÌ„cetours many yeres before had possessyoÌ„ therof ¶ And y u crysten man whan so euer y u coÌ„myttest any dedly iyn y u deest great treason vnto thy Prynce ye vnto y e prynce of all prynces our sauyour cryste Jesu for to hym y y hast ê“mysed to kepe thy fayth treuth to forsake the deuyll all his workes This promise thou made whan thou becam a crysten man receyued the sacrament of Baptyme But contrary to this ê“myse thou haste done many tymes y u hast falsed this promyse thou haste vyolate this promyse betrayed thy prynce Thou hast folowyd the councell of his enemy set at nought the coÌ„maundement of thy moste gracyous louynge prynce That strong holde which he most specyally desyred with blody swete laboured to haue goteÌ„ kept vnto hym selfe y t is to say thyne hart y u hast betrayed into the handes of his enemy the deuyll let hym haue entresse there suffereth hym to reigne there there to make his doÌ„ghyll agaynst thy promise against the coÌ„maundemeÌ„t of thy prynce therfore ryghtwysly thou shalt be excluded from thyne inheritauÌ„ce And where thou sayst that our sauyour cryste Jesu bought this inheritaunce with his moste bytter passion for the it is of a trouth But this is more to thy condempnacyon For the more payne y t he hath taken to bryng the to this inheritauÌ„ce the greater is thyne vnkyndnes the more odyous detestable is thy treason traytory towarde hym But know this for a certayn he nether bought this inherytauÌ„ce for the ne made promyse therof but with condicion which condicyon yf thou kepe y u shalt be sure to haue this inherytaunce and yf thou breke it than shalt thou be sure to forgoo the same ¶ Ye here dayly of promyses and of leases that be made with certayne condycyons that he that taketh this lease shall do thus or thus as the case requyryth And yf case be that he obserue these condycyons well this lease is good and sure But yf the condycyon be broken the lease is of no valew ¶ Oh chrysten man the very condycyon of thy lease is this Si vis ad vitam ingredi serua mandata Yf thou wylt entre into the kyngdome of lyfe thou must obserue and kepe the commaundementes of god This condycyon obseruyd thou shalt entre But yf this condycyon be broken than farewell thy lease is broken ¶ And therfore man yf thou wylt nat obserue this condicyon that is to say yf thou wylt nat kepe the commaundementes of our Sauyour Chryste neyther loke for to haue this inherytaunce nor that any promyse shall be perfourmed vnto the or that any benefyte shall aryse vnto the by the passyon and precyous blood of our sauyour chryste Jesu ¶ Oh wretchid synners Oh most stynkyng lechours that lyue thus synfully
against y e lawes commaundementes of our sauyour Jesu that so waste your bodyes and dystroye your soules in the foule synne of Lechery to you this aunswere appertayneth ¶ And you moost horryble bawdes the whiche kepe this foule bawdry and brodelry in your houses stynkynge bothe in the syght of god and also before the worlde And you that vse these blasphemous othes and great periuryes and that breke your holy days ordeyned by the chyrche To you and vnto all other suche that breketh the lawes and commaundementes of our lorde this worde appertayneth ¶ I say vnto you that ye shall neuer enioye that inherytaunce aboue in heuen bycause ye wyll nat endeuour your selfe to kepe the condycyons therunto belongynge Ye wyll nat labour to get a ryghtwyse lyfe and therfore nat I but our sauyour sayth vnto you the wordes aboue rehersyd Nisi abundauerit iustitia vestra plusquam Scribarum et Phariseorum nō intrabitia in regnum celorum NOw thyrdly we haue to speke of y e stopnes that be in the way that without suffycyent Justyce shall let many to entre and these thre be they ¶ First the double two edged swerde The seconde the brennynge flambe The thyrde the aungels of the order of Cherubyn Euery one of these thre yf there be nat in vs perfyte Justyce shall let vs frome the entresse into the moost gloryouse kyngedome Shortely to saye yf there be dedly synne in vs it must take punysshemente by the two edged sworde the whiche of that one syde sleeth the body and of that other the soule and bothe at one stroke Yf there be any venyall synnes abydyng in vs they must be clene scoured by the flambe of this sayd fyre and they shall be swyn gedere they passe Yf there be neyther deedly synne nor venyall synne in vs remaynynge Yet yf our soules be nat apparellyd accordyngly with good workes we shal nat entre there For the aungels shall so duely and streyghtly examyn and make serche of euery suche person that shall couet or prese to entre there that nothynge can escape ne passe w t out theyr streyght examynacyon FYrst the sworde betokeneth that terryryble punysshment that moost dredfull punysshment that punysshment of euerlastyng dethe bothe in soule and body ¶ There is a greate dyfference betwyrte thys sworde and the sworde of temporall Prynces and especyally for two causes ¶ This is a wonderfull swerde for at the fyrst stroke it sleeth bothe soule and body A kynges sworde dothe nat so Quum occiderint corpus non amplius quid faciant whan that sworde hathe slayne the body it can nat rage no further But this sworde sleeth bothe the bodye and the soule And in a token therof it is two edged ¶ Forthermore the dethe stroke that this sworde dothe gyue takyth nat awaye the felynge from a man neyther of the soule nor of the body The kynges sworde taketh away the felynge from the body forthwith for pryck it bete it bounche it brenne it it felyth none of all these paynes But cōtrary wise this sworde gyueth rather a more perfyte selynge a more clere perceyuynge of the payne than had the persones before they were stryken with it And therfore our sauyour tellyth of the great payne that the ryche glotton felt whiche lay dampned and broyled in the fyre of hell Amongest other of his paynes he felt so great and so paynfull a dryenesse in his tongue that he was fayne to begge one drop of lycour to refressh his tongue and coulde nat get it in his thyrst Many synners peraduenture wolde be glad y t they sholde haue neyther felynge nor beynge neyther in soule nor bodye after this lyfe for than they sholde fele no payne But that can nat be so for they shall haue perfyte felynge very perfytely fele the greuous paynes that they shal be in whiche shall be as greuouse as thoughe they were in the contynuall paynes of dethe euery moneth desiderabūt mori et mors fugiet ab eis Theyr paynes shall be so excedyngly greuous that they shall wysshe to dye a thousand tymes and dethe shall alway flee from theym They shall neuer dye but lyue euer in the contynuall paynes of deth ¶ Our sauyour saith of Judas consyderynge the paynes that he sholde suffre for his offence Melius ei esset si natus non fuisset homo ille It had ben better for hym that he neuer had ben borne whiche worde may in lyke wyse be sayd of all them that shall be excludyd from the heuyn celestyall ▪ into the dongeon of dampnacyon for it had ben moche better for theym that they neuer had ben borne into this worlde than to endure that greuous stroke of that two edged sworde By this than ye may conceyne that this swerde meanyth euerlastynge ponyshment and that it shall be a stop to all thē that shall be founde in dedly synne that is to saye that hath broken the lawes and the cōmaundementes of almyghty god and hath so commyt any dedly synne of the whiche here before theyr deth and departure hence out of this world they haue nat suffycyently repētyd them ¶ Neuertheles who that eyther hath taken sufficyent repētaunce in this lyfe or els hath trewly kept the commaundementes of almyghty god to thē this swerde shal be no stop nor any impedymēt The stroke of this swerde can nat anoye them nor they shall nat be stryken with this swerde THe flambe of this swerde betokenyth vnto vs the fyre of purgatory y e whiche is ordeynyd for them that be founde in any venyall synne for euery venyall lynne must be scouryd out of our soules ere we can be suffryd to haue any interest ¶ But here peraduenture ye wyll aske me what venyall synnes be To this quest yen saynt Austyn sayth that venyall synnes be these synnes that we dayly commyt without the whiche the fraylty can nat cōtynue in this lyfe In to these maner of synnes we dayly fall offende whan we eate and drynke more than very necessytye requyryth whan we speke more ydle wordes than nedyth to be spoken whan we holde our peace le iust cause to speke as in tellynge other folkes theyr fautes and so forbere for lothnesse of dyspleasure whā we be more neclygent in prayer thā were profytable for vs whan we be slacke in hauynge pytye and compassyon vpon the pore whan we cheryshe and nourysshe our bodyes to delycatly without cause whā we let the tyme passe from vs vnfruytefully whan we iangle ydelly and vnfruytefully whā we be dull and slepy in the seruyce of god whan we speke more roughly thā the cause requyryth or agayne flater more than is expedyent These and other lyke vnto those as sayth saynt Austyn be suche as must be scouryd in the fyre of purgatory But ye wyll say agayne Syr no man lyuyth so parfytely but y t he dayly fallyth in some of these A trouth it is and therfore the same saynt Austyn sayth that