good hede vnto the serpentes hed / for he hath sharpe teth and wyll byte sore / but he can neuer hurte ne perce your skynne / excepte ye wyll your selfe Haue therfore good awayte vpon your selfe Serche / note / marke well your owne appetytes / and sensuall desyres / and stande nat vpon your thoughtes / ne play with your mocioÌ„s / nor yet reason / or dispute with your temptacions / caste away the pleasure / and auoyde in any wyse the consent li. 6. de spiritu philargirie ca. 21. For as saynt IohaÌ„ Cassian saythe Propriete is nat only coÌ„mitted / in effecte and dede / by hauynge / or kepynge any thing vnlawfully but also by affecte / wyll / and mynde any thynge so to haue Oftymes therfore visite your owne selfe / proue and perceyue your owne appetitê make a chapitre with your owne self / and examine your owne conscieÌ„ce / remembre whether you haue any thynge in your kepynge / that ye prouided / and broght in with you for your owne vse Serche wel your thoughtes and appetites / whether they loke backe vnto the state ye were of byfore / or that ye myght haue ben of if ye had continued in the worlde And if ye so fynde / and proue your mynde occupied leye byfore it agayne for answere the chaunce of Anany and Saphira / and of Iudas the traytoure And if your minde wolde desyre to haue that ye had nat byfore / or that ye se a nother of your company haue whiche ye haue nat than represent vnto your owne mynde the punisshemeÌ„t of Giezi And by ware wel of the appetite / to store / kepe / and to ley thynges a parte / specially for your owne priuate vse For that doth the said Cassiane repÌ„hende very moche / though it were of very lytel valure / as a nedle / threde / thymble / tables / pyncell / penne / or penknyfe c. For propriete wyll crepe in / and entre at a lytel hole / ones entred harde to be expelled and auoided Ecclesias 19. A. And scripture saythe Who wyll nat regarde smale thynges shall sone and lyghtly fall into great ieoparties And therfore I wolde aduise you to gyue a study vnto your assayles / nat onely vnto the crafty subtyle mocions of your great enemy the dyuel but also vnto the prickes and iustigacions / of your owne fraylte And moste of all other to auoyde the familiarite of suche ê‘sones as ben suspecte of that vice / yet among them of those specially that in theyr coÌ„municacion and talke wyl defende or excuse that pestileÌ„ce of propriete For the example / wordes and mocion of theÌ„ is more ieopardous / and more perilous than of all the dyuelles of hel / auoyde theÌ„ therfore / as a pestileÌ„ce / as poysoÌ„ / as a serpent / as a raumpynge / or rauenous wylde and wode beste / and as a furious fende of hell Whiche thynge to perfourme ye muste as I sayd vse violence And say with the prophete as is sayd Calicem salutaris accipiam I wyll take the penaunce / the exaÌ„ples / and wayes of my lorde and sauiour Iesu And so shall ye haue singuler conforte / but you shall nat yet haue full surety For no persone of hym selfe can be able to continue And therfore ye muste Ioyne the seconde parte of the sayd verse vnto the fyrste / and saye Et nomen domini inuocabo I wyll call vpon the name of our lorde The name of Iesu hath great myghty power I wyll saye you call vpon hym / by continuall prayer I wyll put my hole truste in hym / he wyll I promyse you perfourme your desyre By his helpe and grace you shal haue merueylous rest of mynde / quietude of conscience / and go forthe and increace in religious perfection ¶ Howe to continue without ieoparty of ê“priete The .xvii. Chapitre HOwe here shall folowe as we promysed howe ye may passe forth in religion with out the dauÌ„ger of propriete / and yet haue all thynges necessarie / and many pleasures also without any ieoparty of conscience Fyrste than ye muste considre / that iÌ„ euery perfection ben degrees / some lowe / some meane / and some hyghe and notable The leest and moste lowe perfection of vertue must euer be without deedly synne And that is accouÌ„ted as sufficieÌ„t vnto saluacion So the forther ê‘fection be nat despised / set at nought or lytell regarded For ê‘sones maye be ê‘fecte / ryght good althoughe they fal into many venial offeÌ„ses And very fewe persones iÌ„ any vertue done attayne come vnto the moste hyghe / moste perfecte degre therof A familiar exaÌ„ple may be iÌ„ the vertue of chastite The lowest degre ê‘fection wherof is neuer to haue deliberate consent vnto any carnall acte of generacion / ne vnto any byhauiour of vncleÌ„nes vnlawfull Yet in this degre / ben many ê‘sones that haue many affections / both naturall / carnal / and many freyle / lyght byhauiours / that done moche minisshe the ê‘fection of very chastite Some ê‘sones bene of a more hyghe degre / that done auoyde with diligente awayte all outwarde occasions / as kyssynge / clippynge / touchynge / lyght lokes / wanton contenauÌ„ce the hearyng speakyng of all vnclene wordes / sole pÌ„sence / with al suche other And yet whaÌ„ they be assayled inwardly iÌ„ mynde / or moued in body they done nat so diligently represse the mocions / ne so hastely put them away / as good vertue wold require / but somtyme gyue theÌ„ place by delectacion only / wtout deliberate consent so playe with them / suffre them without great violence to hange vpon them vnto theyr great trouble / and many tymes vnto the ieoparty of great inconuenience The ê‘fecte degre of this vertue is to be so mortified in body / that suche assayles done nothynge / or very lytell trouble the persones / but rather done inflame them in the loue of our lorde / and moue theÌ„ vnto horrour / hatered of all maner of synne / done excite sturre theÌ„ vnto the more depe mekenes / vnto theyr great merite Of these thiÌ„gê / shall we more largely speke in the nexte and thyrde membre Nowe let vs ê‘ceyue a lyke maner in this vertue of wylful pouerte The lowest degre wherof is this Neuer to coÌ„sent by deliberacioÌ„ to receyue / possede / or haue / to reteyne or kepe any maner of thinge temporall by licence / or without licenie vnto peculier and proper vse / that is / so to be in the power of the religious persone / that he may by any meanes alienate / chauÌ„ge / gyue / sel / or lende that thynge / for selfe coÌ„modite / at selfe wyll or libertie / defendynge that thyng as his owne DefeÌ„dyng in a religious persone / is / whan knowyng the wyll of the souereyne in the contrarie he wolde reteyne / and nat delyuer or bystowe the same thynge
make lowe / vnto theÌ„ the done truste iÌ„ theyr owne vertues doth he disdayne to gyue his gyftes but those that nothyng truste in theyr owne workeâ— but done hange holly vpon hym those doth he nourysshe / conforte / and defende Submitte you therefore in due maner eyther vnto other / nat for the dred of maÌ„ but for the dred of god For he hath cure of you / doth care for you / he wyl nat suffer you to perisshe Youth iÌ„ worldly ê‘sones is redy vnto plesures / disportê / ydle pastimes / waÌ„tones but it bycoÌ„meth religious ê‘sones of euery age to be sade / sobre / diligent / circumspecte / well ware of them selfe For the great enimy / and aduersary of our saluacion dothe neuer slepe / but euer walketh aboute / as an hongry rauenous Lyon / sykynge and spyryng where / and how he may cayche and deuoure the christiane soule / and no angle ne corner leueth he vnsoght / to fynde an entre among religious persones For somtyme dothe he craftely awayte theÌ„ by vayne voluptuous pleasures / sometyme openly assayle them by troublous / and vnrestfull persecucions But gyue no place vnto hym good religous persones Rather withstande strongly / with hole and vnfeynted hertes For althoughe his power be very great mightye yet is he more stronge and myghtye / that hathe the cure of you / our lorde Iesu Christe Put your truste in hym with all your hertes And than your aduersary can nothyng preuayle / agayne them that haue faynt hertes / and lyke truste in our lorde he is very stronge / and of great power But agayne theÌ„ that baue full feyth / truste in god he is but feble faynt If he dyd persue assayle religious ê‘sones alone the affliction myght peraduenture in good reason be greuous But nowe that he doth by like malice assayle all maner of persones / be they neuer so holy or deuoute For Christe doth he persue assayle in vs he doth inuie the soule helth of all maner of persones we shulde therfore suffer beare more lyghtly the coÌ„mune ê“secution / affliction / trouble of all christianes / with coÌ„mune good wylles hertes stande styfly agayne our coÌ„mune enemy These tentacioÌ„s assayles shall sone ouerpasse For this lyfe is nat long yet in the meane tyme our lorde wyll nat leue ne forsake vs / but he that is the mouer gyuer of al grace goodnes wyll ê‘fourme in vs / that he hath bygoÌ„ne / he gaue iÌ„spired vnto vs / the mynde wyll of religion that we shulde pacientely bere and suffre agayne for him suche paynes afflictions and troubles as myght bryng vs vnto eterne euerlastyng glorie / he wyll nat suffre vs to lose our palme / crowne of victorie if we wyll manly fyght / and styfly stande therby / he wyll be present with vs / wyll helpe vs to fyght / giue vs both streÌ„ghe stabilite So that here for a shorte tyme somwhat afflicted troubled / we shall hereafter come vnto the crowne of imortalite For by his helpe we done vanquyshe And by his liberallite goodnes we shall receyue the mede and rewarde therof And therfore there is no cause in vs why we shuld gyue / thynke or applie any laude or prayse vnto our selfe For al the glorie and prayse is due vnto our lorde alone / nat only in this worlde but also in all worldes for euer more Amen For this ê‘sent tyme I haue no more to writ but that it maye please you of your charite / forgyuyng my rudnes to pray for me vnto our lorde god moste swete sauiour Iesu / who sende vs grace mercy euer to worke his wyll This haue we drawen out of the fyrst epistle of saynt Petre / the last Chapitre your wreched brother of Syon Rycharde Whytforde ¶ Of the seconde borde of our vessell whiche is the seconde membre of this thyrde parte / that is the seconde essenciall vowe of religion / called wylfull pouerte ¶ The preface WHere we iÌ„ the fyrst ê‘te of this worke dyd assimile religion vnto a Tonne / or Pype / conteynyng the moste delicate / and holsome wyne of the lyfe of ê‘fection for the imitacion / and folowyng of the lyfe of our sauioure Christe Iesu / and the same Tonne or Pype to be made of .iii. tables or bordes / those ben / the essenciall vowes / and those to be closed and bounde with the hopys / of reules / constitucions / statutê / yet those hopys to be also bouÌ„de with the wykers of the holy ceremonies / and laudable customes of religion we haue nowe here sent vnto you the seconde borde / or table of the sayd Pype / called wylfull pouerte Wherof to intreate we shall shewe fyrste our mynde of the selfe terme pouerte ¶ Of the selfe terme pouerte The fyrste Chapitre FOr the selfe terme may be taken diuersly One way it is taken for nydenes / want or lacke of necessaries and so is it misery wrechednes / which coÌ„mune beggers / and many persones haue borne / and suffred with peyne and wo. Whiche natwithstandyng taken paciently with laude and prayse of god may be moch meritorious An other way pouerte maye be taken for scarsity / and that thyng that is sufficient for the lyfe of the persone with harde shyfte of labour and occupacion And this pouerte is a thynge of great honesty / and moche profyt and auayle / as well vnto the welth / ond good state of the body as vnto the quietude and rest of the mynde For what can be vnto the helth of the body better than exercyse by moderate laboures whervnto pouerte doth driue and in maner constreyne And also doth teache the ê‘son to vse all thynges gotten by laboures discretely moderately / and to despise all superfluite And also dothe cause persones to remembre theyr owne infirmite / from whens they came / and howe they shulde lyue by them selfe alone / and of them selfe / that is to say without helpe of all other creatures / onely by the grace and helpe of god / and so doth it also moue theÌ„ to despise al delicates / and doth shewe and teache al persones what is very ryches / that is to say suche as theues can nat stele / ne tyrannes robbe / nor that may lyghtly be lost And yet is nat this pouerte meritorious excepte it be wylfull / without force And interprised / taken suffred as after we shal shewe for the loue of god For the wylfull forsakynge of worldly ryches and goodes doth nat cause the merite / but the ende / purpose / the intent / and cause why the goodes ben forsaken is the cause of merite For paganes / gentyles / philosophers / and other infideles haue clene forsaken the worlde / all the ryches and pleasures therof / bycause they myght be voyde of the cares / busines / and turmoyles of
be deuoured What in like maner doth it auayle / or vauntage you to forsake / flee / and escape the worlde / and al the dauÌ„gers therof And thus by folysshe affectioÌ„ / fonde appetite / vnder the coloure of licence to be noted / snared / lymed and more fast imprisoned in the worlde than euer ye ware or thaÌ„ coÌ„munely ben any worldly ê‘sones For surely so bene religious persones whan they done retourne vnto any siÌ„ne / more depely bene they drouned therin / and ferre more careles / wtout conscience than any other / and therfore doth folowe of iustice they shall be moste depely daÌ„pned in the pit of perdicion For the loue of our lorde than / good religious persones nat onely fle / forsake this raumpynge Lion / this poysoned serpente propriete but rather sle / and destroye it vtterly / that is / that ye laboure / inforce / and gyue laborious study / and diligence to clymbe vnto the moste hyghe poynt / perfection of this promysed vertue / and vowe / wylfull pouerte The perfecte poynt of pouerte is To nother receyue / or take / nor reteyne / kepe / or haue any maner of thynge temporall / with liceÌ„ce / or without licence but that very vnfeyned nede doth require accordyng vnto the state / degre / and condicion of the persones / and to gyue a study with diligence / to ê‘ceyue what thynge they myght spare / forgo / haue nat / and that thyng neuer to receyue / kepe / or haue / ne yet wyshe / wyll / couet / or desyre / by any meanes to haue But rather / with good wyll / and glad spirite to be content with lesse than is nedefull / and so to suffre some peyne for defaulte of that were necessarie / althoughe it were redy at wyll and power to be had For saint Augustine sayth in the rule Ca. 3 iÌ„ fine the better is somewhat to want or lacke than any thynge to haue ouermoche This degre of wylfull pouerte is very perfecte / and yet in the same degre ben many degrees / as ben in mekenes / if ye wyll se the perfections of this degre of pouerte set forth in experience loke in vitas patrum / in the seconde parte / in the boke or tytle that a religious ê‘sone shulde haue nothynge in possession / whiche dothe immediately folowe the boke / or tytle of fornicacion Vitas pa. And there shall ye fynde that the moste harde or streyte point that I haue wryten is very large and lyght / in coÌ„parison vnto that thyng that they wroght fulfylled and ê‘fourmed in dede And yet were they nothyng bounde thervnto / by any vowe or promyse of ê“fession as we bene / but all that they dyd was of theyr owne liberte / and fre wyll / to perfourme theyr entrepryse I do sende you vnto vitas Patrum both bycause of the auctorite / also bycause it shulde haue ben accounted superfluous / labour loste to wryte here agayne / that is wryten there / specially sythe ye haue it in englysshe Be nat I praye you therfore / lothe to tourne the boke I haue shewed you the place / it is but very short / and yet as they say very swete and profytable Rede it ones ouer / and if ye haue a loue and desyre vnto this holy vertue wylfull pouerte and ful determinate mynde to auoyd / fle / abhorre / and vtterly to sle the coÌ„trarie vice poysoned propriete ye shall I dare say rede it ouer agayne with good wyll vndesired Our lorde moue and styrre your mynde to folowe it / or at the leest to inforce and to atteÌ„pte to attayne vnto the toppe of the hyll the moste hyghe poynt of this perfection For thoughe you neuer come thervnto your diligence / and good wyll shal be well and liberally rewarded For our lorde is the moste bounteous / and liberall rewarder / and gyueth aboundauÌ„tly vnto all persones that done loue hym Whiche loue and rewarde he grauÌ„t vs / that bought vs / our lorde god / and moste swete sauiour Iesu / who preserue you The olde wreche of Syon Richarde Whytforde ¶ Thus endeth the seconde membre of this thyrde parte / whiche is the seconde borde of our vessell ¶ Of the thyrde essenciall vowe of religion Chastite ¶ Preface THis is the .iii. table or borde of your Tonne or Pype The ê‘face why this vowe is put last in nombre That is to say / pure chastite And why we put this vowe laste iÌ„ order ye shall haue our pore mynde reason All these .iii. vertues / obedieÌ„ce / pouerte / chastite / that nowe ben promised by soleÌ„pne vowe / open ê“fession were in the begynnyng of Christê churche vniuersally kepte of all spiritual ê‘sones more streytly / in more pÌ„cise maner / in more full ê‘fection wtout any vowe as we haue sayd in the laste boke or ê“myse thaÌ„ they be nowe with all ê“myse vowe For in the tyme these essencialles were kept by the holy Apostles / theyr successours many yeres as the moste ê‘fecte fourme of Christes lyfe religion / that is the lawe of the gospell Fyrst for obedieÌ„ce he sayd of hymselfe Io. 6. D. Ibidem I came nat sayth he into this worlde to worke or do myne owne wyll but by due obedieÌ„ce to accoÌ„plysshe / to do that wyll of my father And saynt Paule sayth Phi. 2. B. he was for vs made obedieÌ„t vnto deth The gospell also doth wytnes / that in his owne ê‘sone god maÌ„ Luce. 2. G he was obedieÌ„t vnto his carnal pareÌ„tê mary his blessed naturall mother / Ioseph his supposed father And he was alway also obedient vnto the lawe / in his circuÌ„cision / pÌ„sentacion / other holy ceremonies althoughe he were aboue the lawe / nothing subiecte / ne bouÌ„de thervnto Thus by many other meanes dyd he shewe / and set forthe obedience / as examplar of excellent vertue of all his disciples to be folowed And in that he had nothynge proper / but all in commune he expressed wylfull pouerte in hym selfe And as vnto his virginall and moste pure chastite no man euer made doute / whiche holy vertues he dyd nat onely perfourme in hym selfe but also he wylled / perswaded / and counsayled al his disciples and all other called thervnto by grace to folowe the same Whiche sayd example / and couÌ„sayle after the ascencion of Christe / and whan they had receyued the holy ghoste his holy Apostles dyd folowe and kepe in moste perfecte and precise maner And by theyr example and instruction so dyd the prelates / and the spirituall parte of the churche many many yeres But whan afterwarde / the people byganne to fall vnto the maners agayne / and customes of geÌ„tilite / and so these thynges bygaÌ„ne moche to decay many holy and deuoute persones moued of grace fled / and dyd forsake the worlde / with the vices /
of the worlde / saye vnto the olde folysshe vnclene lyuers Nowe is tyme to make an ende Here may you perceyue / that chastite is moch coÌ„meÌ„dable / vnto all christianes of all maner of age and all maner of state / contrarie / vnclene lyuyng / is odious and abhominable Wyll ye nowe haue a shorte recount and reherse of all lest peraduenture ye wolde be wery to rede all at lengthe ¶ Epilogus / a shorte recounte The .xxv. Chapitre FIrste is / the loue desyre / purpose of chastite Whervnto / euery ê‘sone may reasonably be moued / by the beauty / the honeste / the pleasure ê“fect in both soule body / of that moste noble vertue chastite The seconde is / the vtter hatred horroure of the contrarie vyce and aduersary / vncleÌ„nes Whervnto the fylthynes / shame / and yuell ende of the same shulde moue any creature reasonable The pÌ„seruers of chastite / ben these prayers and temperate diete / of all maner of fode taken in due tyme / due place / with due circumstaunces / and lyke wyse of wayche and slepe moderate / laboure in continuaunce / and neuer ydle Habite and araye of sadnes / accordyng vnto the state degre of the ê‘sones The gesture and byhauiour of body after the same maner / with grauite Specially the continence and garde of all the .v. wittes / as of the eares / or hearyng froÌ„ al vayne / namely vnclene wordes or coÌ„munication Of the eyes or sight from all wanton or lyght cast therof The nose froÌ„ the delectacioÌ„ of all swete and meritorious smelles The tonge from al delicates of mere pleasure with out nede But specially from vayne / and vnclene / or lyght wordes The touchynge in precise maner / with moste hyghe diligence and warenes / from al naked partes / excepte iÌ„ maried persones And yet there with the dred of god / all honeste / and reuerence of the holy sacrament duely obserued and kept And aboue all other by ware of familiarite / kepynge / or desyrynge acquayntaunce / and that of any maner of ê‘sones by affection For thoughe the persones be noted and knowen holy and of synguler sanctite / be nat yet to homely / mystrust euermore your selfe And coÌ„pany that is suspecte fle you euer auoyde on all maner vtterly Sole presence is a perilous pestilence and as deth to be auoyded / specially of the contrarie sexe / as man and woman kynde to gether alone / any where / in any tyme / or any place And so in lyke maner is the liberty and power of sole presence / that is / that the persones of coÌ„trarie sexe / myght be together alone / if they wolde The appetite of clene / swete / and fayre / or fyne clothes and ofte waysshyng / and curious pykyng of the body is an enemy of chastite The great chefe custody / garde and nucyshynge of chastite standethe in the disposicion / and feruente applicacion of the mynde vnto our lorde god / and moste swete sauiour Iesu / by coÌ„tamplacion / prayer / meditacion / and by continuall appointed and determinate good and holy exercise bothe of soule and body This Epiloge and breue recount haue we made / for them that bene lothe to rede longe workes The figures in the margeÌ„t ben set forthe / that if the reder wolde se at length any of the maters or pointê here touched they may tourne vnto the same figures within forth byfore and there at one of those figures whaâ— two bene here to gether fynde there desyre I beseâ—â—e oure lorde god / moste swere sauiour Iesu / that bothe the wrytynge and readynge maye be vnto the honoure / laude / and prayse of hym / and vnto the intended profecte of the parties Amen ¶ The olde Wreche of Syon Rycharde Whitforde ¶ And thus an ende of the thyrde borde of our vessell and of the thyrde membre of this thyrde parte of our worke ¶ The fourthe parte of this worke of the hole vessell that is to say religion The fyrst Cha. IN all-thynges diuisible that is to say that may be diuided in sondry partes the partes ben fyrste pÌ„supposed / whiche duely ioyned to gether done make the hoole thyng / I sayd in thynges diuisible For al thingê ben nat diuisible into sondry ê‘tes / as a spirite / god / Angell maÌ„nes soule For althoughe the soule haue ê‘tes spirituall yet can they nat be deê‘ted in sondre / ne any of the froÌ„ the selfe soule For all were create made at ones In all other bodely thyngê the hole is made of the partes ioyned as we sayd ryghtly to gether framed into a certeyn fourme The partes therfore of our vessell Pype / or Tunne / we haue some what set our byfore you yet here wyll you ê‘adueÌ„ture say vnto me Syr these partê that you haue set forth wyll nat make your vessell ê‘fecte For here done lacke two ê‘tes moste necessarie / that is to say a botome / a hed The botome is fyrst requyred as foundemeÌ„t and begynnyng of al the vessell For thervnto must the bordes be fyrst framed / thaÌ„ coÌ„passed aboute with your hoppes / they bounde with the wykers And than muste you nedely haue an hed to couer your vessell if you shall well preserue your wyne al this I graunt is very trouthe / natwtstandyng I dyd verely thynke / and yet I do byleue that al you dyd of your selfe pÌ„suppose these two partes as nat nedyng our intreates For all that we do in religion hath but one fouÌ„dement begynnyng that is feyth without whiche it is as saint Paule sayth impossible or vnpossible to please god Heb. 11. B. 1. Cor. 3. C. And other fouÌ„dament or botome / thaÌ„ is put all redy no maÌ„ may put sayth he whiche is Christ Iesus / his feythe / al our workes muste nedely ende and be concluded in charite / or els all ben lost Nowe you knowe wel / that for vs to haue enterprised any thynge to intreate of these tweyne had bene suê‘fluous a great presuÌ„pcion / seyng perceyuyng howe largely they be intreated / of so many / so auncient auctores / wherfore we humbly byseche you to be coÌ„tente with your owne necessary partê pÌ„supposed and with our partes so / so porely set forthe for the perfourmauÌ„ce of our said vessell / Pype or Tunne / wherby is signified after our enterpryse religion monasticall / wherof to intreate we shall begynne with religion in generall ¶ The definicion / determinacion / or declaracion of this terme religion The seconde Chapitre TO speke of religion iÌ„ general it semeth coÌ„uenient to shewe fyrste what is ment by the selfe terme religion For that thyng that is called religion hath alway ben vsed in al maner of nacions / in so moche that the paganes or paynyms / sayd that religion is that thyng wherby the ceremonies of diuine worshyppe / or of goddes worshyppe
/ ne any lyfe or state of lyuynge is so / or vnder the fourme perfecte but this lyfe alone An other way A thynge is called ê‘fecte vnto the whiche nothyng may be added as bylongyng vnto that thynge that is to say that hath al thynges / and lacketh nothing that shulde apperteyne vnto the natural perfection of the thynge And vnder this fourme is euery ê‘sone of soule and body perfecte man But in this maner of perfection ben many degrees For Angell is of more perfecte or excelleÌ„t and more noble nature thaÌ„ is man And the lyfe or state of the lyuynge of them in lyke maner But we done speke here of the lyfe of perfection as it doth apperteyne vnto maÌ„ And yet nat so as it was in man byfore his lapse / and fal out of paradyse but as it is nowe in man In them I meane that ben christianes For all those by the passion / deth / and resurrection of our Sauiour receiuyng his feyth / byleuyng baptized bene eftsones borne and renewed vnto a perfecte lyfe / or a perfect state of lyuyng / called coÌ„munely the state of saluacion Qui crediderit et baptizatus suerit saluus erit Marci 16. D. sayth the gospell Who so dothe byleue / and receyue the ryght feythe of Christe / and in the same is baptized shall surely be saued This state of lyuynge is that lyfe of perfection that we ment and spake of signified by the doulce / swete and precious wyne to be preserued in our sayd vessell of religion For althoughe all christianes ben put ones in this state yet is nat that state continually kepte in all them And although this state / and lyfe of perfection may be well kepte / and reserued in many other vesselles that is in many degrees of persones yet as I sayd it is nat so surely kepte of any sorte as of religious persones And yet natwithstandynge / I do nat deney / but that some persones in euery degre of the people / as some in wedloke / some in wydohed / some in virginite among the layfee / and among the clergie some I say may / and done preserue / kepe / and continue the sayd state / and lyfe of perfection as well / as sure / and in as perfecte maner / as any religious persones done But yet as I haue often said there is none of these degrees / that throughe out the hole degre done kepe it so wel / as religious persones / therfore I sayd that this vessell is moste apte / and moste coÌ„uenient to preserue this precious wyne of the lyfe / or state of perfection Where I say most coÌ„uenient I do nat deney / other degrees to be conuenient and very conuenient For that is the thyng that these newe heretikes done ley vnto the charge of religious persones / that is where the religious persones say / that the state of religion dothe best of all other states coÌ„munly / kepe the sayd state of ê‘fection The sayd heretikes done threpe vpon them / falsly done accuse them that they put theÌ„ selfe / and done affirme them selfe to be onely in the state of ê‘fection And that they done despyse all other sortes / or degrees of people in comparison vnto them selfe / whiche thyng no maner of good religious persones euer sayd or thought / but rather the contrarie / they done suppose al other persones better thaÌ„ they ben / natwithstandyng yet do I iuge as I sayd that religion monastike duely kepte is the most apte vessell / the moste redy way / and moste sure meane to pÌ„serue / and continue the lyfe and state of perfection / wherin the holy sacrament of baptyme / dothe put set all persones that duely done resceyue it And yet in that state of baptisme duely kept ben degrees of perfection meritorious That may be ê“ued by the gospell For our sauiour hym selfe iÌ„ his actes of our instruction dyd nat alway kepe one maner / or one fourme / but somtyme he shewed hym selfe as a persone vniuersall / and dyd accompany hymselfe / and be familiar / in eatynge and drynkynge / spekyng or talkyng with persones of lowe degre / wherwith the phariseis / and scribes were / slaundred and toke occasion / and somtyme he shewed hym selfe of hygh singuler perfection in fastyng .xl. Matth. 9. B. dayes / in prayer / and specially in his traÌ„sfiguracion In the whiche those persones that were present were so rauisshed that they wolde haue dwelled styll there and neuer to haue descended vnto the lyfe they vsed byfore / yet was that lyfe moche happy and gracious wherin they lyued with theyr mayster / moche more perfecte than was the lyfe of many other good deuout ê‘sones So thaÌ„ appereth that iÌ„ the pure state of christianite bene diuerse degrees of perfection And as it were two maner of lyues distincte and diuerse / and yet both of hyghe perfection / whiche ben coÌ„munely called The lyfe actiue / and the lyfe contemplatiue / and some ê‘sones done put the thyrde lyfe and done call it the myxte lyfe But our lorde sauiour spake but of tweyne / preferryng the tone / yet allowyng and praysyng both Sayng vnto Martha that the tone lyfe is necessarie / that is the lyfe actiue / wtout whiche no persone may be saued But yet is the tother lyfe of contemplacion more noble and excelleÌ„t why shulde than these newe heretikes saye / that the people shulde be all of one fourme of lyuynge / sythe our Sauiour hymselfe / dyd expresse and set forthe tweyne / bothe in his owne coÌ„uersacion / and also in the sayd wordes of the gospell / where he preferred the lyfe of contemplacion / sayng Maria optimam partem elegit Mary sayth he hath chosen the best parte Who nowe by good reason wyll blame or dissalowe theÌ„ / that with Mary Magdalene done chose the best parte or who wyll nat rather prayse them that so do I trowe none But religious persones done take that parte / and moste nere done folowe the same Ergo religion is the moste apte coÌ„uenient vessell / the moste sure and redy meane to preserue / kepe / and continue this precious wyne of the lyfe of perfection And so is our purpose of this pore laboure concluded and ended / after our pore vnderstandynge and rude maner I beseche you applie all vnto the beste / and so accepte my good wyll and mynde / in our lorde god and moste swete sauiour Iesu Christe / who preserue you al in his grace and mercy Amen And of your charite to praye for the sayd wreched brother of Syon / Rycharde Whytforde YEt whaÌ„ I had thus finished my mater I was required bycause I had made mencion of the ∷ ∷ two lyues called actiue / and coÌ„templatiue I shuld shewe forther vnto the vnlerned people what is ment by those termes / actiue / conteÌ„platiue / to shewe some example of both And I answered the