¶ A spirituall consolation written by Iohn Fyssher Bishoppe of Rochester to hys sister Elizabeth at suche tyme as hée was prisoner in the Tower of London Uery necessary and commodious for all those that mynde to leade a vertuous lyfe Also to admonishe them to be at all tymes prepared to dye and séemeth to bée spoken in the person of one that was sodainly preuēted by death 2. Corinthians vj. Beholde now is the acceptable tyme ▪ now is the day of saluation Mathew xxiiij VVatch therefore for ye knowe not what houre your Lorde doeth come ¶ A spirituall consolacyon vvritten by Iohn Fyssher Bishop of Rochester to his sister Elizabeth SIster Elizabeth nothing doth more help effectuallye to get a good and a vertuous lyfe Then if a soule when it is dull and vnlustie without deuotion neyther disposed to prayer nor to any other good worke may be sturred or quickened agayne by fruiteful meditacion I haue therfore deuised vnto you this meditation that followeth Praying you for my sake and for the weale of your owne soule to reade it at suche tymes as you shall feele your selfe most heauie and slouthfull to doe any good worke It is a maner of lamentacion and sorowfull complaynyng made in the person of one that was hastily preuented by death as I assure you euery creature may be none other suretie we haue liuing in this worlde héere But if you will haue any profite by reading of it thrée things you must do in any wise First when you shall reade this meditation deuise in your mynde as nigh as you can all the conditions of a man or woman sodaynlye taken and rauyshed by death and thynke◠wyth your selfe that yée were in the same condition so hastily taken and that incontinent you must néedes dye and your soule depart hence leaue your mortall bodie neuer to returne again for to make any amendes or to doe any release to your soule after this houre Seconly that yée neuer reade thys meditation but alone by your selfe in secrete maner where you maye be most attentyue therevnto And when ye haue the best leasure without any let of other thoughtes or buzinesse For if you otherwyse behaue your selfe in the reading of it it shall anon lose the vertue and quicknesse in stirring and mouing of your soule when you woulde ratherest haue it sturred Thirdly that when you intende to read it you must afore lifte vp your minde to almightie God and beséech him that by the helpe and succour of his grace the readyng thereof may fruitfully worke in your soule a good and vertuous life according to hys pleasure and say Deus in adiutorium meum intende Domine adiuvandum me festina Gloria patri c. Laus tibi domine rex eternae glorie Amen Alas alas I am vnworthily takē all sodaynly death hath assayled me the paynes of his stroake be so sore and gréeuous that I may not longe endure thē my last home I perceiue well is come I must now leaue thys mortall bodie I must nowe departe hence out of this world neuer to returne againe into it But whether I shall goe or where I shall become or what lodgyng I shall haue thys night or in what company I shal fal or in what countrey I shall be receiued or in what maner I shall be entreated God knoweth for I knowe not What if I shall be dampned in the perpetuall prysō of hell where be paynes endelesse and without number Gréeuous it shall be to them that be dampned for euer for they shall be as men in moste extreame paynes of death euer wishing and desiryng death and yet neuer shall they dye It should be nowe vnto mée muche wearie one yeare continually to lye vpon a bed were it neuer so soft how weary then shall it be to lye in the most painefull fyre so many thousād of yeares without number And to be in that most horrible company of diuils most terrible to beholde full of malice and crueltie O wretched and miserable creature that I am I might so haue liued and so ordered my lyfe by the helpe and grace of my Lorde Christ Iesu that this houre might haue bene vnto mée much ioyous greatly desired Many blessed holy Sayncts were full ioyous and desirous of this houre for they knewe well that by death their soules shuld be trāslated into a new life To the life of all ioye and endlesse pleasure frō the streightes and bōdage of this corruptible body into a very libertie and true fréedom mong the company of heauen frō the miseries gréeuāces of this wretched world to be aboue with God in comfort inestimable that can not be spoken ne thought They were assured of the promises of almightie god which had so promised to all them that bée hys faithfull seruauntes And sure I am that if I had truly faithfully serued him vnto thys houre my soule had bene partner of these promises But vnhappie vngracious creature that I am I haue bene negligent in hys seruice and therefore now my harte doeth waste in sorowes séeing the nighnesse of death and considering my great slouth negligence I thought full little thus sodainly to haue bene trapped But alas now death hath preuented me and hath vnwarily attached mée sodainly oppressed mée with his mightie power so that I know not whither I may turne mee for succour nor where I may séeke now for helpe ne what thing I may doe to get any remedy If I myght haue leasure and space to repent mée and amende my lyfe not compelled with this sodayne stroake but of my owne frée will and libertie and partly for the loue of God putting asyde all slouth negligence I might then safely dye without any dread I might then be glad to departe hence and leaue my manifold miseries encombraūces of this world But how may I think that my repentance or mine amendement commeth now of myne own frée will sith I was before thys stroake so colde and dull in the seruice of my Lord god Or howe may I thinke that I doe this more rather for his loue then for feare of his punyshement when if I had truelye loued hym I should more quickely and more diligently haue serued him héeretofore Mée séemeth now that I caste away my slouth and neglygence compelled by force Euen as a Merchaunt that is compelled by a greate tempest in the sea to cast his merchandice out of the Shippe it is not to bée supposed that hée would cast away his ryches of hys owne frée will not compelled by the storme And euen so lykewyse doe I if thys tempeste of death were not now raysed vppon mée it is full like that I would not haue cast from me my slouth and negligence O woulde to God that I might nowe haue some farther respet and some longer tyme to amend my self of my frée will and libertie O if I might entreat death to spare me for a season but that will not bée death
repentance takeÌ„ in tyme might haue eased them of all their paines This I heard and read full often but full little héede or regarde I gaue thervnto I well perceyued it in my selfe but all to late I dread me I woulde that nowe by the example of me all other might beware and avoyde by the gracious helpe of God these daungers that I now am in and prepare them selues against the houre of death better theÌ„ I haue prepared me Alas what auayleth mee nowe anye delicacie of meates and drinkes which my wretched bodie insaciablâ— dyd deuoure What auayleth my vanitie or pryde that I had in my selfe eyther of apparel or of any other thing 〈…〉 vnto me what auayleth 〈…〉 and vncleane delightes and lustes of the stincking flesh wherein was appearance of much pleasure but in very déede none other then the Sowe hath waultering hir self in the myerie puddle Now these pleasures be gon my body is nothing better my soule is much the worse and nothyng remayneth but sorow and displeasure and that a thousand fold more theÌ„ euer I had any pleasure before O lewde bodie naughtie which hast brought me to this vtter discomfort O dyrtie corruption O sachell full of dunge now must I goe to make answere for thy lewdenesse thy lewdenesse I say for it all commeth of thée My soule had nothing néede of such things as was thy desire what néede my soule that is immortall eyther cloathyng or meate or drink what néede it any corruptible gold or siluer what néed it any houses or beddes or any other things that appertayneth to these For thée O corruptible body which lyke a rotten wall dayly néedeth repratiâ—ns and botching vp with meate and drinke and defence of cloathyng against colde and heate was all thys studie and diligence taken and yet now wilte thou forsake mée at my most néede when accompt and reckoning of all our misdéedes must be gyuen before the throne of the Iudge most terrible Now thou wilt refuse me and leaue mée to the ieoperdie of all this matter O alas many yeares of deliberation suffice not before so great a Iudge to make answer which shall examyne me of euerie idle word that euer passed my mouth O then howe many idle wordes how many euill thoughtes howe many déedes haue I to make answere for such as we set but at lyght full greatlye shall be weyed in the presence of hys most high maiestie O alas what may I doe to get some helpe at thys most daungerous houre Wher may I séeke for succour Where may I resorte for any comforte My body forsaketh me my pleasures be vanyshed away as the smoke my goods will not goe wyth mée All these worldly things I must leaue behinde mée if any comforte shall be either it muste bee in the prayers of my friendes or in myne own good déeds that I haue done before But as for my good déedes that shoulde be auayleable in the sight of God alas they bée fewe or none that I can thynke to bee auayleable they must bee donne pryncipallye and purely for his loue But my déedes when of their kynde they were good yet did I linger them by my folly For eyther I did them for the pleasure of men or to auoyde the shame of the world or els for my owne affection or els for dreade of punishment So that seldome I dyd any good déed in that puritie and streaightnesse that it ought of ryght to haue bene done And my misdéedes my lewde déedes that be shamefull and abhominable be without number not one day of all my lyfe no not one houre I trow was so truely expended to the pleasure of God but many déeds words and thoughtes miscaped me in my lyfe Alas little trust then may I haue vppon my déedes And as for the prayers of my friendes suche as I shall leaue behynde mée of them manye peraduenture bée in the same néede that I am in So that where theyr owne prayers myght profytte them selues they can not so profitte an other And many of them will bee full neglygente and some forgetfull of mée And no meruaile for who shoulde haue béene more friendly vnto mée then myne owne selfe Therefore I that was most bounden to haue done for my selfe forget my owne weale in my lyfe tyme no meruaile therefore if other doo forget me after my departing hence Other friendes there be by whose prayers soules may be holpen as by the blessed and holy saincts aboue in heauen which verely will be myndfulll of such as in earth here haue deuoutly honored them before But alas I had special deuotion but to a fewe yet them I haue so faintly honored and to them so coldly sued for fauour that I am ashamed to aske ayde or helpe of them At thys tyme in déede I had more effectually ment to haue honored them more diligently to haue commended my wretched soule vnto their prayers and so to haue made them my special friendes but nowe death hath preuented me so that no other hope remayneth but onely in the mercye of my Lord God to whose mercy I doe now offer my self beséeching him not to looke vppon my desertes but vppoÌ„ his infinite goodnesse and abundaunt pietie Alas my dutie had bene much better to haue remembred this terrible houre I should haue had this dauÌ„ger euer before my eyes I shoulde haue prouided therefore so that now I might haue bene in a more readynesse against the comming of death which I knew assuredly would come at the last albeit I knew not when where or by what maner but well I knewe euery houre and moment was to him indifferent and in his libertie And yet my madnesse euer to be sorowed Notwithstanding thys vncertaintie of his comming and the vncertaintie of the tyme thereof I made no certayne nor sure prouision against this houre Full often I tooke great studie and care to prouyde for litle dauÌ„gers only bicause I thought they might hap and yet happed they neuer a deale And but tryfles they were in comparisoÌ„ of this how much rather should I haue taken study and care for this so great a dauÌ„ger which I knew wel must necessarily fall vnto mée once For thys can not be eschued in no wyse and vppon thys I ought to haue made good prouision For in this hangeth all our wealth for if a man dye well he shall after his death nothing want that he would desire but his appetite shall be saciate in euerie poynte at the full And if he dye amisse no prouysion shall auayle him that euer he made before This prouision therefore is most effectually to bée studied sithens this alone may profit without other and without thys none can auayle O yée that haue tyme and space to make your prouisioÌ„ agaynst the houre of death defarre not from day to day lyke as I haue done For I often did thinke and purpose with my self that at some leasure I would haue prouided neuerthelesse for euery tryfelous
buzinesse I put it aside and delayed thys prouysion alway to an other tyme and promysed with my selfe that at suche a tyme I would not fayle but doe it but when that came an other buzinesse arose and so I deferred it agayne vnto an other tyme And so alas from time to tyme that now death in the mean tyme hath preuented mée my purpose was good but it lacked execution My will was strayghte but it was not effectuall my mynde well intended but no fruite came therof All for bicause I delayed so often and neuer put it in effect that that I had purposed And therefore delay it not as I haue done but before all other buzinesse put this first in suertie which oughte to bée chiéefe and princypall buzinesse Neyther buildyng of Colleges nor makyng of Sermons nor giuing of almes neyther yet anye other manner of buzynesse shall helpe you without this Therefore first and before all things prepare for thys delaye not in any wyse for if you doe you shall be deceyued as I am now I read of manye I haue hearde of manye I haue knowne many that were disappoynted as I am nowe And euer I thought and sayde intended that I would make sure and not be deceiued by the sodayn comming of death Yet neuerthelesse I am now deceyued and am taken sléeping vnprepared and that when I least wéened of his comming and euen when I reckoned my selfe to be in most healthe and when I was most buzie and in the middest of my matters Therfore delaye not you any farther nor put your trust ouer much in your friends Trust your selfe while ye haue space and libertie and doe for your self now while you may I would aduyse you to doe that thing that I by the grace of my Lord God would put in execution if his pleasure were to sende me longer lyfe Recounte your selfe as dead thinke that your soules were in pryson of Purgatorie that there they must abyde till that the Raunsom for them be truly payde eyther by long sufferance of payne there or els by suffrages done héere in earth by some of your speciall friendes Be yâ—u your owne friend doe you these suffrages for your owne soule whether they be praiers or almes déedes or any other penitentiall paynefulnesse If you will not effectually and hartely doe these thinges for your own soule looke you neuer that other will doe them for you and in dooyng them in your own persons they shal be more auayleable to you a thousaÌ„d folde then if they were done by any other If you followe this counsayle and doe thereafter you be gracious and blessed and if you doe not you shall doubtlesse repent your follyes but to late ¶ The wayes to perfcet Religion made by Iohn Fyssher Byshop of Rochester being Prysoner in the Tower of London SIster Elizabeth gladlye I would wryte vnto you some thing that myght be to the health of your soule and furtheraunce of it in holye Relygion But well I knowe that without some feruor in the loue of Christ Relygion can not bée to you sauerie nor anye worke of goodnesse can bée delectable but euerie vertuous déede shall séeme laboryous and paynefull For loue maketh euerie worke appeare easie and pleasaunt though it bée ryghte displeasaunt of if selfe And contrariwyse ryght easie labour appeareth gréeuous and paynefull when the soule of the person that doeth the déede hath no desyre ne loue in doing of it This thing may wel appear by the lyfe of hunters the which out of doubt is more laborious and painfull then is the lyfe of relygious persons and yet nothing sustayneth them in theyr labour and paynes but the earnest loue and hartie desire to fynde theyr game Regard no lesse my writing good sister though to my purpose I vse the example of hunters for all true christian soules be called Hunters and their office and duetie is to séeke and hunt for to fynde Christ Iesu And therefore scripture in many places exhorteth vs to séeke after him assureth that he will be found of them that dyligently séeke after him Inuenietur ab hijs qui querunt eum That is to say he will be founde of them that séeke hym well happy are all those that can fynde him or can haue any sent of him in this life here For that sent as Saint Paule saith is the sent of the verie lyfe And the deuout soules where they féele thys sent they runne after hym a pace Curremus in odorem vnguentorum tuoruÌ„ That is to say we shall runne after the sent of thy swéete oyntmentes Séeyng then all deuoute soules maye bée called Hunters I will farther prosecute the comparysoÌ„ made before betwéene the lyfe of the Hunters and the lyfe of the relygious persons after this maner A comparison betvveene the lyfe of Hunters and the lyfe of religious persons WHat lyfe is more paynefull and laborious of it self then is the life of Hunters which most early in the mornyng breake their sléepe and ryse when other doe take their rest and ease and in his labour he may vse no playne high wayes and the softe grasse but he must treade vppon the fallowes runne ouer the hedges créepe thorowe the thicke bushes and crye all the long day vppon his dogges and so continue without meate or drinke vntill the verie night dryue him home these labours be vnto him pleasaunt and ioyous for the desire loue that he hath to sée the poore Hare chased with dogges Uerely verely if hée were compelled to take vppon hym such labours and not for thys cause he would soone be wearie of theÌ„ thinking them full tedious vnto him neither would he ryse out of his bed so soone ne faste so longe ne endure these other labours vnlesse he had a verie loue therin For the earnest desire of his mynd is so fixed vppon his game that all these payns be thought to him but verie pleasures â–ª And therfore I may well say that loue is the principall thyng that maketh anye worke easie though the worke bée right painfull of it selfe that without loue no labour can be comfortable to the dooer The loue of this game deliteth him so muche that he careth for no worldlye honour but is content with full simple and homely aray Also the goodes of the world hée séeketh not for nor studieth howe to attayne them For the loue and desire of his game so greatly occupyeth his mynde and harte The pleasures also of his flesh he forgetteth by wearinesse and wasting of hys bodie in earnest labour All his mynde all his soule is buzied to knowe where the poore Hare may be founde Of that is his thought and of that is his communication and all his delight is to heare and speake of that matter euerie other matter but this is tedious for him to giue eare vnto in all other things he is dull and vnlustie in this onely quicke and sturryng for thys also to be done there is no office
cōmeth not of a singular loue shewed vnto you by your lord god before all them And shall not this cōsideration pearce your harte and moue you muche to loue him againe The fifth consideration THe fifth consideration is this Peraduenture after that thus by your repentance askyng mercy you were taken to this grace of your God yet far more gréeuously and farre more vnkindly you fell againe to sinnne and kepte not the purpose and promyse that before you did make but more without shame and dread of hys hyghnesse tooke your libertie in your sinfull wayes abusing his gentlenes presuming vppō hys mercie not regarding any benifite or kindenesse shewed by his most excelent goodnesse vnto you before so defiling your soule by innumerable wayes and makyng it filthie more vngoodly then is the Sowe that waltereth hir self in the foule myrie puddle and more pestilently stinketh in the sight of God then is the stinking carion of a dead dogge being rotten and lying in a ditch yet neuertheles for all these misbehauiors your Lord God of his farre passing goodnes hath called you agayne from your sinfull life and hath graciously stirred your soule to forsake your sin to leue this wretched worlde to enter the holy relygion Wherby after the sentence of holy doctors your soule is made as cleane as it was at your baptisme and restored agayne to the puritie and cleanenesse of your first innocencie And not onely that but also hée hath appointed you to be of the number of them that be assigned for hys best beloued spouses And what hygh point of singular fauour is this How many weomen farre better then you be lefte behinde in this worlde not called to this high dignitie nor admitted to thys most speciall grace When the noble Kinge Asuerus as it is written in the scripture commaunded many fayre yong maydens to be chosen out and to be séene vnto with all things that might make them fayr◠and beautifull and pleasaunt to his sight to the intent that they at all tymes when it should like him to appoynte any of them to come to his presence and to be his spouse they might be the more readie This thing no doubt of it was to them that were thus chosē a comfort that they were preferred before other and also euerie one of them might lyue in hope to come to the kings presēce haue some likelihood to be accepted for his spouse in so much that all other but they were excluded In like maner it is with religious women All they by the gracious calling of the great king of heuen be gathered into Gods religion and disseuered from thother seculer women that be of the world there a season to abide vntill they be sufficiently prepared by the holy sacraments and the holy obseruacions of religiō to come to his gracious highnesse presence and to be brought into his secret chamber aboue in heauen there to abide with him in endles ioy and blisse Blessed is that religious woman that so doth prepare her selfe for this litle time that héere she shal tarry by prayer by meditation by contemplatiō by teares of devocion by harty loue burning desyre that after this transitory life she may be admitted to the most excellēt honor not with shame rebuke be repelled therfro whē the day shal com The sixt consideration THe sixt consideration that you call wel to your remembrāce who it is that doth thus exhorte you for to loue verely he is the person that if eyther you wil fréely giue your loue or els sell your loue he is most worthie to haue it aboue all other First if ye were of that mynd to giue your loue frée it were good yet there to bestow it that you shoulde choose suche a one as both in goodlinesse of person as also in prowesse wisdom and good gentil maners may be worthie your loue For if there be any deformitie in him whō you would loue it is an impediment and great let for to loue hym But in our sauiour Christ the sonne of God is no deformitie for hee is all goodlye and surmounteth all other in goodlynesse And therefore of hym the Prophet Dauid affyrmeth in thys maner Speciosus forma pre filijs hominum that is to say he is goodly before the chyldren of men And of truth much goodlie must he néedes be that hath made so many goodly creatures Behold the Rose the Lillie the Uyolet beholde the Pecockes the Feasaunt the Popingaye Behold all the other creatures of this world All these were of his making all there beautie and goodlinesse of hym they receyued it Wherfore this goodlinesse discribeth that he him self must néedes of necessitie be verie goodly beautifull And for that in the booke of Canticles the Spouse discribeth his goodlinesse saying Dilectus meus candidus et rubicūdus electus ex millibus That is to saye hée that I loue is whyte and redde chosen out amōgest thousands And this beautie and goodlines is not mortal it can not fade ne perish as doeth the goodlinesse of other men which lyke a flower to day is fresh and lustie and to morrowe with a little sicknesse is withered and vanisheth away And yet it is sensible to the goodlinesse of mans nature for the which also he is more naturallie to bée beloued of many For lykenesse is the grounde of loue lyke alway doeth couet like and the néerer in lykenesse that any person bée the sooner they may bée knit togither in loue The same lykenes he hath you haue like body and lyke soule touching his māhood your soule is also like vnto him in his godhead For after the Image similitude of it your soule is made Furthermore of his might and power you may bée likewise a certayne season He made this world by the onely commaundement of his mouth and gaue to the herbes and all other creatures their vertue might that they haue And may also by his power saue dampne creatures eyther to lifte them vp in bodie and soule into heauen aboue or els to throw them downe into euer during payns of hell If ye doubt of his wisdom behold all this world and cōsider how euery creature is set with an other and euery of them by him selfe how the heauens are apparelled with starres the ayre with Foules the water with Fishes the earth with herbes trées beastes how the starres be clad with light the Foules with feathers the fish with scales the beastes with heare herbes trées with leaues and flower with sent wherin doth wel appear a great merueilous wisdō of him that made thē Finally his good gentil maner is all full of pleasure cōfort so kinde so friendly so liberall beneficious so pittious and mercifull so readie in all oportunities so mindfull circumspect so dulcet swéet in communicatiō For as scripture saith Non licet amaritudinem conuersatio vel tedium cōuetas illius Sed letitiam
and clensed from the spottes and mallice of deadly sinne they bée the brighter glasses and more cléerly receyue this loue such also be néere vnto our Sauior for nothing putteth vs farre from him but onely sinne And therefore they that haue more diligently scoured their soules from the rust of sinne be néerer vnto him then the other that so haue not done Such soules also as of their parte enforce them selues to a great loue and to a more ample feruor they doe inlarge the capacitie of their soules to receyue a more large abundaunce of loue agayne those that lesse enforce them haue a lesse capacitie in receyuing and therfore so much the lesse they receyue of this loue Euen as a man that openeth his bosome wyde and enlargeth it is more able to receiue a greater thing into it then hée that doeth not But yet as I haue sayde before of the glasses euery one of the soules receyue as full and as whole a loue of Iesu Christ as though there were no moe soules in all the world but that one alone for the loue of Christ Iesus infinite And therfore wheÌ„ innumerable of soules haue euerie one of them receyued as much the loue of Christ Iesu as to euerie one of them is possible yet hath he still in him self loue suffitieÌ„t for infinite moe this his loue therby is not in any point diminished nor lessened though it be deuided vnto many be the number of them neuer so great None of them that be beloued receiue the lesse bicause of the multitude of his fellowes nor if he had no moe but him selfe he shoulde not thereby haue any more abundance of loue to his parte but according to the cleÌ„sing and capacitie of his soule nighnesse vnto Christ his parte in loue shall be the lesse or more Wherefore good sister I pray you bée you dylygent to scoure your soule cleane and to enforce your soule on your parte feruently to loue your spouse Christ Iesu and drawe nygh vnto hym with entiere deuotion then vndoubtedly you shall be partener to the more plentuous aboundaunce of his loue notwithstanding any other multitude which beside is beloued of him for he neuerthelesse is as studious of you and as mindfull as ferueÌ„ly careth for your weale as though ther wer no mo beloued of him but you alone in all thys world The ninth Consideration THe ninth coÌ„sideratioÌ„ is this wher peraduenture you would obiect to me again say Brother if it bée thus as you say that my Lord Iesu loueth me so much and is so mindfull of me and so feruently enteÌ„deth my weale what néede me to care whatsoeuer I doe he will not cast me away he wil not forsake me nor suffer mée to perish Good sister without doubt as I haue said our sauior Christ Iesu is in loue towards you he is myndfull more louing towards you then I can expresse And sure you may be that hée will neuer cast you away ne forsake you if you before cast not your selfe away ne forsake your selfe But if you giue any place to sinne in your soule and suffer it to enter vpon you verely then you forsake your self and cast your selfe awaye and willinglie destroye your selfe that is your déede not hys for he neuer forsaketh any creature vnlesse they before haue forsakeÌ„ them selues And if they will forsake them selues were they neuer in so great fauour with hym before they then incontinently lose his fauour the which thing well appeareth in his first spirituall creatures the noble Angelles Lucifer and hys compâ—nie which were created in excelent brightnesse and were muche in the fauour of almightie God they presumptuously offeÌ„ded him in pride for the which not onely they lost hys fauour but also their merueylous brightnesse became incoÌ„tinently horrible foule and were expelled out of the glorious kingdom of heauen that they were in and throwen into perpetuall darkenesse into the pryson of hell The first man Adam also who was created in singular honour and was put into Paradise a place full of gladnesse there to liue in comfort of all pleasure the which was done to him for a singular loue that almightie God had towardes him yet anon as hâ— fell to sinne he was in lyke maner expelled out from that pleasure and sent into this miserable world to endure miserie and payne If those noble creatures which were lift vp into so great fauour with almightie God so lightly by their misdemeanor in sin lost his gracious fauour let none other creature thinke but if they admit any sinne to their soule they shal be likewyse excluded out of his fauor For sinne is so odible vnto almightie God that not the dearest friends that euer he had in all the worlde but if there were founde in their soules any deadly sin after death they should neuer be receiued into the ioy of heauen Not the blessed Mary Magdalen for all hir loue towardes him nor yet his owne blessed mother that bare him into this world if one deadly sin were fouÌ„d in their soules they shuld incontinent be throwen into the darke dungeon of hell Wherfore good sister say not if his loue be so muche vppon you and he so desirouslie entendeth your profite that you may doe what you list you néed not to care what you doe But contrariwise the more that he loueth you the more you shoulde take héede vnto your self and beware that you offend him not for so did the blessed Mary Magdalen of whome I spake before Shée notwithstandyng the great loue that both our sauiour had to hir and shée vnto him agayne for the which also hyr sinnes were forgiuen hyr yet after his death shée fled from the companie of men lyued in the wildernesse farre from any worldly comforte in great wayling fasting and prayer such other painefulnesse of hir body was nothing the lesse diligent to kéepe hir selfe warely from sinne for the great loue that our lord sauiour had to hir but for that the more studiously she did auoid eschu euery thing wherby she might run into any displeasure against him The tenth consideration THe tenth consideration is this it were wel done and much it shuld farther this cause if you truly esteme of how little value your loue is how vaine how light howe triflelous a thing it is how few ther be that would much regarde it or set muche pryce thereby for fewe there be or none to whom it may doe any profit or auail Contrariwise you should consider the loue of your spouse the swéet Iesu how exceleÌ„t it is how sure how fast howe constantly abiding how many haue much specially regarded it Martirs innumerable both men and women for his loue haue shead theyr bloud and haue endured euery kind of martirdom were it neuer so cruell were it neuer so terrible No paine no tormentrie might compell them to forsake his loue so desirous were they of his loue that rather
diebus vestris quod nemo credet quum narrabitur marueyle and wonder you for a worke is done in your dayes which when it shall bée shewed no man will beléeue Is it not a wonderfull thyng that he whych is most to bée dreade and feared would be in so muche feare that for verie feare and dreade of payne hée had to suffer he swet water and bloud Is it not a wonderfull thing that he that was most inestimable in price and moste precyous woulde suffer hys bodie to bée solde for so little a pryce as for the value of thyrtye pence Is it not a wonderfull thyng that hée that is the Lorde of heauen and earth and all other creatures would suffer him selfe to be bound of those vyllaynes wyth ropes lyke a théefe Is it not a wonderfull thing that he that hath so great might and power would suffer him selfe to be taken of his cruell mortall enimyes and so led vnto all these paynes Is it not a wonderfull thyng that hée that is the Iudge of all the worlde woulde thus wrongfullye be iudged Is it not a wonderfull thing that hée that had in hymall wisedome would thus bée mocked and reputed as a foole Is it not a wonderfull thing that he that is so strong mightie would be made so weake and féeble that he fell vnder the wayght and burthen of the Crosse Is it not a wonderfull thing that hée that is the Lord of Angels would be spytted and bobbed of a sorte of Lorrelles in that moste dispytefull maner Is it not a wonderfull thyng that he that is the Kyng of euerlastyng glorie would suffer his head in mockerie to be crowned with thornes Is it not a wonderfull thyng that he that giueth lyfe to euery creature would suffer this most shamefull sorowfull and so painfull death Is it not a wonderfull thing that he that is the Lord and Aucthor of all libertie woulde thus be bounde with ropes and nayled hand and foote vnto the Crosse Thus who that list with a méeke harte and a true fayth to muse and to maruayle of this most wonderfull booke I say of the Crucifixe hée shall come to more fruitefull knowledge then many other which dayly studie vpon their cōmon bookes This booke may suffice for the studie of a true christian man all the dayes of his life In this boke he may finde all things that be necessarie to the health of his soule Sainct Fraunces coulde passe hys time with this booke was neuer wery thereof and his great studie was in the compasse of a fewe wordes Quis tu et quis ego domine That is to say who arte thou Lord and who an 〈…〉 Thys thought alway dyd run from hym selfe to Christ And agayne from Christ vnto hym selfe And so euer he meruayled of the most excelent noblenesse of Christ and compared it with hys owne naughtynesse alwayes meruaylynge that Christ being of so incomparable worthynesse woulde suffer that moste paynefull death for so vnworthye sinners which lesson is so playne and so common that euerie man be he neuer so simple may somewhat profite in it And agayne it is so hygh that fewe can attayne to reach to the specyall fruite of it This holie Sainct Fraūces so profited in this lesson that it caused in hys hearte such a feruent loue such a deuotion suche an affection to Christ that the capitall woundes which he behelde in the handes and féete and syde of Christ ware by myracle imprinted in hys owne handes and féete This thing the B. of R. Innocent and hys Cardinalles dyd sée and had verye proofe thereof The meditation and imagination of this booke was so earnest and so continuall that the token of the fiue woundes of Christ were imprinted and ingraued in thys holy Saynctes bodye But to this hygh fruite as I sayde fewe or none besides him doth attayne It is a singular gyfte of almightie God and not common to bée looked for of other persons Neuerthelesse who that will exercise this lesson though he come not to this hygh poynte of perfection he shall neuerthelesse greatly profite in the same and come to a great knowledge both of Christ of him selfe A man may easily say thinke with him selfe beholding in his hart the Image of the Crucifixe who arte thou and who am I. Thus euerie person both ryche and poore ▪ may thinke not onely in the church here but in euery other place and in hys businesse where about hée goeth Thus the poore laborer maye thinke when he is at plough earyng hys grounde and when hée goeth to hys pastures to sée hys Cattayle or when hée is sittyng at home by hys fire side or els when he lyeth in hys bed waking and can not sléepe Likewyse the rich man may do in his businesse that concerneth him And the poore women also in theyr businesse whē they be spinning of their rocks or seruing of their pullen The ryche weomen also in euerie lawfull occupation that they haue to doe It is an easie thyng for any man or woman to make these two questions wyth them selfe O my Lorde that wouldest dye for me vpō a Crosse how noble and excelent arte thou agayne how wretched and myserable am I Doubtlesse O thou christian soule he that hunge for thy sake on the Crosse was verelie the sonne of God as the noble Centurio sayde when at the death of Christ he sawe so many wonderfull tokens He saw the sunne withdrawe his lyght and the ayre in darkenesse and felte all the earth tremble and quake and the stones brake a sunder then he sayde vere filius dei erat iste That is to say verely thys person was the sonne of god Thinke with thy self O christan soule how great a person he is that is the sonne of God And thinke againe how vilaynous and how wretched thou art in cōparison of him What art thou but asshes ciuis es and vnto ashes thou shalt returne et in cinera reuerteris Abraham which was a man of high perfectiō yet when he should speake vnto almightie God he sayde quū sum puluis et ciuis loquar ad dominū that is to say I am but dust and asshes and yet I must speake vnto my Lorde Dauid also sayth vniuersa vanitas omnis homo viuens that is to saye man contayneth in him all vanitie Furthermore Iob speaketh of man saying in this maner Qui puasi flos egreditur et cōteritur et fugit velut vmbra Man is lyke a flower he dooth issue foorth into the worlde and soone after he is troden downe and so finally hée passeth lyke a shadowe Man is but earth and asshes shall passe away lyke a shadow and lyke a méere vanitie Contrarywyse Christe was is and euer shal be the prince of heauen the Lorde of Angells and the creator of all creatures Qui fecit coelum et terram et omnia que in eis sunt He made heauē and