Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
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A08254
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Here begynneth the rule of seynt Benet
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Benedict, Saint, Abbot of Monte Cassino.; Fox, Richarde, b. ca. 1447.
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1517
(1517)
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STC 1859; ESTC S110729
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56,422
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88
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Sith almyghty god of his owne kyndnes pitie mere mocioÌ„ byfore we aske it sheweth to vs the way of lyfe let vs therfore array excercyse our selue in the fayth and in the obseruaÌ„ce of good workes let vs take vppon vs the Iorney of allmyghty god folowinge the lawe ledinge of his gosple that we may deserue to see him in his kyngdoÌ„me of heuen whiche hath thus called vs to him by his grace In which kyngdoÌ„m if we inteÌ„de to haue a restinge place we must diligently inforse and indeuor our selfe to labor in good workes without the which the sayd restinge place kyngdoÌ„me can not be attaygned ¶ But then aske we all myghty god with the prophete saynge thus Goode lorde who shall dwell in thy heuenly kyngdoÌ„me and place or who shall make his restynge place in thy holy mounte of heuen After this interrogacion Dere susters saythe seynt Benet let vs here our lorde answeringe and shewinge to vs the ryght way to his heuenly mansion ¶ He almyghty god saythe shall dwell in my heuenly howse that lyueth without spot of synne and dothe ryghtfull werkes He that thinkes truly in his hart and worketh no desseyte with his tonge he that hathe doone none euyll to his neyghbor nor enterprysed none obprobriose sclaunderose nor shamefull thinge to the hurte of his neyghbor He that dispiseth putteth out of his hart our mortall foo the cursed finde and hath vtterly brought him to nought with all his suggestions temptacions and entisinges hath brokyn resisted them at the firste monicion of them and stedfastly holden his inwarde thoughtes vnto christe they that drede god extoll not theym selfe ne be prowde of their good religiose dedes but supposinge and thinkinge verely the goodnes which is in them not to be of them selfe but of the gyfte of god doo lawde and magnify god for his graciose operacion iÌ„ them saing with the ê“phete thus Not to vs good lord not to vs but to thy holy name gyue thou prayse glory as thapostell Paule whiche dyd not impute any parte of his pÌ„ching techinge to hiÌ„selfe but sayd By the grace of god not of my selfe I am as I am ageyne he saythe He that ioyeth or seketh ony laude or glory let hiÌ„ ioy iÌ„ god gyue laude glory to hiÌ„ wherof our lord speketh thus iÌ„ his gospell who so hereth these my wordes doth the same in dede I shall lyken hiÌ„ to a wyse man that hath bulded his howse vppoÌ„ a rocke there cam bytter stormes both waters wyndê brast iÌ„to the howse yet it fell not downe why for it was buelded vppon a stedfaste stone ¶ Oure lorde whiche dyd accomplisshe perfourme all these poyntes and condicions in his owne persone loketh dayly that we shall make goode and by oure werkes satisfye and conforme vs to these his holy monicions And therfore the dayes of this present lyfe be prolongued vnto vs and prorogued as a daye of treuxe for the amendinge of oure shrewde dedes the apostell saynge thus Can thou nat tell man that the longanimite pacience and longe sufferance of almyghty god is to induce and excyte the to repentance penance and reformacion For oure lorde saith of his great mercy and pitie I will not the deth of a synner but I desyre that he be conuerted and ameÌ„ded and lyue ¶ Nowe dere susters saith seint Benet whaÌ„ we asked our sauioure of the dwellers and inhabitantes of his holy and heuenly maÌ„cion we harde by and by his precepts howe we myght attaygne to it to deserue to dwell in it And if we doo the office of trewe inhabitantis we shall be inheritours of the kyngdome of heueÌ„ Therfore dere sisters sayith seynt Benet ye muste make redy youre hartes and your bodies to obey the preceptes and coÌ„maundementes of our rule by vertu of obedience And where thurgh the fragilite of nature and the infirmite of our selfe we be insufficient and vnhable so to do we shall beseche all myghty god that his grace may be to vs ayde socoure in that behalfe And if we woll eschewe the paynes of hell coÌ„me to euerlastinge lyfe let vs then whiles we haue tyme and laysour and whiles we in this our mortall body lyue and may fulfyll by the lyght of this preseÌ„t lyfe all these forsayde pÌ„ceptes diligeÌ„tly ren and labor so good workê do nowe that they may profyte vs in tyme to coÌ„me ¶ wherfore sayth seynte Benet we muste nowe orden a schole of the seruice of almyghty god that is to say this pÌ„sent rule iÌ„ the whiche ordinaÌ„ce sayth seynt Benet we trust to put nothyng that hard is sharpe or greuous Albeit if any maner of thyng for any resonable cause passe by our sayd schole ordinance for the redressinge of defaultes and for the coÌ„seruacion of charite the whiche thou shalte thynke rigorouse or straiete thou shalt not therfore be sodenly afrayde and for fere at a chop flee and forsake the waye of euerlastinge lyfe seinge that it cannot be entred but with a harde a straict begynninge For in proces of tyme by coÌ„tinuance of good coÌ„uersacion the way of the coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„tê of almyghty god is by thexcellent swetnesse of his loue with glad hart easely ioyfully walkyd And so this schole of saynte Benet is ordeygned to th enteÌ„t that we neuer departinge from christis instructions pÌ„ceptis but alwaye ê‘seueringe in his doctrine in monasteris tyll dethe coÌ„me vppon vs thurgh pacience and tribulacions beare so in vs parte of his passion that fynally we may deserue to be cytezins of his kyngedom of heuyn ¶ Here beginneth the rule of our holy fader seynt Benet ¶ The first chapiter treateth of .iiii. maner of monkes IT is manifeste that there be .iiii. diuerse kyndis or sectes of monkes ¶ The first is of Cenobitis that is to say of monasteriall persons seruing god to gedder or in coÌ„gregacioÌ„ in monasteris vnder oon rule oon abbot or oon priour And of this secte or kynde be mynchins seruinge to gedder in monasterê vnder oon rule and oon abbasse or oon prioresse ¶ The seconde maner or secte is of Anachoritê Eremitê that is to say of theÌ„ which not as sone as they haue takyn religion vppon theÌ„ but by longe coÌ„tinuaÌ„ce proufe iÌ„ monasteris haue lerned and had experience thurgh the coÌ„forte of other to fyght ageynste the suggestions temptacions of the deuyll And so well they be armed and iÌ„structed by the good counsell of other that they may suerly take vppon them and be hable to fyght sole and solitarily thurgh the helpe of all myghty god without the comfort of other agaynste the temptacions of the fesche agaynste all oder euyll thoughtes ¶ The .iii. kynde maner or secte is of Sarabites a secte detestable whiche lyue not vnder obedience of any suê‘ior ne vnder any Rule that is good approued nor be tried in monasterê
gyue accoÌ„ptes of hir villicacioÌ„ dispeÌ„sacion She must also well knowe that it is hir dutie more to doo good profyte than to haue preheminence Therfore she muste be well lerned in the lawes of god hir religion that she vnderstonde be that person that can she we teche the lawes rules coÌ„stitucions of the religion with suche histores of holy scripture seyntes lyues as be moste expedient for the coÌ„gregacion She must be chaste sober mercifull meke and euer in all hir werkes let hir extoll a exalte mercy equite aboue Iustice seuerite to th entent that she may purchase that same hir selfe ¶ Let hir hate vyce loue hir susters and in hir correctioÌ„ she must deale wysely that it excede not lesse whiles she coueyteth ouersore to rubbe a way the ruste the vessell breke She muste all way consyder hir owne fragilite remember that a rede all though it be somwhat bruzed yet it is not to be vtterly broken destroyed But by these sayinges we do not meane nor entende that she suffer vices to growe but wysely with charyte she shall cut them a way as she sethe to euery of hir susters to be expedient as we haue a forsayde and she muste couet effectually laboure more to be loued of hir susters than to be dradde She shall not be full of hastines trowbelowse ne of sowre mode or displaysant countenance she shall not be importune or intolerable nor obstinate nor selfe wylled she shall not be iÌ„tangled with ielosy nor be to moche suspiciose for suche a person is neuer in quietnesse nor neuer takyth reste In hir coÌ„mauÌ„dementes she must be wyse prouident circumspect And all suche labour or occupacion as she shall enioyne to any of hir susters be it that it coÌ„cerne the seruyce of god or the busines of the worlde she muste haue good discrecion moderacioÌ„ callinge to hir mynde the discrecion of holy Iacob sayinge If I cause my flocke to ouerlabour them selfe they all shall dye in oon daye Therfore takynge these witnesses other moo examples of discrecion moder of vertues she shall so moderate all thynges that stronge persones shall desyre to do the sayd labours and occupacions weke persons shall not refuse them And specyally she must regarde that in all poyntes she obserue this present rule to th enteÌ„t that for hir good adnuÌ„stracion she may here of almyghty god that the good seruante harde whiche distributed the corne to his felowes iÌ„ tyme I tell you trouth sayth the gospell God shall for his dispensacion in fewe thynges coÌ„mitte vnto him the ouersyght of all his goodes ¶ The .lxv. chapiter she with of the proueste or priores of the monastery OFten tymes truely it happeneth that through the makynge of a prouest or a prioresse greuous sclaunders occasioons of inconuenientes be raysed in monasterys for whiles there be som inflate with the cursed spirite of pryde supposinge them selfe to be secoÌ„de abbasses takynge vppoÌ„ them cruell ladiship they noryshe slaunders and make dyscencions and debates in the couent and princypally in those places where the prioresse is made of the same bysshope or of the same prelate whiche made thabbasse whiche thinge howe farre out of reason it is a man may sone perceyue for euyn from the begynnynge of hir makynge and orderyng occasion is gyueÌ„ vnto hir to be prowde whiles hir owne mynde doth make suggestion vnto hir that she is clene delyuered from the power of hir Abbasse by cause she was made prioresse of him that thabbasse was made of Therof be raysed Inuies wrothes striues backbytingê hatredê dissencions makynge marrynge discordes discorders And whiles thabbasse the prioresse be of contrary myndê it foloweth necessaryly that whiles this dissencioÌ„ hangeth there two sowlles muste be in Ioperdy And also they that be vnder thaÌ„ whiles they flater the parties do rynne vnto vtter ê‘dicioÌ„ dampnacioÌ„ Of the which iuê‘die the mischefe priÌ„cypally towcheth theÌ„ which were the causers ayders ê“curators or assisteÌ„cz of the makyng of the sayd prioresse And therfore we se byfore our Ien that it is expedieÌ„t for the consernacion of pease cheryte within the monastery that the ordinaÌ„ce of all thofficers of the monastery hange in the wyll disposicion of the abbasse And if it may be let all the ê“fite vtile charges administracions of the monastery be ordred as we haue abouesayde by the deanes suche as the abbasse woll assigne not by a prioresse For whilê the charge is coÌ„mitted to dyuerse ê‘sons oon ê‘son shall not fall into pryde And if the place reqer to haue a prioresse or elles the couent desyre it resonably with humilite if thabbasse iuge it to be expedieÌ„t then whom so euer she doth chese with the couÌ„sayll of hir susters dredynge god she may make hir prioresse The which prioresse shall do all suche thingê with reuereÌ„ce as be coÌ„mitted coÌ„mauÌ„ded vnto hir by hir abbasse And nothinge do contrary to the will ordinaÌ„ce of thabbasse For the more that she is pÌ„ferred aboue other the more busy diligeÌ„tly she must obserue the pÌ„ceptê of the rule whiche prioresse if she be espyed vicious or deceyued with the spirite of pride or elles be ê“ued a breker or a dispiser of this holy rule let hir be warned with wordes vnto the .iiii. tyme If she do not then ameÌ„de let hir then be corrected as regular disciplyne woll requyer And if therby she doo not amende let hir then be put out eiecte of the office of the prioresse a nother whiche is worthy hir rome be surrogate and succede And if afturwarde amonge the couent she be not quiete and obedient let hir be expelled the monasterye yet neuer the lesse to exclude the flame of enuy euyll wyll out of thabbasse mynde and sowle let hir in this processe a yenste the prioresse thinke that she muste gyue an accomptes to god of all hir iugementes ¶ The .lvi. chapiter treateth of the porters of the monastery AT the gate or the monasterye ther shall be set a wyse olde suster whiche can receyue gyue an answere And she must be of suche grauite that of lyklyhod she shall be no wanderer which porter muste haue a lodge nygh the gate that coÌ„mers may fynde oon all way present of whom they shall be answered And as sone as ony oon knokketh or elles a pore body callyth she shall say deo gracias or elles som other good worde And with all mekenes fere of god she shall gyue an answere by and by with veruent charyte whiche porter if she nede helpe or coÌ„fort shall haue with hir a yonge suster The monastery if it may be must be so bylded that all necessaryes that is to say water a mylle a gardyne a bakehowse other dyuerse occupacions may be exercysed within the monastery that the mynchins haue no nede to wandre out of the monastery for