instruction vnto vs which thyng I was loth vnto bothe bycause I lacked abilite thervnto and also bycause this werke whiche I intēded to be short shuld be therby inlarged Notwithstondyng bycause this werke is so diuided ī particles that as we sayd euery person may take what he wyll accordynge vnto his leyser and deuocion therfore we shall sumwhat to satesfye say our mynde ¶ Of the fyrste cosyderacion and of the fyrst day of creaciō THe fyrst consyderaciō was of the power of god in creacion and productiō of all creatures Gene. i. And we rede in the begynnyng of scripture that almyghty god in the begynnynge made heuen and erth spirituall corporall or bodyly creatures resonable and vnresonable creatures And that he made also the lyght / dyuided that lyght frō darknes And the lyght he called the day and the darknes he called the nyght and this was the werke of the fyrst day of creacion whiche in vs may teche vs how our lorde hath made in euery person an heuen an erth a spirituall partie and an erthly partie and made in vs also the lyght of vnderstandynge and reason / wherby we shulde diuide in our dayly werkes the spirite frō the fleshe the soule from the body / whiche is done by contemplacion or meditaciō after the fourme beforesayd That is to saye that in euery daye of our lyue we shulde somtyme be as well actyue as contemplatyue / and this for the fyrste daye ¶ Of the seconde cōsyderacion / of the seconde day of creacion THe seconde consyderacion was of the wysdom of god in orderyng and guydynge of his creatures And in the seconde day of creacion our lord god made the fyrmament or the skye and so dyuided the waters that were vnder the firmamēt from them that were aboue the firmamēt and called that firmament heuyn Note here that almyghty god made two heuyns / the tone vpon the fyrste day aboue / and the tother the seconde daye / and byneth to diuide as is sayde waters Loke now groūdely vppon this order of the creatures Some be aboue / and some bynethe The hygher heuyn spirituall to rule / order / and guyde the lower heuen temporall and erthely / And the spirituall creatures to rule the bodyly creatures And so those that be vnder and bynethe to be subdued / obedient / ordered in all thynges by thē that be aboue The same order shuld be kepte in vs / not onely euery person in hym selfe but also eueryche vnto other For almyghty god made in man / not onely as is sayde an heuyn hys soule but also an erthe / his body So that the whole man of soule body dothe bere the towme and place of this firmament / whose office and duety is to dyuide the water that is bynethe apperteynynge vnto the sensualite from the water that is aboue called aqua sapientie salutaris the water of helthfull wysdom and of saluatiō Eccl xv A That is to say that mā shuld euer deuyde and departe vice from vertu erthly conuersaciō from heuēly exercise vayne and voyde cogitacion from fructuouse and profytable meditacion and this for the seconde daye ¶ Of the thyrde consyderacion / and of the thyrde day of creacion THe thyrd cōsyderaciō was of the bountie and goodenes loue and liberalitie of god / whiche doth appere in the vtilitie and profyte of the creatures And in the thyrd day of creaciō / our lorde god cōmaunded the waters that were vnder the sayd firmament called heuyn to gader hepe them selfe together into one place and that the drye erthe yet bareyn shulde appere / and whiche thynge done the erth that then was drye and bareyn he called and named to be erthe tyllable / and apte / or disposed to be tylled And the congregacions and hepes of waters he called the see or sees And then he commaundeth the sayd erthe to bryng forth fruite In the vtilitie profyte wherof dyd apere the boūtie goodnes remembred byfore in this thyrde consyderacion But now muste we in lyke maner commaūde by reason all the water of our voluptuous disposicions and viciouse appetites to be gathered and heped into one place that is the worlde leue all those disposicions vnto worldly persones and vnto infidels viciouse and synfull people And lett our bodyly werkes appere synles And although they be yet baren yet maye they be apt by the meane of the sacrament of penaunce to be tylled / and brynge forth the fruitful werkes of vertu grace And thus an ende of this thyrde day ¶ Of the fourth consyderacion / the fourth day of creacion THe fourth cōsideraciō was of the werke of our iustificacion And in the fourthe daye our lorde made the son and the mone / and the sterres / to dyuide the daye and the nyght / the tymes houres / dayes and yeres / and to gyue lyght vnto the erthe The son doth signifie our sauiour Iesu the very sonne of iustice / the mone doth signifie the catholike churche of Christe that taketh lyghte of the sayd sonne our sauyour and so don the sterres also by whō the holy doctours preachers and curates ben signified For these done illumine and gyue lyghte of grace vnto the erthly synfull people / that by theyr ministracion of the blessed sacramentes ben iustified and made apte persones vnto saluacion / and so is the fourthe day applyed and sped ¶ Of the fyft consyderacion and the fyft day of creacion THe fyft consyderacion was of the werke of remuneraciō or rewarde whiche rewarde euery person shall haue accordyng vnto his werkes And in the fyft day our lord made fysshes and foules the fysshys to byde in the see the foules in the ayre By the fysshes euyll werkes bē sygnified and also euyll wordes and thoughtes Mathei xii c For of them sayd our sauiour accountes muste be rendred and made vnto eueryche due reward gyuen And these do remayne in the see of the synfull world / and shall be rewarded there after in payne And the good werkes wordes thoughtes that ben sygnifyed by the byrdes of the ayer / done dwell and abyde in heuenly conuersacion and shal be rewarded in ioy and blysse and let this stand for the fyft day ¶ Of the syxt consyderacion and the syxt day of creacion THe syxt consyderacion was of the werke of gloryficaciō And in the syxte daye our lorde made man after vnto his owne ymage / similitude / and lykenes And surely that was vnto man a great glory an excellent honour and dignitie / vnto the whiche no man may atteyne and come / but he onely that alone dyd ascende vnto heuyn / our lord sauyoure Iesu Ioh. iii. b In the whiche saynge you muste vnderstande Christe and his mēbres all faythfull people that ben lyke vnto hym and done folowe his stepes And thus an ende of the syxt day of creacion ¶ Of the seuenth consyderacion / and of the
/ or els Benedicite after the coÌ„mune beuer The places of scyleÌ„ce ben the church and cloustre / the fraytour and the dortour / yf you be sclaundred / and do take occasyon at the defaute or offence of any ê‘son / then loke well vpon your selfe / whether you be in the same defaut soÌ„tyme your selfe / and than haue compassyon vpon your brother or syster If there be none suche defaut in you / thynke verely and beleue there may be / than do as in lyke you wolde be done vnto And thus as in a glas you may se and beholde your selfe Grudge nat ne complayne vpon any person for any maner cause / except you se and perceyue by large coniecture that you may profyte edyfy therby Nother deny nor afferme your mynde or oppynyon styfly or extremely but that your affyrmacyon denegatioÌ„ or doubt be euer powdered with salt / that is to say / wysdome / discrecyon and pacyence Vse nat in any wyse to mocke / checke or scorne / ne yet to laugh or smyle but ryght seldome And that alway to shewe reuereÌ„ce or louynge maner / lyght countenauÌ„ce or loude behauyour becommeth nat a sad person Let your coÌ„municacyon be shorte with fewe ê‘sones / alway of vertue lernyng / or good and chrystyane edyfycacyon / and euer with suche warenes that no persone in thynges doubtfull maye take any auctoryte of your wordes or sentence Lette all your pastyme be spended in bodely laboures / good and profytable or els godly in study / or that passeth all in holy and deuoute prayer So that the hert mynde be occupyed with the same you speke And whaÌ„ so euer that you praye for any certayne persons / remembre theyr degree state and condicyon For a forme ordre of your prayer / this may be good and a redy waye To folowe the ordre of the .vi. grammatycall cases The nominatyue / the genityue / the datyue / the accusatyue / the vocatyue and ablatyue The nominatyue that is fyrste to praye for your felfe / that you may haue ghostlye strengthe and constancye / that you nat fall in to any deedly offence by fraylte And the ii that you may haue right knowledge of god by fayth and of your selfe by due consyderacyon of your estate and condycyon / and of the lawes of god / for your condyte contynuaunce And thyrdly that you may haue grace and good wyl accordynge vnto the same strenthe knowledge / that hauyng vnto god a reuereÌ„de drede you neuer offeÌ„de hym iÌ„ thought / word nor dede but that ye may euer loue him for him selfe and all his creatures in due ordre for hym and in hym The seconde is the genityue case Then must you pray for your genitours / your progenitours and parentes / that is to saye / your fathers your mothers spirytuall and carnall as your ghostly fathers / or spirytuall soueraynes / your godfaders / your godmothers / youre naturall father and mother / your graundfathers and graundmothers / your brothers and systers / and all your kynne In the thyrde place is the datyue case There must you praye for your benefactours / good doers of whome you haue receyued any maner of gyftes spirytuall or temporall vnto the welth of your soule body In the fourth place is the accusatyue case where you shulde pray for your enemyes / such ê‘sons as by any meanes haue noyed / hurt or greued you / eyther ghostly or bodely / that is to saye / in your soule or maners by any suggestioÌ„ / intysynge / euyll counseyll or euyll example In your fame or good name / by detraccyon / bacbytynge or sclauÌ„deryng / or yet by familyer companye For a person comunely is reputed and supposed to be of suche condicyon / as they ben with whome he hath conuersacyon and companye And for them that haue hurt your body eyther by strokes or by any other occasion haue hyndred the state helthe therof And lykewyse of your goodes or possessyoÌ„s For all these maner of enemyes must you pray / that our lord god wolde forgyue them as you do / and as you forgyuen wolde be and that they may come to ryght charyte and peace The .v. case is called the vocatyue that is to saye the callyng case / where you conuenyently may call / crye and praye vnto our lorde for all maner of ê‘sones that ben out of the state of grace Eyther by infydelyte as turkes sarasyns and suche other / or els by erroure as all maner of heretykes / or els by any deedlye synne or offence to god Pray for al these maner of persones that they may come to the ryght waye of theyr saluacyon In the .vi. last place is the ablatyue case / where you must pray for all them that be taken out of this life / and that dyed or passed the same lyfe in charyte / and that nowe haue nede of prayer In the which you may kepe a forme of the same ordre that is before / that is to saye In stede of the nominatyue where you prayed for youre selfe you may nowe praye for all those that do byde in payne for any defaulte or offence done by your example or occasyon And for the genytyue in the seconde place / for your parentes and all youre kynne departed this lyfe And in the .iii. place for the datiue / pray for your benefactours passed And for the accusatyue in the iiii place / you may praye for them that lye in payne for any occasyon or any example that they gaue vnto you And in the .v. place / for the vocatyue Praye for all them that haue greatest paynes and leaste helpe here by the suffrage of prayers And for the ablatyue in the .vi. and last place Pray you for all soules in general And that you may be the more apte to pray / call thre thynges to your remeÌ„brauÌ„ce / that is to say what you haue ben / what you be and what you shal be Fyrst by reason of your body you were conceyued of the most fylthy abomynable mater of man / shamefull to be spoken / ferre more vyle then the sluch or slyme of the erth / after borne a synfull soule / purged onely by grace And nowe as vnto the bodye you ben a mucke hepe or donghyll more vyle then any vpon erthe / yf you remembre what doth yssue dayly come forth out of the meates ben yssewes of your body / your soule is daylye in some synne or at the least ful lyke to be What you shal be as vnto your body ye may se in experyeÌ„ce / wormes meate and erth agayne And what shall become of youre soule / no man in this worlde can assure you To remembre than the ioyes of heuen and paynes of hell / and that bothe be infynyte endles / and without rebate / but both euer encreasynge and neuer seasynge / neuer haue ease nor reste / but euer contynue and euerlastyng To remembre
whan they se the rodde or whyppe Deth therfore is nat to be feared / nor dredde for any peyne that is therin Many done dye departe this lyfe nat onely as we sayd without peyne / but also with desyre and pleasure Which thyng we haue before Probacyon by reason proued by auctoryte / and good reason / wyll conclude the same For yf peyne be in dethe / that peyne muste nedely be / other in the body or in the soule But in the body at the poynte of dethe is no peyne For than ben all the senses and wyttes of the body wherby he shulde feale peyne or pleasure / gone and departed the bodye than in suche case as for fealynge peyne as whan it is full dede And as vnto the soule / deth is nat peynefull but rather pleasant and ioyfull / as a person that long had ben in prison / and then were sodenly loused and put at lyberte De bono mortis For as saynt Ambrose sayth The soule is in prison / whyle it is in the body therfore is it glad to be delyuered by deth And to saye trothe whan the poynt of deth approcheth and draweth nere bothe the partes in maner ben glad to deê‘te in souÌ„dre / that is to saye Marowse they cal in the couÌ„trâ— .ii. housbaÌ„d men that done tyll their laÌ„de together the soule from the body / the body from the soule / as by example of .ii. marowes or .ii. suche persones that muste nede labour bothe to gether vnto such an effecte / purpose / as can nat come to pas and be fulfylled by one of them alone / then at nyght or when theyr purpose is ended they ben gladde wher the tone is nat able theruÌ„to alone with out helpe to depart vnto theyr owne propre whomes logynges and places So is it of the soule and the body / that here as .ii. marowse or mates done labour to gether as in an exyle or straunge countrey for as saynt Paule sayth non habemê° hic ciuitatem manentem / we haue nat here sayth he any cytie or dwellynge place / and whan that labour of them bothe to gether hathe fulfylled the course of nature vnto the periode / poynt assygned of god / than done they gladly depart eueryche towarde his propre whome / that is the bodye vnto the erthe from whens it came Gene. iii. d. And the soule vnto heuyn / except it be letted with any synne which may neuer entre into heuen Thus haue we proued vnto you bothe hy auctoryte and by reason / that in deth is no peyne and so that no feare shulde be taken of any or for any suche peyne yet shall I go forther and proue the same by experyence Probacyon by experyence For lady experyence hath shewed oftymes / vnto many persones that in dethe is no peyne For some persones haue ben in traunce / that for the tyme haue had a large experyence of dethe / whan the body was so desolate of the soule / that the body felt nothynge ne any thynge perceyued by any of the senses or wyttes / and yet hath the soule in the same tyme sene / perceyued the state of heuen hell or any other place ii Cor. xii a. Saynt Paule was so in suche rapte / that he coulde nat tell him selfe whether the soule was in his bodye or nat And that was a large and nere experyence of dethe / but yet nother he ne any of those so takyn in trauÌ„ce or rapt / haue made any mencyon of any peyne in theyr rapte ergo there is no peyne in deth Swonynge also or talmynge / is in maner a dethe / syth the body for that tyme is destytute / and voyde of all the wyttes and some in suche swones talmes done expyre dye and departe this lyfe yet those that done suruyue / recouer lyue agayne / done euydently shewe what peyne they had or suffred / that so departed in theyr swone or talme / but they confesse / and say playnly they felte no maner of payne / but rather a greate ease of all peynes ergo in dethe is no peyne Some ê‘sones also haue expyred and dyed slepynge which I doubt nat shulde haue ben waked yf a pynne or a nedell had ben thraste or put through theyr eares or yf fyre had brent theyr fynger / ergo no peyne in deth Let vs yet go vnto a forther experyence of deth Io. xi d. Lazare brother to Magdalene and Martha as the Gospell sheweh was dede .iiii. dayes and yet reysed by our sauyour many haue ben reysed by myracle I knewe and spake with one suche my selfe But nothynge haue I herde / or redde of any peyne that any of them suffre in dethe / ergo no peyne in deth and so doth saynt Ambrose plainly / affyrm in a boke that he wrote of the goodnes and profyte of dethe Amb. de bonomor tis .ii. li. de Cain et Abel cap. x. The feare sayth he that the frayle persones haue of dethe / is rather by the opinyon that they conceyue of deth / then for the selfe deth Bycause they haue sene or herd tell of many great paynes syckenesses and passyons that many done suffre before theyr dethe / and that causeth theyr frayle flesshe to abhorre De bono mortis cap. viii and to lothe deth / bycause of those peynes and greues And specyally suche persones as haue a loue inordynate vnto the vayne pleasures of this present lyfe And those also that iÌ„ a whole body haue a sycke soule / foyled conscyence moste done they feare dethe that halte and ben faynte in the faythe And no meruayle thoughe suche maner of persons do feare In tusvbi sup drede deth For as the lerned Cicero sayth yf theyr lyfe had nothynge coÌ„myttes ne done / that were to be feared they shulde of dethe haue no drede wyse men done feare synne whiche is the acte / and dede of quycke and nat of dede persones We shulde sayth saynt Ambrose feare drede our life / the actes and dedes wherof De bono mortis de supra done appertayne and belonge vnto our selfe / and ben iÌ„ our owne power and at our owne will / nat feare dethe that is nother in our wyll ne power For whether we wyll or nat that is / wyll we nyll we expire / and dye / nedely we must De remedis fortuit coruÌ„ Cice. vbi supra Than as we sayd before as the wyse maÌ„ Seneke saythe / it is great foly to feare and drede that thynge / that by no meane maye be escaped ne auoyded And who so euer wyll remayne in suche feare or drede Cicero vbi sup shal neuer lyue in quietude and rest of mynde Wyse men sayeth Cicero / done nat feare dethe / but rather done they contemne dispyse dethe / set nought therby / which thynge doutbles doth moch auayle
comforde the myndes of thy people Replenyshe and fulfyll with thy moste hyghe grace those hartes and soules that thou thy selfe haste create and made The secoÌ„de verse ¶ Qui paracletus diceris donuÌ„ dei altissimi fons viuus ignis charitas et spiritualis vnctio âšœ Come thou holy spirite That arte called and named the essenciall comforde and comforter of all Christians The gyft and rewarde of mooste hygh god The quykke and lyuely founteyn / and well of lyfe The mystike fyre that is the charite diuine And the spiritual vnction and medicine of all synners The .iii. verse ¶ Tu septiformis munere dex tre dei tu digitus Tu rite promisso patris / sermone ditaÌ„s guttura That is âšœ Come holy spirite that vnto vs by thy gracious .vii. gyftes art seuenfold bouÌ„tuous beneficiall for thou good lord art the fynger of the ryght hand of god âšœ Shewynge vnto vs the ryght way of all prosperite saluacioÌ„ and goodnes makynge our speche ryche and pleÌ„tuous orderly to speke thy holy worde by the vertue of our sauyoure Iesu the essenciall word / or speche of the father of heuen promysed vnto vs. The .iiii verse ¶ Accende lumen sensibê° Infunde amoreÌ„ cordibê° Infirmanti corporis virtute firmans ê‘petim That is âšœ Good lord holy ghost we beseche the acceÌ„de kyndle gyue lyght vnto our senses vnto our wyttes our felynge ê‘ceyuyng vndstandyng Infunde good lord ministre shede and powre downe thy loue vnto our hartes And by vertue and ghostly strength make thou firme constant and stable perpetually and contynually the infirme feble and frayle disposicions of our bodye The .v. verse ¶ HosteÌ„ repellas longius pa cemque dones protinus ductore sic te preuio vitemus omne noxium That is âšœ Come good lorde holy ghost And put froÌ„ vs ferre away our ghostly enemye forthwith gyue vs contynuall peace That so by the our lodesman gyde we maye eschue auoyde all that shuld vnto vs be noyouse or synfull The .vi. verse ¶ Per te sciamus da patrem noscamus atque filium te vtriu que spiritum credamê° omni tempore That is âšœ Come good lorde holy ghoste and graunt vs that by the / and thy meane we may know the father of heuen / and also in lykewyse we maye knowe his essenciall sone and that we maye at all tymes bylyue that thou art the holy spirite of them both and the same selfe god The .vii. verse ¶ Sit laus patri cuÌ„ filio / sancto simul paracleto / nobisque mutat filius charisma sancti spiritus That is âšœ Laude and prayse be vnto the father with the sone and with theÌ„ both vnto the holy ghost And we beseche and pray that the sone accordynge vnto his promyse wolde vouchsafe to sende vnto vs the grace of the holy ghost AmeÌ„ The versicle âšœ Emitte spiritum tuuÌ„ et creaabuntur That is âšœ Sende downe good lord thy spirite and all thy people shall be newly framed refreshed The answere ¶ Et reneuabis faciem terre That is âšœ And so good lord shalt thou renewe and comforde the face countenaunce and behauyoure of every faythfull persone The prayer ¶ The collect oration or prayer DEus cui omne cor patet et omnis voluÌ„tas loquitur / et quem nulluÌ„ latet secretuÌ„ purifica per infusionem sancti spiritus cogitationes cordis nrÌ„i vt te perfecte diligere et digne laudare mereamur Per Christum dominum nostrum Amen âšœ That is to meane Good lord god vnto whome euery harte is open and knowen / euery wyll doth specke and shewe what is thought and vnto whom no secrete or couÌ„sell is hyd or vnknowen we beseche the / purifie and clense by the infusion of thy holy spirite all the cogitacions and thoughtes of our hart that so we maye deserue perfectly to loue the and duely and worthely to laude and prayse the and this we done axe and desyre / by the meane and in the name of Chrste our lord mayster Amen ¶ An other collect oracioÌ„ or prayer to be sayd forthwith vnder one ende ACtiones nostras quesumê° domine aspiraÌ„do preueni et adiuuando prosequere vt cuncta nostra operatio et a te semper incipiat / et per te cepta finiatur Per Christum dominuÌ„ nostrum Amen That is to meane âšœ We beseche the good lorde that the grace of thy holy spirite may go before all our werkes and the helpe and coÌ„forte of the same grace maye also folowe and performe the same so that all our operacion workyng may of the alway begynne and so begon may by the be finished / performed / by the good lord I meane Christ our mayster Amen Or if you haue but small or shorte tyme you maye saye these two verses with the sayd versycle / collectes or without at your pleasure ¶ The fyrst verse REx Christe clementissime / tu corda nostra posside vt tibi laudes debitas reddamus oiÌ„ tempore That is âšœ Good lord and sauyour Christe / most gentell and curteyse kynge we byseche the take receyue our hartes into thy possession gouernaunce So that we maye in euery tyme or at all tymes render and yelde vnto the due laudes and prayse ¶ The seconde verse ¶ Sit laus patri cum filio c. as you haue before both in latin Englyshe These thynges thus spede then go forthe with youre interpryse mater of meditacion For saynte Augustyne saythe that meditacion dothe ingender / Augusti de spiritu et anima cap. l. and brynge forthe science or knoweledge science dothe bryng forthe compunction and compunction bryngeth forthe deuocion / deuocion dothe make prayer perfecte All these thaÌ„ by ordre be very necessary good / and conueniente for this purpose Fyrst than bygyn with meditacion This terme meditacion is as muche to say or to meane as a bysy muche vsed cogitacion or thought when the mynd is applyed and doth labour curiously / wysely / diligently / groundly to serche out bryng to lyght those thynges that be obscure darke hard to perceyue or vnderstond so to bryng vnto knowledge or remembrauÌ„ce suche thynges as ben hyd out of knowledge or out of mynd If we than wyll opteyne haue grace worthely to accede approyche vnto this holy mystery of communion lett vs fyrste exercise our hartes and myndes in good and fruytfull meditacion For the holy spirite of god saythe scrypture doth auoyde fle frome fayned and peynted holynes and dothe withdrawe hym selfe frome those cogitacioÌ„s thoughtes that ben without vnderstoÌ„dynge good reason auctoryte ¶ The ghostly chylde Syr wherwith or iÌ„ what maner of meditacions wolde you we shuld exercise our myndes specially agayn or byfore suche tyme of houselynge ¶ The ghostly father I thynke that vnto them that haue short tyme
seuenth day of cessacion reste and pausacion THe .vii. consyderacion was of the werk of fruicioÌ„ that is to say / a ioyfull vse at ful pleasur / holly reioysyng and inioyeng our lorde And in the .vii. day wheÌ„ our lord had made all thynges perfect he ceased and rested and wrought no more but sanctified halowed that day And so after our glorificacion we shal no more merite but rest in our lord and sanctifie hym / laude / prayse / and loue hym / and in hym as is sayd haue all ioy / pleasure i. Cor. ii aboue that any eye maye se any eare may heare any mouth maye speake or any harte maye thynke ¶ Of the .viii. consyderacion / and of the .viii. day of eternite THe .viii. and last coÌ„syderaon was of perseueracion duraunce or suerty of these ioyes And the day of eternite is the day of all perfection wherin the ende and begynnynge be ioyned For that day was before all creatures / without beginnyng and that day shall contynue after all dayes wtout endyng Amen ¶ Thus haue we after our poore vnderstandyng performed this deuout request and yet was not the person coÌ„tent / but that nedely we shuld ioyne vnto these two eyghtes the thyrde .viii. of the .viii. beatitudes of the gospell sayng vnto me the reders be not bound but at theyr pleasure they maye as is sayd take what they wyll ¶ Of the .viii. beatitudes or blessed states of perfection Math. v OVr lorde and sauyour Iesu dyd set forthe in the gospell viii perfections or .viii. states or fourmes of perfection whiche he taught and betoke vnto his disciples by theym vnto vs. And vnto euery perfectioÌ„ or state he assigned appoynted a propre reward as you shall perceyue by ordre ¶ Of the fyrst beatitude THe fyrste beatitude that is the fyrste state of perfectioÌ„ of lyuynge is in latyne thus âšœ Beati pauperes spiritu The Englysshe wherof is The poore in spirite or of spirite bene blessed That is to meane that all suche persones as for the loue of god do lytle set by worldly ryches as to haue any loue or trust vnto theÌ„ but onely as may be necessary for theyr state and degree ben blessed This beatitude or state of perfectioÌ„ may be referred vnto the fyrst consyderacion of the benefyte of creacioÌ„ wherin the myghty power of God was consydered whiche thynge well coÌ„sydered / euery person may lyghtely and sone perceyue he hath no thynge of hym selfe ne any thynge that he maye call properly his owne but that all thynges as in very propertie done apperteyne vnto god and ben here but only lent vnto man wherof to gyue accounte and so may he be reasonably moued to gyue freely vnto god that is his owne and to retayne no thynge in propertie but all to be coÌ„mune in tyme of nede vnto the neyghbour accordynge vnto the wyll and coÌ„maundemeÌ„t of god and this is called pouertie of spirite In them also that haue ryches as lordes and not seruauÌ„tes therof and this is the fyrst and moost lowe degree or state of perfection / whiche notwitstondynge doth conteyne many degrees In the hygest degree wherof done religiouse persones lyue yf they kepe theyr promyse and vowe duely The rewarde of this beatitude / doth folowe Quoniam ipsorum est regnum celorum For the realme and kyngdome of heuens dothe apperteyne and bylonge vnto theÌ„ They that is such persons pore in spirite for god haue here now the property and possession as it may be had in this lyfe of the heuyns after this lyfe they be sure therof For as I sayd there ben two heuens One aboue where God and his sayntes bene And an other bynethe that is the firmament and all thynges conteyned theryn The pore in spirite shall haue the possession of bothe For in this lyfe he hath all that is nedefull prouyded by our lorde a speciall grace to be content with his ordinauÌ„ce and after this myserable lyfe he shall haue the full property and possessioÌ„ of the very laude of euerlastyng lyfe Amen ¶ Of the seconde beatitude THe seconde beatitude and state of perfect lyfe / is âšœ Beati mites Blessed ben the mylde That is to meane / the such ê‘sones as be myld / soft sober curteyse geÌ„tyll restfull pacieÌ„t that in good can vaynquysh euyll Ro. xii d for the tyme can wyll gyue place vnto rebuks checks wylde rughe cruell behauioure ben in this state degre of perfection / whiche degree may be referred vnto the seconde coÌ„syderacion whiche was of the werke of gouernaunce the standeth in the consyderacioÌ„ of the wysedom and knowledge of god / whiche deply coÌ„sydered may lyghtely bryng downe the hyghe proude mynde of any persone so that he shall euidently perceyue that in coÌ„paracion vnto that wysedom he is but a very fole hathe neyther wysedom ne lernyng And so shall he begyn to bere a lowe sayle to be mylde and to chuse rather to be gouerned ruled than to rule or gouerne for that appertaynethe chiefely vnto myldenes The rewarde wherof dothe folowe QuoniaÌ„ ipsi possidebunt terraÌ„ That is for they shall possede or haue possession of the erth This terme the erth is takeÌ„ dyuersly One waye for the element that bereth bryngeth forth trees fruytes and graynes In an other maner it is takeÌ„ for the body of man whereof was sayd vnto Adam Gene. iii. erthe thou arte and to erth shalt thou go In a thyrde waye it is takeÌ„ for heuyn the land of life Psalm xxvi and of all these erthes shall the myld haue possessioÌ„ For the mylde persone desyreth no more of this worlde but the sufficient susttentacioÌ„ of the body and so doth he order his body by that sufficiently that he is lorde of all the passions and mocioÌ„s thereof and dothe constrayne the flesshe to serue the spirite the body to be duely subiect / subdued and in all obedient vnto the soule And finally he shall haue full and whole possession of the land that flowed mylke and hony Exo. iii. b that is the lande of lyfe euerlastynge Amen ¶ Of the thyrde beatytude THe thyrde beatitude or state of perfecte lyuynge / is âšœ Beati qui lugent Those persones that done mourne ben blessed This terme mournynge dothe betoken a sorowfull behauyour in coÌ„tenaunce in wordes in araye and suche other lyke behauyoures As in sadde and sorowfull lokes chere and countenaunce in wepynge waylynge / cryenge / complaynynge / wryngynge of handes / tearynge of heares or of clothes chauÌ„ge of araye / as you may se in funerales or buryalles Somtyme caused for the losse of goodes Somtyme of honours / dignities / degrees And somtyme for the losse or dethe of frendes And somtyme althoughe moste seldome for the offence of god ieopardy of soules And also for the feruent desyre of heuyn And this degree or state doth excede both the tother For as it is