926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
1017
1018
1019
1020
1021
1022
1023
1024
1025
1026
1027
1028
1029
1030
1031
1032
1033
1034
1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041
1042
1043
1044 |
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
|
18
Thys creatur was chargyd and comawndyd in hir sowle
that sche schuld go to a
Whyte Frer in the same cyté of Norwych
whech hyte Wyllyam Sowthfeld, a good
man and an holy levar, to schewyn hym the grace that God wrowt
in hir as sche had
don to the good vykary beforn. Sche dede as sche was comawndyd,
and cam to the
frere on a fornoon, and was wyth hym in a chapel a long tyme,
and schewyd hym hir
meditacyons and swech as God wrowt in hir sowle to wetyn yf sche
wer dysceyved be
any illusyons or not. Thys good man, the White Frer, evyr whyl
sche teld hir felyngys,
heldyng up hys handys, seyd, "Jhesu, mercy and gremercy. Syster,"
he seyd, "dredyth
ye not of yowr maner of levyng, for it is the Holy
Gost werkyng plentyuowsly hys
grace in yowr sowle. Thankyth hym heyly of hys goodnes, for we
alle be bowndyn to
thankyn hym for yow that now in owyr days wel inspir hys grace
in yow to the help
and comfort of us alle whech arn supportyd be yowr preyers and
be swech other as ye
ben. And we arn preservyd fro many myschevys and dysesys whech
we schuld sufferyn
and worthily for owyr trespas ne wer swech good creaturys among
us. Blyssed be
almyty God for hys goodnes. And therfor, syster, I cownsel yow
that ye dyspose yow
to receyvyn the gyftys of God as lowly and mekely as ye kan and
put non obstakyl ne
objeccyon agen the goodnes of the Holy Gost, for he may gevyn
hys gyftys wher he
wyl, and of unworthy he makyth worthy, of synful he makyth rygtful.
Hys mercy is
evyr redy unto us, les than the fawt be in owyrself, for he dwellyth
not in a body soget
to syn. He fleth al fals feynyng and falshede; he of us a lowe,
a meke, and a
contryte hert wyth a good wyl. Owyr Lord seyth hymself, `My spyrit
schal restyn
upon a meke man, a contryte man, and dredyng my wordys.' Syster,
I trost to owyr
Lord ye han these condicyons eythyr in your wyl or in your affeccyon
er ellys in
bothyn, and I helde not that owyr Lord suffryth hem to be dysceyved
endlesly that
settyn al here trost in hym and nothyng sekyn ne desyryn but
hym only, as I hope that
ye don. And therfor belevyth fully that owyr Lord lovyth yow
and werkyth hys grace
in yow I prey God incres it and continu it to hys evyrlestyng
worshep for hys mercy."
The beforn seyd creatur was mech comfortyd bothe in body and
in sowle be this good
mannys wordys and gretly strengthyd in hir feyth. And than sche
was bodyn be owyr
Lord for to gon to an ankres
in the same cyté whych hyte Dame
Jelyan. And so sche
dede and schewyd hir the grace that God put in hir sowle of compunccyon,
contricyon,
swetnesse and devocyon, compassyon wyth holy meditacyon and hy
contemplacyon,
and ful many holy spechys and dalyawns that owyr Lord spak to
hir sowle, and many
wondirful revelacyons whech sche schewyd to the ankres to wetyn
yf ther wer any
deceyte in hem, for the ankres was expert in swech thyngys and
good cownsel cowd
gevyn. The ankres, heryng the mervelyows goodnes of owyr Lord,
hyly thankyd God
wyth al hir hert for hys visitacyon, cownselyng this creatur
to be obedyent to the wyl of
owyr Lord God and fulfyllyn wyth al hir mygthys whatevyr he put
in hir sowle yf
it wer not ageyn the worshep of God and profyte of hir evyn cristen,
for, yf it wer, than
it wer nowt the mevyng of a good spyryte but rathyr of an evyl
spyrit. The Holy Gost
mevyth nevyr a thing ageyn charité, and, yf he dede, he
wer contraryows to hys owyn
self, for he is al charité. Also he mevyth a sowle to
al chastnesse, for chast levars be
clepyd the temple of the Holy Gost, and the Holy Gost makyth
a sowle stabyl and
stedfast in the rygth feyth and the rygth beleve. And a dubbyl
man in sowle is evyr
unstabyl and unstedfast in al hys weys. He that is evyrmor dowtyng
is lyke to the
flood of the see, the whech is mevyd and born abowte wyth the
wynd, and that man is
not lyche to receyven the gyftys of God. What creatur that hath
thes tokenys he muste
stedfastlych belevyn that the Holy Gost dwellyth in hys sowle.
And mech mor, whan
God visyteth a creatur wyth terys of contrisyon, devosyon, er
compassyon, he may
and owyth to levyn that the Holy Gost is in hys sowle. Seynt
Powyl seyth that the
Holy Gost askyth for wyth mornynggys and wepyngys unspekable,
that is to seyn,
he makyth us to askyn and preyn wyth mornynggys and wepyngys
so plentyuowsly
that the terys may not be nowmeryd. Ther may non evyl spyrit
gevyn thes tokenys, for
Jerom seyth that
terys turmentyn mor the devylle than don the peynes of helle. God
and the devyl
ben evyrmor contraryows, and thei schal nevyr dwellyn togedyr in on
place, and the devyl hath no powyr in a mannys sowle. Holy Wryt
seyth that the sowle
of a rytful man is the sete of God, and so I trust, syster, that
ye ben. I prey God grawnt
yow perseverawns. Settyth al yowr trust in God and feryth not
the langage of the
world, for the mor despyte, schame, and repref that ye have in
the world the mor is
yowr meryte in the sygth of God. Pacyens is necessary unto yow
for in that schal ye
kepyn yowr sowle." Mych was the holy dalyawns that the ankres
and this creatur
haddyn be comownyng in the lofe of owyr Lord Jhesu Crist many
days that thei were
togedyr. Thys creatur schewyd hyr maner of levyng to many a worthy
clerke, to
worshepful doctorys of divinyté, bothe religiows men and
other of seculer abyte, and
thei seyden that God wrowt gret grace wyth hir and bodyn sche
schuld not ben aferde,
ther was no disseyte in hir maner of levyng. Thei cownseld hir
to be perseverawnt, for
here most dred was that sche schuld turnyn and not kepyn hir
perfeccyon. Sche had so
many enmys and so mech slawndyr that hem semyd sche myte not
beryn it wythowtyn
gret grace and a mygty feyth. Other whech had no knowlach of
hir maner of
governawns, save only be sygth owtforth er ellys be jangelyng
of other personys,
pervertyng the dom of trewth, seyd ful evyl of hir and causyd
hir to have mech enmyté
and mech dysese, mor than sche schuld have ellys had, had her
evyl langage ne ben.
Nevyrthelesse the ankyr
of the Frer
Prechowrys in Lenn,
whech was principal gostly
fadyr to this creatur as is wretyn beforn, toke it on charge
of hys sowle that hir felyngys
wer good and sekyr and that ther was no disseyt in hem. And he
be the spiryt of
prophecye teld hir, whan sche schuld gon to Jerusalemward,
sche schuld have mech
tribulacyon wyth hir mayden and how owyr Lord schuld asayn hir
scharply and prevyn
hir ful streytly. Than seyd sche ageyn, "A, good ser, what schal
I than do whan I am
fer fro hom and in strawnge cuntreys and my mayden be agens me?
Than is my bodily
comfort ago, and gostly comfort of any confessowr
as ye beth wot I not wher to have."
"Dowtyr, drede ye nowt, for owyr Lord schal comfort yow hys owyn
self, hoose
comfort passyth alle otheris, and, whan al yowr frendys han forsakyn
yow owyr Lord
schal makyn a brokyn bak man to lede yow forth wher ye wyl be."
And so it befel as
the ankyr had prophecyed in every poynt, and, as I trust, schal
be wretyn more pleynly
aftyrward. Than this creatur in a maner compleynyng seyd to the
ankyr, "Good ser,
what schal I do? He that is my confessowr in yowr absens is rygth
scharp unto me. He
wyl not levyn my felyngys; he settyth nowt by hem; he heldyth
hem but tryfelys and
japys. And that is a gret peyn unto me, for I lofe hym wele and
I wold fawyn folwyn
hys cownsel." The ankyr, answeryng agen to hir, seyd, "It is
no wondyr, dowtyr, yf he
kan nowt belevyn in yowr felyngys so sone. He knowyth wel ye
han ben a synful
woman, and therfor he wenyth that God wold not ben homly wyth
yow in so schort
tyme. Aftyr yowr conversyon I wold not for al this world ben
so scharp to yow as he
is. God for yowr meryte hath ordeynd hym to be yowr scorge and
faryth wyth yow as
a smyth wyth a fyle that makyth the yron to be bryte and cler
to the sygth whech
beforn aperyd rusty, dyrke, evyl colowryd. The mor scharp that
he is to yow the mor
clerly schinyth yowr sowle in the sygth of God, and God hath
ordeyned me to be yowr
norych and your comfort. Beth ye lowe and meke and thanke God
bothe of on and of
other." On a tyme beforn this creatur went to hir praerys for
to wetyn what answer
sche schuld gevyn to the wedow. Sche was comawndyd in hir spyryt
to byddyn the
wedow levyn hir confessowr
that was that tyme, yf sche wold plesyn God, and gon to
the ankyr at the Frer Prechowrys in Lenn and schewyn hym hir
lyfe. Whan this creatur
dede this massage, the wedow wold not levyn hir wordys ne hir
gostly fadyr neythyr,
les than God wold gevyn hir the same grace that he gaf this creatur,
and sche chargyd
this creatur that sche schuld no mor comyn in hir place. And
for this creatur teld hir
that sche had to fele lofe of affecyon to hir gostly fadyr, therfor
the wedow seyde it
had ben good to this creatur that hir lofe and hir affeccyon
wer set as hir was. Than
owyr Lord bad this creatur don wryten a lettyr and send it hir.
A maystyr of dyvynité
wrot a lettyr at the request of this creatur and sent to the
wedow wyth these clawsys
that folwyn. On clause was that the wedow schuld nevyr han the
grace that this creatur
had. Another was thow this creatur come nevyr in hir howse it
plesyd God ryt wel.
Owyr Lord seyd eftsonys to this creatur, "It wer bettyr to hir
than al this world and hir
lofe wer sett as thyn is. And I byd the gon to hir gostly fadyr
and telle hym, for he wyl
not belevyn thi wordys, thei schal be departyd asundyr er than
he be war, and thei that
ben not of hir cownsel schal knowyn it er than he, whethyr he
wyl or not. Lo, dowtyr,
her mayst thow se how hard it is to departyn a man fro hys owyn
wyl." And all this
processe was fulfyllyd in trewth as the creatur had seyd beforn
twelve yer aftyrward.
Than this creatur suffryd mech tribulacyon and gret hevynesse
for sche seyd these
wordys as owyr Lord bad hir sey. And evyr sche encresyd in the
lofe of God and was
mor bold than sche was beforn. |