Et sequitur secunda pars eiusdem
The seconde partie of Penitence is Confessioun, that is
signe of contricioun.
Now shul ye understonde what is
Confessioun, and wheither it oghte nedes be doon or noon, and
whiche thynges been covenable to verray Confessioun.
First shaltow understonde that Confessioun is verray
shewynge of synnes to the preest.
This is to seyn
"verray," for he moste confessen hym of alle the
condiciouns that bilongen to his synne, as ferforth as he kan.
Al moot be seyd, and no thyng excused ne hyd ne
forwrapped, and noght avaunte thee of thy goode werkes.
And
forther over, it is necessarie to understonde whennes that synnes
spryngen, and how they encreessen, and whiche they been.
Of the spryngynge of synnes seith Seint Paul in this wise:
that "Right as by a man synne entred first into this world,
and thurgh that synne deeth, right so thilke deeth entred into
alle men that synneden."
And this man was Adam, by whom
synne entred into this world, whan he brak the comaundementz of
God.
And therfore, he that first was so myghty that he sholde
nat have dyed, bicam swich oon that he moste nedes dye, wheither
he wolde or noon, and al his progenye in this world, that in
thilke man synneden.
Looke that in th'estaat of
innocence, whan Adam and Eve naked weren in Paradys, and nothyng
ne hadden shame of hir nakednesse,
how that the serpent, that
was moost wily of alle othere beestes that God hadde maked, seyde
to the womman, "Why comaunded God to yow ye sholde nat eten
of every tree in Paradys?"
The womman answerde: "Of
the fruyt," quod she, "of the trees in Paradys we feden
us, but soothly, of the fruyt of the tree that is in the myddel
of Paradys, God forbad us for to ete, ne nat touchen it, lest per
aventure we sholde dyen."
The serpent seyde to the
womman, "Nay, nay, ye shul nat dyen of deeth; for sothe, God
woot that what day that ye eten therof, youre eyen shul opene and
ye shul been as goddes, knowynge good and harm."
The
womman thanne
saugh that the tree was good to
feedyng, and fair to the eyen, and delitable to the sighte. She
took of the fruyt of the tree, and eet it, and yaf to hire
housbonde, and he eet, and anoon the eyen of hem bothe openeden.
And whan that they knewe that they were naked, they
sowed of fige leves a maner of breches to hiden hire membres.
There may ye seen that deedly synne hath, first, suggestion
of the feend, as sheweth heere by the naddre; and afterward, the
delit of the flessh, as sheweth heere by Eve; and after that, the
consentynge of resoun, as sheweth heere by Adam.
For trust
wel, though so were that the feend tempted Eve—that is to
seyn, the flessh—and the flessh hadde delit in the beautee
of the fruyt defended, yet certes, til that resoun—that is
to seyn, Adam—consented to the etynge of the fruyt, yet
stood he in th'estaat of innocence.
Of thilke Adam tooke we
thilke synne original, for of hym flesshly descended be we alle,
and engendred of vile and corrupt mateere.
And whan the soule
is put in oure body, right anon is contract original synne; and
that that was erst but oonly peyne of concupiscence is afterward
bothe peyne and synne.
And therfore be we alle born
sones of wratthe and of dampnacioun perdurable, if it nere
baptesme that we receyven, which bynymeth us the culpe. But for
sothe, the peyne dwelleth with us, as to temptacioun, which peyne
highte concupiscence.
And this concupiscence, whan it is
wrongfully disposed or ordeyned in man, it maketh hym coveite,
by coveitise of flessh, flesshly synne, by sighte of his eyen as
to erthely thynges, and eek coveitise of hynesse by pride of
herte.
Now, as for to speken of the firste coveitise, that is
concupiscence, after the lawe of oure membres that weren
lawefulliche ymaked and by rightful juggement of God,
I seye,
forasmuche as man is nat obeisaunt to God, that is his lord,
therfore is the flessh to hym disobeisaunt thurgh concupiscence,
which yet is cleped norrissynge of synne and occasioun of synne.
Therfore, al the while that a man hath in hym the peyne of
concupiscence, it is impossible but he be tempted somtime and
moeved in his flessh to synne.
And this thyng may nat
faille as longe as he lyveth; it may wel wexe fieble and faille
by vertu of baptesme and by the grace of God thurgh penitence,
but fully ne shal it nevere quenche, that he ne shal som tyme
be moeved in hymself, but if he were al refreyded by siknesse,
or by malefice of sorcerie, or colde drynkes.
For lo, what
seith Seint Paul: "The flessh coveiteth agayn the spirit, and
the spirit agayn the flessh; they been so contrarie and so
stryven that a man may nat alway doon as he wolde."
The
same Seint Paul, after his grete penaunce in water and in
lond—in water by nyght and by day in greet peril and in
greet peyne; in lond, in famyne and thurst, in coold and
cloothlees, and ones stoned almoost to the deeth
—yet
seyde he, "Allas, I caytyf man! who shal delivere me fro the
prisoun of my caytyf body?"
And Seint Jerome,
whan he longe tyme hadde woned in desert, where as he hadde no
compaignye but of wilde beestes, where as he ne hadde no mete but
herbes, and water to his drynke, ne no bed but the naked erthe,
for which his flessh was blak as an Ethiopeen for heete, and ny
destroyed for coold,
yet seyde he that "the brennynge of
lecherie boyled in al his body."
Wherfore I woot wel
sykerly that they been deceyved that seyn that they ne be nat
tempted in hir body.
Witnesse on Seint Jame the Apostel, that
seith that "every wight is tempted in his owene
concupiscence"; that is to seyn, that everich of us hath
matere and occasioun to be tempted of the norissynge of synne
that is in his body.
And therfore seith Seint John the
Evaungelist, "If that we seyn that we be withoute synne, we
deceyve us selve, and trouthe is nat in us."
Now shal ye understonde in what manere that synne
wexeth or encreesseth in man. The firste thyng is thilke
norissynge of synne of which I spak biforn, thilke flesshly
concupiscence.
And after that comth the subjeccioun of the
devel—this is to seyn, the develes bely, with which he
bloweth in man the fir of flesshly concupiscence.
And after
that, a man bithynketh hym wheither he wol doon or no thilke
thing to which he is tempted.
And thanne, if that a man
withstonde and weyve the firste entisynge of his flessh and of
the feend, thanne is it no synne;
and if it so be
that he do nat so, thanne feeleth he anoon a flambe of delit.
And thanne is it good to be war and kepen hym wel, or elles
he wol falle anon into consentynge of synne; and thanne wol he
do it, if he may have tyme and place.
And of this
matere seith Moyses by the devel in this manere: "The feend
seith, "I wole chace and pursue the man by wikked
suggestioun, and I wole hente hym by moevynge or stirynge of
synne. And I wol departe my prise or my praye by deliberacioun,
and my lust shal been acompliced in delit. I wol drawe my swerd
in consentynge""—
for certes, right as a swerd
departeth a thyng in two peces, right so consentynge departeth
God fro man—""and thanne wol I sleen hym with myn
hand in dede of synne"; thus seith the feend."
For
certes, thanne is a man al deed in soule. And thus is synne
acompliced by temptacioun, by delit, and by consentynge; and
thanne is the synne cleped actueel.
For sothe, synne is in two maneres; outher it is venial
or deedly synne. Soothly, whan man loveth any creature moore than
Jhesu Crist oure Creatour, thanne is it deedly synne. And venial
synne is it, if man love Jhesu Crist lasse than hym oghte.
For sothe, the dede of this venial synne is ful perilous, for
it amenuseth the love that men sholde han to God moore and moore.
And therfore, if a man charge hymself with manye
swiche venial synnes, certes, but if so be that he somtyme
descharge hym of hem by shrifte, they mowe ful lightly amenuse
in hym al the love that he hath to Jhesu Crist;
and in this
wise skippeth venial into deedly synne. For certes, the moore
that a man chargeth his soule with venial synnes, the moore is
he enclyned to fallen into deedly synne.
And therfore lat us
nat be necligent to deschargen us of venial synnes. For the
proverbe seith that "Manye smale maken a greet."
And
herkne this ensample. A greet wawe of the see comth som tyme with
so greet a violence that it drencheth the ship. And the same harm
doon som tyme the smale dropes of water, that entren thurgh a
litel crevace into the thurrok, and in the botme of the ship, if
men be so necligent that they ne descharge hem nat by tyme.
And therfore, although ther be a difference bitwixe thise two
causes of drenchynge, algates the ship is dreynt.
Right so fareth it somtyme of deedly synne, and of
anoyouse veniale synnes, whan they multiplie in a man so greetly
that [the love of] thilke worldly thynges that he loveth, thurgh
whiche he synneth venyally, is as greet in his herte as the love
of God, or moore.
And therfore, the love of every thyng that
is nat biset in God, ne doon principally for Goddes sake,
although that a man love it lasse than God, yet is it venial
synne;
and deedly synne whan the love of any thyng weyeth in
the herte of man as muchel as the love of God, or moore.
"Deedly synne," as seith Seint Augustyn, "is whan
a man turneth his herte fro God, which that is verray sovereyn
bountee, that may nat chaunge, and yeveth his herte to thyng that
may chaunge and flitte."
And certes, that is every thyng
save God of hevene. For sooth is that if a man yeve his love, the
which that he oweth al to God with al his herte, unto a creature,
certes, as muche of his love as he yeveth to thilke creature, so
muche he bireveth fro God;
and therfore dooth he
synne. For he that is dettour to God ne yeldeth nat to God al his
dette; that is to seyn, al the love of his herte.
Now sith man understondeth generally which is venial
synne, thanne is it covenable to tellen specially of synnes
whiche that many a man peraventure ne demeth hem nat synnes, and
ne shryveth him nat of the same thynges, and yet natheless they
been synnes
soothly, as thise clerkes writen; this is to
seyn, that at every tyme that a man eteth or drynketh moore than
suffiseth to the sustenaunce of his body, in certein he dooth
synne.
And eek whan he speketh moore than it nedeth, it is
synne. Eke whan he herkneth nat benignely the compleint of the
povre;
eke whan he is in heele of body and wol nat faste whan
other folk faste, withouten cause resonable; eke whan he slepeth
moore than nedeth, or whan he comth by thilke enchesoun to late
to chirche, or to othere werkes of charite;
eke whan
he useth his wyf withouten sovereyn desir of engendrure to the
honour of God or for the entente to yelde to his wyf the dette
of his body;
eke whan he wol nat visite the sike and the
prisoner, if he may; eke if he love wyf or child, or oother
worldly thyng, moore than resoun requireth; eke if
he
flatere or blandise moore than hym oghte for any necessitee;
eke if he amenuse or withdrawe the almesse of the povre; eke
if he apparailleth his mete moore deliciously than nede is, or
ete it to hastily by likerousnesse;
eke if he tale vanytees
at chirche or at Goddes service, or that he be a talker of ydel
wordes of folye or of vileynye, for he shal yelden acountes of
it at the day of doom;
eke whan he biheteth or assureth to
do thynges that he may nat parfourne; eke whan that he by
lightnesse or folie mysseyeth or scorneth his neighebor;
eke whan he hath any wikked suspecioun of thyng ther he
ne woot of it no soothfastnesse:
thise thynges, and mo
withoute nombre, been synnes, as seith Seint Augustyn.
Now shal men understonde that, al be it so that noon
erthely man may eschue alle venial synnes, yet may he refreyne
hym by the brennynge love that he hath to oure Lord Jhesu Crist,
and by preyeres and confessioun and othere goode werkes, so that
it shal but litel greve.
For, as seith Seint Augustyn,
"If a man love God in swich manere that al that evere he
dooth is in the love of God and for the love of God verraily, for
he brenneth in the love of God,
looke how muche that a drope
of water that falleth in a fourneys ful of fyr anoyeth or
greveth, so muche anoyeth a venial synne unto a man that is
parfit in the love of Jhesu Crist."
Men may also
refreyne venial synne by receyvynge worthily of the precious body
of Jhesu Crist;
by receyvynge eek of hooly water, by
almesdede, by general confessioun of Confiteor
at masse and at complyn, and by blessynge of bisshopes and of preestes,
and by oothere goode werkes.
Explicit secunda pars Penitentie
