Remedium contra peccatum Invidie.
Now wol I speke of remedie agayns this foule synne
of Envye. First is the love of God principal and lovyng of his
neighebor as hymself, for soothly that oon ne may nat been
withoute that oother.
And truste wel that in the name of thy
neighebor thou shalt understonde the name of thy brother; for
certes alle we have o fader flesshly and o mooder—that is
to seyn, Adam and Eve—and eek o fader espiritueel, and that
is God of hevene.
Thy neighebor artow holden for to love and
wilne hym alle goodnesse; and therfore seith God, "Love thy
neighebor as thyselve"—that is to seyn, to salvacioun
bothe of lyf and of soule.
And mooreover thou shalt love hym
in word, and in benigne amonestynge and chastisynge, and
conforten hym in his anoyes, and preye for hym with al thyn
herte.
And in dede thou shalt love hym in swich wise that
thou shalt doon to hym in charitee as thou woldest that it were
doon to thyn owene persone.
And therfore thou ne
shalt doon hym no damage in wikked word, ne harm in his body, ne
in his catel, ne in his soule, by entissyng of wikked ensample.
Thou shalt nat desiren his wyf ne none of his thynges.
Understoond eek that in the name of neighebor is comprehended his
enemy.
Certes, man shal loven his enemy, by the comandement
of God; and soothly thy freend shaltow love in God.
I seye,
thyn enemy shaltow love for Goddes sake, by his commandement. For
if it were reson that man sholde haten his enemy, for sothe God
nolde nat receyven us to his love that been his enemys.
Agayns three manere of wronges that his enemy dooth to hym,
he shal doo three thynges, as thus:
Agayns hate and
rancour of herte, he shal love hym in herte. Agayns chidyng and
wikkede wordes, he shal preye for his enemy. Agayns the wikked
dede of his enemy, he shal doon hym bountee.
For Crist seith,
"Loveth youre enemys, and preyeth for hem that speke yow
harm, and eek for hem that yow chacen and pursewen, and dooth
bountee to hem that yow haten." Loo, thus comaundeth us oure
Lord Jhesu Crist to do to oure enemys.
For soothly, nature
dryveth us to loven oure freendes, and parfey, oure enemys han
moore nede to love than oure freendes; and they that moore nede
have, certes to hem shal men doon goodnesse;" and certes, in
thilke dede have we remembraunce of the love of Jhesu Crist that
deyde for his enemys.
And in as muche as thilke love is the
moore grevous to parfourne, so muche is the moore gret the
merite; and therfore
the lovynge of oure enemy hath
confounded the venym of the devel.
For right as the
devel is disconfited by humylitee, right so is he wounded to the
deeth by love of oure enemy.
Certes, thanne is love the
medicine that casteth out the venym of Envye fro mannes herte.
The speces of this paas shullen be moore largely declared in
hir chapitres folwynge.
