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Sequitur secunda pars Penitencie.
Now for as muche as the seconde partie of Penitence stant
in confessioun of mouth, as I bigan in the firste chapitre, I
seye, Seint Augustyn seith,
"Synne is every word and
every dede, and al that men coveiten, agayn the lawe of Jhesu
Crist; and this is for to synne in herte, in mouth, and in dede,
by thy fyve wittes, that been sighte, herynge, smellynge,
tastynge or savourynge, and feelynge."
Now is it
good to understonde the circumstances that agreggen muchel every
synne.
Thou shalt considere what thow art that doost the
synne, wheither thou be male or femele, yong or oold, gentil or
thral, free or servant, hool or syk, wedded or sengle, ordred or
unordred, wys or fool, clerk or seculeer;
if she be of thy
kynrede, bodily or goostly, or noon; if any of thy kynrede have
synned with hire, or noon; and manye mo thinges.
Another circumstaunce is this: wheither it be doon in
fornicacioun or in avowtrie or noon, incest or noon, mayden or
noon, in manere of homicide or noon, horrible grete synnes or
smale, and how longe thou hast continued in synne.
The
thridde circumstaunce is the place ther thou hast do synne,
wheither in oother mennes hous or in thyn owene, in feeld or in
chirche or in chirchehawe, in chirche
For if the chirche be halwed, and man or womman spille his kynde inwith that place by wey of synne or by wikked temptacioun, the chirche is entredited til it be reconsiled by the bysshop.
And the preest sholde be enterdited that dide swich a vileynye; to terme of al his lif he sholde namoore synge masse, and if he dide, he sholde doon deedly synne at every time that he so songe masse.
The fourthe circumstaunce is by whiche mediatours, or by whiche messagers, as for enticement, or for consentement to bere compaignye with felaweshipe; for many a wrecche, for to bere compaignye, wol go to the devel of helle.
Wherfore they that eggen or consenten to the synne been parteners of the synne, and of the dampnacioun of the synnere.
The fifthe circumstaunce is how manye tymes that he hath
synned, if it be in his mynde, and how ofte that he hath falle.
For he that ofte falleth in synne, he despiseth the
mercy of God, and encreesseth hys synne, and is unkynde to Crist;
and he wexeth the moore fieble to withstonde synne, and synneth
the moore lightly,
and the latter ariseth, and is the moore
eschew for to shryven hym, and namely, to hym that is his
confessour.
For which that folk, whan they falle agayn in hir
olde folies, outher they forleten hir olde confessours al outrely
or elles they departen hir shrift in diverse places; but soothly,
swich departed shrift deserveth no mercy of God of his synnes.
The sixte circumstaunce is why that a man synneth, as by
which temptacioun, and if hymself procure thilke temptacioun, or
by the excitynge of oother folk; or if he synne with a womman by
force, or by hire owene assent;
or if the womman, maugree hir
hed, hath been afforced, or noon. This shal she telle: for
coveitise, or for poverte, and if it was hire procurynge, or
noon; and swich manere harneys.
The seventhe
circumstaunce is in what manere he hath doon his synne, or how
that she hath suffred that folk han doon to hire.
And the
same shal the man telle pleynly with alle circumstaunces; and
wheither he hath synned with comune bordel wommen or noon,
or
doon his synne in hooly tymes or noon, in fastyng tymes or noon,
or biforn his shrifte, or after his latter shrifte,
and hath
peraventure broken therfore his penance enjoyned, by whos help
and whos conseil, by sorcerie or craft; al moste be toold.
Alle thise thynges, after that they been grete or smale,
engreggen the conscience of man. And eek the preest, that is thy
juge, may the bettre been avysed of his juggement in yevynge of
thy penaunce, and that is after thy contricioun.
For
understond wel that after tyme that a man hath defouled his
baptesme by synne, if he wole come to salvacioun, ther is noon
other wey but by penitence and shrifte and satisfaccioun,
and
namely by the two, if ther be a confessour to which he may
shriven hym, and the thridde, if he have lyf to parfournen it.
Thanne shal man looke and considere that if he wole maken
a trewe and a profitable confessioun, ther moste be foure
condiciouns.
First, it moot been in sorweful bitternesse of
herte, as seyde the kyng Ezechias to God, "I wol remembre me
alle the yeres of my lif in bitternesse of myn herte."
This condicioun of bitternesse hath fyve signes. The firste
is that confessioun moste be shamefast, nat for to covere ne
hyden his synne, for he hath agilt his God and defouled his
soule.
And herof seith Seint Augustyn, "The herte
travailleth for shame of his synne"; and for he hath greet
shamefastnesse, he is digne to have greet mercy of God.
Swich
was the confessioun of the publican that wolde nat heven up his
eyen to hevene, for he hadde offended God of hevene; for which
shamefastnesse he hadde anon the mercy of God.
And therof
seith Seint Augustyn that swich shamefast folk been next
foryevenesse and remissioun.
Another signe is humylitee in
confessioun, of which seith Seint Peter, "Humbleth yow under
the myght of God." The hond of God is myghty in confessioun,
for therby God foryeveth thee thy synnes, for he allone hath the
power.
And this humylitee shal been in herte and in signe
outward, for right as he hath humylitee to God in his herte,
right so sholde he
For which in no manere, sith that Crist is sovereyn, and the preest meene and mediatour bitwixe Crist and the synnere, and the synnere is the laste by wey of resoun,
thanne sholde nat the synnere sitte as heighe as his confessour, but knele biforn hym or at his feet, but if maladie destourbe it. For he shal nat taken kep who sit there, but in whos place that he sitteth.
A man that hath trespased to a lord, and comth for to axe mercy and maken his accord, and set him doun anon by the lord, men wolde holden hym outrageous, and nat worthy so soone for to have remissioun ne mercy.
The thridde signe is how that thy shrift sholde be ful of teeris, if man may, and if man may nat wepe with his bodily eyen, lat hym wepe in herte.
Swich was the confession of Seint Peter, for after that he hadde forsake Jhesu Crist, he wente out and weep ful bitterly.
The fourthe signe is that he ne lette nat for shame to shewen his confessioun.
Swich was the confessioun of the Magdalene, that ne spared for no shame of hem that weren atte feeste, for to go to oure Lord Jhesu Crist and biknowe to hym hire synne.
The fifthe signe is that a man or a womman be obeisant to receyven the penaunce that hym is enjoyned for his synnes, for certes, Jhesu Crist, for the giltes of o man, was obedient to the deeth.
The seconde condicion of verray confession is that it be
hastily doon. For certes, if a man hadde a deedly wounde, evere
the lenger that he taried to warisshe hymself, the moore wolde
it corrupte and haste hym to his deeth, and eek the wounde wolde
be the wors for to heele.
And right so fareth synne that
longe tyme is in a man unshewed.
Certes, a man
oghte hastily shewen his synnes for manye causes; as for drede
of deeth, that cometh ofte sodeynly, and no certeyn what tyme it
shal be, ne in what place; and eek the drecchynge of o synne
draweth in another;
and eek the lenger that he tarieth, the
ferther he is fro Crist. And if he abide to his laste day,
scarsly may he shryven hym or remembre hym of his synnes or
repenten hym, for the grevous maladie of his deeth.
And for
as muche as he ne hath nat in his lyf herkned Jhesu Crist whanne
he hath spoken, he shal crie to Jhesu Crist at his laste day, and
scarsly wol he herkne hym.
And understond that this
condicioun moste han foure thynges. Thi shrift moste be purveyed
bifore and avysed; for wikked haste dooth no profit; and that a
man konne shryve hym of his synnes, be it of pride, or of envye,
and so forth with the speces and circumstances;
and that he
have comprehended in hys mynde the nombre and the greetnesse of
his synnes, and how longe that he hath leyn in synne;
and eek that he be contrit of his synnes, and in
stidefast purpos, by the grace of God, nevere eft to falle in
synne; and eek that he drede and countrewaite hymself, that he
fle the occasiouns of synne to whiche he is enclyned.
Also
thou shalt shryve thee of alle thy synnes to o man, and nat a
parcel to o man and a parcel to another; that is to understonde,
in entente to departe thy confessioun, as for shame or drede, for
it nys but stranglynge of thy soule.
For certes Jhesu Crist
is entierly al good; in hym nys noon imperfeccioun, and therfore
outher he foryeveth al parfitly or elles never a deel.
I seye
nat that if thow be assigned to the penitauncer for certein
synne, that thow art bounde to shewen hym al the remenaunt of thy
synnes, of whiche thow hast be shryven of thy curaat, but if it
like to thee of thyn humylitee; this is no departynge of shrifte.
Ne I seye nat, ther as I speke of divisioun of confessioun,
that if thou have licence for to shryve thee to a discreet and
an honest preest, where thee liketh, and by licence of thy
curaat, that thow ne mayst wel shryve thee to him of alle thy
synnes.
But lat no blotte be bihynde; lat no synne
been untoold, as fer as thow hast remembraunce.
And whan thou
shalt be shryven to thy curaat, telle hym eek alle the synnes
that thow hast doon syn thou were last yshryven; this is no
wikked entente of divisioun of shrifte.
Also the verray shrifte axeth certeine condiciouns. First,
that thow shryve thee by thy free wil, noght constreyned, ne for
shame of folk, ne for maladie, ne swiche thynges. For
and that noon oother man telle his synne but he hymself; ne he shal nat nayte ne denye his synne, ne wratthe hym agayn the preest for his amonestynge to lete synne.
The seconde condicioun is that thy shrift be laweful; that is to seyn, that thow that shryvest thee and eek the preest that hereth thy confessioun been verraily in the feith of hooly chirche,
and that a man ne be nat despeired of the mercy of Jhesu Crist, as Caym or Judas.
And eek a man moot accusen hymself of his owene trespas, and nat another; but he shal blame and wyten hymself and his owene malice of his synne, and noon oother.
But nathelees, if that another man be occasioun or enticere of his synne, or the estaat of a persone be swich thurgh which his synne is agregged, or elles that he may nat pleynly shryven hym but he telle the persone with which he hath synned, thanne may he telle it,
so that his entente ne be nat to bakbite the persone, but oonly to declaren his confessioun.
Thou ne shalt nat eek make no lesynges in thy confessioun,
for humylitee, peraventure, to seyn that thou hast doon synnes
of whiche thow were nevere gilty.
For Seint Augustyn
seith, "If thou, by cause of thyn humylitee, makest lesynges
on thyself, though thow ne were nat in synne biforn, yet artow
thanne in synne thurgh thy lesynges."
Thou most eek shewe
thy synne by thyn owene propre mouth, but thow be woxe dowmb, and
nat by no lettre; for thow that hast doon the synne, thou shalt
have the shame therfore.
Thow shalt nat eek peynte thy
confessioun by faire subtile wordes, to covere the moore thy
synne; for thanne bigilestow thyself, and nat the preest. Thow
most tellen it platly, be it nevere so foul ne so horrible.
Thow shalt eek shryve thee to a preest that is discreet to
conseille thee; and eek thou shalt nat shryve thee for veyne
glorie, ne for ypocrisye, ne for no cause but oonly for the doute
of Jhesu Crist and the heele of thy soule.
Thow shalt nat eek
renne to the preest sodeynly to tellen hym lightly thy synne, as
whoso telleth a jape or a tale, but avysely and with greet
devocioun.
And generally, shryve thee ofte. If thou
ofte falle, ofte thou arise by confessioun.
And though thou
shryve thee ofter than ones of synne of which thou hast be
shryven, it is the moore merite. And, as seith Seint Augustyn,
thow shalt have the moore lightly relessyng and grace of God,
bothe of synne and of peyne.
And certes, oones a yeere atte
leeste wey it is laweful for to been housled, for certes, oones
a yeere alle thynges renovellen.
Now have I toold yow of verray Confessioun, that is the
seconde partie of Penitence.
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