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Sequitur de Accidia.
After the synne of Envye and of Ire, now wol I speken of
the synne of Accidie. For Envye blyndeth the herte of a man, and
Ire troubleth a man, and Accidie maketh hym hevy, thoghtful, and
wraw.
Envye and Ire maken bitternesse in herte, which
bitternesse is mooder of Accidie, and bynymeth hym the love of
alle goodnesse. Thanne is Accidie the angwissh of troubled herte;
and Seint Augustyn seith, "It is anoy of goodnesse and joye
of harm."
Certes, this is a dampnable synne, for it dooth
wrong to Jhesu Crist, in as muche
But Accidie dooth no swich diligence. He dooth alle thyng with anoy, and with wrawnesse, slaknesse, and excusacioun, and with ydelnesse, and unlust; for which the book seith, "Acursed be he that dooth the service of God necligently."
Thanne is Accidie enemy to everich estaat of man, for certes the estaat of man is in three maneres.
Outher it is th'estaat of innocence, as was th'estaat of Adam biforn that he fil into synne, in which estaat he was holden to wirche as in heriynge and adowrynge of God.
Another estaat is the estaat of synful men, in which estaat men been holden to laboure in preiynge to God for amendement of hire synnes, and that he wole graunte hem to arysen out of hir synnes.
Another estaat is th'estaat of grace, in which estaat he is holden to werkes of penitence. And certes, to alle thise thynges is Accidie enemy and contrarie, for he loveth no bisynesse at al.
Now certes this foule synne Accidie is eek a ful greet enemy to the liflode of the body, for it ne hath no purveaunce agayn temporeel necessitee, for it forsleweth and forsluggeth and destroyeth alle goodes temporeles by reccheleesnesse.
The fourthe thyng is that Accidie is lyk hem that been in
the peyne of helle, by cause of hir slouthe and of hire
hevynesse, for they that been dampned been so bounde that they
ne may neither wel do ne wel thynke.
Of Accidie comth first
that a man is anoyed and encombred for to doon any goodnesse, and
maketh that God hath abhomynacion of swich Accidie, as seith
Seint John.
Now comth Slouthe, that wol nat suffre noon hardnesse ne
no penaunce. For soothly, Slouthe is so tendre and so delicaat,
as seith Salomon, that he wol nat suffre noon hardnesse ne
penaunce, and therfore he shendeth al that he dooth.
Agayns
this roten-herted synne of Accidie and Slouthe sholde men
exercise hemself to doon goode werkes, and manly and vertuously
cacchen corage wel to doon, thynkynge that oure Lord Jhesu Crist
quiteth every good dede, be it never so lite.
Usage
of labour is a greet thyng, for it maketh, as seith Seint
Bernard, the laborer to have stronge armes and harde synwes; and
slouthe maketh hem feble and tendre.
Thanne comth drede to
bigynne to werke anye goode werkes. For certes, he that is
enclyned to synne, hym thynketh it is so greet an emprise for to
undertake to doon werkes of goodnesse,
and casteth in his
herte that the circumstaunces of goodnesse been so grevouse and
so chargeaunt for to suffre, that he dar nat undertake to do
werkes of goodnesse, as seith Seint Gregorie.
Now comth wanhope, that is despeir of the mercy of God,
that comth somtyme of to muche outrageous sorwe, and somtyme of
to muche drede, ymaginynge that he hath doon so muche synne that
it wol nat availlen hym, though he wolde repenten hym and forsake
synne,
thurgh which despeir or drede he abaundoneth al his
herte to every maner synne, as seith Seint Augustin.
Which dampnable synne, if that it continue unto his ende,
it is cleped synnyng in the Hooly Goost.
This horrible synne
is so perilous that he that is despeired, ther nys no felonye ne
no synne that he douteth for to do, as shewed wel by Judas.
Certes, aboven alle synnes thanne is this synne moost
displesant to Crist, and moost adversarie.
Soothly, he that
despeireth hym is lyk the coward champioun recreant, that seith
"creant" withoute nede. Allas, allas, nedeles is he
recreant and nedelees despeired.
Certes,
the mercy of God is evere redy to the penitent, and is aboven
alle his werkes.
Allas, kan a man nat bithynke hym
on the gospel of Seint Luc, 15, where as Crist seith that "as
wel shal ther be joye in hevene upon a synful man that dooth
penitence, as upon nynty and nyne rightful men that neden no
penitence."
Looke forther, in the same gospel, the joye
and the feeste of the goode man that hadde lost his sone, whan
his sone with repentaunce was retourned to his fader.
Kan
they nat remembren hem eek that, as seith Seint Luc, 23, how that
the theef that was hanged bisyde Jhesu Crist seyde, "Lord,
remembre of me, whan thow comest into thy regne"?
"For sothe," seyde Crist, "I seye to thee, to-day
shaltow been with me in paradys."
Certes,
Allas, what nedeth man thanne to been despeired, sith that his mercy so redy is and large? Axe and have.
Thanne cometh sompnolence, that is sloggy slombrynge, which maketh a man be hevy and dul in body and in soule, and this synne comth of Slouthe.
And certes, the tyme that, by wey of resoun, men sholde nat slepe, that is by the morwe, but if ther were cause resonable.
For soothly, the morwe tyde is moost covenable a man to seye his preyeres, and for to thynken on God, and for to honoure God, and to yeven almesse to the povre that first cometh in the name of Crist.
Lo, what seith Salomon: "Whoso wolde by the morwe awaken and seke me, he shal fynde."
Thanne cometh necligence, or reccheleesnesse, that rekketh of no thyng. And how that ignoraunce be mooder of alle harm, certes, necligence is the norice.
Necligence ne dooth no fors, whan he shal doon a thyng, wheither he do it weel or baddely.
Of the remedie of thise two synnes, as seith the wise man,
that "He that dredeth God, he spareth nat to doon that him
oghte doon."
And he that loveth God, he wol doon
diligence to plese God by his werkes and abaundone hymself, with
al his myght, wel for to doon.
Thanne comth ydelnesse, that
is the yate of alle harmes. An ydel man is lyk to a place that
hath no walles; the develes may entre on every syde, or sheten
at hym at discovert, by temptacion on every syde.
This ydelnesse is the thurrok of alle wikked and vileyns
thoghtes, and of alle jangles, trufles, and of alle ordure.
Certes, the hevene is yeven to hem that wol labouren, and nat
to ydel folk. Eek David seith that "they ne been nat in the
labour of men, ne they shul nat been whipped with
men"—that is to seyn, in purgatorie.
Certes, thanne
semeth it they shul be tormented with the devel in helle, but if
they doon penitence.
Thanne comth the synne that men clepen tarditas,
as whan a man is to laterede or tariynge er he wole turne to God, and certes
that is a greet folie. He is lyk to hym that falleth in the dych and wol nat
arise.
And this vice comth of a fals hope, that he thynketh
that he shal lyve longe; but that hope faileth ful ofte.
Thanne comth lachesse; that is he that whan he
biginneth any good werk anon he shal forleten it and stynten, as
doon they that han any wight to governe and ne taken of hym
namoore kep anon as they fynden any contrarie or any anoy.
Thise been the newe sheepherdes that leten hir sheep wityngly
go renne to the wolf that is in the breres, or do no fors of hir
owene governaunce.
Of this comth poverte and destruccioun,
bothe of spiritueel and temporeel thynges. Thanne comth a manere
cooldnesse, that freseth al the herte of a man.
Thanne comth
undevocioun, thurgh which a man is so blent, as seith Seint
Bernard, and hath swich langour in soule that he may neither rede
ne singe in hooly chirche, ne heere ne thynke of no devocioun,
ne travaille with his handes in no good werk, that it nys hym
unsavory and al apalled.
Thanne wexeth he slough and slombry,
and soone wol be wrooth, and soone is enclyned to hate and to
envye.
Thanne comth the synne of worldly sorwe, swich
as is cleped tristicia, that sleeth man, as
seith Seint Paul.
For certes, swich sorwe werketh to the
deeth of the soule and of the body also; for therof comth that
a man is anoyed of his owene lif.
Wherfore swich sorwe
shorteth ful ofte the lif of man, er that his tyme be come by wey
of kynde.
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