that is hir Iuge / shal be / with outen mercy to hem /. and they may nat
plese hym / ne noon of hise halwes /. ne they / ne may yeue no thyng for ~
hir raunsoū /.
ne they haue no voys / to speke to hym /. ne they may nat fle
fro peyne /. ne they haue no goodnesse in hem / that they mowe shewe to de-
liuere hem fro peyne
¶ And therfore seith Salomon ¶ The wikked man ~
dyeth / and whan he is deed . he shal haue noon hope / to escape fro peyne
¶ Who so thanne / wolde wel vnderstande the peynes / and bithynke hym
weel / that he hath deserued thilke peynes for his synnes / certes / he sholde
haue moore talent to siken and to wepe /. than for to syngen and to pleye /
155
For as that seith Salomon /. who so that hadde the science to knowe the pey-
nes that been establissed and ordeyned for synne / he wolde make sorwe /
Thilke science / as seith seint Augustyn / maketh man / to waymenten in his
herte
¶ The fourthe point that oghte maken a man to haue contricion / is
the sorweful remembraūce of the good / that he hath left to doon / heere in
erthe /. and eek the good that he hath lorn
¶ soothly / the goode werkes þt he
hath left /. outher they been / the goode werkes that he hath wroght. er he
fel / in to deedly synne /. or elles / the goode werkes that he wrogħte / while
he lay in synne
¶ soothly
/ the goode werkes that he dide
/ biforn that he
fil in synne
/ been al mortefied and astoned and dulled
/ by the ofte synnyng
160
The othere goode werkes that he wrogħte / whil he lay in deedly synne / þei
been outrely dede / as to the lyf pardurable in heuene
¶ Thanne thilke goode
werkes / that been mortefied by ofte synnyng. whiche goode werkes he
dide / whil he was in charitee /. ne mowe neuere quyken agayn / with outen
verray penitence /.
and ther of seith god / by the mouth of Ezechiel ¶ That if
the rigħtful man / returne agayn from his rightwisnesse / and werke wik-
kednesse / shal he lyue ;
nay /. for alle the goode werkes that he hath wroght
ne shul neuere been in remembraūce / for he shal dyen in his synne
¶ And vp
on thilke Chapitre
/ seith seint Gregorie thus
. That we shulle vnderston-
de this p
incipally
/.
165
that whan we doon deedly synne / it is for noght than-
ne to rehercen / or drawen in to memorie the goode werkes / that we han wroght
biforn
¶ For certes / in the werkynge of the deedly synne / ther is no trust to ~
no good werk that we han doon biforn /. that is for to seyn /. as for to haue ther
by the lyf pardurable / in heuene /.
but nathelees /. the goode werkes quyken agayn
and comen agayn / and helpen and auaillen / to haue the lyf pardurable in
heuene / whan we han contricioū /.
but soothly / the goode werkes that men
doon / whil they been in deedly synne / for as muche / as they were doon
in deedly synne . they may neuere quyke agayn /
For certes / thyng þt neuere
hadde lyf. may neuere quykene / and nathelees /. al be it that they ne a-
uaille noght. to han the lyf pardurable ./ yet auaillen they / to abregge of
the peyne of helle /. or elles / to geten temporal richesse ./
170
or elles / that god
wole / the rather enlumyne / and lightne the herte of the synful man / to
haue repentaūce /.
and eek they auaillen / for to vsen a man to doon goode
werkes / that the feend / haue the lasse power of his soule /.
And thus ~
the curteis lord Ihū crist. wole that no good werk be lost. for in som-
what it shal auaille /.
but for as muche / as the goode werkes that men
doon / whil they been in good lyf. been al mortefied / by synne folwynge .
and eek / sith that alle the goode werkes / that men doon / whil they been
in deedly synne / been outrely dede / for to haue the lyf pardurable /.