or for entysemeōt or for consentemeōt to bere companye with
felawes . For many a wrecche for to bere companye wol go to
þe deuel of helle .
for þay þat eggyn or consentyn to þe synne
895
¶ The fyfte is how many tymes þat he haþ synned if
it be in his mynde and how ofte þt he haþ falle .
For he þat
ofte fallith in synne despiseþ þe mercy of god and encresceth
his synne and is vnkynde to crist and he waxith þe more
feble to wiþstonde synne and synneth þe more lightly
and
þe latter arrisith and is þe more eschiewe to schriue him
and namely to him þat haþ ben his confessour .
For whiche
þat folk whan þay falle agayn in here olde folies eyther
þay forletin her confessours al vtterly or ellis þay departen
here schrifte in diuers places . but soþely such departed schrifte
haþ no mercy of god of his synnes
¶ The sixte cicumstaunce
is why þat a man synneþ as by which temptacioū or by
excityng of oþer folk or if he synne wiþ a wommā by force
or by hir owne assent .
900
or if þe wōman maugre hir heed haþ
ben enforced or noon . þis schal sche telle . or for coueytise or
for pouerte & if it was hire procuryng or noon and aƚƚ such
maner harneys
¶ The .vij. circūstaūce is in what maner he
haþ don his synne or how þat sche haþ suffred þat folk han
doon to hire .
þe same schal þe man telle pleynly aƚƚ þe cicum-
staunces . and wheþer he haue synned wiþ cōmune bordeal
wōman or noon .
or doon his synne in holy tyme or noon . in
fastyng tyme or noon . or biforn his schrifte of after his lat-
ter schrifte .
And haþ par aduenture broken his penaunce enioy-
ned þerfore . by whos help or by whos coūseil by sorcery or
by oþer craft al moste be told
905
¶ Alle þese þinges after þay
be grete or smale engreggen þe consciens of a man and eek
þe prest þat is þe iugge may þe better ben auysed of his iuge-
ment in ȝiuyng of þy penaunce and þat is after þy contricioū .
For vnderstonde wel þat after þe tyme þat a mā haþ defou-
led his baptisme by synne if he wol come to sauacioū þer
is noon oþer wey but penitence and schrifte of mouthe and
by satisfaccioū
and namely by þo tuo . if þer be a confessor
to which he may schryue him . and þe þridde if he haue lif
to parforme it .
þāne schal men loke it and considre þat if he