doþt synne is þtra of synne and synne putteþt a man in gret þtraldom
And þerfore saiþ þe prophete Ezechieƚ I wente sorwful in desdeyn of myself
Certes wel aughte a man haue disdeyne of synne and wiþdrawe him
fro þat þraldom and vilenye
70
¶ And lo what saiþ Seneca in þis matier
he saiþ þus Though I wiste þat neyþer god ne mā ne schulde neuere kno-
wen it ; ȝet wolde I haue disdeyne for to do synne .
And þe same Sene-
ka seiþ ¶ I am born to grettere þinges þan to be þraƚƚ to my body .
More þralle may no man ne no wōman make of his body ; þan ȝeue
his body to synne
¶ And were it þe foulest cheerl or þe foulest wōmā
þat lyueþ and lest of value ȝet is he chaūged and most foule and
more in seruitute
euer fro þe heiher degre þat man falleþ þe more is
he þralle and more vnto god and to þe worlde vile and abhominable
75
¶ O goode god wel aughte men haue disdeyne of synne . seþþen þat þurgħ
synne þer he was free now is he maked bonde /
and þerfore seiþ seint ~
austyn ¶ If þou haue desdeigne of þy seruaūt if he agilt or synned . ha-
ue þou þanne disdeyne þat þou þi self schuldest do synne
Take reward
of þy value þat þou ne be to foul to þin value ne self
¶ Allas wel ough-
ten þey þanne haue disdeyn to be seruantz and þraƚƚ to synne and sore
ben aschamed of hemself
¶ Þat god of his endeles goodnesse haþ set
hem in heih astate or ȝeuen hem wiþ strengþe of body hele . beaute .
prosperite /
80
and bought hem fro þe deþ wiþ his herte blood þat þay so
vnkyndely aȝeins his gentilnesse quyten him so vileynesly to slaught er
of here owne soules
¶ O goode god ȝe wōmen þat ben of so gret beaute
Remembreth ȝou of þe prouerbe of Salamon ¶ He seiþ
he likeneþ a fair
wōman þat is a fool of hire body y like to a rynge of golde þat werith
in þe groyne of a sowe
¶ For rigħt as a sowe wroteþ in euery ordure
so wroteþ sche hire beaute in stynkynge ordure of synne
¶ The þrid-
de cause þat oughte to meuen a man to contricioū is drede of þe day
of doome and of þe horrible peynes of helle
85
¶ For as seint Ierom
saiþ ¶ At euery tyme þat me remembreþ of þe day of doome I quake .
For
whan I ete or drinke or do what so I do ; euere semeþ me þat þe trompe
sowneþ in mȳ ere .
Riseþ vp þat ben deede and comeþ to þe Iuggemēt
of goode god mechel aughte a man to drede such a Iuggemēt þere as
we schuln ben aƚƚ as seiþ seint Poule byfore þe strete of oure lord ihū
crist
wher as he schal maken a general congregacioū wher as no man
may ben absent
90
For certes þere ne auayleþ non essoyne ne excusacoū