syn so ofte tyme as doth an hound / that retornyth to ete
his spewynge /
65
And ȝit been ȝe more foulere ; for ȝore lō-
ge contynuȳge therin / & ȝoure synful vsage / for whi-
che ȝe been rotyn in ȝoure sȳne / as beste in his dūge
Sweche manere of thoughtis makyn a man to haue
schame of hise synnys / & no delit / As god seyth by the
prophete Ezechiel /
ȝe schal remēbre ȝow of ȝoure wei-
is / And thi schul displese ȝow sothly / Sȳnys been the
weyis that ledȳ folk to helle ~
The secunde cause that oughte to meue a mā
to haue disdeyn of sȳne ; is this / as seith seīt
Petyr / who so that doth sȳne is thral of
sȳne / & sȳne puttyth a man in gret thraldam /
And ther-
fore seyth the prophete Ezechiel / I wente sorweful in dis-
deyn of myn self ¶ Certis weel ouȝte a man / haue dis-
dayn of sȳne / & wt drawȳ hȳ frō that thraldam & vile-
nye /
70
And lo what seyth Seneca / in this mater he seith
thus ¶ Thow I wiste that god / neythir god ne man
ne schulde neuere knowe it / ȝit wolde I haue disdayn
for to do sȳne /
And the same Seneca also seyth / I am
born to grettere thȳgis / thā to ben thral to mȳ bo-
dy . or than for to makyn of mȳ body a thral /
ne
a foulere thral may no man makē of his body ; thā
for to ȝeuȳ his body to sȳne /
Al were it the fouleste
cherl or the fouleste woman / that leuyth & lest
of walew / ȝit is he thāne more foul & moore in
seruitute /
euere frō the heyere degre that man fal-
lyth ; the more is he thral / & the moore to god & to
the world vile & abomȳnable
75
¶ O goode god wel
oughte man haue greet disdeyn of synne / sythe that
thorw sȳne / there he was fre / now is he makid bō-
de /
And therfore seyth seynt Augustyn ¶ If thow
haue disdayn of thȳ seruaū / ȝif he haue gilt or sȳne
haue thow thāne disdayn / that thow thȳ self schul-
dyst doon sȳne /
take reward of thȳ value / that
thow ne be to foul to thȳ self /
Also weel auȝte
they thāne haue disdayn / to been seruaūtys & thral-
les to sȳne & soore been a schamyd / of hē self /
that
god of his endeles goodnesse / hat set hem in high estat
or ȝeuȳ hem wit strenthe / hele of body / beute prosper-
ite /