lawe telliþ; and it sufficide to pore folk to offre a peire of turturis, or two dowve briddis, for þe child þat was born. And so we mai not denye þat ne Crist and his eldris weren pore folk, for þei chosen þe secounde.
And þer was a man in Jerusalem þat was clepid Symeon; and þis was a just man, and hadde drede of Goddis lawe. And þis man abood conforting of Israel; and þe Holi Goost was in þis Symeon. And þis man hadde answere of þe Holi Goost þat he shulde not se deþ, but ȝif he saw first Crist. And he cam into þe temple bi leding of þe Holi Goost. And whanne þei brouȝten þe child Jesus, his eldris, into þe temple, þat þei shulden do after þe custom of þe [So E; om. A.] lawe for him, Symeon toke him in his armes, and blessid God, and seide: Now, Lord, þou levest þi servaunt after þi word in pees, for myn iȝen han seen Crist, þat is helþe to þe world. And he is þi owne Sone, þe same God þat þou art. And his helþe þou hast ordeyned bifore þe face of al manere peple, to be liȝt to shewing of folk, and glorie to þi folk of Israel.
To þis feeste of oure Ladi answeriþ þe fourþe vertue, þat is, hope of hevenli blisse. And it was fulli in hir; for, as bileve lastide in hir whanne it failide in apostlis, so she hopide ever more þat she shulde come to blisse of hevene. For siþ she trowide þat hir Sone shulde rise fro deeþ to lyve, and how and whanne he shulde rise, as God himsilf hadde tauȝt hir, how myȝte þis Ladi myshope þat ne she shulde come to hevene? In þis we shulden sue þis Ladi, and þenke ever on hevenli blisse, and traveile þerfore, niȝt and dai, in hope for to gete þis blisse; and what woo þat we have here, take it in ful pacience, for þe joie þat we hopen to gete in þe blisse of hevene. Lord! siþ a tiliyng man hopiþ ofte to have his fruyt, how moche more shulden we have hope to come to blisse of hevene. And þis hope is of þis kynde, þat it mote be con|tynuel, and ever more meritorie, to large a mannis blisse in heven. It makiþ a man mery and glad, and suffre al þat falliþ to him; for it is groundid in riȝt bileue þat God doiþ al for þe beste. No man failiþ þis hope [in þis hope, E.] but if he synne on oþer syde; and algatis but if he forȝete to þenke on hevenli blisse. Men
