The Psalter, or Psalms of David and certain canticles / with a translation and exposition in English by Richard Rolle of Hampole ; ed. from manuscripts by the Rev. H. R. Bramley ... With an introduction and glossary.

PROLOGUE. [Here bigynnes the prolouge of this boke [S.] .]

Grete haboundance of gastly comfort and ioy in god comes in the hertes of thaim at says or synges deuotly the psalmes in louynge of ihū crist. thai drope swetnes in mannys saule and hellis delite in thaire thoghtis and kyndils thaire willes with the fyre of luf; makand thaim hate. and brennand withinen. & faire and lufly in cristis [U cristi. S cristes.] eghen. And thaim that lastes in thaire deuocioun; thai rays thaim in til contemplatyf lyf. & oft sith in til soun & myrth of heuen. the sange of psalmes chases fendis. excites aungels til oure help. it does away synne. it quemes god. it enformes perfytnes. it dosaway & distroys noy and angire. of saule. & 'makes pees itwix body & saule. it [S om. 'makes—it'.] ' bryngs desire of heuen. & despite of erthly thynge. Sothly this shynand boke is a chosen sange byfor god. als laumpe lyghtnand oure lyf. hele of a seke hert. huny til a bittire saule. Dignyte of gastly persons. tonge of priue vertus, the whilke heldes the proud til meknes. and kynges til pore men makes vndire|loute. fosterand barnes with hamlynes. In thaim is so mykill fayrhed of vndirstandynge. & medicyne of wordes. that this boke is cald garthen closed [S garth enclosede. L gardyn wel enseled.] , wel enseled. paradyse ful of all appils: now with halesome lare drouyd & stormy saules it [S. U om.] bryngis in til clere & pesful lyf. now amonestand to for do synne with teris. now hyghtand ioy til ryghtwismen, now manassand hell til wyckyd. The sange that delites the hertes [S hertis. U heres.] & lerese the saule is made a voice of syngand. and with aungels whaim we may noght here; we menge wordis of louynge. sa that worthily he may trow him. aliene fra verray lyf wha sa has noght. the dilatabilte of this gyft. O. wondirful suetnes, the whilk waxis noght soure. thurgh the corup|ciouns of this warld. bot ay lastand in the dignyte of it. in grace of purest softnes is waxand. All gladnes & delite of erth wanys. & at the last wytes til noght; bot it the langere tyme it has; the mare it is. & aldiremast agayns man ded, when luf is perfitest. ¶ This boke is cald the psautere. the whilk nam it has of an instrument of musyke that in ebru is nablum. in grek psautery of psallm. that in inglis is to touche. and it is of ten cordis. & gifes the soun fra the ouerere. thurgh touchynge of hend. Alswa this boke leres to kepe the ten comaundments. and to wyrk noght for erthly thynge.

bot fore heuen that is abouen. & swa we gif soun fra vpward at the touchynge of oure hend. when all that we wele doe is for goddis luf. Alswa this boke is distyngid. in thris fyfty psalmes, in the whilk thre statis of cristin mannys religion is sygnifyd. the first in penance. the tother in rightwisnes. the thrid in louynge of endles lyfe. the first fifty is endyd in Miserere mei deus. the tother in Misericordiam & iudicium cantabo. The thrid at omnis spiritus laudet dominum. This boke of all haly writ is mast oysed in halykyrke seruys, forthi that in it is perfeccioun of dyuyne pagyne. for it con|tenys all that other bokes draghes langly. that is, the lare of the ald testament. & of the new. Thare in is discryued the medes of goed men. the pynes of ill men. the disciplyne of penaunce. the waxynge in rightwise lif. the perfeccioun of haly men, the whilk passis til heuen. the lyf of actyf men. the meditacioun of contem|platifs. & the ioy of contemplacioun, the heghest that may be in man lifand in body & feland. Alswa what synne reues fra mannys saule & what penaunce restores. It is na ned to tell ilkan here, fore thurgh the grace of god thou sall fynd thaim oppynd in thaire stedis. This scripture is cald boke of ympnes of crist. ympne is louynge of god with sange. Til an ympne falles thre thyngs. louynge of god. ioiynge of hert or thoght. affectuouse thynkynge of goddis luf. Sange is a gret gladnes of thoght of lastand thynge & endles ioy. brestand in voice of louynge. wel than is it sayd boke of ympnes. for it leris vs to loue god with glad [S. U clad.] chere & myrth & softnes in saule. noght anly in hert bot alswa with voice louand, & kennand thaim that are vnconand. THE matere of this boke is crist & his spouse, that is, haly kyrke, or ilk ryghtwise mannys saule. the entent is; to confourme men that ere filyd in adam til crist in newnes of lyf. the maner of lare is swilke. vmstunt he spekis of crist in his godhed. vmstunt in his manhed. vmstunt in that at he oises the voice of his seruauntes. Alswa he spekis of haly kyrke in thre maners. vmwhile in the person of perfite men. somtyme of vnperfite men. som tyme of ill men, whilk er in halikyrke. by body noght by thoght; by name noght by ded, in noumbire noght in merit. In this werke .i. seke na straunge ynglis, bot lyghtest and comonest. and swilk that is mast lyke til the latyn. swa that thai that knawes noght latyn. by the ynglis may com til mony latyn wordis. In the translacioun .i. folow the lettere als mykyll as .i. may.

And thare. i. fynd na propire ynglis. i. folow the wit of the worde, swa that thai that sall red it thaim thare noght dred errynge. In expounynge. i. fologh haly doctours. for it may come in some enuyous man hand that knawes noght what he sould say, that will say that. i. wist noght what. i. sayd. and swa doe harme til hym. and til othere. if he dispise the werke that is profytabile for hym and othere.