Hic Remedium contra Ire peccatum desinit & tractus Accidie Incipit.
[677]
After the synnes of Envye and Ire / now woll I speke of the synne of Accidie / for Envye blyndeth þe hert of man / and Ire troubleth a man / and Accidie maketh hym hevy / þoughtfull and wrawe [678] Envye and Ire maken bitternesse in hert/ which bitternesse is moder of Accidie/and benymmeth/hym þe loue of all godenesse / Than is Accidie the Angwyssh of troubled hert / And seint Austyn seith it is anoye of godenesse / and anoye of harme [679] Certes this is a dampnable synne for it doth wrong to Ihesu Crist/ in asmoch as it benymmeth the seruice / þat men doon to Crist / with all diligence As seith Salamon / [680] But Accidie doth no soch diligence / he doth all thyng with anoye / and with wrawenesse / slaknesse and excusacion / and with ydelnesse and vnlust/ for which the boke seith A-cursed be he / that doth þe ser|uice of god necligently / [681] þan is Accidie enemye [Eg. 2726 folio 258b] To euery astate of man / for certes the *. [blotch in MS.] man / is in .iij. maners [682] The first astate that is is the astate of Innocence / as was the state of Adam byfore þat he fell in-to synne / in which astate / he was holden to werche as in heryng and adhouryng of god / [683] Another astate is the astate of synfull men/in which astate/men ben holden Page 639 [6-text p 646] to labour in praying to god / for amendement of her synnes / and þat he woll graunt hem / to rise out of her synnes / [684] Another estate is / thestate of grace / in which astate / he is hold to do werkes of Penitence / And certes to all thise thynges / is Accidie enemye and con|trarie / for he loueth no besynesse at all/ [685] Now certes þis foule synne Accidye is eke a full grete enemye / to þe lyflode of þe body for it ne hath / no purveaunce ayeinst temporell necessitee / for it forsleutheth and for|sluggeth and destroyeth all godes temporels by rechelesnesse
[686] The .iiijth thyng is þat Accidie*. [[The MS. repeats þat Accidie]] / is like hem þat ben in þe peyne of hell / by cause of her sleuth / and of her hevynesse / for þey þat ben Dampned ben so bound / þat þey mow neither wele do / ne wele þynk [687] Of Accidie comth first / þat a man is anoyed / and encombred for to do ony godenesse / and maketh þat god hath abhominacon of soch Accidie /
[688] Now comth Slouth þat woll nat suffre noon Hardnesse / ne no penaunce for sothly Slouth is so tender and so delicate / as seith Salamon / þat he woll nat suffre noon Hardnesse ne penaunce / and þerfore he shendeth all þat he doth [689] Ayeinst þis roten and hurted synne of Accidie and slouth shold men exercise hem self/andvse hem self/to do godewerkes and manly and vertuously / cacchen corage well to doo / thynk|yng þat our lord Ihesu Cryst qwyteth euery gode dede/ be it neuer so litle / [690] vsage of labour is a grete thyng/ for it maketh/ as seith Seint Bernard / the laborer to have strong Armes / and harde senewes / And slouth maketh hym feble and tendre [691] Than comth drede to begynne to werke ony gode werkes / for certes / he that is enclyned to synne / hym thynketh it is so grete an emprise / for to vndertake to do werkes of godenes / [692] and casteth in his hert / þat þe Page 640 [6-text p 647] circumstaunces of godenesse ben so greuous / and so chargeant for to suffre / þat he dare nat vndertake / to do werkes of godenesse / as seith Seint Gregorie /
[693] Now comth wanhope þat is dispeire of the mercy of god þat comth somtyme of to moch out|rageous sorow / and som tyme of to moch drede / ymagen|yng þat he hath doon so moch synne / þat it wold nat availl/ þough he wold repent hym and forsake synne / [694] thurgh which Dispeire or drede he haboundeneth all his hert/to euery maner synne/ as seith Seint Austyn / [695] which dampnable synne / yf þat it contynue vn-to his lyves ende / it is cleped synne in the hooly goost / [696] This horrible synne is so perlious / þat he þat is dispeired / þere nys no felonye ne no synne / þat he douteth for to doo. [Eg. 2726 folio 259a] As shewed wele by Iudas / [697] Ce[ink gone]ve all synnes / þan is this synne most displesant to Crist/ and moost [aduer]sarie / [698] Certes he that dispeyreth hym is like the Coward Champion/ recreant/ þat seith creaunt withouten nede Allas Allas nedeles is he recreaunt/ and nedeles dispeirant / [699] Certes þe mercy of god is euer redy / to the penitent / and is aboven all his werkes / [700] Allas can nat a man bethynk hym / on the gospell of Seint Luke .15. where as Crist seith/ þat aswele shall there be ioye in heven / vp-on a synfull man þat doth Penitence / þan vp-on .90. and .9. rightfull men / þat . .*. [no gap in the MS.] neden no Penitence / [701] loke ferther in the same gospell/ þe ioye and the feest / of þe gode man / þat hade lost his son / whan his son with repentaunce was retourned to his fader/ [702] kan they nat eke remembre hem / þat as seith Seint luke 23o. how þat þe theef þat was hanged beside Ihesu Crist/ seid lord remember the of me / whan þou comst in-to thy reigne / [703] forsoth seid Crist/ I sey to þe to day / shalt þou be with me in paradys / [704] Certes þere is noon so horrible a synne of Page 641 [6-text p 648] man / þat it ne may in his lyf / be destroyed by penitence / þurgh vertue of the passion / and of þe deth of Crist/ [705] Allas what nedeth man þan / to be dispeyred / seth þat his mercy so redy is / and large / axe and haue / [706] Than comth Sompnolence / þat is sluggy slombryng/ which maketh a man be hevy / and dulle in body and soule / and þis synne comth of slouth / [707] and certes the tyme / þat by weye of reson / man shold nat slepe / þat is by þe morow but yf there were cause resonable / [708] for sothly in the morowtide / is most couenable / a man to seye his prayers / and for to thynk on god / and to honour god / and to yeve almesse to the pore / þat first comth in þe name of Crist/ [709] loo what seith Salamon / who-so woll by þe morow awake and seke me he shall fynde me [710] Than comth Necligence / or Rechelesnesse þat rekketh of no thing/ And how þat ignoraunce is moder of all harme Certes Necligence is the Norice / [711] Necligence ne doth no force / whan he shall do a thyng / whether he do it wele or badly
[712] Of Remedie of þise two synnes / as seith þe wise man / þat he þat dredeth god / he spareth nat to do / þat hym ought to do / [713] And he that loueth god / he woll do dyligence to please god / by his werkes / and abunden hym self/ with all his myght wele for to doo / [714] Than comth Ydelnesse / þat is þe yate of all harmes An ydell man is like a place / þat hath no walles / þere as deuels now entren on euery side / or shete at hym / at discouert by temptacon on euery side / [715] This ydelnesse is þe thurrok / of all wikked and veleyns thoughtes / and of all iangles / trifles / and of all ordre / [716] Certes þe heven is yeven to hem / þat woll labouren and nat to ydle folk / Eke Dauid seith / þey ne be nat in the labour of men / ne they ne shull nat ben whipped with men / þat is to sey in Purgatorie Page 642 [6-text p 649] [717] Certes þan semeth it that they shull ben turmented with the devill in hell / but yf þey [Eg. 2726 folio 259b] Do Penitence
[718] Than comth the Synne þat men clepen Traditas / as whan a man is to latered or tariyng/ or he woll turne to god / and certes þat is a grete folye / he is like hym / þat falleth in þe dyche / and woll nat arise / [719] and this vice comth of fals hope þat he thynketh / þat he shall lyve long / but þat hope fayleth full ofte
[720] Than comth Lacchesse / þat is he / þat whan he begynneth ony gode werk/ anone he shall forlete it/ and stynt/ as don þey / þat han ony wyght / to gouerne and ne taken of hem no more kepe / anone as they fynden / ony contrarie / or ony anoye [721] Thise ben þe new Sheperdes / þat leten her shepe wetyngly go renne / to þe wolf / þat is in the breres / or do no force of her owen gouernaunce / [722] Of this comth Pouertee and destruccion / both of spirituell / and temperell thynges Than comth a maner coldenesse / þat fressheth at þe hert of man [723] Than comth vndeuocion / thurgh which a man is blent/ as seith Seint Barnard / and hath soch langour in soule / þat he may neither rede ne syng in holy chirche / ne here ne thynk of no deuocion ne travaill with his hondes in no gode werke / þat it nys to hym vnsauerie / and all appalled [724] þan wexeth he slowe / and slombrye / and sone wold he wroth and sone is enclyned to hate / and to envye [725] Than comth the synne of worldly sorow / soch as is cleped Tristicia þat sleeth man / as seith seint Poule / [726] ffor certes soch sorow werketh to the deth of þe soule / and of the body / Also ferther / of þat comth / þat a man is anoyed of his owen lyf / [727] Wherfore soch sorow shorteth full ofte the lyf of man / or þat his tyme be com / by weye of kynde /.
