The donet, by Reginald Pecock. Now first edited from MS. Bodl. 916 and collated with The poore mennis myrrour (British Museum, Addl. 37788) by Elsie Vaughan Hitchcock.

EDITOR'S SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

The purpose of the Donet and the Folewer is to act as the comple∣ment and summary of the Reule of Cristen Religioun, and as a guide to the SEVEN MATTERS [See p. 27.]	1-2
The plan and contents of the Donet	2-3
The meaning of the title 'Donet'	3
Where the reasons for writing in English may be found	3
Apology for any error or heresy, and discussion of the grounds upon which authors should be judged	3-5
Pecock's difficulties and aims	5
Purpose of the 'litil book declarative'	6
Pecock's denunciation of pirated copies of such of his books as had not received his final corrections	6-7
Evidence that even great men err, and a request for just dealing	7-8

PART I

CHAP. I

Of the soul and its properties	8
The difference between a man's soul and a beast's soul	8-9
The office of the five outward bodily Wits: Seeing, Hearing, Smell∣ing, Tasting, Touching	9
The office of the five inward bodily Wits: Common Wit, Imagina∣tion, Fantasy, Estimation, Mind	9-11
The positions of these Wits	11
The difference between man and beast is that, while both possess the outward and inward bodily Wits, only man possesses Reason and Free Will	11-12
The office of Reason: the two senses in which the term 'Reason' may be taken	12
The office of Free Will: the two senses in which the term 'Free Will' may be taken	12-13
The immortality of Reason and Free Will, and the mortality of the outward and inward bodily Wits	13-14
The 'appetites' of the ten Wits	14
Free Will the 'appetite' of Reason	14

CHAP. II

The purpose for which man was created	14
That it is all the same to live: (1) morally virtuously; (2) accord∣ing to the law of God; (3) according to the commandments and counsels of Reason and of Faith allowable by Reason	14-16
The sense in which Love may be said to comprise all other moral virtuous deeds or the whole duty of man	16-17

Explanation of certain terms: charity, moral virtue, habitual charity, moral virtuous thing, moral virtuous deed, moral charitative deed, morally good thing	17-19
The inadequacy of Moses' Tables	19-21

CHAP. III

THE FOURTH MATTER

God's commandments: our duty towards God, ourselves, and our neighbour	21-22
The arrangement of the Thirty-one Points of 'meenal' and 'eendal' moral virtue under Pecock's Four Tables.	22-24
The justice of this classification; the Four Tables come to the same thing as the two tables of Christ and the one table of St. Paul.	24-26

CHAPS. IV TO IX

PECOCK'S FOUR TABLES

CHAP. IV

THE EIGHT 'MEENAL' MORAL VIRTUES OF THE FIRST TABLE

(1) To live leernyngly	27-28
(2) To live preisingly	28-29
(3) To live dispreisingly	29-30
(4) To live preiyngli	30-31
(5) To live þankingly	31-32
(6) To live worschipingly	32
(7) To live disworschipingli	32-33
(8) To live sacramentaly: Baptism; the Eucharist	33-36

CHAP. V

THE SEVEN 'EENDAL' MORAL VIRTUES TOWARDS GOD OF THE SECOND TABLE

(1) To live to God goostly	36-37
(2) To live to God obediently	37-38
(3) To live to God riȝtfulli or justly	38-39
(4) To live to God mekely	39-40
(5) To live to God trewly	40
(6) To live to God benyngnely	40-41
(7) To live to God largely	41

CHAPS. VI-VIII

THE EIGHT 'EENDAL' MORAL VIRTUES TOWARDS ONESELF OF THE THIRD TABLE

(1) To live to oneself goostly	42
(2) To live to oneself fleischely	42-43
(3) To live to oneself worldly	43-47
Reasonable fleischlihode and worldlihode are virtues	43-44
Difference between reasonable fleischlihode and clennes, and between reasonable worldlihode and honeste	45
Man's need of God's grace. How to obtain it.	45-47

(4) To live to oneself clenly in (a) nuryschi	47-48
To live to oneself clenly in (b) gendring	8-50
(5) To live to oneself honestly	50-55
(6) To live to oneself paciently	56-57
(7) To live to oneself douȝtily	57-60
(8) To live to oneself largely	60

CHAP. IX

THE EIGHT 'EENDAL' MORAL VIRTUES TOWARDS OUR NEIGHBOUR OF THE FOURTH TABLE

(1) To live to our neighbour goostly	60-61
(2) To live to our neighbour altendauntly	61-62
(3) To live to our neighbour riȝtwisly or justli	62-64
(4) To live to our neighbour mekely	65
(5) To live to our neighbour accordingli	65
(6) To live to our neighbour treuli	65-66
(7) To live to our neighbour benyngnely	66
(8) To live to our neighbour largely	66-67

CHAP. X

The relationship of Righteousness to the moral virtues of the Fourth Table	67
The difference between Patience and Benignity	68
The sin of Usury	68-69
The sin of Simony	69-70

CHAP. XI

The seven relationships of 'Attendaunce' of superiors towards inferiors

70-74

CHAP. XII

The same subject	74-76
The corresponding relationships of inferiors towards superiors	76-78
The three vows of the monastic life	78-79
Where teaching on witchcraft may be found	79

CHAP. XIII

Of the sufficient knowledge of moral vices through the Four Tables of moral virtues	79-80
Of the sufficient knowledge of God's commandments through the Four Tables of moral virtues	80-81
Pecock's excuse for setting so high a value on his Four Tables	81-83
Where the authority for the Four Tables in Holy Scripture is to be found	83-84

CHAP. XIV

THE FIRST MATTER: What God is in Himself

84-86

CHAP. XV

THE SECOND MATTER: God's benefits, under-gracious and gracious

86-90

CHAP. XVI

The same subject: God's benefits, glorious	90-92
THE THIRD MATTER: God's punishments	92-93

CHAP. XVII

THE FIFTH MATTER: Our natural wretchednesses

93-96

CHAP. XVIII

THE SIXTH MATTER: Our natural wickednesses	96-97
THE SEVENTH MATTER: Remedies against our natural wretchednesses and wickednesses	97-100
Where it is shown how the Law of God contains the Seven Matters, and yet is one of the Seven	101

PART II

CHAP. I

Request for information as to whereabouts in Part I certain teach∣ing may be found	102
The Twelve Articles of the Creed	103-104
The question as to whether the apostles made the so-called 'Apostles' Creed', or no	104
The Seven Deadly Sins	104-105
Fuller teaching on Sloth	105-107
The five outward Wits and the five inward Wits	107-108
The Seven Bodily Works of Mercy and the Seven Ghostly Works of Mercy	108
Faith, Hope, and Charity	108-109

CHAP. II

The four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Temperance, Ghostly Strength, and Righteousness	109-110
Of the sense in which intellectual or 'knowyngal' virtues, such as Faith and Prudence, are included in the Four Tables of moral virtues	110-111
The Points of the Tables to which belong the learning and practice of a craft or profession	111-113
How Christ's teaching that to love God is the first commandment may be reconciled with Pecock's teaching that to live leernyngly is the first commandment	113
Of the two kinds of Love: the moral virtue and the passion	114

CHAP. III

The Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost	114-117
Teaching on the Sacraments, on obedience to the rebukes of the priest, and on absolution, contained in Pecock's Tables, but not in Moses' Tables	117-119

CHAP. IV

Of the manner in which the Ten Commandments are contained in Pecock's Four Tables	119 ff.
The First [The Anglican First and Second.] Commandment: the use and abuse of Images	119-122
The measure of our love towards God	122-123

CHAP. V

Further teaching on Images

123-126

CHAP. VI

The Second [The Anglican Third.] Commandment: vain swearing and forswearing	126-128
The Third [The Anglican Fourth.] Commandment: discussion as to the alleged correspon∣dence of the Jewish Sabbath and the Christian Sunday	128-133
The Fourth [The Anglican Fifth.] Commandment: the bearing of the child towards his parents	133-134
The remaining six [Five in the Anglican reckoning, in which Pecock's Ninth and Tenth are combined as the Tenth.] commandments: the duty of Righteousness towards our neighbour	134
The use of the Four Tables in explaining the Ten Commandments	134-135
Pecock requests toleration of his arguments against the Ten Com∣mandments	135
Of the inadequacy of Moses' Tables to comprise all God's law for Christians, since they did not do so for the Jews	135

CHAP. VII

The Ten Commandments do not comprise all God's law: Maiming, Beating, and Fornication are not forbidden;	136-138
Gluttony is not forbidden;	138
the preaching and teaching of the priest is not bidden;	138
neither are any of the relationships of the superior to the inferior bidden;	138
belief in the mysteries of the Trinity, &c., is not bidden;	139
neither are the Sacraments bidden;	139-140
nor Repentance bidden	140
Doctors cannot prove that God intended the Ten Commandments to comprise all His law	140-142

CHAP. VIII

The inadequacy of the Ten Commandments further discussed: they do not teach God's laws clearly and sufficiently	142-145
The clearness and comprehensiveness of the Four Tables	145

CHAP. IX

The inadequacy of the Ten Commandments continued: even if their teaching is augmented by the teaching of the Seven Deadly Sins, the Seven Works of Mercy, &c., all God's law is not covered	145-147
The comprehensiveness of Pecock's Four Tables
Proofs that the Third [The Anglican Fourth.] Commandment does not apply to Christians.	148-153

CHAP. X

The same subject	154-156
The Third [The Anglican Fourth.] Commandment is forbidden to Christians	156
Of the arrangement and numbering of the Commandments in Moses' Tables	157-158

CHAP. XI

The reason why God gave the Ten Commandments to the Jews was that they might serve as a guide to the fuller understanding of His law	158-159
Pecock's desire to turn the people from their adherence to the Ten Commandments, and to teach them his Four Tables	160-161

CHAP. XII

Of Christ's commandments to the rich man	162-163
And to the lawyer	163-164

CHAP. XIII

Charity does not comprise all the commandments of God	164-166
The sense in which all moral virtuous deeds may be said to depend upon Charity	166-171

CHAP. XIV?

Concerning the reading of the Bible in the native tongue

172

CHAP. XV?

Of the nature of sin	172-175
Of the reason for the slavish adherence to the Ten Commandments, and for the slighting of the Four Tables	175-176
Of the impossibility of teaching in the Donet the foundation of the Four Tables in Holy Scripture, and directions as to where this matter may be found	176-177

CHAP. XVI?

Of the sense in which God's forbiddings are taught in the Four Tables by the teaching of His biddings	177-181
The distinction between moral vices opposed privatively to moral virtues, and moral vices strictly contrary to moral virtues	181-183

CHAP. XVII?

The difference between a law of God, i. e. a moral virtue or a moral virtuous deed, and the circumstances of a law of God	183-185
The position in the Four Tables of oaths and vows as circumstances of moral virtuous deeds or moral vicious deeds	185-187
Of the loose use of the terms 'oath' and 'vow' to signify a deed of affirming, denying, or promising, with its circumstances	187

CHAP. XVIII?

Of necessary and unnecessary circumstances to a moral virtuous deed	188
Of oaths and vows necessary and unnecessary	188
Of forswearing and vain swearing towards God	189-190
And towards our neighbour	190-191

CHAP. XIX

Of the moral virtues of the Four Tables as commandments or as counsels	191-192
Of degrees of sin and degrees of punishment	192-195
Moral virtues of counsel other than the three great Counsels of Chastity, Voluntary Poverty, and Obedience of one man to another	195-196

CHAP. XX

The three meanings of the term 'law of God'	196-200
The necessity of knowing all the Seven Matters [See above, p. xxvi, footnote 1.]	200-202

CHAP. XXI

Forms of praising	202-203
Forms of praying	203-205
The course to be followed in outward praising and prayer	205-207

CHAP. XXII

The course to be followed in inward praising and prayer

207-212

CHAP. XXIII

The advantages of silent meditation over outward praising and prayer	212-213
The strength given by meditation	213-214
The need of apportioning a certain time for worship every day, and of devoting the rest of the day to labour	214
The benefits arising from daily worship	214