The pricke of conscience (stimulus conscientiæ): a Northumbrian poem / by Richard Rolle de Hampole ; ed. Richard Morris.

                                
                                    O mors quam amara memoria
                                  
                                  Line 1932 
                                
                                    tua homini iniusto.
                                  
                                  "O þou grysely dede," says he,
                                
                                  "Ful bitter es þe mynde of þe,
                                
                                  Until þe synful man" namly,
                                  Line 1936 
                                
                                  Þat for his syn es paynworthy;
                                
                                  Þarfor me thynk he es unsleghe
                                
                                  Þat mas hym noght here redy to deghe;
                                
                                  For þe dede es privy and sodayne,
                                  Line 1940 
                                
                                  And þe tyme of his commyng uncertayne.
                                
                                  A man for certayne sal dighe at þe last,
                                
                                  For his lyf is noght bot als a wynd blast,
                                
                                  Bot he wayte never what tyme ne whan;
                                  Line 1944 
                                
                                  For swa certayne es here na man
                                
                                  Þat can þe tyme of þe dede forluke,
                                
                                  Forþi says Saynt Bernard in a boke:
                                
                                    Quid in rebus humanis cercius est
                                  
                                  Line 1948 
                                
                                    morte; quid incercius hora mortis invenitur.
                                  
                                  He says: "What es til man mare certayn
                                
                                  Þan þe dede es þat es swa sodayn;
                                
                                  And what es mare uncertayn thyng,
                                  Line 1952 
                                
                                  Þan es þe tyme of the dede commyng",
                                
                                  Alswa say nathyng þat may be [Als wha say na thyng that may be. (MS. Harl. 6923.)] ;
                                
                                  Þan may na man here þe dede fle.
                                
                                  Þarfor a man hym suld redy make,
                                  Line 1956 
                                
                                  Byfor ar þe dede com hym to take,
                                
                                  And put hym byfor and ded byhynde,
                                
                                  Swa þat ded may hym redy fynde;
                                
                                  Þarfor Saynt Austyn þe haly man
                                  Line 1960 
                                
                                  Says þus, als I shew yhow can:
                                
                                    Nescis qua hora veniat mors,
                                  
                                    semper vigila, ut, quod nescis quando
                                  
                                    veniat, paratum te inveniat
                                  
                                  Line 1964 
                                
                                    cum venerit, et adhoc forte
                                  
                                    nescis quando veniat, ut semper
                                  
                                    sis paratus.
                                  
                                  "Man þan knawes noght," says he,
                                  Line 1968 
                                
                                  "What tyme þe dedes comyng sal be;

About this Item

Title: The pricke of conscience (stimulus conscientiæ): a Northumbrian poem / by Richard Rolle de Hampole ; ed. Richard Morris.
Canvas: Page 54
Publication: Berlin :: Published for the Philological Society by A. Asher,; 1863.

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Collection: Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse
Link to this Item: https://name.umdl.umich.edu/bau1376.0001.001
Link to this scan: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/bau1376.0001.001/98:6

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Full citation: "The pricke of conscience (stimulus conscientiæ): a Northumbrian poem / by Richard Rolle de Hampole ; ed. Richard Morris." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/bau1376.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 16, 2025.

The pricke of conscience (stimulus conscientiæ): a Northumbrian poem / by Richard Rolle de Hampole ; ed. Richard Morris.

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