Companion to the English prose works of Richard Rolle : a selection / from the edition by Carl Horstman.

A ¶ How eche man sholde desyre to loue god.

AMonge all creatures that euer god of his endeles myght made / was there none þat he so loued as he dyd mankynde / whom he made [to reioyce] euerlastynge blysse in stede of aungels / whiche dyd fal from blysse downe in to helle. But that good god loued so man / that for as moche as man had forfeyted that blysse thorugh synne of Adam / he of his plenteuous charyte became man / to bye body and soule that was lost. In what maner he bought vs / euery crysten man knoweth or sholde knowe: / that no lasse pryce / but suffred his owne precyous body to be all to-rente with bytter paynes of scorgynge. He suffred also a garlonde of sharpe thornes pressyd to his heed / whiche percyd so the veynes that the blood ran doune in to his eyen / nose / mouth & eeres. Afterwarde vpon the crosse his bones were drawe out of Ioynte / the veynes & the senewes were borsten for strayte drawynge / to þe crosse he was nayled honde & foot / and so fayled the blood of kynd with bytter paynes of deth. He betoke his spyryte to the fader of heuen / and than suffred at the last his gloryous herte to be thorugh-percyd with a sharpe spere for to gyue his herte-blood to bye man body and soule into Ioye without ende. ¶ Yf god of his grete goodnes loued thus man, gyuynge hym ouer this wytte and reason and all other thynge that hym nedeth: / kyndely a man sholde nyght and daye with all his wyttes loue hym, and feruentely desyre to conne loue suche a good god that all thynge made, all thynge gyueth and susteyneth. Of this desyre there ben many, men and women, whiche haue full grete lykynge to speke of the loue of god / and all daye

askyne how they sholde loue god & in what maner they sholde l[y]ue to his pleasaunce for his endeles goodnes. To suche men & women, of that good wyll and [of] thatholy desyre, I wyll shewe fyrste of holy men before this tyme how feruent some were in the loue of god, Also in how hyghe a degree some were vysyted in þe swetenes [of þe loue] of cryst. But it may be so that it is full harde for the more partye of men & women to come to so hyghe a degree of loue / therfore after the shewynge of suche hyghe degrees of loue somwhat I wyll wryte to other of symple knowynge how they sholde loue god / as that gracyous god wyll gyue me grace.