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

¶ The fourth chapytre.

ANd therfore sholde noo man care nor be heuy that he is so troubled more than an other. Syster alwaye whan I speke of a man in this wrytynge take it bothe for man and woman / for so it is ment in all suche wrytynge / for all is mankynde: and ferthermore as touchynge your troubles thynke in all your dyseases what troubles goddes seruauntes hath suffred and what paynes and turmentes they haue had here in this worlde in many sondry maners and ye shall fynde cause to suffre. Leo the pope sayth / it happeth somtyme that good and ryghtwyse soules be styred sharpely by the fende / & somtyme by theyr owne compleccyon to angers, troubles, dredes & suche other taryenges that it semeth to them theyr lyf a turment, in so moche that somtyme for very drede the[y] begyn to dyspayre bothe in lyfe of body and soule / thynkynge they be forsaken of god / whiche dooth it but to assaye and proue his chosen chyldren and frendes by suche temptacyons. For as I afore haue sayd at the begynnynge of this wrytyng, in lyke maner as fyre purgeth golde and as a knyghte is proued good and hardy by batayle: ryght so temptacyons and troubles purgeth a ryghtwyse soule; this is proued well by Toby / for the aungell Raphaell sayd this to hym: Toby for as moche as thou arte ryghtfull to god it is nedefull that temptacyon sholde preue thy wyll. And well it is knowen that sykenes falleth to a man after the dysposycyon of his compleccyon: So lyke wyse temptacyon, as Leo the pope sayth: The fende our ghostly enemy aspyeth in euery man what wyse he is dysposed by his compleccyon / and by that disposicyon he tempteth hym. For there as he fyndeth a man full of malencoly he tempteth hym moost with ghoostly temptacyons of Ire. But they that wyll attende to withstande it for the loue of god they must shape them to pacyence & saye with Iob: Sythen we haue receyued of god so grete benefaytes why sholde we not receyue and suffre dyseases. And thynke on the grete anguysshes, sorowes and dyseases that our lorde Ihesu cryste suffred hymselfe here in erth, And also suffred his blyssed moder to haue the same. And thynke that to suffre dysease pacyently is the waye to heuen-warde. And that ye may not in this frayle worlde be so free as an aungell that is confermed by grace / but whyle your body and soule be togyder in this lyf they must receyue troubles as well as eases. And thynke not that god hath forsaken

you: but mekely abyde the comforte of hym and without doubte whan it nedeth ye shal not fayle therof. But some men whan they haue drede of saluacyon or be tempted to dyspayre by vysyons or ghostly sterynges of theyr owne frayltye / they wene anone that they haue synned in the synne of the holy ghoost / and than the fende putteth in them that they may neuer be saued nor forgyuen of theyr trespaces. Thus speketh the fende within them, so ferynge s[um]e good creatures that they wene to goo out of theyr myndes. But [ye] that ben thus tempted answere the fende thus agayne that he is false and a lyer as his nature is to be. For the synne of the holy ghoost as clerkes sayth is infynyte without repentaunce. And that is whan a man wylfully by delyberacyon wyll neuer repente nor aske god mercy ne forgyuenes of his synnes / nor wyll be tourned / but wylfully departeth hym from the goodnes of god / and in [t]his wretchednes abydeth wylfully with full consent of wyll; he that doth thus synneth in the holy ghoost whiche may not be forgyuen here nor elles where / for he wyll not trust in the goodnes of the holy ghoost nor aske forgyuenes of his synnes, And therefore he that wyll noo mercy aske noo mercy shall haue / for his synnes be infynyte without repentaunce. But thoughe a man or a woman haue or fele all these vycyous sterynges and as many moo as ony herte can thynke ayenst theyr owne free wyll, and whan reason cometh to them they be sory therof & flee alwaye hastely to the mercy of god: it is to them but a preuynge or a clensynge of theyr synnes though they be neuer soo ofte in the nyght and the daye now vp now downe as wrestlers be / & thoughe ye haue ony tyme fall in ony synne ghoostly or flesshely & layne therin wylfully by delyberacyon and full content of herte: ye than ought to be sory and aske god forgyuenes with as grete contrycyon as god wyll gyue you grace / and than thynke fully the goodnes of the holy ghoost surmounteth all synnes that euer was done or euer shall be done / [for] though a man had synned in them all / as well in dede as thought / he beynge truly contryte & confessed mekynge hymselfe lowly to almyghty god and to his sacramentes of holy chyrche / doubte ye not he so askynge mercy shall haue full forgyuenes of all his synnes / for the mercy of god is so grete that it passeth all his werkes. And therfore thoughe ye somtyme here by spekynge or elles of wrytynge or redynge in bokes sharpe wordes and harde sentences: yet comforte your selfe and thynke well that all suche harde wordes be sayd and wryten to chastyse the synners and to withdrawe them from euyll / and also to pourge and pure goddes specyall louers as the metall is in the fyre afore rehersed / and in them god wyll make his hous. And wete it well many wordes that seme full harde be ment full tenderly whan they be well vnderstonde / and though some wordes be ment ryght hardely as the playne texte sheweth / yet sholde ye not take them to you-warde / but comforte your selfe and thynke that all those harde sentences shall be fulfylled in Iewes and sarasyns / for the crysten people that wyll be contryte & trust in goddes mercy or haue a wyl so for to do: they shal escape all perylles / so þat they shall not perysshe but be saued / where as the Iewes & sarasyns in theyr perylles shal vtterly persysshe to pardycyon / for they

haue not the strength of Baptym ne the precyous oyntement of crystes passyon / that sholde gyue to theyr soules lyf and helth. Of this [we] haue example & a grete fygure in holy wryte that where as Moyses ledde the chyldren of Israell ouer the reed see whiche were goddes people, Moyses wente before them and smote the water with his rodde and therwith the water parted & the chyldren of Israell wente ouer in suertye, And they of egypte that folowed perysshed & were drowned. By Moyses I vnderstonde our lorde Ihesu cryste / and by the yerde or rodde that departed þe water I vnderstonde his holy passyon / and by the chyldren of Israell that were not perysshed all crysten people: for ryght so our lorde Ihesu cryst came from his faders bosome to the see of trybulacyons & temptacyons to be our guyde & leder / he gooth before vs with his precyous passyon & smyteth awaye the perylles of our troublous temptacyons / so that we shall not perysshe / but it shall brynge vs to suertye of euerlastynge lyf; and therfore gyue we to hym thankynges, louynges & infynyte praysynges as the chyldren of Israell dyde. For thoughe a crysten man were neuer soo synfull thynkynge hymselfe þat he stode in the sentence of the hardest wordes that be wryten: yet sholde he trust faythfully in the mercy of god / for and he wyll forsake his synnes & tourne hym to good and vertuous lyf: he shall haue grace and forgyuenes / and the harde sharpe wordes of dampnacyon sholde tourne hym to mercy and saluacyon. For thus sayth our lord god in holy wryte by his prophete Ieremye: though I make grete thretes I shall repent me of my wordes yf my people wyll repent them of theyr synnes. O beholde the grete goodnes of our lorde / and how pyte alwaye constrayneth hym to mercy, worshyp and thankes be euer to his goodnes; he is so benygne and mercyfull to them that be repentaunt that he frely wyll chaunge his sentences from sharpe vengeaunce to forgyuenes / & of the paynes that they be worthy to suffre / gyue them alygeaunce or lyghter payne to suffre. He sayth also by the prophete I saye: I shall forgyue the synnes of euery man that with very true contrycyon wyll drawe hym to good and vertuous lyfe. And this grete mercy shewed our lorde openly vpon the Cyte of Niniue / and also by kynge Eȝechie. Therfore lette noo man dyspayre but alwaye trust fully to goddes mercy that so well can redresse our myscheues and tourne all our woo to wele / and our sorowe to Ioye. O thou gloryous [&] myghtyfull god that thus meruayllously werketh in thy creatures, it is to se that thy mercy is large and brode whiche maketh the to chaunge thy sentence that before was bothe thy wyll and worde / blessyd be thou good lorde in all thy vertues for thou canst / may / and wyll tourne and chaunge all our infyrmytees to our moost proufyte yf we wyll not flee from the / but tourne to thy goodnes and aske mercy. But for all this grete goodnes / god forbede that ony man sholde be the more bolder to synne, or wylfully and wyttyngly by delyberacyon sholde presume to falle to synne vpon trust of [his] mercy; and [for] our lorde is so mercyfull I surely trust that euery true courteys soule wyl be the more lothe to offende his goodnes. [But] as for you that be tempted ayenst your wyll / and wyll not for all the worlde dysplease god wylfully: but that ye be thus begyled and encombred by the fende with many paynefull thoughtes / be ye not afrayde of the fende nor of his fere-

full assawtes / for he is full sore dyscomforted whan that he seeth a man or a woman whiche he soo tempteth is not aferde of hym. Somtyme the fende cometh and tempteth a soule fyersly lyke a dragon / and somtyme he assaylleth hym lyke a rampynge lyon; but and yf a creature strength hymselfe saddely in the passyon of almyghty god / and arme hym with that holy passyon / a thousande suche fendes how someuer that they come shall haue noo more power ouer hym thenne hath as many flyes or gnattes. And therfore strength you all in god / and be not abasshed soo to strength and arme you in hym though ye be synfull / for he sayth hymselfe in the gospell he came for synners. And in an other place of the gospell he saythe that he came for mercy and not for noo vengeaunce / and to be our shelde and strength; and so lette vs humbly with a meke herte take hym. And yf ye fele ony dredes by ymagynacyon or temptacyon or for wordes that ye haue herde or redde in bookes by the whiche ye doubte of saluacyon / than thynke on the wordes that cryste hymselfe taught to a man that doubted / sayenge and askynge of our lorde who sholde be saued / for he thoughte it was to harde to hymselfe for to eschewe all the poyntes that ledde man to pardycyon. And our lorde badde hym for to saye Credo in deum patrem omnipotentem creatorem celi et terre, Et in iesum christum filium eius, Byleue sayd our lorde Ihesu that god the fader is almyghty and that no thynge to hym is impossyble but that he may forgyue all synnes and redresse all wronges and brynge the soules to his blysse. and thynke ferthermore that his myght and power may do all that his wysdome can / and his goodnes wyl / and therfore truste fully that by his goodnes he wyll saue you and brynge you to euerlastynge Ioye whan he seeth best tyme / for he hath bought you full dere with his precyous blode and paynefull deth. And I dare sauely saye that there is none so synfull a caytyf whiche is crystened or wolde be crystened this daye on the erthe all thoughe he were in the syght of god dampnable and in the syght of all creatures also, ye and yet were Iuged to be dampned by all scrypture, and he wolde forsake his synne and be contryte and aske god forgyuenes he sholde haue mercy and forgyuenes of hym / & yf it were so that he stode in that case or had a good mynde to stonde so in the tyme of deth he sholde be saued / the myght & mercy of god is so grete that it surmounteth all his lawes, Iugementes and scryptures. And so our lorde Ihesus sheweth vs by an example in the gospell of a woman that was founde in aduoutry and by Moyses lawe whiche was ordeyned by god þat she sholde be stoned to the deth: But the myght and the wysdome of that blessyd lorde god was soo gretely shewed to the pharyȝens whiche accused her that they so largely perceyued theyr synnes that they myght not for shame deme her but stale awaye out of the temple, And our lorde Ihesu wolde not deme her but of his gracyous mercy forgaue her all her synnes. And therfore be a man or woman neuer soo synfull and that they fele neuer soo many bodely and ghostly synnes alwaye rysynge and sterynge within them / they sholde neuer the rather dyspayre of the mercy of god / ne be dyscomforted. For there as moche synne is / there is shewed moche mercy and grace / and the goodnes of god is knowen by the forgyuenes of the synne whan a body turneth hym there-from and is very

contryte; but god forbede as I sayd before that ony creature be the more recheles or bolde to synne wylfully / for in so moche the mercy of god is so large we ought to be the more besy and dylygent to loue and prayse hym. Almyghty god werketh lyke a leche / for a leche suffreth somtyme the deed flesshe to growe on hym that he hath in cure / but afterwarde he taketh away the same and maketh the quycke flesshe to growe / and soo he heleth the pacyent. Ryght soo dooth our lorde Ihesu cryste maker of heuen and erth, suffreth somtyme a man or a woman to fall in deedly synne: but afterwarde of his grete mercy and pyte he putteth-to his hande of grace / for they that were deedly wounded thorough synne he heleth them and wassheth away theyr synnes with the water of his well of mercy / & maketh in them quycke vertues to growe wherby he gyueth to theym euerlastynge lyfe. Oure lorde god is also lyke a gardyner: for a gardyner suffreth somtyme wycked wedes to growe in his gardyn / and whan the erth thorugh moysture of rayne wexeth tender he taketh & pulleth awaye the wedes bothe rote & rynde. So in lyke wyse dooth our lorde Ihesu cryst, he suffreth somtyme in his gardyn whiche is mannes soule wycked dedes of synne to growe / but whan the herte of man wexeth tender by mekenes and moysture of contrycyon he than taketh away all the synnes bothe rote and rynde and planteth and setteth in his gardyn herbes and fruytes of good vertues / and watreth them with the dewe of his blessyd goodnes / wherby the soule of man shall come to euerlastynge Ioye and reste. Now than sythen our lorde god is so good, so pyteous and soo mercyfull to synners that wylfully offendeth hym by commyttynge of horryble synnes / moche more he is mercyfull and hath pyte and compassyon of a soule that thorughe trouble and temptacyons falleth to synne / for almyghty god suffreth often tymes the soule of man for to be tempted and vexed in withstandynge temptacyons / wherof it deserueth the more meryte. And therfore be ye not doubtefull nor heuy for it shall neuer tourne you to peryll ne daunger but to grete proufyte. For therby ye shall wynne the crowne of glorye and the palme of vyctorye whiche shall be gyuen to you for withstandynge of suche temptacyons & to the fende it shall tourne to shame and confusyon; and though it semeth to you somtyme that ye fele dyscorde bytwene god and you be not therfore recreaunt ne dyscomforted, For almyghty god sayth by his prophete Isaye: A lytell whyle I haue forsaken and hydde my face from the: but I shall call the to me agayne by my ma[ny]folde mercyes whiche euer shall endure.