The chronicle and institution of the Order of the seraphicall father S. Francis conteyning his life, his death, and his miracles, and of all his holie disciples and companions / set foorth first in the Portugall, next in the Spanish, then in the Italian, lastlie in the French, and now in the English tongue.

A discourse of good and euill wordes.

THE XXXVII. CHAPTER.

HE that vttereth good wordes is as the mouth of God, & he that speaketh ill, litle differeth from the mouth of the deuill. When* 1.1 the seruātes of IESVS CHRIST assēble together in any place to discourse, they should talke of the excellēcy of vertues, that they may seeme pleasing vnto thē, and giue them cōtentment, and should also be exercised in thē. By which act they shall come to loue thē more, and to performe better actions: for the more a man is burthened with vices, the more needfull it is for him to speake of vertues; because by the frequēt and pious discourse of them, he persuadeth and easily disposeth him∣selfe to put them in practise. But what shall we say, the conditions of this world being so corrupted, that one cannot speake good of good,* 1.2 nor euill of euil? We will then confesse the truth, that we know not how to speake of good, how good it is, nor lykewise of euill how euill it is. Wherfore it seemeth that neither of these to thinges, can sufficiently be comprehended. So that I tell you, I esteeme it not a le••••e vertue, to know how to be silent, then how two speake well: and according to my iudgement, a man should haue a long neck as* 1.3 a Crane, that his wordes passe by many ioyntes, before it goe out of the mouth.

Notes

• * 1.1

  What ought to be ordi∣nary dis∣course of the Reli∣gious.
• * 1.2

  Great vertue to know when to be silent.
• * 1.3

  Note this word.