Scala perfecc[i]onis

¶That thorugh the sacrament of penaūce that stond••••h in contricyon confession and satisfaccion this ymage is refo¦urmed fro actuall synne / Caplm vii. (Book 7)

ALso what crysten man or woman that hath lost the lic¦kenesse of god thorough a dedely synne brekynge god••dis commaundementes / yf he thorugh towchynge of grace sothfastly forsake his synne with sorowe and contricion of herte. and be in full wylle for to amende hym / and torne him to good lyuynge / And in this forsayd wylle receyuyth the sa∣cramente of penaunce yf he maye / Or yf that he maye not

he is in wyll therto. Sothly I saye that this mannes soule or womans that was forshapen fyrste to the lyknesse of the de¦uyll thorugh dedely synne is now by the sacrament of penaū¦ce restored and shapen ayen to the ymage of our lorde god / This is a grete curteysie of oure lorde and an cudeles mercy that soo lyghtly foryeuyth all manere of synne / and soo sode∣ynly yeuyth plente of grace to a synful soule that askyth mer¦cy of hym / He abideth not grete penaunce dooyng ne paynful flesshly sufferyng or he foryeue it / But he askyth a lothynge of synne and a full forsakyng in wyll of the soule for the lo¦ue of hym. and a tournynge of the herte to him / This askith he / for this yeuyth he / And then̄e whan he seeth this wythou¦te ony delayenge. he foryeuyth the synne and refourmyth the soule to his lyknesse / The synne is foryeuen that the soule shall not be dampned / Neuerthelesse the payne detted for the synne is not yet fully foryeuen / but yf contrycōn and loue be the more / And therfore shall he goo and shewe hym and shry¦ue hym to his ghostly fader. and receyue penaunce enioyned for his trespaas. and gladly fulfyll it. soo that bothe the syn̄e and the payne maye be done away or he passe hens / And that is the skylfull ordynaunce of holy chyrche for grete profyte of mannes soule. that though the synne be foryeuen thorugh the vertue of contricyon / neuerthelesse in fulfyllyng of meke¦nesse: and for to make hole satysfaccyon he shall yf he maye shewe to his preste plener confessyon / for that is his token & his warraunte of foryeuenesse ayenste all his enmyes. and y^t is nedefull for to haue / For yf a man had forfeyted his lyfe ayenste a kynge of this erthe it were not ynough to hym as for a full sykernesse for to haue oonly foryeuenesse of the kynge / but yf he haue a charter the whiche maye be his token and his warraunte agaynste all other men / Ryght soo maye it be sayd ghostly / If a man haue forfeyted agaynste the kynge of heuen his lyffe thorough dedely synne / It is

not ynough to hym to full sykernesse for to haue foryeuenes of god oonly by contricyon betwene god & hym. but yf he ha∣ue a charter made by holy chirche yf he maye come therto And that is the sacrament of penaunce the whiche is his charter & his token of foryeuesse / For syth that he forfeyted both ayens¦te god and holy chirche it is skylful that he haue foryeuenesse for that one and a warrant for that other / And this ••o skylle why that confessyon is nedefull / A nother skyll is this / For syth this reformyng of the soule stōdyth in fayth oonly & not in felynge / therfore a flesshly man that is rude and boystouse & can not deme lyghtly but outwarde of bodily thynges shol∣de not mow haue trowyd that his synnes had ben foryeuen hym but yf he had some bodily token. and that is confession thorugh the whiche token he is made all syker of foryeuenes yf that he doo that in hym is / This is the trouth of holy chyr¦che as I vnderstonde it / Also a nother skyll is this / Though the grounde of foryeuenesse stonde not pryncipally in confes∣syon but in contrycōn of the herte. and in forthynkyng of syn¦ne / neuertheles I hope that there is many a soule that shold•• neuer a felyd very contrycōn. nor had full forsakynge 〈◊〉〈◊〉 yf confessyon had not be / For it fallyth oftsythes that 〈◊〉〈◊〉 tyme of confessyon grace of compūccyon comyth to a 〈◊〉〈◊〉 that before neuer felid grace. but euer was colde and d••y•• and ferder fro felyng of grace / And therfore syth confessyon 〈◊〉〈◊〉 soo profytable to the more partye of cristen men holy 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ordeyned for the more sykernesse generally to all crysten men that euery man & woman shold ones in the yere at the lest be shryuen of all her synnes that come to her mynde to her ghost¦ly fader· though they had neuer soo moche contrycōn before ti¦me / Neuertheles I hope well that yf all men hadde bene as besye abowte the kepynge of theym selfe in eschewynge of all manere of synne / And had comen to as moche grete kno∣wynge and felynge of god as some man hathe / That

holy chirche sholde not haue ordened the token of confessyon▪ as for nedefull bonde for it had not neded / But for all men arn not soo perfyte. and perauenture moche of the more par∣tie of crysten men is vnperfyte. therfore holy chirche ordeyned confession· by waye of generall bonde to all crysten men that wyll knowe holy chyrche as her moder. and woll be buxome to her biddynge / If this be soth as I hope it is then̄e erreth he gretely that generally sayth that confessyon of synnes for to shewe a preste is neyther nedefull to a syn̄er ne behofull / and that noo man is boūde therto / For by that that I haue sayd it is both nedefull & spedfull to all soules that in this wretchyd lyfe are defoyled / thorugh syn̄e / and namely to those that arn thorugh dedely syn̄e forshapen fro the lyknes of god whyche may not be refourmed to his lyknes but by the sacrament of penaunce that pryncypally stondeth in contricōn & sorowe of herte / and secundary in shryfte of mouth folowyng after if it maye be had / Vpon this manere by this sacrament of pena∣unce is a synfull soule refourmed to the ymage of god and to his lyknesse /