Scala perfecc[i]onis

¶That the meditacōn of the manhede of cryst or of hys passyon is yeuen freely of the holy ghost / And how it shall be knowen whan it is yeuen / Caplm xxxv. (Book 35)

ANd thenne somtyme after this traueyle. and somtyme wyth all. suche a man or elles a nother the whyche by grace of god hath be kept in Innocēce / our lorde yeuith a me∣ditacōn of his manhede / as of his birth or of his passōn. and of the compassyon of our lady saynt mary / whan this medy¦tacōn is made by the holy ghost / thenne it is right profitable & gracyous / And that thou shalt wite by this token / Whan it is so that thou arte styred to a meditacōn in god / and thy tho¦ughte is sodenly drawē out fro all worldly & flesshly thynges and the thynketh as thou seest in thy soule thy lorde Ihū in a bodily lyknes as he was in erthe / and how he was taken of the Iewes and boūden as a theyf / beten & dispysed. scourged & demid to deth / How lowely he bare the crosse vpon his backe and how cruelly he was neyled therupon / Also of the crow∣ne of thornes vpon his hede / and of the sharpe spere that styk¦ked hym to the hert / and thou in this ghostly sight felyst thyn herte styred to so grete compassion & pyte of thy lorde Ihesu y^e thou mornest & wepest & criest wyth all the myghtes of thi bo¦dy and of thy soule / wōderyng the goodnes & the loue. the pa∣cyence & the mekenes of thy lorde Ihū / that he wold for so si∣full a caytif as thou arte suffre soo moche payne / And neuer∣theles thou felist somoche goodnes & mercy in our lorde that thyn hert ryseth vp in to a loue & a gladnes of hym wyth ma¦ny swete teres: hauyng grete trust of foryeuenes of thy syn̄es and of saluacyon of thy soule by the vertue of this precyous passion / That whan the mynde of crystis passion or ony po¦ynt of his manhede is thus made in thyn hert bi suche a ghost¦ly syghte / wyth deuowte affeccōn answeryng therto / wyte y^u well thenne that it is not of thyn owne werkyng. ne feynyn∣ge of noo wyckid spiryte / but by the grace of the holy ghost For it is an openyng of the ghostly eye in to crystis manhede And it maye be called the flesshly loue of god / As saynt ber∣narde callith it / * 1.1 In as moche as it is sette in the flesshly kinde

of cryst / And it is right good and a grete helpe in destroyeng of grete synnes / and a gode waye to come to wertues / and so after to contemplacyon of the godhede / For a man shall not come to ghostly lyghte in contemplacyon of crystis godhede / but yf he come fyrst in ymagynacōn bi bitternes and bi com¦passion / and by stedfast thynkyng of his manhede / Thus sa¦ynt poul dyde / Fyrst he sayd thus / Nichil indicaui me scire in¦ter vos. nisi ih̄m xp̄m et hunc crucifixum / I shewed you righ¦te nought that I couth·* 1.2 but Ihesu cryst. and hym crucifyed / As yf he had sayd / My knowyng and my trust is oonly in y^e passion of cryst / And therfore sayd he thus also / Michi autē absit gloriari nisi in cruce dn̄i nostri ihū cristi / * 1.3 Forbodē be fro me all maner of Ioye & likyng but in y^e crosse and in the pas¦syon of our lorde Ihesu cryste / And neuertheles afterwarde he sayd thus / Predicamus vobis xp̄m dei virtutem & dei sapien∣ciā / As who saith / Fyrst I prechyd of the manhede & the passi¦on of cryste / Now I preche to you of the godhede.* 1.4 As thus / That cryst is the myghte of god / and the endles wysdom of god /

Notes

• * 1.1

  Bern̄:
• * 1.2

  p̄· cor. 6▪
• * 1.3

  Gal. 9▪
• * 1.4

  p̄· cor. ••▪