Scala perfecc[i]onis

About this Item

Title: Scala perfecc[i]onis
Author: Hilton, Walter, d. 1396.
Publication: [Westminster :: Printed by Wynkyn de Worde,; 1494]
Rights/Permissions: To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
Subject terms: Spiritual life -- Middle Ages, 600-1500.
Link to this Item: http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A03935.0001.001
Cite this Item: "Scala perfecc[i]onis." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A03935.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 17, 2024.

Pages

¶Of dyuers temptacōns of the fende / Caplm xxxvii. (Book 37)

NEuertheles it behouith a man to suffre many temptaci¦ons fyrst / And thyse temptacyōs fallen oftsythes to so¦me men & wymmen after whan comforte is wythdrawen / vpon dyuers maners by malice of the enmye / As thus. whan the deuyll perceyueth deuocyon moche wythdrawen. that the soule is lefte as it were nakyd for a tyme / thenne sendeth he to some men temptacōns of lechery of glotenye. soo hote & so brennyng / that hem shall thynke that they felyd neuer none soo greuous in all her lyfe tyme before whan they yaaf hem moost to synne. In soo moche that they shal thynke it impos¦syble for to stonde longe and suffre that they ne shall nedes falle but they haue helpe / And therfore haue they thenne mo∣che sorowe / both for lackyng of comforte and deuocōn why∣che they were wonte to haue / And they haue moche drede of

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fallyng fro god by suche open synnes / And all this werkyth the deuyll at the suffraunce of god for to doon hem forthyn∣ke her good pourpoos / and tourne ayen to synne as they we∣re wonte to doo / But who soo wyll abyde awhyle and suffer a lityll payne / and not tourne agayne to synne for noo thyng the honde of our lorde is full nere / and helpyth ryght soone For he kepyth hym full sykerly / and the man wote not how as the prophete dauid saith in the persone of our lorde. Cum ip̄o sum in tribulacōne.* 1.1 eripiam eū & glorificabo eum / I am wyth hym in his trybulacōn / and in temptacyon I shall dely¦uer hym / and I shall make hym gloryous in my blysse / So∣me men he tempteth by ghostly syn̄es malicyously. as bi mys¦trowyng of the fayth or of the sacrament of our lordis bles∣syd body / Also of despeyr or of blasphemie in our lord or oni of his sayntes / or lothynge of her lyfe / or bitternes or vnskyl¦full heuynes / or of tomoche drede of hemself and of her bodi yf they put hem holy to goddis seruyse / Some men he temp¦teth also. and namly solitary men & wymmen by dredes and vglynes. and quakynges and shakynges / eyther apperynge to hem in bodily lyknes or elles in ymagyning slepynge & wa∣kyng / And taryeth hem soo that vnneth maye they haue ony rest. And also on many other wyses he tempteth. moo than I can or maye saye /

Notes

* 1.1

P· 9••.

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