Scala perfecc[i]onis

¶That thorough by desyre and traueyle for mekenesse & charytee a man comyth sooner to other vertues than by tra∣ueyle in hemself / Caplm lxxvii. (Book 77)

GEte to the thenne mekenes and charytee / And yf thou wolte traueyle & swynke besily for to haue hem. y^u shalt haue ynough for to doo in getyng of hem / And yf y^u may gete hem / they shall rule the & mesure the full pryuely how thow shalt ete and how thou shalt drynke and socour all thy body¦ly nede that there shall noo man wyte it but yf thou wolte / & that shal not be in perplexite ne in yre ne in anguyssh̄nes and heuines ne in lustes ne in likynges. but in pees of glad cōsciē¦ce w^c a sad restfulnes. I speke ferder thā I thouʒt to haue spo¦kē in this mater̄. but netheles do yf y^u may as I the saye. & I ho¦pe god shal make al wel / bi this y^t I haue said may y^u somdel see in this ymage

of synne how moche it letteth the / The gospell sayth how Abraham spake to the ryche man that was beryed in hell on this wyse / Chaos magnum inter nos & vos firmatum est vt hii qui volūt transire ad vos non possūt nec huc transme¦are / There is a grete chaos. that it to sayen a thycke derknesse betwene vs & the that we mowe not come to the ne thou tyll vs / This derke ymage in thy soule and min also maye be cal¦led a grete chaos / that is a grete derknes. for it letteth vs that we mow not come to abraham whiche is Ihesu / and it let∣tyth hym that he woll not come to vs▪