Of them that speke in the chyrche whan they shold praye god / Capitulo xxxv (Book 35)
IT is slouthe whan thou art in the chyrche & oughtest to praye god & thou troublest and lettest other. For the wy¦se man sayth that anon as thou art in the chyrche. thou ough∣test to remembre wherfore thou art made a man thou oughtest to rede & synge yf thou can or praye to god to thy power. many ther be that doo nothing but ••angle and destrouble other and let te them and they doo many harmes. ¶ Example / It is redde [Exā] that on a tyme saint martin sang masse and saint bryxis hel∣ped▪ him whiche sawe behynd the aulter the deuil whiche wro¦te synnes that meu dyde in the chyrche as in lawhyng in spek∣kyng and in lettyng the dyuyne seruyce and offyce. so it happed whan he had moche wreton / he had not ynowgh of parch••min for to wryte yet more that was doon And he drewe out the par¦chemin with his teeth so strongly that it brake and knocked his heede ayenst the walle And whan saint bryxis sawe that he began to lawhe moche strongly whan saint martyn had en∣ded the masse he blamed him by cause he had lawhed in the chir¦che Saint bryxys told to hym the cause and saint martin con¦iured the deuyl. that he shold saye to hym all that he had wre∣ton the whiche said to hym that it were the sinnes that were do¦on in the chyrche. saint martyn preched this to the peple / And they confessed them of their synnes / And so the deuyl was con¦strayned to defface and strike out all that he had wreton. An other Exāple. it is redde of an old woman that whā she was [Exā] in the chirche she lawhed alleway m••rmured & letted her fels wes to saie their ousons & prayers. how wel that in other thin¦ges she kept her self right wel ••oo sinne whan she was d••ed all the membres of his body were found fayre and clene sauf the