This tretyse is of loue and spekyth of iiij of the most specyall louys that ben in the worlde and shewyth veryly and perfitely bi gret resons and causis, how the meruelous [and] bounteuous loue that our lord Ihesu cryste had to mannys soule excedyth to ferre alle other loues ... Whiche tretyse was translatid out of frenshe into englyshe, the yere of our lord M cccc lxxxxiij, by a persone that is vnperfight insuche werke ...

THere is noo sorow like vn¦to my sorowe / and it was noo merueylle / For moche more tender is a yonge clene vyr∣gyne In̄ocent wythout syn̄e than an olde wretched syn̄er / Now was there neuer a more pure vyrgyne ne more tender. nor soo clene as was the blessyd pure virgyn mary the fayre moder of our lorde. Ihesu cryste / of whom he tork his huma¦nytee of the moost pure dropes of hyr vyrgynal blood wythout syn̄e and ony substaunce of the humay¦ne seed. For wh̄an this blessyd bo∣di was borne of his moder / he was more tender than is the apple of y^e eye. And as lityll payne dyde gre¦ue in his swete body / as it shold do in the sighte of our eye.

¶For his blessyd moder was neuer blamyd of synne / wherof he was soo tender that there was ne¦uer man / nor none other creature that in this worlde dyde suffre

soo grete sorowes / and so hideous tormentes as dyde our lorde Ihesu cryst in his tender body two & thir¦ty yere duryng / alwaye greuous & more greuous. And he receyued theym full hardely and wysely for the loue of his loue. as he saith by Ysaye.

¶Ideo posui faciem meam vt pe¦tram durissimam / et subditur / qui est aduersarius meus. / accedat ad me / Therfore I haue put my face as a right harde stone / who sayth who is. myne aduersaryes come to me to do me asmoche harme as thei wylle / And I shall receyue theym for the loue of my loue / ¶The seconde is / the Right grete loue / and that appered betwene Ihe¦su cryst and his moder / For by the grete loue that his moder had tow¦arde hym / the swerde of harde mar¦terdom passed thorugh her sowle as Symeon promysed hyr. whan she offryd Ihesus in the temple / ¶Et tuam ipsius animam per∣trāsibit gladius / The swerde shall passe thorugh your sowle / ¶Also dauyd playneth hym gre¦tely for his sone Absolon in the bo¦ke of kyngis / ¶Quis dabit mi∣chi vt ego moriar pro te. Alas mi fayr sone absolon / what shall I do sith ye be dede: wherfore maye I not deye for you / Thus semeth it that the deth of his sone was more gre¦uous vnto hym. than sholde haue be his owne propre dethe· In like wyse our blesyd lady had by many folde more sorow of the deth of her swete sone / than she sholde haue of hyr owne /

¶And accordyngly chyldern ha∣ue grete loue vnto ther moder / and nature meueth theym to be in full grete fere and sorow whan they see theyr moder beten or wounded / ¶But what chylde saw euer his moder thus martred and soo beten and wounded of mortall sorowe as Ihesu cryst sawe his moder / Not oonly in body ne in her tender hert but in hyr holy soule that was specyally crucyfied wyth hym. And who louid euer moder so ten¦derly as dide the swete Ihesu cryst Wherof sayth saynt Ancelme / ¶Alloquens filius cum bene∣dicta mater sic dixtt vestro conti∣nuo a more langueat cor meum li¦quefiet anima mea / deficiat caro mea vtinam sic viscera anime mee dulci feruore dileccionis vestre ex arescerēt ne viscera carnis mee ex arescant /