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 ...

WHo shold be inpaceint with ony thyng / or kepe wrathe in his herte / that beholdeth y^e pacyence that our swete lorde Ih̄u cryst had in al his lyf / Thre degre¦es ben there in pacyence. The fyrst is hye. that is whan ye suffre hū∣bly for your owne gylti / The secon¦de more hye / yf ye suffre humbly wythout your desert / The thyrde is best and moost high / yf ye suffre payne humbly· for your good dede. ¶For though we suffre harme for our deserte / we maye not wyth Right complayne vs / Now full vnhappi and vnwyse were he that wolde rather chose to be felowe of Iudas / than the felowe of Ihesu cryst / and yet bothe two were han∣ged on the tree. Iudas for his de∣serte / And Ih̄u wythout deserte For his grete bounte was cruelly hanged on the crosse By this may ye take ensample that what man that wrongeth you or hurteth you in worde or dede is your lighte It giueth you clernes / and takith fro you the clowde of synne / But is not this euyll that man torneth to derknesse / this that shold be his ly¦ight / so that it makyth hym moche more derke / as whan a man hathe trybulacyon or aduersite & takyth it impacyently / he dooth ayenst na¦ture and as euyl metall / For that thyng derkyth him that of his na¦ture sholde gyue hym lighte & cleer¦nes. Wherfore my dere suster thyn¦ke on the pacyence of Ih̄u / & of the Remedyes ayenst wrath / That o¦ne remedye is to answer ••ebonay••¦ly to the angry. For Salamon sa¦yth· fayre answere refreyneth Ire. The seconde is scylence / whan mo∣uth is stylle the fyre quēcheth / and the hete aswageth / thenne ben they stylle fro chydynge / And therfore saith saint poul to the Irous folke holde your peas. & speke not to the wrathful / The thirde is to beholde

to our owne proper defautes / for a man in that is more apte to percei¦ue y^e fawtes of other than of him∣selfe / And salamon sayth the pou¦re man that hath defawt of godes he is mesurable to other / this is to saye / a man that perceyueth hym∣self disposed to wrath / & felith in hī many defawtes of īpacyēce / he for∣bereth & suffreth moche more other wyth gretter pacyēce But he y^t can perceyue noo defawte in hymselfe lightly is wroth wyth other: The fourth is to behold in what condycōn the wrathfull is / for the wyse man callith wrath a lityl wo¦odnes And thenne a man that is wrothe semyth as oute of his wit¦te / & to a madde man is foly to an¦swere / For the Irous man that is redy to saye euyll & curse may vn∣neth suffre ony man or woman to be in the hous in rest wyth hym / he makyth soo moche chidyng. Wher¦of the gospell sayth vj.M. fendes vj.C.lx. & vj. were entred by that syn̄e in to one man / & neuer one of theim departed from other / for this the wrathfull hath the cursinge of our lorde· and the peasible & pacyen¦te of meke hert hath his blessynge Wherof he sayth in the gospel / ble¦syd be the peasible / for they shall be callid the chyldern of god: And to the contrary / vnhappy be they wra¦thfull / for they shall be callyd the chyldern of the fende / Wherfore go¦od suster remembre often the pacy¦ence of Ihesu cryst / & of all his ble¦ssyd apostles. marters. confessours & virgyns / how grete anguysshe & payne they suffryd wyth pacience for to haue the Ioye perdurable. Wherof sayth saynt poul / by mani trybulacions behoueth vs to entre into the reygne of god: Now take good hede how those that ben pacy∣ent. peasible / & debonayr ben well by loued wyth the swete Ihesu. Now ye know well whan dere frendes departe asondre / the last wordes y^t they speke at theyr departyng is be¦ste remembryd: And amonge the last wordes that our lorde sayd whan he ascended to heuen / & lefte his dere frendes in a strange coun¦tree were of swetnes & of peas / for thus sayd he to theim· peas be amō¦ge you / my peas gyue I to you / This peas graunt vs Ih̄u cryste by paeyence in herte / In mekenesse by worde / And in dede by debona∣yrtee.