A boke newly translated out of Latyn in to Englisshe, called The folowing of Christe with the Golden epistel of saynt Barnard.

❧:That the desyres of the herte ought to be well examyned / and well to be modered. The .xii. Chapyter.

MI sone sayth our lorde it behoueth the to lerne many thynges / that thou haste nat yet well lerned. What be they Lorde that thou order thy desyres and thy affeccyons hooly after my plea∣sure / and that thou be nat a louer of thy selfe / but a desyrous folower of my wyll in all thynges / I knowe well that desy∣res ofte moue the to thys thynge or to that. But consyder well whether thou be moued principally for my honoure or for thyn owne. If I be ī the cause thou shalt be wel cōtēted what so euer I do with ••he but if any thynge remayne in thy hert of thyne owne wyll / that is it that letteth the and hyndereth the. Beware therfore that thou leue nat muche to thyne owne desyre without my counsayle / leste hape∣ly it for thynke the and displease the ī the ende that fyrste pleased the. Euery affec∣cyon and desyre of mannes herte that se∣meth good and holy / is nat forhwith to be folowed nor euery contrarious affecci∣on or desyre is nat hastely to be refused it is somtyme ryght expedyent that a man refrayne his affeccions & desyres though they be good / leste happely by his impor∣tunite he fall into vnquyetnes of mynde /

or be letted by other / & so fayle ī his doing and somtyme it behoueth vs to vse as it were a vyolence to our selfe and strongly to resyst and breke downe our sensual ap∣petyt and nat to regarde what the fleshe wyll / or wyll nat / but alway to take hede that it be made subiecte to the wyll of the spirite / and that it be so longe chastysed & cōpelled to serue tyll it be redy to al thing that the soule cōmaūdeth / and that it can lerne to be contente with a lytell and can delyght in symple thynges: & nat to mur∣mur ne to grudge for no cōtrarious thin∣ger that may befall vnto it.