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

❧That all temporall miseris are gladely to be borne through exāple of Christe. The xx. Chapitre.

MI sonne (sayth our Lorde) I des∣cended from heuen / and for thy helth haue taken thy myseryes nat com∣pelled

therto of necessyte / but of my cha∣ryte / that thou shuldeste learne to haue pacyence with me / and nat to dysdayne to beare the myseryes / and the wretched∣nes of thys lyfe: as I haue done for the for from the fyrste houre of my byrth vn∣to my death vppon the crosse / I was ne∣uer without some sorowe or paine / I had great lacke of tēporall thynges / I harde great cōplayntes made on me / I suffered benyngnely many shames and rebukes / for my benefaytes: I receyued vnkynd∣nes / for my myracles / blasphemes / and for my true doctryne many repre••es.:★ O lorde for asmuche as thou werte foūde pacyente in thy lyfe / fulfyllynge in that moste specyally the wyll of thy father / it is syttynge that I moste wretched syn∣ner bere me pacyently after thy wyll in all thynges / and as longe as thou wylte that I for myne owne helthe bere the bourden of thys corruptyble lyfe. ★: For though thys lyfe be tedyous / and as an heuy bourden to the soule / yet neuerthe∣lesse / it is nowe thoroughe thy grace made very merytoryous / and by ex∣ample of the and of thy holy Sayntes it is nowe made to weyke persones more

sufferable and more clerer and also much more confortable than it was in the olde lawe: whan the gates of heuen were shut and the way thetherwarde was darke & so fewe dyd couet to seke it And yet they that were thā ryght wise and were orday¦ned to be saued / before thy blessed passion and death: myght neuer haue come the∣ther. O what thankes am I bounde ther¦fore to yelde to the / that so louyngly hast vouchesaufe to shewe to me / and to all faythfull people that wyll folowe the / the very true & strayte way to thy kyngdom. Thy holy lyfe is our way and by thy pa∣cience we walke to the that arte our heed and gouernour. And but thou lorde had∣dest gone before and shewed vs the way / who wolde haue endeuoured him to haue folowed. O howe many shulde haue ta∣ried behynde yf they had nat sene thy bles¦sed examples goynge before: we be yet slowe and dull / nowe we haue sene and harde thy sygnes and doctrynes: what shulde we thā haue bene if we had sene no suche lyght goynge before vs: truely we shulde haue fired our mynde and our loue hooly in worldly thynges / frō the whiche kepe vs lorde of thy gret goodnes. Amē.