Hier begynneth the book callid the myrrour of the worlde ...

Here foloweth of the nombre of Sterres capitulo ¶xx^o

TO the regard of the Sterres we shal saye to yow the nombre lyke as the noble kynge Tholomeu••

nombred them in his Almageste / to whome he gaf the propre names / And sayd that ther were a thousand and xxij all clere / and that myght be all seen / without the vij planetes / and may be wel acompted without ony paryll / In alle ther be .j.M. and .xxix. whiche may wel be seen withoute many other / whiche may not wel be seen ne es∣pyed / Ther may not wel moo be espyed but so many as sayd is / ne appertly be knowen / Now late hym beholde that wil see it / ffor noman / trauaylle he neuer somoche ne stu∣dye / maye fynde nomore / Neuertheles ther is no man ly∣uyng that may or can compte so moche / or can so hye moūte in ony place / though he be garnysshid of a moche gentil instrument / & right subtyl that shold fynde moo / than the kynge tholomeus fonde by whiche he knewe & myght nō∣bre them / and where eueryche sitteth / & how ferre it is from one to an other / be it of one or other or nygh̄ or ferre / and the knowlege of the ymages of them / the whiche by their semblaunce fourmed them / ffor the sterres whyche be na∣med / ben all fygures on the heuene and compassed by ymages / and that all haue dyuerse beynges / And euerych hath his fourme and his name / Of whiche ben knowen pryncypally xlvij within the firmament / And of them ben taken xij of the most worthy whiche ben called the xij Sygnes / And they make a cercle rounde aboute the vij planettes / where as they make their torne / we ben moche ferre from heuen merueyllously / and late euery man kno∣we that he that deyeth in dedly synne / shal neuer come the∣der / And the blessyd sowle whyche is departed fro the body in good estate / not withstondyng the longe way is sone

come thether / ye truly in lasse than half an hour / & vnto the most hye place to fore the souerayn iuge / which sitteth on the right syde of god the fader / in his blessyd heuen / the whiche is so ful of delytes of alle glorye and of all con∣solacion / that ther is noman in this world lyuyng / that may ne can esteme ••e thinke the Ioye & the glorye where this blessyd sowle entreth / And ther is no man that can esteme ne thinke the capacite & gretnes of heuene / ne may compare it ne valewe it / to the capacyte and gretnes of all therthe / or so moche as may compryse fro therthe to the firmamēt / As to the regard of the inestymable gretenes aboue the firmament / ffor that gretenesse is inestymable without ende and without mesure / Certes the firmamēte on hye is so spacyous so noble and so large / that of alle his wytte may not a man vnnethe thinke or esteme / the nombre of lyke masses as all therthe is / that shold fylle it / yf they were alle in one masse / who is he that coude or myght cōprehende or compryse the gretenes of them / whan they alle be assembled / And euerich as grete as all ther∣the / Neuertheles we shal saye to you therof / as moche as we may wel ymagyne /