¶We whiche are stronge, ought to beare the fraylnes of them, whiche are weake, and not to stande in oure owne conceites Let eu••rie man please his neighbour vnto his welthe and edifieng. For Christe plea••ed not hymselfe▪ but as it is written: the rebukes of them▪ whiche rebuked the, fell on me What soeuer thinges are written af••re tyme, they are wrytten for our learnyng, that we through pacience and comfort of the scriptu¦res myght haue hope.
NOwe then yf we be stronger, than other, as we in dede be, in somuche y• we herein nede nomā to giue vs coun∣sel, yet muste we take hede, lest whyle we reproue an o∣ther mannes small erroure and call it supersticion, we our selues fal into y• fer more haynous vice of arrogan∣cie, but rather the stronger we be, the more besemeth it vs to beare with the weakenes of other. For as they, that are eyther elder, or stronger of body, vse not therfore to throw downe nor to trede vnder feete their yōgers, or suche as are not in strengthe able to matche wt thē, euen as though god had for y• purpose geuē mē strēgthe, to hurte therwith, whome they wyll, but rather the stronger they de, the more shame coumpte they it, to hurte tender youthe, or feable olde age: so the more iudgement and learning we haue, somuche the rather are we bounde to temper oure selues to the weakenes of other, rather than, why∣les we are of our learnyng proude, and highly stande in oure owne con∣ceyte, we prouoke to anger our weake brother, rather than either to suffer hym, or to cure his disease.
Let noman therfore for his gyfte please hymselfe, as though it w••re gi∣uen hym to brag therwith, out let hym rather dispysyng hymsefe, please his neyghboure, not that he shoulde for euerye purpose do so, but to do hym good therwith, and to make hym better, than he is. And this waye of curyng other mennes erours, Christ hymselfe taught vs, whiche beyng the very fountayne of al goodnes, vsed not the same as one y• pleaseth him selfe, to the auauncyng of his owne glorie, but to helpe suche, as were out of the waye and had but weake & feeble consciences, not onely despised the glorie, whiche he was worthy of, but was contented to be spitefully hand∣led, euen as Dauid inspired with his spirite sayde before, that it shoulde be, in his .ix. psalme: the rebukes of them, whiche rebuked the, fell on me. Which sentence is not only wrytten in the psalmes to thentent we should know it, but to folow it also, by his ensample learning, how paciently and myldely our neyghbour should be suffered and borne with, vntyll suche tyme as he growe vp and be rype in Christes religion, and haue caste of his weake chyldyshnes. As he therfore submitted hym self to our vilenes, to thend he would by lytle and lytle exalt vs to a hygher state: so meete is it also that we of hym take example, how to allure our neyghbour to true