Vitas patrum.

¶ Of saynt Am̄on abbot of thre thou¦sande monkes / And begynnyth in la∣tyn. Vidimus autem / Caplm iii.

[illustration]

REcyteth saynt Iherom of an other holy fader dwellyng in y^e sayd regyon of Thebayde. the whiche was abbott & fader of thre tho¦usande relygious persones of merueylo¦us abstinence. called Thebenesiens. He cōmaunded to the relygiouses to here y^e vestyment large of whiche they couerd theyr heede. and was called Scapulari and to haue an other vestyment. why∣che was callyd Frocke. whyche in lyke¦wyse couerde their face whan they shol¦de sytt at table. to the ende the one shol¦de not repreue that other if ony ete mo¦re or lesse / Those relygiouses helde soo grete scylence in drynkynge & etyng. y^t it cowde not be knowe that yf ony per¦sone were in the place where they toke alwaye theyr refeccōn / And notwyth∣stondynge that they were in grete mul¦tytude / they were so secrete in then wer¦kes. that the one knewe not the abstinē¦ce of that other / Neuertheles they were more abstynent of the metes sette tofo¦re theym. than to haue affeccyon to ete ne to drynke. wythout to make of their bely theyr god / ¶ Herupon we oughte to consydre. that it is more grete absty∣nence to see mete. and lytyll to ete of it than to be wythoute me••e. & not desyre it / In lyke wyse they that ben now re∣lygious oughte to rule theim in sobre∣nes & in abstynence. in eschewynge en∣uye regnynge in cloystre / Also theyr ab¦bot oughte to restrayne theim / And hȳ¦selfe oughte fyrste to refreyne hymselfe for to yeue ensample to his relygiouses