Vitas patrum.

¶ Here after folowyth of the order of the monasterye of the good lady saynt Paula / And also of the contynence of the deuowte good and holy Relygyou∣ses / As well of theym as came to vysy¦te her as of other / And how she labou∣red and dyde payne in the acquysycy∣on and purchasynge of theyr helthe of theyr soules /

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THe sayd good and ryght deuou¦te lady saynt Paula had ryght grete vertues in her / And soo ryght grete charytee. that she gaaff for the loue of god alle her goodes / and a∣bandonned and forsoke alle temporell thynges / for to gete heuenly thynges. ¶ Her vyrgynes were moche noble. be∣nygne. softe. gracious. amyable. and de¦bonayr or meke merueyllously / the whi¦che she hadde assembled of dyuerse pro∣uynces / Whom the deuowte lady saynt Paula hadde deuided in to thre compa¦nyes / And on euery companye she had ordeyned a maystresse ouer theym /

¶ And notwythstondyng that they we¦re separate and alone towchynge theyr etynge and drynkynge / Yet were they togyder for to praye to god / ¶ They hadde amonge theym a sygne to synge Alleluya / And Incontynent as it was songe / She came the fyrste herselfe for to moeue the other virgynes to come to prayer / ¶ On the mornynge att houre of Tyerce. att Syxte. att None. at E∣uensonge. and att Midnyght. That is to wite att houre of Matynes they son¦ge the sawter / And they were alle con∣strayned to come to it / ¶ And euery day they lerned somwhat of holy scryp¦ture / ¶ On the Sondaye eche compa∣nye of the sayde vyrgynes. wyth theyr maystresse came to the chyrche to praye and serue god att alle the houres afor∣sayd / ¶ And all the other dayes of the weke they laboured. and wroughte to make robes and other vestymentes for poore people. or for theymselfe / ¶ And yf ony were that came late at•• the hou¦res for to psalmodye. or slouthful to do their werke. She corrected them by sof¦te meanes / ¶ And yf ony of her sayde vyrgynes were hasty or wrothe / By go¦od loue and swetnesse she corrected the¦ym and broughte theim in the waye of helthe / ¶ And yf she were softe. hum∣ble and pacyent. Alwaye notwythston¦dynge she shewed and corrected her by good manere. noo more ne lasse thanne yf she hadde faylled herselfe / ¶ In fo∣lowynge the wordes of saynt Paul the Appostle sayenge / What woll ye that I doo to you / Shall I correcte by rodde or bi fayrnesse and debonayrte / Alle we¦re egall / For they had none other thyn¦ge but theyr lyuynge and clothynge /

¶ And yf emonge theim were moeuyd ony complaynt or debate / Bi fayrnesse she broughte theym agayne in to loue / ¶ She constrayned the vyrgynes to fa¦ste to chastyse the flesshe / ¶ And whan they sawe they hadde payne in the sto∣macke / She answered to theym that is

••••••e auayllyd to theym to be euyll dis¦posyd / thanne that theyr soules sholde be like by the syn̄e of the flesshe ¶ Yf o∣ony were more worldly or more curyo¦usly arayed thanne the other / ¶ She repreuyd her in sayenge / that the curyo¦us araye of the hody was the fylthe of the soule / ¶ And that neuer from the herte of a vyrgyn oughte to procede o∣ny fowle worde / ¶ Yf ony were a Ian¦geler. a Lyar. or Chyder / She warnyd her for to amende her ¶ And yf she a∣mended her not / She made her to abi∣de tofore the chyrche doore for to pray to god / And to ete and drynke oute of the companye of her systers / To the en¦de that she sholde correcte herselfe by shame / ¶ She defendeth thefte as Sa¦crylege / And that whyche the worldly men sayde to be venyall synne / She re¦puted and helde it a ryght grete dede∣ly synne / ¶ For to recounte of her cle∣mence and lowelynesse. It is a thynge merueyllous / ¶ Yf her systers were syke she serued theym / And gaaf to theym to ete flesshe / ¶ But whanne she was in sykenesse she ete none / And in that pryncypally she was not lyke to other. ¶ She that was olde dyde more absty¦nences. thanne her yonge vyrgynes /

¶ On a tyme in the monthe of Iu¦yll for the grete hete of the sonne. She hadde the febres or axes / ¶ The physy¦cyens counseylled her that she shold e∣te metes more nutrytyf thanne she had be accustomyd / And also that she shol∣de drynke wyne / ¶ For the water that she dranke myghte cause her to haue y^e Ydropesye / ¶ But neyther for the bys¦shopp Epifanyus. ne for ony other she wolde not ete ony other thynge thanne she hadde ben accustomyd / ¶ Helas yf we take hede to her lyfe / we shall fyn∣de that she made good commutacyons and marchaundyses / ¶ And she wepte in this worlde. to the ende that she my∣ghte laughe in that other / ¶ She ware the hayre / to the ende that she myghte haue fayre vestymentes and precyouse in heuen / ¶ She fasted deuoutly for to haue spyrytuell Refeccyon. And she for soke alle the goodes of this worlde. for to be Ryche in heuen / ¶ And dyspysed the worldly glorye. for to haue glory e∣uerlastynge /

¶ On a tyme she wente to an Here∣tyke. whiche proposed many questyons ¶ The fyrste questyon was / What sȳ∣ne myghte a chylde doo. that was tour¦mented wyth the deuyll / ¶ The secon¦de. In what aege men and wymmen shall aryse from dethe to lyfe / ¶ Adio∣ustynge to this demaunde or questyon / Yf she sayde in the aege in whyche we deye / Thenne it behouyth to haue nou¦ryces for to nourisshe the chyldren whi¦che deyed in yonge aege / & also tofore the tyme that they were sure of the pap¦pes / ¶ And yf she sayde that they shol∣de aryse in other aege / Thenne it shol¦de not be Resurreccōn / But oonly tran¦sformacion oute of one body in to a no¦ther / ¶ After he demaunded yf wym∣men sholde aryse as wymmen. and the men in fourme of men. Or otherwyse / ¶ Concludynge yf they aroos in four∣me of men and wymmen / That they sholde be maryed in paradys / ¶ And yf alle sholde aryse in fourme of men / That the Resurreccyon sholde not be

of those bodyes that were deed /

¶ And whanne suche questyons were to her proposyd / ¶ She recounted the∣ym to saynt Iherom / ¶ The whyche in spekynge to the sayde Heretyke. and in enfourmynge hym other questyons. confounded his in this manere /

¶ Fyrst saynt Iherom demaunded hym yf he byleuyd y^e Resurrexcōn gene¦rall / ¶ The Heretyke ansuered Ye / so¦we oughte to byleue / ¶ For it is an ar∣tycle of the faythe / ¶ Secondly he de∣maunded yf the same body that deyed sholde ryse agayne / ¶ He ansuered. Ye For it is also trouth / ¶ Thyrdly he de¦maunded. yf the bodyes sholde aryse in the sexe or kynde in y^e whyche they shol¦de be deed / That is to wite. yf the man shall aryse in the lykenesse of a man / And also in like wise the woman in ly¦kenesse of a woman / ¶ To this dema¦unde or question the Heretyke ansuered nought / ¶ Saynt Iherom sayde after to him / ¶ Syth that thou wolt not an¦suere. I shall saye to the by manere of ansuere / ¶ That yf a man ryse not in lykenesse of a man / And a woman in lykenesse of a woman / Thenne it shol¦de not be Resurreccyon of theym that deyed The whiche Resurrexcyon thou grauntest to be / And also it is true /

¶ We haue prouff herof by oure lorde Ihesu Cryste / The whyche whanne he was arysen shewed his woūdes why¦che he hadde receyued in the Crosse /

¶ And also whanne saynt Thomas towched him in his worthy side / ¶ Sa¦yd not oure lorde to his dyscyples / Be∣holde and see my woundes / To the en¦de that certaynly ye byleue that I am he that hathe be crucyfyed. ¶ Thenne that syth oure lorde after his Resurrex¦cyon was seen and towched / And that his discyples herde him speke / ¶ It a∣peryth cleerly thy his membres that he arose in lykenesse of a man. and not of a woman / ¶ For by his membres it ap¦peryth that he hadd a body / ¶ By cau¦se that the body is not wythoute mem∣bres. ne the membres also wythout bo∣dy / ¶ Therfore it muste conclude that the men shall aryse as men / And wym¦men as wymmen / ¶ As towchinge the conclusyon that the Heretyke made. in sayenge. That maryages oughte to be made in heuen / ¶ Saynt Iherom ans¦uered that there sholde be none / ¶ For oure lorde saythe that after the Resur∣reccyon generall. shall neuer be marya¦ge made / ¶ And by this the scrypture sayth. that there shall none be maryed / And yf it be argued to be wryten. that we shall be lyke to good aungellis. the Proposycyon oughte to be vnderstonde that we shall be sēblable or lyke to the∣ym in conuersacyon and blessydnesse / As is promysyd to vs. Not by nature / ¶ Saynt Iohan Baptist tofore that he was byheded was called an aungell But for that he hadde not the nature of aungellis / ¶ The symylytude or ly¦lenesses of aungellis is oonly promysed in holynesse of lyfe / ¶ But the nature not for that shal be chaunged / ¶ Yf o∣ny argued in sayenge. that god ete af∣ter his Resurreccyon. Thenne we shall ete after that we were reysed / ¶ The argumente is not prouffytable / ¶ For that whyche was done was for the ap∣probacyon and veryfyenge of the say∣yd

Resurrexcyon / ¶ He also whanne he hadde Reysyd the sayde good Lazare / Whyche hadde be deed foure dayes. ete wyth hym /

¶ Also the doughter of the Synago¦ge anone after that god hadde reysed. Commaunded that mete sholde be gy∣uen to her / To the ende that they that sawe thise. and herde of thise reysinges sholde. ne myght not saye. that they we¦re bodyes fantastyke / But were very bodyes whyche hadd ben deed and rey∣sed agayne /

¶ As towchynge the question of the chylde vexed of the deuyll. whyche had not synned / ¶ And also in what aege we shall aryse / ¶ Saynt Iherom fyrs¦te sayth that the Iugementes of god a∣ren as a grete swolowe / ¶ His scyence is also to vs vnknowen / ¶ Neuer man knewe what god hathe in his entende∣mente and purpoos /

¶ Secondly ought to be noted with saynt Iherom / That a man whanne he is ten or twenty. or thyrty. Or a hū∣dred yere olde is none other than whā he is but two or thre. or foure yere olde ¶ And neuerthelesse after the tradycy∣ons and sayenges of the chyrche. and y^e doctryne of saynt Poul / we shal ryse in the aege of perfeccyon. In whyche oure lorde aroos fro thyrty to two and thyr∣ty yeres / ¶ And in whyche aege was Adam fourmyd after that the Iewes wytnesse /

¶ In retournynge thenne to saynt Paula / And for to speke of her enten∣demente. sayth saynt Iherom that of∣te she kepte and obserued the comma∣undement that sayth (Andi israhel et¦tace) That is to saye ¶ Man here and bestylle / For the good lady Paula was well lyghte to here / And slowe to spe∣ke / ¶ She was curyous and besie to ha¦ue bokes of holy scrypture / And radde theym gladly / ¶ And for better to pro¦uffyte in theym / She constrayned sa∣ynt Iherom to expowne to her the ol∣de Testamente and the newe / ¶ But whanne for ony doubtes he differred to expowne to her certayne proposycy∣ons / Sayenge to her that he cowde not expowne theym / She wolde not byleue hym / ¶ But by contynuell Interroga∣cyons and desyres she constrayned him to expowne theym after the Sentence moost apparent or lykely. and after tro¦uthe and good sens /

¶ Her vnderstondynge was soo gre¦te. that she lerned of saynt Iherom the Ebrewe tongue / In suche wyse that she songe the psalmes of the Psaulter in Ebrewe tongue / And songe noo mo¦re in latyn / ¶ After that we haue recy∣ted of. her holy lyfe & conuersacōn. that is to saye of her gloryous departing ou¦te of this worlde. ¶ Whanne the good lady saynt Paula felte that she had no more hete. but a lytyll in her stomack / ¶ She beganne to saye thyse wordes that folowe in wepynge and wayllyn∣ge bytterly. ¶ O my god I haue desy∣red the beaultee of thy heuen and glo∣ry / ¶ O lorde that thy Tabernacles and dwellynge places ben fayre & shy∣nynge / O lorde god I haue more desire to be in thy hous. that is in the chyrche than to dwelle with them of y^e worlde ¶ Anone after she cessed to speke & sa∣ynt Iherom seeng that she ansuerd not

to ony thyng that he demaunded or as¦ked of her / ¶ He asked why she ansue∣red not / ¶ And yf she hadde in her her∣te ony heuynesse or gryef / ¶ The goo∣de lady ansuered in Greke / Naye / but she sawe alle Ioyousete and gladnesse / ¶After she spake noo more / But syg¦ned her wyth the sygne of the Crosse / ¶ There were dyuerse bysshoppis. as well of Iherusalem as of other places And wyth theim were grete nombre of preestes. and Innumerable companyes of vyrgynes. and Relygyouses / ¶ In presence of whom she herde oure lorde / whiche callyd her sayenge / ¶ Come to me my spowse my culuer or douue / ¶ For the wynter and the Rayne ben passed / ¶ To whom she answered /

¶ The flowres ben on the erthe / The tyme of Harueste is come / I byleue to see the goodes of oure lorde in the lon∣de of lyuynge people / ¶ And in thus sayenge she rendred to god her blessyd soule / ¶ But in soo dooynge the peo∣ple beynge presente were not moeuyd to wepynge ne wayllynge / lyke as men of the worlde now a dayes done for the¦yr parentes and frendes / Whom they haue soone forgoten / ¶ But the bys∣shoppis sette honde on the Byer / The other herynge lampes and tapres· And other syngynge deuowte Ympnes and Psalmes in the mydle of the chyrche / And in the sepulture of oure lorde whe¦re oure sauyour Ihesu Cryste was bu¦ryed / ¶ Alle the people of the cytees of Palestyne came to her Entyerement /

¶And soo many of Relygyouses men and wymmen were there / that it was merueyllouse to see and behold·

¶And in effecte yf ony defaylled there that hadde not ben atte theyr laste ser∣uyce. They were reputed. and holden. as Sacryleges /

¶The Wydowes and poore Wydo¦wes to the example of Dorcade shewe∣den there the vestymentes. whyche the good lady saynt Paula hadde made / ¶ And generally alle poore persones cryeden after her / As after theyr mode:

¶Lete vs thynke thenne we myse∣rable synnars / ¶ And pryncypally they that amasse and possesse grete Ryches & tresours / ¶ How the good lady Pau∣la abandouned and forsoke alle her tre¦sour for to gyue for goddis sake / ¶ He las what cowde one more yeue / She re¦teyned and kepte noo thynge for hersel¦fe / ¶ Thynke marchauntes what mar¦chaundyses she made / Whanne she cha¦unged alle her golde and her syluer in to thynges Incommutable / ¶ She for¦soke alle for to haue alle. And she wol∣de be ryght poore for to be Ryche /

¶ Saynt Iherom after this adressyd his wordes to y^e doughter of saynt Pau¦la whyche was moche deuowte / ¶ For she folowed the good & vertuouse ma∣ners of her holy moder /

¶ O Eustochium Reioyce thyselfe my doughter / For I know that thou ha¦ste but lytyll good in this worlde / But thou oughtest to enioye the for thyn ho¦ly moder / ¶ Whyche by longe martyr∣dome is crowned in the glory of heuen ¶ She hathe spared to the grete Ry∣chesses / ¶ For thou shalte haue by suc∣cessyon thy god. whiche is more Ryche Tresour thanne alle the golde in the worlde / ¶ Thus in Bethleem where

god was born deyed gloryously the go¦od saynt Paula / ¶ Of whom the glo∣ryous soule flewe in to heuen in to euer¦lastynge glory and blysse /

¶ The whyche graunte to vs the eter¦nall god in one essence and thre in per¦sones / By the merytes and prayers of the gloryous sayntes. saynt Paula and saynt Iherom her singuler and moost specyall frende in this worlde and in y^e other / Amen /