The boke named the royall.

¶The fourth braunche of mercy. Capi∣tulo. C.xxxv.

THe .iiii. braunche of mercy is to vesyte / cōforte / & to ayde the seke people / that is a werke y^t moche

pleseth to god / and more thenne trauaylle / or fastynge / or other bodely penaunce / wherof we fynde in vitas pa∣trum / that an hermyte demmaunded of one of y^e auncy¦ent faders / the whiche was of moost grettest meryte / of hym that fasted .vi. dayes in y^e weke and trauaylled and laboured with his handes / or of hym that serued the se∣ke malades. The good fader answered that he that fas∣ted and trauaylled thoughe he henge by y^e nosethrylles myght not compare to hym that serued the seke people This werke auaylleth moche to eschewe synne / and is a grete remedye ageynst synne. And therfore sayth Iob vysyte thy semblable / that ben y^e seke men that ben sem∣blable to y^e in nature For they be men as thou arte / and yf thou so do / god shall kepe the fro synne for to do suche a good werke. And holy saynt Iawes sayth that it is a relygyon holy and clene tofore god to vysyte the orpha∣nes / the seke and poore men / the wydowes and theym that ben in trybulacyon / wherof is counted of a moche grete synnar whiche wente euer the see vnto the yle of roodes / and put hym self in an hospytal for to awayte & serue y^e seke people / & it haped on a tyme that he had gre¦te abhomynacyon of a seke man of whome he wesshe y^e feet. Anone all ageyn his herte he dranke of that water his full draught. And whan he had dronken / he felt a ryght swete and good smellynge odour / and this was a grete token and sygne that his synnes were pardonned by this good werke. Also by this werke is goten grete perfecyon of holy lyf / wherof the wyse man sayth in holy scrypture / be thou not ennoyed to vysyte the seke people For by that thou shalt be confermed in y^e loue of god. Al¦so therby is goten grete rewarde as is sayd in y^e gospell wherof is tolde y^e a lady named Marye whiche was a

moche holy woman conuerted her husbonde so moche / y^t they left all that they hadde / and went to the mesel hous for to serue the seke creatures / by whiche they came too grete perfeccyon. After it was shewed to the same Ma∣ry / that her husbonde that had ben her felawe in humy∣lyte for to serue the seke men and women / sholde be her felawe in the glory of heuen. Of the same our lorde gy∣ueth vs ensample in the gospell that he touched the seke people and heled them. The seruaunt ought not to haue dysdayne ne shame to vesyte the seke people ne to serue theym / whan the lorde of heuen came in to this worlde for to serue & vesyte them. Of whome he toke the fourme and semblaunce of his seruaunt. This sayth saynt Pou¦le for to serue vs that were seke by synne.