Here begynneth the boke called the Pype, or tonne, of the lyfe of perfection The reason or cause wherof dothe playnely appere in the processe.

¶Howe the souereynes and officers shulde minis∣tre the goodes of the monasterie. The .xiii. Chapitre.

SIr (saye they) Where do you fynde where our sauiour dyd appoynt the souereynes: howe / where / and vnto whome they shulde / distribute & mi∣nistre the goodes of the monasterie. Giue good eare / and herken diligē∣tely / and ye shall knowe and perceyue: howe by the doctrine of Christ: euery souereyne & officer: shulde distribute & ministre y^e good{is} of the monasterie. If I shulde here in. shewe (as y^e cōmune terme is) my balde reasō / or yet y^e auctorite of y^e cōmune doctores I knowe how they wolde puffe & blowe therat & set al at worse thā noght. I shal therfore pyght a more sure foūdaciō & groūde. Fyrst saynt Paule saythe. Quecū{que} scripta sūt: ad nostrā doctrinā scripta sūt.* 1.1

What thyng{is} (sayth he) so euer ben wrytē: they bene writē for our doctrine & lernyng. And ī cōmune auc¦torite. Oīs Christi actio: ••r̄a ē īstructio. y^t is euery act 〈…〉〈…〉

is our instruction / a lesson vnto euery Christiane.

Nowe let vs loke vpon the actes of Christe / & there shall we best lerne this mater. That Christe dyd lyue in cōmune / in wylfull pouerte / without any {pro}∣priete: no persone wyll deney. And howe he spent / & ministred that money that was in cōmune: the gos∣pell wyll testifie. That is to say after suche maner / as is writen of his parentes saynt Ioachin / & saynt Anne the father and mother of our blessed lady his mother Marie. In theyr legende is writen y^t theyr goodes were diuided and ministred in thre partes One parte vnto the temple to be spent vnto the ho∣noure of god. The seconde: vnto the pore people in almes. And the thyrde parte vnto the necessarie ex∣hibicion / and fyndynge of them selfe & of theyr hou∣sholde. Nowe let vs proue this in Christe. He by∣ganne of chyldhode to go with his parentes vnto Hierusalem vnto the hygh festes.* 1.2 And afterwarde without his disciples he continued the same / euer to make oblacion / and in al thynges he dyd accom∣plesshe and fulfyll all the cōmaūdementes and holy cerimonies of y^e lawe.* 1.3 * 1.4 And that he delte almes: doth appere in the gospel in that / whā he spake vnto Iu¦das the traytour saynge / that thou dost / or wyll do: do it shortely / his disciples (saythe the gospell) nat knowynge what he ment: supposed / and thoughte: he had boden and cōmaunded Iudas (bycause he bare the cōmune purse) to bye some thinges againe the feast / or els that he shulde gyue some almes vn∣to the poore nedy persones / whiche they wolde nat haue supposed ne thought: excepte they had byfore (by experience) knowen: that he had accustomed & vsed to gyue or cōmaunde almes vnto the pore and

nedy persones. Nowe for the thyrde / that he mini∣stred vnto his disciples all thynges necessary: doth appere by his owne wordes vnto thē sayng. Whan you went about with me (sayth he) byd you lacke or want any thyng. They sayd / nay / we lecked notīg.* 1.5 So than is proued that he dyd prouide for them al maner of thynges necessarie. And consequentely here is shewed by the auctorite of the gospel: howe Christe our lorde and sauiour: dyd spende dispose and ministre the cōmune goodes. And no man (I thynke) can shewe that he spent or disposed any ma¦ner of goodes / in any other maner. Wherby is eui∣dent vnto all them y^t haue good wyl to here / knowe & to folowe y^e trouth / & right way: howe euery soue¦rein / & officer shuld spēd / or dispose: y^e cōmune goo¦d{is} of y^e monasterie / y^t is to say / other ī ornamēt{is} of y^e churche / and that doth apperteyne vnto the deuine seruice of god / and his honoure / or els / vnto the ve∣ry / and vnfeyned nede of the monasterie / that is to say / the mayntenaunce and reparacion of al the hou¦synge / byldynge / and landes apperteynynge there vnto. And vnto the exhibicion / and necessarie fyn∣dynge of the housholde and company therof / that is to say: principally the couent / and than theyr neces∣sarie seruauntes / and all to be founde in al thynges honestly and without penury. For by the cōmune canon lawe:* 1.6 No mo persones / shulde be receiued in¦to any monastery: than by the clere reuenewes / and rentes of the same: may be honestely foūde without penury. For whan the souereynes or the officers done pynce the couent with nygardy and hardines that dothe euer ingender / and brede murmure and grudge. Specially whan the selfe souereynes and

officers done fare wel / & take plēty vnto them selfe. And the couent also done perceyue: that the souerey¦nes / or officers seruaūtes: done fare better / and ben more liberally intreated: than the couent. And whā the souereynes ben absent from y^e couent: than doth the couente take euer occasion to desyre liberte / as theyr souereynes haue. Another occasion in the so∣uereynes and officers: is the negligent cure of the seke persones in the monasterie. The charge of whome apperteyneth moste chefly vnto the souerei¦nes. For they shulde se and knowe / and nat only cō¦maunde: that the seke / shulde nothynge lacke that were necessarie. And in very dede: they bene many tymes lytel regarded / and nat charitably intreated and that doth cause / some persones to be content to haue somwhat / and to take of frendes: wherewith to releue them selfe. Where they chyfly: and than al the other of the couent shulde (as I sayd) haue without penury / all maner of thynges necessarie / ministred by the souereynes / and the officers: liberally / gētil∣ly / paciently / kyndly / louyngly / and charitably. And thā shulde they set lytel by all the hole world / & nat onely auoyde: but also abhorre & hate propriete They se thing{is} (after y^e maner byfore sayd) duely ac¦cōplesshed: & reasonable / {pro}uisiō made for y^e yere fo∣lowyng: all the residue of al the rētes & reuenuwes of y^e monasterie: shuld holly be gyuē & delt in almes vnto y^e pore & nedy people. For y^e monasteries shuld neuer kepe ne care:* 1.7 for any worldly tresour / our sa∣uiour sayd vnto his disciples. No lite the saurizare vobis the saurū su{per} terrā. That is / haue you neuer appetite ne wyll: to kepe / or ley for your selfe: any maner of treasure or ryches vpon yerth. Whiche sē∣tence:

is imparatyue / & a cōmaūdement / vnto al thē y^t haue enterprised & takē vpon thē the discipline of Christe. And than if y^e cōmaūdemēt shulde be kepte of any {per}sones: of whome (I pray you) shulde it be∣come better / & more precisely to be kept: than of thē y^t (by solēpne vowe haue enterprised / & promised to folowe Christ: y^t so cōmaūded) in pouerte. To kepe tresoure thā in places of religion: is al one / to kepe a fende / or spirite of the dyuell in a cage or cofre. Nowe ye se and may well {per}ceyue: howe (after y^e ex¦ample of our sauiour) the goodes of the monasterie shulde be spente / & nother by the wyl / pleasure / or di¦screcion of the souereynes or officers / or yet by any other meane: thā only by the sayd exāples of Christ & by the laboure & diligēce of y^e soueryne & officers.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Ro. 15. A.
• * 1.2

  Lu. .2. G.
• * 1.3

  Io. 5. & 7.
• * 1.4

  Io. 13. C.
• * 1.5

  Luce. 22.
• * 1.6

  Ex. de in∣stib{us} ca. nō amplius & ca. aucto∣ritate.
• * 1.7

  Matth. 6. C.