them they make theyr place or monastery a paradyse in erthe & themself professed therin angelles full pleasaût vnto god. Wherfor amonge y^e spouses of god ben one wyll / one comfort / one heuynes Remembrynge y^t he is prynce of peas & charyte. in whom they shalbe wedded vnto. Forsake y^e desyre of têporall goodes / for better it is to be ryche with other in the worlde than to be poore in a monasterye & to haue a desyre to haue god. Blessyd be they sayth our lorde y^t ben poore in spyryte &c. The more noble y^t ye ben & come of worshypfull lynage y^e more ye shal meke your self / & euer be gladde of poore & vyle habyte or clothynge / beware of obstentacyon & pryde or to desyre to be better arayed than an other syster is. And remembre y^t ye shall be professed & wedde elyke to one spouse Ihesu cryste in one wyl & vowe / whiche loue none suche syngularyte / pompe & vayne glorye. For in his court shall not a kynges doughter haue prerogatyf afore an other in lower degree borne. Goostly lyf requyreth no dignyte temporall / though all ye be neuer so meke / yet your spouse was & is moche more meker. See in your mynde how y^t sayⁿt Peter was a poore fyssher / and Bartylmew a noble man of byrth. Netheles Peter was preferred & made prynce of Bartylmew & of all the worlde. Beware of grutchynge y^t whiche gretly dyspleaseth god. Commende neuer your self of ony goodes gyuen or to be gyuen of you or by yours to y^e monasterye or els where / but euer lerne & vse you to take y^e crosse & to folowe your spouse in penaûce / & do that ye come for / kepynge obedyence / pacyence / mekenesse / sylence / prayer / fastynge / & suche other as your relygyon wyll gyue you Instruccyon. And in ony wyse shewe mekenesse in your langage / countenaûce & all other behauyour / & in especyall to your heed & souerayne / the whiche representeth cryste your spouse / & that in all obedyence / drede / loue / & reuerence. Neuer disputynge of theyr wyll or of other that be your souerayns / but thynke y^t all is ryghtfull y^t they do / presume not to correcte theyr Iugementes. For as by example yf eche man sholde haue the guydynge of a shyppe y^t they be within / it sholde neuer prospere ne come to the hauen y^t it desyred. And as ye be professed deed to the worlde so be ye deed in other mennes dedes. Also remêbre that ye must forsake your owne wyll & offre it vp & gyue it to god & to them that shall be your souerayne & heed for euer more. Enforce eche one of you that shall come to religyon to passe an other in obedyence / for than doubtles ye shall please god A true obedyencer that hath vtterly forsaken his owne wyll / knowe not ony thynge harde to do y^t is cõmaunded of theyr souerayne ne ony thynge vnryghtfull. Beware of ydelnes the whiche is moder of all synne & vnclennesse / so that by your offyce that ye be called to / or by prayer / redynge / wrytynge / sewynge / or other handewerkes doynge / ye may make your bodyes dayly wery & crucyfyed. And therby make your spyrytes the more quycke and apte to the seruyce of our lorde in confusyon of your enemye and encreace of glorye. Beware to be Inquysytyf / or to muse on hyghe maters and subtyll. And leue them to worldely people / and to clerkes / for otymes the letter may hurte you Thynke euer y^t ye had leuer dye than ones to passe the clausures or boûdes of your monasterye. Yf ye haue a faythfull & a Iuste frende / to whom ye may open y^e secretes of your herte / than ye haue a grete tresour / for oftymes one shall be deceyued & seldome can iuge the trouth in his owne maters so well as other. Knowe your owne synnes & wayle them & medle w^t none other. Beware euer of detraccion & flee it as it were a venemous serpent / y^t the speker therof be your contenaûce & departynge from them may be ashamed / & therwith lothe for euer so to speke or do. Moreouer yf ye wyll see your spouse Ihesu cryst in your mynde by contemplacõn euer kepe your sylence. For saynt Ierom sawe many in Egypt amonge holy faders that .vij. yeres togyder spake not owne worde / but only to god & to his saynt. Yf the caas be so y^t ye must speke / lete it be in all peas & charyte & w^t fewe wordes. Remembrynge y^t your spouse loueth no voyde claterynge / but wolde be w^t you alone in all quyetnesse in your soules. Wherfore be ye aferde to dysplease hym or to dryue hym out from you w^t stryues or debate / sclaundres / othes / and suche other / Saynt Iames coûselleth eche man to refrayne his tonge / sayenge that lyf & deth ben in the power of y^e same tonge / wrytynge thus. Who that refrayneth his tonge he shalbe blessyd in all dedes &c. Knowleche your self at all tymes carayne and erthe / & the glory therof is as a floure in the medowe. Absteyne you as pylgryms from all desyres of y^e flesshe / the whiche dayly bataylleth ayenst the soule. Absteyne also from lyes at all tymes / as ye wolde from helle / for them in no wyse loueth Ihesus your spouse. And also beware to mayntene or botrace suthe lyes whiche is abhomynable in the syght of god. Yf there come ony straûger vnto you / lete hym knowe by your heuenly talkynge & behauyour y^t ye be a well taught spouse of cryste & y^t they may glorefye in you & for you & be amended by you. Bere y^e wordes of saynt Ierom in your mynde that sayth thus. Truste me verely y^t theris no thynge more peryllous to a man. than is a woman / & to a woman no thynge more contagyous than is a man / for eyther of them is chaff & eyther is fyre. And note this for a truth / y^t preuy talkyng lacketh no suspycyon. That thynge is not lefull to be seen / y^t is not lefull to be desyred. More than ony man can suppose or wryte / y^e deuyll reioyseth whan memorye of o man is fixed & had in a womãnes herte. There is no venym in the worlde so noysom to woman as is affeccõn towarde man of what soeuer cause it procede or growe. Ye may see y^t the desyre of worldly wymen is euer in vesture / golde / precyous stones / & ornament outwarde of the body / & therin they put theyr glorye & felycyte. In so moche y^t it suffyseth not them theyr luste gyuen by nature only / but they seke occasyon & craft by the sayd premysses to encreace theyr sayd luste & desyres to theyr grete dampnacõn / beware ther fore of ony costely habyte or suche vanytees &c. Certaynly sayth the sayd saynt Ierom / y^e pryncypall desyre is of suche wymen y^t men sholde fest theyr eyen in y^e faces of them by the prouocacõn & syght of theyr precyous arraye. But they sholde cõsyder though nature hath gyuen to golde / & suthe other a precyosyte wherby they ben praysed / what is