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[^AELRED OF RIEVAULX'S DE INSTITUTIONE
INCLUSARUM.
EARLY ENGLISH TEXT SOCIETY, 287.
ED. J. AYTO AND A. BARRATT.
LONDON, 1984.
PP. 13.522 - 17.679 (MS BODLEY 423)^]

<P 13>
[} (\CAPITULUM XIJ\) }]
[}HOU CHASTITE WITH-OUTE MEKENES IS AS A DRYE FLOURE.}]

   Al-though chastite be the flour of alle vertues, yit         #
with-oute
mekenesse she waxith drye and fadith his colour. Therfor I      #
shal telle
the somwhat of mekenes: ther is noon so syker a grounde and     #
stable
<P 14>
foundement anemst alle vertues as is mekenesse, with-oute whom  #
alle
gostly begynnynges ben ful ruynous. Right as mekenesse is the 
grounde of alle vertues, as I haue saide bifore, so is pride    #
the grounde
and the moder of alle vices, the whiche caste Lucifer out of    #
heuen and
Adam oute of paradys. Of this wrecched rote springen many       #
b[{ra{]unches:
natheles alle mown be diuyded in-to too spices, that is in-to
bodily pride and gostly pride. Bodily pride stondith in         #
bostynge and
veyn-glory of outwarde bodily thinges. Gostly pride stondith    #
in bostynge
and veyn-glory of inwarde gostly thynges.
   Than if thou that shuldist be Cristys mayde haue eny         #
veyn-glory
with-in thiself of eny array, of nobleye, of ty[{r{]e, of       #
beute, of shap of
body, of semelyheed or of dyuerse ornamentes of thy selle, of   #
clothes,
of peyntures or of ymages and suche othir, thou offendist thy   #
lorde
and thy special louyer in pride of outward thinges. If thou     #
haue eny
veyn-glory of thy poure array for Goddis sake, of deuocyons,    #
of gostly
felynges, of diuerse preseruacions day or nyght, not thonkynge  #
Iesu
Crist therfore bot wenynge that it cometh of thiself, than      #
thou offendist
thy lord and thy special louyer in pride of inward thinges.     #
Oure
Lord whom thou louest so specialy, whan he cam in-to this       #
worlde, he
made hym poure to make the riche and he chees a poure moder, a  #
pore
house, a poure meyne and a cracche to lye inne, in stede of a   #
ryal
bedde.
   Loue him therfor wel and thanke him that he hath so          #
enspired the to
chese rather chastite and clennes than flesshly lust and        #
likynge, for
certeyn thou hast chosen the best part; kepe it if thou may     #
and if thou
be ioyful, be thou ioyful in God with-in-forthe, for +te        #
prophete saith
thus: (\Omnis gloria filie regis abintus in fimbreis aureis     #
circumamicta
varietatibus\) . 'Al the ioye of the kinges doughter', he       #
saith, 'he shuld
be with-in-forthe, in golden hemmes vmbigon with diuersitees    #
of vertues,'
and there may she here his fader speke to hir and say, as the
prophete saith: (\Audi filia et vide et inclina aurem tuam et   #
obliuiscere
populum tuum et domum patris tui quia concupiscet rex decorem
tuum\) . That is to say, 'Here, doughter, and se and bowe down  #
thyn
eere.' Why? To listne what he saith 'Foryete the peple of veyn
thoughtes and thy fadirs hous, that is to say of worldly        #
vanitees, for
the kynge my sone hath desired thy beute.' This is a blessed    #
wower,
that wowith for his sone. Here therfore and se, al this shuld   #
be thyn
in ioye; this ioye shuld be witnes of thy conscience, this      #
ioye shuld be
thy gardeyn, thyn orcharde and thy disport.
   Ther maist thow beholde and se hou dyuerse vertues swetely
semblen hem togidir: euery of hem encressith other vertues and 
fairnes, for she that is fair ynowgh in hir owen kynde, is      #
fairir for hir
<P 15>
felowe. Se now how: couple mekenes to chastite and ther is no   #
thynge
brighter; couple mercy to rightwesnes and ther is noo thynge    #
swetter;
couple symplenes to prudence and ther is no thynge lighter;     #
couple
myldenes to strengthe and ther is no thynge profitabler. In     #
this
dyuersite of vertues occupie thy gostly eye in thy disport and  #
forme 
hem in thiself; and if thou annexe hem to the gilden hemmes,    #
than art
thou rialy arrayed with a mottely cote, the whiche thy lord     #
Iesu hath
ordeyned for +te.
   An hemme is the lower partie and, as were, the ende of a     #
cote. By 
this hemme I vnderstonde charite, whiche is the ende and the    #
hemme
of al the lawe, in a clene herte, a good conscience and a       #
trewe feith. In
these thinges sette al thy ioye inwardly, and not in outwarde   #
thinges.

[} (\CAPITULUM XIIJ\) }]

[}HOW THE AWTIER OF A RECLUSE ORATORYE SHULD BE ARRAYED}]
   Now shal I shewe the how thou shalt arraye thyn oratory.     #
Arraye
thyn autier with white lynnen clothe, the whiche bitokeneth     #
bothe
chastite and symplenesse, Thenke first hou flexe cometh oute    #
of the
erthe and with gret labour is maad white, as with dyuerse       #
wasshinges
and purginges, and than dryed and atte last, to make it moor    #
whyte, it
nedeth to haue both fire and water. By this flexe I             #
vnderstonde al 
mankynde that cam oute of the erthe, the whiche mankynde is by
grace maad white by baptem, where that wickednes is put a-way,  #
but
not infirmyte, for in partie we resceyue clennes in baptem but  #
not
fully, for cause of corrupcyon of nature that aboundith in vs.
   After this baptem mankynde nedeth to be dryed by abstinence  #
and 
other bodely affliccyons from vnclene an vnleeful humours and   #
than 
nedith mankynde to be brused with yren hamours, that is with
dyuerse temptacions and so be rent with dyuerse hokes of        #
disciplynes
and confessions to auoyde the foule rust of synne of quotidyan
defautes the whiche thei beren aboute. And firthermore, if      #
thei wil
ascende to an hyer grace of moor clennes, that is chastite,     #
than mosten
+tei passe by fire of tribulacion and water of compunccyon.     #
Thus shalt
thou arraye thyn autier of thyn oratorye.
   In this autere sette an ymage of Cristis passion, that thou  #
may haue
mynde and se hou he sette and spredde his armes a-brood to      #
resceyue
the and al mankynde to mercy, if thai wil axe it. And if it     #
plese the,
sette on that oo syde an ymage of oure Lady and a-nother on     #
that other 
syde of Seint Iohn, for commendacyon of moor chastite, in       #
token that
oure Lord is wel plesed with chastite, bothe of man and of      #
womman,
the whiche he [{halow{]ed in oure Lady and Seint Iohn. Beholde  #
the
ymage of oure Lady and thenke that she is helper of mankynde,   #
ioye of
<P 16>
heuen, refute of wrecches, solace and comfort of disperate,     #
lady of the
worlde, queen of heuen.
   And than renne to Cristys passyon, sekynge therin oo         #
thynge, 
that is oure Lorde himself, for who-so cleueth to him, he is    #
oo spiryt
with hym, passynge in-to hym, the whiche is alway the same,     #
whos
yeres faylen neuere. This cleuynge to Iesu is no thynge elles   #
but
charite, whiche is the hemme and the ende of al the lawe, as I  #
haue 
saide before.
   Now haue I shewed the a motley cote, a weddynge cote, a      #
cote with
golden hemmes, the whiche shuld be a maydens cote, vmbigoon     #
with
diuersitees of vertues, annexed to the [{whiche{] the hemme of  #
charite,
the whiche charite is dyuyded in-to tweyne, loue of God and     #
loue of
thy neighboure; the loue of thy neighbore stondith in good      #
wille and 
in innocence. Good wille wolde that al that thou woldist men    #
diden to
the, thou shuldest do to hem. Innocence wolde that thou         #
sholdest not
do to a-no+ter, the whiche thou woldist not were doon to the.
   The first the semeth is harde, sith thy profession wolde     #
that thou
sholdist noo temperal good haue; nay, is it not so. The         #
seconde the
semeth is light ynowgh, for thou maist hurte no man but with    #
thy
tonge. Certeyn the first is as light as thys, for ther may no   #
matere be of
yuel wille wher no couetise is; therfore wilne wel to alle      #
folke and do
the profyt that thou maist. Perauenture thou saist, 'What       #
profyt shal I
doo, sith I may be suffred to haue no thynge forto yeue to      #
pore folke?'
Thou seist wel, good suster; knowe what staat thou standist in.
   Ther wern too sustirs: that one Martha and that o+tir        #
Maria, as the 
gospel tellith; that oon labored, and that other was as she     #
were ydel;
that one yaf, the tothir asked; the tone serued, the tothir     #
norisshed hir
affeccyon, not rennynge aboute hyder and tyder in resceyuynge   #
of
pore gestes ne distrayt of gouernayl of housholde, but she      #
saat at Iesus
feet, herynge deuoutly what he saide. This is thy part,         #
suster, in this
stondist thou, dere sustir, for thou art deed and buryed to     #
the worlde.
Martha was commended as for good occupacion, but Marye was 
commended of oure Lorde as for the better partye. Trowist thow  #
that
Marye grucched of Martha? Nay, but rather Martha of Marye. In   #
the
saam wise thei the whiche ben holden good comoun lyuers of the
worlde grucchen of thy lyuynge, not thov of hers.
   Therfore almes that shuld be youen longeth to hem whiche han
worldly godes or holy chirche godes to dispende. For the godes
whiche cristen peple yeuen to holy chirche, the mynistres that  #
han it
to kepe shulde departe it either to wydowes, fadirles           #
children, pilgrimes,
or to other pore folke and also to hem that seruen in holy
<P 17>
chirche. Also the godes whiche are youen to abbeys or to othir  #
houses 
of religyon it is committed to certeyne persones of the saam    #
house to 
dispende as it nedeth and +te ouer-pluys shuld be shitte in     #
hucches to 
be deled to poure folke, as I saide before. Alle this peple     #
representen
+te staat of Martha.
   Cloistrers han not to do with this, but +tei shulden         #
norisshe her
affeccions with blessed idelnes and feden her soule with        #
gostly delytes. 
Than sithen to cloistrers it is not suffred to ben occupyed     #
with
the lyf of Martha, muche moor to the that vtterly hast forsake  #
al
worldly besynesse and art called a recluse. If it so be that    #
thou haue
eny thynge in stoor thorugh thyn owen labore, dele it to pore   #
folke.
Yhe and though thou haue no thynge for-to yeue, yhit in the     #
sight of
God a gode wille is moor to be commended than eny bodily yifte:
yeue that therfore. What is better than praier? Yeue that.      #
What is 
kynder than pyte? Yeue +tat. And al the worlde attones          #
biclippe and
gripe in the bosom of loue and charite. And for hem whiche      #
thou 
fyndest good lyuers, thanke oure Lorde, and for hem that thou
fyndest yuel lyuers, by wailyng and wepynge praie oure Lorde    #
for
hem; with pyte biholde hem the whiche ben in dissese, as pore   #
peple,
destitucion of widowes, desperat soules, nedes of pilgrymes,    #
perels of
shipmen, vowe of maydens, temptacion of monkes, besynes of      #
prelates
and laboures of tilyenge peple. To alle these shaltow open thy
bosom of loue and charite, for this almes is moost accordynge   #
to thy
professyon and to our Lord most acceptable and to hem that it   #
is
youen to, most spedful and profitable. Alle these thynges       #
helpen
gretly thyn holy purpos for truly, as Seynt Gregory seith,      #
holy faders
afore these days studieden with al her besynes to refuse al     #
worldly
good as nye as they mighten, that thei mighten therby the       #
lightlyer
loue God and her neighbore. 



