good works.
But for as much as some folk are immoderate, men ought to avoid foolish largess, which men call waste.
Certainly, he that is prodigal gives not his wealth, but loses his wealth. Truly, that which he gives out of
vainglory, as to minstrels and to followers, in order to have his renown carried about the world, he does sin
thereby rather than gives alms. Certainly, he shamefully loses his wealth who seeks in the gift thereof nothing
but sin. He is like a horse that chooses rather to drink muddy or turbid water than the clear water of a well.
And for as much as they give where they should not give, to them belongs that cursing which Christ will give
at the day of doom to those that shall be damned.
SEQUITUR DE GULA
After avarice comes gluttony, which also is entirely against the commandment of God. Gluttony is
immoderate appetite to eat or to drink, or else to yield to the immoderate desire to eat or to drink. This sin
corrupted all this world, as is well shown by the sin of Adam and Eve. Read, also, what Saint Paul says of
gluttony: "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the
enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their
shame, who mind earthly things." He that is addicted to this sin of gluttony may withstand no other sin. He
may even be in the service of all the vices, for it is in the Devil's treasure house that he hides himself and
rests. This sin has many species. The first is drunkenness, which is the horrible sepulture of man's reason; and
therefore, when a man is drunk he has lost his reason; and this is deadly sin. But truly, when a man is not
used to strong drink, and perhaps knows not the strength of the drink, or is feeble-minded, or has toiled, for
which reason he drinks too much, then, though he be suddenly caught by drink, it is not deadly sin, but
venial. The second kind of gluttony is when the spirit of man grows turbid for drunkenness has robbed him of
the discretion of his wit. The third kind of gluttony is when a man devours his food and has no correct
manner of eating. The fourth is when, through the great abundance of his food, the humours in his body
become distempered. The fifth is, forgetfulness caused by too much drinking, whereby sometimes a man
forgets before the morning what he did last evening, or the night before.
In another manner are distinguished the kinds of gluttony, according to Saint Gregory. The first is, eating
before it is time to eat. The second is when a man gets himself too delicate food or drink. The third is when
men eat too much, and beyond measure. The fourth is fastidiousness, with great attention paid to the
preparation and dressing of food. The fifth is to eat too greedily. These are the five fingers of the Devil's hand
wherewith he draws folk into sin.
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REMEDIUM CONTRA PECCATUM GULE
Against gluttony abstinence is the remedy, as Galen says; but I hold that to be not meritorious if he do it only
for the health of his body. Saint Augustine will have it that abstinence should be practised for the sake of
virtue and with patience. Abstinence, he says, is little worth unless a man have a good will thereto, and save it
be practised in patience and charity and that men do it for God's sake and in hope of the bliss of Heaven.
The companions of abstinence are temperance, which follows the middle course in all things; and shame,
which eschews all indecency; and sufficiency, which seeks after no rich foods and drinks and cares nothing
for too extravagant dressing of meats. Measure, also, which restrains within reason the unrestrained appetite
for eating; sobriety, also, which restrains the luxurious desire to sit long and softly at meat, and because of
which some folk, of their own will, stand, in order to spend less time at eating.
SEQUITUR DE LUXURIA
After gluttony, then comes lechery; for these two sins are such close cousins that oftentimes they will not be
separated. God knows, this sin is unpleasing to God; for He said Himself, "Do no lechery." And therefore He
imposed great penalties against this sin in the old law. If a bondwoman were taken in this sin, she should be
beaten to death with rods. And if she were a woman of quality, she should be slain with stones. And if she
were a bishop's daughter, she should be burnt, by God's commandment. Furthermore, for the sin of lechery,
God drowned all the world by the deluge. And after that He burned five cities with thunderbolts and sank
them into Hell.
Let us speak, then, of that stinking sin of lechery that men call adultery of wedded folk, which is to say, if one
of them be wedded, or both. Saint John says that adulterers shall be in Hell "in the lake which burneth with
fire and brimstone"- in the fire for the lechery, in brimstone for the stink of their filthiness. Certainly, the
breaking of this sacrament is a horrible thing; it was ordained by God Himself in Paradise, and confirmed by
Jesus Christ, as witness Saint Matthew in the gospel: "For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and
shall cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh." This sacrament betokens the knitting together of
Christ and of Holy Church. And not only did God forbid adultery in deed, but also He commanded that "thou
shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife." This behest, says Saint Augustine, contains the forbidding of all desire
to do lechery. Behold what Saint Matthew says in the gospel: "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after
her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." Here you may see that not only the doing of this
sin is forbidden, but also the desire to do that sin. This accursed sin grievously troubles those whom it haunts.
And first, it does harm to the soul; for it constrains it to sin and to the pain of everlasting death. Unto the
body it is a tribulation also, for it drains it, and wastes and ruins it, and makes of its blood a sacrifice to the
Field of Hell; also it wastes wealth and substance. And certainly, if it be a foul thing for a man to waste his
wealth on women, it is a yet fouler thing when, for such filthiness, women spend on men their wealth and
their substance. This sin, as says the prophet, robs man and woman of good name and of all honour; and it
gives great pleasure to the Devil, for thereby won he the greater part of the world. And just as a merchant
delights most in that trading whereof he reaps the greater gain, just so the Fiend delights in this filth.
This is the Devil's other hand, with five fingers to catch the people into his slavery. The first finger is the
foolish interchange of glances between the foolish woman and the foolish man, which slays just as the
basilisk slays folk by the venom of its sight; for the lust of the eyes follows the lust of the heart. The second
finger is vile touching in wicked manner; and thereupon Solomon says that he who touches and handles a
woman fares like the man that handles the scorpion which stings and suddenly slays by its poisoning; even
as, if any man touch warm pitch, it defiles his fingers. The third is vile words, which are like fire, which
immediately burns the heart. The fourth finger is kissing; and truly he were a great fool who would kiss the
mouth of a burning oven or of a furnace. And the more fools they are who kiss in vileness; for that mouth in
the mouth of Hell; and I speak specifically of these old dotard whoremongers, who will yet kiss though they
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cannot do anything, and so taste them. Certainly they are like dogs, for a dog, when he passes a rosebush, or
other bushes, though he cannot piss, yet will he heave up his leg and make an appearance of pissing. And as
for the opinion of many that a man cannot sin for any lechery he does with his wife, certainly that opinion is
wrong. God knows, a man may slay himself with his own knife, and make himself drunk out of his own tun.
Certainly, be it wife, be it child, or any worldly thing that a man loves more than he loves God, it is his idol,
and he is an idolater. Man should love his wife with discretion, calmly and moderately; and then she is as it
were his sister. The fifth finger of the Devil's hand is the stinking act of lechery. Truly, the five fingers of
gluttony the Fiend thrusts into the belly of a man, and with his five fingers of lechery he grips him by the
loins in order to throw him into the furnace of Hell; wherein he shall have the fire and the everlasting worms,
and weeping and wailing, sharp hunger and thirst, and horror of devils that shall trample all over him, without
respite and without end. From lechery, as I said, spring divers branches; as fornication, which is between man
and woman who are not married; and this is deadly sin and against nature. All that is an enemy to and
destructive of nature is against nature. Faith, the reason of a man tells him well that it is mortal sin, since God
forbade lechery. And Saint Paul gives him over to that kingdom which is the reward of no man save those
who do mortal sin. Another sin of lechery is to bereave a maiden of her maidenhead; for he that so does,
certainly, he casts a maiden out of the highest state in this present life and he bereaves her of that precious
fruit that the Book calls "the hundred fruit." I can say it in no other way in English, but in Latin it is called
centesimus fructus. Certainly, he that so acts is the cause of many injuries and villainies, more than any man
can reckon; just as he sometimes is cause of all damage that beasts do in the field, who breaks down the
hedge or the fence, just so does the seducer destroy that which cannot be restored. For truly, no more may a
maidenhead be restored than an arm that has been smitten from the body may return thereto to grow again.
She may have mercy, this I know well, if she does penance, but it shall never again be that she is uncorrupted.
And though I have spoken somewhat of adultery, it is well to show forth more dangers that come of adultery,
in order that men may eschew that foul sin. Adultery, in Latin, means to approach another man's bed, by
reason of which those that once were one flesh abandon their bodies to other persons. Of this sin, as the wise
man says, follow many evils. First, breaking of faith; and certainly, in faith lies the key to Christianity. And
when faith is broken and lost, truly, Christianity stands barren and without fruit. This sin is also a theft; for
theft commonly is to deprive a person of his own thing against his will. Certainly this is the vilest thievery
that can be when a woman steals her body from her husband and gives it to her lecher to defile her; and steals
her soul from Christ and gives it to the Devil. This is a fouler theft than to break into a church and steal the
chalice; for these adulterers break into the temple of God spiritually and steal the vessel of grace, that is, the
body and the soul, for which Christ will destroy them, as Saint Paul says. Truly, of this theft Joseph was
much afraid when his master's wife besought him to lie with her, and he said: "Behold, my master wotteth not
what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand: there is none greater in this
house than I; neither hath he kept any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do
this great wickedness and sin against God?" Alas! All too little is such truth encountered nowadays. The third
evil is the filth whereby they break the commandment of God and defame the Author of matrimony, Who is
Christ. For certainly, in so far as the sacrament of marriage is so noble and honourable, so much the more is it
a sin to break it; for God established marriage in Paradise, in the state of innocence, in order to multiply
mankind to the service of God. And therefore is the breaking thereof the more grievous. Of which breaking
come oftentimes false heirs, that wrongfully inherit. And therefore will Christ put them out of the Kingdom
of Heaven, which is the heritage of good folk. From this breaking it happens oftentimes, also, that people wed
or sin with their own kindred; and specially the loose-livers who haunt the brothels of prostitutes, who may
be likened to a common privy wherein men purge themselves of their ordure. What shall we say, also, of
whoremasters who live by the horrible sin of prostitution, yea, sometimes by the prostitution of their own
wives and children, as do pimps and procurers? Certainly these are accursed sins. Understand also that
adultery is fitly placed in the ten commandments between theft and homicide; for it is the greatest theft that
can be, being theft of' body and of soul. And it is like homicide, for it cuts in twain and breaks asunder those
that were made one flesh, and therefore, by the old law of God, adulterers should be slain. But nevertheless,
by the law of Jesus Christ, which is a law of pity, He said to the woman who was taken in adultery and
should have been slain with stones, according to the will of the Jews, as was their law: "Go," said Jesus
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Christ, "and have no more will to sin," or "will no more to do sin." Truly, the punishment of adultery is given
to the torment of Hell, unless it be that it is hindered by penitence. And there are yet more branches of this
wicked sin; as when one of them is a religious, or else both; or folk who have entered orders, as a
sub-deacon, or deacon, or priest, or hospitaller. And ever the higher that he is in orders, the greater is the sin.
The thing that greatly aggravates their sin is the breaking of the vow of chastity, taken when they received the
order. And furthermore, the truth is that the office of a holy order is chief of all the treasury of God, and His
special sign and mark of chastity, to show that those who have entered it are joined to chastity, which is the
most precious kind of life there is. And these folk in orders are specially dedicated to God, and are of the
special household of God; for which, when they do deadly sin, they are especially traitors to God and to His
people; for they live on the people in order to pray for the people, and while they are such traitors their
prayers avail the people nothing at all. Priests are angels, by reason of the dignity of their ministry; but
forsooth, as Saint Paul says: "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." Truly, the priest that resorts
to mortal sin, he may be likened to the angel of darkness transformed into the angel of light; he seems an
angel of light, but, forsooth, he is an angel of darkness. Such priests are the sons of Eli, as is shown in the
Book of the Kings, that they were the sons of Belial, that is, the Devil. Belial means, "without judge"; and so
fare they; they think they are free and have no judge, any more than has a free bull that takes whatever cow
pleases him on the farm. So act they with women. For just as a free bull is enough for all a farm, just so is a
wicked priest corruption enough for all a parish, or for all a county. These priests, as the Book says, teach not
the functions of priesthood to the people, and they know not God; they held themselves but ill satisfied, as the
Book says, with the flesh that was boiled and offered to them and took by force the flesh that was raw.
Certainly, so these scoundrels hold themselves not pleased with roasted flesh and boiled flesh, with which the
people feed them in great reverence, but they will have the raw flesh of laymen's wives and of their
daughters. And certainly these women that give assent to their rascality do great wrong to Christ and to Holy
Church and all saints and all souls; for they bereave all these of him that should worship Christ and Holy
Church and pray for Christian souls. And therefore such priests and their lemans also, who give assent to
their lechery, have the cursing of all the Christian court, until they mend their ways. The third kind of
adultery is sometimes practised between a man and his wife; and that is when they have no regard to their
union, save only for their fleshly delight, as says Saint Jerome; and care for nothing but that they are come
together; because they are married, it is all well enough, as they think. But over such folk the Devil has
power, as said the Angel Raphael to Tobias; for in their union they put Jesus Christ out of mind and give
themselves to all filthiness. The fourth kind is the coming together of those that are akin, or of those that are
related by marriage, or else of those whose fathers or other kindred have had intercourse in the sin of lechery;
this sin makes them like dogs that pay no heed to relationship. And certainly, kinship is of two kinds, either
spiritual or carnal; spiritual, as when one lies with one's sponsor. For just as he that engenders a child is its
fleshly father, just so is his godfather his spiritual father. For which reason a woman is in no less sin when
she lies carnally with her godfather or her godson than she would be in if she coupled with her own fleshly
brother. The fifth kind is that abominable sin whereof a man ought scarcely to speak or write,
notwithstanding it is openly discussed in holy writ. This wickedness men and women do with divers
intentions and in divers manners; but though holy writ speaks of such horrible sin, holy writ cannot be
defiled, any more than can the sun that shines upon the dunghill. Another form of sin appertains to lechery,
and that comes often to those who are virgin and also to those who are corrupt; and this sin men call
pollution, which comes in four ways. Sometimes it is due to laxness of the body; because the humours are too
rank and abundant in the body of man. Sometimes it is due to infirmity; because of the weakness of the
retentive virtue, as is discussed in works on medicine. Sometimes it is due to a surfeit of food and drink. And
sometimes it comes from base thoughts that were enclosed in man's mind when he fell asleep; which thing
may not happen without sin. Because of this, men must govern themselves wisely, or else they may fall into
grievous sin.
REMEDIUM CONTRA PECCATUM LUXURIE
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Now comes the remedy for lechery, and that is, generally, chastity and continence, which restrain all the
inordinate stirrings that come of fleshly desires. And ever the greater merit shall he have who restrains the
wicked enkindlings of the ordure of this sin. And this is of two kinds, that is to say, chastity in marriage and
chastity in widowhood. Now you shall understand that matrimony is the permitted coming together of man
and of woman, who receive, by virtue of the sacrament, the bond of union from which they may not be freed
in all their life, that is to say, while they both live. This, says the Book, is a very great sacrament. God
established it, as I have said, in Paradise, and had Himself born into wedlock. And to sanctify marriage, He
attended a wedding, where He turned water into wine, which, was the first miracle that He wrought on earth
before His disciples. The true result of marriage is the cleansing of fornication and the replenishing of Holy
Church with believers of good lineage; for that is the end of marriage; and it changes deadly sin to venial sin
between those who are wedded, and makes one the hearts of them, as well as the bodies. This is true
marriage, which was established by God ere sin began, when natural law occupied its rightful position in
Paradise; and it was ordained that one man should have but one woman, and one woman but one man, as
Saint Augustine says, and, that for many reasons.
First, because marriage figures the union between Christ and Holy Church. And another is, because the man
is the head of the woman; at any rate it has been so ordained by ordinance. For if a woman had more men
than one, then should she have more heads than one, and that were a horrible thing before God; and also, a
woman could not please too many folk at once. And also, there should never be peace or rest among them;
for each would demand his own thing. And furthermore, no man should know his own get, nor who should
inherit his property; and the woman should be the less beloved from the time that she were joined with many
men.
Now comes the question, How should a man conduct himself toward his wife? and specifically in two things,
that is to say, in tolerance and reverence, as Christ showed when He first made woman. For He made her not
of the head of Adam, because she should not claim to exercise great lordship. For wherever the woman has
the mastery she causes too much disorder; there are needed no instances of this. The experience of every day
ought to suffice. Also, certainly, God did not make woman of the foot of Adam, because she should not be
held in too great contempt; for she cannot patiently endure: but God made woman of the rib of Adam,
because woman should be a companion to man. Man should conduct himself toward his wife in faith, in
truth, and in love; as Saint Paul says: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and
gave Himself for it." So should a man give himself for his wife, if there be need.
Now how a woman should be subject to her husband, that is told by Saint Peter. First, by obedience. And
also, as says the law, a woman who is a wife, as long as she is a wife, has no authority to make oath or to bear
witness without the consent of her husband, who is her lord; in any event he should be so, in reason. She
should also serve him in all honour. and be modest in her dress. I know well that they should resolve to
please their husbands, but not by the finery of their array. Saint Jerome says that wives who go apparelled in
silk and in precious purple cannot clothe themselves in Jesus Christ. Also, what says Saint John on this
subject? Saint Gregory, also says that a person seeks precious array only out of vainglory, to be honoured the
more before the crowd. It is a great folly for a woman to have a fair outward appearance and inwardly to be
foul. A wife should also be modest in glance and demeanour and in conversation, and discreet in all her
words and deeds. And above all worldly things she should love her husband with her whole heart, and be true
to him of her body; so, also, should a husband be to his wife. For since all the body is the husband's, so
should her heart be, or else there is between them, in so far as that is concerned, no perfect marriage. Then
shall men understand that for three things a man and his wife may have carnal coupling. The first is with
intent to procreate children to the service of God, for certainly, that is the chief reason for matrimony.
Another is, to pay, each of them to the other, the debt of their bodies, for neither of them has power over his
own body. The third is, to avoid lechery and baseness. The fourth is, indeed, deadly sin. As for the first, it is
meritorious; the second also, for, as the law says, she has the merit of chastity who pays to her husband the
debt of her body, aye, though it be against her liking and the desire of her heart. The third is venial sin, and
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truly, hardly any of these unions may be without venial sin, because of the original sin and because of the
pleasure. As to the fourth, be it understood that if they couple only for amorous love and for none of the
aforesaid reasons, but merely to accomplish that burning pleasure, no matter how often, truly it is a mortal
sin; and yet (with sorrow I say it) some folk are at pains to do it more and oftener than their appetite really
demands.
The second kind of chastity is to be a clean widow and eschew the embraces of man and desire the embrace
of Jesus Christ. These are those that have been wives and have lost their husbands, and also women that have
fornicated and have been relieved by penitence. And truly, if a wife could keep herself always chaste with
leave and license of her husband, so that she should thereby give him never an occasion to sin, it were a great
merit in her. These women that observe chastity must be clean in heart as well as in body and in thought, and
modest in dress and demeanour; and be abstinent in eating and drinking, in speech and in deed. They are the
vessel or the box of the blessed Magdalen, which fills Holy Church with good odour. The third kind of
chastity is virginity, and it behooves her to be holy in heart and clean of body; then is she the spouse of Christ
and she is the beloved of the angels. She is the honour of this world, and she is the equal of martyrs; she has
within her that which tongue may not tell nor the heart think. Virginity bore Our Lord Jesus Christ, and virgin
was He Himself.
Another remedy for lechery is, specially to withhold oneself from such things as give rise to this baseness; as
ease, and eating and drinking: for certainly, when the pot boils furiously, the best measure is to withdraw it
from the fire. Sleeping long in great security from disturbance is also a nurse to lechery.
Another remedy for lechery is, that a man or woman eschew the company of those by whom he expects to be
tempted; for though it be that the act itself is withstood, yet there is great temptation. Truly a white wall,
though it burn not from the setting of a candle near it, yet shall the wall be made black by the flame. Often
and often I counsel that no man trust in his own perfection, save he be stronger than Samson and holier than
David and wiser than Solomon.
Now, since I have expounded to you, as best I could, the seven deadly sins, and some of their branches, and
their remedies, truly, if I could, I would tell you of the ten commandments. But so high a doctrine I leave to
the divines. Nevertheless, I hope to God that they have been touched upon in this treatise, each of them all.
DE CONFESSIONE
Now, for as much as the second part of penitence deals in oral confession, as I said in the first paragraph
hereof, I say that Saint Augustine says: Sin is every word and every deed and all that men covet against the
law of Jesus Christ; and that is, to sin in heart, in word, and in deed by one's five senses, which are sight,
hearing, smell, taste or savour, and feeling. Now it is well to understand that which greatly aggravates every
sin. You should consider what you are that do the sin, whether you are male or female, young or old, noble or
thrall, free or servant, healthy or ailing, wedded or single, member of a religious order or not, wise or foolish,
clerical or secular; whether she is of your kindred, bodily or spiritual, or not; whether any of your kindred has
sinned with her, or not; and many other things.
Another circumstance is this: whether it be done in fornication, or in adultery, or otherwise; incest, or not;
maiden, or not; in manner of homicide, or not; horrible great sins, or small; and how long you have continued
in sin. The third circumstance is the place where you have done the sin; whether in other men's houses, or
your own; in field, or in church or churchyard; in a dedicated church, or not. For if the church be consecrated,
and man or woman spill seed within that place, by way of sin or by wicked temptation, the church is
interdicted till it be reconciled by the bishop; and the priest that did such a villainy, for the term of all his life,
should nevermore sing mass; and if he did, he should do deadly sin every time that he so sang mass. The
fourth circumstance is, what go-betweens, or what messengers, are sent for the sake of enticement, or to gain
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consent to bear company in the affair; for many a wretch, for the sake of companionship, will go to the Devil
of Hell. Wherefore those that egg on to or connive for the sin are partners, in the sin, and shall partake of the
damnation of the sinner. The fifth circumstance is, how many times has he sinned, if it be in his memory, and
how often he has fallen. For he that falls often in sin, he despises the mercy of God, and increases his sin, and
is ungrateful to Christ; and he grows the more feeble to withstand sin, and sins the more lightly, and the more
slowly rises out of sin, and is the more reluctant to be shriven, especially by his own confessor. For the which
reasons, when folk fall again into their old follies, either they avoid their old confessors altogether, or else
they make parts of confession in divers places; but truly, such divided confessions deserve no mercy of God
for one's sins. The sixth circumstance is, why a man sins, as by way of what sort of temptation; and whether
he himself procured that temptation, or whether it came by the incitement of other folk; or whether he sin by
forcing a woman or by her consent: or, if the sinner be a woman, despite all her efforts were she forced or
not- this shall she tell; and whether for greed of gain or for stress of poverty, and whether it was of her own
procuring, or not; and all such trappings. The seventh circumstance is, in what manner he has done his sin, or
how she has suffered men to do it unto her. And the same shall the man tell fully, with all the circumstances;
and whether he has sinned with common brothel-women, or not; or has done his sin in holy times, or not; in
fasting times, or not; or before confession, or after his last shriving; and whether he has, peradventure, broken
therefor his enjoined penance; by whose help and by whose counsel; by sorcery or cunning: all must be told.
All these things, according as they are great or small, burden the conscience of a man. And, too, that the
priest who is your judge shall be the better advised to his judgment in giving, you penance, that is, according
to your contrition. For understand well that after a man has defiled his baptism by sin, if he would gain
salvation, there is no other way than by penitence and shrift and penance; and specifically by the two, if there
be a confessor to shrive him; and by the third if he live to perform it.
Then shall a man reflect and consider that if he will make a true and profitable confession, there must be four
conditions. First, it must be in sorrowful bitterness of heart, as said King Hezekiah to God: "I will remember
all the days of my life in bitterness of heart." This condition of bitterness has five signs. The first is, that
confession must be shamefaced, not to cover up nor to hide sin, for the sinner has offended his God and
defiled his soul. And thereof Saint Augustine says: "The heart suffers for the shame of its sin." And if he has
a great sense of shame, he is worthy of great mercy from God. Such was the confession of the publican who
would not lift up his eyes to Heaven, for he had offended God in Heaven; for which shamefacedness he
received straightway the mercy of God. And thereof says Saint Augustine that such shamefaced folk are near
to forgiveness and remission. Another sign is humility in confession; of which Saint Peter says "Humble
thyself beneath the might of God." The hand of God is mighty in confession, for thereby God forgives you
your sins; for He alone has the power. And this humility shall be of the heart, and shall be manifested
outwardly; for just as he has humility to God in his heart, just so should he humble his body outwardly to the
priest that sits in God's place. Since Christ is sovereign and the priest is means and mediator between Christ
and the sinner, and the sinner is the last, in reason, the sinner should nowise sit as high as his confessor, but
should kneel before him, or at his feet, unless infirmity hinder it. For he shall care not who sits there, but only
in whose place he sits. A man who has offended a lord, and who comes to ask mercy and to be at peace again,
and who should sit down at once by the lord's side- men would hold him to be presumptuous and not worthy
so soon to have remission or mercy. The third sign is, your confession should be made in tears, if a man can
weep; and if a man cannot weep with his fleshly eyes, let him weep in his heart. Such was the confession of
Saint Peter; for after he had forsaken Jesus Christ he went out and wept full bitterly. The fourth sign is, when
the sinner forgoes not for shame to make his confession. Such was the confession of the Magdalen, who did
not spare, for any shame before those who were at the feast, to go to Our Lord Jesus Christ and acknowledge
to Him her sins. The fifth sign is, that a man or woman shall obediently receive the penace that is imposed for
the sins; for certainly, Jesus Christ, for the sins of a man, was obedient unto death.
The second condition of true confession is that it be speedily done; for truly, if a man had a dangerous
wound, the longer he waited to cure himself the more would it fester and hasten him toward his death; and
also the wound would be but the harder to heal. And it is even so with sin that is long carried in a man
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unconfessed. Certainly a man ought to confess his sins without delay, for many reasons; as, for fear of death,
which often comes suddenly and whereof no man can ever be certain when it will come or in what place; and
also the prolonging of one sin draws a man into another; and further, the longer he delays the farther he is
from Christ. And if he live until his last day, scarcely then may he shrive himself or then remember his sins,
or repent of them, because of the grievous malady about to cause his death. And for as much as he has not in
his life hearkened unto Jesus Christ when He has spoken, he shall cry to Jesus Christ at the last and scarcely
will He hear him. And understand that this condition must have four elements. Your shrift must be
considered in advance and well advised upon, for wicked haste gives no profit; and that a man shall be able to
make confession of all of his sins, be they of pride, or of envy, and so forth, according to the kind and the
circumstances; and that he shall have comprehended in his mind the number and the greatness of his sins; and
how long he has lain in sin; and also that he shall be contrite for his sins, and have a steadfast purpose that
never again, by the grace of God, shall he fall into sin; and also that he fear and keep watch upon himself, so
that he shall flee the occasions whereof he is tempted to sin. And you shall also shrive yourself of all your
