Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 1.djvu/293

 David exclaimed,  when  the  youth  was  dead,

'Now thou  saidst  that  thou  killedst  the  king  Saul;

be thy  blood  upon  thee  and  upon  thine  head.'

The man  who  will  confess  his  sins  and  make  restitution,

he must  grant  forgiveness  to  all  those  per.sons

who have  before  angered  him,  even  as  it  standeth  in  the  Pater  Noster,

and as  Christ  said  in  His  gospel ;    He  said,

'Except ye  forgive  those  men  who  sin  against  you

with your  inmost  heart,  your  Heavenly  Father  will  not

forgive you  your  trespasses.'

Every Christian  man  must  know  his  Pater-Koster,  and  his  Creed.

With the  Pater-Noster  he  shall  pray,

and with  the  Creed  he  shall  confirm  his  faith.

The master  shall  teach  the  unlearned  men

the meaning  of  the  Pater-Noster,  and  of  the  Creed,

that they  may  know  what  they  ask  of  God,

and how  they  are  to  believe  in  God.

We must  be  ever  increasing  in  goodness,

and every  day  increase  for  ourselves  the  eternal  riches,

the while  we  may,  because  we  cannot,

after our  ending,  do  aught  that  is  good,

but there  we  shall  have  reward  of  that  which  we  have  merited  here.

No man  may  imagine,  nor  think  in  his  mind

that. he hath  done  too  many  good  deeds,

and need  do  no  more  of  the  like  kind;

because he  will  lose  the  little  that  he  before  did,

if he  weeneth  that  he  need  not  thenceforth  do

anything good,  as  if  he  were  too  good.