Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 1.djvu/367

 Fides, Spes,  Caritas,  that  is,  Faith,  and  Hope,  and  true  Charity.

This is  Faith,  that  a  man  believe  with  his  mind

in the  Holy  Trinity  and  Very  Unity;

and this  is  Hope,  that  he  hope  in  God,

both in  good  and  in  evil  fortune,

and never  despair  of  God's  clemency;

This is  true  Love,  that  a  man  love  his  Creator

with unmeasured  love,  and  those  persons  who  wish  [him]  well,

even as  [he  loves]  himself,  in  sincerity  for  ever.

For God's  love  we  ought  also  to  love  our  enemies,

so that  we  love  the  man,  and  hate  his  misdeeds.

It is  for  us  to  understand  these  ordinances;

Christ said  in  His  Gospel,  that  we  must  love  God

with all  our  hearts,  above  all  things;

and afterward  our  neighbour  even  as  ourselves;

and likewise  He  commanded  us  to  love  our  enemies,

but He  added  not  thereto  'with  all  the  heart,'

nor even  'as  ourselves,'  because  it  verily  sufficeth  for  them,

that we  love  them  and  have  no  hatred  towards  them,

though we  love  them  not  with  all  the  heart,  nor  love  them  as ourselves.

How there  are  eight  Chief  Sins,  which  sorely  fight  against  us:

one is  called  Gula,  that  is. Gluttony in  puglish,

which maketh  a  man  eat  and  drink  before  the  time,

or again  to  take  too  much  in  food  or  in  drink.

This destroyeth  both  soul  and  body,

because it  bringeth  upon  the  man  much  sickness,

and bringeth  him  to  death  through  immoderate  drinking;

it destroyeth  also  the  soul,  because  he  will  often  sin,

when he  himself  knoweth  not  how  he  behaveth,  by  reason  of  his fiendlike  drink.