Page:The booke of thenseygnementes and techynge that the Knyght of the Towre made to his doughters - 1902.pdf/159



Y fayre doughters, beware ye well that the synne of yre ouercome yow not. For god sayth in his holy euägely, that men out to pardonne to them that haue mysprysed and mysdone. And yf one be smeton of his neyghbour, or of his broder crysten, vpon one cheke, he oughte to leye forth the other for to receyue on it as moche. For takynge vengeaunce is none meryte, but is contrary to the sowle. And yet sayth oure lord, that yf one haue ony hate or wrathe with ony other, he ought to goo and aske hym mercy to fore he make or doo his oryson, offrynge, or prayer, that it may be of ony valewe and playsaunt to god. For of no maner of man ne woman whiche ben in the synne of yre, god receyueth not theyre offrynge, how grete that it be, for as god that maad the pater noster, whiche sayth that god shold pardonne to them as they pardonned to other, therfore we ought to pardonne eche one to other. And thus they that ben euer in wrathe and hate, yf they saye the pater noster, theyr prayer is more ageynst them than with them. And vpon thys I shalle telle yow an ensample of a grete Burgeyse, as I herd saye at a predycacion or prechynge. This Burgeyse was moche ryche, charytable, and moche preysed, and had on her many signes and tokens to be a good crysten. It befelle that she was brought thorugh a grete sekenes to the bedde of dethe. Ther cam to her her curate or parson, whiche was a hooly man and trewe. He herd her in confessyon, and as he came to speke to her of the synne of yre, sayenge to her that she must pardonne to alle them that had mysprysed or mysdone vnto her. And whanne she herde of that artycle, she ansuerd that a woman whiche was her neyghboure had soo moche mesprysed and