The remorse of conscience. ΒΆ Here beginneth certain demonstrations by our lord to all sinful persons with the remorse of man's conscience to the regard of the bounty of our lord. Deus. Our gracious god most in magnificence His merciful eyen casteth from heaven on hy saying his creatures in deadly violence Himself complaineth by pity full ruthfully saying o man devoid of intelligence Open thine eeres unto my call and cry And tell me if I have done to the offence That thou forsakest me willingly Man such a love to the I died take This world in seven days when I it wrought Thou was the last thing that I died make Because I would thou wanted nought What thing the might help died not lake That at thy need if it were sought Fowl/ fish all thing for thy sake For thy comfort all was forth brought Moreover I gave the that dignity All beasts to bow the until I made the also like unto me And gave the cunning and free will Me to serve that thou should see To choose the good and leave the ill I ask no thing again of the But love thy sovereign as it is skill But unto this takest thou none intent Thou turnest fro me full unkindly On loves unleeful thy love is lente Thy heart beholdeth not heaven so high For all the goods I have the sent The listeth not one's to say gramercy In time to come or thou repent Man make amends or that thou die Homo. A christian soul conceived in sin received in conscience thus complaining He fell down flat with doleful din And said lord mercy sovereign king I most unkind wretch of man kin I know I am thy traitor untrue in my living This wicked life that I live in I may it nought hide from thy knowing I want words and also wit Of thy kindness to speak a clause That I have thou gave me it Of thy goodness withouten cause Though I have grieved the and do yet Thy benefits thou nought withdraws I have deserved to have hell pit So have I lived against thy laws But ford thou knowest man's feebleness How frail it is and hath been aye For though the soul have thy likeness Man is but fulsome earth and clay In sin conceived and wretchedness And to the soul rebel alway first a man groweth as doth gross And he wasteth after as flowers or haye Sith man is than so frail a thing And thy power so great in kind This world is but a twinkling Thou mayst destroy the might of the fiend With thy right lord mercy ming And to my sore salve thou send Sore me repenteth of my mystyving Mercy lord I will amend Deus. Man I gave the bodily hele That thou should it spend in my service Fairness also and features feel Man what dost thou with all these Thou with delights of the devil dost deal Which is to me a great despise Thou livest a lecherous life unlele From year to year thou list not rise Thou studiest after nice array And makest great cost on thy clothing To make the seemly as who should say Thou couldst amend my making Thou purposest the day by day To set my people to sinning Thy wretched will thou followest alway What end sin hath thou thinkest no thing In noah's time because of sin And for lechery in especial What vengeance came than to man's kin Save viii persons drowned were all On sodom and gomor and the men within How I made fire and brimstone fall From heaven on them that bode therein For sin were destroyed both great & small Man weenest thou my might be less Than it was then or that else I Thou hast now as much wickedness As when I smote the most pyteousty But if thou will thy faults redress Though I now spare for my mercy Man think on my rightwiseness And make amends or that thou die a iii Homo. I wot well lord rightful thou art And that sin must be punished need But one thing holdeth in hope my heart Thy mercy passeth my misdeed I know well that I may not start I have so done me aught to dread With beauty and with hodely quart To serve the I have taken no heed I have misspended my young age In sin and wantonness also To serve god slow/ and loved to rage's A glutton/ a lecher I was both two I am worthy none other wage But for to dwell in endless woe Alas why have I been outrage And served the fiend that is my foo But lord in holy write read we That thou forsakest no wretched wight That leaveth his sin and turneth to the And to turn to the have I height Full proud and rebel have I been But now I take me to thy might From hens for ward to be clean Against mine own flesh to fight My flesh to feeble I will fast My bones to travail and to tene And through thy grace I am not aghast What fore and sickness on me be seen To suffer while my life may last For utterly I will attend To punish that I have trespassed Mercy I hesu I will amend Deus. Man I have sent the silver and gold And all thy wealth within thy won To sustain the and thy household And also other many one Thou might have helped young and old That been diseased and woobe gone My servants suffered both hunger and cold relief of the yet have they none If thou give for my love a farthing Thou dost it with an heavy heart In alms thou givest no thing For dread thou fall in poverty In fleshly lust and worldly liking What ever thou wastest merry thou art Of such I will have a reckoning At domes day thou shalt not astart Than shalt thou give a counts full strait How thou comest by thy good each deal Whether with troth or with deceit And how thou spend it ill or we'll None other grace thou after wait As thou hast wrought so shalt thou feel What shall than profit thy good in plate Or pounds that thou of the people peel A clean conscience shall that day More profit the and more set by Than all the goods or the money Than ever was under heaven or sky It will never help to plead nor pray For as right wise than dame will I And therefore man whiles thou may Make amends or that thou die Homo. I wot well lord fro year to year Full greatly grieved I the have That I would nor thy mercy were My mothers womb had be my grave For what profiteth my living here But afterward I should be save But Ihesu as thou bought me dear Leave not my soul in hell cave My waste expense I will withdraw For waste well called may it be For it was spended my boost to law My name to bear on land and see Well I wot me there not trow Thought many a man of my country If they me met they died me not know Nor never yet heard speak of me Falsely I have wrought as wretch unwise I might have gotten me moche meed Had I it spent in god's service But thorough thy grace lord I am in dread As men that lieth and may not rise For have I and mine all our need With the remnant lord at thy devise The poor and naked with cloth and fere Seek men that lain in god's bands That have no silver for to spend And prisoners bound both feet and hands Oft to visit and them attend When Ice them that in need stands Such as I have I shall them send Lord let these works less my band And mercy Ihesu I will amend Deus. Man if thou amends wilt make give thine alms of thine own goods And sethou works no man to wreck To venge any other men's modes If thou untruly from any take And therewith find forty their fodes Such sacrifice I forsake They be to me as sour as wormewode The poor people thou dost oppress With sleights and wiles many one Thou makest churches and do sing mess Thou mendest ways where men over gone And some men curse and some men bless Which shall I here of these two If thou wilt have grace as I guess Let all falseness be fled the fro The moths that thy clothes eat And thou lettest poor men go bare Thy drink soureth and mouldeth thy meet Wherewith the poor man might well far The rust that thy silver doth frete Thy goods that evil gotten are They cry on the vengeance great The for to spill but yet I spare Withholdest hear against the right From thy servants upon the cry Man oftentimes thou hast me height Thou would amend and leave folly Thou speakest full fair both day & night Thou breakest my commandments continually Yet is me loath with the to fight But make amends or that thou die Homo. Sweet lord I may not against say I have not holden that I the height I grieve the greatly every day I do not as I had the plight I would do well but wellaway With enemies I am ever beset When my soul fain would the pay My flesh is first that will me let And ever the fatter that I it feed Ever the fresher it is my foo Yet bear it about I must need Full feeble it is it will me slow The world/ the fiend/ the flesh they bede Some with well and some with woe What may I do with a wicked weed To fight against three enemies so When I enforce me otherwiles And think I will live a true live And forsake all battles and guiles The world biddeth me battle believe And but I will use wreaths and wiles The common voice is I shall not tryve Some me scorneth and at me smiles And count me but a kind caitiff But now I think withstanding this To forsake falseness withouten end And restore that I took amiss And pay my debts fair and hende And to reward each man his As reason is than will I spend And give mine alms there need is Mercy Ihesu I will amend Deus. Man I have sent the kindly sight And understanding skill and wit To rule thyself by reason right As reherfeth holy writ That clearly showeth the godly light How thou should deadly sin forsake And on that manner thou please me might What aileth the thus fro me to shake Worldly richesse rial repair In wealth and things of jollity fishes beasts and birds of the air These thinketh me seemly for to see That thing that perisheth & doth appear Unto thy sight thus pleasing be Well mayst thou wytre I am full fair Of whom each thing hath this beauty But man as thou wytlesse were Thou lookest aye downward as a be'st It behoveth the of me to here Fowl speaking is to the a feast I comfort the I make the cheer And thou inwardly lovest me least I call the to me year by year Thou wilt not come at my request As fro thy foo thou fro me flees I follow the fast and on the cry Thou wrappest the with all vanities And think my speech to the but folly And a thing that nought is thou wilt lose My joy that lasteth endlessly Man yet vice leave and virtue cheese And make amends or that thou die Homo. Sweet Ihesu none answer I can But oft cry mercy with heart stable Alas for woe why is a man Worse than a be'st unreasonable All beasts sithen the world began In kindly working been durable Save only I of will wan That do full many deeds damnable I was made to know my maker And to love him over all thing And I a sleper and never waker To take kind knowing of my king To trifles have I been a great heed taker A song of sorrow may I sing For had I been of sin a forsaker Of christ should I have had some knowing My ghostly eyen been full of dust Cursed covetise hath blinded me They been blodeshotten with fleshly lust That heavenly king may I not see But lord though I have been unjust Through help of thy benignity I hope to rub away the rust With repentance and grace of the And where that I have afore this My will in world thing have spend From hens forward my purpose is Thy law to learn to my lives end Thy ten commandments truly iwis Them to keep I will me bend And there as I have done amiss Mercy Ihesu I will amend