 |
| and shold haue be slayn with stones after the wil of the | |||
| Iewis as was her lawe / Goo quod Ihesu Crist and haue | |||
| nomore will to do synne / 816 Sothly vengeance of auoultrye | |||
| is awarded to the peyn of helle / but it be distourbyd with | |||
| penaunce / 817 Yet ben ther mo spyces of this cursid synne as | |||
| whan that one of hem is religyous or ellis bothe / or of folk | |||
| that ben entryd in to ordre as Subdeken / or deken / prest / or | |||
| hospitalers / and euer the hyer that he is in order / the gretter | |||
| is the synne / For they haue made grete vowes to kepe Chas | |||
| tite / 818 This synne of brekyng of his auowe of chastite is | |||
| whan he receyued order / 819 And soth it is that holy order | |||
| is chief of alle the tresour of god and is a special signe and | |||
| mark of chastite whiche that is the most precyous lyf that | |||
| is / 820 And eke this ordrid folk ben specially titled to god | |||
| for whiche whan they doo dedely synne / they ben the specyal | |||
| traytours of god and of his peple / For they lyue by the | |||
| peple to praye for the peple / And whyles they be suche tray- | |||
| tours her prayers auayle not to the peple / 821 Prestis ben as | |||
| aungellis as by the mystery of her dignyte / But forsothe | |||
| saynt Paule saith that Sathanas transfourmeth hym in | |||
| an aungel of light / 822 Sothly the preest that hauntith synne | |||
| He may be likned to an aungel of derknes transformed | |||
| in to an aungel of light / He semeth an aungel of light . | |||
| But forsothe he is an aungel of derknes / 823 Suche prestis ben | |||
| the sonys of hely as is shewd in the book of kynges that | |||
| they were the sonys of Belyal / that is the deuyll / 824 Belial | |||
| is to saye withouten Iuge / And so faren they / hem thyn- | |||
| keth that they be fre and haue no Iuge nomore than hath | |||
| a free bole that taketh whiche kowe that hym liketh in the | |||