 |
| after that they be grete or smale and grugge the conscience | |||
| of man or woman / And eke the preest that is the Iuge may | |||
| the better be auysed of his Iugement / in yeuyng of his pe | |||
| nance / and that shal be after his contricion . 906 For vnder- | |||
| stonde wel that after tyme that a man hath defowled his | |||
| baptesme by synne / yf he wil come to sauacion / ther is none | |||
| other weye but penaunce and shrifte & satisfaction / 907 and | |||
| namely by the two / yf ther be a confessour to whom he may | |||
| shryue hym / And that he first be very contryte and repen | |||
| taunt / And the thirde yf he haue lif to perfourme it / 908 Thenne | |||
| shal men loke and considere yf he wil make a trewe and | |||
| a prouffytable confession / ther muste be foure condicions. | |||
| 909 First hit muste be in sorouful bitternes of herte as sayde | |||
| the kynge Ezechye to god / I wil remembre alle the yeris | |||
| of my lyf in the bitternes of my herte / 910 This condicion of | |||
| bitternes hath . v . signes / The first is that confession muste | |||
| be shamefast not for to couereyn ne to hyde his synne / But | |||
| for he hath agiltid his god & defouled his soule / 911 and herof | |||
| saith saint Austyn / The herte trauaylleth for shame of his | |||
| synne / and for he hath grete shamefastnes / he is digne to | |||
| haue grete mercy / 912 whiche was the confession of the pupli- | |||
| cane that wolde not lyfte vp his eyen to heuen / for he had | |||
| offendid god of heuen . For whiche shamefastnes he had | |||
| anon the mercy of god / 913 And therfore saith saint Austyn | |||
| That suche shamefast folk ben next foryeuenes and remis | |||
| sion / 914 That other synne is humylite of confession of whiche | |||
| saith saynt Peter / Humbleth you vnder the mighty honde | |||
| of god in confession . For therby god foryeuyth the synnys | |||
| for he allone hath power / 915 This humylite shal be in herte | |||