ii6 



167. How to avoid temptation. 



scourged, 



and cruci- 

 fied; 



went down 

 to hell ; and 

 rose again. 



[Fol. 83*.] 



to kynge Herode, and to bysshope Cayphas, and than to 



28 Pylate agayne, that iudged hym to death, and howe he 

 was bounde to a piller, and how they scurged, bobbed, 

 mocked hym, spytte in his face, crowned hym with thornes, 

 and caused hym to beare the crosse to the mounte of 



32 Caluary, whervppon he was nayled both handes and 

 fete, and wounded to the harte with a sharpe spere, and 

 soo suffered deathe. And howe he fette out the soules of 

 our forefathers forthe of hell. Howe he rose frome deathe 



36 to lyfe, and howe ofte he appered to his discyples and 

 other moo. And what myracles he wroughte afterwarde, 

 and specyally what power he gaue to his dyscyples, that 

 were noo clerkes, to teache and preche his faythe, and 



40 worke many myracles, and specyally whan they preached 

 before menne of dyuers nations and languages, and euerye 

 man vnderstode in theyr own language, the whiche is 

 a sygne that god wolde haue euery manne saued, and 



44 to knowe his lawes, the whiche was a myracle able to 

 conuerte all the infydeles, heretykes, and lollers in the 

 worlde. 



The holier a 

 man is, the 

 more he is 

 tempted. 



Gregory. 



Ambrose. 



167. ^ A meane to auoyde temptation. 



It is ofte-tymes seen, that the holyer that a man is, the 



more he is tempted, and he that soo is, maye thanke god 



therof. For god of his goodnes and grace hath not gyuen 



4 to the dyuell auctoritie nor power to attempte any man 



ferther and aboue that, that he that is so tempted, maye 



withstande. For sayncte Gregory sayth, Non est timendum 



(sic) hostis, qui non potest vincere nisi volentevsx. An enemye is 



8 not to be dradde, the whiche maye not ouercome, but if a 



manne be wyllynge. And it is to presume, that he that is 



soo tempted, standeth in the state of grace. For sayncte 



Ambrose saythe, Illos diaholus ' vexare negligit, quos iure 



12 htzrediiario se possidere sentit. The dyuell despyseth to 



1 Misprinted diaboiis. 



