Here begynneth a goodly treatyse, and it is called a notable lesson, otherwyse it is called the golden pystle

Vf you intende to please god / & wolde obteyne grace to fulfyll the same / two thynges ben vnto you very necessarye . The fyrste . You must withdrawe your mynde from all wordly and transytory thynges / in suche maner / as though you cared not whether any such thynges were in this worlde or no. The seconde is that you gyue and apply your selfe so wholy to god / and haue your selfe in suche a wayte / that you neuer do / saye / nethynke / that you knowe suppose / or byleue shuld offende or dysplease god / for by this meane / you may sonest and most redely obtayne / and wynne his fauour & grace . In all thynges esteme and acount your selfe most vyle / and most symple / & as very nought in respecte / and regarde of vertue and thynke / suppose / and byleue that all persons ben good / and better than you be / for so shall you moche please our lorde . What so euer youse / or seme to pceyue / in any person / or yet here of any christyane / take you none occasyon therin / but rather ascrybe / and applye you all vnto the best / and thynke or suppose / all is done or sayde for a good intent / or purpose / though it seme contrary . For mannes suspycyons and lyght iudgemetes ben soone / & lyghtly deceyued / or begyled . Dysplease no person wyllyngly . He euer speke euyl of any person / though it were neuer so true that you say . For it is not lawfull to she we in confessyon the vyce / or defaute of any person / excepte ye myght other wyse she we & declare your owne offence . Speke lytel or nought vnto your propre / and selfe laude / or prayse though it were true / & vnto your famylyer felowe / or faythfull frende . But study to kepe secrete / and pryney your vertue / rather than your vyce . Yet were it a cruel dede for any persons to defame them self . Be more gladde to gyue your eare / & herynge vnto the prayse / rather than vnto the dysprayse of any pson . And euer beware as well of herynge / as spekynge of detraccyon . And whan you speke take good delyberactō / & haue fewe words / and set those be true and good ? sadly set & wysely ordred . Yf any wordes be spoken vnto you of vyce / or vanyte ( as soone as you maye ) breke of and leue that talke / or communycacyon . And euer returne / & applye your selfe vnto some appoynted good and godly occupacyon / bodely or ghostly . Yf any sodayne chaunce fal or happe vnto you / or vnto any of youres / leyne not to lyghtly there vnto / ne care moche therfore . Yf it be of prosperyte / reioyce not moche there in / ne be ouer gladde therof . Yf it be aduersyte / be not ouercast / or ouerthrowen therwith / ne brought to sorowe / or sadnes / thanke god of all / and set lytell therby . Repute all thynges transytorye : as of lytell pryce or valure . Gyue euer moost thought and care vnto those thynges / that may profyte and promote the soule . Fle / and auoyde the persones and places of moche speche : for better is to kepe sylence than to speke . Kepe the tymes and places of scylence precysely / so that you speke not without resonable and vnfeyned cause . The tymes of scylence in religyon ben these . From collacion vnto masse be ended after the houre of terce . From the fyrste grace in the fraytour / vnto the ende of the latter grace . And from the begynnynge of euen songe / vnto grace be ended after souper / or elles Bn̄dicite / after the commune beuer . The places of sylence ben the churche and the cloustre / the fraytour and the dortour . Yf you be sclaundred / and do take occasyon at that faute / or offence of any person / than loke wel vpon your selfe / whether you be in the same defaute somtyme your selfe / and than haue compassyon vpon your brother / or syster . Yf there be none suche defaute in you / thynke verely and byleue there may be / and than do as ( in lyke ) you wolde be done vnto . And thus as in a glas / ye may se and beholde your selfe . Grudge not ne complayne vpon any person for any maner cause / excepte you se and perceyue by large coniecture that you may profyte and edyfye therby . Nother denye nor affyrme your mynde or opynyon styfly or extremely / but that youre affyrmacyon / denegacyon / or doubte / be euer powderyd with salt / that is to say / wysdome / dyscrecyon / and pacyence . Dse not in any wyse to mocke / checke or scorne / ne yet to laughe or smyle but ryght seldom . And that alway to she we reuerence or louyng maner / lyght countenaunce / or loude behauyour becommeth nat a sad person . Let your communycacyon be shorte and with fewe persones / al●●●… of vertue / lernyng or good and chrystiane edysycacion / and euer with suche warenes that no person in thyngs doubtfull may take any authoryte of your wordes / or sentence .

Let all your pastyme be spended in bodely laboures good and profytable / or ellyes godly in study / or that passeth all / in holy and deuoute prayer . So that the herte and mynde be occup●●d with the same you speke . And whan you p●●ye for any certayne persons / remember theyr de●ire / state and condycyon . For a forme and o●dre of your prayer / this may be a good and redy way . To folowe the ordre of the .vi. grāmatycall cases . The nominatyue / the genityue / the datyue / the accusatyue / the vocatyue / & ablatyue . The nominatyue / that is fyrst to pray foryour selfe that you may haue ghostly strength & constancy / that you not fall in to any deedly offence by fraylte . And the .ii. that you maye haue ryght knowlege of god by faythe and of your selfe / by due consyderacion of your astate / and condycyon / and of the lawes of god / for your conyte and contynuatice . And thyrdely that you maye haue grace and good wyll accordyng vnto the same strength / and knowlege / and that hauynge vnto god a reuerende drede you neuer offende hym in thought worde / nor dede : but that you maye euer loue hym for hym selfe and all his creatures in oue ordre for hym and in hym . The seconde is the genytyue case . Then must you pray for youre genytoures / your progenytoures / & parentes / that is to say / your fathers / your mothers spyrytual and carnal : as your ghostly fathers / or spyrytuall souereynes : your god father / your godmothers . Your natural father and mother . Your graundfathers and graundmothers . your brethers and systers / and all your kynne .

In the thyrde pleace is the datyue case . There must you pray for benefactours / good doers / of whom you haue receyued any maner of gyfts spyrytuall or temporall vnto the welth of your soule and body . In the .iiii. place is the accusatyue case / where you shulde praye for your enemyes / such psones as by any meanes haue noyed / hurt or greuyd you eyther ghostly or bodely : that is to saye / in your soule / or maners by any suggestyon / intysynge / euyll counseyle / or euyl example . In your fame / or good name / by detraccyon / back bytynge / or sclaundrynge / or yet by famylyer companye . For a person communely is reputed / and supposed to be of suche condition as they ben with whom he hath conuersacyon and company . And for them that haue hurt your body eyther by strokes / or by any other accasyon / haue hyndred the state / and helthe therof . And lyke wyse of your worldly gooded / or possessyons . For all these maner of enemyes must you praye / that o●r lorde god wolde forgyue them as you do / and as you forgyuen wolde be / and that they may come to right charyte and peace . The .v. 〈◊〉 is called the vocatyue : that is to saye the c●llyng case / wher you conuenyently may cal / 〈◊〉 / and praye vnto our lorde for all maner of ●ersones that ben out of the state of grace / ●her by īfidelyte as turkes / Sarasens and 〈◊〉 other . Or els by errour as all maner of 〈◊〉 heretykes / or elles by any deedly synne or offence to god . Pray foral these maner of persones that they maye come to the ryght waye of theyr saluacyon . In the .vi. and last place / is the ablatyue case . where you must praye for all them that be taken out of this lyfe / & that dyed or passed the same lyfe in charyte / & that now haue nede of prayer . In the whiche you may kepe a forme of the same ordre that is before / that is to saye . In stede of the nominatyue where you prayed for your selfe : you maye now praye for all those that do byde in payne for any defaute or offence done by your example or occasion . And for the genityue in the seconde place / for your parentes / and all your kynne departed this lyfe . And in the .iii. place / for the datyue : pray for your benefactours passed . And for the accusatyue in the .iiii. place / you may pray for them that lyue in payne for any occasyon / or any example that they gaue vnto you . And in the .v. place / for the vocatyue . Praye for all them that haue greatest paynes in purgatory and leest helpe here by the suffrage of prayers . And for the ablatyue in the .vi. and last place . Praye you for all soules in generall . And that you may be the more apte to pray / cal thre thynges oft tymes vnto remembraunce / that is to saye . what you haue ben / what you be / and what you shal be . Fyrst by Rotable les . reason of your body : you were conceyued of the most fylthy abomynable mater of man / shamefull to be spoken / fetre more vyle then the sluche / or slyme of the erthe / and after borne in a synfull soule / and purged onely by grace . And now ( as vnto the body ) you ben a mukhepe or donghyll / more vyle than any vpon erthe . yf you remembre what dothe yssue dayly & come forthe / out of the meates of your body . And your soule is dayly in some synne : or ( at the least ) full lyke to be . what you shal be as vnto youre body : you may se in experyece : wormes meate and erthe agayne . And what shall become of youre soule : no man in this world can assure you . To remembre than the loyes of heuen / & paynes of hell & that both ben insimte endles / and without rebate / but bothe euer encreasynge and neuer seasynge / neuer haue ease nor rest / but euer contynue and euer lastyng . To remembre than : I say / these thynges / may greatly moue you to haue your selfe in good a wayte / and studye howe ye maye auoyde the one and obteyne the other . Remembrynge spectally how great a losse it is to lose heuen / and howe vnconfortable gaynes to wynne hel / and how soone / and how lyghtly eyther of them may be goten or lost . whan any thyng than of aduersyte / hurte / or dyspleasure fortune / or fall vnto you : thynke than or ymagyn that yf you were in hell / you shulde haue the same dyspleasure and many worse . And so to auoyde those : you shal here ( the better ) suffre / and for our lorde the more pacyently bere al these that now be present or may come here after . And in lyke maner / yf any good prosperyte or / pleasure happe or come vnto you : thynke then that yf you were in heuen / you shulde haue that pleasure / and many more excellentioyes . And so for the feruent desyre of those ioyes : you shall set lytell by any wordly conforte or pleasure . A good contemplacyon therfore may it be vnto you in feestes of holy sayntes ( you may in the Englysshe Martyloge breuely se the lyues of many sayntes for euery daye in the yere ) to thynke and recorde howe great paynes they suffred here for the loue of out lorde / and how shorte these were / & howe soone passed / and then agayne / how meruaylous rewarde they had therfore in ioye & blysse euerlastynge . So the troubles and tormentes of good persones : ben soone / and shortly gone & ended . And the ioyes and pleasures of synfull persones done soone fade and fle for euer . The good psones / for theyr troubles suffred here vpon erth : done get & wynne eterne and euerlastyng glorye / whiche the euyll persones done lose . And contrary these euyll and synfull persones / for theyr ioye and pleasures here / done reygne by exchaunge eterne & euerlastyng shame / and rebuke with peyne / and wo vnspecable . whan so euer than you ben dysposed to slugysnes / or to be drowsy / remysse in prayer or dull in deuocyon : than take this lytell werke / or some other good treatye / and rede thetin / and euer note well the contentes ther of / and also what is ment therby . And yf you be not therby delyuered or eased therof / than shyfte vnto some other werke / or occupacyon / so that euer ye auoyde ydlenes / and all vayn pastymes / which in dede ben losetyme . And than remembre that those that now byde in payne / eyther in hell / or yet in purgatory for suche tymes so passed or lost / had leuer than all the worlde / haue such tyme to redeme theyr paynes by / as you maye haue yf you wyll . Tyme than vnto all persones well occupyed is very precyous and dere . Beware well therfore : howe you spende it / or passe it . For you can neuer reuoke it / nor call it backe . yf the tyme passe you by trouble / and vexacyon / thynke they ben happy / and gracious that ben past thee wretched lyfe / and now in blysse / for they shal neuer haue any suche mysery . And whan you fele a conforte or consolacyon spyrytual / thanke god therof / and thynke the dampned soules shall neuer haue any suche pleasure . And thue let this be for your exercyse in the datyue . At nyght whan you go to rest / fyrste make a counte with your selfe / and remembre how you haue spende / or passed that daye and tyme / that was gyuen you to be vsed in vertue / and how that you haue bestowed youre thoughtes / your wordes / and your werkes .

And yf you fynde no great thynge amysse / gyue the whole laude and prayse vnto our forde god . And yf you perceyue contrary / that you haue mysspended any parte therof / be sory therfore / and beseche our lorde of mercy & forgyuenes / and promyse and verely purpose to make amendes the nexte day . And yf you haue portunyte there vpon it / shal be full conuenyent for you to be confessed on the nexte morowe . And specyally yf the mater done / sayde or thought by delyberate consent / do greuously wey and worke with a grudge in your conscyence : than wolde Iaduyse you neuer to ete nor drynke / tyll you be dyscharged therof / yf you maye conuenyently get a ghostly father . Now for a conclusyon of this werke / put before you / as by case or ymagynacyon .ii. large cytyes / one full of trouble / turmoyle / and myserye / and let that be hall . The other cyte full of ioye / gladnes / conforte / and pleasure / and set that be heuen . Loke well on them both / for in both be many dwellers / & great company . Then cast and thynke within your self what thige here myght so please you that you shuld chuse the worse cyte / or what thynge shulde dusplease you on the other parte / wherby you shulde withdra we your selfe from that vertue that myght counay and brynge you vnto the other cyte . And whan you haue studyed well here vpon and can no thynge fynde / I dare well assure you yf you kepe well the preceptes and counseyles of this lytel lesson / you shall fynde the ryght waye / for the holy ghost wyl instructe and teche you where you be not suffycient of your selfe / so you endeuoyre and gyue dyfygence / to bere a way and to folowe that here is taught . Rede it euery weke ones or twyse / or oftener yf you wyll . And where you profyte gyue thankes / laude / and prayse vnto our lorde god / and most swete sauyour Ihesu chryst / who sende you his mercy and grace / that alwaye lyueth god . In secula seculorum . Amen .