Yet (and now shall I tell you of a special Providence) it did fortune,
whiles yet ye Divell discoursed in this profane wise, there was
vouchsafed unto ye frere a certain power to resist ye evill that
environed him; for of a sodaine he did cast his doubtings and his
misgivings to ye winds, and did fall upon ye Divell and did buffet him
full sore, crying, "Thou art ye Divell! Get thee gone!" And ye frere
plucked ye cloake from ye Divell and saw ye cloven feet and ye poyson
taile, and straightway ye Divell ran roaring away. But ye frere fared
upon his journey, for that he had had a successful issue from this
grevious temptation, with thanksgiving and prayse.
Next came ye Divell into a town wherein were many people going to and
fro upon works of charity, and doing righteous practices; and sorely
did it repent ye Divell when that he saw ye people bent upon ye giving
of alms and ye doing of charitable deeds. Therefore with mighty
diligence did ye Divell apply himself to poyson ye minds of ye people,
shewing unto them in artful wise how that by idleness or by righteous
dispensation had ye poore become poore, and that, soche being ye will of
God, it was an evill and rebellious thing against God to seeke to
minister consolation unto these poore peoples. Soche like specious
argumentations did ye Divell use to gain his diabolical ends; but by
means of a grace whereof none then knew ye source, these men and these
women unto whom ye Divell spake his hejeous heresies presently
discovered force to withstand these fiendly temptations, and to continue
in their Chrystianly practices, to ye glory of their faith and to ye
benefite of ye needy, but to ye exceeding discomfiture of ye Divell; for
ye which discomfiture I do give hearty thanks, and so also shall all of
you, if so be that your hartes within you be of rightful disposition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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