"And I said then to him, as with my foresaid Protestation, I say to you now here, 'Sir, I counsel you for to absent you from all evil company, and to draw you to them that love and busy them to know and to keep the precepts of GOD; and then the good Spirit of GOD will move you for to occupy busily all your wits in gathering together of all your sins, as far as ye can bethink you; shaming greatly of them, and sorrowing heartily for them. Yea, Sir, the HOLY GHOST will then put in your heart a good will and a fervent desire for to take and to hold a good purpose, to hate ever and to fly, after your cunning and power, all occasion of sin: and so then wisdom shall come to you from above, lightening with divers beams of grace and of heavenly desire all your wits, informing you how ye shall trust stedfastly in the mercy of the LORD, [ac]knowledging to Him only all your vicious living, praying to Him ever devoutly of charitable counsel and continuance, hoping without doubt that if ye continue thus busying you faithfully to know and keep his biddings, that He will, for He only may, forgive you all your sins!' "And this man said then to me, 'Though GOD forgive men their sins, yet it behoveth men to be assoiled [_absolved_] of priests, and to do the penance that they enjoin them!' =GOD ALONE CAN FORGIVE SINS!= "And I said to him, 'Sir, it is all one to assoil men of their sins, and to forgive men their sins: wherefore since it pertaineth only to GOD to forgive sin, it sufficeth in this case, to counsel men and women for to leave their sin, and to comfort them that busy them thus to do, for to hope stedfastly in the mercy of GOD. And againward, priests ought to tell sharply to customable sinners, that if they will not make an end of their sin, but continue in divers sins while that they may sin, all such deserve pain without end. And herefore priests should ever busy them to live well and holily, and to teach the people busily and truly the Word of GOD; shewing to all folk, in open preaching and in privy counselling, that the LORD GOD only forgiveth sin. And therefore those priests that take upon them to assoil men of their sins, blaspheme GOD; since that it pertaineth only to the LORD to assoil men of all their sins. For, no doubt, a thousand years after that CHRIST was man, no priest of CHRIST durst take upon him to teach the people, neither privily nor apertly, that they behoved needs to come to be assoiled of them; as priests do now. But by authority of CHRIST's word, priests bound indured [_hardened_] customable sinners to everlasting pains, [those] which, in no time of their living, would busy them faithfully to know the biddings of GOD, nor to keep them. And, again, all they that would occupy all their wits to hate and to flee all occasion of sin, dreading over all things to offend GOD, and loving for to please Him continually; to these men and women, priests shewed how the LORD assoileth them of their sins.