The Ayenbite of Inwyt (Remorse of Conscience): A Translation of Parts into Modern EnglishMichel, Dan, active 14th century
Religion
The Ayenbite of Inwyt (Remorse of Conscience): A Translation of Parts into Modern English
Michel, Dan, active 14th century
Christian life -- Early works to 1800; Devotional literature
This behest forbids to desire with will of heart to have carnal
fellowship with all women out of marriage; and the sinful tokens that
are made outwardly in order to lead to sin, as are sinful words of such
a kind, or gifts, or sinful handling. And the difference between this
behest and the sixth aforesaid is, that the sixth behest forbids the
deed without, but this forbids the consent within. For the consent to
have carnal fellowship with a woman (women), who is not his own for a
wife, is deadly sin by the judgment of God’s Word, which says: ‘Whoever
sees a woman and desires her in his heart, he hath sinned with her in
his heart,’ that is to say, in open desire and in thought.
THE TENTH COMMANDMENT.
The tenth behest is this: ‘Thou shalt not desire a thing that is thy
neighbour’s.’ This behest forbids the will to have other men’s thing(s)
for a wicked reason.
In this behest is forbidden envy of other men’s goods, or of other men’s
grace. For the same envy comes of sinful covetousness to have the goods
or the very grace that he sees in others. And the same covetousness,
when the consent and the thoughts [are] thereto, is deadly sin, and
against this behest. Nevertheless light covetousness to have other men’s
things for a good reason is no sin. And if there is any evil desire,
without will and without consent to harm others, it is no sin; and if
there is sin, it is light sin.
These are the ten behests, whereof the three first direct us well to
God; the other seven direct us to our neighbour. These ten behests are
incumbent on each one that hath reason and age, to know and to do. For
whoever acts thereagainst wittingly, sins deadly.
THE TWELVE ARTICLES OF THE CHRISTIAN BELIEF.
These are the twelve articles of the Christian belief, that each
Christian man shall believe steadfastly, for otherwise he cannot be
saved when he hath wit and reason. And thereof are twelve according to
the numbers of the twelve apostles, who appointed them to be observed
and to be kept by all those that will be saved. The first, then, belongs
to the Father, the next seven (seventh) to the Son, the last four
(fourth) to the Holy Ghost; for that is the beginning of the belief,
‘believe in the Holy Trinity;’ that is, in the Father, and in the Son,
and in the Holy Ghost, one God and three persons. All these articles are
contained in the creed, that the twelve apostles made, whereof each
ordained his own.
The first article is this: ‘I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and of earth.’ This article St. Peter ordained.
The second article belongs to the Son, as to His Godhead; that is to
say, that He is God, and is this: ‘I believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord,
the Son of God the Father, and (He) is one with the Father in all things
that appertain to the Godhead, but, with regard to the person, who is
other than the person of the Father.’ This article St. John the
Evangelist ordained.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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