the comaundement of God, and defoule the auctour of there matrimonye, that is Crist. For certis, in so moche as the sacrament of mariage is so noble and so digne, so moche is it the gretter synne for to breke it; for God makide mariage in Paradis in thestat of innocence, to multiplie mankynde to the service of God, and therfore is the brekyng therof the more grevous, of which breking cometh fals heires ofte tymes, that wrong-fully occupien mennes heritage; and therfore wolde Crist putte them out of the kingdom of heven, that is heritage to goode folk. Of this breking cometh eek ofte tyme that folk unwar wedden or synnen with her kynrede; and namely these harlottis, that haunten bordels of these foule wommen, that mowe be likened to a comune gonge, where as men purgen her entrayles of her ordure. What saye we eke of putours, that Iyven by the orrible synne of putrie, and con-streyne wymmen, ye, som tyme his oughne wyf or his child, as don these baudes, to yelde hem a certeyn rente of here bodily putrie? certes, these ben cursede synnes. Under-stondeth eek that avoutrie is set gladly in the ten comaundements bitwixe manslaughter and thefte, for it is the grettest thefte that may be, for it is thefte of body and soule, and it is lik homicidie, for it kerveth a-tuo them that first were makid oon fleish. And therfore by the olde lawe of God thay sholde be slayn, but natheles, by the lawe of Jhesu Crist, that is the lawe of pité, whan he sayde to the womman that was founde in advoutrie, and shulde have ben slayn with stoones aftir the wille of the Jewes, as was their law,

“Go,” quoth Jhesu Crist, “and haue no more wille to synne or wilne no more to do synne;” sothely, the vengeance of avouterye is awardid to the peyne of helle, but-if it be destourbed by penitence. Yit ben ther mo species of this cursed synne, as whan that oon of them is religious, or ellis bothe, or for folk that ben entred into ordre, as sub-dekin, or dekin, or prest, or hospitalers; and ever the higher that he be in ordre, the gretter is the synne. The thinges that gretly aggreggith her synne, is the brekyng of here avow of chastité, whan thay resceyved the ordre; and fortherover is soth, that holy ordre is chef of alle the tresor of God, and is a special signe and mark of chastité, to shewe that thay be joyned to chastité, which that is the moste precious lif that is. And eek these ordred folk be specially tytled to God, and of the special servants of God; of whiche whan thay don dedly synne, thay ben the special traytours of God and of his people, for they lyven of the peple to praye for the peple, and whil thay ben suche traytours there prayer avayleth not to the poeple. Prestis ben aungels, as by the dignité of there service; but for sothe seint Poul saith, that Sathanas transformeth him into an aungel of light. Sothely, the prest that hauntith dedly synne, he may be likened to the aungel of derknes, transformed into the aungel of light; and he semeth aungel of light, but for sothe he is aungil of derknes. Suche prestes ben the sones of Helie, as shewith in the book of Kinges, that thay were the sones of Belial, that is, the devel. Belial is to saye, withoute juge, and so faren thay; thay thynke hem fre, and have no juge, no more than hath a fre bole, that takith which cow that him liketh in the toun. So faren thay by wommen; for right as a fre bole is y- nough for al a toun, right so is a wikked prest corrupcioun y-nough for al a parisch, or for al a contray. These prestes, as saith the book, ne conne not ministere the mistery of presthode to the poeple, nor God knowe thay not; thay holde them nought apayed, as saith the book, of soden fleissch that was to hem offred, but thay tooke by force the fleissh that is raw. Certes, so these shrewes holde them not appayed with roasted fleissh and sod fleissh, with whiche the poeple feeden hem in gret reverence, but thay wil have raw fleish of folkes wyves and there doughters. And certes, these wommen that consenten to there harlotrie, don gret wrong to Crist and to holy chirche, and to alle saints, and to alle soules, for thay bireven alle these them that shulde worshipe Crist and holy chirche and praye for cristen soules. And therfore have suche prestis, and there lemmans eeke that consenten to there leccherie, the malisoun of al the court cristian, til thay come to amendement. The thridde spice of advoutry is som tyme bitwix a man and his wif, and that is, whan thay take noon reward in their assembling but oonly to the fleishly delit, as saith seint Jerom, and ne rekke of no thing but that thay be assemblid bycause that thay ben maried; al is good y-nough as thinkith hem. But in suche folk hath the devel power, as saith the aungel Raphael to Thoby, for in there assemblyng, thay putten Jhesu Crist out of their herte, and given themself to alle ordure. The ferthe species is the assemblynge of them that ben of there kyndrede, or of them that ben of oon affinité, or elles with them with whiche there fadres or there kyndrede have deled in the synne of leccherie; this synne makith hem like houndes, that taken noon heede of kyndrede. And certes, parenteal is in tuo maneres, eyther gostly or fleisshly. Gostly, as for to dele with her gossib; for right so as he that engendrith a child, is his fleisshly fader, right so is his godfather his fader espirituel; for