Treatise of Good Works, Commandment 6
¶The ſyxe cōmaundement thou ſhalte be no Lecher.
ALſo in this commaundement is a worke commaunded contaynynge many good workes, and puttynge awaye many vyces / and it is called clenneſſe or chaſtytie / of the whiche many thynges be wrytten, ſhewed and knowen well to many. But it is not ſo well obſerued and kepte as be other workes not cōmaunded. So redy we be al to do that that is not cōmaūded / & to leaue that, ehat is cōmaunded. We ſe that the worlde is full of fythye workes of vnclenneſſe, vnſhame faſt wordꝭ, bawdy tales and ſonges. And beſydes theſe, the prouokyng is dayly increaſyd with to moch meate and drynke / ydelneſſe, and gorgeous apparell. And yet we go forthe ſtyll, as thoughe we were chryſten men, bycauſe we go to the churche / whype vp our prayers, faſt and keape holy dayes, wherby we thynke all perfyte. But & yf there were no more workes cōmaunded but chaſtytie / we had all buſynes ynoughe to do. For this byce is ſo peryllous and outragyous, yt it rageth in all our membres / in the herte by thoughtes, in the iyes by ſyght, in the eares by hearynge, in the mouth by wordes, in the handes, fete, and all the body, by worke it ſelfe. And to tame all theſe we muſte laboure and punyſſhe our ſelfe / ſo the cōmaundementes of god teche vsus. How moch howe truelye, howe ſyncerely ſuche good workꝭ ben exercyſed god knoweth. Yea it is vnpoſſyble for vsus to thynke any good thyng of our owne power / I wyll not ſaye to begynne or fyniſſhe it. For ſaynt Auguſtyne ſayeth / that amōges all chryſten mens battelles / the batell of chaſtytie is ye greatteſt, bycauſe it is dayly without ceaſynge or leauynge of / & bycauſe that chaſtytie ſeldome ouercommeth. All ſayntes hauehave complayned vponupon this / and all holy men hauehave bewayled it / as ſaynt Paule to the Romaynes the .7. chap. For I know that there dwelleth nat in me, that is in my fleſſhe any goodnes.
THat the worke of chaſtytie may hauehave the hygher hande,Saye not another tyme that the new lernynge (as the papyſtes call it) forbydeth taſtyng watchynge, labour, with other chaſteſynge of the bodye. it dryueth vsus to many other good workes / as to faſtynges & temperaunce / agaynſt glotony & dronkennes, to watchynge & erlye ryſynge / agaynſt ſlouth & vnmeaſurable ſlepe, to laboure and weryneſſe agaynſt ydelnes. For alwayes to eate, drynke, ſleape, ſytte ſtyll, and be ydelyd / ben the armoure, defence, & noryſſhynge of vnclenneſſe / by the whiche chaſtytie is ouercome by and by. And vpō the other ſyde the holy apoſtle Paule calleth faſtynge, watchynge, laboure / the armure of god, by the which vnclenneſſe is tamed & broughte in ordre. But yet ſo as is ſayd before / that ſuche exercyſynges go no further, than to oppreſſe vnclenneſſe / and not to deſtroye nature. Beſydes all theſe, the moſte ſtronge wepen is prayer and the worde of god / that whan ye euyll luſte and deſyre prycketh a mā / than let hym fle to prayer / callynge vponupon the grace and helpe of god. Let his mynde be occupyed vponupon it, lokyng in the paſſyon of Chryſt. So ſayeth he, in the .137. pſalme. O cytye of Babell, worthye to be dyſtroyed / bleſſid be he that ſhal take thyne yonge babes / and throwe them agaynſte the ſtones / that is to ſaye, whan the herte is infecte / with euyll thoughtes / beyng yet tender / and in the begynnyng, ronneth to our lorde chryſt, whiche is ye ſtone, by the whiche they be bruſed, broken, & dyſtroyed. Lo here eueryevery man laden in hym ſelfe, ſhall fynde good buſyneſſe ynoughe to do good workes in hym ſelfe. But nowe it is ſo yt no man vſeth prayer, faſtyng, watching, & labour, for this purpoſe, but for a clene cōtrary intent, Albeit they were ordayned & made onelyonly to fulfyl ye worke of this cō maūement, & to purge it eueryevery day more & more. Beſydes this, there hauehave ben ſome men whych hauehave ſhewed howe vnclenneſſe myghte be auoyded, as by leauynge of ſofte beddes / pleaſaūt chambres, gorgeous rayment / as well in men, as in women / to famylyer cōmunycacyon & countenaūce / and what ſoeuer other thyng is ꝓfitable to kepe chaſtytie / in all the whiche thyngꝭ no man can put a certayne rule or meaſure. But eueryevery man muſte marke hym ſelfe / what thinges, how many, & howe longe they be ꝓfytable for hym to kepe chaſtytie, & muſt choſe them hym ſelfe. But and yf he know not by hym ſelfe, let hym ſubmytte hym ſelfe a whyle to the inſtruccyon and lernynge of another / the whiche maye brynge hym vp & inſtructe hym in it, vntyll he be able to rule hym ſelfe. For truely the abbeys & monaſteryes were ones founded for this cauſe. That chyldren and yonge men myght be taught goodneſſe and chaſtytie in them.
A Good & ſtronge fayth profyteth more ſenſablye in this worke, than it ſhuld in any other. In ſo moche,The gyrdell of the reynes that Eſaye calleth fayth the gyrdell of the reynes / that is to ſaye, the kepynge of chaſtytie. For ſpirytual chaſtytie pleaſeth hym that lyueth in it ſo well that he promyſeth and thynketh hym ſelf ſure of the grace and fauoure of god. Therfore by this he may the more ſtrongly reſyſte bodely vnclenneſſe / for ye ſpyrite of god ſheweth hym for certayne, howe he ought in ſuch fayth to exchue euyll thoughtes and what ſoeuer is contrary vntounto chaſtytie. For as this truſt of ye grace of god lyueth workynge all workes, without any intermyſſyon, euyn ſo it forſaketh no holſome admonyſſion in thyngꝭ that be pleaſaunt to god, or dyſpleaſaunt. As ſaynt Iohn̄ ſayth in his epyſtell. I hauehave not wrytten vntounto you, as thoughe you were ignoraūt of the truthe, but as to them that knowe it. For ye hauehave oyntement of ye holy ghoſt, and ye knowe all thynges / that is ye ſpiryte of god teacheth you al thynges. Nother muſt we diſpayre, though we be not delyuered by and by from tempacyon. Yea we ought not to determyne that we ſhulde hauehave any reſte of it ſo longe as we lyue / nother to take it any other wayes / but as a prouokyng and warnynge / to pray, to faſt, to watch, to labour, & other exercyſyngꝭ, to tame the fleſſhe / & ſpecyally for to hauehave & do ſuche thyngꝭ to vſe our fayth towarde god. For yt chaſtytie is not great that hathe quyete reſt / but that whiche commeth in batayle and fyghteth with vnclenneſſe without ceaſyng, expellyng all poyſons / that the fleſſhe & the euyll ſpiryte caſt vntounto vsus / ſo ſayeth ſaynt Peter. Derely beloued I beſech you as vnacquaynted and ſtraungers, to abſtayne your ſelf from fleſſhely deſyres / whiche ſtryue agaynſt the ſoule. And ſaynt Paule to the Romaynes the .6. chapyt. Let not ſynne reygne in youre mortall body ye ye obey his luſtes. In this ſentence and ſuche other, is ſhewed ye no man is fre frō euyll luſtes / but that we be compelled daylye to fyght wt them. And all though this conflycte brynge payne and trouble vntounto our fleſſhe / yet it is a pleaſaunt worke to god, in the whiche oughte onelyonly to be oure pleaſure and comforte. For they that thynke that they ſhal withſtande ſuche tēptacyon in quyetneſſe / they kyndell and inflame it more and more / ſo ye al though it reſteth a lytell whyle / yet it cō meth agayne more ſtrōger / fyndynge nature more weake than it was before.