own deserts have rightly and justly lost the everlasting joy, and of ourselves are become true inheritors of hell. For he that committeth deadly sin willingly, binds himself to be an inheritor of everlasting pain: and so did our forefather Adam willingly eat of the forbidden fruit. Wherefore he was cast out of the everlasting joy of paradise into this corrupt world amongst all vileness; whereby of himself he was not worthy to do any thing laudable and pleasant to God, but evermore bound to corrupt affections and beastly appetites, transformed into the most unclean and variable nature that was made under heaven; of whose seed and disposition all the world is lineally descended, insomuch that this evil nature is so diffused and shed from one to another, that at this day there is no man or woman living that can, of themselves, wash away their abominable vileness; and so we must needs grant ourselves to be in the same displeasure of God, as our father Adam was. By reason hereof, as I said, we are of ourselves children of the indignation and vengeance of God, the true inheritors of hell, and working all towards hell; which is the answer to this question, made to every man and woman by themselves, "Who art thou?"

And now, the world standing in this damnable state, the incarnation of Christ cometh in. The Father in heaven perceiving the frail nature of man, that he by himself and of himself could do nothing for himself, by his prudent wisdom sent down the second person in the Trinity, his Son Jesus Christ, to declare unto man his pleasure and commandment. And so at the Father's will Christ took on himself human nature, being willing to deliver man out of this miserable way, and was content to suffer cruel passion* in shedding his blood for all mankind, and so left behind, for our safeguard, laws and ordinances, to keep us always in the right path unto everlasting life, as the gospels, the sacraments, the commandments, and so forth; which if we keep and observe according to our profession, we shall answer better to this question, "Who art thou?" than we did before...

The answer of this question, when I ask it of myself, is, "I must say that I am a Christian man, a Christian woman, a child of everlasting joy, through the merits of the bitter passion of Christ." This is a joyful answer.

Here

we may see how much we are bound, and indebted unto God, who has revived us from death to life, and saved us that were damned: which great benefit we cannot well consider, unless we remember what we were of ourselves before we meddled with him or his laws: and the more we know our feeble nature, and set less by it, the more we shall conceive and know in our hearts what God has done for us: and the more we know what God has done for us, the less we shall set by ourselves, and the more we shall love and please God; so that in no condition shall we either know ourselves or God, except we utterly confess ourselves to be mere vileness and corruption. Well, now it is come to this point, that we are Christian men, and Christian women; I pray you what does Christ require of a Christian man, or of a Christian woman? Christ requires nothing of a Christian man or woman, but that he will observe his rule. For as he is a good Augustine friar that keeps well St. Augustine's rules, so he is a good Christian man that keeps well Christ's rule.

Now then, what is Christ's rule? Christ's rule consists in many things, as in the commandments, and the works of mercy and so forth. And because I cannot declare Christ's rule unto you at one time, as it ought to be done, I will apply myself according to your custom at this time of Christmas; I will, as I said, declare unto you Christ's rule, but that shall be in Christ's cards. And as you are wont to celebrate Christmas by playing at cards,* I intend with God's grace, to deal unto you Christ's cards, wherein you shall perceive Christ's rule. The game that we will play at shall be the triumph (or trump,) which, if it be well played at, he that deals shall win; the players shall likewise win, and the standers and lookers on shall do the same; insomuch that there is no man that is willing to play at this triumph with these cards, but they shall all be winners, and no losers.

Let, therefore, every Christian man and woman play at these cards, that they may have and obtain the triumph; you must mark also that the triumph must apply to fetch home unto him all the other cards, whatsoever suit they are of. Now then take this first card, which must appear and be showed unto you as follows. You have heard what was spoken to men of the old law, "Thou shalt not kill;"

* It was usual for the preachers in those days to explain their meaning by reference to the customs and manners most in practice.

whosoever shall kill, shall be in danger of judgment, and whosoever shall say unto his neighbour "Raca," that is to say, brainless, or any other like word of rebuking, shall be in danger of a council, and whosoever shall say unto his neighbour, "Fool," shall be in danger of hell-fire. This card was made and spoken by Christ, as appears in the fifth chapter of St. Matthew.

Now it must be noted, that whosoever shall play with this card must first, before they play with it, know the strength and virtue of the same; wherefore you must well note and mark terms, how they are spoken, and to what purpose: let us, therefore, read it once or twice, that we may be the better acquainted with it.

Now behold and see, it is divided into four parts: the first part is one of the commandments that was given unto Moses in the old law before the coming of Christ, which commandment we of the new law are bound to observe and keep, and it is one of our commandments. The other three parts spoken by Christ are but expositions unto the first part of this commandment: for in effect all these four parts are but one commandment, that is to say, "Thou shalt not kill:" yet, nevertheless, the three last parts show unto you how many ways you may kill your neighbour contrary to this commandment: yet for all Christ's expositions in the three last parts, the terms are not open enough to you who now read and hear them spoken. No doubt the Jews understood well enough when he spoke unto them the three last sentences: wherefore seeing that these terms were natural terms of the Jews, it shall be necessary to expound them, and compare them unto some like terms of our natural speech, that we, in like manner, may understand Christ as well as the Jews did. We will begin with the first part of this card, and then afterwards with the other three parts. You must therefore understand that the Jews and the Pharisees of the old law, to whom this first part, this commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," was spoken, thought it sufficient and enough for their discharge not to kill with any manner of material weapon, as sword, dagger, or with any such weapon; and they thought it no great fault whatsoever they said or did to their neighbour so that they did not harm or meddle with their bodies; which was a false opinion in them, as the three last sentences following the first prove well.

Now as to the three other sentences, you must note or

take heed what difference there is between these three manner of offences:-to be angry with your neighbour:to call your neighbour brainless, or any such word of disdain: or to call your neighbour fool. Whether these three manner of offences are of themselves one more grievous than the other, is to be opened unto you. Truly, as they are of themselves divers offences, so they kill diversely, one more than the other. As you shall perceive, by the first of these three a man who conceives against his neighbour or brother, ire, or wrath in his mind, by some occasion given unto him, although he is angry in his mind against his neighbour, he will, peradventure, express his ire by no sign, either in word or deed: yet nevertheless, he offends against God, and breaks this commandment in killing his own soul, and is therefore in danger of judgment.

Now to the second part of these three. The man that is moved with ire against his neighbour, and in his ire calls his neighbour brainless, or some other word of displeasure, as a man might say in his fury, "I shall handle thee well enough," which words and countenance do more represent and declare ire to be in this man than in him that was but angry, and spake no manner of word, nor showed any countenance to declare his ire: wherefore as he that so declares his ire either by word or countenance, offends more against God, so he both kills his own soul, and does what he can to kill his neighbour's soul in moving him unto ire, wherein he is faulty himself, and so this man is in danger of a council.

Now to the third offence, and last of these three. The man that calls his neighbour fool more declares his angry mind toward him than he that calls his neighbour but brainless, or any such words moving ire: for to call a man "fool," shows more envy in a man, than "brainless" does. Wherefore he offends most because he most earnestly with such words expresses his ire, and so he is in danger of hell-fire: wherefore you may understand now these three parts of this card to point out three offences, and that one is more grievous to God than the other, and that one kills the soul of man more than the other.

Now, peradventure, there are some who will marvel that Christ did not declare his commandment by some greater faults of ire, than by these which seem but small faults, as to be angry and speak nothing of it-to declare

it, and to call a man brainless-and to call his neighbour fool; truly these are the smallest and the least faults that belong to ire, or to killing in ire. Therefore beware how you offend in any kind of ire-seeing that the smallest is damnable to offend in, see that you offend not in the greatest. For Christ thought, if he might bring you from the smallest faults, and give you warning to avoid the least, he reckoned you would not offend in the greatest and worst, as to call your neighbour thief, or more blasphemous

names.

Now you have heard that to these different offences of ire and killing, are appointed punishments according to their degrees: for look, as the offence is, so shall the pain be: if the offence is great, the punishment shall be accordingly; if it is less, there shall be less pain for it. I would not now that you should think because there are but three degrees of punishment spoken of, that there are no more in hell: no doubt Christ spoke of no more here than these three degrees of punishments, thinking they were sufficient enough for example, whereby we might understand that there are as divers and many pains as there are offences; and so by these three offences, and these three punishments, all other offences and punishments may be compared with each other: yet I would satisfy your minds further in these three terms of judgment, council, and hellfire. As you might say, what was the cause that Christ declared the pains of hell by these terms, more than by any other terms? I told you before that he knew well to whom he spake them; these terms were natural, and known well among the Jews and the Pharisees. Wherefore Christ taught them with their own terms, to the intent they might understand his doctrine the better: and these terms may be likened unto three terms which are common and usual amongst us, that is to say, the sessions of inquirance or inquest; the sessions of deliverance, and the execution day. Sessions of inquirance is like unto judgment; for when session of inquiry is, then the judges cause twelve men to give verdict of the felon's crime, whereby he shall be judged to be indicted. Sessions of deliverance is much like a council; for at sessions of deliverance, the judges go by themselves to counsel, to determine sentence against the felon. Execution day is to be compared unto hell fire; for the Jews had amongst themselves a place of