§ 80. Now how that a womman sholde be subget to hir housbonde, that telleth
seint Peter. First, in obedience. /930 And eek, as seith the decree, a
womman that is a wyf, as longe as she is a wyf, she hath noon auctoritee to
swere ne bere witnesse with-oute leve of hir housbonde, that is hir lord;
algate, he sholde be so by resoun. / She sholde eek serven him in alle
honestee, and been attempree of hir array. I wot wel that they sholde
setten hir entente to plesen hir housbondes, but nat by hir queyntise of
array. / Seint Ierome seith, that wyves that been apparailled in silk and
in precious purpre ne mowe nat clothen hem in Iesu Crist. What seith seint
Iohn eek in this matere? / Seint Gregorie eek seith, that no wight seketh
precious array but only for veyne glorie, to been honoured the more biforn
the peple. / It is a greet folye, a womman to have a fair array outward and
in hir-self be foul inward. /935 [633] A wyf sholde eek be mesurable in
lokinge and in beringe and in laughinge, and discreet in alle hir wordes
and hir dedes. / And aboven alle worldly thing she sholde loven hir
housbonde with al hir herte, and to him be trewe of hir body / so sholde an
housbonde eek be to his wyf. For sith that al the body is the housbondes,
so sholde hir herte been, or elles ther is bitwixe hem two, as in that, no
parfit mariage. / Thanne shal men understonde that for three thinges a man
and his wyf fleshly mowen assemble. The firste is in entente of engendrure
of children to the service of god, for certes that is the cause fynal of
matrimoine. / Another cause is, to yelden everich of hem to other the dette
of hir bodies, for neither of hem hath power over his owene body. The
thridde is, for to eschewe lecherye and vileinye. The ferthe is for sothe
deadly sinne. /940 As to the firste, it is meritorie; the seconde also;
for, as seith the decree, that she hath merite of chastitee that yeldeth to
hir housbonde the dette of hir body, ye, though it be agayn hir lykinge and
the lust of hir herte. / The thridde manere is venial sinne, and trewely
scarsly may ther any of thise be with-oute venial sinne, for the corrupcion
and for the delyt. / The fourthe manere is for to understonde, if they
assemble only for amorous love and for noon of the forseyde causes, but for
to accomplice thilke brenninge delyt, they rekke nevere how ofte, sothly it
is deedly sinne; and yet, with sorwe, somme folk wol peynen hem more to
doon than to hir appetyt suffyseth. /
931. E. Cm. that is wyf; Hl. that is a wif. 935. Cm. Pt. be; Hl. to
ben; Ln. bue; E. _om._ 941. E. _om._ merite of chastitee. 942. E.
_om._ of.
§ 81. The seconde manere of chastitee is for to been a clene widewe, and
eschue the embracinges of man, and desyren the embracinge of Iesu Crist. /
Thise been tho that han been wyves and han forgoon hir housbondes, and eek
wommen that han doon lecherie and been releeved by Penitence. /945 And
certes, if that a wyf coude kepen hir al chaast by licence of hir
housbonde, so that she yeve nevere noon occasion that he agilte, it were to
hire a greet merite. / Thise manere wommen that observen chastitee moste be
clene in herte as well as in body and in thoght, and mesurable in clothinge
and in contenaunce; and been abstinent in etinge and drinkinge, in
spekinge, and in dede. They been the vessel or the boyste of the blissed
Magdelene, that fulfilleth holy chirche of good odour. / The thridde manere
of chastitee is [634] virginitee, and it bihoveth that she be holy in herte
and clene of body; thanne is she spouse to Iesu Crist, and she is the lyf
of angeles. / She is the preisinge of this world, and she is as thise
martirs in egalitee; she hath in hir that tonge may nat telle ne herte
thinke. / Virginitee baar oure lord Iesu Crist, and virgin was him-selve.
/950