82. _whennes it is cleped Penitence_; our author entirely forgets this
clause in the sequel, and takes no more notice of the point here noted.
84. 'Poenitentia est et mala praeterita plangere, et plangenda iterum non
committere'; S. Ambrosii Opera, Appendix, Sermo xxv; ed. Migne (Cursus
Patrologicus), vol. 17, col. 655.
The quotations, chiefly from the Latin fathers, in this Persones Tale, are
so numerous, and often so brief and inexact, that I am not able to give the
references in more than a few instances. I have, however, succeeded in
finding some of them, such as the one above.
85. In the works of St. Ambrose, the following sentence occurs just above
the one cited in the last note: 'Poenitentia vero est dolor cordis, et
amaritudo animae pro malis quae quisque commisit.'
89. St. Isidore of Seville is here intended (born A.D. 570, died A.D. 636).
Cf. 551 below, (p. 603). I find no passage which precisely answers to this
quotation, but I think the following is intended: 'Nam qui plangit
peccatum, et iterum admittit peccatum, quasi si quis lavet laterem crudum,
quem quanto magis eluerit, tanto amplius lutum facit.'--S. Isidorus,
Sententiarum lib. ii. c. 13; ed. Migne, vol. 83, col. 613. Here Isidore
does not call the sinner a 'japer,' but says that he is as foolish as a man
who washes an unburnt brick; for such a process only produces more mud.
92. St. Gregory the Great, the first pope of that name, is here meant; and
the following is probably the passage referred to: 'Ut intelligas in anima
gravissimo iniquitatis pondere obrutum ... ut ad sublimia levari jam non
valeat, quoniam iniquitatis eam [mentem] gravitudo coarctat.'--S.
Gregorius, in Septem Psalmos Poenitentiales Expositio; Ps. xxvii. v. 8; ed.
Migne, vol. 79, col. 572.
93. _and forlete sinne_, and forsake sin before they die. This expression
has already occurred at the end of the Phisiciens Tale; see C. 286.
94. Note the glosses in the footnotes; thus _tak_ means _tene_, i. e. 'keep
to'; and _siker_ is _certum_, i. e. 'sure.'
96. It is quite hopeless to make any sense of this passage. It is perfectly
clear that, as Koch suggests (see Anglia, V. pt. ii. p. 135), a
considerable portion of the text is here _lost_. And no doubt it happened
in the usual way, viz. by the omission of a clause included between some
repeated words, such as _that a man_. Our author must have described, first
of all, _three actions_ of Penitence; and afterwards, _three defautes_ (or
defects) in doing penance. All that we have left is a notice of _the first
action_ (left unexplained), and a partial [449] explanation of the three
'defautes.' I suggest, therefore, a _lacuna_ after _that a man_; and I take
it that the original text had: 'The firste accion of Penitence is _that a
man_ [do so and so. The second action is, that he do so and so. The third
is, that he do so and so. Moreover, ye shall understand that there are
three defautes in doing penance. The first is, if _that a man_] be baptized
after that he hath sinned.' Some MSS. read _that if a man_ or _if a man_
before _be baptized_. I do not see that this helps us, because I do not
think that this is where the fault really lies.
97. The quotation here meant is the following: 'Omnis enim, qui iam arbiter
voluntatis suae constitutus est, cum accedit ad sacramentum fidelium, nisi
eum poeniteat vitae veteris, novam non potest inchoare': Homil. l.; in Opp.
Basil. 1569, tom. x. col. 552 C.
100. 'Est enim poenitentia bonorum et humilium fidelium poena quotidiana';
S. Aug. Opp. Basil. 1569, tom. ii. col. 507 A; Epist. cviii.