[Sidenote: [Fol. 82_b_.]] 166. A meane to put away ydle thoughtes in prayinge.
[Sidenote: Against idle thoughts.] And to auoyde wauerynge myndes, in worldlye occupations whanne thou shalte praye, I shall shewe vnto you the beste experience that euer I coulde fynde for the same, the whiche haue benne moche troubled therwith, and that 4 [Sidenote: If you understand Latin, keep your eye on the book, and remember the English of it.] is this. He that can rede and vnderstande latyne, let hym take his booke in his hande, and looke stedfastely vppon the same thynge that he readeth and seeth, that 8 is no trouble to hym, and remembre the englysshe of 8 the same, wherin he shall fynde greatte swetenes, and shall cause his mynde to folowe the same, and to leaue other worldly thoughtes. And he that canne-not reade nor [Sidenote: If not, think of Christ’s passion,] vnderstande his pater noster, Aue, nor Crede, he must 12 remembre the passyon of Christe, what peyne he suffered for hym, and all mankynde, for redemynge of theyr soules. And also the miracles and wonders that god hath doone, and fyrste what wonders were doone the nyghte of his 16 [Sidenote: and of His miracles;] natiuitie and byrthe. And howe he turned water in-to wyne, and made the blynde to se, the dombe to speake, the deafe to here, the lame to go, the sycke to be hole. [Sidenote: [Fol. 83.]] And howe he fed fyue thousande with two fysshes, and 20 fyue barley loues, wherof was lefte .xii. coffyns or skyppes of fragmentes. And howe he reised Lazare from deathe to lyfe, with manye moo myracles that be innumerable to be rehersed. And also to remembre the specyall poyntes 24 [Sidenote: how He was betrayed,] of his passion, howe he was solde & betrayed of Judas, and taken by the iewes, and broughte before Pylate, than to kynge Herode, and to bysshope Cayphas, and than to Pylate agayne, that iudged hym to death, and howe he 28 [Sidenote: scourged,] was bounde to a piller, and how they scurged, bobbed, mocked hym, spytte in his face, crowned hym with thornes, and caused hym to beare the crosse to the mounte of [Sidenote: and crucified;] Caluary, whervppon he was nayled both handes and 32 fete, and wounded to the harte with a sharpe spere, and [Sidenote: went down to hell; and rose again.] soo suffered deathe. And howe he fette out the soules of our forefathers forthe of hell. Howe he rose frome deathe to lyfe, and howe ofte he appered to his discyples and 36 other moo. And what myracles he wroughte afterwarde, and specyally what power he gaue to his dyscyples, that were noo clerkes, to teache and preche his faythe, and worke many myracles, and specyally whan they preached 40 before menne of dyuers nations and languages, and euerye [Sidenote: [Fol. 83_b_.]] man vnderstode in theyr own language, the whiche is a sygne that god wolde haue euery manne saued, and to knowe his lawes, the whiche was a myracle able to 44 conuerte all the infydeles, heretykes, and lollers in the worlde.