(21) Beware, lest thou shouldest walk in their ways And tread in their paths, And sin a sin unto death before the Most High God. Else He will [hide His face from thee, And] give thee back into the hands of thy transgression, And root thee out of the land, and thy seed likewise from under heaven, And thy name and . thy seed will perish from the whole earth'.

(95) And hold fast my words in the thoughts of your hearts, And suffer them not to be effaced from your hearts; For I know that sinners will tempt men to evilly-entreat wisdom, So that no place may be found for her, And no manner of temptation may minish.

(61) If you take counsel with your lust, Even though it enjoin prayers and fasting, It is treacherously laying a snare for you.' You must abandon and ignore your own knowledge, Whatever seems profitable, flee from it, Contemn whatever praises you, Lend to paupers your wealth and profits! Quit your sect and be a subject of aversion, Cast away name and fame and seek disgrace!" If you seek the explanation of God's love and favor,

(21) In like manner, when the King of kings says "Abstain," Again, "Eat ye," is said recognising the snares of lust, And afterwards, " Exceed not," to enjoin temperance. When there is no subject, When thou endurest not the pains of abstinence And fulfillest not the terms, thou gainest no reward. How easy those terms! how abundant that reward! A reward that enchants the heart and charms the soul! Prayers to God to change our base inclinations and give us higher aspirations. O Thou that changest earth into gold,

(318) They who forbid when there is nothing to be forbidden, and forbid not when there is something to be forbidden, such men, embracing false doctrines, enter the evil path.

(3) Do then so. And I pray thee for God’s love that thou let none see this book, unless it be such one that thee think is like to the book; after that thou findest written in the book before, where it telleth what men and when they should work in this work. And if thou shalt let any such men see it, then I pray thee that thou bid them take them time to look it all over. For peradventure there is some matter therein in the beginning, or in the midst, the which is hanging and not fully declared there as it standeth. But if it be not there, it is soon after, or else in the end. And thus if a man saw one part and not another, peradventure he should lightly be led into error: and therefore I pray thee to work as I say thee. And if thee think that there be any matter therein that thou wouldest have more opened than it is, let me wit which it is, and thy conceit thereupon; and at my simple cunning it shall be amended if I can.

(95) And now I say unto you the righteous: Walk not in the paths of wickedness, nor in the paths of death, And draw not nigh to them, lest ye be destroyed.

(5) Accordingly, the blessed apostle very appropriately and urgently exhorts us "not to strive about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers, but to shun profane and vain babblings, for they increase unto more ungodliness, and their word will eat as doth a canker."

(8) "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh."

(7) And suffer not the soul to be eaten with the flesh, that your blood, which is your life, may not be required at the hand of any flesh that sheddeth (it) on the earth.

(35) And I swear unto thee that I shall love him, and not desire evil against him all the days of mv life but good only." And he sware unto her regarding all this matter.

(27) Thou must renounce the devil and the world, if thou wilt enter into this fight, else thou wilt not overcome: But if thou overcomest not, then let my book alone, and meddle not with it, but stick to thy old matters, else thou wilt receive but evil wages for thy pains: Be not deceived, God will not be mocked.[Gal vi. 7.]

(35) And he said : " I will do everything that thou sayest unto me, and I will not refuse thy petition."

(75) So also the admirable Peter says: "Beloved, I exhort you as strangers and pilgrims, to abstain from carnal lusts, which war against the soul, and conduct yourselves well among the heathen; for this is the will of God that by doing good you should put to silence the activity of foolish men, as free and not using your freedom as a covering for evil, but as God's slaves." Likewise also Paul in the Epistle to the Romans writes: "We who are dead to sin, how shall we any longer live in it? Because our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed," down to the words, "do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin."

(6) But flesh, with the life thereof, with the blood, ye shall not eat ; for the life of all flesh is in the blood, lest your blood of your lives be required. <nAt the hand of every man, at theJiaj}cLj}iv.exy_3 m (beast), shall I require the blood"DTman.

(12) Deliver me from the hands of evil spirits who have sway over the thoughts of men's hearts, And let them not lead me astray from Thee, my God. And stablish Thou me and my seed for ever That we go not astray from henceforth and for evermore."

(78) Therefore beware of the Longing [Lust or Desire;] and say not in thyself, I stand in the Dark, the Lord sees me not, [nor] what I think and do. He stands in the Gate of the Mind, where the Soul stands (before the clear Face of God) in the opened Gate; and all thy Abominations are known before God, and thou makest the Element of God blush [or change Colour] with them; thou grievest the chaste Virgin (which dwells in her own Center, and is given to be a Companion to thee in thy Mind) and makest her sad; she warns thee of the Way of the Ungodly; if thou followest [her Counsel,] and turnest, and breakest in unto her, by earnest Repentance, then she crowns thee in thy Mind with Wisdom and Understanding, that thou mayest then very well avoid the Devil; but if they doest not, then thou fallest out of one Sin and Abomination into another, and makest thy Measure full and running over, and then the Devil helps thee into his Kingdom, and thou art very serviceable to him; for thou art a true Scourge to the Children of God, not only with Reproaching, but also in Deeds [or in the Work of thy Hands,] which the Devil dares not do; thou doest him acceptable service. He amuses thee finely with the Name [i of God,] so that thou bringest forth from thy Lips, and teachest it; but thy Heart is a Thief and

(31) Mayest thou prosper and fulfil the vow which thou hast vowed; and put not off thy vow; for thou wilt be called to account as touching the vow; now therefore make haste to perform it, and may He be pleased who hath made all tilings, to whom thou hast vowed the vow."

(11) Therefore let every one take Care what he does: I say again, that whosoever he be that intrudes himself to be a Pastor [or Shepherd] without the divine Calling, without the Knowledge of God, he is a Thief and a Murderer; he enters not through the Door into Paradise, but he creeps in with the Dogs and the Wolves, into the Den of Thieves, and he does it but for his Belly's Sake, and his own Honour [and Esteem;] he is no Pastor [or Shepherd,] but he depends on the great Whore, upon Antichrist; and yet he supposes that he is a Pastor [or Shepherd;] but he is not known in Paradise.

(1) AND furthermore, if thou ask me what discretion thou shalt have in this work, then I answer thee and say, right none! For in all thine other doings thou shalt have discretion, as in eating and in drinking, and in sleeping and in keeping of thy body from outrageous cold or heat, and in long praying or reading, or in communing in speech with thine even-christian. In all these shalt thou keep discretion, that they be neither too much nor too little. But in this work shalt thou hold no measure: for I would that thou shouldest never cease of this work the whiles thou livest.