Blanquerna

OF AFFLICTION

The Canon of Affliftion prayed daily concerning faSts and vigils and affliftion, saying that Jesus ChriSt promises to all them that will suffer hunger and thirSl for love of Him that they shall be filled. It came to pass one day that a waggoner was eating bread and onions while his mule ate oats. That waggoner was pale and thin, and his mule was fat. The Canon demanded of the waggoner why he thought more of his mule than of his own person ; and the waggoner said that the mule could not draw her loads without suffi¬ cient oats, but that he himself could live upon bread and onions. When the waggoner had said these words, the Canon spake as follows in the presence of many men :

2. “To fail and to eat poor food through avarice is none occasion of the bliss which God promises in the Gospel;

likewise, with sauces

and sweetnw

:ats. The Archdeacon

was very fat and a

great eater.

Then in presence of

them all the Canon

enquired of

the Archdeacon which

satiety was of greater

profit to the soul, whether the satiety

of temporal viands <

or satiety of

the grace which God

promises to all them

1 that for lot

re of Him will suffer

hunger and thirft ai

ad affliflion.

The Archdeacon had

no reply ready, wherefore he w

ent from him without

making any answer.

4. The Canon left the city, and

went into another city

to preach affliftion ;

and at the fork of two roads he met

OF AFFLICTION excuse himself from suffering hunger and thirft that he might honour and preach the word of God 1

5. When the Canon had gone so far that he came to the gate of the city whither he was going, he found a man who had given to a poor person a piece of money, that God might hold him excused for having broken his fail on one day in Lent. The Canon and that man disputed together for a great space of time as to whether that piece of money excused him or not from his faft ; the man alleged his reasons, saying that greater good resulted from the piece of money than from his fail, wherefore the alms that he did excused him therefrom. The Canon said the alms were not in that case given according to juflice; for if a man had sinned through superfluity of gluttony, it behoved him that he should be punished for his sin by hunger, the which hunger he had not through giving the piece of money. So the Canon reproved the man very ftraitly and vanquished him in argument.

6. When the Canon entered the city, he found a great multitude of poor folk who were going through the flreets, begging alms for the love of God. All the poor folk came towards the Canon, and the Canon went about with them to the houses of wealthy men, crying, “ Hunger, hunger 1 ” It came to pass one day that a rich merchant commanded that they should give the Canon and the poor folk to eat until they were filled. When the Canon and the poor folk had eaten, they cried more loudly than before, “ Hunger, hunger! ” Great was the wonder of the merchant, and he supposed that they had not eaten enough, and com¬ manded them to be given more. “ Sir 1 ” said the Canon, “We have eaten and drunk sufficiently by the grace of God and by thy favour; but we cry concerning hunger, that thou and others may hunger and thirst for the love of God, that ye may be satisfied with the blessing of salvation.”

7. The Canon endeavoured, in so for as he was able, to have hunger and thirfl that he might punish himself for

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his sins, and give dottrine to the people whereby they might suffer affli&ions and have remembrance of the hunger which Jesus Chrifl suffered in the desert and the thirft which He endured upon the Cross. And the Canon

it behoved him not to disobey any man who was so truly a servant of mercy and who entreated him so piously as he himself had done.

4. So fervently did the Canon serve in his office, that he came many times to the place wherein the court was held, to reason and to plead for the poor, without receiving reward, and he was an advocate for the poor and the

and he cried aloud so that all they that were in the could hear him, and he said: “ Is there none in this who has hope of mercy ? ” Many were the men and v that answered saying that they hoped in mercy. Th Canon spake to them, and begged them that they assist him to honour mercy, and he went with them gate of the palace of the King, and in a loud voice t!

is the mercy which God gives in Himself when He gives Himself to those whom He pardons and who give them¬ selves to Him, than would be the mercy which thou wouldfl do in thyself to this peasant if he gave thee the ox and thou didst give thyself to him in exchange.” Right pleasing to the King and to all those that heard were the words which the Canon spake concerning the mercy of God, and he gave them great hope of mercy, and com¬ manded that the money which the Court had exafted from the peasant should be returned to him, and he himself paid the draper on behalf of him, and caused the thing to be written down concerning the draper, to the end that if it should chance that he begged mercy from the King, the King would use justice in respeft to him. Thereafter the King made ordinance that no man for any debt soever should be dispossessed of oxen whereof he had need in his daily calling.

8. Day by day went the Canon through the city, and took note of them that offended and did wrong to mercy, and wrote down their names, and went to the Canon of Humility that he might cause them to have conscience thereof, and to the Canon of Tears he gave their names that he might bewail their sins, and that the Canon of Afflidtion might faft because of them and make prayer. In this manner did the Canon work night and day in the service of Mercy; and all the eight canons who were officers of the eight Beatitudes came together in one place, and assisted each other to honour the Beatitudes wherein God should be honoured. The good and the sound dis¬ cipline which came from their work in that city, who can

OF PURITY