r body, than with a foul thought in their soul. But
what so thou be that weenest that thou hast gotten Dinah, think
whether thee would shame as much if a foul thought were in thine
heart, as thee would if thou were made to stand naked before the
king and all his royalme; and sikerly else wete it thou right well
that thou hast not yet gotten ordained shame in thy feeling, if so
be that thou have less shame with thy foul heart than with thy foul
body, and if thou think more shame with thy foul body in the sight
of men than with thy foul heart in the sight of the King of heaven
and of all His angels and holy saints in heaven.

Lo, it is now said of the seven children of Leah, by the which are
understanden seven manner of affections in a man's soul, the which
may be now ordained and now unordained, now measured and now
unmeasured; but when they are ordained and measured, then are they
virtues; and when they are unordained and unmeasured, then are they
vices. Thus behoveth a man have children[97] that they be not only
ordained, but also measured. Then are they ordained when they are of
that thing that they should be, and then are they unordained when
they are of that thing that they should not be; and then are they
measured when they are as much as they should be, and then are they
unmeasured when they are more than they should be. For why, overmuch
dread bringeth in despair, and overmuch sorrow casteth a man in to
bitterness and heaviness of kind,[98] for the which he is unable to
receive ghostly comfort. And overmuch hope is presumption, and
outrageous love is but flattering and faging,[99] and outrageous
gladness is dissolution and wantonness, and untempered hatred of sin
is woodness.[100] And on this manner, they are unordained and
unmeasured, and thus are they turned in to vices, and then lose they
the name of virtues, and may not be accounted amongst the sons of
Jacob, that is to say, God: for by Jacob is understanden God, as it
is shewed in the figure before.

CAPITULUM X

HOW DISCRETION AND CONTEMPLATION RISE IN THE REASON

Thus it seemeth that the virtue of discretion needeth to be had,
with the which all others may be governed; for without it all
virtues are turned in to vices. This is Joseph, that is the late
born child, but yet his father loveth him more than them all. For
why, without discretion may neither goodness be gotten nor kept, and
therefore no wonder though that virtue be singularly loved,