ance,
and so forth; and then come and offer thine oblation; then do thy
devotion; then do thy alms-deeds; then pray, if thou wilt have me hear
thee."

"O good Lord! this is a hard reckoning, that I must go and seek him out
that is offended with me, before I pray or do any good deed. I cannot go
unto him. Peradventure he is a hundred miles from me, beyond the seas;
or else I cannot tell where: if he were here nigh, I would with all my
heart go unto him." This is a lawful excuse before God on this fashion,
that thou wouldest in thy heart be glad to reconcile thy neighbour, if he
were present; and that thou thinkest in thy heart, whensoever thou shalt
meet with him, to go unto him, and require him charitably to forgive
thee; and so never intend to come from him, until the time that you both
depart one from the other true brethren in Christ.

Yet, peradventure, there be some in the world that be so devilish, and so
hard-hearted, that they will not apply in any condition unto charity. For
all that, do what lieth in thee, by all charitable means, to bring him to
unity. If he will in no wise apply thereunto, thou mayest be sorrowful
in thy heart, that by thine occasion that man or woman continueth in such
a damnable state. This notwithstanding, if thou do the best that lieth
in thee to reconcile him, according to some doctors' mind, thou art
discharged towards God. Nevertheless St. Augustine doubteth in this
case, whether thy oblations, prayers, or good deeds, shall avail thee
before God, or no, until thy neighbour come again to good state, whom
thou hast brought out of the way. Doth this noble doctor doubt therein?
What aileth us to be so bold, and count it but a small fault, or none, to
bring our neighbour out of patience for every trifle that standeth not
with our mind? You may see what a grievous thing this is, to bring
another man out of patience, that peradventure you cannot bring in again
with all the goods that you have: for surely, after the opinion of great
wise men, friendship once broken will be never well made whole again.
Wherefore you shall hear what Christ saith unto such persons. Saith
Christ, "I came down into this world, and so took on me bitter passion
for man's sake, by the merits whereof I intended to make unity and peace
in mankind, to make man brother unto me, and so to expel the dominion of
Satan, the devil, which worketh nothing else but dissension: and yet now
there be a great number of yo