Described Hardwick & Luard: i.481–2.

[1]

f. 1

Hit was an holy man and by souʒte god sende hym grace hym for to teche swych vertues to usen þat were best to lyf and to sowle þan seyde god ʒif þyn herte to me and a peny to þe pore for þe loue of me and hit schal lyke me beter …

f. 2

… and perseuerance þe whiche vij whoso wole kepe wiþ his myʒt his sete is set wiþ seyntes euer in godes syʒt.

Points Best Pleasing to God or Treatise on the Nine Virtues. IPMEP 410 (cf. IPMEP 256 and 847); Wells Rev. 7:2537–38 [157], version E; Jolliffe I.12e.

Other texts: Wells Rev. identifies 13 prose and 3 verse versions of this text, and lists 20 MSS of the prose version including 7 MSS of version E. For copies of version E already indexed see IMEP 4 indexing BodL Douce 141 [1]; IMEP 11 indexing Camb. Trinity O.2.53 [2]; and IMEP 12 indexing BodL Eng. poet a.1 [3], further noting another version in BL Add 60577 f. 111rv. For version D see Dd.14.26 [4]; for version J see Ff.6.33 [6]; for another version not listed by Wells Rev. see Ff.5.40 [17]. For other versions already indexed see IMEP 6 indexing BC 501 [8]; IMEP 13 indexing Lambeth 432 [5]; IMEP 15 indexing Hereford P.I.9 [2] and Leicester 10D 34/15 [1].

[2]

f. 2

My dere broþer and suster y se wel þat many wolde ben in religiun bote þey mowe nauʒt for pouerte or for awe or for drede of kyn or of bonde of mariage þerfore y make here a bok of religiun of þe hert þat is of þe holy abbey of þe holy gost þat alle þelke þat mowe nauʒt be in bodiliche religiun mowe ben in gostliche …

f. 8v

… be delyuered þorw grace and þe mercy of almyʒty god be hit ʒow graunte þorw þe bysechynges of his moder dere seynte marie amen.

Heading: Here ginneþ þe abbey of þe holi gost and of god concience in woch is founde alle gode uertues (f. 2); explicit: þus endeþ þe abbey of þe þe holi gost and of þe conscience in þe whoche beþ founded alle gode uertuus and wikked vices of synne dryuen out (f. 8v). Same hand as [1].