Synne is more peynfull than Hell, and vile, and hurting kinde; but grace savith kinde and destroyith synne. The children of Jesus be not yet all borne, which pass not the stature of childhood livying in febilnes till thei come to Hevyn wher joys arn ever new begynnand without end. Sixty-third chapter.

Nature and Grace in One Accord

Julian teaches that nature and grace are both from God, that nature is good and hates sin, and that grace restores nature to its blessed origin.

Here we can see that we truly have it from nature to hate sin, and we truly have it from grace to hate sin.¹ For nature is altogether good and beautiful in itself; and grace was sent out to save nature and destroy sin, and to bring fair nature back again to the blessed point from which it came—that is, God—with greater nobility and honor through the virtuous working of grace.² For it will be seen before God by all His holy ones in joy without end that nature has been tried in the fire of tribulation, and in it found no lack, no fault. Thus nature and grace are of one accord, for grace is God, as nature is God.³ He is two in manner of working, and one in love; and neither of them works without the other—they are never parted.

Sin’s Horror and the Mother’s Healing

Julian contrasts the vileness of sin with the merciful work of Christ our Mother, who sprinkles us with His blood and brings forth His children until the end.

And when, by the mercy of God and with His help, we bring ourselves into accord with nature and grace, we will truly see that sin is far viler and more painful than Hell—beyond comparison, for it is contrary to our fair nature.⁴⁵ For as truly as sin is unclean, so truly is it unnatural, and so a horrible thing for the beloved soul to see—a soul that wants to be wholly fair and shining in God's sight, as nature and grace teach.⁶ But let's not be afraid of this, except insofar as fear may help us; rather, let's humbly bring our complaint to our dear and worthy Mother, and He will sprinkle us all over with His precious blood, and make our soul fully soft and fully mild, and heal us fully and beautifully over time, exactly as is most honor to Him and joy to us without end.⁷⁸ And of this sweet, fair working He will never cease or stop until all His dear and worthy children are born and brought forth—and that He showed where He showed the understanding of spiritual thirst, that is, the love-longing that will last until Judgment Day.⁹ So in true Mother Jesus, our life is grounded in His own foreseeing wisdom from before the beginning, with the high power of the Father and the high, sovereign goodness of the Holy Spirit.¹⁰ And in taking our nature, He gave us life; in His blessed dying on the Cross, He carried us into endless life; and from that time, and now, and forever until the Day of Judgment, He feeds us and furthers us, just as that high sovereign kindness of motherhood and the natural need of childhood require.¹¹ Fair and sweet is our heavenly Mother to our soul; precious and lovely are the gracious children to our heavenly Mother, with gentleness and humility and all the fair virtues that are natural to children. For by nature the Child does not despair of the Mother's love; by nature the Child does not presume on itself; by nature the Child loves the Mother, and each loves the other.¹² These are the fair virtues, with all others like them, by which our heavenly Mother is served and pleased.

Childhood, Fulfillment, and the New Beginning

Julian concludes that the highest stature in this life is childhood, and that in the end God’s promise that all shall be well will be fulfilled in an ever-new beginning of joy.

And I understood that in this life there is no higher stature than childhood, with its feebleness and its failing of strength and understanding, until our gracious Mother has brought us up to our Father's bliss. And then His meaning in these sweet words will truly be made known to us, where He says, 'All shall be well, and you yourself will see that all manner of thing shall be well.'¹³ And then the bliss of our Mother in Christ will begin anew in the joys of our God, a new beginning that will last without end, always beginning anew.¹⁴ Thus I understood that all His blessed children who have come out of Him by nature will be bought again into Him by grace.¹⁵

Read the original Middle English

Here may we sen that we have verily of kinde to haten synne, and we have verily of grace to haten synne. For kinde is al good and faire in the selfe; and grace was sent out to saven kind and destroyen synne, and bryngen ageyn fair kinde to the blissid poynt fro whens it came, that is God, with mor noble and worshipp be the vertuous werkeyng of grace. For it shal be sen afor God of al His holy in joye without end that kind hath ben assayed in the fire of tribulation, and therin founden no lak, no defaut. Thus is kind and grace of one accord, for grace is God, as kind is God. He is two in manner werkyng, and one in love, and neyther of hem werkyth without other, non be departid.

And whan we be mercy of God and with His helpe accorden us to kynde and grace, we shall seen verily that synne is very viler and peynfuller than Helle; without likenes, for it is contrarious to our fair kinde. For as sothly as synne is onclene, as sothly is it onkinde, and thus an horrible thing to sen to the lovid soule that wold be al faire and shynand in the syte of God, as kinde and grace techyth. But be we not adred of this, but inasmuch as drede may spede us; but mekely make we our mone to our dereworthy Moder, and He shal al besprinkle us in His precious blode, and make our soule ful soft and ful myld, and hele us ful faire be proces of tyme, ryte as it is most worship to Him and joy to us without end. And of this swete, fair werkyng He shall never cesyn ne stintin till all His derworthy children be born and forth browte, and that shewid He wher He shewid understonding of gostly threst, that is, the lovelongyng that shal lestin till domys day.

Thus in very Moder Jesus our life is groundid in the forseing wisdam of Himselfe from without begynnyng, with the hey myte of the Fader and the hey, sovereyn goodnes of the Holy Gost. And in the takyng of our kinde, He quicknid us; in his blissid deying upon the Cross, He bare us to endless life; and fro that time and now, and ever shall onto domysday, He fedith us and fordreth us, and ryte as that hey sovereign kindness of Moderhede and as kindly nede of childhede askith. Faire and swete is our hevenly Moder in the syte of our soule; precious and lovely arn the gracious children in the syte of our hevinly moder, with myldhede and mekeness and all the fair vertues that long to children in kynde. For kindly the Child dispeirith not of the Moder love; kindly the Child presumith not of the selfe; kindly the Child lovith the Moder, and ilke on of the other. These arn the fair vertues, with all other that ben like, wherwith our hevenly Moder is servid and plesyd.

And I understode non heyer stature in this life than childhode in febilness and fayleing of myte and of witte into the tyme that our gracious Moder hath browte us up to our Faders bliss. And than shall it verily be made knowen to us His menyng in these swete words wher He seith, Al shall be wele, and thou shalt sen thyselfe that al maner thyng shal ben wele. And than shall the bliss of our Moder in Criste be new to begynnen in the joyes of our God, which new begynnyng shal lesten without end, new begynnand. Thus I understode that al His blissid children which ben comen out of Him be kinde shall be bowte ageyn into Him be grace.

Notes

1 ↩Julian's kinde is created human nature (not temperament or kindness); rendered consistently as nature in this section.
2 ↩ME worshipp here means honor, worth, or dignity rather than cultic worship.
3 ↩Julian identifies both grace and created nature with God in their source and working, not as two competing principles; keep the bold equation rather than soften it.
4 ↩Middle English kinde here is Julian’s technical term for created human nature as God made it, not mere temperament or kindness; rendered consistently as “nature.”
5 ↩“without likenes” is taken as “beyond comparison / without any likeness,” not “without similarity” in a weaker sense.
6 ↩onkinde keeps Julian’s wordplay with kinde: not merely “unkind,” but contrary to created nature; rendered “unnatural.”
7 ↩Moder is Jesus as Mother in Julian’s theology (confirmed by the following He); kept as “Mother,” not Marianized.
8 ↩mone is complaint/lament; “bring our complaint” preserves petitionary force without archaic “make our moan.”
9 ↩lovelongyng kept as “love-longing,” Julian’s compact name for the sustained desire identified with spiritual thirst.
10 ↩ME "very Moder" means true/real Mother (not intensifier "very"); Julian names Christ Himself Mother.
11 ↩ME "kinde" here is human nature (Incarnation); "kindly nede" is the natural need proper to childhood, not mere mildness.
12 ↩Repeated ME "kindly" rendered "by nature" (according to kind), not "kindly" as mild manner; it names the natural bearing of the child toward the mother.
13 ↩Preserves Julian's revelatory cadence "All shall be well" / "all manner of thing shall be well"; "thou shalt sen thyselfe" modernized to "you yourself shall see" per register policy while keeping the solemn uncontracted form in Christ's quoted speech.
14 ↩"new begynnand" rendered as "always beginning anew" to carry the present-participial sense of joy continually starting fresh rather than a single restart.
15 ↩"be kinde" / "be grace" rendered "by nature" / "by grace" to keep Julian's nature-and-grace pairing; "bowte ageyn" kept as "bought again" for the purchase/redemption sense.

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