What propirli is the ymage of synne and what cometh thereof.

The Nature of the Image of Sin

The author defines the 'image of sin' as a disordered self-love that manifests through seven deadly rivers, challenging the reader to look beyond outward appearances.

This image is a false, disordered love of yourself.¹ From this love, all kinds of sins flow through seven rivers: pride, envy, wrath, acedia, covetousness, gluttony, and lust.² Look, this is something you can see and feel: that through one of these rivers every kind of sin flows out, and it puts you out of charity if it is deadly, or it blocks the savor of charity if it is venial.³ Now you can feel that this image is nothing—and yet full of evil—for it is a great spring of love for yourself, with those seven rivers I have named.⁴ But now you say, "How can this be true? I have left the world behind and am shut away in a house; I don't deal with anyone.⁵ I don't quarrel, I don't contend; I don't buy or sell, and I have no worldly business—but by the mercy of God, I keep myself chaste. I hold myself back from pleasures; beyond that, I pray, I keep watch, and I labor in body and spirit as best I can.⁶ How then should this image be so much in me as you say?"

The Stagnant Spring Within

Using the metaphor of a garden with a stinking well, the author warns that outward discipline is insufficient if the inner source of sin remains unpurged.

As for this, I grant and answer you that I hope you do all these works and many more besides—and yet what I say may still be true. You're busy with all your might stopping the rivers outwardly, but perhaps you leave the spring within completely open.⁷ You're like a man who had a stinking well in his garden, with many streams flowing from it. He went and stopped the streams and left the spring itself intact, and supposed everything was secure.⁸ But the water sprang up from the bottom of the well and stood still — so much that it spoiled all the beauty of the garden — and still no water ran out. It may be just the same with you, if by grace you have truly stopped the rivers of this image outwardly. So far, that is well—but beware of the spring within. Truly, unless you stop and cleanse that as much as you can, it will corrupt all the flowers of the garden of your soul, however fair they may look outwardly to others.⁹

Discerning the Source

The author promises to provide a method for testing the heart to see if the inner spring of sin has truly been stopped.

But now you say: "How will I know that the source is stopped, if I work at it?"¹⁰ I'll tell you how you can test whether this image is in you, and to what extent; by that, you'll know how much of it is blocked in you, and how little as well.¹¹ And since pride is the chief river, I'll tell you about it first.

Read the original Latin

This ymage is a fals mysruled love unto thisilf. Oute of this love cometh al maner of synnes bi sevene ryveres, the whiche aren thise: pride, envie, ire, accedie, coveitise, glotony, and leccherie. Loo, this is sumwhat that thou may see and feele, that bi oon of thise ryveris renneth out al maner of synne and putteth thee out of charité yif it be deedli, or it letteth the savour of charité yif it be venial.

Now mai thou grope that this ymage is nought, but is moche of badde; for it is a grete springe of love unto thisilf with sich sevene ryveris as I have seid. But now seist thou, "How mai this be sooth? I have forsaken the world and am stokyn in an hous; I deele with no man. I flite not, ne I stryve not, I neither bie ne selle, ne have no wordeli bisynesse, but bi the merci of God y kepe me chaste. I withhalde me from delites; and over this I preie, y wake, y travaile bodili and goostli as y mai. How thanne schulde this ymage be thus moche in me as thou seist?"

As unto this I graunte and answere to thee that I hope that thou doost alle thise werkis and many mo therto, and yit mai hit be soth that I seie. Thou art besi up thi myght for to stoppe the ryveres withoute, but inhap the sprynge withinne thou levest al opyn. Thou art like to a man whiche hadde in his gardeyn a stinkynge welle with many ryveres fro it. He wente and stopped the ryveres and lefte the sprynge hool, and wende al hadde be siker. But the water spronge up atte the ground of the welle and stood stille, so moche that it corruptid al the fairnesse of the gardeyn, and yit ran there no watir out. Right so it mai be with thee, yif it be soo that thou hast bi grace stopped the ryveris of this ymage withouten. So moche it is wel, but bewaar of the sprynge withinne. Soothli, but yif thou stoppe and clense that as moche as thou mai, it wole corrumpe alle the floures of the gardyn of thi soule, schewe thei nevere so faire outeward in sighte of men.

But now seist thou: "Wherbi schal I knowe that the ground is stoppid, yif y traveile aboute it?" As unto this y schal telle thee bi asai, hou thou schalt knowe this image yif it be in thee, and hou moche it is in thee, and therbi thou schalt knowe how moche it is stoppid in thee, and how litil also. And in as moche as pride is the principal ryvere, I schal telle thee therof first.

Notes

1 ↩ME 'mysruled love unto thisilf' names self-love that is wrongly ordered, not mere fondness for oneself; rendered as 'disordered love of yourself' to keep Hilton's moral-psychological force.
2 ↩ME 'accedie' is acedia (spiritual sloth), kept as 'acedia' rather than flattened only to 'sloth' so the traditional capital-vice sense remains clear. 'Ire' rendered 'wrath'; 'coveitise' as 'covetousness'; 'leccherie' as 'lust'.
3 ↩ME 'charité' is the theological virtue; kept as 'charity' rather than generic 'love'. 'Deedli' rendered 'deadly' (mortal sin); 'letteth the savour' means hinders/blocks the relish or taste of charity, not 'allows'.
4 ↩ME 'grope' means feel/perceive by inward touch, not clumsy searching. 'Is nought, but is moche of badde' keeps both clauses: empty of good substance, yet full of evil. 'Sprynge' continues the river-source metaphor from the prior section.
5 ↩ME 'stokyn' = shut up / confined (as in a stocked or locked enclosure), here of enclosed religious life, not merely living in a house.
6 ↩ME 'wake' is religious watching/vigil, not mere sleeplessness. 'Goostli' = spiritual (ghostly), not spectral.
7 ↩enm 'inhap' rendered as 'perhaps' (peradventure / by chance).
8 ↩enm 'wende' = supposed/thought (from wenen); 'hool' = whole/intact; 'siker' = secure.
9 ↩enm 'but yif' rendered as 'unless' (unless/except if).
10 ↩enm ground continues the well metaphor (the spring at the bottom of the well / the root-source of the image of sin); rendered source rather than the more obscure ground.
11 ↩enm asai = assay, trial, testing by experience; rendered trial to keep Hilton's practical test-of-yourself sense without sounding archaic.

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