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been for his sin, which took it from him. And he would have been a lord,
had he wanted to, if he had maintained himself in always doing
good works and if he had abstained and kept himself from doing
evil. For he who does good in this world has so many good
things and such honor that the angels in paradise make him
their lord and master in the sight of God the crowned king.
And he may consider himself to have worked well who does
such good things on earth as long as he lives, so that he might
attain and have such honor. And every person can do
this for himself if he so desires. Indeed everyone does
what seems good to himself and acts as he wills. So he can
gain or lose, as he pleases. **** [rubric] Why God did not make man
so that he cannot sin at all: [rubric]
When our Lord God created man He
gave him power to do his own will. That is to say
to do good or evil, whichever he chooses. For
if God had made man so that he could never sin
or do anything but good, he would have taken away something
from his agency. For he would not have been able to do evil when
he wanted to, and in this way he would have felt that whether he wanted to or not

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Marie Richards

original folio 6r
Walters folio 11r
BL Royal MS 19 A IX 9v-10r
Caxton, ed. Prior, pp. 14-15
Gossuin, ed. Prior, pp. 63-64