in abstaining it from all manner of fleshly, kindly, and worldly delight, and in fruitful suffering of all fleshly and worldly disease; therefore our Lord of His great mercy giveth us joy unspeakable and inward sweetness in our affection, in earnest[82] of the sovereign joy and meed of the kingdom of heaven.  Jacob said of Issachar that he was “a strong ass dwelling between the terms."[83] And so it is that a man in this state, and that feeleth the earnest of everlasting joy in his affection, is as “an ass, strong and dwelling between the terms”; because that, be he never so filled in soul of ghostly gladness and joy in God, yet, for corruption of the flesh in this deadly life, him behoveth bear the charge of the deadly body, as hunger, thirst, and cold, sleep, and many other diseases; for the which he is likened to an ass as in body; but as in soul he is strong for to destroy all the passions and the lusts of the flesh by patience and abstinence in the sensuality, and by abundance of ghostly joy and sweetness in the affection.  And also a soul in this state is dwelling between the terms of deadly life and undeadly life.  He that dwelleth between the terms hath nearhand forsaken deadliness, but not fully, and hath nearhand gotten undeadliness, but not fully; for whiles that him needeth the goods of this world, as meat and drink and clothing, as it falleth to each man that liveth, yet his one foot is in this deadly life; and for great abundance of ghostly joy and sweetness that he feeleth in God, not seldom but oft, he hath his other foot in the undeadly life.  Thus I trow that saint Paul felt, when he said this word of great desire:  “Who shall deliver me from this deadly body?"[84] And when he said thus:  “I covet to be loosed and to be with Christ."[85] And thus doth the soul that feeleth Issachar in his affection, that is to say, the joy of inward sweetness, the which is understanden by Issachar.  It enforceth it to forsake this wretched life, but it may not; it coveteth to enter the blessed life, but it may not; it doth that it may, and yet it dwelleth between the terms.

CAPITULUM VIII

HOW PERFECT HATRED OF SIN RISETH IN THE AFFECTION

And therefore it is that after Issachar Zebulun is born, that is to say, hatred of sin.  And here it is to wete why that hatred of sin is never perfectly felt in a man’s affection, ere the time that ghostly joy of inward sweetness be felt in the affection, and this is the skill:  for ere this time was never the true cause of hatred felt in the affection.  For the feeling of ghostly joy teacheth a man what sin harmeth the soul.  And all after that the harm in the soul is felt much or little, thereafter is the hatred measured, more or less, unto the harming.  But when a soul, by the grace of God and long travail, is come to feeling of ghostly joy in God, then it feeleth that sin hath been the cause of the delaying thereof.  And also when he feeleth that he may