of the fiend:

"It happeneth," she said, "that otherwhile[127] the devout fervour
of a soul loving our Lord Jesu, either by some certain sin, or else
by some new subtle temptations of the fiend, waxeth dull and slow,
and otherwhile it is brought to very coldness;[128] in so much that
some unwitty folks, considering that they be destitute from the
ghostly comfort the which they were wont to have, leave[129]
therefore the ghostly exercise that they were wont to use of prayer,
of meditations, of reading, of holy communications, and of penance
doing; whereby they be made more ready to be overcome of the fiend.
For he desireth nothing else of Christ's knights, but that they
should put away their armour by the which they were wont to overcome
their enemies. A wise knight of our Lord Jesu should not do so. But
thus, the more he feeleth[130] himself dull and slow, or cold in
devotion, the rather he should continue in his ghostly exercise, and
not for to make them less, but rather increase them."

Here is another doctrine of this holy maid, the which she used to
say to herself in edifying of others:

"Thou vile and wretched creature, art thou worthy any manner of
comfort in this life? Why hast thou not mind of thy sins? What
supposest thou of thyself, wretched sinner? Is it not enough to
thee, trowest thou not, that thou art escaped by the mercy of our
Lord from everlasting damnation? Therefore thou shouldest be well
apaid,[131] wretch, though thou suffer all the pains and darkness of
thy soul all the days of thy life. Why art thou, then, heavy and
sorrowful to suffer such pains, sith by God's grace thou shalt
escape endless pains with Christ Jesu without any doubt, and be