great hedach which tormented him verie sore and were as he knewe vndoubted signes of the common infection that raigned ouer the citie at that tyme. The which notwithstanding he did what he could to make an end of his diuine seruice In the mornyng calling a felowe to him he went with great paine towardes the holy maides house whether when he came he found her not at home For she was gone out to visite an other that was sicke Then being no longer able to hold vp his head he laied him selfe downe vpon a couch that was there in her house praied the sisters that they wold send for her with al speed When the holie maid came home and found him there and vnderstood in what case he was she kneeled downe by the bed and laying her hand vpon his forehead she began after her maner to lifte vp her hart to God in praier And foorthwith he sawe that she was quite abstracted from her bodilie senses rauished in sprite Which was no vnwonted sight to him nor yet vncomfortable at that tyme. For he hoped well that she should obteine some great benefite for him both of bodie and soule at Gods hand When she had continued after that maner about the space of halfe an hower he felt in him selfe a mightie alteration and stirring in euerie part of his bodie and withal a vehement prouocation towardes a vomite which he had seene to hapen before to many that had died of that disease How beit it fell not so out with him but rather contrariwise For it seemed to him that he felt sensibly how those corrupt humours that caused his paine were violently drawen from within to the vttermost partes of the bodie And certaine he was that he found present ease of his paines And before the holie maid came to her selfe againe he was fully and perfectly restored to his health sauing only that there remained a litle feeblenes in him which he thought our Lord suffred to remaine in him as a token either of the disease that was cured or els of the weakenes of his faith So soone as the holie maid had obteined this grace at Gods hand for her ghostlie father she was foorthwith restored to her bodilie senses And finding him as yet in some weakenes she willed her sisters to prouide some meate for him such as is wont to be geuen to sicke folkes The which when he had receiued at her holie hand she willed him to lie downe and rest a while and so he did And when he had rested a litle tyme he rose vp and felt him selfe as strong and in as good liking as if he had neuer ben sicke Then said the holie maid to him Father goe your waie and labour about the edifying of soules and be thankeful to almightie God that hath deliuered you out of this present danger The like miracle did the holie maid worke about the same tyme vpon father Bartilmewe of whome mention hath ben made diuerse and sundrie tymes before The miracle was much alike but the cure seemed somewhat greater biause he was both longer and also more grieuously sicke How the holie maid healed a great nomber that were sicke of other diseases after the like maner Chap. 4. AFter the tyme that this pestilence was ceased in Siena it chaunced that manie deuout and well disposed persones as well religious as others but specially certaine Nunnes of Pisa hearing the fame of the holie maid had a great desire to see her and to heare her doctrine which was reported to be and was in deed verie wonderful And because it was not lawful for many of them that had this godly inclination to come to her to Siena they sent letters and messengets to her very often beseeching her that she would take the paines to come ouer to them to Pisa And to allure her the more to take that iourney vpon her they declared vnto her what frute and gaine of soules was like to ensue by her comyng thither The holie maid though she had no desire to be from home yet being ouercome with their long importunate sute especially considering that there was great hope of winning soules to God first she asked the aduise of them that liued in house with her of the which compaine some were with her going to Pisa and some against it Then when she sawe that she could not be resolued by men she fled vnto almightie God as her maner was and besought him humbly that he would vouchsafe to make her to vnderstand what his will and pleasure was that she should doe in that case And it came to passe after certaine daies that our Lord appeered to her and willed her that she should accomplish the godlie request of those his seruantes hand maides in Pisa without delaie Wherupon she went to her ghostelie father and declaring thus much to him besought him like an obedient daughter that he would geue her licence to doe as she was willed by God He assented willingly to her demaund and went him selfe with her and with him two other of his brethren to heare the confessions of such as should resort vnto her according to a graunt made to her by Pope Gregorie the eleuenth When she came to Pisa she lodged in the house of an honest citizen called maister Gerardus where on a daie there was presented vnto her a certaine younge man of the age of twentie yeares or there about which had ben sore vexed with a quotidian ague for the space of a yeare and halfe and neuer missed one daie And though there were no fit of an ague vpon him at that tyme yet might she see that he had ben long sicke For whereas he was by constitution of bodie a verie strong and lustie yong man he was now brought so lowe that he had neither flesh strength nor colour And no medicine could be found that would doe him good Wherfore they entreated the holie maid that she would commend his lamentable state to God in her praier The holie maid pitied his case verie much and asked him how long it was sence he was last confessed To that he answered and said that it was a good manie yeares Yea said she and that is the cause whie our Lord hath laied this discipline vpon you bicause yee would not clense your soule in all this tyme by confession Wherfore deere sonne see that yee goe out of hand to confession and rid your selfe of these sinnes that haue infected you both bodie and soule With that she caused Doctour Thomas her owne confessour to be called and deliuered the yong man to him willing him to heare his confession That done the yong man returned to her againe and she laied her hand vpon his shoulder and said these wordes Sonne goe your waie with the peace of our Lord Iesus Christ For I will not that these agues trouble you anie more She said and it was done for the almightie power of him spake in her who said and it
feared God and had a more Christian consideration of thinges then the rest had calling to mynd the Doue which he had seene not lōg before ouer her head with diuerse sundrie other the like verie euident tokens of some strange grace and fauour of God towardes her after a good season when he had wonne so much of him selfe that he was able to speake made her this answere Deere Daughter said he God forbid that we should will or desire anie thinge contrarie to the will of God from whom we doubt not this holie determination of yours proceedeth Your long patience and constancie declare vnto vs verie euidently that this your designement cometh not of anie childish lightnes but of a feruent loue towardes God Doe therfore a Gods name freely what you haue vowed folowe the waie that the holie Ghost sheweth vnto you From this daie foreward we shall no more hinder you but shall confourme our willes to the will of God Only this praie hartely for vs to your spowse whom yee haue chosen in your tender age that we may after his life be fownd worthie of the blisse that he hath promised vs. Then turnyng to his wife and other children he said likewise to them From this daie foreward see that none of you be so hardie as to molest or hinder my Daughters deuotion Let her serue her spowse with all diligence and freedome for in truth this alliance that she hath made is both more honorable and also more for the aduancement of our familie then that was that we sought to make We haue no cause to complaine of her doinges The exchange that she hath made is this She hath refused to match with a mortal man and hath chosen to be maried to the immortal God and man Iesus Christ the redeemer of the wordle When the father had spoken these wordes not without manie teares both in him selfe and in others that were there present and namely in the mother who bare a verie tender and natural loue to this daughter the ioyous virgin whose hart was as it were rauished with vnspeakeable gladnes yealded most humble thankes First to almightie God by whose gracious assistance she had ouercome this battaile then to her father and mother for their most comfortable graunt made vnto her from that hower foreward she had none other care in her hart but how she might best directe her life wholye to the honour of her deere spowse Of her great Abstinence Chap. 9. AFter that her parentes had made her this graunt of freedome to serue God without anie hinderance or molestation she began foorthwith to dispose her life after a meruelous goodlie order And first of all she besought them that she might haue some litle chamber to her selfe which was graunted without anie difficultie in the which what rigorous discipline and austerite she exercised vpon her bodie with what diligence and carefulnes she sought to haue the deliteful presence of her spowse no tongue is able to expresse There began she to renewe the exercises of the auncient Fathers in Egipt which wer the more meruelous in her bicause they were done without anie example or instruction of man by a fraile woman in her tender age not in a wood caue or solitarie place but in a citie not in a couent of Nonnes but in her fathers howse At the verie entrie therfore into this streight maner of life first and foremost she resolued vtterly to absteine from all flesh the which kind of abstinence she continued so precisely that at the length by long vse and custome all flesh became lothsome vnto her in so much that it was euidently seene that the only smell of it was noysome to her bodie Wherby she became verie leane thynne and feeble Which thing her ghostlie Father perceiuing on a tyme and knowing that the cause therof was that she receiued no meate or drincke that was of good substance and nourishment gaue her counsel that she should put in her water which she dranke a litle suger to comfort and quicken the spirites Wherat she was somewhat moued and turnyng sodainly to him said these wordes That litle life that is lefte in me me thinketh yee goe about to quench it vtterly With that he began to examine her concernyng the order of her diet and fownd by examination that the wordes which she spake were verie true for in deed she had so accustomed her selfe to bitter meates and vnsauorie drinkes that all sweet thinges were become hurtful to her bodie forsomuch as her natural disposition was altered by custome Her ordinarie drinke from the begynning was a litle portion of wyne as the maner of that countrey is myngled with so much water that it lost both tast and sauour and a great part of the coulour also But when she was fiften yeares old she gaue ouer all wyne and drancke water alone She weaned her selfe likewise by litle and litle from all maner of sodden meates and susteined her bodie with bread only and a fewe rawe herbes After this when she was of the age of twentie yeares or there about she gaue ouer the eating of bread also and held her selfe to rawe herbes only Last of all she came to such a high state of life not by anie force of nature but by the supernaturall power of God that for a long tyme together she susteined her life without eating and drinking at all and yet endured withal willingly and cheerfully both verie paineful sickenesses and also verie hard labours of the bodie Moreouer and all this it was certainly knowen that her stomake had quite lost the office and power of digestion and yet neither was that moisture which the phisitians call Radical consummed nor the strenght of her fraile bodie anie iote decaied Which thing can not be ascribed to anie exercise or custome of abstinence but only to that fulnes of spirite which abounded so much in the sowle that it redownded into the bodie also Of the great austeritie which she vsed about her bed and apparel Of the shirt of haire and chaine of yron which she ware about her middle Chap. 10. SHe made her selfe a bed of boordes only without anie other thing betweene them her body vpon the which sometimes she sate or stood vpright in meditation and sometymes she kneeled or laie downe prostrate in praier And when she would lie downe to sleepe she neuer put of her clothes The clothes that she ware both next her bodie and without were all wollen Sometyme she would weare a rough shirt of haire vpon her skynne But bicause she was much geuen to cleanlines she tooke it that the haire was an occasion of some vncleannes she laid it aside tooke for it a chaine of yrō which she gyrded so hard to her sides that it made a deepe dent into the flesh as though it had ben burnt with a hoate yron as some of her spiritual companions and daughters reported afterwardes whose helpe she was ēforced to
him and directeth all her workes and thoughtes together with all the powers of her sowle in him according to the rule and direction that she findeth in him And without him she listeth not to be forsomuch as in him she findeth all that the hart maie delite in all beautie all sweetnes all quietnes all peace And so by this meane there increaseth daily a certaine vnion and streighte bande of loue betweene her and God which in tyme cometh to be so wonderfully wrought that she is altogether as it were transfourmed into him Wherupon it cometh to passe that she can loue delite thinke and remember none other thing but only him All other creatures she loueth knoweth and considerereth in him euen as a man doth that diueth and swymmeth vnder the water who seeth and feeleth nothing that is not either water or conteined in the water And if he see anie thing that is out of the water he seeth it not properly as it is in it selfe but as the likenes of the same sheweth in the water and not otherwise This is a verie perfecte and sure rule by the which a man maie make a iust estimate both of him selfe and of all creatures grownded vpon a most certaine and infallible truth which is almightie God Vpon this she brought in an other Doctrine also which she tooke such pleasure in that she ceased not to repeate it againe and againe as a thing verie worthie to be noted A sowle said she that is thus plonged in the loue of God looke how much she loueth God so much she hateth her selfe that is her owne sensualitie which is the roote and beginnyng of all synne and from whence she seeth to arise the cause of her separation from God which is her whole felicitie and final perfection The which thing when a sowle preceiueth she conceiueth a great misliking which bringeth foorth a certaine holie hatred against her owne lustes and withal an earnest desire to kill the roote of the same which roote is selfe loue But bicause she seeth that the roote is so deepe that it can not be vtterly grubbed vp but that there will remaine some peece of it which will from tyme to tyme molest her therefore doth she likwise increase daily in this holie hatred whereof is engendred a certaine frutful despising and setting at naught of her selfe which by the force and vertue of the loue of God the ouercomer of all deiection and confusion riseth vp with a greater hope desire and auanceth it selfe towardes God for whose loue she is desirous to abide all paines and roughnes of discipline hoping thereby to subdue al inordinate appitites and pronenes to synne in her selfe which are the lettes and staies that keepe her from her desired ioye and vnion with God And in this humble submission of her selfe she receiueth an inward light of grace by the which she cometh to see and to acknowledge the mercifull goodnes of God who is euermore readie to pardon and will not the death of a synner but rather that he turne and liue Which consideration increaseth her loue towardes him passingly and by loue she purchaseth daily greater grace strenght and fulnes of peace in her selfe and so goeth foreward in perfection of charitie vntill at the lēght it pleaseth God to plucke her as a melowe apple from this tree of bitternes and to transpose her wholly into him selfe who is the euerlasting tree of sweetnes and life And thus is this holie hatred the true keeper and gardian of the sowle the forteresse and sure castel of a quiet and assured hope in God This is that which the holie Apostle meant when he said VVhen I am weake then am I strong For our Lord had declared vnto him that strenght is wrought in weakenes And therefore he saieth also I will gladly reioyce in myne infirmities that the power of Christ may dwell in me Now this infirmitie was nothing els but only that hatred of him selfe that we here speake of Which was caused in him by the knowledge of that roote of inordinate lustes and of his weakenes and insufficiencie to all good workes which he sawe was in him selfe The which thing when he perceiued he waxed weake and feeble that is he despaired in him selfe and acknowledging his owne feeblenes yealded him selfe humbly into the mightie handes of God in whom only it laie to cure his infirmitie Who like a louing Father foorthwith accepted that lowlie resignation of him selfe and laying his almightie hand vpon him made him strong in God that was content to confesse how weake and in sufficient he was in him selfe When this holie virgin spake these and other wordes to like purpose she burst out as it were of a certaine inward ioye and iubilee that she felt in her spirite and said O wonderful goodnes of God how strangely dost thou dispose of of thinges Out of vice thou drawest vertue out of weakenes strength out of offence great grace and fauour O deere children said she haue this holie hatred in your selues for out of it ariseth true meekenes and humilitie of hart by reason whereof you shall account all your workes and other thinges as smoke and vanities and shall glorie only in God This holie hatred shall make you to haue a great moderation and staie in prosperitie and withal a goodlie quietnes and patience in aduersitie It shall cawse you to be modest and comelie in your conuersation with men gratious and acceptable in all your workes of pietie before God Manie tymes also she would adde furthermore and saie contrariwise Woe be to that sowle in the which this holie hatred lodgeth not for it can not be chosen but that in such a sowle there must needes reigne selfe loue which is the roote fowndation and syncke of all inordinate lustes And therefore when she sawe anie synne or vice in anie person being moued with a certaine compassion she vsed often tymes to saie This is the frute of selfe loue the mother of pride and of all other euels Doe therefore said she to her ghostlie Father and others your vttermost endeuour to grubbe it vp out of your hart and to plant in the same that holie hatred for that is the kinges high waie verie certainly knowen and well troden in the which all our defectes are perfectly corrected without anie errour and by it we clyme vp to the mount of all vertues in the highest perfection Thus much sawe the glorious Father S. Augustine when he described two cities the owne fownded vpon the loue of our selues which tendeth to the dishonour of God and the other grownded vpon the loue of God which tendeth to the abbasing of our selues Of the strange battailes which she had against the deuel and how she armed hir selfe with a strong faith and other heauenlie vertues and so gate a most glorious victorie ouer her enemie Chap. 20. AFter that she had learned these lessons which were manie moe then are here specified it pleased the wisedome
lothsome tentations Daughter said he I was in thyne hart Then said she againe O Lord sauing alwaies thy truth and my dutiful reuerence to thy diuine Maiestie how is it possible that thou shouldest dwell in an hart replenished with so manie filthie and shameful thoughtes Whervnto our Sauiour said Tell me daughter Those vncleane thoughtes did they cause in thy hart grief or delite No said she they caused very great griefe and sorrowe Who then said our Lord was he that caused that griefe and misliking in thyne hart Who was it but only I that laie secretly within in the middle of thy soule Assure thy selfe of this If I had not ben there present those fowle thoughtes that stood rownd about thyne hart seeking meanes to enter but euermore with the repuâ—â—e had without all doubt preuailed and made their entrie into thy sowle with full consent of thy will and synful delite But my presence was it that caused that misliking in thyne hart and moued thee to make resistance against those fowle tentations the which thy hart refused so much as it could bicause it could not doe so much as it would it conceiued a greater displeasure both against them and also against it selfe It was my gracious presence that wrought all these goodlie effectes in thyne hart wherein I tooke great delite to see my loue my holie feare and the zeale of my faith planted in thy sowle my deere daughter and spowse And so when I sawe my tyme which was when thou haddest through my grace and assistance thoroughly vanquished the pride and insolencie of thyne enemie I sent out certaine external beames of my light that put these darcke feendes to flight For by course of nature darckenes maye not abide where light is last of all by my light I gaue thee to vnderstand that those paines were thy great merite gayne and increase of the vertue of Fortitude And bicause thou offredst thy selfe willingly to suffer for my loue taking such paines with a cheerefull hart and esteemyng them as a recreation according to my doctrine therefore my will and pleasure was that they should endure no longer And so I shewed my selfe where vpon they vanished quite awaie My daughter I delite not in the paines of my seruantes but in their good will and readines to suffer patiently and gladly for my sake And bicause such patience and willingnes is shewed in paines and aduersitie therefore doe I suffer them to endure the same Take this similitude of my bodie At what tyme my bodie hong vpon the Crosse in extreme paines and tourmentes and afterwardes when it laie dead vpon the ground no man could euer haue thought that all that notwithstanding there had ben in it hiden that true life that geueth life and mouing to euerie liuing thing And yet so it was by reason of the inseperable vnion that was and is betweene my Godhead and humane nature though not so vnderstood of men no not of myne owne Apostles and disciples that had conuersed with me a long tyme. Now as at that tyme when my bodie laie there dead void of sense and without all outward shewe of anie inward power there was not withstanding in it a diuine power able to quiken and geue life to other creatures no lesse then afterwardes when it was raised from death and endewed with the glorious gyftes of immortal life euen so though after a different maner do I dwell in the sowles of my faithful seruantes at one tyme couertly and without shewing my selfe for their exercise further merite and at an other tyme openly and without couert for their comfort and ioye In this the tyme of thy battaile I was in thyne hart armyng and fortifying thee with my grace against the force of the enemie but couertly for to exercise thy patience and increase of merite But now that thou hast through my grace fought out thy battaile manfully and vanquished the enemie I geue thee to vnderstand that I am and wil be in thyne hart more openly yea and withal more often for thy comfort And with these wordes that blessed vision ended at what tyme the holie virgin was left replenished with such abundance of ioye and sweetnes that no penne is able to describe it And specially she tooke passing great comfort in that that our Lord called her Myne owne daughter Catherine And therefore she entreated her ghostlie Father that when he spake vnto her he would vse the selfe same wordes and saie My daughter Catherine to the end that by the often repetition of those wordes she might often tymes renewe the inward sweetnes that she felt in her hart of those ioyous wordes of her Deere Lord and spowse How our Lord with diuerse other Sainctes visited her oftentymes verie familiarly And how he taught her to read by miracle Chap. 22. FRom that tyme foreward it pleased our Lord to vse a verie vnwonted familiaritie with her and to visite her both verie often and verie louingly euen as one frend is wont to visite an other comyng to her sometymes him selfe alone sometymes bringing with him his most blessed mother the virgin Marie some tymes the holie patriarke S. Dominicke sometymes also with his mother S. Marie Magdalene S. Iohn the Euangelist the Apostle S. Paul and other Sainctes whom he brought with him sometymes all together and sometymes againe some one or els some few of them according as his pleasure was For the most part he came alone and conferred with her euen as one familiar is wont to doe with an other In so much that manie tymes they walked vp and downe in her chamber together and said the psalmes or diuine seruice together as though they had ben two clerkes or religious persones Which maie seeme a verie strange thing and so much the more if it be considered withal that she neuer learned to read by the teaching of anie man or woman for as she declared to her ghostlie Father she had a great desire to learne her mattins and therefore on a tyme she besought one of her sisters to geat her an A. B. C. and to teach her the lettres But when she had trauailed about the same a certaine of weekes and sawe that she did but leese her tyme she thought good to geue ouer that course and to set her selfe againe to her customable exercises of praier and meditation And one tyme lying prostrate on the grownd she made her praier after this maner Lord if it be not thy holie will and pleasure that I shall atteine the knowledge of reading I am verie well content for thy loue to continue in my ignorance and to spend my tyme in such simple meditations as it shal please thee to graunt me But if thou wouldest vowchsafe to shewe me so much fauour as that I might be able to read and sing the deuine seruice I would be right glad also to serue thee in such maner It is a wonderfull thing to report that she had no sooner ended her praier
she was come the sicke woman which was now verie weake in bodie but well strengthened in spirite made signes of great reuerence and ioye and partly with woordes as well as she could partly with tokens and gestures of bodie and countenance she lamented her vncharitable demeanour towardes her and besought her of mercy and pardon That done she made her cōfession with great humilitie and contrition so receiuing the Sacramentes rightes of holie Church she yealded vp her soule to God At what tyme it pleased almightie God to shewe to the holie virgin what a blesful beautiful state that saued sowle was in which as she declared afterwardes to her ghostlie father was so great that no tongue of man is able to expresse it And yet was not this that beawtie that she should receiue afterwardes in the blesse of heauen but only that godlie state that the sowle had in her first creation and receiued againe at the tyme of her Baptisme Thē said our Lord to the holie maid How saiest thou my deere daughter is not this a faire and goodlie sowle which through thy paines and diligēce is now recouered out of the hādes of the enemie What man or woman would refuse to take paines for the wynning of such a beawtiful creature If I which am the most high and soueraigne beawtie and of whom proceedeth all maner of beawtie was notwithstāding so ouercome with the loue and beawtie of mans sowle that I refused not to come downe from heauen to clad my selfe with the simple weede of mans bodie in the same to susteine labours and reproches for the space of manie daies and yeares and in the end to shed myne owne blood for his redemption yet had I no need of mans sowle but was most sufficiently and most perfectly blessed in my selfe how much more ought you to labour one for an other and doe what in you lieth for the recouerie of such a noble and excellent creature For this cause haue I shewed thee the beawtie of this sowle that hereafter thou mightest both thy selfe be the more earnest about the wynnyng of sowles and also procure others to doe the like With that she thanked our Lord in most humble maner and besought him furthermore that he would vowchsafe to geue her a newe grace which was that she might from that tyme foreward be able to see the state and condicions of all such sowles as should by occasions haue anie conuersation or dealing about spiritual matters with her that by the sight of the same she might be the more prouoked to procure their saluation Vnto the which demaund our Lord made answere after this maner Daughter bicause thou hast forsaken all carnal conuersation for my sake and hast by all meanes laboured to vnite thy selfe to me in spirite which am the most excellent and soueraigne spirite therefore I here make thee a full graunt that from this verie instant thy soule shal be endewed with such a gracious light that thou shalt see and behold both the beawtie and also the deformitie of euerie sowle that is presented before thee And as hitherto thou hast seene the proportion and qualitie of bodies with thy bodilies eyes euen so from this tyme foreward thou shalt see the condicions of sowles with the spiritual eye of thy sowle not only of such as shal be present before thee but also of all other for whose sowles health thou shalt make intercession to me though thou neuer see them with thy bodilie eyes How she serued an old widdowe that had a festered sore runnyng vpon her by whom she was also infamed And of diuerse strange accidentes that ensued vpon the same Chap. 11. THere was emong the sisters of penance one sister called Andrea who had vpon her brest a verie lothsome sore commonly called a Canker This sore had fretted and eaten so much flesh rownd about and the corruption of the same yealded such an horrible sauour that none might come neere for stench By reason whereof there was none fownd that would attend vpon her in her sickenes The which thing when the holie maid vnderstood she went out of hand to visite her and seeing her vtterly forsaken and destitute of all succour and comfort she made her selfe well assured that the prouidence of God had reserued that sister for her keeping And so accepting the charge of her as at Gods hand she began to speake comfortable wordes vnto her and to make her a free offer of her owne person to attend and serue her to the vttermost of her power which made the widowe a glad woman The holie maid therefore set her selfe to the seruice of that poore woman she tooke care for her that she might haue whatsoeuer was necessarie or requisite for a woman in that case when tyme was she opened her sore clensed it of all the fowle matter she was shed it and wypt it and couered it againe with plaisters and cleane clothes and in all this she neuer shewed so much as one litle token of lothsomenes but did euerie thing with such diligence and cheerefulnes that the sicke sister was astoined to see so great loue and charitie in a maid of those yeares But the malicious feend who hath great enuie at all workes of charitie bent him selfe to doe all that in him laie to disannull if it were possible if not at the least to hinder this godlie and merciful enterprise so much as might be And first of all vpon a daie as the holie maid was about to open the sore to dresse it there came out such an horribile stench that she could hardly beare it but that she must needes vomite The which thing when she perceiued she entred into a passing great choler and displeasure against her owne skeymish bodie ane stomake and said to her selfe Ah vile and wretched flesh dost thou loath thy sister whom our Lord hath bought so deerely euen with the price of his owne most precious blood The daie maie come when thou also maiest fall into the like sickenes or peraduenture worse As I am a Christian woman thou shalt abide for it And with that she bowed downe and held her mowth and nose ouer the sore so long vntill at the length it seemed that she had comforted her stomake quite ouercome the skeymishnes that she felt before All the which tyme he sicke sister cried out vnto her and said Good daughter stand vp good daughter geue ouer cast not thy selfe awaie endanger not thy bodie with this infectuous sauour But she would neuer geue ouer vntill she had ouercome both the tew lines of her owne stomake and also the tentation of the ghostlie enemie When the suttle serpent sawe that this his assault was thus repelled being vtterly in despaire of anie better successe against that holie virgin which stood euermore like a strong fortresse well furnished defenced he deuised to laie his batterie to the weake woman whom he knewe to be of lesse experience and
litle before euen song tyme being in the Church occupied in praier manie reuelations were shewed to her by S. Dominicke him selfe and by diuerse other Sainctes The which reuelations were so familiar to her that she was able at one tyme both to geue heed to them and also to declare the same to others While she was thus occupied it chaunced that brother Barthelmewe her Confessours companion entred into the Church in whom she had as great affiance as in her Confessour him selfe for in her Confessours absence he was her ghostlie Father When she perceiued that he was come she arose and went towardes him and said that she had to conferre with him concernyng certaine reuelations Wherupon they sate downe together in the Church and she began to declare to him manie strange thinges that our Lord had reuealed to her Emong other thinges she declared to him that at that verie instant while she was speaking to him she sawe her holy father S. Dominicke there present as well as she sawe the Friar that sate by her and that he was neerer to her then the Friar was In this meane tyme while she was thus declaring to him manie wonderful reuelatiōs it happened that hir yonger brother whose name was also Barthelmewe came by And she seeing by like the shadowe of his bodie or els hearing the noise of his feete cast her eye a litle a side and beheld her brother and so thought to returne to her foremer discourse againe But considering with her selfe what she had done she was toched at the hart with such an inward grief for that litle distraction that for a good tyme she held her peace and spake not one word but wept and wailed verie bitterly At the length the Friar that was there seeing that she made no end of weeping spake comfortable wordes vnto her and praied her that she would goe foreward in her godlie talke But she so sobbed and wept that she was not able to geue him one word to answere After a long spcae when she had wonne so much of her selfe that she was able to speake she began with her selfe after this maner Ah wretch that thou art thou shalt surely abide for it With that Friar Barthelmewe asked her what offence that should be that she tooke so heauiely Out vpon me vile wretch said she sawe you not while our Lord was shewing me his great mysteries and secrets how I turned myne eye a side to behold a creature Then the good man who had great wonder to see the tendernes of her conscience and therfore desired to excuse or qualifie her offence said vnto her Surrely mother it seemeth verie strange to me that you should make so great lamentation for a matter of so light importance for that turnyng aside for your eye endured so litle tyme that I assure you I could not espie it O father said she if you knewe how sharply our blessed Ladie rebuked me for that trespas vndoubtedly you would weepe and lament with me When she had said those wordes she held her peace and would speake no more of her reuelations but continued sorrowing and weeping for her offence vntill such tyme as she had made her Confession and so with heauie cheere she went home to her chamber She declared afterwardes to her ghostlie Father that S. Paul appeered to her also and reprooued her so roughly for that litle losse of tyme that she would rather suffer all the shame of the worlde then abide such an other rebuke at the Apostles hand And of that rebuke she tooke occcasion to speake to her ghostlie Father after this maner O Father saide shee thinke you what a confusion and shame that shal bee that all wicked and vnhappie synners shall abide at the later daie when they shal stand before the maiestie of God seeing that the presence of one only Apostle is so dreadfull and intolerable I assure you father the apostles wordes and contenance were so terrible to me that if I had not had comfort of a goodlie bright lampe that stood by while he spake to me I thinke verily my hart had neuer ben able to abide the same but would haue dyed for verie sorrowe that it had of that extreme shame and confusion And thus it pleased God now and then to put her in mynd of her owne frailtie especially after such great reuelations which otherwise might haue moued her hart to pride How it pleased God to reueale to her the worthynes and excellencie of the blessed Partriarke S. Dominicke and of his true children Chap 25. ON a tyme conferring with Friar Barthelmewe of the reuelations that our Lord had shewed vnto her emong other thinges she declared that she had seene in deed by a vision of imagination how almightie God the Father brought foorth his coequal true Sōne as it seemed to her by his mouth the which Sonne in the nature of mankind which he had taken shewed him selfe to her also in the substāce and fourme of a true man She sawe likewise how almightie God brought foorth the glorious patriarke S. Dominicke not out of his mouth but out of his brest enuironed round about with a meruelous goodlie light and brightnes And she heard a voice proceeding from the mouth of almightie God which said these wordes Deere daughter I haue brought forth as thou seest these two sonnes the one naturally the other by adoption She was much amazed at the strangenes of that comparision made betweene the Sonne of God and S. Dominicke Whereupon the voice proceded and declared the meanyng of it after this maner As this my natural Sonne was in his humane nature which he tooke euermore most perfectly obedient to me euen to death so was this my some by adoption obedient to me in all pointes euen from his childhood to his dying daie and directed all his workes according to my commaundementes and kept that puritie both of bodie and soule which he receiued of me in Baptisme cleane and vnspotted vntill the end of his life And as this my natural Sonne spake openly to the wordle and gaue a most cleere testimonie to the truth that I put in his mouth euen so did this my sonne by adoption preach the truth of my gospel as well to heretikes and scismatikes as also emong my faithful people And as this my natural Sonne sent out his disciples to publish the gospel to all creatures so doth this my sonne by adoption now at this present and shall hereafter from tyme to tyme send out his brethren and children vnder the yoke of his holie obedience discipline And for this cause is it graunted to him and his by special priuilege that they shall haue the true vnderstanding of my wordes and shall neuer swarue from the same And as this my natural Sonne ordained the state of his whole life in deedes and wordes to the saluation of soules euen so did this my Sonne by adoption emploie him selfe wholly both in his doctrine and in example
right well that both the one and the other should be restored When her Confessour had heard this reasō discourse he replied no more but held his peace for in deed he was astoined and knewe not what to answere to the wisedome and spirite of God that spake in her An other exposition vpon the same place of the gospel with certaine other mystical sayinges And how she passed in deed out of this life in the paines of the Crosse Chap. 28. BEing on a tyme rauished in spirite she learned an other exposition vpon this place of the gospel which her Confessour douctour Thomas commited to writing and it was thus Our Lord said she approching neere to his passion set before the eyes of his mynd that great multitude of wicked men and women which he sawe through malice and obstinacie would not take the benefite of his death The which sight put him into such an agonie that he sweat water and blood for verie pitie that he had of those miserable creatures he was as it were enforced to vtter those wordes Father if it be possible let this cup passe from me Which is as much as if he had said Father this cup that is here presented before me is surely a verie bitter cup to me seeing as I do to my great griefe the damnation of so manie soules which without anie cause shall make light of this great loue that I am here to shewe to mankind and leese the benefite of my blood which is now readie to be powred out for their sake Wherfore if it be possible I beseech thee that thou wilt pardon them and in so doing take awaie this bitter cup from me This said she was the praier that our Sauiour made to his eternal Father And she added furthermore and said that he had without all doubt obteined the thing that he demaunded if he had requested the same absolutely and without condicion for what petition could he make to his Father that should not haue ben heard who as the Apostle saieth was heard for the verie reuerence that was in him selfe But as on the one side the tender loue that he bare to mankind wonne so much of him that he made that petition in their behalfe so on the other side the loue of Gods iustice moderated the vehemencie of his loue towardes mankind and cawsed him to qualifie his earnest demaund with this clause and condicion howbeit O Father not my will be done but thyne This holie maid declared yet further to her confessour and said that the paines which our Sauiour suffred for the redemption of mankind were so excessiuely great that it had ben impossible for anie man in this wordle to endure the same but that he must needes haue dyed if it had ben possible manie tymes For as the loue that he bare to mankind was vnspeakeable and incomprehensible so were the paines that he suffred for their loue so great that no man had ben able to esteeme them and much lesse to beare them What man said she would haue beleeued that those thornes of his crowne should haue persed thorough his scull into his braines And yet so it was Againe who would haue thought that the bones of a man should haue ben drawen a sonder and disiointed And yet the prophet Dauid saieth They told all my bones speaking of the vnmerciful and cruel tormentours which haled and pulled him here there so violently that they plucked his bones out of ioynt Certaine it is that the malice of those wicked Iewes was verie great and that they vsed him verie cruelly and yet could not their malicious and cruel vsage haue done it but only that his will was to shewe his vnspeakeable loue towardes vs as it were vtterly to forsake him selfe and to suffer his bodie to be destitute of all such force and strength as might make anie resistance against paines and tormentes So that the principal cause of his passion was the desire which he had of shewing his loue to vs euidently and effectually It was not the violent hand of those tormentours that were able to hold him whome he made to fall downe at his foote with one woord of his mouth It was not the nailes that were able to holde him fast to the Crosse which were his creatures and had no further power vpon their Creatour but only so much as he would geue them but it was the loue that he bare to mankind that tooke him it was loue that held him fast it was loue that nailed him fast to the Crosse and made him there to endure a most bitter and reprochful death Such high wordes and sentences did she vtter to her confessour concernyng the passion of our Sauiour And she affirmed furthermore that whatsoeuer paines our Sauiour had borne in anie part of his bodie the same had she borne in her bodie also in like maner as our Sauiour did but not in like measure for that had ben impossible for her bodie to beare And to shewe in deed that she knewe by exeperience which of all those paines was greatest she said that all the other paines were passed and gone but one remained still in her bodie which was the diuulsion as they terme it or sundering of the bones in the brest which paine was of all other paines as she said most grieuous Now this paine of the brest grewe on so vehemently vpon her and withal the loue of our Sauiour to whome she was confourmed by suffring such paines increased so mightely in her hart that she was wholly ouercome with the force of the same and her hart like a thynne glasse filled with a verie strong liqour being not able to beare the strength of that diuine loue brast in sunder as she declared afterwardes and clefte in the middle from the highest to the lowest part of the same And certaine it is that she dyed in deed in the presence of manie vertuous and credible persones and so continued a long tyme. Of this matter she made mention afterwardes in a letter writen to her ghostlie Father with her owne hand in the which letter she declared emong other thinges how she was taught by S. Iohn the Euangelist and S. Thomas of Aquine to write in a verie short space How she passed in deed out of this life and had the fruition of heauenlie ioyes and how afterwardes her soule came againe to the bodie Chap. 29. HEr ghostlie Father being desirous to learne the verie certainty of this matter at her owne mouth on a tyme reasonyng with her besought her that she would tell him plainly what had passed She stood still a great while and could not geue him one word to answere for weeping but at the length she spake after this maner O father said she is it not a pitiful and lamentable case that a soule which hath ben once deliuered out of a darcke prison and hath had the fruition of a most ioyous and beawtifull lighte shoulde be constreined to forsake
that goodly light and to returne againe to dwell in his former darke and stinkinge dongeon O good Father I am that wretched creature vpon whom this calamitie is fallen by the ordinance of God for my sinnes How so said he Forsooth saide she the fyre of Gods loue was at that time soe stronge in my harte and the desire which I had to be vnited to him so vehement that though my hart had ben of stone or of yron it must needes haue broken in sonder And therfore I geue you thus much to vnderstand for certaine that my hart was in deed vndone and opened from the vppermost part to the neither only by the violence of that mightie loue which I beleeue was of such force that no creature in this worlde had ben able to abide it in so much that me thinketh I feele yet certaine tokens of that clefte in my hart And so often as it cometh to my mind what a blesful state my soule was in in that meane tyme while it was separated from my bodie I can not but weepe lament for my returne againe to this vale of miserie With that her Confessour praied her that she would make a declaration of the whole matter from the begynnyng Wherunto she made answere and said Father after that I had ben fed and comforted a long tyme with diuerse and sundrie reuelations and visions which it pleased our Lord of his great mercie to shewe vnto me at length for verie pure loue I fell so sicke that I was constreined to keepe my bed Where lying I made my humble petition to our Lord that he would vouchsafe to deliuer me out of this wretched wordle and vnite me perfectly to him selfe Which petitiō as then he would not heare But yet he graunted me thus much that I should suffer in the tyme of myne abode in this life all the paines of his Crosse and passion by the suffring wherof I should both learne the better how passing great his loue was towardes me and also be stirred by the example of his vnspeakeable loue in some degree to loue him againe And so in deed it came to passe that seeing as it were by an euident experience in my selfe how great loue our Sauiour bare to me and how intolerable paines he suffred for my sake I was wholly ouercome with the force of such inestimable kindnes and my hart being not able to beare the strength of so much loue as it had conceiued brake in sunder by reason wherof my soule was also deliuered out of this mortal bodie and had the fruition of his diuine maiesty howbeit but for a litle tyme which was my great griefe Then said doctour Raimundus to her I praie you good mother tell me how long was your soule out of your bodie And what thinges did you see in that tyme With that she fetched a deepe sigh said Faher those that were about my bodie made preparation for my burial said that it was about a fower howers In the which tyme I sawe the diuine essence of almightie God which causeth me now to liue with such discontentation of mynd and misliking of all thinges here in the worlde And had it not ben for the zeale that I haue to the honour of God and edifying of myne euen Christians for whose sakes my sowle was restored againe to the bodie without all doubt I must needes haue dyed for sorrowe And now the greatest comfort that I haue in the worlde is that I knowe and am well assured that the more I suffer in this life the more blessed I shal be in the life to come And therefore all tribulations are to me not vncomfortable and yrckesome but rather comfortable as you see and deliteful I sawe also the paines of the damned in hell and of those likewise that are in purgatorie which were so great that no tongue of man is able to expresse them I assure you Father if wretched synners might see those horrible paines and tormentes they would rather choose to suffer an hundred deathes in this worlde if it were possible then to endure the least paine that is there for the space of one daie But aboue others I sawe that they were specially punished which had broken their faith and promise geuen in matrimonie not keepinge them selues within the honest boundes and yoake of wedlocke but following the inordinate lustes of their flesh and sensualitie Which was so ordained not bicause the breach of weddelocke is the most heinous offence that is there punished for there be manie greater synnes but bicause the offenders in this vice for the most part had neuer had anie remorse of conscience for this offence as they had for the rest of their synnes and also bicause they had commonly fallen more often into this synne then to any other for manie tymes a synne which is in it selfe not so great displeaseth God highly if it be oftentymes committed and no care had of amendement by contrition and penance Now when I had seene all these thinges and had conceiued withal a most certaine hope that for myne owne part I was passed all paines and come to a state of all ioye and gladnes our Lord said vnto me Daughter seest thou not these vnhappie synners and transgressours of my lawes on the one side what ioyes they haue lost and on the other side what paines they haue found for this cause haue I shewed these thinges to thee bicause I will haue thee to returne againe into the worlde to declare to my people their synnes and iniquities and withal the great peril and paine that hangeth ouer them if they will not amend When I heard that I should returne to the worlde againe I was striken with a meruelous great feare and horrour Wherupon our Lord to comfort me againe spake thus sweetly vnto me Daughter there are a great nomber of sowles in the worlde which I will haue to be saued through thy meanes and that is the cause whie I send thee thither againe Wherfore goe thy waie with a good will and be of good cōfort From this tyme foreward my will is that thou shalt change the order of thy life Thou shalt no more keepe within thy cell but goe abrode into the worlde to wynne sowles Thou shalt beare my name before al sortes of men high and lowe clerkes and secular I will bring thee before the bisshops and head prelates in my Church to confownd their pride Be not afraid to conferre with them in high pointes concernyng the saluation of sowles For I will geue thee a wit to conceiue and withal a mouth to speake in such sort that none shal be able to withstand thee While our Lord spake these wordes to me of a sodaine my sowle was restored to the bodie The which when I perceiued for verie sorrowe I wept three daies and three nightes and neuer ceased And yet to this daie I can not possibly absteine from weeping when it cometh to my mynd how I
make them to vnderstand that she spake those wordes of a verie inward affection and great feruour of spirite to the end that they should the better beare them awaie and imprint them the deeper in their hartes My deere children said she loue one an other truly and syncerely for by this you shall shewe that you are willing to be my children and by this I shall take my selfe to be your mother If you loue one an other you shall be my crowne and glorie before God and I will acknowledge you before him to be my true children and I wil be a continual intercessour to his diuine Maiestie for you that as he hath voutchsafed to endue my soule abundantly with his grace so he will also powre the like abundance of grace into your soules Last of all she commaunded them after a certaine charitable maner that they should keepe their desires euermore feruent and burnyng and that they should offer vp the same before God for the reformation and good state of the Church of God and of his vicare the Pope affirming of her selfe that she had alwaies kept her hart and desires in such a feruour especially for the space of seuen yeares before that tyme and that she had neuer omitted specially in those seuen yeares to offer vp her hart and desires in such sort before the diuine Maiestie of almightie God And she confessed plainely that for the obteinyng of this grace at Gods hand she had susteined manie grieuous paines and infirmities in her bodie and that she did at that verie present susteine meruelous great and bitter paines for the same cause And she added furthermore that as almightie God had geuen licence to Satan to torment the bodie of Iob so it seemed also that he had graunted him power to torment and vexe her bodie in such sort that from the sole of her foote to the top of her head there was no one part without his peculiar paine tormēt in her And as no part was void of his proper paine so manie partes were tormēted with diuerse sūdrie paines together as it was sensibly perceiued of as manie as stood by her at that tyme saw her in that great agonie After that she had thus ended her sermon or exhortation she spake to them after a more familiar maner and said My right deere and hartely beloued I now see cleerely that my most louing spouse hath so disposed of me that when my bodie hath indured such tormentes and afflictions as his B. goodnes hath graunted me my soule continuing still in these vehemēt fyerie howeful desires shall in that state be deliuered out of this darcke prison so returne againe to his first original begynning Those that stood about her were meruelously astonied to see her patiēce cheerefulnes in all her paines Which they sawe by verie euident tokēs were so great vehemēt that they thought it impossible for her or anie other creature to beare them as she did without shewing so much as anie litle sigue of sorrowe or lamentation but that she was staied by some verie great special grace of God And as they wondered as her patiēce so did they make great sorrowe and wept verie pitifully to see their good mother in such tormentes The which when she perceiued she spake to them againe after a cōfortable maner and said There is no cause my deere children whie you should be sorie to see me in these paines considering that these paines are the meane to bring me to death by death to a better life But you ought rather to reioyce with me to thinke that I shall now leaue this troublesome place of paine and goe to rest in God that cleere calme sea Be of good cōfort for I promise you faithfully that I will stand you in better steed after my passage from hence then euer I did or might doe so long as I was in this darcke life full of miseries True it is that I do put my life my death all in the hāds of my deere and euerlasting spouse If he shall thinke it expedient for anie creature of his that I tarrie here still in labour and paine I am right well cōtēted glad for the honour of his name edifying of my neighbour to suffer if it were possible a hundred deathes and martyrdoms in a daie But if it be his will pleasure that I shall passe at this time and in these tormentes be you well assured that I haue at the length with long and instant sute obteined at his hand a verie special grace which is that it would please him to accept my bodie as a sacrifice and burnt offring for the reformation of his Church After this she called thē vnto her one by one and gaue thē in charge what order of life euerie one should take after her decease Some she appointed to liue in religiō some to be Heremites and some to be secular Priestes Ouer the sisters of Penance she appointed Alexia to be mother And she willed them all to haue recourse to Doctour Raimundus after her death euen as they had had to her in her life tyme and to vse his direction in all matters When she had thus disposed of all thinges particularly by the directiō of the holie Ghost which vndoubtedly spake in her at that tyme as it was euidently seene afterwardes by the goodlie and blessed successe of all such thinges as she tooke special order for in that extremitie she asked them all forgeuenes and said Decrely beloued though I haue ben alwaies verie desirous of your soules health which thing in deed I can not denie yet I know well that I haue failed in manie pointes both because I haue not ben to you such a perfect paterne of spiritual light vertue and good woorkes as a true handmaid and Spouse of Christ might haue ben and also because I haue not ben so diligent and careful about your bodilie necessities as I ought to haue ben Wherefore I most humbly and instantly beseech you all and euerie one of you to pardon me and I exhort you all to hold out in the waie of vertue vntill the end for in so doing as I said you shal be my ioye and crowne before God With that she ceased of her exhortation to them and called for her ghostlie Father and to him made a general Confession of her whole life and so receiued the blessed Sacrament with meruelous great deuotion That done she required the rest of the Sacramentes which were likewise ministred vnto her in due order and tyme Last of all she demaunded a full remission or Indulgence that was graunted her before by two Popes to wite by Pope Gregorie and Pope Vrbanus After that she had thus prepared her selfe she drewe on fast towardes her end and being in a verie paineful and vehement fitte it was well perceiued by her wordes and outward gestures that she susteined a meruelous sharpe dreadful conflicte with the
her But she might not abide to heare anie wordes that tended to her owne commendation and therefore she went awaie As she was going out doctour Raimundus came towardes the howse and met with her in the gate looking verie heauily of the matter for he knewe nothing of all this that was done in the howse but came directly from the phisicion When he sawe her there being as it were ouercome with sorrowe he said to her O mother will you suffer this good man that is soe deere to vs so profitable and necessarie to mà nie others to die after this sorte To that shee made answere verie humblie shewing in deed that she had no liking in such wordes O Father said shee what maner of talke is this that you vse to mee Take yee me to be a God that you would haue me to deliuer a mortall man from death I pray you said he speake these wordes to some other that is a stranger to you and not to me that knowe your secretes I knowe right well that whatsoeuer you aske of God hartely he will grant it you With that she bowed downe her head a litle smyled and after a tyme looking vp to him againe cheerefully she said these wordes Father be of good cheere for he shall not die at this tyme. VVhen doctour Raimundus heard those wordes he was a glad man for he knewe well what grace and prerogatiue was geuen to her from aboue And so he went into the house to comfort his frind not knowing in deed that he had no need of it but supposing that the thing had ben yet to do that was alreadie done VVhen he came in he found him sitting vp in good health and liking declaring vnto them that were about him the maner of the miracle that was wrought vpon him selfe For the further confirmation wherof the table was laid and they eate together that mornyng not such meates as sicke men vse to eate but rawe oynions and such other grosse meates as can not be digested but only in whole stomakes And as they were eating they tooke great pleasure to recite the wonderful thinges that it pleased God to worke by the holie maid In the tyme while this contagious disease reyned in Siena it chaunced a certaine Hermite called Sanctus that liued in an Hermitage a litle without the citie to be infected with the same The which thing when the holie maid vnderstood she caused him to be taken out of his cell and brought to this afore mentioned hospital of our Ladie of mercie VVhere she came to him with certaine other of her sisters tended him prouiding for him all such thinges as she thought necessarie or requisite for a man in that case And to comfort him with wordes also she put her head to his and whispered him softely in the eare saying Be not afraid howsoeuer yee feele your selfe for yee shall not dye at this tyme. But to the rest that were there she said no such thing but rather when they entreated her that she would praie to God for his recouerie she gaue them but an vncomfortable answere which made them verie sad for they all knewe him to be a holie man and therfore both honoured and loued him verie tenderly The disease increased howerly more and more and he decayed so sensibly that they dispairing his life gaue ouer the charge of his body and looked only to the health of his soule At the length when he was in extreames they all stoode about him with greate heuines looking only when he woulde giue vp the ghost the holie maide came to him againe and said in his eare Be not afraid for yee shal not die at this time The sicke man both heard vnderstood that word though before it seemed that he was past all sense And he tooke comfort in it rather crediting the word of the holie maid that sounded in his eare then the throwes of death that griped him by the hart Howbeit he shewed no token of amendement and therefore they not vnderstanding what she had said prouided lightes and other thinges necessarie for his burial looking still when he would depart out of this life And in this howerly expectation of death they continued certaine daies longer in deed then men are wont to liue that are sicke of that disease At the length when it seemed that he was euen passing out of the wordle the holie maid came to him againe and spake these wordes in his eare I commaund thee in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ that thou passe not at this tyme. At that word he tooke comfort of spirite and strength of bodie and rose vp in his bed and called for meate and in the presence of them all eate his meate with good appetite and receiued perfecte health and liued after manie yeares and was one of them that were present with the holie maid in Rome when she departed out of this wordle And he declared afterwardes what wordes the holie maid spake in his eare how by the vertue of the same his soule that was vpon the verie point of departing out of his bodie was mightely reteined adding furthermore that he esteemed the miracle that was wrought vpon him selfe to be no lesse then if she had raised him vp againe from death to life and that without all doubt it was no natural cause that had restored him againe but only the almightie power of God working by the meanes of that holie maid During this tyme of pestilēce in the citie of Siena it pleased God to worke an other miraculous cure by the meanes of the holy maid vpon Doct Raimundus her owne ghostlie father after this maner The plague increased so sore and the inhabitantes fled so fast for feare of infection not only the citizēs but also the priestes and religious persones that manie soules remained without comfort or counsel But doct Raimundus taried still in the citie would not remoue but determined with him selfe that he would visite helpe as manie as he could possibly The which charitable purpose being once knouē he was so much called vpō to earnestly intreated to come now to one house and now to an other bicause there were fewe or none to helpe him that he had scantly leisure to eate his meate or to take his rest One night whē he had rested on his bed thought to haue risen vp after his accustomed maner to say his seruice he felt a verie great paine in his flāke And feeling with his hand he found that there was a great sweelling in the place which made him sore afraid For experience had taught him that the disease begā commonly after that maner Wherfore he laie still in his bed durst not rise but began to thinke of death euermore wishing that it had ben daie that he might haue gone and spoken with the holie maid before the disease had taken full place in him In the meane tyme the ague came vpon him and withal a
was done who gaue commaundement and all thinges visible and inuisible were created This strange miracle was wrought before so manie witnesses that it was in a verie litle tyme bruted thoroughout the whole citie And the yong man him selfe that was cured within a fewe daies after came to Doctour Raimundus as he was passing by the citie so fat and in such good liking that the Doctour did scantly knowe him and before a great multitude of men and women recited the whole maner of the miracle as it hath ben declared here before and thanked God and the holie maid most humbly for the benefite of his health which he confessed he had receiued perfectly at Gods handes by her meanes and intercession One of the sisters of penance called Gemina being so extremely pained with a disease of the throte commonly called the Squynancie that so often as she tooke breath it seemed that she was in great danger of strangling found the meanes to be brought where the holie maid was and besought her of helpe The holie maid being moued with compassion laid her hand vpon the sisters throte and made the signe of the Crosse vpon it and foorth with the disease lefte her and she returned home againe with great ioye When the holie maid went from Pisa to Auinion there were in her companie two deuout yong men that wrote her letters the one called Nerius Landoccius de Pagliar ensibus which afterwardes forsooke the worlde vtterly became an Heremite the other Steuen Corradi which likewise gaue ouer the world at her commandement and became a Christian in the which rule discipline he lead a verie streight holie life Now when the holy maid returned from Auinion into Italie againe and was come to the citie of Genua it chaunced this Nerius to be taken with such a paineful gnawing and grieping in his bowels that he cried pitifully and crope vpon his handes and knees from place to place for he was not able to raise vp him selfe and could find no place where to rest And thus he continued daie and night without anie release in extreme paine and made great lamentation to the rest of the compaine which loued him all verie tenderly Wherupon doctour Raimundus with other of them wente to the holie maid and told her in what a lamentble case the poore man stood She shewed that she had great compassion on him but she gaue them no word of comfort or hope of recouerie as she was wont to doe at other tymes but contrariwise willed them to seeke to the phisicions and cause them to minister to the sickeman When they sawe that the would put them in no maner of comfort they sent out of hand for two learned phisicions which came and ministred to him with great diligence and their precptes were obserued verie precisely But the man recouered not but ratherwaked worse worse in so much that at the length the phisicions them selues said to doctour Raimundus that they despaired of his health The which iudgement of the phisicions when doctour Raimundus declared afterwards to the rest of the compaine as he was sitting with them at supper that other yong man called Steuen of whome mention is made before rose vp sodainly from the table with great feruour and vehemencie of spirite and went to the holie maids chamber and there casting him selfe downe at her feet wept bitterly and besought her in most humble maner that she would not suffer his brother companion to die in the waie and his bodie to be buried in a strange land especially considering that he had taken that iourney vpon him for Gods sake and for a charitable cause With those wordes she was inwardly touched and said vnto him Sonne if God will now take your brother Nerius from you reward him for all his paines in heauen me thinketh yee should not be sorie for it but rather reioice O good mother said he I praie you heare me at this tyme and helpe him for I doubt not but that you are able to doe it if you will Then she being no longer able to refraine her motherlie affection spake thus vnto him Sonne my meanyng was to exhort you that you should comforme your will to the will of God But now seeing you are so much afflicted to morrowe in the mornyng when I goe to heare Masse and to receiue the blessed Sacrament put me in mynd and I promise you that I will offer vp your petition vnto God In the meane tyme praie you to God for me that it maie please him to heare my praier Steuen was glad of that promise and the next daie he waited diligently for her And when she went to heare Masse he kneeled downe before her verie humbly and said I praie you good mother remember your promise made to me yester night With that she went to heare Masse and after Masse receiued And when she had receiued she continued a certaine tyme abstracted from her bodilie senses as her maner was So soone as she came to her selfe againe she spake to Steuen who attended there with a cheereful countenance and said Yee haue obteined the grace that yee desire What said he shall Nerius recouer Yea said she for certaine Nerius shall recouer for our Lord hath graunted him vnto vs. When Steuen heard that he ranne to Nerius and told him what comfortable wordes the holie maid had spoken After that the phisicions came againe to the sicke man and considering diligently of the state of his bodie pronounced plainely that they sawe no hope of life in him But whatsoeuer they sawe in natural causes Nerius was by the almightie power of God restored to perfecte health within a fewe daies euen as the holie maid had said Soone after the recouerie of this man it chaunced the same Steuen to fall sicke also being as it was thought ouercharged with watching and paines that he had taken about the said Nerius He was sore pained with streynyng and vomiting and withal with a passing great head ach The which thing when it was signified to the holie maid by the rest of the house who were all verie sorie for him she went foorthwith to his beds side where he laie and asked him how he did and felt his pulses Whereby she perceiued well that he had a verie sharpe feuer Then she spake to him with great feruour of spirite and said these wordes I commaund thee in the vertue of holie obedience that thou be no more sicke of this ague She had no sooner spoken those wordes but that Steuen was fully and perfectly deliuered of his ague and sate vp and made merrie with the rest of his companie and they all together praised the goodnes of God that had geuen such power to the holie maid At what tyme the holie maid was in the citie of Florence about a treatie of peace betweene Pope Gregorie the eleuenth and the Florentines there was such a broile stirred in the citie by certaine euel disposed and