what auayleth the thus for to tempte the peple parde it is a greet foly for whenne thou hast broght ony to synne thy trespas is the gretter and consequently thou augmentest thyn owne payne To whom the fende answered Certeynly all that is trew but I knowe wele the mo folkes that I cause to synne the more I deferre the commyng of the daye of dome I drede that daye aboue all thinges and the hering thenne of that harde sentence Go ye wykked and cursed into the eternall fire whiche is made redy to the deuell and his angeles And therfore I do my power to prolonge the tyme of comyng of that sentence O goode lorde what cause of drede haue thies fendes and thies vnhappy synners thenÌ„e If thou wylt be assured in this orrible and dredefull Iourney Sowe nowe in thy lif the werkes of Mercy Pite and Iustice. O howe blessed and how happy shal he be that nowe entendeth to the poure langwysshyng nedy peple For in that harde Iourney our Lorde wil deliuere them therfore from alle daungier It is writenÌ„ in the Prouerbis of Salomon in the xj chapitre The mercifull man dothe greet good vnto his sowle doth also the digne fruites of penauÌ„ce For they that nowe sowe teres and lamentacions the rewarde therof shal come and bryng them into the lodgyng of Ioye and of gladnesse But ther be many that sowen nowe presently thorues and cokill wenyng to repe Inne good whete but ywys foles it wil not be so â— For as Thappostel seith ad Galathas in the vj chapitre Suche as a man hath sowen here suche shal he repe thenÌ„e for hym self And therfor seyth our Lorde by his prophete Ozie in his .x. Chapitre Ye haue sowen felony and haue reped Inyquite and he that hath sowen synne and euyll werkes he shal be repynÌ„ and Inned into the paynes of helle But he that hath sowen vertues and the good werkes of penaunce He shal repe and gadre the euerlasting glorye And all that haue doon wele shal rest in the Ioyes of heuen And thoes that haue doon synne and wykkednesse shal go and rest in the paynes of helle Certeynly their werkes folowe them As it is writen in Thappocalips the .xx. chapttre After their werkes menÌ„ shal be bothe saued and dampned It is redde in the. Gospel of seynt IohÌ„n the v. chapitre An howre shal come in the whiche all that be in Monumentes or tombes shal here the voys of our Lorde And they that haue doonÌ„ wele shal go in the ResurrectionÌ„ of lyf And they that haue doonÌ„ wykkedly shal go vnto the Iugement of dethe It is writon in the secunde chapitre of Thappocalips howe the Iuge shal sey I am he that ensercheth the hertes of persones and shal geue to euery of you his Reward after his werkes And as seith Abdeâ—s It shal be doon vnto the as thou hast doon To the same purpose is writon in Iheromye the .l. chapitre And thies be the wordees of the eternal Iuge vnto the euyl angell spekyng of the dampned synners yelde and do hym after his dedis and werkes And therfor if thou wilt haue a good heruest and habundaunce of frute sowe good werkes largely in the tyme of this present lif for he that soweth them now largely shal gadre them thenÌ„ habundantly And he that now soweth them sparingly shal thenÌ„ gadre them scarsely And he that soweth them with blissingis shal gadre them with greet Ioye gladnesse As it is writen in the secuÌ„de Epistle ad Corintheos in the ix chapitre For he that soweth his sedys in synne malediâ—cions semblably shal Inne gadre them And as it is writen in a Prouerbe The sede that man sowes in this pÌ„sent lif shal be his hous whenÌ„e the Iuge shal seye Come ye go ye The thirde thing why the dome of the Iuge shal be terrible Is to remembre how dampned sowles shal be by the mournyng sentence full of all sorowe eternally separated and departed from god and his seintes of paradys and put on the lifte hande vnto the fendes of helle Certeynly incontinent and without tariyng that this oâ—rible sentence shal be pronounced by the mouth of Ihesu crist The perpetul deueles shal be there arredied and redy for 〈◊〉 take and rauayne the sowles of the wretched synneâ—â— Whiche they shal lightly bryng vnto the euerlasting turmentis and paynes This may appere vnto vs by a figure in the boke ef Hester the vij chapitre of the mynestres of kyng Assuer Whiche were desirous and redy to take Amon. as it is conteyned in the same Chapitre How the worde was not all out of the mouth of the sayde kyng But that the mynestres hadde couered the visage of the same Amon. In like wyse the deueles in this hideous Iourney shal be more thenÌ„ redy to resceiue the sowles of thies wretched synners And this is writen in the lamentacions of Iheremy in the first chapitre All his persecutees haue taken hym IohÌ„n CrisostomÌ„ seyth in the booke of Repayryng of forfeiturs Remembre thies cruel and terrible turmentours that neuer may shewe mercy on ony body and ledeth downe the vnhappy synners vnto eueâ—lastyng tormentes And HughÌ„ of seint Uictour seith That the horrible minystres of helle shal be appareyled and arre died incontinent as the sentence is geuen to take the condempned vnto tormentes And thenÌ„e the wretched vnhappy caitiffes lamentably shal sey they haue caughÌ„t me like as a deuoryng lyonÌ„ lurkyngly hath taken his pray O what sorowe payne wherof may not be estemed in mannes mynde nor by tellyng pronounced Wherfor Seynt Bernard seyth in his Meditacions What thynkest thou What wepyng What waylyng and what sorowe shal be whenÌ„e the synners shal be expulsed out of the companye of Iust men and put from the sight of God and deliuered and cast vnto handes of the deuels to go with them into euerlastyng fire and vtterly banysshed from all the Ioyes of heuen to abide in the derkenesse there sufferyng paynes for their demerites after the quantite of their synnes And thenÌ„e the myserabile synners beyng in despeir of the RedempcionÌ„ shal entre into the lowest parties of the erthe in the handes of our lordes glayue there to remayn without seyng of ony light Of this payne of separacionÌ„ or departyng seyth also CrisostomÌ„ SomÌ„ foles wene and thynke to haue their wisshyng yf they may escape the geâ—â—â—ne of helle But as to me I seye that ther be other turmentes moche more greuous That is to seye to be estrauÌ„ged cast a wey from the grace of the souereigne glory and I deme that the banisshyng therfrom is the moost egre and greuous turment Wheruppon seyth Seynt Gregory He is greetly tormented that is constrayned to be put a parte from the presens of our lorde And I deme that it is the moost greuous thyng that may be and passeth all the gehennes of helle The same Seint Gregorye seyth of this worde of the Gospel of Seynt
virgyns Seynt Mathewe sayth in his xxv chapitre Lo here is the spouse come thoes that were redy been entred with hym to the weddyng Wheruppon seint Gregory seyth That the palays of the herte myght wele asauoured how wondrefull was that worde Here is the spouse which is come How swete was that worde to them that entred with hym to the weddyng And how bitter was the other worde The yates be shitte closed My dere frende If thou dide sauour vndrestonde wele all this thinges beheldest them wele in thynÌ„ hert Certeynly thou woldest renne with all diligence for to do penauÌ„ce wolde not lese so vnproufitably without fruyte yâ— acceptable tyme dayes of thy helthe for no maner of voluptuous plaisers or other ydelnesse And as it is writen in the Apocalips in the secunde chapitre Remembre the fro whens thou art fall or departed do penaunce It is red how in dayes passed it happened in the Abbey of Cleruaulx that an holy man beyng in his prayers herde a voys makyng a peteous lamentacion And as he asked who it was A sowle answered seiyng I am the sowle of a dampned man compleynyng mynÌ„ vnhappy cause of condempnacionÌ„ And thenÌ„ he demauÌ„ded hym of his payne which answerd that of al thinges that causeth moost payne to a dampned sowle was losse of tyme that god hadde ordeynd man by his grace that he in a litle tyme myght haue doon penaunce which shulde deliuere hym from the euerlastyng paynes of the gehenne of helle To this purpose seide Hugh of seint Uictour The lakkyng of the sight of our lorde fayllyng of alle the goodes of grace that we myght haue had shulde surmounte and be more greuous vnto the. than all the infernal tormentes Lete vs do good werkes while we haue tyme lest we seye in repentaunce As is seyd in Iheremyas in the viij chapitre That is to wite Heruest is past Somer is finyssed and we be not saued Wherfor my frendes I require and humbly pray you That ye will amende your self in shorte tymâ— and make you redy in this x. hour for the euenyng hasteth hym And the Rewardeur shal come to yelde euery man after his werkes Hit may appere by thies examples howe Remembraunce of deth shulde induce a man to do penaunce It is redde of a felonous and a cruell knyght whiche wolde neuer accept nor do ony penaunce enioyned hym by pope Alexandre And atte last the pope gaue hym his Rynge that he shulde bere hit on his fynger by wey of penaunce And as often as he behelde hit to thinke on his deth And whan he hadde bornÌ„ hit a space of tyme with that Remembraunce on a day he come ageyn to the pope sayng he was redy to shrine hym to fulfill eny other maner of penaunce that he wolde enioyne hym It is red of an other synner that in like wise wolde do noo penaunce atte last his confessour enioyned hym that he shulde commaunde his seruaunt to present hym euery daye at his table with the first messe a staffe the rynde scorched of seiyng Sir remembre that necessarely ye must dye not knowyng where whenÌ„e in what maner nor howe And as this was a good while contynued because of that Remembraunce alle that he ete turned hym to greef and trouble And thenne he called ageyn for his confessour seiyng he was redy to do and obeye ony penaunce that he wolde ordeyne For his herte vâ—s meruelously brought in greet trouble by the fere of dethe whiche he was in Lo by thies thynges aforhersed appereth thenÌ„ clerly I noughÌ„ howe Remembraunce of dethe causeth a man to humble hym self to dispise alle worldly thinges acceptably take vppon hym to do penauÌ„ce and consequently to eschewe synnes And therfore my right dere brethren and frendes remembre you often ye and right often that ye shal dye And if ye bere in your myndes the dethe ye shalt wele come by that remembryng to the most happy resorte of lyf That is to wite The herytage of our Lorde Ihesus Crist ¶ And thus endeth the first parte of this tretys deuided in foure ¶ Here begynneth the prologue of the secunde partie of the foure last thinges THe secunde parte of the foure last thynges wherof frequentyng the Remembraunce reuoketh and calleth vs from synne Is the last and fynall daye of Iugement of whiche the Remembraunce draweth vs not oonly from the dedely greet synnes But also from the smale venyall And therfore it is redde in Uias Patrum in the lif of fadres That an Auncient man seyng a yong man laugh dissolutely seyde sone we must geue accompte of all our lyf before heuen and erth Why laughest thou so faste As who seyth If thou knewest howe strayte a Rekenyng shal be atte the daye of dome of all synnes aswel greet as smale Certeynly thou woldest not laughe But rather sorowe and compleyne Nowe is here the place to wepe and to put a wey synnes And thoes that nowe wepe for their synnes shal laughÌ„ hereafter Seynt Gregory seyth in his Omely That the gladnesse of this tyme present ought to be but suche as therby the bittirnesse of the daye of Iugement be â—ot put out of remembrauÌ„ce Therfor it is writen in Ecclesiastes the xxxviij chapitre Bere my iugement in remembraunce And also our lord by his ê“phete in the psalter seith whenÌ„ I shal se or take the tyme I wil deme do iustice to euery oonÌ„ And Iohel seyth in his last chapitre All men arise and come to gydres into the vale of Iosephath For there I shal fitte Iuge all maner of peple about me Iheremyas in his seconde Chapitre seyth that our lorde seyth I shal amownte with you in Iugement Of this Iugement is wreton in Ozee the iiij chapitre Ye childeâ—n of Israhel here ye the worde of our lorde of the finall Iugement that perteyneth to our lorde vppon thenhabitantes of the erthe Sothely this Iugement is greetly to be dowted Therfor seyth the. Prophete I dred for thy Iugementes It is wreton in the book of Sapience in the fyfthe Chapitre They that see the greet Iuge shal be horribly troubled playnyng and waylyng the drede of their sowles Certeynly in this day shal all peple be troubled and they that dwelle in the vtterest partye of the worlde shal fere thoes tokens and signes and they shal dowte them and not without cause For they shal be merueylously horrible Seynt Luke seyth in his xxj Chapitre WhenÌ„e the sone of man shal shewe hym self That is to seye The chilâ—e of the virgyn marie comyng in a clowde in mageste with a greet puyssaunce thenÌ„e shal the sygnes shewe in the sonne in the mone and in the sterres And on the erthe shal â—e pressure of peple dredyng to be confused with the sounde of the â—â—awes of the see Men vniuersally of all the worlde shal fall downe for the drede and fere that they shal haue thenne O thou wretched man
remembre of the terribil comyng of this Iuge that is bothe god and man Whiche afore hym hath a brennyng fire And a strong tempest I seye ther shal a fire goo afore hym Whiche shal flame hoolly abowte his enemyes It is writon to the. Hebrues in the tenth Chapitre Right terribyll is the abydyng of this Iugement And the fere therof whiche shal destroye hys aduersayres And Malachyas seyth in hys thirde Chapitre See here the daye that shal come flamyng like a Chemenye And thenne hit shal brenne alle prowde men and thoâ—s that haue committed felonye It is redde in Isaye in the. xlvj Chapitre Here is our Lorde that shal come and Iuge by fire And Iohell in his secunde Chapitre seyth He shal haue a fire before his face deuouryng and behynde hym a brennyng flame For this cause seyth Malachyas in his thirde Chapitre who shal he be thenne that shal mowe see our Lorde For he shal be as a fire glowyng sette to make clene and purge siluer Who is thenne he of deuout corage that shal not drede with all his hert this Iuge his comyng And theâ—for seith Seint Gregory vppon Ezechiel Who may haue that corage but that shal fere drede the presens of the eternal Iuge whenÌ„ all thinges shal come thenÌ„ to the sight of euery man all thinges doonÌ„ afore by delectacion shal be with right greet drede called to remembraunce CerteynÌ„ as it is writen in the Prouerbys in the xxxviij chapitre The euyll men thinken not of the Iugement But they the desiren dreden god haue in their hertes all good thinges Seint Bernard seyth in a prose Truly I drede â—ore the visage of the Iuge that shal come to whom no thyng can be hydde shal no thing rest vnpunysshed And who shal he be of vs that shal not dred whenÌ„ the iuge shal come whichÌ„ shal haue fire brennyng before hym to the destructionÌ„ of alle synners Certeynly this last Iugement ought greetly to be dred and for iij causes ¶ The first thaccusamentes shal be in many maners whiche all synners ought greuously to wayle The seconde is the right strayte sentence vppon our gouernance that syngulerly shal be made to euery thyng The thirde is the horrible feerful abydyng of the Iugement whiche thenne by the Iust Iuge shal be terribly geuen These thinges all synners ought tymerously drede whiche by consequens the Remembraunce therof sholde withdrawe man from doyng synne ¶ Here endeth the prologe of the seconde parte ¶ How the Accusacion that shal be at the day of doâ—â—e is to be drad ¶ The first chapitre of the seconde part THe first thing thenne wherby th final Iugement ought specially to be drad is the many and dyuerse accusacions Whiche shal be there ageynst all synners Wherfor it is to be knowen that we fynde in holy scriptures seuen thinges that accuse synners at the greet daye of Iugement ¶ The firste is our propre conscience Whiche shal argue ageynst the synner not secretly but manyfestly thenne afore all It is wreton in Damele in the seuenth chapitr Thy Iugement is set and the bookes be open That is to wete the consciences whiche thenne be opynly vttered In those bokes be conteyned the sciences of lif or of deth of glory and of confusion of saluacion perpetuell or dampnacion eternall It is redde also in the .xx. Chapitre of the Apocalips That dede men shal be Iuged of the thynges writen in their owne bookes That is to seye in their consciences Therfore it is writon in the Pistle to the Romayns in the secunde Chapitre That their consciences shal bere them wittenesse For as wittenesse of the euyll conscience is thaccusacion the payne and the turment of synners Right so shal the goode conscience be helpe and saluacion to the goode creatures The secunde thyng that shal accuse the synners shal be the fendes and the euyll spirites Whiche falsly and trayterously haue procured and sturred men to synne And of alle that the synner hath doon they wylle accuse hym as one thef accuseth an other of oon felony doon by them bothe It is writen in the. Apocalips the. xij Chapitre The fende is called the accuser of brethren And Seynt Austyn seyth They be alle before the Iudiciall sete of Ihesu Criste And there the deuels shal be redy Whiche shal reherse the wordes of our profession and shal appose to our face that we haue doon and wherin we haue synned and in what place and what we ought to haue doon and left it vndoon Truly our aduersary that same fende shal seye thenne O right wyse and Iuste Iuge Deme this man to be myn for his synnes For he wyll not be thyne by grace He is thyne by nature He is myn by hys mysery He is thynÌ„ by thy passyonÌ„ He is mynÌ„ by persuasions He hath been disobeysaunt vnto the. He hath been concentyng vnto me He hath resceyued of the the stole of Immortalite and of me this blakke garment that he wereth of perpetuel deth he hath lefte thy liuere and hath taken myn he hath lefte thy Ioye and blisse and hath taken my sorowe and payne O thou Iuste Iuge Iuge hym therfor to be myn and that he be condempned with me perpetually Thies wordes seyd our lorde vnto Seynt Austyn The thirde thing that accuseth synners shal be angeles and the happy goode spirites Certeyne it is to be beleued that he that hath geuen them our sowles to kepe shal require to haue Reason of that kepyng And as thoes that neuer lye nor wol take vppon them the synne or faute of other must nedys seye they be not to blame But the gilt is in vs synners Whiche wolde not obeye nor beleue them Semblably it is nat the default of the physycien whiche doth his cure as it apperâ—â—â—neth if he he le not his pacient whiche is disobeâ—sâ—unt vnto hym And therfor it is wreton in Iheremye the one and fyfty chapitre We haue hadde Babylon in Cure and yet she is not heled Thees be the wordes of the Angeles as they will seye We haue doonÌ„ all that was necessary to be doonÌ„ to Babylon to th ende that she shulde be cured and beled But it is in her defaut that she is not beled This. Babilon is to be lykened to mannes Sowle The fourth thing that shal accuse synners shal be creatures And if thou ayed me Whiche creatures they be I answere the all and eueriche oonÌ„ of them by them self For and the creatour of all thinges be offended all the good creature shal haue hym in hate that hath displeased hym For as Iob. seyth in his .xx. chapitre The heuens shal shewe and lifte vppe the euyll werkes of the synners and the erthe shal adresse hym ageynst them For our Lorde shal calle vnto hym the heuen aboue and the erthe be nethe to discerne his peple And therfor seyth CrisostomÌ„ vppon the. Gospel of seint Mathewe There is no thyng that we
handis of god how be it ther is no man here that knowes whether he stonde in hate or loue and al thinges to come be in nowne certeynÌ„ To this purpose it is redde in Uitis patrum howe that an abbot called Agathon beyng in the article of deth And so liyng by the space of iij dayes without meuyng or openyng of his eyen His brethren seyng hym so liyng pusshed hym seiyng vnto hym Fadre abbot where art thou Atte last he answered I am in the presens of all folkes Wherfor they seide vnto hym Then thou dredest art aferde Vnto whom he answered Though I haue kept the commaundementes of our lord as vertuosly as to me was possible yet I am a man wot not whether my workes be agreable vnto hym for the domes of our lord be all other then the Iugementes of men and that is the cause of my drede I haue neeither hope ne wanhope before god Seint Austijn seyth That that we deme to be Iustice we le examyned before the deuine iustice is often inuistice And therfor it is writen in the Prouerbes of Salomon the xiiij chapitre Ther is oonÌ„ weye whiche semeth iust to a man but the ende therof ledeth hym to deth And forasmoche as this holy fadre Agathon counterpoisyng in his hert all thies thinges aforseyd al be it that he was right diligent to kepe the coÌ„maundementes of our lorde Yet alwey he dead ful sore the last day of Iugement It is also red in Uitis patrum howe ther was somtyme an auncient fadre whiche seide I drede iij thinges that is to seye First whenÌ„ my sowle shal depart out of my body seclide whenÌ„ she shal come before our lord The iij whenÌ„ she shal abide here the final sentence of the last day of iugement Lo see how many holy faders haue dead this last day of iugement for the nowne certeynÌ„ of the doutfull sentences that there shal be geuen Now certeynly it is a thing whichÌ„ of reason ought timerously to be drad It is writen in the Gospell of Seynt Mathewe in the vij chapitre by the wordes of our lorde Ihesu Crist. Many men shal sey to me Sir sir haue we not ê“phecied in thy name cast out the deuels of men doon many vertuoê° dedis ThenÌ„ he shal seye vnto them I knowe you not nor euer knewe you depart fro me If the prophetes thoes that haue chased out deuels thoes that haue doon miracles in the name of our lord be so put a bakke who shal then mowe be sure who shal conne liue here so holily but atte day of dome he ought to tremble fere Certeynly noonÌ„ for vppon the erthe is ther no body purely clene without filthe not a childe of oon day olde for it is bornÌ„ in original synne Therfor it is writen in Isay the lxiiij chapitre We be all made as a fowle cloth and we ought to drede al our werkis whichÌ„ shal be shewed befor vs atte dome al though we thinke them good vertuous iust Therfor seith Iob in his ix chapitre I haue dead al my werkis Semblably seint powle whichÌ„ was a delectable chosynÌ„ vessel al be it he was then ful clene in conscience in so moche he seide in the xxiij chapitre of Thactes of Apostoles I haue been conuersant wtth our lorde with al my myght in good conscience to this day And yet it is According wherto the same holy Apostle ferefull wrote in his first Pistle ad Corintheos the .iiij. chapitre seyde I fele not my self gilty in ony thyng that notwhithstondyng I fere yet by cause I am not iustified Seint Gregory seide The Iust men drede in al their werkes WhenÌ„ they wysely considere howe they must come afore the hyghe Iuge For as Thappostel writeth vnto the. Romaynes the xiiij chapitre We shal come all before the tribunal sete of Ihesu Crist. Alas thenÌ„e I wretched sinner what shal I seye or what shal I do whenÌ„e I shal come before so greet a Iuge wtthout goode werkes for my helpe The secunde thing whiche causeth this sentence to be terrible Is the harde lamentable and intollerabile vtterance of the seide sentence Whenne our lord Ihesu Crist shal seye Go ye fro me ye cursed peple To that purpose is writon in the. Gospel of seint Mathewe in the xxv Chapitre Whenne the sone of manÌ„ shal come in his mageste and al his angeles with hym ThenÌ„e he shal sitte in the hyghÌ„ iudicial sete al maner of peple shal assemble before hym And shal deuide the oonÌ„ from the other as the sheparde kepeth the shepe from the wolues Certeynly he ordeyneth setteth the shepe on his rigbt hande and the wolues on the lifte hande And thenÌ„ shal the kyng of glory seye to thoes that shal be an his right hande Come ye â—n with me that be blessed of my fadre and possesse the royalme of glorie that is enorned for you from the begynnyng of the worlde I haue been houngry and ye haue fedde me c. TheenÌ„e he shal seye to thoes on his lifte hande Departe fro me ye that be cursed and go into eternal fire Whiche is arredied for deueles And theruppon seith a wise man The wordes of the iuge in sentence ar but short as come ye and go ye For he shal seye to thoes that be reproued Go on your weye And to thoes that be iust come ye with me O how gracioê° shal the word of our lord IhÌ„uÌ„s Crist be whenÌ„e he shal seye come ye with me O how harde bitter and intollerable shal the pronownsyng of that worde be Departe ye fro me or go ye fro me Suerly Go ye fro me is a full sharpe worde And come ye with me is a full blessed worde Seynt Bernard seyth O hou cruel shal thoes wordes be Go ye fro me to them on the lifte hande spoken by the kyng of kyngis geuer of al lif which shal sey to other Come ye with me This is the cuttyng swerde with two edges issewed out of the mouth of the sone of man as it is writon in the first and the xix chapitre of the Apocalips Certeynly he shal thenÌ„e smyte the erthe with the Rodâ—e of this mouth and shal slee the felonous synner by his werkis As it is writen in Isaye the xj chapitre O how terribâ—â— a thyng shal be to here this voys Therfore seith Seynt Austyn vppon the Gospell of Seynt IohÌ„n Thoes that fill bakkewarde by oon worde of Ihesus Crist whenÌ„e he went towardes his passion What shal they do whenÌ„e they here the voys of the same Ihesus Crist whenÌ„e he shal Iuge all the worlde for certayne he shal braye like a lyon As Amos seide in his iij chapitre WhenÌ„e the lyon shal braye who is he that thenÌ„e shal not be a ferde Isaye in his v chapitre seith His braâ—yng shal be like a lyon Iheremie also seith in his xxv chapitre Our lorde shal braye
AL Ingratitude vtterly settyng apart we owe to calle to our myndes the manyfolde gyftes of grace with the benefaittis that our lorde of his moost plentiueuse bonte hath ymen vs wretches in this present transitoire lif Whiche Rememâ—braunce of right directly shulde induce vs to yuie his godhede therfore continuale and Immortale louingis thankis and in no wise to falle to thignorance or foryetefulnesse therof Emong whiche benefaittis and gyftes is granted vs fre arbitrement And therby with our good desertes supported and holpen by his moost digne mercy and grace we be enabled to be the children of euerlestyng saluacion to possesse the Ioyes of heuen whiche ar incompÌ„hensible and inestimably blisful and good And by cause we be so fraile and inconstante prone to falle feble and insufficiente of our self to resiste the frawdelente malice temptacion of our auncien ennemy the fiend Therfore he hath yiuen vs his mercy to be our Relief Raison to be our lanterne and RemembrauÌ„ce to ordre our guiding ThenÌ„e first of this precieux gyfte of mercy we may to our greet conforte verily truste to haue it at all tymes in this wâ—rldâ— whenÌ„e we deuely sue calle therfore But we must know for certayne that we can haue no capacite nor power to receiue hit after the saison of our bodyly lif here Secundly by Raison we owe in the moost extreme loue and drede to knowe and take hym as our creatour Redemptour and alle our willes to be subget vnto his playsir Thriddely we owe to remembre how we may guide vs for to stande in his grace Considering what we were what we be and what we shal be And for as moche as very prudence admonesteth techeth vs how the conclusion of euery thyng shulde be moost souerainely taken hede vnto Tâ—â—â—fore I aduise that this traitys here after ensuyng whiche is of foure last thinges be we le ouerred and seen And not oonly seen and red but also wele conceiued noted and often remembred And if perauenture we finde therin ony cause of grouge or elles ony mocion to blotte or rustâ— the clernesse of our goostly vndrestanding stirring vs to vnmesurable feer or ony other presumptueux sinistre or wyne concept Yet late vs take hit alweyes to the beste entent hauing no dispeir in our lordes mercy for it is infenite And knowe for trouthe that noon suche euil moeuing cometh but of thinstigacion of our goostly aduersaire whom we must vertuously resiste and catholiquely allewayes reste vppon the moost ferme piller of our faith which is the very assured shelde and moyen of our goostly â—â—â—the And to haue that grace in our necessite calle we for helpe vnto the holy goost that illumineth and techeth euery sowle for to kepe the wayes of saluacion to the enheriting of the eternal Ioye and glorie Amen THis present tretys is deuided in four principal parties Of the whiche euery parte conteyneth thre other singuler parties as in the maner folewyng is shewed The first principal parte is of the bodely deth And ther vnto belongeth thre other singuler parties The first of the thre is how remembrauÌ„ce of deth causeth a man to meke and humble hym self The seconde is how Remembrance of deth maketh hym to dispise alle vayne wordly thyngis The thirde is how Remembrance of deth causeth a man vnconstrayned to take vpon hym to do penanÌ„ce and taccepte it with glad herte The seconde principal parte is of the last day of Iugement and conteyneth in hym self thre other singuler parties The first of these thre is how accusacionÌ„ that shal be at the day of Iugement is thing to be dred The seconde is how the last day of Iugement is terrible and not without cause for ther must be gyuen a due rekenyng and acompt of euery thyng The thirde is how the terrible abiding of thextreme sentence causeth doubters to be had of the Iugemnt The thirde principal parte is of helle or of thinfernal Iehenne and conteyneth in it self thre other singuler parties The first of thoes iij is howe helle after holy scripture is named in diuerse and many wyses The secunde is howe they that descende into helle been punysshâ—d with many greet and sondry paynes The thirde is howe ther be many diuerse condicions of greuances in the paynes of helle The fourth principal part is the blilsful Ioyes of heuen ther vnto apperteyne thre other singuler parties The first of thoes thre is howe the Royalme of heuen is loued preysed and recommended for his beaute clernes and lyght The seconde is how the Royalme of heuen is praysed for the manyfolde goodnesses that be haboundaunt therin The thirde is how the celestial Royalme is to be lawded for the perpetuel infinite Ioye and gladnes therin Here after foloweâ— the prologue of the four last thinges MEmorare nouissima et ineternum non peccabis Ecclesiastici septimo capitulo Ecclesiasticus saith in his seuenth chapiter thise wordes folowyng Bere wel in thy mynde the last thingis and thou shalt neuer fal in synne Also Seynt Austyn saith in his book of meditacions That man ought rather haue in fere and eschewe thabhominacionÌ„ filthe of synne than ony other crueltees of thinfernal turmentis Lo thenÌ„e how the knowlege of these four last thinges and frequentyng the memorye and remembraunce of them calleth us from synne and draweth us to vertu and conformeth vs to alle good werkis Wherfor by the helpe of the deuyne inspiracion I haue purposed to reherse and saye a lytyl of these four thingis As which they be and what they be And also to declare somwhat of euery of them singulerly by them self precyously and dignely by seyngis and auctoritees of seyntis and generally by examples and seyngis of auctorised clerkis It is to be noted that after the seyng of seyntes men seye comynly ther be foure the last thnigis And whiche they be it apperith clerly by the wordes of seynt Bernard in a sermon Where he seyth in al thi werkes haue remembraunce of thy last thingis Whiche be four That is to wete first Deth bodely Seconde The day of Iugement Thirde The peynes of helle Fourth The glorie of heuen O what thinge is more horrible than deth What thing is more dredefull and terrible than the day of Iugement What thing is more importable to be suffred than the gehenne and peynes of helle And what is a more Ioyefull blysse than celestial glorie Seint Bernard seyde in the same sermone These ben the four wheles of the chare wherof the remembrance bryngeth mannes sowle to the euerlasting glorie of paradys These ben also foure moeuynges that awake the spiryte of man to that ende that he disprayse all worldly thinges and retorne vnto his creatour and maker Lo it is thenÌ„ bothe conuenient and prouffitable that they be had contynuelly in remembraunce And therfor seyth the. Wise man in the xxviij chapitre of Ecclesiasticus Bere in thy mynde the last and final thinges And
shal be hastely caste into the erthe vnder the fete of other For this cause seyth Seynt Iherome in a pistle that he sent vnto Cypryane Remembre the wele of thy dethe and thou shalt not synne He thenÌ„ that alweye bereth in Remembraunce howe he must dye disprayseth easely alle thinges present disposyng hym self f to alle good thynges that be to come Certeynly Esau. consyderyng howe dethe was nyghe vnto hym dispraysed lyghtly alle worldly thynges It is writen in Genesis in the fyue and twenty Chapitre Lo beholde I dye and what shal proufite me alle thoes thinges that I am bornÌ„ vnto Isidore also aduertising hym self of the shortenesse of this prrsent lif whiche is so sone passed that all that menÌ„ seme to haue in possessionÌ„ here shal be lefte sodenly by deth exorted euery man to disprayse suche thynges Sayng if thou wilt be in rest and peas desyre no thyng of this world and so thou shal be quiete in thy corage if thou put from the all desyres and corious besynesses of this present lyf Set a part all thing that may distourbe and lette thy good purpose be thou dede to the world and the world to the. and as though thou were dede beholde the vayne glorye of this world And as a man passed disseuer and depart the from the voluptuousnesse of this worlde And as a man fynysshed haue this worlde in no cheerte And as a man passed out of this worlde purge the of all maner of filthes And also whyleâ—thou art a lyue disprayse all that thou mayst not haue when thou art dede Senek seyth that ther may not thing profite the so moche in that temperance and dyspraysyng of all worldly thinges as shal do to thenke often of the short enduring and the incerteynte of this present lyf Thenne my ryght dere frende Remembre often in thy corage how thou must dye It is redde in a book made of the gyft of drede Howe long a go ther was ryght a wyse philosophre that hoolly abandoned hym to the vanytees of this world Whiche in a tyme herd red of the long lyf of Auncient fadres and of eueriche of them was seyde in the ende he is dede As is wreton in Genesis in the fyfth chapitre Thenne he thought in hym self that semblably deth shulde happen vnto hym as it did vnto those for he was right olde And hastely he entred into religyonÌ„ and toke thordre of ffrere prechours and was after made master of Theologye in Parys And from that daye forth lyved a full holy lyf O howe we le hadde this man before his eyen the wordes of Ecclesiastes in the enleuenth chapitre Seiyng That man whiche hadde lyued many yeres alweye gladde and Ioyefull hÌ„e ought to remembre wele his last dayes and the comyng of the tenebrouse tyme. For thenne it shal be but vanyte to argue of thinges past for his remedye Certeynly atte daye of dethe appereth vanyte of vanytees and howe all thinges shal be thenne vayne and noght For this cause it is writen in Ecclesiastes in the thirde Chapitre Alle thingys here be restyng vndre vanyte and trewe it is alle thynges of this worlde and eueriche of them be vayne For our lyf and euery worldly creature is but vanyte And therfor seyth the Prophete That vnyuersally euery lyuyng manÌ„ is vanyte Thou wenest to lyue longe and many yeres to possesse delicyously thy temporall goodes Certeyne my right dere frende It shal be all other wyse For man is made semblable vnto vanyte and his dayes passe as a shadowe Beholde nowe and see howe thy dayes shal be but short and an other shal come and take thy possessions To this purpose seith Chaton Promitte neuer to thy self that thou shalt haue longe space of lyff For in what place so euer thou entre dethe foloweth alwey the shadowe of thy body And therfor if thou loke vppon the wordes that be seyde And also conceyue dilygently in thy herte that shal be shewed the hereafter thou shuldest rather sey thyes wordes than other wyse I go now to my dethe and trust to lyue after by a longe space Al be it perauenture this is the last day of my lyf The holy and blessed man Seynt Luke seith in his xij chapitre O thou foole this nyght thy soule shal be axed of the and be certeyn that the disposicionÌ„ of thy tabernacules is but light As is wreton in the seconde epistle of seynt Petre. in the first chapitre Thynke thenÌ„e that thou art dede when thou knowest necessarily that after a nombre of yeres thou art certeyn to dye Therfor disprayse al transitory thynges that must be hastly lefte as is to sey without ony tariyng though it to be lothe vnto the. The poete telleth that wysdom rentis of londes possession of richesse the makyng of walled townes the byldyng of houses the glorious maner of lyuyng at the table as well in plesant drynkes as in delicious metes the feire softe beddes we le hangyd and dressed the white table clothes the bright burnyssed cuppes the riche garmentis contrary to good maner the greet flokkes or herdis of beestis The greet contreies of arable londes the vyneyerdes plenteuously sette with vynes and the Ioye and the loue of his propre childeren Yet shal all this be relynquysshed passe and be lost and no thyng be founde therof herafter By thies thinges may be seen that in this present lyf is no thing stable nor permanent whiche ought to cause drede Therfore writeth Ecclesiastes in the secunde Chapitre I haue greetly exalted my werkes I haue edified me fayre houses I haue planted vynes I haue made gardynes Wherin I haue graffed of alle maner of trees I haue also caste poondes and stagnes and haue sette trees in the forest I haue hadde seruauntes and chamberers and greet companye in my housholde more than euer hadde ony afore me in Iherusalem I haue hadde greet flokkes of shepe and droues of beestes I haue assembled for me golde and siluer and gadred the tresure of kynges and of the prouynces my neighbours And also haue herde afore me syngers bothe men and women and many delectacions of the children of men And haue doonÌ„ so moche that I haue surmounted in richesse alle that haue been before me in Iherusalem Wysedome also hath alweyes perseuered in me and all that euer myn eyen haue desired I haue not denyed them nor defended but that they haue vsed alle voluptuousnesse they haue hadde no delectacion But in suche thinges that I hadde ordeyned them And whenÌ„ that I turned me behelde wel al thies thinges the werkes that my handes hadde wrought loked vppon the labour that I hadde many tymes swette in al for noght I perceyued then knewe we le that al my werkes were but vainte affliction of spirite And that vndre the sonne in this world was no thing permanent nor sure Now in trougth al thinges passe here like a shadowe
shal mowe remedye by answere that daye Whenne the heuen and the erthe the sonne and the mone the nyght and the daye and alle the worlde shal bere wytnesse ageyns vs for our synnes Therfore seyth Seynt Gregory If thou axe me Who shal accuse the. I seye to the alle the worlde And that the creatures shall not oonly accuse the synners But also shal require the Creatour of alle thynges to take vengeance on them for their synnes To this purpose it is writen in the booke of Sapience in the fyfth Chapitre He shal arme alle creatures to take vengeance on his Ennemyes And with hym shal fyght alle the worlde ayenst thoes that haue been Insensate That is to wite Ayenst synners Alle creatures seyng hym that is maker of alle thynges shal chase them to cause turmentes to be geuen vppon thoes that haue not be Iust The fyue thynges that shal accuse the Synners they shal be myserabyll persones that haue suffred so many wronges For thenÌ„ they shal accuse thoes that haue doon them wrong payne turmente At the tyme shal the worde of the profete be verified whichÌ„ seith I haue knowen wele that our lorde wil gyue Iugement for the poure folkes that haue suffred wrong and shal auenge the quarell of thoes that be impotent for he that beholdeth the depe botoms of the sees and sitteth a boue al the Cherubynnes and Seraphyns and gothe a boue al the wyndes He is more terrible to be drad in his counselles and willes than is the sonnes of men He shal Iuge thenÌ„e poure mennys causes that haue been constant And shal holde ageyns thoes that haue doon them many angwisshes ThenÌ„e shal the fadre of Orphans and the Iuge of wydewes benge all wronges the paciens of poure folkes shal not thenÌ„e perisshe The subgettes shal also accuse the felones and negligent prelates curates And therfor seith Seint Bernard vppon the. Canticles O how cruel our lord shal be vppon the sonnes of men CerteynÌ„ the wretched synnere shal sey thenÌ„e all for nought to the monteynes Fall ye vppon vs and to the Rokkes couer ye vs. They shal come thenÌ„e before the tribunal sete of Iesu Crist where shal be herde ful greuous accusacions by thoes that haue payd their wages and bornÌ„ their dispenses wrongfully and their synnes shal not be defaced nor hidde of thoes that fraudelently haue blynded their doctours and confessours The vj thinge that shal accuse synners shal be malice and synne We rede in Iheremye the seconde chapitre Thy malice shal accuse the and thy refusyng shal blame the. For the synnes shal thenÌ„e be boundenÌ„ vnto the nekke of synners To this purpose seith Ozee in his xiij chapitre The iniquite of effraym ys bounde to gedre and his synnes be not hid We rede myn iniquitees be trussed and leyde in myn nekke and as the stolen good taken in the nekke of a thef accuseth hym semblably synne shal then accuse the wretched synner It is wreton also in the. Prouerbijs the fyfthe chapitre Iniquitees shal take the felonÌ„ synners and there eueriche of them shal be taked and strayned with coordys of their synnes And the. Prophete seith the cordys of my synnes haue enuirouÌ„de and goon rouÌ„de about me By the whiche cordys I sey also the wikked folkes by deueles shal be drawen in to helle Certeynly they fall into their nettes and be taken by their baytes We rede of the proprete of anÌ„ Irchyn whiche that when he entreth into a gardeyn he lodeth hym with apples stikyng on his prikkes And when the gardener comes he wolde flee but he is thenÌ„e so ladyn that he canÌ„ not awey And so he is there taken with all hiâ— apples Semblably falleth hit to the synner that is all â—adynÌ„ with synnes and at the greet day of Iugement he is with them taken accused Wherfor seyth the psalter Our lorde shal be knowen in makyng his Iugementes handweerkes and the synner shal be taken Vppon the whiche seith CrissostomÌ„ Our owne thoughtes and specially our werkes shal be afore our eyen and shal accuse vs afore god And therfor seith Seynt Bernard Our werkes and we shal speke to gydre and sey O myserable synner thou hast made vs we beenÌ„ thy werkes we will not leue the but go with the to thy Iugement It is red in Ezechiell the .xviij. chapitre Like as the Iustice of the Rightwys man shal be on and for hym Right so the felony of the felonÌ„ shal rest vppon hym The. Psalter seyth Here ye all peple here and reteyne wele in your ere 's all ye that dwellyn in this worlde Wherfore shal I not be dredefull in that euyll daye That is to wyte The daye of dome Whiche shal not oonly be euyll to me But it shal be righÌ„t euyl to euery synner Wherunto he answereth hym self saiyng I shal drede thenne For the Iniquite of my fete shal enuyron me The seuenth and the last thyng that shal accuse synners shal be the turmentes and instrumentes of the passyon of Ihesu Criste. And also Ihesu Criste hy semlf Wherfore seyth Seynt Iherome The crosse of Ihesu shal fyght ageynst the Ihesu Crist shal shewe and allegge his woundes ageyn the And the trace of the seyde woundes shal speke ayenst the The nayles shal compleyn on the. As Seynt Austyn seith in his trete of symboll Perauenture our lorde hath kept in his body the trace of tokenes of his wouÌ„des to th entent that at the daye of dome he will shewe them ageynst synners to their reproche And in venquissyng them seye Lo here beholde the man that ye haue ocucified See here god and man in whom ye wolde haue no beleue Loke vppon the woundes that ye haue made hym knowelege the side that ye haue wounded and hurt whiche hath been opened for you But ye haue not wele entred therin Ihesu Criste also thenÌ„ accusyng the synners shal sey as Naum seyde in his thirde chapitre I shal shewe thy defawtes afore thy face shal shewe to the peple thy nakednesse to the reames thy shame Ozee in his secunde chapitre seyth I shal manifeste shewe thy foly afore the eyenÌ„ of thy louers and ther is no man may drawe the out of my handes O howe desolate and howe sorowfull that the myserable synners shal be in the daye of the greet Iugement For thenne as it is writon in the first Chapitre of the. Apocalips Euery eye shal see hym and all the lynages of the erth shal compleyn on hym Thenne synners seyng all this shal be full of anguissches and sere ¶ How the last Iugement shall be terrible For thenÌ„e shal be geuen rekenyng of all thing ¶ The secunde chapitre of the secunde part THe secunde thing that shal cause the extreme and last Iugement to be dredefull shal be the strayte Rekenyng and accomptes of our vyle dedys in all thing Seynt Luke sayth in his .xvj. Chapitre Yelde Reason of thy dedys for after this
Book of Sapience in the first Chapitre He that speketh euyll and peruersely shal not mowe hyde hym atte the daye of Iugement And correction shal not passe besydes hym Veyne thouhtes semethÌ„ but a lytle thyng Neuerthelesse it is writen in the. Booke of Sapience in the first Chapitre Howe felonous and euyll thouhtes must be answered vnto For he will serche alle our thouhtes Iâ— is also wreton in Isaye in the last Chapitre I shal serche their werkes and their thoughtes and shal come and assemble my self with peple That is to sey to deme them as I shal Iuge them Therof speketh Iohell also in his thirde Chapitre I shal assemble alle maner of peple in the last dayes and shal bryng them to the vale of Iosaphath And ther I shal dispute with them techyng my peple and mynÌ„ heritage of Israhell Alle our thoughÌ„tes our wordes and our werkys shal be thenne right straytely Iuged And as Seint Gregory seyth vppon the. Gospell of Seynt Mathewe the thre and twenty Chapitre Alle the heres of our hedes be nombred Semblably God considereth alle our goynges and stappes And wyll that all our vayne thoughtes and our Idelle wordes shal not rest vndiscussed at the daye of Iugement Certeyne alle our werkes shal be thenne as manyfestly shewed vnto alle peple as thoughÌ„ they were writen in our forhedes As it is writen in Ecclesiastico in the enleuenth Chapitre Atte ende of man alle his werkys and dedys shal be vncouered and made opynÌ„ Fyftely it behoueth to yelde Rekenyng and accomptes not oonly of the synnes that we haue doon but also of the vertuous and good dedys that we haue lefte vndone Seynt Mathewe seyth in the fyue and twenty Chapitre Thenne shal the greet Kyng seye to thoes on his lyfte hande Departe fro me ye wykked synners and go into the fire euerlastyng Whiche is made redy for the deueles and their angelis I haue been hungred and ye haue not fedde me c. whichÌ„ oon of the causes why the fals riche glotonÌ„ fonde no water to refresshe hym with was that he ne wolde suffre the pouer Lazar to haue the croÌ„mes that fill from his table Oon shal not Rekynne oonly of thinges doon and forgetyn but also of tyme lost in executyng euyll thynges and lefte that that was good vndone It is wreton in Ecclesiastes the .xvij. Chapitre That our lorde hath geuen man a nombre of dayes and a season to th entent he shulde vse hit wele and holsemly to his pleasyr and their owne helthe Wherof many folkys taken noonÌ„ hede and Inprofitably waste their tyme. Wheruppon Seynt Bernard compleyneth hym to his Scolers seiyng Ther is no thing more precious here than tyme. But alas nowe a dayes it is most vily lost The dayes of Saluacion passen and no man hedeth hit Ther is noon compleyneth hym of the losse of a daye and yet it can neuer be recouered Ther shal not be lost an here of an hede nor a moment of a tyme. But all shal come to a due rekenâ—ng O what drede hadde Seynt Ancelme in his meditacions seiyng O vnprofitable and drye tree What shal be thyn answere the daye whenne thou shalt be questioned to geue Rekenyng of all thy werke and accompte for the leest twynkylling of thyn eye and all the tyme of lyf that hath beenÌ„ lent the. Howe thou hast dispended hit And therfor seyth Sapiens in Ecclesiastes the fourth Chapitre My dere beloued sone kepe and spende wele thy tyme ¶ The syxth and the last thyng that behoueth to geue Rekenyng and accomptes for is all the yeftes that we haue resceyued of our Lorde God Suerly our lord hath geuen vs no thyng but that he wyll haue therof bothe Reason and Rekenyng Where by hit semeth rather that he hath but lent hit vs then geuen hit vs absolutely Certeynly he shall call vs to rekene For alle his gyftes be they spirituell as the gyftes of grace to the sowle or temporall as strengthe deliuerance and beautee of the body or worldly richesse power and worshyppe in this lyff of alle thies thinges It appereth by Example and by a Parabole in the Gospell of Seynt Mathewe in the fyue and twenty Chapitre of the fyue talentes whiche be peces of money And of Seynt Luke in the Nynetenth Chapiâ—tre Howe the noble man deliuered to his seruauntes certeyne richesse Wherof they were fayne to yelde Reason and do accompte for euery thyng therof pertyculerly As it is writon in Iob. the .xix. Chapitre Knowâ— ye that atte Iugement alle thies thynges aforseyde shal be rekened for full streytely Wherfore seyth Iob in his .ix. Chapitre What shal I do whenne our Lorde shal ryse vppe to Iuge alle men And whenne he shal questyone me what shal I answere thenne O howe lyghtly and howe sone shal he come askyng a due Rekenyng and accomptes of alle our werkys Our perdicion is nyghe and the tyme hasteth faste and is alweye commyng That is to seye Whenne our Lorde shal come and Iuge his peple For as seyth Abdeas in his oonly Chapitre The daye of our Lorde shal come in the euenyng at mydnyght At Cokke crowe or in the mornyng As is to seye Iff he come sodenly That he ne fynde you slepyng This that I sey to you I seye it in like wise to all other Be ye wakyng thenÌ„e and slepe not For if ye wacche not I shal come to you as a thef and ye shal not knowe whenÌ„e ne what houre ¶ It is redde in Apocalips in the last chapitre Lo see how I come a non and brnig with me rewardes to yelde euery man after their desertes Now thenÌ„e my right dere frend sens thou must nedely of so many thinges and of eueriche of them yelde due rekenyng and accompt be not vnpurueied but wake diligently ExamynÌ„ thy self diligently and purge wele thy conscience to the bothom to th entent that whenÌ„ our lord shal come to Iuge all thing aswel dede as quik Thou mayst couenably and resonably answere and therby to haue his mercy grace and pardon of all thy synnes And this is that Ecclesiasticus ammonyssheth vs in the xviij chapitre seyng Examyne thy self before the daye of Iugement And that shal be to thy helpe in the presens of our lorde Ihesu Crist ¶ How thorrible abyding of the last day and extreme day of Iugement is to be dowted ¶ The thirde chapitre of the secunde part THe last thnig that rendreth the final Iugement to be dredeful and doutable is the terrible sentence that thenÌ„e shal be pronounced by the Iugement of god the rightful iuge This sentence shal be terrible fereful and specially for in thingys The first is the doute the incerteynte of the sentence for ther is no man sure whether it shal be youen with hym or ayenst hym And as it is writon in Ecclesiastes the ix chapitre They be Iust and wyse and their werkes be in the
from an highe from his tabernacle shal descende his voys Wherof the sowne shal extende vnto thextremite of the erthe and shal make his dome and iugement vnto the peple The voys of our lorde shal be thenÌ„e in greet magnificens It is the voys of our lorde that shal breke downe the highe Cedres of the mount of LybanÌ„ That is to vndrestonde His enemyis prowde peple enhaunsed And yet al be it they haue been so raised It shal thenne fayle and vanysshe as smoke And at that Iugement they shal be made humble and reduced to no beyng This voys so comyng from our lorde shal be like a thundre betyng the erthe Therfor seyth Iob. tremblyng in his fyue and twenty Chapitre Who shal mowe beholde the thundre or sowne of the magnytude of our lorde And the. Psalter seyth Our lorde hath thundred from heuen and the moost hyghâ— hath vttred his voys Iob. seyth in his .xxxvij. Chapitre Our lorde shal thundre meruelously by his voys and he dothe many greet thynges Whiche ought not to be enserched nor mused one And Seynt Ancelme seyth in his Meditacions Wherfor slepest thou slougthfull sowle worthy to be cast out of all light 〈◊〉 that waketh not nor dredeth not this greet thundre slepeth not but rather is dede The worde of our lorde shal be in maner a Right hote lightenyng Wherfor Zacharie in his .ix. Chapitre seyth His darte shal depart like a lightenyng And our lorde shal sowne the trompe certeine as it is writon in Isaye in the xxvij chapitre In that last daye shal sowne the greet trompe And therfor seyth CrisostomÌ„ vppon the. Gospel of seint Mathewe the .xxiiij. chapitre The vertues of heuen shal be moued nowe truly that shal be by a greet voys whiche is of the terrible trumpe wherunto all wyndes and elementes obeyen Whiche voys renteth stones and openeth helle and breketh the gates of brasse and breketh the ligatures of dede bodyes and restoreth the sowles to the bodyes ageyn constrayneth them to come to the greet iugement And all thies thinges be consumed ageyn more lightly then the flight of an arowe passing in the ayre Witenesse of Thappostle that seyth in his first pistle ad Corintheos in the xv chapitre In a moment in the twynkelyng of an eye in the sownyng of the last trumpe shal be the Iugement Of this trumpe speketh seint IheromÌ„ vppon the Gospel of seint Mathewe seiyng WhenÌ„e as often as I thenke on the last daye of Iugement I tremble for fere be it whenÌ„ I ete or whenÌ„ I drynke in ony of my werkiâ— me thinketh alweyes that terrible trumpe sownes in myn ere saiyng Arise ye arise ye dede folkes and come to your Iugement All men troubled or greued ought by penaunce to thinke of tentymes on this daye and it shal be a greet we le and â—ase to their sowles And therfore seith Seynt Gregorye in an Omely My right dere brethren and frendes let that daye of Iugement be alweye afore your eyen For what greuous thyng so euere ye here it is but softe in comparyson of that sore daye We ought also to fere and drede the same daye For that is the greet Iourney the Iourney of wrath and of bytternesse Sophonyas seyth in his first Chapitre The weye of our Lordes Iourney shal be full bitter For ther shal be no man so strong but thenÌ„ he shal be troubled that shal be the verray daye of wrath tribulacion angwisshe chalange myserie and derkenesse of clowdes of stormes and of the sowne of the trompe Isaye in his xiij chapitre seith The daye of our lorde shal come whiche shal be ful of Indignacion wrath of furour Iohell also in his iij chapitre seith The sonne shal be conuerted into derkenesse and the mone into blode afore the commyng of the greet and horrible daye of our lorde O howe drad Seynt Bernard that same daye whenÌ„e he seyde Whiles I that am a mortall man remembre what I shal be after my dethe The fere therof putteth me in terrible doutes For I am not verrely assured of that that I longe after for the daye of fere of wrath of Ire and of furour the daye of waylyng and the vengyng of synners affrayeth me hideously Of this same daye seith he also in oon of his sermons They shal be al bare and naked before the tribunal sete of Ihesu Criste to th entent that they may here the voys of his Iugement Be cause they haue stopped here ere 's from the weyes of good conseil Nowe what seyth our lord God Do ye penaunce neuerthelesse ther be many that dissimilingly close their ere 's and wil not here hit and thynke it is to harde to do O remembre ye felons because of your obstinacy ye shal here therfore the harde and lamentabile worde prominced vnto you That is to seye Go ye cursed peple into euerlasting fire What shal thenne thoes poure wretched perpetuel dampned peple seye Seyng the holy blessed peple called vppe Ioyefully into the eternall glory and blisse of heuen And they that be dampned into the Infenite paynes of helle Certeynly as it is writen in the book of sapience in the v chapitre They shal wepyngly seye in them self for the greet angwysshe of their sowles Let vs do penaunce for we be thoes that haue blasfemyd hit And as foles out of all witte and reason hadde in derision the liuyng of the penitent follies thinkyng it was no worshpfull lif How be it we see them nowe taken and accepted with the sone of god and their werkis allowed and cherisshed so that they be accompanied with the happy blessed seintes and we with the dampned fendes of helle We haue erred from the wey of trouthe the light of iustice hath not shyned in vs nor the sonne of rightwissnesse risenÌ„ in vs. We haue lefte the weyes of our lorde Ihesu Criste and haue goon daungerous and euyll weyes that is to seye The weyes of Iniquite and perdicion What hath our greet pride proufited or auyaled vs. or what auantage haue we hadde of all our greet richesse parde al is past as a byrd fleyng in the skye or a shyppe glidyng thurghÌ„ the water wherof the traces can not be apperseyued Nowe thenne to make confession is ouer late for their repentaunce groweth but for the payne they suffre And therfore they canÌ„ obteygne no pardon also they ar past the place of mercy and grace and be in the place of equite and Iustice. For whenne the Iuge whiche ought so greetly to be dowted hath pronounced his Iugement and sentence seiyng Go fro me ye wykked and come to me ye blessed their Remedye is past To this purpose rede we in Uitis patrum How ther was somtime an holy man whiche was tempted with the spirit of fornicacion and he besought our lorde that his enemy the fende whiche tempted hym myght appre visibly vnto hym and so he did ThenÌ„e the saide holy man seide vnto the fende
clothing grieuouse and so must all your other thingis be here if ye wole be logged there aboue in heuen This may appere manifestly vnto you Also in thactes of thapostles the xiiij chapitre is writen How our entre into heuen must be by many tribulacions O how wel was it vndrestande by Seint Austyn That oon may not entre the blys of heuen but by tribulacion peine in this worlde For he saide A my sowle if we shulde alweyes supporte and susteine tormented and peines here and also suffre by a longe space the gehenne of helle to th ende that we might therby surely see our lorde Ihesu crist in his glorie and be accompanied with his seintis Now were it not an excellent digne thing to haue so greet a we le as to be partiners to so perfaicte a glorie Petre de bloys saide My membres faille me by age be enfebled by fastingis and broken with labours and I melte with teeres of mynÌ„ eyen But if al my brayn and the mary of my boones were conuerted into teeres yet were it not suffisant passion in this present tyme in comparaison to atteigne therby the glorie to come whiche shal be shewed vnto vs If a man knewe what thing he is and what it is of him and of god he wolde thinke that suffring of M. dethes for his sake were but as no thing Beholde now how good how proufitable it is to suffre penauÌ„ce for our lordes sake Susteigne it then gladly endure it benignely taking an exaÌ„ple by mordereurs theuys condeÌ„pned to deth which wolde greetly reioyse them self if they might by the kitting of of oon of their ere 's haue their liues saued Reioyse your self semblably in greet gladnes for in doyng of a litle penauÌ„ce here ye may escape exclude the deth of your sowles winne theternale ioye Then thou man that art mortall suffre forto atteigne the lif that is ê‘petuell suche paine as thou woldest endure forto saue thy self temporale â–ª whichÌ„ is incertaine of litle enduring To this purpose it is writen in Ecclesiastico the vj chapitre Thou shalt a litle laboure and here in this world is the litlenesse of penaunce and thou shalt soone ete and drinke the generacion therof that is to vndrestande the fruites of the glorie whiche be engendred with the labour of penaunce It is writen in the book of sapience the iij chapitre Ye that be wery of a litle yet dispose you wel and your remuneracion and rewarde shal be right greet Seint Effram saide My right dere and beloued brethren the labour of our institucion is but litle and the rest is greet our affliction dureth not longe but oure Retribucion that is to wite the delites of Paradyse The Ioye and gladnesse there shall endure world withouten ende The wise man saide in Ecclesiastes the last chapitre Beholde how litle I haue laboured and I haue fouÌ„de for me greet rest By the reasons aboue writen it appereth manifestly that thoughÌ„ oure labours here be but litle and good our rewardes in heuen may be greet and many for the Ioyes there are impossible to be comprehended or declared by vs. for there was neuer erthely herte that coude ymagine the playsirs therof nor to ony comparison eye coude see nor ere here the delectacions melodyes and swetnesses that be there and the goodnesses ywys can not here directly be sauoured nor felt but it may wel be surely thought that all that euer is felt delectable or good in this present worlde is but as the resplendisshyng and a shadowe of the goodnesse of heuen whiche we ought to take as an allectif desiring to come to the originale and rote therof and to haue parte of that moost preciouse blys whiche is our enheritance Now in concluding finally it may appere by grete euidence and inuincible raisons that the four last thingis aboue alleiged whiche is to wite the bodyly dethe the daye of Iugement the gehenne of helle and the glorie of paradys defenden and withdrawen from synne in many maniers suche as haue the same four last thinges withouten obliuion in a continuale remembraunce Wherby they atteygne and edifie their sowles to remayne eternally in the moost glorieuse blys of heuen And whenÌ„e ony falle to synne it is by cause they haue not the saide four thingis cordially enprinted in their myndes And alas nor the suffrance of our lord There be to fewe that considere and poise the sayd four last thingis Many there be that thinke to lyue long and to repente them in their eage and therby appeyse the Iuge and flee the daungier of helle And in that hope liue in delectacions and Idelnesse And yet after they thinke to possede heuen eternally O what presumptuouse folye is hit to beleue and truste therto That argument concludeth not but maketh and deceiueth alle suche as haue hope or confidence therin Therfore do penauÌ„ce to your saluacion or ye shal perishÌ„ and dye in your sinnes to your dampnacion It is writen in Ecclesiastes the ij chapitre If we do no penaunce we shal falle in the handes of our lord and not into the handes of man Alas now who is he that suffisantly bewayleth his synnes that hath goode pacience with his enemy that hath compassion vpon the poure peple relieueth them in their necessitees that deuly ministreth iustice and that for no vayne glorie ne lucre of the world wole offende his conscience Oure generacion is so wretchid and so fraile that our hertes can not addresse to the wee ll but rather to the harme we saueure and delite worldly thinges and seke not after Ihesu Crist. We loue vices we flee vertues and lyâ— and reste in our owen synnes as beestes do in their owen dong and therin rote miserably Our lord loketh vpon the sone of man and beholdeth if therbe ony axing grace or in good disposicion but wel away he seeth to fewe inclined therto and many disposed to the contraire in all sâ—nne and wretchednesse wherby is to be drad that the miserable tyme of this world is nyghÌ„ comen whiche Micheas prophecied of in his vij chapitre saiyng Holinesse is perisshed in therthe and emong the men is ther noon that is right wise O remembre wel how euery man almoost now a dayes seketh for his owen particulere cause lucre the sheding of blood and the wrongyng of other What shal I more say fewe ther be that wole entende to ony good perfection nor opene their eyen for their saluacion so be they blinded in their malicious folie O cursed malice and vnhappy folye wherby the lif is voluntairely loste and the dethe wonne the we le despised and the harme accepted our lord displeased and the fende obeyed Now then my right dere brethren and frndes strike not of your hedes with your owne swerdes as to saye late not your owen dedes be your destruction perpetuale Rise out of sinne loke vp and remembre you what difference is