dead and come to iudgemente Who shall appeale from this sommons Who shal be able to auoide this iudgment Whose hart shall not tremble and quake for feare at the terrible sownde of this voyce This voyce shall take from death all her spoiles and cause her to restore againe all that she hath taken awaye from the worlde And so S. Iohn saieth that then The Sea shall restore the dead bodies which it hath had Apoc. 20. And likewise both death and hell shall restore all those bodies that they haue Now what a wounderfull sight shall that be to see the Sea and the earthe to bringe forthe in all partes such varietie of bodies and to see so manie huge armies and so manie sortes and diuersities of nations and people assemble together There shall the Alexanders appeare There the Zerxes and Artaxerxes There the Dariies and the Emperours of Rome and the most mightie Kinges and puyssante Princes of the worlde with an other maner of habite and behauiour and with other kinde of thoughtes much differinge from those that they had in this lyfe To be shorte there shall all the children of Adam meete together euerie one to geue vp an accompte of his owne lyfe and to be iudged accordinge to his workes There shal be a greate difference at the daye of resurrection betweene the bodies of the iust ād the bodies of the wicked Howbeit althoughe all persons shall rise agayne at that daye neuer to die anie more yet shall there be a great differēce betwene bodies ād bodies For the bodies of the iust shal rise verie bewtifull and bright like the Sonne But the bodies of the wicked shall rise verie darke and filthie euen like vnto death it selfe Now what a great ioye shall it be then vnto the sowles of the iust to see their desire now fullie accomplished What a ioye shal it be to see thē selues after so longe a banishement to be vnited and ioyned euerlastingly in cēpanie with their most deare and louinge brethern With what ioye maye the sowle saie then vnto the bodie O my bodie Of the ioyefull meeting of the sowles and bodies of the iust at the daye of generall iudgemēte and faithfull companion that hast holpen me to gaine this crowne that hast so oftentimes fasted watched and suffered with me the painfull strookes and lashes of discipline the trauell of pouertie the crosse of penance and the contradictions and reproches of the worlde How often times hast thou spared the meate from thine owne belly to geue it to the poore How often hast thou lacked clothes thy selfe to clothe the naked How often hast thou renounced and lost thine owne right and title for that thou wouldest not breake peace and be at discention with thy neighbour Wherefore it is meete that thou shouldest now be partaker of this heauenly treasure seinge thou hast holpēme to gaine the same And it is meete that thou shouldest be my companion in this my glorie seinge thou hast bene my companion in all my paines and labours Thē shall these two faithfull friendes be ioyned together in one subiecte not as they were in this lyfe with contrarie appetites and desires but with a leage of perpetuall peace and conformitie So as they maie singe and saie for euer Beholde what a good and ioyefull thinge it is Psal 132. Of the sorowful and greeuous meetinge that shal be of the sowles and bodies of the damned persons at the daye of generall iudgemente for brethern to dwell together in one But contrariewise what a heauines and greife shall it then be to the sowle of the damned person when he shall see his bodie in an vglie forme as there it shal be geuen vnto him to wit blacke filthie stinckinge and horrible Then shal he saie O cursed bodie O beginninge and ende of my paines and sorowes O cause of my damnation Now art thou no more my companion but mine enemie Now art thou no more my helper but my persecutor Now art thou no more my habitation but the chaine and snare of my destruction O cursed tast How dearlie doe I paie now for thy delicacies and delightes O stinckinge fleashe that hast thus brought me to these painfull horrible tormentes by yeeldinge to thy lustes and pleasures What Alas is this the bodie for whose sake I cōmitted so manie sinnes Were these the delightes of this bodie that caused me vtterlye to cast awaie my selfe Was it for this stinckinge muckhill that I haue lost for euer the kingdome of heauen Was it for this vyle and filthie carkas that I haue lost for euer the glorie of lyfe euerlastinge O ye infernall furies rise vp now against me and teare and rent me in peeces for I haue well deserued these horrible tormentes Cursed be the daie of my vnfortunat birthe seinge my happe must be so miserable as to suffer euerlastinge tormentes in the most horrible pitt of hell for so short pleasures and delightes These and other more desperate wordes shall the dāned sowle speake vnto that bodie which she loued so exceedinglie in this trāsitorie worlde But tell me ô miserable sowle why doest thou now so much abhorre that thinge which heretofore thou louedst so well Is not this fleashe thy dearlie beloued Is not this the bellie which thou madest thy God Is not this the face which thou diddest kepe so warily frō the sonne and winde Is not this the visage which thou diddest paint with so manie artificiall coloures Are not these the armes and fingers which glistered with ringes of golde and dyamondes Is not this the bodie for whose sake searche was made both by lande and Sea to furnishe a table for it with all delicate and deintie disshes to haue a fyne and softe bedde to procure curious and costly garmentes Who hath now so altered thy affection Who hath made thy bodie to looke now so horrible and vglie which before seemed so faire and amiable Thou seest here now Christian brother what ende the glorie of the worlde hath with all the vayne pleasures and delightes of the bodie Of the comminge of the Iudge Of the matter of the iudgement And of the witnesses and accusors that shal be there against the wicked § IIII. NOW when all mankinde shal be raised againe and assembled together in one place expectinge the comminge of the Iudge Act. 10. then shall he whom almightie God hath appointed to be iudge ouer the quicke and the dead come downe Note here the two cōminges of Christe the firste was with greate humilitie and the secōde shal be with great maiestie and glorie And like as at his first comminge he came with verie great humilitie and meikenes inuitinge men vnto peace and callinge them vnto penance euen so at his seconde comminge he shall come with verie great maiestie and glorie accompanied with all the powers and principalities of heauen threateninge all those with the furie of his anger that refused to vse the meeknes of his mercie At
they take from me they geue vnto thee forsomuch as thou enclosest him within thee whom I haue had enclosed in my bowelles My verie bones woulde reioyce if they might see them selues laied vp there and certainly there shoulde my life be laied also My harte and my soule will I burie there for that maie I doe but as for my bodie burie thou it there also ô Lorde I beseeche thee for that I maie not doe without thee O death why arte thou so cruell as to seperate me from him in whose life my whole life consisteth Thou arte sometimes more cruel in pardoninge thā in killinge Suerly thou haddest shewed thy selfe verie pittiefull towardes me if thou haddest taken vs both together But now alas thou hast bene cruell in killinge the sonne but farre more cruell in sparinge the mother Such wordes as these woulde the blessed virgin speake priuelie in her harte and the like might those holie Maries that accōpanied her speake also All that were present wepte very tenderly with her Those holie Matrones wepte those noble Gentilmen wepte heauen and earthe wepte Yea all creatures accompanied the teares of the blessed virgin Marie The holie Euangelist also wepte verie lamentablie The lamētation of S. Iohn the Euangelist and embracinge the blessed bodie of his maister sayd O my good Lorde and maister who shall be my teacher from henceforthe To whom shall I resorte to be resolued in my dowtes Vpon whose brest shall I rest my selfe Who shall imparte to me the secretes of heauen O what a straenge chaunge and alteration is this The last eueninge thou sufferedst me to rest vpon thy holie brest and gauest me the Ioyes of life and now doe I recompence that great benefit with holdinge thee dead on my brest Is this the face which I sawe transfigured vpon the mownte Thabor Is this that figure wich was more cleare than the sonne at noone daie Lykewise that holie sinner Marie Magdalen wepte full bitterlie also The lamētation of S. Marie Magdalene and embracinge the feete of our Sauiour said O light of myne eies and redeemer of my soule if I shall see my selfe ouercharged with sinnes who shall receaue me Who shall cure my woundes Who shall answere for me Who shall defende me agaynste the Pharisees O how farre otherwise helde I these feete and washed them whē thou receauedst me lyinge prostrate at them O my sweete hart roote and most entierly beloued who coulde bringe to passe that I might now die with thee O life of my soule how can I saie that I loue thee seinge I see thee here dead before myne eies and yet doe remaine aliue After the like maner did all that holie companie weepe and lamente The buriall of our Sauiours bodie in the sepulchre wateringe and wasshinge his holie bodie with there teares Now when the hower of his buriall was come they wynde his holie bodie in a cleane lynnen clothe They bynde his face with a napkin And layinge his bodie vpon a beere doe carie it to the place of his buriall and there they laye in that most pretious treasure The sepulchre was couered with a stone and the harte of the blessed mother with a darke clowde of heauines and sorowe There is she once agayne bereued of her sonne There beginneth she a freshe to lamente her solitarines There she seeth her selfe dispossessed of all her treasure And there her harte remainethe buried where her treasure was left A DECLARATION WHY THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARIE AND all iust persones are afflicted in this present transitorie life with diuers aduersities and tribulations § III. O Heauenly father sith of thy infinit goodnes and mercie thou wouldest that thy blessed sonne shoulde thus suffer for our synnes why wouldest thou that this holie virgin his blessed mother shoulde suffer also who neither deserued death for the sinnes of others forsomuche as thy sonnes death suffised for thē neither yet for her owne seinge she neuer committed anie maner of synne in all her whole life How easelie might this her tribulation haue bene tempered if at that time she had bene forthe of the cittie of Ierusalem where if she had bene absent she shoulde not haue seene with her eies the cruell death of her onelie and dearlie beloued sonne neither haue so greatelie augmented her sorrowe and griefe with the sighte of the present obiecte and with beholdinge him sufferinge his so manifolde and cruell tormentes vpon the crosse O wonderfull dispensation and counsell of almightie God! Thy will was ô Lorde that the blessed virgin shoulde suffer not for the redemption of the worlde but because there is nothinge in the worlde more acceptable vnto thee than to suffer for the loue of thee Emonge all thinges created there is nothinge more pretious than in heauen the glorious loue of the blessed Sainctes Note that nothinge is more precious in earthe thā the loue of God tryed in iust persons with sufferinge affliction and tribulation for Gods sake and in earthe the troubled and afflicted loue of iust persons I meane than the loue of iust persons that is tried with aduersitie affliction and tribulation In the howse of almightie God there is no greater honor than to suffer for the loue of God Emonge all the good workes and seruices that our Sauiour did vnto thee in this worlde this was that which thou hast appoynted and accepted for the most cheefe and principal worke to be the meane of our reparatiō ād redēption This was the iewel and pretious stone that emonge all the riches of vertues which that riche marchant laide before thee liked thee best for the which thou gauest vnto him whatsoeuer he demaunded which was the redemption of the worlde Now then if this iewell be of so great valewe and estimation in the sighte of almightie God it were not meete that such a riche piece as this is shoulde be wantinge in our blessed Ladie who was of all perfect women the most perfecte and most acceptable in the sight of almightie God Moreouer The most manifest and perfect shewe and proufe of trewe vertue is to suffer tribulatiōs for the loue of God there is no worke in this worlde that maketh a more manifest and perfect◠shewe of true vertue than to suffer for the loue of God For the proufe and tryall of true loue is to haue true patience for the beloued And there is no triall and proufe so farre from all suspition as this is And like as almightie God him selfe did neuer discouer the greatnes of his loue vnto men so clearelie and perfectly thoughe his other benefittes which he bestowed vpon thē were verie great vntill he came to suffer for thē euen so shall they neuer discouer their loue towardes him fully and perfectly be there other seruices they doe vnto him neuer so manie and great vntill they come to suffer tribulations for his sake Rom. 5. Patience is the proufe of trewe vertue if it be exercised it sufferinge for
now first how vncertain that houre is Of the vncertaintie of the houer of our deathe in which death will assault thee For thou knowest not neither what daie nor in what place nor how thou shalt be disposed when death shall come vnto thee Onely this thou knowest for most certain that die thou shalt all the rest is vncertain sauinge that ordinarily this houre is wonte to steale vpon vs at such a time as a man is most careles and thinketh least of it Secondlye consider what a separation shall then be made Of the separation from all worldlie thinges and of the partinge of the sowle from the bodye at the hower of our deathe not onely betwene vs and all the thinges we loue in this worlde but also euen betwene the sowle and the bodie which haue bene such auncient and louinge companions If it be thought so grieuous a matter to be banished out of our natiue countrie and from the naturall aier in which a mā hath bene bredde and brought vp although the banished man myghte carie awaye with him what soeuer he loueth how much more grieuous then shall that vniuersall bannishement be from all thinges that we haue from our landes from our goodes from our howse from wife father mother children kinsfolke friendes and acquaintance from this light and common aier yea to be short from all thinges of this worlde If an oxe make so great a bellowinge at what time he is seperated from an other oxe with whom he hath bene vsed to be yoked and to drawe in the ploughe what a bellowinge will thy hart then make when death shall seperate thee from all those thinges wherewith thou hast bene yoked and carried the burthens of this lyfe Consider also what a grieuous paine it shal then be to a man Of the payne that is at the houre of our deathe to consider what shall then become of our bodie and sowle when a certayne representation shal be made vnto his mynde foreshewinge in what case his bodie and sowle shal be after his death For as towchinge the bodie he knoweth for certaine alreadie that though it hath bene heretofore neuersomuch cherished and honored yet there shall no better prouision be made for it but onelie a hoole seuen foote longe where it shall remayne in companie of other dead bodies But as concerninge the sowle he knoweth not certainlie what shall becomme of it what considerations maye moue vs at the houer of death both to hope and feare nor what lotte shall fall vnto it For although the hope which he hath in the mercie of almightie God maie strengthen and comforte him yet the consideration of his owne sinnes maie dismaie him and make him afraied especiallie if he consider withall the greate iustice of almightie God and the profoundnes of his iudgementes who vseth oftentimes to crosse his handes and to alter the lottes of men Luc. 23. The theiffe went vp from the crosse to paradise Math. 27. and Iudas fell downe from the honorable dignitie of Apostelshippe into hell fier Manasses also after his so manie abhominations 2. Paral. 33. and wickednes obteined grace to become repentant And as yet we knowe not whether Salomon obteined the like for all his vertues This is one of the greatest grieffes and angwishes that men are commonlie trowbled withall at the houre of death to vnderstande that there is to ensue glorie euerlastinge and paine euerlastinge and that then a man is so neare both vnto the one and to the other and yet knoweth not whether of these two lottes beinge so farre different as they are shall fall vnto his share Of the particular accounte we must make to almightie God at the houer of our deathe of all our whole lyfe Arsenius After this angwishe there followeth an other no lesse then this to witt the particular accompte of all our whole lyfe which at the verie hower of euerie mans deathe must be made vnto almightie God This accompt is so dreadfull that it causeth euen the most stowtest men that are to tremble and qwake for verie feare It is written of the famous holie father Arsenius that beinge at the point of death he beganne to be afraied whereat his schollers meruayled and saied vnto him What father are you now afraid of your accompt Vnto whom he answered yea yea my sonnes this feare is no newe thinge in me for I haue alwaies liued with the same At that time all the synnes of a mans former lyfe are represented vnto him lyke a squadrone of enemies readie sette in battayle arrye to assaulte him Then are the greatest sinnes and those wherein he hath taken greatest delight represented most liuely vnto him and are the cause of greater feare Then commeth the yonge virgine to his minde which he hath dishonored Then come the maides and howsholde seruantes whom he hath solicited and prouoked to lewdnes Then come the poore folkes whom he hath iniuried and euill entreated Then come his neighboures whom he hath offended Then shall there crie out against him not the bloode of Abell Genes 4. but the pretious blood of our Sauiour Iesus Christ which he shedde when he gaue scandale and offence to his neighbour And if his cause must be adiudged accordinge to the lawe that saieth Eie for eie Exod. 21. tooth for tooth and wounde for wounde what shall he looke for that by his euill counsell or lewde example hath bene the occasion of the losse of a Christian sowle if he be iudged by that lawe O how bitter shall the remembrance of the delightes and pleasures past be at that time vnto him which at other times seemed so sweete Vndowtedly the Wiseman had verie good cause to saie Prouerb 23. Looke not vpon the wine when it is redde and when it shewethe his coullour in the glasse for although at the time of drinkinge it seeme delectable yet at the ende it will byte like a serpent and poison like a cockatrice O that men woulde vnderstande how true a sayinge this is that we haue here rehearsed What serpentes stinge is there that doth so prycke and and vexe a man as the dreadfull remembrance of his pleasures past shall doe at the howre of his death These are the dregges of that poisoned cuppe of the enemye Ierem. 51. These be the leauinges of the cuppe of Babilon Apoc. 14. that seemeth so gaylie gilted in outwarde apparance After this there followeth the Sacrament of Confession the blessed Sacrament of the Aultar and last of all the Sacrament of extreme Vnction How the Catholicke Churche cōforteth ād helpeth the sycke person with Sacramētes and prayers at his departure our of this worlde which is the last succour and releefe that our mother the Catholike Churche maie helpe vs withall in that troublesome time And as well herein as in the other thinges thou hast to consider what great greiffe and anguishe of mynde the sycke person shall then abide in
suerlie not without good cause when he saide Iob. 14. The tree after it is cut hath hope to reuiue and springe againe and if the roote of it doe rott in the grownde and the stocke be dead in the earth yet with the freshenes of water it springeth againe and bringeth forth leaues as if it were newlie planted But man after he is once dead withered and consumed what is become of him Great vndowtedlie was the tribute that was laide vpon the children of Adam for sinne And the euerlastinge Iudge vnderstode verie well what penance he gaue vnto man when he saide Thou art dust Genes 4. and into dust thou shalt retourne againe Of the great feare and dowte the sowle hath at the hower of deathe what shall happen vnto it after it is departed out of the bodie § III. HOWBEIT this is not the greatest cause of feare that a man hath at the hower of his death but there is yet one farre greater and that is when the sowle casteth her eies further and beginneth to thinke vpon the daungers of the life to come and imagineth what shall become of her hereafter For this is now as it were to depart from the hauen mowth and to launche into the mayne Sea where none other thinge is to be seene on what side so euer ye looke but onely heauen and the water the which is woūte to be occasion of greater feare in such as are but newe Seamen For when a man considereth that eternitie of worldes which followeth after death and withall casteth his eie into that newe ād straunge region which was neuer knowen nor traueyled by anie man aliue where he must now beginne to take his iourney when he considereth also the euerlastinge glorie or paine which there must fall to his lotte and seeth that wheresoeuer the tree falleth Eccles 11. there it shall remaine for euermore and knoweth not on which of the two sides he shal falle whē he considereth I saie all these thinges he cannot but be in a verie great feare and trouble of minde We reade that when Benadad kinge of Siria was sicke 4 Reg. 8. he was in so great anguishe and greife of minde for that he knewe not whether he should die of that sicknes or not that he sent the generall of his armie with fowertie Camels loden with treasure vnto the Prophet Elizeus requestinge him with wordes of great humilitie to rid him out of that perplexitie he was in and to put him out of all dowt whether he shoulde recouer of that sicknes or not Now if the loue of so short a lyfe as this is be able to cause a man to be in such a greate care and pensiuenes how great care will a Wiseman take when he perceiueth him selfe to be in such a case as that he maie trulie saie that within two howres he shall haue one of these two lottes to witt either lyfe euerlastinge or death euerlastinge and that he knoweth not certainlie whether of theise two shall come vnto him What martirdome maie be compared to such a painfull angwishe and greife as this is Put the case now that a kinge were taken prisoner emonge the Turckes and when his Embassadours shoulde come to raunsome him the Turckes woulde propounde that the matter shoulde be determined by castinge of lottes and that if he happened to haue a good lotte he shoulde be raunsomed and goe home with his Embassadours to his kingdome but if contrariewise that thē immediatly he should be throwē into a great fyerie furnace which were there prepared burninge and flaminge before him Tell me I praie thee at the time when they shoulde be castinge the lottes and puttinge their hande into the vessell to take them out and all the worlde in great expectation waitinge what shoulde be the ende thereof and the kinge him selfe standinge there present beholdinge the doutfull happe that must be alotted vnto him in what a dolefull case thinkest thou woulde he then be How troubled How fearfull How quakinge and tremblinge And how readie to promise and vowe vnto almightie God all he cowlde possiblye doe to be quite ridde out of that terrible angwishe Now what is all this be it neuer so great but as it were a shadowe if it be compared with this daunger that we speake of How farre greater is the kingdome that we seike How farre greater is the fierye furnace that we doe feare How farre more greiuouse is the perplexitie ād doutefulnes of this matter thā of the other For on the one side the angels shal be there expectinge for vs to carrie vs to the kingedome of heauen and on th' other side the deuills to cast vs into the horrible furnace of hell fier and no man knoweth whether of these two lottes shall happen vnto him which shal be determined eyther the one waye or the other within the space of one houre after his death Consider therefore in what a heauie plight thy harte shal be at this last instant how fearfull how humble how abased before the face of him who onelie cā deliuer thee out of this daunger Suerlie I am of this opinion that there is no tonge in the worlde able to declare this matter as it is indeede How we come to vnderstande hereby the errours and blindnes of our lyfe past § IIII. AFTER this anguishe there followeth yet an other as great as it namelye in such persons as haue liued a wicked and dissolute lyfe which is to come so late to thinke vpō the accōpt they haue then forthwith to make of all the disorders and offences of their former lyfe At the houer of deythe it is a great greife to a sicke man if he haue liued licentiouslie that he thinketh so late vpō his accompte O how wōderfullie shall the wicked be confounded at that time when the griefe of their paine shall cause them to open their eies which heretofore the delight and pleasure of sinne had closed vp insomuch as they shall then clearlie perceiue what false goddes those were which they haue serued and how deceitfull those riches were which they haue so greidelie gaped after and how by followinge that waie whereby they thought to haue fownde rest they finde in conclusion their vtter ruin and destruction The seruantes of the kinge of Siria came to apprehende the Prophet Heliseus and when almightie God had stricken them all blinde by meanes of the praier of the Prophet the Prophet said vnto them Come goe with me and I will shewe you him whom you seeke 4. Reg. 6. And when he had thus said he caried them with him vnto Samaria and brought them into the market place of the cittie in the middes of al their enemies And then made his praier againe and saide O Lorde open the eies of these miserable men that they maie see where they are Now tell me I praie thee when those men opened their eies and sawe whither they were come beleuinge certainlie before that
sowle in a merueilous great conflict and agonie not so much for her departure as for feare of the howere of her dreadfull accompt approchinge so neare vnto her Then is the time of tremblinge and quakinge yea euen of such as be most stowte and couragious The blessed holie father Hilarion S. HilarioÌ„ as he was passinge out of this worlde beganne to tremble and feare and was lothe to die howbeit the holie man encouraged himselfe sayienge Goe forth my sowle goe foorth out of this bodie whereof shouldest thou be afraid It is threescore and tenne yeares that thou hast serued Christ and art thou yet afraide of death Now if this holie man were afraid of his passing out of this worlde who serued Christ so manie yeares what shall he doe who peraduenture hath offended him so manie yeares Whither shall he goe Whom shall he call vpon What counsell shall he take O that men vnderstode how great this perplexitie and anguishe is at this dreadfull howre Imagin now I beseach thee in what a dolefull case the harte of the Patriarke Isacke was Genes 22. when his father held him bounde handes and feete and had laide him vpon the woode to sacrifice him when he sawe his fathers glisteringe sworde ouer his heade and vnderneth him the flames of fiere burninge and the seruantes that might haue succoured him stayinge at the foote of the hill and he himselfe bownde handes and feete in such sort that he cowlde neither flie nor defende himselfe in what plight trowe yee was the harte of this blessed younge man when he sawe himselfe in so narrowe a strayte In what greate perplexitie the sowle of the wicked man is at the hower of deathe And surelie in farre greater perplexitie is the sowle of the wicked man at this dreadfull hower because he can tourne his eies on no syde where he shall not see occasions of great terrour and feare If he looke vpwarde he seeth the terrible sworde of the iustice of almightie God threateninge him If he looke downwarde he seeth the graue opeÌ„ euer gapinge and tarienge for him If he looke within himselfe he seeth his owne conscience gnawinge and bytinge him If he looke about him there be Angels and deuils on both sides of him watchinge and expectinge the ende of the sentence whether of them shall haue the praie If he looke backwarde he seeth his dolefull wyfe his littell younge children his poore seruantes his kinsfolke his freindes his companions his acquaintance his howse his landes and the goodes of this lyfe to remaine all behinde and are not able to succoure him in this his great distresse forsomuch as he must depart all alone out of this lyfe and they all must remaine still here To conclude if after all this he take a vewe of him selfe and consider what he is inwardelie he shal be wonderfully amased and afraide to see himselfe in such a daungerous and terrible state insomuch as if it were possible he woulde flie awaie euen from himselfe Nowe alas to depart from the bodie is a thinge intollerable To continewe still therein is a thinge impossible And to differre his departure anie longer will not be graunted All the time past seemeth vnto him but as a blast of wynde and that which is to come appeareth as it is in deede infinite Now what shall the miserable sowle doe beinge thus compassed and enuironed about with so manie straites O how fonde and blynde are the sonnes of Adam that wil not prouide in time for this terrible passage HOW FILTHIE AND LOTH-some the bodie is after it is dead And of the burâ—inge of it in the graue Eccle. 3â— 23 Eccle. â—â— â—◠§ VII LAST of all when this great conflict is ended the sowle is violently taken awaie from the bodie and departeth from her auncient habitation the bodie remayninge vtterly spoyled of all the beawtie and qualities it had Now let vs consider what lotte each one of theise two partes must haue First consider in what case the bodie is In what case the bodie is after the sowle is departed out of it after the sowle is departed out of it What thinge is more esteimed than the bodie of a prince whiles he is a liue And what thinge is more contemptible and more vyle than the verie same bodie when it is dead Where is then that former pryncely maiestie become Where is that royall behauiour and glorious magnificence Where is that highe authoritie and soueraintie Where is that terrour and feare at the beholdinge of his presence Where is that cappinge and kneelinge and speakinge vnto him with such reuerence and subiection How quicklie is all this gaye pompe vtterly ouerthrowen and come to nothinge as if it had bene but a mere dreame or a plaie on a stage that is dispatched in an howre Then out of hande the wyndinge sheet â—s prouided and brought forth The richest man in this worlde shall haue no more with him of all his gooddes at the hower of his deathe but onelie a wyndinge sheete Psal 48.17.18 which is the â—ichest iewell he maie take with him out of this lyfe And this is the greatest recompence that the richest man in this worlde shall haue of all his goodes at that hower I wâ—she this pointe were well considered by eâ—erie couetous man and by those that make their money their God whose blindnes and follie the Prophet reprehendeth in theise wordes Be not afraide when a man waxeth riche and when thou seest the glorie of his howse verie much multiplied and increased for when he dieth he shall not carie his goodes awaye with him neither shall his glorie goe downe with him Of the buriall of the bodye Then doe they make a hole in the earthe of seuen or eight foote longe and no longer though it be for Alexander the great whom the whole worlde coulde not holde and with that smalle rowme onelie must his bodie be contence There they appoint him his howse for euer There he taketh vp his perpetuall lodginge vntill the last daye of generall Iudgment in companie with other dead bodies There the wormes crawle out to geue him his interteinment To be short there they let him downe in a poore white sheete his face beinge couered with a napkin and his handes and feete fast bownde which trewlie needeth not for he is then suer enough for breakinge out of prison neither shall he be able to defende himselfe against anie man There the earthe reâ—eyueth him into her lappe There the bones of dead men kisse and welcome him There the dust of his auncesters embraceth him and inuiâ—e him to that table and howse which is appointed for all men liuinge And the last honour that the worlde can doe vnto him at that time is to cast a litle earth vpon him and to couer him well therewith that the people maie not feele his stinckinge sauour aÌ„d beholde his dishonour And the greatest pleasure that his verie deare and
spetiall friendes can doe then vnto him besides prayinge for his sowle is to honour him with castinge a handfull of earthe vpon him And therefore the faithfull people are wont to vse this ceremonie towardes the dead that almightie God maye dispose others to doe the same vnto them whē they shal be in the like case Now what greater confession and acknowledginge of our miserie can we diuise than to see how men doe preuent before hande that they may not want after their death so smalle a benefite as this is O greidie couetousenes of the lyuinge and great pouertie of the dead Why shoulde a man desire and gape after so manie thinges for this presente lyfe beinge so shorte as it is seinge so litle will content him at the howre of his death Then the graue maker taketh the spade and pykeaxe into his hande and beginneth to tumble downe bones vpon bones and to tread downe the earth verie harde vpon him Insomuch that the fairest face in all the worlde the best trimmed and most charily kepte from wynde and sonne shall lye there and be stamped vpon by the rude graue maker who will not sticke to laie him on the face and rappe him on the sculle yea and to batter downe his eies and nose flatte to his face that they maie lye well and euen with the earth And the fyne dapperde gentleman who whiles he liued might in no wise abide the wynde to blowe vpon him no nor so much as a litle heare or moore to falle vpon his garmentes but in all hast it must be brusshed of with great curiositie here they laie and hurle vpon him a donghill of filthines and dirte And that sweete mynion gentleman also that was wont forsooth to goe perfumed with Amber and other odoriferous smelles must be contented here to lye couered all ouer with earthe and fowle crawlinge wormes and maggottes This is the ende of all the gaie braueries and of all the pompe and glorie of the worlde In this plight doe all his freindes nowe leaue him lyenge in that strait lodginge in that earthe of obliuion and in that darcke prison where he shall remaine accompanied with perpetuall solitarines vntill the generall daye of Iudgment O worlde what is become of thy glorie O yee my howses landes and riches where is your power O my wyfe my children my freindes and kinsfolke where haue ye now left me How happeneth it that yee my olde freindes and companions doe so quickly forsake me and leaue me here in the earthe thus solitarie alone How chaunceth it that the wheele of my so great prosperitie and felicitie is so quickly ouerturned and defaced They that sawe Quene Iezabell when she was by the iust iudgement of God eaten with dogges 4. Reg. 9. when they sawe that there remained nothinge els of her bewtie but onelie her sculle and the extreme partes of her feete and handes those I saie that had knowen her before in so greate flourishinge and royall estate and sawe her at that time in such a miserable plight wonderinge at that so great alteration and chaunge demaunded and saied Haeccine est illa Iezabel Is this that Iezabell 4. Reg. 9.37 And as manie as passed by that waie and behelde her thus eaten with dogges repeted the same exclamation merueylinge at so great a chaunge and saied Is this that Iezabell Is this that great Quene and Ladie of Israëll Is this she that was so mightie that she vsurped and seased the landes and goodes of her subiectes by sheedinge of their bloude Is death able to bringe the mightie and puissaunte Princes to such a base and miserable calamitie Now therefore my deare brother goe downe I praie thee with thy spirit into the graues and Sepulchers of such Princes and great noble personages as thou hast either harde of or knowen in this worlde and consider what a horrible and deformed forme of their bodies is there to be seene And thou shalt see that thou hast good cause to make the like exclamation and to vse the same wordes and saie Is this that Iezabell Is this that amiable face which I knewe so faire and liuelie Are these those eies that were so cleare and brighte to beholde Is this that pleasaunt rowlinge tongue that talked so eloquently and made such goodlie discourses Is this that fyne and neyte bodie that was so trimlie pollished and adorned Is this the ende of the maiestie of Princes scepters and roiall crownes Is this the ende of the glorie of the worlde O how often times saieth a Wise man hath it bene my chaunce to enter into the sepulchres of some dead bodies where wonderinge or rather beinge greatlie astonied at the sight that I sawe I fixed mine eies aduisedlie vpon the shape of the dead corps I sette the bones in order I ioyned the handes together and sette the lippes in their proper places and spake thus secretlie to my selfe Beholde these feete that haue trauayled such crooked pathes and waies These handes also that haue committed so manie wicked actes These eies that haue behelde so manie vanities This mouth that hath eaten and deuoured so manie delicate and superfluous meates Beholde this sculle of his head that hath built so manie vaine castels and towers in the aier This dust and filthie skinne for whose pleasure and delight he hath committed so many sinnes and wickednes and for which cause the sowle of this bodie doth and shall perhappes suffer euerlastinge horrible tormentes in hell fier This done I departed out of that place wholy astonied and amased and meitinge with certain persons both men and women yonge and olde I behelde them likewise and considered that both they and I shoulde shortelie appeare in the like vglie forme and sieme as vyle and lothsome to beholde as those dead bodies are now presentelie Wherefore what a fonde wicked wretche am I to liue in suche wise as I doe To what ende is my purchasinge ād heapinge together of lādes and riches ād my buildinge of such sumptuous howses seinge I shall shortly be here so poore and naked To what ende are my gaie braueries and gorgious ornamentes in my apparell and furniture of howsholde stuffe seinge I shall shortly be here so filthie and lothsome to beholde To what ende are my delicate disshes my sugered sawces and deyntie fare seinge I shall shortly be here meate for the wormes and maggottes of the earthe Of the waie that the sowle taketh after it is departed out of the bodie And of the dreadfull iudgment and sentence that shal be geuen vpon it at that time § VIII Note that there be two iudgemētes one is at the hower of euerie mās deathe which is called the particular iudgemente And the other is at doomesdaye which shal be the vniuersall iudgmente of all mankinde together S. Bernarde LET vs now leaue the bodie lyinge thus buried in the graue and let vs see what waie the sowle taketh throughe that newe worlde which is
as it were an other hemespherie where it findeth a new heauen a newe earthe an other kinde of lyfe and an other maner of vnderstandinge and knowledge The sowle then after it is departed out of the bodie entereth into this newe region where those that by liuinge neuer entered a place full of feare and terrour and of shadowes of death But now what shall this new straunger doe in this so straunge a countrey vnlesse it be so that he hath deserued in this lyfe to haue the garde and defence of Angells for this time O my sowle saieth S. Bernarde what a terrible daie shal that be when thou shalt enter all alone into that vnknowen region where those hellishe monsters that are so horrible and vglie to beholde shall encounter and assault thee in the waie Who will then take thy part Who will then defende thee Who will then deliuer thee from those rampinge lions which beinge raginge madde for honger do lie there in waite to deuour thee At the hower of deathe the sowle müst rendre a particular accompte vnto almightie God of all thinges aÌ„d then it shal be iudged what shall become of her for euermore and this is termed her particular iudgemeÌ„t Math. 12.36 1. Peter 4.18 Vndoubtedlie this is a verie fearfull waie but the iudgment that shall then so solemnlie be geuen is farre more terrible Who is able to declare how strait the decision of this particular iudgement shal be How righteous the iudge How busie and solicitous the deuills our accusers How fewe intercessors on our syde What a particuler examination shal be made of euerie point of our accompte And what a longe proces shal be drawen of all our whole lyfe And as our Sauiour affirmeth we must then render an accompte of euerie idell worde Wherefore if the iust man as S. Peter saieth shal hardly be saued where shall the sinner and wicked man shewe them selues It is a thinge trulie verie worthie to be noted that whereas a man woulde thinke that those thinges that we haue most loued and for which we haue taken most paines shoulde most helpe vs in this greate distres it falleth out quite contrarie For they shall not onely not helpe vs but also be an occasion at that tyme of more paine and griefe vnto vs. 2. Reg. 14. 2. Reg. 18. The thinge that AbsoloÌ„ loued aÌ„d esteemed aboue all thinges was his goodlie heare of his head And that verie heare almightie God ordeined by his iust iudgement to be the cause of his death The thinges that we loue most in this lyfe shall make our accompte more dowtefull and be greater greife vnto vs at the hower of our deathe Now the verie same iudgement is prepared for all wicked persons at that howre that those thinges that euerie man most loued in this lyfe and for which he committed most haynous offences against almightie God the verie same thinges shall make his accompt more doutfull and be occasion of greater torment vnto him There shall our children whom we sought to enriche not passinge whether it were by right or wronge accuse vs. There shall the nawghtie harlotte for whose wanton loue we haue broken the lawes and commaundementes of almightie God pleade against vs. There shall our landes our goodes our offices our dignities our pleasures and delightes which were our idolles be our hangmen and tormente vs most cruellie There shall almightie God geue iudgement vpon all the gods of Egipt ordeyninge the matter in such sorte that those verie thinges wherein we haue put all our glorie shall at that tyme be the cause of our ruine Now if the seueritie of the dreadfull sentence of almightie God be answerable to our sinnes who shal be able to abyde it One of those auncient holie fathers that liued in the wildernes was wont to saie that of thre thinges he liued continually in greate feare The first was when his sowle shoulde departe out of his bodie The seconde when it shoulde be presented before the iudgment seat of almightie God The thirde when the sentence of his cause should be geuen and pronounced But now which is most terrible of all what if almightie God shall geue this most terrible sentence ageinst thee that thou shalt be damned for euer and euer to the horrible tormentes of hell fier there to continewe infinite millions of yeares and worlde without ende In what a terrible strait shalt thou then be What sorowe What greife What anguishe shalt thou then feele Againe what ioye and triumphes will the deuills thyne enemies make at that tyme Then shall that sentence of the Prophet be fulfilled sayeinge Ierem. Lam. 2. vers 16. All thine enemies shall open their mouthes vpon thee they shall laughe thee to scorne and gnashe their teath at thee and saie we will deuour him this is the daie we haue so longe loked for we haue found him we haue espied him But thou ô sweite Iesus Psalm 12. Illuminat the eies of my sowle I beseeche thee that I steipe not in death that myne enemie maie neuer saie I haue preuailed against him Amen THVRSDAIE NIGHTE OF THE GENERALL DAYE OF IVDGEMENT Oâ—â—â—â— nor â—â—â—festari Oportâ—t aâ—â—e Tribunal Christi est Refâ—â—â—â—Vnusquâ—â—◠〈◊〉 Coâ—â—â—â—◠〈◊〉 gâ—ffâ—t finiâ—â—â— sinâ— inâ—â—â— sciâ—utes ingo timoteâ—â— domini hominibâ—s sundâ—â—â— 2. Corinth 5.10 Si Justiâ— vix saluabitur impius et peccâ—â—â—Vâ—â— pâ—rrâ—â—â— 1. petr 4. â—â— THIS DAIE WHEN THOV HAST MADE THE SIGNE OF the Crosse and prepared thy selfe hereunto thou hast to meditate vpon the daie of the generall iudgement that by meanes of this consideration those two principall effectes maye be stirred vp in thy sowle which euerie faithfull Christian ought to haue to wit the feare of God and the abhorringe of sinne CONSIDER first what a terrible daie that shal be Of the dreadfulnes and terrour of the generall iudgemente in which the causes of all the children of Adam shal be througlie examyned the proces of all our liues diligently perused and a generall definitiue sentence geuen what shall become of vs all for euermore That daie shall comprise in it all the daies of all the ages and times both present past and to come For vpon that daie the worlde shall reÌ„dre an accompte of all these times And then shall almightie God power out the anger and indignation which he hath gathered together in all ages How violentlie shall the maine floude of gods wrathe and indignation breake out at that daie which conteineth in it so manie floudes of anger and wrathe as there haue bene sinnes committed since the beginninge of the worlde vntill that daie And therefore the Prophet had good cause to saie That daie shal be a daie of anger Soph. 1.15 a daie of calamitie and miserie a daie of obscuritie and darckenes a daie of cloudes and tempestious stormes a daie of the trompette and alarom against the stronge cities and against the highe towers Of the dreadfull signes that shall goe
heauines of minde thy deere sonne crucified on the crosse to the ende that like as Eue by beholdinge with delite that fruite and tree of deathe was the occasion of the perdition of the worlde euen so thou ô blessed Ladie by beholdinge with greate griefe and sorrowe the fruite of life which then was hanginge vpon that tree of the Crosse mightest with thy presence and eies there see the remedie and redemption of the worlde AN OTHER MEDITATION OF THE DOCTRINE THAT MAIE be learned at the foote of the Crosse § IIII. THE holie Euangelist saieth Ioan. 19. that there stoode hard by the Crosse Marie the mother of Iesus and his mothers sister Marie the wife of Cleophas and Marie Magdalene O that I were so happie that I mighte stande in the companie of these three blessed Maries alwaies at the foote of the Crosse O yee blessed Maries who hath caused you to stande so constantly at the foote of the crosse What cheyne is this that thus holdethe you so fast lincked vnto this holie tree O sweete Christe which beinge deade doest mortifie the liuinge and geuest life to the deade O yee Angells of paradise be not offended with me thowghe I a sinner and a very wicked person be so bolde to come and ioyne with this holie companie because the loue I beare to my sweete sauiour draweth me vnto them and the verie same loue enforceth me to embrace this crosse If theise three Maries will not departe from the crosse How can I departe from thence knowinge that all my wealle and saluation consisteth in the same Assuredly the fyer shall first waxe colde and the water shall naturally become hoate before my harte shall departe from this crosse sythence I vnderstande what a lesson the loue of God teacheth me to wit How happie a thinge it is to stande alwaies at the foote of the crosse O holie crosse thou drawest the hartes of men vnto thee more stronglie than the Adamante stone draweth iron Thou geauest a more cleare lighte to our vnderstandinge thā the sonne doth to our eies Thou enkēdelest a more feruent heate in our soules than fyer doth in the verie cooles Drawe me therefore O holie crosse vnto thee with great force and might Illuminate me continuallie and enflame me with thy mightie power that my thoughte and mynde maie thinke vpon none other thinge but onely vpon thee and maye neuer departe from thee And thou ô good Iesus illuminate the eies of my soule that I maye vnderstande how to looke and fixe mine eies and thoughtes vpon the crosse to the ende that I maye not onelie beholde the cruell paynes and tormentes thou hast suffered for me and so by beholdinge them take compassion of them But also consider the examples of so manie wonderfull vertues as thereby thou hast discouered vnto me and inuited me to imitate and followe the same Wherefore O most wise maister and instructor of the worlde O phisition of soules Here I come to the foote of thy crosse to present vnto thee my soores and woundes Heale me ô my most mercifull and omnipotent Lorde and teache me what I ought to doe we may learne to ouercome our sensualitie and selfe loue by beholdinge our Sauiour Christe vpon the crosse I doe confesse and acknowledge playnelie vnto thee ô Lorde that I am verie sensuall and geuen ouermuche to the loue of my selfe and I see well that this greatlie hinderethe my profitinge and proceadinge in vertue and godlines Manie tymes for my recreation and pastimes sake or for feare of the paine of fastinge and risinge vp early in the morninge I passe ouer and doe leese the godly and diuout exercises of praier and meditation with other holie spirituall exercises by the losse whereof I leese my selfe also This sensualitie of mine is verie importune vpon me It woulde faine eate and drinke verie finelie and delicately at such howers and times as it liketh and after dinner and supper it woulde gladlie haue some idle talke or els some pastyme and recreation It delighteth at such tymes to be walkinge in a faire greene garden or orcharde and there to take some sollace and pleasure Teache me now ô my most louinge Sauiour and redeemer what I ought to doe whereby to followe thy example and helpe me with thy grace that I maie performe my dewtie in this pointe O what a greate shame is it vnto me to see after what sorte thou diddest handel thy blessed bodie which was more tender and delicate than all other bodies In the middest of the most bitter angwishes and grieuous tormentes of thy death thou diddest not geue vnto thy bodie anie other foode or electuarie but such as those cruell apoticaries had compounded of bitter gaule and sower vineger for thee Who then will from henceforthe haue anie tongue to complaine that the meate set before him is either to colde or to salte or to freashe or not well dressed or that it was ouer late or to tymelie made readie consideringe what a table was here prepared for thee ô my almightie God and that in the tyme of so great necessitie In steede of the mirthe and pleasante talke and entertaynmente which I seeke to haue at my suppers and feastes thou haddest none other but onely outcries and clamorous noices of them which shakinge theire heades at thee scorned and blasphemed thee sayenge Matth. 27. Fye on thee that destroiest the temple of God and in three daies buildest it vp againe This was the musicke and mynstrelsie of thy bankette and thy walkinge in a garden was to be fast nailed handes and feete to the crosse And albeit there was an other garden into which thou wentest after thou haddest ended thy supper yet was it not to walke in for pleasure but to praie not to take the aier but to shéide bloude not to recreat thy selfe but to be pensiue and sad and in a greate agonie of deathe Now what shall I saye of the other ease and refresshinges which thy blessed fleshe had My fleashe would gladlie haue a softe bedde curious and costly apparell and a large and wyde howse Tell me now ô my sweete Sauiour what maner of bedde hast thou What maner of howse hast thou And what is thy apparell Thy apparell is nakednes and a purple coate of mockerie and reproche Thy howse is none other but to stande openly abrode in the sonne and aier And if I seeke for anie other I fynde it to be nothinge els but onely a stable for beastes The foxes haue theire holes Math. 8. and the birdes of the aier theire neistes and thou that art the creator of all thinges hast no place where to rest thy head O curiositie and superfluitie How are ye two crepte in and so vsuallie and vniuersallie receaued in this our corrupte age throwghout all the countreys and nations of Christendome A notalbe admonitiō against the vyces of deyntienes and superfluitie O what maner of Christians be we that doe not vtterlie abandon
discources and preachinge of the gospell Now shall I no more wype of the sweate from thy face which was so oftentymes sonneburned and tyred with painfull trauels and Iourneis Now shall I see thee no more sittinge and eatinge at my table and ministringe foode to my soule with thy diuine presence Now Alas this glorie is finished this daye is this ioye ended and my solitarines beginneth presently O My deare sonne why speakest thou not vnto me O tonge of heauen that hast comforted so manie with thy wordes and geuen speache and life to so manie persons who hath put thee to such a great silence that thou speakest not to thy louinge mother How is it that thou hast not at the least left me some legacie wherewithall I might comfort my selfe Well I will take it by thy licence This Royall crowne shal be my legacie Of these nayles and of this speare will I be thy heyre These so pretious Iewells will I kepe alwaies in my harte There shall thy nailes be knocked in There shall thy crowne thy scourges and thy crosse be kepte and preserued This is the inheritance which I haue chosen to enioye all the daies of my life O how litle while doe the ioyes of the earthe endure And how soore doth that greife smarte which commethe after muche prosperitie O Bethelem ô Ierusalem how farre doe these daies differ from those which I haue had in you What a cleare night was that and what an obscure daie is this What a great ioye and riches and I then and what a greate greife and penurie haue I now The losse of so great a treasure can not be litle O blessed Angell where are now those great praises of thy olde salutation It was not in vayne that I was in such a great trouble and feare at that tyme. For after great praises there must needes followe either some great faulle or some greate crosse and tribulation Our Lorde will not haue his giftes to be in vaine Idle and without exercise He neuer geueth honor without charge nor superioritie without seruitude nor great abondance of grace but to make vs able to suffer great trouble and persecution Then thou diddest calle me Full of grace Luc. 1. and now am I full of sorrowe Then thou diddest calle me Blessed emonge all women and now am I the most afflicted of all women Then thou diddest saie our Lorde is with thee now he is also with me howbeit not aliue but dead as I now holde him here in myne armes O my sweete redeemer and sauiour was it anie offence in me to holde thee in my armes with so great ioye when thou wast but newely borne that I shoulde now come to holde thee in them so soore tormented Was it anie faulte in me to take so great pleasure in geuinge thee the sweete milke of my brestes that now thou shouldest geue me to drinke of such a bitter cuppe Was it anie fault in me to beholde my selfe in thy face as in a bright glasse that thou hast thus ordeined that I shoulde now see thee thus cruellie rente and tormented Was it anie offence in me to loue thee so entierly that thou shouldest now cause my loue to become my tormentor And that I shoulde now suffer so much the greater greife be how much I loued thee more entierlie O heauenly father ô louer of men which art mercifull towardes them and rigorous towardes thyne onelie and deerlie beloued sonne Thou knowest how great the waues and tempesteous sourges are which lye beatinge at this presente against my dolefull harte Thou knowest that this harte of myne hath abidden so manie deathes as there haue bene whippes and strookes geauen vnto this holie bodie of thy sweete sonne Howbeit althoughe I be the most afflicted of all creatures yet doe I geue thee infinite thankes for this greate sorrowe and greife that I sustaine It is a sufficient comfort vnto me to vnderstande that it is thy blessed will that it shoulde so be Anie thinge that commeth from thy handes I must needes take in good worth thoughe it were a sharpe knyfe and woulde thrust it euen into my bowells I geue thee most humble and hartie thankes both for my prosperitie and aduersitie and as well and euen in as equall wise for the one as for the other And for the vse and commoditie of thy benefittes which I haue hitherto enioyed I blesse thee And I am nothinge discontented that thou doest now take them awaye from me I mislyke not of that but I doe rather restore to thee the thinge againe that was committed to my custodie and doe yeelde vnto thee most humble and hartie thankes Both for the one and the other the angelles blesse thee and with them my teares also blesse thee for euermore Howbeit I beseach thee ô my most louinge and mercifull father if it maye stande with thy blessed will and pleasure that the martirdome which I haue alreadie suffered for these thirtie and three yeares maie content thee Luc. 2. Thou knowest ô Lorde that from the daie that holie Simeon signefied this martirdome vnto me all my pleasures haue bene mingled with bitter gaule And from that tyme hitherto I haue had that sorrowfull daie euer lyenge ouerth-warte my heauye harte In the middest of my Ioyes I haue bene alwaies assaulted with the remembrance of this dolorous sorrowe and I neuer had anie Ioye so pure but that it was myngled with the terrible sorrowes and feares of this daie I knowe well that all this was directed by thy diuine prouidence and that it was thy blessed will that from that tyme I shoulde haue knowledge of this misterie to the ende that as the sonne caried the crosse euermore before his eies euen from the verie daie of his conception so shoulde his mother carie it also Our Lorde will haue them that be his seruātes euer to suffer and be afflicted in this life For thy will and pleasure is that those that be thyne shoulde alwaies suffer and be afflicted in this transitorie life And thou wilt not that our ioyes shoulde be great or perpetuall in this vale of teares though they be such as we take in thee Wherefore ô my kinge vouchsaffe now I beseach thee if it maie so stande with thy blessed will that this maie be the verie last of my martirdomes if not thy holie will be fulfilled both in this and in all other thinges If thou thinke one martirdome be to litle for a poore seelie woman thou knowest verie well ô Lorde that I haue bene so oftentimes a Martir as there haue bene woundes and strookes geuen to the most blessed bodie of my sauiour His martirdomes are now al ended but myne in beholdinge him thus cruellie tormented doe beginne a freshe Commaunde deathe to retourne againe to take the spoyle which he hath left behinde him and let him carie the mother also with the sonne to the graue O happie sepulchre that succiedest me in myne office The crowne that
floudes commaunde the florishinge springe to retourne againe At this tyme of the resurrection of our Sauiour the holie virgin had withdrawen her selfe into her oratorie expectinge there the comminge of this newe lighte She cried inwardly in her harte and called like a pittiefull liones the therde daie vnto her dead sonne Psalm 56. sayenge Arise vp my glorie arise my harpe and my vyole Retourne ô triumphant conqueror vnto the worlde Gather together ô good pastor thy dispersed flocke Geue eare ô my deare sonne vnto the clamours of thy heauie aÌ„d afflicted mother And seinge by these clamours thou wast moued to descende downe from heauen into the earthe let the same moue the now also to ascende vp againe from hell into the worlde In the middest of these clamours and cries of the blessed virgin beholde that poore cotage of hers was sodainly brightened all ouer with a heauenly lighte and her sonne being now gloriouslie rysen againe from deathe to lyfe presenteth him selfe to the sight of his holie mother The morninge sterre appeareth not so beautifull the brighte sonne at noone daie shineth not so cleare as did that face full of all graces and that vnspotted glasse of diuine glorie in the eies of his holie mother She beholdeth the bodie of her sweete sonne rysen vp agayne from death and glorified all the disfigures of the former deformitie beinge cleane wyped awaie the comely grace of those diuine eies retourned and his former beautie was restored againe and increased She also beholdeth those gappes of his woundes which as they were before verie swoordes of sorrowe to her heauie and tender harte so are they now become fountaines of loue Whom she sawe before to suffer betwene two thieues she seeth now accompanied with Sainctes and Angells Whom she sawe before to commende her from the crosse vnto his disciple she seeth now stretchinge forthe his louinge armes and geuinge vnto her the sweete kisse of peace Whom she helde before dead in her armes she seeth now rysen vp againe before her eies The blessed mother now holdethe him and will not leaue him she embracethe him she desireth and prayeth him most instantly not to departe awaie from her Heretofore she was made speecheles for sorrowe and knewe not what to saye But now she is become speecheles for verie ioye and cannot vtter her inwarde gladnes vnto him Now what tongue can tell or what vnderstandinge is able to comprehende the exceedinge ioye that this blessed virgin conceyued inwardlie in her minde We cannot vnderstande the thinges that doe exceede our capacitie vnlesse we compare them to other lesse thinges and frame by them as it were a ladder to ascende by degries from the lower vnto the higher and so make a coniecture of the one by the other Now that we maye vnderstande somewhat of this her exceedinge ioye consider what a greate ioye the Patriarke Iacob felte when after he had bewailed his dearly beloued sonne Iosephe with so great abundance of teares supposinge him to be dead tydinges were browghte him that he was aliue and Lorde ouer all the lande of Egipt The holie scripture saieth Genes 45. that when these newes were tolde him he coÌ„ceyued so great ioye and astonishement therewith that as a man newlie awaked out of a heauie sliepe he coulde not call his wittes perfectlie together nor yet beleue the newes that his sonnes had tolde him no more than if it had bene a verie dreame But afterwardes when he was fullie resolued that it was true the holie scripture saith that his spirite reuyued againe and that he spake these wordes folowinge It is enoughe for me if my sonne Ioseph be yet a liue I will goe and see him before I die Now then tell me I praye you if Iacob that had eleuen other sonnes in his howse conceyued yet so great a ioye in his harte to vnderstande that euen one onely whom he supposed to be dead was yet aliue what an exceedinge great ioye conceyued the blessed virgin who hauinge no more but one sonne and that one such a sonne as our blessed Sauiour was so notable and so dearly beloued as he was vnto her after she had seene him with her eies bothe dead aÌ„d buried sawe him now againe rysen vp from deathe and withall glorified and made Lorde not onely of all the lande of Egipt but also of all thinges created Is there anie vnderstandinge able to comprehende this Vndowtedly her ioye was inwardelie so great that her harte had not bene able to susteine the force thereof had it not receyued some supernaturall streÌ„gth and comforte by speciall miracle of almightie God for that ende O blessed virgin this benefit alone maie suffice thee It is enoughe for thee that thy deare sonne is aliue and that thou hast him in thy presence and seest him before thy death so as now there remayneth nothinge els for thee to desire O Lorde how well knowest thou how to comforte them that suffer for thy sake The former paine of thy blessed mother seemeth not now to be great beinge compared with this passinge great ioye If thou ô Lorde doest comforte such as suffer for thee after this sorte blessed and happie are their persecutions and troubles seinge they shal be thus rewarded In like maner we haue to consider how our Sauiour appeared vnto his disciples and especially to S. Marie Magdalen whereof presently we doe not intreat because we woulde not make this meditation ouer longe The ende of the first seuen meditations for the seuen daies of the weke in the morninges HERE BEGINNE THE OTHER SEVEN MEDITATIONS FOR THE SAME SEVEN daies in the nightes And althowghe these Meditations be placed in the seconde place yet are they first to be vsed in the order of exercise Forsomuche as with them they must first beginne who are but newlie conuerted to the seruice of almightie God Accipite spiritum sanctum quorum remiseritis peccata remittuntur eis et quorum retinueritis detenta sunt Johan 20. vers 22. Multi 〈…〉 consiâ—â—tes et 〈◊〉 actâ—s suos Act. 19. vers 18. OF SYNNES MONDAIE NIGHTE THIS daie after thou hast made the signe of the Crosse and prepared thy selfe hereunto thou must atteÌ„de to the knowledge of thy selfe aÌ„d thou must vse diligence to call to minde thy sinnes and offences And this is the waie to obteine trewe humilitie of harte and repentance which are the two first gates and foundations of a Christian life For the better performance whereof Of the multitude of the synnes of thy former life thou must thinke firs t of all vpon the multitude of the sinnes of thy former lyfe and espetially vpon those offences that thou diddest coÌ„mit at what time thou haddest least knowledge of almightie God For if thou canst well vewe and examyne them thou shalt finde that they haue exceeded in nomber the verie heares of thy heade and that thou diddest liue at that time like an heathen that knoweth not what God is This done ronne ouer
longe and whereas it chaungeth it selfe euerie houre it beareth a countenaunce as thoughe it continued alwaies firme and stable in one same state Doest thou perceaue saieth S. Ierome when thou wast made an infant S. Ierome Canst thou tell when thou wast made a striplinge or when thou camest to mans state or when thou begannest to waxe an olde man Good Lorde what a wonder is this that euerie daie we die and euerie daie we alter and chaunge and yet for all this we perswade our selues verie fondelie that we shall liue here for euermore Vpon this affiance were those prowde and sumptuous buildinges of the Magarēces built of whom a certaine Philosopher saieth that they builded as thoughe they shoulde liue for euer The cause why manie be so carefull to prouide for this worlde and so careles and negligent to prepare them selues to dye and they liued as though they should dye the next daye Whereof I praie you commeth so great forgetfulnes of almightie God so great couetousnes so great vanitie so great carefulnes in purchasinge and heapinge together of landes and riches and so great negligēce in preparinge our selues to die but that we beleue and perswade our selues that our life shal be verie longe and endure a great time This false imagination maketh vs to beleue that we haue time enough for all thinges for the worlde for pleasures for vanities for vices and for many other vaine and curious exercises and that yet after all this we shall haue time enough also before we dye to prouyde our accompte redie and to make our attonemente with almightie God Insomuch that like as we make our accompt of a piece of clothe when it lieth vpon a table before vs appointinge one piece for one purpose and an other piece for an other euen so doe we make an accompt of our liues as thoughe we our selues had the seignorie and gouernement of times and might dispose both of them and of our lyfe at our owne wil and pleasure This fonde deceit growethe of a secreat perswasion and affiance that euerie man hath within himselfe grownded not vpon anie reason or true foundation but onely vpon selfe loue The which as it hateth and abhorreth death exceadinglie so will it in no case haue any remembrance of it nor be perswaded that it will come so soone to his howse as to other mens And all this is for auoydinge of the great paine and griefe which he woulde conceaue if he beleued it in verie deede we can easelie be persuaded that others will dye within a shorte tyme but we will not beleue but that we our selues shall liue verie lōge And hereof it commeth that he is easilie induced to beleue that other folkes shall die within a short space For as he is not greatly in loue with thē so is not the knowledge of that trueth so sowere and vnlikinge vnto him but that he can easelie beleue it But as towchinge himselfe he maketh an other maner of accompt For as he loueth himselfe exciedingly so is he verie lothe to beleue a thinge that maie be occasion of so greate paine and griefe vnto him as the same woulde be But we see daylie that such persons are oftentymes fowly deceyued and that their dreames tourne cleane contrarie to their fonde imaginations For as towchinge others of whose liues they had smalle hope that they shoulde haue anie longe continuance they liue a longer time than they euer imagined they coulde haue done And they themselues that thought to liue and remaine here a longe while doe leade the daunce and depart owt of this worlde before thē So that it fareth with thē as with younge sea men that beginne to saile in the Sea who when they come forth of the hauen mowth it seemeth vnto them that the lande and howses doe depart awaie from them which is nothinge so but contrariewise it is they themselues that moue and depart awaie and the lande remaineth still in his olde place Of the miseries of mans lyfe § VII ALTHOVGH our lyfe be subiect to all these miseries before rehearsed yet if that litle time of lyfe were wholie lyfe indeede it were somewhat but the greatest miserie of all is that the lyfe which a man hath to liue whether it be shorte or longe is altogether subiect to such a nomber of miseries and calamities both of bodie and minde as it maie more trulie be tearmed deathe than lyfe Wherefore accordinge as a Poët saied verie well Not to liue but to passe the lyfe well is lyfe So that although this lyfe be verie sparynge ād shorte in all other thinges yet in troubles and miseries it is verie plentifull and longe Vndoutedlye our life is but shorte respectinge the lyfe it selfe and if we respect the time of enioyenge it it is yet much shorter but if we consider how insufficient it is towardes the atteyninge of wisedome it is litle or nothinge at all Howbeit although it be indeede verie shorte for all good thinges yet in one thinge onely I fynde it longe that is in bearinge of paine and miserie O daungerous straite in which the lesse time thou hast to passe the more perill and daunger thou hast in the passage Certainlie if we had eies to consider our selues and to see our owne case we shoulde alwaies goe weepinge and lamentinge our owne state as men condemned by the iust iudgement of almightie God to suffer such great miseries But that our miserie might be yet more increased on euerie side this miserie is added to all the rest that beinge in miserable case we liue like men in a frensie and doe neither feele nor vnderstande our owne miserie and wretchednes Heralitus Domocritus Those two Philosophers Heraclitus and Democritus although they were infidels perceyued the same better than we doe of whom it is reported that the one passed his lyfe alwaies weepinge and the other alwaies laughinge forsomuch as they sawe clearly that all our lyfe was nothinge els but mere vanitie and miserie If thou dowte of this tell me I praie thee what meane all these carkes and cares wherein men doe liue What a nomber of infinite sorowes griefes anguishes feares passions suspitions malices with other the like tribulations and afflictions is the soule of man subiect vnto Vnto all which passions man is so prone that manie times he is in a passion without anie cause and feareth where there is no cause at all to feare and when there is no other man to vexe and tormente him outwardlie he then vexeth and tormenteth himselfe inwardly as holie Iob confessed in these wordes when he sayde why hast thou ô Lorde sett me against thee Iob. 7. I am become ircksome and burdensome euen to myne owne selfe Of the externall miseries of the bodie Now as towchinge the externall miseries of the bodie who is able to nomber them How great labour and paine must we take to gaine a piece of bread whereby to sustein our liues
deceites Hereof commeth our presumption our pride For wante of consideration of our death doe growe all our fonde errours and deceites our couetousnes our pleasures our nicenes and delicatenes and the vaine castelles and towres of winde which we builde vpon sande For if we woulde consider in what case we shal be after a fewe daies whan we are once lodged in that poore selie cottage of our graue we shoulde be more humble and more temperat in our lyfe How cowlde he possiblye haue anie sparcke of presumption that woulde consider that he shal be there dust and asshes How cowlde he finde in his harte to make a God of his belly that woulde consider that he shall become there wormes meate Who coulde euer be perswaded to occupie his brayne in such loftie and phantasticall thoughtes and deuices if he did but consider and wayghe how fraile and weake the foundation is wherevpon all his fonde designementes are grownded Who woulde endaunger the losse and destruction of himselfe in seekinge for riches both by lande and Sea if he considered that at his death he shoulde carie no more with him but a poore windinge sheete To conclude all the workes of our lyfe woulde be dewlie corrected and framed in good order if we woulde measure and square them out by this rule The lyfe of a wise mā is a contynuall thinkinge of deathe For this cause the Philosophers saied that the lyfe of a Wiseman was nothinge els but onely a continuall cogitation and thinkinge of death forsomuch as this consideration teacheth a mā what thinge is somewhat and what is nothinge what he ought to followe and what to eschewe according to the ende whereunto he must certaynelye arriue It is written of those Philosophers called Brackmanni that they were so much geuen to thinke vpon their ende that they had their graues alwaies open before the gates of their howses to the intent that both at their entrie and goinge forth by them they might alwaies be mindefull of this iourney and passage of death Almightie God saied vnto the Prophet Ieremie Ierem. 18. that he shoulde goe downe into a howse where earth was wroughte for that he woulde there speake with him Almightie God coulde haue spokē with his Prophet in anie other place but he chose to speake with him in that place to geue vs to vnderstande that the howse of earthe which is our graue is the schoole of true wisedome where almightie God is wonte to teach those that be his There he teacheth thē how great is the vanitie of this worlde There he sheweth vnto thē the miserie of our fleashe ād the shortnes of this life And aboue al there he teacheth them to knowe themselues which is one of the most highest pointes of Philosophie that maie be learned Wherefore ô thou man discend downe with thy spirite into this howse and there shalt thou see To knowe a mans selfe is one of the highest pointes of philosophie who thou art whereof thou art come where thou shalt rest and wherein the bewtie of thy fleashe and glorie of this worlde do ende so shalt thou learne to despise all those thinges that the worlde hath in reuerence for wante of dewe knowledge how to consider it Because the worlde considereth no more but onely the paynted face of Iezabel that shyned verie bewtifully and gaylie at the windowe 4. Reg. 9. 3. Reg. 21. It considereth not the miserable extreme partes of her which after that her bodie was deuoured with dogges almightie God woulde haue to remaine whole that thereby we might see that the worlde is an other maner of thinge in deede than it appeareth in outwarde shewe and that we shoulde in such wise consider the face of it as to be mindefull also of the extreme greifes and sorrowes wherein the glorie of it endeth Secondlye this consideration is a great helpe to cause vs to eschewe and forsake sinne accordinge as Ecclesiasticus witnesseth sayeinge Eccles 7. Remember the last ende and thou shalt neuer sinne It is a great matter not to sinne and a great remedie also for the same is for a man to remember that he must die S. Iohn Climacus S. Iohn Climacus writeth of a certaine monke that beinge sore tempted with the bewtie of a woman whom he had seene abroade in the worlde and vnderstandinge that she was deade went to the graue where she was buried and rubbed a napkin in the stinkinge bodie of the dead woman And he vsed alwaies afterwardes whensoeuer the deuill troubled him with anie euill thought of her to take the stinkinge napkin and to put it to his nose and saie to him selfe Beholde here thou miserable wretche the thinge thou louest and beholde here what ende the delightes and beawties of the worlde haue This was a great remedie to ouercome this synne And the deepe consideration of death is of no lesse importance than it S. Gregorie as S. Gregorie saieth There is nothinge that doth so mortifie the appetites of this our peruerse fleash as to consider in what plight the same shal be after it is deade The same holie father rehearseth a like storie of an other monke who hauinge his table readie prouided to goe to dinner to eate somewhat for the refresshinge of his weake and wearie bodie chaunced sodenly to haue a remembrance of death which cogitation euen as though it had bene a constable or other lyke officer there readie to attache him put him in such a terrour and feare that it caused him to refraine from his meate Consider therefore how much the remembrance of the dreadfull accōpte that we must make at the houre of our deathe is able to worke in the harte of a iust man seinge it caused this holie monke to abstaine from a thinge that is so lawfull and necessarie to be done Certainlie this is one of the most wonderfull thinges in all the worlde that men knowinge so assuredlie Math. 12.36 Hebr. 9.27 1. Pet. 4.18 Apoc. 14.7.13 that at the verie howre of their death a particular accompt shal be required of them of all their whole life yea and of euerie idell worde will notwithstandinge ronne headlonge with such facilitie into sinne If a waiefaringe man hauinge but one farthinge in his purse shoulde enter into an inne and placinge him selfe downe at the table shoulde require of the host to bringe in Partridges Capons Phesauntes and all other delicates that maie be founde in the howse and shoulde suppe with verie great pleasure and contentation neuer remembringe that at the last there must come a time of accompt who woulde not take this fellowe either for a iester or for a verie foole Now what greater folie or madnes can be deuised than for men to geue them selues so looselye to all kindes of vices and to sleepe so sowndlie in them without euer remembringe that shortly after at their departinge out of their Inne there shall be required of them a verie strayt and
particular accompte of all their dissolute and wicked lyfe Wherefore it is verelye to be thought that the diuell labourethe all he can to make vs vtterlie to neglecte and forgette the remēbrance of our accompte The diuell laboureth all he can to make vs neglecte and forgette the accompte we must make of all our whole lyfe at the hower of our deathe that we must make at the verie hower of our deathe because he knoweth full well what great proffit and commoditie woulde arise vnto vs by the continuall remembrance of the same For otherwise how were it possible that men shoulde forget a thinge that is so terrible and fearefull yea such a thinge as they knowe most assuredly will come and steale verie shortelie vpon them at their owne howses If we haue but the least doubte or suspition in the worlde of losynge a litle wordly riches or of some other like thinge it maketh vs oftentimes very carefull and watchfull and causeth vs to lose both our sleepe and our health How happeneth it then that the remembrance of death which aswell to the bodie as to the sowle is the most horrible and dreadfull thinge that maie come vnto vs causeth vs not to be likewise verie carefull and watchfull in makinge prouision beforehande for the cōminge of it Suerlie it seemeth vnto me a thinge verie much to be meruayled at that men shoulde be so carefull as they be in tryfles and matters of smalle importance and liue so negligently and without all care in thinges that are of so greate importance vnto them as is their euerlastinge saluation or damnation The consideration of our deathe prouoketh vs not onelie to liue a good lyfe but also to dye well Thirdly this consideration of our death is a great helpe not onely to prouoke vs to liue a good lyfe as it hath bene saiede but besides that to die well In thinges that be harde and difficult foresighte and preparation beforehande is a very great helpe to bringe them well to passe Now so great a leape as is the leape of death which reacheth from this lyfe to the euerlastinge lyfe to come can not well be leaped vnles we make a great course and fetche a longe race to ronne the same No great thinge can be well and perfitlie done at the first time Seinge therefore it is so great a matter to die and so necessarie to die well it shal be verie expedient for vs to die oftentimes in our life that we maie die well at the verie time of our death The souldiors that be appoynted to fight doe first practice themselues in such feates and exercises as whereby they maie learne in time of peace what they must doe in time of warre The horse also that must ronne at the Tilte trauerseth all the grownde before and trieth all the steppes thereof that at suche time as he cōmeth to make his cowerse he be not founde newe and straunge in doyinge his feate Wherefore sith we all must needes ronne this cowerse forsomuch as there is no man aliue but must die consideringe also that the waie is so obscure and stonie as all men knowe and the daunger so great that whosoeuer falleth shal be tombled downe headlonge into the bottomles pit of hell fyer it shal be requisite that we doe now tread diligentelie before-hand all this waie and consider particularlie all the steppes and places thereof one by one forsomuch as in euerie one of them there is much to be considered And let vs not thinke it enoughe to consider onely what passeth outwardelye aboute the sicke mans bedde but let vs endeuour much more to vnderstande what passeth inwardlie within his harte Of the vncertaintie of the hower of death And what a greife it is at that tyme to departe from all thinges of this lyfe § I. TO beginne now euen from the beginninge of this conflicte Consider how when death shall come vpon thee Deyth stealeth vpon vs at such a tyme as we thincke least of it 1. Thess 5.2 it will come at such a time as when thou thinkest thy selfe in most safetie and suspectest least of the comminge thereof as we see by experience it is wont to happen vnto manie The daie of our Lorde saith the Apostle shall come like a thieffe Which watcheth alwaies to come at such times as men are most careles and thinke themselues in most safetie that it maie take vs vpon a sodeine at vnwares And so we see it happeneth most often that euen at that time when men doe least thinke to dye and when they are least mindfull of their departure out of this lyfe yea when they cast their accomptes before hande to make great purchases and buildinges and to set vpon great enterprises of many daies and yeares then cōmeth death sodenly vpon them and disapointeth them of all their vaine hopes and designementes and vtterly ouerthroweth all their fonde imaginations and buildinges which they made in the aier And so is that sayenge fulfilled of the holie kinge Esa 38. My lyfe saieth he was cutt of like as the weauer cutteth of his thread while I was as yet in the beginning he cut me of from morninge to eueninge thou wilt make an ende of me The first stroke of death is the feare of deathe The first stroke wherewith death is wont to strike is the feare of death Suerlie this is a very great anguishe vnto him that is in loue with his lyfe and this forewarninge is such a great greife vnto a mā that oftētimes his carnall friēdes doe vse to dissemble it and will not haue the sicke man to beleue it least it shoulde vexe and disquiet him and this they will doe sometimes although it be to the preiudice and destruction of his miserable sowle Kinge Saule had a verie stowte and valiant courage but after that the shadowe of Samuell appeared vnto him and had tolde him that he shoulde die in the battell addinge moreouer theise wordes 1 Reg. 28. Tomorrowe both thou and thy sonnes shal be here with me The feare and terror which he conceaued at these tidinges was so great that at that very instant he lost all his force and courage and fell downe to the grounde as a dead man Now what a greife will it be to a man that is in loue with this life when such lyke newes shal be signified vnto him For immediatly vpon this denuntiation there shal be represented vnto him his departure and perpetual bannishement from this worlde and from all thinges that be in the same Then shall he see that his howre is now come and that the dawninge of that dreadfull daye appeareth now at his howse wherein he shall departe from all thinges that he hath loued in this lyfe His bodie shall die but once but his harte shall die as often as he shall remember the losse of all those thinges whereunto it beareth loue and affection Forsomuch as death shall put the knife betwene him and
it was wholly most pure virgins fleshe taken of the most pure and virginall bowels of our blessed Lady S. Bonauenture without anie other kinde of mixture And for this cause as S. Bonauenture saiethe his bodie was the more tender and of a more perfecte sense in feelinge The fourthe cause of his so greiuouse paynes was the very kinde of death which he suffered with all the circumstances that happened in all the continuance of his passion forsomuch as each one of them if they be well considered was a kinde of martirdome by it selfe And that thou mayst more clearly perceiue the same Twelue most greiuous paynes which our Sauiour suffered in his passion beginne euen from the first entrie of his passion vntill the ende of it and thou shalt finde emonge others twelue most greyuous paynes which our Sauiour there suffered the which I wil rehearce here very breiflie notwithstandinge that in euerie one of them there is verie much to be said and considered The first was the agonie in the garden and that wonderfull bloudie sweate which trickled drowne througheout all the partes of his bodie vnto the earthe which was the most newe and most straungest thinge of all that euer hath happened in the worlde The seconde was to be solde for so base a price of his owne Apostle and disciple vnto so cruell enemies The therde was to be so often times caried throughe the common streetes bounde and manicled as if he had bene a verie theyfe The fourthe was the punishement with whippinge and scourginge which besides that the lashes were verie crewellie laid on him and verie manie in nomber it is not a punishement for a man of any credite or honestie but for bondeslaues vagabondes and men of most vyle and base condition The fifte was that most cruell inuention of the crowne of thornes wherein were ioyned together both most greiuous shame and dishonour and withall most greiuous paine and tormente The sixte was those so manifolde blasphemies and sundrie kindes of most villeynous mockeries iniuries and reproches which were ioyned with the tormentes as to spette so often times in his face as though he had bene a blasphemer to geue him buffettes and blowes as if he had bene a vagabonde to apparell him some times in white garmentes and some times in redde as if he had bene a foole to hoodwinke his eies and to ieste at him sayeinge Areede who hath smitten thee Leuit. 22.46 as if he had bene a verie dissarde to clothe him with a purple garment to set a reide in his hande to kneele on one knee before him to smyte him on the head with a reid as if he had bene a counterfait kinge and besides all this to proclaime him throughe the common streetes as a malefactour Who euer sawe so many kindes of reprochefull iniuries heaped together vpon one man The seuenthe was that wonderfull contēpte and despite which was done vnto him beinge the sonne of almightie God when they compared him with Barrabas and made lesse accompte of him than of Barrabas Insomuch as that Lorde by whom all thinges were created and in whom all thinges doe liue and are preserued was accompted more vnprofitable and more vnwourthy to lyue than Barrabas an infamous malefactour The eight was in that they enforced him to carie vpon his shoulders which were all to rēte and breused the verie same instrument of the crosse whereupon he shoulde suffer deathe The tormentors them selues which are commonlie the ministers of crueltie doe vse to hyde the eies of them that are to be beheadded that they maie not see the instrument that shall bereue them of their lyfe but here they doe not onely not vse this kinde of humanitic towardes our Sauiour but they laie the same instrument of his deathe euen vpon his owne shoulders to the intente that his harte might first suffer the tormente of the crosse inwardlie before that his bodie shoulde proue it outwardlie The ninthe was the very martirdome of the crosse which is a most cruell kinde of torment for it is not a speydie kinde of deathe as to be hanged or beheadded but very longe and lingeringe and the woundes be in the most sensible partes of the bodie to witt in the feete and handes which are most full of vaines and sinowes which be the iustrumentes of feelinge Moreouer his paines were increased with the poyze and weight of his owne bodie which alwaies tended and swayed dounwarde and so it euer rented and enlarged his woundes and augmented the greife of his tormentes continually and this caused his martirdome to become so extremely greiuous that althoughe he had no deadlie wounde yet by reason of the passinge greatnes of his paines his most holie sowle departed out of his most precious bodie The tenthe was that whereas our Sauiour was thus tormented vpon the crosse and there became a verie Sea of paines and tormentes yea whereas he was in such a dolefull case that if we shoulde see a verie dogge in the streete so pittiefullie tormented it were able to breake our hartes yet all this notwithstandinge his cruell enemies were so farre of from takinge anie pittie or compassion vpon him that euen at that verie time they mocked and scoffed at him and wagged their heades sayeinge Fye on thee that destroiest the temple of God Math. 27. and within three daies buildest it againe The eleuenthe was to haue his most innocent mother present before his eies at all these martirdomes knowinge so well as he did what a passinge great greife it was vnto her most innocent harte The twelfthe was such a crueltie as the like was neuer seene to witt that whereas his most holie bodie was all voide of bloude and all the fountains of his veines emptied and his bowels dried vp by reason of the great abundance of bloude which he had shead when he requested a litle water they did not onely not graunt it vnto him but in steede thereof they gaue him to drincke Easell and Galle Now what thinge coulde be more cruellie done than this True it is that that riche couetous man Luc. 16. which was tormented in hell had a droppe of water denied him when he required it but yet he had no galle geuen vnto him But here they doe not onelie denie the sonne of almightie God the thinge that he desired but besides that they increase his most greiuouse paines with an other newe kinde of tormente Euerie one of these pointes beinge considered seuerally by it selfe will minister sufficient matter of verie great greife and sorowe to anie good Christian harte And therefore whosoeuer is desirous to haue an earnest and inwarde compassion of the paines of our Sauiour let him goe throughe euerie one of them and make a station at eche of them and be he neuer so harde harted it is not almost possible but that in some one or other of them he shall sinde verie vehement motions to prouoke him vnto greife and
our Sauiour Christe § III. fol. 61. Wensdaie morninge Of the presentation of our Sauiour before Annas Caiphas Herode and Pilate And of our Sauiours whippinge at the pillar fol. 62. Of the troubles and vexations that our Sauiour suffered the nighte before his Passion And of the denyall of S. Peter § II. fol. 69. How our Sauiour was brought before kinge Herode and mocked and accompted for a foole by him and his cowertiers fol. 72. Of the crewell whippinge of our Sauiour at the pillar folio 74. Thursdaie morninge How our Sauiour was crouned with thornes How Pilate saied of him to the people Ecce Homo And how he bare the Crosse vpon his shoulders fol. 79. Of those wordes of the Gospell Ecce Homo § II. fol. 85. How our Sauiour caried the Crosse vpon his shoulders § III. fol. 89. Fridaie morninge Of the misterie of the crosse And of those seuen wordes which our Sauiour spake vpon the Crosse fol. 93. A contemplation vpon the misterie of the Crosse § 1. fol. 98. How our Sauiour was nayled vpon the Crosse § II. fol. 100. Of the compassion the some had vpon his mother and the mother vpon her some hanginge vpon the crosse § III. fol. 101. Of the doctrine that maye be learned at the foote of the Crosse § IIII. fol. 103. What patience we ought to haue in all troubles and aduerseties followinge the example of our Sauiour christe § v. fol. 107. Satturdaie morninge Of the pearcinge of our Sauiours syde with a speare Of his takinge downe from the crosse Of the pittiefull lamentation of our blessed Ladie and of our Sauiours buriall fol. 109. How our Sauiour was taken downe from the Crosse § II. fol. 114. The pittiefull lamentation of the blessed virgin Marie fol. 116. A declaration why the blessed virgin Marie and all iust persons are afflicted in this present transitorie life with diuers aduersities and tribulations § III. fol. 121. Sondaye morninge Of the descendinge of our Sauiour into Limbus Patrum of the Resurrection of his holie Bodie of his appearinge first to our blessed Ladie and afterwardes to S. Marie Magdalen and to the disciples fol. 124. Of the Resurrection of the bodie of our Sauiour § II. fol. 132. How our Sauiour after his Resurrection appeared to the holie virgin his blessed mother § III. f. 144 The seuen Meditations for the same seuen dayes at nighte fol. 136. Mondaie nighte Of the knowledge of our selues and of our sinnes fol. 137. The first treatise Of the consideratiō of sinnes f. 141. Of the multitude of sinnes that thou hast committed in thy former life § I. fol. 142. Of the sinnes and defectes that a man may falle into after he is come to the knowledge of almightie God § II. fol. 145. Of the accusation of a mans owne conscience and of the abhorrings and contempte of him selfe § IIII. fol. 149. Tewsdaye nighte Of the miseries of this life f. 153. The secōde treatise of the miseries of mans life fo 157. Of the shortnesse of this life § II. fol. 161. Of the vncertaintie of our life § III. fol. 164. Of the frailtie of our life § IIII. fol. 166. Of the mutabilitie of this life § V. fol. 169. Of the deceitfulues of our life § VI. fol. 171. Of the miseries of mans life § VII fol. 173. Of the last miserie of man which is death § VIII fol. 177. What profite may be taken of the foresaide considerations § IX fol. 178. Wensdaie nighte Of the hower of deathe fol. 181. The therde treatise of the consideration of deathe fol. 185. Of the vncertaintie of the hower of deathe and what agreife it is at that tyme to departe from all thinges of this life § I. fol. 189. Of the horrour and lothsomnes of our graue § II. fol. 192. Of the greate feare and dowbte the soule hath at the hower of death what shall happen vnto it after it is departed out of the bodie § III. fol. 193. How we come to vnder stande hereby the errours and blindnes of our life past § IIII. fol. 194. Of the terrour of the dreadfull accompt we must make at the hower of our deathe of all our life past § V. fol. 196. Of the Sacrament of extreme vnction and of the agonie of death § VI. fol. 198. How filthye and loth some the bodie is after it is dead and of the buryenge of it in the graue § VII fol. 201. Of the waye that the soule taketh after it is departed out of the bodie and of the dreadfull iudgement and sentence that shal be geuen vpon it at that time § VIII fol. 205. Thursdaye nighte Of the generall daye of iudgement fol. 207. The fourth treatise of the consideration of the generall day of iudgemente fol. 211. How rigorous the day of iudgemēt shal be § I. f. 213. Of the terrible signes that shall goe before the day of the generall iudgement § II. fol. 215. Of the ende of the worlde And of the Resurrection of the deade § III. fol. 218. Of the comminge of the Iudge of the matter of the iudgement and of the witnesses and accusers that shal be there against the wicked § IIII. fo 221. Fridaye nighte Of the paynes of hell fol. 227. The fifte treatise of the consideration of the paynes of hell fol. 230. Of twoe kindes of paynes that be in hell § I. fol. 231. Of the tormentes of the inwarde senses and powers of the soule § II. fol. 235. Of the payne which is tearmed by the diuines poena damni that is the payne of losse of almightie God § III. fol. 239. Of the particuler paynes of the damned in hell § IIII. fol. 240. of the eternitie of the paynes of hell § V. fol. 241. Saturdaye nighte Of the euerlastinge glorie and felicitie of the kingdome of heauen fol. 244. The sixte treatise Of the consideratiō of the glorie of Paradise fol. 248. Of the goodlie beautie and excellencie of the place § I. fol. 249. Of the seconde ioye that the soule shall haue in the kingdome of heauē which is the enioyenge of the companie of the Sainctes § II. fol. 252. Of the therd ioye that the soule shad haue in the kingdome of heauen which is the enioyenge of the cleare vision of almightie God § III. fol. 255. Of the fowerth ioye that the soule shall haue in the kingdome of heauen which is the enjoyenge of the glorie of the bodie § IIII. fol. 257. Of the fifte ioye in the kingdome of heauen which is the euerlastinge continuance of the glorie and felicitie of the Sainctes § V. fol. 258. Sondaye nighte Of the benefites of almightie God fol. 259. The seuenthe treatise of the consideration of the benefites of almightie God fol. 262. Of the benefite of Creation § I. fol. 264. Of the benefite of Conseruation § II. fol. 266. Of the benefite of Redemption § III. fol. 269. Of the benefite of vocation § IIII. fol. 272. Of the particuler benefites that almightie God bestoweth vpon vs. § V. fol. 275. Of fiue partes that maie be exercised in prayer Cap. 4. fol. 277. Of Preparation vnto prayer Cap. 5. fol. 278. Of Readinge Cap. 6. fol. 283. Of Meditation Cap. 7. fol. 284. Of Thankes geuinge Cap. 8. fol. 285. Of Petition Cap. 9. fol. 286. Of the most necessarie vertues that are to be demaunded in Petition § I. fol. 288. Note the principall foundations of our confidence in prayer fol. 292. Aduises for Meditations Cap. 10. fo 293. The first aduise That in our Meditation we must not for the obseruinge of our ordinarie course put awaie from vs anie other good thoughte or consideration wherein we finde more deuotion § I. fol. 293. The seconde aduise That in our Meditation we must eschewe the superfluous speculation of the vnderstandinge and committe this busines to the oxercise of the affections of our will § II. f. 294. The therde aduise Which prescribeth also bowndes and limites to the Will that it be neither too excessiue nor too vehemēt in her exercise § III. fol. 297. The fowerthe aduise Wherein it is declared what manner of attention we oughte to haue in our exercise of prayer and Meditation § IIII. f. 299. The fyfre aduise That we must not be dismaied nor geue ouer our exercise of prayer and Meditation at suche time as we want deuotion therein § V. fol. 301. The sixte aduise That we must endeuour to haue a longe prayer and greate aboundance of deuetion § VI. fol. 303. The seuēthe aduise That we muste not receiue the visitations of our Lorde in vaine § VII fo 305. Of sixe pointes that are to be meditated in the holie Passion of our Sauiour Cap. vlt. fol. 307. Of the passinge greate paynes and torments which our Sauiour suffered in his most bitter passion § I. fol. 308. Howe in the passion of our Sauiour Christe appeareth verie manifestlie what a grieuous thinge sinne is in the sighte of almightie God § II. fol. 315. Of the passinge greate benefite of our Redemption § III. fol. 316. Of the wonderfull greate goodnes of almightie God which appeareth verie euidentelye in the passion of oun Sauiour Christe § IIII. fol. 319. Of the excellent vertues that doe shine verie brightelye in the holie passion of our Sauiour Christe § V. fol. 320. Of the conueniencie of the mysterie of our Redemption § VI. fol. 322. The ende of the Table