A DIALOGVE OF DYING WEL. First written in the Italian tongue by the Reuerend father Don Peeter of Luca a Chanon regular a Doctor of Diuinitie and famous preacher VVherin is also contayned sundry profitable resolutions vpon some doubtful questions in Diuinitie Translated first into French and novv into English VVatch and pray for you knovv not vvhen the tyme is Mar. 13. Imprinted at Antwerp by A.C. 1603. TO THE RIGHT REVEREND LADY IOAN BARKLEY ABBESSE of the English Monastery of Nunnes of the holy order of S. Benedict in Bruxels RIght Reuerend I heer present vnto your perusal this dialogue of dying wel a woork more of woorth for the goodnes then in value for the greatnes It was first written in the Italian tongue by a deuout Chanon of Luca by M. Peeter Frison a deuout Chanon of Rhemes wel knowne through his pietie vnto many of our nation it was since translated into french The remembrāce of death as Bishop fisher of blessed memory was wont to say doth neuer come out of season and this spake that good father in regard that the remembrance of death tendeth vnto a care to endeuour to dy wel a matter of moste important consideration vnto all that liue There are sundry serpents and monsters that out of filth and corruption do take their originals and so in lyke manner was that vgly monster called death out of the filth and sin of our first aunceter first engendred The agillitie arte of this moste mercilesse tyrant cōsisteth in the continual casting of deadly dartes and infynit hee throweth out euen in euery moment neuer ayming but at lyuing hartes neuer missing those hee aymeth at neither is there any armour to bee found that may withstand his hart-piersing force VVherefore seeing to auoyd death there is no remedy the remedy then that remayneth is the learning how to dy wel this lesson the ensuing dialogue teacheth only truants neglect to learne it but attentiue schollers do deepely imprint it in memory To your good Ladiship I dedicate the same vnto you the first Abbesse of your holy order reuyued in our nation whose posteritie by the diuine prouidence may come to brighten our country with their shyning sanctitie as your predecessors heretofore haue donne after that S. Augustyne had brought and taught vnto the English people the first knowlege belief in the true God and his deer sonne and our Sauiour Christe Iesus A religious man was this first Apostle of ours and of your order as also were those holy Abbesses and religious virgins so much comēded by the venerable Bede and other veritable writers in there relating their holy liues and wonderful miracles yea euen after their deathes which were true arguments of their dying wel the which they wel learned to do whyle they liued as he graunt wee also may to whose holy tuition I leaue your Reuerend Ladiship This 3. of April 1603. Your Ladiships very much deuoted R. V. THE AVTHORS PROHEME ACCORDING to the iudgemēt of Aristotle man of all mortal creatures is moste prudent for that hee alone foreseeith thinges to come and therefore differeth from the brute beast which regardeth only thinges that bee present Man therefore seeing hee must dy is by his natural wisdome enclyned to foresee his death the cogitation wherof is vnto him a thing more terrible then any other thing els whatsoeuer and it much more doth importe him He therefore that desyreth to walk wisely in this miserable lyfe must in such sorte prepare and dispose himself for dreadful death that when it approcheth neere vnto him hee be not taken vnprouyded and that for want of due consideration he lose not the chief felicitie and besydes that be assigned for euer vnto the paines of hel VVherefore beeing desirous to begin this discourse of the arte or science to dy wel for an introduction thereunto I presuppose suche an imagined narration as heer ensueth A DIALOGVE OF DYING WEL. THERE was a marchant which trauayling into a far countrie as hee wandred out of his way happened to come into a great wildernesse where he chaunced to meet with an old Eremite who through great age was euen ouerspent worne with whome after he had begōne to enter into discours he asked him what he did their in that solitarie place now so neere vnto the date of his death The Eremite answered sayd Thow shalt my sonne vnderstād that when I was in the flourishing age of thirtie yeares I forsook the deceitful world and retyred my self into this solitarie place heer to do some kynde of penance for my former synnes and to learne to dy and heere haue I continuallie dwelt in solitude these threscore and ten years Then the Marchāt said to him it seemeth too mee a thing very superfluous that thow shouldest seek to learne to dy seeing thow beeing a mortal man and alreaddie an hundred yeers old must needs dy and that verie shortly The Eremite answered this is that which I feare not without great astonishment do euerie day think vpon cōsidering that I am not redy for death and neuerthelesse I know assuredly that I must dy To this then quoth the Marchant what thing is it to know how to dy The old Ermite answered him to know how to dy is no other thing then to flie all things that may offend our lord God and with diligence to doe all that hee commādeth obseruing obedientlie all his preceptes and commandements and to be in suche wise neat and cleane in cōscience that arryuing vnto the last end of our lyfe wee may be receaued into the euerlasting rest of the cittizens of heauē At these woordes the Marchāt begining to feel in his hart some suddaine motiō to the change of his lyfe sayd vnto him againe o deere father your talk greatly pleaseth mee Tel mee I beseech yow could yow giue mee some good instructions touching this moste necessarie point of dying wel Hereūto the Ermite answered that he was very willing to make him partaker of such gaine as alredy himself had gotten by his study in that science there-withal asked him what trade hee liued by hee answered that hee was a Marchant whervnto the Ermite added that the arte of a Marchant is to sel his marchādise deer and to buy good cheape yf thow then desire quoth hee to make a good market and to buy a treasure incomparable and far beyond all estimation for a litle price behold heauen which is so great and glorious and buy it with thy temporal goods giuing them to the poore for thee loue of God Then thee Marchāt beeing desirous to bee further satisfied asked him againe saying o deere father and my good maister I pray yow tel mee yf so be that you had a scholler whome you loued wel or a sonne whome you deerely affected what arte principallie would you teache him The Ermite answered setting a syde all secrets all artes all experimentes and all sciences in the world other arte would I not
of three dayes Through the which great miracle sundry doctors schollers left the world went into the wildernes where they began the first foundation of the order of the Carthusians otherwise called the monkes of the Charterhows The eleueÌ„th â—â—estion THE eleuenth questioÌ„ was yf when this particuler iudgement is done and the sentence giuen the soule be caried by and by to the place appoynted The Ermite answered that the holy Catholike Churche holdeth and firmly beleeueth that our soules beeing departed out of our bodies do after their particular iudgemeÌ„ts ordinarily passe vnto the place of euerlasting ioy or paine according to their merites or demerits And the reason hereof is for that it is the soule that principally synneth or meriteth and the bodie without it cannot sinne nor merit and therefore it is not against reason that the soule without the bodie receyue eyther good or euil vntil the day of the vniuersal iudgement it sufficeth that afterward at the tyme of the vniuersal iudgement beeing vnited with the bodie it be therewith for euer eyther saued or damned The sacred diuynes in the fourth of the sentences do proue this our Catholike conclusion with reasons authorityes and authentical histories but in this place onely the authority of the scriptures is sufficient for vs as it apeereth in the 23. of S. Luke where our Sauiour Christe said to the good theef Hodie mecum eris in paradiso This day thow shalt bee with mee in paradise hee said not at the end of the world but this day And Iob speaking of wordlings said Ducunt in bonis dies suos in puncto ad infernum discendunt that is to say they spend their dayes in pleasures and in a momeÌ„t they descend into hel Whereby it apeereth that whylest they bee in their triumphes and ioyes sodeynlie in the twinckling of an eye they fall into hel The twelfth question THE twelfth question was yf all they that dy do suffer equal payne and anguish in the agonie of death The Ermite answered no as it appeareth in some olde men which dy easily and also some that seeme to dy sleeping and some whilest they bee in an extasie or traunce as S. Augustine declareth in his book De ciuitate Dei Moreouer it happeneth somtymes that one aliue and in health doth endure greater payne then an other in the tyme of his death and it is iudged of Wysemen that oftentymes it is a greater difficulty to beare the troubles and miseries of this lyfe then dying to loose the lyfe of the bodie So as in this respect there haue bene many holy Confessors that haue suffered more greeuous afflictions then some martirs Wee may therefore think that there is no man who eyther before his death or at the tyme of his death or at least after death doth not suffer excessiue grief and great torment When the youngman had wel vnderstood all these things aforesaid hee would yet haue propounded other questions but the Ermite feeling himselfe wearie aswel for his great age as also for his long talk prayed him that hee would bee content to aske him no more but rather that hee would do his endeuour to put in execution that which hee had all readdie tolde him for woordes without deedes are litle profitable and to such as haue a good wil to do wel it is not needful to vse many persuasions but breefly to tel them their dueties Then the youngman with great reuerence and humility did vpon his knees giue thankes vnto the good Ermite for so many his good holy lessons promised him to make it apeer that his long discours should not bee vnprofitable and without great fruit And so hauing had his blessing took his leaue and without delay desirous to giue himself wholie to learne to dy wel distributed all his riches to poor orphans Churches and hospitalles and forsaking this miserable and deceyuing world entred into religion where hee continewed a long tyme and diligently obserued the aforesaid rules til at length hauing liued long and vertuously hee happely rendred his soule into the handes of this creator to whome bee all honour and glorie world without-end Amen FINIS
away all those that then wear with him in his sel and their shut himself vp and liued with bread and water xij yeares neuer speaking to any person so much as one woord vntil hee was neer vnto death that then the other monkes desirous to receaue of him some good instructions did break open his chamber door and entred in vnto him and prayed him that it might not bee grieuous vnto him in this his last hower to speak in the way of charitie for the edification of others and disclose vnto them in what manner so sudaynlie from so great negligence hee was come to so great perfection who after much intreatie made them this answere pardon mee yf I do not vse many words and assure your selues none can euer sinne grieuously which haue the true feeling of the remēbrance of death The monkes buried him with great deuotion but the next day following when his bones were sought by such as desired to reuerence them they wear not found Whereby they knew how much the feeling in deed of the remembrance of death doth please God and what effect it woorketh and how expedient it is for them that desire to become good since that in one moment it can make euen those that bee verie negligent zealously disposed and most feruent to euerie good woork And now seeing that with more prolixitie then I ment I haue handled this first rule the more to shew the vtilitie thereof the shorter wil I now enforce my self to be in the rules following The second rule THE second principal rule of the arte to dy wel consisteth in disposeing of a mannes last wil and testament for a wyse man ought not to dy without making his testament And although hee bee willing to make it yet ought hee not to deferre it to the last extremitie Therefore said Iacob to Laban Genes 3. Iustum est vt aliquando domut meae disponam that is to say It is meet that without any more adoe I dispose of my howse And Esay said to Ezechias king of Iudea Dispone domut tuae quia Regum 20. morieris nō viues that is set thy howse in order for thow shalt die and not liue Hee that at the beginning of his sicknes maketh his testament may the better prouyde for himself and his kinred because he taketh the fitter oportunitie to do it with greater foresight and iudgement and is more readdie afterward at the point of death to attend to the health of his soule The diuel doth his endeuour to make thee defer the making of thy testament to the intēt that after when thow shalt be grieued with thy sicknes thow mayest also be troubled with thy children and kinred who all seek their owne commoditie and litle care for thy soules health Therefore yf thow bee wyse thow wilt make thy testament so soone as thow canst and to the end thow mayest make it as it beheueth with the more commoditie I wil teach thee certaine secrets concerning thesame First then I must put thee in remembrance that thow do not to much truste vnto freindes or kinsfolkes when they promisse thee to do good for thy soule after thy death for yf in thy lyf tyme thow wilt bee negligent to procure help and necessary prayers for thy self far more negligent wil they bee when thow arte gone This is so playnlie seene euerie day by manifest experiēce that it would seeme a thing vtterly needles to go about to proue it Secondlie I am to aduertise thee that thow cāst not make any legacies which can bee more profitable for thy soule then legacies to haue masses sayd for thee the which is proued by all the diuines chiefly by Gabriel Beele vpon the canon of the Masse and by the Angelical Doctor S. Thomas Aquinas vpō the fourth of the sentences Who affirme the Masse to bee alwayes auayleable to the soules that are in purgatorie yea although the priest which said it were in deadlie sinne because he as the minister sayeth it in the person of the Churche militant which is euer acceptable vnto God Thirdlie I aduise thee that thow ordeyne and appoynt thy legacies in such wyse as without delay after thow be dead they may bee performed and thy wil executed aswel for the masses as for the almes which thow shalt leaue to be bestowed For as Iohn Gerson sayth far better it is to haue them said out of hand then to tarie diuers yeares because the sooner they be said the sooner the soules be deliuered out of the paynes of purgatorie Fourthlie I must put thee in mynde to confesse thy self and to communicate before thow make thy testament For when thereby thow art the more in the fauour of God legacies of almes masses do far more auaile thee then yf thow weert out of the state of grace This is grounded vpon the doctrine of S. Thomas in the fourth of the sentences where hee saith the satisfaction inioyned of the confessor made when thow art in deadly sinne doth not take away the payne of the sinne remitted although the opinion of Scotus which holdeth the contrarie bee more fauorable but yet in our case I iudge that of S. Thomas to be the more sure Lastly there is come to my mynde an other thing to remember thee of which I heard of that noble capitaine Bartholomew of Bergamo which is that yf thow wilt make a singular good testament and a perfect preparation to dy wel then beare thy self alwayes in such sorte whilest thow art a liue and let thy wordes bee so charitable direct and cleere cōcerning thy last wil in thy lyfe tyme that after thy death no man may haue iust cause to complayne of thee Yf thow arte a secular man in thus doing thow maist leaue thy heyres in peace without stryf which is the best inheritance that thow maist leaue vnto them moreouer thow doest therein the better prouyde for thy saluation theirs and therefore thow oughtest in any case to obserue this good profitable lessō in the making of thy testamēt But yf thow bee a spiritual man not hauing worldlie goods to distribute thow mayest make a spiritual testamēt after the example of many sainctes which haue spoken in their testaments not of wordlie wealth earthlie possessions but of spiritual and heauenly thinges The thir◠rule THE third rule of the arte to dy wel which is to bee practised in health is daylie prayer to obtayne at Gods hādes a good and laudable death For as without God his grace no man cā do any good or meritorious woork nor think my good thought so a good death without his grace wee can in no wyse look for Therefore wee ought euerie day to pray vnto God that he wil for his infinite goodnes graunt vs a good and happie end In obseruing the custome so to pray S. Augustine and S. Catherine of Siena were wont to say this verse of the Psalme which is verie fit for the purpose
Illumina oculos meos ne vnquam obdormiam in morte ne quando dicat inimicus meus praeualui aduersus eum That is lighten myne eyes that I sleep not in death least that at any tyme my enemy say I haue preuailed against him And yf thow canst say none other at least thow shalt say a Pater noster and Aue Maria deuoutly euerie day with this inteÌ„tioÌ„ that God wil geue thee grace to dy lyke a true christian And although it be a thing very coÌ„uenieÌ„t for the obtayning of such singular grace to haue recourse to the glorious mother of God as also to the apostles martirs coÌ„fessors virgins other saintes in heaueÌ„ yet neuerthelesse thow oughtest particularly to inuocate the ayd of thy good angel who for so much as hee hath a particular care ouer thee wil not faile in that so dangerous and perillous an howre to assist thee with a singuler and special help Some bee accustomed to say this prayer O Domine Iesu Christe deprecâ—r te propter illam amaritudinem quà m pro me misero peccatore sustinuisti in cruce maxime quando nobilissima anima tua egressa est de corpore tuo miserere animae meae in egressu suo Amen That is O Lord Iesu Christe I beseech thee for that bitternes which for mee wretched sinner thow didst endure on the crosse espetialy when thy moste noble soule went foorth of thy body haue mercy vpon my soule when it shal departe out of my body A chanon reguler of the order of S. Augustyne after his death appearing to a freind of his told him that by meanes of this prayer which hee had ordinarily in his lyfe tyme said euery day there was graunted vnto him a verie good happie and quiet death Yf thow shalt then daylie vse so to recommend thy self to God to the saincts and angels thow mayest hope neuer to be abandoned of them in that case And although in time of pestilence or of war thow fynde thy self depriued of all mannes help do not doubt For in that hower thy good angel and the saincts wil not fayle of their desired helpe in due tyme as it is knowne to haue happened to many that trusted in their ayd The fourth and last rule THE fourth rule which ought to be obserued in health is called mortification The deuout men that haue treated of this doctrine wryte that a man ought euerie day to dy that is to say to mortifie his proper passions sences as for example one doth abuse thee in wordes thy passion would answere him and thow wouldest not suffer him to tread thee as it weer vnder his feet but thereby thow shouldest shew thy self not to haue mortifyed thy affections whereas holding thy peace and mortifiyng that violent motion thow shouldest shew thy selfe to bee dead to the world and that thy reason comaundeth ouer thy inferiour affections When thyne eye would see and behold a beautiful creature yf thow restraine thy desire thow shalt mortifie it but yf thow suffer thy self to be caried away by sensualitie then caÌ„st thow not be called dead vnto the world but aliue Therefore it is said of holy men that yf thow desire to dy a trew christian and at the end of thy lyfe to enioy euerlasting blisse it behoueth thee euerie day whilest thow liuest many times to dy And thus oftentymes dying spiritually thow shalt learne the arte to dy wel and safelie and without feare come to the end of thy lyfe with good preparation and their shal be verified in thee the saying of blessed S. Gregorie the great when hee said Non timebit facere quod se nouerit bene didicisse that is to say hee shal not feare to doe that which hee knoweth himself to haue learned wel to do And thus haste thow somwhat vnderstood how thow oughtest to prepare thy self for death in tyme of health which is practised beforehand and in it consisteth fowre rules or principal points the first is called the remembrance of death the second the making of thy testament the third prayer the fourth mortification And now come wee to the second parte where wee shal speak more briefly of the preparation a man ought to make when hee beginneth to bee sick and it conteyneth fowre other principal rules THE SECOND CHAPTER wherein is principally treated of the preparation which a man ought to make in the begining of sicknes and conteyneth fowre principal rules The first rule THE first rule is that when thow feelest thy selfe depriued of health thow do think by and by that almightie God who is the chief goodnes is hee that sendeth thee this sicknes for the greater weal of thy soule and to the end that thow shouldest leaue thy euil lyf or els yf alreadie thow haest amended thy euil lyfe that then thow mayest bee preserued in good lyfe with greater perfection The wyseman sayd Infirmitas grauis sobriam facit animam that is to say A grieuous sicknes maketh the soule sober And Dauid saith Multiplicate sunt infirmitates eorum postea accelerauerunt that is Their infirmities weare multiplied and afterward they made haste Therefore this sicknes without doubt being sent thee of God for thy profit thow oughest to receyue with great patience and thank him for his giftes For although these strypes and fatherlie corrections afflict and greeue the bodie yet they cure the soule and of this thy prayse-woorthie patience many good fruites shal follow First thow shalt greatly merit in the sight of God being conformable to his iust and holie wil and pleasure and it shal be a satisfactioÌ„ for thy sinnes and the more in that thow shalt the more easilie suffer the sicknes it self and so yf God wil that thow ameÌ„d thow shalt sooner bee deliuered Whereas on the contrarie part yf thow shouldest bee impatieÌ„t thow shouldest synne and thy sicknes should bee prolonged and peraduenture also encreased and thow weakened by thyne impatience shouldest then with more difficultie beare euerie litle payne or grief To this purpose S. Augustine said Si Deum diligis quod faecit Deus diligis that is Yf thow loue God thow louest that which God doeth And S. Hierome saith Qui cum dolore agritudinem suscipit signum est quod Deum non sufficienter diligit that is to say It is a signe hee doth not loue God with all his hart as hee ought to do which receyueth sicknes with greef of mynde The second rule THE secoÌ„d rule of preparatioÌ„ that ought to be made in sicknes is so soone as thow perceyuest thy self to bee sick that thow think thow mayest dy of this disease and that thow therefore doe dispose thy selfe to receyue the sacraments of holy Churche as yf thow wert sure thow shouldest then dy in deed In this case the deuil is wont to lay many stoppes to let a man to doe so great good First hee putteth in his mynde that hee shal not dy of that sicknes and that their is no