Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	witness_n	woman_n	write_v	19	3	4.9779	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19758	The historie, life, and miracle, extasies and revelations of the blessed virgin, sister Ioane, of the crosse, of the third order of our holy Father S. Francis. Composed by the Reuerend Father, brother Anthonie of Aca, diffinitor of the prouince of the conception, and chroinckler [sic] of the Order aforesaid. And translated out of Spanish into English, by a father of the same order	Daza, Antonio.; Bell, James, d. 1643.	1625 (1625)	STC 6185; ESTC S115421	144,091	328

THE HISTORIE LIFE AND MIRACLES EXTASIES AND REVELATIONS of the blessed virgin sister IOANE OF THE CROSSE OF THE THIRD ORDER OF OVR HOLY FATHER S. Francis Composed by the Reuerend Father brother ANTHONIE OF ACA Diffinitor of the Prouince of the Conception and Chroinckler of the Order aforsaid And translated out of Spanish into English by a Father of the same Order AT S. OMERS For Iohn Heigham with Approbation Anno 1625. THE EPISTLE DEDICATORIE TO THE RIGHT VIRTVOVS and venerable Sisters both in Bloud and Religion Sister Margaret and Sister Elizabeth Radcliffe professed of the second order of S. Francis called the poore Dames of S. Clare the peace of our Lord Iesus Christ c. RIght virtuous and venerable Sisters Sisters I say first in our Lord and Sauiour Christ because both beleeuinge and embracinge one and the same most ancient holy and Christian faith Sisters in Blood because both descended of one and the same Father and Mother Sisters also in Religion because both professinge vnder one and the same Father S. Francis and Mother S. Clare full fifteene yeares the second Rule or Order of that Seraphicall Saint For as much as in virtu of the Obedience giuen me my by Superiours your selues with all that are vnder you are committed to my charge I finde my selfe bound to promote you in the way of Pietie all that possibly lyeth in my power Wherein the better to discharge my dutie I haue thought good to present you with the life of a Saint of our owne Order who liued and dyed in the profession of the third Rule of holy S Francis For this Seraphicall Father as all doe know instituted his Order so as he might drawe all people to God by three Rules The first wherof is the Apostolicall Rule of the Friar Minors which I although far vnworthy doe professe The second the Rule of S. Clare which vvith great perfection your selues doe practise The third the Rule of Penance in which this blessed Saint liued and dyed The first for Religious men The second for Religious virgins The third for all virtuous people of ether sex in vvhich this holy Virgin profited so vvell that although she were of the lovvest ranck for the number of Rules yet vvas she not the lowest in holie obseruance but singular for sanctitie here in earth as she is now for glorie aboue in heauen This premised the Dedication of this booke seemeth in particular to be due to you by reason of a certaine Simpathie betwixt you and this B Saint Who as she vvas extraordinarily obtayned of God by the intercession of his B. Mother for the reparation of a Religious house of the third order vvhich thorough the indeuotion of the Religious vvas quite fallen to decay so are you the very first vvho are elected for Superiors of an English Monasterie of the third order nevvly errected in a forraine contrie vvith hope hereafter to transplant the same in to your ovvne where Religious discipline is so decayed For this effect you Renovvned Sisters being by Obedience first called from your former Celles of quiet repose and seuered by the holy Ghost vnto the worke wherto he had chosen you were next by lot and common suffrage of your whole communitie elected to vndergoe so great labours as must needes be granted to be in so great an enterprise For those whom you were to gouerne not being in all particulars of your ovvne obseruance nor of so straite and strict a Rule hence it followeth that clothing others vvith linnen your selues goe vvollevvard lodging others on beds of vvolle your selues doe lie vpon the stravv prouiding others hose and shoes your selues goe barefoote finally sitting at the selfe same Table and feeding all your Religious vvith flesh your daintiest dishe is but only fishe What Monke or Heremit vvas euer yet by his profession of fasting obliged to the like Auste●itie To conclude therefore Right venerable Sisters besides the particular obligation loue and zeale vvhich I beare to your soules your rare virtu worthely dravveth this litle booke to your defence Wherin if this my Epistle Dedicatorie may seeme to affect too much plainnesse I freely confesse to affect plaine dealing open sinceritie and simplicitie If any shall censure the Translation as sauouring of too rude a language in this I humbly pray you both to pardon me your selues and to excuse me also vnto others vvho so vvell knovv me to be so far alienated from all sort of affectation and from seeking to please the itching vaine of any with vvorldly eloquence vvhich I vvillingly professe to vvant my principall care hauing beene employed faithfully to translate the booke in a plaine and homely language the talent vvhich most aggreeable to my nature God hath giuen me Far yee vvell my very deare and beloued Sisters and forget not him in your holy prayers vvho euer remayneth your faithfull seruant and poore brother Brother Francis Bell. THE PROLOGVE An● aduertisements to the Reader wherin is declared what is Vision Extasies Raptes and other thinges most important for the vnderstanding of this historie WIth tongues of Seraphins and spirit from heauen I wold manifest to the worlde the things so soueraigne which for his honour and glory God wrought in his faithfull and louing espouse sister Ioane of the crosse with whō he so enlarged the hand of his mercie as being so singular as they are they require singular attention to reade them and particular deuotion to write them And that I might obtaine the same the end of my desire hauing visited her holie bodie and the places where she was borne liued and dyed and seeking with particular care the truest papers that could be had for to write her life I follow fourteene authenticke informations and a very auncient manuscript which shee her selfe dictating by commandement of her Angell keeper sister Marie Euangelist a disciple of hers did write to whom miraculously to this effect and to write the booke of sermons which the seruant of God preached our Lord gaue the grace to reade and write for before she did not know it according as by many witnesses hath beene proued and that after the death of this blessed woman she appeared to another religious in the quire vested with splendor with a booke of gold open in her handes representinge that which she had written of the thinges of the glorious Ioane And to all this authoritie as great as it is another is added no lesse which is the miracle of the incorruptibilitie of her bodie seene with my eyes and handled with my handes when I wrote this she being incorrupte intire and of excellent sauour accordinge as to the honour and glorie of God we will speake hereafter more at large So admirable are the thinges of this seruant of God as they oblige me that they may better be vnderstood to doe not only the office of an historian but also of a paraphraste with particular annotations scholia in the margent wherwith are explained many

her seeing her weaknesse the tumult of laboures which threatned her on euery side Our Lord heard her praier and for the greater comfort of his seruant spake to her in the same image with sadd and dolorous voice saying My celestiall Father who would not reuoke the sentence of my death although I praied wept wil not that it be reuoked which hath beene giuen against thee but that it be rigorously executed that wearied euery way thou maiest enioy the fruit of patience And the seruant of God confident that our Lord who with one hand giueth laboures with the other cōmunicateth aide for to drawe fruit out of them as often as shee felte speciall fauoures of the holy spirite praied to haue paines and trauaills to be mixed with them as who so well vnderstood this to be the most secure way THE XIX CHAPTER How the Angell keeper of the seruant of God commanded her to write the things which our Lord did reueale vnto her and of her glorious death 1 SO great is the charitie of God and such his mercy that seeldom times ho doth so speciall fauoures as those which haue beene seene in this historie to any one for himselfe alone but by meanes therof to profit many others And hence it is that her Angell keeper so oftentimes commāded the seruant of God B. Ioane to write the mercies and fauoures which God did to her For she with womanly modestie and through her great humilitie was ashamed for to write them Which not to do nor prosecute what was begunne she proposed a thousand infirmities euery day alleaging those of her little health and her being so stiffe in the handes as she could hardly write her name as appeareth by some papers and writings found which she wrote while she was Abbesse Wherupon the Angell commanded her she should write no more with her owne hand but that she should cause them to be written by the hand of another of the religious which was to her another labour greater then the former was and therfore refusing it as much as she could shee saide Sir the fauoures which God hath done me and the things which your beautie hath told me haue beene all in secret and writing them by another hand they cannot choose but be published And fearing it and the iudgements of men being so persecuted as she was and as other religious of the conuent were also for her sake she saide to the Angell sir if hereupō there should befall some great euill to my sisters and to me what should we doe God hath care of them and of thee saide the An●ell feare not but do that which I command thee for our Lord who worketh these ma●uailes in thee doth them for the good of many others and will that they be written and that there be made a memorie of them and if not the fauoures which hee doth thee shall cease and thy doloures and persecutions shall be augmented more then thou artable to thincke 2. She hearing this with humilitie and feare obeying the Angell beganne to write by the hand of another religious called sister Marie Euangelist who according to the tradition of the conuent and as is manifest by an information made with sworne witnesses which knewe her and many times heard her say it neither knewe how to reade nor write vntill our Lord miraculously granted her this grace to write the booke of the Carde as aforsaide and so she wrote with much certaintie the life and miracles of this B. virgin Those two bookes haue beene holden and are holden in the conuent as reliques of much esteeme giuing help against tempestes and thunders and many infirmities They are both very olde and at this day liue three religious which knewe her that wrote them and heard her tell it many times and they affirme that she was a nunne of good life very penitent and of much praier contemplation and that after her death she appeared to another religious in the Church with much splendor and with a booke of Gold in her hands open which was that shee wrote of the things of the glorious Ioane The seruant of our Lord grieued much to see that the writing was neuer made an end of and howe faire and softly the nunne proceeded in her writing wherfore a little before the last infirmitie tooke her of which she died she praied her Angell keeper he would be content with that was written and not oblige her to more he granted it her with good will and saide bid thy sister that her pen cease and she write no more With this licence of the Angell the seruant of God hauing what she desired was bold to say sir if it should please the sisters it would be to me much comfort that what is writtē should be torne God forgiue thy presumption answered the Angell and do by and by penance therof for thou hast offended him with this euill thought With this she tooke her leaue of her Angell and bid the sister she should leaue wrighting 3. To the many infirmities which she had our Lord sent her the last which was a sttōg euill of her vrine whereby she was driuen to great straites with most grieuous paines and was fifteene daies together without paying to nature her accustomed tribute And although in all her infirmities she had marueilous patience in this which was the last she had a thousand times more and exceeded euen her selfe she had in the same exceeding raptes and most familiar colloquies with her Angell keeper And as the Swanne towards her death singeth most sweetly and melodiously so this soueraigne Swanne by how much more her desired and happy end approached with so much more sweetnesse she song discouering with accēts frō aboue the fire of the diuine loue which did burne within her breast And although in her infirmities she neuer consented that the ph●si●ians should cure her in this last she did admit them at the instance and deuotion of some Ladies which entreated her she would be cured and sent to her their owne physitians who seing that the infirmitie so much encreased and her weakenesse with all despaired of her at the first time of their visite But she as a most prudent virgin and well experimented in the things of her soule before she came to this point receiued her viaticum and extreame vnction 4. Three daies before her death being in a ra●te which dured her two howers she ●●we the Apostles S. Philipp and Iacob and her Angell keeper who bid her conforme herselfe to the will of God and pray him to confirme his sentence for that he had giuen it three times as many times had reuoked it at the instance of other persons which had prayed for her There is no change in God for as the first being infinite and most simple that which once he willeth and can neuer leaue to will it S. Th. 1. p. q. 9. a. 1. and so all that God willeth efficaciously is done but