felowes the whiche ben in paynes ¶ After these thynges spoken and sene the soule approched vnto hym sawe the prynce of darkenes in the botom of hell / what and howe great tormentes she sawe there the entendement ne may comprehende it / and man ne may expresse it ne declare That is to say yf he had an hondred heades / and that euery heade had an hoÌ„dred tonges / yet they myght not recompte the paynes of hell There was one the ryght worst deuyll that which was more greater than all the beastes that he had sene before The which was blacke as Rauen He had the forme of the body of a man from the feete vnto the heed except that he had well a thousande handes And he had atayle well an C. cubytes long / and .x. of greatnes And he had nayles of yron great longe as well on the feete as on the handes longer greter than the speres of knyghtes His nebbe was moche longe and great His tayle was ryght longe and sharpe all full of pryckles sharpe poynted for to greue and torment the myserable soules And that moost horryble deuyll laye vpon a gred yron of yron / vnder the whiche there was great habundaunce of breÌ„nynge coles Also there was great multytude of deuyls the whiche blewe and kyndled the fyre About the enemy there were so many deuylâ— and of cursed and myserable soules that no man myght beleue that of all the worlde froÌ„ the begynnynge myght be yssued brought forth so many soules And the deuyll was bounde by euery Ioynture of all his meÌ„bres with great chaynes of yron and of copre breÌ„nynge And of great torment and vehement woodnes wherof he was full he turned hym fâ—om the one syde vnto the other / and stretcheâ— out his handes in the multytude of the sayde soules and toke them and strayned theÌ„ in lykewyse no men maye do a clustre of grapes in theyr handes for to make the wyne come forth And in such maner he strayned theÌ„ that he eyther brake theyr heedes / or theyr fete / or handes / or some other membres Afterwarde he syghed and blewe and dysperpeled the sayde soules in to many of the tormentes of the fyre of hell And incontynent that pyt or well wherof we haue before spoken keste stynke and horryble flambe And whan that cruel beest drewe agayne vnto hym his breth all the sayde soules that he had shed with flaÌ„bes and sulphre fel and entred in his mouth / the whiche he deuoured And whan some soules escaped hym by aduenture betwene his handes he smote them wâ—th his tayle And the deuyll the whiche in suche wyse tormented the soules horrybly was tormented aboue all other Than the Aungell sayde vnto the soule This deuyll that thou seest here is callâ—d Lucyfer the whiche is the fyrst creature that god made the whiche was in the delyces of Paradyse before that he descended from heauen / and yf he were not bounde he wolde do many euylles parturbacyons And they the whiche thou seest the which be with hym there are a partye of the Aungelles of darkenes And the other partye ben men and women the whiche ben descended from Adam the which ben all redy Iudged the whiche abyde many the which haue renyed Iesu Chryst / or doth the operacyons of them the whiche renye hym Here be the yll Prelates and Prynces of whom it is wryten sapientie .vi. Potentes poteÌ„ter tormenta patientur / fortioribus autem fortior instat cruciatio That is to saye that those that be myghty in dygnyte and in power shall suffre tormentes with great puyssauÌ„ce That is where as they haue mysche nouslye vsed the puyssaunce that god hath gyuen vnto them All the other tormentes that thou haste sene albeit that they be ryght great yet are they nothynge to compte in regarde of this here And the soule sayde Certessyr thou sayest true / for I am more greued and tormented to se alonely the torment and to fele the stynke the whiche is there than all the tormeÌ„tes that I haue suffred hyther to wherfore I prayethe yf it please the that thou take me from henâ— Also I se many of my felowes that I loued moche helde theyr company moche dere where as I haue nowe great horrour for to se them And certaynly I vnderstande knowe that yf the great grace mercy of god w re not my succoure that I haue deserued for my synnes to be punyssed and tormented eternally as they ben And the Aungell sayde vnto hym O my blyssed come and conuerte the in thy rest / for god hath done well vnto the / thou shalte not suffre these tourmentes here And thou shalt se them no more yf thou forget not the thynges that thou hast sene / and yf thou deserue them not agayne The soule of the sayde Tongdalus sawe many other tourmentes / and of the Ioyes of the saued the whiche hath be lefte by cause of shortnes for they ben moche longe to recounte and wryte ¶ By the scryptures and Examples beforesayde it doth appere that the synners in obedyentes vnto god shulde correcke them and amende whyles that they lyue in this worlde yf that they wyll escape and eschewe the inestymable tourmentes of hell and gette the Realme and the glory eternall Vnto the whiche glorye we maye go / cum illo qui est benedictus in infinita secula seculorum Amen ¶ Thus endeth the Examplayre vpon the paynes of hell ¶ Iesus ¶ Hereafter foloweth an Example that the name of Iesus doth many goodnesses And howe it delyuered a man fro many perylles and tourmentes IT is wryten in many Bookes that as seynt Patrycke preached in Irlande he praied God deuoutly that he wolde shewe hym some token by the whiche the wycked euyllmen myght haue feare and also repent them And sodaynly a ryght great hole or pytte appered and it was reueled vnto hym that the place of purgatory was there In the whiche place yf any wolde descende he shulde haue none other payne Many the which herde this thynge therin entred the whiche came neuer agayne And a man named Nycolas the whiche had coÌ„mytted many synnes there descended to th ende that he myght repente hym of his synnes And he founde fyrste an oratory and whyte Monkes the whiche sayde vnto hym Be thou stedfast and constaunt For it behoueth the to sustayne many teÌ„ptacions And he them demaunded what remedy he myght haue agaynst the sayde temptacions They answered whan thou fâ—lest thy selfe tourmeÌ„ted with paynes crye hastely O Iesu Christe adiuua me That is to saye O Ihesu Chryst helpe me And whan that he was departed from them the deuylles ranne sodaynely vpon hym in lykewyse as wylde beestes famysshed And as they dyd in this wyse vnto hym he recorded hym of his counsayle and sayde O Iesu Christe adiuua me And incontynente he ne wyste where the beestes became He yode furthermore founde a tyght great fyre in to the whiche the deuylles kest hym And incontynente that he had sayde Iesu Christe adiuua me / forthwith the fyre was put out and quenched He walked yet further and sawe a well ryght depe from the whiche yssued smoke and great clamoure of soules the which were tourmented And whaÌ„ the deuyls had casten hym within it he cryed Iesu Christe adiuua me That is to say Iesu Chryste helpe me / and forthwith he was delyuered At the last he sawe a brydge that was ryght narowe and strayte And there he had great terrours / the whiche brydge hym behoueth to passe / but he myght not And he sette one of his fete vpon the brydge and sayde Iesu Christe adiuua me And so he saide at euery steppe tyll that he had passed the brydge on the other syde And whaÌ„ that he was past he came vnto a fayre medowe wherin grewe many fayre and delectable floures / of the whiche floures and medowe proceded good odoures and smelles And afterwarde he came agayne vnto lyfe and .xxx. dayes passed he came vnto Paradyse by the Inuocacion of our blessed sauyoure and redemptoure Iesu Chryst ¶ Vnto the Example of the abouesayde man the whiche was delyuered from al tourmentes and paynes incontynente that he had called the helpe of Iesus In lykewyâ—â— thou man and woman call deuoutly the name of the blessed Lambe Iesus in all aduersytyce / fortunes / tourmeÌ„tes / losses / temptacions / sickenesses / necessityes / anguysshes / perylles / infyrmytyes / and thynges doubtables / well shall come vnto the. This name Iesus is interprete sauyour Iesus interpretatur saluator For by the meryte of his passyon he saued all the worlde He brake hell / saued and delyuered afthe good persones the whiche were in the lymbe of the holy fathers opened Paradyse vnto all good chrystyane Also Iâ—sus is the kynge of kynges / the Iudge of Iudges / and of all great and lytell It is he that gyueth Ioye beatytude eternall vnto the good / that punyssheth and dampneth the euyll / Iesus is holy and debonayre vnto the good / also he is terryble and cruel vnto the euyl And therfore sayeth the psalmyst Sanctum terribile nomen eius initium sapientie timor domini Also the name of Iesus is in excellence aboue all other VnÌ„ Paul ad Phyl. DocatuÌ„ est nomeÌ„ eius super omne nomen Also the name of Iesus is loued dred aboue all names / in namynge hym all creatures resonables shulde bowe the knee / be it in Paradyse in this worlde / or in hell VnÌ„ Paul ad Phi. In nomine Iesu omÌ„e genu flectatur celestium / terrestrium / et infernorum The men and women of this worlde cal hym in theyr besynesses and necessytyes / and the deuylls of hell dred hym For to be shorte the name of Iesus ought to be loued / honoured / called dred / and redoupted / for it is replenysshed with bountye / beautye / and holynes infynyte and in enarrable That is the whiche passeth all entendementes c. ¶ Finis ¶ Imprynted by me Robert Wyer dwellynge at the Sygne of seynt IohnÌ„ Euangelyste in seynt Martyns Parysshe besyde Charynge Crosse ¶ Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum solum ROBERT WYER·
the whiche were there tyll that they came â—â—to nothynge And whan they wâ—re so brente and tourmented they toke tâ—e sayde soules with theyr Instrumentes of yron .xx. an hondred or two hondred and layde them on a hâ—pe vpoÌ„ an anuelde of yron and the deuylles the whiche were in other forges sayde Cast vnto vs these caytyues soulâ—s we shall yet torment them agayne Than the dâ—uâ—ls kest them vnto them agayne the whiche were in the other forges And after that they had ben there strongly payned and tourmented they kest them vyolently vnto those of the fyrste forges And before that they came to the grouÌ„de they were taken agayne and so they kest them froÌ„ one vnto an other and tormented tyll vnto that / that the skynnes / the flesshe / and the bones came as vnto nothynge Of this matter is wryten ProuerbioruÌ„ ix Parata sunt derisoribus supplicia / et mallei percutientes stultorum corporibus After that the caytyues soules were so tormeÌ„ted aâ— it is sayde they desyred the deth but they might not dye Vnto this purpose it is wryten Apocalipsis ix In diebus illis querent homines mortem et non inuenient eam / et desiderabuÌ„t mori et more fugiet ab eis And whan the sayde soule had suffred longely these tormentes the Aungell came vnto her and toke her and had her out of the fyre where she was / sayde vnto her Howe felest thou thy selfe nowe Remembre the that for as moch as thou hast done thy wyl the delyte of thy body thou hast suffred so great tormeÌ„tes But the soule had not so moche force that she myght answere one worde for the great torment that she had suffred Than the Aungel sayde vnto the soule Illud psalmi Dominus mortificat et viuificat deducit ad inferos et reducit Comfortethe / for our lorde quyckeneth mortyfyeth / ledeth in to helles bryngeth agayne And albeit that the tormentes that thou hast sene ben moche great yet shalt thou se moche more greater from the whiche thou shalte be delyuered by the mercy of god And know thou that all those soules that thou hast sene here abydeth the Iudgement of God But those the whiche thou shalte se from hensforth ben all redy Iudged Gowe nowe forwarde for thou art not yet comen vnto the paynes of hell And the Aungell touched her and heled as he had ben accustomed for to do c. ¶ Of the pytte of Hell ¶ After that they entred in to a waye / and whan they were a lytell gone forwarde in spekynge one vnto the other there came to the soule sodayne horrour and colde intollerable and stynke and darkenes more thycker than those before / trybulacyon and anguysshe so great that it semed vnto the soule that all the foundementes of the earth trembled vnder her fete sayde vnto the Aungell Syr wherfore is it that I ne may holde me on my fete as I haue accustomed to do And whan she had sayde this she ne myght remene from the place for the great feare that she had / and incontynent the Aungell departed in suche maner that she myght no more se hym / and forthwith she began to dyspayre For she fouÌ„de that the whiche is wryten Ecclesiastes ix Nec opus / nec ratio / nec sapientia / nec scientia erunt apud inferos que tu ê‘peras That is to say that in hell there ne is operacion / ne reason / ne wysdom / ne coÌ„nynge wherby man may ayde hym The caytyne soule was in lykewyse / for she myght not helpe herselfe / the whiche herde terryble cryes and howlynges of soules / and thondre so horryble that no man may thynke it ne tonge declare the horryble crye end the noyse that there was Vnto this purpose God speaketh in the Gospell Illud Mathe. xxii .xxiii. Ibi erit fletus fâ—râ—dordentium Than the soule loked about her for to knowe yf she myght se the way wherby they were comen / and she sawe a great square dytche in lykewyse as a cysterne And from that dytche yssued out a pyller of flambe and of smoke togythers moche horryble stynkynge And the pyller of fyrs was so hyghe that it stretched vnto the heauens And in the fâ—aÌ„be there was great multytude of soules and of deuylles togythers the whiche mounted with the sayde flambe in hyghe in lyke wyse as lytell flambes And of tormentes the whiche they suffred they came as vnto nothynge after that they fell agayne in to the dyâ—che tyl vnto the botom Vnto the purpose of this saieth the Psalmyste Tu vero reduces me in puteum interitus And whan the soule had beholden this she wolde haue drawen her a backe / but she ne myght lyfte her fete froÌ„ the grouÌ„de And whan she had assayed many tymes to remoue her and that she myght not she was moche ferefull / and of the great woodnes that she had she tare and rent her chekes with her owne handes and nayses cryed Alas caytyue wherfore may not I dye And the deuylles the which mounted with the sayde flambe herde the sayd soule in such wyse crye so they beset her about with theyr Instrumentes of yron wherwith they tormeÌ„ted the soules and sayde in this wyse Caytyue soule worthy of payne and torment from whens art thou comen hyther / thou ne hast yet nothynge felte ne suffred / thou shalt endure nowe that that thou art worthy by the sinnes that thou hast coÌ„mytted From the whiche torment thou ne mayest neuer departe ne within it dye / but euermore thou shalt lyue and brenne in tormeÌ„t without lyght / comfort ne helpe And from nowe forth thou ne mayst haue mercy For thou art comen vnto the gates of death / and thou shalt be borne streyght in to the tormentes of hell He that hath brought the hyther hath deceyued the / nowe let hym delyuer the from our handes yf he can / for thou shalt se hym no more And they sayde the one vnto the other wherfore tary we so longe that we ne gyue this soule vnto Lucyfer for to deuoure it / and so they thretened it of death perdurable And these deuylles abouesayde were blacke as coles with horrible lobes theyr eyen were as the laÌ„pes breÌ„nynge And theyr teeth as whyte as the snowe / and they had tayles lyke as scorpyons / and theyr clawes of yron and great large wynges And whan they had sayd these wordes the holy Aungell appered vnto the sayd soule and sayd to her Enioy ye doughter of lyght for thou shalt haue mercy and not Iudgement Thou shalt se of great tormentes and paynes / but thou shalt suffre none Come thaÌ„ after me I shal shewe vnto the / the ryght cursed enyemye of humayne lygnage Those the whiche ben there haue no lyght / they shall not se the / but thou shalt se them well and theyr tormentes ¶ Of the Prynces of darkenes and of theyr cursed
had made al these thinges to be done to the sayde cursed soule he sayde agayne vnto the saide deuylles The custom of this maÌ„ was that after his tornementes that he vsed baynes / after his baines that he was layde in his bed and by hym a tendre mayden the whiche he enbraced and with her medled / appropre hym semblable thynges And without taryenge the sayde soule was moche tormented bayned in a bayne of fyre / and afterwarde layde in a bed of fyre brynnynge and fast by hym a tode of the greatnes of the bed the whiche was so horryble had so terryble eyen that of the enbracynge and of the touchynge of the â—yssynge that the sayde tode made and of the horryble lokes he was more brente and tourmented than he ne had be before of the sayde armoures / of the bayne / and of the bed Alas what paynes haue those the whiche in suche wyse ben tormented That blyssed won an that sawe by the dyspensacyon of God the thynges beforesayde vnto the Soule of her sayde Husbande was so moche tourmented that meruayle it was all thee dayes of her fyfe of the recordacyon of the vysyon before rehersed of her Husbande ¶ Another Example howe a sâ—â—uaunt sawe his mayster the whiche was ledde in to paynes MEn fynde by wrytyng this the whiche foloweth howe the dyscyple recyteth in his promptuary and saith that there was a noble man oppressour and persecutoure of poore people and loued thee worlde The which as he rested hym iÌ„ his bed his seruauÌ„t the which lay before his chambre was rauysshed by vycion before thee throne of god And there sawe his sayde mayster that was accused of all the thynges that hee had done / and for them sentence of dampnacyon was gyuen and was ledde of deuylleâ— before Lucyfer with great daunsynge Vnto whom Lucyfer sayd Approche vnto me myne owne faythfull seruauÌ„te that I may kysse hym And whan he was before hym Lucyfer sayde peas be not with the in eternyte Agayne Lucyfer sayde He hadde of custome to bathe hym / lâ—be hym to the vayne Than was he bayned of a bayne infernall and moche tormented with the nailes of the deuyls / and some leest fyre vpon hym After he was layde in a bedde infernall And Lucyfer coÌ„mauÌ„ded that after the vaine men shulde giue hym to drynke iÌ„ the chalyce of the yre of god And he was constrayned to drynke of fyre sulphre molton to gyders And as he cryed it suffysed Lucyfer sayde He had of custom to here symphonyes So there arose vp ii symphonyatours the whiche were two deuylles with InstrumeÌ„tes full of fyre the which blew agaynste hym in suche maner that from his eyen and his mouth fro his nose the flambes of fyre yode oute After Lucyfer made hym to be brought and sayde to hym Thou hast songe of songes singe me one he saide What shall I synge / but that cursed bee the day that I was borne And Lucyfer sayde vnto hym Syng a better songe And he answered What shal I synge / but cursed be the father that begate me And Lucyfer sayd vnto hym / synge yet a better And the accursed sayde / but that cursed be that god the whiche hath suffred that I was borne vpoÌ„ the earth vnto this purpose sayeth the psalmyst Non mortui landabuÌ„t te dnÌ„e neque oeÌ„s qui descendunt in infernum And Lucyfer sayde / here in the songe that I wolde haue / lede hym vnto the place that he hathe deserued And he was caste in to a pytte of fyre Than the deuylles made so great dauÌ„synge that it semed that all shulde fall And at the sayde dauÌ„synge the seruaunt of the sayd man awoke The whiche ranne vnto the chambre of his sayde mayster and founde hym deed Than he tolde the sayde vysyon c. ¶ Another Example of a scoler of Parys the whiche appered vnto his mayster after his death in great tormentes IT is wryten in the legende of the deed that one of the maysters of Parys named Scilo prayed ryght greatly his scoter that yf he dyed that he wolde appere vnto hym after his death for to denounce vnto hym of his estate yf it pleased vnto God And one tyme after he appered / the whiche was clothed with a cloke of parchemente all wryten without forth of sophyms / and within enflombed with fyre / and the sayde mayster demaunded hym what he was He answered I am he the whiche hath promysed to come agayne vnto the he was axed of his estate he saide This cloke weyeth more on me than a great towre / the whiche is gyuen me to bere for the vaynglorye that I toke in the argumentes / of sophystrye / that is to saye fullacyons And the slambe of fyre the whiche brynneth me is gyuen for the furtes delycyousses that I wore And as the saide mayster sayde that suche payne was lyghte to bere The deade bodye sayde vnto hym that he shulde stretche oute his hande and that he shulde fâ—le the lightnes of his payne And whan he hadde stretched oute his hande the sayde deade bodye lette fall a droppe of his swete the whiche perced the sayde hande more sooner than shulde do an arowe / and sayde vnto hym I 〈◊〉 all suche And the sayde mayster felte so horryble tourmente that he was so ferde that hee fâ—fte the worlde and entred in to relygyon In lyke wyse aâ—telleth the chaunter of parye c. ¶ Another Example of the Soule dampned that wept the tyme that he had loste IT is wryten in the booke of drede that as a holy man was in oraison he herd by the wyl of god a voyce horryble wepyng He demaunded who it was that in suche wyse wepte Answere was made the whiche sayde I am a soule dampned And he demaunded wherfore wepest thou so bytterly He answered and sayde that one of the thynges wherfore he and all the dampned sorowe moost for is that that they haue lofte and coÌ„sumed the tyme of grace vnprofytablye in synnynge / wherein an houre by repentauÌ„ce they myght haue gotten grace escaped the tormentes wherin they be and shall be eternally By this example these synners shulde vnderstande that it is the most great good dede that may be in them as to be in the estate of grace well confessed / repentaunce of theyr synnes Also by that that this soule wept in hell is vnto the purpose of that that the EuaÌ„gylles saye that the dampned wepe in Hell Vnde Mathei viii Et luce xiiii Ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium Vnto this purpose tongdalus the whiche sawe the tormentes of hell afterwarde was brought agayne tolde that he sawe in hell a torment of an yzye ponde where the soules the whiche therin were tormented cryed so horryble that they were herde vnto heuen And after where the sayd tongdalus spake of the pytte of hell he herde great cryes howlynges of soules and thondre so horryble that