the furour and anger of GOD kindled agaynste they re sinnes or when they had any great matter of weyght to doe to the which fayth is greatly required and the ayde and assistaunce of GOD and for to demaunde and obteyne the prayer and orison the which requyreth sobrietie and abstmence to the ende the spirite bée more frée feruent and more zealous to god But they had no lawe for to make difference betwéene meat and meat other then that of Moses nor which forbiddeth them flesh which by the same was permitted them nor that they bound them vnto certeyne dayes or certeine meates and to fast vnder paine of deadly sinne For the first that made the lawe to fast was Montanus the her like as the ecclesiasticall historye wytnesseth Also they attributed not their health and iustification to the merite of their fastinges and other woorkes nor they dyd not present them vnto God for satisfaction of their sinnes and yet lesse the sackecloth and asshes wherwyth they did couer themselues But to the onely goodnesse and mercye of god And they dyd not that but for to wytnesse their fayth and repentaunce which dyd bringe foorth such fruites and for to moue and sturrethem the better to call vppon GOD and to giue themselues wholy vnto him For without the same neyther sackecloth nor asshes nor the abstinence of meates wyll not profite but for to prouoke the wrath of God thorowe such hipocrisie the whiche nothinge can bée more dyspleasing vnto hym For sith that GOD is truth and the Father thereoff and the Diuell is lyer and the Father of lyes what thinge can bée more contrary vnto the nature of GOD and hys truth whiche ought to shine in hys children then hipocrisie the daughter of the Diuell and of lyes to lye vpon the spirite of God and his Church For what other thinge is hipocrisse and dissimulation but lying And what other thing is the hipocrite before GOD but a dissembler beguiler and a scoffer a mocker of God and men and a very traytour and deceiuer who woulde bée estéemed other then hée is and thincketh to deceine both GOD and men caringe but for to please men as hée whiche playeth his parte vppon a stage or seaffolde onelye for to gette prayse and glorye As our Lorde Iesus Christe wytnesseth of the Scribes and Pharises who dooe all their woorkes but for the prayse of the worlde For as the Prophet sayth O Lorde thou lookest onely vppon fayth If the best woorkes that God euer commaunded be not profitable vnto him that doeth them if they procéede not of a true liuely faith without vnsaincdnesse with a pure heart and a good conscience without dooing it to any other ende but to the glorye of God and health of our neighboure whereto then can the vare ceremonies serue whiche of themselues are nothinge worth but forasmuche as they dooe serue to more greater things and that they are as the rudimentes and begynnings and the first elements degrées for to come and attayne vnto greater things to that which they prepare do As that letters the Alphabet and the first rules Grammer doe prepare lyttle children and younge Grammarians to a hygher knowldge and more greater percfection or otherwise all that should serue them but in little steede Therefore Saincte Paule called the Iewish and Mosaiacall Ceremonies the elementes of the worlde They doe also serue vs as the scaffoldes which the Masons doe make for to builde a house the which are cast away after that the house is finished For they are of themselues vndrofitable sauinge onely that they voe serue for a better thing And therefore let vs beholde howe our Lorde Iesus Christ condemned the fastings of the Scribes and hipocryticall Pharises And by hys Prophet Esay those which absteyned onely from meates and punished theire bodyes and couered themselues with sackecloth and asshes But they absteyned not from dooing euyll from plaintes and processe from violence and rapines as the most parte of our fasters are at this day which do make it a cōscience to eat a péece of porke beale mutton or of other beastes and doe make it no conscience to eate and deuoure mans flesh and the bowels tripes and entrayles of their Christian bretheren thorowe their insatiable auarice and couetousnesse And yet neuerthelesse they play the Dipocrites and knéele downe before the Priest for to receyue those holy asshes as in signe and wytnesse of a greate humplitie and abiection of themselues But if they dyd truelye beléeue that they are earth and asshes wherefore doe not they feare the iudgement of GOD and leaue off from their violences and ertorcions For they ought not to thincke that wyth such maskes they can content and please God whiche hath no néede of babels for to passe away the tyme For the fastinge hath bene chiefely vsed among the true seruaunts of God for to helpe them in their peayer the which is almost alwayes ioyned with fastinge in all the places of the Scripture which maketh mention of fastinge For that cause sayde Iesus Christe vnto his Disciples speakinge of that Diuell which they coulde not driue out of the LunatickeL That kinde of diuell cannot bée driuen out but by fastinges and prayers Letting them thereby to vnderstande that they wanted great fayth and that their incredulitye and vnbeliefe was che cause that they could not driue hym out Wherfore it was most necessary for them to praye the which requireth abstinence and sobrietie for to bee more spirituall and seruent But otherwyse the fastinge and the abstinence which hath regarde but to the meates why shoulde it bée more praise worthy amonge the Christians then the abstinence of the Philosophers whiche doe absteine from fleshe or that of the Priestes of Isis and Cyble who doe absteine from eating of bread whom Saincte Hierome rebuked bicause they dare not eate bread for feare to breake their fastinges but they must make greate prouision for Phesauntes Partriges and other deyntie foules They doe as ours doe which dare not eate of the larde and fat bacon but they séeke bothsea and lande for to finde out new delicate disshes Is not the perpetuall abstinence from wyne which the Lurkes kept to bée preferred But I wyll not at this time enter into that matter of fastinges any further For it cannot bée ended in a small tyme But if the fastinges and such corporall exercises doe lyttle profite excepte they haue wyth them the thinges by reason whereoff they are ordayned to what ende can sackecloth and asshes serue especially after that sorte as they are giuen at this daye the which hath no lykelyhoode or agreeinge wyth the custome of the auncient seruauntes of God For they dyd not thincke to bée puryfied and sanctyfied by those asshes nor that they shoulde bringe any health or saluation vnto the soule by that sprincklinge as you doe by yours Let the prayer the which you doe
Let vs onely consider how the Lorde Iesus Christ woulde make his two Apostles Sainct Peter and Sainct Paule to humble themselues before that he dyd committe hys Church vnto them and after that they had the charge giuen them Hée whiche was in all pointes tempted like as wée are but yet wythout sinne to the ende that wée shoulde not doubt but that hée knoweth our infirmities and that hée can haue compassion of them hath suffered Peter to fall that by his fall hée may learne to knowe himselfe and the nature of all other poore sinners inuironed with mannes infirmitie for to comfort and confirme them after that hée shall arise agayne Also hée suffered Saul to erre a longe time before hée called him to the light of the Gospell to bring him in that right way to the ende that after that he should departe from the darke clowdes of ignoraunce shoulde haue more greater pittie and compassion of the poore blinde and ignoraunt and that hée shoulde not dispaire incontinent of the health and saluation of the rebells and persecutors Also we cannot denie that there is any man liuing vpon the earth but that hée hath bene plunged ouer the head in the darkenesse of errour and ignoraunce the which were more thicker vppon all the lande then euer they were in Aegypt And woulde to GOD that those which are yet couered in Aegypt may at the least wise feele and perceiue as the Aegyptians dyd theirs and that they would desire with such affection to be deliuered But this is the mischiefe that the Aegyptians which are at this present time cannot acknowledge what they are but woulde be taken and accompted for the true Israelites And notwithstanding that they haue the darkenesse palpable amonge them yet they glory and bragge themselues of the light and doe promise it vnto others by y which they shall haue néede to hée illuminated themselues Wherfore so much the more ought we to haue that greater compassion on them as they haue the lesse knowledge of the euil dauÌ„ger wherein they are Those then vnto whome the Lorde hath opened their eyes and that he hath brought them from the â—enebrous Aegypt all true Israelites which are in the land of Gosan béeinge seperated from those horrible darkenesse ought to trauayle wyth Moses that good seruaunt of God not onely to drawe the Israelites out of the lande of Aegypt but also if it be possible to conuert the Aegyptians into Israelits praying the LORD to driue awaye all darkenesse by the light of his woorde and the cléerenesse of his comming For if we will not lye agaynst our owne conscience who can denye but that all the worlde is a very Aegypt and all the Christianitie a very Babilon full of all confusion For hée that will well ponder and marke the language that the Christians doe speake the diuersities of opinions which are amonge them but that he shall be constrained to say that Babilon is not Babilon in comparison of this The one saith white the other bcack That which the one calleth day one other calleth it night That which is the light vnto the one is darkenesse to the other That which the one findeth swéete the other iudgeeth it sowre That which is Iesus Christ truth and Paradise to the one is Antechrist lyinge and hell to the other What is then to be done in this great varietie and contrarietie of opinions What ought the poore ignoraunt people thinck of it In what trouble and perplexitie ought their poore consciences to be in when they sée the one to denie that which an other affirmeth What opinion ought they rather follow and of what side can their poore consciences finde most rest It is most certeine that there is but one veritie that in such varietie and contrarietie of opinions and sentences there cannot be but one true and it may well hée that they are all false if man followe any other guide then Gods onely veritie What then is he that is of so sure a iudgement which can surely iudge what is the best the most certayntest and infallible veritie There is none which can better iudge of the Arte then the woorkeman of a matter then he which hath some knowledge and experience If we will then finde any rest in our consciences and obteyne and get a good iudgement for to discerne in that diuersitie of doctrine what is the best and moste certeintest and what is the truth that declareth all the other to be lyinges we must gyue our selues to the meanes by which we may atteine therevnto But it is harde to finde for it must be searched for out of all creatures and yet neuerthelesse by the creatures And therefore forasmuch as the thing séemeth to be harde and that I sée many poore consciences very much troubled and almoste in dispaire not knowing on which side to tourne themselues so much is the thinge more worthy of pittie and compassion And for bicause that I my selfe haue bene longe ynough sicke in that same bedde and haue experimented and proued howe daungerous that euilt is and what dolour and torment it bringeth vnto the man that feareth God and which is afraide to offend hym for that cause am I the more moued to ayde and succour those which are yet holden fast in the same and which cannot in the ende finde remedy Not that I dare of 〈◊〉 selfe to promise any great thing sith that I am nothingeâ— but forasmuch as the common prouerbe gyueth vnto me boldenesse which sayth The foole coâ—â—sayleth the wyse To promise remedy vnto a disease so harde and incurable I dare not of my selfe and I will not do as the venturous and hardie Emperickes doe which promyse helpe vnto all diseases howe incurable so euer they hée and those which are most ignoraunt doe moste assure it But I dare promise to declare that the disease is not so harde to be cured as it is daungerous if one prouyde not remedy in time and wythout delaying the meanes whilest it is possible And that the difficultnesse that is in it doe not procéede but of vs whiche haue the remedye in our handes if we knowe howe to vse it And although that I nor no man that is in the worlde cannot of himselfe remedy it yet neuerthelesse I trust throughe the helpe and aide of hym which hath it in hys power and which doth comfort those whome it pleaseth hym that I wyll declare and shewe vnto those which haue néede some redresse to atteyne vnto it For although that I knowe not very much and haue not séene much yet neuerthelesse I can not deny but that the Lord who through his grace and mercy hath drawen mée from those troubles and anguishes and from darkenesse vnto the knowledge of the truth hath also made me prone many thinges of which I maye helpe my poore bretheren whome I can not despyse without dooinge vnto them iniurye and wronge and to shewe
occasion of offence they doe finde it in Iesus Christ Wherefore wée must not much care or take thought for it For they doe take the offence wythout any man gyuing it them and are an offence vnto themselues and cannot heare the truth wythout béeing offended Wherefore wée must holde vnto that which Iesus Christ sayde vnto them Let them alone for they are the blinde leaders of the blinde They must vnderstande that an euill knotte and harde péece of woode to cleaue hath néede of an harde wedge and a stronge mall to cleaue it If they are so shamelesse that they haue no shame at all and haue their heart so obstinate and hardened that they haue no remorse of censcience in mockinge of GOD and blaspheminge hym so horriblye as they doe daylye and doe teste so at men to their greate losse and hurte shall wée bée more ashamed to tell them their iniquitie to rebuke their abuses and abhominations which they dooe If they woulde not that one shoulde speake of them let them leaue off and cease to doe them For I beléeue that there is not a man of a good hearte which taketh any great pleasure to remoue that filthinesse except they bée constrained to doe it through their importunitie impudencie and shamelesse face For what good Christian heart can suffer that dayly men shoulde hyde those abhominations and that one shoulde couer suche villanyes makinge vs to beléeue that their filthmesse and stincke is as sweete as balme their poyson to bée the bread of lyfe lyinge to bée the truth Hell to bée Paradise cursinge to bée blessinge darkenesse to bée light and death lyfe As for me I cannot colour flatter nor hyde the thinges and I cannot but name them by their names For such is the language and style of the spyrite of God which will not speake after mens fantasies and for to please them as the Oratouâ—s which can giue vnto vices the names of vertues and such colour as it pleaseth them but to speake truth as the thinge is calling Idolatrie that which the Hipocrites and Idolaters doe call diuine seruice and their Idolles Diuells the which they call Gods. Wherefore althoughe such Hipocrites haue their forheades of stone and Iron so harde and immutable that one cannot make them blushe but doe kéepe their countenaunces as théeues and murtherers and shamelesse as harlots yet let them vnderstand on the other side that GOD hath giuen to his seruaunts as he said vnto Ezechiel aforehead of Brasse and of a Diamond which is yet more harder and which doth lesse shame to speake the truth and to giue praises vnto God then they to mainteine lyings to blame it And therfore the Lord commaunded Ezechiel saying goe speake vnto them and say vnto them that which I haue commaunded thée I know neuerthelesse that they will do nothing but I will y thou do tell them I know not what excuse such men can haue For they haue bene already taught al manner of wayes If they do complaine that one hath learned taught them to sharply and with to great seueritie and rigor I would learne and teach theÌ„ a little more ioyfully and more iestingly then bitterly If they doe yet finde my manner of dooing too sharpe there are as many others which haue written as modestly as is possible yet they finde no goodnesse in it and leaue not off to perseuer alwayes worse and worse in their errours and heresies Wherefore I knowe not what song one may sing vnto them but to rebuke them of that which Iesus Christ rebuked the Iewishe people and that which the little children whiche played in the stréetes rebuked their companions off when wée dyd singe vnto you sorrowfull thinges you haue not wepte when wée dyd singe vnto you ioyfull thinges you haue not daunsed Iohn Baptist came in great seueritie â—austeritie haue found him very sharp they say he hath the Diuell within him Iesus Christ came with all humilitie and gentlenesse and they said that he was a drunkard and a glutton and a friend vnto publicans and sinners If one do speake vnto them sharply as their iniquitie requireth they say that one is furious and mad If one do speake vnto them pleasantly they will call him foole or scoffer To couclude they will alwaies finde some thing to say as wée sée it by experience in our time Many men at the beginning haue taken vppon them to touch a little some abuses yet of the most grosest most apparant These Hipocrites could not beare them but they haue persecuted them by sea and land They cannot onely suffer that one should touch a little with his finger their Idolatry superstitioÌ„ that one should open his mouth for to speak one word for to reforme their estate but which is more haue declared themselues to be enemies vnto all learned wise men which haue trauailed to abolish all barberousnesse and sophistrie for to set vp againe all good letters and other disciplines haue accompted and condemned them for heritickes and haue put them in great daunger of their liues Sith then that they cannot suffer those héere that they should goe so pleasantly not onely of little dialogues familiar talke for little children which doo vnto them yet more greater honour then they deserue and do flatter them more then is néed God hath raised vp others who haue in such sort remoued their filthines the which others haue not done but a little tickled vp that they haue in such sort made the filthinesse and stinke so to auoide that all the world doth perceiue and foole it in such sort that one can no longer abide and suffer it When these sharpe surgeons are come which haue thrust their instrument so deepe within the Apostume that they haue perced them euen vnto the heart and bones they haue begun to reiect y first which did but a little touch the wounds and sores without and through their gentlenesse make them to fester and waxe worse and worse makinge of it but a certeine pallatiue cure or healing When they haue experimented and tried the second they haue cried out Alarome against them and haue bene constrained to prayse the first whome they condempned in comparison of those héere Afterwards came consequently others who haue a little better vncouered their disceite and which haue better manifested the villany and the fornications of the great whoore of Babilon insomuch that those whome men accompted to bée so earnest and such heretickes haue begun by them to bée estéemed gentle and good men in comparison of the latter And so they haue had of all sortes and yet they will vnderstand nothing Wherefore mée thincks they can no more pretende ignoraunce nor infirmitie or any iust excuse but that it is tyme to aunswere to a foole according to his foolishnesse to the ende hée thincke not alwaies to bée wise Wée must then let them to vnderstand that men doe accompte
I haue not found any so skilfull and of such habilitie who can bound and lymitte so perfectly the landes as our preacher to day hath lymitted and bounded out hell Limbus patrum and Purgatory As far as I can perceiue he knoweth in what clymate they are how many degrées miles and places the one is from the other of what side they are all scituated and placed whether they bée on the Cast West North or South Hillarius You take not the matter amâ—â—se But you must not be abashed if he and such as he is doe take so great paynes to bound and lymitte so perfectly those places and chiefely Purgatorie For they haue no better possession then this which yéeldeth vnto them more profite and gaine nor of which they receiue and gather vp more rents and reuenues There is no realme Lordship lande nor heritage which bringeth more profite to their Lords owners then Purgatory doth bring vnto them Wherefore it is no maruayle if they doe feare so much to loose it and that their bounds and lymits shoulde be transported or changed any other where Ptolomus and many other wise and excellent Geographers are estéemed to be very well learned aswell among the Greekes as the Latines But I thinke that among all those there is not one which in his Geography hath at any time so wel painted and described the earth with all the parts thereoff countryes and regions as this our Doctor hath described and drawen out before our eyes these low parts and inseruall regions Thomas By that we may know or at the least presume that he speaketh not onely by heare say but that he hath bene there in proper person or â—ls hath had some expert teacher in that Geography For I doe sée that the best Geographers and the most cumming Cosmographers doe faile oftentimes in the description of the earth and of many countryes and regions which are most familier to vs and of which they may haue greatest and most certeyne experience Hillarius Without séeking any further we may try it in the French Cardes or Maps There is not almost a country better knowne then Fraunce neuerthelesse we sée oftentimes great errours in those Cardes in the which it is described Wherefore wée may well thincke that it maye so chaunce in other tables mappes and cardes conteminge the description of heauen and earth and of the regions and countryes vnknowne Thomas I doubt not at all but that this Monke hath the spirite for to compose and make a table and Mappe of these low countryes better then the paynters haue paynted them out in the temples or the Printers in the Shepheards CaleÌ„ders And therfore I desire very much to speke with him For I haue taken in hande a iourney in the which he may helpe mée For I hope that eyther he will shewe mee some good way or els satisfie mée in such sorte that peraduenture I shall saue the iourney and charges Hillarius What voyage is that which you haue taken vppon you will you goe into Sicily Thomas What to doe in Sicily Hillarius To descend into hell For I cannot vnderstand any other thing by your talke forasmuch as you enquire after that Monke to accomplish and ende your voyage I thinke you will haue him for your guyde to conduct you in that daungerous voyage euen as Circe â—uyded Vlysses to bring him to the speach of Elpenor and Sybilla Aeneas to conduct and bring him vnto the speache of his father Anchises Thomas I thinke you are eyther a Prophet or a Diuine you haue hitte the naâ—â—e on the heaâ—e you haue not erred a whit from the matter â—ut to what purpose speake you vnto mée of Sicily Is there any hauen or any entrye place or denne to descende into those infernall and obscure horrible and most darkesome countryes Hillarius What meane you to make all this circumstaÌ„ce questionings you make it so strange as though you had neuer heard it spoken off before Ther is nothing more common in the Poeticall Theologie Thomas You alleage vnto mee a goodly diuinitie I haue nothing to doe with the Poets nor with their fables and faynings Is it not well knowne that they be inuented of pleasure and there is no truth in them but that they are most euident lyes Hillarius If you so lyttle esteeme the testimonye of the Poets I thinke you will not despise altogether the vulgar common opinion which hath continued and endured so long time and moreouer doth confirme it Thomas You bring mée into a faire land and alleage vnto mée a testimony worthy of credite for confirmation of the other to set mée ouer vnto the common people there is nothing more vnconstant more foolish more mutable nor more ready to beléeue all lyes fables and follyes Hillarius I thinke y yet at the least wise you wil not reiect the testimony of that holy man Odillo Abbot of the Monks of Cluny and of many orher Monkes very deuout which haue followed him Thomas It may be that when I shall heare his opinion eyther I will allow it or disallow it What sayth hée Hillarius Peter of Amiens hath written that in the time of Pope Iohn the viij About a thousande yeares after the death and passion of Iesus Christ Odillo was in Sicily and bicause that he heard oftentimes the noyse cryes and bewaylings which were made continually about that burning hill Aetna called of the Italians at this day Gibello monte did thinke it came from the Diuells lamenting that the soules of the faythfull deceased were deliuered from torments through the masses vigiles prayers sacrifices and offrings of the Christians And therfore he incontinent declared the same to his Monkes and they all decréed together that after they had offered their offerings the first day of Nouember and celebrated the feaste of Saints in the honour of all Saints they would in lyke manner the next day beeing holyday make prayers and â—risons for the soules of all the faythfull deceased Afterwarde in succession of time others receiued and allowed that manner of doing as good and holy Thomas What reason had they to imagine that those cryes mourninges came of the lamentations that the Diuels made Hillarius I cannot vnderstand that it hath had any other reason or foundation then the Poets and the common people to thincke that there was a place there to descende into hell and the place in which the soules of the wicked were tormented for their sinnes bicause that in that same mountaine there is a perpetuall fire which alwaies burneth and hath done so of long time Wherefore they haue thought that y damned were kept in those great burning goulfes By this same reason was Odillo and his Monkes moued and were the Authours that the Christians gaue themselues to celebrate feastes and make sacrifiees for the dead in the month of Nouember euen as the heathen Romaines did commonly vse
brought of those children wheÌ„ they will not giue them to drincke as they would nor giue them that they demaund The Diuell of miracle that you shall haue thrée dayes Those are yet liuing who hearde it who can witnesse the truth Wherefore I doe conclude that the olde woman doth the miracles and not our Lady Thomas And hath that poore man Gaspard quenched their thirst Hillarius I kmow not what he did I thinke that when she sawe him so beggerly that she had some pittie But héerein stoode the question that when the childe that was raised must bée buryed then had he somewhat to doe For he must pay foure or fiue grotes for the buryall and I beléeue that he had not foure farthinges for to paye his charge and expence Neuerthelesse he could neuer agrée with the Priestes but was constrained to carry his childe to Orbe or otherwise he must bury him in the rawe earth For hée coulde neuer haue one foote of sodden earth Thomas What doe you call sodden earth and rawe earth Hillarius Are you of that country know not the language Doe you not know y our priests do call coÌ„monly raw earth that which is out of the churchyard which hath not ben blessed consecrated y is to wéet charmed by them as the same of their Church If it be rawe I conclude by contraries that the other is sodden Thomas And when he was at Orbe did he finde the Priestes more pitifull then at Lausannia Hillarius God knoweth howe that poore man was sifted and tried They did thinke to eate him aliue with his childe compelled him to carrie him to Lausannia or at the least would not suffer him to bury him in the Churchyarde neuerthelesse hee buried him But I knowe not whether it were in the rawe ground or sodden Thomas Beholde a greate rigour and crueltie shewed vnto a little infant Hillarius I doe thinke that if that tyme had continued any long space we should haue béene constrayned not to dye for want of burying It is a marueylous case that that poore little Infant had so much a doe to finde one little corner or angle in the earth for to be buried in and that the earth was not greate ynough for him We may very well say that of our Priests which Phocion saide of the Athemans a little before his death When they had condemned him to dye bicause he was too honest a man for them nor they were not worthy to haue him among them he must drincke of the hemlocke For the Athenians had that custome to make those that were founde faultie to drinke that poyson and to put them to death after that sort After that all the other that were in the prison with him had dronken and that there was none but he alone left bicause that all the other had consumed the poyson that did drinke first the hangman saide that hée will not giue it him vnlesse one woulde giue him twelue drachines of siluer For bicause that an ownce of the poyson was sold for so much Phocion then pleading with the hangman that his death might not be prolonged and that the same should not let or hinder him to die called vnto him a certeine friende of his and said vnto him Sith that it is not lawfull to dye at Athens frely but that it will cost money and that I must bye death I pray thée deliuer money to this hangman and giue him the price hée demaundeth least that for want of money I should tarry any longer before I dye We may say as much of the Christians and that y Christianitie is so much contributary that one cannot onely haue the death and the buriall freely but that we must pay a rewarde There was also among the Panims a certeine custome that the dead must pay And therfore when any man dyed they did put into his mouthe an halfe penny for to paye for his passage and custome vnto Charon the Ferryman of Hell for to serry the soules ouer the riuers that were there to passe ouer Thomas That was very good cheape But I do thinke that there passed many together at once For the soules are not very heaâ—y Hillarius According to the bodies from which they came out Thomas And if they had not wherewith to pay should they be constrayned to retourne to lyue againe and to continue and abide heere for want of money Hillarius They had that opinion that they should continue in great torment if they coulde not passe For they could not be purged of their sinnes nor enter into the fields Eliseas with the blessed but that they must firste passe the riuer As men haue made vs to beleeue of the soules who haue not ended their penaunce They doe also beleeue that if their bodyes be not honestly buryed according to their estate and degrée they cannot passe in an hundreth yeares but must be wandring héere and there vntill such time as their bodyes be buryed or vntill the terme of an hundreth yeares which was assigned vnto them for their payne and punishment be expired the which things the Poet hath comprised altogether in one selfe place by his verses of which I wil recite vnto you one parte of those that agree best to our matter He speaketh in that place of the things that Aâ—neas hath séene béeing descended into Hell with Sibilla the which afterwardes hée expoundeth and sheweth playnely whâ—t they signifie He first describeth that which they haue séene there practised saying HEere now the way doth lead to Lymbo lake and filthy stoud Whose chaÌ„nell choked is with troublous grouÌ„ds of miry mud And belching boyles a sand vvhich to the bakes it throws froÌ„ deeps A dredfull ferriman that streme vvith visage lothsom keepes In tartred vvretched weede and Charon he by name doth hight His hoary bush and bearde both ouergrovvue foule vndight With skowling steming eyes from his shoulders down his loyns His filthy mantell hangs whom sluttish knot vncomly ioyns Himselfe vvith pyked poale his boat doth guyde bears a charge Transporting still the soules in rusty dusty canckred barge Well aged novv but sappy strength he keepes of greener yeares To this place al the rout doth dravv theÌ„selues with louring cheeres By nombers great both men and vvomen dead nor long delayde With Princes preased boyes and girles that wedlocke neuer sayde And slouring youth that in their parents time were laid in ground And all that lyfe had borne about that banke they clustered round As thicke as leaues of trees among the vvoods in vvynter vvinde When first to ground they fal or lyke as foules of vvater kinde Assembling flock themselues when yere of frost hath first begunne And ouer Sâ—â—s they seeke in vvarmer lands to take the Sunne They stood and crauing cride that first transport they might before And stretching held their hands desiring much the further shore The churlish ferruman novv these novv those by course
the waters of Aegypt are much troubled and full of mudde and slime that Priest did take one of those water pottes and stopped subtilly with ware all the holes thereof afterwardes painted it with diuerse coloures so that one could not perceiue it That béeing done filled it with water afterwards did cut of the head of an olde Image the which hée set vpō that great water pol so cunningly that it was like to his god Canopus After that the Chaldeans came who would proue the power of that fire of their God against the God Canopus The fire thē béeing kindled and Canopus béeing cast into it after that manner and sorte as he was trimmed and apparayled by his Priest Nowe whilest that on either sides men did behold which of those two Gods should haue the victory the wax with whiche the holes were stopped féeling the heat of the fire did beginne to melt the water to droppe out which quēched the fire And so by that meanes Canopus got the victory thorow the craft of the Priest and was iudged worthy of diuine honours Thomas Behold a mery Iest to laught at at Caster Hillarius You laughe at it but the holy fathers do say things which are not so good as that and your preists do make miracles which are not yet so subtile by the which yet neuertheles the poore people are abused But let vs consider a little wherein the Papists differ from the one and the other of whiche we haue spoken off if they haue not the fyre and the water for their gods For what doth signifie the benediction and consecration of the Are which they make vpon Caster euen with their magical ceremonies For at the beginning of diuine seruice all the sice which is in the Temple must be put out Afterwardes they must a newe by striking vppon a stone wyth a péece of stéele or with a Christall set against the sunne Afterwards they must kéepe it not with al kinds of wood but with the branches of the Vine There is here more to doe then in the charmes of the Enchaunters And to what ende do all those sorceries serue Eusebius Now darest thou so to blaspheme and call the diuine seruice Sorcery which was done to represent that the fire of the olde law is put out by the death and passion of Iesus Christe who hath accomplished and fulfilled all the ceremonies of the same and he is the slone the Christall whiche hath bene stroken vppon the side and hath kindled for vs a new fyre of the holy Ghost Hillarius Mée thinkes that the interpretation should be two true if you said that the same signifieth that the Priests go about all that they can to quench the fire of the worde of God which Iesus Christ the light of the world hath brought in the earth for to take in hand a newe and for to make vs in steede of the Purgatorie which is by that bloude of Iesus Christ a newe Iesus Christe and a newe Purgatory in fire to the ende that all at one moment or instant do declare themselues both Iewes and Panims Theophilus It is moste true that God commaunded the Priests of the olde law that the fire of the bournt offring or holocauste should be alwayes kept burning in the Temple But that was to signifie that the fire of Iesus Christ and his offring and sacrifice is eternall and sufficient for to purge all the sinnes of the world and that we ought all to bee pertakers of his crosse tribulations which are signified by the fire in the Scripture and wée ought all to trauaile as much as lieth in vs to kéepe and mainteine that fire of Iesus Christ the euangelicall mynistry and the faith in his death and passion in the Christian Church For asmuch then as Iesus Christ hath perfectly and wholy accomplshed and fulfilled that whiche by that fyre was signified the it must be accompilshed in vs spiritually not in outward appearance what néed haue wee to inuent new ceremonies and new Iewishnes were it not as good to kéepe them to the olde sith that they will play the Iewe with the Iewes Hillarius But which is worse so play the Panim with the Panims of whom their manner of doings approcheth neerer then of the auncient Iewish lawes For as Plutarke witnesseth in Athens Delphos where the Greekes in like manner do kéepe a perpetuall fyre if peraduenture it were put or went out they must kindle a new and very orange taken from the Sunne In like manner also hath Macrobius written that the first day of Marche the Romaines kindled a new fire vpon the aulter of the Goddesse Vesta the which fire muste bee kept by the Mestales the nunues of Vesta alwayes burning in hir Temple like vnto ours at this day Wherevnto agréeth in like manner the witnes of Ouid saying Men say that when the holy fire in temple ceast to burne It was the vse from time to time with new to serue the turne And if it happen that thorow their negligence it be put out they shal be greuosly punished Theophilus One may vanquysh them by their owne confession that they haue not receiued those traditiō of that Apostles For they thēselues confesse that the custome to blesse the Pascall taper and such manner of doings haue bene instituted by Pope Zozme and Theodorus the first Hillarius We must not be abashed though they make great prouision both of Oyle War for to kéepe alwayes that fire in their churches For they haue no greater nor puissanter God then he of whom onely they demaimd aide inuocate and call vpon for to mainteine their Religion all their other Gods. For what other refuge haue they for to fight against the truth and to desende lyings but the Fagots and Fyre Wherefore mee thinkes that they shoulde haue more reason if they followed the example of the Persians who notwithstanding that they condempned those which had temples and Idols yet neuerthelesse they had a custome that the kings sheulde cause the syre to bee caried before them uppon an Norse backe the whiche is called by the Nistoriographers OriMasda that is to saye the holy fire or the sacred syre They also caried it in procession all abouts in the same manner as the Papists did cary the holy hoasten Christs day and as the Pope causeth his God to be caried before him uppon a white ambling nagge to the ende hee maye gee the more at his ease altheugh that hée esticme him selfe more worthy sith that he causeth himselfe to bee carted of men and his God of beastes The pecple also bsed to adore and worshippe that holy fire as they doe at this day the holy hoast And whe they do cary it in procession 365. Priests did go before him to the ende there bee as many in number as there be dayes in the yeare doing the sauie in the honour of the sonne who by his fyre giueth