mad," replied he, "but I have now all the guilt of my A.D. 706. wicked conscience before my eyes."-"What is the meaning of that?" rejoined the king. "Not long since," said he, "there came into this room two most beautiful youths, and sat down by me, the one at my head, and the other at my feet. One of them produced a very small and most curious book, and gave it me to read; looking into it, I there found all the good actions I had ever done in my life, written down, and they were very few and inconsiderable. They took back the book and said nothing to me. Then, on a sudden, appeared an army of wicked and deformed spirits, encompassing this house without, and filling it within. Then he, who, by the blackness of his dismal face, and his sitting above the rest, seemed to be the chief of them, taking out a book, horrid to behold, of a prodigious size, and of almost insupportable weight, commanded one of his followers to bring it to me to read. Having read it, I found therein most plainly written in black characters, all the crimes I ever committed, not only in word and deed, but even in the least thought; and he said to those men in white, who sat by me, 'Why do you sit here, since you most certainly know that this man is ours?' They answered, 'You are in the right; take and add him to the number of the damned.' This said, they immediately vanished, and two most wicked spirits rising, having forks in their hands, one of them struck me on the head, and the other on the foot. These strokes are now with great torture penetrating through my bowels to the inward parts of my body, and as soon as they meet I shall die, and the devils being ready to snatch me away, I shall be dragged into hell." Thus talked that wretch in despair, and dying soon after, he is now in vain suffering in eternal torments that penance which he refused to suffer during a short time, that he might obtain forgiveness. Of whom it is papa Gregorius de quibusdam scribit, non pro se ista, cui non profuere, sed pro aliis, viderit, qui ejus interitum cognoscentes, differre tempus pœnitentiæ, dum vacat, timerent, ne improviso mortis articulo præventi impœnitentes perirent. Quod autem codices diversos per bonos sive malos spiritus sibi vidit offerri, ob id superna dispensatione factum est, ut meminerimus facta et cogitationes nostras non in ventum diffluere, sed ad examen summi Judicis cuncta servari; sive per amicos angelos in fine nobis ostendenda, sive per hostes. Quod vero prius candidum codicem protulerunt angeli, deinde atrum dæmones, illi perparvum, isti enormem, animadvertendum est, quod in prima ætate bona aliqua fecit, quæ tamen universa prave agendo juvenis obnubilavit. Qui si e contrario errores pueritiæ corrigere in adolescentia, ac bene faciendo a Dei oculis abscondere, curasset, posset eorum numero sociari, de quibus ait Psalmus, [xxxi. 1,] Beati, quorum remissæ sunt iniquitates, et quorum tecta sunt peccata. Hanc historiam, sicut a venerabili antistite Pechthelmo didici, simpliciter ob salutem legentium, sive audientium, narrandam esse putavi. CAP. XIV.-u -UT ITEM ALIUS MORITURUS DEPUTATUM SIBI APUD INFEROS LOCUM PENARUM VIDERIT. Novi autem ipse fratrem, quem utinam non nossem, cujus etiam nomen, si hoc aliquid prodesset, dicere possem, positum in monasterio nobili, sed ipsum ignobiliter viventem. Corripiebatur quidem sedulo a fratribus ac majoribus loci, atque ad castigatiorem vitam manifest, that (as the holy Pope Gregory writes of A.D. 706. certain persons) he did not see these things for his own sake, since they availed him only for the instruction of others, who, knowing of his death, should be afraid to put off the time of repentance, whilst they have leisure, lest being prevented by sudden death, they should depart impenitent. His having books laid before him by the good or evil spirits, was done by Divine dispensation, that we may keep in mind that our actions and thoughts are not lost in the wind, but are all kept to be examined by the Supreme Judge, and will in the end be shown us either by friendly or hostile angels. As to the angels first producing a white book, and then the devils a black one; the former a very small one, the latter one very large; it is to be observed, that in his first years he did some good actions, all which he nevertheless obscured by the evil actions of his youth. If, on the contrary, he had taken care in his youth to correct the errors of his more tender years, and to cancel them in God's sight by doing well, he might have been associated to the number of those of whom the Psalm says, "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are hid." This story, as I learned it of the venerable Bishop Pechthelm, I thought proper to relate in a plain manner, for the salvation of my hearers. CHAP. XIV.-OF ANOTHER, WHO BEING AT THE POINT OF vision. KNEW a brother myself, would of another converti admonebatur; et quamvis eos audire noluisset, tolerabatur tamen ab eis longanimiter ob necessitatem operum ipsius exteriorum; erat enim fabrili arte singularis. Serviebat autem multum ebrietati et ceteris vitæ remissioris illecebris; magisque in officina sua die noctuque residere, quam ad psallendum atque orandum in ecclesia, audiendumque cum fratribus verbum vitæ, concurrere consueverat. Unde accidit illi, quod solent dicere quidam, quia, qui non vult ecclesiæ januam sponte humiliatus ingredi, necesse habet in januam inferni non sponte damnatus introduci. Percussus enim languore atque ad extrema perductus vocavit fratres, et multum morens ac damnato similis cœpit narrare, quia videret inferos apertos et Satanam immersum in profundum Tartari, Caiphanque cum ceteris, qu iocciderunt Dominum, juxta eum flammis ultricibus contraditum ; "in quorum vicinia," inquit, "heu misero mihi locum aspicio æternæ perditionis esse præparatum." Audientes hæc fratres cœperunt diligenter exhortari, ut vel tunc positus adhuc in corpore pœnitentiam ageret. Respondebat ille desperans, "Non est mihi modo tempus vitam mutandi, cum ipse viderim judicium meum jam esse completum." Talia dicens sine viatico salutis obiit, et corpus ejus in ultimis est monasterii locis humatum, neque aliquis pro eo vel missas facere, vel psalmos cantare, vel saltem orare, præsumebat. O quam grandi distantia divisit Deus inter lucem et tenebras! Beatus protomartyr Stephanus passurus mortem pro veritate vidit cœlos apertos, vidit gloriam Dei, et Jesum stantem a dextris Dei; et ubi erat futurus ipse post mortem, ibi oculos mentis ante mortem, quo lætior occumberet, misit. At contra, faber iste tenebrosæ mentis et actionis, imminente morte, vidit aperta Tartara, vidit damnationem nished to adopt a more regular life; and though he A.D. 704–9. would not give ear to them, he was long patiently borne with by them, on account of his usefulness in temporal works, for he was an excellent carpenter; he was much addicted to drunkenness, and other pleasures of a lawless life, and more used to stop in his workhouse day and night, than to go to church to sing and pray, and hear the word of life with the brethren. For which reason it happened to him according to the saying, that he who will not willingly and humbly enter the door of the church will certainly be damned, and enter the gate of hell against his will. For he falling sick, and being reduced to extremity, called the brethren, and with much lamentation, and like one damned, began to tell them, that he saw hell open, and Satan at the bottom thereof; as also Caiaphas, with the others that slew our Lord, by him delivered up to avenging flames. "In whose neighbourhood," said he, "I see a place of eternal perdition provided for me, miserable wretch." The brothers, hearing these words, began seriously to exhort him, that he should repent even then whilst he was in the flesh. He answered in despair, "I have no time now to change my course of life, when I have myself seen my judgment passed." Whilst uttering these words, he died without having received the saving viaticum, and his body was buried in the remotest parts of the monastery, nor did any one dare either to say masses or sing psalms, or even to pray for him. How far has our Lord divided the light from darkness! The blessed martyr, Stephen, being about to suffer death for the truth, saw the heavens open, the glory of God revealed, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And where he was to be after death, there he fixed the eyes of his mind, that he might die with the more satisfaction. On the contrary, this carpenter, of a dark mind and actions, when death was at hand, saw hell open and witnessed the damnation of the |