TWO ANCIENT TREATISES ON PURGATORY. 
 
ROEHAMPTON: 
 
 PRINTED BY JAMES STANLEY. 
 
 QUARTERLY SERIES. VOLUME EIGHTY-SEVEN. 
 
TWO ANCIENT TREATISES 
 ON PURGATORY . 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD , 
 
 FATHER JAMES MUMFORD, S.J. 
 
 AND 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED, 
 
 FATHER RICHARD THIMELBY, S.J. 
 
 BOSTON COLIFGS LIBRARY 
 
 CHESTNUT IITLL, HASS, 
 LONDON: ’ 
 
 BURNS AND OATES, LIMITED. 
 
 1893. 
 
142438 
 
 [AU rights reserved.] 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A fresh edition being called for of these two fine 
 old books on Purgatory, they have been joined 
 together and are re-issued in one volume. The 
 Appendix to the first of the two treatises is no part 
 of Father Mumford’s work, but the present editor 
 is responsible for it. It seemed to be wanted to 
 bring the treatise up to date. 
 
 The second book was edited by Father William 
 Henry Anderdon, and as to our loss he is no longer 
 here to carry the book through the press again, as 
 he would greatly have enjoyed to do, another has 
 had to re-edit it for him. An explanation given by 
 Father Anderdon must be now repeated. The 
 references in the footnotes have not been verified; 
 indeed, now that it is too late, it seems a pity that 
 they were not omitted altogether. No one would 
 expect, considering the date when the book was 
 written, that the historical illustrations and quota¬ 
 tions should have the exactness and precision of 
 
Vlll 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 modern criticism, and it would have been better 
 that there should have been no pretence of proofs 
 or references. The stories are given for the purpose 
 of enforcing the pious lessons of the book, and the 
 reader will recognize the ability with which Father 
 Thimelby avails himself of their help. The vigour 
 of the style makes one feel at every turn that the 
 good Father must have been a very forcible 
 preacher, though all that he says is not invariably 
 in accordance with modern taste. For the matter 
 of this treatise, he tells us that he was largely 
 indebted to Father Stephen Binet, S.J., but he says 
 of himself that he was “ not a bare translator,” and 
 that no reader would be likely to think. 
 
 The two books are contemporary. Father 
 Mumford’s work first appeared in 1661, and Father 
 Thimelby’s in 1663. They were both reprinted 
 (Father Mumford’s for the third time) in St. Joseph’s 
 Ascetical Library in 1874. A short account of each 
 author was prefixed to the editions of their books 
 published in that year, and is now reproduced. 
 
 % 
 
 James Mumford, a native of the county of 
 Norfolk, was born in the year 1606. His name is 
 spelt in various ways. The Catalogue of the 
 English Province S.J. for the year 1642, calls him 
 “ Momford.” That for the year 1655 calls him, in 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IX 
 
 the body of it, “Jacobus Momfordus,” whilst in the 
 Index to the same it has “ Mumfordus.” Mr. Dodd, 
 in a very brief notice of this Father, in his Church 
 History, vol. iii. p. 321, calls him “ Monford ; ” and 
 Father Nathaniel Southwell, in his Bibliotheca 
 Scriptorum Societatis Jesu (Rome, 1676), gives his 
 name as “Jacobus Munfordus.” 
 
 He entered the Society of Jesus in the year 
 1626, made his noviceship at Watten, and was pro¬ 
 fessed of the four vows on the 29th of September, 
 1641. In the Catalogue of the Province for the 
 year 1642, he appears as Father Minister of the 
 English College S.J. at Liege, at the same time 
 being Consultor of the College and teaching huma¬ 
 nities. He was subsequently Rector of the College. 
 In the Catalogue for the year 1655, he is entered as 
 serving in the College of the Holy Apostles, which 
 comprised the Jesuit missions in the counties of 
 Essex, Sussex, Norfolk, and Cambridge. He is 
 stated to be then forty-nine years of age, of weak 
 health, with the mention of a goodly array of offices 
 in which he had been previously employed, such 
 as Rector, Confessarius, Spiritual Father, Socius 
 to the Master of Novices, Minister, Consultor, Pro¬ 
 fessor of Sacred Scripture and of Moral Theology. 
 
 About the year 1650 he was missionary priest 
 at Norwich, the first of whose residence in that 
 
X 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 city we have any record. In those evil days every 
 priest in England lived in the constant expectation 
 of confessorship, if not of martyrdom. Father 
 Mumford had the honour of bearing insults and 
 imprisonment for his Master. A few years before 
 his death he was betrayed and apprehended at 
 Norwich. He was paraded through the streets of 
 the city by the posse comitatas, who carried his 
 priestly vestments on their halberds, the Father 
 being dressed in a priest’s cloak. .His interior joy 
 at being called thus to suffer for Christ was so 
 expressed by the cheerfulness of his countenance as 
 to make no little impression on the people. After 
 some days’ imprisonment in the common jail, he 
 was sent by boat, handcuffed and manacled, to 
 Yarmouth ; a journey that occupied a day and a 
 night. Norwich, however, conceiving its rights and 
 privileges injured by the transfer, he was brought 
 back again, and, though kept in prison, was treated 
 with less rigour. He had a separate cell allowed 
 him, and the Catholics being permitted to bring 
 him his breviary and other books, he occupied his 
 time in writing his Catholic Scripturist, which was 
 first published in Ghent in 1662, and has since been 
 three times reprinted. After some months’ imprison¬ 
 ment he was permitted to go at large on bail, but 
 again and again he was obliged to reappear at the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 xi 
 
 bar as his judges came on circuit, till at length, his 
 accuser having ceased to appear, and no legal 
 proof of his priesthood being forthcoming, he was 
 liberated. 
 
 Father Mumford died in England on the gth of 
 March, 1666, in his sixtieth year, and the twenty- 
 sixth of his service of the English Mission. 
 
 Father Mumford had a most charitable love for 
 the suffering souls in Purgatory, offering for them 
 the satisfactions of all his labours and sufferings. 
 To spread the same devotion he published a i2 mo 
 treatise in 1641, at St. Omers, called A Remembrance 
 for the Living to pray for the Dead, and six years 
 afterwards, at Liege, a Latin treatise entitled, De 
 misericordid fidelibus defunctis exhibendd. The latter 
 was translated into French by Pere Brignon, S.J., 
 with Triessem’s letters to Father Mumford (Paris, 
 1691). Besides these books and the Catholic 
 Scripturist , Father Mumford wrote A Vindication of 
 St. Gregorie his Dialogues (London, 1660), and The 
 Question of Questions, which, rightly resolved, resolveth 
 all our questions in religion. This question is, Who 
 ought to be our judge in all these our differences ? By 
 Optatus Ductor (Ghent, 1658, and London, 1686). 
 
 The Annual Letters of the English Province for 
 the year 1650-1 relates as follows the circum¬ 
 stances under which the latter of the two works 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 xii 
 
 in behalf of the Holy Souls was reprinted at 
 Cologne. 
 
 “ Of Father Mumford’s pious and instructive 
 treatise on compassion for the Faithful Departed, 
 the first edition has been nearly sold off, and 
 William Triessem, the printer at Cologne, was 
 about to publish a second edition, when a son of 
 his, a little boy of four years old, was taken 
 dangerously ill, and deriving no benefit from medical 
 treatment, seemed drawing near his end. The 
 printer, being a pious man, and according to his 
 custom desiring to read some spiritual work, and 
 seek consolation in religion, took up the first pious 
 book that presented itself, which happened to be 
 Father Mumford’s treatise. Meeting with that part 
 of it in which the author represents works of charity 
 to the souls in Purgatory as very efficacious for 
 obtaining all favours from God, the good man felt 
 himself impelled to have recourse to this means of 
 obtaining of God the recovery of his son. His trade 
 gave shape to his purpose, and going that morning to 
 the church, kneeling before the high altar, he made 
 the following vow to Almighty God: 4 O my God, 
 if it pleases your Divine Majesty to restore my boy 
 to health, I here vow to distribute one hundred 
 copies of this treatise gratuitously to Religious and 
 ecclesiastics, as the persons most likely to diffuse 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 • • • 
 Xlll 
 
 the devotion it recommends.’ Having made this 
 vow, and returned home from his place of business 
 to dinner, he heard with joy and gratitude that his 
 son was asking for food, and the next day the boy’s 
 recovery was already far advanced. The father 
 faithfully fulfilled his vow. The worthy publisher 
 experienced a second time the efficacy of this work 
 of charity. His wife fell dangerously ill, but 
 recovered on his vowing to distribute gratis two 
 hundred copies of the salutary treatise.” 
 
 A later edition of the Remembrance , &c., bears 
 the name of Paris as that of its place of publication. 
 The first part was printed in 1660, in a i2 mo 
 
 1 
 
 . volume of 480 pages. The second part, contain¬ 
 ing 138 pages, was published in the following 
 year. On the title-page of the first part it is called, 
 “ The second edition, augmented and altered by the 
 author, as the Preface declares.” The Preface “ to 
 the Catholique Reader” begins thus: 
 
 “ Almost twenty years are past since I composed 
 a small treatise as a Remembrance for the Living to 
 pray for the Dead. But this unfortunate island began 
 presently to be almost as violently tossed within by 
 the waves of sedition and rebellion, as it is battered 
 
 without by the restless billows of its encircling 
 
 / 
 
 ocean. Whence that little work, as it was made 
 and printed beyond the sea, so also all the copies 
 
XIV 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of it were almost dispersed among such Catholiques 
 as the fury of those times had enforced to leave 
 their native country. Times changing, a second 
 edition seemed expedient.” From this we gather, 
 what Father Nathaniel Southwell distinctly says, 
 that this second edition was really printed in 
 London, though it bears the imprint of Paris. 
 
 The first part is not now reprinted. It is not 
 only controversial, and therefore out of keeping 
 with the purpose of a purely ascetical book, but the 
 chief point confuted is a curious error long since 
 forgotten, that “ souls, once detained in. Purgatory, 
 be not thence deliverable before the last General 
 Resurrection.” 
 
 Of the work that is now reproduced, the author 
 says, in the same Preface, “ This second part is 
 properly that which may be truly said to have a 
 second edition in English, but yet not without 
 some alteration and increase, particularly by some 
 additions taken out of my larger Latin treatise, 
 which hath been translated into several languages. 
 The whole scope of it is to inflame the will towards 
 that never sufficiently commendable devotion of 
 praying for the dead. And because this part is 
 proper for such as seriously desire to exercise 
 themselves in practice of piety, and are either 
 unable or unwilling to attend to school disputations 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 xv 
 
 concerning points in which already they are as well 
 settled as our learnedest forefathers cared to be, I 
 have thought fit to print it in a volume apart, yet 
 so as to account it a part of this whole work (to 
 which it may be joined by those who please) that 
 all may understand nothing to be there delivered by 
 me for increase of piety, which in my first part hath 
 not been proved to be solidly grounded in the 
 exactest rigour of divinity.” 
 
 This book has been translated into French by 
 the Abbe Bouix, who has prefixed it to the treatise 
 of St. Catherine of Genoa, giving it at the same 
 time the high praise that it is the best treatise 
 with which he is acquainted on the subject of which 
 it treats. It would be hard that it should be more 
 accessible to foreign readers than to the author’s 
 fellow-countrymen for whose edification it was 
 written. 
 
 Thimelby, or Thimbleby, was the name of an 
 ancient knightly family, seated at Pelham in 
 Lincolnshire, in the reign of Edward III. 1 Towards 
 the end of the fifteenth century, Richard Thimelby 
 married the heiress of Sir Andrew Lutterell, knight, 
 of Irnham in the same county. This lady brought 
 with her, to the family into which she married, 
 1 Clifford’s History of Tixall, p. 223. 
 
XVI 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 besides a claim to the barony of Lutterell, the manor 
 of Irnham, which continued in Catholic hands until 
 comparatively recent times. Their son, Richard 
 Thimelby, married a daughter of Mrs. Brooksby, 1 
 daughter of Lord Vaux of Harrowden. This 
 Eleanor Brooksby, and her sister Anne Vaux, 
 were Father Henry Garnet’s brave and devoted 
 benefactresses. Two of Eleanor Brooksby’s grand¬ 
 daughters, Winefred and Frances Thimelby, joined 
 the English Augustinianesses at Louvain; entering 
 St. Monica’s Convent in 1634 an d 1642: and in 
 1668 Sister Winefred became Prioress of that 
 devout and venerable house. Henry Thimelby, the 
 younger brother of these two religious, married 
 Gertrude, daughter of Walter, first Lord Aston of 
 Forfar; and, on her husband’s death, she entered 
 religion in the same convent. Her niece, Catherine 
 Aston, the daughter of her brother Herbert Aston 
 and of Catherine Thimelby his wife, entered 
 St. Monica’s at the same time. Elizabeth, another 
 sister, married Richard Conquest, of Houghton 
 Conquest in Bedfordshire; and on the death, with¬ 
 out issue, of her eldest brother’s grand-daughter, 
 Mary the wife of Thomas Giffard of Chillington, 
 the property passed to the Conquests. Mary 
 Conquest, heiress of the last of that name (Benedict 
 
 1 Troubles of our Catholic Forefathers, series 1, pp. 156, 369. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 XVII 
 
 Conquest, who died in 1753), married Lord Arundell 
 of Wardour; and thus Irnham passed to the 
 Cliffords through her daughter Eleanor, wife of 
 Lord Clifford of Ugbrooke. 
 
 Winefred, Frances, Catherine, and Elizabeth 
 Thimelby had two brothers besides Henry, already 
 mentioned. The eldest was Sir John Thimelby, 
 knight, with whose son John the male line of the 
 Thimelbys expired. The other was the translator 
 of the present work, Richard Thimelby, who 
 entered the Society of Jesus in 1631, at the age 
 of seventeen. In those times few religious men 
 were called by their own names, and that by which 
 Father Richard Thimelby was generally known was 
 Ashby. He spent nearly fifty years in the labours 
 of the Society, and held many important offices. 
 He taught Philosophy at the English College at 
 Liege, and Polemical or Controversial Theology, 
 of which in those days there was a professorship 
 distinct from that of Dogmatic Theology. For 
 sixteen years he laboured on the English Mission, 
 and for some time he was Superior of the Jesuits 
 in Lincolnshire, his native county, which was 
 then known in the Society as “the Residence of 
 St. Dominic.” From this he passed, in 1666, to 
 the English Novitiate at Watten in Flanders, where 
 he was Rector and Master of Novices for six years. 
 
 b 
 
XV111 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 On the 28th of August, 1672, he was transferred 
 to the English College at St. Omers, the Rectorship 
 of which he held for another period of six years. 
 He was relieved of this charge some months before 
 his death, which took place at St. Omers on the 
 7th of January, 1679-80. This good Father was 
 professed of the four vows, November 22, 1646. 
 The records of the Society speak in the highest 
 terms of praise of his learning, prudence, and 
 religious spirit; but the list of the offices he held, 
 speaks more eloquently than words of the esteem 
 in which he was held as a spiritual man. 
 
 Several other Catholics of the name are men¬ 
 tioned, but their connection with this branch of 
 the family is not clear. Edward Thimbelby, who 
 died in 1690, Provost of St. Gery or Gaugericus in 
 Cambray, may have been another brother. Three 
 officers of the Royal army, Charles, Robert, 
 Nicholas Thimelby, lost their lives in the Civil 
 War. There was one Gabriel Thimelby, who died 
 a still more glorious death, and may be called a 
 martyr, as he is recorded to have died in prison 
 in the year 1586. Unfortunately, all that we know 
 of him is, that he was once a student in the College 
 at Rheims. 
 
 John Morris, S.J. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Introduction .vii 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING TO PRAY 
 
 POR THE DEAD. 
 
 BY FATHER JAMES MUMFORD, S.J. 
 
 Chapter 
 
 I. The first motive to pray for the souls in Purgatory, which 
 
 is, the greatness of the sensible pains they suffer . . i 
 
 II. The second motive, drawn from the intolerable pains the 
 
 souls suffer by being banished from the sight of God . 9 
 
 III. The third motive, taken from the long time that these 
 
 pains do endure . . . . . . . .14 
 
 IV. That for the love we bear to God we ought to be much 
 
 moved to help the souls in Purgatory . . . . 21 
 
 zfc V. That by offering our actions for the souls in Purgatory, 
 we purchase many great commodities for ourselves, and 
 
 sustain no incommodity ...... 24 
 
 VI. That by offering our actions for the souls in Purgatory, we 
 
 do not merit less, but more.30 
 
 VII. That our actions offered up for the souls in Purgatory are 
 
 not less, but more impetratory of other favours . . 37 
 
 VIII. That by offering our actions for the souls in Purgatory, we 
 
 do not less, but more satisfy for our own sins . . 48 
 
 IX. That by offering our actions for the souls in Purgatory, we 
 have great hope of escaping either all or a good part of 
 
 Purgatory.53 
 
 X. That it is not against charity to ourselves to offer our 
 actions for the souls in Purgatory, but it is rather against 
 it not to offer them.59 
 
XX 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter -Page 
 
 XI. By what means we may help the souls in Purgatory . . 63 
 
 XII. Of Indulgences ........ 74 
 
 XIII. Two other means of high perfection, by which we may 
 
 relieve the souls in Purgatory ..... 91 
 
 XIV. To what souls in Purgatory we are chiefly to apply our 
 
 satisfactory works ....... 96 
 
 XV. The perfect practice of all contained in this book . . 99 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 BY FATHER JOHN MORRIS, S.J. 
 
 The Heroic Act of Charity ........ 106 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 BY FATHER RICHARD THIMELBY, S.J. 
 
 THE FIRST SURVEY. 
 
 Purgatory is laid open, with all the hellish pains with which the 
 
 souls are tormented . . . . . . . .127 
 
 1. Of the fire of Purgatory, and pain of sense .... 129 
 
 2. Of the worm, and pain of loss ...... 139 
 
 3. Other considerations, much aggravating these pains . .152 
 
 4. How long the souls are detained in Purgatory . . . 160 
 
 5. Whether their pains grow less and less . . . . .169 
 
 6. A notable example in confirmation of all the preceding 
 
 doctrine . . ... *171 
 
 THE SECOND SURVEY. 
 
 A glimpse of the Paradise of Purgatory, or of the ineffable joys 
 
 and heavenly consolations of the souls there . . ‘174 
 
 1. How these excessive joys can be consistent with their un¬ 
 
 speakable torments. .175 
 
 2. Two grounds of their comforts; the double assurance they 
 
 have : of their salvation and impeccability . . . .179 
 
 3. More grounds of comfort, arising from their voluntarily 
 
 suffering, their disinterested love of God, and exact con¬ 
 formity with His holy will . . . . . . .185 
 
CONTENTS . 
 
 xxi 
 
 Page 
 
 4 Another comfortable consideration, drawn from the desire 
 
 they have to make themselves worthy of the sight of God . 196 
 
 5. Their suffering without merit, and the free exercise of their 
 
 virtues without impediment, are to them special motives of 
 comfort.. -199 
 
 6. They joy in the continual decrease of their pains, and influence 
 
 of pure heavenly consolations.204 
 
 THE THIRD SURVEY. 
 
 That there is not in this world a more eminent or prudent act of 
 
 fraternal charity, than to help the souls in Purgatory . .210 
 
 1. The greatness of the charity to the souls in Purgatory is 
 
 argued from the greatness of their pains and their helpless 
 condition ... .213; 
 
 2. Our charity for the souls departed is preferred before all other 
 
 works of mercy . . . . . . . . .217 
 
 3. Of the great advantages we receive by this devotion for the 
 
 souls departed .......... 225, 
 
 THE FOURTH SURVEY. 
 
 Of the powerful means to quench the flames of Purgatory . . 236' 
 
 1. What succour they receive from the Angels and Saints in 
 
 Heaven.. 237 
 
 2. Whether they are capable of being relieved by one another’s 
 
 prayers. .241 
 
 3. That the dead may receive help from us that are living, and 
 
 how we must be qualified to do them good .... 247 
 
 4. Of the particular ways we have to help them . ... 253 
 
 5. Certain questions resolved, about the application and distri¬ 
 
 bution of our suffrages . .. 263 
 
 6. How dangerous it is to trust others with what concerns the 
 
 sweet rest of our souls in the next world ..... 269 
 
 7. Some motives, fetched even as far as the other world, to stir 
 
 us up to be mindful of the dead ........ 274 
 
XXII 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 THE FIFTH SURVEY. 
 
 How all antiquity was ever devoted to pray for the dead . . 284 
 
 1. Of the natural instinct of all nations to honour and comfort 
 
 the dead . . . ... . 286 
 
 2. The constant practice of the Church in all ages to pray for 
 
 the dead ..293 
 
 3. A continuation of the same subject, from the sixth age after 
 
 Christ unto our days.. 299 
 
 THE SIXTH SURVEY. 
 
 Of twelve excellent means to prevent Purgatory, or so to provide 
 
 for ourselves, as not to make any long stay there . . . 308 
 
 1. The first, perfect Contrition .308 
 
 2. The second, to die in Religion . . . . . .311 
 
 3. The third, to be an Apostolical Preacher . . . *315 
 
 4. The fourth, to serve the Infected.320 
 
 5. The fifth, a tender Devotion to the Blessed Virgin . . 323 
 
 6. The sixth, an humble Patience ...... 327 
 
 7. The seventh, Devotion for the Souls in Purgatory . . 331 
 
 8. The eighth, to be a great Alms-giver ..... 334 
 
 9. The ninth, Angelical Purity.338 
 
 10. The tenth, a profound Humility ...... 343 
 
 11. The eleventh, to Communicate well and often . . . 346 
 
 12. The twelfth, a Faithful and Exact Obedience . . . 351 
 
 THE CONCLUSION. 
 
 Many curious and important questions are incidentally resolved 
 
 under this head.359 
 
A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 THE FIRST CHAPTER. 
 
 THE FIRST MOTIVE TO PRAY FOR THE SOULS IN 
 PURGATORY, WHICH IS, THE GREATNESS OF THE 
 SENSIBLE PAINS THEY SUFFER. 
 
 Nature doth teach us, that the most forcible 
 eloquence to move compassion is that which setteth 
 forth the greatness of our misery. The miseries 
 which these poor souls suffer are reduced to two. 
 The one, poena sensus, which is the sensible pain they 
 feel, caused by the excessive bitterness of their 
 torments. The other is called poena damni , which 
 is that inexplicable anguish of mind and grief, arising 
 from the lively apprehension of the loss of God, 
 which for a time they are to sustain ; to which we 
 may add the long continuance of their torments- 
 From these three we will draw the motives, which 
 (if they be well pondered) may make the hardest 
 Pharaoh-like heart in the world to take some com¬ 
 passion on these poor souls. 
 
 2. The first motive, then, is the greatness of that 
 sensible pain, caused by the excessive sharpness of 
 their torments. How great and how bitter the 
 torments be, speaking of that which happeneth for 
 the most part, and not that which sometimes may 
 B 
 
2 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 happen to some few innocent souls (whose sins were 
 small, and whose penance great), how great, I say, 
 these torments are, speaking of them as they are for 
 the most part, may be showed. 
 
 3. First. Because the torments of Purgatory 
 exceed all, even the very greatest, torments of this 
 life. St. Austin, upon these words of St. Paul, “ But 
 they shall be saved, yet so as by fire,” writeth thus i 1 
 “ Because St. Paul doth say that these men ‘shall 
 be saved, yet so as by fire,’ therefore this fire is con¬ 
 temned ; but surely, although they shall be saved by 
 it, yet this fire is more grievous than whatsoever a 
 man can suffer in this life; albeit you know how 
 great and how intolerable things men have suffered, 
 or may suffer.” And the same St. Austin saith, 
 “ This fire, I tell you, though it be not everlasting, 
 yet it is passing grievous, for it doth far pass all 
 pains that any man can suffer in this life. Never 
 was there yet found out so great a pain in flesh 
 as that is, though martyrs have suffered strange 
 torments, and many malefactors exceeding great 
 punishments.” 2 Again, the same holy Father maketh 
 us a very excellent and necessary exhortation, out of 
 this his so often delivered doctrine. “ Some men,” 
 saith he, “ used to say, I care not greatly how long 
 I stay in this passing fire, seeing that at last I shall 
 attain to life everlasting. But alas, dear brother, 
 let no man say thus, because this Purgatory fire is 
 more sharp than any punishment which in this life 
 can be seen, imagined, or felt. He that now will be 
 
 1 On Psalm xxxvii. 
 
 2 De vera et falsa Pcenit. cap. xviii. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 3 
 
 loth to put one of his fingers into burning fire, ought 
 to fear the torment of that fire.” 
 
 4. Other holy Doctors have had the like feeling of 
 this matter. The great St. Gregory writeth thus on 
 the third Penitential Psalm : “ I know that after this 
 life some must be cleansed by purging fire, and 
 others must receive sentence of eternal damnation; 
 but because I esteem that purging fire, though it be 
 transitory, to be more intolerable than all the tribula¬ 
 tion that in this life can be suffered, I greatly fear to 
 be purged in the wrath of transitory vengeance.” 
 And Venerable Bede, on the same Psalm, affirmeth 
 that “ no torture either of the martyrs or malefactors 
 can be compared with the pains of Purgatory.” 
 
 5. Secondly. It is an opinion not improbable, 
 that the very least torment in Purgatory doth surpass 
 the very greatest in this world. Of this opinion is our 
 learned St. Anselm, who speaking of these torments, 
 saith: “ Of the which the least is bigger than the 
 biggest which in this life can be devised.” 1 Amongst 
 the Epistles of St. Austin there is one which some 
 think St. Cyril to have written, in which there be 
 these most fearful words : “ There is not a man living 
 who had not rather be tormented with all the pains 
 and torments together which all the men in the 
 world, from Adam until this time, have suffered, than 
 be for one day tormented with the least pain which 
 is either in Hell or Purgatory.” 2 Yea, St.Thomas, 
 prince of the divines, doth prove this to be most 
 true. “In Purgatory,” saith he, “there is a double 
 
 1 " Dequibus minimum majus est qmm maximum quod in hac 
 vita excogitari potest” ( Elucidat .). 2 Epist. ccvi. 
 
4 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 pain. The one from the loss of God; the other is 
 the sensible pain. And according to both these pains, 
 the least pain in Purgatory exceeds the greatest pain 
 of this life.” 1 So he. Out of which discourse it 
 follows that there is not any one in Purgatory who 
 doth not, every instant that he is there, suffer more 
 than is or can be suffered in this world, though all 
 miseries should meet in one. Others may be of a 
 contrary opinion, but their opinion may be perhaps 
 more contrary to truth. 
 
 6. Thirdly. It is an opinion most commonly 
 received amongst the greatest divines, that the 
 torments of Purgatory, for the time they last, be 
 as grievous as the torments of Hell. “ The pains 
 of Hell and Purgatory be of one greatness; but 
 those of Hell expect no end, those of Purgatory 
 have an end,” saith the author of the Epistle which 
 we have cited out of St. Austin. And St. Thomas, 
 in the place cited: “ It is the same fire which 
 torments the just in Purgatory and the damned in 
 Hell.” 2 These opinions I thought good to set down, 
 not as if they were articles of faith (for then they 
 were not opinions), but to the end we may see what 
 feeling these great Saints and Doctors of God’s 
 Church have had of this point. And I add— 
 
 7. Fourthly. That reason itself, enlightened by 
 faith, doth convince these torments to be exceeding 
 great, because these souls, though they be saved, 
 “shall be saved, yet so as by fire.” 3 Now, of all 
 the torments which can be suffered, none is so 
 
 1 Suppl. q. 72. a. 1. 
 
 . 3 1 Cor. iii. 15. 
 
 2 Q. 69. a. 8. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 5 
 
 painful as that of fire, and perhaps all the other 
 torments which our world hath can scarce so bitterly 
 torture a poor creature as it would be tortured, if it 
 were possible for us to be kept without consuming 
 in the midst of the merciless flames of a glass furnace, 
 the fire of which would soon, as it were, penetrate 
 itself with the very inmost parts of that afflicted 
 wretch; his bones would glow like red-hot bars of 
 iron, his marrow would scorch him more fiercely than 
 melted lead, his blood would boil more furiously than 
 high-seething oil, his nails, his teeth, his gristles, his 
 very skull would be like plates of bright flaming 
 brass, all on burning fire. But alas! dear brother, 
 there be many differences between our hottest fire 
 and the scorching flames of Purgatory. Our fire 
 was created by God merely for our comfort and 
 commodity; that fire is made for no other end than 
 to afflict, pain, and torment those guilty souls. Our 
 fire, by being out of the proper sphere, by being 
 mingled with grosser and duller elements, by contrary 
 qualities which be round about it, and the contrariety 
 which it findeth in the matter it feedeth on, hath the 
 native force, activity, and fierceness much abated. 
 That fire hath not one of these hindrances, but 
 exerciseth continually in the highest degree all the 
 force of its native fury. In fine, our fire in com¬ 
 parison of that fire, by holy Doctors, and namely by 
 our worthy countryman, Blessed Thomas More, in 
 the end of his rare work called the Supplication of the 
 Soul, &c., is styled and esteemed a kind of “ painted 
 fire rather than true fire.” 
 
 8 , Fifthly. The more learned may ponder atten- 
 
6 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 tively those words of the Angelical Doctor, St. 
 Thomas, in the place above cited. “ Seeing that,” 
 saith he, “grief is not the hurt itself, but the feeling 
 of the hurt, every man grieves so much the more for 
 any hurt by how much he is more sensible; whence 
 such hurts as are caused in parts more sensible 
 cause great grief. And because the whole sensitive 
 faculty of the body is from the soul, therefore if any 
 hurtful agent be elevated to act upon the soul itself, 
 she must necessarily be most grievously afflicted. 
 Seeing, therefore, the soul doth suffer from Purgatory 
 fire, therefore the pain of Purgatory must needs be 
 such as surpasses all the pain of this life.” All this 
 St. Thomas. And even those few Doctors who deny 
 true fire in Purgatory, grant such spiritual grief in 
 the soul as exceeds all torments. And, therefore, 
 what we have said in contemplating the torment of 
 true fire will still fall short of expressing the truth. 
 These considerations made the devout St. Bernard 
 break into these pathetical words: “ Oh, would to 
 God some man would now beforehand provide for 
 my head abundance of water, and to my eyes a 
 fountain of tears, for so perhaps the burning fire 
 would take no hold where running tears had cleansed 
 before.” 1 
 
 9. Two other considerations may be added unto 
 these: the one is the cause why these torments are 
 inflicted, which is the making of due satisfaction for 
 sin, which though it be but venial, yet being that it 
 is an offence of God, is a thing so detestable, that it 
 cannot be committed either for the gaining of ten 
 1 De Tribul. xvi. and lv. on the Canticles. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 7 
 
 thousand worlds, or the avoiding of the greatest evil 
 possible; because the goodness of God is not to be 
 violated and displeased, His Sacred Majesty is not 
 the least to be dishonoured (being that it is sovereign 
 and infinite) for the good of any inferior creature 
 that is, or may be. Wherefore the so light com¬ 
 mission of so many venial sins as men daily and 
 hourly commit cannot be expiated but by punishment 
 of a higher rank than we can imagine. And this is 
 the reason why the learned Doctors and holiest 
 Saints, who had most light of God’s greatness, had 
 also greatest feeling of the pains due to every little 
 offence of so infinite a nature; and this is the reason 
 why they, whose understandings are either clouded 
 with natural ignorance, or obscured with sinful 
 affections, or wholly darkened with heresy, are as 
 dull in apprehending these pains as they are blockish 
 in forming a worthy conceit of God’s infinite good¬ 
 ness and supreme sovereignty. 
 
 io. The other thing here considerable is, that 
 the day of mercy ending with the day of our life, we 
 are after to expect nothing else but justice; and 
 therefore our Saviour doth verily say unto us, that 
 we shall not go out of this prison “ until we have 
 paid the last farthing.” 1 Which is a terrible con¬ 
 sideration, if we have a due feeling of our debts; 
 whereunto what we are to say in the third chapter 
 will exceedingly help. Neither can Protestants be 
 scandalized at what hath here been said, if they 
 remember that according to their faith all sins are 
 mortal, and therefore deserve everlasting pains. 
 
 1 St. Matt. v. 26. 
 
8 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 ii. Well, then, these distressed souls suffering 
 such things as none who hath the heart of a man 
 could endure to see a dog suffer if he could ease 
 him ; and these souls being the souls of our brethren, 
 the souls of Christ’s brethren, the souls which He 
 loved so dearly that He most joyfully shed the very 
 last drop of Blood in His Body for their sakes, how 
 can we thus slight their complaints with a deaf ear ? 
 Oh, if we were in this pitiful case, how hotly should 
 we cite those words of our Saviour, that voice, that 
 outcry of nature herself, “ Whatsoever you would 
 that men should do to you, do you also to them.” 1 
 Denis the Carthusian relateth the words of one who 
 by Divine revelation was admitted to see these 
 torments, and indeed they be worth relating. “ God 
 is my witness,” saith he, “that if I did see any man, 
 though this man had as cruelly as man could either 
 misused, tortured, or killed my dearest friends, and 
 done me all the mischief which one man could do to 
 another, yet if I did see this man condemned to such 
 pains as there (in Purgatory) I beheld, I would a 
 thousand times, if it could be done, suffer death for 
 his delivery.” 2 Such force hath this consideration, 
 lively apprehended. 
 
 1 St. Matt. vii. 12. 
 
 2 De Judic. Anim. art. 23. 
 
THE SECOND CHAPTER. 
 
 THE SECOND MOTIVE , DRAWN FROM THE INTOL¬ 
 ERABLE PAINS THE SOULS SUFFER BY BEING 
 BANISHED FROM THE SIGHT OF GOD. 
 
 To understand how great a pain it is to be banished, 
 though but for a time, from the face of God, is a 
 thing wholly impossible, until we come to know 
 what an infinite good it is to possess God; but 
 we may have some little scantling of it by these 
 considerations. 
 
 2. The first consideration. All the joy, pleasure, 
 dainties, riches, and honours of this world, yea, and 
 of a million of worlds, though they were a million 
 times more excellent than this world is, and all this 
 joy and happiness were eternal; yet all this put 
 together, and enjoyed as perfectly as might be, is 
 a thing noways comparable to that happiness which 
 the possession of God for only one moment doth 
 bring with it; so that to be deprived of this posses¬ 
 sion, debarred of that happiness, restrained of this 
 bliss (when we are in a state capable of it, and 
 requiring it), is a misery without all comparison 
 greater than should be the loss of all the riches, 
 honours, and pleasures which the eternal possession 
 of a million of worlds a million of times more 
 
10 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 pleasant than our world could afford. What grief 
 then must the loss of this good cause in a soul that 
 knoweth her loss ? 
 
 3. The second consideration. All the torments 
 of this world, though they were a thousand times 
 greater, ought, according to right reason, to be 
 joyfully suffered, if by the suffering of them alto¬ 
 gether we might be able to purchase the sight of 
 God but for one moment; for to see God is such a 
 good, that it would seem cheap bought with all 
 those evils; His sight being good of a far higher 
 order than any evil can be an evil. Hence it 
 followeth that the suffering (though but for a 
 moment) the loss of this good is a misery incon- 
 ceptible. How clear is this, and yet how little 
 understood! 
 
 4. The third consideration may be taken from 
 the lively and clear manner with which these souls 
 have their whole mind and attention fast bent, both 
 night and day, upon the greatness of this so infinite 
 a loss. We know by experience that in matter of 
 pain, anguish, and misery, nothing torments more 
 than wholly to give ourselves over, or rather to be 
 carried by the violence of them, to the continual 
 consideration of the bitterness of our afflictions. 
 All other comforts which may be thought on for the 
 ease of their desolate souls are no more than enough 
 to keep their minds in a perfect patience, amidst a 
 world of so great miseries. 
 
 5. The fourth consideration. The souls do most 
 perfectly love God, and they do penetrate, in a far 
 more perfect manner than they could do in this life. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 ii 
 
 the reasons (which are all most forcible) moving to 
 love that infinite goodness. Wherefore, seeing them¬ 
 selves on the one side in an estate capable of 
 enjoying God, and on the other debarred of enjoy¬ 
 ing Him (Whom they love so affectionately that it 
 is a death to be separated from Him), their minds 
 are, as it were, torn asunder on the rack of love. 
 “Love is as strong as death. Jealousy as hard as 
 Hell, the lamps thereof are fire and flames. Many 
 waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods 
 drown.” 1 Even in this world, where we have so 
 little knowledge of God in our understanding, and 
 where we follow this knowledge so faintly with our 
 wills, some choice servants of God suffer strange 
 things in this kind through the absence of their 
 Beloved, though as yet they are not in an estate fit 
 to enjoy Him. Father Baptista Sanctius, of the 
 Society of Jesus, was one of these. For when he 
 manifested his conscience unto his Superior, he 
 professed he really was of opinion that very grief 
 would kill him out of hand if he could come to know 
 for certain that his life should be prolonged for the 
 space of but one whole day, so truly strong as death 
 was that love which inflamed his heart to the enjoy¬ 
 ing of his Beloved. 2 Few can believe, and few can 
 understand this; but those who indeed love God 
 see it with their eyes. If the ruthful moans of such 
 true lovers deserve not compassion, there is no such 
 thing as they call mercy in the world. 
 
 6 . The fifth consideration. These souls know 
 they are deprived of this infinite good (which they 
 Carit. viii. 6, 7. 2 Ludov. de Ponte, Vita P. Baltas. cap. xvii. 
 
12 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 so ardently love) for no other cause but their own 
 fault, their own carelessly committed sins; sins 
 which did offend and affront this infinite good¬ 
 ness, which now they love so tenderly. And this it 
 is which cutteth as deep as the sharpest edge of grief 
 can cut into the softest heart, which weepeth with 
 tears of blood as often as it thinks (and it can never 
 cease from thinking) that it was not only a trifle 
 which separated it in this manner from God, but a 
 wickedness abominable in His sight, an offence of 
 such an Excellency, a contempt of such a Majesty, 
 a displeasure of such a Goodness, an ingratitude 
 against such a Benefactor. Ah, this it is that goeth 
 to their very heart; this all the powers of their souls 
 bewail, and lament to the uttermost of their power, 
 with tears which neither can nor will admit of 
 comfort until due satisfaction be made, even to the 
 least and last farthing. 
 
 7. The sixth and last consideration differeth in 
 this from the former, that as these souls are 
 tormented with such unspeakable grief whilst they 
 ponder the miseries of this banishment for their 
 offences, as they are displeasing to Him Whom 
 they so purely love; so they are also put on a new 
 torture, when out of natural love unto themselves 
 (which now well-ordered charity doth much increase) 
 they attentively consider and deeply penetrate what 
 it is to be deprived of such a good, such a joy, such 
 a bliss, for such a small, such a no good, such 
 a mischievous evil as they sinned for; a pleasure 
 so vain, so short, so ugly, so irrational, and so 
 pernicious to their souls; and yet, to use their 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 13 
 
 language, such was my folly (ah, wretch, not only 
 miserable, but mad!) as to forego even such a good, 
 for such a bare, such a shameful, such a pestiferous 
 trifle as that was; so many degrees of glory, which 
 would have made me so happy for all eternity, are 
 wholly and irrecoverably lost for a pure (ah, most 
 impure) nothing! How often was I inspired to do 
 this thing, and yet, &c. These, and far more 
 miserable than these, be the anguishes of those 
 souls, far greater than either those of Esau selling 
 his birthright for a mess of pottage, or those of 
 Adam for making away Paradise for the taste of an 
 apple, or any other this world ever had, or shall have. 
 
 8 . Sum up now in thy mind all these considera¬ 
 tions together, and think in what a sea of sorrows 
 that heart must be into which day and night so 
 great and so many floods do unlade their waves ; 
 and canst not thou find in thy heart to afford them 
 some slight relief? “He that hath the substance 
 of this world, and shall see his brother in need, and 
 shall put up his bowels from him, how doth the 
 charity of God abide in him ? ” 1 He saith not, how 
 doth the charity towards his neighbour, but how 
 doth the charity of God remain in him ? And if 
 thou, whosoever thou art, thus shuttest thy bowels 
 in a necessity, as extreme almost as a necessity can 
 be, of thy own and Christ’s brother, I am sure that 
 the charity of thy neighbour hath no place in thee. 
 But as for charity towards God, it is not I, but 
 St.John, who doth, as it were denying, ask, “How 
 doth the charity of God remain in thee ? ” 
 
 1 1 St. John iii. 17. 
 
THE THIRD CHAPTER. 
 
 THE THIRD MOTIVE, TAKEN FROM THE LONG TIME 
 THAT THESE PAINS DO ENDURE. 
 
 If these pains were to be ended in a short space, 
 our hard-heartedness might then have some excuse ; 
 but (speaking still of what happeneth for the most 
 part) it is a thing scarce to be doubted of, that 
 they continue very long; for the holy Church is 
 accustomed to keep the anniversaries of those 
 who died a hundred or two hundred years ago. 
 Whence it appeareth that there is reason to fear 
 that many have a long stay in Purgatory. The 
 learned Bellarmine 1 doth recount some histories 
 very authentical (as he excellently proveth) out of 
 which appeareth that divers souls are condemned to 
 Purgatory even till the Day of Judgment. And 
 Tertullian, speaking of these pains of Purgatory, 
 saith, “ Thou shalt not depart perhaps until the day 
 •of thy resurrection.” 2 
 
 2. Now, if we require why God doth hold this 
 manner of proceeding, in rather detaining us a long 
 time in our punishments than in adding to the 
 bitterness of our torments that which is taken out 
 in length of time, we can define no other reason 
 
 1 De Gemit. Columb. cap. ii. 2 De Anima , cap. xvii. 
 
A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 15 
 
 than that our sins have deserved this misery also, 
 and men would little apprehend to suffer all that 
 could be suffered in one moment, if the next moment 
 they were to be eternally happy; and therefore God, 
 Who in His severe judgment had a merciful regard 
 to that which would work most with our dull appre¬ 
 hensions, did ordain that (as St. Augustine speaketh) 
 —“ So great as the matter of our sins shall have 
 been, so long should be the stay of our passage.” 1 
 The best way, therefore, to make us have some 
 conceit of the long continuance of these pains, is to 
 see how great the matter uses to be on which they 
 feed, that is, what a kind of quantity the sins of 
 men use most commonly to amount to. 
 
 3. A little arithmetic will give us a great insight 
 in this matter. The just man is said to sin seven 
 times a day, wherefore we may easily allow thrice 
 more a day to one of those whom we call good and 
 honest men, such as the world hath but few of; 
 such a man, therefore, as this is, doth sin (venially) 
 ten times a day, taking one day with another. The 
 days in a whole year are three hundred and sixty- 
 five ; wherefore he who every day sinneth ten times, 
 must at the year’s end have sinned ten times as 
 often as there be days in a year; which sum is 
 easily found out by only putting one cypher to the 
 number of the days in the year, which are 365; add 
 now one cypher, and we shall have 3,650. So that 
 the sins of this good man, even in one year, come 
 to no less than three thousand six hundred and 
 
 1 " Quanta fuerit peccati materia, tanta esset transeunti mora ” 
 (Horn. xv. ex 1 . hom.). 
 
i6 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 fifty. But if this honest man should live, even in 
 this good manner, ten years, he should at ten years’ 
 end have committed the former sum ten times, 
 because he doth double it every year; which sum 
 also is easily had by adding one cypher to the 
 former sum of 3,650, which if we do, we do find 
 36,500. What a thing is this ? An innocent man— 
 not a man, but a youth—doth commit thirty-six 
 thousand and five hundred sins, all in ten years; 
 wherefore, if the youth should for ten years more 
 continue this his virtuous course of life, he would 
 double the sins of his former life, and make them 
 amount to seventy-three thousand before he came 
 to be a middle-aged man. “ Oh,” saith St. Augus¬ 
 tine, “perhaps when thou dost consider a little sin 
 apart, and by itself, thou dost slight it: yet,” saith 
 he, “ if thou contemnest thv little sins when thou 
 dost weigh them, yet tremble when thou dost 
 number them.” 1 
 
 4. Let us reflect now a little, before we go any 
 further, what a kind of Purgatory this man—a man 
 not fully of middle age, a man very pious, a man 
 who never committed one mortal sin—would be 
 liable unto if he should die at this age; for, perhaps, 
 of those seventy-three thousand sins he hath not 
 fully satisfied for the odd three thousand, or if he 
 hath he hath done more than most men use to do, 
 for of all miseries one of the greatest is that those 
 who sin most have least care to satisfy for their 
 sins. Now what a Purgatory, think you, seventy 
 
 1 “Si contemnis quando appendis, expavesce quando numeras’* 
 
 ( In'Epist. Joan, tract, i.). - . 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 r 7 
 
 thousand sins will deserve ? “ Thy judgments 
 
 (0 God) are a deep bottomless pit.” 1 
 
 5. But why put we a course which so seldom 
 happens ? The ordinary case of man is to commit 
 many and enormous mortal sins, and venial without 
 all scruple, and consequently without all number. 
 Yea, many hold on this strain until they come to be 
 very old, and unable by reason of their years, and 
 unwilling by reason of their ill habits, to do any 
 penance; and so they content themselves with 
 spending some few hours to deplore and confess 
 those sins, which amount to far more thousands-- 
 than there be minutes in the hours which they 
 spend in lamenting them. Consider now how insuffi¬ 
 cient the grief of one minute is to cancel out all the 
 pains due to a whole thousand of sins, and many o€ 
 them very enormous. 
 
 6. There is also another thing in this reckoning 
 to be much reflected on—that he who should have 
 but one only mortal sin would be liable, after the 
 forgiveness of it, to a punishment far different (and 
 God knows how far) from that which he is liable 
 unto who hath only venial sins to satisfy for, though 
 their number be exceeding great; for if one mortal 
 sin, before it be forgiven, be liable unto an eternity 
 of punishment, and most bitter punishment—and, 
 consequently, to such a punishment as all the venial 
 sins a man can commit, would never deserve the 
 hundred thousand part of it—I will leave it to a 
 right valuing judgment to esteem how much more 
 pain God is like to impose upon him who hath this 
 
 1 Psalm xxxv. 7. 
 
 C 
 
i8 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 one forgiven mortal sin to satisfy for, than on him 
 who hath only venial sins, and those also forgiven, 
 to satisfy for, though the number of them should 
 be exceeding great. Well, then, if one mortal sin 
 bringeth with it such a dreadful Purgatory, how are 
 they like to be dealt withal who every day run upon 
 the score, and thus continue not for many days but 
 years together, during which time, they being always 
 in sin, never make satisfaction for the least they 
 commit. If holy David said : “ My iniquities have 
 overtaken me, and I was not able to see them (they 
 were so many): they are multiplied above the hairs 
 of my head,” 1 what may these men (“ who drink up 
 iniquity like water ” 2 ) think of the multitude of their 
 sins, who perhaps have a hundred for David’s one ? 
 Such like considerations as these made the devout 
 St. Bonaventure cry out: “ I have sinned above the 
 number of the sands of the sea. How then shall 
 I number that which is without number ? How 
 shall I suffice, when I shall be enforced to pay my 
 debt to the very last farthing ? ” 3 
 
 7. But let us mark a little what satisfaction is 
 ' usually made by those who stand in so great need 
 of it. The ordinary ways to satisfy be these— 
 fasting, prayer, and alms-deeds, and sometimes by 
 .Indulgences; and all these things must.be done in 
 the state of grace, in which these men are seldom 
 long together, and therefore most of these works (of 
 which they do so few) come wholly to be lost, but 
 when they are not thus cast away, let us see what 
 
 1 Psalm xxix. 13. 2 Job xv. 16. 
 
 3 In Parvo Bono. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 19 
 
 they will come to. As for fasting, when it cannot 
 be shifted off by any pretence, fast they do, but 
 God knows how many times they lose either the 
 whole or the greater part of this good work; for 
 they have so many inventions to sweeten their fasts, 
 with such variety of dainty dishes, that it is much 
 to be feared lest, in place of satisfying for their old 
 sins, they commit new sins of gluttony, which 
 require a new satisfaction. Now, for prayer, it is 
 commonly performed by them with so many dis¬ 
 tractions, irreverences, and other imperfections, 
 that the world may seem not to go amiss, if there 
 be enough of their prayers made so well that it 
 may suffice to make due recompense for that which 
 is made so ill. Alms-deeds the poor cannot give 
 and the rich will not, for they do live, and mean 
 ever to live, say what you will, at so high a rate, 
 that they think they do a great matter if they can 
 get enough honestly to maintain their bravery and 
 to discharge their debts, for as for paying the debts 
 they owe to God, they are resolved that He shall 
 be paid last. Indulgences, indeed, are one of the 
 great mercies of God, which in how great need we 
 stand of, any man of judgment will see clearly by 
 this whole discourse, but such is either the infidelity 
 or strange carelessness of most men (especially of 
 such as have most need), that perhaps the gross 
 neglect of them may well be reckoned for one of the 
 chief causes why many broil so long in the flames 
 of Purgatory. ^ 
 
 8 . It is now high time to end this discourse, 
 and I humbly and earnestly beseech the reader to 
 
20 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 take sometimes into his consideration the points 
 mentioned, as well for his own spiritual profit as 
 for the relief of his poor brethren’s souls burning in 
 Purgatory flames, and supplicating to his charity 
 for succour by those affectionate words of St. Paul: 
 “ Remember them that are in bands, as if you were 
 bound with them.” 1 
 
 1 Hebrews xiii. 3. 
 

 THE FOURTH CHAPTER. 
 
 THAT FOR THE LOVE WE BEAR TO GOD, WE OUGHT 
 TO BE MUCH MOVED TO HELP THE SOULS IN 
 PURGATORY. 
 
 Hitherto we have only treated of such motives as 
 charity towards our neighbour doth force upon us; 
 now we will pass to the motives which pure charity 
 towards God doth present unto us, and afterwards 
 we will come to those motives which well-ordered 
 charity towards ourselves doth offer us. To our 
 present purpose, then. A soul which is enamoured 
 on perfection, and desireth to please God in the 
 highest manner, hath very many and efficacious 
 motives to make her forward to aid the souls in 
 Purgatory. 
 
 2. The first motive. God is of an excellency, 
 worth, and perfection so infinite, that He deserveth 
 all possible love and honour. This consideration 
 maketh us cast about to see how we may procure 
 that this Excellency may be more perfectly loved 
 and glorified; wherefore, considering that on earth 
 we know Him so imperfectly, and love Him so 
 coldly, and glorify Him so meanly, we rest little 
 satisfied with all which can be done by us on earth, 
 and so we seek yet further, and consider how 
 
 I 
 
22 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 perfectly God is known by the Blessed in Heaven— 
 how they love that Goodness, how they glorify that 
 Majesty. Hence we burn with an ardent desire 
 that God in this sublime manner be more known, 
 loved, and honoured: and then, marking that it is 
 in our power to procure this by obtaining the 
 delivery of some soul or souls out of Purgatory, 
 which, being freed from thence by our means, 
 would for ever love and honour God in that most 
 perfect manner. Hence we break forth into those 
 amorous words: “ Bring my soul out of prison 
 (O Lord), that I may praise Thy name.” 1 And we 
 bend ourselves wholly to procure the deliverance of 
 these souls out of pure love to Almighty God. 
 
 3. The second motive. When we consider our 
 infinite obligations to God for His manifold benefits 
 showered down upon us, and being inflamed with 
 a restless desire of showing ourselves truly grateful, 
 though wholly unable during the time of this mortal 
 life to thank Him as it is fitting, we use the best 
 means we can devise to procure worthy thanks to 
 be given Him by some soul or souls freed by our 
 means, which both day and night may praise* 
 extol, and thank this Divine Goodness. 
 
 4. The third motive. When we consider how 
 great a Majesty, how infinite a Goodness, how great 
 a Benefactor we have so often and so grievously 
 offended, we feel in ourselves a strong and working 
 desire of repairing this dishonour done to that 
 Majesty, and cancelling our own ingratitude by the 
 greatest honour we can invent to procure, and 
 
 1 Psalm cxli. 8. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 23 
 
 therefore we employ cheerfully our best good deeds 
 in working the releasement of as many souls as we 
 can, that, by their perpetual glorifying God, a more 
 perfect recompense may be made for the dishonour 
 we have done Him. 
 
 5. The fourth motive is drawn out of the 
 precedent, put together in this manner. God, 
 Whose excellency is so great, Whose wisdom so 
 infinite, Whose benefits so manifold, Whom I am 
 obliged to satisfy for so many and so great sins—* 
 this God, I say, taketh all that is done unto His 
 brethren for His sake as gratefully as if it were 
 done unto Himself, as Christ hath taught us in 
 plain words: “ Amen, I say to you, as long as you > 
 did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it 
 to Me.” 1 How can I then hold myself from using 
 any means by which I may perform a thing as 
 grateful to my dear Lord as if He had endured the 
 excessive torments of Purgatory and I had released 
 Him ? My heart is hard, but I must confess that 
 this consideration doth make it yield, and if there 
 were no argument but this, this alone might convince 
 all men. 
 
 1 St. Matt. xxv. 40. 
 
THE FIFTH CHAPTER. 
 
 'THAT BY OFFERING OUR ACTIONS FOR THE SOULS 
 IN PURGATORY, WE PURCHASE MANY GREAT 
 COMMODITIES FOR OURSELVES AND SUSTAIN NO 
 INCOMMODITY. 
 
 To make this title good, I will show that by this 
 devotion we do not merit less, but more. Secondly, 
 that thus our actions are not less, but more 
 impetratory. Thirdly, that thus we do not less, 
 but more satisfy for our sins. Fourthly, that thus 
 we have great hope of escaping either all or part 
 of the pains of Purgatory. Fifthly, that thus we 
 do nothing against charity towards ourselves ; but 
 that we should do against the perfection of this 
 ■ charity if we should not thus offer our actions for 
 the souls in Purgatory. All these five points we 
 will, by God’s grace, endeavour to make clear in 
 i;he next ensuing chapters, treating a part of every 
 one of them, in order, in a peculiar chapter; and 
 that all which hereafter we may have to say may 
 be better understood, we will spend this present 
 chapter in declaring how the business doth pass 
 when we offer any works for the souls in Purgatory. 
 
 2. It is, therefore, most diligently to be noted, 
 as the ground of all we are to say, that our virtuous 
 
A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 25 
 
 actions may have these three several properties 
 together. They may be meritorious, they may be 
 impetratory, they may be satisfactory. They are 
 meritorious when they are good works performed 
 in the grace of God, having an eternal reward 
 promised unto them. They are impetratory, for 
 they do obtain, besides the crown of justice which 
 the just Judge layeth up for them against the day 
 of His coming, 1 many other favours bestowed upon 
 them by the bountiful hand of our merciful Father; 
 as, for example, the life of our friend, as David 
 hoped to obtain when he prayed and wept, and 
 “ kept a fast, and going in by himself lay upon the 
 ground,” 2 to beg the life of his son; or the con¬ 
 version of others, as the prayer made by St. Stephen 
 did obtain of God the conversion of St. Paul, 3 as 
 St. Augustine teacheth; in fine, “Ask, and it shall 
 be given unto you.” 4 Our good works also are 
 satisfactory, either always (as many excellent divines 
 hold) or (as all hold) if they be works of any labour, 
 pain, or difficulty, as -fasting, prayer, and alms- 
 deeds ; yea, what good works are there which our 
 corrupted nature feeleth not difficulty in ? Let us 
 see what foundation this ground of our discourse 
 hath in Holy Scripture. 
 
 3. That our good works are meritorious is 
 expressly taught in the sixth chapter of St. Matthew; 
 and those good works are put by name which make 
 more to our purpose, to wit, fasting, prayer, and 
 alms-deeds. The reward of which works we are 
 
 1 2 Timothy iv, 8. 3 2 Kings xii. 16, 3 Acts vii. 59. 
 
 4 St. Luke xi. 95 
 
26 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 there said to lose if we do them publicly, out of 
 vanity; but if thou doest them in humble secrecy, 
 “Thy Father, Who seeth in secret, will repay thee.” 
 And lest any man should think that only great 
 works should be rewarded, our Saviour in plain 
 terms doth tell us, that he who giveth but a cup 
 of cold water shall not want his reward, if it be 
 done for His sake; and we may see how mindful 
 our Lord is of His promise, for in the Last Judgment 
 Day, to those who shall have done such good works 
 as these are, He will say, “ Come, ye blessed of 
 My Father, possess you the Kingdom prepared for 
 you from the foundation of the world. For I was 
 hungry, and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, 
 and you gave Me to drink.” 1 Mark how God doth 
 give them Heaven for the doing of good works. 
 “Possess,” saith He, “the Kingdom. For you gave 
 Me to eat, to drink,” &c. And somewhat before in 
 the same chapter : “ Because thou hast been faithful 
 over a few things, I will place thee over many 
 things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” 2 
 Mark the causal: “ Because thou hast been faithful.” 
 This is the cause for which Christ saith He giveth 
 Heaven. Let Luther, let Calvin, let those who 
 care for no good works, name what other cause 
 they please. 
 
 4 . That our good works are impetratory, that is, 
 have virtue to move the liberality, goodness, and 
 mercy of God, to bestow, in regard of them, the 
 grant of many favours, when by prayer they are 
 offered up for this end (for if they be not thus offered 
 
 1 St. Matt. xxv. 34, 35. 2 St'. Matt. xxv. 21. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 27 
 
 up, as they are joined and applied to this end by 
 prayer, perhaps not any good works at all are 
 impetratory, excepting only prayer itself: and not 
 all prayer, but such as containeth some petition) ; 
 that, I say, good works are impetratory, when they 
 are thus joined with prayer, is evidently proved out 
 of that part of David, who with the prayer made 
 for his son’s life, joined also other works of penance, 
 lying on the ground, fasting, &c. “ While the 
 
 child,” saith he, “was yet alive, I fasted and wept 
 for him; but now that he is dead, why should I 
 fast?” 1 
 
 5. That our good works are satisfactory, that is,, 
 they (performed and dignified by grace granted 
 through Christ’s merits) have virtue to cancel sin, 
 and the pains due to sin, is most clear in Scripture ; 
 and heretics, if lothness to make satisfaction for 
 their sins do not blind them, cannot but see it. 
 “ Alms delivereth from death, and the same is that 
 which purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy 
 and life everlasting.” 2 “Alms deliver from all sin, 
 and from death, and will not suffer the soul to go 
 into darkness.” 3 “ Water quencheth a flaming fire, 
 and alms resisteth sins.” 4 In the eleventh chapter 
 of St. Luke, our Saviour, speaking to the Scribes 
 and Pharisees, saith that they shall be condemned 
 in the Day of Judgment; that the blood of all the 
 Prophets slain from the beginning of this world 
 shall be required at their hands; and six times, one 
 after another, He pronounceth woe against them; 
 
 1 2 Kings xii. 22, 23. 2 Tobias xii. 9. 3 Tobias iv. 11. 
 
 4 Ecclus. iii. 33. 
 
28 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 and to those unclean men, our Saviour at the very 
 same time said, “ But yet that which remaineth, 
 give alms; and behold all things are clean unto 
 you,” 1 sinful people as you are. “ Wherefore let 
 my counsel be acceptable to thee ” (it is the most 
 excellent counsel of the Prophet Daniel), “and 
 redeem thou thy sins with alms, and thy iniquities 
 with works of mercy.” 2 
 
 6 . This being thus declared, it may easily be 
 understood how things do pass when we do offer up 
 any work for the souls in Purgatory. For, first, the 
 good work thus offered up is meritorious, and there¬ 
 fore we always merit by it; neither can we give 
 this merit away, because reward is only due, and 
 Scripture promiseth it to those only who shall have 
 done well: wherefore we lose not the least parcel 
 of the merit of good works if we do them for the 
 souls in Purgatory—yea, we much increase it, as 
 shall be showed. Secondly, the good work thus 
 offered is impetratory, that is, it is apt to move 
 God’s mercy to grant that favour for obtaining of 
 which it is offered up: as a happy death, peace 
 among Christians, the long and happy life of our 
 noble King, or such-like things. Now the obtaining 
 of all these requests is not the least hindered, 
 but much (as we shall show) furthered, though 
 these works which we do be given to the souls in 
 Purgatory, and offered up to God for the satisfaction 
 of the pains due unto their sins not duly satisfied 
 for. Thirdly, and lastly, this good work which we 
 offer for the souls in Purgatory is satisfactory, and 
 1 St. Luke xi. 41. 2 Daniel iv. 24. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 29 
 
 according to this satisfactory virtue which it hath 
 (and not neither as it is meritorious or impetratory) 
 we do commonly apply it to the souls in Purgatory, 
 because the thing which these poor souls stand most 
 in need of, is making satisfaction for their sins not 
 fully satisfied for; which satisfaction we make in 
 their behalf, as holy Job did in the behalf of his 
 sons when he offered daily sacrifices for their sins. 
 How this is not against charity towards ourselves 
 shall be declared hereafter. In the meantime ponder 
 the words of Scripture: “A merciful man doth good 
 unto his own soul.” 1 
 
 1 Prov. xi. 17. 
 
THE SIXTH CHAPTER. 
 
 THAT BY OFFERING OUR ACTIONS FOR THE SOULS 
 IN PURGATORY, WE DO NOT MERIT LESS, BUT MORE. 
 
 That we do not merit less, is evident out of the 
 last chapter; that we merit more than otherwise 
 we should have done, if we had not applied these 
 our actions to the souls in Purgatory, is taught 
 by the prince of divines in these words: “ The 
 affection of charity in him who suffereth for his 
 friend, doth make his satisfaction more pleasing to 
 God than if he had suffered for his own self.” 1 
 And it is certain, out of Holy Scripture, that 
 charity doth add an exceeding worth and value to 
 our least actions; for only charity it is which 
 maketh a cup of cold water, given for Christ’s 
 sake, to be rewarded in the life to come. And only 
 charity it was which made the poor widow’s mite of 
 greater price than the richest gifts. 
 
 2. Now, then, all meriting hath for reward some 
 higher degree of celestial glory, which degree would 
 not have been purchased without that meritorious 
 work had been done; so that if there be two men, 
 who before were of equal merits, and the one of 
 them should give a cup of cold water more for 
 1 St. Thomas, Contra Gentes, 1 . iii. cap. 158. 
 
 
A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 3 i 
 
 Christ’s sake than the other should give, this man 
 for this so small a work should have a higher degree 
 of glory than the other, and, consequently, he should 
 see God for all eternity more perfectly and be for 
 ever more happy than the other. So that, if we did 
 truly love either God or ourselves,, we should think 
 all sufferings whatsoever, even those of Purgatory, 
 to be a small price for the least degree of glory; 
 for, indeed, the least is a good so great, that the 
 suffering of never so long a Purgatory for purchasing 
 it, would not be so much as suffering a flea-bite to 
 purchase the empire of the whole world. It would 
 make a man bless himself to see how stark mad 
 men are in neglecting such a good. 
 
 3. To our purpose, then, I say, that by applying 
 our actions to the souls in Purgatory, we do merit 
 more than if we had not applied them to this end; 
 and not only more, but very much more: and, 
 therefore, though we did sustain many other and 
 great inconveniences, yet they were all to be 
 counted as nothing in comparison to these ines¬ 
 timable treasures of merit which by this devotion 
 we purchase. St. Thomas saith excellent well: 
 “ Essential reward is infinitely better than the 
 forgiveness of temporal pain;” so that though, by 
 applying our satisfactions unto others, we should 
 omit to gain for ourselves this forgiveness of 
 temporal pain, yet we gain notably by the bargain 
 if in place thereof we much increase our essential 
 reward in everlasting glory. For this is an eternal 
 good, a good infinitely better than the forgiveness 
 of temporal pain, as the prince of divines taught 
 
32 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 you. The causes which make this act of so high 
 merit may be many; for, as we have showed in the 
 fourth chapter, this devotion may be a work of 
 most singular charity, most admirable gratitude, 
 most rare contrition, most tender love towards our 
 Lord and Saviour. But that which in a particular 
 manner doth raise the worth of this action, is the 
 most ardent charity and pious mercy towards our 
 neighbour, which here is so resplendent that it doth 
 contain and surpass all and every one of those 
 works of mercy which our Saviour esteems so 
 dearly, that unto them by name He shall give the 
 eternal possession of Heaven when He shall come 
 to judge. For He shall say unto those who 
 stand at the right hand: “ Come, ye blessed of 
 My Father, possess you the Kingdom prepared for 
 you from the foundation of the world. For I was 
 hungry, and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and 
 you gave Me to drink ; I was a stranger, and you 
 took Me in; naked, and you covered Me; sick, and 
 you visited Me; in prison, and you came to Me.’’ 1 
 This act, I say, both containeth and surpasseth all 
 those works put together. For who relieveth a soul 
 in Purgatory, though he giveth not a piece of bread 
 to the hungry, yet he giveth the Food of life and 
 the Bread of Angels to one who was tormented 
 worse than death with the hunger of it. He giveth 
 not a cup of cold water to the thirsty, but he giveth 
 the Fountain of living water, which runneth unto 
 life everlasting, unto him whose thirst for it was so 
 intolerable that no pain in the world can be com- 
 
 1 St. Matt. xxv. 34—36. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 33 
 
 pared to it. He doth not lodge a poor harbourless 
 pilgrim in a barn for a night, but for the whole long 
 day of eternity he lodgeth in the heavenly mansions 
 a poor soul which wandered from this her home 
 ever since her creation. He giveth not a few cast-off 
 rags to clothe the naked, but he giveth the marriage- 
 garment unto him who for want of it was cast for a 
 time into outward darkness. He doth not give 
 a comfortable visit to one that lieth sick of a 
 burning fever, but him who burneth with Purgatory 
 flames he carrieth to visit for ever God and His 
 Angels. In fine, he doth not go to the imprisoned 
 to afford them some small assistance, but he 
 bringeth one out of the fiery dungeon of Purgatory 
 into the liberty of the children of God. 
 
 4. Another cause there is which doth wonder¬ 
 fully exaggerate the worth of all these things, which 
 followeth in the above-cited Scripture. For when 
 the Blessed shall say, “ Lord, when did we see 
 Thee hungry, and fed Thee?” 1 our Lord shall 
 answer them: “Amen, I say to you, as long as 
 you did it unto one of these My least brethren, you 
 did it to Me.” 2 Oh, what a reward shall he have 
 of so liberal a Majesty, who hath done so grateful 
 a service as the very freeing of Christ Himself from 
 Purgatory (if so He could be liable unto it) would 
 be. See what Christ said unto St. Gertrude. 3 
 
 5. The cause which may make the merit of this 
 act to amount to an inconceivable greatness, is this, 
 that those who are truly devoted to assist these 
 
 1 St. Matt. xxv. 37. 2 St. Matt. xxv. 40. 
 
 3 Institut. Divin. 1 . v. cap. xxv. 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 souls, receive daily such copious showers of Divine 
 grace that, if they be not very backward in corres¬ 
 ponding to them, they must needs go on daily 
 increasing the treasures of their merits. For though 
 many doubt whether the souls, whilst they remain 
 in Purgatory, do pray for him by name who doth 
 pray for them (because they, not seeing God, cannot 
 know who they are who pray for them), yet there 
 seems to be all reason that they should make in a 
 general manner incessant prayer to Almighty God 
 to bless all those who shall pray for them ; for this 
 opinion is both pious and probable, as Suarez saith. 1 
 And Denis the Carthusian recounteth how that in a 
 Divine revelation, these words by a servant of God 
 were heard to be uttered with the common voice of 
 the souls in Purgatory: “ O Lord God, grant, out 
 of Thy incomprehensible power, a hundred-fold 
 reward to all those in the world who with their 
 prayers do help us and lift us up towards the light 
 of Thy Deity.” 2 Howsoever, no man can doubt 
 but when they come to Heaven they will, both day 
 and night, as efficaciously as they can, recommend 
 unto Almighty God the necessities of all those who 
 were so charitable unto them as to obtain their 
 deliverance out of their horrible torments, and to 
 purchase for them the light of God, Whom to see 
 one moment sooner they know now what a good 
 it is. 
 
 6 . What grateful heart, then, can ever forget 
 such a benefactor, especially when without any 
 labour at all, yea, with greatest pleasure and 
 
 1 De Orat. 1 . i. cap. ii. 2 De Judic. Anim. circa finem. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD . 
 
 35 
 
 content, he can abundantly requite his charity. 
 Ingratitude is a vice, and hath no place in Heaven. 
 More grateful, therefore, questionless, will these 
 souls be, most grateful will be all their friends, 
 acquaintance, and kindred, their Angel Guardians 
 and Patrons, yea, all the whole Court of Heaven, 
 seeing that there is that perfect charity amongst the 
 Blessed that every one of them is no less glad of his 
 neighbour’s good than he is of his own; and this 
 action is incomparably more grateful unto them, 
 in regard that the honour of the Divine Majesty 
 is much increased, and our Blessed Saviour so 
 singularly pleased by it, that it is as acceptable unto 
 Him as if He Himself in Person had been the party 
 delivered from the pains of Purgatory. The graces 
 thus flowing down upon thee may be such that thou 
 mayest come to owe thy salvation unto them; as 
 when, by these intercessions, some damnable temp¬ 
 tation is borne off from thee which might have 
 quite overthrown thee; or when, by their prayers, 
 grace is given thee to become victorious against 
 such dangerous temptations, or, if thou hast con¬ 
 sented unto them, grace is by their entreaty given 
 unto thee, to excite thee to most hearty and pure 
 contrition. Thus, by labouring to help others from 
 Purgatory, thou mayest help thyself to avoid Hell; 
 and, by concurring to bring the souls of others to 
 Heaven, thou mayest procure heavenly glory to thy 
 own self. Thus “ a merciful man doth good to his 
 own soul.” 1 If thou hadst a due feeling of the 
 unspeakable evil? of Hell and inconceivable goods of 
 
 1 Prov- xi. 17 
 
36 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 Heaven, thou wouldst not a little esteem such a 
 means as this is, so much helping to the avoiding of 
 such an evil and obtaining of such a good. O my 
 dear brother, deprive not these poor souls of their 
 relief, thyself of these merits, the whole Court of 
 Heaven of this joy, Christ of this comfort, God 
 of this honour. 
 
THE SEVENTH CHAPTER. 
 
 THAT OUR ACTIONS, OFFERED UP FOR THE SOULS 
 IN PURGATORY, ARE NOT LESS, BUT MORE IMPE¬ 
 TRA TORY OF OTHER FAVOURS. 
 
 First I must entreat my reader to call to mind 
 that which in the last chapter but one hath been 
 said concerning the impetratory virtue of our 
 actions, which, being applied to the souls in 
 Purgatory according to their satisfactory virtue 
 only, retain, notwithstanding, the self-same virtue 
 to impetrate which they should have had though 
 they had not been thus applied; for as I satisfy for 
 my sins by that very prayer by which I beg my 
 daily bread, and the obtaining of this petition is 
 nothing hindered by this satisfaction, so the work 
 which satisfieth for the sins of others doth not 
 become less apt to move the goodness of God to 
 the grant of any favour, for obtaining of which this 
 work may also be offered. Wherefore they are in 
 an error who think that they must cast all other 
 devotions aside, and neither pray for themselves 
 nor for their friends, nor for their own private or 
 the public necessities, if they follow our advice in 
 praying, fasting, giving alms, and offering up their 
 
33 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 other good works for the souls in Purgatory— 
 whereas all these things may be performed without 
 the least hindrance to the obtaining of anything 
 they can request; for these works only, as they are 
 satisfactory, may be applied for the relief of these 
 souls, and as they are impetratory, they may be 
 offered up for the obtaining of what we please. 
 
 2. True it is, that sometimes the very thing 
 which we do desire and petition in our prayers is 
 the relief of the souls in Purgatory, and we do 
 actually crave, entreat, and beg for this; and unto 
 this our so earnest request, we do join other works 
 of fasting, alms-deeds, &c., to move the mercy of 
 God to hear graciously this our petition; and then 
 we need not wonder if our prayers, as they are 
 impetratory, do not impetrate for us other favours, 
 for we never did demand them. So when I pray 
 for the health of my father, this prayer of mine 
 doth not impetrate the health of my mother; and 
 even as, when I pray for both the health of my 
 father and my mother, this prayer of mine is not 
 so efficacious to obtain the health of my father as 
 it would have been made for that end only, and no 
 other. So when I pray for other things, and also 
 for the souls in Purgatory, this prayer of mine is 
 not perhaps so efficacious to obtain those other 
 things as it would have been if it had been made 
 for those only, and for nothing else. I did say, 
 perhaps, for there be many reasons, as we shall see 
 presently, for which prayer, thus made, becomes 
 very efficacious for the obtaining those other 
 requests which I desire to have granted, and which. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 39 
 
 perhaps, may further the grant of them far more 
 than praying for them alone would do. 
 
 3. But for the present, let us suppose that such 
 a prayer is less effectual for obtaining of other 
 things; yet this ought not to make men more 
 backward to pray for the souls in Purgatory; for 
 shall I never pray for my mother because by the 
 same prayer I obtain somewhat less for my father 
 than I should have done if I had prayed for him 
 only ? In the choice of these intentions for which 
 we pray, we must regard many things, as the 
 greater glory of God, the necessity of our neigh¬ 
 bour, our own spiritual advancement, the common 
 good of the Church, and the like. Now, perhaps, 
 all things well considered, there will scarce be 
 found any one thing which ought so dearly to be 
 commended to our devotion as praying for the 
 dead; in the which, among other things, there is 
 also this to be noted, that as St. Thomas saith, 
 “ God doth rather accept of prayers for the dead 
 than for the living, because they not being able, as 
 the living are, to help themselves, do more stand 
 in need of the help of others.” 1 To the which we 
 may add a worthy consideration of St. Denis, the 
 famous disciple of St. Paul, 2 to wit, that when we 
 pray for the living, our prayer many times, as it is 
 impetratory, obtaineth nothing at all, because the 
 thing we pray for is not convenient to be granted, 
 or because (to use his example) the sins of those 
 we pray for do hinder this effect, as the sins of 
 Saul did hinder that the prayers could not be heard 
 1 Suppl. iii. Sent. 2 De Eccl. Hier. cap. vii. p. 5. 
 
40 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 in his behalf. 1 This in praying for the dead doth 
 never take place; for those who are departed in 
 God’s grace, as St. Augustine teacheth, “ deserved 
 whilst they lived that these helps of prayers might 
 profit them after their death.” 2 Whence, as 
 Bellarmine saith, “ All divines do agree that such 
 suffrages as are generally offered up for all the dead 
 do profit all of them. But they disagree about 
 those suffrages which are offered up for some dead 
 in particular.” 3 For Cardinal Cajetan 4 is of opinion 
 that those who in this life took no care to relieve 
 the souls of the dead, shall receive no benefit by 
 such suffrages as their living friends offer up for 
 them in particular. And the holy and learned 
 Doctor, Denis the Carthusian, saith, “Those who 
 have been slothful, and negligent, and hard-hearted 
 in relieving the dead, must know that in the same 
 measure that they have measured out to others, it 
 shall be measured back unto them.” 5 If this 
 opinion were true, they ought not a little to be 
 affrighted who pass over so lightly all that belongs 
 to the assistance of the dead. But the milder and 
 contrary opinion is maintained by Bellarmine, and 
 more commonly by all divines. Wherefore prayer 
 for the dead is never made without effect. Yet it 
 is very good advice, when we offer up our prayers 
 for any particular person, to offer them so that if 
 such a person be not in need, or capable to be 
 assisted by them, they may be accepted for the 
 
 assistance of such others as may be relieved by 
 
 , \ 
 
 1 i Kings xv. xvi. 2 Enchir. cap. c. 3 De Purg. cap. xviii. 
 
 4 Opusc. t. i. tract, xvi. cap. xv. 6 De Judic. Animarum , art. ult. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 4i 
 
 them. The observing of this will make our charity 
 still to have its full effect. 
 
 4. Let us come now to the reasons for which 
 
 (as I began to insinuate) our prayers are far more 
 impetratory when we remember the dead in them 
 than when we omit this charitable remembrance. 
 The first reason is, because this praying for the 
 dead is an act of mercy so excellent that it doth 
 in a supereminent manner contain and surpass all 
 the corporal deeds of mercy put together, as hath 
 been demonstrated. Now there is no more effica¬ 
 cious means to stir up the mercy and liberality of 
 God towards us, than the exercise of works of 
 mercy and liberality. For as our Saviour saith, 
 “ Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain 
 mercy.” 1 And again, “ In what measure you shall 
 mete, it shall be measured to you again, and more 
 shall be given to you.” 2 Will you know how much 
 more ? St. Luke telleth you : “ Good measure and 
 pressed down and shaken together and running 
 over shall they give unto your bosom.” 3 With 
 what words could the largeness of this measure 
 have been more fully set forth ? And, indeed, of 
 so good a God we could expect no other; far be it 
 from Him that our liberality should rather shut 
 than open His hands. His deeds will ever prove 
 His saying true, “ Give, and it shall be given unto 
 you,” in the measure declared unto you in this very 
 place. .. . , ' 
 
 5. And we may be the more confident of this 
 particular act, because our Saviour Taketh. it. as 
 
 1 St. Matt. v. 7. 2 St. Mark iv. 24.'- 3 St. Luke vi. 38. 
 
42 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 done unto Himself; and therefore doubtless as 
 those souls which we have delivered cannot but be 
 most ready to further any just petition which we 
 shall make, so our dear Lord, Who counteth 
 Himself to be the person released, will never be 
 wanting in the furtherance of whatsoever we shall 
 piously desire. Now, to have His good word so 
 sure on our side must needs be of greater conse¬ 
 quence for obtaining any reasonable favour than 
 anything we can devise. And as far as my capacity 
 can reach, I cannot conceive in what manner we 
 may more efficaciously compass the grant of all our 
 most important requests than by thus obliging (as I 
 may say) Christ our Lord to speak in our behalf 
 with that earnestness which we may imagine those 
 souls to use whom we have relieved. 
 
 6 . A further reason why our prayers, when 
 we remember the souls of Purgatory in them, 
 do become of far greater efficacy to obtain our 
 requests, is this: because (as hath been insinuated) 
 this prayer, though of itself it hath not this greater 
 efficacy, yet what it wanteth of itself, it procureth 
 to be far more effectually performed by the help of 
 those voices which it winneth, among which the 
 first place is to be given to the Word Incarnate, 
 Whose words cannot but be heard: “ I knew that 
 Thou hearest Me always,” saith this our Lord. 1 
 The voices also of Heaven’s whole Court cannot 
 but join with the Word, both because their affec¬ 
 tions are united with an inseparable true-lover’s- 
 knot, and because there is not one in Heaven who 
 
 1 St.John xi. 42. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 43 
 
 thinketh not himself to have particular interest in 
 the furtherance of this cause; for all that blessed 
 
 mansion love the soul released even as they love 
 
 / 
 
 their souls. For as St. Austin saith, “There nobody 
 loveth another less than himself. Whence every 
 one doth not otherwise rejoice at each one’s good 
 than at his own.” 1 And consequently all and every 
 one of them will be in a manner as forward to assist 
 us as those souls will be who were released by our 
 prayers. And who can express how ready these 
 souls will be who were released by our prayers ? 
 And who can express how ready these souls released 
 or relieved by us, are to help us in all occurrences ? 
 Tell me now, what means can you invent more 
 efficacious to make, in a manner, sure whatsoever 
 you request. 
 
 7. Behold here a most admirable manner of 
 communication, which we living in the Church 
 Militant may keep with our brethren, both belong¬ 
 ing to the Church Patient in Purgatory and 
 Triumphant in Heaven; so obliging, and so grati¬ 
 fying them, and each one of them, that we come 
 to have as many, and as powerful intercessors to 
 promote all our just requests, as Heaven hath 
 citizens. Art not thou then, dear Christian, of 
 my mind, that in order to obtain any favour for 
 ourselves, or for any other, there is scarce any 
 means so effectual as to be still assistant to these 
 suffering souls, by procuring sacrifices, by offering 
 prayers, fasts, and alms-deeds for them ? The 
 Rev. Father Alexis de Salo thus writeth of himself: 
 
 1 Manuale, xxxv. 
 
44 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 “ One of my particular devotions is, whensoever I 
 desire to obtain any particular favour for myself, or 
 any other, to say some few prayers for the dead. 
 And I assure you, I have experienced in myself and 
 others strange effects.” 1 For my part, I have seen, 
 and by most credible relations heard, so many 
 apparent examples to confirm this practice, that 
 no sophistry of never so subtle disputants shall 
 dispute me out of it. This experience quite blunts 
 their sharpest weapons. Though if we were to 
 come to disputing, I hold myself to have said 
 enough both here and in the first part. 2 I cannot, 
 therefore, but recommend the devotion which many 
 use, who being to undertake long and troublesome 
 journeys, do willingly undergo this difficulty, to the 
 end that they may make, as it were, as many 
 pilgrimages as day’s journeys for the relief of those 
 souls in whose behalf they daily offer up the labour 
 and toil of each day’s travel, which by this devo¬ 
 tion becomes more sweet and prosperous. But that 
 the least occasion of the least error may not be 
 given by what I write, I have thought fit to speak 
 here a short word of two questions, very commonly 
 demanded. 
 
 8 . The first question is, Whether we are to 
 implore the aid, help, or intercession of such souls 
 as are still in Purgatory? And I make choice to 
 answer by recounting unto you what hath been 
 delivered by two of the greatest personages of this 
 latter age. The first is Cardinal Bellarmine. “ It 
 is not incredible but that the souls in Purgatory do 
 
 2 Alexis de Salo, pt. i. 62. 2 Chap. xxiv. nn. 6—10. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 45 
 
 pray and impetrate for us: for Dives in Hell 1 prayed 
 for his brothers when he was in greater torment 
 than those in Purgatory.” 2 Yet, I pray, note well 
 what follows: “ But though these things be true, 
 yet commonly it seems superfluous to beg of them 
 to pray for us. Because they have no ordinary 
 means to know what we do in particular. But they 
 have only in general this knowledge, that we are in 
 many necessities. Neither is it likely that ordinarily 
 they have revelations concerning what we do, or 
 what we ask of them.” Thus far Bellarmine. Let 
 us now hear the other great Doctor, which is 
 Suarez, writing thus of the souls in Purgatory. 
 “ If they know not our prayers, it seems an idle and 
 superfluous thing to pray to them. Yet I add that 
 it is not certain that they do not know our prayers. 
 And it is not incredible but that they are made 
 known to them by their Guardian Angels, or else by 
 our Angels. For this is not a thing above their 
 state. And this is an act suitable to the office of 
 the Angel Keepers. Wherefore if any one should 
 find fruit and devotion in this manner of prayer, 
 he seems not to be dissuaded from it.” But, good 
 reader, pass not over these his following words 
 without taking special notice of them. “Although,” 
 saith he, “this manner of prayer seems not 
 necessary, because devotion towards the souls in 
 Purgatory is more manifested by aiding and assist¬ 
 ing them by satisfactory works done in their behalf, 
 and by praying for them. And this suffices to 
 move them to pray for us, when and after what 
 1 St. Luke xvi. 27, 28. 2 De Purgatorio, 1 . ii. cap. xvii. 
 
4 6 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 manner they shall be able according to the Divine 
 ordination.” 1 This seems the very best decision 
 of this question. If the heir-apparent to a great- 
 kingdom were held captive by his enemies, and left 
 in cruel torments by them, from which, either by 
 some convenient advice or device I were able to 
 relieve him, think you not that I should far sooner 
 deserve his favour and assistance in all things by 
 affording him my seasonable help rather than in 
 employing my hands to present an unseasonable 
 petition unto him to be assistant unto me. These 
 who are now in Purgatory be heirs-apparent to the 
 Kingdom of Heaven, though their offences (which 
 be their greatest enemies) have left them for a time 
 abandoned to insufferable torments. If we desire, 
 indeed, to obtain and deserve their best aid and 
 help, let us rather be now aiding and helping unto 
 them, by most seasonable prayers for them, than 
 become unseasonable petitioners unto them. More¬ 
 over, by thus affording them relief, rather than by 
 begging relief of them, I shall win the favour of 
 their Angel Keepers, their patrons and friends in 
 Heaven, and Christ Himself, with all those blessed 
 spirits, as the pre-alleged reasons do convince. 
 
 The second question is, Whether souls in Purga¬ 
 tory pray for the living? Bellarmine, above cited, 
 supposes that they pray for us in a general manner; 
 which opinion is accounted both “ pious and pro¬ 
 bable” by Suarez, above cited. And he declares 
 it very well to our purpose. “They may pray,” 
 saith he, “ for all such as pray for them, or who do 
 
 1 De Orat. 1 . i. cap. x. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD . 
 
 47 
 
 anything advancing their deliverance. For that 
 prayer is for such persons as God knows in parti¬ 
 cular, though those souls do not. They may 
 therefore beg of God that He would be pleased to 
 succour them, to forgive their sins (by stirring them 
 to contrition), to take temptation away from them, 
 and do them such-like favours as these are.” 1 And 
 whosoever shall well ponder it, he will find these 
 favours to be such as may extraordinarily conduce 
 towards our eternal salvation, as we said in the 
 end of the sixth chapter. Yea, by this means we 
 may come also to obtain all those our pious requests 
 to further which we did betake ourselves to offer up 
 some peculiar devotions for the souls in Purgatory. 
 For whilst these souls, all of them, are so frequently, 
 and as it were incessantly, begging that God would 
 graciously grant all that piously shall be demanded 
 of Him, whether it be for themselves or for others, 
 by all such as shall be their special benefactors, the 
 Divine mercy, by so fervent, by so just, by so 
 incessant prayers, of so many and so good friends 
 of His, is sweetly drawn to condescend to their 
 request. “ For why should not this be their 
 request,” saith Suarez, “ seeing that this is an act 
 of charity and gratitude ? ” Whence with the same 
 Doctor I conclude, “that we have from hence 
 sufficient ground to be always well-doing to these 
 souls, to the end that we may the more be made 
 partakers of their prayers.” 
 
 1 Cap. xi. 
 
THE EIGHTH CHAPTER. 
 
 THAT BY OFFERING OUR ACTIONS FOR THE SOULS IN 
 PURGATORY, WE DO NOT LESS, BUT MORE SATISFY 
 FOR OUR OWN SINS. 
 
 Now we come to that point which only hath 
 difficulty in this matter; for it may seem clear, 
 that when we give away to others the fruits of our 
 own satisfaction, we cannot enjoy these fruits our¬ 
 selves, no more than we can pay our debts with the 
 same money which we pay for the debts of our 
 friends. This difficulty is very solidly answered by 
 saying that which is most true, to wit, that to pray 
 for and assist the souls in Purgatory, is an act so 
 highly meritorious of grace and glory, an act so 
 impetratory of such things as may be eternally 
 beneficial to our own souls, that the loss of the 
 fruit of our satisfactions is nothing to be valued in 
 regard of the gain which we purchase, as may 
 appear by what hath been said before. 1 A second 
 and sufficient answer might be, that this loss may 
 fully be repaired by the gaining of Indulgences for 
 ourselves. So, though I cannot pay my own debts 
 with the same money which I pay out for the debts 
 of my friends, yet I may, by favour, procure a 
 
 1 Chap. vi. nn. 2, 3. 
 
A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 49 
 
 releasement of my own debts, and so be as free 
 from them as if I had paid them with that 
 money which I liberally laid out to discharge my 
 friend’s debt. That such favours or Indulgences 
 may be obtained, we will prove at large in the 
 twelfth chapter. 
 
 2. But these two answers being for the present 
 let pass, I intend to make good the title of this 
 chapter, and to show that this devotion is a rare 
 kind of satisfaction. For understanding of which 
 it is much to be noted, that when we do any good 
 work for the souls in Purgatory—for example, when 
 we fast, or pray, or give alms for them—we have 
 such a kind of act as this is: I do offer this fast, 
 this prayer, this alms, for such a soul, or such souls 
 in Purgatory. The thing, therefore, which we give 
 away is only such a fast, prayer, or alms, and of the 
 fruit of this work, as it is satisfactory, we wholly 
 deprive ourselves, and consequently, as it is satis¬ 
 factory, it maketh no satisfaction for our sins, but 
 only for their sins for whom we did offer it; yet 
 that act, by which I, offering this fast for another, 
 deprive myself of the fruit thereof, redoundeth 
 wholly to my profit; neither doth any part of it 
 benefit any one but myself. Now I affirm that 
 with this act, by which, with so great charity to 
 God and my neighbour, I give away this fast, this 
 alms, and prayer, I do both satisfy for my sins, and 
 satisfy in no mean manner, but in a manner far 
 more excellent than is ordinarily conceived. 
 
 3. For, first, this is an act most meritorious, and 
 consequently most satisfactory. For, as the learned 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 Vasquez teacheth, 1 every good work, for the self¬ 
 same cause for which it doth deserve to be rewarded 
 in Heaven, deserveth also freedom from such impedi¬ 
 ments as may hinder the enjoying of this reward; 
 such an impediment as the being in Purgatory would 
 be. Moreover, the more that we by our good deeds 
 do endear ourselves to the Divine Majesty, the more 
 we do recompense any former displeasure done unto 
 Him. Grateful services cannot but abolish old 
 offences.- Hence also divines of prime note do aver 
 that all good acts are in the self-same degree satis¬ 
 factory in which they are meritorious. So saith 
 Victoria, Soto, Ledesma, &c. Now we have demon¬ 
 strated that this act is in a very high degree 
 meritorious, and therefore, by consequence, it must 
 be in a very high degree satisfactory. 
 
 4. But let us consider a little more this act by 
 itself. First, it cannot but be hard and laborious 
 to corrupted nature to be willing to fast for another: 
 and if this be not very difficult, why do you hold 
 back so much, seeing it may be so beneficial unto 
 you ? If you find no difficulty, because your charity 
 towards your neighbour is such that with joy you 
 can do all these things for his sake, this pious dis¬ 
 position of yours doth not lessen, but increase the 
 satisfactory virtue of this act. For as, excellently, 
 St. Thomas: “ The lessening of the pain, which 
 proceeds from the readiness of the will caused by 
 charity, doth not diminish, but increase the efficacy 
 of our satisfaction.” 2 
 
 1 Pt. ii. q. 94. d. 5. n. 3. 
 
 2 Suppl. q. 15. a. 1. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 5 * 
 
 5. Again, this is an act of rare charity towards 
 God, Whose glory we advance by thus procur¬ 
 ing the increase of His honour, done to Him in 
 Heaven by the souls we release; and towards our 
 neighbour, to whom we procure the greatest good 
 that may be. Now, as Coninck saith : “ Not a few., 
 but all divines do teach, that by an act of charity 
 produced with never so much ease and delight, a 
 man may satisfy for all the pains he hath deserved.” 1 
 The Scripture telleth us as much: “ Many sins are 
 forgiven her, because she hath loved much.” 2 
 “Above all things having continually mutual charity 
 among yourselves, for charity covereth a multitude 
 of sins.” 3 And if this be not enough, “Charity 
 covereth all sins.” 4 
 
 6. Lastly, this act is one of the chiefest deeds of 
 mercy, surpassing all the works of corporal mercy 
 put together; and therefore, questionless, it is an 
 act most highly satisfactory: for if of all corporal 
 alms it be written that they free from sin and death, 
 and do not suffer the soul to go into darkness; 5 
 that they resist sin, as water doth the burning fire ; 6 
 that if you “ give alms, behold all things are clean 
 unto you; 7 what shall we think of this spiritual 
 alms, by which Heaven is given, and Purgatory 
 pains forgiven to a poor soul, made of a most pitiful 
 prisoner a most glorious Saint ? What a work of 
 mercy is this ? Of the works of mercy in general, 
 St. Thomas saith: “ The works of spiritual mercy 
 
 1 De Sacram. dis. x. ; De Satisf. d. 4. 
 
 2 St. Luke vii. 47. 3 1 St. Peter iv. 8. 4 Prov. x. 12. 
 
 5 Tobias iv. 11. 6 Ecclus. iii. 33. 7 St. Luke xi. 41. 
 
52 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 are so much more excellent than the works of 
 corporal mercy, by how much the soul is more noble 
 than the body.” 1 By this it appeareth, that all 
 those who exercise these works of charity and 
 spiritual mercy frequently (as all do, who do much 
 for the souls in Purgatory) are so far from depriving 
 themselves of all satisfaction, that as often as they 
 give their satisfactory works away, they heap up 
 great treasures of satisfaction: so that here that 
 which the Scripture saith in the Proverbs is perfectly 
 verified : “ Some distribute their own goods, and 
 grow richer.” 2 
 
 1 Summa, ii. 2. q. 3. a. 2. 
 
 2 Prov. xi. 24. 
 
THE NINTH CHAPTER. 
 
 THAT BY OFFERING OUR ACTIONS FOR THE SOULS IN 
 PURGATORY, WE HAVE A GREAT HOPE OF ESCAP¬ 
 ING EITHER ALL OR A GOOD PART OF PURGATORY . 
 
 The proof of this title may be in part drawn out 
 of the preceding chapters; for, this act being so 
 eminent, if we regard merit, and so effectual, if 
 we regard impetration, may with good ground be 
 thought partly to deserve, as it is meritorious, partly 
 to obtain by the way of favour, as it is impetratory, 
 that our merciful Lord should deal more mildly 
 than the ordinary course of justice exacts with all 
 those who have both made a most noble kind of 
 satisfaction for their own sins, and have, * with a 
 most heroical charity, done many worthy actions 
 to satisfy for the sins of others: neither are there 
 wanting many convenient reasons to persuade us 
 to have this honourable conceit of the Divine Good¬ 
 ness. 
 
 2 . The Holy Scripture itself gives us good 
 ground to build this opinion: “ Charity covereth 
 a multitude of sins.” And yet more clearly: 
 “ Charity covereth all sins.” And what charity 
 more eminent than this ? “ Alms deliver from all 
 
 sin, and from death, and will not suffer the soul to 
 
54 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 go into darkness.” 1 “ Give alms, and behold all 
 things are clean unto you.” Now if these preroga¬ 
 tives are to be granted to alms-deeds when they 
 are plentiful (which I add because St. Chrysostom 
 saith, “ Not to give, but to give plentifully, is an 
 alms-deed” 2 ); if, I say, alms-deeds be thus privi¬ 
 leged, being a mere work of corporal mercy, 
 what shall we think of this alms, so incomparably 
 surpassing all corporal works of mercy? For it 
 relieveth a greater misery than any corporal neces¬ 
 sity can be, and it bestoweth a gift no less than the 
 possession of God Himself. Shall such an alms 
 permit the giver of it to go into darkness? No; 
 this alms also will make all clear: for “ he that 
 giveth to the poor, shall not want.” 3 He shall not 
 sustain this necessity, the most grievous a poor soul 
 can be in, because, as holy David saith, “ Blessed is 
 he that understandeth concerning the needy and the 
 poor: the Lord will deliver him in the evil day.” 4 
 He shall be delivered in that day, which to others 
 is so evil. 
 
 3. And, indeed, how can we think otherwise ? 
 For be not these our Saviour’s words: “Amen, I 
 say to you, as long as you did it to one of these 
 My least brethren, you did it to Me.” 5 Now, if 
 our Saviour taketh the delivery of the souls of His 
 brethren as gratefully as if His own Soul had been 
 freed from Purgatory, what shadow of likelihood is 
 
 1 Tobias iv. 11. 
 
 2 "Non dare, sed copiose dare, eleemosyna est." 
 
 3 Prov. xxviii. 27. 4 Psalm xl. 1. 
 
 5 St. Matt. xxv. 40. 
 
TO PH AY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 55 
 
 there that He will not procure the delivery of him 
 whom He acknowledgeth to have been as His own 
 deliverer ? Who of us can have the heart—and our 
 hearts are hard enough—yet who of us can have the 
 heart to let him lie roasting in Purgatory flames 
 who hath freed us from this misery, especially if 
 we could effect his releasement as easily as our 
 Saviour can work ours, even without breach of the 
 very rigour of justice: to wit, by offering in our 
 behalf His superabundant satisfactions for the 
 supply of such satisfaction as we stand in need of; 
 that is, to bestow for His own sake a Plenary 
 Indulgence upon us; which, though it be a favour 
 extraordinary, yet the motive to grant it beareth 
 proportion with such a grant; and to him who 
 hath showed so extraordinary charity, liberality, and 
 mercy, it ought not to seem strange if extraordinary 
 charity, liberality, and mercy be shown by Him, 
 Whose bowels are made all of charity, bounty, 
 and compassion : for if in punishing, God observeth 
 this rule, “ By what things a man sinneth, by the 
 same also he is tormented;” 1 “As he hath done, 
 so shall it be done to him; breach for breach, 
 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, shall he restore,” 2 
 may we not justly think that, in matters of favour. 
 He doth show greatest mercy to him who hath 
 showed greatest mercy to others ? What other 
 sense have those words, “ Blessed are the merciful, 
 for they shall obtain mercy”? 3 Wherefore, “As 
 he hath done, so shall it be done to him.” As he 
 
 . 1 Wisdom xi. 17. 2 Levit. xxiv. 19, 20. 
 
 I St. Matt. v. 7. 
 
56 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 hath offered his satisfactions for the releasement of 
 Christ’s brethren, so Christ will offer up His super¬ 
 abundant satisfaction for the releasement of his 
 soul. Soul for soul shall be repaid to him ; ransom 
 for ransom. As he hath freed others, so he shall 
 be freed himself. Very rational are the words of 
 Abimelech to Abraham: “According to the kindness 
 that I have done to thee, thou shall do to me.” 1 
 
 4. We must here overslip, in a cursory manner, 
 that evident text of Scripture, which doth almost 
 demonstrate that which we have said, “ Give, and 
 it shall be given unto you ; ” but mark well in what 
 measure: “ Good measure and pressed down and 
 shaken together and running over shall they give 
 into your bosom.” 2 ’ The thing which we did give 
 was the fruits of our satisfactions, for supply of our 
 brethren’s want, by which gift he was released. 
 Wherefore, that our Lord may return us equal 
 measure, as great wants of ours must be supplied 
 by the fruits of His superabundant satisfactions; 
 but that this measure be a “ good measure and 
 pressed down and shaken together and running 
 over,” we may expect to be, in that over-liberal 
 measure, made partakers of Christ’s satisfactions, 
 that by them, our debts being to the last farthing 
 wholly discharged, or an act of perfect contrition 
 or charity, being by His gracious gifts bestowed 
 upon us, we may pass without impediment to the 
 reward of our charity. 
 
 , 5. To all these so well-grounded reasons, we will 
 add, for a conclusion, the certain assistance which 
 
 1 Genesis xxi. 23. 3 St. Luke vi. 38. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 57 
 
 infallibly in this our necessity will be afforded us by 
 all those whom we have either released or relieved : 
 and not only all these happy souls, but also all and 
 every one of their blessed kindred, Guardian Angels, 
 Patrons, &c., will favour us in our death, to requite 
 the favour by which we oblige them in our life; so 
 that many of the Saints, by their intercessions, and 
 some by offering up their superabundant satisfac¬ 
 tions, will so prevail with the mercy of God, that 
 we need not much fear, all helps being put together, 
 to be long left forlorn in the flames of Purgatory. 
 
 6 . And lest, perhaps, this fear might have some 
 little place left in any man’s heart, it hath pleased 
 the Divine Goodness, by word of mouth, to confirm 
 all we have said. St. Gertrude was one of the most 
 renowned Saints for virtue, and one of the most 
 wonderful Saints for the miraculous favours which 
 daily were done unto her that the Church hath had. 
 This blessed Saint (as Denis the Carthusian relateth) 
 did with an admirable affection, give all and every 
 of her actions wholly unto the souls in Purgatory, 
 not reserving for herself the least fruit of her satis¬ 
 factions. Coming therefore to die, she began not 
 a little to be afflicted, for fear lest, that having many 
 sins to satisfy for, and having left herself destitute 
 of all her satisfactory works, she might be liable to 
 grievous punishments. But Christ Himself did 
 vouchsafe to comfort her with these words : “ That 
 thou mayest understand how grateful that charity 
 of thine hath been unto Me, which thou didst show 
 towards the souls, I do even now forgive thee all 
 those pains which thou shouldst have suffered. 
 
58 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 
 And I, Who for one have promised a hundred-fold, 
 will now show My liberality, and I will heap up 
 glory upon thee.” 
 
 7. This comfort may they expect, who have 
 showed the like mercy towards the souls of their 
 brethren; but those who have slighted this devotion 
 as superstitious, or fit only for old wives, may justly 
 fear to have those dreadful words spoken unto 
 them : “Judgment without mercy to him that hath 
 not done mercy.” 1 
 
 1 St. James ii. 13. 
 
THE TENTH CHAPTER. 
 
 THAT IT IS NOT AGAINST CHARITY TO OURSELVES 
 TO OFFER OUR ACTIONS FOR THE SOULS IN 
 PURGATORY , BUT IT IS RATHER AGAINST IT NOT 
 TO OFFER THEM. 
 
 * 
 
 The common and the only objection which any 
 Catholic can make against this liberality towards 
 the souls in Purgatory is this: That though our 
 prayers, or other good works, offered up to God for 
 the souls in Purgatory, be equally, or rather more, 
 both meritorious and impetratory than otherwise 
 they would have been, yet it cannot be denied but 
 that they do not satisfy for our own sins; which, 
 seeing that they be many and great, the pains due 
 unto them will be excessive; and, therefore, if our 
 charity were well ordered, we would not so forget 
 ourselves as to leave ourselves in this manner 
 deprived of those satisfactions, for want of which 
 we shall be liable to these torments, which be so 
 very terrible. This objection I have deferred to 
 this place, because now the answers unto it, out of 
 that which hath been said, will be most clear. 
 
 2. I answer then, first, that though we did 
 become liable to these and greater pains, yet they 
 were not so much to be esteemed as a flea-bite for 
 
6o 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 gaining of a kingdom, if by this our charity towards 
 the souls we might increase (as we do most highly 
 increase) the crown of our eternal glory. 1 I answer 
 secondly, that by the gaining of Indulgences we 
 may prevent this pretended incommodity, as we 
 shall prove at large in the eleventh chapter. 
 
 3. Thirdly, I give this direct and clear answer, 
 that though by the works we do for the souls we 
 do satisfy only for their, and not at all for our own 
 sins, yet by that rare act of charity, by which we 
 give these works away unto them, we do satisfy in 
 a most high degree, as hath been proved in the 
 eighth chapter; yea, in a degree so high, that by 
 this satisfaction (and other helps, as we did demon¬ 
 strate in the last chapter) we have great hope in 
 escaping either all, or greatest part, of Purgatory: 
 yea, by this devotion we may escape Hell itself, as 
 we have before declared. 2 
 
 4. To conclude this chapter. In a word, it is 
 nothing against well-ordered charity towards our¬ 
 selves to help these souls as much as we can; but 
 it needs must be against perfection of this charity 
 not to assist them to our full power, for that we 
 lose the merit of so rare a charity, and the loss of 
 this merit is a loss of the more perfect sight of God 
 for ever. What a loss is this, dear brother—what 
 a loss is this! Remember what we said out of 
 St. Thomas, 3 “ That our essential bliss ” (which 
 consists in the fruition of God, of which we are 
 made more abundantly partaker by having exercised 
 
 1 See chap. vi. n. 2. 2 Chap. vi. n. 6. 
 
 3 Chap. vi. n. 3. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 61 
 
 more abundant charity to our neighbour) “ is 
 infinitely better than the forgiveness of temporal 
 pain; ” which, notwithstanding, is the chiefest 
 good which those niggards aim at who pretend so 
 much charity to themselves. They understand not 
 that true charity to themselves consists in the real 
 desiring, and effectual procuring, their own good. 
 Those do not do this, who, fixing their eyes only 
 upon that temporal good which consists in purchas¬ 
 ing forgiveness of the temporal pain due to their 
 sins, omit to procure that which “ is infinitely 
 better than this forgiveness ”—that is, they omit to 
 purchase a more eminent degree in fruition of 
 essential beatitude, by being made partakers of 
 which they might have known, honoured, loved, 
 and enjoyed God for a whole eternity, in a far more 
 perfect manner than now they shall. A good, so 
 far surpassing the forgiveness of all temporal pain 
 in Purgatory, that there is not one of the saints 
 in Heaven who would not willingly undergo the 
 temporal pains of a thousand Purgatories, if, by 
 the undergoing of them, he might notably increase 
 his essential glory in beatifical vision and fruition; 
 as we may do, exercising those most meritorious 
 acts of charity in relieving the souls in Purgatory, 
 which, how much they conduce to our advancement 
 in essential beatitude, hath been largely declared in 
 the sixth and seventh chapters. 
 
 5. I have yet one short question of these provident 
 self-seekers of their own commodity, Whether they 
 do conceive, that by reserving all the benefits of 
 their satisfactory works to themselves only, without 
 
62 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 bestowing any part upon the souls of their distressed 
 brethren, their satisfactions will so abound, as to 
 suffice for the full payment of all their debts to God, 
 even to the last farthing ? Surely you little under¬ 
 stand the greatness and multitude of your offences, 
 and hugely overvalue your own works, if you think 
 you have no reason to fear a very fearful account in 
 Purgatory. But, as I proved in the former chapter, 
 those whose charity hath been eminent in relieving 
 the souls of their departed brethren, may have justly 
 great hopes of avoiding all, or a very great part, of 
 their Purgatory pains: so that the forgiveness of 
 temporal pains in Purgatory, which you esteem so 
 great a good, may sooner be purchased by this 
 devotion, together with a far more eminent degree 
 in essential beatitude, which is a good so infinitely 
 surpassing the former. Wherefore, if we be indeed 
 true lovers and seekers of our own commodity, here 
 is enough spoken unto us. 
 
THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER. 
 
 BY WHAT MEANS WE MAY HELP THE SOULS IN 
 
 PURGATORY. 
 
 If God hath done us the favour to soften our 
 hearts, we shall not now desire any new motives, 
 but rather seek by what means we may chiefly 
 relieve these poor souls. For those who are thus 
 disposed, we will declare what is to be done in this 
 matter. 
 
 2. That which in the first place ought to be 
 recommended is, that if they will indeed benefit 
 either their own souls, or satisfy for the souls of 
 their neighbours, they must put themselves in a 
 state of grace; for a dead member can neither help 
 the body of which it is a member, nor anybody else. 
 And St. Paul saith, “ If I should distribute all my 
 goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my 
 body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth 
 me nothing.” 1 This supposed, 
 
 3. The ordinary means of relieving the dead are 
 these: prayer, fasting, and alms-deeds. As for 
 prayer for the dead, it is instituted by the Apostles 
 themselves, as we proved in the first part, and so 
 esteemed by the holy Church, that at the end of 
 
 1 1 Cor. xiii. 3. 
 
64 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 every hour of Divine Office, she teacheth us to pray 
 that the souls of the faithful may rest in peace; for 
 she would not have us pray at any hour without 
 remembering these afflicted souls in our prayers. 
 It would make one wonder to see with what affection 
 St. Austin, in the last two chapters of his ninth 
 book of his Confessions, doth pray for the soul of 
 his mother; and not content with his own prayers, 
 he doth earnestly crave and beg the prayers of all, 
 in these fiery words: “ Inspire, O Lord, inspire 
 into Thy servants, that as many as shall read these 
 things, may be mindful at Thy altar of Monica, 
 Thy servant, that that which she did last of all 
 request of me may be the more plentifully performed 
 by the prayers of many.” 
 
 4. But among all kinds of prayers there is none 
 comparable to the Oblation of the dreadful Sacrifice 
 of the Mass; for in this Sacrifice, the self-same 
 Christ is offered, in an unbloody manner, upon 
 the altar, Who was offered in a bloody manner 
 upon the Cross. So saith St. Ambrose : “ We offer 
 always one and the same Sacrifice, and not one 
 Lamb to-morrow and another to-day, but always 
 the same, one Christ is everywhere, here fully and 
 there fully.” 1 And again, “When we sacrifice, 
 Christ is present, Christ is sacrificed.” 2 For, as 
 St. Austin saith, “ The flesh of our Sacrifice is made 
 the body of our Priest.” 3 Wherefore that most 
 ancient and glorious Martyr, St. Hippolytus, in his 
 Oration, De Consummatione Mundi , bringeth in our 
 
 1 In Hebr. x. 2 In Luc. 1 . i. cap. 1. 
 
 3 De Trin. 1 . iv. cap. xiv. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 6 5 
 
 Saviour thus speaking to our priests : “ Come, you, 
 who daily sacrifice My Body and My Blood.” And 
 Christ saith this to all priests; for as, excellently, 
 St. Chrysostom : “ The sacred Oblation, what priest 
 soever offers it, is still the same: for men do not 
 sacrifice this victim, but Christ Himself.” 1 Where¬ 
 fore the Victim which in this Sacrifice is offered, 
 being true Christ, and the self-same Christ being 
 Chief Priest, which by His ministers and substitutes 
 doth sanctify and offer this Victim, can any one 
 wonder if all we Catholics, together with St. Cyril 
 of Jerusalem, “ do believe that the obsecration of 
 that holy and dreadful Sacrifice which is placed on 
 the altar, is the greatest help for the souls for which 
 it is offered.” 2 See this place at large; for nothing 
 can be spoken more Catholicly. 
 
 5. The sacrifices of the Old Law were esteemed 
 by the chief and only true believers of those times 
 to have such virtue to relieve the dead, that when 
 soldiers were slain in battle, they made a gathering 
 of no less than “ twelve thousand drachms of silver, 
 and sent it to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered 
 for the sins of the dead.” 3 What esteem, then, 
 ought we to have of our Sacrifice ? St. Austin 
 deservedly praised his dead mother in these 
 words: “ She did not think how to have her 
 body sumptuously buried, or embalmed, but she 
 desired that her memory might be made at God’s 
 altar, at which she never omitted any one day of 
 her life to be present, knowing that from thence is 
 
 1 Horn. ii. in 2 Tim. 
 
 3 Catech. Mystag. v. 3 2 Mach. xii. 43. 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 dispensed the Holy Host, or Sacrifice, whereby is 
 blotted out the guilt of the world.” 1 And this 
 which she requested was fulfilled “when the 
 Sacrifice of our price was offered for her,” 2 as 
 St. Austin saith it was. 
 
 6. This piety, which so flourished in the primitive 
 Church, ceaseth not in the prime parts of the world 
 to flourish in these our days. No less than one 
 thousand seven hundred Masses, upon one and the 
 self-same day, were in Madrid celebrated at the 
 funeral of Margaret, wife to Philip III. of Spain: 
 and besides a thousand Masses, which this Queen 
 by her will gave order to have said for her soul, 
 the King, of his liberality, caused twenty thousand 
 more to be said for her. 3 It is not very many years 
 since the death of the Archduke Albertus, Prince 
 of the Low Countries, whose pious wife, Isabel, did 
 procure for the relief of his soul forty thousand 
 Masses, and for thirty days together she herself 
 did hear ten Masses daily for her pious lord and 
 husband. 4 
 
 7. As for fasting, most remarkable is that which 
 we read in the Scripture, that after the death of 
 Saul and his sons, the men of Jabes Galaad did 
 take his dead body and the dead bodies of his sons, 
 and buried them in the woods of Jabes, and fasted 
 seven days. 5 Under the name of fasts, all other 
 mortifications and austerities are comprehended, 
 as disciplines, hair-cloth, lying on the ground, &c. 
 
 1 Confess. 1 . ix. cap. iii. 2 Ibid. cap. xii. 
 
 3 Gusman, Vita Margar. Austriac., cap. iii. p. 3. 
 
 4 P. F. Jac. Curvoisier, Mausolao. 5 1 Kings xxxi. 11—13. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 67 
 
 But because some men’s silken ears cannot endure 
 so hard language as the naming of these things, 
 and others, under pretence of health, will plead 
 inability to perform such works, I will add some few 
 acts of mortification which no man or woman can 
 be too weak to exercise. For example, to debar 
 themselves of some less necessary recreations, to 
 abstain from some sweet morsels, for some small 
 space to keep silence, not to see, not to hear such 
 and such curiosities. But one act of virtue there 
 is which the weakest creature in the world may 
 practise; and it is an act of so high worth, that the 
 strongest man in the world can scarce practise a 
 better. It is this: for Christ’s sake to forgive all 
 those, from your very heart, who have done any 
 injury or injuries unto you. This is not my doctrine, 
 but the doctrine of St. Austin : “ Those who desire 
 to be delivered from this temporal purging fire, let 
 them, by continual prayers and frequent fastings, 
 and large alms, and especially by forgiving those 
 who have offended against them, redeem their 
 ordinary daily sins.” 1 This act, which St. Austin 
 doth so especially, above all others, commend, hath 
 a better recommendation in the Word of God, 
 which doth in plain terms promise to this act a 
 Plenary Indulgence, a Jubilee, a full remission of all 
 sins in this large form of grant, “ Forgive, and you 
 shall be forgiven.” 2 And again, “ For if you will 
 forgive men their offences, your Heavenly Father 
 will forgive you also your offences.” 3 This pardon 
 
 1 Serm. xli. De Sanctis. 
 
 2 St. Luke vi. 37. 3 St. Matt. vi. 14. 
 
68 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 you may gain for the souls in Purgatory. Hear, 
 then, a memorable example to this purpose. 
 
 8. The only son of an honourable widow was 
 murdered by a wicked fellow who, being for this his 
 murder in danger of being apprehended by the 
 officers, had hid himself; but the officers and the 
 widow had intelligence where he lay. The officers 
 went to the place to take him, but the pious widow 
 did, for God’s sake, so truly pardon this greatest 
 mischief which could have been done her, that she 
 did not only certify the murderer of his danger, to 
 the end that he might fly away in time, but for this 
 end did she furnish him also with money, and gave 
 him the horse of her dead son, that he might escape 
 the better. After this, she retired herself to pray 
 for her son’s soul; when behold, her son all in glory 
 appeared unto her, and told her that for so great 
 a charity towards his murderer, God had already 
 freed him from the fire of Purgatory, which for 
 many years he should have suffered. 1 Thus much 
 for this point. We may also much relieve the 
 souls in Purgatory, by suffering for them such 
 crosses as it shall please God to lay upon us; as 
 sickness, loss of goods, of friends, trouble of the 
 mind, and all kind of afflictions; which are exceed¬ 
 ing satisfactory, if we accept them willingly, or bear 
 them patiently. 
 
 9. A third kind of satisfaction most available to 
 the souls in Purgatory is to exercise alms-deeds, 
 which are most effectual to abolish all pain due to 
 sin, and therefore most profitable to those poor 
 
 1 Osorius, Fer. vi. post Cineres. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 69 
 
 souls, both when they are given to any sort of poor 
 men, and most of all, when they are given unto 
 those who are voluntarily poor, as all Religious, both 
 men and women, are; for they will be sure to pray 
 devoutly for the dead. So that they receive a double 
 benefit, both by the gift of the alms itself, which is 
 a work highly satisfactory, and also by the prayers 
 of those to whom the alms are given, who often 
 are very great servants of Almighty God, and their 
 prayers most powerful with Him. It was the voice 
 of an Angel sent from Heaven which said: “ Alms 
 delivereth from death, and the same is that which 
 purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and 
 life everlasting.” 1 “Water quencheth a flaming 
 fire, and alms resisteth sins.” 2 Quench, oh, quench 
 these so painful flames with so sovereign water. 
 Hence is that excellent advice of St. Ambrose, 3 who 
 exhorts the parents to bestow the portions which 
 they intended to have given their children, who now 
 are dead, in alms-deeds for the relief of their souls. 
 The same devotion was also taught in the Greek 
 Church by the golden mouth of St. Chrysostom: 4 
 “ If many barbarous people used to burn together 
 the bodies of their dead friends, and all which 
 belonged to them, far more rationally mayest thou 
 make over to thy dead son those goods of thine ” 
 which thou hast designed for him. “ Do you think 
 that your son departed this life stained with any 
 spot of sin ? ” Yes, surely thou hast reason to think 
 so. But what then ? Then, saith St. Chrysostom : 
 
 1 Tobias xii. 9. * Ecclus. iii. 33. 3 De Fide Resurr. 1 . i. 
 
 4 Homil. xxxii. t. ii. in Matt. 
 
70 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 “ Give him what should be his own, that thereby he- 
 may wipe off those stains.” So he. And in another 
 place he, upon another occasion, suggests a laudable 
 exercise of charity, which our devotion may thus 
 apply to the relief of the suffering souls of our 
 brethren. Place at your bed’s head, or closet, a 
 little box, and when you prepare to go to rest, and 
 have now made your usual examen of your con¬ 
 science, with hearty contrition and sorrow for your 
 sins, enjoin yourself this small penance, to cast into 
 that box the smallest farthing, token, or mite which 
 thou hast, and account it a kind of sacrilege to 
 bestow any parcel of this soul-money in any other 
 use than alms to the poor, exercising this act of 
 piety for the assistance of the poor souls in Purgatory. 
 I will assure thee, thy own soul will have no small, 
 share in this alms. Thus you may “ make unto you 
 friends of the mammon of iniquity, that when you 
 shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting 
 dwellings.” 1 Excellent also is that counsel which 
 some give to rich men. They advise them, as often 
 as they hear a poor man knocking at their door, 
 to imagine themselves to hear the voice of a poor 
 soul in Purgatory begging for relief; and if they 
 have any mercy in them, this imagination will stir 
 them up to bestow some small alms, both for the 
 spiritual relief of the souls in Purgatory, and the 
 corporal relief of their poor neighbour. 
 
 io. How grateful to God, and beneficial to the 
 givers, those alms are which are bestowed upon 
 others for their relief, will appear by a strange. 
 
 1 St. Luke xvi. 9. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 7i 
 
 example, which I will relate to thee, only as a most 
 profitably instructive parable, though I read it related 
 as a true story in an author which I shall cite. 
 The relation is one of Eusebius, Duke of Sardinia. 
 This good Duke was so devoted to the souls in 
 Purgatory that he bestowed all the tithes of his 
 dukedom in Masses, alms-deeds, and other pious 
 works for their delivery; and, moreover, gave one 
 of his best cities (which was therefore called the 
 City of God), with all the revenues thereof, to be 
 employed for the same end. It happened that 
 Ostorgius, Duke of Sicily, being at war with this 
 Eusebius, surprised this city. The news whereof 
 being brought to Eusebius, he was so sensible of 
 the loss, that he protested he had rather have lost 
 half his dukedom ; and so, with all speed drawing 
 his men together (which were but a handful in 
 regard of the enemy), marched boldly on to recover 
 the same. In the way, his scouts discovered a 
 great army approaching with armour, horses, 
 banners, all as white as snow, at which report the 
 Duke was somewhat stricken; yet, reflecting on 
 the matter, conceived hope of good from that joyful 
 colour. Wherefore, sending out four choice men 
 to learn who they were and what they intended, 
 they were answered by four more of the white army 
 coming to meet them, that they need not to fear, 
 for they were soldiers to the King of Heaven, 
 friends to Eusebius, and enemies to his enemy. 
 The Duke was much comforted with this answer, 
 and thereupon riding in person towards the army,, 
 was presently met and kindly saluted by some of 
 
72 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 them, who confirmed what had been said before, 
 bidding him fear nothing, but march on with his 
 army after theirs. So he did. Then the white 
 army, which seemed to be forty thousand strong, 
 making a stand near the camp of Ostorgius, came 
 presently to a parley, and gave him to understand 
 that they were the soldiers of the King of Heaven, 
 sent to revenge the unjust surprisal of that city 
 belonging to their Master, and to put Eusebius 
 again in possession ; adding withal such threats 
 that Ostorgius was extremely terrified, and humbly 
 demanded peace, promising all possible satisfaction. 
 By this time Eusebius was come up, to whom 
 Ostorgius readily offered to restore the double of 
 what he had taken, and to make himself and his 
 people tributary unto him. These conditions being 
 agreed upon, Eusebius applied himself to the white 
 army with such signs of gratitude as were fitting 
 on that occasion, and then beginning to inquire 
 more particularly what they were, had for answer 
 that they were all souls delivered by his pious 
 liberality out of Purgatory. So that he had just 
 cause of much content in what he had done, and 
 of encouragement to proceed in those charitable 
 works by which, doubtless, many more souls would 
 be delivered out of that place of punishment; and 
 
 then, taking a kind leave, they returned the same 
 way they came. 1 
 
 ii. We need not doubt but Eusebius was 
 
 1 Spec. Exempi. tit. Defunct, exemplo xxv.; Pinellus, Be Altera 
 Vita, 1 . i. cap. xxviii.; De Bonniers, Advocat. Animarum, cap. ii. ; 
 Histor. Sardinia, &c. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 73 
 
 unspeakably comforted in this strange occurrence, 
 and must needs increase in devotion and liberality 
 towards the souls which he found by experience to 
 be so mindful of paying, and overpaying, their debts. 
 And I pray God that others who have bags of gold 
 and whole lordships to cast away at dice and cards, 
 and waste in bravery and Epicurean feasting, may 
 learn by this example, and by what hath been said 
 before, rather to spend their riches hereafter with 
 assurance of getting a hundred for one, than with 
 mighty probability of losing thousands for nothing, 
 and their own souls into the bargain. 
 
THE TWELFTH CHAPTER. 
 
 OF INDULGENCES. 
 
 Amongst the means of relieving the souls in Purga¬ 
 tory, one of the chiefest is to gain such Indulgences 
 for them as are so granted, that they may be 
 applied unto them. Now because, either for want 
 of instruction in this point (which is not so easily 
 understood) or for dulness of belief in it (because 
 we, who are so bad, are hard to believe God should 
 be so good), very many are lamentably negligent in 
 the use of so great a treasure, I have thought it 
 convenient to handle this point, which indeed is so 
 necessary to be declared, somewhat largely. 
 
 2. For the perfect understanding of this matter, 
 we must call to mind that which hath been suffi¬ 
 ciently proved before in the first part , 1 how that 
 after any sin is forgiven there doth commonly 
 remain some guilt of pain due to so foul a crime. 
 Well, then, the grant of an Indulgence is the grant 
 of the remission of this pain remaining after the sin 
 is forgiven; which grant is communicated unto us 
 to supply graciously our want of due satisfactions by 
 applying the superabundant satisfaction of Christ 
 our Lord, which by His Vicar on earth are to this 
 
 1 Chap. i. 
 
A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 75 
 
 end applied unto us by the performance commonly 
 of some work enjoined us for gaining of this 
 Indulgence. 
 
 3. So that you see here arises three things to be 
 explicated. First, that the satisfactions of Christ are 
 so abundant, that they are sufficient to supply any 
 want of satisfaction which any man or men can 
 have. Secondly, that there is a Vicar of Christ on 
 earth, who hath lawful power to supply the super¬ 
 abundant satisfactions of Christ for the supply of 
 any want of satisfaction which we may be in. 
 Thirdly, something must also be declared of the 
 things which by Christ’s Vicar use to be enjoined, 
 that those satisfactions of Christ may be applied in 
 this manner unto us. 
 
 4. First, then, that the satisfactions of Christ 
 are so superabundant that they may be a cause 
 sufficient to supply any, though never so great want 
 of satisfactions, is easily granted by all; and clear 
 of itself, if we do but remember that the Blood of 
 Christ was the Blood of God, and consequently of 
 so inestimable worth and value, that the shedding 
 of one only drop of it was an act abundantly satis¬ 
 factory for the sins of a whole world. Now then, our 
 Saviour shedding this His divinely precious Blood, 
 not by small drops, but pouring it forth by plentiful 
 showers, did heap up an immense treasure of satis¬ 
 factions, superabundantly sufficient to satisfy for 
 any pains due to any sin or sins whatsoever; for 
 else our offences have been greater than His satis¬ 
 factions. There wanteth not, therefore, a cause even 
 superabundantly sufficient to supply any possible 
 
76 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 want of satisfaction which any man can be in; so 
 infinite a treasure is this. 
 
 5. Secondly, there is in the Church lawful power 
 and authority to apply to such as want satisfactions 
 these superabundant satisfactions of Christ; for 
 otherwise this infinite treasure of the superabundant 
 satisfactions of Christ our Lord, heaped up for us, 
 and for us only, would be wholly unprofitable to us, 
 and merely superfluous. It would be like the 
 treasure which that miserable wretch in St. Luke 
 did keep lapped up in his handkerchief, or the 
 talent which that other, in St. Matthew, hid in the 
 ground. Now, as the Holy Scripture saith, “Wisdom 
 that is hid, and a treasure that is not seen, what 
 profit is there in them both ? 1,1 
 
 6. Wherefore, that this treasure may profit us, 
 as it is superabundant, there must be left on earth 
 power to dispense forth out of this superabundancy 
 as much as our necessities may require. Which 
 being so, to whom should we think this power 
 to have been given rather than to him to whom it 
 was said, “Feed My sheep;” 2 rather than to him 
 to whom it was said, “ I will give to thee the keys 
 of the Kingdom of Heaven ” ? 3 For it is all one to 
 have the keys of Heaven, and to have authority to 
 remove the bar of the lock which shutteth Heaven’s 
 door; such a bar as sin is, not fully satisfied for. 
 I would know, I say, in whom we should put this 
 power, if not in him, for to him the words following 
 do clearly give this commission : “ Whatsoever thou 
 shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed also in Heaven.” 
 
 1 Ecclus. xli. 17. 2 St.John xxi. 17. 3 St. Matt. xvi. 19. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 77 
 
 Mark that word “ whatsoever,” that is, what thing 
 soever it be which can bind a soul, whether it be 
 guilt of sin, or guilt of pain due to sin, if thou dost 
 loosen this band on earth, it shall be loosened in 
 Heaven. This was a promise which doubtless 
 Christ, Who always made good His word, did 
 perfectly keep. 
 
 7. Out of this which we have said, this con¬ 
 vincing argument may be taken. There is power 
 left in the Church to forgive sin in itself, which doth 
 deserve the pains we speak of; therefore it is no 
 wonder that there should be power to forgive the 
 suffering of those pains. That there is power left 
 to forgive sins, the text of Scripture doth literally 
 affirm. The Protestant, if he standeth to the words 
 of the Scripture, hath not a word to say. He must 
 fly to his own exposition of the Word, which exposi¬ 
 tion why should any man in prudence follow, rather 
 than the exposition of the most learned and most 
 holy Fathers of the primitive Church, who studied 
 the Scriptures day and night, and may be far more 
 prudently thought to have understood them aright 
 than those who live in an age so far from Christ, 
 entangled with so many uncertain opinions, or 
 rather errors ? 
 
 8. If the Protestants tell us they were men, and 
 might err, we will desire them to remember that 
 they also are men, and at least as likely to err 
 as they were. If the Protestant saith he followeth 
 Scripture, the plain words of Scripture are clear 
 against him on this point, which is a point funda¬ 
 mental, for it concerns the forgiveness of sin, a 
 
7 8 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 thing wholly necessary to salvation. You all profess 
 the Scripture to speak clear in points fundamental 
 and necessary to salvation. Tell me, then, what 
 do these words clearly sound, “ Whatsoever thou 
 shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in 
 Heaven ” ? And again, “ Whose sins you shall 
 forgive, they are forgiven them”? 1 The Novatian 
 heretics did say (and our sectaries say the same) 
 “ that they do yield reverence unto God, to Whom 
 alone they reserve the power of forgiving sins,” as 
 St. Ambrose testifieth. But what saith this holy 
 Doctor to them? 2 He tells them that no sort of 
 men yield less reverence to God than they do in 
 proceeding thus, and he gives a convincing reason 
 to prove this his saying. Hear his own words: 
 “ Yea, no men do Christ a greater injury than these 
 men, who will make void His gift. For whereas 
 He in His Gospel hath said, * Whose sins you 
 forgive, shall be forgiven them,’ who, I pray, honours 
 Christ more—he who assents to this, or he who 
 resists it ? But they tell us, they pardon less sins ” 
 (for this was the answer of the Novatians). “But 
 God,” saith St. Ambrose, “ makes not this distinc¬ 
 tion, Who gives this license to His priests, without 
 any exception.” Christ’s words are absolute, “ Whose 
 sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them.” And 
 St. Chrysologus, writing on these words, saith thus, 
 “ Where be those men that assert sins cannot be 
 forgiven by men unto men ? Peter doth forgive 
 sins, and with all joy doth receive the penitent; 
 and he embraceth this power, granted by God unto 
 1 St.John xx. 23. 2 DePcenit. 1 . i. cap. ii. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 79 
 
 all priests.” 1 St. Leo the Great writeth thus: 
 “ Christ Jesus gave this power to the governors 
 of the Church, that by the door of reconciliation 
 they should admit them to the communion of the 
 sacraments, being purged.” 2 But what more clear 
 than that of St. Chrysostom ? “ It was only lawful 
 
 to the priests of the Jews to cleanse, or, to speak 
 more truly, not to cleanse, but to approve as cleansed, 
 the leprosy of the body. But to our priests it was 
 granted, not to cleanse the leprosy of the body, but 
 it was granted unto them, I do not say to approve 
 for cleansed, but thoroughly to cleanse the filth of 
 the soul.” 3 Here you see condemned, in as clear 
 words as can be spoken, the error of the Protestants, 
 who say that the power of our priests is to declare 
 our sins forgiven, and not to forgive them; but 
 St. Chrysostom saith that he doth not say this : “ I 
 do not say to approve for cleansed, but thoroughly 
 to cleanse the filth of the soul.” This being proved, 
 let us proceed. 
 
 9. If Christ’s Vicar upon earth hath the power 
 to forgive the sins which did deserve eternal pain, 
 and consequently to loosen the band of eternal 
 pains, can it seem much that he should have power 
 to loosen the bands of temporal pain, with which 
 the sinner is tied after his sins are remitted ? The 
 contrary surely would seem the greater wonder. 
 Yet because (and so I come to declare the third 
 point which I undertook, concerning the thing 
 
 enjoined to be performed for the gaining of Indul- 
 
 - r * . 
 
 ' • * 
 
 1 Serm. lxxxiv. 2 Epist. xci. ad Thcodos. 
 
 3 De Sacerd. initio lr Mi. 
 
8o 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 gences), because, I say, all power given by Christ 
 unto His Vicar is well ordered, and granted for the 
 edification, not for the destruction of the Church, 
 this authority of dispensing the treasures of Christ’s 
 superabundant satisfactions was given so that it 
 might be dispensed forth with prudent liberality, 
 not poured out with lavishing prodigality. Where¬ 
 fore all Protestants and Catholics are to understand 
 that our most esteemed divines in this age are 
 of opinion that it is not in the power of the Pope 
 to grant an Indulgence for the performance of a 
 good work so little that it cannot be a proportion- 
 able cause to grant this favour, as, for example, and 
 it is the example of St. Bonaventure, 1 to grant a 
 great sinner a Plenary Indulgence for giving an alms 
 of three halfpence. 
 
 io. But it is exceedingly to be marked, that when 
 the Pope granteth a great Indulgence, which may 
 be obtained by doing of some thing, perhaps as 
 small as giving an alms of three halfpence, the 
 reason of the grant of this Indulgence is not merely 
 that so little a good work should be performed, for 
 then (as St. Bonaventure teacheth) it would be an 
 imprudent and an impossible grant; but the reason 
 of the grant of such an Indulgence is the obtaining 
 of some very great good, and a good so great 
 (for this Bellarmine seemeth to require), that the 
 obtaining of it maketh more to God’s glory, and is 
 more grateful to Him, than it would be to have our 
 forgiven sins punished in Purgatory with due rigour 
 of justice. For example, such a good would be the 
 1 St. Bonaventure, iv. dist. 20, q. 9. 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 81 
 
 conversion of heretics, constant peace in the Church 
 of God, the notable advancement of some great or 
 some necessary act of piety, faith, religion, charity, 
 &c. The obtaining of such goods as these is the 
 thing which moveth the Pope to grant these Indul¬ 
 gences, and to dispense forth the treasures com¬ 
 mitted unto him by Christ for the greater glory of 
 Christ, which is a very prudent and well-ordered 
 dispensation; for so those who are put in charge 
 with others’ goods, do most faithfully exercise their 
 charge if they lay them out for the greater benefit 
 of those who did put them in trust. 
 
 ii. I see well that it will be objected, that though 
 the Pope doth piously and prudently to employ the 
 treasure committed to his charge for obtaining of 
 a greater good, yet it seemeth that he doth im¬ 
 prudently to use, for obtaining of it, such an unpro- 
 portionable and unfit means as is to enjoin only 
 the performance of so little a good work to be done 
 for this end, as for example, to enjoin only the 
 saying of five Pater nosters for obtaining so great 
 a good as is the conversion of infidels, extirpation 
 of heretics, &c. And therefore, though the cause 
 of this grant be reasonable, yet the means applied 
 seem most unreasonable. I answer that the per¬ 
 formance of so little a good work as the saying of 
 five Pater nosters for obtaining the good for which 
 the Indulgence is granted, may be a very effectual 
 means for obtaining of so great a good. Which 
 that I may show, let us but consider what doth 
 daily happen when the Pope granteth such an Indul¬ 
 gence as this is. The grant of this Indulgence is no 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 sooner made known unto the Church, but presently 
 you shall see all faithful people, by thousands, 
 with one heart and one soul, doing that which is 
 necessary for gaining of this Indulgence, that is, 
 by a true, entire, and hearty confession and con¬ 
 trition, putting themselves (if they fear they were 
 not in it before) in a state of grace and friendship 
 with God, and then after this (for this must be done 
 for gaining of Indulgences) devoutly performing 
 the good work enjoined them to be performed, and 
 performing it to the end for which it was enjoined. 
 Now, though this good work be but little, though 
 it be but the saying of five Pater nosters for the afore¬ 
 said intention, yet when even so few prayers are 
 said with one heart and with one soul by so many 
 thousands of thousands as use (by the grant of so 
 great an Indulgence exacting only the performance 
 of so small a work) to be stirred up to the devout 
 recital of these prayers, the quantity of all these 
 prayers put together amounteth to an immense 
 sum, a sum so great, and made up by such a 
 uniform devotion of so many faithful people, that 
 it may in prudence be thought to be a means 
 sufficient to effect the good intended. 
 
 12. Hence it appeareth that the performance of 
 a little thing may be an effectual means to obtain a 
 great good, when by the exacting of a thing so small 
 everybody is invited to do what is necessary to the 
 perfect performance of it; whereas if they were 
 invited by a small Indulgence, or by a great one 
 which could not be gained but by some great good 
 work, as fasting many days, saying many prayers, 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 83 
 
 and the like, very few would be induced to gain 
 this Indulgence. And so it may well happen that 
 Christ’s Vicar can scarce use any means more 
 effectual to obtain a good which maketh so much 
 to God’s glory and the benefit of His Church than 
 by granting some great Indulgence, which may be 
 gained by doing some small good work for his 
 intention. For it is very likely that a far greater 
 quantity of good works will be raised when every 
 one contributeth a little, than when almost every¬ 
 body layeth aside all care of doing anything, because 
 without he doth a great deal he is never the nearer, 
 forasmuch as concerneth the gaining of the Indul¬ 
 gence. We used to say, ’Tis well for poor men 
 that brass farthings go currently, for now everybody 
 comes easily off with a farthing, whereas their charity 
 would hardly be great enough to part with a penny. 
 
 13. All which we have said, hath far less difficulty 
 when an Indulgence is granted to bring into public 
 practice some important act of piety, or to hinder 
 decay of some devotion, especially of some virtue 
 necessary to salvation, as faith, charity, contrition, 
 &c. Because in this case, not only all these things 
 do make more to God’s glory than by ordinary 
 severity of punishing by the pains of Purgatory; 
 but it is easily understood how these so important 
 things may effectually be procured by the perform¬ 
 ance of things but small in themselves, though great 
 in their effects. For example, it is a thing most 
 important that all faithful people should profess 
 union with their Supreme Pastor, and also the 
 decay of this union is much to be feared, by reason 
 
8 4 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 of the power of heresy. Again, this union may 
 effectually be brought into great request by making 
 sometimes in the year some public and solemn 
 profession of it; which may be done by coming 
 humbly to receive his benediction on some great 
 festivity; therefore the Pope both may, and doth, 
 most piously and prudently, in granting a great 
 Indulgence for performing an act in itself so easy 
 and little as is to ask his benediction. 
 
 14. In like manner true faith, without which it 
 is impossible to please God, is lost by obstinately 
 rejecting the authority of the Church, though in 
 matters otherwise of no exceeding great conse¬ 
 quence ; therefore the maintaining of faith in all 
 such matters, when there is danger of the loss of 
 it, maketh very much to God’s glory and the good 
 of souls. Now the pious belief of these points, 
 so important, may efficaciously be upholden, and 
 brought into public practice and veneration, by the 
 practice of some acts, which are most easily per¬ 
 formed ; for example sake, prayer for the dead, 
 veneration of relics, gaining of Indulgences, are 
 points of faith which heretics seek by all means to 
 overthrow. Again, they may be efficaciously main¬ 
 tained in a continual and most devout practice, if 
 the Pope would grant some great Indulgence for 
 making some frequent pious acts, which may revive 
 these devotions, and keep the practice of them in 
 daily use. 
 
 15. Now, to stop in a word the mouths of Pro¬ 
 testants, which are so wide open to cry down these 
 Indulgences, I will only put them in mind of their 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 85 
 
 own doctrine. They say: A man is justified by 
 faith only: insomuch that if a man were as great a 
 sinner as could be, yet this man, if he would but 
 make one act of true faith, would be in a moment 
 justified, and not so much as liable to the least 
 punishment for all his innumerable and enormous 
 sins. Is any pardon, Indulgence, or Jubilee, so 
 easily obtained, or so incredible as this ? Do but 
 believe (which will not pain your bones in the least), 
 and all, all, though it were a thousand times more, 
 is wholly forgiven you; and sin as much to-morrow 
 (if it be possible) as you have sinned in all the days 
 of your life, and you shall not cease for all this to 
 be justified, if you do not cease to believe, which 
 (as they say) you cannot cease to do. Was there 
 ever the like device to make wide the strait gate 
 of Heaven ? Whereas, if you will obtain a Catholic 
 Indulgence, first you must believe, but this is not 
 all, as it is with the Protestants; secondly, you 
 must have true hope; thirdly, you must be in 
 perfect charity, and in the state of grace, and con¬ 
 sequently you must have had a true and hearty 
 repentance of all your sins, you must have a firm 
 purpose to forsake them, you must have made an 
 entire and contrite confession of them, you must, 
 if you have wronged any man, have made him due 
 satisfaction; and after all this, you must do the 
 thing which is required for the obtaining of the 
 Indulgence, which (though in some occasions it be 
 little) many times it is the fast of three days, the 
 visiting of churches, the devout praying in them, 
 the giving of alms, and the like. 
 
86 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 16. And all this being duly performed, that which 
 is wanting to the full satisfaction of the pain due to 
 your forgiven sins, shall be graciously supplied by 
 the superabundant satisfactions of Christ our Lord, 
 applied by His Vicar unto you to this end. So that, 
 even after all this, no one sin is by the Indulgence 
 forgiven you ; for all Catholics teach that all the 
 Indulgences in the world cannot forgive the least 
 mortal sin, no, nor venial, as most affirm; but all 
 that is forgiven by way of Indulgence is the pain 
 to which the sinner was liable even after his sin was 
 forgiven him. And, therefore, if the sin remain 
 still unforgiven, the pain due unto it cannot by any 
 Indulgence be forgiven. And this is a great reason 
 why so few do obtain a perfect Plenary Indulgence 
 of all that pain which they are liable unto, because 
 there be but few who use due diligence to procure 
 all their sins, even venial, to be fully forgiven them. 
 For who is he who remains not addicted to some 
 venially offensive affection ? Whence it must needs 
 happen that until we be perfectly converted from 
 all venial affections to sin, we shall not obtain a 
 full Plenary Indulgence of all our sins. For as long 
 as any sin remains unrepented, the remission of the 
 pain due to that sin will never be obtained by any 
 Indulgence. And this is a benefit so great, that the 
 serious consideration thereof ought to quicken our 
 diligence in the pious use of Indulgences. 
 
 17. By this doctrine all may clearly see how far 
 we are from opening a gap to liberty in sinning, 
 whilst we so much maintain the virtue of Indul¬ 
 gences* For who seeth not, that whilst to the 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 87 
 
 gaining of a pardon of any sin, we exact as a 
 necessary condition the hearty and unfeigned retrac¬ 
 tation of that sin, we wage war as fiercely against 
 sin, and stand upon as vigorous a defiance of all 
 (even venial) affections, as any maintainers of any 
 contrary doctrine. Add to this that we still teach 
 no Indulgence, either for living or dead, to be of 
 value in the Court of Heaven, unless there be a 
 sufficient cause for the grant of that Indulgence, 
 and a work proportionable to so great a grant be 
 exacted of us, as hath been more fully declared. 1 
 Wherefore we tell every one that we never promise 
 fully any assured pardon to either living or dead 
 upon the performance of the work exacted in the 
 grant of such Indulgence, unless the said grant be 
 issued forth upon sufficient cause, and require the 
 performance of some work bearing due proportion 
 to the Indulgences granted. Only God can tell 
 when these circumstances concur. We, remaining 
 doubtful in each particular grant, give no man any 
 such undoubted assurance as excludes all fear; and, ; 
 consequently, we never exclude all other possible 
 diligences, or slacken their industry in applying all 
 other good means, which any one’s learning or piety 
 can suggest. We exhort all, by all means, to make 
 their best use of the best practices which the Church 
 teaches, to cancel their own sins, or to expiate the 
 sins of their deceased brother. But among these 
 practices of the Church we place the use of Indul¬ 
 gences. For we know (as I have shown in my first 
 part) 2 that when Peter de Osma did presume to 
 1 Nn. 9—11. 2 Chap. xii. 
 
88 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 teach that the Bishop of Rome could not pardon 
 the pain of Purgatory, Sixtus IV., then Chief Pastor 
 of the Church, condemned the proposition in these 
 words: “ By Apostolical authority we do declare 
 all and every one of the aforesaid propositions [of 
 which this is one] to be false, to be contrary to 
 the Catholic Church, to be erroneous, scandalous, 
 altogether disagreeing from evangelical truth, and 
 containing manifest heresy. Dated at Rome, at 
 St. Peter’s, a.d. 1478.” We know also that Leo X., 
 in his Bull against Luther, having recited several 
 propositions taught by him, among others puts 
 down these three: 
 
 t 
 
 “ I. The treasures of the Church, whence the 
 Pope giveth Indulgences, are not the merits of 
 Christ and His Saints. 
 
 “ II. Indulgences to those who gain them truly, 
 do not avail them to gain pardon of the pain due to 
 actual sins by the Divine Justice. 
 
 “ III. To six kinds of men Indulgences are neither 
 necessary nor profitable, to wit, to the dead,” &c. 
 
 Then follows their condemnation in these words: 
 “ We do condemn, reprove, and wholly reject, all 
 and every one of the aforesaid articles and errors, 
 as being respectively heretical, or scandalous, or 
 false, or offensive to pious ears, or seductive of 
 simple minds, and contrary to Catholic verity.” 
 This last censure being put conjunctively, falls 
 upon all the aforesaid propositions, so that they 
 be all condemned as contrary to Catholic verity. 
 Whence there follow these words: “ Forbidding in 
 virtue of holy obedience and under pain of excom- 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 8g 
 
 munication, latce sententicz (the sentence of which is 
 already given by the tenour of the present), that no 
 man do presume under any colour that may be 
 sought out, covertly or openly, to assert, affirm, or 
 defend the aforesaid errors or any of them.” We 
 know, therefore, that the Church doth so own the 
 doctrine contrary to those propositions, that it is 
 not lawful for any child of the Church, under pain of 
 mortal disobedience, to teach or affirm any of these 
 contrary articles. The reader who desires more full 
 satisfaction in these points may read what we have 
 largely declared in the first part of this treatise. 1 
 
 18. This sufficeth to make us rest assured that 
 such Indulgences as by the See Apostolic are granted 
 as applicable to the souls in Purgatory, may be 
 available unto them when they be duly granted. 
 And though we have no infallible means to know 
 when they be duly granted, or when not, yet, when 
 we see the Chief Pastor of the Church, after a 
 grave consultation of the matter, to judge himself 
 to have sufficient cause to grant such Indulgences, 
 we also cannot but hold it probable that this Indul¬ 
 gence is duly granted. And the probable hope of 
 obtaining so great a good ought, with as great 
 reason, to excite us to the purchase thereof with 
 all care and diligence; as the probable hope of 
 recovering our health or saving our life by such 
 a medicine, doth, according to reason, move all 
 reasonable creatures to make use of the said 
 medicine, although they have no undoubted, but 
 only a probable, assurance that it will work the 
 
 1 Nn. 2—9. 
 
go 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 effect desired. And the same is to be said concern¬ 
 ing Indulgences for the living, yet in both cases our 
 hope and confidence of obtaining the pardon is then 
 heightened to a higher degree when the cause of the 
 grant of the Indulgence, and the work appointed 
 for the gaining thereof, bears a greater proportion 
 with the effect. Hence it is that we most prudently 
 rely with greater confidence of gaining a Plenary 
 Indulgence by entrance into Religion, and there 
 making the three substantial vows of Poverty,. 
 Chastity, Obedience, thus casting off from ourselves 
 for ever the dominion of all earthly goods, the 
 enjoying all carnal pleasures, and the free use of 
 our own will, than by performance of other far 
 more unproportionable works. Wherefore I think 
 that, among such Plenary Indulgences as are obtain¬ 
 able by those who lead a secular life in the world, 
 there is scarcely any (speaking of such as be practi¬ 
 cally gainable by most) more assured than that 
 which this present Head Pastor of the Church hath 
 not long since granted to all, either men or women, 
 who for eight continual days shall make the Spiritual 
 Exercises of St. Ignatius, in the manner expressed 
 in the said grant. For what action (commonly 
 speaking) is ever performed by any secular lay 
 person bearing a greater proportion to entire re¬ 
 mission of all his sins than the attending for eight 
 days together to these meditations, which, by the 
 experience of so many thousands, have been found 
 so effectual to reform a sinful, and to form a new,, 
 truly virtuous life ? The importance of the matter.- 
 hath enforced so long a stay upon this subject. 
 
THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER, 
 
 TWO OTHER MEANS OF HIGH PERFECTION, BY WHICH 
 WE MAY RELIEVE THE SOULS IN PURGATORY. 
 
 The first is, to offer up all our good actions,, 
 thoughts, words, and sufferings, desiring God to' 
 accept of them for the relief of such a soul or souls 
 in Purgatory; to offer them up all, I say, as they 
 are satisfactory, for so they do either only or chiefly 
 profit them, and so we remain free to apply the 
 same works as they are impetratory for obtaining 
 anything we desire to pray for. Yet I would not 
 have this so understood as though we were not in 
 the first place to satisfy any obligation, which 
 perhaps we might have, of employing some part of 
 our works for other intentions; neither would I 
 advise any man to perform the penances enjoined 
 him in confession for satisfaction of the sins of any 
 other besides himself. But out of these or such¬ 
 like cases, I know not how we can better apply our 
 actions, as they are satisfactory; for thus all our 
 actions are not less but more meritorious, not less 
 but more impetratory, not less but more satisfactory: 
 thus we may hope to escape all or the greatest part 
 of Purgatory pains. Wherefore it is not against 
 charity towards ourselves to be thus liberal. All 
 
92 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 these things have been proved in the former 
 chapters. 
 
 2. A man would think it were not possible to 
 proceed any further in this charitable devotion. But 
 charity is so witty in her inventions that she hath 
 found out a way to give more than she hath or ever 
 had in this life. You shall see this verified in a 
 strange manner and an unheard-of example, which 
 cannot be well understood without we first let all 
 know that, whensoever any one dieth in the Society 
 of Jesus, even the meanest Brother in the house, it 
 is ordained by the Constitutions of the same Society, 
 that all of that house, where the party deceaseth, 
 who are priests, are to say three Masses for his soul, 
 and those who are not priests, three pair of beads, 
 and throughout the whole Province (which many 
 times consist of seven or eight hundred persons) 
 every priest is to say two Masses, and each one of 
 the rest two pair of beads, for the same intention. 
 And besides all these prayers, every priest of our 
 Society throughout the whole world is obliged every 
 week to say one Mass, and each one of those who 
 are not priests one pair of beads, for those of their 
 Order deceased out of their particular Provinces, 
 for if the deceased be of the same Province, then 
 they are to say for them two a piece, as even now 
 hath been said. Hence it appeareth that there 
 dieth not any one in the Society for whom a very 
 great multitude of Masses and prayers are not said. 
 Let us put a probable supposition. Suppose there 
 be sixteen thousand people in the Society, and that 
 one half of this number be priests, the rest either 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 93 
 
 students, novices, or lay-brothers; let us also 
 suppose that, taking one week with another, there 
 die out of this number four a week. This supposed, 
 it followeth that every one of these four shall have 
 for his part alone near two thousand Masses and as 
 many pair of beads said for his soul out of the 
 Province where he died, besides those which are 
 said for him in the house and Province in which 
 he died. This being so, hear now a rare act of 
 charity: 
 
 3. Father Ferdinand Monsoy, of the Society of 
 Jesus, a man of rare sanctity, when he came to die, 
 knowing, and in that hour lively apprehending, what 
 comfort he might take in the multitude of Masses 
 and prayers which he knew should after his 
 death be said for his soul, according to the rule 
 of his Order, was, notwithstanding, so inflamed 
 with ardent charity towards the souls of his 
 and Christ’s brethren suffering in Purgatory, that 
 he bequeathed unto them by will and testament all 
 the Masses and other prayers which after his 
 departure should be offered up for his soul; and 
 so departed this life, either directly towards Heaven 
 (as is most probable) or a welcome guest to the. 
 souls in Purgatory. 1 Can charity proceed any 
 further ? Let, then, the imitation of this example 
 be a second means for them whose charity burns 
 so much hotter than Purgatory. If a third means 
 of relieving these souls more perfect than this 
 could be found, yet all that could be done ought 
 not to seem too much, seeing it is done for 
 
 1 Euseb. Nieremberg. Tract, de Purgatorio. 
 
94 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 Christ’s sake, for His brethren, for souls so esteemed 
 by Him that what is done for them He taketh it as 
 done unto Himself. 
 
 4. If any demand whether these two devotions 
 may be securely practised by all kinds of men, what 
 quality soever they be of, I answer that they may, 
 with great profit of their own and their neighbours’ 
 souls and advancement of God’s glory, if, for more 
 caution, this condition be added: “ As far as it is 
 suitable to God’s holy will, and maketh to the 
 greatest increase of His glory, I offer up, for the 
 relief of the souls in Purgatory, the whole satis¬ 
 factory virtue of whatsoever good I shall do or evil 
 I shall suffer all the time of my whole life, and all 
 the prayers and other good works whatsoever which 
 shall be performed for me after my death; so far, I 
 say, as this shall be most pleasing to God.” For 
 what danger can there be in this act ? Can that be 
 any way subject to be done amiss which is wholly 
 subjected to the Divine will ? Two extremes might 
 be dangerous in that which concerns devotion for 
 the souls in Purgatory—the first, by showing them 
 too little charity; the second, by forgetting well- 
 ordered charity towards ourselves and our neigh¬ 
 bours here on earth. As for the first, this charity 
 cannot be too little, because we do for the souls as 
 great a part of our actions as God would have us, 
 for we offer them all, so far as is most agreeable to 
 His holy will; and as for the second, we forget not 
 to reserve as great a part of our works for ourselves 
 and our neighbours on earth as God would have us, 
 for we give away no more than best pleaseth Him 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD . 
 
 95 
 
 and maketh most to His greater honour. So that 
 I cannot discover the least shadow of danger in 
 practising these devotions in the manner above 
 said; for would any man do more for himself or less 
 for these poor souls, than God would have him ? 
 
 5. The Reverend Father Eusebius Nieremberg, 
 in a treatise he wrote of Purgatory, did handle this 
 point so well, that two worthy Doctors and Profes¬ 
 sors of Divinity at Lyons, in France, diligently 
 examining the force of his reasons, were so 
 convinced thereby that both of them, together with 
 divers of their scholars, gave all the satisfactions of 
 their whole life to the souls in Purgatory. 1 This 
 devotion, in fine, hath been practised by many great 
 servants of God highly recommended for their 
 piety by most grave authors, and God did reward 
 St. Gertrude for it in that liberal manner before 
 mentioned; and if it be used with the caution now 
 spoken of, no man can suspect it, neither can there 
 be any want of devotion in adding a condition so 
 pious. 
 
 1 Libell. de modo se cito ditandi. 
 
THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER. 
 
 TO WHAT SOULS IN PURGATORY WE ARE CHIEFLY 
 TO APPLY OUR SATISFACTORY WORKS. 
 
 I know not how to begin this chapter better than 
 by answering an objection which some speculative 
 wits may chance to stumble at. “Alas!” will 
 some say, “ what good will all my poor works do 
 when they come to be shared among so many 
 thousand souls as be in Purgatory ? They will be 
 like a little loaf of bread amongst a great multitude 
 of beggars, which, if it be equally cut, every one 
 will scarce receive a crumb.” These men seem to 
 suppose themselves the only men in the world who 
 show charity to the souls in Purgatory. For if 
 there be others (and many others) who by God’s 
 grace are no less charitable and liberal than they, 
 it is not hard to understand how, by the help of 
 many, many may be holpen. That which Thomas 
 or William doth contribute towards the mainten¬ 
 ance of a whole army will not afford every soldier 
 a farthing, and yet, because others in great multi¬ 
 tudes contribute as well as they, whole armies are 
 easily maintained in a flourishing estate. So, whilst 
 many devout souls relieve these helpless souls, many 
 helpless souls are relieved. 
 
A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 97 
 
 2. And, indeed, we have great reason to show 
 charity to all. For, first, the law of nature crieth 
 out unto us: “ All things therefore whatsoever you 
 would that men should do to you, do you also to 
 them.” 1 Secondly, the written law in plain terms 
 saith : “ Love thy neighbour as thyself.” Thirdly, 
 our Saviour addeth a strange force also to this 
 precept: “ This is My commandment, that you 
 love one another, as I have loved you.” 2 Now, 
 how He loved us, all His life, and most of all His 
 blessed Death, doth testify. Fourthly, all souls are 
 so esteemed by Christ, that He taketh that charity 
 which is showed to the least of them as kindly as if 
 it were done to Himself in Person. In fine, the 
 virtue of mercy calls upon us to assist all who are 
 in extreme necessity, as these poor souls are. These 
 be forcible reasons, moving us to assist all that be 
 in Purgatory. 
 
 3. Yet it is in no case to be misliked, but it is 
 rather a most recommendable devotion, to pray for 
 some souls in particular, and in the first place for 
 those to which, besides those general reasons now 
 alleged for all, we may have some peculiar obligation. 
 For some we may be bound to pray by our own 
 oath, promise, compact, rule, &c. For others by 
 the virtue of piety, as our parents, spiritual Fathers, 
 kindred, friends, acquaintance, &c. For some again, 
 out of gratitude, as our benefactors, spiritual and 
 temporal, &c. These reasons be more particular, 
 and therefore they ought to prevail more with us 
 than those other general reasons, for which we are 
 
 1 St. Matt. vii. 12. 2 St John xv. 12. 
 
 H 
 
<98 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING. 
 
 to pray for all men, because the general reasons 
 make as much for these as for any other; and 
 besides, they have also their particular reasons. 
 
 4. But when we know not such particular 
 reasons, as they are, yet it will be piously done to 
 pray for some souls in particular, though in a 
 manner more general. For example, for that soul 
 whose delivery maketh most to God’s glory, whose 
 relief or releasement the glorious Virgin Mary most 
 desires; for those who were most devoted to her ; 
 for those who be in greatest necessity, most of all 
 forlorn, &c.; for those who are so near their 
 delivery, that by our small devotions they may be 
 perfectly set free, and, consequently, immediately 
 glorify God, pray for us, &c. In fine, here every 
 man may do what is most suitable to his private 
 devotion, which notwithstanding is best when it is 
 •ordered by the most perfect rule of God’s greater 
 glory. Wherefore, for my part, I make choice to 
 pray more especially for that soul whose relief or 
 deliverance makes most to God’s glory. To me 
 indeed this soul is unknown, but God’s all-seeing 
 >eye is presently cast upon her. 
 
THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER. 
 
 THE PERFECT PRACTICE OF ALL CONTAINED IN THIS 
 
 BOOK. 
 
 Whosoever to God’s glory, the good of his own 
 soul, and relief of those in Purgatory, desireth to 
 put in practice all which hath been treated of in 
 this book, must first above all things have a care 
 to put and keep himself in a state of grace, for if 
 he hath not the grace and charity of God, though 
 he should distribute all his substance to the poor 
 or all his works to the souls in Purgatory, it would 
 profit him nothing at all. True it is, the prayers and 
 sacrifices which by my procurement are offered for 
 the souls lose not their force and efficacy in order 
 to their relief. But the satisfactory virtue which 
 my good works would have if performed in a state 
 of grace, and the great merit which might accrue to 
 me by the performance of them, is all lost whilst I 
 live in sin. I know the infinite mercies of God be 
 often so great that, to such as are much addicted 
 to works of mercy, He sometimes most graciously 
 bestows the unspeakable benefit of true and hearty 
 contrition and repentance, which ought to be a 
 strong motive to such as live in sin not to cast off 
 ;the daily practice of good works. But they must 
 
100 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 know that God hath not obliged Himself thereunto 
 by any promise, as He hath to reward all good 
 works done in grace. Let it then be the first 
 document to him who intends to be good to the 
 souls in Purgatory, to be so good to his own soul 
 as still to be careful to live in a state of grace. 
 
 2. Secondly, he must not slubber over his 
 devotion in a careless manner, giving his works 
 away, and little marking why or what he gives, or 
 doing it only because he conceives it to be a good 
 devotion. But he must take some short time to 
 consider the motives set down in this treatise, and 
 must ponder each motive by itself until his will be 
 stirred up effectually to afford all the relief he is 
 able to the distressed souls. Neither is this any 
 long business, because even the reading attentively 
 these motives is sufficient to move any heart to 
 help such helpless souls; and this is the thing we 
 desire, for we little regard the being moved to a 
 soft and tender compassion, which God knows is 
 often very fruitless and soon vanisheth away. 
 
 3. Wherefore, that all may perform this with 
 little or no difficulty, we will set down in plain and 
 full words the manner of making perfectly all those 
 acts which in any part of this treatise have been 
 recommended. But let no man think, unless he 
 would make a meditation of this matter (as he may 
 do with great fruit in the space of half an hour)* 
 that we would have him make all these acts at one 
 time, but rather that he exercise now one, now 
 another, more or fewer, according to his leisure and 
 devotion, yet it will be best to exercise often the 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 ioi 
 
 most perfect. Now, for the reader’s commodity, 
 we will cite the chapters where the matters are 
 treated at large which here are only touched in a 
 word. 
 
 4. The first act, answerable to the first, second, 
 and third chapters, may be thus made: “ Oh, how 
 excessive is the bitterness of those pains which 
 these afflicted souls do suffer in Purgatory! What 
 a misery it is to be banished (though for a time 
 only) from the face of God! In what a sea of 
 affliction must that poor soul be which for a short 
 space is condemned to remain in this pitiful state! 
 Wherefore, O my soul, afford these souls of thy 
 brethren all the help thou canst: pray for them, 
 exercise acts of penance for them. Help them 
 by devoutly frequenting the holy sacraments and 
 procuring others to do the same; offer up as 
 often as thou canst, and, as often as thou canst, 
 procure the Holy Sacrifice of Mass may be offered 
 for them; give alms that they may be prayed for; 
 relieve them by all Indulgences which may be 
 gained for them; let all the satisfactory actions and 
 sufferings of thy whole life be offered up for them, 
 so far as it is suitable to God’s holy will, and so 
 far as it maketh to His greater glory; bequeath 
 unto them all the good works which after thy 
 departure out of this life shall be done for thee. 
 O Lord, accept of this my most hearty oblation, 
 made in behalf of my distressed brethren.” 
 
 5. The second act, answerable to the fourth 
 chapter. 1 “ O my God, how great is Thy excellency 
 
 1 N. 2. 
 
102 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 worth, and perfection! All honour and glory is 
 due unto Thee. I, poor creature, know not how 
 more perfectly to procure Thy Divine Majesty to 
 be praised, honoured, and glorified, than by doing- 
 all I am able to discover some soul or souls which, 
 being released by my means from Purgatory, may 
 honour, praise, and glorify Thy sacred Majesty in 
 the highest manner. Wherefore, O my soul, to this 
 end afford these souls of thy brethren all the help 
 thou canst.. Pray for them/’ &c., as it followeth in 
 the former act. 
 
 6. The third act, answerable also to the fourth 
 chapter. 1 “ O most merciful, liberal, and good God, 
 how many and how great benefits hast Thou, with 
 unspeakable love, heaped upon me! How shall I 
 be able to requite this Thy bounty, mercy, and 
 goodness ? I, poor creature, know not how more 
 perfectly to procure Thy Divine Majesty,” &c., all 
 as followeth in the second act. 
 
 7. The fourth act, answerable to the fourth 
 chapter. 2 “ How many and how enormous have 
 been the sins by which I have dishonoured Thee, 
 my good God ! Thee, O infinite Excellency! Thee, 
 O immense Goodness! I, poor creature, know not 
 how more perfectly to procure Thy Divine Majesty/’' 
 &c., as before in the second act. 
 
 8. The fifth act, answerable to the fourth chapter 
 also. 3 “ O my dear Jesus, Thou lovest the souls of 
 my brethren so dearly, that whatsoever for Thy 
 sake is done unto them Thou accountest done unto' 
 Thyself. Wherefore, O my soul, to this end afford. 
 
 1 N. 3. 2 N. 4. 3 N . 5< 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 103 
 
 the souls of thy brethren,” &c., as before in the 
 first act. But because, after this plain and distinct 
 setting down all these acts in order, some may 
 desire to have them all composed in one shorter 
 form, which they may add every day to their 
 ordinary morning’s oblation, that so they may the 
 more easily offer up daily either all the works of 
 that day, or (if their devotion moves them there¬ 
 unto) all the satisfactory good works of their whole 
 life, I have thought it expedient to draw up into 
 one act the substance of all that hath been com¬ 
 prised in all the former acts together, which may 
 be done thus: “ That to the uttermost of my power 
 I may relieve the souls of my dear brethren from 
 those their excessive pains and that yet more painful 
 banishment from the face of God, and shorten their 
 so long sufferings; that I may procure them a more; 
 speedy passage to eternal bliss ; that I may, in the 
 best manner known unto me, procure the sovereign 
 majesty of my dearest God to be more perfectly 
 honoured and glorified; that I may return to my 
 most bountiful Benefactor the noblest kind of thanks¬ 
 giving which lieth in my power; that I may more 
 perfectly repair His honour, which by innumerable 
 sins I have so much violated, with the most grateful 
 satisfaction I can devise; that I may, in fine, 
 perform a service so acceptable and pleasing to 
 Christ our Lord, to His dear Mother, and to my 
 most honoured patrons, St. Joseph, SS. NN., and 
 all the blessed spirits in Heaven, who so joy in 
 their brother’s good as in their own—behold, I 
 do offer unto Thee, my God, the most tender Lover 
 
104 
 
 A REMEMBRANCE FOR THE LIVING 
 
 of souls, I do offer up unto Thee this day, for the 
 relief of such a soul, or souls, or of all the souls in 
 Purgatory, not only all the good work (as they are 
 satisfactory) which I shall do or any other shall do 
 for me this day, but also even all the good works 
 which ever through the course of my whole life 
 either I shall perform or any one at any time shall 
 offer for me; yea, those prayers, sacrifices, or other 
 good works which they shall at any time offer for 
 my soul after my departure, I do now out of all 
 these motives offer up unto Thee, as far as this may 
 be done in a manner pleasing unto Thee. Receive, 
 O my dearest Jesus, this my small oblation, which I 
 make in behalf of those souls for which Thou didst 
 shed every drop of Thy Blood, offered up together 
 in the union of all which through Thy whole life 
 Thou didst do or suffer for our souls, that, by Thy 
 most precious merits, this my oblation may be more 
 grateful to Thy Eternal Father, to Whose infinite 
 mercy I commend my own poor soul and the souls 
 of all my brethren, by the merits of Thy most 
 Precious Blood. Amen.” 
 
 9. Here thou hast in brief the practice of this 
 whole devotion, a devotion by which we may 
 purchase many great commodities and suffer no 
 discommodity, by which our works may become 
 more meritorious, our prayers more impetratory, 
 our actions more highly satisfactory, and finally, 
 by which we may have great hope to escape either 
 all or at least a great part of Purgatory. 
 
 10. Neither is there any danger of violating 
 charity due to ourselves by the practice of this 
 
TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 105 
 
 devotion, but we may rather offend against charity 
 by making slight of a devotion which might have 
 been so beneficial to us. For it is clear out of the 
 precedent chapters we can lose nothing and must 
 needs gain much—much for ourselves, much for 
 our neighbour, and much for the glory of Almighty 
 God, to Whom be all praise and glory for ever and 
 ever. Amen. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 THE HEROIC ACT OF CHARITY. 
 
 Of all acts of personal devotion in favour of the 
 Faithful Departed, the most comprehensive is that 
 to which the Church has given the fullest encourage¬ 
 ment. Pope Benedict XIII., Pope Pius VI., and 
 Pope Pius IX. have granted magnificent Indulgences 
 to all who perform “the Heroic Act of Charity, or 
 Offering of all works of satisfaction and suffrages 
 in behalf of the souls in Purgatory.” The following 
 account of those Indulgences is taken from the 
 authorized translation of the Roman Raccolta, by 
 the Reverend Father Ambrose St. John, of the 
 Birmingham Oratory. 
 
 This Heroic Act of Charity in behalf of. the souls in 
 Purgatory consists in a voluntary offering made in their 
 favour by any one of the faithful of all works of satisfaction 
 done by him in this life, as well as of all suffrages which shall 
 be offered for him after his death; by this act he deposits 
 them all into the hands of the Blessed Virgin, that she may 
 distribute them in behalf of those holy souls whom it is her 
 good pleasure to deliver from the pains of Purgatory, at the 
 same time that he declares that by this offering he only 
 foregoes in their behalf the special and personal fruit of each 
 satisfactory work; so that, being a priest, he is not hindered 
 from applying the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass according to 
 the intention of those who give him alms. 
 
THE HEROIC ACT OF CHARITY. 
 
 107 
 
 This Heroic Act of Charity, also called a Vow or Oblation, 
 was instituted by Father Gaspar Oliden, a Theatine.; for 
 although it was not unknown in former ages, it was he who 
 propagated it, and it was at his prayer that it was enriched 
 with many Indulgences; first by Pope Benedict XIII., in a 
 decree of August 23, 1728; and then by Pope Pius VI., in a 
 decree of December 12, 1788; these Indulgences were finally 
 specified by our Sovereign Pontiff, Pius IX., in a decree of 
 the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, of September 30, 
 1852. They are as follows : 
 
 1. An Indult of a privileged altar, personally, every day 
 in the year, to all priests who have made this offering. 
 
 2. A Plenary Indulgence, applicable only to the departed, 
 to all the faithful who have made this offering, whenever 
 they go to Holy Communion, provided they visit a church 
 or public oratory, and pray there for a time according to the 
 mind of His Holiness. 
 
 3. A Plenary Indulgence, every Monday, to all who hear 
 Mass in suffrage for the souls in Purgatory, provided they 
 visit the church and pray as above. 
 
 ; 4. All Indulgences granted or to be granted, even though 
 not applicable to the dead, which are gained by the faithful 
 who have made this offering, may be applied to the holy 
 souls in Purgatory. 
 
 5. Lastly, the same Sovereign Pontiff, Pope Pius IX., 
 having regard to the young who are not yet communicants, 
 as well as to the poor sick, to those who are afflicted with 
 chronic disorders, to the aged, to farm-labourers, prisoners, 
 and others who are debarred from communicating and unable 
 to hear Mass on Mondays, vouchsafed by another decree of 
 the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, of November 20, 
 1854, to declare that, for all the faithful who cannot hear 
 Mass on Monday, the Mass heard on Sundays should be 
 available for gaining the Indulgence No. 3; and that in 
 favour of those who are not yet communicants, or who are 
 hindered from communicating, he leaves it at the disposal 
 of their respective Ordinaries to authorize confessors to 
 commute the works enjoined. 
 
 And note, lastly, that although this act of charity is 
 denominated a vow in some printed tracts, in which also is 
 
io8 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 given a formula for making the offering, no inference is to be 
 drawn therefrom that this offering binds under sin; neither 
 is it necessary to make use of the said formula, since, in 
 order to share in the said Indulgences, no more is required 
 than a hearty act of our will. 
 
 The principle on which this Heroic Act mainly 
 rests is clearly laid down by Father Mumford in his 
 sixth and eighth chapters. In the latter he says 1 
 that the help afforded by us to the suffering souls 
 “ is an act so highly meritorious of grace and 
 glory, an act so impetratory of such things as may 
 be eternally beneficial to our own souls, that the 
 loss of the fruit of our satisfactions is nothing to be 
 valued in regard of the gain which we purchase.” 
 
 And again, in the tenth chapter, 2 when replying 
 to the objection that to give away to others 
 what would be accepted by God in the stead of the 
 debt of our own temporal punishment is against 
 well-ordered charity, he says, “Though we did 
 become liable to these and greater pains, yet they 
 were not so much to be esteemed as a flea-bite for 
 gaining of a kingdom, if by this our charity towards 
 the souls we might increase (as we do most highly 
 increase) the crown of our eternal glory.” 
 
 And once more: “ It is nothing against well- 
 ordered charity towards ourselves to help these 
 souls as much as we can; but it needs must be 
 against perfection of this charity not to assist them 
 to our full power, for that we lose the merit of so 
 rare a charity, and the loss of this merit is a loss of 
 the more perfect sight of God for ever. What a 
 
 1 P. 44. 2 P. 54. 
 
THE HEROIC ACT OF CHARITY. 
 
 109 
 
 loss is this, dear brother—what a loss is this! 
 Remember what we said out of St. Thomas, 1 ‘ That 
 our essential bliss * (which consists in the fruition 
 of God, of which we are made more abundantly 
 partaker by having exercised more abundant charity 
 to our neighbour) * is infinitely better than the for¬ 
 giveness of temporal pain ; ’ which, notwithstanding, 
 is the chiefest good, which those niggards aim at 
 who pretend so much charity to themselves. They 
 understand not that true charity to themselves 
 consists in the real desiring, and effectually pro¬ 
 curing, their own good. Those do not do this, 
 who, fixing their eyes only upon that temporal good 
 which consists in purchasing forgiveness of the 
 temporal pain due to their sins, omit to procure 
 that which * is infinitely better than this forgive¬ 
 ness ’—that is, they omit to purchase a more 
 eminent degree in fruition of essential beatitude, 
 by being made partakers of which they might have 
 known, honoured, loved, and enjoyed God for a 
 whole eternity, in a far more perfect manner than 
 now they shall. A good, so far surpassing the 
 forgiveness of all temporal pain in Purgatory, that 
 there is not one of the Saints in Heaven who would 
 not willingly undergo the temporal pains of a 
 thousand Purgatories, if, by the undergoing of 
 them, he might notably increase his essential glory 
 in beatifical vision and fruition; as we may do, 
 exercising these most meritorious acts of charity 
 in relieving the souls in Purgatory, which, how 
 much they conduce to our advancement in essential 
 
 1 Chap, vi. n. 3. 
 
no 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 beatitude, hath been largely declared in the sixth 
 and seventh chapters.” 
 
 On the other hand, the positions by which 
 Father Mumford supports the title of his eighth 
 chapter, “ that by offering our actions for the souls 
 in Purgatory, we do not less but more satisfy for 
 our own sins,” are clearly inapplicable to the Heroic 
 Act. 
 
 The first is that “ this loss may fully be repaired 
 by the gaining of Indulgences for ourselves.” But 
 the fervent charity of the faithful, that since Father 
 Mumford’s time has found expression in the Heroic 
 Act, includes in its offering all the rich treasures of 
 Indulgences gained ; and thus it is that the Popes 
 have rendered applicable to the souls in Purgatory 
 all Indulgences which are gained by the faithful 
 who have made this offering, even though they are 
 not applicable to the dead when gained by others. 
 
 Father Mumford further maintains, and most 
 truly, that the devotion of offering our satisfactions 
 for the holy souls “ is a rare kind of satisfaction.” 
 He affirms that the act of giving away, “with so 
 great charity to God and our neighbour,” that 
 which might have been offered in satisfaction for 
 our own sins, is in itself an act of such merit that 
 by it we “ do both satisfy for our sins, and satisfy 
 in no mean manner, but in a manner far more 
 excellent than is ordinarily conceived.” 1 Thus 
 those who give their satisfactions to the souls in 
 Purgatory “ are so far from depriving themselves 
 of all satisfaction that, as often as they give their 
 
 1 P. 45. 
 
THE HEROIC ACT OF CHARITY. 
 
 hi 
 
 satisfactory works away, they heap up great 
 treasures of satisfaction,” 1 and so “may have justly 
 great hopes of avoiding all, or a very great part, 
 of their Purgatory pains;” and again, “the for¬ 
 giveness of temporal pains in Purgatory . . . may 
 be purchased by this devotion.” 2 
 
 The whole of Father Mumford’s argument is 
 perfectly good. It is true that the charity of giving 
 away what we might retain has great merit, and 
 that every meritorious work is also satisfactory; 
 but the argument is inapplicable to the indulgenced 
 devotion of the Heroic Act, for the pious ingenuity 
 of a self-sacrificing charity has perceived that this 
 very satisfaction might be offered also in behalf of 
 others, as well as all else that might avail in miti¬ 
 gation of our own debt of temporal punishment. 
 
 The Heroic Act of Charity is in fact an offer to 
 God, through our Blessed Lady’s hands, to bear 
 in our own person the debts due to His justice in 
 Purgatory, when our time shall come : and a prayer 
 that He may be pleased to accept all that might 
 in any way have mitigated our pains, in behalf of 
 those holy souls whom the Blessed Virgin shall 
 choose for that benefit. Such is the act of devotion 
 that is fitly called heroic; and lest any should be 
 alarmed and lose courage at the prospect of the cost 
 to themselves involved in the very heroism of this 
 devotion, it may be well to set down here in short 
 the advantages that will abundantly repay that cost. 
 
 We need not fear that the contemplation of 
 those advantages will lessen the disinterestedness, 
 
 1 P. 48. 2 P . 5 6. 
 
112 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 and therefore the heroism. The prospect of reward 
 is God’s own method of encouragement. The more 
 disinterested and the more heroic a good work is, 
 the greater is the reward that awaits it. A martyr, 
 in the most heroic of all heroic acts, while giving 
 his life for God, is told to look for the crown of life 
 that is promised to those who shall be faithful unto 
 death. 1 Noli oblivisci omnes retributiones ejus —“ Forget 
 not all His rewards,” is the counsel of the Psalmist, 
 whose own heart was inclined to God’s justifications 
 for ever, “for the reward.” 2 And our Divine 
 Redeemer Himself, the King of Martyrs and the 
 example of all heroism ,proposito sibigaudio —“having 
 joy proposed unto Him, underwent the Cross, des¬ 
 pising the shame.” 3 The truth is, that the very 
 contemplation of the reward, the prospect of the 
 exceeding great benefit to ourselves in return for so 
 little, at least, little in comparison, is the way to a 
 clearer knowledge of the goodness of our Heavenly 
 Father, and is thus the incentive of the saints to the 
 acquisition of the pure and entirely disinterested 
 love of God. 
 
 The first advantage of the Heroic Act is thus 
 excellently summed up by St. Thomas : “ Essential 
 reward is infinitely better than the forgiveness of 
 temporal pain.” No degree of temporal punishment, 
 however great and however long, can be put into 
 comparison with an increase of eternal glory. For 
 the Heroic Act the reward is infinitely greater than 
 the cost. The difference is infinite; for while 
 
 1 Apoc. ii. io. 2 Psalm cii. 2; cxviii. 112. 
 
 3 Hebrews xii. 2. 
 
THE HEROIC ACT OF CHARITY. 
 
 ii 3 
 
 temporal punishment, however severe, is finite in 
 intensity and finite in duration, the reward in glory 
 is the possession in a greater degree of the infinite 
 God, and that for an eternity. Such an increased 
 degree of glory constitutes a new Heaven. Had 
 that one meritorious action been the only one to be 
 rewarded, it would have received from the justice of 
 God a Heaven for its reward, the eternal possession 
 of God in a degree proportioned to its merit. If the 
 offer were made to any one of an increased degree 
 of glory, that is, of a greater knowledge of God, and 
 a greater love of God for all eternity, at the price 
 of any degree of temporal suffering, it would be a 
 suicidal act of cowardice not to accept the offer. 
 This is the very essence of the Heroic Act. It is an 
 exchange of satisfaction for merit, of Purgatory for 
 Heaven, of time for eternity, of pain for glory and 
 for God. 
 
 The second advantage consists in this, that it is 
 heroic. It is undoubtedly a great offering to make, 
 an act of charity involving one of the greatest sacri¬ 
 fices that we are capable of offering to God. Our 
 debt, as it is now due, and, alas! the further debt 
 that we may be so unhappy as to contract during 
 all the remainder of our lives, we deliberately take 
 upon ourselves to pay “to the last farthing.” 1 The 
 pain of sense assigned by the Divine Justice as the 
 due equivalent of our sinful turning to creatures, 
 and the delay of the Beatific Vision, with the indes¬ 
 cribable pain of the loving yearning of the waiting 
 soul, we must look forward to; and we do not 
 
 1 St. Matt. v. 26. 
 
 I 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 TI 4 
 
 appropriate to ourselves the treasures within our 
 reach, by which that pain may be mitigated, and 
 that term of waiting shortened. Surely such an 
 Act deserves the name of Heroic, which the Church 
 has sanctioned. Now there are very few acts of 
 our lives that deserve so to be called. Can we 
 afford to throw away the opportunity of performing 
 one ? To do one for the love of God may obtain 
 for us the great grace of another: perhaps of 
 one other, during our lives; and what a differ¬ 
 ence one heroic act would make to our place in 
 Heaven! 
 
 Every habit must commence by single acts. 
 Habitual heroism is the life of a saint. This one 
 act may be the commencement of a chain of graces 
 strengthening us to perform heroic acts that may 
 constitute saintliness. And this Heroic Act for the 
 souls in Purgatory is the very one for a soul 
 “ zealous for the better gifts,” 1 yet fearful of its 
 own weakness; for, when the time shall come for 
 the pain to be borne, the dispositions cannot possibly 
 fail. There can be no murmurings, no repinings or 
 regrets in the sinless land of Purgatory, no want of 
 conformity with the Divine will, no impatience or 
 want of courage, nothing but a brave joy that God’s 
 glory was advanced and that redeemed souls had 
 .entered the sooner into the possession of God. 
 
 The third advantage is, that it is not only an 
 Heroic Act, but an Heroic Act of Charity. “ Greater 
 love than this no man hath, that a man lay down 
 his life,” his soul —animam suam —“for his friends.” 2 
 
 1 i Cor. xii. 31. 2 St.John xv. 13. 
 
THE HEROIC ACT OF CHARITY. 
 
 ii5 
 
 “ In this we have known the charity of God, because 
 He hath laid down His life for us: and we ought to 
 lay down our lives for the brethren.” 1 Our Lord 
 has come to introduce the law of vicarious suffering. 
 “ Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so shall you 
 fulfil the law of Christ.” 2 Those, therefore, who 
 are pressed by the charity of Christ 3 will rejoice in 
 an act of charity, by the heroic self-denial and sacri¬ 
 fice of which, “ seeking not her own,” 4 they are 
 conformed to the image of the perfect Charity that 
 “was wounded for our iniquities and was bruised 
 for our sins.” 5 
 
 And this particular act of charity bears a close 
 resemblance to one of the noblest that it has entered 
 into the heart of a Saint to conceive. St. Ignatius 
 was willing, if thereby he might do good to the 
 souls of others, to remain in this world, with all its 
 uncertainty of final salvation, rather than die at 
 once and be certain that he was saved. This falls 
 little short of the glorious exaggeration of the charity 
 of the Apostle, who “wished to be an anathema 
 from Christ ” G for his brethren. To the delay of the 
 Beatific Vision, which is the hard part of the sacri¬ 
 fice of the Heroic Act, St. Ignatius would have 
 added in his charity that uncertainty of eternal 
 salvation which the Heroic Act not only does not 
 create, but diminishes. 
 
 The fourth advantage of the Heroic Act is that it 
 is a service rendered to God, and so makes those 
 who perform it pleasing to Him. Propitiation is 
 
 1 1 St.John iii. 16. 2 Galat. vi. 2. 3 2 Cor. v. 14. 
 
 4 1 Cor. xiii. 5. 5 Isaias liii. 5. 6 Romans ix. 3. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 116 
 
 one of the ends of sacrifice. The sacrifice of charity 
 in behalf of the holy souls in Purgatory cannot fail 
 to render God propitious ; that is, it will induce 
 Him to look down on us and treat us with favour, 
 in a degree that we should not otherwise have 
 deserved or obtained. He has been pleased to leave 
 largely to us the exercise of His royal prerogative of 
 mercy in behalf of the poor prisoners of His justice. 
 We can move Him by our prayers, and we can offer 
 to Him some little in compensation for those who 
 can do nothing for themselves but suffer. But He 
 is willing to be moved. It is pleasing to Him to be 
 entreated to use His proper attribute of mercy, for 
 He is God, Cut proprium est misereri semper etparcere — 
 “ Whose property it is ever to have mercy and to 
 spare.” But mercy belongs to the time of probation 
 only, and, were it not for the Communion of Saints, 
 in which the dead yet live in their fellow-members 
 of the Body of Christ, after death there would be 
 no forgiveness. Purgatory would not end until the 
 debt was fully paid. Its sufferings are what divines 
 call satispassion, and not satisfaction. It is, there¬ 
 fore, most pleasing to God when, by our use of the 
 free-will He has entrusted to us in this time of our 
 probation, we move Him to have mercy and to 
 forgive. 
 
 And Pie is especially served in the manner that 
 pleases Him when, through our means, His creatures 
 are brought to the end for which He made them. 
 When one of the holy souls enters Heaven, the end 
 of its creation is accomplished. It sees and enjoys 
 that God, to know and to possess Whom it was 
 
THE HEROIC ACT OF CHARITY. 
 
 117 
 
 made. And this we are hastening when, by the 
 Heroic Act, we help the waiting souls to exchange 
 their Purgatory for the Paradise of God. We offer 
 all by way of suffrage, even holy Indulgences from 
 the great treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and 
 His Saints; but the suffrages are offered to a most 
 loving Creator and Father, and cause Him to look 
 with increased tenderness on those who offer them. 
 
 The fifth advantage is the joy thereby given to 
 the Sacred Heart of Jesus. To help the holy souls 
 is to co-operate with Him in the dear work of their 
 redemption. If in the Agony in the Garden the 
 bitterest drop in His chalice must have been the 
 neglect of the graces of His Passion, the greatest 
 consolation we can offer to His Sacred Heart is that 
 His merits should be applied to the end for which He 
 offered them. That we have any satisfactions to offer 
 comes from Him. They are really His, while they 
 are ours. All their efficacy, all their value, is from 
 their union with Him. From Him is the sanctifying 
 grace, the actual grace; from Him the desire to 
 promote God’s glory and the good of souls; from 
 Him the meritorious actions which satisfy God’s 
 justice ; by Him were the treasures gathered together 
 from which Indulgences are drawn, and from Him 
 is the power of the Keys by which they are 
 dispensed; from Him the charity that others may 
 show us after our death and the Masses that may be 
 offered on our behalf; from Him the act of charity 
 by which they are all freely given away. 
 
 And then, the holy souls to whom they are given 
 are His dear spouses, who have been faithful to Him 
 
n8 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 through the last conflict, and who are the precious 
 fruit of His painful Passion. Those who help these 
 dear souls touch the Sacred Heart of our Lord, and 
 move Him to a tender and almighty gratitude, for, 
 in behalf of the souls that He loved more dearly than 
 His life, they “ fill up those things that are wanting 
 of the sufferings of Christ,” 1 those things that He 
 has purposely left for His members to bear with Him. 
 
 The sixth advantage is the patronage of Mary. 
 The Heroic Act is made into her hands, and by it 
 our heavenly treasures are placed at her disposal. 
 What offering could be more grateful to our Blessed 
 Mother, whose children are suffering ? It would be 
 hard for us to find any means by which we can 
 ensure for ourselves more certainly our Mother’s 
 interest and watchful care. The more meritorious 
 actions we perform, the more satisfactions our 
 Blessed Lady has at her disposal. That our good 
 actions should be more frequent and more fervent 
 is her gain. What Divine inspirations and impulses, 
 what providential opportunities, what courage, what 
 success, what perseverance, will be the fruit of our 
 well-placed confidence in Mary ? The Blessed 
 Virgin made saints of those to whom she confided 
 the work of the ransom of captives which we com¬ 
 memorate under the title of Our Lady of Mercy, 
 encouraging them to bind themselves by vow to 
 give themselves into captivity in order to procure 
 the liberation of those who were in bondage: and 
 most assuredly she will not forget the needs, or be 
 slow to hear the prayers, of those who willingly 
 
 1 Coloss. i. 24. 
 
THE HEROIC ACT OF CHARITY. 119 . 
 
 undergo imprisonment for the spiritual ransom and 
 redemption of souls. 
 
 We need not fear, because we are losing the 
 control over our satisfactions and Indulgences, that 
 we cannot help whom we please, however dear they 
 may be to us, for it is not to the hands of a stranger 
 that we entrust them. It is our Mother to whom 
 we give them, who loves those whom we love, and 
 who will be the more ready to help them for our 
 sakes when we appeal to her generosity on their 
 behalf. We do not give away our power of praying,, 
 and we satisfy all the claims of kindred or friendship 
 upon us by the strengthened power of our prayer. 
 For, not only when the souls of others are recom¬ 
 mended to her intercession, but in any prayer, to< 
 whom should she turn a willing ear, if not to those 
 who have entrusted to her all in their power, for 
 distribution at her good pleasure ? 
 
 The seventh advantage is the happiness of the 
 holy Angels. From their entrance into Heaven a. 
 throne in their midst has been vacant, and it is 
 filled as a soul comes forth from Purgatory. There 
 is joy among them all: but we can figure to 
 ourselves in particular the contentment of the 
 Archangel St. Michael, “the prince —super omnes 
 animas suscipiendas —over all the souls that are 
 received; ” and the happiness of the Guardian- 
 Angel, who has waited so patiently through life and 
 has watched so lovingly at the gates of Purgatory, 
 and who can now joyfully present before God the 
 object of all that waiting and watching. As a 
 mother would prize a benefit conferred on the 
 
120 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 weakest and most helpless of her children, on 
 whom she has poured out the rich stores of her 
 love, so, and much more, will an Angel Guardian 
 value all that is done on behalf of his helpless 
 charge. 
 
 The eighth advantage is in the friendship of the 
 Saints. As the pains of Hell are all the more 
 grievous for each additional soul that enters in 
 there, so Heaven is the happier for each accession 
 to the number of its blessed inhabitants. Every 
 Saint in Heaven is rejoiced at the entrance of a 
 soul to share his happiness. The Saints are thus 
 indebted to those who hasten the admission into 
 glory of their friends and future companions ; and 
 who shall measure the advantage to be derived from 
 the gratitude of the Saints who reign with Christ? 
 
 The ninth advantage is from the gratitude of the 
 souls that have been succoured by us. Let us 
 imagine a soul in Heaven, conscious, in the fulness 
 of its enjoyment of God, that the day of its entrance 
 into the possession of its heavenly inheritance has 
 been anticipated on our account. It owes to us the 
 Beatific Vision, for the time which would otherwise 
 have been spent in longing desires. Now, in that 
 vision of God it sees our wants; now, in its fresh- 
 found union with God, its prayers have an efficacy 
 which they have not known before. We can 
 thus secure to ourselves an advocate before the 
 throne of God during the dangers of life and death, 
 until all shall be safe, and our congratulations mingle 
 with our thanksgivings in Heaven : mutual bene¬ 
 factors and mutually benefited rejoicing together. 
 
THE HEROIC ACT OF CHARITY. 
 
 121 
 
 The tenth advantage accrues to ourselves from 
 the consciousness of the offering that we have made 
 of our satisfactions and of all that might diminish 
 our personal debt of punishment. Our attention 
 will thus be drawn to the consequences of venial 
 sin, and we shall be induced more earnestly than 
 ever to shrink with great tenderness of conscience 
 from all that could add to the debt we have already 
 incurred. 
 
 It will be seen that by the Heroic Act we are far 
 indeed from giving up everything. Sacrifice has 
 its four ends, and every good action has in some 
 degree the nature of a sacrifice. Now, of these 
 four fruits we give up one and only one. We 
 give up satisfaction, which corresponds to punish¬ 
 ment and to nothing else. But the adoration and 
 service of God we perform in a manner more to 
 His glory. Personal merit we could not part with 
 if we would, for every man shall be judged according 
 to his works, 1 and merit is the measure of the 
 reward that each one shall receive at the hands of 
 the all-just Judge. An increase of merit means an 
 increase of grace here, and an increase of glory 
 hereafter; and this, and not any loss, is the fruit of 
 the Heroic Act. Propitiation is strengthened by 
 it; and our power of impetration, for not only our 
 power of praying for whom we will, but of applying 
 to any intention the impetratory power of our good 
 works, is not included in it. It is expressly declared 
 that a priest’s power of offering the Holy Sacrifice 
 for whom he wills, is not surrendered by it, but that 
 1 St. Matt. xvi. 27; Romans ii. 6. 
 
122 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 what he gives is the satisfactory part of that special 
 fruit of the Mass that belongs to himself. 
 
 To all these manifest advantages we may add 
 the great spiritual concessions of the Church,, 
 which are of a character to show the judgment 
 entertained by the Holy See of this devotion. The 
 Indult of a Privileged Altar for a certain number of 
 days in each week is a grant not unfrequently made 
 to priests by the Pope in answer to personal appli¬ 
 cation, and it is a favour deservedly prized. All 
 priests who have made the Heroic Act have thereby 
 this personal privilege conferred on them, extended 
 to every day in the year; that is to say, by every 
 Mass said for the Faithful Departed the Pope 
 applies, by the power of the Keys, an Indulgence 
 sufficient, if God should be pleased so to accept it,, 
 for the liberation of a soul from Purgatory. Lay 
 persons who have made the Heroic Act have, in 
 addition to all the other Indulgences within their 
 reach, this further one, of a Plenary Indulgence for 
 the benefit of the Holy Souls at every Communion 
 they make. Then, even without Holy Communion,, 
 there is the very rare concession of a Plenary 
 Indulgence for hearing Mass in suffrage for the 
 Holy Souls, on Monday if possible ; but if the Mass 
 cannot be heard on that day, then the Indulgence is 
 granted for assisting at Mass on Sunday. The only 
 other condition for these Indulgences is some prayer 
 for the Pope’s intention in a church or public 
 oratory. And lastly, as has already been noticed, 
 all Indulgences granted hitherto, or to be granted in 
 ' the future, though ordinarily not applicable to the 
 
THE HEROIC ACT OF CHARITY. 
 
 123 
 
 dead, are made available by the Pope for the pious 
 ends of this highly favoured devotion. 
 
 The terms of the concession call for one further 
 remark. It pleased the paternal heart of our Holy 
 Father Pius IX. to think of children who have not 
 yet made their first Communion, of the poor sick, 
 of those afflicted with chronic disorders, of the 
 aged, of farm-labourers, and of prisoners, and com¬ 
 passionately to grant, by a decree expressly issued 
 in their behalf, that Bishops may empower con¬ 
 fessors to commute the condition of Holy Com¬ 
 munion into some other pious work. Those who 
 are timid, and afraid to make this heroic offering, 
 may thus see for whom the Pope thought it neces¬ 
 sary to make provision, as amongst those whom he 
 contemplated as likely to avail themselves of this 
 means of increasing their merit and helping others. 
 
 And to facilitate the devotion we are taught that 
 no form of words is necessary, and that “ nothing 
 more is required than a hearty act of our will.” In 
 words then, brief as an ejaculation, we may make 
 the Heroic Act. “ Dear Lord, I make the offering 
 of all I can give to the Holy Souls, through the 
 hands of Thy Blessed Mother.” And not less briefly 
 it can be renewed day by day. No doubt it does 
 not need renewal, but we shall feel the benefit 
 ourselves if we renew it constantly. It will keep 
 alive within us a tender charity for the Holy Souls, 
 and a desire to increase the worth of our offering 
 by the fervour of our lives, for it is by a frequent 
 repetition of acts that our will acquires both force 
 and fervour. 
 
' 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 
PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 

THE FIRST SURVEY. 
 
 PURGATORY IS LAID OPEN, WITH ALL THE HELLISH 
 PAINS WITH WHICH THE SOULS ARE TORMENTED. 
 
 For fear lest my discourses, dear reader, should not 
 prove so lucky as to raise up your compassion, nor 
 my words so prevalent as to make a breach or deep 
 impression in thy heart, which is the main thing I 
 aim at in this whole treatise, I am resolved to have 
 recourse to that pious stratagem which the first 
 Jesuits so happily made use of in the conversion of 
 the Indies. Those good Fathers were not, at first, 
 well skilled in the language of the New World ; 
 and yet their zeal would be still carrying them 
 on to preach, whilst the Indians stood listening 
 and staring at them, but could understand little or 
 nothing. This would not have done their work, 
 had they not withal used this device, to take with 
 them into the pulpit certain devout pictures which 
 they had carried out of Europe, in which the 
 Passion of our Blessed Saviour was very lively 
 represented. Here they first showed the most bitter 
 torments which the Son of God endured for their 
 sakes; and then they laboured to express, in their 
 best Indian phrase, the name of God, Saviour of 
 the world, most holy Prophet, and the like ; pointing 
 
128 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 still at the picture, to tell them that He Whom they 
 saw so cruelly misused was the very Man they spake 
 of. And this they followed with showers of tears; 
 preaching Christ’s Passion more with their eyes 
 than their tongues, and setting forth their discourses 
 with sighs and sobs and a mournful voice, in lieu of 
 other tropes and metaphors. Who would believe 
 it ? The barbarians, at the sight of so lamentable 
 a spectacle, out of a natural compassion, seconded 
 by an interior impulse of Divine grace, burst forth 
 into fountains of tears, and became strangely con¬ 
 cerned for that poor Patient, Whom they beheld 
 only in effigy. The heart has this property, that it 
 understands the language of hearts, let the expres¬ 
 sions of the tongue be never so imperfect; and the 
 eyes are of that sympathetic nature, that when eyes 
 speak to them in floods of tears, in lieu of full 
 periods, they instantly melt also into tears, and so 
 mingle their griefs with a strange kind of sympathy 
 and near alliance. What the tongue cannot utter, 
 the eye speaks aloud; and the heart, and the very 
 air of the whole countenance, of a man who seems 
 to carry his very heart on his brow. Seeing, there¬ 
 fore, my discourses may fall short of what I design, 
 
 I am now going about to lay Purgatory open: to 
 represent, I say, unto your view, as in a map or 
 picture, that bloody tragedy which is acted there, 
 not in sport and merriment, alas! but with horror 
 and amazement. And if you dare not with the eye 
 of faith contemplate this sad and horrid spectacle in 
 itself, at least refuse not to look upon this picture, 
 which I am now going to delineate, to give you a 
 
OF THE FIRE OF PURGATORY. 
 
 129 
 
 rude draught of the just rigour of Almighty God in 
 purging holy souls, and, as it were, distilling them 
 by drops in a fiery limbeck. 
 
 § 1 .—Of the fire of Purgatory, and pain of sense. 
 
 It was a strange piece of niceness , 1 that of the 
 Grecians in the Council of Florence, to boggle at 
 the smoke and fire of Purgatory, and yet withal to 
 confess it to be a dark and dreadful dungeon, an 
 abyss of utter grief and torments; as if they would 
 have been content all other engines of cruelty should 
 have place there, to play the executioners, so they 
 might but have leave to banish fire from having 
 anything to do in the purgation of souls. The Latin 
 Fathers laboured to undeceive them in this point of 
 folly, and sore gravelled them with that text of the 
 Apostle: “He shall be saved, yet so as by fire :” 2 
 which cannot be meant of hell-fire, as the Grecians 
 understood it, because no salvation or redemption is 
 to be expected there; but may well be meant of the 
 fire of Purgatory, which is designed only for the 
 purifying of saved souls. And though they thought 
 fit afterwards to waive that controversy for peace’ 
 sake, and not to press on to a definition, yet is it a 
 doctrine very generally received and taught by the 
 holy Fathers and Doctors of the Catholic Church, 
 and very consonant to the dictates of the Holy 
 Ghost in Divine Scriptures, that there is a real and 
 corporeal fire in Purgatory; and that the souls 
 which depart this life, without first cancelling their 
 
 1 i.e. An over-subtle and inconsistent distinction. 
 
 2 1 Cor. iii. 15. 
 
 J 
 
130 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 many failings and imperfections by satisfactory 
 works, are necessarily plunged into merciless flames, 
 which, by little and little, eat away all that dross 
 and impurity which, till expiated, obstructs their 
 entrance into Heaven. Nor is it possible, to my 
 thinking, to raise any argument of substance 1 to 
 discredit these purging flames, which will not also 
 be levelled at the extinguishing of hell-fire: which, 
 notwithstanding, Holy Writ assures us to be “pre¬ 
 pared for the devil and his angels .” 2 I am sure 
 St. Augustine 3 finds the same difficulty, how the 
 devils’ and men’s souls can be tormented with fire: 
 and gives the same solution to both, with a “ Why 
 should we not say that incorporeal spirits may be 
 truly tormented with corporeal fire, though after a 
 strange and wonderful manner?” Must we presently 
 renounce the oracles of God’s Church, because we 
 cannot fathom them with our narrow capacity ? The 
 very foundations of our faith would be shrewdly 4 
 shaken, should we measure them by this preposterous 
 rule, of a seeming demonstration to the contrary. 
 Believe it, it is one of the first rudiments, but main 
 principles, of a Christian, to captivate his under¬ 
 standing, and so regulate all his dictamens, that 
 they be sure to run parallel with the sentiments of 
 the Church. And this I take to be the case when 
 the question is started about Purgatory fire, which 
 
 1 i.e. Any valid argument. 
 
 2 St. Matt. xxv. 41. 
 
 3 De Civit. xxi. 10. “ Veris, sed miris modis.” 
 
 4 The word is applied in old English as meaning greatly or 
 forcibly , but in an unfavourable sense, implying pain, grievousness, 
 
 contention, &c. 
 
PURGATORY DESCRIBED. 
 
 131 
 
 I shall ever reckon in the class of those truths 
 which cannot be contradicted without manifest 
 temerity, as being the doctrine generally preached 
 and taught all over Christendom. 
 
 You must, then, conceive Purgatory to be a vast, 
 darksome, and hideous chaos, full of fire and flames, 
 in which the souls are kept close prisoners until 
 they have fully satisfied for all their misdemeanours, 
 according to the estimate of Divine justice. For 
 God has made choice of this element of fire where¬ 
 with to punish souls, because it is the most active, 
 piercing, sensible , 1 and insupportable of all others. 
 But that which quickens it indeed, and gives it 
 more life, is this: that it acts as the instrument 
 of God’s justice, Who, by His omnipotent power, 
 heightens and reinforces its activity as He pleases, 
 and so makes it capable to act upon bodiless spirits. 
 Do not then look only upon this fire, though in good 
 earnest it be dreadful enough of itself; but consider 
 the arm that is stretched out, and the hand that 
 strikes, and the rigour of God’s infinite justice, 
 Who, through this element of fire, vents His wrath, 
 and pours out whole tempests of His most severe 
 and yet most just vengeance. So that the fire 
 works as much mischief, as I may say , 2 to the souls, 
 as God commands; and He commands as much as 
 is due; and as much is due as the sentence bears: 
 a sentence irrevocably pronounced at the high 
 tribunal of the severe and rigorous justice of an 
 
 1 i.e. Apprehended by the senses. 
 
 2 i.e. Not implying injury, far less injustice; but simply punish¬ 
 ment and suffering. 
 
132 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 angry God, and Whose anger is so prevalent that 
 the Holy Scripture styles it “ a day of fury .” 1 
 Now you will easily believe that this fire is a most 
 horrible punishment in its own nature; but you 
 may do well to reflect also on that which I have 
 now suggested, that the fury of Almighty God is, 
 as it were, the fire of this fire, and the heat of its 
 heat; and that He serves Himself of it as He 
 pleases, by doubling and redoubling its sharp 
 pointed forces; for this is that which makes it the 
 more grievous and insupportable to the souls that 
 are thus miserably confined and imprisoned. 
 
 They were not much out of the way, that styled 
 Purgatory a transitory kind of Hell, because the 
 principal pains of the damned are to be found there; 
 with this only difference, that in Hell they are 
 eternal, and in Purgatory they are only transitory 
 and fleeting : for otherwise 2 it is probably the very 
 same fire which burns both the holy souls and the 
 damned spirits ; 3 and the pain of loss is, in both 
 places, the chief torment, as I shall declare here¬ 
 after. Now, does not your hair stand on end ? 
 Does not your heart tremble, when you hear that 
 the poor souls in Purgatory are tormented with the 
 same or the like flames to those of the damned? 
 Can you refrain from crying out, with the Prophet 
 Isaias: “ Who can dwell with such devouring fire, 
 and unquenchable burnings ?” 4 Heavens! what a 
 
 1 Job xx. 28; Isaias xiii. 13; Lament, i. 12. 
 
 3 i.e. As to the other particulars. 
 
 3 Suarez, d. 45, sec. 2, n. 4; St. Thomas in 4. d. 21. q. 1. 
 
 4 Isaias xxxiii. 14. 
 
PURGATORY COMPARED TO HELL. 
 
 133 
 
 lamentable case is this! Those miserable souls 
 who of late, when they were wedded to their bodies, 
 were so nice and dainty, forsooth, that they durst 
 scarce venture to enjoy the comfortable heat of a 
 fire, but under the protection of their screens and 
 their fans, for fear of sullying their complexions, 
 and if by chance a spark had been so rude as to 
 light upon them, or a little smoke, it was not to be 
 endured; those for whom down itself was too hard, 
 and even ready to break their bones, one single 
 grain of misfortune, a stone but as big as a nut, 
 a rotten tooth, a sullen and malignant humour 
 stolen into the marrow of a bone, a cross word, an 
 affront, an idle fancy, a mere dream, was enough 
 to bury their whole felicity in a kind of hell—alas! 
 how will it fare with them, when they shall see 
 themselves tied to unmerciful firebrands, or em¬ 
 bodied, as it were, with flames of fire, surrounded 
 with frightful darkness, broiled and consumed 
 without intermission, and perhaps condemned to 
 the same fire with which the devils are unspeakably 
 tormented ? When Saul found himself beset on all 
 sides, and in the midst of his enemies, and saw 
 that he must either die instantly, or fall into the 
 hands of that base and accursed crew: Oh, let me 
 rather die, cried he ; 1 he will do me a favour that 
 will cut my throat, that so I may not see myself 
 butchered by such wicked hands, and trailed away 
 by them; death is not the thing I apprehend, but 
 that, a king as I am, I should die like a slave! ah, 
 it is that which gives me the fatal blow, and breaks 
 
 1 1 Kings xxxi. 4. 
 
134 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 my very heart. O God! what a confusion, what a 
 sensible heart-breaking will it be to those noble and 
 generous souls, designed to eternal glory in the 
 Kingdom of Heaven, when they shall see themselves 
 condemned to the same punishment, and devoured 
 by the same implacable flames with those of the 
 damned, and lodged in the very suburbs of Hell. 
 A prince had rather die a thousand deaths than be 
 condemned to live amongst base slaves in a galley, 
 or to be hanged amongst felons: for it is not the 
 death so much as the dishonour that makes them 
 to die indeed. And can you doubt whether the 
 souls of the just have the same feelings when they 
 see themselves involved in the same misfortune, in 
 the same place, and in the same flames of fire with 
 which the accursed rabble of damned spirits is 
 eternally tormented ? Ah ! they take it for so high a 
 dishonour, that it may with reason be questioned 
 whether this unhappy place and condition grieves 
 them not more than the fire itself. Once 1 on a time 
 they would have forced a young Roman cavalier 
 into the bottom of a dark and stinking pit; but his 
 heart was so filled with indignation at it, that he 
 chose rather to dash out his brains against a door- 
 threshold, and so to let out his blood and his life 
 together, than to enter into so noisome a place. 
 What a tearing grief must it be to those virtuous 
 souls, when they shall see themselves border upon 
 the very confines of Hell, and in that accursed 
 frontier; and more than this, to be shut up close 
 prisoners in that unhappy gulf; and to be con- 
 
 1 Plutarch, Sen. 
 
THE PAIN OF SENSE. 
 
 135 
 
 demned to suffer the same fire as the damned, 
 though their punishment be neither so terrible nor 
 so lasting. 
 
 Good God ! how the great Saints and Doctors 
 astonish me, when they treat of this fire, and of the 
 pain of sense, as they call it. For they peremptorily 
 pronounce that _the fire that purges those souls, 
 those both happy and unhappy souls, surpasses all 
 the torments which are to be found in this miserable 
 life of man, or are possible to be invented; for so 
 far they go. Out of which assertion it clearly 
 follows, that the furious fits of the stone, fever, or 
 raging gout, the tormenting colic, with all the 
 horrible convulsions of the worst of diseases, nay, 
 though you join racks, gridirons, boiling oils, wild 
 beasts, and a hundred horses drawing several ways, 
 and tearing one limb from another, with all the 
 other hellish devices of the most barbarous and 
 cruel tyrants, all this does not reach to the least 
 part of the mildest pains in Purgatory. For thus 
 they discourse: the fire and the pains of the other 
 world are of another nature from those of this life ; 
 because God elevates them above their nature to be 
 instruments of His severity. Now, say they, things 
 of an inferior degree can never reach to the power 
 of such things as are of a higher rank: for example, 
 the air, let it be ever so inflamed, unless it be 
 converted into fire, can never be so hot as fire. 
 Besides, God bridles His rigour in this world; but 
 in the next, He lets the reins loose, and punishes 
 almost equally to the desert. And, since those souls 
 have preferred creatures before their Creator, He 
 
PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 136 
 
 seems to be put upon a necessity of punishing them 
 beyond the ordinary strength of creatures; and 
 hence it is that the fire of Purgatory burns more, 
 torments and afflicts more, than all the creatures of 
 this life are able to do. But is it really true, that 
 the least pain in Purgatory exceeds the greatest 
 here on earth ? O God ! the very statement makes 
 me tremble for fear, and my very heart freezes into 
 ice with astonishment. And yet, who dare oppose 
 St. Augustine, St. Thomas, St. Anselm, St. Gregory 
 the Great ? 1 Is there any hope of carrying the 
 negative assertion against such a stream of Doctors, 
 who all maintain the affirmative, and bring so strong 
 reasons for it ? Have patience to hear them once 
 more. Sin, say they, exceeds all creatures in malice, 
 and therefore, let it be never so little, it must 
 deserve a punishment exceeding all the pain that 
 can proceed from creatures. Again: Creatures 
 here below do nothing above their natural reach 
 and capacity; they act only within the sphere of 
 their limited forces; whereas, the fire that is designed 
 to purify guilty souls, derives its vigour and force 
 from God, Who, being Almighty, and besides, pro¬ 
 voked to displeasure, makes it so active and so 
 forcible, that there is nothing that can be compared 
 with it. And they add unto all this a world of 
 visions and revelations, which seem to countenance 
 the rigour of their statement. What then will 
 become of thee, poor idle soul, if the least pains in 
 
 1 St. Augustine in Psalm xxxvii. ; St. Thomas, Suppl. q. 100. 
 a. 3. et in 4. d. 21; St. Gregory, in Psalm iii. Penitent.; St. Anselm, 
 in Elucidario. 
 
THE PAIN OF SENSE. 
 
 137 
 
 Purgatory surpass the greatest in this world ? what, 
 I say, will become of thee, that art so tender, that 
 a little smoke is able to draw tears from thy eyes ? 
 
 But, for thy comfort, there are Doctors in the 
 Catholic Church that cannot agree with so much 
 severity: and, namely, St. Bonaventure, who is very 
 peremptory in denying it . 1 For what way is there, 
 says this holy Doctor, to verify so great a paradox, 
 without wounding reason and destroying the infinite 
 mercy of God ? I am easily persuaded there are 
 torments in Purgatory far exceeding any in this 
 mortal life; this is most certain, and it is but 
 reasonable it should be so: but that the least there 
 should be more terrible than the most terrible in 
 the world, cannot enter into my belief. May it not 
 often fall out, that a man comes to die in a most 
 eminent state of perfection; save only, that in his 
 last agony, out of mere frailty, he commits a venial 
 sin, or carries along with him some relic of his 
 former failings, which might have been easily 
 blotted out with a Pater noster, or washed away 
 with a little holy water: for I am supposing it to 
 be some very small matter. Now what likelihood 
 is there, I will not say that the infinite mercy of 
 God, but that the very rigour of His justice, though 
 you conceive it to be ever so severe, should inflict 
 so horrible a punishment upon this holy soul, as 
 not to be equalled by the greatest torments in this 
 life; and all this for some petty fault, scarce worth 
 the speaking of? How! would you have God, for 
 a kind of trifle, to punish a soul full of grace and 
 
 1 St. Bonaventure, in 4, d. 20. 
 
138 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 virtue, and so severely to punish her, as to exceed 
 all the racks, cauldrons, furnaces, and other hellish 
 inventions which are scarce inflicted upon the most 
 execrable criminals in the world ? What do you make 
 God to be ? Is He not a God of mercy in the other 
 world as well as in this ? He that is so sweet and 
 so good, says Tertullian , 1 that He darts the rays 
 of His mercies into the darkest abyss of Hell, shall 
 He be so extremely rigorous in Purgatory, which is 
 so full of saints ? That which a sigh would have 
 blown away here, or a tear have drowned, as being 
 so small a matter, will you have God pour out His 
 whole wrath for it, and to punish it with such a 
 proportion of sufferings as cannot be paralleled by 
 all the torments in this world ? Have a care lest, 
 by making God too severe, you say that which 
 clashes with His infinite mercy. That nothing 
 should remain unpunished, is no more than fitting ; 
 but that for a mere peccadillo, or for some small 
 remnant of a little penance, God should employ 
 such tortures, is a most incredible paradox, and 
 St. Bonaventure will not believe it; and are we not 
 beholden to him for it ? He confesses that the fire, 
 the worm, and all the purging pain, is of its nature 
 far greater than the pains of this world; but that 
 the least there should surpass the greatest here, he 
 flatly denies; and I cannot think thou wilt need 
 much entreaty to side with him. And thus much 
 learned Suarez 2 has prudently observed for thy 
 purpose: that in truth, the pains of Purgatory and 
 those of this life are of quite different kinds, and 
 
 1 Tertullian, Apolog. 2 Suarez, d. 40, 3, 4. 
 
THE WORM OF CONSCIENCE. 
 
 139 
 
 can no more be compared together than a flint with 
 a diamond; but that there may be so many flints 
 put together as to exceed the worth of a diamond : 
 and so may the pains of this life be so multiplied 
 as to surmount the least of those in Purgatory. 
 
 § 2 .—Of the worm , and pain of loss. 
 
 But why do I entertain you so long with the 
 consideration of the fire and flames of Purgatory, as 
 if it were the only or the greatest torment of the 
 afflicted souls ? Alas, there is a worm which gnaws 
 them yet more to the quick than those murdering 
 flames, which make but an outward assault. It is 
 this worm, alas, it is this worm that plays the 
 tyrant over those captive souls. The worm of Hell 
 shall never die : 1 while that of Purgatory shall die, 
 indeed, but so long as it lives it is not to be imagined 
 how cruelly it bites. I know there are those among 
 the learned that believe God has in store certain 
 ravenous and devouring worms, that shall inces¬ 
 santly prey upon the carcasses of the damned souls, 
 and cause an endless martyrdom by consuming 
 them without ever yet consuming them. But as 
 for Purgatory, where there are only mere souls, 
 stripped of their bodies, there are no corporeal 
 worms; but the worm that gnaws them is a 
 metaphorical worm, or a sharp and sensible grief 
 and deep resentment , 2 which utterly undoes those 
 miserable souls by piercing and transpiercing them 
 
 1 Isaias lxvi. 24; St. Mark ix. 45. 
 
 2 i.e. A continued feeling of pain for something that has taken 
 place. 
 
140 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 with the sharp lances of a thousand and a thousand 
 remorses. 
 
 But to give you, in fine, a more particular des¬ 
 cription of this insatiable and devouring worm, which 
 causes them so much mischief and vexation : divines 
 teach us that it is either an heroical act of charity, 
 or a vigorous act of contrition, or, finally, a holy 
 kind of impatience and supernatural act of hope; 
 but such a one as does so importunely and power¬ 
 fully chastise them, that it is not to be expressed. 
 You may fancy charity to be a golden file, which 
 goes filing and still filing away the dross of their 
 imperfections, and as it were consuming them 
 without intermission; contrition to be a pair of 
 hot, biting pincers, which doth so desperately pinch 
 those poor souls that it is a kind of pity to God and 
 His angels to behold it; hope retarded to be a kind 
 of rack, upon which those miserable souls are so far 
 extended and stretched out with a desire that carries 
 them to God, and so withheld by the impediment 
 that lies in themselves, that it must needs be an 
 unmerciful torment. They seem, as it were, to be 
 drawn in pieces by wild horses. Love draws, but 
 pain withdraws; contrition spurs them on, but their 
 misfortune pulls them back; hope gives them wings, 
 but justice clips them off; and, through the violence 
 of these contrary motions, these unfortunate souls 
 are in a most lamentable condition, and, as the 
 Holy Scripture expresses it, are gnawn and torn in 
 pieces with hungry, devouring, and tormenting 
 worms. It is not the fire, nor all the brimstone 
 and tortures they endure, which murders them 
 
THE WORM OF CONSCIENCE. 
 
 141 
 
 alive. No, no; it is the domestical cause of all 
 these mischiefs that racks their consciences and is 
 their cruellest executioner. This, this is the greatest 
 of their evils; for a soul that has shaken off the 
 fetters of flesh and blood, and is full of the love of 
 God, no more disordered with unruly passions, nor 
 blinded with the night of ignorance, sees clearly the 
 vast injury she has done herself to have offended 
 so good a God, and to have deserved to be thus 
 banished out of His sight and deprived of that 
 Divine fruition. She sees how easily she might 
 have flown up straight to Heaven at her first parting 
 with her body, and what a trifle it was that impeded 
 her. A moment lost, of those inebriating joys, seems 
 to her now worthy to be redeemed with an eternity 
 of pains. Then, reflecting with herself that she was 
 created only for God, and cannot be truly satisfied 
 but by enjoying God, and that out of Him all this 
 goodly machine of the world is no better than a 
 direct Hell, and an abyss of evils: alas! what 
 worms, what martyrdoms, and what nipping pincers, 
 are such pinching thoughts as these ? The fire is to 
 her but as smoke, in comparison of this vexing 
 remembrance of her own follies, which betrayed 
 her to this disgraceful and unavoidable misfortune. 
 There was a king who in a humour 1 gave away his 
 crown and his whole estate for the present refresh¬ 
 ment of a cup of cold water; but, returning a little 
 to himself, and soberly reflecting what he had done, 
 had like to have run stark mad, to see the strange, 
 irreparable folly he had committed. To lose a year, 
 
 1 i.e. In a momentary fancy. 
 
142 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 or two years (to say no more), the beatifical vision, 
 for a glass of water, for a handful of earth, for the 
 love of a fading beauty, for a little air of worldly 
 praise, a mere puff of honour; ah! it is the hell of 
 Purgatory to a soul that truly loves God, and frames 
 a right conceit of things. Jephte 1 could have died 
 for grief, when he saw that by his rashness he was 
 to lose his only daughter, the light of his eyes, the 
 life of his soul, and soul of his life. And that poor 
 youth from whom they had stolen his gods, although 
 they were mere idols, yet did he take on most 
 bitterly, and became so disconsolate, there was no 
 chiding him out of that humour. “ What! ” said 
 he, “ have you robbed me of my gods, and do you 
 now question me, why I lament ? ” As if he had 
 not cause enough to grieve, who has lost his gods. 
 And you may observe, it was not his fault that they 
 were lost; and besides, they were but gods of wood 
 and stone, such as a skilful artist would have made 
 far better. The case here is different; for the souls 
 clearly see they have lost God through their own 
 carelessness; and lost Him for ten, twenty, or 
 perhaps thirty years, and this puts them out of the 
 reach of all comfort. Here below, indeed, we are 
 not able to taste the bitterness of this wormwood; 
 but those pure souls, who are in the grace of God, 
 and full of light, and well-grounded discourses, see 
 so clearly the grossness and foulness of this error, 
 and taste so sensibly the gall and bitterness thereof, 
 that it is a more vexing pain to them than that of 
 the fire. 
 
 1 Judges xi. and xviii. 
 
THE PAIN OF LOSS. 
 
 143 
 
 But you will say: It is but for a short time that 
 they are to be kept out of Paradise. O God! this 
 is enough to break their hearts; for, in that short 
 time you speak of, they could have exercised a 
 million of most refined, heroical, and Divine acts in 
 Heaven: and all this is lost. And if one act of 
 virtue here on earth gives so much glory to God 
 and so much joy to the whole Court of Heaven, 
 what a loss is it, to have carelessly let slip the 
 occasion of exercising a million of such acts in 
 Heaven, which can never be recalled! I speak not 
 for the merit, nor for the content there is in doing 
 well, nor for the degrees of glory which are lost. 
 No, I touch not yet what concerns their interest; 
 but I only treat of the glory which they might have 
 given to God by their signal services of love and 
 adoration; all which precious treasure is negligently 
 cast away. When that good poor widow cast her 
 two brass mites into the treasury , 1 Christ Jesus was 
 as well pleased as if she had cast in both her eyes, 
 or as many worlds. And when St. Martin cut his 
 cloak in two, to give one half of it to a needy 
 beggar, our Blessed Saviour vouchsafed to clothe 
 Himself with that half-garment, and turning to the 
 Angels, who were about Him in great numbers, and 
 withal showing them that livery of His servant, 
 “ Behold,” said He, “ how nobly this young cate¬ 
 chumen has attired Me.” If the Almighty Monarch 
 of the world makes so great a reckoning of one act 
 of virtue, one small charity, what vexation will it 
 breed in a soul of the other world, to consider that 
 1 St. Mark xii. 42; St. Luke xxi. 2. 
 
144 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 other glorious souls, and perhaps some of her 
 alliance or acquaintance, are already daily spend¬ 
 ing themselves in acts of highest perfection, and 
 that she has wilfully thrown away all this glory, 
 which she might have given to Almighty God; and 
 in place of acting so gloriously in the empyrean 
 Heaven, all resplendent with Divine fire, she is 
 constrained to lie parching and frying in the flames 
 of Purgatory, and undergoing a thousand incon¬ 
 solable punishments. 
 
 Now, if you lay on the back of this the consider¬ 
 ation of interest; good God! what a terrible grief 
 will it be to holy souls, to reflect on the loss of so 
 many degrees of grace and glory, which they have 
 foolishly and negligently cast away, for mere trifles, 
 and without hope of recovery! One grain of grace 
 is certainly more worth than all the world. What 
 a misery, then, what a grief, and what a confusion 
 will it be, to have prodigally sold, for nothing, so 
 many grains, so many graces, and so many worlds 
 of true happiness ? “ Since I have lost my Empire,” 
 cried Nero, “there is no living for me.” “Could 
 I but one day arrive to be King of Athens,” said 
 a Grecian, “ I could be content to walk barefoot to 
 the bottomless pit of Hell: so great a value do I 
 set upon swaying the sceptre but one day; and so 
 precious is the least grain of glory in my estimation.” 
 Now, if these ambitious souls have such feelings for 
 a little vain and transitory glory, what will they have 
 who breathe nothing but the pure love of God, and 
 know how to set a true value upon glory, in those 
 heavenly mansions ? This, in the opinion of learned 
 
THE WORMS OF LOVE AND GRIEF. 
 
 145 
 
 Suarez, is a worm, the most sensible , 1 and the 
 most vexatious of all others, in that Church of 
 patient sufferers. 
 
 But since these two worms, Love and Grief, 
 combine together, to martyr those poor souls, which 
 of the two is the most grievous, charity, or con¬ 
 trition ? They have neither of them teeth to bite 
 with; but they conjure up such tempests of biting 
 thoughts, in these unfortunate souls, as give them 
 a world of afflictions. Methinks I hear them dis¬ 
 course, in their turns, much after this fashion : 
 
 Love. O ungrateful and disloyal soul! hast thou 
 so easily lost the sight of thy merciful Redeemer ? 
 
 Grief. Die for shame, unlucky soul! and die for 
 grief, for having so easily merited that God should 
 thus banish thee in these base flames. 
 
 Love. What hast thou got, by losing so good a 
 God, Whom thou wert already to have possessed 
 and enjoyed ? 
 
 Grief. What hast thou got, but deadly heart- 
 breakings, for having preferred sin before His 
 infinite favours ? 
 
 Love. In lieu of riding upon the wings of 
 Seraphim, and burning with love, as they do in 
 Heaven, miserable creature! thou art now to be 
 locked up underground, in a furnace of hellish flames. 
 
 Grief. In lieu of calling to mind the benefits of 
 this great God, thou art to be gnawn to the very 
 heart, with the sharp teeth of an infamous grief, 
 and to pass so many whole days in sighs and sobs, 
 and unprofitable lamentations. 
 
 1 As above, p. 131. 
 
 K 
 
146 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 Love. So many lesser souls have taken their 
 flight straight up into Heaven; and what! dost 
 thou stick there below, in those loathsome pits of 
 fire ? 
 
 Grief. So many simple idiots, by leading innocent 
 lives, are now in glory; whilst thou, idle wretch, 
 liest there melting in unquenchable flames. 
 
 Love. What a madness was it for thee, to cast 
 away so many precious hours of seeing God; when 
 one glimpse of that Divine Object is worth a million 
 of worlds ? 
 
 Grief. Could there be a greater folly, than, for a 
 slight pastime, to offend so loving a Father, and put 
 Him upon a necessity of punishing thee here like 
 a criminal, to wear off thy felonious and rebellious 
 offences ? 
 
 Love. What is become of so many degrees of 
 glory, so many ecstatical acts, so many Divine 
 canticles, which thou shouldst have sung in Heaven, 
 since thou art buried underground, in a sulphureous 
 lake ? 
 
 Grief. What is become of all thy cursed posses¬ 
 sions, which now persecute thy soul with a fresh 
 remembrance of thy sottish disloyalty ? 
 
 Love. Thou wert created for God; canst thou 
 live without Him, and without glassing thyself in 
 that eternal mirror and sparkling rays of His 
 Divine countenance ? 
 
 Grief. Thou wert placed in the sublunary world 
 to serve Him ; canst thou, without swooning for 
 grief, call to mind the life which thou hast led; 
 and is not the remembrance of thy excesses more 
 
THE WORMS OF LOVE AND GRIEF. 
 
 147 
 
 frightful to thee than the very sight of Hell 
 itself? 
 
 Love. He that loves God, had rather sink down 
 into a thousand hells than lose Him for a moment. 
 
 Grief. He that loves God, had rather eternally 
 suffer all the torments of Hell than lie one instant 
 in the hell of hells; that is, in the bosom of a 
 mortal sin. 
 
 Thus violently do these two virtues, of Love and 
 Grief, make their several onsets on this poor soul; 
 thus terribly do they bait her, one after another; 
 thus cruelly do they lay her under the heavy press 
 of unavoidable reproaches. 
 
 This is not all: for divines teach, and are per¬ 
 emptory upon the matter, that the more a soul loves 
 God, and the greater saint she is, the more sensible 
 is she of the biting of these unmerciful worms. 
 And, by the way, you are to note that these holy 
 souls do not suffer these afflictions only to purge 
 themselves. No; though there were no other 
 motive but that of the love of God, and a certain 
 honesty 1 well becoming their noble nature; though 
 there were nothing to be got by it; yet would they 
 not desist from exercising these generous and 
 heroical acts, and from giving God a signal testi¬ 
 mony of the dear affection of their souls. In the 
 meantime, this their honesty costs them dear; and 
 these acts of charity and contrition are extreme 
 painful. And since the sting of honour wounds 
 deeper, pains sorer, and goes more to the quick, 
 than pain itself, hence it follows that these holy 
 1 i.e. Sense of what is worthy and befitting. 
 
148 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 souls, whether for love or for justice’ sake, are upon 
 a most cruel rack, and so become an object of great 
 commiseration; and it cannot be expressed how 
 beholden they reckon themselves to those that 
 endeavour to comfort them, and are mindful of their 
 calamity. Now, the reason why divines believe 
 that the most perfect souls are the most afflicted 
 with these voluntary kinds of punishments, as I 
 may term them, is, because they all actuate 1 accord¬ 
 ing to the uttermost sphere and extent of their 
 virtue; so that a soul that has a greater proportion 
 of love, acts with more vigour, and plunges herself 
 deeper in the profound abyss of love, and in the 
 gall and bitterness of contrition. And, as this 
 proceeds out of mere love, notwithstanding their so 
 sensible misfortune, they would not lose an ounce 
 of it: so tender is their love to God, and so great 
 the horror they have of all that is displeasing in His 
 sight. But of this more at large hereafter. 
 
 Now I must tell you plainly, all that I have yet 
 said is, in a manner, nothing to what I am going 
 to say. The Saints and Doctors of God’s Church, 
 as I have already insinuated, unanimously agree, 
 that the most grievous pain in Purgatory is to be 
 deprived, for a time, of the Beatifical Vision, and 
 to be laid aside, and banished, as unworthy to 
 contemplate the bright Sun of the Divinity. This 
 pain of loss, as they call it, is the pain of pains: 
 it is the deepest pit of Purgatory, and the very 
 bellows that blow the coals there. This evil, of 
 the privation of the sight of God, is, according to 
 
 1 i.e. Produce their acts. 
 
THE LOSS OF THE SIGHT OF GOD. 
 
 149 
 
 St. Thomas , 1 of its own nature far exceeding all the 
 temporal punishments of the world: and thus he 
 proves it. Will you know the full latitude of grief, 
 and take an exact survey of all its dimensions ? 
 Reflect with yourself, what is the good which it 
 deprives us of, what the present evil we endure, 
 what powerful instinct we have to repossess that 
 good which we have lost, what obligation we have 
 thereunto both by grace and nature; and lastly, 
 what a violent application and vigour of spirit we 
 feel in our souls, in the pursuit of it. Now all this 
 is extreme in the evil we now treat of. For it is 
 the precious sight of God which is lost, Who is the 
 consummation of all bliss; it is the very dregs of 
 bitterness those poor souls drink down at large 
 draughts; it is the only beautiful Object, for which 
 they were created, and redeemed with the Most 
 Precious Blood of Christ, for which they breathed 
 out so many sighs in this mortal life, and which 
 they do so passionately pursue, when once delivered 
 out of their bodies, that there is nothing to be 
 compared to that holy ardour. No; I do not think 
 that an arrow shot from a bow, or an eagle upon 
 the wing, or the wind, or lightning, or the sun in 
 his full career or flight itself, flies away faster. 
 I cannot believe that fire mounts up, or a stone 
 sinks down to its centre, with more vehemency, nor 
 that the heavens can be swifter in their motions, 
 than these vigorous souls are in running, flying, and 
 precipitating themselves into God—when, alas! 
 they find their wings clipped, and their whole flight 
 
 1 St. Thomas in 4. a. 21. a. 1. 
 
150 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 so unhappily stopped, that no tongue is able to 
 express the resentment 1 they feel at it. 
 
 I know that St. Bonaventure strives to sweeten 
 this martyrdom; and will not have this privation, 
 or pain of loss, to be so cruel as others make it: 
 and in particular he maintains that it does not 
 always exceed the greatest torments of this life. 
 I will not take upon me the boldness, to make 
 myself judge and umpire between St. Thomas and 
 St. Bonaventure, that is to say, between an angel 
 and a seraph, an angelical doctor and a seraphical 
 doctor; in a word, between two famous oracles of 
 divinity, two glorious suns placed in the several 
 spheres of their Religious Orders. But what remedy? 
 whether of the two shall we believe ? The one 
 assures us that the privation of the sight of God 
 is a martyrdom beyond all the martyrdoms of this 
 world; the other tells us for a truth that it were 
 certainly a most grievous torment, but that it is 
 sometimes so tempered and alleviated by other 
 considerations, that it equals not the severest rigour 
 of the torments of this world. What ? is there no 
 means to reconcile these two heavenly Doctors ? 
 May we not say, they have both reason on their 
 sides ? They have both won, and both lost the 
 field; and, whilst the one looks as it were to the 
 north, and the other to the south, they both meet 
 in the meridian line of charity, and rest securely in 
 the bosom of the same truth. St. Thomas means 
 to say, that if you look upon this privation, as it 
 relates to God, the loss is incomparable ; and he. 
 
 1 As above, p. 139. 
 
THE LOSS OF THE SIGHT OF GOD. 
 
 151 
 
 speaks the very truth : that the soul has not a more 
 violent instinct, than that which carries her to God, 
 this is also an undoubted truth: that there cannot 
 be a heavier loss than that of God; and is not 
 this also clear ? that unless this grief be otherwise 
 moderated, it is the most intolerable of all others; 
 this is as evident as the rest: that you cannot 
 deprive a soul of a more lovely object, and conse¬ 
 quently, that there is not the thing in this world 
 whose absence is of its nature so sensible ; 1 who 
 can doubt of all this ? Certainly, if you state the 
 case thus, and go no further, St. Thomas has clearly 
 got the victory. Now let us hear St. Bonaventure, 
 who tells us that this evil of privation, being joined 
 with a most certain hope of seeing God erelong, 
 may be much lessened ; that, even in this world, 
 we lack the sight of God, and yet by reason of 
 other diversions , 2 are not so much concerned for it; 
 that the holy souls most contentedly submit them¬ 
 selves to this piece of severity, and the more 
 willingly they do it, the less are they burdened with 
 sorrow; that many Saints, out of pure charity, and 
 for the glory of God, have offered themselves to be 
 thus eternally deprived of the sight of God, and 
 have taken great pleasure in it; with a world of 
 other reasons, of which I shall treat in the next 
 Survey, where I muster up the comforts of the 
 souls in Purgatory. Has he not reason for all this, 
 I pray you ? Nay, have they not both reason for 
 what they teach ? Methinks, they do like those 
 
 1 i.e. So deeply to be felt. 
 
 2 i.e. Objects distracting the attention. 
 
152 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 that look upon your pictures, which are drawn after 
 the Italian fashion, by mathematical projection : 
 one looks upon them this way, and sees a fair 
 picture of St. Michael; another that way, and sees 
 St. Laurence upon a gridiron, represented to the 
 life. The one vows he sees an angel, and he says 
 true; the other is ready to swear he sees a martyr, 
 and he is not mistaken: meanwhile, they contest 
 about it, and neither of them will forsake his 
 opinion, whilst both are in the right, though they 
 seem to wrong one another. Let us therefore 
 conclude, that in truth there is something in this 
 pain of loss which surpasses all that can be 
 imagined in this world; but that God is pleased 
 in some cases to mingle certain comfortable sweets 
 with it, which take off much of the bitterness which 
 the souls would otherwise find therein. 
 
 § 3 .—Other considerations , much aggravating these 
 
 pains. 
 
 But that which adds new life and strength to 
 these quick and piercing pains is to see that they 
 have not only wilfully lost for ever so many degrees 
 of glory, whereof the least is an inestimable treasure, 
 but are also estranged from the sight of God, by 
 their own carelessness and tepidity. To forego the 
 sight of God, out of charity, is to find a kind of 
 paradise in Hell; but to lose the sight of God by 
 one’s own fault, though it be but for a moment, is a 
 hell indeed to a soul that loves. Naturalists tell us 
 of a little bird that is so far in love with the sun, 
 that she lives no longer than she can behold it, and 
 
TO HAVE LOST GOD WILLINGLY. 
 
 153 
 
 so lives but a few hours: for no sooner does the 
 sun set, but the poor bird, seeing no longer the 
 living rays of the sun, believing it to be really dead, 
 dies also, as not being able to survive the sole object 
 of its love. God is the Sun of our souls: and 
 therefore these worthy souls, seeing this Sun quite 
 eclipsed from their eyes, and overcast with the sable 
 night of a suffering people, would doubtless die if 
 they could. For, God being the life of their life, 
 having lost this life, how should they live ? When 
 the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph had lost sight of 
 the little Infant Jesus, what tongue can express the 
 affliction of their souls ? He only knows who has 
 tried it by experience, and whose eyes God has 
 opened, what it is to lose the sight of God, and to 
 lose it through his own fault, and to be, as it were, 
 pointed at for a wretch that has lost his God. 
 
 I wept, says holy David, 1 and I wept night and 
 day, when they would be still thus upbraiding me: 
 Why, David, where is thy God ? the God for Whom 
 thou hadst so much love ? Oh, it is a dagger at my 
 very heart, and they kill me when they ask me the 
 question. Now this dagger is never out of the hearts 
 of those desolate and languishing souls. “ I will 
 either die this day,” cried Caesar, “ or I will be the 
 chief in Rome; for what likelihood is there that 
 Caesar should live, and not be Caesar; live, and not 
 live in the quality which is due to his birth and 
 courage ? ” Oh, how often does this thought assault 
 and persecute these holy souls: “Alas! how easily 
 could I have purchased a million of degrees of 
 
 1 Psalm xli. 4. 
 
154 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 essential glory, and got laurels upon laurels, crowns 
 upon crowns, and trophies without number. And, 
 unfortunate wretch as I am, I have lost all this 
 eternally, for mere sloth, for want of a little striving 
 for it. Am I not worthy to undergo the pains I 
 suffer, though they were a thousand times more 
 rigorous and intolerable ? ” I do not wonder that 
 divines affirm this heart-breaking to be far worse 
 than the privation of the sight of God : for to this 
 they can find some ease and comfort; but the other 
 is altogether inconsolable, since it is purely through 
 their own faults. 
 
 You may imagine all the virtues to come in upon 
 this; and either voluntarily, or by a sweet kind of 
 violence, to set upon these captive souls, with a new 
 and fierce storm of reproaches. 
 
 Faith. If you believed there was a Purgatory, 
 indeed, miserable creature! why did you not live so 
 as to avoid its cruel torments ? 
 
 Hope. If you aimed to gain Paradise, why did 
 you play the fool, so as to amuse yourself with such 
 trifles, and to lose so much precious time in them ? 
 
 Charity. Oh, how well have you deserved to 
 burn in these flames, since you often scorned to 
 burn with mine, and to serve God with a heart all 
 inflamed with Divine fire; burn, then, at leisure, 
 and die here for shame; since there was a time 
 thou wouldst neither live nor die with sacred and 
 holy love. 
 
 Penance. Is it you that were so frightened with 
 my rigours, so terrified with my sweet austerities, 
 with which I would have preserved you from these 
 
ALL THE VIRTUES REPROACH THE SOULS. 155 
 
 cruel torments ? Tell me now, where are your 
 damask beds, your soft quilts, your down pillows, 
 your fine sheets, that were smoother and whiter 
 than milk and cream ? your sweet bags and per¬ 
 fumes, all your dainties, all your vanities, all that 
 modish attire and bravery, 1 which did so besot and 
 enchant you ? One sigh, one tear, one act of self- 
 denial, would have kept you out of this place of 
 torments; answer me now, and let me hear what 
 you have to say for yourself. 
 
 Prudence. Foolish and senseless soul! how came 
 you so to lose your wits, and even common sense 
 too; as, knowing the rigour of these flames, to use 
 no caution to prevent them ? Oh, how well are 
 these horrid punishments bestowed! This vile 
 creature was so simple as to believe that, continu¬ 
 ally offending God, without making Him amends 
 for it in an honourable way, she should pass scot-free, 
 and supply for all with a slight peccavi , and so enter 
 into Heaven. What folly was this ? As if it were 
 a sufficient pretence to be wicked and rebellious, 
 because God is full of mercy. Sit still, then, at the 
 daily task of thy sufferings, and rather think of 
 doubling them : for it is meet that God should show 
 Himself to be God, as well by justice as by mercy; 
 and that both these Divine attributes should play 
 their parts in their turns. 
 
 Fortitude. How oft have I offered my service to 
 strengthen you, O you careless and lazy soul! How 
 oft have I offered to lend you my arm, my heart, and 
 all my invincible power, to support and bolster up 
 1 i.e. Rich and attractive dress. 
 
PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 156 
 
 your faint-heartedness and weakness: and you have 
 disdained to employ it! Now, when you are forced 
 to bear the heavy burthen of God’s just vengeance, 
 have I not just reason to withdraw my assistance ? 
 
 Temperance. I told you as much, long since; 
 that, for want of bridling your unruly passions, the 
 time would come when you would curse the hours 
 of all your excesses and disorders, without having 
 power to redeem them but by excessive torments. 
 Do you expect now, inconsiderate soul, that I 
 should pour out water upon your flames; you that 
 have ever slighted me ? 
 
 Thus all the holy choir of God’s darlings, the 
 innocent virtues, come one after another, and beat 
 upon this anvil, laying whole loads of most heavy 
 strokes upon this miserable soul: so that you cannot 
 well imagine what more grievous fortune can befall 
 her: insomuch that the soul, so oppressed with 
 evils, and so furiously battered on all sides with a 
 fresh supply of torments, is forced to cry out: 
 “ Miserable that I am, and a thousand times 
 miserable! am I not wretched enough, but must 
 the virtues themselves join their forces with my 
 frailties, to persecute me, and complete my misery ? 
 How long, alas! how long will you thus cruelly 
 combine to undo me? you, Love, and you, Grief; 
 you, by a thousand sweets, and you, by a thousand 
 severities; you, by flattering my pains, and you, by 
 redoubling them ; you, by showing me life, and you, 
 by showing me death; you, by estranging me from 
 Paradise, and you, by conducting me to the very 
 gates of Hell; you, by sweet expostulations, and 
 
ALL THE VIRTUES REPROACH THE SOULS. 157 
 
 you, by bitter reproaches, which go to my very 
 heart ? How long, I say once more, will you be 
 so cruelly kind, as to join your forces to embitter 
 the martyrdom of a poor creature, now grown to be 
 the most miserable wretch under Heaven ? Forbear; 
 at length, forbear! it is not fit the severity of God's 
 justice should eclipse all the rays of His infinite 
 mercy! ” 
 
 All were lost, 1 if the opinion of some were true, 
 who will needs have the devils play the executioners 
 in Purgatory. Lord, what a terrible war would 
 these wicked apostates raise against the holy souls, 
 who are, erelong, to take possession of the places 
 which they have lost in Heaven! With what a 
 rage would they assault them, and wreak their 
 barbarous fury upon them, were they to be treated 
 at their mercy! But I had rather follow the opinion 
 of others, 2 who, with far more reason, methinks, 
 believe that the devils have no power to do them 
 the least mischief. Tell me, what good would they 
 get by it ? since the souls can neither offend God, 
 nor lose Paradise; which is the only butt against 
 which the devils level their whole malice. Origen 
 fancied 3 the devil to be so sullenly proud, that 
 having been once foiled by a soul, he will never 
 after come near it, nor have anything more to do 
 with it. If this be so, the devils will beware how 
 they come near Purgatory, where there are so many 
 
 1 i.e.. We should, indeed, have reached the most terrible con¬ 
 sideration which the thought of Purgatory could furnish. 
 
 2 St. Thomas, in 4. d. 20 et 21; Suarez, d. 46, sec. 3. 
 
 8 The author rightly puts this opinion among the “fancies” 
 of that great but erring mind. 
 
158 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 victorious souls. Besides, we may suppose that 
 God will not permit it; nor can we see what good 
 can arise thence to God’s glory. Possibly, also, 
 these punishments which the devils would inflict, 
 might shorten the term of the soul’s durance; and 
 this may be the cause why they are loth to meddle 
 with them, lest they send them so much the sooner 
 into Heaven. However, some of the learned 1 think 
 that these souls, bordering so near upon Hell, may 
 very probably see the devils and the damned souls, 
 and hear their most execrable blasphemies; and 
 that this is no small addition to their pains, to hear 
 their good God, Whom they entirely love, to be 
 incessantly cursed, blasphemed, and renounced by 
 those devilish and sacrilegious spirits. St. Catharine 
 of Siena was heard to say, she had rather suffer all 
 the torments of Hell, than hear one blasphemy 
 against God, for Whom she had so much cordial 
 love, and Who is of Himself so lovely. I confess, 
 this is a sweet kind of torment, as proceeding from 
 supernatural and Divine love; but I maintain, 
 withal, that it is a torment, and a most grievous 
 one: because, though the arrows of love are gilded 
 over, or made of pure gold, yet they are as sharp- 
 pointed, and as piercing to the quick, as those of 
 grief, though they be of steel. 
 
 Confusion is one of the most intolerable evils 
 which can befall a soul: and therefore St. Paul, 2 
 speaking of our Blessed Saviour, insists much upon 
 this, that He had the courage, and the love for us 
 all, to overcome the pain of a horrible confusion, 
 
 1 Suarez, sec. n. io. 2 Hebrews xii. 2. 
 
ALL THE VIRTUES REPROACH THE SOULS. 159 
 
 which doubtless is an insupportable evil, to a man 
 of intelligence and courage. Tell me, then, if you 
 can, what a burning shame, and what a terrible 
 confusion it must needs be to those noble and 
 generous souls, to behold themselves overwhelmed 
 with a confused chaos of fire, and such a base fire, 
 which affords no other light but a sullen glimmering, 
 choked up with a sulphureous and stinking smoke, 
 and in the interim to know that the souls of many 
 country clowns, mere idiots, poor women and simple 
 religious persons, go straight up to Heaven, whilst 
 they lie there burning: they, that were so knowing, 
 so rich, and so wise; they that were councillors 
 to kings, eminent preachers of God’s Word, and 
 renowned oracles in the world; they that were so 
 great divines, so great statesmen, so capable of high 
 employments. This confusion is much heightened 
 by their further knowing how easily they might 
 have avoided all this, and would not. Sometimes 
 they would have given whole mountains of gold to 
 be rid of a stone in the kidneys, or a fit of the gout, 
 colic, or burning fever. And for a handful of silver 
 they might have redeemed many years’ torments in 
 that fiery furnace; and, alas ! they chose rather to 
 give it to their dogs and their horses, and some¬ 
 times to men more beasts than they, and much 
 more unworthy. Methinks, this thought must be 
 more vexing than the fire itself, though never so 
 grievous. 
 
 And yet there remains one thought more, which 
 certainly has a great share in completing their 
 martyrdom: and that is, the remembrance of their 
 
PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 160 
 
 children or heirs, which they left behind them ; who 
 swim in nectar and live jollily on the goods which 
 they purchased with the sweat of their brows, and 
 yet are so ungrateful, so brutish, and so barbarous 
 that they will scarce vouchsafe to say a Pater nosier 
 in a whole month for their souls who brought them 
 into the world; and who, to place them in a 
 terrestrial paradise of all worldly delights, made a 
 hard venture of their own souls, and had like to 
 have exchanged a temporal punishment for an 
 eternal. The remnants and superfluities of their 
 lackeys, a throw of dice, and yet less than that, 
 might have set them free from these hellish torments; 
 and these wicked, ungrateful wretches would not so 
 much as think on it. 
 
 § 4 .—How long the souls are detained in Purgatory. 
 
 If all these punishments passed away like a 
 tempest, if the time of their continuance were 
 but short, their case were not so deplorable. But 
 how long, think you, does a soul dwell in Purgatory ? 
 First, it is most certain, that these pains are not 
 eternal; otherwise, it were not Purgatory, but Hell 
 itself: for in this chiefly lies the difference between 
 Hell and Purgatory, that the pains of Purgatory 
 last but for a time; those of Hell, for an eternity. 
 Again, it is most certain, that they survive not the 
 Day of Judgment; and St. Augustine 1 proves it 
 evidently: because then all souls are to receive their 
 last doom, and be immoveably fixed in an eternity 
 of good or evil. Thirdly, it is most certain, that all 
 
 1 St. Augustine, De Civit. c. 16. 
 
HOW LONG ARE SOULS DETAINED? 
 
 161 
 
 the souls shall not be there punished equally, neither 
 for extent of time nor proportion of torment: for, 
 as their crimes were not equal, so the punishment 
 cannot be equal, where justice bears the sway. 
 Fourthly, it is also certain, says the learned and 
 judicious Suarez, 1 after others, that we must not 
 apply the revelations of certain devout persons to 
 all the souls in Purgatory: but rather ought to be 
 very reserved in this kind, and not easily to give 
 credit to all such stories which pass for revelations; 
 for though God, in His secret judgments, may be 
 pleased to punish some disloyal souls after a parti¬ 
 cular manner, yet must we take heed how we draw 
 general conclusions from particular cases. For 
 since private revelations are not articles of faith, we 
 must be very cautious, and proceed warily in this 
 matter; especially where we see such kind of reve¬ 
 lations seemingly to clash one against another. We 
 must therefore pass by such extraordinary cases, 
 and honour them with due respect; but not build 
 so much upon them as to draw thence universal 
 maxims. Wherefore in this place I mean not to 
 speak but of the common and ordinary style of 
 God’s providence ; laying aside all particular visions, 
 and personal exemplary punishments, which God 
 has reserved to Himself. Now, there have been 
 some so bold as to maintain that all the souls lie 
 in Purgatory but a few hours, and are then quit and 
 released of their pains. Their grounds are : First, 
 because the pains may be so doubled, and screwed 
 up to such a height, as to equal any extension of 
 
 1 Suarez, d. 46, sec. 4, n. 6. 
 
 L 
 
162 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 pain whatsoever. Secondly, because the souls there 
 do exercise such acts of love, and other sublime 
 virtues, all which conspire to purify these poor 
 creatures, so that the business is soon despatched. 
 Were this true, it were very good news; but the 
 mischief is, that most divines censure this assertion 
 as too bold and temerarious: and, in truth, it has 
 very little or no probability, and were a way in 
 effect 1 to destroy Purgatory; since we may cut off 
 half of those few hours they speak of, by redoubling 
 the pains, and another half of these by redoubling 
 them again, and so go on, still halving the time, by 
 doubling the pains, till we reduce them to a quarter 
 of an hour, or half a quarter, or possibly to an 
 instant, or so little durance as to be scarce begun 
 but ended. Which kind of Purgatory, though it 
 may be the case with those .souls which depart 
 immediately before the Day of Judgment, when 
 the intensity of the pain must supply for the extent 
 of time which will be then wanting, forasmuch 
 there is to be no more Purgatory after that general 
 accounting Day—yet to apply it commonly to other 
 souls, where there is no need of such subtleties, 
 would be confounding all things. It is the ordinary 
 course of God’s justice to proceed by degrees; and, 
 therefore, there must be a competent time allotted 
 for those punishments. And this is the general 
 belief of the Church, that the souls are kept there 
 for a time, some more, some less, each one accord¬ 
 ing to his desert; and though perhaps some choice 
 souls do but, as it were, kiss the gates of Purgatory, 
 
 1 i.e. Would be, in fact, a method to destroy, &c. 
 
HOW LONG ARE SOULS DETAINED? 
 
 163 
 
 ;and rather feel the smoke than the fire, yet the 
 greater part of them lie there for some considerable 
 time, to satisfy the sweet rigour of Divine justice. 
 I am not ignorant that some great divines have 
 believed, that if a soul stay there for a year or two, 
 it is all. For, say they, how can you require more 
 •of them than to be two years miserably tormented 
 in a burning furnace ? That which here might have 
 been redeemed with a tear of true contrition, or 
 with a sigh of ardent charity, can it not be purged 
 with flames of fire in two whole years in the other 
 world ? The most barbarous cruelty in this life 
 is scarce ever seen to reach beyond a few hours: 
 •and what shall we then say of two years in 
 Purgatory, which are, as it were, two ages, or two 
 little eternities, so great are the torments ? Shall 
 it not be enough to purify the most unclean soul 
 in the world, so she be in the state of grace ? But 
 yet this opinion is not received in the Church; 
 and it is a great madness to attempt anything 
 contrary to the common judgment of the Church 
 and her learned Doctors. 
 
 Sotus held a singular opinion of his own ; 1 that 
 no soul remains in Purgatory above ten years. For, 
 ;said he, we must set some bounds to the rigour of 
 God’s justice, Who doth all things in number, weight, 
 and measure, and is said to dispose all things 
 sweetly. And is not ten years of most bitter pains 
 a great number, a grievous weight, and an over¬ 
 flowing measure ? to say nothing of so many 
 prayers, so many Masses, so many tears, so many 
 
 1 Sec. in 4, d. 17, q. 3. 
 
164 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 privileged altars, and Plenary Indulgences; so 
 many alms and other good deeds of the living; 
 and then the most powerful intercession of the 
 whole Court of Heaven, but especially of our 
 Blessed Lady, and her Beloved Son, Who is the 
 Attorney-General of the whole Church, and Who 
 pleads for it with His most persuasive and Divine 
 rhetoric. Yet for all this, I must tell you, many 
 divines lay heavy censures upon this opinion, not 
 hesitating to call it, not only temerarious but also 
 erroneous; and the common sense of the Church is 
 quite contrary, as appears by the immemorial custom 
 of perpetual foundations of set Masses, to be yearly 
 said, for such particular persons, and to continue to 
 the world’s end; all which would be needless, if 
 Almighty God put a period to their punishments 
 after ten years; for to what purpose are those 
 Masses after the ten years are expired ? And, 
 though the most learned of this age will not take 
 upon them to condemn this opinion as erroneous, 
 yet they all accuse it of much temerity; because, in 
 truth, this whole business is very uncertain, as being 
 a secret locked up in the cabinet of God Himself, 
 and letters sealed up, which our Saviour would not 
 hitherto open to His Spouse the Church; so that, 
 whilst it remains in the nature of a secret, we must 
 not presume to define anything precisely. Only 
 this we know, that many souls do but touch Purga¬ 
 tory, as it were with their finger, and away; others 
 lie there whole hours, days, months, and years: 
 and, as we are not easily to credit those visions, 
 which threaten the souls in Purgatory, with a con- 
 
HOW LONG ARE SOULS DETAINED? 
 
 165 
 
 tinuance of their torments until the Last Day, so 
 are we to believe that God can well punish some of 
 them so long, that the space of ten years, in com¬ 
 parison, should seem little or nothing to it. Hence 
 it is a very laudable and pious custom to found 
 Masses in perpetuity; because, alas, who knows 
 whether he may not be in the number of those 
 unfortunate souls who are to be kept there so long ? 
 How few know truly the state of their own souls, 
 and the debts they are to pay to the severity of our 
 most just Judge! He is, indeed, full of clemency; 
 but such as is ever accompanied with an impartial 
 justice, worthy of God. I may add here, that the 
 piety of the founders looks not only upon the releas¬ 
 ing of their own souls out of torments, which they 
 are assured will have an end sooner or later; but 
 they open their hearts and bowels of charity, and 
 extend it to others, who from time to time shall be 
 in Purgatory, and, very possibly, have nobody to 
 remember them in their devotions. This certainly is 
 a work of charity, well becoming a good Catholic and 
 a well-disposed soul: to provide so as to co-operate, 
 even after his death, to the help and salvation of 
 other souls, and to be ever and anon sending some 
 into Heaven, by antedating the time of their deliver¬ 
 ance, and increasing the number of the glorious 
 Saints. Meantime, what an inconsolable grief is it 
 to the poor souls to see themselves plunged, over 
 head and ears, in flames of fire; and condemned to 
 remain there ten, twenty, a hundred years, and 
 perhaps to the world’s end, if their friends upon 
 earth do not afford them their best assistance ? 
 
166 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 There are some few of late are fallen so far into 
 the contrary extreme, that they cannot afford that a 
 soul, once in Purgatory, should ever get out before 
 the Day of Judgment. But as this strange paradox 
 took its rise chiefly from a false apprehension of the 
 nature of a spiritual substance, and other wild 
 principles of a newly-minted philosophy, so is it 
 generally cried down, and contradicted by many 
 known apparitions and revelations, which the reader 
 will meet with in this treatise, attested by such 
 weighty authors and Fathers of the Church, that 
 he has little reason to suspect them for old wives* 
 tales or melancholy dreams, as these men would 
 have them. It seems, moreover, to have been 
 blasted long ago, and condemned in a particular 
 Bull of Pope Benedict XI., and in the holy Council 
 of Florence, 1 where it was expressly defined, that 
 “ those souls which, after they have contracted the 
 blemish of sin, are ” purged “ either in their bodies, 
 or being unclothed of their bodies, are ” presently 
 “ received into Heaven.” And since the author of 
 this extravagance will have tradition to be the sole 
 rule of our faith (of which tradition we have no 
 clearer proof than from the testimony of the 
 Church), let him but look into the general doctrine 
 and practice of the Church, both now at this 
 present, and time out of mind, and he shall discover 
 as clear a tradition for this common persuasion of 
 the souls being released out of Purgatory, some 
 sooner, some later, according to their own deserts 
 and the relief of our suffrages, as for any other thing 
 1 In Bullar. Rom. Cone. Flor. in lit. Unionis, art. 4. 
 
HOW LONG ARE SOULS DETAINED? 
 
 167 
 
 in the world. Do not good people generally ground 
 themselves upon this, when they offer up their 
 prayers, give alms, procure Masses and dirges, 
 apply Indulgences, for the present relief of their 
 deceased friends ? Is not the whole practice of 
 Christians, in all that concerns their piety to the 
 faithful departed, built so wholly upon this, that 
 were it not true, we must conclude that the whole 
 Catholic Church has been all along fooled by her 
 pastors and doctors? Who has ever hitherto so 
 much as fancied it in a dream, that his suffrages for 
 the dead were to be of no greater advantage to 
 them, than so far forth as they had power to 
 advance the time appointed for the Day of Judg¬ 
 ment ? which, for my part, I apprehend so coldly, 
 that, did I not rely upon better motives, I should 
 soon lay aside all devotion for the souls departed. 
 
 But I mean not here to dispute the question, since 
 this treatise is not intended so much in a polemical 
 as in an affectuous and moving way. And therefore 
 I leave it for others, who have already entered the 
 lists, and are engaged in the quarrel. And so I take 
 no notice how it may consist with God’s impartial 
 justice that, whereas many souls may leave this 
 world in the same condition as to Purgatory, that 
 is, in this author’s opinion, with the same burden 
 of depraved affections, some of them shall lie a 
 thousand years in Purgatory, to wit, those that die 
 a thousand years before the Day of Judgment; and 
 others but a day, or an hour, or a moment, to wit, 
 those that die immediately before that general 
 reckoning day. For, since he acknowledges no 
 
168 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 other pain in Purgatory but that which flows from 
 the said crooked inclinations and affections bent 
 against reason, which I suppose to be the same in 
 all, why should some of them (as must necessarily 
 follow on these principles) shake them off so soon, 
 and others groan so long under them ? Again, I say 
 nothing how harshly it sounds in a Christian's ear 
 that a holy soul in the other world should not only 
 still pursue the same wicked inclinations, for example, 
 to drunkenness, gluttony, and carnality, which it had 
 in this life, but that this should be its only punish¬ 
 ment. Neither do I say how, in this opinion, great 
 sinners, that die immediately after baptism (who 
 certainly go directly into Heaven), must needs carry 
 their Purgatory with them into Heaven. 1 For, since 
 it is evident that Baptism does not blot out their 
 perverse inclinations, they cannot be dispossessed 
 of them, but must of necessity carry them into the 
 other world, as well as others; and consequently 
 must have their Purgatory in Heaven: Purgatory 
 being nothing else, in this author’s opinion, but the 
 inherent strife and fury of such irrational affections. 
 I pass by a world of other absurdities: because my 
 aim, as I told you, in publishing this treatise, is not 
 to canvass curious and impertinent questions of 
 Purgatory, but to move the reader to a solid devo¬ 
 tion for the poor souls, which I fear is not a little 
 cooled since these fond opinions came to light. 
 
 But now, methinks, I hear my reader very 
 inquisitive to know— 
 
 1 Trid. Sess. 14, c. 2 ; Flor. Act. 4 cit. 
 
DO PURGATORY PAINS GROW LESS? 
 
 169 
 
 § 5 -—Whether their pains grow less and less. 
 
 It is pity to see, sometimes, how your greatest 
 divines are entangled and lost in their over-subtle 
 speculations. As for the pain of loss, which the 
 souls endure by being deprived of the sight of God, 
 they agree that it is daily much lessened; for, 
 seeing the time draw nearer in which they are to 
 be made happy with the sight of God, Whom they 
 love so ardently, it exceedingly rejoices them, and 
 certainly cannot but much sweeten, and conse¬ 
 quently lessen their pains, by the frequent repetitions 
 of that devout aspiration, which St. Teresa was 
 wont to use, when she heard the clock strike: 
 “ O lovely hour, how dost thou rejoice me, by 
 bringing me the welcome news that I am now a 
 whole hour nearer to the sight of God! ” For a 
 heart that loves cannot but be overjoyed to know 
 that he approaches to the fair Object of his love, 
 though it be but a moment nearer. But as for the 
 pain of sense, your Doctors are divided; some hold 
 that, as regards the continuance, that is certainly 
 shortened every day by the day which is past, 
 which is evident; and in particular, that the prayers 
 of the faithful obtain from God an abridgment of 
 the length of the time which He assigned for their 
 punishment; so that the more one prays for the 
 souls, the more is cut off of the time of their 
 suffering, which by that means becomes the more 
 tolerable. But as for the sharpness and intenseness 
 of the pain, and the action or activity of the fire, 
 that is as grievous in the last moment as at the 
 
170 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 first, and as painful in the end as at the beginning 
 of their Purgatory. And they would comfort the 
 souls hereby, as if this were best for them; because 
 the greater the pains are which they endure, the 
 sooner are they purged and made worthy to enjoy 
 the presence of God. Others teach, that both the 
 pain and the time are continually lessened, accord¬ 
 ing to the proportion of the relief which they receive 
 from the suffrages of the Church. And why not ? 
 since God’s goodness is so great, such is the desire 
 of the Church that begs it, and the tears of the 
 faithful pretend to no less; and we must not 
 consider the fire as an element working naturally, 
 and equally at all times, but rather as an instrument 
 of God’s justice. Who gives it more or less force 
 and power to work upon the souls as He pleases. 
 Why should Almighty God, Who is so loving a 
 Father, refuse to give this relief, at the earnest suit 
 of children, in behalf of their parents, brothers, 
 sisters, and dearest friends; I say, at their instance, 
 who are so sensible of their torments, and so much 
 concerned for their ease and relief? I willingly 
 embrace this opinion, as more worthy of the bowels 
 of mercy, more sympathizing with the Heart of 
 Christ Jesus, and better suiting with the prayers of 
 the Church and the sighs of Christians. And 
 certainly, none can better clear this difficulty than 
 the souls themselves who feel the pains we speak 
 of; and these have often, by God’s permission, 
 appeared to their friends and devout persons, and 
 borne witness for this truth, that their pains were 
 still lessened as they received new succour from 
 
A NOTABLE EXAMPLE. 
 
 171 
 
 the pious endeavours of their friends upon earth, 
 until they came at last to cease and reach their 
 term. And we must not here be too nice and hard 
 of belief; for, as it is an argument of too much 
 rashness and folly, to give credit to all pretended 
 visions, of what nature soever, so it argues too 
 much brutishness and profaneness to believe none, 
 especially when they are authorized by the Church, 
 and by persons of authority and credit beyond 
 exception: so that we must either believe them, or 
 believe nothing in this world. 
 
 § 6 .—A notable example in confirmation of all the 
 
 preceding doctrine. 
 
 Before I leave off finishing this picture, or put 
 a period to the representation of the pains of 
 Purgatory, I cannot but relate a very remarkable 
 history, which will be as a living picture before 
 your eyes. But be sure you take it not to be of 
 the number of those idle stories which pass for old 
 wives’ tales, or mere imaginations of cracked brains 
 and simple souls. No: I will tell you nothing but 
 what Venerable Bede, so grave an author, witnesses 
 to have happened in his time, and to have been 
 generally believed all over England, without contra¬ 
 diction ; and to have been the cause of wonderful 
 effects: and which is so authentical that Cardinal 
 Bellarmine, a man of such judgment as the world 
 knows, having related it himself, concludes thus : 
 “ For my part I firmly believe this history, as very 
 conformable to the Holy Scripture, and whereof I 
 can have no doubt without wronging truth, and 
 
IJ2 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 wounding my own conscience, which ought readily 
 to yield assent unto that which is attested by so 
 many and so credible witnesses, and confirmed by 
 such holy and admirable events.” 
 
 About the year of our Lord 690, a certain 
 Englishman, in the county of Northumberland, by 
 name Brithelmus, being dead for a time, was con¬ 
 ducted to the place of Purgatory by a guide, whose 
 countenance and apparel was full of light: you may 
 imagine it was his good angel. Here he was shown 
 two broad valleys of a vast and infinite length, one 
 full of glowing firebrands and terrible flames, the 
 other as full of hail, ice, and snow; and in both 
 these were innumerable souls, who, as with a whirl¬ 
 wind, were tossed up and down out of the intolerable 
 scorching flames, into the insufferable rigours of 
 cold, and out of these into those again, without a 
 moment of repose or respite. This he took to be 
 Hell, so frightful were those torments; but his good 
 angel told him no, it was Purgatory, where the souls 
 did penance for their sins, and especially such as 
 had deferred their conversion until the hour of 
 death : and that many of them were set free before 
 the Day of Judgment, for the good prayers, alms, 
 and fasts of the living, and chiefly by the Holy 
 Sacrifice of the Mass. Now this holy man, being 
 raised again from death to life by the power of God, 
 first made a faithful relation of all that he had seen, 
 to the great amazement of the hearers, then retired 
 himself into the church, and spent the whole night 
 in prayer; and soon after, gave away his whole - 
 estate, partly to his wife and children, partly to the. 
 
A NOTABLE EXAMPLE. 
 
 173 
 
 poor, and taking upon him the habit and profession 
 of a monk, led so austere a life, that even if his 
 tongue had been silent, yet his life and conversation 
 spake aloud what wonders he had seen in the other 
 world. Sometimes they would see him, old as he 
 was, in freezing water up to the ears, praying and 
 singing with much sweetness and incredible fervour ; 
 and if they asked him, “ Brother, alas ! how can 
 you suffer so much sharp and biting cold ? ” “ O my 
 friends,” would he say, “ I have seen other manner 
 of cold than this.” Thus, when he even groaned 
 under the voluntary burden of a world of most 
 cruel mortifications, and was questioned how it was 
 possible for a weak and broken body like his to 
 undergo such austerities, “ Alas, my dear brethren,” 
 would he still say, “ I have seen far greater austeri¬ 
 ties than these: they are but roses and perfumes 
 in comparison of what I have seen in the subter¬ 
 raneous lakes of Purgatory.” And in these kinds of 
 austerities he spent the remainder of his life, and 
 made a holy end, and purchased an eternal Paradise, 
 for having had but a sight of the pains of Purgatory. 
 And we, dear Christians, if we believed in good 
 earnest, or could but once procure to have a true 
 sight or apprehension of them, should certainly 
 have other thoughts, and live in another fashion, 
 than we do. 
 
THE SECOND SURVEY. 
 
 A GLIMPSE OF THE PARADISE OF PURGATORY , OR OF 
 THE INEFFABLE JOYS AND HEAVENLY CONSOLA¬ 
 TIONS OF THE SOULS THERE. 
 
 I do not style that the paradise of Purgatory which 
 some have fancied, as if the souls, having almost 
 clean cancelled out all those impurities which 
 they here contracted, were to be conveyed into a 
 terrestrial Paradise or a most delicious garden of 
 pleasure, smiling with a Divine amenity, there to 
 dispose themselves the better to see God, without 
 suffering any pain of sense. For, although this 
 fancy may appear to have something of piety, yet 
 has it little or nothing of solidity ; and I am resolved 
 to lay down nothing here that is not very massive, 
 solid, and substantially well grounded. Now, the 
 Council of Florence 1 seems to take away all credit 
 from this opinion of a terrestrial Paradise; and 
 so, down goes all that goodly fabric built in the 
 air. For, says the Council, either the souls are 
 quite purged, and, if so, they are immediately 
 received into Heaven and made worthy to behold 
 God, or they want still more purging and refining, 
 and they are still like to lie by it in Purgatory. 
 
THE PARADISE OF PURGATORY. 
 
 175 
 
 From whence it clearly follows, that the souls 
 departed can have no time left them to entertain 
 themselves in those pleasant gardens and sweet 
 breathings, which these so much magnify. 
 
 Wherefore, under the notion of the paradise 
 of Purgatory, I understand the excessive joys of 
 these captive souls, the incomparable acts of their 
 will and understanding, and the continual favours 
 showered down upon them from Heaven, even 
 amidst their most cruel torments. 
 
 § 1 .—How these excessive joys can he consistent with 
 their unspeakable torments. 
 
 To make this good, we must first suppose that 
 the actions of a soul disengaged from the body are 
 quite of a different nature from those which she 
 exercises while she is chained to a lump of flesh, 
 drowned in blood and other humours, kept in 
 thraldom by her tyrannical passions and brutish 
 affections, overburdened with deadly frights and 
 fears, and leading a kind of slavish and miserable 
 life. Tertullian came near the mark, when he 
 compared a soul in this world to a coachman that 
 is to guide four unruly horses without reins; a 
 soldier that has his sword in his hands, but his 
 arms tied; a swift courser that would run, but is 
 tethered; a bird that would fly, but has his wings 
 clammed up with bird-lime. Now, when the soul 
 is once set free from this bondage, and lives at 
 liberty, this coachman drives, this soldier strikes, 
 this .courser runs, this bird flies, and this soul 
 does what she pleases, without control. Besides, 
 
iy6 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 that which makes the actions of a soul in this 
 life to be so weak and imperfect is the necessary 
 dependence which she has on the body, into which 
 she is so ingrafted that she seems to be but one and 
 the self-same thing with it. If the body be oppressed 
 with pain, the soul is so deeply plunged in it, she can 
 think of nothing else; you must work a miracle to 
 make her have so much as a good thought or give 
 you a good word; she is grown so lumpish, you 
 would think her whole spirit were resolved into 
 flesh. And this may be the reason why the Holy 
 Scripture so often compares men to beasts; as, to 
 lions, foxes, and the like: because their souls 
 become brutish, by following the dictates and 
 motions of their sensual and animal appetites. 
 
 But you must observe, that all this happens 
 while a soul is left to herself and her own natural 
 strength; for when the Divine Goodness is pleased 
 to furnish her with plenty of grace even in this 
 world, as wicked as it is, this grace has such an 
 ascendency over nature, and breathes such spirit 
 and vigour into a soul, that she can wrestle with 
 all difficulties and remove all obstacles, nay, though 
 the body be borne down and sunk into the very 
 centre of misery, yet can she still hold up her head, 
 and steer her course towards Heaven. 
 
 Now, would you clearly see how the souls can at 
 the same instant swim in a paradise of delights and 
 yet be overwhelmed with the hellish torments of 
 Purgatory ? Cast your eyes upon the holy martyrs 
 of God’s Church, and observe their behaviour. 
 They were torn, mangled, dismembered, flayed 
 
JOYS CONSISTENT WITH TORMENT. 
 
 177 
 
 alive, racked, broiled, burnt—and tell me, was not 
 this to live in a kind of Hell ? And yet, in the very 
 height of their torments their hearts and souls were 
 ready to leap for joy; you would have taken them 
 to be already transported into Heaven. Hear them 
 but speak for themselves. “ O lovely Cross,” cried 
 out St. Andrew, “ made beautiful by the precious 
 Body of Christ, how long have I desired thee, and 
 with what care have I sought thee ! and now that 
 I have found thee, receive me into thy arms, and 
 lift me up to my dear Redeemer! O death , 1 how 
 amiable art thou in my eyes, and how sweet is thy 
 cruelty!” “Your coals,” says St. Cecily, “your 
 flaming firebrands, and all the terrors of death, are 
 to me but as so many fragrant roses and lilies, sent 
 from Heaven.” “ Shower down upon me,” cried 
 St. Stephen, “whole deluges of stones, whilst I see 
 the heavens open and Jesus Christ standing at the 
 right hand of His Eternal Father, to behold the 
 fidelity of His champion.” “Turn,” exclaimed 
 St. Laurence, “ oh, turn the other side, thou cruel 
 tyrant! this is already broiled, and cooked fit for 
 thy palate. Oh, how well am I pleased to suffer 
 this little purgatory for the love of my Saviour.” 
 “ Make haste, O my soul,” cried St. Agnes, “ to 
 cast thyself upon the bed of flames which thy^ 
 dear Spouse has prepared for thee.” “ Oh,” cried 
 St. Felicitas, and the mother of the Machabees, 
 “ oh, that I had a thousand children, or a thousand 
 lives, to sacrifice them all to my God. What a 
 
 1 From the author’s text, it seems doubtful whether this sentenc 
 is to be attributed to St. Andrew or to St. Caecilia. 
 
 M 
 
178 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 pleasure it is to suffer for so good a cause! ” 
 “ Welcome tyrants, tigers, lions,” writes St. Ignatius 
 the Martyr; “let all the torments that the devils 
 can invent come upon me, so I may enjoy my 
 Saviour. I am the wheat of Christ; oh, let me be 
 ground with the lions’ teeth. Now I begin indeed 
 to be the disciple of Christ.” “ Oh, the happy 
 stroke of a sword,” might St. Paul well exclaim, 
 “that no sooner cuts off my head, but it makes 
 a breach for my soul to enter into Heaven. Let it 
 be far from me to glory in anything but in the 
 Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let all evils band 
 against me, and let my body be never so overloaded 
 with afflictions, the joy of my heart will be sure to 
 have the mastery, and my soul will be still replen¬ 
 ished with such heavenly consolations that no 
 words, nor even thoughts, are able to express it.” 
 
 You may imagine, then, that the souls, once 
 unfettered from the body, may, together with their 
 torments, be capable of great comforts and Divine 
 favours, and break forth into resolute, heroical, and 
 even supercelestial acts. The Holy Ghost tells us, 
 that “ the corruptible body is a load upon the soul, 
 and the earthly habitation presseth down the mind 
 that museth upon many things .” 1 So that a soul, 
 by the infirmities of the body, is violently kept from 
 the free exercise of her functions; whereas, if the 
 body were supple, pliable, and willing to follow the 
 persuasions of a resolute and generous soul, or the 
 inspirations with which she is plentifully supplied 
 from above, what might we not be able to do, even 
 
 1 Wisdom ix. 15. 
 
GROUNDS OF COMFORT. 
 
 179 
 
 in this life? Now, that which is not done here but 
 by very few, who are looked upon as so many 
 miracles and prodigies of men, is easily performed 
 by those separate holy souls, who are in the very 
 porch of Heaven, assured of their salvation. Lastly, 
 would you have a most perfect exemplar and idea 
 of this wonderful combination of joys and griefs in 
 one single person ? You may clearly see it in the 
 most sacred Person of our Blessed Saviour, Who, 
 in the midst of His bitter Passion, and in the very 
 height of His Agony and extreme dereliction, when 
 He not only seemed to have been abandoned by 
 His Eternal Father, but had even abandoned and 
 forsaken Himself, by miraculously withholding the 
 superior part of His blessed Soul from relieving and 
 assisting the inferior, yet even then had all the 
 comforts of Heaven, and saw God face to face, and 
 consequently was at the self-same time most happy 
 by the fruition of the beatifical vision: and yet so 
 oppressed with griefs, that He cried out Himself, 
 “ My Soul is sorrowful unto death; ” and again, 
 ** O My God, alas! why hast Thou thus forsaken 
 Me! ” Conceive something like unto this of 
 the souls in Purgatory, who are most miserably 
 tormented, and yet replenished with heavenly 
 comforts. 
 
 § 2 .—Two grounds of their comforts ; the double assurance 
 they have : of their salvation and impeccability. 
 
 The better to unfold you this riddle, I must tell 
 you that possibly the most solid and powerful 
 ground of their comfort is the assurance of their 
 
iSo 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 eternal salvation, and that one day, when it shall 
 please God, they shall have their part in the joys of 
 Paradise. That which is the sorest affliction in this 
 life unto the most refined souls, in the greatest 
 torments, is the fear of offending God and making 
 an unhappy end, for want of the gift of perseverance, 
 of which none can be assured without a particular 
 revelation ; and so becoming the devil’s martyrs, 
 by purchasing one Hell with another. For, if an 
 angel should come down from Heaven and give this 
 infallible assurance unto an afflicted person, that 
 undoubtedly he shall be saved, as being one of the 
 choice number of the elect, certainly his very heart 
 would leap for joy; nor would the severest usage, 
 with death itself, and death represented in her most 
 frightful and ghastly attire, seem cruel or irksome 
 unto him, but exceeding welcome and pleasant. 
 When Almighty God was pleased once to reveal 
 unto St. Francis his eternal predestination, and to 
 seal him, as it were, a deed of gift of Paradise, this 
 seraph incarnate was so transported with an ecstasy 
 of joy, and so ravished out of himself, that for 
 eight days together he did nothing but go up and 
 down, crying out: “ Paradise, Paradise ! O my soul, 
 thou shalt have Paradise!” and had so quite lost 
 all memory of eating, drinking, sleeping, suffering, 
 living, dying, and all things else, as being inebriated 
 with the sweet remembrance of that comfortable 
 news of eternal bliss, that he was not at all sensible 
 of any oppression of nature, nor seemed to be the 
 least concerned for it. For, said he, what can 
 anything else signify to me, since I am one day 
 
GROUNDS OF COMFORT. 
 
 181 
 
 to have Paradise, with all the delights of Heaven ? 
 •Now, if we credit the holy Doctors of the Church, 
 and best divines of the Christian world, the souls in 
 Purgatory are most certain of their salvation . 1 For 
 no sooner is the soul departed this life, but she is 
 brought to a Particular Judgment, where she receives 
 an award of her eternal state of glory or confusion; 
 and from the mouth of God hears the irrevocable 
 sentence from which there is no appeal, no civil 
 request, no review of process, no writ of error: for 
 this decree of God’s justice must immediately be 
 put in execution. They say, further, that in the 
 same moment that a soul sees herself condemned to 
 Purgatory, she sees also the precise time prescribed 
 her to continue there, according to the ordinary 
 course of God’s justice. But whether she know 
 also, by Divine revelation, who will pray for her, 
 and what assistance in particular they will give her, 
 or how much will be cut off of the time determined 
 for her punishment, is a nicer question, which I 
 purposely leave untouched for others to exercise 
 their wits in, as they please: I make haste to take 
 up the thread of my discourse that I was letting 
 fall, in which I am to lay before your eyes the 
 ineffable joys of the souls in Purgatory, when they 
 seriously reflect upon the certainty of their salvation, 
 and how soon they shall be drowned in the Divinity, 
 and yet swim in an ocean of all heavenly comforts. 
 When Jacob knew for certain that he was to have 
 the fair Rachel, he was content to be espoused first 
 to Lia, though she was blear-eyed and ill-favoured; 
 
 1 Suarez, d. 47, sec. 3. 
 
PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 182 
 
 and, besides, a world of heats and colds, frights and 
 fears, and fourteen years’ toilsome service, seemed 
 scarce an hour to him: so much was his heart 
 enchanted with a holy love of his dearly beloved 
 Rachel; and so true it is, that for the enjoyment 
 of that which a soul loves in good earnest, she 
 makes no reckoning of fire and flames and a 
 thousand Purgatories. So that a soul that is con¬ 
 fident of one day espousing Rachel, that is, the 
 Church Triumphant, objects not to be first espoused 
 to Lia, that is, the Church Suffering, with all the 
 pains in Purgatory, so long as it shall please God; 
 and fourteen years are unto her but as an hour,, 
 such is the excess of her love to Heaven. “ Oh, 
 with what a good heart do I drink up my tears,” 
 said the royal Prophet , 1 “ when I remember I shall 
 pass into the heavenly tabernacle! were I to make 
 my passage thither through Hell itself, how willingly 
 would I run that way ? ” And to the same tune 
 cried out St. Chrysostom, with a masculine voice, 
 and a heart which was all heart: “ If I were to pass 
 through a thousand Hells, so I might in the end of 
 all meet with Paradise and my God, how pleasing 
 would these Hells seem unto me ! ” And certainly 
 there are infinite souls who would be ready to sign 
 it with their heart-blood, that they would be willing 
 to dwell in the flames of Purgatory till the Day of 
 Jud gment, upon condition of being sure of eternal 
 glory at the last; for, believe it, they that know 
 well the meaning of these four words, God, Eternity, 
 Glory, and Security, cannot but have a moderate. 
 
 1 Psalm xli. 3, 4. 
 
SURE OF SALVATION. 
 
 183 
 
 apprehension of Purgatory fire, be it never so hot 
 and furious. 
 
 Another heavenly comfort which rejoices these 
 happy souls in the midst of their torments, is an 
 infallible and certain assurance which they have, 
 that, although their pains be never so insupportable, 
 yet shall they never offend God, neither mortally 
 nor venially; nor show the least sign of impatience 
 or indignation. A true lover of God understands 
 this language; and, if he do not, he shall in a 
 moment learn it in Purgatory, and find by experi¬ 
 ence that a soul there had rather be plunged into 
 the deepest pit of Hell than be guilty of the least 
 voluntary misdemeanour. So that, seeing herself 
 to be grown impeccable, and that no evils can have 
 the power to make her offend God, and that all 
 impatience dies at the gates of Purgatory, from 
 whence all sins and human failings are quite 
 banished—O God, what a solid comfort must this 
 needs be unto her! The greatest affliction that 
 good people can have in the sufferings of this life, 
 is the fear of offending God, or to think that the 
 violence of their torments may make them subject 
 to break out into a thousand foolish expressions, 
 and to toss in their heads many foolish thoughts, 
 filling their imaginations with a world of chimeras 
 and idle fancies, or frightful objects; or, in a word, 
 because they apprehend either death, or sin, or the 
 loss of their merit and labour, or that God is angry 
 with them. For grief, with the devil’s help, strives 
 to snatch out of our hands the victorious palm 
 of our sufferings, or at least to make us stoop to 
 
184 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 * 
 
 some frailties and imperfections, which embitter our 
 hearts. And were it not for this just fear, Saints 
 would not fear the greatest evils they can endure in 
 this world. What a joy, then, must it be to these 
 holy innocent souls, to see themselves become 
 altogether impeccable ! The reason of this is 
 clear; because, the Particular Judgment being once 
 over, the final sentence is also pronounced, and the 
 soul is no longer in a capacity to merit or demerit, 
 nor so much as to satisfy by any voluntary sufferings 
 of her own, but only to submit to the sweet rigour 
 of God’s justice, Who has assigned such a proportion 
 of pains, answerable to her demerits, and so to clear 
 her conscience, and blot out the remainder of her 
 frailties and impurities. Make haste 1 to do well 
 before death, is the counsel of Almighty God ; for 
 the appointed time wherein to heap up treasures of 
 justice and merits is, before you appear in Judgment; 
 for after that, it will be too late. The very instant 
 that a soul leaves the body, according to God's law, 
 there is no more time for merit or demerit; and 
 therefore the souls that are sent into Purgatory are 
 most certain they shall never more commit the least 
 sin that can be imagined. When St. Antony was so 
 furiously assaulted with a whole rabble regiment of 
 devils, he was not greatly daunted at their hideous 
 shapes, terrible howlings, and rude blows; all his 
 fear was of offending God: he apprehended more 
 the strokes of impatience than all the wounds of 
 Hell; he called upon Christ for help, and having 
 obtained the favour of a personal visit, he made 
 
 1 Eccles. ix, 10. 
 
OTHER GROUNDS OF COMFORT. 
 
 185 
 
 Him this loving complaint and sweet expostula¬ 
 tion : 
 
 “O good Jesus! where were you, alas, where 
 were you even now, my dear Saviour, when your 
 enemies and mine conspired so cruelly against me ? 
 why came you no sooner to relieve me ? ” “I was 
 here,” replied Christ, “beholding thee, and preserv¬ 
 ing thy heart from sin.” “ If it be so,” said the 
 invincible hermit, “ do but assure me this, that I 
 shall not sin, and let Lucifer, with all his accursed 
 crew and hellish power, nay, let all the world 
 besides, band against me! Since my God stands 
 by me, and will secure me from offending Him, I 
 make nothing of all the rest. Pain is no more 
 pain ; Hell is no more a hell, but a mere paradise, 
 since it helps me to gain Paradise, which is worthy 
 to be purchased with a million of Hells.” 
 
 § 3 .—More grounds of comfort , arising from their 
 
 voluntary suffering , their disinterested love of God , 
 
 and exact conformity with His holy will. 
 
 In the next place, take this most sweet and 
 weighty consideration. An evil that is forced, and 
 against one's will, is a true evil indeed; the 
 constraint and violence it carries along with it, 
 embitters it above measure, and renders it insup¬ 
 portable : whereas, if the evil be voluntary, it is a 
 good evil, a lo\ely evil, an evil to be purchased at 
 any price. Witness the holy martyrs of God’s 
 Church, who, when they voluntarily shed their 
 blood, and with a good-will poured out their lives 
 for God’s cause, though at the cost of the most 
 
PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 186 
 
 inhuman torments imaginable, seemed to make 
 but little reckoning of the smart of them, as you 
 may observe by their conduct. For some of them 
 would put back the worms that were crept out of 
 their ulcerous sores, others kiss the burning coals, 
 and, by way of honour, place them on their heads. 
 This holy martyr embraces the gibbet, as if he took 
 it to be an easy ladder, whereby to mount up 
 straight into Heaven; another provokes tigers and 
 lions to dismember him. This tender virgin leaps 
 into the fire prepared for her, without staying for 
 the executioner’s help; another casts herself into 
 the sea, to preserve herself pure. See the force of 
 Christian resolution, which is steered by Divine 
 maxims. They die, and smile at it; they seem to 
 court death itself; they choose rather to be under 
 the hands of a bloody executioner, who can at most 
 bereave them of their lives, than in the power of the 
 son of an Emperor, who may rob them of the lilies 
 of their virginal integrity. Nothing can be grievous 
 to him that acts vigorously and suffers voluntarily 
 whatsoever falls in his way. This, then, is one of 
 the souls’ chief comforts in those fiery dungeons. 
 They accept their pains, as from the hands of their 
 loving Father, Who, out of His paternal care, makes 
 choice of those rough instruments to polish and 
 refine them, and so fit them for His presence. They 
 look upon them as love-tokens sent from their 
 Beloved, and esteem them rather as precious gifts 
 of their loving Lord, than as cruel punishments 
 inflicted by a severe enemy. They kiss the rod and 
 the fatherly hand which makes use of it for their 
 
OTHER GROUNDS OF COMFORT. 
 
 187 
 
 sovereign good. When a surgeon makes a deep 
 incision to let out the water of a dropsy; when he 
 strikes his lancet into the arm; when he cuts off a 
 gangrened member, the diseased person kisses the 
 hand that made the wound, embraces the surgeon, 
 though sprinkled with his blood, opens his mouth to 
 give thanks, his purse to reward, his eyes to bathe 
 in tears, and his very heart to love cordially this 
 kind murderer, who has so cruelly mishandled him, 
 to do him good, and to save his life. What, think 
 you, is the language of these holy souls, these 
 children of God, in the midst of their severest 
 torments ? “ Sweet rigours of Heaven; loving 
 
 cruelties ! ah, why do you vouchsafe so to humble 
 your greatness, to take the pains to purify us poor 
 creatures, worthy of a thousand Hells ? Oh, the 
 profuse goodness of the Almighty, Who is pleased, 
 with the tenderness of a loving Father, to chastise 
 His wicked servants, and so to adopt them for His 
 dear children! Was it necessary that Himself 
 should take the trouble upon Him to stretch out 
 the hand of His infinite justice, to purify such 
 disloyal souls, far unworthy of a love so cordial ? 
 Oh, let Him burn, let Him strike, let Him thunder; 
 it is but reason He should do so; for, since He is 
 our Father, our Creator, our Redeemer, our dear 
 All, the sole Object of our lives, howsoever He 
 handles us, we shall still take it for a great favour, 
 and esteem ourselves over-happy to be treated, 
 though never so severely, by so good a hand. 
 Have they not reason ? Believe it, they experience 
 it to be so sweet and so reasonable, nay, they 
 
PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 188 
 
 judge it so necessary for them, to suffer in these 
 flames, that though they should discover a thousand 
 gates open, and a free passage for them to fly out 
 of Purgatory into Paradise, not so much as one 
 soul would stir out before she had fully satisfied the 
 Divine justice. Paradise would be to them a Purga¬ 
 tory, should they carry thither but the least blemish 
 in the world. When Isaac saw the sword in 
 Abraham’s hand, ready to strike off his head, and 
 reflected that he was to receive the deadly wound 
 from the hands of his dear father, that good and 
 virtuous young man could neither find tongue to 
 plead for his life, nor feet to run away and decline 
 the stroke, nor hands to defend himself, nor so 
 much as eyes to deplore his sad misfortune; but 
 was content to have a heart to love his good father, 
 and a head to lose, and a life to sacrifice upon the 
 altar of obedience: and he looked upon the fire 
 which was prepared to destroy him, as the odori¬ 
 ferous flaming pile of the phoenix, wherein she is 
 consumed, to rise again to a new and happy life. 
 The holy souls that burn in the flames of Purgatory, 
 are much better disposed to embrace whatsoever 
 God shall ordain, than Isaac was in regard of his 
 father. 
 
 But there is yet something of a higher nature to 
 be said upon this point. We have all the reason in 
 the world to believe that God, of His infinite 
 goodness, inspires these holy souls with a thousand 
 heavenly lights, and such ravishing thoughts, that 
 they cannot but take themselves to be extremely 
 happy: so happy that St. Catharine of Genoa 
 
THEY ARE WHERE GOD WILLS. 
 
 189 
 
 professed she had learnt of Almighty God that, 
 excepting only the blessed Saints in Heaven, there 
 were no joys comparable to those of the souls in 
 Purgatory. For, said she, when they consider that 
 they are in the hands of God, in a place deputed 
 for them by His holy providence, and just where 
 God would have them, it is not to be expressed 
 what a sweetness they find in so loving a thought: 
 and certainly they had infinitely rather be in 
 Purgatory to comply with His Divine pleasure, 
 than be in Paradise with violence to His justice, 
 and a manifest breach of the ordinary laws of the 
 house of God. I will say more, continued she : it 
 cannot so much as steal into their thoughts to 
 desire to be anywhere else than where they are. 
 Seeing that God has so placed them, they are not 
 at all troubled that others get out before them; and 
 they are so absorbed in this profound meditation, of 
 being at God’s disposal, in the bosom of His sweet 
 providence, that they cannot so much as dream of 
 being anywhere else. So that, methinks, those 
 kind expressions of Almighty God by His Prophets, 
 to His chosen people, may be fitly applied to the 
 unhappy and yet happy condition of these holy 
 souls. Rejoice, My people, says the living God; 
 for I swear unto you by Myself, that when you shall 
 pass through flames of fire, they shall not hurt you : 
 I shall be there with you ; I shall take off the edge, 
 and blunt the points, of those piercing flames. I 
 will raise the bright Aurora in your darkness; and 
 the darkness of your nights shall outshine the 
 mid-day. I will pour out My peace into the midst 
 
PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 i go 
 
 of your hearts, and replenish your souls with the 
 bright shining lights of Heaven. You shall be as a 
 paradise of delights, bedewed with a living fountain 
 of heavenly waters. You shall rejoice in your 
 Creator, and I will raise you above the height of 
 mountains, and nourish you with manna and the 
 sweet inheritance of Jacob; for the mouth of the 
 Lord hath spoke it: and it cannot fail, but shall be 
 sure to fall out so, because He hath spoken it. 
 
 Did we truly know what is the pure love of God, 
 a love without interest, and a heart that neither has 
 nor will have any other ends, feelings, or designs, 
 but those of Almighty God, haply we might be 
 able to conceive a good part of the paradise of the 
 souls in Purgatory. Those holy souls see so clearly, 
 how much it imports them to have no other concern 
 or interest but for God’s cause, that without the 
 least regard to their own sufferings, they had infi¬ 
 nitely rather dwell in Purgatory, since God will 
 have it so, than be surrounded with the sweets of 
 Paradise, without God’s good pleasure: nay, more, 
 though they had not the least blemish to wipe out, 
 and the only question were to comply with God’s 
 blessed will, Who, for some reason best known to 
 Himself, were pleased to treat them in this severe 
 fashion. This pure love, without all self-interest, is 
 more forcible than any other consideration. For, 
 if St. Paul could wish himself accursed for his 
 brethren, if Moses could have been content to be 
 blotted out of the Book of Life for the sake of 
 God’s people, if others have offered themselves to 
 remain in Purgatory till Doomsday, to have the 
 
THEIR PURE LOVE OF GOD. 
 
 191 
 
 assurance of their own salvation, or to suffer for 
 the good of others; and all this, either out of a 
 kind of self-love, or an excess of fraternal charity, 
 and while they were yet entangled with the appre¬ 
 hensions of this wicked world; what may not a 
 soul do which is full of Divine love, without any 
 mixture of self-interest, so purely refined as not to 
 desire anything but God and the execution of His 
 inscrutable designs ? And since all holy souls are of 
 this temper in the other world, I am confident there 
 is not any one soul that would quit Purgatory, 
 where God has placed her, nor any that would not 
 most willingly exchange Heaven for Purgatory, 
 should she discover the least inclination of God’s 
 will that it should be so. The Saints are much 
 perfecter than mortal men; who, notwithstanding 
 all the weakness of frail nature, could have the 
 heart to cast themselves into burning flames, when 
 they saw it made for God’s greater glory, and could 
 there sing out His praises. So happy did they 
 account themselves to have the power of serving 
 God, without any other interest than that of His 
 glory, nay, with the ruin of their very lives and 
 all other worldly concerns. And when they had 
 done all this, they would break out into tears; as 
 the most eloquent, though silent, expression of a 
 favour they never took themselves to deserve. 
 Wherefore, since all the souls in Purgatory have 
 not only a perfect, but also an experimental, know¬ 
 ledge of this pure love, and withal see such a world 
 of devout souls, who are still pouring themselves 
 out into such heroical acts of pure love, how much, 
 
ig2 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 think you, does this encourage them to do their best 
 in this kind ? And can you think, after all this, that 
 God will suffer Himself to be outdone in courtesy 
 or charity, and not be still furnishing them with a 
 fresh supply of new lights and celestial comforts ? 
 And certainly the attractions of Almighty God are 
 not to be numbered amongst His least favours. 
 They do so transport a soul, and so absolutely 
 master her, that she neither feels nor cares for all 
 the torments in the world which the body suffers 
 while she is thus absorbed, and even lost, as it 
 were, in Almighty God. They applied caustics to 
 St. Thomas of Aquin while he was rapt in his 
 profound speculations of divinity, and he seemed 
 not to feel the least smart, or at least took no notice 
 of it: he was so ravished and drowned in Almighty 
 God. They tell the same of the seraphical 
 St. Francis; how, when he was once gone out of 
 himself with an ardent affection of the love of 
 Jesus Christ, they applied the button cautery, and 
 the good Saint felt it no more than if it had been 
 a button of glass or crystal. Many other servants 
 of God, in their ecstatical raptures and lofty 
 meditations of the joys of Heaven, have been 
 pricked with needles, wounded with lances, and 
 persecuted with rude blows, cold water, hot irons, 
 and the like: and yet, for all this, could not be 
 drawn out of their sweet quiet and repose, to give 
 the least attention to these rough entertainments. 
 What shall we say now of those fair souls, lately 
 flown out of their bodies, who are so forcibly 
 carried away with the pure love of God and His 
 
CONFORMITY TO GOD'S WILL. 
 
 193 
 
 eternal glory, who see themselves so near it, and so 
 certain to enjoy it, and to be swallowed up in the 
 immense ocean of the Divinity ? “ If only my son 
 
 may be one day Emperor of Rome,” said the 
 ambitious Agrippina, “ I shall most readily consent 
 to be, soon after, thrown headlong into the bottom¬ 
 less sea.” And do you think those souls, who are 
 most certain to reign for ever in the empyrean 
 Heaven, can complain of the fire wherewith they 
 are tormented for a few hours, or years, which are 
 but so many moments compared with eternity ? 
 St. Catharine of Genoa assures us, that God does 
 so violently, and withal so sweetly, attract and draw 
 after Him these happy souls, that it is impossible 
 to find out words to express it, or any parallel to 
 this sweet and loving violence. 
 
 This pure love which the souls have for Almighty 
 God goes not without a perfect conformity to His 
 Divine will. And this is the thing which of all 
 others metamorphoses Purgatory into Paradise. To 
 have the same will with Almighty God, says holy 
 St. Bernard, 1 is to be like God; but not to have the 
 power to have any other but God’s is to be what 
 God is, that is, content and happy in whatever 
 condition. If God, for some special reason, would 
 have a so*ul to be a million of years in Purgatory, 
 without fault, and without hope of any further merit, 
 neither the extremity of the pains, nor the length of 
 the delay, would rob her of that perfect resignation 
 to God’s holy will* 
 
 Can there be any doubt of this, when we find 
 1 St. Bernard, Epist. ad Fr. de Monte Dei. 
 
 N 
 
194 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 souls, even in this miserable life, so courageous and 
 so conformable to the Divine pleasure, as to offer 
 themselves to be buried in hell-fire, if only it might 
 but add one single grain of increase to God’s glory ? 
 No; this dei-formity, or uniformity to the designs 
 of God’s providence, is so excessive great in these 
 devout souls, so vigorous and so puissant, that it 
 cannot be expressed or conceived in this our gross 
 ignorant world. The Ecclesiastical History 1 assures 
 us that many of the holy martyrs, whilst they were 
 in flames of fire, melting off their lives by drops, as 
 I may so say, were heard to profess with a smiling 
 countenance and an invincible heart, that they took 
 themselves to be at a nuptial feast, and to tread 
 upon roses. So well were they pleased that God 
 was so pleased, and that His blessed will was 
 performed in them ; nay, more: that nothing 
 grieved them but the shortness of their torments 
 and the fleeting condition of their petty martyr¬ 
 doms, as they would call them. “Ah,” would 
 they say, “ were this to last to the world’s end, 
 how happy were we, and how welcome were our 
 flames! ” by the light whereof one might clearly 
 read the fidelity of their hearts and their conformity 
 to the Heart of the great God of Heaven. 
 
 This excessive conformity and fidelity of these 
 holy souls makes them willing to co-operate with 
 the sweet rigours of God’s justice against their 
 crimes. He who loves God purely for Himself, 
 loves all that belongs to make up His glory; and 
 since God shows Himself as much God in the 
 
 1 Euseb. Niceph. Baron. 
 
CONFORMITY TO GOD'S WILL. 
 
 195 
 
 exercise of His justice as in the sweet influences of 
 His boundless mercy, a happy soul cannot choose 
 but take pleasure to co-operate with God’s justice 
 in procuring His satisfaction, even at the charge 
 of her own sufferings; and would most readily 
 annihilate herself for the honour of her God. “ If 
 our hour be come,” said the valorous Judas 
 Macchabeus, “and if God have so disposed of us, 
 let us die, my brethren, and let us die bravely: 
 it must be as the heavens have decreed, and I will 
 have it so, though at the cost of a hundred thousand 
 lives.” And holy Job : “ Is it not reason,” said he, 
 “ that we should as well receive what we call evils 
 at the hand of His justice, as favours at the hand 
 of His mercy ? ” That noble Roman that buried 
 his poniard in his own sister’s breast, whom he met 
 foolishly bewailing the good fortune of the city of 
 Rome, had nothing to allege for his justification but 
 this—“What,” said he, “shall not Rome be Rome, 
 as well in the exercise of rigorous justice as in the 
 maintenance of her greatness and demonstration of 
 her absolute power ? Can I offer a more pleasing 
 holocaust unto the gods than to sacrifice my sister, 
 when Rome’s justice requires it?” This Roman 
 severity carries with it I know not what masculine 
 .generosity; and this cruelty to a foolish sister 
 argues much piety to his dear country. And so 
 the holy souls, that burn with ardent charity, seeing 
 it necessary that the Divine justice should receive 
 plenary satisfaction, and that God’s interest is 
 extraordinarily concerned that His justice should 
 xule by course, as well as His mercy, goodness, and 
 
PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 196 
 
 charity; these holy souls, I say, seeing all this, 
 have such a pleasure in their torments as cannot 
 be comprehended in this miserable life, which is so 
 full of self-love, except by some few noble and 
 generous souls that love God only for Himself, and 
 that so purely as not to make any reckoning of 
 their own concerns or sufferings. 
 
 § 4 .—Another comfortable consideration , drawn from 
 
 the desire they have to make themselves worthy of 
 
 the sight of God. 
 
 Take another consideration, which will much 
 illustrate that which has been already said, and 
 reinforce the joy of the souls, in spite of their 
 tormenting pains. You may believe that a soul, 
 having once taken leave of the body, has such a 
 passionate inclination to enjoy her end, that is, to 
 see God and to be united with God, and finally to 
 arrive unto that happiness for which she clearly 
 sees she was created, that it can hardly be 
 expressed. A bird newly stolen out of the cage 
 wherein she was detained captive, flies not away 
 swifter; the furious course of a torrent that pre¬ 
 cipitates itself from the top of a mountain, rolls 
 not along with a greater impetuosity; the enraged 
 winds broken loose out of their close caverns under¬ 
 ground, blow not with more violence than the 
 desire of seeing God thrusts on a soul once freed 
 from the thraldom of the body. 
 
 Now, as they see in Purgatory that there is no 
 other obstacle but the rust and filth of sin, and the 
 remainder of their former misdemeanours, and that 
 
OTHER MOTIVES OF COMFORT. 
 
 197 
 
 Purgatory fire is deputed by Almighty God to purify 
 and refine them, and so to make them worthy of 
 His presence, they are so far from grumbling or 
 repining at this sweet rigour of God’s justice, that, 
 on the contrary, they take it for a greater favour 
 and an extraordinary piece of mercy of Almighty 
 God, their most loving Father. When they sawed 
 off the leg of that great philosopher, he held it out 
 with both his hands, he encouraged the operator, 
 and perhaps also took hold of the saw himself, to 
 do the surgeon that piece of service, saying withal: 
 
 Let us thrust, my friend, let us thrust, and let us 
 not fear to cut off this rotten and useless bone : the 
 pain you give me will do me a great deal of 
 good, and the sooner we have it done the better. 
 Be not afraid, then, my dear enemy; but strike in 
 thy saw boldly: the crueller thou art for the time, 
 the sooner thou wilt put me out of pain.” And thus 
 the surgeon cut off his leg with as little sense or 
 feeling as if it had been the leg of a statue, or of a 
 person that had no relation to him, or was his 
 mortal enemy. And that Japonian virgin, 1 who 
 was to die by fire, could not refrain from kissing the 
 burning coals, and crying out joyfully: “O lovely 
 coals, O delicious flames, how much I am obliged 
 to your sweet cruelty, since you put me in a 
 condition of enjoying, within a few moments, the 
 only Spouse of my soul! ” Oh, the souls in 
 Purgatory say the same with a far greater ardour 
 of love. And I venture to say more yet: that they 
 have such a longing desire to co-operate with God 
 
 1 Hist. Japan. 
 
PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 198 
 
 in their own purification, and to render themselves 
 capable of the beatifical vision, that, if it were in 
 their power to heighten the rigour of their torments, 
 it would be the first thing they would do, to advance 
 their eternal felicity. And with reason; for if we 
 were, says St. Austin, 1 to take the pains of Hell in 
 our way to see God in His glory, we ought to suffer 
 them with a good heart, for a good so great, that 
 whatsoever it costs, it can never be too dear. Think 
 well on these words, good reader: “ Let God cost 
 never so much, He cannot be too dear.” 
 
 St. Catharine of Genoa was heard to say, she 
 believed that the greatest pains which the souls 
 have in Purgatory is to see they have an obstacle 
 within themselves, and some few blemishes, which 
 hinder them for the time from enjoying the sight 
 of their Creator: insomuch that their spite and 
 anger is not so much against the flames, though 
 never so biting, as against these unhappy blemishes 
 and loathsome remainder of their sins. Nay, they 
 are, in a manner, in love with the fire, which by 
 little and little helps to free them from this cruel 
 pain; and they do like the patient who kisses the 
 razor that is to cut out whole slices of putrified 
 flesh from a gangrene or mortal ulcer, which would 
 otherwise insensibly bereave him of his life if that 
 fierce remedy were not applied. 
 
 1 Serm. 2. in Fest. Omn. Sanct. 
 
COMFORT IN SUFFERING WITHOUT MERIT. 199 
 
 § 5 .—Their suffering without merit , and the free exercise 
 of their virtues without impediment , are to them 
 special motives of comfort . 
 
 What a pleasure, think you, is it to suffer, or 
 indeed to exercise any virtuous act, merely for the 
 virtue itself, without casting about for any further 
 recompense than barely the doing what is pleasing 
 to Him we love, and Who loves us out of His pure 
 bounty, without any desert of ours! A Roman 
 lady, understanding that Caesar had condemned 
 her dear husband Paetus to stab himself, snatched 
 up the dagger first herself, and struck it deep into 
 her breast; and then, with a smiling but dying 
 look, spoke thus to him: My dearest, this stab has 
 done me no harm at all, upon my honour, it has 
 not ,* but alas! the stab you are going to give 
 yourself, it is that which bereaves me of my life: 
 and with that, she gave up the ghost. Those holy 
 and loving souls, calling to mind how Christ died 
 for them, to pay the ransom of their sins, without 
 looking for any return by way of recompense, out 
 of His pure charity and obedience to His Father, 
 they would most willingly sacrifice themselves for 
 His glory, in satisfaction of justice and imitation 
 of His charity; and they scarce feel their pains 
 when they compare them with those of their dear 
 Redeemer. We can, indeed, scarce apprehend this 
 joy, we that are so selfish as to relish nothing but 
 earthly things, whose hearts are so wedded to 
 our own interests, and so apprehensive of pain. 
 Yet have the patience to listen to the pathetical 
 
200 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 expressions of a man even during this life, who 
 certainly was not without his heavenly relishes, 
 but could make a shift to find out a paradise even 
 in the purgatory of the sufferings of a miserable 
 life. You will soon discover, by his golden eloquence, 
 who it is that speaks. “ Had I the choice to be an 
 apostle, prophet, doctor, nay more, an angel and 
 potentate of Heaven; were it in my power to be 
 metamorphosed into one of the Cherubim or 
 Seraphim, and to be raised above their thrones; 
 in a word, to be seated at the right hand of God; 
 or else to be thrown into a dark, loathsome, and 
 subterraneous dungeon, there to be manacled, 
 fettered, and grievously tormented, for the sole 
 love of my Saviour Jesus Christ, in company with 
 the glorious Apostle St. Paul: without all hesitation 
 or doubt I should choose to be there with St. Paul, 
 and should prefer it before the joys of Heaven.” 1 
 How do you feel your hearts, when you hear this 
 kind of language ? And what think you ? May not 
 the souls in Purgatory have the like affections, and 
 more heroical, if there can be anything thought of 
 more heroical than to quit Heaven for Purgatory, 
 and to leave God for God ; sacrificing themselves 
 entirely to His glory, as a perfect holocaust, to 
 please His Divine will, and appease the sweet 
 rigours of His justice? 
 
 Blessed Father Francis Borgia was wont to say, 
 he would willingly go to Purgatory, and lie frying 
 there to the end of the world, to heap up a new 
 treasure of grace and glory, and to become a greater 
 1 St. Chrysostom, Horn. 8, in c. 4. Ephes. 
 
COMFORT IN SUFFERING WITHOUT MERIT. 201 
 
 Saint in Heaven, and a more acceptable servant to 
 His Divine Majesty. In earnest, this was an act 
 of a noble heart and purified soul, aspiring to 
 the highest pitch of perfection. The holy man 
 took it for a most incomparable satisfaction to see 
 himself every moment to go on increasing in virtue, 
 and heaping up graces upon graces, and at the last 
 to purchase so high a place in the Kingdom of 
 Heaven as not to have cause to envy the highest 
 Seraphim. And yet, methinks, if I may have leave 
 to vent my own thoughts, there is something of a 
 holy kind of self-interest in this point of perfection; 
 holy, I say, but withal, interest. But why may we 
 not believe that those holy captive souls fly higher, 
 and offer themselves to God to suffer there for one 
 another, out of a Divine kind of civility and generous 
 act of fraternal charity? For in this world there 
 have been mothers who have chosen rather to die 
 themselves than see their dear children die before 
 them. There have been also souls, as I have 
 touched elsewhere, who have wished to be damned 
 (always understanding that it were without sin), to 
 save others; and this without hope of grace, or 
 glory, merely in obedience to perfect charity. And 
 why should we make such a wonder of it, since the 
 very tigress, who has no heart but what is made up 
 of cruelty, has nevertheless love enough to cast 
 herself into flames, if she find no other expedient 
 to save her young ones ? Can we believe that 
 brutes have more love, and mortal men more 
 charity and courage, than the holy souls of 
 Purgatory have for the love of God, and of those 
 
202 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 souls they passionately love ? O sweet Purgatory, 
 O loving flames of charity, and pure transcendent 
 charity, worthy of the souls which are so pure ! The 
 holy servant of God meant this, when she said that 
 the souls are wholly despoiled of all self-interest, 
 and do wholly devote themselves to God’s interest: 
 and that out of pure charity. 
 
 We should soon see wonders in ourselves, would 
 we but give way to our virtues and those Divine 
 graces which are hourly showered down upon our 
 souls from Heaven, to work according to the full 
 extent of their energy and power. But, alas! an 
 infirm body, much passion, a faint heart, with a 
 thousand other obstacles in this life, make us to do 
 scarce half what we are able. And divines are of 
 opinion that, beside the Mother of God, there hath 
 hardly been one, amongst all other pure creatures, 
 who has acted according to the full latitude of his 
 power, and those gracious helps sent him from 
 Heaven. Others, indeed, have sometimes made 
 valiant attempts, but it was, as it were, but in a 
 bravado and by spurts, and they came off but 
 poorly and failed in their designs. But the souls 
 in Purgatory, who are as it were new minted, and 
 cast into a pure spiritual substance, free from the 
 body and all corporal and human infirmities, nor 
 are at all impeded by their torments from the 
 free exercise of all the powers of their souls: they, 
 I say, give full scope and liberty to all the choirs 
 of virtues to play their parts, and suffer grace to 
 have her entire effect; and this doubtless affords 
 them such unspeakable comforts and advantages 
 
 
 
 
COMFORT IN THE EXERCISE OF VIRTUE. 203 
 
 as cannot well be expressed in this mortal life. 
 Oh, what ejaculations of their pure love! what 
 submissions of their profound humility! what con¬ 
 formities of their wills ! what submissive obedience 
 to the holy decrees of God’s justice! what fidelity 
 and justice to satisfy the rigour of God’s justice 
 for all they owe Him! what passionate desire of 
 purity, to see themselves without blemish or hind¬ 
 rance from enjoying God! what incredible tender¬ 
 ness towards God, Who treats them so sweetly in 
 comparison of their ingratitude and infidelity! what 
 excess of joy to see themselves within two fingers’ 
 breadth, as it were, of Paradise! In fine, what a 
 paradise of virtues, what Divine endeavours of these 
 happy souls, what attractions of Almighty God and 
 heavenly allurements! Who can worthily com¬ 
 prehend such a medley of so sweet a paradise in 
 Purgatory, so cruelly sweet and so lovingly bitter ? 
 And now I understand why St. Catharine said, that 
 in case the souls did not meet with Purgatory, it 
 would be a kind of hell to them to want the help 
 of those purging flames to cancel out the blemishes 
 of their sins, and make them worthy to see God. 
 I have not told you what ejaculatory prayers they 
 make, what sweet aspirations they breathe out, and 
 what flaming darts of love they shoot up to the 
 Heart of God. For if the martyrs, in the greatest 
 extremity of their torments, could cast out such 
 gentle sighs, and break into such Divine and loving 
 speeches as to draw tears to the eyes of the 
 hangman or tyrant, what will not these holy souls 
 do, since they have scarce any sweeter entertain- 
 
204 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 ment than to converse with God and implore His 
 mercy ? The afflictions and sufferings of the body, 
 says Salvian, 1 cannot hinder the paradise of the 
 soul and her interior sweetness; much less, when 
 the soul is in the other world. 
 
 § 6 .—They joy in the continual decrease of their pains , 
 and influence of pure heavenly consolations . 
 
 The fire of love works more sensibly with them 
 than their tormenting flames. The natural instinct 
 they have to be with God, and their longing thirst 
 to take their fill of those inebriating joys, while they 
 see themselves forcibly detained and bound fast to 
 so base an element of fire, is a torment beyond 
 expression. St. Ambrose 2 maintains that the fire 
 of love which had seized on St. Laurence’s heart 
 was more active than that which consumed his 
 flesh and melted the very marrow of his bones. 
 Wherefore it must needs be great comfort unto 
 these sweet souls to see that their sufferings are 
 every moment diminished ; if not otherwise, at least 
 forasmuch as concerns the prefixed time of their 
 durance, which goes lessening itself more and more 
 as it draws nearer to an end. And, according to 
 the probable opinion of holy men, the intensity of 
 the pain itself is perpetually decreased, according 
 to the fresh supplies of succour which the Church 
 Militant never fails to administer unto them, by her 
 prayers and Sacrifices : since there is not an hour, 
 neither day nor night, when there is not Mass said 
 or some devout prayers offered up, in some part of 
 1 Lib. de Provid. 2 St. Ambrose, Serm. i. 
 
JOY IN THE DECREASE OF PAINS. 
 
 205 
 
 the Christian world. Besides, St. Catharine tells 
 us that God also grows still more and more liberal 
 in showering down His heavenly sweet favours and 
 gracious influences upon these wretched and yet 
 happy souls. There was a young woman had lived 
 with her husband with so much chaste love, that 
 she was not more tender of her own life: and, 
 seeing him one day laid dead upon a burning pile, 
 and having a long time in vain cast about how she 
 might come to him, at length threw herself just 
 upon his heart, and so chose willingly to die with 
 him and mingle her ashes with his. And who 
 doubts but that the Guardian Angels, those eagles 
 of Paradise, seeing the souls of their pupils, for 
 whom they had so much tenderness and care in this 
 life, to lie burning in scorching flames, often cast 
 themselves in to comfort them; and, if not release 
 them, at least entertain them with such pleasing 
 discourses as take off much of the sense of their 
 bitter torments ? When the King asked Daniel 
 whether the lions had not devoured him, and 
 whether his God had power to preserve him from 
 that inevitable death, he answered: Yes, sir, my 
 God has sent His Angel, who is come down from 
 Heaven to protect me, and has tied up the mouths 
 of the hungry lions, who have not offered to touch 
 me: nor had I ever so much comfort in my whole 
 life as in this place of death and despair; for 
 Paradise is everywhere where God and His Angels 
 are. The same happened to those three innocent 
 young men, who had leisure to sing in the middle 
 of a burning furnace, which, from being a kind of 
 
206 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 Purgatory was become a terrestrial Paradise, or an 
 empyrean Heaven. This being so, and the goodness 
 of God comforting the souls with a world of good 
 thoughts, you must know that Purgatory seems a 
 great mercy to them; and so much the greater by 
 how much they see clearly the vast difference 
 between this condition of theirs and that of the 
 damned souls; and what an unspeakable favour 
 God has done them, to dispose things so sweetly 
 that they might be conveyed into Purgatory, when 
 they so often deserved to be thrust into hell-fire; 
 and possibly more than many of the damned souls: 
 since there are certainly some damned but for one 
 or two mortal sins, whereas they may know them¬ 
 selves to have committed thousands. And who 
 knows, then, whether in their ecstasies of love they 
 may not cry out with holy St. Gregory: “ O my 
 God, increase my griefs; alas! I have deserved 
 far more; but withal be pleased, I beseech Thee, 
 to remember in Thy mercy to increase also my 
 courage and to fortify my patience.” 
 
 Nothing, surely, is comparable to pure heavenly 
 consolations. When all creatures are wanting, and 
 all other worldly satisfactions eclipsed from our 
 hearts, so that we remain in pure sufferance, and 
 taste nothing but God alone, then it is, say the 
 mystical divines, that we possess the joy of all joys, 
 and the quintessence of all true and solid comfort. 
 “ God has done us the honour,” says St. Paul, 
 “ to make us sit by His Divine Majesty, and, as it 
 were, side by side to His Son Jesus Christ;” a 
 favour that has so ravished my soul, that I cannot 
 
JOY IN PURE HEAVENLY CONSOLATIONS. 207 
 
 think on it without incredible joy. “ Where, do 
 you imagine, was St. Paul,” says St. Chrysostom, 
 “when he spoke this? For my part, I believe he 
 was lying in a dungeon, in irons, neck and heels 
 together, forsaken of all the world; and that it was 
 in this general abandonment that he was surprised 
 with those ravishing joys of Heaven, and had such 
 a feeling of God’s greatness, that he seemed to be 
 already seated at His right hand.” “ When, think 
 you,” says St. Thomas, “ was he rapt up into the 
 third Heaven ? I am apt to believe that it was 
 at his conversion, when, despoiled of all worldly 
 comforts, and all things failing him at once, 
 Almighty God snatched up his soul into Heaven, and 
 gave him a sweet relish of the delights of Paradise.” 
 What shall I say then of the souls who, seeing 
 themselves besieged with fire and torments, and a 
 thousand martyrdoms, and having no human con¬ 
 solation, are put upon a sweet necessity to have 
 their recourse unto God, and to seek their content¬ 
 ment in Him alone ? Oh, what fervent aspirations, 
 what holy ecstasies, what cordial oblations, what 
 Divine acts of conformity ! How lovingly doth God 
 and His Angels inspire them! what pure lights and 
 affections do they instil! Hear the Prophet David : 
 “ According to the multitude of my bitter griefs, 
 your consolations, O my God, have rejoiced my 
 heart.” And St. Paul: “ When I am oppressed 
 with evils, then it is that my soul swims in celestial 
 joys, and that I am as it were all candied with 
 sweetness.” And the Prophet Isaias: “ In the 
 greatest of your furies, in the severest rigour of 
 
208 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 anger, O my Lord, you have cast out some rays 
 of your sweet mercies, and have ravished me with 
 admiration.” Now, though all this be said of this 
 mortal life, yet may we in some proportion give a 
 guess by it how it fares with the holy souls in 
 Purgatory; and the rather, because a soul once 
 severed from the body, has much more liberty to 
 produce its acts, and to couple an excess of torments 
 with an excess of joys: since the same, in some 
 sort, has been seen to have happened in this life. 
 Have you ever read in St. Austin, that if a drop 
 of the heavenly torrent should fall into Hell, Hell 
 would no longer seem to be Hell, but a kind of 
 Heaven ? Now, certainly, the Divine Goodness 
 lets fall some of those drops into Purgatory; nor 
 are the Angels sparing, but rather prodigal, in 
 showering them down upon souls who are to be 
 exalted into Heaven, as high as themselves, and 
 possibly more. 
 
 But let not this discourse cool your charity, 
 lest, seeing the souls enjoy so much comfort in 
 Purgatory, your compassion for them grow slack, 
 and so continue not equal to their desert. Remember 
 then, that notwithstanding all these comforts here 
 rehearsed, the poor creatures cease not to be 
 grievously tormented; and consequently have 
 extreme need of all your favourable assistance and 
 pious endeavours. When Christ Jesus was in His 
 bitter Agony, sweating blood and water, the superior 
 part of His Soul enjoyed God and His glory, and 
 yet His Body was so oppressed with sorrow, that 
 He was ready to die, and was content to be 
 
JOY IN PURE HEAVENLY CONSOLATIONS. 209 
 
 comforted by an Angel. In like manner, these holy 
 souls have indeed great joys; but feel withal such 
 bitter torments, that they stand in great need of 
 our help. So that you will much wrong them, and 
 me too, to stand musing so long upon their joys, 
 as not to afford them succour. Let us then here 
 break off this discourse, and pass on to consider 
 what assistance we owe and they expect of our 
 charity; and first, let us see what a charity it is to 
 help them. 
 
 o 
 
THE THIRD SURVEY. 
 
 THAT THERE IS NOT IN THIS WORLD A MORE EMINENT 
 OR PRUDENT ACT OF FRATERNAL CHARITY, THAN 
 TO HELP THE SOULS IN PURGATORY. 
 
 The Divine Apostle, the very disciple of Paradise 
 and doctor of the universe, reads us this lesson : that 
 the highest point of Christian perfection consists in 
 charity. The abridgment of the Decalogue, the 
 epitome of the whole Bible, the quintessence of all 
 virtues, is finally reduced to this sole point of Divine 
 love. Now, fraternal charity, or the love of our 
 neighbour, is cousin-german to the love of God ; and 
 upon these two holy loves, as upon the two poles of 
 the world, moves the heaven of all perfections. They 
 are the two angels that keep sentinel at the gates of 
 Paradise; 1 the two Cherubim that cover the Ark, 
 where the manna of the felicity of this life is con¬ 
 tained. 2 They are the two eyes of the spouse of the 
 soul, which wound, as it were, the Heart of God, 
 and pierce it so deeply with their Divine glances, 
 that He cries out in the Canticles, 3 that they have 
 stolen away His Heart. “Alas,” says He, “Thou 
 hast wounded My Heart, My beloved, and hast 
 robbed Me of it;” so powerful are the beauteous 
 charms of this heavenly charity. 
 
 ] Genesis iii. 24. 2 3 Kings viii. 7. 3 Cant. iv. 9. 
 
OF CHARITY TO THE HOLY SOULS. 
 
 211 
 
 The more power the love of God has in us, the 
 greater is the ardour of fraternal charity, which burns 
 the very heart of our souls, and, like the phoenix, 
 takes delight to live and die in so noble a fire, and 
 to consume in such health-giving and yet murderous 
 flames. 
 
 My design here is, not to treat of the love of God, 
 but only to suppose that the more one loves God, 
 the more he loves and desires to help his neighbour: 
 and to believe that a man loves God without doing 
 his uttermost to assist his neighbour in the way of 
 charity, is to fool himself point-blank. Would you 
 know how much you love God ? Look with what 
 courage you are wont to serve your neighbour; for 
 otherwise, your charity is not fire but smoke, and 
 your affections are not Divine love, but empty air, or 
 a mere natural love; or, in a word, self-love, or 
 rather an empty shadow, or fantastical appearance 
 of Divine love. He that loveth not his neighbour 
 whom he daily sees with both his eyes, says 
 St.John, 1 how can he make us believe that he loves 
 God, Whom he never saw ? 
 
 What I maintain is, that amongst all the acts 
 of fraternal charity or works of mercy, the most 
 sublime, the most pure, and the most advantageous 
 of all others, is the service we perform for the souls 
 in Purgatory. 
 
 In the history of the incomparable Order of the 
 great St. Dominic, it is authentically related that one 
 of the first of those holy religious men was wont to 
 say, that he found himself not so much concerned 
 
 1 i St. John iv. 20. 
 
212 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 to pray for the souls in Purgatory, because they 
 are certain of their salvation; and that upon this 
 account we ought not, in his judgment, to be very 
 solicitous for them, but ought rather to bend our 
 whole care to help sinners, to convert the wicked, 
 and to secure such souls as are uncertain of their 
 salvation, and probably certain of their damnation, 
 as leading very evil lives. Here it is, said he, it is 
 here that I willingly employ my whole endeavours. 
 It is upon these that I bestow my Masses and 
 prayers, and all that little that is at my disposal ; 
 and thus I take it to be well bestowed. But upon 
 souls that have an assurance of eternal happiness, 
 and can never more lose God or offend Him, I 
 believe not, said he, that one ought to be so 
 solicitous. This certainly was but a poor and 
 weak discourse, to give it no severer a censure ; and 
 the consequence of it was this, that the good man 
 did not only himself forbear to help these poor souls, 
 but, which was worse, dissuaded others from doing 
 it; and under colour of a greater charity, withdrew 
 that succour which otherwise good people would 
 liberally have afforded them. But God took their 
 cause in hand; for permitting the souls to appear 
 and show themselves in frightful shapes, and to 
 haunt the good man by night and day without 
 respite, still filling his fancy with dreadful imagina¬ 
 tions and his eyes with terrible spectacles, and 
 withal letting him know who they were, and why 
 with God’s permission they so importuned him with 
 their troublesome visits, you may believe the good 
 Father became so affectionately kind to the souls in 
 
OF CHARITY TO THE HOLY SOULS. 
 
 213 
 
 Purgatory, bestowed so many Masses and prayers 
 upon them, preached so fervently in their behalf, 
 stirred up so many to the same devotion, that it is 
 a thing incredible to believe, and not to be expressed 
 with eloquence. Never did you see so many and 
 so clear and convincing reasons as he alleged, to 
 demonstrate that it is the most eminent piece of 
 fraternal charity in this life to pray for the souls 
 departed. Love and fear are the two most excellent 
 orators in the world: they can teach all rhetoric in 
 a moment, and infuse a most miraculous eloquence. 
 This good Father, who thought he should have been 
 frightened to death, was grown so fearful of a second 
 assault, that he bent his whole understanding to 
 invent the most pressing and convincing arguments 
 to stir up the world both to pity and to piety, and 
 so persuade souls to help souls: and it is incredible 
 what good ensued thereupon. The history does not 
 set down the motives which he either invented, or 
 had by inspiration, to evidence this truth; and 
 therefore I will borrow them of St. Thomas, that 
 angel of divinity, of the same Order, and of other 
 Saints and Doctors of the Catholic Church. 
 
 § 1 .—The greatness of the charity to the souls in 
 
 Purgatory is argued from the greatness of their pains 
 
 and their helpless condition . 
 
 Since there is no torment under heaven com¬ 
 parable to the pains of Purgatory, as we have 
 already seen, those unhappy souls must needs be the 
 most afflicted creatures in the world; and con¬ 
 sequently there cannot be a greater charity than to 
 
214 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 relieve them. The loving mother runs always to her 
 sickliest child : not but that she is tender of them 
 all, and has her heart divided into as many parcels 
 as she has children, and sick children; but where 
 there is most need, there she makes a greater 
 demonstration of her love; thither her heart is 
 carried with a greater violence and tenderness of 
 affection, where the greatest evil or danger appears. 
 As for the rest, their condition is not so pressing; 
 she speaks to them at leisure, and by giving one of 
 them a few comfits, a good word to another, a smile 
 to a third, they are all well contented. But he 
 that burns in the Purgatory of a violent fever, it is 
 he that hath most need of his mother: and so you 
 see her, as it were, nailed to his pillow, her heart, 
 her eyes, her hands, her mouth, and her very bosom 
 lie open to this child, and she can think of nothing 
 but him : so that where there is a greater share of 
 misery, reason requires there should be more com¬ 
 passion and more charity expressed. Cast but a 
 morsel of bread to a needy beggar, send a good 
 alms to a needy hospital, visit a prisoner, give 
 a word of comfort to a sick person, and they are 
 very well satisfied. But he that lies burning in 
 unmerciful flames, ah, it is he that ought to move 
 all the bowels of your compassion. When the 
 image of Cleopatra, with the stinging asps at her 
 breasts, was carried in triumph before the Romans, 
 though otherwise fierce and cruel enough by nature, 
 yet could they not hold from shedding a few tears 
 of compassion. The other captives, yet living, did 
 not move them at all, in comparison of that unfor- 
 
OF CHARITY TO THE HOLY SOULS. 
 
 215 
 
 tunate Princess, though she was only represented in 
 colours upon a painted cloth. You angel-keepers of 
 Purgatory, I conjure you to unlock your gates and 
 lay your prison open, that I may discover those 
 kings and queens, I mean those holy souls of both 
 sexes, who are shortly to have their share in the 
 heavenly kingdom ; that I may lay before the eyes 
 of the whole Catholic Church those asps of grief, 
 that lie so close at their breasts; those cruel flames, 
 I mean, that incessantly devour them, and at the 
 same time the infinite modesty and patience with 
 which they endure all; insomuch that not one of 
 them lets fall the least froward or inconsiderate 
 word, or makes the least complaint against the 
 sweet rigour of God. Is there a heart, if it be the 
 heart of a man indeed, and has but a drop of true 
 Christian blood in it, that does not feel itself to 
 be either broken or softened at so lamentable a 
 spectacle; to see, I say, such noble and generous 
 spirits in so deplorable a condition ? Is there any¬ 
 thing within the whole circumference of the universe 
 so worthy of compassion and that may so deservedly 
 claim the greatest share in all your devotions and 
 charities, as to see our fathers, our mothers, our 
 nearest and dearest relations, to lie broiling in cruel 
 flames, and to cry to us for help with tears that are 
 able to move cruelty itself? Whence I conclude, 
 there is not upon the earth any object that deserves 
 more commiseration than this, nor where fraternal 
 charity can better employ all her forces. 
 
 . Next to the grievousness of their pains, there 
 is not anything can so enlarge your charity to 
 
PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 216 
 
 deceased souls as the nature of their condition, 
 wherein they can neither help themselves nor one 
 another. For there is no more time for merit: 
 alas, no; nor any way left them to solace them¬ 
 selves in the least degree, but merely to suffer 
 patiently the sweet rigours of the Divine justice. 
 Here upon earth, there is not a creature so 
 wretched but can both help himself and receive 
 help of others. At least, he has his comfort, that 
 he merits Heaven by his sufferings, and that his 
 patience will prepare him a crown of glory. He 
 may exercise a thousand acts of virtue, which are 
 as many degrees of grace and glory, if he do them 
 as he ought. He makes a virtue of necessity, by 
 embracing that voluntarily which he cannot avoid; 
 and glories in this, that he can imitate his Saviour 
 Jesus Christ. Whereas, the souls can receive no 
 comfort by meriting, which is the comfort of 
 comforts in this life: whence I conclude, that our 
 charity to them cannot be better employed. 
 
 When our Blessed Saviour saw that poor 
 creature, and heard him say that he had lain there 
 perishing at the pond-side for the space of thirty- 
 eight years, for want of a man to help him in, it 
 went to the very Heart of sweet Jesus; and, 
 presently forsaking all others, He cured this poor 
 impotent creature, and wrought that famous miracle 
 in favour of this helpless wretch, forsaken of the 
 whole world besides. And certainly, this was a 
 case of great commiseration; but nothing com¬ 
 parable to the case we treat of. For those that are 
 yet living, though never so miserable, have a 
 
OF CHARITY TO THE HOLY SOULS. 
 
 217 
 
 thousand tricks and devices to shift and help 
 themselves in their miseries; but the poor souls, 
 alas! have no way left them to decline or sweeten 
 their martyrdom. Pliny reports that an eagle, 
 seeing, one day, the young maid his dear mistress, 
 who had cherished him in her bosom, laid on a 
 burning wood-pile, was so struck at the sight, what 
 with love and what with compassion, that he 
 immediately took wing and launched into the 
 burning flames to deliver her. Good God! shall 
 savage beasts, and that tyrant of the air, have 
 more pity of a dead carcass, that feels nothing, 
 than we have of immortal souls, who have so 
 great a feeling of insupportable torments? Your 
 Indian women use to hold it for a great honour 
 to throw themselves into the flames to their dead 
 husbands, and so to join souls and ashes together. 
 And shall it be said that a natural love is more 
 daring than a supernatural; and that these Indian 
 women have more love for the dead carcasses 
 of their husbands than we have for the precious 
 souls of our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, 
 and others, who are most worthy of incomparable 
 love ? 
 
 § 2 .—Our charity for the souls departed is preferred 
 before all other works of mercy . 
 
 You shall be judge yourself, you that read this. 
 If God at the same instant should put you both in 
 Purgatory and in a common gaol, as it is most easy 
 for Him to do; I conjure you to tell me, in which 
 of the two places would you desire to be first 
 
2 l 8 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 relieved ? And ought you not to do that for others 
 which you would have them to do for you ? 
 
 Besides, the spiritual works of mercy are of 
 a higher rank than those that are corporal; as 
 St. Thomas proves excellently well. Is it not, 
 then, a more noble piece of charity to relieve 
 souls than bodies; to stretch out your hand, I 
 say, to help a poor soul out of scorching flames, 
 than to comfort a sick person that feels but a 
 little heat of a fever, and may have a thousand 
 sweets and refreshments ? 
 
 Again; when you bestow an alms on a poor 
 body, ’tis true, you can never do amiss, if you look 
 only on God; but you may often fail of your aim, 
 and lose both your money and your labour, if you 
 consider the men themselves; who for the most 
 part are ungrateful, deceitful, wicked, and so far 
 unsatisfied, that you have never done with them. 
 Do them a thousand good turns; if you fail but 
 once, all is lost; they do nothing but grumble and 
 repine : they quite forget all the good they have so 
 plentifully received from your accustomed liberality ; 
 they take notice of nothing 'but what you have 
 omitted. They believe all is no more than their 
 due; they are as insolent as if you were always 
 bound to do for them. To say nothing, that they 
 often abuse your charity, and serve themselves of 
 your gracious benevolences to offend both God 
 and man ; as being notorious gluttons, drunkards,, 
 blasphemers, and abominable villains, both for 
 body and soul. 
 
 But the good you do for souls, so beautiful, so 
 

 OF CHARITY TO THE HOLY SOULS. 
 
 noble, and so holy, besides the reward you shall be 
 sure to receive from God, it is not to be imagined 
 how well it is bestowed, and how grateful they are 
 for it. There is nothing lost, though you give ever 
 so little: they take themselves to be infinitely 
 obliged for your charity, they never forget it,, 
 they never complain, they never turn ungrateful. 
 Certainly, it must needs be an unspeakable advan¬ 
 tage to you, to be assured that the good you do is 
 for a happy soul, though unhappy for the time; for 
 a Saint that is ready to be.canonized in Heaven, 
 and, perchance, after a few more moments of pain, 
 shall be a greater Saint there than many whose 
 feasts we keep with great solemnity! Besides, it 
 cannot but be an excessive comfort to oblige a soul 
 which loves God with all its strength, and which 
 will soon lodge in His very Heart. Lastly, what an 
 honour must it be thus to contribute to the glory 
 of so happy a soul, who within a while shall be 
 brighter than the sun and a companion to the 
 Angels, and shall exercise a world of most sublime 
 acts of virtue, of thanksgiving to God, fraternal 
 charity, and the like! And if you chance to go 
 yourself into Pugatory, before they are released, 
 you will be exceedingly rejoiced to see what a 
 grateful remembrance they have of your charity, 
 and would not, for all the treasures in the world, 
 but have done that little you have done for them ; 
 and you will scarce have a more sensible feeling for 
 anything, than for having lost so many occasions 
 of relieving so many poor souls in their grievous 
 torments. 
 
 
 
220 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 Our Blessed Saviour tells us, whosoever bestows 
 a charity on a disciple, or on a prophet, shall be 
 sure to have the reward of a disciple or of a 
 prophet. Now, as long as your charity extends 
 itself only to the living, let your motive be never 
 so pure, and for the love of God, alas, you are 
 often deceived, and think you do a good turn for 
 an Apostle, and he is an apostate, or another Judas. 
 You take him for a great servant of God, and he 
 often proves to be a most wicked fellow: a ravenous 
 wolf in a lamb’s skin. And this is seen daily, and 
 everywhere: not but that you ought to do it, and 
 shall never want your reward. But it falls out 
 clear otherwise, when you place your charity upon 
 the souls in Purgatory; for they are undoubtedly 
 the disciples of Christ, they are prophets and great 
 Saints; and therefore, whosoever shall do any 
 charitable office for them, may well hope to have 
 the reward of Saints. For so, it is not only those 
 that are thus relieved shall be translated into 
 Heaven, but those also that relieve them shall be 
 carried thither in due time, to take possession of 
 the glory of the Saints. 
 
 St. Thomas tells us, there is an order to be 
 observed in our works of charity to our neighbour, 
 that is, we are to see where there is a greater 
 obligation, a greater necessity, a greater merit, and 
 the like circumstances. Now, where is there more 
 necessity or more obligation, than to runjto the fire 
 and to help those that lie there and are not able to 
 get out ? Where can you have more merit than to 
 have a hand in raising up so great Saints and 
 
OF CHARITY TO THE HOLY SOULS. 
 
 221 
 
 servants of God ? Where have you more assurance 
 than where you are sure to lose nothing ? Where 
 can you find an object of more compassion than 
 where there is the greatest misery in the world ? 
 Where is there seen more of God’s glory, than to send 
 new Saints into Heaven to praise God eternally ? 
 Lastly, where can you show more charity, and more 
 of the love of God, than to employ your tears, your 
 sighs, your goods, your hands, your heart, your life, 
 and all your devotion, to procure a good that 
 surpasses all other goods: I mean, to make souls 
 happy for all eternity, by translating them into 
 heavenly joys out of insupportable torments ? That 
 glorious Apostle of the Indies, St. Francis Xavier, 
 could run from one end of the world to the other 
 to convert a soul, and think it no journey. The 
 dangers by sea and land seemed sweet, the tempests 
 pleasing, the labour easy, and his whole time well 
 employed. Good God! what an advantage have 
 we, that with so little trouble and few prayers, may 
 send a thousand beautiful souls into Heaven, without 
 the least hazard of losing anything ? St. Xavier 
 could not be certain that the Japonians, for example, 
 whom he baptized, would persevere in their faith; 
 and, though they should persevere in it, he could 
 have as little certainty of their salvation. Now, it 
 is an article of our faith, that the holy souls in 
 Purgatory are in grace, and shall assuredly one day 
 enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 But, since I am entered upon the point of seeking 
 God’s greater glory, and procuring that His Sacred 
 Majesty be worthily adored by His creatures, where 
 
222 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 can you find anything among all the other works of 
 mercy more eminent in this kind than to concur 
 towards the peopling of Paradise, and increasing 
 the number of those thrice happy souls ? Let it be 
 by never so little that you advance the term appointed 
 for the eternal happiness of a soul, by recovering it 
 out of Purgatory and placing it above the firmament; 
 oh, into what acts of love will she break forth ? what 
 glory will she give to God ? what excess of love, 
 what transports, visions, unions, and miracles of 
 Heaven will ensue ? And what a happiness is it for 
 you to have concurred to make up all these wonders, 
 which would have been quite lost all this time, and 
 by your occasion are now added as a superabundant 
 increase of God’s glory! 
 
 St. Ignatius, that glorious Founder of the Society 
 of Jesus, hesitated not to say, he should think his 
 whole life well bestowed, should he but hinder an 
 ungracious soul from offending God one only night. 
 Such an esteem he had of increasing God’s glory, 
 and such an apprehension of diminishing the least 
 grain thereof. What a mercy is it, then, that by 
 helping a soul out of its purging flames, you are the 
 cause of a million of most Divine acts, which would 
 never have been, had not the time of its delivery 
 been antedated by your charitable and devout 
 prayers. Tell me, dear reader, what can you do 
 here below comparable to this ? How many 
 thousand beggars, prisoners, and sick persons may 
 you relieve, without procuring the thousandth part 
 of this unspeakable good ? That which one does 
 by another’s means, he is accounted to do himself. 
 
OF CHARITY TO THE HOLY SOULS. 
 
 223 
 
 So that all the new Saints, I mean, all the souls 
 who have been delivered by your assistance, shall 
 be, as it were, your lieutenants and your vicar- 
 generals, or your ambassadors, to do incomparable 
 wonders in Heaven, whereof you are the cause, in 
 whole or in part. And what comparison is there, 
 now, between the good we do for men upon earth, 
 and what we do to relieve souls in the other world ? 
 
 There is but one only case that can be imagined, 
 in which your charity might seem clear better 
 employed than in comforting the poor languishing 
 souls in Purgatory. And it is this: suppose that 
 you had but one instant of life at your disposal, 
 and could either employ it in the conversion of a 
 desperate sinner, who must otherwise be infallibly 
 damned without redemption, or in relieving a soul 
 in Purgatory: whether you ought not, in this case, 
 to prefer the eternal salvation of a sinner before 
 the present ease of a soul in Purgatory ? To this 
 I answer, that, in the first place, you put a very 
 metaphysical case, far remote from all common 
 practice; for it is not a thing that will probably 
 ever happen. But, should it really fall out, then, 
 in God’s name, do the one or the other, as God 
 shall inspire you: and God will sooner multiply the 
 bread in your hands, than you should want an 
 occasion of relieving the poor, whether living or 
 dead. But to give you better satisfaction, put the 
 case as you please, and I will make the souls in 
 Purgatory themselves judges of the cause, that 
 they may have no reason to complain, or appeal 
 from my sentence. 
 
224 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 They will certainly tell you, that where there is 
 question of a mortal sin, or of the eternal loss of a 
 soul that has been ransomed with the Blood of 
 Christ, they had rather lie still groaning under their 
 torments, than purchase a little ease at so dear a 
 rate. 
 
 No, they are not so selfish: their love is more 
 pure than so: their fidelity to God will never suffer 
 them to seek their own glory with the least diminu¬ 
 tion or lessening of God’s glory. St. Catharine of 
 Sienna begged two years together, with tears in her 
 eyes, that she might be damned for all mankind; 
 and that she alone might suffer all the pains of 
 Hell, rather than any one soul should be damned, 
 or her dearest Spouse grievously offended. And do 
 you believe that a tender virgin, made of flesh and 
 blood, and as yet a sinner, at least so far as to be 
 guilty of certain venial transgressions, can have less 
 self-love, more courage, and more of the love of 
 God, than the souls of the other world, who are 
 totally disengaged from all self-respects, and love 
 God only with a most perfect love ? No ; they had 
 rather double and redouble their cruel martyrdoms, 
 with a million of fresh torments, than willingly give 
 consent that, for their sakes, one should forbear 
 to hinder the commission of a mortal sin or the 
 damnation of a soul. And, therefore, should the 
 case fall in your way, stick not to bestow your time 
 for the benefit of the living: do not so much as 
 think on the souls in Purgatory, who would most 
 willingly melt themselves away in tormenting fire, 
 rather than permit such a horrible mischief. 
 
GREAT ADVANTAGE TO OURSELVES. 
 
 225 
 
 § 3 .—Of the great advantages we receive by this 
 devotion for the soids departed. 
 
 But, to come nearer to you, seeing that interest 
 rules the world most, and is the spirit that moves 
 the whole universe, if you are at all sensible of your 
 own interest, I mean a holy interest, allowed of by 
 God Himself, to wit, an interest which we all have 
 in the increase of our grace, glory, and eternal 
 happiness: in God’s name, do all the good you can 
 for your neighbour. Except only the case I lately 
 spoke of, I defy you to do the thing that can bring 
 you so much true and solid good, or be of so much 
 advantage to you, as is the striving to relieve the 
 souls in Purgatory. 
 
 And first: though it were true (as many will 
 have it) that the souls in Purgatory are not able to 
 obtain the least mercy of Almighty God, for them¬ 
 selves or us, in respect of their present confinement, 
 in which they lie, as it were, at pawn, and under a 
 most severe restraint and strict seizure, yet have we 
 reason to believe their good Angels will supply their 
 defect, and not fail to requite you for seconding 
 them so well in delivering the souls under their 
 charge, for whom they are in a kind of pain, to see 
 them endure so much pain, and yet to be held back, 
 as it were, only by a small thread from enjoying 
 their full liberty, and becoming their companions 
 and as glorious as themselves. One sigh, or sob, 
 one tear of yours, shed for these captive souls, is 
 enough to cut the thread, and then they will cry 
 out with holy David : Our souls are got loose, like 
 p 
 
226 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 the innocent sparrow, and are flown up to Heaven ; 
 having happily broken the iron nets that held them 
 bound to hellish'fire. The holy name of God be 
 ever blessed, and they also who have been so kind 
 as to call upon Him in our behalfs. It is you, dear 
 reader, to whom these holy souls address their 
 speech, whom you have comforted with a good 
 wish, or with a tear, or with a Mass, or with a 
 Communion. 
 
 But suppose the Angels should neglect to 
 perform this good office, which notwithstanding we 
 have reason to expect of their charity, God Himself 
 would not fail to do it. For, beholding the zeal 
 with which you burn, and the charity which impels 
 you to succour those tormented souls, whom He 
 loves, and for whom He has prepared eternal 
 laurels and rich crowns of immortal glory, can you 
 doubt whether He takes it well that you love these 
 His dear friends, that you have a tender heart 
 towards those He so tenderly loves, that you do 
 this good work, believing (as it is most true) that 
 this is fraternal charity in the highest point of its 
 perfection, and that, making choice of it to serve 
 God in the best manner by yourself, and by those 
 holy souls, His infinite goodness is highly pleased 
 with your charity, so well bestowed, and on so good 
 a subject ? 
 
 Mark well the reason I am now going about to 
 lay down before you. Christ Jesus has vouchsafed 
 to honour His Church so far as to style it His Body, 
 of which He is the Divine Head. Now, it is most 
 certain, that of all the members of this most sacred 
 
GREAT ADVANTAGE TO OURSELVES. 
 
 227 
 
 and mystical Body, that which is the most oppressed 
 with evils, and the most lamentably afflicted, are 
 these dear souls, who are, alas, most severely treated 
 in the bosom of the Church Suffering; since there is 
 not any torment in the world that is comparable to 
 theirs, as you have seen elsewhere. 
 
 If, then, our Blessed Saviour see your heart melt 
 with compassion for that part of His Body which is 
 the most comfortless and the most afflicted of all 
 others, sure He must needs love you with a paternal 
 affection, and give 3'ou a thousand benedictions for 
 the ease and comfort you give Him in that part of 
 His Body which suffers most. Historians tell us, 
 how a man having one day plucked out a thorn out 
 of a lion’s foot, the generous beast, feeling himself 
 eased in that part which was most grieved, soon 
 forgot his fierce nature, and by force of love and 
 gratitude metamorphosed himself into a lamb, to 
 wait upon this saviour of his, who had thus pre¬ 
 served his life ; and, by way of requital, in a like 
 occasion of danger, saved the man’s life also, to 
 the astonishment of all the beholders. God plays 
 the lion of Juda below in Purgatory, permitting 
 His justice to sway the sceptre of rigour. Now, if 
 you but pull out the thorn out of His Foot, that is, 
 if you ease Him in that part of His mystical Body 
 which suffers the pains of Purgatory, this Lion will 
 soon become a Lamb : He will not only save these 
 poor souls, but when you yourself are in most need, 
 as when you are struggling for life, He will show 
 Himself, He will fight for you, and will give you the 
 true life ; in a word, He will make you clearly see 
 
228 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 how well He takes it that you have plucked out the 
 thorn out of His Foot. 
 
 Now, let us suppose the worst. Put the case, 
 that neither God nor His Angels do requite you. 
 Yet I maintain, you cannot do an act of fraternal 
 charity wherein your gain is so great and so certain 
 as this. I do not only say this, because the men of 
 this world are commonly in an ill state, in which 
 their prayers can do you no service. I do not only 
 say it because, though you suppose them to be in a 
 state of grace, yet is their devotion for you soon at 
 an end, and, while it lasts, is but a slender, cold, 
 and untoward piece of service. 
 
 I do not only say that these souls, who are truly 
 miserable, and yet holy, under a cruel restraint, and 
 yet happy, not able to merit anything, and yet 
 gracious in the sight of His Divine Majesty:—I do 
 not only say, that when they are once got into 
 Paradise, they will be so many Guardian Angels of 
 yours, so many advocates to plead your cause at 
 the grand tribunal of the Most Holy Trinity, so 
 many patrons and sureties for you and yours. But 
 I say, that even while they remain prisoners, they 
 will do miracles for you. 
 
 I said, miracles. Now hear how they will do 
 that which cannot be done. They will effect that 
 for you which they cannot do for themselves ; and, 
 were it necessary to work a miracle in good earnest, 
 they would sooner do it than forsake you in your 
 necessities. I am not ignorant that the Angelical 
 Doctor 1 teaches that those unhappy souls are in 
 1 St. Thomas, 2. 2. 9. 83. a. 11. ad. 3. 
 
OUR GREAT INTEREST TO PRAY FOR THEM. 229 
 
 such a wretched state, that they have more need to 
 beg our prayers than to pray for us; that they are 
 wholly taken up with paying their debts to God’s 
 justice, Who exacts an account of them to the last 
 farthing ; that this suffering Church is rather in a 
 condition to suffer than to act anything; that it 
 is not now a time to merit, but to burn ; not to 
 succour those that are living, but to expect succour 
 from them. A man that is drowning has not leisure 
 to think of others; a notorious malefactor, that 
 swims in boiling oil, is not in a place where he 
 ought, or can, plead for another; his whole mind is 
 so plunged in the oil, and all his thoughts so over¬ 
 whelmed with the boiling liquor that torments him. 
 Alas ! those racked souls have more reason to cry 
 out, with holy Job : Ah, you my friends, you at 
 least take pity of me, for the hand of God’s justice, 
 so lovingly severe, hangs continually over me, and 
 strikes me without intermission ; cease not to pour 
 out your prayers for me, to abate the rigour of His 
 justice with your charitable sighs, for a most miser¬ 
 able soul. 1 They have, I say, more need to beg our 
 prayers than to pray for us. I know well, that 
 many learned Doctors are of opinion that the souls 
 in Purgatory do not pray for us. But it is no point 
 of our faith; and therefore they must give me 
 leave to side with other great divines, who very 
 probably maintain that those grateful souls pray 
 most ardently for those that pray for them. 2 The 
 
 1 Job xix. 21. 
 
 2 Bellarmine, De Purgatorio, lib. 2, c. 17; Suarez, d. 47, sec. 2 ; 
 De Oratione, lib. i. c. n. 
 
230 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 rich glutton, though he was certainly damned, could 
 pray, after his fashion, for his brothers: and shall 
 not a holy soul have the power to do it ? Abraham 
 argued the case with him ; called him, lovingly, 
 son; 1 and seemed to be upon the point of doing 
 something for him ; at least, gave him the comfort 
 to tell him, that his brothers had Moses and the 
 prophets to instruct them : as if he would have 
 said, that if his brothers had not been sufficiently 
 provided of other means, he would peradventure 
 have granted him his request, and sent Lazarus to 
 preach to them. But to give you a stronger 2 
 instance. The devils themselves have put up their 
 requests to God, and have been heard, and obtained 
 that sorry comfort they desired: as when they 
 desired not to be thrust down into Hell, and got 
 leave to enter into the herd of swine, and then 
 throw themselves into the sea. 3 What! shall the 
 damned souls pray, and shall the devils be able to 
 obtain their request, and shall not the souls in 
 Purgatory have the like privileges ? St. Thomas 
 does not deny that they pray for us: but only 
 affirms that they have more need of our prayers; 
 which is most true, but may well consist with their 
 praying for us. A wicked felon, that is going to be 
 turned off the ladder, has yet a care to pray for his 
 whole family, for the King and the whole Bench 
 that condemned him, and many times for the very 
 
 1 St. Luke xvi. 25. 
 
 * The original has "stranger,” which perhaps is the true 
 reading. 
 
 3 St. Matt. viii. 31. 
 
OUR GREAT INTEREST TO PRAY FOR THEM. 231 
 
 hangman too who is ready to strangle him. And 
 shall this wretch have more power, or more zeal, or 
 more grace, than those souls, who are so holy, and 
 who, in spite of their torments, are very present to 
 themselves, and have their wits about them, free 
 from all trouble and disquiet which might rob them 
 of the sentiment and feeling which they ought to 
 have, of the obligation they owe to the charity of 
 those that pray for them ? Oh, no: they do the 
 one, and yet neglect not the other. They pray for 
 themselves in suffering, they pray for us in sighing ; 
 and the one hinders not the other in Purgatory, 
 since even here upon earth the soul that is im¬ 
 mersed in flesh and blood can perform both 
 parts, that is, satisfy for herself, and yet have 
 a solicitous care of others. Did not Onias and 
 Hieremias pray affectionately for the people of 
 God whilst they were in the dark prison of 
 Abraham’s bosom ? And do not the Saints assure 
 us, that God wrought a miracle for the merits 
 of St. Paschasius, who yet, nevertheless, was not 
 out of Purgatory? 1 The same is reported of 
 St. Severin; and though there be some dispute 
 who this St. Severin was, yet the authors doubt 
 not but that a Saint in Purgatory may work a 
 miracle by God’s permission. Some that are 
 damned have wrought miracles; and is it such a 
 wonder that we should allow this to the Saints 
 of God’s suffering Church ? 
 
 We read in the Life of St. Catharine of Bologna, 
 whose body, flesh and bone, is yet entire, and sits 
 
 1 St. Gregory, Dialogue 4. 
 
232 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 to this hour in a chair exposed to the view of the 
 world, though it be above sixty years since her 
 death—we read, I say, in her Life (which has the 
 approbation of the Apostolic See), that she had not 
 only a strange tenderness for the souls, but a 
 singular devotion to them, and was wont to recom¬ 
 mend herself to them in all her necessities. The 
 reason she alleged for it was this : that she had 
 learnt of Almighty God how she had frequently 
 obtained far greater favours by their intercession 
 than by other means. And the story adds this ; 
 that it often happened that what she begged of God, 
 at the intercession of the Saints in Heaven, she 
 could never obtain of Him, and yet as soon as she 
 addressed herself to the souls in Purgatory she had 
 her suit instantly granted. Can there be any 
 question but there are souls in that purging fire, 
 who are of a higher pitch of sanctity, and of far 
 greater merit in the sight of God, than a thousand 
 and a thousand Saints who are already glorious in 
 the Court of Heaven ? 
 
 Tell me, was not our dread Sovereign, during his 
 late banishment, more puissant and more mighty 
 than his subjects, who lived still in their own 
 country, at their ease, and perhaps in greater 
 plenty? For we see him no sooner restored to his 
 undoubted right, but he is every way as great a 
 King as his predecessors, as richly attired, as much 
 courted by foreign princes, and as gloriously 
 attended at Whitehall; whereas the rest of his 
 nobility and gentry are but his creatures and most 
 humble servants. 
 
THEY ARE POWERFUL ADVOCATES. 
 
 233 
 
 There are great souls that for some slight mis¬ 
 demeanours are banished out of the Kingdom of 
 Heaven, to which they are heirs apparent, as being 
 the adopted sons of God by grace, nay, more, are 
 locked up in that burning furnace which we call 
 Purgatory; but they are scarce let loose when you 
 may see them come out in triumph, and go soaring 
 up above the heavens, so high as to lose sight of 
 them. And when they are once there, what will 
 they not do for you ? And what did not our gracious 
 King, according to his power, to honour and gratify 
 those that stuck close to him in his misfortune, or 
 were so lucky as to have a great hand in restoring 
 him ? King David, at his death, recommending his 
 good servants to his son Solomon, spoke thus withal: 
 “ My son, there is such a one and such a one have 
 well deserved death for the crimes they have com¬ 
 mitted ; but when I was generally deserted, and 
 when others took the boldness upon them to throw 
 stones at me, these men took pity on me and gave 
 me succour in my greatest affliction; and therefore 
 I charge thee, O my dear son, to be mindful of 
 them, and to favour them, as thou lovest me.” 
 Have not holy souls as much charity as David ? Is 
 not the misfortune into which they are fallen of a 
 more sensible nature than his ? In what a lofty 
 strain will they then represent unto God the good 
 service you have done for them in their extreme 
 necessity, when they find themselves once securely 
 seated in those heavenly mansions ! And what will 
 not that boundless mercy be moved to grant, at the 
 instance of so dear friends ? 
 
234 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 Shall I tell you, there are many worthy persons 
 who think these following words of Jesus Christ 
 may be very properly applied to the souls in Purga¬ 
 tory ? Do good, saith He, and make yourselves 
 friends at the charge of your purses; and be good 
 stewards of Mammon, the false god of riches, that 
 those whom you relieve may assist you at the hour 
 of your death, and lead you into eternal tabernacles. 
 Among the poor, none so secure of enjoying the 
 delights of Paradise as the souls in Purgatory, who 
 are all predestinate, and all holy. For the present, 
 they are poor indeed, and helpless creatures; but if 
 you contribute never so little to their ease, they will 
 be sure to requite you in your necessities; if not 
 before, at least when they are once possessed of the 
 joys of Heaven. 
 
 Cardinal Baronius, a man of credit beyond ex¬ 
 ception, relates 1 how a person of rare virtue found 
 himself dangerously assaulted at the hour of his 
 death; and that in this agony he saw the heavens 
 open, and about eight thousand champions, all 
 covered with white armour, descend, who fell in¬ 
 stantly to encourage him, by giving him this assur¬ 
 ance, that they were come to fight for him, and to 
 disengage him from that doubtful combat. And 
 when, with infinite comfort, and tears in his eyes, 
 he besought them to do him the favour to let him 
 know who they were that had so highly obliged 
 him: “We are,” said they, “the souls whom you 
 have saved and delivered out of Purgatory; and 
 now, to requite the favour, we are come down to 
 
 1 Annul. Eccles. 
 
THEY ARE POWERFUL ADVOCATES. 
 
 235 
 
 convey you instantly into Heaven.” And with that, 
 he died. 
 
 We read such another story of St. Gertrude; 1 
 how she was troubled at her death to think what 
 must become of her, since she had given away all 
 the rich treasure of her satisfactions to redeem 
 other poor souls, without reserving anything to 
 herself: but that our Blessed Saviour gave her the 
 comfort to know, that she was not only to have 
 the like favour of being immediately conducted into 
 Heaven out of this world, by those innumerable 
 souls whom she had sent thither before her by her 
 fervent prayers, but was there also to receive a 
 hundred-fold of eternal glory in reward of her 
 charity. By which examples we may learn, that 
 we cannot make better use of our devotion and 
 charity than this way. But he that will fully 
 satisfy himself that he can lose nothing, but gain 
 excessively, though he should offer up all his satis¬ 
 factory works for the souls in Purgatory, let him 
 read over what Father Eusebius Nierembergicus 
 and Father James Monford have excellently well 
 written upon this subject. 
 
 1 Dion. Carthus. apud P. Roam, De Purg. c. 20. 
 
THE FOURTH SURVEY. 
 
 OF THE POWERFUL MEANS TO QUENCH THE FLAMES 
 
 OF PURGATORY. 
 
 Could the poor souls but help themselves, or abate 
 the cruelty of their torments with all their devout 
 aspirations, so pure and so holy, they would soon 
 free themselves. But, alas, they cannot: and this 
 is one of their greatest miseries, to see themselves 
 in so desperate a condition as to be overwhelmed 
 with raging fire, and not to have the power to get 
 out, or to allay the fury of the flames, or to merit 
 the least favour in this kind; not so much as de 
 congruo, as the scholastics speak, or by a certain 
 congruity, harmony, or fitness. The time of meriting 
 expired with their lives; what now remains is 
 wholly appointed for suffering: and it is not the 
 least of their vexations, to see how easily they 
 might have prevented all these mischiefs in their 
 lifetime, and that now there is no remedy, but by 
 suffering, to supply for that negligence, though they 
 would never so gladly. Howsoever, I love those 
 divines 1 who are something more civil in this point 
 than their fellows; and am easily persuaded by 
 them, that although the souls cannot immediately 
 1 Suarez, sec. 3, d. 19, post St. Thomam. 
 
THEY CANNOT HELP THEMSELVES. 
 
 237 
 
 contribute the least to their own ransom, or any 
 way merit their own deliverance, yet they may be 
 so happy as to work upon the goodness of their 
 Angels, and by their means obtain some sweet 
 refreshments at the merciful hand of God where¬ 
 with to allay the bitterness of their torments. And, 
 following their opinion who teach that they pray 
 for us, and procure us heavenly favours, what in¬ 
 consequence were it, to say further, that they move 
 our good Angels to inspire us efficaciously, to inter¬ 
 cede for them, and to assist them with all the duties 
 of Christian charity ? it being a thing to which the 
 holy Angels are otherwise of themselves so much 
 inclined, without the solicitation or importunity of 
 others. 
 
 § 1 .—What succour they receive from the Angels and 
 
 Saints in Heaven ? 
 
 In the first place, you would be resolved whether 
 the Angels and Saints in Heaven, and above all, the 
 Mother of Mercy, pray really for them; and if so, 
 how comes it to pass that they do not every hour, 
 or indeed every instant, make a general gaol delivery, 
 and quite empty Purgatory? For what power has 
 not the Mother of God ? What cannot so many 
 millions of Angels and Saints do ? What can they be 
 denied, in so favourable a request, for persons of so 
 high merit ? I answer, that they pray for them, and 
 pray in good earnest; and I say further, that they 
 are not content with a quarant hour, 1 now and then, 
 as our custom is, in occasions of pressing necessity, 
 
 1 i.e. Obtaining a quarantine, or Indulgence of forty days. 
 
238 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 but they keep a perpetual and constant course of 
 prayer in Heaven, in favour of these holy souls. 
 
 This I take to be the pious belief of the Catholic 
 Church, as delivered by the whole sacred torrent of 
 Doctors. 1 Nor is there the least reason why they 
 should not do it; being not only powerful, but full 
 of charity : especially when they remember that the 
 like charity was bestowed on many of themselves, 
 that the necessity of the souls is extreme urgent, 
 that they are all members of one body, that they 
 do not only concur to the glorification of their dear 
 brethren, but are themselves to receive an additional 
 increase of accidental glory for having advanced 
 the delivery of those precious souls, who perhaps 
 may be holier than some of their own blessed 
 company. Besides, this is a charitable office, suits 
 well with their happy state, and there appears not 
 the least inconvenience in it in this world. And 
 yet, if this be so, one would think they might soon 
 turn all the souls loose, and empty Purgatory, so 
 that it were impossible for any soul to make any 
 long stay there. Hold; you must pardon me, and 
 not flatter yourselves too much with this vain 
 credulity. You are to know, that the Saints are 
 not such strangers to the decrees of Divine justice, 
 as to beg the soul’s release without punishment; 
 for that were the way to destroy all justice. No; 
 they accommodate themselves to the laws of 
 Heaven, and willingly submit to the most equitable 
 resolves of God’s justice; amongst which it stands 
 irrevocably decreed, that this life should be the 
 
 Vide Suarez, d. 48, sec. 5. 
 
THE SAINTS PRAY FOR THEM. 
 
 239 
 
 place for mercy, but that justice should bear the 
 sway in Purgatory. Do not then wonder, that 
 the Saints do not obtain so extravagant a favour. 
 The souls themselves, who are the most nearly 
 concerned in their own sufferings, would be ashamed 
 to demand it. Is it not reason, that God should be 
 God in all His attributes, and exercise His justice 
 as well as His mercy ? We must take heed how 
 we employ, or rather abuse, His clemency, so as 
 to break down the laws of His justice. Would you 
 then know what the Saints do ? 
 
 First, they pray God to inspire the living to offer 
 up their satisfactory works for the dead, and to find 
 out a thousand inventions to help them. 
 
 Secondly, they strive to shorten the time, by 
 procuring that the intensity of their pains may 
 supply for the length and extension thereof: wherein 
 there is no wrong done to justice, but only an 
 exchange made of a long pain into a shorter one, 
 but more violent; and yet this is an extraordinary 
 favour: for you cannot imagine what an incom¬ 
 parable treasure is one day in Heaven advanced 
 before the time prefixed. 
 
 Thirdly, many Saints have left behind them a 
 great treasure of satisfactions above what was due 
 for their sins; so many holy innocent hermits, so 
 many chaste virgins, so many great Saints of all 
 Orders in God’s Church, who lead such austere 
 lives. Now, is it not very likely that these good 
 Saints may pray God to apply the superabundance 
 of these their merits and satisfactions to the poor 
 souls in Purgatory? And who knows, whether the 
 
240 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 infinite goodness of God may not accept it for good 
 payment ? 
 
 Fourthly, why may we not piously imagine, that 
 even those Saints who have no such remainder of 
 merits, pray those that have it to bestow it as an 
 alms to relieve the poor souls ? Sure, they are so 
 courteous as not to deny anything to one another, 
 especially in a case of so great commiseration: and 
 why should they hoard up these precious treasures 
 which cannot avail them ? or how can they bestow 
 them more charitably ? 
 
 Fifthly, what harm were it to say that the Saints 
 beseech our Blessed Lady, and even Christ Himself, 
 Who has an infinite treasure of satisfactions in 
 store, to apply some of their precious merits this 
 way ? I know the severer divines will not have it 
 that the Saints have recourse in this to our Blessed 
 Saviour, Who has determined what and how He 
 will have this applied, according to the ordinary 
 course and fixed laws of His Divine justice. But 
 there be other Doctors of a milder temper, who 
 believe He may be drawn sometimes to waive the 
 extremity of rigour, and to dispense with His own 
 laws; so that by extraordinary privilege we may 
 hope for this favour of sweet Jesus and His Saints. 
 And if other Saints have so much charity for the 
 poor souls, you will think it but reasonable that the 
 fathers and mothers (the same is to be said of other 
 near relations) who are in Heaven, and know that 
 the souls of their dear children are locked up in that 
 fiery furnace, will use all their possible endeavour, 
 as far as God will give them leave, to fetch them 
 
CAN THEY PRAY ONE FOR ANOTHER? 
 
 241 
 
 out. But what shall I say of those Saints who 
 were lifted up into Heaven before their time, by 
 the extraordinary assistance of the living, whose 
 turn now it is to be in Purgatory ? Is it not very 
 credible they will now requite their courtesy, and 
 with usury too? For example: there may be a 
 soul in Purgatory that has helped above a thousand 
 other souls out of that place of torments. Can it 
 be imagined but that that regiment of Saints will 
 do all they can, and more if it were possible, to 
 deliver this their deliverer, and to place him in the 
 Court of Heaven, who had so great a hand in their 
 timely preferment ? But, because we are mere 
 strangers to the style of that Court, and nothing 
 acquainted with the constitutions of that Divine 
 monarchy, let us conclude only thus : That whatso¬ 
 ever the Saints can do for the comfort of these 
 languishing souls, we may be sure they do it, and do 
 it punctually, without neglecting the least moment; 
 and, where they cannot prevail without breaking 
 the just decrees of their Sovereign, there they 
 willingly acquiesce, and with due submission adore 
 the Divine justice. So much for the Saints. Let 
 us now speak of the souls themselves, and see- 
 
 § 2 .—Whether they are capable of being relieved by one 
 
 another's prayers. 
 
 It may be justly questioned whether the souls, 
 though altogether incapable of helping themselves in 
 their extreme misery, may not at least be permitted 
 to help one another by their devout prayers. For 
 if they have the privilege to pray for the Saints in 
 
 Q 
 
242 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 Heaven, that God will be pleased to increase their 
 glory; if they can pray for the living, as I en¬ 
 deavoured to evince in the last section, nay, if a 
 damned soul may have liberty to pray for his 
 friends, as it seems to be clear in the case of the 
 rich glutton, why may they not be so kind as to 
 pray for one another ? “ If the flames of Hell,” 
 said the devout Sales, that worthy prelate of 
 Geneva, “were not sullied with the smoke of sin, 
 were they but pure flames of holy love, oh, what 
 a pleasure were it to be swallowed up by such 
 flames, or to be thus condemned eternally to love 
 God! ” What should hinder, then, but that the 
 souls in Purgatory, where the fire of love triumphs 
 over their tormenting flames, may display their 
 ardent charity, and vigorously apply themselves to 
 assist and comfort one another, as far as God’s 
 providence will give them leave ? May we not 
 presume to fancy, that out of an excess of charity 
 they are willing to despoil themselves of all those 
 helps and advantages which they receive from their 
 friends, to throw them upon others, offering them¬ 
 selves freely to suffer for one another ? Tertullian 1 
 admires how prodigal the first Christians were in 
 this kind of charity; of suffering, and even dying 
 for one another; how ready they were to leap into 
 the very flames, and expose themselves to the most 
 cruel tortures that could be devised: and all to save 
 others, for whom they were prepared. What ? shall 
 frail mortals, who are made up of flesh and blood, 
 thus willingly suffer for one another, and shall not 
 
 1 Tertullian, Apolog. 
 
CAN THEY PRAY ONE FOR ANOTHER? 
 
 243 
 
 the souls, who have cast off, with their bodies, all 
 human weakness and imperfection, have as much 
 charity for other souls ? Especially, being certain 
 of their salvation, of which men in this life can have 
 no assurance, without a particular revelation. 
 
 Didymus offered to die for St. Theodora; and 
 finally died both for her and with her. 1 Eliseus, 
 being dead himself, raised another from death to 
 life, which was more than he did for himself. 
 St. Paul would have been content to be anathema, 
 to save the Jews, always under condition that it 
 might be without sin. David would willingly have 
 met with death in her ugliest attire, so he might 
 have saved his son Absalom; and yet he knew him 
 to be but a graceless and unnatural parricide. Shall 
 not holy souls have as much kindness for other 
 souls, whom they see upon the point of being 
 metamorphosed into Seraphim, as David had for a 
 mere reprobate and lost creature ? Many Saints in 
 this world have begged it as a favour of Almighty 
 God, that they might suffer for the souls in Purga¬ 
 tory ; and have done it in good earnest, freely 
 renouncing their own conveniences for the souls’ 
 comfort, by a most heroical act of supernatural 
 charity. Do not you believe, that the souls in 
 Purgatory have a more refined love, and that they 
 actuate themselves in more heroical, transcendent 
 acts of charity, since they are not only grown to be 
 impeccable, but have withal a far clearer insight 
 into the nature of this Divine virtue ? Aye, but— 
 you say—they can merit nothing. True; but do 
 
 1 St. Ambrose, De Virgin. 
 
244 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 you take them to be so selfish as to do nothing 
 purely for God’s sake, without seeking their own 
 interest ? What say you to our Guardian Angels ? 
 Is it for any private lucre or merit, or purely to 
 please God, and to do us a work of singular charity, 
 that they have so solicitous a care of us ? And 
 when God Himself loves us, is it, I pray you, for 
 any interest of His own, or out of an excess of His 
 overflowing bounty and charity, which well becomes 
 Him ? “ Be perfect,” saith He, “ as I am perfect.” 1 
 Now, the means to do this is, to be well versed in 
 these acts of heroical love; as, to love God for God, 
 because He deserves it, as being the only charming 
 Object of our love. “I love,” said St. Augustine, 
 “because I love; I am resolved to love, because I 
 am beloved of Him that loves me only because He 
 will needs love me.” To love for mere love is the 
 quintessence of Divine love. What ? shall we be so 
 niggardly, so mercenary, or so mechanical, as not to 
 exercise an act of pure love, without hope of reward ? 
 Is not our love well requited, if we please God and 
 those whom God loveth ? They say, Apelles would 
 give away his pictures for nothing; he had so great 
 a value for them, he thought no set price could be 
 equal to their worth, and that gold itself was too 
 mean a thing to purchase such precious labours: 
 which he therefore chose rather to give away gratis, 
 than to expose to an unworthy sale. So that the 
 bare pleasure he took in bestowing them upon his 
 friends, was all the recompense he looked for, for 
 those incomparable pieces. And certainly it is a 
 
 1 St. Matt. v. 48. 
 
CAN THEY PRAY ONE FOR ANOTHER? 
 
 245 
 
 most noble and truly royal thing, to give, and to 
 give without hope of requital. 
 
 Seneca spoke a word, which showed a magnani¬ 
 mous and true generous heart. 1 “ To give, and to 
 lose all benefit by one’s gift, is no such wonderful 
 thing; but to lose all benefit, and yet to be still 
 giving, is a Divine masterpiece, and an act worthy 
 of God indeed.” Now, when these charitable souls 
 can gratify others, by giving away the charities 
 which are bestowed on them, why should they not 
 do it ? To do a pleasure for another, without incom¬ 
 moding oneself, is no more than what you may 
 expect of an Arabian or barbarian; but to incom¬ 
 mode oneself, to lie burning in fire, groaning under 
 excessive torments; and all this to make others 
 happy, is certainly an act worthy of those noble and 
 generous souls, who are all inflamed with pure 
 Divine love. When the people had a mind to 
 flatter their Caesars, they would cry out: “ O Jupiter, 
 take away some of our years; shorten our lives, 
 decimate our days, and give it all to prolong the 
 life of our good Prince ! Let him live, at the charge 
 of our lives; we are all ready to lay them down at 
 his feet, that he alone may live and reign happily, 
 in the flourishing greatness of his Empire.” Shall 
 infidels have more kindness for a mortal man, 
 perhaps a wicked tyrant, or a profane atheist, than 
 holy souls have for those that are about to be canon¬ 
 ized as Saints in the Church Triumphant ? I have 
 heard of great servants of God, who, when they saw 
 some famous preacher, or apostolical person, draw 
 
 1 Seneca, De Benef. 
 
246 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 near to his end, would express themselves to this 
 purpose: Oh, that I were permitted to die in his 
 stead! for I, alas, am but an unprofitable member 
 of the Church; all my services avail but little to 
 advance God’s cause: whereas this worthy person 
 may do a world of good, and be a comfort to infinite 
 souls. What should hinder a soul in Purgatory 
 from having the like feeling ? May she not, and 
 with truth, cry out: I am well acquainted with my 
 own abilities, and can have a near guess what I am 
 able to do in Paradise, where I am like to be one of 
 the meanest servants in the whole house of God; 
 and therefore may be well spared. But there is 
 such a soul: had she but once cleared the petty 
 debts she stands yet engaged for, she would instantly 
 mount above all the choirs of Angels, and possibly 
 soar up to the highest Seraphim. Oh, that I might 
 but have leave to suffer here a while in her place! 
 how willingly would I do it, that so my God might 
 be the sooner and better glorified in Heaven by this 
 happy soul, and a million of other souls upon earth 
 receive comfort and protection from her powerful 
 intercessions! I willingly resign unto her all the 
 right I have of being set free myself, and, if God 
 permit, I am ready to make her a deed of gift of all 
 the suffrages which my dear friends have sent me: 
 for sure, all the pains which shall fall upon me by 
 this bargain, cannot but be lovingly sweet, since 
 they are the cause of so great a good in the imperial 
 Court of Heaven. St. Christina was already lodged 
 in Heaven, says Cardinal Bellarmine, 1 when she 
 
 1 De gemitu col. c. de Purg. 
 
HOW WE CAN HELP THEM. 
 
 247 
 
 quitted the glory of Paradise, to exchange it for the 
 flames of a thousand and a thousand most cruel 
 martyrdoms. And why may we not believe that 
 souls so charitable would willingly yet remain in 
 their flames, that others more worthy than them¬ 
 selves may be sent forth in their stead, to glorify 
 God in Heaven ? Whether God accept of these 
 holy desires or no, may be a question; but at least 
 it seems very credible, that the souls who are so 
 replenished with perfect charity, make such tenders 
 of their service, as far as God gives them leave, and 
 as far as it may stand with the laws of the Church 
 Suffering. But enough of what passes in the other 
 world ; of which we have no certain revelation, nor 
 other clear light to guide us by. Let us now turn 
 our speech to the living, and see what they are able 
 to perform for the benefit of the dead. 
 
 § 3 .—That the dead may receive help from us that 
 are living , and how we must he qualified to do 
 them good. 
 
 Be pleased to take notice what several meanings 
 these three words import; satisfaction, impetration, 
 and suffrage. Satisfaction implies a good work, 
 accompanied with some grief or pain, corresponding 
 to the pleasure we unadvisedly took in sinning; 
 whereby we make an honourable amends, and 
 satisfy the laws of justice, by repairing the injury 
 we have done. Impetration is a kind of letter of 
 request, which we present to the mercy of God, 
 beseeching Him to pardon those for whom we offer 
 up the sacrifice of our devotions and the incense of 
 
248 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 our sighs and prayers ; so that our prayers address 
 themselves solely to the mercy of God, and crave 
 an absolute pardon, or abolishment of the crime, 
 as a pure gift, without offering any proportionable 
 satisfaction, save only that of our Blessed Saviour, 
 or, in general, of the Church Militant. Suffrage is 
 a term which comprehends both; whether it be a 
 penal work, or a prayer only, or both happily 
 united together. The Church Triumphant, to speak 
 properly, cannot satisfy; because there is no place 
 for penal works in the Court of Heaven, whence all 
 grief and pain are eternally banished. 
 
 Wherefore the Saints may well proceed by way of 
 impetration and prayers : or, at most, represent their 
 former satisfactions, which are carefully laid up in 
 the treasury of the Church, in lieu of those which 
 are due from others : but as for any new satisfaction 
 or payment, derived from any penal act of their 
 own, it is not to be looked for in those happy 
 mansions of eternal glory. 
 
 The Church Militant may do either; as having 
 this advantage over the Church Triumphant, that 
 she can help the souls in Purgatory by her prayers 
 and satisfactory works, and by offering up her 
 charitable suffrages, wherewith to pay the debts of 
 those poor souls, who are run in arrear in point of 
 satisfaction due for their sins. Had they but fasted, 
 prayed, laboured, or suffered a little more in this 
 life, they had gone directly into Heaven ; what they 
 unhappily neglected, we may supply for them; and 
 it will be accepted for good payment, as from their 
 bails and sureties. You know, he that stands surety 
 
HOW WE CAN HELP THEM. 
 
 249 
 
 for another, takes the whole debt upon himself; this 
 is our case; for, the living as it were entering bond 
 for the dead, become responsible for their debts, 
 and offer up fast for fast, tears for tears, in the same 
 measure and proportion as they were liable to them; 
 and so defray the debt of their friends at their own 
 charge, and make all clear. 
 
 This, then, is the general sense of the Church, 
 that the living may help the afflicted souls in all 
 these several ways : either by satisfying for them, or 
 by their prayers, or by interposing the satisfactions 
 of Christ Jesus, Who has left them at the disposition 
 of the Holy Church, His beloved Spouse. And what 
 rational person can deny this ? since they are all 
 members of the same mystical body; and conse¬ 
 quently are bound in charity to yield mutual assist¬ 
 ance and comfort to one another; and the rather, 
 inasmuch as every one in his turn may stand in 
 need of the same friendship, and look to be requited. 
 “I am partaker,” said holy David, “with all those 
 that fear Thee : 9,1 and Holy Church to this purpose 
 repeats that doleful ditty, so full of tenderness, out 
 •of Job : “ Take pity on me, at least you that are my 
 friends; for the hand of God has touched ,” 2 yea, 
 has fallen heavily upon me. And otherwise we must 
 discredit a world of good authors, a world of authen- 
 tical records, a world of most pregnant proofs, and 
 blow upon the reputation of venerable antiquity, 
 which has ever held it as one of the main points of 
 Christian charity to pray fervently for the faithful 
 departed, to pay their debts, and to strive, by all 
 
 1 Psalm cxviii. 63. 2 Job xix. 21. 
 
250 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 means possible, to help them out of their flames. 
 To which purpose, by special favour, Almighty God 
 has sometimes permitted souls to show themselves 
 visibly to their friends and kindred, to beg relief by 
 Masses, prayers, and other good works, whereby to 
 shorten and diminish the sharpness of their torments. 
 So did Pope Innocent III., and a thousand others, 
 as appears by unquestionable relations of grave 
 authors. What they cannot do of themselves, they 
 beg of us; and beg it as an alms for charity’s sake: 
 and it were both sin and shame to deny them. That 
 which often costs us but little, they esteem at a high 
 rate; and, could they but give us a clear sight of 
 the wonderful effects of our small endeavours, we 
 should questionless take their cause more to heart 
 than we do. However, St. Thomas and other divines 
 assure us that, even in rigour of justice, our satis¬ 
 factions are accepted in lieu of theirs; since God 
 has so ordained and passed His word for it to His 
 dear Spouse the Church, who really believes it to be 
 so, and proceeds accordingly. So that we may rest 
 confident, that whosoever undertakes to provide for 
 those distressed souls, so he be qualified with the 
 conditions which are requisite on his part, shall 
 infallibly relieve them. Well; but you long now to 
 know what these conditions are, with which we may 
 be most certain that our suffrages are effectual 
 towards the purifying and releasing of the poor 
 souls in Purgatory. 
 
 He that will have his works acceptable in the 
 sight of God, for the obtaining of any mercy for 
 himself or others, must in the first place be in the 
 
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. 
 
 251 
 
 state of grace; that is, God’s friend: for how can 
 God be pleased at the doings of His mortal enemies? 
 How can He relish or approve actions which proceed 
 from a heart envenomed with the deadly poison of 
 mortal sin ? 1 Could I work miracles, and wanted 
 but a grain of true charity; all this, says St. Paul , 2 
 were but wind, it were all unprofitable. Next unto 
 this, he must not fail to have an intention of doing 
 such a good work to relieve the soul, which either 
 he names himself, or leaves to God’s determination 
 and choice. Besides, the work must be good and 
 virtuous of itself; that is, accompanied with all due 
 circumstances. The more love, humility, contrition, 
 and devotion you bring, and the more penal your 
 work is, the more precious will it be in the sight of 
 God, and the greater miracles will it do in Purgatory; 
 rejoicing the afflicted souls, quenching their flames, 
 and converting Purgatory into Paradise. 
 
 But let us now look a little info the consequence 
 of this doctrine. Does it not hence follow, that all 
 evil and ungodly priests are unprofitably employed 
 for the good of the souls ? for, since they are 
 supposed to be in a damnable condition, all they do 
 seems to be as good as nothing: and then, what 
 a world of Masses shall we have quite cast away, 
 what a world of foundations utterly lost; since they 
 may often fall into such wicked hands ! Away with 
 these discourses; which are not only false, but 
 
 1 Some theologians, however, of no small weight, hold a con¬ 
 trary opinion, as regards the gaining Indulgences for the souls in 
 Purgatory. Both may be stated as probable. See what the author 
 himself says, a little below. 
 
 2 1 Cor. xiii. 2. 
 
252 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 very prejudicial to Purgatory. Good divinity teaches 
 that a Mass is always a Mass , 1 always good, and of 
 an infinite value: that the priest that says it, or 
 sings it, as a minister of God’s Church, let him be 
 never so unworthy, is always acceptable for her sake 
 in whose name he acts; that, if you take him as 
 a private and particular person, it is true, all his 
 prayers and devotions can avail nothing; but, as he 
 represents the Church, he cannot fail to do the 
 main deed we have in view; and we need not 
 scruple it. You would be amazed, should I further 
 tell you, that it may happen sometimes that you 
 may gain more by hearing the Mass of an unworthy 
 priest than of another; for that which is common 
 to both is, that they both offer up the propitiatory 
 sacrifice of the Mass, which is always pleasing in 
 the sight of God: they are both ministers of the 
 Church, and, under this qualification, they are both 
 acceptable persons; both have the intention you 
 require, of relieving the soul you recommend unto 
 them; both perform all the holy rites and cere¬ 
 monies, which the Church prescribes in this case. 
 In this they differ: that the one adds particular 
 devotions of his own, which are grateful to God, 
 because he is in the state of grace, and one of 
 His adopted children ; whereas the other’s personal 
 actions are of no worth, because we suppose him 
 to be in a ill state. Well; but this is the cause 
 why you that know it, and are fearful to lose by the 
 bargain, bring so many theological acts of faith, 
 hope, and charity of your own, so many holy 
 
 1 Suarez, d. 48, sec. 8. 
 
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. 
 
 253 
 
 affections springing from a zealous devotion, all 
 inflamed with the love of God; that the loss you 
 were afraid of is abundantly compensated, and with 
 no little advantage to your cause. Be not then of 
 the number of those mistaken persons, who profess 
 they are afraid to found obits for their deceased 
 kindred, least the Masses should come to be said 
 by ungodly and irreligious priests. It were mere 
 simplicity to be afraid of clear crystal water, because 
 forsooth it issues out of the snout of a black marble 
 serpent, or passes through the jaws of a lion of 
 brass. Would you refuse a million of gold, if it 
 were sent you out of Turkey from some wicked 
 renegade ? Or should the Pope send you a Cardinal’s 
 cap, would you be so squeamish as not to accept it, 
 because the messenger that brought it were an 
 ill conditioned fellow ? Elias was not so dainty as 
 to forbear his meat because it was brought by a 
 raven. Do in God’s name what is fitting; and 
 leave the rest to God, Who out of His infinite 
 goodness knows how to supply all these defects, 
 especially such as happen against your will, and 
 such as you know not how to prevent, unless you 
 were a prophet. 
 
 § 4 .—Of the particular ways we have to help them. 
 
 ff The holy Canons and Doctors of the Church 
 comprehend all the means and advantages we have 
 to relieve the dead under these four general heads. 
 (1) The priests’ oblations and sacrifices; (2) the 
 prayers of devout people; (3) alms-deeds; (4) fasting; 
 under which you must include all kind of austerities. 
 
254 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 all penal works that afflict the body, what way 
 soever; and in a word, all that goes under the 
 common notion of suffrages. 
 
 For the enjoying of all which helps, St. Augustine 
 observes how greatly it may import to bury the dead 
 in churches where the bodies of Saints and holy 
 martyrs lie interred: not that the mere lying there 
 can so much avail them; but for this, that devout 
 people resorting more thither than to other places, 
 to perform their devotions to God and His Saints, 
 and seeing the tombs of their deceased friends, 
 cannot but remember to apply their charitable 
 suffrages for the help of such needy persons. 
 
 I am in love with that religious practice of 
 Bologna; where, upon funeral days, they cause 
 hundreds and thousands of Masses to be said for the 
 soul departed, in lieu of other superfluous and vain 
 ostentations. They stay not for the anniversary, 
 nor for any other set day; but instantly do their 
 best to release the poor soul from her torments, who 
 must needs think the year long if she must stay for 
 help till her anniversary day appears. They do not, 
 for all this, despise the laudable customs of the 
 Church ; they bury their friends with honour; they 
 clothe great numbers of poor people; they give 
 liberal alms; but as there is nothing so certain, 
 nothing so efficacious, nothing so Divine, as the 
 holy Sacrifice of the Mass, they fix their whole 
 affection there, and strive all they can to relieve 
 the souls this way; and are by no means so 
 lavish as the fashion is, in other idle expenses 
 and inopportune feastings, which are often more 
 
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. 
 
 255 
 
 troublesome to the living than comfortable to the 
 dead. 
 
 But you may not only comfort the afflicted souls 
 by procuring Masses for them, nor yet only by 
 offering up your prayers, fasts, alms-deeds, and such 
 other works of piety; but you may bestow upon 
 them all the good you do, and all the evil you suffer, 
 in this world. If you offer up unto God all the 
 cruel frettings and gripings you endure in a fit of the 
 stone, which tears up your very entrails; if all 
 the bitter sting and gnawings of the raging gout, 
 when it buries you alive in a kind of Purgatory; if 
 all the sensible tearings of a desperate megrim, 
 when it cleaves your head in pieces; if the sullen 
 humour of a quartan ague, which steeps your very 
 heart in the gall of a deep melancholy; if all the 
 other evils which murder you alive, and do not kill 
 you outright, to be still killing you with a lingering 
 death; if, I say, you offer up unto God all that 
 causes you any grief or affliction, for the present 
 relief of the poor languishing souls, you cannot 
 believe what ease and comfort they will find by it. 
 And as in the buckets of a well, while the one sinks 
 down to the bottom the other mounts up to the top, 
 so the lower you humble yourself in your sufferings, 
 the higher you will raise the souls in their flight 
 towards Heaven. Nor will you have cause to fear 
 forgetting yourself, while you satisfy for them ; for 
 it will infallibly come to pass, as St. John Chrysostom 
 assures us, that God, Who is always prodigal of His 
 mercies, will be sure to remember you: and the 
 holy souls soaring up to Heaven with the wings of 
 
256 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 your charity, will there plead for you with so much 
 eloquence as to gain your cause; or at least obtain 
 so much patience for you, as to defy the worst of 
 your evils which do so insult and tyrannize over you 
 with so much insolence. Pliny would make us 
 believe there are certain fishes that entertain so fair 
 an amity and faithful correspondence with one 
 another, that if one of them chance to be hung in 
 the net, the other strives all he can possibly to set 
 him free; and, having no other means to compass 
 his design, presents his tail, or one of his fins, which 
 the other lays fast hold on with his teeth, so that 
 while the one thrusts with all his might, and the 
 other draws with all his force, they break the mesh, 
 make way for the prisoner to get out, and so swim 
 away both triumphing in their liberty. Meanwhile, 
 the kind fish that was sorely bitten, bleeds fresh of 
 his wounds; and yet is so well pleased to have 
 purchased his friend’s liberty, though at the cost of 
 his blood, that he thinks not of his own mischief for 
 the joy he takes in his friend’s safety. Do you the 
 same for your friends, who are detained captives in 
 Purgatory: lend them your arms, your head, your 
 blood, all your griefs and pains, and they will be 
 the sooner released out of their miserable thraldom ; 
 and you by their favour, shall in your turn pass 
 through it with so much swiftness, that you shall 
 scarce feel the scorching flames, with which they are 
 so grievously tormented. 
 
 You have another easy but most powerful means 
 to help these unfortunate souls; and that is, to dis¬ 
 pense out liberally amongst them the inexhaustible 
 
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. 
 
 2 57 
 
 treasure of Indulgences; to cause Masses to be 
 often said at privileged altars; to gain Jubilees and 
 other Plenary Indulgences, which are applicable to 
 the benefit of deceased souls. For though some 
 extravagant writers have been so bold in their 
 unwary speculations upon this subject, as to question 
 whether the Pope’s power in granting Jubilees and 
 other pardons reach to Purgatory, or be only con¬ 
 fined to this world, yet the current of sober Doctors 
 must bear the sway, who all conclude that as to 
 the living, His Holiness proceeds by way of abso¬ 
 lution, and as to the dead, by way of suffrages and 
 satisfactions; but has full power over both to loose 
 or bind, open or lock up Heaven’s gates, and to 
 distribute the treasure of the Church; and that he 
 has his commission for all this from the sacred 
 mouth of Jesus Christ Himself. 1 Certainly, there 
 be thousands that deserve to lie in Purgatory, were 
 it only for this strange neglect, that having so rich 
 a treasure in their hands wherewith to ransom poor 
 captive souls, they were so careless as to make little 
 or no use of it; but let a thousand occasions slip, 
 in which they might have released them, and all for 
 want of a little pains to gain Indulgences. 
 
 And they are the less to be excused, because it is 
 very probable that they may gain Indulgences, 
 which are applicable to the dead, whether they be 
 in the state of grace or no, so they do but the work 
 prescribed. 2 
 
 “ What shall they do,” says the Apostle, “ that 
 
 1 St. Matt. xvi. 19. 
 
 2 Prepos. de Indulg. q. 14, dub. 10, et alii passim. 
 
 R 
 
258 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 are baptized for the dead?” 1 What means this 
 baptism for the dead ? I leave a dozen of inter¬ 
 pretations, to tell you there were some fervent 
 Christians in those days that took a world of pains 
 and suffered a world of austerities for the faithful 
 departed; and so were baptized in the tears of 
 contrition, and in the blood of a most rigorous and 
 penitential life. I require not so much of you ; only 
 a little care of applying such Indulgences as you 
 have in your power, to do them good, who by a 
 little of your favourable assistance, would be soon 
 set at liberty. Cruel heart! canst thou refuse so 
 slight a courtesy to souls so holy, and yet in so 
 lamentable a condition ? And if thou hast the 
 honour to get in thither thyself, hereafter—I say, 
 the honour—dost thou not deserve to be let alone 
 to feel at leisure the smart of thy idleness and 
 disloyalty ? Who will take the pains to help a 
 wretch who would scarce stir a finger to help out 
 souls whose eternal happiness he might as easily 
 have procured as cut a small thread in two or 
 quench a little spark of fire ? 
 
 I have not the confidence to propose things of 
 greater hardship ; and therefore I will not exhort you 
 to imitate the example of St. Catharine of Sienna, 
 who offered to suffer the pains of Purgatory itself, in 
 place of her dear mother ; nor that of St. Catharine 
 of Genoa, who really suffered two years together 
 what flesh and blood is not able to endure in this 
 mortal life ; nor that of St. Christina the Wonderful, 
 whose excesses in this kind were incredible, if not 
 
 1 1 Cor. xv. 29. 
 
HOLY EXERCISES OF DEVOUT SOULS. 
 
 259 
 
 attested by very credible persons. 1 I know there is 
 no persuading you to devote yourself to such holy 
 excesses : lest you should chance to be taken at your 
 word, as some others have been. I hope at least I 
 may, without offence, remind you not to hold back 
 from applying in this way all your fasts, hair-girdles, 
 disciplines, and other corporal afflictions; and in 
 a word, all the evils you suffer in body or soul, 
 whether they be voluntary or unavoidable. This 
 I beg, as a most welcome alms to the poor souls in 
 Purgatory, and a charity which will be of no little 
 comfort to yourself. Do but as Magdalene and 
 Martha did, when they saw their brother Lazarus 
 locked up underground, and overwhelmed with earth. 
 They wept and took on so bitterly, that they drew 
 tears from our Blessed Saviour, and rescued their 
 brother out of the jaws of death. They, are your 
 brothers whom I entreat for; they are prisoners 
 underground. Christ Jesus has as tender a Heart 
 as ever : give yourselves then to acts of contrition; 
 let a tear steal now and then from your eyes; and 
 haply sweet Jesus will be so well pleased to see 
 them, that they may suffice to quench the flames of 
 Purgatory; and possibly work a miracle there, in 
 raising souls to life everlasting, and placing them 
 above the firmament, that lie now, as it were, buried 
 in that subterraneous lake of fire. But if you be so 
 arid and barren, so niggardly, as not to afford them 
 a tear, at least send them the sweet refreshment of 
 a devout aspiration, or some short but vigorous 
 ejaculatory prayer, which as a fiery dart you may be 
 1 Bellarmine, Surius, Vitriaco. 
 
26 o 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 still levelling at the Heart of Almighty God. Give 
 them a good thought, or a cordial expression of 
 sorrow, that you are not able to afford them the 
 relief you could wish. Do never so little, so you do 
 it with a good heart, and you will assuredly give 
 them much ease in their implacable torments. The 
 people of God were condemned to be cruelly 
 massacred, or destroyed by fire, when Queen Esther, 
 fetching but a deep sigh or two, and whispering but 
 a few words into the ear of King Assuerus, did so 
 charm him as to work the redemption of above a 
 million of souls, who must otherwise have been 
 delivered over to the fury of fire and sword. Are 
 you so void of charity, or is the blood that runs in 
 your veins, and feeds your heart, so frozen up, as 
 not to yield one drop of compassion for God’s 
 people, who are most miserably handled by a most 
 cruel inundation of Purgatory fire ? If so, let us 
 conclude that nature was deceived; for thinking to 
 make you a man, she missed her aim, and made you 
 a very tiger, void of all humanity and common 
 civility. 
 
 It was a pious invention, that of certain Bishops 
 and other ecclesiastical persons of Rome, a.d. 984, 1 
 to erect a sodality of those that should particularly 
 devote themselves to pray for the dead: which 
 custom continued a long time at Rome, and is yet 
 extant in some parts of the Christian world. When 
 one of their number dies, they all contribute their 
 pious labours to help him out of Purgatory. I say, 
 all; not only those who remain yet alive, but those 
 
 1 Baronius, An. 987. 
 
PIOUS INVENTIONS. 
 
 261 
 
 also who are already got into Heaven: so that it is 
 impossible for him to make any long stay there. 
 What a pleasure it is to see that a soul of this 
 happy confraternity does no sooner enter into 
 Purgatory, but a good part of Heaven and earth 
 conspires to procure his enlargement! This is to 
 be wise indeed ; these are matters of state, which 
 all the world should be well versed in, as importing 
 them far more than the government of whole 
 kingdoms. Methinks, you that read this should 
 now long to spread abroad this most excellent 
 devotion, by erecting one of these sodalities, which 
 would be of so great advantage to yourself and 
 others. Most part of mankind is so taken up with 
 building rich houses, or providing stately tombs for 
 their rotten carcasses, they have no leisure to think 
 what will become of their souls, or in what a fiery 
 mansion they are like to be lodged at their first 
 appearance in the other world. Do they not in 
 truth deserve to lie there, frying whole years, 
 without mercy ? they that had so little understand¬ 
 ing, as not to endeavour the avoiding of an evil 
 which alone deserves the name, if compared with 
 the petty evils of this world, which are such bug¬ 
 bears in our weak-sighted apprehensions. A man 
 that is undone by some cheat or surprise, may be 
 pitied; but he that sees his own ruin, and will not 
 stir a foot to prevent it, no creature can pity such 
 a man : and, certainly, he deserves not the least 
 compassion. 
 
 The world has generally a great esteem of 
 Monsieur d’Argenton, Philip Commines; and many 
 
262 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 worthily admire him for the great wisdom and 
 sincerity he has laboured to express in his whole 
 history. But, for my part, I commend him for 
 nothing more than for the prudent care he took 
 here for the welfare of his own soul in the other 
 world. For, having built a goodly chapel at the 
 Augustins in Paris, and left them a good foundation, 
 he tied them to this perpetual obligation, that they 
 should no sooner rise from table, but they should be 
 sure to pray for the rest of his precious soul. And 
 he ordered it thus, by his express will, that one of 
 the religious should first say aloud: Let us pray for 
 the soul of Monsieur d’Argenton; and then all 
 should instantly say the Psalm De profundis. Gerson 
 lost not his labour, when he took such pains to 
 teach little children to repeat often these words: 
 My God, my Creator, have pity on your poor 
 servant, John Gerson. For these innocent souls, 
 all the while the good man was dying, and after he 
 was dead, went up and down the town with a 
 mournful voice, singing the short lesson he had 
 taught them, and comforting his dear soul with 
 their innocent prayers. 
 
 Now, as I must commend their prudence who 
 thus wisely cast about how to provide for their own 
 souls, against they come into Purgatory, so I cannot 
 but more highly magnify their charity, who, less 
 solicitous for themselves, employ their whole care 
 to save others out of that dreadful fire. And sure 
 I am they can lose nothing by the bargain, who 
 dare thus trust God with their own souls, while 
 they do their uttermost to help others: nay, though 
 

 HOW OUR SUFFRAGES HELP THEM. 
 
 263 
 
 they should follow that unparalleled example of 
 F. Hernando de Monsoy, 1 of the Society of Jesus, 
 who, not content to give away all he could from 
 himself to the poor souls, while he lived, made 
 them his heirs after death; and by express will 
 bequeathed them all the Masses, Rosaries, and 
 whatever else should be offered him by his friends 
 upon earth. 
 
 § 5 .—Certain questions resolved, about the application 
 and distribution of our suffrages. 
 
 It will not be amiss here to resolve you certain 
 pertinent questions. Whether the suffrages we offer 
 up unto God shall really avail them for whom we 
 offer them, and whether they alone, or others also, 
 may receive benefit by them ? Whether it be better 
 to pray for a few at once, or for many, or for all 
 the souls together ? And for what souls in particular ? 
 
 To the first I answer : If your intention be to 
 help any one in particular, who is really in Purgatory, 
 so your work be good, it is infallibly applied to the 
 party upon whom you bestow it. For, as divines 
 teach, it is the intention of the offerer which governs 
 all; and God, of His infinite goodness, accommodates 
 Himself to the petitioner’s request, applying unto 
 each one what has been offered for his relief. If 
 you have nobody in your thoughts for whom you 
 offer up your prayers, they are only beneficial to 
 yourself; and what would be thus lost for want of 
 application, God lays up in the treasury of the 
 Church, as being a kind of spiritual waif or stray, 
 
 1 Rho. Hist. 1 . i. c. 4, sec. 3. 
 
 , 
 
 * 
 
264 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 to which nobody can lay any just claim. And, 
 since it is the intention which entitles one to what 
 is offered, before all others, what right can others 
 pretend to it; or with what justice can it be parted, 
 or divided among others, who were never thought 
 of? 
 
 And hence I take my starting-point to resolve 
 your other question: That if you regard their best 
 advantage whom you have a mind to favour, you 
 had better pray for a few, than for many together; 
 for, since the merit of your devotions is but limited, 
 and often in a very small proportion, the more you 
 divide and subdivide it amongst many, the lesser 
 share comes to every one in particular. As if you 
 should distribute a crown, or an angel, 1 amongst a 
 thousand poor people, you easily see your alms 
 would be so inconsiderable, they would be little 
 better for it; whereas, if it were all bestowed upon 
 one or two, it were enough to make them think 
 themselves rich. 
 
 Now, to define precisely, whether it be always 
 
 better done to help one or two souls efficaciously, 
 
 than to yield a little comfort to a great many, is a 
 
 question I leave for you to exercise your wits in. 
 
 % 
 
 I could fancy it to be your best course to do 
 both, that is, sometimes to single out some particular 
 soul, and to use all your powers to lift her up to 
 Heaven; sometimes, again, to parcel out your 
 favours upon many; and, now and then, also to 
 deal out a general alms upon all Purgatory. And 
 
 1 A gold coin of that period, so called because it was stamped 
 with the image of an angel. 
 
WHETHER TO HELP ONE OR MANY. 
 
 265 
 
 you need not fear exceeding in this way of charity, 
 whatsoever you bestow, for you maybe sure nothing 
 will be lost by it. And St. Thomas will tell you, for 
 your comfort, that since all the souls in Purgatory 
 are perfectly united in charity, they rejoice exceed¬ 
 ingly when they see any of their whole number 
 receive such powerful helps as to dispose her for 
 Heaven. They every one take it as done to them¬ 
 selves, whatsoever is bestowed upon any of their 
 fellows, whom they love as themselves: and, out 
 of a heavenly kind of courtesy and singular love, 
 they joy in her happiness as if it were their own. 
 So that it may be truly said, that you never pray 
 for one or more of them, but they are all partakers, 
 and receive a particular comfort and satisfaction 
 by it. 
 
 Methinks, this very consideration should enkindle 
 in your hearts a fresh desire to be often solacing 
 those happy souls, and to entitle yourselves their 
 special benefactors, who will never suffer the remem¬ 
 brance of your tender mercies to be blotted out of 
 their grateful memories. 
 
 But let us now state the case thus. Suppose 
 you should employ another to do those good works 
 for the souls, will they have the same effect as if 
 you had done them yourself? Again, should this 
 other, whom you thus employ, be an ungracious 
 fellow, would all his endeavours be able to give 
 any ease to the souls for whose sakes you procure 
 them ? I am so taken with the angelical doctrine of 
 St. Thomas, that I will go no further for an answer. 
 He tells us, then, that if you be good, and that 
 
266 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 other be stark nought, by whom you procure the 
 dirge, for example, to be said, or any other good 
 work to be performed that can be performed, that 
 can be done by a third person—for there be some 
 that be personal—it does not at all wither the fruit 
 of your devotion, nor obstruct the soul’s benefit for 
 whom you procured it: that, if he chance to be 
 good, so much the better, the benefit will be the 
 greater; though God look more upon the chief 
 agent, and principal cause, than upon the accessory 
 or instrument he thinks fit to make use of: that, 
 if you be wicked yourself, and the other good, the 
 good work will have its effect, and the soul will 
 be assisted by it; that, if you should be both so 
 unhappy as to be neither of you in the state of 
 grace (excepting Mass only, which can never fail 
 of its effect), all other means you use will be utterly 
 void, and of no effect; because they proceed from 
 so ungrateful hands, and worse hearts. Would you 
 have God to accept of His enemies’ presents ? And, 
 while you refuse to give Him your heart to seal 
 with His Divine grace, would you have Him to 
 deliver you up His, to dispose of His mercies, for 
 the benefit of others? No, wicked wretch; no. 
 Till you alter your condition, do not expect that 
 God will appear in His mercy to bestow a Jubilee 
 on those holy souls you entreat for. Nay, it falls 
 out sometimes, even in this world, that the pleading 
 of an infamous advocate, or a sworn enemy of the 
 prince or State, makes the criminal’s case more 
 odious and desperate; and, in lieu of a gibbet, 
 procures him a wheel, or a worse punishment. Yet 
 
OTHERS CAN HELP THEM FOR US. 
 
 267 
 
 I must tell you, and I must conjure you by all the 
 obligations of humanity that, be you never so lost 
 a creature, never so covered with enormous crimes, 
 you never fail at least to procure Masses, and to 
 distribute liberal alms for the relief of the poor 
 souls. And this for many reasons. 
 
 First, because the Mass is always to good 
 purpose, as having its effect, ex opere operato, as the 
 schoolmen speak; or of itself, without any relation 
 had to him that says it, or causes it to be said. 
 
 Secondly, because it is agreed that the last 
 wholesome advice we ought to give to a desperate 
 soul, plunged over head and ears in sin, is, to be 
 sure always to be good to the poor; for, sooner or 
 later, good will come of it. 
 
 Thirdly, it is truly said of alms-deeds, that they 
 are good solicitors, and have a most charming 
 rhetoric, to obtain of God, and to extort, as it were, 
 out of His hands, what they please. Insomuch 
 that, if the sentence of condemnation were already 
 signed in the hands of God, it is the expression of 
 St. Chrysologus, 1 God Himself would tear it to 
 pieces, and revoke the sentence, rather than refuse 
 any favour to the merciful. “ Give alms,” says the 
 Holy Ghost, “ and hide it in the bosom of the poor, 
 and your alms will intercede for you.” 2 So that, 
 although you, wicked wretch, cannot say a good 
 prayer for the souls, yet your charity will supply 
 your place, and plead for you: and the poor that 
 partake of it will also pray for you; and all this 
 may possibly be to good purpose. What your 
 
 1 Serm. viii. 2 Ecclus. xxix. 15. 
 
268 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 tongue cannot, your hand will perform with greater 
 advantage; and what cannot proceed from your 
 heart, which is poisoned with deadly sin, will out 
 at your purse, which is full of mercy; and will 
 help to purchase some comfortable refreshment, to 
 take off the fury of those hungry flames which are 
 incessantly preying upon the poor souls. 
 
 And here again, taking upon me to be proctor 
 for this suffering commonwealth, I conjure you to 
 be liberal in distributing your alms and procuring 
 Masses for the souls departed. I can expect no less 
 but that their Guardian Angels, or yours, or those 
 of the poor, will inspire them with good thoughts, 
 and move them to pour out their ardent and innocent 
 prayers for you, in recompense of so great a charity. 
 Meanwhile, you shall be like the crow that brought 
 bread to St. Paul the Hermit, without so much as 
 tasting it; or like the whale that conveyed Jonas 
 safe to the shore, without feeding on him ; or, to use 
 St. Gregory’s comparison, you shall be like the water 
 in the Sacrament of Baptism, which, falling upon 
 the head of a child, washes away the foul stain of 
 original sin, and entitles him heir to the Kingdom 
 of Heaven, and meanwhile glides away into some 
 noisome sink, and there turns to filth and corrup¬ 
 tion. 
 
 Now to the last query: For what souls in 
 particular we ought most to concern ourselves ? 
 
 I answer briefly thus: (i) Without question, all 
 obligations of kindred, promise, gratitude, rule, 
 command, &c., are to be served in the first place. 
 (2) You cannot do better than offer up your devo- 
 
IT IS A FOLLY TO TRUST OTHERS. 
 
 269 
 
 tions for those souls which are dearest to God or 
 His Blessed Mother. (3) It is a singular charity 
 to remember those that are in most need, or most 
 neglected. (4) It is a pious and laudable piece of 
 spiritual craft, to do for those that will be soonest 
 released; for by this means you shall send into 
 Heaven good store of powerful advocates, who will 
 incessantly plead for you before the throne of 
 mercy. 
 
 § 6 .—How dangerous it is to trust others with what 
 concerns the sweet rest of our souls in the next world. 
 
 As I cannot but highly magnify and extol their 
 charity that have a solicitous care to rescue out of 
 Purgatory the souls of their dear parents, friends, 
 and acquaintance, so I cannot forbear deploring, 
 and even laughing at, their folly and utter madness, 
 as I may rightly term it, that leave all to the dis¬ 
 cretion of the heirs and friends they leave behind 
 them. They must pardon me if I wrong them: it 
 is the zeal of their good which transports me ; it is 
 a just indignation that sets my heart all on fire, to 
 see how the wisest often prove the veriest fools in 
 this occasion, which is the most important of all 
 others. How many wills never see any other light 
 but that of the fire which consumes them to ashes ? 
 How many false ones are daily forged, to fill up the 
 others’ room ? How few do we see at this day 
 punctually performed; or, rather, how many do we 
 see not performed at all ? Having procured a Mass 
 or two of Requiem, and the dirge to be said, for 
 decency’ sake, and for the honour of their house, 
 
270 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 who is there, almost, that will give himself any 
 further trouble to pray even for his parents ? The 
 good man is scarce cold in his grave but his 
 children fall together by the ears, run into endless 
 suits, seize upon what they can next lay their hands 
 on, right or wrong, and will not be persuaded to 
 forego it but by main force of law, or by the terror 
 of dreadful excommunications. One lays injustice 
 to his father’s charge, for doing so much to advance 
 his eldest son’s fortune; another cries out upon 
 him for being so unnatural as to undo his own 
 child. The daughters think it hard their portions 
 are no greater; the whole house is up in arms, and 
 in continual alarms ; and, in a word, there is nothing 
 but a mere confusion and hurly-burly amongst them. 
 Meanwhile, the good man has leisure enough to sit at 
 his task of suffering, and to lie frying in Purgatory: 
 not so much as one of his children thinks on him, 
 unless it be to brand him with some injurious 
 reproach. The unfortunate soul almost killed him¬ 
 self with care, and had like also to have damned 
 himself, to make his children happy in this world; 
 and these barbarous harpies are so insatiable as to 
 be raking at the bones, and gnawing at the very 
 heart of their deceased father, who must needs be 
 very sensible, 1 if he know it, to see himself so 
 undutifully regarded by his own children. I will 
 bring him in anon to speak for himself as best able 
 to hold forth his own lamentable condition; and 
 sure it will break your very heart to hear him. 
 And yet, tell me seriously, does he not deserve all 
 
 1 i.e. Must needs feel it very keenly. 
 
OF MAKING RESTITUTION. 
 
 271 
 
 this, who might so ^easily, when time was, have 
 provided better for himself, and prevented all this 
 mischief by obliging the Church to offer up good 
 store of Masses for him ; and who was so imprudent 
 as to leave it wholly to the discretion of his heirs 
 and executors, who are little better than direct 
 barbarians ? For is there any likelihood they will 
 stir to help him out of Purgatory, they that cannot 
 afford him a stone upon his grave worth a crown, 
 with a little inscription to put good people in mind 
 who lies there, that they may cast a good thought 
 after him ? But I shall have occasion yet to enlarge 
 myself more upon this subject, and to make it 
 appear what an irreparable folly is committed by 
 the wisest in the world, in neglecting one of the 
 most important affairs in their whole life. 
 
 It would go hard with many, were it true that a 
 person who neglected to make restitution in his life¬ 
 time, and only charged his heirs to do it for him 
 in his last will and testament, shall not stir out of 
 Purgatory till restitution be really made, let there 
 be never so many Masses said, and never so many 
 satisfactory works offered up for him. And yet' 
 St. Bridget, whose revelations are for the most part 
 approved by the Church, hesitates not to set this 
 down for a truth which God had revealed unto her. 
 Nor are there wanting grave divines that counten¬ 
 ance this rigorous position, and bring for it many 
 strong reasons and examples, which they take to 
 be authentical: and the law itself, which says that 
 if a man do not restore another’s goods, there 
 will always stick upon his soul a kind of blemish 
 
 ) 
 
272 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 or obligation of justice. And since the fault lies 
 wholly at his door, he cannot, say they, have the 
 least reason to complain of the severity of God’s 
 justice, but must accuse his own coldness and 
 extreme neglect of his own welfare. Nay, even 
 those that are of the contrary persuasion, yet 
 maintain that it is not only much more secure, but 
 far more meritorious, to satisfy such obligations 
 while we live, than to trust others with it, let them 
 be never so near and dear unto us; let it be your 
 child, or your wife, or the very half of yourself, yet 
 you ought not to trust your other half in this case, 
 where we see men are so daily cozened in their 
 expectations. And you that read this, and think 
 to take so good order, that the like inconveniences 
 cannot befall you, let me tell you, you are like to 
 be one of the first that will be thus miserably 
 cheated, and perhaps far worse than your neighbours, 
 if you do not seek to discharge all these obligations 
 while you are yet alive, and rather to-day than 
 to-morrow. And, I beseech you, take the pains 
 once more to read over this section. For it is unto 
 • you I direct my speech, or rather, it is God that 
 speaks to you by my mouth. If you fail in it you 
 will have cause to repent; for my part I hold myself 
 discharged. 
 
 But now, to return from whence I have a little 
 digressed, I told you that these last authors, though 
 they do not believe that a soul shall be necessarily 
 bound to dwell in Purgatory fire till restitution be 
 made, yet they hold that it may accidentally fall 
 out that she may be kept there far longer than she 
 
OF MAKING RESTITUTION. 
 
 273 
 
 would have been otherwise. For the creditors who 
 have received their due, the poor you have made 
 amends to, for what was wrongfully taken from 
 them, and others well satisfied with your just 
 proceedings, will make it their business to pray for 
 your soul; for want of whose prayers you may lie, 
 God knows how long, neglected and forgotten in 
 that fiery dungeon. And believe it, let the first 
 opinion be never so improbable in your judgment, 
 it will not be very safe for you to lie in Purgatory 
 till the case be decided, nor will it be your wisest 
 course to learn there how egregiously you have 
 played the fool in not clearing your debts sooner 
 and providing better for the ease of your soul. I 
 am clearly of the second opinion, but would advise 
 you to make use of the first, that the one serving 
 you as a bridle, the other may be as a spur, to 
 incite you to that which doth more import you than 
 the dominion of the whole world. You would be 
 loth to be Emperor of the universe, upon condition 
 to be perpetually tormented with the stone, or the 
 gout, or to lie broiling upon a gridiron. And are 
 you so wilfully unwary as to cast yourself into the 
 flames of Purgatory upon a vain confidence that 
 your friends or your children will fetch you out, 
 who perhaps have scarce a thought of you once in 
 a twelvemonth ? 
 
 You have no reason in the world to expect others 
 should love you better than you love yourself; so 
 that if you can find in your heart to neglect yourself, 
 it is a folly to expect others will have more care for 
 you. Sure it is not good to go to Heaven by proxy, 
 S 
 
274 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 nor to be beholden to another’s courtesy in what 
 concerns the necessary refreshment and ease of our 
 souls. You that are so rich in worldly wealth, but 
 bare enough of solid virtue, give but a tolerable 
 excuse why you do not build a chapel or an hospital, 
 that good people remembering their founder may be 
 daily pouring out their prayers for you, both living 
 and dead. That which you often cast away at an 
 unlucky throw at dice, would be sufficient. That 
 which you bury in a capricious piece of building, 
 or devour at an idle entertainment, were more than 
 enough. Why do not you get a privileged altar in 
 your own parish, or at least cause frequent Masses 
 to be said at such altars, to release poor souls, that 
 others may be as kind to you hereafter ? Why do 
 not you send good store of alms to poor prisoners, 
 that your charity may help to redeem souls out of 
 Purgatory? You do nothing of all this, and yet 
 would be thought to be in your right senses; which 
 I look upon for my part as a mere paradox. 
 
 § 7 .—Some motives , fetched even as far as the other 
 world, to stir us up to be mindful of the dead. 
 
 Cardinal Cajetan has a singular tenet, which will 
 not a little help to promote piety, and deserves 
 highly to be recorded as a doctrine which suits well 
 with the infinite goodness of our most just and 
 merciful God. The question is, What becomes of all 
 those Masses and other suffrages which are offered 
 for souls which are not in Purgatory ? Some hold 
 it is applied to their parents, alliance, or friends; 
 others, to those that are so friendless as to have 
 
MOTIVES FROM THE OTHER WORLD. 
 
 275 
 
 nobody to remember them; others, to them that 
 stand in most need of help; others will have it 
 hoarded up with the rest of the Church’s treasure. 
 But this learned Cardinal maintains that it goes 
 all to relieve their souls who in this world were 
 particularly addicted to pray for the dead. And 
 what can be more reasonable ? According to the 
 measure we deal out to others, it shall be measured 
 to us again. 1 “ Give, and it shall be given to you,” 
 says Almighty God. 2 
 
 Who can lay a better claim to it than they ? 
 For, first, the founders themselves were they but 
 half acquainted with what passes in the other world, 
 cannot but be well pleased at it. Then, it is a 
 powerful incentive to increase devotion in the hearts 
 of all good Christians, who may hope in their turns 
 to reap the like fruit of their charitable labours for 
 the good of souls. And who can find fault that such 
 straggling suffrages, which of right belong to nobody, 
 should be so profitably employed ? This opinion 
 is no article of faith; but it is a very pious con¬ 
 jecture, worthy of that most eminent Cardinal. 
 And methinks I see the blessed souls themselves, 
 for whom these holy suffrages were offered, to lie 
 prostrate before the throne of God, beseeching Him 
 to apply them to those needy souls who while they 
 lived were so full of charity as to forget themselves, 
 to be sure to remember them. 
 
 Methinks I see the other Saints in Heaven who 
 were handed out of Purgatory by the arms of 
 charity, to be joint petitioners, and their good 
 
 1 St. Matt. vii. 2. 2 St. Luke vi. 38. 
 
276 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 Angels also, and all of them together to become 
 earnest suitors to obtain this favour of Almighty 
 God, Who is easily overcome in a suit of this 
 nature, which is so rational that the gaining it 
 must needs extol His ineffable wisdom and mercy. 
 And I cannot but think that if the case were to be 
 decided by the souls in Purgatory, they would all 
 unanimously agree that such suffrages as these, 
 which out of mere ignorance were misapplied to 
 those who could make no benefit of them, cannot 
 be better disposed of than to their companions who 
 in their lifetime were so charitable to other souls. 
 This I take to be a very moving consideration; and 
 yet I have just cause to fear all I can say to you 
 will hardly suffice to mollify that hard heart of 
 yours, and therefore my last refuge shall be to set 
 others on, though I call them out of the other 
 world. 
 
 And first, let a damned soul read you a lecture, 
 and teach you the compassion you ought to bear to 
 your afflicted brethren. Remember how the rich 
 glutton in the Gospel, 1 although he was buried in 
 hell-fire, took care for his brothers who survived 
 him, and besought Abraham to send Lazarus back 
 into the world, to preach and convert them, lest 
 they should be so miserable as to come into that 
 place of torments. A strange request for a damned 
 soul, and which may shame you, that are so little 
 concerned for the souls of your brethren who are in 
 so restless a condition. 
 
 In the next place, I will bring in the soul of 
 
 1 St. Luke xvi. 27, 28. 
 
COMPLAINTS OF THE POOR SOULS. 
 
 277 
 
 your dear father, or mother, to make her own just 
 complaints against you. Lend her, then, a dutiful 
 and attentive ear; and let none of her words be 
 lost; for she deserves to be heard out, while she 
 sets forth the state of her most lamentable condition. 
 Peace ! It is a holy soul, though clothed in flames, 
 that directs her speech to you after this manner. 
 
 “Am I not the most unfortunate and wretched 
 parent that ever lived ? I that was so silly as to 
 presume that having ventured my life, and my very 
 soul also, to leave my children at their ease, they 
 would at least have had some pity on me and 
 endeavour to procure for me some ease and comfort 
 in my torments ? Alas ! I burn insufferably, I suffer 
 infinitely, and have done so, I know not how long; 
 and yet this is not the only thing that grieves me. 
 Alas, no! it is a greater vexation to see myself so 
 soon forgotten by my own children, and so slighted 
 by them, for whom I have in vain taken so much 
 care and pains. Ah, dost thou grudge thy poor 
 mother a Mass, a slight alms, a sigh, or a tear ? 
 Thy mother, I say, who would most willingly have 
 kept bread from her own mouth to make thee swim 
 in an ocean of delights and to abound with plenty 
 of all worldly goods ? See how proudly this 
 unnatural child struts up and down, as fine as 
 hands can make him, as glorious as the sun ; while 
 I, his poor mother, have no other robes left me but 
 scorching flames of fire ! See how he empties my 
 coffers, to cast it upon his horses and dogs, or upon 
 men worse than either, and cannot find the heart 
 to lay out a penny in charitable use for his poor 
 
278 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 mother! His gold flies about the table, as nimbly 
 as the dice he plays with; and in mere sport and 
 merriment he throws away that which cost me a 
 world of pains, and perhaps was the occasion of my 
 death and my cruel confinement to this place of 
 torments. He cannot afford me so much as a cup 
 of cold water, wherewith to quench my flames; 
 while he gluts himself with all superfluous and choice 
 dainties. Am I not well served, for having had so 
 little understanding and so little of common sense in 
 me, as to trust this hard heart, without a spark 
 of good feeling in it, to have the slightest sense of 
 my deplorable condition ? Who will not refuse me 
 comfort, when my own children, my very bowels, 
 do their best to forget me ? What a vexation is it 
 to me, when my companions in misery ask me 
 whether I left no children behind me, and why 
 they are so haggard-natured 1 as to neglect me? 
 What can I say, or what answer can I make but 
 this, that I thought I had brought forth children, 
 but find them to be mere vipers and tigers ? When 
 I was upon my death-bed, struggling for life, these 
 hypocritical children feigned themselves in despair: 
 their pale looks, their counterfeit tears, their sighs, 
 their sobs, their kind expressions, delivered in soft 
 and smooth language, made me verily believe they 
 loved me, and won me to play the fool thus, to rely 
 upon them; when, God knows, they longed for 
 nothing more than to close up my eyes, and were 
 almost ready to burst for very grief that I died no 
 sooner, that they might have sooner enjoyed the 
 1 A haggard was a wild, untamed hawk. 
 

 COMPLAINTS OF THE POOR SOULS. 
 
 279 
 
 goods I had scraped together, with the hazard of 
 my life and poor soul too. I was willing to forget 
 my own concerns, to be careful of theirs; and those 
 ungrateful ones have now buried me in an eternal 
 oblivion, and clearly left me to shift for myself in 
 these dread tortures, without giving me the least 
 ease or comfort. Oh, what a fool was I! Had I 
 given to the poor the thousandth part of those goods 
 which I left this miserable child, I had long before 
 this been joyfully singing the praises of my Creator 
 in the choir of Angels; whereas now I lie panting 
 and groaning under excessive torments, and am like 
 still to lie by it, for any relief that is to be looked for 
 from this undutiful, ungracious child, whom I made 
 my sole heir. Go, you mortals; go, hereafter, and 
 trust your children, your kindred, and your heirs ; 
 that you may be treated by them as I am by my 
 son, who was dearer to me than the very apple of 
 my eye. Oh, it is the greatest piece of improvi¬ 
 dence in the whole world, to rely upon the discretion 
 of indiscreet or undutiful children, who would 
 sooner be scuffling and tugging one another for a 
 part of our inheritance, than striving to help us out 
 of our pains. Sure, parents are either bewitched, 
 or grown senseless, to hazard their souls for such 
 untoward and ill-natured children, who have not 
 a drop of good blood in their hearts, nor a grain 
 of true filial love. But am I not all this while 
 strangely transported, miserable that I am, thus to 
 amuse myself with unprofitable complaints against 
 my son, whereas indeed I have but small reason 
 to blame any but myself, since it is I, and only I, 
 
28 o 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 that am the cause of all this mischief? For did not 
 I know that, in the grand business of saving my 
 soul, I was to have trusted none but myself? Did 
 I not know that, with the sight of their friends, at 
 their departure, men use to lose all the memory 
 and friendship they had for them ? Did I not know 
 that God Himself had foretold us, that the only 
 ready way to build ourselves eternal tabernacles in 
 the next world, is not to give all to our children, 
 but be liberal to the poor ? Did I not often hear it 
 preached to me, that a cup of cold water sometimes 
 happily bestowed was sufficient to put out Purgatory 
 fire ? Did they not as often ring in my ears, that 
 a wise man sends his good works before him, and 
 leaves them not for others to finish, as fools do, 
 who by that means come to carry nothing with 
 them but a shameful remorse, which lies like a viper 
 at their breast, continually gnawing and devouring 
 them ? I cannot deny, then, but the fault lies at my 
 door, and that I am deservingly thus neglected by 
 my children. And were I disposed to wish harm 
 to anybody, I would wish them no greater mischief 
 than that their children should serve them just 
 as they have served me ; I say, that my ungodly 
 offspring may come hither, and be as much neglected 
 and forgotten as I am ; and see, when it is too late, 
 what it is to trust to the kindness of children, which 
 is commonly buried in the same grave with their 
 parents. It is one of my greatest miseries, that 
 I have not the face to beg any comfort of God in 
 my sufferings. For, whereas He clearly promised 
 me all favour, so I would but be good to the poor, 
 
COMPLAINTS OF THE POOR SOULS. 
 
 281 
 
 I have done the clean contrary, putting more con¬ 
 fidence in the uncertain performance of unworthy 
 children than in the infallible truth of God’s Word. 
 The only comfort I have left me in all my afflictions 
 is, that others will learn at my cost this clear 
 maxim, not to leave to others a matter of so near 
 concern as the ease and repose of their own souls, 
 but to provide for them carefully themselves. O God, 
 how dear have I bought this experience; to see my 
 fault irreparable, and my misery without redress! ” 
 One must have a heart of steel, or no heart at 
 all, to hear these sad regrets, and not feel some 
 tenderness for the poor souls, and as great an 
 indignation against those who are so little concerned 
 for the souls of their parents and other near relations. 
 I wish, with all my soul, that all those who shall 
 light upon this passage, and hear the soul so bitterly 
 deplore her misfortune, may but benefit themselves 
 half as much by it, as a good prelate did when the 
 soul of Pope Benedict VIII., by God’s permis¬ 
 sion revealed unto him her lamentable state in 
 Purgatory. 1 For so the story goes, which is not 
 to be questioned. This Pope Benedict appears to 
 the Bishop of Caprea, and conjures him to go to 
 his brother, Pope John, who succeeded him in the 
 Chair of St. Peter, and to beseech him for God’s 
 sake to give great store of alms to the poor people, 
 to allay the fury of the fire of Purgatory, with which 
 he found himself highly tormented. He further 
 charges him to let the Pope know withal, that he 
 did acknowledge liberal alms had already been 
 
 1 Baronius, An. 1024. 
 
 . 
 
282 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 distributed for that purpose ; but had found no ease 
 at all by it, because all the money that had been 
 then bestowed was acquired unjustly, and so had no 
 power to prevail before the just tribunal of God for 
 the obtaining of the least mercy. The good Bishop, 
 upon this, makes haste to the Pope, and faithfully 
 relates the whole conference that had passed between 
 him and the soul of his predecessor; and with a 
 grave voice and lively accents enforces the necessity 
 and importance of the business: that, in truth, 
 when a soul lies a burning, it is in vain to dispute 
 idle questions; the best course, then, is to run 
 instantly for water, and to throw it on with both 
 hands, calling for all the help and assistance we 
 can to relieve her: and that His Holiness should 
 soon see the truth of the vision by the wonderful 
 effects which were likely to follow. All this he 
 delivers so gravely and so to the purpose, that the 
 Pope resolves out of hand to give in charity vast 
 sums out of his own certain and unquestionable 
 revenue, whereby the soul of Pope Benedict was 
 not only wonderfully comforted, but questionless 
 soon released of her torments. In conclusion, the 
 good Bishop, having well reflected with himself in 
 what a miserable condition he had seen the soul of 
 a Pope who had the repute of a Saint, and was 
 really so, it worked so powerfully with him, that 
 quitting his mitre, crozier, bishopric, and all worldly 
 greatness, he shut himself up in a monastery, and 
 there made a holy end, choosing rather to have his 
 Purgatory in the austerity of a cloister than in the 
 flames of the Church Suffering. I wish, again, they 
 
COMPLAINTS OF THE POOR SOULS. 
 
 283 
 
 would in this but follow the example of King Louis 
 of France, who was son to Louis the Emperor, 
 surnamed the Pious. For they tell us 1 that this 
 Emperor, after he had been thirty-three years in 
 Purgatory, not so much for any personal crime 
 or misdemeanours of his own, as for permitting 
 certain disorders in his Empire, which he ought to 
 have prevented, was at length permitted to show 
 himself to King Louis his son, and to beg his 
 favourable assistance: and that the King did not 
 only most readily grant him his request, procuring 
 Masses to be said in all the monasteries of his 
 realm, for the soul of his deceased father, but drew 
 thence many good reflections and profitable instruc¬ 
 tions, which served him all his lifetime after. Do 
 you the same; and believe it, though Purgatory 
 fire is a kind of baptism, and is so styled by some 
 of the holy Fathers, because it cleanses a soul from 
 all the dross of sin, and makes it worthy to see 
 God, yet is it your sweetest course here to baptize 
 yourself frequently in the tears of contrition, which 
 have a mighty power to wash away all the blemishes 
 of sin; and so prevent in your own person, and 
 extinguish in others, those baptismal flames of 
 Purgatory fire, which are so dreadful. 
 
 1 Baronius, An. 874. 
 
THE FIFTH SURVEY. 
 
 HOW ALL ANTIQUITY WAS EVER DEVOTED TO 
 PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 This charitable devotion for the dead is a thing so 
 inbred and natural unto us all, that we seem, as it 
 were, to suck it in with the very milk of our nurses: 
 nor was there ever any people, I do not say 
 Christian, but even Jewish, or heathenish, which 
 did not profess some piety in this way. 
 
 As for the Jews, it is well known to be their 
 constant practice this day, to pray for souls departed; 
 and is confessed to be so by Purcas himself, and 
 other modern Protestants. And what their custom 
 was, when they had the privilege of being the only 
 chosen people of Almighty God, the Scripture itself 
 bears witness, especially where it relates the incom¬ 
 parable zeal which that valiant, invincible champion 
 of Heaven, Judas Macchabeus, 1 had for the good of 
 their souls, who had unfortunately been slain by 
 their enemies. Take this story in brief, thus: 
 Having in several fierce encounters made such a 
 slaughter of his enemies, as to strew the field over 
 with dead carcasses, and to stain the rivers with 
 blood, he caused a diligent search to be made for all 
 
 1 2 Mach. xii. 39—46. 
 
THE JEWS PRAY FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 285 
 
 those that had fallen on his side, to have them 
 honourably interred in the sepulchres of their 
 fathers. But the mischief was, that in stripping 
 them of their clothes, they discovered under their 
 coats some unlawful spoils which they ought to 
 have destroyed, according to their law, but had 
 secretly reserved to themselves: a crime for which, 
 they all instantly concluded, those unfortunate souls 
 had deservedly been cast away, and cut off by the 
 hand of God. And some there were, doubtless, 
 that fell a cursing this their sordid avarice and high 
 transgression; but the good captain takes this occa¬ 
 sion to exhort them to adore the just judgments of 
 Heaven, and to learn at the other’s cost to have the 
 fear of God before their eyes, and to be more 
 religious in their ways; and yet withal to be more 
 reserved in their censures, and rather to have pity 
 on the souls of their fellow-soldiers, who probably 
 might not die in so desperate a condition, as not to 
 be relieved by their help. This done, he makes a 
 collection: he raises a sum of twelve thousand 
 drachms. He sends it to Jerusalem to procure 
 sacrifices to be offered for their sins that were slain, 
 who, for ought he knew, might die in a fair way to 
 a hopeful resurrection. Now, which shall we first 
 admire, the tender heart of this noble cavalier, or 
 his religious piety, or his charitable liberality ? He 
 knew well, those miserable wretches had committed 
 a foul crime ; and yet he would not despair of their 
 salvation; but was willing to believe they repented 
 themselves of their frailty; and that God had sent 
 them their deaths only as a temporal punishment, 
 
286 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 for the terror of others. Nor had he the least doubt 
 but that our Lord would be well pleased with his 
 charity, and accept of the sacrifices which he thus 
 offered for the repose of their souls. And certainly, 
 the fact is most highly commended by the Sacred 
 Text; which concludes the story in these words: 
 “ It is therefore a holy and healthful cogitation to 
 pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from 
 their sins.” Oh, that so fair an example would 
 teach all Christians to be good and liberal to the 
 dead! For, alas! the greatest part of mankind 
 content themselves with drawing two or three sighs 
 at a funeral, or saying a short prayer or two at 
 most: whereas this generous captain, even before 
 the clear light of the Gospel, did all this, and 
 confirmed it with a noble gift of twelve thousand 
 drachms. 
 
 § i .—Of the natural instinct of all nations to honour 
 
 and comfort the dead. 
 
 It may well put most Catholics to the blush, to 
 consider what an incredible care all nations have 
 ever had of the dead, by the mere impulse of nature. 
 
 Caesar takes notice 1 how superstitiously pious 
 the ancient French were in this kind, who, together 
 with the dead corpse, which they burnt upon a 
 great pile of wood, were wont to consume all that 
 had been precious and dear to him when he lived, 
 as all his rich moveables, his dogs, his horses, nay, 
 sometimes his very servants also, who took it for 
 a great honour that they might be suffered so to 
 
 1 De Bello Gall. 
 
ANCIENT WAYS OF HONOURING THE DEAD. *87 
 
 mingle their ashes with those of their dear lord and 
 master. And does not the Roman history tell us 1 
 that, when Otho the Emperor had stabbed himself 
 with a dagger, many of his soldiers were seen to do 
 the like, to show the affection they had for their 
 Prince, and how ready they were to sacrifice their 
 lives for his honour and service ? I know these 
 customs were not only very extravagant, but extreme 
 rude and barbarous: and yet they may serve to 
 shame Christians, who are so far from expressing 
 any such love for the souls of their friends, though 
 they believe them to lie broiling in Purgatory. For 
 what would not these others have done, or what 
 would they not have given, to redeem the souls of 
 their friends out of cruel torments, had they believed 
 as much, since they were so prodigal as to sacrifice 
 their goods, and their very lives, to their bare 
 memories ? 
 
 What shall I say of those other nations, whose 
 natural piety led them to place burning lamps at 
 the sepulchres of the dead, and strew them over 
 with sweet flowers and odoriferous perfumes ? 2 Do 
 they not put Christians in mind to remember the 
 dead, and to cast after them the sweet incense of 
 their devout sighs and prayers, and the perfumes 
 of their alms-deeds, and other good works ? 
 
 It was very usual with the old Romans to shed 
 whole floods of tears, to reserve them in phial- 
 glasses, and to bury them with the urns, in which 
 the ashes of their dead friends were carefully laid 
 up; • and by them to set lamps, so artificially 
 1 Tacitus, History. 2 Herod, lib. 2. 
 
288 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 composed as to burn without end. By which 
 symbols they would give us to understand, that 
 neither their love, nor their grief, should ever die ; 
 but that they would always be sure to have tears 
 in their eyes, love in their hearts, and a constant 
 memory in their souls for their deceased friends* 
 Good God ! shall charity be overcome by vanity ? 
 Shall religion yield to idolatry, and shall the Catholic 
 Roman stoop to the Pagan Roman ? Shall a little 
 vainglory, or a mere natural affection, have the 
 power to draw whole glassfuls of tears from the 
 eyes of idolaters, and shall not a religious compas¬ 
 sion prevail so far as to draw a single tear, or a sigh, 
 or a good word, from the mouth of a Christian ? 
 Shall they take on so bitterly for dead carcasses, 
 that are not sensible to the flames that consume 
 them; and shall not we be more concerned for souls 
 that really feel the smart of a most cruel fire ? Sure, 
 they will one day rise up in judgment against us 
 and reproach us for believing as we do, and carrying 
 ourselves clear contrary to the belief we profess. 
 
 They had another custom, not only in Rome, but 
 elsewhere, to walk about the burning pile where the 
 dead corpse lay, and with their mournful lamenta¬ 
 tions to keep time with the doleful sound of their 
 trumpets; and still, every turn, to cast into the fire 
 some precious pledge of their friendship. The 
 women themselves would not stick to throw in their 
 rings, bracelets, and other costly attires, nay, their 
 very hair also, the chief ornament of their sex: and 
 they would have been sometimes willing to have 
 thrown in both their eyes and their hearts too. Nor 
 
ANCIENT WAYS OF COMFORTING THE DEAD. 289 
 
 were there some wanting, that in earnest threw 
 themselves into the fire, to be consumed with their 
 dear spouses; so that it was found necessary to make 
 a severe law against it: such was the tenderness 
 that they had for their deceased friends, such was 
 the excess of a mere natural affection. 1 Now, our 
 love is infused from Heaven ; it is supernatural, and 
 consequently ought to be more active and powerful 
 to stir up our compassion for the souls departed, 
 and yet we see the coldness of Christians in this 
 particular: how few there are that make it their 
 business to help poor souls out of their tormenting 
 flames. It is not necessary to make laws to hinder 
 any excess in this article; it were rather to be 
 wished that a law were provided to punish all such 
 ungrateful persons as forgot the duty they owe to 
 their dead parents, and all the obligations they have 
 to the rest of their friends. 
 
 It will help something to increase our confusion 
 to reflect how Alexander the Great behaved himself 
 at the funeral of his dear Hephaestion. 2 They tell 
 us he spent at least twelve thousand talents, that is, 
 above seven millions and two hundred thousand 
 crowns, upon his funeral pile. It was beautified 
 with a world of rich and goodly statues, made of 
 ivory, ebony, or some precious metal: amongst 
 others, you might have seen curious mermaids, with 
 exquisite music locked up within them; eagles, 
 dragons, and other beasts, represented to the life ; 
 stately galleries hung with scarlet richly embroidered; 
 triumphant crowns of pure gold; torches fifteen 
 
 1 Suet, in Aug. Dion. Alex. 2 Diod. Sic. 1 . 17, c. 16. 
 
 T 
 
290 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 cubits high; perfumes without end. Oh, what an 
 excess of love and superfluity was this ! what a stir, 
 to make a handful of ashes of the carcass of a 
 miserable wretch ? And yet all this was nothing to 
 the mad profuseness of that other infamous and 
 desperate king, 1 who, while yet living, built his own 
 funeral pile, and made himself and a world of 
 treasure, to the value of fifty millions of gold, to be 
 all consumed to ashes. What reflections shall we 
 make upon all this; we that are scarce willing to 
 spare a shilling to ease a soul that lies consuming in 
 the flames of Purgatory ? 
 
 Tell me, dear reader, what would they not have 
 done for souls, they that bore so religious a respect 
 to the bones, ashes, and small remainder of dead 
 carcasses ? They first clothed themselves with black 
 cypress, washed their hands clean, quenched the 
 fire with milk and wine; then they made a diligent 
 search for the bones, carefully raking them up out 
 of the ashes; they placed them in their bosoms, 
 washed them with their tears and their choicest wines, 
 dried them again, and lapped them up in their finest 
 linen, covered them over with roses and other costly 
 perfumes, and so reserved them in urns of glass, 
 ivory, or porphyry; and could never think they had 
 done enough for them. And can we Christians, 
 with the eye of our faith, pierce the earth and see 
 poor souls burning in Purgatory fire, and see them 
 with dry eyes and with a frozen heart ? Can we 
 be so niggardly as to grudge them a little comfort, 
 or refuse to cast on our wine, our milk, and our 
 . . 1 Diod. Sic. 1 . 3. 
 
ANCIENT WAYS OF COMFORTING THE DEAD. 291 
 
 flowers: the wine of our charity, the milk of our 
 innocency, and the flowers of our devout sighs and 
 prayers, to help to quench their flames ? Christ 
 Jesus told the Jews, that the Queen of Saba would 
 condemn them at the latter day; and I fear Queen 
 Artemisia 1 will condemn us, forasmuch as, having 
 built one of the seven miracles of the world in 
 honour of her dear lord and husband, not content 
 with this exterior demonstration of the dutiful 
 affection she had for him, she took a strange 
 resolution, to drink up his ashes and to lodge them 
 in her heart; and so to make it good to the very 
 letter, that man and wife are indeed but one flesh, 
 one body and soul, have but one life, and can die 
 but one death. What would she not have done to 
 have lodged his soul in Heaven; she that took such 
 care to lodge his ashes in her breast ? What have 
 you to say for yourselves, you unkind wives, or 
 what answer can you make, you unnatural children, 
 when she shall question you, what care you took to 
 provide a better mansion for the souls of your 
 husbands or your parents, when they were lodged 
 in the merciless flames of Purgatory fire ? Sure, 
 you are not sprung from that wicked race of 
 barbarous people, who were wont to feast themselves 
 with the flesh of their dead parents, and to justify 
 the fact by saying that it was better their bodies 
 should be their meat than the meat of worms! 2 
 I know this brutishness does not reign amongst us 
 at this present; but, alas! there is another, not 
 
 1 Strabo. 1 . 14. Diod. 1 . 16. 
 
 2 Strabo. Val, Max. 
 
292 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 unlike to it, which is much in fashion: for how 
 many children gourmandize themselves with the 
 riches of their parents, drink up the sweat of their 
 brows, and devour their goods, without so much as 
 dreaming what becomes of their souls; whether 
 they broil in glowing fire, or starve in freezing cold ? 
 Cruel wretches! Is this the gratitude with which 
 they honour their parents ? Are they indeed 
 children, or rather are they not direct vultures 
 and tigers ? 
 
 I should never make an end, should I go about 
 here to reckon up all the religious expressions of 
 charity which the pagans are known to have made 
 to their dead friends; and therefore I say nothing of 
 the ten valiant captains that were slain 1 for not 
 fishing for the bodies of their soldiers and causing 
 them to be buried, which was a crime they held 
 unpardonable. I say as little of that pious custom 
 of the Athenians, who would confer no honour or 
 dignity but upon those who were well known to 
 have been always very religious in burying their 
 ancestors and honouring their tombs. I take no 
 notice of a world of sacrifices, prayers, and cere¬ 
 monies, which were constantly performed by the 
 vestal virgins, priests, and whole pagan clergy; nor 
 of the stately mausoleums, pyramids, colossuses, and 
 other stately monuments which were built in honour 
 of the dead. It grieves me to the very heart to 
 consider that there are scarce any to be found in 
 the whole world that make less reckoning of the 
 dead than some loose and idle Christians: and I 
 
 1 Xenoph. 1 . i; Pausan. 1 . 2. 
 
CONSTANT PRACTICE OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 293 
 
 know not how to be better revenged on them 1 than 
 to wish, that in punishment of their coldness and 
 want of charity, they may be just so served by their 
 successors as they dealt with their predecessors. 
 It is the least they deserve, for neglecting a piety 
 which they might have learnt of the pagans, and of 
 the very beasts themselves; for some have been so 
 curious as to observe in the ants, that in their little 
 cells they have not only a hall and a granary, but a 
 kind of churchyard also, or a place deputed for 
 burying of their dead. 
 
 § 2 .—The constant practice of the Church in all ages 
 
 to pray for the dead. 
 
 It is a pleasure to observe the constant devotion 
 of the Church of Christ in all ages to pray for the 
 dead. And first, to take my rise from the Apostles’ 
 time, there are many learned interpreters who hold 
 that baptism for the dead, of which the Apostle 
 speaks, 2 to be meant only of the much fasting, 
 prayer, alms-deeds, and other voluntary afflictions 
 which the first Christians undertook for the relief 
 of their deceased friends. But I need not fetch in 
 obscure places to prove so clear an Apostolical and 
 early custom in God’s Church. 
 
 You may see a set form of prayer for the dead 
 prescribed in all the ancient liturgies of the 
 
 1 The author, of course, uses this expression as a mere figure 
 of speech. He had already put more charitable sentiments into the 
 mouth of a mother speaking from Purgatory. 
 
 2 1 Cor. xv. 29. 
 
294 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 Apostles. 1 Besides, St. Clement 2 tells us, it was 
 one of the chief heads of St. Peter’s sermons, to 
 be daily inculcating to the people this devotion of 
 praying for the dead : and St. Denis 3 sets down at 
 large the solemn ceremonies and prayers which 
 were then used at funerals, and receives them no 
 otherwise than as Apostolical traditions, grounded 
 upon the Word of God. And certainly it would 
 have done you good to have seen with what gravity 
 and devotion that venerable prelate performed the 
 Divine Office and prayer for the dead, and what an 
 ocean of tears he drew from the eyes of all that 
 were present. 
 
 Let Tertullian speak for the next age. 4 He tells 
 us how carefully devout people in his time kept the 
 anniversaries of the dead, and made their constant 
 oblations for the sweet rest of their souls. Here it 
 is, says this grave author, that the widow makes 
 it appear whether or no she had any true love for 
 her husband, if she continue yearly to do her best 
 for the comfort of his soul. To neglect so neces¬ 
 sary a piece of service were to tell the world how 
 she joys in his death, and was certainly long since 
 divorced from him in affection. Believe it, all love 
 is not expressed in setting out the solemnities of a 
 noble funeral, hanging rooms in black, and shutting 
 out the sun at noonday, to lie buried in darkness, 
 nor appearing abroad with coach and lackeys all in 
 complete mourning, howling and crying, and the 
 
 1 Liturgia utriusque S. Jacobi, S. Math. S. Marci. S. Clem. 
 
 2 Epist. i. 3 S. Dion. Eccles. Hier. c. 7. 
 
 4 Tertull. De Cor. Mil. c. 3; De Monogam. c. 10. 
 
CUSTOM IN THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 295 
 
 like: there is often more ceremony or vanity in all 
 this than love. It is all rather to amuse the world 
 than to benefit the poor soul, who, God knows, has 
 more need of other helps than these vain shows of 
 pride and ostentation. All the day long you do - 
 nothing but whine and cry, that your dear husband 
 is gone, and has left you such a debt, and so great 
 a charge of children to provide for, that you know 
 not which way to turn yourself: and all this while 
 it is not in your thoughts what is become of this 
 dear husband of yours, or what he suffers in the 
 other world, and what need he has of better 
 comfort than can spring from your unnecessary 
 lamentations. Let your first care be, to ransom 
 him out of Purgatory, and when you have once 
 placed him in the empyrean Heaven, he will be 
 sure to take care for you and yours. I know your 
 excuse is, that having procured for him the accus¬ 
 tomed services of the Church, you need do no, 
 more for him; for you verily believe he is already 
 in a blessed state. But this is rather a poor shift 
 to excuse your own sloth and laziness, than that 
 you believe it to be so in good earnest. For there 
 is no man, says Origen, 1 but the Son of God, can 
 guess how long, or how many ages, a soul may 
 stand in need of the purgation of fire. Mark the 
 word, ages: he seems to believe that a soul may, 
 for whole ages, that is, for so many hundred years, 
 be confined to this fiery lake, if she be wholly left 
 to herself and her own sufferings. 
 
 It was not without confidence, says Eusebius, 2 
 1 Lib. 8, in Rom. c. 11. 2 Euseb. lib. 4, c. 6o, 71. 
 
296 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 of reaping more fruit from the prayers of the 
 faithful, that the honour of our nation, and the 
 
 t 
 
 first Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, 
 took such care to be buried in the Church of the 
 Apostles, whither all sorts of devout people resort¬ 
 ing to perform their devotions to God and His 
 Saints, would be sure to remember so good an 
 Emperor. Nor did he fail of his expectation; for 
 it is incredible, as the same author observes, what 
 a world of sighs and prayers were offered up for 
 him upon this occasion. 
 
 St. Athanasius 1 brings an elegant comparison, 
 to express the incomparable benefit which accrues 
 to the souls in Purgatory by our prayers. As the 
 wine, says he, which is locked up in the cellar, yet 
 is so recreated with the sweet odour of the flourish¬ 
 ing vines which are growing in the fields as to 
 flower afresh, and leap as it were for joy, so the 
 souls that are shut up in the centre of the earth 
 feel the sweet incense of our prayers, and are 
 exceedingly comforted and refreshed by it. 
 
 We do not busy ourselves, says St. Cyril, 2 with 
 placing crowns or strewing flowers at the sepulchres 
 of the dead; but we lay hold on Christ, the very 
 Son of God, Who was sacrificed upon the Cross 
 for our sins: and we offer Him up again to His 
 Eternal Father in the dread Sacrifice of the Mass, 
 as the most efficacious means to reconcile Him, 
 not only to ourselves, but to them also. 
 
 St. Epiphanius, 3 stuck not to condemn Arius for 
 
 1 Q. 34, ad Antiochum. 
 
 2 Cyril. Hieros. in Catechesi 5 Mystag. 3 Heres. 75. 
 

 CUSTOM IN THE EARLY CHURCH. 
 
 29 7 
 
 this damnable heresy amongst others, that he held 
 it in vain to pray for the dead; as if our prayers 
 could not avail them. 
 
 St. Ambrose 1 prayed heartily for the good 
 Emperor Theodosius, as soon as he was dead; 
 and made open profession that he would never 
 give over praying for him, till he had by his tears 
 and prayers conveyed him safe to the holy mountain 
 of our Lord, whither he was called by his merits, 
 and where there is true life everlasting. 
 
 He had the same kindness for the soul of the 
 Emperor Valentinian, 2 the same for Gratian, the 
 same for his brother Satyrus, and others; he 
 promised them Masses, tears, prayers, and that 
 he would never forget them, never give over doing 
 charitable offices for them. And much about this 
 time it was 3 that some, out of too much care that 
 the dead should, as soon as might be, have all the 
 comfort they could afford them, were grown into 
 an abuse of making no scruple of saying Mass for 
 them after dinner; so that the Church made a 
 severe decree against it. 
 
 “ Will you honour the dead ? ” says St. Chrysos¬ 
 tom ; “ do not spend yourselves in unprofitable 
 lamentations; choose rather to sing psalms, to 
 give alms, and to lead holy lives. Do for them 
 that which they would willingly do for themselves, 
 were they to return again into the world : and God 
 will accept it at your hands, as if it came from 
 them.” 
 
 1 St. Ambr. in Orat. in fun. Theodosii. 
 
 2 Orat. in fun. Valent, et in fun. Satyr. 3 Cone. Carth. 3, can. 29. 
 
298 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 St. Augustine is everywhere very full of this 
 subject; but it may abundantly suffice here to set 
 down a part of the ardent prayer which he made 
 for his good mother after her death. “ Hearken to 
 me, I beseech Thee, O my God, for His sake Who 
 is the true medicine of our wounds, Who hung" 
 upon the Cross, and, sitting at Thy right hand, 
 makes intercession for us. I know she has willingly, 
 and from her heart, forgiven such as offended her: 
 forgive Thou also her sins, O Lord; forgive her, 
 I beseech Thee, and enter not with her into 
 judgment. Let Thy mercy overtop Thy justice,” &c. 
 “ And I verily persuade myself that Thou hast 
 already done what I desire; but yet accept, O Lord, 
 this prayer, which I willingly make. For she, when 
 the day of her death drew near upon her, did not 
 crave that her body might be sumptuously adorned, 
 or embalmed with spices and odours; nor desired 
 she any curious or choice monument, nor cared 
 she to be conveyed into her own country. They 
 were not these things she recommended to us; but 
 only she desired to be remembered at the altar, 
 whereat she used to assist, without pretermission 
 of any one day. Let her, therefore, rest in peace 
 with her husband. And inspire, O Lord my God, 
 inspire Thy servants, my brethren, that whosoever 
 reads these my confessions, may at Thy altar 
 remember Thy servant Monica, with Patricius, her 
 husband,” &C . 1 
 
 St. Paulinus, that charitable prelate who sold 
 himself to redeem others, could not but have a 
 
 1 Confess, lib. g, c. 13. 
 
CUSTOM IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 299 
 
 great proportion of charity for captive souls in the 
 other world. No ; he was not only ready to become 
 a slave himself, to purchase their freedom, but he 
 became an earnest solicitor to others in their behalf; 
 for in a letter to Delphinus, alluding to the story of 
 Lazarus, he beseeches him to have at least so much 
 compassion as to convey now and then a drop of 
 water, wherewith to cool the tongues of poor souls 
 that lie burning in the Church which is all a-fire. 
 
 I am astonished, when I call to mind the sad 
 regrets of the people of Africa when they saw some 
 of their priests dragged away to martyrdom. 1 The 
 author says, they flocked about them in great 
 numbers, and cried out: “ Alas! if you leave us 
 so, what will become of us ? Who must give us 
 absolution for our sins ? Who must bury us with 
 the wonted ceremonies of the Church when we 
 are dead ? and who will take care to pray for our 
 souls ? ” Such a general belief they had in those 
 days, that nothing is more to be desired in this 
 world than to leave those behind us who will do 
 their best to help us out of our torments. 
 
 § 3 .—A continuation of the same subject, from the 
 sixth age after Christ unto our days. 
 
 Almighty God has often miraculously made it 
 appear how well He is pleased to be importuned 
 by us in the souls’ behalf, and what comfort they 
 receive by our prayers. St.John Climacus writes, 2 
 that while the monks were at service, praying for 
 
 1 Victor Utic. lib. 2, De persec. Wandal. 
 
 2 In 4 Gradu scales. 
 
300 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 their good Father Mennas, the third day after his 
 departure, they felt a marvellous sweet smell to rise 
 out of his grave, which they took for a good omen 
 that his sweet soul, after three days’ purgation, had 
 taken her flight into Heaven. For what else could 
 be meant by that sweet perfume, but the odour of 
 his holy and innocent conversation, or the incense 
 of their sacrifices and prayers, or the primitial 
 fruits of his happy soul, which was now flown up 
 to the holy mountain of eternal glory, there enjoy¬ 
 ing the odoriferous and never-fading delights of 
 Paradise ? Not unlike unto this, is that story 
 which the great St. Gregory relates of one Justus, 
 a monk. 1 He had given him up at first for a lost 
 creature; but upon second thoughts, having ordered 
 Mass to be said for him for thirty days together, 
 the last day he appeared to his brother, and assured 
 him of the happy exchange he was now going to 
 make of his torments for the joys of Heaven. 
 
 Pope Symmachus 2 and his Council , had reason 
 to thunder out anathemas against those sacrilegious 
 persons who were so frontless as to turn pious 
 legacies into profane uses, to the great prejudice 
 of the souls for whose repose they were particularly 
 deputed by the founders. And certainly it is a 
 much fouler crime to defraud souls of their due 
 relief, than to disturb dead men’s ashes and to 
 plunder their graves. And yet we read of dead 
 carcasses that have risen up in their graves, to 
 struggle for their sheets with the wicked wretches 
 who would have stolen them away. And it were 
 1 Dial. c. 55, lib. 4. 2 6 Synod. Rom. 
 
CUSTOM IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 301 
 
 to be wished, that more were permitted to do the 
 like; and that souls might have leave to appear 
 sometimes to those that abuse them so uncon¬ 
 scionably ! Haply they might fright them into 
 reason, who might not be otherwise persuaded to 
 do them right. 
 
 St. Isidore 1 delivers it as an Apostolic tradition, 
 and general practice of the Catholic Church in his 
 time, to offer up Sacrifices and prayers, and to 
 distribute alms, for the dead: and this, not for 
 any increase of their merit, but either to mitigate 
 their pains or to shorten the time of their durance. 
 
 Venerable Bede is a sure witness for the 
 following century, whose learned works are full of 
 wonderful stories which he brings in confirmation 
 of this Catholic doctrine and practice. 
 
 St. John Damascene 2 made an elegant oration, 
 on purpose to stir up this devotion, where, amongst 
 other things, he says it is impossible to number up 
 all the stories in this kind which bear witness that 
 the souls departed are relieved by our prayers: and 
 that otherwise God would not have appointed a 
 commemoration of the dead to be daily made in 
 the unbloody Sacrifice of the Mass, nor would the 
 Church have so religiously observed anniversaries 
 and other days set apart for the service of the dead. 
 
 Were it but a dog, says Simon Metaphrastes, 3 
 that by chance were fallen into the fire, we should 
 have so much compassion for him as to help him 
 
 1 L. i. De Offic. c. 18, and 1 . 2, c. penult. 
 
 2 Orat. Quod ii. qui, &c. 
 
 3 In Vita St. PacJiom. St. Euseb. &c. 
 
302 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 out; and what shall we do for souls who are fallen 
 into Purgatory fire ? I say, souls of our parents 
 and dearest of friends; souls that are predestinate 
 to eternal glory, and extreme precious in the sight 
 
 of God ? And what did not the Saints of God’s 
 
 Church for them in those days ? Some armed 
 themselves from head to foot in coarse haircloth; 
 others tore their flesh with chains and rude 
 disciplines; some, again, pined themselves with 
 rigorous fasts; others dissolved themselves into 
 tears: some passed whole nights in contempla¬ 
 tion ; others gave liberal alms, or procured great 
 store of Masses; in fine, they did what they were 
 
 able, and were not well pleased that they were 
 
 able to do no more, to relieve the poor souls in 
 Purgatory. Amongst others, Queen Mechtild 1 is 
 reported to have purchased immortal fame for her 
 discreet behaviour at the death of the King, her 
 husband, for whose soul she caused a world of 
 Masses to be said, and a world of alms to be dis¬ 
 tributed, in lieu of other idle expenses and fruitless 
 lamentations. 
 
 There is one in the world to whom I bear an 
 immortal envy, and such an envy as I never 
 mean to repent of. It is the holy Abbot Odilo, 
 who was the author of an invention which I would 
 willingly have found out, though with the loss of 
 my very heart’s blood. 
 
 Reader, take the story as it passed, thus. 2 A 
 devout religious man, in his return from Jerusalem, 
 meets with a holy hermit in Sicily; he assures him 
 1 Luitprand. 1 . 4, c. 7. 2 Sigeb. in Chron. an. 998. 
 
CUSTOM IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 303 
 
 that he often heard the devils complain that souls 
 were so soon discharged of their torments by the 
 suffrages of the faithful, and particularly by the 
 devout prayers of the monks of Cluny, who never 
 ceased to pour out their prayers for them. This 
 the good man carries to Odilo, then Abbot of 
 Cluny; he praises God for His great mercy, in 
 vouchsafing to hear the innocent prayers of His 
 monks; and presently takes occasion to command 
 all the monasteries of his Order to keep yearly the 
 commemoration of All Souls next after the feast of 
 All Saints, a custom which by degrees grew into 
 such credit, that the Catholic Church thought fit 
 to establish it all over the Christian world, to the 
 incredible benefit of poor souls, * and singular 
 increase of God’s glory.* For who can sum up 
 the infinite number of souls who have been freed 
 out of Purgatory by this holy invention ? Or who 
 can express the glory which accrued to this good 
 Abbot, who thus fortunately made himself pro¬ 
 curator-general of the suffering Church, and 
 furnished her people with such a considerable 
 supply of necessary relief to alleviate the insup¬ 
 portable burthen of their sufferings ? 
 
 St. Bernard 1 would triumph when he had to 
 deal with heretics that denied this privilege of 
 communicating our suffrages and prayers to the 
 souls in Purgatory. And with what fervour he 
 would apply himself to this charitable employment 
 of relieving poor souls, may appear by the care he 
 took for good Humbertus, 2 though he knew him to 
 1 Serm. 66 in Cant. 2 Serm. de obitu Humberti. 
 
304 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 have lived and died in his monastery so like a Saint 
 that he could scarce find out the fault in him which 
 might deserve the least punishment in the other 
 world, unless it were to have been too rigorous 
 to himself, and too careless of his health: which 
 in a less spiritual eye than that of St. Bernard, 
 might have passed for a great virtue. But it is 
 worth your hearing that which he relates of blessed 
 St. Malachy, 1 who died in his very bosom. This 
 holy Bishop, as he lay asleep, hears a sister of his, 
 lately dead, making lamentable moan, that for 
 thirty days together she had not eaten so much as 
 a bit of bread. He starts up out of his sleep; and, 
 taking it to be more than a dream, he concludes 
 the meaning 6f the vision was to tell him that just 
 thirty days were now past since he had said Mass 
 for her, as probably believing she was already 
 where she had no need of his prayers. For this, 
 indeed, is the ordinary excuse wherewith many use 
 to cloak their idleness. “ God be with him ; he was 
 a good soul: he is certainly in Heaven ere this; 
 there is no more need to pray for him,” &c. ; 
 whereas, God knows, Heaven is not so easily 
 purchased as fools imagine. Howsoever, this 
 worthy prelate so plied his prayers after this, that 
 he soon sent his sister out of Purgatory; and it 
 pleased God to let him see, by the daily change 
 of her habit, how his prayers had purged her by 
 degrees, and made her fit company for the Angels 
 and Saints in Heaven. For the first day, she was 
 covered all over with black cypress; the next, she 
 
 1 In Vita Malach. 
 
CUSTOM IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 305 
 
 appeared in a mantle something whitish, but of a 
 dusky colour: but the third day, she was seen all 
 clad in white, which is the proper livery of the 
 Saints. What think you now, says St. Bernard ; 
 is not the Kingdom of Heaven got by violence ? 
 Did not St. Malachy force it by storming ? Were 
 not his prayers like strokes of a warlike engine, to 
 make a breach in Heaven, for his sister to enter at ? 
 Sweet Jesus! you that suffer this violence, are 
 yourself the cause of it; the good prelate breathes 
 nothing but what you have inspired him ; so sweet 
 are you in your mercies, so faithful in your 
 promises, and so powerful in your Divine wonders. 
 Thus far St. Bernard. But I cannot let pass 
 in silence one very remarkable passage, 1 which 
 happened to these two great servants of God, 
 St. Malachy had passionately desired to die at 
 Clarvallis, in the hands of the devout St. Bernard; 
 and this, on the day immediately before All Souls* 
 day: and it pleased God to grant him his request. 
 It fell out, then, that while St. Bernard was saying 
 Mass for him, in the middle of Mass it was revealed 
 to him that St. Malachy was already glorious in 
 Heaven; whether he had gone straight thither out 
 of this world, or whether that part of St. Bernard’s 
 Mass had freed him out of Purgatory, is uncertain : 
 but St. Bernard hereupon changed his note; for 
 having began a Requiem, he went on with the 
 Mass of a Bishop and Confessor, to the great 
 astonishment of all the standers-by. Oh, it is good 
 to have such devout Masses said presently after 
 
 1 i.e. Event. 
 
 U 
 
3°6 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 one’s death ! It is good to die in so good hands, as 
 will not quit you till they have conducted you to 
 the choir of Angels ! 
 
 St. Thomas of Aquin, that great champion of 
 Purgatory, gave God particular thanks at his death, 
 for not only delivering a soul out of Purgatory, at 
 the instance of his prayers, but also permitting the 
 same soul to be the messenger of so good news. 
 
 Durand 1 argues the case thus: Sure, Christian 
 charity has more power with Almighty God than a 
 mere natural friendship can have with the civil 
 magistrate; now, it has been often seen, that a 
 condemned person has been quit, at the earnest 
 entreaty, or voluntary satisfaction, of his friends. 
 Stories are full of such courteous civilities. How 
 can we then make any question but that God will 
 as easily be moved to release holy souls out of 
 Purgatory, at the sweet importunity of their friends’ 
 tears, prayers, and sufferings here upon earth ? It 
 was a laudable custom in some countries, that if a 
 chaste virgin should present herself at the place 
 of execution, to beg a felon for her husband, her 
 request was granted, and the poor criminal was 
 with great joy instantly conveyed from the gallows 
 to a nuptial feast. This custom, though now out 
 of date, may yet serve to tell us, that Almighty 
 God will not deny to set a soul free from the 
 punishment of all its misdemeanours, if we beg 
 it earnestly at the hands of His infinite mercy. 
 
 And now we are come down to the fifteenth 
 age, where the Fathers of the Council of Florence, 
 
 1 In 4, d. 45. 
 
CUSTOM IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 307 
 
 both Greeks and Latins, with one consent, declare 
 the same faith and constant practice of the Church, 
 thus handed down to them from age to age, since 
 Christ and His Apostles’ time, as we have seen: 
 viz., that the souls in Purgatory are not only 
 relieved, but translated into Heaven, by the prayers, 
 sacrifices, alms, and other charitable works which 
 are offered up for them according to the custom of 
 the Catholic Church. Nor did their posterity 
 degenerate, or vary the least, from this received 
 doctrine, until Luther’s time, when the holy 
 Council of Trent thought fit again to lay down 
 the sound doctrine of the Church, in opposition 
 to all our late sectaries. And I wish all Catholics 
 were but as forward to lend their helping hands to 
 lift souls out of Purgatory, as they are to believe 
 they have the power to do it: and that we had not 
 often more reason than the Roman Emperor to 
 pronounce the day lost, since we let so many days 
 pass over our heads, and so many fair occasions 
 slip out of our hands, without easing, or releasing, 
 any souls out of Purgatory, when we might do it 
 with so much ease. 
 
THE SIXTH SURVEY. 
 
 OF TWELVE EXCELLENT MEANS TO PREVENT PURGA¬ 
 TORY, OR SO TO PROVIDE FOR OURSELVES AS NOT 
 TO MAKE ANY LONG STAY THERE. 
 
 ( 
 
 Behold the most important point of all others, the 
 secret of secrets, and the true knack of all state 
 affairs in this world. They talk of certain waters, 
 which have so strange a power to dull the edge of 
 fire, that if one wash his hands with them, he can 
 receive no prejudice, though he should thrust them 
 afterwards into the fire or into boiling lead. The 
 preservatives I am here to treat of, are of a higher 
 nature; they do not curb the restless activity of 
 this our sublunary fire, which is bent only against 
 dull bodies, but they arm us against the raging fire 
 of Purgatory which God has prepared to torment 
 our very souls in the other world. 
 
 § i .—The first , Perfect Contrition . 
 
 One of the surest means to avoid Purgatory, is 
 to die with tears in our eyes and true contrition in 
 our hearts. For divines 1 teach that our contrition 
 may be so great, as to wash away all those spots of 
 sin which Purgatory fire was otherwise to have 
 
 1 St. Thomas, Suppl. q. 5. a. 3. 
 
PERFECT CONTRITION. 
 
 309 
 
 worn off. And therefore, as I take it to be a great 
 piece of folly to defer the exercise of so precious 
 an act unto the hour of our death, so I esteem it 
 one of the most solid devotions of all others, to 
 accustom ourselves to it all our lifetime: that, by 
 daily frequenting such acts, we may at length get 
 such a habit and facility in them, as, with God’s 
 grace, to have them at our call when we come to 
 die. All must not look for the same privilege which 
 the Good Thief had at the last gasp. It was but 
 little that he said; but he spoke it with so cordial 
 an accent, that he deserved to hear those comfort¬ 
 able words of our Blessed Saviour : “ This day thou 
 shalt be with Me in Paradise; ” and soon found 
 them verified by a present fruition of the Beatifical 
 Vision. Almighty God is pleased sometimes to 
 make so forcible an entry into the heart of man, 
 and to set it so desperately on fire with His Divine 
 love, that there is no remedy but to die between the 
 arms of love and grief; and thrice happy are those 
 souls that lose their lives in this Divine encounter, 
 and die in the most loving flames of ardent charity; 
 they are sure never to feel the murdering flames of 
 Purgatory. Such was the death of our Blessed 
 Lady, St. John the Evangelist, and infinite others, 
 who have been straight carried into Heaven out of 
 this world on the wings of love or contrition; so 
 that a heart that is well seasoned with contrition, 
 or steeped in a bath of salt tears, is like the heart 
 of Prince Germanicus, 1 which being washed over 
 with a certain precious liquor, could not be con- 
 
 1 Tacitus. Anti. 
 
3io 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 sumed by the fire which turned all the rest of his 
 body to ashes. 
 
 This'is what they call a good peccavi ; but it must 
 be a good one indeed: but it is not every ordinary 
 and trivial kind of sorrow which can work such 
 wonders. Those that have been long used to 
 actuate themselves in those generous acts of contri¬ 
 tion, may be full of confidence that the mercy of 
 God will not fail them at the hour of their death; 
 and that their good Angels will be then ready, when 
 it most imports, to inspire them with all the best 
 motives of true contrition: since they have gone 
 all along with them, still furnishing them with such 
 good thoughts, and so much good success, that 
 their hearts have been a thousand times broken 
 with a lively, a loving, and cordial contrition and 
 repentance for their sins. And certainly they that 
 die either in the fire of so ardent a love or in the 
 water of so piercing a grief, need not fear the fire 
 of Purgatory; for that fire, says St. Bonaventure, 
 was not made for them. So that, methinks, this 
 charity may be fitly compared to the Seraphim at 
 the gates of Paradise, brandishing his flaming sword, 
 which Tertullian 1 calls the porter of Paradise : grief 
 is the edge, love the fire, wherewith it is inflamed; 
 and he that has this flaming sword, has Heaven’s 
 gates at command, and goes straight thither when 
 he leaves the world. 
 
 1 Romphaea janitrix Paradisi. 
 
TO DIE IN RELIGION. 
 
 3 ii 
 
 § 2 .—The second , to die in Religion. 
 
 Another safe way to escape Purgatory is to live 
 and die in a good Religious Order, and at his death 
 to renew and ratify his religious vows. To prove 
 this, 1 I first call St. Bernard to witness, who doubts 
 not to assure us that there is a ready, if not an 
 uninterrupted passage into Heaven out of a religious 
 cell. 2. Next I appeal to those holy and learned 
 Doctors who give it for a certain sign of predestina¬ 
 tion to die in Religion; because Christ has in a 
 manner sworn, in His holy Gospel, 2 to give a 
 hundred-fold and life everlasting to all those that 
 shall leave father, mother, and other worldly con¬ 
 cernments for His sake. For whence it is that 
 Holy Church permits the Superiors of divers 
 Religious Orders to make this solemn promise at 
 the profession of their novices, for they have no 
 sooner made their vows of poverty, &c., but the 
 Superior answers, “ And I, child, do promise thee 
 Paradise and eternal life.” 
 
 3. Many Popes have granted a Plenary Indul¬ 
 gence, 3 in form of a Jubilee, to all religious persons 
 that either by word of mouth, or in their hearts, 
 call upon the sacred names of Jesus and Mary at 
 the hour of their death. And what religious person 
 is there that does it not, either when he dies or not 
 long before, not only once but a thousand times ? 
 
 To say nothing that many are of opinion that 
 they gain this Indulgence at the hour of their death, 
 
 1 Ad Fratres de Monte Dei. A cella in ccelum, &c. 
 
 2 Plat. De Bono stat. Relig. 3 Sixt. Greg. XIII. Greg. XIV. 
 
312 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 whether they pronounce the words or no. 1 For, as 
 other Indulgences are gained by visiting certain 
 churches, saying certain prayers, giving alms, or 
 exercising such other acts of virtue, the Supreme 
 Pastor of the Church thought no act more worthy 
 of a Jubilee than to die in a Religious Order, in the 
 actual profession of voluntary poverty, chastity, and 
 obedience; with final perseverance in the austerity 
 of a religious life, and a patient acceptance of our 
 death, as from the holy hand of God. Let us, then, 
 suppose a good religious man to come to die; and 
 besides the common benefit of the sacraments, and 
 other holy rites of the Catholic Church, let him 
 gain this Plenary Indulgence which the Popes 
 grant as freely and with as much assurance as any 
 •other; have we not all the reason in the world to 
 hope that he goes immediately into Heaven, or 
 at most, does but make a swift passage through 
 Purgatory, or rather, as we read of many in the 
 Ecclesiastical History, takes it in his way, to have 
 t the company of some of his friends there, whom 
 he has the privilege to lead away with him in 
 triumph into Heaven ? 
 
 4. Who can better deserve to go directly into 
 Heaven than they whose lives are a continual 
 Purgatory ? They go in rough hair-shirts, pine 
 themselves with rigorous fasts, tear their flesh with 
 cruel disciplines, drink up their own tears, live on 
 nothing but mortifications and perpetual hardships, 
 and thus abundantly satisfy for all the sins they have 
 
 1 It must be said in the heart, if it cannot be said with the lips, 
 3 .s well by Religious as by all the faithful. 
 
TO DIE IN RELIGION. 
 
 3 i 3 
 
 committed, and for those they never dreamt of, but 
 had rather die a thousand times than commit. They 
 that have no will but that of their Superior, they 
 that breathe nothing but holy sighs, and burn with 
 ardent charity, how can they burn in Purgatory fire? 
 
 5. Divines furnish me with another pregnant 
 proof, and it is this. It is certain, say they, that 
 a solemn profession in Religion brings with it a 
 Plenary Indulgence or remission of all their sins, 
 not only because it is a second baptism, or a linger¬ 
 ing kind of martyrdom, which is not completed in 
 a few moments as other martyrdoms are, but also, 
 because in the opinion of the Angelical Doctor, 1 it 
 is so sublime and eminent an act as surpasses all 
 other acts in this life; so that if Daniel (says he) 
 could say, that by giving a little alms we may blot 
 out our sins, what may we not say of this super- 
 eminent act of liberality, by which a man gives unto 
 God all his goods and present possessions, with all 
 fair hopes of improving them, his body, his life, his 
 honour, his will, his soul, with a million of worlds, 
 if he had them in his power ? The same holy 
 Doctor says elsewhere, that a man who sacrifices 
 his will unto God, the most noble portion of his 
 soul, and makes it to become His eternal slave, 
 gives God full satisfaction for all his misdemeanours : 
 since a mere creature cannot present Him with a 
 more noble gift, than to make Him an entire holo¬ 
 caust of that which is dearest unto him in this 
 world, which is his will, and the absolute sovereignty 
 over himself and all his concerns. Others 2 go yet 
 
 1 2. 2. 4. ult. a. 3. 2 Suarez, Verb. Religio, n. 27, &c. 
 
3 H 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 further, and assure us that as often as a good 
 religious man renews this his profession he makes 
 a new purchase of the same favour, and obtains an 
 entire pardon of all the pain due to his sins, and 
 that these, and the like privileges, are not tied only 
 to solemn vows, but are common to all vows that 
 make up the substance of a religious man, of what 
 Order soever in God’s Church. And they say 
 withal, that these favours are not in the nature 
 of Indulgences granted by His Holiness, but are 
 inseparably annexed unto the vows themselves, 
 which are so generous and so precious acts in the 
 sight of God, that they move His goodness to blot 
 out the remembrance of their sins, and to cancel 
 a great part, if not all, the pain which was due for 
 them. 
 
 Now, put all this together, and it will necessarily 
 follow that since the Pope, on the one side, grants 
 a Jubilee unto all Religious at the hour of their 
 death, and since they have it in their power, on the 
 other side, to renew their vows before they die, by 
 which act they may fully satisfy for all their sins, 
 there cannot be a greater assurance of going directly 
 into Heaven than theirs, who have, as I told you, 
 this double security of a general pardon, that so, 
 one way or other, they can scarce fail to obtain it. 
 
 What shall I say now of their perfect resigna¬ 
 tion unto the will of God, their invincible patience, 
 their love of God, their virginal purity, their exact 
 and punctual obedience, with a million of other 
 Divine acts of virtue, which are so incident and 
 connatural to a religious vocation. All of which, no 
 
TO BE AN APOSTOLICAL PREACHER. 
 
 315 
 
 doubt, stand ready to assist them at the last hour, 
 and to show them Heaven’s gates open and ready 
 to receive them; and, howsoever, to assure them 
 that their stay cannot be long in Purgatory, since 
 they leave behind them so many of their own Order, 
 who will be sure to ply them with Masses, Indul¬ 
 gences, and other charitable works, for their speedy 
 deliverance. 
 
 § 3 .—The third, to be an Apostolical Preacher. 
 
 A third means to redeem Purgatory is, be a 
 zealous and apostolical preacher. For, as this is 
 a life of eminent perfection and incredible merit, 
 so is it extreme painful, and may well pass for a 
 Purgatory in this life. But observe, that I speak 
 of an apostolical preacher, or of one that is full of 
 Divine fire or a holy zeal for the good of souls. I 
 mean not those that preach themselves, those that 
 desire to be admired and adored for oracles, those 
 that profane the Word of God with their vain glosses, 
 idle applications, and affected eloquence, seeking 
 nothing more than worldly applause, and really 
 destroying by their life and conversation all they 
 build up in the pulpit. St. Paul compares such vain 
 preachers to cracked trumpets and broken bells, 
 which make a noise indeed, but are altogether use¬ 
 less. They send others to Heaven, said St. Xaverius, 
 and go God knows whither themselves. St. Gregory 
 likens them to the waters of Baptism, which entitles 
 children to the Kingdom of Heaven, and is itself 
 conveyed into some noisome sink, and there turns 
 to corruption. I speak, then, of a preacher who is 
 
316 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 a man of God, one that does what he says, and 
 says what he does; one that aims at nothing but 
 the salvation of souls, preaches to a few or to many, 
 in cities or villages, princes’ courts, or poor hospitals, 
 with the same fervour of spirit; one that rends their 
 hearts asunder, and draws floods of tears from their 
 eyes; one that preaches like another St. Paul, and 
 draws his sermons out of the Pentateuch of the five 
 Wounds of his Redeemer; one that, after he has 
 done all he can, believes he is an unprofitable 
 servant, unworthy to open his mouth, or to tread 
 upon the earth. Such a one, in my opinion, if he 
 dies in the exercise of his holy function, either goes 
 not at all to Purgatory, or stays not there. This 
 was the case of one Cherubini, 1 a famous preacher 
 of the Order of St. Francis, who before he died 
 had the comfort to see St. Hierome, whom he had 
 chosen for his peculiar patron, and with him three 
 thousand souls, all saved by his means, who assured 
 him that they were sent expressly by Almighty God 
 to carry him into Heaven, and so to requite him 
 for showing them the way thither in his zealous 
 sermons. Not unlike unto this, is that story which 
 I touched elsewhere, out of Cardinal Baronius. He 
 tells us that St. Boniface 2 saw a holy abbot at his 
 death, surrounded with devils, and much terrified 
 to see them so insolent as to cry out his soul was 
 theirs: when, behold ! his good Angel appears at 
 the head of a white troop of blessed souls, who, 
 after a solemn profession that they had all been saved 
 
 1 Hist. St. Fran. 1 . 7, c. 2, p. 3. 
 
 2 Annal. Eccl. an. 716. 
 
TO BE AN APOSTOLICAL PREACHER. 
 
 3 i 7 
 
 by him, gave him the comfort to understand they 
 had brought an express commission to convey him 
 instantly into Heaven. But you long now to have 
 me paint you out such a preacher; for, though there 
 be many that sooth themselves up with a vain 
 persuasion that they are the men, yet, if we sift a 
 little narrowly into them, we should possibly find 
 so much vanity, so much care of esteem, so many 
 by-ends, and so many other imperfections to steal 
 into their sermons, that we may safely say there are 
 but few apostolical preachers indeed, and such as 
 seek only God’s cause and the good of souls. 
 
 Take an exact idea from one that lived but in 
 the last age. Father Gonzales Silveria, of the 
 Society of Jesus, scarce ever went up into the pulpit 
 without a hair-shirt, and would say a man must 
 be well armed who goes to fight against vice. It 
 was also very usual with him to encounter Goliath 
 with David’s sling; to take a bloody discipline, and 
 so to mount up into the pulpit, and there, like 
 thunder, to carry all before him. He had for the 
 most part but five books for his library: to wit, his 
 Breviary, the Bible, the Lives of Saints, a crucifix, 
 and the picture of our Blessed Lady. In these five 
 books he studied for his sermons: and certainly 
 the thunder-bolts of his admirable eloquence were 
 framed in the Heart of his Crucified Lord, the best 
 furnace of Divine love; the sweet flowers of his 
 rhetoric were steeped in the milk of the Virgin; 
 his tropes and figures, and the whole variety of his 
 sermons, were borrowed out of the Word of God 
 and the admirable lives of His Saints; and lastly, 
 
318 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 the religious and devout performance of his daily 
 task of Divine Office and Holy Mass, gave fire to 
 his discourses, wherewith he did not only heat, but 
 inflame the hearts of his auditors. He would preach 
 you twice or thrice a day, and do it the more 
 willingly in the meanest places and to the poorest 
 people. His common lodging was the hospital, 
 where he contented himself with a spare diet and 
 gross fare; he was never observed to be over-nice 
 and coy of his sermons, nor required he much time 
 to make them with applause. The only thing he 
 had before his eyes was the glory of God and the 
 help of souls; and his life preached more than his 
 tongue, for he really acted more in his own person 
 than he taught others. As for his manner of 
 preaching, it was rather powerful than charming, 
 fitter to break their hearts than please their ears. 
 Such was his fervour, that he poured his whole 
 heart, and his whole zeal, out of his mouth; and 
 he would be so transported with this zeal as not 
 to take notice of anything else. Once, as he was 
 preaching, he struck his hand upon a sharp nail 
 which stuck out in the pulpit, and made it bleed so 
 extremely, that the whole auditory took notice of 
 it, and some of the devout women courteously 
 offered their handkerchiefs to bind up the wound 
 and stop the bleeding: and all this while the good 
 man neither saw handkerchief, nor nail, nor blood, 
 nor took the least notice of anything till after his 
 sermon, when, the wound being grown cold, he was 
 heard to wonder how the blood came there, and to 
 complain that his hand put him to some pain. 
 
TO BE AN APOSTOLICAL PREACHER. 
 
 319 
 
 Another time, preaching in the Queen of Portugal’s 
 chapel, he had put himself into such a heat that, 
 his mouth being clammed up, he could scarce get 
 out his words, when the Queen, perceiving it, called 
 for an ewer of water, which was instantly brought 
 and presented by the young Princess; but the man 
 of God was so rapt in his devout thoughts, that he 
 saw neither the ewer nor the Princess, nor the 
 Queen; so that they were forced to pull him by 
 the sleeve, that the Princess Royal might not stand 
 thus waiting on him with the ewer in her hand ; 
 and then the Queen herself prayed him to make use 
 of the water to cool and refresh his dry mouth. 
 With much ado, the good Father came to himself, 
 and, rising up, made a low obeisance to the Queen 
 and Princess, thanked them for their care, excused 
 himself for being so uncivil as not to mind them; 
 but for all this would not take a drop of water, but 
 went on with his sermon, to the great wonder and 
 edification of all the standers-by. This, this is to 
 preach like a man full of God’s Spirit, like one that 
 has his heart so transported with zeal, and his eyes 
 so bent upon moving his auditors, that he can see 
 nothing else. And would you have such a fiery 
 man as this be condemned to Purgatory, one that 
 has so much charity for others that he forgets 
 himself, and distils out his life into blood, sweat, 
 and tears, and is consumed in the fire of charity, 
 which is the sweet Purgatory of the servants of 
 God? 
 
320 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 § 4 .—The fourth , to serve the Infected. 
 
 Those that charitably expose themselves to serve 
 the infected, and so come to get the plague, and to 
 die in the service, freely giving away their lives to 
 save others, may have a great confidence that they 
 have served out, if not all, at least the greatest part 
 of their Purgatory. For, since an act of contrition 
 or of perfect charity has power to make a soul 
 instantly fit for Heaven, as it falls out in martyrdom, 
 why may we not hope that the same privilege 
 follows these charitable souls we speak of, who, 
 though they die not by the hands of a bloody 
 executioner, yet are cut off by a martyrdom of 
 incomparable charity? Christ our Saviour said, 
 that the greatest charity that a man could have in 
 this life, was to give his life for his friends: where, 
 by the way, St. Bernard notes, that His charity 
 must needs be greater than the greatest, since He 
 gave His Divine Life, not only for His friends, but 
 even for His enemies. What shall we then think 
 of their charity who voluntarily sacrifice their lives 
 for infected persons, whether friends or enemies, 
 acquaintance or no acquaintance, rich or poor; and 
 do it generously, dying a thousand deaths for fear, 
 danger, and pain, before they come to die in good 
 earnest ? Does not the Church list them amongst 
 other Saints in the Roman Martyrology ? Does she 
 not keep their feast, and make an honourable com¬ 
 memoration of their glorious death, on the 28th day 
 of February ? Does she not withal tell us, that the 
 faithful devout people were accustomed to honour 
 
321 
 
 TO SERVE THE INFECTED. 
 
 them as martyrs? Would you, then, have these 
 kind of martyrs, who die in the fire of charity, go 
 to Purgatory ? To what purpose ? To metamorphose 
 it into Heaven? For if a maiden, who is violently 
 dragged away to some vile place, which is a kind of 
 hell, where massacre is made of immortal souls, in 
 the opinion of St. Ambrose, changes it into a kind 
 of heaven, what can we think of those charitable 
 souls, but that, if they were conveyed into the 
 suffering Church, they would suddenly change it 
 into a Church triumphant ? Hear a comfortable 
 story to this purpose. One Damian, of the holy 
 Order of St. Francis, 1 had devoted himself to serve 
 those that lay sick of the plague, with a burning 
 desire to give them all the comfort he could by his 
 charitable visits. St. Francis met him one day, and 
 said : My son, didst thou but know what a crown 
 in Heaven is prepared for thee, in reward of this 
 charity of thine, thou wouldst be out of thyself for 
 mere joy; go on, in God’s name, for it will not be 
 long before thou art translated into Heaven, to 
 eternal glory. The good friar continued the employ¬ 
 ment, till one day, being in fervent prayer, he 
 rendered up his happy soul into the hands of his 
 Creator. Can you now believe that a man that 
 sacrifices a good part of his life on the altar of the 
 highest charity, which is in the world next unto 
 martyrdom itself, one that loses his own life to 
 make others live, and dies in the flames of a devout 
 prayer; that this man, I say, goes to Purgatory ? 
 Or, rather, do you not believe that Heaven stoops 
 
 1 Annal. St. Fran. 
 
 V 
 
322 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 to take him up, and to crown him with immortal 
 glory ? 
 
 Eusebius 1 takes a pleasure to relate the high 
 esteem they had of those good priests, deacons, and 
 secular persons, who thus exposed themselves to 
 the plague, and sometimes were seen to tumble into 
 the same graves where they had newly laid others. 
 The fiery furnace, says St. Chrysostom, 2 was so 
 astonished to see those three innocent creatures 
 there, that it durst not touch them, but vented all 
 its fury against the cords and fetters which bound 
 them. Let us, then, suppose these holy souls to be 
 cast into the furnace of Purgatory, who chose rather 
 to forsake their lives than to forsake poor infected 
 and forlorn creatures; can we imagine anything 
 less, than that those subterraneous flames should 
 yield and with reverence submit unto the flames 
 of Heaven, which have already seized on those holy 
 souls ? and that they should say with Ecclesiasticus : 
 “ Thou hast delivered me, according to the multitude 
 of Thy mercy, . . . from the oppression of the 
 flame which surrounded me, and in the midst of 
 the fire I was not burnt.” 3 What! Shall purity 
 have the power to resist fire, so that many chaste 
 virgins have received no harm by it, and shall not 
 charity in its perfection be as good a preservative 
 against the fire of Purgatory ? 
 
 1 Lib. i. c. 20. 2 Horn, de tribus pueris. 
 
 3 Ecclus. li. 4, 6. 
 
TENDER DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 323 
 
 § 5 .—The fifth, a tender Devotion to the Blessed 
 
 Virgin. 
 
 I cannot be persuaded that a soul, truly devoted 
 to the honour and service of the Mother of God, 
 can be long detained in Purgatory, if she go thither 
 at all. For how should this be? Does our Blessed 
 Lady want power ? she that can do all things, says 
 St. Anselm ; or charity ? she that has no feelings 
 but of charity; she that has a heart so tender, 
 that though you suppose a heart to be made up of 
 all the mothers’ hearts in the world, it could not be 
 more tender than hers, which is all sweetness and 
 tenderness. St. Bridget had a son, who lived not 
 so good a life as to look for Heaven without passing 
 through Purgator} 7 . This great servant of God, who 
 was not without the emotion of a loving mother, 
 casts about how to save the poor youth, who was 
 grown careless enough of himself. She resolves, 
 therefore, to offer him up to the Blessed Virgin, 
 and to trust her entirely with his salvation. She 
 undertakes the trust, and carries it on so happily 
 that, in fine, she saves him, and at the hour of 
 death takes up his soul into Heaven. This she did, 
 by first working him to a perfect act of contrition, 
 which imped 1 his wings for Heaven, and then 
 cutting off the thread of his life, which should have 
 held out one day longer; so that the devil, finding 
 himself thus cozened, made his complaint to God, 
 the just Judge of the world, Who returned this 
 
 1 “ Imp,” to graft, to splice a falcon’s broken feathers. (Shake¬ 
 speare). 
 
324 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 answer : “ Know that My Mother is Lady and Queen 
 of Heaven, and therefore has liberty to place there 
 whom she pleases; and what she does in this kind 
 is well done, and pleasing in My sight.” There is 
 a world of examples of the like favours graciously 
 showered down from the Mother of Mercy, who has 
 often taken the pains to conduct her good children 
 and faithful servants into Heaven. And when it 
 stands not with God’s justice but that a soul must 
 go into Purgatory, what does she not to help it 
 out ? as well by her own powerful intercession, 
 which she will be sure to interpose, as far as it may 
 stand with the just degrees of Heaven, as by the 
 prayers of her devout servants, into whose hearts 
 she inspires a thousand good thoughts of tenderness 
 for their souls, who were particularly devoted to 
 her. How many Divine consolations and refresh¬ 
 ments does she send them by their good Angels ? 
 And, since it is certain that she goes sometimes to 
 visit them on their death-beds, why may we not 
 piously imagine that she gives them the like com¬ 
 fortable visits, when they lie tied to their beds of 
 fire in cruel torments ? The lioness and the tigress, 
 though never so fierce by nature, will leap into the 
 fire to save their young ones, or perish there. God 
 forbid we should make any comparison between 
 the Blessed Virgin, Mother of the Lion of Juda, 
 and these wild beasts; and yet, since we must 
 allow so much tenderness to such cruel and savage 
 mothers, we may not doubt but that the Mother of 
 Mercy, seeing her beloved children in the fire of 
 Purgatory, will fly thither to fetch them out. 
 
TENDER DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 325 
 
 The devout and learned Richard of St. Victor , 1 
 commenting upon these words of the Psalmist, “ He 
 shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his 
 enemies in the gate,” tells us that this gate is the 
 Blessed Virgin; to appear at the gate, is to die and 
 to be cited to Particular Judgment, where nobody, 
 says he, is ever confounded that finds but this gate 
 favourably open; and to whom should the Mother 
 of God be favourable, but unto those that were 
 constant in her service ? And from what confusion 
 does she deliver them, but from the dreadful fire 
 of Hell and Purgatory? O God, what assurance 
 have we, when the Queen of Heaven is pleased to 
 plead for us, and to procure us a favourable 
 sentence; and since it is her well beloved Son that 
 is to be our Judge, Who denies her nothing, what 
 may we not hope for? When St.John Damascene 
 had lost his hand, he begged it again of the Queen 
 of Heaven , 2 and his suit was instantly granted, so 
 sure it is that she denies nothing to her dear 
 children. What favours then may not a devout 
 soul look for at her hands, when it departs out of 
 this world ? 3 If Mary hold thee by the hand, fear 
 not falling, cries St. Bernard ; 4 for, if she be pro¬ 
 pitious, thou art sure to have thy share in the 
 Kingdom of Heaven. Now, to whom will she be 
 propitious, if not to those that, while they lived, 
 breathed nothing but her love and service; and 
 
 1 Psalm cxxvi. 5; Rich. c. 39 in Cant. 
 
 2 Sur. inejusvita: Metaphrast. 
 
 3 Bern. Serm. i. sup. Missus est. 
 
 4 “ Maria tenente non corruis,” &c. 
 
326 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 when should she show herself more our friend than 
 when we are threatened with Purgatory fire, which 
 burns so dreadfully ? 
 
 The holy Abbot Guericus 1 had reason to wish 
 rather to be lodged in the bosom of the Blessed 
 Virgin than in Abraham’s bosom. Oh, it is no 
 small security to be under her protection, though it 
 were but under her feet: for who should fetch a soul 
 thence, to throw it into Purgatory ? God the 
 Father? How? Out of the hands of His beloved 
 daughter? Who then? God the Son? How, from 
 His beloved Mother ? Who then ? God the Holy 
 Ghost? What, from His dearest Spouse? Who 
 then ? St. Michael with his sword and buckler ? 
 That were pretty, that a creature should attempt 
 what the Blessed Trinity forbears out of love to the 
 Mother of God. Who then ? The devil ? What! the 
 serpent, whose head she crushed under her feet, or 
 any of his fellows, who tremble at the very sound of 
 her name? No; there is not the creature dare meddle 
 with a soul that is once sheltered under the royal 
 mantle of her protection. So true it is, that one of 
 the best preservatives against Purgatory, is to be 
 very devout to the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God. 
 
 But it must be more than an ordinary devotion: 
 as, to make a vow of chastity in her honour; to 
 devote oneself entirely to her ; to do her some signal 
 piece of service; to call often upon her, and with 
 a filial confidence ; to build a goodly chapel, or some 
 house where she may be served to the world’s end ; 
 to give liberal and frequent alms for her sake; to 
 
 1 Serm. i. De Assump. 
 
HUMBLE PATIENCE. 
 
 327 
 
 compose some excellent work in her praise, and so 
 to draw many others to her service: again, to 
 maintain poor scholars, in a way to be preachers or 
 religious men, with this obligation, that they shall 
 make it their study, all their lives, to preach her 
 greatness, to promote her service, and to draw all 
 the world after her. To make her a present of 
 Masses, Communions, fasts, disciplines, and other 
 mortifications ; but, above all, to imitate her glorious 
 virtues, and to regulate our lives accordingly. If 
 you do these, and the like things, and do them with 
 a good heart, you need not fear Purgatory will do 
 you any great harm. She will obtain for you such 
 a measure of true contrition, such a proportion of 
 love and conformity to God’s will, so much patience 
 in your last sickness, such holy and ardent desires 
 to serve God, such profound humility: in a word, 
 such heroic acts of virtue, as to blot out of your soul 
 what Purgatory was to have done, and put you in 
 a present capacity to go directly into Heaven : and 
 if an extraordinary pass should be necessary, who 
 can better procure it for you than the Lady of the 
 House, the Mother of the Judge, the Empress of 
 Paradise, and Princess of the Universe? 
 
 1 
 
 § 6 .—The sixth , an humble Patience. 
 
 You that suffer great miseries in this world, may 
 comfort yourselves with such precious sufferings: 
 for, so 1 you be faithful to God; so you voluntarily 
 embrace what God sends, in spite of impatience; 
 so you submit to the laws of His sweet rigour which 
 
 1 i:e. So that, or, if only. 
 
3 28 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 chastises you; so you freely offer all your little all 
 to this great Lord of all, the great All of the whole 
 universe; so from time to time you be still letting 
 fall some good word, to testify that your soul and 
 your body play not at the same game, move not 
 upon the same centre, but that while the one is 
 oppressed and cries out, the other secretly praises 
 the paternal goodness of Almighty God ; so that you 
 do all this, you may be confident there will be little 
 or no Purgatory for you. Having a Purgatory in this 
 world, there is no reason you should have another 
 hereafter. 
 
 I learn this secret of St. Gregory, 1 who admires 
 a paralytic that lay rotting on a straw bed, where 
 he had lived so all his life; or rather, where he 
 had died so all his life: his life being nothing else 
 but a mere concatenation of hourly deaths. Servulus 
 was the name of this poor wretch, who at his death 
 was comforted with angelical music, and carried 
 away by Angels to sing his own part in Heaven for 
 all eternity. One of those that were present told 
 St. Gregory, that at the hour of his happy departure 
 out of this life, so sweet a smell was spread all over 
 the little room where he lay, that he never felt the 
 like; and that this continued, and was perceived 
 by all the standers-by, until his holy body was laid 
 in his grave, and the service ended. But you will 
 say: Everybody cannot be so holy as this good 
 man. Certainly they may, by the grace of God; for 
 St. Gregory observes but four things in him, which 
 you may command as well as he. First, he often 
 
 1 Horn. 15, in Evang. 
 
HUMBLE PATIENCE. 
 
 329 
 
 read the Holy Scriptures, to comfort his heart in his 
 sufferings. Secondly, he gave a part of the alms he 
 received of good people, unto other needy persons, 
 and lodged poor pilgrims in his poor cottage. 
 Thirdly, holy aspirations and devout breathings 
 were often heard to proceed from him, which were 
 like so many fiery darts shot into the Heart of God, 
 and bringing thence the sweet air of Paradise to 
 refresh his soul, which by such amorous entertain¬ 
 ments found less trouble in her afflictions. Fourthly, 
 he was sensible enough of his pain, and would 
 complain of it sometimes; I say complain : do you 
 think Saints have bodies of steel ? But, between 
 one complaint and another, he would be often thus 
 sweetly interposing: O my God, I desire Thy will 
 may be fulfilled in all things, and nothing else but 
 Thy will! I am willing that Thou handle this my 
 body, and all that belongs to me, according to Thy 
 Divine pleasure, both in time and eternity. 
 
 Now tell me, dear reader, canst thou not do all 
 this, as well as this poor paralytic, who lived for 
 no other end but to be dying a lingering death all 
 the days of his miserable and yet thrice happy life ? 
 Will you have a soul so holy, and so pliable to God’s 
 will, be thrown into Purgatory fire ? Sure, said 
 St. Austin, if He meant to damn us in the other 
 world, He would not damn us in this to a hell of 
 most loathsome and intolerable diseases. And I 
 may say the like here : that if God meant to punish 
 His servants in Purgatory after this life, He would 
 not punish them here in a Purgatory of miseries. 
 His goodness is not wont to punish the same fault 
 
330 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 twice. Go into Hell and Purgatory, while you live, 1 
 cried St. Bernard; and you will be sure not to go 
 thither after your death : for it is not reasonable 
 that you should have two purgatories or hells. 
 Alas! no; and this is the cause why God, to save 
 His friends from those horrible torments of Purgatory 
 lire, sends them good store of crosses and afflictions 
 in this world which are nothing so painful, and yet 
 are highly meritorious in His sight, whereas the 
 other are but pure sufferings. Hear St. Chrysostom : 2 
 The tongue that praises God in the midst of afflic¬ 
 tions is not inferior to the tongues of martyrs, and 
 likely they may have both the same reward. If 
 a man praise God, and give Him thanks in his 
 sufferings, it is reputed as a kind of martyrdom ; 
 and would you have a martyr go to Purgatory, he 
 that finds Heaven open and ready to receive him ? 
 For, as Emissenus says very well, the Heavens are 
 not only open to St. Stephen, but unto all martyrs, 
 and unto all that suffer and die with the name of 
 Jesus in their mouths, constancy in their hearts, and 
 fidelity in their souls. The works of patience, 
 according to St. James, are perfect ; 3 and that which 
 is perfect, owes nothing to Purgatory; nor can 
 Purgatory refine that which is already perfect, no 
 more than our fire can refine gold of twenty-four 
 carats, that is so pure as not to have the least 
 mixture of dross or impurity. 
 
 1 In illud: Descendant in infernum viventes. 
 
 2 Horn. viii. in c. 3, Ad Colon. 
 
 3 St. James i. 4. 
 
DEVOTION FOR THE HOLY SOULS. 
 
 33i 
 
 § 7 .—The seventh, Devotion for the Souls in Purgatory. 
 
 Shall I deal candidly with you ? One of my 
 chief motives of publishing this treatise was to 
 persuade you this truth, that one of the best means 
 to prevent Purgatory is to have a great tenderness 
 and a particular care to comfort the souls there, to 
 spare nothing that can further their deliverance: 
 in a word, to make yourself a general agent for this 
 suffering Church, to solicit for their eternal rest. 
 Take now the proofs of this assertion and the 
 whole strength of my discourse. 
 
 1. Christ said, in plain terms: “ With what 
 measure you mete, it shall be measured to you 
 again,” 1 that is, you shall be dealt withal in the 
 same manner as you deal with others. So that, if 
 you have beat your brains and employed all your 
 endeavours to help the souls in Purgatory, and have 
 really delivered some before their time, it is but 
 reason that this your charity should be requited 
 with a like return, and with a hundred-fold besides, 
 and Heaven at the end of it. Methinks your case 
 is not unlike to that of the prudent Abigail. King 
 David was so highly incensed against the ungrateful 
 Nabal, 2 that he swore to pursue him and his whole 
 family with fire and sword, and to turn all into 
 ashes. For all this, Abigail ventured to meet him 
 with a present, and did it with so good a grace, 
 that she soon made up the breach, and saved all. 
 For David, after some little dispute with his anger, 
 grew calmer, forgave all, and so sent her away joy- 
 1 St. Matt. vii. 2. 2 1 Kings xxv. 
 
33 2 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 fully in peace. The application is easy. It is true, 
 you have played the ungrateful Nabal; you have 
 offended God, so far as to provoke His high dis¬ 
 pleasure, so that He may seem to deal favourably 
 with you, if He sends you into Purgatory; but you 
 have withal played Abigail’s part, in sending Him 
 as many grateful presents as you have breathed out 
 fervent prayers for the souls in Purgatory; and with 
 these you have made your peace, so that you may 
 look to be dismissed in peace into the Kingdom of 
 Heaven. 
 
 2. Take a second reason, of St. Peter, who 
 exhorts us above all things to have charity for one 
 another, because “ charity covereth a multitude of 
 sins.” 1 For, since it is the greatest charity in the 
 world to help poor souls out of Purgatory, as I 
 proved at large in the Third Survey, those that 
 devote themselves wholly to this service may be 
 confident so to cover their sins as to put them out 
 of the reach of Purgatory fire. When Ghibellin had 
 straitly besieged Guelph, Duke of Bavaria, and 
 forced him to surrender his town upon such hard 
 terms, 2 as that the women only were permitted to 
 secure themselves, and to take away with them 
 what they could carry upon their backs; but as for 
 the men, they were to remain at mercy, exposed to 
 the fury of the fire and sword—the good women, 
 laying their heads together, found out this strange 
 expedient to save their husbands, as well as them¬ 
 selves ; for every one taking her husband upon her 
 back, and what else she was able to carry about 
 1 i St. Peter iv. 8. 2 Palud. 1 . 2. c. 70. 
 
DEVOTION FOR THE HOLY SOULS. 
 
 333 
 
 her, they marched out of the town. Never was 
 man so struck with astonishment as Ghibellin was 
 at this sight; and, though he might have disputed 
 their passage, as not consisting with the true mean¬ 
 ing of the articles, yet was he so taken with so rare 
 a stratagem and strange example of a true conjugal 
 love that he suffered them all to pass freely, to the 
 admiration of the whole world. And, surely, we 
 may hence conclude, that all those who have so 
 much love for the poor souls in Purgatory as to 
 carry them, as it were, upon their backs, out of 
 their miserable thraldrom, will find Heaven’s gates 
 open, and all the blessed spirits ready to receive 
 them with acclamations of joy, for so sweet an 
 excess of charity. 
 
 3. It is not possible that they who have been 
 thus ransomed out of Purgatory by the ardent zeal 
 of their friends here, should not hold themselves 
 obliged to restitution; to return, I say, the like 
 charity to the souls of their benefactors, when they 
 leave the world. How can those happy souls, that 
 swim in the ocean of overflowing charity, choose 
 but employ all their power and interest to make 
 them so ? But sure I need not go about to multiply 
 reasons in a case so clear of itself, so full of piety 
 and heavenly fitness. I will only mind you of what 
 I told you elsewhere out of Cajetan, how reasonable 
 a thing it is that all those holy strays, or wandering 
 suffrages, which are offered up for such souls as are 
 not in Purgatory, should be applied unto them that 
 had a particular affection and devotion to help souls 
 out of that fiery dungeon; and this certainly will 
 
334 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 be a means to fetch them out quickly, if they ever 
 come there. 
 
 § 8 .—The eighth , to he a great Alms-giver. 
 
 The eighth means to prevent Purgatory, is to be 
 very liberal and tender-hearted to the poor. The 
 Holy Ghost teaches us as much, in most emphatical 
 and comfortable words; some whereof I have 
 chosen to lay down before you, with a desire to 
 imprint them in your hearts. “ Blessed is he that 
 understandeth concerning the needy and the poor; 
 the Lord will deliver him in the evil day. The Lord 
 preserve him and give him life, and make him 
 blessed upon the earth: and deliver him not up to 
 the will of his enemies. The Lord help him on his 
 bed of sorrow.” 1 These words need no gloss. For 
 what is this evil day but the day of Particular 
 Judgment at the hour of death? Since it is the 
 great critical day, and the most considerable 
 moment, upon which eternity depends. Now, he 
 tells us, that God will deliver him this day; from 
 what, I pray you, if not from eternal fire, and 
 from the dreadful fire of Purgatory, according to 
 the measure of his charity and liberality to the 
 poor? He tells us again, that He will make him 
 happy in this day; out of which I conclude, that 
 he shall not go into Purgatory; for how can he be 
 happy that day, if he lie in flames of fire ? Call 
 you this to deliver a man from evil, to plunge him 
 over head and ears in a fiery gulf? St. Chrysologus 
 spoke with a grace when he said 2 that charity will 
 1 Psalm xl. i.—4. 2 Serm. 8, 
 
TO BE A GREAT ALMS-GIVER. 
 
 335 
 
 not suffer a great alms-giver to be laid in fire, but 
 will appeal from the sentence and move God to 
 cancel His own decree; and, in a word, will have 
 him to be saved: and all this with so sweet a 
 violence, says the same Saint, that God had 
 rather alter His decree than contristate mercy 
 and charity when they plead with such power 
 for a great alms-giver. Let us hear the Holy 
 Ghost once more, I pray you. “Water qnencheth 
 a flaming fire, and alms resisteth sins; and God 
 provideth for him that showeth favour: He re- 
 membereth him afterwards, and in the time of 
 his fall he shall find a sure stay. . . . Son, bow 
 down thy ear cheerfully to the poor: be merciful 
 to the fatherless as a father, and as a husband 
 to their mother; and thou shalt be as the 
 obedient son of the Most High, and He will have 
 mercy on thee more than a mother.” 1 O God, 
 what sweet words are these ! When he is about to 
 fall he shall find a sure stay; when he is ready to 
 sink into Purgatory he shall be held up: he shall 
 be strengthened, he shall be raised above the firma¬ 
 ment, he shall be carried into Paradise. What! 
 would a loving mother do less, if it were in her 
 power ? And since God has given us His word, 
 that He will be more than a mother to such 
 charitable souls, that is, have a greater tenderness 
 and love for them, is it credible that He will suffer 
 them to fall into Purgatory ? or, if justice require 
 some satisfaction there, is it not likely that all 
 means will be used to remove them out of hand ? 
 
 1 Ecclus. iii. 33; iv. 8, io, n. 
 
33^ 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 The Caesars crowned themselves with laurel, as 
 fancying it to be a sure protection against fire from 
 heaven ; but I may safely say, that a merciful soul, 
 all covered over with laurels, olive-branches, and 
 refined gold of charity, cannot be struck with fire 
 from heaven, and has as little reason to fear the 
 fire of Purgatory. 
 
 It is better, said St. Chrysostom, 1 to give alms 
 to the poor than to work a miracle, or to raise a 
 dead man; for in this you are beholden to God, 
 but in that God is beholden to you. And therefore, 
 since God is indebted to you, tell Him plainly you 
 will be paid with no other coin but that of Paradise. 
 If He thinks of sending you to Purgatory, tell Him 
 you will be first paid what He is pleased to owe 
 you ; for He has promised you life everlasting: and, 
 therefore, let Him first place you in Paradise, and 
 you will have leisure there to talk of Purgatory. 
 It was an answer worthy of eternal memory, that 
 of the good Count Thibaud of Champagne. A 
 poor gentleman fell at his feet, with tears in his 
 eyes, saying: “My lord, you are the father of the 
 poor; I have two daughters to marry, and have no 
 way to compass it, having nothing in the world to 
 give them; those poor creatures are utterly lost, if 
 you take not pity on them and me, your most 
 humble servant, and therefore I beseech your 
 honour to have mercy on us.” The two poor 
 young women were all this time on their knees, as 
 beautiful as the sun, their eyes humbly cast down 
 upon the ground, and their faces covered with a 
 
 1 Horn. 39, Ad Pop. 
 
TO BE A GREAT ALMS-GIVER. 
 
 337 
 
 modest and virginal blush ; when out steps a ruffian¬ 
 like courtier, his name was Arrant, and rudely tells 
 the poor gentleman, it was a pretty sight, indeed, 
 to see him heg an alms with his sword by his side. 
 Besides, he was to know that the Count was not 
 for nothing surnamed the Bountiful; for he had 
 given away so much, that he had no more left to 
 bestow. “How!” replied the Count, “that is 
 not so; I have yet something left, God be 
 thanked, and enough too to bestow upon the good 
 gentleman; for I am willing to part with thee, and 
 to yield up unto him all the interest I have taken 
 in thee.” “'So, take him, friend,” continued he, 
 “ and be sure you do not part with him till he has 
 bestowed both your daughters.” This he said ; and 
 it Tell out so in good earnest, for the courtier was 
 glad at his own charge to provide competent 
 portions for the two poor young women, and all 
 France admired and highly extolled the Count for 
 his prudent carriage of the whole business. Can 
 you find in your heart to condemn such a brave 
 Prince to Purgatory, after he has left many such 
 charitable examples behind him ? One, I say, that 
 has given so much away in pious uses, that he has 
 no more to give; one that would willingly have 
 sold himself, after all, to make an alms of the price 
 to our Blessed Saviour, in the person of those poor 
 innocent doves. 
 
 The Angel Raphael deserves credit when he 
 tells’ us, in expressive terms, that it is better to give 
 alms than to lay up treasures of gold: because that 
 is it which purgeth sin, and maketh us find mercy 
 w 
 
33 8 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 and life everlasting. 1 How does your heart feel at 
 this comfortable lesson ? Since charity has the 
 power to purge sin, what need of another Purga¬ 
 tory ? And since she is so happy as to procure life 
 everlasting, have you not reason to hope she will, 
 at your death, set Heaven’s gate open and lead you 
 in thither, as it were by the hand ? When those 
 dutiful children 2 took their parents on their backs, 
 to deliver them out of the flames which were 
 furiously vomited out of Etna, to the terror of all 
 Sicily, which seemed to be all on a light fire, they 
 say the flames, out of respect to this natural 
 affection, parted themselves and made a lane for 
 the youths to pass through without harm that had 
 so much love for their parents, whose age and 
 feebleness would have otherwise betrayed them to 
 utter destruction; and so all, for company, were 
 happily saved out of that furious purgatory. And 
 certainly, if your charity take you up, if your 
 mercy do but hide you in her bosom, when you 
 shall pass through Purgatory the fire will be so 
 courteous as to retire, and give way to your 
 passage: they will set all the gates open for you 
 to get out when you please, and bring you the 
 keys of Paradise. 
 
 % 
 
 § 9 .—The ninth, Angelical Purity. 
 
 The ninth, and a very efficacious preservative 
 against Purgatory, is a special chastity, or virginal 
 purity. I cannot think that a pure and humble 
 heart, a soul that is newly divorced from a virginal 
 1 Tobias xii. 8, 9. 2 Val. Max. 
 
ANGELICAL PURITY. 
 
 339' 
 
 body, can ever be tied to purging flames. The 
 diamond of chastity has, I know not what, that 
 makes it victorious over flames. This Mount Libanus, 
 as white as snow, is never visited with fire from 
 heaven; this virginal laurel, which triumphs over 
 the pleasures of this world, fears not the fury of any 
 subterraneous flames; this St.John may be plunged 
 into boiling oil without feeling the least smart; this 
 royal salamander can live untouched in the midst of 
 fire; this pure gold suffers no detriment in the 
 crucible; this eagle cuts her way through the element 
 of fire, and soars up to heaven without singeing her 
 wings; these innocents sing merrily in the furnace 
 of Babylon, as if they were in terrestrial Paradise. 
 In earnest, there is no reason that persons, as chaste 
 as Angels, who were invincible and untouched in the 
 flames of concupiscence, which devour almost all 
 the world; there is no reason, I say, that those who 
 were proof against these subtle alluring flames, 
 should not appear as good proof against these other 
 cruel, devouring flames, or they should ever feel 
 the smart of the one that had so valiantly overcome 
 the false flatteries of the other. St.John says that 
 virgins follow the Lamb wheresoever He goes; they 
 are the ordinary courtiers of Jesus Christ, that have 
 washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb. And 
 shall such clean, innocent souls need the help of 
 Purgatory fire to wash away their stains ? St. Teresa 
 once seeing a canon in the Church ready to be laid 
 in his grave, and another time one of the Society, 
 who was also laid upon the bier, ran instantly to kiss 
 their dead corpses: and when all were astonished 
 
34° 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 to see her, she told those whom it concerned, that 
 she was very certain that those two reverend persons 
 were virgins, and that their happy souls had for that 
 cause taken flight into Heaven, just as they parted 
 with their bodies. 
 
 The Greek History 1 tells us that when, in the 
 heat of the tyrant’s persecution, Nicomedia fell to 
 the plunder of the rude soldiers, amongst others they 
 took a young maiden; and having in vain laboured 
 to make her sacrifice unto idols, they threatened her 
 with a base and cruel alternative. She, on her part, 
 begged leave to speak a word or two to Anthimus 
 the Bishop. To him she proposed this case of 
 conscience, whether she might not rather choose to 
 die, or to be accessory to her own death, than lose 
 the precious pearl of her purity. The good Bishop 
 made her so doubtful an answer, that she could not 
 well determine what he meant. Hereupon she is 
 hurried away instantly, when the following expedient 
 came into her thoughts. Seeing one of the plundering 
 soldiers, she speaks thus to him, “Friend, I promise 
 to teach thee a receipt that will make thee immortal, 
 whereby thou shalt become the most valiant and 
 famous man living; the secret is dear to me as my 
 honour and my very life.” He answers her he was 
 content, so she could but make her words good. 
 “ Sir, I have,” says she, “ a precious ointment, which 
 is of so great virtue, that whosoever is anointed 
 with it, can receive no harm. A thousand rude 
 blows or desperate thrusts of a sword cannot do him 
 the least hurt against his will.” “ How shall I 
 
 1 Cedren. Annal. 
 
ANGELICAL PURITY. 
 
 34i 
 
 believe this paradox,” replies the soldier, “which 
 you speak possibly only to amuse me, or rather to 
 abuse me?” “Sure you will believe it,” says she, 
 “when you see it tried before your eyes.” Away 
 she goes, borrows a little oil of the next lamp she 
 meets with, returns instantly, shuts the door, bares 
 her neck, rubs it well over with this miraculous oil 
 that is to make people immortal; then casts herself 
 down on her knees, and bids the soldier sure to take 
 good aim, and strike boldly, and spare not; for he 
 should soon see a fair trial of this wonderful experi¬ 
 ment. With this she casts up her eyes smilingly 
 towards heaven, and begs of sweet Jesus, her beloved 
 Spouse, that the oil might have the effect she much 
 longed for, to preserve her pure. Meantime the 
 soldier lifts up his sword, and with all his might 
 levels it at the neck of the innocent virgin, and in 
 a trice strikes off her head, which lay reeking in 
 blood, a good distance from the rest of her body. 
 Never was man so amazed and confounded as this 
 soldier, to see himself thus fooled. But let us leave 
 him to vent his fury by himself, and fall to con¬ 
 sidering this prodigious courage, this exceeding 
 love of purity, this ingenious stratagem of the young 
 maiden: this innocent murder, or harmless con¬ 
 trivance of her own death, in obedience to a 
 particular instinct of the Holy Ghost, as we may 
 piously imagine ; and, having taken a full view of all 
 these circumstances, let us see whether we have the 
 conscience to condemn the young lady to Purgatory 
 fire, who was so chaste as to choose rather to die 
 than part with her virginal integrity. 
 
342 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 Which of you, said the Prophet Isaias, 1 can 
 dwell in devouring fire without burning ? Answer : 
 It is chastity. Which of you can carry fire in his 
 bosom, or lie in the bosom of fire, without hurt, cried 
 Solomon? 2 Answer: It is chastity. Again: Which 
 of you can walk upon firebrands or tread upon 
 glowing coals, as upon a bed of flowers ? Answer: 
 It is a virginal chastity. Witness St. Agnes, who 
 lay smiling in the midst of a most cruel fire. Witness 
 St. Thecla, who could walk as confidently upon hot 
 burning coals as if they had been roses. Witness 
 St. Apollonia, who made nothing of leaping into a 
 dreadful fire which was prepared for her. Witness 
 a thousand other virgins, who were seen to triumph 
 in flames of fire, as if they had been in the empyrean 
 Heaven. You may remember the most chaste and 
 incomparable virgin, Restituta, 3 who, being con¬ 
 demned to be burnt alive, was for that purpose put 
 into an old ship, full of pitch, brimstone, and fire, 
 and thus exposed to the mercy of those merciless 
 elements. She appeared in the midst of the sea, 
 as in a floating fire, upon her knees; and there she 
 breathed out her sweet soul into the hands of her 
 Heavenly Spouse, leaving her virginal body still 
 entire, and without suffering the least detriment by 
 the smoke or by the fire. Now, it was the fire of 
 Divine love that gave her the mortal wound; no 
 other fire durst touch or consume that virginal flesh 
 which was consecrated to her dear Saviour, by the 
 fair hands of chastity. Go; cast me such a soul into 
 
 1 Isaias xxxiiL 14. 2 Prov. vi. 27, 28. 
 
 3 Mart. Rom. 17 May. 
 
PROFOUND HUMILITY. 
 
 343 
 
 Purgatory fire, and let it do its worst, and burn her 
 if it can. No ; fire will sooner melt a diamond, and 
 all things that are the most impossible will sooner 
 come to pass, than a pure and angelical virgin shall 
 feel the smart of tormenting fire; which has the 
 discretion, says St. Chrysostom, 1 to distinguish 
 innocency from guilt, and to fly furiously upon the 
 one, while with veneration and reverence it fawns 
 upon the other. 
 
 § io .—The tenth, a profound Humility. 
 
 It cannot enter into my head that a soul which 
 is truly humble shall ever enter into this place of 
 torments, much less be long detained there. They 
 say there is a bird, that will be sure to save herself 
 in all occasions of danger, by sinking down so low 
 into the water, as to be out of all reach. The soul 
 of a man that is truly humble sinks down so deep 
 into the centre of her own nothing, that there is 
 not the thing under heaven that can come near her, 
 to annoy her: and if, by chance, a little Purgatory 
 fire should be let down upon her, it would do by 
 her, as they say, the fire which falls from heaven 
 does by a piece of well-disposed mould, which is so 
 far from burning and destroying it, that it converts 
 it into some precious stone. The great God of 
 Heaven, Who loves to crush the heads of ambitious 
 persons, to lay them level with the ground, and 
 to grind them to powder, takes pleasure to raise 
 humble souls out of the dirt, to make them prime 
 potentates of Paradise, and to sit among the princes 
 
 1 Horn. De tribus innocent. 
 
344 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 of His Heavenly Kingdom. He that would be sure 
 to find the glory of the Saints, said St. Dorotheus, 1 
 must seek it in the bosom of humility; for there, 
 and only there, all true joy, content, and happiness 
 are to be found. Paradise will sooner stoop down 
 to Purgatory than suffer an humble* soul to lie 
 burning in those merciless flames. Would you, 
 says St. Chrysostom, 2 pass quickly through the 
 raging and tempestuous ocean ? Be sure that 
 humility be your pilot. When St. Paul took himself 
 for no better than the dust of the common streets, 
 then it was that he was rapt up to the third Heaven. 
 True; and I may be bold to tell you, that if you 
 be but humble, they will not easily make you stoop 
 so low as Purgatory, but will rather lift you up 
 above the wings of Seraphim. The Royal Prophet 
 made it his prayer to God to look down upon his 
 humility, to consider his labours, and to blot out 
 all his sins, and make him as innocent as an Angel, 
 or a child of a year old. What has an Angel or an 
 infant to do in Purgatory ? 3 Some hold a man 
 that is very humble to be a kind of martyr. Must 
 martyrs be sent like criminals, to broil in Purgatory? 
 No, no, says Climacus, 4 rejoice not that you have 
 the gift of miracles, like an Apostle, or that you 
 tread all the devils in Hell under your feet; it is 
 a greater advantage to be humble, and to have 
 your names written in the golden book of humility. 
 Shall such as stand in competition with Apostles 
 be sent into Purgatory? There are stones of so 
 
 1 Serm. i. 2 Horn. 38, Ad Pop. 
 
 3 St. Doroth. Serm. 2, De Humil. 4 Grad. 25. 
 
PROFOUND HUMILITY. 
 
 345 
 
 happy a temper, that though they should lie a 
 thousand years in a hot furnace, they would not 
 be the worse for it, but become still more fair and 
 beautiful. Behold the true emblem of humility. 
 Purgatory will be sooner turned into Paradise than 
 do an humble soul the least prejudice. Esther, 
 whose very name carries humility, was ready to die 
 when she saw the majesty of King Assuerus; she 
 humbled herself, and lay prostrate at his feet: and 
 what followed ? They were so far from putting 
 her to death, according to the laws of the kingdom, 
 that they placed her in the Queen’s throne, and 
 made her one of the greatest princesses of her 
 time. When God sees a soul that is humble in 
 good earnest to lie prostrate at His feet, He has 
 not the heart to condemn her to death or to 
 torments. “ My friend,” will He say, “ mount up 
 higher; it is not your place to lie there, melting in 
 Purgatory: mount up higher and do it boldly; for 
 I love to raise those high that humble themselves 
 low, and of the children of Abraham, who esteem 
 themselves no better than a little dust, I make the 
 stars of my firmament and the Angels of My 
 Paradise.” It is a strange thing to see that poor 
 Lazarus, humble and contemptible as he was, 
 comes no sooner to die, but the Angels do him the 
 honour to conduct him into Abraham’s bosom. And 
 the Good Thief, who had scarce any other virtue 
 to plead for him but a little humility, to confess 
 himself a vile wretch, as he was, did scarce find 
 himself in the other world, but he found himself in 
 Paradise. So true it is, that God loves humility; 
 
34^ 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 and that all the Heavens stand open to entertain 
 those that are truly humble. 
 
 § ii .—The eleventh , to Communicate well and often. 
 
 I should never make an end, should I go about 
 to bring in all the heroical virtues which are strong 
 antidotes, and powerful preservatives, against the 
 fire of Purgatory: and yet I cannot choose but vent 
 a thought or two more, which, with the rest, I 
 submit to your discreet judgment. 
 
 And first, I take those that communicate often, 
 and do it well and worthily, to be pretty secure from 
 feeling any great smart in Purgatory. St. Ignatius 
 had reason to style the Holy Eucharist the antidote 
 of immortality. 1 
 
 The Romans used to put a piece of silver in the 
 dead man’s mouth, and verily believed that, by 
 giving this for his passage, he should be conveyed 
 safe to the Elysian fields. This was a vain super¬ 
 stition ; but you must give me leave to fancy that 
 when a good Christian dies, with his Saviour in his 
 mouth, or in his heart, all Paradise lies open to 
 receive him. “ Open your gates, you princes of 
 Heaven; open your gates, for behold the King of 
 Glory is ready to make His entrance;” 2 in the 
 triumphant chariot of virtues, sitting in a heart as 
 white as ivory, which serves Him for His royal 
 throne. Roger, King of Sicily, 3 having long laboured 
 in vain to make himself master of the Island of 
 Corfu, at length, tired out with so long a siege, fell 
 
 1 Epist. ad Ephes. 
 
 2 Psalm xxiii. 7. 3 Hist. Neap. 1 . i. p 2. 
 
TO COMMUNICATE WELL AND OFTEN. 
 
 347 
 
 upon this noble stratagem. He makes as if a 
 nobleman of the town were dead in his camp, who 
 desired to be buried within their walls, with the 
 rest of his ancestors. He was accordingly laid 
 upon the bier, and covered like a dead corpse; a 
 noble convoy was prepared to attend the hearse, 
 with torches in their hands; nothing was wanting 
 to make up a complete funeral. The town, mis¬ 
 trusting nothing, set open their gates to let them 
 in; but my counterfeit dead man was scarce got 
 upon the drawbridge, ready to enter the town, 
 when, behold! he suddenly changes the whole 
 scene; revives, and starts up with his sword in his 
 hand, which was a sign for all his attendants to 
 throw away their torches and to betake themselves 
 to their weapons: and they managed them so well, 
 that they first took the gate, and then the town, 
 and the whole island, to the great terror and 
 astonishment of their enemies, who found them¬ 
 selves gulled and surprised with so unexpected and 
 so unusual a ceremony. A grave prelate terms the 
 Holy Eucharist the incordiation of God; 1 as if he 
 would have said that God, in this Holy Sacrament, 
 is as it were incorporated into our hearts, and our 
 hearts into God; so that God lying thus hidden 
 within us, He that is Lord of the celestial Jerusalem, 
 to which our hearts have laid so close and loving a 
 siege, if we present Him to the blessed inhabitants, 
 as dead for the love of us, they dare not but admit 
 Him, and them also that carry Him, after this 
 manner, in the very centre of their hearts and souls. 
 
 1 Paris, Lib. de Euchar. 
 
348 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 Upon occasion of a hot contest at Florence, 
 about Savonarola, when some would have him an 
 heretic, others not, there were two, amongst others, 
 who took a strange resolution to put it to the trial 
 of the fire: and he that could endure the flames 
 better, was to be thought to have the better cause. 
 The day agreed on being come, the fire prepared 
 for the purpose, and all the world longing to see 
 the success of this strange challenge, it was dis¬ 
 covered that one of the parties had hid the Blessed 
 Sacrament in his bosom, believing that the fire 
 would not hurt him while he carried so precious a 
 treasure about him. What came of it, and what 
 was the conclusion of the whole business, you may 
 read at leisure in the history itself. I only bring 
 this, to show the man’s confidence in this powerful 
 preservative ; a*id then you may please to remember, 
 how the Sacred Host has been sometimes seen to 
 hang in the air, surrounded about with flames, and 
 thus to have been miraculously preserved. I know 
 we are not always to look for miracles of this nature, 
 and yet, methinks, we may be confident that Purga¬ 
 tory fire will have nothing to do with a soul where 
 Christ has been pleased to take up His constant 
 lodging. Where the King is, there is the Court; 
 where Christ is, says Synesius, 1 there must needs be 
 good fortune and victory; where God is, says 
 St. Austin, there is Paradise. Nay: though you 
 were in the deepest pit of Purgatory, God would 
 not deny you entrance into Heaven, who never 
 refused to entertain Him in your heart; He never 
 1 Syn. Epist. iii.; Aug. Dc Gen. ad litt. 
 
TO COMMUNICATE WELL AND OFTEN. 
 
 349 
 
 knocks at your door but you were still ready to 
 receive Him: can you think He will be less 
 courteous to you in the other world ? 
 
 Besides all this, he that receives often and 
 devoutly, receives withal such store of heavenly 
 lights, such a tenderness of heart, such inflamed 
 desires, so much innocency in his conversation, 
 and so much purity of intention in all his actions ; 
 he is withal so transformed into God, upon Whom 
 he feeds and feasts himself continually: he is so 
 identified with Him, and, to use the phrase of 
 St. Denis and St. Bonaventure, is so straitly united 
 with God, that, as St. Paul speaks of them that 
 cleave to God, he becomes one spirit, and, as it 
 were, one thing with God. This being so, will you 
 have this heart, which is but one thing with Christ, 
 to be swallowed up in Purgatory, and so carry 
 Christ thither ? They say Albertus Magnus held, 
 and, whether he held it or no, I know many other 
 worthy persons maintain, that one single thought of 
 the most bitter Passion of our Blessed Saviour is so 
 powerful and so effectual , 1 that a man may gain 
 sometimes more by it than if he had fasted with 
 bread and water, or disciplined himself every day 
 till blood comes, or read over daily the whole 
 Psalter. I mean not to examine now the truth of 
 this assertion, according to the rigour of divinity: 
 I only say that in some sense it may be true, and 
 this makes very much for my present purpose. For 
 there is not the thing in the world that is a more 
 lively representation of the Passion of Christ, than 
 1 Granad. De Orat. De Ponte, Medit. 
 
350 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 the Blessed Sacrament, which He left expressly as 
 an eternal memorial of His Passion: commanding 
 us to remember His Death and bitter Passion, when 
 we receive Him, and still acting in our hearts that 
 sad tragedy, though without the effusion of His 
 Blood, and imprinting in our souls the several 
 passages of His most precious Death. Of what 
 merit, then, must a Holy Communion be, and a 
 Communion which is often frequented, and con¬ 
 tinued till the hour of death ? If such as these 
 go to Purgatory, sure there will be none free. 
 St. Thomas tells us the Blessed Sacrament is called 
 a pledge of eternal life. “Now,” says he, “we never 
 use to deliver up our pledge, until we are possessed 
 of the thing for which it was engaged; see then,” 
 saith he, “ that you part not with the Body of 
 Christ unto His Eternal Father till He has received 
 you into Paradise, for which It was given you as a 
 most precious and secure pledge.” Hence it is that 
 St. Ambrose 1 styles it a parcel of eternal life, an 
 essay or taste, a certain infallible assurance of 
 enjoying it: and St. Cyprian 2 calls it an infusion 
 of the Divine Essence, and St. Bonaventure a 
 wonderful deification, a metamorphosing of the 
 heart, by which a man that communicates often 
 is so deified that he seems to bq a little god upon 
 earth. And to such as he it is said: “ You are 
 gods, and the sons of the highest .” 3 Go now, and 
 bury these little gods in Purgatory: you will sooner 
 work a miracle, and turn Purgatory into Paradise; 
 
 1 Ambros. Opusc. de Sand. Sacram. 2 Cyp. De Ccena Dom. 
 
 3 Psalm lxxxi. 6. 
 
FAITHFUL AND EXACT OBEDIENCE. 
 
 35i 
 
 for certainly Purgatory cannot be a fit place for 
 those that are gods by participation, or consorts of 
 the Divine Nature, as St. Peter 1 terms them. If 
 the sheep’s teeth that feed upon a certain herb in 
 Candia seem to be made of pure gold, what must 
 we think of those that are daily nourished with this 
 Divine plant of Paradise, Lilium convallium, but 
 that they have hearts of gold, consciences of gold, 
 and so pure and refined gold, that the fire of Purga¬ 
 tory can find nothing more to purify and refine in 
 them ? 
 
 § 12 .—The twelfth, a faithful and exact Obedience. 
 
 The twelfth and last means to prevent Purgatory 
 which I intend here to propose, is an exact and 
 faithful obedience; for I cannot persuade myself 
 that a true obedient person will have much cause 
 to fear Purgatory. 
 
 Elias flew up to Heaven in a fiery chariot ; how 
 could he do it without burning? Very well; for 
 he did it to obey God. The three children went 
 into the Babylonian furnace; alas ! they are lost 
 creatures. No; for they went in to obey God. 
 This being so, be of good comfort: the fire knows 
 not how to arm itself against obedience. Jonas lies 
 three days floating in a whale’s belly: sure he is 
 undone, the poor man will never appear more. He 
 will, he will; and quickly too: for though it was 
 his disobedience which made him a prey to that 
 devouring monster of the sea, yet he now willingly 
 submits to the decrees of Heaven; and, were it to 
 
 1 2 St. Peter i. 4. 
 
352 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 do again, would as willingly cast himself in, to obey 
 the will of God; and since it is so, he will infallibly 
 recover his liberty, and not lose the least hair of his 
 head. 
 
 Moses walks in the bottom of the Red Sea, 
 while the waters stand like mountains on both 
 sides, threatening death and destruction. Alas! it 
 were great pity so worthy a person should be thus 
 lost in waves. Fear not; there is no danger. No; 
 since he entered to obey God, neither the sea nor 
 death dare attempt anything against him: all the 
 elements have too much respect to his obedience, 
 to do him the least injury. Daniel is in the lion’s 
 jaws: who put him there ? Obedience. Fear 
 nothing; he will not perish: the cruel lions will be 
 his lifeguard, to protect him. Behold Susanna, 
 under a cloud of stones ready to hail down upon 
 her; who put her there ? Obedience to the law 
 of God. And therefore do not fear, she will come 
 off untouched. All creatures do so highly honour 
 the commands of their Creator, that they will sooner 
 forget their own nature than forget to obey Him 
 and honour all those who had rather die than 
 disobey. It is a kind of martyrdom, says St. Thomas, 
 to die for obedience; and, without question, Purga¬ 
 tory was not made for martyrs. It is a perfect 
 holocaust, to sacrifice his life upon the altar of 
 obedience; and why should a heart, thus burnt 
 and consumed in obeying, be any more exposed 
 to fire ? St. Bernard, in his funeral sermon of 
 Humbertus, says that if that holy monk had any¬ 
 thing to suffer in Purgatory, it was for want of a 
 
FAITHFUL AND EXACT OBEDIENCE. 
 
 353 
 
 little obedience in that which concerned the care 
 of his health; and that, otherwise, he could not but 
 think that he went immediately into Heaven. Let 
 us hear the great St. Ambrose . 1 Whosoever, says 
 he, does the will of God, Who lived and died in 
 obedience, shall not die eternally; but at the hour 
 of his death shall hear those comfortable words 
 which were spoken to the Good Thief: “ This day 
 thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.” Why so ? 
 Is it not sufficient that St. Ambrose speaks it so 
 roundly ? But, if you will have a pertinent reason 
 for it, take this. The Angelical Doctor , 2 having 
 first laid down this position, that all eminent and 
 heroical virtues put a soul into a most pure and 
 perfect state, says further, a man can give God 
 nothing that is of more value in this miserable life 
 than to consecrate his will, and submit it not only 
 to Him, but, for love of Him, to frail creatures, 
 perhaps ignorant, hasty, and choleric, perhaps- 
 younger and less understanding than himself,, 
 perhaps his own scholar, his own son, and, if you 
 will, haply his own servant. Is not this a sublime 
 kind of martyrdom, which ends not in a moment 
 or with one dint of a sword, but must endure a 
 thousand strokes of an indiscreet tongue, which go 
 more to the quick, and this all the days of his life ? 
 Now, is there any reason why a man that has 
 courageously suffered all these martyrdoms, should 
 be martyred again in Purgatory fire ? 
 
 When Abraham, out of pure obedience, would 
 have sacrificed his dear Isaac, God seemed so well 
 
 ] In Psalm xxxix. 2 2. 2. q. 186. a. 5. 
 
 X 
 
354 
 
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 pleased (I had almost said obliged to him for it), 
 that by way of requital He made a solemn oath 
 to give him His only Son, and the land of promise, 
 flowing with all manner of delights. Tell me, is 
 not every obedient person another Abraham ? nay, 
 is he not greater than Abraham ? since it is a far 
 harder task for a man to sacrifice himself, than to 
 sacrifice his son: to sacrifice, I say, his will, the 
 noblest part of man, which is born to be sole 
 empress of the universe, and has no other life but 
 to rule and command, as well in the great as the 
 lesser world ? Now, let him be but another Abraham, 
 and sure you will not think it fit to send him to 
 Purgatory who carries in his bosom the delights 
 of Paradise ? The Abbot Mutius, when he turned 
 monk, brought his only son with him to the 
 monastery, about eight years old, that he might 
 begin betimes to learn the fear of God. The Abbot 
 of the monastery, to make trial of his obedience, 
 peremptorily commands him to take the child and 
 throw him into the river, for he did nothing 
 but disquiet the monks. The holy man, without 
 disputing the case, animated with an angelical 
 obedience, and a heart like that of Abraham, takes 
 up the child, runs away with him to the river, 
 throws him in, and returns again with dry eyes 
 and without any sign of trouble, as if he were not 
 at all concerned for the loss of his own child. And 
 certainly the child had been drowned, had not 
 certain monks, who could swim well, lain secretly 
 there, by the Abbot’s appointment, who took up 
 this little Moses, saved this Isaac, and brought him 
 
FAITHFUL AND EXACT OBEDIENCE. 
 
 355 
 
 back to the monastery, where they all stood in admi¬ 
 ration of so perfect an example of blind obedience 
 and self-denial, in so natural and lawful an affection 
 as is the love of a parent to his dear child . 1 The 
 same day it was revealed to the Abbot that this 
 act of Mutius was as pleasing to God as that of 
 Abraham, and that he should be eternally blessed 
 for it. Go, now, and cast this soul into Purgatory, 
 who stuck not to cast his only son, I mean his 
 obedience, into the river, at the command of his 
 Superior; and when you have done this, will they 
 not sooner, think you, cast in the whole river, which 
 was thus blessed by a perfect act of obedience, and 
 so quench the flames, than suffer her to lie burning 
 there ? Mutius did but once cast his son into the 
 river, and how many religious souls, out of the same 
 spirit of obedience, expose themselves a thousand 
 times to all dangers both by sea and land : and, 
 after all this, must they needs visit Purgatory in 
 their way to Heaven ? 
 
 It seems boldly said by St. Austin , 2 that the 
 Blessed Virgin was happier in obeying God than in 
 being the Mother of God: and yet Christ Himself 
 said as much in express terms. For when, by 
 way of applauding Him , 3 they were crying up 
 her as blessed and happy that had the honour 
 to be His Mother, and to nourish Him with 
 the milk of her breasts, He at once replied 
 that He accounted them to be happy indeed that 
 heard His Word and put it in practice. And, 
 
 1 Cass. 1 . 4, c. 27. 
 
 2 Tract, io, in Joan. 3 St. Luke xi. 27, 28. 
 
35^ 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 another time , 1 when they had told Him that His 
 good Mother and His brothers stood without, 
 waiting for Him, “ Who,” said He, “ are My brothers, 
 and whom do you call My Mother ? Whosoever 
 does the will of My Father, he is My mother, My 
 brother, and My whole parentage.” Now, to our 
 purpose: if an obedient servant has the honour to 
 bear this honourable title, of being the brother, and 
 even the mother, of God, can God so far neglect 
 this brother and mother of His, as to leave them 
 in Purgatory fire ? 
 
 The Abbess one day commanded St. Catharine 
 of Bologna , 2 that for the love of God and the 
 exercise of obedience, she should enter into a 
 burning furnace. The Saint runs away instantly, 
 and doubtless would have thrown herself in, had 
 not the Religious stood in the way to hinder her. 
 It is not a crime, says St. Austin , 2 to be thus 
 prodigal of our lives, and even like Samson, to 
 make ourselves away, when God requires it. No: 
 this is no crime, but a pious holocaust, offered upon 
 the altar of obedience: and will you then kill a 
 man that is already dead ? Will you burn him in 
 Purgatory that is already consumed in the holy 
 flames of obedience ? God does not use to punish, 
 or purge, the same fault twice; and therefore a 
 soul that has been once purged in the fire of 
 obedience, hath no need of being purged again in 
 the fire of Purgatory. 
 
 Oh, what a thing it is to be obedient, cried 
 
 1 St. Luke viii. 21. 
 
 2 Lib. i. vitae ejus. 3 De Civ. c. 1. 
 
FAITHFUL AND EXACT OBEDIENCE. 
 
 357 
 
 Gerard, as he lay a-dying in St. Bernard’s arms. 
 I have been carried before God’s high tribunal, and 
 have seen the power of obedience : nobody shall 
 ever perish that is truly obedient, but, when he 
 comes to die, shall mount above the choirs of Angels, 
 Archangels, and Apostles, according to the merit of 
 his obedience ; and, with this, he died. Must Angels, 
 Archangels, Apostles, and those that are in the 
 same degree of perfection, be thrust into Purgatory 
 fire ? Is it reasonable that they should be confined 
 to so loathsome a prison that made themselves 
 voluntary prisoners under the severe government 
 of obedience ? I am resolved, said holy David, to 
 fear no evils , 1 of what rugged nature soever they be, 
 so long as Thou, my God, dost lead me by the 
 hand. Though I should walk in the midst of the 
 shadow of death, in the very suburbs of Hell, which 
 is Purgatory, I will fear nothing; for Thy rod, and 
 Thy staff, wherewith Thou dost govern and direct 
 me to do Thy holy will in all occasions, will be my 
 sure comfort and protection. 
 
 An obedient man speaks nothing but victories, 
 says the Holy Ghost, in the Proverbs . 2 What 
 victories ? Such as St. Dorotheus describes , 3 
 when he tells us that a soul, being seated in her 
 triumphant chariot, drawn by humility and obedi¬ 
 ence, treads all under foot, and with a swift motion 
 steers her course up to Heaven. If humility and 
 obedience be her horses, they will not easily convey 
 her into Purgatory; for they know not the way 
 thither, but only into Heaven, their own native 
 1 Psalm xxii. 4. 2 Prov. xxi. 28. 8 Doct. 1. 
 
358 
 
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 country, where they will be sure to leave this 
 triumphant and victorious soul in the joyful fruition 
 of eternal happiness. Take away self-will, and there 
 will be no Hell, cries St. Bernard . 1 If obedience 
 can put out hell-fire, she must needs have power 
 to put out the fire of Purgatory. What a solid 
 comfort must this be to religious souls, who have 
 given themselves over to the practice of this virtue: 
 and to all those that, living in the world, yet do 
 nothing of their own heads, but are constantly ruled 
 by the will of God ? 
 
 It is a strange but very true observation of 
 St. Gregory, and of St. Bonaventure , 2 that God, Who 
 is invincible, will yet suffer Himself to be overcome 
 by the obedience of His servants, so far as even 
 to obey them. I say, obey; for it is the very 
 expression He uses Himself in the case of Josue, 
 who is said to have stopped the sun in his full 
 career, because God was pleased to obey the voice 
 of His obedient servant. If this be so, that God 
 will refuse nothing of an obedient soul, let her ask 
 Him to be freed from Purgatory; and she will not 
 be denied it, who never denied Him anything. And 
 without all doubt, it is as easy for her to curb the 
 fire of Purgatory, as to stop the swift motion of the 
 heavens. You, then, that are obedient, know your 
 power; you may appeal from God to God, in case 
 He should sentence you to Purgatory; you may 
 boldly claim His promise of denying you nothing; 
 and then you will be sure to insert in your bargain, 
 
 1 Serm. i, De Resun. 
 
 2 Bonav. Reg. Novit. tom. vii. c. 13. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 359 
 
 to have nothing to do with Purgatory, but to go 
 straight into Heaven, there to enjoy Him for ever. 
 
 The Conclusion . 
 
 It is now high time to conclude this section, 
 and, with it, the whole treatise. And I cannot 
 leave you better than in Heaven, whither I have 
 brought you, if you will it yourself: for you see, it 
 is in your power to make your way thither, without 
 passing through Purgatory. Believe me, it is no 
 trifling matter, but the most important business we 
 have to do in this world, to purchase Heaven; and 
 to purchase it so as to have right to take possession 
 of it immediately after we have left this world. 
 Christ our Saviour tells us, that the Kingdom of 
 Heaven suffers violence, and that they must be both 
 violent and valiant that run away with it. Whereon 
 St. Ambrose 1 observes well, that God loves to be 
 forced; and that they who importune Him most, 
 and use the greatest violence, are the men He 
 makes most of. Take courage, then, dear reader; 
 take courage! Imitate the Good Thief; snatch 
 Heaven out of His hands ; steal away His Paradise; 
 do something worthy of Him, worthy of yourself, 
 and worthy of Paradise. If no better means occur 
 to you, at least strive to be hugely concerned for the 
 poor souls in Purgatory: pray often and devoutly 
 for them, and procure that good store of Masses 
 may be said for their relief. You have the ell 
 in your hands by which you may measure out 
 your own happiness, says the devout Salvian: be 
 
 1 St. Ambrose, in Luc. 
 
36° 
 
 PURGATORY SURVEYED. 
 
 charitable to others, and they will be no less to 
 you. The time is not long that is allowed you to 
 sojourn in this world : in this little time, be sure 
 you make the Saints in Heaven and the souls in 
 Purgatory your friends, that they be obliged to help 
 you in your greatest need. Learn, at least, by 
 these discourses, to have a tender heart for the 
 poor souls, and to use your uttermost endeavour 
 to go yourself directly into Heaven out of this 
 wicked world. It is the thing I earnestly beg of 
 God’s infinite mercy for you, and for myself, at the 
 instance of your good prayers. For though I must 
 acknowledge I have deserved nothing but hell-fire, 
 and have reason to take it for a high favour to be 
 sent into Purgatory, to lie there as many months 
 and years as it shall please God, yet I confess 
 ingenuously I have no great mind to either place, 
 but only to Heaven; which I beseech God, by the 
 merits of my dear Saviour, and by the Plenary 
 Indulgence of His most infinite mercy, to grant us 
 all. Amen. 
 
 Et fidelium animce per misericordiam Dei 
 requiescant in pace. A men . 
 


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