St. Augustine, Of the citie of God vvith the learned comments of Io. Lod. Viues. Englished by I.H.

Satan and his followers condemned: A recapitulation of the resurrection, and the last iudgment. CHAP. 14.

AFter this rehearsall of the last persecution, he proceeds with the successe of the deuill and his congregation at the last iudgment. And the deuill (saith he) * 1.1 that deceiued them, was cast into a lake of fire & brimstone, where the beast and the false Prophet shall be tormented euen day and night for euer-more. The beast (as I said be∣fore) is the city of the wicked: his false Prophet is either Antichrist, or his image, the figmet that I spake of before. After all this, commeth the last iudgment, in the second resurrection, to wit, the bodies, and this he relateth by way of recapitula∣tion, as it was reuealed vnto him, I saw (saith he) a great white throne, and one that sate on it, from whose face flew away both the earth and heauen, and their place was no more found. He saith not, and heauen and earth flew away from his face [as impor∣ting their present flight] for that befell not vntill after the iudgement, but, from whose face flew away both heauen and earth, namely afterwards, when the iudgment shall be finished, then this heauen and this earth shall cease, and a new world shall begin. But the old one shall not be vtterly consumed, it shall onely passe through an vniuersall change; and therefore the Apostle saith. The fashion of this world goeth away, and I would haue you with-out care. The fashion goeth away, not the * 1.2 nature. Well, let vs follow Saint Iohn, who after the sight of this throne, &c. proceedeth thus. And I sawe the dead both great and small stand before God, and the bookes were opened, and another booke was opened which is the booke (a) of life, and the dead were iudged of those things which were written in the bookes, according to their workes.

Behold, the opening of bookes, and of one booke! This what it was, hee

sheweth: which is the booke of life. The other are the holy ones of the Old and New-Testament, that therein might be shewed what God had commanded: but in the booke (b) of life were the commissions and omissions of euery man on •…•…th, particularly recorded. If we should imagine this to be an earthly booke, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 as ours are, who is he that could imagine how huge a volume it were, or how long the contents of it all, would be a reading? Shall there be as many An∣gells as men, and each one recite his deeds that were commited to his guard? then shall there not bee one booke for all, but each one shall haue one. I but the Scripture here mentions but one in this kind: It is therefore some diuine power •…•…ed into the consciences of each peculiar, calling all their workes (won∣derfully & strangely) vnto memory, and so making each mans knowledge accuse or excuse his owne conscience: these are all, and singular, iudged in themselues. This power diuine is called a booke, and fitly, for therein is read all the facts that the doer hath committed, by the working of this hee remembreth all: But the Apostle to explaine the iudgement of the dead more fully, and to sh•…•…w how it compriseth greate and small, he makes at it were a returne to what he had omit∣ted (or rather deferred) saying, And the sea gaue vp her dead which were within 〈◊〉〈◊〉, and death and Hell deliuered vp the dead which were in them. This was before that they were iudged & yet was the iudgment mentioned before so that as I said, he returnes, to his intermission, & hauing said thus much. The sea gaue vp her dead. &c. As afore, he now proceedeth in the true order, saying, And they were iudged euery 〈◊〉〈◊〉 according to his workes. This hee repeateth againe here, to shew the order 〈◊〉〈◊〉 was to manage the iudgment whereof hee had spoken before in these words, And the dead were iudged of those things which were written in the bookes, ac∣•…•…g to their workes.

L. VIVES.

OF (a) life] So readeth Hierome, and so readeth the vulgar, wee finde not any that readeth it, Of the life of euery one, as it is in some copies of Augustine. The Greeke is iust as wee •…•…d, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, of life, without addition.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Rom. 20. 11
• * 1.2

  1. Cor. 7, 31.