A treatise of the difference bbtwixt [sic] the temporal and eternal composed in Spanish by Eusebius Nieremberg ... ; translated into English by Sir Vivian Mullineaux, Knight ; and since reviewed according to the tenth and last Spanish edition.

§ 2.

The second cause of the terribleness of death, which is the laying open of all wherein we have offended in this life.

ANother thing of great horror is to happen in the end of life, which shall make that hour, wherein the Soul expires, most horrible unto sinners, and That is the sight of their own sins; whose deformity and multitude shall then clearly and distinctly appear unto them; and although now we remain in ignorance of many, and see the guilt of none, they shall then, when we leave this life, fully discover themselves as they are both in number and quality. This is also signified un∣to us by the Prophet Daniel, when he sayes, That the

Throne of the Tribunal of God was of flaming fire: whose nature is not onely to burn, but to enlighten; and therefore in that Divine Judgment shall not onely be executed the rigour of his justice, but the ugliness likewise of humane malice shall be discovered. The Judge himself shall not onely appear severe and im∣placable, but our sins shall be laid open before us, and the sight of them shall make us quake and tremble with fear and astonishment; especially when we shall perceive them to be manifest unto him who is both Judge and Party. Wherefore it is said in one of the Psalms, We are dismayed, O Lord, with thy wrath, and troubled with thy fury: and immediately giving the reason of that trouble, he saith, because thou hast set our wickedness before thee, and placed them in thy sight. The monstrousness of sin is now covered, and we per∣ceive it not, and are not therefore much troubled; but in that instant of death, when the ugliness of it shall appear, the very sight of it will wholly confound us. Our sins now seem unto us but light and trivial, and we see not half of them: but in our leaving of this life we shall find them heavy, grievous and unsupportable. A great Beam, whilest it floats upon the river, a child may move and draw it from place to place, and the half of it remains hidden and covered below the wa∣ters: but draw it to land, many men will not suffice to remove it, and the whole bulk of it will be then clearly discovered; so in the waters of this tempestuous and unstable life our faults appear not heavy, and the half of them are conceal'd from us: but this life once ended, we shall then feel their weight, discover their bulk, and shall groan under so heavy and grievous a burthen.

These doubtless are the two swords which then shall mortally wound the conscience of a sinner: First when he shall perceive the innumerable multitude of his sins, and Then their monstrous deformity. And to begin with their multitude, how shall he remain amazed,

when he shall see a number of his actions to be sins, which he never thought to be such: and which is more, when he shall find that to be a fault, which he thought to be a laudable work? For this it is said in one of the Psalms, when I shall take time, I will judge righteousness; for many actions which in the eyes of men seem ver∣tues, will then be found vices in the sight of God. If in humane judgments there be so great a difference, that young men, and those that follow the world, of∣ten esteem that for a vertue, which the wise and an∣cient repute as an errour, how different shall be the divine judgment from that of men, since the holy Ghost saith by his Prophet, that the Judgments of God are a great Abyss, and that his thoughts are as far distant from the thoughts of men, as heaven is from earth? And if spiritual men are so clear sighted, that they con∣demn with truth what worldlings praise, what shall be those Divine eyes, which are able to perceive a stain in what appears Angelical purity? And if, as the Scripture sayes, he found wickedness in the Angels, what vice can remain hid in the Sons of men? Our Lord him∣self saith by one of his Prophets, I will search Jerusa∣lem with a candle. If so strict enquiry be to be made in the holy City of Jerusalem, what shall be in Ba∣bylon? If God shall use such rigour with the just, how shall he dissemble with his enemies? Then shall be brought to light the works which we have done, and those which we have left undone: the evil of that a∣ction which we have committed, and the good of that which we have omitted. Neither is there account to be taken onely of the evils which we do, but of the good also which we do not well; all will be strictly searcht and narrowly lookt into, and must pass by ma∣ny eyes. The Devil, as our accuser, shall frame the Process of our whole life, and shall accuse us of all he knows; and if any thing shall escape his knowledge, it shall not therefore be conceal'd; for our own Con∣science shall cry out and accuse us of it; and least out

Conscience might flatter us, or be ignorant of some faults, our Angel-Guardian, who is now our Governor and Tutor, shall then be the Fiscal and Accuser, calling for Divine justice against us, and shall discover what our own Souls are ignorant of. And if the Devil, our Conscience, and Angel-Guardian shall fail in any thing as not knowing all, the Judge himself, who is both Party and Witness, and whose Divine knowledge pe∣netrates into the bottom of our wills, shall there de∣clare many things for vices, which were here esteemed for vertues. O strange way of Judgment, where none denies, and all accuse, even the offender accuses him∣self; and where all are Witnesses, even the Judge and Party! O dreadful Judgment where there is no Ad∣vocate, and four Accusers, the Devil, thy Conscience, thy Angel-Guardian, and thy very. Judge, who will accuse thee of many things which thou thoughtest to have alleaged for thy defence!

O how great shall then be the confusion, when that shall be found a sin which was thought a service! who would have imagined but that Oza, when he upheld the Ark in danger of falling, had rather done a lauda∣ble action, than an offence? yet the Lord chastized it as a great sin with the punishment of a most disastrous death: shewing thereby how different the Divine Judgments are from those of men. Who would not have thought Davids numbring of his people to have been an act of policy and discretion? yet God judged it an offence, and punished it with an unexampled Pesti∣lence, which in so short a time destroyed threescore and ten thousand persons? When Saul urged by his approaching enemies, and the long delayes of Samuel offered sacrifice, he thought he had done an act of the greatest vertue, which is religion: but God called it by the name of a grievous sin, and for doing it reproved him, and cast him off from being King. Who would not have judged it for an act of magnanimity and clemen∣cy, when Achab, having conquered Benhadad King of

Syria, pardoned him his life, and took him up to sit by him in his Royal Chariot? But this which was so much esteemed and praised by men, was so disagreeable un∣to God, that he sent him word by his Prophet, that he should dye for it, and that he and his people should bear the punishment, which was designed unto the Syrians and their King. If then the Judgment of God in this life be so far different from that of man, what shall it be in that most dreadful hour, which God hath reserved for the executing of his Divine justice? Then all shall be laid open, and confusion shall cover the sinner with the multitude of his offences. How shall he blush to see himself in the presence of the King of Heaven in so foul and squalid garments? A man is said to remain confounded, when either the issue of things fall out contrary to what he hoped and looked for, or when he comes off with indignity or disparage∣ment, where he expected honour and reward; how confounded then shall a sinner be, when those works of his, which he thought vertues, shall be found vices, imagining he hath done service shall perceive he hath offended, and hoping for a reward shall meet with punishment? If a man when he is to speak with some great Prince desire to be decently and well clad, how will he be out of countenance to appear before him dirty and half naked? How shall then a sinner be a∣shamed to see himself before the Lord of all naked of good works, be dirtied and defiled with abominable and horrid crimes? for besides the Multitude of sins, whereof his whole life shall be full, the Hainousness of them shall be also laid open before him, and he shall tremble at the sight of that which he now thinks but a trivial fault. For then shall he see clearly the ugliness of sin, the dissonancy of it unto reason, the deformity it causes in the Soul, the injury it does unto the Lord of the world, his ingratitude to the blood of Christ, the prejudice it brings unto himself, hell into which he falls, and eternal glory which he loses. The least

of these were sufficient to cover his heart with sadness and inconsolable grief: but altogether what amazement and confusion shall they cause? especially when he shall perceive, that not only mortal, but even venial sins produce an ugliness in the Soul beyond all the corpo∣ral deformities which can be imagined. If the sight of onely one Devil be so horrible, that many Servants of God have said, that they would rather suffer all the torments of this life, than behold him for one moment, all his deformity proceeding but from one onely mor∣tal sin which he committed, for before the Devils were by nature most excellent and beautiful: in what con∣dition shall a sinner be, who shall not only behold all Devils in all their ugliness, but shall see himself per∣haps more ugly than many of them, having as many deformities, as he hath committed mortal and venial sins? Let him therefore avoid them now; for all are to come to light, and he must account for all even un∣til the last farthing.

Neither is this account to be made in gross onely for the greatest and most apparent sins, but even for the least and smallest. What Lord is so strict with his Steward, that he demands an account for trifles, for the tagg of a point, nor suffers him to pass a half-penny without informing him, how it was spent? In humane Tribunals the Judge takes no notice of small matters but in the Courts of Divine Judicature nothing passes: the least things are as diligently lookt into as the grea∣ter. A confirmation of this is a story written by di∣vers Authors; That there were two Religious per∣sons of holy and laudable conversation, who did mu∣tually love one another with great affection; one of them chanced to die, and after death appeared unto the other (being then in prayer) in poor and torn gar∣ments, and with a most sorrowful and dejected coun∣tenance; he who was alive demanded of him, what was the cause of his appearing in that sad manner; to whom he answered, repeating it three times, No

man will believe; No man will believe; No man will believe. Being urged to declare further what he would say, he proceeded thus, No man can imagine how strict God is in taking his accompts, and with what rigour he chastises sinners. In saying this he vanished. By that which hath happened to many Servants of God, even before their departure out of this life, may be seen the rigour, with which this account shall be ta∣ken after death. St. John Climacus writes of a cer∣tain Monk, who being very desirous to live in solitude and quiet, after he had exercised himself many years in the labours of a Monastical life, and obtained the grace of tears and fasting, with many other priviledges of vertue, he built a Cell at the foot of that Mountain, where Elias in time past saw that sacred and divine Vision. This reverend Father being of so great au∣sterity desired yet to live a more strict and penitent life, and therefore passed from thence into a place called Sides, which belonged to the Anchorite Monks, who live in great perfection and retirement; and having lived a long time with much rigour in that place, which was far remote from all humane consolation, and distant 70 miles from any dwelling or habitation of men, at last he came to have a desire to return to his first Cell in that sacred Mountain, where remained in his absence for the keeping of it two most religious Disciples of his of the land of Palestine. Some short time after his return he fell into an infirmity and died. The day before his death sodainly he became much a∣stonished and amazed, and keeping still his eyes open, he lookt gastly about him, sometime on the one side of the Bed, and then on the other, as if he saw some, who demanded an accompt from him of something which was past; unto whom he answered in the hear∣ing of all who were present, saying sometime, So it is truly, but for this I have fasted so many years. Other-whiles he said, Certainly it is not so; thou lyest, I ne∣ver did it. At other times, It is true; I did so, but wept

for it, and so many times ministred for it unto the necessi∣ty of my neighbour, Other times, Thou accusest me truly, I have nothing to say; but God is merciful. And certainly that invisible and strict inquisition was fear∣ful and horrible unto those who were present. Ay mi∣serable me, saith the Saint, What will become of me sinner, since so great a follower of a solitary and re∣tired life knew not what to answer? He who had li∣ved forty years a Monk, and obtained the grace of tears, and, as some affirmed unto me, had in the De∣sert fed a hungry Leopard, which meekly repaired un∣to him for food, yet for all this sanctity at his depar∣ture out of this life so strict an accompt was demand∣ed of him, as he left us uncertain what was his judge∣ment, and what the sentence and determination of his cause. We read in the Chronicles of the Minorites, that a Novice of the Order of St. Francis, being now almost out of himself struggling with death, cryed out with a terrible voice, saying: Wo is me: O that I never had been born. A little after he said: I am heartily sorry. And not long after he replyed: Put something of the merits of the Passion of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Then he said, Now 'tis well. The Religious much admired, that a young man so innocent should speak things so dreadful, and with such a strange noise. When the young man was returned to his senses, they demanded of him to declare unto them the meaning of those words, and great cryes. He an∣swered them: I saw that in the Judgement of Almigh∣ty God so strict an accompt was taken even of idle words, and other things that seemed very little, and they weighed them so exactly, that the merits in re∣spect of the demerits were almost nothing at all; And for this reason I gave that first terrible, and sad outcry. Afterwards I saw, that the demerits were weighed with great attention, and that little regard was made of the merits; For this reason. I spake the second words. And seeing that the merits were so few

and inconsiderable for to be justified, I spake the third: And in regard that with the merits of the Passi∣on of Christ our Saviour the balance, wherein my good works were, weighed more than the other, immedi∣ately a favourable sentence was given in my behalf; For this reason I said now 'tis well. And having said this he gave up his ghost.

Notes

• Psal. 89.
• 3. Reg. c. 20.
• Joh. Ma∣jor. Ju∣dic. exem. 8. ex col∣lec.
• Climac. gr. 7.
• Chronic. S. Franc. 2. p. lib. 4. c. 35.