our Ladie be their in presence and staÌ„d before the eyes of the sick also that their bee holy water with the which let all the chamber and the sick person be sprinckled because it auayleth greatly against the power of the deuil Also that their be red the gospels of Christes passion and specially that of S. Iohn or some other thing of the bible and that hee be put in mynde of the saintes and principallie or his aduocates and patroÌ„s to whome in his lyfe tyme hee hath had particuler and special deuotion let their also be warning geuen that in the chamber wheare the sick lyeth their be no reasoning of worldlie matters nor lowd speaking but onely so much as is needful for behoof of the sick for then is tyme to pray and not to prattle also that none weep their that great sylence be kept and that their be in the chamber no great multitude of persons they ought also to prohibite that the sick person be not much molested with the visitinges of his freindes and kinsfolkes and speciallie when his sicknes encreaseth and that there is in him no great hope of lyfe And thus I make an end of this secoÌ„d chapter in the which I haue declared the preparation called the approching which ought to be made in tyme of sicknes And it conteyneth 4. rules the first is called constancie or patience the second deuout receyuing of the sacraments of the Churche the third a wary and good prouision against the deuils temptations the fourth a good election or choyse of one or two faithful freinds that may haue diligent care of the sick And now in a few woordes I wil dispatche the last preparation declaring that which is to be done in the passage and very last end of this present lyfe THE THIRD CHAPTER wherein is declared in few woordes the last preparation which hee ought to make that is come vnto the very end of his lyf IN this third chapter wee are to speak of the preparation which ought to be made when a man is neerest the end of his lyfe as when hee beginneth to enter into his agony and draweth onward to his last gaspe This chapter conteyneth foure short rules the which after the example of our lord Iesu Christe wee ought to obserue in this last passage of our lyfe for wee ought to know that as the lyfe of our Sauiour hath bene geuen vs for a rule and for the instruction of our lyfe so also his death hath bene set before vs to teach vs how to dy Therefore S. Gregorie saith that Omnis Christi actio nostra est instructio that is to say all the actions of Christ are instructions for vs. As our lyfe then shal be best when it shal be lyke to that of our redeemers who was verie man and verie God so also our death shal be verie laudable and holy when it shal haue those conditioÌ„s which that death of our blessed Mayster had who being on the hard wood of the crosse neere vnto death diligentlie obserued fower rules before his blessed soule departed from his sacred bodie The first â—ule THE first rule was that spoyled naked hee ascended the holie crosse forsaken almoste of all where hee would dy poor reseruing no worldly thing for himself So wee ought at the least now at the last after the example of our Sauiour to renounce effectually euerie superfluous and vayne possessioÌ„ all worldlie carnal loue leauing that to-great affectioÌ„ which wee weere wont to beare to wyfe and children careing no more neyther for riches nor for honours of the world to the end that wee bee not troobled by any thing but in this laste period of our lyf to think wholy vpon almighty God The second rule THE second rule obserued by our lord on the crosse was that hee prayed for himself and for his enemies repeating as he prayed vnto his father the woordes of the Psalme Deus Deus meus respice in me quare me dereliquisti that is to say O God my God look vpon mee why hast thow forsaken mee and afterward this verse of the Psalme In manus tuas Domine commendo spiritum meum that is Into thy handes o Lord I commend my spirit So ought wee to pray first for our selues after for enemies And at that tyme a man put in such heauines and peril of his saluation ought neuer to cease to cal for help of our moste mercyful lord God and of his blessed mother of all the Angels Patriarches Prophets Martyrs CoÌ„fessors Virgins and matrons soliciting them with great grones and deep sighes to help him in this perillous battayle and in so great necessitie and to inuite them that they vouchsafe to accompanie his soule and guide it into the eternal tabernacles to enioy the diuine essence and to reioyce with them in euerlasting peace The third rule THE third rule obserued of our redeemer Iesus Christe was that hee with bowing of his head in such manner as hee might took leaue of his moste deer mother and of his moste hartie freindes which were their present about the crosse and recommeÌ„ded his blessed mother to her new sonne which hee gaue her By this hee gaue vs example to do the lyke to wit that when the sick person seeth himselfe to bee neer death it is very conuenient that hee recommend his family as his wel-beloued wyf and his deere children to some freind that may counsel and help them After this all his seruants and how shold called together let him take leaue of them aske them forgiuenes for the il examples hee hath geuen them and make them some good exhortation And yf that hee be a father let him giue his fatherly blessing to his derely beloued children saying vnto them my children yf ye wil be good and haue the feare of God before your eyes your principal and heauenly Father wil neuer forsake yow Be diligent to keep his commaundements The blessing of the Father of the Sonne or the holy Ghoste of our blessed Ladie and of all the Saintes in heauen be with yow Then taking euery one of them by the hand and kissing them and imbracing his louing wyf and children hee shal say O my deere wyf I pray thee honour and feare our Lord God aboue all thinges I leaue thee these our children haue diligent care of them vntil this tyme they haue bene ours now they shal be thyne yf thow wilt continew in good lyfe thow shalt neuer waÌ„t the help of God Be of good cheer do not not weep for our Lord wil be with thee Then shal hee exhort his children that they be obedient to their mother and feare and reuerence her as they ought After this he shal take leaue of them all causing them to go out of his chamber that hee may remayne alone with his faithful and chosen freindes which are to haue care ouer him euen to the last end of his lyfe The fourth
A DIALOGVE OF DYING WEL. First written in the Italian tongue by the Reuerend father Don Peeter of Luca a Chanon regular a Doctor of Diuinitie and famous preacher VVherin is also contayned sundry profitable resolutions vpon some doubtful questions in Diuinitie Translated first into French and novv into English VVatch and pray for you knovv not vvhen the tyme is Mar. 13. Imprinted at Antwerp by A.C. 1603. TO THE RIGHT REVEREND LADY IOAN BARKLEY ABBESSE of the English Monastery of Nunnes of the holy order of S. Benedict in Bruxels RIght Reuerend I heer present vnto your perusal this dialogue of dying wel a woork more of woorth for the goodnes then in value for the greatnes It was first written in the Italian tongue by a deuout Chanon of Luca by M. Peeter Frison a deuout Chanon of Rhemes wel knowne through his pietie vnto many of our nation it was since translated into french The remembrāce of death as Bishop fisher of blessed memory was wont to say doth neuer come out of season and this spake that good father in regard that the remembrance of death tendeth vnto a care to endeuour to dy wel a matter of moste important consideration vnto all that liue There are sundry serpents and monsters that out of filth and corruption do take their originals and so in lyke manner was that vgly monster called death out of the filth and sin of our first aunceter first engendred The agillitie arte of this moste mercilesse tyrant cōsisteth in the continual casting of deadly dartes and infynit hee throweth out euen in euery moment neuer ayming but at lyuing hartes neuer missing those hee aymeth at neither is there any armour to bee found that may withstand his hart-piersing force VVherefore seeing to auoyd death there is no remedy the remedy then that remayneth is the learning how to dy wel this lesson the ensuing dialogue teacheth only truants neglect to learne it but attentiue schollers do deepely imprint it in memory To your good Ladiship I dedicate the same vnto you the first Abbesse of your holy order reuyued in our nation whose posteritie by the diuine prouidence may come to brighten our country with their shyning sanctitie as your predecessors heretofore haue donne after that S. Augustyne had brought and taught vnto the English people the first knowlege belief in the true God and his deer sonne and our Sauiour Christe Iesus A religious man was this first Apostle of ours and of your order as also were those holy Abbesses and religious virgins so much comēded by the venerable Bede and other veritable writers in there relating their holy liues and wonderful miracles yea euen after their deathes which were true arguments of their dying wel the which they wel learned to do whyle they liued as he graunt wee also may to whose holy tuition I leaue your Reuerend Ladiship This 3. of April 1603. Your Ladiships very much deuoted R. V. THE AVTHORS PROHEME ACCORDING to the iudgemēt of Aristotle man of all mortal creatures is moste prudent for that hee alone foreseeith thinges to come and therefore differeth from the brute beast which regardeth only thinges that bee present Man therefore seeing hee must dy is by his natural wisdome enclyned to foresee his death the cogitation wherof is vnto him a thing more terrible then any other thing els whatsoeuer and it much more doth importe him He therefore that desyreth to walk wisely in this miserable lyfe must in such sorte prepare and dispose himself for dreadful death that when it approcheth neere vnto him hee be not taken vnprouyded and that for want of due consideration he lose not the chief felicitie and besydes that be assigned for euer vnto the paines of hel VVherefore beeing desirous to begin this discourse of the arte or science to dy wel for an introduction thereunto I presuppose suche an imagined narration as heer ensueth A DIALOGVE OF DYING WEL. THERE was a marchant which trauayling into a far countrie as hee wandred out of his way happened to come into a great wildernesse where he chaunced to meet with an old Eremite who through great age was euen ouerspent worne with whome after he had begōne to enter into discours he asked him what he did their in that solitarie place now so neere vnto the date of his death The Eremite answered sayd Thow shalt my sonne vnderstād that when I was in the flourishing age of thirtie yeares I forsook the deceitful world and retyred my self into this solitarie place heer to do some kynde of penance for my former synnes and to learne to dy and heere haue I continuallie dwelt in solitude these threscore and ten years Then the Marchāt said to him it seemeth too mee a thing very superfluous that thow shouldest seek to learne to dy seeing thow beeing a mortal man and alreaddie an hundred yeers old must needs dy and that verie shortly The Eremite answered this is that which I feare not without great astonishment do euerie day think vpon cōsidering that I am not redy for death and neuerthelesse I know assuredly that I must dy To this then quoth the Marchant what thing is it to know how to dy The old Ermite answered him to know how to dy is no other thing then to flie all things that may offend our lord God and with diligence to doe all that hee commādeth obseruing obedientlie all his preceptes and commandements and to be in suche wise neat and cleane in cōscience that arryuing vnto the last end of our lyfe wee may be receaued into the euerlasting rest of the cittizens of heauē At these woordes the Marchāt begining to feel in his hart some suddaine motiō to the change of his lyfe sayd vnto him againe o deere father your talk greatly pleaseth mee Tel mee I beseech yow could yow giue mee some good instructions touching this moste necessarie point of dying wel Hereūto the Ermite answered that he was very willing to make him partaker of such gaine as alredy himself had gotten by his study in that science there-withal asked him what trade hee liued by hee answered that hee was a Marchant whervnto the Ermite added that the arte of a Marchant is to sel his marchādise deer and to buy good cheape yf thow then desire quoth hee to make a good market and to buy a treasure incomparable and far beyond all estimation for a litle price behold heauen which is so great and glorious and buy it with thy temporal goods giuing them to the poore for thee loue of God Then thee Marchāt beeing desirous to bee further satisfied asked him againe saying o deere father and my good maister I pray yow tel mee yf so be that you had a scholler whome you loued wel or a sonne whome you deerely affected what arte principallie would you teache him The Ermite answered setting a syde all secrets all artes all experimentes and all sciences in the world other arte would I not
instruct him in then in the arte to dy wel because it excelleth euerie other science thesame being more necessarie more profitable and more worthie then the others as without the which a man cannot purchase paradise nor escape the horrible paynes of hel These other artes do teache to dispute to talke to measure to number to sing and suche like exercises which are all of litle value and only vsed of men whyle they liue in this miserable and transitorie lyfe but the arte to dy wel teacheth thee to get paradise where each science and all kynde of knowledge is to bee found By thee liberal artes thow shalt get wordlie glorie and earthly substance which moste speedely passeth a way but by the arte to dy wel is gotten the glorie of heauen which endureth for euer by this arte is our soule saued and wee haue this life onlie to the end to learne the arte to dy wel To this our lord Iesus Christe doth inuite vs in many places of the gospel as where hee saith Math. 25. Estote parati quia nescitis diem neque horam that is to say Bee ye in a reddines because ye know not the day nor the hower Againe Luc. 12. Estote parati quia qua hora non putatis filius hominis veniet that is Be ye prepared because the sonne of man wil come what hower ye think not To come to this knowlege the saincts and true philosophers haue taken great trauail and paynes because this science alone helpeth more then all the other together In this day and night the holie fathers did exercise themselues and now euerie good religious person and true deuout Christian putteth all his studie to learne to dy wel yea hee is not a true christian neyther can be called a wiseman which doth not procur some meanes to learne this so worthie and so necessarie a science without which none can dy wel nor consequently be saued For as sainct Bernard saith venientem mortem nemo bene excipit nisi qui se ad ipsam dum viueret bonis operibus preparauit that is No man doth wel receyue death but hee that while hee liued did prepare himself for it by good woorkes The passage of death beeing then more perilous then any other thing for as muche as that therein either is lost the soueraigne good and eternal damnation purchased or els the blessed perpetual felicitie is thereby wonne and the euer during payne of hell is thereby auoyded wee ought with all carefulnes and diligence to prepare our selues for that passage in which the whole conclusion and end of all our doings consisteth because hauing made this passage as it requireth with behooful meanes wee become happie for euer whereas contrariwise doing euil wee do foreuer lose the ioyes of paradise If a iudge were to giue senteÌ„ce in a case whereon depended thy whole substaÌ„ce or yf thow weare to yeeld accoÌ„pte of some administratioÌ„ or office of great importance thow wouldest not fynde repose either night or day thow wouldest not sleep one hower soundlie nor eate one morsel of meat with pleasing taste thow wouldest neuer laugh nor vse any recreation vntil such tyme as thow wert freed from that perillous estate and businesse Alas then how great is the ignorance of miserable wordlings which beeing to make this so painful and dangerous a passage wherevpon dependeth all our good do arryue and come thereunto like vnto brute beastes without any preparation at all When an imprisoned malefactor â—ath receaued sentence of death and knoweth hee cannot escape oh how many waylings and how many lameÌ„tings maketh the wretche in that time seeing that assuredly he must foorthwith be put to death In this case are all men liuing found to bee against whome as soone as euer they be borne in this miserable and transitorie lyfe the seuere sentence of death is pronounced And so do wee all stand in this world as the malefactor standeth in prison condemned to death readie to goe vnto execution Of whome as it is said that hee lieth in prison vpon his life so of vs all may it truly bee spoken that wee are in this prison of the world and ly vpon our lyues which beeing considered oh how much ought wee to weep and how much ought wee to be careful and diligent to prepare our selues for death When the marchant had vnderstood all these things being then brought into great perplexitie he said vnto the Ermite o father and maister I harteâ—… desire that you wil vouchsafe to instruct mee further in this so woorthie and necessarie arte of dying wel that I may thereby know by this your charitie that you haue chosen mee for your sonne and disciple and yf in this moste healthful science you haue any secret or worthie point I beseech you for the loue of God before you pas from this our mortal lyf vnto the lyf euerlasting to discouer vnto mee thesame Then the Ermite answered him saying my sonne welbeloued scholler now do I know that our Lord is hee that maketh thee to speak and therefore I wil not denie thee thy request Know thow then that I beeing an hundred yeares old am assured that the end of my lyfe cannot but bee neere wherefore hauing studied for the space of seauentie yeares to learne this science of dying wel It hath pleased almightie God to reueal vnto mee sundry secret especial poynts of thesame the which I wil coÌ„municate and shew vnto thee for the coÌ„moÌ„ good of all them that wil learne to dy wel to the end that by thy meanes they may bee published vnto the world and especialy to such godly and deuout myndes as aboue all other things desire to obteyne through the grace of God the glorie of paradise yf euer then to any sacred sermon thow didest giue attentiue eare instantly then I pray thee that vnto this present discourse thow wilt more then euer bee heedful and attentiue and for the time not to interrupt my speech And this beeing said the Ermite began his discours as followeth THE DIVISION OF HIS NARATION THe doctrine of dying wel conteyneth three chapters and twelue golden rules The first fowre in the first chapter are called rules of health for that whyles wee are in health they teache the meanes to dispose our selues for death The other fowre are called in the second chapter rules of infirmitie which wee ought to obserue for dying wel in our sicknes The fowre last are called in the third chapter rules of extremytie because wee are by them instructed in fowre principal pointes which wee ought to obserue at the last end of our lyf to the end to passe securely the passage of death The first chapter sheweth the long preparation that a man is to make during the tyme of his health The second chapter sheweth the disposition more neerer which a man is to make in the tyme of sicknes The third conteyneth the last preparation which a man is to make euen
a spiritual consolation and to fulfil without offence to God a desire to know such a thing that this is no sinne Notwithstanding hold thow that opinion which moste pleaseth thee so that thow haue the vertue of humilitie ioyned with godly and holy desire The sixt question THE sixt question was whether hee that hath alwayes liued il neuer hath made preparation for death being now at the point of death may at that instant sufficiently prepare himself to dy The Ermite answered saying sonne so long as a man liueth and hath the vse of reason hee may alwayes dispose and prepare himself to dy wel But in truth I say vnto thee that of ten thowsand men that delay it to the last instant their is not one saued This is the iudgement of S. Hierome and S. Augustine and verie wel knowne and manifest to other holy doctors therefore I wil not go about to multiplie wordes in vayne The seuēth question THE seuenth question was whether the deuil do appeare to all those that dy The Ermite answered saying that ordinarily the deuils appeare to all in the end of their lyues as may be proued by the authoritie of diuers holy men The ordinary glosse explicating these woordes of Geneses Tu insidiaberis calcaneo eius that is Genes 3. Thow shalt ly in wayt euen at his heel saith that this is to be vnderstood to be at the end of mannes lyf To the same purpose Ecclesiasticus also saith Sunt spiritus qui ad vindictam creati sunt in tempore consummationis effundunt virtutem suam that is to say their be spirits which were created for reuenge and at the tyme of consumation they do shew their force which authority S. Vincent and other Doctors expound of deuils that appeare at the tyme of death And S. Gregorie saith that the deuil so much the more diligently tempteth a man in the end of his lyfe as he knoweth hee hath lesse tyme to tempt him Thesame S. Gregorie also wryteth that the deuil in the end of lyfe appeereth aswel to the good as the euil yea and that hee durst appeer to Christe himself beeing on the crosse If then this wicked spirit came to Christe on the crosse how much more boldly wil hee appeere to all other yf it be not that some through the spetial grace and priuiledge of almighty God be exempted from such a diuelish apparition as wee read of our blessed Ladie in some bookes of smalle authoritie that she asked and obtayned of her blessed sonne that at her death she should not see any wicked spirit or deuil The eight question THE eight question was whether our Sauiour Christe discend corporally to the particuler iudgment of all those that dy The Ermite answered that to some it seemeth hee doth and they confirme their opinion with authoritie of holy scripture in the actes of the Apostles where it is said of our Lord. Act. 10. Ipse est qui constitutus est à Deo iudex viuorum mortuorum that is to say it is hee that is appoynted of God the iudge of the quick and the dead And in S. Iohn the 5. Chap. it is written Pater omne iudicium dedit filio that is to say God the father gaue all iudgement to his sonne But to some other this opinion seemeth not credible because it happeneth that in one and the self same tyme diuers persons dy in diuers places and it is not conuenable that Christes humanitie in one instant should bee to this end in so many places and therefore they say our blessed Sauiour doth not discend personally to giue this particuler iudgmēt but rather committeth that office to the good Angel that is giuen vs for our gard giuing him authoritie as iudge to end and execute the proces and sentences to him appoynted and the Angel so made iudge condemneth or absolueth the soule according to iustice and after guideth it to the place assigned eyther in heauen in hell or in purgatorie according as it hath deserued But to the vniuersal iudgment our blessed Sauiour himself wil discend and iudge the quick and the dead And in this sence they expound the authoritie before aleaged The nynth question THE nynth question was whether our Sauiour Christe appeare at the hower of death generallie to all men good and il The Ermite answered that some great doctors haue said that hee dothe and to approue thesame they alleage the authoritie of Pope Innocent the third in the second book de conditione vilitatis humane that is of the misery of man where it is said that all men aswel good as bad do see Iesus Christe before the soule go out of the bodie The good to their great consolation and the euil to their great confusion to the end that by such apparance they may be ashamed to haue lost through their negligence the precious fruit of their redemption And albeit this bee the opinion of very famous doctors yet do I not fynde it sufficiently confirmed by authority of holy scripture for this reason there are others that do not concur in this opinion though yet very Godly and deuout About this matter then I wil make none other resolution but that I hold for certayne that our benigne and mercyful redeemer appeareth to many in the end of their lyues as by innumerable examples and approued histories it may be verefyed but that hee appeareth to all vniuersally I neyther affirme nor deny The tenth question THE tenth was whether the particuler iudgement bee immediatly after the soule is gon out of the bodie or that there bee some space of tyme before the sentence of the said iudgement be giuen The Ermite answered that ordinarilie without delay after the soule be separated from the bodie it receyueth his particuler iudgment with the sentence of damnation or saluation according to the condition of his merits But verie trew it is that Omnis regula patitur exceptionem euery rule suffereth exception Therefore some soules after their separation attend a good space before their particuler iudgement be giuen as wee read of a famous Doctor of Paris who was reputed a man of holy lyfe but beeing dead whyles they made his funeralles in the Churche hee lifted vp his head as he lay on the beere in the presence of many people a great nūber of maisters Doctors in diuinitie and diuers schollers and said Ad iudiciam vocatus sum that is I am called to iudgement and then layd himself down againe wherevpō it was ordayned that hee should not be buried vntil the next day and so the day following hee did the like for lifting vp his head againe hee said Iudicatus sum I am iudged And there vpon his burial was deferred til the third day when as hee in lyke manner as twyce before lifting vp his head said aloud Condemnatus sum I am condemned whereby it is manifest that this particuler iudgement continued for the space