begin to droope to doubt and dread thou shalt beginne to lifte vp thy head be cause the wished day of thy redemption approacheth neare Lifte vp th◠minde a little said S. Hierome vnto th◠virgin Eustochia out of the dungeon o◠this corrupt bodie and setling thy self before the gate of the heauenly tabernacle scan and consider well the mer◠of this thy present distresse and whatglorious day that day shall be vnto thée wherin the virgin Mary garded with a troope of pure virgins shall be prest to receiue welcome thee and wherin thy Lord spouse himselfe with all his holy Saints shall méete thée saying Can. 2. Come away and follow me quickly my loue my delight my doue for now the wofull winter is passed the sharp showres are ceased the tempests whirlwindes are appeased and here spring vp swéete fragrant flowers in this lande of behest This shall be then the delight consolation that thy soule shall receiue before the high throne of that most blessed trinitie before the angels but specially by him to whose custodie thou were earst committed whē these all the rest shall declare the sundry tribulations the trauels persecutions that thou hast suffered for the loue of Christ S. Luke sheweth Act. 9. that when the charitable Tabita deceased all the widowes poore people besought the apostle Peter in her behalf shewing him their garmēts which she had made the Apostle being moued thereat praied vnto God instantly for so mercifull a woman whereby shee was restored againe to life What a singular comfort shalt thou then perceiue in thy soule when those blessed spirits shall take thée and set thée before the diuine consistorie of God publishing thy deserts and reciting orderly thy almes thy prayers thy fasting the integrity of thy life thy susteining of wrong thy patience in affliction and temperance in delights with all thy other vertues and good déeds whatsoeuer O what delectation shalt thou then reape of euery good action here atchieued howe shall the force and valure of vertue bee manifested vnto thée There humble obedience shall triumph with victorie There vertue shal be rewarded and the wel disposed shall be regarded according to theyr desert Besides this what inward and secret solace shal that be vnto thée when thou séeing thy selfe arriued in so assured an harbour shalt haue regard towards the course of thy dangerous nauigation passed and shalt sée the troubles and torments wherein thou liuedst earst she wyles the ambushes of the enemy the cruell incurtions of théeues which new thou hast escaped There it is where resoundeth this song of the Prophet Psal 93. Were it not that the Lord was mindfull of mée my soule should haue hardly auoyded the infernall habitation But specially when thou shalt perceiue how in this worlde offences are multiplied how daily so many soules descend to hell and damnation how among such a multitude of castawayes God would associate thée into the fellowship of his chosen people which shall be the inheritours of such a renowmed kingdome But that which passeth al this is to sée the solemne feasts and tryumphes which there are helde day by day for the welcome of their newe brothers who hauing ouercome the world finished and performed the race of their pilgrimage come to receiue the crowne of eternitie O what ioy shall it be to behold the accomplishment of that which doo appertaine to the setting vp and new erection of the walles of the noble Hierusalem with what swéete embracing's and cullings shall they be welcomed by all the celestiall court séeing them come laden and lugged with the spoiles of the vanquished foe There they shall enter with the victorious barons with those worthy women which haue conquered the world togither with theyr brickle nature There likewise the vncorrupt virgins murthered and martyred for their spouse sake Christ Iesu shall enter with double triumph that is with conquest of the flesh and of the worlds adorned and crowned with Garlandes fraught with roses and freshe gréene flowers all about their heads In like maner there litle boyes and gyrles mastering their tender yeares with discretion and vertue shall come in to receiue the hyre and guerdon of their integritie Where they shall finde theyr fréendes knowe their ministers recognise theyr parents and culling and kissing them affectionately shall heare the glad tydings to bee made possessors of eternall felicitie O how then shall the fruite of bertue taste deliciously although in times past the roote thereof séemed sowre and vnsauery Swéete is the shadowe after noone the fountaine is pleasaunt to the thirsty wearied waifaring man sléepe and rest yéelde great comfort to him that hath trudged and toiled all day but farre greater contentatiō peace bringeth to the saints after their weary war securitie after perils and perpetuall repose after infinit trauailes The broyle of battaile is now appeased to be armed it néedeth not neither on the right fide nor on the lest The children of Israel were armed when they went to the land of promise but after they had conquered the countrey they laide aside their weapons and euery of them forgetting quite the feare and trouble of warre they all were lodged in the harbor of rest and quietnesse and enioyed the fruition of long desired peace There may the eyes wearied with lōg watching receiue their quiet sléepes Now may the subtil serpent attending to entrap vs come out of his ambush now may the happy Hierom betake him to rest who made the night and day one in lamenting his defaultes and trespasses encountering couragiously the cruell conflicts of our auncient enemie there the horrible armours doo neuer sound of that bloudie beast there is no place forth crooked craftie Serpent there the venomous Basiliske dooth not effende the sight nor his hissing is not heard but the breath and sweete sounde that distils loth from the loue of the holy Ghost here raungeth rounde about Where is clearely discerned the royall magnificence of God himselfe This is the region of rest and securitie scaled aboue all the elements where the dark cloudes and filthie vapours doo not ouerlappe the bright and pure aire What happie things are said of thée O Citie of God happie are they saith Tobias which loue thée Psal 147. and enioy thy peace O my soule extol and magnifie God who hath deliuered Hierusalem his holy city from troubles and vexation Nowe blessed should I be if hereafter in the remnant of my time I might sée the beautie and brightnesse of Hierusalem whose gates shall be of Saphyrs and of pollished Smaredges the circuite of whose wall shall be of pearle and precious stone the stréetes shall be of white marble interlaced with pure Alabaster and euery place resoundeth with Alleluia and voices of gratulation O mery swéete velectable counsaile O high renowmed glory O blessed societie who shal be those happie Christians picked or sorted out to dwell in thée It seemeth a hard thing to desire
of Angels Therefore if the righteous for their secret pride or negligence and ingratitude became so vnmiâ—d full of God after they had béene his dutifull Seruaunts so many yeares What doest thou looke for hauing framed thy life to no other trade then to accumulate one sinne vppon an other Therefore whosocuer we sée to liue in this sort as wee haue tolde of before shall it not bee expedient that hee shoulde nowe at the length cease to fill vppe the measure of his iniquities and to assay to please God and to deliuer his soule from bondage should it not suffise him that he hath liued so leaudlie till this houre addicting himselfe wholy to the worlde the flesh and the diuell and hereafter to imploy himselfe and to runne out the remnant of his race 〈◊〉 the homage and honour of God is it not néedefull after so long time and so many iniuries committed against his Diuine Masestie to feare his seuere instice which the more patiently it beareth with the wicked so much the more rigorously is reuenged vppon them in the ende shall it not be reason that hee should bee afraid to lye so long swallowed vppe in the gulfe of sinne depriued of the grace of God and to haue so strong an enemie as is hee who of a deare father through his deserts is become his adnersarie and his iudge Shall it not bée reason to dread least the force of long vse bee turned into nature and habitte making of vice necessitie How should hee not feare by little and little to fall into a reprobate sence whereunto when a man is come hee doth not any thing that is acceptable in the sight of almightie God The Patriarke Iacob said to his father in lawe Labin Fourtéene yeares are passed since I haue scrued thée and haue had charge of thy businesse and now it is time that I attend vppon mine owne affaires and that I begin to prouide for mine owne house Wherefore I pray thée sith thou hast bin so long not a retayner but a daylie waiter to the worlde not letting slip any oportunitie of this life which was eyther appendaunt to thy pleasures or agréeing to thy appetites shall it not to be reasonable for thée nowe at the length to get some commoditie for the soule and for the bertering of thy estate in the other life certainly there is nothing more short and vnsure then the life of man Why then thou prouiding so carefully all necessaries for that which is so momentall and transitory dost not likewise make some prouision for that which endureth for euer The Argument A man ought to remember himselfe and that he is a Christian and that he beleeue firmely all that he is taught by his faith which should mooue him eyther through loue or feare All things inuite him to the loue and seruice of God among which hee should acquire wisedome and harken to the words of Christ who fixed himselfe to the crosse for our redemption CHAP. XIIII NOw therfore if it be true as I haue said I beséech thée deare brother and charge thée by the precious blood of Christ that thou remember thy selfe that thou art a Christian and that thou take all that which our faith teacheth for vnfeined veritie which plainly prooueth vnto thée that besides other things thou hast a iudge to whose eye lyeth open all the actions and moments of thy life who will come at a day vnwares wherin he will exact an account of thée euen of euery idle worde This faith telleth shée farther that a man at his death is not quite extinguished because after this mortall life succéedeth an other which lasteth eternally and shat mens foules doo not perish with their bodies but that the bodies resting and raked vp in their graues the soules yet enter into a newe Kingdome and into an other new world where such condition and company shal be assigned vnto them as their manner and behauiour hath bin in this life Héere vnto this faith adioyneth yet more that as the rewarde of vertue so the scourge of vice is so infinit that although the whole worlde were full of bookes and euery creature were a Scriuener the writers woulde sooner dye and the world be at an ende before it could bee knowne and treated of particularly that which each of these doth containe in it selfe This faith also informeth thée that our debt and dutie is so great through our benefites receiued of God that though the number of a mans yeares did surpasse the sandes of the seas yet they should be too fewe to acquite himselfe in his seruice towards him The same faith affirmeth that vertue is of such passing valour that all the treasures of the worlde and all that a mans heart can desire may in no respect be coÌ„pared the reunto Wherfore if such and so great things doo exhort vs to vertue why be there so fewe which imbrace it and endeuour themselues to attaine it If men may bee mooued with any aduauntage or interest what greater gaine is there what life more perdurable If with feare what sharper punishments what paint more permanent If with the bonds of bountious liberalitie what greater debt haue wee then that which we owe vnto God of whom wee haue receiued all things If the dread of dangers may stirre vs what greater perill can there bee then that of death whose comming is so vncertaine whose account so straight If peace if libertie if the gifts of the holy Ghost and the solace of a sugred life be desired of all men it appeareth euidently that all these things are founde more readilie in that life which is lead by vertue and reason then in that which is ruled by rage and passions for that a man is a reasonable creature and not a beast But if all this bee not regarded shall it not bee sufficient that for the maintenaunce of veriue GOD descended from Heauen to the earth and was made man who hauing created the world in six dais imployed thirtie and thrée yeares in this worke wherein hee also spent his bloud and life God dyed to slay sinne yet for all this wee endeuour to reuiue in our hearts those whom God would destroy with his owne death What should I say more for all reasons are sufficient to promote this matter or to shewe it as it is Fo I say not respecting the crosse onely but which way soeuer we turne our eyes we shall finde that all things doo cry and cal vs to this commoditie sith there is no creature in the world if hee bee well noted but doth inuite vs to the loue and seruice of our supernall Lord in such sort that looke howe many creatures there be in the world so many preachers there are so many bookes so many voyces which doo stirre vs therevnto Wherefore howe is it possible that so many shriking sounds as héere thou hearest so many promises thundring threats can beare no parte to perswade thée thereunto What should God or could
which yéeldeth his fruite in due and conuenient time whiche neuer léeseth his verdure and all that hée doeth shall succéed prosperously My brother these are the voyces the drums and trumpets wherewith Gods eternall wisedome calleth sinners vnto him if thou wilt harken to this harmenie and not lysten to the Syren songes of the subtil Serpent turne thy selfe vnto to God and amende thy life spéedily to the which ende this Treatise is addressed But how this is to be performed shal be shewed in the next volume The ende of the Conuersion of a Sinner Sundrie profitable Contemplations gathered by the saide Author The Argument A Christian man which couetteth to come vnto God must make his enterance through the gate of compunction generally confessing all his offences Wherevnto it shall auaile him much to exercise himselfe euery day in certaine Prayers and godlie Meditations and in the considerations of death and of Gods seuere iudgement CHAP. I. HE therefore that is departed out of Egypt and beginneth to march towards the land of promise hee that like vnto the loste sonne reremembreth himselfe and openeth his eyes to behold the beames of glittering vertue and knoweth the perplexitie wherein hée is plunged and the fraude of this fraile life and desireth to returne to the plenteous repastes of his fathers house his first passage must be through the straights of penance where it behoueth him ruthfully to record in his minde the former ryots and excesses and firmely to purpose the amendment of them And for that this discussion and examination ought to bee as the Prophet sayth with affliction and remorce of conscience it is the part of the penitent at that time to vse al such praiers ronsiderations as by any meanes may stir him to teares and dolour To the which auaileth much the consideration of death of Gods finall iudgement of the paines of hell and of the passion of Christ suffered for the satisfaction of our sinnes Sith it is apparant that if there had bin no defects on our side there had héene no cause of his gréeuous annoy These and such like considerations may mooue vs to sorrow and to the detestation of sin which is the chéefest part of repentance In the which we should exercise our selues not onely the space of fiue or sixe dayes but the greatest part of our life Wherein many penitents are deceiued who béeing most diligent in scouring their conscience and scanning their faultes are quite carelesse in bewayling of them whereas both the one and the other are most necessarie but chéefly the last And I thinke verily that the cause why so many faynte in the following of vertue and in long time cannot attaine to perfection and sometime to surcease their iourney begunne is because they haue not layde a sure foundation nor haue not planted the rootes déepe inough in this exercise For this béeing the piller of all the building when the foundation it selfe is féeble the worke cannot bee firme which is erected vppon it To the which ende it is very necessarie to assigne certaine dayes many or sewe as the holy ghost shall direct vs wherein as I haue sayde before we may exercise our selues in all such prayers and meditations as maye induce vs to this sorrowe For the plainer declaration of this doctrine I minde to impart vnto you a fewe of the foresaid considerations which may serue not onely to stirre vs to be sory for our sinnes and to the hatred thereof but also to allure vs to the loue of vertue and to the feare of God and to the contempt of the world for al this is néedfull to nouices and beginners The Argument He that list to encline his heart to the hatred of sinne and to the dread of God must conuey himselfe into some couert corner and must bend and imploy his minde to the contemplation of the heauenly blisse and the iniquities which abound here in earth CHAP. II. VVHosoeuer then will haue his heart setled hereupon and wil fasten this firmly in his mind must euery day once or twise take a time most quiet conuenient for that purpose and sequestring himselfe into a secret place al other earthly thoughts and vain imaginations being laid apart arming himselfe first with the shield of faith humbly crauing the grace of the holy spirit to assist him in this behalfe assuming to himselfe the minde of that deuout Publican which durst not to lift vp his eyes towards Heauen for the confusion and horrour of his offences Let him repeate some generall confession or else the Psalme Miserere mei deus with so great deuotion as he can deuise and suddenly let him apply his minde to the considerations following that by this meanes he may attain the feare of God through the sorrow the dread and detestation of sinne The Argument In the first cōsideration a christian ought to runne ouer the multitude of the mortal offences that he hath committed CHAP. III. THe first sting that may stirre vs to the woe and hatred of our iniquities is to consider the infinit number of them and to fixe them before our eyes as a terrible troupe of armed Souldiers that the soule may be appalled with so hidcous a spectacle Runne ouer therefore bréefely all the commaundements of God through all the capitall sinnes through all the sences the powers and parts as well of thy body as of thy soule and thou shalt perceiue that there is scarce any commandement which thou hast not transgressed nor any sinne wherein thou haste not sunke nor any sence externall or internall which thou haste not abused nor any benefite which thou haste imployed to that ende for which it was giuen thée But as the Prophet sayth God hath giuen thée his golde and siluer and therewith thou haste serued Baal Looke therefore into thy selfe throughly and viewe the race of thy life passed and thou shalt sée a huge webbe fraught full of deceit of trecherie of pride of lyes of slouth of enuie of couetousnesse of hatred of entisements of blasphemie of malice and of a thousand other manners of mischiefes and thou shalt finde that like a brutish beast in all and euery of these thou haste followed and fulfilled thy sensuall delights without regarde of the lawe of iustice or reason and thou shalt perceiue that thou hast liued as a Gentile or Pagan altogither which neuer knewe God or as though thou so beleeuest that there were no God no death no iudgement no paine no blisse nor any thing else to be thought but euen to be borne and to dye He then that hath liued this many yeares so disorderly shall it not be reason that he imploy the fewe dayes that are remayning of his life in bewayling his former yeares fondly consumed and to féele sensibly the ruine and decay of the powers of his soule and the time that hee might hane gayned in this while which hee shall not get hereafter For time lost can neuer be recouered Throw therefore thy selfe
beloued sonne and all the sorrowe and torments that he hath suffered for me Therefore most mercifull father for the feruent loue and petitions of thy deare sonne forgiue the faults of thy histoyall vassall regarde the noble sacrifice offered by thy sonne and race out of thy remembraunce the disobedience of thy leaud seruaunt For the raunsome that he hath payde for my deliuerie surpasseth farre any my debts or trespasses whatsoeuer Oh that it would please thée to put in a payre of balance my leaudnesse thy liberalitie my wickednesse and thy woundes no doubt the peise of them would bee more weightie a great deale For what guilt can bee so gréeuous for which such sorrowe cannot satisfie sufficiently which cannot bee washed away with such affliction with so many teares and with such obedience and humilitie with such inuincible patience and aboue all with such immeasurable loue What crime can be so enormous which may not bee cleansed with that bloudie sweat yea whole flouds of blood What sinne is there so execrable which is not cured by Christes death Oh heauenly Father I offer here vnto thée the selfe-same my Sauiour and Redéemer Iesus Christ thy sonne beloued most tenderly His sharpe sorrowes his agonies incomprchensible the which thou knowest exactly to be suffered for my defects and in stead of the contrition which I ought to haue for them I offer vnto thee his bloudie sweat in stead of my teares which I cannot shed because of the adamanticall harnesse of my hart I offer vnto thée his humble and feruēt praiers for all my slouths and negligences For ende I offer vnto thée all his loathsome labours and vertuous exercises his austere life and all that he hath wrought therein and the bitter tormēts that he did abide as a worthie sacrifice of thy diuine glorie for all the iniquities wherewith my whole life I haue offended thée and for the good things which I haue omitted and left vndone Which liuest and raignest for euer and euer Amen The Argument In the sixt consideration a man should thinke vpon death the last iudgement and bell paines And how greeuous will be the separation of the soule from the bodie by meanes of death which by reason of diuers accidents occurring then togither is the very receit of excessiue sorrows anxieties CHAP. VIII TO these considerations I wil adde other thrée out of Sarasinus of Fermus that is death iudgement and she paines of hel which are a very necesry appendix to all that we haue treated of before The same Doctor telleth vs that to him that is newly conuerted nothing is more behouefull and requisite then the meditation of death both for that it repelleth vaine delightes as also because the practise thereof is of such facilitie as the whiche we daily viewe with our eyes and féele with our hands yea we may rather say that our surest portion is with death and that we dye continually hauing a bodie so corruptible that euery houre altereth chaungeth his shape and neuer resteth in one estate Like vnto a riuer that passeth with a furious and headlong course wherof no part can be marked throughly for it running swiftly whilest ye note one waue straight it is not the same that ye looked vppon before but is turned into another Many deuout considerations may be had cōcerning death which the matter it selfe yéeldeth sufficiently to him that aduisedly deliberateth herevpon Of which minding to collect a fewe I doo affirme that if thou intende to reforme thy life when thou risest in the morning perswade thy selfe so much as thou maiest that the same will bee the last day of thy life and dispose of thy soule and worldly affaires in suche sort as though in verie déede thou shouldest not liue one houre longer and thinke not that thou deceiuest thy selfe in so dooing for if death may attache thée euery day thou shouldest likewise daily attende his comming And farther I say vnto thée that no one day of thy life shall passe without many negligences vnlesse thou doest enforce thy selfe to beléeue that euery of them is the laste of thy life Thinke also vppon the dreadfull stroke of Death which because it is so vncertaine ought to bee feared continually And consider to howe many perilles of death we are subiected and thou shalt finde that they are innumerable as well within the bodie as without in so muche that if thou looke warily about thée thou shalt perceiue Death to be paynted in euery place and businesse Thinke also what pressures and agonies shall assault thée at the poynte of death To this consideration it shall assist thée much to beholde sometimes a man dying Marke the accidents and painefull passions of that houre howe his bodie lyeth forsaken of naturall heats his sences without force or moouing as though it were a very stone the extremities and vttermost parts waxe colds the face is turned into the colour of leade the bowles of the eyes dipped in the mouth full of fome the tongue swollen the necke winding to euery side Then marke also howe the brest beateth and panteth and is readie to burst asunder with paine the lippes waxe blewe the téethe become dumbe Finally all the bodie dissoluing it selfe and being forsaken of the soule with sorrowe inestimable the man resteth a lumpe of earth Thou perceiuing and viewing well such perplexities in other maiest likewise represent the same spectacle in thy selfe imagining that the Phisttians haue nowe giuen thée ouer as knowing the maladie to bee incurable thy friendes and kinsfolkes about thy bedde whose presence shal augment the griefe of thy departure O how dreadfull shall that separation be where welth shall not asswage thy woe but shall rather plunge thée déeper in the gulfe of calamities neyther shall honours assist thée yea thou shalt leaue them with like vehement smart as thou gottest them with gréedie desire and for thy wonted delights shalt reape the fruites of a gnawing conscience What then wilt thou doo béeing brought to this poynt what counsell wilt thou then take To go out of thy bodie will be intollerable to abide there impossible to deferre thy departure cannot be graunted thée neither maiest thou returne to thy sensuall delightes which nowe are senslesse togither but knowing thy selfe and scanning them more narrowly shalt bee abashed at thine owne brutish behauiour and if it were possible wouldest flie from thy selfe Shalt sée thy selfe beset with horrible monsters that is with thine owne sinnes of whom whither soeuer thou wandrest thou shalt be pursued and hedged in all that is passed shall séeme vnto thée as the twinkling of an eye and shalt know the time to come to be infinite Then mayest thou well say with the Prophet The dolours and daungers of death hath inclosed mée rounde about and the furie of hell hath assaulted mée By this minding and meditation of death thou shalt acquire many great commodities First thou shalt be stirred and incensed to the seruice of God the feare of
thou shalt die after which death because thou art a Christiā be sure thou shalt giue vp a reckoning of thy life forepassed Of this the faith which we professe wil not permit vs to doubt that other dayly experience doth confirme assuredly so that none can shunne or escape the one nor the other Be he Pope Prince or Emperour there shall come a time wherein eyther hee shall sée bright day continually or vgly night incessantly That time shall come without al doubt yet thou knowest not when whether it will be to day or to morrow In what time thou now readest this writing whole and sounde in all thy sences and members measuring the vayes of thy life according to thy businesse and delights shalt sée thy selfe in a bedde with a candle in thy hand attending the dint of death and sentence pronounced against humaine kinde which by no manner suite may bee released There shall be presented vnto thée the depriuation of all earthly delights the insupportable payne and passion of death the ende and last Pageant of thy life the horrour of thy graue the cursed condition of thy body allotted to be deuoured of woormes But the wretched estate of the soule will bee much more gréeuous vnto thée which béeing yet in the body knoweth not after an houre or two where his habitation shall be assigned Then in a moment thou shalt sée thy selfe sette before the tribunall seate of God almightie blaming and accusing vnto him thine owne naughtie life There thou shalt clearely discerne she foule enormious crimes whereof thou art guiltie and shall curse ten thousand times the day in which thou diddest transgresse the commaundements of God and the delight which stirred thée thereunto Then shalt thou meruaile at thy selfe how for so brickle pleasures as are those which thou imbrasedst diddest hazard thy selfe to endure perpetuall torments whereof thou now beginnest to haue a taste and smack for that the ioyes béeing now quite vanished away and the doome due vnto thée approaching neare that slender substance which was in them loosing his essence and beeing seemeth that it was nothing at all But the remorse and sting wherwith they presently prick and presse thy conscience appeareth to bée of inestimable force and efficacie Perceiuing therefore how for such transitorie trifles thou art at poynt to be bereaued of so incomparable felicitie béeing abashed thereat considerest thine owne distresse for that thou hauing runne out thy race there resteth no longer continuance of life nor leysure of repentance neither thy worldly fréendes neither the Idols to whom thou hast auowed the whole trauaile and terme of thy life can assist or succour thée at all yea those things which earst thou louedst most tenderly will be héere vnto thee the cause of grétest gréefe Tell me I pray thée when thou shalt sée thy selfe plunged in this perplexitie whither wilt thou turne what wilt thou doo to whom wilt thou crye To go backe it is impossible so goe forwarde intollerable to remaine as thou art thou mayest not what then wilt thou doo Then sayth God by the mouth of the Prophet the Sun shall not bee séene of the vngodly in the midday and I will bring darknesse vppon them in the bright day and I will conuert their pleasaunt sports to bitter plaints their dauncing and dallying to dolour and deadly dread Oh what wordes bee these Ezech. 32 The Sunne shall go downe in the midday because she huge heape of sinne then ouerwhelming the wicked which séeing by the iust iudgement of God the course of their life and time of repentance to b◠abridged many of them are so appalled with feare that they fall to flat dispayre of the mildenesse and mercy of GOD. And abyding yet in the middest of the day for so much as is remaynent of their mortall life which is the very time to merit or not to merit it séemeth vnto them that they haue no longer respect to doo good or euill but are vtterly excluded of both verily the passion of feare is of great force and vehemencie which maketh things that bee farre from vs séeme to bee present and of a trifle rayseth a tragedie If the consideration of this causeth them sometime to quake a little what then shall the feare of their vndoubted and iust ieopardie cause them to doo They béeing yet in this life beginne to suffer sensibly the gréefe and reproach of the Reprobate and in one very moment are both quick and dead For bewayling the present pleasures which they must forsake beginne to séele the future miserie which so much they feare They holde them most happie which tarry here behinde whereby they are prouoked to enuie which greatly augmenteth their griese To those the Sunne goeth downe at noone dayes for so much as which way soeuer they caste theyr eyes they sée themselues debarred on euery side from accesse to Heauen and that no beame or sparke of comfort appeareth vnto them for if they regarde the bountie of God they sée how sore they haue offended him if they behold his iustice they see him in a manner rigorously to rush vppon them for that hitherto the time and tide hath béene at their becke but now Gods turne is at hande If they looke backe to their life forepassed they sée what accusations groweth therof If to the time present they sée themselues to pecke ouer the pearch by péecemeale If they looke forwarde a little further they beholde the Iudge attending for their accounts Alasse what shall the séely wretches doo béeing atteinted with so many trespasses and affrighted with such furious feares at once For this cause the Prophet said that the bright day shall be turned into darkenesse thereby to giue vs notice that those things whereof the wicked are wont to take their greatest consolation should then be vnto them the cheefest cause of their discomfort It is a good thing I graunt for a man to sée his sonnes his friendes his house his worldly workes and all that he loueth besides but then this chearefull light shall bee altogither conuerted to profound darknesse for that all these things shall heape more heauinesse and shall become most bitter persecuters of their affectioned louers For as by nature and common custome we take no small delight in the present possession of those thinges which we loue and like well So likewise the losse thereof bringeth excessiue gréefe Therefore let the swéete children depart out of their fathers sight when hée lyeth at poynt of death and lette the mother also absent her selfe that shee may not giue and receiue by her presence so many sharpe assaults of sorrowe And his departure béeing into so far countries his iourney through so straunge and vnknowne waies the pinching smart which hee abideth will not permit him to haue confidence in any thing neyther will graunt him to take his leaue of his fréends If thou standest now vppon the same termes I spake of thou shalt well perceiue I haue not swarued from the truth
did euer hurt the man that did them good Saint Ambrose writeth that a dogge all one night howled and bewayled his maister which was slaine by his enemie whither repairing many the next morning to view the dead corpes amongst whom the murtherer also made his appearance whome so soone as the dog beheld furiously ranne vpon him in such wise that the malefactour was detected thereby Wherefore if a dogge for a péece of bread did shewe such loyall loue to his maister howe canst thou become so vngratefull to suffer thy selfe in the lawe of reason and humanitie to be inferiour to a dogge If that beast was wroth against him that had slaine his maister what wilte not thou bee wroth against them that haue killed thy Lorde and Soueraigne and who are those that haue killed him but only thy offences these are euen they that tooke him that bounde him that whipped him that nayled him to the Crosse For all the torments had not bene sufficient for this exployt had they not bene assisted by thine offences Wherfore then doest thou not waxe wood against these so cruell murderers which haue bereaued thy Lord of his life Wherefore séeing him dead in thy sight doth not thy affection increase towards him and thy wrath towards sin which hath killed him knowing that whatsoeuer in this world hee hath said done or suffered was to imprint such an hatred in our hearts against sin that we should detest it vtterly To slay sinne he dyed himselfe and to binde it hand and foote hath suffered himselfe to be bound vpon the crosse Why then wilt thou make frustrate all the labours and paines of Christ Wilt thou run headlong into the thraldome and bondage frō whence Christ hath deliuered thée with the ransome of his precious blood why doest thou not tremble and shiuer at the onely name and sounde of sin now that thou hast séene the extremities that Christ vsed in the remoouing thereof what could GOD doo more to restraine vs from sinne then to set himself before vs bowed pitifully vpon a crosse who durst displease God if hee saw heauen and earth open before him yet much more it is to sée God stretcht vppon a crosse then all this Wherfore whosoeuer is not stirred with this motiue there is nothing in the wide world whereby he may be reduced from the fonde and perillous iourney wherein he is entred The Argument God doth not suffer those to want any thing necessarie to this world which bee righteous and do keepe his cōmandements but doth comfort them with his graces and gifts infinitly as well temporall as spiritual present as those to come Whereof the vngodly haue exceeding great scarcitie for that noble vertue is euermore associated with all good things and contrariwise vice with mischiefes and miseries CHAP. VII BUt peraduenture thou wilt say that all these things before treated of are right iust as well the good things as the evil yet desirest to sée some present motine which should serue to eleuate thy heart fithe the thinges obiected to our daily viewe doo moue vs more forcibly Of these things also we will giue thée thy glut and thou shalt haue thy sacietie of that thou desirest For admit our Lord had kept the best wine and meate fill the ende of the banket yet for all this he will not that his seruants should faints with famine by the way for he knoweth very well if they should be so scanted they cannot continue in their iourney Wherefore he said vnto Abraham Feare not O Abraham for I am thy defendour and thy rewarde shall be great By these words two things are promised one in this present life as he was his defendour in all things perteyning therevnto the other in the life to come which is the guerdon reserued for him But howe great the first promise is and howe many swéete solaces it conteyneth no man knoweth but he that hath read the Scriptures diligently which inculketh and repeateth nothing more then the singular prerogatiues which our Lorde hath promised to his seruaunts in this life Reade the holy Psalme of the Prophet Psal 25. Psal 91. Psal 18. Dominus regit me Reade Qui habitat in adintorio Regarde with thy vnderstanding Diligam te domine fortitudo mea reade the benedictions and the curses of Deuteronomium finally reade the new and old Testament and thou shalt sée apparantly what fauour and friendship is promised to the iust and righteous in this life Heare the verdit of Salomon in his Prouerbes vpon this matter Blessed is the man that hath found wisedome for it auayleth more to-possesse that then all the heapes of golde and siluer be it neuer so fine and precious it is of greater price then all the riches of the world and all that can be wished for and desired in the heart of man is nothing comparable therevnto The length of his daies are in his right hand and in his left are riches and glorie his wayes are faire and his pathes peaceable and to all them that obtaine it and to euery one that with perseueraunce shall enioy it shall be happie Marke then my sonne the constitutions and counsailes of God for this shall be likings and life to thy soule Then shalt thou take thy iourney voyde of care and thy feete shall not fayle thée if thou sléepe thou shalt not be affrighted and if thou betake thée to rest thou shalt haue a quiet repose This deare brother is the solace and quietnesse that the righteous haue in their wayes but consider howe much the wayes of the wicked differeth from this by the sentence of the Scriptures vnhappinesse and lucklesse chaunce is euer in their way neyther know they what it is to tread the steps of peace and tranquilitie And againe Ecclesiastick sayth The path of the vniust is ful of lets and obstacles and at the ende of their iourney for an harbour is addressed for them hell darkenesse and paine Doth it séeme now good vnto thée to diuert from the way of God to follow the way of the world béeing so contrary each to other not onely in the and but also in the midway and at euery step Which then is the greater inconuenience to endeuour through one torment to get another torment or else with one repose to atchieue an other repose But that thou mayest discerne more clearely the manifolde benefites which presently doo accompanie this good thing bee attentiue to the promise that GOD himselfe made to the Prophet Esay to the obseruers of his commaundements in these woordes according to the intent of diuers Interpreters When thou shalt be sayth hée such and such as I haue willed thée to be vnwares shall come vpon thée the dawne of bright day that is the light of iustice which shall cast out and bannish quite the dryerie darknesse of thy errours and defaultes and shalt quickely knowe true health and the equitie of thy well dooings shall stande before thée as a burning lampe and the glory
of our Lord shall enuiron thée on euery side that thou mayest be honoured in the sight of God and men Then shalt thou call vpon the name of our Lorde and he will heare thée because thou louedst him and shall say vnto thée behold me here prest to accomplish whatsoeuer thou canst aske Then in the middest and déepe darkenesse of the tribulation and distresse of this life the comfortable beames of diuine fauour shall shine vpon thée and thy tribulation shall be as the middest of the day for that our Lord had ordeyned that thy miseries themselues and thy transgressions passed should accumulat vnto thée greater felicitie presenting alwayes to thy minde assured peace and firme tranquilitie And in the time of scarcitie and famine he shall féede thee full and shall supply thy wantes aboundauntly and thy bones shall be deliuered from death and from the flames of eternall fire and thou shalt be like vnto a moyst garden and as a fountaine which runneth incessantly and in thée that shall be accomplished which many yeares hath bene vnfinished to the ende thou maiest stand vpon a sure foundation from generation to generation and if thou wilt endeuour to celebrate my festiuall daies not contriuing them in foolish delightes nor in preferring thy will before mine obseruing carefully my will and behest in this voyage then will I create thée a Lord and will giue thée such solaces as shall farre surpasse all pleasures of the worlde And I will exalt thée aboue the highest turrets of the earth to a most blessed state of life wherevnto neither fortune nor humaine nature can adde or detract ought at all And after all this I wil enstal thée into the precious inheritaunce that I promised to Iacob thy father which is the benediction of glorie because the mouth of God hath spoken it These are the rewards which God promised to his seruantes of which although some are yet to come notwithstanding many of them pertaine to this present life As is that new light and heauenly brightnesse that abundance of all things that assured trust in GOD that diuine assistance to al petitions and demands that peace and securitie of conscience that diuine prouidence and protection that flourishing Gardein which is the deo king and garnishment of grace the fountaine which floweth continually which is the great plentie of all things those supernall ioyes which excéede the capacitie of man that lifting vp of the spirite which cannot be augmented by assistance of humane nature These fauours and prerogatiues promised by God are all the workes of his mercy the influence of his grace the testimonies of his loue the effect of the fatherly prouidence he extendeth to his seruaunts Vpon euery one of these I could say much more then the breuitie of this volume will permit for that euery of them would aske a seuerall Treatise Wherefore the iust shall reioyce of all these good thinges both in this life and in the life to come whereof the vniust shall be vtterly destitute By which meanes marke what oddes is betwixt the one part and the other nowe that these are so fauoured from heauen and those in such distresse and penury for if thou consider aduisedly all things before treated of doest weigh the estate and condition both of the iust and vniust thou shalt finde that the lot of the righteous is in the fauour of God but that of the vngodly in vtter disgrace The estate of the good and of the euill these are his friendes the other his professed foes these enioy the light the other dwell in darknesse these participate in delight with Angels those with dririe swine these are frée indeed and masters of themselues those other the thrals and vassalls of Satan these liue in vnitie those other in deadly discord the trust and testimonie of a false conscience delighteth these and to the other mindes resorteth alwayes the guilt of their filthy facts these with a resolute minde abide the brunt of tribulation in their accustomed place those other as light chaffe are repelled by the winde these depende vpon the anker of hope those other haue no stay to leane vnto being obiected to euery chaunce and chaunge of fickle fortune the prayers of these are acceptable to the eares of the Lord the other petitions are odious and execrable The death of these is quiet and glorious with diuine honour and that of the others troublesome defamed fraught with a thousand feares Finally these liue as children vnder the guard and gouernment of God they sléepe securely vnder the winges and shadow of his prouidence but the others excluded from this diuine protection wander too and fro as scattered beasts without head or guide thrust out to apparant perils and alaroms of fortune Then if such and so excellent perfections doo accompany vertue what restraynt can there be why thou shouldest not imbrace so soueraigne a thing what canst thou alleage for thy excuse herein To wrangle and say this is not true cannot extenuate thy guilt séeing thou seest howe it is founded vppon the infallible word of God and testimonies of the scripture To say these perfections are of small price auayleth not for that as I haue before mentioned they excéede all that mans heart can wish for To alleage that thou art thine owne enemie herein and that thou doest not desire these good things is most vntrue for a man is by nature a friende to himselfe and humaine will hath felicitie for his subiect which is the ende of his desires To affirme that thou hast no sence nor taste hereof sufficeth not to acquite thy crime considering thou beléeuest them to be true although thou canst not taste them Originall sinne bereaued thée of thy taste herein but not of thy faith and faith is a testimonie more sure more secure and more doubtlesse then all other experiences witnesses and warrants of the worlde Wherefore then doest thou not preferre this testimonie before all the other allegations Why doest thou not attribute more to fayth then to thine owne sottish séeming and iudgement O that thou wouldest determinately commit thy selfe into the handes and armes of God and trust to him onely how suddenly shouldest thou perceiue in thy selfe the accomplishment of these prophesies shouldest soone see the greatnesse of these treasures shouldest sée how senslesse and blinde all worldlings are which doo neither féele nor fancy this felicitie and shouldest sée with howe iust reason God commaunded vs this kinde of life saying Come vnto me al ye that are laden and weary and I will ease your gréefe Receiue my yoke vppon you and then ye shall finde comfort in your soules for it is full swéete and delectable God is no deceyuer his promises are neither false nor fraudulent Which sith it is so indéed why doest thou flée or faynt why doest thou abandon peace and pleasure Wherefore despisest thou the allurementes and swéete soundes of thy Pastor How darest thou to chase vertue from thée hauing such
downe prostrate before the feete of thy sauionr and with a pēsiue hart say as followeth My sinnes O Lorde are in number about the sands of the Sea I haue spotted my selfe with the filth of euery vice and my offences are so multiplied that I deserue not nor dare not to beholde the Heauens because I haue prouoked thy wrath and haue done euill in thy sight The Argument In the second consideration he should consider that by sinne is lost the grace comfort of the holy Ghost the mutuall amitie the fauour fatherly protection of God the participation of all the good things don in the vniuersall Church and the benefit◠of Christes passion CHAP. IIII. VVEigh farther of howe great treasures vice doth robbe and spoyle thée which is one of the considerations that shoulde most affright a Christian whatsoeuer hee bee examining throughly on the one side what is lost by sinne and on the other side with what facility carelesse men offend daylie For by sinne is lost the grace of the holy Ghost which is the most precious gift that God can bestowe vppon his best beloued in this life It robbeth vs also of the fauour of God which alwayes accompanieth his grace And if it be a great griefe to léese the fauour of an earthly Prince howe muche greater should the griefe be to incurre the displeasure of him that is king of heauen and earth It bereaueth vs of the vertuous flowing from aboue of the giftes of the holy Ghost wherewith the soule is made bright and pure in the sight of God and is armed and animated against the force and violence of the enemie It robbeth the soule of his interest in heauen which procéedeth from the same grace sith that by grace glory is giuen as the Apostle saith Also of the spirit of adoption which maketh vs the sonnes of God and instéed thereof insecteth vs with the furie of rebellion which causeth vs to impugne his holy pleasure whereby wée léese the entertainment due vnto sonnes and the fatherly prouidence which God taketh of those whome hée receiueth for his children which is one of the greatest treasures that in this life may bee enioyed Wherein the Prophet reioyced not without good cause when hée saide I am right glad O Lorde because I sée my selfe shrowded vnder the shadowe of thy winges which is vnder the protection and fatherly prouidence that he hath of his chosen people By sinne is lost the peace the quiet and comfort of a guiltlesse conscience the swéetenesse and solace of the holie Ghost the fruite and merite of the vertuous actions that thou haste wrought all thy life before euen vntill that houre the participation of all those treasures which the Church holdeth in her custodie Finally by sinne is lost the participation and fruition of the merites which flowe from Christes passion who is our head because a sinner is not incorporated in his bodie as a liuely member through grace and charitie All this is lost by one mortall offence and that which is gained thereby is to be adiudged to eternall tormentes and for that time to be cancelled out of the booke of life and in steade of the sonne of God to bee made the vassall and bondslaue of Sathan and in steade of the temple and seate of the moste blessed Trinitie to become the denne of théeues the neast of Serpents the receipt and harbour of venemous Bafiliskes This is the guerdon conuenient for sinne whereby thou maiest learne whether it bee not good reason to tremble and quake beholding with howe little scruple of conscience with what facilitie and confidence so many carelesse men offende without measure And farther what reason it were that thou bedeawest thy chéekes with bloudie teares if not for the loue of God yet at least for thine owne distresse which hast loste suche inestimable riches for so small a myte as is the delight and taste of one trespasse If Esau wayled and wept so bitterly because he had lost his inheritance in lewe of the like taste with what cryes and complaintes shouldest thou fill heauen and earth for the losse of so woorthie of patrimonie that with gréefe and sorrowes sharpe thou maiest recouer the thing thou hast lost by dalliance and delights The Argument In the third consideration hee should thinke vpon Gods benefites bestowed vpon man that he might be abashed therat and be ashamed of himselfe And therefore enioyne himselfe to some sharpe affliction for that hee hath bene a creature so vngratefull and vnkinde CHAP. V. FOr the better replication of this ponder in thy minde the infinit number of Gods benefites For how much the more a man wayeth how bountifull God hath bene towardes him so much the more he shall be confounded in himselfe séeing how wicked he hath shewed himselfe to God In this sort the Prophets did often perswade the people of God to repentance And in this manner Nathan the Prophet beganne with Dauid when ere he reprooued him of adultery laide before him the fauoure and regall dignitie wherevnto God had promoted him and what else he had reserued for him In like sort a man should chiefly regard these ten kindes of benefites that ensue that is the benefite of creation of conseruation of redemption of baptisme of calling of diuine inspiration of preseruation from euill of the Sarraments of peculiar grace and priuate prerogatiues which hée hath receiued of his Sauiour and lastly of the glorie which hée expecteth héereafter to haue And particularly let him fixe himselfe vppon the benefite of vocation whiche is this that God hath looked so long for his conuersion and hath suffered and supported his sundrie sortes of sinne with such excéeding patience breathing vpon him eftsoones godly motions and diuine inspirations in the very midst of his naughtie life thereby to withdrawe him from his iniquities and to stirre him to repentance Weighing then with equall balance this wonderfull liberalitie and benignitie of our Sauiour on the one side and on the other our stubbornnesse ingratitude rebellion and abhominations committed against so mercifull bounteous a benefactor who will not be abashed and appalled thereat who will not rent his cloathes whose eyes will not yéelde streames of teares whose heart and intrailes will not bee consumed in sighes who wil not call all creatures to reuenge and to wrecke their wrath vpon a caitiffe so ingratefull and rebellious The Argument In the fourth consideration a Christian should consider the contempt and iniury he hath done to God by his offences esteeming more and preferring earthly drosse before his diuine Maiestie CHAP. VI. COnsider farther the despight and great wrong that is done vnto God through sinne for that so oft as we offend the iudgement and practise thereof doth still passe into our hearts weakeneth the vnderstanding whereby we banish all feare of transgression nor we féele not the weight of sinne whiche if it were set diametrically in the one part before the interest of sin which is some
whom is the foundation of wisedome and beginning of true blisse Endeuour therefore so to arme and addresse thy selfe at all poynts that thou be not vanquished by sinne Farther shalt viewe thine owne wretchednesse and infirmities whiche will serue as a corzie to quallifie the swelling rancor of pride and to establish humilitie the very quéene and guide of all other vertues And shalt easily reiect hatefull auarice and gréedie gaping for earthly vanities For the memorie of death causeth thée to knowe that none of these thinges can be called thine which thou canst not carry with thee out of this world And thou coÌ„tinuing in this exercise vnwares thy dread shall be turned into desire and death shall not séem so terrible vnto thée for that it depriueth thée of thy temporall life as delightful and acceptable because it giueth ende to so many gréefes and miseries and giueth enterance to life and light eternall And thou shalt perceiue howe little cause thou haddest to complaine or to be sorie weighing that whilest thy bodie doth perishe and consume in the graue thy soule liueth blisfully in heauen with a firme beléefe to rise againe at the last day to life euerlasting The Argument In the seuenth consideration ought to be premeditated how seuere and rigorous Christ will be at the day of iudgement for that his countenance will then declare to the wickid beholders nothing else but furious wrath and reuenge which none can escape for there must be giuen vp an exact account of all thinges done and thought of in this world CHAP. IX EAch man proueth and perceiueth in himselfe by often experience that his vnderstanding by the apprehension of some fearfull obiect or weightie consideration retireth and coucheth closely within it selfe and for that instant repelleth easily all other idle imaginations For which cause it is most prositable counsayle that a sinner at his first conuersion exercise himselfe seriously in such cogitations for that by this meanes péeuish fansies sometime through dread sometime through wonder will be either brideled or banished quite If the memorie of death as is aforesaide hath such force to cut off and to restraine our vaine and bagraum thoughts howe much more may this be done by the remembraunce of that which insueth after death immediately whiche is Gods iudgement and the paines of hell By which meditations if thou often thinke vpon them shall be brought to passe that which Ecclesiastick affirmeth Remember thy daies whereby hee meaneth that which then shall happen vnto thee and thou shalt neuer doo amisse S. Hierome not without iust cause said Whether I eate or drinke mee thinkes still I heare the sounde of the Trumpet buzzing in my eares Arise from death and come to your iudgement Which howe terrible it shall be cannot be imagined sith all other terrours or tragedies whatsoeuer in comparison of this is nothing at all Many times God hath manifested his iudgements in this worlde as when hee drowned the worlde with the great floud when hee burned Sodome and the Cities adioyning when he strooke Egypt with diuers dreadfull plagues when he made the earth to open in the desert to swallow vp sinners all which iudgements beeing compared to that generall iudgement which shall be exercised in the last day are but shadowes but shewes and figures of the veritie If then thou desire to come to thy selfe and to gather thy wits togither with the remembraunce of this represent to thy imagination the terriblenesse of Christ thy iudge whose countenance shall declare nothing else but rigour and reuenge as at the first comming he shewed mildenesse altogither From whom thou canst not appeale to any other because he is supreme Iudge neither canst thou auoide his furie because he is most puissant and for that hee is the very fountaine and God of knowledge nothing can be concealed from him And because he hateth iniquitie out of measure hee will not suffer any sinne to be vnreuenged There thou must bee accountable of all thy transgressions debts and trespasses whereof if the least be inough to put thée in extreame danger and perplexitie who can make satisfaction for so many debtes and arrerages as shall bee exacted at thy handes Then thou shalt bee examined how thou hast vestowed thy time howe thou haste ordered thy body howe thou hast gonerned thy sences and how thou hast guided thy heart howe thou hast answered to the diuine inspirations how thou haste acknowledged so many curtesies In the which accusation thou shalt bee conuinced with so many witnesses as are the creatures which thou hast abused by sinne which then will be so stirred to reuenge the wrong done vnto their creator that if it were possible those which are immortall would dye with feare For it shall be a horror inestimable to sée the worlde all on fire the buildings and princely Pallaces ouerthrowne and torne in péeces the earth to tremble to viewe the elements to chaunge theyr course the Sunne to bee darkened the Moone and Starres to léese theyr light to beholde the death and destruction of all creatures the open gaping of graues to heare the voyce of the terrible trumpe and wofull waylings of nations to marke the discouering of consciences to regarde the monstrous deformed diuels and she inâ—â—â—nall furnace sparkling with furious flakes But of all other things shall be most terrible to looke vppon the victorious flagge of the Crosse clittering in the ayre with all the ensignes of the glorious passion of our Sauiour To sée the Iudge to charge his enemies for the making frustrate yea the reitteration of so many torments as hee hath suffered for their redemption Who might more easily endure the smart of hell paines then to sée themselues so accused and accursed of the Lord of bountie and courtesie and to be expelled from his presence to perpetuall punishment The Argument In the eight consideration we ought to premeditate vpon the intollerable terrour of hell paines which shall be perpetuall But of al those torments the most greeuous is the losse and lacke of Gods chearefull countenance without any hope for euer to gaine it againe CHAP. X. BUt it may so chance that mauger thy might for all these considerations ydle thoughts will not forsake thee though it must néedes bee a sounde fléepe and a very drowzie dreame that will not bee awaked with such incitations Yet thou must not be discomforted but howe much more difficults doo arise so much the more stoutly thou shouldest striue to atchieue thy enterprise Assay then whither the search of hell paines will bee more behouefull vnto thée concerning which two things are chiefly to be noted that is the vehemencie of their smart and the time of their continuance The least of these is able to mollifie the most stubborne and stony heart of the worlde but the which is not mooued neither with the one nor with the other is eyther dead in his soule or else beléeueth not that which the Christian faith sheweth For though the greatnesse of hell torments cannot bee imagined nor expressed filled with most iust feare If thou accustome thy selfe to such exercises aâ—â— doest perseuer therin in short space thou thalt become a newe man for by these meditations thy minde shall be brought to despise the world to shun sinne to fear these paines and to loue vertue And though at the beginning thou bee appaled and affrighted vehemently yet hand patience a while for thy colde feare shall be qualified and tempered with the heat of loue as the black night is turned by little and little into the bright shining day EINIS