A golden treatise of mental prayer/A meditation for Friday: of the torments of hell
A MEDITATION FOR FRIDAY.
This day thou shalt meditate upon the torments of bell, that duly pondering them, thou may est have more awe of Almighty God, and a greater hatred of sin. St. Bonaventure teacheth, that these torments are to be considered according to certain similitudes set down by holy men, concerning this matter. Wherefore, it will not be beside our purpose (as the same Doctor, in the same place saith,) to imagine hell a horrible confused chaos, a lake under the earth, a deep fiery dungeon; or as a spacious city, dark and terrible, burning with obscure and fearful tire, filled with wailings, howlings, weeping, for the inexplicable pains.
In this miserable and unhappy place, are two kinds of torments, poena sensus, et poena damni, the punishment of sense, and the punishment of loss of Almighty God.
Consider that there is no outward or inward sense of the damned, which is not afflicted with a proper torment; for as the damned, in all their members and senses, have offended God, using them as instruments and weapons whereby, neglecting the society and law of God, they served sin, so the divine justice hath ordained that every sense, according to their desert, should be tormented with a proper punishment; the wanton and lascivious eyes, shall be tortured with the hideous aspect of devils. The ears which were open to lies, detractions, and other impurities, shall ring with unwonted clamors, outcries, and blasphemies. The noses which were delighted with sweet odors shall be poisoned with an intolerable stink. The taste which was glutted with dainty fare, shall be tormented with intolerable hunger and thirst. The tongue which uttered detractions and murmurings, shall drink the gall of dragons. The wanton, which gave consent to their brutish desires, shall be frozen with extreme cold, and as holy Job saith:[1] "Ad nimium calorem transeat ab aquis nivium:" " Let him pass from the snow waters to excessive heat."
The interior senses also shall not want their torments, the imagination shall not be tormented with the apprehension of present pains, the memory with the calling to mind of forepast pleasures, the understanding with the fear of future griefs, the will with an incredible hatred and raging towards God.
There, as St. Gregory saith, shall be intolerable cold, unquenchable fire, a never dying worm, a stench which none is able to endure, horrid darkness, grievous whippings, visages of devils, confusion of sinners, and desperation of all good.
Tell me, I pray thee, couldst thou endure one little moment the least part of these torments? surely it would be very grievous, if not intolerable for thee. What then will it be to suffer this whole inundation of evils, at one time in all thy members and senses, external and internal, not one or a thousand nights, but for all eternity? What sense, what tongue, what mind of man is able to conceive or express these things?
Neither are these the greatest torments the damned suffer. There remaineth yet a more grievous, which the divines do call the punishment of loss, which consisteth in the perpetual privation of the beatifical vision of God and his saints, and of all that glorious and blessed society. For that is the greatest torment that depriveth man of the most excellent good. Seeing, therefore, that God is that effectual and chief good of all goods, to be deprived of him wust needs be the greatest of all evils.
These are the general torments of the damned; besides these, there are other particular torments, wherewith every one according to their sins are afflicted. The proud, the envious, the covetous, the luxurious, and other vicious have their peculiar torments; the measure of pain there, shall be proportionable to their glory and pleasure here; poverty and want to plenty, hunger and thirst to gluttony and to former delights.
To all these aforesaid torments, eternity is yet to be added, which is, as it were, the seal and key of all the rest; for if at length they should have an end, they were some way tolerable. That which is restrained to a certain time cannot be so insufferable; but this punishment is everlasting, without solace, without relaxation, without diminution, where remaineth no hope of an end of their torments, or tormentors, or themselves that suffer them, but is, as it were, a perpetual and irrevocable banishment, never to be recalled, which is a thing of importance to be noted, that the mind may be stirred up thereby, to that saving fear and love of God.
From the eternity of torments proceedeth that great hatred wherewith they are incensed against God. Hence proceed these horrible blasphemies and curses, which with their impure mouths they rail at God, saying, cursed be God who hath created us, and hath condemned us to an everlasting death, which doth so oppress and torment us, that notwithstanding never killeth. Cursed be his power, which doth so grievously afflict us. Cursed be his wisdom, that hath laid open all our wickedness. Cursed be his justice, that hath exacted eternal punishment for temporal sins. Cursed be his cross, which hath not benefitted us. Cursed be his blood, that was shed, seeing it requireth revenge against us. Cursed be the Mother of God, who although she be pious and propitious to all, yet notwithstanding hath showed herself to us cruel and unmerciiul. Cursed be all the saints of God reigning with Christ, and rejoicing at our miseries.
These are the hymns, this is that harsh melody, which the damned do continually jar, railing at the Almighty God with detested blasphemies for all eternity.
- ↑ Job v 24