by Moyses, thay schul be wasted by hunger, and the briddes of helle schuln devoure hem with bittir teeth, and the galle of the dragoun schal be her drink, and the venym of the dragoun here morsels. And forthermoreover her misease schal be in defaut of clothing, for thay schul be naked in body, as of clothing, save of fuyr in which thay brenne, and other filthis; and naked schuln thay be of soule, of alle maner vertues, which that is the clothing of the soule. Wher ben thanne the gaye robes, and the softe scheetis, and the smale schirtes? Lo, what saith of hem the prophete Isaye, under hem schuln be strawed motthis, and here covertours schuln ben of wormes of helle. And forthermorover here disease schal be in defaute of frendes, for he is not povere that hath goode frendes; but here is no frend, for neither God ne no creature schal be frend unto hem, and everich of hem schal hate other with dedly hate. The sones and the doughtres schuln rebellen agayns the fader and the mooder, and kynrede agayns kynrede, and chiden and despisen everich of hem other, bothe day and night, as God saith by the prophete Michias, and the lovyng children that whilom loveden so fleisschlich everych other wolden everych of hem eten other if thay mighten. For how schulden thay loven hem togider in the peyne of helle, whan thay hated everich of hem other in the prosperité of this lif? For trustith wel, her fleisshly love was dedly hate; as saith the prophete David, who so that loveth wickidnes, he hateth his soule, and who so hatith his oughne soule, certis he may love noon other wight in

no manere. And therfore in helle is no solace ne frendschipe, but ever the more flesshly kynredes that ben in helle, the more cursynge, the more chydynges, and the more deedly hate ther is among hem. And fortherover thay schul have defaute of alle manere delices, for certis delices ben the appetites of thy fyve wittes; as sight, hieryng, smellyng, savoring, and touching. But in helle here sight schal be ful of derknes and of smoke, and her eyen ful of teeris; and her hieryng ful of waymentynge, and of gruntynge of teeth, as saith Jhesu Crist, her nosethurles schuln ben ful of stynkyng stynk; and, as saith Ysaye the prophete, here savoringe schal be ful of bitter galle; and touchyng of al here body schal be y-covered with fuyr that never schal quenche, and with wormes that never schuln deyen, as God saith by the mouth of Ysaie. And for al so moche as thay schuln nought wene that thay may deyen for peyne, and by here deth fle fro peyne, that may thay understonde in the word of Job, that saith, ther as is the schadow of deth. Certes a schadow hath the liknesse of the thing of which it is a schadow, but the schadowe is nought the same thing of whiche it is schadowe;10 right so fareth the peyne of helle; it is lik deth, for the horrible anguisshe; and why? for it peyneth hem ever as though men scholden deye anon; but certes thay schul not deye.

9 her eyen. These words, which seem to give better sense, are adopted from Tyrwhitt; the Harl. MS. reads, and therfore ful of teeris.

10 but schadowe...schadowe. Omitted in the Harl. MS., and restored from the Lansd. MS.

For as saith seint Gregory, to wrecchid caytifs schal be give deth withoute deth, and ende withouten ende, and defaute withouten faylinge; for here deth schal alway lyven, and here ende schal evermore bygynne, and here defaute schal not fayle. And therfor saith seint Johan the Evaungelist, thay schul folwe deth, and thay schuln nought fynde him, and thay schul desire to deyen, and deth schal flee fro hem.

And eek Job

And al be it

saith, that in helle is noon ordre of rule. that God hath creat al thing in right ordre, and no thing withoute ordre, but alle thinges ben ordeyned and noumbred, yit natheles thay that ben dampned been nought in ordre, ne holden non ordre. For the eorthe schal bere hem no fruyt; (for, as the prophete David saith, God schal destroye the fruyt of the eorthe, as for hem) ne watir schal give hem no moysture, ne the aier non refreisching, ne fuyr no light. For as seith seint Basile, The brennyng of the fuyr of this world schal God give in helle to hem that ben dampnyd, but the light and the clernesse schal be geve in hevene to his children; right as the goode man geve flesch to his children, and bones to his houndes. And for thay schul have noon hope to eschape, saith seint Job atte laste, that ther schal horrour and grisly drede duelle withouten ende. Horrour is alway drede of harm that is to come, and this drede schal ever duelle in the hertes of hem that ben dampnyd. And therfore han thay lorn al First, for God that is here jugge schal be withoute mercy to hem, ne thay may not

here hope for vij. causes.

please him, ne noon of his halwes; ne they may give no

thing for here raunsoun; ne thay have no voice to speke to him; ne thay may not fle fro peyne; ne thay have no goodnes in hem that thay may schewe to delivere hem fro peyne. And therfore saith Salomon, The wikked man deyeth, and whan he is deed, he schal have noon hope to eschape fro peyne. Who so wolde thanne wel understonde these peynes, bythynke him wel that he hath deserved thilke peynes for his synnes, certes he schulde have more talent to sikyn and to wepe, than for to synge or pleye. For as that Salamon saith, Who so that had the science to knowe the peynes that ben establid and ordeynt for synne he wolde make sorwe. Thilke science, as saith seint Austyn, maketh a man to wayment in his herte.

The fourthe poynt, that oughte make a man have contricioun, is the sorwful remembraunce of the good that he hath left to doon heer in eorthe, and eek the good that he hath lorn. Sothly the goode werkes that he hath left, eyther thay been the goode werkes that he wrought er he fel into deedly synne, or elles thai ben the goode werkes that he wroughte whil he lay in synne. Sothly the goode werkes that he dede er he fel into synne ben amortised, and astoneyed, and dullid by ofte synnynge; that othere goode werkes that he wroughte whil he lay in dedly synne, been outrely deede, as to the lif perdurable in heven.

Thanne thilke goode werkes that ben mortified by ofte synnyng, whiche goode werkes he dede whiles he was in charité, ne mow never quyken agayn withouten verray penitence. And thereof saith God by the mouth of

that if the rightful man retourne agayn fro his rightwisnesse and werke wikkednesse, schal he live? nay; for alle the goode werkes that he hath wrought, ne schuln never be in remembraunce, for he schal dye in his synne. And upon thilke chapitre saith seint Gregory thus, that we schuln understonde this principally, that whan we doon dedly synne, it is for nought thanne to reherse or to drawe into memorie the goode werkes that we han wrought biforn; for certis in the werkyng of the dedly synne, ther is no trust to no good werkes that we han don biforne this tyme; that is to say, as for to have therby the lif perdurable in heven. But natheles, the goode werkes quiken agayn and comen again, and helpen and availen to have the lif perdurable in heven whan we han contricioun; but sothly the goode werkes that men doon whil that thai ben in deedly synne, for as moche as thay were doon in dedly synne, thay may never quyken. For certes, thing that never hadde lif, may never quyken;" and al be it so that thay availen not to have the lif perdurable, yit avaylen thay to abrigging of the peyne of helle, or elles to gete temporal riches, or elles that God wol the rather enlumyne and lightene the hert of the synful man to have repentaunce; and eek they availen for to usen a man to do goode werkes, that the feend have the lasse power of his soule. And thus the curteys Lord Jhesu Crist ne wolde nought no good werk be lost, for in somwhat it schal

11 For certes.... quyken. These words, not in the Harl. MS., are added from the Lansd. MS. These omissions are so frequent that I shall not again point them out. English prose manuscripts are always much more incorrect than the verse, from causes which it would not be difficult to explain.

H