THE MYSTERIES OF MOVNT CALVARY▪ MADE BY THE REVER [...] father in God, lord Anthonie de Gueuara▪ Bishop of Mondonnedo, preacher and Chronicler, vnto Charles the fift, Emperour. IN THIS BOOKE THE AV­THOVR HANDLETH ALL THE MYSTERIES, OF THE MOVNT of Caluarie, from the time that Christ was condemned by Pilat, vntill he was put into the sepulchre, by Ioseph and Nicho­demus.

LONDON Printed by Adam Islip, for Edward W [...] [...] are to be sold at the little North dore of P [...] at the signe of the Gunne. 1594.

THE PROLOGVE TO THE FIRST PART OF THE Booke, intituled the Mount of Caluary. Com­piled by the reuerend Father, lord Antonie de Gueuara, bishop of Mondonneda, prea­cher, and chronicler vnto the empe­rour Charles the fift.

SVme tibi aromata, aequalis ponderis, & cum in tenuissimum puluerum contunderis, po­nes ex eo, in tabernaculo foederis. Said God vnto Moses, in the 30 chapter of Exod. As if he should say; Now Moses, thou doest know that I haue made thee a ta­bernacle where thou mayst pray, and haue giuen thee priests with whom thou mayst pray, & appointed thee sacrifices which thou shalt offer vp vnto me. Now I will teach thee how thou shalt offer vp incence vnto me, and with what. Thou shalt take therefore, sweet and odori­ferous spices; as Baulme, Onicha, Galbanum, and pure Frankincense, and of ech of them, the like quantitie and waight, and cast them all into a morter, and pound them verie small, euen into dust; and then cast them on the coales in a golden censor, because that all the taber­nacle may smell sweet with it. Without all doubt this is a wonderfull figure: but yet the accomplishment of it more wonderfull; seeing that we are taught thereby what we shall offer vnto our Lord, and with what we [Page] shall please him, and also with what we shall pacifie him. It seemeth by these words, that our Lord will exclude all offering of vncleane and vnsauoury thinges, to the end that all such things should not be offered in the san­ctuary: and thereupon it is, that our Lord did no lesse forbid vs to pollute his temple with vncleane things, than violate it with mans bloud. Agreeing vnto this, the Lord in the old law, did forbid him to be a priest in his temple, who had an vncomely nose, bleard & drop­ping eies, a crooke backe, club feet, lame hands, a skabby body, or were otherwise deformed and mishapen of any member. The meaning of the giuer of the law was, that all which they should offer vnto him, should be cleane, and the priest which did offer very, sound and perfect; the reason is, because that our Lord doth not make so great reckoning of the thing which is offered, as he doth of him who doth offer. If as that comman­dement was obserued in the old law, it should also be kept in the new: it would seeme a verie ridiculous thing, & a Mosaicall ceremonie, because there are many priests in the church of God this day, the which although they be peraduenture lame in their lineaments, yet are good in their works, and holy in their desires. O how little the Lord doth regard, that the minister and priest of his Al­tar, be straight or crooked, beautifull or not, because that the sacrifices which we offer vp vnto him, are not accepted for the hands which doth offer them, but for the offerer. S. Augustine saith, That that which in the old law was a figure, is now in the Church trueth; that which vnto them was the letter, is vnto vs the spirit; that which they did dreame of, we do see; and that which they did hope for, we hold. In so much, that in the mi­nisters of the old law, we ought not to regard that which [Page] the letter doth command, but that which the spirit doth teach. Tell me I pray thee, when God did command in the law that they should offer odoriferous sauours on his altar, and prohibit them to present vnsauourie ones; had he a nose like a man to smell the good, or head like a man to dislike or greeue at the bad? It is to be be­leeued, that when the giuer of the law did ordaine these things, and when the holy Ghost did write them, that he did leuell at higher matters, & pretend profounder mi­steries than those which the Mosaicall law did sound, be­cause the true accompt which God doth make of Balme and Frankincense, is nothing els but the acceptance of a pure and cleane heart. Comming then vnto the mini­stery, it is to be noted, that with many & sundry conditi­ons, God did cōmand in his law that they should offer vnto him those sweet and odoriferous spices; wherof, if there did want any one conditiō, al which they did offer was nothing worth. The law did thē cōmand, that those spices should be of a sweet sauour, verie clean and preti­ous, & not such as the priest would, But such as the law did appoint: that is to say, Baulme, Onicha, Galba­num, and Frankincense: and that of these none should be wanting, nor any added vnto them. God did like­wise command in the law, that they should all be mea­sured and waighed so exactly, that there should not be so much as a dram more of the one than of the other. God did also command in the law, that all those aroma­ticall spices should be pounded very small, and sifted: and then by the hands of the Apothicary, molded and wrought. Insomuch, that if by the hand of the Priest they were to be offred, by the hands of the Apothicary, they should be compounded. The Lord did promise, & giue his credit and word vnto all such as did offer this [Page] high kind of oblation, and bestow their money vpon it, to heare them presently in the tabernacle, and yeeld vn­to their petitions. What is the holy tabernacle, where God did command those spices to be offered: but our God made man, the sonne of the liuing God? This is the high hill from whence we looke; this is the Tower whither we withdraw our selues; the Temple where we be baptized; the Tabernacle where we doe saue our selues, and the Sanctuary where we doe reforme our selues. What is the altar of incorruptible wood vpon which that holy incense was offered, but only the crosse, vpon which good Iesus was crucified? Thou art the al­tar of incorruptible wood, O my good Iesus; seeing that in the old law the sacrifices which they did offer, the priest which did offer them, and the ceremonies with which he did offer them, are all at an end: but thy crosse, O my God, shall neuer haue an end. There is great reckoning to be made of the drie tree, on which Christ suffered; but farre greater of his tender members, with which he did suffer, considering that with the torments of them we were redeemed, & with the loue of Christ pardoned. VVhat were the aromaticall and sweet spi­ces, which were offered by the Priest vpon the altar of the tabernacle; but the most high workes, which on the mount of Caluary, were done by the son of God? VVith­out all comparison, the workes which the sonne of God did in the mount of Caluary, were far greater than those which his father did in the captiuitie of Aegypt, because that there he did kill other mens children, but here he did kill his own proper sonne, whose life he did not par­don, because he would pardon our faults. O loue neuer heard of before! O infinite charitie! VVho did euer heare or see, that for to pardō the seruant, thou shouldst [Page] put to death, the sonne? What clemency did ouercome thee? what charitie did bind thee? that freely without any interest of thine, thou shouldest lay the punishment vpon thy selfe, to vnload me of the fault? Adam did cast the fault vpon Eue, and Eue vpon the Serpent, and the Serpent did cast it vpon all mankind. And thou, O good Iesus, doest thou excuse me, who am culpable, and blame thy selfe being innocent; and I hauing com­mitted the theft, doest thou yeeld to be punished? In a farre other maner and means thou didst deliuer me from the power of the diuell, than Moses did the Iewes out of the captiuitie of Aegypt, because that there the bloudy waters did stinke, and the flies which fell, the putrified frogges, the first borne children which were slaine, and the dead cattell. But on the mount of Caluary, what is there that did stincke, or what did not smell very sweet­ly? The teares which he dropped, the sighes which he gaue, the bloud which he shed, the side which he ope­ned, the body which suffered, and the loue with which he suffered, were the true spices which God did worke, and the high Baulme, which the eternall father did perfume with. Before that the sonne of God did suffer on the mount of Caluary, it was a dreadfull place to behold, stincking to dwell in: but after that his sacred members were nailed on the crosse, like vnto pretious ointments, and sweete sauours, he did take away the stinke of all sinnes, which doe sauour worse than all the dead bodies. VVhat other things are those foure sweet perfumes, with the which God did command the holy sanctuary to be perfumed withall; but the will with which the sonne of God did suffer, the cruell death which he did suffer, the great patience which he had, and the infinite great charitie which did moue him? I [Page] confesse that the martyrs did die of their owne will, but they will not denie me, but they died of necessitie, only the son of God was he who died without necessitie, and voluntarily. Vpon those wordes desiderio desideraui, S. Barnard saith, a good Iesus, O the loued of my soule, who among mortall men, doth so much desire to make his life perpetuall, as thou didst desire to loose thine for mine? VVhat pleasure and ioy wilt thou take aboue in the other world with thy elect, seeing that here vpon earth, thou didst call the day on which thou didst suffer, Aester? The Lord did also command, that the incense and Galbanū which they should offer vnto him, should be so iustly waighed, that they should put no more of the one than of the other, thereby to let vs vnderstand that the son of God did equally, and indifferently shed his bloud, for the small, and for the great; for the poore, and for the rich; for the dead, and for the liuing. Origen vpon the Canticles, saith; That oftentimes our Lord doth bestow his fauours and graces more or lesse, when he pleaseth, and how he pleaseth, and vnto whom he pleaseth: but in that which toucheth the generall re­demption, he made all men equall, seeing he died no more for one than for another. Anselmus in an Epistle saith; VVhat do I care my brother, that thou art stronger than I, more noble in bloud, more beautifull in body, and more renowned in dignitie, seeing we are by one God created, by one Christ redeemed, and by one ho­ly Ghost gouerned? VVhat doth it meane, that there should be as much Frankincense as Galbanum, and as much Galbanum as Frankincense; but that Christ did shed as much bloud for the labouring man, which cut­teth stubble, as for the Prince who sitteth in his thron [...]▪ Chrisostome saith, When the sonne of God did impart [Page] his pretious bloud, he did better it vpon no man, hinde­red no man, nor depriued no man of it: but if afterward it had greater force in some, than in other some, it is not through the fault of him who gaue it, but of his who did not well employ it.

What meaneth it, that all these sweete spices should not be offered vp in the holy temple, vntill they were pounded in a morter, and sifted through a siue: but that the mysteries of the passion of Christ, should be sear­ched out with diligence, deeply considered and chewed with meditation; waighed with charitie, and wrought with many teares? Origen vpon this place saith, That if Storax and other sweet spices, be not broken, pounded, and cast into the fire, they giue no smell at all: In like manner, if the most high mysteries, and profound sacra­ments of the passion of the sonne of God, be not well chewed and waighed, little profit and lesse consolation is reaped by them.

The son of God hauing as he hath, his flesh so torne, his bloud so shed abroad, his bones so out of ioint, his sinews so wrested, his haire so cast about, and his friends so scattered; how wouldst thou tast and contemplat such high mysteries all at once: very well ground and bro­ken, and also very well sifted in the brasen morter of thy heart, should all those holy mysteries be, and in such sort, that by the same steps that blessed Iesus doth go suffering, thou go following and contemplating, for otherwise thou shalt occupie much time, and receiue small pleasure. Vnground doth he offer vp incense, who in hast thinketh on the passion of Christ, and he small & sifted doth offer vp sweet spices, who in those steps and stations which our Lord troad, suffering, doth go after him weeping. Is it much that thou shouldst shed teares [Page] from thy eies, seeing that he did shed bloud for thee from his vains? S. Barnard saith, The sonne of God did not suffer himselfe to be beheaded, nor hanged, nor drowned, nor burnt, because they were all short deaths, but he would be crucified, because that that kind of mar­tyrdome was very long and greeuous: insomuch that as the loue was great with which he did die, so also his pleasure was, that the torment should be great and long which he did suffer. Seeing (saith Anselmus) that the son of God did not leaue bone, nor sinew, nor flesh, nor mē­ber in all his body, in which he was not tormented, it is reason that thou leaue no mysterie, nor sentence of his passion, on which thou doest not occupie thy vnder­standing, because that he did much more for thee, in suf­fering it, than thou for him in contemplating on it. See­ing that the sonne of God hath been so prodigall and stout, in shedding his own bloud for thee, why shouldst thou be so sparing in thinking so much as one houre in the day on his passion? Do not vaunt thy selfe my bro­ther, that thou art a christian, nor glory vainly that thou shalt die for the passion of Christ, for seeing that thou hast no heat nor feruor to thinke on it, it is not to be be­leeued that thou wilt haue the heart to die for it. For see­ing thou doest not serue thy God and Lord, so much as with thy thoughts, how wilt thou offer the members of thy body to suffer torments in them?

Of the mysterie of the two waights which the sy [...] ­gogue had.

OMnis aestimatio, siclo sanctuarij ponderabitur, Said God in Leuit. the 27 chapter, as if he should say, All that which is much & of a great value, shalbe waighed with [Page] the waight of my sanctuary. Such as wil curiously looke into the booke of Leuiticus, shall find in it, that the peo­ple of the Iews, had two kinds of waights; whereof the one was called statera, a ballance or waight, which was the common waight, wherewith all things of the com­mon-wealth were waighed: the other siclum, a sicle, that is a holy waight: and with this they did waigh euerie thing which was offered vp in the temple. Like vnto a man who would keepe an order in his house. VVhen God did ordaine his common-weale, he commanded that there should be a waight and a measure in it: that is, a waight to measure and waigh all prophane things; and a waight to waigh all holy and diuine things. The sweet perfumes which were waighed in the temple, were of equall waight, in figure of the equall loue and charitie, which were in all priests works, because the loue & cha­ritie, with which he did worke thē was as entire in him, as when he did preach in the temple, & when he did suf­fer on the tree of the [...]▪ Augustine saith, In thee and in me are of greater a [...] [...]r value and waight, the per­fumes of our works, because that somtimes we do them with deuotion, and at other times with coldnesse: but in the sonne of God it is not so, but his loue and charitie was ardent to redeeme vs, that neither the time did in­crease it in him, nor trauell and trouble make it cold. What doth it meane, that of two waights which the sy­nagogue had, the one of them was a holy waight, and the other prophane; but that in the one they should waigh the workes of his sonne: and in the other all the workes of all the worlde The merites of one holy man may be measured with those of another holy man, and the torments of one martyr, may be measured with the torments of another marytr, because there is no man in [Page] heauen, so great, but God can create another, which in life may with him be equall, and also go be­yond him. The heire of eternities, doth not enter into this accompt, nor doth not fight vnder this banner: he is not waighed where we are waighed, nor is not mea­sured as we are measured, because it would be a farre ea­sier matter, to measure what the mountains do waigh, than measure that, that his merits do reach vnto. How is it possible that he should be waighed, who all thinges doth waigh? How is it possible to find a measure for him, who doth measure all things with his wisdome? Aboue in the resting place of the trinitie, and in the depth of the diuinitie, the sonne of the liuing God, hath his measure and waight, because the merites of him are so high, and the dolours which he suffered for vs, so greeuous; that there are no dolours of martyrs to com­pare with him, nor holinesse of Angels to measure him; which doth it not seeme vnto thee, that the son of God hath in measure and waig [...] by himselfe, seeing that he did merite more, eating in the wedding, and with Zac­cheus, than the great S. Iohn Baptist, fasting in the wilder­nesse? Being graunted that the works which the sonne of God did, as man, had limits and an end: the charitie with which he did them, had no end. And thereupon it is, that if vnto that which he did suffer, there was found a waight, to the loue, with which he did suffer, there was no measure. Thou mightest well O my Iesus, measure and waigh the bloud, which in the mount of Caluary thou didst shed: but who can be able to measure and waigh the loue, with the which thou didst shed it? Al­though thy bloud should be waighed by pounds and ounces, who should be able to find waights to waigh thy bowels?

In the waight of the sanctuary nothing was waig [...] but that which was of the sanctuary, and so in th [...] [...] lance and waight of Christ, nothing is waighed b [...] workes of Christ: for if you would waigh any [...] thing in him, all the holinesse of the angels, and a [...] torments of the martyrs would not waigh so much [...] one drop of the bloud which he shed. Seeing then, t [...] we cannot waigh our selues in the ballance of Christ, he came to waigh himselfe in ours, where in one bal­lance we did put our fault, and in the other he did put his paine, the which before the father was of such great waight, that it was sufficient to satisfie for our offence [...]▪ Who could satisfie for our fault, if he should not lend vs his paine and punishment, to pay with it our debt?

Whereof the ruler was, with which God did command, to mea­sure, and leuell Hierusalem.

PErpendiculum extendetur super Hierusalem, said God by the prophet Zacharias, in the first chapter, As if he would say, I will and command, that all my holy City of Hierusalem, be measured with a cord, and be leuelled with a leuell. These words of our Lord are of very great feare vnto the wicked, and of great aduertisement vnto the good, seeing that in publicke place, and with an o­pen crie, God did command it to be cried: that he will sit downe in compt with all, and that he will measure all men, to weet, with the leuell of his life, and with the line of his iustice. If thou be troubled, & tremble when they aske thee an accompt of thy expences, what shall become of thee, when they shall aske it of thy soule? If thou yeeld vp an euill accompt vnto thy Lord, of the mony which thou hast spent: what wilt thou doe vnto [Page] [...] Lord, of the benefites receiued? O good Iesus; O [...]ue of my soule: what will it be of me, and what [...] do before thee, when the life which I lead, shalbe [...]ed and prooued with the booke of thy iustice: [...] is it possible that he should giue a good accompt, [...] neither with his soule, nor with God hath no [...]mpt? It is reason that we know what is the cord, with which we shalbe measured, and what the leuell with which we shalbe leuelled: because that thereby we shal see how our Lord doth vs no iniurie in asking vs an ac­compt of that which we haue receiued. The leuell and the line, with which all the world shalbe leuelled and measured, is the crosse; and he who is ruled & leuelled, is Iesus Christ; because that he alone and none with him, can know vvhether vve go the vvay of saluation, or the path of perdition. Euen as the line is cast, to the end that the building may go straight; and also the leuell is put, because the vvall should not be vneuen, so God vvil that vve direct all our vvorkes to him, and vvorke them by him. That goeth not by line, vvhich is not done for him; nor that by leuell, vvhich is not done for his ser­uice; by reason vvhereof, vvhen our Lord doth after­vvard come to measure and leuell the manner of our life vvith the leuell of his iustice, as he findeth our building vnleuelled, he throvveth it all to the ground. S. Augustine de verbis Domini, saith: The thing vvhich doth most of all deceiue mortal men is, that to giue an excuse to their errors, they vvill not measure themselues vvith men vvhich are good, but vvith others vvhich are naught like themselues: Insomuch that they are contented vvith being lesse euill than others: not caring at al to be good. One proud man doth measure himselfe vvith another proud man: one couetous man vvith another: one an­grie [Page] man with another, and one glutton with another: and this measure which he maketh, is not to the end to amend himselfe of his errors, but to condemne the o­ther for a greater sinner than himselfe. When the Lord did say by the prophet, Iustificata est Sodoma in conspectu Samariae, did he happily cease from punishing of Sodom, because she was a lesser sinner than Samaria. To com­pare thy selfe which art a lesser sinner, vnto another who is a greater sinner: by this thou doest not excuse thy selfe from sinne, nor deliuer thy selfe from hell, because it is an infallible rule, that God will neuer forget to reward the good, nor neuer omit to punish the bad. When God did say in the authoritie aboue named, Perpendiculum extendetur super Hierusalem, what other thing would he there say, but that he and none other should giue the line, with the which all should be measured; and also the rule, with which all should be leuelled? Seeing that he would create vs, and he would redeeme vs: it is reason that he and none other, should measure and rule vs. It is likewise to be waighed, that God did not say vnto Hie­rusalem that she should choose the line, with the which she should be measured, but that he the Lord himselfe would send it: to giue vs thereby to vnderstand [...]at of all the thoughts which we conceiue, and of al the works which we do, onely God is the looker on, who most approueth them, and the true Lord who wil pay them. This word perpendiculum extēdetur, is also to be waighed, where God doth not tell Hierusalem, that he will send a line out of hand, but in processe of time; giuing vs by that prophesie to vnderstand, that there was neuer anie euen or right leuell in the world, vntill God did send his precious sonne into the world. To thinke and knowe that the synagogue had no right line or leuel: what grea­ter [Page] testimonie can we seeke, than for God to say by the Prophet, Dedi eis legem non bonam, & praecepta in quibus non viuerent. How shall we say that in the building of the sy­nagogue, there was line and leuell, seeing that there it was permitted, to marrie the brothers wife, take vsurie of a stranger, giue a bill of diuorce to his owne wife, Marke how orderly diuine matters do proceed, and the eternall measures, in that that the people did measure the crosse, the crosse did measure Christ, Christ did mea­sure the Gospell, the Gospell doth rule and measure all the world: insomuch that he did first measure himselfe, before he did measure me. When was this prophesie of perpendiculum fulfilled vpon Hierusalem: but when the humanitie of the word was on the crosse, not onely stretched out, but also torne asunder? O glorious mea­sure! O happie leuell! such as thou art, Christ my redee­mer; seeing that with such a rule and measure as thine is, the saints doe suffer themselues to be ruled and measu­red, and the heauenly Angels are glad to be leuelled. When holy Paul to the Romains did say in the 8 chap. Quos praedestinauit, conformauit fieri, &c. What other thing would he say in these high wordes, but that all those whom God had predestinated, he did predestinat and chose them, that they might be like to the image of his sonne? What other thing is his perfect & diuine image, but his perfect and his holy life? He is like vnto the image of his sonne who doth fulfill and keepe his holy gospell; because it was not the intention of the Apostle that we should imitate Christ, in the image and likenesse of his essence, but in the purenesse and perfection of his life. Of this patterne we should draw all our labours, by this image we should point our soules, with this le­uell we should leuell our workes, and with this line we [Page] should measure our steps: for otherwise like vnto an vn­leuelled building, he will throw all our trauels on the ground. O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, what will my life seeme before thy life, when it shalbe compa­red with thine. O how filthy my cleannesse shall ap­peare, how angry my meeknesse, how proud my humi­litie, how ambitious my pouertie, how weake my strength, yea and how mercilesse my mercy. O how ri­diculous my teares will seeme, how fained my griefe, how cruell my pitie, how niggish my liberalitie, how gluttonous my abstinence, how iniust my iustice, how false all my peace, and hovv vvithout virginitie all my chastitie. O hovv cold my praier vvill seem, hovv vveake my deuotion, hovv testie my patience, hovv vnperfect my obedience, hovv inconstant my perseuerance, hovv spotted my conscience, and also vvithout fruit all my life. Let it not seeme a hard matter vnto any man, that our life should be leuelled and ruled vvith the giuer of life; Seeing that our glorie shalbe made like vnto his glory, not because vve should make our selues equall vn­to him, but because in glorie vve may find our selues vvith him. This being presupposed to be true, as true it is, who shall more enioy Christ in glorie than hee vvho here vvas most conformable vnto his life. He vvho vvith this holy line and leuell, is not leuelled here on earth, shall haue no glorie aboue vvith Christ in heauen: for as he vvas not like vnto him in his maner of liuing, so neither shall he be like vnto him in his maner of raigning.

How the son of God did more for vs, than for himselfe.

FEcisti iudiciū meum, & causam meā sedens super thropum, qui iudicas iustitiam, saith king Dauid in the 9 Psal. as if [Page] he would say. Thou O my great God of Israel art he, who being set in thy royall seate, hast iudged iustice, hast made my iustice, and ended my cause. Many secrets, and many high Sacramentes, the good prophet doth touch in this prophesie▪ [...] therfore it is requisit, that as the words are deep, so they be deeply expoūded. In this prophesie it is to be noted, who he is who doth iudge, & this is God; what the place is where he doth iudge, and this is a throne, in what maner he doth iudge, & he saith fitting; and what it is that he doth iudge, and he saith iustice; and of what he doth giue iudgment, and he saith, that of my proper cause. VVhat prince this day of the world, hath wrought such high thinges, being on foote or on horsebacke, as thou O my good Iesus, being set in thy throne? who hath euer attained so great a victorie fighting, as thou hast done suffering? What is the throne where thou wast sitting, but the holy and true crosse where thou wast crucified? O glorious throne, O happy throne, on which thou wast accompanied with theeues, crowned with thornes, empty of bloud, thy pores o­pen, thy sinews stretched, poore of friends, and compas­sed with enemies.

Seeing then, that in this throne he was iudged and sentenced by Pilat the viceroy, how doth the prophet say, that from thence he iudged all the world? Likewise, how is it possible, that from thence he did dispatch my fact and cause, seeing that he lost his honor and his life? Sitting vpon the throne of the crosse, the sonne of God did iudge him who iudged, who was the diuell: iudged that which did iudge, which was the world: iudged of that which did iudge, which was sinne: did iudge that with the which he did iudge, which was tyrannie; inso­much that Pilat, executing iustice vpon him, he did also [Page] iustice vpon our iustice. O how well the prophet said, in saying, fecisti causam meam, and not fecisti causam tuam; considering that in the throne of the crosse, thou hadst there no cause to go vp, no businesse there to negotiat, vnlesse it were there for me to die, and for my sins there to pay. With great reason they are accustomed to be­head homicides, stone runnagates, and hang theeues, and crucifie blasphemers: but thou, O good Iesus, what theft hadst thou done? what blasphemies hadst thou spoken, seeing that for them thou shouldst be crucified? On the mount of Caluary, thou didst wel know that thou hadst nothing to doe, seeing that there, there were no blind men to giue sight vnto, no lame men to heale, no diuels to cast out, nor temples to preach in: whereof we may inferre, that if thou didst goe to the mount of Cal­uary, thou didst go for thy friendes businesse. VVhen didst thou make iudicium meum; but vvhen to deliuer me from eternall iudgement, thou didst suffer thy selfe to be iudged and condemned by Pilat the tyrant? vvhen O good Iesus, vvhen didst thou plead my cause, but vvhen thou didst suffer such a great torment and paine, as though thou thy selfe hadst committed the fault? vvhen didst thou iudge iustice, but vvhen thou didst take avvay from the diuel his forces, because he should be no longer iudge of my offences? Fecisti causam meam, when of an ignorant man, thou didst make me vvise: of a slaue, a free-man: of a stranger, a neighbour: of a condemned man, a quit: of Gentile, a Christian, and of an ene­mie, a sonne. Then didst thou take my cause in hand, vvhen in preiudice of thy person, thou didst intend no­thing but the sauing of my soule, I say againe in the pre­iudice of thy person, because that the more thou dids [...] in me, the more thou didst vndoe thee: didst not tho [...] [Page] vndoe and preiudice thy selfe, and benefit me, when of God thou didst become man, of inuisible, visible: of im­passible, passible: of immortall, mortall: of eternal, tem­porall, and of the Lord of Angels a reproch of men? O how thou didst plead my cause, seeing that to lift vp me, thou didst pull downe thee, to giue vnto me honour, thou didst take to thee infamie, and to deliuer me, thou didst suffer thy selfe to be taken; and also to excuse me, didst permit thy selfe to be condemned: insomuch that thou didst plead my cause to thy owne great preiudice: fecisti causam meam on the crosse, where like an aduocate thou didst pray for me, where like a Iudge thou didst pardon me, where like a kinsman thou didst pay for me, where like a brother thou didst answere for me, where like a friend thou didst die for me, and also where like a father thou didst weepe for me. Fecisti causam meam, in the royal throne of thy crosse, when thou didst heare me and the diuell, the diuell and me, and were before thee in iustice, when he said that I was his, and I said that I was not, but thine; and he to accuse me, did lay open my fault; and I to excuse my selfe, did lay downe thy bloud, and in the end thou didst make my cause, seeing thou didst expulse him, and admit me. Thou didst plead my cause; with the father, seeing thou didst obtaine par­don of him. Fecisti causam meam with the Angels: seeing thou didst giue them me for my guard, fecisti causam meam, with the Church; seeing that in her thou didst in­corporat me, thou didst make my cause with the diuell, seeing that out of his hands thou didst deliuer me: and also fecisti causam meam, with sinnes: seeing thou didst forgiue me them: fecisti causam meam, not hauing rea­son or cause to do it, seeing thou didst create me to thy image, redeeme me with thy bloud, endue me with thy [Page] merits, cure me with thy dolours, lighten me with thy doctrin, draw me to thy elect, & reform me with thy sa­craments, didst not happily forward my cause, and for­get thine own, seeing that frō the first moment in which thou wast born, vntil the last instant, in which thou didst die, thou didst neuer go step which was to thine ease: nor neuer worke any heroicall fact, which was not to my profit. O the light of my eies, O the rest of my soule, vpon my knees I beseech thee, and with teares I aske thee, that thou wouldest lighten my vnderstanding, make cleane my heart, guide my tongue, direct my pen, to the end, that as thou, fecisti causam meam, dieng for me, so I may likewise plead thy cause, writing so great a passion, and setting forth and magnifieng such infinite dolours. How shall I be able O my good Iesus to extoll the perils which thou didst see thy selfe in, the dolours which thou didst suffer, the sweares which thou didst passe, the teares which thou didst weepe, the bloud which thou didst shed, the infamie which thou didst en­dure, the death which thou didst end with: If thou do not reforme and helpe my memorie, make cleane my entrails, amend my customes, and guide my fingers? O eternall father, O great and infinite goodnesse, seeing that the Carpenters of Moises, durst not labour in the Mosaicall tabernacle, not being first filled with the ho­ly Ghost, how shall I dare, without thy holy loue put my hand in the passion of thy sonne? If Moses dare not come neere the thornes, but without hose, how shall I dare, without thy holy loue put my hand in the passion of thy sonne, vnlesse I haue my heart cleane? create then O God a cleane heart in me, and renew a right spirite in my bowels: for then I shalbe able to extoll the bloud which thou didst shed out of thy vaines, when thou [Page] shalt [...] [...]ane the spots of my bowels. O thou who wh [...] [...] burne with a burning yron Esaias tongue, to p [...] [...]nto the people: will it not please thee to know th [...] [...]y hurt, to contemplat in the passion of thy sonne? Workes so heroicall as those which thou hast done, O my good Iesus; a death so strange as this which thou didst suffer; a loue so excessiue as this which thou didst loue vs with; a redemption so perfect as this which thou didst end: what heart is able to thinke, what tongue suf­ficient to rehearse, what handes worthie perfectly to write? Consider O my good Iesus, and marke that in giuing me light in this which I write, both of vs doe gaine; and if thou wilt not guide me, both loose: for if the worke doe fall out a right, thine is all the glorie; if it erre, mine is all the fault; insomuch that in that case, the readers would leaue off to praise in thee the grace which thou hadst giuen me, and would blame in me, the errour which I had committed. Seeing thou didst giue thy fauour, and grace to Moses, going in the palace: to Dauid keeping sheepe: to S. Paul going on the way, and to S. Peter going a fishing, and to S. Mathew being in the custome house. Why wilt not thou likewise giue it vn­to me, who do so heartily demand it, and with so ma­nie teares craue it? If I doe aske for it, it is to the end with it to serue thee; and if I desire it, it is to hit a right in this worke, because thou doest know, O my good Ie­sus, that if I haue any small deuotion, it is in thy blessed and holy passion. Before thy presence, O good Iesus I appeare, and before thy goodnesse I present my selfe; and to thy omnipotencie I commend my selfe, and also to thy great clemencie, I offer all that which I shall write, and speake of thee in this booke, because no man in trueth can vtter high thinges of thee, nor yet [Page] thinke of thee, but being in thee, or neere vnto thee. Let the conclusion of all be, that if thou, O good Ie­sus, labia me aperies, I am verie ceraine, quod os meum an­nunciabit laudem tnam: and to the end I may reach vnto this, prostrate on the ground, and my eies bathed in teares, I say, Deus in adiutorium meum intende, Lord make hast to helpe me: for if thou doe giue me thy grace, neither shall I omit to goe aright in this so high a worke, nor to attaine af­terward thy eternall glorie.

HERE BEGINNETH THE BOOKE, CALLED THE Mount of Caluarie, wherin is contained the vnspeakeable mysteries, which the sonne of God wrought vpon that holy Mount, when as he did there suffer death for all mankinde.

CHAP. I. How the sonne of God was condemned to die, and how the like iudge­ment was neuer giuen in the world.

IEsum autem tradidit voluntati eorum; saith S. Luke, chap. 22. speaking of the sen­tence which Pilate gaue against Christ: and it is as if he would say; Seeing that Pilate the iudge could not obtaine of the Iewes, that which he requested, he a­agreed vnto them, and condescended vnto all that which they demanded: and therevpon he did not onely condemne the sonne of God to die: but also that they should reuenge themselues on him according vnto their owne will and pleasure. S. Cirillus vpon S. Iohn, saith that Pilat the kings deputie did not expresly command that they should crucifie Christ, or that they should hang him, or behead him, or throw him into a Well: but he did onely deliuer him to their will, to the end that they should doe with him what they would, and reuenge themselues on him as much as they could [Page 2] Damascen in a sermō saith, That because Pilat did deliuer Christ, voluntati eorum, vnto their will: the Iewes gaue him that death which they themselues would, and also iniuried him in all that they could. Origen vpon S. Mathew, saith thus, It is tollerable that accusers deliuer an offender vnto the iudge, but that the iudge should put the malefactor in the hands of his enemies, is not to be suffered: because that iustice is so to be executed vpō the wicked, that there appeare no token of reuenge in it. When Pi­lat the tyrant deliuered Christ vnto their will, he did peruert all order of vpright iustice in Christ: because that no man ought to be iudged by that which is spoken of him, but by that which is prooued against him; and yet without any inquirie made against him, and not giuing him the hearing according to the ordinarie course, he condemned him to loose his life, and that they should dispose of his person what they listed. Alberius vpon S. Luke, saith; that the Euangelist could not more liuely haue set forth Pilats naughtinesse, than to say of him, Quod adiudicauit fieri in­tentionem eorum; and that he deliuered Christ vnto their will: By which wicked words, he yeelded vnto their demand, and gaue them all which they desired. What else desired they, but to put him to death, and what death did they giue him, but cru­cifie him? O wicked Pilat, saith S. Chrysostome, O traiterous Pi­lat, seeing thou doest confesse with thy owne mouth, That the sonne of God was apprehended and taken through enuy, and is now accused through malice: Tell me I pray thee, why doest thou suffer enuy, to reuenge vpon innocencie; and permit that iustice be suppressed by malice? Cyprian vpon the passion of our Lord, saith; That when wicked Pilat did deluer Christ vnto their will, the Iewes were so execrably wicked, and their wils so cor­rupted, that if Christ had had a thousand liues, a thousand they would ben glad to haue taken from him; & if they could haue se­perated and vnioyned one member from another in him, peece by peece, they would neuer haue slaine him in so short a space: in­somuch that Christes life was long ended before their malice. Basil vpon the Psalmes saith, That because vniust Pilat did deli­uer Christ voluntati eorum: the Iewes were bold so many waies to torment him, and with so many iniuries to dishonour him: to [Page 3] weet, that going in the streets, with their feete they spurned him, with their knees they thrusted him forward, with their handes they wearied him, with their fingers they pulled him by the haire, with their elbowes they thumped him, with their tongues they blasphemed him, with their spears they pricked him; & be­cause they had license of Pilat to do by Christ what they listed, what did they leaue vndone that they could doe? Remigius saith in a sermon, At what time Pilat did deliuer Christ vnto their wil, the Iews might freely not haue crucified him, but haue loosed him, or giuen him some other kinde of death: but because the son of God had made choise to die vpon the altar of the crosse, the Iudge could not but command it, nor they but execute it: O good Iesus, O my soules loue, I appeale from Pilats sentence as much as I ought. For if the iudgement had been vpright & iust, there should not haue been commandement giuen, to deliuer thee vnto the Iewes, but the Iewes vnto thee: seeing they [...] into such a greeuous offence for no other reason, but because they would not remain vnder thy mightie hand. If Pilat would haue commanded them to haue followed thy will, as he willed them to work their will on thee; thou wouldst haue vsed greater benignitie towards thē, than they did towards thee: for in the end how much they were enclined to kil thee, so much wast thou de­sirous to pardon them. Neither wil I that Pilat command thee to do my wil, but warn me to do thy will. For if he diliuer thee vnto me, I know not what to do with thee: but if they deliuer me vnto thee, thou knowest right well how to dispose of me, seeing that it is well knowen vnto all men, that for to put my soule in safety, thou didst suffer thine owne life to be taken from thee. It is more wholesome counsell for vs to put our selues into the handes of God, than that God should commit himselfe into our handes: because it is not to be thought, that he will take away life from those who liue, who is accustomed to raise the dead to life.

Gregory in his Pastorall faith, That when God doth put himselfe into mans gouernment, and alwaies follow his appetite, it is a signe that that man is foreknown, and alreadie condemned vnto hell: because that hee who is beloued of God, and [Page 4] predestinated vnto glorie, in all entisements of the world is dire­cted by him, and suffereth him not to follow any one appetite at all. Woe be vnto that king, saith Simon de Cassia, woe be vnto that Iudge, and woe be vnto the president that filleth his iudge­ment with iniquitie, and doth not answer trueth; because that in criminall cases, that is not to be done which the accusers desire, but that which the lawes command.

It is here greatly to be waighed, why the holy scripture said, that Pilat the kings deputie deliuered Christ vnto them, to the end that they should do with him according vnto their will, and not according vnto their wils; seeing that where there is a multi­tude of people, there is varietie of opinions. Vnto this we answer and say, that it is a propertie of the wicked in matters touching vertue to disagree the one from the other: but in matters of sinne [...] wickenesse, they are alwaies of one opinion. Which priui­ [...] of theirs was kept in the death of Christ, where all the fews agreed to take away life frō the son of God. They agreed al to put him to death, they agreed al in crying crucifie, crucifie him, they agreed all, when they said; Let vs not loose him, but Barra­bas; they were also of one mind, when they said; Fie, thou who doest destroy the temple of God: insomuch that in all the mul­titude which was there present to behold that spectacle, there was no disagreeing nor contradiction at all among them, touching the taking away of Christes life; or blotting and obscuring his same. The scripture faith verie well, when it saith, He deliuered him vnto their will, and not vnto their wils; for Pilat being ex­cepted, who said I find no cause in him; and his wife who said, no­thing to thee and this iust man; and the theefe who said, This man hath done no euill thing: we read of none that turned to do Christ good, or made any resistance at all in his death. What meaneth this Pilat, what meaneth this? doest thou deliuer Christ and his life to such a peruerse nation, and perfidious people, and of such a damnable will as the Iews haue? canst not thou suffer their cries which sound in thy eares, and wilt thou that he suffer the whippings which open his shoulders? Is there any iustice which doth command, or any law which doth ordaine, that for to auoid their tongues, thou shouldst deliuer him into their hands? If thou [Page 5] didst so much feare their tongues, it had been reason, that thou shouldst haue declared the causes why thou didst condemne him: for in so doing, thou shouldst haue found without all doubt, that the Iewes did accuse him through malice, thou didst condemne him for feare, and he did die for loue. O my good Ie­sus, and my souls delight, who should be able to take thy life from thee, if it were not for thine infinit charitie? Thy inspeakable cha­ritie doth giue sentence on thee, thy goodnesse doth dissemble it, thy humilitie doth consent that it should be done, thy diuini­tie doth approoue it, thy heart doth embrace it, thy flesh doth feele it, my necessitie doth spread it abroad, and my onely fa [...] doth cause it. O thou giuer of life, O killer of death, who dare condēne thee to die? O my codēned Ies [...]▪ am not I happely he, who doth accuse thee, am not I he who doth condemne thee? If then I be he who is in fault, art thou he who is condemned? O the life of my life, why doest thou not cause my life to end with thine, seeing that this day thine doth end for me?

It doth well appeare (saith S. Barnard) O good Iesus, it doth well appeare, that I do not liue in thee, seeing that thou didst die without me: for if I did not liue with thee by grace, my life would also end this day with thee. Rabanus saith, That Naboth was iud­ged, because he would not giue his vineyard vnto king Achab; Susanna, because she would not yeeld to the lasciuiousnesse of the old men of Babilonia; but Christ was iudged to die, because the Priests did beare him great enuie: insomuch that now adaies, enuie, lecherie, and couetousnesse, do hinder the execution of iu­stice. S. Hierome vpon the Prophet Naum saith thus, That a man to be a naughty iudge, there needeth no more, but to be affectio­ned and passionate; seeing that the iudges condemned Susanna, because they were enamoured of her, as the Iewes condemned Christ, because they were passionate against him. Christ saith; that to the end iudgement may be right, and the iudge gift, it is verie necessarie, that neither entreatie bow him, nor teares make him gentle, nor gifts corrupt him, nor threatnings feare him, nor anger ouercome him, not hatred mooue him, nor affection de­ceiue him.

When the Iews said vnto Pilat, We haue no king but Caesar, [Page 6] it had been better for them (as Origen saith) to haue cut out their tongues, than to haue vttered such wicked wordes: because that from that very houre and moment, they departed from the God of Iudea; and made themselues vassals vnto Caesar of Rome: insomuch that they lost the libertie which they had, and fell into seruitude which they abhorred. Saint Augustine, vpon Saint Iohn, saith thus; With whom are ye better conten­tented, O ye Iewes, with the God which gouerneth Iudea, or with the emperour which ruleth Rome? doe ye not know, that the God of Iudea gaue you libertie, that you should haue captaines which you should follow, Priestes which you should beleeue, lawes which you should obserue, temples where you should adore, scriptures wherewith you should comfort your selues, and countries where you should remaine? And do you not know that Caesar, whom you acknowledge now for your Lord and king, hath made you captiues, murdered your children, throwne downe your walles, burnt your temples, spoi­led your kingdomes, and sold you all for bondmen? Seeing (saith Gregorie Nazianzen) before Pilat you asked that the bloud of this iust man should come vpon your children; and that you protested also in the same place, that you would be subiect vnto the Romanes: maruell not to see your selues persecuted of all nations, as you are; and be alwaies subiect vnto tyrants. Cy­rillus vpon Saint Iohn, saith thus; After that the vnhappie Iewes had said, Sanguis eius sit super nos, Let his bloud light vp­on vs; and also after they had said, We haue no other king but Caesar: they are naturally beaten downe of all the world, and alwaies gouerned by strangers. The which curse shall dure among them, vntill the end of the world; seeing that in Christs presence they renounced their libertie, and asked vengeance of their wickednesse.

It is to be waighed in this place, that there fell three feares at once into Pilats heart, and fought within him at one time tou­ching the crucifieng of Christ, or not crucifieng of him: the one, when he knew that he was innocent; the other, when he heard that he was the sonne of God; and the last when they threatned him that he could not be a friend vnto Caesar. But in the end he [Page 7] resolued, that Christ should rather loose his life, than he would loose the chiefe iusticeship of Iurie.

A verbis viri peccatoris ne timueritis, quia omnis gloria eius stercus & vermis est, said the great Matthathias vnto his sonnes the Machabees; as if he would say, Feare not the threatning words of a naughtie man, because his power and dignitie is but a worme and doung. If Pilat would haue remembred these words, he would neuer haue feared the Iewes threatnings; for when a good man doth that, which the law doth command him, and that which reason doth prescribe him; let him be sure, that if a naughtie man haue power to contradict him, yet he shall not be able to destroy him. For this being considered, that the number of the good is but small, the wicked would quickly make an end of them, if God would giue them leaue to destroy them. For as their intentions are wicked, and their tongues poisoned: so their hands should be very bloudy. But seeing there doth not one leafe fall from the tree, which God will not haue to fall; how can any man hurt the iust, if he do not permit him? Who dare say, that our Lord hath not a greater care of the soules of his faithfull, than of the leaues of trees? The king ought not omit to punish a malefactor, nor the iudge to acquite the iust, nor the prelate to beare a zeale to that which is good, neither for feare, nor threatning: seeing that no good thing can come vnto vs, but by his will; nor any euill happen vnto vs, but by his sufferance. There had not been one Saint, nor Martyr this day in the Church of God; if they would haue been afraid of that which tyrants did vnto them. And thereupon the true seruant of our Lord will not say, What will they say of me, but, What will become of me; because that hard wordes do feare, but foule workes doe condemne. O how farre from these considerations Pilat the viceroy was, when onely for feare of man he violated iustice, yeelded vnto malice, condemned innocencie, and dam­ned his owne soule.

CHAP. II. How Pilats seruants, the better to mocke at Christ, did cloath him in a purple garment: and of the great mysteries which the Church gathereth of that garment.

POstquam autem illuserunt ei, exuerunt il­lum purpura, & induerunt eum vestimen­tis suis, Saith S. Marke, chap. 15. as if he would say, After that they had whipped innocent Iesus in Pilats court, & iniuried him in wordes, they put off the purple robe, which in mockery they had put on him, and clothed him in his first gar­ments, which they had taken from him. Aulus Gelius, and Ma­crobius write, that from the time that the emperiall monarchie began among the Assyrians, and went vnto the Romanes; the Romane emperours did alwaies vse fiue notable priuiledges: by the which they were honoured and knowne of all men. These emperiall and princely priuiledges were; to weare a crowne of gold vpon their head, hold a royall scepter in their hand, weare a garment of purple or scarlet on their bodie, be spoken vnto with the knees on ground, and that they should keepe the gods from all perill and danger. Plutarch saith, That to be carried in a a horse-litter, clothed with purple, dine with his gate shut, weare gold on his gowne; was only lawfull for the dictator of Rome: in­somuch that they did not suffer men to liue according vnto their opinion; but conformably vnto reason.

The case then standeth thus; that when the sonne of God had confessed before Pilat that he was a king, although his king­dome was not of this world; Pilats seruantes fell into a great laughter, and tooke Christ to be a very simple man, because that it seemed vnto them that to be a king, (as he said he was) he was weake in power, poore in wealth, simple in his answers, meane of knowledge, and altogether without fauour. And the mat­ter did not thus end, in that they did laugh to heare Christ say, [Page 9] that he was a king, but they skorned much more at him, when they heard him say, that his kingdom was not of this world. And the cause was, because Pilat and his companions did not thinke that there was any other life, but that the soule did die with the bodie: and so they tooke that aunswer for an exceeding great folly, and therefore they tooke occasion to make a very ieasting stocke and a play of Christ. And therefore comming to play their parts, they brought in Christ for a king, and Pilats seruants for his vassals, and because he should represent the person of a king, they put a garment of purple vpon his backe, and a crowne of thorns vpon his head, and in his left hand a scepter of a reed, and bowing their knees said vnto him, all haile king of Iurie.

S. August. vpon S. Iohn saith, If the son of God should haue said, My kingdom is of this land, he might haue seemed to haue pre­iudiced the Romane common wealth, but seeing he saith, that his kingdome is not of this world, but of the other; tell me (O Pilat) what preiudice doth he to the Romane empire? Where Christ saith, that his kingdome is not of this world, S. Ierome saith, That in this speech he hid a greater mysterie than Pilat was worthie to reach vnto or vnderstand: seeing that therby we are assured that there is another life to come after this; and that we hope for ano­ther glory after this paine. If Christ had said only (saith Am­brose vpon S. Luke) that he was not a neighboure of this world; he had sayd very little; but in saieng that his kingdom was not of this world, he sayd much: because that by those words he gaue vs to vnderstand, that as wicked men in this world haue ma­ny things to delight them selues & reioyce in, so he also in the other, had a kingdom to reward his withall.

Anselmus saith, Pilat sitting in his tribunall seat, and the theefe that was in the prison heard these words a like, My kingdome is not of this world; & yet Pilat laughed at the saieng, How is it possible that thou shouldest be a king? and the theefe vpon the crosse said, Lord remember me. Oderuns Aegiptij filios Israel il­ludeneres eis: & ad amaritudinē perducetes vitā eorū, saith the holy scripture, Exodus 1, as if he should say, The children of Israel in the captiuitie of Aegypt were very much discomforted, & with­out all hope: not so much for the troubles & vexatiōs which they [Page 10] gaue them, as for the iniurious words which they vttered a­gainst them; iniuring them at euery word, with dog, slaue, Iew, and such like reprochfull terms. Ascende calue, Ascende calue, said the children of Samaria in Bethel, skoffing & iesting at old holy Eliseus, 2. Reg. 2. Whether doest thou go old bald fellow, or from whence doest thou come old pilled man?

When pensiue king Saule fled from the warre, through the mountains of Gilboa, as the Philistians pursued him; he said vnto his speare-bearer, percute me, ne forte veniant isti incircumcisi, & illudentes mihi interficiant me; as if he should say, Draw that thy swoord out of hand, and cut off my head with it in this place, be­fore the enemies ouertake vs and sley both thee and me; for I should be more greeued at the reprochful speech which in skof­fing sort they dare vse against me, than for the life which they can take from me.

Of these notable examples we may gather, what a great of­fence it is to skoffe and frumpe one at another: which dooth plainly appeare, in that, that euery man of a free and noble cou­rage, and shamefast countenaunce, doth more greeue at a spight­full and contemptuous word spoken against him, than at tenne wounds giuen vnto his person. Seneca in an epistle sayth, That because a noble heart doth regard nothing more in this life, than that all men should make reckoning and account of him; there is no greefe which doth deeper wound his heart, than to see men skorne and skoffe at his words. Plutarch reporteth, that Alcibi­ades the Graecian sayd; I sweare by the immortal gods, that I did not so much greeue for being banished from Lycaonia, or that my goods were confiscate, or my person wounded, as I did at one contemptuous word which Tesiphon vsed against me in Micara; by the which he did let me vnderstand, that he had a great pre­sumption of himselfe, and of me small reputation.

This being supposed, we may well gather what greefe the sonne of God felt, to see himselfe skorned and mocked by Pilats seruaunts. The which iniurie and skoffing, good Iesus did so much the more feele, than all others, by how much lesse he did deserue it than all others. S. Barnard in a Sermon of the pas­sion of our Lord, sayth, Aboue all which were borne in this [Page 11] world, Christ did most of all feele euery iniurie which was said or done vnto him: because that in the labours and vexations which we suffer, it doth much ease the paine which we endure to compare it with the fault which we committed. But because our blessed Lord could not cōpare his punishment, with his fault but with his innocencie; he did not only feele and greeue at the shame and reproche which they did vnto him; but also the mal­lice vvhich came vvith it. Men are vvont in court to skoffe at such as are ill fauoured in their personage, filthy in their doings, fooles in their speech, proud in conuersation, & therfore presume more than they deserue, and deserue lesse than they haue. Who dare say that there was any spot in Christ, or that he was noted for any vnseemly thing? Those of Pilats palace, had no occasion and lesse reason to mock at Christ, seeing that his personage was very beautiful, his conuersation very holy, his doctrine very ca­tholicke, his words very circumspect, and his works very orderly and vertuous. Mocke not O Pilat (sayth Chrisost. vpon S. Matth.) mocke not at Christ, neither doe thou consent, that those of thy house scoffe him, by clothing him in purple: for there is more in him than doth now appeare, and heareafter there vvill more ap­peare of him than now doth: for as in vs that which vve presume is more than that vvhich vve are vvorthy of, so in the sonne of God, that vvhich he hid of his goodnes, is more than that which he shewed to the world. Why (saith Bonauēture in Stimulo) doost thou cōtinue to go to the palace, seeing thou wast euilly handled by those of that palace? doost thou not know, that in Caiphas pa­lace, they did buffet thee, in Herodes Ascalonitas, they wold haue taken thy life from thee, in the other Herodes Agrippa, they put a white gown on thy backe, and in Pilats palace in skoffing maner they clothed thee in purple? O cōfortlesse mother, why art not thou present when they skoffe and iniurie thy son, & why doost thou not giue eare to the reproches they vse against him? & see­ing thou canst not saue his life, vvhy doost thou not recouer thy goods from them? Is he not thy flesh, seeing thou broughtst him into the world? & his blood thine, seeing thou gauest it him, and his cote thine, seeing thou didst spin it? If his flesh be thine, vvhy do they whip it? if the blood be thine, why do they shead it? if [Page 12] his cote be thine, why do they take it from him? O wicked Pilat, O vniust iudge, in what law of the Romanes diddest thou find, that in one day and in one hower, they should take away the sonnes life and the mothers goods? had it bene much for you to haue left one coat vnto the sonne of such a mother? be not discomforted, O comfortlesse mother; but consider that which he keepeth for thee, and that which thou doest keepe for him, that is, his heart and thy heart; and doe not feare that Pilat can take them from you, or the hangman diuide them in two.

Rupertus vpon S. Iohn sayth, The hatred which the Iewes bare Christ was so great, that by their wils they would haue changed him into another; and therevpon it was, that they changed his skinne when they whipped him, they changed his cote when they mocked him, they changed his estate when they crowned him, they changed his name when they sayd, Be­hold the Man; they changed his familie when they gaue him theeues for his companions; and they changed his life, when they did put him to death. Tu scis opprobrium meum, & confusio­nem meam, & reuerentiam meam, saith the Prophet in Christs name, Psal. 68. as if he should say, O my eternall father, thou and no other, doost know well the nicknames they vse against me, the iniuries they doe vnto me, the confusion they put me vnto, and the false witnesse that they beare against me: in so much that, that which I suffer by them is very much, and that which I deserue to suffer very little. Cassiodorus vpon these words sayth, The sonne of God had reason to say vnto his father, Tu scis opprobrium meum, because the iniuries which he suffered were so many, and the torments which he felt so greeuous, that there was none of the martyrs able to abide and suffer them, nor any tongue to rehearse them.

Neither dooth it want a great mysterie for the sonne to say vnto the father, Tu scis confusionem meam, & reuerentiam meam, Thou knowest the reuerence and respect which is due vnto me, and the confusion and despight which I suffer of the wicked; of which words we may gather, that Christ did not greeue lesse for the honour which they tooke from him, than at the punishment [Page 13] which they gaue him. For the sonne to say vnto the father, tu scis confusionem meam, is to let vs vnderstand, that when he saw him­selfe in Pilats palace with a crown of thorns vpon his head, a gar­ment of purple lapt on his body, a hollow reed in his left hand, his person mocked at, his doctrine ieasted at; his shame was so great, that if it had bene offered vnto any other of lesser courage than himselfe, he would haue died for greefe and shame in the place. S. Cyprian sayth, That the sonne of God had great reason to say vnto his father, Thou doost know my confusion, & meam reue­rentiam, for if we will confesse that which Christ did merit, toge­ther with that which he did suffer for vs, we should not only not be able to reckon it, but also not to thinke it.

The iniuries which we did speake of before, which the Ae­gyptians did vnto the Iewes, the Philistines vnto king Saul, the children vnto the prophet Eliseus, and Michal vnto king Dauid, were all common iniuries, and such as men indure daily; but those that were done to good Iesus, were not only greeuous to beare, but also such as neuer were before suffered by any. Who will not say, but that Christ had great reason to say vnto his father, tu scis confusionem meam, seeing that with the purple robe, with which in times past they clothed princes for an honor, they clothed Christ for dishonour? Was it not a great kind of martyrdome, to vse as an infamie and a discredit vnto Christ, all those badges of honour with the which all other princes shewed their greatnesse.

We know well that the vaile of Sanctum sanctorum was of pur­ple, and the curtains of the Arke of purple, and the captaine Holo­fernes his pauilion of purple, and that in Pharao his house they cloathed Daniell with purple, and that on the marriage day Io­nathan vvas cloathed in purple, in so much that before Christ came into the world, all such as apparelled themselues in purple; did it as a great honour due vnto them. Shall the purple then, that was had for an honour in Sanctū sanctorum, and was an ornament to the temple, loose his reputation, and be counted vile, because the sonne of God was cloathed with it? Why did God permit that there should be purple in the old temple, seeing that his son should be mocked with it before Pilat? considering that it is said by thee, O good Iesus, If any man honour me, my father which is [Page 14] in heauen, will honour him. Why doost thou promise honour and credit vnto those which serue thee, and yet doost suffer the poore purple which cloathed thee, to loose it? In paiment of that, that the poore purple did couer thy naked and vvounded body, vvilt thou therfore that for that cause it loose his old honour? O that in me and vpon me, the purple is not abased but exhalted! not disho­nored, but highly honoured! for in suffering that in my passion, I shold be clothed with it, there is a great mysterie signified, which is now vnknown to Pilats seruants, and shalbe hereafter reuealed vnto the martyrs of my church. Caput tuum vt Carmelus, & come capitis tui, vt purpura regis iuncta canalibus, cant. 7. saith the bride­groome vnto Christ, as if she should say, When I settle my selfe to behold thee, I see that thy head is as big as the hill Carmel, and thy throat as high as a high tower of yuorie, and the colour of thy haire as it were of princely and fine purple, when it is died with the blood of the oyster.

Before we come vnto the sence of this speech, it shall be ne­cessery to declare the letter of it, because there be many things in holy scripture so obscure, that they cannot be vnderstood, vn­lesse they be declared and laid open from the bottome. It is then to be noted, that in times past they called nothing purple, but the garment which was died with the blood of a sea shell-fish. And because the garment might be the better died, they threw the blood of the fish into woodden conduits, and then the garment died of that wooll there, they called roiall purple, because that kind of sea-fish (called a sea oister) was only found in the sea that compasseth Cyprus: as those oisters were few, so it followeth that there was but little purple. And thereof proceeded the law, that no man should be so bold as to weare purple, vnlesse he were a prince, or of roiall blood. Applying then the figure vnto the thing figured, we will say that by the head is meant Christ, by the con­duits, his precious wounds; by the die of the oister, his pretious blood; by his long haire, his holy glory; and also by his purple locks, his glorious martyrs; who were died & made red, not with the blood of the oisters of Cyprus, but with the blood which ran from his side, when he was tied at Pilats pillar. S. Cyprian in his booke of martyrdome sayth, For the sonne of God to suffer him­selfe [Page 15] to be ieasted at, and cloathed in a purple garment in Pilats house: what other meaning had it, but only the blood, which the martyrs should shed for him throughout the world? And what other meaning had his cloathing of purple, and the couering of all his naked flesh with the same bare garment, but onely that he would esteeme so much of the bloodshed by thē, that he would cloath himselfe with it, and honour himselfe with it, as with his owne?

It wanteth not a mysterie, and that a great mysterie, that the garment wherwith they clothed & mocked Christ, was first died with the blood of the oister, and then with that which ran from Christ, thereby to giue vs to vnderstand, that all our works are of no value, if they be not first bathed in the grace and blood of Christ. And that in Pilats house the blood of the purple should meet with the blood of Christ without spot, and there giue die vpon die, colour vpon colour, and painting vpon painting. It was to let vs vnderstand plainly, that when Christ did bathe that pur­ple with his owne pretious blood, that then he did allow and re­ceaue for his own, all the blood that afterwards should be shed for him in his church. Theophilact. sayth, As the holy-ghost made Caiphas to say, It is expedient that one die; and Pilat to say, That which I haue written, I haue written; so he made Pilats seruants to cloath Christ with a purple garment and no other. For it is no other thing for blessed Iesus to be compassed with purple, but to be vnited with his catholicke church. S. Ierome vpon S. Matthew sayth, Not by chaunce, but for a great mysterie, Christ was cloa­thed with a garment of purple red, and mocked and skorned in it, because that all which they did the more to dishonour and de­fame him, did follow after vnto Christ his greater honor & fame: seeing that afterward there were an infinit number of martyrs that cloathed themselues with the same bloody purple, and which with good will lost their liues for his sake. O purple red garment! O happie purple! where did thy price rise to so high a price? when thou wast cloathed vpon Christs flesh. When wast thou so estee­med in princes houses; or vpon emperors persons so respected; as when thou wast woorthie to couer that sacred flesh, vnder whose feet all the Seraphins doe lay their crownes? The eternall [Page 16] father giueth his angels no other licence, but vpon knee to adore his sonne; and doth he giue leaue to cloth to couer him? And doost thou not know, O purple, that in times past thou didst ho­nour him whom thou didst cloath? and that now he whom thou doost couer, doth giue thee honour?

O good Iesu, O the loue of my soule, wilt thou not make a skarlet garment of my stonie heart, with the which I may couer thy whipped flesh, and thou with the same couer my wounded soule? Die then, O good Iesus, die this my heart vvith thy preti­ous blood; and make of it a purple or a skarlet garment, with the vvhich thou mayst couer thy selfe, and cloath me. For if thy bo­die be hurt with wounds, is it not woorse that my soule is loaden with offences? It cannot be sayd then that purple hath lost his estimation, because Christ was cloathed with it: for it was neuer so much set by when a Prince wore it in earnest, as when they cloathed Christ with it in ieast.

It is also to be vveighed, that in Pilats house Christ was co­uered all ouer with purple, and in the figure which we spake of before, his haire was only coloured with that colour; whereby he doth giue vs to vnderstand, that our Lord doth as well accept of good desires, which are figured by the haire, as he doth accept of workes which are figured in the garment of purple. S. Barnard in an epistle sayth, That he is cloathed in purple red, on whome the blood of Christ is well bestowed; and then the blood of Christ is well bestowed, when he doth conforme his life vnto the Gos­pell: because it doth little auaile a christian, that Christ his blood was shead for him, if he do not bathe his owne life in it. Then the feruaunt of our Lord hath his haire died in purple, when he hath all his thoughts occupied in thinking on the blood of Christ.

CHAP. III. How Christ was crowned with thorns, and of diuers sorts of crowns, and of the great mysteries which are meant by them.

ET plectentes coronam de spinis, possuerunt super caput eius, saith Saint Mathew chap. 27. As if he should say, After that the hangmen had clothed Christ in purple red, and taken his owne garmentes from him, they put a crowne of thornes vpon his head; which they did the better to mocke him, and laugh him to skorne. It was without all doubt a greeuous skoffe, and a cruell inhumanitie, to crowne and hedge in Christes head with thornes. For if an old troden thorne doe hurt and pricke the hardest heeles; how much more should they hurt and rent in sunder Christes tender temples? This crowne was made of certaine drie bulrushes of the Sea, hard and sharpe; of the which they wreathed a crowne, placing the sharpe pricking endes one against the other, which they put vp­on Christes head, like a crowne, or an Aester garland.

If Aulus Gellius report a trueth, they had in Rome one kinde of crowne, which they called Triumphall, which they gaue alwaies vnto him who had wonne king or kingdome: An­other called Miletarie, or belonging to a souldier, which they gaue vnto him, who had slaine another in a challenge: there was another called Obsidionall, which they gaue vnto him, who had leuied a siege, and so deliuered the people: Another called Nauall, which they gaue vnto him, who had ouercome by seat Another called Ciuicall, which they gaue vnto him, who had set the common-wealth in peace and quietnesse: And one o­ther there was also, which they called Castrense, or belonging to an armie, which they gaue vnto him who had appeased mutinies in the campe.

Among all these kindes of crownes, haue you heard of anie made of thornes? Cyprian saith, The crowne which they put vp­on Christ his head, either was put for dishonour, or for honour, for a punishment, or for what other cause you will: and yet from the beginning of the world, vntill the comming of the sonne of God, there was neuer any crowned with a crowne of thorbs, nei­ther for honour, nor dishonour, not yet for a punishment. But be­cause these men were the members of the diuell, they inuented [Page 18] that new kind of torment. Was not (thinke you) that inuention of the crowne, a new kinde of torment, seeing that they did so fix it, and place it vpon Christes head, that all the endes of the thornes were bloudied with the bloud of the lamb: and euery prickle en­ameled with the skin of God? Theophilus saith, When Christ was clothed in purple, that went no further than to a iest: but vvhen they did put a crowne of thorns vpon his head, that went further than a iest; and became a greeuous pain and punishment, & such as neuer was heard of before. For looke how many thornes did enter into Christ his skin; so many streames of bloud did issue out of his head. The thornes went in, where the bloud issued out; and bloud issued out, where the thornes went in. Insomuch that as the lether thongs did open his shoulders when he was whipped at the pillor, so the thorns did likewise pierce his head in the palace.

Barnard saith likewise, That the greatest tormentes which Christ did feel in his passion, & that which most of all went to his heart, were his sweating of bloud through the pores of his body, the piercing of his braine with the thorns, the breaking of his si­newes with the nailes, and his mothers swooning before his face. Tell me, O good Iesus, tel me I pray thee, what disease hast thou in thy head; that they should search it with sharpe thornes? hast thou any putrified bloud in it, that requireth letting of it out in so many places? If thy head be broken, O good Iesus, seeke no cure in Pilats palace; for his courtiers doe not stanch bloud, but let bloud; they binde vp no wounds, but open them; they heale no sores, but make them: yea they cure not, but kill. O how well thou didst pay the lieuetenant Pilat, for remaining one night in his house, seeing thou didst hallow the greatest part of it with thy bloud! For there was no porch, gallery, nor hall, which thou didst passe through, which thou didst not leaue sprinckled with it. Anselmus saith, When the time came to crowne the sonne of God with thornes, the hangmen went so carefully to seeke one out, and so quickly they wreathed it, and so furiously put it vpon his head, and so cruell they were in pressing it downe, that they did not fauour their owne handes, although they did hurt them with the thornes: in such sort that they did wipe the bloud which ranne downe their cursed handes, either on the purple [Page 19] which he ware, or else besmeared and annointed Christ his face with it.

Vngit Moses digito suo altare sanctum, & omnia vtensilia eius oleo vnctionis, saith the holy scripture, Leuiticus 8. and the mea­ning is; That day in which God commaunded Aaron to be made the chiefe Priest, good Moses did annoint all the holie altar with holy oyle, and all thinges else which vvere vvithin the tabernacle. That high figure doth verie well answere vnto the thing figured, seeing that the holy altar is Christ, the orna­mentes, his sacred members, which were all annointed and hal­lowed, not with oile of Oliues, but vvith the bloud vvhich ranne out of his bovvels. And as Moses left nothing about the altar, vvhich hee did not hallow vvith that holie oile; so there vvas no one member of Christ, vvhich vvas not bathed vvith his owne pretious bloud; insomuch that if at that time, there had been an anatomie made of Christes bodie, they should haue found more of his bloud shed vpon the ground, than ga­thered vvithin his vaines.

What other meaning hath it, that the altar vvas annointed vvith holy oyle, and the very same day to make Aaron high Priest; but onely that the selfe same day, that Christ did an­noint his body with his owne bloud, he chose the Priesthood of his Church? There is great difference betwixt the vnction of the Church, and the vnction of the Synagogue; because that Moses did spend no more oyle, than vvould wet one fin­ger onely; but in the vnction, vvhich our great redeemer made, of his Church, he did not spend his bloud by fingers, and small quantities, but by pintes and quartes: insomuch that although he could haue annointed all the vvorld vvith one onely drop; yet he shed all that was in his body. Considering how Christ his garment was bathed in the inside, with the bloud vvhich ranne from his shoulders, and on the outside bebloudied vvith that vvhich ranne from the prickes of the thornes: it is little to be doubted that vvho should haue beholden Christ all that time, he vvould haue seemed rather some beast panched, than a man which were aliue.

O what difference there is betwixt seeing and writing it! spea­king [Page 20] and tasting it! that is the narrow straight that thou sawest thy self in, and the sad & sorrowful agonie which thou didst passe through, when in Pilats house, some did pull of thy owne gar­ments, and others cloath thee in purple; some put the crowne on thy head, and others presse down the thorns to thy head, & some put the reed in thy hand, & others strike thee on thy head with it. And to what end did they strike thee with the reed on the head, but because the thorns shuld pierce deeper into thy brains? What should I say more? but that some called him king of the Iewes, some a captaine of theeues; some did reach him a stoole to sit on, and some tooke it away againe by stealth, because hee should fall: insomuch, that considering the hast which they made, and extremitie which they put him vnto, we may vvell say, that they neither gaue him time to rest, nor place to breath in. What will a row of thornes put togither doe, being as they were thrust into the flesh of his most sacred temples: when any one of them was sufficient to teare his skinne, and did in ve­rie deed shed his bloud, rent his flesh, breake his skull, and make his very braines to flie out? If thou canst not suffer thy head be loaden with haire, what thinkest thou good Iesus should feel, being loaden with brambles and thornes? Maledicta terna in opere tuo, spinas & tribulos germinabit tibi, said God vnto our father Adam, when he had sinned; as if he had said, I did blesse the earth, when I did first create it, and now I curse it, seeing I see thy sinne: and the curse which I giue it is, that in stead of giuing thee good wheat, she giue thee many brambles, and in lieu of many eares of corne, she giue thee many briers and thornes; insomuch that thou mayst loose that vvhich thou hast sowen, and that thou mayst plough and digge, and not receiue the fruit of thy trauell. O high mysterie, and vnspeakeable secret! seeing that in the old lavv the crosse vvas cursed, & he likewise which died vp­on it; and seeing the earth was cursed, and the thornes vvhich she brought forth: but vvhen good Iesus his pleasure vvas to end his life vpon the crosse, and after he had suffered them to crovvne his holy head vvith thornes, all vvas healed, euerie thing made able and good, all things blessed, all things reconciled, and hal­lovved vvith his pretious bloud.

Cyprian vpon the passion of our Lord saith; For God to say vn­to our first father, that the earth wherin he dwelled should bring forth thornes and briers, was to say that our cursed flesh should bring vs forth sins and offences; all which, like vnto sharp thorns, should pricke our consciences, & make our soules to bleed. Then the sinful soule doth bleed, whē the bloud of Christ doth not be­nefit her, & then the bloud of Christ doth not benefit her, when the thorne of sinne doth not come out of the conscience: inso­much that he first endeth his life, then he giueth ouer sinne: The earth of my owne flesh is cursed, and out of fauour: for if I take from it the brambles of pride, she bringeth forth presently thornes of enuie, If I weed it of the nettles of couetousnesse, im­mediatly springeth vp thistles of anger: and if I grub the bu­shes of gluttonie, straightway she bringeth vp swelling bubbles of lecherie; and if she rest but one day, she casteth vp by and by the grasse of slouth.

Theophil. saith, What weapons thinkest thou hath the diuell but onely the thornes of our consciences? These wicked wea­pons Christ tooke away from him, when he was crowned with thornes: and thereupon it is that how much the more, blessed Iesus did load his head with thornes, so much the more hee did vnburden our soules of sinnes. What other meaning was there for the son of God to put so many thorns vpon his head, but only that he would load himselfe with all our offences? Why didst thou consent, O my good Iesus, that with the thornes they should as it were with awgers boare thine head: but onely ther­by to take away from thence, in vs, the matter and corruption of sinne? that matter and corruption then is poison, that is to say sin, seeing that a small sinne is inough to poison all the world. O how much greeuouser a paine the crowne of my sinnes and offences gaue Christ, than all the thornes which the Iewes put vpon his head: because the thornes wearied him but one day, but the crowne which I giue him doth greeue him euerie houre and day.

Abstaine then O my soule, abstaine from sinning, and thou my heart abstaine from vncleane desires: because that how ma­ny sinnes thou doest euery day commit, so many thornes thou [Page 22] doest weaue, and put into the crowne of thy God: and that which is worst of all, is, that Pilats thornes were fastened only vn­to his head, but your sinnes go through his soule. Basill saith, As the thornes which entered into Christ his head, were so manie fountaines of bloud, which did runne from him: so in like maner the martyrs which shed their bloud for God, did put so manie pretious crownes vpon his head. What other thinges were the stones with the which they stoned Saint Stephen, but sharpe thornes with the which they tooke away his life, and made a crowne of glorie for blessed Iesus? who doubteth, saith Saint Augustine, vpon Saint Iohn, but that that by the crowne is vn­derstood glorie, and by the thornes wreathed in it, the flesh of martyrs rent and torne in peeces? Not without a great mysterie Christ did put the crowne of thornes vpon his head, rather than elsewhere; because there is nothing in this mortall life, which giueth so much honour to Christ & to his Church, as the martyrs which lost their life for him. It ought to be deeply considered, that it is neuer read, that Christ did at anie time put a garland of roses vpon his head: and yet wee know vvell that hee put a crowne of thornes, whereby we are giuen to vnderstand, that in high roomes of the Church, delicate soft men, like vnto roses, ought not to be placed; but penitent, austere, and rough men like vnto thornes. In spina horti omnes aues sedebant, saith the Prophet Baruch: chap. 6. As if he should say, I saw in a great garden a bush of thornes verie sharpe and bigge; vpon which bush, there sate and made their neasts, all the birdes which could flie.

Saint Ierome vpon these wordes saith, The bushes and thornes are nothing else, but the temptations which fight within vs, and the aduersities which we endure; both which we haue no reason now to feare: especially seeing that the sonne of God would crowne himselfe with thorne, because he did cast no tra­uell vpon himselfe, whereof he did not first disburden me. Did he not (pardie) load all that vpon himselfe, whereof he did vn­load me; when he tooke vpon himselfe the punishment which I deserued, and gaue me the grace which himselfe possessed, and also when he tooke my death and gaue me his life? For the Pro­phet [Page 23] to say that all the birdes, made their neasts in those bu­shes, is to tell vs, that all the thornes of our tribulations were broken, and were made blunt in Christ his head; by reason whereof we haue no cause to feare them, because that all those which were sharpe thornes in his head, be vnto vs verie sweet and soft roses. It is much to be noted, that the Prophet did not see any of those beastes fall vpon the thornes, which go vsually vpon the ground, but onely those birdes which flie in the aire; to let vs vnderstand thereby, that all such which Christ will put vpon his crowne, must suffer many thornes of aduersitie; be­cause that sweet Iesus doth put our pleasures vnder his feete, and our trauels and paines vpon his head. If thou wilt therefore my brother, haue Christ to put thee vpon his head, and haue place in his holy crowne, make vnto thy selfe a thorne of au­stere life, and in thy aduersities haue great patience, because that vnder crownes of gold manie pleasures are suffered; but vnder the crowne of thorns, there is nothing but paine and trauell ad­mitted. Rupertus vpon Abacuc saith: For the Prophet to say, that the birds did light, and make their neasts in that bush of thornes, is thereby to teach vs, that because all mans life is nothing but a continuall tentation, we may say truely, that he hath no neast in the crowne of Christ, who is not compassed with trauell and tentation.

The Prophet saw none of those birdes which he saw, light vpon the greene flourishing trees, but onely vpon drie thornes; vvherein hee doth signifie, that if we will be perfect, and make our neast in the crowne of our Lord; it is conuenient for vs first to wreathe a crowne of thornes, hardening our selues against all aduersities: because that looke how manie tentations we shall ouercome in this life, so manie pretious stones doe we gather togither, to enrich and beautifie our owne crowne vvithall.

What other thing were the stones, vvith the vvhich they did stone S. Stephen vpon earth, but certain pretious stones vvith the vvhich they did crowne him in heauen? O good Iesus, O my soules delight, I vvould to God it would please thy infinit goodnes to giue me this thy crown, & if not; yet to impart vnto [Page 24] me some part of it: for although I be not a king worthy to be crowned; yet I am a sinner worthy to be punished, and how vn­iustly thou wast crowned, so iustly should I be mitred with a scrowle of my offences. What meaneth this, O good Iesus, what meaneth this? Vpon Palme sunday last, as thou didst enter into Hierusalem they did cast oliue branches vnder the asses feete thou didst ride vpon, and doe they now put drie thorns vpon thy head? Why doest thou suffer or yeeld thy consent, that they should do more honour vnto the earth which the asse treadeth, than this day they doe vnto thy sacred head? O cruell thornes, O vngratefull creatures, I coniure you by that God which made you, and by that which you owe vnto pietie I aske you, that you giue ouer piercing of those holy temples, and that you would en­ter into my sinfull bowels: for out of Christ his head you shall draw nothing but bloud, but out of my wofull bowels, you shall draw thousands of sinnes: seeing you will let any man bloud, O cruell thornes, I am he whom you should doe it vnto, I am hee of whom you should make the anatomie; for looke how vniustly you did let my God bloud from the vaine of the head; so iustly you might let me bloud from the vaine of my offences? I haue said verie little; in saying that you might let me bloud in one vain: for I might better haue said, that you should let me bloud in all: for the sinnes which I haue committed are so many, that with­out comparison they are more in number than my vaines, and my wickednesse more than all the members of my body. I doe not aske thee, O good Iesus, I doe not aske thee with our mother Eve, that thou wouldst giue me of the tree which was forbidden, nor with S. Peter, that thou wouldest take me into the boat with him, nor with the Zebedees that thou wouldest place me on thy side, nor with the Ruler that thou wouldst go to my palace, that which I aske and entreat thee for is, that thou wouldest giue me thy holy crowne for my pillow, and that thou thy selfe wouldest be the downe to stuffe it. O mightie redeemer, O my Lord crowned with thorne, tell me I beseech thee wherof wilt thou be liberall and magnificent, if thou be hard for thornes and bram­bles? Giue me leaue then, giue me leaue, in this thicke platted hedge to make my abode, giue me leaue among these thornes [Page 25] to make my neast: if not, yet at the least suffer me to sleepe in the shadow of the bushes; and that if there fall not to my lot, part of the thornes which are on high, yet that there come vnto me some of the bloud which runneth downe vnto the ground.

CHAP. IIII. How for a mockery & a ieast, the Iewes did put a reed in Christs right hād: & of the high mysteries which are gathered therby.

POsuerunt arundinē in dextra eius: & per­cutientes caput eius, salutabant eum, dicen­tes, aue rex Iudaeorū, saith S. Math. chap. 28. As if he would say, The Iews not be­ing contented, to haue clothed the son of God in a thread bare purple red gar­ment, and put a crown of thorn vpon his head, did also put a hollow reede in his right hand, and bowing their knees, stroke him on the head with it, & saluted him for king of Iury. This was the third mock which they gaue vnto the diuine person of Christ, and in the first when they clothed him in purple, they coated him like an ambitious man: In the second, that is, when they crowned him, they quipped him of pride: and in the third, to weet, in the reed, they noted him for a dizard. Cyprian vpon the passion saith, As among great prin­ces, their soueraigne dignitie was signified in wearing of pulple, & shewed their power in putting a crowne on their head, and made their vpright iustice known by the scepter which they bare: those of Pilats court would represent all this in Christ for a mocke, and in a ieast serue him with it. We might say better that they did of­fend him, rather than serue him; seeing they put an olde coat of purple on his backe, and a crowne of sharpe thorns vpon his head, and in his hand for his scepter, a hollow reed: meaning thereby to let men know, that as he was a great mocker, so his kingdome was also a great mockery. Christ did much greeue at this iniurie, and had great reason so to doe; because the iniuries which were past, tended onely vnto the punishing of his body, but this of the reed touched his honor; because thereby they would haue giuen men [Page 26] to vnderstand, that as the reed doth naturally want pith or mar­row, so the person and head of Christ did want braine and wit. What greater iniurie can there be offered vnto any man, than to call him a foole? Plutarch reporteth, that Plato was woont to say, that as long as the gods would keepe him a woman to serue him, and his eyes to read with, and his iudgement to gouerne himselfe by, all other vexations and trauels of this world might tempt him, but not disquiet him. What hath hee who hath no wit? and what doth he lacke which wanteth not his iudgement? Theopil. saith, To put a reed in Christ his hand, is to mocke him of being a foole, and of folly; which could not be in him, and was contrarie vnto his dignitie to commit; seeing that it is he in whose ballance all things are waighed, and by whose wisedome all things are gouerned.

Chrysostome vpon Saint Mathew saith: If it should be true, that this man in whose hand you doe put a reed in token of folly, could commit any folly; there should be neither heauen nor earth: For if a foole had the gouernment of all this workman­ship in his hand, the world would haue been at an end manie daies agoe. Saint Ierome in an Homely saith; These wordes cost Christ verie dearely, when he said, My kingdome is not of this world: for from the time that before Pilat, he said that hee was a king; but yet that his kingdome was not of this world, they reputed him presently to be an infamous dizard: for according to the roughnesse of his person, and pouertie of his life, he see­med rather to haue a disposition to put him in a house of bed­lem, than commend vnto him the gouernment of kingdomes. Christ said vnto Pilat; regnum meum non est de hoc mundo; As if he would say, Although thou doe see me, O Pilat, sold like a slaue, apprehended like a theefe, bound like a foole, vpon my knees like a seruant, accused like vnto a malefactor, and defa­med like vnto a seditious person; yet know thou that I am a king, and haue also a kingdome, although it be not of this world. Saint Ambrose vpon Saint Luke, saith; When the sonne of God said that his kingdome was not of this world, hee did plainly vn­deceiue the Iewes, and shewed them, that he pretended nothing at all the kingdome of Israell: And likewise Pilat, that he aspired [Page 27] not vnto Tiberius empire: but neither of them both did vnder­stand this high speech, seeing they ieasted at him who spake it; and likewise at the speech which hee vttered. Rabanus saith, When good Iesus said, that his kingdome was not of this world, he did no lesse vndeceiue the church than he did the synagogue; and principally in that point, that for the aduersities which they should passe through; and for the martyrdome which they should suffer for his sake, they should hope for no reward in this life, but in the other; because our Lord doth so much esteeme of the goodnesse of those which are good, that for to requite one of them alone, he thinketh it too little to make him Lord ouer all the world. Barnard to this purpose saith, Seeing that the sonne of God doth confesse before Pilat the deputie, that his king­dome is not of this world, what doest thou aske of him, vvhat doest thou intreat of him, what doest thou hope for of him in this world? If thou doest aske a quiet life of him, much honor, store of wealth, great fame and credit; he may well answer, that thou shouldst aske for these things of the princes of this world, because he is king of the other world, which is euerlasting. Theophila­ctus saith, To say that my kingdome is not of this world; Looke how much this speach was skandalous vnto the Iewes, so much it is comfortable vnto the Christians: seeing that hee doth assure vs thereby, that there is another world, and another kingdome, whereof he and no other is king, and that for no other cause, but to take vs with him to raigne, he came into this world and suffe­red death in it.

Cyprian saith, Thou sayst very well, O good Iesus, thou sayst very well, Regnum meum non est de hoc mundo. For if it were thine, thou wouldest not consent, that there should be in it the proud with the humble; nor the humble with the cholericke; nor the cholericke with the patient; nor the couetous with the quiet man and pitifull; nor the carnal with the chast man; nor yet the simple and harmlesse with the malicious. It is an inuiolable law in thy kingdom, that there is no wicked men admitted in it, nor naughti­nesse suffered. Rupertus vpō S. Iohn: for Christ to say, My kingdom is not of this world, is an exceeding great comfort vnto the good, & a great terror vnto the bad, seeing that therby he doth put vs [Page 28] from all the things of this life, and giue vs hope of the other, be­cause it is great ease, vnto such as can do little, and haue little, to thinke that ease and pleasure doe consist in the things of this world.

Agmon vpon S. Marke saith, I doe not know which is a word of greater force, or a sentence of greater terror to say, as thou doest say; my kingdome is not of this world, or to say as thou didst say, that the diuel is the prince of this world: seeing that in one speach thou doest declare vs not to be thine, & by the other, thou doest tell vs, that we are slaues vnto the diuell; and yet for my part, I thinke, that if it be an euill thing to serue the diuell, it is far worse that thou accept me not for thine. Anselmus to this purpose saith, This speach of thine, my kingdome is not of this world, Pilats seruants did not so much take in ieast, as I, good Iesus, do in earnest: for seeing I esteeme of my selfe because I am thine, and thou sayst that thou hast nothing in this world, how dare I be a wordling, or desire any thing of this world? how shall I dare to to praise, or go about to get any thing of this world, seeing hee denieth himselfe to be Lord of the world, who made the world?

We haue spoken all this, to prooue and shew, what small rea­son and lesse occasion Pilats seruants had, to mocke at Christ as at a foole, and put a reed in his hand, because that when he said, that he was a king, and that his kingdome was not of this world, he spake more heauenly, than they thought for, and vttered greater mysteries than they did reach vnto. The text saith: in dextra eius possuerunt arundinem. As if he would say, After that they had set the sonne of God in a chaire, and clothed him in purple, and crowned him with a crowne; they put a reed in his right hand: all vvhich those ministers of wickednesse did, be­cause the play which they did represent vvith Christ, should be more pleasant, and the ieast more commended, and set by.

It is an old custome among men, and also vsuall in the holie scripture, that the right hand is much more esteemed than the left; because wee alwaies place him, whom wee loue best, on the right hand, and with the same hand wee embrace him whom we loue best. Salomon did put his mother on [Page 29] the right hand: Moses saw the Mosaicall law on his right hand: and Raguell and T [...]bias married themselues with their right handes, and Zebedea did aske that her sonnes should sit on the right hand, and S. Stephen saw Christ on the right hand, and in the last day, the good shall sit on the right hand of God: insomuch that it is a common and an old thing in the world that the right hand is most esteemed.

Ambrose vpon S. Luke saith, Because they tooke Christ for a great mocker, and this for a great ieast, to say that he had a king­dome; they ieasted at him in good earnest, and skoffed him from the heart: and thereupon they did put a reed into his hand as a scepter of iustice; giuing vs therby to vnderstand, that as the reed is very barren to yeeld fruite, and little worth to put in building: so the kingdome which Christ said he had, was without power to helpe himselfe, and without any fruite at all to benefite others. Cyrill vpon Saint Iohn saith, As the reed is tender and weake to leane vpon, and without all fruite to eat of; so Pilats seruauntes seemed to mocke and skorne at Christ, as though he had been a vagabound, not able to heale his common-wealth, and a silly bo­dy not able to giue aduise or counsell to others: insomuch that by putting a reed into his right hand, they touched him to the verie quicke in his credit and reputation. Saint Ierome vpon saint Mathew, saith; To put in the right hand of the sonne of God, a hollow and a drie reed, was to put into his hands the old lawe which was without fruit, and which was more hollow and drie, than that reed was; because al the Mosaical law contained no­thing but the rinde, which was the letter; and wanted the ma­row, which was the true Christ.

Ipsum altare non erat solidum, sed intus vacuum, saith the holy scripture, Exodus 28. As if he should say, When the people of Israel were in the desert, Moses made them a tabernacle to pray in, and erected them an altar to doe sacrifice on: the which he made not of lime and stone, to the end it should be sound, but of the wood Shitim, which was all hollow. If we giue credit vn­to great Gregorie vpon this place, he saith that for the altar of the old law to be hollow and emptie, signifieth nothing els, but that the synagogue wanteth the true Christ: because there is no­thing [Page 30] firme and stable in this life, vnlesse it be that which our Lord doth approoue and make firme. All was hollow, all was emptie, all was without life which was in the old testament; and if they could bragge of any thing, it was not of that which it had, but of that which it hoped for.

They gaue Christ in his passion sharpe vineger, stinking gall, a hollow reed, insomuch that they offred him of that which they had, and gaue him that which they themselues were. The syna­gogue was sharp vineger, seeing she had degenerated frō the wine of her good beginning; she was stinking seeing her worshipping was all turned into Idolatry, she was now a hollow reede, seeing that there was not so much as one vertue in the synagogue; inso­much that such as thēselues were, such seruice they did to Christ.

In the right hand of the sonne of God, the hollow reed of the Mosaicall law was made sound and firme, when hee gaue vs for the letter, the spirit; for Prophets, Apostles; for sacrifices, sa­cramentes; for the old law, the new testament; for the figure, the trueth; and for a hollow altar, a sound and holy Gospell. Was not the Mosaicall law thinke you, a drie and hollow reed, when as in their best time, the synagogue & the law fell togither to the ground? Origen saith, In the old synagogue, the boords of the altar were more woorth than the altar it selfe; but in our sa­cred altar, which is Christ, although the boords of his sacred hu­manitie be verie perfect and good, yet his most holy diuinitie is much better; insomuch that for Christ to take the reede in his hand, was a token that by his hand, it should remaine strong and sound. O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, to what end doest thou seeke for any other drie and hollow reed, seeing that my sin­full soule is so neere at hand? What is in the reede that is not in my soule? she is drie without all doubt, seeing she hath no deuo­tion; she is hollow, seeing shee wanteth charitie; she is without fruit, seeing she doth no good workes; there is nothing but leaues in her, seeing she hath nothing but wordes. What is there this day in the world so hollow, as that which wanteth thy grace? Is not my sorrowfull soule a drie reed, and an old and hollow reed, seeing her carelesnesse and naughtinesse hath made her to fall from thy grace, and fall into thy disgrace? Is there any reed in the [Page 31] world so drie, or so hollow as this my soule, the which is moued at the first winde of temptation; and at the first touch of tribu­lation is broken? Leaue then O good Iesus, leaue that drie reed, and take this my hollow and emptie soule: and if thou wilt take her, I beseech thee that thou wouldest take her in thy hand, and giue her a good buffet of thy hand; because that she wil ne­uer be massie and full of good and vertuous workes, vntill she be well chastised by thy hand.

CHAP. V. Here followeth the same matter, and sheweth how they did strike Christ on the head with the reed.

ET percutiebant caput eius arundine, saith Saint Marke, as if he would say; they did not onely put the reed into the hand of the son of God, but they tooke it from him again to strike him with it: insomuch thar in the beginning they gaue it him in ieast, and afterward they stroke him with it in earnest. Theophil. saith, For the Euangelist to say that they strooke Christ with the reed, is to say that their iea­sting turned into earnest; seeing that some of Pilats seruants did put the reed into his hand to mocke him, and some tooke it from him to hurt him; insomuch that they saluted him as a king, and stroke him like vnto a dizard. For the sonne of God to suffer him selfe to be crowned with thornes, is out of all doubt a maruellous thing, but to suffer a reed to be put in his hand, and yeeld to be striken with it, is a thing to be wondered at, and also feared: for if no man willingly doth heare a word of iniurie spoken vnto him, with a worser will he will giue the staffe to breake his owne head with. O wonderfull obedience! O vnspeakeable patience of the son of God! who would haue suffred that which he did suffer; or who would haue dissembled that which he did dissemble? that is to say, when they put a reed in his hand to skoffe at him, as if he had been a fo [...]le, and when with the force of blowes vvith the same reed they did driue the thornes into his braine.

There are some things spokē of, which are not done, others done & not spoken of, but they vvere done & said at one time with the [Page 32] sonne of God: which is very manifest, seeing that by putting the reed into his hand, they defamed him in his credit, and stri­king him with it on the head they shortned his life. Put thy selfe O my soule, betwixt the blow of the reed, and the sharpe pier­cing of his holy head, put thy selfe between, to waite for some blow with the reed: for looke how many blowes they giue the sonne in the thorne, so many thrustes they giue the mother in the bowels. O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, what pati­ence may be compared vnto thine, seeing thou doest yeeld that they put the reed into thine hand to ieast at thee, and doest let them take it againe to strike thee on thy head. Saint Barnard vp­on the passion of our Lord saith; The Iewes would willingly, that the sonne of God had had more members in his bodie, to the end they might haue taken them one by one, and haue tor­mented them: but when they sawe the time growe shorter and shorter, they remembred themselues to adde torment vnto tor­ment, as it did heare fall out: for ouer and aboue, the buffeting of him with their fistes, beating him with a cudgell, pulling him by the haire, pricking him with thorne, and defaming him vvith a thousand insolences; they serue him a new with a reed, and presently breake it on his head.

Let thy torments cease, O my good Iesus, let thy tormentes cease, for that which thou hast already suffered, is sufficient to re­plenish heauen, and disinherit hell. What doest thou aske for, O my soule, what doest thou aske for? giue ouer thou thy sinne, and they will giue ouer to beat Christ; for thou must vnderstand (if thou know it not) that to the compasse of thy sinnes, the reeds play vpon him: insomuch that how many wickednesses are in thy soule, so many reeds thou doest breake vpon his head. Pro eo quod fuisti baculus arundineus domui Israel, quando apprehende­runt te manu: ego adducam super te manum meam, Said God by Ezechiel, threatning king Nabuchodonozor, as if he should say, When thou shouldest haue been vnto my people of Israel, as it were a strong staffe, vnto which he that leaned should not fall vpon the ground; thou wast a hollow reed which falleth to the ground with him who leaned vnto it: and therefore I will send thee such a punishment as is woont to come with bloud and fire. [Page 33] If we compare Nabuchodonozor the tyrant with S. Iohn Baptist, we shall find for a truth, that God did rebuke the one, because he was a hollow reed, and Christ did commend the other, because he was not like the reed which was mooued with euery wind: wherein we are plainly giuen to vnderstand, that a man of euill life and conuersation, is nothing else but an hollow and fruitlesse reed, which occupieth a place where it is planted, and yeeldeth no fruit vnto him which planted it.

Agmon vpon S. Iohn sayth, that euery man of an euill life, is without all doubt a very hollow and drie reed, seeing that there is nothing else in him but the name of a Christian: and that which is worst of all, that he changeth his affection euery houre, like the leafe of a reed. It is here to be noted, that Pilats hangmen did offend Christ three manner of waies with the reed, that is to wit; when they did put it into his hand to skoffe at him, vvhen they stroke him with it; and when they gaue him vinegre & gall with it to drinke; in so much that with the speare he was once hurt, and three times with the reed. He who is noted of hypocri­sie, doth put a hollow drie reed into Christ his holy hand, who like vnto the reed, hath nothing but a leafe which sheweth with­out, his soule being hollow within.

The second which strike Christ on the head with the reed, are heretickes, which sow heresies in Christs church, who doe so many times breake Christ his head, and draw blood of his person as they doe wrest and falsifie the holy scripture.

By such as with the reed gaue. Christ vvine mingled vvith myrrhe and gall, are vnderstood all such as do Christ any seruice, remaining obstinat in any sinne; vvho make account of the wine vvhich they offer, vvhich is a good vvorke, and doe not marke that it is mingled vvith the gall of sinne. It is also a propertie of the reed, to mooue and vvag vvith euery vvind, although it be neuer so small and light, and truly such are all vaine christians, and euery light person; the vvhich because they haue no constancie in that vvhich is good, nor resistance in that vvhich is euill, vice doth no sooner knocke at the gate, but they open; nor any appe­tite or desire present it selfe, vvhich they doe not fulfill. Are not they happily hollow reeds, and vaine and light reeds, vvhich are [Page 34] so long time vicious, as the diuell dooth tempt them? Anselmus sayth, What meaneth this, O my soule, what meaneth this? Thy God is wearie of dissembling, the church is weary of teaching, thine elders are wearie of chastising thee, thy brothers are weary in suffering thee, the diuels are wearie of tempting thee, and thy members are alreadie wearie of liuing, and yet art not thou awea­rie of sinning.

Beda sayth, That a wound in the head is the most dangerous wound which may be giuen vnto any man: then we may say with truth, that they wound Christ in the head, when they denie him to be true God, and affirme him to be only a bare man. Ra­banus sayth, Then thou doost strike Christ in the heart, when thou doost denie that he knoweth all things, and thou doost strike him in the eyes, when thou doost imagine that he dooth not see all things, then thou doost strike him in the feete, when thou doost thinke that he passeth not through all, then thou doost strike him in the hands, when thou sayst that hee doth not prouide for all things, and then thou doost strike him in the head, when thou doost denie him to be God and Lord of all.

Cyprian sayth, [...]e breaketh the highest part of Christ his head, who dooth denie his godhead, and dooth beleeue no more in him but that he is a meere creature, vvherevpon it a­riseth, that in these dayes they doe much more offend Christ which detract from his godhead, than those which laid hands vpon his manhood. Damascen sayth also, Those strike Christ on the head with a reed, which put themselues to iudge and search out the inscrutable iudgements of his wisedome, whereof it fol­loweth that such do oft draw blood to their condemnation, when it should haue bene to their redemption.

Theophil. sayth, So many times a man doth strike Christ with the reed, as he doth omit the dooing of a good worke, hauing time and place to doe it; and herevpon it is, that the ydle man doth alwaies draw blood out of Christs head. Hylarius saith, Af­ter I thinke with my selfe that I am hollow and emptie of ver­tues, as the reed is, a great pensiuenesse commeth vpon me: but when I remember that Christ did not disdaine to take it in his [Page 35] hand, there fell great hope vpon me, because the sonne of God is he alone who can fill all our hollownesse, and giue vs part of his goodnesse.

CHAP. VI. Of the words with which those of Pilats court did salute Christ, and of many mysteries which are contained vnder this word Aue, All haile, or Be thou glad.

AVE rex Iudaeorum, said Pilats seruants vnto Christ, as S. Matth. reports cap. 27. when they had ended to cloath Christ in pur­ple, and put a crowne vpon his head, and set him downe in a chaire, because hee might perceiue that they did not al that to giue him honour, but to shame him: they determined to bow their knees be­fore him, and put of their caps vnto him, and vse much counterfeit reuerence vnto him, saluting him as a king, and skoffing him as a foole. That which Pilats seruants spake, is not to be maruelled at in this place, but the euill intention with the which they spake it; because it is no lesse iniurie to a good man, to entitle him vnto that which he is not, than not to call him that which he is. Vae impio in malum, saith the prophet, as if he would say, Wo be to the nough­ty man, which was born only to do mischiefe, & who thinketh on nothing but mischief, and doth nothing but that which is hurtful, and speaketh nothing but that which is wicked, nor vaunteth himself of nothing but of that which is nought. It is a great gift of God to be of good conditions, and of a good inclination: for as there are some men in this world, which serue for no other thing but to do good to al men; so there are some others that were born to no other end but to molest al mē. Seneca speaking of ill toungs, saith, There are many men who haue lost the conditions of men, & put on those of dogs, whose customs are, to barke indifferently at all which passe by, although they passe afar off, as well as if [Page 36] they had threatned them with a staffe, and this they doe not for the hurt vvhich men do vnto them, but for the euill custome which they haue of barking at all men. There are some men of such an euill disposition and bad condition, that although it con­cerne not their substance, nor touch their soule, yet delight in no­thing but in doing hurt, and speake alwaies against that which is well done. Of the condition of these men were Pilats seruaunts, whom Christ had neuer rebuked, nor euer dealt withall, and yet in manner of passe-time (or rather in loosing of time) ieasted and triumphed ouer Christ, and compassed him in, and did hold a court on him, as if he had bene a foole. It is heere to be vveighed, that to kneele before Christ was no errour, to sa­lute him with Aue, haile, was well done, to call him king, was no lie, in saieng that the kingdome of Iurie did appertaine vnto him, was truly sayd; but that wherein they erred and hit not aright, was, in saieng, All haile king of the Iewes, in a mockerie; and bo­wing their knees for an iniurie. Tell me, I pray thee, if they had done that in good earnest, which they did in ieast, that is, if they would haue serued him on their knees, and beleeued him from the heart, and worshipped him with All haile king of the Iewes, what memorie should they haue left of themselues, and what could they haue asked that he would not haue yeelded vnto? But because they did all this in a skoffe, Christ did not accept of it, but did impute it for a sinne vnto them.

Thou shalt (saith Damascen) my brother in this point see the inspeakeable excellencies of the sonne of God, that not only his friends doe publish them, but his enemies doe crie them abroad, which is manifestly seene in that that Pilat sayd, That which I haue vvritten, I haue vvritten. And in that that Caiphas sayd, It is expedient that one man die. And in that that Pilats wife sayd, What hast thou to doe with this iust man? And in that, that those of his owne house sayd, All haile king of the Iewes. And in that which the Centurion said, Truly this was the sonne of God; in so much that his goodnesse was of such strength and force, that if the good did like and approue it, the wicked did likewise con­fesse it. Theophilact. vpon the Apostle sayth; The Iewes were ve­ry glad, that Pilats seruants did mocke at Christ, but it did greeue [Page 37] them very much, that they did call him, and salute him by the name of their king: for Christ yet liuing and not being dead, they imagined among themselues; that considering the great mira­cles which he had wrought, and the multitude of people which followed him, it might be, that as they did then salute him as king in ieast, they would choose him afterward king in earnest. Cyrillus sayth, that the cursed Iewes doe stop their eares, because they wil not heare Pilat say, Regem vestru crucifigem? should I crucifie your king? nor heare his seruaunts say, All haile king of the Iews. And from hence it commeth that they confessed, that they vvould rather haue the tyrant Tiberius for their lord and king, than their owne true lord and maister. Cum cognouisset quòd ventu­ri erant vt facerent eum regem, fugit in desertum orare, sayth saint Iohn, chap. 6. as if he should say, At the very instant when the son of God did know, that the Galileans purposed among themselues to choose him for their lord and king, he remembred himselfe to go vp presently to the mountains to pray, for no other cause but that they should not constraine him to raigne.

It is not without a great mysterie, that when Christ was in the cradle, the kings and wise men sayd of him, Vbi est rex Iudaeo­rum? Where is the king of the Iewes? And entering into Hieru­salem, the people sayd of him, Blessed be the king of Israell; and in Pilats house, they sayd, All haile king of the Iewes; and Pilat wrot in the tytle of the crosse, Iesus of Nazareth king of the Iewes; in so much that this high name of a king, did belong vnto him by the right line of the roiall tribe, and he did deserue it by the merit and valure of his person.

S. Augustine vpon S. Iohn sayth, Ye lie, O ye Iewes, you lie, in saieng aloud, We haue no other king but Caesar; for seeing that in the house of Herod your king, they gaue Christ the name of a king; and afterward those of Pilats court called him king, and all Hierusalem confessed him to be a king, and Pilat himselfe called him king; why do ye only denie the kingdome to be his, and him to be your Christ?

And because we may draw one mysterie out of another, it is to be noted, that the sonne of God did neuer gainsay those which called him king, and yet for all that he did neuer consent, that [Page 38] they should make him king: wherein he gaue vs to vnderstand that he did forsake the dignities and honours of this world, be­cause it was his will and not because he deserued them not. Hy­larius touching this point saith, When the sonne of God is called king, and yet refuseth to be king, it is to let vs know, that he would well deserue the estate of a king, and all other honours of this world; and that he would also despise them; for in matters of estate and rule, he is more honorable which doth deserue it and hath it not, than he which hath it and deserues it not. Chrisost. saith, It is a greater mystery than it seemeth to be, That Christ doth yeeld to be saluted king, and yet refuseth to be a king; the which our good Lord did, to the end that in the one they should knowe his Godhead, and in the other prayse his humilitie: for in being called king, he shewed that he was more than that which he did seeme to be, and in despising the kingdome, he did shew the humilitie which he preached. Christ hath very few disciples now adaies in renouncing and contemning of dignities, to whom we giue leaue from this time forward, to take whatsoeuer king­dome and dignitie shall be giuen vnto them, with this condition, that with promises and skilfull cunning they procure them not. It is greatly to be noted, that as soone as Christ had fled from the kingdome, & forsaken it, he went presently alone into the desert to pray. If thou wouldst giue me the choise of these two things, O good Iesus, I should rather desire that thou wouldst carry me vp with thee to the mountaine to pray, than leaue me in Galilee to raigne. What doth it auaile thee, O my soule, to renounce all rule and dignitie, and despise all the world, if thou do not go vp to the hill with Christ to pray? Go vp then, O my soule, go vp to the mountaine with Christ to pray, and to follow an euangelicall life; because the perfection of the seruaunt of our Lord doth not consist in that which he leaueth in the world, but in the vertues which he taketh in religion.

If thou say, my brother, that thou hast no rule nor kingdome to forsake, let it suffice thee, that thou hast a will to despise, for in the house of our Lord, it is much more esteemed to ouercome a mans owne will in that which he desireth, than to set light by that which he possesseth.

Transiuit rex eorum coram ipsis, said God by the prophet Ho­sea, as if he should say, Take heede and watch, O synagogue, be­cause I tell thee, that when the king and Messias promised in the prophets, shall come into the world, he will go before all men, like vnto one which goeth a iournie, and will not stay not rest in any kingdome. It is to be noted that he sayth, Rex, a king, and al­so transiuit, he is ouergone, or gone before, that is to weet, that he calleth Christ a king, and that he will but go through the king­dom; because the great goodnesse of the sonne of God came not from heauen downe into the earth to rule, reigne, and com­maund, but to be commaunded: neither to take kingdomes, but to giue them, seeing that to the theefe which hanged with him on the crosse, he gaue all his kingdome.

Saint Cyrill vpon S. Iohn sayth, Christ did not say in vaine to the Iewes, Search the scriptures, because that in them they should find that Christ should be called king, for no other cause but because he would giue credit vnto his godhead; but yet that hee would not rule according vnto his manhood. And hereupon it is, that Pilat oftentimes for his confusion, did call him king, and all such as were of his house did salute him as king. O wicked synagogue, O vnhappy Hierusalem! seeing that accor­ding to the prophesie of Hosea, Christ went before thee, and thou knewest him not; he came to thy house, and thou receiuedst him not; he gaue thee his doctrine, and thou beleeuedst him not; he spake vnto thee things belonging to God, and thou vnderstoodst him not; yea he did also die for thy libertie, and thou didst not thanke him for it.

The words which the prophet Hosea faith, Your king is gone before you; and the words of the euangelist S. Matth. Behold I am with you vntill the worlds end; doe differ very much, be­cause that in the first he dooth threaten the synagogue, that he will passe through her, and in the last he doth promise his church that he will abide with her vntill the end of the world. O good Iesus, O my soules delight, I most humbly beseech thee, that thou wouldest stay and looke vpon my sinfull soule, and that thou wouldest not with speed go by me, seeing I am the feiture of thine owne hands, and the least of thy Christians. What doth [Page 40] it auaile me that thou go by my eyes, O the light of my eyes, if thou go by, angrie with the offences which I haue committed, and I not remaine cleane of the sinnes which I haue done? Stay therefore, O good Iesus, stay a little time in my heart, to the end that if thou shouldest call me, I may open; if thou shouldest speake with me, I may vnderstand thee, if thou shouldest preach vnto me, I may heare thee; if thou shouldest giue me any coun­sell, I may beleeue thee; and if thou shouldest desire me, I may desire thee; because that thou canst liue very well without me, but I cannot so much as breath without thee.

To come then vnto our purpose, the words which the Iewes saluted Christ with, were, All haile king of the Iewes, or Be thou glad king of the Iewes; or, God saue thee king of the Iewes: And such ioy come vnto them, as they gaue Christ, seeing they sayd once vnto him, that God would keepe him; and at ano­ther time, that Pilat should condemne him to death. How can these two stand together? Haile king of the Iewes; and Cruci­fie, crucifie him; seeing that in one petition thou doost pray that God would saue him, and in the other thou doost request that Pilat would crucifie him.

It is a verie old propertie of trecherous men, and a common law among traitors, to vse very good words, and doe very bad deeds; sure to entrap; salute, to deceaue; promise, and not giue; and giue faire words to kill. With this word aue, All haile, cap­taine Ioab did salute the captaine Amasa, whom at the same time he did embrace about the body, and thrust through with a dag­ger. With this word Aue, All haile, the mother of God was sa­luted, and with the same word Aue, the sonne of God was skof­fed: in so much that the selfe same word by the mouth of the angell was hallowed, and by Pilats ministers prophaned. With this word aue, Iudas the traitor helped himselfe in the garden, and with the selfe same word Pilats ministers did benefit themselues in the palace. In so much that our blessed Lord was sold with aue, All haile, and mocked with aue, Be thou glad. With this word aue, Christ did salute his disciples after his resurrection, and they saluted his mother with it, when he was incarnate: in so much that this word aue, was the beginning of his incarnation, and was [Page 41] the witnesse of his resurrection. This word Aue, All haile, was a very holy, and an approoued word, seeing that the angell was the first that did pronounce it, & the virgin the first that heard it, and our heauenly father the first which did send it, and his pretious son he for whom it vvas inuented, and the catholike church she vvho first did keepe it for vs. That Iudas durst say vnto Christ, a­ue rabbi, and Pilat, Aue rex Iudaeorum, was without all doubt a wicked thing, and worthie of eternall damnation, for it is no other thing for noughtie men to haue holy words in their mouths, than to cast pearls before swine.

CHAP. VII. How in Pilats house they bowed their knees before Christ, and how there are knees of the soule as well as of the body.

FLectebant genua aute eum, sayth S. Matthew, as if he should say, Pilats seruants kneeled before Christ, because the ieasts which they vsed, might be in good earnest; and because the vvords which they spoke against him, might greeue him the more; it is much to be noted, and not a little to be weighed, how far mans malice doth extend, and how he is enclined vnto al wickednesse: seeing we see by plaine experience, that a vvicked and noughtie man dooth abase himselfe vnto many vile trickes, and basenesse of mind, and offer his person vnto a thousand toils and trauels, for no other reason, but to hurt; and besides that, he will not lift a straw from the ground to doe good.

Seneca in his booke of anger sayth, I know many in Rome vvhich are very glad to fast, because others should not eat, and are content to go naked, because others should be ragged, and are pleased to be in low and mean countenaunce, because others should not come into fauour, and do rather stay behind, than o­thers should go before them, yea, and which consent that peace and quietnesse should go out of their owne houses, because [Page 42] warrs should enter in at an other mans gate. What wil not a passi­onate man and a troubled mind do to reuenge himselfe vpon his enemie?

When king Saul was at variance with king Dauid, what waies did he goe, what waits did he lay, what warres did he inuēt, what priests did he kill, and how often did hee besiege him, to see whether he could kill him or banish him of his kingdome? what end is there with Pilats seruaunts, to what end should they serue him on their knees, and how did they skoffe and mocke at him continually?

It is to be beleeued, that according vnto the small reckoning they made of Christ, & great account they made of themselues, that if they should haue giuen him a cup of water to drinke, they would not onely not haue bowed their knees before him, no nor so much as to haue done him any reuerence at all. Saint Bar­nard sayth, For mine owne part I thinke that Pilats seruaunts would neuer haue bought the purple with their own money, nor wouen the crowne with their owne hands, nor sent to the fields to seeke for a reed, nor serue Christ with the knee on ground, if their maister had commaunded them, and yet in the end they did it only for their pastime. We say not without cause that they did it for their pastime, and for no other respect, for seeming to thē that Christ was a foole in saieng that he was a king, and that he was a disard in not answering the deputie, they determined to hold a counsell with him, although it were to the great cost of Christ his person and honour.

Per memetipsū iuraui, dicit dominus quod mihi flectetur omne geuu & omnis lingua confitebitur domino, said God by the prophet Esai, chap. 44. as if he would say, I haue sworne by my self, and haue de­termined in my eternall wisedome, that no man shal be so bold to open his mouth, but only to praise me, nor bow his knee before a­ny, if it be not to worship me. To vnderstand that which Esay sayth, we must note that the Apostle sayth, I kneele to the fa­ther of my Lord; and of the three kings or wise men it is sayd, that falling downe they worshipped him. And it is reported of Daniell, that he kneeled three times a day; and it is read in the Apocalyps, that the foure and twentie elders which were before [Page 43] the throne, kneeling did worship the lambe, with great deuotion. We may gather very plainly by these examples, how that in scripture the knees were alwaies dedicated vnto God; and that him alone and no other we should worship & reuerence with thē, because we neuer doe a more gratefuller sacrifice vnto our Lord, than when we doe vvorship him on our knees, and serue him with al our heart. It is here greatly to be weighed, that God is not con­tented only that we should kneele before him on our knees, but commaundeth vs also to praise him with our toungs: and of these two things he had rather that men should praise him with their toungs and not kneele, than kneele and not praise him.

Those of Pilats house did the contrarie of all this vnto Christ, all which bending their knees before Christ, did not onely not praise him, but did blaspheme him; did not honour him, but skoffe him; did not confesse him, but denie him; and that which was woorst of all, vpon their knees they denied Christ to be iust, and vpon their knees they would haue prooued him to bee a foole. Rabanus sayth, As in holy scripture the vvord Aue. All haile, was hallowed and dedicated vnto God to prayse him withall, so likewise the knees vvere offered vnto him to serue him withall. And herevpon it is, that those ministers of vvickednesse in saieng aue, al haile king of the Iewes, did prophane the word with which vve salute God, and in mocking him vpon their knees, did violate the reuerence with which we doe adore and worship God.

All the hypocrits of this world, are disciples of Pilats ser­uaunts, vvho to deceaue the people vvithall, cloath themselues in rough attire, and bow their knees before all men, and yet on the other side, they spitte out false vvitnesse against their bro­ther, and hurt his head vvith a reed, in so much that their knees are bowed on the ground, and their meaninges verie hurtfull and dangerous. Saint Barnard sayth, With those of Pilats house, those blaspheme Christ vpon their knees, who at the same time in the Church of GOD are vppon their knees praieng, and yet their mind is occupied vpon some euill thing: in so much that vve may very vvell say of such, That if they serue Christ vvith their knees, they spit at him vvith their thoughts. Basil sayth, All vndiscreet Prelats doe spitte [Page 44] vpon Christ his face, and strike him with a reed vpon their knees, vvhen vnder the colour of an holy and honest zeale, they re­uenge the anger which they had hidden in their minds, and call their vniust reuenge a brotherly correction.

Peccaui super numerum arenae maris, & multiplicatae sunt ini­quitates meae, & nunc flecto genua cordis mei ad te domine, sayd sor­rowfull Manasses, being captiue in Babilon, as if he should say, O mightie God of Israell, O great God of Iaacob, my offences are so many and so enormious, that they exceed in number the sands of the sea, and in stead of amending them, I heape euery day fault vpon fault; and therefore seeing I haue no other reme­die or helpe for my sinne, I am determined to bow before thee the knees of my bowels.

For the better vnderstanding of this point, it is to be noted, that in all the workmanship of mans body, there is nothing more harder nor fuller of sinowes, than the hollow place where the knee plaieth, and herevpon it is, that if nature would not haue gi­uen vs, as she did, our feet and legs, yet we might very well haue gone vpon our knees. I thinke we should not go much awry if we say, that the hard knees are nothing else but noughtie & obstinat consciences, of which we may say with truth, that then we bowe them to the ground, when we make them cleane from any sinne; and what other thing is an obstinat and noughtie conscience, but a cold and rough stiffe leg, which cannot bow in the knees? Vn­derstand my brother, that then thou doost bow thy legge, vvhen thou doost forgiue an iniurie; & then thou doost bend thy knees, when thou doost acknowledge thy fault, and then thou dost be­gin to pray when thou doost begin to mend, and then thou doost worship thy creator, when thou doost confesse thy selfe to bee a sinner. When shall we say truly, that thou art prostrat on the ground, and on thy knees, but vvhen vve shall see thee amen­ded of thy vices, and become humble with all thine heart? What dooth it auaile thee to bow thy knee on ground, if thy sinne stand vpright on foot? If thou vvilt then, O my soule, serue thy God and Lord, and if thou vvilt pray vnto good Iesus vvith king Manasses, from thyne heart, it is conuenient that thou first throwe downe to the ground all thine offences [Page 45] before thou bow thy knees to the ground: because our Lord doth heare them with a better wil, which pray with cleane conscien­ces, than those which meditat with their knees bowed. If thou wilt haue an example at hand of all this, looke vnto Pilats men, and how they kneeled before Christ, and marke the great theefe and how he is on foot by Christs side, & yet thou shalt see plainly how those vnhappie soules vpon their knees obtained of Christ their damnation; and contrariwise the good theefe standing vp­right obtained saluation. Then the seruaunt of our Lord dooth bow the knees of his heart with king Manasses, when he dooth amend his faults, and encline his heart to forgiue iniuries: and then we will also say that he is stiffe and on foot, when he will not pardon his enemie nor flee from sinne: but vaunteth himselfe rather in defending it than in amending it. Ierome vpon Esay sayth how bad soeuer it bee to sinne, yet it is woorser to perseuere in sinne, and farre woorser than this, to bee so bold as to maintaine sinne, for who soeuer doth defend and mayntaine a fault, doth ve­ry late or neuer amend it. It is much to be noted that Manasses in his prayer, did not say that he bowed on knee alone, before our lord, but both together, to giue vs thereby to vnderstand, that it doth little auaile vs to desire to be good, if in deed and in effect we be not.

If with the force of good desires, and wishes, euerlasting glory might be bought, who hath better desires, O my soule, thā thou? what vertue or what goodnes is there this day in heauen or earth which is not desired of my eyes, wished of my heart, and asked for by my tongue? I desire to be holy, I desire to be iust, I desire to be good, I desire to be amended, but woe be vnto me (O good Iesus) woe be vnto me, because I see all other men occupie their time in nothing but in good woorks, and I only employ myne in vaine hope. What greater folly is there, or what vainer hope can there be, than to add euery day offence vpon offence, and defer amendment vntill old age? he doth bowe his right knee vpon the ground, who in one respect is of a good life, and yet cannot bee in­duced by any man to forgiue an iniurie? and contrariwise he doth bow his left knee before, Christ who easily forgiueth him who hath offended him, and yet will not goe out of that sinne [Page 46] which he is fast entangled in. Then the seruant of our lord, doth kneel on both knees, when he employeth his body in honest ex­ercises, and hath his heart occupied in holy thoughts; insomuch that he may say with the Apostle, I liue, but not I, Christ only li­ueth in me, whom I loue better than my selfe.

It is likewise to be waighed, that king Manasses did not say, I bowe the knees of my body, but the knees of my heart, whereby he gaue vs to vnderstand, that it would auaile vs very little, if we should bow these materiall knees, if the knees of our soules should remaine stiffe, and on foot; because that to say the truth, our lord doth make more reckoning, of the least thought of our mind, than of all the members of our body.

O how many there be in this world, which in the church kneele on both knees, & yet stand vpright with the knees of their hearts. What are the knees which the heart doth go vpon, but only the will and the nill, which it hath in all things? What knees in the world are so stiffe and hard, as the hatred which we beare vnto others, and the loue which we beare our selues? If sinfull king Manasses doth not pray but vpon the knees of his heart, and the knees of the heart are loue and hatred, the will and the nill, tell me I pray thee, why shouldest thou aske any thing of God vpon thy knees, if thou wilt loue that which thou list, and list that which thou oughtest not? Then thou mayst commend thy selfe for bowing the knees of the heart, and praieng to our Lord, when thou doost not follow thine own list, and doost nothing but what thou oughtest.

Take heed therefore my brother, take heed, and do not pro­strate thy self before Christ with Pilats esquiers, who at one time did serue him on their knees, & blaspheme him with their toungs: which thou doost likewise, when in outward shew thou seemest to be a faint, and when thou art touched, thou art proud within, in so much that the presumption which thou hast in thy bowels, is greater than the humilitie which thou shewest in bowing thy knees.

It is also to be noted, that king Manasses sayd, I bow the knees of my owne heart, and not of another mans; wherein he doth let vs vnderstand, that our owne businesse we may commit vnto o­ther [Page 47] men, but in those which belong vnto God, we ought to trust none but our selues: for seeing it pleaseth our Lord to humble himselfe so far, as to make reckoning and keepe an account with me; it is reason that in priuat praier I keepe it particularly with him. He doth pray and meditate with other mens knees, vvhich hath no regard but vnto that which toucheth himselfe in world­ly businesses, and that which concerneth the seruice of our Lord, commendeth vnto others: wherof it foolloweth afterwards that as vve vvax cold in his seruice, so he likewise dooth neglect that vvhich is expedient for our good. He only doth bow the knees of his owne heart, vvho hath no other loue in his bovvels but the loue of Christ; and he praieth vvith the knees of an other mans heart, who hath another loue hidden in his bowels, besides the loue of Christ: because that (if vve beleeue Mimus the Philoso­pher) a man dooth neuer serue nor vvorship any thing, but that vvhich he loueth from the heart.

CHAP. VIII. How Christ would not go out of the palace with the gar­ments which there they cloathed him in, and of the my­steries which are contained therein.

INduerunt eum vestimentis suis, sayth the e­uangelist S. Marke, as if hee would say, When Pilats seruaunts had mocked their fill at Christ, and Pilat had condemned him to die, they remembred themselues to put off the purple which hee had on him, and put on the apparel in which they had taken him. It is to be presupposed in this place that Christ was cloathed with three garments, the night of his passion; that is to weet, with one which was white, with the which Herod skorned him; with another of purple, with the which they crowned him in Pilats house; and with another, which was of skarlet, in the vvhich they lead him, vvhen they [Page 48] sayd Ecce homo, in so much that they iested and skoffed at him as at a foole, and vnapparelled him at their pleasures. S. Ierome vpon S. Matthew saith, In this is knowne the mallice of the Iewish nati­on, and the great patience of the sonne of God, in that that in his life time no man gaue him a coat (if he would haue had any) and at the hower of his death, they procured him three to mock him with; wherof we may inferre, how much more liberall men are in prophane matters, than in almes giuing vnto the poore.

Theophil. saith, As the Iewes and Pilat gaue Christ no coat when he had need of one, but only when they would crucifie him; so the rich couetous men of this world, will not giue the poore a farthing whilst they liue, and after they be dead, cōmand apparell to be giuen them, so that therefore they do almes deeds of those goods, because they cannot carrie them with them to the graue. Dilectus meus candidus & rubicundus, said the bride, as­king for her bride-groome, canticor. 9. as if he should say, Knowe ye, O you children of Hierusalem, that my true bride-groome, and my only welbeloued freind, hath his face as white as snowe, and his cheeks coloured like skarlet: where it is much to be noted that the same colours which the bride saith her bride-groome hath, were the colours that Christ was clothed with in his passion, that is in a white gowne, in which he was skoffed at, by Herod, and a purple, in which he was crowned with of Pilats seruaunts. S. Barnara vpon the Canticles saith, Not without a great mysterie the bride-groome is praysed of the bride, being white and red, and Christ in like maner in his passion cloathed in white and red; to giue vs thereby to vnderstand, that in these two colours are sig­nified, the cleannes & whitenes which confessors were to haue, & the aboundance of blood which the martyrs shal shed. What other thing doth attyre sigifie, with the which a man is honored, but only all the saincts which Christ hath in his Church? what man is euer so much honored with rich apparel as Christ is hono­red with a iust and vertuous man? Let no man maruaile then for seeing, that the white garment, did signifie the confessours, and the skarlet, the martyrs, for the sonne of God hath so many gar­ments, to honour his person withall, as he hath iust and holy men in his Church. Vntill Constantine the great, Christ was attyred in [Page 49] skarlet, because vntil that time the greatest part of the Church were martyrs; and from thence hitherward, he doth attire him­selfe in white, which are the confessors which haue sprung vp in the Church: and thereupon it is, that in the booke of Canticles his garments were prophecied; and put vpon him in Pilats house, and honoured in his holy Church. We haue said all that aboue out of S. Barnard, Quare rubrum est indumentum tuum, & vestimen­ta tua sicut calcantium in torculari? quoniam torcular calcaui ego so­lus, Said God the father, speaking with his sonne, chap. 64. As if he would say, Tell me, O my beloued sonne, why is thy gowne so red, and of so skarlet a colour; and what is the reason that this thy coat, is like vnto the coate of one, who treadeth and squiseth grapes in the presse? Because that I onely did plant the vineyard O my father, I onely come alone to rid them, and make them cleane, and I alone went to gather the grapes, when the vintage came, and I alone was in the fate at the time they were tro­den, and for that cause my gowne is so died, and also this my flesh thus bloudied.

It is to be considered in this place, that Christ said not, that he had raied his coat, at the time of planting, or pruning the vinyard; but when he troad the grapes in the fate, to let vs thereby vnder­stand, that when the sonne of God did seperate vpon the crosse, the rinde and hull from the grape; that is to say the church from the synagogue, then hee washed and died his holy coat in bloud, and moreouer there he lost his life.

It is likewise a thing worthy to be noted, that the Prophet would not compare Christ his coat to skarlet, which is a red co­lour, nor to the red oker colour, which is plaine red; but vnto the colour of a coūtrimans coat, who treadeth grapes in the fate, whose garmentes is neuer soiled nor died, but with that which leapeth from vnder his feete, and that which he treadeth vpon. The Prophet Esay did let vs vnderstand in an exquisit stile, what was the reason why Christ would die, and what was the occasion why the Iewes would put him to death; and the occasion was, that as with the grapes, which he hath vnder his feete, hee that treadeth the grapes doth die his owne garmentes; so the death of our redeemer was inuented by the scribes and pharisees; inso­much [Page 50] that if Christ would haue dissembled, and not haue prea­ched against them, they would neuer haue risen against him. Cy­prian saith, As the Iewes knew little, and presumed much; so the sonne of God, did not onely not feare them, but made small rec­koning of them. And hereupon it groweth, that because he did reprehend them in his sermons,, and vndeceiue the people of their hypocrisies, they rose against Christ as it were vnder his feete, not only to hinder him to preach, but also to procure him to be crucified.

What other meaning hath it, for him who treadeth vpon the grapes to die his gowne in treading them, when hee doth se­perate the huske from the wine, but onely that Christ his ene­mies tooke away his life from him, because he would seperate & take away vices frō those which were vitious? Rabanus saith, For the sonne of God to say, that therefore hee hath his garment red, because he alone vpon the crosse did tread the grapes vnder his feete, may be as truely said, as to say, that therefore his body was all to be bloudied, because hee was troden vpon and kicked at in Pilats house: For to say the trueth, as in all the time of his passion, hee did neuer open his mouth to speake one vnseemly word; so there passed no houre nor moment, in which hee re­ceiued not some notorious iniurie? What is Christ his garment, but onely the humanitie of the same Christ? And what other thing would Esay say, when he said, that this garment was colou­red red, but that that sacred manhood was all to bebloudied? And what is it to say, that the die, whereof Christes garment was died, was troden out of grapes, but that no other thing did put the sonne of God to death, but our owne onely faultes and offences?

If there had been no grapes in the Fat, his garment in which he had troad it, should not haue been fowled; and if there had been no offences in the world, the sonne of God should neuer haue died: insomuch that his garmentes were bloudied in the grapes of our offences. Speaking morally, wee should not say a­misse, in saying that the vine is the Church, the grapes the faithfull, the presse, his passion, the beame his crosse, the stone his sepulchre, the treader Christ; vnder whose feete it is con­uenient [Page 51] for vs to put our selues, to the end hee may tread vs, and the stone of our faultes, to weet, the hardnesse of our heartes: because it is farre better for vs to be spurned at, and troaden downe of God, than to bee crowned of the world.

O my soule, O my heart, looke well to thy selfe, and take heed of thy selfe; that if good Iesus would tread thee downe with tribulation, or wring thee with temptation, take heed that there leape not out of thee, some drop of blasphemie and impa­tience, wherewith thou mayst befoule and bloudie the garment of our Lord: for in so doing, O my soule, thou shouldest be troa­den, but not amended. How wouldest thou that the drosse of sin should depart from thy soule, as long as thou doest remaine in pleasure and delight, if the huske cannot be seperated from the grape but by force of stamping and treading? If the most bles­sed soule of the sonne of God, did not goe out of the rinde and barke of his body, before that his flesh was wroong and troden, how wilt thou that the offence of thy soule go from thee, being a neighbour vnto vice, and cockered with sin? suffer thy selfe O my soule, suffer thy selfe to be wroong of thy creator, suffer thy selfe to be troden by thy God: for as they doe not put vp their wine in tunnes, nor vse it before it be troaden; so our Lord doth not crowne the iust vntill he be tempted. O what a great comfort it is to heare Christ say, torcular calcaui ego solus. To weet that he alone & none with him, doth tread & stamp the grape in the Fat, and doth seperate the huske from it: wherein he doth let vs vn­derstand, that there commeth no tribulation vnto vs in this world which commeth not first directed by his hand, and which is not sent vs for our good: insomuch that to put vs vnder his feete, is to desire to put vs vpon his head.

Saul would willingly haue had the authoritie that Christ had, vtterly to destroy and ruine Dauid; and Pharao, Moses; and Salma­nasar, Tobie; Iesabell, Elyas; and the diuell Iob; but seeing the son of God saith, torcular calcaui ego solus, I onely haue stamped vp­on the presse; they could reach no farther, nor their power exten­ded no farther to afflict them than the diuine prouidence would permit thē. Barnard on the Canticles saith; Cary me, O good Ie­sus, to the place of thy passiō, & put me in the presse of thy correc­tion, [Page 52] to the end that thou mayst there seperate the gold from the drosse, the rose from the thorne, the bone from the reed, the huske from the grape, and sinne from my soule: and in this case it is no reason, that thou shouldest haue pittie on me in treading me, seeing that I haue none in offending thee. Eductus de carcere Ioseph, to tonderunt eum, & veste mutata, obtulerunt regi, saith the holy scripture, speaking of holy Ioseph, when he was in prison: as if he would say, After that innocent Ioseph had interpreted the dreame which the baker had dreamed, and had expounded the kings butlers vision, they pouled his haire off his head, and chan­ged the apparell which he wore, and so presented him vnto king Pharao in his palace. If we will at length explicate this figure of Ioseph, we shal find many and verie deepe mysteries in it, because that among all the Patriarckes which went before Christ, hee is prefigured in none so liuely as in Ioseph. And because it may not seeme that we speake at random, it is to be knowne, that as good Ioseph was cast into prison, because hee would not commit adul­terie with his ladie and mistresse, so the sonne of [...]od was carried to death, because he would not consent vnto the errous of the synagogue; Whereof it fell out, that they did put Ioseph in pri­son betwixt two malefactors, and they did put Christ on the crosse, betwixt two theeues; one of Iosephs companions was cō­dēned to die, & the other who was the cup-bearer was restored vnto his office; & so was it with those which suffred with Christ, the one was condemned & the other saued. Before they should carry Ioseph to the pal [...]ce, or giue him the gouernmēt of Aegypt, they pould his head, and tooke away his haire: so likewise they pouled the haire of the sonne of God, when they tooke from him all the disciples which he had with him; so that as they left Io­seph no haire to doe him credit and honour, so there remained with Christ no disciple to doe him seruice. O good Iesus, O my soules delight, how well should I hit, if I should say that this fi­gure was fulfilled in thee literally? for although thou wast not pouled in Pilats house, as Ioseph was; yet thou wast well pulled and haled by the haire; and if Ioseph went out pouled, thou didst escape pulled. Ioseph was handled with greater pittie in king Pha­rao his house, then Christ in Pilats, seeing they pouled Ioseph [Page 53] with a combe, but they pulled Christes haire away with their fistes, and that which cannot be spoken without teares, they brake them not off, but pulled them vp by the roots.

Isidorus vpon Genis. saith, What other signfication had it to present Ioseph before king Pharao pouled and spoiled; but that we should send the sonne of God out of this world spoiled and bereaued of this life, and pouled of his merits? The gowne and couering of the soule, is the body with which we liue, and the haires of the head are the merits which we possesse; whereof it is, that to poule Iosephs haire, before he should go to the palace, was a token that Christ would leaue vs all his merits, before hee went into heauen; insomuch that Ioseph did bring forth haire to giue to the Aegyptians, and Christ did heape merites to leaue to his Christians.

What should become of vs, O good Iesus, what should be­come of vs, if thou shouldest not leaue vs the merites of thy haire? If thou didst merit, in fasting, and watching, in praying, and preaching; it was done without all doubt for my sake, and not for thine owne; because that thou, as thou wast God couldest not merit; and as thou wast man, hadst no need to doe it.

CHAP. IX. Wherein the authour doth prosecute the same matter, and ex­poundeth two notable figures to the purpose.

CVm ingressus fuisset mulus subter cōdensam quer­cum, adhaesit caput Absalon quercui, & mansit suspensus inter coelum & terram, saith the holy scripture, 2. Reg. 8. As if he would say, Prince Absalon fleeing frō the battell, which he had with his father Dauid, as he should passe vnder a great Oake which had thicke lowe bowes, his horse went on, and he hanged by the haire; so that the Oake serued the sorrow­full yoong man for a gallowes, and his bush of haire for an halter. The high secrets of God are much to be noted in this place, and how that want of friends was not cause of Absalons death nor yet [Page 54] the wait which his enemies laid for him; but onely because he did suffer his haire to grow so long: for if he had gone to the bat­tell, with his head pouled; or his haire shauen, at the worst hee should haue escaped from thence with a broken head, and should not haue staied there as he did, hanging. What other thing is the haire, which hang downe our head, but the thoughtes which hang in our minde? For without all comparison the heart is more cruelly martyrized with his owne thoughtes, than the bodie with all the foure elements. It is expedient for vs then to poule the haire of our thoughtes, yea and if they be dishonest, pull them vp by the rootes; for at the daie of our death the angels shall giue vs an accompt of all the haires, which wee had in our head; and wee vnto our Lord, of all the good and bad, which we thinke in our heart.

Saint Barnard in a sermon saith, Thou sayst, O my good Iesus, that there shall not a haire be lost off my head, and I say also that there shall not be lost one moment of a moment: and therfore in this case I shall be glad that at the day of iudgement, thou wouldest not restore me the haires which I was woont to haue; so that thou wouldst not aske me an accōpt of that which I was woont to thinke. O my good Iesus, O the loue of my soule; if holy Ioseph durst not appeare before king Pharao, with long haire; how dare I shew my selfe before thee with so manie foule and filthy cogitations? Anselmus in his meditations saith, O how many more in number, are the thoughts which lie hidden in my minde, than the haires which hang at my head, and that which is most to be lamented is, that I wash my head euerie weeke, and defile my soule euerie day: insomuch, that if I were brought to be sold, without comparison, men would giue more for my haire than for my thoughts.

Seeing then that we haue prooued, much haire to be ma­nie thoughtes; and that i [...] is nothing else to let them growe long, but onely to let the heart thinke what hee listeth: the seruant of our Lord ought to denie him that libertie, as a thing verie hurtfull for him; because our bodies growe dissolute for no other reason, but because we keepe not our thoughts in sub­iection.

Saint Barnard vpon Qui habitat saith, If thou wilt serue thy God, (O my soule) thou must first set thy thoughts in good order and suretie, before thou take the weed in a monasterie; and thou shouldest rather looke vnto that, that thou thinkest on, than vnto thy selfe which doth thinke it: for it may be that the diuels will laugh thee to skorne, if they should see thee praie with thy tongue in the Church, and see thy heart wander a­broad in the market place. We may truely say of him that hee nourisheth long haire, who persuadeth himselfe that hee shall liue manie yeares; and in the end at vnawares, our Lord so suffe­ring it, and his sinnes so deseruing it, when his haire was at the longest, death came vpon him, and tooke away his life. He like­wise doth suffer his haire to grow verie long, who thinketh very highly of himselfe, imagining that in time, he shalbe a great per­sonage, and haue the charge of all the affaires of the common­wealth: and because all that smelleth of vanitie, and sauoureth of lightnesse, when he doth least thinke of it, all his discredit came by that, wherein he most of all hoped.

O, of how many we may say now a daies; that they are han­ged by their thoughtes, as prince Absalon was by his haire, vn­to whom the tree of their follie hath been more dangerous, than the thicke Oake was vnto sorrowfull Absalon! for after that their businesse and affaires hath not fallen out as they thought, although they hang not vpon an Oake; yet they re­turne to their houses and die desperate.

Take heed then, O my brother, take heed to bring foorth long haire with Absalon; and if thou hast done it, be glad that they cut it thee off, as they did Iosephs in Aegypt: for being shorn hee became to be a great fauourit; and prince Absalon, because he nourished his, came to die vpon the Gibbet. Barnard vnto the Moonke Rupertus saith; What other thing doth it signi­fie that Ioseph was spoyled of the gowne which hee ware on his bodie, and that hee pouled off his haire, with which hee honoured his head withall, but onely that it is conuenient for the seruant of our Lord, before hee enter into Religion, to forsake all the wealth, which hee possesseth; and poule and wipe off the nobilitie and ablenesse, on which he presumeth. [Page 56] They doe not suffer holy Ioseph, in Pharao his house to weare his owne garmentes, and wilt thou liue in Christes house with thy goodes and wealth? They doe not suffer him in Pharaos house to foster long haire, and darest thou in Christes house entertaine foolish thoughtes? he doth entertaine foolish thoughtes, who doth presume much of himselfe, and make small reckoning of his brethren: for if we beleeue Chilo the Philosopher, there is no man which erreth so much as he who thinketh that hee neuer erreth. What doth it benefite the seruant of our Lord to poule the haire of his head, if those of his heart remaine and growe in his owne heart?

If then thou wilt, my brother Rupertus, enter into Christes palace, which is better than Pharaos, king of Aegypt, suffer thy selfe to be spoiled of thine own will, and giue men leaue to sheare the haire of thy lightnesse: for oftentimes the heart is busied in such vaine and light things, that a haire is of greater waight than his thought. Hitherto S. Barnard.

Vidi Iesum sacerdotem magnum stantem, indutum vestibus sordi­dis, & ait dominus ad me, num quid non est torris erutus de igne. These are the wordes of the Prophet Zacharie, chap. 3. As if hee would say, I saw in a vision which our Lord shewed vnto me one night, the great Priest called Iesus, who was on foote, and not sat down; & I saw that he was attired with very foule apparel; wher­at maruelling, our Lord said vnto me, This Priest Iesus whō thou doest see ill-fauouredly attyred, is the onely and sole firebrand, which escaped out of the fire, because all the other firebrands are either quite burnt vp, or else could not be put on fire at all.

If this be a woonderfull figure, the fulfilling of it is much more marueilous: for seeing it doth name the priest Christ by his own name, in the text; the figure is to be vnderstood of blessed Iesus and of no other. It wanteth not a high mysterie to say, that he is called Iesus, that is to say, a Sauiour, and that he is a Priest, that is, holy or sacred, and that he is a great Priest, that is, strong and mightie, and that he saw him standing, which is a signe of care. Whereof we Christians may thinke ourselues happie, seeing we haue a redeemer, which can deliuer vs; a Priest which can ab­solue vs; and one that is mightie, who can defend vs, and who is [Page 57] alwaies standing to the end he may guard vs. S. Stephen in his pas­sion, and Zacharie in this his vision saw the sonne of God hard by the same God, not sitting and sporting, but standing on his feet and praying; insomuch that with great reason wee may say of good Iesus, that euen as, non dormitabit neque dormiet qui im­pugnat Israel: euen so he neither hath slept, nor will sleepe, who will defend Israell. Saint Barnard vpon qui habitat, saith; As he sleepeth neither little nor much, who fighteth against Israel, so he doth neither sleepe little nor much, who defendeth Israell; because that the ambushes with which the diuell laieth wait for vs, are so many, and the snares so dangerous, that if the sonne of God would absent himselfe, and be carelesse of vs, wee should not be able to helpe our selues against the diuell, but yeeld and fall into euerie vice.

O then we be happie, if we be gratefull vnto our Lord, seeing that we haue such a redeemer, and such a watch man for vs, who watcheth because I should sleepe; fasteth, because I should eate; taketh paines, because I should be at rest; standeth on foote, be­cause I should sit downe: insomuch that the great care which he hath ouer me, maketh him vtterly carelesse of himselfe. I speake not all this, O good Iesus, to attribute any vaine glory vnto my selfe, but to giue thee greater glorie: for if thou shouldst not de­fend me vnder thy mightie hand, the diuell would haue me in his power.

It is also to be noted, that Zacharie did not say in his vision, that Iesus the Priest was a coale, nor that hee was fire; but that he was a firebrand lighted: wherein he gaue vs to vnderstand, that our blessed sauiour was not all coale; that is to weet God: nor all wood; that is to weet, pure man; but that hee was a true fireband kindled and set on fire, in which there was the wood of his manhood, and the fire of his Godhead. Rupertus the Ab­bot, vpon Zacharie saith, That the holy Ghost could not haue giuen vs a more fitter comparison than this of the fireband; be­cause that as in the firebrand, the fire is so vnited and transformed with the wood, and the wood with the fire, that there is at one time and together both fire and wood; so in the hypostaticall and diuine vnion Christ our sauiour is true God, and true man, [Page 58] and true man, and true God. Before Christ was incarnat, he was all pure fire: but since he tooke flesh, he changed into a fire-brand set on fire: in which his meaning was, that the wood of his huma­nitie should burne, and that the fire should be his vnspeakable charitie; insomuch that it was necessarie, that in that holy fire-brand, the wood of his bodie should be burned, and that the fire of his godhead should pardon vs.

O how much we are bound vnto blessed Iesus, seeing that in the old law he did not suffer himselfe to be seene nor felt, but was all fire, and hid himselfe from all men: but after that he tooke our redemption vpon him, and for our sakes made himselfe a light and a holy fire-brand, he suffereth himselfe to be seene; suffereth himselfe to be handled; suffereth himselfe to be taken: inso­much that now hee is not a coale which doth burne, but a fire-brand which giueth vs light. It is the propertie of a fire-brand to giue light vnto him who bloweth it; burne him who toucheth it; heate him who commeth neere vnto it: all which sweete Ie­sus doth, who giueth light vnto those which follow his counsell; burneth those which search out his deepe iudgementes, and gi­ueth heat vnto those which keepe his commandements. It is also a propertie of the fire-brand to let it selfe be touched on that end which is not on fire, and on that end which burneth, hee will not be so much as touched with the finger: which propertie also God vseth with the wicked and naughtie persons, vnto whom he bestoweth his mercie, whilest they liue in this world, and sheweth his iustice after they be dead: insomuch that in this world he doth nothing but pardon, and in the other he doth no­thing but punish.

Zacharies figure saith farther, quod iste est torris erutus ab igne. To weet that this fire-brand and no other, through speciall pri­uiledge did escape the generall fire: wherein hee giueth vs to vnderstand, that the sonne of God onely, was hee who was con­ceiued of the holy Ghost, and in whom there was neuer anie smoke of sinne, nor euer knew how to doe any man hurt at all. Who dare say that the sonne of God did euer hurt any man, see­ing that hauing reason to doe it, and being able to doe it, did al­waies suffer hurt, and neuer did any?

From the fire of originall sinne, wherein all the world was burnt; onely this holy fire-brand escaped from being burnt or smoaked: the fire of pride came not vnto him, nor the coale of enuie, nor the smoake of anger, nor yet the sparckles of lecherie: insomuch that hee was not ouercome by sinne, but sinne by him.

O high mysterie! O vnspeakeable sacrament! that the son of God hauing escaped an vniuersall fire, should come to fall in­to another greater fire, that is to say, that although the fire of sinne did not compasse him; the fire of loue did compasse him and burne him, which is manifestly seen in that, that onely be­cause hee was striken with the loue of vs, hee consented to be crucified vpon a tree.

CHAP. X. Here he prosecuteth the figure touched before, and there is al­so expounded an authoritie of the Apostle in it.

IEsus autem indutus erat vestibus sordidis, saith Zacharie in the figure which we haue alleaged: as if he would say, It was a lamentable case to see the honourable old Priest Iesus, clothed in old bare ap­parell, and especially being verie filthy and foule. Vndoubtedly we should say verie truely, if we say that this figure was literally fulfilled in Christ, seeing that the white gowne which Herod gaue him, and the purple gowne which Pilat gaue him, were the oldest, the most ragged, and the foulest that they had in the palace, because they did not cloath Christ in them to doe him anie new honour, but the better to skoffe and ieast at him.

Blessed Iesus was in birth noble; in age young; in condition cleane; in life honest; and in reputation and accompt wise: the which being so, euery man may see what a shame and griefe it was vnto him, being a noble man, to be cloathed in a torne coat; and being a yong man, in an old iacket; & being neat & cleanly to haue a foule shirt; & being a sacred persō, to put on him a prophane [Page 60] cloake, and being a wise man, to be skoffed at in a fooles garment. S. Chrysostom vpon S. Mathew saith, In this miserable life, there is nothing in which men are more honoured, than with the gar­ments they weare, and companies which they leade about with them; and from hence it commeth, that the ministers of wic­kednesse not without great wisedome, and excesse of malice, did accompany Christ with two theeues, to accuse him of wickednes and sedition, and cloath him with vile and base attire to note him of ambition and folly. Rabanus to this purpose saith, The Iews did much more pretend the taking away of Christ his honour and credit, than the seeking of his life; and for that cause they did ac­companie him with theeues, because men should accompt him a theefe, and cloath him in fooles coates, because men should rec­kon of him as of a foole; & they accused him of naughtinesse, be­cause they should hold him for such a one; & they raised vp slan­ders vpon him, because he should be made infamous. Cyprian saith, In the first thirtie yeares, that Christ liued in the world, be­cause he did neither preach, nor reprehend any man, no man was offended nor greeued at him, nor any man molested him; but af­ter he began to preach and reprehend vice and vicious men: the Iewes perceiuing that their credit went daily to decay, and that the sonne of God grew in fame and credit, they determined a­mong themselues to take away his life, seeing they could not les­sen his same. August. vpon S. Iohn saith, The end that the Iewes intended, in putting a crown vpon Christ his head, and a hollow drie reed in his hand, and a purple red on his backe, was not so much to kill him, as to discredit him, and skoffe him as a foole and a dizard, and thereupon they fought but one only torment of the crosse to take away his life, and inuented ten thousand to take away his credit.

Theophil. saith, The ministers of wickednes did cloath Christ in a thread-bare gowne, to empaire his credit, in a torne one, to breake his doctrin, & in a soule one, to spot his life, yea they cloa­thed him in other mens apparell to impute other mens faults vn­to him. Leauing the letter and searching out quid spiritus dicat ec­closijs, What the spirit telleth the churches, it is to be knowne that oftentimes in holy Scripture, are figured our good and [Page 61] euill workes, by good and euill garments, insomuch that such as our garments is which we weare, such is the life which we lead. When the Psalmist saith, Induit se maledictionem: and the wise man, Vestimenta tua sint candida, and the Apocalypse, Beatus qui custodit vestimenta sua. In the literall and true sense; the scrip­ture doth not speake there of attire which we weare, made of wooll and silke, but of the good and euill conditions which we haue.

When God saith as he doth, Let thy garments be white at all times, he regardeth verie little, whether I goe in white or red: but he careth verie much that my life be chast, and my soule cleane, because that in the house of our Lord, they call a blacke garment a naughtie life; and a white, a pure and holy life: for our Lord to say, Blessed is that man who keepeth his garments, that he walke not naked, is to aduise vs that then a man doth keepe garments a long time, who knew how to keepe his innocencie from his childhood, and that he is altogether naked, who is fallen from the innocencie and grace of our Lord.

Saint Augustine vpon Genesis saith; If our first father had not fallen into sinne, he should neuer haue greeued that he was naked, so that at one time he lost his innocencie, and got shame, and also at one time, he did learne to sinne, and vsed to cloath himselfe. When the Psalmist saith, Induit confusionem, hee he doth tell and aduise vs, that then a man doth put on the cloke and coat of confusion, when hee goeth lost in the way of perdi­tion, and maketh no reckoning of his saluation; and that which is worst of all, he hath so oft hardened his conscience, & hath cast­away so farre all shame, that he doth no more loath to sinne than to speake; nor to speake than to sinne.

Cassiodorus vpon the Psalm. saith; Thou doest so oft cloath thy selfe with so many confusions, as thou doest times sinne a­gainst thy God; and thou doest sinne so many times as thou doest impugne reason; and thou doest so many times impugne reason, as thou doest yeeld vnto sensualitie; and as oft as thou doest not contradict and gainsay thy appetite: insomuch that thou doest then p [...] confusion, when thou doest impugne reason.

Being then presupposed, that the garments which we weare, are nothing else but the workes which we doe, it is to be vnderstood that Christ our redeemer, did with one kinde of garments cloath his bodie, and with another kinde his soule; he clothed his soule with grace, but he couered his bodie with paine, insomuch that Christ his soule receiued that which we deserued, and his glori­ous bodie payd that which he owed not.

O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, how is it possible that my tongue can rehearse, or any penne write the making of thy garmentes, if my eyes doe not first make a fountaine of teares? What other signification had it, that the great priest was cloa­thed in foule apparrell, but onely that thou, O my good Iesus, wast to lay vpon thy body, all my naughtinesse and offences? The garment of thy humanitie, which thy father made thee, and the holy Ghost woaue thee, and thy glorious mother gaue thee, was made without sinne, and giuen thee without spot: but woe be vnto me, woe be vnto me; because I am he who doth spot him, I am he who doth defile and soile him, I am he who doth breake him: which I doe as oft as I doe sinne against thee. The sonne of God then did put on my pride, my anger, my enuie, my glut­tonie, my fault, and also his owne paine, and arraied himselfe with all my offences and faultes, as it were with old spotted gar­mentes which hee did wash in the altar of the crosse; not with sope and water, but with his owne pretious bloud. In similitudi­nem hominum factus, habitu inuentus est vt homo, saith the Apostle, writing to the Church of the Thessalonians, chap. 2. As if hee would say. When the sonne of God came into this world, he did nothing els but looke vnto other men; cloathed himselfe with a mans garment.

Beda saith, the Apostle doth not say, that the sonne of God tooke the likenesse of flesh; for so he should haue been a fantasti­call and not a true bodie; but he said, that he tooke vpon him the likenesse of a man, which was said, for sinne and not for flesh; see­ing that he was true man, and not a fantasticall body: insomuch that he tooke the shape of a man, but of sinne he tooke onely the likenesse; and he saith further, He took [...] [...]he form and shape, but the likenesse of sinne; seeing the G [...] [...]oth beleue of him, [Page 63] and the faith doth preach, that hee was true God, and true man, and a true redeemer; but a fained sinner.

He was vndoubtedly the true redeemer, seeing he took mans flesh to the end to suffer in it; and he was a sinner in shew and fai­nedly, seeing he did put our sinnes vpon that flesh, to crucifie them with himselfe; and because that for the true redemption there should be one which should suffer, and another for whom he should suffer: we did lend him the fault, and hee added the punishment of his owne. For the Apostle then to say, that Christ habitu inuentus est homo, is to saie, that hee bare the sinnes of man vpon his backe; insomuch that as man doth weare a garment on him to doe him credite withall, so the sonne of God tooke vpon him all our offences, to bragge and vaunt of them, because that we are not so infamous in committing them, as good Iesus is glo­ous in forgiuing them.

And because that by the white garment, and the purple garment, and skarlet garment, and the coate without seame, were signified our sundry faultes; the sonne of God would at one time put them on him, and at another put them off, to giue vs to vnderstand, that it lieth onely in his hand to forgiue vs, or not to forgiue vs, and that life and death is in his own power, and also the liking of our works or disliking of them.

Cyrillus vpon S. Iohn saith, It wanteth not a great mysterie that the sonne of God, tooke the garments which they gaue him in Pilat and Herods palace, although they were neuer so old, rag­ged and foule, and how peruerse and wicked soeuer the ministers were which gaue them him: wherein it seemeth that hee doth make them equall with his blessed mother, who gaue him a coat without seame to weare vpon his backe, as they gaue him a purple one to skorne and skoffe him withall. O good Iesus, O my souls delight, tell me I pray thee, if thou hadst need of a new gar­ment, why doest thou not ask for one of thy blessed mother? didst thou go in one garment 33 yeares; and for three houres, which they gaue thee to liue, doest thou put on a new one? Thou who doest cloath the heauens with stars, the seas with waters, and the earth with trees, why doest thou abase thy selfe to take garments of tyrants? if thou take them for old garmentes, what is elder [Page 64] than my soule, who is aged in wickednesse and sinne? If for a rag­ged and torne one, what is more ragged than my sorrowful soule, which knoweth not howe to shut the gate against any vice? If thou hast them for a fowle garment, what is fowler than my soule, the which will neuer wash herselfe in the fountaine of thy grace, nor euer giue ouerwallowing in the dirtie puddle of vices.

S. Barnard vpon the passion of our Lord saith; For the sonne of God to take garments of his mother, who was holy, and re­ceiue them also of Pilat who was a sinner, is to let vs vnderstand that his mercy is so great, that he admitteth all sorts vnto him, and despiseth none; that is to say, the workes of the good to re­ward them, and the works of the bad to amend them; insomuch that the sinner findeth pardon in him, and the iust his rewards.

Basill. in a sermon saith; Christ tooke more garments of He­rod and Pilat, than he did of his most blessed mother, to let vs thereby vnderstand, that there are more sinners than iust men; and that the sinnes with the which we offend him, are more in number, than the seruices which we do vnto him: Wherupon it falleth out, that our Lord hath more to punish than to reward.

It is likewise to be waighed, that Christ did alwaies weare the coates which his blessed mother gaue him; and those which Pi­lat gaue him, he ware but one night onely; wherein he did let vs vnderstand, that the works which good men do, he doth always accept: but those which wicked men do, he doth not always for­giue. And in this case Seneca saith, That it is an exceeding great folly, and want of discretion for any man to offer, and put him selfe into peril & danger with an hope of remedie. Cyprian saith, Let no man forget to note, that the son of God did weare the garments which his mother gaue him thirtie and three yeares; and those which Herod and Pilat gaue him, he skarce ware one whole day; whereby our Lord doth admonish vs, that as for the naugh­tie workes, with the which wicked men doe cloath them­selues, he is glad for a time to dissemble them; but yet for manie yeares he will not suffer them. It wanteth not likewise a myste­rie, that of all the garments which they gaue Christ in Pilats and Herods house, he would take none from thence with him, but as he put them on in the palace, so hee left them in the palace: [Page 65] wherein our good Iesus did signifie vnto vs, that we should hold for suspected all the fauours of the wicked, and all the conuersa­tion which we haue with them, in token whereof, he scarce gaue them one word, and much lesse tooke away one haire of their garments with him. Let vs then leaue Herode his white garment, and let vs leaue Pilat his skarlet garment, for thereby vve are taught to leaue the world, and all that which smelleth of the world, because it is small reason that any man should cloath him­selfe with other mens garments, seeing that the sonne of God vvould not die vvith his owne proper ones.

Agmon sayth, For the sonne of God not to go out of Pilats house, but with the same attire which he had when he entered into it, is to signifie vnto vs, that we shall not take more out of the world, than we brought into the vvorld. If the sonne of God did take any thing with him out of that vvicked palace, it was his shoulders opened and rent with stripes, his head crowned vvith thorns; and the like is of vs, when we depart out of this world, out of which vve depart whipped vvith a thousand griefs and vexa­tions, and hedged and compassed in vvith many sinnes.

CHAP. XI. Of the manner how they did lead Christ to be crucified: vnto which purpose there is a notable figure ex­pounded.

ET baiulans sibi crucem, exiuit in eum qui dicitur Caluariae locum, Hebraicè autem Golgotha, sayth S. Iohn, chap. 19. as if he should say, The sonne of God hauing put off the purple garment which they gaue him in Pilats palace, and putting on that which he brought thither with him, he tooke his crosse vpon his shoulders, and went towards the place, where they would crucifie him, which is called Caluarie in Latin, and in Hebrue, Golgotha.

The deputie had scarce giuen sentence that they should [Page 66] crucifie Christ, but all those which stood at the gate of the Pal­lace, gaue a loud crie, as it were of ioy and victory: for their rea­son was so darkned, and their hatred toward Christ so great, that rhere was not one which did so much desire life vnto himselfe, as he did couet to procure good Iesus his death. Plauserunt super te manibus sibilauerunt & mouerūt capita sua, said Ieremie speaking of Hierusalem, when it was spoiled and destroied by the Assirians, as if he would say, Thy enemies were not content only to burne thy temple, throw downe thy vvals, rob thy treasuries, imprison thy children, but the better to mocke at thee, and shew a grea­ter ioy at thy destruction, they hissed at thee, as at a bull, they made mouths at thee, as at a fool, they skoffed thee as thou hadst ben a dizard, and leaped and clapped their hands for meere ioy.

How is it possible for me to expound these lamentable words, if my eyes doe not first turne into a fountaine of teares? Geue o­uer, O Ieremie, and bewaile and weepe no more ouer the captiui­tie of thy people, and let thou and I weepe and bewaile the im­prisonment and sentence which vvas giuen vpon my Christ; for if they carried the people to Babylon, it is for no other cause but because they should abide there; but they carrie innocent Iesus to the mount of Caluarie to be crucified: in so much that if strangers doe take away their countrie from thy nation, thy countrimen doe take away life from my God. That which hap­pened to Hierusalem by the Assyrians, did happen vnto Christ by the Iewes; vvho felt such great pleasure to see Christ con­demned to death, and that he vvas deliuered vnto them by iu­stice, that they did presently publish it through the streets, and aske for a reward of their good newes; they commend Pilat to be a iust iudge, they allow of his sentence, & did persuade them­selues that that iudgement of Pilats against Christ, would take a­way all scruples out of their minds.

Chrysost. vpon S. Matthew sayth, that immediatly after Christ vvas condemned to die, the ioy vvhich the vvoorser sort of peo­ple did shew, vvas exceeding great, because they thought that the life which they tooke from him, they gaue vnto themselues and their common-wealth. Origen saith, When the sonne of God vvas iudged to die, some went to seeke a tree to make the crosse [Page 67] others to seeke a carpenter to make it, others went to breake the rocke vvhere it should be put, others to seeke nailes to crucifie him with, others to agree with the hangmen to put him to death, and others to stirre vp people for feare least he should be taken a­way from them.

Although by reason of the offices vvhich they had distribu­ted among themselues, they were scattered and separated the one from the other, yet touching the death of Christ, they were all at one, and of one mind, in so much, that when they brought him forth to crucifie him with their nailes, they had alreadie cru­cified him in their hearts. Barnard sayth, The sonne of God being iudged to die, because they would take away his life with all speed, and put the iudgement in execution out of hand, their heads did not ake vvith crieng, nor their feete were vvearie vvith going, nor their toungs vvith speaking, neyther did it grieue them to spend their monie, because they were in a great feare, that if Christs death should haue ben deferred, Pilat would haue repented himselfe of his iudgement.

When a man departeth out of the vvorld, as some goe to prepare his graue, and some stay to shrowd him, so did the mini­sters of vvickednesse at Christs death, for some went to seeke the place where they should crucifie him, and some stayd behind; to giue order how they should carrie him to be crucified, so that he vvho laboured most, did thinke he had deserued best.

There is much to be vveighed in this matter, and thou, O my soule, hast much more to vveepe for in this case, for if they vvill lead thy Lord and, God to shame, is it thinkest thou for his owne fault, or for thine? Thine is the fault, O my soule, thine is the fault, and his the punishment; thine the sinne, and his the hurt; thine the theft, & he is hanged; thine is the blood, and hee it is vvho sheadeth it; thine is the life, and his the death; thine the prize, and he paieth for it; thine is the glory, and hee is the man that buieth it for thee. Be not absent, O my soule, in that hard and narrow passage; accompanie your God in that pitifull way; & by my poore counsell, you shall ioine your fault with his innocencie, and lode your sinnes vpon his pretious members; for woe be vn­to thee, and woe be vnto me, if at the same time that they tooke [Page 68] thy pretious flesh to punish, they did not also crucifie my gree­uous offences with it.

What iniustice is this, O Pilat, what iniustice is this? doost thou dissemble with me, which can do nothing but sinne euery houre a thousand times? and doost thou carrie him to execution who knoweth no other dutie but to forgiue sinnes? Commaund then that I be led foorth, commaund them to carie me, and com­maund them to doe iustice vpon me: for how much soeuer thy torments be, yet my sinnes be farre more, and what hast soeuer thou doost make to torment me, I will make greater to sinne. An­selmus in his meditations sayth, Before that they did lead out the sonne of God to be crucified, they tooke off the skarlet garment which was in stead of a cloake, and also the purple which serued him for a coat: and they pulled it off ouer his head, and pulling it hastily, his head being beset with thorns, as if it had bene studded with nailes, some leapt out, some went in further, some were wrea­thed about, and the points of some broke, and staied in his brain, the blood running downe from Christ like a streame.

The reas;on why they tooke from the innocent Lambe the purple garment, and cloathed him in his owne cote, was because he should be well knowne of all men, the vvhich they feared, if they should not haue changed his attire, by reason that hee was so dissigured by the multitude of torments. How do you thinke that he should not be knowne betwixt two theeues? seeing that he carrieth a greater crosse than the others, and hath a crowne of thornes which the other had not; and goeth in the midst which the others doe not; and watereth the streets with his own blood, which the others neuer did.

Barnard in a sermon sayth, Seeing that blessed Iesus hath his cote rent by often pulling at it, his shoulders opened with often whipping of them; his face foule, with much spitting on him; and his eyes dazeled with the blowes which they gaue him; and his haire thinne, by pulling it; how should he not be knowne, seeing among all he is so mocked? Bonauenture in his Stimulo, sayth, O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, tell me, I pray thee, what fa­uour did they vnto thee in that infamous palace, when thou didst talke in secret with Pilat the deputie? That which I brought [Page 69] out of the palace vvas a crosse vpon my shoulders, companie of theeues, a halter about my necke, a crowne on my head, many blew wales in my face, a crier at my left hand, and a hangman at my right: in so much that they lead me to be crucified in as good order, as they lead a bride to be married. If thou hast told vs what thou didst bring out of the palace, wilt thou not tell vs also what thou didst leaue there behind thee? That vvhich I left in Pilats house, was many haires sown in his parlours, and much of my blood shead in his court, much of my skinne cleauing to his garments, and peeces of my gown among his seruaunts, and all my disciples fled among the people, inso much, that if Pilat did giue iudgement in my fauour, I paid him there presently with my own blood. Absciderunt palmitem cum vna sua, quem portauerunt in ve­cte duo viri, sayth the holy scriptures, speaking of the spies vvhich Moises did send to discouer the land of promise; and it as if hee vvould say, After that Iosua and Caleb had vewed the cities, and walked ouer all the bounds of Chanaan, to the end that the fruit­fulnesse of the land should animate the Israelits to conquer it, they did cut a branch with a cluster of grapes on it, and put it o­uer the middle of a staffe, and the cluster of grapes was so heauie, that it was enough for two men to carry into the towne.

To the end that the letter may agree with the sense, and the figure answer vnto the thing figured, and the truth follow the prophesie, we must stay a little in this figure, and expound it word by word: because that the truth of it being well knowne, there will many secrets be discouered by it, and we shall be thereby much lightened. Origen vpon this place sayth, That the land of promise dooth signifie happinesse or felicitie, the bunch of grapes doth represent Christ, the skinne his blessed humanitie, the wine of the grape his godhead, the two men which carried the grapes to shew, are the two theeues which they carried with Christ to be crucified; and the staffe on which they carrie the grapes, is the crosse on which they crucified Christ.

And what did it signifie, that in that day in which they carri­ed this bunch of grapes to the campe of the Israelits, was the day in which God was more angry with them, than at any other [...] in all the desert, but that in that day which they hanged his son [Page 70] on the tree, the greatest sinne in the world was committed? As of those two men which carried the grapes hanging vpon the staffe, the one of them went behind, and the other before, so the naughtie thefe turned his backe vnto Christ, and condemned himselfe, and the good theefe turned his face vnto Christ, and sa­ued himselfe.

I say not this which now I say, without greefe of mind, that is that none of those which did cut the grapes, nor none of those which did hang them vpon the staffe, did deserue to eat of them; and so in like maner, few of those which did crucifie Christ, did deserue to enioy the benefit of his blood. August. vpon S. Iohn saith What are the two spies that carrie on their shoulders the grapes hanging on the staffe, but the Iew and the Gentile which lead Christ to be crucified? of these two, he that went before was the Iews who turned his backe vnto Christ and would not beleeue in him; and he which went behind, was the Gentile, who had him before him in his eyes to worship, in so much that from that time the church remained blessed with holy Iacob, and the syna­gogue abideth mocked with Esau.

As the first fruits which the Israelits saw in the land of pro­mise, was that faire bunch of grapes; so the first iewell which we did see come from heauen into the world, was the person of Christ, and vvhat difference there is betwixt that grape and this, cannot here be spoken of. Theophil. sayth, Who is the grape which is hanged on the shoulders of the two spies, but the true sonne of GOD vvhich did burne betwixt two loues? the one loue vvas, that vvhich he bare vnto his father to satisfie him, and the other was that vvhich he bare vnto vs, to satisfie and pay for vs, in so much, that with the grape of his body which he suffe­red to be hanged on the wood, the world was redeemed, and his father well satisfied.

Rupertus the Abbot sayth, Notwithout a mysterie the scrip­ture dooth tell vvhere that grape was cut, and who carried him, but did not say that they did eat him, or that they did keepe him: vvhereof vve may inferre, that the vnhappie Iewes had the Grape to hang vppon a staffe, and to presse out the Wine out of him, but yet they were not to drinke it, nor [Page 71] yet to keep it, but that they were only to presse it, and others to tunne it vp.

O how happy we Christians be, that not hauing planted the vine-yard, nor gathered the grape, nor pressed the grape, yet doe deliuer out the wine of the sacraments, and sequester vnto our selues all holy mysteries: in so much, that the Iewes beare the fault of his death, and with vs there remaineth the fruit of his blood. Hath the Church peraduenture any other such high trea­sure, as is the fruit of this grape? The grape which the Iewes trod vnder their feet, haue not the Angels thinke you vpon their crowns? we worship thee then holy grape, and praise thee, seeing that with the wine, which was wroong out of thee, thou didst re­deeme the world.

Cyril on S. Ihon saith, The old fathers made small reckoning of the grape, which the spies brought them to the desart, and their children did much lesse set by the grape Christ when he came into the world. And as there arose a great noise in the campe of the Israelits, touching that which the spies reported of the holy land: so the Iewes raised a great scandal vpon that which Christ preached, of his future glory and blessednesse: so that when his comming should haue bene in resurrection̄e, it was to their fall and ruine. That they did not reioice & giue thanks for the rich grape, which they brought into the desert, vvas a figure of the small fruit which they should draw of the death of Christ, and from hence it commeth, that when that holy grape was wroong and pressed in the presse of the synagogue, all the vvine which came out of it, the church receaueth in the sacraments.

Vpon those words of the Canticles, Botrus dilectus, S. Barnard saith, As the true spies did bring the ripe grape from the vallie of Cades, so they carried to the mount of Caluarie the heauenly grape, to be pressed betwixt two theeues: in so much that thou O my good Iesus, betweene sinners, and with sinners, and for sin­ners, and like a sinner wouldest die vpon the crosse, and bestow thy death vpon me being a great sinner. Anselmus sayth, When they did lead thee, O sacred grape, from Pilats house, to presse thee on the mount of Caluarie, tell me I pray thee, which did greeue thee most, either to see thy selfe crowned with thornes, [Page 72] or find thy selfe compassed with theeues? The sonne of God did much more grieue at the euill companie which they gaue him, than at the crowne which they put vpon him; for if the thornes did pierce his braine, the companie of the wicked did breake his heart; for in this point a good man dooth greeue more to be tou­ched in his fame and credit, than for hands to be layd vpon his person.

Ambrose vpon S. Suke sayth, The sonne of God did giue alms of that almes which was giuen him, and he gaue alms when he preached his high doctrine vnto the people, and he gaue alms when he went from one hospitall to another to visit the sick; and therefore this being true, as true it is, Christ had great reason to complaine of the Iewish nation, seeing that they defamed him for a theefe, hauing bene the greatest almes giuer in the world. What greater almes can there be than to bring the ignorant out of his error and ignorance? what greater alms than for to spare out of his owne mouth to giue vnto another? what greater alms than to heale the diseased, sicke in his bed, and raise him who was dead in his graue?

If then the sonne of God doth giue almes of these kinde of almes, vnto all such as are ignorant and poore, vvhy do they carry him like vnto a theefe betwixt theeues? The thefts which they raised vpon the sonne of God, were the greatest thefts in the world, to wit, that he stole the name of God by calling himselfe his sonne; and he stole likewise the name of Caesar by calling him selfe king; and the name of Moyses, in giuing a new law; and here­vpon like vnto a famous theefe they did crucifie him betwixt two theeues. O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, what a change of degree is this? that being serued in the heauen with angels, and accompanied vpon earth with apostles, doost go now tho­row the streets of Ierusalem beset with theeues? vvho do accom­panie theeues but other theeues? vvho but thou, O good Iesus, hast stollen the essence of thy father, the innocencie of the an­gels, vvisedome from the holy-ghost, flesh from men, truth from scripture, holinesse from the church, seeing there is nothing holy, but that which thou doost sanctifie with thy hand? Art not thou a theefe, seeing thou didst steale the spirit from the letter, the [Page 73] truth from the figure, Apostles from the Prophets, the church from the synagogue, and paradise from thy father; The paradise which thou didst steale from thy father, vnto whom didst thou first giue, but vnto the good theefe which suffered on the crosse with thee; O glorious theefe! O happie robberies! seing that all that, which thou didst steale from heauen, and take from the old testament, and all which thou hadst by thy patrimonie, and all which thou didst get with thy own sweat, all this I say, thou didst diuide and impart with my soule, so that if thou haue the name of a theefe, thou hast the deeds of a redeemer.

CHAP. XII. Here the same matter is prosecuted, and a prophesie of Esay expounded in a high stile.

DAbo clauem Dauid super humerum eius, aperiet, & non erit qui claudat, claudet & non erit qui aperiat, sayd God by the prophet Esay in the 22 chapter, as if he would say, The loue which I beare to my only begotten sonne is so great, and I haue such a confidence in my welbeloued Christ, that I doe not commit vn­to any, but vnto him, great king Dauids key, the which hee shall not beare in his hand, but vpon his shoulder: and it shall be giuen with this condition, that he shall so shut with it, that no man shall be able to open after him; and so open, that no man shal be able to shut. Because these words of the Prophet are very deepe and full of mysteries, it is necessarie that we shape our pen very cun­ningly in opening of them, and that the reader heare vs with pa­tience; because that in scripture nothing can auaile vs, if it be not read with deuotion, and heard with attention.

The better to expound and declare who this key was, of whom the prophet speaketh of; & whose the shoulder on whom it was put; and who the wards, which this key doth open & shut; it is needfull for vs to recite the vexations and troubles which king Dauid passed through, and the great perils he hath bene in, [Page 74] because that how much the more he was in fauour with God, so much the more he was persecuted of men. He was persecuted by his owne bretheren, in the armie of the Israelites; by his owne Lord king Saul; by his owne wife Michal; by his familiar friend Shemey; by his mortall enemie Golyas the giant; by his tender son faire Absalon; by his naturall subiects of Ceyla; and of his old neighbours of the land of Amon; in so much that if at his death he could as well haue made a will of his pains and vexations, as he did of his riches, he might haue left vnto his sonne, an inheritance and eldership of trauails and griefes, as others doo of wealth and mony.

It is also to be presupposed, that king Dauid was not only per­secuted and afflicted, but was also very poore and needy, which is easily perceaued, seeing that he borrowed bread of Abimelech the priest, and asked for milke and cheese of Nabal Carmelus, and stole a bottell of water from king Saul, & Ionathan his son, for pure hunger did eat the honie of wasps, and tooke grapes and raisins of Abigail, in so much, that if he was of all the afflicted, the most af­flicted, he was also among the poore the poorest.

When Gabriel the archangell sayd vnto the vergin, Dabit illi dominus sedem Dauid patris eius, The Lord will giue him the seat of his father Dauid. And when Esay sayd, Dabo clauem Dauid su­per humerum eius, what did he meane by the key but his sharpe crosse? and what vnderstood they by the seat or chaire, but his straight pouertie? To say vnto Christ, that they will giue him Dauids key, is to tell him, that they will giue him Dauids troubles and griefs; and it is to tell him that they will giue him Dauids pouertie: in so much that Dauid had two fa­mous heires, that is to weet, king Salomon vvho inherited his kingdomes, and the sonne of God vvho inherited his trauailes and troubles.

Salomon and Christ are brothers in blood, but not in the in­heritance; for it fell to Salomon to be rich, but to Christ not, but to be poore; to Salomon happened peace, but to Christ not so, but warre; to Salomon it fell out to be king, but vnto Christ not, but to be a seruaunt in the account of the vvord; to Salomon fell the throne of power, but to Christ not, but the [Page 75] seat of miserie: finally there came to Salomon al the treasures with which he might reioice and be merrie, but to Christ not, but only the key of the crosse on which he should die.

To what end, O good Iesus, to what end, doost thou marrie with humane nature, seeing they giue thee nothing in dowrie with her, but an old key, and a broken seat? Doe they not giue thee a house to dwell in, and doe they promise thee a chaire to sit in? doe they not giue thee a chest to possesse, and yet pro­mise thee a key to open it? Albertus vpon Missus est, sayth, Of all that which king Dauid had in his house, Christ inherited nothing of it, but one old key of yron, and a chaire of wood; by the vvhich is vnderstood his most holy crosse vpon vvhich he died, as if hee were seated in a chaire, and with the which he did open (as it had beene vvith a key) his perfect glo­rie. What is it for Esay to say, That they vvould cast the key vpon the shoulder of the Messias promised in the law, but that the sonne of God should carrie his crosse vpon his backe vn­to the mount of Caluarie?

It is to be noted also, that they did not commaund him to beare the key of his crosse, vpon both his shoulders, but vpon one shoulder onely, vvhereby we are giuen to vnderstand, that the sonne of God did not load the death which he did suffer, vpon the right shoulder of his Godhead, but vpon the left shoulder of his manhood: so that he suffered like a man, and had compassion on vs like God. For the prophet to say, That no man should open that vvhich he should shut, and that no man should shut that which he would open; is to let vs learne, that no man should be able to like & approue that which he should con­demn; and that no man should be so hardie to condemn that, that he should approue, because the whole matter of our saluation or perdition, consisteth in nothing else, but in falling into his liking and grace, or by liuing in his dislike and disgrace. Saint Ierome vpon Esay sayth, We haue neuer heard of any key, nor seene any, which hath bene so heauie or loaden with yron, which a man might not haue carried in his hand, except it were onely the key which the sonne of God carried vpon his shoulder to the mount of Caluarie, the which vvas so heauie vvith yron, I say [Page 76] the yron of our offences, and not of the minerals, that the onely waight of that key was sufficient to bereaue the sonne of God of his life. O glorious key! O happie key! is there any thing in hea­uen, or vpon earth, so happie as thou art, seeing that thou art the secretarie of all holy mysteries? Thou, O glorious key, diddest open heauen and shut vp hell; open vnto sinners, and shut from the diuels; open to the church, and shut from the synagogue; o­pen to the sacraments, and shut to the sacrifices; open to the sense, and shut to the letter; and also open vnto grace, and shut from sinne.

S. August. vpon the Apostle sayth, For Esay to say, that that which Dauids key doth open, no man dooth shut, and that which it doth shut, no man doth open, is to teach vs that the mysteries which Christ wrought vpon the crosse, and shut vp vnder the key, are so high and incomprehensible, that no man reacheth vn­to, more than that which he doth reueale, nor any man knoweth more, than that which he doth teach, with this key they did o­pen vnto the Apostle, when he saw those secrets which were not lawfull for man to speake of; and with that key they did open to S. Stephen, when he saw the heauens open, and with that key they opened vnto S. Peter, when he said, Thou art Christ the son of the liuing God, and with the same key they did open likewise vnto the Centurion, when he said, Truely this was the sonne of God.

O my soule, O my heart, if thou wilt, and if thou desire to enter into blisse, and felicitie, why doost thou not serue, and goe after good Iesus, who keepeth the key of it? Thou must now vnderstand, that the key of vice, vitious men keepe; the key of the world, worldlings haue; and the key of hell, the Deuills pos­sesse; but the key of heauen, none hath but Christ. O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, seeing that thou art the gate which is to be opened, and art the house, which we are to enter into, and art the glory, which we should enioy: why doost thou not open vnto this my sinfull soule, who is weary with calling of thee? and hoarse with crieng vnto thee? O redeemer of my soule, O sweet­nes of my life, seeing thou saist, That thou didst not come into this world, but for to saue sinners, and goest about for to [Page 77] seeke none but sinners, and didst not die but for sinners, and dost not replenish heauen but with sinners, why dost thou not open vnto me, who am the greatest sinner of all sinners?

To come then to our purpose. As the Iewes had a wonder­full desire to see Christ crucified, and that Christ was apparelled and cloathed, to goe to die, and like vnto another Isaac, readie to goe to the common place of buriall, to be sacrificed, they deter­mined to kill him by force, and he determined to die willingly: in so much, that we were first redeemed with his loue, before we were ransomed with his blood. That sorowfull hour being then come, they brought forth innocent Iesus, into Pilats court, and two theeues which were to beare him companie, and there they tooke order what crie they should make, and the hang-man came, which was to excecute him, and they brought him the crosse, which he was to carrie, and those which were to guide him, armed themselues with infamous precession, being set in order, they open the gates of the Pallace, and they leade Christ through all the people to be crucified. O high secreat! O in­speakable spectacle! the like vnto which hath neuer been seene from the beginning of the world: that is to weet, that ambition should treade downe humilitie; and impatient anger, reuenge vp­on patience; and madde wrath, iudge vpon almes; and infamous crueltie, reuenge vpon charitie; and pernicious lyeng, preuaile a­gainst syncere truth. It is wont to happen sometimes, that one innocent man kill another, but what patience can indure, that a theefe which deserueth the gallowes, should vpon a crosse take away the life of a iust man? among all the torments which Christ did most feele, the greatest was, when they did lead him out of Pilats house the first time, and when they shewed him vnto the people with such notorious infamie: and that not so much for the hurt which they did him, as for the credit which his doctrine lost; for to say the truth, they did rather pretend his discredit, thā his death. S. Barnard vpon the passion of our Lord saith, Because they did esteeme the son of God for the greatest deceauer of all men, and of all theeues the greatest, they loaded his shoulders with the greatest of all the crosses, for it was in proportion longer than the others, & in making worser wrought, and nothing at all [Page 78] drie, and to carrie the heauiest of them al: in so much that if they would haue weighed the crosse, it would haue weighed more than he which carried it.

The sonne of God being come into the publique streats, im­mediatly as he began to set forward, the crier began to crie: but not his wonderfull myracles which he had wrought, but the false witnesse which they had raysed vpon him, seing that the imperiall Iustice had condemned him for a vagabond, and for a deceiuer of the people. When Christ came out of Pilats palace, and passed through the streats, the multitude of people was so great which came to behold him, that with vexing of him and thrusting of him, he had bin stifled among them, if he had not al­readie determined to die on the crosse crucified.

Now that the innocent lambe wēt sweating through the streets of Ierusalem; some put themselues into windowes, some came to the dores, some wait at the corners of the streets, some giue eare vnto the crier, some aske what strange thing it was, considering that vpon such a solemne day, and vpon the euen of such a high sabbath, it was not a custome to execute malefactors, but to par­don them. Some sayd, let the cosener go to die; some said, let him alone, because they put him vniustly to death; some sayd, that he preached very roughly; some sayd, that he was a prophet of ho­ly life; some sayd, that he was a foole; some, that he was wise; so that euery men iudged of Christ according vnto the opinion that he had of him.

Doth it not suffice thee, that Pilat hath condemned thee to die, but that thou wilt passe also through the pikes and toungs of the people? Wherefore, O good Iesus, art thou so cruell against thine owne humanitie, and doost hide thy godhead? and where­fore, being vniuersall iudge of all men, doost thou yeeld to the o­pinions and iudgement of all men? Theophilus sayth, that Christ felt greater torment to see that so many naughtie men made themselues iudges of his honour, than to see Pilat iudge of his life, because his body felt the one, and the other went vnto his heart.

CHAP. XIII. Here are declared the mysteries of these two words, Cal­uarie and Golgotha, and why the sonne of God would die on a dunghill.

EXiuit in eum qui dicitur Caluariae locum, Hebraicè autem Golgotha, sayth S. Iohn, chap. 19. as if hee should say, Now that the sonne of God had lif­ted his crosse vp vpon his shoulders, and gone out of the citie of Ierusalem with it, he tooke his way, and his keepers conducted him vnto a mountaine which was called Caluarie, and also by another name was called Golgotha, on which he was to be crucified, and all the world redeemed.

Before all things, we must presuppose, that oftentimes when the catholike Church doth set forth vnto vs any word of holy scripture, which is deepe to be vnderstood, and full of mysterie to be interpreted, the church careth not for the translating of it, but leaueth it in the same word as the holy-ghost did write it in. This is easily seene by these words, Amen, Apocalypsis, Racha, Halleluia, Bethsaida, and so of diuers others, wherof none is properly Latine, but Hebrue, or Greeke, or Syriake, or Caldee, in so much that al­though he did commaund them to be written, yet the Church durst not interpret them. Why thinkst thou, my brother, that the church dareth not interpret them, or turne them into another language, but only because the mysteries that they contain, are so high, that there are no words worthy to translate them, nor no toung of man able to declare them? Put the case that this word Amen, is Truth, and that the Reuelation doth answer vnto Apo­calypse; and vnto this word, Apostle, doth answer, sent; and vnto this word, Christ, annointed; yet notwithstanding they haue greater signification in the toung which they are written in, than in that which they are interpreted in.

The euangelist then, seeing the woonderfull mysteries which [Page 80] Christ wrought vpon the crosse, and the high sacraments which he celebrated in the mount of Caluarie, determined to call that mount, Golgotha, which is an Hebrue worde, and also Caluaria, which is a Latine name, in which two words, hee gaue vs to vn­derstand, that he had so much, and so high matter to speake of this hill or mount, that the Latine and Hebrue tonge could scarse declare it. The holy Ghost will not haue vs binde our selues on­ly to this word Caluarie, nor vnto the other Golgotha, but that we may thinke on the one, and muse on the other, to the end that by them both, we may drawe out, not only that which the letter soundeth, but also that which the sense requireth.

Comming then vnto our purpose, we must note, that Calua­ria, and Golgotha, was all one thing, and was a place out of the Citye of Hierusalem, where they did hang theeues, be-head trai­tours, shoot through robbers and pirats, and crucifie blasphe­mers. In tract of time, the bodyes of them which were execu­ted, fell from the gallowes and gibbets, and there lay in that place many bones of dead men, sowne as it were vpon the ground, and many heads and skulls: so that this word Golgotha or Caluarie, doth signifie a place, or dong hill, where they did doe iustice on the wicked, and where there were fallen dovvne many quarters of malefactors. O high mysterie! O neuer before heard of in the world! for that place, being as it was dangerous for those which passed by, fearfull vnto those which did behold it, infamous, by reason of such as there died, and stinking, by reason of such as there were cast abroad, yet the redeemer of the world, did chuse to die in that place, and there fight a combate with his e­nemie.

We read in holy scripture, that Arphaxad king of the Me­des, and Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians, did fight in the field of Ragan, and Iosias king of Iuda, and Nichanor king of Ae­gipt did fight a battaile in Megiddo, and Iudas Machabeus, and the Captaine Alchimon fought in the field of Thamos: in so­much that Princes which in old time were wont to challenge one another, did alwaies make choise of spatious places, where they might be receaued, and faire fields, where they might encounter the one the other. It is not read of any Prince vntill [Page 81] this day, which hath challēged & defied an other, or sommoned his enemie to the combat, who hath done it in a rotten stincking place, vnlesse it be Christ and the diuell; the which two most va­liant Princes, challenged one the other to the Mount of Calua­ry, and to the dunghill of Golgotha, and also there slew ech the other? Where but in the mixen of Caluary did Christ and the diuell fight and kill one another, seeing the one lost there his life, and the other his power? Anselmus vpon the passion saith; It is so great and so incomprehensible a mysterie, to see the sonne of God die, that it is not enough to say that he died, but to thinke also on the cause why he died, which was another mans offence; and to thinke with whom he died, which was with two theeues; and to thinke of the death which he died, which was infamous; and to thinke when he died, which was in the best time of his life; and what day he died, which was the great feast Aester; and where he died, which was in the dunghill of Golgotha; so that if his enemies should not haue killed him, yet the stincke of the dead bodies would haue done it. Tell me, O good Iesus, tell me; that seeing thou doest die, why doest thou die in the dunghill of Caluarie? seeing that there was a faire spatious place at the gate, called the salt gate, why wouldest not thou there end thy life? Thou sayst that thou must die for the sheepe of Israell, and yet doest thou goe to die among pilled skulles? Rabanus to this pur­pose saith, The sonne of God would not yeeld vp his ghost, end his life, striue with the diuell, triumph ouer death, leaue his bo­die in trust, redeeme the world within the holy Citie; but vpon the stincking dunghill of Golgotha, because that the sinnes which were committed within Hierusalem, were farre more stincking and noisome, than the dead bodies which were in Cal­uarie.

Prosper in his sentences saith, That blessed Iesus would not die within the citie but without, to giue vs to vnderstand, that none els did take away his life and honour from him, but such as are out of the walles and faith of the Church; insomuch that we kill him so oft as we doe not beleeue in him. Saint Barnard vpon the Canticles saith; For the sonne of God to suffer himselfe to be crucified in the soule dunghill of Golgotha, and not die in the [Page 82] faire market places of Hierusalem, is to aduise vs and giue vs war­ning, that our good Lord doth not liue but in those soules which are pure and cleane by grace, and doth not die but in those hearts which are stincking and soule with sinne. Testa eius saniem rade­bat in sterquilinio, saith the holy scripture speaking of Iob in the 2. chapter, as if he would say; Satan was not contented to take a­way from the man of God, all his wealth, destroying all his flockes of cattell, remoouing him from his friends, and killing his children, but the more to hurt and greeue him, and vtterly to spoile him, hee carried him to a publicke stincking dunghill, where with a peece of a broken bone he scraped off his skabbes. Glorious Saint Gregorie vpon this place saith, When I settle my selfe to muse and thinke vpon the malice of Satan, and the pa­tience of Iob, and Gods sufferance, I doe not know on which to maruell most; that is, of that which the diuell doth, or of that which God suffereth, or of that which Iob endureth, seeing that his patience is incomparable with other mens, and his misery in­tollerable.

Origen vpon Iob, saith; What remained there for Fortune to take from the holy man Iob, aftet that hee had depriued him of the conuersation of his friendes, and cast him vpon stincking dunghils? If holy Iob had had more, more Satan would haue taken from him; but in the end, for all that he tooke from him, he could neuer take away the innocencie which hee was borne in, the patience which he liued in, the constancie which hee de­fended himselfe with, nor the grace which hee obtained of God.

We should not say amisse, in saying; that Iob his patience was a figure of Christ his patience, and as Iob his persecution ended not vntill he was cast into the dunghill, so the passion of Christ ended not vntill he was crucified: and that which cannot be spo­ken without teares is, that the wormes did gnaw the flesh of the holy man in the dunghill of Caldea, and the Iewes did rent and teare asunder Christes his flesh in the dunghil of Golgatha. Holy Iob was more mildly handled of the worms, than the son of God was of the Iewes, for the wormes which Iob had, did gnaw but his putrified flesh; but the enemies which Christ had, did gnaw [Page 83] the quickest flesh which hee had, yea also his most glorious bowels. So manie times they did gnaw his glorious bowels, as they did blaspheme his Godhead. How poore soeuer Iob was, yet hee had left him a peece of a bone to strike off his wormes; but blessed Iesus had not so much left him, as one thread of a coat, to couer the partes of his holy body withall. How scab­bie and sore soeuer Iob was in the dunghill, yet he had an arme at libertie, to scratch off a boile, and wipe off the wormes with a boane; but Iesus crucified in the dunghill of Golgotha had not a foote which was not nailed, nor arme which was not cru­cified, nor anie member which was not pulled one from ano­ther.

Origen vpon Iob saith, If holy Iob lay on the dunghill, sore and full of boiles, so Christ was full of leprosie in Golgotha; and to tell thee the trueth, his leprosie was no other thing but our most greeuous sinne; and his leprosie was not of his owne getting, but came vnto him like a catching and a cleauing disease, which hee was content should cleaue vnto himselfe, because it should vnloose it selfe from vs. O great goodnesse of infinit charitie of the sonne of God! considering that as holy Iob in the dunghill did wipe off the skabbes, with a peece of a boane; Euen so cru­cified Iesus did wipe away our sinne with his ovvne death: in­somuch that at the verie instant vvhen hee yeelded vp his ghost, all our sore made an end of being vviped. O good Ie­sus, O the loue of my soule, vvho is the leaper but I, vvho is scabbie but I, and vvho filleth thee vvith leprosie but I, and vvho sticketh the botch on thee but I? It is I and none other, vvho loadeth thee vvith my fault; it is I, and none other, vvho doth cast vpon thee all my punishment; and thou art hee and no other, who vvas able vvith the bone of thy blessed death to wipe avvay all my sinne; vvhich blessed vviping vvas the costing of thy life. Was not the blotting out of my sinne, happily the co­sting of thy life, seeing that thou didst more reioyce to see me healed, than to see thy selfe aliue? As it was a torment vn­to the sonne of God to die vpon a dunghill, so it vvas a myste­rie vnto vs. Novv of all his fiue senses his sight had alreadie suf­fered, in being couered; his eares also in hearing of blasphemy; his [Page 84] feeling, in whipping him, his tast, in tasting of vineger and gall; so that hauing no other sense left to torment, but this of smelling, he would also loath and perfume that sense with those stincking sa­uours.

Hilarius saith, Because the determinat end of the son of God was to die, to take away and wipe out of all men all sinne; hee would suffer with all his fiue senses, and if he had had more, with more he would haue died. S. Augustin vpon those wordes of the prophet Ieremie, peccatum peccauit Hierusalem saith thus, Our first fathers did sin in hearing, when they gaue eare vnto the serpent, they did sin in seeing, whē they did behold the tree; they did sin in touching, when they did cut the fruit; they did sin in tasting, after they tooke it frō the tree; they did sin in smelling, when they did smel of the fruit, & they would haue exceeded farther, if they had had more sēses to haue done it with. In recōpense of these exces­ses and hurtes, the sonne of God would goe to the dunghill of Golgotha to suffer death, to the end that at one day and one houre his senses, and our sinnes should end togither.

Anselmus vpon the passion of our Lord saith, As the sonne of God did suffer for vs, and also satisfie his father for vs, seeing that we had offended his Maiestie with all our members, hee would also suffer with all his fiue senses; whereof it followeth, that as there was no part of him, nor sense with which hee did not suffer; so there was no sinne in the world, nor sinner for whom he did not die. S. Basill vpon those words de stercore erigens pauperem saith; Of all the things which we see, there is nothing more vile and base than the dunghils which are in the cōmon-wealth; and yet notwithstanding our Lord did his greatest fauours vnto holy Iob vpon a dunghill in Caldea; and Christ likewise did his greatest miracles in the dunghill of Golgotha.

We may inferre of that which is spoken, that it is conuenient for such as would be familiar with God, and receiue any fauours at his hands, to go to liue in dunghils, seeing it falleth out often­times that such as liue most obscurely, and are forgotten of all men, are those vnto whom our Lord doth most of all communi­cat, and giue his holy comfort. O glorious mixen of Golgotha, when, but in thee, did we see the giuer of life, end his life; where [Page 85] but in thee, did we see death die with death? What meaneth this, O good Iesus, what meaneth this? art thou so enamoured of malefactors and sinners, that at thy feet thou hast skulles and bare bones of robbers and pirats, and at thy sides liue bodies of theeues? Good Christians are woont at the houre of their deaths to haue deuout and religious persons at their feet and bolster, and hast thou those which they haue hanged for theeues, and cruci­fied for blasphemers? What should we doe liuing if thou didst not that, dying? As men are woont to cast things which are not seruiceable nor profitable vnto dunghils, and other stincking pla­ces, so we were cast out of the house of the Lord, vnto the dung­hils of the world, as a stincking thing which he could not endure, and whereof he would haue no more seruice. Then the sonne of God went to seeke vs out, in the mount of Caluarie, and finding vs hanged in the dunghill of Golgotha, and rotten, and without haire naked and pilled, he gaue vs his bloud to reuiue our selues, gaue vs his flesh to cloath our selues, gaue vs his breth to breath with, gaue vs his life to liue with, and gaue vs his heart with the which we should loue him with. Who wil not say, but this is mu­tatio dentis exelsi, seeing that Iesus crucified, of stincking dung­hils, hath made heauenly palaces? Who will denie, but of a pu­trified dunghill, he did make a heauenly palace, when hee said vnto the theefe, this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise. Bar­nard in a sermon saith, I will not seeke thee, O good Iesus, I will not seeke thee in the mountaine, where thou art a praying, nor in the parlor, where thou art a preaching, nor in the garden, where thou art a sweating, nor neere vnto Sicar, where thou didst rest thy selfe; but in the dunghill of Golgatha, where thou art a dy­ing, because thou didst neuer open thy armes to embrace vs, but in Caluary where thou didst die. What wilt thou then, O my soule, haue more than an oare to saue thy selfe with, or a corner to hide thy selfe in, seeing thou seest that crucified Iesus doth em­brace the drie bones of Golgatha, and doth whip those which buy and sell in the porches of the temple? If thou wilt (my bro­ther) that Christ should whip thee, returne into the world, and if thou wilt haue him embrace thee, liue quietly in a corner, because our Lord doth neuer impart his holy grace, but vnto that soule [Page 86] which maketh reckoning of him and none other. If we will haue our Lord come to the dunghill of our hearts, it is necessarie that he find them made drie naked bones; that is, without the flesh of lecherie, without the bloud of vainglorie, without the haire of slouth, and without the sinews of obstinacie. O my heart if thou wilt that the sonne of God visit thee, and water the dunghill of thy sinnes, it is necessarie that thou become a hard bone in con­stancie, a white bone in cleerenesse, a drie bone in pouertie, and also stincking in the reputatiō of thy person, because that so much the better thou doest smell vnto God, by how much the noy­somer thou doest stincke vnto the world. What heart is able to cocker himselfe in the world, seeing his God crucified in a dung­hill? seeing that the prophet doth say, That one deapth doth call on another, & that one beast doth seek out another: it is great rea­son that I, a stincking dunghill and sinner, seek out the dunghil of my redeemer, seeing that poore Lazarus went from the dunghill into heauen, and the rich couetous man from a palace into hell.

CHAP. XIIII. Wherein he followeth the same matter, that is, why Christ would die on the dunghill of Golgotha: and there are two fi­gures expounded to the same purpose.

PRoiecerunt cadauer in sepulchro Helisaei, & reuixit homo illae, saith the holy scripture in the 4. booke of the Kings 13. chap. As if he would say, certain men carrying the corps of a dead mā to bury, it fel out that as they did cast it into the graue where Heliseus lay buried, in touching the bones of the holy man; presently hee whom they carried thither dead, rose vp aliue. The mysteries of this figure, are to be marked with great heed, and the secrets of it deeply to be weighed; For, for one who is aliue to raise another who is dead, doth sometimes happen; but for one dead man to raise another dead man, is neuer read but of Heliseus in this mira­cle, Without all doubt Heliseus whom the synagogue had, was [Page 87] a good man, but the Heliseus which the holy mother the church now hath, is much better; for if the spirit of prophecie was dou­bled in him, there was in the son of God, and in no other, both manhood and Godhead.

In the time of the first Heliseus, no man durst call the creator any thing but God only, nor the creature more than a pure man; but we will not call our great Heliseus, pure God, nor pure man; but true God and true man. S. August. saith, that as the Prophet Heliseus did raise vp one dead man to life, after that himselfe was dead; so the sonne of God because he would die, was the cause of our liuing; and ouer and besides this, Heliseus was able to raise but one only: but our good Iesus is able to raise all the world. Rabanus in his glosse saith, It is no small difference, that is betwixt the raising of him which Heliseus restored to life, and that which Christ did afterwards; for Heliseus which died first, did raise him who died after him; but the son of God died after him whom he raised, and restored to life all mankinde which was dead before him. Ambrose in his hexameron saith; Christ did much more glo­riously raise his dead body, than Heliseus his: For Heliseus, if he did raise any being dead himselfe, did continue dead in his graue: but blessed Iesus did at the same time rise himselfe, and raise me; and he became aliue againe, and I did not remaine dead. Rupertus the Abbot saith, The maner of raising the dead began in Heliseus time; but the perfection of the resurrection did end in Christ his time; for Heliseus did raise another from death to life, and remai­ned dead himselfe; but the son of God in one day, and one houre did raise the true body of his owne person, and the mystical body of his church. To come then to our purpose, not without a high mysterie, and a deep secret, the crucified Iesus would go to die at the dunghill of Golgotha, and suffer among those pilled bones, because that like vnto a true & a better Heliseus, he might restore them al to life, & giue them his own flesh and bones: al which our great redeemer did, whē he did vndoe himself, & when he suffe­red on the crosse. O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, is it not true, that thou didst vndoe thee to make me, when on the alter of the crosse, thou didst vnweaue the web of thy humanity, to make & weaue again the web of my life? O who wil be with thee in the [Page 88] dunghill of Golgotha dead and buried, to be raised by thy hand; behold, O good Iesus, behold, if I be not dead in my graue, yet I am obstinate in sinne, and in such a case thou shalt doe a mat­ter of greater cunning to pardon me, than to raise thy selfe from death to life.

S. Augustine saith; that it is a farre greater matter to iustifie a naughty man thā to create a new world; because the one procee­deth of power, & the other of mercie. Porta sterquilinij aedificauit Melchias qui erat princeps Richarae, saith the holy scripture in the second booke of the kings. As if hee would say, When the great citie of Hierusalem was in building againe, after that the Iewes returned out of Babilon, the high Priest Esdras had for the mai­ster of the workes, one called Melchias, who was a skilfull man in that which he tooke in hand, and trustie in that wherein hee was credited. This famous worke-maister Melchias caused seuen gates to be made in Hierusalem, through the which all the victuals should enter into the towne, and all go out to their busi­nesse and farmes. The names of these seuen gates were, the gate of the heard or flockes, the fish gate, the gate of captiues, the water-gate, the dunghill-gate, the iudges gate, and the horse-gate. Through the heard-gate, all the flesh which was eaten in Hierusalem entered in, and through the same gate went out all the flockes which were fed about the town; and the reason was, because their pastutes were but few, and the flocke was compted and reckoned. At the fish gate entered in all fresh and salt fish, which was eaten in the citie; and the reason was, because it might the better be distributed among all men, and nothing stolne out of the kings tribute. Through the gate of captiues entered in all the slaues and captiues, which dwelled within the citie, and ther­about; and the reason was, because no slaue should be lost, nor strangers come into the citie. Through the water-gate, all the water-men came in and out; and the reason was, because the ci­tie had certaine cesterns to keepe water for the sommer, and when the enemie should besiege the citie; and therefore because the cesterns were neere vnto that gate, it was called the water-gate. Through the mixen gate went out all the dust, rubbish and filth of the city; and because that hard by that gate the gardeners [Page 89] did heape vp and rot their dung, that gate was called the mixen or dunghil gate. Through the iudges gate, came in and out al such which came for matters of law to the city, & as now a dayes iud­ges giue sentence in the street or market place; so then they sat in iudgement in one of the gates.

To come then vnto our purpose, & gather the sense of the let­ter, & speaking of one gate only. When did the son of God make the dunghil gate in the church, but when on the dunghil of Gol­gotha he did loose his life? Cyrillus vpon the passion, saith; The great redeemer of the world, would die where sinners died, & be iudged where malefactors were iudged, because from that time forward, death should in that place remain hanged; where before they were woont to take away mens liues. S. Ierom vpon S. Math. saith, The sonne of God was not content only to chuse a terrible place where he would die, which was the dunghil of Caluarie, all which our holy Lord did, because that as in the same place there stood the gallows and gibbets of offenders; so there should in the same place be now set vp the flag and ensigne of martyrs. Who will not set more by the dunghil of Golgotha, than by the pillars and large Colossus of Rome, seeing that in this is fixed the strea­mer of Christ crucified; vnder which all iust men do fight, and by which al sinners are saued. Go then O my soule, go and walke by the dunghill of Golgotha; for now it stincketh not, but smelleth sweetly; now it killeth not, but raiseth from death; now it hath no malefactors, but martyrs; now there is no gallowes in it, but a banner; nor bones of malefactors, but sinners iustified.

CHAP. XV. Wherein is expounded a figure of Leuiticus concerning Christ his dying in the mount of Caluarie.

OFferat pro peccato vitulum immaculatum: pellem & carnē, cum capite & intestinis & fimo efferat extra castra, said God vnto Moses, Leuit. 4. As if he should haue said. When the priest shall haue committed any sin, he shall offer a calfe without spot, and he shall cast out of the campe his [Page 90] skin, his flesh, his head, his entrails and his dung: and there he shal burn it vntil it be turned into ashes. Before al things we must note in this place, that man hauing sinned against God in the temple, he commanded a bruit beast to be slaine, which knew not vvhat sin was; so that he who committed the offence was one, and he another vpon whom the punishment was laid.

How can the scripture set forth more plainly, that which hap­pened to Christ with Adam, and to Adam with Christ, seeing the one committed the theft, and another hanged for it? As the priest was not absolued from his sin vtill the innocent calfe was slain & sacrificed; so the father would not that the world should be pardoned vntill the holy one his son should be put to death & crucified, so that our fault could not be ransomed but with the price of his innocencie. Esicius vpon Leuit. saith, It is expedient that wee note with great attention, that the law-maker was not content that they should offer vnto him euery kinde of calfe for sin, but such a one, as of one colour only, and without spot: the which he did literally forbid, because it was a custome of the Ae­gyptians not to offer vnto their gods anie but spotted calfes.

This figure and mysterie was fulfilled in none but in Christ; seeing that he, and no other was exempted & free from the spots of sin, because that all other men (himselfe onely excepted) haue so many spots as they haue sinnes. Before that the sonne of God did take mans flesh vpon him, what was the reason thinkest thou that the world was not redeemed? but because there was no man found in the world which was not spotted with sinnes. Adam was spotted with disobedience, Eue his wife with gluttonie, Cain with murder; the eleuen Patriarches with killing their brother; king Dauid with adulterie; Salomon vvith Idolatrie; all the syna­gogue with couetousnesse: insomuch that because there was not found any vnspotted calfe to be offered vp vntill Christ his com­ming into the world, all vvere vnredeemed. O cleare and holie calfe, why wast thou and no other offered vp on the alter of the crosse for the vvorld, but because thou and no other was found without spot of sinne? Christ was not blinde of his eyes, seeing he did behold all men with mercie; he vvas not deafe in hearing, see­ing he gaue eare vnto the penitent; hee vvas not lame of his [Page 91] handes, seeing he cured the diseased; he halted not in his feete, seeing he visited the hospitals; he was not dumme in his speach, considering that hee preached to all nations. What is there in vs which deserueth not to be reprehended, and vvhat is there in Christ that deserueth not to be commended? All the old fathers vvhich vvent before Christ were either vvhite for their innocen­cie, or browne for their ignorance, or blacke for their sinnes, or of skarlet colour for their idolatry, or of purple colour, for their im­patiencie: insomuch that none of them could be the vniuersal re­deemer, because they vvere not as Christ was, of one colour. The heire of eternitie had but one only colour, because there vvas but one heauenly loue in him, and that vvas to redeeme our sin, and pay his fatherly punishment due for it: which is not so in vs mise­rable men, seeing that we haue so many colours and spots in vs, as the loues and affections are, vvhich vve keepe in our hearts. The vvhole end and intention vvhich this blessed calfe had, was to mittigate the iniurie done to the father, restore the feates of rhe Angels, open the gates of heauen, take avvay the forces from the diuels, fulfill the scriptures vvhich had spoken of him, and re­deeme man vvhich vvas alreadie condempned; And because the son of God did al these good deeds vnder one loue, therfore vve say that hee had but one colour. S. Barnard vpon the Canti­cles saith, In the bridegrome vvhich the Church hath, there is but one colour, nor but one loue, vvith the vvhich holy loue hee loueth him self, & also loueth vs; insomuch that if vvith a better loue he could haue loued himselfe, with the selfe same he would also haue loued vs.

It is also to be noted in the figure which vve handle, that the scripture doth not say, Let him offer a calfe for sinnes, but for the sinne, Pro peccato. By which vvord vve are giuen to vnderstand, that of his own nature sin is so enormious a thing, and so vnplea­sant vnto God, that if there vvere in al the vvorld but one sin, and one sinner; yet for that alone Christ vvould suffer himselfe to be crucified. If the redemption of one onely sinner an [...] sinne did consist in the onely bloud of Christ, vvhat should so manie thou­sand of sinners which were in the vvorld haue done without it? vvhen the scripture doth say, Let him offer a calfe for the sin, it [Page 92] vvas to say that there was but one sinne committed in the be­ginning, which was of disobedience; and one against whom, it was committed, which was God; & one who did cōmit it, which was Adam; and one which did redeem him, which was Christ: for the law to command them to offer a calfe for one only sin; the reason was, that because he who was offended was very mightie, and he who offended him very noble, and the offence which he had cō­mitted very greeuous, & the hurt which it did, far spread abroad and diuulgat; and the remedie for it, not found in all the world: therefore to set out the naughtinesse of the first sin, the scripture saith, Christ principally died. And the scripture endeth not in say­ing, Let him offer for sin, but addeth, his; that is, that if the priest should offer any calfe, he should offer it for his owne sinne: not making mention at all of an other mans sinne. In this saying offe­rat pro peccato suo, Let him offer for his owne sinne: we are taught the infinit loue with the which Christ tooke flesh, and vnspeak­able charitie vvith vvhich he died: for being the fault ours, hee tooke the punishment for his owne; and we hauing committed the theft he yeelded himselfe to be hanged: so farre forth, that he saith that he dieth for his sinne, because he doth as willingly die for an other mans offence, as if it should haue been necessarie for him to die for his owne.

Damascen saith, What will not the sonne of God doe, or what did he omit to doe, considering that not committing the fault, yet gaue himselfe for faultie; and not doing any sinne, yet cal­leth himselfe a sinner; and not being guiltie of any crime, yet ca­steth the paine vpon himselfe; and not hauing done the theft, bindeth himselfe to pay the dammage. Barnard vpon missus est saith, When I settle my selfe to thinke, O good Iesus, of the small number of yeares which thou didst liue in the world, and the great wonders which thou didst for me, and that if thou hadst liued lōger, more thou wouldest haue done: I giue thee greater thankes for the loue with vvhich thou didst redeeme me, than for the tormēts which thou didst suffer for me. Christ, in calling of himself God, doth shew his excellēcy; in calling himselfe Lord, doth shew his power; in calling himselfe creator, sheweth his vvisedome, incalling himselfe redeemer, sheweth his mercie, [Page 93] but in calling himselfe sinner, he sheweth his infinit charitie. Is not (thinke you) his humilitie exceeding great, and his charitie infinit; seeing that of charitie onely, and for to be praised of hu­militie, hee did consent that they should depriue him of his life, and also of his honour and reputation? What greater infamie could there be vnto him, who was of good credit, than to couple and ioyne the name of a sinner with the name of a redeemer? This name of redeemer is a famous and an honourable name, but the name of a sinner, is an infamous name, and a scanda­lous; and thereupon it is, according vnto Chrysostome; That if we be greatly inclined vnto Christ, because hee did redeeme vs, we are also highly bound vnto him for suffering himselfe to be discredited for vs. One friend will easilie venter his life for ano­ther, spend his substance, yea also damne his soule; but if they tell him that he must venture his credit, he saith presently, speake not one word to me touching my honour; swearing and forswearing, that he will rather loose a thousand times his life, than that they should touch him in one haire of his fame and credit.

There hath not been since the beginning of the world; nor e­uer will be such another friend as Christ was, considering that for the loue of vs, he lost his life, and suffered men to put his body in the sepulchre, shed his bloud vpon the earth, and suffered himself to be defamed throughout all the world. Anselmus in his medi­tations saith; O how much I doe owe vnto thee my good Iesus! seeing thou takest my fault to giue me thine innocencie; loosest thy fame, to make me famous; callest thy selfe a sinner, to call me iust; makest my fault thine, to make thy goodnesse mine; yea and didst sacrifice thy selfe to redeeme me: so that in this high exchange thou art the looser, and I am the gainer.

We haue spoken all this to extoll that saying, Let him offer a calfe for his own sin; and the praise of it is, that as among friends, no man taketh another mans faults, yet taketh his iewels: the son of God cleane contrary, would not take of vs any iewels, but took all our faults, not to punish them, but to pardon them. Following our figure, it is to be weighed, that when God commandeth in the law, that they should offer vnto him the head and the foot of the calfe, the flesh and the entrails, and the skin and guts; it was to let [Page 94] vs vnderstand, that the son of God did offer for vs all that euer he had, without hiding any thing at al for himselfe. All this did pro­ceed of that, that our good Lord & great redeemer made no rec­koning of that which he did suffer, but of the fruit which was ga­thered of his passion. Did he not make greater reckoning of me, than of himself, who hauing no sins of his own, tooke those for his own which were other mens. If Christ had made accōpt of that which he did suffer, & of the smalenesse of the fault which him­self was in, it had bin enough to haue let himself bled a litle, or at the most to haue suffered himself to haue been whipped: yet not­withstanding feeling in himselfe, that the sorrows which he suffe­red were more in number, than the members of his body, it could proceed of nothing els, but of the excesse of loue which made him forget some part of his griefe. For Christ to command in the law that they should burn the head & feet, and the flesh & skin of the calf; what els did it signifie, but that it was in those mēbers parti­cularly, in which Christ suffered his greatest torments. This ap­peareth manifestly to be true, seeing they pierced his head with thornes, broke his flesh with the speare, opened his skinne with stripes of the whip, bound his hands with cords, and fastened his feet with nails. Speaking then christian like, he doth offer vnto God the head of the calfe, who in all the works which he taketh in hād, putteth God for his foundatiō: for otherwise, al that which is not grounded vpon our Lord, not being touched of any, will fall down of it self. He offreth vnto God the feet of the calf, who cōti­nueth in good works vntill the end, and is not weary of well doing vntil death; because the father did not exalt & lift vp his son, only because he was obedient, but because he was obediēt vntil death. He doth offer vnto God his own flesh, who doth chastise it with fastings & disciplin, because this our humanitie is so hardly plea­sed, that the more we couet to content it, the more importunat it is with vs. He doth offer his entrails vnto our Lord, who neuer thinketh on any thing, but how to serue him, because our Lord is so easily pleased, that somtimes the desires of the weake, are as ac­ceptable vnto him, as the good works of the rich. He doth offer vnto God his own hands, who doth not employ thē in any thing but in pitiful & charitable works; because there is nothing vnder [Page 95] heauen, wherwith the miseries which our humane frailtie doth fall into, is better remembred and helped than with the works of charitie. He offereth vnto God the skin of his body, who carrieth an eie ouer his affections & appetite. For as no liuing beast can be eaten vntil his skin be taken of him, so God doth not accept of our hearts vntill they be flaine from their appetites.

All this which we haue spoken, is out of Cyril, and O [...]cius, be­cause there is no superfluous word in holy scripture, nor which is not full of mysterie. It is to be noted in this place, that the poore calfe which they did offer in sacrifice, the law-maker did not only command that he should be killed, but did command also that he should be burned out of the campe, and that in the dunghil of ashes which were made of the sacrifices. This needeth not to be expounded in this figure, seeing that al this was fulfilled in the son of God literally, and when was it literally fulfilled, but when he lost his life in the dunghil of Golgotha? for the sin of the priest, they did offer a calfe, and for the sin of the world, they did offer Christ; they sacrificed the calfe slaine, & they sacrificed Christ dismembred; they drew the calfe out of the campe, and they did lead Christ out of Hierusalē; they did burn the calfe in the mixen of the sacrifices, and they did crucifie Christ in the dunghill of those which were hanged. S. August. 3. de trinitat. saith; If we will compare the shadow with the truth, the figure with the thing fi­gured, the letter with the spirit, & Christ with that which is writ­ten of him, we shal find for a certainty, that his works do exceed al that which the prophecies speake of him.

CHAP. XVI. How Christ goeth to the mount of Caluarie, and of the great mysteries which happened vnto him on the way.

ANgariauerunt quempiā praetereuntē Simonē Cyrenaeum, ve­nientē, &c. saith S. Mark, chap. 15. As if he would say, The redeemer of the world going on his way; as the Iews perceiued hee was ready to fall vnder his crosse, they hired Symon Cyrenaeus, whom they did meet on the way, and made him to carry the crosse vnto Caluarie, partly for money which they gaue him, and partly through threatning which they vsed towards him. There are represented vnto vs high my­steries [Page 96] to entreat of in this iourney, which Christ goeth towardes Caluarie, worthy to be noted, and meritorious to meditate on: for by how much the more Christ his life waxeth shorter, by so much the more the mysteries of his passion do grow greater. Good Iesus being gone out into the field, ij. things did much troble his heart; that is to say, to see vpon the sodaine the place where he should be put to death, and to remember what estate that cursed people continued in, and of these two things, it gaue him far greater grief that that holy city continued excommunicat, than to see the gal­lows where they would take his life from him.

Now the son of God beginneth to go on his iourny, now he be­ginneth to be weary, although not loth to bestow fauors and be­nefits; for, for Christ to commit this bloudy crosse to Symon Cyre­naeus, was to doe him the greatest pleasure that euer was done in the world. Chrysost. vpō this place saith, The wealth which Christ had, was no more but that which he carried on his back to Calua­ry, that is to say, two coats which he ware, a crown of thorns on his head, a halter at his throat, & a craggy crosse on his shoulders; the which because it was the thing which he most esteemed, & he badge wherof he most of all vaunted, it is to be thought, that in departing from his own crosse, he dispossessed himselfe of the ri­chest iewell which he had. Who will not say but that Christ lo­ued the crosse, as he did his own life, seeing that embracing it he ended his life? and vnto whom are the last embracements giuen in death, but vnto those which we loue best in our life? what loue can be compared vnto the loue of the crosse, & the crucified; say­ing, They loued so exceedingly, that they died both of them em­bracing the one the other? Seeing that the crosse which Christ at that time did beare on his shoulders, was the guide which the world was to go after; & the key with which heauē was to be ope­ned, & the sword with the which the diuell shuld be vanquished, & was the flag with the which Christ would be honored; it is ma­nifest, that in giuing Symon Cyrenaeus his owne pretious crosse, he gaue him all the goods & honor which he possessed in this world.

Exite de medio Babylonis, ne participes sitis delictorū eius, said an angell to S. Iohn, talking with him of the euill which was done in Babylon: And it is as if he should say I haue labored to cure Babylō, [Page 97] and she did not yeeld that I should cure her, but she hath turned again to be a house of Deuills, and a den of theeues. It is necessa­rie for my seruice, that you goe out of such an excomunicated people, because that otherwise you shall be partakers in their offences, and companions in their punishments. Who is the wicked and excommunicat Babylon, but the citie of Hierusalem the head of Iurie? Woe bee vnto thee Babylon of Iurie, the which in times past was woont to be a princely tower, which the angels of heauen did watch, and now art made an infernall den, which the diuels of hell doe gard. God goeth from Babylon, be­cause she will not consent to be healed, and to day Christ goeth out of Hierusalem, because shee dooth not suffer her selfe to be taught, he willing to instruct her. And hereupon it is, that often­times we sinne more by resisting God, than in neglecting to seeke him out. O vnfortunat Hierusalem that thou art! O sorrowfull Babylon! to day there goeth out of thee the holy prophet, which did heale thy children, he which did cure the diseased, he who did raise the dead, and he who preached high sermons vnto thee, whome (because thou wouldest not heare, and much lesse beleeue) thou doost carrie this day to Caluarie to crucifie. And doost thou not see that he carrieth thine imperiall crowne vpon his head, and the garment of thy priesthood vpon his person, and the roiall standard of thy kingdome vpon his shoulder? and doost thou not see that he carrieth his most blessed body to die at Caluarie? and that which cannot be spoken without teares, he departeth for euer from thy people, and goeth to seat himselfe a­mong the Gentiles? O that with better reason we may say, that thou doost cast him out, than that he goeth out, seeing that it is now an old custome of his goodnesse, that he commeth vnto our soules not being called, and knoweth not how to go from them, vnlesse they cast him out.

Vpon those words, Curauimus Babylonem & non est curata; Rupertus sayth, It is deepely to be considered in this place, that God did first commaund that they should heale great Babylon, before they should destroy her, or make her a desart; wherof we may infer, that our Lord dooth neuer lay the hand of his iustice vpon vs, but hauing first inuited vs, and made much of vs with his [Page 98] mercy; in so much that after he is weary in waiting for vs, he be­gineth by little and little to correct vs, Basil vpon the Psal. saith, It is one of the greatest fauours that God doth to a good man, to seperate him from the company of the wicked: in token whereof God tooke Abraham from among the Chaldeans; Ioseph, from among his enuious bretheren; Lot, from among the infamous Sodomits; Moses, from among the Aegiptians; and Ruth, from among the Moabits; and Daniel, from among the Babilonians; and also Christ, from among the Iewes.

The heauenly father did hold it for a lesser euill, to see his welbeloued sonne in the mount of Caluarie to die, than to see him among so peruerse a nation to liue. And Seneca vnto this pur­pose saith, For my rest, I would rather choose to die, than among naughtie men to liue, because that in death there is but one bitter morsell to swallow, but the companie of an euill man, is a continuall torment.

Damascen in his sentences sayth, For our Lord not to bee willing to die within the cittie, but out of her, is cleerely to giue vs to vnderstand, that seeing the Iewes had so little re­garded it, that hee vvould liue amongst them, they vvould make small reckoning also that hee should die amongst them: and because the sonne of God did thinke to draw much more profit of his glorious death, than hee had done of his laborious life, he would not credit so high a mysterie, to so vngratefull a people. What reason had hee to sanctifie curssed Babylon vvith his death, seeing shee vvould not bee gratefull for his death, nor benefit her selfe vvith his blood. Saint Ierome vp­on the Apostle sayth, How bad soeuer the Gentiles were, yet notwithstanding they vvere lesse euill than the Iewes, by reason vvhereof, our Lord vvould rather die by the hands of those vvhich were strangers, than liue amongst those vvhich he did esteeme his, because that in the end the Gentiles did acknow­ledge the vvickednesse which they had done, but the vvicked Iewes did neuer confesse the errour which they haue fallen into. Of all this, we haue a figure in holy Ioseph, vvho was sold by his bretheren, and honoured of the Aegyptians; and Moises his own parents did cast him into a brooke, and was afterward brought vp [Page 99] by those which were not of his blood; king Dauid was farre bet­ter entreated of king Achish who was a Gentile, than of king Saul who was a Iew; and Ieremies owne countrimen did imprison him, and those of Babilon did deliuer him; in so much that Christ and these were better with strangers than with their owne neigh­bours.

S. Ambrose vpon S. Luke saith, The sonne of God would goe to die in a field, which should be large and wide, and not in a towne which should be straight and compassed about; plainly to shew, that he went not to shead his pretious blood for one only nation or common-wealth, but for all humane nature. S. Barnard vpon the passion sayth, Christ to die out of the citie, and not a­mong those which did liue in it, but among those which were dead on the dunghill, is to teach vs, that with those which haue no lockes of vaine cogitations, nor flesh of worldly affections, nor sinewes of diuelish obstinacie, nor skinne of their owne wils, with those he will liue, and among those he will die, yea and among those he will rise againe. Exeamus ad eum extra castra, probr [...] eius portantes, saith the Apostle to the Hebrues the last chapter, as if he should say, It is conuenient for vs that we goe out of the camps and tumults of this world, to die with Christ, and also car­rie his shame & discredit. If the Apostle be curiously vnderstood, he doth inuite vs vnto three things in these words, that is to wit, that we go out of the world, that we go to Christ, and that wee carrie vpon our shoulders his crosse and torment; in so much that it is nothing else, truly to follow Christ, but to follow him in his passion. It is to be weighed in this place, that the Apostle doth first say Exeamus, Let vs go out, before he dooth say ad eum, vnto him; that is, that before all things it is necessarie that we go out of our naughtie life, before we presume to follow Christ, for o­therwise wee doe rather persecute him than imitate him. Let vs go then out of the world to seeke Christ, and the true going out ought to bee not so much from the companie of our neigh­bours, as from the naughtie inclination of our desires, because we doe oftentimes desire and couet that which would be conuenient for vs to abhor, and also we procure the getting of that, which would be conuenient we did eschew.

Beda vpon the Apostle sayth, This speech, probrum eius por­tantes, is to be waighed; that is, that of all his passion, there is no­thing that he would haue vs keepe in memorie so much, as his in­iurie and discredit. Wherein good Iesus hath great reason, be­cause we are honoured for no other cause, but because he is disho­noured; and we haue therefore credit, because he died with infa­mie. For the Apostle to commend Christ vnto vs, and his shame and infamie, is to discommend vnto vs the world and his vayne pomps; because that in the house of our Lord none is infamous but he who procureth honour; nor none honoured, but hee who maketh no account of it. Simon de Cassia saith, In the words which the Apostle vttereth, Exeamus extra castra, he dooth not onely inuite vs to follow and immitate the sonne of God, but hee dooth also teach vs wherein we are to follow him, that is to weet, not to go bare-footed vpon the waters as he did, but in suffering as hee did many iniuries, because there is no better medecine for a fault, than to haue patience in aduersitie. S. Augustine vpon the Apo­stle sayth, Notwithout a high mysterie and a deepe secret, the Apostle doth commend vnto vs Christ his slaunders and repro­ches, and no other of all his deeds, although they were many, be­cause all the ground and foundation of a christian life, dooth con­sist in doing charitie vnto those which are in misery, and in hauing patience in aduersitie.

Origen vpon the Apostle sayth, For the Apostle to say, bea­ring his nicknames and reproches, is to say, that we should not follow Christ in the miracles which he wrought, but in the pati­ence which he had; because that all men may be saued without doing of myracles, but without patiēce no man can liue christian­like. O good Iesus, O my soules loue, what doth it auaile me that I aske pleasures and delights of thee, if thou hast nothing to giue me, but reuiling and skorning? How shall I dare to aske thee rest and ease, feeing thee going this day to die in hast and sweating? Yea and if thou wouldest giue me some of thy own wealth, what canst thou giue me, but a thorne off thy head, or a peece of the halter from thy throat? What hast thou, O good Iesus, vvhat hast thou impart or diuide amongst thy chosen and louing friends, but the sweat of thy face, the blood of thy vaines, the [Page 101] griefe of thy thorns, and the loue of thy bowels? O distributer of all wealth! O diuider of all trauels! vnto whom diddest thou e­uer giue in this life any of thy loue, vnto whom thou didst not al­so giue part of thy griefe? or vnto whom hast thou imparted part of thy griefe, vnto whom thou hast not giuen part of thy loue? Diuide therefore with me, O my good Lord, diuide betwixt thee and me, the iniuries which they do thee, the shames which they discredit thee with, the false witnesse they beare against thee, and the nicknames they giue thee, for how many soeuer thou doost giue vnto me, yet there will remaine ynough with thee.

CHAP. XVII. How the sonne of God did carrie his crosse vpon his shoulders, vntill he did meet with Simon Cyreneus; and there is also a figure expounded vnto this purpose.

FActus est principatus super humerum eius, sayth the prophet Esay, speaking of the passion of Christ, as if he would say, In this they shall know the Messias which is to come, and him who is desired of all nations, in that, that his armes and ensignes he shall carrie vpon his shoulders. The prophet vttereth very daintily that which hee sayth, that is, That the kingdome dooth not carrie the king on his shoulders, but the king dooth carrie the kingdome, Quia fa­ctus est principatus super humerum eius, the which preheminence Christ only, and no other had in this life, who loaded vpon him­selfe all trauels, and left vnto his vassals all delights and plea­sures. O what great difference there is betwixt being the vas­sall and subiect of God, and being vassall vnto the world, because that in the world the subiects serue the king, but in the house of God the king serueth the subiects; in so much that he giueth vs that which we should giue him; and he serueth vs with that with the which we may serue him.

For the Prophet to prophesie that Christ should come, and [Page 102] that a prince should carrie his kingdome vpon his own shoulder, was to tell vs, that the sonne of God should carrie the crosse vpon him selfe, to die at the mount of Caluarie, the which misticall prophesie, Christ did fullfill, as the prophet had pro­phesied. S. Ierom vpon Esayas saith, The prophet could neuer haue shewen vs in a higher stile, the mysteries of the crosse of Christ, than to call it as he did, a kingdom or gouernmēt, because there neuer hath bene, nor euer shalbe, any kingdome so rich of treasures, as the crosse of Christ is righ of mysteries. In what esti­mation holy Iesus hath the crosse of his kingdome, it is easily seene in that, that he tooke the crosse vp vpon his shoulders, be­fore the crosse receaued him in his armes.

It is to be beleeued, that the son of God did loue exceengly, the crosse of his kingdome, seeing that he would put it vpon his pretious shoulder, because that (to say the trueth) no man doth consent to put vpon him any thing, but that which he loueth bet­ter than him selfe. When two louing freends meet together, he which of them two doth first laugh, and embrace the other first, sheweth that he loueth more than the other, the which hap­pened betwixt Christ & his pretious crosse, both which, although they loued one the other, & met in Pilats house, there was grea­ter tokens of loue in Christ, than in the crosse, seeing he went first to embrace the crosse, and carried it vpon his shoulder where he lost his life, and where the crosse by him lost his infamie. He who died, crucified in the old law, ouer & besides that the poore soule lost his life, all his posteritie lost their credit, but after that the sonne of God did die vpon the crosse, and did hallow it with his blood, it did not onely not loose the infamie, but recouered entire and perfect fame to it selfe, because that the crosse vvhich they were woont to put vpon the eues shoulders, emperours doe now make in their foreheads. Although wee say that Christ his rule and dominion did extend it selfe no further than the crosse which he carried vpon his shoulders, yet no man must hould him poore and base, nor disdaine to be his vassaile, because there is not so great vvealth spread throughout the vniuersall vvorld, as that was at once in that blessed crosse. Chrysostome vpon the myste­ries of the crosse sayth, The treasures which are found in the [Page 103] crosse are so many, and the delights so high which are taken of it, that for my selfe I beleeue, that how much the more a man doth tast of his mysteries, by so much the more he shall bee familiar with our Lord. It is likewise to be noted, that before Christ tooke the crosse vpon his shoulders, Esay dooth call him only sonne, and a little one, but after that hee loaded himselfe with the crosse, he dooth call him Woonderfull, a Counsellor, the Prince of peace, and Father of the world to come. In this placing of his words, what other thing would the Prophet signifie vnto vs, but that sithens the time that the sonne of God did cast the crosse vpon his shoulder, he began to take possession of his kingdome, and shew the power and might of his estate? Anselmus in his meditations sayth, Now the murtherer Cain carrieth his brother Abel into the fields to kill him; now Ioseph is sould of his bre­theren; now Moises goeth with his rod to open the red sea; yea and also great Iacob leaneth vpon his ladder to scale the heauens for vs; now the spies carrie the heauie grapes hanged vpon a staffe; now Ioshua the captaine dooth lift vp his buckler against Naim; now Gedeon sheweth Madian the swoord, now Da [...] de­liuereth Sampson to his enemies; now Dauid plaieth with his sling against Golias; and also now Ionas swimmeth in the cruel waters; now Isaac carrieth the wood on his shoulders with the which he should be burned; now Noah maketh his arke to escape the flood; now Esau bendeth his bow to kill some venison; and also now Moises hangeth the serpent in the aire for the health of the peo­ple. O good Iesus, O the delight of my soule, why in this so high an enterprise, and so dangerous a iourney, doost thou not tell vs whither thou goest, why doost thou not teach vs how thou goest, and why doost thou not reueale vnto vs, vnto what thou goest? I know, O good Iesus, I know how, I know from whence, & I know why thou goest. I know how thou goest, that is, with thy crosse; I know whither, that is, to Golgotha; I know why, that is, to die; and I know for whom, that is, for me. S. Augustine vpon saint Iohn sayth, Because the way to Caluarie was long, and the sonne of GOD alreadie very wearie, the Iewes searing least Pilot should repent himselfe, or that the people vvould take him a­way, or that he would die in their hands, they hyred Simon [Page 104] Cyreneus comming on the way to carry his crosse vnto Caluarie, not with intention to take pitie on him, but with greater speede to crucifie him. Although the holy scripture doth say, that they did hire Simon Cyreneus, it doth not say, that they did wrangle a­bout the hyring of him, or on the payment, or that they stayed to make euen with him, or to couenant: but because the desire which they had to take Christs life away, was so exceeding great, that he which first could, first laid his hand on his purse.

Not without a mysterie, the scripture laieth downe, who he was, and from whence he was, and what he was called, and from whence he came. He whom they hired to carry Christ his crosse on his shoulders, was of Libea, and not of Iurie, and he was a Gentile, and not a Iew: For this name of the crosse was so odious vnto the Iewes, that they did not only hold him accursed which did die vpon it, but also him who touched it with his hand. Cyrillus vpon S. Iohn, Not being able to doe more, they hired Simon to carrie his crosse on his shoulders, for if they durst they would haue done it; in so much, that they made no conscience to crucifie Christ, & yet made it a scruple to lift the crosse on their shoulders. Is it a greater scruple to fasten a man on the gallowes, than to touch the gallowes? what meaneth this, O ye Iewes, what meaneth this? doo you make a scruple to goe into Pilats palace, and doe you make none at all, to raise a thousand false witnesses against Christ? Do you make a conscience of touching the crosse, which Christ carried on his backe, and doe you make no reckoning, to carrie him to be crucified in the mount of Caluarie?

S. Barnard saith, O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, I doe not so much meruaile to see, that the Iewes did hire Simon Cyreneus, as at that which they did see in thee, that they could not choose but hire him, for thou wast so wearied in going, that thou couldst not mooue neither forward nor backeward. How is it possible for me to rehearse, that thou wast such an one in the iourney, and that mine eyes doe not turne first into a brooke of [...]ears? He who would haue seene thee goe thy iourney of Gol­gotha, should haue seene thee goe ashamed to goe naked, swea­ting [Page 105] on the way, sighing with wearines, falling for being ouer loa­den, hurt with the waight, stumbling with weakenesse, and bleeding on thy selfe by the way. Thou didst goe in that sort bleeding by the way, that although thou wouldest, thou couldest not haue lost thy selfe, because they might easily haue found thee, by trace of thy blood.

Of the hiring of Simon it may be gathered, that the crosse which the sonne of God did carrie on his shoulders, was knottie to hurt, greene to weigh, long and large to loaden, rough to handle, ilfauouredly shaped to carrie: in so much that with the weight of it they broke his shoulders, and with the splinters they pulled off the skin of his hands. Christ had one other great tra­uaile in that iournie, that is, that when the enimies had a great de­sire to make hast, and that Christ with wearines could not moue, oftentimes the crosse which he bare on his shoulders, stroke him in the thorns, the which the more he touched them with the crosse, the more they pearsed him into the temples. In all that iournie of Caluarie, what other office had that crosse of Christ, but to rub his shoulders, and knock the thorns into his head; The Iews did thrust Christ, Christ strained himselfe with the crosse, the crosse pressed in the thorns, the thorns broke his vains, his vains gaue out blood, vntill they were left drie: in so much that when he came to Caluarie, he could scarce breath, for want of breth, nor goe, for want of strengh, nor yet liue, for want of blood. O my soule! O my heart! why dost thou not goe forth to meet Christ, to take the crosse off his holy shoulder, rather than Simon should take it? Leane then vnto good Iesus, cleaue vnto the rough crosse, stick fast vnto Simon Cyrenaeus, for the time thou shouldst carry the crosse with Simon, or accompanie thy God vn­to Caluarie. Remigius saith, The son of God goeth to die in a wide and spatious place; to let vs vnderstand, that the vertue of his passion is not limited only in that Iudaicall people, but that he di­ed also for the Gentils, in so much that because his redemption was copious, the iustice and punishment of those which put him to death should also be very publique. S. Ambrose in his hexame­ron saith; Seeing there died together at that time Christ and the old law, and that they buried Christ and the synagogue, it was [Page 106] very iust and reasonable, that there should a new law succeed with the new Messias, the new sacrifice, the new alter, the new crosse, and that they should offer vp, and sacrifice the new man not in the temple for a few, but in the field for many. Origen vpon the Apostle saith, If the sonne of [...]od should haue died within Hierusalem, the Iews would afterward haue said, that he died for them and for no others: and therefore hee would not shead his pretious blood where he should be compassed about with walles, or couered with a roofe, but where all men might gather it, and no man dare to hinder it.

CHAP. XVIII. How Christ did meet with Simon Cyrenaeus, and gaue him his crosse to carrie on his shoulder, and of the great mysteries which are conteined in this place.

SCio, fili mi, scio, nam iste erit in populos, & minor maior erit illo, quia crescet in gentes, saith the great patriarch Iaacob, blessing his nephewes, Manasses and Ephraim, Gen. 48. as if he would say, I know well, O my sonne Ioseph, I know well what I doe, if now I blesse Ephraim before Manasses, although I take away the blessing from the elder, and giue it vnto the yonger, it doth not belong vnto thee, to iudg of it, and much lesse to hinder it: for if our Lord hath taken my sight from me, because I should not see these my nephewes, so likewise he hath taken thy iudgment from thee, to the end that thou shouldst not vnderstand such high mysteries. Marke well, O my son Ioseph, marke that the law which commandeth to giue the eldership or first birth, vnto him who was first born, and that the second should be dishinherited, hath force and strength, in humane costome, but not in God his sight: where to giue the reward and preheminence, and depriue the other of his elder­ship, there is no respect had vnto him who was first borne, but vn­to him who did best deserue it.

The better to vnderstand this mysterie, we must know, that at the very instant and houre, when Iacob was ready to die, he did so loose his sight, that he could see nothing at all, and as they put before him his two nephewes, that is to say Manasses who was the elder on the right hand, and Ephraim, who was the yong­er on the left hand, the holy old man did put his hands a crosse, and did blesse the second sonne first, and blessed the first sonne last of all.

There are offered vnto vs in this figure, many high mysteries if we take heed vnto them, and note them with diligence, and if we leaue any thing out, it is because we know not how to vnder­stand them, and not because there is not much to be said vpon them. Ioseph then who was father vnto the yoong children, seeing that holy Iacob did first blesse him who was the second, and him last who was the first, tooke him by the hand because he should haue blessed the heire, thinking he had done it through error, and not for a mysterie: vnto whom the old man answered, Be quiet, O my sonne Ioseph, be quiet, forme to crosse my hands to blesse Ephraim before Manasses, containeth a greater matter than thou doost thinke for, and for me to take away the eldership from Ma­nasses, and giue it vnto his brother Ephraim, I durst neuer haue done it, if he should not deserue it, and if God should not haue commaunded me thereunto. Saint Augustine saith, In that which Iacob doth, and in that which Ioseph sayd, it appeareth plainely, how much more the angels doe see with their spiritual eies, than sinners doe with their corporall eyes: for although the holy Pa­triarch Iacob by reason of his blindnesse could not see the youths faces, yet did very well foretell what should fall out vnto them. Who may better be vnderstood by blind Iacob, than the blind­nesse of the Iewish nation? What other thing did the crosse fi­gure which Iacob made with his hands, but only the crosse which the sonne of God did beare vpon his shoulders? who were the two nephews which Iacob had by his sides, but the Iewish nation and the Gentile? And what else was it for Iacob to take away the eldership from Manasses the first borne, & giue it to Ephraim the yoonger, but that the son of God would disinherit the synagogue and giue the inheritance of his blood to the church? What doth [Page 108] it signifie that Iaacob would not take away the eldership and inhe­ritance from one nephew, and giue it vnto the other, vntill the very last day, but that the sonne of God would not depriue the synagogue of her inheritance, till the last day of his life? O high mysterie! O vnknowne and hidden secret! seeing that by rhe hands of a blind man the inheritance of the synagogue is deui­ded, and by the hands of a man crucified, the merits in the church are distributed? Let the secret be noted, in that the one hath a crosse, and the other is vpon the crosse: the blind mans crosse is made of his armes, and the crosse of the crucified of wood; Ia­cob holdeth his crosse vpon his brest, and Christ carrieth his vpon his shoulder; in so much that Christ will giue vs nothing, which commeth not first from his holy crosse.

Saint Ierome vpon S. Matthew sayth, It is much to bee noted that the youth Manasses did neuer wholy loose his eldership, vn­till his grandfather was altogether blind, in which mysterie we were aduertised that the Gentiles should neuer be all lightened, vntill the synagogue should be altogether blind: what greater blindnes could there be in the world, than to denie the kingdome to the sonne which descended from Dauid? what greater blind­nesse could there be, thā to giue life to Barrabas who killed those that liued, and put Christ to death who raised the dead? What greater blindnesse could there be, that hauing bought the blood of Christ with monie, yet should say to Pilat, that the vengeance of it should light also vpon their children? what greater blindnes could there be, than to make a conscience to go into Pilats court, and into the iudgement seat, and make none to crucifie Christ? O how well it doth appeare that the Iewes doe come frō a blind father, and that they are the children of a blind man, seeing they did so many blind acts, yea, & which is worst, they did ad folly, to their blindnesse, mallice, to their ignorance, & to their fault, obsti­nacie. It is to be weighed in this place, that euen as Iacob making a crosse with his armes on his brest, did take away the inheritance from his nephew, euen so the sonne of God, lifting vp his crosse vpon his shoulder, did take away the blessing from the Iewish nation, and gaue it vnto the Gentile; the which he did when he did transport the crosse from his owne shoulder vnto Simons. [Page 109] Simon was a Gentile, and not a Iew; he was of Cyrene and not of Iudea; he was a stranger, and not naturall of the countrie; he was brought vp in a village, and not learned; he was a worshipper of Idols, and not of one God; & yet notwithstanding all this, Christ did trust his holy crosse with Simon, and would commit it to none of the people of the Iewes.

Simon de Cassia sayth, The crosse which Christ put from his owne shoulder vpon Simons shoulder, was made of peeces of tim­ber, but the crosse which the church hath now in her treasurie, is all made of Sacraments: and from hence it is, that all the sa­craments vvhich christian people haue for their comfort, haue their force and efficacie from the crosse and passion of Christ. What meaneth this, O good Iesus, vvhat meaneth this, the Iewes seeke out thy crosse, buy thy crosse, fashion thy crosse, and giueth thee thy crosse; and doost thou bestowe it vpon the Gentile Cyreneus? O that I am in no fault of all this, because they did constraine Simon to take it, and they commaunded mee to deliuer it, and they gaue him money to carrie it, so that of Iudas they bought my blood, and to Cyreneus they sould my crosse.

Basil and likewise S. Ierome doe say, The blindnesse of Iacobs children was far worse than Iacobs owne blindnesse, because the good old man did well know that which he sayd, although he did not see to whom he spake: but the vnfortunat sonnes of his, to weet, all the Iewes did well see how Christ did transfer and con­uey from shoulder to shoulder, his crosse vnto the pagan Cyreneus, but they did not vnderstand, that with that crosse he gaue him the greatest treasure and inheritaunce that euer was giuen in the world.

The Iewes would not haue consented that Christ should haue giuen his crosse to Cyreneus the villagois, if they could also haue knowne, that together with the crosse, he gaue him all the trea­sure of the Iewes, for in that case they would not onely not haue hired him, but if he had taken it vpon him, they would haue ta­ken it from him; but in fine, as they were all children of one who was blind, so they did all which they did, blindly Cyrillus vpon S. Iohn, sayth, If Christ his conueying of his crosse from his owne [Page 110] shoulder, to Cyrenaeus his shoulder, should signifie no secreat, nor mysterie; as he had already carried it halfe his iournie, he would also haue carried it vnto the mount of Caluarie; but the redeemer of the world would in the eye of all men, and in the presence of all men, and to the griefe of them all, put ouer his crosse vnto Simon, which was to giue it and deliuer it vnto his christian people. If the children of Israel will follow their fa­ther Iacob in goodnesse, as they doo in blindnes, they should be as worthie to be praised, as they were to be reprehended; but woe be vnto them, for as holy Iacob made a crosse with his armes, not being able to see it, so the Iewes made a crosse to put Christ to death, without taking good of it

Chrisost. vpon the praise of the crosse saith; O high mysterie! O sacrament, neuer before hearde of! for as vnder the armes of Iacob set on crosse, the youth Manasses lost his inheritance, so vn­der the crosse of Christ Israel lost his preheminence, inso much that by this holy name of the crosse, how much honor at this day the Church hath gotten, so much infamie by the same name, the synagogue hath purchased vnto her selfe. Speaking Christian­like, it is here to be noted, that the Iewes did first throw Christ out of the citie, before that he gaue his crosse to Simon, in so much that he neuer gaue his crosse vnto the church, before that they had cast him out of the synagogue.

By the Iewes casting out of Christ, and of Christ his passing ouer of his crosse vnto the gentiles, we may gather that our Lord doth neuer forget vs, if we do not forget him, nor he doth euer for­sake vs, if we neuer forsake him; nor he euer goeth from vs, if we do not depart from him; nor euer estrangeth himselfe from vs, if we be not vngratefull vnto him. O he that could be Cyreneus, O who could meet thee good Iesus, in thy iournie of Caluarie, be­cause that my shoulder ioined vnto thine, and thine vnto mine, thou wouldst vnload thy selfe of thy crosse, and put him vpon me, for thou couldst not put thy crosse vpon my shoulders, but thou shouldst first bloodie me with thy blood, and being loaden vvith such a burthen, and marked with such a marke, which way soeuer I should go, the diuels would run post hast from me, and the hea­uens would open all vnto me. Deuide with me, O good Iesus, de­uide [Page 111] with mee the thrusts which the hangmen gaue thee, the waight that the hast in thy crosse, the railings and nicknames the Iewes vse against thee, the pains thy body endureth, the crie eue­ry man vseth, Let him go, let him go; so many torments as thou doost suffer in thy body, so many mysteries as thou doost celebrat in this iournie; how doost thou trust them all with Cyreneus alone, al the world not being enough to carry them away? Seeing that thou doost suffer & die for all men, why doost thou not distribute thine anguish and afflictions among all men? It is the crosse of all the world, and thou doost die vpon it for all the world, and yet doost thou not trust thy crosse with any but with Simon Cyrene­us? Thou doost not trust any with it but one, that is, vnto him who beleeueth the vnitie of thy essence, thou doost trust it but to one, that is vnto him who doth maintaine the faith of thy church; thou doost commit it but vnto one, that is to him who hath cha­ritie with his neighbours; besides these, thou wilt trust thy crosse with none, nor diuide thy blood among them.

It is time now, O my heart, it is time now, that you part your selfe in two, and that one part goe after Christ a little and a little, and the other part accompanie Simon, to the end that if afflicted Iesus shall bee wearie, you may giue him your hand, and if Simon shall faint, you may lend him your shoulder. Loose him not out of thy sight, doe not go from his side, for besides that in clea­uing vnto Christ, thou shalt vnloase thy selfe from the world, thou shalt gather together the blood of the sonne, and bathe thy selfe in the teares of the sorrowfull mother. I doe alreadie repent my selfe, O my heart, in saying that thou shouldst part thy self in two, for now I say that thou diuide thy selfe in three parts, the one with the which thou maist accōpany the son, the other with the which thou maist cōfort the mother, & the other with the which thou maist helpe Simon. Bonauenture to this purpose saith, O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, where but only here, whē but only now, hast thou need my soule should accōpanie thee, & my heart help thee? hast not thou need of cōpany & help, seing thou goest with thy soule sorrowful, thy head pricked, thy haire died, thine eies weeping, thy hands bound, and thy bones wrested out of ioint? O if thy trauels would end thus, it would bee but halfe a [Page 112] griefe, but ouer and aboue these, thou didst goe with thy mouth blodied, thy shoulder loaden, thy neck haltred, stumbling by the way, and falling from thy estate.

S. Barnard to this purpose saith, How can he be called thy seruant, who in the way to Caluarie seeing thy soule drawn from thee, doth not also draw his from him? Take away, O good Lord, the rough halter from thy neck, to halter my heart with­all, for by that meanes they will slaken thee, and pull mee. Remigius saith in his glosse, The sonne of God did not giue his crosse to him, who went out of Hierusalem, to goe to the village, but vnto him, who went out of the village, to goe too Hierusa­lem: for the text saith, that Simon came de villa, from the village; to giue vs thereby to vnderstand, that the Apostata heretickes which goe out of his church, haue no part in his death and crosse, but faithfull Christians, which remaine in the Church. Hilarius saith, It is a thing to be wondered at, and much to be noted, Simon being a countrie man, and a pagan, and the Iewes which went with him, as it were Christians, and that he was a­lone, and the others infinite in number, yet Christ tooke him for his companion, to carrie his crosse in that iourney, without hauing any regard vnto the Iewish nation; wherein he gaue vs to vnder­stand, that he doth loue better one naughtie man which doth conuert himselfe than a thousand good men which doe peruert themselues. S. Hierom saith, Not vnto those which doe fall from the holy citie, but vnto those which came vnto the citie, Christ gaue his crosse, and tooke them for aids of his trauaile, to teach vs thereby that he hath no part in Christ, nor Christ doth not take with him, such as fall from him and turne to the world, but such as leaue the world, and cleaue vnto him.

Thou doost loue those, O my good Iesus, thou doost loue those very well, which loue thee, seeing that thou didst meet Simon Cyrenaeus, and didst goe halfe the way to receaue him, and the like without all doubt, thou wouldest doe vnto mee, if I would goe to seeke thee, seeing that thou didst neuer denie thy selfe to him which called thee, nor didst neuer hide thy selfe from him which did seeke for thee.

CHAP. XIX. Of diuers sortes of following of Christ, and of many disciples which Symon Cerenaeus hath, in taking the crosse by force, and bearing it, hired thereunto.

SI quis vult venire post me, abneget semetipsum, & tollat crucem suam:, & sequatur me, said Christ in the 9. chap. of S. Luke. As if hee would say; If anie man will keepe my doctrine, and follow my steps, it is conuenient for him before all things, that he take vp the crosse for his guide, and that he denie his owne pro­per will: for otherwise although he may follow me, yet he shall not reach vnto me.

S. Ambrose vpon these words faith, The Christian which wil follow Christ, and take his crosse vpon him, must obserue three conditions; to weet, that he beare it of his owne voluntarie will; and not as Cyrenaeus did carrie the crosse, being thereunto con­strained and hired, which is easily perceiued in that he saith, Si quis vult, If any man will, and hee saith not, I command him to come: for the sonne of God is better pleased that wee serue him not at all, than that we should follow him forced and constrained, Christ doth compel no ma man to serue him, but doth leaue it in eue­rie mans hand to serue him or not, so that in the house of God, they be not serued with forced slaues, but with entreated chil­dren.

The second condition is, if that he beare his own crosse vpon, his shoulders, and not as Symon did another mans crosse, because, no man ought so to prop himselfe with the crosse of Christ, or so leane vnto any holy mans merites, that he omit to be a good chri­stian himselfe, and a vertuous man.

The third condition is, that he beare his crosse & affliction on his shoulders, not so much to vvin credit and fame thereby, as be­cause Christ should be praised in him; and therefore it is said, Let him follow me, because that euerie man, that vnder the shew of holinesse and hypocrisie, doth labour to get vnto himselfe the [Page 114] praise of man , & not vnto Christ, doth rather persecute his God, than follow him. S. Augustin vpon S. Luke saith, That is not onely called a crosse, on which Christ died, which was made of wood, but also the life which honest men lead is called a crosse, and the afflictions which holy men passe through, because that al the life of a good christian is nothing els, but an ordinary trauell, & a long martyrdome. Anselmus in his meditations saith, When this name of the crosse shall come vnto thy eares, or shalbe presented vnto thy heart, thou shalt not only thinke on the crosse of wood which Christ suffered on, but also on the crosse of his trauails, which he endured in this world: because that on the crosse of wood he was but three houres; but on the crosse of troubles, he continued 33 yeares.

It is much to be noted, that Christ did aswell make a crosse to the end that christians should crucifie themselues, as his enemies the Iews made one for him; and one was of wood, vpon which he died; and the other was his gospell, and for this must we die. In that, that the son of God did not not command that we should die, vpon a crosse of wood as he died; but that we should die vpon the keeping of his gospell, he did teach vs that hee is better pleased that we follow him in the maner of his liuing, than imitate him in his fashion of dying. Afterward of all the twelue Apostles, S. Pe­ter only was crucified, and S. Andrew, and the other ten were not crucified on crosses of timber, but were all put to death for kee­ping of the Gospell. Dare any man say that of the twelue Apo­stles, two were only saued, & the other not? God for bid, that we should either so think, or beleue, because it is a greater perfectiō to keep the cōmandements which Christ hath commended vnto us, than to carrie for a relique a peece of the crosse which Christ died on. Whē the son of God did say, Verely I say vnto you, that the kingdom of heauē doth suffer force; he did admonish vs very plainly, that an euangelicall life is nothing els but a rough and la­borious crosse, from which naughtie men do flee and estrange themselues, and good men will follow and die for.

When the Apostle doth crie out, Absit mihi gloriari, nisi in cruce domini nostri Iesu Christi, Do not beleue, O my brother, that he did not speake of the crosse of the gospel, but only of the crosse [Page 115] which Christ died on. It is a most certain thing that holy Paul did beleeue, keep & preach, & also suffer death for the maintainance of the crosse of the gospel, but he did neuer see, nor handle nor yet die on the crosse of wood which Christ died on; insomuch that the presumption which he had, & the glory whereof he glo­rified himself, was not because he had been crucified on the holie crosse, but because hee had crucified himselfe in going about to imitate and follow Christ. Is not think you, the life of Christ, the true crosse of the christians, seeing that vpon that crosse all vices are crucified? When the son of God did say, Tollat crucem suam; Let him take vp his crosse; not without a great mysterie he did call his pretious life in his high doctrin, his crosse, & not my crosse, because that by the hands of Cyrenaeus, he did conuey and trans­fer it vnto vs, vpon the way as he went to Caluarie; insomuch that to passe vnto vs the crosse which hee carried vpon his shoulders, was to giue vs the grace of all that which hee did merit by it. O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, why doest thou call the crosse which is thine, my crosse, but because all the bloud which thou didst shed vpon it, thou didst shed for my soule? If the crosse be thy doctrin, it is rather mine than thine, cōsidering that it belō­geth vnto thee to institute it, & to me to keep it: for being as thou art, chiefe Lord & king, thou art subiect to no law. If we talk of the crosse of wood, on which thou didst loose thy life, that crosse also is more mine than thine; seeing that it was the cause that I began to liue, and thou to trie what it was to die. Shall we nor say verie truly that that crosse is mine, and that very properly mine, which for to giue me life, tooke away thy life from thee? If the crosse be that which we call martyrdome and punishment, yet I say that it is rather mine than thine; seeing that one of the greatest fauours which thou couldst doe for vs in this life was, to giue vs thy life which we should follow, and giue vs licence to suffer for thee.

After that by the hands of Simon Cyrenaeus hee had conueied and passed ouer the crosse from his shoulder vnto our shoulder, it is a very certain case, that then the holy Apostles, and after them the glorious martyrs, did goe more cheerefully to be come in pieces for Christ, than Emperours went to be crowned, Bar­nard in a Sermon saith, Tell me, O redeemer of my soule, [Page 116] when thou didst giue vs thy crosse by the hands of Symon Cyre­naeus, why didst thou giue it vs? A tree which is not greene to grow, nor hath rootes to be planted, nor leaues to make a sha­dow, nor fruit to eat of, but onely a gallows on the which male­factors doe loose their liues: why doest thou doe vs a fauour in giuing it vs? Those vnto whom I giue my crosse saith Christ, I giue it them not to sport themselues with, but to trauell; not to the end they should eate, but because they should fast; not be­cause they should liue, but because they should die; not because they sould be at libertie, but because they should be there cruci­fied: Insomuch that as on the crosse were crucified all my mem­bers, so they should crucifie all their vices. Chrysostome vpon saint Mathew saith; To carrie the crosse by force, as Symon did carry it, and to carrie it willingly as Christ did carrie it, and to be crucified hauing no crosse, as Christ was, and to carrie a crosse to be cruci­fied an other day, as Symon did carrie on, are such high mysteries and so hard to expound, that it would be farre better counsell to occupie our selues in weeping for them, than to endeuour our selues to declare them.

Cyrillus vpon this place saith. Those bear willingly the crosse of the sonne of God vpon their shoulders, who suffer all which they suffer with a cheerfull minde for the loue of Christ, whom our Lord doth not pay, onely the good workes which they doe for him; but also the ioy & cheerfulnesse with the which they do it. Those likewise doe carrie the crosse by constraint with Cyre­naeus, which doe all which they doe, murmuring and grundging, whose workes are neither acceptable vnto God, nor grateful vn­to man, because there is nothing more grieuous to mans heart in this life, than to be caused himselfe to serue, or suffer himselfe to be serued by constraint. Hee doth carrie the crosse of Christ by force with Symon, who doth not preach so much for to doe good vnto soule, as to get commoditie vnto himselfe; insomuch that we call such a one not an euangelicall person, but a hired prea­cher▪ With Symon Cyrenaeus that preacher is hired, which putteth the word of God on sale, and he who will not preach the gospell, if they do not first warrant him that he shallbe paid; insomuch that these are worser than Symon, and are companions vnto wicked Iu­das: [Page 117] for if Iudas sold his person, such a preacher doth sell his do­ctrine. He doth also carry the crosse by force, who not for good, but for some euill, will be a Christian, and a good man; the which appeareth plainly, because that if such a one doe looke vnto him­selfe, and force himselfe to liue a retired life, hee doth it not be­cause he is therunto bound, but for the feare hee hath of being punished. O how many more disciples there be which follow Si­mon than which follow Christ; who, if as they had ended with their consciences, durst also end with their shame, would not on­ly not take vp and beare the crosse of Christ willingly; no nor yet take it vp by constraint with Simon. Barnard saith, It is not conue­nient for the seruant of our Lord to take vp the crosse of Christ by constraint, nor to take it at the hands of the Iews being hired: for of such a one it may be said, that if he do penance, or vse any absti­nence, it is not so much because he will doe it, as because hee can­not chuse but do it. He doth carrie the crosse by constraint with Simon Cyrenaeus, who doth not breake his fast, onely because hee hath nothing to eat; and he who doth not commit adulterie, be­cause he doth not know with whom to sinne; and hee who doth dissemble with his enemie, only because he knoweth not how to be auenged; and he who is not couetous, because hee hath no­thing to keepe: so that in him not to be naught and vicious, is not to be attributed to his perfection, but because hee wanteth occa­sion to doe it.

He doth carrie the crosse of Christ by constraint on his shoulders, who being tempted, falleth; and he, who hauing hun­ger, eateth; and he, who hauing oportunity, cōmitteth adultery; and he who being angry, chideth: so that such a one is like vnto a mud wall, not wel troden; the which in receiuing a little rain, fal­leth to the ground. With Cyrenaeus did carrie the crosse of Christ by constraint wicked Iudas, when he sold Christ; and inconstant S. Peter when he denied Christ: whereof the one through coue­tousnesse of gathering together; and the other for feare of dying fell with the crosse to the ground, when they did fell and denie the maker of life.

Such carrie the crosse of Christ halfe the way, which begin with great feruencie and deuotion, and in the best time grow [Page 118] slacke, and that which is worst of all is, that they are afterward more remisse, than they were woont to be deuout. Others there be which carrie the crosse of Christ from the midst of the way; and such are those which in their childhood and youth were in the world vaine and worldly, and became afterward vertuous and retired: insomuch that if the world tooke from them the flower, they gaue to God the bran. Remigius vpon S. Luke saith, Seeing the son of God did not leaue off to carrie the crosse vpon his shoulder, vntill the middle of the way, where being very wea­ry, he gaue it vnto Simon Syrenaeus, we ought not giue ouer the vn­dertaking of vertuous workes, although they be rough to carrie, and heauy to load; because that our Lord will take it in as good reckoning, the carriage of his crosse as for as we can, as if we should carrie it whither we ought.

CHAP. XX. Why Christ did not carrie his crosse more than halfe the way, and why he gaue it the other halfe to Simon to carrie, and of the great secrets which are contained in this mysterie.

SI non potueris ascendere in monten, saluum te fac in Segor, said the Angell vnto Lot, Genes. 19. when he commanded him to go out of the land of Sodom; as if hee would say, Seeing the great God of Israel, vseth no pretence or colour in that which he commandeth, nor is not to be suspected in that which he forbiddeth, if by chance thou shalt not be able to go vp, saue thy selfe in the top of the hill Zoar, stay in the midst of the iour­ney, in the village of Zoar, and I giue thee this licence vpon cō­dition that thou neuer leaue off going vp, vntill thou be so weary that thou can go vp no further. Of that which the Angel said vn­to Lot, and of that which Christ did to Cyrenaeus going to Caluary: that is, that Lot did saue himselfe in the midst of the hil, & Christ left his crosse in the midst of his iourny. We are plainly giuen to vnderstand, what a good Lord we haue, and how good a maister we serue, seeing hee cōtenteth himself that in matters of his seruice we begin thē, and if we can do no more, that we end there. S. Gre­gory in his pastorall saith, In the way of perfection, and in rigour [Page 119] of religion, we will not say that he doth but little, who trauelleth vntill he sweate, and goeth vntill he fall downe.

It is much to be noted, that the angel did first command Lot to force himselfe to get vnto the height of the hill, before that he should stay below in the village; in which cōmandement we are taught, that in the seruice of our Lord, we should first goe sweating and breathing to perfection, before we vvithdraw our hand from austeritie and penance, because that oftentimes we are able to endure much more than vve thinke in our selues. A [...]sel­mus in his meditations saith, Of my selfe I say and confesse, that I haue great reason to confesse my selfe of my slouth, than com­plaine of my weakenesse, because that I could go forward in ma­ny good workes, if, as I haue strength to begin them, I had a will and heart to end them. Our Lord telling vs by the Prophet, cum ipso sum in tribulatione, What tribulation can fall vpon vs in the world so great or grieuous, which we cannot be able to suffer, be­ing assisted with his holy grace? S. Barnard saith, At the very in­stant that the seruant of our Lord doth determine with himselfe to serue Christ; presently in the same moment of time Christ cō­meth to sucker him: And of my selfe I dare affirme, that I did ne­uer occupie my heart in any good thought, but I felt Christ pre­sently stād at my side. O how many there be in this world, which vnder the colour of being weake and feeble, vvill not onely not go vnto the top of the hill, which the angel commanded, no nor yet vnto the midst where Lot remained! insomuch that they giue ouer the workes of vertue for pure nicenesse and daintinesse, and make vs beleeue that they do it through weakenesse. Seneca saith; I haue seen many forbeare to be honest & vertuous, saying that they were weak & tender, whom if we should ask how they knew thēselues to be rather weak than strong, they wil answer vs, that they haue not tried it, but they haue gessed it: insomuch that they know vices by experiēce, & of vertues they speake by gesse. Giue ouer then my brother, giue ouer to be a gesser, and begin to proue what it is to be vertuous: for if thou once takest pleasure in the works of vertue, thou wilt take thē from thence forward for a pastime. Iudas the traitor was one that tooke the crosse of Christ timely and fel on the ground with it, before he ended his iourney, [Page 120] but S. Paul did not so, who if hee tooke the crosse being of fulll yeares, yet left it not vntill he had ended his iourney: insomuch that it is better to come to the seruice of our Lord late, and perse­uer in it, than to come timely, if wee giue it ouerin the best time. In the parable of our Lord, those were as well paied which went to digge in the vineyard at eleuen of the clocke, as those which trauelled from one of the clocke: wherein our Lord shewed him­selfe to be a iust iudge, and a verie pitifull and mercifull father, seeing that hee paied the first all which he had promised them; and gaue also vnto the last, more than they had laboured for. Gregorie in an homilie saith, In case of bestowing a reward, or gi­uing punishment; God doth neuer tie himselfe vnto the rigour of the law, because hee doth alwaies punish lesse than we deserue, and paied vs for more than we serued.

Thou must learne, my brother, that if our Lord should not pay vs for more than we serued, we should return him mony back for the meat we eat. What can that man deserue in the presence of his God, who neuer ceaseth to sin against him? O what a great comfort it is vnto vs, which are sinners, to thinke that the worke­men came into the vineyard late, and that Christ went to the sea to visit his disciples late, and that Cyrenaeus tooke the crosse late, and S. Paul came to the faith late; for all this, is to giue vs great hope and confidence, that although we come late vnto his ser­uice, he will not onely not send vs away, but will also deliuer vs a portion, & a lot vs a part in his house. S. Ierome writing vnto a cer­taine munke saith; Doe not forbeare my brother Lucius, to come to the wildernesse to serue our Lord, because thou didst thinke that there are such perfect men here, that thou shalt not be able to be equall with them: for I tell thee, that the house and good­nesse of our Lord is so common vnto all men, that there is nothing in it which is denied the good; nor got in it, which is shut against the bad. How wilt not thou that the house of God should be o­pen, and common vnth all men, seeing that hee is the father and Lord of all men? And doest thou not know, that in the house of God they open to reward the good; and to the bad they open to pardon thē? Neither because thou hast been a long time naught; neither because thou art grown old in thy sins, thou oughtest to [Page 121] leaue to take the crosse & follow Christ. And further more, thou shouldest put before thine eies, not onely Simon Cyrenaeus, which tooke the crosse late by the way; but also the theef which took it very late: for euen vnto the last moment of death, God keepeth his gates open for thee. Seeing that Christ doth carrie the crosse which thou shouldest haue carried, vntill the midst of the way: why wilt not thou carrie it with Cyrenaus vntill the end? It was not done without a great mysterie, that Christ would not carrie the crosse vntill the end; nor yet that Cyrenaeus should carrie it from the beginning, but that the labour should be diuided a­mong them both, to giue vs to vnderstand thereby, that we without him cannot better our selues, and that he without vs will not pardon vs our sinnes; so that on our side, there is required amendment; and on his side mercie.

In that laborious iourney, from Pilats house, vnto the mount of Caluarie, Christ tooke more space of time to carrie the crosse on his shoulders, than Cyrenaeus did; and reached more in the do­ing of it, than Cyrenaeus did: to teach vs thereby, that in case of pardoning vs, and being come to the iumpe of examining vs; our Lord must bring more with him from his owne house than our iu­stice doth deserue.

There is likewise an other kinde of people which doe carry the crosse vpō their shoulders not to be crucified on it, as Christ was; but because others should be crucified on it; as Cyrenaeus did, who bare the crosse, on which they should put Christ to death, and himselfe remaine safe and sound: yea hee was not onely cruci­fied on it, but they paid him the hire of his iourney.

Chrisostome vpon the praise of the crosse saith, With Cyrenaeus hee doth carrie the crosse to crucifie another, who through naughtinesse and false witnesse doth discredite his brother: for of the two, it is a lesser hurt to crucifie one in his person, than to take away his fame. When doest thou make a crosse to kill thy neigh­bour with; but when thou doest make some conspiracie against him? When doest thou crucified him among theeues, but when thou doest compare him vnto other naughtie men? When doest thou strike him to the heart with a lance, but when thou doest bereaue him of all his credite? When doest thou giue him to [Page 122] drinke, gall and vineger; but when the good workes which hee doth, thou doest wrest and condemne them for naughtie ones. When with the hangmen doest thou laugh at thy brother cru­cified, but when of the hurt that thou hast done vnto him, thou doest take pleasure and contentment? What wilt thou that I say more vnto thee, but that so many times thou doest call to thy remembrance thy owne passion, as thou doest take reuengement vpon thine enemies? Cyrillus vpon S. Iohn saith O how manie more disciples Cyrenaeus hath than Christ hath! who doe make crosses not to crucifie themselues, but to loose their brothers; in­somuch that then they haue them crucified, whē they are, whol­ly dishonoured. With Cyrenaeus hee doth carrie the crosse to cru­cifie an other, who hath no feet to go to Church, nor handes to giue almes, nor a minde to forgiue iniuries, but for all that hath a heart to inuent them, & tongue to vtter them; insomuch that in his heart he sheweth himself suspitious, & in his toung malicious, With Cyreneus he doth carrie the crosse to crucifie another, vn­to whom no man doth wish hurt vnto, nor speake euill of, and yet is so bad himselfe, and so enclined to doe euill, that hee thinketh vpon nothing but vpō naughtinesse, speaking nothing but naugh­tinesse, nor neuer doth any thing but naughtinesse: who, as the Salamander dieth when the fire goeth out, so is hee no where, when he raiseth not a scandall. With Cyreneus he doth carrie the crosse to crucifie another, who being a prelate or preacher, doth inuite others to doe great penance, and vse much abstinencie, and yet will neuer prooue it themselues; so that like true disci­ples of Simon Cyreneus, they laboured to crucifie others, and take pleasure themselues. Peter Blesensis saith in an Epistle, With Cyreneus hee doth carrie the crosse the crucifie me and not him­selfe, who maketh me to fast, himselfe being full; who maketh me go naked, himselfe being cloathed; who maketh me to rise early, himselfe lying in bed; who commandeth me to labour and trauell, himselfe sporting himselfe: and also hee who preacheth patience vnto me, hauing himselfe none at all. And hee addeth further, I doe not hold him for a father, but a father in law; nor for a preacher, but a false dealer, who in the counsels which hee giueth me, is another Saint Paul, and in the workes which hee [Page 123] doth to me, is another Cyreneus. Ponunt enim onera grauia & im­portabilia, &c. Saith Christ speaking of the Pharises; as if hee would say, They preach in their chaires, and put vpon their subiectes, burdens which they cannot beare, and commande­mentes vvhich are not convenient to keepe; and yet they them­selues are so fine and delicate in their owne persons; and in their owne life so licentious, that they vvill neither beare them with others, nor yet helpe them with one finger to execute them. The word importabilia, is to be noted, that is; that they load them with burdens not able to be borne, and vncredible bur­dens, vvherein the sonne of God is much grieued and molested, and his gospell greatly discredited: for hee hauing said that his yoke is sweet, and his burden light, they make of the Church a synagogue, he hauing made of the synagogue a Church. When did the sonne of God make of the synagogue a Church, but when vpon the crosse, he gaue an end vnto the old law, and insti­tuted another new law? Who doth make of the Church a syna­gogue, but onely hee which maketh the law which Christ made sweet, become intollerable? It is also to be noted that Christ saith, Digito autem suo, &c. That is, that not onely they will not take the burden vpon their shoulders, no nor so much as helpe with one finger to load them, where we may boldly say; that euen as by the two handes are vnderstood the two testa­mentes, and by the ten fingers are vnderstood the ten comman­dementes: so in like maner, vve vvill say of him, that hee doth not put one finger to the worke, who doth not keepe one one­ly commandement. Venerable Bede saith, He is a brother of the naughtie Pharisees, who in christian religion, not obser­uing that which is of the greatest substance in the faith, put­teth great rigour in keeeping the ceremoniall part thereof: in­somuch that such a one is like vnto a foolish gardener, who if his Tree haue leaues, careth not at all, if all the fruite be lost.

It is also to be waighed, that Christ doth not rebuke the pre­lates of his Church, because they do not labour with all the fin­gers of their hand, but because they vvill not labour so much as with one finger, thereby to teach vs, that the good gouerment [Page 124] of a Prelate doth not so much consist in the wearying of his own body, as in hauing a great care ouer all his businesse. Why doest thou thinke, my brother, that Christ doth not aske of thee so much as the corporall labour of one finger, but because that in spirituall things thou shouldest employ all thy heart? To com­mand that the Prelates of his Church, should touch the burden at the least, with one finger, is to signifie vnto them that he doth not exclude them from any trauell: for vnto that Prelate vnto whom our Lord doth giue strength to labour, hee ought to be­stow it in his seruice. The Prelate doth trauell more with one fin­ger, than he, who is vnder him with all his bodie: for according vnto Plato, mens heartes are much more mooued, by the ex­amples which they see, than with the wordes which they heare.

Finally, we say, that Christ did first put his hand to the crosse before Cyrenaeus, thereby to teach vs that the Prelate should be at worke before his subiect: for otherwise it should be as if Cy­renaeus had giuen the crosse first to Christ, and not Christ to Cyrenaeus. What other thing it is for Christ to beare his crosse vn­till he were wearie, but that the good Prelate is bound to tra­uell, vntill he be able to trauell no more?

CHAP. XXI. How the daughters of Hierusalem went weeping after Christ, and how hee had greater compassion on the teares which they did weepe, than of the tormentes which hee did suffer.

SEquebatur eum multa turba populi, & mulierum quae plaugebant & lamentabantur eum, saith S. Luke in the 23. chap. as if he would say; When they did leaue good Iesus to be crucified, to the mount of Caluarie, there went after him a great multitude of men, and a great company of wome, and the office [Page 125] which they did vpon the way was, that the men went tormenting him, and the women went weeping by him. Hilarius to this pur­pose saith, When the sonne of God came into this world, fin­ding none to redeeme, nor any for whom to die, but only men and women: his pleasure was and he commanded, that aswell the wo­men as the men, should be present at the time of his death, be­cause they should be both certaine that none of them was vnre­deemed. Agmon in his glosse saith; If Christ should haue died a­mong women onely, they would haue said that hee had died for them alone; and if he had died among men onely, they would haue said that hee had died for them alone: and because they should haue no doubt, but that his redēption did extend it self & reach vnto al, his wil was that all should be witnesses of his death.

Miserationes eius super omnia opera eius, saith the royal Prophet Dauid, speaking with God: as if he would say, O great God of Israel, it is so naturall a thing in thee, alwaies to vse mercie, and an armie of clemencie is so pleasing vnto thee, that if in all vertues thou doest excell other mens vertues, in the vertue of clemencie thou doest excel and go beyond thine own proper vertues. Cassio­dorus vpō this place saith, It wanteth not a mysterie that the pro­phet doth not reckon then workes of mercy which he doth vnto vs, among other workes which are common vnto all creatures: for he saith not, his mercies among his workes, but his mercies are aboue all his works, because that mercy and clemencie in God is nothing els, but as it were a white, vnto which all his workes doe aime at, and a high tower which all doe obey. And hee saith fur­ther, Is not Gods mercy aboue all his workes? seeing that if we view and reuiew all the holy scripture, it is found for a trueth, that from the first instant, that God made the heauen and the earth, he neuer did any worke, in which there did not shine his clemen­cie and mercy. He vsed mercie with Adam, that in sinning he kil­led him not; with Cain, with whom he dissembled; with those of the floud, which he waited for; with those of Niniuie, whom he did pardon; with the Aegyptians, vvhich he did aduise; with the good theefe, whom he heard presently. S. Ierome his glosse saith; Super omnia opera eius, is his mercy and pitie, seeing we be certaine that if in hell only he doth execute the rigour of his iustice, yet in [Page 126] heauen and in the earth; yea and in the selfe same hell he doth make proofe of his mercy. Who dare affirme with truth, that our Lord doth not vse mercy with those which are damned in hell, seeing their sins were more in nūber than now their torments are?

To come then to our purpose, one of the greatest mysteries which is to be noted in the passion of the son of God is, that the more he was accused & tormented, yet he neuer forgot his office of being merciful, nor did euer shew himself reuenging, although to be such a one he had many occasions & great reason: for there was neuer done so great iniustice vnto any person in the world, as whē they did put to death the son of God by iustice. O high my­stery, O vnknown secret! that the son of God going by the way of Caluary bare-footed, loaden with his crosse, condemned for a naughtie man, and bleeding ouer all his bodie; yet did lift vp his head, turned his face, & began to comfort the womē which went after him weeping, and taking pitie on him, shewing greater com­passion for the teares which did run from them, than of the bloud which did flow from himselfe. What meaneth this, O good Ie­sus, what meaneth this? hast thou cōpassion on the women which go after thee weeping, and hast thou no pitie on thy flesh vvhich goeth bleeding? doest thou not see what difference there is, be­twixt wetting with teares the cheekes, and watering as thou doest water with bloud the streetes? hast thou compassion on the women which go to see how they do execute thee, and hast thou not pitie on thy selfe, which doest go to be executed? doest thou comfort the mothers of those which doe crucifie thee, and forget thy mother which goeth with thee to be crucified? S. Bar­nard vpon the passion of our Lord saith; O who could haue seen that procession from Hierusalem to Caluarie, should haue seene goe before all the rest, the crier, crying and publishing the iudgement, then the hangman with the nailes, then Christ with his crosse, then the theeues with their garmentes, then the ser­geants which watched them, then the women which cried, and in the end, an infinite number of peopl e which looked on. After the sonne of God condemned, went the comfortlesse mo­ther, who euerie where, where she found the tracke of his bloud shed, did not onely swoone vpon it, but did also worship it vp­on [Page 127] her knees, and make it cleane vvith her teares. O my soule, O my bowels, why doe you not stay here a little, why doe you runne so fast by so high a mysterie? you must also now vnder­stand, that all the dust which the sergeants and criers did raise vvith their excommunicate feet, the sonne did lay vvith the bloud vvhich he shed; and the mother vvith the teares vvhich she did weepe.

Anselmus in his meditations saith; Goe, O my soule, go from Hierusalem, vnto Caluarie, after thy good Iesus, because that of the sweat which he sweateth, & of the bloud which issueth from him, and of the tears which the mother doth vveepe, and of the dust which with his steppes he doth hallow, thou shalt make so good a medicine, that it may suffice to vnstop and open al thy dis­ease, and giue thee all the good vvhich thou desirest. And hee saith further, What doest thou desire, O my heart, what doest thou seeke for, O my soule, which thou maist not find in this holy iourny? If thou vvilt the crosse, there he goeth lifted vp; If thou wilt haue Christ, there he goeth bleeding; If thou wilt haue Cy­renaeus, there he goeth loaden; If thou wilt haue the criers, there they go crying; If thou wilt haue the women, there they go wee­ping; yea if thou wilt haue the sorrowfull mother, there she go­eth swooning. Deus tu conuersus viuificabis nos, & plebs tua latabi­tur in te, saith Dauid Psal. 74. as if he would say, All our perditi­on standeth in nothing else, O thou great God of Israel, but in that, that thou doest turne thy shoulders vnto vs: and our saluati­on consisteth in no other thing, but in that, that thou doest shew vs thy countenance: for all our workes doe little auaile vs, if they be not beheld by thee, and of thy goodnesse accepted.

The holy scripture maketh great reckoning of seeing God on the backe or shoulders, or to see him in the face, as it appeareth in Iacob, who said, Vicdi dominum facie ad faciem; and of Moses; when hee spake with our Lord face to face: that is, Moses did speake with God face vnto face, as those are vvoont to speake, betwixt vvhom there is some particuler friendship. Origen in his Periarchon saith, As it is a signe that vve beare hatred vnto him, vnto vvhom vve speake with our backe toward him, & a token of friendship to speake to one with a cheerful countenance, so in like [Page 128] maner then our Lord doth turne his shoulders to vs, when he wil not impart his holy graces vnto vs, and then he doth shew vs his holy face, when he doth communicate vnto vs his loue & grace. Cassio, vpon the Psal saith, It is not in vaine, that Dauid saith, Deus tu conuersus viuificabis nos, vvhich is to aske for himselfe, and for his common-wealth, that hee vvould giue him of his high grace: for if the Lord will not giue vs in this vvorld of his grace, he vvill not giue vs in the other, of his glorie. For those daugh­ters of Sion to go after Christ and behind his shoulders, vvas to go in his disgrace, and Christ to turne his face towards them, was to bring them to his grace: insomuch that then we may truely say, that our Lord doth turne his face towards vs, vvhen he doth place vs in the number of his elect.

Anselmus to this purpose saith, What new thing is this, O re­deemer of my soule, vvhat new tiling is this? doest thou not so much as lift vp thy eies to Pilat, although hee coniure thee, nor doest thou not speake one word to Herod, albeit he entreat thee; and yet of thy owne proper vvill, doest thou turne thy face vnto the daughters of Sion, and comfort them vvith thy holy vvord? doest thou more for the tears which vvomen vveep behind thy backe, than at the entreaty vvhich kings and their deputies make in thy presence? It wanteth not a high mysterie, & a deep vnder­standing, that the sonne of God vvould neuer turn his face to the daughters of Sion, vntil with cries & lamentation he heard them vveepe, quia plorabunt & lamentabantur. Insomuch that they should neuer haue seen Christ his face, if they had not first in tears bathed their own face. O my soule, O my heart, behold how the daughters of Sion, and afflicted Iesus, vvill draw the one to the o­ther, & are at the point to speak one to the other: it is no reasō that thou shouldst not find thy self among them, & in the mdist of thē; for if thou doest look vpō his face, thou shalt see it run down with vvith bloud; and if thou doest looke vpon their faces, thou shalt see them flovv in tears: insomuch that at the best hand, thou shalt escape baptized in teares, or died in bloud. O sorrovvfull step, O high mysterie, at the very houre and monent, in which to the daughters of Hierusalem Christ turned to behold thē: vvhere as they beheld his face, & saw it runbloud, & he beheld their faces, [Page 129] and saw them shead teares, they had of him, and he of them, such great compassion, that Christ his passion was doubted, and their compassion encreased.

What toung is able to set it foorth, or what fingers to write it! or what eies to weepe it! to see what was the countenance of pitifull Iesus, when he turned to looke vpon them, and they staid to behold him? Of the blood which ran from the thorns, and of the durst which did rise of his feet, and of the sweat which came from his body, his face was so changed, & such a hard crust baked on it, that scarce any man could know him, if he had not turned to speake to them. Remigius vpon S. Luke saith, In the iournie of Cal­uarie, when Christ did looke vpon those which went before, he had his shoulders towards those which remained behind, and when he turned to speake vnto those which were last, hee turned his shoulders vnto those which went before, in so much that like a stout captaine, he spake vnto all, encouraged all, beheld all, ani­mated all, and also accomplished all which was requisite to all men.

What other thing dooth it signifie, to go sometimes in the companie of men, and turne at another time to talke with wo­men, but that holy Iesus is not carelesse of the perfect which go before, nor doth forget the imperfect which stay behind? If the sonne of God would alwaies haue carried his eyes, and fixed them on those which went before, and would neuer haue turned to behold and speake vnto those which remained behind, it had bene a signe that he had made no reckoning but of such as did al­waies serue him, and that he esteemed not at all of those which through weakenesse did sinne and offend him. O what a great comfort it is vnto all sinfull soules, that Christ would turne him­selfe to speake with those poore women! because that to go be­holding those which were before, & to turne afterward tp speake with such as came behind, may giue vs great hope & confidence, that he will not withdraw his eyes from those which doe serue him, neither that he will hide his face from those which do come after and follow him. Follow him then, O my soule, follow him, seeing that those daughters of Hierusalem did nothing but fol­low and come after holy Iesus, and weepe a few teares behind [Page 130] him, the which were shead in so good time, that for no other cause, but because he heard them crie, he resolued to speak with them, and also to turne vnto them. That which Christ did vnto the daughters of Hierusalem, he was not by them reque­sted, nor by the hangmen commaunded, nor by the Iews impor­tuned, but he of himselfe of pure [...]ompassion that he had on them, did it: in so much that those tears ought to be very acceptable vnto God, seeing it were they which forced Christ to speake with those poore women.

Cyrillus vpon S. Iohn saith: what other thing did our Lord meane to teach vs, in that, that he would but looke vpon those which went before, and those which came behinde, not only looke vpon them, but also speake vnto them, but that we should principally and most of all, visit the weake and imperfect in their tentations, and comfort them most of all, in their tri­bulations?

Chrisost. vpon the mysterie of the crosse saith, It is much to be noted, that in the iourney of Caluarie the daughters of Syon did first beginne to weep before that Christ would turne vnto them, whereof we may gather, that no man shall deserue to tast of the high mysteries of his holy passion, vnlesse it be such a one as shall set himselfe to contemplate on it with a weeping face. The daughters of Hierusalem which went weeping after Christ, did not goe mocking nor laughing, but weeping and sobbing: because there is no better lure nor call to cause Christ to stoop to our bowels, than to see our eyes full of teares; who did euer see God send comfort vnto those which did laugh, as he hath sent to com­fort such as did weep?

CHAP. XXII. Of the great accoumpt which our Lord made of the tears which the daughters of Hierusalem did shead, and how he doth in­uite all men to weep and none to laugh.

MVlier quid ploras? These wordes Christ spake vnto Mary Magdalen, as if hee would say, Tell me O woman, tell me I pray thee, why doost thou weepe so fast, and why doost thou so much grieue. It is much to be noted, that Christ dooth not aske her an account whether she goeth, nor who she is, or whome she doth seeke for, but only why she doth weepe, which was to aske her why she did call him, because the sonne of God is so familiar vnto all such as weep, that it seemeth vnto him, that for no other cause a man putteth himselfe to weep, but with a loud voice to call for his God

Let no man thinke that we haue spoken inconsideratly in saieng, that it is for no other cause that a man betaketh himselfe to weepe for his sinnes, than to call to God with a loud voice: for euen as the heart doth manifest his ioy by the tongue, so the soule doth manifest her griefe by the eyes, in somuch that how many are the wordes which we speake, so many are the teares which we shead.

Seneca in his booke of Clemency; More credit ought to be giuen vnto the tears which we weepe, than vnto the words which we speake, because the tongue doth oftentimes lie in that which he speaketh, but the eyes do seldome deceaue, in that which they weep. So many are the greifes and anguishes which euery moment passe by the heart, and torment him, that he hath not only small time to tel them, but there is but little also in the toung to rehearse them, and herevpon it is, that because the sorowfull heart cannot speake, he doth comfort himselfe in weeping. Origen vpon this place saith, When Christ saith vnto Mary Magdalen, woman why doost thou weep, he would say nothing els vnto her, but O woman why doot thou importune me, why doost thou call me, because that by seeing the only cry, thou doost make me come to visit thee.

The office of weeping is an office much set by in the holy scrip­ture, and before our Lord very acceptable, for in Esay chap. 3. God giueth licence to the angels to weepe, & that they weepe bitterly, [Page 132] not the euill which could come vnto them, but that which they saw Christ to suffer. S. Ierome vpon Esay sayth, He who gaue the angels licence that they might weepe, would not in all likelihood giue licence vnto men that they might laugh, seeing that men haue as great reason to weepe, as angels haue to laugh? what in­gratitude can there be in the world like vnto this, that is, to see the angels weepe for that that Christ doth suffer, and that man should not weepe, seeing that for him onely he did suffer? What meaneth this, O my soule, what meaneth this? Doe the angels weepe to see Christ suffer so much, and wilt not thou weepe to see him redeeme thee with his blood? The angels doe weepe the passion of him who restored their feats, and doe not men weepe the death of them who redeemed their soules? O what a great and high excercise ought to be the excercise of weeping, seeing God made such reckoning of the tears which S. Peter did weepe, and of those which Mary Magdalen did weepe, and of those that the daughters of Syon did weepe, and of those which the angels did weepe, and doth also at this day of those which we weepe, so far, that of our weeping Christ himselfe commeth to laugh. Our Lord doth not laugh in mocking sort, but doth allow in earnest of our teares, for how much doe displease him the vanities which we thinke, so much doe please him the teares vvhich we vveepe. Vocauit dominus ad sletum, ad planctū, ad caluitium, & ad cilicium, sayd God by the prophet Esay in the 22. chap. as if he vvould say, When our Lord wil make his house merrie, and recreate his own person, he doth inuite and call all his friends to apparell them­selues in cloth of haire, to vveepe vviththeir eies, giue great cries, and also to teare and rent their heart.

The reioicing and feasting vvhich God vseth, is very contra­ry vnto the mirth and reioicing of the vvorld, seeing that the one doe cloath themselues in cloath of gold, and the other in cloth of haire; the one speake, the other be silent; the one sing, the other vveepe; the one combe their haire, the other teare theirs; in so much that among the friends of God, he dooth most of all re­ioice in the feast, vvhich from the heart doth most vveepe. Our Lord hath great reason to giue vs sackcloth in stead of cloth of gold, and to giue vs cloth of haire in stead of silke, and to com­mand [Page 133] vs to teare and rent our haire, in stead of combing vs, for seing that hee will giue vs an other reward, than the world doth giue vnto his worldlings, it is very iust that we be better than they be. S. Basil vpon these wordes of the Psal. Iacta cogitatum tuum in domino, saith, Let vs suffer our selues to be inuited of our Lord, let vs yeeld our selues to his liking, for if it seeme a hard matter to couer our selues in his house with sackcloth, and apparell our flesh with cloth of haire, we may well comfort our selues in that, that all such as goe into his house weeping, doe returne afterward from his presence laughing

What other thing is it to shaue our heads of superfluous hairs, but to pull out of our hearts superfluous thoughts? what other thing is it, for our Lord to inuite vs, to haue our eies full of teares, but that we should weepe and repent vs of all our offences? what other thing is it for our Lord to invite vs, to couer our flesh with cloth of haire, but that we should make our selues naked, and put from vs all vices? O my soule, O my heart, goe then, goe after the daughters of Syon, and I counsell thee, and counsell thee againe, that if thou wilt accompany them, thou shalt also goe weeping with them, for at the very instant and houre that thy eyes shall beginne to weepe, the sonne of God will beginne to turne to thee.

Bonatuenture saith, O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, what a new agony thou wast in, at that time, that thou wouldst turne thy face to the daughters of Syon, for at the very instant that thou wast about to stay, and speake vnto those poore wo­men, the hangman thinking that thou wouldst runne away, hast­ened thee to goe faster, in so much that, that which charity mooued him to doe, mallice hindered him to performe.

It is a thing to be admired, that in all that iourney to Calua­rie, it is not read, that good Iesus should looke vpon any, stay with any, nor speake one word, but with the daughters of Hie­rusalem, the which most excellent gift and fauour, they did not deserue so much for seruing him in his life, as for following him and weeping in his death

Bede vpon S. Luke saith, Our Lord doth much accoumpt of such as thinke vpon his passion, seeing that the daughters of Syon [Page 134] did only follow him, he regarded more the teares which they did weepe, than all the demaunds which Herod and Pilat made vnto him.

Conuerte nos domine ad te, & conuertemur, innoua dies nostros sicut a principio, said the great prophet Hieremie, in the prayer of his lamentations: as if he would say, Turne vs O great God of Israell, turne vs towards thee, to the end that we may stand vp­light, and not on one side, and renew our dayes which are past, to the end that they may be such as they were in the beginning, that is, when we were created by thee. Rupert. saith, When doth pur Lord turne vs vnto our first yeres and dayes, but when in stead of our first old innocency, which by sinne we lost, he doth giue vs his grace, with the which we may saue our selues?

It is much to be noted, that the prophet dareth not say, I Lord will turne vnto thee; but aske him and intreat him, that he would turne him vnto him; wherein hedoth teach vs, that if we haue power of our selues to goe from the seruice of God, yet we haue none to turne vnto him without him. What would the other Prophet say when he said, perditio tua ex te Israel, ex me autem saluatio, but if we did fall on the ground, we could neuer lift our selues vp againe, if God did not giue vs his hand?

S. August, in his confessions saith, I am very much fallen from mine estate and degree, sithence that ambition doth raigne in me, enuie disquieteth me, anger ouercometh me, glut­tony corrupt me, sloth not goe from me, couetousnes ensue me, and lechery incense me; what will become of me, O good Iesus, what will become of me, if thou doe not turne me to thee, and into thee, seeing the world hath already turned me into him? he hath so changed me into himselfe, and hath so estranged me from my selfe, that I doe scarce know my selfe, and as it were ne­uer thinke vpon thee.

Seeing that hauing turned thy selfe vnto Peter thou diddest pardon him, turned vnto Marie Magdelen thou diddest comfort her; and turned vnto the woman which had the flux, thou diddest heale her; and turned vnto the daughters of Sion, thou diddest comfort them; and turned vnto the theefe, thou diddest forgiue him; turne thy selfe vnto me who am a grea­ter [Page 135] for theefe than the naughtie theefe, seeing that without confes­sing me, and amending me of my fault, would helpe my selfe with thy mercie.

Remigius in a sermon sayth, The daughters of Hierusalem would neuer haue turned themselues vnto Christ, if Christ should not first haue touched their hearts, & with his grace haue lightened them; so that in the way as hee vvent to die, hee left not off the office of preaching; hee did not so little good going that iournie preaching, but that hee turned the daugh­ters of Hierusalem that they should weepe, the theefe that he should repent, the Centurion that he should confesse him, the sinne that he should darken himselfe, and many of th [...] common people which through repentance went striking their brests. Anselmus in his meditations sayth, When the daughters of Hierusalem went after weeping, and when thou diddest turne vnto them, and they beheld what a one thou wast, how was it possible, O my soule, that thou shouldest not die in so narrow a straight? thou shouldest haue seene the hangmen by him, the theeues at his side, the Gentiles before him, the Iewes behind him, the Centurion not far from him, the guard about him, the gibbet in his eye, his friends far from him, and all his acquaintance viewing him. What other fruit doost thou gather of all this com­panie, but that euery one of them in a diuers manner dooth tor­ment thee? what doe the hangmen giue thee but torment? the theeues, but dishonour? the Iewes but skoffes? the Gentiles, but shame? thy friends, but anguish? thy acquaintance, but paine: and the gibbet, death? O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, by the blood which issueth out of thy vaines, I coniure thee, by the teares which the daughters of Hierusalem weepe, I aske thee, that thou tell and declare vnto mee, vvhat is that which thou seest, when thou doost looke on any side? if thou doost looke downe, thou doost see the dirt which they cast at thee; if thou looke vp, thou seest the crosse which thou doost carrie vpon thy shoulders; if thou doost looke vpon thy sides, thou seest the theeues which beare thee companie; if thou looke before thee, thou seest the hangmen which lead thee; if thou looke be­hind the, thou seest the Centurions which guard thee: if thou [Page 136] looke vpon thy selfe, thou dost see thy selfe suffer, if thou looke vpon me, thou seest me alwaies sinne? when thou didst goe into the houses of the Pontifices, thou didst goe only to iudgment, but in this iourney of Caluarie, thou doost goe iudged and con­demned; in so much that thou doost not goe now to heare sen­tence, but to see that they execute sentence in thee.

Ambrose saith the sonne of God doth many things for his ene­mies which no man would do for his friends, and from hence it ri­seth that to pay for man, he is true man. Finally before all men and for all men; and among all men, thou didst carry the tree of the crosse, grating vpon thy shoulders, wearieng thy members, pu­nishing thy selfe, and redeeming me.

CHAP. XXIII. Why Chryst did not call the women which followed him, simply women, but daughters of Hierusalem, and in ex­pounding of this, there are discouered many misteries of scripture.

FIliae Hierusalem, nolite slere super me, sed super vosme tipsas flete. Luk. 23. Christ spake these wordes to the daughters of Syon, when they went after him weeping. As if he would haue said vnto them, Take no care to weepe for me, O you daughters of Hierusalem, but weepe for your selues, & take pity on your own creatures, because you shall see such great persecutions in your persons, and such troubles through your houses, that you shall intreat the moun­taines to couer you, and the dennes that they would defend you. For Christ to speake with women, and in so publike a place, and so dangerous a time, and when he went breathing with weari­nesse, and to turn his face vnto them only, and to command them that they should not weepe for the death of his bodie, but the re­uengement of his people: those things are all worthy to be noted, and also full of mysteries to vnderstand. S. Augustine in a sermon [Page 137] of the Samaritan woman saith, With very few women, and also very sildome times, and very few words, the son of God did speake or deale among women; and although he was of many vi­ces accused by his enemies, yet he was neuer noted nor defamed with women of them. It ought also very much noted, with what women our Lord did conuerse, and the wordes ought to be had in remembrance which he spake vnto them, as a thing rare vnto him, and which he did sildome times.

Good Iesus then seeing that the tearme of his life drew to an end, although not the office of his clemencie and mercy, his face turned vnto the daughters of Syon, and their eyes fixed vpon him, he began to speake vnto them, and called them daughters, the which word neuer proceedeth but out of his bowels. Christ to beginne his discourse with Filiae, daughters of Hierusalem, is such a high mysterie, that it shall not be amisse, that we pause a littel vpon it, because that for the son of God to call any, sonne, or daughter, is so new a thing in his mouth, that they neuer heard it in him, vntill that last houre.

Hilarius to this purpose saith, Albeit that Christs wordes, in what time so euer they were spoken, are hard to be vnderstood, and profitable to follow, yet notwithstanding we will say, that by how much the nearer the end of his life they were spoken, by so much the fuller of mysteries they are. Qutquot autem receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri, saith S. Iohn in his Gospell; When the father of eternities had but one only sonne and that a very wel beloued sonne, he gaue it him for a speciall priueledge, when he did send him into the world, that he should call all those children of God with open crie, which should receaue him with good wil. O high priueledge! O happy licence! O great fauor ne­uer before giuen! by means whereof we are made sonnes of the father, brothers of the sonne, pupils of the holy-ghost, compa [...] ons of the angels, parishioners of the Church, and heires of his glory.

What hath God more to giue vs, than to make vs his chil­dren? if he giue vs licence that we may be his children, will he not giue vs licence also that we may be his heires? and if we be [Page 138] heires of his glory, what hath he to giue vs for all of this life.

Agmon saith, Great was the power of Moses, seeing he did o­pen the sea, great was the power of Ioshua, seeing he made the Sun to stand still, great was the power of Helesaeeus, seeing he made the yron to swimme, great was the power of Dauid, seeing he did slea the Philistian; but much greater is the power which he gaue vnto vs, in giuing vs licence to call our selues his chil­dren: of which name the angels neuer durst call them selues, as we doo esteeme and accoumpt our selues. Since the time that the sonne of God tooke flesh of our flesh, the angels dare not make them selues equall vnto vs, nor compare with vs, for as the Apostle saith, Omnes sunt administratores, in ministerium missi, propter eos qui haereditatem capiunt, In so much that accor­ding vnto this saying, euery one of them holdeth him selfe hap­py to watch, keepe, and serue those which serue Christ. In that that our Lord doth dissemble so may iniuries, and forgiue vs eue­ry foot so many sinnes, it appeareth very plainly, how he dooth esteeme vs for his children, yea and for very tender children; be­cause that before he made himselfe man, we had no sooner done a fault, but he payed vs for it. Immediatly as Adam sinned, he ba­nished him; as Cain sinned, immediatly he punished him; as they of the flood sinned, he immediatly drowned them; as those of Sodoma sinned, immediatly he sunke them; and as Daaid sinned, he did immediatly reprehend him: in so much that when sinne harboured all night, there punishment stirred betimes in the morning.

Adhuc escae eorum erant in ore ipsorum, & ira Dei descendit super illos, sayd king Dauid in his 77. Psal. as if he would say, When the children of Israell did aske of God, that hee would giue them flesh to eat, he gaue them immediatly many quailes to feed vp­on, and because they asked rather of gluttony, than of necessitie, the Lord did punish them in such sort, that at the first morsell which they did put into their mouths, they fealt the swoord at their throat. The scripture could not haue set foorth more liue­lier their gluttonie, and God his reuenge, seeing that at the same time they were chewing their meat, and God a punishing them, [Page 139] in so much that the men which died, were more than the quailes which they did eat. But after that our Lord did take vs for his adoptiue children, he doth not deale so with vs, for if we com­mit against him any foule sinne, he doth not presently draw the sword of his wrath, although he make shew to be angrie; in so much that in time past, if he did strike and not threaten, so now he doth threaten and offer but not strike.

August vpon S. Ihon saith, Sithence the time that the sonne of God tooke flesh of our flesh, there hath neuer been seen any such punishment, as that of the flood, nor as that of Sodoma, nor as that of Dathan, nor as that of the captiuitie of Babilon, nor like that of the destruction of Hierusalem, because he doth now rebuke vs like vnto children, but he did scourge them like vnto slaues. It is also to be noted, that the Euangelist doth not say, that our Lord did take all men which he found in the world for his children, but only such which had receaued him, inso much that God doth hold none for his, but him who fighteth vnder the banner of Christ,

Bede vpon S. Iohn saith, When S. Iohn dooth say, to that those only which receaued him and beleeued in him, dedit eis potesta­tem filios Dei fieri, he excludeth and casteth out of Christian in­heritance, all outragious pagans, perfidious Iews, and cursed he­retiks; of whom we may truly say, that they are rather desciples of antechist, than the children of Christ. Gregorie in his pastorall saith, For no other reason, but because he gaue vs power to be the children of God, the angels do reuerence vs, the deuils do feare vs, the saints do loue vs, we make our benefit of the sacraments, we call our selues the children of God, we enioy such high priui­ledges, and hope to be saued by them.

It is also to be weighed, that Christ doth binde vs, that we re­ceiue him, and doth not tell vs where we should receiue him, to weet, in the way with Cyreneus: or in the garden with Marie Magdalen, or in the ship with S. Peter, or on the crosse with the theefe; because that it is better not to re­ceiue a guest, than when he is come, to lodge him badly. What shal we answer in this case, but that where he will, & how he will, and whē our Lord wil come to our souls, we shuld opē the gates to him? [Page 140] our Lord doth enter in by the eyes, when we adore him glorified in his fathers kingdome; he doth enter in at the eares, when we doe heare sermons; he doth enter in at the hands, when we doe giue almes; he doth enter in by the tongue, when we doe praise him; and he doth likewise enter in at the heart, when we doe loue him. What wilt thou that I say more vnto thee, but that at the gate that he shall come soonest to call, that thou go present­ly to answer? O blessed and happie soule, at whose gates Christ doth cal! O sorowful & vnhappy at whose he doth neuer knock! because that to visit vs, or not to visit vs, it toucheth vs as neere, as to call vs slaues, or hold vs for his children, or to be his heires, or leaue vs disinherited; because it is the propertie of the sonne of God that when he doth enter into our soules, he bringeth all that he hath with him, and at the instant that he goeth from them, he carrieth all away with him.

O my soule, O my heart, I pray thee, and also coniure thee, that good Iesus striking the hammer, thou open presently the gate; which you doe and fulfill, when all that which he doth inspire into your heart, you doe presently put in worke.

When doost thou O my good Iesus, beat at the hammer of my soule, but when thou inspirest me and persuadest me to a­mend my life? when doe I, O my sweet Iesus, open vnto thee the gate, but when from my heart I weepe for my sinne? when soule in naughtines is obstinat?

Barnard in his booke of consideration saith, O how many times my good Iesus thou doost speake vnto me, and I doe not answer thee; thou doost knock and I feele it not; thou doost counsell me, and I beleeue thee not; thou doost correct me, and I amend not; and also thou dost par­don me, and I thanke thee not. Augustine vpon S. Iohn sayth, It is to be weighed that S. Iohn doth not say in his text, That Christ made those his children which did seeke him, but those which did receaue him, because our holy Lord is such a friend vnto those whome hee dooth loue, and so enamoured of such as loue him, that there is no need that they should seeke him, but onely that they should keepe him in their hearts.

Saule Saule cur me persequeris? when the sonne of God spake these wordes vnto Paule in the way to Damascus, did not good Iesus goe after Paul running, and Paul goe from Christ fleeing? did not Paul goe fleeing from the fayth of Christ, seeing he went to apprehend such as did confesse Christ? did not Chist goe after S. Paul seeing he stroke him off his horse, spake to him on the way, and placed him in the top of the Apostleship? O hidden prouidence, O deuine mercy of the son of God! in that, that at the very instant, when Christ did knock at his gate, saying Saul why doost thou persecute me, Saul did answere Christ, Lord what shall I doe? God did not longe stand calling at the gate of S. Paul, but at the first knock, which was at the first word, he o­pened vnto Christ; and of on Hebrew, became a Christian, and of Saul, Paul, of a persecuter, a preacher, and of an open enemie, atender and louing sonne.

Chrsost. vpon the prayse of Paul saith, S. Paul was a child, and a very welbeloued, child, seeing our Lord gaue vnto him a­lone more trauels, than vnto all the rest of his colledge, because it is a very ancient custome in the house of God, for him to be the most familiar, who is most of all scourged and whipped at Gods hand.

Cyril vpon S. Ihon saith, O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, thy beloued S. Ihon giueth thee great honour, and giueth me great hope, in saying that to all those which receaued him, he gaue them power to be the sonnes of God, in so much that thou hast the charge to seeke, if I will suffer my selfe to be found, and to goe after me, if I will stay for thee, and take me for thy child, if I will giue my consent thereto, and also lodge in my bowels if I will receaue thee into them. If I should not commit any offen­ces against thee, what would I, that thou wouldst not? what wouldst thou denie me, that I should ask of thee, if I would be to thee such a sonne, as thou art to me a father?

Vpon these words of the Prophet, veni domine, noli cardere, Anselmus saith, come O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, for now I will none of my feet, but to seeke thee; I will none of my hands, but to serue thee; I will none of my knees, but to worship thee, I will none of my tongue, but to praise thee; yea I will [Page 242] none of my heart, but to loue thee, for seeing thou knowest not how to giue thy selfe vnlesse thou giue thy selfe wholy, it is great reason also that I should giue my selfe entirely and wholy vnto thee. Seeing that thou wholy and entirely doost keepe thy selfe to me, vnto whom should I better keepe my selfe than vnto thee? Thy loue is so great towards all, and thou doost comunicate so familiarly, with those which are thine, and thou doost loue and re­ioice as priuatly with such as do serue thee, as though thou hadst no other but them to loue, in so much that thou doost loue all the world in generall, and doost reioyce with all such as are thine in particular. Take heede then, O my soule, take heede that thou doe not loose the priuiledge which thou hast to be the sonne of Christ, of which priuiledge thou art so many times shaued from, as thou doost commit any sinne against him; for if it be true that the sonne of [...]od doth dissemble with his children for some wantonnes committed in youth, yet he will suffer no sinnes which are rustie with age.

We haue bestowed some time in expounding this saieng, Dedit eos potestatem filios Dei fieri, because we should highly esteeme of it, that Christ doth giue vs licence to call our selues his children, because it is the highest title whereof we may vaunt, and it is the name which in heauen we shall haue. Hilarius saith, O how much we are bound vnto the sonne of God, in that, that at the same time with him, we should call our selues likewise, sonnes of God; in so much, that he doth make vs equall with him, in cal­ling vs as they called him, although we merit not as he did merit, for all merits are his. Vocabitur tibi nomen, quod os domini nominauit, said God by Esay Chap. 62. as if he would say; When thou, O my sonne, shalt take humane flesh vpon thee, they will change the name which before thou hadst, and they will giue thee ano­ther name which thou knowest not, the which name shall be so wonderfull, and so new, that it shall be named only by the mouth of God. Rupertus his glosse saith, This name of the sonne of God, although aboue in heauen it was an old name, yet here on earth it was a new name, for vntill the comming of Christ none in the world called him selfe the sonne of God, and if he did so call him selfe, he might well doe it, seeing the Apostle [Page 143] saith, that he thought it no rapine to be equall vnto God. Gregorie vpon S. Ihon saith, As here vpon earth we doe call Christ the na­turall sonne of God, so he in heauen doth call vs the adoptiue sonnes of God, inso much that he doth honour vs there, as we doe honour him here, and he doth call vs there, as we doe call him here

Remigius in an homilie sayth, For my part I beleeue, that the names which we had giuen vs here at the font, they will change vs aboue in blisse, I shall not be called Remigius, which is my hu­mane name, but I shall be called the sonne of God, which is a di­uine name, in so much that in the general resurrection, at the same time our bodies shall be glorified, and these our mortall names changed. Esay doth very well say of Christ, Vocabitur nomen tuum nouum. Seeing the name which they gaue him was so new, that no man was so called vntill he came into the world: for if by this name Iesus, Ioshua was called, and with this name Christ, Dauid did entitle himselfe; yet for one onely man to call himselfe toge­ther Iesus Christ, as no man could deserue this name, so none but he durst so call himselfe. O great goodnesse! O high liberalitie of thee my good Iesus! what prince is there so liberall this day in the world, that if he doe diuide his kingdome with his sonne or a­ny other, yet doth not reserue vnto himselfe alone the title of the king? what prince doth there liue this day in the world, so prodi­gall or wastfull, who if he make largis of all his wealth, yet dooth not keepe vnto himselfe his honour? only our holy Lord was hee who had greater respect vnto that, that he did loue vs, than vnto that which he did giue vs, by reason whereof he did giue vs his honour, seeing he did suffer vs to be called his brothers, and doth giue vs his wealth and riches, seeing we are heires vnto him. O my soule, O my heart, esteeme it not a little to call your selfe as Christ is called, and to inherit as you shall doe, the goods and ri­ches of Christ; seeing that within that inheritance falleth also his holy person, and in happening vnto you such high riches in that diuision, be sure and certaine, that men shall woship your steps, and the angels waite betimes in the morning at your gates.

CHAP. XXII. Why Christ would not answer Herod, being vrged of him, and why he did speake to the daughters of Hierusalem, not being entreated by them, and of many other things notably hand­led in this chapter.

NOlite flere sup [...]rme, sed super vos, Luke 23. Al that which wee haue spoken in the last chapter, hath bene to make vs woonder and maruell, that the sonne of God would call the women which went weeping after him, daughters; see­ing that at that instāt he could in no wise com­fort them so much as by calling them daughters, & vttering such high words vnto them. All those women which went there, were sisters or kinswomen of the high priests and Phariseis, which lead Christ to be crucified, and had bene at his condemnation: so that this being so, good Iesus had greater reason to turne his shoulders vnto them, than to settle himselfe to speake vnto them. From the woman whose husband dooth take my life from me, and rob me of my honour, how is it possible that I should not take away my speech? Bede vpon Luke sayth, Those women being as they were naturall borne children of the murdering and excommunicat ci­tie where Christ was condemned to die, and cast out with dis­credit and reproch, and carried away with rigour of iustice, hee should haue made no reckoning of their teares, seeing that their parents had made no estimation of his good doctrine. O great mercie, O goodnesse neuer before heard of! considering that the sonne of God, not regarding that those women were of the tray­terous and excommunicarcitie, yet on the way would stay for them, and would turne vnto them, and talke with them, and a­boue all, call them daughters of Hierusalem, in such sort, that our good Lord made greater reckoning of the tears of strangers, than he did of his owne iniuries.

The sonne of God had done some cures, and giuen many good [Page 145] lessons vnto the children and husbands of those women, and be­cause in that great tribulation of his, they could not pay him vn­lesse it were in weeping, the holy Ghost his pleasure was, that those teares should be written, as teares of gratefull and thanfull women. S. Barnard vpon the passion saith, Thou shouldest much esteeme, O good Iesus, thou shouldest much esteeme those which are pitifull, and with their brothers are mercifull, seeing thou didst will and command thy chroniclers, that the teares which the women did weep of compassion, should be added and put to the bloud of thy passion. Scio opera tua, & laborem tuum, & patientiam tuam: sed habeo aduersum repauca, quia charitatem tuam primam r [...]liquistie, said S. Iohn Apocalip. 2. to the bishop of Ephe­sus; as if he would say, I do not forget the good works which thou doest; neither do I omit to behold thy patience: but yet withall, this I doe tell thee, and also reprehend thee, because thou wast woont to be liberall, and art now become couetous; thou wast woont to be deuout, and art now become slacke; thou wast wont to be abstinent, and art now a glutton: insomuch that thou art an other from him which thou wast woont to be, and wast woont to be another from him, which now thou art. This is a very high and a cunning kinde of reprehending: for first he doth commend the bishop of Ephesus of vertue in his workes, of wisedome in his office, of patience in the afflictions which he suffereth; & this be­ing done, he beginneth to rebuke him of the faults which he hath fallen into, and of the negligences which hee hath committed.

Bede vpon the Apocalyps saith, In the rehrehension which our Lord vsed to the bishop of Ephesus, thou shalt see mercie compiled with iustice, and iustice with mercy, seeing he did first allow and like of that which he had well done, and doth correct him after of that which he had ill done. Who doth know, as well as our Lord knoweth, to extoll that which we doe for him, or with so great charitie correct vs of that which we erre against him?

Who could haue knowne as our Lord did know, how to mo­derate the wordes of correction with the bishop, to the end hee should be as he was verie well corrected, and yet not at all gree­ued. S. Barnard vvriting vnto an Abbot saith; Doe not thinke fa­ther [Page 146] Lucas that he hath learned litle in the order, who hath lear­ned to rebuke his brother with charitie: for I tell thee, if thou know it not, that the prelate hath need of as great grace to repre­hend his subiects, as the subiect hath to benefite himselfe by the correction.

In that long and profound discourse which the sonne of God had with the Samaritan woman neere vnto the well of Sicar, when Christ said that the man which she had in her house, was not her husband but hir friend, she making answer vnto him that it was true; Christ replied vnto her, Thou hast said well: as if he should say, Because it doth appertaine vnto me, who am the sear­cher out of hearts to like and allow of that which is good, and to pourtrait that which is euill, I tel thee, O woman, that seeing thou hast had patience to be called an euill liuer, I doe like and praise thee to be a true womā, & that there is no lie in thy mouth. After the same maner as God entreated the bishop of Ephesus, and in that order that Christ vsed the Samaritan by the well, all pre­lates ought to take example how they ought to correct such as are vnder them, that is, it is not iust, but verie iniust, that for one fault, which they fall into, they thrust into a corner all the ver­tues which are in them. S. August. in a sermon which he maketh vnto certain heremites saith, The prelat can erre in nothing more than in not fauouring vertues, or in dissembling vices, but of these two extreames, the lesser hurt is, to dissemble some negligences, in merit of some vertues past, than to conceale & keep obscure ma­ny vertues, for some negligences present. For ten iust men onely which were in Sodom, God would pardon all that land: & in the merits of Dauid he did pardon many kings of Iudea. Wherof we may infer, that if the prelate shal see, that on one side the offender hath been good; and on the other side should be then nought, he ought alwaies to haue a greater respect vnto the goodnes, which vntil thē he had, than vnto the fault which he had presently faln into. Cassianus saith, Euen as the skilfull surgion doth cure the mē­ber which hath the fistula in it, without doing any preiudice vnto the other members: so the good prelat ought to cure & correct in him who is vnder him, that that he shall find in him to be naught, & neuer spil & deface that which is good in him. S. Barnard in his [Page 147] book of consideratiō saith, Euen as he who meeteth with a rotten apple, leaueth not to eat that which is sound, because some part is rotten; so the good prelat ought not to cast away his charge, al­though he hath offended in some sin, because that of that corre­ction, out of which a man escapeth greeued and ashamed, ve­ry late or neuer we see him amended.

To come then vnto our case, we know wel that on one side, the daughters of Hierusalem did go after Christ weeping; & on the other side their husbands & kinsmen wē [...] persecuting him: but be­cause our good Lord, was now made an endles depth of mercy, & a hard sea of clemency, he would in that place, thank the women for the tears which they do weep, & pardō afterward on the crosse their husbāds, the iniuries which they did him. What doest thou ask of good Iesus, what doest thou now ask of good Iesus, seeing that at one of the clocke he accepted the womens teares, and at three in the afternoone he pardoned their husbands iniuries? he who did pay so wel for the tears which they weep for him; will he omit to reward, thinke you, the seruices which they do him? Our good Lord might haue enlarged a longer time that discourse, and acknowledged those teares after that he should haue risen again, but blessed Iesus would not do it, nor yet defer it vntill Caluary, because he is such a friend, and so desirous to pay presently, that which is done for him, that it would haue been a greater punish­mēt to him, not to haue left those tears presently vnpaid, than that which the crosse & thorns did giue him. Barnard vpon the passiō, saith; The roape which our Lord ware on his throat, did gall his neck; the crosse which he bare on his shoulder, greeued his bones, but the tears which those women did vveep, did pierce his heart; and from hence it riseth, that like a debt vvhich lay heauy loa­den vpon his bovvels, he vvould presently in the place discharge it. And the same doctor saith further, When I settle my selfe to thinke, O good Iesus, that in the discourse of thy passion, thou didst stay to embrace Iudas, to heale Malchas, to looke vpon Saint Peter, to speake vnto the daughters of Hierusalem, and to impart thy crosse vvith Cyreneus, and commend thy mo­ther to thy Disciple, and to promise the theefe Paradise: these thinges are such high mysteries vnto me, that if my tongue [Page 148] be able to rehearse them, my iudgement is not able to vnderstand them.

It is to be noted also in this place, that Christ would not an­swer Herod one word, vnto all the demands he asked him; and on the other part, he did speake with the daughters of Sion, not be­ing requested by them: wherof we may inferre, that we ought to make greater accompt of the teares which the good doe weepe, than of the words which naughtie men do speake. That vvhich Herod did aske him, he did aske of curiositie, but the teares which those women did shed, they wept of pure pitie; and because that in the presence of our Lord a pitifull man is much better, than a curious tyrant, our Lord did approoue the teares which those women did weepe; and made himselfe deafe to the words which the tyrant did speake. O my soule, O my heart, if thou hast any businesse to negotiat with our Lord; and if thou wilt aske any cur­tesie vnto thy selfe, doe not care to go to the palace of Herod, to speake with him, but go thou with the daughters of Hierusalem to weepe for him; because in the house of God, and with God, it is better to negotiate with force of teares, than might of wordes. With the tyrant Herod, those negotiat, which pronounce long orations; and with the daughters of Sion such as shed manie teares: and what difference there is to present God with teares, or to present him with wordes, Let it be seen in Herod whom hee would not answere, and in the daughters of Sion, with whom he staid to speake.

S. Ambrose vpon S. Luke, saith; No man ought to maruell, that our Lord maketh greater accompt of the teares which we weep for him, than of the vvords we vse to him; because that the words are formed by the tongue, but the teares proceed from the heart. O good Iesus, O the Lord of my soule, how is it possible that my tongue should hereafter dare to speake one word in thy presence, or my eies cease to weepe for thee, seeing that the wordes of He­rod reached no farther, than vnto thy eares, and the teares of the daughters of Sion pierced thy bowels? Weep thou, O my soule, weepe thou, O my heart, because the language of heauen is o­ther from that which is spoken in the world, because men here vnderstand not, but by wordes; and there they answere not, but [Page 149] vnto teares: insomuch that so many words we speake with God, as we do weep tears for him. Amice, ad quid venesti? osculo enim tradis filium hominis. These are the words which Christ did speak in the garden of Gethsemanie to his disciple Iudas, as if he would say; What meaneth this, O my friend Iudas; what meanetht this? at the verie houre that I am praying and beseeching my fa­ther for thy faultes, doest thou come to apprehend me with men of armes? O what a bad friend and an vngratefull disciple thou hast been vnto me! seeing that when I am weeping for thy sins, thou doest deliuer me vnto my enemies. Let vs then be friendes, and let vs embrace ech other, and turne thou vnto me, for I will presently turn vnto thee, because thou doest well know, O Iudas, that although thou hast sold me, I haue not for all that put thee from me.

Amice ad quid venisti? I call thee friend, although I know that thou hast sold me: for although the friendship be broken on thy side; know that on mine, it is whole and entire: and because thou mayst beleeue this to be true, say with king Dauid, Ego pec­caui, and thou shalt heare presently out of my mouth, Ego te ab­soluo. Origen vpon S. Mathew saith, This word friend, and this word sonne, the sonne of God vsed in the discourse of his passion; the one with Iudas, when hee said, friend, wherefore doest thou come; and the other with the daughters of Sion, when hee said, daughters: insomuch that he called him friend, which did go to sell him, and called daughters, the wiues of those which went to crucifie him. What greater benignitie could there be this day in the world, as when hauing said to his faithfull disciples, Vos amici mei estis, He would also say to the traiterous disciple, My friend, to what end didst thou come? if those which doe sell thee, O good Lord, thou doest call friendes, and those which doe serue thee, thou doest call also friendes; what difference doest thou make betwixt the one and the other? what more heartier speach can be vsed to one, than to call him friend; and vvhat more ten­derer, than to call one sonne?

Cicero in his booke of friendship saith, Mans tongue can in no­thing more make manifest the loue which is hidden in the heart, than to call him whom hee loueth, friend, or sonne, because this [Page 150] word friend doth proceed of great affection, and this word sonne doth make tender the heart. Christ then doth call Iudas the trai­tor friend, to reduce him vnto his friendship, and because hee should not despaire of his mercie: for without comparison blessed Iesus did feel greater griefe, to see the diuels which carried away Iudas his soule, than to see the hangman which took away his life.

Christ called the women of Hierusalē daughters to be thank­full for that, that they did weepe for him, and to conuert the hangmen which went by them, because our mercifull Lord doth aswell seeke all occasions to conuert them, as they did seeke tor­ments speedily to kill him. O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, if thou doest call Iudas thy friend, hauing sold thee for 30 pence; why doest thou not call me so too, who haue offended thee with thousands of sinnes? sinner for sinner, traitor for traitor, wicked for wicked; why doest thou not take me for thy friend, as thou didst take Iudas the wicked? Leaue Iudas then, and say vnto me, friend, Leaue the women and say vnto me, sonne; for if thou do goe to seeke traitours, behold Iudas did sell thee but once, and I haue sold thee a thousand times; and if the daughters of Hie­rusalem be sinners, I am much more than they; insomuch that this name of friend, and also the name of sonne, doth belong rather vnto me than vnto any other; not because I haue best ser­ued thee, but becaus I haue most offended thee.

CHAP. XXV. Why our Lord did weepe for the death of Lazarus, and weepe for the destruction of Hierusalem, and would not that the daughters of Hierusalem should weepe for him, and how all weeping doth not suffice, but we must know well how to weepe.

VIdens ciuitatem, fleuit super illam, dicens, si cognouisses & tu, &c, saith S. Luke in the 20 chap. as if he would say; As the son of God came on the way, and discouered from the declining of a high hill, the great Citie of Hie­rusalem, [Page 151] and see the great calamities which were to fall vpon her, he began to weepe earnestly and say; O sorrowfull Hierusalem, that thou art, O vnfortunat holy citie, seeing that before many yeares shall passe, thine enemies shall besiege thee, beat downe thy walles, make thy neighbours captiues, spoile all thy people; and because there shall no memorie of thee remain, they will not leaue in thee one stone vpon another. When newes came vnto Christ of the death of Lazarus, seeing, as hee did see his sisters weepe for him, our Lord did also betake himselfe to weep with them, and all men which were there present said, that hee ought to haue loued Lazarus very well, seeing that he tooke such great griefe for him. Seneca to this purpose saith. What is the thing which we best loue, but that which we most couet, and that which we most of all weepe for.

Cicero in his booke of friendship saith, Of all that which we loue in our bowels, and of all that which we hate with our hearts, there are no more faithfull witnesses in the world, than the teares of our eies: for they weepe presently when they see a friend die, and doe the like, when they cannot reuenge on an enemie; inso­much that the office of teares is to manifest our griefe, and cry a­broad our loue. It is to be noted, that the sonne of God hauing come from Bethania on foot, sweating & hungrie, and with great danger, because they did alwaies carrie an eie ouer him, yet they did not in any of al these things know the loue which he bare vnto Lazarus, but by the tears which he did weep for him. Who doth doubt, but al which is loued of the hart, is also wept for of the hart?

To come then vnto our purpose, being verie true, as S. August. doth also testifie, that all Christ his workes be examples for vs; it seemeth that it should be reason that we weepe also for our friends, seeing that he did weepe for [...]is; because that one of our friends is more worth thā al his together. Who is our true friend, but only Iesus Christ crucified? should not the teares which we shuld bestow in weeping for so good a friend, be better emploied, than those, which did weep for his friend Lazarus? In that speach of thine, I am non dicam vos seruos, Thou didst deliver vs from be­ing bondmen; and in that, Vos amici mei estis, Thou didst take vs for thy friendes, and in that ascendo ad patrem vestrum, [Page 152] thou didst chuse vs for thy brothers, and in that, Ad Deum me­um, & deum vestrum, Thou didst make vs thy [...]ompanions, and of all thy vvealth sole inheritours: If this then be true, as true it is; who will hinder me to say, that thou art more my friend, than I am thine? Why then, O good Iesus, why doest thou now say, Doe not weepe ouer me; seeing it seemeth by these wordes that thou doest forbid vs to weepe for thee, or shew any griefe at all for thy death? If it be true, quod amicorum omnia fiant communia, What is the reason, that thou doest take all the teares from vs, and giue no part vnto any?

S. August. vpon S. Iohn saith; It is a mysterie neuer before heard of to see the sonne of God weepe, vvhen he vvould raise vp Lazarus, and on the other side would not suffer them to weep for him, when they carried him to be crucified insomuch that ac­cording vnto this, we shall haue greater compassion of the child which is borne, than of the old man vvhich dieth; because the old mans troubles do end, vvhen he dieth, and the childs griefes and cares do begin when he is borne. Origen vpon saint Luke saith, To see holy Iesus weepe for his friend Lazarus, I maruell not, but to see him weep for the stones and walles of Hierusalem, maketh me to vvonder: for according vnto that which that vvicked ci­tie deserued for her enormious vices, it vvas a small punishment to beat downe her walles. Chrysostome saith, For the son of God to set himselfe to vveepe for the vvalles of the traiterous citie, and not consent [...]hat the daughters of Sion should vveepe for his holy passion, is so high, and so obscure a mysterie vnto me, that I leaue it vvith many other things vnto Gods diuine iudgement. What iudgment is able to conceiue, why holy Iesus should haue greater compassion of the vvalles, vvhich the Romanes should throw dovvne to the grou [...]d, than of his sacred members, which the Iews dravv through the streets?

S. Barnard vpon these vvords, Plorans plvrauit in nocte, saith; O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, doest thou make such small accompt of the losse of thy life, and of the shedding of thy holy bloud, that thou doest not cōsent, that they should vveep to see that thou doest not keepe one drop of thy bloud by another? and doest thou vveepe that there doth not remaine in Hierusa­lem [Page 153] one stone vpon an other? And he saith further, Doe not say vnto vs, O good Iesus, doe not say vnto vs, Do you not weep ouer me; for if thou do forbid vs to weep and sigh for thee, know well that we will beseech of thee, and make petition vnto God in thy presence, for if thou do set much by the stones of those pinacles, we do much more set by the bloud of thy pretious bowels. Why should not I esteeme much more of th [...] bloud which doth run from thy vaines, than of the stones of Ierusalem which thou dost weep for, seeing that within those excommunicated walles thou wast sold, & by the drops of thy bloud I was redeemed? We will say vnto thee, do not weepe, and not thou vnto vs, Nolite flere: for seeing that in thy holy body, there doth not remain one bone with another nor sinew with sinew, nor one haire with an other, nor of thy bloud, one drop with an other, it is greater reason that in Ierusalem, there should not remaine one stone vpon another, because that the citty, where there was such treason committed against our Lord, doth well deserue to be sunck with Sodom and Gomorra. Conclusit Dominus vias meas lapidibus quadratis, said the great Prophet Ieremie in his Lamentations, as if he would say, Going one day to the holy temple, I found that all his paths and waies were walled vp with great square stone, in so much that I was forced to turne back because I could go no farther. Agmon saith, What is the Temple vnto which we goe, but the glory which we do looke for? What is the way by which we do go, but the glory which we do look for? What is the way by which we do go, but the life which we do lead? What are the lime and stones which do shut this way against vs, but our affections and sins which suffer vs not to goe to heauen? Euen as the stone is of it own nature hard, heauie, and cold, so the traytor sinne, is cold in charity which it wanteth; & is hard with the obstinacy which it hath within; and is heauy seeing it doth cast vs into hell, in so­much that how many sins we commit, so many stones wee load our selues withall. It is to be waied, that Ieremie did not find the way shut vp with all kind of stones, but with great square stones, which kind of shutting vp is strong to vndoe, and very hard to break. That which Ieremie did lament, was, that euen as the stones which are round, may easily be rouled and put away with [Page 154] the foot, and those which are great and square, cannot be remoo­ued vvith the hands: so there are in the vvorld, some kind of sins and sinners, vvhich vvith one vvord of correction are amended, and there are others, vvhich vvith force of stripes giue not ouer their sins. Ierom vpon Ieremy saith: O hovv greatly it is expedi­ent for vs, that the stones of our faults be made round, that they may be rouled away, and not that they be square and not to be recouered; because that farre more easily a square stone may be moued out of his place, than one may recouer a sinfull soule out of sinne. Is not the soule, which is obstinate in sinne, a hard and a square stone, seeing we see that the dropping of a gutter doth cut and pearce the stone, and in a hardned heart, a holy inspiration doth worke nothing at all. With square stones he hath the way shut vp, who neither for entreatie nor threatning will goe out of sin, and that which is worst of all is, that when he should rid and vncomber the way which goeth to heauē, he findeth it euery day shut more and more, by heaping sin vpon sinne. Iudas the traitor and S. Peter the vngratfull, did both dam vp the way of heauen, but S. Peter with round stones, seeing he did repent, & Iudas with square stones, seeing he did dispaire. Cursed Cain did make vp the way of Herod with squarestones, when he said Maior est iniquitas mea quam vt veriam mereor. And Dauid with round light stones, when he said, Miserere mei deus. And therupon it riseth, that Da­uid hath continued a pattern of such as turne vnto God, and Cain a captiue of such as dispaire of Gods mercy. The Iewes had their hearts walled and mured vp with great square stones, when they said, Vati qui destues templum Dei, and the good theefe with light round stones when he said, Domine memento mei; & the fruit which they gathered of this was, that the good theefe went straight to paradise; and they were condemned into hell. O good Ie­sus, the loue of my soule, why doest thou weepe and bewaile the stones which in Ierusalem are fallen on the ground, and ma­kest no reckoning of the great square faults which lie in my soule? S. Barnard in a sermon saith, Leaue off O good Iesus, leaue off to bewaile the Hebrue walles, and weep, seeing thou wilt weep, my obdurate sinnes: for if thou diddest come into the world, it [Page 155] was not to dye for stones, but to redeeme soules; why dost thou weepe for Ierusalem, which is not yet besieged of the enemies, and why doost thou weepe for her, as if shee were downe, see­ing all her walles be sound and entire? weepe for me who am be­sieged of tempters, and make lamentation ouer me which am fallen into temptations; for if Ierusalem doe compare her walls with my sinnes, and if her old stones striue with my rustie faults, thou wilt rather feele my losse, than her fall: for without com­parison the bloud which thou doost shed for me, is more wor­thy than the teares which thou doost weepe for her. O who doth deserue to heare that voice, Non remanebit in te lapis super lapi­dum, because that for Christ to say, that there shall not remain in Ierusalem one stone vpon another, is to tell me and assure me, that there shall not remain in my soule one fault with ano­ther. When shall we say with truth, that there is no part of the wall standing, but when there doth not remain in the heart any sinne hidden? when are the stones of Ierusalem all beaten down, but when the faults of my soule are all amended? When doth our Lord weepe vpon the walls of my offences, but when with his grace he doth make them tender and soft, Following our first Prophet, it wanteth not a great mistery that Christ doth say on one side to the daughters of Sion, Do not weepe vpon me, and then said, Sed flete super vos: and to say they are contrary one to the other, were blasphemy, but in these two speeches his mea­ning was to let vs vnderstand, that it sufficeth not that wee weepe, but we must marke what we do weepe for, because the merit or demerit of our Lords death, doth not so much consist in shedding of many teares, as in the well or ill bestowing of them. Children do weepe enough when they be whipped, and theeues doe weepe when they are hanged, but the teares of such are not acceptable vnto God, nor gratefull vnto men, be­cause such do not weepe for the contrition which they haue of their sinnes, but for the griefe which they feele in their tor­ments. Teares enough did he shed, and sighes enough did king Antiochus giue, when he fell sicke in the mountaines of Persia, but he was not heard of God, nor pardoned of his [Page 156] sinnes, because that all the lamentations which he made in those mountaines, were not so much for the griefe and sorrow which he had of his offences, as for the wormes which went gnawing his intrails. As small account did God make of the teares which Acha did weepe, who was daughter of Caleph; because if she did weep and sigh, it was not because shee did know her selfe to bee a sinner, but because her father did not giue her the feeding pa­sture which was watred. Of these and the like teares what recko­ning wouldst thou that God should make? Vidi & ecce mulieres sedentes, & flentes Adonidem, saith the Prophet Ezechiel, cap. 8. as if he would say, Among al the naughtines which our Lord did shew me in Ierusalem, I saw certaine women in the temple, and thinking that all they, were weeping for the sinnes which they had committed against God, I found that they wept for nothing but for faire Adonis, which was dead. All the old poets did af­firme that the god of loue, was no other but faire Adonis, be­fore whom louers did laugh, when their loues had good successe, and also they wept before him, when their sweet loue did turne into bitter dolour and griefe.

It is much to be noted, that among all the abhominations, which Ezechiel laieth down, he setteth it down for the greatest, that the women durst weepe for him who was their god of loue: thereby to teach vs, that our Lord is much more offended, when we are sory that we cannot sinne, then when through negligence we be carelesse in seruing him. What other thing is it to weepe in the temple for the god of loue, but to weepe & sigh in religion, for the world and his pleasures? Our Lord was not so much dis­pleased to see those women sigh, as to see that they did it within the holy temple: wherof we may inferre, that if a man hath entred into a perfection of life, he doth sinne more who sigheth for vices, than the worldling which alwaies followed delight.

Simon de Cassia saith, Seeing that the daughters of Hie­rusalem, did weepe for that which Christ suffered, and the women in Ezechiel, did weepe for Adonis, whom they lo­ued, it is curiously to be noted, that he commaunded the one [Page 157] not to weepe for his dolours, and forbiddeth others to sigh for their loues, considering that the son of God sayth, Doe not you weepe ouer me, but weepe ouer your selues. It is reason that we know what is that, that our Lord commandeth vs to weepe, and what that also is for the which we should sigh, for oftentimes we doe laugh for that, which we should weep for, and at other times we doe weepe for that which we should laugh for. Barnard vpon the Canticles saith, I am determined not to laugh, vntill I may heare, venite benedicte, Come ye that are blessed; nor leaue off weeping, vntil I escape ite maledicte. S. Augustine in his Medita­tions sayth, When I heare or read that part of scripture which saith, Reioice & be glad because your names are writtē in heauē; I cannot chuse but be ioyfull & glad: and as soone as I heare or reade the other saying, which sayth, Narrow is the way which leadeth vnto heauē, I am neuer filled with weeping because that the pleasure which I take in knowing that I am regestred in the booke of heauen is dashed, when I heare that the way is straight and narrow. Seneca in his booke of anger saith, That which I haue to weepe I know well is my self, but that that I should laugh vn­till this hower I neuer could learne: for as in me there is nothing, which is not worthie to be lamented, so in the world there is no­thing which giueth me contentment: for what contentment or pleasure can I take of things past, seeing they are alreadie gone, nor of things present seeing they are all fraile and brittle, nor of things to come, seeing they are all vncertain? What pleasure can I take in this miserable life, considering that mine infancie is past in rashnes, my childhood in ignorance, my youth in rage, my mans estate in couetousnes, and mine old age in weakenesse? What ioy can reigne in my heart during this life, seeing that the end of it is nothing but the sepulchre? O what great reason our Lord had to say, Do ye not weep vpon me, sed flete super vos, because the hast which we make to sin is so great, that there remaineth little time to weepe and bewaile so many sinnes. Weepe vpon thy selfe O my soule, weepe vpon thy selfe, O my heart, seeing that our good Iesus first will that thou haue vpon thy selfe compassion before thou weepe his passion, for otherwise if thou doe not amend thee of thy sin, it will not profit thee at all that he hath suffered.

CHAP. XXVI. Of many notable dispositions of this text, Nolite flere super me: & that we may al say with Dauid, Ego sum qui peccaui: and that a good death should not be lamented, but a naughtie life.

EGo sum qui peccaui, ego qui inique egi, ista autem oues quid fecerunt, These are the words of the renowned king Dauid, when the striking angell did slay seuentie thou­sand in one day of the people of Israell, not for that that the people had committed, but for that which Dauid had sin­ned. And his meaning in that speech was, I am he O great God of Israell, I am he, who haue sinned against thee, it is I and no o­ther who haue offended thee, turne then thy rigourous hand a­gainst me who am culpable, and not against the people which is innocent, for like vnto simple sheepe they doe suffer that which they deserue not. The ground of this busines was, that king Da­uid did command all the twelue tribes of Isarell to be numbred and regestred, to the end he might know what people he had to goe to the war, and serue the common-wealth. And because the good king did this more for curiosity than for necessitie, our Lord was very angrie with him, because it did belong to the dutie of a king to know what they were, and not how many they were. For this numbring of the people which king Dauid did of his subiects of Israell, the angell did kill seuentie thousand of them, and it is to be beleeued that he would haue slaine more, if good king Da­uid had not remedied it with force of tears. Origen vpon this place saith, The people ought to pray very much that God would giue them a good king, and the king should also pray that God would giue him good people, seeing that oftentimes God doth punish the king for the sins of the people, and sometimes the people for the sins of the king. For the sins of the people, king Sedechias was carried into Babilon, and for the sins of king Roboam Israell depar­ted from the great tribe of Iuda, insomuch that euen as the bodie is not in good health, when the head complaineth of the mem­bers, so the kingdome is not well gouerned when the king and [Page 159] kingdome be not vertuous.

The deepe iudgments of our Lord are much to be marked in this place, seeing that Dauid hauing sinned, he did punish his peo­ple, and he remained without any punishment at all, in so much that according vnto mans iudgement, our Lord tooke away the liues from those which were in no fault, and did pardon him who had wel deserued the gibbet. What iustice is this, O great God of Israell, what iustice is this? Who dare say of thee O Lord, that thou art iust, & rectum iudicium tuum, if thou doest let goe those which are faultie, and condemne the innocent? The sinne which Dauid committed in regestring his kingdome, wilt thou that the kingdome pay for, considering it was done by their owne king? Answering vnto this, we say, that our Lord is not only iust, but al­so his iudgement is right, and in the execution of that iustice, our Lord did iniustice to neither part, for if he did kill seuentie thou­sand of the people, for some other cause they had deserued it.

Chrisostome vpon S. Mathew saith, Because our Lord doth pu­nish wicked men with an euill will, he doth oftentimes dissemble their punishment a long time, sometime he doth punish out of hand, sometime he doth remit it vnto the other world, and some­time in publike punishments he doth chastise secret sins. And he sayth farther, The Lord doth vse great mercie with those whom he doth punish within others, seeing that in punishing them pub­lickly he doth absolue them of the fault, and in not making ma­nifest their faults, he doth keepe their honour and credit. Vpon these words of the prophet, Percutiam & ego sanabo, S. Augustine sayth, The difference betwixt Gods punishment & mans punish­ment is, that when God doth punish, God is satisfied, the offender amēded, the sin pardoned, the people counselled, Heauē opened, hel shut, the world dispatched, thy brother exhorted, and the di­uel ashamed. The diuel is much greeued with that that our Lord doth punish here in this world with his merciful hand, because he whom he leaueth vnpunished here, goeth afterward into hell to suffer pain. Let no man intermeddle himselfe betwixt God which punisheth, & man which is punished for if God do punish him, & not discouer why he doth it, it is because the Lord doth vse great clemencie with him, because there are some sins so wicked and so [Page 160] filthie in this world, that a sinner would be glad, that our Lord would secretly double his punishment, rather than they should be openly knowen vnto all men.

Gregorie vpon the Psalme saith, When the prophet doth say, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiuen, and whose sins are couered, he doth not call those happie who haue their sins hid­den, but those which are not defamed by them: and herevpon it is that our Lord vsing his goodnes towards vs, doth fulfill his iu­stice in punishing of vs, and doth vse his mercie in not discouering vs. What doth all this make to the people why our Lord did kill seuentie thousand of the people? What reasonable excuse may be giuen to excuse that great slaughter, seeing it is certaine that those seauentie thousand did suffer, and yet we know not one only offence committed by them, for the Lord to ssey such a great multitude of Israelits, ought not to be attributed to rigorous iustice, but to Gods benignity and mercy, for if the Lord would haue brought into light al the sins which they had committed a­gainst him, it might be that the people would haue stoned them to death. Seneca in his booke of Clemencie sayth, O how many things God doth know, which men know not! O how many inso­lent deeds he doth beare which men would not suffer! and from hence it is, that if al the naughtines which naughtie men commit should be punished to the vttermost of rigour, there would ra­ther want gibbets to hang them, than offenders to deserue them. Notwithstanding that those seauentie thousand men were euell and noughtie sinners before the Lord, yet in such order he did moderate his iustice with clemencie, that if the angell did take a­way their liues, he did not at all preiudice their credits. Now that the Israelits were slain for their secret sins, what is the reason that king Dauid remaineth vnpunished, his sin being so open and scan­dalous? Truly king Dauid was not without punishment, and that a greuous punishment, for if the angel did strike the people in the bodie, he strooke Dauid in the heart, for how many there died there for his cause, so many thrusts they gaue him in the heart, most gratious king Dauid bieng as he was, of his owne nature meeld and pittiful, seeing so many dead people brought out of their houses, and hearing so many cries by the streets, it is to be [Page 161] beleeued that the good king would rather haue ben carried with the dead men to be buried than to haue heard so many greeuous complaints and cries with his ears. With a lowd crie and in pub­licke place, thy did all aske a reuenge of God, of king Dauid; say­ing that that great slaughter came only through his fault: by rea­son whereof the good king had great compassion on those which were dead, and on the other side saw himselfe in great confusion with those which were aliue. The sinfull king did die with those which he saw to die, and did weepe with all those which he saw weepe, and did burie himselfe with all those which he saw buri­ed, insomuch that if to others they buried their dead bodies, to him they buried his heart aliue. Agmon in his glosse sayth, In that great day of reuenge, the Lord did take a greater reuenge­ment of Dauid in giuing him his life, then in giuing him death: for if the Lord would suddainly haue slaine him, he should haue di­ed but one death, but because he slew all the other before his face, of so many deaths he tasted, as he saw neighbours buried. Whē great king Dauid said, ego sum qui peccaui, he did very plain­ly ask of God, that he would take his life from him, and made himselfe clearly the author of that fault: and herevpon it is, that none of those which died there, did so much greeue the losse of his life, as Dauid did to see that they lost it for his cause. O with what great reason we may say thou art iust, O Lord, and thy iudg­ment is right, seeing the Lord vsed great clemencie with the peo­ple in taking away their life, and leauing their credit, and great mercie with Dauid in giuing him his life, now that it touched him in his honour. Comming then vnto our purpose, the words which king Dauid spake, Ego sum qui peccaui, the selfe same words the daughters of Ierusalem might haue said in their own names, & in their husbands also & ours, seeing that he suffered for our sins on­ly: for if the son of God had found no sins in the world, he should neuer haue knowne what torments had been. It is now to be knowen that sins and torments are very old freinds, and doe like very neere brothers go alwaies coupled. What angell is there in heauen, or what man is there on earth, which is able to seperate the punishment from the fault, the reward from the merit, a foole from the world, a peruerse fellow from his will, the diuell from [Page 162] sin, and sin from hell? S. Augustine in his confessions sayth, Euen as a thorne fastened in the foot, doth alwaies greeue vntill it be pul­led out, so the sin in the soule is neuer at any time at rest vntill contrition and tears doe cast him out: whereof it riseth that if the sorrowfull soule had a tongue, as the mouth hath, she would tell you alowd, That with so many dolours and greifes she is tormen­ted, as she is with sins loaded. For Christ to say vnto the daugh­ters of Sion, Weepe not vpon me; is to say plainly vnto them, that they weepe not the death which he doth suffer, but that they weepe for themselues who are cause of that which he doth suf­fer: insomuch that according vnto this rule, we should haue grea­ter compassion on the poore man which doth ill, than on him which doth suffer for it. According vnto this holy sentence, We should not weepe for the death of Abel, but for the enuie of Cain; nor the captiuitie of Ioseph, but the malice of his brother; nor the persecution of Dauid, but the enuie of Saul; nor the banishment of Elias, but the wickednes of Iesabell; nor the sawing of Esayas, but the crueltie of Manasses. Maximus in one of his sermons of the saints saith, When thou shalt heare talke of the great martyr­dome, which the martyrs haue past through, thou shouldst enuy them; and on the tyrants which did martyr them haue great pi­tie: because the torments of the saints had an end in one houre, but the punishment of the tyrants indure vntill this day. Origen vpon this place sayth, When Christ said Nolite flere super me, but vpon your selues, he would tell vs and aduise vs that we haue i­nough for our selues to weepe, without sighing for the death of Christ, for he taketh greater pleasure if we wiil weepe for our owne sins, than to sigh for his torments. Barnard sayth, If the tor­ments which the Iewes gaue Christ were compared with the sins which Christians doe at this day commit, for my owne part I thinke, that our holy Lord doth more greeue to see vs sin, than to see his flesh suffer.

Leo in a sermon sayth, Being a certaine rule, that in that which we doe most of all loue, we doe most of all fix our eies, it is to be beleeued that if the sonne of God should rather haue loued his flesh than our soules, that he would rather haue suffered vs to die with our sins, than endure so many torments for vs, but because [Page 163] our damnation did greeue him more than his passion, he would rather suffer in his bodie great torments, then see any sins in our soules.

S. Augustine sayth, Because the son of God by these words, Doe not weep ouer me; doth vnbind thee for weeping for him: & by thes words, But weep vpō your selues; doth bind thee to weep for thy self, I am of opinion that thou shouldst first bewaile thine owne offences, and afterward that thou busy thy selfe in weeping for his wounds, because out Lord doth much more reioyce to see thy soule vnburdened of sinnes, than to see thine eies loaden with tears. Remigius sayth, O what a high sentence this is when Christ said, Nolite flere super me; because that if he should haue suf­fered for himselfe, it seemeth it had ben reason that he should haue wept for himselfe, but seeing he doth suffer, not for his of­fences but for mine, why should I shead tears but for them?

Basill the great saith, Seeing the son of God doth say vnto the daughters of Ierusalem, Do not weepe vpon me, but vpon your selues; thou oughtst my brother, giue ouer weeping & begin to a­mēd, because it doth far better please our Lord, that thou giue no cause to weep, than to see thee as thou doest weep. Aymon saith, What other thing would our Lord say, when he said, Doe not weep for me, but only sinne not, that thou maist haue occasion to laugh before me? In heauen they sigh not but laugh, they weepe not but sing, they are not sad but merrie, neither doe they for all this giue ouer to be holy and happie: for to conclude, our Lord would rather see vs leaue off to sin, thā see vs begin to weep. Vp­on these words of the Apocalip, absterget deus omnem lachrymam, Venerable Bede sayth, What other thing is it for our Lord to dry the teares from the eies of his elect, but to giue them his holy grace, because they should commit no more sins. And doest not thou know that the eies could neuer haue knowne how to weep, if men had neuer knowne how to sin? Vntill man began to sin, he neuer knew what it was to weepe: and from hence it commeth, that because in heauen there are no faults, they know not there what tears are. S. Ierome to Priscilla sayth, To say, doe not weepe vpon me, but vpon your selues; is to tell vs very plainly, that we should haue greater compassion on the wicked which liue, than [Page 164] on the good which die, seeing that good men if they die, they die to goe vnto rest, and naughtie men if they liue, they liue to be af­terward in greater punishment, insomuch that Christ doth forbid vs to weepe a good death, and doth bind vs to weep a naughtie life. What other thing would Christ say, when he said, nolite flere super me, but only weepe not for my death which is so glorious, but weepe for your life which is so wicked and peruerse.

Who can better say than I, ego sum qui peccaui, in seeing that I am the theefe which made the theft, and doe they put thee, O good Iesus, on the tree for the fact? I am he who haue sinned, see­ing I haue ventred on that which is forbidden, & aske they thee for the theft? and being the murderer, accuse thee of murder, & hauing raised the mutenie, paiest thou for the treason? If I be he who haue sinned, what should thy holy members pay for my sins? If my eies haue looked vpon the tree which was forbidden, why doe they shut vp thine and leaue mine open? If with mine owne feet I went into the garden which was forbidden, and with my owne hands haue cut of the fruit: why doe they put thee and not me vpon the gibbet? And doest thou not know, O Lord, that if there had ben no sin in this world, there should be no hell in the other? And if it be true, that if we had not knowne first how to sin, we should not haue knowne after what it was to suffer. Why diddest thou, O good Iesus, accustome thy self to suffer torments, not hauing tried first what were sinnes? Vnto me who knoweth how to sin, to me & not vnto thee it belongeth to suffer, for other­wise in thee al order of iustice is peruerted, seeing that thou doest consent that there should be punishment there where there did goe no sin before. Seeing it is I who haue sinned, and I who haue done euilly, why doest thou seperate and deuide that which was alwaies together, that is the offence and the punishment, the theefe and the gallowes, the murtherer and the sword, the sinne and the paine due for it.

CHAP. XXVII. How Christ did compare himselfe vnto the greene tree, and the synagogue vnto the dry tree: and of a very high tree which Ezechiell maketh mention of, whose figure is declared at large.

SI in ligno viridi hoc fit, in sicco autem quid fiet? These are the words of the son of God, spoken vnto the daughters of Sion, when he was go­ing vnto the mount of Caluarie, as if he would say, O daughters of Ierusalem, O neighbours of Sion, weepe for your selues and let me a­lone: for if they haue cut me off, and rent me in peeces, who am a greene tree profitable and also fruitfull, what will become of the drie tree which beareth no fruit at all? This is a very graue sentence which our Lord vttereth in this place, and therfore we purpose to stay somewhat vpon it. In holy scrip­ture always good men are compared vnto good trees, and naugh­tie men vnto naughtie trees, and in this consideration in Luke the 13. Christ did curse the fig tree which bare no fruit, and in Deu­tron. the 20. God did forbid to cut a tree which brought forth fruit; so that when the son of God said, Lignum aridum & lignum viride, he spake not of the trees which grewe in the mountaines, but of men which dwelled amōg the people. Homo est arbor euer­sa, said the philosopher, as if he would say, A man is nothing else but a tree planted the contrary way, in which the roote is the head, the stocke the bodie, the bowes the arms, the rind the skin, the soule the sap, and good works the fruit. S. Augustine vpon S. Iohn saith, In the terrestriall Paradise, there were three kind of trees, to wit, lignum cibi, lignum vitae & lignū scientiae boni & ma­li, insomuch that of the tree of meat they were to eat, but of the tree of knowledge they ought not to touch, and with the tree [Page 166] which was called the tree of life, they should become yong again. To the likenes of these three trees of Paradise, the sonne of God did carrie other three trees vnto the mount of Caluarie, that is to say, the crosses of the theeues which were two, and the crosses on which he suffered which were three: and because the figure should answere vnto the truth, we will say that the greene tree was that whereon the good theefe did saue himselfe, and the drie tree was it whereon the noughtie theefe did loose himselfe, and the tree of life was the crosse with the which Christ our sauiour did redeeme vs. What can we say more in this case; but that of three trees which Adam had in his garden, it was one only which brought him death; and of three trees which Christ had on the mount of Caluarie, it was only one which gaue vs life. O how far better the trees were which the son of God did nourish in the donghill of Caluarie, than those which Adam mainteined in his Paradise, because the tree of life, which was the holy crosse, he did compas with his body, water with his bloud, hedge with his thorns, defend with his lance, tell with his nailes, and moisten with his tears. Adam was a very bad gardener, seeing in Paradise he did let his trees drie, and Christ a very good gardener, seeing that in the donghill of Caluary he made his trees to flourish and be greene, insomuch that in Adam his hands was the drie tree of our perdition, and in the hands of Christ the greene ttee of our saluation. Vidi & ecce arbor in medio terrae, altitudo eius iurie, folia eius pulcherrima fructus eius nimius. These are the words of great king Nabuchadnezzar telling a dreame which he saw by night, the 4 of Daniell, as if he would say, I Nabuchadnezzar did dreame one night that I did see a very high tree, whose leaues were very beautifull, his fruit very sauerous, vnder his shadow vvere all kind of liuing beasts, and on his bowes all the birdes made their nests. We should not goe much awry in saying, that the son of God is this tree, seeing that in the booke of Canticles he is called, Arbor fici, and in the gospell of S. Iohn, Vitis vera; and in the Apocalips, lignum vitae; and in the mount of Caluarie lignum viride, inso­much that he who is compared vnto so many trees, may of vs without iniury be called a tree. For the scripture to say that that tree did stand in the middle of the earth, is to let vs vnderstand [Page 167] that as of that which standeth in the middest of a market place, euery man equally hath the sight, so the sonne of God would re­deeme vs in Ierusalem which is the middest of the world, be­cause euery man should equally and alike enioy that so profita­ble a fruit. S. Ierome vpon the Psalme sayth, It wanteth not a my­sterie that the sonne of God would die in the mount of Caluarie, which is a place scituated in the middest of the world, and not in the West or East, least he should haue seemed rather to redeem some than othersome. In the middest of all the world Nabuchad­nezzar did see a tree which reached vnto heauen, and in the midst of the mount of Caluary stood the tree which redeemed all the world, and the reason was, that because he was to redeeme all men, it was conuenient that he should put himselfe where all the world might see him. Quinque sicles redimatur filius pauperi & diuites, said God in Leuit. as if he would say, Whereas all the first borne children be mine, after that I haue slaine all the first borne in Aegipt, if any man will redeeme his son which he shall present in the temple, he shall giue for him fiue sickles of gold: and in case of redemption there shall no more be giuen for the son of the poore th [...] [...]or the sonne of the rich. For God to com­mand in the law, that the rich and the poore should be raunso­med alike, is one of the greatest secrets which we read of, and one of the greatest misteries which we preach. Origen vpon Leuit. To cōmand that the redemption of the poore should be as great as that of the rich, although we confesse that God may command it, there is no literall reason to know why God should so com­mand it, and thereupon it is that in all scripture how much lesse sence there is in the letter, then so much more higher is the sence spirituall: and how much lesse reason there is in declaring the let­ter, then so much the greater are the secrets of the scripture. For the law of Moyses to commaund that with like price should be ransomed the eldest son of a knight, and the son of a poor heard­man was to teach vs, that with the like bloud in quantitie, the son of God was to redeem the great & small, rich and poore, friends and enemies, and also the dead and the liue. One man may well exceed another in being more rich, more noble, more valerous, and also more vertuous then another, but he shall not exceed [Page 168] him in being redeemed with better bloud than he. S. Augustine writing to Dardanus sayth: I see well, O Dardanus, that thou doest esteeme litle of me, although I make great accoūt of thee, and it is because thou art yong and I old, wise & I vndiscreet, rich and I poore, and also more vertuous than I am; yet neuerthelesse I will denie thee that thou hast a better God than I, or a better law, or a better redeemer than I: for in case of redemption, our Lord did it so equally among all men, that I will not confesse any aduantage in thee, nor any superiority in me. So far without affection, and without all passion, good Iesus did bestow and de­uide for all men all his holy bloud, that one only drop will as well benefit all the world, as a whole pitcherfull will doe good vnto one man alone. O good Iesus O the redeemer of my soule, wher­with shall I pay thy clemencie and with what shall I satisfie thy goodnes, for not sheading better bloud for all thy elect, then thou diddest for my sins alone? Cyrillus vpon those words, Sanguis eius sit super nos sayth, To more O you Iewes, to more than vnto you alone and your children doth the bloud of Christ extend, seeing he died as well for those which went before vs, as for those which are present, or those which are to c [...], for he will shed as much bloud for one only man which he [...]l redeeme, as for an hundred vvorlds which his will is to saue. To what end, O good Iesus, to vvhat end would I haue wealth, or hope for any inheri­tance in the goods of this world, seeing that I am alreadie made heire of thy precious bloud, and redeemed vvith thy glorious death? Why should not I esteeme very much of my selfe seeing thou hast shead as much bloud for me alone, as thou hast done for all the whole world? Barnard vnto this purpose sayth, O my good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, doe not I happily owe thee as much as all the vvorld doth owe thee, seeing that I haue cost thee as much blood as al they haue done? To plant the tree then in the middest of the earth, was a figure that Christ did die indif­ferently for all men: and from hence it riseth that in the deuision which our Lord made among his elect, of his blessed charity, and of his holy humility, and of his great obedience, and of his incom­parable patience, although he did better one more then ano­ther, yet at the time that he would bestow his pretious bloud, [Page 169] he did deuide it equally and redeeme vs all alike. The second propertie of that tree was, that his bowes were so high, that the ends of them did seeme to touch the heauen, in so much that nei­ther the eie could looke so high nor the hand reach thē. By the high bowes of that tree, are signified the most high iudgements of God, the which no humaine vnderstanding is able to conceiue, nor yet the angels reach vnto, but like vnto Christians we are bound to beleeue them, and like sinners to feare them.

Quis coguouit sensum domini, aut quis consiliarius eius, sayth the Apostle, as if he would say, Our Lord being as he is so profound in his iudgements, and so close in his counsels, who hath euer rea­ched vnto his secrets, or who euer durst giue him counsell? Bede vpon the Apostle sayth, The greatest temeritie in this world is, to aske for an acccount of that which God doth, or dare to iudge why he doth it, for we are so small in his sight, that if he giue vs leaue to serue him, yet he will not license vs to counsell him. It is most certaine that neither the Seraphins that are in heauen, nei­ther the holy men which are vpon the earth, can attaine vnto his diuine iudgements, nor giue a reason of his deepe secrets, for al­though we see euery day a thousand nouelties which he doth, yet no man can iudge why he doth them. Quis cognouit sensum do­mini, when he did accept of the presents which Abel gaue him, and scorned the sacrifices which Cain did offer him? Who did know his counsell when of the two sons of the great partriarke I­sac, which were yet in the wombe of their mother Rebecca, he did loue Iacob, and hate Esau? Who knew his counsell when on one side he brought the children of Israell out of Aegipt, and after­ward slew them all in the desert? Who did know the meaning of the Lord, seeing that the good theefe did saue himself with three houres seruice, and wicked Iudas condemne himselfe with three yeares Apostleship? All these things are such high iudgements, and such profound secrets, that neither the angels can attaine vnto, nor men determine of, because that all which God doth in the gouernment of his creatures is of that qualitie, that we are bound to praise them, but not licensed to iudge them. O good Ie­sus, O the loue of my soule, seeing that I cannot goe vp to the [Page 170] tree, nor touch his highnesse, I beseeche thee giue me leaue to take hold of one onely bough of thy mercy, for I desire no more of thy high iudgements, but that my poore seruices may bee accepted of thee. As one did aske of the antient Ansenias why hee did thunder out so many sighes in the fieldes, and water the desert with so many teares, the holy old man aunswered him: When I remember howe Esau the infant, was reprooued in his mothers wombe, and howe miserable Iudas in the company of Christ was cast away, and how Christ saith, That the way vnto heauen is narrow and straight, and that I know not what shall become of my soule, there can no mirth raigne in my heart.

S Barnard in a sermon saith, I feare so much O good Iesus, I feare so much thy high iudgements, and thy profound secrets, yea that doing good works, I feare whether I shalbe accepted by thee. S. Augustine in his confessions saith; I knowe not O Lord, whether I be worthy of thy grace, or whether I be in thy dislike: that which I know certainly, is, that as no euill worke shalbe vnpunished, so no good worke shalbe vnrewarded, be­cause thou art iust O Lord, Et rectum iudicium tuum. And he saith farther. Seing that the prophet doth sing of thee, Thou art iust O Lord, and thy iudgement is right, I do determine with my selfe, rather to be good than bad, because that thy mercy is as much bound to reward me the good which I shall doe, as I am bound to thy iustice to pay the euill which I shall commit.

The third propertie which the tree had, which Nabucadono­sor sawe in his dreame was, that he was very full of leaues, and that, very faire and precious leaues, in somuch that the leaues of that tree, were better then the fruit of any other tree.

Euen as in holy scripture, by the tree is vnderstood Christ, and by the floures his holy intentions, and by the fruits his good works; so by the leaues are vnderstood his glorious words, the which are of such great maiestie, and excellency, that for to heare one word of Christ, all the holy gouernance, and hierar­chie of heauen, would come to the earth.

Folium eius non defluet, & omnia quaecunque faciet prosperabūtur, saith the Psalmist speaking of the words which Christ spake, and of the works which he did: as if he would say, When he shall [Page 171] come into the world who is desired of all nations, and when the heire of eternities shall take flesh, he shalbe like vnto the tree which is planted by streams of waters, whose leaues shall neuer fall, and whose fruit shall alwaies remaine: For the prophet to say that in the holy tree, there did neuer fall leafe, is to say, that there did neuer proceed euill word, out of the mouth of Christ, because the sonne of God, did liue with such puritie in this life, that all the angels which shall ioine to examine it, shall finde nothing in his works to amend, nor in his words to correct.

Howe should they find any thing to amend in his works, or to correct in his words, seeing it is hee alone, and no other, who doth reward or punishe all our works, and who doth allowe or condemne all our words? Vpon these words, Domine quo ibimus quia verba vitis habes, S. Chrisost. doth say: Of thee O good Ie­sus, of thee and of no other it may be said, that thou hast the words of life, because, that before that thou diddest come a­mong vs, all did tremble to die, but since that thou diddest come into the world, thy martyrs doe as easily and readily offer themselues to die, as the hands to eat.

Thou hast the words of life O good Iesus, thou hast the words of life, seeing that thou diddest neuer speake word, which was not sweet to heare, full of mistery to vnderstand, profound to me­ditate on, true to beleeue, chast to allowe, pittifull to comfort, and also very profitable to imitate.

Non sic impii non sic. Seeing that of all others besides thy selfe, we will say, that the idle and superfluous words, which fall from them, are more then the honest and profitable, which they speake.

According vnto this saying, His leafe shal not fall, Christ said, also, that the heauen and earth shal passe, but my words shall not passe.

As if he would say. Do not make such small estimation of the words which I speake vnto you, nor skoffe not at the sermons which I make in the temple, for I let you vnderstand, that it shal be more easier for the heauen and the earth to end, than for one of my words not to be fulfilled.

Remigius vpon these words saith, O what a great comfort it is [Page 172] vnto the good, and what a feare vnto the nought, to heare this terrible sentence of our Lord, seeing that by it he doth giue vs his credit and his hand, to pay vs very well the seruices which we shall do for him, and that we shall also pray vnto him, for the naughtines which we shall commit against him, in somuch that we are certaine, that he will fulfill all that which he hath promi­sed vs, and also punish vs of all that which he hath admonished vs.

S Ierom vpon Ezechiell saith, For my owne part I beleeue, that the greatest part of those which damne themselues, do it because they giue no credit vnto the words of Christ, or because they do not beleeue that Christ spake thē, and because they be­leeue that which they ought to skoffe at, & skoffe at that which they ought to beleeue, they neuer open their eies, vntill they finde themselues dampned in hell.

CHAP. XXVIII. In this Chapter he followeth the figure, which he spake off before in the Chapter going before: with other curious matters ta­ken out of the holy scripture.

FOlia eius pulcherrima, est fructus eius nimius, saith Ezechi­el in the figure which wee touched before, as if hee wold say, The fourth qualitie which the tree had, that Nabuchadnezzar saw, was, that it was loaden with fruit, and that the fruit of it was wonderfull sauourous, and that there was such aboundance of it, that it was enough to maintaine al the liuing creatures of the earth.

We shal raise no false witnesses vpon the scripture to say, that the fruit of that tree was no other thing, but the woonderfull works which Christ did, the which were so many in num­ber, and in merit so glorious, that no tongue of man is able [Page 173] to reckon them, nor all the angels to magnifie them. Quam mag­nificata sunt opera tue, domine, nimis profunda sunt cogitatione tua, said renowned king Dauid, as if he would say, O how powerable thou doest shew thy selfe in the workes which thou doest take in hand, and how magnificent thou doest proue thy self in the cour­tesies which thou doest bestow, & how profound thou doest trie thy selfe in thy thoughts, and how intelligible thou doest make thy selfe in thy knowledge, and also of what great patience thou doest vaunt thy selfe, in the patience which thou doest possesse Cassiodorus vpō these words saith, Very high & sumptuous, & ve­ry profound also are all the works of God, seeing there is nothing in the heauen which he hath not made, nor worke in the earth which he hath not created: and from hence it riseth that if he giue vs leaue to enioy all the works vvhich he hath made, yet he hath not giuen vs license that we should create or make any of them. Cyrillus sayth, The title and surname of Lord, the name of Creator, the name of a true Redeemer: these three names God would reserue vnto himselfe, and not bestow vpon any person, and therupon it commeth, that if now all the angels of heauen would ioine themselues together, & all the men in the world, & all the diuels likewise of hell, they could not be able to create one frog vvhich should croake, nor make one flie which should flee. Not vvithout a great misterie did the prophet say that the workes of God were very prowd & sumptuous, & immediatly after, that his thoughts were exceeding profound, to let vs thereby vnderstand that when we shal see our Lord to vse with some his mercie, and with others his iustice, we venter not our selues to ask the reason, nor seek out the cause vvhy he doth it, seeing that such workes as those, doe belong to the deapth of his vvisdome & to his sole de­uine and eternall predestination. Nimis profundet sunt cogitationes eius, seeing he doth giue vnto the good greater glory then he did owe them, and vnto the vvicked lesser punishment then they did deserue, in so-much that he is not seuere in that which he doth punish, nor carelesse in that vvhich he vvil reward. O quam magni­ficata sunt opera tua domine, considering that not being asked by any thou hast created vs, without that any did deserue it thou hast redeemed vs, and not being entreated thou hast adopted vs, and [Page 174] vvithout any seruices of vs going before, thou hast made vs thy heirs. In such an vngratfull people who but thou hath euer vsed such great mercie? Are not thy cogitations profound, considering that thou diddest disinherit thy owne son of his merits, and spoile vs of sins, to load vpon him our sinnes, and giue vs the heritage of his merits? Vpon those words of the Apostle, Quanto tempore hae­res paruulus est, Hilarius sayth, For the Apostle to call thee as he doth, an heire, I know not, O good Iesus, what thou didst inhe­rit in this world, if it were not of men weakenes, of the Iewes en­uie, of the diuels malice, of Herod a gowne, of Pilat a crowne, of Ioseph a shrowd, and of Nichodemus a graue. Who but we are the heirs of thy glorie, and vvhom but thy Christians hast thou pla­ced in thy church, and vnto whom but vnto thy elect hast thou giuen the fruit of thy pretious bloud? O quam magnificata sunt o­pera tua domine? seeing that the pretious bloud vvhich thou didst shead, thou diddest not shead for the blessed angels, because in them there was no sin, thou diddest not shead it for the damned diuels, because of them thou diddest not hope for any amend­ment, neither diddest thou shead it for beasts, because they were not capable of glorie, but thou diddest shead it only for sinners such as I am, vvhich hope and looke for thy mercie. To say that the tree had her fruit very high, and to say that our Lord is very excellent, and that he thinketh much on that which he doth, be­fore he doth it, is to giue vs to vnderstand, that the works of God are so high, that we cannot giue condigne thanks for them, and so deep and profound, that we be not able to vnderstand them. The fift propertie of the tree which Nabuchadnezzar saw, was, that at the foot of it all liuing creatures did rest themselues, and vnder his shadow defend themselues, in so much that no liuing creature had any more life then was cherished and fostred vnder that sha­dow. Before all things it is to be presupposed and beleeued, that in scripture the shadow is nothing else, but that vvhich by another name we call grace, vnder vvhich we all liue, and liue at rest, and are meruelously refreshed. When shall we truely say that we are at rest vnder his shadow, but vvhen vve are protected by his ho­ly grace? Defend vs vnder the shadovv of thy vvings, saith the prophet, Psalme 19, as if he vvould say, Although there be many [Page 175] trees in the world to recreat vs with, and many shadowes to re­tire our selues, yet I will seeke for no other shadowes for my selfe, but the shadowes of thy holy wings, vnder the which O great God of Israel, I beseech thee, that thou wouldest draw me, and alwaies vnder thy shadow protect me.

Seeing it is true that God is a spirit, & hath no flesh, nor bones to hinder his going, why vvill he haue vvings like vnto birds, to flie? Basil vpon the Psalmes saith, The wings vvith which God doth flie, are nothing else but the loue and feare with the which he doth gouern all the vvorld, and then he doth put vs vnder the shadowe of these winges, vvhen he doth giue vs grace to de­serue his mercy, and knowledge to feare his iustice. It is much to be noted, that the Prophet doth not content himselfe vvith the shadowe of one vving, but of both, therby to teach vs, that they ought to go both together, ioyned in our hearts, his loue vvith his feare, and his feare vvith his loue: for we ought not so much to hope in his mercy, that we should be carelesse to serue him; nor yet so much to discomfort our selues of his clemency, that vve should dispaire of it. Caine vvas shaded vnder the wing of feare, vvhen he said, My iniquitie is greater than that I may de­serue pardon; and the Pharisie also vvas vnder the vving of feare, vvhen he said, I am not like vnto other men: insomuch that be­cause they vvould not shroud themselues vnder both his wings, they deserued to loose their miserable soules. S. Barnard saith vpon these words, Qui habitat: O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, if thou shouldest not defend vs vnder the shadow of thy vvinges, vvho could be able to resist the persuasions of the di­uell, the appetite of the fleshe, the vanities of the world, the mallice of men, and so many kinds of sundry temptations? What should haue become of all the glorious Martyrs, if in their tor­ments they had not ben protected vnder the shade of thy wings? Vnder the shade of thy wings I do put my life, O good Iesus, & vnder the shade of thy wings I do also cōmend my soule, for if I vvere not retired vnder thy vvings, hovv is it possible that my life should not be vvasted, and my soule condemned? The last condition which the tree had, which Nabuchadnezzar saw, was, that all the birds in the vvorld, had their nests in it. Insomuch [Page 176] that the greatnes of that tree was such, that vnder his shade all beasts might passe the heate of the day, and in the toppe of his boughes al birdes might rest and breed. We shall not say a misse to say, that the high tree is our Christ, the nestes which are in it, our hearts, the egges which we lay there are our desires, and the yoong ones which we drawe thence, are the good woorks which we do: in such sort that then we make our nests in that holy tree, when in the wounds of Christ, are lodged all our desires. Quasi a­quila ponens in arduis nidum suum, saith holy Iob speaking of a ver­tuous and good man, as if he would say, O how happy the soule is which serueth our Lord, the which like vnto an angell placeth and buildeth her nest, in the highest part of the tree, where shee may securely, and without feare lay her egges and bring vp her little ones, not fearing the striking or spurning of any beast nor yet that any man can reach vnto them.

What is the highest tree in all the world, but the true crosse of the sonne of the liuing God, vpon which our soules were re­deemed, and the seats of the angels restored? who was the Eagle which first made his nest in that tree, but the sonne of God when he was crucified vpon it? What other thing is it for the sonne of God to build his nest, in the highest part of the tree, but to suffer more torments than all the world did suffer? It is not lawfull for Pagans Heretiks and Iewes, to make their nests in this tree, seeing they deny the sacraments, and withdrawe them-selues from beeing Christians: because it is impossible that there should be any good worke, where the faith of him which doth it is nought.

S. Barnard vpon the canticles saith, birds are wont to make their nests, either in high trees, or in open holes, which is found to be true rather in Christ then in any other place, seeing he hath his head couered with thornes, and his body full of holes, made with nailes.

Where may you better, then among those holy thornes, and in the holes of those wounds O my soule, build the neast of your good purposes, & put in executiō your holy desires? O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, who can be so acceptable vnto thee, & so f [...]liar with thee that he should deserue to make so holy a nest [Page 177] in thy woundes, and liue hard by thee, and die vnder thy shade? would it not be wholsomer counsel for me, to die in the holes of thy dolours, than to liue in the nestes of my loues & pleasures? In the nests of my sorrowfull loues I liue, when I loue not thee, but my selfe, O sweete Iesus; and in thy dolours I liue, when in thee and not in my selfe I thinke, in somuch that such is the nest in which I liue, as is the loue in which I imploy my selfe.

If my heart be occupied in thee, it is certaine that it liueth, but in thee; but if it be busied in any other, we will say that it doth not liue but in an other, because that euery sorrowfull heart doth liue more sweetlier in that which he doth loue, then in him-selfe, who doth loue.

Omne lignum paradisi Dei non est efficile ei, quoniam specio sum feci eum & condensis frondetis, saith God by Ezechiell 31. chap. as if he would say, Among all the angelicall trees of which I haue planted my paradise, there is none such, nor none so good, as is my only begotten son, whom I did loade and burden with troubles in this life, and indue with more glory then all men in the other. Agmon vpon this place saith:

The Father speaking of his beloued sonne saith very wel, that no tree of paradise can be compared, nor made equall with Christ, because the greatest and the best of the angels turned to be a diuell, and the first tree of men fell into sinne, and also all those that descended of him, the worme gnaweth & eateth, see­ing there is no man which is not borne of a sinner, and conceaued in sinne. Only the tree of the sonne of God stood alwaies sound, stood alwaies certaine, alwaies greene, alwaies on foot, not so­much as one leafe doth fall from him, nor his fruict fade.

This is the tree which did neuer wither nor drie, seeing he did neuer sinne; this is the tree which is profitable vnto all men, because that all men are maintained by him; this is the tree on which death died, and life rose againe, and also this is a tree, watered with teares, bathed with bloud, which continueth al­waies fresh and greene.

This is the tree, which was sold by Iudas, bought by the Iewes, denied of Peter, forsaken by his friends, cut at Gethsema­ni, barked by Annas, sawed by Caiphas, plained by Pilat, bored [Page 178] through by the hangman, and nailed vp in Caluarie.

What hast thou done, what hast thou committed, O glorious tree, that thou shouldest be forsaken of thy owne friends, and by straungers cut downe at the foot? If thy enemies deale this with thee, who art a greene tree, what will my sinnes do with my drie soule? O cruell hangmen, O inhumane Iewes! not he, but I am the drie tree, which you should cut downe: I am the fruitlesse bough which you should burne, because in me there is no root of charitie, nor body of goodnes, nor leafe of truth, nor yet fruict of mercy. If it be true, as true it is, that I am the theefe which did steale the fruict of the tree which was forbidden, why do you cut downe and rent asunder this blessed tree? Is there any word in all scripture of greater force, or any sentence more cruell in all the world, than for the sonne of God to say, If this be done in the greene wood, what shalbe done in the drie? What would Christ say by these words, but if such iustice be shewen for another mans fault, what shall be done for a mans owne? If they do thus handle the tender sonne, what stripes will they giue a bould seruant or slaue? If they doe thus waste and rent him by the roote who doth raise the dead, doest thou thinke that they will giue life vnto those which kill the liuing? with­out doubt thou kilst such as liue, as oft as thou sinnest against thy god; because to sinne, is to crucifie Christ againe. Vpon those words of the Psalme, Et erit tanquam lignum, S. Basill saith, In the house and garden of God, the green tree they neuer cut, and the drie tree they doe sometimes suffer, but in the end of their daies iourney they doe foster and cherish that tree which is greene, to the end he may yeeld fruict, and they cut the drie one, to burne in hell, and thereupon it is, that they shall not find any drie tree in all heauen, nor any greene tree in al hell.

The tree which beareth no fruict shall be cut downe, and cast into the fire, said Christ, preaching vnto the people, in Luke the 19. as if he would say, Let all such as heare me make full accompt, that in the garden of my church, I haue no need of trees which beare not fruict, and yet occupy my ground, for at the time that they are most secure and safe, I will commaund them to be cut downe and to be buried in hell. Hilarius to this [Page 179] purpose sayth, If the son of God should haue said no more but, he shall be cut downe, and had not added, & in ignem mittetur, it might haue passed, but to say that he will cut downe euery drie tree, & burne him in the fire, is a speech much to be greeued, and also worthie of many tears. Ierome vpon S. Mathew sayth, O how much our Lord is to be thanked, for that he sayth not that he wil cut the tree when he is somewhat drie, or halfe drie, But when he shall be wholy drie; whereby he doth let vs vnderstand, that our Lord doth neuer execute vpon vs the rigour of his iustice, vntill he hath looked for vs first a long time with his mercie. And he sayth farther, If the mercie be great vvhich our Lord vseth with those as doe repent, truly the iustice is not small which he doth afterward vse against the wicked, because that by how much the longer he doth tollerat them, by so much the crueller afterward is the whip with which he doth scourge them. Crisostome sayth, by the life which thou doest lead my brother, thou shalt know of vvhat kind of tree thou art, for if thou doe liue well, thou art a greene tree, if noughtely thou art a drie tree; but tell me I pray thee, how is it possible that thou shouldest not be a drie tree, if thou wilt not goe out of sin? Cyrillus vpon S. Iohn sayth, That day which doth passe me without doing some seruice vnto our Lord, or doing some good vnto my neighbour, that day I yeeld is ill be­stowed, and confesse my selfe to be a drie tree, because that in the house of God by not doing of good, they come to demerit, and of demeriting they come to offend, and of offending they come to drie vp, and of being dry they come to be cut vp, and of cut­ting vp to burne, insomuch that sooner a soule doth drie without grace than the tree without water.

CHAP. XXIX. How Christ came vnto the mount of Caluarie, and how there they did put off his apparell: with other pitifull considerati­ons to that purpose.

POstquam autem venerunt in locum qui vocatur Caluaria exuerunt illum vestimentis suis, as if he would say. Now that the sonne of God did draw neere to the mount of Caluarie, tired & wearied, and also Simon Cyreneus loa­den vvith the crosse, the hangmen busied themselues out of hand in taking off Christ his apparell, not giuing one moment of time to rest himselfe. Agmon sayth, As the son of God did not die like as other men haue died, so they did not vncloth Christ as they were wont to vncloth other malefactors, because they dealed with him so inhumanly in this case, that the scripture seemeth to thinke that they left not so much as one thred of a garment vpon him. The tender mother nor the sorrowfull son had neuer gone vp to the mount of Caluarie vntill that day, by reason that the place was somewhat high, and very stinking, and thereupon it is, that because the sauor of the bones which vvere there spread a­broad was very noisome, and the bodies of those which were ex­ecuted exceeding stinking, all men did stop their noses, and put clothes before their faces. Barnard vpon the passion of our Lord sayth, The apple which our first Father did smell in the garden of paradise, the son of God did well pay for in the dunghill of the mount of Caluarie, because he vvas first tormented in his smel­ling, before he vvas crucified in his bodie. O how much surer the hangmen should haue done in ruling their hands, not to crucifie him, and in shutting their mouths not to blaspheme him, than to haue stopped their noses not to smell the stinke, because that without all comparison their sins did much more stinke before Christ, than vnto them the bodies of such as were dead. Chriso­stome saith, Because the torments had ben very many, and the way long, and the mount of Caluarie somewhat high, blessed Ie­sus [Page 181] came vnto it so wearied and so full of anguish, that he could neither breath nor lift vp his hands to put of his owne clothes. The son of God then being bare footed on the dunghill where he was to die, and before his eies the crosse put, on which they should crucifie him, the hangmen commanded him to begin to vncloth himselfe, vvith a supposition that he should neuer after cloth him againe. What meaneth this O good Iesus, what mea­neth this? Doth it not suffise that on the crosse they take away thy life, but the hangmen must also take away thy garment? if thou doe such great fauours vnto those which kill thee: what wilt thou not giue vnto those which serue thee? considering that thou doest giue to Iohn thy mother, to thy father thy soule, to Nicho­demus thy bodie, to the world thy bloud, to the theefe thy glory, and to the hangmen thy garment; why doest thou not keepe one coat for thy selfe? Being come to the top of the mount, by reason that the multitude of people was great, and the place not spati­ous, they were compelled by the officers, to gather together on a heape, in the middest whereof was Christ alone who was to die, the hangmen vvhich were to kill him, the crosse on which he was to be crucified, and the theeues vvhich vvere to beare him companie. Anselmus in his Meditations saith, O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, in what case diddest thou stand at the foot of the crosse? If our Lord did looke before him, he saw the nailes, if behind him he saw his keepers, if on one side he savv the hang­men, if on the other he savv the theeues, if he did looke vp he savv the crosse, insomuch that he did see nothing vvhich did not giue him greife and torment. The crosse being taken from Cyre­neus shoulder, the hangmen began to vnloose Christ his hands, not vvith intention to let them at libertie, but immeadiatly to naile them through. Tormēt for torment, and punishment for pu­nishment, was it not a lesser hurt to suffer thy wrests to be bound with a cord, then thy vains to be opened vvith nailes? Was it not inough that the osiers should spoile thy hands, although the yron should not also breake thy sinewes? O my soule, O my heart, this great crueltie which they vse towards thy God, how is it possible to find a beginning to rehearse it, or that you should haue time sufficient to bewaile it? Offerētes vitulum coram domino, dotracta pel­le, [Page 182] concidunt ortus in frusta, said God to Moyses in the first chapter of Leuit. as if he would say, When my people will offer me any calfe, let them not offer it vnlesse his skinne be pulled off and cut in peeces, and his bloud sprinckled about the altar, because in this fashion it shalbe a sacrifice very acceptable vnto me, and I will forgiue him his sinnes, who so shall offer it me. Cyrillus vp­on Leuit. saith, The greatest and the highest sacrifice that euer was offered in the world was, when they did crucifie the sonne of God on the tree, whose bloud was all shed, whose sinews were euery one drawen from an other, whose flesh was all brused blacke and blewe, and whose skinne was all flaine off: in somuch, that the sonne of God, did offer vp a greater sacrifice of himselfe, then Moyses did of any calfe.

When a beast is flain, and he that flaieth him knoweth not how to do it, it is most certaine, that with the wooll he lifteth vp the skinne, and with the skinne goeth the slesh, and with the flesh the bloud, in somuch that the poore beast, is both flaine and torne in peeces.

How is it possible for me to speake, all that which I thinke in this pittifull case, and not to blot first, all these lines with my teares? Christ his flesh was broken with blowes, his skinne blacke and blew with stripes, his bloud congealed with torments, and his garments cleauing to his woundes, and his hands and throat slaine with the roapes.

At the time that the hangmen did vncloath Christ at the foot of the crosse, after his garment went his skinne, after his skinne, his fleshe, after his flesh his bloud, and after his bloud his life; in somuch that our holy Lord was first flaine, and after crucified. O pitifull Iesus, O the sweetnes of my soule, doth it not suffice them, that like vnto a theefe they crucifie thee but also like vnto a beast boweld thee & flaine thee? O cruel hangmen, O bloudie butchers, seeing that you doe not flay a beast, vntill he be dead, why do you flay the innocent lambe being yet aliue? Barnard saith, It is an old custome among worldly men, not to let men bloud, but when they are aliue, nor to strip beasts of their skins, but after they are dead: but in the body of the sonne of God, the hangmen did all contrary, seeing that beeing aliue, they did slay [Page 183] him, and being dead they lanced him with a speare. See how the truth doth answere in all respects vnto the figure, seeing that like vnto a calfe, the son of God was offered vp, slain and quartred in peeces, and let bloud at the foot of the crosse: and the difference betwixt our sacrifice and theirs was, that theirs did benefit but one alone, but his did not only helpe one alone, but also all the vniuersall world. Tota die verecundia mea contra me est & confusio facisi meae cooperint me, saith Psalme in the name of Christ, as if he would say, Among all the great and cruell torments which I did suffer in my passion, the greatest was, to see that they should see my flesh naked, and my face vncouered; because that to say the truth, the shame which he endured gaue him greater tor­ment then the griefe he suffered. That which Christ doth here say, we may easily beleeue, and also take compassion on him, be­cause there is no man in the world noble and shamefast, who would not chuse rather to haue his head stroke off in the prison, then to see himselfe brought with shame into the market place. What doth not he loose, who looseth his reputation? What doth abide with him with vvhom credit and honor abideth not? The son of God then being so honest in his person, such a patron vnto others of good life, and also of such great reputation and credit throughout all the common-wealth, it was vnto him a greeuous iniurie and an exceeding great shame, to see that in the middest of the field and among all those people, he and no other stood naked, and euery mans eie cast vpon him. S. Augustine vpon S. Ihon sayth, Put the case that the law did command that male­factors should bee crucified, it is not read therein that it com­maundeth them to bee stripped naked: and from hence it pro­ceedeth, that the ministers of wickednes like couetous men spoi­led Christ, and like vnto malicious men did openly put him to shame. There is no man so poore which wanteth a garment to die in, and a sheet to be buried in, vnlesse it were holy Iesus, whom they left not so much as a coat to be executed in, nor a shrowd to be wrapped and buried in. When Christ doth say, The cōfusion of my face hath couered my face; What else doth he say, but that he was much ashamed of that shameles impudēcie of theirs. What doth it meane, tota die verecundia mea, contra me est, but [Page 184] that no man waged so daungerous a battaile with him, as his owne shame did, after that he saw himselfe spoiled of his gar­ments and naked from the feet vnto the head. S. Barnard sayth, The son of God was so very honest, that it was vnto him a grea­ter confusion and sham [...], to shew one shoulder bare, then to ano­ther man to be naked from the foot to the head. Anselmus in his Meditations sayth, Because they tooke off Christs garments the wrong way, and turned them ouer his head, they remoued and stucke in a new the thorns in his head: and in remouing the thorns they renewed his wounds; and in renewing his woundes, his vains began to open afresh, and in the opening of his vains there did run out bloud by pitchers full, insomuch that some of it lay on the ground, and other some was frosen in his bodie, and all the rest was congeled in his garments. O my soule, O my heart, how is it possible for thee to remaine sound and entire, thy good Iesus being thus deuided into so many parts? Thou doest now know that his haire was scattered in Pilats house, that his skin did cleaue to the pillar, he left his bloud shead in the streets, the gore part of it was frosen to his garments, and his garments the hang­men tooke away: What did there remaine proper vnto himselfe, but only the loue which he had to redeeme the world? Bonauen­ture in his Stimulo saith, Diuide thy selfe O my heart, diuide thy selfe, and put one part to keepe those bloudie garments, and another in the thorns which were remoued, and another in the bloud which is shead abroad, and another in the stripped flesh, for if thou be found slaine and stripped vvith Iesus crucified, thou shalt also find thy selfe risen with him, who wil rise the Sun­day. Where art thou, O glorious virgin, where art thou pittifull mother? Why art not thou with thy son in this bickering? O sor­rowfull mother, O comfortlesse mother, make more hast if thou wilt see thy son aliue, and so thy heart shall haue great cause to sigh and thy eies to weepe. If thou come in time, and if thou draw somewhat neerer, thou shalt see thy sonne without the skinne which thou diddest bring him into the world with, without the strength which thou hast seene him haue, without the bloud [...]ch thou diddest giue him, without the libertie which thou diddest bring him vp in, and without the garments which thou [Page 185] didddest weaue him, which the hangmen haue taken not to giue thee but to diuide among themselues. Bonauenture in his Motiue to loue sayth, O who could haue seene thee, comfortles mother, the hast which thy feet made to run, thy eies to weep, thy hands to bewaile, and thy heart to sound: for the greif which thou hadst to see thy son die, did exceed the greife of compassion, and grew to be a dolour and greife of passion. Take no thought, O comfort­les mother, take no thought to see thy son as thou doest see him, at the foot of the crosse naked, and to see how they haue him downe on the ground to naile him, because he doth receiue grea­ter greife to see thee cast thy eies vpon him, then that others should lay hands vpon him. O my soule, O my heart, this way of his should not be gone ouer, without you, because it doth giue a far greater torment vnto blessed Iesus, to see you clothed with sins, then to see himselfe stripped of skin and coats. O my bowels, how is it possible that you die not, or that you melt not into tears, seeing the innocent lambe, to behold on euery side him without sight, in breath without breath, in flesh without flesh, and in skin without skin. S. Barnard in a sermon sayth, His hands being now loosed, his wrests without cordes, and his throat without a roape, all at once ouerthwartly they pulled off his coat, and crown, and skin, and flesh, and bloud, insomuch that his precious flesh was so stripped, that I would to God my bowels were as much from sin as he from clothes. O the sweetnes of my soule, who but thou wilt tell me which is a greater torment, to vncleaue that which did stick fast, or to slay without a knife? O how distressed & per­plexed my soule is in beholding & being beheld, in seeing and in being seene, because neither she can be seen, by reason that she is so foule, nor thou to behold because thou art so slaine. O most pi­tifull Lord, if the only thinking and remembrance of that which thou haddest to suffer in the mount of Caluarie, made thee to sweat bloud in the garden, how canst thou endure now to see the crosse with thy eies, and also to see all thy torments? What mea­neth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? Haue they so small regard in heauen of thy bloud, that the angels do giue thee com­fort when thou diddest sweat it, and forget thee at the time that thou dost shead it? O what difference there is betwixt that which [Page 186] thou diddest sweat in the garden, and that which thou diddest sweat afterward in Caluarie, because that in the garden thou diddest sweat by the poors thy owne bloud, but in Caluarie thou diddest not sweat by the poors, but through my enormious fault, insomuch that for to leaue me faire and clean, thou didst remaine all to besweated.

CHAP. XXX. Of the misterie why the son of God would die naked on the crosse, and how there be more which would serue the world, then follow Christ naked.

NVdauerunt Ioseph tunica taleri, & miserunt in cisternam veterem, que non habebat aquam, sayth the holy scripture in the 37 of Genesis, as if he would say, When the bro­thers of innocent Ioseph saw that they had conuenient time to shew their hatred, they stripped him of a long garment which he wore, and cast him into an old drie cesterne which had not one drop of water in it. It is much to be noted in this place, that Ioseph only was best beloued of his father Iacob, and he did reprehend his brothers of their vices, he only was most of all en­uied of all, and he only ware a long garment vntil the anckles, and it was he only whom they vncloathed of his garment and threw him into an old lake. This high and darke figure in whom was it accomplished, at the foot of the letter but in Christ? When the father said in the mount Thabor, hic est filius meus dilectus, did he not plainly tell vs, that this was the son which he did most set by, and in whom he did most of all reioice? It was only Christ who like vnto Ioseph, did reprehend the open vices of the sinagogue, by reason whereof the Iewes tooke his life from him, not so much for the miracles which he wrought among them, as for the rebuking of them for their vices. It was Christ alone who had his garment of a iust proportion from the head to the feet, that is, neither so long that it did drag after him, nor yet so short, that it was vnseemely to weare, because there was no sin in him to clip [Page 187] off, nor there wanted couertie to ad vnto him. It was only Christ who like to Ioseph they did spoile of his garment, and cast in the cesterne, which was brought to passe and fulfilled when in the mount of Caluarie he was spoiled of his coats, and put vpon the crosse, the which at that time was so drie, that he found not one drop of water in it. He who cried aloud on the crosse, Sitio, I am a­thirst, doest thou thinke my brother that he would not haue ta­ken a cup of water as he did take the bitter gaule dissolued in vi­neger? O how far more terrible was the cesterne of Caluarie to Christ, then that of Sichem was to Ioseph; seeing that Ioseph went out of his aliue, but Christ did not descend from his vntill he was dead, and holy Ioseph did loose nothing there but his garment, but they did not take from blessed Iesus only his garments but also his life. O how much better Christ did with the cesterne of Cal­uarie then Ioseph did with his at Sichem, because that if holy Io­seph did find his cesterne drie, drie he left it; if old, old he left it; but holy Iesus did renew the cesterne of his crosse with his mem­bers, did worke it with his nailes, glew it with his bloud, fill it with his tears, keepe it with his speare, made the iuices of his thornes, made it famous with his death, and enriched it with his life. Io­sephs brothers not cōtented with this, they killed presently a goat, and died the coat which they tooke from the youth in his bloud, and carrying it vnto their father, told him that a wild beare had killed Ioseph in the desert, so that in that daies worke the goat was killed, Ioseph sold, Iacob deceiued, and the brothers proued mur­derers.

This high misterie was better fulfilled in Christ, then prefigu­red before in Ioseph, because that to die with bloud his holy gar­ment, was not necessarie to kill a goat, because he died it with his owne precious bloud, in so much that he tooke the garment of himselfe to couer vs, and drew the bloud out of his bowels to die it.

If the great partriarke Iacob was deceiued by his children, yet without all doubt God the Father was not deceiued by his only sonne, seeing that the bloud with the which he died the coat of his church, was not the bloud of any brute beast, but of the vains of his most sacred bodie.

Origen vpon this place saith, The bloud with the which the sinagogue was died, was famed bloud, slaughter bloud, lying bloud, and the bloud of brute beasts: but the bloud of the Ca­tholike church is pure bloud, true bloud, and holy bloud, and also louing bloud, the which he gaue vs in such abundance, that he gaue not in that measure because he would giue vs no more, but because he had no more to giue.

Agmon sayth, That Iacob was alwaies deceiued in thinking that his son was dead, vntill he saw him made afterward a great lord in Aegipt, and so the Iewish nation will alwaies thinke that Christ is not risen againe vntill he come to iudge the world, and thereupon it is that then they will begin to be conuerted, when the vvorld shall be at an end. Because that all which is spoaken of the son of God is short in words, in respect of the misteries which are contained vnder them, it is a thing to be wondred at, and worthie to be waighed, why he would die naked, and shew his naked flesh in Caluarie, seeing he had ben a prophet of most holy life, and of exceeding great honestie and dignitie in his person.

S. Augustine vpon Saint Iohn sayth, The cause why Christ would die naked was, to shew vs how excessiue the loue was which he bare vs, seeing that he shewed vs his owne proper flesh, and did not hide himselfe from vs, because that among familiar freinds it is a greater token of loue to shew one arme naked, then to suffer a man to put his hand in his treasure.

Bede vpon S. Luke sayth, How much we ought to esteeme it, that Christ vvould die naked it is easily knowne, in that that no man before another dareth to put of his shirt, how familiar so e­uer he is with him, because there is no man this day in the world so dishonest who dare shew himselfe naked from the feet to the head.

Ambrose vpon Saint Marke sayth, Of one tenure, of one va­lue, of one sauour, is the flesh which thou diddest shew the Iewes, and that which thou diddest leaue to Christians; sauing that that which thou diddest shew there was naked, and that which thou diddest leaue here is couered. Quicunque non recepe­rint vos, exeuntes de ciuitate illa excutile puluerem pedum, and Luke [Page 189] the 9. as if he would say, If you preach my doctrine in any citty, and the inhabitants therof will not receaue your persons, nor be­leeue your words, go out presently out of their cittie, without a­ny farther preaching vnto them, and when you doe go away, doe not only not take with you, any thing that they haue giuen you, but you shall shake off the dust of your shoes, if any haue stuck vpon them. If we looke curiously into the scripture, dust is neuer taken but for the goods and riches of this world, for euen as the dust is chaunged at euery wind, so goods are chaunged euery moment.

What else is the materiall dust of the ground, but cer­taine drie earth, and heauy? like vnto dust, the goods of this world are very drie, seeing they geue such small contentment; much troden, seeing they passe through so many hands; fruitles, seeing they do such small good; they are mouable, seeing they vanish away so quickly; and also verie deceitfull, seeing they haue deceaued so many. What doth he goe about, who endeuoreth himselfe to gaine riches, but only to fill his house with dust? Is not think you, all the wealth in this world dust, and lesse then dust, seeing that with a few daies they decrease, be worm-eaten and moth-eaten, and rotten, and will all haue an end, and thou with it? S. Ambrose vpon S. Luke saith, For the sonne of God to commaund his disciples, to shake off the dust of both their feet, is to forbid them, to trouble themselues with worldly matters, because that in christian religion, it is far worse to haue our con­science ful of durt, than our shoes loaden with dust. Gregory in his register saith: mark wel that Christ did not cōmaund to shake off the dust of one foot only, but of both; therby to let vs vnder­stand, that it doth not suffice that we geue ouer to possesse world­ly things, but we must also geue ouer to desire them, because there be many in this world, which although they cannot reach vnto that which they would, yet doe not geue ouer to sigh and wish for it.

Then the seruant of our Lord, hath one foote cleane and an other loaden with dust, when in the world, he renounced all which he had, and tooke into religion nothing but his own will, in so much that in the world hee least his monie, and [Page 190] to religion brought desires. S. Barnard writing vnto a certaine Moonke, sayth, I would to God brother that of two euels thou haddest chosen the lesse, that is, that thou hadst brought with thee rather the money which thou diddest bestow in the world, then the euill desires which thou diddest bring hether with thee, because that with the money we should haue repaired some old vvals, but with thy bad desires thou doest ouerthrow our old cu­stomes. Beda vpon S. Luke sayth, That it is very much to be pon­dered that Christ doth command vs to make cleane our feet, which is the last part of man, because that therby he doth teach vs, that in all things we take in hand, we ought alwaies to direct them to a good end, considering that the merit or demerit of our vvorkes, doth not so much consist in that which vve doe, as for the end why we doe them. For the son of God then to spoile himselfe of all his garments, before he should go vp to the crosse, and to command his Desciples that they should shake of the dust of both their feet, is to aduise vs, and also to vndeceiue vs, that no man shall be able to reach vnto the height of perfection, nor with him goe vp to the holy crosse, if he doe not first shake from him all the dust of couetousnes, and put off and dispossesse himselfe of his owne proper will. Christ did first forsake his vvill in the garden before he did put off his clothes in Caluarie: wher­of we should take example, that if we will attaine to the perfecti­on of christianitie, it is necessarie that vve doe first leaue our heart naked of his appetits, rather then the bodie of his attire, Expolia­uit se rex Saul vertinientis, suis & propheteuit cum caeteris prophetis, & cecini nudus tote die & nocte, sayth the holy scripture in the first booke of the kings in the 20 chapter, as if he would say, Im­meadiatly after that Saul had put of his princely robes, hee be­gan to prophesie among the other prophets, in so much that the spirit of prophesie did so long time dure vvith him, as he had no garment vpon him.

Isidorus vpon these words sayth, To say in scripture that king Saul was neuer receiued into the quire of the prophets, vntill they savv him naked of all his garments, is plainely to aduise vs, that we shall neuer be reckoned in the number of his elect, if we doe not first spoile and put off all our vaine desires, because that [Page 191] in the house and contrarie of God, many sinners are receiued, but no sinners admitted.

Agmon noteth, that at the very instant when Saul did turne to take his garments he lost immediatly the spirit of prophesy; wher­of we may inferre, that how much the lesser our part is in the world, so much the greater it is in Christ, and how much the more in the world, so much the lesse in Christ: insomuch that we can­not be freinds vnto the one, but we must be enemies vnto the other.

Saul did exceeding well to vncloth himselfe, and committed a great error, in clothing himselfe againe, because it was better for him to prophesie naked, then to rule and be a king clothed. O what a number of companions Saul hath in this case, who hauing put of wordly things, retire themselues to prophesie in some per­fection, and after that they haue so done for a time, turne againe to cloth themselues in the garments of their old customes, inso­much that they make choise rather to serue the world clothed, then follow Christ naked.

All the apostatas in the world do follow king Saul, which put on that to morrow, which they did put off and renounce to day: and they follow the sonne of God who neuer turne to put on that which they haue determined once to forsake: for as the wise man saith, It is a lesser euell not to know the way of saluation, then to know it and afterward not to follow it. O my soule, tell me I pray thee, why wilt thou turne to cloth thy selfe in the vani­ties which thou hast left in the world, and with the naughtie cu­stomes which thou hast renounced, seeing that thou doest well know that distressed king Saul did die in the moūtains of Gelboe clothed, and the son of God did triumph ouer death on the crosse naked? What doest thou, what doest thou feele, O my heart what doest thou feele, art thou not ashamed to go shod and clo­thed, thy maister and redeemer being vpon the crosse naked? Strip thy selfe naked O my soule, strip thy selfe, seeing that with those garments of which thou shalt vncloth thy selfe, good Iesus must cloth himselfe withall, which are the wickednes which thou doest bragge and vaunt of, and the sinnes which thou doest commit euery day against him, all which he will carrie to the [Page 192] crosse, and there crucifie with himselfe. Quid retribuam domino pro omnibus que retribuit mihi, seeing that forgetting himselfe, and hauing me in remembrance, if he goe to the crosse stripped and naked of apparrel, yet he goeth loden and clogged with my sins? O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, if thou wilt put on any gar­mēts of sins, and if thou wilt haue any liueries of naughtines, go to no other shop, O my good Iesus, go to no other but to that of my sinful soule, because there are so many iniquities and so great wic­kednes in her, that with the change of thy own bloud we will there cloth thee from the feet vnto the head. What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? Who did euer heare or see any man change as thou hast done, thy own sweat and labour for other mens sins? O glorious & happie exchange which thou did­dest make with me O good Iesus at the foot of the tree, where thou diddest giue me thy merits for my demerits, thy goodnes, for my noughtines, thy innocencie for my fault, thy credit and honour for my infamie, and thy life for my death, in so much that if I liue it is by thee, and if thou die it is for me.

O high misterie and sacrament, neuer before heard of, who was euer so expert a wrestler as thou art, seeing thou diddest goe to wrestle naked, in a naked field, on a naked crosse, and naked of freinds, and yet naked diddest ouercome the diuell? Naked thy heart went vp to the crosse of comfort, naked in that place thy flesh vvas seene of skin, naked thy bodie of apparrell, in so much that thou diddest there couer thy selfe with no other thing, but vvith the crosse which thou haddest on thy shoulder, and with the thorns vvhich thou haddest on thy head.

Peccata nostre pertulit in cupite suo, super lignum crues, sayth the Apostle Saint Peter, in his first epistell Canonical, the 2 chapter, as if he would say, Vnderstand you, O my brothers, that the Christ which I preach vnto you, is he who tooke vpon his owne shoulders all the sinnes of the world, and went to die vvith them on a crosse, insomuch that as the hangmen did execute his mem­bers vpon the crosse, so he ouer and aboue his members did put to death, and execute al our sins.

O wonder neuer before heard nor thought of, who did euer [...]e or euer heare that he who is condemned, should condemne, [Page 193] and that he who is executed should execute, and he who is han­ged should hang, and that he who is dead should kill? Who was this man but thou, O my good Iesus, seeing that when thou wast hanged and nailed vnto the tree of the crosse, if they tooke thy life from thee, thou diddest destroy death, if they did execute thy bodie thou diddest kill sin, if they did crucifie thy members thou diddest crucifie offences, in so much that there remained no mēber in thee to crucifie, nor wickednes in me to make clean. We say very truly that there was no member in thee which was not pulled asunder, nor wound in me which was not cured, seeing that thou diddest make as great a boucherie in thy bodie of my offences, as the hangmen did on the crosse of thy flesh.

Remigius saith, that it is to be noted that the Apostle doth not say, that Christ did carrie our sins vpon his soule but vpon his bodie, because they tormented the son of God without any fault committed by him. Not doing any sin they did accuse him of sin, and not being a sinner he did satisfie like a sinner. Cyrillus vpon S. Iohn sayth, The sins which were lodged in our soules, Christ did cast vpon his owne flesh; whereof it followed, that Gods iustice finding them there, like vnto one who had receiued theeues and harbard malefactors, he crucified him, and fulfilled iustice. And doest thou not know, O good Iesus, that it is a lavv kept of old, that in whose hands the theft is found, that he giue accompt of the theft and also pay for the theft? Who could haue ben able to crucifie thy holy members, if thy holy father had not found har­bered in them all my offences? writing at the gates of thy house, hic peccatores recipit, and he doth eate with sinners, how should it be that they should not handle thee like a sinner, and punish thee like vnto a sinner, seeing that thou doest receiue malefactors into thy house, and art loaden also with sinners. Barnard saith, Who did command thee O good Iesus, who did command thee to put of thy owne holy garments, and in stead of them cloth thy self in other mens stolen coates, which thou diddest at the foot of the crosse, when thou diddest put off thy owne innocencie, and put on thee my fault? Damascen sayth, That he did beare our sinnes in his bodie, vvhen the eternall Father did find vp­on his sonnes members, all our sinnes, by reason [Page 194] wherof he & they, they and he, were executed and slaine on the crosse, insomuch, that for no other thing, but because Christ en­tred in to part the fray, he was there slaine of those also which quarrelled.

CHAP. XXXI. Of the houre when they began to crucifie Christ, and how that first of all he offered his heart to be deuided on the crosse, and his leaft hand to be nailed.

HOra erat tertia & crucifixerunt eum, saith S. Marke, in his 15 chapt. as if he would say, The sonne of God be­ing come to the mount of Caluarie, and the halter be­ing taken away which he had at his throat, and the cords loosed which his hands were tied with, they did crucifie him betwixt two open theeues, putting him in the middle, as though hee had beene captaine of them.

For such high misteries as are here to be touched, and for such newe matters neuer before heard of, such as we must speake of, it should be needeful for vs to haue the tongues of Angels, the spi­rit of prophets, and the gift of the apostles, and the contempla­tion of holy contemplatiue men, because that the misteries of the crosse, and the dolours of the passion of Christ, are better to be tasted then to be written of.

I call vpon thee then wounded Christ, and beseech thee that thou wouldest guide my penne in that which I shall write, and make my hart soft to feele that which I ought, in somuch that at one time, my eies may betake themselues to weepe, and my fin­gers to write. And I sommon you to appeare, O my eies, and I cite you also, O my heart, to the end you may be witnesses, and be present at all the misteries which my penne shall write, and at all the torments of my God which I shall speake of, seeing that you haue farre more reason to bewaile and weepe them, then he had to suffer them.

To what end doe you thinke that I cite you, O my eies, and to what end doe I sommon you O my heart, but only to sweat with holy Iesus bloud at your pores, and to bath with teares my sor­rowfull cheekes.

O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, if I could feele some small part of that which thou diddest feele, and could tast a little of that which thou diddest tast, howe were it possible that my teares should not blot out all that which my handes doe write? Plorans plorauit in nocte, & lacrimis eius ne in exillis eius, saith the great Prophet Ieremy in his Lamentations, as if he would say, After that sorrowful Ierusalem, did see the Caldeans caried away captiue their neighbours, beat their walles down to the ground, their teares were so many and so continuall, that their cheekes were neuer drie neither day nor night.

Ieremy could not more liuely haue set forth his Lamentation, then he did in these wordes, for to say Plorans plorauit, is to say, that he did not only weepe with his eies, but he did weepe also with his heart, and it is to say that the aboundance of teares was so great, that one drop did followe an other.

When one drop doth followe an other on his cheeks who weepeth, it is an euident signe that he loued that well, for the which nowe he weepeth, and that he of whom he complaineth, did him great hurt. O my soule, O my heart, is it not greater reason, that you should weepe the death and passion of the son of the liuing God, than for Ieremy to lament and weepe as he did the captiuitie of the Iewish nation? Sorrowful Ieremy doth weepe, and neuer ceaseth weeping, for the throwing downe of the olde walles of Ierusalem, and doe you forget to weepe and bewaile the pulling asunder of euery tender ioint in good Iesus? com­fortlesse Ieremy cannot comfort himselfe, when hee seeth the streets of the holy cittie ouergrown with grasse, & canst thou do it O my heart, now that thou doest see them watred with bloud? Lend me O great Ieremy, lend me I pray thee, some few of these thy teares, not for to weepe for the stones of thy holy citty, but to complaine of the faults of my sinfull soule, for although it bee true, that the Iewes did accuse my Lord and master, yet not they, but my sinnes did crucifie him.

It is time now that we come to speake of this lamentable ease, and make relation of that great spectacle, which was the greatest that euer was seene, or heard off in the world, for if we compare all others vnto the losse of the life of the sonne of God, they are all but a shadowe. We may well call all famous men a shadowe, and all such as vndertooke great actions, and also all such which in times past did atchieue heroicall vertues, for because he is not yet borne, who for the redeeming, and curing of all the vvhole world, vvould loose his ovvn proper life. Barnard vpon Qui habi­tat, We shall highly account of it, that Christ vvould die for vs, but yet it is much more to be esteemed, that he did offer him­selfe so willingly vnto it, because the loue which the son of God had in his heart, towards vs, was of greater force and vehemency, than the dolour and griefe which did torment his body. Ecce ho­mo vnus supra montē, in manu eius erat calamus, meusurae sex cubito­rum, & mensus est latitudinem adificij, saith the great prophet Eze­chiel, as if he would say, Among the great visions which I did see, neer vnto the riuer of Cobar, the one was that on the top of a very high mountaine, which was neere vnto Ierusalem, a man standing alone, who held in his hād, a reed of six cubits in length, with the which, hee did measure a building which was newely made in that place. This is without all doubt a wonderful figure, but yet the fulfilling of it much more wonderfull, seeing that in it, we are shewen and taught how the son of God, was put to death on the true crosse, and howe on the same crosse, and in the same place, he was measured. We haue great reason to say, that this newe building is the blessed humanitie of Christ, which was new­er then all the nouelties in the world, seeing that he only was borne of a virgin, formed by the holy ghost, vnited to the word, and neuer defamed with sinne. The very high mountain where the prophet sawe this vision, is the mount of Caluary where Christ suffered his death and passion, and if the scripture doe call it a very high mountaine, it is not so much for the hardnes of the ascent of it, as for the holy bloud which was shed vpon it. The reed with the which the building was measured, is the crosse, on which the redeemer of the world did suffer; and he who busied himself in measuring the building, is the vngratful Iewish people [Page 197] insomuch that the measuring of the building with a reed was a figure, how they would measure Christ on the crosse from the feet to the head. What doth he meane when he saith that that reed was six cubits long and no more, but that pittifull measuring was to be made in the sixt age of the world? Gregorie vpon Eze­chiell sayth, The measure with the which the measurer of Ieru­salē did measure with, was not a sound poule, but a hollow reed, to teach vs by that misterie, that in the measure which Christ mea­sured himself with on the crosse, not the morrow of his godhead, but only the barke of his sacred manhood did suffer, because it is repugnant vnto his naked deuine essence, not only to sin but also to be constrained to die. For a high misterie, and deepe sacrament, the crosse on which Christ suffered, was figured by the hollowe reed which Ierusalem was measured with, because that as he who breaketh a reed, hurteth but the vttermost rind, so when the maker of the world was broken and pulled a sunder on the crosse, death did not hurt him in his most simple deuine being, but only as he was made man. It is also to be noted, that that man did not measure the length but the breadth of the temple, to giue vs thereby to vnderstand that the breadth of Christ which is his manhood may be measured, but the length of God which is his godhead, can neither be measured, nor much lesse waighed: for my owne part I say and confesse, that if we could find a beginning or an end in God, I would not beleeue him for God. It wanteth not likewise a misterie, that the reed with the which that man did measure the temple, he touched but with one hand, wherin is signified that although they did measure the sonne of God with the reed of punishment, yet they touched him not with the rod of sinne, because that the innocencie and puritie of Christ no man can stain or spot, nor make comparison with him. The houre being then come, in the which the true Isaac was to bee sa­crificed, after the halter was slackened which he had at his throat, and that he was spoiled of the garments which he wore, the hangmen commanded him to stretch himselfe at length on the crosse, because they might see where they should bore the holes to put in the nayles. Anselmus saith, That to put a man vpon the crosse and there to crucifie him with nayles, is such a torment [Page 198] that there is none like vnto it, to take away his life, nor any more infamous punishment of his credit. It was not needfull to com­maund him twise, nor yet intreat him to lie on the ground, and to measure himselfe at length on the crosse, because thirtie and three yeares he and the crosse, and the crosse and he, made way to be betrothed. And the Iewes thinking that they did mea­sure and crucifie him, it was not so, but the crosse and he did em­brace the one the other. The loue was so great betwixt the Lord and the bridegrome, and the crosse and Christ, that the better to ratifie and establish the matrimonie betweene them, where as all others which are betrothed giue but their bare hands, Christ and the crosse gaue hands and feet, when he suffe­red his feet to be nailed, and his hands crucified. As sorrowfull Iesus at that houre when this was done was spoiled of his gar­ments, or rather to say the truth of his skin, the pittifull case was, that as they did stretch him on the crosse to take his mea­sure, and take him away againe to bore the hoales, there did sticke so much bloud on the crosse, that there needed no marke of any other die. O high misterie, O louer such as neuer was seene before, seeing that when thou diddest betroth thy selfe with the crosse, thou diddest presently giue her a downe, and enrich her with iewelles: for if she did receiue thee into her owne house, thou diddest giue vnto her of thy holy bloud. It doth well appeare O good Iesus, it doth well appeare, that thou doest take the crosse willingly for thy spouse, seeing that thou doest mea­sure thy selfe with it, not being forced by any, and wilt not come downe being of many thereunto requested. The crosse lying then vpon the ground, and Christ stretched at length vpon him, although the print of his length was very well proportioned with his owne bloud, yet notwithstanding the false hangmen did falsifie his measure, taking it somewhat shorter then the true sta­ture of Christ did require, because that by this occasiō they shuld not only crucifie him, but also pull one ioint from another. O my soule, how is it possible seeing thy good Iesus in such a narrow pas­sage, that thou shouldst not be very much dismaied; & in such per­plexity, & thou not in great wo; in such perplexed agonie, & thou not falling into a sound; and so neere vnto the last iomp of death, [Page 199] and thou not to die in the place with him? Howe should not the heauens be afraid, and hell quake, seeing him to be measured by inches, who commaunded Ierusalem to be measured by yards and poules? what newe thing can there be in the world compa­rable vnto this, to see the measure of him to be taken vpon a peece of wood, who commaunded the Temple to be measured with a reede? how is it possible that they do at this day as they doe, to measure the members of his body, to crucifie them on the crosse. O good Iesus, O the redeemer of my soule, by this misterie I coniure thee, and for the reuerence of this spectacle, I beseech thee, that when before thy dreadfull day of iudgement, my merits shalbe measured with me demerits, that thou woul­dest haue more pittie on me there, than the torturours had on thee here. For if thy measure be such as my life hath beene from the present time, I yeeld my selfe aswell condempned as thee crucified.

S. Barnard saith, That in that high spectacle of the death of Christ, euery one which was there present had his office: the tormentors busied themselues, and tooke the charge of boaring the holes; the Centurion to guard him, the Iews to make an out­crie, the criers to crie, the hangmen to hammer in the nailes, the angels to wonder, the elements to be troubled, the common people to looke on, Mary Magdalen to sigh, and the sorrowefull mother to weepe. In the mean time, whilest they were a boaring of holes in the crosse, and digging the rocke, preparing the nails, and whilest they brought the ladder, woful Iesus was beset with tormentors, naked of garments, without any friends, mocked of all men, stretched vpon the ground, quaking with cold.

What wouldest thou that I should say more vnto thee, but that at the same time, they were boaring of holes in the crosse, & al his body shiuering and trembling? Doest thou say at one time, O good Iesus, that thou doest come to put fire in all the world, and at an other, doest thou stand shiuering with cold? S. Barnard saith in a sermon. The cold which thou haddest at the foote of the Crosse, O good Iesus, the sinnes which I haue cōmitted did rather cause, than the elements which thou didst creat; because at that time there was more fire, without comparison, in thy holy [Page 200] soule then there is now in the mount Aetna, If one sparkell of the loue, and heat which did burne in thy bowels should come out of thy breast to burne, it is no doubt but it would burne the hea­uens, and set the earth on fire, for if they did end thy dolours with the crosse, nothing brought thee thether but thy loue. When they did ask the son of God that he would come downe from the crosse, he did not stay there because he was nailed to it, but be­cause he was enamored of it; and therupon it is, that if with three nayles his flesh was hanged, with tenne thousand nayles of loue, his bowels were fastened. E [...]derunt manus meas & pedes meos, & dinumerauerunt omnia ossa mea, saith the Psal. speaking in the per­son of Christ, as if he wold say, At that very houre that they nay­led me on the crosse, they did naile my hands in such a fashion, and without all pitie did bruse my feet, and so cruelly did wrest my sinnewes, and so inhumainly did disioint my bones, that there was no member in my bodie without greife, nor bone which was not told. Augustine vpon these words sayth, That as Dauid had prophesied this pittifull figure, so the sonne of God did fully ac­complish it, seeing that on the tree of the crosse his hands were brused and broken with the nayles, and all the parts of his bodie disiointed and pulled a sunder with torments. If a man cannot suf­fer that his nayles be too neere pared, how vvould he suffer to haue his whole hand broken? Because the hands of all the bo­die are most full of sinnewes, what did he not feele vvhat did he not feele? what did he not suffer, when the nayls did enter in at the palms of his hands? The houre being then come in the which that most sacred humanitie should be martired, and the redemp­tion of the vniuersall world perfected, they did command holy Iesus to set himselfe at length vpon the crosse, not hauing any gar­ment at all vpon him, which they did command him to doe, not because they vvould againe take his measure, but to nayle him vpon the crosse, and vtterly to take his life from him. Sterch thy selfe at length then O good Iesus, cast thy selfe O my redee­mer vpon this thy last bed, which euer thou shalt cast thy selfe vpon, and this is also the last time that euer thou shalt lie downe in this vvorld, and that which cannot be spoken without teares [...] that thou shalt not cast thy selfe vpon this bed to sleepe, but to [...] [Page 217] sayth, If one alone had taken away Christ his garments, we should haue thought that one only man should haue ben saued, but because Christ would haue them to be deuided among ma­ny, it is a signe that many shall be saued; and thereupon it is, that the deuiding of Christ his coat among the hangmen, was no o­ther thing, then the bestowing of his bloud among the wicked. Hilarius sayth, That the garments of the sonne of God were not deuided among those which vvept for Christ, but among those vvhich crucified Christ, for if our good redeemer should haue found all the vvorld peopled vvith iust and good men, as he did vvith sinners, there should haue ben no necessitie that he should haue died, nor yet that his garments should haue ben diuided. What are we worth if he doe not make vs able, or what can we doe if he doe not helpe vs, or what doe vve know, if he doe not teach vs, or what haue vve, if he doe not couer vs? O great good­nes, O deapth of all charitie, seeing that thou diddest disease thy selfe of the propertie of thy owne life to giue me life, and diddest emptie thy selfe of thy owne bloud to redeeme me, vncloth thy selfe of thy owne garments to enrich me; because that to deuide thy garments among the hangmen, was no other thing but to de­uide among naughtie men thy merits. Cyrillus vpon S. Iohn sayth, That for as much as we doe sinne euery day, and euery moment of an houre, kill Christ a new vvith our offences, vve haue no o­ther better remedie, for to obtaine pardon for the taking away of his life, then to endeuor our selues that some part of his coat may remaine vvith vs. To goe downe into euerlasting paine, or ascend to blisse and happines, consisteth in nothing but in being admit­ted or excluded frō that sale and deuision because it was nothing else for the sonne of God to deuide his owne garment among vs, but to leaue vs his holy faith in steed of a liuerie. Labour then O my soule, and doe what lieth in thee, to be with the torturers at that open sale and deuision of those garments, for seeing that thou with them, & they with thee went al togither to kil Christ, it is very iust that some part of the spoile fall to thy lotte. If it be true that the hangmen did put Christ to death but once, and that thou O my soule, doest kill him euery houre and moment, shal it not be reason that thou haue greater part in his coat then they, [Page 218] seeing that he laieth the fault rather vpon thee, then vpon them? If the greatest sinner haue greatest part in that sale and deuision, vnto whom but vnto thee O my soule, doth that coat appertaine? That which I thinke of my selfe, and confesse, is, that I dare not compare with the meanest vertuous man in the world, and yet I dare striue with the greatest sinners of the world: for if I be an outcast among those which esteeme themselues vertuous, yet a­mong noughtie men, I am a captaine and a ring leader. In that ho­ly sale there is nothing giuen, for gold or siluer, but for sighes and tears, insomuch that he who weepeth best, buieth best.

S. Barnard de Plancta virginis sayth, That the like iniuring was neuer seene, nor the like crueltie neuer heard of, considering that at the foot of the crosse, in Christ his owne presence, and in sight of the Virgin his mother, the hangmen were a deuiding and ca­sting lottes, vpon the garments of the sonne with the great greife of the mother, and that which is most of all to be pitied, at one time they deuided the coates of the son, and quartered and tore in sunder the heart of the mother.

Now thou knowest for a certaintie O my soule, that if the son had his garments deuided into foure parts, the sorrowfull mother had her bowels broken into a thousand. Erat autem tunica inconsu­tilis desuper, contenta per totū, saith S. Iohn, as if he would say, The sonne of God had also another close coat without seame, woouen all ouer, the which the hangmen would not deuide among them­selues, but did cast lots vnto whom it should fall, insomuch that through God his deuine prouidence, that coat without seame was not cut and deuided, but remained whole and entire and lots was cast for it.

Hillarius sayth, That if the sonne of God would not haue she­wed some great secret by his holy garments, he would neuer haue suffered the holy scripture to haue made such reckoning of them; but seeing his pleasure was that the one of them should be deuided, and that lots should be cast for the other, it is a token that some great matter is signified by them, and some secret con­tained vnder them.

The secret then which is contained vnder these garments is, that by the one is signified his misticall bodie which is the [Page 219] church, and by the other is vnderstood his true bodie, such as his person did represent, and to know which of these garments he did best loue, and set most by it may be perceiued by the en­tertainment which he gaue to each of them.

Damascen sayth, Both the coats were his, and he did weare them both, and he loued them both, but yet in the end he did loue better the coat without seame vvhich did represent his per­son, seeing that he would leaue the one whole, and suffer the o­ther to be rent and quartered.

Saint August. vpon Saint Iohn sayth, That by the common garment which the sonne of God did suffer to be deuided, is vn­derstood his precious bodie which he suffered to be broken in peeces, and by the coat without seame which he would not suf­fer to be touched, is meant the holy mother the church, which no man shall touch, because the prophet Zacharie sayth, That it is as much to offend one of his seruants, as to touch himselfe in the apples of his eies. And he doth touch God in the bale of his eies, who doth offend a Christian vpon whom he hath fixed his eies, for although our Lord doe loue all his creatures yet he ma­keth more of some then of other some. Cyrillus sayth, That it may [...]ery clearly be seene, how much more Christ doth loue his church now, than he did his person then, in that he permitted that his person should be crucified, with condition that his church should not be touched.

Basill vpon the Psalme sayth, That the good Christian ought to haue great regard vnto that which he doth, and also the heretike consider well that which he presumeth to take in hand, seeing that Christ did more easily pardon then, such as did teare the coat of his person, then he doth forgiue those now, which rent and teare the coat of his church, the which notwithstanding such teare which preach against the vnitie of the church.

Saint Ierome vpon the Apostle sayth, That the Heretikes which make a scisme or scandale in Christ his church, are much worser then the tormenters and hangmen which laied hands on Christ, seeing that the coat of faith without seame, which they durst not touch, the Heretikes doe rent and teare in sunder.

And when doe Heretikes as Arrius, Nestorius Celsis, and such others, teare and quarter Christ his coat, without seame, but when they doe giue the gospell strange and new fangled inter­pretations, and expound the scripture according vnto their owne selfwill and fancie.

CHAP. XXXV. How the torturers did cast lots vpon Christ his coat which was without seame, and of a figure of Ioseph expounded to this purpose.

VIde vtrum haec tunica sit filii tui, an non, said Iosephs bro­thers vnto their old father Iacob, as if they would say, When we came home from our flocke, we found this coat in the way, and because it is thus bluddied, and rai­ed, we cannot guesse whose it should be, see whether it be not the coat of thy welbeloued Ioseph, our yongest brother, for as we su­spect he hath met in the desert with some hungrie beare, from which he was not able to defend himselfe, by reason of his yoong years. Chrisostome sayth, The prohet Dauid doth wel say Abissus abissum inuocat, one deapth calleth another, considering that Ia­cobs children did offend in enuie towards their brother, and in an­ger by laying hands on him, in theft when they stole another mans kid, in treason when they sold Ioseph for a slaue, in lieng when they told a lie to their old father.

Isidorus de summo bono, sayth, It is not in the hands of a sinner to leaue his sin, after he hath inured himselfe in it, as it is in the beginning; for as he who looseth his shame, feareth not to com­mit any vile tricke whatsoeuer, euen so the sinner which begin­neth to harden his conscience, doth neuer or very late amend his life. S. August. in his Confessions sayth, O how often I haue sighed and lamented, because I saw my selfe, tied and fettered, not [Page 221] with chaines of yron, but with my own naughtie desires, and per­uers sins: and all the hurt of my perdition proceedeth, of that that in the beginning I gaue the diuell my will, and he afterward of my will, made my nill. Barnard in an epistle saith, That how great so euer a ship be, yet if the pilot neglect the calking but of one small hole, by little and little he cōmeth thereby to be drow­ned; and euen so it falleth out to a naughtie dead conscience, the which if shee giue an entrance to one little sinne, the same sinne, will afterward open the gate vnto all the rest.

If the children of the great patriark Iacob, had not opened the gate vnto enuie, they should neuer haue offended God, nor ne­uer haue sold their brother, nor deceiued their father, nor haue defamed themselues. S. Augustin vpon the letter of Genesis saith, That the order of the first sin was this, First, in beholding the tree, and from beholding, they came to desire, and from desire, to speake, and from speech, to consent, and from consent, to cut off the fruit, and from cutting it, to eat of it, and of eating of it, to sin, and by sin, to condemn themselues: in somuch that because they would not in the beginning auoid the first occasion, they fel into vtter ruin and perdition.

To come then vnto our purpose, the coat without seame into which there neuer entred needle, is the holy & blessed humani­tie of the son of God, vnto the which there was neuer put knife nor cizers, to cut any fault away which did abound, nor neuer had need of thimble and needle to ad any vertue which wanted. Being a coat which the father brought foorth, being a coat which the son did weare, being a coat which the holy ghost did weaue, and the blessed virgin spun; how was it possible, that there could any thing be too much in him, or that he should want any per­fection?

By this coat likewise there may be vnderstood, the holy mo­ther the church, in the which there is no wrincle nor herisie, nor any seam of obstinat sin, for although peruerse heretiks, and ob­stinat sinners, may be in the church, yet they be not of the church.

O with what great reason, saith Cirillus vpō Iohn, we may aske the eternall father of Christ, whether this be the church without [Page 222] seame which Christ did leaue vs, or whether there be any other, because that this his coat is so torn by the vnfaithfull, & so quar­tred by infidels, that we may say it to be another then that which Christ left vs, or else that it is not such a one as he did giue it vs. The coat which they brought Iacob was the coat which Ioseph did weare, sauing that after they had sold Ioseph, his brothers did die it in kyds bloud, to make his father beleeue that some wild beast had deuoured him, insomuch that they did take away from it his coulour and not his value.

The son of God did leaue vs the coat without seame, which is the church, whole and not rent, entire and not broken, clean and not foule, made and not vnmade, but alas now a daies Heretikes doe teare him in peeces, couetous men steale him away, simoni­acles defile him, Hipocrits defame him, and ambitious men tread him vnder their feet. It wanteth not a misterie when the scripture sayth, that Christ his coat without seame, was desuper contexta per totum, wouen ouer; that is, that on the outside it was wel gar­nished and trimmed and knit ouer, in so much that as all other garments haue furres and strong linings within, this had it with­out. If we vnderstand by this coat, only the humanitie of the son of God, we may iustly say of it quod est desuper contexta per totum, seeing that his humanitie was vnited to the word; but if we take him wholy as he is God and man, there was no part of his huma­nitie, in which there was not also hidden his diuinitie. Cyprian vpon the Creed sayth, That we may truly and without deceipt say that Christ his coat without seame, which was knit and sown ouer, is all the whole catholike church, which is so vnited and knit and sowen with her lord and bridegrome, that the great loue which is betwixt them maketh them become one only thing, and be called by the name of one only coat.

Beda sayth, That the scripture doth not say that Christ his coat without seame was sowen and knit vpon the rags only, but being all whole and entire, was sowen and wouen ouer: to let vs vnderstand thereby that the sonne of God doth embrace and v­nite vnto himselfe all his elect and chosen, as a man doth his owne apparrell vpon his backe, in so much that all good faythfull Christians of his church, are nothing else but certaine precious [Page 223] threads of Christs coat.

Saint Ierome vpon the prophet Amos sayth, That to call Christ his coat, a coat without seame, is to let vs vnderstand, that as it had no seame in it at all, so there is no man able to vnknit and vnweaue it, because the band of loue which it betwixt Christ and his church is so strong and inuiolable, that there can not be found any one seame betwixt them, which may part and seperate them.

Saint Ambrose vpon Saint Luke sayth, That it is much to be noted that Christ his coat without seame, fell by lot but vnto one man only, and that one was a Gentile and not a Iew; because he would thereby let vs vnderstand, that all the merit of the bloud of Christ, should by lot fall vnto the church, and that the syna­gogue should loose it by her owne fault.

It wanted not a misterie that there was lots cast for this coat, because that when a lot is drawne from the place where it is put it is not drawen for any particular person, neither is there any re­spect had vnto him for whom it is drawen, and from hence it ri­seth that through God his hidden iudgement, to some there fal­leth a lot of riches, and vnto others a lot of pouertie.

That which humane vvisdome doth call a lot or chance, the holy scripture doth call diuine grace, the which grace is not giuē indifferently to euery man who vvould haue it, or desire it, but like to a lot our Lord doth bestow it, by his secret iudegment and holy will, as himselfe pleaseth, and vnto vvhom he pleaseth, not because any man doth deserue it, but because it doth so please his goodnes and wisdome.

We may vvell say, that the holy scripture doth call that grace, which the world doth call hap or chance, or a lot: because the Apostle to the Ephesians in the first chapter doth say, In chri­sto enim Iesu sorte lecti sumus vocati sumus, as if he would say, That vve are brought vnto the church, or that vve are called catho­likes, let no man attribute it vnto his owne vvisdome, or his owne great diligence, but let euery man thinke he was called by Gods holy grace only, the which he giueth as it were by a lot vnto whom he thinketh conuenient, and when he pleaseth, and how he listeth; not giuing vnto any man an accompt why he doth so.

And to this purpose the same Apostle sayth to the Colossians the first chapter thus, O vvhat great thanks my brothers we are to giue vnto God our mightie father, because he hath made me and you able and worthie of his grace, vvhich he giueth vnto those vvhich are predestinated vnto glory.

There is no man in this miserable life, vnto whom there doth not fall some part of good or bad hap, or of a good or bad lotte: and thereupon it groweth, that all the happines or infelicitie of our pardition, doth consist in that, that there happeneth vnto vs a lot of being good or being bad, from the which vve cannot flee, nor attaine vnto the lot of being good if our Lord doe not sucker and helpe vs vvith his holy grace.

O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, what shall become of my vvicked soule, if in the deapth of thy diuine predestination there fall not some good lot vnto me?

Saint Barnard sayth, When I thinke how thou diddest cre­ate me not being asked, and redeeme me not being entreated by me, and how thou diddest make me a Christian vvithout any de­sert; I haue a great confidence that thou wilt haue great pitie and mercy vpon me: for with such great sinners as I am, O good Iesus, thou shalt get honour, as thou hast done with the theefe and with Mary Magdalen.

Saint Ierome vpon Saint Mathew sayth, That all the Heretiks doe destroy Christ his coat without seame with their opinions, princes teare it vvith inreuerence, Christians deuide it with their affections, and the clergie cast lots on it with their ambi­tion.

What else is at this day the strife among the clergie for a bishoprike or benefice, or canonrie, but an vnsowing & tearing of Christ his coat, threed by threed? Gregorie in his Pastorall sayth, That we may very well say of him, that he doth teare and rent Christ his coat which was without seame, who soweth sedition and diuisions among his brothers: because that a man is knowne in nothing more to be a good Christian, then by maintaining vni­tie and concord with his neighbour.

Et milites quidem haec fecerunt, sayth Saint Iohn, as if he would say, Those which at the foot of the crosse did deuide his gar­ments, [Page 225] and cast lots vpon his coat, were such as the common people call hangmen, and in Pilats house were called knights.

Those which laid hands on Christ, and crucified him, were very vile and base persons, for although the scripture doe call them knights and souldiers, yet it is to be presupposed that such in the Hebrue toung are called knights, which in latin are called footmen or torturers, insomuch that such as we call in our vulgar toung hangmen, in the Hebrue are tearmed to be knights.

God forbid that any man should thinke, that a man of good stocke, or of a noble house, or any man of valour, should haue laid hands vpon Christ, for seeing that none of the Iewes durst doe it, for feare of violating the law of the sinagogue, much lesse would any man of noble bloud do it for sear of staining his nobilitie. And therfore because that in this vain world, men haue greter respect vnto their gentrie and honors, then to any other thing in this life, and that oft-times men are bolder with their cōscience then with their reputation & credit, it may vvell be religiously thought that no man vvel descended, would put Christ to death. Beda doth in­tepret these words, milites haec fecerunt, to another purpose; For saith he, the scripture had great occasion to say, that those which deuided Christ his coat were knights, & that he vnto whom the coat without seame did fall was a knight, to let vs vnderstād ther­by, that he wil not impart the reward of his death, and the spoiles of his passion, among such as liue in ease and pleasure, but among knights vvhich liue in a continuall warre against vices, seeing that holy Iob sayeth, that, Mans life is nothing else but a conti­nuall fight and warre; and vnto whom but vnto holy knighthood doth this holy coat appertain?

When Iob saith, quod militia est vita hominis super terrā, and the Apostle, Non coronabitur nisi qui legitime certauerit, they spake it not in respect of such as fight against the enemie, but in regard of Christians vvhich resist vices; for to say the truth, he is worthy of a better crowne who ouercommeth his owne affections, then he who subdueth and killeth his enemies. Isidorus, de summo bono, sayth, Seeing that euery day, and euery houre, and euery moment [Page 226] and in euerie place, the diuel doth fight with vs, with his sleights and subtilties, the world entise vs with his delights, and the fleshe importune vs with her pleasures, tell me I pray thee, who doeth he not ouercome, who doth ouercome such enemies?

There is no war in the world so whot, which either a peace doth not cut off, or the sword end, or truce suspend; but alas the war which I haue within my selfe, and the strifes which my de­sires doe styr vp with my vnruly appetites, admit no peace at all, nor suffer no truce to be taken, nor are euer at rest, but doth liue and die with my life. In this war there is no bloud shed, but teares, it is not fought in the frontiers, but within a mans person, not by killing of enemies, but by pulling vp vices, not by spoiling the fields, but by shutting vp our sences, not by making agreements with the enemies, but by destroying of them vtterly: because it is impossible to make an attonement with vices, but we shall be­come afterward vicious.

O then this is a glorious war, and an happy battail, which the seruant of our Lord doth wage against his own person; seeing that for the knights and triumphers of this war, there is reserued an euerlasting crown, and the holy coat without seame. Remigius saith, that it wanteth not a great mistery, that the coat without seame was not deuided, but that it fell whole vnto him, who gaue it by lot; thereby to let vs vnderstand, that glory and euerlasting blisse, admitteth no deuision, but that he who obtaineth it hath it wholie, and he who loseth it, doth lose it wholy. What doth he gaine who gaineth this, but to liue for euer in heauen and en­ioy the fruition of the diuine essence? and what doth he lose who loseth it, but to abide for euer in flames of burning fire? Let our conclusion of all be, that as he who was not in the field, doth not deserue any part of the spoile, nor he any crown of victory, which was not in the battaile, so he deserueth no part of Christ his coat, who doth not end euor himself to be a good Christian: for in the works of vertue, if we cannot do all that which we ought, yet it is very necessary that we do all that which we can.

CHAP. XXXVI. Of diuerse sorts of people that mocked at Christ on the crosse, and of diuers iniuries which they did vnto him, and how the Iewes wagging of their heads at him, was a token of the fall of their synagogue.

ET pretereuntes blasphemabant eum, mouentes capita sua, & dicentes vah qui destruis templum dei, saith S. Mark in the 15. chap. as if he would say, All those which passed by the crosse, and all those which stood and be­held the crosse, and all those which were put to keepe the crosse, stood skoffing and mocking at Iesus crucified: and because they should not thinke that they did it in ieast, but in earnest, they nodded with their heads, blasphemed him with their tongues, and iniuried him with these spightfull wordds, Now cosoner, ieaster, and deceiuer, now the time is come wherein it is easily seene, how little thou knowest, and how very little thou art able to doe, and how very much thou doost presume; seeing thou diddest make the innocent people beleeue, that if they should throw downe Salomons temple to the ground, thou coul­dest build it againe in three daies, although he were fortie years in building it. There were sundry sorts of people, which skorned at Christ, the passengers which wēt by, the sergeants which kept him, the theeues which suffered with him, the learned in the lawe which were present, the priests of the temple which did behold him, so far foorth that all Ierusalem was culpable in that fault, seeing all were glad and reioyced in the doing of it. Eue­ry man stepped out as it had been to a play or enterlude, with some new inuention of blasphemy; euery man thinking himselfe most happy, which could most of all iniurie him, or most of all blaspheme him.

Some said that he had saued others, but he could not saue him­selfe, [Page 228] others did bid him come down from the crosse, and they would beleeue in him, others said, that because he did title him­selfe, to be the sonne of God, why did not God deliuer him, and others said, that if he were the chosen Christ, why did he not loose himselfe from the crosse, on which he was crucified. Hilla­rius vpon this place saith, That when the maker of the world was thus vpon the crosse, some did blaspheme him so from the heart, and others iniury him so spightfully, that they omitted not any one torment which they could giue him, nor iniury which they could doe vnto him, nor false witnesse which they could beare against him. Saint Augustine vpon Saint Iohn saith, Euen as Samp­sons foxes, had their heads asunder, and were tied only by the tails, and yet burned all the Philistians corne, so the wicked peo­ple of Israell, although they varied much in the iniuries which they did vnto Christ, yet they agreed al in the death which they gaue him.

Tell me I pray thee, what did not the abortiue children of the wicked sinogogue, what did they not go about, what did they not endeuour, to take away the life from the son of God, and to obscure his fame, and discredit his learning? his life the hangmen tooke away with their nailes, his fame the priests ob­scured with their tongues, his doctrine Heretiks discredited with their heresies: insomuch that if good Iesus had had greater welth in this world to haue lost, there had not wanted theeues to haue stolen it away.

O the glory of the angels, O light of the Seraphins, what hast thou on this crosse, either to giue or to keepe, seeing that the thornes haue taken away thy braines, the nailes drawen out thy bloud, the speare opened thy side, the vineger ended thy life, the priests darkned thy fame, the hangmen bestowed thy life, the Iewes mocke at thy doctrine, and the Gentiles persecute thy church? and although thou haddest lost all this, and that thou wast spoiled & robbed of all this, yet notwithstanding thou had­dest some smal credit with the people, & that was, that thou wast honest in thy person wise in thy words, and very profitable in thy doctrine. And yet to take away this small credit from him, they determined to raise a rumor on him, that he was a foole, & that [Page 229] he had vttered exceeding great follies in his life time, among which that he had said, that he was the sonne of the liuing God, and that hee was the Messias promised in the lawe, and that in three daies he would build vp the temple againe: in somuch that the words which he spake, touching the building vp of his church, they wrested as if it had been spoken in madnes or in folly.

Is there any higher point of folly saith Chrisost. then for a foole to quip him of folly, who is reputed most wise? The Iewes did shew themselues fooles in nothing more, than in reputing Christ to be a foole, and the reason was, that because that they did not applie themselues, to heare his words, nor to follow his steps, nor to immitate his doctrine, nor giue credit vnto his miracles, they thought that all which good Iesus did, was but a fained matter, and that all which he said vnto them, was spoken as it were by a foole. Ego sum vermis & non homo, opprobriū & abiectio plebis, saith Christ by the mouth of the holy prophet, as if he would say, I am so disfigured vpon this crosse, and all my body is so pulled and haled a sunder, that men will rather iudge me nowe a worme which is troden on, then a man, by reason wherof I am made a butt of iniuries, and a pledge or stake of blasphemies. A butt of iniuries, and a stake of blasphemies was Christ vpon the crosse, seeing the Iewes omitted no iniurie against him, nor did not for­beare any blasphemie that they could vse against him: in somuch that in them, there appeared their great mallice, and in Christ, there did shine his wonderfull patience. Cassidorus vpon the Psal, saith, That euen as it is the propertie of the worme, that when he hath made his bale of silke, immediatly to lose his life so the son of God, in the same instant that hee ended the redemption of mankind, he ended likewise his life.

Holy Iesus had great reason, to compare himselfe vnto the worme, rather then vnto any other creature, because that as all that which the worme doth put in his webbe, proceedeth of his own bowels, euen so all the bloud with the which he did re­deeme vs, issued out of his own proper vaines.

Doest thou not thinke my brother, that our good Iesus was a glorious worme, and a very happy worme, seeing that he did not only weaue the whole webbe of our redemption, with the [Page 230] bloud of his vains, but also with the loue of his bowels? O howe well he saith, I am a worme and not a man, seeing that loke how fast forward, the webbe of the worme doth growe in greatnes, he groweth neerer and neerer his destruction, so in like manner, the more the sonne of God did pursue our redemtion, the more he did shewe his loue towards vs, and the neerer his end drewe on. What can be said more vnto this purpose, but that the more his bloud failed, and his sight waxed dimme, and his life drewe to an end, so much the more his loue grewe and encreased to­wards vs. Barnard saith, that there was no member in the sonne of God, which was not full of griefe and dolour, nor any thing in him which was not ful of loue and charitie, because that when his holy vaines were emptied of bloud, they were presently fil­led and stuffed vp with loue. We should wonder greatly, and haue great compassion, to heare the sonne of God say, that he is a small and little worme of the ground and not a man. For what other thing doth he meane by these words, but that his bo­dy was so disfigured by torments, and that like vnto a worme he wanted bowels. As he who meeteth with a worme in the ground treadeth on him presently and killeth him, so the Iewes which knewe Christ, and conuersed with him, kicked at him, as though he had been a rotten woorme, and took his life from him.

S. Ierom vpon the Prophet Ionas saith, that the sonne of God was figured in the worme which did gnawe the yuie which took away the shadowe from the Prophet Ionas, when hee went to preach to the great cittie of Niniuie: the which figure was fulfil­led, when Christ our God, made desolat and spoiled all the Mosaiecall law, in which there was no fruit left at all, but did serue only for a shadowe. Omnes videntes me deriserunt me, locuti sunt labiis & mouerunt caput, saith Christ by the Prophet, As if he would say, All those which looked on me when I hanged vpon the crosse, iested and skoffed at me, and the manner of their skoffing was, that they blasphemed me with their tongues, and in skoffing wise, nodded at me with their heads, meaning thereby to let men vnderstand, howe foolishe my life had been, and howe fruitlesse my death was.

The Prophet Dauid, and the Euangelist Sainct Iohn, haue [Page 231] met very well in this prophesie, that is, that all such as did be­hold Christ, did laugh him to skorne, and blaspeemed him, and wagd their heads at him, in so much that S. Iohn sawe that with his eies, which the Prophet had long before prophesied.

There is no man so skandalous, nor so wicked in all the world, but men haue pittie on him, when he goeth to be hanged or be beheaded, and if they haue no pittie on him, yet they haue com­passion on his father who lost him, or on his mother, which brought him into the world.

It is a very naturall thing for one man to haue compassion on an other, and thereupon the most renowmed king Dauid, shewed great griefe and sorrowe, for the death of his enemy Saule, and did send many thanks to them which did bury him, and made songs in his praise, and celebrated his funerals, with many teares. Seneca saith, that it is not the part of a reasonable heart, but of some brute beast, not to pardon him who humbleth himselfe vn­to him, and not to haue compassion on him, who he seeth ready to die: for notwithstanding the mortall enmitie that was be­twixt Caesar and Pompey, yet there did runne as many teares from Casars eies, when hee sawe his enemie dead, as there did issue drops of bloud from Pompeis head, when hee was beheaded.

When the great patriarch Iacob did die in Aegipt, his sonne Io­seph did shewe such great heauines and sorrowe, to see his father departed, that ouer and aboue that he staied threescore daies, before that he solemnized the funerals, hee did inuite all king Pharaos court, to beare him company to burie him, and helpe him also to moorne.

The sonne of God was he only, for whose death the Iewes had no compassion, nor took no pittie at all on his mother: for saying as Christ did say, Omnes videntes me deuiserunt me, is plain­ly to tell vs, that all such as vvere present at his death, vvere all of one mind in the action, and that they vvere all glad that the hangmen did iest and skoffe at him. Wee haue saide that it is the propertie of mens hearts to haue compassion, vvhen other men, like vnto themselues do suffer, and therupon it riseth, that vvhen a man is on the ladder to be hanged, or hath the sword at [Page 232] his throate, to be beheaded, some bid him say his beliefe, some bid him commend himselfe vnto God, some say God receiue thy soule, and when he yeeldeth vp the ghost, euery man doth pray for him. The Iewes did the contrary vnto all this, at the death of the sonne of God, who hauing on the crosse, one mem­ber pulled from another, and all his vaines emptie of bloud, they did not only not help him to die well, but spake words vnto him to make him dispaire: because that oftentimes a noble hart doth take greater griefe, to see his enemies take pleasure of that which he doth suffer, then to see himselfe die. For when Christ was vp­on the poynt of yeelding vp his soule vnto his father, and when his breath was going out of his body, in stead of saying, The God of Abraham comfort thee, the God of Isaac direct thee, and the God of Iacob forgiue thee, they in skoffing manner said, Speake enchaunter, tell vs cosoner, if thou couldest doe any thing, or if thou dost know any thing, how could it be that thou wouldst not come downe from this tree, and deliuer thy selfe from this great torment? Seeing that thou doest cry Heli, Heli, and commend thy selfe vnto Ieremy, and call aloud to Helias, doest thou not thinke, that they will come to reuenge thy iniuries, and also to heale thee of these woundes? When thou diddest hould vs in the temple with thy seruants vntill noone, what fruit hast thou reaped by them, and what did the reprehensions which thou diddest vse towards vs auaile thee, and what was the end of the lessons which thou diddest teach vs, but only to loose thy life vpon this crosse, & to leaue al our common wealth scandalized? Seeing thou diddest bragge, that thou wast the sonne of the li­uing God, and thou wast the Christ promised in the lawe, why doeth not thy father come nowe, and take thee from this tree, and why doest not thou come down from it, to take thy king­dome? if thy miracles were true miracles, and not fained mira­cles, why doest thou not come down from the crosse, and drawe thy hands and feet from these nailes? Tell vs cosiner, why doest thou not doe that which wee say, and answere vnto that which we demaund of thee? our innocency is very cleare, and thy fault very manifest, seeing that before all this presence thou hast no excuse for thy faults, nor answere for our speach. These and such [Page 233] like iniuries they vsed to his face, partly because they would be the better reuenged on him, and partly to excuse and iustifie themselues, and also because that all the straungers which vvere there present should see, what great follies the son of God vtte­red vvhen he vvas aliue, and what great reason they had to cru­cifie him.

O children of furies, and ministers of hell, Vsquequo diligitis vanetatem, & quaeritis mēdacium? Such infamous testimonies, such malicious speeches, such iniurious words, such vndecent ge­stures, as these are, dare any man vse against the liuing, and much lesse against those which haue their eies sunke into their head, and are readie to yeeld vp the ghost? How would you that the e­ternall father should haue pitie vpon you, seeing that you haue none at all vpon his only and welbeloued sonne? if on him who hangeth crucified on the crosse, and hath his eies broken, his skin flaine, his bones brused, all the parts of his bodie pulled asunder, his vains without bloud, and also gaspeth his last breath, your hard hearts doe not wax tender nor rebent, how is it possible that any man should haue pitie or compassion on you? Of all the greifes and vexations of this world, there is none so great as that for which there is no remedie, nor yet hath no comfort at all. A certaine man asking a philosopher why he did weepe so much for the death of his sonne, seeing that now there was no remedie for it; he answered that therefore he did lament and weepe so much, because that for the death of his sonne he had no remedie. There was no comfort leaft for the iniuries and blasphemies spoken vn­to Christ, because there were so many of them, neither was there any remedie because there were so many which vsed them; for vndoubtedly ther was skarfe any man present which did not iniu­rie him, nor any iniurie forgotten which they did not vse against him. It wanted not a secret misterie that our Lord did suffer the Iewes to mock Christ, by wagging their heads at him, and that the Euangelists should report this vnto vs, because that in this it was figured, that the head of the Israelits, which was Iudea and the head of Iudea which was Ierusalem, and the head of Ierusa­lem which was the temple, and the head of the temple which were the preists, and the head of the preists which was the law, [Page 234] all these heads did now shake, did now moue, did now fall, and did also now end. The first homicide of the synagogue was Cain, and the last which was in her was her sonne, the people of Israel: and as Cains head did alwaies shake, because he did murder his brother Abell, so the heads of the synagogue did moue because they slew Christ, in so much that the wicked Israelits did not on­ly follow their father the manslaier, in the fault, but also in the punishment.

Origen vpon Saint Mathew sayth, What other thing did the wagging of their heads signifie, but that the citie, the kingdome, and the temple, and the law and the preisthood, which were their heads, did now shake and wag in the head; and that now there was no man left which should gouern the synagogue?

Hilarius in a Homely sayth, O you vnhappie Israelits, seeing that the heads which you did then moue in iest, were afterward moued and remouted in earnest, because that finde the time that Christ died, you haue no king to obay, no kingdome to dwell in, no citie to defend you, no temple to worship in, no prophet to vaunt of no preist to consult with, but like vnto the monsters of the desert of Sichem, you wander all the world without a head.

CHAP. XXXVII. How the son of God did crucifie with himself all our iniuries & faults, and that by his dishonoure and discredit, our credit did begin.

PRincipes eius & leones eius rugiētes & iudices eius & lupi, sayth, the prophet Soph [...]n. chap. 2. as if he would say, Woe be vnto thee Ierusalem, woe be vnto thee wic­ked people, because thy iudges are turned vnto roaring lions, and thy rulers into howling wolues, the which kill all flocks which they meet, without any respect, and deuour all that they meet in the way.

S. Luke also saith the like vnto this prophesie, that stabat popu­lus spectans, & deridebant eum principes sacerdotum, as if he would say, All the Iewish nation stand gasing and hearkening about the crosse, how the cheifest of the priests did skoffe and rest at him; in so much that almost all the people of Israel are to be condem­ned as culpable of that skoffing, and iesting: because that in houl­ding their peace they did seeme to consent to it, and in not spea­king against it, they did seeme to allow of it.

They did in those daies call those the cheefe priests, which did gouerne the people, and such as were ordinarie iudges, and such as were the most ancient among the people, by whose counsell and aduise all the rest were ruled.

Some say that the high preists and the pharises, and the scribes, were such as had greatest religion among the people, and were of greatest knowledge in learning, in the iudgement of men, be­cause of them all the Mosaycal law did depend, and the pro­phesies of the holy fathers, and the word of God, and the ex­pounding of misteries, and the gouernement of all the people. These high preists were so esteemed and feared, that God did command in the law, that if any man did disobey their cōmand­ment, or skoffe at that which they did coūsel, he should presently be cast out of the common-wealth, and be stoned to death. All these preists and gouernours did conspire against Christ falsly al­leaging the scriptures, and interpreting the figures, by the which they proued that Christ did deserue to die, seeing that openly he called himselfe the son of God, insomuch that they emploied all their skill and credit to defame and discredit Christ our saui­our, by these words which like great lawiers they did alledge, nos legem habemus, & secundum legem debet mori; Pilat gaue iudgment, and Christ died on the crosse: and he wauered in the faith, and the commons grew mutinous, and the elders of the law obstinat. S. Ambros saith, That if the son of God had not great credit a­mong the common people, they would neuer haue said, Nunquam homo sic loquutus est, no mā hath euer spoken as he hath spokē: nei­ther yet, hic est propheta qui vēturus est in mūdū, because Christ was very much enuied by the high preists. If any of the cōmon peo­ple had spoken any word in his fauour, by and by they said that [Page 236] it was a Heresie, and accused him of Heresie which spake it, and like vnto an Heretike they handled euery Israellit which did follow Christ, because they made the people beleeue, that Christ was a peruerse and a publike Heretike, seeing that he did heale the diseased contrarie vnto the law vpon the sabboth day, and contrarie to the law said himselfe to be the sonne of the liuing God. Remigius saith, That the elders of the people, & the priests were of such reputation, that they alone might haue defended Christ, although the multitude would haue put him to death, and therefore his death is rather to be sought for at their hands, then of any other, because that they better then the rest could haue giuen him his life. If S. Luke had said that the people did iest and mocke at Christ, and that the preists did looke on, it had ben tollerable, but to say that the preists mocked at Ch [...]t, and that the people did but looke on, was an vnseemely thing to be­hold, and very scandalous to heare: for they being bound to pu­nish such as should make a Christ or blaspheme him, they were the first which tooke vpon them to skoffe and rest at him, O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, seeing that thou doest find no iudge to defend thy innocency in the mount of Caluarie, how shall I find any to excuse my fault in the vale of Iosephat? If the iudges with their authoritie, and the preists with their grauerie, do openly skoffe and iest at thee, What will the hangmen and torturers doe which crucifie thee? Comming then vnto our pro­phesie of Sophonias, what are the roaring of the lions, & the how­ling of the wolues, but the iniuries which the preists did vnto Christ, & the blasphemies which the ancients did speake against him? S. Ierom saith, That as the lion doth breake his anger with his roaring, and the wolfe doth crie and manifest his hunger with his howling, so the excōmunicated preists of Israell, in putting Christ to death did breake their anger, and by vsing such opprobrious speeches, did manifest their wrath and hatred. What were those speeches, crucifie crucifie him, but the roaring of cruell lions, and what wer those other, Nō dimittas nobis nisi Barrabā, but the how­ling of rauenous wolues? all the Iewes like vnto fearce lions did roare, & like vnto blouddie wolues did howle at Pilats gates, for if it had laien in their power they would neuer haue committed [Page 237] the crucifieng of Christ vnto any, but like vnto lions they would haue torne him in peeces with their hands, and like vnto wolues, they would haue eaten him with their teeth. It was not much that those which passed by did iest and skoffe at Christ, because they knew him not, nor that the hangmen did the like, because it was their vse: but the preists which did teach the sinagogue, and the elders which did rule the people, had no reason to open their mouths against Christ, and lesser occasion to speake blasphemie against him. Woe be vnto thee catholike church, and woe be vn­to the christian common-wealth, when thou shalt see couetous­nes raigne in thy rulers and gouernours, mallice in thy elders, [...]n­uie in thy preists, because coueteousnes mallice and enuie were those which crucified the sonne of God, and buried the sina­gogue. Prelats and gouernours doe at this day so oft mocke at Christ, as they doe wrest iustice for feare of man, and doe in equal degree offend in tyrannizing the poor, as the Iews did by iniuri­eng Christ. I say not much when I say that they offend in equall degree, because that Christ doth greeue more to see his elect oppressed then to heare himselfe complained on; and so oft the ancients doe blaspheme Christ, as they doe destroy the people with wicked counsell, because that old ancient men doe no more hurt, or good in the common-wealth by their aduise and coun­sell, then captains in time of warre doe with their weapons. Sene­ca in an epistle sayth, That the Roman common-wealth had as great need of Cato Censorius to rule the people with his counsell, as she had of Scipio Affricanus, to defend them by armes. If there had ben any graue old man at the foot of the crosse, who had ben zealous and gealous of the honour of the synagogue, nei­ther the passengers which went by, nor the hangmen which kept him, nor the lookers on, durst haue mocked at Christ; but when they saw the old men mock him, and the preists blaspheme him, the common people thinking that to be well done which they did, euery one endeuoured himselfe to vse the greatest blasphea­mie against him which he could thinke or inuent. The preists doe so oft blaspheme Christ, as with their leaud life they doe skanda­lise the people: because that the life of preists in the common-wealth should be nothing else but a guide which euery man [Page 238] should follow, a glasse which euery man should looke in, a sample which euery man should worke by, a butt which euery man doth aime at, and a rule which euery man is directed by, and a patterne which euery mā is ruled by. The dutie of a good preist is, to weep and not to mocke, to pray and not to blaspheme, to speake wel and not to def [...]me, to defend and not to condempne, to comfort and not to doe iniurie, to make peace and not stir vp sedition, to quite and not accuse. The wicked Iewes did the contrarie vnto all this at the foot of the crosse, who in steed of speaking vnto him, they did blaspheme him, and in stead of defending him, they did of­fend him, and in stead of giuing him comfort, did doe him great iniurie, and in steed of releeuing him did accuse him. Et tu fili mi opprobrium populi, mei portabis, sayth Ieremie in the 5 chapter, brin­ging in the father, speaking vnto his son, as if he would say, Thou my sonne shalt take pains, because my people may play, thou shalt die because he may liue, thou shalt suffer because he may goe free, thou shalt be a man because he should be a God, thou shalt be blasphemed, because he may be honored, and thou shalt be defamed because he may liue in credit. Hillarius sayth, What is the ignominie which the father did cast vpon the sonne, but the old sin which all the world was charged with. As long as man did not know what sinne was, he did not knovv vvhat infamie was, vvhereof we may infer, that immeadiatly after that a man doth commit any sin, that he doth become infamous and discredited before God, for the which discredit & infamie he is bound vnto euerlasting punishment. Cassiodorus on these words of the Psalm, Gloria & honore sayth, the glorie and honor with the which God doth honour his saints and holy persons, doth differ much from that with the which the world dooth exalt his, because that on earth the most mightie is most honoured, but in heauen not so, but the most vertuous: and in the world he is most esteemed who hath most wealth, & before our Lord he who hath the best conscience. What doth it auaile thee if al men do thee honour, if thy cōscience do defame thee? what hast thou if thou haue not a good conscience? And what doest thou want if thou do not want a good conscience? For the eternall father then to say vnto his sonne, that he would cast vpon him all our infamie and disho­nor, [Page 239] is to foretell him, that he should pay for all the sins of the world, seeing that he came for the same purpose downe from heauen, insomuch that wee change with our blessed sauiour, our infamie with his fame and name, our fault for his grace, our death for his life, and our punishment for his glorie. O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, where did I begin to get fame, but in thy infamie? What was the beginning of my credit, but thy dis­credit? When did I begin to get credit with thy father, but since thou wast discredited vpon the crosse?

S. Barnard in a sermon sayth, I doe very much esteeme O good Iesus, I doe much esteeme, of the tormentes which thou diddest passe through, but I doe make greater reckoning of the nicknames and iniurious speeches which on the crosse thou diddest suffer for me, for if the discipline and stripes which they gaue thee, did open thy shoulders, the iniurious speeches did reach vnto thy bowels.

Seneca vnto his freind Lucilius sayth, That euery reasonable man, who is of a noble heart, and modest behauiour, had rather die with honour, then liue with infamie. What shall we say in this case of holy Iesus, whose life the nailes tooke away, and whose fame euill toungs haue stolen?

Ierome vpon Ieremie sayth, For the father to say vnto his son, Tu opprobrium populi mei portabis, is to say plainly, that all the world should be honoured by his death, and he only defamed and dishonoured: the which glorious prophesie was fulfilled lite­rally in Christ, when they vnloaded vs of al the reproches which they cast on Christ. Make hast O you Iews, saith Remigius, make hast to skoffe and iest at Christ, because you doe vs more good then you thinke for, for looke how fast his infamie doth grow, so fast doth our fault decrease and diminish. Hillarius saith, That the Inkeeper in Samaria did shew great loue to the prophet Heliseus and the loue which that good woman Ruth bare to Noemie, was very great, and yet the loue which Christ had vnto his crosse was far greater; because that no torments which they gaue him, not intreaties vsed towards him could make him come down from it, or take it from betwixt his arms. The father did agree very well with his children, that is the diuell with the Iews, because he did [Page 240] persuade Christ to throw himselfe downe from the pinacle of the temple, and they did persuade him likewise to come downe from the crosse, the which peruerse and wicked counsell, he would not only not admit, but also refused to heare. Although they told him that if he would come downe from the crosse, they would beleeue in him, yet Christ would not doe it, because he knew very well that they would not fulfill their promis, nor be­leeue in him at al, and thereupon because he knew that all which they spake, did proceed of malice, he would not answere thē one word. If the son of God when he came down from heauen, should haue come streit vnto the crosse, not hauing liued at all in the world, it seemeth that they had had occasion to entreat him to come downe from the crosse, and conuersed among them, but seeing that he had liued thirtie and three years among them, and had ben only three hours vpon the crosse, why should they re­quest him to returne againe into the world, seeing that he went straight to heauen? S. Chrisostome vpon S. Mathew sayth, That if Christ had liued in the world those three houres, which hee hanged vpon the Crosse; and had beene vpon the Crosse those thirtie three years, which he liued in the world, yet the loue which he bore vnto the crosse was so great, that if all the an­gels, would haue entreated him on their knees, and all men haue besought him with tears, he would neuer haue come downe from the crosse, vntill death had made an end of him. If the sonne of God should haue come downe from the crosse, after he had ben three hours vpon the crosse, what martyr in the world, at the very best of his matyrdome, would not haue turned back and sa­ued his life?

O perfidious Israelits, sayth Saint Augustine, O wicked Iews, why doe you lie so openly in saying that you would beleeue in him, if he would come downe from the crosse, seeing that you would not beleeue him when he rose againe out of his se­pulchre? Is it not thinke you a more glorious myracle, to see a man rise againe aliue from among the dead, then to see a man that is in health come downe from the crosse? O you Iewes, the saluation of the world dooth not consist in forsaking the crosse, and in comming to preach againe in this same field, [Page 241] but in shewing his great patience in the torments which he endu­reth, and in making manifest his constancy in preseruing of them: in somuch that his constancy and perseuerance should suffice & be enough to conuert al your sinagogue. S. Chrisost. saith that the children of wickednesse say vnto Christ, Come down from the crosse, if thou be the son of God: vnto whom we answer, Because he is the sonne of God, it is not conuenient that he should come down, but if he had been one of the theeues, it were little to be regarded whether he had come down or not, or whether he had gone. What should haue become of vs miserable wretches, if the son of God wold haue condescended to the infamous request of the Iewes? that was an infamous petition which the Iewes made, for if Christ would haue come down, and left the crosse at that time, the angels seats should not haue been restored, the prophe­sies vnfulfilled, the diuell vnuanquished, and all the world vnre­deemed. Heare vs the [...], O good Iesus heare vs, and if the sina­gogue do persuade thee to come down frō the crosse, the church doth not so; but rather that thou wouldest go vp higher vpon it, because the crosse is the ladder, by the which thou diddest go vp to heauen, and it is also that which thou hast left vs, to go vp to the same place. S. Barnard in a sermon saith, that if the obdurat people of the Iewes, had reached vnto the misteries which are contained in the crosse, and in the crucified, they would neuer haue said vnto Christ, If thou be the son of God, come down from the crosse; but they would haue said, because thou art our redeemer, take vs vp with thee to the crosse, because that those which thou diddest tender & loue, are knowen in nothing more, then by giuing them part of thy torments. Crucified, O good Iesus, we loue thee, crucified we adore thee, O great redeemer, and crucified we beleeue in thee, O the loue of my soule: for be­ing crucified thou diddest scale the heauens, vanquish the world, triumph ouer the diuell, make an end of sinne, plant thy church, and bury the sinagogue. Ambrose saith, Noemies loue with Ruth, and Dauids with Ionathas, did end with death; but good Iesus and the crosse, did not loue the one the other, only vntill death, but embracing the one the other, did there die, in somuch that if death were able to kill them, yet she was not able to separat [Page 240] [...] [Page 241] [...] [Page 242] them. Anselmus crieth out, and saith, O excommunicated Ieru­salem, O vnfortunat people of the Iewes, tell me I pray thee, I coniure thee, why dost thou mock at him, and detidest him with so many iniuries, who hath redeemed thee? good Iesus doth weepe the falling down of thy wals, and the losse of thy stones, and dost thou skoffe and mock at his precious fleshe, and at his holy words? And in steed of intreating him to take thee vp to the crosse, dost thou perswade him to come down from the crosse and turn vnto thee? Cyprian saith, that we should take great com­passion on the son of God, for the iniuries which they vse against him, and yet far greater vpon the poore Iewes which vse them, for if they skoffe and iest at his passion, they shalbe depriued of the fruit of redemption.

CHAP. XXXVIII. How the sun lost his light at the death of Christ, and of the great compassion which he had to see his maker die: and howe the synagogue began in darknes and ended in darknes.

AE hora autem sexta, vsque ad horam nonam, tenebrae facta sunt, super vniuersam terram, saith S. Mathew chap. 27. as if he would say, At that very instant, when the cre­ator of the world, and the heire of eternities did yeeld vp his ghost, and breath out his soule vpon the crosse, the sun did immediatly cloth himselfe in blacke, and the moone did put on a mourning weed, from six of the clock, vntill nine.

It is a very old custome, for children to weepe for the death of their parents, and seruants for the death of their maisters, and friends for their friends; because it is not possible, where there hath been found friendship and true faith, if that conuersation be seperated, but the heart goeth also with it. Let no man maruell, that the heart goeth with his conuersation, seeing that this is most manifestly seen in the departure of Ruth and Noemi, and of Dauid and Ionathas, of Tobias and his son, and of Helias and Heli­zeus, [Page 243] where in some of them tears did abound, and in the others words did want.

Seneca saith, that there is nothing, wherin loue may better be knowen, then when one friend departeth from an other, because they can neither speake, nor cease from weeping. Let no man maruell, saith Cicero speaking to this purpose, that I shewe such griefe for the absence of my friend Rufus, because it is not possi­ble for one friend to part from another, but their hearts should likewise part in two. It is not reason that the vniuersall redeemer, should be excluded out of this generall rule, in whose death, his mother did weep for him, as for her child; the Angels, as for their restorer; the disciples, as for their maister; the heauens, as for their maker; and men, as for their redeemer; in somuch that as good Iesus did die for all, so all determined to weepe for him. For the death of Sara, Abraham alone did weepe; the death of Iacob the patriarke, his son Ioseph did only weep; for the death of Moy­ses only Israel, for the death of Saul only Dauid, for the death of Samuel only Ramatha, for the death of S. Stephan, the church only did weepe, but for the death of the sonne of God, not only men, but also the elements do weepe and bewaile. Origen saith, a death so euilly employed, as that which was giuen to Christ, a life so vniustly taken away, as that which was takē from Christ, and so open an iniury, as that which was done to Christ, and such excessiue torment, as that which was giuen Christ, all these er­ronious facts, the elements themselues thought very reasonable to help men to weepe for and lament, and if they would, reuenge also. Chrisost. vpon S. Mathew saith, If, as our Lord gaue licence vnto the heauens to become darke, and the earth to quake, hee would likewise haue giuen them licence to chastize and punishe men, and take a reuenge for his death; the earth would presently haue opened, and sent them all into hell: but because his plea­sure was that his life should end, and not his mercy, he gaue licence vnto the elements to make them a feard, and not to kill them. Testes inuoco caelum & terram, quod proposuerim vobis, vi­tam & mortem benedictionem & maledictionem, said Moyses vn­to the Iewes, when hee was departing out of this world; in the last of Deut. as if he would say, The lawe which I haue giuen you [Page 244] is so holy, that if you keep it, you shall liue, and if you breake it, you shall die, and if you do receaue the councell which I haue giuen you, you shalbe blessed, and if you breake it, cursed; and be­cause I knowe for a certaintie, that in the time to come you shal­be lost, and that you and your lawe shall end, therfore to verifie this which I haue spoken, I leaue for witnesses the heauens which you do behold, and the earth which you do tread on. There passed a thousand and six hundred fiftie and fiue yeres, from the time that Moyses died in the fields of Moab, vntill Christ died vp­on the crosse, and therfore, because the vtter destruction of the Iewes, and the whole prophesie of Moyses, was to be accompli­shed in the death of Christ, and because that in such a long time, there would not be any witnesse aliue, he tooke the heauens for his witnes, of whom he had no doubt, but that they should al­waies be aliue. It wanteth not a misterie, and that a great mistery, that Moyses did put before the Iewes, death and life, a blessing and a curse, wherof the wicked Iewes made choice of the curse, when they demaund that the bloud of Christ, might fall vpon them; and they did choose death, when they did take away Christ his life: & because that by this enormious offence, all the Iewish nation was to take his end, the heauens and the earth gaue a true testimony, of that which they had heard Moyses say in his death. Rabanus saith, That because the elements, the heauens and the earth did want tongues, to forme words withall, they re­membred to become darke, and to tremble in steed of speaking; for if our Lord would haue giuen them licence to speake, they would openly haue spoken all that which they heard Moyses spake, and haue manifested the great error, which that people had fallen into. For so great an offence as it was to put Christ to death, and for so great a punishment, as it was to destroy all the Iewish nation, it was very requisit for Moyses to take those which were very ancient, and for abilitie of sufficient warrantise, as the heauens and the elements were, which could no way be spotted, because they had no sinne, nor any exception taken against them, as being too yong, because they had been cre­ated aboue a thousand years before. Ierom vpon S. Marke saith, That the darkning of the sunne, the quaking of the earth, [Page 245] the renting a sunder of the stones, and the raising of the dead, did meane nothing else, but that therby we should vnderstand, the great innocencie which Christ died with, and the exceeding mallice, with which the people did put him to death. Cyprian saith, The earth did quake, and the heauen was afraid, of the great feare which the elements were driuen into, to heare the dolorous voice which the son of God gaue, in the separation of his soule from his body; meaning therby to let vs vnderstand, that they could neither see nor suffer, that their creator should suffer so bitter a passion, and that their God, should die so grieuous a death.

Where art thou O my soule, dost thou sleepe or wake O my heart? the heauens are loaden with mourning, to see them slay their God, and dost thou make no reckoning, that he is slain, and put to death for thee? The heauens do weepe, although they were not those which were redeemed, and dost not thou weep O my soule, seeing that he died for thy sins? If at the brusing of his bones, and the pulling asunder of his members, and at the troubling of the elements, thou dost not wake, to shed so much as one teare, when dost thou thinke to rise out of the lethargie of thy sin? Basill saith, That in the quaking of the earth, and the darkning of the sū, at the time that Christ died, he gaue vs to vn­derstand, that for a paiment, that the people of the Iewes would not suffer Christ, the earth and elements would not suffer them, but that at the same time, the son of God should end his life, and the old Mosaycal lawe die with him.

Because there was no man, that would celebrat the funerals of the redeemer of the world, in stead of mourning, the heauens darkened themselues, and in stead of bels, the stones brake in sonder: all which they did for very griefe to see Christ die, and also to see the sinagogue to be caried to her graue. Remigius saith that we should make smal rekoning, that the Gentile doth skoffe at our beliefe, and the Iewe slaunder our lawe, feeing wee haue the heauens and the earth for witnesses, that it is most true, that the Iewe hath cast away himselfe, that Moyses law is at an end, that all that is written, is fulfilled, that the son of God did die, and that with his own precious bloud, he hath redeemed vs. If [Page 246] the diuine prouidēce had giuen the elements & heauens, tongues to pronounce, and licence to speake; they would willingly haue made a recitall vnto vs, and a discourse of all the passion, and all the order of our redemption, as being faithfull witnesses of sight, which were there present, and pittifull creatures which at the same place did weare mourning weeds. Would they not thinke you deliuer foorth, & beare witnes more willingly, of that which the redeemer of the world did vpon the crosse, then of that which Moyses speake in the fields of Moab? Sol contra Gabaon ne mouearis, & luna contra vallem Mambre, said the famous captaine Iosue, fighting against the Gabaonites; as if he would say, I require thee, in the name of the great God of Israel, O thou sun, that thou stand still, and not stir out of thy place, vntill I haue ended the battail against my enemies, and obtained the desired victory ouer them: for if the day should end, and the night shew her selfe, they might hide themselues from me, and I could not pursue them.

This praier which the good captaine Iosue made, was of great efficacy, seing that it was literally fulfilled as he had praied, and the sunne durst not hide himselfe, to shorten the day, nor the moone appeare, to shewe that it was night: in somuch that, that day was so long, as the force of the battaile did continue.

It is much to be noted, howe our Lord doth regard rather the hart of him who praieth, then the words with the which he prai­eth, seeing that Iosue praied, not in the temple but in the field, not meditating but fighting, not on his knees, but on horsbacke, not shedding tears but bloud, not entreating, but coniuring, nor asking for vsuall matters, but such things as none durst aske, but himselfe. Gregory in his register saith, that no man should despair of Christ his clemency, nor be afeard to ask for things necessary, seeing that he graunted Iosue, such an vnusuall and strange re­quest. Will not our God and Lord, who gaue Iosue light, and lengthned the day to be reuenged of his enemies, more willingly giue it me, for the good of my neighbours, and to destroy my sins? To come then vnto our first purpose, why did our Lord make the day longer, when Iosue did fight, and make it shorter, when the son of God did die; seeing that Iosue did aswell shed [Page 247] bloud in the fields of Gabaon, as the Iewes did in the mount of Caluary? why at Iosues petition, did God turn the night into the day, and at the death of the son of God, turne the day into night? the secret of this misterie is, that Iosue did fight for the seruice of God, but the Iewes did fight against the same God; and besides this, good Iosue did fight to defend the holy lawe, but the wic­ked Iewes, did impugn the catholike church; and therfore our Lord being the high and eternall goodnes, would giue them nei­ther light nor fauour, to commit so enormious and detestable wickednesse. Remigius saith, That for the sun to become dark at the death of Christ, and stretch out his beames in Iosues battaile, is to let vs vnderstand, what a great offence it is, to offend a good man as Christ was, and what a great meritorious deed it is, to pu­nishe a naughtie man, as the people of the Gabaonits were: in testimony wherof, the sun did hide his beames in the mount of Caluary, as not consenting to the death of him who was iust, and lengthned the day in Gabaon, as allowing the punishing of that wicked people. It is much to be waighed, that the darknes which he did cast ouer the Iewes, did last but three houres, & the light which he gaue Iosue did continue a whole day, wherin he doth giue vs to vnderstand, howe short and mild God is in punishing, and howe bountifull and liberall he is in his rewards, seeing that he giueth vs punishment by waight, & his fauours without mea­sure. Extendit Moyses manum suam in caelum, & factae sunt tenebrae super terram Aegipti tribus diebus, saith the scripture in the 10. of Genes. as if he would say, When king Pharao would not deliuer the children of Israel out of their captiuitie, immediatly as Moy­ses did lift vp his hand, vnto the heauen, all the land of Aegipt was full of darknesse, the which was so great and so thick, that if they could hear one anothers voice, yet they could not discerne one anothers countenance. Rupertius saith, If we wil compare the sin of the Aegiptians, with the sin of the Iewes, we shall find it to be verie true, that the Iewes did commit a far greater sin then the Aegiptians, and yet notwithstanding, those which were in greatest fault, were least stirred vp, and those which were least of all culpable, most of all punished.

Who dare say the contrary vnto this, seeing wee haue seen [Page 248] that the darknes did cōtinue, in the mount of Caluarie but three hours, and did last in Aegypt three whole daies? What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? is it not a greater offence, to take away thy life from thee then to hinder the Israelits to go out of Aegypt? If this be true, as true it is, why dost thou chastise the Iewes, but with three hours of darknes, and dost put the Ae­giptians, in a great feare with three daies of terrible darknesse? Thou dost shewe by this O good Iesus, that thou hast greater pittie on vs, then we had of thee, and that thou dost feele our hurt more deeper, then thy own, seeing that thou wast very mer­ciful with the Iewes, who did offend none but thy selfe; and didst shewe thy selfe, very rigorous vnto the Aegiptians, who did offend thy seruaunts: giuing vs therby to vnderstand, that thou doest more eassier pardon such as offend thy selfe, then such as do iniu­ry vnto their neighbour.

The darknes which the Lord did cast in Aegypt vpon the Ae­gyptians, was to chastise them, but the darknesse which in the mount of Caluary, he did cast vpon the Iewes, was but to make them afraid, because it is not to be thought, nor to be beleeued, that he who went vp to the crosse to redeeme them, had any de­sire to punish them, and much lesse to destroy them. Ierom vpon S. Mathew saith, That at the death of the son of God, the sun doth loose his light, the earth doth quake, the stones cleaue in two, the vale of the temple renteth in peeces, the sepulchers of the dead open, in somuch that all creatures haue compassion on him, only man excepted, for whom he suffered. For my own part I beleeue, saith Anselmus, that presently as the hangmen began to vncloth Christ, the heauen began to loose his light, because the sun would shew him selfe to be ashamed of that wherof the Iewes had no shame at all; that is, to see Christ his flesh naked, crucified on the tree: in somuch that the son hauing compassion of his creator, determined to couer him with darknesse, seeing that they had taken his garments from him. Beeing true, saith Cy­prian, that he who did see the son of God, did see also God him­selfe, by reason of the high hypostaticall vnion, which was be­twixt the diuinitie and humanitie; it is not to be beleeued, that, that so generall an eclipse was made throughout all Iudea, with­out [Page 249] very deepe counsell; because it was not a reasonable thing nor yet an honest thing, that they should dare to looke on Christ too earnestly vvith their eies, vvho had so cruelly laid hands vp­on him. Hillarius saith, That because darke places are most fit for contemplation, the deuine prouidence did cast that darknes vpon the face of the earth, because that the faithfull which were there present, might the better prepare themselues to contem­plat on that high mysterie, and those which were peruerse and wicked, haue occasion to repente themselues of their sinnes. As the riuer cannot run, but vvaxeth drie as soone as his spring faileth (saith Chrisostome) so did the materiall sun at the death of the son of God, saieng that he could light the vvorld no longer, seeing that Christ by whom he vvas lightened, did die and take his end. Prosper in his sentenses saith, that God vseth a very ex­ceeding good order in all his doings, if vve vvere able to compre­hend it; vvhich is easily seene by that, that he made a great sha­dow on the mount of Caluarie, insomuch that the wretched sy­nagogue, as being frighted and amased, began in darknes, and en­ded in a shadow. Vbicunque habitabunt filii Israel, erat lux, vbi au­tem Aegiptii erant tenebrae, saith the 10 chapt. of Exodus, as if he vvould say, Although all the whole kingdome of Aegypt was full of darknes, yet there was none at all where the children of Is­raell did remaine: because that by speciall fauour and grace, the light went after the children of Israell, and darknes followed the Aegyptians. Origen vpon S. Mathew saith, That it may religiously be thought that the priueledge vvhich the Israelits did inioy in Aegypt, the faithfull did enioy in the mount of Caluarie; that is to wit, that they did as manifestly see Christ his humanitie, as if there had ben no darknes at all in the vvorld, vvhich seemeth to be a thing agreeing vnto reason, because it was not reason that those should be partakers in the punishment, which did not parti­cipate in the offence.

Of all the misteries vvhich Christ did either doe or speake, during those three hours, S. Iohn giueth testimonie, not by hear­say or report, but as he saw and heard them himselfe; for he sayth qui vidit testimonium perbibuit, which he would neuer haue affirmed, if the darkenesse had blinded him, as it did the Iewes.

S. Barnard to this purpose sayth, Thou mother of him who was crucified, and Iohn thy cosen, and thy welbeloued Mary Magdalen, and some other few of thy familie, all you did see the God of light, among the darknes, whē he said, I am a thirst, when he tasted the vinegar, bowed downe his head, and yeelded vp his soule vnto his father: so that these by a speciall priuiledge did fully see him and wholy beleeue in him. Bonauenture saith, When in the last houre the sonne of God did commend and giue his soule vnto his father, his mother only and her familie did deserue to see his soule go frō him, and bow down his head, because that all the Iewes which were there assembled, because they were procureres of his death, deserued not to see him die. Hilarius vpon S. Marke saith, That because the torturers and hangmen did be­gin to skoffe and iest at that, that Christ did speake and doe vpon the crosse, God by his deuine prouidence, did cast ouer them an eclipse of darknes, because they should heare all the misteries which remained to be done vntill the last moment of his life, but yet that they should neither see them nor vnderstand them. Cipri­an sayth, That the obstinate Iewes with that thicke darkenesse could not see Christ, and with those damnable bowels could not vnderstand Christ, which doth easily appeare in that, that the son calling vnto his father, and saying Heli, Heli, they vnderstood him that he had called for Helias.

CHAP. XXXIX. Of many and sundry sorts of death, and that the death of Christ was the most glorious of them all.

MOriatur anima mea morte iustorum said the prophet Bala­am, as if he would say, I doe not desire of God that he would giue me longer life thē that whi [...] [...] haue liued, nor greater honour then that which I [...], nor more wealth then I do possesse, but that whi [...]h I d [...] of G [...]d is, that my soule may die like vnto those whi [...] [...] [...]e. What greater, or more heroicall gift can we [...] [...]is hands in [Page 251] this life, then the grace to die in his grace? he doth ask for a great matter who doth ask for grace at God his hands, and he obtai­neth much, who obtaineth grace, for because that as punishment is tied vnto his displeasure, euen so glorie is alwaies coupled and knit to his fauour and grace. Basill saith, That no man can die like vnto a good man but he who is a good mā, nor no man end like vn­to a iust mā, vnles he be a iust mā, because the priuiledge of dying well is imparted vnto none, but vnto such as God gaue his grace to liue well. Dauid did ask for health for his son, Anna grace to haue a child, Helias asked for death at the brooke side, Ezechias asked for longer life being in sicknes, the Chananan asked for health for her daughter being vexed of the diuel, but Balaā, & I and Balaam, do not pray to God for longer life, but that it would please him that we may die in his grace. Origen vpon the booke of Numbers saith, That it is much to be noted, that Balaam did not pray that God would giue him grace to liue like vnto good men, but to die like vnto such as were good and iust men: and that not without reason, because we see many euery day which liue wel, & end badly, & many which liue euily, & die wel. Wicked Iudas did liue wel, but in the end of his trauel he ended wickedly, the theef did liue exceeding wickedly, but in the end of his life he died ver­tuously; insomuch that vnfortunat Iudas from his Apostlship went into hell, & the good theefe from the gallowes went to heauen. We see many (saith Seneca in an epistle) saile on sea with a prospe­rous wind, which afterward are drowned in taking the hauen, and many escape out of bloudie battels, and die afterward of a linge­ring ague, insomuch that the felicitie of man doth not consist in a good beginning, but in a good end. What benefit is it for the vine to blossome well, if at the haruest time he beare no grape? What doth it benefit a man to haue liued like vnto S. Paule if in the end he do die like to the heretike Arrius, or Sergius, therfore the pro­phet Balaam saith very wel, Moriatur anima mea morte iustoris, for if it be a good thing to liue well, it is much better to die wel, seeing that Balaam doth ask of God that his soule may die like vnto the soule of a good man, it is very requisit for vs to rehearse the liues of some holy personages, that therby we may know what death to wish for, because the holy scripture dooth lay downe vnto vs [Page 252] the liues of holy men, not to the end only that wee should know them, but because also that we should imitate them. What doth it auaile thee, O my sister, to read, and twise read the life of Ma­rie Magdalen, if thou continue as dissolute as before thou wast?

S. Augustine sayth, That the solempnities of some martyrs which we doe celebrate, are nothing else but certaine stirrers vp of vs to suffer martyrdome for Christ. Insomuch that we should not be ashamed to imitate those whose feasts we doe cele­brate.

Egredere non egredearsed hic moriar, 3. Reg. chap. 20. These words passed betwixt Benaias king Salomons captaine, and Ioab king Da­uids captaine, when Benaias vvent vp to the holy tabernacle to sley captaine Ioab, vnto whome Benaias said, Salomon my Lord commandeth thee to goe out of his Tabernacle. Vnto whom Ioab made answere, I will rather die here then goe out of the temple, or depart from the alter.

What else is it to die within the tabernacle, but to die like a true and faithfull Christian? and what else is it to die, holding fast by the alter, and taking hold by the arke, but to die embraced and adorned with al the sacraments? O how happie that soule is, who vvith the captaine Ioab, doth liue within the holy temple, and ta­keth hold of the altar, which is Christ, and dieth embracing the arke of the sacraments: because that of such a soule we may with better reason say rather, that she beginneth to liue then that she doth end or die. It is the persuasion of the diuel to say, egrederefo­ras: and it is the answer of a good Christian, to say, Non egrediar sed hic moriar: because the intent of the diuell is to draw vs from a holy place, to the prophane places of the world; and God his purpose is, to draw vs from that which is prophane, and to bring vs vvhere vve may die in his seruice. Mortuus est Manasses in diebus messis hordeacei quia instabat super alligantes manipulos in campo. Iudith the 8 chap. as if he would say, That worthie labouring man Manasses, husband to that noble dame Iudith, died in the haruest time, in cutting and binding vp sheues of barly, by reason of the exceeding heat of the sun which did driue him into such a great ach in his head, that it killed him. S. August. in an Homelie sayth, [Page 253] That as the labouring man doth fight all the daies of his life with the earth, for no other reason but because she should yeeld him foo [...] to eat, so man doth fight with his own sensualitie to sub­due it, because it is a harder matter to pul vp the tentations which striue in our flesh, then to weed from the earth the nettles which trouble vs. S. Barnard saith, That when the husbandman doth make cleane his corne from weed and cockle, they grow not a­gaine of a long time, but woe be vnto me O good Iesus, woe be vnto me, because that in the field of my heart and sensualitie, one vice is no sooner gone but another is come in, nor that gone but another commeth in his place, insomuch that if they doe not enter in all at once, it is not because they doe not come, but be­cause they are not able to be receiued. S. Ierome vpon S. Mathew saith, That as the husbandman doth sow diuers and sundrie seeds of graine in the field, because that if the one grow not, yet the o­thers may take, euen so the vaine wordling vndertaketh much busines, some heare, some there, hee entreateth with this man, threatneth that man, flattereth some, and deceiueth other some, and all this he doth to increase his wealth, to heape vp more riches, and to be of greater power and authoritie. Plato in Thimeo saith, That if the heart vvere quartered into so many peeces, as he is scattered abroad into imaginations and thoughts, I sweare vnto thee that he would either gather himselfe together, or end in short time. Seneca to this purpose saith, If wh [...]ther my hart go­eth with his thoughts, my bodie should also goe vvith his feet, there would be no eagle which could be able to flee so fast, nor no Hart which so swiftly should be able to run. Corn so scattered abroad, and seed so badly sowen, such as are our disordinat and vnbrideled desires, what shall we doe if we cut them not before we die? Cutting his corne, and binding vp his sheaues, death tooke Iudiths husband: wherein we should vnderstand, that when death doth knocke at our gates, he should find August past and our haruest at an end; I meane not of the grapes which are in the vineyard, but of the thoughts which are in our bowels. O that, that, is a glorious August and a happie gathering of grapes, which the seruant of our Lord doth of the affections and passions which he hath in his mind, that when the houre of death doth come, [Page 254] our Lord may find nothing to cut, nor the diuel to gather. Mortu­us est Moyses non calligauit oculus eius, nec dentes illius motisunt, saith the holy scripture in the 33 of Deut. as if he would say, Ho­norable old Moyses died at the age of a six score, and neuer lost the sight of his eies, nor neuer lost tooth of his head. Agmon saith, That in such a long age as that of Moyses, vnlesse it had been by a speciall priueledge, it had not ben possible for him to haue pre­serued his sight so long, nor to haue had all his teeth; because that from fourescore vpward the teeth begin to fall, and the eies to grow darke. Origen sayth, That our Lord is such a freind vnto those as he loueth, and so carefull of the good, that he doth not only giue them grace to keepe their soules, but also force and strength to preserue their bodies, as he did to Moyses in his old age; whose sight he preserued because he might goe, and teeth because he should eat. There is great difference saith S. Gregorie betwixt the blindnes of the soule and the blindnes of the bodie, because that that of the bodie darknes doth cause, but that of the soule wickednes doth procure: and thereupon it is, that the noughtie man doth stumble in many more things, then the blind man: the blind man knoweth that he is blind, and suffereth him­selfe to be guided, but the noughtie man doth neither know himselfe to be nought, nor will not suffer himselfe to be counsel­led, and therefore he doth neither know that which he would haue, nor desire that which he ought. O how happie that soule is vvhose sight continueth vntill death, knowing in her selfe how little she is worth, how little she possesseth, and the small power she is of, for otherwise we may well say of such a soule, that she seeth very little if she doe not see her selfe. The great patriarke Iacob had lost the sight of his eies, seeing he did not see his ne­phews which vvere by him, but yet he had not lost the sight of his soule, seeing that he prophesied things to come; insomuch that he did not know those which were before his eies, and did see that which should happen three hundred years after. What doth it meane, sayth Rupertus, that Moyses being six score yeares old did neuer want tooth, but that in all that time he did neuer speake any superfluous word? Horace saith that we speake with our tongue, eat with the cheeke teeth, pronounce with our other [Page 255] teeth, and vtter with our mouth, insomuch that the want of our teeth causeth vs to pronounce badly. Being then true as true it is, that we loose so many teeth, as we speake vaine words, by this ac­count it were a lesser losse to loose all our teeth, then to be noted to haue a noughty tongue. Cypriā in one of his epistles saith, That as a wise man doth let nothing passe into his stomacke, vnlesse it be wel chevved before, euen so there doth no word proceed from his heart, which he hath not wel thought of before, because that of words not well vvaighed, nor consideratly thought vpon, doe oftentimes great contentions arise.

Origen to this purpose saith, O how happie is the soule which wanteth no tooth, that is, which neuer did any thing whereof she should repent, nor speake word whereof she should be sorrie: for comparing all the parts of our bodies together, we doe sin more with our toung alone, then with al the members of our bodie be­sides. Much good may Moises his teeth do him, so that thou my brother doe put a watch before thy mouth, and in thy words, be­cause that in the houre of death, they will rather ask vs an ac­count of the words which we speake, then of the teeth which we haue lost. Iacob collegit pedes super lectulum & obiit, saith the holy scripture in the last of Genesis, as if he would say, The old partriarke Iacob being come to the end of his daies, and fi­nishing his speach to his sons, and blessing euery of them by him­selfe, drew vp his knees and feet [...] his mouth, and yeelded vp his life. In mans bodie there is no part further off from the mouth then the feet, and therefore when the good patriarke did ioine & draw his feet to his mouth, and his mouth to his feet, whē he was giuing vp the ghost, it is not to be thought that he did it by hap-hazzard, but for a deepe secret and a high misterie. What is vn­derstood by the feet which vve goe vvith, but the good purposes which we haue to be good? what are the hāds with the which we doe eat and trauell with, but only the good works which we do? what is ment by the mouth which we speake with, but the promi­ses & vows which we make? it is conuenient for vs then to ioin to­gither the mouth with the hands, & the hands with the feet, be­fore we die, that is to say, our words with our desires and purpo­ses, and our purposes with our workes, because the kingdome [Page 256] of heauen is not gotten by force of words, but by weight of good works. When Christ saith in the gospel vnto one haecfac & viues, and vnto another, si vis ad vitem ingredi serui mādata, he did plain­ly shew vs, that an euangelicall perfection did not consist in much speaking but in well doing, and therefore there are none reputed martirs for the words which they haue spoken, but for the works which they haue done. He doth die with his mouth far from his hands who doth say one thing and doe another; and he with his hands far from his feet, who hath many good purposes and de­sires, but naughtie works: from which malediction good Lord de­liuer vs, because that to speake well and doe ill, doth rather be­long vnto old philosophers, then vnto good Christians. O that happie is the soule which death taketh, the feet ioined to the mouth, that is, speaking with doing; and that working with desi­ring, speaking and doing, promising and fulfilling, were all one, and were coupled together imitating the son of God, who thir­tie years was silent, and preached only three. Iob mortuus est senex, & plenus dierum, saith the holy scripture in the last of Iob, as if he would say, Iob the holy man, and who loued God well, did die loaded with many years, and full of daies.

S. Gregorie vpon these words saith, The scripture doth not speake without a great misterie when he saith, that holy Iob did die ould and full of daies, and not full of many nights; because he would let vs vnderstand thou by, that he dieth idle and emp­tie, and without daies, whose daies are passed without fruit or profit, and he doth die full of daies who when he dieth, dieth full of good works.

Chrisost. saith, That in holy scripture by the day is vnderstood grace, and that by the night we should meane disgrace and dis­pleasure; and thereupon it is, that when wicked Iudas went from Christ, to deliuer him vnto his enemies, the Euangelist sayth, That his departure was by night, that is, that he was depri­ued of the day and light of grace, and was accompanied with the night of sin. S. Barnard vpon Qui habitat saith, That because no life can be called life, vnlesse it be a good life, nor none said to liue, vnlesse hee liue well, we may say with great reason, that he hath not liued any day at all, who hath [Page 257] wickedly liued, and that he hath liued many daies, who hath ver­tuously liued.

What doth any man keepe of his years which are past, or of the daies which he hath liued, but the good works which hee hath done in them? All is past, all is ended, and all forgotten, there remaineth only the merit or demerit which we haue gotten, and so according to this count, they call the day merit, and the night demerit. If thou hast done well, thou hast liued long; if thou hast done ill, thou hast not liued at all: because that in the day of account, they will not put in thy reckoning, the daies which thou hast liued, but the good works which thou hast done.

If the kingdome of heauen should be giuen in respect of years, who liued so long as Mathusalem, who passed nine hundred? As holy Iob did die full of daies, so there are many which die loaden with nights, that is, without the light of grace, and the day of glory. Such die full of nights as die full of faults, because there is nothing in this life so darke, as a naughtie conscience full of sinne. What is it, saith S. Gregory, for the good to die full of daies, and the wicked full of nights, but for the one to go to heauen, where there is day without night, and the other to go to hell, where there is night without day? Happy is the soule which dieth in the day of grace, and miserable is the soule, which dieth in the night of sin, because that to die by day, or to die by night, is nothing else but to liue in light, there there is no darknes, or to liue in darknes where there is no light.

CHAP. XL. Howe the son of God did die vpon the crosse, praying and wee­ping, teaching vs by that example, howe we should behaue our selues in the last houre.

ET inclinato capite tradidit spiritum, saith S. Iohn in his 19 chapt. speaking of the death of the son of God vpon the crosse, as if he would say, Nowe that the redeemer of the world, had giuen foorth a terrible voice, saying: Father into thy hands I [Page 258] commend my spirit, he did somwhat bowe down his head, and gaue his soule vnto his eternall father.

In the last houre, in such a high misterie, in such a glorious end, as this was of the son of God, that hee would not moue his arme, nor hand, nor foot, nor leg, but only bowe down his head, wanteth not a great mistery nor yet a verie deep secret.

It is an old custome to tell what happened vnto our father, or vnto any deare friend in the last hour of his life; that is, what he did, what griefe he had, what words he spake, howe hee died, and howe long he striued with death, because that those things which we do last of all, are alwaies much noted, and greatly s [...]t by. Doth the scripture, saith Augustine vpon S. Iohn, find occasi­on to talke of the death of holy men, and will it not note and waigh waighty things, in the departure of the holiest of all holy men? much there is to be noted, and much to be considered, and also much to be weapt and wailed, in the passing out of this world and death of the sonne of God; because, that in the last account of his life, and last houre, the words which he spake were so pro­found, and the works which he did, so strange, that they go be­yond all humane capacitie, and ouercome the vnderstanding of Angels.

Ieremias in a sermon saith, That from the beginning of the world, there was neuer death so cruell, because they killed mercy and clemency it selfe; neuer death so iniust, because they slewe him who was innocent; neuer death so infamous, because they did put him to death on the crosse; nor any death so scandalous, seeing that it doth continue vntill this day; nor any death so no­ble, seeing they killed the maker of all things; nor any death more profitable, seeing they killed the redeemer.

In diebus carnis sue, cum clamore valido, & lacrimis exauditus est pro sua reuerentia, saith the Apostle to the Hebrues, as if he wold say, The son of God being in the last houre of his life, and at the very point when his soule would leap out of his body, he began to pray and commend himselfe vnto his father, with a very loud voice, sorrowfull words, and pittifull teares.

By these words of the Apostle we may gather, that the sonne of God did die on the crosse, tormented with griefe, looking vp [Page 259] to heauen, cryeng with a loud voice, praying vnto his father, and weeping for sinners.

There is contained a great secret in the Apostls words, when he saith, that in diebus carnis suae, the son of God on the crosse did pray, and cry, and weep, and die, because that all the other works which he had done vntill then, were all mingled, and sauored of God and man, and of man and God, but his death on the crosse, was the worke of a man only, without any detriment of his diui­nitie.

He died without detriment of his diuinitie, because there is nothing faster annexed vnto God, then alwaies to liue; and with the detriment of his humane body he died, because there is no­thing more naturall vnto man, then in the end to die.

The sonne of God, saith S. Barnard, dieng vpon a rough bare crosse, howe dare I abide in a rich house, apparell my selfe with soft garments, and sleepe in a soft bed, or dine with my table laid? Let me vse no more a large hood, a soft coat, a cell finely decked and trimmed, a soft bed, and a furnished table, seeing that such deinties, are not fit for such as follow the crosse of Christ, but for such nice wantons as do persecute Christ.

O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, how dare I liue in plea­sure, and passe my time in delight, seeing that thou in thy last hour, haddest no other thing but the crosse for thy bed, the nailes for thy cushions, heauen for thy pauilion, theeues for thy compa­nions, gaule to eat, vinegre to drink, tears to washe with, thy voice to complain with, and praier to die with.

O what a terrible thing it seemeth to bee, to draw neere vnto our last houre, seeing that the son of God doth make such prepa­ration on the crosse, to looke for it: to wit hee hath his body na­ked, his hands bound, his feet nailed fast, his head pricked with thorn, his mouth seasoned with vineger, his vains empty, and his face bathed with teares. Who did euer see a man fast bound, fight with him who was at libertie; a naked man against him who was cloathed; the vanquished with the conqueror, a woun­ded man with one who is sound and whole, and a dead man with him who is a liue? If the maker of life, doth looke for death with such preparations, O death who will not bee afraid of thee? [Page 260] Ansel. saith, that the son of God did wait for death on the crosse, to make vs a sure agreement, hee looked for it naked because the diuell should haue nothing on vs to take hold of, he looked for it fast nailed, because we should flee libertie, he looked for it weeping, because we should haue nothing to wast, and he looked for it crieng out, to teach vs to call vpon God, and he waited and expected death praying, to shewe vs what we should do at our last end.

Seeing that the Apostle doth say of thee O good Iesus, that languishing, crieng, and praying and weeping, thou diddest de­part out of this world, tell me I pray thee seeing that thou did­dest weep so much, what was the cause of it? thy sight is blinded, thy speech is lost, thy bloud is run out, thy strength doth faile thee, and yet do not thy teares drie vp in thee; how should tears end in thee, seeing that faults end not in me? Thou doest not weepe O good Iesus, thou doest not weepe for thy selfe, but for mee, thou doest not weepe to see thy selfe die, but to see me sin, thou doest not weepe for thy griefs but for my offences, neither doest thou weepe, because thou doest leaue me no remedy, but because thou doest see me so vngratfull. Damascen saith, that as our faults were many, so the son of God did shead many teares for them, and as my sins were so great that they reached vnto God his diuine iustice, so the cry and voice of Christ, was so loud that it did reach vnto the throne of mercy, in somuch that as we went loosing our selues, so Christ went healing vs. Theophilact. vpon the Apostle saith, That as the son of God with a great cry and many teares did die vpon the crosse, so is it meet for vs to die in the church, that is, praying vnto our Lord, and weeping for our sins; Chrisost. vpon this place saith, that the sonne of God did die vpon the crosse, with a loud cry and many teares, for his voice was so loud & shril, and the mistery of it so high, and the manner of it so lamentable, that it was heard in the heauens, made hel afraid, astonied the Iewes, opened the sepulchres, awaked the dead, & cōuerted the great Centuriō. If al creatures do feare thee O good Iesus, hanging on the crosse, who will not feare thee whē thou shalt come to iudgement? seeing thou dost make afeard & astonied the heauens, hel, the quick and the dead, with one only [Page 261] word, whom wilt thou not make afraid, with ite maledicti, go you wicked in the last Iudgment? Remigius saith, that the last voice which sorrowfull Iesus gaue in his last houre, was a louing voice, because it came from so louing a heart, and a sharp voice, because a tongue seasoned with vinegre did pronounce it, it was a weeping voice, because it did passe by so weeping a face, and it was a voice full of mistery, because it was his last.

What death can be compared vnto the death of the sonne of God, seeing that death took him embraced with the crosse, with the pardon of his enemies praied for, with an exclamation in his tongue, with a praier in his mouth, with teares on his cheeks, with his bloud run out, with the redemption accomplished, and with the church perfectly planted.

The sonne of God did yeeld vp his ghost, with a strong crie, and it doth well appeare, that that voice was rather miraculous then natural, seeing that few men can speake at the houre of their death, much lesse crie aloude: the which voice, our holy Lord did giue out, because that all those which were there present, might knowe how willingly hee did die, and howe little hee did feare death. How is it possible that he should feare death, seeing that hee came voluntary vnto it? there is no man who can feare death, but he whom death doth kil; but the son of God could not feare death, because he was to triumph ouer death. Ierom saith, For the son of God to giue vp his soule, when he would himself, and howe he would, and to cry a loud at the last houre, was to shewe vnto vs, his high Godhead; and to die praying and wee­ping, was to prooue his manhood: insomuch that if in dieng he did shew himselfe to be a man, yet in the circumstances of his death, he was knowen to be God.

As a man he hanged on the crosse praying, and as God he was there preaching; as a mortall man he went, and like vnto God he died, according vnto his own wil; like a man he asketh pardon for sins, like a man he suffereth his side to be opened, and like God he promiseth the theefe glory; like man he dieth, his head bow­ed down, and like God he openeth vnto all men the gates of glo­ry. Ciprian saith, that because it is a vse, to call aloud for those only, which are far from vs, the son of God his pleasure was, to [Page 262] cry with a loud voice, in the last instant of his life, calling the an­gels, because they should haue compassion on him, the elements, because they should couer him, the sepulchres, because they should receaue him, the dead, because they should accompany him, the Gentiles, because they should beleeue in him, and the Iewes because they should conuert themselues. Note it well and thou shalt see, that good Iesus did not die in a village but in a cit­tie, not by night but by day, not in secret wise, but publikly, not holding his peace, but crieng out, not by force, but of his own free will, to giue vs to vnderstand, that as his death was publike, and notorious vnto all men, so he died for all men. Chrisost. saith, Exclamauit voce magna, because that if from that time forward, a­ny one of his church, should loose himselfe, or any Gentile not conuert himselfe, it should not be because he was not called, but because he would not come: because that with that loud voice, he did call the liuing, and summon the dead, because they should be all present, to see howe he did shed his bloud, and bestowed it, for all the vniuersall world. Wo be vnto thee O my heart, wo be vnto thee O my soule, if no drop of that bloud hath fallen vn­to our share, for as by that bloud wee were redeemed, so by the same bloud, we must be saued. He cried with a loud voice, be­cause he had such great pleasure, to see his father nowe pacified, the world redeemed, the diuell vanquished, hell spoiled; that with a loud voice, he published his ioy, and with a cry he sounded out his victory. Barnard saith, Exclamauit voce magna; and if with a loud voice, for whom but to call the elect, in his diuine and e­ternall predestination? Being that he could not imbrace his elect, because his hands were tied, nor go to seeke them, because his feet were nailed, nor giue them libertie, because he was crucified, nor visit them, because hee was condempned, good Iesus be­thought himselfe, to call aloud vnto them, & with his own bloud to buy them.

O infinit charitie, O great loue, O my good Iesus, what coul­dest thou do; or what shouldest thou haue done for me, and in me that thou diddest not, considering that with thy bloud thou hast redeemed me, and with tender tears called me? S. Ambrose saith, Exclamauit voce magna, sorrowfull Iesus cried with a loud [Page 263] voice, at the time when he was going out of this world, when he went to end and accomplishe the generall redemption, when the heauens began to open, and when he meant to diuide his bloud, and at the time, when he went to seale his testament: meaning by that loud voice, to let al men know, how that he died for all men, and howe that all were nowe redeemed. Exclamauit voce magna, making a difference betwixt the first crie, whē they did lead him to be crucified, from the second crie, when his pleasure was to die; for in the first they said, Pilat doth commaund this iustice to be done vnto this man, wherein he doth commaund him to die▪ but in the other crie he said, this is my mercy which God com­maundeth to doe, done of all the world wherein he doeth com­maund to pardon; insomuch that a vie Pilat did cry iustice, and Christ did proclaime mercy.

CHAP. XLI. Howe Christ died, his head bowed down, and the misteries ther­in contained.

FActus est obediens vsque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis. saith the Apostle in the third to the Thessal. as if hee would say. albeit that the son of God was perfect in al vertues, yet he did principally excel in the vertue of o­bediēce: for if he tooke flesh, it was by obedience, if he was born it was through obedience, & if he did die it was through obedi­ence. The Apostle did not content himselfe, in saying that hee did obey his father vntill death, but that he did obey him vntill the death of the crosse; giuing vs in this speech to vnderstand, that the obedience of the son of God, was not only constant and louing, but also accompanied with many troubles and daungers, seeing that through that obedience, he did die vpon the crosse. Barnard saith, there be very many O good Iesus, which do obey thee vntill death, but not vntill the death of the crosse, but fee­ling some pain and trouble to come with obedience, seeke excu­ses [Page 264] not to fulfill it. O howe many (saith S. Basill) would follow Christ, in going to the wedding in Cana, and be inuited with Za­cheus; and to go safely vpon the waters, and eat a hony comb with his disciples, but would not follow him, in being born in a man­ger, in fleeing into Aegypt beeing a child, in going barefoot, in being persecuted by all men, nor yet in dieng vpon the crosse. S. Augustine vpon the Apostle saith, If we will imitate the son of God, in that which wee do obey him, our obedience should be without any reply; ou [...] excuse readie presently to fulfill, constant to bring to an end, patient to endure troubles, and discreet to knowe well what we haue to do. Comming then to our purpose, Inclinato capite tradidit spiritum, to wit at the very hour that they drewe Christ his soule out of his body, he did somewhat bowe down his head; which ceremony ought greatly to bee noted, because that the later it was done, the fuller of mistery it is. Ci­rillus vpon S. Iohn saith, That vntill the son of God did go vp, vp­on the crosse, his father had cōmaunded him nothing, but to take mans fleshe vpon him, and preach the law of the gospell; but af­ter that he was gone vp to the crosse, hee did commaund him to suffer and to die: and therfore blessed Iesus, not beeing able to answere one word, bowed down his head, shewing that it pleased him well so to do.

O high mistery, and diuine sacrament, contained vnder this speech, to wit, that in one hour and one instant, that the com­maundement of obedience came vnto him, he accepted death, bowed down his head, gaue vp his soule, made an end of our fault, began his church, and ended his life. Cyprian saith, when the father did commaund his son, there to end his life vpon the crosse, he could not answere him one word, more then bowe down his head, in toaken that he did obey him: in somuch that good Iesus life was first taken from him, before that his obedience wanted or ended It is much to be noted, that the text doth not say, that he did first giue vp his ghost, and then bow downe his head; but hee did first bow downe his head, and then his soule was pulled from him: to teach vs therby, that if his father would not haue commaunded him by obedience, hee would not haue departed out of this life. Notwithstanding that the trauels and [Page 265] troubles, which the son of God passed through were infinit, and the persecutions which he suffered intollerable, yet if as his fa­ther did commaund him to die vpon the crosse, hee would haue commanded him to liue longer time, and more torments endure, with his head bowed downe, he would haue said, It pleaseth me.

O that happy is that soule, which vntill the last houre, doth to all things which is commaunded her, bow down her head, and fulfill obedience: for, for my own part, I think that he cannot be lost, who knoweth not howe to disobey. What meaneth he to say, (saith Aureolus in a sermon) that Inclinato capite iradidit spiri­tum, but that the son of God did first send before him, to the o­ther world his obedience, thē he did giue his soule to his father: because the highest point of perfection, doeth consist in obedi­ence, and in the keeping downe and subduing of our own sensuall will. Multum erigimini filij Leui, said Moyses, Num. 16. to Dathan and Abiron, as if he wolud say, It seemeth vnto me that you of the linage of Leuy, growe very stout and stubborne, perswading the people that they should obey neither mee, nor my brother Aaron; but that they should gouerne themselues according vnto their own will and pleasure.

You should haue called to memory, and also haue contented your selues, O you children of Leui, that among all the twelue tribes, the Lord hath chosen you for himselfe, and how by a spe­cial priuiledge, he would haue you to serue him in his tabernacle: and further, his good pleasure was, that you should maintain your selues by other mens labour and sweat. It is to be noted, that of al such as were in the sinagogue, these children of Chore were the first which rebelled against their superior and ruler, all which the earth did swallowe vp aliue, and they went body and soule into hell.

O to howe many we may say at this day, Multum erigimini fi­lij Leui, the which with those of Chore are stiffe-necked and stub­born, and haue not their head bowed down with the son of God. The children of Israel had committed other offences, but God did neuer punishe them so cruelly as for this, to let vs vnderstand that some faults may be dissembled, but the sin of disobedience, shall alwaies be seuerely punished.

The punishment which God gaue vnto those rebellious and disobedient people, was that he did send them bodie and soule into hell aliue, insomuch that as they did commit a new fault, so God gaue them a new punishment.

The difference betwixt the Apostata Chore, and blessed Iesus was, that Core died with his head lifted vp, and the sonne of God with his head bowed down; wherof wee may infer, that the fol­lowers of Christ do knowe nothing, but to obey and be silent, and the followers of Chore know nothing better, then to reply vnto that which is commanded them, and murmured against al which they see.

Yet to take this mistery in another sence, it is to be noted, that vntil the very time that Christ his wil was to die vpon the crosse, he suffered the title which Pilat had put vp, to bee close at his head, but at the time of his last breath, hee remoued his head from the title, not without a high mistery, and a very profound secret.

What hurt was there in the title, that Christ would not die with his head fast by it? The greatest hurt that was in that triumphant title, is, the greatest felicitie that all worldlings of the world do followe; that is, to haue the title of king, to be called kings, and to die kings, for when a man is come to be a king, well he may seeke for more land, but not for more honor.

All the wars which were betwixt Achilles and Hector, Alex­ander and Darius, Iulius Caesar and Pompey, Augustus and M. Antonius, were not because they would haue the lawes kept, but because they would be intituled kings.

What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? doe they lift thee vp like vnto a king, crown thee like a king, put on thee a purple robe like a king, salute thee on their knees like a king, saying, Iesus of Nazareth king of the Iewes; and dost thou iest at the kingdome, and put thy head from the title? Barnard vpon the passion saith, that not only on his head, nor yet leaning to his head, the sonne of God would not haue the title of honor, seeing that he did giue vp his spirit, with his head bowed down, therby to giue vs to vnderstand, that his kingdome was not of the kingdoms of this world, and howe that it is no sure thing to take; [Page 267] any rule at the hands of a tyrant.

Pilat the lieutenant was an vniust iudge, and a tyrant of the Romane empire, born at Lions, and for that cause the sonne of God would not accept the honor which he gaue him, nor allow of the title which hee did put ouer him; for although the title which he did put ouer him was good, yet the intention with the which he did it was nought.

Ciprian saith, For the son of God to consent that they should put the title of a king hard by his head, and yet to take his head away from it when he did die, was to teach vs and aduise vs, that if it be lawfull to keepe the pomps, and vain honor of this world in our life time, it is no euill counsell before our death to leaue them.

Who dare procure vnto himselfe, any preheminence or office of honor in this world, seeing that the son of God would not die with it beeing laid vpon him? how was it like, that he did procure any, seeing hee would not vouchsafe to see the table that his honor and dignitie was written in?

The title of Iesus of Nazareth king of the Iewes, Pilat com­maunded to be written in a little peece of a boord, and to be nai­led ouer Christ his head: but he beeing as great a friend of humi­litie, as an enemie of vanitie, shut his eies because hee would not see it, and bowed down his head, because hee would not touch it.

Christ durst not (saith Remigius) die, with the honor which Pilat had laid vpon him in ieast, and darest thou die in the offices of honour which thou doest procure in earnest? Chriso­stom to this purpose noteth; that Christ did first bow down his head, before his soule did go out of his bodie; therby to let vs vnderstand, that it is conuenient for vs, first to giue ouer the vaine honour which we possesse, before the life which wee liue with: because that otherwise it vvould seeme, that wee leaue it off, not of our own will, but because we can keepe it no longer. Damascen saith, When the redeemer of the world would giue vp his ghost, hee did not withdrawe his shoul­ders from the crosse, nor his hands from the nailes, nor his feet from the cordes, nor his throat from the halter, nor [Page 268] his heart from the speare, but only his head from the title of a king, therby to teach vs, that the true seruants of our Lord, should esteem the iniuries and discredits of this world for honor, and ho­nor for infamy.

Anselmus vpon the apostle saith: For the sonne of God to die with his head seperated, and drawen aside from the title of ho­nor and dignitie, was plainly to say, go out, go out fame and dig­nitie, go out of my house; because the inhabitants of my crosse, shold not pretend vanitie but humilitie, not fame but ignominie, not to be rulers but seruants, not to kill but obey, not libertie but subiection, nor yet to liue long but to liue well. Cirillus vpon S. Iohn saith, The neerer the redeemer of the world did drawe to his death, the more and the greater miracles he did, for in suf­fering his side to be opened, he did shewe his charitie; in tasting gaull and vinegre, he did shewe his abstinency; in not comming down from the crosse, he did shewe his constancy; in not answe­ring vnto the iniuries done to him, he did shew his patience; and in bowing down his head, he did shewe his obedience.

What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? dost thou not stoppe thy eares against the blasphemies which they speake, dost thou not shut thy mouth against the gaull which they offer thee, dost thou not withdrawe thy side from the thrust of the speare, dost thou not resist the thorns which pearce thy brain, dost thou not hide thy hands from those which naile them, dost thou not flee from those which whip thy shoulders, and yet dost thou withdrawe thy head from the title of honor? seeing that they call thee in the scriptures, the King of kings, & dominus dominantium: why didst thou abhor in thy life time the name of Lord, and despise in thy death the title of a king? I confesse my selfe to be the lord of lords, and that I am also the king of kings, but I will not take this rule and kingdome, at the hands of the tirant Pilat; for although my father did giue him aucthoritie, to take away my life from me, yet he did not giue him any, either to giue me, or take away any honor from me.

In this heroicall fact, Christ hath very fewe followers nowe a daies in his church, for be it by right or by wrong, with a good conscience or a bad, by the hands of Pilat or by the sleights of [Page 269] the diuell, so that honour come to their houses, they weigh it lit­tle how it commeth, nor by what manner it commeth. S. Gregory in his memoriall saith, I haue not yet seene any man who hath been ambitious of honor, who hath been scrupulus in his consci­ence; and thou shalt knowe this to be true, in that, that they will rather take honour at Pilats hands, then despise it on the crosse with Christ.

Al the contemners of honor, do follow the steps of Christ, and al those who ar ambitious of fame, do follow Pilats court, who wil deale with thē as he did with Christ, that is, in the place wher he did intitle him to be a king, he did afterward crucifie him like to a theefe. Beda saith, The world dealeth with vaine men, as Pilat the tirant did deale with the son of God; for he gaue Christ the title of a king, and yet kept the possession of the kingdome him­selfe: so in like manner the world doth bestowe vpon such as fol­lowe him, the charge and tribute which doth belong vnto ho­nour, but without the commoditie of gaine due vnto it.

What sack is so full of earth, or what bar of yron so heauy, but the burthen which honour bringeth with it, is more heauy? The honour which Pilat doth giue vnto those which loue him, is a matter of great scrupulositie to desire, very dangerous to obtain, chargeable to maintain, brittle and easie to loose, and very infa­mous to leaue off.

Take heed therfore O thou ambitious man, take heed howe thou doost take any honour at Pilats hands, for that which hee dooth giue thee, is not fame but infamy, not honour but disho­nour, no fruict but leaues, no flower but bran, no gold but drosse, no truth but a dream, no kingdome but a title; and that which is worst of all, at one time hee will giue it thee and also crucifie: then wicked and accursed is the honour, which is receiued at the hands of Pilat, that is, when it is gotten through humain sleight and diligence, for in case of honour looke howe holy a thing it is to deserue it, so infamous a matter it is to procure it.

S. Ambrose vpon Sainct Luke saith, The sonne of God did get great honor by Pilat [...], in not accepting of that princely title, and not dying with his head leaning to it, because that if we speak of worldly glory, he dooth gain greater glory, who beareth a heart [Page 270] and mind to despise it, then he who hath sleights and cunning to obtain it.

It is to bee weighed in this place, that Christ did not refuse, but that they should put ouer him on the crosse, the title of ho­nour, and yet he would not die with it close at his head.

This is a misterie highly to be noted, and deeply to be waigh­ed, because that Christ dooth teach vs in it, howe we may keepe our honour, without the detriment of our conscience, and howe we may keep a good conscience, without the danger of our ho­nour. In that, that Christ did admit the title of honour, hee did teach vs, that we should deserue it, and in withdrawing his head from it, he did teach vs that after we haue deserued, it is verie re­quisit to contemn it: because that to gain honour with God, and credit with men, we should first merit honour, before we despise it. For he who dooth merit no honour, howe can hee say that he dooth despise it? when wee see a man come down from the ho­nour and dignitie which he had, and did not deserue it, wee will not say of him, that he did contemn and remoue it, but that they tooke it from him as being therof vnworthy, or that he leaft it off, as beeing weary.

Seeing honour is nothing else (as Seneca reporteth,) but a good opinion which men haue of vs, who is he who hath more honour, then he who best deserueth i [...]? The diuine Plato in his Timeo saith, That in times past, and in the golden age, none were estee­med honourable, but such as were vertuous; nor none infamous, but such as were vitious; but after that these pronowns meum & tuum, mine and thine, crept into the world, they tied honour vn­to riches, and infamy and dishonour to pouertie.

Remigius in an homily saith, As those which procure honour and dignitie vnto themselues, by ouer great diligence, are wor­thy to be punished, so those which are idle and vitious, in not de­seruing is as worthy to be reprehended; for if the sonne of God with his head bowed down inclinato capi [...]e, did teach vs to despise it, yet with, Let your light shine before men, Luceat lux vestra co­ram hominibus, he did bind vs to despise it.

Let the conclusion of all this be, that they did giue good Ie­sus the title and he tooke the title, and renounced the title at one [Page 271] time; by whose example the seruant of our Lord ought to do such works, that in all mens iudgements he should deserue honour and they giue him honour, and yet he despise honour; insomuch that it may with truth bee said of him, that hee did deserue it through his goodnesse, and renounce it through his humilitie.

CHAP. XLII. Howe the son of God did yeeld vp his ghost on the crosse, at nine of the clock.

LVctium vnigentifac tibi, & planitum amarum, said God vnto the prophet Ieremy in the 15 chap. as if he would say, Thou shouldest make a great lamentation, and weep bitterly for thy selfe, and vpon thy wicked peo­ple, as the comfortlesse father is wont to doe for the death of his only sonne.

It is much to be noted, that God doth not comm [...]und him to weep indifferently for euery sonne, but for the death of his only son: giuing vs to vnderstand by this prophesie, that they would kill God one son in Ierusalem, but not an adoptiue son, but his only begotten and welbeloued son.

When a father hath more children then one, his loue is de­uided among them, but when he hath but one only, he bestow­eth all his loue vpon him. So naturall a son, so only begotten, so welbeloued God neuer had, nor neuer will haue, but blessed Ie­sus only; and therfore seeing that they killed him, so much with­out iustice, and put him to so cruel a death, he commaunded the heauens to weare mourning apparel for him, the elements to cloath themselues in sackcloath, the angels to weep, and al men to bewaile.

Why commands hee me to weepe for the death of my only [Page 272] son, but thar I should alwaies haue in memory the death which Christ suffered for me? when do I make bitter lamentation on my selfe, but when in the memory of the passion of Christ, I do reioyce to liue in affliction and comfortlesse? It is also to bee waighed, that the death of his only begotten sonne, God com­maunded Ieremy only to weepe, who was a vertuous and a holy man; to let vs vnderstand therby, that the high misteries of his passion, our Lord doth giue none to tast of, but vnto those whom he doth first commaund to weep.

O howe happy that heart is, vnto whom God doth commit and trust the bewailing of his sonne, because that in thy house O my Lord, they enioyn tears vnto none, but they shall afterward be wrapped in diuine consolations.

O who could be thy companion O great Ieremy, to weep and bewaile the death of the sonne of the liuing God, and feele that which he felt vpon that dry tree of the crosse; what should I de­sire more, or what should I sigh after? It is nowe time for vs to speake of the order of the death of the son of God, and of the great agony which he passed through, when he did giue vp his ghost; for seeing that he did sweat drops of bloud in the garden, by reason of the bitter cup which he was to drink of, what thin­kest thou did he suffer, whē his soule was drawn out of his body? If Ieremy did craue of God, that he would make his head a sea of water, and turne his eies into a fountain of tears, to weep for those which were slain in the wars, is it not greater reason, that my heart and soule should desire the same, to write the death of my God, who died by iustice and without iustice? To put that in pa­per which Christ did vpon the crosse, and register that with ynk which he did with bloud, and write that with pens, which he did suffer with thorns, and make many books of that which he endu­red with nailes, no man can well do, but only he who hath his mind and vnderstanding lightned, and hath lamented and weapt with tears the passion of Christ.

Barnard saith, that when the giuer of life, would end his life, he deuided his sermon into seauen words, his bowels into a thousand loues, his mothers heart into an infinit number of sorrowes, all his bloud throughout the streets, his garmēts among the hangmē, & [Page 273] his merits among sinners. O glorious heritage, O happie sale, that thou diddest make O my good Iesus, at the last houre, seeing that as thou diddest end thy breath, we did presently begin to inherit thee. O blessed mother, O comfortlesse woman, how is it possible that thou shouldst not suspect that which is prepared for thee at the last houre? I am greatly afraid (saith Anselmus) and am also very doubtfull, that if the son doe die at nine, but the mo­ther will die before at six; O what a narrow straight the virgins heart was driuen into at the foot of the crosse; because there did fight within her the loue which she had to conforme her selfe vn­to that which her sonne would, and the greife to see her loose her son.

Vbertinus saith, When six of the clocke is past, your son shall passe out of this life, you shall passe out of his sight, the anger of the eternall Father shall passe, the fault shall passe from you, the glorie of the sinagogue shall passe: and that which is most of al to be lamented is, that if he shall passe without you, you shall also passe without him, either by being rapt for a time, or by being astonied to see him die. O heir of heauen, O the glory of the bles­sed, what loue is that which thou doest beare vnto the world, that for it thou shouldst not loue thy selfe? dost thou loue the de­ceiptfull world more then thou doest loue thy selfe, seeing thou dost lose thy life for him, who doth take thy life frō thee? O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, what wilt thou not doe, what wilt thou not goe about, seeing that at thy birth thou haddest no cra­dle, at thy death no bed, in thy life thou hast no house, at thy death thou hast no shirt, no nor yet so much as a sepulchre?

S. August vpon the passion of our Lord saith, What did the prophet meane when he said, O death I will be thy death; but that on the tree of the crosse, death would take away Christ his life, and that he would take away life from death, and depriue him of all power? O glorious death, O happie death, who would euer haue thought or imagined, that one death would make an end of another? death did euery houre encroach and get ground vpon that sacred humanitie of Christ, his sinnewes did vnknit, and the force of his members grew slacke, his bones were put out of ioint, his eie-liddes chaunged coloure, his eies shrunke into his [Page 274] head, and his haire stood on end, his face went pale and wan, his toung drie, and all his bodie quaked and trembled: O my heart, O my soule, how can you liue, and see that which your God doth suffer for you? let my fingers giue ouer writing, and let my eies begin to weepe, because that these mysteries are not to be com­mitted vnto the penne, but are deepely to be chewed and waigh­ed in the secret and inward part of the soule. His vaines beeing emptie, and without bloud, and his eies full of tears, his face pale and wan, and his bodie without strength, the houre of six is past, and he beginneth to enter into an agonie, but not an agony which doth depriue him of sence and feeling, but into an agonie which did augment and encrease his torment.

What meaneth this, O the loue of my soule, what meaneth this O redeemer of my life? is there but one agonie for me, and is there two for thee, the one in the garden, and the other on the crosse? Was it not sufficient that in the agonie of the garden thou diddest sweat bloud for very anguish, but that in this agonie thou shouldest giue vp thy life? Death went about very ragingly see­king after that most blessed soule, and hunting after that most holy life, which Iesus had now euen in his mouth, expecting the very moment of the last houre, not to giue it vp vnto death, but to offer it vp vnto his father. What had death to doe, with the Lord of death? All that death could doe at that time, was to se­perat the soule from the bodie, for the space of three daies onely, being certaine that Christ was as true God being dead, as he was being aliue. The last houre then being now come, he did open and shut his eies, his lips did come and goe, his bones did all crackle, and the elements began to be troubled, thinking that all the whole machine of this vvorld vvas now at an end, seeing that the maker of the vvorld did suffer.

Barnard saith, Although that at the very instant when the son of God should die, all the parts of his bodie were troubled, yet he did neuer leaue of to sigh and lament for sins and sinners, because that in the greatest agonie of his death, his strength ne­uer failed him to pray, nor his charitie to forgiue. And courage and force thy selfe (saith Vbertinus) encourage thy selfe in this last conflict, seeing that in it thou art to die, the world to be redee­med, [Page 275] heauen to be opened, and also the diuell to be ouercome. O eternal father, O my God, why doest thou not remēber thy only son in this narrow straight, and being so neere his end? thou seest that the harmonie of his soule and bodie is broken, thou seest that he is at the end of his life, thou seest that the ninth houre is come, thou seest that he is gasping out his last breath, and yet wilt thou nor speake one bare word vnto him? seeing that he will die for me, I wil speake for him, offering him vnto thee, O eternal father, for an oblation of peace, for an offering of gratefulnesse and thanksgiuing, for an euerlasting sacrifice, for a sweet holo­caust, for a burnt and odoriferous incense, and for an aceeptable price of an infinit value.

Receaue O my God, receiue thy pretious son for a raun­some, and withall receiue thy seruant, for if he did die to fulfill thy commaundement, he did also die to redeeme my soule.

Bonauenture saith, If thy sons soule doe belong vnto thee as a God, vnto vs his bloud doth belong as brothers, whereof we will not giue thee so much as one drop, vnlesse it be in exchanging of euerlasting life.

O my soule, O my heart, why did you not die when you saw good Iesus draw vnto his last step? When is it time but now that our fingers play, and sighes proceed from vs, and that we make of tears inke, and of our hearts paper, in which we may write with letters of bloud, vvho he is who dieth, for whose cause he dieth, and what death he dieth? he who dieth is God, and I am he for whom he dieth; the place where, is the crosse; the manner of his death is, to be crucified; and the cause why, is to redeeme all the world. He died at nine of the clocke, which was the houre that Adam was cast out of his garden and house; insomuch that at the ninth houre the state of inocencie did end, and in the ninth houre the state of grace did begin. O comfortles mother, O Vir­gin without equall, doest thou not see that we are come to the houre of nine, and that thy sonne beginneth to yeeld vp his life? O fatale yeare, O mount of Caluarie, O dismall Friday, O ri­gorous crosse, O raging death, what hath this lady don vnto thee, wherin hath this holy woman offended thee, that thou shouldest [Page 276] cause her to want her spouse, make her a widdow of her hus­band, leaue her without her sonne, and an orpheline without her father? In that last houre al the celestiall hierarchies stood in the aire beholding his sorrowfull mother neere to the crosse wee­ping, his holy familie about her sighing, the Iewes afar off gazing, and all the other creatures of the world expecting and looking how their maker would yeeld vp his ghost, and to see what he would doe by himselfe.

How much the nerer the sonne of God did draw to his death, so much the more al creatures wondred at it, holding it for an im­possible thing that he could either end or die, who gaue vnto them their being, force, and strength.

At the same time the heauen waxed cloudie, the sun darke, the earth did quake, the stones did rent insunder, the son of God did die, and his sorrowfull mother sowned, she fell downe at the foot of the crosse, embracing the bodie of it in her armes, the bloud of the crosse died all ouer, transformed into him who was crucified, depriued of her owne sences, and in the dolours of her son ouerwhelmed and drowned. Who brought newes of that which the son did suffer, or of that which the sorrowfull mother did endure, but onely the teares which issued from her, and the droppes of bloud which ranne from him? The diuine Word then seeing that the tearme of his comming was now ended, and that hee had accomplished the obedience which his father did impose vpon him, he determined to finish & conclude his pitifull & merciful iorney, and end his laborious life, vnknitting the knot which fastened the bodie and soule together; the which he did, not preiudicing at al his diuine person. His very last houre being now come, the son of God gaue a loud crie, with the which his a­gonie ended, the redemption of man was perfected and accom­plished, he bowed his head, sent forth his last breath, and yeelded vp his soule vnto his eternall father. O my soule, O my heart, art not thou ashamed to liue in this world, seeing that the giuer of life is now dead? O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, by the death which thou didst die for me, & by the bitter trance which thou hast now passed through, I beseech thee, that seeing I doe not deserue, that my soule should be drawne out of [Page 277] my bodie with thee, yet suffer that my sin be pulled out of my bowels, and that thou vvouldest receiue thy pain in recompense of my punishment, because that one drop of thy sweat will satisfie thy father better then a thousand years of my suffering. When crucified Iesus vvas dead, his eies vvere closed vp, his face black, his bodie stiffe, his bloud coniealed, his mouth somewhat open, his bodie vvan and blewe, and all his whole fauour and counte­nance changed and altered: and yet there remained inough, al­though there had remained nothing, seeing that the redeemer of the vvorld did not remaine. All the compasse of the world re­mained exceedingly afraid, the vvicked sinagogue confounded, all Christ his familie astonied, Pilats people in a vvonder, and the sorrowfull mother in a sowne. O vvorld ransomed, O pardon performed, O general Iubile, O hel now shut vp, O fault wel paid for, O iustice rigorously executed vpon thee O my sweet Iesus, when thy soule vvas drawen from thee, and when thou diddest pay the raunsome of my sinne. O my sweet Iesus now gone, O my redeemer now dead, seeing that thou art the Lord of glorie, and the maker of life, tel me what is become of thy life? did it not suffice that thy enemies did crucifie thy members, but that they also quarter in peeces thy sweet loue? Art thou not dead and quartered, seeing that thy skin cleaueth to the crosse, thy hairs are sowen about the streets, thy bloud is shed vpon the ground, and thy soule is gone into Paradise, and thy bodie incl [...] ­sed in the sepulchre? such a high life, such old companie, such an heroicall harmonie, and such an vnspotted flesh, how could thy most sacred soule abandon and forsake? Helpe thy selfe then O good Iesus, helpe thy selfe vvith thy mothers soule, seeing that thou hast giuen thy ovvne vnto thy father, and seeing that her soule is more in thee, then in her, let it giue life vvhere it loueth, seeing it doth not vvhere it abideth. Thou maist euen novv raise vp tvvo dead bodies, cloth tvvo soules vvith bodies, giue soules vnto two bodies, giue life vnto tvvo dead persons, that is to say, vnto thy selfe vvhich hast alreadie giuen vp thy ghost, and vnto thy mother vvho is readie to send forth her last breath.

CHAP. XLIII. How the vaile of the temple did rent in two when Christ gaue vp the ghost: and how that that breaking of the vaile was the first miracle that Christ did, after his death.

ET velum templi scissum est in duo, a summo vsque deorsum, saith S. Marke in the 15 chap. as if he would say, At the very instant that the maker of the world did yeeld vp his ghost, the vaile of the temple did breake in two, from the top vnto the bottome, not being touched by any either vvith the hand or sword. To vnderstand this mysterie, you must note that the Iewes had two vailes in their tabernacle and tem­ple, whereof the one was at the entring in of the gate, and the o­ther in the middle of the temple, with the vvhich the bodie of the church was deuided from the chansell, insomuch that they could see nothing of the temple, vnlesse they had first taken away the vaile, nor they could not see the sancta sanctorum, vnlesse the second vaile had ben broken. The first miracle which the son of God did in his life time, was the turning of water into wine; and the first that he did after his death, was the breaking the vaile of the temple, the which he did vvith greater solempnitie then the first; because he did the one in his life time, the other being dead, the one in his presence, the other in his absence; the one in the house, and the other in the temple; the one being sat downe, and the other being crucified; the one at the request of his holy mo­ther, and the other to the confusion of the infamous synagogue. From the time that Christ was borne vntill he turned the water into wine, there passed thirtie years; & from the time that Christ died on the crosse, vntil the vaile of the temple did breake in two, there passed not so much as three moments: because that in the selfe same instant that his soule departed out of his bodie, the vaile did begin to breake and rent in sunder. In this most high mi­racle, the son of God did shew his power in breaking of the tem­ple, [Page 279] his wisdome in doing it at such a time, his immortalitie in do­ing it after his death, giuing vs thereby to vnderstand, that it was as easie a matter vnto him to rise againe, as it was to suffer himself to die. Augustine vpon Saint Iohn sayth, Do not thinke O thou Iew, that in the son of God, the godhead did die with his man­hood, for although his life did end, yet certainly his power did not end. If thou doest thinke that like vnto a true man he doth hang dead vpon the crosse, why doest thou not marke how that like a true God he doth breake the vaile of the temple. In this new mi­racle of the breaking of the vaile, euen at the time when Christ gaue vp the ghost, thou canst not say that he did it with wordes like an enchanter, or witch, seeing that now his face is pale and wan, his head bowed downe, his toung stiffe, and his soule drawne from him; insomuch that either thou must confesse in him power or acknowledge in thy self mallice. All this is out of S. Augustine. The vaile which was in the temple (saith Remigius) was but one, and after that Christ did die, it did deuide it selfe into two, to giue vs therby to vnderstand, that in the old sinagogue there was but one people only which was the Hebrue, but in the catholike church there should be two peoples, vvhich are the Iew and the Gentile: insomuch that although the faith of the church be but one, yet the people on which it is founded, are two. S. Ierom vpon S. Marke saith, In parting in two the vaile of the temple, which did hinder the comming in into the temple, God did let vs vn­derstand, that the sin of our first father which did keepe the hea­uen shut, was deuided betwixt vs and Christ; and the manner of the deuiding of it was, that he laid the fault vpon vs, and cast the punishment vpon himselfe.

Agmon to this purpose saith, As it was necessarie before the Iewes could enter into the temple, that the vaile should either be taken away or broken, euen so for vs to enter into heauen it is necessarie that Christ should die, and be also deuided; and the deuision was, that he did leaue the middest of the vaile (which was his bodie) in the sepulchre, and the other middle, which was his soule, he did send into paradise. S. Ambrose in his Exameron saith, When the prophet Ezechiel did see one wheele within a­nother, what other thing was that, but onely that the church [Page 280] was inclosed within the sinagogue? The deuiding of the vaile which was at the gate of the temple, was nothing else but a sepe­ration of the church from the sinagogue, and of the sinagogue from the church, because that from that time forward there should be but one Christ in all the world to worship, and one only church to beleeue. Moyses autem posuit velamen super faciem suum, saith the holy scripture, Exodus 33. as if he vvould say, When ho­ly Moyses did speake with God alone, his face was vncouered, but when he did speake vnto all the people, he couered his face with a vaile, insomuch that the children of Israell had much to doe with Moyses, because they were bound to beleeue all which he said vnto them, and yet they were neuer licensed to see his face. Origen vpon this place saith, Being a certaine and true thing that Moises which gaue the law vnto the Iewes, doth represent and carrie the figure of the law it selfe, vvhat doth it meane that Moyses had his face couered, but that the misteries of the holy scripture were hidden and concealed from all those which dwel­led within the sinagogue? Like the offspring of the patriarke Isaac who did die blind, and like the successors of Iacob, who died like­wise blind, and like the predecessors of Tobias who was also blind, and like vnto the children of Moyses whose face was couered with a vaile, the children of Israell had alwaies a vaile of igno­rance before their face, by reason wherof they could neuer ghesse at the ruine and fall which should happen vnto the sinagogue, nor vnto the great prosperity which should happen vnto the church. What other thing then was the breaking of the vaile of the temple, at the death of Christ, from the top to the bottome, but for all the mysteries of the old testament to be laid open now vn­to vs? The euangelist doth not say without cause, that all the vaile was broken from the highest part vnto the lowest, because that he doth teach vs by that speech that there remained no se­cret of the old testament, which vvas not laid open and made manifest vnto vs, nor any misterie which was not fulfilled.

S. August. vpon the Apostle saith, Euen vntill this day the sy­nagogue hath the face of her Iewish people couered with the vaile of mallice and ignorance, and that which is vvorst of all is, that vnder this couering all wicked and excommunicated Here­tikes [Page 281] lurke and are hidden, and the difference betwixt the one and the other is, that the Iew doth spot Christ, and the Heretike breedeth doubts in his gospell.

Simon de Cassia vpon the passion of our Lord sayth, In the slit­ting of this vaile, there are so many secrets to open, and so many mysteries to be noted, that without comparison that which is pas­sed ouer with silence, is much more then that which is written of it.

It is much to be waighed, that the scripture doth not say, that the vaile was either lost, or burnt, or fallen downe, or taken away, but only that it did rent in two frō the top to the bottom; in such sort that there remained vaile of one side, and vaile on the other, and the rupture or breaking betwixt both, to looke at. Who be those vnto whom there fell one part of the vaile, and vnto whom the other? and who be they which looke betwixt both? there fell part of that vaile vnto the perfidious Iewes, seeing that they will neuer receiue the gospell; and the other part vnto the vnhappie Gentils, seeing they cease not to worship their idols: and vnto the faithful catholike Christian there fell the rent and diuision of the vaile, by the which they beheld the holy mysteries, insomuch that so much the happier a man is, by how much the lesse he hath of that Iudaical vaile. Let the Iew thē take one part of the vaile, and let the Gentile take the other, for we which are Christians will no part of it, but only the cleft and rent which doth deuide it in two, by the which we will looke and contemplate vpon the mysteries which the son of God did worke vpon the crosse, and the secrets which he did there open vnto vs. It is also to be noted that the rent or cleft of the vaile did not begin below and goe vpward, but began aboue and did breake downward, seeing the text doth say, a summo vsque deorsum, therby to let vs vnderstand, that the holy misterie of our redemption, did begin in the god­head, and afterward end in his manhood, in so much that first the fathers bowels were burst to forgiue and pardon vs, before that the flesh of his son was broken to redeeme vs. What meaneth it that in the selfe same houre and moment, and vvith the selfe same cracke and rent, the vaile of the temple vvas broken from the top vnto the bottome, but that the eternall father pardoning [Page 282] from aboue, and his holy son suffering below, the redemption of our sins was wrought and all holy secrets reuealed vnto vs. O with what great reason the prophet Esayas doth say Vere tu es deus absconditus, seeing he doth say vnto Noe; that in the clouds he will shew him the arke; and gaue Moises the law standing vpon a hill and couered with a mist, and shewed himselfe to Daniel in a flame of fire, and did alwaies answeare in the propetiatory of the arke, shadowed with a darke cloud, and the sancta sanctorum of the temple was hidden behind a vaile; and that which is most of all to be marueiled at, he made himselfe feared of al, and did not suffer himselfe to be seene of any. If the sinagogue doe complain by Esaias saying, Vere tu es deus absconditus, the catholike church doth vaunt and boast her selfe by Abachuc saying, quod in terris visus est, & cum hominibus conuersatus est, seeing that without vaile, and cloud, and fire, and without any mist, we haue seene the high works of his deuinitie, and most sacred flesh of his humani­tie. August. vpon S. Iohn faith, Tell me I pray thee what did the son of God reserue and hide vnto himselfe, which he did not make manifest vnto all the world? He did shew his power in go­ing vpon the waters, he did shew his mercie in healing the weake and feeble, he did shewe his clemencie in pardoning sins, he did shew his learning in preaching to the people, he did shew his charitie in dieng for so many wicked men, and he did shew his im­mortalitie in raising the dead. What remaineth for him to mani­fest or to lay open vnto the world, seeing that he died naked on the crosse, and in dieng rent in two the vaile of the temple, and being dead, suffered his side to be opened? What doest thou de­sire O my soule to see or know in Christ, which thou doest not find euery houre? If thou wilt see his works, looke vpon all the vvorld; if thou wilt know his doctrine, read the gospell; if thou wilt see his flesh it hangeth vpon the tree; if thou desire to see his secrets, the vaile is now broken; and if thou couet to see his bovv­els, his side is open for thee. What doth he deny thee vvho doth not denie thee his ovvne flesh? Cum quis conuersus fuerit ad deum auferetur ab eo velamen, saith the Apostle to the Corinthians. 3. as if he vvould say, To all those vvhich vvill beleeue in Christ, and vvill turne vnto him the first fauour that he vvill doe vnto them [Page 283] shall be, that he vvill pull from his face the vaile of innocencie, because they may enioy his glorie.

Beda vpon the Apostle saith, If we will see Christ face to face, it is needfull for vs to take away the vaile from our heart and mind; and if you ask me what the vaile is, I will answere thee that it is nothing but thy sin and mine, which doth not suffer either that we may see our Lord, or he vs. The Apostle saith very well that he only who turneth vnto God shall see and know God, in­somuch that none who doth not turne vnto our Lord can see his face, or obtaine his grace, because that all the foundation and ground of our saluation doth consist in that, that we doe first be­leeue in him, and then serue him. Of the Moore, and of the Iew, and of the Pagan, who haue their backes turned to Christ, and doe neither beleeue in him nor serue him, may we not iustly say, that they doe not turne themselues to God, but turne from God? It is much to be noted that the Apostle doth say in this place, Auferetur ab eo velamē, that is, That the vaile shal be taken away from before him; and saith not that he can take it away him­selfe: because that it lieth in our hands only to pray to take away the infidelitie of the Pagans, the obstinacie of the Iewes, the mallice of the Heretikes, and the sinnes of our hearts; but to take them away, resteth only in the power of God.

The worthie doctor Saint Augustine vpon the Apostle sayth thus, O magnum misterium, O admirabile sacramentum, transgressores legis, auctorem legis interfecerunt, & legis secreta patuerunt, as if he would haue said, O that the breaking of the vaile of the tem­ple at the death of Christ, was a high mysterie, and a wonderfull sacrament, because that not knowing what they did, nor feeling what they lost, it fell out, that the trangessors of the law, in put­ting to death the giuer of the law, the secrets of the law were laid open and discouered.

If thou wilt plainely see, saith Saint Chrisostome, what diffe­rence there is, betwixt the weaknes of mā, and the power of God, & how much humane infirmitie, needeth diuine protectiō, thou maist perceiue it in that, that the arke of Noe, with the whole world which was in it, was not drowned: and that the prophet Abacuc hanging by one haire, did not fal: and in that that S. Peters [Page 284] net being full with an infinite number of fish, did not breake; and on the other part, howe the vaile which vvas in the temple, did rent in sunder no man touching it. What are the threeds of the Iudaicall vaile, but the sacrifices of Iudaisme? and vvhat other signification haue the small cordes of Saint Peters net, but the sacraments and gospels of Christ? What doth it meane that the vaile not being touched by any man did breake in sunder, but that that old Mosaycall law being now old, did of it selfe consume and end?

What other signification hath it, that Saint Peters nets being cast into the sea, dropping wet with water, and beaten with the waues, and heauily loaden with fish, yet no one cord did breake, no mech vntie, nor no knot loose, but that how many so euer the tyrants are which persecute the church, and how many so euer Heretikes doe rise in her, although we see her beaten and tossed, yet we shall neuer see her ouercome at any time? O that happie is the soule which entreth into the net of the gospell, and doth wrap her self in the cords of his sacraments, because that all such which the son of God doth take in his protection and safegard, although he suffer them sometimes to be tempted with vices, yet he neuer consenteth that they fall from his holy faith.

In Saint Peters net he is fast, who in the faith of Christ stan­deth sure and firme; and he with the vaile of the temple is bro­ken and rent from the top to the ground, who from the faith of Christ is become an Apostata, and persecuteth his church; for considering how the law of the sonne of God is immaculate and vnspotted, no man is suffered not only not to depart from it, and forsake it, but also not to wauer and doubt in it.

Tertullian in his Monodia saith, That before that the son of God did suffer death for vs, the written law and grace were cou­pled and went together, the spirit and the letter, the synagogue and the church, the old testament and the new; but at that very instant that Christ yeelded vp the ghost vpon the crosse, and the vaile of the temple brake insunder; the law of grace and the law written vncoupled and seuered themselues, and that which was the letter from that which was spirit, and that which they call synagogue from that which was the church, and those [Page 285] which were Iews from those which were Christians, because that vnder the law of Christ, it is not permitted that there should be any thing hidden, and much lesse fained. O how happie euery Christian man may cal himselfe in hauing Christ for his God and Lord, of whom it is not read, that he commanded any thing to be hidden but laid open; as it appeareth in his owne side vvhich he suffred to be broken, in the graues and sepulchres of Hierusalem, which he commanded to open, and in the vaile of the temple which he permitted to rent asunder, and in the asse at Ierusalem vvhich he willed to be loosed. Non est deus sicut deus noster, who vnfoldeth that which is folded vp, openeth that which is shut, sheweth vs that which is hidden; inso much that we are taught in all that which is necessarie to saue vs, and forwarned of all that which may hinder vs. O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, vvith al humility I beseech thee that thou wouldst take from my heart the vaile of shame, to the end that I may confes my sins, the vaile of mallice that I may not hurt my neighboures, the vaile of igno­rance that I may attaine vnto thy secrets: for if hereafter there be no amendment in me, and for that which is past thou do not giue me thy grace, I am one of those which thou wilt not see, and I feele in my selfe that I shall not be able to know thee. I am O good Iesus, I am Isaac, who by reasō of his blindnes, did not know his son Iacob; I am Iacob who by reason of blindnes, did not know his nephew Beniamin; I am Tobias who because that he was blind, did not see the light of heauen; I am Heli the priest, which did not see the light in the temple; and that which is worst of all is, that my blindnes is not in that I haue lost my sight, but in that I haue falne from thy holy grace. Breake then O good Iesus, break the vaile of my fault, breake the vaile of my disgrace, breake the vaile of my mallice and enuie: seeing that as long as my soule shal be couered with these vails, it is impossible for me to see thy face, and much lesse to enioy thy glory.

CHAP. XLIIII. How that in the death of the son of God, the stones did cleaue in sunder, and the mountains did open, and of many high miste­ries which these openings did signifie.

ET petrae scissae sunt & monumenta aperta sunt, & multa corpora sanctorum surrexerūt, saith S. Mathew chap. 27. as if he should say, The voice which the sonne of God did giue at the time of his death, was so terrible and so dreadfull, that as his soule went out of his bodie, and his spirit vn­to his father, immediatly the stones did cleaue in peeces, the mountains did breake, the sepulchres open, and many holy men did rise with Christ; insomuch that none of all creatures desired longer to liue, seeing they did see their maker to die so much without fault. It is a thing worthie to be noted, and in my seeming dreadfull to behold, that in the land of Iurie, in the kingdome of Damasco, and in the mountains of Arabia, vntill this day the cleauings of the stones remaine, and the renting of the rockes; whereof strangers take some relikes, and make crosses and signes vpon them, in token that for feare of the crosse they did open, and dread and wonder of him who was crucified, they did part in sunder.

There appeared signes and tokens in foure places, at the death of Christ, that is to say, in the heauens which waxed dark, in the vaile which tore in sunder, in the stones which did cleaue, and in the dead which did rise; in all which there was testimonie giuen, how great the power of him was who died, and how far the bloud which he did shead did extend it selfe. The bloud vvhich the sonne of God did shead, did extend it selfe vnto the angels, seeing he did restore them: to the Iewes, seeing it did re­deeme [Page 287] them, to the Gentiles, seeing it did conuert them, vnto those which were dead, seeing it did ransome them: insomuch that if he could haue found more creatures, for more he would haue died, and in more he would haue emploied his bloud. It is a custome among men, that when a noble, worthie and liberall ghest hath remained long time in a house, and goeth to dwell in another, that then the ghests from whence he departeth, shew greife and sadnes, and those vnto whom he goeth receiue him with ioy and gladnes. Thirtie and three years the son of God had made his residence in this life with those which liued, which time being expyred, he went to visit and heale those which were dead, and as in all those years he remained the greatest part of them in the temple praying, and in the rockes and mountaines contemplating, the vaile doth breake, and the stones doe cleaue for very greife, the sepulchres do open and the dead goe out and receiue him for pure ioy.

The notable man Augustine saith thus in another sence, Who will not feare the crosse, and wonder and feare thee cruci­fied, seeing the rockes doe rent in sunder for very feare, and the graues open for very wonder? feare O good Iesus, feare did the elements conceiue, seeing they were troubled; feare had the stones, seeing they did cleaue in peeces; feare had the graues, see­ing they did open; feare also had the diuels, seeing that they did flee; and the feare vvhich they had of thee was, to see thee vpon a drie tree triumph ouer death, which before that time did take away euery mans life.

Had not the elements reason pardie, to be astonied and mo­ued, seeing they did see him killed who was wont to kill, and a tri­umpher ouer him who was accustomed to triumph ouer others, and see him buried who did alwaies burie, and to see an end of death which was the cruell hangman of all the world?

Ierome in an Homely saith, That since the beginning of the world, death was neuer so put to death, as when with Christ all his power and might was vanquished; because that the triumph which he had ouer him on the altar of the crosse, was so great, because that at the very houre and moment, that Christ had his soule drawn frō him, death did also end his life. What other thing [Page 288] doest thou thinke was his life, but only by his office to take from euery man his life?

O good Iesus, O great redeemer of Israell, what greater testi­monie shall we desire to know that the old death was put to death, in thy death, but only that the dead which death had vnder the key of his power, doe rise out of their graues to yeeld vnto thee obedience?

If the dead after the death of Christ, should haue been sub­iect vnto death, as before they were, doest thou thinke my brother, that they durst haue risen out of their graues, and so re­turne againe to be buried? This aboue is out of Saint Ierom.

Quomodo obscuratum est aurem, mutatus est color optimus, dispersi sunt lapides sauctuarij in capite omnium platearum, saith Ieremie in his Lamentations, chap. 4. as if he would say, What great disaster and misfortune hath fallen vpon thee, O great citie of Ierusalem, seeing that so suddenly the brightnesse of thy gold is grown dark, and the coulour of thy face so chaunged, and the stones of thy sanctuarie are scattered abroad throughout all the world?

Hugo de sancta victore saith, That then the gold of the syna­gogue did grow darke, when with her God and Lord she lost her fauour and credit, and then the colour of her face was all chaunged when she fell vnto her cursed Idolatrie, and then the stones of the sanctuarie were scattered in the market places and throughout the world, when all her nations and tribes were led captiue through all countries.

And then, as the glosse of Agmon saith, In the church of God the gold waxeth darke, when perfect men grow slacke in vertuous actions; and then the coulour of her face is changed, when a religious life is turned into a secular; and then the stones of the sanctuarie are scattered and throwne abroad, when religious men become Apostatas, out of their monesta­ries.

The highnesse of perfection, and the perfection of religion, doth not so much consist in the beautie and greatnesse of the monestaries, as in the brotherly loue and perseueraunce of the religious men. Then the seruants of our Lord turneth gould into dourt, vvhen a Religious man vvithdrawne, [Page 289] becommeth altogether worldly, and then hee chaungeth the good glorie of his face, when he doth little esteem of shame, and is bould with his conscience; and then he hath scattered abroad the stones of the sanctuary, when hee hath nothing in the mo­nastery more then his body, and with his thoughts goeth wan­dering ouer all the world.

Seeing that a perfect religious man, is nothing else but a liuely stone, in the building of the temple of Christ, then wee will say that the stones of mount Caluarie do cleaue and rent, when re­ligious men breake loue, and become enemies the one to the o­ther; & then we will say, that the stones of the sanctuarie are cast abroad, when they liue according vnto their appetits, and liue with their bodies shut vp, and their hearts at libertie. Conside­ring that in scripture, by the stone of hard flint, is vnderstand the naughtie and obstinate man, what other thing was it, for the stones to breake when Chirst did yeeld vp the ghost, but that the vntamed Gentilitie, should receaue the gospell? S. Cyprian vpon the passion of our Lord saith, That since that God did make the world and create man, neuer any death could do so much, nor euer any bloud had so much efficacie, as that which the son of God did shed vpon the crosse; because that, that only in the land of Iudea, was able to break the rocks, and in the harts of the gentiles to open their bowels.

If the inhumanitie which men vsed towards Christ, bee curi­ously considered, and the pittie which senceles creatures, had o­uer him be rightly waighed, wee shall find for a truth, that when the neighbours of Ierusalem did cast Christ out of them, the stones did receaue him within them. It is much to be pondered, that Ieremy dooth not weepe, because the copper or yron was darkned, but only the mettall of gold; for as gold is the cheefe of all other mettals, so the priests and pharises, were the ring-leaders and captains of all the wicked, who then began to growe darke and black, whē they determined to put the son of God to death.

That Ieremy did not weepe because that copper, yron, tinne; which are base and poore mettals, did grow darke, but only that the mettall of gold grewe darke which is rich; is to let vs vnder­stand, that there is more cause of tears and griefe, in two or three [Page 290] sins commited by princes and prelats, then of a hundred done by poor subiects: because that the sin which the subiect dooth com­mit, is no more but one sin; but that which the prince or prelat doth commit is iointly a sin and sacriledge. It is likewise to bee marked, that Ieremy doth not weepe, because the colour of the feet, or of the hands is chaunged, but only the colour of the face, where a man appeareth either shamefull, or without shame; for to say the truth, no man falleth into a fault, if he do not first lose his shame towards God.

It wanteth not a mistery likewise that Ieremy doth not weepe for the stones which fell from the wall or towers of the citty, but for those which did fall from the sanctuary or temple, because that comparing of sinnes, our Lord is much more offended with those which the priests and religious men do commit, who are dedicated vnto himselfe, than with those which worldlings do offend in. For what other thing is it that the Prophet doth com­plain, That the gould hath lost his hew; but only that he is very sory for the offences and faults which the prelat dooth commit? What meaneth he to complain of the losse, and chaunge of the colour of the face, but that at this day, all men sin without shame throughout all the world? What is it to weepe fot the stones of the sanctuary, but to haue pitty and compassion of the perdition of the clergie, and the estate of the religious? O saith S. Ambros, howe much more pittie reuerence and affection, did our Lord find in the hard stones of the mount of Caluarie, then in the ob­stinate bowels of the Iewishe nation, because of pure zeale they did arme themselues to receaue him within them, when no man durst so much as confesse him to be a good man. It is to bee won­dred at, that the sonne of God would condiscend vnto the zeale and affection which the stones did shewe vnto him, seeing hee would not descend from the crosse, at the request of the sina­gogue, nor giue credit vnto their words; to let vs therby vnder­stand, howe far more gratfull the stones were to him, then the affection of the Iewes. O that far greater reason had the son of God, to yeeld to the entreaty of the stones, then vnto the words of the Iewes, because that they ioyned together to take away his life, and the stones opened in the middle, to giue him his graue in [Page 291] their bowels. If the stones could speake saith Chrisost. and had li­cence to chastise the Iewes, Titus and Vespasian should not haue need to come and reuenge the death of Christ, for they would haue iniuried them in speech, & killed them with stones. Barnard de planctu virginis saith, If thou wilt learn that charitie and zeale are two vertues which are most gratfull vnto the son of God, and that he doth reward them very speedily; thou maist perceaue it in that, that stones hauing opened themselues, and he hauing no tongue to thanke them, nor bloud to shed for them, yet hee re­warded so notable a seruice, in that he commaunded his body to bee buried within them. O happie seruice was that, which the stones did at that hour vnto Christ, seeing they did deserue to re­ceaue him into their bowels, and keep him there vntil he did rise again. Post dies multos dicit dominus, auferam a vobis cor lapideum, & dabo vobis cor carneū & spiritū nouū. said God by Ezechiel. as if he would say, After many daies, which shalbe in the daies of thee O sinagogue, if not in the daies of thy daughter the Church, I will take frō my seruāts & friends, the heart which they had of stone, and will giue them an other more tenderer, which shalbe of soft flesh, and also I will giue them a new spirit, and it shalbe the holy ghost himself. Vnder few words our Lord doth promise vnto his, many and great fauours, to wit, that he will take away their hard harts, & giue them others more soft and tender; because it is no lesser a gift of God, to keepe vs from offending him, than to giue vs his grace to serue him. When the prophet doth say, Descendāt in profundum quasi lapis, what else dooth hee meane, or what els doth hee aske of the Lord, in this so rigorous a request, but only that seeing the hearts of the wicked were hard like vnto flint; e­uen so they might descend hard & whole into hell. Cassidorus vp­on these words saith, that the son of God did find all the hearts of the world hard & stony, seeing the Prophet did aske of God, That they might go downe into the bottomlesse deapth of like stones; the which stones the great Redeemer did commaund at the hour of his death to be broken and cleaft, and of the same stones, other soft stones & humane hearts to be made; insomuch that it was no other thing for the stones to be brokē before Christ but only that our hearts & minds should become tender & mild.

As it is the naturall condition of that which is heauie to des­cend, and of that which is light to ascend, euen so it is as naturall a thing vnto the sinfull soule to descend into hell, as for a stone to go downward. S. Austine in his Confessions saith, That the soule loaden with sins, is much more wearied then the body which go­eth loaden with stones: and therevpon it commeth, that with greater speed the soule doth descend into hell, when she goeth out of the body, than a stone dooth fall to the ground, when it is loosed out of the hand.

God and the diuell knowe one office, and doe trade in one marchandise, that is to say, in making of mens hearts; but the dif­ference is, that God doth make them of fleshe, and the diuell doth make them of stone: and because they are enemies the one to the other, they keepe no fidelitie in their trade, because that oftentimes, the heart of stone God doth turn into flesh, and the heart of flesh the diuell doth turne into stone.

When wretched Iudas liued in the colledge of the Apostls, had he not pardy a heart of fleshe, and then afterward when hee sould Christ for lucre, did not the diuell turn it into stone? The apostle S. Paule, my Lord and maister, had a heart of stone when he went to Damasco to apprehend the Christians, & Christ tur­ned it into fleshe, when he preached his holy faith vnto the He­brewes. In this thou shalt see O my soule, whether thou haue a meeke heart of fleshe, in that thou hast pittie and compassion on thy neighbour: and in this thou shalt see whether thou hast a heart of flint stone, in that, that thou hast no pittie toward thy neighbour, nor he succored by thee in his necessitie, insomuch that by the works which thou doost, thou shalt knowe what heart thou hast.

From the stars vnto the earth, what greater promise can God do vnto him whom he holdeth for his seruant and friend, then if the diuel haue made him a hard obstinat heart, to turne it soft and gentle? for what other thing is it for our Lord to turne a heart of stone, into a heart of fleshe, but to make it mild, pitifull, louing, and charitable? And what other thing is it for the diuell, to turn a heart which was of fleshe, into a heart of stone; but to make him cruell, ambitious, not conuersable, and dissembling? And [Page 293] to tell thee my brother in fewe words, that which I haue told thee in many, thou must vnderstand that of him only it is said, That he hath a good heart, who is of a good qualitie and conditi­on; and of him only it is said, That he hath an euil heart, who is of a bad and euill condition.

Vpon these words of the Psalme, Cor mundum crea in me De­us. S. Basill saith, O what a great fauor God dooth vnto him, whose hard heart hee dooth break, and maketh it soft like vnto wax, because that in an obstinat heart and wilfull, it pleaseth not God to dwell, nor to impart his gifts vnto him.

O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, I beseech thee, that thou wouldest breake the stones of my offences, and grind the pibble stones of my bowels, seeing that the Prophet Dauid said, to thy honor and praise, That a broken and brused heart, should neuer be broken by thee.

Am not I a harder stone then al stones, & a rougher flint then all flints, seeing the hammers of tribulation, with which thou doost chastise me, can not make soft my obstinacy and hardnes, nor yet the waters of thy visitations, with which thou doost com­fort me? If thy dolorous death and thy precious bloud, and thy dreadfull voice, were able to break and rent in peeces, the stones & rocks of mount Caluary; why O my good Iesus, wilt thou not also breake with them, the heart of this thy seruant? seeing thou diddest die for my soule, O redeemer of my life, why doost thou cleaue and rent the mountains of Iudea, and leaue my heart ob­stinat and stony? Thou knowest O good Iesus, that although I was not with them which crucified thee, yet I was hee for whom they did crucifie thee; and seeing this is so true, why doost thou break the stones, of those who did once put thee to death with nails, and doost not break the heart of him, who euery day dooth crucifie thee with his sins? O my soule, O my heart, O more a stone then all stones, doost thou not see that the stones without sense, & which were not redeemed by Christ, do cleaue in peeces for pure griefe, and doost thou remain whole and sound, hee hauing shed his own bloud for thee? with one only drop of bloud of a goate, the Diamant is presently broken and rent; and doost not thou part in twain O my heart, with all the bloud of [Page 294] Christ? If thou O my heart, hast a heart of fleshe, die for him who died for thee in fleshe, and if thou louest him as thou louest thy soule, feele that which hee feeleth in his soule, seeing that glorious and blessed Iesus, did not die on the crosse to redeeme stones, but to saue soules.

The sun waxeth dark, his soule departeth from him, the vaile of the temple renteth in two, the stones cleaue, and thou O my soule doost thou not break in sonder? O that thou haddest deui­ded thy selfe, and as thou mightest haue done, that is to wit, with the crosse which standeth alone, with the bloud which is shed, with the body which is dead, with the mother who is halfe dead, with the soule which is in heauen, and also with the colledge of the Apostls which is fled.

CHAP. XLV. Howe that by the death of the sonne of God, many holy men did rise, & why Christ did compare hipocrits to white sepulchers.

EGo aperiam tumulos vestros, & educam vos de tumu­lis vestris, & dabo vobis spiritum meum, said God by the Prophet Ezechiel chap. 37. as if he would say: I giue thee to vnderstand O holy citty, and people of the Iewes, that the time and years shall come, in which I will open thy sepulchers, and take out of them those whch shalbe buried in them, and I will make them so return again to life, that they shall neuer haue any feare again of death.

This so high a promise and this so newe a prophesie, was only accomplished in the death of Christ, and ended in his holy re­surrection, where the graues did open, and the holy prophets rise, and afterward ascend to heauen with the son of God: the which resurrection was so perfect and true, that they neither returned again to the trauails of this life, nor experimented again what the graue meant.

S. Augustine saith, that the rising of the prophet Samuel was fained, the rising of Lazarus vnperfect, but the resurrectiō of these [Page 295] holy fathers was perfect, seeing they did not die again like Laza­rus, nor were deceiued like Saul.

We haue already said howe that after that Christ died, the first miracle which hee did, was the renting of the vaile of the temple; the second the cleauing of the stones of Caluary, the third was the raising vp of those holy fathers which were dead; and with great reason we may say, that if it was the third, it was also true, because it is not reason that the affairs wherof the dead giue testimonie, be contradicted by the liuing.

Barnard saith, Wherin shal we know O good Iesus, that in thy death, death was dead, but in that, that thou diddest pardon the liuing, & raise again the dead? The antient captains of the world, as Pirrhus, Alexander, Hector, Darius, Hannibal and Scipio, Caesar & Pompey, although they had power to take away life frō many, yet they could raise none out of their graues, for if they had had art and skill to raise againe, as they had weapons to kill, they would either not haue suffered themselues to die, or else they would haue risen again.

Only the son of God was he who neuer slewe any man, and he alone who raised vp many, insomuch that as the life of Scipio and Hannibal, were occasion that many did die, so the death of Christ was cause that many did rise again.

The glorious S. Augustine saith, What other thing are wee giuen to vnderstand in that, that the sonne of God did open the old sepulchers, wherin ther was nothing but drie bones, but on­ly that he would open the holy bookes, in which were hidden the secrets of our redemption? What other thing was it to raise vp and giue spirit of life vnto drie bones, but to expound and de­clare vnto vs, the profoundnes of holy scripture? As it should be a matter of small profit, to open the graues and turne the bones, if the Lord did not send his spirit to raise them vp again; so dooth it little a vaile to open the bookes, or bee occupied in reading them, if our Lord doth not giue vs his grace to vnderstand them.

Ciprian vpon the passion of our Lord saith; O good Iesus how immediatly, O howe immediatly thou wouldest prooue, and make triall of the value of thy bloud, and how far thy death did extend, seeing that vnto the theefe which did hang with thee [Page 296] vpon the crosse aliue thou didst promise glory, and vnto the dead which were in the graues thou didst giue life? What is not he able to do, who giueth glory vnto those which are aliue, and life vnto those which are dead? In the aucthoritie alledged aboue, it is much to be waighed, that the Lord doth not say, that another, but that he himselfe will open the sepulchers, and raise the dead, and giue them the spirit of his gifts; to let vs vnderstand therby, that it is he only and no other, who can lift vs vp from sin, pardon the punishment, and giue vs his glory.

It is also to be pondred, that our Lord doth first say, that hee will open the graues, before that he will raise the dead: of which words we may gather, that if our Lord do not open our vnder­standing with his grace, we shall neuer rise from sin, nor see him, nor he vs in his glory.

Vae vobis pharisaei hipocritae, qui similes estis sepulchris dealbatis, quae foris apparent hominibus speciosa, intus vero plena sunt ossibus & spurcitia, These words spake the sonne of God preaching in the temple, Math. 23. as if he would say, Wo be vnto you Scribes and Pharises whose wickednes and hipocrisie, is like vnto braue and rich sepulchers, which on the out side are very white and curiously wrought, and within are full of dead bodies and rotten bones.

Christ did very badly think of stately tombs, seeing that vnto them and no other thing, he did compare the hipocrisie of hipo­crits; and the reason is, because the care which a good man ought to sleepe in is, not where they shall bury his body, but whether his soule shall go. Who will not rather haue emulation with poore Lazarus, than with the rich couetous man, although they buried the one in a stinking dunghil, and the other in a sepulcher of marble? What hindrance was it to the poore man to be buri­ed in a dunghil, seeing the angels caried his soule vnto Abrahams bosome? and what did it auaile the rich man, to bee buried in a sumptuous tombe, seeing the diuels caried his soule to hell? Pli­nie in the prologue of his 7. boke saith, That among all the crea­tures which nature hath created, man only and no other, doth weepe, man only is ambitious, only proud, onely couetous, and the worst of all is, that he only doth make vnto himselfe a tombe, [Page 297] and endeuoureth to prolong his life. Plinie sayth very true, See­ing that neither riches maketh other liuing creatures prowd, nor pouertie sad, neither doe they care to keepe nor labour to heape vp, neither laugh when they be born, nor weepe when they die, but labour only to liue, not regarding where to be buried. Grego­rie in his Register saith, That as a man ought not to make recko­ning of the long or short time which he liueth, but how he li­eth, so he ought not to haue regard whether his tombe were rich or poore, but whether his soule shall goe to good rest or not.

Ierome in an epistle saith, Doe not the laboures and trauels that thy bodie suffers suffice thee, but thou must also take other cares vppon thee; that is, where they will burie thy wearied bones, and where the worms shal gnaw thy bowels? vnto me, and vnto all others, I hold it better counsell, that a man labour to lead a good life, then consume his substance in a rich sepulchre. If the Poet do not deceiue vs, the night that Troy did burn, when Aeneas did ask his father Anchises, that he would goe out of the citie if it pleased him, for feare he should want a tombe; the old man made him answere Facilis est iactura sepulchri, as if he should say, Among all the calamities and pains of this life, there is none lesser to man, then that his bodie want a tombe. Anchises made a very good answere, seeing we see a man which is aliue, com­plaine if a flie or flea bite him, but we did neuer see a dead man find fault that the belles did ring but a little for him, or that they had buried him in a poore sepulchre. If it had ben the pleasure of the son of God, that we should be carefull where to be buried, he would haue giuen license to the yong man who asked license of him, to burie his father: wherin he gaue vs to vnderstand, that the reuerence we owe vnto our fathers, ought rather to be shewen in seruing them dutifully, then in burieng them pompeously. To come then vnto our first purpose, Christ did well compare the Pharisies to sepulchres, which seemed to be painted without and rotten within, because that all the care which a prowd and ambitious man hath, is, not to deserue, but to seeme; hee goeth about to appeere and seeme, and not to deserue; who hath grea­ter regard to encrease his fame, then to better his conscience [...] so much that in case of being good or not, the hipocrite loueth ra­ther [Page 298] to seeme then to be, though in good reason he should ra­ther be, then seeme.

The rebuke which the son of God gaue vnto the hipocriti­call Pharisees, might wel be giuen at this day vnto many Ecclesi­asticall and religious persons, who being beholden in outward shew, doe shine in honour and fame, and yet the secret of their life beeing knowne, they stinke like an open sepulchre. What doth it auaile to weare a torne coat outwardly, and inwardly to haue his will whole? What doth it auaile to abstaine many daies from meat, and not abstaine one houre from detraction? What auaileth it to force the bodie, to be retired and shut vp, and loose the mind to wander in the world? What doth it profit to vse the words of a holy man in his mouth, and when his neighbour hath need of him, be a diuel vnto him? What doth it profit to tell e­uery man that he will neither state nor honour, and on the o­ther side doth pursue him to death, who maketh himselfe equall with him? What doth it profit to preach vnto all men humilitie and patience, and yet neuer forgiue or forget iniurie? What doth it profit to persuade others to liue in peace and concord, and secretly to be the captaine of discord, and make warres betwixt his brothers? Such beasts as these the son of God doth call whited sepulchres, serpentine hipocrites, stinking dounghils, for euen as the dounghill the more he is stur­red, the more he doth stinke, so the hipocrit the more they deale with him, the greater noughtines is discouered in him. Saint Gre­gorie in his Morals saith, That there is no man in the church of God who doth so much hurt, as he who vnder the shew of holi­nes, couereth poison and wickednes: because the meaning of such a one is alwaies to better his owne estate, and secretly to depresse and keepe downe others.

Hugo de arra animae saith, Those whom we call traitors in the world, we call hipocrits in congregations, because that as tray­tors doe take away the life of the quiet, so the hipocrite seeketh all means to bereaue the good of their fame and credit. As there are, saith Anselmus, many holy bodies in broken sepulchres, ther are also many which were bad in rich tombes; so in like manner there are certaine men which in shew seeme dissolute, yet their [Page 299] life being inwardly knowne, are very vertuous; and others which seeme very godlie, yet their bowels being inwardly examined are like diuels: in so much that we should neuer praise or dispraise any man by the habite which he wea­reth, but by the conuersation and life he leadeth.

O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, I beseech thee that thou wouldest open the sepulchre of my rotten affecti­ons and bowels, to the end that the euill sent which is in them, may goe out of them, because that my noughtie cogitati­ons stinke worser before thee, then the bones of sepulchres doe before me.

Open then O good Iesus, open the sepulchre, of my pu­trified heart, and of my corrupted vnderstanding, for if thou goe about to seeke for dead men, who is so much dead as I am?

The scripture doth not call those men dead men, which thou diddest raise, but men which were asleepe; but woe be vnto me, because it cannot be saied, that my sorrowfull heart is asleepe, but dead; for it cannot be said of the man that is bu­ried, that he is dead, but of him who hath long continued in sinne.

Lazaras was buried in his graue when thou diddest say, Lazarus my freind doth sleepe; and that yong man was aliue vnto whom thou diddest say, Sine mortuos sepelire mortuos suos, in so much that of these high wordes we may gather, that when thou doest speake of the good, their death thou doest cal a sleeping; and when thou doest speake of the bad, thou dost call their sinning dying.

O who could bee worthy to heare of thy holy mouth, La­zarus amicus meus dormit, Lazarus my freind is asleepe? and also non est mortua puella, sed dormit, because that in the pre­sence of thy goodnesse and charitie, he is not holden for dead who is enclosed in a sepulchre, but he who is deuided from thy holy grace. How is it possible that he should liue, who doth not liue in thy grace?

Is it not pardie farre better to be buried in thy grace, then [Page 300] to liue in thy disgrace? Tell me O good Iesus tell me, is there a­ny thing in a rotten sepulchre which is not in my sorrowfull soule, and vnhappie life? In me more then in any, they shall find hard stones of obstinacie, a painted sepulchre of Hipocrisie, drie bones of old sinnes, vnprofitable ashes of workes without fruit, gnaw­ing wormes of great concupiscence, and a great stinke of an euill conscience. What then will become of me, O good Iesus, if thou doe not breake the stones of my faults, throw downe the sepul­chre of my hipocrisie, reforme the bones of my sinnes, and if thou doe not sift the ashes of my vnruly desires? Raise me vp then, O good Iesus, raise mee now vp: not from among the dead which sleepe, but from among sinnes which stinke; for that the iustifica­tion of a noughtie man is a far greater matter, then the raising vp of a dead man, because that in the one thou doest vse thy power, and in the other thou doest employ thy clemencie.

CHAP. XLVI. How the Centurion did confes Christ to be God, and of the diffe­rence betwixt his confession and S. Peters, and how he did afterward die a glorious martyr.

VIdens autem Centurio quia sic clamans expirasset ait vere hic homofilius dei erat, saith S. Marke chap. 15. as if he would say, The Centurion seeing the great crie which the son of God gaue, when his soule de­parted out of his bodie, and that he died with great fortitude, and perfect iudgement, said, Verily this prophet which we here see die, was the lawfull sonne of God; because that, that which he doth none could be able to doe but God. When the Romanes had conquered the land of Iurie, more by force thē by iustice, the viceroy of Ierusalem, had a great guard of men about the citie, among which there were certaine footmen, as well for [Page 301] the guard and safetie of his person, as the execution of iustice. They called the captaine of the guard Centurio, that is to say, a captaine of an hundered men, who went very well appointed in guarding of Christ, at the request of the cheife of the people, fearing that because he was welbeloued of all least they vvould take him from the Iustice in the way.

What a follie is this O yee Iewes (saith Chrisostome) What a follie is this? is it not a follie and that a great follie, to send a guard of men to keepe him, who went to die of his owne volun­tarie and free will? into whose braine can it sinke, that he will flee from the crosse, who being asked by you, yet would not come downe from the crosse? How doe you thinke that he will flee from death whom you procure to be killed, seeing that of his owne will he did offer himselfe vnto you in the garden? Obla­tus est quia ipse voluit, sayth the prophet Esay in the first chapter, as if he would say, He was taken because he suffered himselfe to be taken, he was sacrificed because he suffered himselfe to be sa­crificed, and he was offered vp on the crosse, because he went vn­to it to be offered vp; for otherwise seeing he had power to giue life vnto the dead, he could also haue had the same power to haue kept himselfe from death. O perfidious Iewes (saith Saint Ierome) O wicked Iewes, tell me I pray you, shall not he who by his secret iudgements, and for your old sins, did put all your king­dome vnder the subiection of the Romans, shall not he I say be able if he list to deliuer himselfe from you, and also from their captains? If all your prophets doe call him Deus exercituum, the God of hostes, what thinke you can an hundred souldiers do vn­to him?

Cyprian vpon the passion sayth, Seeing that you doe hire the Centurion and his hundred hirelings, why [...] it to hinder the death of the sonne of God, and not helpe [...]im to die? for such is his infinite charitie, with the which he doth goe to the crosse, to mitigate and appease the wrath of his father, and re­deeme the sinnes of thy brethren, that you should haue more to doe to keepe his life, then hinder him from accepting of death.

His father hauing giuen sentence of death, and he hauing [Page 302] accepted death, and offering himselfe vnto death, what moueth you to thinke O you Hebrues, that he should flee from death? he who had power to raise the dead, shall he not be able if he will to deliuer himselfe from the liuing? Doe not feare that he vvill loose himselfe, doe not feare that the son of God vvill flee from the death which you pretend to giue him, because he goeth not to the altar of the crosse constrained with feare, but drawne with loue.

Remigius sayth, That if the infamous Iewes could haue seene the heart of the sonne of God, as they did see his face, they would not haue carried him away with such hast as they did, nor put the Centurion to gard him, because he had greater care to redeeme them, then they had to kill him. If we will marke and looke into this mistery profoundly, we shal find that if they did carry Christ, Christ did carrie and lead them, but they lead him to carrie him out of the world, and he went to draw them out of hell. They did cast Christ out of the world, seeing they did bereaue him of his life, and he drew them out of hell, seeing he did forgiue them their sinne; and if since that time any of them haue ben condem­ned, and at this day burne in hell, it is rather because they did re­turne vnto their first sins, then that they were not fully redeemed. O sencelesse Iewes, why doe you send holy Iesus through the streets with a gard of men, seeing that he hah more to doe at the mount of Caluarie then you? On the mount of Caluarie he must appease his fathers anger, found his church, consume the sina­gogue, fulfill the prophesies, ouercome the diuell, die on the tree, and redeeme all the world. He who is to institute so many sacra­ments, and accomplish so many mysteries, how is it possible that he should part from you, or run from you through the fields? Be­da sayth, That in this we may see how vveake the iudgements of man are, in respect of the iudgements of God, in that that often­times that which man doth for one respect God doth direct to a­nother, for the Iewes hauing the Centurion there for a gard, hee did put him there to confesse in the name of the church, and in the confusion of the sinagogue.

In the name of the sinagogue the Iewes said, Non habemus re­gem nisi Caesarem, and in the name of the church the Centurion [Page 303] said Hic filius dei erat, insomuch that the selfe same day that they refused Christ for God, the Centurion receiued him for his Lord & maister. Lapis de pariete clamabit, & lignum quod inter iun­cturas edificionis est, respondebit, saith the prophet Abachuc in the twentith chapter, as if he would say, In times to come, that is, when the Messias shall come into the world, the stone which is in the wall shall giue a great noise, and the beame which is in the building shall answere him.

It is without all doubt a new thing, and in the nature of man neuer vsual, to say that the stone doth speake, and that the beame doth answere him; for at the time that God did deuide his gifts, he did giue the stones their being, plants growing, beasts feeling, birds fleeing, fishes swimming, and vnto man alone speech. It is not reason that we giue ouer the search of this mysterie, and the discouerie of this sacrament, that is, of that which the stone doth speake, and of that which the beame doth answere, because it is very common in scripture, that how much the darker the figure is, the profounder and fuller of mysterie it is.

What is the stone which speaketh out of the building, but on­ly the great Centurion which testifieth that, Vere hic homo filius dei erat? and what is the beame which answereth, but only the crosse which saith, Iesus Nazarenus rex Iudaeorum.

The great Centurion had in him the properties of a stone, and for that cause the scripture calleth him a stone, he was heauie with pride, cold with Idolatrie, hard by couetousnes, and drie with anger; and yet notwithstanding he did confesse Christ to be a man, in saying, hic homo, he confessed him to be God when he said, filius dei erat, and he confessed him to be a holy man when he said hic homo iustus erat.

What was there more to be confessed in Christ, then that which the great Centurion did confesse?

O high profession, O worthie confession that the stone doth here make, seeing he doth confesse in Christ manhood, and doth confes in Christ godhead, & likewise holines, in saying, This man was a iust man and the son of God: insomuch that he seemeth ra­ther by this speech, a preacher of the church, then a captaine of the sinagogue. Damascen in his sentences sayth, That the [Page 304] confession which this captaine doth make, doth reach higher and containeth greater misterie then any man doth thinke for, because that all these three things which he doth confesse in Christ, are very needfull for the redemption of mankind; for first there was need of a man which should owe much, of God which should be able to doe much, and of a iust man which should suffer much.

Ambrose saith, That to say with the Centurion before all the Iewish nation, that the prophet which they did put to death, was a man, was God, was iust, is in his opinion such a high profes­sion, and also such a perfect confession, that the angels haue no­thing more to confesse, nor men to beleeue.

Leo in a sermon doth say, O that if as the Centurion did say, truly this man was the son of God, Filius dei erat, he had said, this man is the son of God, filius dei est, there could nothing more haue ben desired in him, nor required in his confession; but being as he was a nouice in the faith, and seeing that Christ did truly and vn­fainedly die, it seemeth that in saying erat he was; and not est he is, he had scruple in his mind whether he should rise againe or not.

This Centurion captaine, was no Iew but a Gentile, no He­brue but a Roman, not learned but simple, and yet neuerthe­lesse he did openly confesse in Christ godhead, and preached manhood, and that euen at that time when the Iewes, Christs parents, did dislike his doctrine, spot his credit, persecute his fa­milie, crucifie his person, and bereaue him of his life.

Basill sayth, That the first word which the Centurion spake is to be noted, vz. Vere, and the second, Hic filius dei erat, and also the third, Hic homo iustus erat, because that by them he doth teach vs, that he only and no other is true God, and true man, and also a holy man.

The greatest accusation that Pilat vsed against Christ was, Quia filium dei se fecit, that he made himselfe to be the sonne of God; and notwithstanding the Centurion doth confesse that he was the sonne of God, in so much that he did openly confesse that, for the which the Iewes did put him to death.

This Centurions faith vvas a strong faith, seeing he did [Page 305] persuade himselfe to beleeue that which he did not see, contra­ry vnto that which hee did see; for that which he did see, was a body crucified, and that which he did beleeue was, that Christ was true God.

That which the Centurion did confesse, is highly to be estee­med, but the time when hee did speake it, is more to bee regar­ded; that is to say, when the Iewes did accuse him, the passers by mock him, the theeues scorne at him, the hangmen and tor­turers crucifie him, insomuch that to restore Christ his fame a­gaine, he did put his own life in ieopardie and daunger.

We may persuade our selues, that if the Centurion had not ben a Romain captain, & had not had a hundred men following him, his speech would haue cost him dearly when hee said, Hic homo filius dei erat, for to be so bould as to call him the sonne of God, and also a iust man, whom they did call a Samaritan and a demoniacle, was to proclaime himselfe to be a faithful Christian, seeing he did confesse him; and all them to bee traitours, seeing they did kill him.

Remigius saith, that the flint stones are not so hard as the hearts of the Iewes, because that at the time when the Centurions con­fession did inuite them to vse clemency towards Christ, then they began to iest at him, and to shewe their hardnes and mal­lice against him: insomuh that the feruour and heat of the bloud of Christ, did melt the Centurions heart like wax, and harden the sinagogue like durt.

When the redeemer of the world would send forth his soule, the last sinner that did speak vnto him, was the good theefe, and the first which spake vnto him after his soule was gone, was this great Centurion; and the captain of theeues said, Domine memento mei, Lord remember me; and the captain of the souldiers [...]id, Hic erat filius dei, This man was the son of God.

What patience is this, O good Iesus, what patience is this with Domine memento mei, into thy hands theeues do commend them­selues, and with Hic erat filius dei, souldiers confesse thee to bee God, and also the stones flee in sunder, the elements tremble be­fore thee, and yet the wicked Iewes mocke at thee, and all obsti­nat and naughtie Christians forget thee.

O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, seeing I am no Iew but a Christian, not of the sinagogue but of the church, nor of those which say Vah que destruis templum dei, but of those which con­fesse, that thou art the son of God; I beseech thee most hum­bly, and prostrat vpon the ground I entreat thee, that I may bee one of the hony-comb of wax, which it dooth please thee to make soft, and not of the clod of clay, which thou doost suffer to grow hard.

It may bee religiously thought, that there were about the crosse many others, which were in religion faithfull, in life ho­nest, in knowledge learned, in bloud noble, and in wealth, more mightie then that Centurion captain was, and yet Christ did lighten his heart only to confesse him, and suffered all the rest to crucifie him. O what a great example this is of the Centurion, whom Christ did lighten, and of the Iewes which Christ did for­sake; for to teach vs that no man in this life, is sure not to fall, nor that no man despaire that he should neuer be able to rise, seeing we see that there is nothing more common, than cockle to grow among good wheat, and in sharp thornes sweet roses.

Chrisost. saith, The occasion which moued the Centurion to turn to Christ was, to see how he did accept of death when they did condemn him, to see howe hee did take the crosse when they did put it vpon him, to see that he did not complain when they did whippe him, to see that hee did not speake when they tooke his garments from him, to see howe meeke and quiet hee was when they did naile him, and most of all to see howe he did pray vnto his father for those which did crucifie him.

O high misterie, and hidden sacrament, to see what the son of God dooth vpon that drie tree: where hee did not preach, but worke, where he conuerted none with words, but with works, because that the conuersion of the theefe, and the confession of the Centurion did not proceed of any words which they did heare the sonne of God there speake, but of the great miracles which there they did see him worke.

By this notable example, all perfect men ought to take ex­ample, that after they are gone vp to the crosse of religion, they are not afterward licenced to flee from it, but to abide in it, nor [Page 307] to complaine, but be silent; nor to reuenge, but pardon; nor to repent, but perseuer; nor to preach, but worke; because the words which Christ spake vpon the crosse, may be nombred, but the works which he did there, can not be comprehended.

Gregory in his Pastoral saith, Prelats which rule and gouern, & preachers which teach, ought to take example of the conuersion of the theefe, and the confession of the Centurion, both which Christ did drawe vnto him, rather with the works which he did, then with the words which he spake; because it is more easie to turn mens hearts with the examples which they see, then with the words which they heare.

Cirillus vpon S. Iohn saith, The confession which S. Peter made was great, because he said, Tues Christus filius Dei viui, Thou art Christ the son of the liuing God, and that which the Centurion made was as great, because he said, Vere hic filius Dei erat, Truly this man was the sonne of God; insomuch that the one said thou art, and the other said, he was: but taking those words in an other sence, the confession of the Centurion was greater, because hee said his beleefe before more then fifty thousand persons, and S. Peter confessed Christ only before the twelue Apostls. With­out doubt (saith Chrisost.) it is not reason that a knight which had made such a high confession, and had framed such a great Credo, should with the Gentiles his parents bee condemned; and ther­vpon it is, that as hee was the first Gentile which at the crosse did confesse Christ, so hee was afterward one of the first which receaued martirdome, insomuch that hee did immitat S. Peter, in that which hee did confesse, and S. Stephan the martyr in that which hee did suffer.

CHAP. XLVII. Why the scripture doth call the death of Christ a spectacle: and howe there are many, which with the Iewes do strike their breasts, and very few which make clean their sins.

OMnis autem turba, quae simul aderat ad spectaculum istud, & videbat quae fiebant, percutientes pectora sua reuertebā­tur. saith S. Luke in his 23 chap. as if he would say. All the multitude of the people and nations, which had run thither, to see what would be the end of that straunge page­ant, as they sawe the sonne of God die, and the elements bring foorth such nouelties, they began to strike their breasts, and re­turned all vnto their own houses. We should much esteeme of the misteries of the passion of Christ, and search out the secrets contained in it, with great care and diligence, considering that the euangelists, are so circumspect in setting down euery point of it, and so much the rather, because there is no word in scripture, which is not worthy of the noting, and out of which, we may not gather some notable secreat. Vnto such as are not desirous to be­leeue, and vnto such as are not curious to learn, it will seeme a superfluous matter, that the scripture dooth call the death of Christ a spectacle, and make such a matter of it that all the peo­ple were afraid to see Christ die: but the mistery of it beeing searched out, we shall find that the feare which tooke the Iewes at the crosse was not vain, and that they had reason to return to their houses striking their brests.

If Aulus Gellius and Macrobius do write truly, it was a custom amongst the Greekes, and a law amongst the old Romains, to call that a spectacle or straunge sight, which all the people do run to behold, by reason of the rarenesse and newnesse of the thing; insomuch that all which were present, might haue great occasion to marke and behold, and those which were absent, re­son to enquire.

But speaking more particularly, the Romains did properly cal it a spectacle, when all the people did assemble themselues in the Theatre, to see slaues fight with wild beasts, or to see execu­tion of some notable and wicked persons, or to see some newe plaies or commedies represented vnto them, or to see how great men did triumph.

To come then vnto our purpose, it is to bee vnderstood that since the beginning of the world, vntill the day that Christ died vpon the crosse; and since the time that he died there, vntil hee do raise vs vp in the latter iudgement; there was neuer heard nor seen, nor neuer shalbe seen, any such high and new spectacle, as was the death and passion which Christ suffered; in the which the Iewes had enough to do, the Gentils to behold, the Chri­stians to immitate, and all the world to talke of. What spectacle was euer seen like vnto that, or euer shal be seene, as to see the sonne of God loose his life vpon the crosse? What fact euer so monstrous, or what spectacle euer so dreadful, could happen in al the world; as to see the Iewes go foorth the Sonday to receaue him, and the Friday to goe out all to crucifie him? Was not this think you a great & that a very great Christian spectacle, seeing that the death of one only man, did giue life vnto all the world? What noueltie like vnto this noueltie, can we see in this world, seeing that in the vewe of the eie, and in the brightest time of the day, death died on the crosse, when hee did take Christ his life from him? In this great spectacle, the mother weepeth, his friends behold him, the torturours kil him, the people mock him, the sun waxeth darke, the stones breake in sonder, the sepulchers open, the dead rise out of their graues, the diuels are afraid, and the angels weepe and lament.

Chrisost vpon S. Iohn saith, What spectacle equall vnto this, had the Greeks at any time; or the Romans in all their pageants or triumphs like vnto this, which the Iewes behold this day with their eies; that is, that vpon the drie wood of the crosse, their sinagogue endeth, the prophesies are fulfilled, the figures are buried, malice preuaileth, they condempn innocencie, exe­cute purenesse, take away life from their maker, and also spoile death of his power and dominion? In Diomedes spectacle, with [Page 310] the fleese, in Athens spectacle with the Minotaurus, in Hercules spectacle with the water serpent, and in Andronicus spectacle, with the Lion, those which were present, had occasion to behold one day, and to talke only at the most one weeke; but in the spectacle and in the death of the son of God, we haue occasion vntill this day to looke on and behold his crosse, & vntill the end of the world, we shall find misteries and secrets to speak of.

What spectacle hath there euer ben in the world, which hath not ben abridged in this one spectacle? If it be a spectacle of iests and mocks, here they did mocke at the son of God, as if he had been a foole; if it be a spectacle of victory and conquest, here the diuell is conquered; if it be of a famous execution, here they do execute Christ; if it be of strange and newe things, here the ele­ments are troubled; If it bee of an assemblie of people, hither there do run both the liuing and the dead; insomuch that as we do call one of Salomons books Cantica canticorum, so wee will call this Spectaculum spectaculorum.

What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? haue they put thee nowe for a spectacle vnto all the world, who wast wont to behold all the world from heauen? Spectaculum facti su­mus mundo, angelis & hominibus, saith the Apost. in the first to the Corinth. 4. as if he would say, I let you vnderstand, O my bro­thers of Corinth, that my life and the life of my Apostls, is so currant and sincere, that wee are a spectacle and a glasse which the world wonder at, the angels admire, and men are scande­lized.

Theophilact. saith, that oftentimes in scripture by angels are vn­derstood good men, and by the world naughty men; and ther­fore when the Apostle doth say, that he is made a spectacle to angels and the world, he meaneth that, in the stripes which they gaue him, and in the martyrdome which he suffered, there came many holy men to sucker him, and many naughty men to accuse him.

Beda saith vpon the Apostle, For the Apostle to say, that he and the other rulers of the church, were made a spectacle vnto the angels, and vnto men; was plainly to tell, that the contenti­ons which they had with the false prophets, were so great, and [Page 311] the torments which they receaued of barbarous nations so bitter, that they made the angels to woonder at them, and mooued men to compassion.

Why (saith Seneca to Lucillus) do so many nations, runne to Rome to see great spectacles, but because euery man would haue somwhat to talke on in his house, and speake of in his country? All such as beare office and gouerment in the common wealth, and do administer iustice, or preach vnto the people, all these are a spectacle, or a watch tower which behold others, and also by others are beholden.

He bindeth himselfe to be a spectacle vnto all the world, who taketh any charge of gouernmēt vpon him, for he is not only no­ted and marked by all whom hee ruleth, but in their hearts is also iudged.

He who offereth himselfe to preach vnto the people, bindeth himselfe to be a publike spectacle, seeing that all such as heare his doctrine, do iudge of the life which he leadeth, censure the words which hee speaketh, the learning which he hath, and the stocke he commeth of, and also whether hee do presume too much or not.

When a man dooth endeuour himselfe to be vertuous, hee dooth presently bind himselfe to be a spectacle of the world, be­cause that presently euery man dooth watch his steps, carp at his speech, note his conuersation, find fault at his inclination, gesse at his thoughts, defame him of hipocrisie, and rude behauiour.

S. Barnard writing to Maurus saith, Know thou father Mau­rus, that the same day that the Order made thee ruler ouer this monasterie, they did also make thee a spectacle of the world; and therfore it is very needfull that thou be chast in thy body, clean in thy thoughts, free in thy opinion, conuersable with thy bretheren, circumspect in thy words, pittifull to the weake, and alwaies exercised in good exercises.

And he addeth further, Who is a spectacle vnto the world, but only the seruant of our Lord, who with all his heart hath leaft the vanities of the world and laugheth at them? Who is a spectacle of men, but he who medleth not with any worldly man, but only with his own conscience?

Who is a spectacle of the angels, but he whose innocency the an­gels do approue, and whose life al holy men do praise? Let euery man therfore looke well what he doth, and marke well what he taketh in hand, for if he be good, we will call him a spectacle of goodnesse; if he be naught, we will call him a spectacle of naugh­tinesse; insomuch that such as our life is, such shalbe the super­scription of our letter.

It wanteth not a misterie saith S. Augustine, that Christ his pleasure was, that there should be present at this spectacle, both his friends and enemies: and the reason was, because that howe contrarie they were the one from the other, in that which they did beleeue of Christ, so contrary were the intentions why they repaired thither; because the wicked did behold Christ as a pro­phane spectacle, but the good did looke into him as a glasse and mirror of vertue.

O high mistery, O sacrament neuer heard of before; such as was the passion of the son of God, and the spectacle of Iesus cru­cified, the which was so great, that the elements came down to accompany him, & the dead rose out of their graues to visit him.

Tell me I pray thee, what kind of death should we be afraid of in this world, seeing the Iewes did repute the death of Christ a mundane spectacle? As it had been to a dreadfull and straunge spectacle, there did run thousands of people to see Christ die, the pharisies went to reuenge, the people to gaze at him, the souldi­ers to guard him, the hangmen to crucifie him, the deuout wo­men to accompany him, and his sorrowfull mother to weepe.

The Euangelist did say very aduisedly, that al nations did run to the death of Christ, as vnto a new spectacle and sight, because that all the straungers which came thither, & all the neighbours which flocked thither, stood in a maze, and were astonied to see howe holy his life had been, and howe infamous nowe his death is. O howe many heretikes, O howe many pagans, O how many naughtie Christians, do esteeme at this day the death of Christ no otherwise, then of a prophane spectacle, and not as of a diuine and holy mistery; which doth easily appeare, seeing the pagan doth mock at Christ which did suffer, the Iew scoffe at his passi­on, and Christians make no reckoning that he did redeem them. [Page 313] The seruant of our Lord who hath not a particular deuotion to the passion of Christ, maketh but a worldly & mūdane spectacle of it, because that the death of the son of God, should be deepe­ly thought vpon in the entrails of our heart, and be kept in our re­membrance, magnified with our toung, wept with our eies, and be set before vs as a marke of all our desires.

S. Barnard sayth, That that Christian doth make but a world­ly & prophane spectacle of the passion of Christ, who knoweth only how to read it, and will not imitate it; and that preacher ma­keth a prophane spectacle of it, who knoweth how to preach of it, and yet doth neuer tast of it: because that the high mysteries of the crosse of Christ are easily spokē, but very hardly attained. Vpon those wordes of Percutiebant pectora sua, & reuerteban­tur, Leo sayth, It would haue bene far better for you, O you Iewes, to haue stroken your breasts, it had ben far better for you to haue remained in the church, rather then turne againe to the sinagogue, and it would be better for you to conuert your selues by the doctrine which he preached before you, rather then by the miracles which he did in your presence, because that in so doing, we would haue beleeued that you had done it of loue, but now we thinke that you doe it of feare. The feare which the Iewes had to see the son loose his light, and to see that the stones did flee in sunder, and the sepulchres open, did driue them to strike their breasts, as it doth easily appeare in that, that that re­pentance of theirs did last no longer, then that wonderfull earth­quake did continue. Robertus in his glosse saith, Wilt thou see whether that striking of their breasts did proceed of feare and not of loue; marke how that as soon as they were gone from the mount of Caluarie they went directly to Pilats house, and be­sought him that he wold place a guard of men at the sepulchre, affirming and swearing, that because he had ben a great Negro­mancer, he would make the people beleeue that he is risen a­gaine.

Such wicked speeches, such shamelesse requests as these, are they thinke you of penitent men, and not of obstinate mad dogs? How is it possible that they should haue true repentance for put­ting him to death, who demaund a guard and a watch at his se­pulchre, [Page 315] and a new call him a deceiuer and cosener? It is much to be noted sayth Beda, that the euangelist doth first say, That the Iewes did first see the heauens grow darke, and the sepulchres o­pen, before that they began to knocke their breasts; whereof we may inferre, that they did all that, as being amazed and astonied, and not as being repentant and sorrowfull for the deed. If the Iewes would haue said with the Centurion, hic homo iustus erat, or with the theefe, domine memēto mei, or had gone with Ioseph to de­mand his bodie to burie it, or with Nichodemus to buy spices to a­noint him, we should haue thought that they had knocked their breasts for sincere repentance; but seeing that they apprehended him with their hands, defamed him with their toungs, abhorred him with their hearts, it is to be thought, that they were more a­fraid to see the sun growe darke, then to see the sonne of God to die.

Chrisostome vpon Saint Iohn sayth, If the euangelist had saied quod conuertebantur, as he did say quod reuertebantur, we might haue thought, that that striking of their breasts proceeded of con­trition of their sins: but seeing the scripture doth not say, that they did conuert themselues, but that they did returne, we may thinke that if they did absent themselues from the mount of Caluarie, and returned the same way which they came, they did it because they would returne to their houses, and not because they would purge their consciences. Vermes scaturiebant de corpore eius, & ora­uit hic scelestus dominum, a quo non est misericordiam consecutus, sayth the holy scripture in the second booke of the Machabes, the 9 chap. as if he would say, The great tyrant king Antiochus after that he had slaine eightie thousand Iews, and taken captiue forty thousand, the Lord did plague him with an intollerable disease, for besides that there proceeded out of his bodie an infinit num­ber of wormes, there did also come from him such a monsterous sauour, that he did loth himselfe, and all his armie did flee from him. This excommunicated tyrant perceiuing his infirmitie to grow more dangerous, and his death to draw neere, besought the Iewes to make petition vnto their God for him, faining himselfe to haue repentance of his sins; yet notwithstanding he did not ob­taine pardon, but died in the wildernes, because the contrition [Page 314] which he shewed, was not because he would amend, but because he would be healed of his disease. What a number of followers hath Antiochus at this day, which entreat others to pray to God for them, and what a multitude of companions haue the Iewes, which strike their breasts as they did, not so much to obtaine par­don of their sins, as to be deliuered of their troubles. Saint Grego­rie in his Morals sayth, Let no man maruell if our Lord doe not answere all which are in affliction, nor pardon all which knocke their breasts, because that that shew of tears and contrition in words, being rather of necessitie then of wil, our Lord is content to draw longer, because there should at length grow a true contriti­on in them.

It is a very vsuall thing, that when the sun doth eclipse, or when it thundreth or lighteneth, or when any man dieth sudden­ly, that all men blesse themselues, and pray, and knocke their breastes, and shew great contrition of their sins, which many doe rather of feare then of repentance, because that within one houre after that that feare is past, they remember no more the amend­ment which they purposed, nor the vowes which they made. Ori­gen saith, I dare boldly affirm that al such as in an eclipse, or thun­dring, or lightning, remember themselues of their sins, are like the old Iewes, who in seeing the sun loose his light, did strike their breasts, the which contrition doth seem rather to proceed of con­straint then of their free will; for seeing that neither the sunne nor the planets, were those which did incite them to sin, they should not be those which should moue them to repent. Who could do greater reuerence vnto Christ then Pilats seruants, who did put a crown vpon his head, and put of their hats vnto him, & salute him with aue rex Iudaeorum, vpō their knees? by this thou maist see my brother, that true contrition doth not consist in praying with thy hat of, or in kneeling, or striking thy breast, but only in sheding ma­ny tears frō thy heart, and amending thy selfe of thy faults. Wee do not discommend, but allow of striking thy breast, of going to church, and of kneeling, if with these things thou doe also a­mend thy life, and repent thee of thy sinnes, for otherwise thou shalt of men be praised, but thou shalt not be of God rewarded.

O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, I humblie [Page 316] beseech thee, that thou wouldst not suffer me to be one of those which do only knocke their breasts, but of those which do repent them of their sins, because thou didst not say by the prophet that he was acceptable vnto thee, who did strike his breast, but he who was of a contrite heart. Doe not yeeld thy consent, O good Iesus, that I should returne with the Iewes to my house, but that I should perseuere and abide with thy mother vntill thou be put in thy graue, because that all those which were worthy to put thee in thy sepulchre, thou didst cōfort after thy resurrection. Neither doe thou suffer O good Iesus, nor permit that I be one of those which did conuert thēselues, because they saw the stones breake insunder, but of those which turned vnto thee for thy only workes and doctrin, because that in thy high colledge they receiue none which are drawen with feare, but onely such as are led with loue. Who will direct me vnto thy house, who wil open me the gate, who dare knock with the hāmer, if thy holy loue should not guide me? is it a great matter O redeemer of my soule, that I shuld knock my breast with all my heart, seeing that thou wast not content to strike thy side but wouldest also open it? Giue me then, O good Iesus giue me thy holy grace, that I may with thee open the breast of my desires, and not strike him with the Iewes; because that the breast striken remaineth brused, but the breast which is opened may be cured, and there is none vnder the heauen who hath greater need to be cured, then this my sinfull soule.

CHAP. XLVIII. How Pilat did command those which were crucified to be taken downe from the crosse, and how the Iewes haue many fellows now a daies, which breake the legs of their brethren.

IVdaei ergo quoniam parasceus erat, vt non remanerēt in cru­ce corpora sabbatho, rogauerunt Pilatum, vt frangerentur eorum crura & tollerentur, saith S. Iohn in the nineteenth chapter, as if he would say, This great spectacle of the [Page 317] death of the son of God being ended, the Iewes went straight vnto Pilats house, and did entreat him very instantly that he would commaund that their legs should be broken which were crucified, because they might be the sooner dead, and that they might be also taken downe from the crosses.

The reason which they gaue Pilat of their demaund was, be­cause that that day was the eue or vigile of their great saboth, being their high Easter; on which day their law did commaund, that none which had ben executed, should remaine that day in the place where iustice had ben done. This word Parasceue is an Hebrue word, and doth signifie preparation, or euen of easter; on which euening the Iewes were bound, to make cleane their con­sciences, giue their almes, reconcile themselues vnto those whom they had iniuried, make readie all things in their houses, because the next day following was so high a feast, that they could doe nothing, but goe to the temple to pray, and occupie themselues in offering vp of sacrafices vnto the Lord.

Rabanus in his glosse doth say, That that which the Christians do call Friday, or vigile, the Iewes did call Preparation or Paras­ceue, which was a solempn day, because it was the first of Easter; but in respect of the day following, it was as it had ben the eue to it, because the next day following there were two feasts toge­ther, that is Easter and the saboth, and the saboth and easter. By reason that in that time of easter, a great multitude of people did run to Ierusalem, as well to pay their ordinarie tributes, as to of­fer vp sacrifices: the old Iewes had a custome to entreat those which did iustice vpon malefactors, that they would pull them downe from the trees, because that by the noisomenes and stinke of those which vvere dead, the liuing should not be infected.

Memento vt diem sabati sanctifices said God in Exodus, as if he would say, Among all the notable commaundements which I giue thee, O people of Israel, remember that thou sanctifie and honour my great saboth day, the which I haue dedicated onely vnto my owne seruice. Speaking literally God did commaund to keepe the last day of the weeke which was the saboth, in re­membrance of that saboth, in which God did rest after the crea­tion of the world: insomuch that as we doe now keepe holy the [Page 318] sunday in token and remembrance of the resurrection, so they did obserue the saturday in token and memorie of the crea­tion. What else was it for God to commaund in his law that the Iewes should sanctifie and keep the saboth, but that they should doe him more seruices on that day then any other? If it be curiou­sly looked into, we shall find that all saboth daies from the first, haue ben sanctified by God, quia benedixit deus diei septimo, and if this be true as true it is, how did God command men, to sanctifie that which is made holy by his owne hand? Origen doth answere and sayth that when our Lord doth say, That we should sanctifie or keepe holy the saboth; his meaning is, that thou shouldest not be content to abstaine that day from seruile worke, but that thou shouldest doe also some good and vertuous worke, because that the end why God did institute holie daies, was because we should honour him and benefit our selues.

We doe neither sanctifie the saboth nor honour God, nor pro­fit our selues, if vpon festiuall daies we commit sins, because our Lord did not ordaine them so much because we should rest, as because we should doe good works on them. Chrisostome sayth, I dare not say that he doth keep holyday, who doth any euil work, neither will I spare to say that he doth breake the feast, who be­ing able to do good that day, yet doth it not: because it were lesse hurt to goe on a holy day to plough and till the ground, then stay in our houses and sin.

Origen vpon Exodus sayth, That the commandements which our Lord did giue vs to keepe, are very reasonable, as it doth ap­peare by this commandemēt of the saboth, where he giueth vs li­cense to employ six daies of seuen to our owne vse and commo­ditie, and the seuenth only in his seruice. He who doth bestow se­uen daies on vs to liue, is it much if we bestow one of them in his seruice? If it had ben the principall meaning of the giuer of the law, that the children of Israell, should haue fulfilled the kee­ping of the saboth only, by rest and not working, he would haue said Obseruate & quiescite die sabatti, but because his meaning was that on that day, they should do holy workes, he said, memento vt diem sabatti sanctifices, Whereof we may inferre that he doth keepe a holy day better, who doth bestow it in praier and medi­tation, [Page 319] then he who doth nothing but take his rest and play. Vi­di In iudaea calcantes torcularia in sabbatis, sayth the scripture, Nehemi. 13. as if he would say, I did see in the kingdome of Iudea, and in the great cittie of Ierusalem, that on the feastiuall daies of the saboth they did gather their grapes, and presse them, with other seruile works, for which sin they were neither rebuked nor corrected.

It is written of the famous Macabees, that they would not presently fight vpon the saboth day, but seeing that the enemies did bait them and draw them on that day, they made no bones at all to fight, making account that they did not break the saboth after that they had visited the temple, and commended them­selues vnto the Lord.

The Iewes were at great contention with Christ whether he might heale the diseased on the saboth, or not, or whether he might trauell that day or no: but our holy sauiour, neuerthe­lesse did vpon that day both heale and trauell, teaching vs by that example, that in time of necessitie we may dispense with feastiuall daies, so that on such daies we doe no euill workes nor commit sin.

Comming then vnto our purpose, the Iewes had small occasion, and lesse reason to set so much by easter, which was the next day following the saboth, that for the obseruing whereof they should breake the legges of those poore theeues which were crucified with Christ, because it had been a far lesser offēce to haue broken the feast then haue committed such great crueltie against those poor men. O Iudaical blindnes (saith Theophi.) O pharisaical cere­monie, is it not pardie a greater crueltie & a more capital sin to ask license of Pilat to breake the legges and thighes of such as were aliue, then to breake your old saboths? seeing you made no consci­ence nor were not ashamed to crucifie Christ & the theeues, why are you now not to bury them? if the law did command you to bury those which were executed, did the law cōmand you hap­pily that you should kill them? Considering that the law doth commaund you of charitie to burie them, and not of cruel­tie to kill them, why doe you breake their legges they bee­ing aliue, seeing that with such cruell doulours, they will [Page 320] die desperat? It doth well appear, that not lōg since you did knock your breasts dissemblingly, seeing that without al conscience you would breake the legges of those which were newly executed, because no man can haue true contrition of his sinnes in this life, if he haue not first of all perfect charitie and pitie towards his neighbours. Thus far Theophilus.

For the Iewes then to aske of Pilat that hee would vse such great cruelty towardes Christ and the two theeues, did proceed rather of feare then of zeale: for seeing as they did see, that when Christ did yeeld vp the ghost, the vaile did breake, the sunne waxed darke, and that the sepulchres did open, they thought that if they should haue buried Christ vpon the saboth, that all the people would haue risen against them. The hatred which the Iews bare Christ was so great, that they did know well when it was best to put Christ but of the peoples sight, and burie him in his graue: and the reason was, that because the son of God had raised vp some dead men in the presence of thē all, they thought that he would also haue deliuered himself and those which were crucified with him. Ierom vpon Saint Luke saith, If they had exe­cuted the theeues without Christ, the Pharisies wold neuer haue gone vnto the mount of Caluarie, nor haue sought that at Pilats hands which they did, that is, that they might take them downe from the crosse, and breake their legs: insomuch that the care and sollicitude which they had, and their comming & going vnto Pi­lat was not so much to burie the theeues, as to take ful reuenge of Christ. It is much to be noted that it is not found in all scripture that any were crucified but king Sauls children, the theeues, and Christ, nor that they did breake any mens legs but only the legs of those two persons; wherof we may gather, how great the Iew­ish mallice was, seeing they gaue such straunge torments vnto those theeues, and vnto the son of God so vnusuall a death.

It is a pittifull thing to thinke how the Iewes did not en­treat Pilat, that hee would commaunde that Christ his throat should be cut, or that he should be shot through as he hanged vpon the crosse, but onely that he would cause his legges to be broken, and his bones to be brused, the which they did not demaund at a venture, but of pure mallice: be­cause [Page 321] that by the breaking of the legs, his paine should be aug­mented, and his death hastned. Augustine saith, that experience dooth teach vs, that when the wound is onely in the flesh, it is lesse dangerous to death, and not hard to cure, but when the skull is broken, or a bone brused, the wound is vncurable, and the griefe vntollerable; insomuch that the Iewes did demaund this of Pilat, that because he did hang on the crosse languishing, hee should also die there rauing. What hipocrisie is this, O you Iews what hipocrisie is this? The vigil of the Easter, which you should haue employed in shedding of tears from your eyes, do you em­ploy in breaking the legs of your brothers? Do you take from the crosses the dead bodies, and doth there remain in your hearts your old sins? Do you strike your brests for a ceremony, and do you take away your neighbors liues with yron? O how many dis­ciples the excōmunicat Iews haue at this day in the world, which striking their breasts run like holy men to their superiours, & de­sire that their legs may bee broken, which they hould for their enemies; taking from them the rest and quiet of their life, and la­bouring also what they can to bury their fame. S. Barnard saith, that if thou wilt know enuious & ambitious men, thou shalt know them, in that they haue no other office, but to break their com­panions and friends bones, labouring in all they can, to discredit and defame them, holding it for a sound ground, that to suppresse and keepe down others, is the exalting and setting vp of them­selues. We do councell and admonish the seruants of our Lord, that they keepe themselues as from a daungerous plague, out of the company of such, as enuie their goodnesse and vertues; for because that such, like vnto the Iews, thinke they shall not haue a good Easter, vnles they haue buried their brothers fame. The Iews of that time were not so cruel, as ambitious and enuious men now are; because they did but break the theeues legs, but these do cracke their neighbours fame and name; and where there are noble hearts and shamefast countenances, they giue more to lose their credit then to breake their bones. Cor contritum & humili­a [...] Deus non despicies, saith the Prophet in the 50 Psalm, as if he would say, Thou art O great God of Israel, of thy own cōdition and nature so patient in suffering wrongs, and such a friend to par­don [Page 322] offences, that we did neuer see any man present himselfe be­fore thee, with an humble and contrit heart, which went discon­tented away from thee. O happy promise, O high speech, seeing that therby it dooth appear, that in recompence of our faults our Lord dooth not commaund vs to double our bodies, breake our flesh, wrest our sinnews, or bruse our bones; but say only from the heart Tibi soli peccaui, and shead a few tears from our eies. S. Basil vpon those words Tibi soli peccaui, saith, Who but thou hast be­stowed many gifts; and vpon whom, but vpon me hast thou be­stowed them; and who but only I, and whom but only thee haue I offended? S. Barnard saith also, I would be content to say, Thee only I haue offended; but wo vnto me, wo be vnto mee, I cannot say only I haue offended and sinned, but also that I do sin and of­fend; and the more I grow in years, the more I grow in vices. The Iews had most cause to repent, and many sins to weep, but beeing perfidious and vnfortunat, in stead of sheading tears, they shead bloud, and in stead of breaking their harts, they brake the theeues legs, insomuch that because they were the aucthors of that fault, they did cast al the punishment on them. Cyprian on the Passion saith, Tell me I pray thee, O excōmunicated sinagogue, to cele­brate according to thy own purpose thy great Easter, as thou doost mean to celebrat it; which doost thou hold for a lesse of­fence, either that thy enormious offences remain in thy consci­ence, or that the bodies of the theeues remain vpon the gallows? doost thou not perceaue, that the dead body of a man hanged, dooth feare and not hurt; but sin in the soule dooth hurt but not feare? doost thou make no conscience to take away life from the liuing, and hast thou a scruple, in not giuing vnto the dead their sepulture? O how much better it would be for you, first of all to take order for the burying of your sins, then be so carefull to bu­ry the dead theeus; for one hurt compared with another, and one stink with another, without all comparison, one sin dooth stinke more before God in two hours, than a dead body in four daies. If the lieutenant Pilat had been as wary in punishing your fault, as he was ready to condempn him to death, who did not deserue it, he would haue yeelded vnto your demaund; but with condi­tion, that as you had made an end of burying the theeues, they [Page 323] should haue carried you to the gallows.

Damascen saith, that the Iewes were very scrupulous in small matters, and of very wide and broaken consciences in matters of waight, insomuch that they strained the wine which had but a fly in it, and yet would swallow down a whole Camel. He dooth swallow down a Camell whole, who winketh at the mortal sinne of his friend; and he dooth strain the wine where the fly is, who dooth publish and punish the veniall sin of his enemie; insomuch that in their reckoning, a man is so much honest or dishonest, by how much he is our friend or our foe.

Barnard to Maurus saith, As the Iews which were at libertie, did entreat Pilat that he would commaund the theeus legs to be broaken which were crucified, euen so it may happen vnto thee with thy moonks, of which many will persuade thee to breake the legs of the other monks, because they should not go abroad, and will keepe their own whole, because they will neuer keepe within. And further, Seeing that there should be some legs bro­ken, it were more reason, that the Iews legs should bee broaken which were at liberty, then the theeues legs that were crucified; and so I say vnto thee, that thou shouldest haue a narrower eie, ouer one monke that goeth abroad at his liberty, then of all the rest which are shut vp in the cloister. O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, if thou do commaund that any legs should be broa­ken, let mine be the first; for vnlesse thou do hold me vp and guide me with thy mercifull hand, they will lead me straight in­to hell. Whose legs may thy Iustice better break then mine, see­ing I do not go one step with them, but I offend thee, and load my sorrowful soule with sins? break O my good Iesus, my feet, break my knees, cut off my desires, and limit and bound my sins; for as S. Augustine dooth say of himselfe, I do say of my selfe, that is, That I neuer find any vertue in my selfe, but when I am drawen from the occasion of sin.

CHAP. XLIX. How Christ did suffer that his flesh should be torne in peeces, but not that his bones should be touched.

IN domo vna commedetis agnum, nec afferetis de carnibus e­iusforas, nec os illius confringetis, said God in Exod. the 12. as if he would say, The conditions which you shall keep in eating the Paschall lambe are these? you shall kill him in the euening, eat him in one house, you shall not bring forth of the house any peece of his feshe, nor you shal not breake any one of his bones.

In all scripture Christ is not compared and likened vnto any one thing, so much as to a lambe, of which the scripture saith here, that Os non comminuetis ex eo; and S. Iohn Baptist said, Ecce agnus Dei; and Esaias said, Sicut agnus corā tondente; & in the A­pocalips it is written, Vidi supramontem agnum stantem; insomuch that the lamb is a figure of nothing, but of the son of the liuing God. It is a thing worthy to be noted, and not a little to be ad­mired, how wise God is in that which hee commaundeth, and how circumspect in the manner how he doth commaund; the which dooth easily appeare in this, that he dooth appoint what they shall offer, that is, a lambe; he nameth the houre in which it shalbe offered, which is, in the euening; and declareth where it shalbe offered, which is, the house; and teacheth them how it shalbe offered, that is, wholy and entire; and telleth them how it shalbe eaten, that is, rosted; and prouideth who shal offer it, that is, all the people. Among all the prophesies, and among all the figures past, there is none which hath greater similitude and likenes with Christ, then this: For as the Lamb offered vp in the lawe, was the first sacrifice, in which all sacrifices did be­gin, so the holy lambe was the last sacrifice, in which all sacri­fices on the crosse did end. Cirillus vpon Leuitticus saith, Marke and note well the mistery of the scripture, and thou shalt find that the first seruice which the house of Iacob did vnto God, [Page 325] was the offering of a sound and entire lambe, vnto him in Aegipt, and the last vnreuerence and disobedience which they did vn­to him, was the offering of another dead lamb torn in peeces, on the mount of Caluarie; insomuch that because they did cast the holy immaculat lambe out of their Synagogue, God did cast them foorth of his house. For God to commaund that the lambe should bee sacrificed after the sunne was downe, what else did it signifie, but that the sonne of God should suffer in the last age of the world? What did it foretell, that all the whole multitude of people, should offer but that one only lambe, but that for the redemption of all the world, Christ only did suffice? What did it signifie, that they should not eate that pascall lamb, but only within the doors, but that the lawe of nature, the writ­ten law, and the law of grace should all be concluded vnder one law? What did the law mean to commaund, that none of the flesh should be giuen vnto those that were out of the house, but that no man should impart the secrets of scripture, but vnto such as were within the lappe of the church? What did it signifie, that all that which did remaine of the lambe, and which they could not eat, should be cast into the fire and burnt, but that all that which our weake vnderstanding, can not reach vnto in holy writ, wee should leaue to Gods diuine iudgement? What did it mean, that God should commaund them, to eate the fleshe off the bones, and not breake the bone; but that the flesh of the son of God, did suffer in such sort, that he did not preiudice in any thing, the bone of his diuinitie? S. Ierom to Cromacius saith, The Iewes had power ouer Christ his life, seeing that they tooke it from him, they had power ouer his soule, seeing that they pulled her from him, they had power ouer his bloud, seeing that they did shead it, they had power ouer his fame, seeing they did ble­mish it, but they had none ouer his diuinitie; seeing they did not touch it. Petrus Damianus saith, that as a mans boan dooth pre­serue the fleshe which dooth adhere vnto it, and preserueth the marrowe which is inclosed within him; so the bone of the diui­nitie of the son of God, did vnite and hold so fast knit together the soule and the body, that although the one was seperated from the other on the crosse, yet neuertheles they were not by the di­uinitie [Page 326] forsaken. August. vpon S. Luke saith, What other thing was it for God to commaund in the old law, that they should cut the throat of the paschal lambe, & quarter him in peeces, but yet that they should not break any bone in him; but that they shuld doe al the iniuries and infamies vnto the sonne of God that they could, excepted only, that they should not touch the bone of his diuinitie. Remigius to this purpose saith, The bone of the lambe, Arius wold break, whē he saith, The father is greater thē the son. Nestorius another in saieng, The son of God is not Ab eterne. Sim­pontinus another, whē he dooth deny the holy Ghost to proceed from the son. Manicheus another, in saying that Christ had a phā­tasticall body; insomuch that all cursed heretiques are nothing else but certain bonebreakers, seing that so many bones of Christ they do breake, as they do new heresies in the church inuent.

Christ was already deade, when they came to breake the bones of his fleshe, and although hee could not haue felt any pain in the breaking, yet hee would not consent that they should breake them, nor come neere vnto them; by which profound mi­stery hee did giue vs to vnderstand, that hee receaueth greater seruice, by touching of him in one of the bones of his Church, then by martyring the flesh of his own body. What is it else that Christ did leaue vnto vs, whole and entire, all the bones of his precious fleshe, but that he did leaue perfect & good, all necessa­ry sacraments vnto his church? What should become of vs if holy Iesus should not haue left vs the bones of his merits, to me­rit the kingdome of heauen, and the bones of his sacraments to go out of sinne? What is it to leaue vs all his bones sound and whole, but to giue vs his merits to saue vs, and his sacraments to heale vs? Christ did set much by his bones, seeing hee did not suffer the Iewes to come neere vnto them: and following the same example, we should highly esteem of his holy sacraments, seeing they did all spring out of his side, for otherwise wee do breake so many of Christ his bones, as we do receiue of his holy sacraments, being in sin. De excelso misit ignem, in ossibus meis, & erudiuit me, saith Ieremy in his first chap. as if he would say, Thou wast not content, O great God of Israel, to send vs euery fiar with­out respect, but from the highest of thy diuinitie, thou hast sent [Page 327] me the fiar of thy grace, in the bones of thy church. For the bet­ter vnderstanding of that, that Ieremy dooth say in this place, we must note and presuppose that oftentimes in scripture, by the sin­news of the body, are vnderstood a strong man, according vnto that which Iob dooth say, Posuisti in neruo pedem meum, & obserua­sti omnes semitas meas; somtime by human flesh is vnderstood, the loose & carnal people, as in Gen. Omnis cura corruperat viam suā; somtime by the bloud of our bodies are vnderstood vaine world­lings, as Libera me de sanguinibus; somtime by mans bones are vn­derstood heroicall and vertuous men, as in the psalm, Exultabunt essa humiliata. If it be true that no bone can be bended or dou­bled, vnlesse hee be vtterly broken, howe is it possible that the bones which are brought lowe, should liue at ease and with con­tentment, vnlesse this should be vnderstood of vertuous and ho­ly men? What is the natural whitnes which the bone hath in him, but the chast and clean life, which the vertuous man dooth lead? What doth it mean, that a bone wil rather be brokē then bowed, but that a good christian wil rather then offend God, suffer mar­tyrdom? What are the bones of a man vpon which, the bloud, & flesh, & sinnews are holden vp, but holy persons vpon which the church is foūded? What would become of mans bodie, if he had no bones, & what wold becom of the catholike church if she had no vertuous mē in her? These are thē the bones which God did cōmaund not to be broken, and these are the bones which he did forbid to be touched: for if the prohibitiō which God did make of not breaking the bones of the lamb, be not thus vnderstood, God would haue cared but little if the Iews had gnawed the bones, seing that he gaue thē leaue to eat the flesh. What meaneth this O great God of Israel, what meaneth this? the bones that in ban­quets men do cast vnto dogs, doost thou commaund to keep, and doost thou make no reckoning that the Iews do eat the flesh? by this exāple thou doost let vs see plainly, howe far thy iudgement dooth differ from the iudgement of men, & how vnlike thy wil is vnto ours, seing thou doost set nought by that which we do chuse, and chuse that which we despise.

The world wil haue sin, but God wil none but bones; the world wil haue tender & soft things, but God will none but very sound & hard things; the world wil haue flesh to eat, but God is cōtent [Page 328] with bones to gnaw; the world dooth desire things that will bow and bend, but God will none but bones which will not double nor bowe: to be breefe, we say that man dooth chuse that which is best to his liking, and God dooth chuse that which dooth serue him best.

Ieremy did not say De excelso misit ignem in carnibus meis, but in ossibus meis, therby to teach vs, that our Lord dooth not impart his graces, nor send his particular comfort vpon such as easily suf­fer themselus to be eaten like fleshe; but vpon those which suf­fer themselues to be gnawn, but not eaten, like vnto the bone. O howe fraile and miserable creatures we be, seeing that we cannot escape the hands of the Diuels, but bee deuoured and eaten vp by them; or else gnawen vnto the bone: and the difference be­twixt the one and the other is, that he who is ouercome, is eaten and deuoured, and he who is tempted, only gnawen. As the flesh is easily entered into by him who eateth of it, but if a man bite at a bone, somtime he breaketh a tooth in gnawing of it; so in like maner it dooth happen vnto vs with the diuell, and to the diuell with vs, for ouer the carnall and vicious man, he goeth away al­waies triumphant and a conqueror, but by tempting a vertuous and noble mind, he goeth away ouercome and conquered.

Gregory in a Homily saith, that when Christ did consent that beeing aliue, they should rent and teare in peeces his flesh, and that beeing dead, did not yeeld that his boans should be broaken; the meaning was, that if we punish vain and worldly persons hee careth not at all, so that we touch not the boans of his elect. The famous contemplatiue Doctor Vbertinus saith, That it wanteth not a great mistery, that the son of God would make no recko­ning of his fleshe, although they should teare him in peeces, and yet made so great account of all his boans, that they might not touch them; and a principall thing to be noted is, that in his life time he did forsake his fleshe, and after his death hee did defend his bones, therby to teach vs, that he dooth better loue one good man which is dead, than all naughtie men which are aliue. Be thou then assured my brother, that if thou do persecute one good man, thou doost breake a bone of Christ; and if thou do perse­cute many, many bones of the church thou doost breake; and [Page 329] Christ doth feele & greeue at this persecution in a higher degree, that he did not so much feele his owne trauels and vexations as he doth now those which are done vnto his freinds. Dominus cu­stodit omnia ossa eoram, & vnum ex his non conteretur, sayth the Psalmist in his fortith Psalme, as if he would say, The great God of Israell doth put so narrow a watch ouer such as be his, that he himselfe doth defend thē euen vntil the bones, & he hath such a great care ouer them, that no man can touch them so much as in a bone. Our Lord being as he is the Lord & gouernor of the hea­uens and of the elements, why doth he say that he doth keepe for his treasure nothing but bones? if any man desire to know what riches our Lord hath in his treasurie, wee will answer him, that he hath nothing but drie hard bones, the which he doth better esteeme then all the gold in Aethiopia. What are the treasures which our Lord hath in his keeping, but onely holy and chosen men that he hath in his church? the prophet doth not say deus custodit sanguinem & carnem, but omnia ossa eorā; because our Lord will not take charge of vaine and light worldlings, but only of such as are good and vertuous, because there is nothing vnder heauen worser to take into a mans custodie, then a man of a bad life. The prophet saith very much (saith Cassidorus) in saying, The Lord wil keepe all their bones; because that at the very houre when a man do there fully purpose with himselfe to be good, our Lord doth so take him to his protection, that like vnto a hard bone he may well be tempted and hammered, but neuer broken. O what a great comfort it is (saith Barnard in a sermon) vnto the good man to think that he is one of the bones which Christ doth keepe in his treasure house, and vnder his owne gouernment, and that he will not permit that any man should touch them, nor much lesse breake them: for if it were necessarie so to doe, Christ would rather come againe into the world to suffer, then consent that one of his elect should be dampned. What meaneth it that our Lord doth not oblige himselfe to keepe the bloud which we haue in our vains, but only that he maketh no reckoning of those which presume, because they discend of a noble linage, and of va­lerous personages? What doth it signifie that he doth not bind himself to take the custody of the flesh of our bodie, but that he [Page 330] esteemeth not of daintie choise vitious men? What meaneth it, that he doth not take vpon him to keepe the sinnews of our bo­dies, but only that he doth not regard malicious and obstinate persons? What meaneth it, that our Lord doth not keepe our eies, nor our ears, nor our tounges, but only that he doth mocke at the vanities which we doe see, and at the lies which we tell, and detractions which we giue eare vnto?

Such beasts and such monsters as these, our Lord doth not put into his treasure nor esteeme any thing at all of them, wherin he hath great reason, because there is nothing which sauoureth of flesh and bloud which is fit to be preserued, sauing onely the drie hard bone which may wel be kept in a treasurie. O my soule O my heart, be you a white beame for cleanesse, and be a hard beame for fortitude, for seeing that our Lord doth promise to be in your guard and protection, how is it possible that any aduerse chance should hinder you? Take heed therfore O my soule, take heed, that thou doe not cleaue to any sinew of couetousnes, nor vnto any bloud of pride, nor to any flesh of wantonnes, nor vnto any other thing that sauoureth of worldly vanitie; for I tell thee O my soule, that God doth carrie no bone to heauen with him, nor put him vp in his treasurie, vnlesse it be cleane picked from flesh bloud and vice.

CHAP. L. Of the blow with the speare, and of the mysteries therof, and how it seemeth rather a key which did open, then a thrust with a speare which did wound.

VNus autem militum lancea latus eius aperuit, & continu [...] exiuit sanguis & aqua, saith S. Iohn in the 19 chap. as if he would say, One of those which came to breake the legs of those which were newly put to death, to take a­way al scruple frō the Iews, whether the son of God wer aliue or dead, aimed with a lance and opened his side with a thrust, out of which presently there did gush bloud to redeeme vs, and water [Page 331] to baptize vs. Super dolorem & vulnere eorum addiderunt, saith the prophet in the 68 Psal. as if he would say, The hatred which the Iewish people bare to Christ, did stretch to such great malice, O great God of Israell, that not being content with the torments which they gaue him being yet aliue, they did ad torment vnto torment after that he was dead. This pitiful prophesie in whō was it fulfilled at the foot of the letter but in the son of God, seeing that in his life time they did crucifie him, and after he was dead lance his side with a speare? Wounds vpon wounds, and doulours vpon doulours, the Iewes did heape vpon Christ, seeing they did persuade Pilat that he would commaund that his legs should be broken, and induce the souldier to giue him a blow with a launce, in which fact they did shew their naughtines and crueltie, for af­ter such a bitter passion, the son of God had greater need of a se­pulchre to repose himselfe in, then a blow with a speare to open his side. The learned S. Augustine vpon Saint Iohn sayth, Seeing that the end of the infamous Iewes mallice was to iniurie Christ if he had ben aliue, and to make an end of him if he had not ben dead, albeit he did suffer no paine nor dolour in the thrust of the speare because he was alreadie dead, yet neuertheles he failed not to feele it as a great iniury; becaus our Lord doth not so much regard the workes which we do, as the intention with the which we do thē. It is much to be noted, that the prophet doth not say, super dolores meus, but only super dolorem meum, addiderunt vulnere, wherin it seemeth that although the wounds which they gaue Christ were many, yet the greif which he felt was but one. What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? the thorns which pearsed thy braine, the stripes which opened thy shoulders, the nailes which tore thy sinews, the crosse which crucified thy body, & the lance which opened thy side, dost thou cal all this but one dolour? The tormēts which Christ suffred were infinit, & the do­lours which he felt in his bodie were without number, but as Moi­ses serpent did swallow vp all the serpents which Pharao had, so Christ in his passion did feele one greefe and dolour so bitter, that it did exceed all his other greifes and doulours. And yet without all doubt, this greefe was not to see his familie dis­pearsed, nor to see his person martirised, nor to see his life [Page 332] ended, nor to see his credit and fame blemished, nor to see his bloud shead, but to see his death and passion euilly emploied. To call all those torments one torment, and to call all those greifs one greife, is to let vs plainely vnderstand, that our good Lord did not greeue at and feele so much the stripes which they gaue him, as he was sorrie to see that they did not profit them which did giue them him: because the son of God did not suffer but only for those who made him suffer, neither did he die, but for those who made him to die; it was another new death, to see that his death did them no good at all, O infinit goodnes, O vnspeakeable charitie, tel me I pray thee, why hast thou not cō­passion of the streames of bloud which are drawne from thee, and yet doest shew great greif for those which draw it from thee? It is true that thou doest say, and it is euen as thou hast said, that is, that thou doest greeue more at their pardition, then thou doest thy owne passion: because thou dost not die for the angels which praise thee in heauen aboue, but for men which kill thee below on the earth. Cassiodorus vpon this place saith, That with the Iews they do crucifie Christ, & with the souldier they pearce his side, and he doth ad one wound vnto another, and one greif vnto ano­ther, who not being content to commit one sin addeth another vnto it; and that which is worst of al, that without conscience or shame of the sin which he hath committed, doth praise himselfe for committing it. Dolour vnto dolour (saith Anselmus) & wound vnto wound, and torment vnto torment, he doth ad who in pre­sence and in absence, doth defame his neighbour; insomuch that we may well say of such a one, that with the Iewes in presence he doth crucifie, and with the souldier doth pearse with the speare, who in absence doth detract. Tulit Ioab tres lāceas in manu sua, & infexit eus in corde Absolon, saith holy scripture, as if he would say, Vnfortunat Absalon hanging by the haire vpon an oake, captaine Ioab came vnto him with three lance in his hand, and gaue him three blows with it toward the left side, where the heart hath his seat, insomuch that he gaue them with a good wil, seing he gaue them all three in the heart. The captain Ioab did strike him from the heart, and his father Dauid did feel his blows from the heart. Absalon was the son of a king, and Christ was the son of God; Ab­salon [Page 333] was the fairest of all men, and Christ fairer then all the angels; Absalon died on an oake, and Christ crucified on a crosse; and with the death of Absalon all the kingdome was pacified, & by the death of Christ all the world was redeemed. Christ and Absalon, Absalon and Christ, were of one linage, and descended from one princely tribe; & the greatest mistery which happened in this case was, that as it was necessarie that Ioab should kill Ab­salon against his fathers will, so it was necessary that the people of the Iews should execute Christ, his father being greeued at it: in­somuch that they killed these two great princes, with great irre­uerence and disobedience to their father, and to the great profit of their soueraigntie. Who did kil king Dauids deere son, but cap­taine Ioab, the greatest priuade in his house? and who did put to death the son of God, but the people which he best loued? by the haire with the which yong Absalon was hanged, are figured the holy cogitations and purpose which God had to redeeme the world, by the which good Iesus not only being hanged, but also crucified, was nailed with three nailes, & pearced with one spear. What other thing are the three launces with which Absalon was lanced with on the oake, but only three bitter greifs and dolours, with the which Christ died on the crosse? the first thrust was the most grieuous dolour which he did feele by his torments, the se­cōd was the great pitie which he had of his mother, the third was the greif which he had to see how little good his passion did; for being sufficient to redeeme a thousand of worlds, yet the Iews a­lone did not benefit themselues by it. Not without many teares we write that which we now write, that is, that he called one blow three blowes, because that with one blow he did kill three hearts, that is, the heart of his mother who brought him into the vvorld, the heart of the disciple vvhich he did adopt, and the heart of Mary Magdalen vvhom he did conuert; insomuch that Ioab did kill one heart vvith three blows, and the souldier did kil three hearts vvith one blow. What man liuing did euer see the like, or vvhich of the dead did euer heare the like, that is, that in the heart of one vvho vvas dead, there should be found three hearts aliue? O how smal a time they remained there aliue, O in hovv short space they vvere thrust through vvith the speare: for [Page 334] the cruell speare not finding the maister, laid on blowes vpon his Desciples. Origen vpon this place saith, That the hanging of Da­uids welbeloued son vpon a drie oake, was a figure of Christ who should be put to death on the rough crosse; on the which he did hang, rather with the haires of loue which he had to redeeme vs, then with the nailes with the which the Iews did crucifie him. From the heart Ioab did lance the infant Absalon, and more from the heart the Iews did kil Christ: for after that he did rise again, if they could haue killed him againe, it is to be thought that nei­ther conscience nor shame would haue hindered them to doe it. Those which of very rage and euil will, did pearce his bodie be­ing dead, would they not haue killed him being aliue? Leo exclai­meth against the sinagogue and saith, What meaneth this O si­nagogue, what meaneth this? hovv cruell and feirce so euer the lion be, yet he doth neuer hurt him whō he seeth to lie prostrate on the earth, & doest not thou spare him vvhom thou doest see dead vpon the crosse? thou seest that the son of God hath his face pale & vvan, his eies broken, his bones out of ioint, his vains with­out bloud, his flesh torne in peeces, his head hanging dovvne, and yet vvithout all pittie doest thou thrust into his bovvels to seeke his soule, vvhich is departed aboue tvvo houres ago from thence? Anselmus speaking vvith the spear saith, O cruell spear, O bloud­dy yron, vvhat dost thou seeke anevv in the side of my God and Christ? if thou do seeke his disciples in the garden they fled from him; if thou seek his flesh, they haue crucified it; if thou seeke his bloud, it is shed in the streets; if thou seeke his garments, they are deuided among the hangmen; if thou seeke his soule, doest thou not knovv that she is alreadie gone to his father? vvhat diddest thou find O cruel spear, vvhat didst thou find vvithin those holy bovvels, but only the son dead, & the mother in a sound? What dost thou hunt after, vvhat vvil thou, vvherfore dost thou come to the mount of Caluary, O cruel spear, is it to seeke for this holy prophet? if thou vvilt take avvay his fame, he hath already lost it on the crosse, if thou vvilt breake his flesh, the nailes haue alrea­dy torne it, if thou vvilt take his life from him, he hath already giuen his soule vnto his father, and if thou vvilt let him bloud in the side, doest thou not know that he is alreadie dead?

Fac tibi arcam de lignis leuigatis, mansiu sculas facies in ea, & bi­tumine linies intrinsecus & extrinsecus, ostium autem arcae pones de­orsum, Genesis the sixt chapter as if he would say, It is my will and pleasure, O patriarke Noe, that thou make an arke of light wood, and smal chambers within the same, and pitch her within & without, that no water enter in; & in the side of the same arke thou shalt make a little gate, by the which all such may goe in & out, which shall be saued in her. Although this glorious figure hath ben very wel declared by many, yet we wil seek some farther misteries in it, & if we can find none, it is because we cānot vnder­stād it, & not because there is not much to say of it. First of all we say that Noes arke the which the holy scripture doth speake of, is our blessed & holy mother the church, out of the which no man can be saued, as out of the arke no mā did escape vndrowned. Be­cause ther are out of this ark, al Mores, Iews & pagans, they are al drowned; & because there are within the ark al good & faithfull Christians, they are al saued; & that man was born in an vnhappie houre which doth not beleeue that they are deceiued, & we sure that we be not deceiued. For God to cōmand that the ark should be made of light, & not rotten wood, was to let vs know that his church should be builded of honest, vertuous, and holy persons; which is also most true, because that in the church of God, there is no rotten boord of couetousnes suffered, nor any heauie beame of pride admitted. The bords of that arke did neither rot with moistnesse, nor sincke with waight, nor slit and cleaue with age, nor breake with the tempest: by this we say, that the true and faithfull Christian, neither the waters of tribulation do drowne, nor the wind of prosperitie throw downe, nor the worme of co­uetousnes gnaw, nor the workes of temptation feare and a­maze. We will not say that the Christian which doth lift vp saile in prosperitie, and is presently drowned in aduersitie, is of the church, but only in the church; for as there doe goe many things in a ship, which are not of the ship, so there are many in the church of Christ, which are not of Christ. Who is he who goeth in the arke, and yet is not of the arke, but onely he who calleth himselfe a Christian, and yet is no Christian?

The lion and the beare were with Noe in the arke, and were [Page 336] not of the arke; & wicked Iudas was in the church with Christ, & yet was not of the church; & in like maner let no man think that it is inough to be baptised, if withal he do not keepe the gospel. God did also commād Noe, that he should pitch well his arke within & without, & in this case we dare affirm, that the clay or pitch, with the which God did cōmand to pitch the arke, are loue & charity, which do fasten & glew togither, al those which be of the catho­like church, the which loue & pitch is occupied within & with­out, when we loue God in whō we beleeue, & our neighbor with whom we conuerse. S. Barnard saith, If the ship receiue water, it is because the bords be not well ioined, or because they be not well pitched: & so in like maner, honor & credit is low, and wealth cō­sumed, because mens wils are not agreeing, & because euery man wil follow his owne opinion: because it is not possible that there should be charitie, where the wils be discordant. God did also cō­mand Noe to make in that arke not great, but small chambers, nor large, but little narrow mansions, to let vs vnderstand therby, that there should be in the church of God, many holy persons, and of strait life, in which, as it were the arke of Noe, God would protect those whom the world would hate, and take and keep to himselfe those whom he shuld best loue. It is also to be noted, that Noes ark being three hundred cubits long, and fiftie in height, and thirty in bredth, God did commaund that he should be ended & made perfect in one cubit; wherin he did let vs vnderstand, that how far different so euer one degree be from another, in the church of God, notwithstanding they are all summed vp in one, that is, in beleeuing one only true God. For all estates & degrees to end in one estate and degree, and all cubits to be summed vp in one cu­bit, what other thing was it, but that all kings and kingdomes of the vvorld should be conuerted to the faith of one only Christ? The gate which God commanded to be made in the side of the ark, was a figure of the wound of Christ his side, which was pear­sed with the speare, and thereupon it is, that as none did saue him­selfe, vnlesse he did enter in at that gate, euen so there shall no man enter into glorie, if he doe not first wash himselfe with the bloud which issued out of that wound.

August. vpon Gene. saith, O high mistery, O great secret of thee [Page 337] my God, for as in the side of the arke there was a gate, by which, all which were saued entred in, so in the side of Christ, there was a wound, out of the which, all the sacraments of the Church did spring; that is to wit, the bloud with the which we were redee­med, and the water with the which we are now baptized. It is likewise to be noted, that the Arke was fastned without with a boult; but the son of God dooth alwaies keepe his wounds open, the which dooth easily appeare in that, that the sacraments which in the old law were hidden and shut vp; in the passion of Christ were laid open vnto vs: insomuch that all that which the Lord did keepe shut in the sinagogue, the lance did open in the Church.

S. Augustine vpon S. Iohn saith, Do not thinke that the Euan­gelist did vse this word Aperuit, by chaunce, and not say Vulne­rauit, that is, that he did not wound, but open, Christ his side with a thrust of a spear; because that the sacraments were of such force which did follow from thence, and the misteries so mauellous, which he did discouer by the blow, that the speare seemeth ra­ther a key which did open, than a speare which did wound.

Chrisost. saith, With the water of the red sea, the Aegiptians were drowned, and with the bloud of the lamb, the Iewes were deliuered; so in like manner the bloud of this holy lambe, was to our redemption, and the water which did flow from him, was to our purification: in such sort, that the bloud did run to redeeme the captiue, and the water gushed out, to wash the weake. When we say that the sacraments did flowe out of Christ his side, it is to be vnderstood of two only, that is, of the supper of the Lord, and of Baptisme; Hillarius saith, Euen as of Adam his side Eue was formed, so of Christ his side the Church was made: that is, when there did flow out of that holy body, bloud and water, the which flovving vvas very miraculous, because that out of a dead body there cannot run cleare bloud, nor out of a dead carcas, issue cleare vvater. Remigius saith also, that the bloud vvhich did is­sue out of Christ his side, vvas true bloud, and the liquor vvhich did run vvith it vvas pure vvater, and not corrupting fleame; for Christ being as he vvas, the highest and purest trueth, could not speake any false vvord, nor make any fained vvorke.

CHAP. LI. How that at the foot of the crosse, they did deuide Christ his gar­ments with kniues, and on the top of the crosse, his heart with the blowes of spears.

INgredere in medio rotarum, & imple manum tuam prunis ignis, & effunde super ciuitatem, said God by Ezechiel in the 10. chap. vnto a man whom he did send to visit the city of Ierusalem, as if he would say, I tel thee man who doost go to visit the people of Israel, put thy selfe in the middest of the wheels, which are vnder the Cherubin, and take vp with thy hand, a great handfull of coals, and cast them toge­ther vpon Ierusalem. In holy scripture all figures are wonderfull, and among them all, those of the Prophet Ezechiel, are most of all esteemed of the Iewes, and hereupon for their excellency, there was a law made by the sinagogue, that the visions of Eze­chiel, the priests onely should read, and declare them vnto the people.

What are the wheels which the prophet did see, neer to the riuer Cobar, but only the diuine and humain nature, of which the humanitie of the son of God was framed? he calleth the one and the other a wheele; for as in a wheele, there is neither beginning nor ending, euē so in the loue of his humanitie, & in the essence of his diuinitie, the angels find no beginning, nor men shal find no end. Who was he whom the Prophet did see in the middle of thos great wheels, but the most holy & sacred soule of the son of God, the which was shut vp in the one nature, & vnited vnto the other. It is much to be noted, that that person whō hee did see, did not leane more vnto the one wheel, then vnto the other; but did sit in the middest of them both, thereby to lette vs vnder­stand, that the humanity of Christ was no more God than he was man; nor more man than God: we mean that hee was neither pure man, nor pure God; but true God and true man. In the middle of those two wheels, Ezechiel did see the the soule of the word; for from the first instant of his conception, he did enioy the one wheele which was his diuine essence, & did tast of the other [Page 339] wheele, which were the passions & affections of humain nature. It dooth not want a mistery, that the two wheels did moue to­gether, and went together; to teach vs that the son of God, did so behaue himselfe in his vvorks, that he neuer did so high a mi­racle, but there vvas also his humanitie; nor neuer did so mean a thing, but his diuinity did also shine. What is the handful of quick burning coals, but the heart of Christ, full of enflaming loue? It is very notorious in scripture, that the sonne of God is called a hand, as Mitte manum tuam de alto, and Fiat manus tua vt saluet me: for euen as the hand dooth proceed from the arme, and is an other thing from the arme, and yet of the same essence that the arme is, so the sonne of God doth proceed from the father, and is the same essence with the father; and yet a distinct person from the father. How pleasant and delightfull it is to fil the hand with roses, so painfull it is to fill him with coals; because the roses smel, and the coals burn. What dooth it signifie that the hand was but one, and the coals many; but that the person of God was but one, and the coals of torments and dolours, which they did load that person withall, infinit? Wilt thou see that the whot coals of his loue, and the brasers of his dolours were infinit; marke how hee dooth not bid him take a few coals, but that hee should fill his hand with them, to let vs vnderstand, that his loue did exceed the loue of all the angels, and his dolours exceed the dolours of al the martyrs. What did it mean, that the visitor of Ierusalem, could hold no more coals in his hand, but that in the soule of the redeemer of Ierusalem, there could be no more loue, nor in his body greater griefe? Doost thou not think that he hath his hand full of coals, who loueth thee so well, thou not seruing him; and suffering so much for thee, thou not deseruing it? What dooth it signifie, that the coals of the visitor of Ierusalem, were of the fire of the Cherubin which did alwais burn, but that the loue which Christ did beare in his heart, was neuer extinguished, nor euer at an end? What did it figure that God did commaund, the reformer of Ierusalem, to cast all those coals vpon all the earth, but that the bloud and loue of Christ, should purge and make cleane all humaine nature? What dooth the ope­ning of his hand signifie, and the deuiding of the coales, but only [Page 340] that he dooth suffer his heart to be opened, because he would put vs in his entrails? When O good Iesus, when diddest thou open thy hand, to cast abroad the coals which thou haddest kept for vs; but when thy heart was opened, for to bestow those fauours vpon vs, which thou haddest promised? In the old testament Christ dooth commaund him to fill his hands with coals, and in the new testament he saith, that he did come to put fire in all the world; and if we will wel vnderstand it, the fire which he dooth put in the world, is nothing else, but the exceeding great loue which he beareth to all the world. Origen vpon Ezechiel saith, That if we will expound the Prophet, and vnderstand Christ, we shall find, that to carry whot coals in the hand, and bind himselfe to set fire in all the world, is nothing else, but that as the world dooth make all worldlings fools; so Christ dooth make his cho­sen full of loue. Our Lord hath many gifts to bestow, and many graces to deuide, but as long as this life dooth last, I desire no more graces of him, but that it would please him only to bestow vpon me, one couple of choice holy coales; the one to burn my ordinarie vices, and the other to consume my disordered desires. O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, seeing thou doost bid me call and thou wilt answer mee, and bid me to aske and thou wilt giue me; I do not ask of thee bread to eat, nor wine to drinke, nor roses to smell to, nor any dignitie to be honored, but some of thy coals to burne me: because it is a vsuall thing, which thou doost obserue with thy elect, to burn the faults which thou doost find in them, and bestow thy graces afterward vpon them. Open then O good Iesus, open then thy hand to giue vs thy coals, and open thy heart to giue vs thy bowels, because it is very needfull that we haue coals, which may make vs feele thy dolours; and also that thou giue vs thy bowels, to tast of thy loue. What did break thy hands but the nailes, and what did open thy side, but the speare? and seing that it is so, howe is it possible, that hauing thy hands broken, that thou shouldest not giue vs part of thy griefe, and hauing thy bowels open, that thou shouldest not communicat thy loue? O (saith Ansel. in his Meditations) who could haue been the yron of that spear, or the speare of that yron with the which they haue opened thy side, & gone in to see thy [Page 341] bowels the which wer so enflamed with loue, that without com­parison it had beene a greater matter, to see the loue with the which thou diddest die, than the death which thou didst suffer. O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, how is it possible that I should be thine, or call my selfe thine, vnlesse thou do impart vn­to mee the coals of thy hand? why thinkest thou O my good Lord, why do I with so many tears aske coals here to burne me, but because in the other world, thou shouldest giue me roses to comfort me? O what a comfort it is for the Prophet to say, that our Lord hath not the fire of his loue at his feet to spurn it, nor at his shoulders to forget it, but in his hand to bestowe it, because God doth nothing more willingly then loue; nor is pleased with nothing more then with loue. Peccatum Iudae scriptum est stilo fer­reo, in vnque adamantino, saith Ieremy the 17. chap. as if he would say, Among the fearfull visions which our Lord did shewe vnto me, one was, that I did see the sinne of the kingdome of Iudea, and Samaria, written with a pen or a penzel of yron, and in a naile, as hard as an adamāt, the which was so fast graued in, & so deep­ly printed, that it could neither be scraped out with a knife, not washed away with water.

Ierom vpon this place saith, that the Prophet speaking in this place of sin and idolatrie, which could neuer be clean blotted out of Iudea and Samaria, but the more they did encrease, the further they waded in Idolatrie, and the more they forgot their God. But some thinke that Ieremy did mean, the sinne which the Iews committed against Christ in his death, whose punishment shall dure vntill the end of the world, because they shall not knowe their error, vntill the comming of Antichrist.

Damuscen expounding Ieremy saith, That as when we say the Prophet, Dauid is vnderstood; when the Apostle, S. Paul; and when we say the Redeemer, Christ is vnderstood: so when the scripture dooth mean nothing but sin, the sin of Adam is meant; the which sin, although it were very well by the son of God re­deemed, yet it is not throughout all the world wholy blotted with a pen of yron. This sin was engrauen in our hearts, for al­though as we haue said, it was well redeemed by Christ, and as wee know, taken away by Baptisme, yet there dooth remaine [Page 342] in vs a thousand inclinations to sinne, and small strength to resist. That old sinne being deeply engrauen in our hearts, how should we possibly become vertuous, if with the grace of our Lord wee were not succored and aided? What dooth Ieremy say, when he saith, That that sin of Iudea, was writ with a pensill of yron; but that, that sin was the first yron of the world? What other thing did it signifie, that that sin was written in an addamant stone, the which can not be broken but with whot bloud; but that all the sinnes which were in the world, should bee made clean with the bloud of Christ? And because the trueth should answer vnto the figure, God his holy prouidence did so ordain, that the sin which was engrauen with a penzill of yron, should bee blotted out with the bloud which the spear did drawe out of the side of Christ: in­somuch that that which was written with a pensill of yron, was blotted out with the yron of the lance. The Prophet dooth not say, that in the diamond the sin did growe, but after the sin was committed, it was grauen with a pensill in it: to let vs vnderstand therby, that with vs the fault did grow; and that on the diamond of the son of God, we do afterward load the punishment. O how happy all we bee, which come after Christ; seeing they did see the pensill, with the which the sin was written; and we haue seen the yron of the speare, with the which it was blotted; insomuch that by the same wound, where the speare did enter in, to see Christs side, the bloud did issue out, with which the sinne was washed.

O my soule, O my heart, seeing that you are nothing else but yron of sin, you should ioin your selfe with the yron of the speare, to the end that you may enter in both together, to that holy side, out of which be you sure, you shall not go out, vntill you see your selues cleansed of all your faults.

If the glorious Apostle S. Thomas, of one incredulous, be­came a most faithfull Christian; for no other reason, but because he did put his hand into Christ his side; What riches O my heart wilt thou draw out of that breast, if thou wilt diue into him? If the great Euangelist S. Iohn, by sleeping vpon his holy breast, did see all the discourse of the Church, what should hee not haue seen, & what should hee not haue attained vnto, if the blow [Page 343] of the speare had been giuen, & he shewed himselfe at the gate.

S. Barnard, De planctu virginis, saith, What meaneth this, O Iesus what meaneth this? Is thy head pearced ful of holes with thorns, are thy hands broken with nails, thy shoulders opened with stripes, and haddest nothing leaft but thy breast, which see­med sound and entire, and yet doost thou giue thy consent, that they should strike it with a speare, and open thy side with a lance? O glorious yron, O happy speare, nowe that thou haddest the heart to enter into that holy side, how haddest thou courage so soon to come out? by seeing only the garments of the son of God white, and his face white, S. Peter woulde haue made three ta­bernacles in those mountains, and wouldst not thou O cruel spear make one, hauing seen his bowels? O how happy was the moun­tain where that speare did growe, O howe happy was the forge where that yron was forged, seeing that he and no other, was worthy to open the side of the son of God, and thrust in, to see his bowels. Hitherto S. Barnard. The thorns (saith Anselmus) did only meet with the brain, the coards with bones, the stripes with flesh, the nails with sinnews; the spear only was happy, seeing he did meet with Christ his heart, & see the bowels with the which he did loue vs. Vbertinus saith, Thou diddest giue O good Iesus, thou didst giue to the theefe paradise, thy mother to thy cosen, the Church to Peter, to Nicodemus thy body, and thy bloud to the world; and therfore hauing nothing least to thy selfe, but thy heart, why doost thou giue licence to the speare, to part it in the middest?

What dooth hee deny who denieth not his heart, and what dooth he not deuide, who deuideth his heart? hee had deuided his skin with the pillor, his haire with the hangmen, his bloud with the streets, his garments with the torturours, and his heart which remained he would deuide with the spear; insomuch that like a perfect religious man, he would giue away the property of his own heart. What dooth there remain vnto thee O my redee­mer, (saith Simō de Cassia) seing that at the foot of the crosse, they did deuide thy coats with kniues, & on the cros deuide thy heart with spears? Be you presēt O my soul, at this deuisiō of his heart, for seing our good Iesus doth cōsent that his hart shalbe deuided. [Page 344] it is a token that he will bestow him. If in this pittifull passage, you do not fall asunder, O my members, and if at the thrust of the speare you do not gush out fountains of tears, O my eies, and if thou do not deuide thy selfe, O my heart, why do I keep thee in my body, or why do I liue in the world?

S. Augustine vpon S. Iohn saith, that there be many which de­uide their garments among their friends, and many which among their kinsfolks deuide their Iewels, but only the son of God was hee who bestowed among vs the heart which hee had in his breast, and the bowels with the which he loued vs, and not on­ly that, but he gaue vs himselfe also with them.

Cyrillus vpon S. Iohn saith, That it doth not want a mistery that the son of God did suffer them to open his side being aliue, but presently after that he had yeelded vp his ghost vpon the crosse; therby to teach vs, that at the very instant, when hee did loose his life, immediatly the gate of glory did open: insomuch that with the selfe same stroake, they did bteake Christ his bowels, and open vnto vs the gates.

CHAP. LII. The misteries of the speare are ended, and of the great ingrati­tude of ours, for the shedding of his bloud.

SAnguinem innoxium effudit Manasses multum nimis, donec impleretur Ierusalē vsque ad os, saith the holy scripture Reg. 4. chap. 2. as if hee would say, Cruell Manasses, did shead in Ie­rusalem so much harmles bloud, that it came vp vnto mens breasts. The scripture could not paint Manasses crueltie better, then to say that he was a king vnto whom clemency did belong, and that it was the bloud of innocents which he should haue defended, and that he did shed it in Ierusalem, which was a holy place; and that there was so much bloud, that it did come vnto mens mouthes; that is, it was talke for euery man in the cōmonwealth. Gregory in [Page 345] his Pastorall doth say, That because prelats are as it were gardi­ans of mens soules, and maintainers of their subiects fame and credit, with king Manasses hee doth shead innocent bloud, who doth not keepe his subiects person, nor defend his credit; because that oftentimes a man had rather be pricked in a vaine, thē tou­ched in his fame. If it had ben prophane bloud, or if it had beene shead in a prophane place, God would not so much haue cared for Manasses crueltie, but because he did shead it in a holy place, and was the bloud of holy persons, the scripture doth lament it, and God doth punish it, vvhereof we may inferre that no man can iniurie or euilly entreat a good man, but God wil be offended at it.

Holy places, holy religion, and holy men, ought to haue great priuileges, and be defended by their superiors, because that in the merit of the good the noughtie and vvicked do liue. Com­ming then vnto our purpose, there is nothing in mans life wherof men shew greater niggardnes, then of their own bloud, for not ha­uing an eie ouer that, as it issueth out of the bodie, the soule de­parteth also. It is likewise to be considered, that there is no mem­ber in all mans bodie which resteth not quiet in his place; the bloud excepted which walketh throughout all the body, and thereupon it is, that the bodie being the seat of the bloud, and the bloud the seat of the soule, and the soule in euery part of the bodie, a man hath no longer life, then he doth keepe his bloud in his bodie. When cruel Nero did command that Seneca his master should be killed, the poore old man chose to be put into a bath, & there commanded a vaine to be opened, so that as his bloud de­minished, his death drew on, and when his bloud vvas all out, his soule went out with it. O high misterie, O inspeakeable sacra­ment, seeing that in the bloud, wherin men shew greatest skarsnes and niggardnes, the son of God did shew greatest franknes, as it doth easily appeare, because that no man doth shead his bloud, but by constraint, and no more then well he may, but the sonne of God did shead vntill he had no more. The bloud which he had in his flesh he did shead at the pillar, that which he had in his head the thorns did draw out, that which he had in his vains the nailes did take away, that vvhich he had in his shoulders the [Page 346] lashes did shead, and that which he had in his heart, the speare did draw out, in so much that if Manasses did shead bloud vntill it came to the mouth, good Iesus did shead his vntill there was no drop left.

The members of Christ his bodie, had their end and limmits if they had ben measured, his bones had their waight if they had ben waighed, and his haire were in number if they had ben coun­ted; but the bloud which our blessed sauiour did shead for thee and for me, what waight was there in the world to waigh it, or what iudgement did suffice to value it? When thou shalt speake (sayth Hugo de sacramētis) of the bloud which the sonne of God did shead for thee, why doest thou dispute whether it were much or little, seeing thou knowest well that he left not one drop in his body? he doth giue it without count and wilt thou haue a recko­ning of it? Barnard sayth, That to the bloud which king Manasses did shead, the scripture doth put a limmit and an end, because it came vnto mens mouths, but vnto that which our holy Lord did shead there is no measure put, seeing he gaue vnto euery man vn­till the top of the head: because that good Iesus was not content to shead aboundanly only to redeeme vs, but he did make also pooles of bloud to bath vs. In these pooles Iudith did bath her selfe, before she had the victorie ouer Holophernes, in these pooles Naaman did bath himselfe, when he was healed of his leprosie, my meaning is, that in these pooles thou shouldest bath, O my soule, if thou wilt be made whole of thy offence, because that no man doth bath in these holy bathes, who falleth sicke againe. The bloud which Manasses did shead was innocent bloud, and the bloud which Christ did shead was also innocent bloud, & the difference betwixt those two bloods was, that Manasses did shead other mens bloud, but that which Christ did shead was his owne: wherof it doth follow, that the iustice which our Lord should haue done vpon our soules, he did it wholy vpon his owne per­son. If the bloud (saith Barnard) which Manasses did shead was innocent bloud, the son of God is innocency it self: & if the bloud which the tyrant did sheed was holy, our Lord was holines it selfe, and that which cannot be spoken without teares, is, that in our sweet Iesus more then in any other, holines was defamed, and [Page 347] innocencie executed. He being most holy they did defame him to be the greatest sinner, and being most innocent, they did punish him like vnto a malefactor; in such sort, that on the alter of the crosse, they made a cruell butcherie of his person, and put his cre­dit and fame to sale. Damascen sayth, That if the sonne of God, would haue shead no more bloud then was needfull for vs, it is certaine that of one drop, halfe had ben to much: but because he would make our redemption honourable and copious, he made a free mart of his bloud, in which euery man might buy franckly without recompense.

Augustine vpon Saint Iohn sayth, That Phisicians are very li­berall in letting other men bloud, and very warie in letting themselues bloud, which is not so in the son of God, who when he should haue let the sicke bloud in the arme, did let himselfe bloud in the side, and that not with a barbers lancet but with a speare, since the beginning of the world, who did euer see or hear, that the Phisition should let himselfe bloud to cure and heale his patient? O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, seing that thou doest cast my infirmitie vpon thy humanitie, and doest vn­burden me of my fault, and take the punishment vpon thy selfe, why doest thou make such a cruell anatomie of thy members be­fore that thy soule hath left thy bodie? Now that thou wilt cure me in thee, and now that thou wilt let thy selfe bloud for mee, why doest thou only let thy selfe bloud with a lance, seeing that al the world doth it with a smal lancet? & albeit, that it did please thee to be let blud with a spear, why wouldst thou haue him that thrust thee in stand on the ground, and thou fifteene cubits high? Now that thou doest vse this order in letting thy selfe bloud, and on high, why doest thou let thy selfe bloud in the sides, when all the world doth let himselfe bloud in the vains?

These are the misteries O good Iesus, these are the misteries, why doe not some of the dead rise out of their sepulchres to helpe me to weepe them. It was the pleasure of our good Lord to suffer all this to bind me more vnto him, & to iniury himselfe; for as al other men do flee the occasions of trauels, so the sonne of God did seeke the means to receiue torments. Barnard sayth, Who vntill this day hath receaued so many torments for [Page 348] his owne health, as good Iesus hath done for other men. O thou wilfull and cruell speareman, if thou goe about to thrust through some malefactor, or robber by the high way, who is comparable with me in the world? if thou goe to let any sicke man bloud, who is so frosen in sinne like vnto my self, and so obdurat in wickednes? Leuell then thy speare to this my side, and open my putrified heart in the middest, because the wickednesse and infirmitie is not in this redeemer, but in this sinner, as thou shalt easily see, be­cause thou doest driue out of him nothing but bloud, and out of my bowels nothing but filth and corruption.

Nunquid non dixi vobis, nolite peccare in puerum, & non audi­stis me, en sanguis eius exquiritur, said Ruben vnto his bretheren the children of Israel Genesis, 42. as if he would say, I did often­times tell you, and also entreat you, that you would not sell your brother Ioseph as you did, vnto the muliters in Aegypt, but you gaue me no credit: behold now the houre is come, in which he doth ask you an accompt of his bloud which you sould. It is very true that Iob doth say, quod non est qui de manu tua possit eruere, see­ing that the children of Israell did sell their brother Ioseph for meere enuie and mallice because they thought him to be in grea­test credit with his father, and the likeliest to haue the greatest part of his wealth, but through the prouidence of God it fell out afterwards, that they did obey him for their Lord, whom before they would not haue for their brother. S. August. doth say, That be it timely, or be it late, our Lord doth alwaies reuenge vpon the wicked, and those which escape best are those whom he doth chastise in this world, to pardon in the other, for otherwise there is no greater punishmēt in this life, then not to be punished in this life. It did seeme vnto Iosephs brethren, that they should be great­ly iniuried and discredited, if he being the yoongest in age, should become the greatest in dignitie: which rule in the prouidence of God, hath no place, because that in the bestowing of his graces, he doth not looke which brother is first, but who before him doth best deserue. Ismael was borne before Isaac, Esau before Ia­cob, Ruben before Iudas, Amon before Salomon, but in Christ his line, and also in the succession of his houses, the second children were preserued before the first, and the first depriued of their el­dership. [Page 349] S. Ambrose saith, That it doth little auaile vs to labour, to set vp him whō God will put down, or go about to pull him down whom God wil exalt, for to do the one, & to hinder the other, be­cause God hath no need of mans fauor, but only of his owne pro­per will, he doth all things as he wil, and nothing but as he ought. Comming then vnto our purpose it is to be noted, that the son of God seeing, that there was no man aboue in heauen, came downe to buy them on earth: and hauing a determined purpose, to buy that which was good, & not to return again without his marchan­dise, he did buy so deere peniworths, that it was well seen by him, that he was not moued therunto by necessitie, but only of meere charitie. He did not buy vs with gold nor siluer, but with his pre­tious bloud; & the paiment which he did giue for vs, was not ac­cording vnto reason, but by ouerpaying: for if he would haue bought vs according as our humanity did merit, with one halfe of halfe a drop, he should haue bought all that was in heauen & in earth. S. Basill vpon those words of the Psalm, Benigne fac, sayth thus, Our Lord did vse great benignitie towards vs, seeing that he bought vs with his person, & paid for vs with his bloud, insomuch that if he had had any thing that had ben better, a better he would haue giuen for vs; but to be breife, what can a man giue of a greater price then that which doth cost him his own life? Vntill this day, that man hath not ben seene, who hath bought a trea­sure vvith the exchanging of his bloud, but when the time of paiment commeth, the buier doth either open his cheast, or vn­knit his purse, or giue a pawne, or his word is credited, insomuch that if the bargen should be to the preiudice of his wealth, yet it should not reach to the domage of his person. If the son of God would haue obserued these conditions, and thought vpon those pretences, he would neuer haue bought vs so deerly, nor haue shead his bloud so bountifully for vs: but because his goodnes was rather to saue vs, then preserue his owne life, when they asked the paiment, in steed of commanding his cheast to be opened, he consented that his vains should be broken. O pretious vains, O holy bloud, why doest thou issue out of his pretious side, to water the dunghill of the mount of Caluarie, seeing that if one drop should fal in hel, al the dampned vvould be saued? If he would [Page 350] giue the dead license to rise out of their graues, and would suffer the angels to come downe from heauen, they would set hard by one drop of that bloud, and striue whose it should be; because that neither in heauen, nor in earth, they shall find any relike like vnto it. Hillarius saith, O how highlie we should esteeme it, to see that the son of God is our Lord, seeing he did creat vs, our brother seeing he did make himselfe man, our redeemer seeing he did re­deeme vs, and our maister seeing he did buy vs; and that which most of all we ought to wonder at is, that if by right because he bought vs we are his bondslaues, yet by loue he doth entreat vs like vnto brothers: for Ruben then to entreat his brothers, that they would not sin against Ioseph their brother, was to teach vs that we should commit no treason against Christ our brother, nor doe any sin against him, for if we doe, we shall as greuously be ac­cused of ingratitude, as the Iews were of murder.

Basill vpon those words, quid retribuam domino saith, Seeing I am a greater debter vnto Christ, because he did redeem me, then because he did creat me, will it not be pardie as great a fault, not to acknowledge his death, as to put him to death? Cirillus vpon S. Iohn doth say, That seeing the creator of the world did buy vs, & that very deerly, we are bound to serue him like vnto bondmen, or restore him his money into his hands againe, the which was neither gold nor siluer, but of the coine of his pretious bloud: the which we do then restore him, when vve liue in his holy seruice, and die in his catholike faith. S. August. in one of his sermons vpō the martirs doth say, That for no other cause the martirs did suf­fer themselues to be quartred in peeces by the tyrants, but be­cause they would bestow their life for Christ, as Christ had gi­uen his for them; in somuch that in the same coine that they were bought, they repaied Christ againe, that is, reproch for re­proch, daunger for daunger, bloud for bloud, and life for life.

I am much afeard O good Iesus, I am much afeard of that speech, En sanguis eius exquiritur, that is, that I shall be called to an accompt, how I did helpe my selfe with thy pretious bloud: whereof I shall giue a bad recknoning, seeing that I doe skarse keepe it in memorie, because that as much as I doe loue and che­rish my selfe, so much I forget thee.

O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, if the bloud of Abell doth ask for iustice of Cain, who murdered him, if the bloud of Io­seph doth ask for iustice because he was sould, if the bloud of Na­both doth ask iustice at God his hands, because he was stoned, wil not thy bloud ask the like of me, seeing that I am so vngratfull for it? O dreadfull speech, O terrible word, en sanguis eius exquiritur, that is, they call for a reckoning, not of Iosephs bloud, whom they did sell to the muliters, but of the bloud of Christ which is laied vpon the Christians: all which if they should be nought, to so much the greater pains they should be condemned, with how much the more pretious bloud they were redeemed.

Vbertinus saith, It is very conuenient that we ioin our heart with his heart, our side with his side, our bloud with his bloud, and our loue with his loue, for it is not reason that we haue the eares of our heart shut, seeing that he hath alwaies the gates of his bow­els open for vs to enter in. Marke and note well how our freinds doe open their houses vnto vs, because we should goe in, their garners because we should take corne, their sellers because we should take wine, and their chestes to shew vs their treasurie; but yet they doe not open vnto vs their heart, to know what is in him, because there is no freind so deere in this world, nor a­ny heart so cleare, which hideth not some hidden secret in his breast.

Only the sonne of God was he, and is, which vnto his freindes neuer denied any fauour, nor in their need neuer failed them, nor neuer hid secret from them, nor neuer shut gate against them, in such sort that he would not only that the speare should make vs a high way by his sides, but that we should also see that which was in his bowels.

Seneca vnto Lucillius saith, That we are commonly glad, that our neighbours should see the eies we see with, the hands which we labour with, the feet we goe with, and the toung which wee speak with, but we would not that they should see that which in our hearts we think, & the secrets we keep in them; because there are such deepe matters in mans heart, that if it were possible not to doe it, a man would not trust his own heart.

Thou art not O good Iesus, thou art not of this condition [Page 352] and contemplation, but because thou wouldest shew that thou didst not keepe thy high treasures in thy chestes, but in thy bow­els, thou didst make the spear to open them, because euery man might clearly see them; & that which is most of all to be wonde­red at is, that the gate which in thy holy side the yron of the spear did make, thou doest vntil this day keep open aboue in thy glory.

CHAP. LIII. How Ioseph of Aramathia did ask Pilat for Christ his bodie, and of the circumstances of asking it.

POst haec autem rogauit Pilatum Ioseph ab Aramathia, vt tolleret corpus Iesu, & permisit Pilatus, sayth S. Iohn in the nineteenth chapter, as if he would say, After that Christ his side was opened with the speare, and he gi­uen vp his spirit vnto his father, it happened that a citisen of Ieru­salem, who was called Ioseph of Aramathia, a noble man & a iust, and a secret Desciple of Christ, did goe boldly to Pilat to craue Christs body of him to the end he might burie him. The captain of the gard, called Centurio, giuing notice that he had left Christ dead, because he did see him yeeld vp his ghost vpon the tree, Pi­lat did condiscend vnto Iosephs request, that is, that they should burie that holy prophet. Before that the son of God went vp to the crosse, and after that he was vpon the crosse, and after that hee was dead vpon the crosse, the first person who shewed him pittie and fauour, was great Ioseph of Aramathia, for if the theefe and the Centurion did shew themselues to haue compassion on Christ, it was in words, but that which Ioseph did, was in deedes. Let no man dispaire in troubles, let no man be dismaied in tribu­lations, for when he doth least looke for it, & when he doth least thinke of it, our Lord vvill raise vp vnto him another Ioseph of Aramathia, vvho vvill take him from the crosse, on vvhich the [Page 353] world dooth crucifie him, and giue his sorrowfull heart a sepul­cher of comfort.

S. Ierom saith, That it is an old custome, that no man could be so bold as to bury an executed person, vnles hee had had licence of the publike magistrat; because it should be vnto the offender a punishment, and vnto the beholders and lookers on an example. It was the will of the son of God, to passe by this rule, and that, that old pragmaticall lawe, should bee executed in himselfe; giuing vs to vnderstand by that misterie, that as hee would not go vp to the crosse but for obedience, so hee would not come down from the crosse without licence. God (saith Leo) dooth highly esteem of such as serue him, and of those which for the loue of him do obey others; seeing we do see that the eternal fa­ther did commaund his sonne to die on the crosse for obedience, and the sonne would not come down from the crosse without li­cence; insomuch that his life did but last vntill hee had yeelded vp his ghost, but his obedience continued vntill his graue. It is to be waighed in this place, who doth make the request, what it is that he dooth request, how he dooth request it, of whom, and in what time, because the circumstances do make the businesse of great or smal waight. He who maketh the request is good Ioseph, the thing is the body of Christ, he of whom, is Pilat, the manner how, is with great boldnes, the place where, is the pallace, and the time, was the same day that they commaunded Christ to be put to death; insomuch that by so much the busines is of greater vertue, by how much it is wrapped in greater difficultie. It is an old custome in scripture, that when it doth recite vnto vs any he­roicall fact, to rehearse particularly the cōditions and properties which that holy man had which did it. As it is said of holy Iob, that he was of Chaldea an vpright, sincere, and fearefull man, pi­tifull, and an alms giuer, and aboue all, most patient.

Like vnto this of holy Iob, the Euangelist dooth particularly tell, who he was who buried Christ, that is, Ioseph who was of A­ramathia, a rich man, a courtier of a noble stock, a iust man, and a secret disciple of Christ. First he saith that hee was called Io­seph, which was alwaies a name very grateful to God, and alwaies giuen vnto vertuous persons, because that the first Ioseph made [Page 354] way to the sinagogue in Aegipt, hee committed to the second Io­seph the comming of his sonne into the world, and vnto this third Ioseph, hee trusted his body after that hee was dead; insomuch that our Lord did not only chuse a holy man to take him from the crosse, but also one who had a holy name. This holy old man was of a village called Aramathia, where the priest Leui did sit, and where holy Anna was born, and Helcana her husband, and where there was neuer Idol set vp, nor Idolatry; and before that, this place was called Ramatha, where the great Prophet Samuel was born; insomuch that this good Ioseph was not only holy, but also of a holy place.

It is to be noted that in scripture, some places are excommuni­cate, and noted with infamie, as Babilon, Ierico, Bethel, Galga­la, and Iturea; and contrarie some dedicated and consecrated to God, as Ierusalem, Sion, Bethleem, and Ramatha, insomuch that to name a place or not, is neuer done in scripture without some notable misterie.

The scripture noteth also, that this Ioseph was not only vertu­ous, and of a good place, but also endued with great wealth and riches; and the reason was, why our Lord would be buried by the hands of a rich man, is to teach vs by that example, that no man in this life, is so much bound to the works of mercy, as men of abilitie and riches. S. Ierom vpon S. Mathew, When the scrip­ture dooth shew vs that Thobias and Ioseph, very rich men, did take vpon them to burie the dead, it dooth in that, set poore men at liberty, and bind rich men to bury strangers; for seeing that our Lord hath giuē them ability, they ought likewise to haue will. O­rigen doth say, That because the maker of the world did die for al men, he would haue al sorts of men at his buriall; the rich because they should bury him, and the poore because they should weep.

S. Barnard vpon the passion doth say, That not without a mi­sterie the Euangelist dooth say, that Christ was buried according to the custome of the Iewes, that is, to be washed with water, and annointed with mirrhe, before he should be put into his graue; all which was fulfilled in Christ his body: because that his sorrowful mother, S. Iohn, and Mary Magdalen, did wash him with their tears, and Ioseph and Nicodemus did annoint him with balms. Io­seph [Page 355] was also a noble man by calling, & descended of noble bloud, as it appeareth in that which he did for Christ, and in his bold­nesse in going to Pilat; for if he had not been very stout, and of a great courage, he durst not so much as once haue named Christ, his name was for that present so odious. Hillarius saith, The mi­stery why Christ would not suffer himselfe to bee touched, nor shrouded, nor buried, but by valerous and noble personages, was, that as the time when he did come into the world to take humain flesh, he would not take it but of royall and noble bloud: so in his departure out of the world, hee would not but by the hands of noble men be buried.

S. Augustine dooth say, That a man should take great heed whom hee dooth trust, and into whose hands he dooth commit the affairs of his conscience, for seeing that the sonne of God did trust none but noble men after his death, howe darest thou com­mit thy self to naughtie peruerse men in thy life? because Christ did commend himselfe vnto holy and vertuous men, they did vse him nobly and heroically; that is, they did take him from the crosse, annoint his wounds, shroud his body, and put him in his own sepulcher.

Naughtie men of the world, will do the contrary vnto all this if thou ioyn friendship with them, for they wil rather put thee on the crosse, then take thee from the crosse; rather turn thee naked then shroud thee, bury thy fame and credit, before they bury thy body; defile thee rather with dirt, then annoint thee with sweet balme.

They praise old Ioseph, that he was a knight of the court, or a Romaine captaine; which also containeth a secret, and the reason why Christ would be buried by the hands of such noble honou­rable men, was, because they should giue full testimony, and en­tire witnes, how they had buried and closed vp Christ in the se­pulcher, out of which he did afterward rise. Tell me I pray thee, what is the reason why our Lord did make choice of Moyses to gouern his common wealth, & of Ioseph for the charge & care of his sepulcher, hauing brought vp Moyses in the kings court of Ae­gypt, and likewise oseph in the court of the Iewish nation? What dooth hee mean, that in matters of great importance, hee dooth [Page 356] trust none but courtly knights? we answere vnto this and say, that by Moyses who was the leader of all the Hebrues, hee is vnder­stood, who hath gouerment ouer worldly matters: and by Ioseph who did put Christ in his graue, is vndestood the prelat who hath charge ouer his flock; who should be circumspect in that which hee dooth commaund, and courteous in that which hee dooth speake, because there is nothing, which dooth better please in a common wealth, then for him who hath the gouernment, to be ciuill and well brought vp; because in princes courts, men are for the most part ciuill and well nurtured, therfore God did com­mend these two important affairs, vnto these two knights. This good old knight Ioseph, is commended for being one of Christ his secret disciples, and not of those which went openly with him a­mong the people; insomuch that there were three kinde of peo­ple that followed Christ, vz. some followed and loued him not, as the cōmon people; others did loue & not follow him, as Nicode­mus and Ioseph; and some did follow & loue him, as S. Iohn. Seeing that in the life of Christ there was nothing fained, nor any thing that sauoured of hypocrisie, seeing that he did preach openly, go openly, and worke his miracles openly, what newes is this, to say, that he had some secret and priuie disciples, and others open and knowen? howe can it bee that hee should haue any secret disci­ples, seeing he did commaund them to preach that on the house top, which he should speake vnto them?

To this we answere, that because it is naturally giuen to euery man to desire to liue, and to abhor death, there should be in time to come, many stout and valiant Christians, which should offer themselues to martyrdome, and other not of that courage, which for feare would hide themselues; the scripture dooth call some open and knowen disciples, and others secret and priuie disciples, because they did hide themselues from tyrants, not for want of loue, but for ouermuch feare.

Although charitie were not so whot and feruent in some as in ohers, yet they were neuerthelesse Christ his disciples; for al­though they did keepe themselues close, & hide themselues for feare of tyrants, yet they wanted not perfect faith and will, if the case had so required it, and being found or called by the [Page 357] tyrant, to offer themselues presently to martyrdom.

There were many holy Christians in the primitiue Church, which exiled themselues voluntarily, and fled to the mountains, and hid themselues in dens, who after that they were brought before the tyrant, were martyrised with cruell torment; insomuch that the scripture dooth call those open disciples, which come to martyrdome; and those secreat, which are brought to martyr­dome. When in the time of the raign of Queene Iesabel, and King Achab, all were idolaters, and Helias only a faithfull Chri­stian; what did the Lord say when he said, Septem millia virorum reliqui mihi qui non flecterunt genua ante Baal, but that hee had in the sinagogue seauen thousand secreat disciples, and only one knowen? Our Lord hath many holy men in his Church, who al­though they doe not present themselues to Pagans and Moors, knowing theit own weaknesse; yet they would be torn in peeces, rather then deny the faith of a Christian; insomuch that they wāt not their desert, because they be secreat.

Remigius to this purpose saith, For the sonne of God to credit his precious body, to his secreat disciple, and not vnto any of those which went openly with him, is to teach vs therby, that there are at this day, many vertuous men and women in his Church; which in the sight of man are secreat and vnknown, and yet in the sight of God, their trauels are better accep­ted then others. Hee who should haue seen wicked Iudas, and good Ioseph, the one an open disciple, and a familiar vnto Christ, and the other priuie, and scarce known in the holy col­ledge, such a one I say would haue iudged Iudas, to be a holy man, and Ioseph scarce a Christian; but when Christ had need of them, the secreat disciple did bury him, and the open disciple did sell him.

O what a comfort it is vnto all such as wil be vertuous & good, to see that our Lord, dooth accept the seruice of his secreat disci­ples, and of his open, that is, of wishes or works, alone or in com­pany, sick or in health, publikly or secretly, as well in aduersitie as in prosperity.

Let our conclusion be in this case, that who so will looke into the manner which the old age did vse in their funerals, hee shall [Page 358] find, that God did alwais commaund the charge of burials to be giuen to vertuous and good men, seeng that Abraham did bury Sara his wife, Isaac Abraham his father, holy Iacob old Rachel, and Ioseph Iacob, holy Moyses God himselfe, and Iosue, the captain of the sinagogue, all the princes of the common wealth; by that which the old fathers did in their funerals, and by that which the son of God did prouide in his, we may gather, what great care God hath ouer those which be his, and die in his seruice; seeing he forgetteth not to giue their souls glory, and their bones a se­pulcher: Ad vesperum demorabitur fletus, & admatutinum laetitia, saith the Prophet Dauid, as if he would say, Weeping shal conti­nue but vntill the night, and mirth shall come in the morning.

With great consideration the Prophet dooth make mention of the weeping of the euening, and the mirth of the morning; because that towards the morning, Christ did rise out of the sepulcher; and at the euening, they did take his body down from the crosse; insomuch that in those two hours, the Christi­ans suffered their greatest pain and griefe, and did also see their greatest ioy and mirth.

S. Barnard dooth say, that the son of God was accused at one of the clock, receaued iudgement at three, crucified at six, and dead at nine, at euensong time taken from the crosse, and buried at compline time; but of all these lamentations, the Prophet dooth say, Quod ad vesperum demerabitur fletus; because there was greater lamentation made, when the faithfull did vn-naile him, then when the hangmen did crucifie him.

The euening beeing come, his mother was at the foot of the crosse, with all her familie; no lesse sorrowfull then confounded, nor lesse confounded then sorrowfull; because the most sad mo­ther did see her son torn in peeces on the crosse, and the rest of her company did see their maister dead; all which had not li­cence to bury him, nor yet the heart to forsake him. Vbertinus dooth say, that in all the time, from which Christ did yeeld vp his soule vnto his father, vntill they had his body in the graue, the virgins sorrow was so great, to see the small means shee had to burie her son, that shee was as neere vnto death, as her son was to rise again.

O my soule, O my heart, what tongue is able to speake it, what eies can dissemble it, what heart can suffer it, who can en­dure to see, or tast of that which the sad mother dooth endure at this time. If my eies are full of tears, only because I am heere a writing of it, what should I haue done O my soule, if thou and I, and I and thou, had been there beholding it.

There was then the sad mother, with her family thrown down on the ground, and Christ crucified on high; if they would haue gone vp to take him from thence, they had no ladders; if they would haue taken out the nailes, they wanted pinsors, if they would haue pulled him down, they had no licence, if they would haue washed him, they had no water; if they would haue an­noynted him, they had no oyntments; if they would haue shrow­ded him, they had no shroud; if they would haue buried him, they had no place where.

O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, if I did feele any part of thy passion, or tast the dolours of thy sad mother, howe were it possible, that I should not write this with tears of bloud, or that my eies should not become flesh, by weeping this act? doost thou not think, that this is an act worthy the weeping, and a mistery to be meditated; seeing that the sorrowfull mother, and the sad family, for to vn-naile the dead body, and giue him his sepulcher, had greater aboundance of tears, then wants in things necessary for that solempnitie? Their anguish was so much the greater, by howe much the obscure night did draw neer, and the solempne eue of their Aester approch; for to go and come with speed from the town, it was to late; aske licence to bury his body they could not, because they were not knowen vnto Pilat; to send to buy balme, they had no mony; to make a shroud, they wanted a sheet; and to make his graue they wanted necessaries; if they had departed from thence, and leaft him vnburied, they feared least they would haue buried him, they not knowing where; and if they should haue remained there all night, they feared least the Iewes would haue come and abuse them; insomuch that the loue of the dead body did inuite them to stay, and the feare of the night constrained them to depart. Ansel. in his meditations saith, In that sorrowfull hour, & in the lamentable time when the [Page 360] virgin did stand at the foot of the crosse, shee did stand behol­ding her son, & Mary Magdalen embracing the crosse, S. Iohn en­couraging the mother, Salome at the discipiles side, and all the fa­milie weeping, and which was a pitifull thing to behold, they did all looke one vpon another, and yet did not speak the one to the other, because they had lost their speech, with ouer many tears.

If the mother would haue taken order for the burying of the dead, shee could not; if Iohn would, he had nothing ready, not durst not; if Mary Magdalen would haue said that it was time to returne to her house, shee was ashamed; and for to go vp to the crosse and take him away, there was none of them which had strength, because that al which were there, had their hearts as dead, as Christ the members of his body.

CHAP. LIIII. How that when the virgin stood weeping vpon the mount of Caluary, because shee wanted things necessarie for to bury her sonne, our Lord did ordain that Ioseph should take the charge vpon him.

ANgustiae sunt mihi vndique, saith the holy scripture in the 13. of Daniel, as if hee would say, The anguishes which com­passe me on euery side are so many, that I haue no heart to endure them, nor tongue to rehearse them. Although the glorious and famous Susanna, did speake these words, when they did carry her to be stoaned in Babylonia, yet the mother of the son of God may better speak them, when shee would, but could not haue carried her son to the graue. Shee might say with great reason Angustiae sunt mihi vndique, for if shee did looke vp to heauen, she did see it troubled, if shee did looke vpon the crosse, shee sawe her sonne dead, if shee did looke down, shee sawe the earth couered with [Page 353] bloud, if she did looke vpon her cosin she saw him weeping, if she did looke vpon her owne heart, she saw it in a sown, insomuch that she had neither forces to helpe her selfe, nor courage to comfort others. O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soule, that ha­uing created heauen and earth, and all that therein is, yet doest thou want a sepulchre to bury thy bodie in? Seeing that thy sor­rowfull mother doth say, that she is enuironed with anguish on euery side, why doest thou not prouide for some comfort for thy mother, courage to thy cosin, patience for Mary Magdalen, and a graue for thy owne bodie? What meaneth this O eternall father, what meaneth this? didst thou giue Moises a sepulchre made with thy own hand, and bring the bones of thy seruant Ioseph out of Ae­gypt, and doest thou now forget the graue of thy owne only son? doest thou not see that if thou doe leaue him vnburied vpon the crosse, that the birds will eat him; & if thou let him fall down, by little and by little the dogs will deuour him? wicked Iezabel wan­ted not a sepulchre, vvho killed Naboth because she would haue his vineyeard from him; and wilt not thou giue thy sonne a sepul­chre, hauing planted thy church vvith his bloud? what iustice is it, that thou shouldst suffer those to be buried which kill the liuing, and they vvithout a sepulchre which raise the dead? O eternall father, O infinit goodnes, seeing that by thy commandement he did take mans flesh vpon him, & to do thy will did suffer himselfe to be killed, and to fulfill thy obedience, refused to come downe from the crosse, is it much that in the exchanging of his life, thou shouldst command seuen foot of earth to be giuen him? is it much that the Lord of all the earth, should haue seuen foot of earth? know thou O good Lord that as there are more to be weeped for besides himselfe, so there are more to be buried also, for shall the bodie of thy son, the heart of the mother, the sorrow of the Des­ciple, the sighs of Mary Magdalen, and the tears of all the familie vvant a sepulchre? Non relinquet dominus virgam peccatorum super sortem iustorum, sayth the prophet Dauid, as if he would say, Our Lord is so carefull ouer those which be his, and hath such a hand ouer the peruerse and wicked, that he wil not suffer the skourg of- the wicked to endure too long ouer the good, because that of­tentimes long tribulation doth bring desperation.

The vvords vvhich the Prophet doth vtter in this place are full of comfort and contemplation, because that the vvicked and noughtie men which compasse vs on euery side are so many, and the tribulations which afflict vs likewise in such number, that if our Lord should not moderat and mitigate them with his cle­mencie and goodnes, they would make an end of vs all in one houre. Gregory in his Morals doth counsel, that no man should be glad and reioice for not being tempted, nor no man despaire for being afflicted; because that no man is tempted more then our Lord doth permit, and our Lord doth suffer none to be afflicted more then he is able to beare.

Hilarius likewise doth say, When the wise man doth say, that God doth all things by weight, and giue all thing by measure; vvhat else doth he say, but that there is no prosperitie which hath not an end where to end, nor any aduersitie which hath not a limmit prescribed how farre to reach. Seeing our Lord doth say, and swear by the mouth of the prophet, That he wil not per­mit the wicked, to destroy good men with their persecutions, why should I feare any cruel tyrant, seeing that I am very certain that our Lord will shorten his hand? Isodorus de summo bono sayth thus, If wicked men had as great power to doe hurt, as they haue wil, there should be no greater a number of good men vpon earth then there are of Phenix in Arabia, but because our Lord is the God of all comfort, and the beholder of all tribulations, he doth in such order bestow and deuide them among his elect, that if it were not to giue them occasion of goodnes, he would not permit them to suffer so much as one tribulation. We haue spoken all this, to the end that we should magnifie and set forth the great care, which our Lord had to releeue and redresse the great tribu­lation which th [...] sad mother was ouerwhelmed in, and all her familie, that is, by inspiring & persuading holy Ioseph to goe bold­ly to Pilat to ask license that he might giue hir pretious son his buriall. O how well it doth appear, that the Lord will not leaue the rod of sinners, super sortem iustorū, seeing that the sad and sor­rowfull mother of God being at the mount of Caluary, and rich Ioseph of Aramathia carelesse in Ierusalem, our Lord did permit that he should goe bouldly into Pilats pallace, to negociat the [Page 363] funerals and buriall of Christ; and that not being entreated by a­ny, nor hauing receiued money to that purpose. Who doth per­fectly know what to chuse, or alwaies what to doe, considering that as oftentimes hurt not looked for doth happen vnto vs, so sometimes good lucke commeth in at our gates, our selues not procuring it? looke how carefull the Virgin was to bury her son, so did she as little thinke, that Ioseph or any other had taken the busines in hand; whereof we may learne, that no man should dis­pair of any thing, because that oftentimes when we think that our busines doe goe to wracke, then they go best forward. All such as haue read the scriptures, do well know how neer Daniel was to be deuoured of the lions, and Susanna to be stoned by the people, and Dauid to fal into Saul his hands, and Sedrach and Meshach to be burnt in the furnesse, & Isaac to be slain by his father, & Ionas to be drowned in the sea, but all these, and many others besides them, were succored in their greatest need, neuer thinking of it, nor lesse labouring to auoid it. If the Virgin should haue forced her selfe, and taken courage to haue gone to Pilat, and entreated for her sonnes bodie, could she haue done so much being present, as our Lord did for her being absent?

Note well and marke sayth Vbertinus, That how as the sorrowfull mother, and distressed Iohn, and weeping Magdalen, would not forsake and leaue the bodie of Christ on the crosse, where he hanged naked and dead; so neither will our Lord for­sake them in that most hard & terrible toile and anguish: whereof we may inferre, that what so euer good Christiā doth not forsake the crosse, he who hangeth on the crosse, will not forsake him.

Forsake not then O my soule, forsake nor Iesus crucified, nor do thou not depart from the crosse, nor goe not from the mount of Caluarie, for if thou hast any busines to doe at Pilats court, Ioseph is there who will take the charge of it: for thou must know, if thou know it not, that no man did euer esteeme and make ac­compt of God, but God did the like vnto him again.

What doth he not negociat who is busie with Christ at the foot of the crosse? thou must note, that none do trafik with Pi­lat but going; but with the crosse and with the crucified, none doe communicat but standing. If thou doe not forsake God [Page 356] (saith Chrisostome) he will not forsake thee, if thou doe not leaue him he will not leaue thee, if thou doe not forget him he will not forget thee, and if thou doe put thy whole trust in him, he vvill helpe thee; in so much that when thou doest not thinke on it, he will raise vp another Ioseph of Aramathia vnto thee, who not being asked by thee, and of free cost, will pull thee downe from the crosse where thou doest languish, and giue thee a sepulchre where thou shalt rest.

Intrauit audacter ad Pilatum Ioseph, saith the Euangelist, as if he would say, The noble knight Ioseph did not goe in fearfully, or like a man that were troubled, when he went to entreat Pilat for Christ his bodie, but boldly and with a great courage, as if it had stood him vpon, and as if he had thought to haue reaped some great honour by the enterprise. Because the scripture can tell vs nothing superflously, and yet doth highly esteeme it that Ioseph did goe vnto Pilat boldly, it is a token that there is some hidden secret in it, and some mysterie worthy to be noted contained in it. Agmon doth say, That the scripture would neuer haue made so great reckoning of Ioseph, and of his bouldnes, vnlesse he had done that Heroicall fact when he did it, and also in the same as­sembly & meeting vvhere he did it, that is, to the great greife of all the synagogue: because that by so much the more a commen­dable fact ought to be commended, by how much the greater difficultie there is to atchieue it. There was nothing at that time lesser thought vpon, nor any busines more scandalous, than that vvhich touched Christ and his colledge, because that the hatred which they did beare him vvas so great, that there was no man which durst not only procure his funerals, no nor yet so much as once name his person in his mouth.

Origen doth say, That the Iews did so much triumph that they had the victorie ouer Christ, that no man durst speake one word in his fauour, but euery man said that he was put to death with great reason, and that that cosener of the people did deserue a thousand deaths; and therefore to say that Ioseph and no other did goe bouldly to craue license to burie Christ his bodie, was to extoll and praise him, that he and no other did offer himselfe to that danger. If Ioseph of Aramathia had not been a man in office, [Page 365] and a freind of Pilats, he would neuer haue giuen vs license to haue taken Christ from the crosse, and so honourably to haue buried him, yea and if he had giuen vs license, it vvould haue cost vs our liues, because that our parents and kinsfolkes did so much hate his name, that as soone as euer any man did name him he who heard it did spit. Because that Pilat representeth the di­uel, and holy Ioseph bear the figure of a iust man, to say that Ioseph did goe bouldly to Pilat and negociat with him, is to tell vs and also aduertise vs, that we should be of good courage and resist the persuasions of the diuell; for if we doe not cast of all feare, he will neuer be ouercome by vs. We haue greater need of courage to trafficke with the diuell and the world, then with Pilat, because the one doth persuade vs vnto so many things, and the other en­tice vs with so many delights, that if we beleeue them we are cast away, and if we beleeue them not they doe persecute vs. Doest thou not thinke that vve should haue great courage to cast off the world, and to resist the diuell, seeing that we cannot escape out of his conuersation, but by condemning our soules, and loosing our bodies? It is also to be waighed, that the courage and magnanimitie which Ioseph did shew in speaking vnto Pilat, was not for any thing which did touch himselfe, but only for the ser­uice of Christ, wherein he doth teach vs, that those few desires which our hearts haue in them, and the small strength which our bodies are endued with, ought all to be offered vnto Christ and in his seruice, rather then be emploied to our benefit. It is not read that good Ioseph did goe at any other time to Pilat to entreat for any thing, but only when he went to request that he might haue Christ his bodie to burie, whereof we may gather, that we are bound to doe more for the seruice of Christ, then for our owne benefit, for otherwise as all that which is not done for God en­deth in folly; so all that which endeth in God, is called wisdome.

S. Augustine vpon S. Iohn doth say, that since the beginning of the world no man did euer aske so great a fauour as Ioseph, nor neuer so great a fauour done as that of Pilat, for Ioseph did not ask much nor little, but only Christ, and the fauour which Pilat did yeeld was the same Christ.

O if Pilat had knowne what he had giuen, as good Ioseph did [Page 366] knovv vvhat he did ask, it is to be thought, that he would haue giuen himselfe to Ioseph, and kept good Iesus for himselfe. What else is there in this world to be giuen, after that we haue giuen Christ? What hath he left, vvho hath not Christ left in his house? In time past Axa did ask of his father Caleph a meddow which was watred ouer, and Abraham the land of Canaan which did belong vnto him, and Anna wife vnto Helcana did ask for children, because she was barren, and the prophet Ionas to be de­liuered out of the bellie of the vvhale; but great Ioseph of Ara­mathia did ask for nothing but for that sacred humanitie vnited vnto the diuine essence, in so much that when Ioseph did ask for the bodie of Christ he did aske for the Lord of all the vniuersall world.

O my soule, O my heart, goe I pray thee, goe after this holy Ioseph, and enter vvith him into Pilats pallace, and be sure that thou seeke for nothing there but what he doth seeke for, and that thou aske for nothing but vvhat he doth aske for, that is, thy redeemer and Lord: and if Pilat doe graunt thee the bodie, burie him first in thy obstinat heart, before that Ioseph doe bury him in the sepulchre.

If Pilat had knowne the pretious iewell which he did giue, he would neuer haue giuen it, but would haue bought it with the price of his owne bloud, which had not beene much, seeing he gaue his for him. Very good cheape Iudas did sell Christ his life, but farre better cheape Ioseph did buy his pretious bodie, be­cause Iudas did sell him for money, but he did cost good Ioseph nothing but entreatie: in so much that if we will burie good Iesus in our hearts, wee must rather entreate for him then paie for him.

Origen vpon S. Mathew doth say, that when the scripture doth tell vs, that Ioseph did goe bouldly to Pilat to ask for Christ his bodie, it doth teach vs thereby, that our Lord doth not put him­selfe in the hands of fearfull men, but of stout men, nor commit himselfe vnto cowards but vnto valiant persons, as it doth easily appeare in great Ioseph of Aramathia, who because he vvas stout and valiant, did deserue that Christ should commit himselfe into his hands. The curious reader of scripture shall find, that foure [Page 367] persons did take Chtist in their armes, namely the Virgin to giue him sucke, old Simeon to praise him, and the wicked diuell to throw him down from the pinacle, and Ioseph of Aramathia to burie him. He with the Virgin Mary doth giue Christ milke of his breastes, who in him and in no other doth put all his desires; and he with Simeon doth take Christ in his armes, who doth loue and serue him with all his forces; and he with Ioseph doth burie Christ in his graue, who putteth all his confidence in God alone; and he with the diuell would cast him downe from the pinacle who goeth about to throw downe his church: and of all this vvee may infer, that the perfection of a Christian man doth not consist in hauing of Christ, but when we haue him to benefit our selues by him. Cirillus vpon S. Iohn doth say, That we do cost Christ ve­ry deerly, & that Christ doth cost vs very little; as it doth easi­ly appeare in Ioseph of Aramathia, who bought Christ his body for one bare word; insomuch that if we want the hauing of our Lord, it is not because he is not easily found and bought for a litle, but because we haue not a desire to seeke him, nor doe no good thing wherby we may buy him. Remigius doth say, that good Io­seph of Aramathia is worthie of great praise, because that in a time when all Christ his family was fled, his bodie dead vpon the crosse, his faith and church discredited, all his doctrine forgotten, he had the courage to shew himselfe bouldly to be one of Christ his band, and publickly burie his bodie, but yet so that he first bu­ried Christ in his soule before he laid his bodie in the graue.

CHAP. LV. How Ioseph and Nichodemus did carrie ladders with them to goe vp to the crosse, and ointments to annoint his bodie, and went directly to the mount of Caluarie.

SVspensus est rex in patibulo, vsque ad vesperem & postea deposuerunt cadauer eius de cruce, sayth the holy scripture, Iosue the eight, as if he would say, The famous captain Iosue going to the land of promise, did [Page 368] rase and destroy the citie of Hay, and crucified the Lord and king of the same citie, and his bodie remained on the crosse vntill the euening, and then Iosue commaunded that his bodie should be buried. If we looke into the letter of this historie we shall find, that for Iosue to enter into the land of promis, it was first necessa­rie for him to destroy the citie of Hay, and make it a heape of stones, and crucifie the king which possessed it, and not take him downe from the gallowes vntill the euening, and burie the king his bodie neere vnto a gate, and build an alter where the syna­gogue should offer sacrifice; all which figure was litterally fulfil­led in Christ. What is the land of promis vnto which the He­brues did tend, but the blisse which the Christians doe hope for?

What is the citie of Hay which did resist Iosue, but the wic­ked synagogue which withdrew her obedience from God? What is it to say that of all the cittie of Hay, there remaineth nothing but a heape of hard stones, but that of all the synagogue there is nothing left, but a few perfidious and obstinate Iewes? What doth it signifie that the people of the Iewes could not enter into the land of Promise, vnlesse they did first crucifie the king of Hay, but that no man could ascend into heauen vnlesse Christ had ben first crucified?

What did it figure that Iosue did make a great altar of rough stones not polished, but that Christ would plant his church of simple and holy persons.

And to ad mystery vnto mystery, the holy scripture doth say in the same place, that they did burie the bodie of the king at the entrance of the gate: wherin vve are giuen plainely to vnder­stand, that as no man could enter into the cittie, vnlesse he did first touch that princes sepulchre, so no man shall enter into euerlasting glorie, vnlesse he will enter in by the faith of the church. The king of Hay was crucified, and the son of God was crucified; the king remained on the crosse vntill the euening, and vntill the same houre Christ did hang vpon his; at the going downe of the sunne they did burie the king, and at compline time they did burie Christ; hard at the gate they did enterre the king, and neere vnto the Cittie they did [Page 369] burie Christ; insomuch that not only the crosse and death of Christ was prefigured in the crosse and death of the king, but al­so his holy buriall.

To come then vnto our purpose, howe worthy Ioseph was of praise, so worthy Pilat was of reprehension; seeing that at the time when hee commaunded Christ to bee crucified, hee asked councell of no man, and when he did take him from the crosse as­ked the captains aduise: although in trueth, when he did crucifie him, he should haue looked well what he did; and to commaund him to be buried, it was sufficient to say that it was a worke of de­uotion. What meaneth this O wicked Pilat, what meaneth this, vniust iudge? thy own wife dissuading thee, for medling or hauing to doe with the bloud of this iust man; doost thou venter to take away his life, and doost thou now aske councell touching his bu­riall? O how many disciples Pilat hath at this day, who in doing of hurt follow their own councell and liking, but if they be per­suaded vnto any good thing, they will first (they say) take coun­cell and bethinke themselues of it; insomuch that to doe what they lust, they want not abilitie, but to do that which they ought, they say they want libertie. O my soule, O my heart, how is it possible, that you should return aliue from the mount of Caluary, seeing such pittifull misteries? What more pitifull thing can you heare of, or what pouertie is like vnto this in the world, that Christ hath not so much as a shroud but of alms, nor a graue, but borrowed. What riches dooth hee leaue behind him, who lea­ueth not so much as a sheet behind him? What w [...]lth could he possesse in this world; who had not seauen foot of [...]ound for his graue?

To speake more particularly, now that Ioseph had gotten li­cence of Pilat, to bury the late crucified, hee gaue part of that great busines vnto old Nichodemus, who was also one of Christs secreat disciples, shewing him that now or neuer the houre was come, wherein both of them were openly to manifest the faith and loue, which secretly they did beare that holy Prophet.

These two honourable old men being thus agreed, they pre­pare all things necessarie for to go to the mount of Caluarie, to burie him who lately died: that is to say, hammers and pinsors, and [Page 370] ladders, to take down the body, and a sheet to shroud him in, and also precious oyntments to embalme him, because they knew very well, that the sad mother could haue none of these things, nor money to buy them.

Hauing then deuided their charges and office, it fel to Iosephs lot, to buy the sheet to make Christ a shroud, and vnto Nicodemus, to buy mirrhe and aloes to annoynt his holy body, al which they did with a most willing mind, and very bountifully, because that as Plato doth say, No man dooth reckon of his expenses, when he dooth bestow it vpon that which he loueth.

We do not read (saith Leon) that any man did entreat Ioseph, or Nichodemus, that they would craue licence of Pilat to bury his body; nor yet that they would buy oyntments, nor they were not perswaded by any to take him down from the crosse, but that they did it of their own goodnesse, moued with charitie, to let vs vnderstand by that example, that by so much the more accepta­ble our works bee vnto our Lord, by how much the lesse, they are done at the entreatie of others. Non apparebis in conspectu meo vacuus, said God, Exod. 23. chap. as if he would say, In the three principall feasts of the yeare, euery Israelite shall goe to my tem­ple to visit him, and to pray; and my pleasure is that none go that pilgrimage, so niggishly or sparingly, but that hee carry alwaies somwhat to offer vnto me in the temple, so that hee shall go to pray, and also carry somwhat to offer.

Origen doth say, that he goeth emptie handed to the temple of God, wh [...] is content only to say his Pater noster and his Crede, which I do not mislike but like; but yet I say that it were better somtimes to giue an almes to the poore, than bee two hours in church vpon our knees.

Hillarius saith, That he doth shewe himselfe emptie handed before our Lord, who doth a good worke obstinatly dwelling in sinne; for as God did looke first vpon Cain, before he did looke vpon his offering, so our Lord dooth first looke what we are, and then he dooth looke vpon that which we offer. What dooth it auaile thee to offer thy goods to God, if on the other side thou do offer thy soule to the diuell? If thou wilt bee liberall vnto all men, giue that vnto God, which thou diddest giue vnto the di­uell; [Page 371] and to the diuell, that which thou diddest giue vnto God: because that thy creator and redeemer, did not die for the de­sire of thy wealth, but only for the loue which hee had to thy soule. Note (saith Remigius) & marke well, that the lawe of God dooth not forbid thee to shew thy selfe before his face, but only that thou shouldest not present thy selfe in his sight with an empty hand: because that before the presence of our God and maker, all things are registred and presented, but he dooth looke only vpon those things which serue him.

S. Ierom dooth say, that he dooth appeare emptie before our Lord, who dooth desire any thing at his hands, not hauing done any seruice vnto him before: the which petition the Lord dooth seldome heare, and vnwillingly yeeld vnto, for although we be not able to merit his great fauours, yet he would not haue vs do any thing which should demerit and make vs vnworthy of them. Honourable old Ioseph and Nichodemus, were none of these, the which because they would not breake the lawe, nor goe emptie handed before their king, the one carried mirrhe and aloes, and the other a sheet to make a shroud; insomuch that like vnto good and faithfull disciples, with their feet they sought him, and their tongue confessed him, with their heart beleeued in him, with their eies weapt for him, with their wealth serued him, and with their hands annointed him. What dooth not he offer, who doth offer himselfe and all which hee hath? how shall wee say that they do go emptie, to annoint the bodie of Christ who is dead, who in their hearts do carry him aliue? Who dare say that those do go emptie to the mount of Caluarie, which do carry the faith in their hearts, charitie in their bowels, ladders on their shoulders, & the shroud vnder their arms, oyntments in their hāds, & tears in their eies? O my soule, O my heart, buy I pray you, buy a little mirh & aloes, to the end that you may go with Ioseph of Arama­thia, to the mount of Caluarie, for now if euer our Lord will suffer himselfe to be touched and handled, embalmed & shrouded, & it may bee that in recompence of this seruice, that at the same hour that you do put him into his graue, he wil raise you from sin.

If you haue no oyntments to annoynt him, O my soule, take heede you goe not without tears to washe him, for when you [Page 372] shall begin to wash his wounds, he wil begin to cleanse your sins.

O who could haue seen those holy old men, go from street to street, from shop to shop, to prepare necessaries for the funerals. Pilat did dwell in one street, where they went to aske licence; the apothicaries in another, where they bought his ointment; the linnen drapers in another, where they did choose his shroud; the carpenters in another, where they got ladders; & the smithes in another where they hired hammers. Farre greater was the griefe which they had in mind, than the trouble which in bodie they passed; and the reason was, that because all that which they had to doe, was to be done in great secreat, for feare least the wic­ked people should hinder them; if they had much adoe to find all things, they had much more to dissemble it.

Seeing then that the euening did drawe neere, and that the sun was going down, and that the night came on, and that the so­lempnitie of their great Aester did begin, those two honourable old men, begin to take their iourney to the mount of Caluarie, and that which can not be spoaken without griefe is, that all the way they caried the ladders on their shoulders, and watred all the fields with their tears. Those who caried a hundred pound waight of oyntments in their hands, and two great ladders on their shoulders, and the shroud, and pinsors, and hammers, doost thou not think my brother, that they should come to the mount of Caluarie very weary, and also very sweatie? What doost thou O my heart, why doost thou not go after these old men, to the mount of Caluarie? If thou go by the path which the people haue made, and by the sent of the oyntments which these do ca­ry, and follow the tears which these old men do shead, and the track of bloud which Christ dooth leaue, how is it possible that thou shouldest not find the loue which thou doost seeke for, and meet with Iesus whom thou doost desire? doost thou not thinke O my soule; that the pathway to Caluarie is greatly priuiledged; seeing that it is threshed & beaten by the wicked, perfumed with ointments, watered with tears, and made holy with the bloud of Christians.

At the very hour when they came to the mount of Caluary, and saw the holy crosse, & him who was crucified on the crosse, [Page 349] it was not in their power not to fall down presenly in the place, & begin againe to weepe most bitterly, because that there came in­to their mindes, the great good turns which Christ had done to the people when hee was aliue, and the great hurts which were prepared for those of the sinagogue.

The sun being now down, the light but small, and the distance somwhat long, and their tears very many, the comfortlesse mo­ther, and all her family, did thinke that Ioseph and Nicodemus had been some other, and that the ladder had been spears, and that they had come a new to thrust her sonne into the body, and not to bury him, the which feare and suddain passion, did cause a new torment in her heart.

When the sad mother and her familie, did know those which came with the ladders, and the cause of their comming, they be­gan to shake off their feare, and come to themselues again, for to say the very trueth, there was none of that familie, which did take any great contentment vntill they did see Christ risen again. But because that among all those which were present, the mo­ther was shee who had the greatest losse, so shee felt the greatest griefe; and therfore did not come presently to her selfe, vntill Mary Magdalen did awake her, S. Iohn speake vnto her, the old men salute her, and the sweet ointments comfort her. O who could haue seene, those which came newly to the funerals of Christ crucified, and those which before remained with the dead body, how they did weepe, how they did sigh, how they did sob, how they did sown & grow dumb; insomuch that in that sorrowfull hour, words did faile them, and tears abound. If they would haue risen from the ground, their feet did tremble vnder them, if they would haue spokē, their tongues were dumb, if they would haue beheld one another, their eies did run ouer with wa­ter; if they would haue lifted vp the ladders, their arms fel down; insomuch that there was nothing in any of them, which had more life, then the faith which they did beleeue, the hope which they did trust with, and the charitie they went withall. How wouldest thou O my soule, that any of them should haue life, seeing the giuer of life dead before their face? Thou must know, that the heart which dooth loue, dooth not liue in himselfe, but in that [Page 374] which he doth loue, & therfore if they did loue Christ more thē themselues, and Christ was dead on the crosse, howe wouldest thou haue any of them aliue? what wouldest thou haue me to say more, but that Ioseph and Nicodemus were so astonied, that they could not once comfort the mother, nor the weeping mother bid them so much as welcome. Often-times the comfortles mother, went about to giue them thanks for their comming to bury her sonne, and they to say to her, I am sory to see your son crucified there; but as the one and the other was speaking the words out of their mouthes, the sobs did breake them off, and their aboun­dance of tears did drowne them. In so narrow a straight as this is, and in so dolefull a misterie, it is reason that my pen should make some stay, and giue my soule licence to meditate, and that which shee can meditate on anew is, to see that with ouermuch weping the haire of her eie lids was burnt away, and all her handkerchers wringing wet with wiping her eies.

O how little I haue said, in saying that her kerchiefs were wet, I might say better that they were bloudied, because that the bloud which did run from those holy vains, did dy herkerchiefs, and goe through her bowels.

What more wilt thou heare O my soule, but that in that lamē­table houre there wanted graues, and there were dead persons to burie? How should we reckon the sad mother, the weeping Mag­dalen, the comfortles S. Iohn, and Salome his aunt, and all the o­ther fatherlesse family amongst the liuing, hauing before their eies their sweet loue dead? O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, where but here was that verified, Sinite mortuos sepelire mortuos, seeing that there was no man found to burie this thy dead bo­dy, but such as were dead? When but in that day, where but in Caluarie, who but thee, howe but weeping, why but for thy death, was the dead man buried by the hands of the dead.

CHAP. LVI. How our Lord was taken down from the crosse, & put in the lap of his sad mother, and of the tears which were shed ouer him.

ASsendam in palmam & apprehendam fructus eius, saith the scripture Cant. 7. as if hee would say, I will take a verie high lad­der, and I will clime vp to the top of the palme tree, where I will gather and eate all the dates which I shall find vpon the tree. In all deuine and humain learning, alwaies by the palm tree is vnderstood, victory; and the reason is, according to the opinion of Plinie, be­cause that as in the palm tree, although you tie the highest bud vnto the lowest root, yet you cannot breake him, so the heart of a valiant and stout man, will rather yeeld to bee torn in peeces, then subdued and ouercome: And that this is true, in sacred and humain learning, it is easily seen, considering that in the Apocal. all the martyrs had palm trees in their hands, and all those which entred into Rome in triumph, had crowns of palme boughs vpon their heads. Origen vpon the Cant. doth say, What palm tree hath there been, or euer shalbe in the world, like vnto the crosse of Christ, on the which hee did triumph ouer the world, and ouer­come the diuell? O what a great difference there is betwixt the palm on which the son of God did triumph, and that which the people of Rome had for their triumph; for if we giue credit vnto Titus Liuius, the captain of Rome could not triumph with a crown of palme, vnlesse he had first slain some enemie with his speare: but holy Iesus not hauing stroaken any with a launce, did triumph with the palm. O glorious palm tree, O blessed crosse, on the which thou my good Iesus, hast hanged the diuell, crucified sin, done iustice on the world, killed thy own life, shed thy bloud, buried my sins, planted thy church, and also opened vnto vs thy glory. It doth wel appear, O good Iesus it doth wel appeare, that [Page 352] no man euer hath, or euer shall triumph as thou hast triumphed, seeing that thou doost not hold vp the palm tree of the crosse, on the which thou art lifted vp, but the tree thee; to let vs vnder­stand therby, that the crosse did first triumph ouer thy life, before that thou diddest triumph ouer our death.

In that, that there was but one tree and much fruit, wee are taught that if we will confesse a trueth, that from the beginning of the world, vntill the latter day, no man shall euer be saued, vn­lesse he haue eaten of the fruit of that palme tree, that is, the old fathers prophecying that hee should come, and those which are present confessing that he is dead. What other thing is the fruit of the palm, but his sacred fleshe; and his precious bloud? It is now time for vs to lay ladders to this tree, and to gather the fruit of it, seeing that the ladders are brought, and the gatherers alrea­dy come. Being now aweary of weeping, our lady and her fami­ly, with Ioseph, and Nicodemus, began to take order howe they should go vp to the top of the crosse, and let down the body of Iesus crucified; because they had but a very short time left to annoint the wounds of the dead body, and to shroud him, and put him into his graue. Honourable old Ioseph, and Nicodemus, hauing first asked leaue of the virgin, and demaunded the opini­on of S. Iohn and Mary Magdalen, with their knees on ground, & their gray heads vncouered, with great reuerence did kisse the crosse, and worship him who was crucified; insomuch that good Iesus, was put on the crosse by the hands of infidels, and taken down by the hands of the faithfull.

Hauing thus worshipped and done their due reuerence, they set vp the ladders against the crosse, they cast certain towels on their shoulders, take pinsors in their hands, & each of them a hammer at his girdle, & this being done they go vp by little and little, the one on the one side, and the other on the other, not without great lamentation of those which did look on, nor without great sighs of those which went vp. Being gone vp vnto the top of the crosse, as they beheld their Lord and maister, and saw his face pale and wan, his eies turned in his head, his brain spurted out, his shoul­ders opened with stripes, his vains broken, his hair torn and pulled off, his skull boared through, his bones out of ioint, there fell such [Page 377] a great feare and passion vpon them, that they were almost ready to fall from the top to the ground. Ciprian vpon the passion of our Lord doth say, That the butcherie which was vsed in the passion of the son of God was so cruell, & the quantitie of bloud so great which they drew out of his holy vains, that although there be ve­ry much written in this matter, yet it is much more that our Lord did suffer. O my soule, O my heart, why do you not diuide your selfe in the middest in this instant, because the one halfe may goe vp with Ioseph to take downe Christ, and the other halfe remaine with Saint Iohn, to comfort the mother? Vpon Iacob his ladder the angels did goe vp and down singing, and by Iosephs ladder, do you goe vp and downe weeping, for as in heauen they can do no­thing but sing, so on the mount of Caluarie we can doe nothing but weepe. O glorious trauell, O happie iourney to goe vp and downe that ladder, seeing that on high we shall find Christ cru­cified, & below the mother dismaid. What wouldst thou haue, or what doest thou seeke for, O my soule, in this miserable world, or on this mount of Caluarie, seeing thou doest there find the mo­ther of God, and meet also there with Iesus crucified? The first thing then that Ioseph and Nichodemus did labour in, was, to pull out the cruell nailes, with the which his hands were nailed, and that which cannot be spoken withbut tears, is, that because the bloud was alreadie coniealed, and his flesh shrunken together, they could not draw the nailes out of his hands, nor loose them from his wrested sinnews.

Of set purpose the Iewes had made great nailes, and of mal­lice had boared small holes; by reason whereof, Ioseph and Ni­chodemus were constrained to giue the greater blowes, and put more strength to pull out the nailes, the which blowes they did strike vpon the nailes which were in the sons hands, and the same time vpon the mothers heart.

Barnard de plancta Virginis, O good Iesus, O great Nichodemus, for the loue which you beare vnto this dead man, I coniure you, and for pittie I beseech you, that you would hold your hand a little, and not strike that naile so hard, because that as you doe threaten a blow with the hammer, the Virgin is readie to sowne, and it is not reason that if the driuing in of the nailes was the oc­casion [Page 378] that the sonne did loose his life, that in pulling them out you should also kill the mother.

With great reuerence and dexteritie they did first pull out the naile of the right hand, and then that of the left hand, but yet neither smooth nor cleane, because that euery naile pulled out with him coniealed bloud, and flesh sticking to him.

And although the nailes were taken out of both his hands, yet his bodie came not from the crosse, nor the crosse did not part from his bodie, as well by reason of the coniealed bloud which did fasten them together, as for the great loue with which they did embrace the one the other, to let vs therby vnderstand, that our good Iesus was not hindered from comming down from the crosse, only by the nailes which nailed him, but also with the loue which he did bear vnto the crosse. O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule (saith Vbertinus) all the world seek for loue & liberty, and thou only crucified. If this thy loue be sweet, giue vs part of it, if otherwise giue me leaue to beare part with thee, for thou knowst, O my soule, that there can be no pleasure in any loue, if it be not first communicated to a freind.

And if thou wilt not giue vs part of thy loue, giue vs part of thy [...]olours, because that in thy house there is neuer giuen vn­to any trauell and vexation, but there is also giuen with it some comfort and consolation.

As Nichodemus and Ioseph vvanted not patience in pulling out the nailes by little and by little, so they wanted not vvisdome to giue them Saint Iohn in secret; for if the Virgin should haue seen how they were embrued witb bloud, and enameled with flesh, she would either a souned anew, or haue died there in their hands.

Anselmus saith, The cruell nailes which were in our sauiours handes they did gently knocke, tenderly handle, easily remoue, and with many tears make cleane. Barnard doth say likewise, that Ioseph and Nichodemus did pull out no naile but they did make him cleane, keepe him, and weepe ouer him, insomuch that if Christ did water the crosse with bloud, they did water him with teares, O happie watch towre, O glorious ladder, not of Iacob the blind, but of Christ the crucified, by which the angels doe not [Page 379] descend from heauen as they are wont, but by which men doe as­cend to heauen, which before they could not: because the son of God did not die because any man should fall, but because al men should rise.

His open shoulders being vnglued from the crosse, and his vn­iointed armes beeing losed from the nailes, as the dead bodie did waigh altogether vpon his feet, Nichodemus did hold him aboue, and Saint Iohn did hold him vp below, in so much that Christ did sustaine and hold vp their soules, and they did sustaine and hold vp Christ his flesh. O my heart, O my soule, doe you not see that it is now time to awake, & to watch, & also to weep? the mi­steries of your God and Lord, are brought so far forward, that to perform them all, it sufficeth not that you deuide your selues, but you must also quarter your selues, and that into four quarters, the one to be with Nicodemus on the top of the crosse, and the other with Christ on the crosse, the other with the sad mother by the crosse, & the fourth with the pensiue family about the crosse; inso­much that if you will not be crucified, O my heart, as was our re­deemer, you shall be quartred like a malefactor. In the mean time whilst Nicodemus aboue did hold the dead body vnder the arms, & S. Iohn hold him vp at the feet, good Ioseph did busie himselfe intaking out the nailes little and little, because the Virgin should not perceiue him, or at the least should not see him. Because the feet are naturally full of sinnewes, and the naile with the which they we are nailed, strooken through them both, it could not be done so cunningly but that the Virgin should perceiue it; and if perceaued, much more bewailed. For if they did pull the naile out of the sonnes feet, they did pull him also out of the mothers heart. His hands and feet being vnnailed, and his shoulders lo­sed from the crosse, with cleane towels, and pittifull teares, they let downe by little and by little the dead bodie, and put him in the sorrowfull mothers lap; a thing most pittifull to behold, and very lamentable to rehearse. Vocate agricolas ad luctum, & eos qui sciunt plangere ad planctum, saied the Prophet Amos in the eigth chapter, as if he would say, Call all labourers hither, to the end that they may put on mourning apparell, and cal al those which know wel how to weep, & let them come to make a great [Page 380] lamentation, because that on this day on the mount of Caluarie, are celebrated the funerals of an honourable personage, vnto the which all which come shall be admitted, and all which weepe very acceptable. The prophet doth speake very circumspectly in this place, seeing that in his proclamation he doth force no man, but entreat & inuite, and that not all men, but only labourers, nei­ther doth he command them to come well clothed, but put on mourning garments, nor sing euensong but shead teares, nor yet that euery man should weepe, but only such as knew well how to weepe. As touching the first he saith vocate, and doth not say ad­ducite, that is, that they be called and not drawne; because that the workes of mercie and charitie, as to burie the dead and heale the liuing, are not meritorious vnlesse they be voluntarie.

And he saith vocate agricolas, and not desides, that is, that for to honour the funerals of his son they should call labourers, and not plaiers: because the Lord will not trust the bodie of his welbelo­ued son with such as wander & loiter in the world, but with such as labour and trauel in his church. And he sayth, vocate ad luctum, and not ad laetitiam, vz. he inuiteth them to mourning, & not to mirth; wherin he hath great reason, for if in this vnhappy life we meet vpon any thing which giueth vs rest, wee do stumble at a thousand which doth yeeld vs tormēt. And he saith ad planctum, & not ad gaudium, that is, that none go to the buriall of his son to laugh, but to weepe; the which our Lord doth command in re­spect of the honour and death of his son, which doth deserue by all men to be lamented and wept, and of none forgotten. And last of all our Lord doth say, vocate ad planctum illos qui sciunt plange­re, that is, call such as know how to mourne and bewaile, and no o­thers; which he doth say in respect of some which doe weep, and are sorrie at euery thing, not knowing why they doe weepe, nor how they doe weepe, nor for what cause they doe weepe.

Saint Ierom vpon these words of the prophet doth say, That because our Lord doth call only such as know how to weepe, it is a token that those are not acceptable vnto him which know not how to weepe: and therefore according vnto this reckoning, all our tears are not gratefull to our Lord: because that to tell thee the truth my brother, he doth not so much regard the teares [Page 381] which we shead as the bowels and heart we haue. What doth it auaile him to vveepe vvho doth not weepe for thee and thy crosse? What fruit doth he reape of his weeping, vvho in the armes of thy mother bewaileth not thee? What shal we say that he doth know, who knoweth not to weepe for thee in thy mo­thers lap? Seeing then it is certaine that thou doest call none to vveepe but such as know how to weepe, we may iustly say, that he knoweth well how to weepe, who knoweth how his owne sins to amend, and haue the passion of his God in remembrance. Lift vp thy heart O my soule, and thou shalt see on the top of the crosse, Nicodemus hovv he doth vveepe, thou shalt see at the foot of the crosse, the sorrowfull mother in a sowne, thou shalt see the crosse embrued vvith bloud, thou shalt see the whole family vveeping, and aboue all and more then al, thou shall see dead Ie­sus cast vpon his mothers lap, and pearced through the middle of his heart.

Barnard vpon the passion of our Lord doth say, that for three bare houres which our Lord had the crosse for his resting place, he paied deerely for the hire of it, seeing that when hee came downe, he left it part of his flesh, left it part of his skinne, and left it part of his bloud, in so much that of euery thing vvhich he tooke to the crosse, he imparted somwhat vvith the crosse. What did he leaue vndeuided, seeing that vvith the crosse he deuided his owne life.

CHAP. LVII. How that the funerals which Ioseph made his father Iacob, were a figure of those which Ioseph of Aramathia should make our redeemer.

COnditus aromatibus repositus est in loculo, sayth the holy scripture, Genesis. 50. as if he would say, The patriarke Iacob being dead in the kingdome of Aegypt, his sonne did annoint him with odoriferous ointments; vvhich vvere in property preseruatiue, in quality sweet, and in estimation [Page 382] very pretious. And when his body was wel embalmed and anoin­ted, they did put him into a new cofin, to carrie him with great pompe and solempnitie vnto his graue. Ioseph did goe with the bodie of his father Iacob, from the kingdome of Aegypt, to the kingdome of Palestine, where he did burie him, bestowing great cost on his funerals, and many tears ouer his body. This is a very pleasant figure in that which it doth containe, and full of myste­rie in that which it doth represent, because that vnder it is contai­ned, the maner that was obserued in embalming a dead bodie, & the order which was vsed in carrieng the same to the graue; the which is one of the most pitifullest ceremonies which is found in all scripture. Chrisost: vpon S. Mathew doth say, That as the works of the son of God were in number many, and in dignitie great, so the figures which were before him, were also in number many and in value very Heroicall: and thereupon it is, that the son of God did neuer any notable worke vvhich was not prefigured, nor there did neuer any figure goe before of him which was not ful­filled. S. Augustine in an homily doth say, As the thing figured doth exceed the figure, and the figure commeth behind the thing figured: so without al comparison, the works which the son of God did, were of greater perfection, then al the figures which went before him.

As much as the kernell doth excell the shell, the marrow the bone, the flowre the bran, the gold the crosse, so much Christ doth exceed all which was a figure of him. Origen vpon Exodus doth say, That the works of the son of God doe tend to higher matter then we doe thinke for, and are risen to to a higher stile then we do vnderstand, because that al that which the patriarkes did, may be imitated, and all which the prophets did write may be vnderstood, but the great miracles which the son of God did, neither the angels can vnderstād nor men perfectly imitate. And because we may not seeme to speake at pleasure, we will speake of some figures of the holy scripture, in vvhich we may see, how far better they were fulfilled then figured; and how that all vvhich vvent before Christ was but a shadow, and Christ only the truth. When yong Isaac did carrie the wood on his shoulders to the mountaine to be sacrificed, it was a figure of Christ; who [Page 383] should beare the crosse on his backe, on which he should die: but Christ did far better accomplish it then the figure which did pre­figure it, because Isaac did returne to his house aliue, but holy Ie­sus did abide on the crosse dead. The serpent of brasse vvhich was erected in the wildernesse, was a figure of the crosse of Christ on the mount of Caluary: but the crosse did far better per­form that which it did pretēd, thē the serpent that which it did fi­gure, because the serpēt did only heale the biting of the body, but the crosse of Christ doth heale the woūds of the soul. Whē Moi­ses did bring the synagogue out of Aegypt, it was a figure of the li­bertie which God would giue his church: but Christ did better fulfill it then Moises prefigure it, because Moises did bring them but vntill the desert, but the son of God doth carrie vs vnto hea­uen. King Pharaoes cupbearer and baker, were a figure of the good theefe and the bad vvhich did suffer vvith Christ: but Christ did far better fulfill that figure, then it was before prefigu­red, because the cup bearer within three daies serued againe at his masters table, but the good theefe the same day went with Christ to glorie. Loe then prooued, how far more excellent the rose is, then the thorne, the fruit then the leaf, the truth then the dream, the spirit then the letter, & the church thē the synagogue. When the son of God did say, scrutamini scripturas quia ipsae testi­monium perhibent de me, he did very plainly aduise vs, that if vvee should not read the scriptures with very great diligēce, we should neuer vnderstād the misteries contained in them: for we must not thinke that if a mā be able to read thē that he is presently able to vnderstand thē. To search out a matter as Christ doth command vs, we haue need to haue great care to seek it, time to find it, light to see it, vnderstanding to know it, wisdome to keepe it, and also loue to enioy it. Comming then vnto our purpose, one of the figures wherin the son of God hath ben liueliest figured, is of this great patriarke Iacob, amōg the old fathers very honorable, & among the patriarkes most renowmed, and therefore the angell did tell the Virgin, That her sonne should raigne in the house of Iacob, not making any mention of Abraham, although he were a holy man. Iacob was at variaunce with his bro­ther Esau, touching his fathers inheritaunce: but Christ [Page 384] at greater with the sinagogue touching the preheminence of his church, but as in the end Iacob did buy the first birth and inheri­tance of Esau for a messe of broth, so Christ did buy the inheri­tance of glorie with the bloud of his owne proper vaines. For the space of fourteen years good Iacob was enamored of faire Rachell, and thirtie three yeares the son of God was enamored of his church; but the loue of the one did exceed the loue of the other, because Iacob was troubled with nothing but with loue only, but the sonne of God was not troubled only with loue, but also with greife and punishment. His eies blind, his arms acrosse, enuironed with children, and loaden with yeares, the great patriarke Iacob did die in Aegypt: and in like manner, his eies dashed out, his arms nailed, compassed with theeues, and loden with merits, Christ di­ed in Caluary. At the point of death & with the sign of the crosse, Iacob did take away the heritage from his nephew Effraim, and gaue it vnto Manasses: and in like maner in the last houre, and vp­on the tree of the crosse, Christ did disinherit the sinagogue, and giue the right of the inheritance to the church.

Iacob entred very rich in gold, siluer, and cattell, but they brought nothing out of Aegypt vnlesse it were balmes to embalm him, and ointments to annoint him: so the sonne of God came in­to this world very exceeeding rich, but went out of it very poor, seing they did embalme him with other mens balme, and shrowd him in a borrowed sheet.

Seeing that we are now come with our figure vnto the thing figured, it is very expedient for vs to say something how the son of God was ointed with ointments, and how he was shrowded in the sheet, and how he was bound with a towell, and how he went vnto his graue, and how he vvas mournfully lamented by all his familie.

Before all other things I summon you O my eies, and coniure you O my my fingers, the one that you cease writing, and the o­ther that you vveepe bitterly in this pittifull and lamentable case which we haue now in hand, and which we begin now to weepe. I warn you also O my soule, and call you O my heart, that you come to the funerals of the sonne, and to honour the mother, for we haue two dead persons in our hands, that is, the dead [Page 385] heart of the mother, and the pearced body of the son. The last paine and trauell, the last dispatch, the order of his buriall, the annoynting of the bodie, and the griefe of the mother, what fin­gers are able to write, what heart thinke, what eies weepe and la­ment? O sad funerals, O lamentable exequies, considering that they were not celebrated in the church, but in the field, not with light, but in the darke and by night, nor by the clergie, because they were fled, nor with solemnitie, but priuatly, nor with ring­ing of bels, but with sheading of tears.

The Aucthor followeth the same matter.

THe sons bodie being put in the mothers lap, and the mothers heart being with the soule of the son; as the night did draw neer, and the time wax straight, to take order for the embalming of the body, and carry him to his graue, Nichodemus and Ioseph were stroaken with great pittie, when they should seperat them, and were ashamed to aske for his body of his mother. The two honorable old men, on the one side did behold the son how hee lay, and on the other, the mother what countenance shee bare, they did look to the time which was now at an end, and the night which was come vpon them; insomuch that necessitie did con­strain them to ask for the bodie, and pittie did inuite them to be­waile him.

Howe shall my tongue bee able to speake, or my pen bee a­ble to write all which passed in this instant, and that which the sad mother did see, and my heart not consume away with sighing, & my eies grow blind with weeping? The old men did look the one vpon the other, and although they did vnderstand the one the other, yet they did not speake the one to the other: for at the very instant when they would haue spoaken, the sobs did cut them off, and the teares did hinder them. What wilt thou haue me to say, but that the heart enforcing him to speake, the mouth was ouercome presently, and filled with tears and sighs. Ioseph then as being the most ancient of them, and S. Iohn most fami­liar with her, with many tears in their eies, vttered these words.

The time dooth not suffer vs sweet Lady, to speake, and dis­course [Page 386] of that which your sonne hath suffered, nor of that which you haue endured, for if you haue lost a son, wee haue also lost a maister, and seeing the losse is common vnto vs all, let vs sur­cease our speech vntill another time.

You know Lady, that the saboth is at hand, the night come on, the citty far off, the ointments ready to dissolue and melt, & yet conuenient that the body should be oynted, and the shroud not sowne, by reason wherof we beseech you, to giue vs the body to shroud, and licence to annoynt him with these oyntments. As they did speak vnto her with many tears, so shee answered them with many sobs, saying, O honourable Ioseph, O louing cosen, tell me I pray you, what hurt I haue done vnto you, that you should take my son from me? If you will bury him, I yeeld my consent, but where can hee bee better buried, then in the bowels of his mother? If the eternall father hath taken his soule because he did create it, why doe you not leaue his body vnto his vvo­full mother, who brought him into the world? If you will bury the son, burie the mother also with him, for her heart is not able to see him die, and also to see him buried. Whether soeuer you go to burie my son, you shall also take me to bee buried with him; for why would you be so cruell and inhumaine, as to burie me without a soule, as you do burie him without life? seeing it is certain, that the heart of the louer, doth rather liue wher he doth loue, then where he dooth giue life; why will you take him out of my arms, with the which I embrace him, seeing you cannot se­perat him from my heart, with the which I loue him? O honou­rable Ioseph, O Nichodemus my trusty friend, do not you knowe that his father hath taken his soule, that the earth hath drunke his bloud, that the hangmen haue deuided his garments, that death hath taken away his life, and that vnto me wretched wo­man, there hath fallen nothing, vnlesse it bee his fleshe torne in peeces.

Seeing there hath chanced no other inheritance vnto me, but this torn fleshe, this pittifull fleshe, this flain fleshe, this fleshe pearced; why are you so cruell, as to take this my inheritance from mee, and carry him so quickly vnto the graue? Doe you not thinke you carry him too timely to his graue; seeing that [Page 387] before he knewe what it was to haue a house, hee knoweth what his graue dooth mean?

O my sweet sonne, O my perfect trueth, O my soueraign ver­tue, O my chiefe loue, and O my last griefe, who, when, and howe, was hee able to take away thy life, O my life? Did the world find no other, on whom hee might make an anotomy, but on thy flesh, O my soule? Why did not the world content him­selfe, to see the works which thou diddest, and heare the words which thou spakest; but must also see the bowels which thou haddest?

And when did they see thy bowels, but when they did open thy bowels with a speare, and breake thy shoulders with stripes? O sacred fleshe, O holy bloud, O life without spot, O profound wisdome, O infinit charity, O holy head, who durst flay thy skin, and who so bould as to boare thy brain? O cruell bulrushes, O sharp thorns, how durst you shut vp your selues in this holy head, in the which, the eternall father hath put to keepe all his glory? O beautifull face, O bright countenance, O image of life, O por­trature of glory, O blessed visage, how hast thou chaunged thy self so much, and how art thou remoued from that that thou wast, when thou diddest make of the stable in Bethleem heauen, and of the Inne paradice? O holy breast, O golden side, O hidden secreat, O inflamed heart, O inspeakable loue, what haddest thou done vnto the world, or what had I committed against thee that with one blowe they should open thy side, and breake my bowels?

O cruell speare, O faithlesse iron, howe were you so ventrous, as to giue so cruell a thrust, in so holy a fleshe, and so inhumain a wound? O the light of mine eies, O the rest of my life, howe is it possible, that I hauing giuen thee nurriture with my milke, and maintained thee with my distaffe, thou shouldest nowe leaue mee, my head loaden with gray hairs, my eies full of tears, my house enuironed with enemies, and my heart bur­thened with cares? O my sonne, O the loue of my heart, hauing seene, that thou hast redeemed all the world; I doe thinke my labour well bestowed; but yet in the end, percea­uing my selfe to bee a mother, and that so woefull a mother, I [Page 388] cannot but greeue, to see that I am an orphane without a bride­groome, a straunger from all comfort, alone without a friend, a widdow of my child, & principally in the power of my brothers son. Had you any thing else more readie at hand, then to com­maund in your testament, that I should be bequeathed vnto your cosen german? Why did you not bequeath him one of your coats, or the crosse on which you did die, or the crown with the which you did your selfe honour, or the nails which gaue you torment, or the vineger which caused your end, or the bloud with the which you do redeeme vs, seeing that these things are the greatest riches of your inheritance, and the true badges with which you redeemed the world? Seing by you I am the daugh­ter of the father, the espouse of the holy ghost, the princesse of heauen, and the queene of the world, why do you dispose of an other bodies goods, and bequeath that to your cosen german which is none of yours? For one man to bequeath another his goods is tollerable, but to bequeath the mother, which bare him in her wombe, is not sufferable; because it would not bee iust to giue a legacie vnto strangers of the mother, which nourished vs at her breasts.

Glorious S. Iohn seing that all the bewailing and lamentations, which his own aunt did make, was a complaining of that legacy, thought good to make her an answere, or rather to comfort her, for he did rather desire to see his aunt deliuered of griefe, then his own person bettered, S. Iohn said vnto her: O sea of passions, O depth of cares, O my holy aunt, O my blessed Lady, is it not now time that thou make a foord of thy anguishes, which molest thee, and cut off the tears which make thee blind? Do you not see, that excessiue loue and ouermuch griefe, do make you forget where you are, that is, on the mount of Caluarie, & not take heed with whom you speake, that is to say, with a dead bodie? Seeing that this body who you do talke with, is both dombe and blind, howe is it possible, that he should speake to you, or see you? Let these tears thē cease, let these sighs go no further, let these griefs be cut off, and let these complaints haue an end, because that in such a dismall day, and in so short a time, it is to be beleeued, that seeing the father would not heare the sonne beinge aliue, that [Page 389] neither the son wil heare the mother, being already dead. What meaneth this O my lady, what meaneth this? when the ele­ments are troubled, when the heauens are afraid, whē the graues are open, and when those which are aliue, are amazed and asto­nied, do you settle your selfe to reason with the dead? when your son and my maister, did giue vp the ghost this euening vpon the crosse, hee gaue you no charge ouer the dead, but ouer those which were aliue: and do you make no reckoning of the liuing, and reason only with one that is dead? If it seeme a hard matter vnto you, to change a son for a kinsman, & the maister for the dis­ciple, take no griefe at all therby, for from this present hour I re­nounce the tutelage which he did giue me, and forsake the lega­cy he did bequeath me. That which I desire of you is, that you marke with what faith, these old men are come hither, in what daunger they haue thrust themselues, what charges they haue been at, and how the time is short, and the great saboth already entred; and that seeing for your son, they do spend their wealth, be not a cause that by your means they loose their life.

O sad man that I am, what dooth it benefit thus to rub your eies, to wring your hands, to shead so many teares, and vtter such pittifull words, but to cause vs all to lose our liues, and your son to want a graue?

O eternall father, O my maister and blessed Lord, why dooth not the one of you succor his daughter, and the other of you his mother, in this sorrrwfull houre; in which, in a manner of a con­tention, and on a vie, she will weepe vntill she haue not leaft one teare, as hee did shead his bloud, vntill there was not leaft one drop. And doost thou not know that the sorrowfull heart dooth die weeping, as the body dooth die fighting? seeing that thou art the mother of his children, the inheritrix of his dolours, the ful­filler of his legacies, the secretary of his secreats; seing he did die because wee should liue, why wouldest thou haue vs to die this night all in this place? with his own proper death, he did buy our life, and wilt thou with our life, buy thy death? The Iewes did not kill vs with their weapons, and wilt thou drowne vs in thy tears? If thou die and wee die, howe is it possible that the dead should burie the dead? Make thy commodity of the time O my [Page 390] aunt, and wade with thy vnderstanding, for thou shalt neuer, or very late, find such honorable old men, who wil serue thee of free cost, giue thee ointmēts for nothing, lend thee a sheet for nothing and also help thee to weep the death of thy son of free will. Be­hold my lady and aunt, the sun is now down, the day is ended, the night doth charge vs, the darknesse doth make hast on, and the body is not yet carried to the graue.

The water is at hand to wash him, the oyntments are here to annoynt him, the swathing clothes are brought to bind him, the shroud is ready to wrap him, there resteth nothing, but that your eies would leaue weeping, because we may begin presently to an­noynt him.

The aucthor goeth forward and speaketh of the annoynting of Christ.

O High mistery, O diuine secreat, what heart is able to think, or what tongue able to vtter the pitiful warre, the dolefull strife, which passed betwixt the virgin and S. Iohn, and betwixt the mother and the old men, because that they would haue bu­ried the dead bodie, and shee would not; but would enioy him longer time. O glorious strife, O happy contention, where loue on the one side, and holy zeale on the other, do debate the mat­ter; whether they should lay the dead body in the heart of the mother, or bury him in the centre of the earth.

The mother dooth say, that he doth belong vnto her, because she did bring him into this world; the earth doth plead that not, but vnto her, because of her hee was formed; and that which is most of all to be wondred at is, that the sad mother dooth weep, to see that they take him from her, and the earth in a maze to see that shee must receaue him. For pure feare and reuerence, the riuer Iordan did open a passage to the Arke of the testament, and should not the earth bee astonied, and in a feare to receaue into her the body of Christ? The end of the strife was, that the dolefull mother did yeeld the body to bee buried, and they did leaue her a little more time to bewaile; insomuch that her loue was not iniuried, nor their zeale offended.

O my soule O my heart, why do you not goe betwixt them and part the fray; seeing you see them take hold of the dead bo­die to burie him, and the mother hold him fast, loth to depart with him?

They demaund his body with mild words, and shee detaineth him with pittifull tears, for they thinke the time long vntill they bury him, and she very short to enioy him. But what shall I say more vnto thee O my soule, but as they had no great desire to importune her, so she had not now much list to resist them, and in the end they bought the bodie with the price of their tears, and with the like shee kept it a great space. O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, howe far more dearer thy mother did sell thee be­ing dead, then Iudas did sell thee being aliue, for Iudas did giue thee for thirty pence; but shee did not giue thee but for many tears.

What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? Must all the torments of necessity be doubled in thee, hauing been but once in all other martyrs? Thou diddest suffer two agonies, the one in the garden, and the other on the crosse; thou diddest suffer two deathes, the one of thy passion, and the other of compassion; thou wast baptized twise, once with water in Iordan, and another time in Caluarie with bloud; and thou wast sold twise, once for exchange of money, and another time for the waight of tears & sighes: buy then O my soule, buy of the mother, the son; buy of the inheritrix, the dead body; buy of S. Iohn, the maister; buy of Nicodemus, a friend; the which buying is done not with aboun­dance of wealth, but with the purity of conscience. Now that the virgin gaue them licence to annoynt the dead bodie, and when they determined to bury him, all men came about him, and all that sorrowful company did enuiron him as a swarm of bees with­out hony, vttering many pittifull words with their tongues, and weeping liuely tears with their eies. What did they not say, what did they not weepe, what did they not feele, and what la­mentation did they not make, when they sawe their Lord and maister so torn and rent?

What eies were able to see him, & what toung to extol him, or who able to behold the body so euilly handled, & see so cruell a [Page 392] butchery made of his God. If they did looke on his face, they sawe it spet vpon, if they did looke on his haire, they did see it pulled, if they did looke on his shoulders, they saw them opened, if they did looke on his hands, they saw them broaken, if they did looke on his body, they saw him stripped, if they did looke on his side, they saw him stroaken with a speare. The prophesie of Esay, Quod a plancta pedis, vsque ad verticem non erat in eo sanitas, was litterally fulfilled as he did prophesie; seing that in the dead body of that dead man, there was no flesh which was not blacke and blew, no skin not pulled off, no sinnew not wrested, nor bone which was not out of his place.

The houre being then come, that they would stretch out the dead body, and annoint him, as the sad mother went a little a side, and saw that her garment was spotted with the bloud of her son, there began a new lamentation betwixt them, and a newe mar­tyrdome assaulted the mothers heart. Take compassion O my heart, take compassion on this sad widdow, considering she hath her son dead in her presence, the ground embrued with bloud, and her heart grieuously afflicted, I might better haue said broa­ken in sunder; for seeing (as she dooth) the heart of her son deui­ded, how is it possible that hers should remain entire? now O my soule, nowe or neuer, thou which art dead, maiest come to thy God which is dead, for going about as they do to annoynt him, thou shalt help the old men to annoint him, and the sorrowfull mother to moorn for him.

O happie is the soule which wilbe there, only in thought, see­ing that shee cannot be there in presence; because she cannot bee occupied but in keeping the crosse, or in gathering the bloud, or in weeping with the mother, or in dissoluing the oyntments, or in annoynting the wounds, or in binding him with cloathes. In such a high solempnity, in such glorious funerals, in so honourable a bu­riall, would not (thinke you) all the celestiall gouernment be pre­sent? The sheet beeing spread vpon the ground, in which they would shrowd him, and the napkin with the which they should couer his head, and the binding cloathes which they had to bind the body with, they tooke that holy body with great reuerence, and put him vpon those cloathes, streched out at length. And [Page 393] because the tender flesh of the dead bodie, was newly torne and bloudied, and they hauing no other meane to take him vp and stretch him out, but by taking hold of him, some reliques of bloud and of his flesh did alwaies sticke to their hands, which they did wipe off with the shrouding sheet, & towell which was about his head.

The dead body being laid on the earth, the mother did put her selfe at his head, Mary Magdalen at his feet, S. Iohn and Nico­demus on one side, and Ioseph and the two Maries on the other, because the labour and griefe should be deuided amongst them all, and because they might equally enioy Christ. Now that they had the bodie in the middest of them, and that he was compas­sed in by them, kneeling on their knees, and their hands washed, and their sleeues trussed vp, they began to looke on the vvounds which they had to annoint, and vnstop the ointments which they brought to annoint him. When they saw so neer to them the markes of the lashes, the rupture of the nailes, the blew wales of the buffets, the swelling of his vaines, the pearcing of the thornes, the grieuousnes of his wounds, & the wan colour of his holy flesh, they fell a new into a maze, and began afresh to weep & bewaile. That most blessed bodie of his was so wounded, and so torne in peeces, that for very compassion and pittie, their armes did faile them, the ointments fell out of their hands, and the teares did fall one drop after another downe their faces.

They would haue annointed the body, but they could not lift vp their armes, they would haue spoken but they could not wag their toungs, they would haue taken heart, but their sow­ning did not permit them, but yet in the end they endeuoured to doe that which they ought, although not as they would.

Because the night did now charge them, and the great so­lempnitie of easter vvas novv come in, they determined among themselues that euery one should take a part of the balme to annoint his wounds, because they were so many and so greiuous, that they had all inough to doe, and place to bestow their balms. O my fingers, O my pens, in such a profound mistery and in such a high worke, as is the embalming of this dead body, shall it not be reason that you pause a vvhile, and giue ouer vvriting, to [Page 394] the end that my eies settle themselues to weepe a space? It is reason O my soule, that you should sigh, it is reason that you my eies should weepe, seeing that they doe all together annoint him, and all together weepe for him, in so much that he who with most tender bowels doth loue him, with greatest abundance of tears, doth weepe for him. Cease not O my bowels to sigh, and cease not O my eies to make your selues a fountaine of tears, be­cause that in the funerals of your God, there is as great need of water to wash him, as there is of ointments to annoint him. With what thinke you O my soule did those holy old men vnthaw the ointments which were frosen, but with the tears of their eies? What wilt thou know more O my heart, but that at one time, and then in the same moment when the ointments did dissolue vvith tears without, for pure compassion their entrailes did wax soft and tender within? In all the time that they continued their annointing of him, their hands were neuer a wearie, their heartes neuer ceased sighing, nor they neuer gaue of vveeping, and which is most pittifull, that although they did leaue off to annoint, yet they did neuer leaue off to weepe.

What other thing would you haue those old holy men to doe, but on their knees to serue him, with their hands to annoint him, with their eies to weepe for him, and with their heartes to worship him. O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, who is he who hath no need to annoint his wounds, seeing that thou hadst need to annoint thine? O vvhat a differēce ther is betwixt thy wounds and mine; for thine the lashes and stripes did make, but mine my sins doe cause; thine are wounds of the body, but mine are faults of the mind; but that which is most to be lamented is, that thine are assuaged with ointments, but mine are not made whole with­out punishments.

With the ointments of loue thou doest annoint thy elect, and vvith the ointments of doulour thou doest cure all the vvic­ked, in so much that with ointments of gentlenesse thou doest annoint the good, and vvith punishment thou doest heale the bad.

Because the blowes of his body had ben very cruell, and his vvoundes very deepe, there vvas much spent in the annointing [Page 395] and embalming of him, and yet notwithstanding neither their boxes of ointments were all spent, nor the teares of their eies euer drie.

With great bountie, and no niggishnes that holy bodie vvas annointed, and vvept and bewailed, for there were ointments i­nough to couer him, and tears sufficient to baptise him.

His bodie then being annointed, they wrapped him in the sheet vvhich he vvas laid on, from the head to the feet, and the like they did with a towell about his head, binding vp all his bo­die vvith binding clothes, in so much that he was annointed, bound vp, and shrouded, but not yet sowed together.

CHAP. LVIII. Of the great care which they had in times past to burie the dead, and why the sonne of God did not command his bodie to be buried.

AVdiens iugulatum iacere in platea, cum sol occubuisset sepe­liuit eum. Thob. 2. chap. these are the words of the holy scripture, speaking of the care which the good man had to burie the dead, as if hee would say, There was in Babilonia a poore man executed by iustice, the which beeing knowne by Tobias, he brought him presently to his house, and when the sun was downe did burie him, Among the workes of mercie the visiting of the poore, and the burieng of the dead are very acceptable vnto God, the which two workes were neuer done by any but they haue ben rewarded for it of our Lord.

When they had slaine king Saul in the mountains of Gelboe, king Dauid did send many thanks to the inhabitants of Galaath, because they went to the field for his bodie, and afterward burie him for nothing.

The scripture doth highly commend good king Iosias, vvho commanded wicked Iesabell to be slaine, and afterward to be bu­ried, [Page 396] in so much that like a gracious prince although he depriued her of her life, yet he did not depriue her of a sepulchre. The ho­ly spcriptureth likewise cōmend the good patriarke Ioseph, who brought his father out of Aegypt to buried in Palestine with great toile of his body, and great charges of his purse. King Salo­mon did inherit the wealth of his father, but did not inherit his pitie and mercy, seeing it is not read that for the death of Dauid he did shead a teare, or with pompe and solempnitie giue him his buriall.

Men of old time did make great reckoning of being buri­ed in rich sepulchres, and especially all the nation of Aegypt, wherof Diodorus Siculus doth write, that their kings did spend their treasure in nothing more, then in building of rich tombs and sepulchres.

Quintus Curtius doth write that the Sarmates did neuer fight for the defence of their wiues and children, but for the defence of their ancestors tombes, for they would rather die to defend the bones of those which were dead, then for the liues of those which were aliue. The great priest Simon did command a stately and rich building to be made in Modin, for the ornament of his tomb; which was a worke in those daies honourable to possesse, and ve­ry costly to build. In that proud tombe, Simon did burie his bro­thers, the Macabees, and reserued a place for his owne bones.

To come then vnto our purpose, only the son of God, only Ie­sus crucified, did neither build himselfe a sepulchre when he was aliue, nor his mother knew not where to burie him when he vvas dead; but as he had liued in a borrowed house, he was also buried in a borrowed sepulchre. How should he make to himselfe a tombe, who had not so much as a house to dwell in? on the altar of the crosse, he did remember very well to pray for his enemies, and pardon the theefe his sinnes, but he remembred not to com­mand where he would be buried, because he did rather intend other mens saluation, then his owne buriall.

Seeing thou doest (saith Theophilus) commend thy mother to the Disciple, thy church to Peter; thy soule to thy father, and thy enemies to his mercie, vvhy doest thou not also make menti­on of thy graue? Who vvill take thee from the [Page 397] crosse, who will put thee in the earth, seeing thou doest leaue no wealth to burie thee, nor place where to put thee? If thy bodie doe remaine vpon the tree, the birds will eat him; if he fall down beastes will deuour him, if they would shroud thee thou doest want a sheet, if they would burie thee thou hast no graue: in so­much that for the funerals of thy owne bodie thou hast com­manded nothing in thy last will and testament. O how vvell it doth appeare, that the son of God was a Christian, and died like a Christian, seeing hee did little esteeme of all that which he left behind him in the world; which he did well shew, in that that he did possesse nothing when he was aliue, nor appoint him­selfe a sepulchre when he did die. By this notable example wee should take example, not to care much whether they doe burie vs in a rich tombe or not, because it is better to goe from a dung­hill with poore Lazarus to heauen, then with the couetous rich man to hell. S. Augustine doth say, That the bodies of many holy men haue been cast into the bottome of the sea, many burnt in great fires, and many deuoured of brute beasts; and yet neuerthe­lesse were not they thinke you very holy men, though they did want rich and stately sepulchres? It was very well said of Anchi­ses to his sonne Aeneas that, facilis est iactura sepulchri: for to say the truth, of all the troubles and trauels of this life, it is the least of them all, to want a graue. Seneca in his tragedies saith, Which is better for me, to be buried in the entrails of brute beasts, which run in the field or in the entrailes of wormes which will gnaw me in the graue? Let euery man then haue an eie to that which doth touch his conscience, and not take care how hee shall bee buri­ed, for the poore shall not want some one or other to burie him, nor the rich to inherit him.

In horto erat monumētum nouum, in quo nondam quisquam positu [...] fuerat, & ibi posuerunt Iesum, saith Saint Iohn in the nineteenth chapter, as if he would say. Fiftie paces from the mount of Calua­rie, there was a little garden, wherein there was made a very ho­nourable tombe, the which vvas so new, that neuer any had ben buried in him. If vve doe looke curiously into that vvhich the e­uangelist doth set dovvne, he doth represent vnto vs the sepul­chre of our Lord, vvith very high conditions; for he saith, that it [Page 398] was not far from the mount of Caluary, and that it was in a garden which was enuironed round about, and that it was wrought out of a rock, and that no man had ben euer laid in him. The wounds of the dead bodie being washed with teares, and his glorious bo­dy annointed with ointments, and his head couered with a hard kercheife, and his carcasse shrowed in the sheet, they carrie him to the graue according to the old custome of the synagogue. With this procession, all processions doe end, and vvith this ce­remonie, all the ceremonies doe end which belong to the life and death of the son of God, the which procession or ceremonie although of all others it be the last, yet it is not the least. Ioseph and Nichodemus once againe aske license of the mother to burie her son, as they did to embalm him, the which they obtained by earnest entreaty and waight of teares. Because the comfortlesse mother had ben accustomed, many years to say to her sonne, and he vnto her, Let vs go home; what greife did she conceiue, when they said, Let vs carrie him to his graue? O queene of Angels, O princesse of eternities, what heart can endure, that the son which thou diddest bring forth of thy wombe, and bring vp at thy breasts, thou shouldest see him die with thy eies, and carry to be buried with thy armes? being as thou art yong in years, a Virgin in office, peerlesse in holines, excellent in desert, and a late wi­dow of thy child, vvho brought thee at that houre to the mount of Caluarie? at such a time wast not thou wont to be a praying in thy oratorie, and thy son a meditating on the mountaine? How poore so euer a mother doth see her sonne, yet she is glad to haue him aliue, but after she doth see him dead and carrieng to his graue, it is most certaine that where they doe burie the bodie of the sonne, they doe also burie the heart of the mother. If all mo­thers haue this greife, vvho peraduenture hath a husband and a­nother child aliue, what sorrow doth the heart of this comforles mother feele, when she seeth her son buried, seeing she had no o­ther son aliue, nor husband, nor brother, but was left alone and commended only vnto her kinsman? O my soule, O my heart, if it be true that thou art mine, and also true that I am of Christ, how is it possible that thou shouldest goe forward with these mi­steries, vnlesse thou doe first make thy eies hard flesh, vvith wee­ping? [Page 399] Which of the angels can contain forme weeping, and what man is there, whose bowels will not rent in sunder, seeing the son of God departed, and seeing him within wounded, and without shrouded? Because the ointments were liquide, and the wounds tender, and the sheet very fine and thin, what greife thinke you had his woefull mother, to see her sonne dead before her eies, his bodie shrouded, and the sheet spotted with bloud againe? S. Bar­nard vpon this place: The mother was somewhat far from the ci­tie, in the euening of the great saboth, the night was darke, shee sollitarie and without all helpe, and if happily she did open her eies, she saw the crosse all bluddy, and her sonne couered in his shroud. O in what a great anxietie and conflict of mind all the vvhole familie was driuen into; for if they vvould haue carried the dead body to burie, it was now heauie, the monument some­what far off, men but a few in number, and the women weake, a beere they had none, and helpe they did not looke for, insomuch that if they would haue buried him, yet they had nothing to car­ry him.

To goe to the cittie it was now too late, to call people vvas scandalous, to take him vp in their armes, he was spotted, and to leaue him vntill another day was dangerous, insomuch that be­cause they knew not what to doe, they filled themselues vvith weeping, ouer the dead bodie. Our Lord then giuing as great strength vnto those few, as if they had ben many, Ioseph did put himselfe on one side, and Nichodemus on the other, and S. Iohn at his head, and so they began to lift vp that holy bodie from the ground, not without very great lamentation, because that with the same measure and compasse that they did lift him vp, they did weepe, and did weepe vvith the same that they did lift him vp.

At the very instant that the men did take hold of the dead bodie, the three Maries did lay hands vpon the dead woman; but O greife, O sorrow, the dolour which they receiued to see the mother, did trouble them more then the waight of his body. Be not afeard O my soule, be not afeard, to see thy God go torn in peeces towards his graue, to goe dead, to go embalmed and annointed, and likewise shrouded; for if they doe carrie him in [Page 400] their armes dead, within their hearts they doe carry him aliue. O glorious procession, O happie pilgrimage, in the which the sonne goeth dead, the mother halfe dead, Nichodemus sighing, Ioseph blowing and breathing, S. Iohn weeping, Mary Magdalen bewai­ling, and all the family sorrowing and mourning.

Why doest thou not either depart or part in two, O my soule, seeing vve find such great misteries euery vvhere? Dost thou not see that the angels are astonied, the elements altered, the diuels afeard to see him die who dooth raise the dead, and to see the Lord of the liuing to be carried to his graue? art thou not ashamed to liue, O my soule, thy God going dead, and art thou not much troubled to goe at libertie, thy Lord being shrouded? Do not call thy selfe mine O my heart, if in this procession thou dost not de­uide thy selfe, to the end that one part may remaine vvith the bloudie crosse, the other goe with the afflicted mother, the o­ther helpe the dead body, and the other goe before to make rea­die the sepulchre.

O good Iesus, seeing that thou doest shew thy fauours, they not seruing thee; and doest giue, not hauing any thing giuen thee; and doest helpe, not being helped; vvilt thou not helpe mee to goe to glory, if I doe helpe thee to goe to thy graue? I command thee O my soule, and I coniure thee O my heart that you helpe to carrie the son, and helpe the mother to vveepe, for if there be three which carry him, there are six which weepe for him.

The Author clucludeth now with putting Christ in his graue.

O Pittifull iorney, O sad way; for if the men did goe with the son, the mother did fall downe with the women, and if the vvomen did goe vvith the mother, the dead bodie did fall vvith the men, by reason wherof they did goe on pearcing the heauens with sighes, and watering all those fields with teares.

Albeit that the night vvere very darke, and the vvay very full of wood, yet no man can loose himselfe in the vvay, if he vvill goe that pilgrimage, because it is well marked vvith the bloud [Page 401] vvhich dooth drop from the sonne, and vvell vvatered vvith the tears of the mother.

O holy stones, O glorious hearbes, O blessed earth vvhich is troden vpon in this iourney, seeing that all that garden, all those stones, and all those hearbes, did deserue to be made holy, not with the oile of oliues, but with the bloud of his vaines, and teares of her bowels. What meaneth this? Diddest thou institute twelue bishoppes ouer night at supper, and doe they carrie thee to be buried vvithout the clergie? Thou being the sonne vvhich doest giue light to the heauens and the earth, is there not to bu­ry thee so much as one candle? Why doe they carry thee vvith­out a crosse to thy graue, thou dying a little before on the crosse? O high misterie, O secret sacrament, seeing that in going to be buried without light, and vvithout the clergie, he doth con­dempne all vaine and pompeous funerals: in so much that as he vvas borne vvithout pride, he vvould likewise be buried without cost.

They vvent on leisurely vvith the bodie, and novv and then rested themselues, for if the shortnes of the time cōstrained them to make hast, their multitude of tears and vveaknes of body cau­sed them to rest. Those which carried the dead body and which led the dolefull mother, did oftentimes stay by the way, not on­ly to rest themselues, but also to vveepe their fill and vvipe their eies, and that which is most of all to be lamented, is, that the shrouding sheet was very slacke and wet, not with the dew which fell from heauen, but with the tears which they shead from their eies.

With greater desire to rest, then to bury the dead body they came at the last vvith him to the graue, where they found pre­sently a new trouble, to vvit, in remouing the stone of the monu­ment, and in seperating the sad mother from her son.

They deuided the labour betwixt them, the vvomen remai­ned vvith the comfortlesse mother, and the men began to re­moue the stone. The maner of the sepulchre, was in proportion round in height more then a mans stature, in bredth very conue­nient, in vvorke engrauen in a rocke, in coulour vvhite and [...]ron coulour, in co [...]mpteous, in [...]ition beautiful, in strength [Page 402] strong, in building new, and in propertie another mans. All these cōditions were necessarie for the honor of Christ his buriall, for if it had not ben of stone, they would haue said that his Desciples had stolne him away; if it had not beene new, they would haue said that some other had risen againe; and if it had not belonged to another man, they would haue said that all had ben but a fai­ned matter. O poore Lord, O the riches of heauen, did it not con­tent thee that thou wast borne without a house, that thou didst liue without wealth, die vvithout a bed, but doost also bury thy selfe in an other mans graue? O how happie I should be, if thou wouldest burie thy selfe in this my soule, to the end that as thou diddest rise the third day, neuer after to die againe, so she should rise alwaies after to liue.

The graue was without remembrance, the dore vvas open, the stone taken away, the vigile ended, easter come, and notwith­standing all this, neither the holy old men durst touch the bo­die, nor the comfortles mother deliuer him. O how far harder they did find it, to loose the mother from the son, then to remoue the stone from the graue, for they were forced to ask him againe on their knees, and buy him with the waight of their teares. O how farre more deerer he did buy vs, then the mother did sell him; for he bought vs vvith bloud, and shee did sell him for tears.

Ioseph and Nichodemus vvere in great conflict of mind, to see the son already dead, and to see the mother neere dead, for if a­ny thing should haue happened vnto them, they had no time to burie the son, nor graue to burie the mother. Trouble not thy selfe, O great Ioseph, trouble not thy selfe, in thinking where thou shalt burie the comfortles vvidow, for seeing that betwixt her and her sonne, the loue is but one, and the heart one, vvhy should the sepulchre be any more but one?

Those vvhich in one house did liue together, and descend from one kindred, and vvith one amitie and peace entreat the one the other, is it much that they die together, that they end their liues in one day, that one stone couer them, and that one graue should suffice them?

It is most certaine, that t [...]onne cannot want a graue, nor [Page 403] the mother a tombe, for long since he is buried in her bowels, and she the like in his heart.

Al things being in a readines, the brothers sonne said vnto his aunt, The breuitie of the time, the aucthority of the dead body giueth me courage to entreat you as my aunt, and beseech you as my ladie, that it would please you to deliuer vs the body to burie him, and giue vs license to returne againe to the cittie. The night is darke, easter is come, and the people goe from hence in an anger, and if any vnruly bodie should come backe to iniurie vs, how would you that we should defend the dead body, being but three of vs, when twelue of vs could not defend him when he was aliue? Giue vs leaue then, good ladie, that this misterie may be ended, that this sacrament be concluded, that this secret be laid open, and that this dead bodie may be buried, because that many troubles are cut off when that is done of free will, which shall be done of necessitie. Determine vvith your selfe, my aunt, to giue vs him, and to swallovv vp this last morsell, seeing the bu­sines doth suffer no longer delay, and also because our members haue no more forces to serue you, nor our hearts strength to com­fort you, nor our eies any teares left to weepe with you. O Virgin without any equall, vvhat doest thou answere to so sharpe a de­maund? To detain the body any longer, the time doth not per­mit you, and to deliuer him presently it vvill be a bitter morsell to swallow, and to giue license as they doe desire it, is no lesse then to burie your smart with your loue, and your loue with your smart. As the sad and wearie mothers tears went dropping down, and her words failing her, and in their place anguishes begin to grow, she could answere no vvord at all, but lament anew and weepe most bitterly. Canst thou not content thy selfe (sayth V­bertinus) to loue the liuing, but thou most also loue the dead? How canst thou denie vs, but that thou art in loue vvith him who is dead, seeing thou doest worship him on thy knees, and embrace him fast in thy armes?

What meaneth this, O thou freind of God, what meaneth this? Was death able to make an end of thy sons greifs and dou­lours, and is it not able to make an end of thy loue? O how it doth well appeare, that then death did die, when on the cro [...] [Page 404] life did depart, seeing that there is no death in the world, which can end thy sorrow, nor cut off thy loue.

The virgin then beeing weary with weeping, and weary also of their importunitie, did yeeld that they should put her son in the graue, and her sweet loue in the sepulchre. In the selfe-same manner, that they did bring the dead body, from Golgotha vnto the garden, they did also carry him from the garden to the se­pulchre, all hauing hold of him, all sighing, and all weeping. O griefe neuer before heard of, O smart like vnto the which there was neuer seen, such as is the end and sum of this procession; be­cause that, by how much the way to the sepulchre grewe shorter, by so much the more and more their wofull anguish did encrease and double.

And how should not their woe encrease & double, seeing they did neuer hope to see him again, either aliue or dead, after they had once put him in the graue? All of them then taking the body together, they did put him in his graue, the which was already open and made cleane; because Ioseph the owner of him, had gone into him before. Immediatly as they had buried that holy body, they did put the stone ouer the monument again, the which was a great stone, thicke, heauy, and foursquare. The sepulchre where they did put that body, was of stone, but the hearts of those which did burie him, were of flesh; by reason wherof, they began afresh to weep, and make a wofull lamentation ouer him.

At the time of putting him in his graue, they did not cast any earth vpon him; but in stead of earth, they did cast many tears & sighes vpon him; insomuch, that if hee were not couered with earth, yet he was well bathed in tears.

The griefe which the dolfull mother did feele, to see her son put into the graue, and to see the stone put ouer him, and to see that shee had lost the sight of him, and to see that hee was there without her, and she alone without him, seeing there is no penne which can write it, I refer to the meditation of the deuout soule.

There remained Iesus in that caue, couered with that stone, alone without company, annoynted with rich oyntments, weapt by holy men, bound with many cloathes, and bathed with many tears.

Here followeth a prayer of the Aucthor.

O The loue of my soule, O the light of my eies, O the ioy of my heart, O the rest of my life, tell me I pray thee, how be­ing the Lord of life, canst thou lie dead and shrouded in a poore graue? What lawe doth consent, or what reason dooth suffer, that thou shouldest raise Lazarus stinking like a sinner, and that they should bury thee sauouring of iustice? The vaile of the temple did rent in sonder, for to lay open the secreats which lay hidden; and dare the sepulcher open to hide thy holy members? Why O my good Iesus, why didst thou not bury thy selfe, in thy own sepulchere, but only to let vs know, that as thou didst bury thy selfe in an other mans graue, so thou didst die for other mens sins? O good Iesus, O the loue of my soule, how much more am I bound vnto thee for redeeming me, then for creating me; be­cause that when thou didst creat me, thou didst giue me nothing but my self, but when thou didst redeeme me, thou didst not only giue me my selfe, but also thy selfe. Thou diddest giue me to my selfe, when I was a stranger from thee by sinne; and thou diddest giue me to thy selfe, when thou diddest reconcile me with thee by grace: insomuch that thou hast made me thy brother by na­ture, and also thy companion and fellow in glory. O how much more do I owe vnto thee, because thou hast redeemed me with thy bloud, then because thou hast created mee with thy hands: For when thou diddest make mee, thou diddest make me of no­thing, but when thou diddest redeeme me, thou diddest bestowe all thy wealth and riches: that is, the bloud which thou haddest in thee, and the life which thou diddest liue with. Againe, and a thousand times againe, I thank thee, O my Lord, more for redee­ming me, then for creating me, because that in creating of all the world, thou wast but seauen daies, but in redeeming me alone, thou wast thirty and three years, all which by howe much the better they were by thee bestowed, by so much the worse they were vpon me employed. O how wel all those years were spent by thee, O my good Iesus, seeing that in thy speech, thou did­dest receaue contradiction; in thy doing, such as lay in wait to entrap thee; in thy torments, mockers; and in thy miracles blas­phemers. [Page 406] O glorie of Ierusalem, O the ioy of Israel, tell me I pray thee, what was there in thy holy body, which did not suf­fer for me, and what did thy infinit loue omit to doe for me? doe not you thinke, O my soule, do not you think, that the passion of your redeemer did begin in the garden, when he was apprehen­ded, or at the pillar when he was whipped, for he knewe what it was to suffer, before he began to liue. At the very instant, that he did take mans flesh vpon him, all the torments of this life presen­ted themselues before him, insomuch that at the same time, he had the fruition of glory, and did likewise suffer. What was all his most holy life, but a long and cruell passion? what did holy Iesus not suffer, what did he not endure, seeing that in euery age he was troubled, by all people persecuted, in all parts of his body tormented, and in all his doings contradicted? what anguish was there, which came not to his heart, what torment which passed not his body? He did suffer in his eies tears, in his ears blasphe­mies, on his face buffets, in his nose stinks, in his mouth gaule, in his hands binding, in his feet wounds, in his head thorns, and in all his flesh torment. With whom did hee conuerse, but he was angered? whether did he go, but he did suffer? In the manger he endured pouertie, in the desert warre, in Aegipt exile, in the temple resistance, in the way wearinesse, in the garden sweat, & on the crosse death. What wouldest thou that I say more, O my soule, but as he did in the day time preach, and in the night time pray; so in the day time they did gainsay him, and in the night, watch whether he did go. From the houre of his birth vntill the hour of his death, what moment was there, wherin hee did not some good, and what hour, in which he did not merit? And that which he did merit, for whom did he merit, and that which he did suffer, for whom did he suffer it O my soule, but for thee? I doe summon you O my soule, and coniure you O my heart, that seeing you bee the successors of his merits, that you would be the like of his trauels, seeing it is both Gods law and mans lawe, that he who hath the inheritance, should also take the charge which dooth followe it. Who but good Iesus, was in the morning pu­nished, at one of the clocke accused, at three tormented, at six condemned, at nine put to death, in the euening annoynted, at [Page 407] compline buried? What more wilt thou see O my soule, what more wilt thou see? seeing thou seest that the iudge is iudged, the king skorned and mocked, the priest tormented, the innocent condemned, and of all iust men, the most iust put to death: O high mysterie, O diuine sacrament, who, as hee did suffer for friend and foe, so friend and foe did help him to suffer; he suffe­red in the women who did weep for him, in the infidels who did accuse him, in the theefe who did blaspheme him, in the peo­ple who skorned him, in Longinus who pearced him with a speare, and in the sorrowfull mother who lamented for him. Did not (thinke you) the son suffer in the mother, and the mother in the son; seeing that shee is his crosse, and he likewise her crosse? Was not pardie shee his crosse, seeing that she did bath him in tears, and was not hee her crosse, considering that hee did bath her in bloud? Why O my good Iesus, why diddest thou suffer a thrust in thy side, the binding of thy feet, and holes in thy hands, but to giue man a medicine for originall sin, a remedy for mortall sin, and an ease for veniall sin? O infinit loue, O vnspeakeable chari­ty, my God and Lord, seeing that nothing could hinder thee from going vp to the crosse, nor cause thee to come down from the crosse, not the hardnes of thy bed, nor thy bitter drinke, nor thy greeuous torment, nor thy cruell death, nor the loue of thy mother, nor the shame of beeing naked, nor the persuasion of the people, no nor the vngratfulnesse of all the world. O good Iesus, O the loues of my soule, what charitie is that which doth ouercome thee, and what loue doth guide thee, that beeing as­ked wilt not come down from the crosse, to deliuer thy own in­nocent life; and yet on the other side, not being asked at al, doost go vp to the crosse, to make clean my sin? O the brightnesse of the angels, O the glory of the blessed, tell me I pray thee, what demerit diddest thou find in thy most holy life, that thou woul­dest not deliuer him, and what merit diddst thou find in mine, that thou wouldest offer thy selfe for mee? What am I for whom thou doost suffer, but a rash and an vnruly trifle, conceaued in sin, borne with paine, brought vp with griefe, weake to resist vices, and in constant for vertues, and nought before I was borne? I am O good Iesus, I am the Samaritan, which the theeues did leaue [Page 406] [...] [Page 407] [...] [Page 408] halfe a liue by the waies side; a liue in vnderstanding, and dead in will; aliue in body, and dead in soule; aliue in lying, and dead in trueth; aliue in all mischiefe, and dead in all goodnesse; aliue to of­fend thee, and dead to serue thee. Stand on end O my soule, and feare O my heart, and marke with attention, and consider with grauitie, who he is who dooth suffer, for whom he dooth suffer, where hee dooth suffer, and howe he dooth suffer; all which, if thou do narrowly contemplate, thou shalt not only stand on end and be afeard, but also astonied and amazed. He who doth suf­fer is thy God, he for whom hee dooth suffer art thy selfe, that which he doth suffer is death, the place where, is on the crosse, the manner howe, is with most pure loue: the which loue did make him take mans flesh of his own will, and die on the crosse for meere charitie. All haile O precious crosse, I loue thee O ho­ly wood, on which then death did die, when the maker of hea­uen and earth, did lose his life vpon thee. What art thou O holy wood, what art thou O holy crosse, but the key with the which heauen was opened, the hidden treasure in the field, the stan­dard of our Christ, a ginne and trap for the Diuell, the remedy against sin, the confusion of hell, and the price of all the world. What other thing is the crosse on which thou diddest suffer, O my good Iesus, but a hauen to such as are lost, a wall to such as are besieged, a guide vnto all which take in hand any iourney, a gardian of orphants, the defence of the weake, the schole of the wise, the philosophie of those which are innocent, the hangman of vices, and a swarme of vertues. O holy crosse, O bloudy crosse, with the bloud of my God, who but thou doost renew figures which are past, beautifie those which are present, teach those which are to come, seek out thos which are lost, find thos which are sought for, and keepe those which are found. O redeemer of my soule, O the maker of my life, how is it possible, that I should be able to recompence thee, for al which thou hast done for me, although thou hadst done nothing for me but dye on the crosse? Diddest thou not die for me on the crosse, when thy soule went from thence to the father, thy bloud remained vpon the ground, thy body rest in the graue? O the reward of my glory, O the ioy of my soule, tell me I pray thee, why diddest thou bind me vnto [Page 409] two debts, considering that I am not able to pay thee one, that is for thy life which thou diddest loose for me, and eternall glory which thou hast recouered for me? Dost thou not remember O good Iesus, dost thou not remember, that the soule being but one, thou didst giue her me twise, that is, when thou didst creat her in my entrails, and when with thy pretious bloud thou didst redeem her? What can I present vnto thee but only the death which thou sufferedst, & what can I giue thee but the bloud that thou didst shead for me, and what can I offer thee, but only the chari­tie with the which thou didst die for me: all which I doe offer thee vpon my knees, and present vnto thee with many teares, to the end that in the latter day all may be acceptable vnto thee, and vnto this thy seruant profitable. Finally I present and offer vnto thee, O my good Iesus, all this worke, and the author of the same, to the end that if it be profitable vnto thy ser­uants, the glory may redound vnto thee and no other, and if it be not in euery point perfect, supply O my good Iesus, the want.

Trino & vni sit laus.
FINIS.

Errata.

IN the Prologue, the 9 page, line 16. for Priests, reade Christs. page 48. line 34. for seeing, read saying. page 85. line 20. for dentis read dextrae. page 132. line 13. for them, read him. page 139. line 19. for, to that, read, that to. page 176. line 11. for, Angels, read Aegle. page 198. line 38. for, shorter, read longer. page 219. line 7. for, person, read, church. page 270. line 35. for, despise, read deserue. page 297. line 1. for, Seeing, read, saying.

A Table of the Chapters contained in this Booke.

  • HOw the son of God was condemned to die, and how the like iudgment was neuer giuen in the world. 1
  • 2 Howe Pilats seruants, the better to mocke at Christ, did cloth him in a purple garment and of the mysteries which the Church gathereth of that garment. 8
  • 3 How Christ was crowned with thorns, and of diuers sorts of crownes, and of the great misteries which are meant by them. 17
  • 4 How for a mockerie and a ieast, the Iewes did put a reed in Christs right hand: and of the high misteries which are gathe­red thereby. 25
  • 5 Here followeth the same matter and sheweth how they did strike Christ on the head with the reed. 31
  • 6 Of the words with which those of Pilats court did salute Christ, and of many misteries which are contained vnder this Aue, All haile, or, Be thou glad. 35
  • 7 How in Pilats house they bowed their knees before Christ, and how there are knees of the soule as well as of the body. 41
  • 8 How Christ would not goe out of the pallace with the gar­ments which there they cloathed him in, and of the misteries which are contained therein. 47
  • 9 Wherein the authour doth prosecute the same matter, and expoundeth two notable figures to the purpose. 53
  • 10 Here he prosecuteth the figure touched before, and there is also expounded an authoritie of the Apostle in it. 59
  • 11 Of the manner how they did lead Christ to be crucified: vnto which purpose there is a notable figure expounded. 65
  • 12 Here the same matter is prosecuted, and a prophesie of E­saie expounded in a high stile. 73
  • [Page]13 Here are declared the misteries of these two words, [...] ry, and Golgotha, and why the sonne of God would die on a [...] ghill. 79
  • 14 Wherin he followeth the same matter, that is, why Christ would die on the dunghill of Golgotha: and there are two figures expounded to the same purpose. 86
  • 15 Wherein is expounded a figure of Leuiticus, concerning Christ his dying in the mount of Caluary. 89
  • 16 How Christ goeth to the mount of Caluarie, and of the great misteries which happened vnto him on the way. 95
  • 17 Howe the son of God did carrie his crosse vpon his shoul­ders, vntill he did meet with Simon Cireneus; and there is also a figure expounded vnto this purpose. 101
  • 18 How Christ did meet with Simon Cireneus, and gaue him his crosse to carrie on his shoulder, & of the great misteries which are contained in this place. 106
  • 19 Of diuers sorts of following of Christ, and of many disci­ples which Simon Cirenaeus hath, in taking the crosse by force, and bearing it, hired thereunto. 113
  • 20 Why Christ did not carrie his crosse more than halfe the way, & why he gaue it the other halfe to Simon to carrie, and of the great secrets which are contained in this mistery. 118
  • 21 Howe the daughters of Hierusalem went weeping after Christ, and how he had greater compassion on the tears which they did weep, than of the torments which he did suffer. 124
  • 22 Of the great accompt which our Lord made of the tears which the daughters of Hierusalem did shead, and how he doth inuite all men to weepe, and none to laugh. 130
  • 23 Why Christ aid not call the women which followed him, simply women, but daughters of Hierusalem, & in expounding of this, there are discouered many misteries of scripture. 136
  • 24 Why Christ would not answere Herod, beeing vrged of him, and why he did speake to the daughters of Hierusalem, not [...]ng entreated by them, and of many other things notably [Page] [...] this Chapter. 144
  • 25 Why our Lord did weepe for the death of Lazarus, and weepe for the destruction of Ierusalem, and would not that the daughters of Ierusalem should weepe for him, and how all wee­ping doth not suffice, but we must know well how to weep. 150
  • 26 Of many notable expositions of this text, Nolite flere su­per me: and that we may al say with Dauid, Ego sum qui pecca­ui: and that a good death should not be lamented, but a naugh­tie life. 158
  • 27 How Christ did compare himselfe vnto the greene tree, and the synagogue vnto the drie tree, and of a very high tree which Ezechiell maketh mention of, whose figure is declared at large. 165
  • 28 In this Chapter he followeth the figure, which he spake off before in the Chapter going before: with other curious matters, taken out of the holy scripture. 172
  • 29 How Christ came vnto the mount of Caluary, and howe there they did put off his apparell: with other pittifull considera­tions to that purpose. 180
  • 30 Of the mistery why the sonne of God would die naked on the crosse, and howe there be more which would serue the world cloathed, then follow Christ naked. 186
  • 31 Of the houre when they began to crucifie Christ, and how that first of all he offered his heart to be deuided on the crosse, & his leaft hand to be nailed. 194
  • 32 How they naile Christ his right hand, and how in Sala­mons house, there was no hammer heard, and that the flesh of the sonne of God was all knocked with hammers. 202
  • 33 How the crosse and Christ crucified were lift vp, & when Christ his feet were nailed, the hammer did strike no lesse in the heart of the mother, then in the flesh of the sonne. 207
  • 34 How that vpon one of Christ his garments, they did cast lots, and the other they did cut in peeces, and how heretikes [...] rent in peeces the coat without seam, which the tormento [...] [...] [Page] not meddle with.
  • 35 Howe the torturers did cast lots vpon Christ his coat, which was without seame, and of a figure of Ioseph expounded to this purpose. 220
  • 36 Of diuers sorts of people that mocked at Christ on the crosse, and of diuers iniuries which they did vnto him, and howe the Iewes wagging of their heads at him, was a token of the fall of their sinagogue. 227
  • 37 How the son of God did crucifie with himselfe all our in­iuries and faults, and that by his dishonour and discredit, our credit did begin. 234
  • 38 How the sun lost his light at the death of Christ, & of the great compassion which he had to see his maker die: & how the synagogue began in darknes and ended in darknes. 242
  • 39 Of many and sundrie sorts of death, and that the death of Christ was the most glorious of them all. 250
  • 40 How the son of God did die vpon the crosse, praying and weeping, teaching vs by that example, how we should behaue our selues in the last houre. 257
  • 41 How Christ died, his head bowed downe, and the myste­ries therin contained. 263
  • 42 How the son of God did yeeld vp his ghost on the crosse, at nine of the clocke. 271
  • 43 Howe the vaile of the temple did rent in two when Christ gaue vp the ghost, and how that that breaking of the vaile was the first miracle that Christ did, after his death. 278
  • 44 Howe that in the death of the son of God, the stones did cleaue in sunder, and the mountains did open, and of many high misteries which these openings did signifie. 286
  • 45 Howe that by the death of the son of God many holy men did rise, and why Christ did compare hipocrits to white sepul­chers. 294
  • 46 Howe the Centurion did confesse Christ to be God, and of [...] difference betwixt his confession and S. Peters, and how he [Page] [...] die a glorious martir. 300
  • 47 Why the scripture doth call the death of Christ a specta­cle, and how there are many which with the Iews doe strike their breasts, and very few which make cleane their sins. 308
  • 48 How Pilat did command those which were crucified, to be taken downe from the crosse, and how the Iewes haue many fellows now adaies, which breake the legs of their brethren. 310
  • 49 How Christ did suffer that his flesh should be torne in peeces, but not that his bones should be touched. 324
  • 50 Of the blow with the speare, and of the misteries thereof, and how it seemeth rather a key which did open, then a thrust with a speare which did wound. 330
  • 51 How that at the foot of the crosse, they did deuide Christ his garments with kniues, and on the top of the crosse, his heart with the blowes of spears. 338
  • 52 The misteries of the speare are ended, and of the great ingratitude of ours, for the shedding of his bloud. 344
  • 53 How Ioseph of Aramathia did ask Pilat for Christ his bodie, and of the circumstances of asking it. 352
  • 54 Howe that when the virgin stood weeping vpon the mount of Caluary, because she wanted things necessarie for to burie her son, our Lord did ordaine that Ioseph should take the charge vpon him. 360
  • 55 How Ioseph and Nichodemus did carrie ladders with them to goe vp to the crosse, and ointments to annoint his body, and went directly to the mount of Caluarie. 367
  • 56 How our Lord was takē down from the crosse, & put in lap of the sad mother, & of the tears which were shed ouer him. 375
  • 57 How that the funerals which Ioseph made his father Iacob, were a figure of those which Ioseph of Aramathia should make our redeemer. 381
  • 58 Of the great care which they had in times past to burie the dead, and why the sonne of God did not command [...] [...] die to be buried.
FINIS.

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