THE MYSTERIES OF MOVNT CALVARY▪ MADE BY THE REVER●… father in God, lord anthony de Gueuara▪ Bishop of Mondonnedo, preacher and Chronicler, unto Charles the fift, Emperour. IN THIS book THE AVTHOVR HANDLETH ALL THE MYSTERIES, OF THE MOVNT of calvary, from the time that Christ was condemned by Pilat, until he was put into the sepulchre, by joseph and Nichodemus.  
LONDON Printed by Adam Islip, for Edward W●… 〈◇〉 are to be sold at the little North door of P●… at the sign of the gun. 1594.   

THE prologue TO THE FIRST PART OF THE book, entitled the Mount of calvary. Compiled by the reverend Father, lord antony de Gueuara, bishop of Mondonneda, preacher, and chronicler unto the emperour Charles the fift.  

SVme tibi aromata, aequalis ponderis, & cum in tenuissimum puluerum contunderis, pones ex eo, in tabernaculo foederis. Said God unto Moses, in the 30 chapter of Exod. As if he should say; Now Moses, thou dost know that I haue made thee a tabernacle where thou mayst pray, and haue given thee priests with whom thou mayst pray, & appointed thee sacrifices which thou shalt offer up unto me. Now I will teach thee how thou shalt offer up incense unto me, and with what. Thou shalt take therefore, sweet and odiferous spices; as balm, Onicha, Galbanum, and pure Frankincense, and of each of them, the like quantity and weight, and cast them all into a mortar, and pound them very small, even into dust; and then cast them on the coals in a golden censor, because that all the tabernacle may smell sweet with it. Without all doubt this is a wonderful figure: but yet the accomplishment of it more wonderful; seeing that we are taught thereby what we shall offer unto our Lord, and with what we shall please him, and also with what we shall pacify him. It seemeth by these words, that our Lord will exclude all offering of unclean and vnsauoury things, to the end that all such things should not be offered in the sanctuary: and thereupon it is, that our Lord did no less forbid us to pollute his temple with unclean things, than violate it with mans blood. Agreeing unto this, the Lord in the old law, did forbid him to be a priest in his temple, who had an uncomely nose, bleard & dropping eyes, a crooke back, club feet, lame hands, a skabby body, or were otherwise deformed and misshapen of any member. The meaning of the giver of the law was, that all which they should offer unto him, should be clean, 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 observed in the old law, it should also be kept in the new: it would seem a very ridiculous thing, & a mosaical ceremony, because there are many priests in the church of God this day, the which although they be peradventure 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 strait or crooked, beautiful or not, because that the sacrifices which we offer up unto 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 truth; that which unto them was the letter, is unto us the spirit; that which they did dream 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 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 odiferous savours 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 grieve at the bad? It is to be believed, that when the giver of the law did ordain these things, and when the holy Ghost did writ them, that he did level at higher matters, & pretend profounder mysteries than those which the mosaical law did sound, because the true account which God doth make of balm and Frankincense, is nothing else but the acceptance of a pure and clean heart. coming then unto the ministry, it is to be noted, that with many & sundry conditions, God did command in his law that they should offer unto him those sweet and odiferous spices; whereof, if there did want any one condition, al which they did offer was nothing worth. The law did thē command, that those spices should be of a sweet savour, very clean and precious, & not such as the priest would, But such as the law did appoint: that is to say, balm, Onicha, Galbanum, and Frankincense: and that of these none should be wanting, nor any added unto them. God did likewise command in the law, that they should all be measured and weighed 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 aromatical spices should be pounded very small, and sifted: and then by the hands of the Apothicary, moulded and wrought. Insomuch, that if by the hand of the Priest they were to be offered, by the hands of the Apothicary, they should be compounded. The Lord did promise, & give his credit and word unto all such as did offer this high kind of oblation, and bestow their money vpon it, to hear them presently in the tabernacle, and yield unto their petitions. What is the holy tabernacle, where God did command those spices to be offered: but our God made man, the son of the living God? This is the high hill from whence we look; this is the Tower whither we withdraw ourselves; the Temple where we be baptized; the Tabernacle where we do save ourselves, and the Sanctuary where we do reform ourselves. What is the altar of incorruptible wood vpon which that holy incense was offered, but only the cross, 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 cross, O my God, shall never haue an end. There is great reckoning to be made of the dry three, on which Christ suffered; but far greater of his tender members, with which he did suffer, considering that with the torments of them we were redeemed, & with the love of Christ pardonned. What were the aromatical and sweet spices, which were offered by the Priest vpon the altar of the tabernacle; but the most high works, which on the mount of calvary, were done by the son of God? Without all comparison, the works which the son of God did in the mount of calvary, were far greater than those which his father did in the captivity of egypt, because that there he did kill other mens children, but here he did kill his own proper son, whose life he did not pardon, because he would pardon our faults. O love never heard of before! O infinite charity! Who did ever hear or see, that for to pardon the seruant, thou shouldst put to death, the son? What clemency did overcome thee? what charity did bind thee? that freely without any interest of thine, thou shouldst lay the punishment vpon thyself, to vnload me of the fault? Adam did cast the fault vpon eve, and eve vpon the Serpent, and the Serpent did cast it vpon all mankind. And thou, O good Iesus, dost thou excuse me, who am culpable, and blame thyself being innocent; and I having committed the theft, dost thou yield to be punished? In a far other maner and means thou didst deliver me from the power of the divell, than Moses did the Iewes out of the captivity of egypt, because that there the bloody waters did stink, and the flies which fell, the putrefied frogs, the first born children which were slain, and the dead cattle. But on the mount of calvary, what is there that did stink, or what did not smell very sweetly? The tears which he dropped, the sighs which he gave, the blood which he  shed, the side which he opened, the body which suffered, and the love with which he suffered, were the true spices which God did work, and the high balm, which the eternal father did perfume with. Before that the son of God did suffer on the mount of calvary, it was a dreadful place to behold, stinking to dwell in: but after that his sacred members were nailed on the cross, like unto precious ointments, and sweet savours, he did take away the stink of all sins, which do savour worse than all the dead bodies. What other things are those four sweet perfumes, with the which God did command the holy sanctuary to be perfumed withall; but the will with which the son of God did suffer, the cruel death which he did suffer, the great patience which he had, and the infinite great charity which did move him? I confess that the martyrs did die of their own will, but they will not deny me, but they died of necessity, only the son of God was he who died without necessity, and voluntarily. Vpon those words desiderio desideraui, S. Barnard saith, a good Iesus, O the loved of my soul, who among mortal men, doth so much desire to make his life perpetual, as thou didst desire to loose thine for mine? What pleasure and ioy wilt thou take above 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 Galbanum which they should offer unto him, should be so justly weighed, that they should put no more of the one than of the other, thereby to let us understand that the son of God did equally, and indifferently  shed his blood, for the small, and for the great; for the poor, and for the rich; for the dead, and for the living. Origen vpon the Canticles, saith; That oftentimes our Lord doth bestow his favours and graces more or less, when he pleaseth, and how he pleaseth, and unto whom he pleaseth: but in that which toucheth the general redemption, he made all men equal, seeing he died no more for one than for another. Anselmus in an Epistle saith; What do I care my brother, that thou art stronger than I, more noble in blood, more beautiful in body, and more renowned in dignity, seeing we are by one God created, by one Christ redeemed, and by one holy Ghost governed? What doth it mean, that there should be as much Frankincense as Galbanum, and as much Galbanum as Frankincense; but that Christ did  shed as much blood for the labouring man, which cutteth stubble, as for the Prince who sitteth in his thron●…▪ chrysostom saith, When the son of God did impart his precious blood, he did better it vpon no man, hindered no man, nor deprived 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 gave it, but of his who did not well employ it.  
What meaneth it, that all these sweet spices should not be offered up in the holy temple, until they were pounded in a mortar, and sifted through a siue: but that the mysteries of the passion of Christ, should be preached out with diligence, deeply considered and chewed with meditation; weighed with charity, and wrought with many tears? Origen vpon this place saith, That if Storax and other sweet spices, be not broken, pounded, and cast into the fire, they give no smell at all: In like manner, if the most high mysteries, and profound sacraments of the passion of the son of God, be not well chewed and weighed, little profit and less consolation is reaped by them.  
The son of God having as he hath, his flesh so torn, his blood so  shed abroad, his bones so out of joint, his sinews so wrested, his hair so cast about, and his friends so scattered; how wouldst thou taste and contemplat such high mysteries all at once: very well ground and broken, and also very well sifted in the brazen mortar 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 occupy much time, and receive small pleasure. Vnground doth he offer up incense, who in hast thinketh on the passion of Christ, and he small & sifted doth offer up 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 tears from thy eyes, seeing that he did  shed blood for thee from his veins? S. Barnard saith, The son of God did not suffer himself 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 martyrdom was very long and grievous: insomuch that as the love 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 leave bone, nor sinew, nor flesh, nor member in all his body, in which he was not tormented, it is reason that thou leave no mystery, nor sentence of his passion, on which thou dost not occupy thy understanding, because that he did much more for thee, in suffering it, than thou for him in contemplating on it. Seeing that the son of God hath been so prodigal and stout, in shedding his own blood for thee, why shouldst thou be so sparing in thinking so much as one hour in the day on his passion? Do not vaunt thyself 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 fervour to think on it, it is not to be believed that thou wilt haue the heart to die for it. For seeing thou dost not serve 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 mystery of the two weights 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 weighed with the weight of my sanctuary. Such as will curiously look into the book of Leuiticus, shall find in it, that the people of the jews, had two kinds of weights; whereof the one was called statera, a balance or weight, which was the common weight, wherewith all things of the common-wealth were weighed: the other siclum, a sickle, that is a holy weight: and with this they did weigh every thing which was offered up in the temple. Like unto a man who would keep an order in his house. When God did ordain his commonweal, he commanded that there should be a weight and a measure in it: that is, a weight to measure and weigh all profane things; and a weight to weigh all holy and divine things. The sweet perfumes which were weighed in the temple, were of equal weight, in figure of the equal love and charity, which were in all priests works, because the love & charity, with which he did work thē was as entire in him, as when he did preach in the temple, & when he did suffer on the three of the 〈◇〉▪ Augustine saith, In thee and in me are of greater a●… ●… r value and weight, the perfumes of our works, because that sometimes we do them with devotion, and at other times with coldness: but in the son of God it is not so, but his love and charity was ardent to redeem us, that neither the time did increase it in him, nor travell and trouble make it could. What doth it mean, that of two weights which the synagogue had, the one of them was a holy weight, and the other profane; but that in the one they should weigh the works of his son: and in the other all the works of all the world 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 heaven, so great, but God can create another, which in life may with him be equal, and also go beyond him. The heir of eternities, doth not enter into this account, nor doth not fight under this banner: he is not weighed where we are weighed, nor is not measured as we are measured, because it would be a far easier matter, to measure what the mountains do weigh, than measure that, that his merits do reach unto. How is it possible that he should be weighed, who all things doth weigh? How is it possible to find a measure for him, who doth measure all things with his wisdom? above in the resting place of the trinity, and in the depth of the divinity, the son of the living God, hath his measure and weight, because the merites of him are so high, and the dolours which he suffered for us, so grievous; that there are no dolours of martyrs to compare with him, nor holinesse of Angels to measure him; which doth it not seem unto thee, that the son of God hath in measure and waig●… by himself, seeing that he did merit more, eating in the wedding, and with Zaccheus, than the great S. John Baptist, fasting in the wilderness? Being granted that the works which the son of God did, as man, had limits and an end: the charity with which he did them, had no end. And thereupon it is, that if unto that which he did suffer, there was found a weight, to the love, with which he did suffer, there was no measure. Thou mightest well O my Iesus, measure and weigh the blood, which in the mount of calvary thou didst  shed: but who can be able to measure and weigh the love, with the which thou didst  shed it? Although thy blood should be weighed by pounds and ounces, who should be able to find weights to weigh thy bowels?  
In the weight of the sanctuary nothing was waig●… but that which was of the sanctuary, and so in th●… ●…lance and weight of Christ, nothing is weighed b●… works of Christ: for if you would weigh any 〈◇〉 thing in him, all the holinesse of the angels, and a●… torments of the martyrs would not weigh so much 〈◇〉 one drop of the blood which he  shed. Seeing then, t●… we cannot weigh ourselves in the balance of Christ, he came to weigh himself in ours, where in one balance we did put our fault, and in the other he did put his pain, the which before the father was of such great weight, that it was sufficient to satisfy for our offence●▪ Who could satisfy for our fault, if he should not lend us his pain and punishment, to pay with it our debt?   

Whereof the ruler was, with which God did command, to measure, and level jerusalem.  
PErpendiculum extendetur supper jerusalem, 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 jerusalem, be measured with a cord, and be leveled with a level. These words of our Lord are of very great fear unto the wicked, and of great advertisement unto the good, seeing that in public place, and with an open cry, God did command it to be cried: that he will sit down in count with all, and that he will measure all men, to wet, with the level of his life, and with the line of his iustice. If thou be troubled, & tremble when they ask thee an account of thy expenses, what shall become of thee, when they shall ask it of thy soul? If thou yield up an evil account unto thy Lord, of the money which thou hast spent: what wilt thou do unto 〈◇〉 Lord, of the benefits received? O good Iesus; O ●… ue of my soul: what will it be of me, and what 〈◇〉 do before thee, when the life which I led, shalbe ●… ed and proved with the book of thy iustice: 〈◇〉 is it possible that he should give a good account, 〈◇〉 neither with his soul, nor with God hath no ●… mpt? It is reason that we know what is the cord, with which we shalbe measured, and what the level with which we shalbe leveled: because that thereby we shal see how our Lord doth us no injury in asking us an account of that which we haue received. The level and the line, with which all the world shalbe leveled and measured, is the cross; and he who is ruled & leveled, is Iesus Christ; because that he alone and none with him, can know whether we go the way of salvation, or the path of perdition. even as the line is cast, to the end that the building may go strait; and also the level is put, because the wall should not be vneuen, so God will that we direct all our works to him, and work them by him. That goeth not by line, which is not done for him; nor that by level, which is not done for his service; by reason whereof, when our Lord doth afterward come to measure and level the manner of our life with the level of his iustice, as he findeth our building vnleuelled, he throweth it all to the ground. S. Augustine de verbis Domini, saith: The thing which doth most of all deceive mortal men is, that to give an excuse to their errors, they will not measure themselves with men which are good, but with others which are nought like themselves: Insomuch that they are contented with being less evil than others: not caring at al to be good. One proud man doth measure himself with another proud man: one covetous man with another: one angry man with another, and one glutton with another: and this measure which he maketh, is not to the end to amend himself of his errors, but to condemn the other for a greater sinner than himself. 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 thyself which art a lesser sinner, unto another who is a greater sinner: by this thou dost not excuse thyself from sin, nor deliver thyself from hell, because it is an infallible rule, that God will never forget to reward the good, nor never omit to punish the bad. When God did say in the authority above name, Perpendiculum extendetur supper jerusalem, what other thing would he there say, but that he and none other should give the line, with the which all should be measured; and also the rule, with which all should be leveled? Seeing that he would create us, and he would redeem us: it is reason that he and none other, should measure and rule vs. It is likewise to be weighed, that God did not say unto jerusalem that she should choose the line, with the which she should be measured, but that he the Lord himself would sand it: to give us thereby to understand ●… at of all the thoughts which we conceive, and of al the works which we do, onely God is the looker on, who most approveth them, and the true Lord who will pay them. This word perpendiculum extendetur, is also to be weighed, where God doth not tell jerusalem, that he will sand a line out of hand, but in process of time; giuing us by that prophesy to understand, that there was never any even or right level in the world, until God did sand his precious son into the world. To think and know that the synagogue had no right line or unveil: what greater testimony can we seek, 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 level, seeing that there it was permitted, to marry the brothers wife, take usury of a stranger, give a bill of divorce to his own wife, mark how orderly divine matters do proceed, and the eternal measures, in that that the people did measure the cross, the cross did measure Christ, Christ did measure the gospel, the gospel doth rule and measure all the world: insomuch that he did first measure himself, before he did measure me. When was this prophesy of perpendiculum fulfilled vpon jerusalem: but when the humanity of the word was on the cross, not onely stretched out, but also torn asunder? O glorious measure! O happy level! such as thou art, Christ my redeemer; seeing that with such a rule and measure as thine is, the saints do suffer themselves to be ruled and measured, and the heavenly Angels are glad to be leveled. 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 words, but that all those whom God had predestinated, he did predestinat and choose them, that they might be like to the image of his son? What other thing is his perfect & divine image, but his perfect and his holy life? He is like unto the image of his son who doth fulfil and keep his holy gospel; because it was not the intention of the Apostle that we should imitate Christ, in the image and likeness of his essence, but in the pureness and perfection of his life. Of this pattern we should draw all our labours, by this image we should point our souls, with this level we should level our works, and with this line we should measure our steps: for otherwise like unto an vnleuelled building, he will throw all our travels on the ground. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, what will my life seem before thy life, when it shalbe compared with thine. O how filthy my cleannesse shall appear, how angry my meekness, how proud my humility, how ambitious my poverty, how weak my strength, yea and how merciless my mercy. O how ridiculous my tears will seem, how feigned my grief, how cruel my pity, how niggish my liberality, how gluttonous my abstinence, how injust my iustice, how false all my peace, and how without virginity all my chastity. O how could my prayer will seem, how archbishopric my devotion, how testy my patience, how unperfect my obedience, how inconstant my perseverance, how spotted my conscience, and also without fruit all my life. Let it not seem a hard matter unto any man, that our life should be leveled and ruled with the giver of life; Seeing that our glory shalbe made like unto his glory, not because we should make ourselves equal unto him, but because in glory we may find ourselves with him. This being presupposed to be true, as true it is, who shall more enjoy Christ in glory than he who here was most conformable unto his life. He who with this holy line and level, is not leveled here on earth, shall haue no glory above with Christ in heaven: for as he was not like unto him in his maner of living, so neither shall he be like unto him in his maner of reigning.   

How the son of God did more for us, than for himself.  
FEcisti judicium meum, & causam meā sedens supper thropum, qui iudicas justitiam, saith king david in the 9 Psal. as if he would say. Thou O my great God of Israel art he, who being set in thy royal seat, hast judged iustice, hast made my iustice, and ended my cause. Many secrets, and many high Sacramentes, the good prophet doth touch in this prophesy▪ 〈◇〉 therfore it is requisite, that as the words are deep, so they be deeply expounded. In this prophesy it is to be noted, who he is who doth judge, & this is God; what the place is where he doth judge, and this is a throne, in what maner he doth judge, & he saith fitting; and what it is that he doth judge, and he saith iustice; and of what he doth give iudgment, and he saith, that of my proper cause. What prince this day of the world, hath wrought such high things, being on foot or on horseback, as thou O my good Iesus, being set in thy throne? who hath ever attained so great a victory fighting, as thou hast done suffering? What is the throne where thou wast sitting, but the holy and true cross where thou wast crucified? O glorious throne, O happy throne, on which thou wast accompanied with theeues, crwoned with thorns, empty of blood, thy pores open, thy sinews stretched, poor of friends, and compassed with enemies.  
Seeing then, that in this throne he was judged and sentenced by Pilat the viceroy, how doth the prophet say, that from thence he judged 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 cross, the son of God did judge him who judged, who was the divell: judged that which did judge, which was the world: judged of that which did judge, which was sin: did judge that with the which he did judge, which was tyranny; insomuch that Pilat, executing iustice vpon him, he did also 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 cross, thou hadst there no cause to go up, no business there to negotiat, unless it were there for me to die, and for my sins there to pay. With great reason they are accustomend to behead homicides, ston runagates, and hang theeues, and crucify 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 calvary, thou didst well know that thou hadst nothing to do, seeing that there, there were no blind men to give sight unto, no lame men to heal, no divels to cast out, nor temples to preach in: whereof we may infer, that if thou didst go to the mount of calvary, thou didst go for thy friends business. When didst thou make judicium meum; but when to deliver me from eternal iudgement, thou didst suffer thyself to be judged and condemned by Pilat the tyrant? when O good Iesus, when didst thou pled my cause, but when thou didst suffer such a great torment and pain, as though thou thyself hadst committed the fault? when didst thou judge iustice, but when thou didst take away from the devil his forces, because he should be no longer judge of my offences? Fecisti causam meam, when of an ignorant man, thou didst make me wise: of a slave, a free-man: of a stranger, a neighbour: of a condemned man, a quit: of gentle, a Christian, and of an enemy, a son. Then didst thou take my cause in hand, when in prejudice of thy person, thou didst intend nothing but the saving of my soul, I say again in the prejudice of thy person, because that the more thou dids● in me, the more thou didst undo thee: didst not tho● undo and prejudice thyself, and benefit me, when of God thou didst become man, of invisible, visible: of impassable, passable: of immortal, mortal: of eternal, temporal, and of the Lord of Angels a reproach of men? O how thou didst pled my cause, seeing that to lift up me, thou didst pull down thee, to give unto me honour, thou didst take to thee infamy, and to deliver me, thou didst suffer thyself to be taken; and also to excuse me, didst permit thyself to be condemned: insomuch that thou didst pled my cause to thy own great prejudice: fecisti causam meam on the cross, where like an advocate thou didst pray for me, where like a judge thou didst pardon me, where like a kinsman thou didst pay for me, where like a brother thou didst answer for me, where like a friend thou didst die for me, and also where like a father thou didst weep for me. Fecisti causam meam, in the royal throne of thy cross, when thou didst hear me and the divell, the divell 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 myself, did lay down thy blood, and in the end thou didst make my cause, seeing thou didst expulse him, and admit me. Thou didst pled my cause; with the father, seeing thou didst obtain pardon of him. Fecisti causam meam with the Angels: seeing thou didst give 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 divell, seeing that out of his hands thou didst deliver me: and also fecisti causam meam, with sins: seeing thou didst forgive me them: fecisti causam meam, not having reason or cause to do it, seeing thou didst create me to thy image, redeem me with thy blood, due me with thy merits, cure me with thy dolours, lighten me with thy doctrine, draw me to thy elect, & reform me with thy sacraments, didst not happily forward my cause, and forget thine own, seeing that from the first moment in which thou wast born, until the last instant, in which thou didst die, thou didst never go step which was to thine ease: nor never work any heroical fact, which was not to my profit. O the light of my eyes, O the rest of my soul, vpon my knees I beseech thee, and with tears I ask thee, that thou wouldest lighten my understanding, make clean my heart, guide my tongue, direct my pen, to the end, that as thou, fecisti causam meam, dying for me, so I may likewise pled 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 extol the perils which thou didst see thyself in, the dolours which thou didst suffer, the swears which thou didst pass, the tears which thou didst weep, the blood which thou didst  shed, the infamy which thou didst endure, the death which thou didst end with: If thou do not reform and help my memory, make clean my entrails, amend my customs, and guide my fingers? O eternal father, O great and infinite goodness, seeing that the Carpenters of moses, durst not labour in the mosaical tabernacle, not being first filled with the holy Ghost, how shall I dare, without thy holy love put my hand in the passion of thy son? If Moses dare not come near the thorns, but without hose, how shall I dare, without thy holy love put my hand in the passion of thy son, unless I haue my heart clean? create then O God a clean heart in me, and renew a right spirit in my bowels: for then I shalbe able to extol the blood which thou didst  shed out of thy veins, when thou shalt 〈…〉 ●… one the spots of my bowels. O thou who wh●… 〈◇〉 burn with a burning iron Esaias tongue, to p●… ●… unto the people: will it not please thee to know th●… ●… y hurt, to contemplat in the passion of thy son? works so heroical as those which thou hast done, O my good Iesus; a death so strange as this which thou didst suffer; a love so excessive as this which thou didst love us with; a redemption so perfect as this which thou didst end: what heart is able to think, what tongue sufficient to rehearse, what hands worthy perfectly to writ? Consider O my good Iesus, and mark that in giuing me light in this which I writ, both of us do gain; and if thou wilt not guide me, both loose: for if the work do fall out a right, thine is all the glory; if it err, mine is all the fault; insomuch that in that case, the readers would leave off to praise in thee the grace which thou hadst given me, and would blame in me, the error which I had committed. Seeing thou didst give thy favour, and grace to Moses, going in the palace: to david keeping sheep: to S. Paul going on the way, and to S. Peter going a fishing, and to S. matthew being in the custom house. Why wilt not thou likewise give it unto me, who do so hearty demand it, and with so many tears crave it? If I do ask for it, it is to the end with it to serve thee; and if I desire it, it is to hit a right in this work, because thou dost know, O my good Iesus, that if I haue any small devotion, it is in thy blessed and holy passion. Before thy presence, O good Iesus I appear, and before thy goodness I present myself; and to thy omnipotency I commend myself, and also to thy great clemency, I offer all that which I shall writ, and speak of thee in this book, because no man in truth can utter high things of thee, nor yet think of thee, but being in thee, or near unto thee. Let the conclusion of all be, that if thou, O good Iesus, labia me aperies, I am very ceraine, quod as meum annunciabit laudem tnam: and to the end I may reach unto this, prostrate on the ground, and my eyes bathed in tears, I say, Deus in adiutorium meum intend, Lord make hast to help me: for if thou do give me thy grace, neither shall I omit to go aright in this so high a work, nor to attain afterward thy eternal glory.    

HERE BEGINNETH THE book, CALLED THE Mount of calvary, wherein is contained the unspeakable mysteries, which the son of God wrought vpon that holy Mount, when as he did there suffer death for all mankind.  

CHAP. I. How the son of God was condemned to die, and how the like iudgement was never given in the world.  
jesum autem tradidit voluntati eorum; saith S. Luke, chap. 22. speaking of the sentence which Pilate gave against Christ: and it is as if he would say; Seeing that Pilate the judge could not obtain of the Iewes, that which he requested, he aagreed unto them, and condescended unto all that which they demanded: and thereupon he did not onely condemn the son of God to die: but also that they should reuenge themselves on him according unto their own will and pleasure. S. Cirillus vpon S. John, saith that Pilat the kings deputy did not expressly command that they should crucify Christ, or that they should hang him, or behead him, or throw him into a Well: but he did onely deliver him to their will, to the end that they should do with him what they would, and reuenge themselves on him as much as they could Damascen in a sermon saith, That because Pilat did deliver Christ, voluntati eorum, unto their will: the Iewes gave him that death which they themselves would, and also injuried him in all that they could. Origen vpon S. matthew, saith thus, It is tolerable that accusers deliver an offender unto the judge, but that the judge should put the malefactor in the hands of his enemies, is not to be suffered: because that iustice is so to be executed vpon the wicked, that there appear no token of reuenge in it. When Pilat the tyrant delivered Christ unto their will, he did pervert all order of upright iustice in Christ: because that no man ought to be judged by that which is spoken of him, but by that which is proved against him; and yet without any inquiry made against him, and not giuing him the hearing according to the ordinary 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 evangelist could not more lively haue set forth Pilats naughtiness, than to say of him, Quod adiudicauit fieri intentionem eorum; and that he delivered Christ unto their will: By which wicked words, he yielded unto their demand, and gave them all which they desired. What else desired they, but to put him to death, and what death did they give him, but crucify him? O wicked Pilat, saith S. Chrysostome, O traitorous Pilat, seeing thou dost confess with thy own mouth, That the son of God was apprehended and taken through envy, and is now accused through malice: Tell me I pray thee, why dost thou suffer envy, to reuenge vpon innocency; and permit that iustice be suppressed by malice? Cyprian vpon the passion of our Lord, saith; That when wicked Pilat did deluer Christ unto their will, the Iewes were so execrably wicked, and their wils so corrupted, that if Christ had had a thousand lives, a thousand they would ben glad to haue taken from him; & if they could haue separated and vnioyned one member from another in him, piece by piece, they would never haue slain him in so short a space: insomuch that Christes life was long ended before their malice. Basil vpon the psalms saith, That because unjust Pilat did deliver Christ voluntati eorum: the Iewes were bold so many ways to torment him, and with so many injuries to dishonour him: to wet, that going in the streets, with their feet they spurned him, with their knees they thrusted him forward, with their hands they wearied him, with their fingers they pulled him by the hair, with their elbows they thumped him, with their tongues they blasphemed him, with their spears they pricked him; & because they had licence of Pilat to do by Christ what they listed, what did they leave undone that they could do? Remigius saith in a sermon, At what time Pilat did deliver Christ unto their will, the jews might freely not haue crucified him, but haue loosed him, or given him some other kind of death: but because the son of God had made choice to die vpon the altar of the cross, the judge could not but command it, nor they but execute it: O good Iesus, O my souls love, I appeal from Pilats sentence as much as I ought. For if the iudgement had been upright & just, there should not haue been commandement given, to deliver thee unto the Iewes, but the Iewes unto thee: seeing they 〈◇〉 into such a grievous offence for no other reason, but because they would not remain under thy mighty 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 used greater benignity towards thē, than they did towards thee: for in the end how much they were inclined to kill thee, so much wast thou desirous to pardon them. Neither will I that Pilat command thee to do my will, but warn me to do thy will. For if he diliuer thee unto me, I know not what to do with thee: but if they deliver me unto thee, thou knowest right well how to dispose of me, seeing that it is well known unto all men, that for to put my soul in safety, thou didst suffer thine own life to be taken from thee. It is more wholesome counsel for us to put ourselves into the hands of God, than that God should commit himself into our hands: because it is not to be thought, that he will take away life from those who live, who is accustomend to raise the dead to life.  
Gregory in his pastoral faith, That when God doth put himself into mans government, and always follow his appetite, it is a sign that that man is foreknown, and already condemned unto hell: because that he who is beloved of God, and predestinated unto glory, in all enticements of the world is directed by him, and suffereth him not to follow any one appetite at all. Woe be unto that king, saith Simon de Cassia, woe be unto that judge, and woe be unto the president that filleth his iudgement with iniquity, and doth not answer truth; because that in criminal cases, that is not to be done which the accusers desire, but that which the laws command.  
It is here greatly to be weighed, why the holy scripture said, that Pilat the kings deputy delivered Christ unto them, to the end that they should do with him according unto their will, and not according unto their wils; seeing that where there is a multitude of people, there is variety of opinions. unto this we answer and say, that it is a property of the wicked in matters touching virtue to disagree the one from the other: but in matters of sin 〈◇〉 wickenesse, they are always of one opinion. Which priui●… of theirs was kept in the death of Christ, where all the fews agreed to take away life from the son of God. They agreed al to put him to death, they agreed al in crying crucify, crucify him, they agreed all, when they said; Let us not loose him, but Barrabas; they were also of one mind, when they said; Fie, thou who dost 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 very well, when it saith, He delivered him unto their will, and not unto their wils; for Pilat being excepted, who said I find no cause in him; and his wife who said, nothing to thee and this just man; and the thief who said, This man hath done no evil thing: we red of none that turned to do Christ good, or made any resistance at all in his death. What meaneth this Pilat, what meaneth this? dost thou deliver Christ and his life to such a perverse nation, and perfidious people, and of such a damnable will as the jews haue? canst not thou suffer their cries which sound in thy ears, and wilt thou that he suffer the whippings which open his shoulders? Is there any iustice which doth command, or any law which doth ordain, that for to avoid their tongues, thou shouldst deliver him into their hands? If thou didst so much fear their tongues, it had been reason, that thou shouldst haue declared the causes why thou didst condemn him: for in so doing, thou shouldst haue found without all doubt, that the Iewes did accuse him through malice, thou didst condemn him for fear, and he did die for love. O my good Iesus, and my souls delight, who should be able to take thy life from thee, if it were not for thine infinite charity? Thy unspeakable charity doth give sentence on thee, thy goodness doth dissemble it, thy humility doth consent that it should be done, thy divinity doth approve it, thy heart doth embrace it, thy flesh doth feel it, my necessity doth spread it abroad, and my onely fa●… doth cause it. O thou giver of life, O killer of death, who dare condemn thee to die? O my codemned Ies●…▪ am not I happily he, who doth accuse thee, am not I he who doth condemn thee? If then I be he who is in fault, art thou he who is condemned? O the life of my life, why dost thou not cause my life to end with thine, seeing that this day thine doth end for me?  
It doth well appear( saith S. Barnard) O good Iesus, it doth well appear, that I do not live in thee, seeing that thou didst die without me: for if I did not live with thee by grace, my life would also end this day with thee. Rabanus saith, That Naboth was judged, because he would not give his vineyard unto king ahab; Susanna, because she would not yield to the lasciviousness of the old men of Babilonia; but Christ was judged to die, because the Priests did bear him great envy: insomuch that now adays, envy, lechery, and covetousness, do hinder the execution of iustice. S. jerome vpon the Prophet Naum saith thus, That a man to be a naughty judge, 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 judge gift, it is very necessary, that neither entreaty bow him, nor tears make him gentle, nor gifts corrupt him, nor threatenings fear him, nor anger overcome him, not hatred move him, nor affection deceive him.  
When the jews said unto Pilat, We haue no king but Caesar, it had been better for them( as Origen saith) to haue cut out their tongues, than to haue uttered such wicked words: because that from that very hour and moment, they departed from the God of judea; and made themselves vassals unto Caesar of Rome: insomuch that they lost the liberty which they had, and fell into servitude which they abhorred. Saint Augustine, vpon Saint John, saith thus; With whom are ye better contentented, O ye Iewes, with the God which governeth judea, or with the emperour which ruleth Rome? do ye not know, that the God of judea gave you liberty, that you should haue captaines which you should follow, Priestes which you should beleeue, laws which you should observe, temples where you should adore, scriptures wherewith you should comfort yourselves, and countries where you should remain? And do you not know that Caesar, whom you aclowledge now for your Lord and king, hath made you captives, murdered your children, thrown down your walls, burnt your temples, spoiled your kingdoms, and sold you all for bondmen? Seeing( saith gregory Nazianzen) before Pilat you asked that the blood of this just man should come vpon your children; and that you protested also in the same place, that you would be subject unto the romans: marvell not to see yourselves persecuted of all nations, as you are; and be always subject unto tyrants. Cyrillus vpon Saint John, saith thus; After that the unhappy Iewes had said, Sanguis eius sit supper nos, Let his blood light vpon us; and also after they had said, We haue no other king but Caesar: they are naturally beaten down of all the world, and always governed by strangers. The which curse shall dure among them, until the end of the world; seeing that in Christs presence they renounced their liberty, and asked vengeance of their wickedness.  
It is to be weighed in this place, that there fell three fears at once into Pilats heart, and fought within him at one time touching the crucifying of Christ, or not crucifying of him: the one, when he knew that he was innocent; the other, when he heard that he was the son of God; and the last when they threatened him that he could not be a friend unto Caesar. But in the end he resolved, that Christ should rather loose his life, than he would loose the chief iusticeship of jury.  
A verbis viri peccatoris ne timueritis, quia omnis gloria eius stercus & vermis est, said the great Matthathias unto his sons the maccabees; as if he would say, fear not the threatening words of a naughty man, because his power and dignity is but a worm and dung. If Pilat would haue remembered these words, he would never haue feared the Iewes threatenings; 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 naughty 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 give them leave to destroy them. For as their intentions are wicked, and their tongues poisoned: so their hands should be very bloody. But seeing there doth not one leaf fall from the three, which God will not haue to fall; how can any man hurt the just, if he do not permit him? Who dare say, that our Lord hath not a greater care of the souls of his faithful, than of the leaves of trees? The king ought not omit to punish a malefactor, nor the judge to acquit the just, nor the prelate to bear a zeal to that which is good, neither for fear, nor threatening: seeing that no good thing can come unto us, but by his will; nor any evil happen unto us, 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 unto 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 words do fear, but foul works do condemn. O how far from these considerations Pilat the viceroy was, when onely for fear of man he violated iustice, yielded unto malice, condemned innocency, and damned his own soul.   

CHAP. II. How Pilats seruants, the better to mock 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. mark, chap. 15. as if he would say, After that they had whipped innocent Iesus in Pilats court, & injuried him in words, they put off the purple rob, 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 writ, that from the time that the imperial monarchy began among the Assyrians, and went unto the romans; the roman emperours did always use five notable privileges: by the which they were honoured and known of all men. These imperial and princely privileges were; to wear a crown of gold vpon their head, hold a royal sceptre in their hand, wear a garment of purple or scarlet on their body, be spoken unto with the knees on ground, and that they should keep the gods from all peril and danger. Plutarch saith, That to be carried in a a horse-litter, clothed with purple, dine with his gate shut, wear gold on his gown; was only lawful for the dictatory of Rome: insomuch that they did not suffer men to live according unto their opinion; but comformably unto reason.  
The case then standeth thus; that when the son of God had confessed before Pilat that he was a king, although his kingdom was not of this world; Pilats servants fell into a great laughter, and took Christ to be a very simplo man, because that it seemed unto them that to be a king,( as he said he was) he was weak in power, poor in wealth, simplo in his answers, mean of knowledge, and altogether without favour. And the matter did not thus end, in that they did laugh to hear Christ say, that he was a king, but they scorned 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 think that there was any other life, but that the soul did die with the body: and so they took that answer for an exceeding great folly, and therefore they took occasion to make a very jesting stock and a play of Christ. And therefore coming 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 back, and a crown of thorns vpon his head, and in his left hand a sceptre of a reed, and bowing their knees said unto him, all hail king of jury.  
S. August. vpon S. John saith, If the son of God should haue said, My kingdom is of this land, he might haue seemed to haue prejudiced the roman common wealth, but seeing he saith, that his kingdom is not of this world, but of the other; tell me( O Pilat) what prejudice doth he to the roman empire? Where Christ saith, that his kingdom is not of this world, S. jerome saith, That in this speech he hide a greater mystery than Pilat was worthy to reach unto or understand: seeing that thereby we are assured that there is another life to come after this; and that we hope for another glory after this pain. If Christ had said only( saith Ambrose vpon S. Luke) that he was not a neighbour of this world; he had said very little; but in saying that his kingdom was not of this world, he said much: because that by those words he gave us to understand, that as wicked men in this world haue many things to delight themselves & rejoice in, so he also in the other, had a kingdom to reward his withall.  
Anselmus saith, Pilat sitting in his tribunal seat, and the thief that was in the prison heard these words a like, My kingdom is not of this world; & yet Pilat laughed at the saying, How is it possible that thou shouldst be a king? and the thief vpon the cross said, Lord remember me. Oderuns Aegiptij filios Israel illudeneres eis: & ad amaritudinem perducetes vitam eorum, saith the holy scripture, Exodus 1, as if he should say, The children of Israel in the captivity of egypt were very much discomforted, & without all hope: not so much for the troubles & vexations which they gave them, as for the injurious words which they uttered against them; iniuring them at every word, with dog, slave, jew, and such like reproachful terms. ascend calf, ascend calf, said the children of Samaria in Bethel, scoffing & jesting at old holy Eliseus, 2. Reg. 2. Whether dost thou go old bald fellow, or from whence dost thou come old peeled man?  
When pensive king Saule fled from the war, through the mountains of Gilboa, as the Philistians pursued him; he said unto his speare-bearer, percute me, ne fort veniant isti incircumcisi, & illudentes mihi interficiant me; as if he should say, Draw that thy sword out of hand, and cut off my head with it in this place, before the enemies overtake us and slay both thee and me; for I should be more grieved at the reproachful speech which in scoffing sort they dare use 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 scoff and frump one at another: which doth plainly appear, in that, that every man of a free and noble courage, and shamefast countenance, doth more grieve at a spiteful and contemptuous word spoken against him, than at ten wounds given unto his person. Seneca in an epistle saith, 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 grief which doth deeper wound his heart, than to see men scorn and scoff at his words. Plutarch reporteth, that Alcibiades the grecian said; I swear by the immortal gods, that I did not so much grieve for being banished from Lycaonia, or that my goods were confiscate, or my person wounded, as I did at one contemptuous word which Tesiphon used against me in Micara; by the which he did let me understand, that he had a great presumption of himself, and of me small reputation.  
This being supposed, we may well gather what grief the son of God felt, to see himself scorned and mocked by Pilats servants. The which injury and scoffing, good Iesus did so much the more feel, than all others, by how much less he did deserve it than all others. S. Barnard in a Sermon of the passion of our Lord, saith, above all which were born in this world, Christ did most of all feel every injury which was said or done unto him: because that in the labours and vexations which we suffer, it doth much ease the pain which we endure to compare it with the fault which we committed. But because our blessed Lord could not compare his punishment, with his fault but with his innocency; he did not only feel and grieve at the shane and reproach which they did unto him; but also the malice which came with it. Men are cannon-shot in court to scoff at such as are ill favoured in their parsonage, filthy in their doings, fools in their speech, proud in conversation, & therfore presume more than they deserve, and deserve less than they haue. Who dare say that there was any spot in Christ, or that he was noted for any unseemly thing? Those of Pilats palace, had no occasion and less reason to mock at Christ, seeing that his parsonage was very beautiful, his conversation very holy, his doctrine very catholic, his words very circumspectly, and his works very orderly and virtuous. mock not O Pilat( saith Chrisost. vpon S. Matth.) mock not at Christ, neither do thou consent, that those of thy house scoff him, by clothing him in purple: for there is more in him than doth now appear, and hereafter there will more appear of him than now doth: for as in us that which we presume is more than that which we are worthy of, so in the son of God, that which he hide of his goodness, is more than that which he shewed to the world. Why( saith bonaventure in Stimulo) dost thou continue to go to the palace, seeing thou wast evilly handled by those of that palace? dost thou not know, that in Caiphas palace, they did buffet thee, in Herodes Ascalonitas, they would haue taken thy life from thee, in the other Herodes Agrippa, they put a white gown on thy back, and in Pilats palace in scoffing maner they clothed thee in purple? O confortlesse mother, why art not thou present when they scoff and injury thy son, & why dost thou not give ear to the reproaches they use against him? & seeing thou canst not save his life, why dost thou not recover thy goods from them? Is he not thy flesh, seeing thou broughtst him into the world? & his blood thine, seeing thou gavest it him, and his cote thine, seeing thou didst spin it? If his flesh be thine, why do they whip it? if the blood be thine, why do they shed it? if his cote be thine, why do they take it from him? O wicked Pilat, O unjust judge, in what law of the romans didst thou find, that in one day and in one hour, they should take away the sons life and the mothers goods? had it been much for you to haue left one coat unto the son of such a mother? be not discomforted, O comfortless mother; but consider that which he keepeth for thee, and that which thou dost keep for him, that is, his heart and thy heart; and do not fear that Pilat can take them from you, or the hangman divide them in two.  
Rupertus vpon S. John saith, The hatred which the Iewes bare Christ was so great, that by their wils they would haue changed him into another; and thereupon it was, that they changed his skin when they whipped him, they changed his cote when they mocked him, they changed his estate when they crwoned him, they changed his name when they said, Behold the Man; they changed his family when they gave him theeues for his companions; and they changed his life, when they did put him to death. Tu scis opprobrium meum, & confusionem meam, & reverentiam meam, saith the Prophet in Christs name, Psal. 68. as if he should say, O my eternal father, thou and no other, dost know well the nicknames they use against me, the injuries they do unto me, the confusion they put me unto, and the false witness that they bear against me: in so much that, that which I suffer by them is very much, and that which I deserve to suffer very little. Cassiodorus vpon these words saith, The son of God had reason to say unto his father, Tu scis opprobrium meum, because the injuries which he suffered were so many, and the torments which he felt so grievous, that there was none of the martyrs able to abide and suffer them, nor any tongue to rehearse them.  
Neither doth it want a great mystery for the son to say unto the father, Tu scis confusionem meam, & reverentiam meam, Thou knowest the reverence and respect which is due unto me, and the confusion and despite which I suffer of the wicked; of which words we may gather, that Christ did not grieve less for the honour which they took from him, than at the punishment which they gave him. For the son to say unto the father, tu scis confusionem meam, is to let us understand, that when he saw himself in Pilats palace with a crown of thorns vpon his head, a garment of purple leapt on his body, a hollow reed in his left hand, his person mocked at, his doctrine jested at; his shane was so great, that if it had been offered unto any other of lesser courage than himself, he would haue died for grief and shane in the place. S. Cyprian saith, That the son of God had great reason to say unto his father, Thou dost know my confusion, & meam reverentiam, for if we will confess that which Christ did merit, together with that which he did suffer for us, we should not only not be able to reckon it, but also not to think it.  
The injuries which we did speak of before, which the egyptians did unto the Iewes, the Philistines unto king Saul, the children unto the prophet Eliseus, and Michal unto king david, were all common injuries, and such as men endure daily; but those that were done to good Iesus, were not only grievous to bear, but also such as never were before suffered by any. Who will not say, but that Christ had great reason to say unto his father, tu scis confusionem meam, seeing that with the purple rob, with which in times past they clothed princes for an honor, they clothed Christ for dishonour? Was it not a great kind of martyrdom, to use as an infamy and a discredit unto Christ, all those badges of honour with the which all other princes shewed their greatness.  
We know well that the vail of Sanctum sanctorum was of purple, and the curtains of the ark of purple, and the captain Holofernes his pavilion of purple, and that in pharaoh his house they clothed daniel with purple, and that on the marriage day jonathan was clothed in purple, in so much that before Christ came into the world, all such as appareled themselves in purple; did it as a great honour due unto them. Shall the purple then, that was had for an honour in Sanctum sanctorum, and was an ornament to the temple, loose his reputation, and be counted vile, because the son of God was clothed 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 in heaven, will honour him. Why dost thou promise honour and credit unto those which serve thee, and yet dost suffer the poor purple which clothed thee, to loose it? In payment of that, that the poor purple did cover thy naked and wounded body, wilt 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 dishonoured, but highly honoured! for in suffering that in my passion, I should be clothed with it, there is a great mystery signified, which is now unknown to Pilats seruants, and shalbe hereafter revealed unto the martyrs of my church. Caput tuum vt Carmelus, & come capitis tui, vt purpura regis iuncta canalibus, cant. 7. saith the bridegroom unto Christ, as if she should say, When I settle myself 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 ivory, and the colour of thy hair as it were of princely and fine purple, when it is died with the blood of the oyster.  
Before we come unto the sense 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 understood, unless they be declared and laid open from the bottom. 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 wooden conduits, and then the garment died of that wool there, they called royal purple, because that kind of sea-fish( called a sea oyster) was only found in the sea that compasseth Cyprus: as those oysters 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 wear purple, unless he were a prince, or of royal blood. Applying then the figure unto the thing figured, we will say that by the head is meant Christ, by the conduits, his precious wounds; by the die of the oyster, his precious blood; by his long hair, his holy glory; and also by his purple locks, his glorious martyrs; who were died & made read, not with the blood of the oysters of Cyprus, but with the blood which ran from his side, when he was tied at Pilats pillar. S. Cyprian in his book of martyrdom saith, For the son of God to suffer himself to be jested at, and clothed 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 clothing of purple, and the covering of all his naked flesh with the same bare garment, but onely that he would esteem so much of the bloodshed by thē, that he would cloath himself with it, and honour himself with it, as with his own?  
It wanteth not a mystery, and that a great mystery, that the garment wherewith they clothed & mocked Christ, was first died with the blood of the oyster, and then with that which ran from Christ, thereby to give us to understand, 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 give die vpon die, colour vpon colour, and painting vpon painting. It was to let us understand plainly, that when Christ did bathe that purple with his own precious blood, that then he did allow and receive for his own, all the blood that afterwards should be  shed for him in his church. Theophilact. saith, 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 united with his catholic church. S. jerome vpon S. Matthew saith, Not by chance, but for a great mystery, Christ was clothed with a garment of purple read, and mocked and scorned in it, because that all which they did the more to dishonour and defame him, did follow after unto Christ his greater honor & famed: seeing that afterward there were an infinite number of martyrs that clothed themselves with the same bloody purple, and which with good will lost their lives for his sake. O purple read garment! O happy purple! where did thy price rise to so high a price? when thou wast clothed vpon Christs flesh. When wast thou so esteemed in princes houses; or vpon emperors persons so respected; as when thou wast worthy to cover that sacred flesh, under whose feet all the Seraphins do lay their crownes? The eternal father giveth his angels no other licence, but vpon knee to adore his son; and doth he give leave to cloth to cover him? And dost thou not know, O purple, that in times past thou didst honour him whom thou didst cloath? and that now he whom thou dost cover, doth give thee honour?  
O good Iesu, O the love of my soul, wilt thou not make a scarlet garment of my stony heart, with the which I may cover thy whipped flesh, and thou with the same cover my wounded soul? Die then, O good Iesus, die this my heart with thy precious blood; and make of it a purple or a scarlet garment, with the which thou mayst cover thyself, and cloath me. For if thy body be hurt with wounds, is it not worse that my soul is loaden with offences? It cannot be said then that purple hath lost his estimation, because Christ was clothed with it: for it was never so much set by when a Prince wore it in earnest, as when they clothed Christ with it in jest.  
It is also to be weighed, that in Pilats house Christ was covered all over with purple, and in the figure which we spake of before, his hair was only coloured with that colour; whereby he doth give us to understand, that our Lord doth as well accept of good desires, which are figured by the hair, as he doth accept of works which are figured in the garment of purple. S. Barnard in an epistle saith, That he is clothed in purple read, on whom the blood of Christ is well bestowed; and then the blood of Christ is well bestowed, when he doth conform his life unto the gospel: because it doth little avail a christian, that Christ his blood was shed for him, if he do not bathe his own life in it. Then the feruaunt of our Lord hath his hair died in purple, when he hath all his thoughts occupied in thinking on the blood of Christ.   

CHAP. III. How Christ was crwoned with thorns, and of diuers sorts of crowns, and of the great mysteries which are meant by them.  
ET plectentes coronam de spinis, possuerunt supper caput eius, saith Saint matthew chap. 27. As if he should say, After that the hangmen had clothed Christ in purple read, and taken his own garments from him, they put a crown of thorns vpon his head; which they did the better to mock him, and laugh him to scorn. It was without all doubt a grievous scoff, and a cruel inhumanity, to crown and hedge in Christes head with thorns. For if an old trodden thorn do hurt and prick the hardest heels; how much more should they hurt and rent in sunder Christes tender temples? This crown was made of certain dry bulrushes of the Sea, hard and sharp; of the which they wreathed a crown, placing the sharp pricking ends one against the other, which they put vpon Christes head, like a crown, or an Aester garland.  
If Aulus Gellius report a truth, they had in Rome one kind of crown, which they called triumphal, which they gave always unto him who had won king or kingdom: Another called Miletarie, or belonging to a soldier, which they gave unto him, who had slain another in a challenge: there was another called Obsidionall, which they gave unto him, who had levied a siege, and so delivered the people: Another called naval, which they gave unto him, who had overcome by seat Another called Ciuicall, which they gave unto him, who had set the common-wealth in peace and quietness: And one other there was also, which they called Castrense, or belonging to an army, which they gave unto him who had appeased mutinies in the camp.  
Among all these kindes of crownes, haue you heard of any made of thorns? Cyprian saith, The crown 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, until the coming of the son of God, there was never any crwoned with a crown of thorbs, neither for honour, nor dishonour, not yet for a punishment. But because these men were the members of the divell, they invented that new kind of torment. Was not( think you) that invention of the crown, a new kind of torment, seeing that they did so fix it, and place it vpon Christes head, that all the ends of the thorns were bloodied with the blood of the lamb: and every prickle enamelled with the skin of God? Theophilus saith, When Christ was clothed in purple, that went no further than to a iest: but when they did put a crown of thorns vpon his head, that went further than a iest; and became a grievous pain and punishment, & such as never was heard of before. For look how many thorns did enter into Christ his skin; so many streams of blood did issue out of his head. The thorns went in, where the blood issued out; and blood issued out, where the thorns went in. Insomuch that as the leather 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 torments which Christ did feel in his passion, & that which most of all went to his heart, were his sweeting of blood through the pores of his body, the piercing of his brain with the thorns, the breaking of his sinews 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 sharp thorns? hast thou any putrefied blood in it, that requireth letting of it out in so many places? If thy head be broken, O good Iesus, seek no cure in Pilats palace; for his courtiers do not staunch blood, but let blood; they bind up no wounds, but open them; they heal no sores, but make them: yea they cure not, but kill. O how well thou didst pay the lieutenant Pilat, for remaining one night in his house, seeing thou didst hallow the greatest part of it with thy blood! For there was no porch, gallery, nor hall, which thou didst pass through, which thou didst not leave sprinkled with it. Anselmus saith, When the time came to crown the son of God with thorns, the hangmen went so carefully to seek one out, and so quickly they wreathed it, and so furiously put it vpon his head, and so cruel they were in pressing it down, that they did not favour their own hands, although they did hurt them with the thorns: in such sort that they did wipe the blood which ran down their cursed hands, either on the purple which he ware, or else besmeared and anointed Christ his face with it.  
Vngit Moses digito suo altar sanctum, & omnia vtensilia eius oleo unctionis, saith the holy scripture, Leuiticus 8. and the meaning is; That day in which God commanded Aaron to be made the chief Priest, good Moses did anoint all the holy altar with holy oil, and all things else which were within the tabernacle. That high figure doth very well answer unto the thing figured, seeing that the holy altar is Christ, the ornaments, his sacred members, which were all anointed and hallowed, not with oil of Oliues, but with the blood which ran out of his bowels. And as Moses left nothing about the altar, which he did not hallow with that holy oil; so there was no one member of Christ, which was not bathed with his own precious blood; insomuch that if at that time, there had been an anatomy made of Christes body, they should haue found more of his blood  shed vpon the ground, than gathered within his veins.  
What other meaning hath it, that the altar was anointed with holy oil, and the very same day to make Aaron high Priest; but onely that the self same day, that Christ did anoint his body with his own blood, he choose the Priesthood of his Church? There is great difference betwixt the unction of the Church, and the unction of the Synagogue; because that Moses did spend no more oil, than would wet one finger onely; but in the unction, which our great redeemer made, of his Church, he did not spend his blood by fingers, and small quantities, but by pints and quarts: insomuch that although he could haue anointed all the world with one onely drop; yet he  shed all that was in his body. Considering how Christ his garment was bathed in the inside, with the blood which ran from his shoulders, and on the outside bebloudied with that which ran from the pricks of the thorns: it is little to be doubted that who should haue beholden Christ all that time, he would haue seemed rather some beast panched, than a man which were alive.  
O what difference there is betwixt seeing and writing it! speaking and tasting it! that is the narrow strait that thou sawest thyself in, and the sad & sorrowful agony which thou didst pass through, when in Pilats house, some did pull of thy own garments, and others cloath thee in purple; some put the crown on thy head, and others press 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 should pierce deeper into thy brains? What should I say more? but that some called him king of the Iewes, some a captain of theeues; some did reach him a stool to sit on, and some took it away again by stealth, because he should fall: insomuch, that considering the hast which they made, and extremity which they put him unto, we may well say, that they neither gave him time to rest, nor place to breath in. What will a row of thorns put together do, being as they were thrust into the flesh of his most sacred temples: when any one of them was sufficient to tear his skin, and did in very dead  shed his blood, rent his flesh, break his skull, and make his very brains to fly out? If thou canst not suffer thy head be loaden with hair, what thinkest thou good Iesus should feel, being loaden with brambles and thorns? Maledicta terna in opere tuo, spinas & tribulos germinabit tibi, said God unto our father Adam, when he had sinned; as if he had said, I did bless the earth, when I did first create it, and now I curse it, seeing I see thy sin: and the curse which I give it is, that in stead of giuing thee good wheat, she give thee many brambles, and in lieu of many ears of corn, she give thee many briars and thorns; insomuch that thou mayst loose that which thou hast sown, and that thou mayst plough and dig, and not receive the fruit of thy travell. O high mystery, and unspeakable secret! seeing that in the old law the cross was cursed, & he likewise which died vpon it; and seeing the earth was cursed, and the thorns which she brought forth: but when good Iesus his pleasure was to end his life vpon the cross, and after he had suffered them to crown his holy head with thorns, all was healed, every thing made able and good, all things blessed, all things reconciled, and hallowed with his precious blood.  
Cyprian vpon the passion of our Lord saith; For God to say unto our first father, that the earth wherein he dwelled should bring forth thorns and briars, was to say that our cursed flesh should bring us forth sins and offences; all which, like unto sharp thorns, should prick our consciences, & make our souls to bleed. Then the sinful soul doth bleed, when the blood of Christ doth not benefit her, & then the blood of Christ doth not benefit her, when the thorn of sin doth not come out of the conscience: insomuch that he first endeth his life, then he giveth over sin: The earth of my own flesh is cursed, and out of favour: for if I take from it the brambles of pride, she bringeth forth presently thorns of envy, If I weed it of the nettles of covetousness, immediately springeth up thistles of anger: and if I grub the bushes of gluttony, straightway she bringeth up swelling bubbles of lechery; and if she rest but one day, she casteth up by and by the grass of sloth.  
Theophil. saith, What weapons thinkest thou hath the divell but onely the thorns of our consciences? These wicked weapons Christ took away from him, when he was crwoned with thorns: and thereupon it is that how much the more, blessed Iesus did load his head with thorns, so much the more he did unburden our souls of sins. What other meaning was there for the son of God to put so many thorns vpon his head, but only that he would load himself with all our offences? Why didst thou consent, O my good Iesus, that with the thorns they should as it were with awgers boar thine head: but onely thereby to take away from thence, in us, the matter and corruption of sin? that matter and corruption then is poison, that is to say sin, seeing that a small sin is enough to poison all the world. O how much greeuouser a pain the crown of my sins and offences gave Christ, than all the thorns which the Iewes put vpon his head: because the thorns wearied him but one day, but the crown which I give him doth grieve him every hour and day.  
abstain then O my soul, abstain from sinning, and thou my heart abstain from unclean desires: because that how many sins thou dost every day commit, so many thorns thou dost wave, and put into the crown of thy God: and that which is worst of all, is, that Pilats thorns were fastened only unto his head, but your sins go through his soul. basil saith, As the thorns which entered into Christ his head, were so many fountains of blood, which did run from him: so in like maner the martyrs which  shed their blood for God, did put so many precious crownes vpon his head. What other things were the stones with the which they stoned Saint Stephen, but sharp thorns with the which they took away his life, and made a crown of glory for blessed Iesus? who doubteth, saith Saint Augustine, vpon Saint John, but that that by the crown is understood glory, and by the thorns wreathed in it, the flesh of martyrs rent and torn in pieces? Not without a great mystery Christ did put the crown of thorns vpon his head, rather than elsewhere; because there is nothing in this mortal life, which giveth 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 never red, that Christ did at any time put a garland of roses vpon his head: and yet wee know well that he put a crown of thorns, whereby we are given to understand, that in high rooms of the Church, delicate soft men, like unto roses, ought not to be placed; but penitent, austere, and rough men like unto thorns. In spina horti omnes aves sedebant, saith the Prophet Baruch: chap. 6. As if he should say, I saw in a great garden a bush of thorns very sharp and big; vpon which bush, there sate and made their nests, all the birds which could fly.  
Saint jerome vpon these words saith, The bushes and thorns are nothing else, but the temptations which fight within us, and the adversities which we endure; both which we haue no reason now to fear: especially seeing that the son of God would crown himself with thorn, because he did cast no travell vpon himself, whereof he did not first disburden me. Did he not( pardie) load all that vpon himself, whereof he did vnload me; when he took vpon himself the punishment which I deserved, and gave me the grace which himself possessed, and also when he took my death and gave me his life? For the Prophet to say that all the birds, made their nests in those bushes, is to tell us, that all the thorns of our tribulations were broken, and were made blunt in Christ his head; by reason whereof we haue no cause to fear them, because that all those which were sharp thorns in his head, be unto us very sweet and soft roses. It is much to be noted, that the Prophet did not see any of those beasts fall vpon the thorns, which go usually vpon the ground, but onely those birds which fly in the air; to let us understand thereby, that all such which Christ will put vpon his crown, must suffer many thorns of adversity; because that sweet Iesus doth put our pleasures under his feet, and our travels and pains vpon his head. If thou wilt therefore my brother, haue Christ to put thee vpon his head, and haue place in his holy crown, make unto thyself a thorn of austere life, and in thy adversities haue great patience, because that under crownes of gold many pleasures are suffered; but under the crown of thorns, there is nothing but pain and travell admitted. Rupertus vpon Abacuc saith: For the Prophet to say, that the birds did light, and make their nests in that bush of thorns, is thereby to teach us, that because all mans life is nothing but a continual tentation, we may say truly, that he hath no neast in the crown of Christ, who is not compassed with travell and tentation.  
The Prophet saw none of those birds which he saw, light vpon the green flourishing trees, but onely vpon dry thorns; wherein he doth signify, that if we will be perfect, and make our neast in the crown of our Lord; it is convenient for us first to wreath a crown of thorns, hardening ourselves against all adversities: because that look how many temptations we shall overcome in this life, so many precious stones do we gather together, to enrich and beautify our own crown withal.  
What other thing were the stones, with the which they did ston S. Stephen vpon earth, but certain precious stones with the which they did crown him in heaven? O good Iesus, O my souls delight, I would to God it would please thy infinite goodness to give me this thy crown, & if not; yet to impart unto me some part of it: for although I be not a king worthy to be crwoned; yet I am a sinner worthy to be punished, and how unjustly thou wast crwoned, so justly should I be mitred with a scroll of my offences. What meaneth this, O good Iesus, what meaneth this? Vpon palm sunday last, as thou didst enter into jerusalem they did cast olive branches under the asses feet thou didst ride vpon, and do they now put dry thorns vpon thy head? Why dost thou suffer or yield thy consent, that they should do more honour unto the earth which the ass treadeth, than this day they do unto thy sacred head? O cruel thorns, O ungrateful creatures, I conjure you by that God which made you, and by that which you owe unto piety I ask you, that you give over piercing of those holy temples, and that you would enter into my sinful bowels: for out of Christ his head you shall draw nothing but blood, but out of my woeful bowels, you shall draw thousands of sins: seeing you will let any man blood, O cruel thorns, I am he whom you should do it unto, I am he of whom you should make the anatomy; for look how unjustly you did let my God blood from the vain of the head; so justly you might let me blood from the vain of my offences? I haue said very little; in saying that you might let me blood in one vain: for I might better haue said, that you should let me blood in all: for the sins which I haue committed are so many, that without comparison they are more in number than my veins, and my wickedness more than all the members of my body. I do not ask thee, O good Iesus, I do not ask thee with our mother Eve, that thou wouldst give me of the three 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 ask and entreat thee for is, that thou wouldest give me thy holy crown for my pillow, and that thou thyself wouldest be the down to stuff it. O mighty redeemer, O my Lord crwoned with thorn, tell me I beseech thee whereof wilt thou be liberal and magnificent, if thou be hard for thorns and brambles? give me leave then, give me leave, in this thick plaited hedge to make my abode, give me leave among these thorns to make my neast: if not, yet at the least suffer me to sleep in the shadow of the bushes; and that if there fall not to my lot, part of the thorns which are on high, yet that there come unto me some of the blood which runneth down unto the ground.   

CHAP. IIII. How for a mockery & a jest, the Iewes did put a reed in Christs right hand: & of the high mysteries which are gathered thereby.  
POsuerunt arundinem in dextra eius: & percutientes caput eius, salutabant eum, dicentes, aue rex judaeorum, saith S. Math. chap. 28. As if he would say, The jews not being contented, to haue clothed the son of God in a thread bare purple read 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 jury. This was the third mock which they gave unto the divine 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 crwoned him, they quipped him of pride: and in the third, to wet, in the reed, they noted him for a dizzard. Cyprian vpon the passion saith, As among great princes, their sovereign dignity was signified in wearing of pulple, & shewed their power in putting a crown on their head, and made their upright iustice known by the sceptre which they bare: those of Pilats court would represent all this in Christ for a mock, and in a jest serve him with it. We might say better that they did offend him, rather than serve him; seeing they put an old coat of purple on his back, and a crown of sharp thorns vpon his head, and in his hand for his sceptre, a hollow reed: meaning thereby to let men know, that as he was a great mocker, so his kingdom was also a great mockery. Christ did much grieve at this injury, and had great reason so to do; because the injuries which were past, tended onely unto the punishing of his body, but this of the reed touched his honor; because thereby they would haue given men to understand, that as the reed doth naturally want pith or marrow, so the person and head of Christ did want brain and wit. What greater injury can there be offered unto any man, than to call him a fool? Plutarch reporteth, that Plato was wont to say, that as long as the gods would keep him a woman to serve him, and his eyes to red with, and his iudgement to govern himself by, all other vexations and travels of this world might tempt him, but not disquiet him. What hath he who hath no wit? and what doth he lack which wanteth not his iudgement? Theopil. saith, To put a reed in Christ his hand, is to mock him of being a fool, and of folly; which could not be in him, and was contrary unto his dignity to commit; seeing that it is he in whose balance all things are weighed, and by whose wisdom all things are governed.  
Chrysostome vpon Saint matthew saith: If it should be true, that this man in whose hand you do put a reed in token of folly, could commit any folly; there should be neither heaven nor earth: For if a fool had the government of all this workmanship in his hand, the world would haue been at an end many daies ago. Saint jerome in an Homely saith; These words cost Christ very dearly, when he said, My kingdom is not of this world: for from the time that before Pilat, he said that he was a king; but yet that his kingdom was not of this world, they reputed him presently to be an infamous dizzard: for according to the roughness of his person, and poverty of his life, he seemed rather to haue a disposition to put him in a house of bedlem, than commend unto him the government of kingdoms. Christ said unto Pilat; regnum meum non est de hoc mundo; As if he would say, Although thou do see me, O Pilat, sold like a slave, apprehended like a thief, bound like a fool, vpon my knees like a seruant, accused like unto a malefactor, and defamed like unto a seditious person; yet know thou that I am a king, and haue also a kingdom, although it be not of this world. Saint Ambrose vpon Saint Luke, saith; When the son of God said that his kingdom was not of this world, he did plainly undeceive the Iewes, and shewed them, that he pretended nothing at all the kingdom of Israell: And likewise Pilat, that he aspired not unto Tiberius empire: but neither of them both did understand this high speech, seeing they jested at him who spake it; and likewise at the speech which he uttered. Rabanus saith, When good Iesus said, that his kingdom was not of this world, he did no less undeceive the church than he did the synagogue; and principally in that point, that for the adversities which they should pass through; and for the martyrdom 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 esteem of the goodness of those which are good, that for to requited one of them alone, he thinketh it too little to make him Lord over all the world. Barnard to this purpose saith, Seeing that the son of God doth confess before Pilat the deputy, that his kingdom is not of this world, what dost thou ask of him, what dost thou entreat of him, what dost thou hope for of him in this world? If thou dost ask a quiet life of him, much honor, store of wealth, great famed and credit; he may well answer, that thou shouldst ask for these things of the princes of this world, because he is king of the other world, which is everlasting. Theophilactus saith, To say that my kingdom is not of this world; look how much this speech was skandalous unto the Iewes, so much it is comfortable unto the Christians: seeing that he doth assure us thereby, that there is another world, and another kingdom, whereof he and no other is king, and that for no other cause, but to take us with him to reign, he came into this world and suffered death in it.  
Cyprian saith, Thou sayest very well, O good Iesus, thou sayest 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 choleric; nor the choleric with the patient; nor the covetous with the quiet man and pitiful; nor the carnal with the chast man; nor yet the simplo and harmless with the malicious. It is an inviolable law in thy kingdom, that there is no wicked men admitted in it, nor naughtiness suffered. Rupertus vpon S. John: for Christ to say, My kingdom is not of this world, is an exceeding great comfort unto the good, & a great terror unto the bad, seeing that thereby he doth put us from all the things of this life, and give us hope of the other, because it is great ease, unto such as can do little, and haue little, to think that ease and pleasure do consist in the things of this world.  
Agmon vpon S. mark saith, I do not know which is a word of greater force, or a sentence of greater terror to say, as thou dost say; my kingdom is not of this world, or to say as thou didst say, that the devil is the prince of this world: seeing that in one speech thou dost declare us not to be thine, & by the other, thou dost tell us, that we are slaves unto the divell; and yet for my part, I think, that if it be an evil thing to serve the divell, it is far worse that thou accept me not for thine. Anselmus to this purpose saith, This speech of thine, my kingdom is not of this world, Pilats seruants did not so much take in jest, as I, good Iesus, do in earnest: for seeing I esteem of myself because I am thine, and thou sayest 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 he denieth himself to be Lord of the world, who made the world?  
We haue spoken all this, to prove and show, what small reason and less occasion Pilats seruants had, to mock at Christ as at a fool, and put a reed in his hand, because that when he said, that he was a king, and that his kingdom was not of this world, he spake more heavenly, than they thought for, and uttered greater mysteries than they did reach unto. The text saith: in dextra eius possuerunt arundinem. As if he would say, After that they had set the son of God in a chair, and clothed him in purple, and crwoned him with a crown; they put a reed in his right hand: all which those ministers of wickedness did, because the play which they did represent with Christ, should be more pleasant, and the jest more commended, and set by.  
It is an old custom among men, and also usual in the holy scripture, that the right hand is much more esteemed than the left; because wee always place him, whom wee love best, on the right hand, and with the same hand wee embrace him whom we love best. Salomon did put his mother on the right hand: Moses saw the mosaical law on his right hand: and Raguell and T●bias married themselves with their right hands, and Zebedea did ask that her sons 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 took Christ for a great mocker, and this for a great jest, to say that he had a kingdom; they jested at him in good earnest, and skoffed him from the heart: and thereupon they did put a reed into his hand as a sceptre of iustice; giuing us thereby to understand, that as the reed is very barren to yield fruit, and little worth to put in building: so the kingdom which Christ said he had, was without power to help himself, and without any fruit at all to benefit others. cyril vpon Saint John saith, As the reed is tender and weak to lean vpon, and without all fruit to eat of; so Pilats servants seemed to mock and scorn at Christ, as though he had been a vagabond, not able to heal his common-wealth, and a silly body not able to give aduise or counsel to others: insomuch that by putting a reed into his right hand, they touched him to the very quick in his credit and reputation. Saint jerome vpon saint matthew, saith; To put in the right hand of the son of God, a hollow and a dry reed, was to put into his hands the old lawe which was without fruit, and which was more hollow and dry, than that reed was; because al the Mosaical law contained nothing but the rind, which was the letter; and wanted the marrow, which was the true Christ.  
Ipsum altar non erat solidum, said 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 do sacrifice on: the which he made not of lime and ston, to the end it should be sound, but of the wood Shitim, which was all hollow. If we give credit unto great gregory vpon this place, he saith that for the altar of the old law to be hollow and empty, signifieth nothing else, but that the synagogue wanteth the true Christ: because there is nothing firm and stable in this life, unless it be that which our Lord doth approve and make firm. All was hollow, all was empty, all was without life which was in the old testament; and if they could brag of any thing, it was not of that which it had, but of that which it hoped for.  
They gave Christ in his passion sharp vinegar, stinking gull, a hollow reed, insomuch that they offered him of that which they had, and gave him that which they themselves were. The synagogue was sharp vinegar, seeing she had degenerated from 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 virtue in the synagogue; insomuch that such as themselves were, such service they did to Christ.  
In the right hand of the son of God, the hollow reed of the mosaical law was made sound and firm, when he gave us for the letter, the spirit; for Prophets, Apostles; for sacrifices, sacramentes; for the old law, the new testament; for the figure, the truth; and for a hollow altar, a sound and holy gospel. Was not the mosaical law think you, a dry and hollow reed, when as in their best time, the synagogue & the law fell together to the ground? Origen saith, In the old synagogue, the boards of the altar were more worth than the altar itself; but in our sacred altar, which is Christ, although the boards of his sacred humanity be very perfect and good, yet his most holy divinity is much better; insomuch that for Christ to take the reede in his hand, was a token that by his hand, it should remain strong and sound. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, to what end dost thou seek for any other dry and hollow reed, seeing that my sinful soul is so near at hand? What is in the reede that is not in my soul? she is dry without all doubt, seeing she hath no devotion; she is hollow, seeing shee wanteth charity; she is without fruit, seeing she doth no good works; there is nothing but leaves in her, seeing she hath nothing but words. What is there this day in the world so hollow, as that which wanteth thy grace? Is not my sorrowful soul a dry reed, and an old and hollow reed, seeing her carelessness and naughtiness hath made her to fall from thy grace, and fall into thy disgrace? Is there any reed in the world so dry, or so hollow as this my soul, the which is moved at the first wind of temptation; and at the first touch of tribulation is broken? leave then O good Iesus, leave that dry reed, and take this my hollow and empty soul: and if thou wilt take her, I beseech thee that thou wouldest take her in thy hand, and give her a good buffet of thy hand; because that she will never be massy and full of good and virtuous works, until 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 mark, as if he would say; they did not onely put the reed into the hand of the son of God, but they took it from him again to strike him with it: insomuch there in the beginning they gave it him in jest, and afterward they stroke him with it in earnest. Theophil. saith, For the evangelist to say that they strooke Christ with the reed, is to say that their jesting turned into earnest; seeing that some of Pilats seruants did put the reed into his hand to mock him, and some took it from him to hurt him; insomuch that they saluted him as a king, and stroke him like unto a dizzard. For the son of God to suffer himself to be crwoned with thorns, is out of all doubt a marvelous thing, but to suffer a reed to be put in his hand, and yield to be stricken with it, is a thing to be wondered at, and also feared: for if no man willingly doth hear a word of injury spoken unto him, with a worse will he will give the staff to break his own head with. O wonderful obedience! O unspeakable patience of the son of God! who would haue suffered 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 scoff at him, as if he had been a fo●le, and when with the force of blows with the same reed they did drive the thorns into his brain.  
There are some things spoken of, which are not done, others done & not spoken of, but they were done & said at one time with the son 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 shortened his life. Put thyself O my soul, betwixt the blow of the reed, and the sharp piercing of his holy head, put thyself between, to wait for some blow with the reed: for look how many blows they give the son in the thorn, so many thrustes they give the mother in the bowels. O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, what patience may be compared unto thine, seeing thou dost yield that they put the reed into thine hand to jest at thee, and dost let them take it again to strike thee on thy head. Saint Barnard vpon the passion of our Lord saith; The Iewes would willingly, that the son of God had had more members in his body, to the end they might haue taken them one by one, and haue tormented them: but when they saw the time grow shorter and shorter, they remembered themselves to add torment unto torment, as it did hear fall out: for over and above, the buffeting of him with their fists, beating him with a cudgel, pulling him by the hair, pricking him with thorn, and defaming him with a thousand insolences; they serve him a new with a reed, and presently break it on his head.  
Let thy torments cease, O my good Iesus, let thy torments cease, for that which thou hast already suffered, is sufficient to replenish heaven, and disinherit hell. What dost thou ask for, O my soul, what dost thou ask for? give over thou thy sin, and they will give over to beat Christ; for thou must understand( if thou know it not) that to the compass of thy sins, the reeds play vpon him: insomuch that how many wickednesses are in thy soul, so many reeds thou dost break vpon his head. Pro eo quod fuisti baculus arundineus domui Israel, quando apprehenderunt te manu: ego adducam supper te manum meam, Said God by Ezechiel, threatening king Nabuchodonozor, as if he should say, When thou shouldst haue been unto my people of Israel, as it were a strong staff, unto which he that learned should not fall vpon the ground; thou wast a hollow reed which falleth to the ground with him who learned unto it: and therefore I will sand thee such a punishment as is wont to come with blood and fire. If we compare Nabuchodonozor the tyrant with S. John Baptist, we shall find for a truth, that God did rebuk the one, because he was a hollow reed, and Christ did commend the other, because he was not like the reed which was moved with every wind: wherein we are plainly given to understand, that a man of evil life and conversation, is nothing else but an hollow and fruitless reed, which occupieth a place where it is planted, and yeeldeth no fruit unto him which planted it.  
Agmon vpon S. John saith, that every man of an evil life, is without all doubt a very hollow and dry 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 every hour, like the leaf of a reed. It is here to be noted, that Pilats hangmen did offend Christ three manner of ways with the reed, that is to wit; when they did put it into his hand to scoff at him, when they stroke him with it; and when they gave him vinegar & gull with it to drink; in so much that with the spear he was once hurt, and three times with the reed. He who is noted of hypocrisy, doth put a hollow dry reed into Christ his holy hand, who like unto the reed, hath nothing but a leaf which sheweth without, his soul being hollow within.  
The second which strike Christ on the head with the reed, are heretics, which sow heresies in Christs church, who do so many times break Christ his head, and draw blood of his person as they do wrest and falsify the holy scripture.  
By such as with the reed gave. Christ wine mingled with myrrh and gull, are understood all such as do Christ any service, remaining obstinat in any sin; who make account of the wine which they offer, which is a good work, and do not mark that it is mingled with the gull of sin. It is also a property of the reed, to move and wag with every wind, although it be never so small and light, and truly such are all vain christians, and every light person; the which because they haue no constancy in that which is good, nor resistance in that which is evil, 'vice doth no sooner knock at the gate, but they open; nor any appetite or desire present itself, which they do not fulfil. Are not they happily hollow reeds, and vain and light reeds, which are so long time vicious, as the divell doth tempt them? Anselmus saith, What meaneth this, O my soul, what meaneth this? Thy God is weary of dissembling, the church is weary of teaching, thine elders are weary of chastising thee, thy brothers are weary in suffering thee, the divels are weary of tempting thee, and thy members are already weary of living, and yet art not thou awearie of sinning.  
Beda saith, That a wound in the head is the most dangerous wound which may be given unto any man: then we may say with truth, that they wound Christ in the head, when they deny him to be true God, and affirm him to be only a bare man. Rabanus saith, Then thou dost strike Christ in the heart, when thou dost deny that he knoweth all things, and thou dost strike him in the eyes, when thou dost imagine that he doth not see all things, then thou dost strike him in the feet, when thou dost think that he passeth not through all, then thou dost strike him in the hands, when thou sayest that he doth not provide for all things, and then thou dost strike him in the head, when thou dost deny him to be God and Lord of all.  
Cyprian saith, ●… e breaketh the highest part of Christ his head, who doth deny his godhead, and doth beleeue no more in him but that he is a mere creature, whereupon it ariseth, that in these dayes they do much more offend Christ which detract from his godhead, than those which laid hands vpon his manhood. Damascen saith also, Those strike Christ on the head with a reed, which put themselves to judge and search out the inscrutable judgements of his wisdom, whereof it followeth that such do oft draw blood to their condemnation, when it should haue been to their redemption.  
Theophil. saith, So many times a man doth strike Christ with the reed, as he doth omit the doing of a good work, having time and place to do it; and hereupon it is, that the idle man doth always draw blood out of Christs head. Hylarius saith, After I think with myself that I am hollow and empty of virtues, as the reed is, a great selfishness cometh vpon me: but when I remember that Christ did not disdain to take it in his hand, there fell great hope vpon me, because the son of God is he alone who can fill all our hollowness, and give us part of his goodness.   

CHAP. VI. Of the words with which those of Pilats court did salute Christ, and of many mysteries which are contained under this word Aue, All hail, or Be thou glad.  
have rex judaeorum, said Pilats seruants unto Christ, as S. Matth. reports cap. 27. when they had ended to cloath Christ in purple, and put a crown vpon his head, and set him down in a chair, because he might perceive that they did not al that to give him honour, but to shane him: they determined to bow their knees before him, and put of their caps unto him, and use much counterfeit reverence unto him, saluting him as a king, and scoffing him as a fool. That which Pilats seruants spake, is not to be marveled at in this place, but the evil intention with the which they spake it; because it is no less injury to a good man, to entitle him unto 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 naughty man, which was born only to do mischief, & 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 serve 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 men. Seneca speaking of ill tongues, saith, There are many men who haue lost the conditions of men, & put on those of dogs, whose customs are, to bark indifferently at all which pass by, although they pass afar off, as well as if they had threatened them with a staff, and this they do not for the hurt which men do unto them, but for the evil custom which they haue of barking at all men. There are some men of such an evil disposition and bad condition, that although it concern not their substance, nor touch their soul, yet delight in nothing but in doing hurt, and speak always against that which is well done. Of the condition of these men were Pilats servants, whom Christ had never rebuked, nor ever dealt withall, and yet in manner of passe-time( or rather in losing of time) jested and triumphed over Christ, and compassed him in, and did hold a court on him, as if he had been a fool. It is here to be weighed, that to kneel before Christ was no error, to salute him with Aue, hail, was well done, to call him king, was no lye, in saying that the kingdom of jury did appertain unto him, was truly said; but that wherein they erred and hit not aright, was, in saying, All hail king of the Iewes, in a mockery; and bowing their knees for an injury. Tell me, I pray thee, if they had done that in good earnest, which they did in jest, that is, if they would haue served him on their knees, and believed him from the heart, and worshipped him with All hail king of the Iewes, what memory should they haue left of themselves, and what could they haue asked that he would not haue yielded unto? But because they did all this in a scoff, Christ did not accept of it, but did impute it for a sin unto them.  
Thou shalt( saith Damascen) my brother in this point see the inspeakable excellencies of the son of God, that not only his friends do publish them, but his enemies do cry them abroad, which is manifestly seen in that that Pilat said, That which I haue written, I haue written. And in that that Caiphas said, It is expedient that one man die. And in that that Pilats wife said, What hast thou to do with this just man? And in that, that those of his own house said, All hail king of the Iewes. And in that which the Centurion said, Truly this was the son of God; in so much that his goodness was of such strength and force, that if the good did like and approve it, the wicked did likewise confess it. Theophilact. vpon the Apostle saith; The Iewes were very glad, that Pilats seruants did mock at Christ, but it did grieve them very much, that they did call him, and salute him by the name of their king: for Christ yet living and not being dead, they imagined among themselves; 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 jest, they would choose him afterward king in earnest. Cyrillus saith, that the cursed Iewes do stop their ears, because they will not hear Pilat say, Regem vestru crucifigem? should I crucify your king? nor hear his servants say, All hail king of the jews. And from hence it cometh that they confessed, that they would rather haue the tyrant Tiberius for their lord and king, than their own true lord and master. Cum cognouisset quòd venturi erant vt facerent eum regem, fugit in desertum orare, saith saint John, chap. 6. as if he should say, At the very instant when the son of God did know, that the Galileans purposed among themselves to choose him for their lord and king, he remembered himself to go up presently to the mountains to pray, for no other cause but that they should not constrain him to reign.  
It is not without a great mystery, that when Christ was in the cradle, the kings and wise men said of him, ubi est rex judaeorum? Where is the king of the Iewes? And entering into jerusalem, the people said of him, Blessed be the king of Israell; and in Pilats house, they said, All hail king of the Iewes; and Pilat wrote in the title of the cross, Iesus of Nazareth king of the Iewes; in so much that this high name of a king, did belong unto him by the right line of the royal tribe, and he did deserve it by the merit and valour of his person.  
S. Augustine vpon S. John saith, Ye lye, O ye Iewes, you lye, in saying aloud, We haue no other king but Caesar; for seeing that in the house of Herod your king, they gave Christ the name of a king; and afterward those of Pilats court called him king, and all jerusalem confessed him to be a king, and Pilat himself called him king; why do ye only deny the kingdom to be his, and him to be your Christ?  
And because we may draw one mystery out of another, it is to be noted, that the son of God did never gainsay those which called him king, and yet for all that he did never consent, that they should make him king: wherein he gave us to understand that he did forsake the dignities and honours of this world, because it was his will and not because he deserved them not. Hylarius touching this point saith, When the son of God is called king, and yet refuseth to be king, it is to let us know, that he would well deserve 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 honourable which doth deserve it and hath it not, than he which hath it and deserves it not. Chrisost. saith, It is a greater mystery than it seemeth to be, That Christ doth yield 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 know his Godhead, and in the other praise his humility: for in being called king, he shewed that he was more than that which he did seem to be, and in despising the kingdom, he did show the humility which he preached. Christ hath very few disciples now adays in renouncing and contemning of dignities, to whom we give leave from this time forward, to take whatsoever kingdom and dignity shall be given unto them, with this condition, that with promises and skilful cunning they procure them not. It is greatly to be noted, that as soon as Christ had fled from the kingdom, & forsaken it, he went presently alone into the desert to pray. If thou wouldst give me the choice of these two things, O good Iesus, I should rather desire that thou wouldst carry me up with thee to the mountain to pray, than leave me in Galilee to reign. What doth it avail thee, O my soul, to renounce all rule and dignity, and despise all the world, if thou do not go up to the hill with Christ to pray? Go up then, O my soul, go up to the mountain with Christ to pray, and to follow an evangelical life; because the perfection of the servant of our Lord doth not consist in that which he leaveth in the world, but in the virtues which he taketh in religion.  
If thou say, my brother, that thou hast no rule nor kingdom 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 overcome a mans own 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 heed and watch, O synagogue, because I tell thee, that when the king and messiah promised in the prophets, shall come into the world, he will go before all men, like unto one which goeth a journey, and will not stay not rest in any kingdom. It is to be noted that he saith, Rex, a king, and also transiuit, he is ouergone, or gone before, that is to wet, that he calleth Christ a king, and that he will but go through the kingdom; because the great goodness of the son of God came not from heaven down into the earth to rule, reign, and command, but to be commanded: neither to take kingdoms, but to give them, seeing that to the thief which hanged with him on the cross, he gave all his kingdom.  
Saint cyril vpon S. John saith, Christ did not say in vain 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 give credit unto his godhead; but yet that he would not rule according unto 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 unhappy jerusalem! seeing that according to the prophesy of Hosea, Christ went before thee, and thou knewest him not; he came to thy house, and thou receivedst him not; he gave thee his doctrine, and thou beleeuedst him not; he spake unto thee things belonging to God, and thou vnderstoodst him not; yea he did also die for thy liberty, and thou didst not thank him for it.  
The words which the prophet Hosea faith, Your king is gone before you; and the words of the evangelist S. Matth. Behold I am with you until the worlds end; do differ very much, because that in the first he doth threaten the synagogue, that he will pass through her, and in the last he doth promise his church that he will abide with her until the end of the world. O good Iesus, O my souls delight, I most humbly beseech thee, that thou wouldest stay and look vpon my sinful soul, and that thou wouldest not with speed go by me, seeing I am the feiture of thine own hands, and the least of thy Christians. What doth it avail me that thou go by my eyes, O the light of my eyes, if thou go by, angry with the offences which I haue committed, and I not remain clean of the sins which I haue done? Stay therefore, O good Iesus, stay a little time in my heart, to the end that if thou shouldst call me, I may open; if thou shouldst speak with me, I may understand thee, if thou shouldst preach unto me, I may hear thee; if thou shouldst give me any counsel, I may beleeue thee; and if thou shouldst desire me, I may desire thee; because that thou canst live very well without me, but I cannot so much as breath without thee.  
To come then unto our purpose, the words which the Iewes saluted Christ with, were, All hail king of the Iewes, or Be thou glad king of the Iewes; or, God save thee king of the Iewes: And such ioy come unto them, as they gave Christ, seeing they said once unto him, that God would keep him; and at another time, that Pilat should condemn him to death. How can these two stand together? hail king of the Iewes; and crucify, crucify him; seeing that in one petition thou dost pray that God would save him, and in the other thou dost request that Pilat would crucify him.  
It is a very old property of treacherous men, and a common law among traitors, to use very good words, and do very bad deeds; sure to entrap; salute, to deceive; promise, and not give; and give faire words to kill. With this word aue, All hail, captain joab did salute the captain Amasa, whom at the same time he did embrace about the body, and thrust through with a dagger. With this word Aue, All hail, the mother of God was saluted, and with the same word Aue, the son of God was skoffed: in so much that the self same word by the mouth of the angel was hallowed, and by Pilats ministers profaned. With this word aue, Iudas the traitor helped himself in the garden, and with the self same word Pilats ministers did benefit themselves in the palace. In so much that our blessed Lord was sold with aue, All hail, 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 the witness of his resurrection. This word Aue, All hail, was a very holy, and an approved word, seeing that the angel was the first that did pronounce it, & the virgin the first that heard it, and our heavenly father the first which did sand it, and his precious son he for whom it was invented, and the catholic church she who first did keep it for vs. That Iudas durst say unto Christ, aue rabbi, and Pilat, Aue rex judaeorum, was without all doubt a wicked thing, and worthy of eternal damnation, for it is no other thing for concavity 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 soul as well as of the body.  
FLectebant genua aute eum, saith S. Matthew, as if he should say, Pilats seruants kneeled before Christ, because the ieasts which they used, might be in good earnest; and because the words which they spoken against him, might grieve 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 inclined unto al wickedness: seeing we see by plain experience, that a wicked and concavity man doth abase himself unto many vile tricks, and baseness of mind, and offer his person unto a thousand toils and travels, for no other reason, but to hurt; and besides that, he will not lift a straw from the ground to do good.  
Seneca in his book of anger saith, I know many in Rome which 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 countenance, because others should not come into favour, and do rather stay behind, than others should go before them, yea, and which consent that peace and quietness should go out of their own houses, because wars should enter in at an other mans gate. What will not a passionate man and a troubled mind do to reuenge himself vpon his enemy?  
When king Saul was at variance with king david, what ways did he go, what waits did he lay, what warres did he invent, what priests did he kill, and how often did he besiege him, to see whether he could kill him or banish him of his kingdom? what end is there with Pilats servants, to what end should they serve him on their knees, and how did they scoff and mock at him continually?  
It is to be believed, that according unto the small reckoning they made of Christ, & great account they made of themselves, that if they should haue given him a cup of water to drink, they would not onely not haue bowed their knees before him, no nor so much as to haue done him any reverence at all. Saint Barnard saith, For mine own part I think that Pilats servants would never haue bought the purple with their own money, nor woven the crown with their own hands, nor sent to the fields to seek for a reed, nor serve Christ with the knee on ground, if their master had commanded 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 fool in saying that he was a king, and that he was a disard in not answering the deputy, they determined to hold a counsel with him, although it were to the great cost of Christ his person and honour.  
Per memetipsum 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 sworn by myself, and haue determined in my eternal wisdom, 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 understand that which Esay saith, we must note that the Apostle saith, I kneel to the father of my Lord; and of the three kings or wise men it is said, that falling down they worshipped him. And it is reported of daniel, that he kneeled three times a day; and it is red in the Apocalyps, that the four and twenty elders which were before the throne, kneeling did worship the lamb, with great devotion. We may gather very plainly by these examples, how that in scripture the knees were always dedicated unto God; and that him alone and no other we should worship & reverence with thē, because we never do a more gratefuller sacrifice unto our Lord, than when we do worship him on our knees, and serve him with al our heart. It is here greatly to be weighed, that God is not contented only that we should kneel before him on our knees, but commandeth us also to praise him with our tongues: and of these two things he had rather that men should praise him with their tongues and not kneel, than kneel and not praise him.  
Those of Pilats house did the contrary of all this unto Christ, all which bending their knees before Christ, did not onely not praise him, but did blaspheme him; did not honour him, but scoff him; did not confess him, but deny him; and that which was worst of all, vpon their knees they denied Christ to be just, and vpon their knees they would haue proved him to bee a fool. Rabanus saith, As in holy scripture the word Aue. All hail, was hallowed and dedicated unto God to praise him withall, so likewise the knees were offered unto him to serve him withall. And hereupon it is, that those ministers of hard-heartedness in saying aue, al hail king of the Iewes, did profane the word with which we salute God, and in mocking him vpon their knees, did violate the reverence with which we do adore and worship God.  
All the hypocrites of this world, are disciples of Pilats servants, who to deceive the people withal, cloath themselves in rough attire, and bow their knees before all men, and yet on the other side, they spit out false witness against their brother, and hurt his head with a reed, in so much that their knees are bowed on the ground, and their meanings very hurtful and dangerous. Saint Barnard saith, With those of Pilats house, those blaspheme Christ vpon their knees, who at the same time in the Church of GOD are upon their knees praieng, and yet their mind is occupied vpon some evil thing: in so much that we may very well say of such, That if they serve Christ with their knees, they spit at him with their thoughts. Basil saith, All undiscreet prelates do spit vpon Christ his face, and strike him with a reed vpon their knees, when under the colour of an holy and honest zeal, they reuenge the anger which they had hidden in their minds, and call their unjust reuenge a brotherly correction.  
peccavi supper numerum arenae maris, & multiplicatae sunt iniquitates meae, & nunc flecto genua cordis mei ad te domine, said sorrowful Manasses, being captive in babylon, as if he should say, O mighty God of Israell, O great God of jacob, my offences are so many and so enormous, that they exceed in number the sands of the sea, and in stead of amending them, I heap every day fault vpon fault; and therefore seeing I haue no other remedy or help for my sin, I am determined to bow before thee the knees of my bowels.  
For the better understanding of this point, it is to be noted, that in all the workmanship of mans body, there is nothing more harder nor fuller of sinews, than the hollow place where the knee playeth, and hereupon it is, that if nature would not haue given us, as she did, our feet and legs, yet we might very well haue gone vpon our knees. I think we should not go much awry if we say, that the hard knees are nothing else but concavity & obstinat consciences, of which we may say with truth, that then we bow them to the ground, when we make them clean from any sin; and what other thing is an obstinat and concavity conscience, but a could and rough stiff leg, which cannot bow in the knees? understand my brother, that then thou dost bow thy leg, when thou dost forgive an injury; & then thou dost bend thy knees, when thou dost aclowledge thy fault, and then thou dost begin to pray when thou dost begin to mend, and then thou dost worship thy creator, when thou dost confess thyself to bee a sinner. When shall we say truly, that thou art prostrat on the ground, and on thy knees, but when we shall see thee amended of thy vices, and become humble with all thine heart? What doth it avail thee to bow thy knee on ground, if thy sin stand upright on foot? If thou wilt then, O my soul, serve thy God and Lord, and if thou wilt pray unto good Iesus with king Manasses, from thine heart, it is convenient that thou first throw down to the ground all thine offences before thou bow thy knees to the ground: because our Lord doth hear them with a better will, which pray with clean consciences, than those which meditat with their knees bowed. If thou wilt haue an example at hand of all this, look unto Pilats men, and how they kneeled before Christ, and mark the great thief and how he is on foot by Christs side, & yet thou shalt see plainly how those unhappy souls vpon their knees obtained of Christ their damnation; and contrariwise the good thief standing upright obtained salvation. Then the servant of our Lord doth bow the knees of his heart with king Manasses, when he doth amend his faults, and incline his heart to forgive injuries: and then we will also say that he is stiff and on foot, when he will not pardon his enemy nor flee from sin: but vaunteth himself rather in defending it than in amending it. jerome vpon Esay saith how bad soever it bee to sin, yet it is woorser to persevere in sin, and far woorser than this, to bee so bold as to maintain sin, for who soever doth defend and maintain a fault, doth very late or never 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 give us thereby to understand, that it doth little avail us to desire to be good, if in dead and in effect we be not.  
If with the force of good desires, and wishes, everlasting glory might be bought, who hath better desires, O my soul, than thou? what virtue or what goodness is there this day in heaven 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 just, I desire to be good, I desire to be amended, but woe be unto me( O good Iesus) woe be unto me, because I see all other men occupy their time in nothing but in good works, and I only employ mine in vain hope. What greater folly is there, or what vainer hope can there be, than to add every day offence vpon offence, and defer amendment until old age? he doth bow his right knee vpon the ground, who in one respect is of a good life, and yet cannot bee induced by any man to forgive an injury? and contrariwise he doth bow his left knee before, Christ who easily forgiveth him who hath offended him, and yet will not go out of that sin 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 live, but not I, Christ only liveth in me, whom I love better than myself.  
It is likewise to be weighed, that king Manasses did not say, I bow the knees of my body, but the knees of my heart, whereby he gave us to understand, that it would avail us very little, if we should bow these material knees, if the knees of our souls should remain stiff, 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 kneel on both knees, & yet stand upright 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 stiff and hard, as the hatred which we bear unto others, and the love which we bear ourselves? If sinful king Manasses doth not pray but vpon the knees of his heart, and the knees of the heart are love and hatred, the will and the nill, tell me I pray thee, why shouldst thou ask any thing of God vpon thy knees, if thou wilt love that which thou list, and list that which thou oughtest not? Then thou mayst commend thyself for bowing the knees of the heart, and praieng to our Lord, when thou dost not follow thine own list, and dost nothing but what thou oughtest.  
Take heed therefore my brother, take heed, and do not prostrate thyself before Christ with Pilats esquires, who at one time did serve him on their knees, & blaspheme him with their tongues: which thou dost likewise, when in outward show 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 humility which thou showest in bowing thy knees.  
It is also to be noted, that king Manasses said, I bow the knees of my own heart, and not of another mans; wherein he doth let us understand, that our own business we may commit unto other men, but in those which belong unto God, we ought to trust none but ourselves: for seeing it pleaseth our Lord to humble himself so far, as to make reckoning and keep an account with me; it is reason that in private prayer I keep it particularly with him. He doth pray and meditate with other mens knees, which hath no regard but unto that which toucheth himself in worldly businesses, and that which concerneth the service of our Lord, commendeth unto others: whereof it foolloweth afterwards that as we wax could in his service, so he likewise doth neglect that which is expedient for our good. He only doth bow the knees of his own heart, who hath no other love in his bowels but the love of Christ; and he prayeth with the knees of an other mans heart, who hath another love hidden in his bowels, besides the love of Christ: because that( if we beleeue Mimus the Philosopher) a man doth never serve nor worship any thing, but that which he loveth from the heart.   

CHAP. VIII. How Christ would not go out of the palace with the garments which there they clothed him in, and of the mysteries which are contained therein.  
INduerunt eum vestimentis suis, saith the evangelist S. mark, as if he would say, When Pilats servants had mocked their fill at Christ, and Pilat had condemned him to die, they remembered themselves to put off the purple which he 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 clothed with three garments, the night of his passion; that is to wet, with one which was white, with the which Herod scorned him; with another of purple, with the which they crwoned him in Pilats house; and with another, which was of scarlet, in the which they led him, when they said Ecce homo, in so much that they jested and skoffed at him as at a fool, and vnapparelled him at their pleasures. S. jerome vpon S. Matthew saith, In this is known the malice of the jewish nation, and the great patience of the son of God, in that that in his life time no man gave him a coat( if he would haue had any) and at the hour of his death, they procured him three to mock him with; whereof we may infer, how much more liberal men are in profane matters, than in alms giuing unto the poor.  
Theophil. saith, As the Iewes and Pilat gave Christ no coat when he had need of one, but only when they would crucify him; so the rich covetous men of this world, will not give the poor a farthing whilst they live, and after they be dead, command apparel to be given them, so that therefore they do alms deeds of those goods, because they cannot carry them with them to the grave. Dilectus meus candidus & rubicundus, said the bride, asking for her bridegroom, canticor. 9. as if he should say, know ye, O you children of jerusalem, that my true bridegroom, and my only well-beloved friend, hath his face as white as snow, and his cheeks coloured like scarlet: where it is much to be noted that the same colours which the bride saith her bridegroom hath, were the colours that Christ was clothed with in his passion, that is in a white gown, in which he was skoffed at, by Herod, and a purple, in which he was crwoned with of Pilats servants. S. Barnara vpon the Canticles saith, Not without a great mystery the bridegroom is praised of the bride, being white and read, and Christ in like maner in his passion clothed in white and read; to give us thereby to understand, that in these two colours are signified, the cleanness & whiteness which confessors were to haue, & the abundance of blood which the martyrs shal  shed. What other thing doth attire sigifie, with the which a man is honoured, but only all the saincts which Christ hath in his Church? what man is ever so much honoured with rich apparel as Christ is honoured with a just and virtuous man? Let no man marvel then for seeing, that the white garment, did signify the confessors, and the scarlet, the martyrs, for the son of God hath so many garments, to honour his person withall, as he hath just and holy men in his Church. until Constantine the great, Christ was attired in scarlet, because until that time the greatest part of the Church were martyrs; and from thence hitherward, he doth attire himself in white, which are the confessors which haue sprung up in the Church: and thereupon it is, that in the book of Canticles his garments were prophesied; and put vpon him in Pilats house, and honoured in his holy Church. We haue said all that above 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 son, chap. 64. As if he would say, Tell me, O my beloved son, why is thy gown so read, and of so scarlet a colour; and what is the reason that this thy coat, is like unto the coat of one, who treadeth and squiseth grapes in the press? Because that I onely did plant the vineyard O my father, I onely come alone to rid them, and make them clean, and I alone went to gather the grapes, when the vintage came, and I alone was in the fate at the time they were trodden, and for that cause my gown is so died, and also this my flesh thus bloodied.  
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 vineyard; but when he troad the grapes in the fate, to let us thereby understand, that when the son of God did separate vpon the cross, the rind and hull from the grape; that is to say the church from the synagogue, then he washed and died his holy coat in blood, and moreover there he lost his life.  
It is likewise a thing worthy to be noted, that the Prophet would not compare Christ his coat to scarlet, which is a read colour, nor to the read ochre colour, which is plain read; but unto the colour of a countrimans coat, who treadeth grapes in the fate, whose garments is never soiled nor died, but with that which leapeth from under his feet, and that which he treadeth vpon. The Prophet Esay did let us understand in an exquisite style, 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 under his feet, he that treadeth the grapes doth die his own garments; so the death of our redeemer was invented by the scribes and pharisees; insomuch that if Christ would haue dissembled, and not haue preached against them, they would never haue risen against him. Cyprian saith, As the Iewes knew little, and presumed much; so the son of God, did not onely not fear them, but made small reckoning of them. And hereupon it groweth, that because he did reprehend them in his sermons,, and undeceive the people of their hypocrisies, they rose against Christ as it were under his feet, 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 gown in treading them, when he doth separate the husk from the wine, but onely that Christ his enemies took away his life from him, because he would separate & take away vices from those which were vicious? Rabanus saith, For the son of God to say, that therefore he hath his garment read, because he alone vpon the cross did tread the grapes under his feet, may be as truly said, as to say, that therefore his body was all to be bloodied, because he was trodden vpon and kicked at in Pilats house: For to say the truth, as in all the time of his passion, he did never open his mouth to speak one unseemly word; so there passed no hour nor moment, in which he received not some notorious injury? What is Christ his garment, but onely the humanity of the same Christ? And what other thing would Esay say, when he said, that this garment was coloured read, but that that sacred manhood was all to bebloudied? And what is it to say, that the die, whereof Christes garment was died, was trodden out of grapes, but that no other thing did put the son of God to death, but our own onely faults 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 son of God should never haue died: insomuch that his garments were bloodied in the grapes of our offences. Speaking morally, wee should not say amiss, in saying that the vine is the Church, the grapes the faithful, the press, his passion, the beam his cross, the ston his sepulchre, the treader Christ; under whose feet it is convenient for us to put ourselves, to the end he may tread us, and the ston of our faults, to wet, the hardness of our heartes: because it is far better for us to be spurned at, and troaden down of God, than to bee crwoned of the world.  
O my soul, O my heart, look well to thyself, and take heed of thyself; that if good Iesus would tread thee down with tribulation, or wring thee with temptation, take heed that there leap not out of thee, some drop of blasphemy and impatience, wherewith thou mayst befoule and bloody the garment of our Lord: for in so doing, O my soul, thou shouldst be troaden, but not amended. How wouldest thou that the dross of sin should depart from thy soul, as long as thou dost remain in pleasure and delight, if the husk cannot be separated from the grape but by force of stamping and treading? If the most blessed soul of the son of God, did not go out of the rind and bark of his body, before that his flesh was wrong and trodden, how wilt thou that the offence of thy soul go from thee, being a neighbour unto 'vice, and cockered with sin? suffer thyself O my soul, suffer thyself to be wrong of thy creator, suffer thyself to be trodden by thy God: for as they do not put up their wine in tons, nor use it before it be troaden; so our Lord doth not crown the just until he be tempted. O what a great comfort it is to hear Christ say, torcular calcaui ego solus. To wet that he alone & none with him, doth tread & stamp the grape in the Fat, and doth separate the husk from it: wherein he doth let us understand, that there cometh no tribulation unto us in this world which cometh not first directed by his hand, and which is not sent us for our good: insomuch that to put us under his feet, is to desire to put us vpon his head.  
Saul would willingly haue had the authority that Christ had, utterly to destroy and ruin david; and pharaoh, Moses; and Salmanasar, toby; Iesabell, Elyas; and the divell job; but seeing the son of God saith, torcular calcaui ego solus, I onely haue stamped vpon the press; they could reach no farther, nor their power extended no farther to afflict them than the divine providence would permit thē. Barnard on the Canticles saith; carry me, O good Iesus, to the place of thy passion, & put me in the press of thy correction, to the end that thou mayst there separate the gold from the dross, the rose from the thorn, the bone from the reed, the husk from the grape, and sin from my soul: and in this case it is no reason, that thou shouldst haue pity on me in treading me, seeing that I haue none in offending thee. Eductus de carcere joseph, to tonderunt eum, & vest mutata, obtulerunt regi, saith the holy scripture, speaking of holy joseph, when he was in prison: as if he would say, After that innocent joseph had interpnted the dream which the baker had dreamed, and had expounded the kings butlers vision, they pouled his hair off his head, and changed the apparel which he wore, and so presented him unto king pharaoh in his palace. If we will at length explicate this figure of joseph, we shal find many and very deep mysteries in it, because that among all the monarch which went before Christ, he is prefigured in none so lively as in joseph. And because it may not seem that we speak at random, it is to be known, that as good joseph was cast into prison, because he would not commit adultery with his lady and mistress, so the son of ●od was carried to death, because he would not consent unto the errors of the synagogue; Whereof it fell out, that they did put joseph in prison betwixt two malefactors, and they did put Christ on the cross, betwixt two theeues; one of Iosephs companions was condemned to die, & the other who was the cup-bearer was restored unto his office; & so was it with those which suffered with Christ, the one was condemned & the other saved. Before they should carry joseph to the pal●ce, or give him the government of egypt, they pould his head, and took away his hair: so likewise they pouled the hair of the son of God, when they took from him all the disciples which he had with him; so that as they left joseph no hair to do him credit and honour, so there remained with Christ no disciple to do him service. O good Iesus, O my souls 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 joseph was; yet thou wast well pulled and haled by the hair; and if joseph went out pouled, thou didst escape pulled. joseph was handled with greater pity in king pharaoh his house, then Christ in Pilats, seeing they pouled joseph with a comb, but they pulled Christes hair away with their fists, and that which cannot be spoken without tears, they broke them not off, but pulled them up by the roots.  
Isidorus vpon Genis. saith, What other signfication had it to present joseph before king pharaoh pouled and spoiled; but that we should sand the son of God out of this world spoiled and bereaved of this life, and pouled of his merits? The gown and covering of the soul, is the body with which we live, and the hairs of the head are the merits which we possess; whereof it is, that to poule Iosephs hair, before he should go to the palace, was a token that Christ would leave us all his merits, before he went into heaven; insomuch that joseph did bring forth hair to give to the egyptians, and Christ did heap merites to leave to his Christians.  
What should become of us, O good Iesus, what should become of us, if thou shouldst not leave us the merites of thy hair? 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 own; because that thou, as thou wast God couldst not merit; and as thou wast man, hadst no need to do it.   

CHAP. IX. Wherein the author doth prosecute the same matter, and expoundeth two notable figures to the purpose.  
cum ingressus fuisset mulus subter condensam 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 from the battle, which he had with his father david, as he should pass under a great oak which had thick low bows, his horse went on, and he hanged by the hair; so that the oak served the sorrowful young man for a gallows, and his bush of hair 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 the wait which his enemies laid for him; but onely because he did suffer his hair to grow so long: for if he had gone to the battle, with his head pouled; or his hair shaven, at the worst he should haue escaped from thence with a broken head, and should not haue stayed there as he did, hanging. What other thing is the hair, which hang down our head, but the thoughts which hang in our mind? For without all comparison the heart is more cruelly martyrized with his own thoughts, than the body with all the four elements. It is expedient for us then to poule the hair of our thoughts, yea and if they be dishonest, pull them up by the roots; for at the day of our death the angels shall give us an account of all the hairs, which wee had in our head; and wee unto our Lord, of all the good and bad, which we think in our heart.  
Saint Barnard in a sermon saith, Thou sayest, O my good Iesus, that there shall not a hair 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 hairs which I was wont to haue; so that thou wouldst not ask me an account of that which I was wont to think. O my good Iesus, O the love of my soul; if holy joseph durst not appear before king pharaoh, with long hair; how dare I show myself before thee with so many foul and filthy cogitations? Anselmus in his meditations saith, O how many more in number, are the thoughts which lye hidden in my mind, than the hairs which hang at my head, and that which is most to be lamented is, that I wash my head every week, and defile my soul every day: insomuch, that if I were brought to be sold, without comparison, men would give more for my hair than for my thoughts.  
Seeing then that we haue proved, much hair to be many thoughts; and that i● is nothing else to let them grow long, but onely to let the heart think what he listeth: the seruant of our Lord ought to deny him that liberty, as a thing very hurtful for him; because our bodies grow dissolute for no other reason, but because we keep not our thoughts in subiection.  
Saint Barnard vpon Qui habitat saith, If thou wilt serve thy God,( O my soul) thou must first set thy thoughts in good order and surety, before thou take the weed in a monastery; and thou shouldst rather look unto that, that thou thinkest on, than unto thyself which doth think it: for it may be that the divels will laugh thee to scorn, if they should see thee pray with thy tongue in the Church, and see thy heart wander abroad in the market place. We may truly say of him that he nourisheth long hair, who persuadeth himself that he shall live many yeares; and in the end at unawares, our Lord so suffering it, and his sins so deserving it, when his hair was at the longest, death came vpon him, and took away his life. He likewise doth suffer his hair to grow very long, who thinketh very highly of himself, imagining that in time, he shalbe a great parsonage, and haue the charge of all the affairs of the commonwealth: and because all that smelleth of vanity, and savoureth of lightness, when he doth least think 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 thoughts, as prince Absalon was by his hair, unto whom the three of their folly hath been more dangerous, than the thick oak was unto sorrowful Absalon! for after that their business and affairs hath not fallen out as they thought, although they hang not vpon an oak; yet they return to their houses and die desperate.  
Take heed then, O my brother, take heed to bring forth long hair with Absalon; and if thou hast done it, be glad that they cut it thee off, as they did Iosephs in egypt: for being shorn he became to be a great fauourit; and prince Absalon, because he nourished his, came to die vpon the Gibbet. Barnard unto the monk Rupertus saith; What other thing doth it signify that joseph was spoyled of the gown which he ware on his body, and that he pouled off his hair, with which he honoured his head withall, but onely that it is convenient for the seruant of our Lord, before he enter into Religion, to forsake all the wealth, which he possesseth; and poule and wipe off the nobility and ablenesse, on which he presumeth. They do not suffer holy joseph, in pharaoh his house to wear his own garments, and wilt thou live in Christes house with thy goods and wealth? They do not suffer him in Pharaos house to foster long hair, and darest thou in Christes house entertain foolish thoughts? he doth entertain foolish thoughts, who doth presume much of himself, 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 he never erreth. What doth it benefit the seruant of our Lord to poule the hair of his head, if those of his heart remain and grow in his own heart?  
If then thou wilt, my brother Rupertus, enter into Christes palace, which is better than Pharaos, king of egypt, suffer thyself to be spoiled of thine own will, and give men leave to shear the hair of thy lightness: for oftentimes the heart is busied in such vain and light things, that a hair is of greater weight than his thought. Hitherto S. Barnard.  
Vidi jesum sacerdotem magnum stantem, indutum vestibus sordidis, & ait dominus ad me, num quid non est torris erutus de igne. These are the words of the Prophet zachary, chap. 3. As if he would say, I saw in a vision which our Lord shewed unto me one night, the great Priest called Iesus, who was on foot, and not sat down; & I saw that he was attired with very foul apparel; whereat unraveling, our Lord said unto me, This Priest Iesus whom thou dost see ill-fauouredly attired, is the onely and sole firebrand, which escaped out of the fire, because all the other firebrands are either quiter burnt up, or else could not be put on fire at all.  
If this be a wonderful figure, the fulfilling of it is much more marvelous: for seeing it doth name the priest Christ by his own name, in the text; the figure is to be understood of blessed Iesus and of no other. It wanteth not a high mystery to say, that he is called Iesus, that is to say, a saviour, and that he is a Priest, that is, holy or sacred, and that he is a great Priest, that is, strong and mighty, and that he saw him standing, which is a sign of care. Whereof we Christians may think ourselves happy, seeing we haue a redeemer, which can deliver us; a Priest which can absolve us; and one that is mighty, who can defend us, and who is always standing to the end he may guard vs. S. Stephen in his passion, and zachary in this his vision saw the son 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 even as, non dormitabit neque dormiet qui impugnat Israel: even so he neither hath slept, nor will sleep, 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 sleep little nor much, who defendeth Israell; because that the ambushes with which the divell layeth wait for us, are so many, and the snares so dangerous, that if the son of God would absent himself, and be careless of us, wee should not be able to help ourselves against the divell, but yield and fall into every 'vice.  
O then we be happy, if we be grateful unto our Lord, seeing that we haue such a redeemer, and such a watch man for us, who watcheth because I should sleep; fasteth, because I should eat; taketh pains, because I should be at rest; standeth on foot, because I should sit down: insomuch that the great care which he hath over me, maketh him utterly careless of himself. I speak not all this, O good Iesus, to attribute any vain glory unto myself, but to give thee greater glory: for if thou shouldst not defend me under thy mighty hand, the divell would haue me in his power.  
It is also to be noted, that zachary did not say in his vision, that Iesus the Priest was a coal, nor that he was fire; but that he was a firebrand lighted: wherein he gave us to understand, that our blessed saviour was not all coal; that is to wet God: nor all wood; that is to wet, pure man; but that he 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 zachary saith, That the holy Ghost could not haue given us a more fitter comparison than this of the fireband; because that as in the firebrand, the fire is so united 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 hypostatical and divine union Christ our saviour is true God, and true man, and true man, and true God. Before Christ was incarnat, he was all pure fire: but since he took flesh, he changed into a fire-brand set on fire: in which his meaning was, that the wood of his humanity should burn, and that the fire should be his unspeakable charity; insomuch that it was necessary, that in that holy fire-brand, the wood of his body should be burned, and that the fire of his godhead should pardon vs.  
O how much we are bound unto blessed Iesus, seeing that in the old law he did not suffer himself to be seen nor felt, but was all fire, and hide himself from all men: but after that he took our redemption vpon him, and for our sakes made himself a light and a holy fire-brand, he suffereth himself to be seen; suffereth himself to be handled; suffereth himself to be taken: insomuch that now he is not a coal which doth burn, but a fire-brand which giveth us light. It is the property of a fire-brand to give light unto him who bloweth it; burn him who toucheth it; heat him who cometh near unto it: all which sweet Iesus doth, who giveth light unto those which follow his counsel; burneth those which search out his deep judgements, and giveth heat unto those which keep his commandements. It is also a property of the fire-brand to let itself be touched on that end which is not on fire, and on that end which burneth, he will not be so much as touched with the finger: which property also God useth with the wicked and naughty persons, unto whom he bestoweth his mercy, whilst they live 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 wet that this fire-brand and no other, through special privilege did escape the general fire: wherein he giveth us to understand, that the son of God onely, was he who was conceived of the holy Ghost, and in whom there was never any smoke of sin, nor ever knew how to do any man hurt at all. Who dare say that the son of God did ever hurt any man, seeing that having reason to do it, and being able to do it, did always suffer hurt, and never did any?  
From the fire of original sin, wherein all the world was burnt; onely this holy fire-brand escaped from being burnt or smoked: the fire of pride came not unto him, nor the coal of envy, nor the smoke of anger, nor yet the sparkles of lechery: insomuch that he was not overcome by sin, but sin by him.  
O high mystery! O unspeakable sacrament! that the son of God having escaped an universal fire, should come to fall into another greater fire, that is to say, that although the fire of sin did not compass him; the fire of love did compass him and burn him, which is manifestly seen in that, that onely because he was stricken with the love of us, he consented to be crucified vpon a three.   

CHAP. X. Here he prosecuteth the figure touched before, and there is also expounded an authority of the Apostle in it.  
IEsus autem indutus erat vestibus sordidis, saith zachary in the figure which we haue alleged: as if he would say, It was a lamentable case to see the honourable old Priest Iesus, clothed in old bare apparel, and especially being very filthy and foul. undoubtedly we should say very truly, if we say that this figure was literally fulfilled in Christ, seeing that the white gown which Herod gave him, and the purple gown which Pilat gave 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 do him any new honour, but the better to scoff and jest at him.  
Blessed Iesus was in birth noble; in age young; in condition clean; in life honest; and in reputation and account wise: the which being so, every man may see what a shane and grief it was unto him, being a noble man, to be clothed in a torn coat; and being a young man, in an old jacket; & being neat & cleanly to haue a foul shirt; & being a sacred person, to put on him a profane cloak, and being a wise man, to be skoffed at in a fools garment. S. Chrysostom vpon S. matthew saith, In this miserable life, there is nothing in which men are more honoured, than with the garments they wear, and companies which they lead about with them; and from hence it cometh, that the ministers of wickedness not without great wisdom, and excess of malice, did accompany Christ with two theeues, to accuse him of wickedness and sedition, and cloath him with vile and base attire to note him of ambition and folly. Rabanus to this purpose saith, The jews 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 accompany him with theeues, because men should account him a thief, and cloath him in fools coats, because men should reckon of him as of a fool; & they accused him of naughtiness, because they should hold him for such a one; & they raised up slanders vpon him, because he should be made infamous. Cyprian saith, In the first thirty yeares, that Christ lived in the world, because he did neither preach, nor reprehend any man, no man was offended nor grieved at him, nor any man molested him; but after he began to preach and reprehend 'vice and vicious men: the Iewes perceiving that their credit went daily to decay, and that the son of God grew in famed and credit, they determined among themselves to take away his life, seeing they could not lessen his same. August. vpon S. John saith, The end that the Iewes intended, in putting a crown vpon Christ his head, and a hollow dry reed in his hand, and a purple read on his back, was not so much to kill him, as to discredit him, and scoff him as a fool and a dizzard, and thereupon they fought but one only torment of the cross to take away his life, and invented ten thousand to take away his credit.  
Theophil. saith, The ministers of wickedness did cloath Christ in a thread-bare gown, to impair his credit, in a torn one, to break his doctrine, & in a soul one, to spot his life, yea they clothed him in other mens apparel to impute other mens faults unto him. leaving the letter and searching out quid spiritus dicat ecclosijs, What the spirit telleth the churches, it is to be known that oftentimes in holy Scripture, are figured our good and evil works, by good and evil garments, insomuch that such as our garments is which we wear, such is the life which we led. 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 literal and true sense; the scripture doth not speak there of attire which we wear, made of wool and silk, but of the good and evil conditions which we haue.  
When God saith as he doth, Let thy garments be white at all times, he regardeth very little, whether I go in white or read: but he careth very much that my life be chast, and my soul clean, because that in the house of our Lord, they call a black garment a naughty life; and a white, a pure and holy life: for our Lord to say, Blessed is that man who keepeth his garments, that he walk not naked, is to aduise us that then a man doth keep garments a long time, who knew how to keep his innocency from his childhood, and that he is altogether naked, who is fallen from the innocency and grace of our Lord.  
Saint Augustine vpon Genesis saith; If our first father had not fallen into sin, he should never haue grieved that he was naked, so that at one time he lost his innocency, and got shane, and also at one time, he did learn to sin, and used to cloath himself. When the Psalmist saith, Induit confusionem, he he doth tell and aduise us, that then a man doth put on the cloak and coat of confusion, when he goeth lost in the way of perdition, and maketh no reckoning of his salvation; and that which is worst of all, he hath so oft hardened his conscience, & hath castaway so far all shane, that he doth no more loathe to sin than to speak; nor to speak than to sin.  
Cassiodorus vpon the Psalm. saith; Thou dost so oft cloath thyself with so many confusions, as thou dost times sin against thy God; and thou dost sin so many times as thou dost impugn reason; and thou dost so many times impugn reason, as thou dost yield unto sensuality; and as oft as thou dost not contradict and gainsay thy appetite: insomuch that thou dost then p●… confusion, when thou dost impugn reason.  
Being then presupposed, that the garments which we wear, are nothing else but the works which we do, it is to be understood that Christ our redeemer, did with one kind of garments cloath his body, and with another kind his soul; he clothed his soul with grace, but he covered his body with pain, insomuch that Christ his soul received that which we deserved, and his glorious body paid that which he owed not.  
O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, how is it possible that my tongue can rehearse, or any pen writ the making of thy garments, if my eyes do not first make a fountain of tears? What other signification had it, that the great priest was clothed in foul apparel, but onely that thou, O my good Iesus, wast to lay vpon thy body, all my naughtiness and offences? The garment of thy humanity, which thy father made thee, and the holy Ghost woaue thee, and thy glorious mother gave thee, was made without sin, and given thee without spot: but woe be unto me, woe be unto me; because I am he who doth spot him, I am he who doth defile and soil him, I am he who doth break him: which I do as oft as I do sin against thee. The son of God then did put on my pride, my anger, my envy, my gluttony, my fault, and also his own pain, and arrayed himself with all my offences and faults, as it were with old spotted garments which he did wash in the altar of the cross; not with soap and water, but with his own precious blood. In similitudinem hominum factus, habitu inventus est vt homo, saith the Apostle, writing to the Church of the Thessalonians, chap. 2. As if he would say. When the son of God came into this world, he did nothing else but look unto other men; clothed himself with a mans garment.  
Beda saith, the Apostle doth not say, that the son of God took the likeness of flesh; for so he should haue been a fantastical and not a true body; but he said, that he took vpon him the likeness of a man, which was said, for sin and not for flesh; seeing that he was true man, and not a fantastical body: insomuch that he took the shape of a man, but of sin he took onely the likeness; and he saith further, He took●… ●… he form and shape, but the likeness of sin; seeing the G●… ●… oath believe of him, and the faith doth preach, that he was true God, and true man, and a true redeemer; but a feigned sinner.  
He was undoubtedly the true redeemer, seeing he took mans flesh to the end to suffer in it; and he was a sinner in show and feignedly, seeing he did put our sins vpon that flesh, to crucify them with himself; 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 he added the punishment of his own. For the Apostle then to say, that Christ habitu inventus est homo, is to say, that he bare the sins of man vpon his back; insomuch that as man doth wear a garment on him to do him credite withall, so the son of God took vpon him all our offences, to brag and vaunt of them, because that we are not so infamous in committing them, as good Iesus is gloous in forgiving them.  
And because that by the white garment, and the purple garment, and scarlet garment, and the coat without seam, were signified our sundry faults; the son of God would at one time put them on him, and at another put them off, to give us to understand, that it lieth onely in his hand to forgive us, or not to forgive us, and that life and death is in his own power, and also the liking of our works or disliking of them.  
Cyrillus vpon S. John saith, It wanteth not a great mystery that the son of God, took the garments which they gave him in Pilat and Herods palace, although they were never so old, ragged and foul, and how perverse and wicked soever the ministers were which gave them him: wherein it seemeth that he doth make them equal with his blessed mother, who gave him a coat without seam to wear vpon his back, as they gave him a purple one to scorn and scoff him withall. O good Iesus, O my souls delight, tell me I pray thee, if thou hadst need of a new garment, why dost thou not ask for one of thy blessed mother? didst thou go in one garment 33 yeares; and for three houres, which they gave thee to live, dost thou put on a new one? Thou who dost cloath the heauens with stars, the seas with waters, and the earth with trees, why dost thou abase thyself to take garments of tyrants? if thou take them for old garments, what is elder than my soul, who is aged in wickedness and sin? If for a ragged and torn one, what is more ragged than my sorrowful soul, which knoweth not howe to shut the gate against any 'vice? If thou hast them for a fowle garment, what is fowler than my soul, the which will never wash herself in the fountain of thy grace, nor ever give ouerwallowing in the dirty puddle of vices.  
S. Barnard vpon the passion of our Lord saith; For the son of God to take garments of his mother, who was holy, and receive them also of Pilat who was a sinner, is to let us understand that his mercy is so great, that he admitteth all sorts unto him, and despiseth none; that is to say, the works 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 just his rewards.  
basil. in a sermon saith; Christ took more garments of Herod and Pilat, than he did of his most blessed mother, to let us thereby understand, that there are more sinners than just men; and that the sins with the which we offend him, are more in number, than the services which we do unto him: whereupon it falleth out, that our Lord hath more to punish than to reward.  
It is likewise to be weighed, that Christ did always wear the coats which his blessed mother gave him; and those which Pilat gave him, he ware but one night onely; wherein he did let us understand, that the works which good men do, he doth always accept: but those which wicked men do, he doth not always forgive. And in this case Seneca saith, That it is an exceeding great folly, and want of discretion for any man to offer, and put himself into peril & danger with an hope of remedy. Cyprian saith, Let no man forget to note, that the son of God did wear the garments which his mother gave him thirty and three yeares; and those which Herod and Pilat gave him, he skarce ware one whole day; whereby our Lord doth admonish us, that as for the naughty works, with the which wicked men do cloath themselves, he is glad for a time to dissemble them; but yet for many yeares he will not suffer them. It wanteth not likewise a mystery, that of all the garments which they gave Christ in Pilats and Herods house, he would take none from thence with him, but as he put them on in the palace, so he left them in the palace: wherein our good Iesus did signify unto us, that we should hold for suspected all the favours of the wicked, and all the conversation which we haue with them, in token whereof, he scarce gave them one word, and much less took away one hair of their garments with him. Let us then leave herod his white garment, and let us leave Pilat his scarlet garment, for thereby we are taught to leave the world, and all that which smelleth of the world, because it is small reason that any man should cloath himself with other mens garments, seeing that the son of God would not die with his own proper ones.  
Agmon saith, For the son of God not to go out of Pilats house, but with the same attire which he had when he entered into it, is to signify unto us, that we shall not take more out of the world, than we brought into the world. If the son of God did take any thing with him out of that wicked palace, it was his shoulders opened and rent with stripes, his head crwoned with thorns; and the like is of us, when we depart out of this world, out of which we depart whipped with a thousand griefs and vexations, and hedged and compassed in with many sins.   

CHAP. XI. Of the manner how they did led Christ to be crucified: unto which purpose there is a notable figure expounded.  
ET baiulans sibi crucem, exivit in eum qui dicitur Caluariae locum, Hebraicè autem Golgotha, saith S. John, chap. 19. as if he should say, The son of God having put off the purple garment which they gave him in Pilats palace, and putting on that which he brought thither with him, he took his cross vpon his shoulders, and went towards the place, where they would crucify him, which is called calvary in Latin, and in Hebrew, Golgotha.  
The deputy had scarce given sentence that they should crucify Christ, but all those which stood at the gate of the palace, gave a loud cry, as it were of ioy and victory: for their reason was so darkened, and their hatred toward Christ so great, that there was not one which did so much desire life unto himself, as he did covet to procure good Iesus his death. Plauserunt supper te manibus sibilauerunt & mouerunt capita sua, said ieremy speaking of jerusalem, when it was spoiled and destroyed by the assyrians, as if he would say, Thy enemies were not content only to burn thy temple, throw down thy wals, rob thy treasuries, imprison thy children, but the better to mock at thee, and show 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 dizzard, and leaped and clapped their hands for mere ioy.  
How is it possible for me to expound these lamentable words, if my eyes do not first turn into a fountain of tears? give over, O ieremy, and bewail and weep no more over the captivity of thy people, and let thou and I weep and bewail the imprisonment and sentence which was given 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 carry innocent Iesus to the mount of calvary to be crucified: in so much that if strangers do take away their country from thy nation, thy countrymen do take away life from my God. That which happened to jerusalem by the Assyrians, did happen unto Christ by the Iewes; who felt such great pleasure to see Christ condemned to death, and that he was delivered unto them by iustice, that they did presently publish it through the streets, and ask for a reward of their good news; they commend Pilat to be a just judge, they allow of his sentence, & did persuade themselves that that iudgement of Pilats against Christ, would take away all scruples out of their minds.  
Chrysost. vpon S. Matthew saith, that immediately after Christ was condemned to die, the ioy which the woorser sort of people did show, was exceeding great, because they thought that the life which they took from him, they gave unto themselves and their common-wealth. Origen saith, When the son of God was judged to die, some went to seek a three to make the cross others to seek a carpenter to make it, others went to break the rock where it should be put, others to seek nailes to crucify him with, others to agree with the hangmen to put him to death, and others to stir up people for fear least he should be taken away from them.  
Although by reason of the offices which they had distributed among themselves, 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 crucify him with their nailes, they had already crucified him in their hearts. Barnard saith, The son of God being judged 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 ache with crying, nor their feet were wearie with going, nor their tongues with speaking, neither did it grieve them to spend their money, because they were in a great fear, that if Christs death should haue ben deferred, Pilat would haue repented himself of his iudgement.  
When a man departeth out of the world, as some go to prepare his grave, and some stay to shrowd him, so did the ministers of hard-heartedness at Christs death, for some went to seek the place where they should crucify him, and some stayed behind; to give order how they should carry him to be crucified, so that he who laboured most, did think he had deserved best.  
There is much to be weighed in this matter, and thou, O my soul, hast much more to trip for in this case, for if they will led thy Lord and, God to shane, is it thinkest thou for his own fault, or for thine? Thine is the fault, O my soul, thine is the fault, and his the punishment; thine the sin, and his the hurt; thine the theft, & he is hanged; thine is the blood, and he it is who sheddeth it; thine is the life, and his the death; thine the prise, and he payeth for it; thine is the glory, and he is the man that buyeth it for thee. Be not absent, O my soul, in that hard and narrow passage; accompany your God in that pitiful way; & by my poor counsel, you shall join your fault with his innocency, and load your sins vpon his precious members; for woe be unto thee, and woe be unto me, if at the same time that they took thy precious flesh to punish, they did not also crucify my grievous offences with it.  
What injustice is this, O Pilat, what injustice is this? dost thou dissemble with me, which can do nothing but sin every hour a thousand times? and dost thou carry him to execution who knoweth no other duty but to forgive sins? command then that I be lead forth, command them to carry me, and command them to do iustice vpon me: for how much soever thy torments be, yet my sins be far more, and what hast soever thou dost make to torment me, I will make greater to sin. Anselmus in his meditations saith, Before that they did led out the son of God to be crucified, they took off the scarlet garment which was in stead of a cloak, and also the purple which served him for a coat: and they pulled it off over his head, and pulling it hastily, his head being beset with thorns, as if it had been studded with nailes, some leaped out, some went in further, some were wreathed about, and the points of some broken, and stayed in his brain, the blood running down from Christ like a stream.  
The reas; on why they took from the innocent lamb the purple garment, and clothed him in his own cote, was because he should be well known of all men, the which they feared, if they should not haue changed his attire, by reason that he was so dissigured by the multitude of torments. How do you think that he should not be known betwixt two theeues? seeing that he carrieth a greater cross than the others, and hath a crown of thorns which the other had not; and goeth in the midst which the others do not; and watereth the streets with his own blood, which the others never did.  
Barnard in a sermon saith, Seeing that blessed Iesus hath his cote rent by often pulling at it, his shoulders opened with often whipping of them; his face foul, with much spitting on him; and his eyes dazzled with the blows which they gave him; and his hair thin, by pulling it; how should he not be known, seeing among all he is so mocked? bonaventure in his Stimulo, saith, O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, tell me, I pray thee, what favour did they unto thee in that infamous palace, when thou didst talk in secret with Pilat the deputy? That which I brought out of the palace was a cross vpon my shoulders, company of theeues, a halter about my neck, a crown 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 led me to be crucified in as good order, as they led a bride to be married. If thou hast  told us what thou didst bring out of the palace, wilt thou not tell us also what thou didst leave there behind thee? That which I left in Pilats house, was many hairs sown in his parlours, and much of my blood shed in his court, much of my skin cleaving to his garments, and pieces of my gown among his servants, and all my disciples fled among the people, inso much, that if Pilat did give iudgement in my favour, I paid him there presently with my own blood. Absciderunt palmitem cum vna sua, quem portauerunt in vecte dvo viri, saith the holy scriptures, speaking of the spies which moses did sand to discover the land of promise; and it as if he would say, After that Iosua and Caleb had viewed the cities, and walked over all the bounds of Chanaan, to the end that the fruitfulness 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 over the middle of a staff, and the cluster of grapes was so heavy, that it was enough for two men to carry into the town.  
To the end that the letter may agree with the sense, and the figure answer unto the thing figured, and the truth follow the prophesy, we must stay a little in this figure, and expound it word by word: because that the truth of it being well known, there will many secrets be discovered by it, and we shall be thereby much lightened. Origen vpon this place saith, That the land of promise doth signify happiness or felicity, the bunch of grapes doth represent Christ, the skin his blessed humanity, the wine of the grape his godhead, the two men which carried the grapes to show, are the two theeues which they carried with Christ to be crucified; and the staff on which they carry the grapes, is the cross on which they crucified Christ.  
And what did it signify, that in that day in which they carried this bunch of grapes to the camp 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 on the three, the greatest sin in the world was committed? As of those two men which carried the grapes hanging vpon the staff, the one of them went behind, and the other before, so the naughty thief turned his back unto Christ, and condemned himself, and the good thief turned his face unto Christ, and saved himself.  
I say not this which now I say, without grief of mind, that is that none of those which did cut the grapes, nor none of those which did hang them vpon the staff, did deserve to eat of them; and so in like maner, few of those which did crucify Christ, did deserve to enjoy the benefit of his blood. August. vpon S. John saith What are the two spies that carry on their shoulders the grapes hanging on the staff, but the jew and the gentle which led Christ to be crucified? of these two, he that went before was the jews who turned his back unto Christ and would not beleeue in him; and he which went behind, was the gentle, who had him before him in his eyes to worship, in so much that from that time the church remained blessed with holy jacob, 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 jewel which we did see come from heaven into the world, was the person of Christ, and what difference there is betwixt that grape and this, cannot here be spoken of. Theophil. saith, Who is the grape which is hanged on the shoulders of the two spies, but the true son of GOD which did burn betwixt two loues? the one love was, that which he bare unto his father to satisfy him, and the other was that which he bare unto us, to satisfy and pay for us, 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 saith, Notwithout a mystery the scripture doth tell where that grape was cut, and who carried him, but did not say that they did eat him, or that they did keep him: whereof we may infer, that the unhappy Iewes had the Grape to hang upon a staff, and to press out the Wine out of him, but yet they were not to drink it, nor yet to keep it, but that they were only to press it, and others to tun it up.  
O how happy we Christians be, that not having planted the vine-yard, nor gathered the grape, nor pressed the grape, yet do deliver out the wine of the sacraments, and sequester unto ourselves all holy mysteries: in so much, that the Iewes bear the fault of his death, and with us there remaineth the fruit of his blood. Hath the Church peradventure any other such high treasure, as is the fruit of this grape? The grape which the Iewes trod under their feet, haue not the Angels think you vpon their crowns? we worship thee then holy grape, and praise thee, seeing that with the wine, which was wrong out of thee, thou didst redeem the world.  
Cyril on S. john saith, The old fathers made small reckoning of the grape, which the spies brought them to the desert, and their children did much less set by the grape Christ when he came into the world. And as there arose a great noise in the camp 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 blessedness: so that when his coming should haue been in resurrection̄e, it was to their fall and ruin. That they did not rejoice & give thanks for the rich grape, which they brought into the desert, was a figure of the small fruit which they should draw of the death of Christ, and from hence it cometh, that when that holy grape was wrong and pressed in the press of the synagogue, all the wine which came out of it, the church receiveth 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 valley of Cades, so they carried to the mount of calvary the heavenly grape, to be pressed betwixt two theeues: in so much that thou O my good Iesus, between sinners, and with sinners, and for sinners, and like a sinner wouldest die vpon the cross, and bestow thy death vpon me being a great sinner. Anselmus saith, When they did led thee, O sacred grape, from Pilats house, to press thee on the mount of calvary, tell me I pray thee, which did grieve thee most, either to see thyself crwoned with thorns, or find thyself compassed with theeues? The son of God did much more grieve at the evil company which they gave him, than at the crown which they put vpon him; for if the thorns did pierce his brain, the company of the wicked did break his heart; for in this point a good man doth grieve more to be touched in his famed and credit, than for hands to be laid vpon his person.  
Ambrose vpon S. Suke saith, The son of God did give alms of that alms which was given him, and he gave alms when he preached his high doctrine unto the people, and he gave alms when he went from one hospital to another to visit the sick; and therefore this being true, as true it is, Christ had great reason to complain of the jewish nation, seeing that they defamed him for a thief, having been the greatest alms giver in the world. What greater alms can there be than to bring the ignorant out of his error and ignorance? what greater alms than for to spare out of his own mouth to give unto another? what greater alms than to heal the diseased, sick in his bed, and raise him who was dead in his grave?  
If then the son of God doth give alms of these kind of alms, unto all such as are ignorant and poor, why do they carry him like unto a thief betwixt theeues? The thefts which they raised vpon the son of God, were the greatest thefts in the world, to wit, that he stolen the name of God by calling himself his son; and he stolen likewise the name of Caesar by calling himself king; and the name of Moyses, in giuing a new law; and hereupon like unto a famous thief they did crucify him betwixt two theeues. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, what a change of degree is this? that being served in the heaven with angels, and accompanied vpon earth with apostles, dost go now thorough the streets of jerusalem beset with theeues? who do accompany theeues but other theeues? who but thou, O good Iesus, hast stolen the essence of thy father, the innocency of the angels, wisdom from the holy-ghost, flesh from men, truth from scripture, holinesse from the church, seeing there is nothing holy, but that which thou dost sanctify with thy hand? Art not thou a thief, seeing thou didst steal the spirit from the letter, the truth from the figure, Apostles from the Prophets, the church from the synagogue, and paradise from thy father; The paradise which thou didst steal from thy father, unto whom didst thou first give, but unto the good thief which suffered on the cross with thee; O glorious thief! O happy robberies! seing that all that, which thou didst steal from heaven, and take from the old testament, and all which thou hadst by thy patrimony, and all which thou didst get with thy own sweat, all this I say, thou didst divide and impart with my soul, so that if thou haue the name of a thief, thou hast the deeds of a redeemer.   

CHAP. XII. Here the same matter is prosecuted, and a prophesy of Esay expounded in a high style.  
DAbo clauem david supper humerum eius, aperiet, & non erit qui claudat, claudet & non erit qui aperiat, said God by the prophet Esay in the 22 chapter, as if he would say, The love which I bear to my only begotten son is so great, and I haue such a confidence in my well-beloved Christ, that I do not commit unto any, but unto him, great king Dauids key, the which he shall not bear in his hand, but vpon his shoulder: and it shall be given 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 deep and full of mysteries, it is necessary that we shape our pen very cunningly in opening of them, and that the reader hear us with patience; because that in scripture nothing can avail us, if it be not red with devotion, 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 needful for us to recite the vexations and troubles which king david passed through, and the great perils he hath been in, because that how much the more he was in favour with God, so much the more he was persecuted of men. He was persecuted by his own bretheren, in the army of the Israelites; by his own Lord king Saul; by his own wife Michal; by his familiar friend Shemey; by his mortal enemy Golyas the giant; by his tender son faire Absalon; by his natural 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 unto his son, an inheritance and eldership of trauails and griefs, as others do of wealth and money.  
It is also to be presupposed, that king david was not only persecuted and afflicted, but was also very poor and needy, which is easily perceived, seeing that he borrowed bread of Abimelech the priest, and asked for milk and cheese of Nabal Carmelus, and stolen a bottle of water from king Saul, & jonathan his son, for pure hunger did eat the honey of wasps, and took grapes and raisins of Abigail, in so much, that if he was of all the afflicted, the most afflicted, he was also among the poor the poorest.  
When Gabriel the archangel said unto the vergin, Dabit illi dominus sedem david patris eius, The Lord will give him the seat of his father david. And when Esay said, Dabo clauem david supper humerum eius, what did he mean by the key but his sharp cross? and what understood they by the seat or chair, but his strait poverty? To say unto Christ, that they will give him Dauids key, is to tell him, that they will give him Dauids troubles and griefs; and it is to tell him that they will give him Dauids poverty: in so much that david had two famous heires, that is to wet, king Salomon who inherited his kingdoms, and the son of God who inherited his travails 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 poor; to Salomon happened peace, but to Christ not so, but war; to Salomon it fell out to be king, but unto Christ not, but to be a servant in the account of the word; to Salomon fell the throne of power, but to Christ not, but the seat of misery: finally there came to Salomon al the treasures with which he might rejoice and be merry, but to Christ not, but only the key of the cross on which he should die.  
To what end, O good Iesus, to what end, dost thou marry with human nature, seeing they give thee nothing in dowry with her, but an old key, and a broken seat? do they not give thee a house to dwell in, and do they promise thee a chair to sit in? do they not give thee a chest to possess, and yet promise thee a key to open it? Albertus vpon Missus est, saith, Of all that which king david had in his house, Christ inherited nothing of it, but one old key of iron, and a chair of wood; by the which is understood his most holy cross vpon which he died, as if he were seated in a chair, and with the which he did open( as it had been with a key) his perfect glory. What is it for Esay to say, That they would cast the key vpon the shoulder of the messiah promised in the law, but that the son of God should carry his cross vpon his back unto the mount of calvary?  
It is to be noted also, that they did not command him to bear the key of his cross, vpon both his shoulders, but vpon one shoulder onely, whereby we are given to understand, that the son 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 us like God. For the prophet to say, That no man should open that which he should shut, and that no man should shut that which he would open; is to let us learn, that no man should be able to like & approve that which he should condemn; and that no man should be so hardy to condemn that, that he should approve, because the whole matter of our salvation or perdition, consisteth in nothing else, but in falling into his liking and grace, or by living in his dislike and disgrace. Saint jerome vpon Esay saith, We haue never heard of any key, nor seen any, which hath been so heavy or loaden with iron, which a man might not haue carried in his hand, except it were onely the key which the son of God carried vpon his shoulder to the mount of calvary, the which was so heavy with iron, I say the iron of our offences, and not of the minerals, that the onely weight of that key was sufficient to bereave the son of God of his life. O glorious key! O happy key! is there any thing in heaven, or vpon earth, so happy as thou art, seeing that thou art the secretary of all holy mysteries? Thou, O glorious key, didst open heaven and shut up hell; open unto sinners, and shut from the divels; 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 unto grace, and shut from sin.  
S. August. vpon the Apostle saith, For Esay to say, that that which Dauids key doth open, no man doth shut, and that which it doth shut, no man doth open, is to teach us that the mysteries which Christ wrought vpon the cross, and shut up under the key, are so high and incomprehensible, that no man reacheth unto, more than that which he doth reveal, nor any man knoweth more, than that which he doth teach, with this key they did open unto the Apostle, when he saw those secrets which were not lawful for man to speak of; and with that key they did open to S. Stephen, when he saw the heauens open, and with that key they opened unto S. Peter, when he said, Thou art Christ the son of the living God, and with the same key they did open likewise unto the Centurion, when he said, truly this was the son of God.  
O my soul, O my heart, if thou wilt, and if thou desire to enter into bliss, and felicity, why dost thou not serve, and go after good Iesus, who keepeth the key of it? Thou must now understand, that the key of 'vice, vicious men keep; the key of the world, worldlings haue; and the key of hell, the devils possess; but the key of heaven, none hath but Christ. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, 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 enjoy: why dost thou not open unto this my sinful soul, who is weary with calling of thee? and hoarse with crying unto thee? O redeemer of my soul, O sweetness of my life, seeing thou saist, That thou didst not come into this world, but for to save sinners, and goest about for to seek none but sinners, and didst not die but for sinners, and dost not replenish heaven but with sinners, why dost thou not open unto me, who am the greatest sinner of all sinners?  
To come then to our purpose. As the Iewes had a wonderful desire to see Christ crucified, and that Christ was appareled and clothed, to go to die, and like unto another Isaac, ready to go to the common place of burial, 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 love, before we were ransomed with his blood. That sorrowful hour being then come, they brought forth innocent Iesus, into Pilats court, and two theeues which were to bear him company, and there they took order what cry they should make, and the hang-man came, which was to excecute him, and they brought him the cross, which he was to carry, and those which were to guide him, armed themselves with infamous precession, being set in order, they open the gates of the palace, and they lead Christ through all the people to be crucified. O high secret! O unspeakable spectacle! the like unto which hath never been seen from the beginning of the world: that is to wet, that ambition should tread down humility; and impatient anger, reuenge vpon patience; and mad wrath, judge vpon alms; and infamous cruelty, reuenge vpon charity; and pernicious lying, prevail against sincere truth. It is wont to happen sometimes, that one innocent man kill another, but what patience can endure, that a thief which deserveth the gallows, should vpon a cross take away the life of a just man? among all the torments which Christ did most feel, the greatest was, when they did led him out of Pilats house the first time, and when they shewed him unto the people with such notorious infamy: 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, than his death. S. Barnard vpon the passion of our Lord saith, Because they did esteem the son of God for the greatest deceiver 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 worse wrought, and nothing at all dry, and to carry the heaviest of them al: in so much that if they would haue weighed the cross, it would haue weighed more than he which carried it.  
The son of God being come into the public streets, immediately as he began to set forward, the crier began to cry: but not his wonderful miracles which he had wrought, but the false witness which they had raised vpon him, seing that the imperial Iustice had condemned him for a vagabond, and for a deceiver of the people. When Christ came out of Pilats palace, and passed through the streets, the multitude of people was so great which came to behold him, that with vexing of him and thrusting of him, he had been stisted among them, if he had not already determined to die on the cross crucified.  
Now that the innocent lamb went sweeting through the streets of jerusalem; some put themselves into windows, some came to the doors, some wait at the corners of the streets, some give ear unto the crier, some ask what strange thing it was, considering that vpon such a solemn day, and vpon the even of such a high sabbath, it was not a custom to execute malefactors, but to pardon them. Some said, let the cozener go to die; some said, let him alone, because they put him unjustly to death; some said, that he preached very roughly; some said, that he was a prophet of holy life; some said, that he was a fool; some, that he was wise; so that every men judged of Christ according unto the opinion that he had of him.  
Doth it not suffice thee, that Pilat hath condemned thee to die, but that thou wilt pass also through the pikes and tongues of the people? Wherefore, O good Iesus, art thou so cruel against thine own humanity, and dost hid thy godhead? and wherefore, being universal judge of all men, dost thou yield to the opinions and iudgement of all men? Theophilus saith, that Christ felt greater torment to see that so many naughty men made themselves iudges of his honour, than to see Pilat judge of his life, because his body felt the one, and the other went unto his heart.   

CHAP. XIII. Here are declared the mysteries of these two words, calvary and Golgotha, and why the son of God would die on a dunghill.  
exivit in eum qui dicitur Caluariae locum, Hebraicè autem Golgotha, saith S. John, chap. 19. as if he should say, Now that the son of God had lifted his cross up vpon his shoulders, and gone out of the city of jerusalem with it, he took his way, and his keepers conducted him unto a mountain which was called calvary, 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 catholic Church doth set forth unto us any word of holy scripture, which is deep to be understood, and full of mystery to be interpnted, the church careth not for the translating of it, but leaveth it in the same word as the holy-ghost did writ it in. This is easily seen by these words, Amen, Apocalypsis, Racha, Halleluia, Bethsaida, and so of diuers others, whereof none is properly latin, but Hebrew, or greek, or syriac, or chaldee, in so much that although he did command them to be written, yet the Church durst not interpret them. Why thinkest thou, my brother, that the church dareth not interpret them, or turn 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 tongue of man able to declare them? Put the case that this word Amen, is Truth, and that the revelation doth answer unto Apocalypse; and unto this word, Apostle, doth answer, sent; and unto this word, Christ, anointed; yet notwithstanding they haue greater signification in the tongue which they are written in, than in that which they are interpnted in.  
The evangelist then, seeing the wonderful mysteries which Christ wrought vpon the cross, and the high sacraments which he celebrated in the mount of calvary, determined to call that mount, Golgotha, which is an Hebrew word, and also Caluaria, which is a latin name, in which two words, he gave us to understand, that he had so much, and so high matter to speak of this hill or mount, that the latin and Hebrew tongue could scarce declare it. The holy Ghost will not haue us bind ourselves only to this word calvary, nor unto the other Golgotha, but that we may think on the one, and muse on the other, to the end that by them both, we may draw out, not only that which the letter soundeth, but also that which the sense requireth.  
coming then unto our purpose, we must note, that Caluaria, and Golgotha, was all one thing, and was a place out of the city of jerusalem, where they did hang theeues, be-head traitors, shoot through robbers and pirates, and crucify blasphemers. In tract of time, the bodies of them which were executed, fell from the gallows and gibbets, and there lay in that place many bones of dead men, sown as it were vpon the ground, and many heads and skulls: so that this word Golgotha or calvary, doth signify a place, or dung hill, where they did do iustice on the wicked, and where there were fallen down many quarters of malefactors. O high mystery! O never before heard of in the world! for that place, being as it was dangerous for those which passed by, fearful unto 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 choose to die in that place, and there fight a combat with his enemy.  
We red in holy scripture, that Arphaxad king of the Medes, and nabuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians, did fight in the field of Ragan, and josias king of Iuda, and Nichanor king of egypt did fight a battle in Megiddo, and Iudas Machabeus, and the captain Alchimon fought in the field of Thamos: in somuch that Princes which in old time were wont to challenge one another, did always make choice of spacious places, where they might be received, and faire fields, where they might encounter the one the other. It is not red of any Prince until this day, which hath challenged & defied an other, or summoned his enemy to the combat, who hath done it in a rotten stinking place, unless it be Christ and the divell; the which two most valiant Princes, challenged one the other to the Mount of calvary, and to the dunghill of Golgotha, and also there slay each the other? Where but in the mixen of calvary did Christ and the divell 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 mystery, to see the son of God die, that it is not enough to say that he died, but to think also on the cause why he died, which was another mans offence; and to think with whom he died, which was with two theeues; and to think of the death which he died, which was infamous; and to think 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 stink of the dead bodies would haue done it. Tell me, O good Iesus, tell me; that seeing thou dost die, why dost thou die in the dunghill of calvary? seeing that there was a faire spacious place at the gate, called the salt gate, why wouldest not thou there end thy life? Thou sayest that thou must die for the sheep of Israell, and yet dost thou go to die among peeled skulls? Rabanus to this purpose saith, The son of God would not yield up his ghost, end his life, strive with the divell, triumph over death, leave his body in trust, redeem the world within the holy city; but vpon the stinking dunghill of Golgotha, because that the sins which were committed within jerusalem, were far more stinking and noisome, than the dead bodies which were in calvary.  
Prosper in his sentences saith, That blessed Iesus would not die within the city but without, to give us to understand, that none else did take away his life and honour from him, but such as are out of the walls and faith of the Church; insomuch that we kill him so oft as we do not beleeue in him. Saint Barnard vpon the Canticles saith; For the son of God to suffer himself to be crucified in the soul dunghill of Golgotha, and not die in the faire market places of jerusalem, is to aduise us and give us warning, that our good Lord doth not live but in those souls which are pure and clean by grace, and doth not die but in those hearts which are stinking and soul with sin. Testa eius saniem radebat in sterquilinio, saith the holy scripture speaking of job 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 flocks of cattle, removing him from his friends, and killing his children, but the more to hurt and grieve him, and utterly to spoil him, he carried him to a public stinking dunghill, where with a piece of a broken bone he scraped off his skabbes. Glorious Saint gregory vpon this place saith, When I settle myself to muse and think vpon the malice of Satan, and the patience of job, and Gods sufferance, I do not know on which to marvell most; that is, of that which the divell doth, or of that which God suffereth, or of that which job endureth, seeing that his patience is incomparable with other mens, and his misery intolerable.  
Origen vpon job, saith; What remained there for Fortune to take from the holy man job, aftet that he had deprived him of the conversation of his friends, and cast him vpon stinking dunghills? If holy job had had more, more Satan would haue taken from him; but in the end, for all that he took from him, he could never take away the innocency which he was born in, the patience which he lived in, the constancy which he defended himself with, nor the grace which he obtained of God.  
We should not say amiss, in saying; that job his patience was a figure of Christ his patience, and as job his persecution ended not until he was cast into the dunghill, so the passion of Christ ended not until he was crucified: and that which cannot be spoken without tears is, that the worms did gnaw the flesh of the holy man in the dunghill of Caldea, and the Iewes did rent and tear asunder Christes his flesh in the dunghill of Golgatha. Holy job was more mildly handled of the worms, than the son of God was of the Iewes, for the worms which job had, did gnaw but his putrefied flesh; but the enemies which Christ had, did gnaw the quickest flesh which he had, yea also his most glorious bowels. So many times they did gnaw his glorious bowels, as they did blaspheme his Godhead. How poor soever job was, yet he had left him a piece of a bone to strike off his worms; but blessed Iesus had not so much left him, as one thread of a coat, to cover the partes of his holy body withall. How scabbie and sore soever job was in the dunghill, yet he had an arm at liberty, to scratch off a boil, and wipe off the worms with a boane; but Iesus crucified in the dunghill of Golgotha had not a foot which was not nailed, nor arm which was not crucified, nor any member which was not pulled one from another.  
Origen vpon job saith, If holy job lay on the dunghill, sore and full of boiles, so Christ was full of leprosy in Golgotha; and to tell thee the truth, his leprosy was no other thing but our most grievous sin; and his leprosy was not of his own getting, but came unto him like a catching and a cleaving disease, which he was content should cleave unto himself, because it should unloose itself from vs. O great goodness of infinite charity of the son of God! considering that as holy job in the dunghill did wipe off the skabbes, with a piece of a boane; even so crucified Iesus did wipe away our sin with his own death: insomuch that at the very instant when he yielded up his ghost, all our sore made an end of being wiped. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, who is the leper but I, who is scabbie but I, and who filleth thee with leprosy but I, and who sticketh the botch on thee but I? It is I and none other, who loadeth thee with my fault; it is I, and none other, who doth cast vpon thee all my punishment; and thou art he and no other, who was able with the bone of thy blessed death to wipe away all my sin; which blessed wiping was the costing of thy life. Was not the blotting out of my sin, happily the costing of thy life, seeing that thou didst more rejoice to see me healed, than to see thyself alive? As it was a torment unto the son of God to die vpon a dunghill, so it was a mystery unto vs. Now of all his five senses his sight had already suffered, in being covered; his ears also in hearing of blasphemy; his feeling, in whipping him, his taste, in tasting of vinegar and gull; so that having no other sense left to torment, but this of smelling, he would also loathe and perfume that sense with those stinking savours.  
Hilarius saith, Because the determinat end of the son of God was to die, to take away and wipe out of all men all sin; he would suffer with all his five senses, and if he had had more, with more he would haue died. S. Augustin vpon those words of the prophet ieremy, peccatum peccavit jerusalem saith thus, Our first fathers did sin in hearing, when they gave ear unto the serpent, they did sin in seeing, when they did behold the three; they did sin in touching, when they did cut the fruit; they did sin in tasting, after they took it from the three; they did sin in smelling, when they did smell of the fruit, & they would haue exceeded farther, if they had had more senses to haue done it with. In recompense of these excesses and hurts, the son of God would go to the dunghill of Golgotha to suffer death, to the end that at one day and one hour his senses, and our sins should end together.  
Anselmus vpon the passion of our Lord saith, As the son of God did suffer for us, and also satisfy his father for us, seeing that we had offended his majesty with all our members, he would also suffer with all his five senses; whereof it followeth, that as there was no part of him, nor sense with which he did not suffer; so there was no sin in the world, nor sinner for whom he did not die. S. basil vpon those words de stercore erigens pauperem saith; Of all the things which we see, there is nothing more vile and base than the dunghills which are in the common-wealth; and yet notwithstanding our Lord did his greatest favours unto holy job vpon a dunghill in Caldea; and Christ likewise did his greatest miracles in the dunghill of Golgotha.  
We may infer of that which is spoken, that it is convenient for such as would be familiar with God, and receive any favours at his hands, to go to live in dunghills, seeing it falleth out oftentimes that such as live most obscurely, and are forgotten of all men, are those unto whom our Lord doth most of all communicat, and give his holy comfort. O glorious mixen of Golgotha, when, but in thee, did we see the giver of life, end his life; where 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 skulls and bare bones of robbers and pirates, and at thy sides live bodies of theeues? Good Christians are wont at the hour of their deaths to haue devout 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 do living if thou didst not that, dying? As men are wont to cast things which are not serviceable nor profitable unto dunghills, and other stinking places, so we were cast out of the house of the Lord, unto the dunghills of the world, as a stinking thing which he could not endure, and whereof he would haue no more service. Then the son of God went to seek us out, in the mount of calvary, and finding us hanged in the dunghill of Golgotha, and rotten, and without hair naked and peeled, he gave us his blood to revive ourselves, gave us his flesh to cloath ourselves, gave us his breath to breath with, gave us his life to live with, and gave us his heart with the which we should love him with. Who will not say, but this is mutatio dentis exelsi, seeing that Iesus crucified, of stinking dunghills, hath made heavenly palaces? Who will deny, but of a putrefied dunghill, he did make a heavenly palace, when he said unto the thief, this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise. Barnard in a sermon saith, I will not seek thee, O good Iesus, I will not seek thee in the mountain, where thou art a praying, nor in the parlour, where thou art a preaching, nor in the garden, where thou art a sweeting, nor near unto Sicar, where thou didst rest thyself; but in the dunghill of Golgatha, where thou art a dying, because thou didst never open thy arms to embrace us, but in calvary where thou didst die. What wilt thou then, O my soul, haue more than an oar to save thyself with, or a corner to hid thyself in, seeing thou seest that crucified Iesus doth embrace the dry 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, return into the world, and if thou wilt haue him embrace thee, live quietly in a corner, because our Lord doth never impart his holy grace, but unto that soul which maketh reckoning of him and none other. If we will haue our Lord come to the dunghill of our hearts, it is necessary that he find them made dry naked bones; that is, without the flesh of lechery, without the blood of vainglory, without the hair of sloth, and without the sinews of obstinacy. O my heart if thou wilt that the son of God visit thee, and water the dunghill of thy sins, it is necessary that thou become a hard bone in constancy, a white bone in clearness, a dry bone in poverty, and also stinking in the reputation of thy person, because that so much the better thou dost smell unto God, by how much the noysomer thou dost stink unto the world. What heart is able to cocker himself in the world, seeing his God crucified in a dunghill? seeing that the prophet doth say, That one depth doth call on another, & that one beast doth seek out another: it is great reason that I, a stinking dunghill and sinner, seek out the dunghill of my redeemer, seeing that poor Lazarus went from the dunghill into heaven, and the rich covetous 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 cadaver in sepulchro Helisaei, & reuixit homo illae, saith the holy scripture in the 4. book of the Kings 13. chap. As if he would say, certain men carrying the corps of a dead man to bury, it fel out that as they did cast it into the grave where Heliseus lay butted, in touching the bones of the holy man; presently he whom they carried thither dead, rose up alive. 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 alive to raise another who is dead, doth sometimes happen; but for one dead man to raise another dead man, is never red but of Heliseus in this miracle, Without all doubt Heliseus whom the synagogue had, was a good man, but the Heliseus which the holy mother the church now hath, is much better; for if the spirit of prophecy 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 up one dead man to life, after that himself was dead; so the son of God because he would die, was the cause of our living; and over 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 gloss 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 mankind 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 himself, did continue dead in his grave: but blessed Iesus did at the same time rise himself, and raise me; and he became alive again, and I did not remain 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 himself; but the son of God in one day, and one hour did raise the true body of his own person, and the mystical body of his church. To come then to our purpose, not without a high mystery, and a deep secret, the crucified Iesus would go to die at the dunghill of Golgotha, and suffer among those peeled bones, because that like unto a true & a better Heliseus, he might restore them al to life, & give them his own flesh and bones: al which our great redeemer did, when he did undo himself, & when he suffered on the cross. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, is it not true, that thou didst undo thee to make me, when on the alter of the cross, thou didst vnweaue the web of thy humanity, to make & wave again the web of my life? O who will be with thee in the dunghill of Golgotha dead and butted, to be raised by thy hand; behold, O good Iesus, behold, if I be not dead in my grave, yet I am obstinate in sin, and in such a case thou shalt do a matter of greater cunning to pardon me, than to raise thyself from death to life.  
S. Augustine saith; that it is a far greater matter to justify a naughty man than to create a new world; because the one proceedeth of power, & the other of mercy. Porta sterquilinij aedificauit Melchias qui erat princeps Richarae, saith the holy scripture in the second book of the kings. As if he would say, When the great city of jerusalem was in building again, after that the Iewes returned out of babylon, the high Priest Esdras had for the master of the works, one called Melchias, who was a skilful man in that which he took in hand, and trusty in that wherein he was credited. This famous worke-maister Melchias caused seven gates to be made in jerusalem, through the which all the victuals should enter into the town, and all go out to their business and farms. The names of these seven gates were, the gate of the heard or flocks, the fish gate, the gate of captives, the water-gate, the dunghill-gate, the iudges gate, and the horse-gate. Through the heard-gate, all the flesh which was eaten in jerusalem entered in, and through the same gate went out all the flocks which were fed about the town; and the reason was, because their pastutes were but few, and the flock was counted and reckoned. At the fish gate entered in all fresh and salt fish, which was eaten in the city; and the reason was, because it might the better be distributed among all men, and nothing stolen out of the kings tribute. Through the gate of captives entered in all the slaves and captives, which dwelled within the city, and thereabout; and the reason was, because no slave should be lost, nor strangers come into the city. Through the water-gate, all the watermen came in and out; and the reason was, because the city had certain cisterns to keep water for the summer, and when the enemy should besiege the city; and therefore because the cisterns were near unto 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 did heap up and rot their dung, that gate was called the mixen or dunghill 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 give sentence in the street or market place; so then they sat in iudgement in one of the gates.  
To come then unto our purpose, & gather the sense of the letter, & speaking of one gate only. When did the son of God make the dunghill gate in the church, but when on the dunghill of Golgotha he did loose his life? Cyrillus vpon the passion, saith; The great redeemer of the world, would die where sinners died, & be judged where malefactors were judged, because from that time forward, death should in that place remain hanged; where before they were wont to take away mens lives. S. jerom vpon S. Math. saith, The son of God was not content only to choose a terrible place where he would die, which was the dunghill of calvary, 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 up the flag and ensign of martyrs. Who will not set more by the dunghill of Golgotha, than by the pillars and large Colossus of Rome, seeing that in this is fixed the streamer of Christ crucified; under which all just men do fight, and by which al sinners are saved. Go then O my soul, go and walk by the dunghill of Golgotha; for now it stinketh not, but smelleth sweetly; now it killeth not, but raiseth from death; now it hath no malefactors, but martyrs; now there is no gallows in it, but a banner; nor bones of malefactors, but sinners justified.   

CHAP. XV. Wherein is expounded a figure of Leuiticus concerning Christ his dying in the mount of calvary.  
OFferat pro peccato vitulum immaculatum: pellem & carnem, cum capite & intestinis & fimo efferat extra castra, said God unto Moses, Leuit. 4. As if he should haue said. When the priest shall haue committed any sin, he shall offer a calf without spot, and he shall cast out of the camp his skin, his flesh, his head, his entrails and his dung: and there he shal burn it until it be turned into ashes. Before al things we must note in this place, that man having sinned against God in the temple, he commanded a bruit beast to be slain, which knew not what 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 absolved from his sin vtill the innocent calf was slain & sacrificed; so the father would not that the world should be pardonned until 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 innocency. Esicius vpon Leuit. saith, It is expedient that wee note with great attention, that the law-maker was not content that they should offer unto him every kind of calf for sin, but such a one, as of one colour only, and without spot: the which he did literally forbid, because it was a custom of the egyptians not to offer unto their gods any but spotted calves.  
This figure and mystery 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( himself onely excepted) haue so many spots as they haue sins. Before that the son 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 sins. Adam was spotted with disobedience, eve his wife with gluttony, Cain with murder; the eleven patriarchs with killing their brother; king david with adultery; Salomon with idolatry; all the synagogue with covetousness: insomuch that because there was not found any unspotted calf to be offered up until Christ his coming into the world, all were vnredeemed. O clear and holy calf, why wast thou and no other offered up on the alter of the cross for the world, but because thou and no other was found without spot of sin? Christ was not blind of his eyes, seeing he did behold all men with mercy; he was not deaf in hearing, seeing he gave ear unto the penitent; he was not lame of his hands, seeing he cured the diseased; he halted not in his feet, seeing he visited the hospitals; he was not dumb in his speech, considering that he preached to all nations. What is there in us which deserveth not to be reprehended, and what is there in Christ that deserveth not to be commended? All the old fathers which went before Christ were either white for their innocency, or brown for their ignorance, or black for their sins, or of scarlet colour for their idolatry, or of purple colour, for their impatiency: insomuch that none of them could be the universal redeemer, because they were not as Christ was, of one colour. The heir of eternity had but one only colour, because there was but one heavenly love in him, and that was to redeem our sin, and pay his fatherly punishment due for it: which is not so in us miserable men, seeing that we haue so many colours and spots in us, as the loues and affections are, which we keep in our hearts. The whole end and intention which this blessed calf had, was to mitigate the injury done to the father, restore the feats of the Angels, open the gates of heaven, take away the forces from the divels, fulfil the scriptures which had spoken of him, and redeem man which was already condemned; And because the son of God did al these good deeds under one love, therfore we say that he had but one colour. S. Barnard vpon the Canticles saith, In the bridegroom which the Church hath, there is but one colour, nor but one love, with the which holy love he loveth himself, & also loveth us; insomuch that if with a better love he could haue loved himself, with the self same he would also haue loved vs.  
It is also to be noted in the figure which we handle, that the scripture doth not say, Let him offer a calf for sins, but for the sin, Pro peccato. By which word we are given to understand, that of his own nature sin is so enormous a thing, and so unpleasant unto God, that if there were in al the world but one sin, and one sinner; yet for that alone Christ would suffer himself to be crucified. If the redemption of one onely sinner an● sin did consist in the onely blood of Christ, what should so many thousand of sinners which were in the world haue done without it? when the scripture doth say, Let him offer a calf for the sin, it was to say that there was but one sin committed in the beginning, which was of disobedience; and one against whom, it was committed, which was God; & one who did commit it, which was Adam; and one which did redeem him, which was Christ: for the law to command them to offer a calf for one only sin; the reason was, that because he who was offended was very mighty, and he who offended him very noble, and the offence which he had committed very grievous, & the hurt which it did, far spread abroad and diuulgat; and the remedy for it, not found in all the world: therefore to set out the naughtiness 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 calf, he should offer it for his own sin: not making mention at all of an other mans sin. In this saying offerat pro peccato suo, Let him offer for his own sin: we are taught the infinite love with the which Christ took flesh, and unspeakable charity with which he died: for being the fault ours, he took the punishment for his own; and we having committed the theft he yielded himself to be hanged: so far forth, that he saith that he death for his sin, because he doth as willingly die for an other mans offence, as if it should haue been necessary for him to die for his own.  
Damascen saith, What will not the son of God do, or what did he omit to do, considering that not committing the fault, yet gave himself for faulty; and not doing any sin, yet calleth himself a sinner; and not being guilty of any crime, yet casteth the pain vpon himself; and not having done the theft, bindeth himself to pay the damage. Barnard vpon missus est saith, When I settle myself to think, O good Iesus, of the small number of yeares which thou didst live in the world, and the great wonders which thou didst for me, and that if thou hadst lived longer, more thou wouldest haue done: I give thee greater thankes for the love with which thou didst redeem me, than for the torments which thou didst suffer for me. Christ, in calling of himself God, doth show his excellency; in calling himself Lord, doth show his power; in calling himself creator, sheweth his wisdom, incalling himself redeemer, sheweth his mercy, but in calling himself sinner, he sheweth his infinite charity. Is not( think you) his humility exceeding great, and his charity infinite; seeing that of charity onely, and for to be praised of humility, he did consent that they should deprive him of his life, and also of his honour and reputation? What greater infamy could there be unto him, who was of good credit, than to couple and join 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 unto Chrysostome; That if we be greatly inclined unto Christ, because he did redeem us, we are also highly bound unto him for suffering himself to be discredited for vs. One friend will easily venture his life for another, spend his substance, yea also damn his soul; but if they tell him that he must venture his credit, he saith presently, speak 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 hair of his famed and credit.  
There hath not been since the beginning of the world; nor ever will be such another friend as Christ was, considering that for the love of us, he lost his life, and suffered men to put his body in the sepulchre,  shed his blood vpon the earth, and suffered himself to be defamed throughout all the world. Anselmus in his meditations saith; O how much I do owe unto thee my good Iesus! seeing thou takest my fault to give me thine innocency; losest thy famed, to make me famous; callest thyself a sinner, to call me just; makest my fault thine, to make thy goodness mine; yea and didst sacrifice thyself to redeem me: so that in this high exchange thou art the loser, and I am the gainer.  
We haue spoken all this to extol that saying, Let him offer a calf for his own sin; and the praise of it is, that as among friends, no man taketh another mans faults, yet taketh his jewels: the son of God clean contrary, would not take of us any jewels, 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 unto him the head and the foot of the calf, the flesh and the entrails, and the skin and guts; it was to let us understand, that the son of God did offer for us all that ever he had, without hiding any thing at al for himself. 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 having no sins of his own, took those for his own which were other mens. If Christ had made account of that which he did suffer, & of the smalenesse of the fault which himself was in, it had been enough to haue let himself bled a little, or at the most to haue suffered himself to haue been whipped: yet notwithstanding feeling in himself, that the sorrows which he suffered were more in number, than the members of his body, it could proceed of nothing else, but of the excess of love which made him forget some part of his grief. For Christ to command in the law that they should burn the head & feet, and the flesh & skin of the calf; what else did it signify, but that it was in those members particularly, in which Christ suffered his greatest torments. This appeareth manifestly to be true, seeing they pierced his head with thorns, broken his flesh with the spear, opened his skin with stripes of the whip, bound his hands with cords, and fastened his feet with nails. Speaking then christian like, he doth offer unto God the head of the calf, who in all the works which he taketh in hand, putteth God for his foundation: for otherwise, al that which is not grounded vpon our Lord, not being touched of any, will fall down of itself. He offereth unto God the feet of the calf, who continueth in good works until the end, and is not weary of well doing until death; because the father did not exalt & lift up his son, only because he was obedient, but because he was obedient until death. He doth offer unto God his own flesh, who doth chastise it with fastings & discipline, because this our humanity is so hardly pleased, that the more we covet to content it, the more importunat it is with vs. He doth offer his entrails unto our Lord, who never thinketh on any thing, but how to serve him, because our Lord is so easily pleased, that sometimes the desires of the weak, are as acceptable unto him, as the good works of the rich. He doth offer unto God his own hands, who doth not employ thē in any thing but in pitiful & charitable works; because there is nothing under heaven, wherewith the miseries which our human frailty doth fall into, is better remembered and helped than with the works of charity. He offereth unto God the skin of his body, who carrieth an eye over his affections & appetite. For as no living beast can be eaten until his skin be taken of him, so God doth not accept of our hearts until 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 mystery. It is to be noted in this place, that the poor calf 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 camp, and that in the dunghill 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 dunghill of Golgotha? for the sin of the priest, they did offer a calf, and for the sin of the world, they did offer Christ; they sacrificed the calf slain, & they sacrificed Christ dismembered; they drew the calf out of the camp, and they did led Christ out of jerusalem; they did burn the calf in the mixen of the sacrifices, and they did crucify 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 speak of him.   

CHAP. XVI. How Christ goeth to the mount of calvary, and of the great mysteries which happened unto him on the way.  
ANgariauerunt quempiam praetereuntem Simonē Cyrenaeum, venientem, &c. saith S. Mark, chap. 15. As if he would say, The redeemer of the world going on his way; as the jews perceived he was ready to fall under his cross, they hired simon Cyrenaeus, whom they did meet on the way, and made him to carry the cross unto calvary, partly for money which they gave him, and partly through threatening which they used towards him. There are represented unto us high mysteries to entreat of in this journey, which Christ goeth towards calvary, 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 trouble his heart; that is to say, to see vpon the sudden 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 gave 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 journey, now he beginneth to be weary, although not loth to bestow favours and benefits; for, for Christ to commit this bloody cross to simon Cyrenaeus, was to do him the greatest pleasure that ever was done in the world. Chrysost. vpon this place saith, The wealth which Christ had, was no more but that which he carried on his back to calvary, that is to say, two coats which he ware, a crown of thorns on his head, a halter at his throat, & a craggy cross on his shoulders; the which because it was the thing which he most esteemed, & he badge whereof he most of all vaunted, it is to be thought, that in departing from his own cross, he dispossessed himself of the richest jewel which he had. Who will not say but that Christ loved the cross, as he did his own life, seeing that embracing it he ended his life? and unto whom are the last embracements given in death, but unto those which we love best in our life? what love can be compared unto the love of the cross, & the crucified; saying, They loved so exceedingly, that they died both of them embracing the one the other? Seeing that the cross which Christ at that time did bear on his shoulders, was the guide which the world was to go after; & the key with which heaven was to be opened, & the sword with the which the divell should be vanquished, & was the flag with the which Christ would be honoured; it is manifest, that in giuing simon Cyrenaeus his own precious cross, he gave him all the goods & honor which he possessed in this world.  
Exite de medio Babylonis, ne participes sitis delictorum eius, said an angel to S. John, talking with him of the evil which was done in Babylon: And it is as if he should say I haue laboured to cure Babylon, and she did not yield that I should cure her, but she hath turned again to be a house of devils, and a den of theeues. It is necessary for my service, that you go out of such an excommunicated 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 city of jerusalem the head of jury? Woe bee unto thee Babylon of jury, the which in times past was wont to be a princely tower, which the angels of heaven did watch, and now art made an infernal den, which the divels of hell do gard. God goeth from Babylon, because she will not consent to be healed, and to day Christ goeth out of jerusalem, because shee doth not suffer herself to be taught, he willing to instruct her. And hereupon it is, that oftentimes we sin more by resisting God, than in neglecting to seek him out. O vnfortunat jerusalem that thou art! O sorrowful Babylon! to day there goeth out of thee the holy prophet, which did heal thy children, he which did cure the diseased, he who did raise the dead, and he who preached high sermons unto thee, whom( because thou wouldest not hear, and much less beleeue) thou dost carry this day to calvary to crucify. And dost thou not see that he carrieth thine imperial crown vpon his head, and the garment of thy priesthood vpon his person, and the royal standard of thy kingdom vpon his shoulder? and dost thou not see that he carrieth his most blessed body to die at calvary? and that which cannot be spoken without tears, he departeth for ever from thy people, and goeth to seat himself among the Gentiles? O that with better reason we may say, that thou dost cast him out, than that he goeth out, seeing that it is now an old custom of his goodness, that he cometh unto our souls not being called, and knoweth not how to go from them, unless they cast him out.  
Vpon those words, Curauimus Babylonem & non est curata; Rupertus saith, It is deeply to be considered in this place, that God did first command that they should heal great Babylon, before they should destroy her, or make her a desert; whereof we may infer, that our Lord doth never lay the hand of his iustice vpon us, but having first invited us, and made much of us with his mercy; in so much that after he is weary in waiting for us, he beginneth by little and little to correct us, Basil vpon the Psal. saith, It is one of the greatest favours that God doth to a good man, to separate him from the company of the wicked: in token whereof God took Abraham from among the Chaldeans; joseph, from among his envious bretheren; Lot, from among the infamous sodomites; Moses, from among the egyptians; and Ruth, from among the Moabits; and Daniel, from among the babylonians; and also Christ, from among the Iewes.  
The heavenly father did hold it for a lesser evil, to see his well-beloved son in the mount of calvary to die, than to see him among so perverse a nation to live. And Seneca unto this purpose saith, For my rest, I would rather choose to die, than among naughty men to live, because that in death there is but one bitter morsel to swallow, but the company of an evil man, is a continual torment.  
Damascen in his sentences saith, For our Lord not to bee willing to die within the city, but out of her, is clearly to give us to understand, that seeing the Iewes had so little regarded it, that he would live amongst them, they would make small reckoning also that he should die amongst them: and because the son of God did think to draw much more profit of his glorious death, than he had done of his laborious life, he would not credit so high a mystery, to so ungrateful a people. What reason had he to sanctify cursed Babylon with his death, seeing shee would not bee grateful for his death, nor benefit herself with his blood. Saint jerome vpon the Apostle saith, How bad soever the Gentiles were, yet notwithstanding they were less evil than the Iewes, by reason whereof, our Lord would rather die by the hands of those which were strangers, than live amongst those which he did esteem his, because that in the end the Gentiles did aclowledge the hard-heartedness which they had done, but the wicked Iewes did never confess the error which they haue fallen into. Of all this, we haue a figure in holy joseph, who was sold by his bretheren, and honoured of the egyptians; and moses his own parents did cast him into a brook, and was afterward brought up by those which were not of his blood; king david was far better entreated of king Achish who was a gentle, than of king Saul who was a jew; and Ieremies own countrymen did imprison him, and those of babylon did deliver him; in so much that Christ and these were better with strangers than with their own neighbours.  
S. Ambrose vpon S. Luke saith, The son of God would go to die in a field, which should be large and wide, and not in a town which should be strait and compassed about; plainly to show, that he went not to shed his precious blood for one only nation or common-wealth, but for all human nature. S. Barnard vpon the passion saith, Christ to die out of the city, and not among those which did live in it, but among those which were dead on the dunghill, is to teach us, that with those which haue no locks of vain cogitations, nor flesh of worldly affections, nor sinews of devilish obstinacy, nor skin of their own wils, with those he will live, and among those he will die, yea and among those he will rise again. Exeamus ad eum extra castra, probr●… eius portantes, saith the Apostle to the hebrews the last chapter, as if he should say, It is convenient for us that we go out of the camps and tumults of this world, to die with Christ, and also carry his shane & discredit. If the Apostle be curiously understood, he doth invite us unto three things in these words, that is to wit, that we go out of the world, that we go to Christ, and that wee carry vpon our shoulders his cross 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 us go out, before he doth say ad eum, unto him; that is, that before all things it is necessary that we go out of our naughty life, before we presume to follow Christ, for otherwise wee do rather persecute him than imitate him. Let us go then out of the world to seek Christ, and the true going out ought to bee not so much from the company of our neighbours, as from the naughty inclination of our desires, because we do oftentimes desire and covet that which would be convenient for us to abhor, and also we procure the getting of that, which would be convenient we did eschew.  
Beda vpon the Apostle saith, This speech, probrum eius portantes, is to be weighed; that is, that of all his passion, there is nothing that he would haue us keep in memory so much, as his injury 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 infamy. For the Apostle to commend Christ unto us, and his shane and infamy, is to discommend unto us the world and his vain pomps; because that in the house of our Lord none is infamous but he who procureth honour; nor none honoured, but he who maketh no account of it. Simon de Cassia saith, In the words which the Apostle uttereth, Exeamus extra castra, he doth not onely invite us to follow and imitate the son of God, but he doth also teach us wherein we are to follow him, that is to wet, not to go barefooted vpon the waters as he did, but in suffering as he did many injuries, because there is no better medicine for a fault, than to haue patience in adversity. S. Augustine vpon the Apostle saith, Notwithout a high mystery and a deep secret, the Apostle doth commend unto us Christ his slanders and reproaches, and no other of all his deeds, although they were many, because all the ground and foundation of a christian life, doth consist in doing charity unto those which are in misery, and in having patience in adversity.  
Origen vpon the Apostle saith, For the Apostle to say, bearing his nicknames and reproaches, 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 saved without doing of miracles, but without patience no man can live christian-like. O good Iesus, O my souls love, what doth it avail me that I ask pleasures and delights of thee, if thou hast nothing to give me, but reviling and scorning? How shall I dare to ask thee rest and ease, seeing thee going this day to die in hast and sweeting? Yea and if thou wouldest give me some of thy own wealth, what canst thou give me, but a thorn off thy head, or a piece of the halter from thy throat? What hast thou, O good Iesus, what hast thou impart or divide amongst thy chosen and loving friends, but the sweat of thy face, the blood of thy veins, the grief of thy thorns, and the love of thy bowels? O distributor of all wealth! O diuider of all travels! unto whom didst thou ever give in this life any of thy love, unto whom thou didst not also give part of thy grief? or unto whom hast thou imparted part of thy grief, unto whom thou hast not given part of thy love? divide therefore with me, O my good Lord, divide betwixt thee and me, the injuries which they do thee, the shames which they discredit thee with, the false witness they bear against thee, and the nicknames they give thee, for how many soever thou dost give unto me, yet there will remain enough with thee.   

CHAP. XVII. How the son of God did carry his cross vpon his shoulders, until he did meet with Simon Cyreneus; and there is also a figure expounded unto this purpose.  
FActus est principatus supper humerum eius, saith the prophet Esay, speaking of the passion of Christ, as if he would say, In this they shall know the messiah which is to come, and him who is desired of all nations, in that, that his arms and ensigns he shall carry vpon his shoulders. The prophet uttereth very daintily that which he saith, that is, That the kingdom doth not carry the king on his shoulders, but the king doth carry the kingdom, Quia factus est principatus supper humerum eius, the which pre-eminence Christ only, and no other had in this life, who loaded vpon himself all travels, and left unto his vassals all delights and pleasures. O what great difference there is betwixt being the vassal and subject of God, and being vassal unto the world, because that in the world the subiects serve the king, but in the house of God the king serveth the subiects; in so much that he giveth us that which we should give him; and he serveth us with that with the which we may serve him.  
For the Prophet to prophesy that Christ should come, and that a prince should carry his kingdom vpon his own shoulder, was to tell us, that the son of God should carry the cross vpon himself, to die at the mount of calvary, the which mystical prophesy, Christ did fulfil, as the prophet had prophesied. S. jerom vpon Esayas saith, The prophet could never haue shown us in a higher style, the mysteries of the cross of Christ, than to call it as he did, a kingdom or government, because there never hath been, nor ever shal be, any kingdom so rich of treasures, as the cross of Christ is right of mysteries. In what estimation holy Iesus hath the cross of his kingdom, it is easily seen in that, that he took the cross up vpon his shoulders, before the cross received him in his arms.  
It is to be believed, that the son of God did love exceengly, the cross of his kingdom, seeing that he would put it vpon his precious shoulder, because that( to say the truth) no man doth consent to put vpon him any thing, but that which he loveth better than himself. When two loving friends meet together, he which of them two doth first laugh, and embrace the other first, sheweth that he loveth more than the other, the which happened betwixt Christ & his precious cross, both which, although they loved one the other, & met in Pilats house, there was greater tokens of love in Christ, than in the cross, seeing he went first to embrace the cross, and carried it vpon his shoulder where he lost his life, and where the cross by him lost his infamy. He who died, crucified in the old law, over & besides that the poor soul lost his life, all his posterity lost their credit, but after that the son of God did die vpon the cross, and did hallow it with his blood, it did not onely not loose the infamy, but recovered entire and perfect famed to itself, because that the cross which they were wont to put vpon the eves shoulders, emperours do now make in their foreheads. Although wee say that Christ his rule and dominion did extend itself no further than the cross which he carried vpon his shoulders, yet no man must hold him poor and base, nor disdain to be his vassal, because there is not so great wealth spread throughout the universal world, as that was at once in that blessed cross. Chrysostome vpon the mysteries of the cross saith, The treasures which are found in the cross are so many, and the delights so high which are taken of it, that for myself I beleeue, that how much the more a man doth taste of his mysteries, by so much the more he shall bee familiar with our Lord. It is likewise to be noted, that before Christ took the cross vpon his shoulders, Esay doth call him only son, and a little one, but after that he loaded himself with the cross, he doth call him wonderful, a counselor, the Prince of peace, and Father of the world to come. In this placing of his words, what other thing would the Prophet signify unto us, but that sithence the time that the son of God did cast the cross vpon his shoulder, he began to take possession of his kingdom, and show the power and might of his estate? Anselmus in his meditations saith, Now the murderer Cain carrieth his brother Abel into the fields to kill him; now joseph is sold of his bretheren; now moses goeth with his rod to open the read sea; yea and also great jacob leaneth vpon his ladder to scale the heauens for us; now the spies carry the heavy grapes hanged vpon a staff; now Ioshua the captain doth lift up his buckler against Naim; now Gedeon sheweth Madian the sword, now Da●… delivereth samson to his enemies; now david playeth with his sling against goliath; and also now jonas swimmeth in the cruel waters; now Isaac carrieth the wood on his shoulders with the which he should be burned; now Noah maketh his ark to escape the flood; now Esau bendeth his bow to kill some venison; and also now moses hangeth the serpent in the air for the health of the people. O good Iesus, O the delight of my soul, why in this so high an enterprise, and so dangerous a journey, dost thou not tell us whither thou goest, why dost thou not teach us how thou goest, and why dost thou not reveal unto us, unto 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 cross; 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 John saith, Because the way to calvary was long, and the son of GOD already very weary, the Iewes searing least Pilot should repent himself, or that the people would take him away, or that he would die in their hands, they hired Simon Cyreneus coming on the way to carry his cross unto calvary, not with intention to take pity on him, but with greater speed to crucify him. Although the holy scripture doth say, that they did hire Simon Cyreneus, it doth not say, that they did wrangle about the hiring of him, or on the payment, or that they stayed to make even with him, or to covenant: 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 mystery, the scripture layeth down, 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 cross on his shoulders, was of Libea, and not of jury, and he was a gentle, and not a jew: For this name of the cross was so odious unto 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. John, Not being able to do more, they hired Simon to carry his cross on his shoulders, for if they durst they would haue done it; in so much, that they made no conscience to crucify Christ, & yet made it a scruple to lift the cross on their shoulders. Is it a greater scruple to fasten a man on the gallows, than to touch the gallows? what meaneth this, O ye Iewes, what meaneth this? do you make a scruple to go into Pilats palace, and do you make none at all, to raise a thousand false witnesses against Christ? Do you make a conscience of touching the cross, which Christ carried on his back, and do you make no reckoning, to carry him to be crucified in the mount of calvary?  
S. Barnard saith, O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, I do not so much marvel 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 move neither forward nor backward. How is it possible for me to rehearse, that thou wast such an one in the journey, and that mine eyes do not turn first into a brook of ●ears? He who would haue seen thee go thy journey of Golgotha, should haue seen thee go ashamed to go naked, sweeting on the way, sighing with weariness, falling for being over loaden, hurt with the weight, stumbling with weakness, and bleeding on thyself by the way. Thou didst go in that sort bleeding by the way, that although thou wouldest, thou couldst not haue lost thyself, because they might easily haue found thee, by trace of thy blood.  
Of the hiring of Simon it may be gathered, that the cross which the son of God did carry on his shoulders, was knotty to hurt, green to weigh, long and large to loaden, rough to handle, ilfauouredly shaped to carry: in so much that with the weight of it they broken his shoulders, and with the splinters they pulled off the skin of his hands. Christ had one other great travail in that journey, that is, that when the enemies had a great desire to make hast, and that Christ with weariness could not move, oftentimes the cross which he bare on his shoulders, stroke him in the thorns, the which the more he touched them with the cross, the more they pierced him into the temples. In all that journey of calvary, what other office had that cross of Christ, but to rub his shoulders, and knock the thorns into his head; The jews did thrust Christ, Christ strained himself with the cross, the cross pressed in the thorns, the thorns broken his veins, his veins gave out blood, until they were left dry: in so much that when he came to calvary, he could scarce breath, for want of breath, nor go, for want of strength, nor yet live, for want of blood. O my soul! O my heart! why dost thou not go forth to meet Christ, to take the cross off his holy shoulder, rather than Simon should take it? lean then unto good Iesus, cleave unto the rough cross, stick fast unto Simon Cyrenaeus, for the time thou shouldst carry the cross with Simon, or accompany thy God unto calvary. Remigius saith, The son of God goeth to die in a wide and spacious place; to let us understand, that the virtue of his passion is not limited only in that judaical people, but that he died also for the gentiles, in so much that because his redemption was copious, the iustice and punishment of those which put him to death should also be very public. S. Ambrose in his hexameron saith; Seeing there died together at that time Christ and the old law, and that they butted Christ and the synagogue, it was very just and reasonable, that there should a new law succeed with the new messiah, the new sacrifice, the new alter, the new cross, and that they should offer up, 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 son of ●od should haue died within jerusalem, the jews would afterward haue said, that he died for them and for no others: and therefore he would not shed his precious blood where he should be compassed about with walls, or covered with a roof, but where all men might gather it, and no man dare to hinder it.   

CHAP. XVIII. How Christ did meet with Simon Cyrenaeus, and gave him his cross to carry on his shoulder, and of the great mysteries which are contained in this place.  
SCio, fili mi, scio, nam iste erit in populos, & minor maior erit illo, quia crescet in gentes, saith the great patriarch jacob, blessing his nephews, Manasses and Ephraim, Gen. 48. as if he would say, I know well, O my son joseph, I know well what I do, if now I bless Ephraim before Manasses, although I take away the blessing from the elder, and give it unto the younger, it doth not belong unto thee, to judge of it, and much less to hinder it: for if our Lord hath taken my sight from me, because I should not see these my nephews, so likewise he hath taken thy iudgment from thee, to the end that thou shouldst not understand such high mysteries. mark well, O my son joseph, mark that the law which commandeth to give the eldership or first birth, unto him who was first born, and that the second should be dishinherited, hath force and strength, in human custom, but not in God his sight: where to give the reward and pre-eminence, and deprive the other of his eldership, there is no respect had unto him who was first born, but unto him who did best deserve it.  
The better to understand this mystery, we must know, that at the very instant and hour, when jacob 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 nephews, that is to say Manasses who was the elder on the right hand, and Ephraim, who was the younger on the left hand, the holy old man did put his hands a cross, and did bless the second son first, and blessed the first son last of all.  
There are offered unto us in this figure, many high mysteries if we take heed unto them, and note them with diligence, and if we leave any thing out, it is because we know not how to understand them, and not because there is not much to be said vpon them. joseph then who was father unto the young children, seeing that holy jacob did first bless him who was the second, and him last who was the first, took him by the hand because he should haue blessed the heir, thinking he had done it through error, and not for a mystery: unto whom the old man answered, Be quiet, O my son joseph, be quiet, form to cross my hands to bless Ephraim before Manasses, containeth a greater matter than thou dost think for, and for me to take away the eldership from Manasses, and give it unto his brother Ephraim, I durst never haue done it, if he should not deserve it, and if God should not haue commanded me thereunto. Saint Augustine saith, In that which jacob doth, and in that which joseph said, it appeareth plainly, how much more the angels do see with their spiritual eyes, than sinners do with their corporal eyes: for although the holy Patriarch jacob by reason of his blindness could not see the youths faces, yet did very well foretell what should fall out unto them. Who may better be understood by blind jacob, than the blindness of the jewish nation? What other thing did the cross figure which jacob made with his hands, but only the cross which the son of God did bear vpon his shoulders? who were the two nephews which jacob had by his sides, but the jewish nation and the gentle? And what else was it for jacob to take away the eldership from Manasses the first born, & give it to Ephraim the younger, but that the son of God would disinherit the synagogue and give the inheritance of his blood to the church? What doth it signify that jacob would not take away the eldership and inheritance from one nephew, and give it unto the other, until the very last day, but that the son of God would not deprive the synagogue of her inheritance, till the last day of his life? O high mystery! O unknown and hidden secret! seeing that by the hands of a blind man the inheritance of the synagogue is divided, 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 cross, and the other is vpon the cross: the blind mans cross is made of his arms, and the cross of the crucified of wood; jacob holdeth his cross vpon his breast, and Christ carrieth his vpon his shoulder; in so much that Christ will give us nothing, which cometh not first from his holy cross.  
Saint jerome vpon S. Matthew saith, It is much to bee noted that the youth Manasses did never wholly loose his eldership, until his grandfather was altogether blind, in which mystery we were advertised that the Gentiles should never be all lightened, until the synagogue should be altogether blind: what greater blindness could there be in the world, than to deny the kingdom to the son which descended from david? what greater blindness could there be, than to give life to Barrabas who killed those that lived, and put Christ to death who raised the dead? What greater blindness could there be, that having bought the blood of Christ with money, yet should say to Pilat, that the vengeance of it should light also vpon their children? what greater blindness could there be, than to make a conscience to go into Pilats court, and into the iudgement seat, and make none to crucify Christ? O how well it doth appear that the Iewes do come from 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 blindness, malice, to their ignorance, & to their fault, obstinacy. It is to be weighed in this place, that even as jacob making a cross with his arms on his breast, did take away the inheritance from his nephew, even so the son of God, lifting up his cross vpon his shoulder, did take away the blessing from the jewish nation, and gave it unto the gentle; the which he did when he did transport the cross from his own shoulder unto Simons. Simon was a gentle, and not a jew; he was of Cyrene and not of judea; he was a stranger, and not natural of the country; he was brought up 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 cross with Simon, and would commit it to none of the people of the Iewes.  
Simon de Cassia saith, The cross which Christ put from his own shoulder vpon Simons shoulder, was made of pieces of timber, but the cross which the church hath now in her treasury, is all made of Sacraments: and from hence it is, that all the sacraments which christian people haue for their comfort, haue their force and efficacy from the cross and passion of Christ. What meaneth this, O good Iesus, what meaneth this, the Iewes seek out thy cross, buy thy cross, fashion thy cross, and giveth thee thy cross; and dost thou bestow it vpon the gentle Cyreneus? O that I am in no fault of all this, because they did constrain Simon to take it, and they commanded me to deliver it, and they gave him money to carry it, so that of Iudas they bought my blood, and to Cyreneus they sold my cross.  
Basil and likewise S. jerome do say, The blindness of Iacobs children was far worse than Iacobs own blindness, because the good old man did well know that which he said, although he did not see to whom he spake: but the vnfortunat sons of his, to wet, all the Iewes did well see how Christ did transfer and convey from shoulder to shoulder, his cross unto the pagan Cyreneus, but they did not understand, that with that cross he gave him the greatest treasure and inheritance that ever was given in the world.  
The Iewes would not haue consented that Christ should haue given his cross to Cyreneus the villagois, if they could also haue known, that together with the cross, he gave 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. John, saith, If Christ his conveying of his cross from his own shoulder, to Cyrenaeus his shoulder, should signify no secret, nor mystery; as he had already carried it half his journey, he would also haue carried it unto the mount of calvary; but the redeemer of the world would in the eye of all men, and in the presence of all men, and to the grief of them all, put over his cross unto Simon, which was to give it and deliver it unto his christian people. If the children of Israel will follow their father jacob in goodness, as they do in blindness, they should be as worthy to be praised, as they were to be reprehended; but woe be unto them, for as holy jacob made a cross with his arms, not being able to see it, so the Iewes made a cross to put Christ to death, without taking good of it  
Chrisost. vpon the praise of the cross saith; O high mystery! O sacrament, never before heard of! for as under the arms of jacob set on cross, the youth Manasses lost his inheritance, so under the cross of Christ Israel lost his pre-eminence, inso much that by this holy name of the cross, how much honor at this day the Church hath gotten, so much infamy by the same name, the synagogue hath purchased unto herself. Speaking christian-like, it is here to be noted, that the Iewes did first throw Christ out of the city, before that he gave his cross to Simon, in so much that he never gave his cross unto the church, before that they had cast him out of the synagogue.  
By the Iewes casting out of Christ, and of Christ his passing over of his cross unto the gentiles, we may gather that our Lord doth never forget us, if we do not forget him, nor he doth ever forsake us, if we never forsake him; nor he ever goeth from us, if we do not depart from him; nor ever estrangeth himself from us, if we be not ungrateful unto him. O he that could be Cyreneus, O who could meet thee good Iesus, in thy journey of calvary, because that my shoulder joined unto thine, and thine unto mine, thou wouldst vnload thyself of thy cross, and put him vpon me, for thou couldst not put thy cross vpon my shoulders, but thou shouldst first bloody me with thy blood, and being loaden with such a burden, and marked with such a mark, which way soever I should go, the divels would run post hast from me, and the heauens would open all unto me. divide with me, O good Iesus, divide with me the thrusts which the hangmen gave thee, the weight that the hast in thy cross, the railings and nicknames the Iewes use against thee, the pains thy body endureth, the cry every man useth, Let him go, let him go; so many torments as thou dost suffer in thy body, so many mysteries as thou dost celebrat in this journey; how dost thou trust them all with Cyreneus alone, al the world not being enough to carry them away? Seeing that thou dost suffer & die for all men, why dost thou not distribute thine anguish and afflictions among all men? It is the cross of all the world, and thou dost die vpon it for all the world, and yet dost thou not trust thy cross with any but with Simon Cyreneus? Thou dost not trust any with it but one, that is, unto him who believeth the unity of thy essence, thou dost trust it but to one, that is unto him who doth maintain the faith of thy church; thou dost commit it but unto one, that is to him who hath charity with his neighbours; besides these, thou wilt trust thy cross with none, nor divide thy blood among them.  
It is time now, O my heart, it is time now, that you part yourself in two, and that one part go after Christ a little and a little, and the other part accompany Simon, to the end that if afflicted Iesus shall bee weary, you may give him your hand, and if Simon shall faint, you may lend him your shoulder. Loose him not out of thy sight, do not go from his side, for besides that in cleaving unto Christ, thou shalt vnloase thyself from the world, thou shalt gather together the blood of the son, and bathe thyself in the tears of the sorrowful mother. I do already repent myself, O my heart, in saying that thou shouldst part thyself in two, for now I say that thou divide thyself in three parts, the one with the which thou mayst accompany the son, the other with the which thou mayst comfort the mother, & the other with the which thou mayst help Simon. bonaventure to this purpose saith, O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, where but only here, when but only now, hast thou need my soul should accompany thee, & my heart help thee? hast not thou need of company & help, seing thou goest with thy soul sorrowful, thy head pricked, thy hair died, thine eyes weeping, thy hands bound, and thy bones wrested out of joint? O if thy travels would end thus, it would bee but half a grief, but over and above these, thou didst go 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 calvary seeing thy soul 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 means they will slaken thee, and pull me. Remigius saith in his gloss, The son of God did not give his cross to him, who went out of jerusalem, to go to the village, but unto him, who went out of the village, to go too jerusalem: for the text saith, that Simon came de villa, from the village; to give us thereby to understand, that the Apostata heretics which go out of his church, haue no part in his death and cross, but faithful Christians, which remain in the Church. Hilarius saith, It is a thing to be wondered at, and much to be noted, Simon being a country 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 took him for his companion, to carry his cross in that journey, without having any regard unto the jewish nation; wherein he gave us to understand, that he doth love better one naughty man which doth convert himself than a thousand good men which do pervert themselves. S. Hierom saith, Not unto those which do fall from the holy city, but unto those which came unto the city, Christ gave his cross, and took them for aids of his travail, to teach us thereby that he hath no part in Christ, nor Christ doth not take with him, such as fall from him and turn to the world, but such as leave the world, and cleave unto him.  
Thou dost love those, O my good Iesus, thou dost love those very well, which love thee, seeing that thou didst meet Simon Cyrenaeus, and didst go half the way to receive him, and the like without all doubt, thou wouldest do unto me, if I would go to seek thee, seeing that thou didst never deny thyself to him which called thee, nor didst never hid thyself from him which did seek for thee.   

CHAP. XIX. Of diuers sorts of following of Christ, and of many disciples which simon Cerenaeus hath, in taking the cross 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 he would say; If any man will keep my doctrine, and follow my steps, it is convenient for him before all things, that he take up the cross for his guide, and that he deny his own proper will: for otherwise although he may follow me, yet he shall not reach unto me.  
S. Ambrose vpon these words faith, The Christian which will follow Christ, and take his cross vpon him, must observe three conditions; to wet, that he bear it of his own voluntary will; and not as Cyrenaeus did carry the cross, being thereunto constrained and hired, which is easily perceived in that he saith, Si quis vult, If any man will, and he saith not, I command him to come: for the son of God is better pleased that wee serve him not at all, than that we should follow him forced and constrained, Christ doth compel no ma man to serve him, but doth leave it in every mans hand to serve him or not, so that in the house of God, they be not served with forced slaves, but with entreated children.  
The second condition is, if that he bear his own cross vpon, his shoulders, and not as simon did another mans cross, because, no man ought so to prop himself with the cross of Christ, or so lean unto any holy mans merites, that he omit to be a good christian himself, and a virtuous man.  
The third condition is, that he bear his cross & affliction on his shoulders, not so much to win credit and famed thereby, as because Christ should be praised in him; and therefore it is said, Let him follow me, because that every man, that under the show of holinesse and hypocrisy, doth labour to get unto himself the praise of man, & not unto Christ, doth rather persecute his God, than follow him. S. Augustin vpon S. Luke saith, That is not onely called a cross, on which Christ died, which was made of wood, but also the life which honest men led is called a cross, and the afflictions which holy men pass through, because that al the life of a good christian is nothing else, but an ordinary travell, & a long martyrdom. Anselmus in his meditations saith, When this name of the cross shall come unto thy ears, or shalbe presented unto thy heart, thou shalt not only think on the cross of wood which Christ suffered on, but also on the cross of his trauails, which he endured in this world: because that on the cross of wood he was but three houres; but on the cross of troubles, he continued 33 yeares.  
It is much to be noted, that Christ did as well make a cross to the end that christians should crucify themselves, as his enemies the jews made one for him; and one was of wood, vpon which he died; and the other was his gospel, and for this must we die. In that, that the son of God did not not command that we should die, vpon a cross of wood as he died; but that we should die vpon the keeping of his gospel, he did teach us that he is better pleased that we follow him in the maner of his living, than imitate him in his fashion of dying. Afterward of all the twelve 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 gospel. Dare any man say that of the twelve Apostles, two were only saved, & the other not? God for bid, that we should either so think, or believe, because it is a greater perfection to keep the commandements which Christ hath commended unto us, than to carry for a relic a piece of the cross which Christ died on. When the son of God did say, verily I say unto you, that the kingdom of heaven doth suffer force; he did admonish us very plainly, that an evangelical life is nothing else but a rough and laborious cross, from which naughty men do flee and estrange themselves, and good men will follow and die for.  
When the Apostle doth cry out, Absit mihi gloriari, nisi in cruce domini nostri Iesu Christi, Do not believe, O my brother, that he did not speak of the cross of the gospel, but only of the cross which Christ died on. It is a most certain thing that holy Paul did beleeue, keep & preach, & also suffer death for the maintenance of the cross of the gospel, but he did never see, nor handle nor yet die on the cross 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 holy cross, but because he had crucified himself in going about to imitate and follow Christ. Is not think you, the life of Christ, the true cross of the christians, seeing that vpon that cross all vices are crucified? When the son of God did say, Tollat crucem suam; Let him take up his cross; not without a great mystery he did call his precious life in his high doctrine, his cross, & not my cross, because that by the hands of Cyrenaeus, he did convey and transfer it unto us, vpon the way as he went to calvary; insomuch that to pass unto us the cross which he carried vpon his shoulders, was to give us the grace of all that which he did merit by it. O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, why dost thou call the cross which is thine, my cross, but because all the blood which thou didst  shed vpon it, thou didst  shed for my soul? If the cross be thy doctrine, it is rather mine than thine, considering that it belongeth unto thee to institute it, & to me to keep it: for being as thou art, chief Lord & king, thou art subject to no law. If we talk of the cross of wood, on which thou didst loose thy life, that cross also is more mine than thine; seeing that it was the cause that I began to live, and thou to try what it was to die. Shall we nor say very truly that that cross is mine, and that very properly mine, which for to give me life, took away thy life from thee? If the cross be that which we call martyrdom and punishment, yet I say that it is rather mine than thine; seeing that one of the greatest favours which thou couldst do for us in this life was, to give us thy life which we should follow, and give us licence to suffer for thee.  
After that by the hands of Simon Cyrenaeus he had convyed and passed over the cross from his shoulder unto our shoulder, it is a very certain case, that then the holy Apostles, and after them the glorious martyrs, did go more cheerfully to be come in pieces for Christ, than Emperours went to be crwoned, Barnard in a Sermon saith, Tell me, O redeemer of my soul, when thou didst give us thy cross by the hands of simon Cyrenaeus, why didst thou give it us? A three which is not green to grow, nor hath roots to be planted, nor leaves to make a shadow, nor fruit to eat of, but onely a gallows on the which malefactors do loose their lives: why dost thou do us a favour in giuing it us? Those unto whom I give my cross saith Christ, I give it them not to sport themselves with, but to travell; not to the end they should eat, but because they should fast; not because they should live, but because they should die; not because they sold be at liberty, but because they should be there crucified: Insomuch that as on the cross were crucified all my members, so they should crucify all their vices. Chrysostome vpon saint matthew saith; To carry the cross by force, as simon did carry it, and to carry it willingly as Christ did carry it, and to be crucified having no cross, as Christ was, and to carry a cross to be crucified an other day, as simon did carry on, are such high mysteries and so hard to expound, that it would be far better counsel to occupy ourselves in weeping for them, than to endeavour ourselves to declare them.  
Cyrillus vpon this place saith. Those bear willingly the cross of the son of God vpon their shoulders, who suffer all which they suffer with a cheerful mind for the love of Christ, whom our Lord doth not pay, onely the good works which they do for him; but also the ioy & cheerfulness with the which they do it. Those likewise do carry the cross by constraint with Cyrenaeus, which do all which they do, murmuring and grundging, whose works are neither acceptable unto God, nor grateful unto man, because there is nothing more grievous to mans heart in this life, than to be caused himself to serve, or suffer himself to be served by constraint. he doth carry the cross of Christ by force with simon, who doth not preach so much for to do good unto soul, as to get commodity unto himself; insomuch that we call such a one not an evangelical person, but a hired preacher▪ With simon Cyrenaeus that preacher is hired, which putteth the word of God on sale, and he who will not preach the gospel, if they do not first warrant him that he shallbe paid; insomuch that these are worse than simon, and are companions unto wicked Iudas: for if Iudas sold his person, such a preacher doth sell his doctrine. He doth also carry the cross by force, who not for good, but for some evil, will be a Christian, and a good man; the which appeareth plainly, because that if such a one do look unto himself, and force himself to live a retired life, he doth it not because he is thereunto bound, but for the fear he 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 shane, would not only not take up and bear the cross of Christ willingly; no nor yet take it up by constraint with Simon. Barnard saith, It is not convenient for the seruant of our Lord to take up the cross of Christ by constraint, nor to take it at the hands of the jews being hired: for of such a one it may be said, that if he do penance, or use any abstinence, it is not so much because he will do it, as because he cannot choose but do it. He doth carry the cross by constraint with Simon Cyrenaeus, who doth not break his fast, onely because he hath nothing to eat; and he who doth not commit adultery, because he doth not know with whom to sin; and he who doth dissemble with his enemy, only because he knoweth not how to be avenged; and he who is not covetous, because he hath nothing to keep: so that in him not to be nought and vicious, is not to be attributed to his perfection, but because he wanteth occasion to do it.  
He doth carry the cross of Christ by constraint on his shoulders, who being tempted, falleth; and he, who having hunger, eateth; and he, who having opportunity, committeth adultery; and he who being angry, chideth: so that such a one is like unto a mud wall, not well trodden; the which in receiving a little rain, falleth to the ground. With Cyrenaeus did carry the cross of Christ by constraint wicked Iudas, when he sold Christ; and inconstant S. Peter when he denied Christ: whereof the one through covetousness of gathering together; and the other for fear of dying fell with the cross to the ground, when they did fell and deny the maker of life.  
Such carry the cross of Christ half the way, which begin with great fervency and devotion, and in the best time grow slack, and that which is worst of all is, that they are afterward more remiss, than they were wont to be devout. Others there be which carry the cross of Christ from the midst of the way; and such are those which in their childhood and youth were in the world vain and worldly, and became afterward virtuous and retired: insomuch that if the world took from them the flower, they gave to God the bran. Remigius vpon S. Luke saith, Seeing the son of God did not leave off to carry the cross vpon his shoulder, until the middle of the way, where being very weary, he gave it unto Simon Syrenaeus, we ought not give over the undertaking of virtuous works, although they be rough to carry, and heavy to load; because that our Lord will take it in as good reckoning, the carriage of his cross as for as we can, as if we should carry it whither we ought.   

CHAP. XX. Why Christ did not carry his cross more than half the way, and why he gave it the other half to Simon to carry, and of the great secrets which are contained in this mystery.  
SI non potueris ascendere in monten, saluum te fac in Segor, said the angel unto Lot, Genes. 19. when he commanded him to go out of the land of Sodom; as if he would say, Seeing the great God of Israel, useth 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 up, save thyself in the top of the hill Zoar, stay in the midst of the journey, in the village of Zoar, and I give thee this licence vpon condition that thou never leave off going up, until thou be so weary that thou can go up no further. Of that which the Angel said unto Lot, and of that which Christ did to Cyrenaeus going to calvary: that is, that Lot did save himself in the midst of the hil, & Christ left his cross in the midst of his journey. We are plainly given to understand, what a good Lord we haue, and how good a master we serve, seeing he contenteth himself that in matters of his service we begin thē, and if we can do no more, that we end there. S. Gregory in his pastoral saith, In the way of perfection, and in rigour of religion, we will not say that he doth but little, who traveleth until he sweat, and goeth until he fall down.  
It is much to be noted, that the angel did first command Lot to force himself to get unto the height of the hill, before that he should stay below in the village; in which commandement we are taught, that in the service of our Lord, we should first go sweeting and breathing to perfection, before we withdraw our hand from austerity and penance, because that oftentimes we are able to endure much more than we think in ourselves. A●… selmus in his meditations saith, Of myself I say and confess, that I haue great reason to confess myself of my sloth, than complain of my weakness, because that I could go forward in many good works, if, as I haue strength to begin them, I had a will and heart to end them. Our Lord telling us by the Prophet, cum ipso sum in tribulatione, What tribulation can fall vpon us in the world so great or grievous, 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 himself to serve Christ; presently in the same moment of time Christ cometh to sucker him: And of myself I dare affirm, that I did never occupy my heart in any good thought, but I felt Christ presently stand at my side. O how many there be in this world, which under the colour of being weak and feeble, will not onely not go unto the top of the hill, which the angel commanded, no nor yet unto the midst where Lot remained! insomuch that they give over the works of virtue for pure niceness and daintiness, and make us beleeue that they do it through weakness. Seneca saith; I haue seen many forbear to be honest & virtuous, saying that they were weak & tender, whom if we should ask how they knew themselves to be rather weak than strong, they will answer us, that they haue not tried it, but they haue guessed it: insomuch that they know vices by experience, & of virtues they speak by guess. give over then my brother, give over to be a gesser, and begin to prove what it is to be virtuous: for if thou once takest pleasure in the works of virtue, thou wilt take thē from thence forward for a pastime. Iudas the traitor was one that took the cross of Christ timely and fel on the ground with it, before he ended his journey, but S. Paul did not so, who if he took the cross being of fulll yeares, yet left it not until he had ended his journey: insomuch that it is better to come to the service of our Lord late, and persever in it, than to come timely, if wee give it ouerin the best time. In the parable of our Lord, those were as well paid which went to dig in the vineyard at eleven of the clock, as those which traveled from one of the clock: wherein our Lord shewed himself to be a just judge, and a very pitiful and merciful father, seeing that he paid the first all which he had promised them; and gave also unto the last, more than they had laboured for. gregory in an homily saith, In case of bestowing a reward, or giuing punishment; God doth never tie himself unto the rigour of the law, because he doth always punish less than we deserve, and paid us for more than we served.  
Thou must learn, my brother, that if our Lord should not pay us for more than we served, we should return him money back for the meat we eat. What can that man deserve in the presence of his God, who never ceaseth to sin against him? O what a great comfort it is unto us, which are sinners, to think that the workmen came into the vineyard late, and that Christ went to the sea to visit his disciples late, and that Cyrenaeus took the cross late, and S. Paul came to the faith late; for all this, is to give us great hope and confidence, that although we come late unto his service, he will not onely not sand us away, but will also deliver us a portion, & a lot us a part in his house. S. jerome writing unto a certain monk saith; do not forbear my brother Lucius, to come to the wilderness to serve our Lord, because thou didst think that there are such perfect men here, that thou shalt not be able to be equal with them: for I tell thee, that the house and goodness of our Lord is so common unto 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 he is the father and Lord of all men? And dost 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 nought; neither because thou art grown old in thy sins, thou oughtest to leave to take the cross & follow Christ. And further more, thou shouldst put before thine eyes, not onely Simon Cyrenaeus, which took the cross late by the way; but also the thief which took it very late: for even unto the last moment of death, God keepeth his gates open for thee. Seeing that Christ doth carry the cross which thou shouldst haue carried, until the midst of the way: why wilt not thou carry it with Cyrenaus until the end? It was not done without a great mystery, that Christ would not carry the cross until the end; nor yet that Cyrenaeus should carry it from the beginning, but that the labour should be divided among them both, to give us to understand thereby, that we without him cannot better ourselves, and that he without us will not pardon us our sins; so that on our side, there is required amendment; and on his side mercy.  
In that laborious journey, from Pilats house, unto the mount of calvary, Christ took more space of time to carry the cross on his shoulders, than Cyrenaeus did; and reached more in the doing of it, than Cyrenaeus did: to teach us thereby, that in case of pardoning us, and being come to the jump of examining us; our Lord must bring more with him from his own house than our iustice doth deserve.  
There is likewise an other kind of people which do carry the cross vpon 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 cross, on which they should put Christ to death, and himself remain safe and sound: yea he was not onely crucified on it, but they paid him the hire of his journey.  
chrysostom vpon the praise of the cross saith, With Cyrenaeus he doth carry the cross to crucify another, who through naughtiness and false witness doth discredit his brother: for of the two, it is a lesser hurt to crucify one in his person, than to take away his famed. When dost thou make a cross to kill thy neighbour with; but when thou dost make some conspiracy against him? When dost thou crucified him among theeues, but when thou dost compare him unto other naughty men? When dost thou strike him to the heart with a lance, but when thou dost bereave him of all his credite? When dost thou give him to drink, gull and vinegar; but when the good works which he doth, thou dost wrest and condemn them for naughty ones. When with the hangmen dost thou laugh at thy brother crucified, but when of the hurt that thou hast done unto him, thou dost take pleasure and contentment? What wilt thou that I say more unto thee, but that so many times thou dost call to thy remembrance thy own passion, as thou dost take revengement vpon thine enemies? Cyrillus vpon S. John saith O how many more disciples Cyrenaeus hath than Christ hath! who do make crosses not to crucify themselves, but to loose their brothers; insomuch that then they haue them crucified, when they are, wholly dishonoured. With Cyrenaeus he doth carry the cross to crucify an other, who hath no feet to go to Church, nor hands to give alms, nor a mind to forgive injuries, but for all that hath a heart to invent them, & tongue to utter them; insomuch that in his heart he sheweth himself suspicious, & in his tongue malicious, With Cyreneus he doth carry the cross to crucify another, unto whom no man doth wish hurt unto, nor speak evil of, and yet is so bad himself, and so inclined to do evil, that he thinketh vpon nothing but vpon naughtiness, speaking nothing but naughtiness, nor never doth any thing but naughtiness: who, as the Salamander death when the fire goeth out, so is he no where, when he raiseth not a scandal. With Cyreneus he doth carry the cross to crucify another, who being a prelate or preacher, doth invite others to do great penance, and use much abstinency, and yet will never prove it themselves; so that like true disciples of Simon Cyreneus, they laboured to crucify others, and take pleasure themselves. Peter Blesensis saith in an Epistle, With Cyreneus he doth carry the cross the crucify me and not himself, who maketh me to fast, himself being full; who maketh me go naked, himself being clothed; who maketh me to rise early, himself lying in bed; who commandeth me to labour and travell, himself sporting himself: and also he who preacheth patience unto me, having himself none at all. And he addeth further, I do not hold him for a father, but a father in law; nor for a preacher, but a false dealer, who in the counsels which he giveth me, is another Saint Paul, and in the works which he doth to me, is another Cyreneus. Ponunt enim onera grauia & importabilia, &c. Saith Christ speaking of the pharisees; as if he would say, They preach in their chairs, and put vpon their subiectes, burdens which they cannot bear, and commandements which are not convenient to keep; and yet they themselves are so fine and delicate in their own persons; and in their own life so licentious, that they will neither bear them with others, nor yet help 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 born, and vncredible burdens, wherein the son of God is much grieved and molested, and his gospel greatly discredited: for he having said that his yoke is sweet, and his burden light, they make of the Church a synagogue, he having made of the synagogue a Church. When did the son of God make of the synagogue a Church, but when vpon the cross, he gave an end unto the old law, and instituted another new law? Who doth make of the Church a synagogue, but onely he which maketh the law which Christ made sweet, become intolerable? 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 help with one finger to load them, where we may boldly say; that even as by the two hands are understood the two testaments, and by the ten fingers are understood the ten commandements: so in like maner, we will say of him, that he doth not put one finger to the work, who doth not keep one onely commandement. Venerable Bede saith, He is a brother of the naughty Pharisees, who in christian religion, not observing that which is of the greatest substance in the faith, putteth great rigour in keeeping the ceremonial part thereof: insomuch that such a one is like unto a foolish gardener, who if his three haue leaves, careth not at all, if all the fruit be lost.  
It is also to be weighed, that Christ doth not rebuk the prelates of his Church, because they do not labour with all the fingers of their hand, but because they will not labour so much as with one finger, thereby to teach us, that the good government of a Prelate doth not so much consist in the wearying of his own body, as in having a great care over all his business. Why dost thou think, my brother, that Christ doth not ask of thee so much as the corporal labour of one finger, but because that in spiritual things thou shouldst employ all thy heart? To command that the Prelates of his Church, should touch the burden at the least, with one finger, is to signify unto them that he doth not exclude them from any travell: for unto that Prelate unto whom our Lord doth give strength to labour, he ought to bestow it in his service. The Prelate doth travell more with one finger, than he, who is under him with all his body: for according unto Plato, mens heartes are much more moved, by the examples which they see, than with the words which they hear.  
Finally, we say, that Christ did first put his hand to the cross before Cyrenaeus, thereby to teach us that the Prelate should be at work before his subject: for otherwise it should be as if Cyrenaeus had given the cross first to Christ, and not Christ to Cyrenaeus. What other thing it is for Christ to bear his cross until he were weary, but that the good Prelate is bound to travell, until he be able to travell no more?   

CHAP. XXI. How the daughters of jerusalem 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.  
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 leave good Iesus to be crucified, to the mount of calvary, there went after him a great multitude of men, and a great company of wome, and the office 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 son of God came into this world, finding none to redeem, nor any for whom to die, but only men and women: his pleasure was and he commanded, that as well the women as the men, should be present at the time of his death, because they should be both certain that none of them was vnredeemed. Agmon in his gloss saith; If Christ should haue died among women onely, they would haue said that he had died for them alone; and if he had died among men onely, they would haue said that he had died for them alone: and because they should haue no doubt, but that his redemption did extend itself & reach unto al, his will was that all should be witnesses of his death.  
Miserationes eius supper omnia opera eius, saith the royal Prophet david, speaking with God: as if he would say, O great God of Israel, it is so natural a thing in thee, always to use mercy, and an army of clemency is so pleasing unto thee, that if in all virtues thou dost excel other mens virtues, in the virtue of clemency thou dost excel and go beyond thine own proper virtues. Cassiodorus vpon this place saith, It wanteth not a mystery that the prophet doth not reckon then works of mercy which he doth unto us, among other works which are common unto all creatures: for he saith not, his mercies among his works, but his mercies are above all his works, because that mercy and clemency in God is nothing else, but as it were a white, unto which all his works do aim at, and a high tower which all do obey. And he saith further, Is not Gods mercy above all his works? seeing that if we view and review all the holy scripture, it is found for a truth, that from the first instant, that God made the heaven and the earth, he never did any work, in which there did not shine his clemency and mercy. He used mercy with Adam, that in sinning he killed him not; with Cain, with whom he dissembled; with those of the flood, which he waited for; with those of niniveh, whom he did pardon; with the egyptians, which he did aduise; with the good thief, whom he heard presently. S. jerome his gloss saith; supper omnia opera eius, is his mercy and pity, seeing we be certain that if in hell only he doth execute the rigour of his iustice, yet in heaven and in the earth; yea and in the self same hell he doth make proof of his mercy. Who dare affirm with truth, that our Lord doth not use mercy with those which are damned in hell, seeing their sins were more in number 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 never forgot his office of being merciful, nor did ever show himself revenging, although to be such a one he had many occasions & great reason: for there was never done so great injustice unto any person in the world, as when they did put to death the son of God by iustice. O high mystery, O unknown secret! that the son of God going by the way of calvary barefooted, loaden with his cross, condemned for a naughty man, and bleeding over all his body; yet did lift up his head, turned his face, & began to comfort the women which went after him weeping, and taking pity on him, showing greater compassion for the tears which did run from them, than of the blood which did flow from himself. What meaneth this, O good Iesus, what meaneth this? hast thou compassion on the women which go after thee weeping, and hast thou no pity on thy flesh which goeth bleeding? dost thou not see what difference there is, betwixt wetting with tears the cheeks, and watering as thou dost water with blood the streets? hast thou compassion on the women which go to see how they do execute thee, and hast thou not pity on thyself, which dost go to be executed? dost thou comfort the mothers of those which do crucify 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 jerusalem to calvary, should haue seen go before all the rest, the crier, crying and publishing the iudgement, then the hangman with the nailes, then Christ with his cross, then the theeues with their garments, 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 son of God condemned, went the comfortless mother, who every where, where she found the track of his blood  shed, did not onely swoon vpon it, but did also worship it vpon her knees, and make it clean with her tears. O my soul, O my bowels, why do you not stay here a little, why do you run so fast by so high a mystery? you must also now understand, that all the dust which the sergeants and criers did raise with their excommunicate feet, the son did lay with the blood which he  shed; and the mother with the tears which she did weep.  
Anselmus in his meditations saith; go, O my soul, go from jerusalem, unto calvary, after thy good Iesus, because that of the sweat which he sweateth, & of the blood which issueth from him, and of the tears which the mother doth trip, and of the dust which with his steps he doth hallow, thou shalt make so good a medicine, that it may suffice to vnstop and open al thy disease, and give thee all the good which thou desirest. And he saith further, What dost thou desire, O my heart, what dost thou seek for, O my soul, which thou mayst not find in this holy journey? If thou wilt the cross, there he goeth lifted up; 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 sorrowful mother, there she goeth swooning. Deus tu conversus viuificabis nos, & plebs tua latabitur in te, saith david 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 dost turn thy shoulders unto us: and our salvation consisteth in no other thing, but in that, that thou dost show us thy countenance: for all our works do little avail us, if they be not beholded by thee, and of thy goodness accepted.  
The holy scripture maketh great reckoning of seeing God on the back or shoulders, or to see him in the face, as it appeareth in jacob, who said, Vicdi dominum fancy ad faciem; and of Moses; when he spake with our Lord face to face: that is, Moses did speak with God face unto face, as those are woont to speak, betwixt whom there is some particular friendship. Origen in his Periarchon saith, As it is a sign that we bear hatred unto him, unto whom we speak with our back toward him, & a token of friendship to speak to one with a cheerful countenance, so in like maner then our Lord doth turn his shoulders to us, when he will not impart his holy graces unto us, and then he doth show us his holy face, when he doth communicate unto us his love & grace. Cassio, vpon the Psal saith, It is not in vain, that david saith, Deus tu conversus viuificabis nos, which is to ask for himself, and for his common-wealth, that he would give him of his high grace: for if the Lord will not give us in this world of his grace, he will not give us in the other, of his glory. For those daughters of Sion to go after Christ and behind his shoulders, was to go in his disgrace, and Christ to turn his face towards them, was to bring them to his grace: insomuch that then we may truly say, that our Lord doth turn his face towards us, when he doth place us in the number of his elect.  
Anselmus to this purpose saith, What new thing is this, O redeemer of my soul, what new tiling is this? dost thou not so much as lift up thy eyes to Pilat, although he conjure thee, nor dost thou not speak one word to Herod, albeit he entreat thee; and yet of thy own proper will, dost thou turn thy face unto the daughters of Sion, and comfort them with thy holy word? dost thou more for the tears which women weep behind thy back, than at the entreaty which kings and their deputies make in thy presence? It wanteth not a high mystery, & a deep understanding, that the son of God would never turn his face to the daughters of Sion, until with cries & lamentation he heard them trip, quia plorabunt & lamentabantur. Insomuch that they should never haue seen Christ his face, if they had not first in tears bathed their own face. O my soul, O my heart, behold how the daughters of Sion, and afflicted Iesus, will draw the one to the other, & are at the point to speak one to the other: it is no reason that thou shouldst not find thyself among them, & in the mdist of thē; for if thou dost look vpon his face, thou shalt see it run down with with blood; and if thou dost look vpon their faces, thou shalt see them flow in tears: insomuch that at the best hand, thou shalt escape baptized in tears, or died in blood. O sorrowfull step, O high mystery, at the very hour and monent, in which to the daughters of jerusalem Christ turned to behold thē: where as they beholded his face, & saw it runbloud, & he beholded their faces, and saw them shed tears, they had of him, and he of them, such great compassion, that Christ his passion was doubted, and their compassion increased.  
What tongue is able to set it forth, or what fingers to writ it! or what eyes to weep it! to see what was the countenance of pitiful Iesus, when he turned to look vpon them, and they stayed 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 speak to them. Remigius vpon S. Luke saith, In the journey of calvary, when Christ did look vpon those which went before, he had his shoulders towards those which remained behind, and when he turned to speak unto those which were last, he turned his shoulders unto those which went before, in so much that like a stout captain, he spake unto all, encouraged all, beholded all, animated all, and also accomplished all which was requisite to all men.  
What other thing doth it signify, to go sometimes in the company of men, and turn at another time to talk with women, but that holy Iesus is not careless of the perfect which go before, nor doth forget the imperfect which stay behind? If the son of God would always haue carried his eyes, and fixed them on those which went before, and would never haue turned to behold and speak unto those which remained behind, it had been a sign that he had made no reckoning but of such as did always serve him, and that he esteemed not at all of those which through weakness did sin and offend him. O what a great comfort it is unto all sinful souls, that Christ would turn himself to speak with those poor women! because that to go beholding those which were before, & to turn afterward tp speak with such as came behind, may give us great hope & confidence, that he will not withdraw his eyes from those which do serve him, neither that he will hid his face from those which do come after and follow him. Follow him then, O my soul, follow him, seeing that those daughters of jerusalem did nothing but follow and come after holy Iesus, and weep a few tears behind him, the which were shed in so good time, that for no other cause, but because he heard them cry, he resolved to speak with them, and also to turn unto them. That which Christ did unto the daughters of jerusalem, he was not by them requested, nor by the hangmen commanded, nor by the jews importuned, but he of himself of pure ●ompassion that he had on them, did it: in so much that those tears ought to be very acceptable unto God, seeing it were they which forced Christ to speak with those poor women.  
Cyrillus vpon S. John saith: what other thing did our Lord mean to teach us, in that, that he would but look vpon those which went before, and those which came behind, not only look vpon them, but also speak unto them, but that we should principally and most of all, visit the weak and imperfect in their temptations, and comfort them most of all, in their tribulations?  
Chrisost. vpon the mystery of the cross saith, It is much to be noted, that in the journey of calvary the daughters of zion did first begin to weep before that Christ would turn unto them, whereof we may gather, that no man shall deserve to taste of the high mysteries of his holy passion, unless it be such a one as shall set himself to contemplate on it with a weeping face. The daughters of jerusalem which went weeping after Christ, did not go 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 tears; who did ever see God sand comfort unto those which did laugh, as he hath sent to comfort such as did weep?   

CHAP. XXII. Of the great account which our Lord made of the tears which the daughters of jerusalem did shed, and how he doth invite all men to weep and none to laugh.  
MVlier quid ploras? These words Christ spake unto Mary Magdalen, as if he would say, Tell me O woman, tell me I pray thee, why dost thou weep so fast, and why dost thou so much grieve. It is much to be noted, that Christ doth not ask her an account whether she goeth, nor who she is, or whom she doth seek for, but only why she doth weep, which was to ask her why she did call him, because the son of God is so familiar unto all such as weep, that it seemeth unto him, that for no other cause a man putteth himself to weep, but with a loud voice to call for his God  
Let no man think that we haue spoken discretely in saying, that it is for no other cause that a man betaketh himself to weep for his sins, than to call to God with a loud voice: for even as the heart doth manifest his ioy by the tongue, so the soul doth manifest her grief by the eyes, in somuch that how many are the words which we speak, so many are the tears which we shed.  
Seneca in his book of Clemency; More credit ought to be given unto the tears which we weep, than unto the words which we speak, because the tongue doth oftentimes lye in that which he speaketh, but the eyes do seldom deceive, in that which they weep. So many are the griefs and anguishes which every moment pass by the heart, and torment him, that he hath not only small time to tel them, but there is but little also in the tongue to rehearse them, and hereupon it is, that because the sorrowful heart cannot speak, he doth comfort himself in weeping. Origen vpon this place saith, When Christ saith unto Mary Magdalen, woman why dost thou weep, he would say nothing else unto her, but O woman why doot thou importune me, why dost thou call me, because that by seeing the only cry, thou dost 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 giveth licence to the angels to weep, & that they weep bitterly, not the evil which could come unto them, but that which they saw Christ to suffer. S. jerome vpon Esay saith, He who gave the angels licence that they might weep, would not in all likelihood give licence unto men that they might laugh, seeing that men haue as great reason to weep, as angels haue to laugh? what ingratitude can there be in the world like unto this, that is, to see the angels weep for that that Christ doth suffer, and that man should not weep, seeing that for him onely he did suffer? What meaneth this, O my soul, what meaneth this? do the angels weep to see Christ suffer so much, and wilt not thou weep to see him redeem thee with his blood? The angels do weep the passion of him who restored their feats, and do not men weep the death of them who redeemed their souls? O what a great and high exercise ought to be the exercise of weeping, seeing God made such reckoning of the tears which S. Peter did weep, and of those which Mary Magdalen did weep, and of those that the daughters of zion did weep, and of those which the angels did weep, and doth also at this day of those which we weep, so far, that of our weeping Christ himself cometh to laugh. Our Lord doth not laugh in mocking sort, but doth allow in earnest of our tears, for how much do displease him the vanities which we think, so much do please him the tears which we trip. Vocauit dominus ad sletum, ad planctum, ad caluitium, & ad cilicium, said God by the prophet Esay in the 22. chap. as if he would say, When our Lord will make his house merry, and recreate his own person, he doth invite and call all his friends to apparel themselves in cloth of hair, to trip withtheir eyes, give great cries, and also to tear and rent their heart.  
The rejoicing and feasting which God useth, is very contrary unto the mirth and rejoicing of the world, seeing that the one do cloath themselves in cloath of gold, and the other in cloth of hair; the one speak, the other be silent; the one sing, the other trip; the one comb their hair, the other tear theirs; in so much that among the friends of God, he doth most of all rejoice in the feast, which from the heart doth most trip. Our Lord hath great reason to give us sackcloth in stead of cloth of gold, and to give us cloth of hair in stead of silk, and to command us to tear and rent our hair, in stead of combing us, for seing that he will give us an other reward, than the world doth give unto his worldlings, it is very just that we be better than they be. S. Basil vpon these words of the Psal. Iacta cogitatum tuum in domino, saith, Let us suffer ourselves to be invited of our Lord, let us yield ourselves to his liking, for if it seem a hard matter to cover ourselves in his house with sackcloth, and apparel our flesh with cloth of hair, we may well comfort ourselves in that, that all such as go into his house weeping, do return afterward from his presence laughing  
What other thing is it to shave our heads of superfluous hairs, but to pull out of our hearts superfluous thoughts? what other thing is it, for our Lord to invite us, to haue our eyes full of tears, but that we should weep and repent us of all our offences? what other thing is it for our Lord to invite us, to cover our flesh with cloth of hair, but that we should make ourselves naked, and put from us all vices? O my soul, O my heart, go then, go after the daughters of zion, and I counsel thee, and counsel thee again, that if thou wilt accompany them, thou shalt also go weeping with them, for at the very instant and hour that thy eyes shall begin to weep, the son of God will begin to turn to thee.  
Bonatuenture saith, O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, what a new agony thou wast in, at that time, that thou wouldst turn thy face to the daughters of zion, for at the very instant that thou wast about to stay, and speak unto those poor women, the hangman thinking that thou wouldst run away, hastened thee to go faster, in so much that, that which charity moved him to do, malice hindered him to perform.  
It is a thing to be admired, that in all that journey to calvary, it is not red, that good Iesus should look vpon any, stay with any, nor speak one word, but with the daughters of jerusalem, the which most excellent gift and favour, they did not deserve so much for serving him in his life, as for following him and weeping in his death  
Bede vpon S. Luke saith, Our Lord doth much account of such as think vpon his passion, seeing that the daughters of zion did only follow him, he regarded more the tears which they did weep, than all the demands which Herod and Pilat made unto him.  
convert nos domine ad te, & conuertemur, innoua dies nostros sicut a principio, said the great prophet hieremy, in the prayer of his lamentations: as if he would say, turn us O great God of Israell, turn us 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 pure Lord turn us unto our first yeres and dayes, but when in stead of our first old innocency, which by sin we lost, he doth give us his grace, with the which we may save ourselves?  
It is much to be noted, that the prophet dareth not say, I Lord will turn unto thee; but ask him and entreat him, that he would turn him unto him; wherein hedoth teach us, that if we haue power of ourselves to go from the service of God, yet we haue none to turn unto 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 never lift ourselves up again, if God did not give us his hand?  
S. August, in his confessions saith, I am very much fallen from mine estate and degree, sithence that ambition doth reign in me, envy disquieteth me, anger overcometh me, gluttony corrupt me, sloth not go from me, covetousness ensue me, and lechery incense me; what will become of me, O good Iesus, what will become of me, if thou do not turn me to thee, and into thee, seeing the world hath already turned me into him? he hath so changed me into himself, and hath so estranged me from myself, that I do scarce know myself, and as it were never think vpon thee.  
Seeing that having turned thyself unto Peter thou didst pardon him, turned unto mary Magdelen thou didst comfort her; and turned unto the woman which had the flux, thou didst heal her; and turned unto the daughters of Sion, thou didst comfort them; and turned unto the thief, thou didst forgive him; turn thyself unto me who am a greater for thief than the naughty thief, seeing that without confessing me, and amending me of my fault, would help myself with thy mercy.  
Remigius in a sermon saith, The daughters of jerusalem would never haue turned themselves unto Christ, if Christ should not first haue touched their hearts, & with his grace haue lightened them; so that in the way as he went to die, he left not off the office of preaching; he did not so little good going that journey preaching, but that he turned the daughters of jerusalem that they should weep, the thief that he should repent, the Centurion that he should confess him, the sin that he should darken himself, and many of th● common people which through repentance went striking their breasts. Anselmus in his meditations saith, When the daughters of jerusalem went after weeping, and when thou didst turn unto them, and they beholded what a one thou wast, how was it possible, O my soul, that thou shouldst not die in so narrow a strait? thou shouldst haue seen 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 dost thou gather of all this company, but that every one of them in a diuers manner doth torment thee? what do the hangmen give thee but torment? the theeues, but dishonour? the Iewes but skoffes? the Gentiles, but shane? thy friends, but anguish? thy acquaintance, but pain: and the gibbet, death? O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, by the blood which issueth out of thy veins, I conjure thee, by the tears which the daughters of jerusalem weep, I ask thee, that thou tell and declare unto me, what is that which thou seest, when thou dost look on any side? if thou dost look down, thou dost see the dirt which they cast at thee; if thou look up, thou seest the cross which thou dost carry vpon thy shoulders; if thou dost look vpon thy sides, thou seest the theeues which bear thee company; if thou look before thee, thou seest the hangmen which led thee; if thou look behind the, thou seest the Centurions which guard thee: if thou look vpon thyself, thou dost see thyself suffer, if thou look vpon me, thou seest me always sin? when thou didst go into the houses of the Pontifices, thou didst go only to iudgment, but in this journey of calvary, thou dost go judged and condemned; in so much that thou dost not go now to hear sentence, but to see that they execute sentence in thee.  
Ambrose saith the son 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 three of the cross, grating vpon thy shoulders, wearieng thy members, punishing thyself, and redeeming me.   

CHAP. XXIII. Why christ did not call the women which followed him, simply women, but daughters of jerusalem, and in expounding of this, there are discovered many mysteries of scripture.  
FIliae jerusalem, nolite slere supper me, said supper vosme tipsas fleet. Luk. 23. Christ spake these words to the daughters of zion, when they went after him weeping. As if he would haue said unto them, Take no care to weep for me, O you daughters of jerusalem, but weep for yourselves, & 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 entreat the mountaines to cover you, and the dens that they would defend you. For Christ to speak with women, and in so public a place, and so dangerous a time, and when he went breathing with weariness, and to turn his face unto them only, and to command them that they should not weep for the death of his body, but the revengement of his people: those things are all worthy to be noted, and also full of mysteries to understand. S. Augustine in a sermon of the Samaritan woman saith, With very few women, and also very seldom times, and very few words, the son of God did speak or deal among women; and although he was of many vices accused by his enemies, yet he was never noted nor defamed with women of them. It ought also very much noted, with what women our Lord did converse, and the words ought to be had in remembrance which he spake unto them, as a thing rare unto him, and which he did seldom times.  
Good Iesus then seeing that the term of his life drew to an end, although not the office of his clemency and mercy, his face turned unto the daughters of zion, and their eyes fixed vpon him, he began to speak unto them, and called them daughters, the which word never proceedeth but out of his bowels. Christ to begin his discourse with Filiae, daughters of jerusalem, is such a high mystery, that it shall not be amiss, that we pause a little vpon it, because that for the son of God to call any, son, or daughter, is so new a thing in his mouth, that they never heard it in him, until that last hour.  
Hilarius to this purpose saith, Albeit that Christs words, in what time so ever they were spoken, are hard to be understood, 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. John in his gospel; When the father of eternities had but one only son and that a very well beloved son, he gave it him for a special privilege, when he did sand him into the world, that he should call all those children of God with open cry, which should receive him with good will. O high privilege! O happy licence! O great favor never before given! by means whereof we are made sons of the father, brothers of the son, pupils of the holy-ghost, compa●…ons of the angels, parishioners of the Church, and heires of his glory.  
What hath God more to give us, than to make us his children? if he give us licence that we may be his children, will he not give us licence also that we may be his heires? and if we be heires of his glory, what hath he to give us 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 iron to swim, great was the power of david, seeing he did slea the Philistian; but much greater is the power which he gave unto us, in giuing us licence to call ourselves his children: of which name the angels never durst call themselves, as we do esteem and account ourselves. Since the time that the son of God took flesh of our flesh, the angels dare not make themselves equal unto us, nor compare with us, for as the Apostle saith, Omnes sunt administratores, in ministerium missi, propter eos qui haereditatem capiunt, In so much that according unto this saying, every one of them holdeth himself happy to watch, keep, and serve those which serve Christ. In that that our Lord doth dissemble so may injuries, and forgive us every foot so many sins, it appeareth very plainly, how he doth esteem us for his children, yea and for very tender children; because that before he made himself man, we had no sooner done a fault, but he payed us for it. immediately as Adam sinned, he banished him; as Cain sinned, immediately he punished him; as they of the flood sinned, he immediately drowned them; as those of Sodoma sinned, immediately he sunk them; and as Daaid sinned, he did immediately reprehend him: in so much that when sin harboured all night, there punishment stirred betimes in the morning.  
Adhuc escae eorum erant in ore ipsorum, & ira Dei descendit supper illos, said king david in his 77. Psal. as if he would say, When the children of Israell did ask of God, that he would give them flesh to eat, he gave them immediately many quails to feed vpon, and because they asked rather of gluttony, than of necessity, the Lord did punish them in such sort, that at the first morsel which they did put into their mouths, they fealt the sword at their throat. The scripture could not haue set forth more livelier their gluttony, and God his reuenge, seeing that at the same time they were chewing their meat, and God a punishing them, in so much that the men which died, were more than the quails which they did eat. But after that our Lord did take us for his adoptive children, he doth not deal so with us, for if we commit against him any foul sin, he doth not presently draw the sword of his wrath, although he make show to be angry; 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. john saith, Sithence the time that the son of God took flesh of our flesh, there hath never 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 captivity of babylon, nor like that of the destruction of jerusalem, because he doth now rebuk us like unto children, but he did scourge them like unto slaves. It is also to be noted, that the evangelist doth not say, that our Lord did take all men which he found in the world for his children, but only such which had received him, inso much that God doth hold none for his, but him who fighteth under the banner of Christ,  
Bede vpon S. John saith, When S. John doth say, to that those only which received him and believed in him, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri, he excludeth and casteth out of Christian inheritance, all outrageous pagans, perfidious jews, and cursed heretics; of whom we may truly say, that they are rather disciples of antechist, than the children of Christ. gregory in his pastoral saith, For no other reason, but because he gave us power to be the children of God, the angels do reverence us, the devils do fear us, the saints do love us, we make our benefit of the sacraments, we call ourselves the children of God, we enjoy such high privileges, and hope to be saved by them.  
It is also to be weighed, that Christ doth bind us, that we receive him, and doth not tell us where we should receive him, to wet, in the way with Cyreneus: or in the garden with mary Magdalen, or in the ship with S. Peter, or on the cross with the thief; because that it is better not to receive 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 when our Lord will come to our souls, we should open the gates to him? our Lord doth enter in by the eyes, when we adore him glorified in his fathers kingdom; he doth enter in at the ears, when we do hear sermons; he doth enter in at the hands, when we do give alms; he doth enter in by the tongue, when we do praise him; and he doth likewise enter in at the heart, when we do love him. What wilt thou that I say more unto thee, but that at the gate that he shall come soonest to call, that thou go presently to answer? O blessed and happy soul, at whose gates Christ doth call! O sorrowful & unhappy at whose he doth never knock! because that to visit us, or not to visit us, it toucheth us as near, as to call us slaves, or hold us for his children, or to be his heires, or leave us disinherited; because it is the property of the son of God that when he doth enter into our souls, 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 soul, O my heart, I pray thee, and also conjure thee, that good Iesus striking the hammer, thou open presently the gate; which you do and fulfil, when all that which he doth inspire into your heart, you do presently put in work.  
When dost thou O my good Iesus, beat at the hammer of my soul, but when thou inspirest me and persuadest me to amend my life? when do I, O my sweet Iesus, open unto thee the gate, but when from my heart I weep for my sin? when soul in naughtiness is obstinat?  
Barnard in his book of consideration saith, O how many times my good Iesus thou dost speak unto me, and I do not answer thee; thou dost knock and I feel it not; thou dost counsel me, and I beleeue thee not; thou dost correct me, and I amend not; and also thou dost pardon me, and I thank thee not. Augustine vpon S. John saith, It is to be weighed that S. John doth not say in his text, That Christ made those his children which did seek him, but those which did receive him, because our holy Lord is such a friend unto those whom he doth love, and so enamoured of such as love him, that there is no need that they should seek him, but onely that they should keep him in their hearts.  
Saule Saule cur me persequeris? when the son of God spake these words unto paul in the way to Damascus, did not good Iesus go after Paul running, and Paul go from Christ fleeing? did not Paul go fleeing from the faith of Christ, seeing he went to apprehended such as did confess Christ? did not chest go 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 providence, O divine mercy of the son of God! in that, that at the very instant, when Christ did knock at his gate, saying Saul why dost thou persecute me, Saul did answer Christ, Lord what shall I do? God did not long stand calling at the gate of S. Paul, but at the first knock, which was at the first word, he opened unto Christ; and of on Hebrew, became a Christian, and of Saul, Paul, of a persecuter, a preacher, and of an open enemy, atender and loving son.  
Chrsost. vpon the praise of Paul saith, S. Paul was a child, and a very well-beloved, child, seeing our Lord gave unto him alone more travels, than unto all the rest of his college, because it is a very ancient custom 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. john saith, O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, thy beloved S. john giveth thee great honour, and giveth me great hope, in saying that to all those which received him, he gave them power to be the sons of God, in so much that thou hast the charge to seek, if I will suffer myself to be found, and to go after me, if I will stay for thee, and take me for thy child, if I will give my consent thereto, and also lodge in my bowels if I will receive thee into them. If I should not commit any offences against thee, what would I, that thou wouldst not? what wouldst thou deny me, that I should ask of thee, if I would be to thee such a son, 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 love of my soul, for now I will none of my feet, but to seek thee; I will none of my hands, but to serve thee; I will none of my knees, but to worship thee, I will none of my tongue, but to praise thee; yea I will none of my heart, but to love thee, for seeing thou knowest not how to give thyself unless thou give thyself wholly, it is great reason also that I should give myself entirely and wholly unto thee. Seeing that thou wholly and entirely dost keep thyself to me, unto whom should I better keep myself than unto thee? Thy love is so great towards all, and thou dost comunicate so familiarly, with those which are thine, and thou dost love and rejoice as privately with such as do serve thee, as though thou hadst no other but them to love, in so much that thou dost love all the world in general, and dost rejoice with all such as are thine in particular. Take heed then, O my soul, take heed that thou do not loose the privilege which thou hast to be the son of Christ, of which privilege thou art so many times shaved from, as thou dost commit any sin against him; for if it be true that the son of ●od doth dissemble with his children for some wantonness committed in youth, yet he will suffer no sins which are rusty with age.  
We haue bestowed some time in expounding this saying, Dedit eos potestatem filios Dei fieri, because we should highly esteem of it, that Christ doth give us licence to call ourselves his children, because it is the highest title whereof we may vaunt, and it is the name which in heaven we shall haue. Hilarius saith, O how much we are bound unto the son of God, in that, that at the same time with him, we should call ourselves likewise, sons of God; in so much, that he doth make us equal with him, in calling us as they called him, although we merit not as he did merit, for all merits are his. Vocabitur tibi nomen, quod as domini nominauit, said God by Esay Chap. 62. as if he would say; When thou, O my son, shalt take human flesh vpon thee, they will change the name which before thou hadst, and they will give thee another name which thou knowest not, the which name shall be so wonderful, and so new, that it shall be name only by the mouth of God. Rupertus his gloss saith, This name of the son of God, although above in heaven it was an old name, yet here on earth it was a new name, for until the coming of Christ none in the world called himself the son of God, and if he did so call himself, he might well do it, seeing the Apostle saith, that he thought it no rapine to be equal unto God. gregory vpon S. john saith, As here vpon earth we do call Christ the natural son of God, so he in heaven doth call us the adoptive sons of God, inso much that he doth honour us there, as we do honour him here, and he doth call us there, as we do call him here  
Remigius in an homily saith, For my part I beleeue, that the names which we had given us here at the font, they will change us above in bliss, I shall not be called Remigius, which is my human name, but I shall be called the son of God, which is a divine name, in so much that in the general resurrection, at the same time our bodies shall be glorified, and these our mortal names changed. Esay doth very well say of Christ, Vocabitur nomen tuum nouum. Seeing the name which they gave him was so new, that no man was so called until he came into the world: for if by this name Iesus, Ioshua was called, and with this name Christ, david did entitle himself; yet for one onely man to call himself together Iesus Christ, as no man could deserve this name, so none but he durst so call himself. O great goodness! O high liberality of thee my good Iesus! what prince is there so liberal this day in the world, that if he do divide his kingdom with his son or any other, yet doth not reserve unto himself alone the title of the king? what prince doth there live this day in the world, so prodigal or wasteful, who if he make largis of all his wealth, yet doth not keep unto himself his honour? only our holy Lord was he who had greater respect unto that, that he did love us, than unto that which he did give us, by reason whereof he did give us his honour, seeing he did suffer us to be called his brothers, and doth give us his wealth and riches, seeing we are heires unto him. O my soul, O my heart, esteem it not a little to call yourself as Christ is called, and to inherit as you shall do, the goods and riches of Christ; seeing that within that inheritance falleth also his holy person, and in happening unto you such high riches in that division, be sure and certain, that men shall worship your steps, and the angels wait betimes in the morning at your gates.   

CHAP. XXII. Why Christ would not answer Herod, being urged of him, and why he did speak to the daughters of jerusalem, not being entreated by them, and of many other things notably handled in this chapter.  
NOlite flere sup●rme, said supper vos, Luke 23. Al that which wee haue spoken in the last chapter, hath been to make us wonder and marvell, that the son of God would call the women which went weeping after him, daughters; seeing that at that instant he could in no wise comfort them so much as by calling them daughters, & uttering such high words unto them. All those women which went there, were sisters or kinswomen of the high priests and Phariseis, which led Christ to be crucified, and had been at his condemnation: so that this being so, good Iesus had greater reason to turn his shoulders unto them, than to settle himself to speak unto them. From the woman whose husband doth 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 saith, Those women being as they were natural born children of the murdering and excommunicat city where Christ was condemned to die, and cast out with discredit and reproach, and carried away with rigour of iustice, he should haue made no reckoning of their tears, seeing that their parents had made no estimation of his good doctrine. O great mercy, O goodness never before heard of! considering that the son of God, not regarding that those women were of the traitorous and excommunicarcitie, yet on the way would stay for them, and would turn unto them, and talk with them, and above all, call them daughters of jerusalem, in such sort, that our good Lord made greater reckoning of the tears of strangers, than he did of his own injuries.  
The son of God had done some cures, and given many good lessons unto the children and husbands of those women, and because in that great tribulation of his, they could not pay him unless it were in weeping, the holy Ghost his pleasure was, that those tears should be written, as tears of grateful and thanfull women. S. Barnard vpon the passion saith, Thou shouldst much esteem, O good Iesus, thou shouldst much esteem those which are pitiful, and with their brothers are merciful, seeing thou didst will and command thy chroniclers, that the tears which the women did weep of compassion, should be added and put to the blood of thy passion. Scio opera tua, & laborem tuum, & patientiam tuam: said habeo adversum repauca, quia charitatem tuam primam r●liquistie, said S. John Apocalip. 2. to the bishop of Ephesus; as if he would say, I do not forget the good works which thou dost; neither do I omit to behold thy patience: but yet withall, this I do tell thee, and also reprehend thee, because thou wast wont to be liberal, and art now become covetous; thou wast wont to be devout, and art now become slack; thou wast wont to be abstinent, and art now a glutton: insomuch that thou art an other from him which thou wast wont to be, and wast wont to be another from him, which now thou art. This is a very high and a cunning kind of reprehending: for first he doth commend the bishop of Ephesus of virtue in his works, of wisdom in his office, of patience in the afflictions which he suffereth; & this being done, he beginneth to rebuk him of the faults which he hath fallen into, and of the negligences which he hath committed.  
Bede vpon the Apocalyps saith, In the rehrehension which our Lord used to the bishop of Ephesus, thou shalt see mercy 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 extol that which we do for him, or with so great charity correct us of that which we err against him?  
Who could haue known as our Lord did know, how to moderate the words of correction with the bishop, to the end he should be as he was very well corrected, and yet not at all grieved. S. Barnard writing unto an Abbot saith; do not think father Lucas that he hath learned little in the order, who hath learned to rebuk his brother with charity: for I tell thee, if thou know it not, that the prelate hath need of as great grace to reprehend his subiects, as the subject hath to benefit himself by the correction.  
In that long and profound discourse which the son of God had with the Samaritan woman near unto 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 unto him that it was true; Christ replied unto her, Thou hast said well: as if he should say, Because it doth appertain unto me, who am the searcher out of hearts to like and allow of that which is good, and to portrait that which is evil, I tel thee, O woman, that seeing thou hast had patience to be called an evil liver, I do like and praise thee to be a true woman, & that there is no lye in thy mouth. After the same maner as God entreated the bishop of Ephesus, and in that order that Christ used the Samaritan by the well, all prelates ought to take example how they ought to correct such as are under them, that is, it is not just, but very injust, that for one fault, which they fall into, they thrust into a corner all the virtues which are in them. S. August. in a sermon which he maketh unto certain hermits saith, The prelate can err in nothing more than in not favouring virtues, or in dissembling vices, but of these two extremes, the lesser hurt is, to dissemble some negligences, in merit of some virtues past, than to conceal & keep obscure many virtues, for some negligences present. For ten just men onely which were in Sodom, God would pardon all that land: & in the merits of david he did pardon many kings of judea. whereof 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 always to haue a greater respect unto the goodness, which until then he had, than unto the fault which he had presently fallen into. Cassianus saith, even as the skilful surgeon doth cure the member which hath the fistula in it, without doing any prejudice unto the other members: so the good prelate ought to cure & correct in him who is under him, that that he shall find in him to be nought, & never spill & deface that which is good in him. S. Barnard in his book of consideration saith, even as he who meeteth with a rotten apple, leaveth not to eat that which is sound, because some part is rotten; so the good prelate 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 grieved and ashamed, very late or never we see him amended.  
To come then unto our case, we know well that on one side, the daughters of jerusalem did go after Christ weeping; & on the other side their husbands & kinsmen wē● persecuting him: but because our good Lord, was now made an endless depth of mercy, & a hard sea of clemency, he would in that place, thank the women for the tears which they do weep, & pardon afterward on the cross their husbands, the injuries which they did him. What dost thou ask of good Iesus, what dost thou now ask of good Iesus, seeing that at one of the clock he accepted the womens tears, and at three in the afternoon he pardonned their husbands injuries? he who did pay so well for the tears which they weep for him; will he omit to reward, think you, the services which they do him? Our good Lord might haue enlarged a longer time that discourse, and acknowledged those tears after that he should haue risen again, but blessed Iesus would not do it, nor yet defer it until calvary, 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 punishment to him, not to haue left those tears presently unpaid, than that which the cross & thorns did give him. Barnard vpon the passion, saith; The rope which our Lord ware on his throat, did gull his neck; the cross which he bare on his shoulder, grieved his bones, but the tears which those women did weep, did pierce his heart; and from hence it riseth, that like a debt which lay heavy loaden vpon his bowels, he would presently in the place discharge it. And the same doctor saith further, When I settle myself to think, O good Iesus, that in the discourse of thy passion, thou didst stay to embrace Iudas, to heal Malchas, to look vpon Saint Peter, to speak unto the daughters of jerusalem, and to impart thy cross with Cyreneus, and commend thy mother to thy Disciple, and to promise the thief Paradise: these things are such high mysteries unto me, that if my tongue be able to rehearse them, my iudgement is not able to understand them.  
It is to be noted also in this place, that Christ would not answer Herod one word, unto all the demands he asked him; and on the other part, he did speak with the daughters of Sion, not being requested by them: whereof we may infer, that we ought to make greater account of the tears which the good do weep, than of the words which naughty men do speak. That which Herod did ask him, he did ask of curiosity, but the tears which those women did  shed, they wept of pure pity; and because that in the presence of our Lord a pitiful man is much better, than a curious tyrant, our Lord did approve the tears which those women did weep; and made himself deaf to the words which the tyrant did speak. O my soul, O my heart, if thou hast any business to negotiat with our Lord; and if thou wilt ask any courtesy unto thyself, do not care to go to the palace of Herod, to speak with him, but go thou with the daughters of jerusalem to weep for him; because in the house of God, and with God, it is better to negotiate with force of tears, than might of words. With the tyrant Herod, those negotiat, which pronounce long orations; and with the daughters of Sion such as  shed many tears: and what difference there is to present God with tears, or to present him with words, Let it be seen in Herod whom he would not answer, and in the daughters of Sion, with whom he stayed to speak.  
S. Ambrose vpon S. Luke, saith; No man ought to marvell, that our Lord maketh greater account of the tears which we weep for him, than of the words we use to him; because that the words are formed by the tongue, but the tears proceed from the heart. O good Iesus, O the Lord of my soul, how is it possible that my tongue should hereafter dare to speak one word in thy presence, or my eyes cease to weep for thee, seeing that the words of Herod reached no farther, than unto thy ears, and the tears of the daughters of Sion pierced thy bowels? Weep thou, O my soul, weep thou, O my heart, because the language of heaven is other from that which is spoken in the world, because men here understand not, but by words; and there they answer not, but unto tears: insomuch that so many words we speak with God, as we do weep tears for him. Amice, ad quid venesti? osculo enim tradis filium hoins. 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 very hour that I am praying and beseeching my father for thy faults, dost thou come to apprehended me with men of arms? O what a bad friend and an ungrateful disciple thou hast been unto me! seeing that when I am weeping for thy sins, thou dost deliver me unto my enemies. Let us then be friends, and let us embrace each other, and turn thou unto me, for I will presently turn unto thee, because thou dost 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 david, Ego peccavi, and thou shalt hear presently out of my mouth, Ego te absoluo. Origen vpon S. matthew saith, This word friend, and this word son, the son of God used in the discourse of his passion; the one with Iudas, when he said, friend, wherefore dost thou come; and the other with the daughters of Sion, when he said, daughters: insomuch that he called him friend, which did go to sell him, and called daughters, the wives of those which went to crucify him. What greater benignity could there be this day in the world, as when having said to his faithful disciples, Vos amici mei estis, He would also say to the traitorous disciple, My friend, to what end didst thou come? if those which do sell thee, O good Lord, thou dost call friends, and those which do serve thee, thou dost call also friends; what difference dost thou make betwixt the one and the other? what more heartier speech can be used to one, than to call him friend; and what more tenderer, than to call one son?  
Cicero in his book of friendship saith, Mans tongue can in nothing more make manifest the love which is hidden in the heart, than to call him whom he loveth, friend, or son, because this word friend doth proceed of great affection, and this word son doth make tender the heart. Christ then doth call Iudas the traitor friend, to reduce him unto his friendship, and because he should not despair of his mercy: for without comparison blessed Iesus did feel greater grief, to see the divels which carried away Iudas his soul, than to see the hangman which took away his life.  
Christ called the women of jerusalem daughters to be thankful for that, that they did weep for him, and to convert the hangmen which went by them, because our merciful Lord doth as well seek all occasions to convert them, as they did seek torments speedily to kill him. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, if thou dost call Iudas thy friend, having sold thee for 30 pence; why dost thou not call me so too, who haue offended thee with thousands of sins? sinner for sinner, traitor for traitor, wicked for wicked; why dost thou not take me for thy friend, as thou didst take Iudas the wicked? leave Iudas then, and say unto me, friend, leave the women and say unto me, son; for if thou do go to seek traitors, behold Iudas did sell thee but once, and I haue sold thee a thousand times; and if the daughters of jerusalem be sinners, I am much more than they; insomuch that this name of friend, and also the name of son, doth belong rather unto me than unto any other; not because I haue best served thee, but because I haue most offended thee.   

CHAP. XXV. Why our Lord did weep for the death of Lazarus, and weep for the destruction of jerusalem, and would not that the daughters of jerusalem should weep for him, and how all weeping doth not suffice, but we must know well how to weep.  
VIdens civitatem, fleuit supper 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 discovered from the declining of a high hill, the great city of jerusalem, and see the great calamities which were to fall vpon her, he began to weep earnestly and say; O sorrowful jerusalem, that thou art, O vnfortunat holy city, seeing that before many yeares shall pass, thine enemies shall besiege thee, beat down thy walls, make thy neighbours captives, spoil all thy people; and because there shall no memory of thee remain, they will not leave in thee one ston vpon another. When news came unto Christ of the death of Lazarus, seeing, as he did see his sisters weep for him, our Lord did also betake himself to weep with them, and all men which were there present said, that he ought to haue loved Lazarus very well, seeing that he took such great grief for him. Seneca to this purpose saith. What is the thing which we best love, but that which we most covet, and that which we most of all weep for.  
Cicero in his book of friendship saith, Of all that which we love in our bowels, and of all that which we hate with our hearts, there are no more faithful witnesses in the world, than the tears of our eyes: for they weep presently when they see a friend die, and do the like, when they cannot reuenge on an enemy; insomuch that the office of tears is to manifest our grief, and cry abroad our love. It is to be noted, that the son of God having come from Bethania on foot, sweeting & hungry, and with great danger, because they did always carry an eye over him, yet they did not in any of al these things know the love which he bare unto Lazarus, but by the tears which he did weep for him. Who doth doubt, but al which is loved of the hart, is also wept for of the hart?  
To come then unto our purpose, being very true, as S. August. doth also testify, that all Christ his works be examples for us; it seemeth that it should be reason that we weep also for our friends, seeing that he did weep for ●is; because that one of our friends is more worth than al his together. Who is our true friend, but only Iesus Christ crucified? should not the tears which we should bestow in weeping for so good a friend, be better employed, than those, which did weep for his friend Lazarus? In that speech of thine, I am non dicam vos servos, Thou didst deliver us from being bondmen; and in that, Vos amici mei estis, Thou didst take us for thy friends, and in that ascendo ad patrem vestrum, thou didst choose us for thy brothers, and in that, Ad Deum meum, & deum vestrum, Thou didst make us thy ●ompanions, and of all thy wealth sole inheritors: 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 dost thou now say, do not weep over me; seeing it seemeth by these words that thou dost forbid us to weep for thee, or show any grief at all for thy death? If it be true, quod amicorum omnia fiant communia, What is the reason, that thou dost take all the tears from us, and give no part unto any?  
S. August. vpon S. John saith; It is a mystery never before heard of to see the son of God weep, when he would raise up Lazarus, and on the other side would not suffer them to weep for him, when they carried him to be crucified insomuch that according unto this, we shall haue greater compassion of the child which is born, than of the old man which death; because the old mans troubles do end, when he death, and the childs griefs and cares do begin when he is born. Origen vpon saint Luke saith, To see holy Iesus weep for his friend Lazarus, I marvell not, but to see him weep for the stones and walls of jerusalem, maketh me to wonder: for according unto that which that wicked city deserved for her enormous vices, it was a small punishment to beat down her walls. Chrysostome saith, For the son of God to set himself to trip for the sells of the traitorous city, and not consent that the daughters of Sion should trip for his holy passion, is so high, and so obscure a mystery unto me, that I leave it with many other things unto Gods divine iudgement. What iudgment is able to conceive, why holy Iesus should haue greater compassion of the sells, which the romans should throw down to the ground, than of his sacred members, which the jews draw through the streets?  
S. Barnard vpon these words, Plorans plvrauit in nocte, saith; O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, dost thou make such small account of the loss of thy life, and of the shedding of thy holy blood, that thou dost not consent, that they should weep to see that thou dost not keep one drop of thy blood by another? and dost thou trip that there doth not remain in jerusalem one ston vpon an other? And he saith further, do not say unto us, O good Iesus, do not say unto us, Do you not weep over me; for if thou do forbid us to weep and sigh for thee, know well that we will beseech of thee, and make petition unto God in thy presence, for if thou do set much by the stones of those pinnacles, we do much more set by the blood of thy precious bowels. Why should not I esteem much more of th● blood which doth run from thy veins, than of the stones of jerusalem which thou dost weep for, seeing that within those excommunicated walls thou wast sold, & by the drops of thy blood I was redeemed? We will say unto thee, do not weep, and not thou unto us, Nolite flere: for seeing that in thy holy body, there doth not remain one bone with another nor sinew with sinew, nor one hair with an other, nor of thy blood, one drop with an other, it is greater reason that in jerusalem, there should not remain one ston vpon another, because that the city, where there was such treason committed against our Lord, doth well deserve to be sunk with Sodom and Gomorra. Conclusit Dominus vias meas lapidibus quadratis, said the great Prophet ieremy in his Lamentations, as if he would say, Going one day to the holy temple, I found that all his paths and ways were walled up with great square ston, in so much that I was forced to turn back because I could go no farther. Agmon saith, What is the Temple unto which we go, but the glory which we do look 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 led? What are the lime and stones which do shut this way against us, but our affections and sins which suffer us not to go to heaven? even as the ston is of it own nature hard, heavy, and could, so the traitor sin, is could in charity which it wanteth; & is hard with the obstinacy which it hath within; and is heavy seeing it doth cast us into hell, in somuch that how many sins we commit, so many stones wee load ourselves withall. It is to be weighed, that ieremy did not find the way shut up with all kind of stones, but with great square stones, which kind of shutting up is strong to undo, and very hard to break. That which ieremy did lament, was, that even as the stones which are round, may easily be rolled and put away with the foot, and those which are great and square, cannot be removed with the hands: so there are in the world, some kind of sins and sinners, which with one word of correction are amended, and there are others, which with force of stripes give not over their sins. jerom vpon jeremy saith: O how greatly it is expedient for us, that the stones of our faults be made round, that they may be rolled away, and not that they be square and not to be recovered; because that far more easily a square ston may be moved out of his place, than one may recover a sinful soul out of sin. Is not the soul, which is obstinate in sin, a hard and a square ston, seeing we see that the dropping of a gutter doth cut and pierce the ston, and in a hardened heart, a holy inspiration doth work nothing at all. With square stones he hath the way shut up, who neither for entreaty nor threatening will go out of sin, and that which is worst of all is, that when he should rid and vncomber the way which goeth to heaven, he findeth it every day shut more and more, by heaping sin vpon sin. Iudas the traitor and S. Peter the ungrateful, did both dam up the way of heaven, but S. Peter with round stones, seeing he did repent, & Iudas with square stones, seeing he did despair. Cursed Cain did make up the way of Herod with squarestones, when he said Maior est iniquitas mea quam vt veriam mereor. And david with round light stones, when he said, Miserere mei deus. And thereupon it riseth, that david hath continued a pattern of such as turn unto God, and Cain a captive of such as despair of Gods mercy. The Iewes had their hearts walled and mured up with great square stones, when they said, Vati qui destues templum Dei, and the good thief with light round stones when he said, Domine memento mei; & the fruit which they gathered of this was, that the good thief went strait to paradise; and they were condemned into hell. O good Iesus, the love of my soul, why dost thou weep and bewail the stones which in jerusalem are fallen on the ground, and makest no reckoning of the great square faults which lye in my soul? S. Barnard in a sermon saith, leave off O good Iesus, leave off to bewail the Hebrew walls, and weep, seeing thou wilt weep, my obdurate sins: for if thou didst come into the world, it was not to die for stones, but to redeem souls; why dost thou weep for jerusalem, which is not yet besieged of the enemies, and why dost thou weep for her, as if shee were down, seeing all her walls be sound and entire? weep for me who am besieged of tempters, and make lamentation over me which am fallen into temptations; for if jerusalem do compare her walls with my sins, and if her old stones strive with my rusty faults, thou wilt rather feel my loss, than her fall: for without comparison the blood which thou dost  shed for me, is more worthy than the tears which thou dost weep for her. O who doth deserve to hear that voice, Non remanebit in te lapis supper lapidum, because that for Christ to say, that there shall not remain in jerusalem one ston vpon another, is to tell me and assure me, that there shall not remain in my soul 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 sin hidden? when are the stones of jerusalem all beaten down, but when the faults of my soul are all amended? When doth our Lord weep 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 mystery that Christ doth say on one side to the daughters of Sion, Do not weep vpon me, and then said, said fleet supper vos: and to say they are contrary one to the other, were blasphemy, but in these two speeches his meaning was to let us understand, that it sufficeth not that wee weep, but we must mark what we do weep for, because the merit or demerit of our Lords death, doth not so much consist in shedding of many tears, as in the well or ill bestowing of them. Children do weep enough when they be whipped, and theeues do weep when they are hanged, but the tears of such are not acceptable unto God, nor grateful unto men, because such do not weep for the contrition which they haue of their sins, but for the grief which they feel in their torments. tears enough did he  shed, and sighs enough did king Antiochus give, when he fell sick in the mountaines of Persia, but he was not heard of God, nor pardonned of his sins, because that all the lamentations which he made in those mountaines, were not so much for the grief and sorrow which he had of his offences, as for the worms which went gnawing his entrails. As small account did God make of the tears which Acha did weep, who was daughter of Caleph; because if she did weep and sigh, it was not because shee did know herself to bee a sinner, but because her father did not give her the feeding pasture which was watered. Of these and the like tears 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 naughtiness which our Lord did show me in jerusalem, I saw certain women in the temple, and thinking that all they, were weeping for the sins 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 affirm that the god of love, was no other but faire Adonis, before whom louers did laugh, when their loues had good success, and also they wept before him, when their sweet love did turn into bitter dolour and grief.  
It is much to be noted, that among all the abominations, which Ezechiel layeth down, he setteth it down for the greatest, that the women durst weep for him who was their god of love: thereby to teach us, that our Lord is much more offended, when we are sorry that we cannot sin, then when through negligence we be careless in serving him. What other thing is it to weep in the temple for the god of love, but to weep & 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: whereof we may infer, that if a man hath entred into a perfection of life, he doth sin more who sigheth for vices, than the worldling which always followed delight.  
Simon de Cassia saith, Seeing that the daughters of jerusalem, did weep for that which Christ suffered, and the women in Ezechiel, did weep for Adonis, whom they loved, it is curiously to be noted, that he commanded the one not to weep for his dolours, and forbiddeth others to sigh for their loues, considering that the son of God saith, do not you weep over me, but weep over yourselves. It is reason that we know what is that, that our Lord commandeth us to weep, and what that also is for the which we should sigh, for oftentimes we do laugh for that, which we should weep for, and at other times we do weep for that which we should laugh for. Barnard vpon the Canticles saith, I am determined not to laugh, until I may hear, venite benedicte, Come ye that are blessed; nor leave off weeping, until I escape item maledicte. S. Augustine in his Meditations saith, When I hear or red that part of scripture which saith, rejoice & be glad because your names are written in heaven; I cannot choose but be joyful & glad: and as soon as I hear or read the other saying, which saith, Narrow is the way which leadeth unto heaven, I am never filled with weeping because that the pleasure which I take in knowing that I am registered in the book of heaven is dashed, when I hear that the way is strait and narrow. Seneca in his book of anger saith, That which I haue to weep I know well is myself, but that that I should laugh until this hour I never could learn: for as in me there is nothing, which is not worthy to be lamented, so in the world there is nothing which giveth me contentment: for what contentment or pleasure can I take of things past, seeing they are already gone, nor of things present seeing they are all frail and brittle, nor of things to come, seeing they are all uncertain? What pleasure can I take in this miserable life, considering that mine infancy is past in rashness, my childhood in ignorance, my youth in rage, my mans estate in covetousness, and mine old age in weakness? What ioy can reign 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, said fleet supper vos, because the hast which we make to sin is so great, that there remaineth little time to weep and bewail so many sins. weep vpon thyself O my soul, weep vpon thyself, O my heart, seeing that our good Iesus first will that thou haue vpon thyself compassion before thou weep his passion, for otherwise if thou do 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 supper me: & that we may al say with david, Ego sum qui peccavi: and that a good death should not be lamented, but a naughty life.  
EGo sum qui peccavi, ego qui inique egi, ista autem oves quid fecerunt, These are the words of the renowned king david, when the striking angel did slay seuentie thousand in one day of the people of Israell, not for that that the people had committed, but for that which david 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, turn then thy rigorous hand against me who am culpable, and not against the people which is innocent, for like unto simplo sheep they do suffer that which they deserve not. The ground of this business was, that king david did command all the twelve tribes of Isarell to be numbered and registered, to the end he might know what people he had to go to the war, and serve the common-wealth. And because the good king did this more for curiosity than for necessity, our Lord was very angry with him, because it did belong to the duty of a king to know what they were, and not how many they were. For this numbering of the people which king david did of his subiects of Israell, the angel did kill seuentie thousand of them, and it is to be believed that he would haue slain more, if good king david had not remedied it with force of tears. Origen vpon this place saith, The people ought to pray very much that God would give them a good king, and the king should also pray that God would give 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 babylon, and for the sins of king Roboam Israell departed from the great tribe of Iuda, insomuch that even as the body is not in good health, when the head complaineth of the members, so the kingdom is not well governed when the king and kingdom be not virtuous.  
The deep iudgments of our Lord are much to be marked in this place, seeing that david having sinned, he did punish his people, and he remained without any punishment at all, in so much that according unto mans iudgement, our Lord took away the lives from those which were in no fault, and did pardon him who had well deserved 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 just, & rectum judicium tuum, if thou dost let go those which are faulty, and condemn the innocent? The sin which david committed in regestring his kingdom, wilt thou that the kingdom pay for, considering it was done by their own king? Answering unto this, we say, that our Lord is not only just, but also his iudgement is right, and in the execution of that iustice, our Lord did injustice to neither part, for if he did kill seuentie thousand of the people, for some other cause they had deserved it.  
chrysostom vpon S. matthew saith, Because our Lord doth punish wicked men with an evil will, he doth oftentimes dissemble their punishment a long time, sometime he doth punish out of hand, sometime he doth remit it unto the other world, and sometime in public punishments he doth chastise secret sins. And he saith farther, The Lord doth use great mercy with those whom he doth punish within others, seeing that in punishing them publicly he doth absolve them of the fault, and in not making manifest their faults, he doth keep their honour and credit. Vpon these words of the prophet, Percutiam & ego sanabo, S. Augustine saith, The difference betwixt Gods punishment & mans punishment is, that when God doth punish, God is satisfied, the offender amended, the sin pardonned, the people counseled, heaven opened, hel shut, the world dispatched, thy brother exhorted, and the devil ashamed. The devil is much grieved with that that our Lord doth punish here in this world with his merciful hand, because he whom he leaveth unpunished here, goeth afterward into hell to suffer pain. Let no man intermeddle himself betwixt God which punisheth, & man which is punished for if God do punish him, & not discover why he doth it, it is because the Lord doth use great clemency with him, because there are some sins so wicked and so filthy in this world, that a sinner would be glad, that our Lord would secretly double his punishment, rather than they should be openly known unto all men.  
gregory vpon the psalm saith, When the prophet doth say, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered, he doth not call those happy who haue their sins hidden, but those which are not defamed by them: and hereupon it is that our Lord using his goodness towards us, doth fulfil his iustice in punishing of us, and doth use his mercy in not discovering vs. What doth all this make to the people why our Lord did kill seuentie thousand of the people? What reasonable excuse may be given to excuse that great slaughter, seeing it is certain that those twenty 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 book of clemency saith, O how many things God doth know, which men know not! O how many insolent deeds he doth bear which men would not suffer! and from hence it is, that if al the naughtiness which naughty men commit should be punished to the uttermost of rigour, there would rather want gibbets to hang them, than offenders to deserve them. Notwithstanding that those twenty thousand men were evil and concavity sinners before the Lord, yet in such order he did moderate his iustice with clemency, that if the angel did take away their lives, he did not at all prejudice their credits. Now that the Israelits were slain for their secret sins, what is the reason that king david remaineth unpunished, his sin being so open and scandalous? Truly king david was not without punishment, and that a grievous punishment, for if the angel did strike the people in the body, he strooke david in the heart, for how many there died there for his cause, so many thrusts they gave him in the heart, most gracious king david bieng as he was, of his own nature meeld and pitiful, seeing so many dead people brought out of their houses, and hearing so many cries by the streets, it is to be believed that the good king would rather haue ben carried with the dead men to be butted than to haue heard so many grievous complaints and cries with his ears. With a loud cry and in public place, thy did all ask a reuenge of God, of king david; 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 himself in great confusion with those which were alive. The sinful king did die with those which he saw to die, and did weep with all those which he saw weep, and did bury himself with all those which he saw butted, insomuch that if to others they butted their dead bodies, to him they butted his heart alive. Agmon in his gloss saith, In that great day of reuenge, the Lord did take a greater revengement of david in giuing him his life, then in giuing him death: for if the Lord would suddenly haue slain him, he should haue died but one death, but because he slay all the other before his face, of so many deaths he tasted, as he saw neighbours butted. When great king david said, ego sum qui peccavi, he did very plainly ask of God, that he would take his life from him, and made himself clearly the author of that fault: and hereupon it is, that none of those which died there, did so much grieve the loss of his life, as david did to see that they lost it for his cause. O with what great reason we may say thou art just, O Lord, and thy iudgment is right, seeing the Lord used great clemency with the people in taking away their life, and leaving their credit, and great mercy with david in giuing him his life, now that it touched him in his honour. coming then unto our purpose, the words which king david spake, Ego sum qui peccavi, the self same words the daughters of jerusalem 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 never haue known what torments had been. It is now to be known that sins and torments are very old friends, and do like very near brothers go always coupled. What angel is there in heaven, or what man is there on earth, which is able to separate the punishment from the fault, the reward from the merit, a fool from the world, a perverse fellow from his will, the divell from sin, and sin from hell? S. Augustine in his confessions saith, even as a thorn fastened in the foot, doth always grieve until it be pulled out, so the sin in the soul is never at any time at rest until contrition and tears do cast him out: whereof it riseth that if the sorrowful soul had a tongue, as the mouth hath, she would tell you aloud, That with so many dolours and griefs she is tormented, as she is with sins loaded. For Christ to say unto the daughters of Sion, weep not vpon me; is to say plainly unto them, that they weep not the death which he doth suffer, but that they weep for themselves who are cause of that which he doth suffer: insomuch that according unto this rule, we should haue greater compassion on the poor man which doth ill, than on him which doth suffer for it. According unto this holy sentence, We should not weep for the death of Abel, but for the envy of Cain; nor the captivity of joseph, but the malice of his brother; nor the persecution of david, but the envy of Saul; nor the banishment of Elias, but the wickedness of Iesabell; nor the sawing of Esayas, but the cruelty of Manasses. Maximus in one of his sermons of the saints saith, When thou shalt hear talk of the great martyrdom, which the martyrs haue past through, thou shouldst envy them; and on the tyrants which did martyr them haue great pity: because the torments of the saints had an end in one hour, but the punishment of the tyrants endure until this day. Origen vpon this place saith, When Christ said Nolite flere supper me, but vpon yourselves, he would tell us and aduise us that we haue enough for ourselves to weep, without sighing for the death of Christ, for he taketh greater pleasure if we wiil weep for our own sins, than to sigh for his torments. Barnard saith, If the torments which the Iewes gave Christ were compared with the sins which Christians do at this day commit, for my own part I think, that our holy Lord doth more grieve to see us sin, than to see his flesh suffer.  
lo in a sermon saith, Being a certain rule, that in that which we do most of all love, we do most of all fix our eyes, it is to be believed that if the son of God should rather haue loved his flesh than our souls, that he would rather haue suffered us to die with our sins, than endure so many torments for us, but because our damnation did grieve him more than his passion, he would rather suffer in his body great torments, then see any sins in our souls.  
S. Augustine saith, Because the son of God by these words, do not weep over me; doth unbind thee for weeping for him: & by thes words, But weep vpon yourselves; doth bind thee to weep for thyself, I am of opinion that thou shouldst first bewail thine own offences, and afterward that thou busy thyself in weeping for his wounds, because out Lord doth much more rejoice to see thy soul unburdened of sins, than to see thine eyes loaden with tears. Remigius saith, O what a high sentence this is when Christ said, Nolite flere supper me; because that if he should haue suffered for himself, it seemeth it had ben reason that he should haue wept for himself, but seeing he doth suffer, not for his offences but for mine, why should I shed tears but for them?  
basil the great saith, Seeing the son of God doth say unto the daughters of jerusalem, Do not weep vpon me, but vpon yourselves; thou oughtst my brother, give over weeping & begin to amend, because it doth far better please our Lord, that thou give no cause to weep, than to see thee as thou dost weep. Aymon saith, What other thing would our Lord say, when he said, do not weep for me, but only sin not, that thou mayst haue occasion to laugh before me? In heaven they sigh not but laugh, they weep not but sing, they are not sad but merry, neither do they for all this give over to be holy and happy: for to conclude, our Lord would rather see us leave off to sin, than see us begin to weep. Vpon these words of the Apocalip, absterget deus omnem lachrymam, Venerable Bede saith, What other thing is it for our Lord to dry the tears from the eyes of his elect, but to give them his holy grace, because they should commit no more sins. And dost not thou know that the eyes could never haue known how to weep, if men had never known how to sin? until man began to sin, he never knew what it was to weep: and from hence it cometh, that because in heaven there are no faults, they know not there what tears are. S. jerome to Priscilla saith, To say, do not weep vpon me, but vpon yourselves; is to tell us very plainly, that we should haue greater compassion on the wicked which live, than on the good which die, seeing that good men if they die, they die to go unto rest, and naughty men if they live, they live to be afterward in greater punishment, insomuch that Christ doth forbid us to weep a good death, and doth bind us to weep a naughty life. What other thing would Christ say, when he said, nolite flere supper me, but only weep not for my death which is so glorious, but weep for your life which is so wicked and perverse.  
Who can better say than I, ego sum qui peccavi, in seeing that I am the thief which made the theft, and do they put thee, O good Iesus, on the three for the fact? I am he who haue sinned, seeing I haue ventured on that which is forbidden, & ask they thee for the theft? and being the murderer, accuse thee of murder, & having 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 eyes haue looked vpon the three which was forbidden, why do they shut up thine and leave mine open? If with mine own feet I went into the garden which was forbidden, and with my own hands haue cut of the fruit: why do they put thee and not me vpon the gibbet? And dost 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 known first how to sin, we should not haue known after what it was to suffer. Why didst thou, O good Iesus, accustom thyself to suffer torments, not having tried first what were sins? unto me who knoweth how to sin, to me & not unto thee it belongeth to suffer, for otherwise in thee al order of iustice is perverted, seeing that thou dost consent that there should be punishment there where there did go no sin before. Seeing it is I who haue sinned, and I who haue done evilly, why dost thou separate and divide that which was always together, that is the offence and the punishment, the thief and the gallows, the murderer and the sword, the sin and the pain due for it.   

CHAP. XXVII. How Christ did compare himself unto the green three, and the synagogue unto the dry three: and of a very high three which ezechiel 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 unto the daughters of Sion, when he was going unto the mount of calvary, as if he would say, O daughters of jerusalem, O neighbours of Sion, weep for yourselves and let me alone: for if they haue cut me off, and rent me in pieces, who am a green three profitable and also fruitful, what will become of the dry three which beareth no fruit at all? This is a very grave sentence which our Lord uttereth in this place, and therfore we purpose to stay somewhat vpon it. In holy scripture always good men are compared unto good trees, and naughty men unto naughty trees, and in this consideration in Luke the 13. Christ did curse the fig three which bare no fruit, and in Deutron. the 20. God did forbid to cut a three which brought forth fruit; so that when the son of God said, Lignum aridum & lignum viride, he spake not of the trees which grew in the mountaines, but of men which dwelled among the people. Homo est arbour euersa, said the philosopher, as if he would say, A man is nothing else but a three planted the contrary way, in which the roote is the head, the stock the body, the bows the arms, the rind the skin, the soul the sap, and good works the fruit. S. Augustine vpon S. John saith, In the terrestrial Paradise, there were three kind of trees, to wit, lignum cibi, lignum vitae & lignum scientiae boni & mali, insomuch that of the three of meat they were to eat, but of the three of knowledge they ought not to touch, and with the three which was called the three of life, they should become young again. To the likeness of these three trees of Paradise, the son of God did carry other three trees unto the mount of calvary, 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 answer unto the truth, we will say that the green three was that whereon the good thief did save himself, and the dry three was it whereon the concavity thief did loose himself, and the three of life was the cross with the which Christ our saviour did redeem 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 calvary, it was only one which gave us life. O how far better the trees were which the son of God did nourish in the dunghill of calvary, than those which Adam maintained in his Paradise, because the three of life, which was the holy cross, he did compass with his body, water with his blood, 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 dry, and Christ a very good gardener, seeing that in the dunghill of calvary he made his trees to flourish and be green, insomuch that in Adam his hands was the dry three of our perdition, and in the hands of Christ the green ttee of our salvation. Vidi & ecce arbour in medio terrae, altitudo eius jury, folia eius pulcherrima fructus eius nimius. These are the words of great king Nabuchadnezzar telling a dream which he saw by night, the 4 of daniel, as if he would say, I Nabuchadnezzar did dream one night that I did see a very high three, whose leaves were very beautiful, his fruit very sauerous, under his shadow were all kind of living beasts, and on his bows all the birds made their nests. We should not go much awry in saying, that the son of God is this three, seeing that in the book of Canticles he is called, arbour fici, and in the gospel of S. John, Vitis vera; and in the apocalypse, lignum vitae; and in the mount of calvary lignum viride, insomuch that he who is compared unto so many trees, may of us without injury be called a three. For the scripture to say that that three did stand in the middle of the earth, is to let us understand that as of that which standeth in the midst of a market place, every man equally hath the sight, so the son of God would redeem us in jerusalem which is the midst of the world, because every man should equally and alike enjoy that so profitable a fruit. S. jerome vpon the psalm saith, It wanteth not a mystery that the son of God would die in the mount of calvary, which is a place situated in the midst of the world, and not in the West or East, least he should haue seemed rather to redeem some than othersome. In the midst of all the world Nabuchadnezzar did see a three which reached unto heaven, and in the midst of the mount of calvary stood the three which redeemed all the world, and the reason was, that because he was to redeem all men, it was convenient that he should put himself where all the world might see him. Quinque sickles redimatur filius pauperi & divites, said God in Leuit. as if he would say, Whereas all the first born children be mine, after that I haue slain all the first born in egypt, if any man will redeem his son which he shall present in the temple, he shall give for him five sickles of gold: and in case of redemption there shall no more be given for the son of the poor th●… ●or the son of the rich. For God to command in the law, that the rich and the poor should be ransomed alike, is one of the greatest secrets which we red of, and one of the greatest mysteries which we preach. Origen vpon Leuit. To command that the redemption of the poor should be as great as that of the rich, although we confess that God may command it, there is no literal reason to know why God should so command it, and thereupon it is that in all scripture how much less sense there is in the letter, then so much more higher is the sense spiritual: and how much less reason there is in declaring the letter, then so much the greater are the secrets of the scripture. For the law of Moyses to command that with like price should be ransomed the eldest son of a knight, and the son of a poor herdman was to teach us, that with the like blood in quantity, the son of God was to redeem the great & small, rich and poor, friends and enemies, and also the dead and the live. One man may well exceed another in being more rich, more noble, more valorous, and also more virtuous then another, but he shall not exceed him in being redeemed with better blood than he. S. Augustine writing to Dardanus saith: I see well, O Dardanus, that thou dost esteem little of me, although I make great account of thee, and it is because thou art young and I old, wise & I undiscreet, rich and I poor, and also more virtuous than I am; yet nevertheless I will deny 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 confess any advantage in thee, nor any superiority in me. So far without affection, and without all passion, good Iesus did bestow and divide for all men all his holy blood, that one only drop will as well benefit all the world, as a whole pitcherfull will do good unto one man alone. O good Iesus O the redeemer of my soul, wherewith shall I pay thy clemency and with what shall I satisfy thy goodness, for not shedding better blood for all thy elect, then thou didst for my sins alone? Cyrillus vpon those words, Sanguis eius sit supper nos saith, To more O you Iewes, to more than unto you alone and your children doth the blood of Christ extend, seeing he died as well for those which went before us, as for those which are present, or those which are to c●…, for he will  shed as much blood for one only man which he ●… l redeem, as for an hundred worlds which his will is to save. To what end, O good Iesus, to what end would I haue wealth, or hope for any inheritance in the goods of this world, seeing that I am already made heir of thy precious blood, and redeemed with thy glorious death? Why should not I esteem very much of myself seeing thou hast shed as much blood for me alone, as thou hast done for all the whole world? Barnard unto this purpose saith, O my good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, do not I happily owe thee as much as all the world doth owe thee, seeing that I haue cost thee as much blood as al they haue done? To plant the three then in the midst of the earth, was a figure that Christ did die indifferently for all men: and from hence it riseth that in the division 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 precious blood, he did divide it equally and redeem us all alike. The second property of that three was, that his bows were so high, that the ends of them did seem to touch the heaven, in so much that neither the eye could look so high nor the hand reach thē. By the high bows of that three, are signified the most high judgements of God, the which no humane understanding is able to conceive, nor yet the angels reach unto, but like unto Christians we are bound to beleeue them, and like sinners to fear them.  
Quis coguouit sensum domini, aut quis consiliarius eius, saith the Apostle, as if he would say, Our Lord being as he is so profound in his judgements, and so close in his counsels, who hath ever reached unto his secrets, or who ever durst give him counsel? Bede vpon the Apostle saith, The greatest temeritie in this world is, to ask for an account of that which God doth, or dare to judge why he doth it, for we are so small in his sight, that if he give us leave to serve him, yet he will not licence us to counsel him. It is most certain that neither the Seraphins that are in heaven, neither the holy men which are vpon the earth, can attain unto his divine judgements, nor give a reason of his deep secrets, for although we see every day a thousand novelties which he doth, yet no man can judge why he doth them. Quis cognovit sensum domini, when he did accept of the presents which Abel gave him, and scorned the sacrifices which Cain did offer him? Who did know his counsel when of the two sons of the great partriarke Isac, which were yet in the womb of their mother Rebecca, he did love jacob, and hate Esau? Who knew his counsel when on one side he brought the children of Israell out of egypt, and afterward slay them all in the desert? Who did know the meaning of the Lord, seeing that the good thief did save himself with three houres service, and wicked Iudas condemn himself with three yeares Apostleship? All these things are such high judgements, and such profound secrets, that neither the angels can attain unto, nor men determine of, because that all which God doth in the government of his creatures is of that quality, that we are bound to praise them, but not licenced to judge them. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, seeing that I cannot go up to the three, nor touch his highnesse, I beseech thee give me leave to take hold of one onely bough of thy mercy, for I desire no more of thy high judgements, but that my poor services may bee accepted of thee. As one did ask of the ancient Ansenias why he did thunder out so many sighs in the fields, and water the desert with so many tears, the holy old man answered him: When I remember howe Esau the infant, was reproved in his mothers womb, and howe miserable Iudas in the company of Christ was cast away, and how Christ saith, That the way unto heaven is narrow and strait, and that I know not what shall become of my soul, there can no mirth reign in my heart.  
S Barnard in a sermon saith, I fear so much O good Iesus, I fear so much thy high judgements, and thy profound secrets, yea that doing good works, I fear whether I shalbe accepted by thee. S. Augustine in his confessions saith; I know 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 evil work shalbe unpunished, so no good work shalbe unrewarded, because thou art just O Lord, Et rectum judicium tuum. And he saith farther. Seing that the prophet doth sing of thee, Thou art just O Lord, and thy iudgement is right, I do determine with myself, rather to be good than bad, because that thy mercy is as much bound to reward me the good which I shall do, as I am bound to thy iustice to pay the evil which I shall commit.  
The third property which the three had, which Nabucadonosor saw in his dream was, that he was very full of leaves, and that, very faire and precious leaves, in somuch that the leaves of that three, were better then the fruit of any other three.  
even as in holy scripture, by the three is understood Christ, and by the flowers his holy intentions, and by the fruits his good works; so by the leaves are understood his glorious words, the which are of such great majesty, and excellency, that for to hear one word of Christ, all the holy governance, and hierarchy of heaven, would come to the earth.  
Folium eius non defluet, & omnia quaecunque faciet prosperabuntur, 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 come into the world who is desired of all nations, and when the heir of eternities shall take flesh, he shalbe like unto the three which is planted by streams of waters, whose leaves shall never fall, and whose fruit shall always remain: For the prophet to say that in the holy three, there did never fall leaf, is to say, that there did never proceed evil word, out of the mouth of Christ, because the son of God, did live with such purity in this life, that all the angels which shall join to examine it, shall find 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 he alone, and no other, who doth reward or punish all our works, and who doth allow or condemn 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 didst come among us, all did tremble to die, but since that thou didst come into the world, thy martyrs do as easily and readily offer themselves 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 didst never speak word, which was not sweet to hear, full of mystery to understand, profound to meditate on, true to beleeue, chast to allow, pitiful to comfort, and also very profitable to imitate.  
Non sic impii non sic. Seeing that of all others besides thyself, we will say, that the idle and superfluous words, which fall from them, are more then the honest and profitable, which they speak.  
According unto this saying, His leaf shal not fall, Christ said, also, that the heaven and earth shal pass, but my words shall not pass.  
As if he would say. Do not make such small estimation of the words which I speak unto you, nor scoff not at the sermons which I make in the temple, for I let you understand, that it shal be more easier for the heaven 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 unto the good, and what a fear unto the nought, to hear this terrible sentence of our Lord, seeing that by it he doth give us his credit and his hand, to pay us very well the services which we shall do for him, and that we shall also pray unto him, for the naughtiness which we shall commit against him, in somuch that we are certain, that he will fulfil all that which he hath promised us, and also punish us of all that which he hath admonished vs.  
S jerom vpon ezechiel saith, For my own part I beleeue, that the greatest part of those which damn themselves, do it because they give no credit unto the words of Christ, or because they do not beleeue that Christ spake thē, and because they beleeue that which they ought to scoff at, & scoff at that which they ought to beleeue, they never open their eyes, until they find themselves 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 he would say, The fourth quality which the three had, that Nabuchadnezzar saw, was, that it was loaden with fruit, and that the fruit of it was wonderful sauourous, and that there was such abundance of it, that it was enough to maintain al the living creatures of the earth.  
We shal raise no false witnesses vpon the scripture to say, that the fruit of that three was no other thing, but the wonderful works which Christ did, the which were so many in number, and in merit so glorious, that no tongue of man is able to reckon them, nor all the angels to magnify them. Quam magnificata sunt opera tue, domine, nimis profunda sunt cogitatione tua, said renowned king david, as if he would say, O how powerable thou dost show thyself in the works which thou dost take in hand, and how magnificent thou dost prove thyself in the courtesies which thou dost bestow, & how profound thou dost try thyself in thy thoughts, and how intelligible thou dost make thyself in thy knowledge, and also of what great patience thou dost vaunt thyself, in the patience which thou dost possess Cassiodorus vpon these words saith, Very high & sumptuous, & very profound also are all the works of God, seeing there is nothing in the heaven which he hath not made, nor work in the earth which he hath not created: and from hence it riseth that if he give us leave to enjoy all the works which he hath made, yet he hath not given us licence that we should create or make any of them. Cyrillus saith, The title and surname of Lord, the name of Creator, the name of a true Redeemer: these three names God would reserve unto himself, and not bestow vpon any person, and thereupon it cometh, that if now all the angels of heaven would join themselves together, & all the men in the world, & all the divels likewise of hell, they could not be able to create one frog which should croake, nor make one fly which should flee. Not without a great mystery did the prophet say that the works of God were very proud & sumptuous, & immediately after, that his thoughts were exceeding profound, to let us thereby understand that when we shal see our Lord to use with some his mercy, and with others his iustice, we venture not ourselves to ask the reason, nor seek out the cause why he doth it, seeing that such works as those, do belong to the depth of his wisdom & to his sole divine and eternal predestination. Nimis profundet sunt cogitationes eius, seeing he doth give unto the good greater glory then he did owe them, and unto the wicked lesser punishment then they did deserve, in so-much that he is not severe in that which he doth punish, nor careless in that which he will reward. O quam magnificata sunt opera tua domine, considering that not being asked by any thou hast created us, without that any did deserve it thou hast redeemed us, and not being entreated thou hast adopted us, and without any services of us going before, thou hast made us thy heirs. In such an ungrateful people who but thou hath ever used such great mercy? Are not thy cogitations profound, considering that thou didst disinherit thy own son of his merits, and spoil us of sins, to load vpon him our sins, and give us the heritage of his merits? Vpon those words of the Apostle, Quanto tempore haeres paruulus est, Hilarius saith, For the Apostle to call thee as he doth, an heir, I know not, O good Iesus, what thou didst inherit in this world, if it were not of men weakness, of the Iewes envy, of the divels malice, of Herod a gown, of Pilat a crown, of joseph a shrowd, and of Nichodemus a grave. Who but we are the heirs of thy glory, and whom but thy Christians hast thou placed in thy church, and unto whom but unto thy elect hast thou given the fruit of thy precious blood? O quam magnificata sunt opera tua domine? seeing that the precious blood which thou didst shed, thou didst not shed for the blessed angels, because in them there was no sin, thou didst not shed it for the damned divels, because of them thou didst not hope for any amendment, neither didst thou shed it for beasts, because they were not capable of glory, but thou didst shed it only for sinners such as I am, which hope and look for thy mercy. To say that the three 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 give us to understand, that the works of God are so high, that we cannot give condign thanks for them, and so deep and profound, that we be not able to understand them. The fift property of the three which Nabuchadnezzar saw, was, that at the foot of it all living creatures did rest themselves, and under his shadow defend themselves, in so much that no living creature had any more life then was cherished and fostered under that shadow. Before all things it is to be presupposed and believed, that in scripture the shadow is nothing else, but that which by another name we call grace, under which we all live, and live at rest, and are meruelously refreshed. When shall we truly say that we are at rest under his shadow, but when we are protected by his holy grace? Defend us under the show of thy overflowings, saith the prophet, psalm 19, as if he would say, Although there be many trees in the world to recreat us with, and many shadows to retire ourselves, yet I will seek for no other shadows for myself, but the shadows of thy holy wings, under the which O great God of Israel, I beseech thee, that thou wouldest draw me, and always under thy shadow protect me.  
Seeing it is true that God is a spirit, & hath no flesh, nor bones to hinder his going, why will he haue overflowings like unto birds, to fly? Basil vpon the psalms saith, The wings with which God doth fly, are nothing else but the love and fear with the which he doth govern all the world, and then he doth put us under the shadow of these wings, when he doth give us grace to deserve his mercy, and knowledge to fear his iustice. It is much to be noted, that the Prophet doth not content himself with the shadow of one wing, but of both, thereby to teach us, that they ought to go both together, joined in our hearts, his love with his fear, and his fear with his love: for we ought not so much to hope in his mercy, that we should be careless to serve him; nor yet so much to discomfort ourselves of his clemency, that we should despair of it. cain was shaded under the wing of fear, when he said, My iniquity is greater than that I may deserve pardon; and the pharisee also was under the wing of fear, when he said, I am not like unto other men: insomuch that because they would not shrowded themselves under both his wings, they deserved to loose their miserable souls. S. Barnard saith vpon these words, Qui habitat: O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, if thou shouldst not defend us under the shadow of thy winges, who could be able to resist the persuasions of the divell, the appetite of the flesh, the vanities of the world, the malice 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 under the shade of thy wings? under the shade of thy wings I do put my life, O good Iesus, & under the shade of thy wings I do also commend my soul, for if I were not retired under thy overflowings, how is it possible that my life should not be wasted, and my soul condemned? The last condition which the three had, which Nabuchadnezzar saw, was, that all the birds in the world, had their nests in it. Insomuch that the greatness of that three was such, that under his shade all beasts might pass the heat of the day, and in the top of his boughs al birds might rest and breed. We shall not say a miss to say, that the high three is our Christ, the nests which are in it, our hearts, the eggs which we lay there are our desires, and the young ones which we draw thence, are the good works which we do: in such sort that then we make our nests in that holy three, when in the wounds of Christ, are lodged all our desires. Quasi aquila ponens in arduis nidum suum, saith holy job speaking of a virtuous and good man, as if he would say, O how happy the soul is which serveth our Lord, the which like unto an angel placeth and buildeth her nest, in the highest part of the three, where shee may securely, and without fear lay her eggs and bring up her little ones, not fearing the striking or spurning of any beast nor yet that any man can reach unto them.  
What is the highest three in all the world, but the true cross of the son of the living God, vpon which our souls were redeemed, and the seats of the angels restored? who was the Eagle which first made his nest in that three, but the son of God when he was crucified vpon it? What other thing is it for the son of God to build his nest, in the highest part of the three, but to suffer more torments than all the world did suffer? It is not lawful for Pagans heretics and Iewes, to make their nests in this three, seeing they deny the sacraments, and withdraw themselves from being Christians: because it is impossible that there should be any good work, 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 covered with thorns, and his body full of holes, made with nailes.  
Where may you better, then among those holy thorns, and in the holes of those wounds O my soul, build the neast of your good purposes, & put in execution your holy desires? O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, who can be so acceptable unto thee, & so f●… liar with thee that he should deserve to make so holy a nest in thy wounds, and live hard by thee, and die under thy shade? would it not be wholesomer counsel for me, to die in the holes of thy dolours, than to live in the nests of my loues & pleasures? In the nests of my sorrowful loues I live, when I love not thee, but myself, O sweet Iesus; and in thy dolours I live, when in thee and not in myself I think, in somuch that such is the nest in which I live, as is the love in which I employ myself.  
If my heart be occupied in thee, it is certain that it liveth, but in thee; but if it be busied in any other, we will say that it doth not live but in an other, because that every sorrowful heart doth live more sweetlier in that which he doth love, then in himself, who doth love.  
Omne lignum paradisi Dei non est efficile ei, quoniam specio sum feci eum & condensis frondetis, saith God by ezechiel 31. chap. as if he would say, Among all the angelical 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 load and burden with troubles in this life, and endue with more glory then all men in the other. Agmon vpon this place saith:  
The Father speaking of his beloved son saith very well, that no three of paradise can be compared, nor made equal with Christ, because the greatest and the best of the angels turned to be a divell, and the first three of men fell into sin, and also all those that descended of him, the worm gnaweth & eateth, seeing there is no man which is not born of a sinner, and conceived in sin. Only the three of the son of God stood always sound, stood always certain, always green, always on foot, not somuch as one leaf doth fall from him, nor his fruit fade.  
This is the three which did never whither nor dry, seeing he did never sin; this is the three which is profitable unto all men, because that all men are maintained by him; this is the three on which death died, and life rose again, and also this is a three, watered with tears, bathed with blood, which continueth always fresh and green.  
This is the three, 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 through by the hangman, and nailed up in calvary.  
What hast thou done, what hast thou committed, O glorious three, that thou shouldst be forsaken of thy own friends, and by strangers cut down at the foot? If thy enemies deal this with thee, who art a green three, what will my sins do with my dry soul? O cruel hangmen, O inhuman Iewes! not he, but I am the dry three, which you should cut down: I am the fruitless bough which you should burn, because in me there is no root of charity, nor body of goodness, nor leaf of truth, nor yet fruit of mercy. If it be true, as true it is, that I am the thief which did steal the fruit of the three which was forbidden, why do you cut down and rent asunder this blessed three? Is there any word in all scripture of greater force, or any sentence more cruel in all the world, than for the son of God to say, If this be done in the green wood, what shal be done in the dry? What would Christ say by these words, but if such iustice be shown for another mans fault, what shall be done for a mans own? If they do thus handle the tender son, what stripes will they give a bold seruant or slave? If they do thus waste and rent him by the roote who doth raise the dead, dost thou think that they will give life unto those which kill the living? without doubt thou kilst such as live, as oft as thou sinnest against thy god; because to sin, is to crucify Christ again. Vpon those words of the psalm, Et erit tanquam lignum, S. basil saith, In the house and garden of God, the green three they never cut, and the dry three they do sometimes suffer, but in the end of their daies journey they do foster and cherish that three which is green, to the end he may yield fruit, and they cut the dry one, to burn in hell, and thereupon it is, that they shall not find any dry three in all heaven, nor any green three in al hell.  
The three which beareth no fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire, said Christ, preaching unto the people, in Luke the 19. as if he would say, Let all such as hear me make full account, that in the garden of my church, I haue no need of trees which bear not fruit, and yet occupy my ground, for at the time that they are most secure and safe, I will command them to be cut down and to be butted in hell. Hilarius to this purpose saith, If the son of God should haue said no more but, he shall be cut down, and had not added, & in ignem mittetur, it might haue passed, but to say that he will cut down every dry three, & burn him in the fire, is a speech much to be grieved, and also worthy of many tears. jerome vpon S. matthew saith, O how much our Lord is to be thanked, for that he saith not that he will cut the three when he is somewhat dry, or half dry, But when he shall be wholly dry; whereby he doth let us understand, that our Lord doth never execute vpon us the rigour of his iustice, until he hath looked for us first a long time with his mercy. And he saith farther, If the mercy be great which our Lord useth with those as do repent, truly the iustice is not small which he doth afterward use 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 saith, by the life which thou dost led my brother, thou shalt know of what kind of three thou art, for if thou do live well, thou art a green three, if noughtely thou art a dry three; but tell me I pray thee, how is it possible that thou shouldst not be a dry three, if thou wilt not go out of sin? Cyrillus vpon S. John saith, That day which doth pass me without doing some service unto our Lord, or doing some good unto my neighbour, that day I yield is ill bestowed, and confess myself to be a dry three, 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 dry up, and of being dry they come to be cut up, and of cutting up to burn, insomuch that sooner a soul doth dry without grace than the three without water.   

CHAP. XXIX. How Christ came unto the mount of calvary, and how there they did put off his apparel: with other pitiful considerations to that purpose.  
POstquam autem venerunt in locum qui vocatur Caluaria exuerunt illum vestimentis suis, as if he would say. Now that the son of God did draw near to the mount of calvary, tired & wearied, and also Simon Cyreneus loaden with the cross, the hangmen busied themselves out of hand in taking off Christ his apparel, not giuing one moment of time to rest himself. Agmon saith, As the son of God did not die like as other men haue died, so they did not unclothe Christ as they were wont to unclothe other malefactors, because they dealed with him so inhumanly in this case, that the scripture seemeth to think that they left not so much as one thread of a garment vpon him. The tender mother nor the sorrowful son had never gone up to the mount of calvary until that day, by reason that the place was somewhat high, and very stinking, and thereupon it is, that because the savour of the bones which were 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 saith, 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 calvary, because he was first tormented in his smelling, before he was crucified in his body. O how much surer the hangmen should haue done in ruling their hands, not to crucify him, and in shutting their mouths not to blaspheme him, than to haue stopped their noses not to smell the stink, because that without all comparison their sins did much more stink before Christ, than unto them the bodies of such as were dead. chrysostom saith, Because the torments had ben very many, and the way long, and the mount of calvary somewhat high, blessed Iesus came unto it so wearied and so full of anguish, that he could neither breath nor lift up his hands to put of his own clothes. The son of God then being bare footed on the dunghill where he was to die, and before his eyes the cross put, on which they should crucify him, the hangmen commanded him to begin to unclothe himself, with a supposition that he should never after cloth him again. What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? Doth it not suffice that on the cross they take away thy life, but the hangmen must also take away thy garment? if thou do such great favours unto those which kill thee: what wilt thou not give unto those which serve thee? considering that thou dost give to John thy mother, to thy father thy soul, to Nichodemus thy body, to the world thy blood, to the thief thy glory, and to the hangmen thy garment; why dost thou not keep one coat for thyself? Being come to the top of the mount, by reason that the multitude of people was great, and the place not spacious, they were compelled by the officers, to gather together on a heap, in the midst whereof was Christ alone who was to die, the hangmen which were to kill him, the cross on which he was to be crucified, and the theeues which were to bear him company. Anselmus in his Meditations saith, O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, in what case didst thou stand at the foot of the cross? If our Lord did look before him, he saw the nailes, if behind him he saw his keepers, if on one side he saw the hangmen, if on the other he saw the theeues, if he did look up he saw the cross, insomuch that he did see nothing which did not give him grief and torment. The cross being taken from Cyreneus shoulder, the hangmen began to unloose Christ his hands, not with intention to let them at liberty, but immeadiatly to nail them through. Torment for torment, and punishment for punishment, was it not a lesser hurt to suffer thy wrists to be bound with a cord, then thy veins to be opened with nailes? Was it not enough that the osiers should spoil thy hands, although the iron should not also break thy sinews? O my soul, O my heart, this great cruelty which they use towards thy God, how is it possible to find a beginning to rehearse it, or that you should haue time sufficient to bewail it? Offerentes vitulum coram domino, dotracta pelle, 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 calf, let them not offer it unless his skin be pulled off and cut in pieces, and his blood sprinkled about the altar, because in this fashion it shalbe a sacrifice very acceptable unto me, and I will forgive him his sins, who so shall offer it me. Cyrillus vpon Leuit. saith, The greatest and the highest sacrifice that ever was offered in the world was, when they did crucify the son of God on the three, whose blood was all  shed, whose sinews were every one drawn from an other, whose flesh was all bruised black and blewe, and whose skin was all flaine off: in somuch, that the son of God, did offer up a greater sacrifice of himself, then Moyses did of any calf.  
When a beast is slain, and he that flaieth him knoweth not how to do it, it is most certain, that with the wool he lifteth up the skin, and with the skin goeth the flesh, and with the flesh the blood, in somuch that the poor beast, is both flaine and torn in pieces.  
How is it possible for me to speak, all that which I think in this pitiful case, and not to blot first, all these lines with my tears? Christ his flesh was broken with blows, his skin black and blew with stripes, his blood congealed with torments, and his garments cleaving to his wounds, and his hands and throat slain with the roapes.  
At the time that the hangmen did vncloath Christ at the foot of the cross, after his garment went his skin, after his skin, his flesh, after his flesh his blood, and after his blood his life; in somuch that our holy Lord was first flaine, and after crucified. O pitiful Iesus, O the sweetness of my soul, doth it not suffice them, that like unto a thief they crucify thee but also like unto a beast boweld thee & flaine thee? O cruel hangmen, O bloody butchers, seeing that you do not flay a beast, until he be dead, why do you flay the innocent lamb being yet alive? Barnard saith, It is an old custom among worldly men, not to let men blood, but when they are alive, nor to strip beasts of their skins, but after they are dead: but in the body of the son of God, the hangmen did all contrary, seeing that being alive, they did slay him, and being dead they lanced him with a spear. See how the truth doth answer in all respects unto the figure, seeing that like unto a calf, the son of God was offered up, slain and quartered in pieces, and let blood at the foot of the cross: and the difference betwixt our sacrifice and theirs was, that theirs did benefit but one alone, but his did not only help one alone, but also all the universal world. Tota die verecundia mea contra me est & confusio facisi meae cooperint me, saith psalm in the name of Christ, as if he would say, Among all the great and cruel 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 shane which he endured gave him greater torment then the grief 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 choose rather to haue his head stroke off in the prison, then to see himself brought with shane into the market place. What doth not he loose, who looseth his reputation? What doth abide with him with whom credit and honor abideth not? The son of God then being so honest in his person, such a patron unto others of good life, and also of such great reputation and credit throughout all the common-wealth, it was unto him a grievous injury and an exceeding great shane, to see that in the midst of the field and among all those people, he and no other stood naked, and every mans eye cast vpon him. S. Augustine vpon S. john saith, Put the case that the law did command that malefactors should bee crucified, it is not red therein that it commandeth them to bee stripped naked: and from hence it proceedeth, that the ministers of wickedness like covetous men spoiled Christ, and like unto malicious men did openly put him to shane. There is no man so poor which wanteth a garment to die in, and a sheet to be butted in, unless it were holy Iesus, whom they left not so much as a coat to be executed in, nor a shrowd to be wrapped and butted in. When Christ doth say, The confusion of my face hath covered my face; What else doth he say, but that he was much ashamed of that shameless impudency of theirs. What doth it mean, tota die verecundia mea, contra me est, but that no man waged so daungerous a battle with him, as his own shane did, after that he saw himself spoiled of his garments and naked from the feet unto the head. S. Barnard saith, The son of God was so very honest, that it was unto him a greater confusion and sham●, to show one shoulder bare, then to another man to be naked from the foot to the head. Anselmus in his Meditations saith, Because they took off Christs garments the wrong way, and turned them over his head, they removed and stuck in a new the thorns in his head: and in removing the thorns they renewed his wounds; and in renewing his wounds, his veins began to open afresh, and in the opening of his veins there did run out blood by pitchers full, insomuch that some of it lay on the ground, and other some was frozen in his body, and all the rest was congealed in his garments. O my soul, O my heart, how is it possible for thee to remain sound and entire, thy good Iesus being thus divided into so many parts? Thou dost now know that his hair was scattered in Pilats house, that his skin did cleave to the pillar, he left his blood shed in the streets, the gore part of it was frozen to his garments, and his garments the hangmen took away: What did there remain proper unto himself, but only the love which he had to redeem the world? bonaventure in his Stimulo saith, divide thyself O my heart, divide thyself, and put one part to keep those bloody garments, and another in the thorns which were removed, and another in the blood which is shed abroad, and another in the stripped flesh, for if thou be found slain and stripped with Iesus crucified, thou shalt also find thyself risen with him, who will rise the Sunday. Where art thou, O glorious virgin, where art thou pitiful mother? Why art not thou with thy son in this bickering? O sorrowful mother, O comfortless mother, make more hast if thou wilt see thy son alive, and so thy heart shall haue great cause to sigh and thy eyes to weep. If thou come in time, and if thou draw somewhat nearer, thou shalt see thy son without the skin which thou didst bring him into the world with, without the strength which thou hast seen him haue, without the blood ●… ch thou didst give him, without the liberty which thou didst bring him up in, and without the garments which thou didddest wave him, which the hangmen haue taken not to give thee but to divide among themselves. bonaventure in his motive to love saith, O who could haue seen thee, comfortless mother, the hast which thy feet made to run, thy eyes to weep, thy hands to bewail, and thy heart to sound: for the grief which thou hadst to see thy son die, did exceed the grief of compassion, and grew to be a dolour and grief of passion. Take no thought, O comfortless mother, take no thought to see thy son as thou dost see him, at the foot of the cross naked, and to see how they haue him down on the ground to nail him, because he doth receive greater grief to see thee cast thy eyes vpon him, then that others should lay hands vpon him. O my soul, O my heart, this way of his should not be gone over, without you, because it doth give a far greater torment unto blessed Iesus, to see you clothed with sins, then to see himself 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 lamb, to behold on every side him without sight, in breath without breath, in flesh without flesh, and in skin without skin. S. Barnard in a sermon saith, His hands being now loosed, his wrists without cords, and his throat without a rope, all at once overthwartly they pulled off his coat, and crown, and skin, and flesh, and blood, 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 sweetness of my soul, 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 soul is in beholding & being beholded, in seeing and in being seen, because neither she can be seen, by reason that she is so foul, nor thou to behold because thou art so slain. O most pitiful Lord, if the only thinking and remembrance of that which thou hadst to suffer in the mount of calvary, made thee to sweat blood in the garden, how canst thou endure now to see the cross with thy eyes, and also to see all thy torments? What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? Haue they so small regard in heaven of thy blood, that the angels do give thee comfort when thou didst sweat it, and forget thee at the time that thou dost shed it? O what difference there is betwixt that which thou didst sweat in the garden, and that which thou didst sweat afterward in calvary, because that in the garden thou didst sweat by the poors thy own blood, but in calvary thou didst not sweat by the poors, but through my enormous fault, insomuch that for to leave me faire and clean, thou didst remain all to besweated.   

CHAP. XXX. Of the mystery why the son of God would die naked on the cross, and how there be more which would serve the world, then follow Christ naked.  
NVdauerunt joseph tunica taleri, & miserunt in cisternam veterem, queen non habebat aquam, saith the holy scripture in the 37 of Genesis, as if he would say, When the brothers of innocent joseph saw that they had convenient time to show their hatred, they stripped him of a long garment which he wore, and cast him into an old dry cistern which had not one drop of water in it. It is much to be noted in this place, that joseph only was best beloved of his father jacob, and he did reprehend his brothers of their vices, he only was most of all envied of all, and he only ware a long garment until the ankles, and it was he only whom they vncloathed of his garment and threw him into an old lake. This high and dark 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 us, that this was the son which he did most set by, and in whom he did most of all rejoice? It was only Christ who like unto joseph, did reprehend the open vices of the synagogue, by reason whereof the Iewes took 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 just 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 unseemly to wear, because there was no sin in him to clip off, nor there wanted couertie to ad unto him. It was only Christ who like to joseph they did spoil of his garment, and cast in the cistern, which was brought to pass and fulfilled when in the mount of calvary he was spoiled of his coats, and put vpon the cross, the which at that time was so dry, that he found not one drop of water in it. He who cried aloud on the cross, Sitio, I am athirst, dost thou think my brother that he would not haue taken a cup of water as he did take the bitter gaule dissolved in vinegar? O how far more terrible was the cistern of calvary to Christ, then that of Sichem was to joseph; seeing that joseph went out of his alive, but Christ did not descend from his until he was dead, and holy joseph 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 cistern of calvary then joseph did with his at Sichem, because that if holy joseph did find his cistern dry, dry he left it; if old, old he left it; but holy Iesus did renew the cistern of his cross with his members, did work it with his nailes, glue it with his blood, fill it with his tears, keep it with his spear, made the iuices of his thorns, made it famous with his death, and enriched it with his life. Iosephs brothers not contented with this, they killed presently a goat, and died the coat which they took from the youth in his blood, and carrying it unto their father,  told him that a wild bear had killed joseph in the desert, so that in that daies work the goat was killed, joseph sold, jacob deceived, and the brothers proved murderers.  
This high mystery was better fulfilled in Christ, then prefigured before in joseph, because that to die with blood his holy garment, was not necessary to kill a goat, because he died it with his own precious blood, in so much that he took the garment of himself to cover us, and drew the blood out of his bowels to die it.  
If the great partriarke jacob was deceived by his children, yet without all doubt God the Father was not deceived by his only son, seeing that the blood with the which he died the coat of his church, was not the blood of any brute beast, but of the veins of his most sacred body.  
Origen vpon this place saith, The blood with the which the synagogue was died, was famed blood, slaughter blood, lying blood, and the blood of brute beasts: but the blood of the catholic church is pure blood, true blood, and holy blood, and also loving blood, the which he gave us in such abundance, that he gave not in that measure because he would give us no more, but because he had no more to give.  
Agmon saith, That jacob was always deceived in thinking that his son was dead, until he saw him made afterward a great lord in egypt, and so the jewish nation will always think that Christ is not risen again until he come to judge the world, and thereupon it is that then they will begin to be converted, when the world shall be at an end. Because that all which is spoken of the son of God is short in words, in respect of the mysteries which are contained under them, it is a thing to be wondered at, and worthy to be weighed, why he would die naked, and show his naked flesh in calvary, seeing he had ben a prophet of most holy life, and of exceeding great honesty and dignity in his person.  
S. Augustine vpon Saint John saith, The cause why Christ would die naked was, to show us how excessive the love was which he bare us, seeing that he shewed us his own proper flesh, and did not hid himself from us, because that among familiar friends it is a greater token of love to show one arm naked, then to suffer a man to put his hand in his treasure.  
Bede vpon S. Luke saith, How much we ought to esteem it, that Christ would die naked it is easily known, in that that no man before another dareth to put of his shirt, how familiar so ever he is with him, because there is no man this day in the world so dishonest who dare show himself naked from the feet to the head.  
Ambrose vpon Saint mark saith, Of one tenor, of one value, of one savour, is the flesh which thou didst show the Iewes, and that which thou didst leave to Christians; saving that that which thou didst show there was naked, and that which thou didst leave here is covered. Quicunque non receperint vos, exeuntes de civitate illa excutile pulverem pedum, and Luke the 9. as if he would say, If you preach my doctrine in any city, and the inhabitants therof will not receive your persons, nor beleeue your words, go out presently out of their city, without any farther preaching unto them, and when you do go away, do not only not take with you, any thing that they haue given you, but you shall shake off the dust of your shoes, if any haue stuck vpon them. If we look curiously into the scripture, dust is never taken but for the goods and riches of this world, for even as the dust is changed at every wind, so goods are changed every moment.  
What else is the material dust of the ground, but certain dry earth, and heavy? like unto dust, the goods of this world are very dry, seeing they give such small contentment; much trodden, seeing they pass through so many hands; fruitless, seeing they do such small good; they are movable, seeing they vanish away so quickly; and also very deceitful, seeing they haue deceived so many. What doth he go about, who endeavoureth himself to gain riches, but only to fill his house with dust? Is not think you, all the wealth in this world dust, and less 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 son of God to command his disciples, to shake off the dust of both their feet, is to forbid them, to trouble themselves with worldly matters, because that in christian religion, it is far worse to haue our conscience full of dirt, than our shoes loaden with dust. Gregory in his register saith: mark well that Christ did not command to shake off the dust of one foot only, but of both; thereby to let us understand, that it doth not suffice that we give over to possess worldly things, but we must also give over to desire them, because there be many in this world, which although they cannot reach unto that which they would, yet do not give over to sigh and wish for it.  
Then the seruant of our Lord, hath one foot clean and an other loaden with dust, when in the world, he renounced all which he had, and took into religion nothing but his own will, in so much that in the world he least his money, and to religion brought desires. S. Barnard writing unto a certain monk, saith, I would to God brother that of two evils thou hadst chosen the less, that is, that thou hadst brought with thee rather the money which thou didst bestow in the world, then the evil desires which thou didst bring hither with thee, because that with the money we should haue repaired some old wals, but with thy bad desires thou dost overthrow our old customs. Beda vpon S. Luke saith, That it is very much to be pondered that Christ doth command us to make clean our feet, which is the last part of man, because that thereby he doth teach us, that in all things we take in hand, we ought always to direct them to a good end, considering that the merit or demerit of our works, doth not so much consist in that which we do, as for the end why we do them. For the son of God then to spoil himself of all his garments, before he should go up to the cross, and to command his disciples that they should shake of the dust of both their feet, is to aduise us, and also to undeceive us, that no man shall be able to reach unto the height of perfection, nor with him go up to the holy cross, if he do not first shake from him all the dust of covetousness, and put off and dispossess himself of his own proper will. Christ did first forsake his will in the garden before he did put off his clothes in calvary: whereof we should take example, that if we will attain to the perfection of christianity, it is necessary that we do first leave our heart naked of his appetites, rather then the body of his attire, Expoliauit se rex Saul vertinientis, suis & propheteuit cum caeteris prophetis, & cecini nudus tote die & nocte, saith the holy scripture in the first book of the kings in the 20 chapter, as if he would say, Immeadiatly after that Saul had put of his princely robes, he began to prophesy among the other prophets, in so much that the spirit of prophesy did so long time dure with him, as he had no garment vpon him.  
Isidorus vpon these words saith, To say in scripture that king Saul was never received into the choir of the prophets, until they saw him naked of all his garments, is plainly to aduise us, that we shall never be reckoned in the number of his elect, if we do not first spoil and put off all our vain desires, because that in the house and contrary of God, many sinners are received, but no sinners admitted.  
Agmon noteth, that at the very instant when Saul did turn to take his garments he lost immediately the spirit of prophecy; whereof we may infer, 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 less in Christ: insomuch that we cannot be friends unto the one, but we must be enemies unto the other.  
Saul did exceeding well to unclothe himself, and committed a great error, in clothing himself again, because it was better for him to prophesy naked, then to rule and be a king clothed. O what a number of companions Saul hath in this case, who having put of worldly things, retire themselves to prophesy in some perfection, and after that they haue so done for a time, turn again to cloth themselves in the garments of their old customs, insomuch that they make choice rather to serve 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 son of God who never turn to put on that which they haue determined once to forsake: for as the wise man saith, It is a lesser evil not to know the way of salvation, then to know it and afterward not to follow it. O my soul, tell me I pray thee, why wilt thou turn to cloth thyself in the vanities which thou hast left in the world, and with the naughty customs which thou hast renounced, seeing that thou dost well know that distressed king Saul did die in the mountains of Gelboe clothed, and the son of God did triumph over death on the cross naked? What dost thou, what dost thou feel, O my heart what dost thou feel, art thou not ashamed to go shod and clothed, thy master and redeemer being vpon the cross naked? Strip thyself naked O my soul, strip thyself, seeing that with those garments of which thou shalt unclothe thyself, good Iesus must cloth himself withall, which are the wickedness which thou dost brag and vaunt of, and the sins which thou dost commit every day against him, all which he will carry to the cross, and there crucify with himself. Quid retribuam domino pro omnibus queen retribuit mihi, seeing that forgetting himself, and having me in remembrance, if he go to the cross stripped and naked of apparel, yet he goeth laden and clogged with my sins? O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, if thou wilt put on any garments of sins, and if thou wilt haue any liveries of naughtiness, go to no other shop, O my good Iesus, go to no other but to that of my sinful soul, because there are so many iniquities and so great wickedness in her, that with the change of thy own blood we will there cloth thee from the feet unto the head. What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? Who did ever hear or see any man change as thou hast done, thy own sweat and labour for other mens sins? O glorious & happy exchange which thou didst make with me O good Iesus at the foot of the three, where thou didst give me thy merits for my demerits, thy goodness, for my noughtines, thy innocency for my fault, thy credit and honour for my infamy, and thy life for my death, in so much that if I live it is by thee, and if thou die it is for me.  
O high mystery and sacrament, never before heard of, who was ever so expert a wrestler as thou art, seeing thou didst go to wrestle naked, in a naked field, on a naked cross, and naked of friends, and yet naked didst overcome the divell? Naked thy heart went up to the cross of comfort, naked in that place thy flesh was seen of skin, naked thy body of apparel, in so much that thou didst there cover thyself with no other thing, but with the cross which thou hadst on thy shoulder, and with the thorns which thou hadst on thy head.  
Peccata nostre pertulit in cupite suo, supper lignum crues, saith the Apostle Saint Peter, in his first epistle caconical, the 2 chapter, as if he would say, understand you, O my brothers, that the Christ which I preach unto you, is he who took vpon his own shoulders all the sins of the world, and went to die with them on a cross, insomuch that as the hangmen did execute his members vpon the cross, so he over and above his members did put to death, and execute al our sins.  
O wonder never before heard nor thought of, who did ever ●… e or ever hear that he who is condemned, should condemn, 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 unto the three of the cross, if they took thy life from thee, thou didst destroy death, if they did execute thy body thou didst kill sin, if they did crucify thy members thou didst crucify offences, in so much that there remained no member in thee to crucify, nor wickedness 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 didst make as great a boucherie in thy body of my offences, as the hangmen did on the cross of thy flesh.  
Remigius saith, that it is to be noted that the Apostle doth not say, that Christ did carry our sins vpon his soul but vpon his body, 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 satisfy like a sinner. Cyrillus vpon S. John saith, The sins which were lodged in our souls, Christ did cast vpon his own flesh; whereof it followed, that Gods iustice finding them there, like unto one who had received theeues and harbard malefactors, he crucified him, and fulfilled iustice. And dost thou not know, O good Iesus, that it is a law kept of old, that in whose hands the theft is found, that he give account of the theft and also pay for the theft? Who could haue ben able to crucify 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 eat with sinners, how should it be that they should not handle thee like a sinner, and punish thee like unto a sinner, seeing that thou dost receive 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 own holy garments, and in stead of them cloth thyself in other mens stolen coats, which thou didst at the foot of the cross, when thou didst put off thy own innocency, and put on thee my fault? Damascen saith, That he did bear our sins in his body, when the eternal Father did find vpon his sons members, all our sins, by reason whereof he & they, they and he, were executed and slain on the cross, insomuch, that for no other thing, but because Christ entred in to part the fray, he was there slain of those also which quarreled.   

CHAP. XXXI. Of the hour when they began to crucify Christ, and how that first of all he offered his heart to be divided on the cross, and his left hand to be nailed.  
HOra erat tertia & crucifixerunt eum, saith S. mark, in his 15 chapped. as if he would say, The son of God being come to the mount of calvary, and the halter being taken away which he had at his throat, and the cords loosed which his hands were tied with, they did crucify him betwixt two open theeues, putting him in the middle, as though he had been captain of them.  
For such high mysteries as are here to be touched, and for such new matters never before heard of, such as we must speak of, it should be needful for us to haue the tongues of Angels, the spirit of prophets, and the gift of the apostles, and the contemplation of holy contemplative men, because that the mysteries of the cross, 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 pen in that which I shall writ, and make my hart soft to feel that which I ought, in somuch that at one time, my eyes may betake themselves to weep, and my fingers to writ. And I summon you to appear, O my eyes, and I city you also, O my heart, to the end you may be witnesses, and be present at all the mysteries which my pen shall writ, and at all the torments of my God which I shall speak of, seeing that you haue far more reason to bewail and weep them, then he had to suffer them.  
To what end do you think that I city you, O my eyes, and to what end do I summon you O my heart, but only to sweat with holy Iesus blood at your pores, and to bath with tears my sorrowful cheeks.  
O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, if I could feel some small part of that which thou didst feel, and could taste a little of that which thou didst taste, howe were it possible that my tears should not blot out all that which my hands do writ? Plorans plorauit in nocte, & lacrimis eius ne in exillis eius, saith the great Prophet jeremy in his Lamentations, as if he would say, After that sorrowful jerusalem, did see the chaldeans carried away captive their neighbours, beat their walls down to the ground, their tears were so many and so continual, that their cheeks were never dry neither day nor night.  
jeremy could not more lively haue set forth his Lamentation, then he did in these words, for to say Plorans plorauit, is to say, that he did not only weep with his eyes, but he did weep also with his heart, and it is to say that the abundance of tears was so great, that one drop did follow an other.  
When one drop doth follow an other on his cheeks who weepeth, it is an evident sign that he loved that well, for the which now he weepeth, and that he of whom he complaineth, did him great hurt. O my soul, O my heart, is it not greater reason, that you should weep the death and passion of the son of the living God, than for jeremy to lament and weep as he did the captivity of the jewish nation? Sorrowful jeremy doth weep, and never ceaseth weeping, for the throwing down of the old walls of jerusalem, and do you forget to weep and bewail the pulling asunder of every tender joint in good Iesus? comfortless jeremy cannot comfort himself, when he seeth the streets of the holy city overgrown with grass, & canst thou do it O my heart, now that thou dost see them watered with blood? Lend me O great jeremy, lend me I pray thee, some few of these thy tears, not for to weep for the stones of thy holy city, but to complain of the faults of my sinful soul, for although it bee true, that the Iewes did accuse my Lord and master, yet not they, but my sins did crucify him.  
It is time now that we come to speak of this lamentable ease, and make relation of that great spectacle, which was the greatest that ever was seen, or heard off in the world, for if we compare all others unto the loss of the life of the son of God, they are all but a shadow. We may well call all famous men a shadow, and all such as undertook great actions, and also all such which in times past did achieve heroical virtues, for because he is not yet born, who for the redeeming, and curing of all the whole world, would loose his own proper life. Barnard vpon Qui habitat, We shall highly account of it, that Christ would die for us, but yet it is much more to be esteemed, that he did offer himself so willingly unto it, because the love which the son of God had in his heart, towards us, was of greater force and vehemency, than the dolour and grief which did torment his body. Ecce homo vnus supra montem, 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, near unto the river of Cobar, the one was that on the top of a very high mountain, which was near unto jerusalem, a man standing alone, who held in his hand, a reed of six cubits in length, with the which, he did measure a building which was newly made in that place. This is without all doubt a wonderful figure, but yet the fulfilling of it much more wonderful, seeing that in it, we are shown and taught how the son of God, was put to death on the true cross, and howe on the same cross, and in the same place, he was measured. We haue great reason to say, that this new building is the blessed humanity of Christ, which was newer then all the novelties in the world, seeing that he only was born of a virgin, formed by the holy ghost, united to the word, and never defamed with sin. The very high mountain where the prophet saw this vision, is the mount of calvary where Christ suffered his death and passion, and if the scripture do call it a very high mountain, it is not so much for the hardness of the ascent of it, as for the holy blood which was  shed vpon it. The reed with the which the building was measured, is the cross, on which the redeemer of the world did suffer; and he who busied himself in measuring the building, is the vngratful jewish people insomuch that the measuring of the building with a reed was a figure, how they would measure Christ on the cross from the feet to the head. What doth he mean when he saith that that reed was six cubits long and no more, but that pitiful measuring was to be made in the sixth age of the world? gregory vpon ezechiel saith, The measure with the which the measurer of Ierusalen did measure with, was not a sound poule, but a hollow reed, to teach us by that mystery, that in the measure which Christ measured himself with on the cross, not the morrow of his godhead, but only the bark of his sacred manhood did suffer, because it is repugnant unto his naked divine essence, not only to sin but also to be constrained to die. For a high mystery, and deep sacrament, the cross on which Christ suffered, was figured by the hollow reed which jerusalem was measured with, because that as he who breaketh a reed, hurteth but the uttermost rind, so when the maker of the world was broken and pulled a sunder on the cross, death did not hurt him in his most simplo divine 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 give us thereby to understand 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 less weighed: for my own part I say and confess, that if we could find a beginning or an end in God, I would not beleeue him for God. It wanteth not likewise a mystery, that the reed with the which that man did measure the temple, he touched but with one hand, wherein is signified that although they did measure the son of God with the reed of punishment, yet they touched him not with the rod of sin, because that the innocency and purity of Christ no man can slain or spot, nor make comparison with him. The hour 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 himself at length on the cross, because they might see where they should bore the holes to put in the nails. Anselmus saith, That to put a man vpon the cross and there to crucify him with nails, is such a torment that there is none like unto it, to take away his life, nor any more infamous punishment of his credit. It was not needful to command him twice, nor yet entreat him to lye on the ground, and to measure himself at length on the cross, because thirty and three yeares he and the cross, and the cross and he, made way to be betrothed. And the Iewes thinking that they did measure and crucify him, it was not so, but the cross and he did embrace the one the other. The love was so great betwixt the Lord and the bridegroom, and the cross and Christ, that the better to ratify and establish the matrimony between them, where as all others which are betrothed give but their bare hands, Christ and the cross gave hands and feet, when he suffered his feet to be nailed, and his hands crucified. As sorrowful Iesus at that hour when this was done was spoiled of his garments, or rather to say the truth of his skin, the pitiful case was, that as they did stretch him on the cross to take his measure, and take him away again to bore the holes, there did stick so much blood on the cross, that there needed no mark of any other die. O high mystery, O lover such as never was seen before, seeing that when thou didst betrothe thyself with the cross, thou didst presently give her a down, and enrich her with jewels: for if she did receive thee into her own house, thou didst give unto her of thy holy blood. It doth well appear O good Iesus, it doth well appear, that thou dost take the cross willingly for thy spouse, seeing that thou dost measure thyself with it, not being forced by any, and wilt not come down being of many thereunto requested. The cross lying then vpon the ground, and Christ stretched at length vpon him, although the print of his length was very well proportioned with his own blood, yet notwithstanding the false hangmen did falsify his measure, taking it somewhat shorter then the true stature of Christ did require, because that by this occasion they should not only crucify him, but also pull one joint from another. O my soul, how is it possible seeing thy good Iesus in such a narrow passage, that thou shouldst not be very much dismayed; & in such perplexity, & thou not in great wo; in such perplexed agony, & thou not falling into a sound; and so near unto the last iomp of death, 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 commanded jerusalem to be measured by yards and poules? what new thing can there be in the world comparable unto this, to see the measure of him to be taken vpon a piece of wood, who commanded the Temple to be measured with a reede? how is it possible that they do at this day as they do, to measure the members of his body, to crucify them on the cross. O good Iesus, O the redeemer of my soul, by this mystery I conjure thee, and for the reverence of this spectacle, I beseech thee, that when before thy dreadful day of iudgement, my merits shalbe measured with me demerits, that thou wouldest haue more pity on me there, than the torturours had on thee here. For if thy measure be such as my life hath been from the present time, I yield myself as well condemned as thee crucified.  
S. Barnard saith, That in that high spectacle of the death of Christ, every one which was there present had his office: the tormentors busied themselves, and took the charge of boring the holes; the Centurion to guard him, the jews to make an outcry, the criers to cry, the hangmen to hammer in the nailes, the angels to wonder, the elements to be troubled, the common people to look on, Mary Magdalen to sigh, and the sorrowful mother to weep. In the mean time, whilst they were a boring of holes in the cross, and digging the rock, preparing the nails, and whilst they brought the ladder, woeful Iesus was beset with tormentors, naked of garments, without any friends, mocked of all men, stretched vpon the ground, quaking with could.  
What wouldest thou that I should say more unto thee, but that at the same time, they were boring of holes in the cross, & al his body shivering and trembling? dost thou say at one time, O good Iesus, that thou dost come to put fire in all the world, and at an other, dost thou stand shivering with could? S. Barnard saith in a sermon. The could which thou hadst at the foot of the cross, O good Iesus, the sins which I haue committed did rather cause, than the elements which thou didst creat; because at that time there was more fire, without comparison, in thy holy soul then there is now in the mount Aetna, If one sparkell of the love, and heat which did burn in thy bowels should come out of thy breast to burn, it is no doubt but it would burn the heauens, and set the earth on fire, for if they did end thy dolours with the cross, nothing brought thee thether but thy love. When they did ask the son of God that he would come down from the cross, he did not stay there because he was nailed to it, but because he was enamoured of it; and thereupon it is, that if with three nails his flesh was hanged, with ten thousand nails of love, 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 would say, At that very hour that they nailed me on the cross, they did nail my hands in such a fashion, and without all pity did bruise my feet, and so cruelly did wrest my sinews, and so inhumainly did disioint my bones, that there was no member in my body without grief, nor bone which was not  told. Augustine vpon these words saith, That as david had prophesied this pitiful figure, so the son of God did fully accomplish it, seeing that on the three of the cross his hands were bruised and broken with the nails, and all the parts of his body disjointed and pulled a sunder with torments. If a man cannot suffer that his nails be too near pared, how would he suffer to haue his whole hand broken? Because the hands of all the body are most full of sinews, what did he not feel what did he not feel? what did he not suffer, when the nails did enter in at the palms of his hands? The hour being then come in the which that most sacred humanity should be martyred, and the redemption of the universal world perfected, they did command holy Iesus to set himself at length vpon the cross, not having any garment at all vpon him, which they did command him to do, not because they would again take his measure, but to nail him vpon the cross, and utterly to take his life from him. Sterch thyself at length then O good Iesus, cast thyself O my redeemer vpon this thy last bed, which ever thou shalt cast thyself vpon, and this is also the last time that ever thou shalt lye down in this world, and that which cannot be spoken without tears 〈◇〉 that thou shalt not cast thyself vpon this bed to sleep, but to saith, If one alone had taken away Christ his garments, we should haue thought that one only man should haue ben saved, but because Christ would haue them to be divided among many, it is a sign that many shall be saved; and thereupon it is, that the dividing of Christ his coat among the hangmen, was no other thing, then the bestowing of his blood among the wicked. Hilarius saith, That the garments of the son of God were not divided among those which equipped for Christ, but among those which crucified Christ, for if our good redeemer should haue found all the world peopled with just and good men, as he did with sinners, there should haue ben no necessity that he should haue died, nor yet that his garments should haue ben divided. What are we worth if he do not make us able, or what can we do if he do not help us, or what do we know, if he do not teach us, or what haue we, if he do not cover us? O great goodness, O depth of all charity, seeing that thou didst disease thyself of the property of thy own life to give me life, and didst empty thyself of thy own blood to redeem me, unclothe thyself of thy own garments to enrich me; because that to divide thy garments among the hangmen, was no other thing but to divide among naughty men thy merits. Cyrillus vpon S. John saith, That for as much as we do sin every day, and every moment of an hour, kill Christ a new with our offences, we haue no other better remedy, for to obtain pardon for the taking away of his life, then to endeavour ourselves that some part of his coat may remain with vs. To go down into everlasting pain, or ascend to bliss and happiness, consisteth in nothing but in being admitted or excluded from that sale and division because it was nothing else for the son of God to divide his own garment among us, but to leave us his holy faith in stead of a livery. Labour then O my soul, and do what lieth in thee, to be with the torturers at that open sale and division of those garments, for seeing that thou with them, & they with thee went al together to kill Christ, it is very just that some part of the spoil fall to thy lot. If it be true that the hangmen did put Christ to death but once, and that thou O my soul, dost kill him every hour and moment, shal it not be reason that thou haue greater part in his coat then they, seeing that he layeth the fault rather vpon thee, then vpon them? If the greatest sinner haue greatest part in that sale and division, unto whom but unto thee O my soul, doth that coat appertain? That which I think of myself, and confess, is, that I dare not compare with the meanest virtuous man in the world, and yet I dare strive with the greatest sinners of the world: for if I be an outcast among those which esteem themselves virtuous, yet among concavity men, I am a captain and a ring leader. In that holy sale there is nothing given, for gold or silver, but for sighs and tears, insomuch that he who weepeth best, buyeth best.  
S. Barnard de Plancta virginis saith, That the like iniuring was never seen, nor the like cruelty never heard of, considering that at the foot of the cross, in Christ his own presence, and in sight of the Virgin his mother, the hangmen were a dividing and casting lots, vpon the garments of the son with the great grief of the mother, and that which is most of all to be pitied, at one time they divided the coats of the son, and quartered and tore in sunder the heart of the mother.  
Now thou knowest for a certainty O my soul, that if the son had his garments divided into four parts, the sorrowful mother had her bowels broken into a thousand. Erat autem tunica inconsutilis desuper, contenta per totum, saith S. John, as if he would say, The son of God had also another close coat without seam, woouen all over, the which the hangmen would not divide among themselves, but did cast lots unto whom it should fall, insomuch that through God his divine providence, that coat without seam was not cut and divided, but remained whole and entire and lots was cast for it.  
hilarius saith, That if the son of God would not haue shewed some great secret by his holy garments, he would never haue suffered the holy scripture to haue made such reckoning of them; but seeing his pleasure was that the one of them should be divided, 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 under them.  
The secret then which is contained under these garments is, that by the one is signified his mystical body which is the church, and by the other is understood his true body, such as his person did represent, and to know which of these garments he did best love, and set most by it may be perceived by the entertainment which he gave to each of them.  
Damascen saith, Both the coats were his, and he did wear them both, and he loved them both, but yet in the end he did love better the coat without seam which did represent his person, seeing that he would leave the one whole, and suffer the other to be rent and quartered.  
Saint August. vpon Saint John saith, That by the common garment which the son of God did suffer to be divided, is understood his precious body which he suffered to be broken in pieces, and by the coat without seam which he would not suffer to be touched, is meant the holy mother the church, which no man shall touch, because the prophet zachary saith, That it is as much to offend one of his seruants, as to touch himself in the apple of his eyes. And he doth touch God in the bale of his eyes, who doth offend a Christian vpon whom he hath fixed his eyes, for although our Lord do love all his creatures yet he maketh more of some then of other some. Cyrillus saith, That it may ●ery clearly be seen, how much more Christ doth love 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.  
basil vpon the psalm saith, That the good Christian ought to haue great regard unto that which he doth, and also the heretic consider well that which he presumeth to take in hand, seeing that Christ did more easily pardon then, such as did tear the coat of his person, then he doth forgive those now, which rent and tear the coat of his church, the which notwithstanding such tear which preach against the unity of the church.  
Saint jerome vpon the Apostle saith, That the heretics which make a schism or scandal in Christ his church, are much worse then the tormenters and hangmen which laid hands on Christ, seeing that the coat of faith without seam, which they durst not touch, the heretics do rent and tear in sunder.  
And when do heretics as Arrius, Nestorius Celsis, and such others, tear and quarter Christ his coat, without seam, but when they do give the gospel strange and new fangled interpretations, and expound the scripture according unto their own selfwill and fancy.   

CHAP. XXXV. How the torturers did cast lots vpon Christ his coat which was without seam, and of a figure of joseph expounded to this purpose.  
VIde vtrum haec tunica sit filii tui, an non, said Iosephs brothers unto their old father jacob, as if they would say, When we came home from our flock, we found this coat in the way, and because it is thus bluddied, and raied, we cannot guess whose it should be, see whether it be not the coat of thy well-beloved joseph, our youngest brother, for as we suspect he hath met in the desert with some hungry bear, from which he was not able to defend himself, by reason of his young years. chrysostom saith, The prohet david doth well say Abissus abissum invocat, one depth calleth another, considering that Iacobs children did offend in envy towards their brother, and in anger by laying hands on him, in theft when they stolen another mans kid, in treason when they sold joseph for a slave, in lying when they  told a lye to their old father.  
Isidorus de summo bono, saith, It is not in the hands of a sinner to leave his sin, after he hath enured himself in it, as it is in the beginning; for as he who looseth his shane, feareth not to commit any vile trick whatsoever, even so the sinner which beginneth to harden his conscience, doth never or very late amend his life. S. August. in his Confessions saith, O how often I haue sighed and lamented, because I saw myself, tied and fettered, not with chains of iron, but with my own naughty desires, and perverse sins: and all the hurt of my perdition proceedeth, of that that in the beginning I gave the divell my will, and he afterward of my will, made my nill. Barnard in an epistle saith, That how great so ever a ship be, yet if the pilot neglect the calking but of one small hole, by little and little he cometh thereby to be drowned; and even so it falleth out to a naughty dead conscience, the which if shee give an entrance to one little sin, the same sin, will afterward open the gate unto all the rest.  
If the children of the great patriarch jacob, had not opened the gate unto envy, they should never haue offended God, nor never haue sold their brother, nor deceived their father, nor haue defamed themselves. S. Augustin vpon the letter of Genesis saith, That the order of the first sin was this, First, in beholding the three, and from beholding, they came to desire, and from desire, to speak, 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 themselves: in somuch that because they would not in the beginning avoid the first occasion, they fel into utter ruin and perdition.  
To come then unto our purpose, the coat without seam into which there never entred needle, is the holy & blessed humanity of the son of God, unto the which there was never put knife nor cizers, to cut any fault away which did abound, nor never had need of thimble and needle to ad any virtue which wanted. Being a coat which the father brought forth, being a coat which the son did wear, being a coat which the holy ghost did wave, 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 understood, the holy mother the church, in the which there is no wrinkle nor heresy, nor any seam of obstinat sin, for although perverse heretics, and obstinat sinners, may be in the church, yet they be not of the church.  
O with what great reason, saith Cirillus vpon John, we may ask the eternal father of Christ, whether this be the church without seam which Christ did leave us, or whether there be any other, because that this his coat is so torn by the unfaithful, & so quartered by infidels, that we may say it to be another then that which Christ left us, or else that it is not such a one as he did give it vs. The coat which they brought jacob was the coat which joseph did wear, saving that after they had sold joseph, his brothers did die it in kyds blood, to make his father beleeue that some wild beast had devoured him, insomuch that they did take away from it his colour and not his value.  
The son of God did leave us the coat without seam, which is the church, whole and not rent, entire and not broken, clean and not foul, made and not unmade, but alas now a daies heretics do tear him in pieces, covetous men steal him away, simoniacles defile him, hypocrites defame him, and ambitious men tread him under their feet. It wanteth not a mystery when the scripture saith, that Christ his coat without seam, was desuper contexta per totum, woven over; that is, that on the outside it was well garnished and trimmed and knit over, in so much that as all other garments haue furs and strong linings within, this had it without. If we understand by this coat, only the humanity of the son of God, we may justly say of it quod est desuper contexta per totum, seeing that his humanity was united to the word; but if we take him wholly as he is God and man, there was no part of his humanity, in which there was not also hidden his divinity. Cyprian vpon the Creed saith, That we may truly and without deceit say that Christ his coat without seam, which was knit and sown over, is all the whole catholic church, which is so united and knit and sown with her lord and bridegroom, that the great love which is betwixt them maketh them become one only thing, and be called by the name of one only coat.  
Beda saith, That the scripture doth not say that Christ his coat without seam was sown and knit vpon the rags only, but being all whole and entire, was sown and woven over: to let us understand thereby that the son of God doth embrace and unite unto himself all his elect and chosen, as a man doth his own apparel vpon his back, in so much that all good faithful Christians of his church, are nothing else but certain precious threads of Christs coat.  
Saint jerome vpon the prophet Amos saith, That to call Christ his coat, a coat without seam, is to let us understand, that as it had no seam in it at all, so there is no man able to unknit and vnweaue it, because the band of love which it betwixt Christ and his church is so strong and inviolable, that there can not be found any one seam betwixt them, which may part and separate them.  
Saint Ambrose vpon Saint Luke saith, That it is much to be noted that Christ his coat without seam, fell by lot but unto one man only, and that one was a gentle and not a jew; because he would thereby let us understand, that all the merit of the blood of Christ, should by lot fall unto the church, and that the synagogue should loose it by her own fault.  
It wanted not a mystery that there was lots cast for this coat, because that when a lot is drawn from the place where it is put it is not drawn for any particular person, neither is there any respect had unto him for whom it is drawn, and from hence it riseth that through God his hidden iudgement, to some there falleth a lot of riches, and unto others a lot of poverty.  
That which human wisdom doth call a lot or chance, the holy scripture doth call divine grace, the which grace is not given indifferently to every man who would haue it, or desire it, but like to a lot our Lord doth bestow it, by his secret iudegment and holy will, as himself pleaseth, and unto whom he pleaseth, not because any man doth deserve it, but because it doth so please his goodness and wisdom.  
We may well 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 sort lecti sumus vocati sumus, as if he would say, That we are brought unto the church, or that we are called catholics, let no man attribute it unto his own wisdom, or his own great diligence, but let every man think he was called by Gods holy grace only, the which he giveth as it were by a lot unto whom he thinketh convenient, and when he pleaseth, and how he listeth; not giuing unto any man an account why he doth so.  
And to this purpose the same Apostle saith to the Colossians the first chapter thus, O what great thanks my brothers we are to give unto God our mighty father, because he hath made me and you able and worthy of his grace, which he giveth unto those which are predestinated unto glory.  
There is no man in this miserable life, unto whom there doth not fall some part of good or bad hap, or of a good or bad lot: and thereupon it groweth, that all the happiness or infelicity of our pardition, doth consist in that, that there happeneth unto us a lot of being good or being bad, from the which we cannot flee, nor attain unto the lot of being good if our Lord do not sucker and help us with his holy grace.  
O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, what shall become of my wicked soul, if in the depth of thy divine predestination there fall not some good lot unto me?  
Saint Barnard saith, When I think how thou didst create me not being asked, and redeem me not being entreated by me, and how thou didst make me a Christian without any desert; I haue a great confidence that thou wilt haue great pity 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 thief and with Mary Magdalen.  
Saint jerome vpon Saint matthew saith, That all the heretics do destroy Christ his coat without seam with their opinions, princes tear it with inreuerence, Christians divide it with their affections, and the clergy cast lots on it with their ambition.  
What else is at this day the strife among the clergy for a bishopric or bnfice, or canonrie, but an vnsowing & tearing of Christ his coat, thread by thread? gregory in his pastoral saith, That we may very well say of him, that he doth tear and rent Christ his coat which was without seam, who soweth sedition and divisions among his brothers: because that a man is known in nothing more to be a good Christian, then by maintaining unity and concord with his neighbour.  
Et milites quidem haec fecerunt, saith Saint John, as if he would say, Those which at the foot of the cross did divide his garments, 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 do call them knights and souldiers, yet it is to be presupposed that such in the Hebrew tongue are called knights, which in latin are called footmen or torturers, insomuch that such as we call in our vulgar tongue hangmen, in the Hebrew are termed to be knights.  
God forbid that any man should think, that a man of good stock, or of a noble house, or any man of valour, should haue laid hands vpon Christ, for seeing that none of the Iewes durst do it, for fear of violating the law of the synagogue, much less would any man of noble blood do it for sear of staining his nobility. And therfore because that in this vain world, men haue greater respect unto their gentry and honors, then to any other thing in this life, and that oft-times men are bolder with their conscience then with their reputation & credit, it may well be religiously thought that no man well 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 divided Christ his coat were knights, & that he unto whom the coat without seam did fall was a knight, to let us understand thereby, that he will not impart the reward of his death, and the spoils of his passion, among such as live in ease and pleasure, but among knights which live in a continual war against vices, seeing that holy job saith, that, Mans life is nothing else but a continual fight and war; and unto whom but unto holy knighthood doth this holy coat appertain?  
When job saith, quod militia est vita hoins supper terram, and the Apostle, Non coronabitur nisi qui legitime certauerit, they spake it not in respect of such as fight against the enemy, but in regard of Christians which resist vices; for to say the truth, he is worthy of a better crown who overcometh his own affections, then he who subdueth and killeth his enemies. Isidorus, de summo bono, saith, Seeing that every day, and every hour, and every moment and in every place, the devil doth fight with us, with his sleights and subtleties, the world entice us with his delights, and the flesh importune us with her pleasures, tell me I pray thee, who doth he not overcome, who doth overcome such enemies?  
There is no war in the world so hot, which either a peace doth not cut off, or the sword end, or truce suspend; but alas the war which I haue within myself, and the strifes which my desires do stir up with my unruly appetites, admit no peace at all, nor suffer no truce to be taken, nor are ever at rest, but doth live and die with my life. In this war there is no blood  shed, but tears, it is not fought in the frontiers, but within a mans person, not by killing of enemies, but by pulling up vices, not by spoiling the fields, but by shutting up our sences, not by making agreements with the enemies, but by destroying of them utterly: because it is impossible to make an atonement with vices, but we shall become afterward vicious.  
O then this is a glorious war, and an happy battle, which the seruant of our Lord doth wage against his own person; seeing that for the knights and triumphers of this war, there is reserved an everlasting crown, and the holy coat without seam. Remigius saith, that it wanteth not a great mystery, that the coat without seam was not divided, but that it fell whole unto him, who gave it by lot; thereby to let us understand, that glory and everlasting bliss, admitteth no division, but that he who obtaineth it hath it wholly, and he who loseth it, doth lose it wholly. What doth he gain who gaineth this, but to live for ever in heaven and enjoy the fruition of the divine essence? and what doth he lose who loseth it, but to abide for ever in flames of burning fire? Let our conclusion of all be, that as he who was not in the field, doth not deserve any part of the spoil, nor he any crown of victory, which was not in the battle, so he deserveth no part of Christ his coat, who doth not end euor himself to be a good Christian: for in the works of virtue, 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 diverse sorts of people that mocked at Christ on the cross, and of diuers injuries which they did unto 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 cross, and all those which stood and beholded the cross, and all those which were put to keep the cross, stood scoffing and mocking at Iesus crucified: and because they should not think that they did it in jest, but in earnest, they nodded with their heads, blasphemed him with their tongues, and injuried him with these spiteful wordds, Now cosoner, ieaster, and deceiver, now the time is come wherein it is easily seen, how little thou knowest, and how very little thou art able to do, and how very much thou dost presume; seeing thou didst make the innocent people beleeue, that if they should throw down Salomons temple to the ground, thou couldst build it again in three daies, although he were forty years in building it. There were sundry sorts of people, which scorned at Christ, the passengers which went 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 forth that all jerusalem was culpable in that fault, seeing all were glad and reioyced in the doing of it. every man stepped out as it had been to a play or interlude, with some new invention of blasphemy; every man thinking himself most happy, which could most of all injury him, or most of all blaspheme him.  
Some said that he had saved others, but he could not save himself, others did bid him come down from the cross, and they would beleeue in him, others said, that because he did title himself, to be the son of God, why did not God deliver him, and others said, that if he were the chosen Christ, why did he not loose himself from the cross, on which he was crucified. hilarius vpon this place saith, That when the maker of the world was thus vpon the cross, some did blaspheme him so from the heart, and others injury him so spitefully, that they omitted not any one torment which they could give him, nor injury which they could do unto him, nor false witness which they could bear against him. Saint Augustine vpon Saint John saith, even as Sampsons foxes, had their heads asunder, and were tied only by the tails, and yet burned all the Philistians corn, so the wicked people of Israell, although they varied much in the injuries which they did unto Christ, yet they agreed al in the death which they gave him.  
Tell me I pray thee, what did not the abortive children of the wicked sinogogue, what did they not go about, what did they not endeavour, to take away the life from the son of God, and to obscure his famed, and discredit his learning? his life the hangmen took away with their nailes, his famed the priests obscured with their tongues, his doctrine heretics discredited with their heresies: insomuch that if good Iesus had had greater wealth 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 cross, either to give or to keep, seeing that the thorns haue taken away thy brains, the nailes drawn out thy blood, the spear opened thy side, the vinegar ended thy life, the priests darkened thy famed, the hangmen bestowed thy life, the Iewes mock at thy doctrine, and the Gentiles persecute thy church? and although thou hadst lost all this, and that thou wast spoiled & robbed of all this, yet notwithstanding thou hadst some small 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 rumour on him, that he was a fool, & that he had uttered exceeding great follies in his life time, among which that he had said, that he was the son of the living God, and that he was the messiah promised in the lawe, and that in three daies he would build up the temple again: in somuch that the words which he spake, touching the building up of his church, they wrested as if it had been spoken in madness or in folly.  
Is there any higher point of folly saith Chrisost. then for a fool to quip him of folly, who is reputed most wise? The Iewes did show themselves fools in nothing more, than in reputing Christ to be a fool, and the reason was, that because that they did not apply themselves, to hear his words, nor to follow his steps, nor to imitate his doctrine, nor give credit unto his miracles, they thought that all which good Iesus did, was but a feigned matter, and that all which he said unto them, was spoken as it were by a fool. Ego sum vermis & non homo, opprobrium & abiectio plebis, saith Christ by the mouth of the holy prophet, as if he would say, I am so disfigured vpon this cross, and all my body is so pulled and haled a sunder, that men will rather judge me now a worm which is trodden on, then a man, by reason whereof I am made a butt of injuries, and a pledge or stake of blasphemies. A butt of injuries, and a stake of blasphemies was Christ vpon the cross, seeing the Iewes omitted no injury against him, nor did not forbear any blasphemy that they could use against him: in somuch that in them, there appeared their great malice, and in Christ, there did shine his wonderful patience. Cassidorus vpon the Psal, saith, That even as it is the property of the worm, that when he hath made his bale of silk, immediately to lose his life so the son of God, in the same instant that he ended the redemption of mankind, he ended likewise his life.  
Holy Iesus had great reason, to compare himself unto the worm, rather then unto any other creature, because that as all that which the worm doth put in his web, proceedeth of his own bowels, even so all the blood with the which he did redeem us, issued out of his own proper veins.  
dost thou not think my brother, that our good Iesus was a glorious worm, and a very happy worm, seeing that he did not only wave the whole web of our redemption, with the blood of his veins, but also with the love of his bowels? O howe well he saith, I am a worm and not a man, seeing that look how fast forward, the web of the worm doth grow in greatness, he groweth nearer and nearer his destruction, so in like manner, the more the son of God did pursue our whereupon, the more he did show his love towards us, and the nearer his end drew on. What can be said more unto this purpose, but that the more his blood failed, and his sight waxed dim, and his life drew to an end, so much the more his love grew and increased towards vs. Barnard saith, that there was no member in the son of God, which was not full of grief and dolour, nor any thing in him which was not full of love and charity, because that when his holy veins were emptied of blood, they were presently filled and stuffed up with love. We should wonder greatly, and haue great compassion, to hear the son of God say, that he is a small and little worm of the ground and not a man. For what other thing doth he mean by these words, but that his body was so disfigured by torments, and that like unto a worm he wanted bowels. As he who meeteth with a worm in the ground treadeth on him presently and killeth him, so the Iewes which knew Christ, and conversed with him, kicked at him, as though he had been a rotten worm, and took his life from him.  
S. jerom vpon the Prophet jonas saith, that the son of God was figured in the worm which did gnaw the yuie which took away the shadow from the Prophet jonas, when he went to preach to the great city of niniveh: 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 serve only for a shadow. 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 cross, jested and skoffed at me, and the manner of their scoffing was, that they blasphemed me with their tongues, and in scoffing wise, nodded at me with their heads, meaning thereby to let men understand, howe foolish my life had been, and howe fruitless my death was.  
The Prophet david, and the evangelist saint John, haue met very well in this prophesy, that is, that all such as did behold Christ, did laugh him to scorn, and blaspeemed him, and wagd their heads at him, in so much that S. John saw that with his eyes, which the Prophet had long before prophesied.  
There is no man so skandalous, nor so wicked in all the world, but men haue pity on him, when he goeth to be hanged or be beheaded, and if they haue no pity 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 natural thing for one man to haue compassion on an other, and thereupon the most renowned king david, shewed great grief and sorrow, for the death of his enemy Saule, and did sand many thanks to them which did bury him, and made songs in his praise, and celebrated his funerals, with many tears. Seneca saith, that it is not the part of a reasonable heart, but of some brute beast, not to pardon him who humbleth himself unto him, and not to haue compassion on him, who he seeth ready to die: for notwithstanding the mortal enmity that was betwixt Caesar and Pompey, yet there did run as many tears from Casars eyes, when he saw his enemy dead, as there did issue drops of blood from Pompeis head, when he was beheaded.  
When the great patriarch jacob did die in egypt, his son joseph did show such great heaviness and sorrow, to see his father departed, that over and above that he stayed threescore daies, before that he solemnized the funerals, he did invite all king Pharaos court, to bear him company to bury him, and help him also to moorne.  
The son of God was he only, for whose death the Iewes had no compassion, nor took no pity at all on his mother: for saying as Christ did say, Omnes videntes me deuiserunt me, is plainly to tell us, that all such as were present at his death, were all of one mind in the action, and that they were all glad that the hangmen did iest and scoff at him. Wee haue said that it is the property of mens hearts to haue compassion, when other men, like unto themselves do suffer, and thereupon it riseth, that when a man is on the ladder to be hanged, or hath the sword at his throat, to be beheaded, some bid him say his belief, some bid him commend himself unto God, some say God receive thy soul, and when he yeeldeth up the ghost, every man doth pray for him. The Iewes did the contrary unto all this, at the death of the son of God, who having on the cross, one member pulled from another, and all his veins empty of blood, they did not only not help him to die well, but spake words unto him to make him despair: because that oftentimes a noble hart doth take greater grief, to see his enemies take pleasure of that which he doth suffer, then to see himself die. For when Christ was vpon the point of yielding up his soul unto 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 jacob forgive thee, they in scoffing manner said, speak enchanter, tell us cosoner, if thou couldst do any thing, or if thou dost know any thing, how could it be that thou wouldst not come down from this three, and deliver thyself from this great torment? Seeing that thou dost cry Heli, Heli, and commend thyself unto jeremy, and call aloud to Helias, dost thou not think, that they will come to reuenge thy injuries, and also to heal thee of these wounds? When thou didst hold us in the temple with thy seruants until noon, what fruit hast thou reaped by them, and what did the reprehensions which thou didst use towards us avail thee, and what was the end of the lessons which thou didst teach us, but only to loose thy life vpon this cross, & to leave al our common wealth scandalised? Seeing thou didst brag, that thou wast the son of the living God, and thou wast the Christ promised in the lawe, why doth not thy father come now, and take thee from this three, and why dost not thou come down from it, to take thy kingdom? if thy miracles were true miracles, and not feigned miracles, why dost thou not come down from the cross, and draw thy hands and feet from these nailes? Tell us cosiner, why dost thou not do that which wee say, and answer unto that which we demand of thee? our innocency is very clear, and thy fault very manifest, seeing that before all this presence thou hast no excuse for thy faults, nor answer for our speech. These and such like injuries they used to his face, partly because they would be the better revenged on him, and partly to excuse and justify themselves, and also because that all the strangers which were there present should see, what great follies the son of God uttered when he was alive, and what great reason they had to crucify him.  
O children of furies, and ministers of hell, usquequo diligitis vanetatem, & quaeritis mendacium? Such infamous testimonies, such malicious speeches, such injurious words, such undecent gestures, as these are, dare any man use against the living, and much less against those which haue their eyes sunk into their head, and are ready to yield up the ghost? How would you that the eternal father should haue pity vpon you, seeing that you haue none at all vpon his only and well-beloved son? if on him who hangeth crucified on the cross, and hath his eyes broken, his skin flaine, his bones bruised, all the parts of his body pulled asunder, his veins without blood, and also gaspeth his last breath, your hard hearts do not wax tender nor rebent, how is it possible that any man should haue pity or compassion on you? Of all the griefs and vexations of this world, there is none so great as that for which there is no remedy, nor yet hath no comfort at all. A certain man asking a philosopher why he did weep so much for the death of his son, seeing that now there was no remedy for it; he answered that therefore he did lament and weep so much, because that for the death of his son he had no remedy. There was no comfort left for the injuries and blasphemies spoken unto Christ, because there were so many of them, neither was there any remedy because there were so many which used them; for undoubtedly ther was skarfe any man present which did not injury him, nor any injury forgotten which they did not use against him. It wanted not a secret mystery that our Lord did suffer the Iewes to mock Christ, by wagging their heads at him, and that the evangelists should report this unto us, because that in this it was figured, that the head of the Israelits, which was judea and the head of judea which was jerusalem, and the head of jerusalem which was the temple, and the head of the temple which were the priests, and the head of the priests which was the law, all these heads did now shake, did now move, 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 son, the people of Israel: and as Cains head did always shake, because he did murder his brother Abell, so the heads of the synagogue did move because they slay 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 matthew saith, What other thing did the wagging of their heads signify, but that the city, the kingdom, and the temple, and the law and the priesthood, which were their heads, did now shake and wag in the head; and that now there was no man left which should govern the synagogue?  
Hilarius in a Homely saith, O you unhappy Israelits, seeing that the heads which you did then move in iest, were afterward moved and remouted in earnest, because that find the time that Christ died, you haue no king to obey, no kingdom to dwell in, no city to defend you, no temple to worship in, no prophet to vaunt of no priest to consult with, but like unto the monsters of the desert of Sichem, you wander all the world without a head.   

CHAP. XXXVII. How the son of God did crucify with himself all our injuries & faults, and that by his dishonour and discredit, our credit did begin.  
PRincipes eius & leones eius rugientes & judices eius & lupi, saith, the prophet Soph●n. chap. 2. as if he would say, Woe be unto thee jerusalem, woe be unto thee wicked people, because thy iudges are turned unto roaring lions, and thy rulers into howling wolves, the which kill all flocks which they meet, without any respect, and devour all that they meet in the way.  
S. Luke also saith the like unto this prophesy, that stabat populus spectans, & deridebant eum principes sacerdotum, as if he would say, All the jewish nation stand gazing and harkening about the cross, how the chiefest of the priests did scoff and rest at him; in so much that almost all the people of Israel are to be condemned as culpable of that scoffing, and jesting: because that in holding their peace they did seem to consent to it, and in not speaking against it, they did seem to allow of it.  
They did in those daies call those the chief priests, which did govern the people, and such as were ordinary iudges, and such as were the most ancient among the people, by whose counsel and aduise all the rest were ruled.  
Some say that the high priests and the pharisees, 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 mysteries, and the government of all the people. These high priests were so esteemed and feared, that God did command in the law, that if any man did disobey their commandment, or scoff at that which they did coumsel, he should presently be cast out of the common-wealth, and be stoned to death. All these priests and gouernours did conspire against Christ falsely alleging the scriptures, and interpreting the figures, by the which they proved that Christ did deserve to die, seeing that openly he called himself the son of God, insomuch that they employed all their skill and credit to defame and discredit Christ our saviour, by these words which like great lawyers they did allege, nos legem habemus, & secundum legem debet mori; Pilat gave iudgment, and Christ died on the cross: and he wavered 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 never haue said, Nunquam homo sic loquutus est, no man hath ever spoken as he hath spoken: neither yet, hic est propheta qui venturus est in mundum, because Christ was very much envied by the high priests. If any of the common people had spoken any word in his favour, by and by they said that it was a heresy, and accused him of heresy which spake it, and like unto an heretic they handled every Israellit which did follow Christ, because they made the people beleeue, that Christ was a perverse and a public heretic, seeing that he did heal the diseased contrary unto the law vpon the sabbath day, and contrary to the law said himself to be the son of the living 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 given him his life. If S. Luke had said that the people did iest and mock at Christ, and that the priests did look on, it had ben tolerable, but to say that the priests mocked at Ch●… t, and that the people did but look on, was an unseemly thing to behold, and very scandalous to hear: for they being bound to punish such as should make a Christ or blaspheme him, they were the first which took vpon them to scoff and rest at him, O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, seeing that thou dost find no judge to defend thy innocency in the mount of calvary, how shall I find any to excuse my fault in the vale of Iosephat? If the iudges with their authority, and the priests with their grauerie, do openly scoff and iest at thee, What will the hangmen and torturers do which crucify thee? coming then unto our prophesy of Sophonias, what are the roaring of the lions, & the howling of the wolves, but the injuries which the priests did unto Christ, & the blasphemies which the ancients did speak against him? S. jerom saith, That as the lion doth break his anger with his roaring, and the wolf doth cry and manifest his hunger with his howling, so the excommunicated priests of Israell, in putting Christ to death did break their anger, and by using such opprobrious speeches, did manifest their wrath and hatred. What were those speeches, crucify crucify him, but the roaring of cruel lions, and what were those other, Non dimittas nobis nisi Barrabā, but the howling of ravenous wolves? all the Iewes like unto fierce lions did roar, & like unto bloody wolves did howl at Pilats gates, for if it had lain in their power they would never haue committed the crucifying of Christ unto any, but like unto lions they would haue torn him in pieces with their hands, and like unto wolves, they would haue eaten him with their teeth. It was not much that those which passed by did iest and scoff at Christ, because they knew him not, nor that the hangmen did the like, because it was their use: but the priests which did teach the synagogue, and the elders which did rule the people, had no reason to open their mouths against Christ, and lesser occasion to speak blasphemy against him. Woe be unto thee catholic church, and woe be unto the christian common-wealth, when thou shalt see covetousness reign in thy rulers and gouernours, malice in thy elders, ●nuie in thy priests, because covetousness malice and envy were those which crucified the son of God, and butted the synagogue. prelates and gouernours do at this day so oft mock at Christ, as they do wrest iustice for fear of man, and do in equal degree offend in tyrannizing the poor, as the jews did by iniurieng Christ. I say not much when I say that they offend in equal degree, because that Christ doth grieve more to see his elect oppressed then to hear himself complained on; and so oft the ancients do blaspheme Christ, as they do destroy the people with wicked counsel, because that old ancient men do no more hurt, or good in the common-wealth by their aduise and counsel, then captains in time of war do with their weapons. Seneca in an epistle saith, That the Roman common-wealth had as great need of Cato Censorius to rule the people with his counsel, as she had of Scipio africanus, to defend them by arms. If there had ben any grave old man at the foot of the cross, 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 priests blaspheme him, the common people thinking that to be well done which they did, every one endeavoured himself to use the greatest blaspheamie against him which he could think or invent. The priests do so oft blaspheme Christ, as with their lewd life they do skandalise the people: because that the life of priests in the common-wealth should be nothing else but a guide which every man should follow, a glass which every man should look in, a sample which every man should work by, a butt which every man doth aim at, and a rule which every man is directed by, and a pattern which every man is ruled by. The duty of a good priest is, to weep and not to mock, to pray and not to blaspheme, to speak well and not to def●me, to defend and not to condemn, to comfort and not to do injury, to make peace and not stir up sedition, to quiter and not accuse. The wicked Iewes did the contrary unto all this at the foot of the cross, who in stead of speaking unto him, they did blaspheme him, and in stead of defending him, they did offend him, and in stead of giuing him comfort, did do him great injury, and in stead of relieving him did accuse him. Et tu fili mi opprobrium populi, mei portabis, saith ieremy in the 5 chapter, bringing in the father, speaking unto his son, as if he would say, Thou my son shalt take pains, because my people may play, thou shalt die because he may live, thou shalt suffer because he may go free, thou shalt be a man because he should be a God, thou shalt be blasphemed, because he may be honoured, and thou shalt be defamed because he may live in credit. hilarius saith, What is the ignominy which the father did cast vpon the son, but the old sin which all the world was charged with. As long as man did not know what sin was, he did not know what infamy was, whereof 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 & infamy he is bound unto everlasting punishment. Cassiodorus on these words of the Psalm, Gloria & honore saith, the glory and honor with the which God doth honour his saints and holy persons, doth differ much from that with the which the world doth exalt his, because that on earth the most mighty is most honoured, but in heaven not so, but the most virtuous: and in the world he is most esteemed who hath most wealth, & before our Lord he who hath the best conscience. What doth it avail thee if al men do thee honour, if thy conscience do defame thee? what hast thou if thou haue not a good conscience? And what dost thou want if thou do not want a good conscience? For the eternal father then to say unto his son, that he would cast vpon him all our infamy and dishonour, is to foretell him, that he should pay for all the sins of the world, seeing that he came for the same purpose down from heaven, insomuch that wee change with our blessed saviour, our infamy with his famed and name, our fault for his grace, our death for his life, and our punishment for his glory. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, where did I begin to get famed, but in thy infamy? 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 cross?  
S. Barnard in a sermon saith, I do very much esteem O good Iesus, I do much esteem, of the torments which thou didst pass through, but I do make greater reckoning of the nicknames and injurious speeches which on the cross thou didst suffer for me, for if the discipline and stripes which they gave thee, did open thy shoulders, the injurious speeches did reach unto thy bowels.  
Seneca unto his friend Lucilius saith, That every reasonable man, who is of a noble heart, and modest behaviour, had rather die with honour, then live with infamy. What shall we say in this case of holy Iesus, whose life the nailes took away, and whose famed evil tongues haue stolen?  
jerome vpon ieremy saith, For the father to say unto 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 prophesy was fulfilled literally in Christ, when they vnloaded us of al the reproaches which they cast on Christ. Make hast O you jews, saith Remigius, make hast to scoff and iest at Christ, because you do us more good then you think for, for look how fast his infamy doth grow, so fast doth our fault decrease and diminish. hilarius saith, That the innkeeper in Samaria did show great love to the prophet Heliseus and the love which that good woman Ruth bare to Noemie, was very great, and yet the love which Christ had unto his cross was far greater; because that no torments which they gave him, not entreaties used 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 divell with the jews, because he did persuade Christ to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, and they did persuade him likewise to come down from the cross, the which perverse and wicked counsel, he would not only not admit, but also refused to hear. Although they  told him that if he would come down from the cross, they would beleeue in him, yet Christ would not do it, because he knew very well that they would not fulfil 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 answer thē one word. If the son of God when he came down from heaven, should haue come whit unto the cross, not having lived at all in the world, it seemeth that they had had occasion to entreat him to come down from the cross, and conversed among them, but seeing that he had lived thirty and three years among them, and had ben only three hours vpon the cross, why should they request him to return again into the world, seeing that he went strait to heaven? S. chrysostom vpon S. matthew saith, That if Christ had lived in the world those three houres, which he hanged vpon the cross; and had been vpon the cross those thirty three years, which he lived in the world, yet the love which he bore unto the cross 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 never haue come down from the cross, until death had made an end of him. If the son of God should haue come down from the cross, after he had ben three hours vpon the cross, what martyr in the world, at the very best of his matyrdome, would not haue turned back and saved his life?  
O perfidious Israelits, saith Saint Augustine, O wicked jews, why do you lye so openly in saying that you would beleeue in him, if he would come down from the cross, seeing that you would not beleeue him when he rose again out of his sepulchre? Is it not think you a more glorious miracle, to see a man rise again alive from among the dead, then to see a man that is in health come down from the cross? O you Iewes, the salvation of the world doth not consist in forsaking the cross, and in coming to preach again in this same field, but in showing his great patience in the torments which he endureth, and in making manifest his constancy in preserving of them: in somuch that his constancy and perseverance should suffice & be enough to convert al your synagogue. S. Chrisost. saith that the children of wickedness say unto Christ, Come down from the cross, if thou be the son of God: unto whom we answer, Because he is the son of God, it is not convenient 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 us miserable wretches, if the son of God would 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 cross at that time, the angels seats should not haue been restored, the prophesies vnfulfilled, the divell vnuanquished, and all the world vnredeemed. hear us the●, O good Iesus hear us, and if the synagogue do persuade thee to come down from the cross, the church doth not so; but rather that thou wouldest go up higher vpon it, because the cross is the ladder, by the which thou didst go up to heaven, and it is also that which thou hast left us, to go up to the same place. S. Barnard in a sermon saith, that if the obdurat people of the Iewes, had reached unto the mysteries which are contained in the cross, and in the crucified, they would never haue said unto Christ, If thou be the son of God, come down from the cross; but they would haue said, because thou art our redeemer, take us up with thee to the cross, because that those which thou didst tender & love, are known in nothing more, then by giuing them part of thy torments. Crucified, O good Iesus, we love thee, crucified we adore thee, O great redeemer, and crucified we beleeue in thee, O the love of my soul: for being crucified thou didst scale the heauens, vanquish the world, triumph over the divell, make an end of sin, plant thy church, and bury the synagogue. Ambrose saith, Noemies love with Ruth, and Dauids with jonathas, did end with death; but good Iesus and the cross, did not love the one the other, only until 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 them. Anselmus crieth out, and saith, O excommunicated jerusalem, O vnfortunat people of the Iewes, tell me I pray thee, I conjure thee, why dost thou mock at him, and detidest him with so many injuries, who hath redeemed thee? good Iesus doth weep the falling down of thy walls, and the loss of thy stones, and dost thou scoff and mock at his precious flesh, and at his holy words? And in stead of entreating him to take thee up to the cross, dost thou persuade him to come down from the cross and turn unto thee? Cyprian saith, that we should take great compassion on the son of God, for the injuries which they use against him, and yet far greater vpon the poor Iewes which use them, for if they scoff and iest at his passion, they shalbe deprived 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 darkness and ended in darkness.  
AE hora autem sexta, usque ad horam nonam, tenebrae facta sunt, supper vniuersam terram, saith S. matthew chap. 27. as if he would say, At that very instant, when the creator of the world, and the heir of eternities did yield up his ghost, and breath out his soul vpon the cross, the sun did immediately cloth himself in black, and the moon did put on a mourning weed, from six of the clock, until nine.  
It is a very old custom, for children to weep 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 conversation be separated, but the heart goeth also with it. Let no man marvell, that the heart goeth with his conversation, seeing that this is most manifestly seen in the departure of Ruth and Noemi, and of david and jonathas, of Tobias and his son, and of Helias and Helizeus, where in some of them tears did abound, and in the others words did want.  
Seneca saith, that there is nothing, wherein love may better be known, then when one friend departeth from an other, because they can neither speak, nor cease from weeping. Let no man marvell, saith Cicero speaking to this purpose, that I show such grief 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 universal redeemer, should be excluded out of this general 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 master; 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 weep for him. For the death of Sara, Abraham alone did weep; the death of jacob the patriarch, his son joseph did only weep; for the death of Moyses only Israel, for the death of Saul only david, for the death of Samuel only Ramatha, for the death of S. Stephan, the church only did weep, but for the death of the son of God, not only men, but also the elements do weep and bewail. Origen saith, a death so evilly employed, as that which was given to Christ, a life so unjustly taken away, as that which was taken from Christ, and so open an injury, as that which was done to Christ, and such excessive torment, as that which was given Christ, all these erroneous facts, the elements themselves thought very reasonable to help men to weep for and lament, and if they would, reuenge also. Chrisost. vpon S. matthew saith, If, as our Lord gave licence unto the heauens to become dark, and the earth to quake, he would likewise haue given them licence to chastise and punish 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 gave licence unto the elements to make them a feared, and not to kill them. Testes inuoco caelum & terram, quod proposuerim vobis, vitam & mortem benedictionem & maledictionem, said Moyses unto the Iewes, when he was departing out of this world; in the last of Deut. as if he would say, The lawe which I haue given you is so holy, that if you keep it, you shall live, and if you break it, you shall die, and if you do receive the council which I haue given you, you shalbe blessed, and if you break it, cursed; and because I know for a certainty, that in the time to come you shalbe lost, and that you and your lawe shall end, therfore to verify this which I haue spoken, I leave for witnesses the heauens which you do behold, and the earth which you do tread on. There passed a thousand and six hundred fifty and five yeres, from the time that Moyses died in the fields of Moab, until Christ died vpon the cross, and therfore, because the utter destruction of the Iewes, and the whole prophesy of Moyses, was to be accomplished in the death of Christ, and because that in such a long time, there would not be any witness alive, he took the heauens for his witness, of whom he had no doubt, but that they should always be alive. It wanteth not a mystery, and that a great mystery, that Moyses did put before the Iewes, death and life, a blessing and a curse, whereof the wicked Iewes made choice of the curse, when they demand that the blood of Christ, might fall vpon them; and they did choose death, when they did take away Christ his life: & because that by this enormous offence, all the jewish nation was to take his end, the heauens and the earth gave 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 form words withall, they remembered to become dark, and to tremble in stead of speaking; for if our Lord would haue given them licence to speak, 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 jewish nation, it was very requisite for Moyses to take those which were very ancient, and for ability of sufficient warrantise, as the heauens and the elements were, which could no way be spotted, because they had no sin, nor any exception taken against them, as being too young, because they had been created above a thousand years before. jerom vpon S. mark saith, That the darkening of the sun, the quaking of the earth, the renting a sunder of the stones, and the raising of the dead, did mean nothing else, but that thereby we should understand, the great innocency which Christ died with, and the exceeding malice, with which the people did put him to death. Cyprian saith, The earth did quake, and the heaven was afraid, of the great fear which the elements were driven into, to hear the dolorous voice which the son of God gave, in the separation of his soul from his body; meaning thereby to let us understand, that they could neither see nor suffer, that their creator should suffer so bitter a passion, and that their God, should die so grievous a death.  
Where art thou O my soul, dost thou sleep 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 weep, although they were not those which were redeemed, and dost not thou weep O my soul, seeing that he died for thy sins? If at the bruising 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 tear, when dost thou think to rise out of the lethargy of thy sin? basil saith, That in the quaking of the earth, and the darkening of the sum, at the time that Christ died, he gave us to understand, that for a payment, 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 themselves, and in stead of bells, the stones broke in sunder: all which they did for very grief to see Christ die, and also to see the synagogue to be carried to her grave. Remigius saith that we should make small reckoning, that the gentle doth scoff at our belief, and the Iewe slander our lawe, seeing wee haue the heauens and the earth for witnesses, that it is most true, that the Iewe hath cast away himself, 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 blood, he hath redeemed vs. If the divine providence had given the elements & heauens, tongues to pronounce, and licence to speak; they would willingly haue made a recital unto us, and a discourse of all the passion, and all the order of our redemption, as being faithful witnesses of sight, which were there present, and pitiful creatures which at the same place did wear mourning weeds. Would they not think you deliver forth, & bear witness more willingly, of that which the redeemer of the world did vpon the cross, then of that which Moyses speak in the fields of Moab? Sol contra Gabaon ne mouearis, & luna contra vallem Mambre, said the famous captain 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, until I haue ended the battle against my enemies, and obtained the desired victory over them: for if the day should end, and the night show herself, they might hid themselves from me, and I could not pursue them.  
This prayer which the good captain Iosue made, was of great efficacy, seing that it was literally fulfilled as he had prayed, and the sun durst not hid himself, to shorten the day, nor the moon appear, to show that it was night: in somuch that, that day was so long, as the force of the battle did continue.  
It is much to be noted, howe our Lord doth regard rather the hart of him who prayeth, then the words with the which he prayeth, seeing that Iosue prayed, not in the temple but in the field, not meditating but fighting, not on his knees, but on horseback, not shedding tears but blood, not entreating, but conjuring, nor asking for usual matters, but such things as none durst ask, but himself. Gregory in his register saith, that no man should despair of Christ his clemency, nor be afraid to ask for things necessary, seeing that he granted Iosue, such an unusual and strange request. Will not our God and Lord, who gave Iosue light, and lengthened the day to be revenged of his enemies, more willingly give it me, for the good of my neighbours, and to destroy my sins? To come then unto 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 as well  shed blood in the fields of Gabaon, as the Iewes did in the mount of calvary? why at Iosues petition, did God turn the night into the day, and at the death of the son of God, turn the day into night? the secret of this mystery is, that Iosue did fight for the service 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 catholic church; and therfore our Lord being the high and eternal goodness, would give them neither light nor favour, to commit so enormous and detestable wickedness. Remigius saith, That for the sun to become dark at the death of Christ, and stretch out his beams in Iosues battle, is to let us understand, what a great offence it is, to offend a good man as Christ was, and what a great meritorious dead it is, to punish a naughty man, as the people of the Gabaonits were: in testimony whereof, the sun did hid his beams in the mount of calvary, as not consenting to the death of him who was just, and lengthened the day in Gabaon, as allowing the punishing of that wicked people. It is much to be weighed, that the darkness which he did cast over the Iewes, did last but three houres, & the light which he gave Iosue did continue a whole day, wherein he doth give us to understand, howe short and mildred God is in punishing, and howe bountiful and liberal he is in his rewards, seeing that he giveth us punishment by weight, & his favours without measure. Extendit Moyses manum suam in caelum, & factae sunt tenebrae supper terram Aegipti tribus diebus, saith the scripture in the 10. of Genes. as if he would say, When king pharaoh would not deliver the children of Israel out of their captivity, immediately as Moyses did lift up his hand, unto the heaven, all the land of egypt was full of darkness, the which was so great and so thick, that if they could hear one anothers voice, yet they could not discern one anothers countenance. Rupertius saith, If we will compare the sin of the egyptians, with the sin of the Iewes, we shall find it to be very true, that the Iewes did commit a far greater sin then the egyptians, and yet notwithstanding, those which were in greatest fault, were least stirred up, and those which were least of all culpable, most of all punished.  
Who dare say the contrary unto this, seeing wee haue seen that the darkness did continue, in the mount of calvary but three hours, and did last in egypt 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 egypt? If this be true, as true it is, why dost thou chastise the Iewes, but with three hours of darkness, and dost put the egyptians, in a great fear with three daies of terrible darkness? Thou dost show by this O good Iesus, that thou hast greater pity on us, then we had of thee, and that thou dost feel our hurt more deeper, then thy own, seeing that thou wast very merciful with the Iewes, who did offend none but thyself; and didst show thyself, very rigorous unto the egyptians, who did offend thy servants: giuing us thereby to understand, that thou dost more eassier pardon such as offend thyself, then such as do injury unto their neighbour.  
The darkness which the Lord did cast in egypt vpon the egyptians, was to chastise them, but the darkness which in the mount of calvary, he did cast vpon the Iewes, was but to make them afraid, because it is not to be thought, nor to be believed, that he who went up to the cross to redeem them, had any desire to punish them, and much less to destroy them. jerom vpon S. matthew saith, That at the death of the son of God, the sun doth loose his light, the earth doth quake, the stones cleave in two, the vale of the temple renteth in pieces, the sepulchres 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 unclothe Christ, the heaven began to loose his light, because the sun would show himself to be ashamed of that whereof the Iewes had no shane at all; that is, to see Christ his flesh naked, crucified on the three: in somuch that the son having compassion of his creator, determined to cover him with darkness, seeing that they had taken his garments from him. being true, saith Cyprian, that he who did see the son of God, did see also God himself, by reason of the high hypostatical union, which was betwixt the divinity and humanity; it is not to be believed, that, that so general an eclipse was made throughout all judea, without very deep counsel; because it was not a reasonable thing nor yet an honest thing, that they should dare to look on Christ too earnestly with their eyes, who had so cruelly laid hands vpon him. hilarius saith, That because dark places are most fit for contemplation, the divine providence did cast that darkness vpon the face of the earth, because that the faithful which were there present, might the better prepare themselves to contemplat on that high mystery, and those which were perverse and wicked, haue occasion to repent themselves of their sins. As the river cannot run, but waxeth dry as soon as his spring faileth( saith chrysostom) so did the material sun at the death of the son of God, saying that he could light the world no longer, seeing that Christ by whom he was lightened, did die and take his end. Prosper in his sentences saith, that God useth a very exceeding good order in all his doings, if we were able to comprehend it; which is easily seen by that, that he made a great shadow on the mount of calvary, insomuch that the wretched synagogue, as being frighted and amazed, began in darkness, and ended in a shadow. ubicunque habitabunt filii Israel, erat lux, ubi autem Aegiptii erant tenebrae, saith the 10 chapped. of Exodus, as if he would say, Although all the whole kingdom of egypt was full of darkness, yet there was none at all where the children of Israell did remain: because that by special favour and grace, the light went after the children of Israell, and darkness followed the egyptians. Origen vpon S. matthew saith, That it may religiously be thought that the privilege which the Israelits did enjoy in egypt, the faithful did enjoy in the mount of calvary; that is to wit, that they did as manifestly see Christ his humanity, as if there had ben no darkness at all in the world, which seemeth to be a thing agreeing unto reason, because it was not reason that those should be partakers in the punishment, which did not participate in the offence.  
Of all the mysteries which Christ did either do or speak, during those three hours, S. John giveth testimony, not by hearsay or report, but as he saw and heard them himself; for he saith qui vidit testimonium perbibuit, which he would never haue affirmed, if the darkness had blinded him, as it did the Iewes.  
S. Barnard to this purpose saith, Thou mother of him who was crucified, and John thy cousin, and thy well-beloved Mary Magdalen, and some other few of thy family, all you did see the God of light, among the darkness, when he said, I am a thirst, when he tasted the vinegar, bowed down his head, and yielded up his soul unto his father: so that these by a special privilege did fully see him and wholly beleeue in him. bonaventure saith, When in the last hour the son of God did commend and give his soul unto his father, his mother only and her family did deserve to see his soul go from him, and bow down his head, because that all the Iewes which were there assembled, because they were procureres of his death, deserved not to see him die. Hilarius vpon S. mark saith, That because the torturers and hangmen did begin to scoff and iest at that, that Christ did speak and do vpon the cross, God by his divine providence, did cast over them an eclipse of darkness, because they should hear all the mysteries which remained to be done until the last moment of his life, but yet that they should neither see them nor understand them. cyprian saith, That the obstinate Iewes with that thick darkness could not see Christ, and with those damnable bowels could not understand Christ, which doth easily appear in that, that the son calling unto his father, and saying Heli, Heli, they understood 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 servorum said the prophet Balaam, as if he would say, I do not desire of God that he would give me longer life thē that whi●… ●… haue lived, nor greater honour then that which I 〈◇〉, nor more wealth then I do possess, but that which I d●… of G●d is, that my soul may die like unto those whi●… 〈…〉 ●… e. What greater, or more heroical gift can we 〈…〉 ●… is hands in 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 unto his displeasure, even so glory is always coupled and knit to his favour and grace. basil saith, That no man can die like unto a good man but he who is a good man, nor no man end like unto a just man, unless he be a just man, because the privilege of dying well is imparted unto none, but unto such as God gave his grace to live well. david did ask for health for his son, Anna grace to haue a child, Helias asked for death at the brook side, Ezechias asked for longer life being in sickness, the Chananan asked for health for her daughter being vexed of the devil, 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 book of Numbers saith, That it is much to be noted, that Balaam did not pray that God would give him grace to live like unto good men, but to die like unto such as were good and just men: and that not without reason, because we see many every day which live well, & end badly, & many which live euily, & die well. Wicked Iudas did live well, but in the end of his travel he ended wickedly, the thief did live exceeding wickedly, but in the end of his life he died virtuously; insomuch that vnfortunat Iudas from his Apostlship went into hell, & the good thief from the gallows went to heaven. We see many( saith Seneca in an epistle) sail on sea with a prosperous wind, which afterward are drowned in taking the haven, and many escape out of bloody battels, and die afterward of a lingering ague, insomuch that the felicity of man doth not consist in a good beginning, but in a good end. What benefit is it for the vine to blossom well, if at the harvest time he bear no grape? What doth it benefit a man to haue lived like unto S. paul if in the end he do die like to the heretic Arrius, or Sergius, therfore the prophet Balaam saith very well, Moriatur anima mea morte iustoris, for if it be a good thing to live well, it is much better to die well, seeing that Balaam doth ask of God that his soul may die like unto the soul of a good man, it is very requisite for us to rehearse the lives of some holy personages, that thereby we may know what death to wish for, because the holy scripture doth lay down unto us the lives of holy men, not to the end only that wee should know them, but because also that we should imitate them. What doth it avail thee, O my sister, to red, and twice red the life of mary Magdalen, if thou continue as dissolute as before thou wast?  
S. Augustine saith, That the solempnities of some martyrs which we do celebrate, are nothing else but certain stirrers up of us to suffer martyrdom for Christ. Insomuch that we should not be ashamed to imitate those whose feasts we do celebrate.  
Egredere non egredearsed hic moriar, 3. Reg. chap. 20. These words passed betwixt Benaias king Salomons captain, and joab king Dauids captain, when Benaias went up to the holy tabernacle to slay captain joab, unto whom Benaias said, Salomon my Lord commandeth thee to go out of his Tabernacle. unto whom joab made answer, I will rather die here then go 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 faithful Christian? and what else is it to die, holding fast by the alter, and taking hold by the ark, but to die embraced and adorned with al the sacraments? O how happy that soul is, who with the captain joab, doth live within the holy temple, and taketh hold of the altar, which is Christ, and death embracing the ark of the sacraments: because that of such a soul we may with better reason say rather, that she beginneth to live then that she doth end or die. It is the persuasion of the devil to say, egredereforas: and it is the answer of a good Christian, to say, Non egrediar said hic moriar: because the intent of the divell is to draw us from a holy place, to the profane places of the world; and God his purpose is, to draw us from that which is profane, and to bring us where we may die in his service. Mortuus est Manasses in diebus messis hordeacei quia instabat supper alligantes manipulos in campo. judith the 8 chap. as if he would say, That worthy labouring man Manasses, husband to that noble dame judith, died in the harvest time, in cutting and binding up sheues of barley, by reason of the exceeding heat of the sun which did drive him into such a great ache in his head, that it killed him. S. August. in an homely saith, That as the labouring man doth fight all the daies of his life with the earth, for no other reason but because she should yield him foo● to eat, so man doth fight with his own sensuality to subdue it, because it is a harder matter to pull up the temptations which strive in our flesh, then to weed from the earth the nettles which trouble vs. S. Barnard saith, That when the husbandman doth make clean his corn from weed and cockle, they grow not again of a long time, but woe be unto me O good Iesus, woe be unto me, because that in the field of my heart and sensuality, one 'vice is no sooner gone but another is come in, nor that gone but another cometh in his place, insomuch that if they do not enter in all at once, it is not because they do not come, but because they are not able to be received. S. jerome vpon S. matthew saith, That as the husbandman doth sow diuers and sundry seeds of grain in the field, because that if the one grow not, yet the others may take, even so the vain wordling undertaketh much business, some hear, some there, he entreateth with this man, threateneth that man, flattereth some, and deceiveth other some, and all this he doth to increase his wealth, to heap up more riches, and to be of greater power and authority. Plato in Thimeo saith, That if the heart were quartered into so many pieces, as he is scattered abroad into imaginations and thoughts, I swear unto thee that he would either gather himself together, or end in short time. Seneca to this purpose saith, If wh●ther my hart goeth with his thoughts, my body should also go with 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 sown, such as are our disordinat and unbridled desires, what shall we do if we cut them not before we die? Cutting his corn, and binding up his sheaves, death took Iudiths husband: wherein we should understand, that when death doth knock at our gates, he should find August past and our harvest at an end; I mean 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 happy gathering of grapes, which the seruant of our Lord doth of the affections and passions which he hath in his mind, that when the hour of death doth come, our Lord may find nothing to cut, nor the devil 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, honourable old Moyses died at the age of a six score, and never lost the sight of his eyes, nor never lost tooth of his head. Agmon saith, That in such a long age as that of Moyses, unless it had been by a special privilege, it had not ben possible for him to haue preserved his sight so long, nor to haue had all his teeth; because that from fourscore upward the teeth begin to fall, and the eyes to grow dark. Origen saith, That our Lord is such a friend unto those as he loveth, and so careful of the good, that he doth not only give them grace to keep their souls, but also force and strength to preserve their bodies, as he did to Moyses in his old age; whose sight he preserved because he might go, and teeth because he should eat. There is great difference saith S. gregory betwixt the blindness of the soul and the blindness of the body, because that that of the body darkness doth cause, but that of the soul wickedness doth procure: and thereupon it is, that the concavity man doth stumble in many more things, then the blind man: the blind man knoweth that he is blind, and suffereth himself to be guided, but the concavity man doth neither know himself to be nought, nor will not suffer himself to be counseled, and therefore he doth neither know that which he would haue, nor desire that which he ought. O how happy that soul is whose sight continueth until death, knowing in herself 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 soul, that she seeth very little if she do not see herself. The great patriarch jacob had lost the sight of his eyes, seeing he did not see his nephews which were by him, but yet he had not lost the sight of his soul, seeing that he prophesied things to come; insomuch that he did not know those which were before his eyes, and did see that which should happen three hundred years after. What doth it mean, saith Rupertus, that Moyses being six score yeares old did never want tooth, but that in all that time he did never speak any superfluous word? Horace saith that we speak with our tongue, eat with the cheek teeth, pronounce with our other teeth, and utter with our mouth, insomuch that the want of our teeth causeth us to pronounce badly. Being then true as true it is, that we loose so many teeth, as we speak vain words, by this account it were a lesser loss to loose all our teeth, then to be noted to haue a naughty tongue. Cyprian in one of his epistles saith, That as a wise man doth let nothing pass into his stomach, unless it be well chewed before, even so there doth no word proceed from his heart, which he hath not well thought of before, because that of words not well waighed, nor consideratly thought vpon, do oftentimes great contentions arise.  
Origen to this purpose saith, O how happy is the soul which wanteth no tooth, that is, which never did any thing whereof she should repent, nor speak word whereof she should be sorry: for comparing all the parts of our bodies together, we do sin more with our tongue alone, then with al the members of our body besides. Much good may moses his teeth do him, so that thou my brother do put a watch before thy mouth, and in thy words, because that in the hour of death, they will rather ask us an account of the words which we speak, then of the teeth which we haue lost. jacob collegit pedes supper lectulum & obiit, saith the holy scripture in the last of Genesis, as if he would say, The old partriarke jacob being come to the end of his daies, and finishing his speech to his sons, and blessing every of them by himself, drew up his knees and feet 〈◇〉 his mouth, and yielded up his life. In mans body there is no part further off from the mouth then the feet, and therefore when the good patriarch did join & draw his feet to his mouth, and his mouth to his feet, when he was giuing up the ghost, it is not to be thought that he did it by hap-hazzard, but for a deep secret and a high mystery. What is understood by the feet which we go with, but the good purposes which we haue to be good? what are the hands with the which we do eat and travell with, but only the good works which we do? what is ment by the mouth which we speak with, but the promises & vows which we make? it is convenient for us then to join together 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 works, because the kingdom of heaven is not gotten by force of words, but by weight of good works. When Christ saith in the gospel unto one haecfac & vives, and unto another, si vis ad vitem ingredi servi mandata, he did plainly show us, that an evangelical perfection did not consist in much speaking but in well doing, and therefore there are none reputed martyrs 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 do another; and he with his hands far from his feet, who hath many good purposes and desires, but naughty works: from which malediction good Lord deliver us, because that to speak well and do ill, doth rather belong unto old philosophers, then unto good Christians. O that happy is the soul which death taketh, the feet joined 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 thirty years was silent, and preached only three. job mortuus est senex, & plenus dierum, saith the holy scripture in the last of job, as if he would say, job the holy man, and who loved God well, did die loaded with many years, and full of daies.  
S. gregory vpon these words saith, The scripture doth not speak without a great mystery when he saith, that holy job did die old and full of daies, and not full of many nights; because he would let us understand thou by, that he death idle and empty, and without daies, whose daies are passed without fruit or profit, and he doth die full of daies who when he death, death full of good works.  
Chrisost. saith, That in holy scripture by the day is understood grace, and that by the night we should mean disgrace and displeasure; and thereupon it is, that when wicked Iudas went from Christ, to deliver him unto his enemies, the evangelist saith, That his departure was by night, that is, that he was deprived 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, unless it be a good life, nor none said to live, unless he live well, we may say with great reason, that he hath not lived any day at all, who hath wickedly lived, and that he hath lived many daies, who hath virtuously lived.  
What doth any man keep of his years which are past, or of the daies which he hath lived, but the good works which he 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 lived long; if thou hast done ill, thou hast not lived at all: because that in the day of account, they will not put in thy reckoning, the daies which thou hast lived, but the good works which thou hast done.  
If the kingdom of heaven should be given in respect of years, who lived so long as Mathusalem, who passed nine hundred? As holy job 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 dark, as a naughty conscience full of sin. 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 heaven, where there is day without night, and the other to go to hell, where there is night without day? Happy is the soul which death in the day of grace, and miserable is the soul, which death in the night of sin, because that to die by day, or to die by night, is nothing else but to live in light, there there is no darkness, or to live in darkness where there is no light.   

CHAP. XL. Howe the son of God did die vpon the cross, praying and weeping, teaching us by that example, howe we should behave ourselves in the last hour.  
ET inclinato capite tradidit spiritum, saith S. John in his 19 chapped. speaking of the death of the son of God vpon the cross, as if he would say, now that the redeemer of the world, had given forth a terrible voice, saying: Father into thy hands I commend my spirit, he did somewhat bow down his head, and gave his soul unto his eternal father.  
In the last hour, in such a high mystery, in such a glorious end, as this was of the son of God, that he would not move his arm, nor hand, nor foot, nor leg, but only bow down his head, wanteth not a great mystery nor yet a very deep secret.  
It is an old custom to tell what happened unto our father, or unto any dear friend in the last hour of his life; that is, what he did, what grief he had, what words he spake, howe he died, and howe long he strived with death, because that those things which we do last of all, are always much noted, and greatly s●t by. Doth the scripture, saith Augustine vpon S. John, find occasion to talk of the death of holy men, and will it not note and weigh weighty 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 son of God; because, that in the last account of his life, and last hour, the words which he spake were so profound, and the works which he did, so strange, that they go beyond all human capacity, and overcome the understanding of Angels.  
jeremias in a sermon saith, That from the beginning of the world, there was never death so cruel, because they killed mercy and clemency itself; never death so injust, because they slew him who was innocent; never death so infamous, because they did put him to death on the cross; nor any death so scandalous, seeing that it doth continue until 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 hebrews, as if he would say, The son of God being in the last hour of his life, and at the very point when his soul would leap out of his body, he began to pray and commend himself unto his father, with a very loud voice, sorrowful words, and pitiful tears.  
By these words of the Apostle we may gather, that the son of God did die on the cross, tormented with grief, looking up to heaven, cryeng with a loud voice, praying unto 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 cross did pray, and cry, and weep, and die, because that all the other works which he had done until then, were all mingled, and savoured of God and man, and of man and God, but his death on the cross, was the work of a man only, without any detriment of his divinity.  
He died without detriment of his divinity, because there is nothing faster annexed unto God, then always to live; and with the detriment of his human body he died, because there is nothing more natural unto man, then in the end to die.  
The son of God, saith S. Barnard, dying vpon a rough bare cross, howe dare I abide in a rich house, apparel myself with soft garments, and sleep in a soft bed, or dine with my table laid? Let me use 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 cross of Christ, but for such nice wantons as do persecute Christ.  
O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, how dare I live in pleasure, and pass my time in delight, seeing that thou in thy last hour, hadst no other thing but the cross for thy bed, the nailes for thy cushions, heaven for thy pavilion, theeues for thy companions, gaule to eat, vinegar to drink, tears to wash with, thy voice to complain with, and prayer to die with.  
O what a terrible thing it seemeth to bee, to draw near unto our last hour, seeing that the son of God doth make such preparation on the cross, to look for it: to wit he hath his body naked, his hands bound, his feet nailed fast, his head pricked with thorn, his mouth seasoned with vinegar, his veins empty, and his face bathed with tears. Who did ever see a man fast bound, fight with him who was at liberty; a naked man against him who was clothed; the vanquished with the conqueror, a wounded man with one who is sound and whole, and a dead man with him who is a live? If the maker of life, doth look for death with such preparations, O death who will not bee afraid of thee? Ansel. saith, that the son of God did wait for death on the cross, to make us a sure agreement, he looked for it naked because the divell should haue nothing on us to take hold of, he looked for it fast nailed, because we should flee liberty, he looked for it weeping, because we should haue nothing to wast, and he looked for it crying out, to teach us to call vpon God, and he waited and expected death praying, to show us what we should do at our last end.  
Seeing that the Apostle doth say of thee O good Iesus, that languishing, crying, and praying and weeping, thou didst depart out of this world, tell me I pray thee seeing that thou didst weep so much, what was the cause of it? thy sight is blinded, thy speech is lost, thy blood is run out, thy strength doth fail thee, and yet do not thy tears dry up in thee; how should tears end in thee, seeing that faults end not in me? Thou dost not weep O good Iesus, thou dost not weep for thyself, but for me, thou dost not weep to see thyself die, but to see me sin, thou dost not weep for thy griefs but for my offences, neither dost thou weep, because thou dost leave me no remedy, but because thou dost see me so ungrateful. Damascen saith, that as our faults were many, so the son of God did shed many tears for them, and as my sins were so great that they reached unto God his divine iustice, so the cry and voice of Christ, was so loud that it did reach unto the throne of mercy, in somuch that as we went losing ourselves, so Christ went healing vs. Theophilact. vpon the Apostle saith, That as the son of God with a great cry and many tears did die vpon the cross, so is it meet for us to die in the church, that is, praying unto our Lord, and weeping for our sins; Chrisost. vpon this place saith, that the son of God did die vpon the cross, with a loud cry and many tears, for his voice was so loud & shrill, and the mystery 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 sepulchers, awaked the dead, & converted the great Centurion. If al creatures do fear thee O good Iesus, hanging on the cross, who will not fear thee when thou shalt come to iudgement? seeing thou dost make afraid & astonied the heauens, hel, the quick and the dead, with one only word, whom wilt thou not make afraid, with item maledicti, go you wicked in the last Iudgment? Remigius saith, that the last voice which sorrowful Iesus gave in his last hour, was a loving voice, because it came from so loving a heart, and a sharp voice, because a tongue seasoned with vinegar did pronounce it, it was a weeping voice, because it did pass by so weeping a face, and it was a voice full of mystery, because it was his last.  
What death can be compared unto the death of the son of God, seeing that death took him embraced with the cross, with the pardon of his enemies prayed for, with an exclamation in his tongue, with a prayer in his mouth, with tears on his cheeks, with his blood run out, with the redemption accomplished, and with the church perfectly planted.  
The son of God did yield up his ghost, with a strong cry, and it doth well appear, that that voice was rather miraculous then natural, seeing that few men can speak at the hour of their death, much less cry aloude: the which voice, our holy Lord did give out, because that all those which were there present, might know how willingly he did die, and howe little he did fear death. How is it possible that he should fear death, seeing that he came voluntary unto it? there is no man who can fear death, but he whom death doth kill; but the son of God could not fear death, because he was to triumph over death. jerom saith, For the son of God to give up his soul, when he would himself, and howe he would, and to cry a loud at the last hour, was to show unto us, his high Godhead; and to die praying and weeping, was to prove his manhood: insomuch that if in dying he did show himself to be a man, yet in the circumstances of his death, he was known to be God.  
As a man he hanged on the cross praying, and as God he was there preaching; as a mortal man he went, and like unto God he died, according unto his own will; like a man he asketh pardon for sins, like a man he suffereth his side to be opened, and like God he promiseth the thief glory; like man he death, his head bowed down, and like God he openeth unto all men the gates of glory. cyprian saith, that because it is a use, to call aloud for those only, which are far from us, the son of God his pleasure was, to 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 cover him, the sepulchers, because they should receive him, the dead, because they should accompany him, the Gentiles, because they should beleeue in him, and the Iewes because they should convert themselves. Note it well and thou shalt see, that good Iesus did not die in a village but in a city, not by night but by day, not in secret wise, but publicly, not holding his peace, but crying out, not by force, but of his own free will, to give us to understand, that as his death was public, and notorious unto all men, so he died for all men. Chrisost. saith, Exclamauit voice magna, because that if from that time forward, any one of his church, should loose himself, or any gentle not convert himself, 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 living, and summon the dead, because they should be all present, to see howe he did  shed his blood, and bestowed it, for all the universal world. Wo be unto thee O my heart, wo be unto thee O my soul, if no drop of that blood hath fallen unto our share, for as by that blood wee were redeemed, so by the same blood, we must be saved. He cried with a loud voice, because he had such great pleasure, to see his father now pacified, the world redeemed, the divell vanquished, hell spoiled; that with a loud voice, he published his ioy, and with a cry he sounded out his victory. Barnard saith, Exclamauit voice magna; and if with a loud voice, for whom but to call the elect, in his divine and eternal predestination? Being that he could not embrace his elect, because his hands were tied, nor go to seek them, because his feet were nailed, nor give them liberty, because he was crucified, nor visit them, because he was condemned, good Iesus bethought himself, to call aloud unto them, & with his own blood to buy them.  
O infinite charity, O great love, O my good Iesus, what couldst thou do; or what shouldst thou haue done for me, and in me that thou didst not, considering that with thy blood thou hast redeemed me, and with tender tears called me? S. Ambrose saith, Exclamauit voice magna, sorrowful Iesus cried with a loud voice, at the time when he was going out of this world, when he went to end and accomplish the general redemption, when the heauens began to open, and when he meant to divide his blood, and at the time, when he went to seal his testament: meaning by that loud voice, to let al men know, how that he died for all men, and howe that all were now redeemed. Exclamauit voice magna, making a difference betwixt the first cry, when they did led him to be crucified, from the second cry, when his pleasure was to die; for in the first they said, Pilat doth command this iustice to be done unto this man, wherein he doth command him to die▪ but in the other cry he said, this is my mercy which God commandeth to do, done of all the world wherein he doth command to pardon; insomuch that a vie Pilat did cry iustice, and Christ did proclaim mercy.   

CHAP. XLI. Howe Christ died, his head bowed down, and the mysteries therein contained.  
FActus est obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis. saith the Apostle in the third to the thessaly. as if he would say. albeit that the son of God was perfect in al virtues, yet he did principally excel in the virtue of obedience: for if he took 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 himself, in saying that he did obey his father until death, but that he did obey him until the death of the cross; giuing us in this speech to understand, that the obedience of the son of God, was not only constant and loving, but also accompanied with many troubles and dangers, seeing that through that obedience, he did die vpon the cross. Barnard saith, there be very many O good Iesus, which do obey thee until death, but not until the death of the cross, but feeling some pain and trouble to come with obedience, seek excuses not to fulfil it. O howe many( saith S. basil) would follow Christ, in going to the wedding in Cana, and be invited 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 egypt being a child, in going barefoot, in being persecuted by all men, nor yet in dying vpon the cross. 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 ready presently to fulfil, constant to bring to an end, patient to endure troubles, and discreet to know well what we haue to do. coming then to our purpose, Inclinato capite tradidit spiritum, to wit at the very hour that they drew Christ his soul out of his body, he did somewhat bow down his head; which ceremony ought greatly to bee noted, because that the later it was done, the fuller of mystery it is. Cirillus vpon S. John saith, That until the son of God did go up, vpon the cross, his father had commanded him nothing, but to take mans flesh vpon him, and preach the law of the gospel; but after that he was gone up to the cross, he did command him to suffer and to die: and therfore blessed Iesus, not being able to answer one word, bowed down his head, showing that it pleased him well so to do.  
O high mystery, and divine sacrament, contained under this speech, to wit, that in one hour and one instant, that the commandment of obedience came unto him, he accepted death, bowed down his head, gave up his soul, made an end of our fault, began his church, and ended his life. Cyprian saith, when the father did command his son, there to end his life vpon the cross, he could not answer him one word, more then bow 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 give up his ghost, and then bow down his head; but he did first bow down his head, and then his soul was pulled from him: to teach us thereby, that if his father would not haue commanded him by obedience, he would not haue departed out of this life. Notwithstanding that the travels and troubles, which the son of God passed through were infinite, and the persecutions which he suffered intolerable, yet if as his father did command him to die vpon the cross, he would haue commanded him to live longer time, and more torments endure, with his head bowed down, he would haue said, It pleaseth me.  
O that happy is that soul, which until the last hour, doth to all things which is commanded her, bow down her head, and fulfil 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 sand before him, to the other world his obedience, thē he did give his soul to his father: because the highest point of perfection, doth consist in obedience, and in the keeping down and subduing of our own sensual will. Multum erigimini filii levi, said Moyses, Num. 16. to Dathan and Abiron, as if he wolud say, It seemeth unto me that you of the lineage of levy, grow very stout and stubborn, persuading the people that they should obey neither me, nor my brother Aaron; but that they should govern themselves according unto their own will and pleasure.  
You should haue called to memory, and also haue contented yourselves, O you children of levi, that among all the twelve tribes, the Lord hath chosen you for himself, and how by a special privilege, he would haue you to serve him in his tabernacle: and further, his good pleasure was, that you should maintain yourselves by other mens labour and sweat. It is to be noted, that of al such as were in the synagogue, these children of Chore were the first which rebelled against their superior and ruler, all which the earth did swallow up alive, and they went body and soul into hell.  
O to howe many we may say at this day, Multum erigimini filii levi, the which with those of Chore are stiffnecked 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 never punish them so cruelly as for this, to let us understand that some faults may be dissembled, but the sin of disobedience, shall always be severely punished.  
The punishment which God gave unto those rebellious and disobedient people, was that he did sand them body and soul into hell alive, insomuch that as they did commit a new fault, so God gave them a new punishment.  
The difference betwixt the Apostata Chore, and blessed Iesus was, that Core died with his head lifted up, and the son of God with his head bowed down; whereof wee may infer, that the followers of Christ do know nothing, but to obey and be silent, and the followers of Chore know nothing better, then to reply unto that which is commanded them, and murmured against al which they see.  
Yet to take this mystery in another sense, it is to be noted, that until the very time that Christ his will was to die vpon the cross, he suffered the title which Pilat had put up, to bee close at his head, but at the time of his last breath, he removed his head from the title, not without a high mystery, 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 felicity that all worldlings of the world do follow; 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 seek 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 laws kept, but because they would be entitled kings.  
What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? do they lift thee up like unto a king, crown thee like a king, put on thee a purple rob 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 kingdom, 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 son of God would not haue the title of honor, seeing that he did give up his spirit, with his head bowed down, thereby to give us to understand, that his kingdom was not of the kingdoms of this world, and howe that it is no sure thing to take; any rule at the hands of a tyrant.  
Pilat the lieutenant was an unjust judge, and a tyrant of the roman empire, born at Lions, and for that cause the son of God would not accept the honor which he gave him, nor allow of the title which he did put over him; for although the title which he did put over him was good, yet the intention with the which he did it was nought.  
cyprian 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 us and aduise us, that if it be lawful to keep the pomps, and vain honor of this world in our life time, it is no evil counsel before our death to leave them.  
Who dare procure unto himself, any pre-eminence or office of honor in this world, seeing that the son of God would not die with it being laid vpon him? how was it like, that he did procure any, seeing he would not vouchsafe to see the table that his honor and dignity was written in?  
The title of Iesus of Nazareth king of the Iewes, Pilat commanded to be written in a little piece of a board, and to be nailed over Christ his head: but he being as great a friend of humility, as an enemy of vanity, shut his eyes because he would not see it, and bowed down his head, because he would not touch it.  
Christ durst not( saith Remigius) die, with the honor which Pilat had laid vpon him in jest, and darest thou die in the offices of honour which thou dost procure in earnest? Chrisostom to this purpose noteth; that Christ did first bow down his head, before his soul did go out of his body; thereby to let us understand, that it is convenient for us, first to give over the vain honour which we possess, before the life which wee live with: because that otherwise it would seem, that wee leave it off, not of our own will, but because we can keep it no longer. Damascen saith, When the redeemer of the world would give up his ghost, he did not withdraw his shoulders from the cross, nor his hands from the nailes, nor his feet from the cords, nor his throat from the halter, nor his heart from the spear, but only his head from the title of a king, thereby to teach us, that the true seruants of our Lord, should esteem the injuries and discredits of this world for honor, and honor for infamy.  
Anselmus vpon the apostle saith: For the son of God to die with his head separated, and drawn aside from the title of honor and dignity, was plainly to say, go out, go out famed and dignity, go out of my house; because the inhabitants of my cross, should not pretend vanity but humility, not famed but ignominy, not to be rulers but seruants, not to kill but obey, not liberty but subiection, nor yet to live long but to live well. Cirillus vpon S. John saith, The nearer the redeemer of the world did draw to his death, the more and the greater miracles he did, for in suffering his side to be opened, he did show his charity; in tasting gaull and vinegar, he did show his abstinency; in not coming down from the cross, he did show his constancy; in not answering unto the injuries done to him, he did show his patience; and in bowing down his head, he did show his obedience.  
What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? dost thou not stop thy ears against the blasphemies which they speak, dost thou not shut thy mouth against the gaull which they offer thee, dost thou not withdraw thy side from the thrust of the spear, dost thou not resist the thorns which pierce thy brain, dost thou not hid thy hands from those which nail them, dost thou not flee from those which whip thy shoulders, and yet dost thou withdraw 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 confess myself to be the lord of lords, and that I am also the king of kings, but I will not take this rule and kingdom, at the hands of the tyrant Pilat; for although my father did give him authority, to take away my life from me, yet he did not give him any, either to give me, or take away any honor from me.  
In this heroical fact, Christ hath very few followers now 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 the divell, so that honour come to their houses, they weigh it little how it cometh, nor by what manner it cometh. S. Gregory in his memorial saith, I haue not yet seen any man who hath been ambitious of honor, who hath been scrupulus in his conscience; and thou shalt know this to be true, in that, that they will rather take honour at Pilats hands, then despise it on the cross with Christ.  
Al the contemners of honor, do follow the steps of Christ, and al those who ar ambitious of famed, do follow Pilats court, who will deal with thē as he did with Christ, that is, in the place where he did entitle him to be a king, he did afterward crucify him like to a thief. Beda saith, The world dealeth with vain men, as Pilat the tyrant did deal with the son of God; for he gave Christ the title of a king, and yet kept the possession of the kingdom himself: so in like manner the world doth bestow vpon such as follow him, the charge and tribute which doth belong unto honour, but without the commodity of gain due unto it.  
What sack is so full of earth, or what bar of iron so heavy, but the burden which honour bringeth with it, is more heavy? The honour which Pilat doth give unto those which love him, is a matter of great scrupulosity to desire, very dangerous to obtain, chargeable to maintain, brittle and easy to loose, and very infamous to leave off.  
Take heed therfore O thou ambitious man, take heed howe thou dost take any honour at Pilats hands, for that which he doth give thee, is not famed but infamy, not honour but dishonour, no fruit but leaves, no flower but bran, no gold but dross, no truth but a dream, no kingdom but a title; and that which is worst of all, at one time he will give it thee and also crucify: then wicked and accursed is the honour, which is received at the hands of Pilat, that is, when it is gotten through human slight and diligence, for in case of honour look howe holy a thing it is to deserve it, so infamous a matter it is to procure it.  
S. Ambrose vpon saint Luke saith, The son 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 doth gain greater glory, who beareth a heart 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 over him on the cross, the title of honour, and yet he would not die with it close at his head.  
This is a mystery highly to be noted, and deeply to be weighed, because that Christ doth teach us in it, howe we may keep 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, he did teach us, that we should deserve it, and in withdrawing his head from it, he did teach us that after we haue deserved, it is very requisite 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 doth merit no honour, howe can he say that he doth despise it? when wee see a man come down from the honour and dignity which he had, and did not deserve it, wee will not say of him, that he did contemn and remove it, but that they took it from him as being therof unworthy, or that he left it off, as being weary.  
Seeing honour is nothing else( as Seneca reporteth,) but a good opinion which men haue of us, who is he who hath more honour, then he who best deserveth i●? The divine Plato in his Timeo saith, That in times past, and in the golden age, none were esteemed honourable, but such as were virtuous; nor none infamous, but such as were vicious; but after that these pronowns meum & tuum, mine and thine, crept into the world, they tied honour unto riches, and infamy and dishonour to poverty.  
Remigius in an homily saith, As those which procure honour and dignity unto themselves, by over great diligence, are worthy to be punished, so those which are idle and vicious, in not deserving is as worthy to be reprehended; for if the son of God with his head bowed down inclinato capi●e, did teach us to despise it, yet with, Let your light shine before men, Luceat lux vestra coram hominibus, he did bind us to despise it.  
Let the conclusion of all this be, that they did give good Iesus the title and he took the title, and renounced the title at one time; by whose example the seruant of our Lord ought to do such works, that in all mens judgements he should deserve honour and they give him honour, and yet he despise honour; insomuch that it may with truth bee said of him, that he did deserve it through his goodness, and renounce it through his humility.   

CHAP. XLII. Howe the son of God did yield up his ghost on the cross, at nine of the clock.  
LVctium vnigentifac tibi, & planitum amarum, said God unto the prophet jeremy in the 15 chap. as if he would say, Thou shouldst make a great lamentation, and weep bitterly for thyself, and vpon thy wicked people, as the comfortless father is wont to do for the death of his only son.  
It is much to be noted, that God doth not comm●und him to weep indifferently for every son, but for the death of his only son: giuing us to understand by this prophesy, that they would kill God one son in jerusalem, but not an adoptive son, but his only begotten and well-beloved son.  
When a father hath more children then one, his love is divided among them, but when he hath but one only, he bestoweth all his love vpon him. So natural a son, so only begotten, so well-beloved God never had, nor never 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 commanded the heauens to wear mourning apparel for him, the elements to cloath themselves in sackcloth, the angels to weep, and al men to bewail.  
Why commands he me to weep for the death of my only son, but there I should always haue in memory the death which Christ suffered for me? when do I make bitter lamentation on myself, but when in the memory of the passion of Christ, I do rejoice to live in affliction and comfortless? It is also to bee weighed, that the death of his only begotten son, God commanded jeremy only to weep, who was a virtuous and a holy man; to let us understand thereby, that the high mysteries of his passion, our Lord doth give none to taste of, but unto those whom he doth first command to weep.  
O howe happy that heart is, unto whom God doth commit and trust the bewailing of his son, because that in thy house O my Lord, they enioyn tears unto none, but they shall afterward be wrapped in divine consolations.  
O who could be thy companion O great jeremy, to weep and bewail the death of the son of the living God, and feel that which he felt vpon that dry three of the cross; what should I desire more, or what should I sigh after? It is now time for us to speak of the order of the death of the son of God, and of the great agony which he passed through, when he did give up his ghost; for seeing that he did sweat drops of blood in the garden, by reason of the bitter cup which he was to drink of, what thinkest thou did he suffer, when his soul was drawn out of his body? If jeremy did crave of God, that he would make his head a sea of water, and turn his eyes into a fountain of tears, to weep for those which were slain in the wars, is it not greater reason, that my heart and soul should desire the same, to writ the death of my God, who died by iustice and without iustice? To put that in paper which Christ did vpon the cross, and register that with ynk which he did with blood, and writ 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 understanding lightened, and hath lamented and weapt with tears the passion of Christ.  
Barnard saith, that when the giver of life, would end his life, he divided his sermon into seven words, his bowels into a thousand loues, his mothers heart into an infinite number of sorrows, all his blood throughout the streets, his garments among the hangmē, & his merits among sinners. O glorious heritage, O happy sale, that thou didst make O my good Iesus, at the last hour, seeing that as thou didst end thy breath, we did presently begin to inherit thee. O blessed mother, O comfortless woman, how is it possible that thou shouldst not suspect that which is prepared for thee at the last hour? I am greatly afraid( saith Anselmus) and am also very doubtful, that if the son do die at nine, but the mother will die before at six; O what a narrow strait the virgins heart was driven into at the foot of the cross; because there did fight within her the love which she had to conform herself unto that which her son would, and the grief to see her loose her son.  
Vbertinus saith, When six of the clock is past, your son shall pass out of this life, you shall pass out of his sight, the anger of the eternal Father shall pass, the fault shall pass from you, the glory of the synagogue shall pass: and that which is most of al to be lamented is, that if he shall pass without you, you shall also pass without him, either by being rapt for a time, or by being astonied to see him die. O heir of heaven, O the glory of the blessed, what love is that which thou dost bear unto the world, that for it thou shouldst not love thyself? dost thou love the deceitful world more then thou dost love thyself, seeing thou dost lose thy life for him, who doth take thy life from thee? O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, what wilt thou not do, what wilt thou not go about, seeing that at thy birth thou hadst 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 mean when he said, O death I will be thy death; but that on the three of the cross, death would take away Christ his life, and that he would take away life from death, and deprive him of all power? O glorious death, O happy death, who would ever haue thought or imagined, that one death would make an end of another? death did every hour encroach and get ground vpon that sacred humanity of Christ, his sinews did unknit, and the force of his members grew slack, his bones were put out of joint, his eie-liddes changed colour, his eyes shrunk into his head, and his hair stood on end, his face went pale and wan, his tongue dry, and all his body quaked and trembled: O my heart, O my soul, how can you live, and see that which your God doth suffer for you? let my fingers give over writing, and let my eyes begin to weep, because that these mysteries are not to be committed unto the pen, but are deeply to be chewed and weighed in the secret and inward part of the soul. His veins being empty, and without blood, and his eyes full of tears, his face pale and wan, and his body without strength, the hour of six is past, and he beginneth to enter into an agony, but not an agony which doth deprive him of sense and feeling, but into an agony which did augment and increase his torment.  
What meaneth this, O the love of my soul, what meaneth this O redeemer of my life? is there but one agony for me, and is there two for thee, the one in the garden, and the other on the cross? Was it not sufficient that in the agony of the garden thou didst sweat blood for very anguish, but that in this agony thou shouldst give up thy life? Death went about very ragingly seeking after that most blessed soul, and hunting after that most holy life, which Iesus had now even in his mouth, expecting the very moment of the last hour, not to give it up unto death, but to offer it up unto his father. What had death to do, with the Lord of death? All that death could do at that time, was to seperat the soul from the body, for the space of three daies onely, being certain that Christ was as true God being dead, as he was being alive. The last hour then being now come, he did open and shut his eyes, his lips did come and go, his bones did all crackle, and the elements began to be troubled, thinking that all the whole machine of this world was now at an end, seeing that the maker of the world did suffer.  
Barnard saith, Although that at the very instant when the son of God should die, all the parts of his body were troubled, yet he did never leave of to sigh and lament for sins and sinners, because that in the greatest agony of his death, his strength never failed him to pray, nor his charity to forgive. And courage and force thyself( saith Vbertinus) encourage thyself in this last conflict, seeing that in it thou art to die, the world to be redeemed, heaven to be opened, and also the divell to be overcome. O eternal father, O my God, why dost thou not remember thy only son in this narrow strait, and being so near his end? thou seest that the harmony of his soul and body is broken, thou seest that he is at the end of his life, thou seest that the ninth hour is come, thou seest that he is gasping out his last breath, and yet wilt thou nor speak one bare word unto him? seeing that he will die for me, I will speak for him, offering him unto thee, O eternal father, for an oblation of peace, for an offering of gratefulness and thanksgiving, for an everlasting sacrifice, for a sweet holocaust, for a burnt and odiferous incense, and for an aceeptable price of an infinite value.  
receive O my God, receive thy precious son for a ransom, and withall receive thy seruant, for if he did die to fulfil thy commandment, he did also die to redeem my soul.  
bonaventure saith, If thy sons soul do belong unto thee as a God, unto us his blood doth belong as brothers, whereof we will not give thee so much as one drop, unless it be in exchanging of everlasting life.  
O my soul, O my heart, why did you not die when you saw good Iesus draw unto his last step? When is it time but now that our fingers play, and sighs proceed from us, and that we make of tears ink, and of our hearts paper, in which we may writ with letters of blood, who he is who death, for whose cause he death, and what death he death? he who death is God, and I am he for whom he death; the place where, is the cross; the manner of his death is, to be crucified; and the cause why, is to redeem all the world. He died at nine of the clock, which was the hour that Adam was cast out of his garden and house; insomuch that at the ninth hour the state of inocencie did end, and in the ninth hour the state of grace did begin. O comfortless mother, O Virgin without equal, dost thou not see that we are come to the hour of nine, and that thy son beginneth to yield up his life? O fatale year, O mount of calvary, O dismal Friday, O rigorous cross, O raging death, what hath this lady don unto thee, wherein hath this holy woman offended thee, that thou shouldst cause her to want her spouse, make her a widow of her husband, leave her without her son, and an orpheline without her father? In that last hour al the celestial hierarchies stood in the air beholding his sorrowful mother near to the cross weeping, his holy family about her sighing, the Iewes afar off gazing, and all the other creatures of the world expecting and looking how their maker would yield up his ghost, and to see what he would do by himself.  
How much the nearer the son of God did draw to his death, so much the more al creatures wondered at it, holding it for an impossible thing that he could either end or die, who gave unto them their being, force, and strength.  
At the same time the heaven waxed cloudy, the sun dark, the earth did quake, the stones did rent insunder, the son of God did die, and his sorrowful mother sowned, she fell down at the foot of the cross, embracing the body of it in her arms, the blood of the cross died all over, transformed into him who was crucified, deprived of her own sences, and in the dolours of her son overwhelmed and drowned. Who brought news of that which the son did suffer, or of that which the sorrowful mother did endure, but onely the tears which issued from her, and the drops of blood which ran from him? The divine Word then seeing that the term of his coming was now ended, and that he had accomplished the obedience which his father did impose vpon him, he determined to finish & conclude his pitiful & merciful journey, and end his laborious life, vnknitting the knot which fastened the body and soul together; the which he did, not prejudicing at al his divine person. His very last hour being now come, the son of God gave a loud cry, with the which his agony ended, the redemption of man was perfected and accomplished, he bowed his head, sent forth his last breath, and yielded up his soul unto his eternal father. O my soul, O my heart, art not thou ashamed to live in this world, seeing that the giver of life is now dead? O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, 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 do not deserve, that my soul should be drawn out of my body with thee, yet suffer that my sin be pulled out of my bowels, and that thou saidest receive thy pain in recompense of my punishment, because that one drop of thy sweat will satisfy thy father better then a thousand years of my suffering. When crucified Iesus was dead, his eyes were closed up, his face black, his body stiff, his blood congealed, his mouth somewhat open, his body wan and blewe, and all his whole favour and countenance changed and altered: and yet there remained enough, although there had remained nothing, seeing that the redeemer of the world did not remain. All the compass of the world remained exceedingly afraid, the wicked synagogue confounded, all Christ his family astonied, Pilats people in a wonder, and the sorrowful mother in a sown. O world ransomed, O pardon performed, O general jubilee, O hel now shut up, O fault well paid for, O iustice rigorously executed vpon thee O my sweet Iesus, when thy soul was drawn from thee, and when thou didst pay the ransom of my sin. O my sweet Iesus now gone, O my redeemer now dead, seeing that thou art the Lord of glory, and the maker of life, tel me what is become of thy life? did it not suffice that thy enemies did crucify thy members, but that they also quarter in pieces thy sweet love? Art thou not dead and quartered, seeing that thy skin cleaveth to the cross, thy hairs are sown about the streets, thy blood is  shed vpon the ground, and thy soul is gone into Paradise, and thy body incl●sed in the sepulchre? such a high life, such old company, such an heroical harmony, and such an unspotted flesh, how could thy most sacred soul abandon and forsake? help thyself then O good Iesus, help thyself with thy mothers soul, seeing that thou hast given thy own unto thy father, and seeing that her soul is more in thee, then in her, let it give life where it loveth, seeing it doth not where it abideth. Thou mayst even now raise up two dead bodies, cloth two souls with bodies, give souls unto two bodies, give life unto two dead persons, that is to say, unto thyself which hast already given up thy ghost, and unto thy mother who is ready to sand forth her last breath.   

CHAP. XLIII. How the vail of the temple did rent in two when Christ gave up the ghost: and how that that breaking of the vail was the first miracle that Christ did, after his death.  
ET velum templi scissum est in dvo, a summo usque deorsum, saith S. mark in the 15 chap. as if he would say, At the very instant that the maker of the world did yield up his ghost, the vail of the temple did break in two, from the top unto the bottom, not being touched by any either with the hand or sword. To understand this mystery, you must note that the Iewes had two vailes in their tabernacle and temple, whereof the one was at the entering in of the gate, and the other in the middle of the temple, with the which the body of the church was divided from the chansell, insomuch that they could see nothing of the temple, unless they had first taken away the vail, nor they could not see the sancta sanctorum, unless the second vail 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 vail of the temple, the which he did with greater solemnity 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 down, 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 born until he turned the water into wine, there passed thirty years; & from the time that Christ died on the cross, until the vail of the temple did break in two, there passed not so much as three moments: because that in the self same instant that his soul departed out of his body, the vail did begin to break and rent in sunder. In this most high miracle, the son of God did show his power in breaking of the temple, his wisdom in doing it at such a time, his immortality in doing it after his death, giuing us thereby to understand, that it was as easy a matter unto him to rise again, as it was to suffer himself to die. Augustine vpon Saint John saith, Do not think O thou jew, 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 dost think that like unto a true man he doth hang dead vpon the cross, why dost thou not mark how that like a true God he doth break the vail of the temple. In this new miracle of the breaking of the vail, even at the time when Christ gave up the ghost, thou canst not say that he did it with words like an enchanter, or witch, seeing that now his face is pale and wan, his head bowed down, his tongue stiff, and his soul drawn from him; insomuch that either thou must confess in him power or aclowledge in thyself malice. All this is out of S. Augustine. The vail which was in the temple( saith Remigius) was but one, and after that Christ did die, it did divide itself into two, to give us thereby to understand, that in the old synagogue there was but one people only which was the Hebrew, but in the catholic church there should be two peoples, which are the jew and the gentle: insomuch that although the faith of the church be but one, yet the people on which it is founded, are two. S. jerom vpon S. mark saith, In parting in two the vail of the temple, which did hinder the coming in into the temple, God did let us understand, that the sin of our first father which did keep the heaven shut, was divided betwixt us and Christ; and the manner of the dividing of it was, that he laid the fault vpon us, and cast the punishment vpon himself.  
Agmon to this purpose saith, As it was necessary before the Iewes could enter into the temple, that the vail should either be taken away or broken, even so for us to enter into heaven it is necessary that Christ should die, and be also divided; and the division was, that he did leave the midst of the vail( which was his body) in the sepulchre, and the other middle, which was his soul, he did sand into paradise. S. Ambrose in his Exameron saith, When the prophet Ezechiel did see one wheel within another, what other thing was that, but onely that the church was enclosed within the synagogue? The dividing of the vail which was at the gate of the temple, was nothing else but a separation of the church from the synagogue, and of the synagogue 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 supper faciem suum, saith the holy scripture, Exodus 33. as if he would say, When holy Moyses did speak with God alone, his face was vncouered, but when he did speak unto all the people, he covered his face with a vail, insomuch that the children of Israell had much to do with Moyses, because they were bound to beleeue all which he said unto them, and yet they were never licenced to see his face. Origen vpon this place saith, Being a certain and true thing that moses which gave the law unto the Iewes, doth represent and carry the figure of the law itself, what doth it mean that Moyses had his face covered, but that the mysteries of the holy scripture were hidden and concealed from all those which dwelled within the synagogue? Like the offspring of the patriarch Isaac who did die blind, and like the successors of jacob, who died likewise blind, and like the predecessors of Tobias who was also blind, and like unto the children of Moyses whose face was covered with a vail, the children of Israell had always a vail of ignorance before their face, by reason whereof they could never guess at the ruin and fall which should happen unto the synagogue, nor unto the great prosperity which should happen unto the church. What other thing then was the breaking of the vail of the temple, at the death of Christ, from the top to the bottom, but for all the mysteries of the old testament to be laid open now unto us? The evangelist doth not say without cause, that all the vail was broken from the highest part unto the lowest, because that he doth teach us by that speech that there remained no secret of the old testament, which was not laid open and made manifest unto us, nor any mystery which was not fulfilled.  
S. August. vpon the Apostle saith, even until this day the synagogue hath the face of her jewish people covered with the vail of malice and ignorance, and that which is thirst of all is, that under this covering all wicked and excommunicated heretics lurk and are hidden, and the difference betwixt the one and the other is, that the jew doth spot Christ, and the heretic breedeth doubts in his gospel.  
Simon de Cassia vpon the passion of our Lord saith, In the slitting of this vail, there are so many secrets to open, and so many mysteries to be noted, that without comparison that which is passed over with silence, is much more then that which is written of it.  
It is much to be weighed, that the scripture doth not say, that the vail was either lost, or burnt, or fallen down, or taken away, but only that it did rent in two from the top to the bottom; in such sort that there remained vail of one side, and vail on the other, and the rapture or breaking betwixt both, to look at. Who be those unto whom there fell one part of the vail, and unto whom the other? and who be they which look betwixt both? there fell part of that vail unto the perfidious Iewes, seeing that they will never receive the gospel; and the other part unto the unhappy gentiles, seeing they cease not to worship their idols: and unto the faithful catholic Christian there fell the rent and division of the vail, by the which they beholded the holy mysteries, insomuch that so much the happier a man is, by how much the less he hath of that judaical vail. Let the jew thē take one part of the vail, and let the gentle take the other, for we which are Christians will no part of it, but only the cleft and rent which doth divide it in two, by the which we will look and contemplate vpon the mysteries which the son of God did work vpon the cross, and the secrets which he did there open unto vs. It is also to be noted that the rent or cleft of the vail did not begin below and go upward, but began above and did break downward, seeing the text doth say, a summo usque deorsum, thereby to let us understand, that the holy mystery 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 forgive and pardon us, before that the flesh of his son was broken to redeem vs. What meaneth it that in the self same hour and moment, and with the self same crack and rent, the vail of the temple was broken from the top unto the bottom, but that the eternal father pardoning from above, and his holy son suffering below, the redemption of our sins was wrought and all holy secrets revealed unto vs. O with what great reason the prophet Esayas doth say Vere tu es deus absconditus, seeing he doth say unto Noe; that in the clouds he will show him the ark; and gave moses the law standing vpon a hill and covered with a mist, and shewed himself to Daniel in a flamme of fire, and did always answer in the propetiatory of the ark, shadowed with a dark cloud, and the sancta sanctorum of the temple was hidden behind a vail; and that which is most of all to be marveled at, he made himself feared of al, and did not suffer himself to be seen of any. If the synagogue do complain by Esaias saying, Vere tu es deus absconditus, the catholic church doth vaunt and boast herself by Abachuc saying, quod in terris visus est, & cum hominibus conuersatus est, seeing that without vail, and cloud, and fire, and without any mist, we haue seen the high works of his deuinitie, and most sacred flesh of his humanity. August. vpon S. John faith, Tell me I pray thee what did the son of God reserve and hid unto himself, which he did not make manifest unto all the world? He did show his power in going vpon the waters, he did show his mercy in healing the weak and feeble, he did show his clemency in pardoning sins, he did show his learning in preaching to the people, he did show his charity in dying for so many wicked men, and he did show his immortality in raising the dead. What remaineth for him to manifest or to lay open unto the world, seeing that he died naked on the cross, and in dying rent in two the vail of the temple, and being dead, suffered his side to be opened? What dost thou desire O my soul to see or know in Christ, which thou dost not find every hour? If thou wilt see his works, look vpon all the world; if thou wilt know his doctrine, red the gospel; if thou wilt see his flesh it hangeth vpon the three; if thou desire to see his secrets, the vail is now broken; and if thou covet to see his bowels, his side is open for thee. What doth he deny thee who doth not deny thee his own flesh? Cum quis conversus fuerit ad deum auferetur ab eo velamen, saith the Apostle to the Corinthians. 3. as if he would say, To all those which will beleeue in Christ, and will turn unto him the first favour that he will do unto them shall be, that he will pull from his face the vail of innocency, because they may enjoy his glory.  
Beda vpon the Apostle saith, If we will see Christ face to face, it is needful for us to take away the vail from our heart and mind; and if you ask me what the vail is, I will answer 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 unto God shall see and know God, insomuch that none who doth not turn unto our Lord can see his face, or obtain his grace, because that all the foundation and ground of our salvation doth consist in that, that we do first beleeue in him, and then serve him. Of the Moore, and of the jew, and of the Pagan, who haue their backs turned to Christ, and do neither beleeue in him nor serve him, may we not justly say, that they do not turn themselves to God, but turn from God? It is much to be noted that the Apostle doth say in this place, Auferetur ab eo velamē, that is, That the vail shal be taken away from before him; and saith not that he can take it away himself: because that it lieth in our hands only to pray to take away the infidelity of the Pagans, the obstinacy of the Iewes, the malice of the heretics, and the sins of our hearts; but to take them away, resteth only in the power of God.  
The worthy doctor Saint Augustine vpon the Apostle saith 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 vail of the temple at the death of Christ, was a high mystery, and a wonderful 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 giver of the law, the secrets of the law were laid open and discovered.  
If thou wilt plainly see, saith Saint chrysostom, what difference there is, betwixt the weakness of man, and the power of God, & how much human infirmity, needeth divine protection, thou mayst perceive it in that, that the ark of Noe, with the whole world which was in it, was not drowned: and that the prophet Abacuc hanging by one hair, did not fall: and in that that S. Peters net being full with an infinite number of fish, did not break; and on the other part, howe the vail which was in the temple, did rent in sunder no man touching it. What are the threads of the judaical vail, but the sacrifices of judaism? and what other signification haue the small cords of Saint Peters net, but the sacraments and gospels of Christ? What doth it mean that the vail not being touched by any man did break in sunder, but that that old Mosaycall law being now old, did of itself 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 waves, and heavily loaden with fish, yet no one cord did break, no mech untie, nor no knot loose, but that how many so ever the tyrants are which persecute the church, and how many so ever heretics do rise in her, although we see her beaten and tossed, yet we shall never see her overcome at any time? O that happy is the soul which entereth into the net of the gospel, 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 safeguard, although he suffer them sometimes to be tempted with vices, yet he never consenteth that they fall from his holy faith.  
In Saint Peters net he is fast, who in the faith of Christ standeth sure and firm; and he with the vail 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 son of God is immaculate and unspotted, no man is suffered not only not to depart from it, and forsake it, but also not to waver and doubt in it.  
Tertullian in his Monodia saith, That before that the son of God did suffer death for us, 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 yielded up the ghost vpon the cross, and the vail of the temple broke insunder; the law of grace and the law written vncoupled and severed themselves, 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 which were jews from those which were Christians, because that under the law of Christ, it is not permitted that there should be any thing hidden, and much less feigned. O how happy every Christian man may call himself in having Christ for his God and Lord, of whom it is not red, that he commanded any thing to be hidden but laid open; as it appeareth in his own side which he suffered to be broken, in the graues and sepulchers of jerusalem, which he commanded to open, and in the vail of the temple which he permitted to rent asunder, and in the ass at jerusalem which he willed to be loosed. Non est deus sicut deus noster, who unfoldeth that which is folded up, openeth that which is shut, sheweth us that which is hidden; inso much that we are taught in all that which is necessary to save us, and forewarned of all that which may hinder vs. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, with al humility I beseech thee that thou wouldst take from my heart the vail of shane, to the end that I may confess my sins, the vail of malice that I may not hurt my neighbours, the vail of ignorance that I may attain unto thy secrets: for if hereafter there be no amendment in me, and for that which is past thou do not give me thy grace, I am one of those which thou wilt not see, and I feel in myself that I shall not be able to know thee. I am O good Iesus, I am Isaac, who by reason of his blindness, did not know his son jacob; I am jacob who by reason of blindness, did not know his nephew benjamin; I am Tobias who because that he was blind, did not see the light of heaven; I am Heli the priest, which did not see the light in the temple; and that which is worst of all is, that my blindness is not in that I haue lost my sight, but in that I haue fallen from thy holy grace. break then O good Iesus, break the vail of my fault, break the vail of my disgrace, break the vail of my malice and envy: seeing that as long as my soul shal be covered with these vails, it is impossible for me to see thy face, and much less to enjoy thy glory.   

CHAP. XLIIII. How that in the death of the son of God, the stones did cleave in sunder, and the mountains did open, and of many high mysteries which these openings did signify.  
ET petrae scissae sunt & monumenta aperta sunt, & multa corpora sanctorum surrexerunt, saith S. matthew chap. 27. as if he should say, The voice which the son of God did give at the time of his death, was so terrible and so dreadful, that as his soul went out of his body, and his spirit unto his father, immediately the stones did cleave in pieces, the mountains did break, the sepulchers open, and many holy men did rise with Christ; insomuch that none of all creatures desired longer to live, seeing they did see their maker to die so much without fault. It is a thing worthy to be noted, and in my seeming dreadful to behold, that in the land of jury, in the kingdom of Damasco, and in the mountains of Arabia, until this day the cleauings of the stones remain, and the renting of the rocks; whereof strangers take some relics, and make crosses and signs vpon them, in token that for fear of the cross they did open, and dread and wonder of him who was crucified, they did part in sunder.  
There appeared signs and tokens in four places, at the death of Christ, that is to say, in the heauens which waxed dark, in the vail which tore in sunder, in the stones which did cleave, and in the dead which did rise; in all which there was testimony given, how great the power of him was who died, and how far the blood which he did shed did extend itself. The blood which the son of God did shed, did extend itself unto the angels, seeing he did restore them: to the Iewes, seeing it did redeem them, to the Gentiles, seeing it did convert them, unto those which were dead, seeing it did ransom them: insomuch that if he could haue found more creatures, for more he would haue died, and in more he would haue employed his blood. It is a custom among men, that when a noble, worthy and liberal guest hath remained long time in a house, and goeth to dwell in another, that then the guests from whence he departeth, show grief and sadness, and those unto whom he goeth receive him with ioy and gladness. thirty and three years the son of God had made his residence in this life with those which lived, which time being expired, he went to visit and heal those which were dead, and as in all those years he remained the greatest part of them in the temple praying, and in the rocks and mountaines contemplating, the vail doth break, and the stones do cleave for very grief, the sepulchers do open and the dead go out and receive him for pure ioy.  
The notable man Augustine saith thus in another sense, Who will not fear the cross, and wonder and fear thee crucified, seeing the rocks do rent in sunder for very fear, and the graues open for very wonder? fear O good Iesus, fear did the elements conceive, seeing they were troubled; fear had the stones, seeing they did cleave in pieces; fear had the graues, seeing they did open; fear also had the divels, seeing that they did flee; and the fear which they had of thee was, to see thee vpon a dry three triumph over death, which before that time did take away every mans life.  
Had not the elements reason pardie, to be astonied and moved, seeing they did see him killed who was wont to kill, and a triumpher over him who was accustomend to triumph over others, and see him butted who did always bury, and to see an end of death which was the cruel hangman of all the world?  
jerome in an Homely saith, That since the beginning of the world, death was never so put to death, as when with Christ all his power and might was vanquished; because that the triumph which he had over him on the altar of the cross, was so great, because that at the very hour and moment, that Christ had his soul drawn from him, death did also end his life. What other thing dost thou think was his life, but only by his office to take from every man his life?  
O good Iesus, O great redeemer of Israell, what greater testimony shall we desire to know that the old death was put to death, in thy death, but only that the dead which death had under the key of his power, do rise out of their graues to yield unto thee obedience?  
If the dead after the death of Christ, should haue been subject unto death, as before they were, dost thou think my brother, that they durst haue risen out of their graues, and so return again to be butted? This above is out of Saint jerom.  
Quomodo obscuratum est aurem, mutatus est colour optimus, dispersi sunt lapides sauctuarij in capite omnium platearum, saith ieremy in his Lamentations, chap. 4. as if he would say, What great disaster and misfortune hath fallen vpon thee, O great city of jerusalem, seeing that so suddenly the brightness of thy gold is grown dark, and the colour of thy face so changed, and the stones of thy sanctuary are scattered abroad throughout all the world?  
Hugo de sancta victore saith, That then the gold of the synagogue did grow dark, when with her God and Lord she lost her favour and credit, and then the colour of her face was all changed when she fell unto her cursed idolatry, and then the stones of the sanctuary were scattered in the market places and throughout the world, when all her nations and tribes were lead captive through all countries.  
And then, as the gloss of Agmon saith, In the church of God the gold waxeth dark, when perfect men grow slack in virtuous actions; and then the colour of her face is changed, when a religious life is turned into a secular; and then the stones of the sanctuary are scattered and thrown 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 beauty and greatness of the monestaries, as in the brotherly love and perseverance of the religious men. Then the seruants of our Lord turneth gold into dourt, when a Religious man withdrawne, becometh altogether worldly, and then he changeth the good glory of his face, when he doth little esteem of shane, and is bold with his conscience; and then he hath scattered abroad the stones of the sanctuary, when he hath nothing in the monastery more then his body, and with his thoughts goeth wandering over all the world.  
Seeing that a perfect religious man, is nothing else but a lively ston, in the building of the temple of Christ, then wee will say that the stones of mount calvary do cleave and rent, when religious men break love, and become enemies the one to the other; & then we will say, that the stones of the sanctuary are cast abroad, when they live according unto their appetites, and live with their bodies shut up, and their hearts at liberty. Considering that in scripture, by the ston of hard flint, is understand the naughty and obstinate man, what other thing was it, for the stones to break when christ did yield up the ghost, but that the untamed gentility, should receive the gospel? S. Cyprian vpon the passion of our Lord saith, That since that God did make the world and create man, never any death could do so much, nor ever any blood had so much efficacy, as that which the son of God did  shed vpon the cross; because that, that only in the land of judea, was able to break the rocks, and in the harts of the gentiles to open their bowels.  
If the inhumanity which men used towards Christ, bee curiously considered, and the pity which senseless creatures, had over him be rightly weighed, wee shall find for a truth, that when the neighbours of jerusalem did cast Christ out of them, the stones did receive him within them. It is much to be pondered, that jeremy doth not weep, because the copper or iron was darkened, but only the mettall of gold; for as gold is the chief of all other metals, so the priests and pharisees, were the ring-leaders and captains of all the wicked, who then began to grow dark and black, when they determined to put the son of God to death.  
That jeremy did not weep because that copper, iron, tin; which are base and poor metals, did grow dark, but only that the mettall of gold grew dark which is rich; is to let us understand, that there is more cause of tears and grief, in two or three sins committed by princes and prelates, then of a hundred done by poor subiects: because that the sin which the subject doth commit, is no more but one sin; but that which the prince or prelate doth commit is jointly a sin and sacrilege. It is likewise to bee marked, that jeremy doth not weep, because the colour of the feet, or of the hands is changed, but only the colour of the face, where a man appeareth either shameful, or without shane; for to say the truth, no man falleth into a fault, if he do not first lose his shane towards God.  
It wanteth not a mystery likewise that jeremy doth not weep for the stones which fell from the wall or towers of the city, but for those which did fall from the sanctuary or temple, because that comparing of sins, our Lord is much more offended with those which the priests and religious men do commit, who are dedicated unto himself, than with those which worldlings do offend in. For what other thing is it that the Prophet doth complain, That the gold hath lost his hue; but only that he is very sorry for the offences and faults which the prelate doth commit? What meaneth he to complain of the loss, and change of the colour of the face, but that at this day, all men sin without shane throughout all the world? What is it to weep for the stones of the sanctuary, but to haue pitty and compassion of the perdition of the clergy, and the estate of the religious? O saith S. Ambros, howe much more pity reverence and affection, did our Lord find in the hard stones of the mount of calvary, then in the obstinate bowels of the Iewishe nation, because of pure zeal they did arm themselves to receive him within them, when no man durst so much as confess him to be a good man. It is to bee wondered at, that the son of God would condescend unto the zeal and affection which the stones did show unto him, seeing he would not descend from the cross, at the request of the synagogue, nor give credit unto their words; to let us thereby understand, 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 yield to the entreaty of the stones, then unto the words of the Iewes, because that they joined together to take away his life, and the stones opened in the middle, to give him his grave in their bowels. If the stones could speak 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 injuried them in speech, & killed them with stones. Barnard de planctu virginis saith, If thou wilt learn that charity and zeal are two virtues which are most gratfull unto the son of God, and that he doth reward them very speedily; thou mayst perceive it in that, that stones having opened themselves, and he having no tongue to thank them, nor blood to  shed for them, yet he rewarded so notable a service, in that he commanded his body to bee butted within them. O happy service was that, which the stones did at that hour unto Christ, seeing they did deserve to receive him into their bowels, and keep him there until he did rise again. Post dies multos dicit dominus, auferam a vobis cor lapideum, & dabo vobis cor carneum & spiritum nouum. said God by Ezechiel. as if he would say, After many daies, which shalbe in the daies of thee O synagogue, if not in the daies of thy daughter the Church, I will take from my seruants & friends, the heart which they had of ston, and will give them an other more tenderer, which shal be of soft flesh, and also I will give them a new spirit, and it shalbe the holy ghost himself. under few words our Lord doth promise unto his, many and great favours, to wit, that he will take away their hard harts, & give them others more soft and tender; because it is no lesser a gift of God, to keep us from offending him, than to give us his grace to serve him. When the prophet doth say, Descendant in profundum quasi lapis, what else doth he mean, or what else doth he ask of the Lord, in this so rigorous a request, but only that seeing the hearts of the wicked were hard like unto flint; even 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 ask of God, That they might go down into the bottomless depth of like stones; the which stones the great Redeemer did command at the hour of his death to be broken and cleaft, and of the same stones, other soft stones & human hearts to be made; insomuch that it was no other thing for the stones to be broken before Christ but only that our hearts & minds should become tender & mildred.  
As it is the natural condition of that which is heavy to descend, and of that which is light to ascend, even so it is as natural a thing unto the sinful soul to descend into hell, as for a ston to go downward. S. Austine in his Confessions saith, That the soul loaden with sins, is much more wearied then the body which goeth loaden with stones: and thereupon it cometh, that with greater speed the soul doth descend into hell, when she goeth out of the body, than a ston doth fall to the ground, when it is loosed out of the hand.  
God and the divell know one office, and do trade in one merchandise, that is to say, in making of mens hearts; but the difference is, that God doth make them of flesh, and the divell doth make them of ston: and because they are enemies the one to the other, they keep no fidelity in their trade, because that oftentimes, the heart of ston God doth turn into flesh, and the heart of flesh the divell doth turn into ston.  
When wretched Iudas lived in the college of the Apostls, had he not pardy a heart of flesh, and then afterward when he sold Christ for lucre, did not the divell turn it into ston? The apostle S. paul, my Lord and master, had a heart of ston when he went to Damasco to apprehended the Christians, & Christ turned it into flesh, when he preached his holy faith unto the Hebrewes. In this thou shalt see O my soul, whether thou haue a meek heart of flesh, in that thou hast pity and compassion on thy neighbour: and in this thou shalt see whether thou hast a heart of flint ston, in that, that thou hast no pity toward thy neighbour, nor he succoured by thee in his necessity, insomuch that by the works which thou dost, thou shalt know what heart thou hast.  
From the stars unto the earth, what greater promise can God do unto him whom he holdeth for his seruant and friend, then if the devil haue made him a hard obstinat heart, to turn it soft and gentle? for what other thing is it for our Lord to turn a heart of ston, into a heart of flesh, but to make it mildred, pitiful, loving, and charitable? And what other thing is it for the divell, to turn a heart which was of flesh, into a heart of ston; but to make him cruel, ambitious, not conuersable, and dissembling? And to tell thee my brother in few words, that which I haue  told thee in many, thou must understand that of him only it is said, That he hath a good heart, who is of a good quality and condition; and of him only it is said, That he hath an evil heart, who is of a bad and evil condition.  
Vpon these words of the psalm, Cor mundum crea in me Deus. S. basil saith, O what a great favor God doth unto him, whose hard heart he doth break, and maketh it soft like unto wax, because that in an obstinat heart and wilful, it pleaseth not God to dwell, nor to impart his gifts unto him.  
O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, I beseech thee, that thou wouldest break the stones of my offences, and grinned the pebble stones of my bowels, seeing that the Prophet david said, to thy honor and praise, That a broken and bruised heart, should never be broken by thee.  
Am not I a harder ston then al stones, & a rougher flint then all flints, seeing the hammers of tribulation, with which thou dost chastise me, can not make soft my obstinacy and hardness, nor yet the waters of thy visitations, with which thou dost comfort me? If thy dolorous death and thy precious blood, and thy dreadful voice, were able to break and rent in pieces, the stones & rocks of mount calvary; why O my good Iesus, wilt thou not also break with them, the heart of this thy seruant? seeing thou didst die for my soul, O redeemer of my life, why dost thou cleave and rent the mountains of judea, and leave my heart obstinat and stony? Thou knowest O good Iesus, that although I was not with them which crucified thee, yet I was he for whom they did crucify thee; and seeing this is so true, why dost thou break the stones, of those who did once put thee to death with nails, and dost not break the heart of him, who every day doth crucify thee with his sins? O my soul, O my heart, O more a ston then all stones, dost thou not see that the stones without sense, & which were not redeemed by Christ, do cleave in pieces for pure grief, and dost thou remain whole and sound, he having  shed his own blood for thee? with one only drop of blood of a goat, the diamond is presently broken and rent; and dost not thou part in twain O my heart, with all the blood of Christ? If thou O my heart, hast a heart of flesh, die for him who died for thee in flesh, and if thou lovest him as thou lovest thy soul, feel that which he feeleth in his soul, seeing that glorious and blessed Iesus, did not die on the cross to redeem stones, but to save souls.  
The sun waxeth dark, his soul departeth from him, the vail of the temple renteth in two, the stones cleave, and thou O my soul dost thou not break in sunder? O that thou hadst divided thyself, and as thou mightest haue done, that is to wit, with the cross which standeth alone, with the blood which is  shed, with the body which is dead, with the mother who is half dead, with the soul which is in heaven, and also with the college of the Apostls which is fled.   

CHAP. XLV. Howe that by the death of the son of God, many holy men did rise, & why Christ did compare hypocrites to white sepulchres.  
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 give thee to understand O holy city, and people of the Iewes, that the time and years shall come, in which I will open thy sepulchres, and take out of them those which shalbe butted in them, and I will make them so return again to life, that they shall never haue any fear again of death.  
This so high a promise and this so new a prophesy, 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 heaven 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 grave meant.  
S. Augustine saith, that the rising of the prophet Samuel was feigned, the rising of Lazarus unperfect, but the resurrection of these holy fathers was perfect, seeing they did not die again like Lazarus, nor were deceived like Saul.  
We haue already said howe that after that Christ died, the first miracle which he did, was the renting of the vail of the temple; the second the cleaving of the stones of calvary, the third was the raising up 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 whereof the dead give testimony, be contradicted by the living.  
Barnard saith, wherein shal we know O good Iesus, that in thy death, death was dead, but in that, that thou didst pardon the living, & raise again the dead? The ancient captains of the world, as Pirrhus, Alexander, Hector, Darius, Hannibal and Scipio, Caesar & Pompey, although they had power to take away life from many, yet they could raise none out of their graues, for if they had had art and skill to raise again, as they had weapons to kill, they would either not haue suffered themselves to die, or else they would haue risen again.  
Only the son of God was he who never slew any man, and he alone who raised up 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 given to understand in that, that the son of God did open the old sepulchres, wherein ther was nothing but dry bones, but only that he would open the holy books, in which were hidden the secrets of our redemption? What other thing was it to raise up and give spirit of life unto dry bones, but to expound and declare unto us, the profoundness of holy scripture? As it should be a matter of small profit, to open the graues and turn the bones, if the Lord did not sand his spirit to raise them up again; so doth it little a vail to open the books, or bee occupied in reading them, if our Lord doth not give us his grace to understand them.  
cyprian vpon the passion of our Lord saith; O good Iesus how immediately, O howe immediately thou wouldest prove, and make trial of the value of thy blood, and how far thy death did extend, seeing that unto the thief which did hang with thee vpon the cross alive thou didst promise glory, and unto the dead which were in the graues thou didst give life? What is not he able to do, who giveth glory unto those which are alive, and life unto those which are dead? In the authority alleged above, it is much to be weighed, that the Lord doth not say, that another, but that he himself will open the sepulchres, and raise the dead, and give them the spirit of his gifts; to let us understand thereby, that it is he only and no other, who can lift us up from sin, pardon the punishment, and give us his glory.  
It is also to be pondered, that our Lord doth first say, that he 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 understanding with his grace, we shall never rise from sin, nor see him, nor he us 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 son of God preaching in the temple, Math. 23. as if he would say, Wo be unto you Scribes and pharisees whose wickedness and hypocrisy, is like unto brave and rich sepulchres, 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 unto them and no other thing, he did compare the hypocrisy of hypocrites; and the reason is, because the care which a good man ought to sleep in is, not where they shall bury his body, but whether his soul shall go. Who will not rather haue emulation with poor Lazarus, than with the rich covetous man, although they butted the one in a stinking dunghill, and the other in a sepulchre of marble? What hindrance was it to the poor man to be butted in a dunghill, seeing the angels carried his soul unto Abrahams bosom? and what did it avail the rich man, to bee butted in a sumptuous tomb, seeing the divels carried his soul to hell? Plinie in the prologue of his 7. book saith, That among all the creatures which nature hath created, man only and no other, doth weep, man only is ambitious, only proud, onely covetous, and the worst of all is, that he only doth make unto himself a tomb, and endeavoureth to prolong his life. Plinie saith very true, Seeing that neither riches maketh other living creatures proud, nor poverty sad, neither do they care to keep nor labour to heap up, neither laugh when they be born, nor weep when they die, but labour only to live, not regarding where to be butted. gregory in his Register saith, That as a man ought not to make reckoning of the long or short time which he liveth, but how he lieth, so he ought not to haue regard whether his tomb were rich or poor, but whether his soul shall go to good rest or not.  
jerome in an epistle saith, do not the labours and travels that thy body suffers suffice thee, but thou must also take other cares upon thee; that is, where they will bury thy wearied bones, and where the worms shal gnaw thy bowels? unto me, and unto all others, I hold it better counsel, that a man labour to led a good life, then consume his substance in a rich sepulchre. If the Poet do not deceive us, the night that Troy did burn, when Aeneas did ask his father Anchises, that he would go out of the city if it pleased him, for fear he should want a tomb; the old man made him answer 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 body want a tomb. Anchises made a very good answer, seeing we see a man which is alive, complain if a fly or flay bite him, but we did never see a dead man find fault that the belles did ring but a little for him, or that they had butted him in a poor sepulchre. If it had ben the pleasure of the son of God, that we should be careful where to be butted, he would haue given licence to the young man who asked licence of him, to bury his father: wherein he gave us to understand, that the reverence we owe unto our fathers, ought rather to be shown in serving them dutifully, then in burying them pompeously. To come then unto our first purpose, Christ did well compare the pharisees to sepulchers, which seemed to be painted without and rotten within, because that all the care which a proud and ambitious man hath, is, not to deserve, but to seem; he goeth about to appear and seem, and not to deserve; who hath greater regard to increase his famed, then to better his conscience 〈◇〉 so much that in case of being good or not, the hypocrite loveth rather to seem then to be, though in good reason he should rather be, then seem.  
The rebuk which the son of God gave unto the hypocritical Pharisees, might well be given at this day unto many ecclesiastical and religious persons, who being beholden in outward show, do shine in honour and famed, and yet the secret of their life being known, they stink like an open sepulchre. What doth it avail to wear a torn coat outwardly, and inwardly to haue his will whole? What doth it avail to abstain many daies from meat, and not abstain one hour from detraction? What availeth it to force the body, to be retired and shut up, and loose the mind to wander in the world? What doth it profit to use the words of a holy man in his mouth, and when his neighbour hath need of him, be a devil unto him? What doth it profit to tell every man that he will neither state nor honour, and on the other side doth pursue him to death, who maketh himself equal with him? What doth it profit to preach unto all men humility and patience, and yet never forgive or forget injury? What doth it profit to persuade others to live in peace and concord, and secretly to be the captain of discord, and make warres betwixt his brothers? Such beasts as these the son of God doth call whited sepulchers, serpentine hypocrites, stinking dounghils, for even as the dounghill the more he is stirred, the more he doth stink, so the hipocrit the more they deal with him, the greater noughtines is discovered in him. Saint gregory in his Morals saith, That there is no man in the church of God who doth so much hurt, as he who under the show of holiness, covereth poison and wickedness: because the meaning of such a one is always to better his own estate, and secretly to depress and keep down others.  
Hugo de arra ainae saith, Those whom we call traitors in the world, we call hypocrites in congregations, because that as traytors do take away the life of the quiet, so the hypocrite seeketh all means to bereave the good of their famed and credit. As there are, saith Anselmus, many holy bodies in broken sepulchers, ther are also many which were bad in rich tombs; so in like manner there are certain men which in show seem dissolute, yet their life being inwardly known, are very virtuous; and others which seem very godly, yet their bowels being inwardly examined are like divels: in so much that we should never praise or dispraise any man by the habit which he weareth, but by the conversation and life he leadeth.  
O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, I beseech thee that thou wouldest open the sepulchre of my rotten affections and bowels, to the end that the evil sent which is in them, may go out of them, because that my concavity cogitations stink worse before thee, then the bones of sepulchers do before me.  
Open then O good Iesus, open the sepulchre, of my putrefied heart, and of my corrupted understanding, for if thou go about to seek for dead men, who is so much dead as I am?  
The scripture doth not call those men dead men, which thou didst raise, but men which were asleep; but woe be unto me, because it cannot be said, that my sorrowful heart is asleep, but dead; for it cannot be said of the man that is butted, that he is dead, but of him who hath long continued in sin.  
Lazaras was butted in his grave when thou didst say, Lazarus my friend doth sleep; and that young man was alive unto whom thou didst say, Sine mortuos sepelire mortuos suos, in so much that of these high words we may gather, that when thou dost speak of the good, their death thou dost call a sleeping; and when thou dost speak of the bad, thou dost call their sinning dying.  
O who could bee worthy to hear of thy holy mouth, Lazarus amicus meus dormit, Lazarus my friend is asleep? and also non est mortua puella, said dormit, because that in the presence of thy goodness and charity, he is not holden for dead who is enclosed in a sepulchre, but he who is divided from thy holy grace. How is it possible that he should live, who doth not live in thy grace?  
Is it not pardie far better to be butted in thy grace, then to live in thy disgrace? Tell me O good Iesus tell me, is there any thing in a rotten sepulchre which is not in my sorrowful soul, and unhappy life? In me more then in any, they shall find hard stones of obstinacy, a painted sepulchre of hypocrisy, dry bones of old sins, unprofitable ashes of works without fruit, gnawing worms of great concupiscence, and a great stink of an evil conscience. What then will become of me, O good Iesus, if thou do not break the stones of my faults, throw down the sepulchre of my hypocrisy, reform the bones of my sins, and if thou do not sift the ashes of my unruly desires? Raise me up then, O good Iesus, raise me now up: not from among the dead which sleep, but from among sins which stink; for that the justification of a concavity man is a far greater matter, then the raising up of a dead man, because that in the one thou dost use thy power, and in the other thou dost employ thy clemency.   

CHAP. XLVI. How the Centurion did confess 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. mark chap. 15. as if he would say, The Centurion seeing the great cry which the son of God gave, when his soul departed out of his body, and that he died with great fortitude, and perfect iudgement, said, Verily this prophet which we here see die, was the lawful son of God; because that, that which he doth none could be able to do but God. When the romans had conquered the land of jury, more by force thē by iustice, the viceroy of jerusalem, had a great guard of men about the city, among which there were certain footmen, as well for the guard and safety of his person, as the execution of iustice. They called the captain of the guard Centurio, that is to say, a captain of an hundred men, who went very well appointed in guarding of Christ, at the request of the chief of the people, fearing that because he was well-beloved of all least they would take him from the Iustice in the way.  
What a folly is this O ye Iewes( saith chrysostom) What a folly is this? is it not a folly and that a great folly, to sand a guard of men to keep him, who went to die of his own voluntary and free will? into whose brain can it sink, that he will flee from the cross, who being asked by you, yet would not come down from the cross? How do you think that he will flee from death whom you procure to be killed, seeing that of his own will he did offer himself unto you in the garden? Oblatus est quia ipse volvit, saith the prophet Esay in the first chapter, as if he would say, He was taken because he suffered himself to be taken, he was sacrificed because he suffered himself to be sacrificed, and he was offered up on the cross, because he went unto it to be offered up; for otherwise seeing he had power to give life unto the dead, he could also haue had the same power to haue kept himself from death. O perfidious Iewes( saith Saint jerome) O wicked Iewes, tell me I pray you, shall not he who by his secret judgements, and for your old sins, did put all your kingdom under the subiection of the Romans, shall not he I say be able if he list to deliver himself from you, and also from their captains? If all your prophets do call him Deus exercituum, the God of hostes, what think you can an hundred souldiers do unto him?  
Cyprian vpon the passion saith, Seeing that you do hire the Centurion and his hundred hirelings, why 〈…〉 it to hinder the death of the son of God, and not help ●im to die? for such is his infinite charity, with the which he doth go to the cross, to mitigate and appease the wrath of his father, and redeem the sins of thy brethren, that you should haue more to do to keep his life, then hinder him from accepting of death.  
His father having given sentence of death, and he having accepted death, and offering himself unto death, what moveth you to think O you hebrews, that he should flee from death? he who had power to raise the dead, shall he not be able if he will to deliver himself from the living? do not fear that he will loose himself, do not fear that the son of God will flee from the death which you pretend to give him, because he goeth not to the altar of the cross constrained with fear, but drawn with love.  
Remigius saith, That if the infamous Iewes could haue seen the heart of the son 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 redeem them, then they had to kill him. If we will mark and look into this mystery profoundly, we shal find that if they did carry Christ, Christ did carry and led them, but they led him to carry 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 bereave him of his life, and he drew them out of hell, seeing he did forgive them their sin; and if since that time any of them haue ben condemned, and at this day burn in hell, it is rather because they did return unto their first sins, then that they were not fully redeemed. O senseless Iewes, why do you sand holy Iesus through the streets with a gard of men, seeing that he ha more to do at the mount of calvary then you? On the mount of calvary he must appease his fathers anger, found his church, consume the synagogue, fulfil the prophesies, overcome the divell, die on the three, and redeem 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 saith, That in this we may see how archbishopric the judgements of man are, in respect of the judgements of God, in that that oftentimes that which man doth for one respect God doth direct to another, for the Iewes having the Centurion there for a gard, he did put him there to confess in the name of the church, and in the confusion of the synagogue.  
In the name of the synagogue the Iewes said, Non habemus regem nisi Caesarem, and in the name of the church the Centurion said Hic filius dei erat, insomuch that the self same day that they refused Christ for God, the Centurion received him for his Lord & master. Lapis de pariete clamabit, & lignum quod inter iuncturas edificionis est, respondebit, saith the prophet Abachuc in the twentieth chapter, as if he would say, In times to come, that is, when the messiah shall come into the world, the ston which is in the wall shall give a great noise, and the beam which is in the building shall answer him.  
It is without all doubt a new thing, and in the nature of man never usual, to say that the ston doth speak, and that the beam doth answer him; for at the time that God did divide his gifts, he did give the stones their being, plants growing, beasts feeling, birds fleeing, fishes swimming, and unto man alone speech. It is not reason that we give over the search of this mystery, and the discovery of this sacrament, that is, of that which the ston doth speak, and of that which the beam doth answer, because it is very common in scripture, that how much the darker the figure is, the profounder and fuller of mystery it is.  
What is the ston which speaketh out of the building, but only the great Centurion which testifieth that, Vere hic homo filius dei erat? and what is the beam which answereth, but only the cross which saith, Iesus Nazarenus rex judaeorum.  
The great Centurion had in him the properties of a ston, and for that cause the scripture calleth him a ston, he was heavy with pride, could with idolatry, hard by covetousness, and dry with anger; and yet notwithstanding he did confess 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 justus erat.  
What was there more to be confessed in Christ, then that which the great Centurion did confess?  
O high profession, O worthy confession that the ston doth here make, seeing he doth confess in Christ manhood, and doth confess in Christ godhead, & likewise holiness, in saying, This man was a just man and the son of God: insomuch that he seemeth rather by this speech, a preacher of the church, then a captain of the synagogue. Damascen in his sentences saith, That the confession which this captain doth make, doth reach higher and containeth greater mystery then any man doth think for, because that all these three things which he doth confess in Christ, are very needful for the redemption of mankind; for first there was need of a man which should owe much, of God which should be able to do much, and of a just man which should suffer much.  
Ambrose saith, That to say with the Centurion before all the jewish nation, that the prophet which they did put to death, was a man, was God, was just, is in his opinion such a high profession, and also such a perfect confession, that the angels haue nothing more to confess, nor men to beleeue.  
lo 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 novice 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 again or not.  
This Centurion captain, was no jew but a gentle, no Hebrew but a Roman, not learned but simplo, and yet nevertheless he did openly confess in Christ godhead, and preached manhood, and that even at that time when the Iewes, Christs parents, did dislike his doctrine, spot his credit, persecute his family, crucify his person, and bereave him of his life.  
basil saith, 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 justus erat, because that by them he doth teach us, that he only and no other is true God, and true man, and also a holy man.  
The greatest accusation that Pilat used against Christ was, Quia filium dei se fecit, that he made himself to be the son of God; and notwithstanding the Centurion doth confess that he was the son of God, in so much that he did openly confess that, for the which the Iewes did put him to death.  
This Centurions faith was a strong faith, seeing he did persuade himself to beleeue that which he did not see, contrary unto that which he 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 confess, is highly to be esteemed, but the time when he did speak it, is more to bee regarded; that is to say, when the Iewes did accuse him, the passers by mock him, the theeues scorn at him, the hangmen and torturers crucify him, insomuch that to restore Christ his famed again, he did put his own life in jeopardy and danger.  
We may persuade ourselves, that if the Centurion had not ben a roman captain, & had not had a hundred men following him, his speech would haue cost him dearly when he said, Hic homo filius dei erat, for to be so bold as to call him the son of God, and also a just man, whom they did call a Samaritan and a demoniacle, was to proclaim himself to be a faithful Christian, seeing he did confess him; and all them to bee traitors, 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 invite them to use clemency towards Christ, then they began to iest at him, and to show their hardness and malice against him: insomuh that the fervour and heat of the blood of Christ, did melt the Centurions heart like wax, and harden the synagogue like dirt.  
When the redeemer of the world would sand forth his soul, the last sinner that did speak unto him, was the good thief, and the first which spake unto him after his soul 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 themselves, and with Hic erat filius dei, souldiers confess thee to bee God, and also the stones flee in sunder, the elements tremble before thee, and yet the wicked Iewes mock at thee, and all obstinat and naughty Christians forget thee.  
O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, seeing I am no jew but a Christian, not of the synagogue but of the church, nor of those which say Vah queen destruis templum dei, but of those which confess, 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 honeycomb of wax, which it doth please thee to make soft, and not of the clod of day, which thou dost suffer to grow hard.  
It may bee religiously thought, that there were about the cross many others, which were in religion faithful, in life honest, in knowledge learned, in blood noble, and in wealth, more mighty then that Centurion captain was, and yet Christ did lighten his heart only to confess him, and suffered all the rest to crucify 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 us that no man in this life, is sure not to fall, nor that no man despair that he should never be able to rise, seeing we see that there is nothing more common, than cockle to grow among good wheat, and in sharp thorns sweet roses.  
Chrisost. saith, The occasion which moved the Centurion to turn to Christ was, to see how he did accept of death when they did condemn him, to see howe he did take the cross when they did put it vpon him, to see that he did not complain when they did whip him, to see that he did not speak when they took his garments from him, to see howe meek and quiet he was when they did nail him, and most of all to see howe he did pray unto his father for those which did crucify him.  
O high mystery, and hidden sacrament, to see what the son of God doth vpon that dry three: where he did not preach, but work, where he converted none with words, but with works, because that the conversion of the thief, and the confession of the Centurion did not proceed of any words which they did hear the son of God there speak, but of the great miracles which there they did see him work.  
By this notable example, all perfect men ought to take example, that after they are gone up to the cross of religion, they are not afterward licensed to flee from it, but to abide in it, nor to complain, but be silent; nor to reuenge, but pardon; nor to repent, but persever; nor to preach, but work; because the words which Christ spake vpon the cross, may be numbered, but the works which he did there, can not be comprehended.  
Gregory in his Pastoral saith, prelates which rule and govern, & preachers which teach, ought to take example of the conversion of the thief, and the confession of the Centurion, both which Christ did draw unto him, rather with the works which he did, then with the words which he spake; because it is more easy to turn mens hearts with the examples which they see, then with the words which they hear.  
Cirillus vpon S. John saith, The confession which S. Peter made was great, because he said, Tues Christus filius Dei vivi, Thou art Christ the son of the living God, and that which the Centurion made was as great, because he said, Vere hic filius Dei erat, Truly this man was the son of God; insomuch that the one said thou art, and the other said, he was: but taking those words in an other sense, the confession of the Centurion was greater, because he said his belief before more then fifty thousand persons, and S. Peter confessed Christ only before the twelve 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 thereupon it is, that as he was the first gentle which at the cross did confess Christ, so he was afterward one of the first which received martyrdom, insomuch that he did immitat S. Peter, in that which he did confess, and S. Stephan the martyr in that which he 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 reuertebantur. 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 strange pageant, as they saw the son of God die, and the elements bring forth such novelties, they began to strike their breasts, and returned all unto their own houses. We should much esteem of the mysteries of the passion of Christ, and search out the secrets contained in it, with great care and diligence, considering that the evangelists, are so circumspectly in setting down every 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 secret. unto such as are not desirous to beleeue, and unto such as are not curious to learn, it will seem a superfluous matter, that the scripture doth 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 mystery of it being preached out, we shall find that the fear which took the Iewes at the cross was not vain, and that they had reason to return to their houses striking their breasts.  
If Aulus Gellius and Macrobius do writ truly, it was a custom amongst the Greekes, and a law amongst the old Romains, to call that a spectacle or strange sight, which all the people do run to behold, by reason of the rareness and newness of the thing; insomuch that all which were present, might haue great occasion to mark and behold, and those which were absent, reason to inquire.  
But speaking more particularly, the Romains did properly call it a spectacle, when all the people did assemble themselves in the Theatre, to see slaves fight with wild beasts, or to see execution of some notable and wicked persons, or to see some new plays or commedies represented unto them, or to see how great men did triumph.  
To come then unto our purpose, it is to bee understood that since the beginning of the world, until the day that Christ died vpon the cross; and since the time that he died there, until he do raise us up in the latter iudgement; there was never heard nor seen, nor never shal be 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 gentiles to behold, the Christians to imitate, and all the world to talk of. What spectacle was ever seen like unto that, or ever shal be seen, as to see the son of God loose his life vpon the cross? What fact ever so monstrous, or what spectacle ever so dreadful, could happen in al the world; as to see the Iewes go forth the sunday to receive him, and the Friday to go out all to crucify him? Was not this think you a great & that a very great Christian spectacle, seeing that the death of one only man, did give life unto all the world? What novelty like unto this novelty, can we see in this world, seeing that in the view of the eye, and in the brightest time of the day, death died on the cross, when he did take Christ his life from him? In this great spectacle, the mother weepeth, his friends behold him, the torturours kill him, the people mock him, the sun waxeth dark, the stones break in sunder, the sepulchres open, the dead rise out of their graues, the divels are afraid, and the angels weep and lament.  
Chrisost vpon S. John saith, What spectacle equal unto this, had the Greeks at any time; or the Romans in all their pageants or triumphs like unto this, which the Iewes behold this day with their eyes; that is, that vpon the dry wood of the cross, their synagogue endeth, the prophesies are fulfilled, the figures are butted, malice prevaileth, they condempn innocency, execute pureness, take away life from their maker, and also spoil death of his power and dominion? In Diomedes spectacle, with the fleece, 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 talk only at the most one week; but in the spectacle and in the death of the son of God, we haue occasion until this day to look on and behold his cross, & until the end of the world, we shall find mysteries and secrets to speak of.  
What spectacle hath there ever ben in the world, which hath not ben abridged in this one spectacle? If it be a spectacle of jests and mocks, here they did mock at the son of God, as if he had been a fool; if it be a spectacle of victory and conquest, here the divell is conquered; if it be of a famous execution, here they do execute Christ; if it be of strange and new things, here the elements are troubled; If it bee of an assembly of people, hither there do run both the living and the dead; insomuch that as we do call one of Salomons books Cantica can●●orum, so wee will call this Spectaculum spectaculorum.  
What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? haue they put thee now for a spectacle unto all the world, who wast wont to behold all the world from heaven? Spectaculum facti sumus mundo, angels & hominibus, saith the Apost. in the first to the Corinth. 4. as if he would say, I let you understand, 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 glass which the world wonder at, the angels admire, and men are scandelized.  
Theophilact. saith, that oftentimes in scripture by angels are understood 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 gave him, and in the martyrdom 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 unto the angels, and unto men; was plainly to tell, that the contentions which they had with the false prophets, were so great, and the torments which they received of barbarous nations so bitter, that they made the angels to wonder at them, and moved men to compassion.  
Why( saith Seneca to Lucillus) do so many nations, run to Rome to see great spectacles, but because every man would haue somewhat to talk on in his house, and speak of in his country? All such as bear office and government in the common wealth, and do administer iustice, or preach unto the people, all these are a spectacle, or a watch tower which behold others, and also by others are beholden.  
He bindeth himself to be a spectacle unto all the world, who taketh any charge of government vpon him, for he is not only noted and marked by all whom he ruleth, but in their hearts is also judged.  
He who offereth himself to preach unto the people, bindeth himself to be a public spectacle, seeing that all such as hear his doctrine, do judge of the life which he leadeth, censure the words which he speaketh, the learning which he hath, and the stock he cometh of, and also whether he do presume too much or not.  
When a man doth endeavour himself to be virtuous, he doth presently bind himself to be a spectacle of the world, because that presently every man doth watch his steps, carp at his speech, note his conversation, find fault at his inclination, guess at his thoughts, defame him of hypocrisy, and rude behaviour.  
S. Barnard writing to Maurus saith, Know thou father Maurus, that the same day that the Order made thee ruler over this monastery, they did also make thee a spectacle of the world; and therfore it is very needful that thou be chast in thy body, clean in thy thoughts, free in thy opinion, conuersable with thy bretheren, circumspectly in thy words, pitiful to the weak, and always exercised in good exercises.  
And he addeth further, Who is a spectacle unto the world, but only the seruant of our Lord, who with all his heart hath left the vanities of the world and laugheth at them? Who is a spectacle of men, but he who meddleth 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 approve, and whose life al holy men do praise? Let every man therfore look well what he doth, and mark well what he taketh in hand, for if he be good, we will call him a spectacle of goodness; if he be nought, we will call him a spectacle of naughtiness; insomuch that such as our life is, such shalbe the superscription of our letter.  
It wanteth not a mystery 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 contrary 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 profane spectacle, but the good did look into him as a glass and mirror of virtue.  
O high mystery, O sacrament never 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 dreadful and strange spectacle, there did run thousands of people to see Christ die, the pharisees went to reuenge, the people to gaze at him, the souldiers to guard him, the hangmen to crucify him, the devout women to accompany him, and his sorrowful mother to weep.  
The evangelist did say very advisedly, that al nations did run to the death of Christ, as unto a new spectacle and sight, because that all the strangers 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 now his death is. O howe many heretics, O howe many pagans, O how many naughty Christians, do esteem at this day the death of Christ no otherwise, then of a profane spectacle, and not as of a divine and holy mystery; which doth easily appear, seeing the pagan doth mock at Christ which did suffer, the jew scoff at his passion, and Christians make no reckoning that he did redeem them. The seruant of our Lord who hath not a particular devotion to the passion of Christ, maketh but a worldly & mundane spectacle of it, because that the death of the son of God, should be deeply thought vpon in the entrails of our heart, and be kept in our remembrance, magnified with our tongue, wept with our eyes, and be set before us as a mark of all our desires.  
S. Barnard saith, That that Christian doth make but a worldly & profane spectacle of the passion of Christ, who knoweth only how to red it, and will not imitate it; and that preacher maketh a profane spectacle of it, who knoweth how to preach of it, and yet doth never taste of it: because that the high mysteries of the cross of Christ are easily spoken, but very hardly attained. Vpon those words of Percutiebant pectora sua, & reuertebantur, lo saith, It would haue been far better for you, O you Iewes, to haue strooken your breasts, it had ben far better for you to haue remained in the church, rather then turn again to the synagogue, and it would be better for you to convert yourselves 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 believed that you had done it of love, but now we think that you do it of fear. The fear which the Iewes had to see the son loose his light, and to see that the stones did flee in sunder, and the sepulchers open, did drive them to strike their breasts, as it doth easily appear in that, that that repentance of theirs did last no longer, then that wonderful earthquake did continue. Robertus in his gloss saith, Wilt thou see whether that striking of their breasts did proceed of fear and not of love; mark how that as soon as they were gone from the mount of calvary they went directly to Pilats house, and besought him that he would place a guard of men at the sepulchre, affirming and swearing, that because he had ben a great necromancer, he would make the people beleeue that he is risen again.  
Such wicked speeches, such shameless requests as these, are they think 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 demand a guard and a watch at his sepulchre, and a new call him a deceiver and cozener? It is much to be noted saith Beda, that the evangelist doth first say, That the Iewes did first see the heauens grow dark, and the sepulchers open, before that they began to knock their breasts; whereof we may infer, that they did all that, as being amazed and astonied, and not as being repentant and sorrowful for the dead. If the Iewes would haue said with the Centurion, hic homo justus erat, or with the thief, domine memento mei, or had gone with joseph to demand his body to bury 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 tongues, abhorred him with their hearts, it is to be thought, that they were more afraid to see the sun grow dark, then to see the son of God to die.  
chrysostom vpon Saint John saith, If the evangelist had said 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 convert themselves, but that they did return, we may think that if they did absent themselves from the mount of calvary, and returned the same way which they came, they did it because they would return 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, saith the holy scripture in the second book of the Machabes, the 9 chap. as if he would say, The great tyrant king Antiochus after that he had slain eighty thousand jews, and taken captive forty thousand, the Lord did plague him with an intolerable disease, for besides that there proceeded out of his body an infinite number of worms, there did also come from him such a disingenuity savour, that he did loth himself, and all his army did flee from him. This excommunicated tyrant perceiving his infirmity to grow more dangerous, and his death to draw near, besought the Iewes to make petition unto their God for him, feigning himself to haue repentance of his sins; yet notwithstanding he did not obtain pardon, but died in the wilderness, because the contrition 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 obtain pardon of their sins, as to be delivered of their troubles. Saint gregory in his Morals saith, Let no man marvell if our Lord do not answer all which are in affliction, nor pardon all which knock their breasts, because that that show of tears and contrition in words, being rather of necessity then of will, our Lord is content to draw longer, because there should at length grow a true contrition in them.  
It is a very usual thing, that when the sun doth eclipse, or when it thundereth or lighteneth, or when any man death suddenly, that all men bless themselves, and pray, and knock their breasts, and show great contrition of their sins, which many do rather of fear then of repentance, because that within one hour after that that fear is past, they remember no more the amendment which they purposed, nor the vows which they made. Origen saith, I dare boldly affirm that al such as in an eclipse, or thundering, or lightning, remember themselves 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 sun nor the planets, were those which did incite them to sin, they should not be those which should move them to repent. Who could do greater reverence unto Christ then Pilats seruants, who did put a crown vpon his head, and put of their hats unto him, & salute him with aue rex judaeorum, vpon their knees? by this thou mayst 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 shedding many tears from thy heart, and amending thyself 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 do also amend thy life, and repent thee of thy sins, for otherwise thou shalt of men be praised, but thou shalt not be of God rewarded.  
O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, I humbly beseech thee, that thou wouldst not suffer me to be one of those which do only knock their breasts, but of those which do repent them of their sins, because thou didst not say by the prophet that he was acceptable unto thee, who did strike his breast, but he who was of a contrite heart. do not yield thy consent, O good Iesus, that I should return with the Iewes to my house, but that I should persevere and abide with thy mother until thou be put in thy grave, because that all those which were worthy to put thee in thy sepulchre, thou didst comfort after thy resurrection. Neither do thou suffer O good Iesus, nor permit that I be one of those which did convert themselves, because they saw the stones break insunder, but of those which turned unto thee for thy only works and doctrine, because that in thy high college they receive none which are drawn with fear, but onely such as are lead with love. Who will direct me unto thy house, who will open me the gate, who dare knock with the hammer, if thy holy love should not guide me? is it a great matter O redeemer of my soul, that I should knock my breast with all my heart, seeing that thou wast not content to strike thy side but wouldest also open it? give me then, O good Iesus give 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 stricken remaineth bruised, but the breast which is opened may be cured, and there is none under the heaven who hath greater need to be cured, then this my sinful soul.   

CHAP. XLVIII. How Pilat did command those which were crucified to be taken down from the cross, and how the Iewes haue many fellows now a daies, which break the legs of their brethren.  
IVdaei ergo quoniam parasceus erat, vt non remanerent in cruce corpora sabbatho, rogauerunt Pilatum, vt frangerentur eorum crura & tollerentur, saith S. John in the nineteenth chapter, as if he would say, This great spectacle of the death of the son of God being ended, the Iewes went strait unto Pilats house, and did entreat him very instantly that he would command that their legs should be broken which were crucified, because they might be the sooner dead, and that they might be also taken down from the crosses.  
The reason which they gave Pilat of their demand was, because that that day was the eve or vigil of their great sabbath, being their high Easter; on which day their law did command, that none which had ben executed, should remain that day in the place where iustice had ben done. This word Parasceue is an Hebrew word, and doth signify preparation, or even of easter; on which evening the Iewes were bound, to make clean their consciences, give their alms, reconcile themselves unto those whom they had injuried, make ready all things in their houses, because the next day following was so high a feast, that they could do nothing, but go to the temple to pray, and occupy themselves in offering up of sacrafices unto the Lord.  
Rabanus in his gloss doth say, That that which the Christians do call Friday, or vigil, 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 eve to it, because the next day following there were two feasts together, that is Easter and the sabbath, and the sabbath and easter. By reason that in that time of easter, a great multitude of people did run to jerusalem, as well to pay their ordinary tributes, as to offer up sacrifices: the old Iewes had a custom to entreat those which did iustice vpon malefactors, that they would pull them down from the trees, because that by the noisomenes and stink of those which were dead, the living should not be infected.  
Memento vt diem sabati sanctifices said God in Exodus, as if he would say, Among all the notable commandments which I give thee, O people of Israel, remember that thou sanctify and honour my great sabbath day, the which I haue dedicated onely unto my own service. Speaking literally God did command to keep the last day of the week which was the sabbath, in remembrance of that sabbath, in which God did rest after the creation of the world: insomuch that as we do now keep holy the sunday in token and remembrance of the resurrection, so they did observe the saturday in token and memory of the creation. What else was it for God to command in his law that the Iewes should sanctify and keep the sabbath, but that they should do him more services on that day then any other? If it be curiously looked into, we shall find that all sabbath 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 sanctify that which is made holy by his own hand? Origen doth answer and saith that when our Lord doth say, That we should sanctify or keep holy the sabbath; his meaning is, that thou shouldst not be content to abstain that day from servile work, but that thou shouldst do also some good and virtuous work, because that the end why God did institute holy daies, was because we should honour him and benefit ourselves.  
We do neither sanctify the sabbath nor honour God, nor profit ourselves, if vpon festival daies we commit sins, because our Lord did not ordain them so much because we should rest, as because we should do good works on them. chrysostom saith, I dare not say that he doth keep holiday, who doth any evil work, neither will I spare to say that he doth break the feast, who being able to do good that day, yet doth it not: because it were less hurt to go on a holy day to plough and till the ground, then stay in our houses and sin.  
Origen vpon Exodus saith, That the commandements which our Lord did give us to keep, are very reasonable, as it doth appear by this commandement of the sabbath, where he giveth us licence to employ six daies of seven to our own use and commodity, and the seventh only in his service. He who doth bestow seven daies on us to live, is it much if we bestow one of them in his service? If it had ben the principal meaning of the giver of the law, that the children of Israell, should haue fulfilled the keeping of the sabbath 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 works, he said, memento vt diem sabatti sanctifices, Whereof we may infer that he doth keep a holy day better, who doth bestow it in prayer and meditation, then he who doth nothing but take his rest and play. Vidi In judaea calcantes torcularia in sabbatis, saith the scripture, Nehemi. 13. as if he would say, I did see in the kingdom of judea, and in the great city of jerusalem, that on the feastiuall daies of the sabbath they did gather their grapes, and press them, with other servile 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 sabbath 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 sabbath after that they had visited the temple, and commended themselves unto the Lord.  
The Iewes were at great contention with Christ whether he might heal the diseased on the sabbath, or not, or whether he might travell that day or no: but our holy saviour, nevertheless did vpon that day both heal and travell, teaching us by that example, that in time of necessity we may dispense with feastiuall daies, so that on such daies we do no evil works nor commit sin.  
coming then unto our purpose, the Iewes had small occasion, and less reason to set so much by easter, which was the next day following the sabbath, that for the observing whereof they should break the legs of those poor theeues which were crucified with Christ, because it had been a far lesser offence to haue broken the feast then haue committed such great cruelty against those poor men. O judaical blindness( saith Theophi.) O pharisaical ceremony, is it not pardie a greater cruelty & a more capital sin to ask licence of Pilat to break the legs and thighs of such as were alive, then to break your old saboths? seeing you made no conscience nor were not ashamed to crucify 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 command you happily that you should kill them? Considering that the law doth command you of charity to bury them, and not of cruelty to kill them, why do you break their legs they being alive, seeing that with such cruel doulours, they will die desperat? It doth well appear, that not long since you did knock your breasts dissemblingly, seeing that without al conscience you would break the legs of those which were newly executed, because no man can haue true contrition of his sins in this life, if he haue not first of all perfect charity and pity towards his neighbours. Thus far Theophilus.  
For the Iewes then to ask of Pilat that he would use such great cruelty towards Christ and the two theeues, did proceed rather of fear then of zeal: for seeing as they did see, that when Christ did yield up the ghost, the vail did break, the sun waxed dark, and that the sepulchers did open, they thought that if they should haue butted Christ vpon the sabbath, that all the people would haue risen against them. The hatred which the jews bare Christ was so great, that they did know well when it was best to put Christ but of the peoples sight, and bury him in his grave: and the reason was, that because the son of God had raised up some dead men in the presence of thē all, they thought that he would also haue delivered himself and those which were crucified with him. jerom vpon Saint Luke saith, If they had executed the theeues without Christ, the pharisees would never haue gone unto the mount of calvary, nor haue sought that at Pilats hands which they did, that is, that they might take them down from the cross, and break their legs: insomuch that the care and solicitude which they had, and their coming & going unto Pilat was not so much to bury the theeues, as to take full 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 break any mens legs but only the legs of those two persons; whereof we may gather, how great the jewish malice was, seeing they gave such strange torments unto those theeues, and unto the son of God so unusual a death.  
It is a pitiful thing to think how the Iewes did not entreat Pilat, that he would command that Christ his throat should be cut, or that he should be shot through as he hanged vpon the cross, but onely that he would cause his legs to be broken, and his bones to be bruised, the which they did not demand at a venture, but of pure malice: because that by the breaking of the legs, his pain should be augmented, and his death hastened. Augustine saith, that experience doth teach us, that when the wound is onely in the flesh, it is less dangerous to death, and not hard to cure, but when the skull is broken, or a bone bruised, the wound is uncurable, and the grief vntollerable; insomuch that the Iewes did demand this of Pilat, that because he did hang on the cross languishing, he should also die there raving. What hypocrisy is this, O you jews what hypocrisy 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 breasts for a ceremony, and do you take away your neighbors lives with iron? O how many disciples the excommunicat jews haue at this day in the world, which striking their breasts run like holy men to their superiors, & desire that their legs may bee broken, which they hold for their enemies; taking from them the rest and quiet of their life, and labouring also what they can to bury their famed. S. Barnard saith, that if thou wilt know envious & 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 suppress and keep down others, is the exalting and setting up of themselves. We do council and admonish the seruants of our Lord, that they keep themselves as from a daungerous plague, out of the company of such, as envy their goodness and virtues; for because that such, like unto the jews, think they shall not haue a good Easter, unless they haue butted their brothers famed. The jews of that time were not so cruel, as ambitious and envious men now are; because they did but break the theeues legs, but these do crack their neighbours famed and name; and where there are noble hearts and shamefast countenances, they give more to lose their credit then to break 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 condition and nature so patient in suffering wrongs, and such a friend to pardon offences, that we did never see any man present himself before thee, with an humble and contrit heart, which went discontented away from thee. O happy promise, O high speech, seeing that thereby it doth appear, that in recompense of our faults our Lord doth not command us to double our bodies, break our flesh, wrest our sinews, or bruise our bones; but say only from the heart Tibi soli peccavi, and shed a few tears from our eyes. S. Basil vpon those words Tibi soli peccavi, 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 unto me, wo be unto me, 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 jews had most cause to repent, and many sins to weep, but being perfidious and vnfortunat, in stead of shedding tears, they shed blood, and in stead of breaking their harts, they broke the theeues legs, insomuch that because they were the authors of that fault, they did cast al the punishment on them. Cyprian on the Passion saith, Tell me I pray thee, O excommunicated synagogue, to celebrate according to thy own purpose thy great Easter, as thou dost mean to celebrat it; which dost thou hold for a less offence, either that thy enormous offences remain in thy conscience, or that the bodies of the theeues remain vpon the gallows? dost thou not perceive, that the dead body of a man hanged, doth fear and not hurt; but sin in the soul doth hurt but not fear? dost thou make no conscience to take away life from the living, and hast thou a scruple, in not giuing unto 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 careful to bury the dead theeus; for one hurt compared with another, and one stink with another, without all comparison, one sin doth stink 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 deserve it, he would haue yielded unto your demand; but with condition, that as you had made an end of burying the theeues, they should haue carried you to the gallows.  
Damascen saith, that the Iewes were very scrupulous in small matters, and of very wide and broken consciences in matters of weight, insomuch that they strained the wine which had but a fly in it, and yet would swallow down a whole Camel. He doth swallow down a camel whole, who winketh at the mortal sin of his friend; and he doth strain the wine where the fly is, who doth publish and punish the venial sin of his enemy; 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 jews which were at liberty, did entreat Pilat that he would command the theeus legs to be broken which were crucified, even so it may happen unto thee with thy moonks, of which many will persuade thee to break the legs of the other monks, because they should not go abroad, and will keep their own whole, because they will never keep within. And further, Seeing that there should be some legs broken, it were more reason, that the jews legs should bee broken which were at liberty, then the theeues legs that were crucified; and so I say unto thee, that thou shouldst haue a narrower eye, over one monk that goeth abroad at his liberty, then of all the rest which are shut up in the cloister. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, if thou do command that any legs should be broken, let mine be the first; for unless thou do hold me up and guide me with thy merciful hand, they will led me strait 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 soul 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 doth say of himself, I do say of myself, that is, That I never find any virtue in myself, but when I am drawn from the occasion of sin.   

CHAP. XLIX. How Christ did suffer that his flesh should be torn in pieces, but not that his bones should be touched.  
IN domo vna commedetis agnum, nec afferetis de carnibus eiusforas, nec as illius confringetis, said God in Exod. the 12. as if he would say, The conditions which you shall keep in eating the paschal lamb are these? you shall kill him in the evening, eat him in one house, you shall not bring forth of the house any piece of his feshe, nor you shal not break any one of his bones.  
In all scripture Christ is not compared and likened unto any one thing, so much as to a lamb, of which the scripture saith here, that as non comminuetis ex eo; and S. John Baptist said, Ecce agnus Dei; and Esaias said, Sicut agnus coram tondente; & in the apocalypse it is written, Vidi supramontem agnum stantem; insomuch that the lamb is a figure of nothing, but of the son of the living God. It is a thing worthy to be noted, and not a little to be admired, how wise God is in that which he commandeth, and how circumspectly in the manner how he doth command; the which doth easily appear in this, that he doth appoint what they shall offer, that is, a lamb; he nameth the hour in which it shalbe offered, which is, in the evening; and declareth where it shalbe offered, which is, the house; and teacheth them how it shalbe offered, that is, wholly and entire; and telleth them how it shalbe eaten, that is, roasted; and provideth 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 likeness with Christ, then this: For as the Lamb offered up in the lawe, was the first sacrifice, in which all sacrifices did begin, so the holy lamb was the last sacrifice, in which all sacrifices on the cross did end. Cirillus vpon Leuitticus saith, mark and note well the mystery of the scripture, and thou shalt find that the first service which the house of jacob did unto God, was the offering of a sound and entire lamb, unto him in egypt, and the last vnreuerence and disobedience which they did unto him, was the offering of another dead lamb torn in pieces, on the mount of calvary; insomuch that because they did cast the holy immaculat lamb out of their Synagogue, God did cast them forth of his house. For God to command that the lamb should bee sacrificed after the sun was down, what else did it signify, but that the son 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 lamb, but that for the redemption of all the world, Christ only did suffice? What did it signify, that they should not eat that paschal lamb, but only within the doors, but that the lawe of nature, the written law, and the law of grace should all be concluded under one law? What did the law mean to command, that none of the flesh should be given unto those that were out of the house, but that no man should impart the secrets of scripture, but unto such as were within the lap of the church? What did it signify, that all that which did remain of the lamb, and which they could not eat, should be cast into the fire and burnt, but that all that which our weak understanding, can not reach unto in holy writ, wee should leave to Gods divine iudgement? What did it mean, that God should command them, to eat the flesh off the bones, and not break the bone; but that the flesh of the son of God, did suffer in such sort, that he did not prejudice in any thing, the bone of his divinity? S. jerom to Cromacius saith, The Iewes had power over Christ his life, seeing that they took it from him, they had power over his soul, seeing that they pulled her from him, they had power over his blood, seeing that they did shed it, they had power over his famed, seeing they did blemish it, but they had none over his divinity; seeing they did not touch it. Petrus Damianus saith, that as a mans boan doth preserve the flesh which doth adhere unto it, and preserveth the marrow which is enclosed within him; so the bone of the divinity of the son of God, did unite and hold so fast knit together the soul and the body, that although the one was separated from the other on the cross, yet nevertheless they were not by the divinity forsaken. August. vpon S. Luke saith, What other thing was it for God to command in the old law, that they should cut the throat of the paschal lamb, & quarter him in pieces, but yet that they should not break any bone in him; but that they should do al the injuries and infamies unto the son of God that they could, excepted only, that they should not touch the bone of his divinity. Remigius to this purpose saith, The bone of the lamb, Arius would break, when he saith, The father is greater thē the son. Nestorius another in saying, The son of God is not Ab etern. Simpontinus another, when he doth deny the holy Ghost to proceed from the son. Manicheus another, in saying that Christ had a fantastical body; insomuch that all cursed heretics are nothing else but certain bonebreakers, seing that so many bones of Christ they do break, as they do new heresies in the church invent.  
Christ was already deade, when they came to break the bones of his flesh, and although he could not haue felt any pain in the breaking, yet he would not consent that they should break them, nor come near unto them; by which profound mystery he did give us to understand, that he receiveth greater service, 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 leave unto us, whole and entire, all the bones of his precious flesh, but that he did leave perfect & good, all necessary sacraments unto his church? What should become of us if holy Iesus should not haue left us the bones of his merits, to merit the kingdom of heaven, and the bones of his sacraments to go out of sin? What is it to leave us all his bones sound and whole, but to give us his merits to save us, and his sacraments to heal us? Christ did set much by his bones, seeing he did not suffer the Iewes to come near unto 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 break so many of Christ his bones, as we do receive of his holy sacraments, being in sin. De excelso misit ignem, in ossibus meis, & erudiuit me, saith jeremy in his first chap. as if he would say, Thou wast not content, O great God of Israel, to sand us every fire without respect, but from the highest of thy divinity, thou hast sent me the fire of thy grace, in the bones of thy church. For the better understanding of that, that jeremy doth say in this place, we must note and presuppose that oftentimes in scripture, by the sinews of the body, are understood a strong man, according unto that which job doth say, Posuisti in neruo pedem meum, & obseruasti omnes semitas meas; sometime by human flesh is understood, the loose & carnal people, as in Gen. Omnis cura corruperat viam suam; sometime by the blood of our bodies are understood vain worldlings, as Libera me de sanguinibus; sometime by mans bones are understood heroical and virtuous men, as in the psalm, Exultabunt essa humiliata. If it be true that no bone can be bended or doubled, unless he be utterly broken, howe is it possible that the bones which are brought low, should live at ease and with contentment, unless this should be understood of virtuous and holy men? What is the natural whitnes which the bone hath in him, but the chast and clean life, which the virtuous man doth led? What doth it mean, that a bone will rather be broken then bowed, but that a good christian will rather then offend God, suffer martyrdom? What are the bones of a man vpon which, the blood, & flesh, & sinews are holden up, but holy persons vpon which the church is founded? What would become of mans body, if he had no bones, & what would become of the catholic church if she had no virtuous men in her? These are thē the bones which God did command not to be broken, and these are the bones which he did forbid to be touched: for if the prohibition which God did make of not breaking the bones of the lamb, be not thus understood, God would haue cared but little if the jews had gnawed the bones, seing that he gave thē leave to eat the flesh. What meaneth this O great God of Israel, what meaneth this? the bones that in banquets men do cast unto dogs, dost thou command to keep, and dost thou make no reckoning that the jews do eat the flesh? by this example thou dost let us see plainly, howe far thy iudgement doth differ from the iudgement of men, & how unlike thy will is unto ours, seing thou dost set nought by that which we do choose, and choose that which we despise.  
The world will haue sin, but God will none but bones; the world will haue tender & soft things, but God will none but very sound & hard things; the world will haue flesh to eat, but God is content with bones to gnaw; the world doth desire things that will bow and bend, but God will none but bones which will not double nor bow: to be brief, we say that man doth choose that which is best to his liking, and God doth choose that which doth serve him best.  
jeremy did not say De excelso misit ignem in carnibus meis, but in ossibus meis, thereby to teach us, that our Lord doth not impart his graces, nor sand his particular comfort vpon such as easily suffer themselves to be eaten like flesh; but vpon those which suffer themselves to be gnawn, but not eaten, like unto the bone. O howe frail and miserable creatures we be, seeing that we cannot escape the hands of the divels, but bee devoured and eaten up by them; or else gnawn unto the bone: and the difference betwixt the one and the other is, that he who is overcome, is eaten and devoured, and he who is tempted, only gnawn. As the flesh is easily entered into by him who eateth of it, but if a man bite at a bone, sometime he breaketh a tooth in gnawing of it; so in like maner it doth happen unto us with the divell, and to the divell with us, for over the carnal and vicious man, he goeth away always triumphant and a conqueror, but by tempting a virtuous and noble mind, he goeth away overcome and conquered.  
Gregory in a Homily saith, that when Christ did consent that being alive, they should rent and tear in pieces his flesh, and that being dead, did not yield that his boans should be broken; the meaning was, that if we punish vain and worldly persons he careth not at all, so that we touch not the boans of his elect. The famous contemplative Doctor Vbertinus saith, That it wanteth not a great mystery, that the son of God would make no reckoning of his flesh, although they should tear him in pieces, and yet made so great account of all his boans, that they might not touch them; and a principal thing to be noted is, that in his life time he did forsake his flesh, and after his death he did defend his bones, thereby to teach us, that he doth better love one good man which is dead, than all naughty men which are alive. Be thou then assured my brother, that if thou do persecute one good man, thou dost break a bone of Christ; and if thou do persecute many, many bones of the church thou dost break; and Christ doth feel & grieve at this persecution in a higher degree, that he did not so much feel his own travels and vexations as he doth now those which are done unto his friends. Dominus custodit omnia ossa eoram, & vnum ex his non conteretur, saith the Psalmist in his fortieth psalm, as if he would say, The great God of Israell doth put so narrow a watch over such as be his, that he himself doth defend thē even until the bones, & he hath such a great care over them, that no man can touch them so much as in a bone. Our Lord being as he is the Lord & governor of the heauens and of the elements, why doth he say that he doth keep for his treasure nothing but bones? if any man desire to know what riches our Lord hath in his treasury, wee will answer him, that he hath nothing but dry hard bones, the which he doth better esteem 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 eoram; because our Lord will not take charge of vain and light worldlings, but only of such as are good and virtuous, because there is nothing under heaven worse to take into a mans custody, then a man of a bad life. The prophet saith very much( saith Cassidorus) in saying, The Lord will keep all their bones; because that at the very hour when a man do there fully purpose with himself to be good, our Lord doth so take him to his protection, that like unto a hard bone he may well be tempted and hammered, but never broken. O what a great comfort it is( saith Barnard in a sermon) unto the good man to think that he is one of the bones which Christ doth keep in his treasure house, and under his own government, and that he will not permit that any man should touch them, nor much less break them: for if it were necessary so to do, Christ would rather come again into the world to suffer, then consent that one of his elect should be dampned. What meaneth it that our Lord doth not oblige himself to keep the blood which we haue in our veins, but only that he maketh no reckoning of those which presume, because they descend of a noble lineage, and of valorous personages? What doth it signify that he doth not bind himself to take the custody of the flesh of our body, but that he esteemeth not of dainty choice vicious men? What meaneth it, that he doth not take vpon him to keep the sinews of our bodies, but only that he doth not regard malicious and obstinate persons? What meaneth it, that our Lord doth not keep our eyes, nor our ears, nor our judges, but only that he doth mock at the vanities which we do see, and at the lies which we tell, and detractions which we give ear unto?  
Such beasts and such monsters as these, our Lord doth not put into his treasure nor esteem any thing at all of them, wherein he hath great reason, because there is nothing which savoureth of flesh and blood which is fit to be preserved, saving onely the dry hard bone which may well be kept in a treasury. O my soul O my heart, be you a white beam for cleanesse, and be a hard beam for fortitude, for seeing that our Lord doth promise to be in your guard and protection, how is it possible that any adverse chance should hinder you? Take heed therfore O my soul, take heed, that thou do not cleave to any sinew of covetousness, nor unto any blood of pride, nor to any flesh of wantonness, nor unto any other thing that savoureth of worldly vanity; for I tell thee O my soul, that God doth carry no bone to heaven with him, nor put him up in his treasury, unless it be clean picked from flesh blood and 'vice.   

CHAP. L. Of the blow with the spear, and of the mysteries therof, and how it seemeth rather a key which did open, then a thrust with a spear which did wound.  
VNus autem militum lancea latus eius aperuit, & continu● exivit sanguis & aqua, saith S. John in the 19 chap. as if he would say, One of those which came to break the legs of those which were newly put to death, to take away al scruple from the jews, whether the son of God were alive or dead, aimed with a lance and opened his side with a thrust, out of which presently there did gush blood to redeem us, and water to baptize vs. supper dolorem & vulnere eorum addiderunt, saith the prophet in the 68 Psal. as if he would say, The hatred which the jewish people bare to Christ, did stretch to such great malice, O great God of Israell, that not being content with the torments which they gave him being yet alive, they did ad torment unto torment after that he was dead. This pitiful prophesy in whom was it fulfilled at the foot of the letter but in the son of God, seeing that in his life time they did crucify him, and after he was dead lance his side with a spear? Wounds vpon wounds, and doulours vpon doulours, the Iewes did heap vpon Christ, seeing they did persuade Pilat that he would command that his legs should be broken, and induce the soldier to give him a blow with a lance, in which fact they did show their naughtiness and cruelty, for after such a bitter passion, the son of God had greater need of a sepulchre to repose himself in, then a blow with a spear to open his side. The learned S. Augustine vpon Saint John saith, Seeing that the end of the infamous Iewes malice was to injury Christ if he had ben alive, and to make an end of him if he had not ben dead, albeit he did suffer no pain nor dolour in the thrust of the spear because he was already dead, yet nevertheless he failed not to feel it as a great injury; because our Lord doth not so much regard the works which we do, as the intention with the which we do thē. It is much to be noted, that the prophet doth not say, supper dolores meus, but only supper dolorem meum, addiderunt vulnere, wherein it seemeth that although the wounds which they gave Christ were many, yet the grief which he felt was but one. What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? the thorns which pierced thy brain, the stripes which opened thy shoulders, the nailes which tore thy sinews, the cross which crucified thy body, & the lance which opened thy side, dost thou call all this but one dolour? The torments which Christ suffered were infinite, & the dolours which he felt in his body were without number, but as moses serpent did swallow up all the serpents which pharaoh had, so Christ in his passion did feel one grief and dolour so bitter, that it did exceed all his other griefs and doulours. And yet without all doubt, this grief was not to see his family dispersed, nor to see his person martirised, nor to see his life ended, nor to see his credit and famed blemished, nor to see his blood shed, but to see his death and passion evilly employed. To call all those torments one torment, and to call all those griefs one grief, is to let us plainly understand, that our good Lord did not grieve at and feel so much the stripes which they gave him, as he was sorry to see that they did not profit them which did give 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 infinite goodness, O unspeakable charity, tel me I pray thee, why hast thou not compassion of the streams of blood which are drawn from thee, and yet dost show great grief for those which draw it from thee? It is true that thou dost say, and it is even as thou hast said, that is, that thou dost grieve more at their pardition, then thou dost thy own passion: because thou dost not die for the angels which praise thee in heaven above, but for men which kill thee below on the earth. Cassiodorus vpon this place saith, That with the jews they do crucify Christ, & with the soldier they pierce his side, and he doth ad one wound unto another, and one grief unto another, who not being content to commit one sin addeth another unto it; and that which is worst of al, that without conscience or shane of the sin which he hath committed, doth praise himself for committing it. Dolour unto dolour( saith Anselmus) & wound unto wound, and torment unto 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 crucify, and with the soldier doth pierce with the spear, who in absence doth detract. Tulit joab trees lanceas in manu sua, & infexit eus in cord absalon, saith holy scripture, as if he would say, Vnfortunat Absalon hanging by the hair vpon an oak, captain joab came unto him with three lance in his hand, and gave him three blows with it toward the left side, where the heart hath his seat, insomuch that he gave them with a good will, seing he gave them all three in the heart. The captain joab did strike him from the heart, and his father david did feel his blows from the heart. Absalon was the son of a king, and Christ was the son of God; Absalon was the fairest of all men, and Christ fairer then all the angels; Absalon died on an oak, and Christ crucified on a cross; and with the death of Absalon all the kingdom was pacified, & by the death of Christ all the world was redeemed. Christ and Absalon, Absalon and Christ, were of one lineage, and descended from one princely tribe; & the greatest mystery which happened in this case was, that as it was necessary that joab should kill Absalon against his fathers will, so it was necessary that the people of the jews should execute Christ, his father being grieved at it: insomuch that they killed these two great princes, with great irreverence and disobedience to their father, and to the great profit of their sovereignty. Who did kill king Dauids deere son, but captain joab, the greatest priuade in his house? and who did put to death the son of God, but the people which he best loved? by the hair with the which young Absalon was hanged, are figured the holy cogitations and purpose which God had to redeem the world, by the which good Iesus not only being hanged, but also crucified, was nailed with three nailes, & pierced with one spear. What other thing are the three lances with which Absalon was lanced with on the oak, but only three bitter griefs and dolours, with the which Christ died on the cross? the first thrust was the most grievous dolour which he did feel by his torments, the second was the great pity which he had of his mother, the third was the grief which he had to see how little good his passion did; for being sufficient to redeem a thousand of worlds, yet the jews alone did not benefit themselves by it. Not without many tears we writ that which we now writ, that is, that he called one blow three blows, because that with one blow he did kill three hearts, that is, the heart of his mother who brought him into the world, the heart of the disciple which he did adopt, and the heart of Mary Magdalen whom he did convert; insomuch that joab did kill one heart with three blows, and the soldier did kill three hearts with one blow. What man living did ever see the like, or which of the dead did ever hear the like, that is, that in the heart of one who was dead, there should be found three hearts alive? O how small a time they remained there alive, O in how short space they were thrust through with the spear: for the cruel spear not finding the master, laid on blows vpon his disciples. Origen vpon this place saith, That the hanging of Dauids well-beloved son vpon a dry oak, was a figure of Christ who should be put to death on the rough cross; on the which he did hang, rather with the hairs of love which he had to redeem us, then with the nailes with the which the jews did crucify him. From the heart joab did lance the infant Absalon, and more from the heart the jews did kill Christ: for after that he did rise again, if they could haue killed him again, it is to be thought that neither conscience nor shane would haue hindered them to do it. Those which of very rage and evil will, did pierce his body being dead, would they not haue killed him being alive? lo exclaimeth against the synagogue and saith, What meaneth this O synagogue, what meaneth this? how cruel and fierce so ever the lion be, yet he doth never hurt him whom he seeth to lye prostrate on the earth, & dost not thou spare him whom thou dost see dead vpon the cross? thou seest that the son of God hath his face pale & wan, his eyes broken, his bones out of joint, his veins without blood, his flesh torn in pieces, his head hanging down, and yet without all pity dost thou thrust into his bowels to seek his soul, which is departed above two houres ago from thence? Anselmus speaking with the spear saith, O cruel spear, O bloody iron, what dost thou seek anew in the side of my God and Christ? if thou do seek his disciples in the garden they fled from him; if thou seek his flesh, they haue crucified it; if thou seek his blood, it is  shed in the streets; if thou seek his garments, they are divided among the hangmen; if thou seek his soul, dost thou not know that she is already gone to his father? what didst thou find O cruel spear, what didst thou find within those holy bowels, but only the son dead, & the mother in a sound? What dost thou hunt after, what will thou, wherfore dost thou come to the mount of calvary, O cruel spear, is it to seek for this holy prophet? if thou wilt take away his famed, he hath already lost it on the cross, if thou wilt break his flesh, the nailes haue already torn it, if thou wilt take his life from him, he hath already given his soul unto his father, and if thou wilt let him blood in the side, dost thou not know that he is already dead?  
Fac tibi arcam de lignis leuigatis, mansiu sculas facies in ea, & bitumine linies intrinsecus & extrinsecus, ostium autem arcae pones deorsum, Genesis the sixth chapter as if he would say, It is my will and pleasure, O patriarch Noe, that thou make an ark of light wood, and small chambers within the same, and pitch her within & without, that no water enter in; & in the side of the same ark thou shalt make a little gate, by the which all such may go in & out, which shall be saved in her. Although this glorious figure hath ben very well declared by many, yet we will seek some farther mysteries in it, & if we can find none, it is because we cannot understand it, & not because there is not much to say of it. First of all we say that Noes ark the which the holy scripture doth speak of, is our blessed & holy mother the church, out of the which no man can be saved, as out of the ark no man did escape vndrowned. Because ther are out of this ark, al Mores, jews & pagans, they are al drowned; & because there are within the ark al good & faithful Christians, they are al saved; & that man was born in an unhappy hour which doth not beleeue that they are deceived, & we sure that we be not deceived. For God to command that the ark should be made of light, & not rotten wood, was to let us know that his church should be builded of honest, virtuous, and holy persons; which is also most true, because that in the church of God, there is no rotten board of covetousness suffered, nor any heavy beam of pride admitted. The bords of that ark did neither rot with moistness, nor sink with weight, nor slit and cleave with age, nor break with the tempest: by this we say, that the true and faithful Christian, neither the waters of tribulation do drown, nor the wind of prosperity throw down, nor the worm of covetousness gnaw, nor the works of temptation fear and amaze. We will not say that the Christian which doth lift up sail in prosperity, and is presently drowned in adversity, is of the church, but only in the church; for as there do go 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 ark, and yet is not of the ark, but onely he who calleth himself a Christian, and yet is no Christian?  
The lion and the bear were with Noe in the ark, and were not of the ark; & wicked Iudas was in the church with Christ, & yet was not of the church; & in like maner let no man think that it is enough to be baptized, if withal he do not keep the gospel. God did also command Noe, that he should pitch well his ark within & without, & in this case we dare affirm, that the day or pitch, with the which God did command to pitch the ark, are love & charity, which do fasten & glue together, al those which be of the catholic church, the which love & pitch is occupied within & without, when we love God in whom we beleeue, & our neighbour with whom we converse. S. Barnard saith, If the ship receive water, it is because the bords be not well joined, or because they be not well pitched: & so in like maner, honor & credit is low, and wealth comsumed, because mens wils are not agreeing, & because every man will follow his own opinion: because it is not possible that there should be charity, where the wils be discordant. God did also command Noe to make in that ark not great, but small chambers, nor large, but little narrow mansions, to let us understand thereby, that there should be in the church of God, many holy persons, and of straight life, in which, as it were the ark of Noe, God would protect those whom the world would hate, and take and keep to himself those whom he should best love. It is also to be noted, that Noes ark being three hundred cubits long, and fifty in height, and thirty in breadth, God did command that he should be ended & made perfect in one cubit; wherein he did let us understand, that how far different so ever one degree be from another, in the church of God, notwithstanding they are all summed up in one, that is, in believing one only true God. For all estates & degrees to end in one estate and degree, and all cubits to be summed up in one cubit, what other thing was it, but that all kings and kingdoms of the world should be converted 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 pierced with the spear, and thereupon it is, that as none did save himself, unless he did enter in at that gate, even so there shall no man enter into glory, if he do not first wash himself with the blood which issued out of that wound.  
August. vpon Gene. saith, O high mystery, O great secret of thee my God, for as in the side of the ark there was a gate, by which, all which were saved 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 blood with the which we were redeemed, and the water with the which we are now baptized. It is likewise to be noted, that the ark was fastened without with a bolt; but the son of God doth always keep his wounds open, the which doth easily appear in that, that the sacraments which in the old law were hidden and shut up; in the passion of Christ were laid open unto us: insomuch that all that which the Lord did keep shut in the synagogue, the lance did open in the Church.  
S. Augustine vpon S. John saith, Do not think that the evangelist did use this word Aperuit, by chance, 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 mysteries so mauellous, which he did discover by the blow, that the spear seemeth rather a key which did open, than a spear which did wound.  
Chrisost. saith, With the water of the read sea, the egyptians were drowned, and with the blood of the lamb, the Iewes were delivered; so in like manner the blood of this holy lamb, was to our redemption, and the water which did flow from him, was to our purification: in such sort, that the blood did run to redeem the captive, and the water gushed out, to wash the weak. When we say that the sacraments did flow out of Christ his side, it is to be understood of two only, that is, of the supper of the Lord, and of baptism; hilarius saith, even as of Adam his side eve was formed, so of Christ his side the Church was made: that is, when there did flow out of that holy body, blood and water, the which flowing was very miraculous, because that out of a dead body there cannot run clear blood, nor out of a dead carcase, issue clear water. Remigius saith also, that the blood which did issue out of Christ his side, was true blood, and the liquour which did run with it was pure water, and not corrupting fleame; for Christ being as he was, the highest and purest truth, could not speak any false word, nor make any feigned work.   

CHAP. LI. How that at the foot of the cross, they did divide Christ his garments with knives, and on the top of the cross, his heart with the blows of spears.  
INgredere in medio rotarum, & imple manum tuam prunis ignis, & effunde supper civitatem, said God by Ezechiel in the 10. chap. unto a man whom he did sand to visit the city of jerusalem, as if he would say, I tel thee man who dost go to visit the people of Israel, put thyself in the midst of the wheels, which are under the Cherubin, and take up with thy hand, a great handful of coals, and cast them together vpon jerusalem. In holy scripture all figures are wonderful, 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 synagogue, that the visions of Ezechiel, the priests onely should red, and declare them unto the people.  
What are the wheels which the prophet did see, near to the river Cobar, but only the divine and human nature, of which the humanity of the son of God was framed? he calleth the one and the other a wheel; for as in a wheel, there is neither beginning nor ending, even so in the love of his humanity, & in the essence of his divinity, 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 soul of the son of God, the which was shut up in the one nature, & united unto the other. It is much to be noted, that that person whom he did see, did not lean more unto the one wheel, then unto the other; but did sit in the midst of them both, thereby to let us understand, that the humanity of Christ was no more God than he was man; nor more man than God: we mean that he 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 soul of the word; for from the first instant of his conception, he did enjoy the one wheel which was his divine essence, & did taste of the other wheel, which were the passions & affections of human nature. It doth not want a mystery, that the two wheels did move together, and went together; to teach us that the son of God, did so behave himself in his works, that he never did so high a miracle, but there was also his humanity; nor never did so mean a thing, but his divinity did also shine. What is the handful of quick burning coals, but the heart of Christ, full of inflaming love? It is very notorious in scripture, that the son of God is called a hand, as Mitte manum tuam de alto, and Fiat manus tua vt saluet me: for even as the hand doth proceed from the arm, and is an other thing from the arm, and yet of the same essence that the arm is, so the son 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 delightful it is to fill the hand with roses, so painful it is to fill him with coals; because the roses smell, and the coals burn. What doth it signify 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, infinite? Wilt thou see that the hot coals of his love, and the brasers of his dolours were infinite; mark how he doth not bid him take a few coals, but that he should fill his hand with them, to let us understand, that his love did exceed the love of all the angels, and his dolours exceed the dolours of al the martyrs. What did it mean, that the visitor of jerusalem, could hold no more coals in his hand, but that in the soul of the redeemer of jerusalem, there could be no more love, nor in his body greater grief? dost thou not think that he hath his hand full of coals, who loveth thee so well, thou not serving him; and suffering so much for thee, thou not deserving it? What doth it signify, that the coals of the visitor of jerusalem, were of the fire of the Cherubin which did always burn, but that the love which Christ did bear in his heart, was never extinguished, nor ever at an end? What did it figure that God did command, the reformer of jerusalem, to cast all those coals vpon all the earth, but that the blood and love of Christ, should purge and make clean all humane nature? What doth the opening of his hand signify, and the dividing of the coals, but only that he doth suffer his heart to be opened, because he would put us in his entrails? When O good Iesus, when didst thou open thy hand, to cast abroad the coals which thou hadst kept for us; but when thy heart was opened, for to bestow those favours vpon us, which thou hadst promised? In the old testament Christ doth command 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 well understand it, the fire which he doth put in the world, is nothing else, but the exceeding great love which he beareth to all the world. Origen vpon Ezechiel saith, That if we will expound the Prophet, and understand Christ, we shall find, that to carry hot coals in the hand, and bind himself to set fire in all the world, is nothing else, but that as the world doth make all worldlings fools; so Christ doth make his chosen full of love. Our Lord hath many gifts to bestow, and many graces to divide, but as long as this life doth last, I desire no more graces of him, but that it would please him only to bestow vpon me, one couple of choice holy coals; the one to burn my ordinary vices, and the other to consume my disordered desires. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, seeing thou dost bid me call and thou wilt answer me, and bid me to ask and thou wilt give me; I do not ask of thee bread to eat, nor wine to drink, nor roses to smell to, nor any dignity to be honoured, but some of thy coals to burn me: because it is a usual thing, which thou dost observe with thy elect, to burn the faults which thou dost find in them, and bestow thy graces afterward vpon them. Open then O good Iesus, open then thy hand to give us thy coals, and open thy heart to give us thy bowels, because it is very needful that we haue coals, which may make us feel thy dolours; and also that thou give us thy bowels, to taste of thy love. What did break thy hands but the nailes, and what did open thy side, but the spear? and seing that it is so, howe is it possible, that having thy hands broken, that thou shouldst not give us part of thy grief, and having thy bowels open, that thou shouldst not communicat thy love? O( saith Ansel. in his Meditations) who could haue been the iron of that spear, or the spear of that iron with the which they haue opened thy side, & gone in to see thy bowels the which were so enflamed with love, that without comparison it had been a greater matter, to see the love with the which thou didst die, than the death which thou didst suffer. O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, how is it possible that I should be thine, or call myself thine, unless thou do impart unto me the coals of thy hand? why thinkest thou O my good Lord, why do I with so many tears ask coals here to burn me, but because in the other world, thou shouldst give 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 love at his feet to spurn it, nor at his shoulders to forget it, but in his hand to bestow it, because God doth nothing more willingly then love; nor is pleased with nothing more then with love. Peccatum judae scriptum est stilo ferreo, in vnque adamantino, saith jeremy the 17. chap. as if he would say, Among the fearful visions which our Lord did show unto me, one was, that I did see the sin of the kingdom of judea, and Samaria, written with a pen or a penzel of iron, and in a nail, as hard as an adamant, the which was so fast graved in, & so deeply printed, that it could neither be scraped out with a knife, not washed away with water.  
jerom vpon this place saith, that the Prophet speaking in this place of sin and idolatry, which could never be clean blotted out of judea and Samaria, but the more they did increase, the further they waded in idolatry, and the more they forgot their God. But some think that jeremy did mean, the sin which the jews committed against Christ in his death, whose punishment shall dure until the end of the world, because they shall not know their error, until the coming of Antichrist.  
Damuscen expounding jeremy saith, That as when we say the Prophet, david is understood; when the Apostle, S. Paul; and when we say the Redeemer, Christ is understood: so when the scripture doth 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 wholly blotted with a pen of iron. This sin was engraven in our hearts, for although as we haue said, it was well redeemed by Christ, and as wee know, taken away by baptism, yet there doth remain in us a thousand inclinations to sin, and small strength to resist. That old sin being deeply engraven in our hearts, how should we possibly become virtuous, if with the grace of our Lord wee were not succoured and aided? What doth jeremy say, when he saith, That that sin of judea, was writ with a pencil of iron; but that, that sin was the first iron of the world? What other thing did it signify, that that sin was written in an addamant ston, the which can not be broken but with hot blood; but that all the sins which were in the world, should bee made clean with the blood of Christ? And because the truth should answer unto the figure, God his holy providence did so ordain, that the sin which was engraven with a penzill of iron, should bee blotted out with the blood which the spear did draw out of the side of Christ: insomuch that that which was written with a pencil of iron, was blotted out with the iron of the lance. The Prophet doth not say, that in the diamond the sin did grow, but after the sin was committed, it was graven with a pencil in it: to let us understand thereby, that with us 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 pencil, with the which the sin was written; and we haue seen the iron of the spear, with the which it was blotted; insomuch that by the same wound, where the spear did enter in, to see Christs side, the blood did issue out, with which the sin was washed.  
O my soul, O my heart, seeing that you are nothing else but iron of sin, you should join yourself with the iron of the spear, 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, until you see yourselves cleansed of all your faults.  
If the glorious Apostle S. Thomas, of one incredulous, became a most faithful 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 dive into him? If the great evangelist S. John, by sleeping vpon his holy breast, did see all the discourse of the Church, what should he not haue seen, & what should he not haue attained unto, if the blow of the spear had been given, & he shewed himself at the gate.  
S. Barnard, De planctu virginis, saith, What meaneth this, O Iesus what meaneth this? Is thy head pierced full of holes with thorns, are thy hands broken with nails, thy shoulders opened with stripes, and hadst nothing left but thy breast, which seemed sound and entire, and yet dost thou give thy consent, that they should strike it with a spear, and open thy side with a lance? O glorious iron, O happy spear, now that thou hadst the heart to enter into that holy side, how hadst thou courage so soon to come out? by seeing only the garments of the son of God white, and his face white, S. Peter would haue made three tabernacles in those mountains, and wouldst not thou O cruel spear make one, having seen his bowels? O how happy was the mountain where that spear did grow, O howe happy was the forge where that iron 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 wards with bones, the stripes with flesh, the nails with sinews; the spear only was happy, seeing he did meet with Christ his heart, & see the bowels with the which he did love vs. Vbertinus saith, Thou didst give O good Iesus, thou didst give to the thief paradise, thy mother to thy cousin, the Church to Peter, to Nicodemus thy body, and thy blood to the world; and therfore having nothing least to thyself, but thy heart, why dost thou give licence to the spear, to part it in the midst?  
What doth he deny who denieth not his heart, and what doth he not divide, who divideth his heart? he had divided his skin with the pillor, his hair with the hangmen, his blood with the streets, his garments with the torturours, and his heart which remained he would divide with the spear; insomuch that like a perfect religious man, he would give away the property of his own heart. What doth there remain unto thee O my redeemer,( saith Simon de Cassia) seing that at the foot of the cross, they did divide thy coats with knives, & on the cros divide thy heart with spears? Be you present O my soul, at this division of his heart, for seing our good Iesus doth consent that his hart shalbe divided. it is a token that he will bestow him. If in this pitiful passage, you do not fall asunder, O my members, and if at the thrust of the spear you do not gush out fountains of tears, O my eyes, and if thou do not divide thyself, O my heart, why do I keep thee in my body, or why do I live in the world?  
S. Augustine vpon S. John saith, that there be many which divide their garments among their friends, and many which among their kinsfolks divide their jewels, but only the son of God was he who bestowed among us the heart which he had in his breast, and the bowels with the which he loved us, and not only that, but he gave us himself also with them.  
Cyrillus vpon S. John saith, That it doth not want a mystery that the son of God did suffer them to open his side being alive, but presently after that he had yielded up his ghost vpon the cross; thereby to teach us, that at the very instant, when he did loose his life, immediately the gate of glory did open: insomuch that with the self same stroke, they did bteake Christ his bowels, and open unto us the gates.   

CHAP. LII. The mysteries of the spear are ended, and of the great ingratitude of ours, for the shedding of his blood.  
SAnguinem innoxium effudit Manasses multum nimis, donec impleretur Ierusalen usque ad as, saith the holy scripture Reg. 4. chap. 2. as if he would say, cruel Manasses, did shed in jerusalem so much harmless blood, that it came up unto mens breasts. The scripture could not paint Manasses cruelty better, then to say that he was a king unto whom clemency did belong, and that it was the blood of innocents which he should haue defended, and that he did  shed it in jerusalem, which was a holy place; and that there was so much blood, that it did come unto mens mouths; that is, it was talk for every man in the commonwealth. Gregory in his pastoral doth say, That because prelates are as it were guardians of mens souls, and maintainers of their subiects famed and credit, with king Manasses he doth shed innocent blood, who doth not keep his subiects person, nor defend his credit; because that oftentimes a man had rather be pricked in a vain, thē touched in his famed. If it had ben profane blood, or if it had been shed in a profane place, God would not so much haue cared for Manasses cruelty, but because he did shed it in a holy place, and was the blood of holy persons, the scripture doth lament it, and God doth punish it, whereof we may infer that no man can injury or evilly entreat a good man, but God will be offended at it.  
Holy places, holy religion, and holy men, ought to haue great privileges, and be defended by their superiors, because that in the merit of the good the concavity and wicked do live. coming then unto our purpose, there is nothing in mans life whereof men show greater niggardness, then of their own blood, for not having an eye over that, as it issueth out of the body, the soul departeth also. It is likewise to be considered, that there is no member in all mans body which resteth not quiet in his place; the blood excepted which walketh throughout all the body, and thereupon it is, that the body being the seat of the blood, and the blood the seat of the soul, and the soul in every part of the body, a man hath no longer life, then he doth keep his blood in his body. When cruel Nero did command that Seneca his master should be killed, the poor old man choose to be put into a bath, & there commanded a vain to be opened, so that as his blood diminished, his death drew on, and when his blood was all out, his soul went out with it. O high mystery, O inspeakable sacrament, seeing that in the blood, wherein men show greatest skarsnes and niggardness, the son of God did show greatest franknes, as it doth easily appear, because that no man doth shed his blood, but by constraint, and no more then well he may, but the son of God did shed until he had no more. The blood which he had in his flesh he did shed at the pillar, that which he had in his head the thorns did draw out, that which he had in his veins the nailes did take away, that which he had in his shoulders the lashes did shed, and that which he had in his heart, the spear did draw out, in so much that if Manasses did shed blood until it came to the mouth, good Iesus did shed his until there was no drop left.  
The members of Christ his body, had their end and limits if they had ben measured, his bones had their weight if they had ben weighed, and his hair were in number if they had ben counted; but the blood which our blessed saviour did shed for thee and for me, what weight was there in the world to weigh it, or what iudgement did suffice to value it? When thou shalt speak( saith Hugo de sacramentis) of the blood which the son of God did shed for thee, why dost thou dispute whether it were much or little, seeing thou knowest well that he left not one drop in his body? he doth give it without count and wilt thou haue a reckoning of it? Barnard saith, That to the blood which king Manasses did shed, the scripture doth put a limmit and an end, because it came unto mens mouths, but unto that which our holy Lord did shed there is no measure put, seeing he gave unto every man until the top of the head: because that good Iesus was not content to shed aboundanly only to redeem us, but he did make also pools of blood to bath vs. In these pools judith did bath herself, before she had the victory over Holophernes, in these pools Naaman did bath himself, when he was healed of his leprosy, my meaning is, that in these pools thou shouldst bath, O my soul, if thou wilt be made whole of thy offence, because that no man doth bath in these holy baths, who falleth sick again. The blood which Manasses did shed was innocent blood, and the blood which Christ did shed was also innocent blood, & the difference betwixt those two bloods was, that Manasses did shed other mens blood, but that which Christ did shed was his own: whereof it doth follow, that the iustice which our Lord should haue done vpon our souls, he did it wholly vpon his own person. If the blood( saith Barnard) which Manasses did shed was innocent blood, the son of God is innocency itself: & if the blood which the tyrant did shed was holy, our Lord was holiness itself, and that which cannot be spoken without tears, is, that in our sweet Iesus more then in any other, holiness was defamed, and innocency executed. He being most holy they did defame him to be the greatest sinner, and being most innocent, they did punish him like unto a malefactor; in such sort, that on the alter of the cross, they made a cruel butchery of his person, and put his credit and famed to sale. Damascen saith, That if the son of God, would haue shed no more blood then was needful for us, it is certain that of one drop, half had ben to much: but because he would make our redemption honourable and copious, he made a free mart of his blood, in which every man might buy frankly without recompense.  
Augustine vpon Saint John saith, That physicians are very liberal in letting other men blood, and very wary in letting themselves blood, which is not so in the son of God, who when he should haue let the sick blood in the arm, did let himself blood in the side, and that not with a barbers lancet but with a spear, since the beginning of the world, who did ever see or hear, that the physician should let himself blood to cure and heal his patient? O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, seing that thou dost cast my infirmity vpon thy humanity, and dost unburden me of my fault, and take the punishment vpon thyself, why dost thou make such a cruel anatomy of thy members before that thy soul hath left thy body? Now that thou wilt cure me in thee, and now that thou wilt let thyself blood for me, why dost thou only let thyself blood with a lance, seeing that al the world doth it with a small lancet? & albeit, that it did please thee to be let blood with a spear, why wouldst thou haue him that thrust thee in stand on the ground, and thou fifteen cubits high? Now that thou dost use this order in letting thyself blood, and on high, why dost thou let thyself blood in the sides, when all the world doth let himself blood in the veins?  
These are the mysteries O good Iesus, these are the mysteries, why do not some of the dead rise out of their sepulchers to help me to weep them. It was the pleasure of our good Lord to suffer all this to bind me more unto him, & to injury himself; for as al other men do flee the occasions of travels, so the son of God did seek the means to receive torments. Barnard saith, Who until this day hath received so many torments for his own health, as good Iesus hath done for other men. O thou wilful and cruel speareman, if thou go about to thrust through some malefactor, or robber by the high way, who is comparable with me in the world? if thou go to let any sick man blood, who is so frozen in sin like unto myself, and so obdurat in wickedness? level then thy spear to this my side, and open my putrefied heart in the midst, because the wickedness and infirmity is not in this redeemer, but in this sinner, as thou shalt easily see, because thou dost drive out of him nothing but blood, 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 reuben unto 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 joseph as you did, unto the muliters in egypt, but you gave me no credit: behold now the hour is come, in which he doth ask you an account of his blood which you sold. It is very true that job doth say, quod non est qui de manu tua posset eruere, seeing that the children of Israell did sell their brother joseph for mere envy and malice 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 providence 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 always 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 punishment in this life, then not to be punished in this life. It did seem unto Iosephs brethren, that they should be greatly injuried and discredited, if he being the yoongest in age, should become the greatest in dignity: which rule in the providence of God, hath no place, because that in the bestowing of his graces, he doth not look which brother is first, but who before him doth best deserve. ishmael was born before Isaac, Esau before jacob, reuben before Iudas, Amon before Salomon, but in Christ his line, and also in the succession of his houses, the second children were preserved before the first, and the first deprived of their eldership. S. Ambrose saith, That it doth little avail us to labour, to set up him whom God will put down, or go about to pull him down whom God will exalt, for to do the one, & to hinder the other, because God hath no need of mans favor, but only of his own proper will, he doth all things as he will, and nothing but as he ought. coming then unto our purpose it is to be noted, that the son of God seeing, that there was no man above in heaven, came down to buy them on earth: and having a determined purpose, to buy that which was good, & not to return again without his merchandise, he did buy so deere peniworths, that it was well seen by him, that he was not moved thereunto by necessity, but only of mere charity. He did not buy us with gold nor silver, but with his precious blood; & the payment which he did give for us, was not according unto reason, but by ouerpaying: for if he would haue bought us according as our humanity did merit, with one half of half a drop, he should haue bought all that was in heaven & in earth. S. basil vpon those words of the Psalm, benign fac, saith thus, Our Lord did use great benignity towards us, seeing that he bought us with his person, & paid for us with his blood, insomuch that if he had had any thing that had ben better, a better he would haue given for us; but to be brief, what can a man give of a greater price then that which doth cost him his own life? until this day, that man hath not ben seen, who hath bought a treasure with the exchanging of his blood, but when the time of payment cometh, the buyer doth either open his cheast, or unknit his purse, or give a pawn, or his word is credited, insomuch that if the bargen should be to the prejudice of his wealth, yet it should not reach to the damage of his person. If the son of God would haue observed these conditions, and thought vpon those pretences, he would never haue bought us so dearly, nor haue shed his blood so bountifully for us: but because his goodness was rather to save us, then preserve his own life, when they asked the payment, in stead of commanding his cheast to be opened, he consented that his veins should be broken. O precious veins, O holy blood, why dost thou issue out of his precious side, to water the dunghill of the mount of calvary, seeing that if one drop should fall in hel, al the dampned would be saved? If he would give the dead licence to rise out of their graues, and would suffer the angels to come down from heaven, they would set hard by one drop of that blood, and strive whose it should be; because that neither in heaven, nor in earth, they shall find any relic like unto it. hilarius saith, O how highly we should esteem it, to see that the son of God is our Lord, seeing he did creat us, our brother seeing he did make himself man, our redeemer seeing he did redeem us, and our master seeing he did buy us; and that which most of all we ought to wonder at is, that if by right because he bought us we are his bondslaves, yet by love he doth entreat us like unto brothers: for reuben then to entreat his brothers, that they would not sin against joseph their brother, was to teach us that we should commit no treason against Christ our brother, nor do any sin against him, for if we do, we shall as grievously be accused of ingratitude, as the jews were of murder.  
basil vpon those words, quid retribuam domino saith, Seeing I am a greater debtor unto Christ, because he did redeem me, then because he did creat me, will it not be pardie as great a fault, not to aclowledge his death, as to put him to death? Cirillus vpon S. John doth say, That seeing the creator of the world did buy us, & that very dearly, we are bound to serve him like unto bondmen, or restore him his money into his hands again, the which was neither gold nor silver, but of the coin of his precious blood: the which we do then restore him, when we live in his holy service, and die in his catholic faith. S. August. in one of his sermons vpon the martyrs doth say, That for no other cause the martyrs did suffer themselves to be quartered in pieces by the tyrants, but because they would bestow their life for Christ, as Christ had given his for them; in somuch that in the same coin that they were bought, they repaid Christ again, that is, reproach for reproach, danger for danger, blood for blood, and life for life.  
I am much afraid O good Iesus, I am much afraid of that speech, En sanguis eius exquiritur, that is, that I shall be called to an account, how I did help myself with thy precious blood: whereof I shall give a bad recknoning, seeing that I do scarce keep it in memory, because that as much as I do love and cherish myself, so much I forget thee.  
O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, if the blood of Abell doth ask for iustice of Cain, who murdered him, if the blood of joseph doth ask for iustice because he was sold, if the blood of Naboth doth ask iustice at God his hands, because he was stoned, will not thy blood ask the like of me, seeing that I am so ungrateful for it? O dreadful speech, O terrible word, en sanguis eius exquiritur, that is, they call for a reckoning, not of Iosephs blood, whom they did sell to the muliters, but of the blood of Christ which is laid 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 precious blood they were redeemed.  
Vbertinus saith, It is very convenient that we join our heart with his heart, our side with his side, our blood with his blood, and our love with his love, for it is not reason that we haue the ears of our heart shut, seeing that he hath always the gates of his bowels open for us to enter in. mark and note well how our friends do open their houses unto us, because we should go in, their garners because we should take corn, their sellers because we should take wine, and their chests to show us their treasury; but yet they do not open unto us their heart, to know what is in him, because there is no friend so deere in this world, nor any heart so clear, which hideth not some hidden secret in his breast.  
Only the son of God was he, and is, which unto his friends never denied any favour, nor in their need never failed them, nor never hide secret from them, nor never shut gate against them, in such sort that he would not only that the spear should make us a high way by his sides, but that we should also see that which was in his bowels.  
Seneca unto Lucillius saith, That we are commonly glad, that our neighbours should see the eyes we see with, the hands which we labour with, the feet we go with, and the tongue 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 deep matters in mans heart, that if it were possible not to do it, a man would not trust his own heart.  
Thou art not O good Iesus, thou art not of this condition and contemplation, but because thou wouldest show that thou didst not keep thy high treasures in thy chests, but in thy bowels, thou didst make the spear to open them, because every 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 iron of the spear did make, thou dost until this day keep open above in thy glory.   

CHAP. LIII. How joseph of Aramathia did ask Pilat for Christ his body, and of the circumstances of asking it.  
POst haec autem rogauit Pilatum joseph ab Aramathia, vt tolleret corpus Iesu, & permisit Pilatus, saith S. John in the nineteenth chapter, as if he would say, After that Christ his side was opened with the spear, and he given up his spirit unto his father, it happened that a citisen of jerusalem, who was called joseph of Aramathia, a noble man & a just, and a secret Desciple of Christ, did go boldly to Pilat to crave Christs body of him to the end he might bury him. The captain of the gard, called Centurio, giuing notice that he had left Christ dead, because he did see him yield up his ghost vpon the three, Pilat did condescend unto Iosephs request, that is, that they should bury that holy prophet. Before that the son of God went up to the cross, and after that he was vpon the cross, and after that he was dead vpon the cross, the first person who shewed him pity and favour, was great joseph of Aramathia, for if the thief and the Centurion did show themselves to haue compassion on Christ, it was in words, but that which joseph did, was in deeds. Let no man despair in troubles, let no man be dismayed in tribulations, for when he doth least look for it, & when he doth least think of it, our Lord will raise up unto him another joseph of Aramathia, who will take him from the cross, on which the world doth crucify him, and give his sorrowful heart a sepulchre of comfort.  
S. jerom saith, That it is an old custom, that no man could be so bold as to bury an executed person, unless he had had licence of the public magistrat; because it should be unto the offender a punishment, and unto the beholders and lookers on an example. It was the will of the son of God, to pass by this rule, and that, that old pragmatical lawe, should bee executed in himself; giuing us to understand by that mystery, that as he would not go up to the cross but for obedience, so he would not come down from the cross without licence. God( saith lo) doth highly esteem of such as serve him, and of those which for the love of him do obey others; seeing we do see that the eternal father did command his son to die on the cross for obedience, and the son would not come down from the cross without licence; insomuch that his life did but last until he had yielded up his ghost, but his obedience continued until his grave. It is to be weighed in this place, who doth make the request, what it is that he doth request, how he doth request it, of whom, and in what time, because the circumstances do make the business of great or small weight. He who maketh the request is good joseph, the thing is the body of Christ, he of whom, is Pilat, the manner how, is with great boldness, the place where, is the palace, and the time, was the same day that they commanded Christ to be put to death; insomuch that by so much the business is of greater virtue, by how much it is wrapped in greater difficulty. It is an old custom in scripture, that when it doth recite unto us any heroical fact, to rehearse particularly the comditions and properties which that holy man had which did it. As it is said of holy job, that he was of Chaldea an upright, sincere, and fearful man, pitiful, and an alms giver, and above all, most patient.  
Like unto this of holy job, the evangelist doth particularly tell, who he was who butted Christ, that is, joseph who was of Aramathia, a rich man, a courtier of a noble stock, a just man, and a secret disciple of Christ. First he saith that he was called joseph, which was always a name very grateful to God, and always given unto virtuous persons, because that the first joseph made way to the synagogue in egypt, he committed to the second joseph the coming of his son into the world, and unto this third joseph, he trusted his body after that he was dead; insomuch that our Lord did not only choose a holy man to take him from the cross, but also one who had a holy name. This holy old man was of a village called Aramathia, where the priest levi did sit, and where holy Anna was born, and Helcana her husband, and where there was never Idol set up, nor Idolatry; and before that, this place was called Ramatha, where the great Prophet Samuel was born; insomuch that this good joseph 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 infamy, as babylon, jerico, Bethel, Galgala, and Iturea; and contrary some dedicated and consecrated to God, as jerusalem, Sion, Bethleem, and Ramatha, insomuch that to name a place or not, is never done in scripture without some notable mystery.  
The scripture noteth also, that this joseph was not only virtuous, and of a good place, but also endowed with great wealth and riches; and the reason was, why our Lord would be butted by the hands of a rich man, is to teach us by that example, that no man in this life, is so much bound to the works of mercy, as men of ability and riches. S. jerom vpon S. matthew, When the scripture doth show us that Thobias and joseph, very rich men, did take vpon them to bury the dead, it doth in that, set poor men at liberty, and bind rich men to bury strangers; for seeing that our Lord hath given 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 burial; the rich because they should bury him, and the poor because they should weep.  
S. Barnard vpon the passion doth say, That not without a mystery the evangelist doth say, that Christ was butted according to the custom of the Iewes, that is, to be washed with water, and anointed with myrrh, before he should be put into his grave; all which was fulfilled in Christ his body: because that his sorrowful mother, S. John, and Mary Magdalen, did wash him with their tears, and joseph and Nicodemus did anoint him with balms. joseph was also a noble man by calling, & descended of noble blood, as it appeareth in that which he did for Christ, and in his boldness 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 name Christ, his name was for that present so odious. hilarius saith, The mystery why Christ would not suffer himself to bee touched, nor shrouded, nor butted, but by valorous and noble personages, was, that as the time when he did come into the world to take human flesh, he would not take it but of royal and noble blood: so in his departure out of the world, he would not but by the hands of noble men be butted.  
S. Augustine doth say, That a man should take great heed whom he doth trust, and into whose hands he doth commit the affairs of his conscience, for seeing that the son of God did trust none but noble men after his death, howe darest thou commit thyself to naughty perverse men in thy life? because Christ did commend himself unto holy and virtuous men, they did use him nobly and heroically; that is, they did take him from the cross, anoint his wounds, shrowded his body, and put him in his own sepulchre.  
naughty men of the world, will do the contrary unto all this if thou ioyn friendship with them, for they will rather put thee on the cross, then take thee from the cross; rather turn thee naked then shrowded thee, bury thy famed and credit, before they bury thy body; defile thee rather with dirt, then anoint thee with sweet balm.  
They praise old joseph, that he was a knight of the court, or a roman captain; which also containeth a secret, and the reason why Christ would be butted by the hands of such noble honourable men, was, because they should give full testimony, and entire witness, how they had butted and closed up Christ in the sepulchre, 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 govern his common wealth, & of joseph for the charge & care of his sepulchre, having brought up Moyses in the kings court of egypt, and likewise oseph in the court of the jewish nation? What doth he mean, that in matters of great importance, he doth trust none but courtly knights? we answer unto this and say, that by Moyses who was the leader of all the hebrews, he is understood, who hath government over worldly matters: and by joseph who did put Christ in his grave, is vndestood the prelate who hath charge over his flock; who should be circumspectly in that which he doth command, and courteous in that which he doth speak, because there is nothing, which doth better please in a common wealth, then for him who hath the government, to be civil and well brought up; because in princes courts, men are for the most part civil and well nurtured, therfore God did commend these two important affairs, unto these two knights. This good old knight joseph, 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 kind of people that followed Christ, vz. some followed and loved him not, as the common people; others did love & not follow him, as Nicodemus and joseph; and some did follow & love him, as S. John. Seeing that in the life of Christ there was nothing feigned, nor any thing that savoured of hypocrisy, seeing that he did preach openly, go openly, and work his miracles openly, what news is this, to say, that he had some secret and privy disciples, and others open and known? howe can it bee that he should haue any secret disciples, seeing he did command them to preach that on the house top, which he should speak unto them?  
To this we answer, that because it is naturally given to every man to desire to live, and to abhor death, there should be in time to come, many stout and valiant Christians, which should offer themselves to martyrdom, and other not of that courage, which for fear would hid themselves; the scripture doth call some open and known disciples, and others secret and privy disciples, because they did hid themselves from tyrants, not for want of love, but for overmuch fear.  
Although charity were not so hot and fervent in some as in ohers, yet they were nevertheless Christ his disciples; for although they did keep themselves close, & hid themselves for fear of tyrants, yet they wanted not perfect faith and will, if the case had so required it, and being found or called by the tyrant, to offer themselves presently to martyrdom.  
There were many holy Christians in the primitive Church, which exiled themselves voluntarily, and fled to the mountains, and hide themselves in dens, who after that they were brought before the tyrant, were martyrised with cruel torment; insomuch that the scripture doth call those open disciples, which come to martyrdom; and those secret, which are brought to martyrdom. When in the time of the reign of queen jesabel, and King ahab, all were idolaters, and Helias only a faithful Christian; what did the Lord say when he said, Septem millia virorum reliqui mihi qui non flecterunt genua ante Baal, but that he had in the synagogue seven thousand secret disciples, and only one known? Our Lord hath many holy men in his Church, who although they do not present themselves to Pagans and Moors, knowing theit own weakness; yet they would be torn in pieces, rather then deny the faith of a Christian; insomuch that they want not their desert, because they be secret.  
Remigius to this purpose saith, For the son of God to credit his precious body, to his secret disciple, and not unto any of those which went openly with him, is to teach us thereby, that there are at this day, many virtuous men and women in his Church; which in the sight of man are secret and unknown, and yet in the sight of God, their travels are better accepted then others. he who should haue seen wicked Iudas, and good joseph, the one an open disciple, and a familiar unto Christ, and the other privy, and scarce known in the holy college, such a one I say would haue judged Iudas, to be a holy man, and joseph scarce a Christian; but when Christ had need of them, the secret disciple did bury him, and the open disciple did sell him.  
O what a comfort it is unto all such as will be virtuous & good, to see that our Lord, doth accept the service of his secret disciples, and of his open, that is, of wishes or works, alone or in company, sick or in health, publicly or secretly, as well in adversity as in prosperity.  
Let our conclusion be in this case, that who so will look into the manner which the old age did use in their funerals, he shall find, that God did always command the charge of burials to be given to virtuous and good men, seeng that Abraham did bury Sara his wife, Isaac Abraham his father, holy jacob old Rachel, and joseph jacob, holy Moyses God himself, and Iosue, the captain of the synagogue, 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 provide in his, we may gather, what great care God hath over those which be his, and die in his service; seeing he forgetteth not to give their souls glory, and their bones a sepulchre: Ad vesperum demorabitur fletus, & admatutinum laetitia, saith the Prophet david, as if he would say, Weeping shal continue but until the night, and mirth shall come in the morning.  
With great consideration the Prophet doth make mention of the weeping of the evening, and the mirth of the morning; because that towards the morning, Christ did rise out of the sepulchre; and at the evening, they did take his body down from the cross; insomuch that in those two hours, the Christians suffered their greatest pain and grief, and did also see their greatest ioy and mirth.  
S. Barnard doth say, that the son of God was accused at one of the clock, received iudgement at three, crucified at six, and dead at nine, at evensong time taken from the cross, and butted at compline time; but of all these lamentations, the Prophet doth say, Quod ad vesperum demerabitur fletus; because there was greater lamentation made, when the faithful did vn-naile him, then when the hangmen did crucify him.  
The evening being come, his mother was at the foot of the cross, with all her family; no less sorrowful then confounded, nor less confounded then sorrowful; because the most sad mother did see her son torn in pieces on the cross, and the rest of her company did see their master dead; all which had not licence to bury him, nor yet the heart to forsake him. Vbertinus doth say, that in all the time, from which Christ did yield up his soul unto his father, until they had his body in the grave, the virgins sorrow was so great, to see the small means shee had to bury her son, that shee was as near unto death, as her son was to rise again.  
O my soul, O my heart, what tongue is able to speak it, what eyes can dissemble it, what heart can suffer it, who can endure to see, or taste of that which the sad mother doth endure at this time. If my eyes are full of tears, only because I am here a writing of it, what should I haue done O my soul, 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 up 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 ointments; if they would haue shrouded him, they had no shrowded; if they would haue butted him, they had no place where.  
O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, if I did feel any part of thy passion, or taste the dolours of thy sad mother, howe were it possible, that I should not writ this with tears of blood, or that my eyes should not become flesh, by weeping this act? dost thou not think, that this is an act worthy the weeping, and a mystery to be meditated; seeing that the sorrowful mother, and the sad family, for to vn-naile the dead body, and give him his sepulchre, had greater abundance of tears, then wants in things necessary for that solemnity? Their anguish was so much the greater, by howe much the obscure night did draw near, and the solemn eve of their Aester approach; for to go and come with speed from the town, it was to late; ask licence to bury his body they could not, because they were not known unto Pilat; to sand to buy balm, they had no money; to make a shrowded, they wanted a sheet; and to make his grave they wanted necessaries; if they had departed from thence, and left him unburied, they feared least they would haue butted 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 love of the dead body did invite them to stay, and the fear of the night constrained them to depart. Ansel. in his meditations saith, In that sorrowful hour, & in the lamentable time when the virgin did stand at the foot of the cross, shee did stand beholding her son, & Mary Magdalen embracing the cross, S. John encouraging the mother, Salome at the discipiles side, and all the family weeping, and which was a pitiful thing to behold, they did all look one vpon another, and yet did not speak the one to the other, because they had lost their speech, with over many tears.  
If the mother would haue taken order for the burying of the dead, shee could not; if John would, he had nothing ready, not durst not; if Mary Magdalen would haue said that it was time to return to her house, shee was ashamed; and for to go up to the cross 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. liv. How that when the virgin stood weeping vpon the mount of calvary, because shee wanted things necessary for to bury her son, our Lord did ordain that joseph should take the charge vpon him.  
ANgustiae sunt mihi undique, saith the holy scripture in the 13. of Daniel, as if he would say, The anguishes which compass me on every side are so many, that I haue no heart to endure them, nor tongue to rehearse them. Although the glorious and famous Susanna, did speak 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 grave. Shee might say with great reason Angustiae sunt mihi undique, for if shee did look up to heaven, she did see it troubled, if shee did look vpon the cross, shee saw her son dead, if shee did look down, shee saw the earth covered with blood, if she did look vpon her cousin she saw him weeping, if she did look vpon her own heart, she saw it in a sown, insomuch that she had neither forces to help herself, nor courage to comfort others. O good Iesus, O redeemer of my soul, that having created heaven and earth, and all that therein is, yet dost thou want a sepulchre to bury thy body in? Seeing that thy sorrowful mother doth say, that she is environed with anguish on every side, why dost thou not provide for some comfort for thy mother, courage to thy cousin, patience for Mary Magdalen, and a grave for thy own body? What meaneth this O eternal father, what meaneth this? didst thou give moses a sepulchre made with thy own hand, and bring the bones of thy seruant joseph out of egypt, and dost thou now forget the grave of thy own only son? dost thou not see that if thou do leave him unburied vpon the cross, that the birds will eat him; & if thou let him fall down, by little and by little the dogs will devour him? wicked jezabel wanted not a sepulchre, who killed Naboth because she would haue his vineyard from him; and wilt not thou give thy son a sepulchre, having planted thy church with his blood? what iustice is it, that thou shouldst suffer those to be butted which kill the living, and they without a sepulchre which raise the dead? O eternal father, O infinite goodness, seeing that by thy commandement he did take mans flesh vpon him, & to do thy will did suffer himself to be killed, and to fulfil thy obedience, refused to come down from the cross, is it much that in the exchanging of his life, thou shouldst command seven foot of earth to be given him? is it much that the Lord of all the earth, should haue seven foot of earth? know thou O good Lord that as there are more to be weeped for besides himself, so there are more to be butted also, for shall the body of thy son, the heart of the mother, the sorrow of the Desciple, the sighs of Mary Magdalen, and the tears of all the family want a sepulchre? Non relinquet dominus virgam peccatorum supper sortem servorum, saith the prophet david, as if he would say, Our Lord is so careful over those which be his, and hath such a hand over the perverse and wicked, that he will not suffer the skourg of- the wicked to endure too long over the good, because that oftentimes long tribulation doth bring desperation.  
The words which the Prophet doth utter in this place are full of comfort and contemplation, because that the wicked and concavity men which compass us on every side are so many, and the tribulations which afflict us likewise in such number, that if our Lord should not moderat and mitigate them with his clemency and goodness, they would make an end of us all in one hour. Gregory in his Morals doth counsel, that no man should be glad and rejoice for not being tempted, nor no man despair 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 bear.  
Hilarius likewise doth say, When the wise man doth say, that God doth all things by weight, and give all thing by measure; what else doth he say, but that there is no prosperity which hath not an end where to end, nor any adversity which hath not a limmit prescribed how far to reach. Seeing our Lord doth say, and swear by the mouth of the prophet, That he will not permit the wicked, to destroy good men with their persecutions, why should I fear any cruel tyrant, seeing that I am very certain that our Lord will shorten his hand? Isodorus de summo bono saith thus, If wicked men had as great power to do hurt, as they haue will, there should be no greater a number of good men vpon earth then there are of phoenix 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 divide them among his elect, that if it were not to give them occasion of goodness, he would not permit them to suffer so much as one tribulation. We haue spoken all this, to the end that we should magnify and set forth the great care, which our Lord had to relieve and redress the great tribulation which th● sad mother was overwhelmed in, and all her family, that is, by inspiring & persuading holy joseph to go boldly to Pilat to ask licence that he might give hir precious son his burial. O how well it doth appear, that the Lord will not leave the rod of sinners, supper sortem servorum, seeing that the sad and sorrowful mother of God being at the mount of calvary, and rich joseph of Aramathia careless in jerusalem, our Lord did permit that he should go boldly into Pilats palace, to negociat the funerals and burial of Christ; and that not being entreated by any, nor having received money to that purpose. Who doth perfectly know what to choose, or always what to do, considering that as oftentimes hurt not looked for doth happen unto us, so sometimes good lucke cometh in at our gates, ourselves not procuring it? look how careful the Virgin was to bury her son, so did she as little think, that joseph or any other had taken the business in hand; whereof we may learn, that no man should despair of any thing, because that oftentimes when we think that our business do go to wrack, then they go best forward. All such as haue red the scriptures, do well know how near Daniel was to be devoured of the lions, and Susanna to be stoned by the people, and david to fall into Saul his hands, and Sedrach and Meshach to be burnt in the furnace, & Isaac to be slain by his father, & jonas to be drowned in the sea, but all these, and many others besides them, were succoured in their greatest need, never thinking of it, nor less labouring to avoid it. If the Virgin should haue forced herself, and taken courage to haue gone to Pilat, and entreated for her sons body, could she haue done so much being present, as our Lord did for her being absent?  
Note well and mark saith Vbertinus, That how as the sorrowful mother, and distressed John, and weeping Magdalen, would not forsake and leave the body of Christ on the cross, where he hanged naked and dead; so neither will our Lord forsake them in that most hard & terrible toil and anguish: whereof we may infer, that what so ever good Christian doth not forsake the cross, he who hangeth on the cross, will not forsake him.  
Forsake not then O my soul, forsake nor Iesus crucified, nor do thou not depart from the cross, nor go not from the mount of calvary, for if thou hast any business to do at Pilats court, joseph is there who will take the charge of it: for thou must know, if thou know it not, that no man did ever esteem and make account of God, but God did the like unto him again.  
What doth he not negociat who is busy with Christ at the foot of the cross? thou must note, that none do trafik with Pilat but going; but with the cross and with the crucified, none do communicat but standing. If thou do not forsake God ( saith chrysostom) he will not forsake thee, if thou do not leave him he will not leave thee, if thou do not forget him he will not forget thee, and if thou do put thy whole trust in him, he will help thee; in so much that when thou dost not think on it, he will raise up another joseph of Aramathia unto thee, who not being asked by thee, and of free cost, will pull thee down from the cross where thou dost languish, and give thee a sepulchre where thou shalt rest.  
Intrauit audacter ad Pilatum joseph, saith the evangelist, as if he would say, The noble knight joseph did not go in fearfully, or like a man that were troubled, when he went to entreat Pilat for Christ his body, 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 us nothing superflously, and yet doth highly esteem it that joseph did go unto Pilat boldly, it is a token that there is some hidden secret in it, and some mystery worthy to be noted contained in it. Agmon doth say, That the scripture would never haue made so great reckoning of joseph, and of his boldness, unless he had done that heroical fact when he did it, and also in the same assembly & meeting where he did it, that is, to the great grief of all the synagogue: because that by so much the more a commendable fact ought to be commended, by how much the greater difficulty there is to achieve it. There was nothing at that time lesser thought vpon, nor any business more scandalous, than that which touched Christ and his college, because that the hatred which they did bear him was 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 jews did so much triumph that they had the victory over Christ, that no man durst speak one word in his favour, but every man said that he was put to death with great reason, and that that cozener of the people did deserve a thousand deaths; and therefore to say that joseph and no other did go boldly to crave licence to bury Christ his body, was to extol and praise him, that he and no other did offer himself to that danger. If joseph of Aramathia had not been a man in office, and a friend of Pilats, he would never haue given us licence to haue taken Christ from the cross, and so honourably to haue butted him, yea and if he had given us licence, it would haue cost us our lives, because that our parents and kinsfolks did so much hate his name, that as soon as ever any man did name him he who heard it did spit. Because that Pilat representeth the devil, and holy joseph bear the figure of a just man, to say that joseph did go boldly to Pilat and negociat with him, is to tell us and also advertise us, that we should be of good courage and resist the persuasions of the divell; for if we do not cast of all fear, he will never be overcome by vs. We haue greater need of courage to traffic with the divell and the world, then with Pilat, because the one doth persuade us unto so many things, and the other entice us with so many delights, that if we beleeue them we are cast away, and if we beleeue them not they do persecute vs. dost thou not think that we should haue great courage to cast off the world, and to resist the divell, seeing that we cannot escape out of his conversation, but by condemning our souls, and losing our bodies? It is also to be weighed, that the courage and magnanimity which joseph did show in speaking unto Pilat, was not for any thing which did touch himself, but only for the service of Christ, wherein he doth teach us, that those few desires which our hearts haue in them, and the small strength which our bodies are endowed with, ought all to be offered unto Christ and in his service, rather then be employed to our benefit. It is not red that good joseph did go at any other time to Pilat to entreat for any thing, but only when he went to request that he might haue Christ his body to bury, whereof we may gather, that we are bound to do more for the service of Christ, then for our own benefit, for otherwise as all that which is not done for God endeth in folly; so all that which endeth in God, is called wisdom.  
S. Augustine vpon S. John doth say, that since the beginning of the world no man did ever ask so great a favour as joseph, nor never so great a favour done as that of Pilat, for joseph did not ask much nor little, but only Christ, and the favour which Pilat did yield was the same Christ.  
O if Pilat had known what he had given, as good joseph did know what he did ask, it is to be thought, that he would haue given himself to joseph, and kept good Iesus for himself. What else is there in this world to be given, after that we haue given Christ? What hath he left, who hath not Christ left in his house? In time past Axa did ask of his father Caleph a meadow which was watered over, and Abraham the land of Canaan which did belong unto him, and Anna wife unto Helcana did ask for children, because she was barren, and the prophet jonas to be delivered out of the belly of the whale; but great joseph of Aramathia did ask for nothing but for that sacred humanity united unto the divine essence, in so much that when joseph did ask for the body of Christ he did ask for the Lord of all the universal world.  
O my soul, O my heart, go I pray thee, go after this holy joseph, and enter with him into Pilats palace, and be sure that thou seek for nothing there but what he doth seek for, and that thou ask for nothing but what he doth ask for, that is, thy redeemer and Lord: and if Pilat do grant thee the body, bury him first in thy obstinat heart, before that joseph do bury him in the sepulchre.  
If Pilat had known the precious jewel which he did give, he would never haue given it, but would haue bought it with the price of his own blood, which had not been much, seeing he gave his for him. Very good cheap Iudas did sell Christ his life, but far better cheap joseph did buy his precious body, because Iudas did sell him for money, but he did cost good joseph nothing but entreaty: in so much that if we will bury good Iesus in our hearts, wee must rather entreat for him then pay for him.  
Origen vpon S. matthew doth say, that when the scripture doth tell us, that joseph did go boldly to Pilat to ask for Christ his body, it doth teach us thereby, that our Lord doth not put himself in the hands of fearful men, but of stout men, nor commit himself unto cowards but unto valiant persons, as it doth easily appear in great joseph of Aramathia, who because he was stout and valiant, did deserve that Christ should commit himself into his hands. The curious reader of scripture shall find, that four persons did take Chtist in their arms, namely the Virgin to give him suck, old Simeon to praise him, and the wicked divell to throw him down from the pinnacle, and joseph of Aramathia to bury him. He with the Virgin Mary doth give Christ milk of his breasts, who in him and in no other doth put all his desires; and he with Simeon doth take Christ in his arms, who doth love and serve him with all his forces; and he with joseph doth bury Christ in his grave, who putteth all his confidence in God alone; and he with the divell would cast him down from the pinnacle who goeth about to throw down his church: and of all this we may infer, that the perfection of a Christian man doth not consist in having of Christ, but when we haue him to benefit ourselves by him. Cirillus vpon S. John doth say, That we do cost Christ very dearly, & that Christ doth cost us very little; as it doth easily appear in joseph of Aramathia, who bought Christ his body for one bare word; insomuch that if we want the having of our Lord, it is not because he is not easily found and bought for a little, but because we haue not a desire to seek him, nor do no good thing whereby we may buy him. Remigius doth say, that good joseph of Aramathia is worthy of great praise, because that in a time when all Christ his family was fled, his body dead vpon the cross, his faith and church discredited, all his doctrine forgotten, he had the courage to show himself boldly to be one of Christ his band, and publicly bury his body, but yet so that he first butted Christ in his soul before he laid his body in the grave.   

CHAP. LV. How joseph and Nichodemus did carry ladders with them to go up to the cross, and ointments to anoint his body, and went directly to the mount of calvary.  
SVspensus est rex in patibulo, usque ad vesperem & postea deposuerunt cadaver eius de cruce, saith the holy scripture, Iosue the eight, as if he would say, The famous captain Iosue going to the land of promise, did rase and destroy the city of Hay, and crucified the Lord and king of the same city, and his body remained on the cross until the evening, and then Iosue commanded that his body should be butted. If we look into the letter of this history we shall find, that for Iosue to enter into the land of promis, it was first necessary for him to destroy the city of Hay, and make it a heap of stones, and crucify the king which possessed it, and not take him down from the gallows until the evening, and bury the king his body near unto a gate, and build an alter where the synagogue should offer sacrifice; all which figure was literally fulfilled in Christ. What is the land of promis unto which the hebrews did tend, but the bliss which the Christians do hope for?  
What is the city 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 city of Hay, there remaineth nothing but a heap of hard stones, but that of all the synagogue there is nothing left, but a few perfidious and obstinate Iewes? What doth it signify that the people of the Iewes could not enter into the land of Promise, unless they did first crucify the king of Hay, but that no man could ascend into heaven unless 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 simplo and holy persons.  
And to ad mystery unto mystery, the holy scripture doth say in the same place, that they did bury the body of the king at the entrance of the gate: wherein we are given plainly to understand, that as no man could enter into the city, unless he did first touch that princes sepulchre, so no man shall enter into everlasting glory, unless 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 cross until the evening, and until the same hour Christ did hang vpon his; at the going down of the sun they did bury the king, and at compline time they did bury Christ; hard at the gate they did enterre the king, and near unto the city they did bury Christ; insomuch that not only the cross and death of Christ was prefigured in the cross and death of the king, but also his holy burial.  
To come then unto our purpose, howe worthy joseph was of praise, so worthy Pilat was of reprehension; seeing that at the time when he commanded Christ to bee crucified, he asked council of no man, and when he did take him from the cross asked the captains aduise: although in truth, when he did crucify him, he should haue looked well what he did; and to command him to be butted, it was sufficient to say that it was a work of devotion. What meaneth this O wicked Pilat, what meaneth this, unjust judge? thy own wife dissuading thee, for meddling or having to do with the blood of this just man; dost thou venture to take away his life, and dost thou now ask council touching his burial? O how many disciples Pilat hath at this day, who in doing of hurt follow their own council and liking, but if they be persuaded unto any good thing, they will first( they say) take council and bethink themselves of it; insomuch that to do what they lust, they want not ability, but to do that which they ought, they say they want liberty. O my soul, O my heart, how is it possible, that you should return alive from the mount of calvary, seeing such pitiful mysteries? What more pitiful thing can you hear of, or what poverty is like unto this in the world, that Christ hath not so much as a shrowded but of alms, nor a grave, but borrowed. What riches doth he leave behind him, who leaveth not so much as a sheet behind him? What w●… lth could he possess in this world; who had not seven foot of ●… ound for his grave?  
To speak more particularly, now that joseph had gotten licence of Pilat, to bury the late crucified, he gave part of that great business unto old Nichodemus, who was also one of Christs secret disciples, showing him that now or never the hour was come, wherein both of them were openly to manifest the faith and love, which secretly they did bear that holy Prophet.  
These two honourable old men being thus agreed, they prepare all things necessary for to go to the mount of calvary, to bury him who lately died: that is to say, hammers and pinsors, and ladders, to take down the body, and a sheet to shrowded him in, and also precious ointments to embalm him, because they knew very well, that the sad mother could haue none of these things, nor money to buy them.  
having then divided their charges and office, it fel to Iosephs lot, to buy the sheet to make Christ a shrowded, and unto Nicodemus, to buy myrrh and aloes to anoint his holy body, al which they did with a most willing mind, and very bountifully, because that as Plato doth say, No man doth reckon of his expenses, when he doth bestow it vpon that which he loveth.  
We do not red( saith Leon) that any man did entreat joseph, or Nichodemus, that they would crave licence of Pilat to bury his body; nor yet that they would buy ointments, nor they were not persuaded by any to take him down from the cross, but that they did it of their own goodness, moved with charity, to let us understand by that example, that by so much the more acceptable our works bee unto our Lord, by how much the less, they are done at the entreaty of others. Non apparebis in conspectu meo vacuus, said God, Exod. 23. chap. as if he would say, In the three principal feasts of the year, every Israelite shall go to my temple to visit him, and to pray; and my pleasure is that none go that pilgrimage, so niggishly or sparing, but that he carry always somewhat to offer unto me in the temple, so that he shall go to pray, and also carry somewhat to offer.  
Origen doth say, that he goeth empty handed to the temple of God, wh● is content only to say his Pater noster and his creed, which I do not mislike but like; but yet I say that it were better sometimes to give an alms to the poor, than bee two hours in church vpon our knees.  
hilarius saith, That he doth show himself empty handed before our Lord, who doth a good work obstinately dwelling in sin; for as God did look first vpon Cain, before he did look vpon his offering, so our Lord doth first look what we are, and then he doth look vpon that which we offer. What doth it avail thee to offer thy goods to God, if on the other side thou do offer thy soul to the divell? If thou wilt bee liberal unto all men, give that unto God, which thou didst give unto the divell; and to the divell, that which thou didst give unto God: because that thy creator and redeemer, did not die for the desire of thy wealth, but only for the love which he had to thy soul. Note( saith Remigius) & mark well, that the lawe of God doth not forbid thee to show thyself before his face, but only that thou shouldst not present thyself in his sight with an empty hand: because that before the presence of our God and maker, all things are registered and presented, but he doth look only vpon those things which serve him.  
S. jerom doth say, that he doth appear empty before our Lord, who doth desire any thing at his hands, not having done any service unto him before: the which petition the Lord doth seldom hear, and unwillingly yield unto, for although we be not able to merit his great favours, yet he would not haue us do any thing which should demerit and make us unworthy of them. Honourable old joseph and Nichodemus, were none of these, the which because they would not break the lawe, nor go empty handed before their king, the one carried myrrh and aloes, and the other a sheet to make a shrowded; insomuch that like unto good and faithful disciples, with their feet they sought him, and their tongue confessed him, with their heart believed in him, with their eyes weapt for him, with their wealth served him, and with their hands anointed him. What doth not he offer, who doth offer himself and all which he hath? how shall wee say that they do go empty, to anoint the body of Christ who is dead, who in their hearts do carry him alive? Who dare say that those do go empty to the mount of calvary, which do carry the faith in their hearts, charity in their bowels, ladders on their shoulders, & the shrowded under their arms, ointments in their hands, & tears in their eyes? O my soul, O my heart, buy I pray you, buy a little myrrh & aloes, to the end that you may go with joseph of Aramathia, to the mount of calvary, for now if ever our Lord will suffer himself to be touched and handled, embalmed & shrouded, & it may bee that in recompense of this service, that at the same hour that you do put him into his grave, he will raise you from sin.  
If you haue no ointments to anoint him, O my soul, take heed you go not without tears to wash him, for when you shall begin to wash his wounds, he will 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 ask licence; the apothicaries in another, where they bought his ointment; the linen drapers in another, where they did choose his shrowded; the carpenters in another, where they got ladders; & the smiths in another where they hired hammers. far greater was the grief which they had in mind, than the trouble which in body they passed; and the reason was, that because all that which they had to do, was to be done in great secret, for fear least the wicked people should hinder them; if they had much ado to find all things, they had much more to dissemble it.  
Seeing then that the evening did draw near, and that the sun was going down, and that the night came on, and that the solemnity of their great Aester did begin, those two honourable old men, begin to take their journey to the mount of calvary, and that which can not be spoken without grief is, that all the way they carried the ladders on their shoulders, and watered all the fields with their tears. Those who carried a hundred pound weight of ointments in their hands, and two great ladders on their shoulders, and the shrowded, and pinsors, and hammers, dost thou not think my brother, that they should come to the mount of calvary very weary, and also very sweatie? What dost thou O my heart, why dost thou not go after these old men, to the mount of calvary? If thou go by the path which the people haue made, and by the sent of the ointments which these do carry, and follow the tears which these old men do shed, and the tract of blood which Christ doth leave, how is it possible that thou shouldst not find the love which thou dost seek for, and meet with Iesus whom thou dost desire? dost thou not think O my soul; that the pathway to calvary is greatly privileged; seeing that it is threshed & beaten by the wicked, perfumed with ointments, watered with tears, and made holy with the blood of Christians.  
At the very hour when they came to the mount of calvary, and saw the holy cross, & him who was crucified on the cross, it was not in their power not to fall down presenly in the place, & begin again to weep most bitterly, because that there came into their mindes, the great good turns which Christ had done to the people when he was alive, and the great hurts which were prepared for those of the synagogue.  
The sun being now down, the light but small, and the distance somewhat long, and their tears very many, the comfortless mother, and all her family, did think that joseph and Nicodemus had been some other, and that the ladder had been spears, and that they had come a new to thrust her son into the body, and not to bury him, the which fear and sudden passion, did cause a new torment in her heart.  
When the sad mother and her family, did know those which came with the ladders, and the cause of their coming, they began to shake off their fear, and come to themselves again, for to say the very truth, there was none of that family, which did take any great contentment until they did see Christ risen again. But because that among all those which were present, the mother was shee who had the greatest loss, so shee felt the greatest grief; and therfore did not come presently to herself, until Mary Magdalen did awake her, S. John speak unto her, the old men salute her, and the sweet ointments comfort her. O who could haue seen, those which came newly to the funerals of Christ crucified, and those which before remained with the dead body, how they did weep, how they did sigh, how they did sob, how they did sown & grow dumb; insomuch that in that sorrowful hour, words did fail them, and tears abound. If they would haue risen from the ground, their feet did tremble under them, if they would haue spoken, their tongues were dumb, if they would haue beholded one another, their eyes did run over with water; if they would haue lifted up 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 charity they went withall. How wouldest thou O my soul, that any of them should haue life, seeing the giver of life dead before their face? Thou must know, that the heart which doth love, doth not live in himself, but in that which he doth love, & therfore if they did love Christ more thē themselves, and Christ was dead on the cross, howe wouldest thou haue any of them alive? what wouldest thou haue me to say more, but that joseph 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 comfortless mother, went about to give them thanks for their coming to bury her son, and they to say to her, I am sorry to see your son crucified there; but as the one and the other was speaking the words out of their mouths, the sobs did break them off, and their abundance of tears did drown them. In so narrow a strait as this is, and in so doleful a mystery, it is reason that my pen should make some stay, and give my soul licence to meditate, and that which shee can meditate on anew is, to see that with overmuch weeping the hair of her eye lids was burnt away, and all her handkerchiefs wringing wet with wiping her eyes.  
O how little I haue said, in saying that her kerchiefs were wet, I might say better that they were bloodied, because that the blood which did run from those holy veins, did dy herkerchiefs, and go through her bowels.  
What more wilt thou hear O my soul, but that in that lamentable hour there wanted graues, and there were dead persons to bury? How should we reckon the sad mother, the weeping Magdalen, the comfortless S. John, and Salome his aunt, and all the other fatherless family amongst the living, having before their eyes their sweet love dead? O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, where but here was that verified, Sinite mortuos sepelire mortuos, seeing that there was no man found to bury this thy dead body, but such as were dead? When but in that day, where but in calvary, who but thee, howe but weeping, why but for thy death, was the dead man butted by the hands of the dead.   

CHAP. LVI. How our Lord was taken down from the cross, & put in the lap of his sad mother, and of the tears which were  shed over him.  
ASsendam in palmam & apprehendam fructus eius, saith the scripture Cant. 7. as if he would say, I will take a very high ladder, and I will climb up to the top of the palm three, where I will gather and eat all the dates which I shall find vpon the three. In all divine and human learning, always by the palm three is understood, victory; and the reason is, according to the opinion of Plinie, because that as in the palm three, although you tie the highest bud unto the lowest root, yet you cannot break him, so the heart of a valiant and stout man, will rather yield to bee torn in pieces, then subdued and overcome: And that this is true, in sacred and human 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 palm boughs vpon their heads. Origen vpon the Cant. doth say, What palm three hath there been, or ever shal be in the world, like unto the cross of Christ, on the which he did triumph over the world, and overcome the divell? 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 give credit unto Titus livius, the captain of Rome could not triumph with a crown of palm, unless he had first slain some enemy with his spear: but holy Iesus not having stroaken any with a lance, did triumph with the palm. O glorious palm three, O blessed cross, on the which thou my good Iesus, hast hanged the divell, crucified sin, done iustice on the world, killed thy own life,  shed thy blood, butted my sins, planted thy church, and also opened unto us thy glory. It doth well appear, O good Iesus it doth well appear, that no man ever hath, or ever shall triumph as thou hast triumphed, seeing that thou dost not hold up the palm three of the cross, on the which thou art lifted up, but the three thee; to let us understand thereby, that the cross did first triumph over thy life, before that thou didst triumph over our death.  
In that, that there was but one three and much fruit, wee are taught that if we will confess a truth, that from the beginning of the world, until the latter day, no man shall ever be saved, unless he haue eaten of the fruit of that palm three, that is, the old fathers prophesying that he should come, and those which are present confessing that he is dead. What other thing is the fruit of the palm, but his sacred flesh; and his precious blood? It is now time for us to lay ladders to this three, and to gather the fruit of it, seeing that the ladders are brought, and the gatherers already come. Being now weary of weeping, our lady and her family, with joseph, and Nicodemus, began to take order howe they should go up to the top of the cross, and let down the body of Iesus crucified; because they had but a very short time left to anoint the wounds of the dead body, and to shrowded him, and put him into his grave. Honourable old joseph, and Nicodemus, having first asked leave of the virgin, and demanded the opinion of S. John and Mary Magdalen, with their knees on ground, & their gray heads vncouered, with great reverence did kiss the cross, and worship him who was crucified; insomuch that good Iesus, was put on the cross by the hands of infidels, and taken down by the hands of the faithful.  
having thus worshipped and done their due reverence, they set up the ladders against the cross, 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 up 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 up. Being gone up unto the top of the cross, as they beholded their Lord and master, and saw his face pale and wan, his eyes turned in his head, his brain spurted out, his shoulders opened with stripes, his veins broken, his hair torn and pulled off, his skull boared through, his bones out of joint, there fell such a great fear and passion vpon them, that they were almost ready to fall from the top to the ground. cyprian vpon the passion of our Lord doth say, That the butchery which was used in the passion of the son of God was so cruel, & the quantity of blood so great which they drew out of his holy veins, that although there be very much written in this matter, yet it is much more that our Lord did suffer. O my soul, O my heart, why do you not divide yourself in the midst in this instant, because the one half may go up with joseph to take down Christ, and the other half remain with Saint John, to comfort the mother? Vpon jacob his ladder the angels did go up and down singing, and by Iosephs ladder, do you go up and down weeping, for as in heaven they can do nothing but sing, so on the mount of calvary we can do nothing but weep. O glorious travell, O happy journey to go up and down that ladder, seeing that on high we shall find Christ crucified, & below the mother dismayed. What wouldst thou haue, or what dost thou seek for, O my soul, in this miserable world, or on this mount of calvary, seeing thou dost there find the mother of God, and meet also there with Iesus crucified? The first thing then that joseph and Nichodemus did labour in, was, to pull out the cruel nailes, with the which his hands were nailed, and that which cannot be spoken withbut tears, is, that because the blood was already congealed, and his flesh shrunken together, they could not draw the nailes out of his hands, nor loose them from his wrested sinews.  
Of set purpose the Iewes had made great nailes, and of malice had boared small holes; by reason whereof, joseph and Nichodemus were constrained to give the greater blows, and put more strength to pull out the nailes, the which blows 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 love which you bear unto this dead man, I conjure you, and for pity I beseech you, that you would hold your hand a little, and not strike that nail so hard, because that as you do threaten a blow with the hammer, the Virgin is ready to sown, and it is not reason that if the driving in of the nailes was the occasion that the son did loose his life, that in pulling them out you should also kill the mother.  
With great reverence and dexterity they did first pull out the nail of the right hand, and then that of the left hand, but yet neither smooth nor clean, because that every nail pulled out with him congealed blood, and flesh sticking to him.  
And although the nailes were taken out of both his hands, yet his body came not from the cross, nor the cross did not part from his body, as well by reason of the congealed blood which did fasten them together, as for the great love with which they did embrace the one the other, to let us thereby understand, that our good Iesus was not hindered from coming down from the cross, only by the nailes which nailed him, but also with the love which he did bear unto the cross. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul( saith Vbertinus) all the world seek for love & liberty, and thou only crucified. If this thy love be sweet, give us part of it, if otherwise give me leave to bear part with thee, for thou knowst, O my soul, that there can be no pleasure in any love, if it be not first communicated to a friend.  
And if thou wilt not give us part of thy love, give us part of thy ●… olours, because that in thy house there is never given unto any travell and vexation, but there is also given with it some comfort and consolation.  
As Nichodemus and joseph wanted not patience in pulling out the nailes by little and by little, so they wanted not wisdom to give them Saint John in secret; for if the Virgin should haue seen how they were imbrued witb blood, and enamelled with flesh, she would either a souned anew, or haue died there in their hands.  
Anselmus saith, The cruel nailes which were in our saviours hands they did gently knock, tenderly handle, easily remove, and with many tears make clean. Barnard doth say likewise, that joseph and Nichodemus did pull out no nail but they did make him clean, keep him, and weep over him, insomuch that if Christ did water the cross with blood, they did water him with tears, O happy watch tower, O glorious ladder, not of jacob the blind, but of Christ the crucified, by which the angels do not descend from heaven as they are wont, but by which men do ascend to heaven, 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 cross, and his vniointed arms being loosed from the nailes, as the dead body did weigh altogether vpon his feet, Nichodemus did hold him above, and Saint John did hold him up below, in so much that Christ did sustain and hold up their souls, and they did sustain and hold up Christ his flesh. O my heart, O my soul, do you not see that it is now time to awake, & to watch, & also to weep? the mysteries of your God and Lord, are brought so far forward, that to perform them all, it sufficeth not that you divide yourselves, but you must also quarter yourselves, and that into four quarters, the one to be with Nicodemus on the top of the cross, and the other with Christ on the cross, the other with the sad mother by the cross, & the fourth with the pensive family about the cross; insomuch that if you will not be crucified, O my heart, as was our redeemer, you shall be quartered like a malefactor. In the mean time whilst Nicodemus above did hold the dead body under the arms, & S. John hold him up at the feet, good joseph did busy himself intaking out the nailes little and little, because the Virgin should not perceive him, or at the least should not see him. Because the feet are naturally full of sinews, and the nail with the which they we are nailed, strooken through them both, it could not be done so cunningly but that the Virgin should perceive it; and if perceived, much more bewailed. For if they did pull the nail out of the sons feet, they did pull him also out of the mothers heart. His hands and feet being vnnailed, and his shoulders loosed from the cross, with clean towels, and pitiful tears, they let down by little and by little the dead body, and put him in the sorrowful mothers lap; a thing most pitiful to behold, and very lamentable to rehearse. Vocate agricolas ad luctum, & eos qui sciunt plangere ad planctum, said the Prophet Amos in the eight chapter, as if he would say, Call all labourers hither, to the end that they may put on mourning apparel, and call al those which know well how to weep, & let them come to make a great lamentation, because that on this day on the mount of calvary, are celebrated the funerals of an honourable parsonage, unto the which all which come shall be admitted, and all which weep very acceptable. The prophet doth speak very circumspectly in this place, seeing that in his proclamation he doth force no man, but entreat & invite, and that not all men, but only labourers, neither doth he command them to come well clothed, but put on mourning garments, nor sing evensong but shed tears, nor yet that every man should weep, but only such as knew well how to weep. As touching the first he saith vocate, and doth not say adducite, that is, that they be called and not drawn; because that the works of mercy and charity, as to bury the dead and heal the living, are not meritorious unless they be voluntary.  
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 players: because the Lord will not trust the body of his well-beloved son with such as wander & loiter in the world, but with such as labour and travel in his church. And he saith, vocate ad luctum, and not ad laetitiam, vz. he inviteth them to mourning, & not to mirth; wherein he hath great reason, for if in this unhappy life we meet vpon any thing which giveth us rest, wee do stumble at a thousand which doth yield us torment. And he saith ad planctum, & not ad gaudium, that is, that none go to the burial of his son to laugh, but to weep; the which our Lord doth command in respect of the honour and death of his son, which doth deserve 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 mourn and bewail, and no others; which he doth say in respect of some which do weep, and are sorry at every thing, not knowing why they do weep, nor how they do weep, nor for what cause they do weep.  
Saint jerom vpon these words of the prophet doth say, That because our Lord doth call only such as know how to weep, it is a token that those are not acceptable unto him which know not how to weep: and therefore according unto this reckoning, all our tears are not grateful to our Lord: because that to tell thee the truth my brother, he doth not so much regard the tears which we shed as the bowels and heart we haue. What doth it avail him to trip who doth not weep for thee and thy cross? What fruit doth he reap of his weeping, who in the arms of thy mother bewaileth not thee? What shal we say that he doth know, who knoweth not to weep for thee in thy mothers lap? Seeing then it is certain that thou dost call none to trip but such as know how to weep, we may justly say, that he knoweth well how to weep, who knoweth how his own sins to amend, and haue the passion of his God in remembrance. Lift up thy heart O my soul, and thou shalt see on the top of the cross, Nicodemus how he doth trip, thou shalt see at the foot of the cross, the sorrowful mother in a sown, thou shalt see the cross imbrued with blood, thou shalt see the whole family worshipping, and above all and more then al, thou shall see dead Iesus cast vpon his mothers lap, and pierced 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 cross for his resting place, he paid dearly for the hire of it, seeing that when he came down, he left it part of his flesh, left it part of his skin, and left it part of his blood, in so much that of every thing which he took to the cross, he imparted somewhat with the cross. What did he leave undivided, seeing that with the cross he divided his own life.   

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

COnditus aromatibus repositus est in loculo, saith the holy scripture, Genesis. 50. as if he would say, The patriarch jacob being dead in the kingdom of egypt, his son did anoint him with odiferous ointments; which were in property preservative, in quality sweet, and in estimation very precious. And when his body was well embalmed and anointed, they did put him into a new cofin, to carry him with great pomp and solemnity unto his grave. joseph did go with the body of his father jacob, from the kingdom of egypt, to the kingdom of Palestine, where he did bury him, bestowing great cost on his funerals, and many tears over his body. This is a very pleasant figure in that which it doth contain, and full of mystery in that which it doth represent, because that under it is contained, the maner that was observed in embalming a dead body, & the order which was used in carrieng the same to the grave; the which is one of the most pitifullest ceremonies which is found in all scripture. Chrisost: vpon S. matthew doth say, That as the works of the son of God were in number many, and in dignity great, so the figures which were before him, were also in number many and in value very heroical: and thereupon it is, that the son of God did never any notable work which was not prefigured, nor there did never any figure go 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 cometh 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 kernel doth excel the shell, the marrow the bone, the flower the bran, the gold the cross, 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 do tend to higher matter then we do think for, and are risen to to a higher style then we do understand, because that al that which the patriarkes did, may be imitated, and all which the prophets did writ may be understood, but the great miracles which the son of God did, neither the angels can understand nor men perfectly imitate. And because we may not seem to speak at pleasure, we will speak of some figures of the holy scripture, in which we may see, how far better they were fulfilled then figured; and how that all which went before Christ was but a shadow, and Christ only the truth. When young Isaac did carry the wood on his shoulders to the mountain to be sacrificed, it was a figure of Christ; who should bear the cross on his back, on which he should die: but Christ did far better accomplish it then the figure which did prefigure it, because Isaac did return to his house alive, but holy Iesus did abide on the cross dead. The serpent of brass which was erected in the wilderness, was a figure of the cross of Christ on the mount of calvary: but the cross did far better perform that which it did pretend, thē the serpent that which it did figure, because the serpent did only heal the biting of the body, but the cross of Christ doth heal the wounds of the soul. When moses did bring the synagogue out of egypt, it was a figure of the liberty which God would give his church: but Christ did better fulfil it then moses prefigure it, because moses did bring them but until the desert, but the son of God doth carry us unto heaven. King Pharaoes cupbearer and baker, were a figure of the good thief and the bad which did suffer with Christ: but Christ did far better fulfil that figure, then it was before prefigured, because the cup bearer within three daies served again at his masters table, but the good thief the same day went with Christ to glory. lo then proved, how far more excellent the rose is, then the thorn, 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 us, that if we should not red the scriptures with very great diligence, we should never understand the mysteries contained in them: for we must not think that if a man be able to red thē that he is presently able to understand thē. To search out a matter as Christ doth command us, we haue need to haue great care to seek it, time to find it, light to see it, understanding to know it, wisdom to keep it, and also love to enjoy it. coming then unto our purpose, one of the figures wherein the son of God hath ben liueliest figured, is of this great patriarch jacob, among the old fathers very honourable, & among the patriarkes most renowned, and therefore the angel did tell the Virgin, That her son should reign in the house of jacob, not making any mention of Abraham, although he were a holy man. jacob was at variance with his brother Esau, touching his fathers inheritance: but Christ at greater with the synagogue touching the pre-eminence of his church, but as in the end jacob did buy the first birth and inheritance of Esau for a mess of broth, so Christ did buy the inheritance of glory with the blood of his own proper veins. For the space of fourteen years good jacob was enamoured of faire rachel, and thirty three yeares the son of God was enamoured of his church; but the love of the one did exceed the love of the other, because jacob was troubled with nothing but with love only, but the son of God was not troubled only with love, but also with grief and punishment. His eyes blind, his arms across, environed with children, and loaden with yeares, the great patriarch jacob did die in egypt: and in like manner, his eyes dashed out, his arms nailed, compassed with theeues, and laden with merits, Christ died in calvary. At the point of death & with the sign of the cross, jacob did take away the heritage from his nephew Effraim, and gave it unto Manasses: and in like maner in the last hour, and vpon the three of the cross, Christ did disinherit the synagogue, and give the right of the inheritance to the church.  
jacob entred very rich in gold, silver, and cattle, but they brought nothing out of egypt unless it were balms to embalm him, and ointments to anoint him: so the son of God came into this world very exceeeding rich, but went out of it very poor, seing they did embalm him with other mens balm, and shrowd him in a borrowed sheet.  
Seeing that we are now come with our figure unto the thing figured, it is very expedient for us to say something how the son of God was ointed with ointments, and how he was shrouded in the sheet, and how he was bound with a towel, and how he went unto his grave, and how he was mournfully lamented by all his family.  
Before all other things I summon you O my eyes, and conjure you O my my fingers, the one that you cease writing, and the other that you trip bitterly in this pitiful and lamentable case which we haue now in hand, and which we begin now to weep. I warn you also O my soul, and call you O my heart, that you come to the funerals of the son, and to honour the mother, for we haue two dead persons in our hands, that is, the dead heart of the mother, and the pierced body of the son. The last pain and travell, the last dispatch, the order of his burial, the anointing of the body, and the grief of the mother, what fingers are able to writ, what heart think, what eyes weep 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 dark and by night, nor by the clergy, because they were fled, nor with solemnity, but privately, nor with ringing of bells, but with shedding of tears.   

The author followeth the same matter.  
THe sons body being put in the mothers lap, and the mothers heart being with the soul of the son; as the night did draw near, and the time wax strait, to take order for the embalming of the body, and carry him to his grave, Nichodemus and joseph were stroaken with great pity, when they should seperat them, and were ashamed to ask for his body of his mother. The two honourable old men, on the one side did behold the son how he 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 necessity did constrain them to ask for the body, and pity did invite them to bewail him.  
Howe shall my tongue bee able to speak, or my pen bee able to writ all which passed in this instant, and that which the sad mother did see, and my heart not consume away with sighing, & my eyes grow blind with weeping? The old men did look the one vpon the other, and although they did understand the one the other, yet they did not speak the one to the other: for at the very instant when they would haue spoken, the sobs did cut them off, and the tears did hinder them. What wilt thou haue me to say, but that the heart enforcing him to speak, the mouth was overcome presently, and filled with tears and sighs. joseph then as being the most ancient of them, and S. John most familiar with her, with many tears in their eyes, uttered these words.  
The time doth not suffer us sweet Lady, to speak, and discourse of that which your son hath suffered, nor of that which you haue endured, for if you haue lost a son, wee haue also lost a master, and seeing the loss is common unto us all, let us surcease our speech until another time.  
You know Lady, that the sabbath is at hand, the night come on, the city far off, the ointments ready to dissolve and melt, & yet convenient that the body should be ointed, and the shrowded not sown, by reason whereof we beseech you, to give us the body to shrowded, and licence to anoint him with these ointments. As they did speak unto her with many tears, so shee answered them with many sobs, saying, O honourable joseph, O loving cousin, tell me I pray you, what hurt I haue done unto you, that you should take my son from me? If you will bury him, I yield my consent, but where can he bee better butted, then in the bowels of his mother? If the eternal father hath taken his soul because he did create it, why do you not leave his body unto his wonderful mother, who brought him into the world? If you will bury the son, bury the mother also with him, for her heart is not able to see him die, and also to see him butted. Whether soever you go to bury my son, you shall also take me to bee butted with him; for why would you be so cruel and inhuman, as to bury me without a soul, as you do bury him without life? seeing it is certain, that the heart of the lover, doth rather live where he doth love, then where he doth give 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 love him? O honourable joseph, O Nichodemus my trusty friend, do not you know that his father hath taken his soul, that the earth hath drunk his blood, that the hangmen haue divided his garments, that death hath taken away his life, and that unto me wretched woman, there hath fallen nothing, unless it bee his flesh torn in pieces.  
Seeing there hath chanced no other inheritance unto me, but this torn flesh, this pitiful flesh, this slain flesh, this flesh pierced; why are you so cruel, as to take this my inheritance from me, and carry him so quickly unto the grave? do you not think you carry him too timely to his grave; seeing that before he knew what it was to haue a house, he knoweth what his grave doth mean?  
O my sweet son, O my perfect truth, O my sovereign virtue, O my chief love, and O my last grief, who, when, and howe, was he able to take away thy life, O my life? Did the world find no other, on whom he might make an anatomy, but on thy flesh, O my soul? Why did not the world content himself, to see the works which thou didst, and hear the words which thou spakest; but must also see the bowels which thou hadst?  
And when did they see thy bowels, but when they did open thy bowels with a spear, and break thy shoulders with stripes? O sacred flesh, O holy blood, O life without spot, O profound wisdom, O infinite charity, O holy head, who durst flay thy skin, and who so bold as to boar thy brain? O cruel bulrushes, O sharp thorns, how durst you shut up yourselves in this holy head, in the which, the eternal father hath put to keep all his glory? O beautiful face, O bright countenance, O image of life, O portraiture of glory, O blessed visage, how hast thou changed thyself so much, and how art thou removed from that that thou wast, when thou didst make of the stable in Bethleem heaven, and of the inn paradise? O holy breast, O golden side, O hidden secret, O inflamed heart, O unspeakable love, what hadst thou done unto the world, or what had I committed against thee that with one blow they should open thy side, and break my bowels?  
O cruel spear, O faithless iron, howe were you so venturous, as to give so cruel a thrust, in so holy a flesh, and so inhumain a wound? O the light of mine eyes, O the rest of my life, howe is it possible, that I having given thee nurriture with my milk, and maintained thee with my distaff, thou shouldst now leave me, my head loaden with gray hairs, my eyes full of tears, my house environed with enemies, and my heart burdened with cares? O my son, O the love of my heart, having seen, that thou hast redeemed all the world; I do think my labour well bestowed; but yet in the end, perceiving myself to bee a mother, and that so woeful a mother, I cannot but grieve, to see that I am an orphan without a bridegroom, a stranger from all comfort, alone without a friend, a widow of my child, & principally in the power of my brothers son. Had you any thing else more ready at hand, then to command in your testament, that I should be bequeathed unto your cousin german? Why did you not bequeath him one of your coats, or the cross on which you did die, or the crown with the which you did yourself honour, or the nails which gave you torment, or the vinegar which caused your end, or the blood with the which you do redeem us, 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 princess of heaven, and the queen of the world, why do you dispose of an other bodies goods, and bequeath that to your cousin german which is none of yours? For one man to bequeath another his goods is tolerable, but to bequeath the mother, which bare him in her womb, is not sufferable; because it would not bee just to give a legacy unto strangers of the mother, which nourished us at her breasts.  
Glorious S. John 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 answer, or rather to comfort her, for he did rather desire to see his aunt delivered of grief, then his own person bettered, S. John said unto 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 ford of thy anguishes, which molest thee, and cut off the tears which make thee blind? Do you not see, that excessive love and overmuch grief, do make you forget where you are, that is, on the mount of calvary, & not take heed with whom you speak, that is to say, with a dead body? Seeing that this body who you do talk with, is both dumb and blind, howe is it possible, that he should speak 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 dismal day, and in so short a time, it is to be believed, that seeing the father would not hear the son being alive, that neither the son will hear the mother, being already dead. What meaneth this O my lady, what meaneth this? when the elements are troubled, when the heauens are afraid, when the graues are open, and when those which are alive, are amazed and astonied, do you settle yourself to reason with the dead? when your son and my master, did give up the ghost this evening vpon the cross, he gave you no charge over the dead, but over those which were alive: and do you make no reckoning of the living, and reason only with one that is dead? If it seem a hard matter unto you, to change a son for a kinsman, & the master for the disciple, take no grief at all thereby, for from this present hour I renounce the tutelage which he did give me, and forsake the legacy he did bequeath me. That which I desire of you is, that you mark with what faith, these old men are come hither, in what danger they haue thrust themselves, what charges they haue been at, and how the time is short, and the great sabbath 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 doth it benefit thus to rub your eyes, to wring your hands, to shed so many tears, and utter such pitiful words, but to cause us all to lose our lives, and your son to want a grave?  
O eternal father, O my master and blessed Lord, why doth not the one of you succour his daughter, and the other of you his mother, in this sorrrwfull hour; in which, in a manner of a contention, and on a vie, she will weep until she haue not left one tear, as he did shed his blood, until there was not left one drop. And dost thou not know that the sorrowful heart doth die weeping, as the body doth 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 secrets; seing he did die because wee should live, why wouldest thou haue us 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 us with their weapons, and wilt thou drown us in thy tears? If thou die and wee die, howe is it possible that the dead should bury the dead? Make thy commodity of the time O my aunt, and wade with thy understanding, for thou shalt never, or very late, find such honourable old men, who will serve thee of free cost, give thee ointments 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 us, the darkness doth make hast on, and the body is not yet carried to the grave.  
The water is at hand to wash him, the ointments are here to anoint him, the swathing clothes are brought to bind him, the shrowded is ready to wrap him, there resteth nothing, but that your eyes would leave weeping, because we may begin presently to anoint him.   

The author goeth forward and speaketh of the anointing of Christ.  
O High mystery, O divine secret, what heart is able to think, or what tongue able to utter the pitiful war, the doleful strife, which passed betwixt the virgin and S. John, and betwixt the mother and the old men, because that they would haue butted the dead body, and shee would not; but would enjoy him longer time. O glorious strife, O happy contention, where love on the one side, and holy zeal 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 doth say, that he doth belong unto her, because she did bring him into this world; the earth doth pled that not, but unto her, because of her he was formed; and that which is most of all to be wondered at is, that the sad mother doth weep, to see that they take him from her, and the earth in a maze to see that shee must receive him. For pure fear and reverence, the river jordan did open a passage to the ark of the testament, and should not the earth bee astonied, and in a fear to receive into her the body of Christ? The end of the strife was, that the doleful mother did yield the body to bee butted, and they did leave her a little more time to bewail; insomuch that her love was not injuried, nor their zeal offended.  
O my soul O my heart, why do you not go betwixt them and part the fray; seeing you see them take hold of the dead body to bury him, and the mother hold him fast, loth to depart with him?  
They demand his body with mildred words, and shee detaineth him with pitiful tears, for they think the time long until they bury him, and she very short to enjoy him. But what shall I say more unto thee O my soul, 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 body with the price of their tears, and with the like shee kept it a great space. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, howe far more dearer thy mother did sell thee being dead, then Iudas did sell thee being alive, for Iudas did give thee for thirty pence; but shee did not give thee but for many tears.  
What meaneth this O good Iesus, what meaneth this? Must all the torments of necessity be doubled in thee, having been but once in all other martyrs? Thou didst suffer two agonies, the one in the garden, and the other on the cross; thou didst suffer two deaths, the one of thy passion, and the other of compassion; thou wast baptized twice, once with water in jordan, and another time in calvary with blood; and thou wast sold twice, once for exchange of money, and another time for the weight of tears & sighs: buy then O my soul, buy of the mother, the son; buy of the inheritrix, the dead body; buy of S. John, the master; buy of Nicodemus, a friend; the which buying is done not with abundance of wealth, but with the purity of conscience. Now that the virgin gave them licence to anoint the dead body, and when they determined to bury him, all men came about him, and all that sorrowful company did environ him as a swarm of bees without hony, uttering many pitiful words with their tongues, and weeping lively tears with their eyes. What did they not say, what did they not weep, what did they not feel, and what lamentation did they not make, when they saw their Lord and master so torn and rent?  
What eyes were able to see him, & what tongue to extol him, or who able to behold the body so evilly handled, & see so cruel a butchery made of his God. If they did look on his face, they saw it spit vpon, if they did look on his hair, they did see it pulled, if they did look on his shoulders, they saw them opened, if they did look on his hands, they saw them broken, if they did look on his body, they saw him stripped, if they did look on his side, they saw him stroaken with a spear. The prophesy of Esay, Quod a plancta pedis, usque ad verticem non erat in eo sanitas, was literally fulfilled as he did prophesy; seing that in the dead body of that dead man, there was no flesh which was not black and blew, no skin not pulled off, no sinew not wrested, nor bone which was not out of his place.  
The hour being then come, that they would stretch out the dead body, and anoint him, as the sad mother went a little a side, and saw that her garment was spotted with the blood of her son, there began a new lamentation betwixt them, and a new martyrdom assaulted the mothers heart. Take compassion O my heart, take compassion on this sad widow, considering she hath her son dead in her presence, the ground imbrued with blood, and her heart grievously afflicted, I might better haue said broken in sunder; for seeing( as she doth) the heart of her son divided, how is it possible that hers should remain entire? now O my soul, now or never, thou which art dead, maiest come to thy God which is dead, for going about as they do to anoint him, thou shalt help the old men to anoint him, and the sorrowful mother to moorn for him.  
O happy is the soul which will be there, only in thought, seeing that shee cannot be there in presence; because she cannot bee occupied but in keeping the cross, or in gathering the blood, or in weeping with the mother, or in dissolving the ointments, or in anointing the wounds, or in binding him with clothes. In such a high solempnity, in such glorious funerals, in so honourable a burial, would not( think you) all the celestial government be present? The sheet being spread vpon the ground, in which they would shrowd him, and the napkin with the which they should cover his head, and the binding clothes which they had to bind the body with, they took that holy body with great reverence, and put him vpon those clothes, stretched out at length. And because the tender flesh of the dead body, was newly torn and bloodied, and they having no other mean to take him up and stretch him out, but by taking hold of him, some relics of blood and of his flesh did always stick to their hands, which they did wipe off with the shrouding sheet, & towel which was about his head.  
The dead body being laid on the earth, the mother did put herself at his head, Mary Magdalen at his feet, S. John and Nicodemus on one side, and joseph and the two Maries on the other, because the labour and grief should be divided amongst them all, and because they might equally enjoy Christ. Now that they had the body in the midst of them, and that he was compassed in by them, kneeling on their knees, and their hands washed, and their sleeves trussed up, they began to look on the demigods which they had to anoint, and vnstop the ointments which they brought to anoint him. When they saw so near to them the marks of the lashes, the rapture of the nailes, the blew wales of the buffets, the swelling of his veins, the piercing of the thorns, the grievousness of his wounds, & the wan colour of his holy flesh, they fell a new into a maze, and began afresh to weep & bewail. That most blessed body of his was so wounded, and so torn in pieces, that for very compassion and pity, their arms did fail them, the ointments fell out of their hands, and the tears did fall one drop after another down their faces.  
They would haue anointed the body, but they could not lift up their arms, they would haue spoken but they could not wag their tongues, they would haue taken heart, but their swooning did not permit them, but yet in the end they endeavoured to do that which they ought, although not as they would.  
Because the night did now charge them, and the great solemnity of easter was now come in, they determined among themselves that every one should take a part of the balm to anoint his wounds, because they were so many and so grievous, that they had all enough to do, and place to bestow their balms. O my fingers, O my pens, in such a profound mystery and in such a high work, as is the embalming of this dead body, shall it not be reason that you pause a while, and give over writing, to the end that my eyes settle themselves to weep a space? It is reason O my soul, that you should sigh, it is reason that you my eyes should weep, seeing that they do all together anoint him, and all together weep for him, in so much that he who with most tender bowels doth love him, with greatest abundance of tears, doth weep for him. Cease not O my bowels to sigh, and cease not O my eyes to make yourselves a fountain 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 anoint him. With what think you O my soul did those holy old men vnthaw the ointments which were frozen, but with the tears of their eyes? What wilt thou know more O my heart, but that at one time, and then in the same moment when the ointments did dissolve with tears without, for pure compassion their entrails did wax soft and tender within? In all the time that they continued their anointing of him, their hands were never a weary, their heartes never ceased sighing, nor they never gave of worshipping, and which is most pitiful, that although they did leave off to anoint, yet they did never leave off to weep.  
What other thing would you haue those old holy men to do, but on their knees to serve him, with their hands to anoint him, with their eyes to weep for him, and with their heartes to worship him. O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, who is he who hath no need to anoint his wounds, seeing that thou hadst need to anoint thine? O what a difference ther is betwixt thy wounds and mine; for thine the lashes and stripes did make, but mine my sins do 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 love thou dost anoint thy elect, and with the ointments of doulour thou dost cure all the wicked, in so much that with ointments of gentleness thou dost anoint the good, and with punishment thou dost heal the bad.  
Because the blows of his body had ben very cruel, and his woundes very deep, there was much spent in the anointing and embalming of him, and yet notwithstanding neither their boxes of ointments were all spent, nor the tears of their eyes ever dry.  
With great bounty, and no niggishnes that holy body was anointed, and equipped and bewailed, for there were ointments enough to cover him, and tears sufficient to baptize him.  
His body then being anointed, they wrapped him in the sheet which he was laid on, from the head to the feet, and the like they did with a towel about his head, binding up all his body with binding clothes, in so much that he was anointed, bound up, and shrouded, but not yet sowed together.    

CHAP. LVIII. Of the great care which they had in times past to bury the dead, and why the son of God did not command his body to be butted.  

AVdiens iugulatum jacere 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 bury the dead, as if he would say, There was in Babilonia a poor man executed by iustice, the which being known by Tobias, he brought him presently to his house, and when the sun was down did bury him, Among the works of mercy the visiting of the poor, and the burying of the dead are very acceptable unto God, the which two works were never done by any but they haue ben rewarded for it of our Lord.  
When they had slain king Saul in the mountains of Gelboe, king david did sand many thanks to the inhabitants of Galaath, because they went to the field for his body, and afterward bury him for nothing.  
The scripture doth highly commend good king josias, who commanded wicked Iesabell to be slain, and afterward to be butted, in so much that like a gracious prince although he deprived her of her life, yet he did not deprive her of a sepulchre. The holy spcriptureth likewise commend the good patriarch joseph, who brought his father out of egypt to butted in Palestine with great toil of his body, and great charges of his purse. King Salomon did inherit the wealth of his father, but did not inherit his pity and mercy, seeing it is not red that for the death of david he did shed a tear, or with pomp and solemnity give him his burial.  
Men of old time did make great reckoning of being butted in rich sepulchers, and especially all the nation of egypt, whereof Diodorus Siculus doth writ, that their kings did spend their treasure in nothing more, then in building of rich tombs and sepulchers.  
Quintus Curtius doth writ that the Sarmates did never fight for the defence of their wives and children, but for the defence of their ancestors tombs, for they would rather die to defend the bones of those which were dead, then for the lives of those which were alive. 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 work in those daies honourable to possess, and very costly to build. In that proud tomb, Simon did bury his brothers, the Macabees, and reserved a place for his own bones.  
To come then unto our purpose, only the son of God, only Iesus crucified, did neither build himself a sepulchre when he was alive, nor his mother knew not where to bury him when he was dead; but as he had lived in a borrowed house, he was also butted in a borrowed sepulchre. How should he make to himself a tomb, who had not so much as a house to dwell in? on the altar of the cross, he did remember very well to pray for his enemies, and pardon the thief his sins, but he remembered not to command where he would be butted, because he did rather intend other mens salvation, then his own burial.  
Seeing thou dost( saith Theophilus) commend thy mother to the Disciple, thy church to Peter; thy soul to thy father, and thy enemies to his mercy, why dost thou not also make mention of thy grave? Who will take thee from the cross, who will put thee in the earth, seeing thou dost leave no wealth to bury thee, nor place where to put thee? If thy body do remain vpon the three, the birds will eat him; if he fall down beasts will devour him, if they would shrowded thee thou dost want a sheet, if they would bury thee thou hast no grave: in somuch that for the funerals of thy own body thou hast commanded nothing in thy last will and testament. O how well it doth appear, that the son of God was a Christian, and died like a Christian, seeing he did little esteem of all that which he left behind him in the world; which he did well show, in that that he did possess nothing when he was alive, nor appoint himself a sepulchre when he did die. By this notable example wee should take example, not to care much whether they do bury us in a rich tomb or not, because it is better to go from a dunghill with poor Lazarus to heaven, then with the covetous rich man to hell. S. Augustine doth say, That the bodies of many holy men haue been cast into the bottom of the sea, many burnt in great fires, and many devoured of brute beasts; and yet nevertheless were not they think you very holy men, though they did want rich and stately sepulchers? It was very well said of Anchises to his son Aeneas that, facilis est iactura sepulchri: for to say the truth, of all the troubles and travels of this life, it is the least of them all, to want a grave. Seneca in his tragedies saith, Which is better for me, to be butted in the entrails of brute beasts, which run in the field or in the entrails of worms which will gnaw me in the grave? Let every man then haue an eye to that which doth touch his conscience, and not take care how he shall bee butted, for the poor shall not want some one or other to bury him, nor the rich to inherit him.  
In horto erat monumentum nouum, in quo nondam quisquam positu● fuerat, & ibi posuerunt jesum, saith Saint John in the nineteenth chapter, as if he would say. fifty paces from the mount of calvary, there was a little garden, wherein there was made a very honourable tomb, the which was so new, that never any had ben butted in him. If we do look curiously into that which the evangelist doth set down, he doth represent unto us the sepulchre of our Lord, with very high conditions; for he saith, that it was not far from the mount of calvary, and that it was in a garden which was environed round about, and that it was wrought out of a rock, and that no man had ben ever laid in him. The wounds of the dead body being washed with tears, and his glorious body anointed with ointments, and his head covered with a hard kercheife, and his carcase shrowed in the sheet, they carry him to the grave according to the old custom of the synagogue. With this procession, all processions do end, and with this ceremony, all the ceremonies do end which belong to the life and death of the son of God, the which procession or ceremony although of all others it be the last, yet it is not the least. joseph and Nichodemus once again ask licence of the mother to bury her son, as they did to embalm him, the which they obtained by earnest entreaty and weight of tears. Because the comfortless mother had ben accustomend, many years to say to her son, and he unto her, Let us go home; what grief did she conceive, when they said, Let us carry him to his grave? O queen of Angels, O princess of eternities, what heart can endure, that the son which thou didst bring forth of thy womb, and bring up at thy breasts, thou shouldst see him die with thy eyes, and carry to be butted with thy arms? being as thou art young in years, a Virgin in office, peerless in holiness, excellent in desert, and a late widow of thy child, who brought thee at that hour to the mount of calvary? at such a time wast not thou wont to be a praying in thy oratory, and thy son a meditating on the mountain? How poor so ever a mother doth see her son, yet she is glad to haue him alive, but after she doth see him dead and carrieng to his grave, it is most certain that where they do bury the body of the son, they do also bury the heart of the mother. If all mothers haue this grief, who peradventure hath a husband and another child alive, what sorrow doth the heart of this comforles mother feel, when she seeth her son butted, seeing she had no other son alive, nor husband, nor brother, but was left alone and commended only unto her kinsman? O my soul, 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 shouldst go forward with these mysteries, unless thou do first make thy eyes hard flesh, with weeping? Which of the angels can contain form 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 liquid, and the wounds tender, and the sheet very fine and thin, what grief think you had his woeful mother, to see her son dead before her eyes, his body shrouded, and the sheet spotted with blood again? S. Barnard vpon this place: The mother was somewhat far from the city, in the evening of the great sabbath, the night was dark, shee sollitarie and without all help, and if happily she did open her eyes, she saw the cross all bloody, and her son covered in his shrowded. O in what a great anxiety and conflict of mind all the whole family was driven into; for if they would haue carried the dead body to bury, it was now heavy, the monument somewhat far off, men but a few in number, and the women weak, a beer they had none, and help they did not look for, insomuch that if they would haue butted him, yet they had nothing to carry him.  
To go to the city it was now too late, to call people was scandalous, to take him up in their arms, he was spotted, and to leave him until another day was dangerous, insomuch that because they knew not what to do, they filled themselves with weeping, over the dead body. Our Lord then giuing as great strength unto those few, as if they had ben many, joseph did put himself on one side, and Nichodemus on the other, and S. John at his head, and so they began to lift up that holy body from the ground, not without very great lamentation, because that with the same measure and compass that they did lift him up, they did weep, and did weep with the same that they did lift him up.  
At the very instant that the men did take hold of the dead body, the three Maries did lay hands vpon the dead woman; but O grief, O sorrow, the dolour which they received to see the mother, did trouble them more then the weight of his body. Be not afraid O my soul, be not afraid, to see thy God go torn in pieces towards his grave, to go dead, to go embalmed and anointed, and likewise shrouded; for if they do carry him in their arms dead, within their hearts they do carry him alive. O glorious procession, O happy pilgrimage, in the which the son goeth dead, the mother half dead, Nichodemus sighing, joseph blowing and breathing, S. John weeping, Mary Magdalen bewailing, and all the family sorrowing and mourning.  
Why dost thou not either depart or part in two, O my soul, seeing we find such great mysteries every where? Dost thou not see that the angels are astonied, the elements altered, the divels afraid to see him die who doth raise the dead, and to see the Lord of the living to be carried to his grave? art thou not ashamed to live, O my soul, thy God going dead, and art thou not much troubled to go at liberty, thy Lord being shrouded? Do not call thyself mine O my heart, if in this procession thou dost not divide thyself, to the end that one part may remain with the bloody cross, the other go with the afflicted mother, the other help the dead body, and the other go before to make ready the sepulchre.  
O good Iesus, seeing that thou dost show thy favours, they not serving thee; and dost give, not having any thing given thee; and dost help, not being helped; wilt thou not help me to go to glory, if I do help thee to go to thy grave? I command thee O my soul, and I conjure thee O my heart that you help to carry the son, and help the mother to trip, for if there be three which carry him, there are six which weep for him.   

The Author clucludeth now with putting Christ in his grave.  
O pitiful journey, O sad way; for if the men did go with the son, the mother did fall down with the women, and if the women did go with the mother, the dead body did fall with the men, by reason whereof they did go on piercing the heauens with sighs, and watering all those fields with tears.  
Albeit that the night were very dark, and the way very full of wood, yet no man can loose himself in the way, if he will go that pilgrimage, because it is well marked with the blood which doth drop from the son, and well watered with the tears of the mother.  
O holy stones, O glorious herbs, O blessed earth which is trodden vpon in this journey, seeing that all that garden, all those stones, and all those herbs, did deserve to be made holy, not with the oil of oliues, but with the blood of his veins, and tears of her bowels. What meaneth this? didst thou institute twelve bishops over night at supper, and do they carry thee to be butted without the clergy? Thou being the son which dost give light to the heauens and the earth, is there not to bury thee so much as one candle? Why do they carry thee without a cross to thy grave, thou dying a little before on the cross? O high mystery, O secret sacrament, seeing that in going to be butted without light, and without the clergy, he doth condemn all vain and pompous funerals: in so much that as he was born without pride, he would likewise be butted without cost.  
They went on leisurely with the body, and now and then restend themselves, for if the shortness of the time constrained them to make hast, their multitude of tears and weaknes of body caused them to rest. Those which carried the dead body and which lead the doleful mother, did oftentimes stay by the way, not only to rest themselves, but also to trip their fill and wipe their eyes, and that which is most of all to be lamented, is, that the shrouding sheet was very slack and wet, not with the due which fell from heaven, but with the tears which they shed from their eyes.  
With greater desire to rest, then to bury the dead body they came at the last with him to the grave, where they found presently a new trouble, to wit, in removing the ston of the monument, and in separating the sad mother from her son.  
They divided the labour betwixt them, the women remained with the comfortless mother, and the men began to remove the ston. The maner of the sepulchre, was in proportion round in height more then a mans stature, in breadth very convenient, in work engraven in a rock, in colour white and ●… ron colour, in co●… mpteous, in ●… ition beautiful, in strength strong, in building new, and in property another mans. All these comditions were necessary for the honor of Christ his burial, for if it had not ben of ston, they would haue said that his disciples had stolen him away; if it had not been new, they would haue said that some other had risen again; and if it had not belonged to another man, they would haue said that all had ben but a feigned matter. O poor Lord, O the riches of heaven, did it not content thee that thou wast born without a house, that thou didst live without wealth, die without a bed, but dost also bury thyself in an other mans grave? O how happy I should be, if thou wouldest bury thyself in this my soul, to the end that as thou didst rise the third day, never after to die again, so she should rise always after to live.  
The grave was without remembrance, the door was open, the ston taken away, the vigil ended, easter come, and notwithstanding all this, neither the holy old men durst touch the body, nor the comfortless mother deliver him. O how far harder they did find it, to loose the mother from the son, then to remove the ston from the grave, for they were forced to ask him again on their knees, and buy him with the weight of their tears. O how far more dearer he did buy us, then the mother did sell him; for he bought us with blood, and shee did sell him for tears.  
joseph and Nichodemus were in great conflict of mind, to see the son already dead, and to see the mother near dead, for if any thing should haue happened unto them, they had no time to bury the son, nor grave to bury the mother. Trouble not thyself, O great joseph, trouble not thyself, in thinking where thou shalt bury the comfortless overlay, for seeing that betwixt her and her son, the love is but one, and the heart one, why should the sepulchre be any more but one?  
Those which in one house did live together, and descend from one kindred, and with one amity and peace entreat the one the other, is it much that they die together, that they end their lives in one day, that one ston cover them, and that one grave should suffice them?  
It is most certain, that t●… onne cannot want a grave, nor the mother a tomb, for long since he is butted in her bowels, and she the like in his heart.  
Al things being in a readiness, the brothers son said unto his aunt, The brevity of the time, the authority of the dead body giveth me courage to entreat you as my aunt, and beseech you as my lady, that it would please you to deliver us the body to bury him, and give us licence to return again to the city. The night is dark, easter is come, and the people go from hence in an anger, and if any unruly body should come back to injury us, how would you that we should defend the dead body, being but three of us, when twelve of us could not defend him when he was alive? give us leave then, good lady, that this mystery may be ended, that this sacrament be concluded, that this secret be laid open, and that this dead body may be butted, because that many troubles are cut off when that is done of free will, which shall be done of necessity. Determine with yourself, my aunt, to give us him, and to swallow up this last morsel, seeing the business doth suffer no longer delay, and also because our members haue no more forces to serve you, nor our hearts strength to comfort you, nor our eyes any tears left to weep with you. O Virgin without any equal, what dost thou answer to so sharp a demand? To detain the body any longer, the time doth not permit you, and to deliver him presently it will be a bitter morsel to swallow, and to give licence as they do desire it, is no less then to bury your smart with your love, and your love with your smart. As the sad and weary mothers tears went dropping down, and her words failing her, and in their place anguishes begin to grow, she could answer no word at all, but lament anew and weep most bitterly. Canst thou not content thyself( saith Vbertinus) to love the living, but thou most also love the dead? How canst thou deny us, but that thou art in love with him who is dead, seeing thou dost worship him on thy knees, and embrace him fast in thy arms?  
What meaneth this, O thou friend of God, what meaneth this? Was death able to make an end of thy sons griefs and doulours, and is it not able to make an end of thy love? O how it doth well appear, that then death did die, when on the cro●… life did depart, seeing that there is no death in the world, which can end thy sorrow, nor cut off thy love.  
The virgin then being weary with weeping, and weary also of their importunity, did yield that they should put her son in the grave, and her sweet love in the sepulchre. In the selfsame manner, that they did bring the dead body, from Golgotha unto the garden, they did also carry him from the garden to the sepulchre, all having hold of him, all sighing, and all weeping. O grief never before heard of, O smart like unto the which there was never seen, such as is the end and sum of this procession; because that, by how much the way to the sepulchre grew shorter, by so much the more and more their woeful anguish did increase and double.  
And how should not their woe increase & double, seeing they did never hope to see him again, either alive or dead, after they had once put him in the grave? All of them then taking the body together, they did put him in his grave, the which was already open and made clean; because joseph the owner of him, had gone into him before. immediately as they had butted that holy body, they did put the ston over the monument again, the which was a great ston, thick, heavy, and foursquare. The sepulchre where they did put that body, was of ston, but the hearts of those which did bury him, were of flesh; by reason whereof, they began afresh to weep, and make a woeful lamentation over him.  
At the time of putting him in his grave, they did not cast any earth vpon him; but in stead of earth, they did cast many tears & sighs vpon him; insomuch, that if he were not covered with earth, yet he was well bathed in tears.  
The grief which the doleful mother did feel, to see her son put into the grave, and to see the ston put over him, and to see that shee had lost the sight of him, and to see that he was there without her, and she alone without him, seeing there is no pen which can writ it, I refer to the meditation of the devout soul.  
There remained Iesus in that cave, covered with that ston, alone without company, annoynted with rich ointments, weapt by holy men, bound with many clothes, and bathed with many tears.   

Here followeth a prayer of the author.  
O The love of my soul, O the light of my eyes, 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 lye dead and shrouded in a poor grave? What lawe doth consent, or what reason doth suffer, that thou shouldst raise Lazarus stinking like a sinner, and that they should bury thee savouring of iustice? The vail of the temple did rent in sunder, for to lay open the secrets which lay hidden; and dare the sepulchre open to hid thy holy members? Why O my good Iesus, why didst thou not bury thyself, in thy own sepulchere, but only to let us know, that as thou didst bury thyself in an other mans grave, so thou didst die for other mens sins? O good Iesus, O the love of my soul, how much more am I bound unto thee for redeeming me, then for creating me; because that when thou didst creat me, thou didst give me nothing but myself, but when thou didst redeem me, thou didst not only give me myself, but also thyself. Thou didst give me to myself, when I was a stranger from thee by sin; and thou didst give me to thyself, when thou didst 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 unto thee, because thou hast redeemed me with thy blood, then because thou hast created me with thy hands: For when thou didst make me, thou didst make me of nothing, but when thou didst redeem me, thou didst bestow all thy wealth and riches: that is, the blood which thou hadst in thee, and the life which thou didst live with. again, and a thousand times again, 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 seven 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 well all those years were spent by thee, O my good Iesus, seeing that in thy speech, thou didst receive contradiction; in thy doing, such as lay in wait to entrap thee; in thy torments, mockers; and in thy miracles blasphemers. O glory of jerusalem, 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 infinite love omit to do for me? do not you think, O my soul, 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 knew what it was to suffer, before he began to live. At the very instant, that he did take mans flesh vpon him, all the torments of this life presented themselves 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 cruel passion? what did holy Iesus not suffer, what did he not endure, seeing that in every 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 eyes 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 he converse, but he was angered? whether did he go, but he did suffer? In the manger he endured poverty, in the desert war, in egypt exile, in the temple resistance, in the way weariness, in the garden sweat, & on the cross death. What wouldest thou that I say more, O my soul, 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 hour of his birth until the hour of his death, what moment was there, wherein he 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 soul, but for thee? I do summon you O my soul, and conjure you O my heart, that seeing you bee the successors of his merits, that you would be the like of his travels, seeing it is both Gods law and mans lawe, that he who hath the inheritance, should also take the charge which doth follow it. Who but good Iesus, was in the morning punished, at one of the clock accused, at three tormented, at six condemned, at nine put to death, in the evening annoynted, at compline butted? What more wilt thou see O my soul, what more wilt thou see? seeing thou seest that the judge is judged, the king scorned and mocked, the priest tormented, the innocent condemned, and of all just men, the most just put to death: O high mystery, O divine sacrament, who, as he 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 thief who did blaspheme him, in the people who scorned him, in Longinus who pierced him with a spear, and in the sorrowful mother who lamented for him. Did not( think you) the son suffer in the mother, and the mother in the son; seeing that shee is his cross, and he likewise her cross? Was not pardie shee his cross, seeing that she did bath him in tears, and was not he her cross, considering that he did bath her in blood? Why O my good Iesus, why didst thou suffer a thrust in thy side, the binding of thy feet, and holes in thy hands, but to give man a medicine for original sin, a remedy for mortal sin, and an ease for venial sin? O infinite love, O unspeakable charity, my God and Lord, seeing that nothing could hinder thee from going up to the cross, nor cause thee to come down from the cross, not the hardness of thy bed, nor thy bitter drink, nor thy grievous torment, nor thy cruel death, nor the love of thy mother, nor the shane of being naked, nor the persuasion of the people, no nor the vngratfulnesse of all the world. O good Iesus, O the loues of my soul, what charity is that which doth overcome thee, and what love doth guide thee, that being asked wilt not come down from the cross, to deliver thy own innocent life; and yet on the other side, not being asked at al, dost go up to the cross, to make clean my sin? O the brightness of the angels, O the glory of the blessed, tell me I pray thee, what demerit didst thou find in thy most holy life, that thou wouldest not deliver him, and what merit diddst thou find in mine, that thou wouldest offer thyself for me? What am I for whom thou dost suffer, but a rash and an unruly trifle, conceived in sin, born with pain, brought up with grief, weak to resist vices, and in constant for virtues, and nought before I was born? I am O good Iesus, I am the Samaritan, which the theeues did leave half a live by the ways side; a live in understanding, and dead in will; alive in body, and dead in soul; alive in lying, and dead in truth; alive in all mischief, and dead in all goodness; alive to offend thee, and dead to serve thee. Stand on end O my soul, and fear O my heart, and mark with attention, and consider with gravity, who he is who doth suffer, for whom he doth suffer, where he doth suffer, and howe he doth suffer; all which, if thou do narrowly contemplate, thou shalt not only stand on end and be afraid, but also astonied and amazed. He who doth suffer is thy God, he for whom he doth suffer art thyself, that which he doth suffer is death, the place where, is on the cross, the manner howe, is with most pure love: the which love did make him take mans flesh of his own will, and die on the cross for mere charity. All hail O precious cross, I love thee O holy wood, on which then death did die, when the maker of heaven and earth, did lose his life vpon thee. What art thou O holy wood, what art thou O holy cross, but the key with the which heaven was opened, the hidden treasure in the field, the standard of our Christ, a gin and trap for the divell, the remedy against sin, the confusion of hell, and the price of all the world. What other thing is the cross on which thou didst suffer, O my good Iesus, but a haven to such as are lost, a wall to such as are besieged, a guide unto all which take in hand any journey, a guardian of joint-tenants, the defence of the weak, the school of the wise, the philosophy of those which are innocent, the hangman of vices, and a swarm of virtues. O holy cross, O bloody cross, with the blood of my God, who but thou dost renew figures which are past, beautify those which are present, teach those which are to come, seek out thos which are lost, find thos which are sought for, and keep those which are found. O redeemer of my soul, O the maker of my life, how is it possible, that I should be able to recompense thee, for al which thou hast done for me, although thou hadst done nothing for me but die on the cross? didst thou not die for me on the cross, when thy soul went from thence to the father, thy blood remained vpon the ground, thy body rest in the grave? O the reward of my glory, O the ioy of my soul, tell me I pray thee, why didst thou bind me unto two debts, considering that I am not able to pay thee one, that is for thy life which thou didst loose for me, and eternal glory which thou hast recovered for me? Dost thou not remember O good Iesus, dost thou not remember, that the soul being but one, thou didst give her me twice, that is, when thou didst creat her in my entrails, and when with thy precious blood thou didst redeem her? What can I present unto thee but only the death which thou sufferedst, & what can I give thee but the blood that thou didst shed for me, and what can I offer thee, but only the charity with the which thou didst die for me: all which I do offer thee vpon my knees, and present unto thee with many tears, to the end that in the latter day all may be acceptable unto thee, and unto this thy seruant profitable. Finally I present and offer unto thee, O my good Iesus, all this work, and the author of the same, to the end that if it be profitable unto thy seruants, the glory may redound unto thee and no other, and if it be not in every point perfect, supply O my good Iesus, the want.  
Trino & uni sit laus.    
FINIS.   

Errata.  
IN the Prologue, the 9 page., line 16. for Priests, read Christs. page. 48. line 34. for seeing, red saying. page. 85. line 20. for dentis red dextrae. page. 132. line 13. for them, red him. page. 139. line 19. for, to that, red, that to. page. 176. line 11. for, Angels, red eagle. page. 198. line 38. for, shorter, red longer. page. 219. line 7. for, person, red, church. page. 270. line 35. for, despise, red deserve. page. 297. line 1. for, Seeing, red, saying.   

A Table of the Chapters contained in this book.  

HOw the son of God was condemned to die, and how the like iudgment was never given in the world. 1  
2 Howe Pilats seruants, the better to mock 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 crwoned with thorns, and of diuers sorts of crownes, and of the great mysteries which are meant by them. 17  
4 How for a mockery and a jest, the Iewes did put a reed in Christs right hand: and of the high mysteries 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 mysteries which are contained under this Aue, All hail, or, Be thou glad. 35  
7 How in Pilats house they bowed their knees before Christ, and how there are knees of the soul as well as of the body. 41  
8 How Christ would not go out of the palace with the garments which there they clothed him in, and of the mysteries which are contained therein. 47  
9 Wherein the author 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 authority of the Apostle in it. 59  
11 Of the manner how they did led Christ to be crucified: unto which purpose there is a notable figure expounded. 65  
12 Here the same matter is prosecuted, and a prophesy of Esaie expounded in a high style. 73  
13 Here are declared the mysteries of these two words, ●…ry, and Golgotha, and why the son of God would die on a ●…ghill. 79  
14 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. 86  
15 Wherein is expounded a figure of Leuiticus, concerning Christ his dying in the mount of calvary. 89  
16 How Christ goeth to the mount of calvary, and of the great mysteries which happened unto him on the way. 95  
17 Howe the son of God did carry his cross vpon his shoulders, until he did meet with Simon Cireneus; and there is also a figure expounded unto this purpose. 101  
18 How Christ did meet with Simon Cireneus, and gave him his cross to carry on his shoulder, & of the great mysteries 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 cross by force, and bearing it, hired thereunto. 113  
20 Why Christ did not carry his cross more than half the way, & why he gave it the other half to Simon to carry, and of the great secrets which are contained in this mystery. 118  
21 Howe the daughters of jerusalem 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 account which our Lord made of the tears which the daughters of jerusalem did shed, and how he doth invite all men to weep, and none to laugh. 130  
23 Why Christ aid not call the women which followed him, simply women, but daughters of jerusalem, & in expounding of this, there are discovered many mysteries of scripture. 136  
24 Why Christ would not answer Herod, being urged of him, and why he did speak to the daughters of jerusalem, not ●… ng entreated by them, and of many other things notably 〈…〉 this Chapter. 144  
25 Why our Lord did weep for the death of Lazarus, and weep for the destruction of jerusalem, and would not that the daughters of jerusalem should weep 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 supper me: and that we may al say with david, Ego sum qui peccavi: and that a good death should not be lamented, but a naughty life. 158  
27 How Christ did compare himself unto the green three, and the synagogue unto the dry three, and of a very high three which ezechiel 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 unto the mount of calvary, and howe there they did put off his apparel: with other pitiful considerations to that purpose. 180  
30 Of the mystery why the son of God would die naked on the cross, and howe there be more which would serve the world clothed, then follow Christ naked. 186  
31 Of the hour when they began to crucify Christ, and how that first of all he offered his heart to be divided on the cross, & his left hand to be nailed. 194  
32 How they nail Christ his right hand, and how in Salamons house, there was no hammer heard, and that the flesh of the son of God was all knocked with hammers. 202  
33 How the cross and Christ crucified were lift up, & when Christ his feet were nailed, the hammer did strike no less in the heart of the mother, then in the flesh of the son. 207  
34 How that vpon one of Christ his garments, they did cast lots, and the other they did cut in pieces, and how heretics 〈◇〉 rent in pieces the coat without seam, which the tormento●… 〈◇〉 not meddle with.  
35 Howe the torturers did cast lots vpon Christ his coat, which was without seam, and of a figure of joseph expounded to this purpose. 220  
36 Of diuers sorts of people that mocked at Christ on the cross, and of diuers injuries which they did unto him, and howe the Iewes wagging of their heads at him, was a token of the fall of their synagogue. 227  
37 How the son of God did crucify with himself all our injuries 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 darkness and ended in darkness. 242  
39 Of many and sundry 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 cross, praying and weeping, teaching us by that example, how we should behave ourselves in the last hour. 257  
41 How Christ died, his head bowed down, and the mysteries therein contained. 263  
42 How the son of God did yield up his ghost on the cross, at nine of the clock. 271  
43 Howe the vail of the temple did rent in two when Christ gave up the ghost, and how that that breaking of the vail 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 cleave in sunder, and the mountains did open, and of many high mysteries which these openings did signify. 286  
45 Howe that by the death of the son of God many holy men did rise, and why Christ did compare hypocrites to white sepulchres. 294  
46 Howe the Centurion did confess Christ to be God, and of 〈◇〉 difference betwixt his confession and S. Peters, and how he 〈…〉 die a glorious martyr. 300  
47 Why the scripture doth call the death of Christ a spectacle, and how there are many which with the jews do strike their breasts, and very few which make clean their sins. 308  
48 How Pilat did command those which were crucified, to be taken down from the cross, and how the Iewes haue many fellows now adays, which break the legs of their brethren. 310  
49 How Christ did suffer that his flesh should be torn in pieces, but not that his bones should be touched. 324  
50 Of the blow with the spear, and of the mysteries thereof, and how it seemeth rather a key which did open, then a thrust with a spear which did wound. 330  
51 How that at the foot of the cross, they did divide Christ his garments with knives, and on the top of the cross, his heart with the blows of spears. 338  
52 The mysteries of the spear are ended, and of the great ingratitude of ours, for the shedding of his blood. 344  
53 How joseph of Aramathia did ask Pilat for Christ his body, and of the circumstances of asking it. 352  
54 Howe that when the virgin stood weeping vpon the mount of calvary, because she wanted things necessary for to bury her son, our Lord did ordain that joseph should take the charge vpon him. 360  
55 How joseph and Nichodemus did carry ladders with them to go up to the cross, and ointments to anoint his body, and went directly to the mount of calvary. 367  
56 How our Lord was taken down from the cross, & put in lap of the sad mother, & of the tears which were  shed over him. 375  
57 How that the funerals which joseph made his father jacob, were a figure of those which joseph of Aramathia should make our redeemer. 381  
58 Of the great care which they had in times past to bury the dead, and why the son of God did not command 〈◇〉 ●…die to be butted.   
FINIS.