Judgement Day II | Back to lines 1 - 149 | ||||
150 | Will be all alike therewith utterly filled. | ||||
Then the flame of the fire will blow and crackle, | |||||
Red and angry, will rush and hurry | |||||
How it for the sinful torture might prepare. | |||||
Nor will the punishing flame forbear, | |||||
155 | Or towards any there act with favour; | ||||
Unless he be here from filth cleansed, | |||||
And then thither come thoroughly clean. | |||||
Then many races, of folks without number, | |||||
Their sinful breasts strongly will beat, | |||||
160 | Fiercely with fist, for their gross luxury. | ||||
There will be the needy, and kings of people, | |||||
Poor and rich all will be affrighted. | |||||
There will have one law, poor and the wealthy. | |||||
Therefore they will have fear all alike. | |||||
165 | That angry flood will rush with fire, | ||||
And bitterly burn the poor souls: | |||||
And the hearts, savagely worms, | |||||
Of sin-guilty ones, will carve and tear. | |||||
Nor may there any man, by works of merit, | |||||
170 | Bold become in presence of the Judge; | ||||
But terror will run alike through all, | |||||
Thoughts of the heart, and the bitter weeping. | |||||
And there will stand, stiffened most like to stone, | |||||
All the wicked troop, in expectation of evil. | |||||
175 | What doest thou, O flesh? what actest thou now? | ||||
How might thou on that tide bewail thy trouble? | |||||
Woe! thou servest now thyself, | |||||
And here gladly livest in lust, | |||||
And thyself with keen goads there urgest to luxury. | |||||
180 | Why wilt thou not fear the fiery terror, | ||||
And for thyself dread greatly the punishments | |||||
Which for devils of yore the Lord prepared | |||||
To cursed souls for wages of woe? | |||||
These overpass thought and speech, | |||||
185 | Of every man for greatness. | ||||
No speech may be with tidings to recount | |||||
To any on earth the wretched penalties, | |||||
Filthy places of fire in the depth, | |||||
That was mid fierce torment in hell. | |||||
190 | There be for sorrow together mingled | ||||
The flame of vapours, and the weariness of cold, | |||||
Very heat and cold, in midst of hell. | |||||
One while there the eyes without measure will weep; | |||||
For the scorching of the furnace, he is all full of misery; | |||||
195 | One while too the teeth of men for great cold there will gnash. | ||||
This foul vicissitude, miserable men, | |||||
For ever and ever, will wend therein: | |||||
Amid dark black night | |||||
And the woe of boiling pitch and vapour. | |||||
200 |
There no sound stirreth, save stark hard |
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Weeping and lamenting, naught else. | |||||
Nor will be any appearance seen of any wight, | |||||
but of the torturers (which) punish the miserable. | |||||
Nor will there be therein aught found | |||||
205 | But fire, and cold, and loathsome filth. | ||||
They with nose may naught smell | |||||
Save immensity of stench. | |||||
There will be the wretched lips filled | |||||
With flame-vomiting blaze of loathly fire, | |||||
210 | And the cruel worms will tear them, | ||||
And will gnaw their bones with burning tusks. | |||||
Above all this will be that wretched breast | |||||
With bitter care frightened and troubled. | |||||
For why luxurious flesh in the perilous tide | |||||
215 | For himself so many sins wrought, | ||||
That it in prison became destroyed; | |||||
There are the dreadful everlasting punishments, | |||||
There not any little spark of light shineth | |||||
To the miserable. There neither goodness | |||||
220 | Nor peace, nor hope, nor quiet delighteth, | ||||
Nor the number of the men at all. | |||||
Consolation will fly away, nor will there be any help | |||||
That against the bitter circumstances may frame a protection: | |||||
Nor will there appearance be found of any bliss: | |||||
225 | There will be horrid fear and terror, | ||||
And violent sorrowful gnashing of teeth. | |||||
There will be everywhere cruel sadness, | |||||
Eld and anger and weariness, | |||||
And there too sin. Souls in fire | |||||
230 | In the dark cave will burn and wander. | ||||
Then will perish from hence the fatal | |||||
Joys of this world; they will depart all together. | |||||
Then drunkenness will cease with feasts, | |||||
And laughter and play will leap together. | |||||
235 | And lust also will depart hence, | ||||
And greed will far depart, | |||||
Wickedness away, and each luxury, | |||||
Guilty to hasten into the shade. | |||||
And the wretched helpless sleep will fly, | |||||
240 | Slack with slumber, to slink behind. | ||||
Then in dark bitter fire saw | |||||
The poor at last, that which forbidden is now; | |||||
That most loved in life, loathed will be then, | |||||
And the guilts will turn that weary heart | |||||
245 | Verily among sorrows and among misery. | ||||
Oh! he will be happy, and more than happy, | |||||
And world-without-end of men the happiest, | |||||
He that with prosperity, such overthrow, | |||||
And with understanding, may well escape, | |||||
250 | And likewise blessed in all the world | ||||
Serve his lord, and then may have | |||||
Heaven's kingdom, that is of joys the best. | |||||
There night nor darkness overclouds | |||||
The sheen of heavenly light. | |||||
255 | There cometh not sorrow nor pain, nor toilworn eld, | ||||
Nor happeth there ever any toil; | |||||
Either hunger, or thirst, or miserable sleep. | |||||
There is not fever, nor decay, nor sudden plague, | |||||
Crackling of no fire, nor the loathsome cold, | |||||
260 | There is not mourning, nor there weariness, | ||||
Nor ruin, nor care, nor fierce torment. | |||||
Nor is there lightning, nor loathsome storm, | |||||
Winter, nor thunder shower, nor a whit of cold; | |||||
Nor there are mighty hail-showers with snow, | |||||
265 | Nor is want there, nor loss, nor terror of death, | ||||
Nor misery, nor sorrow, nor any mourning. | |||||
But there together reigneth peace with prosperity, | |||||
And virtue, and eternal good, | |||||
Glory and honour, | |||||
270 | Likewise praise, and life, and faithful concord. | ||||
Beside all this the Eternal Lord to them of all | |||||
Goods any gladly serveth, | |||||
And in presence honoureth and receiveth all of them; | |||||
And the Father likewise blesseth, glorifieth, and well-regardeth (them), | |||||
275 | Beautifully decks, and liberally loveth, | ||||
And on heaven's throne on high adorneth. | |||||
His kind Son, lord of Victory, | |||||
Gives to each one everlasting meed, | |||||
Heavenly glories, that is a splendid gift. | |||||
280 | Among the beautiful host of angels, | ||||
And in troops and throngs of the holy ones, | |||||
There shall they be associated among nations, | |||||
Amidst the patriarchs and holy prophets. | |||||
In blissful mood among the cities, | |||||
285 | There be the apostles of Almighty God. | ||||
And amid the stores of roses red | |||||
There ever shall they shine. | |||||
There of the white ones shall wander a maiden throng | |||||
With blossoms hung. Brightest of the hosts, | |||||
290 | Who them all will lead, God's peerless dear one, | ||||
The woman who for us the Lord conceived, | |||||
Creator on earth: virgin the pure, | |||||
That is MARY, of maidens most blessed. | |||||
She will lead through those bright shining kingdoms | |||||
295 | (Blessedest she of all) of the glorious father, | ||||
Betwixt father and son, a goodly host, | |||||
And mid eternal heavenly peace, | |||||
In the kingdom of the wise heavenly ruler. | |||||
What of hardship can there be here in life, | |||||
300 | If thou wilt say sooth to him that asketh thee | ||||
To set against this, that thou mayest, among that host, | |||||
Live unchanging through eternity, | |||||
And in the happy seats of the saints above | |||||
Enjoy bliss henceforth without end. | |||||
Here endeth this book that is called inter florigeras, that is, in English, "betwixt blooming", who to God's Kingdom fare: and how those suffer, who to Hell fare. |
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