As for fire in the 66. of _Esay_ 15, 16. which the Evangelist cites here, whose fire shall not extinguish, and whose worme dieth not. It is without doubt destinated to the punishment of reprobates, which shall never be quenched, nor the worme that stingeth the conscience shall never dye; To keep that this worm that is engendred of corruption may not procreate, we must salt it with discretion and prudence, that it may do nothing which may offend and scandalize his neighbour, according as the Evangelist specifies it, _Hee that shall scandalize one of these little ones that beleeve in mee_. And as for banishing and chasing away strange fire, that devours our soul, as a burning feaver doth vitall heat, this must be done by the mediating intervention of divine fire, which is much more puissant then any other. Let us heare that which to this purpose Saint _Ambrose_ alledgeth in the 3. _chap._ of his Offices, Saint _John_ baptized Jesus Christ with the Holy Ghost and with fire, which is the type and image of the Holy Ghost, who after his ascension, must descend for the remission of sinnes, so enflaming as a fire doth the soul and heart of the faithfull, according as _Jeremie_ saith in 20. & 9. after he had received the Holy Ghost, _and it was as a burning fire in my heart, shut up in my bones_. What is the meaning then of that in the _Maccabees_, that the fire was become water, and this water excites the fire, but that the spirituall grace burneth by the fire, and by the water it doth purifie and cleanse our sinnes? for sinne washeth and burneth, according to which the Apostle saith, fire will prove what each mans works shall bee; for it must necessarily be, that this examination should bee perfected in all those that desire to returne into Paradise. It was not without cause, nor idlely set downe in the 3. of _Genesis_, that after _Adam_ and _Eve_ were banished from thence, he placed at its entrance a brandishing sword of fire, to keep the passage to the tree of life. With this fire then we must all be salted that are in the way of salvation; following that which _Origen_ set downe in his 3. _Homil._ upon the 36. _Psalme_, Wee must all goe to the fire of Purgatory, and _Peter_ and _Paul_, but all shall not passe thereby, after the same sort as they did, whereof it is said in the 43. of _Esay_ 2. _When thou shalt passe through the waters, the waves shall not cover thee, for I will be with thee, when thou shalt march through the fire, thou shalt not bee burnt._ The Israelites passed through the red Sea dry-shod, and the Ægyptians were drowned therein: The three children in _Nebuchadnezzars_ furnace, had no detriment, and those that heated the fire without, were therewith consumed. And in the 19. _Hom._ upon the 16. of _Leviticus_, All are not purged by this fire that parts from the Altar, it is the fire of the Lord; for hee that is from the Altar, is not of God, but a strange fire, dedicated for the