The Purgatory of St. PatrickCalderón de la Barca, Pedro
Religion
The Purgatory of St. Patrick
Calderón de la Barca, Pedro
Patrick, Saint, 373?-463? -- Drama
"From hence they dragged him towards a Certain House of an
extraordinary breadth, and so long that the End of it was out of
sight. When they drew near this House the Soldier stood still, being
afraid to go forward in the excessive Heat that came out of it. Then
the Devils said unto him: What thou seest are Baths, and whether
thou wilt or no, thou shalt Bath in them, as others do that are there
now. Immediately after, there were heard the most dismal Cries and
Lamentations imaginable proceeding from thence; and being brought in,
he saw a cruel and horrid sight. The Floor of this House was full of
round Pits join'd so close together, that no Man cou'd walk between
them: and each of these Pits was full of boiling Liquors made of
various Mettals, in which were plunged an infinite Number of both
Sexes, and of Divers Ages. Some were dipped down over Head; some to
the Eyes only; Others to the Lips; Some to the Neck; Others to the
Breast; Some to the Navel; Others to the Thighs; Some to the Knees;
Others to half the Leg; Some had one Leg only in; Others both the
Hands: And thus were all these boiling Pits or Cauldrons filled with
wretched Sinners, who set forth such dismal Groans and Lamentations
as were sufficient to chill the Blood of the most hard-hearted Man.
Here (say the Devils to the Soldier) shalt thou Bath, and with that
they lifted him up and endeavour'd to cast him into one of the
Cauldrons, but upon hearing the Name of Jesus they cou'd not prevail.
Whereupon they quit this House, and Carry the Soldier to an exceeding
high Mountain, where they show him a Number of Men and Women far
beyond any of the former. These Wretches sat Stark Naked with their
Toes bent, and look'd towards the North, as if they expected every
minute to expire that way. And while the Soldier stood wondering
what they waited for, one of the Devils said unto him: Possibly thou
wondrest what these People expect with so much trembling and fear,
but if thou agree not to go back, thou shalt soon know to thy cost
the cause of their Fear. The Devil had scarce made an end of these
Words, when a Whirlwind from the North rushed upon them, and blew
away the Devils, the Soldier, and all the People, and cast them over
the other side of the Mount into a River, that stunk, and was
intolerably cold: and as often as any of these wretched people
attempted to raise themselves over the Water, the Devils immediately
plunged them down. But the Soldier, who had always in mind his
Divine Assistant, called upon his Redeemer Jesus Christ, and so found
himself ashore on the Other Side of the River."
"CHAPTER VIII.
"Of the Pit that cast up Flames, and of the High Bridge to which the
Devils led the Soldier.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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