De timore aeternae poenae contra vitia carnis
The Remedy of Holy Fear
The author introduces the fear of God as a necessary defense against the twin dangers of carnal desire and spiritual pride.
Pierce my flesh with your fear. This prayer is useful against the vices of the flesh and for suppressing the pride of the mind. For these two evils attack and harass a person every day; either the flesh desires what is forbidden, or the spirit grows proud of its goodness and seeks praise. Both are great evils, and both carry grave danger. When the wretched flesh, which will soon die, tempts you, think of the torments of eternal fire, and in this way you will extinguish the fire of desire with the fire of hell; and greater impulses will drive out lesser ones, so that the soul may be saved through fire. Every carnal pleasure is brief; every joy of the world is deceptive and vain, as is every beauty of the body, every honor, and every glory. Just as a headache forces a dissolute person to groan and weep, so the fear of death and the heat of hell make a person who is passionate and tempted abstain from sins. Whoever is without fear quickly falls into evil; and whoever doesn't humble himself before God and His saints will be confounded in judgment by the demons and punished most harshly by them.
Humility Before the Eternal Judge
The text exhorts the reader to maintain humility and constant vigilance, reminding them that God's judgment is inescapable and that fear is a catalyst for spiritual fervor.
This is a firm and true statement that stands and never fails: whether you are human or angel, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Yet the mercy of the Lord is with His saints and His chosen ones from eternity and lasts forever. Therefore, fear God’s judgment in all your actions, and don’t take pride in your own vain reputations. Even when you’ve done everything you can and should do, you still fall short in many things, and you can barely offer one thing for a thousand. Fear the rod of God; fear His staff; fear the judgment to come. Nothing will pass unpunished; nothing done in goodness will go unrewarded. If your cell were on fire, wouldn’t you be afraid and quickly get up and run away? Consider what fear, trembling, and thinking about future punishments—which will never end—can do. They drive out lukewarmness and bring in a fervor for prayer because of the overwhelming horror of hell.
Read the original Latin
Confige timore tuo carnes meas. Vtilis est haec oratio contra carnis vitia: et ad superbiam mentis deprimendam. Ista enim duo mala cotidie hominem impugnant et vexant; aut enim caro illicita concupiscit: aut spiritus de bono superbit et laudem quaerit. Vtrumque magnum malum: utrobique periculum grave. Cum te temptat caro misera cito moritura cogita aeterni ignis tormenta: et sic ignem concupiscentiae extingues igne gehennae; et motus maiores expellent minores: ut spiritus salvus fiat per ignem. Brevis est omnis delectatio carnalis; fallax et vana omnis mundi laetitia: omnis decor corporis omnis honor et gloria. Sicut dolor capitis cogit dissolutum gemere et flere: sic timor mortis et ardor inferni faciunt passionatum et temptatum a peccatis abstinere. Qui sine timore est cito corruit in malum; et qui se non humiliat coram Deo et sanctis eius; confundetur in iudicio a daemonibus: et punietur durissime ab eis.
Firma et vera sententia ista stat nec fallit; sive homo sive angelus sit: Deus superbis resistit humilibus autem dat gratiam. Misericordia autem Domini ab aeterno cum sanctis et electis suis usque in aeternum. Time ergo superbe iudicium Dei in omnibus factis tuis: et noli gloriari in vanis reputationibus tuis. Cum feceris totum quod poteris et debes; adhuc deficis in multis: et vix unum pro mille reddere vales. Time virgam Dei: time baculum, time iudicium futurum; nil transibit impunitum: nil erit in bonis irremuneratum. Si cella tua arderet; nonne timeres et cito surgeres et fugeres. Ecce quid facit timor et tremor et cogitatio de poenis futuris: quae nullis finientur temporibus. Expellunt namque teporem et inducunt orationis fervorem: propter nimium inferni horrorem.
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