The Christian disputations, by Master Peter Viret. Divided into three parts, dialogue wiseThe Christian disputations, by Master Peter Viret. Deuided into three partes, dialogue wise

Hillarius, That is the cause wherefore their Bing pluto, & Neoptolemus, Eacus, Minos & Rhadamanthus, yt criminal Judges of the Infernal court, and of those Plutonicall Regions, do open unto them the charters & prisons of Purgatory, & do give unto them field plays and pastimes and leave to play a little, as the School masters ¹do give unto their scholars, for to take some recreation & pastime, even as Mantuan witnesseth saying. As oft as men their Sacrifice² By alms or feasts do make: Or else by prayers they do think. the needy's thirst to slake, To bellies rage and pampered flesh a bridle they do set, And to the gods they do pour out their prayers from heart yfet. By means whereof, the furious rage of windy force is laid For gods thereto agreed hath which makes them well apaid. By use whereof and gods good grace they have both mirth and joy. And save them from the hellish rage that doth their souls annoy. ⟨image 141⟩It were good reason that they should have at the least ³once or twice in the year, some good Aristotolicall days for to delight and refresh themselves and for to bring them out of these hot and burning furnaces. I pray thee think what joy they do make, when that they feel & perceive their feast to draw nigh, in which they look to have some liberty and to find some little grace and favour of their king Pluto, by whom I mean him of whom the French Poet hath written after this manner, in his hell. It is the holy name of Pope, that hellish hounds embrace, And with his stole can cull them in, & win them to his grace, But fearest thou not, that monster great, that doth affirm & say, That hell to open and also shut, he both them can and may, Yea he it is, by scorching heat, that martyr can the souls And thousand thousands rid he can from heat of parching coals. I think that then he holdeth his keys in the right hand ⁴for to let loose a little these poor souls, that they should laugh and be merry, if that be true which a holy father preached at Bordeaux, saying and affirming, that when one offereth for the dead, and that the souls do hear the sound of the money which falleth ting, ting, in the basin, or the bore prepared to receive the offering, they receive so great joy, and do begin so much to laugh, that they do make a noise, ha, ha, ha, hi, hi, hi. What wilt thou more? should one spoil and rob them of their laughing?