Of this place, to wit, Purgatorie, Popish writers teach maruellous things. Some of them say, that Purgatorie is also vnder the earth as Hell is. Some say that Hell and Purgatorie are both one place, albeit the paines be diuers according to the deserts of soules. Furthermore they say, that vnder the earth there are more places of punishment in which the soules of the deade may be purged. For they say, that this or that soule hath bin seene in this or that mountaine, cloud, or valley, where it hath committed the offence: and that these are particuler Purgatories, assigned vnto them for some speciall cause, before the day of Iudgement, after which time all manner of Purgatories, as well general as particuler shall cease. Some of them say, that the paine of Purgatorie is all one with the punishment of hel, and that they differ only in this, that the one hath an end, the other no ende: and that it is far more easie to endure all the paynes of this worlde, whiche all men since =Adams= time haue susteined, euen vnto the day of the last Iudgement, than to beare one dayes space the least of these two punishmentes.
Further they holde that our fire, if it be compared with the fire of Purgatorie, doth resemble only a painted fire. Séeke their Doctours in this pointe, on the fourth booke of Sentences, the 20. distinction.
[Sidenote: By whome Soules are tormented in purgatorie.]
This question also they moue, by whome the Soules in Purgatorie are tormented. Wherfore their opinions are very diuers, and disagréeable among themselues.
=Richardus de Media Villa= a _Franciscan_ Frier, writeth vpon the Maister of Sentences, and saith, he verily beléeueth that soules are caried by good Angels, into the places of torment, but yet that they themselues do not torment them, because they shall become at length fellow citizens with them. Neyther yet are they punished by Deuils (who after this life do no longer tempte men) but only by the méere iustice of God. And yet (saith he) it may so come to passe, that the Deuils be present at the doing thereof, and reioyce at their tortures. I thought good to repeate these things of Purgatorie somewhat at large, the rather for that the reader might sée, that their Doctours do disagrée in a matter of great weight, by which they haue both robbed men of their wealth, and plunged them into very great miserie.