CHAPTER IV.
On the Fear of Hell.
DEATH is rendered yet more bitter to us by the fear of Hell and the clear view of eternity before us. For when we are dangerously ill, and death stares us in the face, the terror which fills us at the prospect of eternity is so overwhelming, that we are filled with fear. For we see plainly that in a few days a few hours perhaps we must enter eternity, and we know not what awaits us there. The dread lest we should be lost everlastingly is so great as to cause us to shudder.
Moreover, the alarm that tortures us is not a little augmented by the remembrance of the sins whereby we have oftentimes deserved Hell; for no man can be certain whether he has done penance aright, and whether he has really obtained pardon. This is explained by a passage from the writings of the aforementioned Pope St. Gregory, who describes this fear in the following words:
"The just man who is truly concerned about his eternal salvation will from time to time think of his future Judge. He will meditate before death overtakes
