one the least thing which she desires! Oh! who can express that violent impetuosity, with which the will of these wretches is now carried towards God; sensible as they are of the immense happiness, which is found in the enjoyment of him? But, alas! they always find an invisible hand that drives them back, or rather they always find themselves bound fast down in eternal chains, struggling in vain with that hand which they cannot resist, and unable to make the least approach towards the object of their restless desires. Hence they break forth into a thousand blasphemies; hence the whole soul is torn in pieces with a whole army of violent, and withal opposite passions of fury, envy, hatred, despair, &c. These torments of the interior powers of the soul are attended with that never-dying worm of conscience, which shall for ever prey upon those miscreants. By this is meant an eternal remorse, a bitter but fruitless repentance, which is ever racking their despairing souls. Sweet Jesus, deliver us from such dreadful complication of evils!
THE SIXTEENTH DAY.
On a miserable eternity.
CONSIDER, that what above all things makes hell intolerable is the eternity of its torments. It is this eternity, which is an infinite aggravation of all and every one of them: it is this bitter ingredient which makes every drop of that bitter cup of the divine vengeance, of which the sinners of the earth must drink, so insupportable. Were there any hopes that the miseries of the damned would one day have an end, though it were after millions of ages, hell would be no longer hell, because it would admit of some comfort. But for all those inexpressible torments to continue
