But it is also wont very often to happen that a departing soul recognizes even those with whom, by reason of an equality of faults or even of merits, it is to be assigned to one dwelling. For the venerable-lived man, old Eleutherius, of whom I related many things in the preceding book (chapter 33), stated that he had had in his monastery a brother by blood named John, who foretold his own departure to the brethren fourteen days beforehand. And while he counted the days decreasing daily, three days before he was summoned from the body, he was seized with a fever. Coming to the hour of death, he received the mystery of the Lord's body and blood. And having called the brethren, he bade them chant psalms before him, to whom, however, he himself set the antiphon of his own accord, saying:
'Open to me the gates of justice, and I will go in to them and confess to the Lord: this is the gate of the Lord, the just shall enter through it' (Psalm 118:19–20). And while the brethren standing about him chanted, suddenly with a voice sent forth and prolonged he cried out, saying: 'Ursus, come.' As soon as he had said this, being led forth from the body, he ended his mortal life. The brethren wondered, because they did not know this thing which the dying brother had cried out. When he had died, great sorrow was made in the monastery. Now on the fourth day something was necessary for the brethren, so that they might send to another monastery placed far off. Going there, then, the brethren found all the monks of that same monastery exceedingly sad. When they said to them:
'What ails you, that you are weighed down in such great grief?' they answered, saying: 'We lament the desolation of this place, because one brother, by whose life our community in this monastery was held together, this day is the fourth day since he was taken away from this light.' And when the brethren who had come diligently inquired what he had been called, they answered: 'Ursus.' Carefully inquiring into the hour of his summoning, they recognized that he had gone out from the body at the very moment at which he had been called through John, who had died among them. From which it is gathered that the merit of both was equal, and it was granted to them that they should live together companionably in one dwelling, to whom it befell to depart companionably from the body.
But neither let me be silent about this, which happened to me concerning certain neighbours of mine while I still lived as a layman and dwelt in my house, which had come to me by my father's right in this city. For there was a certain widow next to me, called Galla. She had a young son named Eumorphius, not far from whom dwelt a certain Stephen, who was among the number of the ushers. But this same Eumorphius, coming to the extremity of life, called his servant boy and commanded him, saying: 'Go quickly, and tell Stephen the usher to come at once, for behold the ship is ready that we are to be conveyed to Sicily.' And when the boy thought he was raving and refused to obey, he began to press him vehemently, saying: 'Go and announce to him what I say, for I am not raving.'
So the boy went out to go to Stephen. And when he had come to the middle of the road, a certain other man met him and inquired of him, saying: 'Where are you going?' To whom he replied: 'I have been sent by my master to Stephen the usher.' And that man immediately said: 'I come from him, but before me he died this very hour.' The boy indeed returned to Eumorphius his master, but now found him dead. And so it came about that, while the other met him and the boy returned from the middle of the road, it could be gathered from the measure of distance that at one and the same moment both had been summoned. PETER: It is very terrible, what is being told: but I ask you, why did a ship appear to the departing soul, or why did the dying man foretell that he would be conveyed to Sicily? GREGORY:
The soul needs no vehicle: but it is no wonder if to a man still set in the body there appeared that which he had been accustomed to see through the body, so that through this it might be given to understand whither his soul could be led spiritually. But as for his testifying that he was being conveyed to Sicily, what else can be understood, except that beyond other places, in the islands of that land, the openings of the torments, belching forth, have been laid bare? Which, as those who know them are wont to relate, grow larger daily with widened gulfs, so that, as the end of the world draws near, the more it is certain that more are being gathered there to be burned, the more also those very places of torment seem to be opened wider. And this almighty God has willed to be shown for the correction of those living in this world;
so that the minds of the unbelieving, who do not believe that the torments of hell exist, may see the places of the torments which they refuse to believe when heard. But as for the fact that both the elect and the reprobate, whose cause in their works has been common, are led even to common places, the words of Truth would satisfy us, even if examples were lacking. For Truth Himself, on account of the elect, says in the Gospel: 'In my Father's house there are many mansions' (John 14:2). For if there were not a differing retribution in that eternal blessedness, there would rather be one mansion than many. There are, therefore, many mansions, in which the distinct ranks of the good rejoice in common on account of the fellowship of their merits, and yet all who labour receive one penny (Matthew 20:9).
They are distinguished by many mansions, because both there is one blessedness which they there receive, and there is a differing quality of retribution which they obtain through diverse works. And this indeed Truth, announcing the day of His judgment, says: 'Then I will say to the reapers: Gather the tares, and bind them into bundles to be burned' (Matthew 13:30). For the reapers, that is, the angels, bind the tares into bundles to be burned, when they associate like with like in similar torments, so that the proud may burn with the proud, the lustful with the lustful, the avaricious with the avaricious, the deceitful with the deceitful, the envious with the envious, the unbelieving with the unbelieving.
When therefore those alike in guilt are led to like torments, since the angels assign them to places of punishment, it is as if they bind bundles of tares to be burned. PETER: The ground of reason has been laid open to my inquiry by the satisfaction of your answer. But what is it, I ask you, that some are drawn out of the body as if by mistake, so that they return lifeless, and each of them says that he heard that it was not he who had been commanded to be led away?