Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On the Church That Is in Purgatory · Book II: On the Circumstances of Purgatory

Chapter 10: Of what kind the punishment of purgatory is

Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. II, De Ecclesia quae est in Purgatorio, Book II, the third general controversy. The Latin source text is public domain; this English rendering is released with the site. Scripture quotations follow Bellarmine's Vulgate citations, rendered in Douay-Rheims wording where he quotes exactly. Click “Show the Latin” for the original (raw OCR of the scan; scanning errors remain — the scan itself is the authority).

Of the punishment of purgatory some things are certain and some doubtful. First, it is certain that the punishment of purgatory is not despair and fear of hell, as Luther thinks; for that has already been refuted. Second, it is also certain that one punishment of purgatory is the lack of the divine vision; for those souls cannot but grieve that they see themselves hindered on account of their faults from the enjoyment of the highest good, which is called the punishment of loss. It is certain, third, that besides this punishment there is also some other punishment, which the theologians call the punishment of sense, which consists in some pain coming from elsewhere than from the lack of the vision of God; for as he who sins turns himself away from the highest good and turns inordinately to creatures, so afterwards he ought to be punished not only by the lack of the highest good, but also by an affliction inflicted by some other created object. It is certain, fourth, that in purgatory, as also in hell, there is a punishment of fire, whether that fire is taken properly or metaphorically, and whether it signifies the punishment of sense or of loss, as some have held. For that there is some fire in purgatory and in hell is plain both from those words of blessed Paul, 1 Corinthians 3, He shall be saved as by fire, and Matthew 25, Depart into everlasting fire, and from the testimonies of the Fathers cited in the first book; for all called the punishment of purgatory fire. These certain things laid down, in which all agree, it is doubtful, first, whether that fire is fire properly so called, or metaphorically; second, if it is properly so called, how it can act on separated souls; third, by whom these punishments are administered, whether by demons, or by good angels, or whether they act of themselves; fourth, whether that punishment is greater than all the punishments of this life.

C.MM  T  X. 
(JiKilLt  sil  jiHvijdlorii  ]i<n'U(i. 
Dc  pociia  ptir^Milorii  (piiioditmsunt  ccrlit.ct  ipi.ic- 
diiin  diibiii.  iMiiiio,  ccrtiim  cst,  pttr^Mtorii  pociiaiu 
noti  csst;  dcspcriilioticm  ct  inctitm  ^'clKMtitiic  ,  iil 
Lutlteriis  siMilit;  id  ('ittm  jiiiti  rcnitiitum  csl. 
SecuiKlo.corttim  (;st  cttiim,iiuitiri  piir^^atorii  poe- 
iiam  csse  carciiliiim  diviii;i('  visionis  :  non  ciiim 
])ossiiiit  iinimac  ill;ic  iioii  dolcrc  ,  qiiod  vid<  :iiil  si; 
propliM'  suas  ('ul|)as  impcdiri  ;i  fruilionu  suinini 
lioiii,  (pi;ie  vociiltir  pocti.i  diimiii. 
CiMlum  csl  tcrtio,  praclcr  liiiiic  poiMiam  ussc  cl- 
iaiu  aliipiam  aliiiin  poiMiam,  (piaiii  tli(Milo(,'i  vocanl 
poeoiim  sciisiis.{pt;ic  coiisistit  in  iili(]uo  dolorc  jiro- 
veniciite  alitindc,  (]iiam  c.\  carciiti;i  visioms  Dci.tl 
eniiu  (pii  j^cccat  avcrtil  sc  a  suinmo  houo.  ct  con- 
vcrtil  iuordiuiile  ad  crciitiiras.ita  poslea  puniri  dc- 
hel  non  solum  careulia  siimmi  boni,  scd  (diiirii  af- 
llictionc  inflicta  ah  ali(]uo  iilio  crciilo  ohjccto. 
Certum  esl  quarlo,  in  purgatorio,  sicul  cliam  iii 
infcrno,  esse  pocnam  iguis,sivc  istc  ignis  iiccij)i;i- 
liir  proprie.sivc  metaphorice,ct  sive  signiliccl  jtoc- 
p.aiu  scusus,  sive  d;iinni  ,  ul  (luidam  vohiiil.  (Jtiod 
cuim  aliquis  ignis  sil  in  purgatorio  ct  infcriin,  jia- 
lct  lum  c.\  illis  vcrhis  b.  l'auli.  1.  rorinlli.  .3.  Sal 
vus  cril  quasi  pcr  iijncni.  Et  Matlli.  2'i.  Jlc  in  i- 
(juein  aelcrnuin^mi  cx  testimoniis  Palmni  cilalis 
iit  primo  Iibro;omnes  cnim  ignem  aiipellabant  pur- 
galorii  ]n)cn;im. 
Ilis  ccriis  positis  .  ct  in  quibiis  omncs  conTcni- 
iint  ,  duhium  esl ,  Primo:  An  ille  ignis  sit  proprie 
(iictiis  ignis,  an  metaphoricc?  Sccundo.  si  sit  jiro- 
prie  diclus.  qiiomodo  possil  agcre  in  animas  scpa- 
ratas?  Tcrtio  ,  a  quibus  minislrenlur  istae  poenae, 
a  daemonihus  ne  ,  an  ab  angclis  bonis  ,  an  pcr  sc 
agant?  Quarlo  ,  an  isla  pocna  sit  major  omnibus 
pocnis  hujus  vitac?