1260. Certain spirits overhead at the time, who are quite up-right, were wanting to pass judgment on him, but were not able because they did not know what he was like.
But it was then disclosed what he was like. He was let down into the lower earth, a little in front of the right foot, quite deeply. There he dug a ditch, like those burying dead people do to throw the dead into. So at once the suspicion arose that he had committed some lethal act in his lifetime.
Then a funeral bier appeared, covered with black cloth. The person placed on it did not show, but shortly afterwards, one arising from the bier came toward me, telling me earnestly that he had died, and judged that he had been killed with poison by that person. He had been with him in the evening and drunk wine, and as soon as he had arrived home, he labored with a deadly illness, and thought he had drunk poison there.
He explained that he had thought this at about the hour of death, yet not knowing whether it was just a suspicion. Speaking quite earnestly, he said that he had been a person of low condition, and that if the other person had done it, then he must have done it so as to try out the poison, with which he perhaps wanted to kill others. So he said nothing bad about him, but was content at being dead, because if he had lived longer, he probably would have committed more sins.
1260. Certain spirits above the head who were quite upright then wanted to pass judgment upon him, but they could not because they did not know of what quality he was. But his quality was then discovered. He was let down quite deeply into the lower earth, a little in front of the right foot, and there he dug a pit as those do who bury the dead in order to inter them there; thus a suspicion at once arose that he had done some deadly deed in his lifetime. There then appeared a funeral bier covered with a black cloth. It was not apparent who was laid upon the bier. Soon afterwards someone rising from it came to me and stated piously that he had died, and he was of the opinion that he had been killed by poison by that spirit who had dug the hole, because he had drunk wine with him in the evening, and soon after he had arrived home he was seized with a deadly sickness, and he had then thought that he had there drunk poison. He stated that he had thought this at the hour of his death, not knowing, however, whether it was [more than] a suspicion. Speaking very piously, he said that he had been a man of humble station, and therefore if that person had done this, he did it for the sake of testing the poison with which perhaps he wanted to kill others; thus he said nothing evil about him. He was content that he had died, for if he had lived longer he might perhaps have committed more sins.
1260. Quidam spiritus tunc supra caput, qui satis probi sunt, volentes [erant] judicium de eo ferre, sed non potuerunt, quia nesciebant, qualis esset; verum usque qualis esset, tunc detectum est: in inferiorem terram, anterius paulo quam dexter pes, satis profunde 1
, demissus, et ibi scrobem ejecit, tanquam ii, qui mortuos sepeliunt, ut ibi mortuos injicerent, ita statim suborta suspicio, quod aliquid lethale in vita commiserit, dein apparuit feralis lectica, nigris pannis strata, qui impositus non apparuit, sed paulo post, unus ex lectica surgens ad me venit, narravit, pie, quod mortuus sit, et arbitratus quod veneno ab eo fuerit necatus, quia apud eum vespere fuit, et biberit vinum, et mox cum domum venerit, laboravit mortifero malo, et tunc cogitaverit de eo, quod biberit ibi venenum, hoc circa mortis horam cogitavisse se narrabat, nesciens tamen an suspicio esset, loquens admodum pie, et dixit, quod fuerit homo parvae conditionis, et si 2
id fecerit, quod tunc fecerit ex causa tentandi venenum, quo alios forte necare vellet, ita de eo nihil mali loquutus est, contentus quod mortuus esset, quia si diutius vixisset, fortassis plura commisisset peccata.
Footnotes:
1. The Manuscript has profundu
2. The Manuscript has sic