the crucified orator 722 THE FIFTH WORD OF THE CRUCIFIED ORATOR “I thirst.” (Jn 19:28) The Thirst for [the Salvation of ] Souls, Which Torments Christ, Mightily Contributes to Their Conversion. Surius, a well-known writer from the Carthusian community, recounts that a certain young man by the name of Landelin from the high French nobility was diverted from his decision to enter religious life by the wicked attempt of his relatives, and having unloosed in a turbulent age the reigns of his freedom, he finally joined a band of robbers. He was eventually made their leader. When one night he rallied his own [men] to plunder the house of a certain wealthy Croesus, he realized that he was missing one of his closest [men] who was bereft of his life by a sudden blow of death. He was so overwhelmed by sadness on his account that in place of looting he plunged into sluggish inactivity. Behold, he saw in a dream that the evil spirits abducted into hell the one on account of whose death he was depressed. However, the dream was interrupted by a good spirit (which was his guardian angel): “Hey there! Listen! Are you still going to be his companion?” Terrified at the sight of the infernal abyss, he did not wish to play Theseus to his Pirithous. Having purged his dream and his sins, he changed so much that he visited the threshold of the Holy Apostles three times. He [also] constructed many monasteries and brought about numerous miracles. [Finally,] laying down in ashes and sackcloth, he died a saintly death. So Landelin was much benefited by his descent into hell while still alive, and it was not in vain that he saw through the eyes of his soul (although in a dream) the bath prepared for sinners. Truly, I do not intend here to convert anyone from an evil path to a good one by showing the immensity of eternal tortures.
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