Page:The Apocryphal Acts of Paul, Peter, John, Andrew and Thomas.djvu/293

 the souls hung up by the tongue, are slanderers, and such as have spoken false and disgraceful words and are not ashamed of it. Those hung up by their hair are the shameless, who are not ashamed at all and go about with uncovered heads in the world. Those hung up by the hands are they which took that which did not belong to them and have stolen, and who never gave anything to the poor voluntarily, nor did they help the afflicted; but they so acted, because they wished to get everything, and cared neither for law nor right. And these hung up by the feet are those who lightly and eagerly walked in wicked ways and disorderly paths, not visiting the sick, neither burying those who departed this life. On this account each soul receives what it has done.

57. "And again he led me forth and showed me a very dark cavern, exhaling a very bad odor. Many souls were peeping out thence, wishing to get some share of the air. And their keepers would not let them peep out. And my companion said to me, This is the prison of these souls, which thou hast seen. For when they have fully received their punishment for that which each has done, others succeed them. Some are fully eaten up, others are given up to other punishments. And the keepers of the souls in the dark cavern said to the man that had charge of me, Give her to us, that we bring her to the others till the time comes when she is given up to punishment. But he said to them, I will not give her to you, because I am afraid of him who gave her