De peste quaestiones duae explicatae

Decorative headpiece featuring floral scrolls and a central urn.

Decorative drop cap 'Q' featuring floral and scrollwork patterns.Regarding the question of whether the plague should be counted among contagious diseases, I confess it seems so unusual to me that, until these few recent times, I believed it was never doubted that it must be judged one of the most contagious of all. Witness to this are all the writers of all nations on such matters; it is clear to anyone who is not contentious. But in our own age, this began to be questioned, because many began to fear this disease, and the death that usually follows it, to such a degree that they neglected all duties not only of Christians, but even of humanity itself. By doing so, they greatly increased the very wrath of God, which is the primary cause of this disease. Because of them, it almost came to pass that wherever this calamity struck, once the bonds of human society were broken, the entire human race might be dissolved. But these people, when asked what they could finally