3. The Strappado
3
The Strappado
In old and evil days, there was a diabolical instrument of torture in Spain, called the Strappado. And that cruel instrument was worked in this wicked way. The poor victim was first hoisted up to a great height, by means of ropes and pulleys; and then he was suddenly dashed to the ground, till every bone in his body was torn out of joint, and broken in pieces. And the name of the Spanish strappado has passed into the English language, because the old preachers of that day frequently employed the illustration of the strappado in their experimental sermons. As thus [Thomas] Goodwin:1 “Now, his lusts, both of body and mind, do strappado a sinner’s expectations. That is to say: his sinful imaginations hoist up his expectations of pleasure to a great height; and then, suddenly, he is let fall. For, when the sinner comes to enjoy his high expectations, they always prove themselves to be such flat and empty things, that his soul, being completely cheated, says to itself—And this is all! Thus, always, do a sinner’s high expectations strappado him, till his spirit is simply dashed to pieces within him….”
Such are we, and such is this present life of ours, that lawful enough pursuits, and lawful enough pleasures, not seldom become our very worst strappados.… The sweetest and the most allowable thing on earth has become an absolute strappado to some men.…
Again, in a commercial country like ours, first the pursuit of wealth, and then the possession of wealth, strappados many men’s souls.… On another side of human life, what a strappado the pursuit of praise and fame is to many men among us.… The pulpit also is the sure strappado of the popularity-hunting preacher. Even if he is puffed up, for a time, the time soon comes for another to arise who wholly eclipses him, till he lies with broken bones at the foot of his forgotten and forsaken pulpit. The higher his ambition hoisted him up, the deeper and more heart-breaking is his fall. Let these examples of strappado suffice. Every man whose eyes are open will see plenty of such examples all around him. And he is a happy man, who is not such an example himself.
*From With Mercy and With Judgment (New York: George H. Doran Co., [1925]), 35-39.
1. Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680) was a notable Puritan author. See below, pages 73-76.