As five angels look on, the Devil complains to Death that only lowly men have been consigned to his ship. To assuage him, Death brings in several persons of the nobility and higher clergy. There is a frivolous Count; a Duke who has lost his soul to Satan; a rich King who has perpetrated cruel wars; and an Emperor whose people heathenishly worshiped him as a divinity.
A Bishop, an Archbishop, and a Cardinal enter to disclose their sins of clerical ambition, and even a Pope is rightfully accused of lust, pride, and simony. When the Angel declares that they must all burn in hell, they drop to their knees to pray for salvation, but in vain. Christ appears, giving each of the five angels an oar representing one of his wounds, and despite the sinners' lamentations the Ship of Heaven departs.