Sentence:  On the street outside , Hieronymus envisions a <WSD>holocaust</WSD> of the vanities of this world , such a burning of artistic and erotic productions as his namesake actually brought to pass in Florence , and prophetically he issues his curse : `` Gladius Dei super terram cito et velociter '' . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  an act of mass destruction and loss of life (especially in war or by fire)