Of Two Excellent Reasons for Fighting with Great Courage and Confidence under Temptation

THE blessed St. Basil says that the rage and enmity which the devil bears against us is not only envy of man, but hatred which he bears against God our Lord. And since he cannot face God in might, nor gratify his raging ill will upon Him, but sees that man has been created in the image and likeness of God, he turns all his rage and ill will upon man, for being the image and likeness of the God Whom he so much abhors; and seeks to avenge himself upon him, doing him all the harm he can—as though one were angry with the king, and vented all his rage on his images, because he could not get at the king himself; or as the bull, says St. Basil, seeing himself wounded by a man with a spear, makes for the man’s statue and figure, which they have put in the bull ring, and discharges on it his fury and rage, tearing it to pieces, wreaking his vengeance on that instead of the man.

Hence the saints draw excellent reasons to encourage us to struggle manfully under temptation and have great confidence that we shall come victoriously out of it. The first is, because the question therein is not of our honor alone, but of that of God, Whom the devil tries to injure and offend in us. This should animate us to sacrifice our lives rather than fail, that the devil may not carry his point of having wreaked some vengeance on God in our persons, as being His images, which He so much loves and sets such store by. Thus we are not only defending our own side, but standing to arms for the side and cause of God, and so we ought to die, if called upon, rather than consent to any infringement of the cause of God.

The second reason is this. Since it is in regard of God, and out of the hatred which he bears to His Divine Majesty, that the devil makes war upon us, we may confidently expect that the Lord will come forward in defense of His own cause, make the affair His own, and stand to arms on our behalf, that we be not beaten nor brought under the power of the devil, but come out victorious and triumphant. We see here on earth that, if a prince or powerful lord sees anyone put to any hard task or situation of difficulty in his cause and on his account, he comes forward at once as the need requires and takes the affair for his own. Holy Scripture tells us in the Book of Esther that because of Mardochee, Aman was on the point of putting to death the whole people of the Jews, and Mardochee turned the tables on him to such good effect, that he put Aman and his where Aman fain would have put them. Much more will the Lord do this. Thus we may boldly say to God: Arise, O Lord, and defend thy own cause: take up arms and buckler, and rise to my aid (Psalm lxxiii. 22; XXXIV. 2).