Chapter 5

How much we ought to fly from the pleasure of flesh and ●loud; and what a most dangerous Enemy this is; & of what helps we are to serve ourselves, for the subduing thereof.

FLESH and Blood, speaks of Delights, and pleasures; sometimes expressly, & sometimes, under a colour of necessity. The war which is made upon us by this enemy, besides, that it brings us much affliction, is full of danger. Because it fights, with pleasure in the hand; which is¹ the strongest weapon of all others. This doth evidently appear, since many have been conquered by pleasure, who were not so, by riches, honours, or even by cruel torments. Nor is it any marvel; For this ware is so secret, and so in the way of ambush or treason; that a man had need of much consideration for his defence. Who² would believe, that death, and death eternal, should come towards us, under a mask of sweet, and smooth delight; death being the top of bitterness; & delight, the very thing, that we most aspire to taste. A cup of gold, with a draught of poison, is this false pleasure; whereby they are made drunk, who have no eyes, but for the exterior. This is the treason, of³ joab, who killed Amasus, by embracing him; and of⁴ judas, who by that treacherous kiss of peace, delivered over, his blessed master, into the hands of death. So is it, when by drinking the pleasure of a mortal sin, Christ dyeth in the soul; upon whose death, it also dies for company; for the life it had, came from him. So saith⁵ S. Paul; If you live according to the flesh you shall die. And in another place;⁶ The widow that remains in pleasure, being yet alive, is dead; alive, by the life of her body; but dead, by that of her soul.

By how much the more closely we are joined to this⁷ flesh and blood, so much the more, we are to fear it; for our Lord hath said,⁸ That a man's enemies, are they of his own house. And this flesh & blood, is not only belonging to this house of ours; but, of the two walls whereof the same house is made, this is one. For this, and other reasons, S. Augustin said, that the combat of our flesh, & blood was continual; and the conquest full of difficulty; and whosoever will prove victorious, must go armed, with many, and strong⁹ pieces. For the precious jewel of chastity, is not imparted to all; but to such, as by the much sweat of many earnest prayers, and of other holy penance, do obtain it of our Lord. He was pleased to be wrapped in a fair sheet of linen; which must pass through many rude handle, before it will come to be white. Whereby we may understand, that the man who desireth to obtain, & to conserve the gift of chastity, and so to lodge Christ in himself, (as if it were in another sepulchre) must be content with a great deal of cost, & labour, to gain this purity;¹⁰ which is a thing so rich that whatsoever be spend upon it, he may account himself to buy it cheap. And, as many more painful works of penance, & satisfaction, are to be required at his hands, who hath much offended our Lord, then at his, who hath not so much offended; so though all of us, who live in flesh, must be afraid of it, and watch over it, & bridle it, and rule it with discreet-temperance; yet they, who particularly are infested by it, will have need to use particular endeavours, and remedies.

He therefore that shall find himself subject to this necessity, must in the first place, treat his body with severity; by lessening both food & sleep; and by giving it a hard bed, hayr-clothes, & other convenient helps of this kind, whereby it may be afflicted. For,¹¹ S Hierome saith, By fasting, the plague of this body of ours, is cured; and S. Hilarion spoke thus, to his flesh and blood; I will tame thee; and take order that thou shalt not kieke; but that, through hunger, and pain, thou mayst have more mind of m●ate, than lust. And S. Hierome counselleth Eustochium the Virgin, That although she had been brought up in dainty fare, yet she should be very careful to use abstinence in diet; and not to abstain from giving the body further troubles; assuring her, that without taking of this course, she would not be able to make good the possession of chastity. If, by occasion of such penance, the body should grow to weakness, and the health to prejudice; the same S. Hierome maketh answer in another place. That it were better the stomach should suffer, than the soul; and to command the body, then to be subject to it; and that the legs were better to tremble for weakness, than that chastity should reel for lack of strength. It is true indeed, that in another place, he withal requires, That the fasting be not so excessive, as to weaken the stomach; & yet again in another place, he reprehendeth some whom he had known to have run hazard of losing their wits, through the excess of fasting & abstaining.

In this, it is impossible to give a general rule, that may square with all. For¹² some find help by one means, & another not; & some one, may be hurt by it in his health, and not another. And one thing it is, when the war is so great, as to place a man in danger of losing his Chastity (for in that case, it is fit to put the body to any inconvenience, that the soul may so be able, to remain with life,) and another thing it is, for a man to struggle with a moderate tentation; whereby he feareth not so much danger; nor for the conquest thereof, is in necessity of taking so much pains. Now for the using of the most convenient help in such occasions, it will much depend upon the discreet conduct of him, that guides the person tempted; who, are, both to pray, with all humility, to our Lord, that heerin he will impart some light. And since th● vessel n 1. Cor. ●. of Election, S Paul did not trust his flesh and blood, o S. Paul was no Protestant; both because he thought it necessary to chastise, & beat his body, and for that he made not himself sure of his salvation, as these others do. but that he punished and made it subject; least preaching virtue to others, himself might become vicious, by falling into sin; how shall we conceive, that we can be chaste, without chastizing our body; since we have both less virtue, and greater causes of fear, than he? Very p Note. hardly, is humility held fast, in the midst of honours; & temperance in the midst of abundance; & chastity in the midst of delicacies. And if he should be worthy of derision, who, procuring to quench the fire wherein his house were burning, would cast in a supply of more dry wood; much more worthily shall he be derided; who on the one side desireth chastity; and on the other, stuffs his skin with curious, and choice meats; and gives himself moreover, to idleness. For these things do not only not quench the fire which already is kindled, but would suffice to kindle it, even where it were already quenched.

And since the Prophet q Ezech. 1●. Ezechiel, is a witness to us, that the cause why that unfortunate City of Sodom, grew up to the highest of that abominable sin, was the r Abundance and Idleness, are the mother, and the nurse of lust. fullness, & abundance of bread, and the idleness, wherein they spent their time; who will now presume to live in idleness, or in delicacyes; yea, or even to see them though but a far off? For as much as these things, which, in them were able to produce that greater sin, with facility will be able to induce us, to commit the lesser. Let such an one therefore, as is a friend to Chastity, love Temperance, and the ill treating of his body. For if he would have the one, without the other, it will not prove with him; but rather he will be deprived of both. For those things which God did join, man should not desire to separate, neither shall he be able, though he would.

Footnotes

1. Note, and take heed. ↩

2. We may well believe it, upon the infinite experience that hath been taken. ↩

3. 2. Reg. 20.
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4. Matt. 26. Marc. 14. Luc. 22. ↩

5. Rom. 8. ↩

6. Tim. 5. ↩

7. It is a traitor, lodging in our bosom. ↩

8. Matt. 10● ↩

9. Of Arms. ↩

10. Chastity is such a jewel, as that it can never be over-bought. ↩

11. Hearken to this holy Father, though he were no Protestant. ↩

12. It is therefore necessary to have often recourse to his ghostly Father. ↩