Letter, Sala Balust no. 36. To a friend

He shows the vanity and misery of the world, and the happiness which is obtained by serving God.

AS he, who hoping for the good success of what he desires, rejoices when he sees some likelihood thereof; and although that likelihood be not very great yet it gives him no little joy, through the excess, of his desire: so my soul is filled with comfort by your Letter; for me thinks the words contained therein, give me a hope and taste of somewhat which hath reason to make me glad, and which if it might once take full effect, would breed a joy in me so very great, as would be equalled by few others.

My good Sir, I desire to see that soul of yours unbeguiled and discharged from the many vanities, which are affected, and frequented in this world; and that you would believe with a faithful hart, that your true repose consists not in any other, then in him who created all things, & that you would go up and down full of care, in search after this good, and be so wounded, with the love of him, that all this world, with the beauty and flower thereof, might seem but a smoke to you, which vanishes, as a shadow which hath no bulk or body, and indeed a mere device, how to make men fools, working such as love it, to be the enemies of God, and to prefer the temporal before the eternal.

Was there ever seen any mischief so great as this? was there ever seen, any exchange so pernicious as this? where are those eyes, which see not this? and that hart which hath no feeling of this? And yet so great is our frailty, that if Christ our Lord did not awake us, and make us understand this truth, it would be no more possible for us to be delivered from error, and deceit than it is possible, in nature for a blind man, to see, or a dead man, to live. O thou miserable man, who art worthy to be lamented with a flood of tears! who art so vehemently inclined to that which hurts thee most, and yet conceivest withal, that it is good for thee. Thou thinkest that all hath gone well, and that thou art grown happy, when thou art accommodated with the things of this life, and thou hast hardly any feeling, nor dost thou think it worth the lamenting, to be in enmity with almighty God. Thou knowest how to regard, and value the honour of this world, which passes away, at sea-full speed, yea and even whilst it lasts, it makes not the owner thereof, one hairs breadth the better, in the high presence of God; and thou hast no care at all whether thou be honoured or dishonoured, in the Court of that divine Majesty. Thou fearest some little affront, which here may threaten thee; but thou seekest for no remedy, against that huge affront, which is reserved and threatened at the latter day, to all such as shall not have done honour to our Lord, with a lively faith, and true obedience. Thou makest much account of thyself, and little of almighty God, for thou fulfilest thine own will, in despite of his. And any trifle which concerns thyself, offends thee much; and the while, thou hast no care at all, of that which highly concerns the honour of God. Thou livest after thine own fashion, that thou mayst be wholly miserable; and thou livest not as God would have thee, who is supreme felicity.

One of these two things is infallibly true. Either that the light of the holy ghost, must be that which urges & enforces this blindness upon us, which cannot be, or else, that the great torment, which is provided for sin will, one day, open the eyes of such deceived persons, when there will be no remedy for their misery. For as S. Gregory saith, The eyes which sin shuts, pain opens. And therefore Sir, if you love your soul, if you fear almighty God, if your hart be not of flint, look carefully upon the shortness of this life, and how many you have known, who being well accommodated and supported here, God hath commanded to go hence, and that not with so much contentment and joy, as they would have wished, but complaining that the world had deceived them, & that for love thereof, they had neglected the service of our Lord. That which they were, we are, & where they be arrived, we shall arrive, and the same earth must receive us all, & convert us all into itself.

For what therefore do we stay? By what are we detained? What is that, which deceives us, and makes us so profoundly careless, of a business which so highly imports? What makes us think that it concerns us little, notwithstanding that no other thing imports us at all, in comparison of this? And if we shall confess, that we hold it to be highly important, why then do we labour so little for it? why do we spend so few hours about it? Why do we try so few conclusions to obtain it? why do we ask so little advice, how we may contrive it: Is it reason that any little fit of time, which we employ about this business, should seem so great a matter, whereas yet we never think much, and be never weary, how much soever time we spend upon the business of this world? If any question be moved, about expense to be made upon some present occasion of vanity, how magnificent are we wont to show ourselves: but how miserly, on the other side, in any thing which it concerns us to do for the honour of God, and the good of our neighbours. In that former case no consideration is had, either of children, or provision otherwise for the house, but all that, is laid aside, for the respect which is had to some curiosity. But in the latter, such a heap of considerations, & reasons are brought into discourse, as serve to shut the purse, and to tie up the hands from that good work.

But what shall I say of this other proof of our frailty? Our whole life proclaims with a loud voice, that we value the present world, more than the future; the exterior, than the interior; riches, than goodness. For that thing do we love best, which we desire most to obtain, when we want it, and which we labour to get with most anxiety; & wherein we joy most when we have it, and for which we sorrow most when we lose it. And if the case arrive, wherein we must lose the one or the other, we put our good conscience in hazard, for putting that in execution, which the honour, or profit or pleasure of this world suggests.

The day will come, and that quickly, when those worldly persons will find themselves strangely disappointed, and having lost all their labours, and leaving the fruits hereof behind them they shall be presented all naked and poor, and in the extremity of confusion, before him, who sent them hither, not to the end that they should go fooling after vanities, but that they might pass through these temporal things, without staying or setting their hearts upon them, and that having their bodies here upon earth, their souls might be aspiring to heavenly things. And that though they live in flesh; yet they should not live according to the desires thereof, and though they dwell in the world, yet not to have the conditions of the world; but that like children who imitate their father, they might be pure and true, and pious, and humble, and meek, and that they might seek after the glory of God, & the good of their neighbours.

What will he be able to do at that day, who shall not have performed the thing, for which he was sent, into this world? what will he be able to do, by whose thought it hath not so much as passed, that he must once begin to attend to it, but who forgetting the purity, and perfection of a christian life, whereby he was to imitate almighty God, hath defiled himself, in the mud of earth, and hath proceeded like some foolish boy, who, being sent about business, would needs stay to pass his time, and play with other boys; or else loiter for seeing of some vain show, and neither did that which he was commanded, nor so much as remembered where about, he went, till returning home at night, without any answer concerning his business, he is received with reprehensions, and stripes, by him who sent him.

Let us awake, whilst we have time, and let us have an eye to that which imports us most, and which is to last for ever. And let us leave vanity to vain persons; for both it, and they shall perish. Let us raise our eyes to wards him, who gave us the life and being, which we have; and afterwards gave his own life, to the end that we might not lose ours. And with great labour he taught us the way, whereby we were to walk; and by a death which was full of torments, and reproaches, did he encourage and strengthen us towards the purchase of virtue; and he obtained grace, for us, whereby we might be able to serve, and please almighty God.

Let us search into the most hidden corners of our hearts, and let us cure that in it, which is wounded. Let us untie the fetters of our sins. Let us procure to redress ourselves in that which gives us most cause of fear. And let us appease the clamorous remorse of our Conscience, with doing that which God commands by the Dictamen thereof, that so all things being once well ordered, and agreed, we may like true and watchful servants expect the coming of our Lord, and that we may be found with tapers lighted in our hands, and with our loins girt, and that we may hear that sweet word. Rejoice thou good and faithful servant, Luk. 12 Matth. 25. who hast ben● faithful in lesser things; I will place thee over greater. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord, That is the day for which good christians hope, and in contemplation whereof, they, who live here in pain, do in time pass through it, with much patience. And this expectation of that crown, gives them hart, to endure the combatts of this world, and of the flesh. Making election of abasement here, for that eternal advancement; and of this short lamentation, For that delight, which shall have no end; of losing their will here that they may have it everlastingly united to the will of God, in heaven. Where they shall have nothing which may disgust them, but all that shall be done, which may content them. For they shall possess almighty God, as their most rich treasure, in whom is contained all Good.

If our Lord have yet begun to visit that soul of yours, you will understand what I say, and you will profit by it. If not (which God forbid) it will be but the hearing of a story, which is instantly forgotten. I desire that Christ our Lord, may be the Love of you, and of my lady your wife, whose desire to see me, I pray God reward. But think no more of your coming this way, till first God shall have so disposed, that I may go thither to you, the rather because I also desire, that it may be so.