Chapter IV. The threefold Consideration leading to self-knowledge. Firstly, what the Pope is

And this consideration of yourself falls into three divisions, if you consider what, who, and what manner of man, you are. The first refers to your nature, the second to your person, and the third to your character. If, for example. it be asked, what? a man ; who? pope or chief pontiff; what manner of man ? kind, gentle, and so on. The investigation of the first of these may be more the work of a philosopher than of an apostolic man ; still, in the definition of a man as a rational mortal animal, there is something which you may, if you choose, carefully ponder. There is nothing in it contrary either to your profession or your rank, but there is something which may contribute to your salvation. For if you consider these two attributes together, rationality and mortality, you gather good fruit — the fact of your mortality humbles your reason, while your reason supports you under the thought of your mortality, and a prudent man will not neglect either side. If the point before us requires further consideration, it shall be dealt with later on, perhaps more profitably, when we pass the whole of our work under review.