The Translator's Preface to All New-Converts

Multiplicasti gentem, sed non magnificasti laetitiam. Thou hast made our number more, but hast not made our joy greater. A great deal of noise the change of New-Converts makes; and yet no great cause of joy, either to themselves or to the Church, Perswasion or Sect, or whatever else you please to call it, to which they are converted. Si converteris Israel, ad me convertere. If ye be converted, be converted unto me, says the Lord of Heaven and Earth. If your Conversion to the true Church of Christ, as you imagin, has converted your heart and soul throughly unto God, you have made an happy change indeed, and no doubt but there's joy in Heaven at your Conversion; but if your heart and manners be still the same as before, and you have only gotten a new name, and a new form of Godliness, without the interior Vertue and Power of it, you are as you were as to your title to Beatitude in the other life. As good never-a-whit, as never the better. If you be a Christian, Jesus Christ has told you, the means and the only means to get eternal life, is to love God above all things, and your Neighbours as your selves. If you want this, no Communion with any whatsoever Church or Sect can hinder you from being eternally miserable. Though, no doubt, seeing Religion is nothing else but a manner of living reveal'd by God Almighty to the World, to dispose them for the felicity of the other life, it must necessarily be highly advantageous to be of the true Religion, because in that must needs be contained far greater helps, than in any Sect of man's devising, to beget in Souls the necessary preparations to eternal Beatitude. And hence, of all Religions, that Religion is demonstratively from God which has the greatest and manifoldst means to fit Souls for the happiness of the other life, or to make the World truly good; that is, pious to God, charitable to one another, and temperate, as to the use and desires of the things of this life: When those means are not by ignorance or corrupt passions abused, but sincerely and seriously made use of.

But you thank God you are converted to the Church of Rome. Et quae tanta fuit Romam tibi causa videndi? And why so passionately desirous to see Rome? But be it as it will, I'll not now dispute with you about it; but at present I'll suppose the Religion you have embrac'd, to be most holy and true: And yet you must give me leave to tell you as a friend, your great work is still to do. I know there are certain Preferments in Cambridg called Scholarships and Fellowships, which none are capable of, though never so deserving, either for their natural Parts, or acquired Learning; unless they have been for some time educated in such a School, Westminster for example, or Eton, &c, But coming from such a School, ihough otherwise their Learning be very indifferent, they are without difficulty preferred in respective Colledges of the said Vniversity. But it is not so in Heaven: Places and Dignities in that City of Light are not conferred upon us, because we have been trained up in the Communion of such a Perswasion, but because of our fitness and dispositions for them. To say to the Examiner of all hearts in the day of Judgment, you come out of such a School of Vertue; the Protestant for example, or Roman-Church, will signify nothing towards your admittance to the fellowship of God and his Saints for ever. It will be answered at that great day to all workers of Iniquity, though not only the Church, in whose Communion they died, but also, though even they themselves in their own persons, have prophesied in the name of our Lord Jesus, and wrought many wonderful things; Depart from me, I know you not But if you have in the time of your abode on this earth, so exercised your selves in all works of piety to God, and charity to your Neighbour, and temperance and Christian mortification to your selves, as you have nextly disposed your Soul for the beatifying sight of God, by an hearty love of his Divine Majesty, and cordial charity to your Neighbour, and a moderate orderly desire of the things here below, you need no other recommendation for your assured admittance to immutable everlasting Bliss. Nor is this said to perswade any one to an indifferency of living and dying in any whatsoever Church or Communion. No. God forbid. But only to awaken those who seem to set their hearts at rest, when they have once, as they imagin, found out the true Church of Christ. The same I say to all New-Converts to Non-conformity, or the Religion established by Law. Have you more of the fear of God in your hearts than you had before? Have you a more cordial charity to your Neighbour than before? Have you a less esteem of the Pleasures, Riches and Honours of this World than before? If you have, you have then reason to be glad of your change, and to hope you have made a step neerer eternal Beatitude by it. But if you are as greedy of Money, as passionate in your desires of all sensual delights, as much a Slave to Honour and the favour of men, as little studious to do your indigent Neighbour good in all his wants Corporal or Spiritual, as little regardful of the Divine Majesty, whether out of fear or love, as before; your great work is still to do; your Conversion that must make you live eternally, is still to be made. If you be converted to God, (and all other Conversions are to very little purpose,) then you have a regard to God in all your ways. For as when you are converted to the Church of Rome, still you have an eye to the Commands and Orders of that Church: So when you are converted unto God, if you be indeed converted unto him, you have ever an eye unto him, and think how he would have you spend your time; how much upon wordly Affairs, how much in Prayer, and other spiritual exercises; how much in moderate recreation, &c. You regard also God in your eating, drinking, and sleeping; observing that Christian-mean in all these actions, which you think God Almighty would have you to observe, not regarding the contrary unchristian practices of the libertines you live amongst: In like manner, if God Almighty have made you a Steward of a fair Estate, you consider how he would have you employ it, how much upon your own necessary expences, and how much upon the poor, &c. The like for whatever Talents of Learning or natural Parts God Almighty has endowed you with, studying to employ all to the greater good of the World, after the example of the great Pattern of all Perfection, our Blessed Saviour, who went about doing good: And you, if you will be worthy of that high Name of a Christian, must endeavour in this, and all other regards, to walk as he walk'd. He that says he abides in Jesus Christ, ought even as he walked himself also to walk, 1 Joh. 2. 6. That is, as Venerable Bede expounds those Divine words: Non ambite terrena, &c. Not to seek earthly things, not to follow after perishable gains; to fly Honours, to embrace all worldly Contempt for Heavenly Glory, willingly to do good to all, to injure no-body, and patiently to suffer injuries from others, yea to ask their Pardon of God who injure us; never to seek our own, but always to seek our Maker's Glory; and to make as many as we can, together with us, to affect things above. To do these, and such like things as these, is to follow the footsteps of Christ. If the Conversion so frequently mentioned in Holy Scriptures, with a promise of life eternal; particularly in the 18th of Ezek. Why will ye dye O house of Israel; because I will not the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God; Return ye and live: If this Conversion or returning to God Almighty signified no more but an embracing of the right Faith, or true Religion, it were an easy thing indeed, especially for a great many to escape eternal death, and to obtain eternal life. But the truth is, the Conversion to which eternal life is promised by Almighty God, is a Conversion of another nature. In three words, it is the Conversion which is most excellently described by St. Bernard in the following Sermons. Get that, and you are eternally happy; want that, and the being of whatsoever Perswasion, never so holy, or never so good, will not be able to hinder you from being eternally miserable. A great enquiry is made which is the true and pure Church of Christ: And no doubt but it is a Question of high moment and concern; but according to the best of my understanding, considering the present State of Religion in England, it much more concerns all that sincerely and heartily desire to be eternally happy, to enquire, supposing me to be of the true Church of Christ, what is still further necessary for my Salvation? and to use the utmost industry for the acquiquisition of that main thing necessary, whatsoever it is.

A Conversion to a few exterior Rites and Ceremonies, is very easy; and a forsaking all exterior Rites and Ceremonies, is no less easy; and we would all gladly be happy in the other World; but we would gladly also have this happiness at as easy a rate as may be; and therefore no monder so few of all Perswasions in good earnest labour to get their hearts and souls throughly converted unto God, though this and only this be that which can indeed make us eternally happy; because this is a work of immense difficulty to corrupt nature: but rather innumerable multitudes satisfy themselves, with little more than the exterior form of the Church or Perswasion they adhere unto: Though all acknowledg, that without an hearty Conversion to God Almighty in this World, there's no hopes of seeing him for ever in the next. For example, what Perswasion is there amongst us, that does not acknowledg a true and hearty regard of Almighty God to be necessary to Salvation; and that this our piety to God must express it self by hearty and devout Prayer: And that Charity to our Neighbour is also necessary to Salvation; and that this Charity must express it self by Alms-deeds, and other good offices to our Neighbour, according to his necessity, and our ability: And that also a moderate use of meat, drink, and other necessaries of this life, is also necessary to Salvation. And moreover, do not all Perswasions agree, that in case we have sinned, not only hearty sorrow and repentance is necessary to Salvation, but that this sorrow, if it be true and hearty, will express it self by some exterior acts of humiliation more or less; for example, by weeping, mourning, sighing, frequent humble ejaculations to Heaven for Pardon; fasting, neglected Attire, &c. All this notwithstanding, how few of the several Professors of Religion amongst us, spend any considerable time in devout and holy Prayers, or any considerable proportion of their Estates in works of Charity; or notoriously deny themselves in eating, drinking, apparel, &c. In which great and main Substantials of Christianity, if we did holily strive who should most of all abound, this were the more ready way to bring us to be all of one mind, rather than our quarrels and disputes oftentimes about matters of very small concern, as to our eternal welfare.

To instance only in the duty or virtue of Repentance, which we all acknowledg to be necessary to Salvation; and one of the first works a New-Convert ought especially to be exercised in. My Conscience tells me I am guilty of many and enormous wickednesses. The acts of my several sins and abominable impieties are past, but they have highly provoked my Creator and God against me, have left foul footsteps behind them in my own Soul, and have moreover done no small damage to the Souls of many of my poor Neighbours and Acquaintance. How now must all these grand mischiefs be repair'd? Surely I can never hope for eternal happiness from Almighty God in the next life, vnless by some means or other I first appease his justly incensed anger against me in this. And if no unclean thing can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, the foul footsteps my impieties have left behind them, must be effaced before I partake of eternal Bliss. And if I may not presume to offer my gift in God's Temple here below before I have first reconciled my self to my offended Brethren, can I hope to be admitted into the Holy of Holies of the Great God above, before I have made some repair of the inestimable damage I have done many of my poor Brethrens souls? But what remedy of so many and so great evils? I know none but a zealous return to the ancient Primitive Practice of Christian Repentance. Let us not deceive our selves, we offend the same God the Primitive Christians did, and profane the same Sacrament of Baptism by our sins, which they did by theirs; and unless we will flatter our selves with vain hopes, we must not think to expiate those sins with a few Paters and Aves, which cost them whole years exercises in Penitential Austerities. Quam magna deliquimus, tam granditer defleamus, &c. As heinously, says St. Cyprian, Serm. de Lapsis. And as greatly as we have sinned, so greatly and so grievously let us weep and lament for our sins. To a deep wound, let a long and careful Cure not be wanting; let not our pennance be less than our fault. Doest thou think that thou canst be able presently and forthwith to appease Almighty God, whom with perfidious words thou hast denied; before whom thou hast preferred thy Patrimony; whose Temple thou hast sacrilegiously violated. Doest thou think that he will easily have mercy on thee, whom thou hast said that he was none of thine. It behoves thee to pray unto him, and to beseech him with all earnestness, to pass the day in mourning, and to spend whole nights in watching and tears, to fill all time with doleful lamentations, to make ashes thy bed, to roll thy self in dust and haircloath; and since thou hast lost the garment of Christ, now thou shouldst desire to have no garment at all; after the food of the Devil, thou shouldst desire fasting: zealously busy thy self in such good works, whereby sins are purged: give frequent Alms, by which souls are delivered from death: what the Adversary would have taken away from thee, let Christ receive: nor ought that Patrimony to be kept or loved, by which one has been deceived and overcome.

The sad ezperience of frequent and easy relapses into bewailed wickednesses, shew us how vain and frivolous that Repentance was, by which they were pretended to have been abolished. The sad wounds, caused in our souls by our sins, as is manifest by their so speedy breaking out again, were only covered, not cured: As the Clergy of Rome complains of certain Priests, Ep. 31. ad Cypr. who by a false sweetness precipitated the Reconciliation of Sinners. How (say they) can they be cured in receiving the Grace of Absolution, and the Indulgence of the Church, if the Chirurgeon himself cut short the Pennance, and make himself indulgent to their ruine and destruction; if he cover only the wound, and will not expect till the Remedies which have need of time, close it? Assuredly this is not to cure souls; but if we will speak the truth, 'tis to kill them. In fine, let us make it our business to experiment in the inmost of our spirits this Repentance or Conversion so excellently and fully described in the following Divine Sermons of St. Bernard, and this is in one word to say all: By this if we can attain it. we shall fully appease our incensed God for our sins past, perfectly secure our weak frail selves from relapsing into the same our repented sins, and abundantly edify whomsoever we may have justly offended by our former unchristian Conversation.