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Of the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Ghost

1. How many giftes of the holy Ghost be there?

THey are found in ESAIE the Prophet,1 and the Fathers of the Church, to be seauen. The Spirite of wisdome, of Vnderstanding, of Councell, of Fortitude, of Science, of Pietie, & finally the spirite of the feare of our Lorde.

Which giftes certes, or spirites, are found to be after a more perfite2 manner in CHRIST IESVS our Lorde than in any other. For he is full of grace 3 and truth. In him doth inhabite all the fulnes of the Diuinitie 4 corporally. Of his 5 fulnes we all haue receiued: who hath also giuen6 vnto vs of his holy spirite. And if 7 any man haue not the spirite of Christ, he is not his; if we beleeue the Apostle.

2. How many are the fruites of the holy Ghost?

THey are of the same Apostle S. PAVL8 numbred Twelue.

The first is9 CHARITY, the most excelent kinde of fruit, & the roote also of all good thinges: Without the which 10 all other good things cannot profite, & which cannot herselfe be had without all other good thinges, whereby a man is made good: as saith11 S. AVGVSTINE.

An other fruite is12 IOY: excelling in this, that a spiritual man doe serue God cheerefully & with alacritie.

The third is PEACE:13 which seruethe to this ende, that in the stormes of this worlde the tranquilitie of the minde be kepte.

The fourth is14 PATIENCE: which consisteth in suffering aduersitie.

The fifth is LONGANIMITY:15 which doth declare the greatnes of the minde in expecting good thinges to come.

The sixt is GOODNES: which16 hurteth no man, & wisheth well to all.

The seauenth is BENIGNITY: 17 inuiting to familiaritie, sweet in speach, temperate in manners.

The eigthe is MILDNES:18 which doth qualifie and mitigate al the motions of anger.

The ninthe is FAITH, or FIDELITY19 towards our neighbour, that we be faithfull and obseruers of all couenantes and promises.

The tenth is MODESTY:20 which excludethe all suspition of haughtines and arrogancie.

The eleuenth is CONTINENCY:21 whereby we doe not only abstaine from meate, but from all manner of wickednes.

The twelueth is CHASTITY:22 which keepeth a chast minde in a chaste bodie.

3. How may we rightly vse the doctrine concerning the giftes and fruites of the holy-Ghost?

BY this means surely, if with gratful mindes we acknowledge from whence they come vnto vs, and feele the effectuall vertue and vse of them in ourselues, and shew forth and preserue the same. They proceede, certes, from the fountaine of all grace, that Father23 of lightes who in the same commendeth vnto vs his infinite goodnes and charitie; whilest through Christ, he doth so24 aboundantly powre his spirit vpon vs: For 25 the charitie of God, as witnesseth the Apostle, is powred forth in our hartes, by the holy Ghost which is giuen vs, to witte, according to this seauen folde grace: Christ so deseruing in our behalfe. He that 26 beleeueth in me, saith he, as the scripture saith, out of his bellie shall flowe riuers of liuing water. And this hee saide of the Spirit that they should receiue which beleeued in him, as the Euangelist himselfe expoundeth. Otherwise without Christ, as S. HIEROME27 hath saide, neither can any man be wise, nor intelligent, nor a counselour, nor couragious, nor learned, nor godly, nor full of the feare of God.

And the vertue and vse of these spirituall goods, doe tende to this ende, that the vertues Theologicall, and Cardinall, which we haue spoken of, maye readilye performe their force and proper operation in vs. Also they bring to passe that men doe verie willingly, and with sweetnesse, followe euerye where the28 holy Ghost as guid, and by him beeing mooued and strengthned, doe without fainting runne forewarde in the way29 of the Commaundements of God, & are made truely Spirituall, and the children of God.30 Whosoeuer are leade by the Spirite of God, they are the Sonnes of God, as witnesseth the Apostle.

Of these giftes it were too long, to discourse in particular, but from thence doe proceed the most sweet fruites of the holy Ghost, which do commende and set vs forth, as fruitfull31 trees, in the fielde of the Church, according to that saying: Euery 32 good tree yeeldeth good fruits: and the euill tree yeeldeth euill fruites, therefore by their fruites you shall knowe them. Which fruites also doe bring this commodity, that a christian man be furnished & confirmed, as it were, with a certaine spiritual armour, against the works of the flesh. For the rule of the Apostle will neuer faile: Walke in the 33 spirit, and the works of the fleshe you shall not accomplishe: And in an other place it is written: If by the 34 spirite, you mortifie the deedes of the fleshe; you shall liue.

4. Which are the workes of the fleshe?

THose, whereof the Apostle thus discourseth: 35 The workes of the fleshe be manifest, which are, Fornication, Vncleannesse, Impudicity, Leacherie, seruing of Idols, Witchrafts, Enmities, Contentions, Emulations, Angers, Brawelles, dissentions, Sectes, Enuies, Murders, Ebrieties, Commessations, and such like. Which I foretell you as I haue foretolde you, that they which doe such thinges, shall not obtaine the kingdome of Heauen. And afterwarde he addeth in the same place: And they36 that be Christes, haue crucified their fleshe, with the vices and concupiscences. Then in another place: They37 that are in fleshe, (to wit they that walke acording to the desires of the fleshe) cannot please God. Therefore the same Apostle giueth this admonition: Be not38 deceiued, God is not mocked. For what thinges a man shall sowe, those also shall hee reape. For hee that soweth in his fleshe, of the fleshe also shall reape corruption, but he that soweth in the Spirite, of the Spirite shall reape life euerlasting.

Footnotes

  1. Esa. 11 a & ibid. Hieron. Amb. lib. 1. de spiritu sancto c. 20. Aug. ser. 209. de temp. c. 4. & 17. de sanct. c. 2. Item l. 1. de ser. Do in monte. c. 3. & 4. & l 2 de doctrina Christ. c. 7. Greg. ho. 19 in Ezech. & lib. 1. moral cap. 28. & lib 35 cap. 7 Bern. in ser. de donis Spir. Sanct. ↩

  2. Orig. ho. 3. in Esa. & ho. 6. in Nun. ↩

  3. Io. 1. b ↩

  4. Col. 2. b ↩

  5. Io. 1, b ↩

    1. Io. 4. c
    ↩

  7. Ro. 8, b ↩

  8. Gal. 5, d vide ib. Hier. Theop. &c. ↩

  9. Col. 3, c 1. Ioan. 4, c Aug. tra. 87. in Euang. Io. Hier. in c. 5. ad Gal. ↩

    1. Cor. 13. a Aug. in ep. Io. tra. 5.
    ↩

  11. In Euang. Io. tract. 87. ↩

  12. Phil. 4 a ↩

  13. Luc 2, b Phil. 4, b Psal. 118, ↩

  14. Luc. 21, d Iac. 1, a ↩

  15. Aba. 2. a 2. Cor. 6. b Mat. 10, c ↩

  16. Eph. 5, b ↩

  17. Col. 3, b ↩

  18. Mat. 5, a 11. d Pro. 31, d ↩

    1. Tim. 3, c Pro. 12, d
    ↩

  20. Phil. 4, a ↩

  21. Eccli. 37 d Tob. 1, b 1. Thess. 5, d ↩

  22. Sap. 4, a 1. Cor. 7, f ↩

  23. Iac. 1, ↩

  24. Tit. 3, b ↩

  25. Ro. 5, ↩

  26. Io. 7, f ↩

  27. In c. Esa. 11. ↩

  28. Psa. 142, c 50, c Sap. 1, a b ↩

  29. Ps. 118, d ↩

  30. Rom. 8, ↩

  31. Psal. 51, c ↩

  32. Mat. 7, c Hier. in cap. 5. ad Gal. ↩

  33. Gal. 3, c ↩

  34. Ro. 8, c ↩

  35. Gal. 5, c d vide Aug. li. 14. de ciuit. Dei, cap. 2. & 3. ↩

  36. Ibid. d ↩

  37. Rom. 8, b Aug. de ver. Apost. ser. 6. cap. 9. & 11. ↩

  38. Gal. 6, b ↩

Chapter 27 of 36