Letters 69–77

Letter 69

I PRAY our Lord that He alone may be all things to you. The deeper, more subtle and refined self is in a man, the harder it is to conquer. It escapes in subtleties, it excuses itself under plausible pretexts, it is all the more dangerous when it seems least so. This is the secret history of an inquiring mind

' 2 Cor. X. xo. given to reasoning, possessed by philosophic systems, and striving to rule all around by the same, ^e, on the contrary, should be possessed by a spirit altogether superior to our own: our philosophy needs to give place to evangelic simplicity. "Blessed are the poor in spirit.'' Whence I infer, Woe to the wealthy-minded, to the learned who heap up knowledge, to the self-satisfied philosopher, to the insatiable inquirer, who hoards his lights as a miser his treasure! These evil rich men are daily feasting on intellectual banquets, while Lazarus patiently suffers hunger. "I thank Thee, O Father. . . because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.'- '. The mind needs to fast as well as the body; it is subject to an intemperance of its own. Now fasting, which seems an exhausting process, strengthens a^j overloaded stomach; and in like manner an overladen mind needs to fast — it ^yUl be all the stronger, and digest better. The fast of silence, recollection, and prayer strengthens the soul; whereas overmuch external activity distracts it. " Sapere ad sobrietatem " is a deep truth. Jesus Christ, though He was for such a brief time on earth to teach men, did not fail to call His Apostles to leave their work for seasons of holy rest a^d calm.

Work steadily, then, but without letting yourself be distracted by a crowd of things which involve indecision and delay. Cut matters short, and be content rather to make mistakes in detail than to make the universal mistake of completing nothing

TO THE BUC DE CHEVREUSE I -2 J through aiming at too much. Do not let yourself be carried away by the stream of. business, and always reserve some time for being alone with God.

As to mere indulgence of curiosity in reading, you cannot check it overmuch. Excess produces indigestion, and mere curiosity puffs up the heart. Men are filled with what is nought, for such empty knowledge does not proniote the interior life, which consists wholly in the love of God.

Letter 70

He who would fain satisfy himself perpetually that he is guided by reason, not by temper or passion, will only lose his time, without ever coming to a satisfactory result; for he can never be certain that temper or passion in specious disguise are not moving him to do what he fancies himself doing from pure reason. It is God's Will to keep us in this obscurity even as to the natural order of things. How much more must we be content to forego evidence and certainty, when it is a question of the most delicate workings of grace, in the deep darkness of faith and supernatural things. This restless, obstinate search after an unattainable certainty is very evidently the work of nature, not of grace; you cannot be too much on your guard against it It is a subtle inquiry which will take a hundred shapes. This craving for geometrical certainty is rooted in you by all your natural inclinations, bylifelong and interesting studies, by habits become second nature, and by a plausible desire to watch and guard against illusion. But an evangelic vigilance should never go so far as to disturb the heart's peace, or to demand evidence as to the secret operations of grace which it pleases God to keep hidden beneath a veil.

To speak frankly and unreservedly, you perfectly know that you ought to dread your excessive tendency to reason, even about all the common matters of everyday life. You ought to dread it much more when it meddles with these workings which are above reason, and which God conceals. One thing is quite certain, namely, that the more faithful you are in mortifying your intellectual tastes, your inquisitive philosophic research, your undue wisdom, forced speculations, and efforts to convince other men, the more you will mortify your real natural frailties, and therein promote the life of grace in you.

Listen stedfastly to God, but do not voluntarily give ear to self on matters of intellectual taste. Your letters give me real pleasure, for they show a light concerning and opposed to yourself which only God's Grace working powerfully in a soul can give, when He finds it ready to cast aside whatever might hinder it from treading in His paths. I pray God that you may never look back, but that His Will may be yours in all things: — " Et erit omnia in omnibus. " '

• X Cor. XV. 28: *• That God may be all in all."

TO THE DUC DE CUEVRRUSE 1 29

Letter 71

Co tilt %ame.

I AM delighted that you find what you want in the person mentioned. God supplies what He wills where He will. Naaman could not be healed bv any of the waters of Syria; he was forced to wash in a river of Palestine. What matters it whence the light and strength come? The only important matter is the source, not the channel. That which most proves our faith, uproots our worldly wisdom, overthrows our self-conceit, humbles and simplifies us, is the most according to God's designs for us. Accept what He sends, and accept it as from the Spirit, "Which bloweth where it listeth." We know not " whence it cometh or whither it goeth; " but the point is not to seek to know what God hides, rather to be faithfully attentive to what He reveals. If you can wean yourself from all that is mere idle curiosity and superfluous reasoning, you will gain a great deal of time for meditation and for business. The spirit of prayer will make you simple, concise, clear, moderate in thought and word, calm under difficulties. Self is active, verbose, vacillating, impulsive, manysided, for ever aiming at what is impossible, losing sight of the end for the sake of the means, wanting to convince, please, conciliate all. The spirit of grace calmly seeks nought save to be faithful, not fearing but that faithfulness will' overcome all hindrances. This is the peace which the world can neither give nor take away, and. which exceeds all human conception. How should.

13 the world give it? The world can neither understand it, nor believe in it in those who enjoy it. Argument is a great waste of strength. The friends of reason, savants who do not pray, extinguish the interior life as the wind puts out a candle. After associating with them one feels one's heart withered, and one's equilibrium shaken. You should shun such men, they are infectious. Some among them appear to be recollected, but are not really so. It is easy to confound a certain fervour of imagination with recollection. These men are keen about certain externals, which they desire eagerlyl This zeal disturbs them, for they are perpetually occupied with points on which they argue, subtly and exhaustively; but they are devoid of inward peace, and the silence amid which God's Voice is heard, and thus they are more contagious than others, because their deviations are more disguised. Investigate them, and you will find them restless, censorious, hot, engrossed with externals, hard and bitter, fastidious, full of self, impatient of contradiction; in a word, a sort of spiritual gadfly, disturbed by everything, and almost always a source of disturbance to others.

Letter 72

What I most desire for you is recollection, and a tolerably frequent pause amid so much that must dissipate your mind. A state of continual mental activity, unless absolutely required by God, exhausts

CONTENTMENT I31 and dries up the inner life. You remember how Jesus Christ was wont to take His disciples apart, and interrupt even their most urgent business. • Sometimes He would leave the multitude which "came from afar'' and waited for His ministry; He would withdraw from them, and say to His disciples, " Come ye apart." * Suffer me to say the like to you. It is not enough to act or to give; we must know how to receive, to imbibe, to yield ourselves calmly- to the Divine impress. You are too. much in the habit of mental exercise, and you have an unconscious inquisitiveness, a continual series of processes, weighing, measuring, for ever tracing back principles in their results. I would rather see you amused by some trifle which might occupy your imagination and senses, but would leave your deeper being room to commune with the secret Presence of God. Minds that are much given to application find as much difficulty in laying it aside as those who have none in applying themselves. Pray then starve, silence, rest your active mind. " Come ye apart.'' Business will prosper all the more; you will toil less, but God will help it more. If you persist in doing eveiytbing, you leave nothing for Him to do. ''Be still, and know that I am God," » that is the Lord's true Sabbath,

Letter 73

Contentment*

I WISH you that peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

13 Z which may be found amid all the trials and temptations of life. This is the essential difference between Babylon and the City of God. - The inhabitant of Babylon, however intoxicated with worldly prosperity, has an indefinable heart's Graving, which cries, Not enough! I have not all I want; and yet more, I have that which I want not! But, on the contrary, the inhabitant, of the Holy City bears in his heart a perpetual Fiat 2XiA Amen. He wills to bear all his troubles, and does not desire any of the good things which God withholds. Ask him for what he wishes, and he will tell you that he wishes precisely the thing that is. God's Will at the actual moment is that daily bread which is better than all else; he desires all that God appoints in and for him. This Will satisfies his heart, it is a never-failing manna. Thou "shalt honour Him," Isaiah says, ^not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words.' ' And so it is said of the New Jerusalem, "Vocaberis voluntas mea in ea."* It can bear no other name, we can form no other idea of it; of itself it can be nothing. Even as S. John was but a Voice heralding Jesus Christ, so Jerusalem is but "God's delight, in her." It is not she that Jives and wills; it is the Bridegroom living and willing in the bride. What is His Will for you? That you should have none; that you should leave all to Him and His Holy Spirit

' Isa. Ixii. 4. In the Ejiglivh Version this is rendered, *' Thou: shalt be called Heph-zibah; " or, as a marginal note has it, *' My delight is in her."

TO A NOBLEMAN LOSING HIS SON I33

"He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints," ' Be you, then, after God's Own Heart, "a man that executeth His counsel."' Do not hinder Him by any effort of self-will, by any straining to shape things your way.

Many good people under fair pretexts dp what S. Augustine accuses the Semi-Pelagians of— assume that natural merits come first, and grace follows the leading of nature: " Gratia pedissequa." We want God to will what we wish, so that in accepting His Will we may have our own way.' But His Will must prevent ours, and He must be all things in us.

Letter 74

I THINK continually of your sorrow. ' Nor do I. forget the great loss you have experienced; but what God takes away is His Own, not ours, and who shall say. Why hast Thou done this? I know you are very far from saying so. You know that He owes us no reckoning; His good pleasure is the supreme reason. That which were an intolerable caprice in any creature, namely, to say, " Sit pro ratione voluntas*' (My will for a reason), is simply true and just in the Creator.

. 3 Had Faber been reading this letter when he wrote the lines:—

" I wish to have no wishes left, But to leave all to Thee; And yet I wish that Thou Hhouldst will Things that I wbh should be " ? Moreover, amid the heaviest strokes from His fatherly Hand we can always trace a hidden mercy. He removes at the right moment some fragile souls which might have fallen away under worldly temptation. " Speedily was he taken away from among the wicked."' The speed was to forestall some fatal fall. Oh, how many marvels which we miss here we shall see plainly in the next world! Then we shall sing a psalm of joy and gratitude for the events over which we have wept here below. In our present blindness we see neither our true good nor true evil If God were to indulge us, all were lost; but He saves us by breaking our bonds, and constraining us to cry aloud. The same blow which saves him we love, by removing him from out a world of wickedness, loosens our hold on it, and we are prepared, through the death of another, for our own. What can we crave in this vain and polluted world for us and ours? If it be true that our heart lives by faith and love, ought we to weep because God loves us better than we love ourselves? ought we to murmur because He withdraws those dear to us from temptation and sin? Does He deal hardly with us by shortening our day of sorrow, struggle, temptation, and frailty? What would we have? Prolonged peril, stronger temptation, wherein the very elect themselves might, were it possible, fail? We desire all that fosters our selfishness, in order that we may forget ourselves in our exile. God snatches the poison from us, and we cry like a babe from whom its mother has taken a glistening knife^ with which it was fain to pierce itself!

• Ecclus. iv. II, 14.

TO THE DUC DE CHEVREUSE 1 35

Your son had been successful in this evil world \ such success is perilous, and for that reason his days were cut short out of Divine Mercy to him and his. We must worship God and be silent* Prayer is the only comfort; in that alone we are wholly with God. So soon as we are with Him by union of the heart and simple faith, we pray; and all other things, however holy, if they check that intercourse, become rather study thari prayer. And none save the Comforter can soothe sorrow. Let us, then, abide silently before Him; He will comfort us, and we shall find all, and more than we have lost, in Him. This is a true and inex** haustible Consolation.

Letter 75

I AM very glad, my dear lord, to hear that the excitement of the journey has left the Duchess much as before. There is always reason to fear lest great changes should somewhat upset one; but eventually, if one holds fast to Jesus. Christ in prayer and the Sacraments, the disturbance only tends to stablish one. The tree of which David speaks, planted by the waterside, and rooted, as the Apostle says, in humility and charity, is not shaken by the winds which tear up ill-rooted plants. Nay, such a tree is rather strengthened in proportion to its seeming agitation; all occasions of vanity, dissipation.

1 aOibition, jealousy, are opportunities for good to such souls. But I agree with you that at such seasons we need to watch ourselves carefully, and keep close to God. Were He to turn away ever so little in punishment of our carelessness or faithlessness, we should soon be like David amid his Court. This monarch, who was a man aftef God's Own Heart, fancied himself unchangeably established in (ill good: " I said in my prosperity, I shall never Jje removed; but Thou didst turn Thy Face from me, and I was troubled.'' '

We have naturally such a fatal tendency to earthly things, and are urged so vehemently downwards by all around us, that if the Strength of Israel ceases for one moment to uphold us, our fall is inevitable. Our " way is dark and slippery," and the evil spirit urges us to our fall.' What can uphold us on the brink of a precipice towards which we voluntarily gravitate? Thy Grace alone, O God! Thee only, O Jesus, Who hast overcome the world, within us and without us, by offering attractions infinitely greater than those which seduce us. But, my dear Duke, this grace is only given in the ordinary channels — through prayer and the Sacraments. A pauper whose needs are continual, and who has neither skill nor strength to help himself, has no resource save continual begging of those who are able to satisfy his wants. Gan we wonder, then, that our Lord and His Apostles bid us pray without ceasing? Even without any such precept our weakness would surely suggest it. But unhappily we do not realise our wants, urgent and

TO THE DUC DE CHEVREUSE I37 weighty as they are. The slightest failure in bodily strength is promptly felt and heeded; the least weakness in head or heart warns us to call in the physician and his remedies; but too often our spiritual strength becomes altogether exhausted before we realise that we are ailing. We attribute that which is often the result and sign of a besetting sin and a Corrupt heart to some trifling imp.ulse, some unimportant negligence, some passingweakness. We love the world and the things thereof with all our heart, and fancy that our aims arc merely temporary, and do not affect our heart.

Who, my dear lord, can discriminate between the passing impression which the world makes on a soul exposed to its influences and the lasting hold which it acquires? Who can discern whether he is really " made subject to vanity, not willingly," as Holy Scripture says,' or voluntarily and complacently.** What is to be done in so grievous an uncertaint) ? Wc can but humble ourselves, mourn, and pray continually. '* O turn away mine eyes, lest they behold vanity; and quicken Thou me in Thy way.'' " It is an admirable prayer for one whose lot, like David's, is cast amid the world's attractions. O my God, Sovereign Truth, and above all things to be loved, turn away mine eyes from the vanity which meets them on every side; and inasmuch as their natural levity drags them incessantly towards the glittering objects which surround them, fix them, my God, on Thyself, making Thyself felt as only mighty things can be, arresting all my attention. But, Lord, it is not enough that Tiiou turn away

• Ho:n. vlll. 2jii. - Ps. cxL. 37 mine eyes from vanity; I should soon return eagerly to the wretched but glittering baubles Thou hast hidden from me. Therefore lead me into the paths of holiness, where vanity does not interfere with those who love Thee: " Quicken Thou me in Thy way;" draw me into the path where, turn which way I will, I may find nought save truth and love. Fill continually both mind and imagination with thoughts and visions tending to Thee; steep my heart with the perfume of Thy heavenly sweetness; consecrate my body by the indwelling of Thy Spirit and the participation of Thy Body, so that heart and flesh may rejoice in the Living God. Grant, Lord, that having become Thy child — bone of Thy bone, flesh of Thy flesh, in Baptism, jn Confirmation, and in the Holy Eucharist — I maylive and move in Thee only. And if it be not according to Thy Providence, or for my good, that I be exempt from all temptation, at least, AU- Powerful God, hold me up that I yield not to it. To Thy glory overthrow the devil in me, even as when he tempted Thee, not by stopping the temptation, but by rejecting it. Grant, Lord, that when the seducing spirit tempts me, either through sensuality, curiosity, or ambition, I may be no more moved than Thou wert in the desert. If he shows me the glory of the world, offering me a share of it provided I will worship him, then turn away mine eyes from vanity, make me to feel the delusion of his empty promises, and root deeply in my heart the truths by which Thou didst overthrow Satan and his wiles. " Thou shalt worship God, and Him you shalt thou serve."

TO THE DUC DE CHEVREUSE 1 39

Forgive this digression, dear Duke. I feel the danger to which I am sometimes exposed so keenly, that I tell God all that comes into my mind; and as I can feel little difference between the solicitude I feel for my own salvation and for yours, you need not wonder if I speak for you as for myself. But I must come to an end. ...

I cannot conceal from you that I hope to sec Mme. de Chevreuse become a real saint. There are so many tokens of Christ's Mercy upon her soul, that He will assuredly finish the work He has begun. Yes, He will accomplish it in spite of the world and the devil, and nothing will wrest from Him the lamb which He has purchased with His Blood. I cannot tell you the delight I feel in the hope of seeing those I love wholly God's. You might become a favourite Prime Minister, and I should not feel — so I fancy — any great emotion; but I cannot contemplate you desiring to give yourself wholly and unreservedly to Jesus Christ without the keenest delight.

The Comte de Montfort' gives me great hope of late. If I am not mistaken, you will find progress on your return, and the two little ones are satisfactory in their way. O God, make all this family altogether Thine.

Good night, my dear lord.

' The Duke's second son.

flt tl^e JFesitttial of Pentecodt.

I DO not fail to ask God for the special help which the Duchess needs at present. I ask that she may have that fulness of the Holy Spirit which altogether empties our hearts of the world's spirit She is not in the same condition as were Mary and the disciples when they received that Holy Spirit Which the world neither knows nor accepts; but I have good reason to believe that, while obliged to be at Court, her heart is a temple, through recollection, self'^ denial, and devotion to God, consecrated by grace and the Holy Eucharist, fit for the Holy Spirit's indwelling. God grant that His sacred wind may scatter all the dust and rubbish which those who are in the great world cannot fail to gather. God grant that. His devouring flames may consume all the straw and foam whic^ will float upon the heart's surface. It is difficult at a period and in a country where everything tends to dissipation to be nowise affected; but it is not impossible to stand fast when strengthened by the Holy Spirit. There is a remarkable sentence in a Church History concerning a pious woman who was exposed to terrible trials in the world: " Tanto pondere fixit earn Spiritus Sanctus, ut immobile permaneret." Such a degree of stedfastness is scarce to be won save by fervent, constant, humble prayer, and to this we must add the frequent reception of that Sacred Body Which, formed by the Holy Spirit, is in itself

TO THE DUC DE CHEVREUSE I4I

. — — ■ ' aa inexhaustible source of holiness. I take the foundation of a Christi?in life for granted. No further preparation for the Eucharist is needed. Every one who is holy, or somewhat frail only, must partake if he would not gradually waste and perish. Journeys used not to prevent the early Christians from " the breaking of bread." They used to carry their heavenly food with them, for fear of being deprived of it by unforeseen accidents. If we live in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, we have a right to feed upon His Body. May it please that Holy Spirit to shed upon us the same gifts He gave to. the first disciples. May we, my dear lord, be inebriated with it, till we forget alike our former weaknesses holding us back and the world's delusions attracting us. May we, like the Apostles, forget all save those eternal truths and blessings with which that Divine inebriation fills the heart. May all else be to us a mere vision — what it truly is, a shadow, a dream. That is what Holy Scripture calls all poor earthly pleasures and perishable gain ^—things which melt away even more speedily than dreams or shadows. A man who has dreamt of riches and luxury says, on waking to his real poverty, " How swiftly my happiness has departed; it was but a dream!" Alas! what will they say; those meii whom David describes as " the men whose hands were mighty have found nothing,"' when^ rising from their sleep, they find hands and hearts alike empty! We call the pleasant vision of a night a dream, but really it is enduring and substantial as compared with the brevity of our life 1

What shall we call this vision of a moment, even our whole life, when we have entered on eternity? I hardly know why I have run on thus, except that I' am so convinced of your religion and goodness that I use neither measure nor check in talking to you of our common hope.

Letter 77

I THANK God, sir, that you entertain so much fear of ceasing to do evil without learning to do good.

This fear which He kindles in your heart will be the solid foundation of your work. Not to say that with your disposition you could never be stedfast against evil save by diligently pursuing an active course of good, you would further be the most miserable of men if you were to seek to conquer your passions save by the constant co-operation of

God. Your heart would be torn to pieces, and you would be devoid of all the consolation and joy of

His Holy Spirit. Your heart must be full either of

God or of the world. If of the world, it will, drag you unconsciously — it may be suddenly — back into the abyss. If of God, He will not endure a cowardly lukewarmness: conscience will goad you;

you will enjoy recollection; the things which once pleased you will seem vain and frivolous; you will

' Eldest son of Colbert the Minister, and brother of the Duchesses de Beauvilliers, de Chevreuse, and de Mortemart

TO THE MARQUIS DE SEIGNELAI I43 feel a power working within you, before which everything must gradually give way; in a word, you will not give yourself to God by halves. If you seek mistakenly to share your heart, God, Who is a jealous God, will indignantly reject a compromise which puts Him in competition with His creatures, with very nothingness. So be sure that you have no alternative save to sink through despair into the gulf of iniquity, given up to yourself, to the world, and your own slavish propensities; or to abandon yourself unreservedly to the Father of Mercies and God of Consolation, Who opens His Arms to you in spite of all your ingratitude. We cannot bargain with God; He is our Master. We must give ourselves to Him silently, let Him lead us, and not even ask to see where we are going. Abraham forsook his country, and journeyed to a strange land, not knowing whither he went. Let us copy his courage and faith. They who lay down rules and limits in their conversion are self-guiding; but those who give themselves up unreservedly to God make Him, so *to say, responsible for all they do. Do you, sir, return like the prodigal son, and use from the bottom of your heart that trustful petition^, '' Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against Thee! "

It is impossible to avoid all the suffering which your passions* will cause you until they are thoroughly crushed. You will feel powerfully attracted by former pleasures, as S. Augustine says: ** The very toys of toys and vanities of vanities, my ancient mistresses, still held me; they plucked my fleshly garment, and whispered softly, * Dost thou • ■ ■■- - M I II ■ M l.» 111 »lll»»l!■■■ I, ^^— ^» , fa cast us off? and shall we be no more with thee for ever?'"' '. But then God in His turn will speak; He will set before you the gladness of a cleansed conscience, the peace of a soul reconciled to God, and the liberty His true sons enjoy. No more of those wild pleasures which intoxicate the soul, which make a man forget his troubles by stunning him; but instead of these that inward calm and repose which strengthen him against all trials. You will be at one with yourself, no longer afraid to gaze within; on the contrary, you will find rest in doing so. You will have nothing to hide or to fear; you will find pleasure in all you do, because you love God's constraining Will; you will no longer desire anything which He withholds; you will bear within you an inexhaustible fund of hope and brightness wherewith to meet life's troubles. So all iHs will turn to good; sickness, disappointmert, weary toil, death itself — all will become welcome, for "all things work together for good to them that love God." " How should you not love Him Who so loves you? Did you ever find anything more loveable or more worthy of love? The fashion of this world will pass away; this empty grarideur will soon vanish; the hour draws near, we have wellnigh reached it; earth's spell will br^ak, oui* eyes will be opened, and we shall see nought save Eternal Truth, and God judging His ungrateful creatures. All the madmen who now pass as wise will be convicted of their folly, but we who have known and tasted the gift of God, surely

TO THE MARQUIS DE SEIGNELAI 1 4$ we are not going to let ourselves fall into this condemnation? And you, sir, will you shut your eyes, or but half- open them, when God Himself so patiently calls you to full vision? Read what the Prophet Jeremiah says * of the dealings of a man with the wife who has been faithless to him and run after other lovers: " Will he return to her again? . . . But thou," the Lord says to His erring people, "thou hast played the harlot with many lovers, yet return again to Me. . . . Return, ye" backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings." This is how our Jealous God deals with us. His patience and kindness stretch beyond His jealousy. But if He waits for you in love. He requires you to turn to Him bravely and faithfully. Now, as to the detail of what you need to aim at — internally and externally. As to the first, the chief thing is love of God. It is not a question of warm, sensible love. You cannot win that for yourself,' and it is not necessary; God oftener gives it to the weak as a support than to stronger souls whom He proposes to lead by a purer faith. Indeed, men are apt to deceive themselves in such love, to cling to its enjoyment, instead of to God only; and when the enjoyment fails, this devotion of the taste and imagination melts away — they get discouraged, think that all is lost, and fall away. If God facilitates your first beginning with such help, accept it, for He knows better than we do what we need. But do not be troubled if He withholds it. True love of God often consists in a dry, firm resolution to give up everything to Him. Such is the purest

• Jcr. 111. Ftn, Sp. L.--/.] K service, inasmuch as it is offered without satisfaction, and without any support save self-renunciation. Jesus Christ was "sorrowful, even unto death," in the Garden of Gethsemane, and His shrinking from the cup held to Him by the Father cost Him H/*s Bloody Sweat. What a help to us this example is ' How little sensible satisfaction He experienced! Yet He said, " Thy will, not Mine, be done." Let us say the same in dryness, and abide peacefully beneath God's Hand. Remember, too, that you do not deserve the joy of a pure soul which has always followed its Bridegroom faithfully. How often you have kept Him waiting at the door of your heart! it is but fair that you should in your turn be kept waiting. You ought not to be surprised at your distractions in prayer; they are inevitable after so much voluntary excitement and dissipation, but they will not hurt you if you bear them patiently. The only real danger is if they discourage you. What matter if the imagination wanders, and the mind launches out in a thousand foolish notions, so long as the will keeps firm, and you return quietly to God directly that you are conscious of your distraction? While you maintain such a simple course your very distractions may be turned to good, and you will find it out at last, though God may for a while hide it from you. Prayer should be simple, heartfelt, rather than intellectual; short, earnest, simple reflections, straightforward towards God, not attempting to force unreal feelings. It will suffice to make the chief acts of faith, love, hope, and contrition; all done unconstrainedly, and following the leadin^js of your heart. God is exacting as to

TO THE MARQUIS DE SEJGNELAI 1 47 an upright, honest service, but He is equally indulgent as to all else. No tender, indulgent friend was ever so tender as He is. You might make your meditation on those passages in the Psalms which touch you most. Every time that your attention flags take up your book and do not be uneasy. Uneasiness at distractions is the worst of distractions.

Nothing is better than to mistrust yourself; it is the fruit you should gather from your falls. God has permitted them to be so frequent, so deep, so prolonged, in order to humble you; and after so many past graces you needed more than most men to fall low in order to crush your excessive pride, which is ever ready to rear its head anew. But mistrust of self must not lessen your confidence in God. It ought to help you in avoiding occasions of relapse; it ought to lead you to adopt precautions against yourself and your friends, but it ought not to make you doubt God's Help. If He sought you while you fled from Him, while you closed your ears lest you should hear His Voice, how much more wiil He lead you step by step now that you are seeking Him! Do not fear, there is joy in Heaven over your repentance. So beware of being uneasy as to your conversion, or striving to hide it, lest it fail, and so others be scandalised. That would assuredly happen if you reckoned on your own strength. Your courage, however great, would be as that broken reed of Holy Scripture: so far from sustaining you, it would pierce your hand. But give yourself up to God; do not make yourself conspicuous, but, on the other hand, do not be ashamed of the Gospel. \ ■■- .

Such false shame would hinder God's Blessing on your penitence; I should fear that a hundred times more than your weakness. Do not fear disgrace if you were again to forsake Him; you would deserve it, and it would be the least evil of such a fall. So do nothing to attract attention, but neither seek to hide your desire to do right. Let God provide for all, and be satisfied to go on in the ordinary way. From the first you must cut off whatever might be a cause of scandal. Do not imagine you can hide yourself long from your friends and servants when they see you do this as well as perform the duties which no Christian can leave undone without giving scandal. You must hear Mass humbly, speak quietly and cautiously. All this will soon give the impression that you are returning, at all events, to an orderly way of life; and you may be sure that the world, which always exaggerates, will conclude that you are becoming devout. But what then? Let it talk, and be content only to show that which cannot be concealed. God will bear the burthen for you, and His angels will take care that you do not hurt your foot against the stones which bestrew your path. The great thing is never to look back. Cut off all the paths by which whatever is calculated to kindle you might find entrance; the merest trifle would open all your wounds, and poison them as well. Suffer no friend or servant to bring you letters, or tell you anything about the persons from whom you have separated. .... It is easy in your position to cut all such matters short, you only have to use your will; and as it affects your eternal salvation, you should have no hesitation in so willing.

TO THE MARQUIS DE SEIGNELAl I49

Where I see the greatest difficulty lie is neither in your sharpness with your servants nor your vehemence against those who cross you; what I fear most is your natural haughtiness, and your violent inclination for pleasure. I dread your pride, because you cannot give yourself to God, and be filled with His Spirit, unless you are emptied of self, and despise it heartily. God is jealous of His Own Glory, and that of men offends Him. " He resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble; " ' and, " The Lord hath plucked up the roots of the proud nations, and planted the lowly in their place." ' He plucks them up, you see; that is. He destroys their very life. He will never give you His Blessing unless you are lowly in His Sight, unless you renounce worldly glory. Then as to your leaning to pleasure, I should indeed tremble, but that I am convinced God, Who has begun the good work in you, will complete it. But you are so surrounded with mere pleasure-seekers, there is such an atmosphere of mere amusement all around you, all your most intimate friends are so imbued with sensual ideas, and so accustomed to share them with you, that it is an absolute necessity that you make an entire change oftone. Ask,then,for an iron strength against evil; ask that mouth of wisdom which God has promised to His servants, that they may triumph over worldly wisdom. It is not a question of preaching or merely turning aside; you must know how to be silent, how to turn conversation, how never to show any cowardly indulgence to what is evil, how never to laugh at a loose jest or an impure

• James iv. 6. ^ Eccliis. x. 15. witticism. Let people think what they please, bitt you must hold your own. Your high position and your natural gifts will enable you to do this. But remember, sir, that if you allow yourself to be trifled with, you are lost! A feeble compromise between God and the world will satisfy neither. God will reject you, and the world will drag you back into its vortex, and laugh at you for falling into its snares. You can only be saved from this by an upright bearing, full of confidence in God, and setting aside earthly considerations. As to the interior change you have to make, the most important point, which I implore you in the Name of God to heed, is to be fully resolved to do two things: First, to receive without hesitation whatever light God may possibly give hereafter to lead you further than you at present contemplate. For instance, promise Him heartily that, if as yet you do not see all you owe to Him, whether in reparation of past impurity or -injustice, misuse of means or authority, you will never shut your eyes to the light, but, on the contrary, you will always strive to advance in realising your duty. Secondly, you must maintain a firm and genuine resolution to follow God's light always, and at whatever cost; so that if hereafter He shows you fresh duties to fulfil and fresh victories to be won over self, you may never resist the Holy Spirit, but boldly trample under foot all difficulties which would hinder you. With these two intentions I think you will have a firm foundation, and we shall not have the sorrow of seeing yoii fall away. . . . Your religious exercises cannot be accoTding to the same rule now as eventually whea

TO TFIR MARQUIS DE SEIGNELAi l^t your health is restored. For the present be content to take such portions of the Psalms as you may select during the moming, when you are strongest, and least interrupted by visitors; give a quarter of an hour to ^he purpose, if you can. If you are not well enough, do it at intervals, during the hours you are most able. Read, or get the Duke [de Chevreuse] to read to you a chapter of the Jmita^ Hon daily. Do not mind stopping if you are tired, but resume it afterwards. Further, w^hat will help you most is to lift up your heart to God from, time to time, without any reserve, and in full confidence. This season of sickness is in your favour j it is a sort of enforced retreat, which shields you from worldly society, and brings the worthiest members of your family to your side. A little Christian conversation with the Duke will strengthen your good convictions. A man needs sympathy in so difficult a conversion, and confidential friendship both comforts and opens the heart to God's influences. I pray that He may uphold you against the world and yourself with His All-powerful Hand. You remind me, lying in your bed, of Saul overthrown and crushed before the gates of Damascus; Jesus Christ, Whom you have so long forsaken and insulted, says, " Why persecutest thou Me? It is hard to kick against the pricks." Do you reply, " Lord, what wouldst Thou have me to do 1 " and He will make you a chosen vessel bearing His Name. LXXVIIL fl)n unte^erteo ttt\Xi% €!>oD*

The most important of all your questions seems to be that concerning ignorance of your duties. You would fain believe that you may rest in what you know, without taking any pains to know more; but I must own I cannot agree to this. Not that I would approve an excessive, injudicious severity, which constrains a man to tremble continually, whatever he does, lest it be wrong. We have a good Master, Who cares more for our confidence than ought else. " Like as a father pitieth his own children, even so is the Lord merciful unto them that fear Him. For He knoweth whereof we are made; He remembereth that we are but dust." *

So He has declared Himself; therefore God forbid, sir, that I should wish to fetter you with a timid, constrained religion, which believes that God pardons nothing, but that He is ever seeking to pounce upon our most trivial faults in order to discomfit us utterly! I know nothing more injurious than such a system; and so far from wishing to press it upon you, I would fain guide you by pure love, which is always easy, unconstrained, cheerful, brave, treading freely, and inspirited by confidence. I repeat it: God knows I think those directors who choose that other rigid, toilsome path are grievously

TO THE MARQUIS DE SBIGNELAI 1 53 mistaken, and likely to ruin their work. But, on the other hand, let us honestly consider what we owe to God.

Perhaps you have never seriously thought of it? Do we not owe as much to Him as friend to friend, or servant to master? If you had a friend whom you had trusted to the utmost, who was under the deepest obligations to you, and whom you loved tenderly, would you be satisfied if he only cared to hear part of your wishes as to what he should do for you? What would you think of him and of his friendship if he was satisfied with a general idea of your intentions, and avoided entering into detail? Would you not press explanations of his trust upon him? Would you not seek interviews with him, for fear of his making mistakes? Would he deserve tQ be called a friend; and would you believe him to be in earnest if he were to say, " I am doing what I fancied my friend required; what more do I care to know? I don't want to be troubled; the imperfect knowledge I possess of his interests is enough, better information might only involve me in what would be inconvenient. I will not take the trouble. I should be very sorry to offend him in essential matters, but I do not care to worry myself about his wishes in trifles, or even in greater things; I know quite enough, and I would rather damage him to some extent than incur the disagreeables of further explanation." Surely you would count such a friend unworthy of the name; you would be mortally wounded by his ingratitude, and feel ashamed of having trusted him. Indeed, I think you would consider his conduct all the worse in that he added bad faith to ill-will- You would rather he had openly refused to serve you; but to offer his service, and then seek pretexts for ignoring your interests, and shun daylight lest he should be obliged to do too much, seems altogether inexcusable. I think, sir, this is what you would say of an ordinary friend. What, then, will God say of you at the Day of Judgment — of you who owe everything to Him, if you are like that faithless friend, who affects to close his eyes lest he see too plainly what his friend requires, even while making profession of attachment? Or again, if the king had intrusted a fort, or an army, or a negotiation to some subject, would he be pleased if that man neglected to inform himself accurately as to the condition and strength of the fort? If the general were content to know but little of the art of war? if the ambassador refused to fathom foreign affairs, or the means to insure a successful diplomacy? It the king hereafter reproached these men with their failure, would the governor dare to say, " I thought I knew enough,.though I did not understand sieges, and I did not trouble to learn more that I might hold the fort " ? Or the ignorant general, could he answer, *' I did not care to bother myself with the various opinions of engineers as to defence, or to discuss the matter with officers who could have enlightened me by their experience; I was satisfied with my good intentions. I thought my good-will and my slender capacity were excuse for me, and • that you would be content provided I did not betray you " ? Or the ambassador, would he presume to allege that he was not bound to fathom

TO THK MARQUIS DE SEIGNELAI 1 55 an enemy's plans, or to heed the undercurrents of the court to which he was sent, or the means of effecting his master's objects? Surely the king would answer, " You should have watched day and night to find ail this out; neglect was a betrayal of my interests, a sacrifice of them to mere sloth.'* What, then, will the King of Kings say if you are even as these evil servants?

You surely see, sir, that you would never forgive such affectation of ignorance, and that God can still less be expected to forgive it you. Moreover, the observation of the Lord's Day was expressly instituted that there might be one day in each week reserved for the study of God's Law, and for meditation on His Mysteries. And. formerly those who became Christians were put under a long course of instruction before they were admitted to Baptism. The need to know God and Jesus Christ our Saviour is fully as great now, and never can be less; the Gospel whereby God teaches us is not given us to be a closed book. I know there are evil-minded. Untrained men who might misuse their knowledge of it; but those who are prepared by means of a pure intention and teachable mind should not deprive themselves oT its use. Be sure that we shall be judged by that Book, not by the judgment of man; therefore we should make ready to give our account according to its rules, which are God's.

S. Paul tells the early Christians, " In everything ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge."' Nevertheless he continually urges upon them the need of increasing daily in the

• T Cor. i. 5. knowledge of God; of being enlightened, that they may know His Will in all wisdom and understanding, and so become fruitful in every good work.'* *

Any one who really loves a friend is not content merely not to offend him, but seeks out every possible means of pleasing him. True affection is ingeniously inventive. It is a mere slavish fear which only aims at avoiding punishment for actual disobedience. No one would be satisfied with a servant who never did anything he could leave undone, and cared nothing to find out what his master wished.

Jesus Christ teaches the duty of a careful investigation of His Law, and of sifting even the sources of instruction, when He says, ' If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." ' Observe, He does not say that one shall excuse the other; but, on the contrary, the blind guide will only drag his neighbour into the ditch. You will say, Are we then to be continually running from one teacher to another, never knowing where to stop? Surely such uncertainty would disturb any one's con- science!

I quite agree. But what I do say is, that men ought to do as much for the eternal life of their souls as they never fail to do for their fleeting bodily life. When we are ill, we do not think it too much trouble to seek the most experienced physician or the most skilful surgeon, and we should think him very foolish who was indifferent on this score; common sense leaves us no doubt in such a case. Do as much for your soul. Do

TO TH£ marquis DE SEIGNELAl 157 not be satisfied without taking the advice of those whom you believe to be wisest, most upright, most disinterested. Shun those who are rigid through ostentation, asperity, or love of novelty; but beware of seeking mere flattering counsellors, worldlyminded men, who " sew pillows to all armholes," * instead of teaching repentance; or ignorant men, who deceive alike themselves and you. Use all the light God gives you to find a happy medium; seek a spiritual guide as carefully as a worldly man seeks the best lawyer or physician. Then you may rest satisfied, and trust to God's Goodnessy Who will not suffer you to be the loser, even if you should be mistaken in your choice.

But, you will ask, must one spend one's life in religious study like a professor? No; that is not what God requires of you. He requires you to feed your soul daily upon the truths of His Gospel; not to make you arrogant^ but to teach you greater mistrust of self, and that you may learn of Jesus Christ to be " meek and lowly of heart." You will not learn therefrom a vain knowledge which puffeth up. You will only learn to despise self, to tread under foot the worthless treasures of this world, to sit loose to a fleeting, uncertain life, to seek God's enduring Greatness; to be gentle, patient, just, honest towards your neighbour. Such knowledge is not attained by subtle reasoning, deep reading, or a powerful memory; all you need is a simple, teachable spirit, which, without any unwonted cleverness, will go deep in the science of godliness. You will learn the most profound truths

' Ezek. xlii. z8. in few words; and if really humble, you will know more than the most learned of proud, wise men. Thus it is that Jesus Christ says, " I tlmnk Thee, O Father, because Thoii hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes; " ' and, " Except ye become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.!' ' So that the knowledge to be sought in daily meditation on God's Word is how to become lowly as a little child.

I have dwelt at so much length on this subject, sir, that I have not time to go on to the other points of your letter. May God bring it home to you. I must not, however, omit to point out to you that the first commandment alone would suffice to upset all your excuses and force your strongholds. " Thou" shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul, with all thy mind and all thy strength." See how many terms arc united by the Holy Spirit, so as to forestall the reserves which man was sure to make with regard to a Love which exacts the sacrifice of everything. It is a jealous, all-prevailing Love; all is not too much for it. It will admit of no division, and permits no love out of God, save that which He Himself enjoins for His Own Sake. We must love Him, not only with all the strength and power of our heart, but with all the weight of our intellect; so how can we pretend to love Him if we will not ponder His Law and strive to learn His Will? It is self-deceit to fancy that we can give Himr such a diligent, watchful love, while we shrink

TO THE MAKQU/S DE SEICNELAl 1 59 from perceiving the consequences it must entail. There is but one genuine way of loving, and that is not to bargain with Him, but to follow on with a free heart, eager to know His Adorable Will Who has made us out of nothing, and redeemed us by His Own Blood from eternal destruction. All who seek to love God a little for fear of punishment, but who are voluntarily deaf, and strive not to hear when He speaks of detachment from the world and from self, run a great risk of Ijeing found among the lukewarm whom our Lord has declared that He will cast out/ But we who seek to be His unreservedly, peace and mercy will be with us, and the recompense of our sacrifice will be the hundred-fold promised in this life, as well as the kingdom of heaven. Freedom of heart, peace of conscience, the rest of lying still in God's Hands, the joy of seeing His Light ever brighter and brighter, and the dropping off of worldly fears and hopes, make this hundred-fold happiness which the faithful children of God experience, even amid the heaviest crosses. Is it not very weak to fear to enter upon so desirable a state.^ '' A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways/'* The double mind is for ever distracted between the world and its passions and the fears of conscience. Blessed are they who throw themselves blindly into the Arms of the God of Mercy and Father of all Comfort! ^ So far from fearing to see too plainly, they only fear lest they see not God's Will enough; and so soon as they gain any fresh light, they are "as glad as one that

l6o findeth great spoils."' As to reading, and the general disposition of time, I will write again soon. This letter is already too long.