Book I, Part 3, Chapter 5. Against those who refuse to walk in the Way of Virtue, because

they love the World.

1. If we did examine all those who refuse to walk in the way of virtue, we should perhaps find the deceitful love of this world to be one of the chief causes of their faint-heartedness. I call that love of the world deceitful, because it is grounded on a false, imaginary and apparent good, which seems to be in the things of the world, and makes ignorant persons set so great a value on them. For as creatures that are naturally timorous always avoid some particular objects, imagining there is danger in them, even when they are farthest from them ; so these men, on the contrary, love and run after the things of the world, because they fancy they are pleasant and delightful, though in reality they are not so. And, therefore, as those who would break such creatures of that imperfection, make them go close by these things they were afraid of, that they may see they were frightened at nothing but a shadow, so it is requisite now we should lead these persons through the mere shadows of worldly things they so passionately affect, that they may look on them with other eyes, and perceive how they had placed all their love on a mere vanity, and acknowledge that these false goods no more deserve to be beloved, than those dangers we have spoken of, deserve to be feared.

2. If we, therefore, seriously reflect on the world and its happiness, we shall find these six kinds of evils in it, to wit, shortness, misery, clanger, blindness, sin and deceit. These are the inseparable companions of all the world's felicity, which plainly show what, it is. We will speak here briefly of each of these evils, according to their order.

§ I. How short the Happiness of this World is. — 3. To begin with the shortness, you cannot deny but that all the happiness of this world, though ever so great, is but of short continuance ; for man's felicity can last no longer than his life. Now how long this life is, we all know, since the longest scarce ever arrives to the hundreth year. But how few are there that ever reach to this? I have seen bishops that have not lived above two months, popes that have not outlived oae, and new-married persons that have died within a week after their marriage ; we read of a great many such examples in former times, and see as many at present every day. Put the case: your life may be one of the longest. " Let us grant (says St. Chrysostom) that a man may have a hundred years to spend in the pleasures of the world. To this let us adc another hundred, nay, two hundred more, if you will — what is al this in respect of eternity?" "If," says Solomon, "a man shouk have a great many years, and during all this time should enjo) all kinds of pleasures, he ought to remember the time of darknes. and the days of eternity, which, when they come, all that is pas shall appear to have been vanity ;" Eccl. xi. 8. For all happiness whatever, let it be ever so great, will appear to be but vanity as it really is, when compared with eternity. This is what evei the wicked themselves confess, in the book of Wisdom, whei they say, " We are no sooner born than we immediately ceaset to be ;" Sap. v. 13. Consider how short all the time of this lift will seem then to the wTicked ; they will imagine they have scarct lived one day ; they will think they were hurried away immediately from the womb to the grave. Whence it follows, that al the pleasures of this world will then seem to be only imaginary and which appeared to be a pleasure, but were not so. The prophe Isaias has given us an excellent description of this in these words " As a man that is hungry dreams that he eats, but when ht awakes finds himself still empty ; and as a man that is thirst) dreams that he drinks, but after he is awake he still faints witl thirst, and is as empty as he was ; so shall it fare with all the na tions who have waged war against the mountain of Sion ;" Isa xxix. 8. Their prosperity shall be so short, that as soon as eve, they shall open their eyes, and this little time shall pass away they shall find that ail their joys were nothing but mere dreams For what other name will you give to the glory of as many prince, and emperors as have ever lived in the world ? " Where," says the prophet, " are the princes of the nations, and those who rule over the beasts of the earth, who sport themselves with the birds of the air?" Bar. iii. 16, 17. Where are those who have piled up mountains of silver and gold, in which they place their conn-

2~6 the sinner's guide.

dence ? Where are all those who have taken so much pains m making rich vessels of gold and silver, that it is almost impossible to count all their different designs and inventions ? What is now become of all these persons ? where is it that they live ? They are now turned out of their palaces, they are thrown down into hell, and others have taken their places. What is become of the wise man ? What is become of the scholar ? What is become of him that used to search into the secrets of nature ? What is become of all Solomon's glory ? Where are now the mighty Alexander and the glorious Assuerus ? Where are all the famous Roman Caesars? Where are all the other princes and kings of the earth ? What have they got by their vain-glory, by the power they had in the world, by the great number of their attendants, by their false riches, by their mighty armies, by those crowds of buffoons, of fawning parasites and flatterers, which were perpetually about them? All this has been nothing but a mere shadow, a mere dream, a fleeting happiness of but a moment's continuation. Consider, then, how short the happiness of this world is.

§ II. Of the great Miseries worldly Delights are mixed with. — 4. This happiness, besides its being so short, has another evil, which is, that it is always attended by a thousand miseries not to be avoided in this life, or, to speak plainer, in this vale of tears, in this place of banishment, in this tempestuous sea. For the miseries which man perpetually lies open to are, in truth, many more than the days, nay, than even the hours of his life ; because every day ushers in fresh cares and solicitudes, and he is every hour threatened with new miseries, which no tongue can be able to express. Who can count all the infirmities of our bodies, all the passions of our souls, all the afflictions caused by our very friends, with all the other disasters of our lives ? One goes to law with you for your estate, another endeavours to take away your life, a third robs you of your reputation and honor ; some men pursue you with hatred, some with envy, some with fraud, some with designs of revenge, some with calumnies, some with arms, and others, in fine, wound you mortally with their tongues, more dangerous and more hurtful far than even arms are. Besides all these miseries, there is an infinity of others, for which we have no names, because they are unexpected accidents. One man has an eye.thrust out, another has an arm cut off, another falls from a window, another from his horse, another is drowned, another loses his estate, another is ruined by being bound for friends. If you would know more of these miseries, ask the worldly man to give you a true account of the pleasures and displeasures he had in his wray of living. If they were both put into equal scales, you would see how much the one would outweigh the other, and how, for one .moment of pleasure, there are a hundred hours of trouble and discontent. If therefore, man's whole life is so short, and so great a part of it filled with such miseries, what room car. there be for true happiness ?

5. But as for these miseries which I have here reckoned up, they are such as happen to the good as well as to the bad ; for since they are all aboard the same vessel, and sailing in the same sea, they must needs be exposed to the same storms. There are other miseries which are more sensible than these, and particularly belonging to the wicked, as being the effect of their sins. The knowledge of these will be much more to our purpose, inasmuch as it makes the lives of such men as are exposed to them more abominable. The wicked themselves inform us of the greatness of them, in the book of Wisdom, saying, " We have been tired in. the way of iniquity and perdition ; our ways have been hard, and we have been ignorant of. the way of the Lord ;" Sap. v. 7. So that as the good have a paradise even in this life, and hope for another in the next, and go from one sabbath to another, that is, from one joy to another ; so, on the contrary, the wicked have a hell in this life, and expect another in the next, because they go from the hell of a bad conscience to that of everlasting torments.

6. These calamities happen to the wicked several ways. God sends them to some ; for he, as being a just Judge, will not permit the evil of the crime to pass over without the due punishment, which, though it be generally reserved for the next life, yet often begins in this. For it is certain that God's providence, as it is over the world in general, so is it over each person in particular. And, therefore, we see that when there are more than ordinary sins committed in the world, they are followed by more than ordinary punishments, as famine, wars, plagues, heresies and such other calamities. It frequently happens, too, that God punishes man according to the sins which he is guilty of. For this reason he said to Cain, " If you do well, you shall receive the reward of it ; but if you do ill, you shall find your sin at your door" (Gen. iv.) ; that is, the punishment which your sin deserves. And in Deuteronomy, Moses told the people of Israel, "You shall know that the Lord your God is a strong and faithful God, keeping his word, and showing his mercy to those that love him and keep his commandments, even to a thousand generations ; and immediately punishing those that hate him, so that he destroys them, and does not defer any longer immediately giving them what they deserve ;"N Deut. vii. 9, 10. Consider how many times in this place he repeats the word immediately ; by which we may understand, that besides the punishment due to the wicked in the next life, they are often punished in this, since the Scripture in this place so often repeats that they shall be punished immediately. This is the cause of the many calamities and torments they endure, still rolling in a perpetual wheel of disquiets, fatigues, necessities and hardships. Now, supposing that they are sensible of them, yet they do not know from whence they come ; so that they look

33 X 2 on them rather as the necessary conditions of nature, than as punishments inflicted on them for their crimes. For as they do not reckon the common benefits of nature as the effects of God's mercy, and, therefore, do not thank him for them, so neither do they regard the calamities he sends them as the strokes of his anger, nor are they the better for them.

7. Other miseries befall them, which come from God's vicegerents, the ministers of his justice, who often meet with the wicked and punish them with imprisonments, banishments, fines, infamies, forfeiture of estates, and other kinds of torments, which make the pleasure of their sins prove bitter and dearly bought, even in this life.

8. Other pains and miseries are brought on them by the inordinate appetites and passions of their hearts ; for what can be expected from an immoderate affection, from a vain fear, from a doubtful hope, from an irregular desire, from a solicitous sorrow, but a thousand cares and perplexities, which deprive them of the peace and liberty of heart, which make their whole life uneasy, which excite them to sin, which hinder them from praying, which disturb their rest in the day. Man himself, that is, the irregularity of his passions, is the cause of all these miseries. You may judge by this what he has to hope for from any thing else, who has such a harvest of his own as this is, and with whom he can be at peace, who is at such war wTith himself.

§ III. Of the great Snares and Dangers of the World. — 9. If there were none but pains and torments of the body in the world, there would not be so much reason to fear ; but, alas! there are dangers of the soul much more to be apprehended, because they touch us more to the quick. These dangers are so great, that the royal prophet says, " God shall rain down snares upon sinners ;" Ps. x. 7. What a vast number of snares must he see in the world, to compare them to drops of rain ! He says expressly "upon sinners," because, being so little watchful over their hearts and their thoughts, so unconcerned about avoiding the occasions of sin, and thinking so little of providing themselves with spiritual remedies, and, what is worse than all this, walking continually in the midst of the flames of the world, how can they choose but walk among infinite dangers ? It is on account of these many dangers the prophet said, " that God will rain snares upon the wicked." Snares in youth and snares in old age, snares in riches and snares in poverty, snares in honor and snares in dishonor, snares in company and snares when a man is alone, snares in adversity and snares in prosperity ; in fine, every one of a man's senses, as the eyes, the ears, the tongue, and the rest, lay snares in his way. There are so many, in short, of these snares, that the prophet cries out aloud, saying, "Snares upon you, O inhi itants of the earth ;" Jerem. xlviii. 43. Would God but o] en our eyes a little, as he did St; Anthony's, we should see all the world full of snares, entangled one in another, and should cry out with him, " O, who shall be able to avoid them all?" It is this that is the destruction of so many souls as perish every day. And, therefore, St. Bernard says, with tears, " that there is scarce one ship in ten cast away in the sea of Marseilles ;" whilst, on the contrary, there is scarce one soul in ten that is not lost in the sea of this world. Who, then, will not fear so dangerous a world? who will not endeavor to avoid so many snares ? who can, without trembling, go barefoot among so many serpents? who wdll run unarmed amongst so many enemies, unprovided amongst so many occasions of sin, without a medicine amongst so many mortal diseases ? who will not endeavor to get out of this Egypt ? wTho will not fly from this Babylon ? Exod. xii. Jerem. li. Who will not endeavor to be delivered from these flames of Sodom and Gomorrah, and to save himself in the mountain of a good life ? Gen. xix. Since this world is full of so many snares and precipices, and burns in the flames of so many vices, who wTill think himself secure ? " Can any one (says the wise man) hide fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burnt ? Or can he walk over hot coals without burning the bottom of his feet ?" Prov. vi. 27, 28. " He that toucheth pitch (says Ecclesiasticus) shall be defiled therewith, and he that hath fellowship with a proud man shall be like unto him ;" Eccl. xiii. 1.

§ IV. Of the Blindness and Darkness of the World. — 10. To this infinite number of snares and dangers add another evil, which makes them greater, and is the blindness and darkness of worldly men, excellently represented to us by the Egyptian darkness, which was so thick that they could feel it with their hands ; and during the three days it continued, no person stirred out of the place he was in, nor could see his neighbor, though he stood just by him ; Exod. x. Such, and much more, if possible, is the darkness that covers the world. For wdiat greater blindness than for men to believe, and yet live as they do ? To make so much account of their fellow creatures, and to take so little notice of God ? To be so careful of observing the laws of the world, and so negligent in keeping God's commandments ? To take so much pains about the body, which is at best but dust, and to be so little concerned for the soul, which is no less than the image of the divine Majesty ? To lay up so much store for this life, which will perhaps be at an end to-morrow, and to provide nothing for the next, which must last for all eternity ? To be solicitous about raising a fortune on earth, and not to move so much as one step for the acquiring of heavenly good ? What greater blindness than to live so negligently, as if life were never to end, when we know Ave are to die, and that moment to decide what shall be for ever ? For what is it that sinners, who are to die to-morrow, do less than if they were never to die at all? What greater blindness than to ose the inheritance of heaven for the satisfying of a hungry appetite ? To be so careful about an estate, and to have so little regard for conscience ? To desire that all things should be good, except only a man's own life ? You will find the wrorld so full of such blindness, that you will believe almost all mankind is enchanted and bewitched, so as not to see, though they have eyes, nor hear, though they have ears ; and, though they are as sharp-sighted as eagles to discover the things of the earth, yet they are as blind as beetles to those of heaven. Thus it happened with St. Paul, when he went to persecute the church ; for as soon as ever he fell to the ground, he could see nothing, though he had his eyes open. This is what happens to all those unhappy wretches who, having their eyes wide open to the things of the world, yet keep them shut to all that is of God. *

§ V. Of the Multitude of Sins there are in the World. — Since, therefore, there are so many snares in the world, and so much darkness, what can a man expect here but to be continually stumbling and falling ? Of all the miseries in the world this is the greatest, and that which ought to give us most aversion to it. This was the only argument St. Cyprian made use of, to persuade his friend to a contempt of the world ; L. 2. Ep. 2. ad Donat. He supposes, to this end, that they were both of them on the top of a very high mountain, from whence they had a prospect of all the world ; he pointed out to his friend, as it were, with his finger, all the seas and all the countries, all the markets and all the courts of judicature, full of those several sins and injustices w7hich are to be found in all parts ; that so beholding, as it were, with his eyes, so many and so great evils as there are in the world, he might understand what a horror and dread he ought to have of it, and how much he was obliged to Almighty God for having withdrawn him from them all. Do you, in imitation of this proceeding, get up to the top of this same mountain, cast your eyes a little on all the market-places, all the palaces, all the courts and all the assemblies in the world, you will there see so many sorts of sin, so much corruption, so many detractions, so many cheats, so many perjuries, so many robberies, so much envy, so much flattery, so much vanity, and, above all, such an entire forgetfulness of God, and so great a neglect of man's salvation, that you cannot but be amazed at so much disorder. You will see the greater part of men living like beasts, following the bent and impulse of their passions, without having any more regard to the laws, either of justice or of reason, than heathens, who have no knowledge of God, and who think man has nothing else to do but to live and die. You will see the innocent oppressed, the guilty acquitted, the virtuous condemned, and sinners honored and promoted. You will see the poor and humble trampled on, whilst favor and interest get the better in all things of virtue. You will see justice sold, truth slighted, shame lost, arts ruined, offices abused, and all sorts of employments, for the most part,

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corrupted. You will see many knaves that deserve to be severely punished for their villanies, become rich, honored, and courted, and this by their thefts, their cheats, and a thousand other unlawful means. You will see these and many others, who have scarce any more than the shape of man, filling the greatest places and preferred to the most honorable employments. You will see, in fine that men love and adore their money more than they do God, whilst all laws, both divine and human, are violated ; and almost all the world over, there is nothing of justice to be seen, but the mere name and shadow of it. When you have seen all these things, you will understand how much reason the prophet had for saying, " The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there is any one that understands or seeks after God. But they are all gone astray and are become unprofitable : there is no body that does what is good, no, not so much as one." Ps. xiii. 2, 3. Nor does God complain less by his prophet Osee, when he says, " There is no truth, there is no mercy, there is no knowledge of God upon the earth." But, on the contrary, " malice, and lies, and man-slaughters, and thefts, and adulteries, are spread like water all over the face of it, and blood has followed blood." Osee iv. 1, 2.

11. In fine, that you may the better see what the world is, cast your eyes on the head that governs it, and by that means you will perceive the condition of the thing so governed. For if it be true, as Jesus Christ said, that the devil is the prince of this world, that is, of wicked men, what must we expect from a body that has such a head, and from a commonwealth that has such a ruler ? This alone is enough to let you understand, that the world itself must be like those who are lovers of it. What kind of place, then must it be but a den of thieves, an army of cut-throats, a sty full of swine, a galley full of slaves, a lake full of serpents and basalisks ? Now if the world be such a thing as this, why, says a philosopher, shall we not desire to leave such a filthy place, so full of treacheries, deceits and sins, that there is scarce room left for honesty, piety or justice ? a place where all kinds ofjvices reign, where one brother takes up arms against another, where a son wishes for the death of his father, a husband for the death of his wife, and the wife for that of her husband? where there are so few persons, that do not either steal or cheat, since great men, as well as little ones, have their ways of robbing and defrauding, though under some specious pretences ? where, in short, there are so many fires of lust, of impurity, of anger, ambition, and many other vices, continually burning ? Who will not desire to fly from such a world ? It was, without doubt, the desire of the prophet, who cried out, " Who will carry me into the desert, or into some place that is out of the way of passengers, and I will forsake my people, and will retire from them, because they are all of them adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men?" Jerem. v. 2. All that has been said of this matter hitherto belongs to the wicked in general, though no one can deny but there are several good men in the world, of all states and conditions, and it is for their sake that God bears with the rest.

12. When you have weighed all these things, consider how reasonable it is to abhor and detest so great an evil, in which, had God but opened your eyes, you might have seen more devils, and more sins, than there are atoms in the rays of the sun ; and with this consideration nourish and increase in your souls the desire of leaving this world, in spirit at least ; sighing with the royal prophet, and saying with him, " Who will give me wings like a dove's and I will fly and take my rest ?" Ps. liv. 7.

§ VI. How deceitful the Happiness of the World is. — 13. These, and many more like them, are the disappointments and crosses that attend the wretched felicities of this world, by which you may perceive how much more gall there is than honey, and how much more wormwood than sugar : I forbear to take notice of several other miseries. This happiness and delight, besides being so short and miserable, is also filthy, because it makes men carnal and impure : it is brutish, inasmuch as it makes men brutish ; it is foolish because it makes men fools, and often deprives them of their sense and reason ; it is inconstant, because it never continues in the same state ; it is, in fine, treacherous and false, because, when we seem to Want it most, it leaves us and vanishes into air. But I will not omit speaking of one evil that attends it, which perhaps is worse than all the rest, viz. its being fraudulent and deceitful, for it appears to be what it is not, and promises what it has not to give ; so that, by this means, it draws most men after it to their eternal ruin. For as there is true and false gold, as there are true and counterfeit jewels, which look as if they were of value and are not, so there are true and false goods, a true happiness and a false one, which are nothing at all of happiness, but the bare appearance. Such is the happiness of this world, which deceives and cheats us with its outside gloss and color/ For as, according to Aristotle, it often happens that lies, notwithstanding their falsehood, have a greater appearance of truth, than even truth itself, so it is worth observing, that there are some evils, which, though they are real evils, look more like good than even some things that are really good." Such is the happiness of the world, and, therefore, ignorant persons are easily deluded by it, as birds are decoyed, and fishes caught with bait. It is the nature of worldly things to present themselves to us under a pleasant appearance, and with a flattering and deceitful look, which promises a deal of joy and satisfaction ; but as soon as experience has undeceived us, we perceive the hook was hid under the bait, and see clearly, that all is not gold that glitters. This, you will find by experience, happens in all worldly things.

Do but consider the pleasures of a new-married couple ; you will see their happiness generally last but for a few days, and then follow discontents, troubles and cares. They soon find afflictions from children, diseases, absence, jealousy, discord, miscarriages, misfortunes, grief, and, in fine, from death itself, which is inevitable, and sometimes surprises them early, and changes their wedding joys, not yet completed, into the tears of widowhood. What greater deceit and hypocrisy than this ? How contentedly does a young woman go to the marriage-bed, because her eyes are only open to that which appears outwardly ; but alas ! how much more reason should she have to cry than laugh, if she did but see the train of miseries that follows ? Rebecca desired to have children ; but when she found herself pregnant, and perceived the conflict that was between the two infants in her womb, she said, " If this must have happened to me, what need was there of my conceiving ?" Gen. xxv. 22. O how many have been thus deceived, when, having obtained what they wished for, they find it to be quite another thing than what they expected !

14. What shall I say of employments, of honors, preferments and dignities ? How* delightful they appear at first sight, yet when the false lustre is worn off, what trains of passions and solicitudes, what envy, what hardships then discover themselves ! Wrhat shall I say, again, of those who are engaged in unlawful love ? How pleasant do they find the entrance into this dark labyrinth at the beginning ! but when once they have got in, what hardships are they to undergo ! How many unhappy nights must they endure ! How many dangers must they expose themselves to ! because the fruit of this forbidden tree is guarded by the fury of a venomous dragon, that is, by the cruel sword, either of a parent or of a jealous husband, in which action a man often loses his life, his honor, his estate, and his soul all in a moment. You may, in like manner, take a view of the lives of covetous and worldly men, of those who aim at glory, either by their arms or by favor, and you will find, in all these, the tragical effects of fortunate and pleasant beginnings, which have been followed by unhappy ends. For the nature of this cup of Babylon is to be gilt without, but to be full of poison within; Apoc. xvii. 4.

15. What, then, is all the glory of the world but a siren's song, which lulls us asleep ? a sweet poison that carries death along with it ? a viper, finely party-colored without, and full of venom within ? If it delights, it is only to deceive us ; if it raises us up, it is to cast us down again ; if it diverts us, it is to make us melancholy. It expects an unreasonable interest for whatever it bestows. If you have a child born, and it should happen to die, you would be ten times more troubled at its death than you were pleased at its birth. Any loss is always the occasion of much more grief than gain is of joy ; sickness is much more afflicting than health is comforting ; an affront discontents a man more than honor pleases or charms him : for nature has teen so unequal in disposing of pains and pleasures, that those are more able to torment us, than these are to give us any ease and comfort. A thorough consideration of all this will make us plainly see how false and deceitful this happiness is.

§ VII. The Conclusion of all that has been said. — 16. Consider here the true figure of the world, notwithstanding its outward appearing to be what it is not, and consider wThat its happiness is ; it is short, miserable, dangerous, blind and deceitful. If so, what can the world be but a magazine of labors, as a philosopher wisely terms it, a school of vanities, a market of deceit, a labyrinth of errors, a prison of darkness, a highway full of robbers, a muddy lake, and a sea that is in perpetual storm ? What is this wTorld but a barren soil, a field full of stones, a wood full of thorns, a green meadow full of snakes and serpents, a garden that has flowers, but no fruit, a river of tears, a fountain of cares, a sweet poison, a serious comedy, and a pleasing phrensy ? Are there any delights in it which are not false, or any miseries which are not real ? Its ease is full of troubles, its security has no grounds to build on, its fears are without reason, its labors without any advantage, its tears without any effect, its designs without success, its hope vain, its joy counterfeit, and its grief true.

17. You see how lively a representation this world is of hell ; for if hell be nothing but a place of torments and of sin, what is there the world abounds in more ? The royal prophet was of this opinion, when he said, " His iniquity shall encompass him on all sides day and night, and labor and injustice shall be in the very middle of him;" Ps. liv. 11. This is the fruit the world produces, this the merchandise that is sold in it, this the trade that is settled in every corner of it, viz. labor and injustice, which are the evils of pain and the evils of guilt. If, therefore, hell is nothing but a place of torments and of guilt, why do we not call this world, in some measure at least, a hell, since we see so much of both in it? St. Bernard looked on it as such, when he said, "This world would appear to be almost as miserable as hell, if it wrere not for the hopes we have whilst we are in this life of obtaining a better;" Serm. 4. de Ascens.

§ VIII. That true Felicity and Content are to be found no where but in God. — 18. Having hitherto taken so clear a view of the misery and deceit of worldly happiness, our next business will be to consider that the true happiness and rest, which the world cannot give us, is to be found in God. Were worldly men but thoroughly convinced of this, they would not, as they do now, take so much pains in pursuit of worldly pleasures. In short, my design, therefore, is to prove the importance of this truth, not by the authorities and testimonies of faith, but purely by the force of reason.

19. For effecting of this, you are to understand that no creature whatever can enjoy a complete and perfect happiness

THE SINNER S GUIDE.

' — 265 till it obtains its last end, that is, the last perfection which is proportioned to its being and nature. For as long as it is without this, it cannot but be unquiet and dissatisfied, because it is sensible it wants something that is necessary for it. I put the question now, what man's last end is, on the possession of which all his felicity depends, and which divines call "his formal beatitude." That this is God, is undeniable ; who, as he is his first beginning, so is he his last end. Now as it is impossible for a man to have two first beginnings, it is no less so to have two last ends, because this would be to have two gods. If, therefore, God alone is man's last end and ultimate happiness, and if it is impossible for him to have two last ends, there is, consequently, the same impossibility of his finding any happiness but in God. For as the glove is made for the hand, and the scabbard for the sword, so that there is no putting them to any other use; in like manner, man's heart, having been created for God, cannot find rest but in him. It is with him alone that he is content and satisfied, and without him poor and miserable. The reason of it is, because the understanding and the will, which are the two noblest faculties, being the principal seat of bliss, whilst they are disturbed and uneasy, man cannot possibly enjoy peace and quiet. And it is a plain case that these two faculties cannot be at rest, but in the enjoyment of God. For, as says St. Thomas, " our understanding cannot know or understand so much as not to be capable and desirous of knowing more, if there be more to be known ; so our will can never love or enjoy so many goods as not to be capable of more, if more be given it;" S. Thorn. 1. 2. Qu. 2. Art. 8. Therefore these two powers will never be satisfied till they shall find a universal object, in which all things are contained ; and which, as soon as ever it was known and loved, there remain no more truths to be known, or more goods to be enjoyed. Hence it follows, that no created being whatsoever, though it were the possession of all the world, is able to find and satisfy man's heart ; there is none but God, for whom he was created, can do this. Thus Plutarch writes of a private soldier, who, from one elevation to another, came to be emperor ; and seeing himself raised to this honor he had so long desired, and yet wanting the satisfaction he expected, he said, " I have lived in all states and conditions, and have found no satisfaction in any of them ;" by which we may perceive it is impossible for him to find any rest but in God, who has been created for none but God.

20. That you may understand this the better, look on the needle of the compass, and there you will see a lively figure of this necessary doctrine. The nature of this needle is to point always to the north, when it has been once touched to the loadstone : God, who created this stone, gave it such a natural incli- 34 Y nation to turn always that way. And you may see by experience what a violent motion it is in, and how restless, till it points exactly thither, and then it immediately stops and remains fixed. It is not to be doubted, but that God has created man with the same natural inclination and tendency toward him, as toward his pole, his centre and his last end ; and therefore it is, that, like the needle, he is continually disturbed and unquiet, as long as he is turned from God, though he should enjoy all the riches in the world : but as soon as, like the needle, he returns to him, he ceases from his violent motion, and enjoys perfect and entire rest, because it is in God he is to find his peace. Whence we may infer, that he alone is happy who possesses God ; and that the nearer a man is to God, the nearer he is to this happiness. And therefore the just, though the world is unacquainted with their happiness, are the only happy men, because, whilst they are in this life, they draw as nigh as they can to Almighty God.

21. The reason is, because true felicity does not consist in sensible and worldly pleasures, as the Epicurean philosophers would have it, and after them the Mahometans, and, lastly, the followers of both these sects, that is, wicked Christians, who in words renounce the law of Mahomet, but follow it in their actions, and in this world seek no other paradise than his. For what is it the great and rich men of the world spend their time in, but in hunting after all manner of pleasures and amusements ; and what is this but to make Epicurus's pleasure our last end, and to look for Mahomet's paradise in this world ? O unhappy scholars of such masters ! If you detest the names of these men, why do you not hate their lives and manners ? If you will enjoy Mahomet's paradise in this life, you must expect to lose our Saviour's in the next. Man's happiness does not consist either in the body, or in the goodness of it, as the Turks pretend, but in the spirit, and in spiritual and invisible goods, as was the opinion of the great philosophers of old, and it was what Christians still hold, though after quite another manner.

The royal prophet signified the same to us, by these words : " All the glory of the king's daughter is within, where she glitters with gold, and is clothed with several colors" Ps. xliv. 14, 15); and where she enjoys so much peace and comfort, as never all the kings of the earth have had, or are ever like to have ; unless we will say, that they have more satisfaction than the friends of God ; which many of them will deny, who very cheerfully quitted great kingdoms and riches as soon as they tasted of God. Pope Gregory the Great will also deny it, who had sufficient experience of both states, and was placed by 'force in St. Peter's chair, on which he always sighed, and wept for the poor cell he left in his monastery, as a slave in Barbary sighs for his country and liberty.

§ IX. Examples to prove all that has been said, — 22. But because this mistake is so great and so universal, I will add one reason more, as convincing as the former, that the lovers of the world may discover by it, how impossible it is to find that happiness they look for in the world. To this purpose you are to presuppose, that there is much more goes to the making of a thing perfect, than to leave it imperfect ; because, for effecting of the first, it must necessarily have all those conditions, which are absolutely requisite for its perfection ; whilst, on the contrary, any one single imperfection makes the whole piece imperfect. It is also to be presupposed, that a man must have all things according to his own desire, to make himself completely happy ; and that one thing contrary to his wish goes a great way further towards making him miserable, than the enjoyment of all the rest towards making him happy. I have myself seen several persons, of very considerable rank and fortune, lead the most unhappy lives ; because the satisfaction they had in what they enjoyed was nothing comparable to the torment of not being able to obtain what they desired. For it is certain, that this latter, which is like a thorn stuck into the very heart, is more grievous and troublesome than the other is acceptable and pleasing ; for it is the obtaining of his desire, not the possession of goods, that makes a man happy. St. Augustine, in his Treatise of the Customs of the Church, explained this point very excellently, in these words : "I do not think a man can be said to be happy, who does not enjoy what he loves,, let it be ever so mean and ordinary ; nor do I look on that man any happier who does not love what he enjoys, though the thing be ever so good and excellent ; nor is he in a better condition than either of the other two, who does not desire that which is worth his desiring ; because he that cannot get what he desires, is in a deal of torment ; he that has what is not worth his desiring, is notoriously cheated ; and he who does not desire that which is worth his desiring, is a mere fool and madman. From whence we conclude, that our happiness depends upon the possessing of no other good but the sovereign good, without which there is no such thing as happiness." S. De Morib. Eccl. Cath. c. 3. So that possession, love and sovereign good, these three things put together, make a man completely happy, without which no man can be so, though he possesses ever so much.

23. Though I could bring many examples to prove this, I will bring only that of Aman, king Assuerus's creature and favorite. This man, being highly offended, that Mardocheus, one of the guards at the palace-gate, did not pay him the respect he looked for, sent for all his friends and his wife, and made this short discourse to them : " You all know what a rich man I am, how many children I have, and how much I am in favor with the king, and to what places and dignities he has promoted me, before any of his courtiers or subjects. Besides all this, the queen lias invited none but the king and myself to come and dine with her to-morrow. And yet, though I have all these things, I seem to have nothings at all, as long as I see Mardocheus, who stands before the palace-gate, refusing me the respect I look for." Esther v. 10, &c. Do but consider how this, small affront was the occasion of much more discontent and trouble, than all his riches and honors were of happiness and satisfaction. Consider, likewise, how far man is from being happy, as long as he is in this world, and how near he is, on the contrary, to misery, since there are many goods required to the obtaining of the first, whilst the want of any one is enough to make us fall into the latter. Now if this be true, who can avoid being unhappy in this world ? Is there any king, any emperor, so powerful as to have all things according to his own will, and never to meet with any contrary to his inclinations ? Let us put the case : should he never receive any contradiction from men, who can secure himself against all the strokes of nature, against all the infirmities of the body, or all the fears or vain imaginations of the soul, which is frequently so apprehensive when there is no reason for it, and disturbs herself without any cause ? Poor, unhappy, miserable man ! how can you think of finding any content in the ways of the world, when it is more than what the greatest princes and monarchs of it have been ever able to do ? If all goods whatever must necessarily contribute to the acquiring of this one good, when shall you, who are at such a distance from God, ever be so happy as to stand in need of nothing in the world ? There is none but God can give you this happiness ; and if 'there be any man that does in some manner enjoy it in this life, know it is only he who loves and enjoys God ; because it is a condition of friendship, " that all things are in common amongst friends."

24. If all these plain and evident reasons cannot convince you, but that you are more easily wrought upon by experience, address yourself to Solomon, so celebrated for his wisdom, and desire him, since he has sailed in this sea, and was more successful than any other in discovering all sorts of worldly grandeurs and delights, to give you an account of what he discovered, and whether he could find any thing that could satisfy him : and you shal) have no other answer from him, but " vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities, and all is vanity;" Eccles. i. 2, &c. c. xii. 8. Do not doubt to give credit to such an experienced man as Solomon was, who speaks to you not on bare speculation, but from certain knowledge ; and do not think that you, or any one else, could discover more than he has done. For what prince in the world was ever wiser, richer, better attended, more glorious or more reverenced than he? Who ever tried more different sorts of debaucheries and pleasures than he? And yet, after having tried all, he made no other advantage of them but what you have heard. Why will you make a fresh trial of what so many have

THE sinner's guide. 269 tried before you? Do not fancy you can find what Solomon could not ; since you have no other world to search in, nor any better means to find what, you seek than he had ; and since he could never satisfy his longings from so plentiful a board, do not persuade yourself you shall ever be able to do it with the bare gleanings. Seeking pleasure was the employment of his time ; and it is very probable, as St. Jerome observes, in a letter of his to Eustochium, " that this was the occasion of his fall." And will you be so mad as to cast yourself headlong after him ? But because men rather believe experience than reason, therefore God has perhaps permitted this king to try all the goods and pleasures of this world, that he might, after trying, give us a character of them ; that thus the misery of one man might be an example to all the rest, and prevent their falling into the like misfortune.

25. Now if this be so, I may, with a deal of reason, exclaim with the prophet, " Sons of men, how long will you have your hearts hardened? Why do you love vanity, and seek after a lie?" Ps. xl. 3. He does well in giving it the name of vanity and a He; because if there were nothing else in worldly things but vanity (which signifies no more than to be nothing), there were oo great hurt in them ; but there is something still much worse than this, which is, a lie and a false appearance, by which we are persuaded to believe them something, when in effect they are just nothing. For this reason Solomon says, "that comeliness is deceitful, and beauty vain ;" Prov. xxxi. 30. To be vain had been no great matter, had it not been deceitful too; because vanity, when once known, can do but little harm ; the greatest danger is in that which truly and really is vain, though it does not appear to be so. By this we may see, how great a hypocrite the world is. For as hypocrites endeavor to hide the faults they have been guilty of, so the rich men of this world do all they can to conceal the miseries they continually groan under. Some, though they are sinners, would pass for saints, and others for happy men, though they are miserable. If you call this into question, do but come a little nearer to one of those, who seems outwardly to be so happy ; feel his pulse a little, and then put your hands on his heart, and you will see what difference there is between that which appears on the outside, and that which is hid within. There are some plants in the fields which look very pretty at a distance, but when you come and touch them, cast forth such an ungrateful smell, that a man is forced immediately to fling them away : thus, when the hands touch, they correct the mistake of the eyes. Such are most of the rich and mighty men of the world. For if you consider their great estates, their noble houses, and their retinues, you might take them to be the only happy men on earth ; but if you go a little nearer, and search into the recesses of their souls, and into the secret corners of their houses, you will find them not the same they seem to be. So that several of those, who at first aimed at great estates, when they considered them at a distance, no sooner had a nearer view of them, but they entirely refused them, as many heathens (according to several histories) have done. And in the lives of the emperors we read, that there have not been wanting some who, notwithstanding their being heathens, have refused to accept of the empire, though they have been elected by the general consent of the whole army; and this because they knew that this flower, which seemed to be so fine and beautiful, had nothing but thorns and briars underneath it.

26. Why, then, O ye children of men, who are created according to the likeness of God, who are redeemed with his blood, who are designed to be the companions of angels, why do you love vanity and seek af(er a lie, imagining with yourselves, that you shall receive any comfort from those false goods, which never were, nor ever will be able to give you the least satisfaction imaginable ? Why have you left the table of angels for the food of beasts ? Why have you refused the delights and sweet smells of paradise for the bitterness and stench of this world ? How is it possible that so many calamities and miseries, as you are daily sensible of, should not suffice to make you deny any farther allegiance to so cruel a tyrant as this is ? We seem herein to be like certain lewd women, that give themselves entirely up to some debauched fellow, who devours and spends all they are worth, and then beats and kicks them every day, and yet they are fond of their slavery, and doat on him that makes it.

27. Wherefore, from all that has been said, I conclude, that if there are so many reasons, so many examples, and so many experiments, to prove that the happiness and ease we look for in the world, is to be found no where but in God, why do we not seek for it in him ? It is what St. Augustine advises, in these words : " Compass the sea and earth, and go where you please ; but assure 'yourself, that wheresoever you go, you will be miserable, if you do not go to God."