Book II, Part 1, Chapter 8. Remedies against Sloth

1. Sloth is a laziness of mind in performing of any thing that Js good, and, particularly, a loathing and distaste of spiritual things ; Cassian. L. 10. We may guess at the danger which attends this vice, from the words of our Saviour, " Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit, shall be cut down and thrown into the fire ;" Matt. vii. 19. And in another place he advises us to live with a great deal of care and diligence, a virtue directly opposite to this vice : " Watch and pray, because you do not know when God will come ;" Mark xiii. 35.

2. Whenever, therefore, you perceive yourself tempted to this sin, defend yourself against it, by the following considerations : — Consider, in the first place, what toils and hardships Christ underwent for your sake, from the very beginning of his life to the end of it ; how often he spent whole nights, without taking any rest, in continual prayer, how he travelled up and down, from town to town, instructing and curing men of their infirmities and corporal ailments ; how his employ was upon such things as conduced to our salvation, and, what is much more than all this, how, at the time of his passion, he carried the heavy burden of the cross on his most sacred shoulders, bending under the weight of all those bitter torments which he had been put to but just before. If, therefore, the God of majesty himself has taken so much pains to procure your salvation, how much more are you obliged to labor for the same end ? It was to free you from your sins that this most tender Lamb suffered so much, and will not you undergo the least trouble in the world, to be discharged from the guilt of them ? Consider what pains the apostles took, when they travelled all the world over to preach the gospel ; consider how much the martyrs, how much the confessors, how much the virgins, how much all the holy fathers, that retired into deserts from the conversation of men, underwent ; how much, in fine, all the saints now reigning with God have suffered ; they who, by their doctrine, by their labors and sweat, have defended the true faith of Christ, and increased the holy Catholic church to this very day.

3. Consider that there is nothing in nature altogether idle ; for the blessed troops of saints and angels in heaven are continually singing God's praises, and adoring him ; the sun, moon and stars, with all the heavenly bodies, are in a perpetual circle of labor to serve us ; the plants and trees are always increasing, from a small root, till they come to their just proportion and bigness ; the ants are busy all summer getting in corn, to maintain them in winter ; the bees employ themselves in making their honeycombs, and are careful to turn out the drones, and such as will not work ; we find the same in all other creatures whatever. And can you, O man, who are a rational creature, give yourself up to laziness and sloth, and not be ashamed of it, when you see there is not an irrational creature but has a horror of this vice, by bare instinct of nature ?

4. Again, if merchants and tradesmen take such pains to gather their perishable riches, the preserving of which wants as much care and solicitude as the scraping of them together did, what pains should not you take, who are to trade for heaven, about the acquisition of eternal treasures, which are never to be lost when once gained ?

O. Consider that if you are unwilling to labor now, while you have time and strength, the time may come hereafter, when you shall have neither the one nor the other. It is what we have daily examples of in others ; the time of this life is short, and full of a thousand encumbrances, and, therefore, you ought to have a care of losing the opportunities you have of doing good, through your own idleness and sloth ; " for the night will come wherein nobody shall be able to work ;" John ix. 4.

6. Consider that the multitude and grievousness of your sins require a very rigorous penance, and a great deal of fervor and devotion to satisfy for them. St. Peter denied our Saviour three times, and wept all his life after for it, though he was already pardoned ; Matt, xxvii. St. Mary Magdalen bewailed, to the last moment of her life, the sins she had committed before her conversion ; and yet she heard our Saviour himself, with sweetness and mercy, say, " Thy sins are forgiven thee ;" Luke vii. I omit here, for fear of being too tedious on this matter, the examples of several others, who set no shorter bounds to their penance than those of their life, though they had never offended God so heinously as you have done. And can you, who every day heap sins on sins, think any pains or labor too much, that is required from you, in satisfaction for your crimes ? Let it, therefore, be your chief employ, during the time of grace and mercy, to bring forth worthy fruits of penance ; that so you may, by the labors you endure in this life, buy off the torments you must otherwise suffer in the next ; for though all our endeavors and actions seem mean and inconsiderable, yet they are very meritorious, inasmuch as they are the effects of grace ; and, therefore, though they are but temporal, if we consider only the labor, they are at the same time eternal, if we have a regard to the reward ; they are short, indeed, as to their continuance, but the crown they are rewarded with will last for ever.

Let us not, therefore, suffer the time which is given to merit in, pass away without reaping any good from it ; let us set before our eyes the example of a certain holy man, that used to cry out, every time he heard the clock strike out, " O my Lord and my

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God, here is another hour gone, out of the number of those you intended for the making of my life, and for which I am to give you an account,"

7. As often as we find ourselves surrounded with troubles, let us remember it is by the way of tribulations that we are to enter into the kingdom of heaven, " and that none will be crowned, but he that fights courageously ;" 2 Tim. ii. 4, 5. But if you imagine you have taken sufficient pains, and fought long enough already, remember what the Scripture says : " He that perseveres to the end shall be saved ;" Matt. xiv. 13. So that all our actions will prove unprofitable, and our labors go unrewarded, without this virtue of perseverance ; neither shall he that runs get the prize, nor he that serves God obtain the last favor, if he does not persevere. For this reason our Saviour would not come down from the cross, when the Jews desired it, that the work of our redemption might not be left imperfect ; Matt. xxvi. And the same reason obliges us, if we intend to tread in the steps our Head has marked for us, to use our utmost diligence, and not leave off our work till death, because the reward which God will give us is to last for all eternity. Let us not cease from doing penance ; let us not lay down the cross we have taken up after Christ ; for if we do, what profit shall we get by a long and prosperous voyage, if we be cast away at last in the very haven ? Eccl. xviii.

8. You are not to be frightened at the difficulty of the labors nor at the dangers of the combat, for God, who encourages you to fight, helps you to overcome, sees the battle, supports you when you faint, and crowns you when you conquer. But if at any time you should faint under the weight of your labors, you may make use of this remedy to bring you to yourself again. Do not make any comparison between the trouble of virtue, and the pleasure that is in its opposite vice ; but between the pain you find in virtue, and that which you must feel, if you should commit the sin. Compare the delight the crime may give you, whilst you are committing it, with the joys you will one day receive in eternal glory ; and by this you will perceive how much more advantageous it is to follow virtue than vice. When you have won one battle, do not become negligent, for it often happens that success makes us careless ; but rather be always on your guard, as if you expected another alarm every moment, because it is as impossible for a man to live without temptations, as it is for the sea to be always in a calm. Besides, a man is generally exposed to the most violent temptations at his beginning to lead a new life, for the enemy does not think it worth his while to tempt those whom he is master of already; he sets on them that are out of his jurisdiction and power ; so that it is your business to be always on your guard ; to be never unprepared, or without your arms in your hands, as long as you are posted on the frontiers.

And if you should at any time perceive your soul wounded, you must not think then to stand with your arms across, or fling your shield and sword away, and deliver yourself up to the enemy ; you are rather to imitate brave soldiers, who, looking on it as a disgrace to be defeated or forced to fly, set on the enemy again, and, the more they are wounded, the more vigorously they return the strokes. And thus, recovering new strength by your fall, you will soon see those persons fly from whom you fled before, and you yourself will pursue those who before pursued you. But if, as it often happens in an engagement, you should be wounded a second time, you are not, therefore, to be discouraged, but remember that resolute and brave men do not fight with hopes of never being wounded, but with a resolution never to surrender themselves up to their enemies ; for we cannot say that a man is overcome, when he has received many wounds, but when, after having been wounded, he flings his arms away, and loses all his courage. If, therefore, you should ever receive a wound, endeavor to heal it as soon as you can ; because it is much easier curing one than many, and a green wound is sooner closed up than one that is old and rankled.

9. Do not think you have done enough in resisting a temptation, but rather endeavor to draw from the temptation incentives to virtue ; and so, by your own diligence and God's grace, you will not be worse, but the better for having been tempted, and turn all to your own benefit and advantage. If you should be tempted either by impurity or gluttony, lessen a little of the good cheer you were used to before, though it never went beyond what is lawful and allowable, and increase your fasting and devotion. If avarice should assault you, be more frequent in alms and good works. If you should be set on by vain-glory, humble yourself so much the more in all things. If you do so, the devil may perhaps be afraid to solicit you again, for fear of giving you an opportunity of bettering yourself, and of doing good works, when it is his desire that every act you do should be evil. Let your chief business be to fly idleness, and never to be so much out of employment as not to attend to something that may be for your advantage, nor so much employed as, in the midst of your business, not to endeavor to lift up your heart to God, and to treat sometimes with him.