Book II, Part 2, Chapter 2. Of Man's Duty to Himself

1. Since charity begins at home let us now begin as the prophet did, that is, with the doing of justice or judgment; which 42 2D2 is the part of a judge, and which every man ought to act towards himself. The duty of a good judge is to see that the state be orderly and reformed. And because in this little state or commonwealth of man there are two principal parts to reform, that is, the body with all its members and senses, and the soul, with all its affections and powers, it is requisite those things should be all governed and directed according to the rules of virtue, which we shall here lay down ; and thus man will perform his duty to himself.

§ I. Of the Reformation of the Body. — 2. The first thing to be done in order to reforming of the body, is to settle a just decorum, observing what St. Augustine says, in his rule, " That there should be nothing in our gait, our posture, our dress, or in any thing else, that may give offence to our neighbor * but that every thing in us should be conformable to the sanctity of our profession ;" V. Cassian. L. 5. c. 12. To this end, he that serves God must endeavor to carry himself towards all men with that modesty, with that humility, with that sweetness and meekness, that every one he converses with may profit and be edified by his good example. The apostle would have us be like sweet perfume, which immediately communicates its scent to every thing that touches it, and makes the hands it has once been in smell like itself; for such ought to be the discourse of those that serve God, such their actions, their behavior and their conversation, that every body who has any thing to do with them may be edified and improved by their example ; 2 Cor. ii. 15. This is one of the greatest benefits that flows from modesty, and an outward composure which is a kind of silent sermon, by which we invite men by our good example, and without the least noise of words, to praise God and to love virtue, according to what our Saviour commanded us, when he said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven;" Matt. v. 16. What Isaias says comes to the same purpose : " The servants of God shall be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified ;" Isa. lxi. 3. Yet we are not to think this gives us any privilege to do good works on purpose that they may be seen : " We ought rather," according to St. Gregory's rule, " to publish the good we do in such manner, that the intention may be still unknown, that so our good actions may be a pattern for our neighbors, and the intention we have of pleasing none but God, may make us always desire secrecy ;" Lib. 29. Moral, c. 18.

3. The second advantage reaped by this outward composure of the body, is the security of the inward man, and the preservation of devotion. For the union and tie that is between these two is so close, that what one has the other immediately partakes of, and so on the contrary. For this reason, if the spirit is in good order, the body immediately is so too, and that naturally ; anil if, on the other side, the body is uneasy and irregular, the spirit grows irregular and uneasy. So that one of them is like a glass to the other. For as you may see all you do in a glass that stands before you, so all that passes in either of these two is immediately represented in the other ; and this is the reason why an outward composure and modesty is so great an assistance to an inward ; and it would be a matter of wonder to find a recollected mind in a troubled and distracted body. On that account the wise man says, "He that runs too fast will fall" (Prov. xix. 2); giving us to understand by this, that those persons who fall from the gravity and steadiness that Christian discipline requires, are frequently subject to stumble, and cannot but often fall into a great many failings, as those who walk too fast make frequent trips.

4. The third good effect of this virtue is, the maintaining a man in the authority and greatness that belongs to his person and employ, if he b» a man in any dignity or considerable charge, as holy Job kept up his, who tells us himself, in one place, " That the light of his countenance," amidst all his several accidents, " never fell to the ground ;" Job xxxix. 24. In another place he says, that his authority was so great, that young men, " when they saw him, hid themselves ; and that the old men rose up to pay him respect ; that princes gave over speaking, and put their fingers upon their mouths," out of the reverence they had for him ; Ibid. ver. 8, 9. The holy man backed this authority of his, which had not the least appearance of pride in it, with so much sweetness and mildness, that he says of himself, " That even when he sat like a king, with his army round him, he was the comforter of the afflicted ;" Ibid. ver. 24.

5. You may observe from hence, that the want of this modesty and composure is not condemned by wise men for a great fault, so much as it is for a sign of levity ; because the immoderate looseness of the outward man is a proof of the lightness and unsettledness of the inward. And, therefore, the author of Ecclesiasticus says, "A man's clothes, his way of laughing, and his gait, show us what he is ;" Eccl. xix. 26. Solomon affirms the same in his Proverbs, where he says, " As men see their face? when they look into the water, so wise men discover plainly the hearts of others," by the exterior actions they observe in them Prov. xxvii. 19.

6. These are the great benefits that the modesty we have spoken of bestows on such as endeavor to acquire it. For which reason I cannot think well of the too great liberty of some persons, who, to avoid being called hypocrites, laugh and talk, and give themselves over to a great many things, which deprive them of all these benefits. " For," as St. John Climachus says, " the monk is not to lay aside his fasts, for fear of vain-glory" (Grad

14. ; so neither is it reasonable, that a man should want the fruit of this virtue, out of human respect and consideration ; for we are not any more to lay aside any virtue out of respect to others, than we are not to commit one vice for the overcoming of another.

7. This is what belongs in general to the composing of the outward man, at all times, and in all places. But because it is to be observed more exactly at feasts and public entertainments, We shall show, in the following section, how this is to be done.

§ II. Of the Virtue of Temperance. — 8. To proceed with wThat belongs to the government of the body ; that which serves particularly for this end, is the treating of it with rigor and severity, not caressing and making much of it. For this flesh of ours, if we pamper and indulge it, will soon corrupt and swell with the vicious pleasures it is allowed, whereas mortification and hard usage keep it steady and even in virtue, just as dead flesh is preserved by myrrh, which is very bitter to the taste, but swarms in a little time with worms, if this be not applied to it. It is, therefore, requisite, upon this consideration, that wTe should say something of abstinence, as being one of the chief virtues, upon which the acquisition of all the rest depends, though it is very hard to be attained, because of our natural aversion to it. And though what has been said against gluttony might suffice to discover the value of temperance, because the understanding of one contrary makes the other known ; yet for the better clearing of this point, it will be proper to speak of it separately, to show the use and practice of it, and what means are fittest for obtaining it.

9. To begin, therefore, with that modesty and decency which ought to be observed at table ; we are instructed upon that matter by the Holy Ghost himself, in the book of Ecclesiasticus, in these words : " Use those things which are set before you like a temperate man, that you may not be hated by others for eating too much. Give over before every body else has done, for good order sake ; and if there should be a great many at table, be not you the first to hold your plate up, and do not call for drink before others." Eccl. xxxi. 19, 20. These are instructions very necessary for man, and worthy of the sovereign Lord, that observed so perfect an order and union in making of all things, and it is his pleasure wTe should do so too.

10. St. Bernard teaches us the same doctrine in these words : " When we eat," says he, " we ought to consider the manner, the time, the quantity and the quality. The manner is not to fix all our affections upon those things that are before us ; the time is to be the usual hour of our repasts ; the quality is to be satisfied with that which others eat, and not to seek after dainties, unless m case of necessity." Epist. ad Fratres de Monte Dei. This is the rule the saint prescribes in few words.

11. St. Gregory, in his Morals, speaks much to the same effect, thus : " It belongs to abstinence not to anticipate the ordinary time of meals, as Jonathan did when he ate the honeycomb ; it is its duty not to long for such things 'as are most palatable and dainty, as the children of Israel did in the desert, when they wished for the rleshpots of Egypt ; it is for it not to desire that every thing should be nicely dressed, to eat like the Sodomites to satiety ; nor too greedily like Esau, who sold his birthright for a mess of lentils ;" Lib. 1. Moral. IReg. xiv. 27. Num. xii. 16. 1 Reg.ii. Gen. xix. and xxv. Thus far St. Gregory, comprising much in a few words, and those backed by proper examples.

12. But Hugh of St. Victor handles this subject more fully, who, in his Book of Monastical Discipline, teaches us how to behave ourselves at meals in these wTords : fi Two things," says he, "require to be moderated and regulated whilst we are at table ; the one is the meat, and the other he that eats. For he that eats should neither talk nor look too much about him, nor be guilty of any indecency in the comportment of his body ; so that he shall bridle his tongue, and not let it bolt out every thing that comes upwards ; he shall keep his eyes in from gazing about upon every object, and keep all his other members and senses in a due decorum and recollection. For it is the nature of some persons, as soon as ever they are set down to table, to discover their intemperance and the unruliness of their appetite, by the disturbance of their minds, by a perpetual unsettledness and disorder of all their members, shaking their heads, tossing their arms, and stretching out their hands, as if nobody else was to eat any thing there but, themselves ; and thus, by their looks and gestures, they expose their gluttony and intemperance ; though they are confined to one place, yet their eyes and hands seem to be every where, so that they call for wine, cut bread, and lay hold of the dishes all at the same time ; and, like a general that designs to besiege a town, they view every part, and then stand considering where they shall begin first, because if they could they would set upon all at once." Hugo de St. Vincent de instit. Novic. c. 18 and 19. He that eats must avoid all these indecencies in his person ; but, as to his meat, he is to observe what and how he eats, as has been said already.

13. Though a man should always come to table with such dispositions as these, yet the hungrier he is, the more particularly he ought to be prepared, especially when he finds his appetite raised by the delicacy of what he sees before him : for in such a case, the good disposition of the organs of the taste, and the excellency of the object itself, are stronger incentives to gluttony. It would be well then, to consider, that he is not to give ear to gluttony, which would make him believe he is hungry enough to eat the very plates and dishes. St. John Climachus has an excellent sentence to this end: "Gluttony," says he, "is a mere hypocrisy of the belly, which, even when it is too full, is still craving more ; and when it is just ready to burst, fancies it shall die for hunger ; but the cheat is soon discovered, for man is satisfied with much less ;" Deg. 14. Par. 2.

14. To put a stop, therefore, to this evil, let him reflect upon the advice of a heathen philosopher as often as he goes to table, which is, " That we have two guests to provide for, the body and the soul, each of them is to have its particular nourishment ; the body must have what is necessary, and the soul its proper food, observing modesty and temperance, which produce virtue, the proper sustenance of the soul."

15. Another good remedy against intemperance is, to bring the advantages of temperance into the balance with the short continuance of the pleasure of gluttony, to convince man how unreasonable it is to forfeit such mighty advantages for so beastly and short a pleasure.

16. It is convenient, for the clearer understanding of this, to consider, that, of all the senses of the body, those of feeling and tasting are the meanest. Because there is no creature in the world, how imperfect soever, but has these two senses, though there are many that want the other three, seeing, hearing and smelling. If, therefore, these two senses are the meanest and the most brutal, it cannot but follow, that the pleasures and delights which proceed from them must be the meanest too, because there is no creature whatever but is capable of enjoying them: nor are they the vilest only, but the shortest; for the pleasure they afford lasts no longer than whilst their object is materially joined with them ; so the pleasure of tasting is gone as soon as ever the meat is out of our mouths. If, then, the satisfaction we receive is so base and brutish, and so short and fleeting, how can any man debase himself so much, as to be prevailed upon by so poor a pleasure, to neglect so great and so advantageous a virtue as that of temperance ? This alone ought to be sufficient to overcome this appetite ; but much more, if we should urge several other things, that oblige us to the same. Let, therefore the true servant of God put the baseness and short continuance of this pleasure into the scale, against the beauty of abstinence, the benefits it produces, the examples of the saints, the toils and labors of the martyrs, who have made their way to heaven through fire and water; the remembrance of his past sins, the torments of hell, with those of purgatory, and he will find, upon balance, that every one of these things tells him it is necessary to take up the cross, to mortify the flesh, to subdue the sin of gluttony, and to satisfy God for the pleasure he has taken in sin, by the pains of penance. He that sits down to table with these dispositions, will find how easy it is to renounce all manner of delicacy and niceness.

17. But if there be occasion for all this caution in eating, how much more is requisite in drinking of wine ; because there is nothing so prejudicial and so destructive to chastity as wine is, nor any thing this virtue is more afraid of, looking upon it as its mortal enemy ; since the apostle tells her, " There is luxury in wine" (Ephes. v. 18) ; and it is then particularly most dangerous, when the blood is boiling with the heat of youth. This it was made St. Jerome say, "That wine and youth are two incentives to lust;" Ad Eustoch. de Custodia Virginis. Why, then, will we throw oil into the fire? Why are we so mad as to lay more wood on, when the flame is too high already ? For wine, being of its own nature so hot, it sets all the humors and parts of the body on fire, but especially the heart, which is the place it goes directly to, and the seat and residence of all the passions, which are immediately set in a flame, and heightened by it. So that when a man has once warmed himself with wine, his joy, his love, his anger, his hatred, are greater than before, and all his other passions are raised much higher. It is, therefore, a plain case, that since one of the chief employs of the moral virtues is the subduing of the passions, and the keeping of them down, wine must have a quite contrary quality, inasmuch as it kindles and inflames what virtue is to put quite out. Let every man judge by this, how much he is obliged to moderation in the use of it.

18. Besides al»l this, wine makes a man very lavish of his tongue ; it is the cause of excessive laughter, of quarrelling, of cheating, of wrangling.s, of revealing secrets, and of many such disorders; and all this, not only because the passions are then much stronger, but because reason itself is clouded and overcast by the fumes and vapors of wine. Add to this, the occasion a man takes of running into these excesses, by seeing others do the same. Now these reasons, put all together, cannot but occasion such extravagances. It is, therefore, a pretty saying of a philosopher, " That the vine bears three sorts of grapes ; the first for necessity, the next for delight, and the other for madness ;" giving us by this to understand, that wine moderately taken, is to supply the necessities of nature; that the least excess serves more for the exciting of pleasure, than for the relief of our necessities; but to drink without any moderation or bounds is to become downright mad. Therefore, a man in this condition ought to suspect every design he has, and every resolution he makes ; because, generally speaking, it is not his reason, but wine, that puts him upon them ; and what a bad counsellor wine is, every body knows. Nor is it less convenient, for the shun-ning of all these dangers, to avoid too much talk or disputes at table ; because a contention, that begins peaceably, very often ends in quarrelling, and a man in his cups often bolts out something he would afterwards wish he had let alone. For, as Solomon says, " There is no secret where wine reigns;" Prov. xxxi. 4.

19. And though any profusion of the tongue is blameable at this time, yet the worst of all is when men talk of nothing but the meats that are before them, when their discourse is in praise of the wine, the fruit, the fish, and every thing else that is brought to table : or when they are continually finding fault with what is served up, or talking of the different meats of such and such a country, and the excellent fish of such and such rivers. All this discourse is a strong argument of an intemperate mind, and of a man that would be always eating, not only with his mouth, but with his heart, his mind, his memory and his tongue.

20. But above all things, we ought to be careful not to devour our neighbors life and conversation, for there is nothing so dangerous : " Because/' as St. Chrysostom writes, " this is not eating the flesh of beasts, but of men, which human nature abhors." It is written of St. Augustine, that being always afraid of this vice, which very few tables are free from, he had two verses written in his dining-room, which were these : —

Quisquis amat dictis absentum rodere vitam

Hanc mensam vetitam noverit esse sibi. — In Vita Aug. c. 22.

21. It is also to be observed, that, as St. Jerome says, it is much better to eat a little every day, than to fast for several days, and then to eat to excess. " Rain (says he) does the earth a great deal of good, if it falls gently, in its proper season ; but great storms and tempests quite spoil it ;" S. Hier. Ep. 7. ad Laec. de Inst. Filise. Consider, as often as you eat, that you do not live to be a slave to your belly, but that you are soon after either to read, study or employ yourself about some good work or other, which you render yourself wholly unfit for when you eat so much that it is a burthen to you. Let temperance, therefore, and necessity, not appetite, or the craving of an immoderate stomach, prescribe you how much you should eat ; nor is pleasure to be regarded in this case. Not that I would advise you here to starve yourself, but not to do the business of pleasure under the pretence of necessity. For you have as much need of something to maintain and nourish your body as any other creature, but, at the same time, it is to be kept under by mortification, or otherwise it will turn on you. And, therefore, St. Bernard says, " A man should mortify his flesh, but not destroy it ; he must not let it grow proud, but humble it : he must make a slave of it, and not let it be mistress ;" Ep. ad Fratres de Monte Dei.

This may suffice to show us, wThat belongs to this virtue. He that would inform himself better of the advantages of it, and how beneficial it is in all respects, not only to the soul, but to the body, that is, to health, life, honor and estate, may read a treatise I have composed on this subject, at the end of my book of Prayer and Meditation.

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§ III. Of the Government of the Senses. — 22. After subduing and regulating the body, our next business is to reform the senses, over which the true servant of God must keep a strict hand, but particularly over the eyes, which are, as it were, the gates at which all vanities enter into our souls, and the windows of perdition, through which death itself* gets in. Those who are much given to prayer have great reason to set a strict guard on this sense, both for the security of their chastity, and for the keeping their hearts from distraction ; for without such care the ideas of things, which enter into our souls by this way, leave so many different forms and impressions behind them, that they can neither pray nor meditate without, a thousand distractions and disturbances, nor think of any thing but what is just before them. For this reason, devout persons endeavor always to keep their eyes so steady, as that they think it not enough to turn them away from such things as may be hurtful, but they will not so much as look on any noble piece of building, any rich suit of hangings, or any thine: of that nature, that they may keep the imagination more free and pure against the time of their converse with Almighty God ; because this is so nice and ticklish an exercise, that not only sins, but even the representation of the images and figure of things that are not at all bad in themselves, are a hinderance to it.

23. You should be no less careful in the sense of hearing than in that of seeing ; because it is the gate at which many things get admittance into the soul, that disturb and defile it. Nor should we only shut out bad discourse, but all kinds of news and relations of what happens in the world, and every thing else that is beside our own business. Because they who do not watch the passage of the ear so narrowly, as not to entertain such things as these, will be sensible of them afterwards, when they should be more recollected, and thinking of something else. The images of those things, which they heard others talk of before, are represented to their imaginations, and work so powerfully on their mind, that they do not so much as think of God without a great deal of interruption.

24. I need not say any thing of the sense of smelling ; for to be in love with perfumes and sweet scents, besides it favoring so much of luxury and sensuality, is a reproach to a man, because it is effeminate vice, and such as few but ill women delight in.

25. As to taste, more might be said, but it has been spoken of above, when we treated of temperance.

§ IV. Of the Government of the Tongue. — 26. There is a great deal to be said concerning the tongue; for the wise man tells us, " That it has the power of life and death ;" Prov. xvii. 2. By these words he gives us to understand, that all the happiness and misery of a man depends on the good or bad manage 43 2E ment of this member. St. James looks on it as a thing of very great moment, when he said, " That as great ships are governed by a little helm, and headstrong horses kept in with a small bridle, so he that looks very narrowly to his tongue shall be able to govern and rule all the actions of his life ;" Ja. iii. It is necessary, then, for the well governing of this part, as often as we speak, to remember those four things, what, how, when, and to what end we speak.

27. First, then, as to what we speak, or the matter of our discourse, it is requisite we take the advice of the apostle : " Let not any evil words come out of your mouths, but only such as are good and fit to edify those that hear them ;" Ephes. iv. 29. And in another place, explaining more at large what he means by evil words, he says, " Let not any immodest discourse, or foolish talk, or scurrilous jesting, which is not the purpose, be so much as named amongst you ;" Ephes. v, 3. 4. So that as skilful sailors have all the shelves that may endanger their ships marked down in their charts, to avoid striking on them, so it is his business that serves God to observe all kinds of bad words, that he may, by this means, be out of all danger of using them. Nor should a man be less careful in keeping of a secret he is intrusted with ; nay, he is to look on it as a rock altogether as dangerous as the former, to discover any business he has been intrusted with.

28. As to how we are to speak, or the manner, we are to take care not to speak either too bashfully or profusely, not too hastily nor too formally, but with gravity, sweetness, simplicity and care. It also belongs to this method of speaking, not to be obstinate or positive ; because very often this disturbs the peace of conscience, destroys charity, and makes us lose our patience and our friends. It is the part of a generous and noble spirit, not to suffer itself to be overcome in such contentions as these, and of prudent men to follow the counsel of the wise man, who says, "You should behave yourself in several things, like one that knows nothing, that listens with silence, and asks of them that are knowing ;" Eccl. xxxii. 12.

29. Besides observing the manner, we must be careful to speak in due time, which is the third condition. For, as the wise man says, " A wise saying out of a fool's mouth will not be taken notice of, because he does not bring it in due time ;" Eccl. xx. 21.

30. In the last place, it is convenient we consider, for what end and what intention it is we speak, because some do it only to be looked on as wise men, others to be thought witty and well discoursed ; in the first, it is no better than hypocrisy and deceit ; in the latter, it is folly and vanity. We should, therefore, take care, not only that what we say be good, but that the end of our speaking be so too ; by aiming at nothing else in our discourse but God's honor, and the good of our neighbor.

31. Besides it is proper to observe the company ; for young men ought not to talk before their elders, the ignorant before the .earned, laymen before priests and religious persons ; nor ought any thing to be said where it may be taken ill, or where it may look like presumption. In all these cases, it is convenient and commendable to be silent.

32. He that speaks is to observe all these rules, that he may not err. And because all persons cannot judge of all these conditions, the best remedy is to be silent ; that so, attending to what others say, they may comply with all these duties. It wTas on this account the wise man said, " Even a fool shall pass for a wise man, if he holds his tongue ; and for a man of understanding, if he will but keep his lips close ;" Prov. xvii. 28.

§ V. Of the Mortification of the Passions. — 33. Having thus regulated the body, and all its senses, the next thing we have to do, which is the main business, is to regulate the soul ; with all its faculties. The first thing we are to begin with is the sensitive appetite, which contains all our natural affections and inclinations, as love, hatred, joy, sadness, desire, fear, hope, anger, and the like.

34. This appetite is the meanest part of the soul ; and consequently, that which makes us like the beasts, which are governed by these appetites and natural propensities : this it is that debases and brings us nearer to the earth, and removes us the further from heaven. It is the very source of all the evils in the world, and the cause of our ruin : because, as St. Bernard says, " Do but take away self-will (that is, the desire of this appetite), and there will be no such thing as hell;" Serm. 3. de Resur. S. Tho. 2. 2. 9. 77. P. 4.

This is, as it were, the magazine of sin, whence it is supplied with arms and ammunition to do us hurt. It is another Eve, that is the weakest part of our soul, and most inclined to sin ; by wThose means the oM serpent tempts our Adam, that is, the superior part, the seat and residence of the understanding and will, to cast an eye on the forbidden tree. Here we may more plainly discover the force of original sin, for here he has bestowed the malignity of its poison ; here are the battles, overthrows, victories and crowns ; that is, here are the overthrows of the weak, the victories of the strong, and the crowns of the conquerors : it is here, in conclusion, that virtue is trained up and exercised ; since the chief business of the moral virtues is the taming and governing of these fierce and cruel beasts.

35. This is the vine we are to be always pruning ; this the garden we must be always cultivating ; and these the wTeeds we are to pluck up by the roots, to plant all sorts of virtues in place of them.

36. So that, according to this, the main business of the true servants of God is, to be always in this garden, hoeing up weeds ; or, to make use of another comparison, to sit like him that drives a chariot, with the reins of his passion in his hand, to loose or check them, not according to their own will, but as reason directs.

37. This is the chief employment of the children of God, who follow none but the motions of the Holy Ghost, and will not permit themselves to be led away by the inclinations and desires pf flesh and blood. It is this distinguishes spiritual from carnal men ; for whilst these, like beasts, are hurried away by their passions, those, like true rational creatures, are led on by the Holy Ghost, and observe the directions of reason : this is the mortification and the myrrh so much commended in holy writ : this is the death and the grave the apostle so often invites us to ; it is the cross and self-denial the gospel preaches to us ; it is the doing of judgment and justice so often repeated in the Psalms and the prophets. And, therefore, it is convenient, that all our labors, all our strength, all our prayers, and all our employs, should be particularly directed this way.

38. To this purpose it is requisite that every man be well acquainted with his own natural bent and inclination, and keep the strictest guard where he sees the greatest danger. And though we are always to war against our appetites, yet we are more particularly to make our efforts against the desires of honors, pleasures and temporal goods, because these are the three chief fountains and roots of all that is evil.

39. We must also take care not to be conceited, always desiring to have our will, and please our appetites, a vice very apt to bring us into much disturbance and trouble, and very familiar among great persons, and such as have always been used to have their pleasure observed in all things. The best way, then, to break ourselves of it will be, by frequently forming wThat we find ourselves least inclined to, and denying our own will, though it should desire nothing but what is lawful and allowable ; that we may, by this means, the more easily and more boldly refuse it what it should not have. Such trials and exercises as these are as necessary for instructing us in the ready and dexterous use of our spiritual arms, as well as of the corporal ; nay, they are of much more requisite, as a victory over ourselves and over the devil is greater than a victory over every thing besides. We should accustom ourselves to mean and low employs, and not trouble our heads with what the world shall say of us, because all that it can either give or take from us is very inconsiderable to him that has God for his treasure and his inheritance.

§ VI. Of the Reformation of the Will. — 40. There is nothing helps so much to the acquiring of this mortification as the governing and adorning of the superior will which is nothing but the rational appetite, and which we are to adorn with these three holy dispositions, humility of heart, poverty of spirit, and a holy hatred of ourselves. For these three things make the business of mortification the easier. " Humility (as St. Bernard defines it) is the contempt of a man's self, arising from a true and deep knowledge of his own failings ;" S. Bern. Lib. de Grad. humilit. c. 2. The main business of this virtue is to cut down all the branches of pride, with all desires of honor, and to place itself in the lowest station below all other creatures, believing that any other who had received from God the same helps to live well as * he has done, would have made better use of them, and been more thankful. Nor is it sufficient that a man have this knowledge and contempt within himself, but he must endeavor exteriorly to treat himself in the most plain and humble manner that he possibly can, according to his condition, taking no notice of what the world thinks or says to the contrary. To this purpose it is convenient that all things belonging to us have a tincture of poverty and humility, and that we subject ourselves, not only to our betters and equals, but even to our inferiors, for the love of God.

41. The second condition required is poverty of spirit, which is a voluntary contempt of worldly things, and a satisfaction in the condition God has placed us in, be it ever so poor. This virtue at one stroke cuts down concupiscence, the root of all evils, and gives a man such a solid peace and happiness, that Seneca was not afraid to say, " He that has shut the door on the desire of concupiscence may dispute his happiness with Jupiter himself;" to signify, that since the happiness of man consists in fulfilling his heart's desires, he that has once quieted and calmed them has attained the height of happiness, or at least is very near it.

42. The third condition is a holy hatred of ourselves. Our Saviour, speaking of that virtue, says, " He that loves his life shall lose it, and he that hates his life in this world preserves it for life everlasting ;" John xii. 25. This is not to be understood of an evil hatred, such as men have when they are reduced to a very miserable and desperate state, but of that aversion which the saints had for their own flesh, as being the cause of many evils, and the occasion of neglecting many good things ; and for* this reason they dealt with it according to the rules and prescriptions of reason, not according to its own inclinations and desires. Now, reason frequently commands us to keep it low, to use it very hardly, and to make it a slave to the spirit, which is .to make such use of it as is most reasonable : otherwise we must expect that what the wise man says will happen : " He that makes much of his servant when he is young, will afterwards find him rebellious and stubborn ;" Prov. xxix. 21. To prevent this he advises us,

2E2 in another place, to deal with it as we would do w; th a wild Deast, to keep it always in, to put fetters on it, and employ it continually, for fear it should grow idle, and by that means Decome proud and malicious. Now, this holy hatred is of singular use as to the business of mortification, that is, as to the mortifying and retrenching all our evil desires, though ever so painful and troublesome to us. For how will it otherwise be possible to cut to the quick, to fetch blood, and to strike deep where we have so much love ? For the arm of mortification borrows its strength, not from the love of God, but from a holy hatred of man's self; and these give it the heart, not of a tender but of a nardy surgeon, to cut off from the other members whatever is corrupted and putrified, and this without any kind of mercy or pity. Much more might be said of these three virtues of humility, poverty of spirit and a holy self-hatred, as likewise of the mortifying of those several passions we have already spoken of in the spiritual life ; but having treated of them elsewhere, especially in the Memorial of a Christian Life, more at large, we will say no more of them in this place.

§ VII. Of the Government of the Imagination. — 43. Besides these two faculties that belong to the appetite, there are two more that belong to knowledge, the imagination and the understanding, which answer the two former, that each of these two appetites may have such a suitable guide and knowledge. The imagination, then, the meanest of the two, is, of all the faculties of the soul, that which has been the most weakened by sin, and left the least subject to reason. This is the cause of its quitting our service, like a runagate slave, without our leave, and of its rambling all the world over before we miss it. It is also a faculty that is apt to busy itself with every thing that comes in its way, like greedy dogs that smell to and turn over every thing they meet with, snapping and biting at whatever they see, and will soon return to it again, though you drive them away with a cudgel. It is, moreover, a faculty that loves its liberty, and is very unconfined, always running up and down from mountain to mountain, like a wild beast, and cannot endure to be fettered or confined, or to be subject to its own master.

44. Besides these ill qualities it has of its own, some persons make it much worse through their neglect, by their treating and pampering it like a child, and leaving it entirely to its own will, without any restraint or contradiction. So that, when they would fix it to the consideration of heavenly things, it will nrt obey, because of the bad habit it has got. We should, therefore, since we are acquainted with the qualities of this wild beast, keep it as short as we can ; we should, therefore, tie it up to the manger, that is, restrain it to the consideration of such things only as are good or necessary, and enjoin it to perpetual silence, as to every thing else ; so that we are to confine it to such thoughts as are good and holy, and to keep it shut up from all that are not so, as we have tied up the tongue from all kinds of words, that are not either good or necessary.

4-3. To this purpose, it is requisite we use all the care and caution imaginable, in examining thoroughly whatsoever presents itself to our thoughts, to see whether it is to be entertained or not ; that, if it is, we may receive it as a friend ; if not, we are to look on it as an enemy. Those who are negligent in this point, very often admit of such things into their minds, as not only destroy devotion and the fervor of charity, but even charity itself, which is the very life of the soul ; 2 Kings iv. 5, 6. Isboseth had his head cut off by two thieves, who entered the house whilst the portress, that winnowed the corn, was asleep at the door of his anti-chamber. Thus it happens with us, whensoever we suffer prudence to fall asleep, whose office it is to separate the chaff from the corn, that is, the good thoughts from the bad, for then bad desires come into the soul, which very often take its life away.

46. Nor is this diligence good only for the preserving of this life of the soul, but for the obtaining of silence and recollection during the time of prayer ; because, as the imagination, when it rambles and flies abroad, will not permit us to pray in quiet, so, on the contrary, when it is restrained and accustomed to good thoughts, it is no hard matter to make it continue in them without being uneasy and troublesome.

§ VIII. Of the Government of the Understanding. — 47. After these powers and faculties of the soul comes the understanding, the noblest and greatest of them all, which, besides many other virtues, is to be adorned with that which excels them all, that is, prudence and discretion. This virtue is, in the spiritual life, what the eyes are in the body, the pilot in a vessel, the king in a kingdom, or the coachman on the box; for it is his business to have the reins always in his hands, and to turn the horses which way he would have them go. The spiritual life is, without this virtue, quite blind and helpless, and full of nothing but confusion and disorder. And, therefore, the glorious St. Anthony, in a conference he had with several other holy monks, in which they discoursed on the excellence of the different virtues, gave the first place to this, as the mistress of all the rest ; Cassian, 2. Collet, de Descret. c. 2. It belongs, then, to all those who love virtue, to keep this virtue always in perfect view, that they may by this means make a greater advance in every other.

48. This virtue is not limited to any one particular duty, but extends itself to all employs and exercises ; because it is not a particular but a general virtue, that is engaged in the exercises and practices of all the other virtues, ordering and prescribing what is most requisite to be done in each of them. We will consider it, therefore, under this general acceptation, and speak here of some actions that belong to it as such. In the first place, then, it is the duty of prudence (faith and charity being presupposed) to direct all our actions, so as that they refer to God, as to their last end. It is bv it that we may make a nice scrutiny into the intention with which we perform all our actions, that we may see whether what we aim at be God or ourselves. For it is the nature of self-love, according to a certain devout author, to be very subtle, and to seek all things, even in those that are the most pious and holy; Imit. Chr. lib. 3. c. 39.

49. It is a point of prudence to know how to behave ourselves towards our neighbors, so as to benefit and not offend them by our conversation. In order to this, it is convenient to observe men's numors and dispositions, and to feel how every one's pulse beats, that wTe may accordingly carry ourselves so as may be most to their advantage.

50. Another piece of prudence is to know how to bear with other men's failings, and to take no notice of their weaknesses ; it is not good to search too deep into their wounds. It would be very well to consider that all human things are made up of an act and a power, that is, of perfection and imperfection : so that it is consequently impossible not to find many defects and failings in our lives, especially since the great fall nature received by sin. " Wherefore," as Aristotle says, " he is not a wise man, who looks for an equal certainty and demonstration in all things, because some will bear an evident proof, and others will not : so it is not the part of a prudent person to desire that all things should be so complete and perfect, as to have nothing amiss in them ; for some things are capable of this perfection, and others are not. And he that should endeavor by force to produce the contrary would, perhaps, do more mischief, with the means he would make use of to compass his design, than he could do good, though he compassed his end." .

51. It is prudence for a man to know himself, and to understand all that is within him, that is, all his failings, his desires, his evil inclinations, and, in fine, his ignorance and want of virtue. This keeps hifn from presuming vainly on himself, and tells him what sorts of enemies he is perpetually to oppose till he has driven them quite out of the land of promise, which is his soul ; and it teaches him how solicitous and careful he is to be in his business.

52. It is prudence to know how to govern our tongues, according to the rules and circumstances already spoken of, and to know what we should say, and what we ought to let alone, and how to time both the one and the other. Because, according to Solomon, " there is a time of speaking, and a time of holding our peace ;" Eccl. iii. 7. And it is certain, that it is more commendable for a prudent man to be silent than to talk at table, at public entertainments, and in such like places.

53. It is prudence, again, not immediately to make confidants of all sorts of persons, nor to discover one's self to every body when well warmed with talking, or to give one's opinion of things to every body that asks it ; for, as the wise man says, " He is a fool that opens all his heart, but a wise man contains himself, and keeps things for another time ;" Prov. xxix. And he that trusts himself with one that he should not, shall be always in danger, and a slave to him he so rashly confides in.

54. It is prudence to know how to prevent a danger, to be forearmed against what may happen, and be provided against all the accidents by prayer and meditation. This is what the author of Ecclesiasticus advises, when he says, " Apply the remedy before you are sick;" Eccl. xviii. 20. So that whensoever you go to any feast or entertainment, whensoever you have any concern with quarrelsome and turbulent men, whensoever, you go to such places as may expose you to any danger, you should always foresee what is most likely to happen, and accordingly prepare yourself against it.

55. Another part of prudence is to know how to treat our body with discretion and moderation, so as neither to pamper and indulge, nor to ruin and destroy it, so as not to give it what is superfluous, or to deny it what is necessary ; to keep it under correction, but not so as to kill it ; and to manage it so as that it may not fail us through too much weakness, nor be strong enough to throw us; S. Thom. 2. 2. q. 168. a. 2.

56. It is also a great part of prudence to know how to behave ourselves with moderation in our employments, be they ever so good and virtuous ; so as not to be so intent upon them as never to give ourselves breath and respite. St. Frances, in his Rules, says, " that all things are to serve the spirit, and that we should not be so busy upon outward things as to prejudice the inward, nor apply ourselves so much to the love of our neighbors as to lose that we owe to God." For if the apostles themselves, who had the capacity and ability to do all things, disengaged themselves of lesser things, that they might not fail in those that were of greater moment, no man should presume so much of himself as to be persuaded he can do all things, since we generally see that he who undertakes too many things at once scarce ever succeeds in any of them ; Acts vi.

57. It is no less a part of prudence to discover the designs of Our enemy, and disappoint his stratagems; not to believe every spirit, nor be led away by every shadow of good : 1 John. iv. 1. Because the devil very often transforms himself into an angel of light, and is always endeavoring to deceive good men under the pretence of virtue ; 2 Cor. xi. 14. And, therefore, there is no clanger we should be more afraid of, than of that which comes under the appearance of good. It is certain that the devil chooses this way to attack those that are eagerly bent upon piety.

58. To conclude, it is prudence to know how to fear and how to attack, when we get the better by giving ground, and when we lose by pressing forward ; but above all, to know how to slight the opinions and judgments of the world, the cries of the multitude, and the noise of those that are perpetually barking without any reason, reflecting upon those words, " If I should please men, I should not be the servant of Jesus Christ ;" Gal. i. 10. It is certain that the greatest folly a man can be guilty of, is to let himself be governed by such a many-headed beast as the multitude is, who never reflect upon any thing they say or do. It also concerns us not to give any scandal, to be afraid when there is no reason to fear, and not to be whistled about by every wind. It is the part of true prudence to keep a medium between all these extremes.

§ IX. Of Prudence in our Business. — 59. There is no less need of prudence for succeeding in our undertakings and for preventing of mistakes, not to be rectified without many inconveniences, which often make us lose our peace of conscience, and put our whole life into confusion and disorder. The following instructions will serve us as remedies against this evil.

60. The first is that of the wise man, who says, " Let your eyes be fixed upon those things that are just, and let your eyelids consider the way that you are to go" (Prov. iv. 25) ; where he advises us not to undertake any thing rashly, but to do every thing with deliberation and good advice. Five things are necessary for this purpose ; the first is, to recommend our business to God ; the next is, to consider what wTe are going about, and to weigh with discretion, not only the substance of it, but every circumstance, because the least failing is enough to undo all again. For though an action should succeed well, and not have any ill circumstance in it, yet the doing of it out of season is sufficient to cast a blemish upon it. The third thing is, to take the advice of others along with us upon what is to be done, yet so as to consult with but few, and those choice and prudent persons. For though it is good to hear the opinions of others, in order to decide the matter, yet wTe are to follow but few in the determination of it, for fear of failing in the execution. The fourth thing, and that very necessary, is, to take time enough for deliberation, and to consider for some days upon the advice that shall be given before we proceed any further. For as long conversation gives us a better experience of persons, so some days' consideration makes us see further into advice. A man very often seems to be of a different temper, after a little acquaintance with him, than we imagine he was at first sight ; and just so it is with advice, which, though at first sight it seemed to be advantageous, after a little deliberation proves to be quite otherwise. The fifth is, to be upon your guard against four great enemies to this virtue of prudence, which are precipitation, passion, selfishness and vanity. For precipitation will not consider what it has to do, passion is blind, selfishness will not admit of good advice, and vanity, wheresoever it gains admittance, spoils all.

61. It belongs to this virtue to shun all extremes, and keep a mean for virtue and truth, to fly excess, and to be confined to just bounds and measures. So that we should neither approve of nor reject all, we should neither affirm nor deny every thing, we should neither believe nor disbelieve all, we are not to condemn a great many for the faults of some few, nor, because some men are holy, must we think they are all so. We must in all things stand to the decision of reason, and not suffer ourselves to be hurried away to extremes by the force of prejudice and passion.

62. Another rule of prudence is, not to like or dislike things for being new or old, because there are several things of old standing that are very bad, and others, again, that are new, and yet very good. For antiquity is not sufficient to justify what is bad, nor is novelty to cry down what is good. We ought in all things to consider what they are worth in themselves, and not how long they have been in use and practice. It is no advantage at all to vice that it has been of long continuance, for this makes it the more incurable, and all that virtue loses by being new is, that it is not so well known.

63. There is another rule of prudence, which is, not to be deceived by the appearance and outside of things, so as immediately to pass sentence upon them ; because, " all is not gold that glitters," nor is that always good which appears as such. We often find gall covered over with honey, and frequently run our hands amongst nettles whilst we are gathering flowers. Remember what Aristotle says, "That sometimes falsehood appears more like truth than truth itself;" Lib. de Anima. So vice may happen to look more like virtue than virtue itself. Above all, you must be thoroughly convinced that as gravity and the weighing of affairs is the companion of prudence, so easiness and levity are inseparable from folly. Therefore you must take care not to be over easy in these six things, in believing, in granting, in promising, in resolving, in conversing lightly with men, and in giving any way to anger. There is manifest danger in all these things, if a man is too easily prevailed upon to do them. For to be too forward in believing, is lightness of heart ; to be too easy in promising, is losing a man's liberty ; to grant without considering, is to do what a man may afterwards repent ; to be too hasty in resolving, is to put one's self in danger of committing an error, as David

3 48 the sinner's guide.

did in Miphiboseth's affair (2 Kings ix.): an over freeness in conversation brings contempt ; and to give way to anger is a plain sign of folly, according to that of the wise man : " He that is patient is guided by much prudence, but an impatient man discovers his folly ;" Prov. xiv. 29.

§ X. Of some Means necessary for the obtaining of this Virtue. — 64. Amongst other means that contribute toward the acquiring of this virtue, there is scarce any more successful than the experience of past failings, and of the proper methods tried by ourselves or others upon the like occasions, whence many rules of prudence may be taken. Therefore it is a common saying, " That, the remembrance of what is past is the mistress and governess of prudence, and that the present day learns of that which is gone ;" because, as Solomon says, " What will be is what was, and what was is what will be again;" Eccl. i. 9. So that we may judge of the present by the past, and of the past by the present.

65. But that which most advances the obtaining of this virtue is a true and profound humility ; as, on the contrary, the greatest hinderance it has is pride, because it is written, " Where humility is, there wisdom is ;" Prov. xiv. 2. Besides all, the Scripture tells us, " That God instructs the humble ; that he is the master of the little ones, and that he discovers his secrets to them ;" Ps. xi. Not that humility should submit to every one's opinion neither, or suffer itself to be -carried away by every wind ; for then it would be no longer humility, but an unstableness and weakness of heart (1 Pet. v. James iv.), against which the wise man has advised us, saying, "Be not humble in your own wisdom" (Eccl. xiii. 11); to signify, that a man should be resolute in maintaining of those truths which he knows to be grounded on a just and universal bottom, and that he should not, as some weak persons are, be disturbed at the sight of a straw, nor suffer himself to be wrought on by all sorts of opinions.

66. The last thing that is serviceable for the procuring of this virtue is humble and devout prayer ; because since it is one of the chief graces of the Holy Ghost, to enlighten the soul with knowledge, wisdom, counsel and understanding, with the greater devotion and humility a man shall make his address to him, and the more he has of the heart of a scholar and child, the more plainly he shall be instructed, and obtain the greater fulness of these heavenly graces and favors.

67. We have enlarged more than ordinarily on this virtue of prudence, because, being the - mistress of all other virtues, it will be convenient to endeavor that that which guides the rest should not be blind itself, lest the whole body of virtues should be deprived of sight. But because all this serves for the justifying and governing of man in regard to himself, which is the first duty of justice we laid down above, it is necessary we should speak now of the second, which teaches us how we are to behave ourselves towards our neighbor.