Book II, Part 2, Chapter 9. The third Advice of the Vigilance and Care every virtuous Man

ought to live with.

1. Having proposed in this rule so many different virtues, and given so many instructions on the regulating of our lives, our next advice is, to endeavor to procure one general virtue, which may comprehend, and, as far as is possible, to supply the want of the rest ; this is the rather advisable, because our understanding is such that it cannot conceive many things at once. This virtue is a perpetual solicitude and vigilance, and a continual attention to whatsoever we do or say, that so every thing may be brought to the rule and moderation of reason.

2. We are to behave ourselves in this point like an ambassador that is to speak to a sovereign prince. He has his attention fixed on the matter he is to discourse of, he weighs every word he speaks, he manages the tone of his voice, and considers every posture and motion of his body, and this all at the same time. Thus he that serves God should use his utmost endeavors to be always watchful and attentive upon himself; whether he speaks or holds his tongue, whether he asks a question, gives an answer, whether at table, in the street or in the church, at home or abroad, he is to have his rule and compass always with him, to measure every action, every word, nay, every thought, that so all may square to the law of God, to the judgment of reason and to decency. For the distance between good and evil being so great, and God having given our souls a natural knowledge of both, there is scarce any man so ignorant, but, if he weighs what he does, will more or less discover what he ought to do, and, therefore, his attention and solicitude is as serviceable as all the instructions of this rule and many more.

3. This is the care the Holy Ghost recommended to us, when he said, " Watch carefully over yourself, O man, and over your own soul !" and the last of the three advices the prophet Micah gave us, as we have observed already, was, " to walk carefully with God," which is to be solicitous to do nothing in contradiction to his will ; Mic. vi. 8. The many eyes Ezechiel's mysterious animals had, teach us what vigilance and care we should use in this battle, where our enemies are so numerous, and we have so much to attend to ; Ezek. i. The same is represented to us by the posture of the seventy stout men that guarded Solomon's bed. They had their swords on their thighs ready to draw, to express how watchful and ready he must be who walks in the very midst of so many enemies ; Cant. iii.

4. Besides the many dangers we are exposed to, another reason for this extraordinary vigilance is the niceness and consequence of this business, especially to those who aspire to the perfection of a spiritual life. For to behave ourselves, and to live as God would have us, to preserve ourselves from all the stains and spots of this world, to live in this flesh without the corruptions of it, " to keep ourselves free from reproof till the day of Christ," as the apostle says, are things so high and so far above the reach of nature, that we stand in need of all these, and many more helps, and even of the assistance of God's grace; Phil. i. 10.

5. Consider how attentive a man is when he is on any nice, curious work ; for it is certain this is the nicest work, and requires attention. Observe how cautiously a man walks that carries a glass brimful of some precious liquor, for fear of spilling ; think of a man that is forced to cross a river on stones that are not conveniently placed, how carefully he treads, for fear he should fall in and be drowned. But, above all, consider how cautiously a rope-dancer sets every step ; how steadily he keeps his eyes, for fear of tottering and falling one way or other. Do you always endeavor to carry yourself with the same circumspection, especially at first, till it become habitual, so as not to speak a word, entertain the least thought, or make any motion that may, if possible, deviate from the line of virtue. Seneca advises us to this by an example as profitable as it is familiar. " A man (says he) that has a mind to acquire virtue, must imagine himself to be always in the presence of some great person he has a veneration for, and endeavor to do and say every thing just as he would if that person were really present ;" Epis. 25.

6. Another way, no less proper than the former, is, to think we have no longer to live than the present day, and so to behave ourselves as if we were really persuaded we should appear that same night before the tribunal of Christ, to give him an account of our whole life.

7. But the best way of all is, to walk always, as much as possibly we can, in the presence of Almighty God, to set him always before our eyes (for he is truly present every where), and to perform all our actions, as having so great a Majesty for the witness and judge of whatsoever we do, begging him grace to carry ourselves so as may best become his divine presence. This attention, which we advise to hear, should have two ends ; the one of considering God interiorly, of walking before him, of adoring him, of praising and reverencing, loving and thanking him, and of offering a sacrifice of devotion to him on the altar of our hearts ; the other is, to reflect on every word or action, and to see that nothing be done or said to the prejudice of virtue. We should have one eye always fixed on God, to beg his grace, and the other always cast down on ourselves, to see what it is becomes us most, and to direct us in employing our lives to the best advantage. We are to make use of the light God has given us ; first, to observe those things that refer to God, and next, to correct and perfect our own actions, meditating seriously on God, and on the extent of our duties. And though this is not always practicable, wre must endeavor yet to do it, as often and as long as we can: for this kind of attention is no hinderance to our corporal exercises. The heart, on the contrary, will by this means have the frequent opportunity of stealing off in the very heat of temporal engagements and business, and of hiding itself in the wounds of Jesus Christ. The importance of this instruction is such, that it has obliged me to repeat it, though I have given it before in the Memorial of a Christian Life.