1. On seeking the company of the good, and flying that of the bad

" Cum sancto sanctus eris, et cum perverso perverteris* " With the holy, thou wilt he holy ; and with the perverse, thou wilt be perverted.''^ 1. Be diligently on thy guard, beloved brother in Christ, lest thou be seduced by the company of false and wicked men, or of those who o o live without discipli'ie ; but draw near to the virtuous, to those who cr3 iViends of oidei and to the well inrsir-.K.ted ; from whom thou wilt only hear words that are good, full of comfort and edification.

For as the unkindlcd coal warms and tjlows when thrown on a burning fire, so a lukewarm Christian, in the company of a pious and fervent brother, often recovers his piety and fervour ; and as he grows in the knowledge of good, acquires also the sweet odour of virtue.

It was thus that the apostles, from following Christ, became holy men, and received the fulness of the Holy Spirit.

It was thus that Mark from following St. Peter, became learned in the holy gospel ; which with much gladness he heard from the very lips of that blessed apostle.

It was thus that bv following St. o o Paul, Timothy became learned in the Holy Scriptures which he had studied from his early youth ; and furthermore, when the grace of God advanced in him, was ordained bishop, at Ephesus, by the master who loved him, as a loving father does his only child.

2. It was thus that Polycarp, the disciple of Saint John the Apostle, became a glowing preacher of the faith to the people, and suffered with Saint Ignatius a glorious mart\Tdom ; — that our blessed father Augustine, instructed and baptized by Saint Ambrose, became that glorious doctor of the holy Church, whose fame is spread over all the earth ; — and so of that holy youth Maurus, who, following the footsteps of Saint Benedict, was thereafter, by God's blessing, a holy abbot, as famed for his virtues as for his miracles.

And tliijs it was that Bernard, that man well beloved of God, in the school of the venerable Stephen, Abbot of Citeaux, became the light of religion in his order : shining like a clear star in the firmament.

Innumerable are the examples, both ancient and modern, which prove that the society of the good tends to the safety of the soul, and that of the wicked to its perdition ; that good instruction is profitable, and evil conversation dangerous ; and that silence and solitude increase our spiritual advancement, while the dissipation and tumult of the world retard its growth.

Then either live alone as much as possible and labour in the service of God ; or join thyself to the devout and holy, with whom thou mayest discourse on the virtues of Jesus Christ.

But see that thou dost not fathom through vain curiosity, the holy mysteries of religion ; seek rather to search into thy own faults, and to apply to the wounds of thy soul, all necessary and wholesome remedies.