Chapter XXXIII. Of certain Suggestions for overcoming our Evil Passions, and gaining new Virtues

ALTHOUGH I have already said so much of the means whereby we may overcome self, and adorn ourselves with virtues, I will yet give you some further cautions.

First, in your endeavours after holiness, never be persuaded to adopt that routine of spiritual exercises, which divides the week, so as to set apart one day for one particular virtue, and another day for another; but let the order of your warfare and exercises be, to war against those passions which have been always injuring you, and which still often attack and injure you, and to adorn yourself with the virtues which are opposite to them, as perfectly as possible.

For when you have gained these virtues, you will have no difficulty in acquiring the rest, as occasion offers and occasions will present themselves, inasmuch as all the virtues are so interlinked one with another that you cannot possess one perfectly without having all the rest already, as it were, on the threshold of your heart.

Secondly, never set a fixed time for the attainment of virtues, nor say that you will gain them in so many days, weeks, or years; but, as an infant or a newly-enlisted soldier, fight your way, and push forward towards the summit of perfection.

Do not ever stand still, even for an instant; for to stand still in the way of virtue and perfection, is not to recover breath or courage, but to relapse and grow feebler than before.

By standing still, I mean making yourself believe that you have perfectly gained the virtue, and thus that you need pay little attention to the occasions which may call you to new acts of the virtue, or to slight failures in it.

Therefore be vigilant, fervent, and careful, so as not to miss the least opportunity of exercising a virtue. Embrace every occasion which may lead to it, and especially those which excel in difficulty, because acts which are most difficult to be performed are those which most quickly and thoroughly establish the habit; therefore love those who offer you such opportunities.

But flee those only, and that with rapid step, with all haste and diligence, which may lead to temptations of the flesh.

Thirdly, be prudent and discreet concerning those exercises which may prove injurious to your bodily health, such as self-chastisement with disciplines, haircloth, fastings, vigils, meditations, and the like; for these practices must be discreetly and slowly acquired, as we shall presently show.

Then as to virtues which are wholly internal, such as love of God, contempt of the world, self-abasement, hatred of evil passions and sin, patience and meekness, love for all men, even for those who injure us, and such like; it is not necessary to attain to these by degrees, nor to mount with gradual rise to perfection in them, but strive at once to make each act as perfect as possible.

Fourthly, let your whole mind, desire, and heart be set upon, wish for, and long for nothing but to gain the victory over the passion against which you are struggling, and to form the opposite virtue. Be this your world, your heaven, your earth, your whole treasure; and all with the view of pleasing God. Whether you are eating or fasting, labouring or resting, watching or sleeping, at home or abroad, whether engaged in devotion or in manual labour, let your aim be to overcome and subdue this passion, and to gain the opposite virtue.

Fifthly, be the foe of all earthly pleasures and gratifications, and in this way you will weaken the power of all vices, which have their root in the love of pleasure. Therefore, when this is cut away by hatred of self, they lose their vigour and force.

For if whilst you on the one hand fight against a particular indulgence, and on the other attach yourself to some earthly delight (though it amount only to a venial fault), hard will be the battle, and bloody, and the victory rare and very uncertain.

Therefore bear in mind those divine utterances:—"He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." St. John xii. 25. "Brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh ye shall die; but if ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Rom. viii. 12.

Sixthly, my last advice is, that you should make a general confession, for this, perhaps, you will find necessary at first, observing all that is required for doing it well; so shall you be more certain that you are in your Lord's favour, from Whom alone all graces and all victories must be looked for.