tenderness of the Body and heat of Blood makes more susceptible of the Impression of Sensual Pleasures and partly also from the malice of the Devil which assaults Man in his Youth on the weakest side making use of the frailty of the Flesh to take possession of the Spirit and as * Adversum juvenes puellas aetates ardore hostis noster ahutitur in flammat rotam nativitatis nostrae Haec sunt ignita diaboli jacula quae simul vulnerant inflammant à Rege Babilonio tribus pueris praeparantur S. Hieron Epist. ad Demetriad S. Jerom judiciously observes takes advantage of the Heat of Youth by which he raises in their Heart the Fire of unchast Love enkindling in them a more burning and cruel Furnace than that which the King of Babylon caus'd to be prepar'd for the three innocent Children of Israel because that could but consume their Bodies but this scorches their Souls and prepares them by that impure Flame for another Fire which shall never be consum'd O Theotime they who attentively consider the Corruption of Manners which is found in Youth can never be sufficiently sorry for them But that which deserves most to be lamented is that it frequently falls out that there is nothing but this Sin which is the cause of it it being certain that there are many who are not subject to any other considerable Vices or if they be they are the Effects of this and if they were freed from this they would lead a perfectly pure and innocent Life Whereas on the contrary Haec adversus adolescentiam prima sunt arma daemonum non sic avaritia quatit inflat superbia delectat ambitio S. Jer. Epist ad Eustechium permitting themselves to be overcome by this unclean Passion they live a Life full of Iniquities and heaping up daily new Sins and perverse Habits cast themselves into so deplorable a State that they are often out of hopes of Amendment and Salvation O misfortunate Sin must thou thus destroy Men when they begin to work for their Salvation must thou forcibly take away from God so many beauteous Souls which without thee would live in innocence to sacrifice them to Pleasures and by Pleasures to the Devil and everlasting Flames Cursed Incontinence who is there that can hate thee as thou deservest To apprehend it more clearly Theotime read attentively that which follows and judge of the Cause by its Effects ARTICLE II. Of the sad Effects of the Sin of Impurity The Author of the Book De bono pudicitiae attributed to St. Cyprian describes briefly a great number of the misfortunate Effects of this Sin For he says that * Impudicitia semper est detestanda obscoenum ludibrium reddens ministris suis nec corporibus parcens nec animis debellatis propriis moribus totum hominem suum sub triumphum libidinis mittit blanda prius ut plus noceat dum placet Ea hauriens rem cum pudore cupiditatum infesta tabies incendium conscientiae bonae mater impoenitentiae ruina melioris aetatis Auth. de bon Pud Immodesty is a detestable Passion which spares neither Souls nor Bodies which renders Men absolutely Slaves of dishonest Love flattering them at the beginning that it might more effectually destroy them When it hath gotten possession of their Hearts it drains their Goods together with their Shamefac'dness It excites Passions even to excess it destroys a good Conscience it is the Mother of Impenitence the loss and ruin of the best part of Age that is of Youth Omitting the Damage that Sin causes to the Body Honor and Possessions I shall insist only upon the dreadful Effects it produces in the Soul which I reduce to Five or Six The First is First Effect the destruction of the Fear of God. the destruction of the Fear of God which it works in the Soul and the ruin of all good Inclinations Experience shews this Effect so common that we need not seek any other Proof we see many young People well Educated who have very good Inclinations in their Youth an aversion from Evil a great affection to Piety the Fear of God strongly imprinted in their Souls Now all these good Qualities remain if the Sin of Impurity doth not take possession of their Heart but when that hath once enter'd into their Mind it entirely subverts them It creeps in first by immodest Thoughts the Thoughts produce the desire of wanton Pleasures the Desire moves to unchast Actions these Sins repeated and multiply'd ruin all the good Inclinations things now appear far otherwise than before the Sin now seems no more so great it becomes more familiar to them and such an one who before had a great apprehension of one sole mortal Sin when he is once overcome by this brutish Passion is not dismay'd to commit them by hundreds and thousands O God what a Change what a subversion is this of a Conscience The Second Effect of this Sin Second Effect A Disrelish of Vertue is a Disrelishing and even an Aversion to Vertue and to all pious and wholsom Things It is not to be conceiv'd how those who are infected with this Vice have an aversion to Divine Things and Salvation Prayer is tedious to them and Sacraments contemptible the Word of God moves them not reading of pious Books is insupportable This is too manifest by Experience and no wonder Theotime he who is Distemper'd with a Fever takes no delight in the most delicious Meats on the contrary they seem to him bitter because his Tast is deprav'd with some bitter Quality Thus he who is once seis'd by this burning Fever of Impurity finds a wonderful loathing and dislike of all the most pious and wholsome Things by reason he hath his Heart infected with carnal and impure Affections which permit him not to relish the sweetness of holy Things a Animalis homo non percipit ea quae Dei sunt The natural man says S. Paul that is who follows the Motions of the Animal or Sensible part tasts not the things which are of God. And b Qui secundum carnem sunt quae carnis sunt sapiunt Rom. 5. those who live according to flesh relish only the things of the flesh The Third Effect is a Blindness of Mind which this Sin produces in the Soul Third Effect Blindness of Mind which hinders her from discerning Good from Bad and judging of things as she ought It is impossible that a Mind once possess'd by that Passion should not have its Judgment perverted and should not determin of things of Salvation quite contrary to Truth The Tie and Inclination it hath to that Sin makes it not account it so great an Evil for we ordinarily judg according to our Inclinations and that it can withdraw it self when it pleases it hinders it from seeing the wicked Consequences and Misfortunes this Vice brings after it It takes away the remembrance of the Divine Judgments and
what find you in Heaven that can render you happy Will it be the sight of the Firmament with all those beauteous Stars Of the Sun Vas admirabile opus excelsi Eccles 43. that admirable Vessel that excellent Work of God And of all that is Wonderful and Great in Heaven Not at all All these things are not capable to effect your Felicity God has esteem'd them too mean for you he made them for your Service not to be the Object and Cause of your Happiness In a word Consider all that is in the Universe and all those vast and wonderful things which God hath Created all this is not able to accomplish your Beatitude and God hath not made you for any of these things For what then For nothing less than himself to possess and enjoy him in Heaven He hath not judg'd the most beauteous of his Creatures worthy of you he hath given himself to be the Object of your Happiness Nimirum ad imaginem Dei facta anima rationalis caeteris omnibus occupari potest repleri omnino non potest capacem Dei quicquid Deo minus est non implebit S. Beru in Declama For this reason he communicated to you a Soul form'd to his Image capable to possess him and which by reason of this Capacity is never content nor satisfy'd with the Possessions and Delights of this Life as every one sensibly finds by Experience You were not then made for Creatures dear Theotime but for the Creator Your last End is not the enjoyment of Created things but of God himself You were Created to be Happy by the possession of a God in Heaven Oculus non vidit nec auris audivit nec in cor hominis ascendit quae praeparavit Deus iis qui diligunt illum 1 Cor. 2. and to reign with him in a Felicity incomprehensible to Human Understanding And this for all Eternity that is for a Time which shall never end and shall continue as long as God himself This is the most noble End for which you are design'd This is the Inheritance which your Celestial Father hath prepared for you This is the End for which he hath Created you and at which the Creation of all this visible World which was fram'd for your sake doth aim This being so convert your thoughts now upon your self to make reflection upon Two things First What have you done hitherto in order to that blessed End for which God hath design'd you Two important Reflections upon the last End. Have you aspir'd thither with all your Heart Have you endeavour'd to make your self worthy Alas perhaps as yet you have not had a serious thought of it perhaps you are far remov'd from it by a Life full of Sins imitating the generality of Men who turn their Backs to that happy Country to which their Heavenly Father calls them O Blindness of Men how great art thou O my dear Child how do I deplore your Misfortune if you be of that number Wherefore consider in the Second place what you have to do from henceforth in order to obtain that happy End for which you are Created How long will it be that you will think so little of your dear Country How long will you forget Heaven O you Child of Heaven O Man S. Pet. Chrysol Serm. 71. O homo quid tibi commune cum terris qui confiteris tibi genus esse de coelis ergo coelestem vitam monstra in habitatione terrena quia si quid in te gesserit terrena cogitatio coelo maculam coelesti generi injurium intulisti saith S. Peter Chrysologus what have you common with the Earth you who acknowledg your self of a Heavenly Extraction when you say Our Father which art in Heaven Manifest therefore a Celestial Life in an Earthly Habitation If you live otherwise you stain your noble Stock and offer a great Injury to your Heavenly Origin Conclude then dear Theotime and make here a holy Resolution to aspire to that happy End for which you were Created and to labour carefully to make your self worthy by a Life not degenerating from that of the Child of God design'd to possess Heaven and God himself entirely flying Sin the only Obstacle which can divert you from it and destroy you for ever CHAP. II. Of our Vocation to the Grace of Baptism and the Obligations thereof MOTIVE II. AFTER you have known the End for which God hath Created you Means to come to the last End or necessary Knowledg you must understand the Means he hath appointed to obtain it which consists in the Favour he hath done you in making you a Christian and withdrawing you by the Grace of Baptism from the universal Destruction of Mankind caus'd by Sin. Here Theotime you ought to apply a serious Attention to comprehend the greatness of this inestimable Benefit which is a Business of vast Importance to be known in your Youth to avoid the ordinary Misfortune of Christians the greatest part of whom are absolutely ignorant of what it is to be a Christian and of what that Name and State obliges them to This is the cause why they are so undeserving leading a Life altogether contrary to the Sanctity of their State and why they are misfortunately lost in the Vocation wherein alone they might be Saved For this reason I beseech you in the Name of God to read attentively this Chapter which I shall divide into two Articles ARTICLE I. Of the Excellence of the State of a Christian and of the Favour God hath bestow'd on him whom he hath call'd to this State. YOU are a Christian Theotime What it is to be a Christian by the Grace of God but do you understand what this is and what you are in this Quality Take notice of it and learn to know the great Favour God bestow'd on you upon the Day of your Baptism By the Baptism which you have receiv'd you are wash'd from Original Sin by the Merits of the a Qui dilexit nos lavit nos à peccatis nostris in sanguine suo Apoc 1. Blood of Jesus Christ withdrawn from the universal Curse of Mankind incurr'd by Sin b Eramus naturâ filii irae sicut caeteri Deus autem qui dives est in misericor dia propter nimiam charitatem suam qua dilexit nos convivificavit nos in Christo Eph. 2. deliver'd from the Power of the Devil You have been made the c Omnes filii Dei estis per fidem in Christo Jesu Gal. 2. Son of God the Disciple of Jesus Christ your Saviour You have acquir'd God for your Father Jesus Christ for your d Magister vester unus est Christus Matt. 23. Master your Instructer your Example and for the Rule of your Life The Holy Church for your Mother and Tutress The Angels for your Guardians the Saints for your Intercessors You have been made the e Templum Dei estis Spiritus
drew upon himself many Disasters and a miserable Death which God sent him presently after This Example will teach you what value you ought to set on a good Master in the Way of Vertue CHAP. VI. Of Confession and first of a General Confession PEnance being a Sacrament Instituted by Jesus Christ to blot out the Sins of Christians Sixth Means a General Confession and to restore them to the Grace of God. There is no question but it is a very prositable Means and necessary to acquire Vertue and Sanctity which ought to begin by the cleansing ones self from Vice. Now to the end this Means may prove more profitable to you I advise you to begin with a General Confession of all your Life And this for Three Reasons First Because it frequently happens that the precedent Confessions were invalid As when one has conceal'd therein any mortal Sin which falls out but too often to young People or when one Confesses himself with too little Preparation without Sorrow for his Sins and without Resolution of Amendment In these Cases a General Confession is necessary Secondly Because altho' one see not an evident Invalidity in the former Confessions yet nevertheless there is reason to have some doubt because of many Defects with which they ordinarily abound thro' the Negligence of Penitents who Confess themselves with very little Preparation almost without any Sorrow and without any Amendment The General Confession supplies these Defects and when it is well perform'd secures the Conscience Thirdly If it be not at all necessary it will be always very profitable for Three great Benefits you will receive thereby The one is in respect of your Self the other on your Confessor's side and the Third in regard of God. First In respect of your Self bringing your past Life before your Eyes it makes you know how far you are remov'd from the Way of your Salvation humble your self before God in the acknowledgment of your Misery take notice of your deprav'd Inclinations to correct them conceive a desire of Amendment and dedicate your self entirely to Almighty God. Secondly On your Confessor's side It serves to give him a perfect knowledge of your Conscience that he may better Direct you and give you Advice according to your Necessity Thirdly And in fine in regard of God it will avail to merit from him more abundant Favours for your perfect Conversion which he will communicate to you by so much more * Cor contritum humiliatum non despiciet Deus Psal 50. as he shall see you humbled before him and penitent for your Offences To perform well this Confession see what you are to observe First The End of a General Confession Let the Mark or But at which you aim be the amendment of your Life and withdrawing your self from Sin to put your self absolutely in the Way of Vertue Secondly Preparation Prepare your self Seven or Eight Days before and during that time employ your self in Two things 1. Call to mind your Sins 2. Conceive a great Sorrow and a firm Resolution to change your Life To accomplish the first employ some time every Day to Examine your self following the Order of the Commandments of God and of the Church and upon the Seven Capital Sins For the greater facility make use of some Book of Confession and write down every Day what you shall take notice of But let your Labor be chiefly about the Second Part viz. Contrition Contrition which is the most necessary and most difficult Second Means to obtain Contrition and that for which one is ordinarily least prepar'd Here we must employ 1. Prayer to obtain it of God. 2. The Reading of things which may cause a horror for Sin and a desire to Serve God But this must be a fervent Prayer and a serious and attentive Reading Withdraw your self once or twice a day into a private Place and there prostrate your self before God beseeching him humbly and ardently that he would bestow upon you a Heart and Grace to apprehend perfectly the grievousness of Sin and the Injury it offers to his infinite Goodness and to have a true Contrition for them and absolutely depart from them by a serious Repentance and a perfect Change of your Life Afterwards apply your self to the Reading of some Book which may discover to you the horror of Sin and the importance of retiring your self from it You will find many I advise you chiefly to make use of Granado's Memorial in the First Part where he hath an excellent Preparation for a General Confession Read that or some other which you have with much Attention taking every time one or two Chapters only which you shall read often and meditate attentively upon them endeavouring to stir up by the things you read a hatred for Sin a horror for having committed it deploring your Misery and demanding of God Pardon for your Offences and Grace to free your self from them The Day of your Confession being come after having beg'd of God the Grace to perform well this Action of so great importance approach to the Sacrament with a profound Respect with a great Recollection of Mind and with much Sorrow of Heart for having offended God. Accuse your self of your Sins humbly and plainly After your Accusation protest to your Confessor that you detest them with all your Heart and principally by reason of the infinite Goodness of God whom you have heinously offended that you humbly beg Pardon and are resolv'd to die rather than offend him any more entreating him that he will Instruct you in the necessary Remedies against Sin that you may fall no more and the Means from thenceforward to live in Vertue and the Fear of God. This being done hearken attentively to what he shall say not thinking of any thing else And when you shall be upon the point of receiving Absolution recollect your Spirit within you and humbling your self profoundly before God renew all the Sorrow you might have had for your Sins and implore his Mercy that he would Absolve you in Heaven at the same time that the Priest Absolves you on his part upon Earth O blessed Day Theotime wherein you are freed from the State of Sin and Power of the Devil to be admitted into the number of the Children of God and for ever to Serve him faithfully But have a care to make this Confession profitable and not to forget it presently as it happens to many who afterwards scarce ever think of it and so return to their former Life Have a care to renew daily in the Morning the Sorrow for having offended God and the Resolution you have made not to Displease him any more upon any account whatsoever CHAP. VII Of Ordinary Confession THAT Confession is not only a very profitable Means but absolutely necessary to keep Man in the Path of Vertue is a Truth made manifest by Experience which discovers That those who practice not frequently this Divine Remedy relapse
and after having said the Confiteor and Domine non sum dignus with a true Sentiment of your own unworthiness with a firm Faith and most profound Humility Receive the God of Heaven and the Saviour of your Soul. Being retir'd from the Altar say not presently your Vocal Prayers upon your Book but entertain your self some time inwardly with your Saviour which you enjoy within you 1. Adore him profoundly 2. Admire his Goodness to come and Visit you himself saying to him that which St. Elizabeth said to the B. Virgin Whence proceeds this honor Et unde hoc mihi ut veniat mater Domini ad me Luc. 1. that my God comes to visit me Acknowledge that you are undeserving that Favour 3. Demand Pardon for your Sins and Sorrow for having offended God who gives Himself to you with so much Love and Bounty Protest to him Diligam te Domine fortitudo mea Dominus firmamentum meum refugium meum liberator meus Psal 17. that you will always love him and never separate your self from him again 4. Represent unto him the Necessities of your Soul begging of him the Graces you have most need of to resist Temptations to avoid wicked Company and Occasions of offending God and ruining your self and to cure your deprav'd Habits 5. Give him thanks for the Favor he hath done you in admitting you to receive him and in acknowledgment of his Benefit offer him your Soul your Powers your Life all that you have and all you can do to Love and Serve him for ever All this must be perform'd in a short time but with much servor Return modestly from the Church and make all the rest of the Day relish of this pious Action Be extreme modest in all you do Be present at the Sermon and Evensong if you can and employ some Hours in reading good Books Converse not much with others except with pious Persons Entertain your self with Religious Discourses and let this be your chiefest Recreation all that Day CHAP. XI Of Morning Prayer COnfession and Communion are very essicacious Means to acquire Vertue Ninth Means Morning Prayer but they become unprofitable and of small effect unless they be accompany'd with these which follow Morning and Evening Prayer Assisting devoutly at the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar Employing ones Time in the knowledge of ones self Reading good Books and pious Conversations are Means so necessary for Vertue that Respiration and Nourishment are not more needful for the support of the Corporal Life than these things are necessary for the Conservation of Piety which is the Life of the Soul. I begin with Morning Prayer which the Wiseman amongst the Means he assigns to obtain Wisdom recommends so effectually unto you * Cor suum tradet ad vigilandum diluculo ad Dominum qui fecit eum in conspectu altissimi deprecabitur aperiet os suum in oratione pro delictis suis deprecabitur Eccl. 39.6 He shall give his Heart to watch in the Morning for God his Creator and he will offer up his Deprecations to the most High. He will open his Mouth in Prayer and implore Pardon for his Sins I would to God this excellent Document were deeply engraven in the Minds of Men and principally of young Persons as one of the most important to live in Vertue If you truly aspire to Vertue dear Theotime you will have a great care to practise this Instruction which is one of the most necessary you can receive We own unto God all our Actions but chiefly the first in the Morning it is that which is most agreeable unto him it is by that we consecrate others unto him By it we attract the Divine Blessings upon all our Works and collect the Divine Grace for all the Day As the Israelites in the Desert gather'd in the Morning the Manna of Heaven which maintain'd them all the Day And that which is most remarkable in that Manna is that those who fail'd to gather it in the Morning found it not presently after because it was melted at the rising of the Sun whereof the Scripture gives this excellent Reason viz. That God who made it Rain every Morning caus'd it to be dissolv'd with the first Beams of the Sun * Quod enim ab igne non poterat exterminari statim ab exiguo radio solis calefactum tabescebat ut notum omnibus esset quoniam oportet praevenire solem ad tuam benedictionem ad ortum solis to adorare Sap. 18. To teach all Men that they ought to prevent the Sun in Praising God and Adoring him in the Morning But remember Theotime to perform this Action in the manner the Wiseman prescribes to you for he would not have it a constrain'd negligent and undevout Prayer but a Prayer with the quite contrary Qualities He saith that The wise Man will give his Heart that is will apply his Will and Affection to watch in the Morning for God his Creator that is to say will give his first Thoughts to God to Adore him as his Creator and give him Thanks for all his Benefits will offer his Supplications in the sight of the most High that is will consider the Greatness of God to whom he speaks and in the Presence of whom he is and considering the infinite Grandeur of the Majesty of God will attentively offer his Prayers to him and humbly with great Modesty and with a most profound Respect begging of God Pardon for his Sins and ardently sighing after his holy Favors To put in Execution these Instructions Practice have a care to practise that which follows Every Morning as soon as you are up cast your self upon your Knees in some place a little retir'd and there 1. Adore God from your Heart acknowledging him for your Sovereign Master and Creator and looking upon him as one from whom you receive all that you are or have 2. Give him Thanks for all the Benefits you have receiv'd from him for the Favor of your Creation of your Redemption by the Merits of his Son Jesus Christ of making you a Christian a Child of the Catholic Church of Instructing you with the necessary Truths for your Salvation and of other particular Benefits which you shall take notice of in your self 3. Humbly implore his Pardon for all the Sins of your Life past by which you have so much offended his Bounty and abus'd his Favors 4. Beg of him the Grace to employ that Day in his Service without offending him Make a Resolution rather to die than consent to a mortal Sin Purpose to avoid the Occasions and endeavor to foresee those which may happen that Day to the end you may be armed against them 5. Offer all the Actions of the Day to him and beseech him that he would bless them inspire you and direct you in all your Works that you do nothing but by and for him Recommend your self to the Blessed Virgin to your
Antony and in fine was perfected by the reading of the New Testament which a Voice from Heaven commanded him to read saying Tolle lege Take and read It was by this that he wrought that wonderful Change of S. Serapion whom the reading of the Gospel mov'd so strongly that he left all his Goods and having given them to the Poor even to his wearing Cloaths he went thro' the Streets with with a New Testament under his Arm saying Ille me spoliavit This is that which hath stripped me O the great force of pious Reading How is it possible that so holy a Means and so powerful for the Conversion of Souls should be so much neglected as it is But it is not sufficient to read A fruitful way of Reading we must read profitably For this effect have a care to observe in your Reading these following Conditions 1. Read not for Curiosity and only to content your Mind but out of a desire to learn to live well and to make your Reading more profitable remember to begin it ordinarily with a small elevation of your Mind to God * Revela oculos meos considerabo mirabilia tua Da mihi intellectum scrutabor legem tuam custodiam illam in toto corde meo Psal 118. by which you shall beg of him the Grace to learn something for your Instruction 2. Oras Loqueris ad sponsum legis Ille tibi loquitur S. Jer. ad Eusto Read with much Respect considering that it is God who speaks to you in your Book * Christum alloquimur cum oramus illum audimus cum divina legimus oracula S. Amb. lib. 1. Offic. cap. 20. Sit tibi vel oratio assidua vel lectio Nunc cum Deo loquere nunc Deus tecum S. Cypr. Epist ad Donat. It is a Consideration of the holy Fathers who say when we Pray we Speak to God and when we Read he Talks to us 3. Read not many Books but only two or three well chosen which may be proper to stir you up to Vertue and which may afford you the Means As Augustin's Confessions the Imitation of Christ the Introduction to a Devout Life the Guide to Sinners Compos'd by Granado or some other acording to the Advice of your Confessor 4. Fortuita varia lectio quasi casu reperta non aedificat sed reddit animam instabilem leviter admissa levius recedit à memoria S. Bern. de vita solitaria ad Fra. de mont Dei. Read in Order that is beginning at the beginning and continuing until the end otherwise the Reading will be but little profitable to you 5. Read but little at a time and that slowly and attentively make reflection upon the things you read endeavour to draw some good Resolution from thence and beg of God the Grace to put it in execution 6. Read often that is either every Day or sometimes in the Week chiefly upon Sundays and Feasts 7. Content not your self for having read a Book once over but peruse it often If you read it not for Curiosity but to learn Vertue you will find that the second Reading will be more profitable than the first you will comprehend more easily your Book you will retain it better and put it in practice with more advantage CHAP. XVII An Advertisement concerning bad Books WHEN I exhort you to read good Books I advertise you at the same time to fly absolutely wicked ones which we may call the Plague of Minds next to which there is nothing more pernicious to young Persons It is one of the most effectual Means the Devil hath invented to corrupt Minds and which almost always succeeds He hath rais'd up an infinite number of all sorts in all Languages in all Times and still devises new ones The greatest part are disguis'd with the appearance of Learning or Eloquence or of some ingenious Invention and are by so much more dangerous as under these Vizors they conceal a mortal Poison which is deeply imbib'd in the Soul. Young Persons read them with Pleasure and earnestness and easily remember them Discourses pass but Books still remain in their Hands they have time to meditate on them and softly digest the Venom they inspire The Effects are always pernicious and mortal for some produce in the Mind Error and Darkness others pervert the Judgment corrupt good Inclinations making one judge that good which is wicked and account that wicked which is good Others teach Vice excite Passions inflame Concupiscence enkindle dishonest Love in the Hearts of the most chaste and there is none which leaves not behind it much cause to be sorry for reading it These Books are pernicious to all Men but they are most of all hurtful to young Persons being they are more apt to receive the ill Impressions they make in the Mind and they ought to avoid them as the Productions of the Devil and as a detestable Poison which Hell vomits upon Earth to infect and destroy Souls 1. These are all Heretical Books which teach Errors in Faith and which combat the Truths receiv'd by the Church 2. All wicked Books which convert Religion and pious Things into Derision which blame the Ceremonies and receiv'd Customs thereof which scoff at Persons Confecrated to God as Priests and Religious Those which abuse the Sacred Scripture by wicked and profane Applications 3. Lascivious and immodest Books which wage open War against Chastity 4. Books which treat of Love altho' they be not uncivil in Words Such are most of the Latin and French Poets and the greatest part of Romances These Books are more dangerous than those of the Third sort because those openly teach Wickedness and easily breed an aversion of themselves in Souls which have yet the Fear of God but these not seeming to be publickly naught attract the Mind by their fair Discourses and by the sweetness of the Things they treat of by which delighting the Senses they inflame the Heart with impure Love. Fly all these Books Theotime Practice as Inventions which the Devil hath found out to destroy you You can scarce ever read them without a mortal Sin for you either entertain evil Thoughts or expose your self to the evident danger of entertaining them If you have any of these Books keep them not absolutely part with them notwithstanding any Resolution you have made not to read them Curiosity will tempt you and overcome you at the end it is a Serpent which when you think the least on it will give you a mortal Wound Say not that these Books are well Compos'd that the Discourse is Eloquent that you learn there to Speak well and many excellent Things For I shall answer you with S. Augustin that all this is but a false Pretext * Non omnino per hanc turpitudinem verba illa commodius discuntur sed per haec verba turpitudo ista confidentius perpetratur S. Aug. lib. 2. Confes cap. 16. and that by
c. Petra autem erat Christus S. Hieron Epist ad Eustoch 22. be careful readily to reject it without staying therein never so little It is the chief Remedy given by the holy Fathers and particularly by St. Jerom writing to the devout Lady Eustochium Now that you may thus stifle Temptations in their birth remember to perform two things Statim ut libido titillaverit sensum aut blandum voluptatis incendium dulci nos calore perfuderit erumpamus in hanc vocem Dominus auxiliator meus non timebo quid faciat mihi caro Ibid. 1. Raise your Mind to God and protest unto him that you renounce the Temptation with all your Heart and will not consent unto it Beg of him the assistance of his Grace to resist it and acknowledge humbly that you can do nothing without him It is incredible Theotime how powerful Prayer is in the moment of Temptation 2. After that elevation of your Mind divert your self by applying your Thought to perform something as to Labor to Read to Speak with some one to take some Recreation or other like thing which may keep your Mind employ'd and you will find by Experience that the Temptation oftentimes without trouble will pass away and vanish If it continue and be obstinate to return persevere in employing these two Means Pray with more fervor protest that you will not consent proceed in entertaining your Mind with something else If you be all alone it will be good to stir up your self by some exterior Action of Devotion as to raise your Eyes or Hands to Heaven knock your Breast cast your self on your Knees to demand of God Grace to resist See the Example of S. Jerom Art. 8. It would also do very well to frighten your self with the remembrance of Death with the thoughts of Gods Judgments and of Eternal Damnation according to that great Advertisement of the Wiseman * In omnibus operibus tuis memorare novissima in aeternum non peccabis Eccl. 7.40 Remember the last things and you shall never sin Have a care not to stop your Thoughts to look upon the Temptation it self An important Advice but apply your Mind to think upon the Motives which may divert you And for this effect principally when the Temptation continues a long time endeavor to make reflection upon one or more of the former Considerations and after you have weighed them well make a sinal Resolution never to consent thereunto altho' it should return a thousand times Not to content your self to reject a Temptation Another Advice to make use of the Temptation as a Motive to some vertuous Action but to take an occasion from thence to perform some Action of Piety is a most effectual Remedy against it For Example on the Day you have been tempted apply your self more to Prayer than ordinarily read some pious Book do some Mortification give some Alms to the Poor and above all in the time of Temptation exercise some Act of Vertue as detesting of Sin loving of God with all your Heart protesting you will offend him no more By this means you will defeat your Enemy with his own Arms and he seeing that instead of moving you to Sins by his Temptations he gives you occasion to practise Vertue will desist from tempting you fearing to advance your Salvation by the same Means he employ'd to destroy you But above all Third Advice to distrust ones own Forces Theotime be careful when you resist a Temptation not to confide in your own Forces but to expect all from the sole Grace of God. This is a chief Means to overcome Temptations humbly acknowledging that you can do nothing of your self and that without the succor of Divine Grace you cannot conquer them By how much more you disconfide in your own strength putting your confidence only in God by so much more easily will you surmount them Noli de viribus tuis prae sumere Vide parvum contra Goliam vide parvum contra ingentem sed in nomine Domini praesumentem Tu venis ad me cum clipeo lancea ego in nomine Domini omnipotentis Sic aliter non omnino aliter non prosternitur inimicus Qui praesumit de viribus suis antequam pugnet ipse prosternitur S. Aug. Serm. 4. de verb. Apost See says S. Augustin little David combating Goliah He was a Child without Force without Arms who encountred a Giant Arm'd Cap-a-pe from Head to Foot but because he put all his confidence in God he gain'd the Victory Thou com'st to me said David to Goliah with Buckler and Lance and I come to thee in the Name of the all-powerful God And with that confidence he overthrew him at the first Stroke Thus must you encounter with the Enemy of your Salvation He says St. Augustin who trusts in his own Forces is overcome before he Fights Now the principal Means to obtain many Favors of God in Temptations is Prayer and the frequentation of the Sacraments and chiefly Confession which hath a wonderful force against Temptations and without it it is morally impossible to resist them any long time See all we have said in Part 2. Chap. 5. 7. ARTICLE V. Of some Artifices by which the Devil deceives Men in Temptations and principally young Men. All the force of the Devil in Temptations consists only in Craft and Deceit wherefore the best Means to resist him is to know the Tricks he ordinarily makes use of There are many but I shall only take notice of Three amongst the rest by which he maliciously abuses Men and principally young Men. The First is that by which he hinders them from regarding or knowing the Evil which is in the Sin they are going to commit First Artifice and on the contrary he represents to their Imagination very livelily on one side the sweetness of the Delight of Sin which he alway makes them think far greater than it is and on the other side the trouble and difficulty to resist it and abstain from it which makes them conceive it insupportable Who doth not see The Falsity of this Artifice that all these Delusions are great in all these three things For the Evil which is in Sin is the chiefest of all Evils imaginable as we have said above Art. 3. The Delight of Sin is but for a moment and it is follow'd by Vexation Sadness and Despair The trouble of resistance continues not long and a sweet and pleasing Consolation follows it it merits Heaven and frequently the deliverance from many other Temptations O dear Theotime The Remedy permit not your self to be abus'd in this manner by the Enemy of your Salvation When he shall propose a Temptation to you cast an Eye upon the Evil you are going to do which is a mortal Sin the greatest of all Evils Think not on the Pleasure that is offer'd which will pass like a Shadow but upon the Sorrow and Displeasure
State and from all the Disorders that are committed in the Celebration of the Nuptials as well by the Marry'd as by those who are invited For how can God give his Benediction to a Marriage wherein the Parties bring a Heart full of lewd Thoughts and unchast Desires where they make Expences of Garments and Feasts which offend Christian Modesty and frequently exceed their State and Ability and where all things pass in a licencious freedom of saying and doing any thing So that these Nuptials are rather the Triumph of impure Love and a Feast of the Devil than a Marriage of Christians which ought to be consecrated to Modesty and sanctifi'd by the Presence of Jesus Christ These are the the most ordinary Causes of bad Marriages and of all the Miseries and Misfortunes which arise from thence From whence it follows that the first Means to succeed well in so great and important an Enterprise is carefully to avoid all these so dreadful Causes To perform this with success this is what you shall do You must be convinc'd of three Truths which are certain and undoubted Maxims in this matter The First is That the greatest Happiness that can befall him who embraces a Marry'd Life is to succeed well in the choice of the Person he would Espouse as on the contrary there is no greater Misfortune than to prosper ill in this Occasion The Second is That this good success can only come from God. And the Third That God doth not ordinarily shew this Favor but to those who have liv'd well or have done Penance and have not fall'n into the Faults we have pointed at These three Truths are express'd by the Holy Ghost himself he teaches the First when he says by the Mouth of the Wiseman a Qui invenit mulierem bonam invenit bonum hauriet salutem à domino Prov. 18. Mulieris bonae beatus vir Eccl. 26. That he who hath found a good Wife hath found a great Blessing for a good Wife makes her Husband happy That it is a Blessing which surpasses all Blessings That there is nothing which can be compar'd to a vertuous Wife And on the contrary he saith That b Qui tenet mulierem nequam quasi qui apprehendit scorpionem he who hath met with a wicked Wife is like him who hath taken up a Scorpion in his Hand And that c Commorari leoni draconi placebit quam habitare cum muliere nequam Eccl. 25. the Company of a Lion or Serpent is more supportable than that of a bad Wife The Second Truth is express'd by these excellent Words That d Datum Dei est mulier sensata tacita non est immutatio eruditae animae Eccl. 26. a prudent and discreet Wife is the Gift of God to which there is nothing comparable And in the Proverbs That e Domus divitiae dantur à parentibus à Domino autem proprie uxor prudens Prov. 19. Parents may well give a House and Riches to their Children but it appertains only to God to give a discreet Wife The Third Truth is a consequence of the Second for if God gives this great Blessing it follows also that a Man must merit it from him as he himself hath declar'd by the same Wiseman who says f Pars bona mulier bona in parte timentium Deum dabitur viro pro factio bonis Eccl. 26. A Man is happy when he finds a good Wife and that it is the Portion of those who fear God and that God gives it to Man in recompence of his good Actions And the Angel Raphael says to the Father of young Sara that his Daughter was reserv'd for young Toby because he fear'd God and that the others had been unworthy of her by reason of their Sins Huic timenti Deum debetur conjux filia tua propterea alius non potuit habere eam The Second thing you shall have to do when you shall be fully convinc'd of these Truths is to concern your self to avoid the four Faults we mention'd which are the most ordinary Causes of bad Marriages and by avoiding them to practise the contrary Actions which are the necessary Dispositions for Marriage First then Live well during your Youth Be Chast and let not the love of Pleasures take possession of your Heart Follow not the Torrent of the bad Example of those of your Age who gape after nothing but Pleasures Be afraid lest God punish you by the same way by which you shall have sinn'd and that for the Pleasures you shall have taken during your Youth which are soon past he send you the anguish and trouble of a misfortunate Marriage which will continue all your Life Secondly When you shall be at the time of thinking of Marriage be careful to look upon it with a chast and pure Eye and have nothing but a holy Intention which seeks not Pleasure and Delight in so pious a thing but the vertuous End which a Christian ought to propose to himself The Angel Raphael hath declar'd it in a word to young Toby a Accipies virginem cum timore Domini amore filiorum magis quam libidine ductus Tob. 6. You shall Marry in the Fear of God with an intention of having Children and not thro' a love of Pleasures Call to mind the terrible Example of the seven Husbands of young Sara who were all stifled by the Devil on the Day of their Nuptials and learn from thence the Cause which the same Angel told to Toby b Audi me ostendam tibi qui sunt quibus praevalere potest daemonium Hi namque qui conjugium ita suscipiunt ut Deum à se à sua mente excludant suae libidini ita vacent sicut equus mulus quibus non est intellectus habet potestatem Daemonium super eos Ibid. Give ear to me says he to him and I shall tell you who those are over whom the Devil hath power For those who enter into Marriage not having God with them or thinking on him and who only seek wanton Pleasures as Beasts which have no Reason are they over whom the Devil hath power Imprint these words deeply in your Mind and know that if the Devil only kill'd those immediately who abus'd the Sanctity of Marriage he wants not other Means to exercise over them the power God hath given him whereof he discovers but too many Effects by all the Miseries with which he infests Marriage They who would not fall into them ought to avoid the Cause and have nothing but a chast Love in their Heart so that they may truly say to God those excellent words of young Toby * Et nunc Domine tu scis quia non luxuriae causa accipio sororem meam conjugem sed sola posteritatis dilectione in qua benedicatur nomen tuum in saecula saeculorum Tob. 8. Lord thou knowest that it is not the love of Pleasures which makes me
non fatageret idem pater qualis crescerem tibi aut quam castus essem dummodo essem disertus Ibid. Volebat enim illa secreto memini ut monuerit cum solicitudine ingenti ne fornicarer Qui mihi monitus muliebres videbantur quibus obtemperare erubescerem Ibid. The little Care his Father took for his Salvation and Manners concerning himself little that his Son should be Vertuous so that he became Learned and Eloquent as it happens to many Fathers Thirdly The Contempt of the Admonitions of his Mother who knowing her Sons Mind exhorted him continually not to permit himself to be carry'd away by the Excesses of Impurity but to no Effect Fourthly Quid dignum vituperio nisi vitium ego ne vituperarer vitiosior fiebam ubi non suberat quo admisso aequarer perditis fingebam me fecisse quod non feceram ne viderer abjectior quo eram innocentior ne vilior haberer quo eram castior Ibid. The wicked Examples of those of his Age so much prevail'd upon his Mind that he endeavour'd to be more Impious to the end he might be more like unto them and when he saw himself surpass'd by them in Wickedness he feign'd some Naughtiness which he had never committed fearing to be contemn'd by how much he appear'd less Vicious than others Fifthly Relaxabantur etiam mihi ad ludendum habenae ultra temperamentum severitatis in dissolutionem affectionum variarum Et in omnibus erat caligo intercludens mihi Deus meus serenitatem veritatis tuae prodibat tanquam ex adipe iniquitas mea Ibid. Cap. 5. The great Liberty his Parents gave him for Play and Recreations as he himself also takes notice These Causes cast him into Vice and cherish'd him in his Disorders the space of Three Years after which he began to open his Eyes and acknowledge his Misery It is here Theotime where you shall know the great Difficulty with which one withdraws himself from the Vices of his Youth Being Nineteen Years of Age he conceiv'd very effectual thoughts of his Salvation which God rais'd in him by reading * Ille vero Liber mutavit affectum meum ad teipsum Domine mutavit preces meas ac vota ac desideria mea fecit alia a Book of Cicero whose Title is Hortensius containing an Exhortation to Wisdom The reading of this Book as he himself saith chang'd presently his Mind and Inclinations and made him convert his Thoughts upon God and alter his Desires Viluit mihi repentè omnis vana spes immortalitatem sapientiae concupiscebam aestu cordis incredibili Et surgere jam caeperam ut ad te redirem Quomodo ardebam revelare à terrenis ad te Lib. 3. cap. 4. He began to contemn temporal and perishable Goods and Pleasures and to aspire with an incredible Longing after the Beauty of Wisdom which never perisheth And from that Time he began to depart from Vice and to return to God with a most ardent Desire Who would not have believ'd but that these good Motions would have been soon follow'd by a perfect Conversion But alas Theotime what is not a wicked Habit contracted in Youth able to do Vice and wicked Inclinations had so seis'd upon his Heart that altho' these Thoughts of his Conversion were very strong and that he us'd all his Endeavours to recover himself from that Puddle of Dirt wherein he was plung'd yet he continu'd therein not only a Day a Month a Year but from the Nineteenth to the Thirtieth Year of his Age And the Vices contracted in Three Years of his Youth kept him in Slavery Twelve whole Years During which Time he not only remain'd in his former Disorders but fell into others yet greater For as Immodesty leads to Error and Blindness he lapsed into the Heresie of Manichaeus wherein he continu'd Nine Years joyning to his Heresie the continual keeping of a Concubine in which State he liv'd from his first Corruption until the Time of his Conversion Being about Thirty Years of Age he thinks more seriously of his Conversion than formerly as he describes it in the Sixth Book Chap. 11. But hearken Theotime with what trouble he purchas'd his Design After that first Thought Cum haec dicebant alternabant hi venti impellebant huc atque illuc cor meum transibant tempora tardabam converti ad Dominum Deum deferebam de die in diem vivere in te non deferebam quotidie in meipso mori he remain'd yet above Two Years in his wicked Life deferring daily as he saith himself to be Converted unto God and to seek in him the Life of Grace not reflecting on the Death he caus'd in himself by his deprav'd Life He ought to have employ'd much Time in curing his Understanding and rooting out the Errors and Ignorances which yet remain'd of his Life past as he describes them in the Seventh Book and convincing himself of the necessity of his Conversion His Understanding being overcome Et non erat jam ulla excusatio qua videri mihi solebam propterea me nondum contempto saeculo servire tibi quia incerta mihi esset perceptio veritatis jam enim ipsa certa erat ego autem adhuc terra obligatus militare tibi recusabam impedimentis omnibus sic timebam expediri quemadmodum impediri temendum est Lib. 8. cap. 5. Et ego ad me quae non in me dixi quibus sententiarum verberibus non flagellavi animam meam ut sequeretur me conantem post te ire renitebatur Recusabat non se excusabat Consumpta erant convicta argumenta omnia Remanserat muta trepidatio quasi mortem reformidabat restringi à fluxu consuetudinis quo tabescebat mortem Cap. 7. and his Will not yet submitting the vicious Habits did in such a manner possess his Heart that they made him fear his Amendment more than his Life as he himself testifies He should have rooted out the Vices one after another Ambition Covetousness Impurity Ambition and Covetousness were soon banisht out of his Soul but that misfortunate Impurity kept yet a firm possession He was so enslav'd therewith Mihi displicebat quod agebam in saeculo oneri mihi valde erat non jam inflammantibus cupiditatiâ—us ut solebant spe honoris pecuniae ad tolerandam illam servitutem tam gravem Sed adhuc tenaciter colligabar ex femina Lib. 5. cap. 1. Putabam me miserum fore si feminae privarer amplexibus Lib. 6. cap. 11. that he thought he should never have been able to have got his Liberty accounting it an extreme Misery to be depriv'd of those ignominious Pleasures which are the source of all Misfortunes And Lastly The difficulty of his Conversion was so great that after many Combats which he underwent in his Soul during the space of Fourteen or Fifteen Years after the Solicitude Prayers and Tears
instituit ut laboret S. Bern. in Declam Consider that all Men are born for Labor God hath oblig'd them thereto by a solemn Sentence which he pronounc'd at the beginning of the World. If then you would be exempt leading an Idle Life you resist the Will of God and break the Order he hath so solemnly Establish'd 2. If Men be oblig'd to Labor all their Life-time they have yet a stricter Obligation to it during their Youth because if that Age be not Exercis'd in vertuous Undertakings it heaps up many Vices and wicked Habits which continue all the rest of their Life 3. Chiefly young Men. Because Youth is the proper time to cultivate the Mind and form it for Good and wherein only they may make themselves capable of an Employment where they may busie all the succeeding time of their Life If this Time be once lost it can never be repair'd Time lost in any Age never returns but there is this difference that Time lost in other Ages may sometimes be recover'd but Time lost in Youth is irreparable 4. The Sorrow for loss of Time in Youth Consider attentively the Grief you will one day have for losing the Time of your Youth when you shall find your self unfit for pious Employments and uncapable of any Good as it happens to many You believe it not at present but one day you will be sensible of it when it is too late 5. The Account that must be given If this Grief at present move you not the exact Account you shall give to God of the ill-spent Time of your Youth will at his Judgment make you tremble In that dreadful Judgment all your Life shall be set before your Eyes in order one Part after another and the first Article of the Account which shall be Examin'd will be that of the Employment you have follow'd in your Youth What will you answer to this Demand There you will distinctly discover all the Disorders which have sprung from that first Fault the Ignorances it hath caus'd in you the Sins it hath made you commit the Vices wherein you have been involv'd all the Goods you have been render'd incapable of What have you to answer to all these things 6. Many damned for the ill spending of their Touth How many others are there now in Hell who acknowledg the origin of their Damnation to arise from the ill spending the Time of their Youth If they could but hope for one sole Moment of Time which you have now in your power O God what would they not do to obtain it and bestow it profitably Is it possible that their Misery doth not move you and that you will not grow wise at other Mens Expence learning by their Example to avoid that irreparable Misfortune into which they are faln by their Idleness O dear Child for the love you ought to have for your Salvation fly absolutely this Vice I beseech you which is one of the greatest Impediments you could put And that you may remember to avoid it remember to perform two things The First is Two Practices against Idleness To apply your self to some modest Exercise which may keep you busi'd for the Time of your Youth and that you may perform it as you ought see what we have spoken of it above in Part 2. Chap. 12. The Second is That you take care as much as you can never to be Idle any more without doing something use constantly some Action whether of Labor wherein you are engag'd or Reading or Divertisement Let your Recreations be accompany'd with Actions either of Body or Mind The Devil seeks no better opportunity than to find you Idle that he may tempt and suprise you For this reason practise diligently that excellent Precept of S. Jerom * Facito aliquid operis ut te semper diabolus inveniat occupatum Hieron Epist ad Rust Be doing always something that the Devil may always find you employ'd CHAP. VIII The Eighth Obstacle Impurity WE are now come to the greatest most powerful and most universal of all the Obstacles of the Salvation of Youth viz. the Sin of Impurity At the Entrance whereof I cannot refrain from uttering that Expression of the Prophet Jeremy * Quis dabit capiti meo aquam oculis meis fontem lachrymarum plorabo die nocte interfectos filiae populi mei Jerem. 5. O that my Head were full of Water and my Eyes had a Fountain of Tears that I might weep Day and Night for the Desolation of my People For who can attentively consider the infinit number of young People which this Sin keeps miserably enslav'd the havock it makes of their Souls the innumerable Offences it causes them to commit the Disorders it brings to them the Misfortunes into which it daily precipitates them and chiefly the height of Misery viz. the ruin of their Soul and Eternal Damnation Who can consider these things I say without having his Heart pierc'd with Sorrow and without being mov'd with Compassion to advertise them of the Danger and afford them Assistance to withdraw them from the Misfortune into which they blindly run For this reason Theotime I beseech you six here your Thoughts and read attentively some Points of which I am to Discourse with you concerning this Sin that I may raise in your Mind the horror and apprehension you ought to have of it as of the greatest Enemy of your Salvation and of the certain cause of your Destruction ARTICLE I. That the Sin of Impurity is the greatest Enemy of Youth and Damns more than all other Vices together I would to God this Proposition were rather a Dream than a Truth and that there were as much reason to question the certainty as to hold it for infallible But it is made too clear and visible by daily Experience which evidently discovers two things 1. That a great part of Youth is addicted to this miserable Sin. 2. That amongst those who are inclin'd to it there are many who are no less subject to other Sins than that First Youth much given to the Sins of Impurity Is it not a most deplorable thing to see the innocentest Age of Life so corrupted by that infamous Sin and the most flourishing Portion of Gods Church dishonor'd in such a manner by that detestable Vice They are no sooner capable of Reason but this Vice attacks and gains upon them it creeps into their Mind it possesses their Desires it seises on their Thoughts it inflames their Hearts with a love of dishonest Pleasures which daily encreasing with Age becomes so strong that it is almost impossible to extinguish it This arises partly from the Corruption of Nature Three Causes of Impurity Sensus cogitatio humani cordis in malum prona sunt ab adolescentia sua Gen. 8.3 which as the Sacred Scripture takes notice is inclin'd to Evil from its Youth partly from the Temper and Constitution of that Age which the
Remedy is to resist it betimes and in its first assaults before it hath gotten possession and render'd it self Master of your Heart This The necessity of this Remedy Theotime is the great Remedy against this Sin and principally in Youth wherein it is so necessary that for want of practising it the greatest part of young Men are misfortunately engag'd in this Vice and oftentimes so deeply that they are never able to free themselve or with very great trouble It is the chief Maxim for all Distempers whether of Body or Soul to apply their Remedies in the beginning Principiis obsta sero medicina paratur Cum mala per longas invaluere moras The Motions unto Ill at first withstand The Cure's too late when Vice has got Command Now if the practice of this Maxim be necessary in all both Corporal and Spiritual Distempers it is particularly in this Sin of Impurity which is easily increas'd and makes a wonderful progress in a small time For this reason the Fathers have recommended it with much care hearken Theotime to what they shall deliver to you St. Cyprian says Diaboli primis titillationibus obviandum nec foveri debet coluber donec in draconem formetur Cypr. de jejunio Diabolus Serpens est lubricus cujus capiti hoc est primae suggestioni si non resistitur totus in interna cordis dum non sentitur illabitur S. Hier. in c. 9. Eccles Quid est libido nisi ignis Quid virtutes nisi flores Quid item turpes cogitationes nisi paleae Quis autem nesciat si in paleis ignis negligenter extinguitur ex parva scintilla omnes paleae accenduntur Qui ergo virtutum flores in mente non vult exurere ita debet libidinis ignem extinguere ut per tenuem scintillam nunquam possit ardere S. Greg. in c. 25. 1 Reg. l. 6. That we must resist the first Temptations of the Devil and to do otherwise is to cherish an Adder which will grow up into a Serpent able to devour him who harbour'd it S. Jerom says That the Devil is a creeping Serpent and as to keep a Serpent from entring into a Hole we hinder it from putting in its Head which being once enter'd it cannot be stopt from introducing its whole Body So to hinder the Devil from having admittance into our Soul by Sin we must resist the first Temptations which if not withstood he insensibly creeps into the Heart and makes himself Master of it St. Gregory says That Impurity is enkindled in the Soul like Fire in Straw and as if one doth not quickly and entirely extinguish the Fire it burns all that it encounters so if the Flame of Incontinence be not carefully put out it causes a Fire in the Soul which is often without remedy But give ear In initio cogitationis iniquae repelle fugiet à te cogitatio prava delectationem parit delectatio consensum consensus actionem actio consuetudinem consuetudo necessitatem necessitas mortem Sicut vipera à filiis suis in utero positis lacerata perimitur ita nos cogitationes nostrae intra nos nutritrae occidunt S. Bern. lib. de interi Dom. cap. 39. Theotime to the excellent Counsel of St. Bernard with the reason he there adds Reject evil Thoughts at the beginning and they will fly from you Lascivious Thoughts which are not resisted cause Delight Delight draws on Consent Consent produces the Action from the Action springs a Habit from a Habit Necessity and from Necessity Death And as the Viper is kill'd by the little ones she carries in her Womb so we receive Death by our vicious Thoughts when we nourish them in our Hearts The Reason of this Maxim so much recommended by the Saints is that it is easiest to resist the Sin of Impurity at the beginning and very hard to surmount it when it is become inveterate and strengthned by a long Habit. To comprehend better the greatness of this Difficulty see what we have said in the First Part of the trouble one is to undergo for his Salvation when he hath liv'd ill in his Youth for all that we have said above and the Examples we have brought are particularly to be understood of the Sin of Incontinence ARTICLE V. That we must avoid the Causes of Impurity The Second Means against the Sin of Immodesty is to avoid carefully the Causes and Occasions of it Second Remedy A Means absolutely necessary it being certain that to hinder the Effect we must take away the Cause and he who puts himself in the Occasion of Evil cannot avoid falling into it because according to the Maxim Qui amat periculum peribat in illo He who loveth Danger shall perish therein The first Cause we must fly is Idleness First Cause to be avoided Idleness which is the Mother of all Vices as we have said but principally of this It is that which opens the door to evil Thoughts Omnium cogitationum malarum tentationum sentina and immodest Desires which increase extreamly in an idle Mind and make it commit a vast number of Sins It is the Sink and Receptacle of impure Temptations according to St. Bernard Impurity says he Luxuria cito deripit homines otio deditos gravius urit quem otiosum invenit S. Bern. Serm. ad Frat. de Mon. Dei. hath never a greater advantage to surprise Men than in Idleness it burns more violently those it finds lull'd asleep in Vice. This Verity is so common that the Pagans themselves have taught it us Otia si tollas periere Cupidinis arcus Contemptaeque jacent sine luce faces Quaeritur Aegyptus quare sit factus adulter In promptu causa est desidiosus erat If Sloth be banisht Cupid's Bow 's unbent His Torch extinct and all his Arrows spent Why did the Egyptian Adultery commit The Reason's clear he first did Sloth admit Have a care then Theotime to fly as much as you can this great Cause of Impurity never remaining Idle but especially when you are all alone See what we have said of Idleness in the former Chapter and of employment of Time in Part 2. Chap. 14. The Second Cause of Impurity is Intemperance in Eating and Drinking Second Cause with which it is impossible to conserve Chastity in whatsoever Age it be principally in Youth The Heat of Blood which boils in that Age excites them very much to Sensual Pleasures but when it is assisted by exterior Causes as Wine and good Cheer it produces an incredible disturbance Hearken to what S. Jerom says who speaks of it by his own Experience In his Epistle to Furia he says a Non Aetnaei ignes non Vulcania tellus non Vesuvius aut Olympus tantis ardoribus aestuant ut juveniles medullae vino dapibus inflammatae S. Jer. de Virg. Serv. That Mount Aetna Mount Vesuvius and Mount Olympus which continually exhale Fire and Flames did not
signo in manibus inter oculos vestros collocate docete filios vestros ut illa meditentur Cap. 9. Fix says he my words in your Heart and in your Mind have them in your Hands and before your Eyes teach them to your Children that they may meditate on them To represent this Truth yet better he at the same time ordains That a Omne animal quod non ruminat immundum erit Levit. 11. all living Creatures which ruminate not that is which chew not the Cud should be reputed unclean and not be offer'd to him in Sacrifice For this reason also David begins his Psalms with the praise of Meditation saying b In lege Domini voluntas ejus in lege ejus meditabitur die ac nocte Et erit tanquam lignum quod plantatum est secus decursus aquarum quod fructum suum dabit in tempore suo Psal 1. The Just shall always have his affection in the Law of God and meditate on it Night and Day He adds that this Meditation will make the Just resemble a fair Tree planted by the Water-side which will bear Fruit in its time because as the Water moistning the Root of the Tree makes it fertil and abounding in Fruit so Meditation upon holy things filling the Heart with good Thoughts and pious Affections renders it rich in Vertue and good Works ARTICLE IV. That Meditation is not so difficult as many conceive it This is a Truth which is easie to be made appear Is it not a strange thing that Men should account that hard yea even impossible which is perform'd daily in all manner of Subjects except that of Salvation What Merchant is there who doth not often and seriously think on the Affairs of his Traffick He who hath a Process or Suit at Law doth he not daily cast in his Mind the Means to gain it and that not lightly and hastily but seriously with attention with Affection and putting in Execution all the Means he finds To act in this manner is that which we understand by Meditating Do not you your self Theotime who are as yet perhaps in your Studies meditate when you are at your Book composing any thing or learning a Question in Philosophy or any other Science You apply your Mind to comprehend it to remember and reap profit from what you learn All this is nothing else but Meditating Why then cannot you do that for your Eternal Salvation which you perform for a Temporal Science I say more Why can you not perform that for your Salvation which you do for your Divertisement on which you think so often with so much application and pleasure that frequently you have no other Thoughts but those and they totally take up your Mind Why do you meditate so easily upon your Pleasures and cannot meditate on your Salvation Why in fine can you do less for Vertue than the Impious for Vice and Wickedness When they have an ill Design to put in Execution they perpetually think on it they take no greater Pleasure than in seeking and finding the Means to effect it This is what the Scripture calls Iniquitatem meâ—â—tatus est in cubili suo Psal 35. To meditate Iniquity Why cannot you meditate upon Vertue and perform that for it which others do for Vice and which you your self perhaps have done Say not then any more that Meditation is too hard ARTICLE V. That Meditation may be render'd facil Notwithstanding the Difficulties which may be apprehended in this Action there are many Means to make it easie The first and most efficacious Means is a good Desire and Affection for Salvation He who loves his Salvation will think freely and often on it will seek with much care the Means to obtain it and make them easie and familiar Nothing is difficult to him who loves Amongst these Means Meditation and Prayer keep the first Rank Next to them there are three others which will make this Action facil Method Exercise and the Assistance of Divine Grace You must first learn a short Method which gives entrance to an Exercise you know not and which teaches how you should behave your self therein We shall assign one hereafter Secondly You must make use of it there being nothing which more facilitates an Action than the frequent Exercise thereof Exercise making you overcome in all things the greatest Difficulties and rendring facil that which before appear'd impossible Lastly and above all You must be assisted therein by the Grace of God who is the Father of Lights and Author of all pious Affections Upon this you must rely in this Exercise more than upon all human Industry and for this effect you must in your Meditation beg it earnestly of Almighty God as we shall tell you presently ARTICLE VI. That young Persons may Meditate and that they have need of it I say first that they may because there is nothing impossible to the Grace of God who can do all things and God who is pleas'd with young Souls is never wanting to communicate himself to them when they seek him in sincerity of Heart Besides young Minds not being as yet encumbred with the care of worldly Affairs nor prevented by violent Passions nor engag'd in so many Vices as they are in a more advanced Age are capable of applying themselves to the thoughts of pious things and more apt to receive the Light God communicates in this holy Exercise and good Motions which his Grace inspires therein I have said moreover that young People have need of Meditating for this reason which seems to me convincing Because the Lightness of Mind natural to their Age hinders them ordinarily from applying themselves so much as they ought to the thoughts of their Salvation They easily receive Knowledges but they are as soon blotted out of their Mind because they make not Reflections on them This is what hinders them from profiting in Vertue they have therefore great need of some Means which may keep their Mind attentive and accustom them to weigh things with Reflection Now a little Exercise in Meditation serves marvellously for this The same Lightness of Mind puts an Impediment to their advancing in the most necessary Means of their Salvation and particularly in three that is in Prayer in the Word of God and in reading pious Books They Pray without Attention and Affection They recite their Prayers without thinking on what they say They speak to God with their Lips but not with their Heart Their Tongue talks but their Heart is silent and yet it is the Heart alone which Prays and obtains it is that alone to whose Voice and Language Almighty God gives ear Now this Prayer of the Heart is learnt in the Exercise of Meditation The same is to be said of the Word of God they often hearken to it with a most wandring and distracted Mind where if they give any Attention to it they make no Reflection on the Verities they have learnt which is the cause why
they so soon slip out of their Memory and they lose all the Fruit of them The like befalls them in reading of pious Books to which they apply not themselves but with trouble and get no profit by them This springs from their Lightness of Mind which cannot apply it self to serious and profitable Thoughts unless it be in good time accustom'd and fram'd to it Now this is perform'd by the Exercise of Meditation which accustoms them to raise their Mind to God to fix their Thoughts upon an Object of Piety to form holy Affections therein and take convenient Resolutions ARTICLE VII A Confirmation of the two former Truths out of the Sacred Scripture To convince you yet more of these two Verities I shall bring the Sentiment of the Sacred Scripture that is of God himself If young Persons were not capable of Meditating and if they had not need of it would the Scripture exhort them so frequently as it does in the Book of Proverbs and elsewhere to so holy an Exercise My Child Fili si susceperis sermones meos mandata mea absconderes penes te ut audiat sapientiam auris tua inclina cor tuum ad cognoscendam prudentiam si enim sapientiam invocaveris inclinaveris cor tuum prudentiae si quaesieris quasi pecuniam sicut thesauros effoderis illam tunc intelliges timorem Domini scientiam Dei invenies Prov. 2. saith the Wiseman in Cha. 2. of that Book if you shall receive my words and engrave them in your Mind to become wise remember to apply your self with all your Heart to know Prudence If you demand Wisdom if you bear an inclination or affection to the search of it if you seek it as Men seek Mony and Treasures that is employing the same Diligence and as much Affection you will become wise in the Fear of God and you will learn to know it Observe Theotime that Comparison of the Care young People ought to bring to the search of Wisdom with that which is employ'd in seeking Mony and discovering a hidden Treasure and remember the Earnestness with which you sometimes searched after the Means to get it how often have you meditated upon it and frequently without effect Why will you do less for your Eternal Salvation on which you shall never think without Fruit and Advantage In Chap. 3. he exhorts young Persons to think often on the Means of their Salvation which he comprehends under the Names of a Misericordia Veritas non te deserant circunda eos gutturi tuo describe in tabulis cordis tui Prov. 3. Mercy and Truth He desires that they should always have them before their Eyes and write them in their Heart What is this but to Meditate In Chap. 4. b Fili mi ausculta sermones meos ad eloquia mea inclina aurem tuam Ne recedant ab oculis tuis custodi ea in medio cordis tui vita enim sunt invenientibus ea Prov. 4. Son hearken to my Words and be attentive to my Counsels have them often before your Eyes and conserve them in the middle of your Heart for they will give Life to those who find them In Chap. 6. * Conserva fili praecepta patris tui ne dimittas legem matris tuae liga ea in corde tuo jugiter circunda gutturi tuo cum ambulaveris gradiantur tecum cum dormieris custodiant te Prov. 6. Son conserve the Precepts of your Father and neglect not the Admonitions of your Mother keep them carefully as if ty'd in your Heart and about your Neck let them be always with you that they may guard you when you sleep and awaking you may entertain your self with them In Chap. 6. of Ecclesiasticus the same Counsel is also reiterated * Cogitatum tuum habe in praeceptis Dei in madatis illius maxime assiduus esto ipse dabit tibi cor concupiscentia sapientiae dabitur tibi Eccl. 6. Fix your thoughts upon the Commandments of God and be very solicitous to meditate upon them and he will give you a perfect Heart and a love of true Wisdom In fine The Practice of the Church in receiving young People to the Profession of a Religious Life at the Age of Sixteen compleat shews sufficiently that they are capable of Meditating since they are then capable of Engaging themselves for their whole Life which ought not to be done without considering of it a long time and seriously Now for this we have need of Meditation and Prayer ARTICLE VIII Of the great Benefit of Meditation The great and general Benefit we gather from this holy Exercise is That we learn there to know solidly the Truths of Salvation to love them and put them in practice These are the three Effects of Meditation which cannot be sufficiently esteem'd because they comprehend all that is necessary for Salvation Besides those there are two others which deserve a particular Consideration because they are the Fountain of the rest viz. Meditation teaches us to speak to God and to hear God when he do's us the Favor to speak to us * Christum alloquimur cum oramus Christum audimus cum divina legimus oracula S. Ambr. 1. Offic. 20. We speak to God when we Pray and when we beg of him those things we stand in need of God speaks to us when he interiorly inspires us illuminating our Understandings by good Thoughts exciting our Will by good Motions which he gives it and animating us to put them in Execution Upon these two Actions Speaking to God with our Heart and Hearkning to him when he speaks to our Heart depends absolutely our Salvation that is the beginning progress and perfecting of our Sanctification It is for this reason that the Fathers have recommended them to us with so much care One while speak to God Nunc cum Deo loquere nunc Deus tecum says S. Jerom another while give ear to what God speaks to you In speaking to God we beseech him that he will come to us by his Grace In hearkning unto him we open our Heart for him to enter there In speaking to him we demand of him his Lights and Favors In hearkning to him we receive them and enclose them in our Heart to conserve and practise them What Honor Theotime and Happiness is this to be able to speake to God freely and familiarly and that he should vouchsafe to speak to us and inspire us with his holy Will A Happiness which Men know so little how to value that the greatest part are even ignorant of the use altho' on it their Eternal Salvation depends God is always ready to hearken to us and we speak not to him He speaks to us and we know not what it is to hearken to him What Blindess is greater than this to neglect thus so honorable so advantagious and so necessary a Favor If Kings of the Earth should give so
which is to advance you in Vertue 2. In placing your self in the Presence of God and begging of him the Favor to draw from the Subject you are going to Meditate on some pious Thoughts Affections and Resolutions for Salvation But this Prayer must be made from the bottom of your Heart desiring ardently to obtain that which you demand The Second is Meditation it self which consists in three Acts of which we have frequently spoken To raise good Thoughts Affections and Resolutions from the Subject on which you Meditate The Subject therefore to be Meditated on must be read and lookt over beforehand and after having made your Prayer to God the Mind must be apply'd to consider attentively the Thoughts you shall have had and the Motives you shall have read upon the matter or others with which God shall inspire you to draw from thence convenient Affections and Resolutions to practise them You must perform these three Acts in the Presence of God consider that from him all good Thoughts come demand them therefore of him very often and beseech him to speak to your Heart a Loquere Domine quia audit servus tuus 2 Reg. 3. Speak Lord for thy Servant hears thee b Audiam quid loquatur in me Dominus Psal 84. I will hearken to what our Lord shall speak within me In this Exercise is practis'd that holy Commerce of which we spoke above of speaking to God and hearing God when he speaks to us We speak to him in Praying to him and Ruminating in his Presence on the Subject on which we Meditate We hearken to him by expecting and receiving his holy Inspirations and entertaining them in our Heart and conserving them to put them in Practice But this Conference of speaking to God and hearkning to God in our Heart must be perform'd in Repose and Silence as the Prophet says that is with a quiet and attentive Mind and desirous to profit in Vertue The Third Part is the Conclusion which is effected only by Prayer wherein acknowledging two things in the sight of God viz. That all good Thoughts come from him and that we know not how to put them in practice but by his Grace we give him most humble thanks for those he hath bestow'd upon us and beseech him that he will give us the Grace to put them in practice Thus Theotime if you consider well the Oeconomy or Disposition of Meditation you will find that it is totally referr'd to two things to Pray and to Meditate this is all which is perform'd in that holy Exercise It is therefore sometimes call'd Meditation sometimes Mental Prayer And it is upon these two Actions that our Salvation and Sanctification depend We must Meditate to fill our Mind with the Knowledge of pious things but we must Pray to be illuminated by God in this Knowledge and that the Light we receive therein may inflame us with the Love of God. We ought therefore to say often with good King Ezechias * Sicut pullus hirundinis clamabo meditabor ut columba Isai 38. I will cry out like a young Swallow and will meditate like a Dove In fine Theotime we interiorly perform in this Exercise the same which the Prophet Elias did in a visible Sacrifice which he would offer to God He prepar'd the Victim and Wood to burn it and afterwards he set himself to Prayer to demand of God that he would be pleas'd to send him Fire from Heaven to burn that Holocaust Fire in reality descended and consum'd all the Sacrifice Thus in this holy Exercise of Prayer we prepare our Heart to sacrifice it to God we fill it with the Knowledge of pious things which are apt to inflame it with the Love of God but the Celestial Fire must descend upon it that is God must inflame it with his Grace and enkindle in it the Fire of his Love that same Fire which he himself came to bring into the World and which he earnestly desires should inflame all our Hearts ARTICLE X. The Subject on which we must Meditate After we have spoken of the Method of Meditation we must now speak of the Subject or Matter on which you may Meditate These Subjects are generally all the Truths of Salvation which God hath reveal'd and manifested to Men the knowledge whereof serves to excite us to the Love of God such are these which follow 1. The Greatness and Perfections of God as his Power Wisdom Goodness Justice Immensity and Eternity 2. The Favors of God towards Men as Creation Conservation Redemption Vocation to Christianity the Grace of Justification the particular Benefits we find we have receiv'd from him 3. The Nativity the Life the Actions the Miracles the Passion the Death the Resurrection the Ascension of our Saviour Jesus Christ with all his Divine Words are excellent and plentiful Subjects of Meditation 4 The four last things of Man that is his Death Judgment Heaven Hell. 5. Sin in general 6. The Sins or Vices in particular as Pride Impurity Intemperance Anger Covetousness Envy and all others 7. The Christian Vertues opposite to these Vices the Love of God the Love of our Neighbor Humility Chastity Meekness of Heart and others In fine We may Meditate upon Faith and by consequence upon the Articles of the Creed upon Hope and upon every Petition of the Pater Noster or Lord's Prayer upon Charity and at the same time upon the Commandments of God all which have relation to Charity Upon the first Subjects which are the Perfections of God we Meditate upon their greatness which may be learnt by Books which treat of them and we draw from thence convenient Affections as Admiration Respect Submission Fear Hope Love. Upon the Benefits of God we consider their greatness by the excellence of the thing which is given by the Greatness of him who gives them and who bestows Favors on us out of his pure Goodness without having any need of us by the meanness of him who receives the Benefits that is of our selves from thence we examin the good or ill Use we have made of them the ingratitude with which we have receiv'd them the good Use we are bound to make of them for the future Upon the Life and Actions of our Lord we consider the Circumstances which render them admirable the Vertues he made appear therein from thence we draw powerful Motives of Love of Acknowledgment and of Imitation Upon the four last things by looking on them attentively and as at hand we learn to know them to fear them and to prepare our selves for them in good time by a holy Life This is a very profitable and efficacious Meditation when it is often perform'd and with necessary application * Memorare novissima tua in aeternum non peccabis Eccl 7. Remember says the Wiseman the last things and you shall never sin Upon Sin in general there are two great Considerations which comprehend all others to be reflected on The