these wicked Books we learn not to Speak well but only to become bad and commit Vice with less restraint I tell you you may draw Eloquence from other Places than from those corrupted Fountains and that that Eloquence or Science is misfortunate which cannot be acquir'd but by the loss of ones Soul and eternal Happiness CHAP. XVIII Of Pious Conversation THERE is yet a most important Means to acquire Vertue viz. to Converse with vertuous Persons Nothing hath so great power over the Mind as Example whether good or bad Man is naturally inclin'd to Imitation and to act that which he sees others do Now if Example hath such an influence over the Mind it is principally in Conversation where it hath so much more force by how much it is entertain'd nearer and more frequently And if it have so much power over Men it hath a wonderful influence upon young People as we see by Experience For this reason one of the most important Advices which can be given to those who aspire to Vertue and particularly to young Persons is that of pious Conversation It is there Theotime where Vertue is instill'd into the Mind with Pleasure The Example of others makes secret but strong Impressions which frame the Soul to Piety without perceiving it A Man insensibly embraces their Judgments and Maxims learns to speak and act like them and believes it his Duty to do what he sees others perform A noble Spirit blushes to see it self overcome by its Companions And it is a sign of a wicked Disposition and of a Mind totally abandon'd by God when the Example of others doth not move it and that it persists in Vice amongst the Examples of Vertue This most powerful Means is also taught by the Wiseman in Ecclesiasticus Chap. 9. Treat says he with the Wise and Prudent let the just and vertuous Persons be your familiar Companions The reason of this Counsel is given in the Proverbs because * Qui cum sapientibus graditur sapiens erit Prov. 13. He who converseth with the wise will becom wise Now there are two sorts of vertuous Persons with whom you ought to converse 1. Endeavour to Associate your Self with discreet Persons who surpass you in Age as well as in Wisdom and Vertue It is the Advice of the Wiseman in the words I cited now and also in Chap. 6. where he says * In multitudine presbyterorum prudentium sta sapientiae illorum ex corde conjungere Eccl. 6. Frequent the Company of ancient wise Persons and seriously follow their wisdom That is take pleasure in their Society and advantage your self with their wise Discourses and good Examples St. Ambrose gives the same Advice to young People in his Offices where he says * Plurimum itaque prodest unicuique bonis conjungi Adolescentibus quoque utile ut claros sapientes viros sequantur quoniam qui congreditur sapientibus sapiens erit c. Et ad instructionem bonis jungi plurimum proficit ad probitatis testimonium ostendunt enim adolescentes eorum se imitatores esse quibus adhaeserint ea convalescit opinio quod ab his vivendi acceperint similitudinem cum quibus conversandi hauserint cupiditatem S. Ambr. Lib. 2. Offic. cap. 20. That it is very profitable for young Persons to follow wise Men because it assists them much to learn Vertue and give some Proof of their integrity And that young Persons conversing with wise Men shew that they imitate those with whom they associate and it is judg'd that they form their Lives according to theirs with whom they keep Company 2. Converse with those of your Age and Profession whom you know to be addicted to Vertue Their Example will make a great Impression upon your Mind and will delightfully draw you to their Imitation Have a care then to make a good Choice practising exactly that excellent Advice of St. Jerom to Nepotian Associate Tales habeto socios quorum contubernio non infameris Non ornentur veste sed moribus nec alamistro crispent comas sed moribus pudicitiam polliceantâ—r S. Hier. Epist ad Nepoâ—â—an says he your self with those whose Conversation may give no blemish to your Reputation and who shall be better adorn'd with Vertue than with Garments and who delight not in Curling their Hair but who shall promise Modesty and Integrity Keep Company with such love their Conversation take notice frequently of their Modesty of their Piety of their vertuous Actions and endeavour to imitate them by a holy and blessed Emulation which will not permit you to be last in the Service of your Creator CHAP. XIX Of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin and S. Joseph THIS Theotime Sixteenth Means is one of the last Means which I assign you but it is also one of the most effectual and delightful to make you live and encrease in Vertue viz. The Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Next to God and the most adorable Humanity of his Son Jesus Christ it is she whom we must chiefly Honor and Love by reason of that most sublime and excellent Dignity of the Mother of God which raiseth her above all Creatures God hath ever created By her we may receive all the Assistance which is necessary for us She is most Powerful in respect of God to obtain from him all that she shall demand of him She is all Goodness in regard of us to apply her self to God for us Being Mother of God he cannot refuse her Request being our Mother she cannot deny us her Intercession when we have recourse to her Our Miseries move her Heart our Necessities urge ger the Prayers we offer her for our Salvation bring to us all that we demand And St. Bernard hath the boldness to say * Sileat misericordiam tuam Virgo beata si quis est qui invocatam te in necessitatibus suis sibi meminer it defuisse S. Ber. Serm. 4. de Assumpt That never any Person invoked that Mother of Mercy in his Necessities who hath not been sensible of the Effects of her Assistance Since the Blessed Virgin hath so much Goodness and Mercy for all Men we may say she hath a very particular one for young People whose Frailty she knows to be the greatest and Necessities most urgent chiefly for the preservation of Chastity which is most of all assaulted in that Age and of which she is a singular Protectress Histories are full of Examples of Saints who have conserv'd this great Vertue in their Youth by the Assistance of this Queen of Virgins And the Experience thereof doth daily discover many who have gain'd great Victories by the recourse they have had to her Intercession and who have happily advanc'd themselves in Vertue under her Protection and Conduct Be therefore Devout to the Blessed Virgin dear Theotime but in the Name of God let it not be the Devotion of many who think themselves to be Devout to the Blessed Virgin in offering
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
Esteem Value not your self for any thing whatsoever neither for your Riches nor for your Quality nor Beauty or good Behavior for the Glory one takes in these things is base and impertinent and belongs only to vain Spirits Nor for your Wit or Science for these are the Gifts of God and you offer him an Injury when you raise your self Esteem from thence Nor much less for Vertue for it springs far less from you and he who glories therein puts himself in danger of absolutely losing it Besides we often imagin we have Perfections which we have not and when we find in our selves any Advantage we ought to give the Glory to God who is the Author of it and not to our selves who have receiv'd it and say from our Heart Non nobis Domine Psal 113. non nobis sed nomini tuo da gloriam It is an excellent Maxim of S. Bernard Gloriam meam alteri non dabo quid ergo dabis Domine Quid dabis nobis Pacem inquit do vobis pacem relinquo vobis Sufficit mihi gratanter accipio quod relinquis relinquo quod retines sic placet sic mea interesse non dubito Abjuro gloriam prorsus ne forte si usurpavero non concessam perdam merito oblatam Pacem volo pacem desidero nihil amplius Cui non sufficit pax non sufficis tu tu es enim pax nostra qui secisti utraque unum Et infra Gloria in Excelsis Deo in terra Pax hominibus bonae voluntatis At vero non bonae sed planae iniquae voluntatis est qui nequaquam pace contentus superbo oculo insatiabili corde inquietus anhelat ad gloriam Dei nec pacem proinde retinens nec gloriam apprehendens S. Bern. Serm. 13. in Cant. which ought to be deeply engraven in your Mind That amongst all the Favors God hath bestow'd upon us he hath reserv'd nothing to himself but the Glory of being the Author of them and having committed to us the whole Fruit of them it is a very unjust and criminal thing that we should take to our selves the Profit and also the Glory of them retaining our Part and usurping that which belongs to God after he hath declar'd that he would give it to no one I will not give says he my Glory to another Weigh well this Reflection Theotime 2. 2. Towards God. Be humble towards God in consideration of his incomprehensible Greatness before which you are nothing in contemplation of that Power Substantia mea tanquam nihilum ante te Psal 38. of that Sovereign Majesty which makes the Angels themselves to tremble Acknowledge the Offences you have committed against this infinite Greatness the Favors which without number you have received from his Bounty the Abuses you have offer'd it the Account you must give in his Judgment the Necessity you have of his Graces for your Salvation with a thousand like things and you will find reason enough to humble your self or rather annihilate your self before God. 3. 3. Towards Men. Be humble towards Men. There are those who are humble towards God for how should not a wretched Creature abase it self before its Creator its Lord and its Judg but they are proud in respect of Men and so have not true Humility To practise this Humility be careful never to despise any Person and be ready to honor every one amongst Men Some are above you others equal to you others Inferiors As to the First Respect towards Superiors be Respectful Tractable and Obedient to all those who have any Authority over you Suffer humbly to be reprehended if you do otherwise you are proud Honor also all those who surpass you in any thing in Age in Science in Quality As for your Equals Towards Equals endeavor to treat them always with Esteem with Honor with Deference without being well-conceited of your self without being offended at his Rank of Honor nor desiring to precede you must leave these Vanities to those who affect them As for your Inferiors Towards Inferiors be mild and benign to all those who Serve you considering them as your Brethren a Et vos domini eadem facite illis remittentes minas scientes quia illorum vester Dominus est in coelis personarum acceptio non est a pud eum Ephes 6.9 And you Masters says the Apostle S. Paul treat sweetly your Servants refraining from Threats remembring that you have a common Master with them in Heaven who hath no respect of Persons Shew your self humble and affable to all others that are of a meaner Condition than you according to that excellent Precept of the Wiseman b Congregationi pauperum affabilem te facito Be affable to the company of the Poor be ready to serve and assist them in their Necessities In fine A great Means to repress Pride is to consider what Man is his Baseness his Miseries the shortness of Life and what follows after Death c Quid superbis terra cinis omnis Potentatus vita brevis Rex hodie est cras morietur cum morietur homo haereditabit serpentes bestias vermes Eccl. 10. Dust and Ashes what dost thou glory in says the Wiseman All Authority is but of a short continuance To day a King to morrow nothing and when Man shall be dead he will inherit Beasts Serpents and Worms O God what a Motive is this of Pride Respect not Theotime many exterior things which environ you and raise in you Pride and Vanity but consider what you are in your self and you will find reason enough to be humble It is the Advice S. Bernard gives you in those excellent Verses which I shall present to you to meditate attentively on Forma favor populi S. Bern. Medit. cap. 3. fervor juvenilis opesque Subripuere tibi noscere quid sit homo Vnde superbit homo Cujus conceptio culpa Nasci paena labor vita necesse Mori Post hominem vermis post vermem faetor horror Sic in non hominem vertitur omnis homo Youth and Beauty Wealth and th' Worlds Applause Make Man forget his Nature and her Laws His Life 's a Toil Conception Sin a Pain His Birth and needs must die Why then so vain His Crops will Worms possess and Stench and Dread Will Worms succeed See then what 's Man when dead The Meaning is That if Man will consider himself attentively he will find reason enough to repress his Pride he will find that his Conception casts him into Sin his Birth into Misery that his Life is a continu'd Chain of Labors that Death is an unavoidable Necessity and that after Death he shall possess nothing but Stench Corruption and Horror as to his Body But as for his Soul she is to be presented before the Judgment of God to receive there the Decree of her Eternal Happiness or Misery and this Judgment shall be terrible
serve God for himself by Love. ib. Max. 11. That we must have a Rule of our Actions and that this Rule ought to be the Law of God the Example and Doctrin of Jesus Christ and not the World nor the Example of others nor Custom Pag. 521. Max. 12. That the World is deceiv'd in all its Judgments and Maxims Pag. 522. Max. 13. That to be united only to God we must contemn Earthly things Pag. 523. Chap. 16. Of Perseverance Pag. 524. The Table of the Treatise of Meditation or Mental Prayer ARTICLE 1. WHat is it to Meditate Pag. 533. Artic. 2. That without Meditating it is hard to effect our Salvation Pag. 534. Artic. 3. That Meditation is not an Invention of Man but of God. Pag. 535. Artic. 4. That Meditation is not so difficult as many conceive it Pag. 537. Artic. 5. That Meditation may be render'd facil Pag. 538. Artic. 6. That young Persons may Meditate and that they have need of it Pag. 539. Artic. 7. A Confirmation of the two former Truths out of the Sacred Scripture Pag. 541. Artic. 8. Of the great Benefit of Meditation Pag. 544. Artic. 9. The Method of Meditation Pag. 547. Artic. 10. The Subject on which we must Meditate Pag. 553. Artic. 11. Another easie and profitable Subject of Meditation Pag. 557. Artic. 12. The Practice of Meditation Pag. 561. Artic. 13. Some Advices concerning Meditation Pag. 566. Advice 1. ibid. Advice 2. Pag. 567. Advice 3. Pag. 571. Advice 4. Pag. 573. Conclusion Pag. 574. THE INSTRUCTION OF YOUTH IN Christian Piety PART I. Of the Reasons and Motives which oblige Men to apply themselves to Vertue in their Youth CHAP. I. Of the End for which Man is Created MOTIVE I. AMongst all the things whose Knowledg is necessary for Man The End for which Man is Created is his first necessary Knowledg that which first and before all he ought to understand is the End for which he is plac'd in this World. Because being a Reasonable Creature he ought to act for a final End in the Enjoyment whereof he seeks his Happiness and Felicity Now he cannot act for this End without a Knowledg of it which raises in him a Desire makes him search and employ Means to arrive there A Man who knows not his last End is scarce distinct from a Beast because he regards only things present things material and sensible after the manner of Bruits and in this is more miserable than they inasmuch as they find in these material things the Felicity they are capable of And he instead of finding his Repose encounters with nothing but Disgusts and the Source of a vast number of Misfortunes From the ignorance of this last End spring all the Disorders and Corruption of Mens Lives because forgetting their heavenly Beginning and the noble and divine End for which their Creator had destin'd them they absolutely stop at the enjoyment of the Pleasures of this mortal Life without raising their thoughts or desires higher living upon Earth as if they were made for the Earth And as it would be a thing which would move compassion to see a Child born of Royal Blood ordain'd by his Birth one day to wear a Crown and Scepter being bred up amongst Peasants ignorant of his Extraction to apply himself wholly to Till the Earth to bound all his Pretensions within the Limits of getting a miserable Livelihood with the Sweat of his Brow without having the least thought of the high Fortune for which he was born So it is a thing much to be deplor'd to see Men who are the Children of Heaven destinated by God to reign there eternally with him live in an entire forgetfulness of that End for which they are Created and setting all their Affection upon Earthly things miserably deprive themselves of that Beatitude which the Bounty of their Creator hath prepared for them For this Reason dear Theotime resolving to exhort you to embrace Vertue in your Youth I propose unto you first and before all things what you are and the End for which you are Created to banish that so common and dreadful a forgetfulness amongst Men that knowing your last End you may ardently aspire to it and begin betimes to perform what lies in you to make you worthy and arrive there Recollect your thoughts then Reflection upon Three things dear Child and reflect upon Three things Who you are Who made you what you are And for what End. First I. What Man is You are a Man that is a Creature endow'd with Understanding and Reason compos'd of a Body whose Structure is admirable and of a Reasonable and Intellectual Soul made to the Image of God. You are the most perfect of all visible Creatures Secondly II. Who made Man. You were not made by your self for that is impossible You have receiv'd from another all that you have and from whom have you receiv'd it but from him who hath Created Heaven and Earth and who is the Author of all things It is he who hath form'd your Body in your Mothers Womb and who hath created your Soul. You are the Work of a God and besides the Father you have upon Earth you have another in Heaven to whom you owe all that you have Thirdly III. Why God made Man. For what End did God make you Be attentive Theotime For what End think you did God place you in this World Was it to enjoy the Pleasures and Contentments of this Life and of the Senses To heap up Riches To acquire Glory and Reputation amongst Men Nothing less You have a Soul too noble to be destin'd to such wretched and perishable things Pleasures are chang'd into Pain Riches perish and Glory vanisheth away Is it to continue a long time upon Earth to find there your Happiness and to look for nothing after this Life If it be so there is no difference betwixt you and Beasts Doth not this so noble a Soul which God hath bestow'd on you endow'd with Understanding Will and Memory capable to know all things clearly manifest that you were created for a higher and more honourable End Doth not this Figure of the Body you bear the Stature erect the Head on high and Eyes rais'd towards Heaven a Figure opposite to that of Beasts which looks only upon the Earth teach you that you are not made for the Earth Pronaque cum spectent Animalia caetera Ovid Metaph. terram Os Homini sublime dedit coelumque tueri Jussit erectos ad Sidera tollere Vultus And whereas others see with down-cast Eyes He with a lofty Look did Man endue And bad hiâ— Heavens transcendent Glories view Beasts are made for the Earth they there find their Happiness and for that reason they regard nothing but the Earth But you dear Theotime you are Created for Heaven that is the Place of your Habitation as it is that of your Origin your Soul came from Heaven and it ought to return thither But
God from his Youth and kept his Commandments he complain'd not against God for the Affliction of Blindness which he sent him but continu'd immoveable in the Fear of God giving him Thanks all the Days of his Life O how admirable is the Effect of a Vertue which hath always increas'd with Age b Sexagenarius lumen recepit reliquum vero vitae in gaudio fuit cum bono profactu timoris Dei porrexit in pace Tob. 14. He was deliver'd from that Affliction Four Years after and liv'd to the Age of 110 when he dy'd in peace after he had made as the Scripture takes notice a continual Progress in the Fear and Service of God. Thus Theotime do they Live thus do they Die who have spent their Life vertuously in their Youth I cannot finish this Chapter Third Example of Eleazar which is already too long without bringing a Third Example in the Person of that great Martyr of the Old Testament Eleazar 2 Machab. 6. He was an ancient Man very Venerable for the number of his Years but yet more for his Vertue wherein he had liv'd from his Infancy When King Antiochus Persecuted the Jews to make them Renounce their Religion and the Adoration of the true God this holy Man was Apprehended to be constrain'd thereto by force of Torments which could never make his ancient Piety to stagger And when some of the Standers by exhorted him to obey the Persecutor at least in exterior shew and appearance to free himself from the Torture The Scripture saith that he took into Consideration the Dignity of his Age At ille cogitare caepit aetatis ac senectutis suae eminentiam dignam ingenitae nobilitatis canitiem atque à puero optimae conversationis actus which was grown gray in Vertue not having committed any thing yet unworthy of his Extraction and of a true Son of Abraham and the Religious Life he had led from his Infancy and having reflected on these things he immediately Answer'd with an invincible Courage That he would rather Die than consent to such a criminal Action And presently his Torments were redoubled and he suffer'd Death with an incredible Patience Learn dear Theotime from this Example and the precedent what a Vertue acquir'd in Youth is able to do when setled by a continual Exercise of good Actions and labour to be such now as you would wish to be all the remainder of your Life CHAP. X. That those who have been addicted to Vice in their Youth are very difficultly Corrected and it often happens that they never Amend but miserably Damn themselves O Theotime Ninth Motive the great Importance of Living well during Youth that I had a Pen that were able to Engrave this important Truth more deeply in your Heart than in Brass or Marble and make you perfectly comprehend the great and dreadful Difficulty with which he Corrects himself who hath led a wicked Life in his Youth A Difficulty so great that it is almost impossible sufficiently to express it and on the other side so general that we cannot consider it attentively without being touch'd with a lively Sorrow seeing so vast a number of Christians and principally of young People who grone under the tyranny of a vicious Habit which being contracted in their Youth and increas'd with Age leads them to Perdition from whence if it chance they recover it is with incredible Pains and Combats and by a manifest Miracle of Divine Grace Learn O dear Theotime to avoid this Danger and endeavour to comprehend the greatness either entirely to prevent it or quickly to withdraw your self if you be already engag'd therein This so great a Difficulty springs from three Causes The First is the incredible Power and Force of a wicked Habit which being once rooted in the Soul cannot be pluckt up but with great trouble All Habits have commonly this Quality that they continue a long time and are very hardly destroy'd But amongst others wicked Habits are such as adhere more strongly and are not so easily chang'd Because it is far more difficult to corrupt Nature to raise it self to Good than to do Evil. Hence it comes that the Scripture says Perversi 〈◊〉 cilè corrigeâ—tur 〈◊〉 rum infinitus est numerus Eccles 1. That the Wicked are hardly Corrected which makes the number of Fools that is of Sinners to be infinite But amongst wicked Habits those which are contracted in Youth are the strongest and with most difficulty overcome For the Passions which are the Instruments of Vice not being moderated in that Time by Vertue encrease with Age and encreasing augment and fortifie Vice giving it daily new Forces which render it at length unconquerable For this Reason the same Scripture having a Mind to express the force of a vicious Habit contracted in younger Years delivers a Sentence which young People ought to have frequently before their Eyes Job 20. Ossa ejus implebuntur vitiis adolescentiae ejus cum eo in pulvere dormient The Wicked shall be fill'd with Vices from his Youth and they will follow him to his Grave That is the Vices and ill Inclinations of Youth become so deeply and strongly rooted in the Soul that all the remainder of his Life is sensible of them and opprest with them and they continue even until Death as we daily see And the Cause thereof is very evident for Vice which has once gotten possession of a Soul encreases and strengthens the Passions the Passions corrupt the Judgment and make it conceive that Good which is Evil esteem Evil that which is Good The Judgment perverted corrupts the Will which is carry'd blindly to Sin and from thence proceeds all the remainder of Wickedness because as S. Augustin says a Ex voluntate perversa facta est libido dum servitur libidini facta est consuetudo dum consuetudini non refistitur facta est necessitas Aug. lib. 8. Confes cap. 3. The Will deprav'd settles its Affection and takes Pleasure in Ill. Pleasure produceth a Custom and a Custom not resisted becomes a Necessity And when a Soul is arriv'd at this Point she is out of hopes of Amendment because as another Author adds b Actio consuetudinem parit consuetudo necessitatem necessitas mortem S. Isid Necessity is the Mother of Death The Second Cause of this great Difficulty is the Diminution of the Divine Grace For as God augments his Favours to those that humbly receive them and make use of them for their Salvation so he diminisheth them to those who abuse and contemn them Now if he treat Men in this manner it seems that he more ordinarily deals so with young Men on whom as he bestows many Favours when they worthily dispose themselves as we have said above so he withdraws his Kindnesses from them when they abuse them as we have made appear by the Experience of those who having been favour'd with particular Obligations from
catenae mortalitatis meae poena superbiae animae meae ibam longius à te c. That the brutish Passion of immodest Love was a Chain which kept him bound and that the Noise of this Chain continually mov'd and agitated had made him interiorly Deaf and hinder'd him from hearkning to any thing that admonish'd him for his good like a Beast strongly Chain'd up the motion of whose Chain did hinder it from hearing the Noise which was made about it And that which is yet very remarkable is that this Deafness was a Punishment of the Pride of his Soul contracted by the Disorders of his Life wherein he continually banish'd himself from God plunging himself more and more in the Abyss of Vice. Behold dear Theotime whether the Sins of Youth lead one and whither yours will infallibly bring you if you withdraw not your self intirely and that in good time This Subject of Blindness and Obdurateness in Vice caus'd by the Sins of Youth and particularly by the Sin of Impurity deserves a longer Discourse but it shall be more amply Treated in Part 3. Chap. 8. Art. 2. whither I send you ARTICLE III. The Third Evil the loss of many fair Hopes This Evil is too visible and there needs no other Proof than daily Experience How many young Souls do we see who give fair Hopes by the excellent Qualities wherewith they are endow'd who might make themselves capable of some great Action and one day succeed in some considerable Employment where God might be Honour'd and the Publick considerably Serv'd who go and destroy themselves at the Entrance and coming to be misled in Youth make themselves unfit for Noble Enterprises for which they seem'd to be born and frequently become idle Companions and absolutely unuseful like to some Trees all cover'd with Blossoms in the Spring which a nipping Frost blasts and makes unfruitful all the rest of the Year This happens not only to those to whom the Sins of Youth either hasten Death or bring an Obdurateness in Vice as we have said but also very frequently to those who are withdrawn from Sin after the first Disorders of their Youth who having lost by Idleness which ordinarily accompanies Sin in that Age the most precious Time of all their Life are made uncapable of any thing and unuseful for what is good Or if they have not absolutely lost that Time they are become by their reiterated and multiply'd Sins unworthy of the Employments they were capable of and to which God had design'd them Comprehend this well Theotime and that you may comprehend it better take notice of what follows viz. That God by his Providence designs young People to different Conditions wherein he would Employ them for his Service and their Salvation but upon this Condition that they render themselves fit by their Labour during their Youth and also make not themselves undeserving by their Sins From whence it falls out that when they addict themselves to Vice and forget God in their Youth God in punishment of their Sins excludes them from those Employments to which they were call'd and he had appointed for them in his first Intention This Truth is grounded upon Sacred Scripture when God promis'd to David the Kingdom of Israel for himself and his Posterity it was upon this Condition * Si custodierint filii tui testamentum meum Psal 131. Ita tamen si custodierint filii tui vias meas 2 Par. 6. Ita duntaxat si custodierint quae praecepi eis 2 Par. 3.3 That he and his Offspring should live in the Observance of his Commandments A little while before he had taken away the Honour of Priesthood from the Family of the High Priest Heli because he and his Children were become unworthy by their Sins Altho' in his first Intention he had appointed * Loquens locutus sum ut domus tua ministraret in conspectu meo in sempiternum nunc autem absit hoc à me sed quicunque honorificaverit me glorificabo eum qui autem contemnunt me erunt ignobiles 1 Reg. 2. that the Priesthood should always remain in that Family but with this Condition that they should not render themselves unworthy The words are very clear in the First Book of Kings Chap. 2. This Procedure appears most evident in the Case of Saul first King of Israel God had given that Kingdom to him and to his Family but upon Condition that they should particularly observe his Commandments It happen'd that this Prince transgress'd the Orders of God in two Occasions amongst others in consequence whereof he was rejected from the Kingdom which God had prepar'd for him The First was when being one Day in his Camp press'd by his Enemies to Engage in a Battel he Offer'd Sacrifice not expecting the arrival of the Prophet Samuel who had forbidden him Enterprising any thing before his Return The Sacrifice was scarce ended when the Prophet came and * Dixitque Samuel ad Saul Quid fecisti stultè egisti nec custodisti mandata Domini Dei tui quae praecepit tibi quod si non fecisses jam tunc praeparasset Dominus regnum tuum super Israel in sempiternum sed nequaquam regnum tuum ultra consurget 1 Reg. 13. said to him What have you done you have done foolishly you have not kept the Commandment of the Lord your God which he had commanded you for the Lord had lately Establish'd your Kingdom upon Israel for ever But now your Kingdom shall not continue The Second Occasion was when having overcome the Amalecites he spar'd the Life of their King and preserv'd their Flocks and all their Riches against the Command God had given him not to spare any thing but to consume all with Fire and Sword. Samuel comes and reproches him for his Disobedience and declares unto him on the Part of God that he should be no more King of Israel * Pro eo quod abjecisti sermonem Domini abjecit te Dominus ne sis Rex 1 R. 15. Because says he you have rejected the Word of God he hath also rejected you so that you shall be no more King. Learn from these Examples Theorime that God sometimes designs Men to Employments which their Sins hinder them from obtaining An important Advice or continuing a long time in them after they have gotten them And be assur'd that if you live wickedly in your Youth you have great reason to fear that God will reject you from that Condition to which he had design'd you and that you shall never atchieve any thing considerable God refusing you the Honour to be Serv'd by you when you shall be at a fit Age as you have neglected to Serve him in your Youth ARTICLE IV. The Fourth Evil springing from the Sins of Youth The Excess of Vice amongst Men. This Evil will seem to you at present incredible but you will understand it clearly when you have made the least reflection upon it For First
following the Priest in all he shall say or do in every part of the Sacrifice That is in begging Pardon of God with him during the Introit and Kyrie eleison making humble Suit to him during the Prayers hearkning attentively to the Epistle and Gospel representing unto your self Jesus Christ who speaks unto you endeavouring to keep in your Memory what Instruction you receive from his holy Word At Credo making Profession of Faith with the Priest at the Offertory Offering with him at the Preface when he says Sursum corda raising your Heart to God to keep you more attentive and disposing your self to Adore our Saviour at the Consecration and performing the Four Things we have spoken of CHAP. XIV Of Labor and Employment of Time. IT is not sufficient to begin well Twelfth Means and piously end the Day in the manner we have said we must also employ it profitably in some vertuous Labor there being nothing so contrary to Vertue nor more a Friend to Vice than Idleness principally in young Persons as we shall shew you hereafter Part 3. Chap. 7. Wherefore Theotime if you sincerely desire to live in Vertue you must add this Means to the former and be perswaded that to live vertuously it is absolutely necessary for you to fly Idleness and bestow your Pains faithfully in the Employment of your Condition Hearken to me Son says the Wiseman Audi me fili ne spernas me in novissimo invenies verba mea in omnibus operibus tuis esto velox omnis infirmitas non accedet tibi Eccl. 31. and contemn not my Admonitions and you will find how profitable they will be to you in the end Be prompt and diligent in all your Works and by this you will avoid all sorts of Infirmities Idleness causes many Distempers of the Body which weaken its Forces it heaps up many ill Humors which corrupts it But it brings many more and far more dangerous to the Soul which it makes apt to receive all manner of Vices For as Exercise is necessary for the Health of the Body so Employment and Labor are needful for the Health of the Soul for it is impossible to conserve it without that Means Have a care then Theotime Practice diligently to employ your self every Day in the Labor of the Condition wherein God has put you Look not upon it as a thing troublesom painful or tedious but as an Exercise bestow'd on you by God to employ your self therein faithfully and as a necessary Means of your Salvation to avoid Idleness which is the Mother of all Vices and the Cause of the Ruine of young People Offer it to God every Morning and when you begin beseech him he would give a Blessing to it and that it may succeed to his Glory and your Salvation Now if this Advice be necessary in all the Conditions wherein the Lives of different Men are spent it is most of all necessary in the Profession of Students If you are call'd thereto you ought to employ your self therein more faithfully than in any other Condition not only because God hath placed you in that Exercise and that it is a Means to avoid Idleness but also because if you be negligent in this State you lose the Time proper to learn in which is that of Youth which you can never repair You lose the Occasion of rendring your self capable of any Employment as we see it daily happens to many who having lost their Time during their Studies continue slothful and unprofitable all the rest of their Life and many times become vicious and wicked O Theotime you ought to make a great Scruple of losing this so precious a Time You shall give an exact account thereof at the Judgment of God. * Si quis ignorat ignorabitur 1 Cor. 14. Qui vitat discere incidet in mala Prov. 17.16 The ignorant shall be uuknown and he who refuseth to learn shall fall into many Misfortunes CHAP. XV. Of the Knowledge of ones self very necessary for young People AMongst all the Means which conduce to Vertue Thirteenth Means the Knowledge of ones self is one of the most important And it is so necessary that it is impossible to attain to Vertue without it For this Reason it hath always been so much recommended by Authors who have written of a Christian Life And the Pagans themselves have always had it in much Esteem having receiv'd as an Instruction come from Heaven these two Words which were written upon the Gate of the Temple of Apollo at Delphos 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Know thy self By this Knowledge is to be understood a serious and frequent Reflection which one makes of himself to take notice of the Inclinations of the Soul the Passions which bear dominion there the Vices which spring up or encrease that he may correct them with convenient Remedies according to the measure that he perceives them This Knowledge is necessary for all Men and for want of exercising our selves therein the greatest part of them remain all their Lives subject to many Vices But it is chiefly necessary for young Persons because they are in an Age wherein their Passions begin to spring in which Time it is very important to observe them and stop them for Two Reasons 1. Because they are more easie to be cur'd in their beginning and stifled in their birth than corrected when they are become stronger 2. Because following that most judicious Remark of St. Ambrose * Tunc maximè insidiatur adversarius quando videt in nobis passiones aliquas generari tunc fomites movet laqueos parat Ambr. lib. 1. Off. c. 4. The Devil tempts Men most violently at that time when when he sees some Passion arising in their Soul for it is then says this Great Man that he excites most of all the Causes and lays Ambushes to engage them more therein For this Reason dear Theotime I exhort you to Exercise your self in this Knowledge of your self as in a thing which is infinitely necessary or to say better it is not I who recommend this Means it is the Holy Ghost himself who gives it in that excellent Instruction in the 37th Chapter of Ecclesiasticus by the Mouth of the Wiseman a Fili in vita tua tenta animam tuam si fuerit nequam non des ei potestatem Eccl. 37. Son examine your Soul all your Life-time and if you find her inclining to Evil give her not liberty He gives the Reason in another place b Anima nequam disperdet eum qui illam habet Eccl. 6. Because a Soul which hath a propension to Wickedness will destroy him who possesseth her And in the 18th Chapter he gives us to understand what it is Not to give liberty to our Soul viz. Not to follow her Motions and deprav'd Inclinations but carefully to repress them c Post concupiscentias tuas non eas à voluntate tua avertere
Si praebes animae tuae concupisccentias ejus faciet te in gaudium inimicis tuis Eccl. 18. Run not says he after your Concupiscence and divert your self from your Affection this is to be understood when it is evil If you give to your Soul all she desires she will make you yield unto your Enemies who will rejoyce at your Destruction So that according to the Judgment of the Wise-man we must know in our Youth the Inclinations of our Soul that we may repress them when they are wicked It is the first Knowledge we must learn and to which we must in good time apply our Studies that we may practise it all our Life It is the Science of Sciences without which all other are of no Advantage For what doth it profit us to know all things and to be ignorant of our selves * A te tua consideratio inchoet ne frustra extendaris in alia te neglecto Quid tibi prodest si universum mundum lucreris te unum perdens Eetsi sapiens sis deest tibi ad sa pientiam si tibi non fueris Quantum vero ut quidem senserim ego totum noveris licet omnia mysteria noveris lata terrae alta coeli profunda maris si te nesciens eris similis aedificanti sine fundamento ruinam non structuram faciens S. Bern. l. 2. de Consideratione c. 3. Begin your Study with the Knowledge of your self saith S. Bernard It is in vain to extend your Knowledge to things which belong not to you neglecting your self What doth it advantage if you gain the whole World and lose your own Soul Whatsoever Wisdom you possess if it be not so for your felf the greatest part of Knowledge is wanting Altho' you should know all the highest Mysteries of Faith and all the Secrets included in Nature if you know not your self you are like to him who builds without a Foundation preparing a Ruine rather than an Edifice And it befalls them who neglect this Knowledge of themselves as it did that Philosopher who being attentive to the Consideration of the Stars fell into a deep Ditch for want of looking to himself and made himself the Object of Laughter to his Spectators Be careful then dear Theotime to Exercise your self in the Knowledge of your self and in moderating your Affections Learn in time to understand that you must not follow all the Motions and Inclinations of your Soul but that there are many which you must resist with all your Power by the Grace of God. To attain to this Knowledge and Moderation you must perform Three Things 1. Practice Accustom your self to make Reflection upon your self to take notice of your Inclinations and the Vices to which you are subject you will daily see some Passion or Vice which bears dominion more than others either Pride Choler Love of Pleasures or the like You will discover others which spring up from time to time and which will encrease unless you carefully repress them Sometimes it will be an Unaptness to learn and Disobedience Sometimes Cursing and Swearing at other Times Discord and Revenge and so of others When you shall thus discover them permit them not to grow up Principiis obsta serò 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 Endeavour quickly to apply the Remedies in the Third and Fourth Part you will find them against every one of these Vices 2. Being that we discover not clearly enough our Constitution in the Knowledge we have by our selves in our Youth seek to be Admonish'd of your wicked and dangerous Inclinations by those who know you and particularly by your Ghostly Father give credit easily to what he shall tell you and labor to correct your self 3. Above all be diligent in demanding of God frequently the Grace to know your self and to reform the Evil which is in you O God Deus meus illumina tenebras meas Psal 17. illuminate the darkness of my Soul that I may know all that is in me displeasing to thy Divine Majesty and that I may amend it by thy Grace Offer frequently unto him that excellent Prayer of St. Augustin O God Noverim me noverim te Noveris te ut Deum timeas noveris ipsum ut aeque ipsum diligas S. Ber. 37. in Cant. let me know my self and know thee These Theotime are the two Knowledges chiefly necessary that of your self and that of God. The First produces Humility and Amendment which is the beginning of Vertue The Second produces Charity and the Love of God which is the top and height of Perfection CHAP. XVI Of the Reading of Pious Books THE wise Man will seek the Wisdom of the Ancients Fourteenth Means Reading good Books Sapientiam omnium antiquorum exquiret sapiens in prophetis vacabit Eccl. 39. and will apply himself to the reading of the Prophets that is of holy things It is another Means which the Wiseman assigns you very necessary and extreme useful to acquire and conserve Vertue We become not Learned but by the Study of Science and we become not vertuous but by our Application to Vertue We have shewn above that Instruction is necessary to learn Vertue Now we cannot receive Instructions by Documents of Masters only but also by Reading of Books We are not always near our Pastors and Directors to learn from them the Way of Vertue Their Instructions their Admonitions their Exhortations their Counsels continue but for a time in our Memories we easily lose them if they be not maintain'd and renew'd by the Reading of Books and Meditation upon holy Things For this reason the Wiseman in Ecclesiasticus Chap. 6. after he had said that to acquire Wisdom we must hearken to the Documents of the Wise adds this other Means as necessary viz. * Et si dilexeris audire sapiens eris cogitatum habe in praeceptis Domini in mandatis illius assiduus esto Eccl. 6. That we must Study and Meditate upon the Law of God. Cast your thoughts says he upon the Precepts of God and meditate carefully upon his Commandments Charity Theotime is a Fire which must necessarily be sustain'd by good Thoughts and pious Affections If this Nourishment be taken away from her she becomes weak and at length entirely extinguished if that fail not she is enflam'd and daily encreases Now the Sources of these Thoughts and Affections is the reading of pious Books which serves as an Instrument of Divine Grace to inspire us with them It was by this that God wrought that admirable Conversion of S. Augustin Example which was begun by the reading of a Book call'd Hortensius Treating of Wisdom as he himself recounts in the Third Book of his Confessions Chap. 4. it was advanc'd by the Relation of the Conversion of two Courtiers who had been Converted by the reading of the Life of S.
you will receive wonderful Succors Demand of him by the Care he had of the Divine Infancy of Jesus Christ that he would preserve your Youth in the Dangers of your Salvation and that he would aid you to conserve in your Soul that Divine Saviour as he was employ'd once to guard him when he was in the World. CHAP. XX. Of Devotion to the Angel-Guardian and to the Saint of ones Name GOD affects us so tenderly Seventeenth Means Devotion to the Angel-Guardian that he gives to every one of us an Angel for our Guardian employing by an incomparable Goodness his most perfect Creatures in our Service and those celestial Spirits which are created incessantly to Contemplate him and continually to Serve him in Heaven to attend also upon us O Theotime how great is the Bounty of God to depute no less than a Prince of his Court to the Conduct of a poor Servant And as S. Bernard says excellently well not to be content to send his Son * Mittis ei unigenitum tuum immittis Spiritum tuum promittis etiam vultum tuum ne quid in coelestibus vacet ab opere sollicitudinis nostrae beatos illos spritus propter nos mittis in ministerium custodiae nostrae deputas jubes nostros fieri paedagogos S. Bern. Serm. 12. in Psal Qui habitat to us to give us his Holy Spirit to promise the enjoyment of him himself in Heaven so that there should be nothing in Heaven which should not be employ'd for our Salvation he sends his Angels to contribute thereto their Service he appoints them for our Guardians he commands them to be our Masters and Conductors Bear a particular Honor and Love to him whom God hath given you He is always near to conduct and guard you he inspires you with good thoughts he assists you in important Affairs he fortifies you in Temptations he diverts many Misfortunes from you which otherwise would befall you whether temporally or spiritually and he continues these good Offices by how much more you have recourse to him What is it that you owe not to such a Conductor to such a Defender * Angelis suis mandavit de te Quantum debet hoc verbum inferre reverentiam afferre devotionem conferre fiduciam Reverentiam pro presentia devotionem pro benevolentia fiduciam pro custodia Ibid. S. Bernard says that the guarding of our good Angel ought to inspire us with Three things Respect Love and Confidence Respect for his Presence Love or Devotion for the Good-will he hath for us and Confidence for the care he hath of our Protection and Preservation 1. * In quovis diversorio in quovis angulo Angelo tuo reverentiam habe Tu ne aude illo praesente quod vidente me non auderes Ibid. Shew then Theotime a great Respect to your Angel and when you shall be tempted to any wicked Action call to mind his Prefence and be asham'd to do that before him which you would not dare to commit before a vertuous Person 2. Love him tenderly and recommend your self to him daily Beseech him that he would direct your Actions and protect you from the Misfortunes of this Life and above all from Sin which is the greatest Misery 3. Remember to have recourse to him in all your Necessities and principally in two Occasions amongst others The first is when you deliberate or undertake any important Affair wherein you have need of Counsel and Assistance Demand of your good Angel to conduct you in that Affair so that you undertake it not except it be according to the Will of God for his Service and your Salvation and that he will assist you happily to finish it * Quid sub tantis custodibus timeamus nec superari nec seduci minus autem seducere possunt qui custodiunt nos in omnibus viis nostris Fideles sunt prudentes sunt potentes sunt quid trepidamus tantum sequamur eos adhaereamus eis Ibid. This Means is very efficacious to make your Businesses to succeed well it is impossible they should not prosper under so good a Guide who is most faithful wise and powerful The Second is when you are assaulted with any Temptation and are in danger of offending God. * Quoties gravissima cernitur urgere tentatio tribulatio vehemens imminere invoca custodem tuum doctorem tuum adjutorem tuum in opportunitatibus in tribulatione Ibid. When you see says S. Bernard a great Temptation which urges you or a violent Tribulation which approaches you Invoke your Guardian your Teacher to wit him who assists you eflectually in your Necessities This Remedy Theotime is very powerful in all Temptations and especially in those which combat Chastity of which the Angels are Lovers and particular Protectors as being a Vertue which render Men like unto them and which makes them imitate upon Earth their most pure and celestial Life From whence it happens S. Amb Hom. 3. de Virginitate says St. Ambrose that it is no wonder if Angels defend chast Souls who lead upon Earth a Life of Angels Next to your good Angel Devotion to our Patron Honor particularly your Patron The Names of Saints are given us at Baptism that they may be our Protectors and Intercessors to God Debent enim aliquid in nobis de suis recognoscere virtutibus ut pro nobis dignentur Domino supplicare S. Aug. Ser. 39. de Sanct. and that by their Prayers and the Example of their Vertues we may acquit our selves worthily of the Obligations of a Christian Life whereof we make Profession in Baptism Honor and love him whose Name you bear recommend your self daily to him and that you may certainly obtain his Assistance remember to imitate his Vertues CHAP. XXI Of keeping of Feasts and particularly of Sundays THE Celebration of Feasts is also a Means which marvellously avails towards the gaining of Vertue when it is well observ'd according to the Intention of God and the Church The prime Institution of Feasts These are the Days which are given to Men to attend to the Service of God and the sanctification of their Souls which being well employ'd cause them to make a great progress in the way of Salvation Their Institution is as ancient as the World at the beginning whereof the Scripture says that God having created all things in Six Days gave his Blessing to the * Et benedixit diei septimo sanctificavit illum quia in ipso cessaverat ab omni opere suo Gen. 2. Memento ut Diem Sabbati sanctifices Levit. 23. Seventh and sanctifi'd it in memory of the accomplishment of his works He afterwards gave a new Commandment thereof when he gave the Law to the People of Israel to whom he prescrib'd the manner how he would be Honor'd by them on that Day He adds also other Days there which he would have employ'd in acknowledgment of his most signal Benefits
3. de Quadrag To what saith S. Leo do all the exterior Ornaments serve if the interior be full of Corruption and Sin Keep well in mind that Sentence of S. Augustin which says b Qui nec castitatem custodit in corpore nec puritatem tenet in mente quoties sanctae Solemnitates adveniunt in corpore videtur habere gaudium in corde non celebrat nisi luctum quale enim gaudium conscientia illa habere potest in cujus anima multis vitiis occupata magis Diabolus probatur habitare quam Christus S. Aug Serm. 255. That he who doth not conserve Chastity in his Body and Purity in his Mind only Celebrates a Feast of Sadness and Mourning upon holy Days He gives the reason of it because it is impossible he should partake of real Joy whose Conscience reproaches him with the thought that his Soul is inhabited by the Devil and not by Jesus Christ Consider attentively this Reason 3. In the Third place be careful upon Sundays and solemn Feasts to be present at the Divine Office which is perform'd in the Church St. Augustin in his Confessions acknowledges the Profit he receiv'd from thence after his Conversion * Cum reminiscor lacrymarum quas sudi ad cantus Ecclesiae tuae in primordiis recuperatae fidei meae mane cum moveor non cantu sed rebus quae cantantur magnam instituti hujus utilitatem rursus agnosco Aug. lib. 10. Confes cap. 33. He saith That at the beginning he was sensibly mov'd with the Singing of the Church which softning his Heart drew from him abundance of Tears And this Profit was also greater and more solid when he began to be toucht more feelingly by the sublime Sense of the Song than by the Song it self This Profit will befall you if you be present at the Office of the Church not to Discourse to Laugh to Look upon those who pass to Salute all the World to See and to be Seen as it happens to many by a sad and deplorable Abuse but with all the Respect due to the House and Presence of God with a great interior Modesty with a Mind recollected and very attentive to pious Things 4. Hear sometimes the Word of God in Sermons Discourses Exhortations and Instructions which are made in the Church upon Sundays and solemn Feasts In your particular Employments at sometime on those Days apply your self to the Reading of some pious Book profitable for your Salvation Converse with devout Persons and seek their Conferences Let your Recreations be more moderate on those Days and always accompany'd with a Modesty agreeable to the Sanctity of the Day In fine Employ the Repose of holy Days in thinking upon the a Relinquitur Sabbatismus populo Dei festinemus ingredi in illam requiem Heb. 4. Eternal Rest they represent unto which you must earnestly aspire and in meditating on the great and happy b Respice Sion civitatem solennitatis nostrae Isa 33. Solemnity which shall be Celebrated in Heaven where the Sight of God filling the Blessed with immortal Joy will keep a Feast which will never have an end and which will endure for all Eternity It is principally on these Days Theotime that we must say with the Prophet c Quam dilecta tabernacula tua Domine virtutum concupiscit deficit anima mea in atrio Domini Beati qui habitant in domo tua Domine in saecula saeculorum laudabunt te Beatus vir cujus est auxilium abs te ascensiones in corde suo disposuit in valle lacrymarum in loco quem posuit Psal 83. How amiable are thy celestial Habitations O Lord my Soul doth sigh after them even unto Death Happy are those who dwell in thy House who Sing there eternally thy Praises and blessed is he who by the assistance of thy Grace disposes in his Heart the Means to mount from this Valley of Tears to that so desirable a Dwelling CHAP. XXII Of being present at Divine Service I Add here this Subject because it helps much for the Celebration of Feasts whereof I have spoken and is a powerful Means to conduct men to a solid Piety wherefore I have a mind to give you a necessary Instruction which you may make use of all your Life Now to give you an Account of this from the beginning The first Institution of Parishes you must know that the Apostles after the Ascension of the Son of God having chang'd the Sabbath of the Jews into the First Day of the Week to be dedicated to the Service of God and to the sanctification of Souls establish'd on that Day the Assemblies of the Faithful where every one should be duly present to Pray in common to hear the Divine Word to assist at the Celebration of the Divine Mysteries at the Participation of the Sacraments and at the gathering of Alms which was there perform'd for the assistance of Christians in necessity The Acts of the Apostles give us the Marks of this Institution and S. Paul in his First Epistle to the Corinthians Ch. 16. where by the Words * Una autem Sabbati cum convenissemus ad frangendum panem Act. 20 Per unam Sabbati unusquisque apud se seponat recondens quod ei placuerit 1 Cor. 11. Una Sabbati dominica Dies est S. Ambr. hic Ego Joannes fui in Spiritu dominica die Apoc. 1. Vna Sabbati One of the Sabbaths is understood the First Day of the Week which was call'd from thence the Day of our Lord as S. John calls it in the Apocalyps And as to the Assemblies of that Day the Tenth Canon of the Apostles speaks clearly ordaining that * Omnes fideles qui conveniunt in solemnitatibus sacris Scripturas Apostolorum Evangelium audiant Qui autem non perseveraverit in oratione usque dum Missa peragitur nec sanctam Communionem percipiant velut inquietudinem Ecclesiae moventes convenit Communione privari Can. 10. Apost all Christians who were gather'd together in the Church on solemn Days should hear there the Sacred Scriptures and the Gospel and be there present at the Prayer even until the end and there Communicate St. Ignatius Cotemporary with the Apostles makes mention thereof in his Epistle and other ancient Authors but above all S. Justin Martyr who liv'd in the Second Age in the Year 150 and Tertullian who came 30 Years after The First in the Second Apology he made for Christians describes distinctly all that was perform'd in those Assemblies which is the same that is now done at the Parish Mass See what he says of it * Et Solis qui dicitur die omnium qui vel in oppidis vel ruri degunt in eundem locum conventus fit commentarii Apostolorum aut scripta Prophetarum quoad tempus fert leguntur deinde lectore quiescente Praesidens oratione populum instruit ad imitationem tam pulchrarum rerum exhortatur
the Fault of Parents who are wanting in this great Obligation God hath impos'd upon them of Educating them in his Fear and disposing them to Vertue Now there are four Defects which Parents may be guilty of in this Obligation which most frequently are the Cause of the Corruption and Ruin of Children Four Faults Parents may commit in the Instruction of their Children 1. When they neglect to Instruct them in the knowledge of Vertue and their Salvation 2. When they are too Indulgent in their Place giving too much Liberty and not Correcting them when they do ill 3. When they give them bad Example by their Actions 4. When they suborn them in things contrary to Piety We have spoken above of the First Defect As to the Second it is not to be imagin'd how common this Fault is amongst Parents and how it daily destroys Children appears by Experience The greatest part of fathers and Masters affect their Children with a foolish and blind Love which regards nothing but the present and sensible Good of their Children and are afraid to give them the least trouble by keeping them within the Bounds of Vertue by a discreet Admonition or by a reasonable Correction they choose rather to leave them in their wicked Inclinations which for want of Correction encreasing with Age make them wicked and vicious for all the remainder of this Life and miserable after this Life for all Eternity Misfortunate Parents who by this sort of Mildness precipitate themselves with their Children into the deep Pit of Wickedness like those foolish Animals which kill their young ones by the vehemence of embracing them Blind Fathers who see not that this Mercy you shew to your Children is the greatest Cruelty you can exercise in your Condition and you would not be so cruel if you took away their Life with your own Hands it being certain that by this Inhumanity you would but destroy their Bodies whereas by your Mildness you cause the ruin of their Souls and the eternal loss of their Salvation The time will come wherein your Children will lay their Curses on you will require of God revenge against you and will accuse you as the Authors of their Misfortune witness he who being Condemn'd to Death cry'd out aloud It is not the Judge but my Mother who is the Cause of my Punishment Your culpable Meekness will one day draw upon you the Curse of God and also upon your Children Upon your selves because you have neither Instructed nor Corrected them when they stood in need Upon your Children because they made use of your Indulgence to give themselves over to vice and Disorder See the Example of the High Priest Heli recounted above and learn from that terrible Punishment God laid upon him what you ought to expect For all the Miseries which besel as well him as his Children and his whole House and for their first and principal Source the great Indulgence he had towards his Children not Correcting them for their Sins This is the Testimony God himself gives thereof I will judge says he the House of Heli Praedixi quod judicaturus essem domum ejus propter iniquitatem eo quod noverat indignè agere filios non corripuerit eos 1 Reg. 3. by reason of his Iniquity because having knowledge of the wicked Life of his Children he hath neither reprehended nor corrected them I cannot sufficiently exaggerate this Fault of Parents Theotime to raise in you so great a horror as it deserves Practice It is to admonish you if God hath bestow'd upon you wise and vertuous Parents who have had a great care to Instruct you in Vertue to Reprehend you when you were faulty that you acknowledge the Obligation you owe to God and make good use of this high Favor by rendring your self pliable and easie to be Instructed by their Admonitions But on the contrary if your Parents forgetful of their own Duty and your Salvation fail to reprehend you when you commit any Misdemeanor have a great care lest you be ruin'd by their misfortunate Indulgence Beg of God very earnestly that he would change their Disposition and give you Masters who would supply their Defect and take notice of your Actions to redress them when you shall wander never so little out of the Path of Vertue I say the same if your Parents be not only negligent in reprehending you but what is yet worse if they give you ill Example teaching you as it often happens by their Actions to love the Pleasures of this Life to desire Riches without measure to affect Vanity to be Proud Ambitious Cholerick seeking Revenge not suffering the least Injury Immodest in Words addicted to Feasting to Drunkenness to Impurity and other like things And yet more if they be so miserable as to teach you by their Discourses one or many Vices approve or praise them when you have committed them O God dear Child stand in fear of all these Occasions you cannot be in a greater danger of your Salvation and having recourse to God beseech him that he would illuminate you to discern Good from Evil that he would strengthen your Mind against the bad Impressions you shall receive and not be destroy'd by their Fault who ought to be the first who should contribute to your Salvation CHAP. III. The Third Obstacle of the Salvation of Youth the Vntractableness of young Persons SAint Jerom says excellently well Saepe magister peccat saepe discipulus nonnunquam patris vitium est nonnunquam filii ut male erudiatur S. Hier. in cap. 6. Michaeae That altho' the depravation of Children springs often from the Parents and Masters Pault yet it very frequently proceeds also from the Childrens Wickedness who will not receive Instruction and this Fault is call'd Vntractableness This Untractableness is a want of submission to the Conduct of others or a secret Presumption of ones self by which one will not be inform'd of the Truth he ought to know nor receive Advice in those things he ought to do nor be Reprov'd and Corrected when he has err'd nor Exhorted to Good when he has done amiss This Vice is one of the worst Qualities a Mind can be infected with A very bad Quality of the Mind For if we regard its Causes it proceeds from Pride Its Causes which makes them contemn all that comes from another or from Obstinacy or Confidence in their own Judgment or from a too great Lightness of Mind which considers nothing and which makes them despise the most important things If we consider its Effects Its Effects it infallibly causes the Corruption and Ruin of those who are infected with it being it takes away all Means of Correction or Amendment for how should one do Good if he will not know it How correct his Faults if he will not be rebuked The Sick who will acknowledg his Distemper and rejects the Remedies for it is out of hope of any
frequent and it puts a very great Impediment to your Salvation Some young Spirits are found tractable and pliable to receive Instructions Counsels and Admonitions but there are few who are firm and constant to observe them well They have a Spirit subject to change which adheres to all sorts of Objects lets it self be carry'd away by all its first Motions be tossed by divers Passions which permit it not to continue long in the same course They are scarce able to make one solid Resolution chiefly in that which concerns Vertue much less form or Exercise it when it is made the first Occasion carries them away and makes them forget all their good Designs If Inconstancy be not corrected in good time it puts a great Obstacle to the Salvation of young People and absolutely hinders them from learning Vertue Seed cannot take root in a moving Sand nor Vertue in a light Mind which changes upon all Occasions For this reason the Wiseman gives you that admirable Advertisement Theotime Non ventiles in omnem ventum non eas in omnem viam Esto firmus in via Domini Eccles 5. Turn not at every wind go not into every way be firm in the way of our Lord. This Inconstancy in God springs principally from three Causes 1. From a Levity natural to that Age Three Causes of Inconstancy which renders young Persons inconstant in all their Actions They are changeable in all their Inclinations in their Thoughts in their Designs and in their Resolutions hence it comes that they are so inconstant in Good. 2. It springs from this that they are not solidly convinc'd of the Importance of their Salvation and of the necessity they have of addicting themselves to Vertue in their Youth 3. It comes from the want of Conduct and from this that they not being capable to Conduct themselves take not the Counsel of others for the guidance of their Life or if they take it it is but for a short time they soon reject it abandon themselves to the Motions of their inconstant Mind For the cure of this Inconstancy there is to be apply'd a Remedy to these three Causes First then It s Remedy Theotime endeavor to correct in your self as much as you can that natural Levity of your Age which makes you subject to mutation in the greatest part of your Actions Be constant in all that you perform change not easily your Resolutions your Enterprises nor your Employments except with Reason and Counsel In a word govern your self by Reason and not by Fancy and Caprichio Secondly Labor to fix your Mind in Piety by good Thoughts and frequent Reflections on your Salvation and on the necessity you have to live vertuously in your Youth the reading of the First Part of this Book will serve for that end Thirdly An important Advice Submit your self to the Conduct of a wise Confessor Follow his Counsels and the Rule of Life he shall prescribe to you Give him an Account of your Actions from time to time that he may set you in a good Way when you are out of it Perform nothing of how little consequence soever without his Counsel or that of some other prudent Person But above all beg of God frequently that he will bestow upon you a Mind constant in its good Resolutions and fix you in Piety by the Conduct of his Grace a Perfice gressus meos in semitis tuis ut non moveantur vestigia mea Psal 16. God direct my Steps that is my Actions in the Path of thy Commandments that I may never wander out of it Have often before your Eyes that excellent Sentence of the Wiseman b Homo sanctus in sapientia manet sicut sol stultus ut Luna mutatur Eccl. 27. A religions or pious Man continues fix'd in Vertue like the Sun which never loses his Light but the Fool that is a Sinner changes like the Moon which is not constantly in the same State. CHAP. V. The Fifth Obstacle A Shame to do Good. AMongst the Means the Devil hath invented to pervert Souls there is none which he makes a greater advantage of to keep them securely in Vice than a Shame to do Good a Shame by which he deplorably seduces Mens Minds and principally young Persons who being by the tenderness of their Age more apt to receive the Impressions of Fear and Shame give Occasion to that miserable Spirit Omne malum aut pudore aut timore natura suffudit Tertul. in Apol. maliciously to abuse their Facility and natural Shamesac'dness to make them conceive that Shame and Confusion in respect of Piety and Vertue which was only made for Sin. For this effect he puts into their mind these false and vain Imaginations viz. The Means the Devil uses to raise Shame in young Persons That Vertue is contemn'd amongst Men That they are little esteem'd who follow it That if they should apply themselves to do well they should be despis'd yea even mockt at He actually represents unto their thoughts the Contempt and Scoffs of others and by these Artifices he withdraws them from the Way of Vertue stopping and stifling in them by this foolish Shame all the good Thoughts and Desires they had conceiv'd concerning their Salvation And sometimes this misfortunate Shame gets such powerful possession over their Minds that they not only blush to do Good and appear Vertuous but even glory in their Vices and have a kind of Confusion not to be as Wicked as the most Vicious as it happen'd to S. Augustin who deplores his Misfortune and Blindness in this Point in the Second Book of his Confessions Chap. 3. We shall relate his Words in the following Chapter If this pernicious Shame hath taken possession of your Mind you must account it for one of the greatest Obstacles of your Salvation and if you labor not in good time to over come it it will infallibly destroy you Now to conquer it arm your self against it with these Reflections 1. Remedy Why do you blush Are you asham'd of Vertue and the Service of God Dilectio Dei honorabilis sapientia Eccl. 1. than which there is nothing more Honorable in the World You account it a Glory to Serve a Prince upon Earth and will you blush at the Service of the King of Heaven your Sovereign Lord to whom you owe all that you are What strange Blindness is this But take notice that one never blushes except it be for some thing which is either Wicked or Indecent or too abject or unworthy of ones Self So that if you are asham'd of Vertue you put it into the rank of one of these What an Indignity is this 2. Before whom do you blush Before the Wicked whose Judgment is absolutely perverted who judge that to be wicked which is good and that good which is wicked having no other Rule for their Opinion than their deprav'd Inclinations If they contemn you it is because they
in semitis impiorum nec tibi placeat malorum via Fuge ab ea ne transeas per eam declina desere eam Ibid. cap. 4. Take not pleasure to follow the wicked nor be delighted with the ways of the impious fly from them and walk not in that road decline and depart far from it ARTICLE II. How there are two things hurtful in wicked Company Discourse and Example The same holy Spirit doth admonish you that there are two things in the Conversation of the Wicked which we must stand in dread of their Discourse and Example As for the Discourses S. Paul the Apostle cries out aloud to all a Nolite seduci corrumpunt mores bonos colloquia prava 2. Cor. 15. Permit not your selves to be seduc'd for wicked Discourses corrupt good Manners b Prophana autem inani-loquia devita multum enim proficiunt ad impietatem 2 Tim. 2. Avoid says he to Timothy the prophane Discourses of the Impious for they advance Wickedness c Lingua ignis est universitas iniquitatis inflammat rotam nativitatis nostrae inflammata à gehenna Jacob. 3. S. James says that The Tongue is a Fire which being enkindled from Hell inflames Souls with Sin. d Sepulchrum patens est guttur eorum Psal 5. David says that The Mouth of Sinners is an open Sepulchre from whence issue noisom Stenches to infect Souls e Acuerunt linguas suas sicut serpentis venenum aspidum sub labiis corum Psal 139. That the Wicked have a Tongue of a Serpent and carry the Poison of Asps in their Lips by which they envenom those who give attention to them Now if the Vicious sometimes forbear their wicked Discourses their Example never fails to make strong Impressions g Qui seligerit picem inquinabitur ab ea qui communicaverit fuperbo induet superbiam Eccl. 23. Noli esse amicus homini iracundo ne discas semitas ejus Prov. 22. v. 24. Qui cum sapientibus graditur sapiens erit Amicus stultorum similis efficietur Prov. 13. He who toucheth Pitch says the Wiseman shall be defiled and he who converseth with a proud Man will be infected with Pride Contract not Friendship with an angry and cholerick Man lest you initate his Example He who converseth with the wise will become wise A Friend of Fools that is of Sinners will be like unto them Example hath an incredible force upon the Minds of young Persons and principally to incline them to Evil. The Friendship that is contracted with the Wicked brings Complacence and Complacence invites to Imitation h O nimis inimica amicitia seductio mentis nulla lucti mei causa nulla ulciscendi libidini sed cum dicitur eamus faciamus pudet non esse impudentem S. Aug. lib. Conf. 9. O Friendship what a great Enemy art thou saith S. Augustin to the good of Souls O blindness of Mind which caused us to commit Wickedness only by Imitation and to please others when they said Come let us do some bad Action and I was asham'd not to be Impudent And in fine A considerable Example what bad Company can do Theotime that you may clearly see the height of Disorder to which evil Company may bring young Men hearken to what the same Saint reports of himself deploring the miserable State to which he was reduc'd by that Means * Praeceps ibam tanta caecitate ut inter coaetaneos meos puderet me minoris dedecoris cum audiebam eos jactantes flagitia sua tanta gloriantes quanto magis turpes essent Et libebat facere non solum libidine facli verum etiam laudis Quid dignum est vitu peratione nisi vitium Ego ne vituperarer vitiosior fiebam Et 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 Ecce cum quibus comitibus iter agebam platearum Babiloniae volutabar in coeno ejus tanquam in cinnamomis unguentis preciosis Lib. 2. Confes cap. 3. I went says he headlong into Vice with such a Blindness that amongst those of my Age I blush'd not to be as wicked as they when I heard them glory in their Sins and brag by so much more as they were more impious And I had a mind to commit Evil not only for the Pleasure of the Action but out of a desire to be Prais'd What is there in the World but Vice which deserves to be blam'd and I was so deprav'd that I sought to be more vicious lest I should be blam'd And when I could not equal the most impious of my Companions in Wickedness I feigned Sins which I never did lest I should be accounted more contemptible as I was more innocent and lest I should be esteem'd less infamous as I appear'd more chast See with what sort of Companions I conversed when I travail'd in the misfortunate Path of Babylon that is in the wicked Life of my Youth in the stinking Dirt wherein I wallow'd as if I had roll'd my self in precious Odors and sweet Perfumes This was the deplorable State to which wicked Company had brought S. Augustin in his Youth a State out of which he could not be drawn but with wonderful Difficulties and by a particular Miracle of Divine Grace as we have shewn above Part 1. Chap. 12. ARTICLE III. Of Four sorts of wicked Companions which must be avoided First Libertines Theotime abhor the Company of those who make open profession of Vice as impious Persons and Libertines and of all those who seek not to conceal the greatest Vices as Impurity Swearing Drunkenness but glory in them Qui laetantur cum male fecerint exultant in rebus pessimis Prov. 2. They who rejoyce says the Wiseman at their wicked Actions who take pleasure in their greatest Sins who scoff at Vertue and who endeavor to corrupt you and allure you to them 2. Lewd Diseourses Fly as from the Plague those who scoff at Vertue who solicit you to Sin or who entertain you with lewd Discourses contrary to Vertue altho' they appear not openly vicious in their Persons Wicked Discourses are always prejudicial from which side soever they come they constantly produce the same Effect which is to introduce Sin into the Soul of him who wilfully gives ear 3. Dissemblers Avoid the Company of some who Dissemble more and yet are no less dangerous who will not solicit you openly to Sin but divert you from the Exercise of Vertue as from Prayer from frequenting the Sacraments from reading good Books who tell you those things are neither convenient nor necessary for you that they are not proper for you at this time that you have something else to do and instead of these entertain you only with vain Discourses of Pleasures and Pastimes of the Hopes of the World
of Vanities and Grandeurs These Conversations Theotime are very hurtful altho' they seem not so for they attack Vertue in the Root and secretly destroy it Fly the Company of idle and lewd young People Idle young Persons who have no Employment or comply very ill with that wherein they are engag'd Their Example will bring you to Slothfulness they will induce you to it by their Discourses they will persuade you to leave your Employment and Labor and pass your time in Merriment They will teach you to love a Play to haunt Tipling-houses to frequent Balls and Comedies And from this Idle Life they will cast you into Disorders Observe well this Advice and assure your self absolutely that there are no Companions more dangerous for you than they For Conclusion Theotime remember one thing That sooner or later the Divine Vengeance will surprise the Wicked whether visibly or invisibly a In synagoga peccantium exardebit ignis in gente incredibili exardescet ira Eccl. 16.16 The Fire of the Divine Choler says the Wiseman will be enkindled against the Assembly of the Impious and against the Rebellious who refuse to obey the Commandments If you be found amongst them you will be involv'd in their Ruin. b Via peccantium complanata lapidibus in fine illorum inseri tenebrae poenae Eccl. 21.10 The way of Sinners seems sweet and agreeable but in the end they will find Death Darkness and Damnation For this reason I say to you with the Prophet c Recedite à tabernaculis hominum impiorum ne involvamini in peccatis eorum Num. 16.26 Withdraw your self from them lest you be involv'd in their Sins and Ruin. Wo be to him who being forewarn'd avoids not this Precipice and eternal Misfortune See a little below Chap. 8. Art. 3. the History of a young Man who being perverted by wicked Company dy'd in Despair crying out Wo be to him who hath seduc'd me There remain's here to speak of the Conversation with the Good but we have plac'd that before amongst the Means to acquire Vertue Part. 2. Chap. 18. CHAP. VII The Seventh Obstacle of the Salvation of Youth Idleness THIS Theotime is one of the greatest Obstacles of your Salvation and that which produceth or nourisheth all the precedent and many others Idleness brings Ignorance and want of Instruction which cannot be gotten without Labor It is that which breeds Untractableness for a slothful Mind will learn nothing The apprehension it hath of taking pains makes it esteem it self sufficiently Knowing and refuse to receive the Instruction and Counsel of others a Sapientior sibi piger videtur septem viris loquentibus sententias Prov. 26.16 The slothful says the Scripture accounts himself wiser than many who Instruct others with their Documents Idleness is the cause of Inconstancy b Piger vult non vult Prov. 13.4 The slothful will and will not To day he desires one thing to morrow another To day he will be Good to morrow he changes his Resolution Idleness causes a Shame to do well and takes away the Courage he ought to have in the pursuit of Vertue c Pigrum dejicit timor Prov. 18.9 Fear makes the slothful lose courage Idleness makes him seek and find wicked Company and dangerous Recreations Idleness ordinarily is the Mother of that misfortunate Sin which so deplorably destroys a great part of Youth the Sin of Impurity of which we shall speak in the following Chapter In a word There are no Sins no Disorders no Occasions of Destruction whereof Idleness is not the cause and brings with it This is the reason which made S. Bernard justly call it d Omnium cogitationum malarum tentationum inutilium sentina mater nugarum noverca virtutum mors animae vivi hominis sepultura sentina omnium malorum The Sink of all Temptations and wicked Thoughts the Mother of Follies and Stepmother of Vertues the Death of the Soul the Sepulchre of a living Man the Receptacle of all Evil And the Holy Ghost himself names it The Mistress which teacheth many Sins Multam malitiam docuit otiositas Alas Theotime is it not a very deplorable thing How common amongst young Persons to see the Sin which is the Fountain of so many Evils to be so common amongst Youth that it seems to become natural to them You see the greatest part live after an idle and negligent manner flying from Labor like Death it self not applying themselves to any constant Exercise or if they undertake any they presently abandon it or at best acquit themselves very ill of it They have no affection nor thought but for Pleasures and Divertisements Playing Walking Good-chear Sleeping are the most considerable Employments of their Life and the most serious Occupations of their Minds And from thence spring all the Disorders into which we daily see them fall How pernicious the unbridled Affection to the Pleasures of this Life the Disrelishing of Vertue the Ignorance of the most necessary things the Forgetfulness of God and Eternal Salvation From thence wicked Companions and the Occasions of Debauches From thence all Vices and all bad Inclinations which encrease in their Souls more abundantly than ill Weeds in a fertil Earth which the Gardners Hand neglects to cultivate And from thence in fine it ariseth that they become unuseful for any Good which by their Labor they might have made themselves capable of and that the Vices contracted by the Idleness of their Youth renders them wicked and unprofitable all the remainder of their Life I would to God it were as easie to root out Vice from the Souls of young People as it is facil to make appear the deplorable Effects and vicious Consequences of it But this Evil hath in such a manner taken possession of their Hearts that they will not so much as know it or knowing will not cure it * Usque quo piger dormies quando consurges à somno tuo paululum dormitabis paululum conseres manus ut dormias veniet tibi quasi viator egestas pauperies sicut vir armatus Prov. 6. O slothful says the Wiseman how long will you sleep when will you awake from that profound Sleep of Idleness which hath made you so drowsie and which will bring you to a poverty of all good which will surprise you suddenly and seize upon you like an armed man. Open your Heart dear Theotime to the Voice of this Divine Spirit to banish Idleness from thence or hinder it from ever coming there For this end fortifie your Mind against this Vice by the following Reflections The Remedy which I beseech you to read often and attentively 1. All Men are oblig'd to Labor In sudore vultus tui vesceris panem Gen. 5. Homo ad laborem natus si laborem resugit non sacit id ad quod natus est quid respondebit ei qui mittit illum qui
frequently endeadeavors to take God himself out of their Minds that they may Sin more freely as it is observ'd of those infamous old Men who attempted to corrupt the Chastity of modest Susanna * Exarserunt concupiscentiam ejus everterunt sensum suum declinaverunt oculos suos ut non viderent coelum neque recordarentur judiciorum justorum Dan. 3. They being inflam'd with Concupiscence says the Sacred Scripture lost their Sense and Judgment and cast down their Eyes that they might not look towards Heaven and remember the just Judgments of God. This is the proper and peculiar Effect of Immodesty it blinds the Mind and makes it hoodwink it self flifling in it self all good Thoughts that it might sin with a greater liberty and with less remorse of Conscience See the Account St. Augustin gives of himself concerning this Subject in his Second Book of Confessions Chap. 2. which I have cited Part 1. Chap. 13. Artic. 2. From this Blindness of Mind springs Pride Fourth Effect Pride the Fourth Effect of this Sin of Impurity which hindering the Mind from knowing its own Good makes it despise all Admonitions resist all Documents and scoff at the most wholsom Counsels Cereus in vitium flecti monitoribus asper So that as this Sin renders young Spirits soft and pliable to Vice it makes them inflexible and obdurate to the Advertisements of their Salvation The Wiseman teaches you this Truth which Experience also makes sufficiently appear * Verbum sapiens quodcunque audierit scius laudabit ad se adjiciet audivit luxuriosus dispiciet illi projiciet illud post dorsum suum Eocl 2.18 A wise Man says he when he hears wise Sayings and Instructions receives them with esteem and advantages himself by them the lascivious hath no sooner heard them but he is disgusted and rejects them with contempt We need no other Example of this Truth than that of S. Augustin in the Second Book of his Confessions Chap. 3. where he deplores the insupportable Pride with which he contemn'd the discreet Admonitions of his pious Mother to whom next to God he was oblig'd for the Favor of his Salvation The Fifth Effect is an Obdurateness of the Will in Wickedness Fifth Effect Obdurateness in Evil. According to the measure that Sin multiplies the Soul habituates her self and becomes obdurate so that nothing is able to soften her It would be an incredible thing if we did not daily see it most apparently how those who are possess'd with this Sin become stupid and obdurate They are found insensible of all good Motions deaf to all Inspirations of Grace the Menaces of Divine Justice and Chastisements seem to them but Dreams witness the two Sons-in-law of Lot Surgite egrediamini de loco isto quia delebit Dominus civitatem hanc visus est eis quasi ludens loqui Gen. 19. who lookt upon that Admonition he gave them to depart from the City of Sodom as a Fiction which the Night following should be destroy'd as in effect it was and they together with it The Examples of those whom God hath so rigorously punish'd for this Sin touch them not at all the Misfortunes which they see with their own Eyes to befall others like themselves make no Impressions upon their Minds nothing is capable to move them as soon as this brutish Passion most dreadfully takes possession Obsurduerant stridore catenae mortalitatis meae poena superbiae animae meae Lib. 2. Conf. cap. 2. Alas saith St. Augustin the Chain of violent Passions wherewith this mortal Flesh kept me captive made such a noise about me that I was deaf to all that might advertise me for my good And this Deafness was a Punishment of the Pride of my Heart contracted by the Disorders of my Life O what a deplorable State is that to which a Soul is reduc'd by Impurity After all these dreadful Effects of the Sin of Immodesty there remains one Sixth Effect Final Impenitency which is the accomplishment of all the former and the Mark at which they all aim viz. Final Impenitency or Death in mortal Sin which is the greatest and utmost of all Misfortunes It is O Theotime a most common and most ordinary Effect of this detestable Sin which incessantly fills Hell with a vast number of wretched Souls which by untimely Deaths it casts into that endless Pit Some dying surpris'd with Sickness which deprives them of the Time or Means to do Penance Others seis'd by some frightful Accident Others departing in Obdurateness abandon'd by God in punishment of their Sins Give ear to what the Scripture speaks of those and in the Name of God imprint deeply in your Heart those astonishing Words of St. Peter 5. Pet. 2. Novit Deus pios de tentatione eripere iniquos verò igni reservare cruciandos God says that great Apostle knows how to deliver the Good from temptation and reserve the Wicked for the torments of Fire which his Justice hath prepar'd for them Hearken to what follows Mugis autem eos qui post carnem in concupiscentia immunditiae ambulant Now for whom amongst the Wicked doth he principally reserve these Chastisements For those chiefly who walk after the Flesh in the Concupiscence of immodest Pleasures But what will befall them Hearken Theotime Hi velut irationabilia pecora in corruptione sua peribunt percipientes mercedem injustitiae They shall die like brute Beasts in their Corruption and perish in their Impurity receiving thus the Recompence they have deserv'd for their Sins O dear Theotime is it possible that this Oracle pronounc'd by the Holy Ghost himself against Immodesty causes not an horror of that detestable Sin Read it attentively and preserve it in your Memory and that it may be more strongly setled in your Mind add to it the following Examples ARTICLE III. Examples of the miserable Death of those who were addicted to the Sin of Impurity The Sacred Scripture can furnish us with a great number of them we have already mention'd some in Part 1. Chap. 6. See what we have there recounted of the two Sons of the Patriarch Juda Her and Onan who were punish'd by God with sudden Death for the Sins they committed by detestable Actions of Impurity The unfortunate Death of the two Sons of the High Priest Heli Ophni and Phi. naees and all the other Misfortunes which God sent to that Family were not only Punishments of the Irreverences and Injustices they had committed in the Temple but also of their Immodesty as it is observ'd in the First Book of Kings Chap. 2. Vers 22. Amnon the Son of David Amnon found the Chastisement of his unchast Pleasures in the dreadful Death he receiv'd from the treacherous Hands of his own Brother Absolon The Rebellion of Absolon against his Father Absolon was not the sole cause which made God lay his revenging Hand upon him the Uncleannesses he had committed
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
burn with greater Heat than the Marrow of young People when they are inflam'd with Wine and delicious Meats And in his Epistle to Eustochium b Si quid in me potest esse consilii si experto creditur hoc primum moneo hoc obtestor ut Sponsa Christi vinum fugiat pro veneno haec adversus adolescentiam prima sunt arma daemonum vinum adolescentia duplex incendium voluptatis quid oleum flammae adjicimus quid ardenti corpusculo somenta ignium ministramus S. Jer. Epist ad Eustoch If I be capable says he to give any Counsel if you will give credit to one that is experienc'd I chiefly admonish and beseech that Soul which desires to be the Spouse of Jesus Christ by conserving her Purity to fly from Wine as a mortal Poison These are the first Arms the Devil makes use of against Youth Wine and Youth are a double inflammation to Pleasure Why do we cast Oyl upon the Fire Why do we add more Fuel to a Body that is on Fire Behold Theotime the Advice of this great Saint so experienc'd in the Conduct of Souls and chiefly of Youth Apply all your Endeavors to practise it exactly if you will conserve your Chastity And to exercise it well see in Part 4. Chap. 23. of Sobriety The Third Cause you ought carefully to avoid is wicked Company Third Cause and all sort of dissolute Discourses or any ways tending to Immodesty It is not to be imagin'd how those things corrupt and destroy Chastity in young People for how many are there who never fell into this misfortunate Sin till they had learn'd it either by Conversation with dissolute Persons or by the occasion of immodest Discourses which falling upon young Minds as a Spark amongst Straw frequently inflames them with the Fire of unchast Love. This Cause is so ordinary and so pernicious to young People that it cannot be sufficiently repeated nor ever enough decry'd Fly wicked Company have a care of immodest Discourses or to say with the Apostle permit not your self to be deceiv'd therewith for Wicked Discourses corrupt good Manners We have spoken of this Cause before in Chap. 6. See what is said there and chiefly the Example I brought above in Art. 3. of that young Man who permitting himself to be deprav'd with wicked Company dy'd in Despair The Fourth Cause is familiar Conversation with Women Fourth Cause which is also extreamly dangerous It is there Theotime where the Chastity of young Persons is utterly ruin'd and destroy'd and frequently after it had been preserv'd from other Dangers it there chances to be deplorably Shipwreckt Impure Love enters but too easily into young Minds but when it is assisted by the presence of the Object it is inslam'd beyond all imagination For this reason the Wiseman gives us that important Admonition * In medio mulierum noli commorari de vestimentis enim procedit tinea à muliere iniquitas viri Eccl. 42. Continue not amongst Women because from their Conversation springs the loss and destruction of Men as Moths which eat Cloaths are bred in the Garments Now if the Company of Women be very prejudicial to young People it becomes pernicious to them and absolutely mortal when it passes to a Familiarity to a Desire to please and be belov'd to overmuch Freedom to Caresses and Demonstrations of Friendship and such like Privacies too common amongst young Persons which S. Jerom calls very well Principia moriturae virginitatis The beginning of the approaching ruin of Chastity We must add to this Cause either immodest or too curious Looks which may be perform'd either in or out of Conversation Love enters by the Eyes and sometimes a Look without any wicked Design draws after it a vast train of Sins Give ear to what the Holy Ghost teaches you by the Mouth of the Wiseman * Virginem ne aspicias ne forte scandalizer is in decora illius Averte faciem tuam à muliere compta ne circumspicias speciem alienam Propter speciem mulieris multi perierunt ex hoc concupiscentia quasi ignis inardescit Eccl. 9. Look not on a Virgin lest you be scandaliz'd at her Beauty Divert your Eyes from a Woman comelily Adorn'd and regard not curiously her graceful Behaviour Remember that Womens Beauty hath been fatal to many and hath enkindled unchast Flames in their Hearts What an excellent Advertisement is this Theotime yet as much unknown as it is important Engrave this deeply in your Memory and have a care to govern well your Sight so that it be not too dissolute for all manner of Looks and if it happen to glance upon dangerous Objects at least fix it not there but withdraw it immediately Observe the same Rule in respect of all Pictures or immodest Figures which are so many Rocks for Chastity to split on and wherewith the World is misfortunately replenish'd Adjoyn also to the former Causes Kisses which amongst young Persons proceed often from Sensuality and immodest Affection altho' it be sometimes conceal'd or at least they excite it and give a beginning to many Sins and Uncleannesses For this reason a good Author calls them very properly * Impudici tactus osculi quid aliud est quam morsus diaboli arrha peccati Euseb Emiss Hom. de Quadr. The Bitings of the Devil and an Earnest of Sin. In fine add also to these Causes unchast Books which you ought to fly as the Plague of the Soul and the certain corruption of Chastity See what we have said Part 2. Chap. 17. These are the most ordinary Causes of Immodesty which you ought carefully to avoid if you desire to be freed from their pernicious Effect To fly them usefully and as you ought Theotime take notice of those you have and principally bear dominion in you and having observ'd them avoid them the most you can For Example If it be Idleness apply all your Care to overcome that by Labor If it be Intemperance be sober in your Diet and perform some Abstinence by the Advice of your Ghostly Father ARTICLE VI. Other particular Remedies against Impurity In flying the Causes of Impurity you must apply the Remedies proper to cure and entirely repell it Amongst others I shall give you these Four which are joyntly most necessary against this Sin and very efficacious to preserve you from it The First is Prayer First Remedy God is the Author of Purity we must demand it of him and the Grace to resist the Motions of that misfortunate Concupiscence which causes continual Rebellions against the Spirit Demand it daily Theotime but not as * At ego adolescens miser valde miser in exordio adolescentiae etiam petieram à te castitatem dixeram da mihi castitatem continentiam sed noli modo Timebam enim ne me cito exaudires cito sanarer à morbo concupiscentiae quam malebam expleri quam extingui
S. Aug. lib. 28. Confes 7. St. Augustin begg'd it in his Youth desiring Chastity yet was afraid to obtain it but beg it ardently and with an earnest longing to acquire it from God. Cor mundum crea in me Deus O God give me a clean Heart and renew in my Bowels an upright Spirit If you demand it you will obtain it and remember to recommend your self to the Blessed Virgin as we have said above The Second Remedy is frequent Confession to a discreet Ghostly Father Second Remedy This Remedy is so necessary that without it 't is morally impossible to be cur'd of this Sin and it is so efficacious that with it we may easily overcome that Vice. We have spoken sufficiently above of it in Part 2. Chap. 5 7. To shew the necessity of the Conduct of a wise Man against this Sin Excesserunt caput meum vepres libidinum nulla erat eradicans manus Aug. l. 2 Conf. c. 3. I only add that St. Austin deploring the Disorders of his Youth was extream sorry that he had not then met with a discreet Hand which might root out his lascivious Passions which increas'd in his Soul without number or measure Your Confessor Theotime will do you this good Office. Hic si solus fuisset quo adjutore superasset Hieron Epist ad Eustocb And S. Jerom after he had recounted the Directions with which a Superior of a Monastery had deliver'd a young Man from violent Temptations with which he was troubled makes this Reflection If this young Man had been alone how could he have ever conquer'd these Assaults You see by this Theotime how much the Assistance of a discreet Person is necessary to overcome the Sin of Impurity The Third Remedy is Reading and Meditating on pious things Third Remedy which fill the Mind with good Thoughts banish wicked ones and fortifie it in time of Temptations Such are principally the Thoughts of the grievousness of Sin of the Justice of God of his Greatness of his Goodness and other things which you will see in the following Chapter Art. 3. the remembrance of Death of Judgment and of Eternal Punishment Endeavor to fortifie your Mind with these Reflections by often reading these things seriously and attentively in some Book which treats of them The Fourth is Labor Fourth Remedy This serves to divert the mind from wicked thoughts Nunquam vacat lascivire districtis Seneca Ep. 56. and to take away from the Flesh the opportunity of rebelling against Reason You will find by Experience that this is an excellent Remedy if you carefully apply your self to it S. Jerom recounts a very notable Example of himself which you may may make use of very well He saith Dum essem juvenis solitudinis me deserta vallarent incentiva vitiorum ardoremque naturae ferre non poteram Quem cum crebris jejuniis frangerem mens tamen cogitationibus aestuabat Ad quam edomandam cuidam fratri qui ex Haebreis crediderat me in disciplinam dedi ut post Quintiliani acumina Ciceronis fluvios gravitatem Frontonis lenitatem Plinii alphabetum discerem stridentia anhelantiaque verba meditarer Quid ibi laboris insumpserim quid sustinuerim difficultatis quoties desperaverim quotiesque cessaverim contentione discendi rursus inceperim testis est conscientia tam mea qui passus sum quam eorum qui mecum vitam duxerunt gratias ago Domino quod de amaro semine literarum dulces fructus capiam S. Hieron Epist ad Rusticum that being a young Man shut up in the solitude of the Wilderness whither he was retir'd for the practice of Vertue he could not support the Heats of his Youth which caus'd continual and violent Temptations and tho he repress'd them with frequent Fastings his Mind was still molested with impure thoughts For the conquering of which he was advis'd of a most efficacious Means He submits himself to the Conduct of an Hebrew Master to learn the Hebrew Language adding this painful Labor to that which he now exercis'd in the Study of Latin Authors desiring to perfect himself exactly in the Sharpness of Quintilian in the Eloquence of Cicero in the grave Stile of Fronton and in the Sweetness of Pliny This Labor caus'd so great Troubles and Difficulties that he frequently left off despairing to be ever able to attain to his Desire yet afterwards he renew'd his Pains out of the great longing he had to learn. But the Vexation of this Trouble was recompenc'd with the Fruit he receiv'd from thence For he obtain'd by this means what he sought for by it the deliverance from his vehement Temptations from which he found himself free enjoying afterwards a sweet tranquillity And I give God thanks says he that from this bitter Seed of Study I now gather most pleasing Fruits Behold Theotime what an effectual Remedy Labor is against the Vice of Impurity CHAP. IX Of Temptations I Treat here of Temptations because altho ' one may be tempted with all sorts of Sins yet the Temptations of the Sin of Impurity are more ordinary and principally to young Persons and more difficult to encounter with and cause a great obstacle to their Salvation For this reason it is most important that they should be well Instructed to resist and overcome them ARTICLE I. What Temptation is and of the Means to know whether one hath sinn'd in a Temptation We call Temptation a Proposal of Sin made to the Soul What Temptation is to induce her to commit it or rather a Thought alluring to Sin. Now the Soul may consent unto Sin Three manner of ways 1. Sin may be consented to three ways By actually and voluntarily doing it 2. In not performing but desiring to perform it 3. Neither performing nor desiring but taking pleasure or delight in the Sin. Or to say otherwise the Will may consent unto Sin by the Action by the Desire and by Complacence or wilful Delectation From hence arise two things which ought to be well taken notice of 1. That there is nothing but Consent which causes the Sin and by consequence the Thought alone of a Sin is not a Sin as long as the Will doth not consent in one of those three manners and altho' the Thought should continue a long time it is not a Sin without Consent but on the contrary it is meritorious to reject it 2. To know whether one hath sinn'd mortally in a Temptation An imporiant Remarks it is not sufficient to consider whether one hath done a wicked Action or desir'd it but one must take notice whether he hath wilfully taken pleasure in thinking on it For the voluntary Delectation of a mortal Sin is a mortal Sin. This must be well observ'd because there are many who deceive themselves therein and believe they have not consented to a Temptation but when they had either done or desir'd the Evil to which they were tempted Nevertheless one
says he if any of you goes astray out of the way of Salvation and any one shall contribute to his Conversion he ought to know that he shall save the Soul of his Brother and that his Sins shall be forgiven him CHAP. XIX Of Friendships I Speak here of Friendships because they conduce much to bring Youth to Good or Evil according as they are good or bad and since young People are much inclin'd to Love and besides not having sufficient Light to discern good Friendship from hurtful it often falls out that they contract very bad Friendships which prejudice them very much and are most commonly the cause of their Destruction There is a difference between the Love of our Neighbor and Friendship We must love all Men in the manner we have said but we cannot have Friendship with all Men because Friendship is a mutual and particular Love. It is a reciprocal Communication of Affections What Friendship is by which two Persons particularly love one another and mutually procure Good to one another Friendship is such as is the Subject on which it is founded if we love in a Friend a wicked thing the Friendship is bad and vicious If we love a vain and frivolous thing as Beauty good Behavior the Friendship is frivolous and impertinent If we love a good thing the Friendship is good and laudable Now this good thing must be a real Vertue or a Perfection which may advance Vertue as Science a good Nature or the like Friendship to be good and real Three Conditions of Friendship to be good ought to have three Conditions which you must observe well It must be founded upon Vertue Tending to Vertue and Conducted by Vertue 1. It must be built upon Vertue that is we must love a Friend by reason of some good and laudable Quality which we know in him 2. Tending to Vertue because Friendship ought to desire and procure the Good of a Friend Now Vertue is the greatest and most necessary of all Goods And the Friendship by which Friends procure Favors to one another if it neglect mutually to advance Vertue according to its power is not a Friendship but a manifest Deceit 3. It ought to be directed by Vertue that is Vertue ought to be the Rule of it Amicus usque ad aras and a Friend should do nothing to a Friend which may be contrary to Vertue Friendship which causes God to be offended by a Friend is a detestable and cursed Friendship because it makes one love Man more than God. By these three Conditions Theotime you will easily discern good Friendship from evil and those you ought to fly from those you ought to seek You ought to fly the Friendship of those in whom you find no Vertue nor any Perfection which you may love as also the Friendship of those you know to be subject to any Vice as to Impurity Drunkenness Swearing whose Friendship will make you learn their wicked Quallties because as the Wiseman says Amicus stultorum similis efficietur Prov. 13. A Friend of Fools that is of vicious People will become like them Fly all Friendship which doth not tend to make you better Such is the Friendship of those who search after nothing in your Love but their own Profit or some vain Complacence they take in loving you or being belov'd by you of those who when they can do not advertise you of your Good and Salvation But above all abhor the Friendship of those who solicit you to Sin Vir iniquus lactat a micum suum ducit eum per viam non bonam Prov. 16. or flatter and cherish you in the Vices you have You ought to avoid these Friends as your greatest and most mortal Enemies Avoid the Company of all those who scruple not to offend God for your sake and to please you for Example to Rob to Cheat to Quarrel to Swear to Detract to treat ill their Neighbor to Challenge in a Duel and other such like things Have a horror for these Friendships and account that Maxim for certain Non potest homini esse amicus qui Deo fuerit infidus S. Amb. 3. Offic. cap. 19. That he who is unfaithful to God cannot be a Friend to a Man And altho' he might yet you cannot adhere to that Friendship without making your self an Enemy to God. On the contrary seek after the Friendship of those who you know carry themselves well and are endow'd with some good Qualities Melior est manisesta correptio quam amor absconditus Meliora sunt vulnera diligentis quam fraudulenta oscula odio habentis Prov. 29. by which you may profit who will move you to Vertue by their Example and good Discourses who will assist you therein by their Counsels not flatter you in your Vices but freely and charitably admonish you And in fine those who in their Friendship have the Fear of God for their Rule and your greatest and most desirable Good which is your Amendment and Salvation for their principal End. These Theotime are the good and real Friendships you must by so much more seek after as they are most rare and carefully entertain when you have found them These are the Friendships whereof the Wiseman speaks when he says that * Amicus fidelis protectio fortis qui invenit illum invenit thesaurum amico fideli nulla est comparatio amicus fidelis medicamentum vitae immortalitatis Eccl. 6. A faithful Friend is a strong Protection and he who hath found him hath found a Treasure he is more worth than all Gold and Silver he is a Medicine for Life and Immortality Ne derelinquas amicum antiquum novus enim non erit similis Eccl. 6. Love and seek after these Friendships apply your self to find them and when you have met with one conserve him carefully and abandon him not for a light changeable Mind as young People ordinarily do To find this Friendship remember First to demand it often of God for he is the Author of it and He who fears him Qui timet Dominum aeque habebit amicitiam bonam Eccl. 6. says the Wiseman will find it In the Second place be careful to love first for you must love to be belov'd But this Love must be such an one as we have said built upon Vertue tending to Vertue and directed by Vertue CHAP. XX. Of Sports and Recreations REcreation is necessary to relax the Spirits and particularly of young People and that which is taken in Sports is most proper for them it being more proportion'd to their Nature and the Capacity of their Mind Pastime then and Recreation is not contrary to Vertue but rather commanded and it is an Action of Vertue when it is done as it ought To be such The Motive of Sport. it is necessary before all things that the Motive of it be good that is that it be taken to recreate the Mind and to make it
it can do In the Name of God pass not from this Place without making Reflections upon it 2. Second Means That the love of Mony may not take possession of your Soul think often of that great Maxim of St. Paul that Covetousness is the root of all Evil. These Evils are the Sins of the World and the Misfortunes with which it is replenish'd whereof the greatest part springs from this wicked Cause as it would be easie to make it appear 3. Third Means Be persuaded that Riches damn many of the World be they Rich or Poor the Rich by the ill Use the Poor by Covetousness Know says the same Apostle Hoc scitote intelligentes quod omnis fornicator aut immundus aut avarus quod est idolorum servitus non habet haereditatem in regno Christi Dei. Ephes 5. that the Covetous hath no part in the Kingdom of God. 4. Fourth Means Accustom your self not to desire Mony but for your Necessity and for your civil and modest Recreations and when you lack it bear that Want with Patience considering how many Poor there are who have not Necessaries and that you are no better than they Above all never make use of Deceits Surprises nor any other unlawful way of getting it 5. Fifth Means Avoid certain Actions which are the Marks or Effects of Avarice in young People and which excite it much as to Play for Gain to be too fearful of losing at Play to Dispute for a small thing to keep any thing from another and much more never to take any thing be it what it will which is besides the Sin committed a damnable Custom and of very dangerous Consequence 6. Love the Poor give Alms freely Sixth Means abridge some part of the Mony you have for your Recreations to supply their Necessities Is it not a shame in you to be prodigal in your Pleasures in your Clothes in your Superfluities and to be so Covetous so hard for the Necessities of the Poor who are Men like you Christians like you and sometimes better than you in the sight of God My Child said the good old Toby to his Son Ex substantia tua fac eleemosynam noli avertere faciem tuam ab ullo paupere ita enim fiet ut nec à te a vertatur facies Domini Quomodo potueris ita esto misericors si multum tibi fuerit abundanter tribue si exiguum tibi fuerit etiam exiguum libenter impertiri stude Praemium enim bonum tibi thesaurizas in die necessitatis Quoniam eleemosyna ab omni peccato à morte liberat non patietur animam ire in tenebras Fiducia magna erit coram summo Deo eleemosyna omnibus facientibus eam Tob. 4. give Alms of thy Substance and turn not thy Face from any Poor lest God turn his Face from thee Give Alms according to thy ability if thou hast but little be not afraid to give a little for thou layest up a good Store for thy self against the day of necessity Because Alms delivers from Death and suffereth not the Soul to come into Darkness for Alms is a good Gift before the most High to all them who use it Consider well these Words Theotime and engrave them deeply in your Mind In fine you are either Poor or of a mean Fortune or Rich. If you be Poor beg of God the Grace to take your Poverty with Patience for Penance and for his Love. Confide in his Providence which will never be wanting to his Servants Si soenum agri sic vestit Deus quanto magis vos modicae fidei Quaerite ergo primum regnum Dei justitiam ejus haec omnia adjicientur vobis Mat. 6. If God hath care of the least Creatures according to the Saying of our Lord how much more will he have of you Seek then says he first the Kingdom of Heaven and all things necessary shall be given you Read the Sixth Chapter of S. Matth. from Verse 24. If you be of a mean Fortune have a care to be content and not to disquiet your self by the desire of a greater Call to mind what S. Paul says Qui volunt divites fieri incidunt in tentationem in laqueos Diaboli in desideria multa inutilia nociva quae mergunt homines in interitum radix enim omnium malorum est cupiditas 1 Tim. 6. that Those who desire to be Rich fall into temptation and snares of the Devil and into many wicked Desires which plunge them in perdition because Covetousness is the root of all Evil. Wherefore practise the best you can that great Maxim which the same Apostle gives to Christians * Sint mores sine avaritia contenti praesentibus ipse enim dixit non te deseram Heb. 6. Let there be no Covetousness in your Manners being contented with the Goods you possess being God hath said I will not forsake you If you be Rich stand in great fear of your Riches for your Salvation Vae vobis divitibus quia habetis consolationem vestram Luc. 6. Wo be to the Rich says the Son of God because they have here their Consolation Upon the ocasion of a rich young Man he said that it is very difficult for the Rich to be Saved To avoid the Dangers thereof read and practise what we have said in the Chapter of the Obstacles of rich young Persons in Part 3. Chap. 10. CHAP. XXII Of Humility I Have reserv'd this Vertue for the last as that which gives Perfection to all others and which is necessary to conserve them and make them increase in young Souls Pride is an inordinate Esteem of ones self Pride creeps easily into young Minds is most pernicious to all Men but particularly to young Persons It naturally creeps into their Mind according to the measure that they advance in Age in Vertue in Science or such other Perfections which they have or think they have It makes them incapable of all good Impressions and opens them the way to all sorts of Vices My Child Superbiam nunquam in tuo sensu aut tuo verbo dominari permittas in ipsa enim initium sumpsit omnis perditio Tob. 4. Initium omnis peccati est superbia Eccl. 10. have a care that Pride never bear dominion in your Thoughts or Words because from it all the Misfortunes of the World arise said the holy Man Toby to his Son. I say unto you also Pride must be repressed by Humility Theotime preserve your self from Pride permit it not to take possession of your Mind banish it far from you Humility is necessary for you Not a Humility of Behavior or Words but a true solid interior Humility an Humility which renders you humble in these three manners Three sorts of Humility in your self towards God and towards Men. 1. 1. In ones self Be humble in your self that is in your own proper
which the great Apostle wishes particularly to his dear Disciples and to all Christians * Non cessamus pro vobis orantes postulantes ut impleamini agnitione voluntatis ejus in omni sapientia intellectu spirituali ut ambuletis digne Deo per omnia placentes in omnibus in opere bono fructificantes crescentes in scientia Dei. Colos 2. I cease not says he to pray for you and to beseech God that you may be fill'd with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and understanding and that you may walk worthily pleasing God in all things fructifying in all sorts of good works encreasing in the knowledge of God. MAXIM V. That we cannot be in the Grace of God without having a constant Resolution never to offend him upon any score In this Resolution consists the Practice of the great Commandment of loving God above all things without which it is impossible to please him and be in his Grace for he who loves him not remains in death Now we cannot love God without this Resolution of never offending him * Si quis diligit me sermones meos servabit Qui non diligit me sermones meos non servat Joh. 14. If any one loves me says the Son of God he keeps my Commandments He who loves me not observes not my words MAXIM VI. That Sin is the greatest Evil which can befall a Man. Sin offers an infinite Injury to God which all Men and Angels know not how to repair It deprives Man of the Grace of God and makes him incur his Hatred and Indignation It causes him to lose Heaven for ever and puts him in the State of Eternal Damnation It renders him unworthy of all the Graces necessary to raise him from that deplorable Condition wherein God may justly leave him as he does many O God is there any Mischief in the World to be compar'd to this MAXIM VII That the worst of all Misfortunes is to die in Mortal Sin. It is the Misery of Miseries because it is the beginning of Eternal Calamities the loss of all Happiness the Source of all Evils and that without remedy without recovery and without any hope in a word it is Eternal Damnation To comprehend this Misfortune consider if you can what it is to lose God and that for ever to be banish'd from Heaven and that for ever to be condemn'd to the Flames of Hell with the Devils and that for ever without end without cessation without comfort without hope always in Rage always in Despair for being fall'n into this dreadful Calamity having been able to avoid it having despis'd God's Grace having lost such Means of Salvation O Theotime is it possible to think on this Misfortune and not stand in dread of it MAXIM VIII That this Misfortune happens to many and to those who think not of it It happens to all those who have not time to do Penance before their Death or having time were not Penitent at all or as they ought dying without the Dispositions necessary for Salvation For this reason the Son of God hath so often advertis'd us to * Vigilate orate nescitis enim quando tempus sit Mat. 13. Watch to be upon our guard We know not when the time will come We know neither the day nor the hour To be always prepar'd because he will come at the hour we think not on Vigilate quia nescitis diem neque horam Mat. 25. Et vos estote parati quia qua hora non putatis filius hominis veniet Mat. 24. Luc. 12. Quod autem dico vobis omnibus dico vigilate Marc. 13. What I say to you I say to all watch MAXIM IX That we must think frequently on Death Judgment and Eternity This is the chief Means to avoid that so common a Misfortune He who shall reflect well on the Judgment of God will be afraid to fall into Sin or to continue in it never so little This is the great Advertisement of the Wiseman which all Men ought to have continually in their memory * In omnibus operibus tuis memorare novissima tua in aeternum non peccabis Eccl. 7. In all your Actions remember your last things and you shall never sin MAXIM X. That we must serve God for himself and by Love. Altho' the Considerations of Death Judgment and Eternity be effectual and necessary to move us to Vertue nevertheless we must not stop there Read Part 4. Chap. 2. 3. and the Instruction about Communion Part 2. Ch. 3. Art. 4. it appertains only to servil Souls to be conducted by Fear alone generous Souls serve for Love and because he deserves to be belov'd honor'd and serv'd Fear is good but it must not be alone Love must perfect what Fear hath begun O Theotime how is it possible for a Soul to serve a God so amiable in himself and from whom she hath receiv'd all she possesseth otherwise than by Love MAXIM XI That we must have a Rule of our Actions and that this Rule ought to be the Law of God the Example and Doctrin of Jesus Christ and not the World nor the Example of others nor Custom It is a common Maxim amongst Men To do as others do and to bring for a Reason of their Actions That the World does so That it is the Custom That such and such act so This is a wicked false and pernicious Maxim Men are not our Rule but God. The World is all full of Error Men whatsoever they be are subject to Failings God is Truth himself he hath given us his Law to conduct us he hath sent his Son Jesus Christ to teach us * Hic est filius meus dilectus in quo mihi bene complacui ipsum audite Mat. 17. he hath commanded us to hearken to him ipsum audite that is the Rule we ought to follow Let not those says S. Jerom who make profession to be the Disciples of Truth Nec turbam sequantur errantem qui se veritatis discipulos confitentur Hunc certe imitari tutissimum est atque ejus vestigia sequi qui dixit ego sum via veritas vita nunquam errat qui sequitur veritatem S. Hieron Epist ad Celant Magister vester unus est Christus Mat. 18. Qui Ecclesiam non audierit sit tibi sicut Ethnicus Publicanus Mat. 18. Qui vos audit me audit qui vos spernit me spernit Luc. 10. follow the erring Multitude It is most safe to follow him who saith He is the Way the Truth and the Life Never govern your self by the World by Custom or by Example of others And in all your Actions look not upon the Practice nor Judgment of Men but upon the Law of God and the Doctrin of Jesus Christ and his Church which he hath commanded us to hear and follow and act nothing but what shall be conformable to that infallible Rule MAXIM XII That the World is
free an Access to their Persons and to their familiar Entertainment they would be overwhelm'd with the multitude of those who approach unto them God communicates himself with such an incredible Bounty and he is left all alone there are few found who will advantage themselves by it They are chiefly young Persons who profit the least by these Celestial Favors They understand not what it is either to speak to God from the bottom of their Heart or to hearken when he speaks interiorly to them as he frequently do's by his holy Inspirations which is the cause why they neglect them and lose the Fruit of them Young Samuel being asleep heard a Voice which call'd him he believ'd it was that of his good Master the High Priest Hely He presently rises and goes to him asking him what his Pleasure was The good Man sends him back saying that he had not call'd him The young Man having gon three times in this manner the same Voice still awaking him the good old Man Hely said to him Son I have not call'd you but without doubt it is God who speaks to you wherefore return to your Chamber and if you hear the same Voice again answer presently in this manner Speak Lord for thy Servant hears thee Samuel returns and the same Voice having awaked him again he answer'd as he was appointed Speak Lord for thy Servant hears thee and God gave him to understand all that he had to speak to him Do you see Theotime that God speaks to this young Man but he hears not because as the Scripture takes notice he was not then accustom'd to that Language Porro Samuel nondum sciebat Dominum But when he had been well Instructed he knew the Voice of God and he learnt to hearken to it and to advantage himself infinitely in that Divine School Thus it frequently happens to you that God speaks to you interiorly by so many good Motions which he inspires you with and you let them slip because you conceiv'd not that they came from God and that it was he that spoke to you this is the reason why you lose so many of them and advantage not your self by them because as yet you have not learnt to hearken to the Voice of God and answer seasonably to him Now it is this which we learn by the use of Prayer and Meditation ARTICLE IX The Method of Meditation All that we have said hitherto serves only to convince you of the Use of Meditation it is now time to shew you the Practice and discover to you how you must perform this holy Exercise It is necessary therefore to speak to you first of the Method to be observ'd therein To make you more easily comprehend this Method I shall take notice here of some important Truths on which it depends and which it is necessary you should comprehend well The First regards the End of Meditation Now to Meditate usefully you must in the first place know the End for which you ought to Meditate and that this End is nothing else but the Sanctification and Salvation of your Soul by the flight of Vice and the practice of real Vertue This is that which makes the difference between Meditation and Study of holy things for we Study to become Knowing and we Meditate to make our selves Good and Vertuous The Second Verity is That to effect our Salvation and acquire Vertue three things are necessary To Know it to Love and to Practise it The sole Knowledge doth not suffice except we be inclin'd with an Affection to the Good we know and the Love of the Good serves for nothing unless we proceed to the Execution And this also is a difference between Meditation and Study for Study contents it self with the Knowledge of holy things but Meditation proceeds to the Love and Practice of Vertue as its principal End. The Third Verity is That we cannot of our selves have any of these three things we have spoken of that is neither good Thoughts for Salvation nor pious Affections nor any good Resolutions except we be inspir'd with the Grace of God. It is a Truth which our Lord hath taught us when he said a Sine me nihil potestis sacere Jo. 15. we could do nothing without him and his Apostle after him when he affirm'd b Non quod sufficientes simus cogitare aliquid bonum à nobis quasi ex nobis sed sufficientia nostra ex Deo est 2 Cor. 3. That we are not able of our selves to have any good Thought but all we do comes from God. And in another place a Deus est qui operatur in nobis velle perficere pro bona voluntate Phil. 2. It is God who gives the Grace and Will to do good The Fourth is That altho' we cannot of our selves produce any good Affection or Resolution for Salvation without the Grace of God yet God requires and will have our Cooperation to give us them to augment them to fortifie them and to make us put them in Execution For this reason he admonisheth us b Petite dabitur vobis quaerite invenietis pulsate aperietur vobis Mat. 7. to ask to seek to knock at the door This Cooperation on our part consists in two Actions 1. In demanding of God humbly and with perseverance the Favor of good Thoughts pious Affections and holy Resolutions for our Salvation 2. To apply our Minds to consider attentively the Truths of Salvation to draw from thence by the Grace of God convenient Thoughts Affections and Resolutions This is what God would signifie unto us when he admonish'd us to ask to meditate to conserve in our Heart the Truths of Salvation These four Maxims being thus setled it is easie to make you understand the Method of Meditation the knowledge whereof depends upon the understanding of three things 1. To know well the End for which we must Meditate 2. To comprehend the Acts which must be practis'd for that End. 3. The Means which ought to be employ'd to perform well and profitably these Actions The End of Meditation is the Salvation or Sanctification of our Soul by the avoiding Sin by advancing in the Love of God and by the practice of Christian Vertues This is the sole thing which ought to be propos'd and sought for in this holy Exercise The Acts to arrive at this End are three which we have spoken of good Thoughts pious Affections for Good and firm and solid Resolutions to practise it The Means to perform well these Acts are Prayer to demand them of God and the Application of Mind to consider the Verities which may move us to the Love of God and to the Practice of Vertue From the knowledge of these three things you may easily gather the Order and Method which is to be observ'd in Meditation which comprehends three Parts The First serves for Preparation and consists 1. In representing to you the End for which you will Meditate
the Crums which fall from their Master's Table I also demand nothing more than the remainder of the Favors you shew to your Children Our Lord took so much content in seeing the Faith Humility and Patience of this afflicted Person that praising her highly he said to her O Woman great is thy Faith be it to thee as thou desirest Imitate in your Prayer this admirable Example and still when you beg of God any Grace for your Salvation altho' God answer you not by some good Thoughts continue intreating Domine adjuva me Lord assist me Have recourse to the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the Saints as the Cananean to that of the Apostles If these Coldnesses chancing to continue your Conscience tell you that they are your Sins which are the cause and that they render you unworthy of the Favors you request Acknowledge humbly the truth and declaring that it is so say from your Heart as the Cananean It is true O God it is not reasonable that thou shouldst give the Bread of thy Children to Dogs that is to Sinners such as I am but at least as the Crums of Bread which fall from the Table are allow'd to the Dogs deny me not those which fall from thine grant me some small remainder of those abundant Graces which thou pourest upon those who faithfully serve thee If you persevere thus God will grant your Petition and recompence your Faith your Humility and your Patience And altho' he should give you no good Thoughts at all upon the Subject you would Meditate that Patience that Humility that stedfast Faith which you exercise will be more pleasing to him than any thing else and more profitable to you and this will be the best Fruit of your Prayer Thus Theotime you shall lose nothing for in seeking God on one side you will find him on the other and you will experience the truth of that excellent Observation made by the great St. Bernard * Dico tibi solus est Deus qui frustra nunquam quaeri potest nec etiam cum inveniri non potest S. Bern. l. 5. de Consider c. 11. That amongst all the things we seek for only God is never sought for in vain even when we imagin we cannot find him ADVICE III. The Third Advice is That in every Meditation you still be mindful of the End for which you Meditate which is the Sanctification of your Soul and to make you really vertuous in the sight of God so that the Meditation which doth not improve you is not a Meditation nor Prayer but a Speculative Study which is sometimes more prejudicial than profitable The Meditation which is perform'd without a prospect of this End is full of an infinite number of most dangerous Defects It makes us stop at the Thoughts and not at the Affections at the subtil Imaginations and not at the solid at those which delight the Mind and not at those which move the Heart If we pass to Affections it is to those which are found most agreeable and not to those which are most necessary such as the hatred of Sin the desire of mortifying our Passions and correcting our Vices We content our selves with the Affection and omit the Resolutions and if we proceed to Resolutions we content our selves with general ones without descending to Particulars For Example we say I would be Humble Chast Temperate but we do not say I will be Humble in that Occasion I will Obey when I shall be Commanded I will acknowledg my Fault when I shall be Reprehended and other like I will be Chast by resisting Temptations thro' such and such Means I will avoid such Occasions which are dangerous for me I will shun Idleness c. And in fine if we come to some particular Resolutions we make them but weakly and not with force and vigor from whence it comes to pass that we accomplish them not and so they are as unprofitable as if they were not made at all All these Faults in Meditation spring from the first that we propose not effectually in Meditating the Sanctification of our Soul by the solid Practice of Vertue From hence it comes that this manner of Meditation prejudices more than it profits because it is apt to give to those who act thus a very good Opinion of themselves a Contempt of others and a Confidence in their Merits It makes them much addicted to their own Judgment and Will and believe they are Saints by Meditating on holy things altho' they practise them not which is a very great Mischief not only to them but to others who take from thence an occasion to blame Meditation and Devotion whereas they are not the cause of these Disorders but the ill use these Persons make of them For this reason Theotime when you apply your self to this holy Exercise propose to your self strongly that End to make your self Vertuous and believe that that Meditation is unprofitable from which you depart without a particular Resolution of correcting your self and of loving God more than you have done as yet ADVICE IV. But it is not sufficient to refer Meditation to the practice of Vertue we must also be careful to relate it to the practice of the most solid Vertues as Faith Humility the Love of God and our Neighbor Chastity Temperance and others and chiefly those we have most need of in the present State wherein we find our selves and whose Occasions occur most frequently This Advice is one of the most important which can be given in this Matter for to what purpose is it to propose to our selves in Meditating fair and apparent Vertues and in the mean time omit the more solid which are the Groundwork and Foundation of all others and which making less shew are notwithstanding more necessary To what end for Example do we propose to our selves to be very liberal to the Poor if we had Means to suffer great Persecutions for Gods sake if they should befall us with other like things and neglect the Vertues we stand in present want of as Chastity Humility Meekness toward our Neighbor or those which we have every Day occasion to practise as the mortifying our Passions refraining our Anger suffering our Neighbor obeying our Superiors In a word Meditation is a Means to sanctifie our Souls This Sanctification consists in moderating our Passions correcting our Vices and by consequence in acquiring the contrary Vertues It ought therefore to be necessarily referr'd to that End and to produce that Effect otherwise it is not a Meditation but a pure Illusion And those who make use of it so abuse the most holy and wholsom thing which they render unprofitable to themselves and contemptible to others Act not in this manner Theotime Meditate really to sanctifie your Soul to mortifie your Passions to correct the Vices which bear dominion in you to practise true and solid Vertues and those you stand in most need of in your present State. CONCLVSION This is what I had to propose to you upon this Subject of Meditation To conclude I have but two Words to say to you Read and Practise Read to instruct your self in a thing which as yet you know not to convince your self that Meditation is not so difficult as you might conceive it but that you may practise it and that it may be very beneficial to you Read to learn the Method of it and practise the same But content not your self with the Reading proceed to the Practice and Exercise of so pious a thing Try what you can do therein or rather what God will give you the Grace to perform Be assur'd he will give you much if you approach to it with a sincere Intention to please him and to learn in that Divine School the Truths of your Salvation and to practise them faithfully Be not dismay'd for the Difficulties be faithful and perseverant and God will bestow upon you the Means to surmount them Call to mind that Sentence of the Prophet That a Bonus est Dominus sperantibus in se animae quaerenti illum Thren 3. God is good to those who hope in him and to Souls which in reality search after him Seek after him in your Prayers and Meditations and you will find him if you search faithfully b Petite accipietis quaerite c. Ask and it shall be granted to you seek and you shall find knock at the Door and it shall be open'd to you c Gustate videte quam suavis est Dominus Psa 51. Tast Theotime and experience how sweet and pleasant God is in this pious Exercise and you will find by experience and in effect the truth of that Sentence of the Divine Wisdom d Beatus homo qui audit me qui vigilat ad fores meas quotidie observat ad postes ostii mei Qui me invenerit inveniet vitam hauriet salutem à Domino Prov. 8. Blessed is he who hears me and who watches often at my Door and waits at my Gates He who shall find me shall find Life and receive Salvation from the Hand of our Lord. FINIS
to the greatest Saints THE INSTRUCTION OF YOUTH IN Christian Piety PART V. Of the Choice of a State of Life THIS Instruction would be imperfect and destitute of one of the best and most necessary Parts if after having shew'd how we must live during Youth it should not direct how to make a good Choice of the Condition or State wherein one ought to pass the remainder of his Life This Choice is a Subject whose Knowledge is by so much more necessary to young Persons as its Importance is unknown to the greatest part of Men and the Faults that are there committed are most commonly irreparable or if sometimes they be repair'd it is with very great pains and difficulty Besides they are not light or of small consequence because the issues of them are extended to all the Life of a Man and pass even to his Eternal Salvation of which they often draw the ruin after them For this reason Theotime I beseech you read attentively this last Part whether before you enter upon this Deliberation or when you shall be at the Point of making your Choice and also after you have made it for you will find therein whereby to profit at each of those Times CHAP. I. How important it is to make a good Choice of a State of Life THIS Importance is built upon two Truths Two Fundamental Truths in this matter which are to be supposed here as Fundamental in this matter The First is That altho' all States may be good yet all States are not good for every one and that such a State is profitable for one Man which will be hurtful for another all not having the same Inclinations nor the same Capacities nor the same Favors of God. The Second is That God who hath Establish'd by his Providence the diversity of States and Employments of the Life of Man distributes them differently by his Wisdom designing some for one Employment others for another As a Father of a Family divides amongst his Domesticks the Offices of his House according as he finds them fit For this reason he gives to Men different Inclinations divers natural Abilities as well Corporal as Spiritual and also distributes amongst them his Favors diversly according to the several Necessities of different States to which he calls them These two Truths thus presuppos'd evidently manifest how important it is to choose well ones State and Condition For if all States are not good for all it is then most important to choose advisedly that we may not fall into a State which may be contrary to us And if God call each Man to one State more particularly than another it follows that we must proceed therein with a great Circumspection to choose what is most conformable to his Will and for which he hath given us most Capacity and prepar'd most Favors This choice is of such consequence How important the Choice of a State is that on it depends all the Good of a Man both for this Life and for Eternal Salvation Be attentive Theotime to comprehend the Mischiefs into which all ill Choice of a Condition casts Men and into which it will cast you if you be defective therein First 1. For the present Life for the present Life What Good what Contentment can he have who is enter'd into a State which he hath ill chosen and for which he is not proper There is no Condition more miserable The Displeasure of seeing himself engag'd against his Inclination joyn'd with the Difficulties he undergoes to acquit himself of his Duty casts him into a Disquiet and Melancholy which incessantly gnaws him makes him insupportable to others and himself and find in his Condition a more horrid Prison than that of Criminals and Chains more unmerciful than those of Gally-slaves As for Salvation 2. For Salvation what can a Man do in that State For besides that Melancholy casts him into a continual Idleness and that Idleness into Vice and Perdition With what trouble must he effect his Salvation in a State wherein he hath neither Ability nor Vocation from God The want of these two things are the Causes why he will commit an infinit number of sins which he would not have done in another State. The defect of Capacity makes him find continual Difficulties in satisfying his Duty and the particular Obligation of his State. The defect of Vocation is the Cause why he wants many Favors he should have receiv'd in another Calling and of which he is made unworthy being enter'd rashly into this Condition without consulting God without demanding of him his Will. And certainly if we search into the Cause of the Disorders we see in each State Ecclesiastical Religious and Secular wherein many discharge themselves of their Duty very badly we shall find the greatest part of the Mischiefs spring from this Source that is from an ill Entrance into a State of Life and that the greatest part enter upon slight Grounds without Examining whether they are proper for it and call'd by God. For a Conclusion of this Importance A profitable Advice I exhort all those who deliberate about the Choice of their State attentively to reflect upon these three things 1. Upon the Displeasure and Sadness they will feel all their Life for having made an ill Choice of their Calling 2. The great number of Sins they will commit in a State they had lightly chosen and which they would not have committed in another Condition 3. The Danger to which they expose their Salvation in choosing after this manner They who will attentively consider these three things will take care not to be defective in an Affair of this Importance CHAP. II. Of the Faults that are ordinarily committed in this Choice I Find four sorts of Faults which young Men are accustom'd to fall into Four ordinary Faults in this Choice in this so important a Choice which are the Causes why they succeed therein so very badly First 1. They deliberate not They deliberate not at all upon this Choice and instead of choosing a State according to the Rules of Reason and after a long and serious Deliberation they engage themselves in a Calling sometimes by a sudden Passion and Fancy sometimes by Occasion and frequently by the sole Inclination they feel to one Condition rather than another without Examining whether they are proper for it whether it be for their Good and whether they shall effect therein their Salvation Secondly When they deliberate 2. They deliberate ill they propose things naughtily that is upon ill Grounds and regard other Ends than such as they ought to have before their Eyes in this Deliberation Some look upon the Sweetness of Life in the State they would embrace Others upon Riches and Preferment Others upon Honor and Reputation And in a word all regard Temporal Goods and the present Life but few propose Vertue and Eternal Salvation which chiefly and before all things ought to be consider'd One says This