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
of your Soul she must answer for you to God she must conduct you during your Life to the Point of Salvation and assist you at the Hour of Death Love her tenderly as a Child loves his Mother be obedient to her receive from her your spiritual Sustenance of Doctrin and of the holy Sacraments walk under her Eye and Government with Respect and Confidence receive from others all the assistance you can but expect from her your principal Conduct and be zealous to follow that great Advertisement of the Apostle Obedite Praepositis vestris subjacete eis Ipsi enim pervigilant quasi rationem pro animabus vestris reddituri ut cum gaudio hoc faciant non gementes hoc enim non expedit vobis Heb. 12. Obey your Superiors and be subject to them for they watch over you as being to give an account of your Souls that they may perform their Duty with joy and not with sorrow for that is not convenient for you The End of the Second Part. THE INSTRUCTION OF YOUTH IN Christian Piety PART III. Of the Obstacles which divert young Persons from Vertue IT is not sufficient for him who Conducts another in a Voyage to shew him the Way he must keep and the Means he must make use of to arrive at the Place assign'd he must also advertise him of the Dangers he will Encounter in the Way and arm him against all Obstacles which may retard or hinder the happy Success of his Voyage Thus the Angel Raphael of whom we have spoken above did not content himself to guide young Toby but secur'd him from the Obstacles which presented themselves to him in the Way and amongst others from the Monster he met with upon the brink of the River Tigris from which he not only protected him but caus'd him to reap a great Advantage by it For this reason dear Theotime after having shew'd you the Way to Salvation and the Means you ought to practise to acquire Vertue in your Youth it is necessary I should discover unto you the Impediments you shall find in the Way This is what I shall perform in this Third Part wherein I shall lay open the Causes which are accustom'd to destroy those of your Age in withdrawing them from Vertue and casting them into Vice and I shall shew you the Means how to preserve and even advantage your self very much by them for your improvement in Vertue CHAP. I. The first Obstacle of the Salvation of Youth the want of Instruction THE first Hindrance of the Salvation of young Persons is Ignorance or want of Instruction We must know a Good that we may love it and to know it it is necessary we should be Instructed therein we not being able to our selves to learn it who bring nothing with us into the World but Ignorance and Sin. God says by his Prophet that a Propterea captivus ducuts est populus meus quia non habuit scientiam Isa 5. his People were sent into Captivity because they had not Science that is the Instruction and Knowledge of their Salvation And the Wiseman says that b Ubi non est scientia animae non est bonum Prov. 19. where there is no Science there is no good for the Salvation of Souls This Impediment is great and it is the first Fountain of the corruption of Youth It is by so much more to be deplor'd as it is common and extended to many it being certain that the greatest part of Youth is lost for want of Instruction and not being solidly Train'd up in the Maxims of Vertue Fathers neglect to Instruct their Children in true Piety and bestow all their Care in Educating them in Vanity in Pleasures in the love of Earthly Goods and in the Maxims of the World. Masters employ often the greatest part of their Labor to advance their Scholars in Learning and very little to make them understand the Science of Salvation Children concern themselves little to be Instructed and frequently fly Instruction all they can which is the reason why they continue in Ignorance in wicked Habits and are lost without remedy For the Proof of this Verity I shall recount you here two Examples quite contrary * Quis enim hominum non extollebat laudibus tunc patrem meum quod ultra vires rei familiaris suae impenderet fillo quidquid etiam longè peregrinanti studiorum causa opus esset cum interea non satageret idem pater qualis crescerem tibi aut quam castus essem dummodo lessem disertus aut potius desertus à cultura tua Deus qui es unus verus bonus Dominus agri cordis mei Aug. lib. 2. Conf. cap. 3. S. Augustin in his Confessions deploring the Corruption of his Youth attributes a great cause of it to the want of Instruction and to the blindness of his Father who using all Endeavors to advance his Son in his Studies and make him Learned and Eloquent neglected in the mean time the most necessary thing viz. the Care of his Manners and of his Instruction in Vertue without which all Science could but serve to render him more displeasing to God and more remov'd from his Grace On the contrary the Scripture making a recital of the generous Action of chast Susanna who chose rather to expose her self to the false Accusations of those two infamous old Men and to be prosecuted to Death than to Sin in the sight of God by consenting to a detestable Crime which those wretched Men solicited her to attributed the Cause of this holy Action to her Piety and to her Instruction receiv'd from her Parents the Words it makes use of are remarkable * Joachim accepit uxorem nomine Susannam filiam Helciae pulchram nimis timentem Deum parentes enim ejus cum effent justi erudierunt filiam suam secundum legem Moysi Dan. 13. She had the fear of God because her Parents being just had instructed her according to the Law of Moses O dear Theotime Practice have a care of this Obstacle as of one of the greatest Impediments of your Salvation love and seek Instruction And if God hath bestow'd upon you Parents or Masters who are solicitous to put you into the Path of Vertue give him Thanks for this incomparable Favor and use your Endeavor to advantage your self thereby But if your Parents have not sufficient care of your Instruction in Vertue seek after it your self by the Means we have pointed at above in Part 2. Chap. 3 4 5. and call to mind often that excellent Sentence of Solomon * Cor sapiens quaerit doctrinam os stultorum pascitur imperitia Prov. 15. A wise Heart seeks Instruction and the unwise is pleas'd with Ignorance CHAP. II. The Second Obstacle the too much Indulgence of Parents their ill Example and the bad Instruction they give their Children IT is but too true that the Ruin of Children springs most commonly from
as the Matter of your Meditation shall direct But chiefly forget not to come to good Resolutions for it would be to offer a great Injury to God to have receiv'd from him good Motions and not to put them in Execution Wherefore you must always conclude your Meditation with firm Resolutions to practise the Good with which God hath inspir'd you in Prayer But this Resolution must be strong and efficacious let it therefore be follow'd by its Effect and that it may be such read and practise the Third and Fourth Advice which you will find in the following Article Finish your Prayer by giving Thanks to God for the good Thoughts and Motions he hath bestow'd upon you and in humbly begging of him the Grace to put them in practice foresee the occasion you may have to practise them that you may be mindful of them You may perform this Exercise in a large quarter of an hour that time is not too long for an Action of such importance where you treat with God concerning your Salvation and wherein God do's you the Honor to hearken to you and communicate himself to you with so much Bounty As for the Days of Meditation it would be a great Blessing for you if you could perform it every Day In expecting that Blessing endeavor to perform it at least every Sunday and Feast on the Days of Confession and Communion and also on some Days before to prepare your self for it and some Days after to conserve the Fruit of it I add also the Days wherein you shall find your self mov'd with Temptations that in this Exercise you may find Arms to defend your self according to that remarkable Advertisement of our Lord * Vigilate orate ut non intretis in tentationem Mat. 26. Watch and Pray that you enter not into Temptation Make choice also of a commodious Place remov'd from Noise and wherein you may be all alone as much as you can that you may have less occasion of Distractions and more liberty to apply your self to God. ARTICLE XIII Some Advices concerning Meditation Before the finishing of this Treatise there remain some Advices to be given you to prevent the Difficulties which will occur in this holy Exercise and to make it solidly profitable to you ADVICE I. The First is That you diligently take care not to permit your Mind to be prepossess'd with any false Opinion against Meditation as to conceive that you are not capable of Meditating or that it is too much trouble or not necessary or the like This is the first Obstacle the Devil will put in your way to divert you entirely from this Exercise but we have already before taken notice of this Impediment and discover'd the vanity of that Illusion in the Eight First Articles wherefore read them attentively And chiefly concerning the Capacity remember that it is not your great Wit nor your high Studies which make you capable of Meditating but Humility and the knowledge of your own Disability to think or do any good Actions and the great Desire to profit in Vertue These are the Dispositions which render you capable of Meditating or rather of receiving the Lights and Motions of Divine Grace which are the things we seek in Meditation and not our proper Imaginations ADVICE II. The Second Advice is Not to be dismay'd with the Difficulties you may find in this Exercise as the trouble to apply your Mind Distractions Distasts and the like 1. Represent to your self that good things are not acquir'd without pains How much is there in Studies and other Exercises of Human Life from which yet we desist not by reason of that Difficulty 2. Consider that all Beginnings are difficult and that by Exercise they are overcome and chiefly by the Grace of God which is the first Mover to all good things but particularly in this Action where it is the prime and principal support 3. Make these Distractions serve for your Meditation and proceed in this manner Humble your self in the sight of God because you cannot keep your Mind attentive Acknowledge that it is thro' your Fault That your Sins are the cause That this springs from your Lightness and from the too much inclination you have to the Vanities and Pleasures of the World. Take from thence occasion to lament your Sins to demand pardon of God for them to purpose to fly from them for the future to correct the Levity of your Mind and to redress your disorderly Affections 4. Amongst all these Distractions account your self as a Beggar at the Gate of God from whom you beg an Alms. Doth a Beggar esteem himself repuls'd because he is not hearkned to at his first Request He continues soliciting he expects he comes again Act you in that manner persevere humbly a Si vis habere justitiam Dei esto mendicus Dei qui te monuit ut peteres S. Aug. Ser. 5. de verb. Dom. begging of God a good Thought for your Salvation Altho' you should spend all the time of your Meditation in this Demand you would not have perform'd much Call to mind that excellent Sentence of St. Augustin who says That b Cum aliquando tardius dat Deus commendat dona non negat diu desiderata dulcius obtinentur citius data vilescunt Ibid. when God do's not presently grant the Petition we desire it is not because he refuses us but because he would have us set such a value on his Favors as they deserve It being certain that we more esteem the things we obtain with much trouble and make less account of those we acquire without pains For this reason he adds c Pete quaere insta servat cibi Deus quod non vult cito dare ut discas magna magne desiderare Ibid. Ask seek urge God reserves the Favor to grant it at the end altho' he would not consent to it at the first that you might learn to solicit for great things with an ardent desire 5. In these Occasions behave your self like the poor Cananean who gain'd by her admirable Patience the Favor which the Son of God had refus'd her This Woman being afflicted came and cast her self at the Feet of our Lord to obtain the cure of her Daughter tormented with a malignant Spirit He passes on his Way without answering her one word She addresses her self to the Apostles who intercede for her but to no purpose Seeing her self thus rejected she puts her self forward and presents her self to him again with more instance than before O Lord assist me He answers roughly That it is not reasonable to take the Bread of the Children to cast it to the Dogs An Answer sufficient to repulse a most approv'd Patience She instead of being dejected by it takes advantage from his Words and makes use of them to obtain the Effect of her Prayer Ah Lord pardon me if I tell you that sometimes Bread is given to the Dogs for at least they are permitted to eat
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
the Fear of God. THE First Vertue that is necessary for you is the Fear of God it is that which next to Faith is the Basis and Groundwork of all others The Scripture calls it The beginning of Wisdom and it teacheth us that it is the first thing which ought to be inspir'd into young Souls For this reason Salomon Instructing Youth in his Proverbs begins his Instruction with this excellent Precept so often repeated in Scripture a Initium sapientiae timor Domini Prov. 5. The Fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom And the same Scripture in the History of holy Tobias observes expresly that being a Child b Genuit ex ea filium quem ab infantia timere Deum docuit abstinere ab omni peccato Tob. 1. He instructed him from his Infancy to fear God and to abstain from all Sins Now by this Fear we must not understand a gross and servil Fear that regards nothing but the Punishment and Chastisement which it apprehends more than the Offence What this Fear is but a respectful Fear by which considering the Greatness and Majesty of God his Sanctity his Power his Justice we conceive a profound Respect and apprehend above all things to fall by mortal Sin into the Displeasure of a God so Great so Holy so Powerful so Just We have already spoken of it above in Part 2. Chap. 1. That Theotime is the Fear of God which is the beginning of Wisdom and the foundation of true Piety Practice of the Fear of God. It is that to which I exhort you here for which you should chiefly and above all things labor As to the obtaining it see what you are to do First Demand it daily of God 1. Demand it for he is the Author of it Say to him frequently from the bottom of your Heart * Confige timore carnes meas à judiciis enim tuis tremui Psal 118. O God engrave thy Fear deeply in my Soul that it may restrain me from ever offending thee Secondly 2. Have a great Sense of the Greatness of God. Conceive a great Apprehension of the Greatness of God. He is the Sovereign Lord of all things infinite in all his Perfections in Majesty in Wisdom in Goodness in Power in Justice All Creatures adore him the Angels themselves tremble at the sight of his Grandeur All that is Great in the World is but an Atom before him and as he hath created all things by one sole Word he could destroy them all in one only Moment * Non est similis tui Domine magnus es tu magnum nomen tuum in sortitudine quis non timebit te ô Rex gentium Jer. 10. O Immense God there is none like unto thee said a Prophet thou art Great and thy Name is Great O King of Nations who will not fear thee Thirdly 3. Fear to displease God by sin Fear above all things to displease God * Timor Domini expellit peccatum Eccl. 5. and let that be the first and principal thing you regard in all your Actions whether God be not therein offended 4. 4. Speak of God with Respect When you speak of God never speak of him but with a profound Respect and endeavor to cause by your Example that he never be spoken of otherwise in your Presence CHAP. III. Of the Love of God. IF the Greatness of God oblige us to fear and honor him with a profound Respect The Love of God ought to be joyn'd with Fear his Goodness engages us as much to love him We must fear God by reason of his Greatness which renders him infinitely Adorable and we must love him because of his Goodness which makes him infinitely Amiable we must not separate these two things Fear and Love. a Timor Domini initium dilectionis The Fear of God is the beginning of Love as the Holy Scripture says and Love is the perfection of Fear b Qui sine timore est non poterit juscificari Eccl. 25. Qui non diligit manet in morte 1 Joh. 3. He who is without Fear cannot be justifi'd and he who Loves not remains in Death We must then love God dear Thotime for how can it be that we should not love Goodness it self and him who hath lov'd you first We must begin betimes to love God. But you must love him betimes and from your tender Years you must begin that quickly which you must do all your Life and during all Eternity The Love of God is our Sovereign Happiness and last End. We are created for that End God hath plac'd you in this World on no other Design than to love him and that coming to know him for your Creator you should render that which a Work ows to its Workman a Creature to its Creator a Child to his Father that is Love. And oblig'd thereto And to oblige you the better thereunto he hath added all imaginable Favors having design'd you for the Enjoyment of his Kingdom in Heaven Redeem'd you when you were lost and Redeem'd you by the Death of his only Son Call'd you to the Grace of Christianity Illuminated you with the Light of Faith Sanctifi'd you by his Grace Receiv'd you often into his Mercy after you had grievously offended him and a thousand other Blessings hath be bestow'd upon you O Theotime how is it possible not to love a God who hath lov'd you so much Now there are two things in God for which he ought to be belov'd Two Motives of the Love of God. The one is his Goodness which he manifests unto us by all the Favors and Blessings he bestows upon us The other is the Goodness he possesses in himself which makes him Sovereignly Amiable For if we might suppose a thing impossible viz. That God had never shew'd us any Favor yet he deserv'd to be infinitely belov'd by reason of the Sovereign Goodness and infinite Perfections he enjoys in himself which render him infinitely Amiable Now when I say we must love God I speak of both these two Loves and I mean that we must love him for the Benefits he hath bestow'd upon us and not only for them but also in consideration of his infinite Goodness which renders him so lovely that in the love of his Goodness consists the Eternal Happiness of both Men and Angels But take notice The essential Condition of the Love of God. Theotime that the Love of God to be real ought to have one very particular Condition which occurs not in any other Love For it doth not suffice to love God as we love Creatures but we must love him above all things that is more than all Creatures * Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo ex tota anima tua ex omnibus viribus tuis ex omni mente tua Luc. 20. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart that is
for it And the Second Council of Orange teaches us that even b Adjutorium Dei etiam renatis sanctis semper est implorandum ut ad finem bonum pervenire vel in bono possint opere perd rare Concil Arausic c. 10. the Faithful and Saints ought always to implore the Divine Assistance that they may arrive at a good End or persevere in good Works O Theotime how happy would you be if having begun to serve God in your tender Years you have a care to say with David all your Life O God Deus docuisti me à juventute mea usque nunc pronuntiabo mirabilia tua Et usque in senectam senium ne derelinquas me Psal 70. thou hast taught me from my Youth and even until now will I declare thy Wonders and until my old and decrepid Age O God depart not from me After all this my dear Reader remember that Life passes Death advances Eternity approaches Life is but a Moment and on this Moment depends Eternity O Moment O Eternity Let us at least employ this Moment to serve our Creator who deserves an Eternity of Service Let us Consecrate our selves during this mortal Life to that adorable Goodness who gives himself fully to us for all Eternity Let nothing be able to sepâ—rate us from his Service Quis nos separabit à charitate Christiâ— Rom. 8. Who shall sepaâ—ate us from the Charity of Jesus Christ says the Divine Apostle O God permit it not but cause by thy Divine Bounty that our Hearts be inseparably united unto thee and that performing thy Will in all things we may love thee perseveringly in this Life to love adore and bless thee for ever in Heaven where thou livest and reignest world without end Amen A TREATISE OF MEDITATION OR MENTAL PRAYER To be added to the Book of the Instruction of Youth I Present you here dear Theotime with this small Instruction as an important Piece which I thought was wanting in that I gave you before I conceiv'd that this Subject ought to have been Treated there even from the time I compos'd that Book but the fear I had that it would not be well receiv'd made me then be silent supposing perhaps that you as many others might be prevented with this false Persuasion That Meditation is not the Exercise of young People that it ought to be of those already arriv'd at a perfect Age and also of a high Spirit and that it is only good for Religious Persons or for those of great Devotion in the World. Upon this Thought I conceiv'd it fitting to defer it and in the mean time observe what use you made of the Book and what Blessing God would be pleas'd to lay upon it Seeing then the Success which by the Divine Goodness it hath had and that its apparent Benefit oblig'd me to repeat the Edition I could stay no longer from presenting you with a Practice of such importance without which not only all this Book but also all the Instructions you shall receive in your whole Life may become unprofitable Entertain then this Doctrin with Love and altho' it be plac'd at the end of the Book yet for that reason read it not last because it may help you to reap a Profit by reading all that is taught in this Book ARTICLE I. What is it to Meditate It is not that which the generality of Men imagin who conceive that Meditation is a high Speculation of sublime things that has no other end than to acquire elevated Thoughts and Knowledges which others have not wherein they are notably deceiv'd Meditation doth not consist in high Thoughts but in those which are good and wholsom nor only in pious Thoughts but in holy Affections which spring from thence as to hate Sin to love God to fear his Judgments and in the Resolutions which are made in consequence of these Thoughts and Affections So that to Meditate is to apply ones Mind attentively to consider the Truths of Salvation to stir up ones self to love them and resolve to practise them Now that you may have a just Idea of Meditation it may be defin'd in these Terms Meditation is a serious and frequent Reflection which is made in the Presence of God and by the assistance of his Grace upon the Truths of Salvation to know them perfectly to love them and to put them in practice Observe well this Definition and consider each Word because there is not one which hath not its Sense and Signification which you will yet understand better by the following Articles and particularly by the Ninth ARTICLE II. That without Meditating it is hard to effect our Salvation This Truth follows from the former Definition For if Meditation be nothing else but a frequent and serious Reflection upon the Truths of Salvation to know them to love them and to practise them it is certain that it is a thing also difficult to effect ones Salvation without Meditating as it is hard to practise the Truths of the same Salvation without loving them and to love them without knowing them and to know them without thinking seriously and frequently on them which is that which we call Meditating and without often demanding of God the Grace to know them to love them and to practise them which is obtain'd principally by Prayer The Scripture for this reason attributes the frequent loss of the Salvation of Men and corruption of Manners to the want of Reflection Desolatione desolata est terra quia non est qui recogitet corde The Earth is all replenish'd with Desolation because there is no Person who revolves in his Heart the Truths of Salvation Weigh well this Verity which is most certain and which will be yet more setled in you by what follows ARTICLE III. That Meditation is not an Invention of Man but of God. They who fly Meditation imagin that it is a small Practice of Devotion only invented by Men but they are grosly deceiv'd it being a certain thing that God is the first and principal Author of it As soon as he had given the Law to his People he caus'd the continual Meditating on it to be chiefly recommended to them * Eruntque verba haec quae praecipio tibi hodie in corde tuo narrabis filiis tuis meditaberis sedens in domo tua ambulans in itinere dormiens consurgens ligabis ea quasi signum in manu tua eruntque movebuntur inter oculos tuos scribesque ea limine ostiis domus tuae Deut. 6. The things which I have order'd to day shall continue in your Heart you shall teach them to your Children and you shall meditate on them whether sitting in your House or walking on the Way lying down or rising up you shall have them always in your Hands and before your Eyes And a little after * Poni te haec verba in cordibus animis vestris suspendite ea pro