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
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
long time For in the Ninth Year of his Reign the City of Jerusalem was Besieg'd by Nabuchadonosor King of Babylon and after Two Years Siege it was Taken Sackt and put to Fire and Sword the Temple Ransackt and Burnt those of the People who had escap'd the fury of the Sword or Famine were sent into Captivity And he flying with his Children was taken and brought before the proud King who after having receiv'd him with Expressions of Fury and Indignation caused his Childrens Throats to be cut before his Face and afterwards pull'd out his Eyes and made him be sent Captive into Babylon where he dy'd miserably undergoing the just Punishment of his Iniquities We must add to these Examples those which we have recounted in the Sixth Chapter being that all those of whom we spoke in that place are dead in their Sins and by Sins begun in their Youth These Examples are very common in Sacred Scripture the contrary are there very rare and as I have said we shall find but one only in the Old Testament who was truly Converted after he had liv'd wickedly in his Youth viz. Manasses and that by so strange a Means that it manifests more clear than Day the dreadful Difficulty with which one Corrects the wicked Inclinations of his younger Years This Prince having lost his Father Ezechias 4 Reg. 21. one of the most pious Kings of Juda at the Age of Twelve Years was Inheritor of his Crown but not of his Vertues For blotting out of his Mind presently the holy Examples and wise Documents he had receiv'd from him he addicts himself to all sorts of Vices and Impieties such as the Scripture recounts His Iniquities went on encreasing until the Fifteenth or according to others till the Two and twentieth Year of his Reign wherein God sent him an extreme Affliction He was taken by the Assyrians in the City of Jerusalem sent Captive into Babylon loaden with Irons and Chains cast into a frightful Prison where he was daily afflicted with a vast number of Miseries and Persecutions Being reduc'd to this extremity of Misery he began to open his Eyes and call upon him in his Afflictions whom he had forgotten in his Prosperity He acknowledg'd his Iniquities and begg'd Pardon for them with a truly contrite Heart and by the force of Tears and Prayers obtain'd from God his Deliverance After which he did Penance for his Sins and liv'd in Holiness all the remainder of his Life even to the Age of Sixty seven when he dy'd St. Jerom adds to this History a very remarkable Particularity which he took out of the Tradition of the Hebrews For Explicating what the Scripture says in general Terms * Qui posteaquam coangustatus est oravit Dominum Deum suum Hieron in ques Heb. in Paral. That Manasses being opprest with Affliction had recourse to God he saith that it was in the Extremity of a frightful Death to which he was expos'd He should have been put to Death in a great brazen Vessel pierc'd with many Holes set upon a hot Fire which heating the Vessel and penetrating it on every side should consume that miserable Prince by its Flames by so much the more cruel as it was tedious in duration He was shut up in this Vessel and the Fire kindled under him In this dreadful Representation of Death this misfortunate Prince apply'd not himself to God but first to the Idols which he had ador'd so strangely was he blinded with his former Sins But when he perceiv'd that it was to no end to invoke their Assistance he call'd to mind a Sentence of the Sacred Scripture which he had often heard from his Father in his Youth by which God promis'd his Succours * Dum quaesi eris Dominum Deum tuum invenies eum si tamen tâ—â—o corde quae ieris tota tribulatione animae tuae Deut. 4. to those who had recourse to him in their Tribulations and converted themselves to him with all their Heart and had a great Sorrow for their Sins He presently raises his Heart to God with Sighs and Lamentations and begs of him his Deliverance with such a Contrition for his Sins that God shew'd him Mercy and not only deliver'd him from that frightful Death but from his Slavery and made him return to Jerusalem where he spent the rest of his Life after the manner I have already touch'd See here Theotime a Conversion after a wicked Life of Youth but a Conversion purchas'd at a dear Rate CHAP. XIII Of the great Evils which spring from the wicked Life of Youth THE greatest of Evils is that whereof we speak Tenth Motive which obliges young People to Vertue viz. The loss of Salvation and Eternal Ruine which befalls many by the Sins of their Youth it being certain that Sins committed in that Age are the original Cause of Damnation to many But besides that there are many others issuing from the same Fountain which are necessary to be known dear Theotime to the end that knowing them you may conceive a greater horror of the Cause which produces them ARTICLE I. The first Evil viz. Death which the Sins of Youth hasten to very many I put in the first place Death hasten'd which happens to many young Persons in punishment of their Sins I do not mean that all those who die in the Flower of their Age die in punishment of the Sins they have committed nor also that all those who follow Vice in their Youth should be punish'd with an untimely Death I know very well that the Pious sometimes depart in the prime of their Youth and that this Death is a Recompence of their Vertue and an Effect of the Love God bears them according to that Testimony of the Sacred Scripture in the Book of Wisdom If the Just says the Wiseman Justus si morte praeoccupatus fuerit in refrigerio erit placens Deo factus dilectus vivens inter peccatores transsatus est Raptus est ne malitia mutaret intellectum ejus ne fictio deciperet animam illius facinatio enim nugacitatis obscurat bona inconstantia concupiscentiae transvertit sensum sine malitia consummatus in brevi explevit tempora multa placita enimerat Deo anima illius propter hoc properavit Dominus educere illum de medio iniquitatum Sap. 4. be prevented by Death he will find therein Repose and Salvation his Vertue having render'd him agreeable to God made him purchase his Love and merit to be taken out of this World where he liv'd amongst Sinners God withdrew him betimes lest Corruption should slip into his Mind and his Soul be deceiv'd with the false appearance of the Vanity and Pleasures of the World which delude Men and make them love those things which are most opposite to their Salvation I know also very well that there are many Sinners who live a long time and who grow old in the Vices they had contracted in their Youth
most proper to them makes a particular Congratulation to young People for the Victory they have gain'd over that Enemy as be those who are most persecuted * Scribo vobis adolescentes quoniam viciltis malignum Scribo vobis juvenes quoniam fortes estis verbum Dei manet in vobis vicistis malignum 1 Job 2. I write to you young Men says he because you have conquer'd the malignant Spirit I write to you young People because you are valiant and the Word of God hath remain'd with you and you have over come the Enemy O dear Theotime happy are all those young People to whom with truth we may say that they have conquer'd the Enmy of their Salvation I represent unto you here the War he wages against those of your Age that we may congratulate you in that manner and that by the Persecution he raises against you you may know First how necessary it is that you should be Vertuous in your Youth since the Devil endeavors so powerfully to divert you Secondly with how much Courage you ought to resist the Attempts of that cruel Enemy who seeks your Destruction with so much Fury How is it possible you should not stand in horror of that Enemy of your Salvation and that you should not stand more in dread of letting your self be overcome by that detestable Enemy who seeks all ways to destroy you for ever than of Death it self CHAP. XV. The Conclusion of all that hath been said above IT is time to put an end to this First Part Reed attentively this Chapter and in Recapitulating all that we have said to represent to you in short the great Obligations you have to addict your selves to Vertue in your Youth Certain it is then Theotime that it is of no light Consequence that you should be Vertuous in your younger Years and that the good or evil Life of Youth is not Childs Play nor a thing that deserves little Care or Regard as the greatest part of the World thinks but that it is a Business of great Importance the Consequence whereof is founded upon all that is most high and sacred in the Interests of the Service of God and Salvatiion of Men. 1. Above Chap. 1. You are oblig'd to Serve God in your Youth by reason of the Acknowledgment you owe to him as to your Creator and as to your Sovereign Master for the Being you have receiv'd from him and by reason of the most sublime and excellent End for which he hath Created you having made you for nothing less than to possess him eternally in Heaven after you have faithfully Serv'd him upon Earth 2. Chap. 2. By reason of the vast Favours he has bestow'd upon you by Calling you to Christianity and to the true Religion out of which there is no Salvation 3. Chap. 3 4. Because the Service of young People is singularly pleasing to God since he loves them with a particular Affection and is pleas'd to confer many Benefits upon them 4. Chap. 5. Because you cannot refuse him your Service without offering him a very heinous Injury 5. Chap. 6. By reason he hath an incredible Aversion for wicked young People 6. Chap. 7 8 9 10 11 12. Because your Eternal Salvation hath a great dependence upon the Life you lead in your Youth So that if you set your Affection upon Vertue in your younger Years you will easily conserve it all the remainder of your Life and if you follow Vice you cannot withdraw your self but with very great difficulty and perhaps not at all 7. Chap. 13. By reason of the heavy Misfortunes which spring from the wicked Life of Youth untimely Death Obdurateness in Sin the loss of many fair Hopes and the overflowing of Vice amongst Men. 8. Chap. 14. And Lastly Because of the Persecution which the Devil raises against young People whom he continually endeavors to withdraw from the Service of God and cast betimes into Disorders that he may destroy them without recovery After all these Reasons I demand of you Theotime whether now you have any cause to doubt what you have to do Are not these Considerations powerful enough to convince you absolutely of the Obligation you have to addict your self to Vertue in your Youth And if you be convinc'd thereof what do you mean What is your Design and Resolution for the future Perhaps hitherto you have not comprehended the greatness of this Obligation but now understanding it clearly what Judgment ought you not to expect from God * Job 24. Ipsi fuerunt rebelles lumini If you be rebellious to the Light and act as those Impious in the Scripture who say to God Depart from us Qui dixerunt Deo recede à nobis Scienti am viarum tuarum nolumus we will not receive the knowledge of thy Ways The Sacred Scripture recounts that the Jews being return'd from the Captivity of Babylon 2 Esdras 8. the Prophet Esdras caus'd the Book of the Law to be publickly Read unto them from whence they had receiv'd no Instruction for the space of the Seventy Years of their Captivity That People had scarce begun to understand the Law when they fell a Weeping most bitterly and made the Air to refound with their Cries and Lamentatious So that the Priests and Levites who Read the Law were more Employ'd to stop their Tears and Comfort them than to Instruct them This poor People did miserably deplore their Misfortune of being ignorant of their Duty and Obligation to the Service of God and of being so far remov'd as not to come to the knowledge thereof O dear Theotime I beseech the Divine Goodness by his Grace to work the same Effects in your Heart After reading the Truths I have represented to you is it possible that you should not be touch'd with the force of Truth and your own Salvation And that after reading all these Reasons which shew you the strict Obligations you have to the Service of your Creator you should shut the Book without making any reflection upon your self or upon your Resolutions for the future I conjure you by the Honor and Respect you owe to God by the Love you owe to his Son Jesus Christ your Gracious Saviour by the Affection you ought to have for your Eterna Salvation I conjure you I say that you do not read these Truths unprofitably and that when you have read them you do not cast the Book out of your Hands until you have made a full Resolution to hink seriously on your Salvation and to Correct your past Life by a Holy and Vertuous one if it hath been Disorderly It is here dear Child where you must open your Eyes to see your self and deplore your past Offences and the Blindness which hath produced them saying with S. Augustin * Vae vae tenebris meis in quibus jacui Vae caecitati illi in quâ videre non poteram lumen coeli
ordinarily some Prayer to her more by Custom than Vertue and on the otherside do not care horribly to displease her by a Life replenish'd with mortal Sins which they commit without any scruple O God! what Devotion is this to desire to please the Mother and daily crucifie the Son trample his Blood under their Feet and contemn his Grace and Friendship Is not this to be an Enemy both to Son and Mother O dear Theotime your Devotion to the Blessed Virgin must not be like that True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. it must be more generous and more holy and to speak plainly if you will be a true Child and a sincere Servant of the Blessed Virgin you must have a care to perform Four things 1. Have a great apprehension of displeasing her by mortal Sin and of afflicting her Motherly Heart by Dishonoring her Son and destroying your Soul and if you chance to fall into that Misfortune have recourse readily to her * Non aspernatur affectum praedulcem ingens desiderium inundationem lacrymarum assiduitatem precum quorumlibet etiam peccatorum Si tamen laverint à malitia cor S. Ber. Serm. 1. Super Salve Regina that she may be your Mediatrix to reconcile you to her Son extremely provoked by you She is the refuge of Sinners as well as of the Just on Condition they have recourse to her with a true desire of converting themselves as S. Bernard says 2. Love and imitate her Vertues and principally her Humility and Chastity These two Vertues amongst others have render'd her entirely pleasing to God * Agnoscit certe diligit diligentes se prope est in veritate invocantibus se praesertim his quos videt sibi conformes factos in castitate humilitate Ibid. She loves them singularly in her Children and is delighted to assist with her Favors those whom she finds to be particularly inclin'd to those Vertues according to the same Saint 3. Have recourse to her for things needful for your Salvation and for that end offer to her daily some particular Prayers say your Beads or the little Office sometimes in the Week perform something in her Honor on every Saturday whether Prayer Abstinence or Alms Honor particularly her Feasts with Confession and Communion 4. Be mindful to Invoke her in Temptations and in the Dangers you find your self in of offending God. You cannot shew your respect for her better than by applying your self to her in these urgent Necessities and you can find no Succor more prompt and favorable than hers It is the Counsel of St. Bernard * Si insurgant venti tentationum si incurras scopulos tribulationum respice stellam voca Mariam In periculis in angustiis in rebus dubiis Mariam cogita Mariam invoca Non recedat ab ore non recedat à corde Et ut imperves orationis ejus suffragium non deseras conversation is exemplum S. Bern. Eom 2. Super missus est If the Winds of Temptations be rais'd against you if you run upon the Rocks of Adversity lift up your Eyes towards that Star Invoke the Blessed Virgin. In Dangers in Extremities in doubtful Affairs think upon the Blessed Virgin call upon the Blessed Virgin let her not depart from your Mouth nor from your Heart And that you may obtain the assistance of her Intercession be sure to follow the Example of her Conversation If you perform this you will have a true Devotion to the Blessed Virgin you will be of the number of her real Children and she will be your Mother under whose Protection you shall never perish Keep well in memory that excellent Sentence of S. Anselm who presum'd to say That as it is necessary he must needs perish who hath no Affection to the Blessed Virgin Mary and who forsakes her So it is impossible he should perish who hath recourse to her and whom she regards with the Eyes of Mercy I shall make an end with an excellent Example which I shall produce for a Proof of this Verity A Remarkable Example Revelation c. 13. S. Brigit had a Son who follow'd the Profession of a Souldier and was bred up in the Wars and dy'd therein she having heard the News of his Death was much concern'd for the Salvation of her Son dead in so dangerous a Condition and as she was often savour'd by God with Revelations of which alone she hath Compos'd a Book she was assur'd of the Salvation of her Son by ensuing Revelations In the first the Blessed Virgin reveal'd to her that she had assisted her Son with a particular Protection at the Hour of his Death having strengthned him against Temptations and obtain'd all necessary Favors for him to make a holy and happy End. In the following she declar'd the Cause of that singular Assistance she gave her Son and said it was in Recompence of his great and sincere Devotion he had testifi'd to her during his Life wherein he had lov'd her with a very ardent Affection and had endeavour'd to please her in all things This is Theotime what a real Devotion to the Blessed Virgin did merit for this young Man and for many others She will be as prevalent for you if you have a Devotion for her if you love and honor the Blessed Virgin as she ought to be lov'd and honor'd in the manner we have spoken of But in speaking of the Devotion of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Devotion to S. Joseph very profitable to young Persons I cannot pass by that of her dear Spouse the glorious S. Joseph This great Saint having had the singular Happiness to be chosen to have the Care and Guardianship of the Son of God in his Infancy and Youth it must needs follow that he will be favorable to young Persons and cherish them tenderly in that Age which he saw sanctifi'd by the Son of God. He hath Serv'd him in all the Necessities of his Life to which he was pleas'd to submit himself for our Love He freed him from the Persecutions of his Enemies he bred him up in his Infancy govern'd him in his Youth He saw him submit himself to his Commands He was a domestick Witness and Admirer of the Graces and Vertues he made appear from Day to Day in his tender Years as the Sun discovers his Light according to the proportion he rises higher Ought we not to believe that this Saint who hath had so much Familiarity with Jesus Christ when a little Child affects with a singular tenderness the Children of Jesus Christ and particularly those who endeavor to conform themselves to that Divine Youth by the imitation of his Vertues and that he should be their Protector and Intercessor to him Fix your Affection Theotime upon this good Saint and honor him with a particular Respect Take him for your Patron and for the Protector of your Purity Pray to him daily with much confidence and above all in your Necessities and
whereof it is spoken in the Second Book of Kings Chap. 16. with all his other Crimes did contribute thereunto What shall we say of Salomon Salomon Theotime who being the wisest of all Men singularly belov'd of God and favor'd by him with all desirable Graces permitting himself to be misfortunately carry'd away with unchast Love fell from that Sin to the basest of all Crimes that is Idolatry wherein he continu'd such a long time that it is not known whether he was ever rais'd from it and hath left all the World in doubt of his Salvation O dreadful Example O frightful Effect of the Sin of Uncleanness If this Sin were so frightful in Particulars Omnis caro corruperit viam suam Gen. 6. it hath no less spar'd Multitudes nor even the whole World. That dreadful Deluge which drown'd the whole Earth two thousand Years after its Creation was the first Effect of Impurity which had caus'd so prodigious a Corruption in all Human Nature that it provok'd the Divine Choler Tactus dolore cordis intrinsecus delebo inquit hominem quem creavi à facie terrae even to destroy by an universal Flood that same Nature the most excellent Workmanship of his Hands to extinguish in those Waters the Flames of that unchast Love which had caus'd such an universal Conslagration The Waters of the Deluge were scarce dry'd up Clamor Sodomaeorum Gomorraeorum multiplicatus est peccatum eorum aggravatum est nimis Gen. 19. Igitur pluit Dominus super Sodomam Gomorram sulphur ignem à Domino de coelo sed subvertit civitates has omnem circa regionem universos habitatores urbium cuncta terrae viventia Gen. 19. Quibus in testimonium nequitiae samigabunda constat deserta terra Sap. 19. when this detestable Sin beginning again to enkindle its first Flames oblig'd the Divine Justice to send another frightful Punishment upon those infamous Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah whose Impudence being arriv'd at the greatest height and crying to Heaven for Vengeance God showres down Fire and Brimstone visibly from Heaven which reduc'd into Ashes not only the Men and Cities but also all the neighboring Land which is yet to this day an infectious unwholsom Marsh to which Man dares not approach that it might serve as an Example to Posterity and teach the Immodest that the dishonest Fire with which they permit themselves to be inflam'd shall be punish'd with another Fire which shall burn always and never be consum'd To these Examples which are taken out of the Sacred Scripture and by consequence most certain I might add many others with which Histories abundantly furnish us I shall content my self with two which I have chosen out amongst others The First is recounted by St. Gregory in his Dialogues He saith S. Greg. lib. 4. Dial. cap. 35. there was one in his time nam'd Chrysorius a Man of Quality and very rich but as much abounding with Vices as he was wealthy in Riches but above all extreamly addicted to immodest Pleasures God resolving to put a period to those Sins he daily heap'd up one after another sends him a severe Sickness of which he died but with a Death very extraordinary Approaching to the greatest extremity of his Distemper he suddenly perceiv'd a multitude of malignant Spirits who presented themselves unto him in hideous Forms and made a shew as if they would immediately carry him into Hell. He began to tremble look agast and lamentably cry out for succour he turns himself on every side to avoid the sight of those horrid Shapes but which way soever he mov'd they were continually before his Eyes After many struglings feeling himself press'd and violent hands laid on him by those wicked Spirits he began horribly to cry out Truce till Morning Truce till Morning and shrieking thus his Soul was torn from his Body and he miserably departed without obtaining the Truce he requir'd O Incontinence the Mother of Impenitence If this Example be terrible that which follows is yet more frightful and ought to move you more powerfully It is related by John Gerson Chancellor of Paris who took it out of Thomas Cantipratensis Suffragan Bishop of Cambray who says he was an Eye-witness of it He says That being a young Scholar he had a Companion of his Studies with whom he had contracted a very strict Friendship a Person of Quality and endow'd with all the Vertues one could wish in a young Man. Happy if he had conserv'd that Treasure of Innocence But it chanc'd by a Misfortune too frequent to young Persons that he fell into wicked Company which kindled in his Heart the Fire of unchast Love This in a short time consum'd all his good Inclinations and cast him into the incredible Disorder of a Life full of Sins and Corruptions His Irregularities were visible to all the World and continues in this deprav'd Custom notwithstanding the Admonitions of his Friends And this Author says that he himself frequently exhorted him to return to the Way from which he had departed As he contemn'd all Advertisements God was resolv'd in his Person to shew an Example to young People who permit themselves to be blindly carry'd to this miserable Sin by a dreadful Accident which I shall recount to you Being once asleep at Midnight he was seis'd with a terrible Fright wherein being awak'd he began to cry out with a dreadful clamour All the House rises and every one comes to his assistance They ask him where his Sickness held him but could get no other Answer from him than hideous Outcries They cause the Priest to be sent for who exhorted him to think upon God and beg pardon of him for his Sins but in vain The Priest continuing to exhort him with many moving Expressions and Tears he turns towards him and looking upon him with ghastly Eyes spake thus to him in a lamentable Voice Wo be to him that seduced me Wo be to him that seduced me It is in vain to invoke the Grace of God I see Hell open ready to receive me After these Words which redoubled the Lamentations of all those who were present every one entreating him to recommend himself to God he turns to the other side and continuing his Clamors miserably and in Despair he died Ought not this Example Theotime to make all those tremble who are addicted to the Sin of Incontinency and principally young Persons to whom it doth particularly appertain to teach them how they ought to fly this abominable Sin and with what care they ought to preserve themselves from the Company of those misfortunate Spirits who corrupt the Vertue of others ARTICLE IV. Remedies against Impurity And first that this Sin must be resisted at the beginning After I have discover'd the Malice of this Sin I must shew the Remedies and afford you Means by which you may preserve your self from the Enemy of your Salvation The First which I shall prescribe First
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
c. Petra autem erat Christus S. Hieron Epist ad Eustoch 22. be careful readily to reject it without staying therein never so little It is the chief Remedy given by the holy Fathers and particularly by St. Jerom writing to the devout Lady Eustochium Now that you may thus stifle Temptations in their birth remember to perform two things Statim ut libido titillaverit sensum aut blandum voluptatis incendium dulci nos calore perfuderit erumpamus in hanc vocem Dominus auxiliator meus non timebo quid faciat mihi caro Ibid. 1. Raise your Mind to God and protest unto him that you renounce the Temptation with all your Heart and will not consent unto it Beg of him the assistance of his Grace to resist it and acknowledge humbly that you can do nothing without him It is incredible Theotime how powerful Prayer is in the moment of Temptation 2. After that elevation of your Mind divert your self by applying your Thought to perform something as to Labor to Read to Speak with some one to take some Recreation or other like thing which may keep your Mind employ'd and you will find by Experience that the Temptation oftentimes without trouble will pass away and vanish If it continue and be obstinate to return persevere in employing these two Means Pray with more fervor protest that you will not consent proceed in entertaining your Mind with something else If you be all alone it will be good to stir up your self by some exterior Action of Devotion as to raise your Eyes or Hands to Heaven knock your Breast cast your self on your Knees to demand of God Grace to resist See the Example of S. Jerom Art. 8. It would also do very well to frighten your self with the remembrance of Death with the thoughts of Gods Judgments and of Eternal Damnation according to that great Advertisement of the Wiseman * In omnibus operibus tuis memorare novissima in aeternum non peccabis Eccl. 7.40 Remember the last things and you shall never sin Have a care not to stop your Thoughts to look upon the Temptation it self An important Advice but apply your Mind to think upon the Motives which may divert you And for this effect principally when the Temptation continues a long time endeavor to make reflection upon one or more of the former Considerations and after you have weighed them well make a sinal Resolution never to consent thereunto altho' it should return a thousand times Not to content your self to reject a Temptation Another Advice to make use of the Temptation as a Motive to some vertuous Action but to take an occasion from thence to perform some Action of Piety is a most effectual Remedy against it For Example on the Day you have been tempted apply your self more to Prayer than ordinarily read some pious Book do some Mortification give some Alms to the Poor and above all in the time of Temptation exercise some Act of Vertue as detesting of Sin loving of God with all your Heart protesting you will offend him no more By this means you will defeat your Enemy with his own Arms and he seeing that instead of moving you to Sins by his Temptations he gives you occasion to practise Vertue will desist from tempting you fearing to advance your Salvation by the same Means he employ'd to destroy you But above all Third Advice to distrust ones own Forces Theotime be careful when you resist a Temptation not to confide in your own Forces but to expect all from the sole Grace of God. This is a chief Means to overcome Temptations humbly acknowledging that you can do nothing of your self and that without the succor of Divine Grace you cannot conquer them By how much more you disconfide in your own strength putting your confidence only in God by so much more easily will you surmount them Noli de viribus tuis prae sumere Vide parvum contra Goliam vide parvum contra ingentem sed in nomine Domini praesumentem Tu venis ad me cum clipeo lancea ego in nomine Domini omnipotentis Sic aliter non omnino aliter non prosternitur inimicus Qui praesumit de viribus suis antequam pugnet ipse prosternitur S. Aug. Serm. 4. de verb. Apost See says S. Augustin little David combating Goliah He was a Child without Force without Arms who encountred a Giant Arm'd Cap-a-pe from Head to Foot but because he put all his confidence in God he gain'd the Victory Thou com'st to me said David to Goliah with Buckler and Lance and I come to thee in the Name of the all-powerful God And with that confidence he overthrew him at the first Stroke Thus must you encounter with the Enemy of your Salvation He says St. Augustin who trusts in his own Forces is overcome before he Fights Now the principal Means to obtain many Favors of God in Temptations is Prayer and the frequentation of the Sacraments and chiefly Confession which hath a wonderful force against Temptations and without it it is morally impossible to resist them any long time See all we have said in Part 2. Chap. 5. 7. ARTICLE V. Of some Artifices by which the Devil deceives Men in Temptations and principally young Men. All the force of the Devil in Temptations consists only in Craft and Deceit wherefore the best Means to resist him is to know the Tricks he ordinarily makes use of There are many but I shall only take notice of Three amongst the rest by which he maliciously abuses Men and principally young Men. The First is that by which he hinders them from regarding or knowing the Evil which is in the Sin they are going to commit First Artifice and on the contrary he represents to their Imagination very livelily on one side the sweetness of the Delight of Sin which he alway makes them think far greater than it is and on the other side the trouble and difficulty to resist it and abstain from it which makes them conceive it insupportable Who doth not see The Falsity of this Artifice that all these Delusions are great in all these three things For the Evil which is in Sin is the chiefest of all Evils imaginable as we have said above Art. 3. The Delight of Sin is but for a moment and it is follow'd by Vexation Sadness and Despair The trouble of resistance continues not long and a sweet and pleasing Consolation follows it it merits Heaven and frequently the deliverance from many other Temptations O dear Theotime The Remedy permit not your self to be abus'd in this manner by the Enemy of your Salvation When he shall propose a Temptation to you cast an Eye upon the Evil you are going to do which is a mortal Sin the greatest of all Evils Think not on the Pleasure that is offer'd which will pass like a Shadow but upon the Sorrow and Displeasure
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
more than all other things so that you love nothing above him as there is nothing greater or more amiable than he nor nothing equal to him as there is nothing which can match him And to speak briefly the Love of God consists in preferring God before all things Wherein the Love of God consists before the Goods of the World Pleasures Honor Friends and Life it self so that you must be prepar'd never to love these things to the prejudice of the Love you owe to God and be resolv'd rather to lose them a thousand times than to be wanting to the Obedience you are oblig'd to render unto him It is in this preference of God before all things wherein the essential Point of the Love of God consists a Preference without which it is impossible to love God nor by consequence to be in the State of Salvation O dear Theotime you must then labor to acquire this so amiable a Love and this so necessary a Preference to engrave it deeply in your Heart And to the end you be not deceiv'd therein by taking as very many do apparent Love for the real The Practice of the love of God. See the principal Acts you must practise therein by which you may know whether you love God truly or no. First 1. Have a horror for Sin. Above all things fear and have a horror of Sin because it is displeasing to God and infinitely opposite to his Goodness and be resolv'd never to commit a Sin upon any account whatsoever Secondly 2. Avoid venial Sins Fly venial Sins the most you can because they displease God and altho ' they destroy not Love yet they diminish and weaken it and dispose you to fall into mortal Sin. Thirdly 3. Labor to get Vertue Labor to acquire the Vertues so necessary for you and which he exacts from you It is the property of Love to desire to please him whom one loves Fourthly 4. Advance the Service of God. Wish often that God should be serv'd and lov'd as he deserves Be troubled when you see him offended hinder as much as you can that he may not be displeas'd and endeavor by your Words and Example to move others to love him But chiefly Theotime 5. Begin betimes to love God. practise these things in good time and begin from your Youth to love him whom you must never cease to love At whatsoever time you begin to love him it will be always too late and you will always have reason to express that Grief which S. Augustin did a Sero te amavi ô pulchritudo tam antiqua tam nova sero te amavi S. Aug. Conf. lib. 10. cap. 27. I have lov'd thee too late O ancient Beauty I have lov'd thee too late O Eternal Goodness Demand of him frequently the Grace to love him as you ought and daily say to him from your Heart those excellent Words of David b Quid enim mihi est in coelo à te quid volui super terram Deus cordis mei pars mea Deus in aeternum Psal 72. O God whether it be in Heaven or Hell I love nothing but thee thou art the God of my Heart and the Part which I eternally pretend to CHAP. IV. Of the Love of Parents HE who fears God Qui timet Deum honorat Parentes quasi Dominis serviet his qui se genuerunt Eccl. 3. says the Wiseman honors his Parents and will serve as his Masters those who gave him Birth Yes Theotime if you have the Fear of God in your Heart you will honor your Parents and all those to whom he hath given Authority over you because he desires it and commands it The Fear of God makes us honor our Parents Honor thy Father and thy Mother And if you honor them not you have neither the Fear nor Love of God. For to contemn a thing so holy which Nature her self inspires you with which God hath so strictly commanded you is not to have the Fear of God. There is no Menace with which he hath not threatned those Children who are wanting to their Duty a Qui affligit Patrem sugit Matrem ignominiosus erit infoelix Prov. 19. He says that He who afflicts his Father and flies from the discreet Admonitions of his Mother will become infamous and miserable b Qui maledicit patri matri extinguetur lucerna ejus in mediis tenebris Prov. 20. He who curses his Father or Mother shall perish his Light that is his Life shall be extinct in Darkness that is Death c Oculum qui subsannat patrem qui despicit partum matris suae suffodiunt eum corvi de torrentibus commedant eum filii aquilae Prov. 36. The Eye which mocks his Father and which despises the Mother who brought him forth deserves to be pull'd out by the Crows and eaten by young Eagles d Quam malae est famae qui derelinquit patrem est maledictus à Deo qui exasperat matrem Eccl. 3. He who abandons his Father hath lost his Honor before Men and he who vexes his Mother is cursed by God. I wish these Menaces were deeply engraven in the Minds of all Children who forget never so little their Duty towards their Parents Add to these Threats the rigorous Law God had establish'd in the old Testament against wicked Children The Severity of the Old Testament I shall cite it all entire that you may read it attentively If it happen says the Law that a Father hath a rebellious and disobedient Child who will not submit himself to the Commands of his Father and Mother and they have chastis'd him and he would not obey then shall his Father and his Mother take him and bring him where they keep Judgment and there they shall make their Complaints in this manner This our Son is stubborn and disobedient and will not obey our Admonition and seeks nothing but Debauches * Lapidibus obruet eum omnis populus civitatis morietur ut auferatis maium de medio vestri universus Israel audiens pertimescat Deut. 21. Then adds the Law he shall be stoned of the People of the City to Death so you shall take away the Evil from you that all may hear it and fear This is the severe Law God had Establish'd against rebellious Children And altho' it was not made in the Evangelical Law yet they ought no less to fear his Choler and Vengeance whereof but too many Effects daily appear by the visible Punishment he sends sooner or later to Children who fail in so holy and inviolable a Duty This Sin is one of those which God ordinarily punishes in this Life and there are scarce any wicked Children to whom some Punishment of God doth not befall in this Life which is often the beginning of an Eternal Chastisement But let us leave these Motives of terror and fear to stubborn
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
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
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