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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01209	A treatise of the loue of God. Written in french by B. Francis de Sales Bishope and Prince of Geneua, translated into English by Miles Car priest of the English Colledge of Doway; Traité de l'amour de Dieu. English	Francis, de Sales, Saint, 1567-1622.; Carre, Thomas, 1599-1674.; Baes, Martin, engraver.	1630 (1630)	STC 11323; ESTC S102617	431,662	850

so aduantagious to me and that little booke that I dare neuer rehease it and exhorting me to applie the most of my leasure to the likes workes amongst many rare aduises wherewith ●e gratified me one was that as farre forth as the matter would permit I should be short in the Chapters For euen as quoth he the Traueller knowing that there is a faire Garden some twentie or twētie fiue pa●es out of his way doth easily diuert for so small away to goe see it which he would not doe if it were further distant euen so one that knowes that there is but a little distance betwixt the beginning and end of a Chapter doth willingly vndertake to read it which he would not doe though the subiect were neuer so delightfull if a long time were required to the reading of it And therefore I had good reason to follow myne owne inclination in this respect since it was agreeable to this great Personage who was one of the most saintly Prelats and learned Doctours that the Church had in our age and who at the time that he honored me with his letter was the most auncient of all the Doctors of the Facultie of Paris A great seruant of God aduertised me not long a goe that by addressing my speache still to Philothie in the Introduction to a deuote life I hindered many men to profit by it for that they did not esteeme the aduertissements made to a woman worthy of a mā I admired that there were men who to be thought men did showe themselues so little men in effect For I leaue it to your consideration my deare Reader whether deuotion be not as well for women as men and whether weare not to read the second epistle of S. IOHN with as great attention and reuerence which was addressed to the holy Ladie Electa as the third which he directeth to Caius and whether a thousand thousand Epistles and Treatises of the auncient Fathers of the Church ought to be held vnprofitable to mē for that they are addressed to holy women of those times But againe it is the soule which aspires to deuotion that I call Philothie and men haue soules as well as women Neuerthelesse to imitate the great Apostle in this occasion who esteemed himselfe lyable to euery one I changed my addresse in this Treatise and speake to THEOTIME but if peraduenture there should be any women and such an impertinencie would be more tolerable in them who would not read the instructions which are made to men I beseech them to know that THEOTIME to whom I speake is mans spirit desiring to make progresse in holy Loue which is as well in men as in women This Treatise then is made for a soule alreadie deuote to aduance her in her designe and for this cause I haue bene forced to speake many things lesse knowen to the common sort which consequently will appeare obscure The bottome of a science is alwayes hardest to be founded and few Diuers are found who will or knowes how to diue for Pearles or other precious stones in the middest of the Ocean But if you haue a free heart to diue into this writing it will truely happen to you as to Diuers who saieth Plinie being in the deepest gulfe of the Sea clearely discouer the light of the Sunne For you shall find euen in the darkest places of this discourse a good and amiable light And verily as I doe not follow those who dispise certaine bookes which treate of a life supereminent in perfection so would I not speake of this supereminencie For neither can I censure the Authours nor yet authorise the censures of a doctrine which I vnderstand not I haue touched many points of Diuinitie not with a Spirit of contradiction but simply proposing not so much what long agoe I learned in the schooles as that which the care I haue had of soules and the experiēce of 24. yeares I haue spent in preaching hath made me apprehend to be most to the glorie of the Ghospell and the Church For the rest diuerse men of note from diuerse places haue signified vnto me that certaine little Pamphlets haue bene published vnder the onely first letters of their Authours name which light to be the very same with myne which made some beleeue that they were my workes not without touch of scandall to such as apprehēded thereby that I had bidden Adieu to my wounted simplicitie to puffe vp my style with words of ostentation my discourse with vaine conceits and my conceits with a loftie and plumed eloquence For this cause my deare reader I will tell thee that as such as graue or cut in precious stones hauing their sight dazled by keeping it continually fixed vpon the small stikes of their worke doe willlingly hold before them some faire Emerald that by beholding it from time to time they may be recreated in it's greenesse and relieue their weakned sight So in this Presse of businesse which my function dayly drawes vpon me I haue still some proiects of certaine treatises of pietie which at my leasure I looke vpon to reuieue and vnwearie my mind Howbeit I doe not professe my selfe a writer for the dulnesse of my spirit and the condition of my life exposed to the seruice and approch of many would not permit me so to be Wherefore I haue written very little and yet haue published lesse and to complie with the Councell and will of my friends I will tell thee what I haue written to th' end that thou maist not attribute the praises of another mans labours to him who of himselfe deserues them not It is now 19. yeares agoe that being at Thonon a little towne situated vpon the Lacke of Geneua which by little and little began at that time to be conuerted to the Catholike faith The Minister Enemye of the Church cryed all vp and downe that the Catholike Article of the Reall Presence of our Sauiours bodie in the Eucharist did distroye the Symbole and the Analogie of Faith for he was glad to mouth this word ANALOGIE not vnderstoode of his Auditours that he might appeare learned and vpon this the rest of the Catholike Preachers with whom I was pressed me to write some thing in refutation of this vanitie I did what seemed fitting framing a briefe meditation vpon the Creede to confirme the Truth and all the copies were dispersed in this Diocese where now I find not one of them Soone after his Highnesse came ouer the Mountaines and finding the Bailiwike of Cablaies Gaillard and Ternier which are about Geneua well disposed to receiue the Catholike faith which had bene banished thence by force of warrs and reuoults about 70. yeares past he resolued to reestablish the exercise thereof in all the Parishes and to abolish the exercise of Heresie And whereas on the one side this great Happinesse had many obstacles according to the considerations which are called reasons of state and yet on the other side diuers as yet not well

feeblenesse and tendernesse of the one doth exalt and make more apparant the prudence and assurance of the other and euen this dissimilitude is agreeable on the other side children loue olde men because they see them buisie and carefull about them and that by a secret instinct they perceiue they haue neede of their directions Musicall concord stands in a kind of discord in which vnlike voices doe correspond making vp altogether one sole Close of proportion as the dissimilitude of precious stones and flowres doe make the gratefull compositiō of Imbosture and Diaprie so Loue is not caused alwayes by Resemblance and Sympathie but by Correspondance and Proportion which consisteth in this that by the vnion of one thing to another they may mutually receiue one anothers perfection and so be bettered The head doth not resemble the bodie nor the hand the arme yet they haue such a Correspōdance and are seated so neerely together that by their mutuall neighbourhood they doe meruelously enterchāge perfection so that if these parts had each one a distinct soule they would haue a perfect mutua● Loue not by Similitude but by Correspondance which they haue in their mutuall perfection For this cause the melancolie and ioyefull soure and sweete haue often a correspondance of mutuall affection by reason of the mutuall impressions which they receiue one of an other by which their humours are reciprocally moderated But when this mutuall Correspondance meetes with similitude Loue without doubt is engendred more efficaciously for Similitude being the true picture of Vnitie when two like things are vnited by a proportion to the same end it seemes rather to be an Vnitie then an Vnion 11. The Sympathie then betwixt the Louer and the Beloued is the first source of Loue and this Sympathie or Conueniencie consisteth in a Correspondance which is no other thing then a mutuall aptitude making things proper to be vnited and mutually to communicate their perfections but this will be cleared in the processe of this booke That loue tends to vnion CHAPTER IX 1. THe great Salamon in a delitiously admirable ayre doth sing our Sauiours loues and those of the deuote soule in that diuin worke which for it's excellent sweetnesse is instyled the Canticle of Canticles And to rayse our selues in a more easie flight to the consideration of this spirituall loue which is exercised betwixt God and vs by the correspondance which the motions of our hearts haue with the inspirations of his diuine Maiestie he makes vse of a perpetuall representation of the loues of a chaste Shepheard and shamefast Shepheardesse Now making the Spouse or Bride first begin the parlie by manner of a certaine surprise of loue he makes her at the first onset lance out her heart in these words let him deigne me a kisse of his mouth Doe you marke THEOTIME how the soule personated by this Shepheardesse doth pretēd no other thing by the first expression of her desire thē a chast vnion with her spouse protesting that it is the highest ayme of her ambition and onely thing she breathes after For I pray you what other thing would this first sigh intimate Let him deigne me with a Kisse of his mouth 2. A Kisse from all ages as by naturall instinct hath bene imployed as a representation of perfect loue that is the vnion of hearts and not without cause we send out and muster the passions and motions which our soule hath common with brute beasts by our eyes eye-browes forehead and countenance in generall by his face a man is knowē saieth the Scripture and Aristotle giuing a reason why ordinarily great mens faces onely are pourtrated t' is saieth he that the countenances teach what they are 3. Yet doe we not vtter our discourse nor the thoughts which proceede from the spirituall portion of our soule called reason by which we are distinguished from Beasts but by words and in consequence by helpe of the mouth in so much that to poure out ones soule and scatter ones heart is nothing else but to speake Poure out your hearts before God saieth the PSALMIST that is expresse and turne the affections of your hearts into words And SAMVEL'S pious Mother pronouncing her praiers allthough so softly that one could hardly discerne the motion of her lips I haue poured out saieth she my heart before God in this wise one mouth is applyed to another in kissing to testifie that they desire to poure our one soule into the other reciprocally to vnite them in a perfect vnion and for this Reason in all times and amongst the most saintly men the world had the kisse hath bene a signe of loue and affection and such vse was vniuersally made of it amongst the auncient Christians as the great S. PAVLE testifieth when writing to the ROMAN'S and CORINTHIANS he saieth Salute mutually one another in a holy kisse And as diuerse doe witnesse IVDAS in betraying our SAVIOVR made vse of a Kisse to discouer him because this diuine SAVIOVR was accustomed to kisse his Disciples when he met them and not onely his Disciples but euen little Children whom he tooke louingly in his armes as he did him by comparison of whom he so solemnely inuited his APOSTLES to the loue of their Neighbours who as IANSENIVS reporteth was thought to haue bene S. MARTIAL 4. Thus then the Kisse being a liuely marke of of the vnion of hearts the Spouse who hath no other pretention in all her endeuours and pursuits then to be vnited to her beloued let him kisse me saieth she with a kisse of his mouth as if she had cryed out so many sighes and inflamed grones as my heart incessantly sobs out will they neuer impetrate that which my heart desires I runne alas shall I neuer gaine the prise for which I lance my selfe out which is to be vnited heart to heart spirit to spirit to my God my Spouse my life when will arriue the happie houre in which I shall poure my soule into his heart and that he will turne his heart into my soule that we may liue inseparable in that happie vnion 5. When the holy Ghost would expresse a perfect loue he alwayes in a manner makes choice of the word Vnion or Coniunction amongst the multitude of the faithfull saieth S. LVCKE there was but one heart and one soule our SAVIOVR praied for all the faithfull that they might be but on same thing SAINT PAVLE doth aduertise vs to conserue vnitie of minde by the vnion of peace These Vnities of heart soule and spirit doe signifie the perfection of Loue which ioynes many soules in one for so it is saied that IONATHAS his soule was glewed to DAVIDS that is to saie as the Scripture addeth He loued DAVID as his owne soule The great APOSTLE of FRANCE as well according to his owne Dictamē as that of HIEROTHEVS who he citeth writeth I thinke a thousand times in one Chapter OF DIVINE NAMES that Loue is of a Nature vnifying vniting referring recollecting

and pressing things to an Vnitie S. GREGORIE of NAZIANZEN and S. AVGVSTINE saieth that their friends and they had but one soule and ARISTOTLE approuing euen in his time this manner of speach when saieth he we would expresse how much we loue our friends we saie his and my soule is but one Hatred doth separate vs and Loue doth assemble vs. The end then of loue is no other thing then the vnion of the louer and the beloued That the vnion which loue pretends is spirituall CHATPER X. 1. VVE are neuerthelesse to vnderstand that there are naturall Vnions as those of Similitude Consanguinitie and the Cause with the effect and others which not being naturall may be termed voluntarie for though they be according to nature yet are they not made but by our will as those which rise from benefits and doe vndoubtedly vnite him that receiues them to the giuer those of Companie Conuersation and the like Now Naturall vnion produceth Loue and that Loue being produced inclines vs to another Voluntarie vnion perfecting the naturall so the Father and the Sonne the Mother and Daughter or two Brothers being ioyned in an Naturall vnion by the participation of the same blood are excited by this Vnion to Loue and by that Loue are carried to the Vnion of the will and the minde which may be called Voluntarie because allbeit her foundation is naturall yet is her action deliberate and in these Loues produced by Naturall vnion we must looke for no other correspondence then Vnion it selfe by which nature preuenting the will doth oblige her to approoue loue and perfect the Vnion which she hath already made But for Voluntarie vnions they being after Loue in Effect yet are his Cause as being his onely end and pretention so that as Loue tends to Vnion so Vnion againe doth extend and augment Loue for Loue begets a desire of conuersation and conuersatiō doth nourish and encrease Loue Loue causeth a desire of nuptiall vnion and this Vnion doth reciprocally conserue and dilate Loue so that in euery sense it is true that loue tends to vnion 2. But to what kind of Vnion doth it tend Did you not note THEOTIME that the sacred Spouse did expresse her desire of being vnited to her Spouse by a kisse and that a kisse doth represent the spirituall vnion which is caused by the reciprocall communication of hearts true it is that man loueth but by his will and therefore the end of his Loue is of the nature of his will but his will is spirituall and consequently the vnion which Loue pretends is also spirituall and so much the rather for that the heart seate and source of Loue should not onely not be perfected by vnion with corporall things but euen become more vile 3. It will not hence be inferred that there are not certaine passions in man which as Gumme or Missel to vpon trees by manner of excrement and ouergroth sproute vp amongst and about Loue which notwithstanding are neither Loue nor any part therof but excrements and superfluities of the same which are so farre from an aptitude to maintaine or accomplish Loue that it doth endamage and weaken it and in time if they be not weeded away doe vtterly ruinate it See the reason hereof 4. According to the multitude of operatiōs be they of the same or of a diuerse Nature to which the soule doth applie her selfe she performs them lesse perfectly and vigorously because she being finite her actiue vertue is also finite so that furnishing her actiuitie to diuerse operations it is necessarie that each one of thē haue lesse therof so that one attētiue to diuerse things is lesse intēce in euery of them It is not possible that one should at the same time exactly discerne the feature of the face by the eyes and by the eare distinguish the harmonie of an excellent musique nor at the same instant be attentiue to figure and colour If our affection be to talke our attention is for no other thing 5. Yet am I not ignorant what is saied of CESAR nor incredulous of that which so many great personages assures vs of ORIGIN that they could apply their attentions at the same time to diuerse obiects Yet euery one doth confesse that according to the measure in which they were applyed to many they were lesse in euery one of the same there is then a difference betwixt to see heare and vnderstand much and to see heare and vnderstand better For he that seeth better seeth lesse and he that seeth more seeth not so well t' is rare that he who knowes much knowes that well which he knoweth because the vertue and force of the vnderstanding being scatered vpon the knowledge of diuerse things is lesse stronge and vigourous then when it is restrained to the consideration of one onely obiect Hence it is that when the soule imploies her forces in diuerse operations of Loue The actiō so diuided is lesse vigorous We haue three sorts of actions of Loue the spirituall reasonable and Sensitiue when Loue lets runne his forces through all these three operations doubtlesse it is more Extense but lesse Intense but when it runnes through one operation onely it is more Intense though lesse Extense Doe we not see that fire the Symbole of loue forced to make way by the onely mouth of the Cannon makes a prodigious flashe which had bene much lesse if it had found vent by two or three passages sythence then that Loue is an acte of our will he that desires to haue it not onely noble and generous but also very vigorous and actiue must containe the vertue and force of it within the limits of spirituall operations for he that would applie it to the Sensitiue operatiōs of the soule should so farre fourth weaken the Intellectuall in which essentiall loue consisteth 6. The auncient PHILOSOPHERS attained to the knowledge of two Extases the one wherof did place our selues aboue our selues the other deiected vs and set vs below our selues as though they would haue saied that man was of a Nature betwixt Angels and Beasts in his intellectuall part participating the Angelicall Nature and in his sensitiue the Nature of Beasts and yet that he could by good moderation of life and a continuall care had of himselfe deliuer and infrancise himselfe of this meane condition so that applying and exercising himselfe frequently in Intellectuall actions he might bring himselfe nearer to the nature of Angels then Beasts but if he did much applie himselfe to Sensible actions he made a discent from his midle condition to that of beasts And because an Extasie is no other thing then a going out of ones selfe whether one goe vpwards or downewards he is truely in an Extasie Those then that touched with intellectuall and diuine pleasures doe permit their heart to be rauished with those touches are truly out of them selues that is aboue the condition of their Nature but by a blessed and wishfull departure by which entering