carefull as were sitt which is a daungerous course and hath bene the fundation roote of of many fearefull and great ruines O how many men whoe were very spirituall and whoe seemed to be sublimed as high as heauen in the exercise of prayer and contemplation haue cast them selues downe headlonge by this precipice O how many who really were Saints and great Saints haue come by this meanes to haue most wretched falls Because they forgott them selues because they made them selues too sure through the fauours which they had receiued from God They grew to be full of confidence as if there had already bene noe more danger for them and soe they came miserably to distruction Wee haue bookes which are full of such accidents S. Basill saith that the cause of that miserable falle of king Dauid both into adultery and Murther Was the presumption which once he had when he was visited by the hand of God with abondance of consolation soe farr as that he presumed to say Ego dixi in abundantia mea non mouebor in aeternum I shall neuer be altered from this state Well stay a while God will a little take of his hand those extraordinary fauours and â—egalos shall cease and you shall see what will happen Auertisti faciem tuam a me factus sum conturbatus God leaues you in your pouerty and then you will be like your sel e and you shall know to your cost when you are once fallen that which you would not know whilst you were visited and sauoured by Almightie God And S. Basill alsoe saith that the cause oâ— the fall denyall of the Apostle S. Peeter was the confiding and presuming vaynly in himselfe Etiam si oportuerit me mori tecum non te negabo si omnes scandalizati fuerint in te ego nunquam scandalizabor Because he said with arrogancy and presumption that thouhg all men should be scandalized yet would not he be scandalized but would rather dye with Christ For this did God permitt that he should fall that soe he might be humbled and know himselfe Wee must neuer giue way that our eyes may waÌ„der from our selues nor euer be secure in this life but considering what we are we must goe euer on with great care of our selues and with great doubt and seare least the enemy whome we carry still about vs put some tricke vpon vs and prouide some snare into which he may procure vs to fall So that as we must not stay vpon the knowledge of our owne miserye weakenes but passe instantly on to the knowledge of the goodnes of God soe neither must we stay vpon the knowledge of God and his mercies fauours but returne with speede againe to cast our eyes downe vpon our selues This is that Iacobs ladder whereof one end is fastned to the earth in our knowledge of our selues and the other reaches vp to the very hight of heauen By this ladder must you ascend and descend as the Angels ascended and descended by that other Rise vp by the knowledge of the goodnes of God but stay not there least you grow into presumption but descend to the knowledge of your selues yet stay not also there least you fall into despaire but still returne againe to the knowledge of God that so you may haue confidence in him In fine the businesse consists in that you be still ascending and descending by this ladder Thus did S. Katherine of Siena vse this exercise to free her selfe from seuerall temptations which the diuell brought against her as she herselfe relates in her Dialogues when the diuell would tempt her by way of confusion desiring to make her beleeue that her whole life was nothing but errour and abuse For then she woud raise her selfe vp but yet still with humilitie by the coÌ„sideration of the mercies of God and she would be saying to this effect I confesse o my Creator that my whole life hath bene led in darkenes but yet I will hide my selfe in the wounds of Christ Iesus Crucified and I will bath my selfe in his blood and soe my wickednes shal be consumed and I will reioyce in my Creator and my lord Lauabis me super niuem dealbabor And soe also when the Diuell would offer to putt her vp to pride by tentations of a contrary kinde seekeing to make her thinke that she was perfect and pleasing to God and that there was noe cause why she should any longer afflict her selfe and lament her sinnes then would she humble her selfe and make the diuell this answere O wretched creature that I am S. Iohn Baptist neuer committed sinne was sanctified in his mothers wombe and yet notwithstanding all that was contynually doeing penance And I haue comitted for many defects and haue neuer lamented them no nor euen considered them aâ— they deserued With this the diuell not likeing to endure soe great humilitie or the one side nor soe great confidence on the other said thus to her Be thou accursed and he alsoe vhoe hath taught thee this for I know not how to make entrance heere since if I abase thee by coÌ„fusioÌ„ thou raisest thy selfe vp as high as heauen by the consideration of the mercy of God and if I raise thee vp towards presomption thou abasest thy selfe by the consideration of thy sinnes as low as hell by way of humilitie yea and thou persecutest me euen in hell it selfe Now after this very manner are we to vse this exercise and soe shall wee on the one side be full of circumspection and feare and on the other full of courage and ioy Fearfull in reguard of our selues and ioyfull through our hope in God Theis are those two lessons which as we are taught by that other Saint God giues dayly to his elect the one to make them see their defects and the other to make them see the goodnes of God who takes them from vs with soe much loue Of the great benefitt and profitt which growes by this exercise of a mans knowing himselfe CHAPTER IX TO the end that we may yet be more animated to this exercise of the knowledge of our selues we will goe on declaring some great benefitts and aduantages which are conteyned therein One of the cheife thereof hath bene shewed already namely that this is the foundatioÌ„ and roote of Humilitie and the necessary meanes both for the purchase and preseruation thereof One of those antient Fathers being asked how a man might doe to obtaine true Humilitie made this answere Si sua tantummodo non alterius mala consideret If he consider onely his owne sinnes sounding and digging deepe into the knowledge of himselfe this man shall obtaine true Humilitie This alone were sufficient to make vs attend much to this exercise since it imports vs soe very much towards the obteyning of this vertue But yet the Saincts passe further on and say that the humble knowledge of our selues is a more certaine way towards the knowledge of
beloued by Christ our lord to be despised by the world with him and for the loue of him This is the cause why Saints haue taken so much gust in the contumelies and affronts of the world and haue tryed soe many conclusions for the obteyning to be contemned thereby It is true saith Saint Iohn Climachus that many of theis things were done by particular instinct of the holy Ghost and soe are a more fitt obiect for our admiration then for our imitation to worke vpon But Though we arriue not to performe that holy kinde of simplicitie in act as those Saints did we must yet procure to imitate them in the loue and great desire which they had to be vndervalued and desprised Saint Diadocus goes on further and saith that there are two kindes of Humilitie Vna mediorum altera perfectorum The first is of the middle sort who are proficients but yet are still in the fight and are combated with the thoughts of pride and of ill motions though they procure with the grace of our Lord to resist them by humbling and confounding themselues Another Humilitie there is which belonges to such as are perfect and this is when our lord communicates soe great light to a man in the way of knowing himselfe that it seemes as if now he could not be proud yea and that euen the motions thereof could now come noe more Tunc anima veluâ— naturalem habet humilitatem Then haht the soule a kinde of Humilitie euen as if it were naturall For howsoeuer hee may performe greate things yet he exalts not himselfe one iott the higher for that nor doth he esteeme himselfe the more but rather houlds himselfe for inferiour to all And he saith there is this difference betwene theis two kindes of Humilitie that commonly the first is exercised with some trouble and paine as being in fine perfourmed by such a one as hath not yet obteyned a perfect conquest of himselfe but still feeles some contradiction for this is indeede that which giues sorrow and paine when the occasion of Humiliation and disestimation arriue for in this case they may take things with patience but they cannot doe it with ioy for still there is some what within which makes resistance because the passions are not ouercome But now the second kinde of Humilitie giues noe paine or greife at all but rather much ioy soe that the man be indeede in that confusion shame and haue that true disesteeme and contempt of himselfe before our lord for such a one hath nothing now which can make him any resistance in reguard that he hath conquered and subdued the contrary passions and vices and obteyned a perfect victory ouer himselfe And from hence it is sayth the Saint that they whoe haue but the first humilitie are troubled and altered by the aduersities and prosperities and variety of eueÌ„ts in this life But as for them whoe possesse the secoÌ„d Humilitie neither are they troubled by things aduerse nor doe prosperous things make them giddy or light nor doe they cause any vaine coÌ„tentment in them but they euer stand fast in one and the same kinde of State and they inioy greate tranquillity and peace as men whoe haue acquired perfection consequently are superiour to all euents Nothing can disquiet and giue paine to him who desires to be disesteemed and is glad thereof for if that which might trouble him and giue him paine namely the being forgotten and disesteemed be that in fine which he desires and that which giues him contentmeÌ„t and gust whoe can euer be able to disquiet him If in that whereby it seemes others sustaine soe much warre he can finde as much peace nothing can depriue him of that peace And soe saith S. Chrisostome Such a man as this hath found heauen and the state of happines heere on earth Anima auteÌ„ quae sic se habet quid potest esse beatius quicuÌ„que talis est is in portu continuo sedet ab omni tempestate liber oblectaÌ„tur in screnitate cogitationum Now to this perfection of Humilitie must we procure to arriue and lett vs not hould it to be impossible for by the grace of God saith S. Augustine not onely may we imitate the Saints but euen the lord of Saints alsoe if wee will For our Lord himselfe requires vs to learne of him Discite à me quia mitis fum humilis corde Learne of mee for I am meeke and humble of harte And the Apostle Saint Peeter sayth that he gaue vs am example to the end that we might imitate it Christus passus est pro nobis vobis relinquens exemplum vt sequamini vestigia eius And Saint Ierome vpon those words of Christ our Lord Si vis perfectus esse saith that it is cleerely gathered from theis words that it is put into our power to be perfect since Christ our lord saith If thou wilt be perfect Qâ—ia si dixeris vires non suppetunt qui inspector est cordis ispe intelligit For if you say I haue noe strength wherewith to doe it God knowes our weaknes very well and yet still he saith that you may if you will For he is euer ready to helpe vs if we will and with his helpe we may doe all things Iacob saith the Saint saw a ladder which reached from earth to the heauens and the Angells went vp and downe by it and at the vpper end thereof the omnipotent God himselfe satt to helpe them who were ascending vp and to animate them by his presence to vndertake that lâ—bour And now procure you alsoe to mount this ladder by theis steps whereof we haue spoken for himselfe will reach you forth his hand that soe you may be able to ascend euen the last stepp thereof When the trauailer sees some steepe hill whereby he is to passe it seemes from farre off to be a kinde of impossible thing for him to ascend there but when he comes neerer he findes the way ready made and that it is easily to be ouercomed Of some meanes for the obteyning of this second degree of Humilitie and perticularly of the example of Christ our Lord. CHAPTER XVIII THey ordinarily vse to assigne two seueral wayes or meanes for the obteyning of Morall vertues The one is of reasons and considerations which may conuince and animate vs thereunto and the other is exercise of the acts of that vertue whereby we may acquire the habitts thereof To begin with the first kinde of meanes one of the most principall and efficatious considerations whereof wee may helpe our selues towards being humble or rather the most principall and most efficatious of them all is the example of Christ our Lord our Mâ—ster and our Redeemer whereof though wee haue already said some what there will euer be enough to add The whole life of Christ our lord was a most perfect Original of Humilitie from the very tyme of his birth to that other of his expiring vpon the Crosse But
good guifts But some man may say if Humilitie consists in this we all are humble for whoe is there who knowes not that all good comes to vs from God and that of our selues wee haue nothing but miserie and sinne Whoe is he that will not say if God should take his hand off from me I were the most miserable man of the whole world Perditio tua ex te Israell tantummodo in me auxilium tuum On our parte wee haue nothing but destruction and sinne saith the Prophet Ose All the fauour and all the good comes to vs from the liberalitie of God and this is Catholicke Doctrine and soe it may seeme that we all haue this Humility for wee all beleeue this truth whereof the holy Scripture is full The Apostle Saint Iames in his Canonicall Epistle saith Omne datum optimum omne donum perfectum de sursum est descendens a patre hominum All good and perfect guifts come to vs from a boue from the Father of lights And the Apostle Saint Paule saith Quid habes quod non accepisti non quod sufficientes simus cogitare aliquid à nobis quasi ex nobis sed sufficientia nostra ex Deo est Deus est qui Operatur in vobis velle perficere pro bona volontate Hee saith that wee cannot worke nor speake nor desire nor thinke nor begine nor finish any thing which may serue for our saluation without God from whome all our sufficiency proceedes And by what more cleere comparison could it be giuen vs to vnderstand all this then by that which Christ our Lord himselfe declares Sicut palmes non potest ferre fructum à semetipso nisi manserit in vite sic nec vos nisi in me manseritis Will you see saith he the little or indeede the nothing which you can doe without me the vine braunch cannot giue fruite of it selfe vnles it be vnited to the vine so no man can performe any meritorious worke for himselfe vnles he be vnited vith me Ego sum vitis vos palmites qui manet in me ego in eo hic fert fructum multum quia sine me nihil potestis facere What is more fruitfull then the braunch vnited to the vine and what more vnprofitable and vselesse then the braunch parted from the vine For what is it good God interâ—ogats the Prophett Ezechiell Fili hominis quid fiet de ligno vitiâ— What O sonne of man shall be done with the braunch of vine It is not timber which iâ— fitt for any Carpenters worke nor yet for any stake or pinne where vpon any thing may be hanged agaynst a wall The braunch seuered from the vine is fitt for nothing but the fire Now iust soe are wee if wee be not vnited to the true vine which is Christ our Lord. Si quis in me non manserit mittetur foras sicut palmes arescet colligent eum in ignem mittent ardet Wee are good for nothing but the fire and if we be any thing it is by the grace of God as Saint Paule saith Gratiâ Dei sum id quod sum It seemes wee are all fully satisfied with the truth of this That all the good we haue is of God and that we are to ascribe noe good to our selues but all to God to whome the honour and glory of all is due It seemes I say that this is not very difficult to such as beleeue in Christ and therefore that it should not be sett downe for the last and most perfect degree of Humilitie since it is soe cleerely a pointe of Faith It seemes soe indeede at the first sight if wee looke superficially vpon it but indeede it is not easy but very hard Cassian saith that to such as are but beginners it seemes to be but an easy thinge to attribute nothing to a mans selfe and not to rest or rely vpon his owne industrie and diligence but to referre and ascribe all to God but saith that indeede it is very hard For since we alsoe contribute some what on our parte towards good works Dei enim sumus adiutores as Saint Paule saith because we alsoe worke and concurre ioyntly with God wee grow tacitly and euen as it were without finding it to confide in our selues and a secret presumption and pride steales vpon vs which makes vs thinke that this or that was done by our diligeÌ„ce and care and soe by degrees wee grow vaine and looke bigg and ascribe the works which we doe to our selues as if we had performed them by our owne strength and as if they had bene wholly ours This is not soe easy a busines as we conceiue And it may suffise for vs that the SS sett this downe for the most perfect degree of humilitie they say this is the Humility of the great ones that we may soe vnderstand that there is more difficultie and perfection therein then one would thinke For a man to receiue great guifts of God and to doe great things and to giue God all the glory of all as he ought without attributing any thinge to himselfe and not to take any vaine contentment therein is a pointe of great perfection To be honoured and praysed for a S. and that noe part of such honour and estimation should stike at all to the hart any more then if he had done nothing is a very hard thing and there are few who attaine to it and there is neede of much vertue for the performance thereof S. Chrisostome saith that to conuerse in the midst of honour and not to be at all toucht thereby is like conuersing much with beatifull woemen and yet neuer to looke vpon them with vnchast eyes It is a difficult and a daungerous thing and a man had neede of much vertue therein For a man to clime soe high and not to be giddy he had neede be master of a good head All men haue not a head wherewith to walke on high All the Angells of heauen Lucifer and his consorts had it not and soe they grew giddy and proud and fell downe into the bottomlesse Abisse of Hell For this they say was the sinne of the Angells that when God created them soe beautifull and had inriched them with so many both naturall and supernaturall guifts In veritate non stetit they remayned not in God nor gaue him the glory of all but would needes subsist in themselues And yet not as conceiuing that of themselues they had theis things for they knew well that they all came from God and that they depended vpon him since they knew they were his creatures but as the Prophett Ezechiell saith Eleuatum est cor tuum in decore tuo They grew proud in their beautie and glorified themselues in those guifts which they had receiued of god and tooke delight in them as if they had possessed theÌ„ of themselues and did not ascribe or referre them all to God giuing him the honour and glory
care indeede to deserue it but not either to procure or esteeme it Nay rather he hath a harte which soe truly despised both honour and dishonour that he houlds nothing to be great but vertue and for loue thereof hee is moued to doe great things despising the honour which men can giue For vertue is a thinge soe high that it cannot be honoured or rewarded sufficiently by men and deserues to be honoured and rewarded by Almightie God and therefore the magnanimous person values not all the honours of the world at a strawe It is a meane thinge and of noe price at all with him his flight is higher For the onely loue of God and vertue is he inuited to doe great things and he despises all the rest Now then for the hauing of a hart which is soe great soe generous such a despiser of the honour and dishonour of men such as the magnanimous person ought to haue it is necessary that he haue alsoe much Humility To the end that a man may arriue to soe great perfection as to be able to say with Saint Paule Scio humiliarâ— Scio abundare vbique in omnibus institutus sum satiari esurire abundare penuriam pati I know how to carry my selfe in humiliation and in abondance of prosperitie and as well in hungar as full dyet Per gloriam ignobilitatem per infamiam bonam famam vt seductores veraces sicut qui ignoti cogniti quasi morientes ecce viuimus To the end that soe stiffe and soe contrary windes as they of honour and dishonour of praise and murmuring of fauours and persecutions may cause noe change in vs nor make vs stumble or shrinke but that we may still remaine in our owne being it is necessary to haue a great foundation of Humilitie and of wisedome from heauen I know not whether you will be able to keepe your selfe free for the doeing of al good works when you are in aboundance like the Apostle S. Paule As for suffering pouertie begging goeinge in pilgrimage and to be humble in the midst of dishonours and affronts this perhaps you will be able to doe But to be humble in honours chaires pulpits and the higher sorte of ministeries I know not whether you will be able Alas those Angells once of heauen knew not how to doe this but they grew proud and fell Euen Boetius could say Cum omnis fortuna timenda sit magis tamen timenda est prospera quam aduersa It is harder for a man to conserue himselfe in Humilitie in honour and estimation of the world and in high imployments and ministeries then in dishonour contempt and in the discharge of places which are meane and poore for theis things draw Humilitie after them and those others vanitie and pride Scientia inflat knowledge and all other high things do naturally puff vs vp and make vs giddy and therefore the Saints say that it is the Humilitie of great and perfect men to knowe how to be humble amongst the great guifts and graces which they receiue from God and amongst the honours and estimations of the world They relate a thinge of the B. Sainâ— Francis which seemes very different from that other of his treading morter that sâ— he might auoyde that honour when with they were goeing out to receiuâ— him For passinge once into a Countrâ— towne they did him much honor for the opinion and estimation which they held of his sanctitie and they all came to kisse his habitt and his hands and feete to all which he made noe resistance His companion was inclined to thinke that he was gladd of that honour and the temptation did soe farre ouercome him that at length he acquainted him with it and the Saint made him this answear This people my good brother performes noe honour at all in comparison of what they ought to shew His companion was then more scandalised then he had bene before for he knew not what to make of this answeare but the saynt then sayd This honour my good brother which you see them doe me I attribute not to my selfe but leaue it all to God whose it is my selfe still remayninge in the same profounditie of myne owne basenes and they for their parts gett well by doeing it because they acknowledge and honour God in his creature His companion then remayned satisfied and admired the perfection of the Saint and he did soe with great reason For to be held and honoured for a Saint which â—s the highest estimation and honour whereof any creature is capable and to know how to giue God the glory of it as he ougth without ascribing any thinge to himselfe and without the sticking of any thinge to his hands and without takeing any vaine contentment therein but remayning soe intirely in his Humilitie and basenes as if no such thinge had passed and as if the honour had not bene giuen to him but to some other is a most profound Humilitie and a most high perfection Wee must therefore procure to arriue to this Humilitie by the grace of our Lord we I say who are called not to the end that we should be shutt vp in corners or be hidden vnder a bushell but sett vp on high like a Cittie vpon a hill or like a taper vpon a Candle sticke to shine and giue light to the world For which purpose it will be necessary for vs to lay a very good foundation and for as much as is on our parte to haue great desire to be disesteemed and despised and that this may flow out of a profound knowledge of our owne miserie our basenes and our nothing such as Saint Francis had when hee put himselfe to treade morter that soe he might be held for some meane foole From which profound knowledge of himselfe that desire grew of being despised and from thence alsoe it followed that when afterward they did him honour and kissed his habitt and his feete he grew not proud with all this nor valued himselfe one haire the more but he remained soe fixt in the knowledge of his Humilitie and meannes as if they had done him noe honour at all ascribing and reâ—erring it all to God And soe though theis wo acts of Saint Francis seeme to be â—oe contrary to one another they yet proceeded from the same roote and from the selfe same spiritt of Humilitie Of the great benefitts and aduantages which are in this third degree of Humilitie CHAPTER XXXVII TVA sunt omnia quae de manu tua accepimus dedimus tibi After king Dauid had prepared much gould and siluer and many rich materialls for the building of the Temple he offered them vp to God and said theis words All things O Lord are thine and that which we haue receiued at thy hands that doe we render and returne againe This is that which we must doe and say in all our good works O Lord all our good workes are thine and soe