now we may say of what doest thou grow proud O thou who art nothing which is lesse then dust and ashes What occasion or euen colour can a thing of nothing take for lookeing bigge and growing proud and houlding it selfe in some account Infallibly none at all Of a most principall meanes for a mans knowing himselfe and obteyning humilitie which is the consideration of his Sinnes CHAPTER VII LEt vs yet goe farther on and digg and sound deeper into the knowledge of our selues Let vs vse the spade once againe But what Is there anything yet deeper doth anything lye lower then Nothing yes there doth and much lower What the sinne which you haue added to it O what a deep pitt is this It is much deeper then Nothing for sinning is much worse then not beeing and it were better for a man not to be then to haue sinned and soe said Christ our lord of Iudas who ment to sell him Bonum erat ei si natus non fuisset homoille It had bene better for him that he had not bene borne There is not a place soe low soe distant and so despised in the eyes of God amongst all those things which either are or are not as thath man whoe is in mortall sinne disinherited of heauen the enimy of God and sentenced for all eternitie to hell fire And though now through the goodnes of our lord your consciences are not charged with any mortall sinne yet as for the knowledge of our nothing vee called to minde that tyme wherein we had noe being soe for the knowing of our basenesse and misery we are now to call that tyme to minde wehen we were in sinne Consider in how wretched estate you were when in the sight of God you were vngratious vgly his enemyes the Children of wrath obnoxious to eternall torments and then despise your selues throughly and abase your selues into the lowest and profoundest place that possibly you can for you may safely beleeue that how much soeuer you humble and despise your selues you will neuer be able to arriue to that abisse of contempt which he deserues whoe hath offēded that infinite goodnes which is God This busines hath noe botome at all it is a most profound and infinite abisse for till wee shall be able to see in heauen how good God is we shall neuer be able to know perfectly how great an ill sinne is wich is committed against God and how great a punishment he deserues whoe commits it O that we would contynue in this ponderation and digge on and still sound deeper into this mine of our sinnes and miseries how humble would we then be in how small accompt would we hould our selues and how easily would we admitt to be disesteemed and contemned by all Hee whoe hath bene a traytour to God what contempt will he not endure for his loue Hee who gaue God away for a fancy or toy or for some pleasure of an instant he who offended his Creator ad his lord and deserued to remaine for euer in Hell what dishonours what affronts or iniuries will not he be glad to receiue in satisfaction for those offences wich he hath committed against the Maiestie of God Prius quam humiliarer ego deliqui propterea eloquium tuum custodiui said the Prophet Dauid Before that scourge came wherewith God humbled and afflicted me I had giuen him cause to inflict it I had already sinned and therefore now I am silent nor dare I complanie for all is much lesse then my sinnes deserued Thou hast not punished me O Lord according to my offences for what soeuer we are possibly able to suffer in this life is meerely nothing in comparison of that which any one of all our sinnes hath deserued Will you perhaps conceiue that he deserues not to be dishonored and despised whoe hath dishonored and despised God Do you not thinke it to be reason that hee be lightly esteemed whoe sett light by God Will you not confesse that that will which durst offend the Creatour of the world should neuer from thence forward doe any one thing which it pretends or desires in punishment of soe vast a presumption And there is yet more in it for though we may well hope that through the mercy of God he hath pardonned vs our sinnes yet in fine we haue noe certainety thereof Nescit homo vtrum amore an odio dignus sit A man knowes not saith the wise man whether he be beloued or abhorred by God And S. Paule said Nihil mihi conscius sum sed non in hoc iustificatus sum I feele not now any remorce of conscience concerning any sinne but yet I know not for all this whether I be iustified or noe And woe be to me if I be not for though I be a Religious man and though I conuert others all that will doe me little good Si linguis hominum loquar Angelorū Charitatē autē non habeam nihil sum though I speake saith S. Paule with the tongue of Angells though I haue the guift of Prophecy and the knowledge of all sciences though I giue all my goods to the poore nay though I should conuert the whole world yet if with all I haue not Charitie all this will doe me noe good Wo be to you if you haue not Charitie and the grace of God for els you are nothing yea worse then nothing It is a great meanes to make a man very humble and euer to thinke meanely of himselfe and to hold himselfe in low accompt that he knowes not whether he be in state of grace or els of sinne I am sure enough that I haue offended God but I am not sure whether I be forgiuen or no. And whoe then with this will once presume to hould vp his head whoe will not be confounded and humbled as low as the earth and euen below the earth For this reason saith S. Gregory did God hide the knowledge of his grace from vs Vt vnam gratiam certam habeamus scilicet humilitatem that soe we might the more certainly haue the grace of Humilitie And though this vncertainety feare wherein God hath left vs may seeme to be painefull namely that wee know not with any expresse certainety whether we be in his fauour or no yet indeede euen this proceedes from fauour and mercy in him towards vs because this vncertainety is full of profitt to vs for the obteyning of Humilitie for the conseruing it and for the makeing vs not despise any other how many sinnes soeuer he may haue committed For that other may perhaps be already pardoned for whatsoeuer sinnes he may haue committed ad perhaps he may be more in Gods fauour and for my part I know not whether I be so or no. It serues alsoe for a spurre towards good workes and to keepe a man from being negligent and to make him walke on with feare and Humilitie in the sight of God begging pardon and mercy of him as we are aduised
of God then the profound study of all scieÌ„ces And the reason which S. Bernard giues is that this is the most high science of all others and of the greatest benefitt For from hence a man comes to the knowledge of God which is giuen vs to be vnderstood as S. Bonauentuâ—e saith by that mistery of the holy Ghospell which Christ our sauyour wrought vpon the person of that man whoe was borne blinde For by laying dust vpon his eyes he gaue him both corporall sight wherewith to see himselfe and spirituall sight also weherewith to know and adore God Sic Dominus nos caecos natos per nostri Dei ignoraÌ„tiam illuminat lutum vnde nati sumus liniendo super oculos nostros vt primum incipiamus nos ipsos cognoscere deinde ipsum illuminatorem nostrum credendo proni adorare Hee saith that to vs whoe are borne blinde through the ignorance both of God and of our selues god giueth sight by laying durt vpon our eyes whereof we were made to the end that considering our selues whoe are but as a little durt we may receiue that sight wehereby first we may see and knowe our selues and from thence may arriue to knowe God And this very thing doth our holy mother the church inteÌ„d tot teach vs by that holy ceremony which it vses in the begining of Lent when it layes dust or ashes ouer our eyes and then sayth this Memento homo quia puluis es in puluerem reuerteris Remember o man that thou art dust and that to dust thou shalt returne That soe knowing him selfe he may alsoe come to know God and be troubled for hauing offended him and doe pennance for his sinnes Soe that a mans seeing and knowing him selfe and considering his basenes and his durt is a meanes to come to the knowledge of God And the more any man knowes his owne basenes he shall the more discerne the greatnes and Maiesty of God For opposita iuxta se posita magis elucescunt One contrary and one extreame put by the other will make that other appeare the more White laide vpon blacke appeares the more fresh and cleare And so since man is the most extreame basenes and God the most sublime altitude they are two contrary extreames and from hence it is that the more a man knowes him selfe in whome he findes that there is noe goodnes at all but onely Nothing and sinne the more he findes the goodnes and mercy and liberalitie of God who vouchsafes to loue vs and as it were to conuerse with soe great a basenes as ours is From hence growes the soule to be greatly kindled and inflamed towards the loue of God for it neuer giues ouer maruailing and giuing thankes to God for that man being soe miserable and soe wicked God indures him vpon the earth and dayly alsoe doth him many sauours For it happens often that we cannot soe much as indure our selues and that yet the goodnes and mercy of God towards vs is such as that not onely he indures vs but hee is pleased to say of vs Deliciae meae esse cum filijs hominum My delight is to be with the sonnes of men What didst thou finde O lord in the sonnes of men that thou shouldst say my delights are to conuerse with them For this did the Saints soe much frequent the excercise of the knowlegde of them selues that soe they might acquire a greater knowledge of God and a greater loue to his diuine Maiestie This was that exercise and prayer which S. Augustine vsed Deus semper ideÌ„ nouerim me nouerim te O my God which art euer the sane and neuer changest let me knowe my selfe and lett me know thee And this other was the prayer wherein the humble S. Francis spent the whole dayes and nights who art thou O Lord and who am I. By this way came the Saints to a very high knowledge of God and this is a very plaine and certaine way and the more you digg downe into the knowledge of your selues the higher shall you rise and the more shall you growe in the knowledge of God and of his infinite mercy and goodnes As alsoe on the other side the higher you rise and the more you growe in the knowledge of God the lower you will descend and the more you will profitt in the knowledge of your selues For the light which comes to you from heauen will shew you such slutish corners in your sowles as will make yow ashamed of that which in the eyes of the world wil seeme very fayre and Good S. Bonauenture saith that as when the sunne beames enter into any roome euery moate of the ayre will shew it selfe Sic cor radiis gratiae illustratum etiam minima videt So the soule being illustrated by the knowledge of God and by the beames of that true sonne of Iustice the very least little things will instantly be seene and soe the soule comes to hould that for fautly which he whoe inioyes not soe great light will esteeme to be good This is the reason why Saynts are soe humble and hould them selues in soe small accompt and the greater Saints they are they are the more humble and the accounte wherein they hould them selues is soe much the lesse For still as they haue more light and greater knowledge of God they know them selues better and see that of theire owne stock they cannot bragg but onely of Nothing and of Sinne. And howe much soeuer they knowe them selues and how many faults soeuer they see in their owne soules they still beleeue that there are many more which they see not and conceiue that the least parte thereof is that which they can come to knowe after this rate doe they esteeme them selues For as they beleeue that God is more good then they are able to comprehend soe alsoe doe they beleeue that themselues are more wicked then they can vnderstand And â—s how much soeuer we conceiue or knowe of God we cannot perfectly comprehend him but still there will be more and much more to be conceiued and knowne soe how much soeuer we know our selues and how much soeuer we humble and despise our selues We shall neuer be able to descend so lowe as to arriue to the profounditie of our misery And this is noe exaggeration but a cleere truth For since man hath nothing of his owne store but Nothing and Sinne whoe will euer be able to humble and abase himselfe soe much as those two Titles deserue Wee read of a Saint who desired light of God to know her selfe and she discerned so much deformitie and misery in her condition that she was not able to endure it and then she prayed thus to God O lord not soe much for I shall fainte vnder the burden And father Auila saith that he knew a certaine person whoe begged of God many tymes that he would make him see and know himselfe God opened his eyes a little and it had like to haue
to do by the wiseman Beatus homo qui semper est pauidus De propitiato peccato noli esse sine metu Blessed is that man whoe alwayes feares And be not with out feare euen concerning those sinnes for which yow haue done pennance This consideration of our sinnes is a very efficatious meanes to make vs put little value vpon our selues to be euer humble to liue as it were euen vnder ground for there is much to be gotten digged vp from thence If besides we would stay and consider the defects and wounds which originall sinne hath caused in vs how copious would that matter be which wee might finde therein for our humiliation How is our nature peruerted and corrupted by sinne For as a stone is inclined by the naturall weight thereof to fall downeward iust soe by the corruption of originall sinne we haue a most actiue inclination to loue honor and profitt and satisfaction of our sence and we are extreamely awake towards all those temporall things which concerne vs but starke dead towards those others which are spirituall and deuine That commaunds in vs which in all reason were to obey and that obeyes which should commaund And to conclude vnder the out side and posture of men the appetites of beasts lye concealed and we haue harts which grow groueling towards the ground Prauum est cor hominum inscrutabile quis cognoscit illud The hart of man is wicked and inscrutable and who can arriue to the mallice thereof The deeper you digg into this wall the greater abominations will you discouer therein as was shewed in that figure to Ezechiell And if now we will apply our selues to consider our present defects we shall finde our selues very full of them for theis growe euer out of our owne store How slippery are our tongues and how ill guarded are our harts How inconstant are we in our good purposes and how earnest for our owne interest and gust How desirous are we to fulfill our appetites How full are wee of selfe loue How stronge in the abetting of our owne iudgment and will How liuely doe wee still finde our passions how intire our bad inclinations and how easily doe we permitt our selues to be transported by them S. Gregory saith very well vpon those words of Iob. Contra solium quod vento rapitur ostendis potentiam tuam that a man is with much reason compared to the leafe of a tree For as a lease is tourned and tost with euery winde soe is man by the winde both of his passions and temptations Somtymes he is troubled with anger sometymes he is disolued with vaine mirth some tymes he is trāsported by the appetite of auarice some tymes of ambition and some tymes of lust some tymes he is hoysed vp by pride and some tymes cast downe by inordinate feare And soe said the Prophett Esay Cecidimus quasi folium vniuersi iniquitates nostrae quasi ventus abstulerunt nos As the leaues of trees are shaken and carried away by the winde soe are we assaultet and subdued by temptations We haue noe habilitie or strength in vertue nor in executing our good purposes but indeed we haue enough for which we may hūble and confounde our selues and that not onely by the consideration of our miseries and sinnes but by the weighing alsoe of those works which seeme in our eyes to be very good For if we will consider and examine them well wee shall finde occasion and matter enough for which to humble our selues by reason of the fault and imperfections which commonly we mingle with them according to that of the same Prophet Facti sumus vt immundus omnes nos quasi pannus menstruatae vniuersae iustitiae nostrae We are become as one vnecleane and all our iustice is like some filthy and polluted ragg But of this we haue spoken els where and so there will be no neede to inlarge our selues now heerein How we are to exercise our selues in the knowledge of what we are that soe we may not be deiected or dismaid CHAPTER VIII OVr misery is soe great we haue soe much reason to humble our selues and we haue soe howerly experience thereof that we seeme to stand in more need of being animated and incouraged to the end that we be not deiected and dismayed considering our selues to be soe full of imperfections and faults then to be exhorted to the consideration thereof And this is soe very true that holy wryters instructours of men in the way of Spiritt teach vs that wee must digg and sound into the knowledge of our miseries and frailties in such sort as in we stop not there for feare least the soule should sincke downe by distrust into despaire in reguard we see soe great misery in our selues and soe greate inconstancy in our good purposes but that we must thē passe on towards the knowledge of the goodnes of God and place our whole confidence in him That soe the sorrow for hauing sinned may not as S. Paule saith be soe great as to cause deiection and despaire Ne fortè abundantiori tristitia absorbeatur qui eiusmodi est But it is to be a well tempered sorrow mingled with the hope of pardon casting our eyes vpon the mercy of God and not fixing them wholly vpon the onely consideration of our sinnes and the deformitie and greiueousnesse thereof And soe they say that wee must not dwell vpon the consideration of our owne pouertie and weakenes least soe we be dismayed but onely that we may thereby finde reason to distrust our selues obseruing that on our parte we haue noe leaninge-place on which to rest and then instantly to looke vp to God and trust in him And thus we shall not onely not remaine discouraged but we shall rather be animated and reuiued thereby because that which serues to make vs distrust when we behould our selues Will serue to strengthen our hope when wee looke vp to God the more we know our owne weakenes and the more we be distrust full of our selues by looking vp to God and relying on him and by placing all our confidence in him we shall finde our selues the more stronge and full of courage in all things But the Saints doe heere aduertise vs of apointe which imports very much namely that as we must not dwell vpon the knowledge of our infirmities and miseries least we fall vpon distrust and despaire but passe on to the knowledge of the goodnesse the mercy liberality of God and place our whole confidence in him soe alsoe must we dwell as little heere but turne our eyes quickly in againe vpon our selues and vpon our owne miseries and frailties For if we sticke vpon the knowledge of the goodnes the mercy and liberalitie of God and forgett what wee are in our selues we shall runne much hazard of presumption and pride and wee shall grow to be too secure of our selues and to be ouer bould and not soe
doubtfull and carefull as were fitt 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 salle 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 sauours and regalos 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 selfe 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 of 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 wāder 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 feare 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 cōsideration 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 soe many defects and haue neuer lamented them no nor euen considered them as they deserued With this the diuell not likeing to endure soe great humilitie on 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 cōfusiō 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 cheise thereof hath bene shewed already namely that this is the foundatiō 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
theis few but heauenly words This was the perfection of those auntient Fathers to loue God to despise them selues not to contemne or iudge any other And then instantly the booke vanished a way How much it concernes vs to be exercised in the knowledge of our selues CHAPTER XII IT will appeare by what is said how much it concernes vs to be exercised in the knowledge of our selues Thales Milesius one of the seauē wise men of Greece being asked which of all naturall things was the hardest to be knowne made this answere Amans selfe Because the loue which a man beares himselfe is soe great that it distracts and hinders this knowledge and from hence grew that saying which was soe much celebrated amongst the auntiēts Nosce te ipsū know thy selfe And an other said Tecum habita Dwell with thy selfe But lett vs leaue theis strangers and come home to others of our owne communion who are better Maisters of this science The B. Saint Augustine and Saint Bernard say that the science of a mans knowing himselfe is the most profitable and most high that euer was inuented or found Men saith Saint Augustine are wont to esteeme much the knowledge of the heauens and of the earth by Astrologie and Cosmographie and to knowe the motions of the skye and the course of the planetts With their proprieties and influences but yet the knowledge of a mans selfe is the most high and profitable science of them all Other sciences blow a man and puffe him vp as Saint Paule saith but wee are humbled and edified by this And soe the Saints and all Maisters of spiritt doe greatly charge vs to employ our selues in prayer vpon this exercise and they reproue the errour of some who passe too lightly ouer the consideration of their owne defects and detaine thēselues in thinking vpon other deuout things because they finde gust in them but none in the consideration of their defects and faults because they take noe pleasure in looking into them selues and in this they are like such as are deformed who because they are soe dare not looke vpon themselues in a glasse The glorious Saint Bernard speaking to man in the person of God saith thus O homo si te videres tibi displiceres mihi placeres sed quia te non vides tibi places mihi displices O man if thou didst see and know thy selfe thou wouldst be displeasing to thy selfe and thou wouldst be pleasing to mee but now because thou doest not see and know thy selfe thou art pleasing to thy selfe and art displeasing to me Veniet tempus cum nec mihi nec tibi placebis mihi quia peccasti tibi quia in aeternum ardebis Take heede that there come not once a tyme when thou shall neither be pleasing to God nor to thy selfe not to God because thou hast sinned nor to thy selfe because thou art damned by thy selfe through thine owne fault Saint Gregory treating of this saith there are some whoe as soone as they beginne to serue God and to take vertue a litle into their consideration thinke presently that they are holy and good and doe soe place their eyes vpon the good they doe that they forgett their miseries and sinnes past yea and sometymes their present sinnes too for they are soe very busy about gazing vpon the good they doe that they attend not nay and see not the ill which sometymes they committ But such as indeede are good and the elect of God proceede after a very different manner For where as indeede they are full of vertue and good works they are yet euer looking vpon the ill they doe and are considering and ruminating vpon their imperfections defects And we shall quickly see what becomes of both theis kindes of men For they whoe are most considering their sinnes secure their good deedes and conserue the great vertues which they possesse remayneing euer in humilitie and on the contrary side those others whoe are looking soe earnestly vpon their good deedes loose them because they growe vaine and proud thereof So that good men serue themselues of their very sinnes and draw good spirituall profitt from thence whereas ill men draw hurt and losse euen from their good deedes because they make ill vse thereof As it happens in the case of corporall food which though in it selfe it be healthfull good yet if a man eate of it without rule or measure it will make him sicke And soe on the other side if the very poyson of vipers be taken with a certaine composition proportion it will become a Treacle and giue him health When therefore they shall bring the good things which you haue done to your memory to the end that you may esteeme and value your selfe S. Gregory aduises you to oppose your ill deedes against them and to call your former sinnes to minde So did S. Paule to the end that his great vertues might not blowe him vp as alsoe his hauing benne rapt into the third heauen and made capable of those high reuelations which were imparted to him Quia prius blasphemus fui persecutor contumeliosus Alas saith hee I haue bene a blasphemour and a persecutor of the seruants of God and of the name of Christ alas I am not worthie to be called an Apostle because I haue persecuted the Church of God Qui non sum dignus vocari Apostolus quoniam persecutus sum ecclesiam Dei This is a very good counterpoise and a very good countermine against this temptation Vpon those words which the Archangell Gabriell spake to the Prophet Daniell Intellige fili hominis O sonne of man obserue what I intend to say to the S. Hierome saith that those holy Prophetts Daniell Ezechiell Zacharias through the high continuall reuelations which they had seemed already as it were to conuerse amongst the Quires of Angells and to the end that they might not exalt them selues aboue them selues and grow idle headed and proud vpon that occasion as conceiuing that they were growne to be of a kinde of Superiour Angelicall nature the Angell letts them know on the part of God that they must remember their humaine nature and frailty he calls them sonnes of men that soe they might vnderstand them selues to be fraile men and miserable creatures like the rest and that soe they might be humble and esteeme them selues but as they were And wee haue many examples in histories both Ecclesiasticall and prophane both of Saints and other illustrious persons kings Emperours and Prelates who vsed this meanes and euer kept some about them whoe might bring them to remembrance from tyme to tyme that they were but men soe to conserue them in Humilitie and to keepe them from growing vayne and proud It is recounted of our Father Franciscus Borgia that whilst he was yet Duke of Caudia a holy man gaue him this councell that if hee had a minde to profitt much in the seruice of God no day might passe
wherein he would not thinke seriously of somwhat which might putt him to confusion and meane opinion of himselfe And he tooke this Counsell soe much to hart that from the tyme that he vsed the exercise of Mentall Prayer he imployed euery day the two first howers there of vpon this knowledge contempt of himselfe And besides what soeuer he heard and read saw it all serued him towards this abaseing confusion And besides he had another Deuotion which helped him much and it was that euery day as soone as he rose he kissed the ground three tymes to put him in minde that he was dust and earth and that into earth he must returne And it well appeers how much profitt he drew from thence by the great example of Humilitie and sanctitie which he left behinde him Lett vs therefore obserue this Councell and practise it Lett no one day passe wherein we spend not some tyme of prayer and consider not somewhat which may tend to our confusion and contempt and lett vs not grow weary nor giue ouer this exercise till we finde that our soule hath euen drunke vp a profound cordiall desire to be disesteemed and despised and till we may feele our selues to be greately ashamed to appeere with soe much basenes and misery as ours is before the high presence and Maiestie of Almightie God We haue very much neede of all this for our pride and inclination to be honored and esteemed is soe very great that if we walke not contynually in this exercise we shall finde our selues euery hower to be lifted vp aboue our selues as corke goes swyming vpon the water for noe corke is soe light and vaine as wee Wee must euer be repressing and beating downe that swelling and pride which heaues vs vp and we must looke towards the feete of our deformity and basenes that soe the wheele of our vanitie and pride may be broken in peeces Lett vs remember the Parable of the Figg tree which is mentioned in the holy Ghospell and which the owner thereof had a minde to pluck vp by the rootes because in three yeares it had borne noe fruite but the gardner moued that it might be suffered to grow a yeare longer and said that he would digg about it and that if then it gaue not fruite it might afterwards be rooted vp Digge you in like manner about the dry and barraine figg tree of your sowles and lett the dunge and miseries of your sinnes be cast round about it since you haue such store thereof and soe you shall be also fertile and beare fruite To the end that we may be the more animated to vse this exercise and that noe man take ocasion to giue it ouer through any vaine apprehensions We are to vnderstand two things The first that no man must thinke that this exercise belongs onely to beginners because it alsoe concernes Proficients and most Perfect men since we see that they and euen S. Paule himselfe did vse it In the second place it is fitt for vs to vnderstand that this exercise is no afflictiue or melancholy kinde of thing nor causes trouble or disquiet but rather brings with it greate peace and rest yea and great cōtentment and ioy for any man to cōsider knowe himselfe how many defects and faults soeuer hee committ how perfectly soeuer he vnderstand that because he is soe wicked he deserues that all men should despise and hate him For when this knowledge of our selues growes from true Humilitie that paine comes accompanied with such a kinde of swauitie and contentment that a man would be sorry to be with out it Other paines and troubles which some feele when they consider their faults and imperfections are temptations of the diuell whoe on the one side procures by this meanes to make vs thinke that we are truly humble and on the other would be content to make vs distruct the goodnes of God and to be dishartned and dismayed in his seruice Indeede if we were still to pawse vpon the knowledge of our owne misery and weakenes we should haue occasion enough to be afflicted and sadd yea and to be discouraged and dismayed but wee must not stay there but passe on to the consideration of the goodnes and mercy and liberalitie of God and how much hee loues vs and what hee suffered for vs and in this are we to place all our hope And soe that which would be an occasion of dismay and sorrow by looking vpon our selues serues to animate and incourage vs and is an occasion of greater comfort and ioy when wee lift vp our eyes towards God A man behoulds himselfe and sees nothing but cause of greife but looking vp to God he confides in his goodnes without feare of being forsaken notwithstanding the many faults and imperfections and miseryes which hee discernes in himselfe For the goodnes and mercy of God vpon which hee hath placed his eyes and his hart doth infinitely exceede and outstripp all that which can be ill in vs. And with this consideration being rooted in the very strings of the harte a man vntyes himselfe from himselfe as from some broken reede and euer goes resting vpon God and confiding in him according vnto that of the Prophett Daniel Neque enim in iustificationibus nostris prosternimus preces ante faciem tuam sed in miserationibus tuis multis Not confiding in our selues nor in any meritts or good worke of ours doe we presume to lift vp our eyes to thee O Lord and to begg fauour at thy hands but by putting our confidence in thy greate mercy Of the second degree of Humilitie and heer it is declared wherein this degree consists CHAPTER XIII THe second degree of Humilitie saith S. Bonauenture is when a man desires to be held by others in small accounte Amā nesciri pro nihilo reputari Desire to be vnknowne and disesteemed and that noe body may haue you in accounte If we were well grounded in the first degree of Humilitie we should already haue made most of our way towards the second If really we esteemed our selues little it would not seeme very hard to vs that others should alsoe esteeme little of vs yea and we would be glad thereof Will you see that this is true saith S. Bonauenture All men are naturally glad when others conforme them selues to our opinion and thinke the same that we thinke Well then if this be soe why are we not glad when others haue vs in small account Doe you know why Because we esteeme highly of our selues and we are not of their opinion S. Bonauenture vpon these words of Iob Peccaui vere deliqui vt eram dignus non recepi saith Many with their tongues speake ill of them selues and say that they are this that but they beleeue not what they say for when others say the same yea and lesse then that they cannot indure it And these men when they speake ill of them selues say it
rather thinke that you haue lost opinion and credit by it and therefore you are Melancholy and sadd yea and when you are to doe any of theis publicque things the very feare of the successe and whether you shall gaine or loose honor by it makes you afflicted and greiued Theis are some of those things which make the proud man Melancholy and sadd But now the humble of hart who desire noe honour or estimation and contents himselfe with a meane place is free from all this restlesnes and disquiet and enioyes great peace according to the words of Christ our Lord from whome that saynt tooke this saying of his If there be peace in this world the humble of hart possesses it And therefore though there were noe way of spiritt or perfection to be looked after but onely our owne interest and the keeping our harts in peace and quietnes euen for this and this alone we were to procure Humilitie for thus wee should come to liue whereas the other is but to leade a kinde of dying life Saint Augustine to this purpose recountes a certaine thinge of himselfe whereby he saith that our Lord gaue him to vnderstand the blindnes and misery wherein hee was As I went one day sayth he full of affliction and care in thought of a certaine Oration which I was to recite before the Emperour in his praise whereof the greatest parte was to be false and my selfe procuring to be praysed for my paines euen by them who know that it would be false that men may see how farr the vanitie and folly and madnes of the world extends it selfe as I went I say with much thought heereof and was full of trouble and care how the busines might succeede and hauing as it were euen a kinde of feauer vpon me of consuming thoughts it hapned that in one of the streetes of Milan there was a poore begger who after he had gotten well to eate and drinke was playing tricks and taking his pleasure and in fine was very merry and iolly But when I saw this I fell to sigh and represent to my freinds whoe were present there to what misery our madnes had made vs subiect Since in all our troubles and namely in those where in we found our selues at that tyme carrying a great burthen of infelicity vpon our backs and beinge wounded with the vexation of a thousand inordinate appetites and dayly adding one burthen to another we did not soe much as procure to seeke any other thing then onely some secure kinde of contentment and ioy wherein that poore begger had outstripped vs already whoe perhaps should neuer be able to ouertake him therein For that which hee had now obteyned by meanes of a little almes namely the ioy of temporall felicitie I still went seeking and hunting out with soe much sollicitude and care It is true saith Saint Augustine that the poore man had noe true ioy but it is alsoe true that the contentment which I sought was more false then his and in fine hee then was merry and I sad he was secure and I full of cares feares And if any man should aske me now whether I had rather be glad or greiued I should quickly make answere that I had rather be glad and if he should aske me yet againe whether I had rather be that begger or my selfe I should then rather choose to be my selfe though I were then full of afflictions but yet for ought I know I should haue noe reason to make this choise For I aske what cause I can alledge for my being more learned gaue me then noe contentment at all but onely desired to giue contentment to others by my knowledge and yet that not by way of instructing thē but But without doubt saith hee that poore man was more happye then I not onely because he was merry and iolly when I was full of cogitations and cares which drew euen my very bowells out of my body but because he had gotten his wine by lawfull meanes whereas I was hunting after vaine glory by the way of tellinge lyes Of another kinde of meanes more efficatious for the obteyning the vertue of Humilitie which is the exercise thereof CHAPTER XXIII WEe haue already spoken of the first kinde of meanes which are vsually assigned for the obteyning of virtue which is certaine reasons and considerations both diuine and humaine But yet the inclination which we haue to this vice of pride is soe very greate by reason that the desire of diuinitie Eritis sicut di◠remaines soe rooted in our harts from our first parents that noe considerations at all are sufficient to make vs take our last leaue of the impulse and edge which wee haue to be honored and esteemed It seemes that that happens to vs heerein which occurrs to others whoe are full of feare For how many reasons soeuer you giue to perswade such persons that they haue no cause to feare such or such a thing they yet make this answere I see well that all you say is true and I would faine not feare but yet I cannot obteyne it of my selfe For iust soe some say in our case I well perceiue that all those reasons which you haue brought against the opinion and estimation of the world are good and true and they conuince that all is but meere vanitie and winde but yet with all this I cannot by any meanes Wynne soe much of my selfe as not to make some accounte thereof I would faine doe it if I could but me thinke I know not how this kinde of things transports and disquiets me strangely Well then as noe reasons and considerations are sufficient to free the fearefull man from feare but that besides this we must intreate him to put his hand to worke and bid him draw neere to feele and touch those things which seemed to him to be bugbeares and sprights and aduise him to goe sometyme by night and alone to the same places where he thought he saw them that soe he might finde by experience that there was nothing indeede but that all was his imagination and apprehension that soe by this meanes he may loose his feare soe alsoe for the makeing vs giue ouer the desire of opiniō and estimation of the world the Saints affirme that noe reasons or cōsiderations are sufficiēt but that we must also vse the meanes of action and of the exercise of humilitie for this is the principall and most efficatious meanes which we for our parts can imploy towards the obteyning of this vertue S. Basill saith that as sciences and arts are acquired by practise soe alsoe are the morall vertues That a man may be a good Musition a good Rethorition a good Philosopher and a good workemā in any kinde let him exercise himselfe herein and he will grow perfect And soe alsoe for obteyning the habit of Humilitie and all the rest of the morall vertues wee must exercise our selues in the acts thereof and by this meanes wee shall
nemini non dico preponas sed nec comparare presumas Not onely are you not to preferre your selues before any but not soe much as to presume to compare or equall your selues with any other but you are onely to remaine in the last place without any equall in your basenes esteeming your selues to be the most miserable sinners of the whole world It puts you saith he to noe daunger if perharps you should humble your selues too much and putting your selues vnder the feete of all but the preferring your selues before any one alone may put you to a great deale of preiudice And he brings this ordinary comparison As when you passe by a low gate the stooping too much with your head can doe you noe hurt but if you stoope neuer soe little lesse then the gate requires you may doe your selues soe much hurt as to breake your heads soe is it alsoe in the soule For to abase and humble your selues too much cannot be hurt full but to forbeare to humble your selues though it be but little to preferre or euen equall your selues to any one is a dangerous thing What knowest thou O man whether that one whome thou takest not onely to be worse then thou for perhapps it seemes to thee now that thou art growne to liue well but that he is the wicked man and the greatest sinner in the whole world may not proue perhaps a better man then either they or thou yea and that he is soe already in the sight of God Who knowes whether God will not change hands as Iacob did and that the lotts will be alsoe changed and that thou wilt come to be the forsaken and the other chosen Quid scis si melior te illis mutatione dexterae excelsae in se quidem futurus sit in Deo vero iam sit How doe you know what God hatht wrought in that hart since yesterday yea and in this last minute Facile est enim in oculis Dei subito honestare pauperem In one instant is God able to make Apostles of a Publican and a Persecutor as he did of Saint Matthew and Saint Paule Potens est Deus de lapidibus istis suscitare filios Abrahae Of sinners more stonie and hard then a Diamond can God make sonns for himselfe How mightily did that Pharise finde himselfe deceiued when he iudged Saint Mary Magdalen for wicked and when Christ our Lord reproued him and gaue him to vnderstand that shee whome he held for a publique sinner was better then hee And soe Saint Benet and Sainct Thomas and other saynts sett this downe for one of the twelue degrees of Humilitie Credere pronumtiare se omnibus viliore m. To say and thinke of himselfe that he is the worst man of the whole world It is not enough to say soe with the tongue but it must be felt with the very hart Thinke not that thou hast profited at all if thou hould not thy selfe for the worst of men saith S. Paule How good and holy men may with truth esteeme themselues lesse then others yea and affirme themselues to be the greatest sinners of the world CHAPTER XXXIV IT will not be matter of curiosity but of much profitt to declare how good and holy men may with truth esteeme themselues lesse then all and alsoe affirme that they are the greatest sinners of the whole world For we haue said that we must procure to arriue thus farre Some of the Saints refuse to answere the question how this may be and content themselues with beleeuing of themselues that they are soe in their harts S. Dorotheus relates hat the Abbott Zosimus being one day speaking of Humilitie and saying soe of himselfe a certaine Philosopher was there who asked him how he could hould himselfe to be soe great a sinner since he knew himselfe to keepe Gods coÌ„maundements To which the holy Abbot made this answere I say that this which I haue said is true and that I speake as I thinke and therefore aske me no more questions But S. Augustine S. Thomas and other SS giue an answere to this question and they doe it diuers wayes That of S. Augustine and S. Thomas is that a man placing his eyes vpon his owne defects and considering in his neighbour the secret guifts which he hath or at least may haue of God euery one may with truth affirme of himselfe that he is the vilest and greatest sinner of the whole world for he knowes his owne defects and knowes not another mans graces or guifts O but say you I see that hee committs many sinnes which I committ not But yet how doe you know what God hath wrought in his hart since that tyme. In a moment may God haue secretly imparted some guift and fauour to that man which may haue made him excell you as it hapned to that Pharise and that Publican of the Ghospell who went into the TeÌ„ple to pray Dico vobis descendit hic iustificatus indomum suam ab illo Verely I say to you said Christ our Lord that the Publican who was held for soe wi ked returned iustified out of the TeÌ„ple and the â—harâ—â—e whoe was held for good went out condemned This alone might serue to fright vs and to make vs not presume I say not to preferre our selues before but euen not to compare our selues with any and to make vs keepe our selues in the lowest place of all which certainely is most secure And for him who is truly humble and from the hart it is a most easy thing to hould himselfe in the lowest and least accounte of all others For the truely humble man considers in other men the goodnes and vertue which they haue and in himselfe he obserues but his owne defects and he is soe busie and earnest about the knowledge and redresse thereof that he hath no leasure to lift vp his eyes towards the faults of others as conceaueing himselfe to haue enough of his owne to lament and soe he houlds all other men for good and himselfe for wicked And by how much the more holy any man is soe much the more easy is this to him for after the rate or the encrease of his other vertues the knowing despising and humbling himselfe doth alsoe increase for all theis things goe together And still the more light he hath from heauen and the more knowledge of the goodnes and Maiestie of Almightie God the more profound vnderstanding will he come to haue of his owne misery and of his nothing because Abyssus abyssum inuocat That Abisse of the knowledge of the goodnes and greatnes of God calls vp and discouers that other profound Abisse of our miserie and makes vs able to discerne the infinite little moates and graines of dust of our imperfectioÌ„s And if we hould our selues in any accounte it is certainely because we haue smalle knowledge of God and little light from heauen The beames of the Sunne of Iustice haue not yet entred in by our
guifts which they haue receiued from God can with truth esteeme themselues below all and affirme of themselues with all that they are the greatest sinners of the whole world When our lord conducts a man by that other way of hiding his guifts that so he sees no vertue in himselfe but all his faults and imperfections the difficultie is not so great but in theis others how can it be Notwithstanding all this it may be very well Be you humble like S. Francis and you shall know how His cōpanion pressing to vnderstād how he could thinke and say soe of himselfe with truth that seraphicall father made this answere Really I vnderstand it as I speake it and I beleeue that if God had shewed those mercies and imparted those graces to any murdering theefe or to the greatest sinner in the whole world which he hath vouchsafed to mee he would haue bene much better and much more gratefull then I. And on the other side I conceiue and beleeue that if our Lord should take off his hand from me and not hould me fast I should committ greater sinnes and should proue the most wicked man in the whole world And for this reason he saith I am the greatest sinner and the most vngratefull of all men And this is a very good answeare and a very profound Humilitie and it carried doctrine in it of admirable instruction This knowledge and consideration is that which made the Saints diue downe so low vnder the earth and cast themselues at the feete of all men and really esteeme themselues for the greatest sinners of the whole world for they had that roote of Humilitie which is the knowledge of their owne misery and frailty well planted and deepely rooted in their harts and they knew very well how to penetrate and ponder both what they were and what they had of themselues and this made it easy for them to beleeue that if God should not hould them fast but once take of his hand from their heads they would haue proued the greatest sinners of the world and so they held themselues for such And as for those guifts and graces which they had receiued from God they beheld them not as any thing of their owne but as the goods of another and onely lent to them And not onely did the hauing of all theis guifts not distract or hinder them from remayning intire in their poorenes and basenes or from esteeming themselues below all others but it rather helpt them on towards that end because they thought they profitted not thereby as they ought to haue done So that which way soeuer we turne our eyes whether we cast them inward vpon what we haue of our selues or whether we cast them vpward vpon what we haue receiued of God we shall finde occasion enough to be humbled and to esteeme our selues below all Saint Gregory to this purpose ponders those words which Dauid said to Saul after he might haue killed him in the caue into which Saul had entred And when Dauid spared his life and lett him goe he yet went after saying Quem persequeris Rex Israel quem persequeris Canem mortuū persequeris pulicem vnum Whome dost thou persecute O king of Israel thou persecutest a dead dogge and a single flea as I am The S. ponders it thus very well Dauid was already annoynted for king and had vnderstood from the Prophett Samuel who anoynted him that God would take the kingdome from Saul and giue it him and yet neuerthelesse he humbles and lessens himselfe before him though he know that God had preferred him and that in the sight of God he was a better man then Saul Whereby we may learne to esteeme our selues lesse then them of whome we know not in what condition or degree they stand in the presence of Almightie God That this third degree of Humilitie is a good meanes to ouercome all temptations and to obtaine the perfection of all the vertues CHAPTER XXXV CASSIANVS saith that it was a tradition of those antient fathers as it were the first principle amongst them that a man could not obtaine puritie of hart and the perfection of vertue if first he did not conceiue and know that all his industrie diligence and labour would not be sufficient for that purpose without the especiall fauour helpe of God who is the prime authour and giuer of all good things And he saith more ouer that this knowledge of his must not be onely speculatiue and because we haue heard it or read it or because it is a doctrine of Faith but we must know it practically and by experience and be soe conuinced soe resolued and setled in this truth as if we saw it with our eyes toucht it with our hands and this is litterally the third degree of Humility whereof now we treate And of this kinde of Humilitie it is that the authorities of holy Scripture speake and which promise so great and euen innumerable blessings to such as are humble And for this reason the Saints assigne it for the last and most perfect degree of Humility and say That it is the foundation of all vertue and the preparation or disposition for receiuing all kinde of graces and guifts from God And Cassianus prosecuting this pointe more in particular saith concerning Chastitie that no endeauour of ours will serue for the obteyning thereof till we certainly vnderstand that it is not to be had but from the liberalitie and mercy of Almigthie God And Saint Augustine agrees very wel heerewith For the first and cheife meanes which he deliuers for the acquiring and conseruing the guift of Chastity is Humility that soe we may not thinke that our owne diligences will suffice for this for if we rely and rest vpon them we deserue to loose it But we must know that it is the guift of God and that it must come to vs from aboue and that we must place our whole confidence in him And soe one of those ould Fathers said that a man would be tempted with carnall thoughts till he come to know very well that Chastity is the guift of our lord and no acquisition of our owne Palladius confirmes this by the example of Abbot Moyses whoe hauing bene a man of a strange corporall strength as alsoe of a most vicious minde was conuerted afterward to God with his whole harte At the first he was grieuously tempted especially concerning impuritie and by the aduise of those Fathers he imployed his best meanes to ouercome it He prayd so longe as that he passed six yeares in prayer yea and spent the greatest parte of the whole nights in prayer remayning still vpon his feete He vsed much handy labour he eate nothing but bread and that in smalle quantity he went carrying water to the old Moncks in their Cells and vsed many other greater mortifications and austerityes But yet with all this he came not to be free from his temptations but was euen sett on fire
by them and was sometymes in danger to fall and to leaue the institute of a Moncke Being then in this trouble the holy Abbott Isidorus came to him and told him on the parte of God that for that tyme forweard his temptations should cease in the name of IESVS CHRIST our Lord and soe they did and neuer sett vpon him more And the Saint by way of declaring the cause adds this that till then God had not giuen compleat victory to Abbot Moyses least he should haue growne vaine and proud as conceiuing that he had conquered by his owne strength and therefore that God had till then permitted it for his greater good Moyses had not yet obtayned the guift of distrusting himselfe and now to the end that he might obtaine it and not grow proud by confiding in himselfe God left him soe longe a tyme and he obteyned not by soe many and soe great indeauours the compleate victory ouer this passion which others by diligence had obteyned The like did Palladius relate to haue hapned to the Abbot Pacon for euen whilst he was seauenty yeares old he was very much molested by vncleane temptations and he saith that the other affirmed it to him with an oath that after he was fiftie yeares old the combat had bene soe vsuall and soe very fearce as that there had not passed either one day or night in all that tyme wherein he had not bene tempted to that sinne Hee did very extraordinary things to free himselfe from theis temptations but they did not serue the turne And lamenting one day and euen halfe fearing that our lord had forsaken him he heard a voice which interiourly said thus to him know that the cause why god hath permitted this sharpe assault to be made against thee that beene to the end that thou mightst know thine owne pouertie and miserie and the little or nothing which thou hast of thy selfe and therefore see that thou humble thy selfe heereafter and confide not in thy selfe at all but in all things haue recourse for helpe to me And he saith that he was soe comforted by this instruction that he neuer felt that temptation againe In fine the will of our Lord is that we put all our confidence in him and that we distrust our selues with all our owne diligences and meanes This is the doctrine not onely of Saint Augustine Cassian and those antient Fathers but of the holy Ghost himselfe and that in those very termes whereby we haue expressed it heere The wise man in the booke of wisedome setts expresly downe both the Theory and the practise of this pointe in theis words Et vt sciui quoniam aliter non possem esse continens nisi deus det hoc ipsum erat sapientia scire cuius esset hoc donum adij Dominum deprecatus sum illum ex totis preâ—orâ—ijs meis When I know saith Salomon that I could not be continent but by the spirituall guift of God Now Continent is heere the generall word which embraces not onely the conteyning or restrayning that passion which is against Chastitie but all the other passions alsoe which rebell against reason And that other place also of Ecclesiasticus Omnis autem ponderatio digna est continentis animae No weight of gold is able to goe in ballance with a continent sowle No pretious thinge is soe much worth as the person who is continent Hee meanes that kinde of man who intirely containes all his affects and appetites that they may not passe beyond the bounds of reason And now saith Salomon knowing that I could not containe theis passions and powers both of my body and sowle within the moderation of vertue and truth without the especiall guift of God but that sometymes they would exceede the knowledge whereof is a high pointe of wisedome I had recourse to our lord and begged this guift of him with my whole hart Soe that in fine this is the onely meanes whereby a man may become continent and may be able to continue continent to restraine and gouerne our passions and binde them to the good behauiour and to obtaine victory ouer all temptations and the perfection of all vertues And soe the Prophet vnderstood it rightly when he said Nisi Dominus aedificauerit Domum in vanum laborauerunt qui aedificant eam Vnlesse our lord build the howse he labours in vaine who desires to build it Nisi Dominus custodierit Ciuitatem frustra vigilat qui custodit cam If our lord doe not guard the Cittie he labours in vaine who seekes to guarde it It is he who must giue vs all good things and when he hath giuen them must conserne them to vs or els all our labour will be lost That Humilitie is not contrary to Magnanimity but rather that it is the foundation and cause Thereof CHAPTER XXXVI SAint Thomas treating of the vertue of Magnanimitie makes this question On the one side the Saints say yea and the holy Scripture alsoe saith that Humilitie is very necessary for vs and with all that Magnanimitie is alsoe necessary especially for such as exercise high ministeries and liue in high place Now theis two vertues seeme to bee contrary in them selues because Magnanimitie is a greatenes of minde to attempt and enterprise greate and excellent things which in them selues may be worthie of honour and both the one and the other seeme to be contrary to Humilitie For as for the first which is to enterprise greate things this seemes not to sute well with this vertue because one of the degrees of Humilitie which the Saints assigne is Ad omnia indignum inutilem se consiteri credere To confesse and hould himselfe vnworthie and vnprofitable for all things and now for a man to attempt that for which hee is not fitt seemes to be presumption and pride And as for the second pointe which is to enterprise things of honor it seemes alsoe to be contrary because the true humble man must be very farre from desiring honour estimation To this Saint Thomas answeres very well and sayes that although in apparance and by the exteriour sound of the words theis two vertues may seeme to be contrary betweene themselues yet in effect and truth one vertue cannot be contrary to another in particular he saith coÌ„cerning theis two vertues of Humility and Magnanimity that if wee will attentiuely cast our eyes vpon the truth and substance of the thing we shall not onely finde that they are not contrarie but that they are direct Sisters and depend much vpon one another And this he declares very well because as for the first which is to enterprise and attempt great things which is proper to the magnanimous person it is not onely contrary to the humble man but rather is very proper to him and he who is the one may well do the other If confiding in our owne diligence and strength wee should vndertake great things it might be presumption and pride because we