different from what they had begun in Religion For all these Reasons I continue to say that a Man must Examin the Vocation before he enters into Religion and for this intent take all the time that shall be necessary to be morally assur'd of it Act so then Theotime if you perceive your self mov'd to Religion and be not afraid of losing your Vocation if you put it not suddenly in Execution for if you practise faithfully what we have said with a sincere Intention to know the Will of God you will not fail in the Resolution you shall take God will conduct you in that Deliberation to the State he hath prepar'd for you and if he call you to Religion he will confirm you in that Desire by the Perseverance he will give you and perfect in you the good Work he shall have begun according to that Expression of S. Paul Qui caepit in vos opus bonum perficiet confirmabit solidabitque After all when you resolve to embrace a Religious Life remember to prefer amongst the Religious those where a Regular Life is most exactly observ'd and where they solidly labor to gain Piety and as much as you can where there is least Communication with the World. CHAP. XI Of the divers States of a Secular Life AS the Life of Ecclesiastics and Religigious has its Dangers the Secular Life hath also its Perils which are not small he who deliberates on it ought necessarily to foresee them And these Dangers are different according to the divers States of that Life Wherefore I Treat here of the principal Callings of a Secular Life to the end every one may Examin that which he will embrace and may know well its Obligations ARTICLE I. Of the Condition of the Great and of those who Govern others If there be a difficult and dangerous Condition in the World Maxims to be observ'd by those who Govern others it is the Office of those who are call'd to Govern others as Kings and Princes who have Sovereign Authority Lords of particular Places who have an inferior Authority Magistrates and Publick Officers who have an assign'd Authority committed to them by the Prince If then by your Condition or for any other Cause you see your self design'd for a State of Government you ought to arm your self against the great Difficulties and innumerable Dangers of that State with wholsom Christian Maxims whereof these are the principal which I beseech you read attentively 1. Have a care of giving access to the thoughts of Pride or Presumption for seeing your self rais'd above others Remember that by how much higher you are rais'd by so much more have you reason to fear according to that Maxim of the Scripture a Quanto major es humilia te in omnibus Eccl. 3. By how much you are greater humble your self in all things b Rectorem posuerunt te noli extolli Eccl. 30. Is Authority conferr'd upon you be not puffed up 2. Consider not your State as a Happiness but as a weighty Charge nor as a thing given you for your good but for the benefit of others Know that those whom you Command are not made for you but you for them They ow Respect and Obedience to you and you ow to them things that are far more difficult that is Care Assistance Conservation and Justice 3. Believe firmly that how great Power soever you have you hold it from God and that you are his Minister and his Servant for the Government of Men and by consequence that you ought to Govern according to his Will and shall give him an exact Account of your Conduct 4. Place frequently before your Eyes that dreadful Truth of the Sacred Scripture a Judicium durissimum his qui praesunt fiet Potentes potenter tormenta patientur Sap. 6.6 7. A rigorous Judgment shall they have who Rule The Powerful shall be powerfully tormented Now there are two things you ought to have a care of in your Condition Governors ought to have a care of two things the First to Live well the Second to Govern well As for the First 1. To Live well you must live like a vertuous Man governing your Passions having the Law of God for the Rule of your Actions considering that it is a shameful thing to Govern others and to be ignorant of governing ones self to Command Men and to be a Servant and Slave to his own Passions and the Devil You are oblig'd to it by the Rank you bear for you hold the place of God you ought to imitate his Sanctity as you represent his Person in Power and Authority You are also oblig'd to it for the benefit of your Inferiors who cannot but be miserable when they are Govern'd by a wicked Man. a In multiplicatione justorum laetabitur vulgus cum impii sumpserint principatum gemet populus Prov. 29. The People shall rejoyce says the Wiseman in the multiplication of the Just but will lament when the Wicked hold the Government For this reason in the ancient Law God had commanded that the King and it ought to be understood of all those who Command should always have with him the Book of the Law and should read it daily b Ut discat timere Dominum Deum suum custodire verba ceremonias ejus quae in lege praecepta sunt Deut. 17. To the end says he he may learn to fear the Lord his God and observe his Words and the Ceremonies which are there commanded Moreover your Example will much influence your Superiors if you be good they will imitate your Vertue if you be vicious they will take all liberty to be wicked according to the Maxim of the Wiseman c Secundum judicem populi sic ministri ejus Qualis rector est civitatis sic habitantes in ea Eccl. 10. As the Judge of the People is himself so are his Officers The Inhabitants of a City conform themselves to him who Governs them By your Example you will cause many Blessings or much Mischief and you will be guilty in the sight of God of all the Sins others shall commit by your Imitation Call to mind the History of Jeroboam King of Israel A remarkable Example This Man being rais'd to the Government of the Ten Tribes of Israel had no sooner the Authority in his Hand but he misfortunately abus'd it abandoning the Service of the true God to adore Idols His Example had so great a force that he not only drew to his Imitation all that great People he Commanded who became Idolaters like him but also made that Sin of Idolatry hold on its Course in all his Successors during the space of Two hundred Years and more and the Sacred Scripture had such a horror for the Mischief this misfortunate Prince caus'd by his Example that almost every time it speaks of him it says a Tradet Dominus Israel propter peccata Jeroboam qui peccavit fecit
soon after that with less difficulty he surmounts all the others which are to be undergone the whole Course of his Life Militia est vita hominis super terram Job 7. which according to Sacred Scripture is a perpetual Combat The Reason is Because Temptations diminish according to the proportion that they are overcome Divine Grace encreases Habenti dabitur abunddabit Mat. 25. by how much better use is made of it and a Heart accustom'd to conquer yields not easily since it daily acquires new Forces by its Victories Sampson being Exercised by Fighting with a Lion became unconquerable by his Enemies And David having in his Youth surmounted Lions and Bears he afterwards tho' but yet young overthrew the Giant Goliah the Terror of the Host of Israel and was never overcome after in all the Battels he was Engag'd in O dear Theotime if you knew the Repose and Tranquillity they enjoy who have behav'd themselves gallantly in the Combats of their Youth the desire of partaking of that Sweetness would powerfully encourage you to resist them with all your vigour Learn it from the Holy Ghost by the Mouth of the Wise-man Son Investiga illam manifestabitur tibi continens factus ne derelinquas eam in novissimis enim invenies requiem in ea convertetur tibi in oblectationem erunt tibi compedes ejus in protectionem fortitudinis bases virtutis Eccl. 6. says he seek Wisdom and you shall find her and when you have found her never part with her you will find in her the Repose of your whole Life And after some Trouble she may have given you she will be chang'd into Contentment and Joy Her Chains by which she will bind you to the Service of God will serve as a powerful Protection and a solid Ground-work to raise Vertue on I adjoyn the Third Reason which is That God augments his Graces and multiplies his Benedictions upon those who have happily conquer'd in their Youths to conserve them in the good Path they were entred into by his Grace I cannot manifest this Truth unto you better than by producing the Assurance which God himself gives you in the Sacred Scripture Our Lord says the Wiseman Dominus dat sapientiam ex ore ejus scientia prudentia custodit rectorum salutem protegit gradientes simpliciter servans semitas justitiae vias sanctorum custodiens Ibid. gives Wisdom and from his Mouth issues Prudence and Science And he not only giveth her but takes care to conserve her for it is he who guards the Salvation of the Just and protects those who walk in Vertue He adds afterwards * Si intraverit sapientia cor tuum scientia animae tuae placuerit consilium custodiet te prudentia servabit te ut eruaris à via mala ab homine qui perversa loquitur c. ut eruaris à muliere extranea quae mollit sermones suos c. ut ambules in via bona calles justorum custodias Son if Wisdom enter into your Heart and Science please you he speaks of the Science of Vertue Counsel and Prudence will preserve you delivering you from the Road of Vice from the Company of the Wicked and from the Enticements of immodest Women maintaining you in the Path of Vertue and in the Way of the Just There are a great number of like Passages in Sacred Scripture which assure us of that singular Protection and Assistance of God towards those who follow Vertue in their Youth and it is easie to confirm them by Examples of the same Scripture CHAP. IX Proofs concerning the same Subject by notable Examples taken out of Sacred Scripture of those who having been Vertuous in their Youth have continu'd so all their Life and chiefly of those who have resisted in great Occasions THE First Example I shall produce First Example of Joseph Gen. 37. is that of Joseph who was the Model of Vertue in his Youth He being but Six Years of Age hated Vice in such a manner that the wicked Example of his Brothers could never corrupt his Innocence and on the contrary not being able to endure their bad Deportment he gave notice thereof to his Father Jacob. The greatness of his Vertue for which he was singularly favour'd by God and tenderly lov'd by his Father procur'd him the Enmity of his Brothers even to such a height that they sought nothing less than totally to destroy him Having been one Day wandring in the Fields they conspir'd together to murther him but having a horror to dip their Hands in his Blood they resolv'd to let him down into an old Cistern with intent to permit him there to die This poor Child not being able to overcome the Cruelty of his Brothers by his Prayers and Tears was constrain'd to suffer it putting all his Confidence in God who never deserts those who love him In this he was not deceiv'd for his inhumane Brothers mov'd with the horror of so barbarous a Crime chang'd their first Resolution and drawing their Brother out of the Cistern resolv'd to sell him to Merchants who then passed by these carry'd him into Egypt where he was sold to a Lord of that Country Joseph being with his Lord continu'd in his first Vertue living in a perfect Innocence by which he brought with him the Blessing of God upon the House of his Master who soon understood his Merit and took a great Affection to him Behold how Joseph spent the first part of his Youth that is until the Age of Twenty or Two and twenty years and see what follows after that and how he passes the rest of his Life wherein I take notice of Three remarkable Occasions where his Vertue was powerfully try'd The First was about that Age where he receiv'd the most violent Attack that Chastity was ever able to undergo Gen. 39. being solicited by hy his Masters Wise to consent to a detestable Adultery but the Fear of God wherein he had been bred up gave him such a horror of that Crime that all the Prosecution and Violence of that unchast Woman could never stagger his Chastity who since has serv'd as an Example to all Ages From this Temptation he fell into another greater For this wicked Woman not being able to compass her impious Design accuseth him for having attempted her Chastity imposing falsly upon him the Crime which she her self was guilty of The Master provok'd with this Report caus'd him to be bound and cast into Prison where he continu'd until he was of the Age of Thirty years This was a rude Temptation and a Shock that might easily have overturn'd a Vertue of no long standing to be accus'd and counted guilty of a Crime which he abominated and to suffer Punishment for it as if he had committed it But Joseph continues immoveable in his first Vertue and as he had learn'd Patience in his Youth by the Persecution of his Brothers
Motives to incline you to Vertue the necessary Means to acquire it the Obstacles which might divert you and ought to be avoided during your Youth there now remains to give you the Practice of Vertue and shew the particular Vertues to which you ought to apply your Studies more carefully in your Youth to render your self truly Vertuous and which ought to serve as a Groundwork to others which will be necessary for you in the Course of your Life CHAP. I. That young People ought to propose to themselves the Imitation of our Lord Jesus in his Youth BEing that all Christian Piety both in Great and Small consists in imitating our Lord Jesus Christ I would first of all propose here that Divine Pattern to give you a perfect Model of the Vertues you ought to acquire and by which you ought to form your Youth It was for this Reason according to the Observation of one of the Fathers of the Church why this Divine Master being come to Teach and Save all Men was pleas'd to pass thro' all the Ages of Man even to a perfect Age to sanctifie them all and by making himself like unto them more easily invite to his Imitation * Ideo in omnem venit aetatem infantibus infans factus sanctificans infantes in parvulis parvulus sanctificans hanc ipsam habentes aetatem simul exemplum illis pietatis effectus justitiae subjectionis In juvenibus juvenis exemplum juvenibus sactus sanctificans Domino S. Irenaeus l. 2. adversus hereses c. 39. For this Reason says he he made himself a Child to Children that he might sanctifie them He made himself a Little-one to Litle-ones giving Holiness to those of that Age to the end he might afford them in his Person an Example of Piety and Sanctity and Subjection He made himself a young Man to young Men giving them a Pattern and sanctifying them for the Service of our Lord. It is by this Divine Pattern of Youth dear Theotime that you must form yours and regulate your Actions It is from him that you must learn the Vertues you ought to practise in that Age * Inspice fac secundum exemplar quod tibi in monte monstratum est Exod. 25. Look and do according to the Example which is shew'd you Now we find Four things in the Gospel which the Son of God did during the Youth of his mortal Life The First is his hidden Life which he was pleas'd to lead all that time not manifesting himself to Men but only to his most blessed Mother and S. Joseph to teach young People to fly Vanity so natural to their Age and also hurtful and not to seek after the Esteem of the World by a vain ostentation of their Parts or Vertues but only to please God and content their Parents and Masters by a solid Progress in Vertue and Wisdom The Second is the Example of Piety and Religion he was pleas'd to give by going to the Temple at solemn Feasts according to the Command of the Law altho ' he was not oblig'd to it being there he hearkned to the Doctors and asked them Questions as if he would learn of them he who was Master of the Doctors and of the Law it self An admirable Example by which he would shew to young People the Affection they ought to have for Piety and that their first Care must be to serve God and labor for their Salvation addicting themselves to Acts of Religion to Prayer to assist at the Divine Sacrifice to the Sacraments to the Word of God and to seek Instruction from the Mouth of the Wise and from those whom God hath given them for their Conduct The Third thing is that so admirable Obedience he shew'd to his Parents which the Gospel declares in these Terms a Et descendit cum eis venit Nazareth erat subditus illis Luc. 2.42 He return'd with them unto Nazareth and was subject to them An Example which ought to confound all young People who have ordinarily so great a repugnance to Submission What a shame is this for you Theotime when you are wanting to the great Respect you owe to them from whom you receive your Life and Instruction having before your Eyes the Example of God b Deus erat sub â—itus quis quibus hominibus Disce terra subdit disce pulvis obtemperare erubesce superbe cinis Deus se humiliat tu te exaltas S. Bern. Hom. 1. Super missas who obeys his Creatures And what Reply will you give to the Son of God concerning your Disobedience when he shall reproach you that he was pleas'd to be subject and obedient for your Example The Fourth thing that the Gospel teaches us of the Youth of our Lord is c Jesus proficiebat sapientia aetate gratia apud Deum homines Ibid. That according to the measure he advanc'd in Age he visibly increas'd in Wisdom and Grace before God and Men which is not to be understood of an interior increase of these two Perfections in the Soul of the Son of God because from the moment of his Conception he was accomplish'd with them in a perfect fullness But this is to be understood as to the Effects he made appear in his Divine Actions from Day to Day As the Sun which altho' he be as much adorn'd with Light at his Rising as at Mid-day is said to become more light according to the degrees he rises because his Light appears with more brightness to our Eyes But the Gospel hath made this Observation to give to Christian young Persons the most important Advertisement of the great care they ought to have to employ their Years to increase in Wisdom and Vertue and to avoid that so universal a Fault of the greatest part who seem to advance in Age to no other end than to diminish in Innocence It is a Misfortune infinitely to be deplor'd to see that Children should be corrupted according to the measure that they grow in bigness and that their Age should serve them for nothing else but to learn Vice Lying Impurity Pride Disobedience Dissoluteness as St. Augustin takes notice of himself Jam mortua erat adolescentia mea mala nefanda ibam in juventutem quanto aetate major tanto vanitate turpior S. Aug. lib. 7. Conf. cap. 1. Children of Jesus Christ is it thus that you imitate your Master He made himself a Child like you to invite you more sweetly to his Imitation and to teach you to employ your first Years in the increase of Vertue and you miserably lose them in learning Vice. Cast your Eyes upon this Divine Pattern to reform by it the Abuses of your Youth which you have committed and learn to increase in all Christian Vertues which is to be the Disciple and Child of Jesus Christ Now that you may perfectly understand them I shall here represent them to you one after another CHAP. II. Of
the Fear of God. THE First Vertue that is necessary for you is the Fear of God it is that which next to Faith is the Basis and Groundwork of all others The Scripture calls it The beginning of Wisdom and it teacheth us that it is the first thing which ought to be inspir'd into young Souls For this reason Salomon Instructing Youth in his Proverbs begins his Instruction with this excellent Precept so often repeated in Scripture a Initium sapientiae timor Domini Prov. 5. The Fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom And the same Scripture in the History of holy Tobias observes expresly that being a Child b Genuit ex ea filium quem ab infantia timere Deum docuit abstinere ab omni peccato Tob. 1. He instructed him from his Infancy to fear God and to abstain from all Sins Now by this Fear we must not understand a gross and servil Fear that regards nothing but the Punishment and Chastisement which it apprehends more than the Offence What this Fear is but a respectful Fear by which considering the Greatness and Majesty of God his Sanctity his Power his Justice we conceive a profound Respect and apprehend above all things to fall by mortal Sin into the Displeasure of a God so Great so Holy so Powerful so Just We have already spoken of it above in Part 2. Chap. 1. That Theotime is the Fear of God which is the beginning of Wisdom and the foundation of true Piety Practice of the Fear of God. It is that to which I exhort you here for which you should chiefly and above all things labor As to the obtaining it see what you are to do First Demand it daily of God 1. Demand it for he is the Author of it Say to him frequently from the bottom of your Heart * Confige timore carnes meas à judiciis enim tuis tremui Psal 118. O God engrave thy Fear deeply in my Soul that it may restrain me from ever offending thee Secondly 2. Have a great Sense of the Greatness of God. Conceive a great Apprehension of the Greatness of God. He is the Sovereign Lord of all things infinite in all his Perfections in Majesty in Wisdom in Goodness in Power in Justice All Creatures adore him the Angels themselves tremble at the sight of his Grandeur All that is Great in the World is but an Atom before him and as he hath created all things by one sole Word he could destroy them all in one only Moment * Non est similis tui Domine magnus es tu magnum nomen tuum in sortitudine quis non timebit te ô Rex gentium Jer. 10. O Immense God there is none like unto thee said a Prophet thou art Great and thy Name is Great O King of Nations who will not fear thee Thirdly 3. Fear to displease God by sin Fear above all things to displease God * Timor Domini expellit peccatum Eccl. 5. and let that be the first and principal thing you regard in all your Actions whether God be not therein offended 4. 4. Speak of God with Respect When you speak of God never speak of him but with a profound Respect and endeavor to cause by your Example that he never be spoken of otherwise in your Presence CHAP. III. Of the Love of God. IF the Greatness of God oblige us to fear and honor him with a profound Respect The Love of God ought to be joyn'd with Fear his Goodness engages us as much to love him We must fear God by reason of his Greatness which renders him infinitely Adorable and we must love him because of his Goodness which makes him infinitely Amiable we must not separate these two things Fear and Love. a Timor Domini initium dilectionis The Fear of God is the beginning of Love as the Holy Scripture says and Love is the perfection of Fear b Qui sine timore est non poterit juscificari Eccl. 25. Qui non diligit manet in morte 1 Joh. 3. He who is without Fear cannot be justifi'd and he who Loves not remains in Death We must then love God dear Thotime for how can it be that we should not love Goodness it self and him who hath lov'd you first We must begin betimes to love God. But you must love him betimes and from your tender Years you must begin that quickly which you must do all your Life and during all Eternity The Love of God is our Sovereign Happiness and last End. We are created for that End God hath plac'd you in this World on no other Design than to love him and that coming to know him for your Creator you should render that which a Work ows to its Workman a Creature to its Creator a Child to his Father that is Love. And oblig'd thereto And to oblige you the better thereunto he hath added all imaginable Favors having design'd you for the Enjoyment of his Kingdom in Heaven Redeem'd you when you were lost and Redeem'd you by the Death of his only Son Call'd you to the Grace of Christianity Illuminated you with the Light of Faith Sanctifi'd you by his Grace Receiv'd you often into his Mercy after you had grievously offended him and a thousand other Blessings hath be bestow'd upon you O Theotime how is it possible not to love a God who hath lov'd you so much Now there are two things in God for which he ought to be belov'd Two Motives of the Love of God. The one is his Goodness which he manifests unto us by all the Favors and Blessings he bestows upon us The other is the Goodness he possesses in himself which makes him Sovereignly Amiable For if we might suppose a thing impossible viz. That God had never shew'd us any Favor yet he deserv'd to be infinitely belov'd by reason of the Sovereign Goodness and infinite Perfections he enjoys in himself which render him infinitely Amiable Now when I say we must love God I speak of both these two Loves and I mean that we must love him for the Benefits he hath bestow'd upon us and not only for them but also in consideration of his infinite Goodness which renders him so lovely that in the love of his Goodness consists the Eternal Happiness of both Men and Angels But take notice The essential Condition of the Love of God. Theotime that the Love of God to be real ought to have one very particular Condition which occurs not in any other Love For it doth not suffice to love God as we love Creatures but we must love him above all things that is more than all Creatures * Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo ex tota anima tua ex omnibus viribus tuis ex omni mente tua Luc. 20. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart that is
her Mysteries so pure and holy in her Maxims supported by so great Authorities foretold by the Prophets confirm'd by so many Miracles cemented by the Blood of Martyrs defended by so many Learned and Saintly Persons embrac'd by such a multitude of People continu'd during so many Ages which hath never been shaken either by the Persecution of Pagans or by the false Doctrin of Hereticks or by the wicked Lives of Catholicks After all these things says St. Augustin shall we doubt to enclose our selves in the Bosom of this holy Church Cum igitur tantum auxilium Dei tantum profectum videamus dubitabimus nos ejus Ecclesiae condere gremio quae usque ad confessionem generis humani ab Apostolica Sede per successiones Episcoporum frustra haereticis circumlatrantibus partim plebis ipsius judicio partim conciliorum gravitate partim etiam miraculorum majestate damnatis culmen authoritatis obtinuit Cui nolle primas dare vel summae profecto impietatis est vel praecipitis arrogantiae S. Aug. ib. circa finem which according to the Confession of the whole World since the Apostles to this present Time by a perpetual Succession of Bishops and Pastors hath always stood on foot in the midst of a vast number of Hereticks who have in vain assaulted her and who have always been condemn'd either by the Judgment of the People themselves or by the Authority of Councils or by the Force of Miracles Not to acknowledge the Primacy of this Church is an Effect of the highest Impiety or of an unbridled Arrogance Meditate well on these Considerations which are powerful enough to subdue the most rebellious Spirits Give thanks to God that he hath plac'd you in the Lap of this Holy Church continue firm and constant therein adhere always to the pious Doctrin of this infallible Guide be subject to her Pastors and to her visible Head the supreme Bishop This is the Body of the Tree from which we must never be separated to stick to the Boughs But to conserve your Faith remember to lead a good Life because the Corruption of Faith is an Effect of Sin. * Hoc praeceptum commendo tibi Timothee ut milites militiam bonam habens fidem bonam conscientiam quam quidam repellentes circa fidem naufragaverunt 1 Tim. 2. I recommend unto you chiesly says S. Paul to Timothy that you fight stoutly conserving Faith and a good Conscience which some having rejected have made Shipwreck of their Faith. ADVICE XI That they must be strongly setled in the Christian Maxims opposite to those of the World. It is not sufficient to be establish'd in the solid Sentiments of Faith you must also be setled in the Maxims of Manners and of a Christian Life The greatest Danger you will find in the World is that of corrupting your Mind by the false Maxims of the World quite contrary to those of Salvation by which the Judgment being corrupted it is impossible that the Life and Actions should not be absolutely deprav'd * Vi lebitis in Babylonio Deos auâ—eos argenteos ligneos in humeris portari ostentantibus metum gentibus videte ergo ne vos similes efficiamini factis alienis metuatis metus vos capiat in ipsis visa itaqe turba de retro ab ante adorantis dicite in cordibus vestris Te oportet adorari Domine Bar. 6. You will see in Babylon said the Prophet Jeremy writing to the Jews in Captivity the Idols of Gold and Silver which are carry'd upon their Backs to cause a terror and respect in Men Have a care you adore them not with others When therefore you shall see the World which adores them in great troops from all Parts say in your Heart O Lord thou alone art he who ought to be ador'd I say the same unto you Theotime you will see Men in the World adoring Idols that is Pleasures Vanities Riches the Flesh and their Passions you will there see Vice honor'd Vertue contemn'd you will there hear Maxims according to that Corruption which the Devil hath introduc'd Be careful that you permit not your self to be deprav'd by the Example of the Multitude For this Effect place frequently before your Eyes the true Maxims of Christianity those Eternal Verities which the World will not know and which will never alter or change Imprint them deeply in your Mind to have recourse to them there agaist the Example and false Maxims of the World And to the end they may serve you as certain Rules for the Conduct of your Life I shall give you here the most important which I beseech you to read often CHAP. XV. Christian Maxims MAXIM I. That we are not created for this present Life but for Heaven THIS is the Fundamental Truth of Christianity Credere enim oportet accedentem ad Deum quia est inquirentibus se remuneratus sit Heb. 11. Non habemus hic manentem civitatem sed futuram inquirimus That there is a God and that he hath prepar'd an Eternal Reward for them who serve him That this Life is but a Passage and Way by which we must walk towards Life everlasting We have not here a permanent City says the Apostle but seek for one hereafter MAXIM II. That the most important Affair which we have in this Life is our Salvation There is one thing necessary Unum est necessarium Luc. 10. Quid prodest hemini si universum mundum lucretur animae vero suae detrimentum patiatur Mat. 16. saith Truth it self What doth it profit a Man to gain the whole World and lose his own Soul MAXIM III. That Salvation is not obtain'd without Pains and Labor This is what Men cannot be convinc'd of and yet it is most certain The Son of God cries out aloud to all Christians a Regnum coelorum vim patitur violenti rapiunt illud Mat 11. Si quis vult venire post me abneget semetipsum tollat crucem suam sequatur me Mat. 16. The Kingdom of God suffers Violence If any one will follow me he must renounce himself and carry his Cross b Quam angusta porta arcta via est quae ducit ad vitam pauci sunt qui inveniunt eam Mat. 7. The Gate is narrow and the Way strait which leads to Salvation and there are few who find it Observe these words In another place he says c Contendite intrare per angustam portam multi dico vobis quaerent intrare non poterunt Luc. 13. Strive to enter by the narrow Gate many I tell you will seek to enter therein but cannot MAXIM IV. That our chiefest care in this Life must be to please God and live in his Grace To please God his Creator his Lord and his Sovereign Good is the sole and real Happiness of Man in this Life A Happiness without which all the greatst Blessings are extreme Miseries and
the Crums which fall from their Master's Table I also demand nothing more than the remainder of the Favors you shew to your Children Our Lord took so much content in seeing the Faith Humility and Patience of this afflicted Person that praising her highly he said to her O Woman great is thy Faith be it to thee as thou desirest Imitate in your Prayer this admirable Example and still when you beg of God any Grace for your Salvation altho' God answer you not by some good Thoughts continue intreating Domine adjuva me Lord assist me Have recourse to the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the Saints as the Cananean to that of the Apostles If these Coldnesses chancing to continue your Conscience tell you that they are your Sins which are the cause and that they render you unworthy of the Favors you request Acknowledge humbly the truth and declaring that it is so say from your Heart as the Cananean It is true O God it is not reasonable that thou shouldst give the Bread of thy Children to Dogs that is to Sinners such as I am but at least as the Crums of Bread which fall from the Table are allow'd to the Dogs deny me not those which fall from thine grant me some small remainder of those abundant Graces which thou pourest upon those who faithfully serve thee If you persevere thus God will grant your Petition and recompence your Faith your Humility and your Patience And altho' he should give you no good Thoughts at all upon the Subject you would Meditate that Patience that Humility that stedfast Faith which you exercise will be more pleasing to him than any thing else and more profitable to you and this will be the best Fruit of your Prayer Thus Theotime you shall lose nothing for in seeking God on one side you will find him on the other and you will experience the truth of that excellent Observation made by the great St. Bernard * Dico tibi solus est Deus qui frustra nunquam quaeri potest nec etiam cum inveniri non potest S. Bern. l. 5. de Consider c. 11. That amongst all the things we seek for only God is never sought for in vain even when we imagin we cannot find him ADVICE III. The Third Advice is That in every Meditation you still be mindful of the End for which you Meditate which is the Sanctification of your Soul and to make you really vertuous in the sight of God so that the Meditation which doth not improve you is not a Meditation nor Prayer but a Speculative Study which is sometimes more prejudicial than profitable The Meditation which is perform'd without a prospect of this End is full of an infinite number of most dangerous Defects It makes us stop at the Thoughts and not at the Affections at the subtil Imaginations and not at the solid at those which delight the Mind and not at those which move the Heart If we pass to Affections it is to those which are found most agreeable and not to those which are most necessary such as the hatred of Sin the desire of mortifying our Passions and correcting our Vices We content our selves with the Affection and omit the Resolutions and if we proceed to Resolutions we content our selves with general ones without descending to Particulars For Example we say I would be Humble Chast Temperate but we do not say I will be Humble in that Occasion I will Obey when I shall be Commanded I will acknowledg my Fault when I shall be Reprehended and other like I will be Chast by resisting Temptations thro' such and such Means I will avoid such Occasions which are dangerous for me I will shun Idleness c. And in fine if we come to some particular Resolutions we make them but weakly and not with force and vigor from whence it comes to pass that we accomplish them not and so they are as unprofitable as if they were not made at all All these Faults in Meditation spring from the first that we propose not effectually in Meditating the Sanctification of our Soul by the solid Practice of Vertue From hence it comes that this manner of Meditation prejudices more than it profits because it is apt to give to those who act thus a very good Opinion of themselves a Contempt of others and a Confidence in their Merits It makes them much addicted to their own Judgment and Will and believe they are Saints by Meditating on holy things altho' they practise them not which is a very great Mischief not only to them but to others who take from thence an occasion to blame Meditation and Devotion whereas they are not the cause of these Disorders but the ill use these Persons make of them For this reason Theotime when you apply your self to this holy Exercise propose to your self strongly that End to make your self Vertuous and believe that that Meditation is unprofitable from which you depart without a particular Resolution of correcting your self and of loving God more than you have done as yet ADVICE IV. But it is not sufficient to refer Meditation to the practice of Vertue we must also be careful to relate it to the practice of the most solid Vertues as Faith Humility the Love of God and our Neighbor Chastity Temperance and others and chiefly those we have most need of in the present State wherein we find our selves and whose Occasions occur most frequently This Advice is one of the most important which can be given in this Matter for to what purpose is it to propose to our selves in Meditating fair and apparent Vertues and in the mean time omit the more solid which are the Groundwork and Foundation of all others and which making less shew are notwithstanding more necessary To what end for Example do we propose to our selves to be very liberal to the Poor if we had Means to suffer great Persecutions for Gods sake if they should befall us with other like things and neglect the Vertues we stand in present want of as Chastity Humility Meekness toward our Neighbor or those which we have every Day occasion to practise as the mortifying our Passions refraining our Anger suffering our Neighbor obeying our Superiors In a word Meditation is a Means to sanctifie our Souls This Sanctification consists in moderating our Passions correcting our Vices and by consequence in acquiring the contrary Vertues It ought therefore to be necessarily referr'd to that End and to produce that Effect otherwise it is not a Meditation but a pure Illusion And those who make use of it so abuse the most holy and wholsom thing which they render unprofitable to themselves and contemptible to others Act not in this manner Theotime Meditate really to sanctifie your Soul to mortifie your Passions to correct the Vices which bear dominion in you to practise true and solid Vertues and those you stand in most need of in your present State. CONCLVSION This is what I had to propose to you upon this Subject of Meditation To conclude I have but two Words to say to you Read and Practise Read to instruct your self in a thing which as yet you know not to convince your self that Meditation is not so difficult as you might conceive it but that you may practise it and that it may be very beneficial to you Read to learn the Method of it and practise the same But content not your self with the Reading proceed to the Practice and Exercise of so pious a thing Try what you can do therein or rather what God will give you the Grace to perform Be assur'd he will give you much if you approach to it with a sincere Intention to please him and to learn in that Divine School the Truths of your Salvation and to practise them faithfully Be not dismay'd for the Difficulties be faithful and perseverant and God will bestow upon you the Means to surmount them Call to mind that Sentence of the Prophet That a Bonus est Dominus sperantibus in se animae quaerenti illum Thren 3. God is good to those who hope in him and to Souls which in reality search after him Seek after him in your Prayers and Meditations and you will find him if you search faithfully b Petite accipietis quaerite c. Ask and it shall be granted to you seek and you shall find knock at the Door and it shall be open'd to you c Gustate videte quam suavis est Dominus Psa 51. Tast Theotime and experience how sweet and pleasant God is in this pious Exercise and you will find by experience and in effect the truth of that Sentence of the Divine Wisdom d Beatus homo qui audit me qui vigilat ad fores meas quotidie observat ad postes ostii mei Qui me invenerit inveniet vitam hauriet salutem à Domino Prov. 8. Blessed is he who hears me and who watches often at my Door and waits at my Gates He who shall find me shall find Life and receive Salvation from the Hand of our Lord. FINIS
more than all other things so that you love nothing above him as there is nothing greater or more amiable than he nor nothing equal to him as there is nothing which can match him And to speak briefly the Love of God consists in preferring God before all things Wherein the Love of God consists before the Goods of the World Pleasures Honor Friends and Life it self so that you must be prepar'd never to love these things to the prejudice of the Love you owe to God and be resolv'd rather to lose them a thousand times than to be wanting to the Obedience you are oblig'd to render unto him It is in this preference of God before all things wherein the essential Point of the Love of God consists a Preference without which it is impossible to love God nor by consequence to be in the State of Salvation O dear Theotime you must then labor to acquire this so amiable a Love and this so necessary a Preference to engrave it deeply in your Heart And to the end you be not deceiv'd therein by taking as very many do apparent Love for the real The Practice of the love of God. See the principal Acts you must practise therein by which you may know whether you love God truly or no. First 1. Have a horror for Sin. Above all things fear and have a horror of Sin because it is displeasing to God and infinitely opposite to his Goodness and be resolv'd never to commit a Sin upon any account whatsoever Secondly 2. Avoid venial Sins Fly venial Sins the most you can because they displease God and altho ' they destroy not Love yet they diminish and weaken it and dispose you to fall into mortal Sin. Thirdly 3. Labor to get Vertue Labor to acquire the Vertues so necessary for you and which he exacts from you It is the property of Love to desire to please him whom one loves Fourthly 4. Advance the Service of God. Wish often that God should be serv'd and lov'd as he deserves Be troubled when you see him offended hinder as much as you can that he may not be displeas'd and endeavor by your Words and Example to move others to love him But chiefly Theotime 5. Begin betimes to love God. practise these things in good time and begin from your Youth to love him whom you must never cease to love At whatsoever time you begin to love him it will be always too late and you will always have reason to express that Grief which S. Augustin did a Sero te amavi ô pulchritudo tam antiqua tam nova sero te amavi S. Aug. Conf. lib. 10. cap. 27. I have lov'd thee too late O ancient Beauty I have lov'd thee too late O Eternal Goodness Demand of him frequently the Grace to love him as you ought and daily say to him from your Heart those excellent Words of David b Quid enim mihi est in coelo à te quid volui super terram Deus cordis mei pars mea Deus in aeternum Psal 72. O God whether it be in Heaven or Hell I love nothing but thee thou art the God of my Heart and the Part which I eternally pretend to CHAP. IV. Of the Love of Parents HE who fears God Qui timet Deum honorat Parentes quasi Dominis serviet his qui se genuerunt Eccl. 3. says the Wiseman honors his Parents and will serve as his Masters those who gave him Birth Yes Theotime if you have the Fear of God in your Heart you will honor your Parents and all those to whom he hath given Authority over you because he desires it and commands it The Fear of God makes us honor our Parents Honor thy Father and thy Mother And if you honor them not you have neither the Fear nor Love of God. For to contemn a thing so holy which Nature her self inspires you with which God hath so strictly commanded you is not to have the Fear of God. There is no Menace with which he hath not threatned those Children who are wanting to their Duty a Qui affligit Patrem sugit Matrem ignominiosus erit infoelix Prov. 19. He says that He who afflicts his Father and flies from the discreet Admonitions of his Mother will become infamous and miserable b Qui maledicit patri matri extinguetur lucerna ejus in mediis tenebris Prov. 20. He who curses his Father or Mother shall perish his Light that is his Life shall be extinct in Darkness that is Death c Oculum qui subsannat patrem qui despicit partum matris suae suffodiunt eum corvi de torrentibus commedant eum filii aquilae Prov. 36. The Eye which mocks his Father and which despises the Mother who brought him forth deserves to be pull'd out by the Crows and eaten by young Eagles d Quam malae est famae qui derelinquit patrem est maledictus à Deo qui exasperat matrem Eccl. 3. He who abandons his Father hath lost his Honor before Men and he who vexes his Mother is cursed by God. I wish these Menaces were deeply engraven in the Minds of all Children who forget never so little their Duty towards their Parents Add to these Threats the rigorous Law God had establish'd in the old Testament against wicked Children The Severity of the Old Testament I shall cite it all entire that you may read it attentively If it happen says the Law that a Father hath a rebellious and disobedient Child who will not submit himself to the Commands of his Father and Mother and they have chastis'd him and he would not obey then shall his Father and his Mother take him and bring him where they keep Judgment and there they shall make their Complaints in this manner This our Son is stubborn and disobedient and will not obey our Admonition and seeks nothing but Debauches * Lapidibus obruet eum omnis populus civitatis morietur ut auferatis maium de medio vestri universus Israel audiens pertimescat Deut. 21. Then adds the Law he shall be stoned of the People of the City to Death so you shall take away the Evil from you that all may hear it and fear This is the severe Law God had Establish'd against rebellious Children And altho' it was not made in the Evangelical Law yet they ought no less to fear his Choler and Vengeance whereof but too many Effects daily appear by the visible Punishment he sends sooner or later to Children who fail in so holy and inviolable a Duty This Sin is one of those which God ordinarily punishes in this Life and there are scarce any wicked Children to whom some Punishment of God doth not befall in this Life which is often the beginning of an Eternal Chastisement But let us leave these Motives of terror and fear to stubborn