in contumelijs in necessitatibus in angustiis pro Christo. For which reason I reioyce in my infirmities and iniuries affronts necessities persecutions and all kinde of difficulties for Christ our Lord. And wryting to the Philippians and treating of his imprisonment he desires them to beare him company in the ioy he had to see himselfe in Chaines for Christ our Lord. Hee had such an abundance of ioy in the persecutions and afflictions which hee suffered that hee had to spare for his freinds and therefore he inuited them to pertake thereof with him This is that milke which the Blessed Apostles suckt from the brest of Christ And soo wee read thus of them Ibant gaudentes a conâ—pectu concilii quoniam digni habiti sunt pro nomine Iesu contumeliam pati They were full of ioy and gust when they were carried prisoners before their presidents and into their Sinagogues and esteemed it for a great faâ—our regalo at the hands of God to be thought worthy to suffer affronts and iniuries for the name of Christ Heerein they were imitated by other Saints as for example by a Saint Ignatius the Martyr whoe when they were carrying him to be martyred at Rome with many scornes and reproaches was full of ioy and said Nunc incipio Christi esse discipulus It is but now that I begin to be a Disciple of Christ And this is that which our Father desires that we may imitate and he inioynes it in theis words of great exaggeration ponderation They who shall enter heere liue in the Society are to obserue and consider as in the presence of God our Creatour and our Lord that it is of great moment and must be with vs of greate accounte in order to our profitiâ—g in the way of spiritt to abhorre wholly and not onely in parte whatsoeuer the world embraces and loues and to embrace with our whole harts whatsoeuer was embraced by Christ our Lord. For as worldly men follow and loue the world and with all diligence search after worldly honour and estimation and fame as the world teaches them so they whoe walke in spiritt and are serious in following Christ our Lord doe ardently desire the direct contrary That is to say the same cloathing and liuery which our Lord ware for the loue and reuerence which we beare him And all this to such a proportion as that where soeuer it may not be of any offence to his diuine Maiestie nor involue the sinne of any of our neighbours nor our selues giue any occasion thereof we must desire to suffer iniuries false testimonies affronts and to be esteemed for noe better then fooles and this onely through a desire to imitate resemble Iesus Christ our Lord and creatour in some poore manner In this Rule is decyphred all that which can be said of Humility This is to haue in good earnest forsaken and detested the world and the most difficult parte thereof which is the appetite and desire to bee valued and esteemed this is to be dead to the world and to be indeede Religious that as they of the world desire to be honoured and esteemed and reioyce in it so we may desire dishonour and contempt and be glad of them This is to be truly of the Society of Iesus and to be the companions of Iesus Let vs therefore keepe him company not onely in name but in dishonor and contempt and lett vs put on his liuery in being affronted and despised by the world with him and for him and in being ioyfull and glad thereof for his loue Thou O Lord wert publiquely proclaimed as wicked and placed betweene two murdering theeues and therefore permitt not that I be proclaimed for good for it is not reason that the seruant should be better esteemed then the Master And if O Lord they persecuted and despised thee lett them also persecute affront and despise me that soe I may imitate thee and appeare to be thine assotiate and disciple Father Franciscus Xauier said that he held it to be vnworthy of a Christian who is euer calling to minde the affronts which were done to Christ our Lord if he the while would take gust in that the world should beare him reuerence honour That the perfection of humilitie and of all other vertues consists in performing the acts thereof with delight and gust and how much this imports towards our perseuerance in vertue CHAPTER XVI IT is the common Doctrine of the Philosophers that the perfection of vertue consists in performing the acts thereof with delight and gust For treating of the signes whereby it may be knowne whether a man haue obteyned the habit of any vertue they say they are tâ—eis when a man works according to that vertue Promptè Faciliter Delectabiliter with Promptitude with Facilitie and with Delight Hee who hath acquired the habitt of any art or science performes the workes thereof with extreame promptitude and facilitie And soe we see that hee who is skilfull vpon any instrument and hath gotten the habitt thereof playes with extreame promptitude and facilitie and hath noe neede to prouide himselfe nor to thinke much of the matter for euen though he thinke of other things he will yet play well Now in the selfe same manner he whoe hath acquired the habitt of vertue performes the acts thereof And therefore if you will know whether you haue acquired the vertue of Humilitie looke first whether you performe the works thereof with promptitude and facilitie for if you feele difficultie or repugnance in the occasion which present themselues to you it is a signe that you haue not yet acquired the perfection of that vertue And if for the bearing them well you haue neede of preuentions and consideration I confesse it is a good way for the obteyning the perfection of that virtue but still it is a signe that you haue not obteyned it yet As he whoe is to play vpon the Lute must goe thinking where hee is to place one finger where an other calling to minde the rules which hee was taught doth well towards his learninge to play but with all it is a signe that as yet he hath not gotten the habitt of that instrument For he who hath gott it needes not call this or that to minde to the end that he may play well And soe said Aristotle Ars perfecta non deliberat tam sibi facilis est actus suus Hee whoe hath perfectly acquired the habit of any art findes it soe easy to performe the acts thereof that he haâ—h noe neede of cogitation or deliberation how to doe them for the doeing them well And soe the Philosophers come to say that the vertue of a man is knowne by his suddaine and inconsiderate acts In repentinis secundum habitum operamur a mans vertue is not knowne by the acts which he performeth vpon great deliberation but by such as doe come from him at vnawares Yea and the Philosophers say yet more
to worke by his meanes such wondrous and prodigious things as hee resolued to lett the world so thought fitt for the cause aforesaid that first that very hand wherewith he was to deride the read sea effect of other things so very strange being first put into his bosome should be then drawne forth seene by himselfe to be full of Leprosie A second reason for which we stand in more particular necessitie of Humilitie is to the and that we may gather fruite in those very ministeries wtherein we are imployed Soe that Humilitie is necessary for vs not onely in regard of our owne improuement least otherwise we should grow vaine proud so cast away our selues but besides for the gayning of our neighbours the bringing forth fruite in their soules One of the most principall meanes towards thiâ— end is Humilitie and that wee distrust our selues and that we vely noâ— vpon our owne industry or prudence or other parts but that we place all our confidence in God and ascribe and referre all to him according to that of the wiseman Habe fidâ—ciam in Domino ex toto corde tuo ne inuitaris prudentiae tuae Put your confidence in God with your whole hart rely not vpon your owne prudence And the reason heer of is as afterw and I shall declare more at large because when through distrust of our selues wee place all our confidence in God we ascribe it all to him put the whole busines to his accompt whereby we oblige him much to take care thereof O Lord dispatch thine owne busines the conuersion of soule is thine and not ours alas what pouer can we haue to saue soules But non when wee are confident in the meanes wee vse and in the discourses which wee are able to make we bring our selues to be parties to the busines attribut much to our selues all that doe wee take from Almightie God They are like twoe ballances for looke how much the one rises so much the other will be suer to falle as much as we attribut to our selues soe much wee take froÌ„ God and runne away with the glory aÌ„d honor which is onely his thus he comes to permitt that noe effect is wrought And I pray God that this be not some tymes the cause why we doe our neighbours noe more good We read in the life of our B. Father Ignatius that by certaine discourses of the Christian Doctrine which he made some tymes in Rome with plaine and rude and improper words for he was them nothing skilfull in the Italian tongue he yet wrough soe great fruite in soules that vpon the end of his speech his auditours would haue their harts alâ— wounded came with such sighes sobbes teares to the feete of a Ghostly Father that through excesse of greiuing and weeping they could hardly speake And this grew because he put noe trust in his owne words but onely in that Spiritt by which he spake Non in persuasibilibus humanae sapientiae verbis sed iâ— ostentione spiritus virtutis Not in the perswading words of humanae wisedome but in the manifestation of Spiritt truth as S. Paule saith Hee was distrustfull of himselfe placed all his coÌ„fidente in God soe God gaue strength and spiritt to those inproper and rude words of his which seemed euen to dart burning flames into the harts of his hearers And nowe I know not whether the reason why we produce not at this day soe great fruit be not because we sticke much closer to the opinion of our owne prudence because we rest and relie much vpon our owne meanes of perswation and our learning discourse our polite and elegant manner of declaring our minds and we goe gustinge and delighting our selues much with our selues O vell then saith God when you conceiue that you haue said the best things deliuered the most conuincing reasons and remaine content and iolly with conceit that you haue done great matters you shall then effect least of all And that shall be fulfilled in you which the Prophet Oâ—e said Da eis Domine quid dabis eis Da eis vuluam sine liberis vbera arentia I will take order that thou shalt be a barren mother that thou shalt haue noe more thereof but the name You shall be such or such a Father and such a Preacher you shall be called but you shall remaine as I said with the onely name and you shall haue noe spirituall Children I will giue you dry brests such as noe Childe shall hange vpon nor shall any thinge sticke by theÌ„ which thou saist for this doth he deserue who will needes vsurpe the good of God and attribute that to himselfe which is proper onely due to his diuine Maiestie I say not but that what soeuer men shall preach must be very well studyed considered but yet this is not all foâ— it must alsoe be very well wept vpon very well recommended to God anâ— when you shall haue made your heaâ— ake with studying it ruminating vpon it you must say Serui inutiles sumuâ— quod debuimus facere secimus We haue bâ— done what we ought and we are vnprofitabâ—â— seruants what am I able to effect I hauâ— made a little noyse of words like a peecâ— which shotes powder without a bulett but if the hart be wounded it iâ— thou O Lord who must doe it Cor regâ— in manu Domini quocunque voluerit inclinâ— uit illud The kings hart is in Gods hand he inclines it to what soeuer he will It is thoâ— o Lord who art to moue and wound thâ— hart Alas what are we able to doe tâ— them What proportion can our wordâ— and all our humaine meanes carry to aâ— end so high and so supernaturall as it is to conuert soules No such matter But how comes it then to passe that we are so vaine soe very well pleased with our selues when we thinke some good is done and that our busines succeedes well as if we were the men who had done the deede Nunquid gloriabitur sicuris contra eum qui secat in ea aut exaltabitur serra contra eum à quo trahitur Shall peraduenture saith the Prophet Esay to God the hatchet or the saw bragg against him who vses it and workes with it and say I am he who haue cutt and whoe haue sawed that word Quomodo si etenetur virga contra eleuantem se exaltetur baculus qui vtique lignum est This were as if a Cudgell should looke bigg and admire it selfe because a man lifts it vp whereas the thing in it selfe is but wood which can not once stirr if men stirr it not Now we are iust thus in respect of any spirituall and supernaturall end of the conuersion of soules We are like soe many wands whoe cannot once stirr if God stirr vs not And therefore we must ascribe all to him as
out to others soe that they may vnderstand and know it and if you vse silence and conceale it you shall gaine more vpon them and be more worthie of praise both for the vertue it selfe and for your hiding it but if you will needs become the publisher thereof and will needes serue it out in a full dish they will make sport at it And whereas before they were edified and you esteemed they now growe to vilify and despise you Vertue is in this like muske which the more you hide it the stronger smell it giues but if you carry it open it loses his sent Saint Gregory telles how a certaine holy Abbot called Eleutherius being once in iourney arriued at night at a certaine Monastery of Nunns they lodged him in a certaine howse not farre of where there was a yonge man possessed and tormented by the deuill who for that night was made coÌ„panion to the Abbot The morning being come the nunns caused him to be asked whether the yonge man had had any accident that night to which he answered No. They related to him then that he was nightly tormented by the diuell and they besought him with much instance that he would take him with him to his Monastery The old man condescended to their suite when the yonge man had bene a longe tyme in the Conuent and that his antient enemy presumed not any more to approach him the hart of the old man was toucht with a little inordinate ioy and vaine contentment for the yonge mans recouery and talking with his Moncks he said thus to them The diuell made himselfe sport with those Nunns by tormenting this yonge man but since he came to the Monastery of the seruants of God he hath not presumed once to touch him But euen in the speaking of theis words the yonge man grâ—w instaÌ„tly to be tormeÌ„ted againe by the diuell in the presence of them all When the holy old man saw this he began to weepe bitterly considering that his vaine glory had bene the cause of that sadd accident But the Monckes comforted him and said that not a man of them would eate one bitt of bread till they had obteyned the recouery of the yonge man And so prostratinge then them selues all in prayer they rose not till the sicke man was restored to his health Whereby it may be seene how greatly God abhorrs such words as haue any litle smacke of a mans owne praise although they be but said in iest for entertainement and discourses sake as appeares by that which this Saint said How we are to exercise our selues in prayer in this second degree of Humilitie CHAPTER XXVII OVr Father in the Constitutions setts downe that Rule which is soe princâ—paâ—l and of soe great pefection whereof wee speake before namely that as worldly men loue and desire honor fame and estimation in the world with great affection soe they who walke in spiritt and seriously desire to follow Christ our Lord must loue and desire the direct contrary after a most earnest manner desiring to endure iniuries false testimonies and to be held for foolish people soe that themselues giue noe occasion thereof to the end that they may imitate Christ Iesus our Lord Creatour in some poore manner And it comaunds that all they whoe haue a minde to enter into the Soâ—ietie be â—sked first whether tâ—ey haue theis desires or no. A harsh thing it seemes really for a Nouice who is but newly cutt of From the world and whoe comes bleeding fresh as we vse to say must be examined by a Rule soe streight as this but the while wee see great perfectioÌ„ which our Institute requires at our hands It will haue men to be truly taken off from themselues and to be entyrely dead to the world But because this is hard and of much perfection our Father adds that if any man through humaine veakenes and misery doe not feele soe ardent desires thereof as hath bene heere expressed he shall then be asked if at least he desire to haue those desires And with this and with hauing a purpose to beare them with patience when the occasion shall be offered it contents it selfe For this is a good disposition for a man to learne and profitt by and it is enough that a prentise begin with a desire to learne the trade apply himselfe so it for by this meanes he will compasso it A state of Religion is the schoole of vertue and perfection enter in with this desire and by the grace of our Lord you shall obtaine it Lett vs therefore begin with this exercise from hence forth and lett vs doe it by degrees You say that you finde not desires in your selues to be contemned and despised but yet that you desire to haue them Begin therefore from thence to exercice your selues in prayer towards this vertue of Humilitie and say with the Prophet Concupiuit anima mea desiderare iustificationes tuas in omni tempore My soule desires O Lord to desire thy iustifications at all tymes But how farre doe I see my selfe from hauing those liuely and inflamed desires which those great Saints and those men so truly humble had to be despised by the world I much desire to arriue at least to haue desire of theis desires I desire to desire it You are in a good way This is a very good beginning disposition for obteyning it insist perseuer in prayer and begge of our Lord that he will soften your harts detaine your selues some dayes heerein for theis desires of ours are very pleasing to our Lord and hee harkens to them with a good will Desiderium pauperum exaudiuit Dominus preparationem cordis eorum audiuit auris tua God will soone giue you a desire to suffer some what for his loue and to doe some pennance for your sinnes and when he shal haue giuen it vpon what can you better imploy this desire of suffering and by what can you doe more pennance then by being despised and vilifyed for his loue in recompence of your sinnes As Dauid said when Semei cursed and affronted Let him alone for perhaps our Lord may be pleased to receiue this contempt and theis affronts in discount of my sinnes and this woud be a great happines to me But now when our Lord shall doe you the fauour to make you feele theis desires in your selues to be vnder valued and despised that so you may imitate Christ our Lord you must not yet conceiue that then your busines is at an end that you haue already acquired the vertue of Humilitie but rather you must then make account that you haue but begun to plant and settle it in your soule And soe you must procure not to passe on lightly wiht theis desires but to detaine your selues therein at great leasure and to exercise your selues long vpon them in your prayer till such tyme as that the same desires growe to be such and so efficatious as
euen tingle for meere feare theis I say are those great punishments of God the onely hearing whereof is able to make men tremble from head to foote But yet our Lord whoe is soe full of benignitie and mercy doth neuer imploy this soe rigorous punishment nor this so lamentable and vnhappy remedy but after haueing vsed other meanes which were most gentle and sweete Hee first sends vs other occasions and oâ—her more gentle inducements that so wee may humble our selues Sometymes sicknes sometymes a contradiction sometymes a murmuration and sometymes a dishonour when a man is brought lower then he thought But when theis temporall things will not serue the turne to humble vs he passes on to the spirituall and first to things of lesse moment and afterward by permitting fearce and greiuous temptations such as may bringe vs so within a haires bredth and euen perswade vs or at least make vs doubt whether wee consented or noe That so a man may see and finde by good experience that he cannot ouercome them by himselfe but may experimentally vnderstand his owne misery and the precise neede which he hath of helpe from heauen and soe may come to distrust his owne strenght and may humble himselfe And when all this will not serue then comes that other so violent and soe costly cure of suffering a man to fall into mortall sinne and to be subdued by the temptation Then comes this Canterie which is made euen by the very fire of Hell to the end that after a man hath euen as it were beaten out his braines he may fall at length vpon the iust examination and knowledge of what he is and may at length be content to humble himselfe by this meanes since he would not be brought to doe it by any other By this tyme I hope wee see well how mightily it imports vs to be humble and not to confide or presume vpon our selues and therefore lett euery one enter into accounte with his owne harte and consider what profitt hee reapes by those occasions which God dayly sends for the making him humble in the qualitie of a tender harted Phisition and of a Father that so there may be no neede of those other which are so violent Chastise me O Lord with the Chastisement of a Father cure thou my pride with afflictions diseases dishonours and affronts and with as many humiliations as thou canst be pleased to send but suffer not O Lord that I should euer fall into mortall sinne O Lord lett the diuell haue power to touch me in pointe of honour and in my health and lett him make another Iob of me Verumtamen animam meam serua but permit not that he may euer touch my soule Vpon Condition that thou O Lord neuer parte from me nor permitt me euer to parte from thee what soeuer tribulation may come vpon me shall be sure to doe me noe hurt but it shall rather turne to my good towards the obteyning of Humilitie which is so acceptable to thee Wherein the discourse aforesaid is confirmed by some examples CHAPTER XL. SEVERVS Sulpitius and Surius in the life of Saint Seuerinus the Abbot relates of a certaine man who was very remarkeable both for his vertues and miracles that he gaue health to sicke persons and dispossessed men of deuills and did many other wonderfull things for which they flocked to him from all parts and he was visited by Prelates and great lords yea and they held it for a pointe of happines if they might but touch euen his cloathes and if he would giue them his benediction By the vse of theis things the Saint began to perceiue that a certaine vanity was growing to enter vpon his hart And on the one side finding that he was not able to diuert his concourse of people and that he could not on the other deliuer himselfe from those importunate thoughts of vanity which pressed vpon him he was much afflicted therewith and putting himselâ—e one day in prayer he besought our lord with greate instance that for the remedy of those temptations and to the end that â—e might be conserued in Humilitie his diuine Maiestie would permitt and giue libertie to the diuell to enter into his body for sometyme and torment him as he did other persons God heard his prayer and the diuell entred into him and it was matter of Wonder and a mazement to see him bound vp in Chaines as a franticke and possessed man and soe to be carryed to others to be exercised to whome not longe before they had bene wont to bringe possessed persons that they might be cured by him Thus he remayned fiue moneths and at the end thereof the story saith that he was cured and freed not onely from the diuell whoe had possest his body but from that pride alsoe and vanitie which had possest his soule Surius relates another example like this and saith that the holy Abbot Seuerinus had in his Monastery three Monckes who were a little high and toucht with vanitie and pride Hee had admonished them thereof and yet they perseuered in their faulte The Saynt through the desire he had to see them reformed and humble besought our lord with teares that he would correct them with some punishment of his owne hand that soe they might be humbled and reformed and before he rose vp from prayer our lord permitted that three diuells might possesse them by whome they were greiuously tormented and they confessed with loud cryes the pride and hautines of ther owne harts A punishment very proportionable to the faulte that the spiritt of pride should enter and inhabit men who were full of vanitie and pride And because our lord saw well that nothing would be soe able to humble them he suffered them to remaine soe sorty dayes at the end whereof the Saynt besought our Lord that he would be pleased to free them from the diuell which he obteyned and soe they remayned sound both in body and sowle when once they had bene thus humbled by this punishment of our Lord. Cesarius writes how they brought a certaine possessed person to a Couent of the Cistertian Moncks to be recouered The Prior went out to meete him and in his company a yonge Religious man of whose vertue otherwise there was a greate opinion besides that he was knowne to be a Virgin The Prior said then to the diuell If this Moncke commaunde thee to depart darest thou yet remaine To which the diuell made this answere I feare not him for he is proud Saint Iohn Climacus relates how once the diuell began to sow certaine prayses in the hart of a most valliant Cauallier of Christ who was running on a pace towards this vertue of Humilitie But he being moued by the inspiration of Almightie God mett with a very short way for ouercominge the mallice of those peruerse spiritts and it was that he wrote vpon the wall of his Cell the names of some most admirable vertues namely Perfect Charitie most Profound Humilitie Angelicall Chastitie most Pure and high Prayer and the like And when those ill thoughts of pride began to tempt him he made this answeare Let vs come to the proofe of it and soe he redd those tytles especially that of most Profound Humility and said This haue not I I would be glad that it were euen but Profound for I know not whether I be arriued to the first degree thereof Perfect Charitie Charity if you will but as for Perfect it is not very perfect For I speake sometymes quicke and Lowd to my brethrem Angelicall Chastitie No for I haue many ill thoughts yea and I finde many ill motions in my selfe Most high Prayer No for I am much distracted and sleeppy therein And then he said thus to himselfe When thou shalt haue obteyned all theis vertues say yet that thou art an vnfruitefull and vnprofitable seruant and for such must thou hould thy selfe according to those words of Christ our Lord Cum seceritis omnia quae praecepâ—a sunt vobis Diciteserui inutiles sumus But now when thou art soe farre off what canst thou thinke of thy selfe Prâ—sed be God and his B. Mother FINIS