Philothie and both of them much different from that which I vsed in the defence of the Crosse know that in nine-teene yeares one learnes and vnlearnes many things that the language of the warrs differs from that of Peace and that a man vseth one manner of speach to young Prentises an other to old iorneymen My purpose is here to speake to soules that are aduanced in deuotion for you must know that we haue in this towne a congregation of young maides and widowes who being retired from the world doe liue vnanimously in God's seruice vnder the protection of his most holy mother and as their pietie and puritie haue often times giuen me great consolations so haue I striuen to returne them the like by a frequent distribution of the holy word which I haue announced vnto them as well in publike sermons as in spirituall conferences yea and that continually in the presence of diuerse Religious men and people of great pietie whence I was often to treate of the most delicate feelings of pietie passing beyond that which I had saied vnto Philothie And I owe a good part of that which now I communicate vnto thee to this blessed assemblie because she that is the mother of them and doth rule knowing that I was writing vpon this subiect and yet that scarcely was I able to accomplish it without Gods very speciall assistance and their continuall sollicitation she tooke a continuall care to praie and make me be praied for to this end and holily coniured me to gather together all the odde ends of leasure which she iudged might be spared here and there from the presse of my incumbrances and to employe them in this And because I beare a great respect to this good soule she had God knowes no little power to animate myne in this occasion I began indeede long agoe to thinke of writing of holy Loue but that thought came farre short of that which this occasion caused to be produced an occasion which I declare vnto you so nakedly and sincerely to the imitation of the Auncients that you may know that I wite onely vpon occasion and that I may find you more fauorable The Pagans held that Phidras neuer represented any thing so perfectly as the DIVINITIE nor Apelles as Alexander One is not alwayes alike happie If I fall short in this Treatise let thy goodnesse flie home and God blesse thy reading To this end I haue dedicated this worke to the Mother of dilection and to the Father of cordiall Loue as I dedicated the Introduction to the Heauenly Child who is the Sauiour of Louers and the Loue of the saued Certes as women while they are strong and able to bring forth their children with ease choose commonly their worldly friends to be their Godfathers But when their feeblenesse and indisposition makes their deliuerie difficile and dangerous they inuoke the Saints of Heauen and vow to make their children be christned by some poore bodie or by some deuote person in the name of S. IOSEPH S. FRANCIS OF ASSICIA S. FRANCIS OF PAVLA S. NICHOLAS or to some other of the Blessed who may obtaine of God their safe deliuerie and that the child may be borne aliue So I while I was not yet Bishope hauing more leasure and lesse apprehension to write I dedicated my little works to Princes of the earth but now being ouercharged with my charge and hauing a thousand impediments I consecrate all to the Princes of Heauen to th' end they may obtaine for me the ligâ—t which is requisite and that if so it may pleaâ— the Diuine will these my writings may haue a birth profitable and fruitfull Thus my deare Reader I beseech God to blesse thee and to enrich thee with his loue Meane while from my very heart I submit all my writings my words and actions to the correction of the most holy Catholike Apostolike and Romaine Church knowing that she is the Pillar and soliditie of truth wherein she caÌ„ neither be deceiued nor deceiue vs and that none caÌ„ haue God for his Father who will not haue this Church for his Mother ANNESSâ— the day of the most louing Apostles S. PETER and S. PAVLE 1616. Blessed be God THE TABLE OF THE CHAPTERS CONTAINED IN this Treatise The first number shewes the Chapter The second the Page THE TABLE OF THE FIRâ—T BOOKE CONTAâ—NING A PREparatioâ— to the whole Treatise THat for thâ— beautie of humane nature God gaue the â—â—uernment of all the faculties of the soule 〈◊〉 the will Chap. 1. pag. 1. How the wâ—â— diuersly gouernes the powers of the soule Chap. 2. pag. 4. How the will gouerns the â—suall appetite Cha. 3. pag. 7. That loue rules ouer all iâ— affections and passions yea gouerns the will albeâ—â— the will hath also a dominion ouer it Chap. 4. pag. 12. Of the affections of the will Chap. 5. pag. 15 How the Loue of God doth rule ouer other Loues Chap. 6. pag. 19 A description of Loue in generall chap 7. pag. 22 VVhat that coÌ„ueniencie is which doth excite loue ch 8. 28 That loue tends to vnion chap. 9. pag. 32 That the vnion which loue pretends is spirituall chap. 10. pag. 35. That there are two portions in the soule and how chap. 11. pag. 44. That in these 2 portions of the soule there are found 4. different degrees of reason chap. 12. pag. 49 The difference of loues chap. 13. pag. 53 That charitie ought to be named loue chap. 14. p. 55 Of the conueniencie betwixt God and man ch 15. p. 57 That we haue a naturall inclination to loue God aboue all things chap. 16. 61 That we haue not naturally the power to loue God aboue all things chap. 17. 64 That the naturall inclination which we haue to loue God is not without profit chap. 18. 67 THE TABLE OF THE Second Booke THE HISTORIE OF THE GENEration or heauenly birth of Diuine Loue. THat the diuine perfections are but one onely yet an infinite perfection chap. 1. pag 71 Touching the diuine prouidence in generall chap. 3. p. 79 Of the supernaturall prouidence which God vseth towards reasonable creaturs chap. 4. pag. 85 That the heauenly prouidence hath prouided man of a most abundant Redemption cha 5. 90 Of certaine speciall fauours exercised by the diuine prouidence in the Redemption of man chap. 6. 93 How admirable the diuine prouidence is in the diuersitie of graces giuen to men chap. 7. 97 How much God desires we should loue him chap. 8. 100 How the eternall loue of God doth preuent our hearts with his inspirations to th' end we might loue him chap. 9. pag. 104 How we often times repulse the inspiration and refuse to loue chap. 10. 108 That the diuine bountie's will is that we should haue a most excellent loue chap. 11. 112 That diuine inspirations leaue vs in our libertie to follow or repulse them chap. 12. 116 Of the first feelings of Loue which diuine inspirations cause in the soule before she yet receiue
in the SANCTVARIE where the Holy Ghost which animateth the bodie of his Church speaketh by the mouth of the head thereof In like manner the Ostridg layes her egges vpon the Libian shore but the Sunne alone doth hatch her young ones The Doctours by their inquirie and discourse doe propose TRVTH but the onely beames of the Sunne of iustice giues certaintie and repose therein Now to conclude THEOTIME this assurance which man's reason finds in sublime things and mysteries of faith begins by an amorous sense of delight which the will receiues from the beautie and sweetenesse of the proposed TRVTH so that faith doth comprehend a beginning of loue towards heauenly things which our heart resenteth Of the great feeling of loue which we receiue by holy hope CHAPTER XV. 1. AS being exposed to the Sunne beames at mid-day we hardly see the brightnesse till presently we feele the heate so the light of faith hath no sooner spred the splendour of its verities in our vnderstanding but incontinently our will perceiues the holy heate of heauenly loue Faith makes vs know by an infallible certaintie that God is that he is infinite in bountie that he can communicate himselfe vnto vs and not onely that he can but that he will so that by an ineffable sweetenesse he hath prouided vs of all things requisite to obtaine the happinesse of eternall glorie Now we haue a naturall inclination to the soueraigne good by reason of which our heart is touched with a certaine inward griping and a continuall disquiet not being able to repose or cease to testifie that it enioyes not its perfect satisfactiō and solide contentment but when holy faith hath represented vnto our vnderstanding this faire obiect of our naturall inclination ô good God THEO what repose what pleasure how generall an exultation possesseth our soule wherevpon as being surprised at the aspect of so excellent a beautie in loue she cries out ô how faire thou art my well-beloued ô how faire thou art 2. Eliezer sought for a wife to his master ABRAHAMS sonne how knew he that she would appeare faire and gracious in his eies as his desire was but when he had espied her at the fountaine and saw her so excellent in beautie and so perfectly sweete and especially when he had obtained her he adored GOD and blessed him with thankes-giuing full of incomparable ioye Mans heart tends to God by his naturall inclination without discerning well who he is but when he finds him at the fountaine of faith and seeth him so good faire sweete and gentle towards all and so prone as soueraigne good to bestow himselfe vpon all which desire him ô God what contentments and what sacred motions hath the soule to vnite her selfe for euer to this bountie so soueraignly amiable I haue foūd saieth the soule thus inspired I haue found that which my heart desired and now I am at repose And as Iacob hauing seene the faire Rachel after he had holily kissed her melted into treares of ioye for the good he apprehended in meeting with so desired an obiect so our poore heart hauing found out God and receiued of him the first kisse of holy faith it dissolues fourthwith into the delightes of loue by reason of the infinite good which it presently espies in that soueraigne Beautie 3. We somtimes experience in our selues certaine vnexpected delights without any apparent cause and these are diuers times presages of some greater ioyes whence many are of opinion that our good Angell fore-seeing the good which shall arriue vnto vs giues vs by this meanes a foretast therof as contrariwise he strikes into vs with a certaine feare and dread amongst vnknowen dangers to the end we may be moued to inuoke GODS assistance and stand vpon our garde Now when the presaged good arriues we receiue it with open breast and reflecting vpon the content we formely tasted without knowing the cause we onely then begin to perceiue that it was a forerunner of the Hape we now enioye Euen so my deare THEO our heart hauing had for so long a time an inclination to it's soueraigne good knew not to what end this motion tended But so soone as faith hath set it at view then the heart doth clearly discerne that it was that which his soule coueted his vnderstanding serched and his inclination aymed at Certainly whether we wake or sleepe our soule tends toward the soueraigne good but what is this soueraigne good we are like to these good ATHENIANS who sacrificed vnto the true God albeit vnknowen vnto them till the great S. PAVLE taught thē the knowledge therof For so our heart by a deepe and secrete instinct in all his actions doth tend to and pretend felicitie pursuing it here and there as it were by groping without knowing either where it resides or in what it consisteth till faith showes and describs the infinite mysteries therof but then hauing found the treasure he sought for ah what contentment finds this poore humane heart What ioye what complacence of loue ô I haue met with him whom my heart sought for without knowing him ô how I was ignorant to what my pretentions did tend while nothing of that which I pretended could content me because I knew not indeede what I pretēded I pretended to loue yet knew not vpon what to place my affection and therefore my pretention not finding its true loue my loue remained alwayes in a true yet vnknowen pretention I had indeede sufficient touches of loue to make me pretend but not sense enough of the Bountie which I was to loue to exercise loue How loue is practised in hope CHAPTER XVI 1. MAns vnderstanding being conueniently applied to the consideratiō of that which faith representeth touching it's soueraigne good presently vpon it the will conceiues an extreame delight in this diuine obiect which then being absent begets an ardent desire of it's presence whēce the soule holily cries out let him kisse me with a kisse of his mouth To God it is I doe aspire God is all my hearts desire And as the vnhoodded Hawke hauing got her pray at view doth sodainely lanch her selfe vpon the winge and being held in her leash strugles vpon the hand with extreame ardout so faith hauing drawen the vaile of ignorance and made vs see our soueraigne good of which neuerthelesse we cannot yet be possessed retained by the condition of this mortall life alas THEO we then desire it in such sort that The long time chased Hart In panting flight oppress 't Doth not the floods so much desire As our poore hearts distress't To thee ô Lord aspire Our sicklie hearts bring out Desires that still augment And crie alas when shall it be O God of Hostes omnipotent That we thy face shall set This desire is iust THEO for who would not desire so desirable a good But this desire would be vnprofitable yea would be a continuall torment to our heart if we had not assurāce that we should at length satiate it
and haue Pipins whence other trees and plants of the same kind doe spriÌ„g Neuer doe vertues come to their perfect stature aÌ„d abilitie in vs till such time as they beget in vs a desire of progresse which as spirituall seede serues to the production of new degrees of vertue And me thinks the earth of our heart is coÌ„manded to bring forth the plants of vertue which beare the fruits of good works euery one in his kind and which haue the seedes of a desire and resolution to encrease and aduaÌ„ce in the way of perfection And the vertue that beares not the seede or Pipin of this desire is not yet come to her groth and maturitie Thou wilt not then saieth S. BERNARD to the sluggard a better thy selfe in perfection No nor yet grow worse nor yet that verily Why then dost thou desire neither to amend nor paire Alas poore man thou wouldst be that which thou canst not be Euen in the wide world there is nothing stable and constant yet of man it is saied more particularly that he neuer remaines in one estate He must either goe forward or else he goes backward 4. Nor doe I more then S. BERNARD affirme that it is a sinne not to practise the Counsells no verily THEO for it is the proper difference betwixt Commandements and Counsells that Commandements doe oblige vs vnder paine of sinne Counsell doth onely inuite vs without paine of sinne Yet doe I bouldly auerre that to contemne the pretention of Christian perfection is a great sinne and yet greater to contemne the inuitation by which our Sauiour cals vs to it but it is an insupportable impietie to contemne the Counsells and meanes which our Sauiour markes vs out to the attaining of it It were an Heresie to saie that our Sauiour had not giuen vs good Counsell and a blasphemie to saie to God withdraw thy selfe from vs we will not know thy wayes But it is a horrible irreuerence done to him that with so much loue and delight did inuite vs to perfection to saie I will not be holy or perfect nor will I any larger portion of thy Beneuolence nor will I follow the Counsells which thou giuest me to fructifie therein 5. We may indeede without offence not follow the Counsells for the affection we beare another way as for example it is lawfull for a man not to sell what he possesseth nor giue it to the poore because he hath not the courage to make so entire a renunciation It is also lawfull to marrie because one loues a wife or otherwise hath not strength of mind necessarie to vndertake the warre which must be waged against the flesh But to make profession that one will not follow the CouÌ„sells nor any one of them cannot be done without contempt of him that giues them Not to follow the Counsell for that one hath an intention to marrie is not euill done but so to marrie as to preferre marriage before chastitie with heritikes is a great contempt either of the Counsellour or of his Counsell To drinke wine against the Doctors aduise when one is ouercome with thrist or with a desire to drinke is not properly to contemne the Doctor nor his aduise but to saie I will not follow the Doctors aduise must necessarily proceede froÌ„ some bad opinion one harbours of him Now as concerning men one may often contemne their Counsell without contemning them because to esteeme that a man doth erre is not to contemne him But to reiect and contemne Gods Counsell cannot spring but from a conceite we haue that he hath not Counselled vs well which cannot be thought but by a Spirit of Blasphemie as though God were not wise enough to know or good enough to will to giue good aduise We may saie the same of the Counsells of the Church which by reason of the continuall assistance of the holy ghost which doth instruct and conduct her in all truth can neuer giue euill aduise A continuation of the precedent discourse how euery one ought to loue though not to practise the Euangelicall Counsells and yet how euery one is to practise what he is able CHAPTER IX 1. Allthough all the Euangelicall Counsells cannot nor ought not to be practised by euery Christian in particular yet is euery one obliged to loue them all they being all very good If you haue the Megrim and the smell of muke doe anoie you will you therefore disauowe that this smell is good and delightsome If a Robe of gold be not fit for you will you thence saie that it is worth nothing or will you throw a ring into the â—urt because it fits not your finger Praise therefore THEOT and dearely affect all the Counsells that God hath giuen vnto men O blessed be the Angell of the high CouÌ„sell for euer together with the Counâ—ell he giues and exhortations he makes to man The heart is cheared vp with oyntments and good smells saieth Salomon and by the good Counsell of a friend the soule is calmed But of what friend and of what Counsells doe we speake ô God it is of the friend of friends and his CouÌ„sells are more delightâ—ull then honie Our friend is our Sauiour his Counsells are to saue vs. 2. Let vs reioyce THEO when we see others vndertake the Counsells which either we cannot or ought not to obserue Le ts praie for them blesse fauour and assist them For Charitie doth oblige vs not onely to loue our owne good but that also which is good for our neighbour 3. We may sufficiently testifie our loue to all the Counsells if we deuotely obserue such as are sutable to our calling for euen as he that beleeues an Article of Faith before God reuealed it in his word published and declared it by the Church cannot misbeleeue the others and he that obserues one Commandement for the pure Loue of God is readie to obserue the others when occasion shall be offered So he that doth loue and prize one Euangelicall Counsell because it came from God he cannot but loue all the others consequently being they are also from God Now we may with ease practise many of them though not all of them together for God deliuered many to the end euery one might obserue some of them nor doth there passe a day wherein we haue not some occasion thereof 4. Doth Charitie require that to assist thy Father or mother thou shouldst liue with them conserue notwithstanding a loue and affection to your recollection let your heart liue at your Fathers house so farre forth as is requisit to acquit your selfe of that which Charitie doth order Is it not expedient your qualitie considered that you should conserue perfect chastitie keepe it at least in such sort as you may without violating charitie Who cannot doe all at least let him doe a part you are not obliged to looke after him that hath offended you for it is his part to come to himselfe and to you to giue you satisfaction since he began the
instructed in the truth made resistance against this so much desired establishment his Highnesse surmounted the first difficultie by the inuincible constancie of his Zeale to the Catholike Religiō and the secōd by an extraordinarie sweetnesse and prudence For he made the chiefe ād most obstinate be called together ād made a speach vnto thē with so louely ād pressing an eloquence that in a māner being all vanquished by the gētle violēce of his fatherly loue towards thē deposed the armes of their obstinacie at his feete and their soules into the hands of the Church Licence me my deare Reader I praye thee to speake this worde by the by one might praise many rich actions of this great Prince amongst which I see the proofe of his vnspeakable valour and militarie knowledge which he makes now admired through all Europe But for my part I cannot sufficiently extoll the establishment of the Catholike Religion in these three Bailiwikes which I haue euen now mentioned hauing discouered in it so many markes of pietie suted with so great a varierie of actiōs of Prudēce Cōstancie Magnanimitie Iustice and mildnesse Me thought I discerned in this little Peece as in an abridgment all that is praised in Princes who haue in times past with most feruour striuen to aduance Gods an the Church her glorie The stage was but little but the actions long And like as that auncient Artist was neuer so much prized for his great Peeces as he was admired for making a shipe of Yuorie stored with all her furniture in so little a forme that the wings of a bee did couer it So I esteeme more that which this great Prince did at that time in this small corner of his Dominions then many more specious actions which others extoll to the heauens Now by this meanes the victorious ensignes of the Crosse were replanted in all the wayes and publicke places of those quarters ād whereas a little before there had bene one erected very solemnely at Ennemassa neare vnto Geneua a certaine Minister made a little treatise against the honour therof containing a sharpe and venimous inuectiue to which therefore it was deemed fit to make answere And my Lord Claudius de Granier my Predecessour whose memorie is in benediction did impose the burthen vpon me according to the power which he had ouer me who beheld him not onely as my Bishope but also as a holy seruant of God I made therefore this answere vnder this Title A Defence of the Banner of the Crosse and dedicated it to his Highnesse partly to testifie vnto him my most humble submission and partly to render him some small thanksgiuing for the care which he tooke of the Church in those parts Now a while agoe this Defence is reimprinted vnder the prodigious tittle of PANTHALOGIE or Treasure of the Crosse a Title whereof I neuer dream't as in truth I am not a man of that studie and leasure nor yet of that memorie to be able to put together so many peeces of worth in one booke as it might beare the name of TREASVRE or PANTHALOGIE besids that I abhorre such insolent Frontispices A Sot or senselesse Creature we him call VVho makes his Portall greater then his Hall In the yeare 1602. the obsequies of the Magnanimous Prince Philipe Emanuel of Loraine Duke of Mercurie who had done so many braue exploits vpon the Turke in Hungarie that all Christianitie was bound to conspire to honour his memorie were celebrated at Paris I being there But aboue all the rest Lady Marie of Luxembourg his widowe did for her part all that her heart and the Loue of the dead could suggest vnto her to solemnize his funeralls And because my Father my Grand Father and great Grand Father had bene brought vp Pages to the most illustrious and most excellent Princes of Martigues his Father and Predecessours she eyed me as an hereditarie seruant of the house and made choice of me to make the funerall Sermon in this so great a celebritie where there were not onely diuers Cardinalls and Prelats but certaine Princes also Princesses Marshalls of France knights of the Order yea and the Court of Parleament in Bodie I made then this funerall Sermon and pronounced it in this so great an assemble in the great Church of Paris And for so much as it contained a true abridgment of the heroicall feats of the deceased Prince I did easily cause it to be imprinted at the request of the widowe-Princesse whose request was to me a law Now I dedicated that Peece to Madame the Duchesse of Vandome as yet a girle and a very young Princesse yet one in whom was alreadie apparently seene the straines of that excellent vertue and pietie which at this day shine in her worthy of the extraction and and breeding of so denote and pious a mother While this Sermon was in the presse I heard that I was made Bishope so that I came presently hither to be consacrated and to begin my Residence and vpon it was proposed vnto me how necessarie it was to aduertise the Confeslariouses of some important points for this reason I wrote 25. aduertisments which I caused to be printed to get them more esily dispersed amongst those to whom I directed them but since they haue bene reimprinted in diuers places Three or foure yeares after I put out the Introduction to a deuote life vpon the occasion and in the manner which I haue put downe in the Preface thereof touching which I haue nothing to saie to thee my deare Reader saue onely that though this little booke haue generally had a gracious and gentle acceptance yea euen amongst the most graue Prelats and Doctours of the Church yet escaped it not the rude censure of some who did not meerely blame me but bitterly taunted me in publicke for that I tell Philothe that dauncing is an action indifferent in it selfe and that for recreations sake one may make Quodlibets and I kowing the manner of these censures I praise their intention which I thinke was good Yet should I haue desired that they had pleased to haue considered that the first proposition is drawen out of the cōmon and true doctrine of the most holy and learned Diuines which I put downe for such as liue in the world and Court that withall I doe carefully incultate the extreame dangers which are foūd in dauncing and touching the second proposition it is not myne but that admirable king's S. Lewis a Doctour worthy to be followed in conducting Courtiers to a deuote life For I beleeue if they had weighed this their Charitie and discretion had neuer permitted their Zeale how rigorous and austere soeuer to haue armed their indignation against me And to this purpose my deare reader I coniure thee to be gracious and fauorable vnto me in reading this Treatise and though thou shouldst find the style a little and a little onely I assure my selfe it shall be different from that which I vsed in writing vnto
charged the Deputie to leaue him in his libertie to perseuer in his present manner of life because his obedience saied those good Fathers gaue assurance that he enterprised this kind of life by the diuine inspiration But in case he should resist and despising their exhortations he would follow his owne will they resolued to withdraw him thence by violence and force him to forsake his Pillar The Deputie being come to the Pillar he had not so soone performed his Embasie but the great Simeō without delay whithout reserue without replie at all began to descend with an obedience and humilitie worthy of his rare Sanctitie Which when the Deputie saw stay saied he ô Simeon remaine there perseuer constantly take courage pursue thy enterprise valliantly thy stay vpon this pillar is from God 3. But marke I pray you THEO how these aunciant and holy Ancorets in their generall meeting foūd no surer markes of an heauēly inspiration in so extraordinarie an occurrence as was this holy Stylits life then to find him simple sweete and tractable vnder the lawes of holy obedience and indeede God blessing the Submission of this great man gaue him the grace to perseuer thirtie whole yeares vpon the top of a Pillar 36. cubits high hauing before passed 7. yeares vpon others of 6. 12 and 20. foote high as also vpon the sharpe point of a rocke in a place called Mander Thus this birde of Paradice keeping aboue without touching the ground was a a Spectacle of Loue to the Angels and of admiration to mortalls In obedience all is secure out of it all is doubtfull 4. When God inspires a heart he moues it first to obedience but was there euer a more notable and sensible inspiration then that which was giuen to the glorious S. Paule and the principall peece of it was that he should repaire to the Citie where he should receiue from Ananias his mouth what he was to doe This Ananias a very famous man was as S. Dorothie saieth the Bishop of Damas. Whosoeuer saieth that he is inspired and yet refuseth to obey his Superiours and follow their Counsell is an Imposture All the Prophets and Preachers that euer were inspired did alwayes loue the Church alwayes adhered to her Doctrine alwayes were Proued by her nor did they euer announce any thing so constantly as this truth that the lipps of the Priest should conserue knowledge and that frō his mouth one was to demande the lawe so that Extraordinarie missions are diabolicall illusions not heauenly inspirations vnlesse they be acknowledged and approued by the Pastours which are of the ordinarie mission For so Moyses and the Prophets are reconciled so SAINT FRANCIS SAINT DOMINIKE and the other Fathers of Religious Orders were called to the succour of soules by an extraordinarie inspiration Marrie they did so much more humbly and cordially submit themselues to the Sacred Hierarchie of the Church In fine the three most assured markes of lawfull inspirations are PERSEVERANCE against inconstancie and lightenesse PEACE and sweetenesse of heart against vnquietnesse and sollicitude HVMBLE OBEDIENCE against obstinacie and humourousnesse 5. And to conclude all that we haue saied touching the vnion of our will with Gods will which is called signified almost all the hearbs which beare yellowe flowres yea Cicorie also which beares blewe ones doe still turne towards the Sūne and goe about with it while the HELIOTROPIVM doth not onely in its flowres but euen in its leaues also followe this great light So all the Elect doe turne the very flowre of their heart which is obedience to the commandements towards the diuine will but soules taken with holy Loue doe not onely eye this diuine Goodnesse by obedience to the Commandements but euen by the vnion of all their affections following this heauenly sunne in his Round in all that he doth Command Conunsell and inspire without reserue or exception at all whence they may saie with the holy Psalmist Lord thou hast held my right hand and in thy will thou hast conducted me with encrease of thy glorie thou hast receiued me as a beast I am become with thee ād I am alwayes with thee for as a well broken horse is easily handled fairely and duely brought into any posture by him that rides him so the Louing soule is so pliable to Gods will that he doth with her what he pleaseth A short methode to know Gods will CHAPTER XIV 1. SAINT BASILE saieth that Gods will is made cleare vnto vs by his ordinances or commandemēts and that then there is no deliberation to be made for we are simply to doe that which is ordained So that for all other things we haue freedome to choose as we list what likes vs though we are not to doe all that is lawfull but that onely which is expedient and that finally to discerne securely what is expedient we are to follow our prudent Ghostly Father's aduise 2. But THEOT I am to premonish you of a troublesome temptation which crosseth the way of such soules as are carried on with a great desire of doing that which is most according to Gods will For the enemy at euery turne of a hand will put them to their wits end to discouer whether they are rather to doe this or that for example whether they should eate with their friend or no whether they should weare gray or blacke clothes whether they should fast Friday or Saturday whether they should recreate or abstaine from it consuming therein much time and while they are busie and breake their heads to descerne the better they idly spend the time in which they might doe many good offices farre more to Gods glorie then their descerning betwixt good and better wherein they are musing 3. We vse not to waigh euery smale peece of money but such onely as are of importance Trading would be too troublesome and would burne too much day if we were to waigh pence farthings halfe farthings c. Nor likewise are we to waigh euery pettie action to know whether it be of more value then others Yea there is often times a kinde of superstition in this precise inquisition For to what end should a mā make difficultie whether it were better to heare masse in one Church then another to spinne then to sow to giue Almes to a man then to a woman It is not good seruice done to a Maister to spend as much time to consider what is to be done as to doe the things which is to be done We are to proportion our attention to the consequence of the thing we are to vndertake It were a superfluous care to vse as long a deliberation about a iorney of one day as for one of 6. or 8. hundred miles 4. The choice of ones vocation the proposition of a businesse of great consequence a labour full of difficultie or subiect to great expences the chang of ones place of abode election of conuersations and the like deserue a serious ponder ation which