good Now he is a sollicitous Shepherd running after the strayed Sheep to bring him back to the Flock Then he is a Father compassionate of the misery to which debauchery had brought his Son whom he reclaims by managing the spirit of the young Man with all the tenderness in the bowels of a Father A Traveller is wounded by Thieves on the Road to Jericho and he becomes a Physician to his Wounds A Samaritan Woman is desirous to see Jesus and he charitably sets himself to instruct her thereby to gain her and that thirst he would quench by drinking the Water he demanded from her is only the figure of a greater thirst and zeal which he had for her salvation He humbles himself to appear unto Magdalen even like a Gardener and to comfort her he converses familiarly with her in so mean an outside To be short he becomes a Traveller with the Disciples going to Emaus to free them from that doubt and trouble into which their distrust had thrown them The Gospel is full of a thousand other testimonies of his bounty towards us When we flie from him he follows us He calls us when we forget him He pressingly urges us when we will not hear him When we slight him he complains kindly of us And when we return to him after having offended him he seems so sensible that he takes more pleasure to make his own joy and that of his whole coelestial Court break out at the repentance of one sinner then at the fidelity and perseverance of a great number of Just because his glory appears more in pardoning then punishing St. John thunders forth nothing but threats and terrors to his Hearers because he speaks in the spirit of Elias Jesus Christ says nothing but what is sweet and mild because he speaks according to his own Maximes and in his own Spirit which is that of the law of Grace But never did the love of God towards Man appear more then at his Passion For that very night wherein Man conspired his death this God of goodness thought of nothing but to leave him marks of his mercy and tenderness And at the same time that one of his Disciples by the blackest of Treasons betrayed him to his Enemies to be put to death he gave his most sacred Body for food for their Souls He died at last loaded with reproach and ignominy after having been dragged from Tribunal to Tribunal forsaken by his own Disciples and abandoned by all the World He died a publick and infamous Death nailed to a Cross amidst the Blasphemies of those that put him to death But he died with a silence a sweetness a tranquility a patience a peace and quiet which astonisht his very Executioners They reproacht him when he was dying that he could save others but not himself Nor was this reproach without reason because he thought no longer of himself but only of men And amidst the horrors of so cruel a Death plunged in a sea of grief and bitterness he never open'd his dying eyes nor turn'd them towards heaven but to implore the mercy of his Father even for those that put him to death saying Father forgive them for they know not what they do He shed his Bloud he died for the salvation of the Executioners that crucified him What excess of love How incomprehensible to our capacity S. Chrisostom had reason to say That the greatest testimony Christ gave of his Divinity was the extending his love even to all those who killed him for nothing less then God could love at a rate so much above the reach of Man But though the Expressions of that love which the Son of God had for Man are very observable in divers places of the Old Testament under the Figures of the Patriarchs and Prophets yet are they nowhere more strong and tender then in the New Testament where Christ himself speaks of it as of one of the most essential Points of his Doctrine So as the whole Morality of the Gospel turns on this Principle That the true Spirit of Christianity is to have charity for on 's Neighbour Every thing conspires to settle there this important Maxime which is the fundamental Point of our Religion For though the Evangelists wrote nothing by agreement and that the Gospel seems to have been publisht rather upon occasion then by design yet since 't is the Doctrine of their Master they write we find therein so great a conformity of Sentiments on this Principle of Christian Charity that it sufficiently appears by their manner of declaring it there is nothing more essential to Christianity then the love of our Neighbour The whole law says St. Matthew is comprehended in this precept 'T is the most important of all says St. Mark Jesus Christ carries it to a higher pitch of perfection in St. Luke where he obliges the faithful represented by his Apostles To love their enemies to do good for evil and to pray for their calumniators Last of all St. John who knew most of his Masters secrets and penetrated deepest into his thoughts places the essential mark of a Christian in the love of our Neighbour By this all men shall know says our Saviour by the mouth of this Apostle that you are my disciples if you love one another This is the commandment of the law of Grace whereunto is reduced all the perfection of the New Testament And the Saviour of the World recommended nothing so earnestly to his Disciples in the last moments of his life as Concord and Union Because this Union was to be the foundation of the Religion he establisht The Evangelists do not only speak all according to this Principle but 't is apparent the same Spirit makes them speak They treat their friends and enemies both alike in their History A God murthered by men and an innocent man oppressed by calumny might have afforded their zeal some reason for exaggeration yet they allow themselves nothing which has any shew of emotion or violence They relate the treason of Judas the cruelty of the Executioners the injustice and violence of the Magistrates without any touch of bitterness against their persons They speak in a way apt to make one believe they had no concern in what they say A spirit so uninterested is without example and whereof the common sort of men are uncapable 'T is only Christianity that is to say a Discipline wholly coelestial which can inspire so much moderation We see the first fruits of this Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles which is the History of the establishment of Christianity For as the Historian relates the Christians did then live in such a Union as if they had all one and the same heart and one and the same soul The propriety of Goods which ordinarily causes dissentions amongst men was no obstacle to this Union for all their Goods were in common They brought and laid at the feet of the Apostles their Revenues Rents Bonds Contracts Jewels and all
But as the World places its Morality in not pardoning by making Revenge a Vertue and the highest pitch of Christian perfection is to love our Enemies Herein it is a Christian ought most to signalize himself Philosophy has not yet been able to reach so far and it is the greatest difficulty in Christianity to practise it But after that Jesus Christ has both by his Doctrine and Example taught us his intentions on that Point a Christian who will live like one ought to lay aside his resentments and weaknesses to pardon any injury done him 'T is confess'd the Heathens have own'd some shadow of this Vertue amidst the darkness of their Morals and there appears some rough draughts of it in their most illustrious actions but after all 't was only out of vanity that they pardoned Their clemency was only a secret pride whereby they sought after applause and reputation On the contrary Christian clemency flies nothing so much as vanity and only seeks the interest and advantage of whom she pardons Besides this there is another sort of Charity to be practised more perfect then the others in regard 't is more pure and disinteressed for it is without hope of any return since it is done for the Dead by assisting with our Prayers those holy Souls which suffer in Purgatory through those painful inquietudes and grievous impatiencies they have to see themselves separated from God These are the Creatures of all the world the most afflicted through the cruel torments they suffer and withal the most worthy to be succour'd for what are not they worthy of that are cherisht and predestinated by God What glory is it for a Christian to be Mediator between God and these holy Souls who cease not to love him though they suffer all the rigor of his Justice and to adore even his chastisements and vengeances 'T is even if we may so say to do God himself a pleasure to succour these Souls because he loves them and his Justice is better satisfied with our Prayers then their Sufferings because our Prayers are voluntary and their Sufferings not And thus the Charity of the Living eases and sweetens the Pains of the Dead But if it be so great a Charity to help the Souls that are but for some time separated from God what will it be then to be assisting to sinners who through their criminal engagements are in danger to be eternally separated from him These wretches do not consider in how deplorable a condition they are and that 't is the greatest madness and blindness to prefer a momentary pleasure before their salvation how great Charity is it to make them comprehend this But what patience sweetness prudence and great circumspection needs there to effect it 'T is a secret spiritual Directors scarce remember to intermix a Fatherly connivance and forbearance with these so necessary medicinal rigors for the cure of a sinner seduced by his ignorance and abandon'd to his weakness One must study the disposition the habitudes the inclinations of his Penitent and observe the way of entring into his heart to exercise there absolutely this charitable severity which cures the Soul But they seldom give themselves this trouble this mixture of authority and love of resolution and compliance of zeal and patience of mildness and austerity are scarce any longer used in Direction the business is precipitated either by composition or by a false principle of rigor to be reputed severe because the World relishes that best This capacity of a Doctor this prudence of a Physician these bowels of a Father and this disinteressedness of a Minister of Jesus Christ are qualities rarely found in one and the same Person to render him a perfect Director In chusing one such as authorize sin by their softness in flattering a sinner by too much compliance and those who by their severities disproportion'd to the weakness of their Penitents serve only to discourage them are alike to be avoided for they are equally dangerous I have stuck a little upon this Point for 't is in this Christian Charity may be best exercised and wherein generally 't is least practised because we are not sufficiently toucht with the deplorable condition of a sinner Although at this day there 's more pretending to Direction then ever yet we scarce see any longer those zealous Directors who are Christianly obstinate to disarm the anger of God against sinners by the austerity of their lives and who draw down the graces of God upon their Penitents by the perseverance of their Prayers and Mortifications 'T is to these charitable Directors we owe those great Conversions which God makes be seen from time to time as striking rays of his mercy These are the ordinary fruits wherewith God takes pleasure to bless the voluntary Penances and Mortifications of those vertuous innocent Souls who in the secret of their hearts deplore the sins of their Brethren which ought to be a great comfort to those Christians whose Retreat deprives them of the other occasions to exercise Charity For a Carthusian a Carmelite a Monk the most retired from commerce with Men may sometimes do as much good at the foot of his Crucifix in assisting his Neighbour by the invisible help of his Prayers as the most eloquent Preachers the most zealous Missioners and and all those whose Profession engages them to serve the Publick in the direction of Souls Besides 't is always less dangerous and often more profitable to speak of Men to God in secret Prayer then to speak of God to Men in the shew and tumult of Preaching I say nothing of that eminent Charity practised heretofore by the Apostles in the primitive Times of Grace which the Saviour of the World prefers before all other Charities because by a generous contempt of death she willingly offers up her life for the salvation of her Neighbour I believ'd I even ought not to speak of it because the exercise of this Chatity is above all Rules and besides 't is one of those extraordinary graces God only bestows on his favourites Not but that in these latter Times some sparks of that sacred fire are seen shining still in Apostolical Men who travel to the farthest parts of the World to water those barren and ingrateful Regions with their sweat and even their bloud to draw down on them the blessings of Heaven and make Christianity flourish there but every one do's not partake of these graces these are the mercies of God and these mercies are great miracles Let us adore the designs of God in those to whom he do's these favours and let us bless him for vouchsafing to cast his eyes on them to allow them the honor to die for him Happy he who in guiding of Souls merits to suffer at least some small persecution though he be not worthy at the expence of his life to serve his Neighbour Happy he who can contribute his tears and sighs to the Conversion of Heathens when he cannot his
reciprocal obligations they have to assist each other for the Rich ought to help the Poor before Men as the Poor help the Rich before God in that the misery of the one becomes the fountain of the others merit and happiness The Second Motive to acquire Charity is the pain wherewith God so severely punishes him that is not provided with this Vertue In effect as it is to break the Alliance of the New Testament and after a manner renounce the Gospel not to love ones Neighbour there is nothing more terrible then these Punishments wherewith the holy Scriptures threatens them that have not this love And is it not just saith S. Chrysostom that he who does no kindness should receive none But how dreadful a Judgment does the Saviour of the World pronounce against those Scribes whereof St. Mark speaks who devour with such injustice and violence the Goods of Widows What Maledictions against those cruel and merciless Pharisees whereof St. Matthew speaks Virginity how pleasing soever to God through the lustre of its purity is a Vertue reproved in the Gospel when sever'd from Charity The foolish Virgins far from being received at the Nuptials of the Lamb were treated as impudent Women because they took no care to make that provision of this Oyl of the Gospel which is the figure of Charity In vain they renounced Pleasure to embrace Chastity all their Vertues avail them nothing to justifie them to the Bridegroom who spake to them these words full of contempt I know you not Oh! if true Virgins are treated so severely by the Son of God if the wisdom of their Conduct if the command over their Desires if the purity of their Heart if so many victories obtain'd over so frail flesh and so weak a Sex In fine if even the perseverance of their Vertue is fruitless to them What will become of those Virgins that lead such licentious and scandalous lives But with what sharpness do's Jesus Christ condemn his own Disciples because they advis'd him through want of Charity to make fire fall from Heaven upon the Samaritans that would not receive him You know not said he of what spirit you are and how far 't is contrary to mine Is not the punishment of the wicked rich man in the Gospel a most dreadful Example and the Treatment he receiv'd is it not terrible After all what Crime had he committed he had not been Charitable The hardness of his heart says St. Chrysostom was the cause of his loss But O my God how severe and dreadful a Judge art thou for this rich man had done wrong to none he made use of the Riches thou hadst bestowed upon him without doing any Violence or Injustice 'T is true but the superfluities of his Table the sumptuousness of his House his Oppulency as innocent as it is cry for Vengeance before God because he employ'd not his Goods to relieve the Necessities of the Poor Look then to your selves you Great ones of the Earth If prosperity be in your Houses if you live at ease if all things succeed to your desires Tremble amidst these temporal Blessings All your good Fortune is only a mark of your Reprobation unless you are Charitable Power Riches Honours you are but impediments to Salvation if you be not employ'd in assisting the Poor and protecting him that is in oppression For if the Rich could love the Poor he would be saved and his Riches which are true evils would become true goods But can one hear without terror those threatning words of the Gospel capable of themselves alone to make tremble the Great ones that live in all abundance Wo to you rich of the earth And why Because God who is just abandons the Rich to their own Appetites and strikes them with an inward blindness which makes them insensible of all the motions of Grace and all the lights of Heaven This false Tranquility and dangerous Peace they enjoy is sometimes one of the most terrible torments wherewith God punishes their hard-heartedness and 't is an assured sign he leaves them to impenitency But how great will be the confusion and astonishment of the Reprobate when he shall appear before the dreadful Tribunal of the last Judgment to hear this terrible Sentence which an offended God shall pronounce in the fury of his rage and indignation Away from me you cursed into fire everlasting for I was hungry and you gave me not to eat I was thirsty and you gave me not to drink I was naked and you cloathed me not O cruel torments for a Soul to see her self eternally depriv'd of God and abandon'd to her own despair because being Christian she was not Charitable It is not of Impudicity Envy Choler Violence or Blasphemy God speaks in his last Judgment to condemn these Crimes he only speaks of Insensibility towards the Poor And Judgment without mercy to him that shews not mercy as the Apostle assures us It is thus those merciless Souls shall be treated that have not been moved with the miseries of their Brethren But can any one bear in mind the thoughts of this dreadful Tribunal and not be Charitable And what hope can he have of the mercy of God when himself has pity on none 'T is a sign one has no Faith when he is not seis'd with horror at such terrible Menaces and that would make one tremble when seriously consider'd for the Threats of a God are never in vain and he is as dreadful in his Judgments as he is amiable in his Mercies If yet there be any found insensible of these Reasons because their Effects are at a distance let him at least consider after what manner God exercises his Judgments in this Life on such Christians as have not Charity let him tremble at reading in the Apocalyps the thundering Menaces wherewith that dreadful Judge who carries a sharp Sword in his Mouth and holds Death fetter'd in Irons strikes those first Pastors of the Churches of Asia because their Charity the Seal as it were of their Character and Spirit of their Vocation was grown cold Let him behold with trembling the terrible Punishment of that unhappy Saprice mention'd by Metaphrastus who after the Rigors of a severe Prison after the Conflicts he had resolutely sustain'd before his Judge in defence of his Faith lost his Crown at the very point of receiving it and of a Martyr became an Apostate and a Pagan because he would not forgive his Brother an Injury What shall I say of those fearful pains wherewith God punishes in this Life the shameful attash the Rich have to the Goods of the Earth delivering them up a prey to their Appetites and leaving them in an utter forgetfulness of their Salvation For a rich Man says S. Basil by locking up the bowels of Charity against his Neighbour at the same time shuts those of Gods Mercy against himself and by treating so coldly Jesus Christ in the Person of the Poor shews by his hard-heartedness that
the Wealth which each one possessed This disengagement from all things united them more firmly together They had but one spirit because they had but one interest The first flames of this love broke out at the death of St. Stephen who had the glory to lay his life first down for Jesus Christ Stones flew about him from all parts The Plains eccho'd with the cries of those that encourag'd one another to kill this holy Levite His face was batter'd with blows his ribs broken his breast beaten through his breath e'en quite gone and yet he employed the little strength he had left in begging Gods pardon for those that had treated him so cruelly Lord says he as he was dying lay not this sin to their charge Thus to forget himself and employ his last words and sighs in solliciting God in behalf of a Crime committed upon himself was to tread the very steps of his Master and to be wholly possest with his spirit and to have no thoughts but these of tenderness in the very pangs of so cruel and bitter a death was to die generously like a Christian How pure and holy is the Spirit of Christianity which inspired so much mercy and of how great instruction to Christians the sacrifice of this first bloudshed for the love of Jesus We see in the progress of the same History the Apostles animated by this Spirit to run through the whole World to preach and teach the Gospel to all Nations And that neither the most scorching Sands of Aethiopia nor the Desarts of Africa nor the Frosts of Scythia nor the remotest parts of India nor Seas nor Tempests nor Rocks nor Treasons nor Calumnies nor contradiction of People nor opposition of Laws nor Magistrates nor Governors of Provinces nor all the Power of the World nor Chains nor Prisons nor Gibbets nor even the most cruel Deaths were able to withstand their zeal nor shake the constancy of their hearts Dangers encourage them difficulties animate them and their own weaknesses strengthen them Because the charity by which they are possest renders their own lives inconsiderable when the salvation of their Neighbour is in question The truth is they did miracles which struck people with admiration They commanded the Winds and Tempests Seasons obeyed them and even Nature her self in some sort became their Slave But after all the greatest of their Miracles was their Charity 'T was also this Charity which made them with pleasure sacrifice their honor and life to carry the light of the Gospel to the most remote Nations of the Earth and draw them out of the profound blindness wherein they were This holy Doctrine flew through the World whilst those that preacht it were themselves in Chains and Prisons And nothing perswaded so powerfully the embracing of the Gospel as the Charity of those that publisht it Things in themselves incredible were believed though declared by such as were persecuted by the whole World because they that told them did first practise themselves what they taught others Nor was it necessary they should Preach at all says St. Chrysostom because their life was a continual Sermon 'T is true that the Infidels were scandalized at their Persecutions their Fetters their Imprisonments and their Sufferings But the very Union in which they lived was so powerful that they who most reviled their Sufferings submitted to the Gospel St. Paul likewise inflamed with the same zeal could not behold the reprobation of the Jews a People heretofore so cherisht by God without offering up himself in quality of a Victim and wishing himself anathematized for his Brethren He who had so highly protested that neither Heaven nor Hell nor any thing created should be able to separate him from Jesus Christ now begs to be separated from him for the salvation of his People St. John that beloved Disciple of our Lord had nothing so deeply engraven in his heart as this love for his Neighbour This was the only practice of vertue he preacht to his Disciples as an abridgment of the whole Law of Grace as St. Jerome assures us Love one another says he my dear children 't is the only thing I have to tell you because 't is the only thing needful to be done He of all others speaks most clearly of this Doctrine because he had the advantage of others to sound the Sentiments of his Master by reason of the confidence Jesus Christ was pleased to honor him with above his other Apostles Throughout the whole course of Ecclesiastical History there are found such eminent tracts of this Spirit that it seems as if the Christians endeavoured only by Charity to distinguish themselves from Pagans In their lives there appeared such visible marks of that new fire which Christ came to bring into the World that Christians were known by their Union And this fire wherewith their hearts were full flam'd with such a light that it could not be darkned with Calumny nor extinguisht by Persecution It was likewise that voice of Love and Charity which in preaching of the Gospel was understood by the fiercest and most barbarous Nations and afterwards did chiefly contribute to the establishment of Faith The Heathens said speaking of the Faithful They are obliging charitable always doing good therefore they are Christians for their Belief their Morality and their Gospel is to love their Neighbour and do good to every one They believed this new Religion true because it commanded one Man to love another which is the most reasonable and just Command of all others They became Christians perceiving in how perfect an Union the Christians lived Their meekness goodness affability moderation and inclination to oblige every one more powerfully moved the Heathens to embrace the Doctrine which professed so well-doing a Vertue then all they did And the Faith advanced the faster by the good opinion people had conceived of his holiness who was author of so pure a Law according to the Prayer himself had made to his Father speaking of the Faithful to the end says he they may be united in us and that the world toucht with this Union may believe that it is you my Father who has sent me The Union wherein Christians ought to live is the chief Reason Christ uses to authorize his Mission and excite peoples Faith In effect this Union was so great in the first Ages that St. Clement a Disciple of the Apostles relates in one of his Epistles that he had known divers Christians in his time who themselves became Slaves to free their Brethren out of Slavery and that he had seen others who in a painful and laborious life fed with the labours of their Hands those that were in necessity St. Justin in the Apology he made for Religion before the Emperors to give those Princes a great Idea of Christianity mixes throughout his Discourse the holy Ordinances which Jesus Christ gave the Christians to be charitable and well-doing like their heavenly Father who pours forth his Graces on
not like the generality of men that he is always ready to give what he has If modesty appears in his Dress frugality at his Table simplicity in his Houshold-stuff and good Husbandry throughout 't is but by his contempt of luxury to save wherewithal he may provide for the necessity of the Poor to whom he gives his helping hand in all their wants His Estate is the Poor's because their poverty is his The sole lustre of Charity shines in every thing he do's without any mixture of the least smoke of vanity His modesty throws out all Sentiments of his own glory and he knows no other but that of beneficence and obliging all the world So that he do's not heap up Wealth to enrich himself but therewith to do good to others 'T is not to be knowing he studies but to serve those that are not He has Riches only for the Poor and Learning for the Ignorant Nor is it for himself that he is powerful wise understanding and ready at Business but only that by these qualities he may be more beneficial to his Neighbour And he has no sagacity but the better to discern the spirit of others and to look on them on the more favourable side Though amongst the proud he has the simplicity of the Dove yet amongst the wicked and impious according to the counsel of the Gospel he has the prudence of the Serpent He knows how to make advantage of their defects and the depravedness of the most corrupted spirits serve him for instructions for by their weakness he regulates his power When he is rais'd in Dignity and his Deserts have plac'd him above his Brethren to govern them Then is he like the good Pastor of the Gospel who felt more grief for the straying of one of his Sheep then joy for being Master of a whole Flock He always looks on a sinner with a Father-like eye he bewails him in his disorders he suffers him with patience and treats him with mildness not oppressing him with the weight of his Authority that is already overwhelm'd with the pressure of his Crime He is tender-hearted and compassionate even when his Duty obliges him to be harsh and severe His severities are far more amiable then the caresses of others for when he punishes he do's not heed so much the punishment of the Offence as the correction of the Offender So that in his height in respect of other Men he is like the Candle in the Gospel which enlightens the whole House His carriage is the model of Christian comportment and his life a publick instruction for all vertuous People He first imposes on himself the whole weight of that yoke which he is oblig'd to impose on others and as zeal in words becomes fruitless if not supported by that of actions himself practices by an exemplary life what he would perswade others Whatever outrage is done him cannot make him hate the doer He understands not returnng injury for injury nor knows what anger is and he is so much master of his resentments when any injustice is done him that he finds it far less difficult to forget then to remember the offence But nothing shews so much his dominion over his own heart as the quiet he enjoys in the general agitation and heat which other men discover in their Affairs His mildness his patience his innocence and his sincerity are then all the crafts and politicks he uses His conscience is not only clear in respect of the interests he has to determine with others but his heart clean in the judgment he makes of them for he judges every thing without prejudice All appears innocent to him because all he do's is without deceit In fine his chief care is to preserve an equality of mind amidst the inequalities of the Affairs of the World which concern him no farther then the connexion they have with the glory of God or salvation of his Neighbour Behold what it is to be a Christian and not to counterfeit unseasonably the zealot about the carriage of others to be very solicitous for their perfection and careless for ones own to trouble ones head for them and never think of ones self to talk of nothing but the primitive Faithful cite nothing but the ancient Canons and deplore the remisness of the Church Nor is it in the refinements of Discipline and Reformation which sound so big every where or in those intrigues of dissembled Devotion in which they place the Vertue of this Age that the Spirit of Christianity consists The true Christian is a Man simple retired little in his own eyes which he keeps always as open and observant of his own weaknesses as closed against those of others He takes not any notice of his own advantages he only observes those of his Neighbour because he has only a contempt for himself and esteem and deference for others His conduct edifies all the world and angers no body He flies all plausibleness even in good works because whatever gains credit is dangerous to Man who is subject to mistake himself He is no backbiter nor peevish no Man of artifice no doer of shrewd turns Thus were the Primitive Christians Nor is this a vain or fruitless Idea of a Christian or his Character that I have drawn for the Christians lived after this manner in the newness of spirit of the Primitive Church What is this Image entirely defaced and is this Spirit retir'd wholly from us Blessed Times when they lived thus when will you return But it is not enough to know wherein Christian Charity consists what its nature and qualities are if the art how to practise it be unknown CHAP. III. Of the true practice of Charity according to the Spirit of Christianity THere is no Vertue of a more universal use in Christianity then Charity It may be practised on all occasions for the Poor are found every where and the detail of miseries whereunto Man is subject is of so vast extent that one may say 't is of all Conditions Thus Charity may be exercised to the Rich and Poor to the contented and discontented to the happy and unhappy to the learned and ignorant to the proud and humble to the living and dead So that this Vertue may be practised in publick and private in the light and in the dark at home and abroad in the Court and the Desart in solitude and Assemblies and of all Conditions that 's most desirable to a Christian wherein he has the best means to exercise Charity as of all Talents that 's the most advantageous which is most profitable to ones Neighbour The better to dispose ones self to practise this Vertue he ought to begin with studying the miseries of Man which are its chiefest object He ought to search into the bottom of his nothingness to know the baseness of his beginning the shamefulness of his birth the poverty of his nature the infirmities of his infancy the passions of his youth the caducity
Neighbour to carry our selves duly between one and the other is of greatest importance in a spiritual Life The concurrence of these two interests is often very prejudicial to the zeal of Charity when not back'd with science for oftentimes we inconsiderately forsake our Neighbour when we ought to leave God and we leave God when we ought to forsake our Neighbour See then how St. Augustine advises us to deport our selves The obligation says he to love God in the order of the Precept ought to precede the obligation to love our Neighbour but God will have us in the execution prefer our Neighbour before him In effect It is not reasonable says this great Saint that God who is the Master and ordains all things should put himself after our Neighbour in the order of Love This is the First Command he gave Man Thou shalt love the Lord thy God and thou shalt love him withal thy heart But this same God though he be Master yet when our Neighbours good comes in question remits something of his own right as to its execution If any coldness has passed between us and our Brethren wherein our Union may be wounded and we are at the foot of his Altars to render God the Homage due unto him He then commands us to interrupt his Worship and suspend the most holy and august Ceremonies of Religion to defer till another time the Honors of the Sacrifice we were about to pay him and first go and reconcile our selves to our Neighbour Let them quit says he the Worship they are rendring to me and the Sacrifice they are offering up because the Union among Brethren is the most agreeable Sacrifice they can offer unto me He do's even consent that to help the Poor in their greatest miseries we should disfurnish his very Altars of their outward Ornaments which are only of use to move the gross Devotion of carnal People as St. Bernard says who condemns the vanity of those that enrich the Temples of God and abandon the Poor What folly says he is it to leave the Children of the Church naked and to adorn the Walls so magnificently with Tapestries and other more precious Ornaments 'T is true the Church may admit Ornaments in her abundance and prosperity But God commands her to relieve the Poor who are her Children when in necessity and publick miseries because her Treasures and Riches would only serve to shame her if the Poor were not succour'd therewith This Rule will appear of a very large extent to such as take pains to consider it and the practice of it will be found of much use when apply'd to the several occasions that may offer themselves But since God through his signal goodness will have us to love our Neighbour for the love of him 't is but just we should so govern this love that if exteriourly we give our charitable help to our Brethren at least the intention of our heart and simple design of our spirit be all for God That we love our Friend in God and our Enemy for the love of God which is the right practice of Charity as St. Gregory teaches it The Second Rule ought to be made use of to distinguish every ones personal interests from those of his Neighbour to decide what of right belongs to each The Rule I have settled may serve for that purpose For if God himself do's often yield his right where our Neighbour is concern'd I have the greater reason to yield up mine on the like occasions But because this Rule is not general but limited to certain Conjunctures we must seek for another more universal The Gospel commands me to treat my Neighbour as my self since he ought to be as dear to me as my self but it do's not command me to yield to him when our interests shock one another And in other respects there is a natural equity which teaches me to keep my own by instructing me to discharge my self of what belongs not to me There are likewise certain interests of Honor which I ought to defend against my Neighbour who would dishonor me because Honor is a Depositum God has intrusted to me which ought to be as dear to me as that of my life and because he would scandalize the World by dishonoring me But are there any occasions wherein I am oblig'd to abandon mine own interests and sacrifice them to my Neighbour to defend his Reputation by renouncing my own and to die to save his life 'T is evident that Goods purely temporal being of an inferior order to spiritual when the salvation of our Neighbour is concern'd which is a spiritual interest one is oblig'd to abandon his temporal because the salvation of ones Soul is preferable to all the Goods of the Earth which are perishable and corruptible Thus neither Honor nor Wealth ought to be valued when the salvation of a Soul is in question Now 't is certain that a Christian is oblig'd by the Maxims of that Religion he professes to relieve his Neighbour in an extream necessity of life which is a temporal good not only out of his own superfluities but even what is necessary for himself Christian perfection goes yet farther teaching a Christian that he ought not only to be severe to himself in tenderness and compassion to his Brother and deprive himself to accommodate him of what is commodious and necessary to himself but even to give his liberty his honor and life to preserve the life honor and liberty of his Neighbour In fine he ought to do that for him which the Saviour of the World did for us for how many have there been that have imitated Jesus Christ in the practice of so generous so pure and so disinteressed a Charity But these are the wonders of Christian Morality and greatest Miracles of our Holy Religion These Examples are rather to be admired then Rules to be indispensably followed and Duties of obligation to be practised The Third Rule is the order that ought to be observ'd in the different interests of our Neighbour that so the impulses of Charity may be followed without mistaking and that in two wants either of the same or a different nature we may know which to prefer In the order of temporal goods Charity always flies to assist the more urgent wants for amongst the afflicted she runs to him that suffers most and she leaves him again if his wants be but temporal to assist him that is in manifest danger of his salvation Such was heretofore the conduct of the Apostles who in the infancy of the Church abandon'd the care of temporal necessities to attend to spiritual in quitting the distribution of Alms to be vacant to preaching the Word of God because they esteemed the nourishment of the Soul more important then that of the Body So the care a Christian takes to teach and instruct a poor body is more meritorious before God then what is bestowed to deliver him from misery So the Alms given
he is always touch'd with their miseries and never shock'd with being importun'd The Fourth is a deceitful Tenderness perpetually subject to make it ones own case This Illusion is common to certain Persons too sensible of Nature who have no tenderness to their Neighbour but out of tenderness to themselves And duly examining the ground of their pity they are not compassionate of others miseries but out of a weakness of mind which makes them fear the like They do not commonly reguard their Neighbour but by the resemblance to themselves They are not sensible of others Misfortunes but through the apprehension they have of the condition of their own Nature expos'd to so many accidents and miseries They perceive not this altogether as it is It is an almost imperceptible Illusion of Self-love and though it seldom happens it suffices that it may happen to oblige a Christian to make some reflection on it and to disintangle himself from those so humane and self-interested tendernesses Christian Charity is of too pure a nature to suffer them And 't is not to be sincerely and Christian-like Charitable to be so only out of humour and a meer natural motive The Fifth is a false Zeal of Religion and Piety out of which they pretend to reprehend the good actions of others and find something to say against all like the Pharisees of whom St. Luke speaks who were scandaliz'd at Jesus Christ curing a sick Man presented to him because 't was on a Festival Day And like that Apostate Disciple who was troubled at the Piety of that holy Woman who pour'd out most precious Ointment on our Saviours Feet pretending it might have been sold for the relief of the Poor This likewise is a most ordinary Illusion of a false Devotion which often fixes it self to exterior Ceremonies and neglects the most essential Duties of Charity and on certain occasions transgresses the most sacred Laws to sustain indiscreetly pretended Formalities It is by this Spirit Men prescribe to others what they do not observe themselves that they make continual reflections on their Neighbours conduct and mind not their own that they are clear-sighted to the least defects of others and perceive not their own disorders that they take upon them to give advice to all the World and smother the dictates of their own Conscience 'T is an adhesion to their own sence and a mistaken Zeal which often reigns amongst the Churchmen themselves They mention nothing but their Power they talk of nothing but their Character and alledge nothing but their Authority They believe 't were dishonouring their Function to accommodate themselves charitably to the weakness of those whom God has put under their Charge and that 't is remisness to be condescending Thus they are all fire to make their Ordinances be observ'd but cool and indifferent for those of the Gospel They know all the Regulations that lead to destruction but do not so much as know those that lead to edification and under pretence to establish the Discipline of the ancient Canons they abandon oftentimes the true Spirit of the Church which is a Conduct of sweetness and condescendency Behold in general the Spirit of false Zeal which supports it self ordinarily by the bare appearance of Vertue But it is always easie to distinguish the true from the false For true Vertue is edified with every thing and the false takes scandal at all and as there is no reputation that do's not appear pure to the one so there is no carriage let it be never so irreproachable but appears defective to the other The Sixth is Envy which cannot behold without trouble the advantage of on 's Neighbour for she finds her humiliation in the success and prosperity of others And if sometimes the Envious has sufficient moderation not to pretend by indirect means to the good of his Brother yet has he not so much as to hear without emotion the noise his Reputation makes in the world He endures his Neighbours good Fortune but cannot bear the repute of it This poison as gross as it is slips sometimes into the Soul of such as profess Vertue There are good People and of a very holy Conversation who like the Labourers in the Gospel after having been faithful to their Ministry in the exercise of Charity permit themselves to be poison'd with Jealousie they cannot endure New-comers should share the publick Esteem with them This is a weakness unworthy a Minister of Jesus Christ because in following so miserable a Conduct They often consummate with the flesh as the Apostle says what they began with the spirit The Seventh is the Wisdom and Spirit of the World It is by this Spirit so opposite to that of Jesus Christ that People make profession of Charity to get acquainted with Persons of Consideration and deal in good Works that they may have occasion to deal with those who do them By this means they insinuate themselves into their Esteems gain Credit make Friends and do their own Business by acting for other Folks The small Alms which get them admittance into this Society of Charity help sometimes to compass their secret designs of making their Fortunes This may serve if for nothing else at least to conceal their Humour and disguise their Character towards compassing their Ends By this means they give themselves out for what they are not and may pass for good Men without being concern'd whether they are so or no This is all their study and they guide all their Actions by the Maxims of this Pharisaical Charity which is only animated by the Spirit of the World and Wisdom of the Flesh 'T is by the Maxims of this false Charity and a chimerical Zeal that under pretext of doing more good they aspire to Places they have not and omit the good they could do in the Place they are in Nay they artificially endeavour their own Advancement in a more efficacious way while they seem to relie on Providence and quietly expect from God what in reality they mean to get only by the secret Intrigues of Men. Thus they change the Principles of Christianity into those of carnal Morality If in appearance they have any moderation towards their Neighbours it is only the better to act a conceal'd Vanity wherewith secretly they satisfie themselves If they pardon an Injury it is to expect a better opportunity of Revenge If they do good it is out of hopes of a Return All is reduced to the Maxims of this humane Wisdom so opposite to the Wisdom of the Gospel And as by these ways which tend to God only in appearance they go farther from him they wilfully blind themselves in their Errors to the end not to see the disproportion between what they do and what they ought to do The Eighth is Indiscretion This breaks the order in which Charity that ought to be laudable and vertuous should be practised and plays all those irregular Tricks which put this Vertue out of frame
disreguards His Devotions are as regular as can be and he would pass for a Saint if he were not so revengeful and so dextrous to satisfie his Resentments where he has any Contests None ever offends him without smarting for it for he never forgives So that by this his affected Moderation his Life is a continual Imposture There are a thousand other Disguises of Charity which may be reduced to this and which are so much the more odious in the sight of God as being done under the pretext of Piety Vice is always criminal but the most criminal of all is that which is done under the Coulor and Veil of Vertue for Men less suffer themselves to be corrupted by a bare-fac'd Vice then a masqued Vertue After all 't is in vain to disguise on 's self nothing can be hid from his sight that searches hearts and penetrates to the very bottom of them The Eleventh is a Spirit of Empire and Dominion They are willing to be in at all good Works provided they may Rule Direct and Manage They make one in all Designs and Enterprizes of Charity out of the sweetness they feel in Governing things with some Authority and the pleasure there is to exercise that petty Empire which expresses its self in the knowledge of their Neighbours wants and the distribution of assistance given them They meet punctually at Assemblies as so many favourable occasions of shewing themselves and give their wealth to new Foundations to Reign in them 'T is out of this same Spirit that they thrust themselves with such zeal into all manner of Affairs that they are so earnest to render themselves necessary in them that they love Negotiating to find out a Temperament in Accommodations and Arbitrations that they charitably concern themselves in every thing that they have a Wit fertile enough in Expedients to be of Councel for all the World and that they give so liberal advice upon the Conduct of all Mankind For this is the Character of the Devotion of these Times it will be Mistress and Govern all 'T is through this same Spirit that Men have no value but for the good Works they do themselves That they will not abet any good unless themselves do it and that there are some who cannot endure either Religion should be defended or Vertue protected but after their way their lights and their methods They condemn all else be it never so good They have not the least concern for it because they have no share in it They set up for Directors without any Vocation or Character for Direction now adays as it is ordered is very comfortable to those that Direct because they speak with Authority and find Submission every where In short this Spirit of Command is become so much the Spirit of this Age that it is crept in among Persons consecrated to the Altars who take on them in all the Functions of their Ministry a certain ayre of Independence whilst they hold the rest of the World in Subjection St. Paul who had in his hands all the Authority of Jesus Christ is an excellent Pattern for Christian Pastors for he never made use of all his great Power to destroy but only to edifie In effect this absolute Authority is a Conduct too dismal and fierce for Christianity serving only to make the Yoke of Obedience more burthensom unless tempered with Love and Charity True Pastors do themselves more honor in being the Fathers of Souls then their Lords and Masters and in loving to Rule their Flocks with sweetness and tenderness rather then with haughtiness and Commands You must says S. Bernard Command with humility to Command like a Christian And there 's nothing prepares the Hearts of Subjects to Submission like the Charity of those they obey The Twelfth Illusion is Scandal and Ill-Example 'T is through this Illusion Men live disorderly whilst they flatter themselves with fair appearances of a kind of natural Equity which they would have a horror to transgress They have at bottom a zeal for Justice and have none for modesty They are tender of a Stranger 's Interest and sacrifice the Innocence of a Domestick of whom they serve themselves in the secret practices of their Passion They are touch'd with the Misfortunes of one unknown whom they see oppressed and ruine the Conscience of a Friend whom they cause to engage in their Revenge You are not Violent you are not Unjust you hate Oppression Cruelty displeases you in brief you wrong no body And you employ your Wives in shameful Concerns and vicious Intrigues You are nice even to scruple in point of Detraction and have all the affectations of a Prostitute to seduce Youth that puts it self into your Hands How many Disorders have you caused by your Scandals you that have so much aversion for Injustice for your Example is a Poison that kills him who sees it But what is become of the Modesty of Christian Ladies in an Age where nothing is talk'd of but Reformation and Devotion Was there ever seen so great a licentiousness in Manners as now adays Women besides the indecency and immodesty of their Dress are even come to think it a greater ayre of Quality to dress themselves publickly and before all the World that is to say to expose themselves by a scandalous Mode to those adulterous Eyes whereof the Apostle speaks and to Present in the Golden Vessel like the Whore of Babylon the mortal Draught to those that see them Scandal is so dreadful a spring of Corruption and so pernicious a poison to Innocence that one cannot have Faith and read without Trembling the terrible Menaces of the Son of God to those scandalous Persons who poison the Souls of those with whom they converse Our Lord seems to have forbidden in the Gospel nothing so strictly as this Cut says he cut off pluck out even your very eyes if your eyes scandalize you I say nothing of those fond foolish Mothers who by their Indulgency and Vanity ruine the Innocency of their young Daughters in exposing them to Assemblies and dangerous Companies under pretence of shewing and teaching them the World I speak not of those envenom'd Tongues that tear in pieces the Honor of their Neighbour in most obliging and respectful Language and sow Dissention wherever they come I only say that a Christian cannot without trembling make reflection on those dreadful words of the Son of God Wo to him by whom scandal cometh The Thirteenth is the Spirit of Emulation and Partiality principally in matters of Religion and this is the most dangerous of all Illusions 'T is out of this Spirit that Men make use of the holy Name of Christian Charity to heighten their Aversions and render their Enmities irreconcileable By this they censure the Conduct of others to authorize their own They destroy settled Reputation to give themselves more Credit They frame to themselves a Chimera of Religion to seek a more specious pretext for their Headstrongness and
purely from God But as a Christian prevented by Grace may dispose his Mind to Faith as supernatural as it is by destroying therein obstinacy presumption and adhesion to Error and that natural propensity that leads to Incredulity So may he after the same manner dispose himself to attain Charity if he roots the obstacles of it out of his heart For this Vertue finds very great ones in the heart of Man whereof I will give a touch on the principal without falling on the same Particulars I mention'd in the Illusions the most part whereof are also impediments to Charity The greatest of all obstacles to Charity is that Worldly spirit so opposite to the Spirit of Jesus Christ That Prudence of the Flesh that Pride of the Age and all that vain Ostentation which reigns so much in the Courts of Great men wherein Worldly wisdom teaches these abominable Maxims viz. To destroy by subtle Artifices ones Neighbour's Reputation To discredit him in the opinion of such as esteem him To violate the most holy Rights turn all things topsie-turvy to attain what one pretends to and to aggrandize ones self 'T is by this same Spirit young Gentlemen are taught that Revenge is a Gentleman's Vertue and that it is a piece of Cowardise to pardon The Hatreds Envies Jealousies Intrigues of Licentiousness and Ambition great Interests violent Passions which are the common effects of this Spirit reigns so powerfully in the Great of this World that they leave not room for the least spark of Charity Therefore the Apostle says He that will become a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God There is another Spirit in the World still more opposite to this Vertue the Spirit of Disguise Imposture and Dissembling whose only end is to mischief our Neighbour 'T is this unhappy Policy of the Flesh which only seeks to establish it self by shameful and wicked Treacheries and by all the depraved Maxims of the World I have been speaking of and which render the Life of a Christian a monstrous Life that is full of Passions Animosities Knavery and Perfidiousness These are the Machines Men make use of to perpetuate their Enmities by everlasting Wranglings and to make all Tribunals ring with their Injustices and Violences I 'le say nothing of the Spirit of Obstinacy Contradiction diversity of Judgments and Opinions in matters of Religion nor of all those Factious Sidings which at present afflict Christianity The memory of the Disorders they have caused in the last Age is still fresh enough in this to make us comprehend the importance of it for there is nothing more capable of dividing the hearts of the People then different Judgments in Religion Being given to Pleasures to Delights to dangerous Divertisements to Gaming to Riot and Delicacy is also a great obstacle to this Spirit of Charity we are in quest of These stately Houses proud rich Furnitures sumptuous Tables new Fashions in Clothes which shew nothing but wantonness These Vanities of worldly Ladies this State that environs them these profuse Expences of voluptuous sensual Persons intoxicated with the Delights of the Age do so forcibly dry up in the hearts of Worldlings this holy Unction of Charity that there remains not any sign of it in all those who are plunged in Vanity For how can a Woman that denies nothing to her Pleasure and loves only her self be touch'd with any sentiments of Charity She shuts her Eyes against the poverty of the necessitous she will not see it nor so much as take notice of it that she may not squander the Fund she designs for her Vanity by the Assistance she should be oblig'd to give him that demands it in Gods name And hence it is Jesus Christ so often shakes with cold in the Person of the Poor at the Gate of the Rich without being taken notice of for he is only busied about himself What shall I say of those perpetual Hatreds and inveterate Aversions which Men so scandalously retain they can neither speak to nor so much as look on one that hath affronted them and believe their Resentment just because they have been injur'd What is more contrary to the Spirit of Christianity which cannot so much as suffer coldness or indifferency They flatter themselves too as they frame their Consciences in their Hatreds and Aversions They believe they wish no ill to him that has offended them when any Misfortune befalls him they triumph for joy at it And when they say I wish him no ill but cannot endure to see him nor have to do with him this they call loving like a Christian There is likewise I know not what ayre very repugnant to Charity in the natural advantages of Wit of Conduct of Sence of Ability and in the excellency of other Qualities which if one takes not great care uses to inspire a love and esteem of ones self For 't is natural for him that has received more to undervalue him that has received less But whilst he thinks to distinguish himself from others by these Advantages he corrupts his spirit and in the end becomes utterly insensible of the most tender motions of Charity For the rest as every one has shar'd in the distribution of natural or supernatural Gifts according to the measure of Grace There is no Christian but may take notice of some particular Gift his Brother has received from God wherewith himself has not been favour'd Thus S. Paul considers in S. Peter his Primacy and again S. Peter considers in S. Paul the high Wisdom he had received from Heaven S. Anthony only regards in his Brethren those Vertues himself had not to honor them the more 'T is in this manner that the Christian who has wit esteems one who has Vertue and Goodness The Learned admires the Dispatch of the Man of Business The Man of Business praises the Capacity of the Learned In fine thus 't is that Charity makes the Superior not esteem his own Dignity above others but the Vertue and Merit of those he Commands And whilst he exteriourly Commands them he humbles himself interiourly before them and they on their side respect in him his Power and Authority and kindly submit to his Conduct Lastly it may be said that the greatest obstacle to Charity is the Immoderate love of Riches for this love causes Impurity of Conscience Hardness of Heart Independence Pride Insolence Contempt of the Poor and an entire corruption of Spirit And as this restless care of preserving his Goods poisons the Soul of the Rich so Covetousness is the most abominable of all Vices and most opposite to Charity For the essential Character of Avarice is a false Prudence of the Flesh all whose Designs and Thoughts bound themselves in the Person possessed by it so that his Heart is locked up to all Sentiments of pity for the Wants of the Poor A Man darkens his spirit by the Vapors of so carnal a Passion he fixes his Heart to the Goods of the Earth as
to his soveraign Good If others possess them he unjustly seizes them he covets them criminally if he cannot get them and violates what 's most sacred in Society to enrich himself maugre his Conscience against which he shuts his Ears But it ought to be observed that 't is not so much the Riches inspire this Spirit of Hardness and Injustice as the fixing too great a love on them For Job was Charitable in his abundance his Wealth was so far from being an obstacle to his Charity that it was a means for his better practising it He was as himself says The father of the poor and protector of the afflicted His door was always open to those in necessity and with the wooll of his sheep he clad the naked He was the support of the widow and fatherless the traveller was welcom to his house And he refused nothing to any in want that crav'd his help Besides this good use that ought to be made of Riches according to the example of Job whose life may serve as a pattern to a Christian to dispose his heart to Charity He must likewise to attain this Vertue have frequent communication with God by Prayer and Meditation 'T is chiefly from Prayer these lights take birth in our hearts which are the most pure springs of Christian Charity and love of our Neighbours For the same sighs that form in our Souls the Spirit of Prayer form there also the Spirit of Charity The inward voice of the heart That Voice says St. Augustine which expresses it self by the sighings of Prayer is that which enkindles in us the fervour of this Vertue For Charity becomes cold when the Heart becomes silent says this great Saint Thus one cannot be Charitable without being Devout because Devotion is the most common nourishment of the love of God and our Neighbour This love grows cold by the distraction of Business and is even extinguished by the disquiets of a too busie Life In effect the true source of Charity as Tertullian assures us is renouncing the love of the World and indifference for temporal Goods for transitory Goods weaken the Heart by the confidence they give it in so frail a support as is that of Riches Likewise there is nothing more capable to inflame Charity in the Soul of a Christian then a fervent and lively Faith animated with a perfect Confidence in God For the Fire of Charity kindles it self at the Ardors of Faith which makes a Christian act like a Child of God and love the Poor as his Brother In fine the sure and infallible way to acquire this Vertue is by little and little to accustom our selves to practise Works of it For by visiting the Prisoner comforting the Afflicted helping the Necessitous instructing the Ignorant which are Actions may be done daily and even ought to be performed if one pretends to Christianity he becomes insensibly Charitable and attains that heavenly Wisdom which is the portion of the Humble and which without Study or Reasoning pours into the Heart that interiour Unction of the Spirit of God which teaches to love our Neighbour But it is not sufficient to teach a Christian the Means to become Charitable he must also to encourage him to become so be shew'd his obligation to it by the most pressing Motives CHAP. VII Three very powerful Motives to excite a Christian to acquire the Vertue of Charity THe first Motive is That without being Charitable one cannot be a Christian for it is in Charity alone consists the true Spirit of Christianity Nature teaches Man to live with Man but Grace obliges to love him This is says S. Paul the plenitude of the Law of the New Testament All the Morality of Jesus Christ and all the depth of the Wisdom of the Gospel points only at the practice of this Vertue which alone is the sum and substance of Christian Perfection Without Charity says the Apostle neither Faith nor Hope nor the gifts of Prophecy nor the gifts of Tongues nor Martyrdom nor any other Vertue can be considerable in the sight of God It is Charity perfects Man rectifies his Reason and sanctifies all his Actions This makes humble and unmakes proud because it nourishes Humility and choaks Pride All Vertues become unprofitable and all good Works fruitless to him that is not Charitable 'T is Charity that warms the Faithful that animates his Hopes and that justifies a Sinner One may enter into the Marriage-Chamber of the Lamb without Virginity but not without Charity The ordinary life of a Christian in the exercise of a faithful and perseverant Charity may sometimes be as meritorious in the sight of God as the most heroick Conflicts of the Martyrs because every Action of Charity by the nature of its Motive is a secret Sacrifice of his Interest or of his Pleasure and even of his Honor for one cannot in effect love his Neighbour like a Christian without depriving himself of something either incommodiously or against his Inclination And all the best we do is ordinarily good for nothing but by the influence of this Vertue It is only through Charity that the Works of Piety are Christian This enobles the meanest Actions and the weakest Reasonings become strong when a little sustain'd by it and 't is not the greatness of the things done for God that renders them considerable but the greatness of the Charity wherewith they are done In brief this heavenly Vertue which is the purest food of the Soul sanctifies even natural Defects and the grossest Imperfections and covers that multitude of Sins whereunto Man is subject through the weakness of his Condition as the Apostle says Let us then seek after no other Practice of Devotion since this alone contains all other Practices as St. John instructs us let us not strain our Wits according to the Spirit of this Age with vain Reasonings in quest of new ways to arrive at Perfection Let us content our selves with this the Saviour of the World has marked out to us let us set our heart on this Vertue he most recommends to us let us not stifle in our selves this divine fire whereof Faith kindles the first flames in our hearts Let us love our Brethren sincerely since we live on the same Bread and have all the same Hopes If we cannot contribute our Goods towards succouring the Poor at least let us sigh to God for him and thereby in some manner comfort him what we can for the shame he undergoes to sigh so often to Men imploring their assistance In fine let us not by our hard-heartedness dishonor the holy Name of Christian a Name of sweetness and bounty and since without being Charitable one cannot be a Christian let us be Charitable in effect not to be only Christians in idea The reciprocal need Men have of one another is the foundation of their Society and the natural principle of their Union And shall not Charity be a bond strong enough to unite Christians by the
to convert people to Jesus Christ are far preciouser then those which are given for their subsistance and the sweats pains and fatigues of the Missioners who go to preach the Word of God to Infidels in the remotest Countries are of far more value then the Treasures that are sent thither The soveraign perfection of Christian Charity is the fervent zeal of these holy Followers of the Apostles who quit all to seek in the most salvage and barbarous Climates the stray Sheep and to satisfie the thirst and hunger they have for the salvation of so many abandon'd people to make them know Jesus Christ and to bring them back to his Flock In these concurrences of wants Charity ought to dispose of her help according to the different degrees of necessities she finds But when the want is equal in two different persons It is says St. Augustine either Proximity of Bloud or Alliance or Friendship or Neighbourhood or Society or Country or the Considerations of other Ties that must regulate the preference of assistance due to one rather then to another For although Jesus Christ be come into the World to make by the Sword of Christianity division betwixt the Flesh and the Spirit yet he is not come to destroy the Duties of Bloud and to dispence with a Christian for what he ows his Relations because these Duties are grounded on Equity which is their principal foundation Thus what we owe to our Kindred is of a more strict obligation then that which is due to an unknown Person and a Stranger So a Pastor is more oblig'd to his Flock a Superior to those whom God has put under him a Prince to his own Subjects then to all others and in the order of Christian Charity a Friend ought to be more dear then one unknown a Domestick then a Stranger and a Christian then an Infidel and when they are both equally in need you are oblig'd to help the one before the other This Morality is founded on Justice and Reason which orders it thus and on the conduct of our Lord who carried himself after this manner between the Jews and Gentiles St. Paul thus instructs Christians St. Thomas and all Catholick Divines are of this opinion For the rest when the Rules I have establish'd are duly considered 't will be found that our Soul being our Neighbour a thousand times more intimate then our dearest Friends or our nearest Relations our first obligation is to exercise Charity towards her which we cannot do as we ought but by endeavouring her perfection preferably above all things For if we neglect her who will take care of her And if we give all but our selves to God is not that to keep our selves the better share because God will have us our selves and not what is ours as St. Jerome says The conclusion of this Discourse is that extream necessity in temporals and the salvation of a Soul in spirituals ought to have preference in the strictest obligations of a Christian So that the most laudable and holy of all Charities is to provide for spiritual wants as to procure assistance for People who are in a deep ignorance of all things relating to their salvation and without help But in assisting Aliens and Salvages must those be forgotten that live in the midst of us and are in the same wants can we hearken to what 's told us of the miseries of Persons of another World as one may say without beholding what we daily see amongst those we know It is this obliges me to repeat what I have already said and which is so important that it cannot be too often repeated That the greatest Zeal requires the greatest Knowledge That if Christian Prudence ought to be animated by Charity Charity ought to be govern'd by Prudence and justly to discern the order wherein Charity ought to be practised nothing more needs to be recommended to a Christian then what the Apostle recommended to those of the City of Philippi to whom he Preach'd this Vertue That their Charity may more and more abound in knowledge and in all understanding To be neither indiscreet nor rash because the greatest defect in Charity is want of light which renders this Vertue subject to an infinity of Illusions But intirely to purifie its practice 't is best to discover the Illusions that so they may be dissipated CHAP. V. Of the several Illusions to which the Practice of Charity is subject ALL Christian Vertues are in their Practice subject to Illusions through the false Principles every one establishes to himself in the exercise of Piety Sometimes out of conceitedness and oftnest out of weakness and ignorance But after all there is none of them more subject to this then Charity For as this Vertue has much lustre 't is pretended to upon very many occasions chiefly when we think to surprize and dazle Men as is usual enough And it is not to be wonder'd at if the spirit of dissimulation creeps into the exercise of this Vertue which is the most pure and sincere of all others since the corruption of this Age has so powerfully authorised all Artifices and Disguises In effect Self-love which always seeks its own interest by so many windings about cannot better conceal it self then under the veil of Charity It is through this Artifice it scrupulously sticks to the Duties of Good-manners to excuse it self from essential Duties It seeks conspicuous Charities to avoid obscure ones 'T is zealous where there should be no zeal and remiss where there should be Thus the falsly Charitable is uneasie to his own Domesticks whilst he is civil and officious to Strangers he grounds a tranquility and satisfaction on the state of his own pretended perfection and is only froward and disquieted at others perfections he is perpetually praising Christianity and quits nothing of his own Rights He gives Alms and pays not his Debts He maliciously praises false Vertues to take occasion to authorize real Vices He justifies his own ill Conduct only by censuring that of others and scattering Flowers over all he would poison he wounds the Reputation of every one under the deceitful veil of charitable and respectful Words But to discover methodically all the Illusions wherewith the Spirit of Charity is so often perverted I reduce them to certain Heads which are as it were their Sources Natural Affection is the First and withal the most ordinary Illusion which creeps into the Spirit of Charity One loves his Neighbour 't is true but 't is only for the good qualities which render him amiable one looks on him but on the most agreeable side and where he is most pleasing It is the wit quality humour and disposition one considers and the tenderer one is to all these Considerations of Flesh and Bloud the more insensible he is to all those of Vertue and Grace One believes 't is loving his Neighbour as he ought and living charitably with him to speak nothing vexatious to any one to be very
regardful and wary of every ones Interests in particular to do very general Civilities to all the World by outward demonstrations of Friendship which all in reality signifie nothing This is to prophane the sacred Name of Charity to give it unto actions which are often the motions of a deprav'd Inclination and the effects of a habit meerly to follow ones Humour So that to give Alms out of a natural pity to be officious and obliging for humane respects to love his Friends his Relations and Family because good Breeding enjoyns to live well with all the World this is but the Charity of a Pagan The Pagans love those that love them consider those that consider them and carry it fair with those that do so with them 'T is if you will Civility Good-manners Inclination Complacence Policy and Prudence but it is not Charity at all It is to have too low a conceit of so great a Vertue to give so holy a Name to that which is but humane and natural Christian Charity knows not the meaning of all these Distinctions and these unjust preferrings of one before another which the prudence of the Flesh makes because a Christian equally considers Jesus Christ in all his Brethren whom he never looks on with an eye purely humane Faith teaches him that this ignorant Man he instructs this miserable Wretch he succours this poor Man to whom he gives Bread is Jesus Christ who is in the Person of the Necessitous as a Prince is in the Person of his Ambassador So that the more one finds himself naturally inclin'd to Compassion the more he ought to stand upon his guard not to practise Charity so much out of humanity for as the Apostle says he exposes himself to reap only a carnal harvest when he do's not sow in purity of spirit And it is but a mistaken Christianity that is founded upon the Principles of so humane and worldly a Charity The Second Illusion is of Pride which by a secret presumption and upon the foundation of a very frivolous merit places all the perfection of Man in a vain Charity It is upon this ground the Pharisee in the Gospel set himself above others whose carriage he reprehended because he gave great Alms. And although this Illusion may not be common yet many Christians are found subject to it and who upon the Maxims of a deprav'd Morality give liberally their Goods to the Poor without forsaking the spirit of Injustice by which they possess them Their hands are open to Mercy and their hearts shut to Equity They are Envious Detractors and Calumniators upon that misunderstood Principle That Charity blots out all iniquities and that it is sufficient to be a good Man to be compassionate of the miseries of our Neighbour They adorn the out-side with works of superficial Charity and leave all disorder and corruption within And what else is this says St. Gregory but to give ones Goods to his Neighbour and his Soul up to Sin To sacrifice his Riches to God and himself to the Devil They even carry this Illusion much farther For there are of those falsly charitable Persons whose Soul is so perverted that to do these Works of Mercy which are proper to blot out their Sins they commit new ones to have wherewithal to do Works of Mercy They offer to God what they have taken from Men and frame to themselves an extravagant Devotion to give in Charity what by violence they have forc'd from others How great a Fallacy to believe that the bitter and envenom'd root of Injustice is able to produce the sweet and lovely fruit of Charity for He says the Scripture that offers sacrifice of poor mens substance is as he that sacrificeth the son in the presence of his father We must imitate Zacheus to practise Charity as me ought He began by restoring what he had taken to give the remainder to the Poor In this manner Christian Charity is neither presumptuous nor unjust and she is always without Violence for she is never without humility The Third Illusion is Covetousness which out of a narrowness of heart and miserableness seeks false reasons of Family Children Parcimony and good Husbandry to authorize this false Prudence in Men not to dispossess themselves of their Goods by giving them to the Poor But it is a distrust fit for Pagans to fear falling into want by giving in the Person of the Needy to a God whose riches are inexhaustible for He that shall give to the poor shall never want the goods of the earth as holy Scripture says Alms says S. Paul is a Seed whence cannot be reap'd but a very great Harvest And as the Husbandman when he sows much reaps much So the faithful shall reap a plentiful Harvest when they have given great Alms. The fulness of the Charity of a Christian shall make the fulness of his Recompence But these are Truths the avaritious Man do's not comprehend through the shameful fixedness he has to the Goods of this World He hoards up his Bonds and Money carefully in the bottom of his Chests whilst he perswades others to be Charitable He strains for poor Pretenees for his not giving when he is ask'd He remits to his Council all Propositions made him for Charity to authorize his Avarice and refuse more methodically what he is unwilling to grant He do's all he can to excuse his giving and never gives but in hopes of receiving His Charity is a meer Traffick He so strongly blinds himself even in his presumption that he makes a false vertue of his conduct He says with a haughty and disdainful ayre I have no Goods of another bodies nay I do not desire any I make use of what God has given me because he has only bestow'd it on me for my use This was heretofore the Illusion of that unhappy rich Man who deny'd himself nothing that he liked His Expence was magnificent at his Table in his Train in his Cloaths and his whole Family bore the marks of his Vanity and Pride whilst Lazarus dy'd with hunger at his Dore. 'T is likewise the most common Illusion of Great Men that their licentiousness makes them covetous and insensible of the miseries of the afflicted They waste their Estates profusely in criminal Expences and refuse a poor Man a bit of Bread So that out of a mean Selfishness they extravagantly squander away those Goods wherewith God had intrusted them to distribute Hereunto may be added the mistake of those merciless People who give no Alms but with an ill will and grumbling It is not to the Poor they give it is to their importunities and to the vexation they feel in being pressed by them Hence they follow their own humour not practise Charity 'T is fruitlesly they give because they give without any fellow-feeling So as they experience not the sweetness which joys his heart that practises Charity but when one is fully perswaded that the Poor represent the Person of Jesus Christ