Volume I, Treatise IV, Chapter XVI

Of the Roots and Causes Whence Rash Judgments Proceed, and the Remedies We Must Apply to Them

Tue first root whence rash judgments commonly grow is pride, which, though it is the root of all other sins, yet it is much more particularly so of this. St. Bonaventure upon this subject remarks what is worthy to be considered: he says, that those who think themselves more advanced in a spiritual life, are more frequently tempted than others to judge and censure their neighbours; as if these words, which the apostle said in another sense, ‘‘ the spiritual man judges all things” (2 Corinthians 2:15), had been said to give them power and right to judge all the world. They imagine themselves to possess the great gilts of God; and instead of being the more humble thereby, they are puffed up with a greater pride, replenished witha good opinion of themselves, look contemptibly upon those who seem too much employed in exterior occupations, and becoming critics and reformers, they so far forget themselves, as to make it their only business to censure the lives of others, The saints say, that simplicity is the daughter of humility; for he who is truly humble has not his eyes open to see the faults of his neighbour, but only to discern his own; and finds so many things to consider and deplore in himself, that he never casts his eyes or thoughts on the faults of others. If therefore we were truly humble, we should be far from these kinds of judgments. It is also a very excellent remedy for this, as well as for many other defects, never to open our eyes but to behold our own infirmities; that “we may know what we want” (Psalms 38:5); and to keep them shut to the defects of others, lest if we do otherwise,. the same may be said to us that was said to the hypocrite in the gospel; “how come you to see a mote in your the’s eye, who have a beam in your own?” (Matthew 7:3) We cannot sufficiently express how great an alvantage it is to have our eyes always fixed upon our own defects; because this sight gives us humility and confusion—it augments the fear of God in the soul, keeps it in recollection, and produces in it the fruits of peace and tranquillity. On the contrary, the practice of observing the faults of others is frequently the cause of many evils and inconveniences; it carries along with it pride, rash judgments, indignation against our neighbours, contempt of our brethren, remorse of conscience, indiscreet zeal, and a thousand other imperfections, which agitate and subvert the heart. Wherefore, if it happens that you discern any fault in your neighbour, endeavour to gather thence some fruit for your own amendment. When you perceive in your brother anything worthy of reprehension, turn your eyes upon yourself, says St. Bonaventure; before you judge him, examine yourself well; and if you find you are guilty of the same fault, pronounce the sentence against yourself, and condemn that in yourself, which you would have condemned in him, by saying with the Royal Prophet: “It is 1 who have sinned, it is I that have done evil.” (2 Kings 24:17) I deserve not to kiss the ground he treads upon, and that which | perceive in him is nothing compared to what I find in myself. St. Bernard teaches us another means, which will aid us very much. ‘‘ When you perceive in your neighbour,” says he, “anything that pleases you, see if you possess the same; and if you have it, think how to conserve it; but if you have it not, endeavour to acquire it, and by this means you will make your profit in all things.”

St. Thomas ascribes these rash judgments, of which we speak, to other causes, and says they proceed from some corruption within: and so judging the inclinations of our neighbour by our own, we easily think that to be in him, which we feel in ourselves. “A fool,” says Ecclesiastes, ‘‘ believes all he meets to be fools like himself” (Ecclesiastes 10:3)—-and it is a common saying, that “s robber believes all the world thieves.” When one looks upon anything through a coloured glass, all things appear of the same colour of the glass; so a wicked man judges all to be like himself; he takes all things in the worst part, so that he views them through a false medium; and as he has such or such a view in what he does, and governs himself by such and such a maxim, so he believes that all others govern themselves by the same motives and considerations. Yet you “do not consider,” says St. Paul, “that you condemn yourself by the judgment you pass upon another, for that judgment is a sign that you, yourself, are guilty of the same thing you suspect in him.” (Romans 2:1) A virtuous man looks upon all things and puts on them the best construction, though sometimes he perceives something to doubt of; and indeed when a thing admits of two interpretations, it is bad to give it the more unfavourable one. St. Dorotheus says, that as a man who is of agood constitution, and has a good stomach, converts even those meats that are hard of digestion and unwholesome into good nourishment, and on the contrary, a bad stomach turns even the best meats into bile and bad humours, so he who has a good and upright heart, and practises virtue, interprets all things well; whereas he who knows not what virtue is, poisons all things, and interprets them in the worst sense,

The saints add, moreover, that though there is no sin in judging that an action is bad, when it is evidently so; yet should that which they see be manifestly culpable, it is still a virtue and perfection to endeavour, far as in our power, to excuse our brother. ‘Excuse the intention if you cannot excuse the action,” says St. Bernard, “believe it proceeds from ignorance, or surprise; that it happens by chance, or is an effect of the first motion, which he could not help and was not master of.” If we loved our brethren as ourselves, and looked upon them as our second selves, as in effect they really are, we should not want reasons or address to excuse them. Self-love always furnishes us with an infinity of excuses; it puts arms in our hands to defend ourselves, and teaches us how to lessen our own faults; and without doubt we should make use of the same means in behalf of our neighbour, if we loved him as well as we love ourselves. But if the fault should be so evident and criminal, that we cannot excuse it, believe then, says St. Bernard, and think thus with yourself; “If I had been set upon with the same temptation, and God had permitted the devil to have the same power to tempt me, what might not have happened to me?” We read of St. Ignatius, that when any action was so evidently bad, that

_ When he found no way to excuse or colour it, lie suspended his judgment, and adhering fast to the Holy Scripture, he said, “take heed of judging before the time.” (1 Corinthians 4:5) “There is none but God who sees the heart.” (1 Kings 16:7) “A servant cannot be absolved or condemned but by his master.” (Romans 14:4)

Besides all the causes already set down, St. Thomas still alleges another, and says that rash judgments often proceed from envy, jealousy, or some secret aversion. For as “we easily believe what is pleasing to us, so the bad disposition we are in, in regard of our brother, is the reason why we find something to blame in all he does, and why we interpret, though we have but a slight knowledge of them, all his actions in the worst sense. This will be better conceived by quoting an example of the contrary. When we have a passionate affection for any one, we approve of all his actions, and are so far from giving them any bad interpretation, or taking them in ill part, that though we cannot but see his faults, yet we think of nothing else than how to palliate and diminish them as much as we are able. “Charity,” says St. Paul, ‘never admits a thought to its neighbour’s disadvantage.” (1 Corinthians 13:5) The same fault, accompanied with the same circumstances and appearances, seems not to be the same in him we love as it does in him we have no affection for. And daily experience teaches us that there are some sorts of persons who displease and hurt us, whilst, at the same time, there are others who treat us perhaps worse, with whom we are not the least offended, nor do we take notice of what they do to us. It is this which the Wise Man prudently observes, when he says; ‘“‘ Hatred provokes quarrels, and charity covers all kinds of defects.” (Proverbs 10:12) So that we may say with truth, that it is want of charity that makes us judge rashly. This want of charity is also the cause why we are shocked and very much troubled even at what is no fault at all in our brother, His air, his gesture, his conversation, his manner, and even his good qualities, become sometimes insupportable to us; and this ought to shew us, that as simplicity contributes very much to the preservation of mutual charity, so charity assists in preserving simplicity, and thus they assist one the other.

To guard against all these inconveniences we have mentioned, it will be of great advantage to us if we consider attentively the craft and malice of the devil, who, for matters of no moment, and for things which are not faults, or at least very slight and small ones, even such as none are exempted from, endeavours to make us divest ourselves of the affection and esteem we have for our brethren. For in this life no one is free from imperfections and venial sins: “If we say there is no sin in us,” says St. John, “we deceive ourselves and there is no truth in us.” (1 John 1:8) And the Wise Man assures us, that “the just man shall fall seven times a-day” (Proverbs 24:16): that is to say, many times, without ceasing notwithstanding to be still just. This being so, it is very unreasonable that what cannot take from him the grace of God, and the quality of being just, should make him forfeit our good will or esteem. For Christian charity has stronger ties and more solid foundations than worldly friendship. A mere bauble—the most trifling interest, the omission of a compliment, dissolves worldly friendship; but Christian charity is founded on God alone, who can never fail. Wherefore, let us follow God’s example, who, notwithstanding our defects and imperfections, ceases not to love us, and to have an uniform tenderness for us. He tolerates, out of his goodness, an infinity of faults we daily commit against him; and yet without feeling resentment and ill-will against him, we cannot bear a small fault our brother commits against us. This shews that we do not truly love him for God; for if we loved him after this manner we should not be vexed or troubled for what God is not displeased at. If he who is master is not at all angry, why should we who are but servants be displeased? He looks upon our brother as his son; he tenderly loves and cherishes him; it is, therefore, but just that we should have the same feelings for him that he has. “If God has loved us after such a manner as this, we ought in like manner to love one another.” (1 John 4:11)

Let us attend to a thought of St. Gregory, and of many other saints, which is, that God sometimes refuses a lesser grace to those whom he has replenished with far greater, and thus, by the adorable order of his providence, leaves them to combat with slight and small imperfections, to the end that, by their constant endeavour to correct them, without ever being able to effect their intent, and feeling that, notwithstanding all their care, and all their resolutions, they continually relapse into the same, they may the better be conserved in humility, and remain convinced, that of themselves they can never overcome great difficulties, since they are not able to surmount such small ones as these, Thus, the same man, at the same time, may have arrived toa high pitch of virtue, and a very eminent degree of sanctity, and yet be subject to some defects which God was pleased to leave in

him, thereby to exercise him, that by humility he may keep himself in possession of those greater gifts he has received. The conclusion, therefore, we must draw from hence is, that we ought never to judge ill of our brother, nor contemn him for those small imperfections he may still retain, nor prefer ourselves before him, because we believe ourselves free from the like. Remember what St. Gregory says, that he who has these kinds of imperfections may for all this be perfect; and that, on the contrary, we may still be very imperfect, though we are free from them. This consideration will assist us not only to keep ourselves in the spirit of humility, but will also preserve in us those sentiments of charity we ought to have for our brother, and prevent our judging rashly of him.

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