Volume II, Treatise I, Chapter XVII

Three Very Important Admonitions Upon This Subject

THERE are three admonitions to be given hereupon, which regard three sorts of persons; and it is for “the consolation of the one, and to disabuse the others, that I shall here set them down. All men are not born with the same dispositions. Some are of a temper which is hard to overcome; so that finding in themselves a continual contradiction to all actions they are to perform, they are hereby much afflicted, and think all is lost. It is to such as these, to whom I address the first advice I have to give; which is to let them know, that there is no sin nor imperfection in the repugnances we feel of this kind, nor in any emotions contrary to reason, but only in following them. Involuntary motions, bad thoughts that happen against purity, against faith, or against any other virtue whatsoever, for which many afftiet themselves very much, are not that which cause the sin in these temptations. Wherefore, the saints bid us not to put ourselves at all in pain about them; it is not the feeling these thoughts, but the consenting to them, which occasions the sin; for when you are troubled at these temptations, and endeavour to resist them, and do not entertain or take satisfaction in them, they are no sin, but on the contrary an occasion of great merit. Itis the same of those natural bad inclinations, which we feel, some more, some less, whence arise irregular motions in our sensual appetite, and so many repugnances and contradictions to virtue. It is not from hence that we become good or bad, perfect or imperfect; because this is a thing that is purely natural, which depends not on us, but which we have inherited with sin. Did not St. Paul feel this rebellion within himself, this contradiction of his flesh? I feel,’’ says he, “another law in my body, that wars against the law of my mind, and subjects me to the law of sin, which is in my members.” (Romans 7:23). St. Austin, explaining these words of the Psalmist: “be angry and sin not”—“Though some motions,” says he, “that rise in our sensual appetites, being the punishment of sin, be not in our power, let us, at least, endeavour that our reason and will give no consent to them, but let us in spirit be obedient to the law of God, though in the flesh we are still subject to the law of sin.”—(Aug. in (Psalms 4:5)) It is taken notice of in the first book of Kings, that the cows that carried the ark of the covenant bellowed as they went along, because they had taken their calves from them; yet notwithstanding they omitted not to go straight on their way, without turning either to the right or to the left. Do you the same, persist in the straight way of virtue, without permitting yourself to be put out of your way, by the bellowing of flesh and blood, and hereby you shall become perfect..

The difference that there is between spiritual persons who labour after perfection, and carnal and sensual persons who think not at all of it, does not consist in feeling or not feeling these motions and coutradictions of their flesh, but in permitting or not permitting themselves to follow them. The fish that is alive swims against the stream, but a dead one is carried down with it; so to know whether the spirit of God be living or dead within us, we need only to see whether we go against the current of our passions, or whether we permit ourselves to be carried and driven along by their impetuosity. The spiritual man “hearkens not to the voice of the. exactor,”’ (Job 19:7) that is, according to St. Gregory’s interpretation, “they do not at all consent to the violent motions of temptation.” The whole matter therefore consists in not giving ear to temptations, and not consenting to them; so that we must be so far from being discouraged, by reason of these bad inclinations we find in ourselves, that we must on the contrary take courage and excite ourselves to gain a greater crown by overcoming them, This is what St. Austin counsels us, in his third sermon on the ascension; where, having exhorted the faithful to ascend to heaven with Jesus Christ, he proposes their own passions and bad inclinations as means or steps to help themselves with. ‘Let us ascend after him,” says he, “by the help of our vices and passions; and would you know how this can be done? It is by casting them under foot, and making them, as it were, a ladder to climb up by.” If we raise ourselves above our passions, they will raise us above ourselves, and become as so many ladders to raise and elevate us even to heaven itself.

We read in the life of St. Ignatius, that, being naturally choleric, he had so overcome and changed his nature, by the help and assistance of grace, that they thought him to be of a phlegmatic temper. Plutarch relates almost the same thing of Socrates. He says, that an excellent physiognomist having with attention ‘ considered him, could not refrain from telling him, that he was a man inclined to lewdness, debauchery, drunkenness, and many other vices; the disciples and friends of Socrates fell into a very great passion against this man, and were ready to treat him ill, had not Socrates hindered them, saying, the man is in the right, for I should be, says he, such a one as he points me out, or describes me | to be, were I not given to the study of philosophy, and to the practice of virtue. Now, if a philosopher, who had only the assistance of the light of nature, was able in such a manner to overcome his bad inclinations, what may not a Christian, or a religious, be able to do, by the help of divine grace, which is a thousand times more strong and powerful than nature is? °

There is another description of persons, who naturally are well inclined, and are so happy as to have inherited a good temper and disposition. It seems, as Alexander de Hales said to Saint Bonaventure, as if they had not sinned in Adam; they are of a sweet temper, of a nature that is inclined to good, that finds all things easy; nothing is painful to them; they find not in their flesh those contradictions and repugnances that others are tormented with; but, on the contrary, alas! say they, people do nothing else but complain of the difficulties they find in religion, and we for our parts find none at all! It is to these the second admonition belongs, which I promised to give, and which they must make use of to undeceive themselves. If you have so good and pious inclinations as you speak of; if you are of so easy, sweet, and uniform a temper, that even the hardest things give you no pain at all, and that you scarce know what a temptation is, be not all puffed up upon this account; this is not virtue that you have acquired, but a temper with which you were born; and the virtue and progress of a Christian consist3 not in a happy or good complexion, in agreeable exterior, in a sweet temper; but it consists in our endeavours to overcome ourselves, and in the victory we gain over our passions. This is an infallible rule of any one’s advancement in perfection; and therefore one who is naturally choleric, does far more, and merits a greater recompense, when he resists and overcomes this passion, than you who in reality are of a sweeter and milder disposition; for you are always of the same temper, and have nothing at all to resist or overcome. Plutarch extolled Alexander the Great above all other kings; because, says he, others were born to great kingdoms, but Alexander conquered them by his sword and valour, and purchased them by the many wounds he received in battle. In like manner, such as have rendered themselves masters of their passions, by dint of sword, if I may say so, moderating and mortifying themselves in all things, are far more worthy of praise, than those who are born with sweet and peaceable tempers, and never have any provocation to fight at all. Wherefore, neither the sweetness of your humour, nor the natural heat or impetuosity that another suffers by his, ought to make you esteem yourself the more, or him the less; but on the contrary, you must hereby take more occasion to humble yourself; acknowledging that what appears to be virtue in you, is not so, but a pure effect of your natural temper; and that is it a great virtue in others, to do the self-same things you perform. For in what you have hitherto done, you have made little or no progress at all; because you have overcome yourself in little or nothing; but others have made a very great one; because they have resisted and overcome themselves in many and great things. He who is born with a temper or disposition that is harder to overcome, finds himself thereby obliged to stand more upon his guard, to take greater measures of precaution, and to be more fervent; by which means he daily increases in virtue. But as for you, the confidence you have in the goodness of your nature, makes you continually to relent, and causes you to fall into greater negligence and tepidity. For, having no enemies, you neglect your perfection, and permit yourself to lead a kind of easy and idle life. It will be very good also, that sometimes you call to mind what you should have been, had God given you a harder nature and humour to overcome; and believe that you would have fallen into greater faults than others have done. For, alas! if you, notwithstanding that sweet disposition, and those good inclinations that God has bestowed upon you, daily fall into many faults, and are so lazy and tepid in your duty; what would you have been, had you been born with bad inclinations, and if you had been continually obliged to fight against yourself? Wherefore, if God suffers you not to be tempted, you must believe it is because he sees you so very weak, that you would not have-strength to resist. And you must also persuade yourself, that the having given you so sweet and tractable a nature, is a pure effect of his mercy, and the particular conduct of his providence over you; for if you had more lively passions, you would not perhaps have strength enough to overcome them. By this means you will at the same time, preserve such sentiments of humility, as you oughtto have of yourself, and will harbour such thoughts and esteem also of your neighbour, as you are obliged to have of him.

The third admonition I promised, is to disabuse another sort of persons, that experience not in themselves those contradictions and rebellions of the flesh, but, on the contrary, imagine they enjoy a very great peace within themselves. Yet this proceeds not, either froth their mortifying themselves, or from their being born with these good inclinations; but happens because they never think of using any violence to themselves, but follow their own inclination in all things; whereby they find themselves exempt from all those repugnances, which others feel in every thing they do. They however flatter themselves that they enjoy a peace, which in reality they have not. “They only speak of peace, but enjoy none at. all.“—(Jerem. vi. 53.) St. Austin writing upon these words of the apostle; “I see in my members another law, which is repugnant to my reason, and subjects me to the law of sin,” (Romans 7:14), says, that “only those that fight under the standard of virtue, and that make war against vice, experience these combats within themselves,” Moreover, if we take notice, when we speak of mortification to secular persons, it is a language they understand not; because they are wont to do such things only as please them, and they follow no other rule or law, than their own inclinations; and because they know not what it is to constrain themselves in any thing; therefore they feel no interior war or contradiction, there being indeed none at all. But those who seek after perfection, who labour to gain the true virtues of a Christian, and endeavour to pluck up by the roots their bad habits and inclinations, are exposed to a continual warfare, and to the contradictions of the flesh. And as a bird that is taken in a net, perceives it not, till it wishes to get out

VOL. Il. | F of it; so a man who is engaged in irregularity, never knows trily the strength of his passions, and how hard it is to overcome them, but when he labours to disengage and disentangle himself. It is when we embrace virtue, that vice renders the contradictions of irregular nature very apparent.

We read in the lives of the fathers of the desert, that one day an hermit proposed this question to a holy old man:—How comes it to pass, says he, that I feel not within myself those interior combats and violent temptations, that many others suffer? The holy man made this answer; it is because you are like a house, whose doors stand always wide open, into which all people enter at what hour they please, without the knowledge of the master. The gate of your heart is always open; you keep no guard at all over it; you live with little or no attention to yourself, with no recollection of mind at all; and therefore you must not wonder that you are not disquieted as others are. But if you would keep the door of your heart shut; if you hindered bad thoughts from entering, you would then see, what combats and violence they would use to get in. If therefore you feel not this war within yourself, nor any of these combats of your flesh, it is perhaps because you follow your own will in all things; and because you use no endeavours to contradict your sensual appetites, nor to root out the bad inclinations you have.

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