Volume II, Treatise I, Chapter VIII

That Mortification Is not a Hatred of Ourselves, but Rather a True Love of Our Soul, and Even of Our Body Also

WE have already said, according to the doctrine of the holy fathers, taken from the gospel, that we must hate ourselves. But though this seems hard and repugnant to nature, yet, that no one may hence take occasion of discouragement, and thereby leave off mortification, I shall here explain how it is to be understood; and shall make it appear, that this hatred is so far from doing us any harm, that it is rather a true love that we have not only for our souls, but even for our bodies also; and that, in effect, we cannot express a greater hatred both of soul and body than by not mortifying ourselves. St. Austin, speaking of this passage of St. Paul, that “the spirit fights against the flesh”:—‘ Far be it from me, dear brethren,” says he, “that the spirit should hate the flesh, by fighting against it; no, it hates only the vices of the flesh, it hates the prudence of the flesh, it hates the treachery and contradiction of the flesh, which is capable of procuring the death of the soul.”— (Ang. 1. 1. Serm. de Verb. Apost. Serm. 6, in illud (Galatians 5:17)) For as to the flesh, the spirit loves it in effect by mortifying and contradicting it, just as the physician who hates not his sick patient, but the disease against which he continually fights, and is so far from hating, that he loves him very much; for according to Aristotle, to love any one, is nothing else than to wish him well; and to hate one, is indeed nothing else than to wish him ill. Now he who is bent upon mortifying his body, who resists his irregular desires and appetites, wishes and procures for his body the greatest good he can; and a greater good cannot be procured than its eternal happiness; and therefore such a one truly loves his body; but he who caresses and flatters it, and permits it to follow its bad inclinations, procures the greatest evil that can befall it, which are everlasting pains and sufferings; and therefore such a one truly and, in effect, hates his body. For as St. Austin moreover affirms with the royal prophet, “he who loves iniquity hates his soul,” (Psal. x. 6), because he procures hell for it; so he who loves iniquity hates his own body, because he procures it the like misfortune. Wherefore, divines say, that just and virtuous persons love thamselves far better than sinners do, not only in regard of their souls, but in regard of their bodies also; because they wish ‘and procure for them what is truly good, which is eternal happiness, of which the body after its manner partakes with the soul. St. Thomas adds, that for this very reason, the just love their bodies not with an ordinary love, but with the love of charity, which is the most sublime and most excellent of all kinds of love. This is easily perceived by the example of two sick persons. The one eats and drinks whatsoever he fancies, being unwilling either to be let blood or purged: the other governs ‘himself more prudently, and abstains from eating or drinking, though his hunger and thirst be ever so great; he takes what physic is prescribed him, though ever so bitter or distasteful; he is content to be let blood, or suffer any other pain, which the physician thinks will do him good. Is it not certain, that this last loves his body far better than the first; because, to procure its health, he is content to mortify himself in his diet, and to take physic?. And will not all people say, the first in a manner killed himself, because he would not overcome himself by suffering a little mortification for the present? The same thing happens in our regard; and this was the answer St. Bernard was wont to give to secular persons, who were astonished at the austerities of his religious, and who said, that without doubt they must needs hate their bodies, since they treated them so ill, You are deceived, said he, it is you that in effect hate your bodies, since for a few passing pleasures you expose them to eternal torments; and these, my religious, truly love their bodies, since they treat them ill, only for a short time here, to gain hereby eternal repose and felicity for them hereafter. This truth is taught us by the Son of God in the gospel; for after he had said, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me,” he presently adds this reason: ‘For he who would save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.”—(Mat. xvi. 24,25.) St Austin hereupon cries out, “behold,” says. he, “a great and wonderful sentence, that the love of a man for his soul should be the occasion of losing it, and the hatred he shews towards it should be the cause of its salvation! So it is,” says he, “if thou hast loved it irregularly, in effect, thou hast hatedit; and if thou hast hated it as thou shouldest do, in effect, thou hast loved it;” because thereby thou hast eternally preserved it; according to the words of Jesus Christ, “whosoever preserves his soul in this world, preserves it for life everlasting.” (John 12:25) “Thrice happy,”

adds this saint, “are those who have hated it by preserving it, for fear of losing it by loving it too much; wherefore take care of loving it too much in this life, for fear of losing it eternally in the next,”

St. Austin also alleges another very solid reason to confirm all I have said, We cease not, says he, to love one thing, though we love another better; for example, he who permits his arm or leg to be cut off to save his life, ceases not to love his arm or his leg, but he still loves his life more than he does them, and he parts with a lesser to preserve.a greater good. It is also very certain, that a covetous man loves his money, and that he extremely desires to keep it; yet he, notwithstanding, parts with it to procure him necessaries to preserve his life, because he loves his life better than his money; and therefore to keep what is dearer to him, he parts with the other, For the same reason, he that mortifies his flesh ceases not to love it, but he loves his soul better; and he mortifies and treats his body ill, for no other reason than to save his soul. This, then, is not to hate our body, but it is to love eternal life better than our body.

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