Volume III, Treatise VIII, Chapter VII

Some Important Admonitions Concerning This Matter

From all I have said, several good admonitions and advices may be gathered, no less for him that receives than for him that gives correction. And to speak first of him that receives it, it is certainly very ill done when one has been reprehended for any fault by the superior, to go and seek out how and by whom he came to the knowledge thereof, or to torment himself to know whether nothing more was told to him, or whether they have not exaggerated the fault, and in fine, to go and make complaints and in quiries in all directions, because, perhaps, he who related it may have done it in a more disadvantageous manner than he should have done. To do this is to commit a greater fault than the first, and very often we thereby more lessen our esteem and give greater scandal to our brethren than by the fault itself. They know very well that you are a man, and that you have your faults,

a but perceiving you are so sensible to a thing of this nature, they have but a worse opinion of you; because herein you show a great deal of pride, and give them occasion to think that you are not in pain about correcting your faults, but only how to hide them and to gain esteem by your exterior behaviour. “He who stiffly defends and excuses his fault”, says St. Bernard, “when he is known to have committed it, how will he be able humbly to discover to his superior the secret faults into which he falls, and the bad thoughts of his heart, which are only known to himself?” He who is truly humble, and thinks of himself as he ought, does not wonder at what is said of him, nor of the faults he is accused of, because he still knows greater faults in himself, and thinks they have said too little in comparison of what they should have said of him. Self-love, with which you are blinded, makes you think the fault far less than it is, and even sometimes it makes you believe that it is no fault at all; but a third person, who sees the fault with disinterested eyes, as it is in itself, sees it after another manner than you do. But let us put the case that it appeared to him greater than it was in effect, and that for this reason he too much exaggerated it: do you not call to mind that when you were received to religion you were asked whether you were content to suffer, for the love of God, injuries, affronts, and false accusations, and that you answered you were content? How comes it then to pass that you have so soon forgot your promise, and how come you at present to repent yourself of it? You ought rejoice that your brother, believing he spoke truth, should have exaggerated your fault beyond what it deserved; and though he should not have done it innocently, but with a bad intention, yet you still ought to mind none but yourself, and be glad he has given you an occasion of greater humiliation and of imitating more perfectly Jesus Christ. With how far greater reason, then, are you obliged to be glad that he has innocently given you this occasion, as he thought what he said had been true! We gain a great deal more both in the sight of God and man when we do this, whereas, when we are too sensible to it, we lose on all sides whilst we think we gain.

But the fault would be still greater, if, coming to know by whom it was discovered, we should go to reproach the person for either having said it, or for having said more than was true, and afterwards show any coldness towards him, or let him know “you retain any resentment thereof. He who truly desires to correct himself, and to aspire to perfection, would wish to have the eyes of the world upon him to make him more easily compass the end he proposes. “Oh! that I had”, says St. Bernard, “‘a hundred pastors to take care of me; for the greater the number is, the greater security I find myself in. What a folly is it to make no difficulty to charge one’s self with the cure of an infinity of souls, and to be angry when any one takes care of ours? For my own part I am more afraid of the teeth of the wolf than of a sheep-hook”. Now, as to our brethren’s faults, which we are to give notice of, we must, in the first place, know that they ought to be told to our superior in secret, that he as a good father may procure a remedy, and hinder the inconveniences that might otherwise happen thereby. Moreover, great care is to be taken herein, lest it should happen that, instead of telling the fault of our brother to our superior, who ought to go and remedy it, we should go and tell it to another, who has no right to know, nor has any care or inspection over him; for this would be very ill done, because it would be to fall into the sin of detraction..

In the second place we must, as the rule says, act with all possible “affection and charity”. These are the terms with which Pope Gregory the Thirteenth was very well satisfied when he took the pains himself to examine our rules; and whoever wishes to do his duty herein ought to take great care that he acts not out of passion or envy, or that he permits himself to be carried away with an indiscreet zeal by presently going to make a report which he has but indirectly, and which is not as yet well digested. He ought also abstain from exaggerating things; such as of a fly making an elephant, and of & particular fault making a general destruction of all discipline. And, in fine, he ought avoid proposing his suspicions and mere imaginations as certainties and real truths; for there is reason to make a great scruple of this, and this indiscretion is oftentimes the cause of many disorders.

In the third place, it is to be observed, that though our brother likes not to be corrected for his faults, yet one ought-not neglect to advertise the superior of them, and to do our duty, though he does not perform his. St. Austin, speaking of those that receive not correction in good part, says they

VOL. MI.x 27 Fi are like frantic persons, who will hear nothing either of physic or physician. What, then, says he, ought to be done with such indocile spirits? Ought they be quite abandoned, and no care at all taken of their cure? No such thing; “for a madman has no wish to be bound, and he who is in a lethargy would not be awaked; and yet charity neglects not to persist in binding the one, and in waking the other, and in loving them both; and though both of them are herewith offended, yet both of them are beloved. Pain is caused to both, and <lis-quiet also, so long as they are indisposed, which displeases them; but as soon as they are cured they perceive the favour that was done them, and are extremely pleased therewith”. We must hope it will be the same with our brother; for though he is angry at present that he is reprehended, yet the time will come, when, entering into himself and considering the things as in God’s sight, he will acknowledge his fault, and be sensibly obliged for the charity you have done him. If men, says the same father, neglect not to take a great deal of pains, and sometimes even expose themselves to great dangers, to cure beasts “who have no understanding” (Psalms 31:9),—and from whom they can hope for no thanks, with how far greater reason ought we labour for the cure and correction of our brother, that he may not eternally perish? He is endowed with reason, and he may one day come to be sensible of the greatness of the favour you have done him. “For he who reprehends another”, says the wise man, “will afterwards be in greater esteem with him than he who deccives him by flatteries” (Proverbs 28:23) St. Basil applies to this subject the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians, “who is there from whom I receive the greatest joy, but from him to whom I have given sorrow?”—II. Cor., ii.2. The pain and trouble that correction gives you is what gives me joy, because I know that you receive profit thereby. ‘For true sadness, according to God, produces a solid and wholesome penance; and even that which has afflicted you according to God, how great a solicitude has it caused in you!”—II. Cor., vii. 10, 11. But you will say there are some persons to whom corrections and admonitions do no good at all. St. Austin answers very well to this objection: “Alas!” says he, ‘must we abstain entirely from medicine because some diseases are incurable?” No certainly; we ought not then abstain from the correction of our brethren, because

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